Astoria; or, Anecdotes of an Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains
by Washington Irving
Category: Astoria (Or.)

In 1810 John Jacob Astor sent two expeditions to the mouth of the Columbia River to establish a far flung trade empire based on furs. Three years later his plans were in ruins and his headquarters at Astoria with it's huge stock of valuable pelts were in the hands of the British and sold at a great loss to the North West Company. This daring venture was the real opening of the west. An important saga of the Western Fur Trade. John Jacob Astor, supplied Irving with many of the journals and other materials which he used in writing this history.