The first company to establish a trading post on the Pacific Northwest coast was the Pacific Fur Company. John Jacob Astor, a wealthy New York fur trader, decided to organize the Pacific Fur Company to open up unexplored territory west of the Rocky Mountains. Astor's fur businesses were well established east of the Rocky Mountains. He hoped to gain control over the entire American fur trade. In September 1810, two parties, representing Astor's Pacific Fur Company, decided to establish the first trading post on the Columbia River. One party sailed from New York aboard the Tonquin, under the command of Captain Jonathan Thorn. The other party left St. Louis on an overland expedition to the mouth of the Columbia. That party was under the leadership of Wilson Price Hunt, one of the partners in the Pacific Fur Company. Both overland and overseas groups expected to arrive on the Pacific coast at about the same time. In addition to the two groups, Astor sent one of his many ships, the Beaver, with a cargo of supplies and some additional workers for the company's mail. . The overland group, the Tonquin and the Beaver, were the centerpiece of Astor's Pacific Coast enterprise. Captain Thorn of the Tonquin was an unreasonable and ill-tempered man. When the Tonquin reached the mouth of the Columbia on March 22, 1811, the crew was unable to locate the channel through the treacherous bar due to stormy weather. Rather than wait for more favorable weather, Thorn insisted on sending a small boat ahead to find the passage. The boat and five crew members were promptly engulfed by the crashing surf. Before the Tonquin finally crossed the barrier a few days later, another small boat and its crew of three also disappeared. The crew was not satisfied with the location chosen for a place and wanted to look for a better one. Before they could continue, Thorn left for Vancouver Island to trade with the Indians, without even taking the time to unload all the supplies. At Vancouver Island, he antagonized the Indians so much that they attacked the ship and killed everyone on board, including Thorn. The Tonquin was blown up and destroyed. The loss of the vessel left the crew with no means to carry on coastal trade and also resulted in the loss of much-needed supplies that were still on board.