It must be mentioned in favour of
Ledyard's sagacity, that the visit to Nootka Sound suggested to him the
commercial advantages to be derived from a trade between the north-west
coast of America and China; and the views which he took of this subject
very much influenced the succeeding events of his life.
Towards the end of December, 1782, we find Ledyard serving on board a
king's ship in Long Island Sound, from which he obtained leave of
absence to visit his mother; but, either from a sense of duty and
honour, which obliged him not to act with the enemies of his country, or
from a dislike of the service, he never returned. He had conceived, and
now began to endeavour to execute, the grand project of a trading voyage
to Nootka; for this purpose he went to New York and Philadelphia, and,
after addressing himself to various individuals, he prevailed at last on
the Honourable Robert Morris to promise him a ship. The projected
voyage, however, was ultimately abandoned.
Finding, nevertheless, that they all failed him, and heartily sick of
the want of enterprise among his own countrymen, he resolved to try his
fortune in Europe.
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