In descending the Mackenzie River, and again on the return journey upstream, Mackenzie notices the abundance of berries on the banks of the river, especially the kind which was called “pears” by the French Canadians.  These were of a purple hue, rather bigger than a pea, and of a luscious taste.  There were also gooseberries and a few strawberries.  Quantities of berries were collected and dried, but while on the lower Mackenzie the expedition fed mainly on fat geese.  On the beach of the great river they found an abundance of a sweet fragrant root which Mackenzie calls “liquorice”.

Mackenzie seemed to think that along the lower Mackenzie River, near the sea, there were not only reindeer, bears, wolverines, martens, foxes, and hares, but a species of white buffalo or white musk ox, which may have been the mountain goat above referred to.  He noted, in the cliffs or banks of the lower Mackenzie, pieces of “petroleum” which bore a resemblance to yellow wax but was more friable.  His Indian guide informed him that rocks of a similar kind were scattered about the country at the back of the Slave Lake, near where the Chipewayans collected copper.  If so, there may be a great oilfield yet to be discovered in Arctic Canada.

On the river coming out of the Bear Lake Mackenzie discovered coal; the whole beach was strewn with it.  He was attracted towards it by seeing smoke and noticing a strong sulphurous smell.  The whole bank of the river was on fire for a considerable distance, and he thought this was due to the natives having camped there and set fire to the coal in the bank from their hearths.  But subsequent travellers have also found this lignite coal burning to waste, and imagine that, being full of gas, it catches fire spontaneously if any landslip or other accident exposes it to moist air.  In 1906 it was still burning!

According to Mackenzie, the ground in the regions about the lower reaches of the Mackenzie River is always frozen at least five inches down from the surface, yet he found small spruce trees growing in patches near the delta of this river, besides pale-yellow raspberries of an agreeable flavour, and a great variety of other plants and herbs.

As the expedition drew near to the estuary of the great Mackenzie River a range of lofty snowy mountains rose into sight on the west.  These mountains were said by the natives to swarm with large bears—­probably of the huge chocolate-coloured Alaska type; and again a mention was made of “small white buffaloes”, which were in all probability the large white mountain goat (Oreamnus).  The Amerindians along the river greatly magnified the dangers, predicting impassable rapids between the confluence of the Great Bear River and the sea.  But these stories were greatly exaggerated.  Every now and then the river would narrow and flow between white precipitous limestone walls of rock, but there was no obstacle to navigation, though it was very deep and the current fast.