290 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
IApril 9, 1904. 
Trails of the Pathfinders. 
v.— Alexander Mackenzie* 
To the Frozen Ocean. 
Of the early explorers of the north none is more cele- 
brated than Alexander Mackenzie, the first man to pene- 
trate from the interior to the Frozen Ocean, and the 
first in the farther north to cross the continent. Among 
the leaders of the northwest he is pre-eminent as a dis- 
coverer, and of the early northmen his name is the most 
often mentioned. His journeyings — that to the Arctic 
made in the year 1789, and that across the continent in 
1792 and 1793 — are told of in a splendid volume, pub- 
lished in London in the year 1801, entitled, "Voyages 
from Montreal and the River St. Lawrence, Through 
the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pa- 
cific Oceans, in the Year 1789 and 1793." Its publication 
was soon followed by the conferring of knighthood on 
the author. 
The earliest explorations into the interior of this con- 
tinent were all of them by water. By water, the first 
missionaries pushed their way up the St. Lawrence and 
through the Great Lakes, and then crossing over by 
short portages to the Mississippi, journeyed down that 
great highway of more modern times until they came 
to the Gulf of Mexico. Later, missionaries and ex- 
plorers and traders, still from Montreal, followed the 
water trail up the Great Lakes to the Grand Portage, 
and thence pushed westward until they reached Lake 
Winnipeg, the Saskatchewan, and all that broad country 
which lies east of the northern Rocky Mountains. The 
frail birch canoe carried their scanty provisions and their 
goods for trade, and returned laden to the gunwale with 
rich packages of furs. Later still, when the people of the 
United States began to push westward, it was down the 
Allegheny and the Ohio — still largely by water— that 
their journeyings were conducted. 
Alexander Mackenzie was fur trader, and he made his 
way westward, by the usual route, to the Grand Poit- 
age, Lake Winnipeg, then up the Saskatchewan and 
across to Fort Chipewyan, on the Lake of the Hills — 
now known as Athabaska Lake. Though the journey 
was long, it was full of interest; the country had been 
seen by few white people, it abounded in life of many 
descriptions, all wild, and for the most part undisturbed. 
He reached Fort Chipewyan, with ninety or a hundred 
men, and without any provision for their sustenance; 
but the lake was full of fish, its shores abounded with 
game. The autumn fishing was successful, and the 
cold during the winter intense, sO' that fish were caught 
in great numbers, and frozen, remaining good until 
spring. During the spring and fall great numbers of 
wild fowl resorted to the lakes, and immense numbers 
were killed, so that for short terms the geese supported 
the life of the traders. 
From the earliest settlement of Canada the fur trade 
had been regarded as of the greatest importance to the 
colony, but the settling of eastern Canada soon made fur 
hunting profitless there, and the French pushed further 
and further west in search of furs. Hence had arisen the 
class of voyageurs, known also as coureurs des bois, who 
pushed into the Indian country, each carrying a little 
stock for trade, collected furs from the Indians, brought 
them back, and turned them over to the merchants who 
had furnished them their goods. At first their journeys 
were short, but, as time went on, and they pushed further 
and further in search of new and richer lands where 
fur was to be had, their trips lasted longer and longer, 
until at length they extended tO' a year or more. These 
voyageurs were as improvident as the Indians themselves, 
and, during the short periods that they spent in civiliza- 
tion, they commonly squandered in dissipation of one 
sort or another all that they had received for the hard 
labor of a year. Effort by the Church was made to 
stop their operations, on the ground that their dissipa- 
tion and licentiousness was likely to corrupt the natives, 
and to bring the Christian religion, of which they were 
supposed to be representatives, into disgrace. These ef- 
forts were fruitless; and until the close of the fur trade, 
many years later, the voyageur continued to exist, and 
to play his important part in the commerce and in the 
development of the far north. 
In 1783 and 1784, the Northwest Fur Company was 
established, in opposition to the Hudson's Bay Company, 
and included among its partners many of the most cele- 
brated traders of the north. Mackenzie had for five years 
been employed in the counting house of Messrs. Gregory 
and McLeod, and was admitted a partner in the North- 
west Company, and proceeded to the Indian country in 
1785. How enormous the trade that this company car- 
ried on is shown by a list of the returns for a single 
year, which show 106,000 beaver skins, 2,100 bear, 4,630 
otter, 17,000 musquash, 32,000 marten, 6,000 lynx, 600 
wolverine, 1,650 fisher, besides a less number of fox, 
kitfox, wolf, elk, racoon and deer skins, and buffalo 
robes. Mackenzie was astronomer _ as well as trader. 
