Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 37.djvu/380

 zie made the trip from Spokane to his post, cached his trade goods, and made his way to Astoria. Under winter conditions, it would be extremely difficult for him to even make the trip from Spokane to Fort Boise in this short time, as the air line distance between the two is more than two hundred sixty miles and much of it would be across mountains covered by many feet of snow. Also, it would not be feasible to send eighty horses across this trail in the spring before the high trails were open. This stretch of trail in those days was comparable to the Lolo trail, which Lewis and Clark found snowbound until late June. McKenzie's visit to Spokane and his furnishing Clarke with horses indicates there was a comparatively short and easy route between the two posts.

The only approach to Fort Boise by boat is up the canyon of the Snake River. The list of activities given above would have required McKenzie to make his trip through the canyon at least four times—once to reach the post in August, once to reach Astoria in January, once to return in February (using but twenty-two days for the trip) and the last time when he left in the spring. Actually neither he nor any of his party made this trip at this time. This can be proved by the report of McKenzie's first trip through the same canyon early in the year 1819. This report is taken from Ross:

"After a short respite of only seven days at Nez Perces (Fort Walla Walla) allowing himself scarcely time to repose and recount his adventures, this indefatigable man set out anew, through ice and snow, to examine the state of navigation in the Snake country by the South Branch. For this purpose, he and his handful of Canadians, six in number, embarking on board of a barge, left Fort Nez Perce and proceeded up Lewis river. ... After a voyage of two months, the boat with four of the men returned to this place while McKenzie and the other two pushed forward. ... McKenzie's letter by return of boat was dated "Point Successful, Head of Narrows, April 15, 1819." He stated that "the passage by water is now proved to be safe and practicable for loaded boats, without one single portage; therefore the doubtful question is set at rest forever. Yet from the force of the current, and the frequency of rapids, it may still be advisable and perhaps preferable to continue the land transport. ... We had often recourse to the line. ... There are two places with bold cut rocks on either side of the river, where the great body of water is compressed within a narrow compass, which may render those parts doubtful during the floods, owing to rocks and whirlpools.""