INTRODUCTION. OF THE ARCTIC WORLD.

AKNOWLEGE of the geography, climate, and ſoil, and a general view of the productions of the countries, whoſe Zoologic Hiſtory is to be treated of, are points ſo neceſſary, that no apology need be made for introducing them into a prefatory diſcourſe.

It is worthy human curioſity to trace the gradual increaſe of the animal world, from the ſcanty pittance given to the rocks of Spitzbergen, to the ſwarms of beings which enliven the vegetating plains of Senegal: to point out the cauſes of the local niggardneſs of certain places, and the prodigious plenty in others. The Botaniſt ſhould attend the fancied voyage I am about to take, to explain the ſcanty herbage of the Arctic regions; or, ſhould I at any time hereafter deſcend into the lower latitudes, to inveſtigate the luxuriancy of plants in the warmer climates.

The Foſſiliſt ſhould join company, and point the variations of primaeval crea⯑tion, from the ſolid rock of Spitzbergen through all the degrees of terreſtrial matter: the ſteps it makes to perfection, from the vileſt earth to the precious diamond of Golconda. The changes in the face of the globe ſhould be attended to; the de⯑ſtructions by vulcanoes; the ravages of the ſea on ſome coaſts, and the recom⯑pence it may have made to others, by the retreat of its waters.

The purſuit of theſe enquiries will alſo have a farther and more important object. Hiſtory ſhould be called in, and a brief account given of the population of the more remote countries—the motives which induced mankind to ſeek re⯑treats in climates ſeemingly deſtitute of incitements to migration. Particular attention ſhould be paid to the means of peopling the new world, and of ſtocking it with animals, to contribute to the ſupport of mankind, after the firſt coloniza⯑tion—the increaſe of thoſe animals, and their ceſſation, and giving place in a certain latitude to genera entirely different.

[II]Here the fine ſtudy of Geography ſhould ſtep in to our aſſiſtance. The outline of the terreſtrial globe ſhould be traced; the ſeveral approximations between part and part ſhould be attended to; the nature of the oceans obſerved; the various iſlands pointed out, as the ſteps, the baiting-places where mankind might have reſted in its paſſage from an overcharged continent.

The manners of the people ought not leſs to be attended to; and their changes, both mental and corporeal, by compariſon of the preſent ſtate of remote people with nations with whom they had common anceſtors, and who may have been diſcovered ſtill to retain their primaeval ſeats. Some leading cuſtoms may ſtill have been pre⯑ſerved in both; or ſome monuments of antiquity, proofs of congenial habitudes, poſſibly no longer extant in the ſavage than in the cultivated branches of the common ſtock.

Let me take my departure northward, from the narrow ſtreights of Dover, STREIGHTS OF DOVES. the ſite of the iſthmus of the once peninſulated Britain. No certain cauſe can be given for the mighty convulſion which tore us from the continent: whether it was rent by an earthquake, or whether it was worn through by the continual daſhing of the waters, no Pythagoras is left to ſolve the Fortuna locorum:

But it is moſt probable, that the great philoſopher alluded to the partial deſtruction of the Atlantica inſula, mentioned by Plato as a diſtant tradition in his days^*. It was effected by an earthquake and a deluge, which might have rent aſunder the narrow iſthmus in queſtion, and left Britain, large as it ſeems at preſent, the mere wreck of its original ſize^†. The Scilly iſles, the Hebrides, Orknies, Schet⯑lands, and perhaps the Feroe iſlands, may poſſibly be no more than fragments of the once far-extended region. I have no quarrel about the word iſland. The little iſthmus, compared to the whole, might have been a junction never attend⯑ed to in the limited navigations of very early times. The peninſula had never been wholly explored, and it paſſed with the antients for a genuine iſland. The correſpondency of ſtrata on part of the oppoſite ſhores of Britain and France, leaves no room to doubt but that they were once united.CHALKY STRATA. The chalky cliffs of Blanc-nez, between Calais and Bologne, and thoſe to the weſtward of Dover, ex⯑actly tally: the laſt are vaſt and continued; the former ſhort, and the termina⯑tion of the immenſe bed. Between Bologne and Folkſtone (about ſix miles from [III] the latter) is another memorial of the junction of the two countries; a narrow ſubmarine hill, called the Rip-raps, RIP-RAPS. about a quarter of a mile broad, and ten miles long, extending eaſtwards towards the Goodwin Sands. Its materials are boulder-ſtones, adventitious to many ſtrata. The depth of water on it, in very low ſpring-tides, is only fourteen feet. The fiſhermen from Folkſtone have often touched it with a fifteen feet oar; ſo that it is juſtly the dread of navigators. Many a tall ſhip has periſhed on it, and ſunk inſtantly into twenty-one fathoms water. In July 1782, the Belleiſle of ſixty-four guns ſtruck, and lay on it during three hours; but, by ſtarting her beer and water, got clear off.

