“I now mixed up some vermilion in melted grease, and inscribed, in large char-
acters, on the South East face of the rock on which we had slept last night, this brief
memorial—

“Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada, by land, the twenty-second of July, one
thousand seven hundred and ninety-three.””

I will now quote an incident of Mackenzie’s return
voyage which throws additional light on the subject:

“As I thought that we were too near the village, I consented to
leave this place, and accordingly proceeded North-East three miles,
when we landed on a point, in a small cove, where we should not be
readily seen, and could not be attacked except in our front.’

The words ‘“‘could not be attacked except in our front”’
invite comparison with The Rock and the abandoned village
site, both of which Mackenzie had already described as ‘‘well
suited for defence.” They were well suited for defence
against attacks from the main channels to the North or
South but not against one from the ‘‘troublesome fellow’s”’
village in Elcho Harbour; and the fact that canoes from
this direction could creep up unseen to within a few hundred
feet of The Rock explains Mackenzie’s desire to move
further from the village to a place where “we could not be
attacked except in our front.”

“The two canoes which we had left at our last station, followed
us hither, and when they were preparing to depart, our young chief
embarked with them. I was determined, however, to prevent his
escape, and compelled him, by actual force, to come on shore, for |
thought it much better to incur his displeasure than to suffer him to
expose himself to any untoward accident among strangers, or to
return to his father before us. The man in the canoe made signs for
him to go over the hill, and that they would take him on board at the
other side of it.’7

26 See page 349, Mackenzie’s Voyages.
27 See page 350, Mackenzie's Voyages. Page Twenty-five