A Journey From Prince Of Wale's Fort in Hudson's Bay, To The Northern Ocean. Undertaken By Order Of The Hudson's Bay Company for the Discovery of Copper Mines, A North West Passage, etc. In The Years 1769, 1770, 1771, & 1772

London: Printed for A.Strahan and T.Cadell; And Sold by T.Cadell Jun. And W.Davies., 1795., 1795. 4to. pp. xliv(incl. errata), 458, [2]ads & directions to binder. 5 folding engraved maps (1 with routes in colour) & 4 engraved plates (3 double-page). modern gilt-stamped paneled calf by Annegret Hunter-Elsenbach (first map with few short tears repaired - no loss, some foxing to maps & plates & neighbouring leaves). First Edition of a classic of North American travel. Hearne's journal holds an especially honoured place in the annals of Arctic exploration, and Hearne "will always be remembered as the first white man that ever gazed on the dreary expanse of the Arctic or Frozen Ocean from the northern shores of the Continent of America." (Rich) In 1769, he was sent by the Hudson's Bay Company to find a north-west passage from Hudson's Bay and to investigate Indian reports regarding the existence of copper deposits to the north. Hearne made two false starts, but on his third attempt, accompanied by the Chipewyan guide Matonabbie, he succeeded in crossing the Barren Lands and reached the Coppermine River, which he descended to the Arctic Coast. Hearne also discovered the Great Slave Lake and recorded valuable information regarding the natural history and Indian tribes of the region traversed. Shortly following his return, Hearne submitted his report to the Hudson's Bay Company, who kept it secret for some thirteen years. Its final publication, three years after his death, was due to the celebrated French navigator La Pérouse, who found Hearne's manuscript when he captured Fort Albany, Hudson's Bay, in 1781-82. When Fort Albany was subsequently surrendered to the British, La Pérouse stipulated, as one of the conditions of the surrender, that Hearne's manuscript be printed. Bell H94. Cox I p. 171. Hill p. 141. Lande 1220. Morgan p. 180. Pilling, Athapascan, p. 40. Sabin 31181 & JCB 3729 (calling for 4 maps & 8 plates). Story pp. 351-52. Streeter VI 3652. TPL 445 (imperfect). Winsor VIII p. 70.. F. Hardcover.