May 20, 1793. Steam Vents.

May 20, 1793. (Day 12) Alexander Mackenzie's Journey to The Pacific

     “The weather was clear with a sharp air, and we renewed our voyage at quarter past four…At noon we stopped to take an altitude, opposite to a small river that flowed in from the left:    I believe this to be Johnson Creek. His latitude reckoning (which he figured was “tolerably correct”) was almost exact, at 56.0 N.  

     “We now continued our toilsome and perilous progress with the line West by North, and as we proceeded the rapidity of the current increased, so that in the distance of two miles we were obliged to unload four times, and carry everything but the canoe...”

He is now in the future location of the Bennett Dam. (see photo) After this his river descriptions aren’t much help in pinpointing locations on the river; because it’s now all under Williston Lake. I found this old map from 1872 that shows the river course as it was mapped then, 80 or so years after MacKenzie. The lat and long on this map are a bit off when compared to Google Earth, which is to be expected, however it gives a good idea of the direction that the river actually followed back in his day. 

      “Along the face of these precipices, there appears a stratum of a bitumenous substance which resembles coal…”

Gething Creek is famous for it's coal.

“Mr. Mackay informed me, that in passing over the mountains, he observed several chasms in the earth that emitted heat and smoke, which diffused a strong sulphureous stench.”  

I’d like to know more about this. *(update: May 22nd. I have discovered since I wrote this, that Mr. MacKay had found what are known as the Hudson's Hope Steam Vents. Now a B.C. Recreation site)

“At five we had proceeded to where the river was one continued rapid.”

Poling, and lining, and traversing the river in the canyon was hard on the men and the canoe on this day. 

     

      “Indeed it began to be muttered on all sides that there was no alternative but to return...Instead of paying attention to these murmurs, I desired those who had uttered them to exert themselves in gaining an ascent of the hill, and encamp there for the night.” 

He is not very clear about the location of this encampment, but he did say this;

     

     “The river above us, as far as we could see, was one white sheet of foaming water.”