How Alexander Mackenzie Beat Lewis and Clark

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In this episode of pplpod, we explore the life of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, the Scottish-born fur trader who made the first recorded European crossing of North America north of Mexico, a dozen years before Lewis and Clark. Born around 1764 in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, he emigrated at 10 with his father, a loyalist, to a New York on the brink of revolution. Sent to Montreal for safety and orphaned by 1780, he apprenticed with a fur trading firm that was absorbed into the North West Company in 1787, and by 1788 he was working in the Athabasca region.

The episode follows Mackenzie's 1789 voyage down the river the Dene described, which he hoped would reach the Pacific but which led to the Arctic Ocean, earning it the private nickname "River Disappointment." Recognizing that weak navigation skills had contributed to his failure, he studied longitude and astronomy in Britain from 1791 to 1792. In 1793 he set out again with a crew that included his cousin Alexander Mackay, two Indigenous guides, six voyageurs, and a dog. Warned that the Fraser River canyon was impassable, he followed Indigenous grease trails to the coast with help from the Nuxalk, reaching the Pacific 48 days after George Vancouver had left. Blocked by hostile Heiltsuk, he marked a rock in Dean Channel with vermilion and bear grease on July 22, 1793. After publishing his journals in 1801, he was knighted in 1802, retired to Scotland, married a young heiress, and died around age 56 of Bright's disease, leaving a legacy of adaptability, reliance on Indigenous knowledge, and a river that bears his name.

In this episode we cover...

• Mackenzie's Scottish origins, his loyalist family's flight from revolutionary New York, and his apprenticeship in the Montreal fur trade
• The North West Company, the push for a Pacific route, and the 1789 voyage that ended at the Arctic Ocean
• His study of longitude and astronomy in Britain, and the assembly of his 1792 to 1793 expedition crew
• The physical demands on the voyageurs, the role of pemmican, and the Indigenous grease trails that guided the route to the Pacific
• The near miss with Vancouver, the Dean Channel rock inscription, his knighthood, his retirement, his death, and his legacy

Source credit: Research for this episode included transcript materials and supporting North American fur trade, Canadian exploration, Indigenous history, navigation, and biographical sources accessed October 31, 2026. Content is summarized and adapted for commentary and educational use.