37 



9. Area south-east of Athabasca Lake, 35,000 square miles. This 

 again may be compared in extent to Portugal. 



10. Area east of the Coppermine River and west of Bathurst 

 Inlet, 7,500 square miles. This again may be compared to half the 

 area of Switzerland. 



11. Area between the Arctic coast and Back's River, 31,000' 

 square miles or about equal to Ireland. 



12. Area surrounded by Back's River, Great Slave Lake, Atha- 

 basca Lake, Hatchet and Reindeer lakes, Churchill River, and the 

 west coast of Hudson Bay, 178,000 square miles. Much larger than 

 Great Britain and Ireland, and somewhat larger than Sweden. The 

 lakes and rivers shown in this great region depend entirely on the 

 result of the three journeys made by Hearne in 1769-1772.* Hearne 

 really wandered through parts of this region in company with Indians 

 whom he was unable to control, his ultimate object (which he at length 

 accomplished) being to reach the Coppermine River, in order to ascertain 

 for the Hudson Bay Company, whether it was possible to utilize the 

 native copper found there. Not even roughly approximate accuracy 

 can be assigned to his geographical work. Referring to the 

 position of the mouth of the Coppermine, he writes : — " The latitude 

 may be depended upon to within 20 miles at the utmost." In reality 

 it afterwards proved to be 200 miles too far north. This country 

 includes the great " barren grounds" of the continent, and is the prin- 

 cipal winter resort of the musk ox as well as of great herds of caribou. 

 Hearne's general characterization of it is not very encouraging, but 

 certainly we shall know more about it. He writes : — " The land 

 throughout the whole track of country is scarcely anything but one 

 solid mass of rocks and stones, and in most parts very hilly, particularly 

 to the westward, among the woods." The extreme north-eastern 

 extremity of this region was also crossed by Lieut. Schwa tka in the 

 course of his remarkable journey to King-William Land, but his 

 geographical results possess little value, f 



*A Journey from Prince of Wales Fort, in Hudson Bay, to the Northern 

 Ocean, 1796. 



tSchwatka's Search by H. W. Gilder. 



