_Ohetity bay_. He immediately, went on board of one of them, and learned
that they came from the Indies, whence they had sailed precipitately, to
avoid the English cruisers. He also learned from the captain of the
vessel he boarded, that the Beaver had arrived in Canton some days
before the news of the declaration of war. This Captain Smith, moreover,
had on board some cases of nankeens and other goods shipped by Mr.
Astor's agent at Canton for us. Mr. Hunt then chartered the Albatross to
take him with his people and the goods to the Columbia. That gentleman
had not been idle during the time that he sojourned at Wahoo: he brought
us 35 barrels of salt pork or beef, nine tierces of rice, a great
quantity of dried _Taro_, and a good supply of salt.

As I knew the channel of the river, I went on board the Albatross, and
piloted her to the old anchorage of the Tonquin, under the guns of the
Fort, in order to facilitate the landing of the goods.

Captain Smith informed us that in 1810, a year before the founding of
our establishment, he had entered the river in the same vessel, and
ascended it in boats as far as Oak Point; and that he had attempted to
form an establishment there; but the spot which he chose for building,
and on which he had even commenced fencing for a garden, being
overflowed in the summer freshet, he had been forced to abandon his
project and re-embark. We had seen, in fact, at Oak Point, some traces
of this projected establishment. The bold manner in which this captain
had entered the river was now accounted for.

Captain Smith had chartered his vessel to a Frenchman named _Demestre_,
who was then a passenger on board of her, to go and take a cargo of
sandal wood at the _Marquesas_, where that gentleman had left some men
to collect it, the year before. He could not, therefore, comply with the
request we made him, to remain during the summer with us, in order to
transport our goods and people, as soon as they could be got together,
to the Sandwich islands.

Mr. Hunt was surprised beyond measure, when we informed him of the
resolution we had taken of abandoning the country: he blamed us severely
for having acted with so much precipitation, pointing out that the
success of the late coasting voyage, and the arrangements we had made
with the Russians, promised a most advantageous trade, which it was a
thousand pities to sacrifice, and lose the fruits of the hardships he
had endured and the dangers he had br