In 1766, he was hired by the prestigious Hudson's Bay Company and became mate on the vessel Churchill, and was posted at Fort Prince of Wales for about two years. After reports of a great river and of copper deposits in the North, HBC sent Hearne to investigate and perhaps, to locate the elusive North West Passage. His first attempt was a failure as his supplies were stolen by a guide. His attempt of 1770 was also a failure.
His guide, Conne-e-quese, said he had seen the river and the copper and he brought Hearne there. Hearne and the guide arrived at Yathkyed Lake and were met by nomadic Chippewa peoples. His native companions once again stole his belongings, and Hearne was forced to return to Fort Prince of Wales, where he nearly died if it was not for the help of Dene chief Matonabbee. They got to the fort, where Matonabbee and Hearne decided to once again search for copper in the north.
They left the fort in December of 1770. The mission brought Hearne more North than any previous European. Hearne and Matonabbee reached the shores of Great Slave Lake and then reached the Arctic Ocean. The copper mines and the river were disappointing and Hearne returned to the Fort by 1772, after a 19-month mission. He had not reached the Northwest Passage, yet he claimed the land anyway, for the Hudson's Bay Company.
In 1774, Samuel Hearne set out for York Factory and he established a trading post called Cumberland House which was meant as a prairie trade with the inland nations. He returned to the Arctic in 1775, until the fort was captured and he returned to England, in 1782. He returned to Canada in 1783, where he settled until 1787.
He published his journals in a book Journey from Prince of Wales Fort on Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean, which appeared in 1795. He had died three years before, in 1792.
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