Show aval 0 d u r T ra ah VA I 1 n PO st becomes dab comm sa fim 1 ty ce afka fa t er E am W I 1 4 t R va A PA r rig YZ 1 ja k M t jw R Z 2 r w fa 1 l a wo i T I 1 conr 4 by MO SCOTT WATSON JR pr N A building where here once was established the capital of the rich fur trade of america where till an uncrowned r V hing reigned oer a ail il berness empire peopled with thousands of indians french canadian jiing ind american and british I 1 g 41 and traders there t 9 at the rn abe f a modern modern american compon inanity will I 1 OD be meeting to discuss ill 31 chic affairs t nd d to join in civic celebia W I 1 eions for ti john jacob astor house af fj Z tor or th alie e A Amo rican nn fur far company f 4 of moi than a century c t 11 ry ag ago go Is to 41 be saved frol decay and ruin and is to become the impunity center of mackinac gj g j i island alli i and thereby hangs the tale of a roam romaic c last chapter which lias has STR just been add adato to the already romantic just to the already romantic story of histo mackinac in ID reality ity t tl story goes back to the earliest white celpa n of north america to the time when two lc ng objects of commercial gain gave birth to le e and daring enterprise in the early history 0 ofie P americus Aine ricas the precious metals of the south a al the rich peltries pel tries of the file north it was for th ize of these aliese rich peltries pel tries that france and en enad d strone stroe mightily for more than a century TI frenchman man lost but nhen hen the englishman foul fou thel the prize in his hands it was only to discover t instead of rivalries and jealousies of bloo ends and la lawless iNless competition be between teen french freschli li and englishmen as before it was now a in mr r of such practices among the englishmen the nives ves to put an en ema this condition of af al talis falis and especially V to en ed the little fellows to bold their ow own in till th al petition with the powerful hudsons Hud sons ba bay ca C celany ny which operated under a royal charter gr grim d iby by charles Cli arles 11 II away back in 1070 several 1 the principal merchants of montreal history the center of the canadian fur trade in 17 entered into a partnership which became as the northwest company for a time this co conny ny held lordly sway over the great lakes region n a manner reminiscent of the feudal barons europe the success of t northwest orth west company encouraged the founding aher her companies and resulted in the organization a new association of british merchants to e efat it the region south of the great lakes an ast st untapped reservoir of wealth in peltries pel pell tries rles principal post or factory of this new coro com compa companies as established at historic af pf mackinac n fats a s as an important french settlement since d the scene of the dreadful massacre of the hish fish garrison during pon war from 1 I M place the new company took its name of the company in the meantime the govern go vernit of the new republic into which the traders of mackinaw company were extending their oper operas pegan began to view with an unfriendly e eie ae e t the egr gr grag g influence which these britons were acar I 1 1 ver th the indians of the region ral to counteract count counteracts erac s influence the federal authorities it of ti th the un states as early as tent ent out agents t to eta estah rival trading hous houses es on the frontier all a pa paa the government fac tory system to deeds of the red men to link their interests i the americans rather than the british and 1 dentally to divert the rich fur trade into ame channels the effort however lio wever inot not especially success ful as 18 is so often the c hen government enterprise tiles to compe compote tew wh avate industry which brings us to the first tin imling nt link in the history til story of mackinac Mackl nac the A F C ck the ancient structure which now houses the un dt y activities les of a modern american muni c y in 1783 the year the alie Nort northwest buest companies compani is being formed in montreal a citizen of attle atle german village of waldorf near Hei delBon on the banks of the rhina set out to join it liner er brother who wai was lhing 11 ing in tile the united sin stal arrivi arriving in new york I 1 4 became a clerk for vh sent into the afdera was a tur fur de dealer ier iroquois country to buy fl title ie indians tin lind d soon business tor for him first handling bundling musical in he was instruments then rn rod instruments and first lie he went on furs and furs alonjo heavy pack 0 iback or back camping out foot W with iab a in the lodges 0 of f t tl lans dlana lie ile went to li ving or montreal and from mont followed the fur traders westward pushing beyond lake superior into the prairie country industrious prudent and thrifty the alie young german was soon on ills his way to a fortune at first astor shipped his furs to london but as soon as he discovered that china was a good market tor for line fine belfries pelt pel fries ries lie he embarked upon a venture into the orient ile he first chartered then bought or built ships to carry furs to china and bring back ten tea until as lie he said he be had a million dollars afloat which represented a dozen vessels when the treaty of 1705 between great britain and america opened up a chance tor for direct commercial intercourse between canada and the united states astor embarked upon this trade but soon found himself balked by the power and influence of the company knowing of the desire of the american government to curb the growing power of the mackan Mackl aw and other british companies astor laid before the federal authorities a plan whereby it if he be were aided and protected by the government he would divert the x whole hole of that trade into american channels the authorities were sympathetic