Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River, 1810–1813

Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River, 1810–1813 by Alexander Ross, edited by Milo Milton Quaife, is one of the most authentic and compelling firsthand accounts of the early fur trade and exploration of the Pacific Northwest. This 1923 edition, carefully edited and annotated by historian Quaife, restores Ross's remarkable narrative to its rightful place among the foundational documents of western American history.Originally published in 1849, Ross's memoir recounts his experiences as a member of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company, which established the ill-fated Astoria settlement at the mouth of the Columbia River - the first American trading post on the Pacific coast. His story captures the peril and promise of those years: the hazardous voyage around Cape Horn, encounters with Native peoples of the Northwest, and the constant struggle against isolation, hunger, and rival traders. Through Ross's keen eye and plain, forthright prose, readers witness the birth of an era - when wilderness, commerce, and empire collided at the far edge of a young nation.What distinguishes this edition is Quaife's meticulous scholarship. His introduction and notes provide context for Ross's adventures within the larger story of exploration, maritime rivalry, and continental expansion. The result is a text that is both thrilling narrative and vital history - an eyewitness record of the men who first opened the path to the Pacific.For readers of exploration literature, early American history, and frontier adventure, Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River remains an indispensable classic - a work that combines hardship, endurance, and discovery in equal measure.