NORTH POLE. 
190 
grounds ; but, the weather beginning to be excefiively 
cold, all his provifions expended, and no fupply to be 
had, the chief of the Indians who accompanied him wifh- 
ing to return, and ultimately leaving him, he was obliged 
to retrace his fteps, after reaching no farther than about 
the 64th degree of latitude, and arrived at the factory on 
the nth of December. 
On the 23d of February, 1770, he fet out a fecond 
time, accompanied by three northern and two fouthern 
Indians. They continued to proceed flowjy to the north- 
\vard and weftward, living on what the country afforded, 
which was fometiines molt abundant, and at others no¬ 
thing at all 5 or, as Hearne fays, “ either all fealling or 
all famine. Sometimes we had too much, feldom juft 
enough, frequently too little, and often none at all. It 
will be only neceffary to fay, that we have faded many 
times two whole days and nights, twice upwards of three 
days, and once near feven days, during which we tailed 
not a mouthful of any thing, except a few cranberries, 
water, fcraps of old leather, and burnt bones.” Towards 
the end of July his guide intimated to him that it was too 
late that year to think of reaching the Copper-MineRiver, 
and propofed fpending the winter among a tribe of In¬ 
dians where they then were, between the 63d and 64th 
degrees of latitude; but on the nth of Auguft, while 
making an observation for the latitude, a fudden gull of 
wind blew down the quadrant, “ and, as the ground 
where it itood was very Itony, the bubbles, the light-vane, 
and vernier, were entirely broke to pieces, which ren¬ 
dered the inftrument ufelefs. In confequence of this 
misfortune I refolved to return again to the fort, though 
we were then in the latitude of 63. 10. N. and about lon¬ 
gitude 10. 40. W. from Churchill River.” Accordingly, 
after many difficulties, and extreme hardlhips from the 
inclemency of the weather and from hunger, he arrived 
at Prince of Wales’s Fort on the 25th of November, after 
an abfence of eight months and twenty-two days. 
On the 7th of December following Mr. Hearne fet out 
for the third time to explore the northern parts of North 
America, and particularly to difcover thefituation of the 
copper-mine. On the 1 ft of July, 1771, he reached a 
place called Congecathan'liachaga, which is not only re¬ 
markable on account of the length of the name, but as 
being the only fpot on this long journey at which any 
obfervation was made for the latitude; and even here no 
particulars are given, but merely an affertion, that “ dup¬ 
ing this time I had two obfervations, both by meridional 
and double altitudes, the mean of which determined the 
latitude of Congecathawhachaga to be 68. 46. N. and its 
longitude 24. 2. W. from Prince-of-Wales’s Fort, or 118 
75. W. of the meridian of London.” 
On the i 3th of the fame month he reached the Copper- 
Mine River, and on the 15th commenced his furvey of 
it. The Indians that accompanied him live in conftant 
hoftility with the Efquimaux inhabiting the lower part 
of the river, and now prepared to attack them in their 
tents, to which they approached on the 17th, about one 
o’clock in the morning. The refult has been Hated un? 
der the article America, vol. i. p. 426. After this piece 
of wantonnefs “ we fat down,” fays Hearne, “ and made 
a good meal of frefh falmon.” He adds, “ It was then 
about five o’clock in the morning of the 17th, the fea 
being in fight from the north-weft by weft to the north- 
call, about eight miles diftant; I therefore fet inftantly 
about commencing my furvey, and purfued it to the 
mouth of the river, which I found all the way fo full of 
flioals and falls, that it was not navigable for a boat, and 
that it emptied itfelf into the fea over a ridge or bar.” 
The tide, he fays, was then out; but he judged from the 
marks on the edge of the ice that it flowed about twelve 
or fourteen feet; that, the tide being out, the water in 
the river was perfectly frelli; but, he continues, “ I am 
certain of its being the fea, or fome branch of it, by the 
(quantity of whalebone and feal’s Ikins which the Efqui- 
jnaux had at their tents, and alfo by the number of Teals 
which I faw on the iced’ He fays, moreover, that at the 
mouth of the river “ the fea is full of iflands and fhoals” 
as far as he could fee with the afliftance of a good pocket- 
telefcope. Journey from Hudjm's Bay to the Northern 
Ocean; by Samuel Hearne. 
