|
Chapter X - Fame Achieved and the
Ebbing Tide
THE time of Alexander
Mackenzie's retirement from the upper country became an era of
trouble and excitement for the North-West Company. The old lion of
Montreal, Simon McTavish, had always borne the reputation of a
tyrannical and domineering leader. As years fell upon him he became
more and more unpopular, and as he was the moving spirit at
headquarters in Montreal, there was a wide-spread feeling that the
interests of the wintering partners, as the leading traders
throughout the north and west were called, were in jeopardy. The
derisive nicknames Le Marquis, and Le Premier, applied to McTavish
are indications of this feeling.
A corresponding
spirit of confidence on the part of the winterers may be detected as
gathering around Alexander Mackenzie. This no doubt partly arose
from self-interest, and the feeling of animosity to Simon McTavish,
but it was also a tribute to the ability and capacity of the
explorer of the Mackenzie River and of the route to the Pacific
Ocean. It was certainly remarkable that a young man of thirty-one,
and one whose fur-trading experiences had been mostly in the frozen
north should thus rise so soon into prominence and influence. Yet so
it was.
It was his duty now,
having left the upper country, to take a leading part in the great
annual gathering at Grand Portage. To this gathering McTavish rarely
came. No doubt the presence of Mackenzie would serve as a
rallying-point for discontent, as the young trader had belonged to
the minor company, which had united with the greater in 1787. The
desire to separate from the old company and be free of the
intolerable control from Montreal showed itself at Grand Portage in
1795. Several traders left the old company and cast in their lot
with "Forsyth, Richardson & Co.," the rival of Le Premier, Though
Alexander Mackenzie could not extricate himself from the affairs of
the old company, yet his sympathies were plainly with the
discontented. If Simon McTavish was the impetuous Ajax, Mackenzie
was Achilles sulking in his tent.
The new North-West
Company perfected its organization in 1795-6, and gave great
evidences of vigour and pluck. To Lake Superior, to the Red River,
to the Assiniboine and Swan Rivers, and to far distant Athabaska, it
brought back the memories of the fierce days of 1783, when Mackenzie
made his great dash for the English River. The new company was
called the X. V. because the bales of the North--West Company being
marked N. W., these were the next letters of the alphabet. Its work
prospered, though it must be confessed that more heartburning and
unfair competition resulted; and greater use of strong drink, as an
agency in dealing with the Indians, was made than ever before or
since in the fur trade. With the sympathy, possibly with the hidden
assistance of Alexander Mackenzie, the "Little Coznpany" or X.Y.'s,
undoubtedly made great headway, and, somewhat arrogantly, built
their emporium at Grand Portage, in 1797, within half a mile of the
chief establishment of the North-West Company.
At the annual
gathering Alexander Mackenzie stated his intention of withdrawing
from the old company. The utmost plainness of speech was indulged in
by many present about Le Marquis, and much ill-feeling shown.
Mackenzie proved firm in carrying out his intention, and, leaving
the company, set sail for home. It was shortly before this time that
he seems to have had an opportunity of coming within the shadow of
the court of St. James having been chosen to be the travelling
companion in Canada and the United States of Edward, Duke of Kent,
the father of our late Queen Victoria. No doubt this gave him some
claim to notice in England.
We have seen that in
the year when Mackenzie returned from the Pacific coast expedition
he sought to prepare the materials for giving to the world an
account of his two great voyages. His cousin, Roderick McKenzie, had
the pen of a ready writer, and it is generally believed that he gave
him much help in preparing his journal. Others attach little
importance to this suggestion, inasmuch as the journal, being very
much of the nature of a log, shows little literary merit. Going to
England, arrangements were at once made for its publication.
The book [Voyages
from Montreal on the River St. Lawrence, through the Continent of
North. America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans: in the years 1789
and 1793.] appeared in 1801, and obtained a very favourable
reception. From the time of old John Hakluyt, the Puritan prebendary
of St. Paul's Cathedral, who made a collection of English aria other
voyages, the English people have dearly loved books of travel. From
the Earl of Selkirk's own lips we learn that it was this book which
first called his attention to Rupert's Land, and led him to lay the
foundation of his colony on the Red River.
A great tribute to
Sir Alexander Mackenzie's work comes from an unexpected quarter.
William Mackenzie, of Gairloch, an old friend of Sir Alexander,
wrote in 1856 a very interesting letter to Sir Alexander's son, the
heir of Avoch. It is given to me by the family, though it once
before appeared in the appendix of one of R. M. Ballantyne's smaller
works. It is as follows:-
"Leamington, May 24th,
1856.
When in Stockholm in
1824, Lord I3lootnfield, our minister there, did me the honour of
presenting me to the king - Bernadotte, father of the present king
of Sweden. At the king's special request the audience was a private
one, and I was further especially requested to oblige by coming in
my full Highland dress. The audience lasted fully an hour. Such an
interest did Napoleon's first and most fortunate marshal take in
everything which was Highland, not even the skean dhu escaped him,
etc., etc. I now come to your family portion of the audience.