but gave him no direct aid but with this encouragement in 1809 he obtained a charter from the state of new york tor for the american fur company with a capital of a million dollars in which he was the president and principal shareholder two scars years later lie made an arrangement with some of the partners of the northwest company by which they bought out the mackinaw company and merged it and the alie american fur company into a new association to be called the southwest company astor then conce conceded hed a magnificent scheme of laying a chain of fur posts across north america from st louis to the oregon country of 0 establishing a fort at the mouth of the columbia arid and carrying his furs direct from this place to china but this venture en ture undertaken during the unsettled times on the eve of the war of 1812 was a dismal failure the story of which Is recorded in full fall in washington irv liln ings s astoria storla A after peace peace was concluded in 1815 astor bought out his partners in the southwest fur company and re dished the american fur company mackinac became the headquarters of the A F C and as such was soon the fur capital of america for during the winter of 16 aided by an act of congress which prohibited foreigners from trading with the indians in the united states astor had the fur trade south of the great lakes and throughout the mississippi valley under his control drining out the brigades of the north wem ani hudsons Hud sons bay companies the fur company continued operations from 1815 to 1831 when sir air astor transferred his stock and charter to ramsey crooks and associates mr crooks became the president and business continued as usual until 1842 when on account of competition with the old northwest fur company british and other causes it was obliged to assign and the american fur companas comp anys career ended liven even as early as the last year of the american fur companas comp anys existence mackinac Mackl nac island was a noted summer slimmer resort especially for visitors from the southern states and as railroads ant and mthm imp improved methods nf f transportation came into exist existence enre gi greater cater number of americans ignited the island the A F 0 vere transformed into a hotel As the astor house it became one of the important or on the island but after changing ownership a number of times lur ing which it was remodeled and some changes made in its outside appearance its use as a hotel was given up in recent years sears A year or so ago a troop of girl scouts under the leadership of mrs rose webb set about to raise a fund for the establishment of a community center ey by various means they got together a small sum of heoney which they hoped would eventually grow into enough to allow the founding of such a center either by purchase se of a building or the construction of one then the suggestion was made why not buy the old astor house housa for that purpose realizing the historical sl significance ni ance of the structure arid and its adaptability for the purpose they approached the owner of the building and found fond that he was willing illin to sell the small sum which the girl scouts had raised was used as the first payment other contributions were made by natives of the island and residents of other cities who tho spend the summer at mackinac Mackl nac and an association was formed which Is now actively engaged in raising funds to complete the payment of the purchase price meanwhile the work of rehabilitation Is going forward partitions between the rooms in ono ona end of the building have been torn out to make a large assembly hall for community gatherings gathering and plans are under way to restore the building as much as possible to its original state As the visitor of today walks through the front door of the astor house he steps from the reality of a modern american city street into the realm of the romantic past where the reconstruction work Is under way lie he can see the great beams of wood held together by wooden pegs in as good condition as they were when put there nor more ethan than a hundred years ago ue he walks over a floor made of eight inch square hand band hewn hen timbers and he sees hand wrought strap hinges on the doors and heavy iron bars I 1 in one corner of 0 the large on the first floor stands a tall desk the top of it composed of many pigeon holes boles on each of these Is a little strip of paper on which Is written in handwriting of almost copper plate engraving fineness accas receivable accas payable receipts and the like the ink Is somewhat faded but the lettering Is still as readable as it was in the long ago when ramsey crooks stood at this desk and transacted the three million dollar a year business of jolin john jacob actors american fur company for this desk a placard tells you Is the very one which that famous A P F 0 resident in manager used go up the beairs as you go running your hand along a beautiful old walnut stair rail and in some of the rooms you will find old furn furniture e which would delight the eye of an antique dealer look out through the six inch panes of handi hade glass with ith which the wIndo windows vs are glazed and in the rear of the building you will see the line ine cov er ered ed storage house where once those great bales of peltries pel tries of marten and mink of otter and beaver Q r of tos fox and lynx arid and wolverine were plied piled for shi to mr astor in new york and these are only it u few of the interesting of the days when beater bearer was king linking the historic past the present in this building which will ivill be the most interesting community center in the united states alien lion the work which a troop of gill scouts started und and a group of patriotic and public spirited women are carrying on Is completed tl Q by western Nawa |