sentences:  The name of the river was recorded in 1744 in the logbooks of Hudson's Bay Company employees Thomas Mitchell and John Longland, while exploring the bay's coast.The entry for July 25 made the first mention of the "Great White Whail River".It may have come from the Cree "Whapmagoostui", meaning River of the Whale, and referring to the hunting of white whale or beluga there.