BS NRE NI

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MACKENZIE’S ROCK

BY

Capt. R. P. BisHop

—e

hardly been appreciated, Sir Alexander Mackenzie's

voyage to the Pacific, being the first occasion on which
that coast was reached by land across the main body of
the continent, has generally been referred to at some
length in histories of North America.

ie the far-reaching extent of its results has

The explorer’s course from Fort Chipewyan to the
Pacific can now be clearly traced. The easterly portion,
following a water route as far as the mouth of the Black-
water, presents no difficulty to the student, but the notes
of the journey overland to the Bella Coola river, made
while the explorer was carrying a heavy load through the
day, are by no means easy to interpret. Fortunately
the famous Dr. Dawson, of the Geological Survey of
Canada, was able to define most of this part of the route
in the year 1876, when most of the old “‘back-pack”’ trails
could still be followed. A portion of the trail over the
Tsi-Tsutl Mountains, which Dr. Dawson did not have the
opportunity to follow, was located by the writer during
survey operations in 1923.

The historic arrival at the Pacific at Bella Coola is a
matter of great interest to the inhabitants of the valley, and
of proud tradition to those Indians whose forbears gave
Mackenzie a hospitable reception. Skimillick, a relation
of Soocumlick, who was chief of the “Friendly Village’!

INow known as Burnt Bridge. It was here that Mackenzie struck the Bella
Coola valley; see Alexander Mackenzie, Voyages from Montreal through the Continent
of North America, London 1801, pp. 318, 368.

Page Eleven