"Alex MacKenzie / from Canada / by land / 22d July 1793"
July 22, 1793 - Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean down the Bella Coola River into Dean Channel of Bentinck Arm; mixes some vermilion in melted grease and inscribes and paints on a large rock: Alex Mackenzie from Canada by land 22d July 1793; First to cross the Great Divide and North America north of Mexico; his party set out in May, and travelled much of the way on foot; when they reached the Bella Coola River, they traded goods for canoes and paddled to the sea; hostile natives made them beat a hasty retreat upriver; back in Montréal, the North West Company can see no practical use for Mackenzie's route, but he will be knighted for his exploit. Dean Inlet, BCLewis and Clark were not the first Europeans to cross the continent and reach the Pacific. Instead, a Scottish-born explorer is credited with the first east-west journey across America north of Mexico. Though more obscure, the adventures and journey of Sir Alexander Mackenzie deserve to be remembered.
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