Sample Post #4

The Astorians supply ship Tonquin, after leaving supplies and men to establish Fort Astoria in early 1811 left the Columbia River for a trading expedition to Puget Sound Washington. There it was attacked and overwhelmed by Indians before being blown up—killing all the crew and many Indians. Following the destruction of the supply ship Tonquin, American Fur Company partner Robert Stuart lead a small group of men back east to report to Astor. The group planned to retrace the path followed by the overland expedition up the Columbia and River. Fear of Indian attack near Union Pass in Wyoming forced the group further south where they discovered South Pass, a wide and easy pass over the Continental Divide. The party continued east via the Sweetwater River, North Platte River (where they spent the winter of 1812-13) and Platte River to the Missouri River finally arriving in St. Louis, Missouri in the spring of 1813. The route they had used appeared to potentially be a practical wagon route, requiring minimal improvements, scouted from west to east, and Stuart's journals provided a meticulous account of most of the route.[5] Unfortunately, because of the War of 1812 and the lack of U.S. fur trading posts in the Oregon country most of the route was forgotten for more than 10 years.