He was also an observer who considered the economic 
possibilities of the country, its fauna and its flora, and 
especially the game, as well as the_ human inhabitants. 
|ifackfn?ie St^rte4 froii? Fprt QhipewySP^ Q|i tlif ^Qyt|^ 
side of the Lake of the Hills, June 3, 1789, in a birch- 
bark canoe. His crew consisted of four Canadians, a 
German, and two Indian women, an Indian interpreter, 
known as English Chief, and his two wives journeyed 
in a_ small canoe, while two young Indians followed in 
a third. English Chief had been one of the followers of 
a chief who was with Mr. Hearne on his explorations 
to the Coppermine River. A fourth canoe, in charge 
of one of the clerks of the company, Mr. Le Roux, ac- 
companied them, carrying a load of trade goods and 
presents, together with a part of the provisions and 
ammunition of the expedition. Their route was without 
much adventure until they reached Slave Lake, still 
covered with ice, somewhat melted near the shore. 
The gnats and mosquitoes which had troubled them 
during the first few days that they had been on their 
way, here left them. Mackenzie says: "The Indians 
informed me that at a very small distance from either 
bank of the river are very extensive plains frequented 
by large herds of buffaloes: while the moose and rein- 
deer keep in the woods that border on it. The beavers, 
which are in great numbers, build their habitations 
in small lakes and rivers, as in the larger streams 
the ice carries everything along with it during the spring. 
The mud banks in the river are covered with wild fowl, 
and we thi;i morning killed two swans, ten geese, and 
one beaver, without suffering the delay of an hour; so 
that we might have soon filled the canoe with them, if 
that had been our object." That same day they reached 
the house erected on Slave Lake by Messrs. Grant and 
Lc _ Roux in 1786, and here they stopped and pitched 
their tents, as it seemed likely that the ice would detain 
them for some time. The nets were set, and many fish 
were caught. Berries were already ripe, and the women 
were occupied in gathering them, while wildfowl were 
breeding, and they collected some dozens of their eggs. 
On Monday, June 15, the ice broke up near them, 
and cleared a passage to the islands opposite; and at 
sunset they embarked and crossed to them, where they 
stopped to gum their canoes, and the next day set out 
again, following the shores of the lake. Ice interrupted 
their passage from time to time, but they supplied them- 
selves with food by means of their nets. 
On the i8th, two' of the hunters killed a reindeer and 
its fawn. The ice continued to hinder them, but they 
vvrorked along slowly. On one of the islands that they 
passed reindeer were seen, and seven killed. The island 
was named Isle de Carre Boeuf. Here occurs a some- 
what unusual usage of the term pemmican, described to 
be "fish dried in the sun, and afterward pounded, for the 
convenience of carriage." The more common meaning 
of the term is, flesh dried and pounded and mixed with 
grease, as buffalo pemmican, elk pemmican, caribou pem- 
mican. On Tuesday, the 23d, the explorer met with a 
little camp — three lodges — of Red-Knife Indians, so 
called from their copper knives. They informed the ex- 
plorer that others of their people were near at hand. 
These Indians- — now known as Yellow-Knives — are of 
Athabaskan stock, thus allied to the Hare, Dog-rib, and 
Chipewyan peoples, also to the Navajos and Apaches of 
the south. They possessed some furs, and Mr. Le Roux 
secured from them eight packs of good beaver and 
marten skins. They seemed to know little or nothing 
about the country to the north, and Mackenzie's inquiries 
brought forth no useful information. 
The ice in the lake was still troublesome, though 
breaking up fast. On Monday, June 29, they entered 
the river by which Slave Lake discharges to the north, 
and made good progress down it. On both sides of the 
river the Indians reported that there were extensive 
plains, which abounded in buffalo and moose-deer. By 
this time the wildfowl had begun to molt, and the 
Indians no longer troubled to shoot them, but pursued 
them in their canoes, killing them with sticks, or cap- 
turing them alive. On the ist of July, keeping on down 
the river, they made a cache of provisions on an island. 
By this time they had come in sight of high mountains 
to the west, barren and rocky at the top, but well wooded 
on ihe slopes. 
On July 3, the current was stronger, and their progress 
still more rapid. They saw frequent signs of camps, but 
none of very recent occupation; but on the sth, smoke 
was seen on the north shore of the river, and as the 
canoes drew nearer, natives were discovered running 
about in apparent alarm. Some took refuge in the woods ; 
others hurried to their canoes. The hunters landed, and 
calling out to the Chipewyans in their own tongue, 
assured them that the party was a friendly one, and 
after some difficulty the Indians became convinced that 
there was no danger. These were five families of two 
different tribes, the Slave and the Dog-rib. Mackenzie 
offered them the pipe, though it was quite apparent that 
they were unacquainted with tobacco, and also, gave 
them a drink of grog, which also seemed new to them. 
However, they appreciated the beauties of knives, beads, 
awls, rings, hatchets, etc., and soon became so trustful 
of the party that "They became more familiar even than 
we expected, for we could not keep them out of our 
tents; though I did not observe that they attempted to 
purloin anything. 
