First Crossing: Alexander Mackenzie, His Expedition Across North America, and the Opening of the Continent
- Book Review,
by Derek Hayes
From Library Journal
Scottish-born Alexander Mackenzie's (1763-1830) journal of his travels across North America was published in 1801 as Voyages from Montreal on the River St. Laurence Through the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in the Years 1789 and 1793. Mackenzie undertook this voyage from Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, for the North West Company and became the first European to cross the North American continent from the East. His book was an immediate best seller. Napoleon Bonaparte requisitioned a French translation, and Lewis and Clark carried a copy on their westward journey. Hayes (Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest) here provides an exegesis of Mackenzie's journal, throwing light on the factors driving the Canadian fur trade, the adventures and misadventures of the fur traders, and the serendipitous discoveries that led to the opening of the Northwest. Like Hayes's earlier book, this is richly illustrated, containing several historic maps. Those who wish to read another account of Mackenzie's expedition across North America may refer to Barry Gough's First Across the Continent (Univ. of Oklahoma. 1997). Recommended for academic and large public libraries. Ravi Shenoy, Naperville P.L., IL Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The author begins this engrossing account with a brief history of Alexander Mackenzie's early years in the Canadian fur trade, then he focuses on the explorer's navigation of what came to be called the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean in 1789, and his expedition by boat and overland to the Pacific Ocean in 1793. Hayes draws on the journals of the Scottish-born explorer and those of other voyagers, having spent years researching the history of the Northwest and collecting historical maps of the region. Mackenzie's journals describe the hardships, dangers, weather, food, and the indigenous population and their villages. "In the distance of two miles we were obliged to unload four times and carry everything but the canoe," he records. "Our stock was reduced to 20 pounds of pemmican, 15 pounds of rice, and six pounds of flour, among 10 half-starved men in a leaky vessel, and on a barbarous coast." This book, illustrated with photographs, prints, and maps, is a vivid portrait of an intrepid adventurer. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
Timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition is this remarkable account of Alexander Mackenzie--the explorer who beat Lewis and Clark across the North American continent. Mackenzie accomplished this feat an astounding twelve years before the Corps of Discovery. Drawing extensively on the journals of Mackenzie and other turn-of-the-century explorers--and featuring historical and contemporary photographs, illustrations, and maps--Hayes presents a lively portrait of the explorer who both preceded Lewis and Clark and provided an impetus for their expedition.
From the Publisher
"[First Crossing is] great armchair history, made all the more compelling by an abundance of excellent illustrations." -- Carlos Schwantes, Ph.D., Pacific Northwest Historian
From the Inside Flap
Twelve years before Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific, Alexander Mackenzie became the first documented person to cross the North American continent. He accomplished this feat at a time when the western half of North America was still a blank -- unmapped, unexplored, and unclaimed. Although fur traders had penetrated into the interior of the continent, no one had yet made the crossing from one ocean to the other. An explorer and fur trader with the North West Company, Scottish-born Mackenzie lived during a time when fur-traders and world powers alike were vying for control of the New World's riches and lands. On the oceans, the myth of a Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific inspired countless sea explorations. On land, the dream of finding a navigable and commercially viable route across the continent fired the imaginations of many. Mackenzie undertook two historic voyages by canoe in search of a route to the Pacific. On his second attempt, he realized his dream. In July 1793 he reached Pacific tidewater not far from present-day Bella Coola, British Columbia, becoming the first person to cross the North American continent. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark would not equal his feat for another dozen years. Drawing on contemporary writings, including Mackenzie's own journal, this lively account details Mackenzie's life, explorations, adventures, and mis-adventures. Richly illustrated with present-day and archival photographs, as well as reproductions of historic maps (some never before published), it celebrates the exploits of an intrepid explorer and natural leader whose accomplishments set the state for future explorations, and who helped determine the national boundaries we know today.
About the Author
Derek Hayes, author of Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest, spent years researching Northwest history and collecting historical maps of the region. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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