Day 28. Excerpts from the journals of Alexander MacKenzie on his epic journey overland to the Pacific Ocean.
“This morning we found our canoe and baggage in the water, which had continued rising during the night. We then gummed the canoe, as we arrived too late an hour to perform that operation on the preceding evening.”
The canoe must be “gummed” every night, and sometimes several times during the day, or whenever it happens to get “leaky”. Spruce gum is spread carefully over every seam, crack and hole in the bark to waterproof it, but in order to be for the gum to be effective it must be prepared by being heated over the fire and mixed with fat or tallow and charcoal , until it’s the proper consistency. Spruce gum is another “staple” of the fur trader’s tool box; like birch-bark, they must have collected it everywhere they went.
“ I disembarked with Mr. MacKay, and the hunters, in order to ascend an adjacent mountain, with the hope of obtaining a view of the interior part of the country...climbed a very lofty tree, from whose top I discerned on the right a ridge of mountains...another ridge of high land...stretched towards the South...”
He sent his people ahead with the canoe, while he is climbing mountains and trees to try and get a better look at the lay of the land, He’s searching for signs of a “carrying-place”, and for certain he is on the lookout for the “other river”. These features that he describes; the ridge of mountains (Mt. Scovill), and the ridge of high land towards the south, can be easily recognized using Google Earth or a contour map, about 10 miles west of the modern town of MacKenzie, BC. at the bottom of the Omineca mountain range.
Picture 2. Painting of MacKenzie and MacKay by JD Kelly.
“Having obtained all the satisfaction that the nature of the place would admit, we proceeded forward to overtake the canoe…Having been accustomed, for the last fortnight, to very cold weather, I found the heat of this day almost insupportable...To add to the disagreeableness of our situation, the gnats and mosquitos appeared in swarms to torment us.”
Surprisingly, in 28 days of river travel and camping in the wilderness, this is his first mention of mosquitoes.
“...it was almost dark when we reached the canoe, barefooted, and drenched with rain...But these inconveniences affected me very little, when I saw myself once more surrounded with my people.”
Even with all the adventures of this day, they managed to make progress of about 8 river miles.
“It appeared from the various encampments which we have seen, and from several paddles we had found, that the natives frequent this part of the country at the latter end of summer and the fall.”
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