The East India Pass No. 68

Jefferson'S administration held out a welcoming hand to all the world. The world, in return, accepted the invitation, bringing with it, consciously or unconsciously, the material for the making of an empire. Ardent hope, strong resolution, unlimited perseverence, many times wealth and power, were thrown with generous hand into the brew-pot of a new nation.

A willingness to venture was an important quality in those whom the eastern hemisphere sent to the western. On Jefferson's Inauguration Day, a man who had seen the Great Lakes was far-traveled. When Jefferson retired in 1809, John Jacob Astor was planning his expedition to the Pacific coast by land and water. Such far-reaching enterprise was a great stimulant toward settling the western half of the continent, and developing the nation's resources.

The year 1800 saw celebrated ventures in the Chinese and Eastern trade. It was at this time that Mr. Astor sent his first ship to Canton. But previous to this event, there is a story told of how his path across the ocean was made plain, which reads like a fairy tale.

Mr. Astor was once asked by a business acquaintance what special transaction, or particularly fortunate hit, gave him his start as a financier. The great capitalist never claimed superior sagacity or intelligence over his fellows, and replied with his story of small beginnings, which led to large results.

Some years previous to the end of the century, he had accumulated a large quantity of fine furs, unsalable in the American market. All the common furs, muskrat, mink, rabbit, squirrel, etc., which he and his agents had gathered, he had no trouble in disposing of in the city at good prices. But the more expensive skins, which had been bought with the rest, were unsalable in any large quantity in New York, and he had packed them away in casks in his cellar.

At this time he had no business agent in London to send them to, and did not want to ship them at a risk. He talked the matter over with his wife, and together they decided it would be best for him to sail for England himself, with his special lot of furs, and act as his own agent in selling them. The result of the trip was uncertain, and to economize as much as possible, he made the journey as a steerage passenger.

London, however, proved a good market for his choice furs, and he disposed of them at a high price. He then set himself to purchase a return cargo of trading goods, which would be desirable in the eyes of the Indians and hunters, and such other merchandise as would insure a profit in the New York market.

After making preparations for shipping his goods by a vessel bound for New York, he found that his ship was not ready to start, and he was likely to be detained a couple of weeks. He devoted his unexpected leisure to looking about London, and picking up all the information possible, especially whatever would be of advantage to him in his own line of business.

One of the most important places he visited was the great East India House. The offices and warehouses both possessed a special charm for him. As usual, he asked questions of any one about the place, who was willing to answer. One day he asked one of the porters what the name of the Governor was. In reply the man gave a German name very familiar to Mr. Astor. "Is the Governor an Englishman?" enquired John Jacob Astor, incredulously. "He came from Germany when he was a boy," replied the porter. This was enough for the German-American. He resolved to meet his fellow-countryman, and watching for a favorable opportunity, sent in his name. By good fortune he was admitted to the great man's presence, and lost no time in recalling the past to the Governor's memory. "Isn't your name Wilhelm?" the fur dealer asked. "Didn't you go to school in such a town?" "I did, and now I remember you very well. Your name is Astor," the Governor replied.

After this they had a cordial talk over old school matters, and boyhood days, ending with an invitation for Mr. Astor to dine with the acquaintance of his youth. The invitation was declined for the time, but the following day the two men met again. In the course of conversation the Governor enquired of Mr. Astor whether there was not something he could do to aid him, but the American fur dealer replied that he had already sold his skins, and bought his return cargo. Neither did he need cash or credit, so he gratefully declined the offer so kindly made.

At their final meeting the Governor expressed a desire to make his old school friend a gift, and offering Mr. Astor a package, said, "Take this; you may find its value." After which the two fellow-countrymen parted with true German warmth.

The package handed Mr. Astor contained a Canton Prices Current, and a Permit which enabled the ship that carried it, to trade freely at any of the ports held by the East India Company.

While he was grateful for the consideration shown him, the Governor's gift at this time did not suggest the value to Mr. Astor's mind that it did later. He owned no ships, and had never had any trade with the East Indies, and was making no plans in that direction. Yet he bore back across the ocean the piece of parchment, which was destined to be the foundation of his vast shipping interests, a trade amounting to millions, and which was to circle the globe. The Permit was No. 68.

