The man who made east and west meet

Published on Wednesday 29 November 2006 10:19

THE OPPRESSED islanders of Harris and Lewis figure prominently in the history of Canada. That nation even issued a stamp to remember one of the first groups that arrived on the good ship Hector. But one Hebridean immigrant holds a special place in Canadian hearts: Alexander Mackenzie - the first man to carve a way through from the spreading settlements of the east to the shores of the Pacific.

Mackenzie was born in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in 1764. His mother died when he was young and life would have been hard for the family. He did not come to Canada to be an explorer, but arrived at the age of 16 with his father Kenneth and two sisters to join his Uncle John Mackenzie, who had already begun a new life in the new world.

Starting behind the desk of a fur-trading company in Montreal, the adventurous Scot was soon at the sharp end of the trade. He and his cousin Roderick Mackenzie eventually set up a trading post at Fort Chipewyan in what is now northern Alberta. From that base he became convinced there would be a route across the Rockies to the Pacific. At that time, no-one had crossed the continent north of Mexico.He did not succeed immediately. His first trip – 3,000 miles in eight days – was summed up by the name of the great river he discovered on 10 July 1789 – the River of Disappointment. To honour this great Scot, it is now known as the Mackenzie River, in Canada's Northwest Territories.

In 1791 Mackenzie returned home to Britain where he studied new advances in the measurement of longitude. Armed with this knowledge he set out again to the New World.

His 1793 trip was more fruitful. Two months after setting out with a team of seven British and French settlers and two local guides, he reached the Pacific, becoming the first European to cross North America. There, in the explorer's words:

"We took possession of a rock where there was not space for more than twice our number and which admitted defending ourselves with advantage."

The following morning he "mixed up some vermilion in melted grease and inscribed in large characters – 'Alexander Mackenzie from Canada by land, 22d July 1793'."

That rock and not the face of Mackenzie adorns the stamps issued by Canada to mark the 150th anniversary of his death.

Mackenzie published a full account of his voyages in 1795 with - in the trademark of Scottish explorers - a wealth of information that proved invaluable to the next generation. He was knighted for his achievements in 1802 and six years later came home to Scotland to live in Avoch House on the Black Isle. He died there in 1820 from a kidney disease but will always be remembered in Canada as the man who bridged east and west.

If you enjoyed reading this, you may want to read:

A harrowing voyage to Canada for early Scots