Journals by Alexander Mackenzie — Read

Monday, June 10. -- At ten we were ready to embark. I then took leave of the Indians, but encouraged them to expect us in two moons, and expressed an hope that I should find them on the road with any of their relations whom they might meet. I also returned the beaver skins to the man who had presented them to me, desiring him to take care of them till I came back, when I would purchase them of him. Our guide expressed much less concern about the undertaking in which he had engaged, than his companions, who appeared to be affected with great solicitude for his safety.

We now pushed off the canoe from the bank, and proceeded east half a mile, when a river flowed in from the left, about half as large as that which we were navigating. We continued the same course three quarters of a mile, when we missed two of our fowling pieces, which had been forgotten, and I sent their owners back for them, who were absent on this errand upwards of an hour. We now proceeded northeast by east half a mile, northeast by north three quarters of a mile, when the current slackened; there was a verdant spot on the left, where, from the remains of some Indian timber-work, it appeared, that the natives have frequently encamped. Our next course was east one mile, and we saw a ridge of mountains covered with snow to the southeast. The land on our right was low and marshy for three or four miles, when it rose into a range of heights that extended to the mountains. We proceeded east-southeast a mile and a half, southeast by east one mile, east by south three quarters of a mile, southeast by east one mile, east by south half a mile, northeast by east one mile, southeast half a mile, east-northeast a mile and a quarter, south-southeast half a mile, north-northeast a mile and a half: here a river flowed in from the left, which was about one-fourth part as large as that which received its tributary waters. We then continued east by south half a mile, to the foot of the mountain on the south of the above river. The course now veered short, southwest by west three quarters of a mile, east by south a quarter of a mile, south half a mile, southeast by south half a mile, southwest a quarter of a mile, east by south a quarter of a mile, veered to west-northwest a quarter of a mile, southwest one eighth of a mile, east-southeast one quarter of a mile, east one sixth of a mile, south-southwest one twelfth of a mile, east-southeast one eighth of a mile, northeast by east one third of a mile, east by north one twelfth of a mile, northeast by east one third of a mile, east one sixteenth of a mile, southeast one twelfth of a mile, northeast by east one twelfth of a mile, east one eighth of a mile, and east-southeast half a mile, when we landed at seven o'clock and encamped. During the greatest part of the distance we came today, the river runs close under the mountains on the left.