ican traders was the China fur trade. Before their advent into these waters, the Chinese supply of furs, which were greatly in demand in that country, came through Europe. The Americans later almost entirely monopolized the fur trade. Their practice was to clear for the South Seas, where at that period the fur seals greatly abounded, slaughter the animals, load their vessels with the skins, take them to Canton and exchange them for tea and other Chinese commodities, which were carried to the United States and Europe. The other source of supply of sealskins was in the North Pacific. The Russians had for many years a monopoly of that supply, but not being permitted to trade at Canton they were forced to carry the furs overland, via Siberia, to Kiakhta, and thence to Chinese markets. Within a few years after independence the American vessels were largely engaged in the traffic in seal and otter skins and other furs from the northwest coast of America to Canton, and it proved most profitable. The statistics of Canton show that in 1800 the American vessels engaged in the fur trade, in addition to large importations of otter and other furs, brought 325,000 sealskins; in 1801 the import of sealskins was 427,000; in 1802, 343,000; and it is stated that the tonnage employed in procuring skins for these periods was nearly one half of the whole tonnage in the China trade.[1]
On the return from Canton of the pioneer vessel, a report of her voyage was made to John Jay, then secre-
- ↑ A Statistical View, etc., of the United States, by Thomas Pitkin, New York, 1817, p. 249, and Appendix vii.; 3 Chinese Repository, 557; Delano's Voyages, 306.