Theſe celebrated ſtreights are only twenty-one miles wide in the narroweſt part.WIDTH OF THE STREIGHTS. From the pier at Dover to that at Calais is twenty-four. It is conjectured, that their breadth leſſens, and that they are two miles narrower than they were in antient times. An accurate obſerver of fifty years, remarks to me, that the encreaſed height of water, from a decreaſe of breadth, has been apparent even in that ſpace. The depth of the channel, at a medium, in higheſt ſpring-tides, is about twenty-five fathoms. The bottom, either coarſe ſand or rugged ſcars, which have for ages unknown reſiſted the attrition of the currents.DEPTH. From the ſtreights, both eaſtward and weſtward, is a gradual increaſe of depth thorough the channel to a hundred fathoms, till ſoundings are totally loſt or unattend⯑ed to.

The ſpring-tides in the ſtreights riſe, on an average, twenty-four feet; the neap-tides fifteen. The tide flows from the German ſea, paſſes the ſtreights, and meets, with a great rippling, the weſtern tide from the ocean, between Fairleigh, near Haſtings, and Bologne ^*; a proof, that if the ſeparation of the land was ef⯑fected by the ſeas, it muſt have been by the overpowering weight of thoſe of the north.

It is moſt certain, that Britain was peopled from Gaul. Similar cuſtoms,BRITAIN, WHENCE PEOPLED. as far as can be collected, evince this fact. The period is beyond the reach of hiſtory.

If, after the event by which our iſland was torn from the continent, the migra⯑tion over ſo narrow a ſtreight might, in the earlier ages, have been very readily effected in the vitilia navigia or coracles, or the monoxyla or canoes in uſe in the remote periods; but the numerous ſpecies of Quadrupeds never could have ſwam into our iſland, even over ſuch a contracted water, which at all times muſt have been poſſeſſed by tides ſo rapid, as to baffle their utmoſt efforts: their paſſage, therefore, muſt have been over the antient iſthmus; for it is contrary to common ſenſe to ſuppoſe, that our anceſtors would have been at the trouble of tranſporting ſuch gueſts as wolves and bears, and the numerous train of leſſer rapacious ani⯑mals, even had it been practicable for them to have introduced the domeſtic and uſeful ſpecies.

Men and beaſts found their way into Great Britain from the ſame quarter.QUADRUPEDS. We have no Quadrupeds but what are alſo found in France; and among our loſt animals may be reckoned the Urus, p. 2; Wolf, N^o 9; Bear, N^o 20; Wild Boar; and the Beaver, N^o 40: all which were once common to both countries. The Urus continued among us in a ſtate of nature as late at leſt as the year 1466^*: and I have ſeen ſome of their deſcendants, ſcarcely to be called tame, in confinement in the parks of Drumlanrig and Chilling⯑ham ^†. The Caledonian Bears were exported to Rome, and eſteemed for their fierceneſs^‡. They continued in Scotland till the year 1057. They exiſted in Wales, perhaps, till the ſame period; for our antient laws ranked them among the beaſts of chace^§. Wolves infeſted even the middle counties of England as late as the year 1281, and continued their ravages in North Britain in the reign of Queen Elizabeth; nor were they wholly extirpated till the year 1680. The Wild [V] Boars were common in the neighborhood of London in the reign of Henry II. and continued in our kingdom, in a wild ſtate, till 1577: they were then only to be found in the woods of Lord Latimer, who, we are informed by Doctor Mou⯑fet, took great delight in their chace^*. Let me add, from the ſame authority, that Roebucks were found at the ſame period in Wales, and among the Cheviot hills; they are now confined to the Highlands of Scotland. Finally, Beavers in⯑habited Wales in 1188, when our hiſtorian, Giraldus, made his progreſs through the principality. Every one of theſe animals are at this time to be found in France, the Urus excepted. Theodebert, king of France, periſhed in the chace of one about the year 548^†; but it is probable that the ſpecies muſt have exiſted in that vaſt kingdom long after that event.