It is probable that Mr. Astor did much thinking concerning this bit of parchment during the long days of the voyage, realizing its value under certain conditions. Upon arriving at home, it seems to have been an early and important matter of discussion between himself and his wife. "I have no ships, and it is of no present use to us," he said. Mrs. Astor's ready wit proposed that her husband go and have a talk with James Livermore, who was engaged in the West India trade, and owned some very good-sized vessels. Mr. Astor considered his wife's advice worth taking, and called on the ship owner, showing him the East India Pass, and Canton Prices Cur- rent.

"Now," said he, "if you will make up a voyage for one of your largest ships, I will loan you the Pass and the Prices Current, on one condition. You are to furnish ship and cargo, but I am to have one half the profits for my pass, and for suggesting the voyage."

The West India merchant scoffed at what he called a one-sided proposition, and apparently gave it no serious thought. Mr. Astor went home and told his wife the result of his visit, and for a time the matter was dropped.

Meanwhile the West India merchant was turning the subject over in his mind. He had been successful in the West India trade, and here was an opening for the East Indies. At that time no American vessels traded at Canton. The East India ports were as tightly closed to American commerce as if they had not existed.

Mr. Livermore's meditations and calculations ended in a return call on Mr. Astor.

"Were you in earnest?" asked the ship owner, "when you showed me the Pass of the East India Company?" "I was never more so," replied Mr. Astor. Again they talked the subject over, Mr. Livermore finally agreeing to enter into the undertaking, practically at the terms that Mr. Astor had offered in the beginning,—that in return for his Pass and Prices Current, he was to have one-half of the profits of the voyage, and no expense.

The ship for the initial American trading voyage to the East Indies, was selected, her cargo consisting largely of ginseng, lead, and scrap iron. She also carried about thirty thousand Spanish dollars.

Sailing for China, she arrived safely at Whampoa, a few miles below Canton, where she anchored, "loading and unloading her cargo as freely as if she had been a vessel belonging to the East India Company."

The ginseng, which cost twenty cents a pound in New York, sold in Canton for three dollars and fifty cents a pound. Lead brought ten cents, and scrap iron a very high price. The return cargo contained tea, that sold in New York for one dollar more a pound than it cost in the Canton market.

When the accounts were settled, Mr. Astor's share of the profits was fifty-five thousand dollars, in silver. This was packed in barrels and sent up to his store. Mrs Astor is said to have enquired what the barrels contained. "The fruit of our East India Pass," replied her husband.

Mr. Livermore returned the Pass to its owner, and with his share of the profits of the voyage, Mr. Astor bought a ship, which he loaded with an assorted cargo, and started his own vessel to China, having fully awakened to the value of the Governor's gift.

At the Sandwich Islands they made a stop, to take on water and a fresh supply of provisions, and the Captain seized the opportunity to lay in a fresh store of fire wood. At Canton, a mandarin was among their visitors. He noticed their fire wood, and asked the price of it. The Captain showed amusement at the question, but said he was open to an offer. The mandarin offered five hundred dollars a ton, and everv stick of it was sold at that price.

The fuel intended for fire wood, proved to be sandal wood. The sandal wood sale was kept a profound secret for seventeen years, Mr. Astor holding the monopoly of the trade in this valuable commodity. During this long period no other trading vessel of England or the United States found out the secret.

It was not discovered till a Yankee captain conceived the idea of following one of Mr. Astor's ships, and watching what occurred on the voyage. After that the sandal wood trade was shared by a Boston ship-owner.

Mr. Astor occasionally made voyages to London in his own ships. During these trips he made a most careful study of China, and the far-Eastern trade, from the English standpoint.

It is an interesting fact, that Mrs. Astor was a still better judge of furs than the great fur merchant himself. It was she who selected the cargoes for the Canton market, whose successful sale gave proof of her ability. When the Astors became wealthy, she was accustomed to ask her husband a generous price an hour for giving her judgment in the selection of furs, knowing well that her skill and perception were an assistance to him in his commercial operations. Mr. Astor is said to have given his wife whatever she asked for her co-operation.

Mr. Astor continued his commercial relations with China for twenty-seven years, sometimes with loss, generally with gain, and occasionally with enormous profit. China was the best market for furs in the world, but his shipping was not confined entirely to the skins which he exported. There were also return cargoes of rice, tea, matting and other articles, for which there was an urgent call in America, and upon which large profits were to be made.

John Jacob Astor was America's pioneer merchant in the China trade. Following in his wake were a hundred other merchants, who made large fortunes in the years which followed.