58 Sir ALEXANDER MACKENZIE

naked that scarce a shrub was to be seen”,
the ground was solidly frozen four inches
beneath the surface, and yet it was covered
with grass and flowers.

On July 12 they reached what Mackenzie
calls “the entrance of the lake”, and what
was in fact the Arctic Ocean. They made for
“a high island” through very shallow water;
and Mackenzie and the English Chief climbed
to its summit. All round in front of them
they saw solid ice, blocking further progress,
and to the south-west the Rocky Mountains
were dimly visible. His voyageurs proved
their bravery: “My people could not, at this
time, refrain from expressions of real concern,
that they were obliged to return without
reaching the sea. . . . Even in our present
situation they declared their readiness to fol-
low me wherever I should be pleased to lead
them.”’ The travellers’ first impression was
that a lake lay in front of them, the ice on
which prevented their attaining their goal at
the ocean beyond. But evidence soon accumu-
lated that they were on the shore of the
ocean itself. That night the tide rose so that