Gun powder of the first and second quality at one dollar fifty per pound, lead at one dollar per pound, shot one dollar twenty-five cents per pound, three point blankets at nine dollars each, green ditto at eleven dollars each, scarlet cloth at six dollars per yard, blue ditto common quality from four to five dollars per yard, butcher knives at seventy-five cents each, two and a half point bla,nkets at seven dollars each, North "West fuzils at twenty-four dollars each, tin kettles different sizes at two dollars per pound, sheet iron kettles at two dollars twenty-five cents per pound, square 12 The Fub Traders. along the Pacific coast. ' ' These vessels would run in near the shore and anchor and wait for the natives to come off in their canoes with their peltries; and when trade was exhausted in one place, would sail on to another. Having collected a sufficient cargo of skins they would make their way to China, where they would sell their furs and lay in a stock of teas, nankeens, and other merchandise to carry back to Boston on their return, after an absence of from TO to three years. The Russians, instead of making casual trips, established regular trading stations in the high latitudes along the Northwest Coast of America and on the Aleutian Islands, under the control of a company incorporated by the Russian government, with a capital of $250,000 and exclusive trading privileges. The Russian crown at this time claimed sovereignty over all the territory in which its traders were operating, on the plea that the land had been discovered and occupied by its subjects. The company referred to was called the Russian Fur Company, and succeeded sixty or more smaller organizations that, up to that time, had divided the Pacific coast traffic among them. The headquarters of the company were at Sitka. It was dissolved in 1867, after the sale of Alaska to the United States. As China was the great market for furs collected in this quarter the Russians had another great advantage over all their competitors, as they did not have to take their peltries to Canton for distribution through the empire, but were able to carry them on their own vessels by a shorter journey direct to those parts of the Chinese Empire where they were chiefly consumed, at a considerable saving in time and cost of transportation. The Columbia commanded by Captain Gray of Boston was one of the American ships trading along the northwest coast in 1792. At latitude 40°19' north, she entered the mouth of a large river, and anchored in a beautiful bay. The river, which was later named the Columbia, was afterwards explored by Vancouver, to whom Captain Gray had spoken of his discovery. The French in Canada began to dream of a northwest passage to the Pacific as early as 1670, but the first attempt to find an overland route across the continent was made by Captain Jonathan Carver, in 1763, with the sanction of The Fub Traders. 13 the British Government. He failed to accomplish his purpose ; but in 1792 an expedition conducted by Sir Alexander McKenzie succeeded i...