In 1769, Samuel Hearne, an Englishman in the British Navy, began a three year overland journey of exploration from the Hudson Bay(Canada)to the Arctic Ocean...........Many consider his accoutning of the fauna and flora of Northern Canada to be as descriptive as Audubon's detailing of the American outdoors...........I detail below Hearne's reporting of the wildlife he encountered along his 3500 mile trek

A JOURNEY TO THE NORTHERN OCEAN

BY SAMUEL HEARNE


-"WOLVES ARE FREQUENTLY MET WITH IN THE COUNTRY'S WEST OF HUDSON BAY, BOTH ON THE BARREN GROUNDS AND AMONG THE WOODS"

-"THEY ARE NOT NUMEROUS; IT IS VERY UNCOMMON TO SEE MORE THAN 3 OR 4 OF THEM IN A HERD"

-"THOSE THAT KEEP TO THE WESTWARD, ALONG THE WOODS ARE OF THE USUAL COLOUR, BUT THE GREATEST PART THAT ARE KILLED BY THOSE OF THE ESQUIMAUX ARE PERFECTLY WHITE"

-"ALL THE WOLVES IN HUDSON BAY ARE SHY OF THE HUMAN RACE, YET WHEN SHARP SET, THEY FREQUENTLY FOLLOW THE INDIANS FOR SEVERAL DAYS, BUT ALWAYS KEEP AT A DISTANCE"

-"THEY ARE OF GREAT ENEMIES TO THE INDIAN DOGS, AND FREQUENTL KILL AND EAST THOSE THAT ARE HEAVILY LOADED AND CANNOT KEEP UP WITH THE MAIN BODY"

-"THE FEMALES ARE MUCH SWIFTER THAN THE MALES  AND THE INDIANS, BOTH NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN, 
 ARE OF THE OPINION THAT THEY KILL THE GREATEST PART OF THE GAME"

-"THEY ALWAYS BURROW UNDERGROUND TO BRING FORTH THEIR YOUNG; AND WHILE NATURAL TO SUPPOSE THEM VERY FIERCE AT THOSE TIMES, I HAVE FREQUENTLY SEEN THE INDIANS GO TO THEIR DENS AND TAKE OUT THE YOUNG ONES AND PLAY WITH THEM; I HAVE NEVER KNOWN A NORTHERN INDIAN TO HURT ONE OF THEM; ON THE CONTARY, THEY ALWAYS PUT THEM CAREFULLY INTO THE DEN AGAIN; AND I HAVE SOMETIMES SEEN THEM PAINT THE FACES OF THE YOUNG WOLVES WITH VERMILLION, OR RED OCHRE"
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-THE LYNX IS VERY SCARCE TO THE NORTH OF CHURCHILL, BUT IS EXACTLY THE SAME AS THOSE WHICH ARE FOUND IN GREAT PLENTY TO THE SOUTHWEST"

-"THEY NEVER APPROACH NEAR THE SETTLEMENTS IN HUDSON BAY"

-THEY ARE VERY DESTRUCTIVE TO RABBITS AND SELDOM LEAVE A PLACE TILL THEY HAVE KILLED NEARLY ALL OF THEM"
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-"THE WOLVERINE IS COMMON IN THE NORTHERN REGIONS, AS FAR NORTH AS THE COPPER RIVER, PERHAPS FARTHER. THEY ARE EQUALLY THE INHABITANT OF THE WOODS AS WELL AS THE BARREN GROUND. THEY ARE VERY SLOW IN THEIR PACE BUT THEIR WONDERFUL SAGACITY, STRENGTH AND ACUTE SCENT MAKE AMPLE AMENDS FOR THAT DEFECT"

-"THE WOLVERINES HAVE ALSO BEEN SEEN TO TAKE A DEER FROM A WOLF. INDEED, THEIR AMAZING STRENGTH AND THE LENGTH AND SHARPNESS OF THEIR CLAWSRENDER THEM OF MAKING A STRONG RESISTANCE AGAINST ANY OTHER ANIMAL IN THESE PARTS, THE BEAR NOT EXCEPTED"

-"THESE ANIMALS ARE GREAT ENEMIES TO THE BEAVER, BUT THE MANNER OF LIFE OF THE LATTER PREVENTS THEM FROM FALLING INTO THEIR CLUTCHES SO FREQUENTLY AS OTHER ANIMALS"

-"THEY COMMIT VAST DEPREDATIONS ON THE FOXES DURING THE SUMMER"