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On this day in 1811, two weeks after delivering cargo and members of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company on the south shore of the Columbia River, the ship Tonquin departed newly established Fort Astoria and sailed up the Pacific Coast. Against the advice of his interpreter, the commanding officer Captain Jonathan Thorn ordered the ship to drop anchor in Clayport Harbor (Vancouver Island). Local Indians with furs to sell were invited on board but they refused to sell at the prices offered. The hard-natured Thorn responded by kicking the chief overboard. The following morning the ship was attacked by an angry band of Indians and all but five of the crew were killed. One of these men succeeded in blowing up the ship and all remaining on the vessel, including himself.
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