In 1824, Dr. McLoughlin and the head of Hudsons Bay Co., George Simpson, traveled to the mouth of the Columbia River. They looked for the perfect spot to put up a fort. They finally decided on a place 100 miles up the Columbia River. They named it Fort Vancouver. In about a year they moved Fort Vancouver from the top of the hill to the bottom of the hill.
There were several reasons for this choice. Large ships could come up the river to the dock near the trading post. Another reason was the land around the fort was very rich, and good for planting crops. Now the fort would have a good supply of food. And there was one more reason for making this choice. The fort had a good central point along the northwest rivers so that fur trappers
could use the rivers as highways and roads.The boats were loaded with fur and men. All the forts in Oregon country would empty their harvest and send it to Fort Vancouver trade store. Fur trappers brought their skins to Fort Vancouver trade store. One famous fur traper was David Thompson. He was also a great map-maker. The skins where called pelts. Skins where like money back in those days, especially beaver skins. Beaver skins were very popular. There were more beaver skins than anything else.
A blanket was usually worth 4 beaver skins. A gun was worth 10 skins.
A pound of gun powder was worth 2 skins. A hatchet was worth only one skin.
Other animals were hunted like fox, muskrat, otter, and bear. Skins were
just as good as money. This kind of trading is called a "barter system"
or "bartering."