"The information that they gave respecting the river 
had so much of the fabulous that I shall not detail it; 
it wHl be §qfEgient jy§t to pieption th§?r attewpti tP 
persuade us that it would require several winters to get 
to the sea, and that old age would come upon us before 
the period of our return ; we were also to encounter 
m.onsters of such horrid shapes and destructive power 
as could only exist in their wild imagination. They 
added besides that there were two impassable falls in 
the river, the first of which was about thirty days' march 
from us." 
While these stories did not affect Mackenzie, they did 
influence his Indians, who were already tired of the voy- 
age; and anxious to turn back, and it required some 
efl'ort to convince them that it was better to go on. 
One of the natives was persuaded to accompany them 
as a guide, and. though he afterward wished to withdraw, 
he was not allowed to, and with some ceremony he 
finally took his unwilling departure with the white men. 
These people used bone knives, were tattooed on the 
face, wore a goose quill, or a small piece of wood, 
th rough the nose, and used vessels woven of wattap — 
the roots of the spruce or tamarack — in which they boiled 
their food by hot stones. Arrows were pointed with 
horn, flint, iron, or copper, and their axes were made 
of stone. They obtained from the neighboring Red- 
Knives and Chipewyans, by barter for skins, small pieces 
of iron, from which also they made knives. Their awls 
were of iron or horn. 
The guide whom they took from this country was 
anxious to return to his people, and had to be watched 
constantly to prevent his escape. As the explorers passed 
on northward they were constantly in sight of the ridge of 
snowy mountains to the west. "Our conductor informed 
us that great numbers of bears and small white buffaloes 
frequent those mountains, which are also inhabited by 
Indians." These white buffalo were, beyond question, 
the white goats which inhabit the mountains to the west 
of the Mackenzie River. Being animals unknown to 
the interpreter, who came frorri the lower country, they 
would be described as hoofed animals, shaggy, with a 
hump on the shoulders, and a beard, and with black 
horns ; and thus, might well enough have been described 
as white buffalo. 
The next day more natives were met with, who, as 
usual, fled on the approach of the white men. One old 
man, however, did not run, but approached the travelers, 
"and represented himself as too far advanced in life, 
and too indifferent about the short time he had to re- 
main in the world, to be very anxious about escaping 
from any danger that threatened him; at the same time, 
he pulled his gray hairs from his head by handfuls to 
distribute among us, and implored our favor for himself 
and for his relations. Our guide, however, at length 
removed his fears, and persuaded him to recall the fugi- 
tives, who consisted of eighteen people." These joyfully 
received the presents of beads, knives and awls, which 
were_ offered them, and overwhelmed the explorers with 
hospitable attentions, giving them food, which was gladly 
accepted. They told of dangers to be met with further 
down the river, and some of the natives accompanied 
Mackenzie's people to point out the safest channel of the 
rapids, which they declared to be just beyond; but as 
a matter of fact there were no rapids. The river was 
about three hundred yards broad, and Mackenzie's sound- 
ings gave fifty fathoms of water. 
Along the river there were almost continuous en- 
campments of Indians, all of whom were spoken to, and 
all of whom traded food, such as hares, ptarmigan and 
fish, to the travelers. The last parties met with were 
Hare Indians, who told wonderful stories of danger, and 
of fearful things to be met on the river ; and these terrors 
were not distant, for according to the Indians, behind 
an island opposite their camp dwelt a spirit in the river 
which swallowed every person that approached it. Un- 
fortunately, Mackenzie had no time to cross to the island 
and see whether it would swallow him. 
The people met a little further along were more at- 
tractive than those seen earlier, many of whom had been 
sick, while these were "healthy, full of flesh, and clean 
in their persons." Their ornaments and utensils did not 
differ greatly from those further up the river. They 
had a little iron, which they obtained from the Eskimos ; 
their arrows were made of very light wood, and winged 
with two feathers, while their bows were of the Eskimo 
type, of two pieces spliced with sinew. Their shirts were 
not cut square at the bottom, but tapered to a point from 
the belt downward as low as the knee, before and be- 
hind, and these points were fringed. Over the breast, 
back and shoulders their shirts were also fringed, the 
fringe being ornamented with the stone of a berry, which 
was drilled and run on each string of the fringe. The 
sleeves of the shirts were short and wide, and long mit- 
tens covered their hands and arms. Their leggings were 
like trousers, and the shoes sewed to the leggings. 
These people told them that it would take ten more 
nights to reach the sea, but after three nights they would 
meet the Eskimo. The reports of some guns discharged 
as the canoes pushed off, greatly alarmed the Indians, 
and the guide that they had hired at this place seemed 
inclined to leave them, until advised that the noise was 
a signal of friendship. The guide and two of his com- 
panions who accompanied them on their journey were 
merry fellows, singing not only their native songs, but 
others in imitation of the Eskimos'. Not satisfied with 
|Wgin|, th?ir fuide |)roceeded tg dative, mi \XM%i%xm% 
