Hudson Bay Company was a monopoly not only in theory but in practice. It fixed its own prices for goods sold to settlers, usually charging one hundred per cent, on London prices/ and it paid for the settlerswheat what it chose. In 1845 the price was sixty cents per bushel in trade. In both cases the price was probably as nearly fair as could be expected, but the feeling that they were at the Company's mercy was sure to make the American settlers impatient, critical, or even violently antagonistic to the Company. Had it not been for the respect universally felt for Dr. McLoughlin, this condition might easily have degenerated into a state of open hostility, with the possibility of bloodshed and serious international complications. In fact, only two or three Americans ever tried to molest the Company directly, and in these cases the public opinion of the colony was exerted successfully in the interest of harmony. On the whole, it must be admitted that Fort Vancouver was indispensable to the American settlers, was in fact the condition of Oregon's early colonization. Without it, the country must have remained a wilderness until similar establishments had been founded by Americans or others. If Astor's trading venture had proved successful, Astoria would logically have occupied the place in Oregon history which Vancouver now occupies. Yet, it is doubtful if an American company could have served better the needs of such a colony.
1 Although these prices were reduced when competition demanded it.
