102 Srr ALEXANDER MACKENZIE

would consent to the added and novel toil of
an overland march, Mackenzie took them into
his confidence. He told them that he had
resolved to try the land route, but that, if he
failed to reach the Pacific by it, he meant to
come back and descend the river to its mouth.
“‘T declared in the most solemn manner that I
would not abandon my design of reaching the
sea, if I made the attempt alone, and that I
did not despair of returning in safety to my
friends.” In reply his men assured him of
their zeal, and they made ready to depart up
the river. The guide whom they had engaged
insisted on going by land, and Mackenzie,
made wary by much experience, sent Mackay
and his two interpreters to keep him com-
pany. The village of Alexandria, named in
honour of the explorer, stands at the point
where he turned back.

Next morning (June 24) they were sud-
denly menaced by as acute a peril as any they
had met, though this time the danger was
from man, not nature. As they were toiling
against the current, Mackay and the two
Indians of the party appeared on the bank in