direct water route to the Arctic, approximately 1800 miles North. River Steamers, such as the “D.A. Thomas”, hauled huge scows loaded with freight for the Fur Trading Posts of the Hudson's Bay Company and Revillion Freres, but, owing to rapids, they could only travel 300 miles upstream and two hundred miles downstream, from Peace River Crossing, i.e. from Hudsons Hope to Vermilion (see map). One “Gas boat” – the “Lady Mackworth” (showing in the picture) ran the rapids below and made a trip to a Post much further north, but she had to stay down there as coming up again was impossible.
So it was at the Crossing that we completed our
