What problems did Alexander Mackenzie face?

Answer 1

Alexander Mackenzie, at the ripe age of 25, to embark on the first of two expeditions.

The first, launched in 1789, saw him head north on the Slave River. This turned out to be a bad choice in terms of his objectives, but he did discover a major new river, which today bears his name, and he followed it to its terminus in the Arctic Ocean. The second expedition was launched in 1792. Setting out in a 25 foot long birch bark canoe with his lieutenant, 6 French Canadian Voyageurs, and two Indians hunters who would also act as interpreters, they headed west on the Peace River. After 3 weeks of intense uphill paddling, they camped and waited out the winter. Competition between the Hudson Bay Company and the Northwest Company quickly expanded and Peter Pond, a partner in the NWC, believed that the river he mapped as flowing out from Lake Athabasca flowed west to the Pacific. Alexander Mackenzie searched for a river route through the Rocky Mountains but eventually followed the advice of local natives and took an overland passage. When they reached the Rocky Mountains his crew begged him to return home. They were very tired after such a difficult voyage, but Mackenzie was determined not to give up. He finally reached the Pacific Ocean on July 22, 1793, making him the first European to do so over land rather than by sea.

Answer 2

He emigrated to Canada in 1842, partly because of shortage of work in Scotland and partly because his childhood sweetheart, Helen Neil was also emigrating to Canada with her family.