May 30, 1793. Dangers Lurking.

Day 22. Excerpts from the Journals of Alexander MacKenzie on his Voyage of Discovery to the Pacific Ocean via the Peace River.

     “We were alarmed this morning at break of day, by the continual barking of our dog, who never ceased from running backwards and forwards in the rear of our situation; when, however, the day advanced, we discovered the cause of our alarm to proceed from a wolf, who was parading a ridge a few yards behind us, and had been most probably allured by the scent of our small portion of fresh meat.”

As noted before, there are dangers lurking everywhere on this Voyage.

     “The weather was cloudy, but it did not prevent us from renewing our progress at a very early hour.”

       Even though he lost the log book with his course directions and miles traveled, the “considerable river” he passed here is known today as Clearwater Creek.

Picture 2. Top of the map is North. They are heading west, on a river channel that of course is now submerged under the lake shown on this modern map of the area. The Clearwater is the large arm of water, lower right corner, which will be on his left. 

     

     “A considerable river appeared from the left, and we continued our course till seven in the evening, when we landed at night where there was an Indian encampment.”

May 29, 1793. Epistolatory Cargo

Day 21 

Excerpts from the daily journals of Alexander MacKenzie on his Voyage to the Pacific, via the Peace River.  

      “The rain was so violent throughout the whole of this day, that we did not venture to proceed. As we had almost expended the contents of a rum keg, and this being a day which allowed of no active employment, I amused myself with the experiment of enclosing a letter in it, and dispatching it down the river to take its fate.”

Picture 1.

      Picture 1 shows (reproduction) North-West Company liquor kegs. They held 10 gallons each of rum, brandy, port, high wine etc. As this particular journey is a mission of discovery rather than a trade mission, the only spirit he refers to in his journal is “rum”, so I assume that his rum kegs would have been marked accordingly. I think they carried 4 or 5 of these kegs on this journey.

     So far they have been on the river for 3 weeks. 10 men, 10 gallons. That works out to approx. 1 cup per day, per man. 

      “I accordingly introduced a written account of all our hardships, etc., carefully enclosed in bark, into the small barrel by the bung-hole, which being carefully secured, I consigned this epistolatory cargo to the mercy of the current.”

I’d sure like to know if that “message in a rum keg” was ever found...

May 28, 1793. 227 Years Ago To-day.

Day 20.

Excerpts from journals of Alexander MacKenzie's Voyage to the Pacific Ocean via the Peace River.

     

“The day was very cloudy. The mountains on both sides of the river seemed to have sunk, in their elevation, during the voyage of yesterday. To-day they resumed their former altitude, and run so close on either side of the channel, that all view was excluded of everything but themselves.”

     It’s easy to see what he means, by looking at the area on Google Earth, or on a contour map. He is in the heart of The Rocky Mountain range.  Large peaks are very near the river channel, on both sides. (Picture 1, taken 1906)

  “In the afternoon we approached some cascades...Here we observed an encampment of the natives, though some time had elapsed since it had been inhabited.” 

He doesn’t tell us how many miles he has gone, due to the fact that he lost his book of course notes for these days. However we know where he was camped on the 27th and that he is heading west. He doesn’t know it yet but he will soon be at the forks, at the headwaters in the Rocky Mountain trench where the Peace River is formed by rivers joining it from the north, and south.  

     “We took our station on the shore about six in the evening, about three miles above the last rapid.”

May 27, 1793. A Short Doze. (Day 19)

Alexander MacKenzie's Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, via the Peace River.

“The weather was clear, and we continued our voyage at the usual hour, when we successively found rapids and points to impede our progress.” 

Picture 1. Photo taken on the Peace River looking downstream, 3 miles above Carbon Creek, (the valley upper right) as seen in 1929 by the Swannell survey team. Passing through here that early morning, the explorer's views would have been very similar.

     “At noon our latitude was 56.5.54 North.” Checking in with Google Earth, he is very close, if not exact, with his latitude reckoning on this day. They have so far traveled upstream about 300 river miles, since leaving Fort Fork 19 days ago. For the next few days the “courses of my voyage” are omitted from his journals; and the reason for it is quite amusing. “I lost the book that contained them. I was in the habit of sometimes indulging myself with a short doze in the canoe, and I imagine that the branches of a tree brushed my book from me, when I was in such a situation, which renders the account of these few days less distinct than usual.”

