| Show A urra ti d t B 0 r n es C 0 canic ce ante pon 4 am A P 21 nt TV 04 4 4 M 4 8 by ELMO WATSON N A building where once was established the capital of the rich fur trade of america aca where fill an uncrowned king reigned over a wll wil berness empire peopled with thousands of indians french canadian voyageurs voya geurs and american americ ah a and nd british trappers and trad traders rg there the members member of it a modern american community in U efty will soon be meeting to discuss avic affairs and to join in clyle alons F for or the john jacob astor house headquarters forthe for the Amerl american can fur company of more than 0 a century ago Is lo 10 be saved from decay and ruin and andis is to become them the community center of f mack Inac t tIsland mich an and abe thereby reby hangs the tale of lb faro antic last ink chapter which has hag just been added to already romantic story of historic mackinac Mackl nac in reality the story groesback goes back to the earliest white occupancy of North America to the time when two leading objects of commercial gala gain gave birth to wide and daring en enterprise ter prise in the early history of the america the precious metals of tile the south and the rich peltries pel tries of the north it was for the prize of these rich peltries pel tries that F prance rance and England strove mightily for more than a c century en tury the Fren frenchman hman lost but when the englishman found the prize iii in his hands it was only to discover that instead of rivalries and jealousies of bloody feuds and lawless laarss competition between frenchmen and en englishmen as before it W ashow ametter a matter of such practices among the englishmen themselves to put an end to this con condition condidou didon of affairs falis af and especially to enable enible the little fellows to hold the Irown own in the competition with the powerful hudsons Hud sons bay company which operated under a royal charter granted by charles 11 II away back in JOTO 1670 several of the principal merchants of montreal historically the center of the canadian fu fur trade in 1783 entered into a partnership which became as the northwest company for a alme ahls company field held lordly swa sway rover over th the great lakes region in a manner reminiscent of the feudal barons of europe the success of the northwest company encouraged the founding of other companies companie sand and resulted in the organization of a new association of british merchants to exploit the region south of the great lakis lakes an almost untapped reservoir of wealth in peltries pel tries the principal post or factory of this new company was inas established at historic mackinac famous as an important french iett settlement lement since 1671 and the scene 0 of athe the dreadful massacre of the english garrison during pon alai s war from which place the new company took its i name of the mackinaw company to in the the government of the new republic into which the traders of the mackinaw Mackl naw company were extending their operations began to view with aw an unfriendly eye the growing influence which these britons were acquiring over the indians of the region counteract To this influence the federal authorities of the united states State sas as early as 1700 1796 sent out out agents to establish rival trading houses on the frontier all a part odthe of the government factory system sj stern to supply the needs need of I 1 the red men to link their interests with the americans eri cans rather than the british and incidentally to divert the rich murtrude fur trade trude into american channels the ef effort fortl however was not especially successful full us as Is so often the case when government enterprise tries to compete with private industry which brings us as to the first important link in thellis tho history tory of mackinac Mackli Mackl nac ac vie he A F 0 and the ancient structure which now houses the eom community activities of a modern american I 1 municipality in 1783 the year the northwest company was being formed in montreal a citizen of the little gerwan gernan village of waldorf near heidelberg oi on the banks of the rhine set get out to join an elder brother who was living jn in the united states arriving in new york astor became a clerk for a fur dealer after awhile a while he fie was sent into anio the iroquois country to bu buy Y from the did indians and sopa he was anns in business for himself himself farsi handiii handling ig musical instruments then musical instruments ind and furs urs and finally furs alone at first he went on foots foot with a heavy pack on his back camping campini out or living ing to in the lodges lodge of the Inilla indians ns lie he went to montreal and from Mon montreal ireal followed the fur 0 A x ka n Z traders 1 pushing beyond lake Super superior for In into the prairie country industrious prudent and thrifty the young german was coonon soon on his way to a fortune at first astor shipped his furs to london but a as s soon as lie he discovered that china wasa was a good market for fine peltries pel tries he be embarked upon a venture into the orient lie ile fir first st chartered then bought or built ships to carry furs to china and bring back tea until as he be said he had bad a million dollars afloat which represented a dozen ves vessels when the creaty treaty of 1703 between great britain and america opened up a chance for direct commercial intercourse between canada and the th e United States astor embarked upon this trade but soon found himself balked byrbe by the powers power and influence of the mackinaw Mackl naw company knowing of the thed desire estre of the american govern ment mentho to curb the growing power of the mackinaw Mackl naw and other british companies astor laid before the federal