Hope's Imperfection

Chapter 13: Astoria

“Did Stewart McIntosh sail on the Tonquin?” Sarah asked Lizzy, from the backseat of the car.

Lizzy changed lanes and glanced in the rear-view mirror. She had rented a Subaru Forester for the drive to the coast and it was navigating the route superbly.

“I don’t know,” Lizzy replied. “That is my belief.”

I rode in the front seat beside Lizzy, enamored of the fully-loaded dashboard of this shiny brand new vehicle. Sarah sat in the rear, with her backpack sprawled open across the back seat, hemorrhaging books, notes, maps, and assorted pieces of research.

“Are those seat warmers?” I asked enthusiastically, as I fiddled with the dash.

Lizzy just smiled.

“I have never found any evidence of Stewart ever having made it to the west coast. He left his wife and three children behind. It is not clear whether he perished at sea or disappeared once he reached Astoria. I believe that he was a shareholder of John Astor’s new fur trading venture,” Lizzy explained.

“The Tonquin set sail from New York harbor on September 8, 1810. It was captained by Jonathon Thorn, a thirty-one-year-old veteran of the United States Navy. He was a hardnosed and uncompromising sailor whom John Astor had personally selected for the arduous journey,” Sarah read to us from one of her various sources.

She continued. “The crew included a mixture of Scottish fur traders, clerks and French-Canadian voyageurs. They arrived to their destination on the Columbia River on March 22, 1811.”

“Six months,” I exclaimed. “Good God!”

“Their journey took them to the Falkland Islands, around the tip of South America, out to the Sandwich Islands, and finally to the Pacific Northwest.”

“Where are the Sandwich Islands?” I asked.

“It’s the former name of the Hawaiian Islands,” Lizzy contributed.

“There is a maritime museum in Astoria where we might find out more about the crew and journey of the Tonquin,” Sarah suggested.

“What is the modern-day equivalent of six months aboard a ship in 1810?” I pondered. “I once flew from New York to Paris on a family vacation and I thought that was a challenge.”

“Especially when you consider the diversity amongst the crew. Only the Captain was American, and the English- and French-speaking Canadians were not known for their friendly relations,” said Sarah.

Sarah proceeded with the history lesson. “The crew lost several men, trying to enter the mouth of the Columbia River; poor weather and an impenetrable sand bar were the culprits. When they finally landed they began to build Astor’s new trading emporium.”

“I love this car!” I exclaimed, forcing Sarah to pause the lesson while I continued to fiddle with the stereo system. Lizzy drove patiently.