Journal of the Voyage to the Pacific
by Alexander Mackenzie
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Description
In 1793 Sir Alexander Mackenzie completed the first crossing of the North American continent, more than a decade before Lewis and Clark. Although overshadowed by the latter expedition, Mackenzie's journey was one of the great feats in the history of exploration. With a small party of French-Canadian voyageurs, the explorer traversed some of the most forbidding terrain on the continent, including the Rocky Mountains, and reached the Dean Channel on the Pacific coast of British Columbia on show more July 22. Although Mackenzie's actual journal of the trek has been lost, a book based on it appeared in 1801. It has long been recognized by authorities as a primary document of western Americana. Until the first publication of the present volume, however, Mackenzie's book had never been published in a properly annotated edition. Walter Sheppe not only edited and annotated Mackenzie's text, he personally retraced much of the explorer's route, adding an extra dimension of personal experience to his preparation of this volume. The result is a rich chronicle of a remarkable journey, replete with Mackenzie's firsthand accounts of extraordinary places (many still as inaccessible as in 1793), and a wealth of invaluable observations on Indian tribes, plants, wildlife and other aspects of the expedition. In addition, Mr. Sheppe has provided a brief outline of the explorer's life, a detailed day-to-day itinerary of the journey, his own field notes when he retraced Mackenzie's steps and a discussion of the journal's provenance. - Back cover. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Well written and engrossing, Alexander Mackenzie's account of his travels across Canada is well balanced between exciting adventures and descriptive details of his trip. The book makes for a quick and entertaining read, as Mackenzie describes that hardships of taking a canoe halfway across Canada (and marching the rest of the way) past Native American tribes, some of whom had never seen a white man before. Unlike some of the early explorers, Mackenzie seemed to have a fairly progressive attitude toward native people (unless they stole something, which made him a bit Cook-esque) which also helped me really enjoy this book. One of my favorite North America exploration accounts for its readability and story.
This is an absolutely terrific book. I don't understand why it's not more popular.
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Author Information
18+ Works 193 Members
Awards and Honors
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Alexander MacKenzie; Mr. Mackay
- Dedication
- To his most sacred majesty George the third, this volume is inscribed, by his majesty's most faithful subject and devoted servant, Alexander Mackenzie
- First words
- Having made every necessary preparation, I left Fort Chepewayan to proceed up the Peace River.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)As I have now resumed the character of a trader, I shall not trouble my readers with any subsequent concern, but content myself with the closing information, that after an absence of 11 months, I arrived at Fort Chepewyan, where I remained for the purposes of trade, during the succeeding winter.
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Travel, History, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, Art & Design
- DDC/MDS
- 917.204 — History & geography Geography & travel Geography of and travel in North America Mexico, Central America, And The Caribbean
- LCC
- F1060.7 .M178 — Local History of the United States, Canada and Latin America Canada Canadian Northwest. Northwest Territories
Statistics
- Members
- 62
- Popularity
- 498,111
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 1
- ASINs
- 2