authorities a plan whereby tf if he were aided and protect protected edby by the government he would divent the whole of that trade into american channels the authorities were sympathetic but gaye gave him no direct aid budwith but with this encouragement in 1809 he obtained a charter from the state of new york for the american fur company with a capital 1 of a million dollars in which he was the president and principal shareholder r two years later he made tin an arrangement with some 6 of the partners partner of the northwest company by which they bought out the M company and merged it and the american fur company into a new asad association to be called the southwest company astor then conceived a magnificent scheme of laying a chain of fur posts postil across north america from st louisito Loul Lout sto sito the oregon country of establishing a fort at the mouth of the columbia and carrying his furs direct from this place to china but this venture undertaken during the unsettled times on the eve of the war of 1812 was a dismal failure fal lure the story of which hl cb is recorded in full in washington ashIngton 11 11 irvings astoria after peace was concluded conclude din in 1815 astor bought out hl his spart partners in the southwest fur company and re dished the american fur company mackinac Mackl Alack lilac nac became the headquarters of the A F 0 and as such was soon the fur capital of Ar america fordering tor for during the winter of 1815 16 aided by byan sn act of congress which prohibited foreigners from trading with the indians in the united states astor had the fur fir trade south of the great lakes and throughout the mississippi valley under his control driving out the brigades of the northwest and hudsons Hud sons bay companies the fu r company continued operations from 1815 to 1834 when mr 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 ild northwest fur company british and other causes it was obliged to assign and the american fur companas comp anys career ended even as early as the last year of the american fur companas comp anys existence mackinaw Mackl Macki nac nad island was a noted summer resort especially for visitors from the southern states and as railroads and other improved methods of came caine into existence gaiter number dumber of Avie americans rienne visited the island the A F r 0 headquarters were transformed into a hotel As the astor house tt it became oneff one of the important hostelries on the island tnt after changing ownership a number of times lur t ing which it was remodeled and some changes made in tta iti outside appearance its use as a hotel was given up in recent years 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 by various vailous means they got together a small sum of money which they hoped would eventually grow into enough to allow the founding of such buch al a center either by purchase bur chase of a building or the construction of one then the tion was made why not buy the old astor house for that purpose realizing the historical significance ance of the structure and its adaptability for the purpose they approached the owner of tho the building and found that he was willing to sell the small sum which the girl scouts had raised was used as the first payment other contributions were made 6 by natives of the island and residents of other cities who spend the summer slimmer at mackinac Mackl nac and an association was formed which Is now actively engaged raising funds to complete the payment of the purchase price meanwhile the work of rehabilitation Is going forward partitions between the rooms in one end of the building have been torn out to make a large assembly hall for community gatherings and plans are under way to restore the building as much as possible to its original state As the 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 he be can see the great beams of wood held together by wooden pegs in as good condition as they were when put there more than a hundred years ago ile he walks over a floor made of eight inch square hand hana hewn timbers and he saes sees bond wrought strap hinger hl Dici on the doors and heavy iron bars in one corner of the large oms on the first floor stands a tall desk the top of it composed of many pigeon holes hoies on each of these Is a little strip of paper on which Is written in handwriting of almost copper plate engraving fineness aces receivable acca acct payable receipts and the like the ink Is some w hat faded but the 04 letier lettering ln g Is still as reada readable bleas as it was in the long ago when when ramsey crooks stood at this desk and transacted the tb ree almon doll dollar ar abear a year business of df john jacob actors american fur company for this desk a placard tells you Is the geryon very one which that famous A F 0 resident manager used go up the stairs as you go running your hand along a ben beautiful dutiful old walnut stair rail and in some of the rooms you will find old furniture which would delight the eye of an antique dealer look out but through the six inch panes of handmade glass with which the windows ari are glazed and in the aie rear of the building you will see the lne ne cov ered storage hause where once those great bales balea of peltries pel tries of marten and mink of otter and beaver ar of fox and lynx lynn and wolverine were piled for shipment to mr astor anew in new york and these are only u few of the interesting survivals als of the days when beater bearer was king linking the historic pasi pas with the present in this building which will be the most interesting community center to in the united slates when the work which a troop of girl aco scouts ats started and a group of patriotic and public spirited women are carrying on Is comi peeled 7 ls ad br r western unload |
