The Journals and Letters of Sir Alexander Mackenzie ed. by W. Kaye Lamb (review)

REVIEWS 203 needandrarelyhave,twentylarge-scale mapsfurnishingdetailsof criticalareas of discovery. The readerwill spare himselfthetroubleof leatingbackandforth bynotingthat these areindexedaftera fashion, not at thefront,but at theback of the book. Quitein keeping with the saying of JohnDavis,'If it be his[God's]wil, that ourmortalbeingshalnowtakeandende,I ratherdesirethat it maybein proceeding thanin returning,'Admiral Morisonisnowembarkingon thehistoryof sixteenth-century South Americandiscovery. If the happy return which we all hopefor isvouchsafed himwemaybesurethat he will comebackwith a far richercargothanDavisprocured in hisunlucky voyage to Patagonia. L.H. NEATBY Universityo[Saskatchewan, $askatoon The Journals andLetterso[Sir Alexander Mackenzie.Editedbyw. KAY-. LAMB. Toronto,Macmillan, •97o. Pp. viii, 55•, maps,illus. $25.00. His two journeys of exploration, firstto the Arctic Oceanin 1789and second to thePacificcoast in 1793,havegivenAlexanderMackenziea premierplacein the historyof North Americandiscovery. Apart from releasingthe first true knowledge of the breadthand extentof the unknownnorthwest,and being the first white man to crossthe continent, remarkable feats in themselves,it is all themoreaweinspiringto knowtheywereaccomplishments of a man in his latetwenties whose leadership permitted thetravels ofhispartythroughunknown landswith security and unbelievable speed.Dr Lamb judgesthesejourneysto be the major successes in Mackenzie's life; certainlythey are the bestknown, and were documented in his journalspublishedin •8oI. Mackenziewas early and perhaps luckilyintroduced to the 'Indian country'sothat he developed verywell hisskillsasa traveller,and the brief apprenticeship in the company ofthewilyandexperienced PeterPondcontributes tothefeelingthatMackenzie wasthe rightman at the right placefor the developments whichfollowed.But the influence of the man did not end with his return from the Bella Coola. He wasstilla youngmanwhenhe becamea partnerin the North WestCompany andfor hisyouthhad a clearunderstanding of the fur trade,particularlythat part whichcouldbe termedthe 'fieldoperations.' Coupledwith it washisnew knowledge andprophetic grasp ofthegeography of thefur tradecountry, includingthesource androutes of supply for tradegoods andfur markets. All through hislife Mackenzie struggled toshow theMontrealmerchants theirdisadvantage at nothavingaccess to thefur country throughHudsonBay,andthat thePacific coast affordedgreatopportunities bothfor access to theinteriorandtheOriental furmarket.That hewasunsuccessful in effecting these changes eitherbyworking with and later in competition with the powerfulMcTavish interests allowed hisexploration featstoremainsupreme; however,thedreamheheldwasrealized after his deathwhen the Montrealcompanyjoinedwith the Hudson's Bay Companyin •82•. In thisvolume,Dr Lambhasbroughttogether all thatisknownaboutMackenzie ,hisexplorations, business connections, politicalactivities, familybackground, 20•} THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW personal relationships, andtemperament. In a devoted andlengthy search, Dr Lambhascollected andpresented together for thefirsttimesome ninety-four letters,a remarkable success in itselfconsidering the Mackenziepersonal papers werelostbyfirein x833andthat thedirectfamilydescendants arelonggone. The journals reprintedfollowthe originalmanuscript for the Arcticvoyage, and thepublished version of the Pacificadventure and the 'GeneralHistoryof the Fur Trade.' Severaltimesand in severallanguages the journalshavebeen printed- some versions wereedited;noneof thepasteditingcomes nearto the standard of Lamb'swork.The factualdetail,explanations, andthe significance with whichLamb hasilluminatedboththejournalsandlettersleavefewif any questions unanswered. Moreover, it isaccomplished withgreatliteraryskill.The fifty-page introduction isthebeststatement aboutMackenzie's life; it isconcise, comprehensive andwithauthority, andprovides fresh convincing interpretations for someof Mackenzie'sbusiness initiatives.Fortunatelywe have now in this onevolumea complete Sir AlexanderMackenziewhichmay be turnedto for reference with confidence, and for readingwith pleasure. J.K. STAGER Universityo[ BritishColumbia Atlantic Bridgehead:The Story o[ TransatlanticCommunications. •OWA•a• e•-AYTON. London,Garnstone Press [Toronto,CoppClark],x969. Pp. •92,maps, illus.$8.95. Stories of man'seffortsto spanthe Atlantic by air, cable,and wireless are not new. Few, however,includeall of thesemeansof communication, and noneof which this reviewer is aware has concentrated on the role of Newfoundland as the Atlantic bridgehead. The author of the studyunder review,a Newfoundlanderby birth, educatedand now living in England,makeshisnativeisland thefocus of theseries of attempts to lay anAtlanticcable,of Marconi'sexperiments in transmitting wireless messages fromNorthAmericato Europe,andof someof the many trans-Atlanticairplaneflights.He alsoevaluatesthe role of theNewfoundland railroadin establishing morerapid communications between America andEngland. Theresult isawell-illustrated, readable book which hasitsmainvaluein thescope anddetailof itscoverage of theNewfoundland side ofthehistory ofthese selected aspects ofman's attempts tospan theAtlantic. As a contribution to the rathernarrowfieldof scholarship on the subjects covered, or to thewidereconomic history of Newfoundland, theAtlanticprovinces , andCanada,thisvolumehassome defects. The authorhasdonea good deal of research in newspapers and printedgovernment documents; thereis littleindication thathehasmademuchuseofpertinent manuscript collections on either side of the Atlantic. Both the Public Record Office and the Public Archives of Canada,for example, havecorrespondence in suchseries asco 45 andin thepapers of Sanford Fleming andhiscontemporaries whichcould add other dimensions totheauthor's communications story. Hislisting of secondary authorities is selective; he apparentlyhasnot usedsuchstandardeconomic ...