The
Tonquin was an
American merchant ship involved with the
fur trade of the early 19th Century. The ship was used by
John Jacob Astor's
Pacific Fur Company to establish fur trading outposts on the Northwest Coast of
North America, including
Fort Astoria at the mouth of the
Columbia River. The 290-ton bark was destroyed and sunk at
Clayoquot Sound a few weeks after leaving the Columbia River after a dispute with
Tla-o-qui-aht, the indigenous people of the sound.
Astoria
Built in
New York in 1807, the
Tonquin was purchased by American John Jacob Astor on
August 23,
1810. This vessel was to be used in the fur trade of the Northwest coast of America.
Astor paid $37,860 to
Fanning & Coles for the 290 ton bark that would be used by the Pacific Fur Company that Astor owned half of.
He then placed
United States Navy lieutenant
Jonathan Thorn in charge of the 10 gun merchant vessel.
On
September 8, 1810 ship and crew departed
New York harbor bound for the
Columbia River in
Oregon Country as part of the
Astor Expedition.
Cargo on board included fur trade goods, seeds, building material for a trading post, tools, and the frame of a
schooner to be used on the coastal trade.
The crew consisted of 34 people including the captain, 30 of whom were British subjects. There were four partners of the company: Duncan McDougall, David and Robert Stuart, and
Alexander McKay.
Additionally there were 12 clerks and 13
Canadian voyageurs, plus four tradesmen: Augustus Roussel a blacksmith, Johann Koaster a carpenter, Job Aitkem a boat builder, and George Bell a cooper.
(Clerk
Gabriel Franchère's account of his journey on the
Tonquin later formed a large part of his
Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America.)
On the voyage around
South America the vessel put in at the
Falkland Islands to make repairs and take on fresh water.
Upon leaving Captain Thorn set sail without eight of the crew and only stopped to pick them up after Robert Stuart threatened to shoot Thorn if he did not stop for them, as his uncle David was one of those not onboard.
On December 25, they rounded
Cape Horn and sailed north, reaching the
Sandwich Islands on February 12, 1811, where they dropped anchor at
Karakakooa Bay.
There they traded for sheep, hogs, goats, poultry, and vegetables.
The
Tonquin also took on 12
Native Hawaiian that were recruited for the fur venture before setting sail for the Columbia.
One of the Hawaiians,
Naukane, was appointed by
King Kamehameha to oversee the interests of Hawaiian laborers. Naukane was given the name John Coxe while on the
Tonquin. He later joined the
North West Company.
On March 22, 1811, the
Tonquin reached the Columbia River.
Here the dangerous
bar posed a problem of access to the river, so Thorn sent John Martin, Ebenezer Fox, and three others in a boat to attempt to locate the channel.
However, the small boat was lost.
The next day they tried again with William Mumford and four others to sound for the channel, but were unsuccessful and also nearly lost the small craft.
A third attempt resulted in locating the channel, but the small boat with Aiken, Stephen Weekes, John Coles and two others sank before returning to the ship.
Finally on the 24th the
Tonquin was able to cross the bar and into the Columbia’s estuary where they laid anchor in
Baker’s Bay and began searching for the lost men.
Only Weeks and one other person was found.
The party then proceed upriver fifteen miles where they began building a fort, a shed, and a small boat where present day
Astoria, Oregon is located.
This new outpost was named
Astoria.
Here some of the cargo was unloaded and the trading post was built.
The ship remained there for 65 days before sailing with a crew of 23 plus an half-native half-British interpreter named Lamazu while construction continued.
McKay remained with the ship as
supercargo and James Lewis as clerk as Thorn ordered the ship downriver.
On
June 5, 1811 the
Tonquin left Baker’s Bay and sailed north to trade for furs.
Demise
After leaving the newly created outpost on the Columbia, the ship and crew traveled north to
Nootka Sound. Here, off
Vancouver Island at a place named Woody Point in
Clayoquot Sound, the
Tonquin engaged in the fur trade in June 1811.
While trading with the local inhabitants, Captain Thorn tossed some otter pelts at a local chief that was on board the ship trading.
This insult lead to the locals returning to the ship the next day to seek revenge.
Under the guise of seeking further trading opportunities, these natives attacked the crew on board.
Only five of the crew were able to survive this onslaught and eventually drive the attackers from the ship.
The next day four abandoned ship in a canoe in an attempt to flee, but were later killed on shore.
The remaining crew member, James Lewis,
who was injured was somehow able to light the gunpowder magazine on fire and blow up the
Tonquin, himself, and numerous locals that had returned to pillage the ship.
The only survivor from the crew was a half Chinook and half British individual named Lamazee (also known as George Ramsay) who served as a pilot on the ship.
See also
