Book details
A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772 / New Edition with Introduction, Notes, and Illustrations
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Stored record
Metadata
- Gutenberg ID
- 38404
- Title
- A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772 / New Edition with Introduction, Notes, and Illustrations
- Language
- en
- Book source
- Project Gutenberg
- Description max 80 words
-
Samuel Hearne's 1769–1772 expedition to find the mythical Coppermine River offers a vivid, first-hand account of life in far-northern Canada. With rich natural history observations and intimate portraits of Indigenous cultures, this narrative blends exploration, survival, and cultural insight into a compelling tale of endurance and discovery in one of the world's most remote frontiers.
- Summary up to 500 words
-
In the late 1760s, Samuel Hearne, a young and ambitious explorer serving the Hudson's Bay Company, embarked on a perilous mission to locate a vast copper deposit rumored to exist at the mouth of a river flowing into the Arctic Ocean. After two failed attempts, Hearne succeeded in 1771, trekking over 2,000 miles across the barren lands north of Great Slave Lake to reach the Coppermine River's mouth at the Northern Ocean. His journal provides an unparalleled glimpse into the geography, geology, and fauna of northern Canada, as well as the customs, diets, and hunting practices of the Chipewyan and other Indigenous peoples he encountered. Hearne describes their use of birch-rind kettles, snowshoes, sledges, and bow-and-arrow hunting techniques, as well as their consumption of raw fish, caribou meat, and fermented stomach contents. He also details the harsh realities of Arctic life, including extreme cold, scarcity of firewood, and the psychological toll of isolation. The narrative is enriched by Hearne's literary charm and his deep respect for the Indigenous cultures he encountered, making it not only a pioneering geographical account but also a profound ethnographic record. Edited with extensive notes and illustrations by J. B. Tyrrell and E. A. Preble, this new edition contextualizes Hearne's journey within the broader history of Canadian exploration and highlights the region's enduring mystery and significance.
- LLM editorial rating
- 4.2/5
- Download URL
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38404.epub.noimages
- Local file path
-
data/epubs/pg38404.epub - Downloaded at
- 2026-07-08 03:33 UTC
People
Authors
- Samuel Hearne
Classification
Categories
- Biography
- History
- Travel
- Science