Picture 2. (An example of MacKenzie’s longhand-writing style is shown, in this image of his will)        

He often stays up late observing the stars and planets and/or writing in his journal, so he “indulges himself” with a snooze in the canoe when he can.

      

      “The Indians killed  a stag, and one of the men who went to fetch it was very much endangered by the rolling down of a large stone from the heights above him.”

      There are dangers from above,  and everywhere they go on this journey.

May 26, 1793. Blanket Coats.

Following Alexander MacKenzie's overland Voyage to the Pacific Ocean via the Peace River. (Day 18)

“The weather was clear and sharp, and between three and four in the morning we renewed our voyage, our first course being West by South three miles and a half, when the men complained of the cold in their fingers, as they were obliged to push on the canoe with the poles.” 

This is the first complaint of the cold, even though they have been paddling and poling on the river since May 9th.

      “Though the sun had shone on us throughout the day, the air was so cold that the men, though actively employed, could not resist it without the aid of their blanket coats.”

No thinsulate or Gore-tex in the 18th century; just “blanket coats”.

”Our next course was South-West two miles, when we encountered a rapid, and saw an encampment of the Knisteneaux.”

     The explorers of the day used this term for various tribes they encountered North and West of Lake Superior; (s. wikipedia), what I have read suggests that MacKenzie here refers to the Cree, First Nation. Since reaching the Rockies, he seems to be avoiding contact with them. 

Picture 1. This photo was taken in 1929 by the Swannell survey team and shows some of the river they would have battled this day. All under Lake Williston now. 

“Here a river poured in on the left, which was the most considerable that we had seen since we passed the mountain. At seven in the evening we landed and encamped.”

To-day’s encampment 227 years ago was at, or near to, the mouth of Carbon Creek.

May 25, 1793. Token Of Amity.

Alexander MacKenzie’s Voyage to the Pacific (Day 17)

“It rained throughout the night, and till twelve this day; while the business of preparing great and small poles, and putting the canoe in order etc., caused us to remain here till five in the afternoon. I now attached a knife, with a steel, flint, beads, and other trifling articles to a pole, which I erected, and left as a token of amity to the natives.”

Picture 1 - shows a french trade knife of the period. Probably typical of the ones they used and traded.

Picture 2 - a (reproduction) striker and flint.

“The water had risen during our stay here one foot and a half perpendicular height.”

The river is rising every day as the snow melts off the Rocky Mountains. They were all on an arduous three day overland portage and hadn’t seen the river since.

“We now embarked, and our course was North-West one mile and three quarters. There were mountains on all sides of us, which were covered with snow; one in particular, on the South side of the river, rose to a great height.” 

      -The mountain is one we know as Mt. Gething. They had a late start this day but still managed to make a few river miles. Tomorrow will be an early start.

    

 “We continued to proceed West...when we encamped for the night...killed a small elk.”

May 24, 1793. Felled With Axes.

Excerpts from the Journals of Alexander MacKenzie. (Day 16)

      “We continued our very laborious journey, which led us down some steep hills, and through a wood of tall pines. After much toil and trouble in bearing the canoe through the difficult passages we encountered, at four in the afternoon arrived at the river, some hundred yards above the rapids or falls, with all our baggage.”

     Finally. The exhausted crew can now look forward to putting the canoe back in the water. 

       “Those of my people who visited this place on the 21st, were of the opinion that the water had risen very much since that time. About two hundred yards below us...are deep round holes...some of which are full of water, while others are empty, in whose bottom are small round stones, as smooth as marble...At a small distance below the first of these rocks, the channel widens...and it was really awful to behold with what infinite force the water drives against the rocks...”

The river is high, and rising. Sadly these ancient formations are now buried under "two hundred yards" of lake water.

He concedes that the First Nations portage route would have been better; “But after all, the Indian-carrying way...will always be found more safe and expeditious…”

And it was used by every adventurer thereafter. 

      “By the number of trees which appeared to have been felled with axes, we discovered that the Knisteneaux, or some tribes who are known to employ that instrument, had passed this way. We passed through a snare enclosure, but saw no animals, though the country was very much intersected with tracks.”

      In this part of the 18th century world, the fur trader’s axe was still a new and obviously extremely important technology.