Overview

In the late 1760s reports from Native American traders at the Hudson's Bay Company's Prince of Wales Fort told of a large river leading to the Arctic Ocean with a wealthy copper mine at its mouth. The Hudson's Bay Company was encouraged by the idea of a mine next to a navigable river that could be used to transport its riches into the country's interior. Samuel Hearne (1745-1792) was sent on three attempts to discover the river and its mine, and in the course of his travels he mapped a large portion of the Canadian interior and closely observed the lives of the tribes living there. Most of all he proved the difficulty of long-distance travel overland through the Arctic.

Background