mself a man of substance and so held by all his neighbors, while in fact
his all lay whitening in the surf on some far-distant Pacific atoll. So it
was almost three years before news came back to Boston of these two ships;
but then it was glorious, for then the "Federalist," of New York, came
into port, bringing tidings that at Canton she had met the "Columbia," and
had been told of the discovery by that vessel of the great river in Oregon
to which her name had been given. Thus Oregon and Washington were given to
the infant Union, the latter perhaps taking its name from the little sloop
of 90 tons which accompanied the "Columbia" on her voyage. Six months
later the two vessels reached Boston, and were greeted with salutes of
cannon from the forts. They were the first American vessels to
circumnavigate the globe. It is pleasant to note that a voyage which was
so full of advantage to the nation was profitable to the owners.
Thereafter an active trade was done with miscellaneous goods to the
northwest Indians, skins and furs thence to the Chinese, and teas home. A
typical outbound cargo in this trade was that of the "Atakualpa" in 1800.
The vessel was of 218 tons, mounted eight guns, and was freighted with
broadcloth, flannel, blankets, powder, muskets, watches, tools, beads, and
looking-glasses. How great were the proportions that this trade speedily
assumed may be judged from the fact that between June, 1800, and January,
1803, there were imported into China, in American vessels, 34,357
sea-otter skins worth on an average $18 to $20 each. Over a million
sealskins were imported. In this trade were employed 80 ships and 9 brigs
and schooners, more than half of them from Boston.

[Illustration: THE SNOW, AN OBSOLETE TYPE]

Indeed, by the last decade of the eighteenth century Boston had become the
chief shipping port of the United States. In 1790 the arrivals from abroad
at that port were 60 ships, 7 snows, 159 brigs, 170 schooners, 59 sloops,
besides coasters estimated to number 1,220 sail. In the _Independent
Chronicle_, of October 27, 1791, appears the item: "Upwards of seventy
sail of vessels sailed from this port on Monday last, for all parts of the
world." A descriptive sketch, written in 1794 and printed in the
Massachusetts Historical Society collections, says of the appearance of
the water front at that time:

"There are eighty wharves and quays, chiefly on the east side of the town.
Of these the most distinguished