"As we chatted on,
(old Bernadotte, leaning upon my o'keachan, claymore) he was pleased
to say, in that suaviter in modo, for which his eagle eye so fitted
him, 'Yes, I repeat it—you Highlanders are deservedly proud of your
country and your forefathers, and your people are a race apart,
distinct from all the rest of Britain in high moral as well as
martial bearing, and long, I hope, may you feel and show it
outwardly by this noble distinction in dress. But allow me to
observe, sir, that in your family name and in the name Mackenzie
there is a very predominant lustre, which shall never be obliterated
from my mind. Pray are you connected in any way with Sir Alexander
Mackenzie, the celebrated North American traveller, whose name and
researches are immortalized by his discoveries in the Arctic Ocean
and of the river which since then does honour to his name?'
"I informed His
Majesty that as a boy I had known him well, and that our families
and his were nearly connected. This seemed to give tale still
greater favour with him, for familiarly putting his hand on my
shoulder brooch, he replied that, on that account alone, his making
my acquaintance gave him greater satisfaction. He then proceeded to
tell Lord Bloomfield and me how your father's name had become
familiar to him and so much valued in his eyes.
"He said that at one
time Napoleon had arranged to distract the affairs of Britain by
attacking her in her Canadian possessions ; not by a direct descent
upon them, but by a route which would take England quite by surprise
and prove infallible. That route was to be of the Mississippi, Ohio,
etc., up to our Canadian border lakes. For this arrangements were to
be made with America—New Orleans occupied as a pied-a-terre by
France, etc.
"'The organization
and command of this gigantic enterprise,' as Bernadotte said, `was
given to me by the Emperor with instructions to make myself master
of any work which could bear upon it, and the facilities the nature
of the country afforded. Foremost among these the work of your
namesake (Sir Alexander Mackenzie) was recommended, but how to get
at it, with all communication with England interdicted, all
knowledge of English unknown to us, seemed a difficulty not easily
to be got over. However, as every one knows, my then master,
L'Empereur, was not the man to be overcome by such small
difficulties. The book, a huge quarto, was procured through
smugglers, and in an inconceivably short space of time most
admirably translated into French for my especial use. I need hardly
add with what interest I perused and reperused that admirable work
till I had made myself so thoroughly master of it that I could
almost fancy myself (this he said laughing heartily) taking your
Canada en revers from the tipper waters, and ever since I have never
ceased to look upon the home and think of the author with more than
ordinary respect and esteem.'
"After a short pause
and a long-drawn breath, almost amounting to a sigh, accompanied by
a look at Bloomfield and a most expressive `Ah, mi lord, que des
chanzgements depuis ccs, jours-la!' Bernadotte concluded by saying
that the Russian campaign had knocked that of Canada on the head
until Russia was crushed, but it had pleased God to ordain it
otherwise—'et viaintenant vie voila Roi de Suede' (his exact words
as he concluded these compliments to your father). So much for old
recollections of my sunny days of youth.
"Yours faithfully,
"Wm. Mackenzie " (Gairloch)
"To George Mackenzie,
Esqre.,
" Avoch. "
Miss Mackenzie, of
Fortrose, the granddaughter of Sir Alexander, sends word to the
writer:--"We have the French edition of Sir Alexander Mackenzie's
travels, on which the following is written in an old hand,
'Napoleon's copy from St. Helena.' It is also stamped with the
French eagle. This book contains an engraving of Lawrence's portrait
of Sir Alexander, and also a map, showing his travels in 1789." This
copy was sent to the Mackenzie family by an old friend from the
continent.
Another notable
circumstance in the life of the successful explorer was his
acquaintance in Canada with the Duke of Kent, the father of our late
Queen Victoria. The duke had, in 1792, and for a few years
afterwards, been stationed in Canada and Nova Scotia, and becoming
acquainted with Alexander Mackenzie had Honoured him with his
favour, and had afterwards kept up a correspondence with the fur
trader. After coming to Britain Sir Alexander was further honoured
in being at times a travelling companion of the duke.
Nov that Alexander
Mackenzie had become famous as the writer of so valuable and
interesting an account of his voyages, and had the favour of one so
high in the affairs of state as the Duke of Kent it was not
surprising that the honour of knighthood should be conferred by the
king on the modest and courageous explorer.
Honoured by royalty,
appreciated by the English public, and, as we have seen, known upon
the continent as a successful explorer who had written a history of
the fur trade, we can readily imagine that on his visit to Montreal
in the year after the publication of his work he was received with
open arms by the citizens. The opponents of Simon McTavish, and all
discontented souls were ready to welcome him as a rival to the heady
old Marquis.
