Donald Mackenzie

Donald McKenzie (16 June 1783 – 20 January 1851) was a Scottish-Canadian explorer, fur trader and Governor of the Red River Colony from 1821 to 1834. Early life Born in Scotland, McKenzie emigrated to Canada about 1800. He and 2 or three of his brothers became involved in the fur trade and were engaged with the North West Company. In 1810, he left the employ of the North West Company to become a partner in the Pacific Fur Company (PFC), financed solely by John Jacob Astor. Pacific Fur Company McKenzie traveled west from St. Louis, Missouri, to the Pacific Northwest with an expedition of fellow PFC employees. The group divided after experiencing hard times in southern Idaho. McKenzie's fraction, consisting of twelve total, struck north, eventually finding the Salmon River and Clearwater River. They proceeded down the lower Snake River and Columbia River by canoe, and were the first of the Overland Astorians to reach Fort Astoria, on January 18, 1812. McKenzie spent two years exploring and trading for the Pacific Fur Company in the Willamette Valley, along the Columbia River, in eastern Washington and in northern and central Idaho. When the PFC sold its assets and stations to the North West Company in 1813, McKenzie was appointed to carry all important papers back east, which he did in 1814.