HISTORICAL EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE ON THIS DAY IN CANADA

3 June

Mackenzie Journeys West

Alexander Mackenzie began his exploration of the Mackenzie River on June 3, 1789, four years before becoming the first man to cross the North American continent.

Mackenzie came to Canada from Scotland when he was fifteen to become a clerk for the Northwest Company in Montreal. He became a minor partner and was sent to take charge of a trading post at Detroit. However, the Nor'westers needed young, rugged men in the north, and Mackenzie was sent to build a post on Lake Athabaska in 1785. He named it Fort Chipewyan.

Mackenzie soon became familiar with the surrounding territory, even Great Slave Lake, larger than Lake Ontario. There was a giant river running north from Great Slave Lake and Mackenzie wanted to know where it went: to the Pacific, or to the Arctic?

He set out in a canoe with a German, four French-Canadian voyageurs and two of their wives. The women's skills were essential on a long trip such as Mackenzie planned. The expedition paddled the 230 miles to Great Slave Lake, where they had to wait for two weeks because it was still frozen. By July 1, they were able to continue down the river which was, at times, six miles wide. After they had gone 500 miles, they met some Indians who tried to stop them from going farther. The Indians told such tales about the horrors of the river, and the evil spirits, that the German and the voyageurs were ready to turn back, but not Mackenzie.

By July 12 they had reached the river mouth. It was dreary and disappointing. The great river divided into narrow channels and flowed through marshy land into the Arctic Sea. Mackenzie spent three days there under the midnight sun, and then turned back. Two months later he reached Fort Chipewyan.

It seems incredible that Mackenzie and his companions could have covered such a distance by canoe in such a short time, especially as they had to paddle back against the current. From Great Slave Lake, the Mackenzie River is 1,200 miles long. The distance to and from Lake Athabaska, where Fort Chipewyan is located, must also be added.

3 June

-1668 Groseilliers sailed from England in Nonsuch, on a voyage that led to the forming of the Hudson's Bay Company.

-1672 Governor Frontenac left on a trip similar to Courcelles' and built Fort Frontenac at Cataraqui (now Kingston, Ontario).

-1778 First issue of the Montreal Gazette (Gazette Littéraire) was published.

-1799 The Island of St. John (Île St-Jean) was proclaimed as Prince Edward Island.

-1870 A delegation from British Columbia arrived at Ottawa to discuss a proposal to enter Confederation.

-1889 The first C.P.R. train arrived at Halifax.

-1909 W. L. Mackenzie King became Canada's first Minister of Labour.

-1918 An airmail service was inaugurated between Montreal, Boston, and New York.