the expedition. And thus Mr, Jefferson was the first to propose 
the North American road to India , and the introduction of the 
Asiatic trade on that road; and all that I myself have either 
said or written on that subject from the year 1819, when I first 
took it up, down to the present day, when I still contend for it, 
is nothing but the fruit of the seed planted in my mind by the 
philosophic hand of Mr. Jefferson.” 
Fur Trade. The return of the British expedition, under 
Capt. Cook, from the northwest coast, and the reports which 
were circulated relative to the abundance of fur-bearing animals 
in those regions, exerted a powerful influence on the merchants 
in Europe. Among the more ardent spirits of that period in¬ 
fected was John J. Astor; that far-seeing trader immediately 
emigrated to Baltimore, and engaged immediately in the fur 
trade. Soon after he moved his business to New York, and op¬ 
erated on a large scale. In 1809 the Legislature of the Empire 
State incorporated the American Fur Co., of which Mr. Astor 
was the chief operator, and for the purpose of competing with 
the wealthy Russian American Co., on the northwest coast, Mr. 
Astor sought material aid from the United States Congress, 
which was refused on grounds of public policy. In 1810 the 
building of a trading depot at the mouth of the Columbia 
river was determined upon by Mr. Astor, on which occasion 
Mr. Jefferson encouraged the undertaking in the following 
terms :—“ I remember well having invited your proposition on 
this subject, and encouraged it with the assurance of every fa* 
cility and protection which the government could properly af¬ 
ford. I considered as a great public acquisition the commence¬ 
ment of a settlement on that point of the western coast of Amer¬ 
ica, and looked forward with gratification to the time when its 
descendants should have spread themselves throughout the 
whole length of that coast, covering it with free and independ¬ 
ent Americans, unconnected with us but by the ties of blood 
and interest, and enjoying like us the right of self-government.” 
The -continent has been crossed on various parallels, explora¬ 
tions have been prosecuted under the guidance of scientific ex¬ 
perts, the adaptation of the country for railroad purposes has 
been demonstrated by actual experiment. The following com¬ 
parative distances on the competing routes will demonstrate the 
shortest and most practical 
