hearne's route. 149 



" It will be at once perceived, that while 

 Hearne's latitude is too great at his most 

 northern point, by upwards of four degrees, it 

 is too little by three quarters of a degree at 

 Slave River ; and there is also a great error in 

 the course, for the mouth of the Slave River is 

 actually two degrees to the eastward of that of 

 the Coppermine, and not to the westward, as 

 laid down in Hearne's map. This appears to 

 have originated principally in his not having 

 attended to the variation of the magnetic needle; 

 though at the date of his journey it must have 

 exceeded two points easterly on the Copper- 

 mine ; and to give the correct course and dis- 

 tance between the latter place and Congeca- 

 thewachaga, that amount of variation is required 

 to be applied to Hearne's courses, while his dis- 

 tances are diminished to one half. A large re- 

 duction of the length of his marches, though not 

 always quite to this extent, must be made dur- 

 ing his whole journey. When travelling with 

 the Indians, their wives and children, during 

 the winter, and when it was necessary to hunt 

 for subsistence, he averages the daily distances 

 made good at ten, and even fourteen, or twenty 

 miles. Now in our journies with the Indians, 

 under similar circumstances, we found that they 

 seldom moved the camp above six miles in one 

 day, more frequently travelling only four, and 



l 3 