The Elk, N^o 3; Genet, Hiſt. Quad. N^o 224; Lynx, N^o 150; Fat Dormouſe, Hiſt. Quad. N^o 287; Garden Dormouſe, Hiſt. Quad. N^o 288; and the Bats Serotine, Pipiſtrelle, and Barbaſtelle, Hiſt. Quad. N^ris 408, 409, 410, either never reached our iſland, or if they did, periſhed ſo early, that even their very names in the Britiſh tongue, have periſhed with them. The Ibex, Hiſt. Quad. N^o 13, and the Chamois, Hiſt. Quad. N^o 17, inhabitants only of the remote Gauliſh Alps and Pyreneans, probably never reached us. France, therefore, poſſeſſes forty-nine ſpecies of Quadrupeds; we only thirty-nine. I exclude two ſpecies of Seals ^‡ in both reckonings; being animals which had at all times powers of making themſelves inhabitants of the coaſts of each kingdom.

Birds,BIRDS. which have the ready means of wafting themſelves from place to place, have notwithſtanding, in numbers of inſtances, their limits. Climate confines ſome within certain bounds, and particular ſorts of food induce others to remain within countries not very remote from us; yet, by wonderful inſtinct, birds will follow cultivation, and make themſelves denizens of new regions. The CROSS⯑BILL has followed the apple into England. Glenco, in the Highlands of Scotland, never knew the Partridge, till its farmers of late years introduced corn into their lands: nor did Sparrows ever appear in Sibiria, till after the Ruſſians had made arable the vaſt waſtes of thoſe parts of their dominions. Finally, the Rice Bunt⯑ings, p. 360, natives of Cuba, after the planting of rice in the Carolinas, annually quit the iſland in myriads, and fly over ſea and land, to partake of a harveſt intro⯑duced there from the diſtant India.

[VI]FRANCE, as it exceeds in variation of climate, ſo it exceeds us in the number of ſpecies of birds. We can boaſt of only one hundred and thirty-one kinds of land-birds, and one hundred and twenty-one of water-fowl. France, on the contrary, has one hundred and fifty-ſix of the firſt, and one hundred and thirteen of the laſt. This computation may not be quite accurate; for no one has as yet attempted its Fauna, which muſt be very numerous, in a kingdom which extends from Calais, in about lat. 51, to Collioure in the ſouth of Rouſſillon, on the Mediterranean ſea, in about lat. 42. The northern parts poſſeſs the birds in common with England: and in all probability the provinces in the Mediterranean annually are viſited by various ſpecies from northern Africa.

COASTS OF BRI⯑TAIN.Stupendous and precipitous ranges of chalky cliffs attend the coaſt, from Dover eaſtward, and, from their color, gave the name of Albion to our iſland. Beneath one of them anchored Ceſar, fifty-five years before CHRIST, and ſo near as to be capable of being annoyed by the darts of the Britons. After weighing anchor, he ſailed up a bay, now occupied by meadows, and landed at Rutupium, Richborough, oppoſite to the preſent Sandwich. The walls of the former ſtill evince its antient ſtrength; and the veſtiges of a quay, now bounded by a ditch, points out the anchorage of the Roman commerce. The adjacent Thanet, the Thanatos of the antients, at pre⯑ſent indiſtinguiſhable from the main land, was in old times an iſland, ſeparated by a deep channel, from a mile and a half to four miles in width, the ſite of Roman ſettlements; and, in 449, celebrated for having been the firſt landing-place of the invading Saxons; to whom it was aſſigned as a place of ſecurity by the imprudent Vortigern. But ſuch a change has time effected, that Thanet no more exiſts as an iſland; and the Britanniarum Portus, in which rode the Roman navies, is now filled with marſhy meads.

After paſſing the lofty chalky promontory, the North Foreland, opens the eſtuary of the Thames, bounded on each ſide by low ſhores, and its channels divided by numerous ſand-banks; ſecurely paſſed, by reaſon of the perfection of navigation, by thouſands of ſhips frequenting annually London, our emporium, envied nearly to impending decline.

