Irving tells the story of the Pacific Fur Company, John Jacob Astor’s scheme to plant a trading post on the Pacific coast. One party sails round Cape Horn aboard the Tonquin, another struggles overland across the Rockies, and both meet hunger, hostile country and rival traders. The narrative opens with the French Canadian voyageurs and the lords of the Northwest Company.
A vivid early history of the American Northwest by the author of Rip Van Winkle, drawn from the company’s own papers. Download the free EPUB.