Beschreibung:

Hearne, Samuel (1745-1792). A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay, to the Northern Ocean. Undertaken by Order of the Hudson's Bay Company, for the Discovery of Copper Mines, a North West Passage, &c. In the Years 1769, 1770, 1771 & 1772. London: Printed for A. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1795. 4to, 3/4 leather over marbled paper with matching marbled endpapers, five spine bands, gilt lettering, all edges gilt, 458pp, 1p ad for Strahan & Cadell, 1p "Directions to Binder" which becomes a list of illustrations. All nine illustrations are linen-backed and folding. Samuel Hearne was born in Devon, England. His father died when he was only three, so he joined the navy at the age of 11, seeing action with Captain Sanuel Hood during the Seven Years' War. He left the navy in 1763 and joined Hudson's Bay Company three years later. Europeans had long heard of copper deposits in the north, and many native place names made reference to it. In 1768 a northern Native brought some lumps of the mineral to the post at Churchill. It was decided to send Hearne to find the source. The English had no idea how to travel overland in the north, and thus were dependent on the natives to guide them. Hearne planned to travel with a group who had come to Churchill to trade and were returning home. They left too late to exploit the caribou migration, and when their food ran out, they were forced to return to Churchill in December, having also been abandoned by their native companions/guides. Hearne tried again, this time leaving Churchill in late February and this time his party found good hunting initially, but again, food ran out. He returned to Churchill in autumn, but along the way he had met Matonabbee, who would become his guide on the third try. They set out in December 1770. Matonabbee moved fast enough to cross paths with the caribou for the spring hunt. They reached the Coppermine River in mid-July, reaching the Arctic Ocean a few days later. This established the fact that there was no northwest passage as well as discovering copper in the river basin. However, the quantity was meager and it was deemed not worthwhile for commercial mining. Hearne later established a second inland trading post for the Hudson's Bay Company, using knowledge acquired on his expeditions about overland travel to locate a site for the new post, a site along the Saskatchewan River native trade route and the Churchill route. He later became governor of Fort Prince of Wales, but in 1782, when confronted by a French force far superior to his 38 civilians, he surrendered the fort and sailed back to England. When Hearne returned to Churchill a year later, he found that the native population had been decimated by disease and starvation, and many survivors had moved away. He returned to England in 1787, spending his remaining years working with naturalists, drawing on his experience in North America. This book was first published three years after Hearne's death in 1792. He spent some of his last years putting the notes and maps, never intended for public consumption, into printable form, with the help of his friend, William Wales. Condition: Very good overall. Minor scattered foxing.