HEARNE (Samuel). Voyage [...], du Fort-du-Prince-de-Galles d - Lot 34

HEARNE (Samuel). Voyage [...], du Fort-du-Prince-de-Galles dans la baie d'Hudson, à l'Océan Nord, entrepris par ordre de la Compagnie de la baie de Hudson, dans les années 1769, 1770, 1771 et 1772, et exécuté par terre, pour la découverte d'un passage au Nord-Ouest. [Paris], Patris printing house, year VII [1798-1799]. 2 volumes in-8, (4 of which the 2nd is blank)-lviii-373-(one) + (4 of which the 2nd is blank)-332-xxix-(3 of which the first is blank) pp, ornate fawn half-calf, yellow edges speckled with red; spines worn with small leather chips, spines split and one cap worn (period binding). FIRST EDITION OF THE FRENCH TRANSLATION, by Antoine-Jean-Noël Lallemant, who was Secretary of the Navy. Without plates. Originally published posthumously in English in London in 1795. A MAJOR WORK ON CANADIAN GEOGRAPHY, ETHNOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY. Travel journal with notes on the regions he crossed, natural resources, the orographic network, the Chipewyan Indians (also known as Denesuline) or Inuit, hunting methods, the status of women, handicrafts, as well as the fauna of northern regions - notably beaver, muskox and wood bison. The manuscript that Samuel Hearne left at his death was of interest to the English admiralty, Dr. John Douglas (editor of Cook's journals) and Lapérouse, who read it after the author's capture. ENGLISH EXPLORER, FUR TRADER, NATURALIST AND WRITER SAMUEL HEARNE (1745-1792) first served in the English Royal Navy from 1756 to 1763, taking part in the bombardment of Le Havre. In 1766, he joined the Hudson's Bay Company and was posted to Fort Prince of Wales (today's port town of Churchill, Manitoba), where he was commissioned to go as far as the Coppermine River, in present-day Nunavut, to verify rumors of copper mines: He set off twice, unsuccessfully in 1769, as he had not been in control of the organization of the trip, and especially in December 1770, when he was able to make his own choices, including that of an efficient and respected guide among the local Indians. The expedition, though very difficult, was a success this time: Hearne was able to adapt to the Indians' way of life and way of travelling, and reached the Coppermine River in July 1771: mining prospecting proved disappointing, but, by descending the river northwards, Hearne reached its mouth (now near Kugluktuk), and was thus the first European to reach the Arctic Ocean by land. HEARNE WAS THE FIRST EUROPEAN TO REACH THE ARCTIC OCEAN BY LAND, AND HE WAS THE FIRST TO REALIZE THAT THERE WAS NO NORTH-WEST PASSAGE, AND IT WAS ON THE BASIS OF THIS INFORMATION THAT COOK WAS DISSUADED FROM LOOKING FOR ONE. He headed south to Cogead Lake (now Contwoyto Lake, straddling Nunavut and the Northwest Territories), Point Lake and further south: he was the FIRST EUROPEAN TO DISCOVER THE GREAT SLAVE LAKE (now the Northwest Territories). In 1773, he founded the Hudson's Bay Company's first inland post, Cumberland House, the oldest European settlement in present-day Saskatchewan. In 1776, he was appointed chief agent at Fort Prince of Wales. During the American War of Independence, he had to surrender to a French flotilla under Lapérouse, and was held prisoner for a time. With traffic severely affected by war and disease, he gave up his post in 1787 and retired to England.