xliv, 458, [2] pp. With large folding map with the route hand-colored; 4 other maps & plans, and 4 plates for a total of 9 copper-engravings, all but 1 of them folding. (4to) 31x25 cm. (12½x10"), later brown half morocco and cloth, spine gilt, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. First Edition.

Account by the first white man to travel overland to the Arctic Ocean and the discoverer of Great Slave Lake. Hearne (1745-1792) was sent northward from Churchill at the behest of the Hudson's Bay Company, which had long been interested in investigating the reports of copper mines to the north. Hill declares that "Hearne played an important role in delineating the region between Hudson's Bay and the Arctic Ocean by his exploration of the Coppermine River," and further relates the curious circumstances of the works' publication, which was due to the navigator "Jean Francois de La Perouse, who captured Fort Albany, Hudson Bay, and found Hearne's manuscript. The fort was later surrendered to the British, but La Perouse stipulated that the manuscript be published," and notes that much attention is given to the natural history and the Indian tribes of the region covered. Hill 791; Sabin 31181.