Portage Moutain Dam, 12 miles west of Hudson Hope, Hwy 29
Seeking a route to the Pacific Ocean, this resolute fur trader and explorer, with his party of 9 men and a frail bark canoe, portaged nearby in May 1793 to avoid the awesome Peace River Canyon. On July 20 he reached tidewater. By this unrivaled achievement he became the first man to cross the Rockies and continental North America.
Alexander Mackenzie
56.0098991394043° N / -122.194999694824° W
Born in Stornoway, Scotland, Alexander Mackenzie first arrived in Canada in 1779. At the age of 26 he traveled into the Athabasca territory of northern Canada where he found the longest river in North America. The discovery of this waterway, which he mapped to the Arctic Ocean and now bears his name, opened vast fur trade possibilities as well as providing proof that a North West Passage did not exist south of 70° latitude.
Returning to England in 1791, Mackenzie studied surveying and astronomy in preparation for his goal to reach the Pacific. He returned to Lake Athabasca in 1792 and made his way to Fort Fork at the junction of the Peace and Smoky Rivers. In May of 1793, he set out for the Pacific in a 25 foot canoe with nine men and 3,000 lbs. of equipment.
Eventually, Mackenzie reached the Pacific Ocean by way of the Bella Coola River and Bentinck Arm on July 20th, 1793. Exhausted, the party spent the night of July 22nd on the shore of Dean Channel near a rock on which they inscribed in vermillion mixed with melted greasel a simple statement that has now become famous:
Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada, by land
the twenty-second of July,
one thousand seven hundred and ninety three
Mackenzie returned to Grand Portage in 1794 and was recognized for his achievements. However the route he charted was too difficult to be practical as a trading route.
Mackenzie returned to Montreal and acted as an agent for the North West Company until 1799 when he retired to England. His book 'Voyages from Montreal, on the River St. Laurence, through the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in the Year 1789 and 1793', was published in 1801. It drew attention to the importance of the Pacific coast.
In 1802 Mackenzie was knighted by King George III and returned to Lower Canada where he served as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1804-1808. In 1812 he married and purchased an estate in Scotland. He died in Britain in 1820.
Resources:
Alexander Mackenzie:
http://www.amvr.org/page23.htm
Canadian Encyclopedia Historica website:
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=ArchivedFeatures&Params=a261
