TRUE TALES OF THE MACKENZIES

Developments at Norman Wells

Angus Sherwood worked for the Imperial Oil Company at Norman Wells from 1930 - 1950s, then remained there working at the government liquor store. Apparently, sometime in the '60s, he looked out the window at cars honking their horns, got annoyed, and penned these words to a sign which he placed outside by a large stone for everyone to see:

"Upon this stone, August 2, 1789, sat Alexander Mackenzie, whilst fighting mosquitoes and planning this present refinery. Since that date, this stone has been a saluting point for dogs, foxes, and wolves, in honor of the man who led the missionaries, fur-traders, tuberculosis, and tin cans down this great river to the polar sea. Lacking matches, cigarettes, radio, Esso gasoline, rubber boots, and tissue paper, Mackenzie made the round-trip from Lake Athabasca to the frozen ocean in 102 days in a bark canoe, powered by internal combustion Indians.

Modern pioneers complain if the toast is cold or the mail plane is late."

Clearly, Angus was an eloquent fellow. Before his Imperial Oil days, he was a fur trader and partner of Poole Field at Fort Simpson.

 

Ms. Elizabeth Taylor - First Woman Tourist down the Mackenzie

Traveling unescorted aboard Hudson Bay Company steamers down the Athabasca-Mackenzie waterways from Athabasca Landing to Fort McPherson and back again in a single season, the 36-year-old Ms. Elizabeth Taylor of St. Paul, MN, was the Mackenzie's first woman tourist in 1892. But, first, she had to cross the Atlantic Ocean by steamer, and most of Canada by railroad.

It all began while socializing with friends on St. Patrick's Day at a bistro in Paris, France. After telling of her childhood dream of visiting the Frozen Ocean - the Arctic, she accepted a dare to fulfill it. Being the daughter of James Taylor, Esq., the U.S. Consul to Winnipeg, and having traveled extensively thru Canada with him as a child, Ms. Taylor knew personally both the Canadian Pacific Railroad's and the Hudson Bay Company's top officials, making the necessary connections possible and gratis.

Leaving the Latin Quarter at the end of March, she arrived at the Mackenzie Delta in mid-July where Inuit women laughed at her French fashions. Among the fascinating people she met there was the Count de Sainville, also of Paris, who was mapping the delta.   Ms. Taylor traveled northern climes throughout her life, writing extensively of them till her death in 1932. Her remarkable stories, illustrated with drawings and photographs, are available as collected essays in "The Far Islands and Other Cold Places," from Pogo Press, St. Paul, MN, 1997.

Sleeping under galley tables, swatting mosquitoes, slogging along muddy river banks - the untold story awaits the interested reader.

 

Who is this famous Canadian, and what's he doing in Charlie Cholo's Deadmen Valley cabin?
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Click here for the astounding answer!

 

How did Frank and Willie McLeod meet their fate?

Click here for their surprising story.

Click here for information about an early Nahanni pioneer, Fenley Hunter. 

 

Ever wondered who built those 'odd, haunting' vertical-log cabins Patterson found in a dark grove by the Meilleur River?

Did you know of the outlaws who were taken into custody across from the Hot Springs in 1916?

What really happened to John Shabbach and Martin Jorgenson?

And how about that McLeod gold map Father Turcotte found?


These and many more true histories of the Nahanni will be revealed, here.

All history buffs are invited to join the "Nahanni History Society" - sponsored by the Albert Faille Wilderness League.

Send us an email, and we will keep you posted of upcoming events and revelations.


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