On the projecting coaſts of Suffolk and Norfolk, SUFFOLK AND NORFOLK. ariſe, in certain intervals, emi⯑nences of different matter. Loamy cliffs appear about Leoſtoffe, Dunwich, &c. The Crag-pits about Woodbridge, are prodigious pits of ſea-ſhells, many of them perfect and quite ſolid; an inexhauſtible fund of manure for arable lands. About Yarmouth, and from thence beyond Wintertoneſs, the coaſt is low, flat, and com⯑poſed of ſhingle, backed by ſand. From Hapſburgh to Cromer are a range of lofty clayey precipices, riſing from the height of forty to a hundred feet perpendicular; a prey to the ocean, which has effected great changes in theſe parts. About Sherringham and Cley, it riſes into pretty and gentle hills, ſloping down into a [VII] rough ſhore, of little rocks and ſtones. At Holkham, Wells, and Wareham, the ſandy ſhores terminate in little hillocks of ſand, kept together by the Arundo Are⯑naria, or Bent, the great preſervative againſt the inundations of ſand, which would otherwiſe deſtroy whole tracts of country, and in particular ſoon render uſeleſs the range of ſalt-marſhes which theſe are backed with. Hunſtanton cliff riſes a diſtin⯑guiſhed feature in this flat tract. The ſurface is the uſual vegetable mould, about a foot deep; beneath that are two feet of ſmall broken pieces of chalk: the ſolid ſtratum of the ſame, after having been loſt for numbers of miles, here again makes its appearance, and forms a ſolid bed thirty feet in thickneſs, reſting on a hard red ſtone four feet deep, which is often ground and made into a red paint. Seven feet of looſe friable dirty yellow ſtone ſucceeds, placed on a baſe of iron-colored plumb-pudding-ſtone, projecting into the ſea, with vaſt fragments ſcattered over the beach. This cliff is about eighty feet high, lies on the entrance of the waſhes, the Metaris Eſtuarium of Ptolemy. From hence, all the coaſt by Snettiſham to Lynn is low, flat, and ſhingly.

From Holm, the northern promontory of Norfolk, the ſea advances deeply weſt⯑ward, and forms the great bay called the Waſhes, filled with vaſt ſand-banks, the ſummits of which are dry at low water; but the intervening channels are the means of prodigious commerce to Lynn in Norfolk, ſeated on the Ouze, which is circulated into the very inland parts of our iſland, through the various rivers which fall into its long courſe. Lynn is mentioned in the Doomſday Book; but became conſiderable for its commerce with Norway as early as the year 1284.

The oppoſite ſhore is that of Lincolnſhire. LINCOLNSHIRE. Its great commercial town, Boſton, ſtands on the Witham, a few miles from the head of the bay. Spring-tides riſe at the quay fourteen feet, and convey there veſſels of above a hundred tons; but greater ſhips lie at the Scap, the opening of the eſtuary. Such is the caſe at Lynn; for the ſluggiſh rivers of theſe tame tracts want force to form a depth of water.

Lincolnſhire, and part of ſix other counties, are the Pais-bas, the Low Countries of Britain; the former bounded on the weſtern part by a range of elevated land, which, in this humble county, overlooks, as Alps would the ocean, the remaining part. This very extenſive tract, from the Scap to the northern headland oppoſite to Hull, preſents to the ſea a bow-like and almoſt unindented front; and ſo low as to be viſible from ſea only at a ſmall diſtance; and churches, inſtead of hills, are the only landmarks to ſeamen. The whole coaſt is fronted with ſalt-marſhes or ſand-hills, and ſecured by artificial banks againſt the fury of the ſea. Old Holinſ⯑head gives a long liſt of ports on this now inhoſpitable coaſt. Waynfleet, once a noted haven, is at preſent a mere creek. Skegneſs, once a large walled town, with a good harbour, is now an inconſiderable place a mile from the ſea: and the port of [VIII] Grimeſby, which in the time of Edward III. furniſhed him with eleven ſhips, is now totally choaked with ſand.

The Great Level, which comprehends Holland in this county, with part of Northamptonſhire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, and Huntingdon, a tract of ſixty com⯑puted miles in length, and forty in breadth, had been originally a wooded country. Whole foreſts of firs and oaks have been found in digging, far beneath the moor, on the ſolid ground; oaks fifteen feet in girth, and ſixteen yards long, moſtly burnt at the bottoms, the antient method of falling them: multitudes of others entirely rooted up, as appears, by the force of the ſea burſting in and overwhelming this whole tract, and covering it with ſilt, or the mud which it carried with it from time to time. Ovid's beautiful account of the deluge was here verified; for under Conington Down, in Huntingdonſhire, was found the ſkeleton of a whale near twenty feet long, which had once ſwam ſecure to this diſtance from its native reſidence.

