1 68 Arctic and Antarctic Exploration [part i 
was adopted and brought up by the Governor of Fort 
Prince of Wales, who employed him as a hunter. He 
was a fine man, of nearly six feet, and possessed of many 
good moral qualities. He had been on an embassy to a 
powerful tribe, establishing peace and trade, and had also 
visited the Coppermine river. It was indeed owing to his 
report that the expedition was undertaken. Matonabi's in- 
fluence was so great that he was made Chief of the northern 
Indians, and caused great quantities of furs to be brought 
to the Churchill factory. 
The method of travelling was for each man to drag 
his own little sledge. These one-man sledges were 8 to 
9 feet long by 12 to 14 inches wide, made of boards 
a quarter of an inch thick sewn together with thongs 
of deer-skin, with wooden cross-bars on the upper side. 
The fore part was turned up so as to form a semicircle, 
to prevent the sledge from diving into soft snow. The 
trace was a strip of leather with a loop across the shoulders. 
The snow-shoes were feet long by 13 inches broad. 
The country crossed by Hearne and Matonabi, ac- 
companied by a large party of Indians with their wives 
and children, was fairly well supplied with game. In 
May, 1771, a lake was reached where they began to build 
canoes and were joined by more Indians, eager to rob 
and massacre the Eskimos. 
The women and children were left behind, and the 
party of Indians, in company with Hearne and Matonabi, 
entered the Arctic regions, and began the descent of the 
Coppermine River on July 14th, 1771. Then five 
Eskimo tents came in sight on the left bank. The Indians 
put on their war-paint, formed an ambuscade, and 
approached stealthily. The wretched Eskimos were com- 
pletely taken by surprise, and Hearne was an unwilling 
witness of a horrible massacre. One young girl clung to 
Hearne's legs, writhing in agony while the Indians drove 
their spears into her. 
Hearne continued his voyage down the Coppermine 
River with his bloodthirsty companions, until he reached 
the mouth on July 18th, 1771. He found that it was 
full of islets and shoals, with many seals on the ice 
outside. For 30 miles there had been nothing but barren 
hills and marshes. Above that distance there were stunted 
