Ross's Adventures

"Not an armchair narrative," Alexander Ross's "Adventure's of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River" describes a three-year period, between 1810 and 1813, during which Ross was a "commercial adventurer" as part of an expedition "fitted out" by John Jacob Astor with an aim to establishing the "Pacific Fur Company." Published in 1846, Ross's recollections of his adventures with Astor's company are supplemented with his experiences "having spent fifteen years of my life traveling among the savage tribes west of the Rocky Mountains." His narrative is full of descriptions of his encounters with Native Americans, as well as encounters between the members of the crew themselves. Describing the "trials and misfortunes" of these adventurers, providing an account of the trade and commerce of the region, and detailing "Indian life," Ross's narrative "embod[ies} the history of the Pacific Fur Company" and provides insight into the human and natural worlds that these explorers encountered.