Mackenzie and his fellow countryman, Mackay, allowed nothing to dismay them or damp their spirits.

Bark was obtained from the forest, the canoe was repaired, and they heard from their guide that this violent little stream would before long join a great and much smoother river.

But they were tormented with sandflies and mosquitoes, and a day or two afterwards the guide bolted, while the expedition had to cross morasses in which they were nearly engulfed, and the water journey was constantly obstructed by driftwood.

Nevertheless, at last they had "the inexpressible satisfaction of finding themselves on the bank of a navigable river on the western side of the first great range of mountains".

Here they re-embarked, and were cheerful in spite of heavy rain.
As they paddled down this great stream, more than two hundred yards wide, snow-capped mountains rose immediately above the river.