VOYAGE TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 49 



f5 broken up, only thawed away about three quarters 

 " of a mile from the shore, and a little way round the 

 " islands and shoals. 



" By the time I had completed this survey it was 

 " about one in the morning of the 18th ; but in these 

 " high latitudes, and this time of the year, the sun 

 " is always a good height above the horizon. It then 

 " came on a thick drizzling rain, with a thick fog ; 

 " and, as finding the river and sea, in every respect, 

 " not likely to be of any utility, I did not think it 

 " worth while to wait for fair weather, to determine 

 " the latitude exactly by an observation. But, by 

 <; the extraordinary care I took in observing the 

 " courses and distances, walked from Congecathaxv- 

 " hachaaga, where I had two good observations, the 

 " latitude may be depended on, within tw r enty miles 

 " at farthest." 



From the 'map which Mr. Hearne constructed of 

 the country through which he passed, in this singular 

 journey, and which we have been permitted to copy 

 upon our general chart, it appears that the mouth of 

 the Copper-mine river lies in the latitude 7^\ and 

 above 25 West longitude from the fort, from whence 

 he took his departure. * 



The consequences resulting from this extensive 

 discovery are obvious. We now see that the conti- 

 nent of North America stretches from Hudson's 

 Bay so far to the north-west that Mr. Hearne had 

 travelled near thirteen hundred miles before he ar- 

 rived at the sea. His most western distance from 

 the coast of Hudson's Bay w 7 as near six hundred 



* Mr. Hearne's Journey, back from the Copper-mine river, to 

 Fort Prince of Wales, lasted till June 30. 1772. From his first 

 setting out till his return, he had employed near a year and seven 

 months. The unparalleled hardships he suffered, and the essential 

 service he performed, met with a suitable reward from his masters, 

 and he is now T the Governor of Fort Prince of Wales, where he 

 was taken prisoner by the French in 1782; and last summer re- 

 turned to his station. 



VOL, V. E 



