1908.] PREVIOUS EXPLORATIONS — HEARNE AND MACKENZIE 55 



Desiring to satisfy himself that the river emptied into the sea, 

 Hearne proceeded to its mouth, where he arrived July IT. lie then 

 turned southward and in a general way retraced his outward course 

 until he reached the vicinity of Point Lake, when he bore slightly 

 westward and crossed Great Slave Lake somewhere to the eastward 

 of the Northern Arm about the last of December, 1771. This lake 

 he called the "Athapuscow," and it has been by sonic supposed to 

 be identical with the Athabaska, but a careful examination of his 

 narrative and map renders this idea untenable." Entering the com- 

 parative level country south of the lake, a welcome change from 

 "the jumble of rocks and hills" which he had been traversing, he 

 struck Slave River at a point where its banks were high — that is, 

 at some distance south of the lake — and after following the river 

 for some 40 miles turned off to the eastward, reached his outward 

 track near Clowey Lake, and returned to Fort Prince of Wales over 

 nearly the same route followed on the first part of his outward 

 journey. 



The narrative of Hearne's journey, Avhich was published in 17 ( .>.">, 

 contains many notes on natural history, and in his closing chapter 

 the author gives a more or less detailed account of many of the 

 animals with which long residence in the north had made him 

 familiar. 



The next traveler to be referred to in the present connection is 

 Alexander Mackenzie, who, in the summer of 1789, descended to its 

 mouth the great river which now bears his name. Since Hearne 

 had penetrated the interior, hitherto unknown to the northward 

 of the Saskatchewan, the fur traders of Canada had gradually 

 extended their field of operations northward, first to the upper 

 Churchill River, then by way of Isle a la Crosse and Methye Portage 

 to Athabaska River, where a post was erected by Peter Pond in 

 177s, about 40 miles above the mouth of the river. In 1785 trading 

 houses were built on Great Slave Lake to the eastward of the mouth 

 of the river, apparently near Stone Island. In 1 787 the various 

 private traders and small companies united under the name of the 

 ' North- West Company,' which was a most formidable rival of the 

 Hudson's Bay Company until their consolidation in 1821. The post 

 established on the Athabaska was removed in 1788 to the south 

 shore of Athabaska Lake, about 8 miles east of the month of the 

 river. It was named foil Chipewyan and for some years was the 

 principal post of the district. From here Alexander Mackenzie 

 started on his famous journeys of exploration. 



"For a brief discussion of lliis pari of Hearne's route, by Doctor Richardson, 

 see Hack's Narrative Arctic Land Expedition to Mouth of Croat Pish River, pp. 

 150-155, 1836. 



