July 19, 1793. Six Miles An Hour.

July 19, 1793. (Chapter IX) Day 72.

    

“At one in the afternoon we embarked, with our small baggage, in two canoes, accompanied by seven of the natives. The stream was rapid, and ran upwards of six miles an hour...“We came to a weir, such as I have already described, where the natives landed us, and (then) shot over it without taking a drop of water. They then received us on board again, and we continued our voyage...We proceeded at a very great rate for about two hours and a half, when we were informed that we must land, as the village was only at a short distance.” 

     MacKenzie will refer to this as the Great Village. 

     “I had imagined that the Canadians who accompanied me were the most expert cable-men in the world, but they are inferior to these people, as they themselves acknowledged, in conducting these vessels.”

     The canoes they traveled in were likely similar to those shown in Picture 1.      

Picture 1. Nuxalk Spoon Canoe, ca 1910. 

      “I now presented the young chief with a blanket, in return for the robe which he had favoured me, and several other articles, that appeared to be very gratifying to him. I also presented some to his father, and amongst them was a pair of scissors, whose use I explained to him, for clipping his beard, which was of great length; and to that purpose he immediately applied them.”

Picture 2. 18th Century Scissors. 

     “The communication, however, between us was awkward and inconvenient, for it was carried on entirely by signs, as there was not a person with me who was qualified for the office of interpreter.”

     Of everything they have seen so far, today’s journal entry is one of his busiest, and maybe the most detailed and descriptive. Their social interactions, the food, and his colourful descriptions of their village and incredible structures are highlights of the entire written work. I’d like to suggest that interested readers follow the entire story from here onwards. Today starts Chapter 9 of the 1801 published work, and MacKenzie will reach his ultimate goal in just a few more days. 

VOYAGES from MONTREAL

THROUGH THE CONTINENT of NORTH AMERICA

TO THE

FROZEN and PACIFIC OCEANS

IN 1789 and 1793

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE RISE

AND STATE OF THE FUR TRADE

By  ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, ESQ

 You can download the entire work, for free, here :

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/35658/35658-h/35658-h.htm