122 Srp ALEXANDER MACKENZIE

from this to determine his longitude with
approximate accuracy. “T had now deter-
mined my situation,” he writes, “‘which is the
most fortunate circumstance of my long, pain-
ful and perilous journey, as a few cloudy days
would have prevented me from ascertaining
the final longitude of it.” That is the note of
the true explorer.

(6) The Return

Mackenzie’s problem now was to get
back to Fort Chipewyan before winter set in,
with his men weary and his supplies almost
gone. He had learned in England of Van-
couver’s expedition, and there is some slight
evidence that he had hoped to meet Van-
couver’s vessels and return by sea. If he had
entertained this hope, he had never built upon
it; in any case it had now vanished, and the
return by land must begin at once. His imme-
diate situation was perilous; the hostile Indi-
ans were hanging round, and Mackenzie kept
the young chief with him only by force. They
travelled all the night of July 22, pressing for-
ward eagerly to leave their enemies behind.