It has been doubted whether Hearne ever reached the 
fea-coaft, on the ground that the water in the mouth of 
the river being perfeSlly frejh when the tide was out, is 
inconfiftent with the flood riling fourteen feet. It might 
certainly have been expedled that, after fo long and ha¬ 
zardous a journey, Mr. Hearne would have taken every pof- 
fiblecare to haveafcertained in themoft unequivocal man¬ 
ner whether he really had reached the northern Ihore of 
North America, and flood on the borders of the hyper¬ 
borean lea. If the tide was out in the morning of the 
17th, it mull have been in on the middle part of the 
fame day; and, as he never quitted the margin of the 
river, or the Ihore of the fuppofed fea, till the morning of 
the 18th, and confequently was there during the flowing 
and ebbing of two dillinCt tides, it is certainly very un- 
fatisfaftory to Hate merely that he judged its rife to be 
fourteen feet by fome marks that he perceived on the ice ; 
nor is it eafy to comprehend how the water at the mouth 
of a river, into which the tide flows and rifes fourteen, 
feet, could have been perfectly frejh. 
Equally unfatisfailory is his ftatement as to the lati¬ 
tude of the mouth of the Copper-Mine River. He fays 
that a thick fog and drizzling rain came on; and that, 
“ finding that neither the river nor the fea were likely to 
be of any ufe, I did not think it worth while to wait for 
fair weather to determine the latitude exaftly by an ob¬ 
fervation.” What then, it might be alked, did he go for? 
He tells us, and it appears by his inftruCtions, that he was 
fele&ed for the expedition becaufe he knew how to take 
an obfervation for the latitude ; and yet, during his long 
and interefting journey of twelve or thirteen hundred 
miles and as many back again, he takes but one folitary 
obfervation to afcertain the latitude; which is the more 
unaccountable as, by a remark of his own, he feldom 
could have wanted opportunities to determine this mod 
effential point, without which the true geography of this 
part of the continent may Hill be faid to remain in doubt. 
His remark is, that “ in thofe high latitudes, and at this 
feafon of the year, the fun is always at a good height 
above the horizon, fo that he had not only day-light but 
funfhine the whole night.” Still, however, he tells us 
that the latitude of the mouth of the river may be de¬ 
pended on, though he does not mention in the text what 
that latitude was; it is to be colle&ed only from the chart, 
in which it would appear to be about 73. 30. Now, com¬ 
paring his journey after leaving Congecathawhachaga, 
where his Angle obfervation was made, and which gave 
him 68. 46. and calculating by the courfes and diftances 
the difference of latitude between that place and the 
mouth of the river, that difference would not appear to 
exceed three degrees; fo that the latitude, which Mr. 
Hearne fays, <c may be depended on,” and which on the 
chart is 73. 30. ought rather to be taken at 71. 46. Dri 
Douglas, into whofe hands the manufcript journal was 
placed long before its publication, Hates the latitude of 
the river’s mouth to be 72. but the late Mr. Dalrymple, 
after carefully comparing Hearne’s diltances and the di¬ 
rection in which he travelled, with Canadian and other 
authorities, and after him Mr. Arrowfmith and othdr 
geographers, have agreed to cut down Mr. Hearne’s lati¬ 
tude to about 69. which falls in pretty nearly with 
that of the fuppofed fea-coaft vifited by Mackenzie after¬ 
wards, farther to the weftward. 
The correCtnefs of Mr. Hearne’s narrative maybe quef- 
tioned in many refpeCts. For inftance, the fun could not 
“ always be a good height above the horizon” in the la¬ 
titude 69. efpecially when he was there; for, his declina¬ 
tion on the 18th of July being about 20. N. he could have 
been only, in the middle of the night of that day, juft in 
the horizon. In that part of his journal where the ex- 
prelliou 