He was immediately
put at the head of the X.Y. Company, which he had formerly secretly
aided, and which sometimes bore the name of the new North-West
Company. His prestige and influence at this time may be seen in the
fact that this company was very often spoken of as "Sir Alexander
Mackenzie & Co." The vigour of the little company under the new
leader stirred up the old "Emperor" at Montreal, and in 1802 he
reorganized the North-West Company after a most marvellous fashion.
He not only extended the agencies of the fur company to the South
Saskatchewan and the Missouri, but also rented the "posts of the
king," as the trading-stations on the lower St. Lawrence were
called, and actually carried the war into Africa against the
Hudson's Bay Company by establishing Nor'-West posts on Hudson
Bray—a thing utterly unheard of in North-West Company annals.
The zeal inspired in
the old company by its master mind was amazing, and no doubt the
bold policy of Le Marquis would have come out victorious, but in
1804 Simon McTavish died, all his projects fell to the ground, the
obstacles to union of the two Canadian companies were removed, and
the breach, which had extended from 1796 to 1804, was healed. The
intense rivalry now ended, the degrading methods of plying the
Indians with strong drink were repressed, and an impulse to trade
was given, as seen in the building of new forts, notably Fort
Gibraltar, on the site of the present city of Winnipeg in the year
after the union. The new fort at the mouth of the Kanimistiquitt,
built a year or two before this happy union, but never christened,
was now Fort William, named after the Hon. William McGillivray, a
noted man in the old company.
Sir Alexander
Mackenzie was not only a leader in the fir trade, but his abilities
called for his recognition in the public affairs of Lower Canada. He
was chosen representative in the legislative assembly by the
English-speaking county of Huntingdon; but parliamentary affairs
were not to his taste, and he soon resigned his new honours and
position, and in 1808 returned to Scotland to take up his abode
there, and spend his remaining years, though he had only reached the
age of forty-five.
The old trader,
although retired from the atmosphere of beaver and pelts, still took
an interest in the fur trade. In the year 1811 Lord Selkirk, a
British nobleman, undertook his scheme of emigration to the banks of
the Red River, and in order to do so purchased a large quantity of
stock in the Mid-son's Bay Company. This scheme was strenuously
opposed by Sir Alexander Mackenzie, who had purchased a sufficient
quantity of the stock to take part in the company's affairs. When
the first ship with Lord Selkirk's emigrants was leaving Stornoway
for America, it is stated by Niles Macdonell, the commander, that
strong and unfair opposition was offered to the departure of the
colonists. Mr. Reid, collector of customs at Stornoway, did all in
his power to thwart the emigration movement by sowing discontent in
the minds of the settlers. Inasmuch as the collector's wife was an
aunt of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, it was natural that it should be
said that this opposition was inspired by the retired explorer
himself.
In the year after
this affair (1812) Sir Alexander's marriage took place. Geddes
Mackenzie, who became his wife, was one of the most beautiful and
gifted of Scottish women. She was of the blood of the clan whose
name she bore:
"McKenneth, great Earl
of the North,
The Lord of Loch Carron, Glensheil and Seaforth,"
and was a true scion
of the clan whose leader fought for James IV at Flodden, Queen Mary
at Langside, and James II, who created Mackenzie Marquis of Seaforth
and Earl of Mar in 1715. This clan raised the 72nd and 78th Highland
regiments. "Geddes Mackenzie's grandfather was Captain John
Mackenzie of Castle Leod, who married his cousin, and purchased the
property of Avoch in Inverness-shire; her father was George, a
prosperous merchant of London, and he was the last Mackenzie of
Gruinard. She was also a close relative of the Mackenzies of
Gairloch.
Miss Geddes Mackenzie
brought with her the property of Avoch in her own right, and this
was after their marriage transferred to Sir Alexander. To them there
were born two sons and one daughter. The eldest was Alexander
George, born February 14th, 1818, and the daughter bore her mother's
name, Geddes. Alexander George was the father of the present George
Mackenzie, of London, of Alexander Isabel and Geddes Margaret,
unmarried sisters, who live at the Deanery, Fortrose, and two other
sons.
After his marriage Sir Alexander took much interest in agriculture
in the neighbourhood of his property, and his grandson says: "On his
return to Avoch lie carried out many real improvements in the
neighbourhood, building the wall which now protects the road between
Avoch and Fortrose from the sea, and laying down an oyster bed in
the Bay of Munlochy, which was worked successfully for many years.
Very unexpectedly, on
March 12th, 1820, Sir Alexander Mackenzie died. Returning home from
a journey to London he was taken ill in the coach at Mulnain in
Perthshire, and died there. The body was taken on to Avoch, and
buried in the family enclosure in the churchyard.
Thus suddenly his
career was closed at the age of fifty-seven. His wife survived him
forty years. |