In proceſs of time this tract underwent another revolution. The ſilt or mud gained ſo conſiderably as to leave vaſt ſpaces dry, and other parts ſo ſhallow as to encourage the Romans to regain theſe fertilized countries from the ſea. Thoſe ſen⯑ſible and indefatigable people firſt taught us the art of embanking, and recovered the valuable lands we now poſſeſs. It was the complaint of Galgacus, that they ex⯑hauſted the ſtrength of the Britons, in ſylvis et paludibus emuniendis ^*, 'in clearing woods and draining marſhes.' After the Romans deſerted our iſland, another change took place. Neglect of their labors ſucceeded: the drains were neglected, and the whole became fen and ſhallow lake, reſembling the preſent eaſt fen; the haunt of myriads of water-fowl, or the retreat of banditti. Ely and many little tracts which had the advantage of elevation, were at that period literally iſlands. Several of theſe in early times became the retreat of religious. Ely, Thorney, Ramſey, Spiney, and others, roſe into celebrated abbies, and by the induſtry of their inhabi⯑tants firſt began to reſtore the works of the Romans. The country above Thorney is repreſented by an old hiſtorian ^† as a paradiſe. Conſtant viſitations, founded on wholeſome laws, preſerved this vaſt recovered country: but on the rapid and ra⯑pacious diſſolution, the removal of numbers of the inhabitants, and the neglect of the laws of the Sewers, the drains were filled, the cultivated land overflowed, and [IX] the country again reduced to a uſeleſs moraſs^*. In the twentieth of Elizabeth the ſtate of the country was taken into conſideration^†; no great matters were done till the time of Francis, and William his ſon, earls of Bedford, who attempted this Herculean work, and reclamed this vaſt tract of more than three hundred thouſand acres; and the laſt received, under ſanction of parlement, the juſt reward of ninety thouſand acres. I ſpeak not of the reliques of the antient banks which I have ſeen in Holland, Lincolnſhire, now remote from the ſea, nor yet of the Roman tumuli, the coins, and other evidences of the reſidence of that nation in theſe parts; they would ſwell a mere preface to too great a length: and, it is to be hoped, will be under⯑taken by the pen of ſome native, who will perform it from his actual ſurvey.

The vaſt fenny tracts of theſe counties were in old times the haunts of multi⯑tudes of water-fowl; but the happy change, by attention to draining, has ſubſtitut⯑ed in their place thouſands of ſheep; or, inſtead of reeds, made thoſe tracts laugh with corn. The Crane, which once abounded in theſe parts, has even deſerted our iſland. The Common Wild Duck ſtill breeds in multitudes in the unreclamed parts; and thouſands are ſent annually to the London markets, from the numerous decoys. The Grey Lag Gooſe, Br. Zool. ii. N^o 266, the origin of the Tame, breeds here, and is reſident the whole year: a few others of the Duck kind breed here. Ruffs, Redſhanks, Lapwings, Red-breaſted Godwits, and Whimbrels, are found here during ſummer; but, with their young, in autumn, diſperſe about the iſland. The Short-eared Owl migrates here with the Woodcock, and is a welcome gueſt to the farmer, by clearing the fields of mice. Knots ſwarm on the coaſts in winter: are taken in numbers in nets: yet none are ſeen during ſummer^‡. The moſt diſtant north is probably the retreat of the multitude of water-fowl of each order which ſtock our ſhores, driven ſouthward by the extreme cold: moſt of them regularly, others, whoſe nature enables them to brave the uſual winters of the frigid zone, are with us only accidental gueſts, and in ſeaſons when the froſt rages in their native land with unuſual ſeverity.

From Clea Neſs, the land retires weſtward, and, with the oppoſite ſhore of Yorkſhire, bounds the great eſtuary of the Humber, which, winding deep into the country, is the receptacle of the Trent, and all the conſiderable rivers of that vaſt province; ſome of which ariſe in its moſt remote parts. All theſe coaſts of Lincolnſhire are flat, and have been gained from the ſea. Barton and Barrow have not at preſent the leaſt appearance of ports; yet by Holinſhed were ſtyled good ones^§. Similar [X] accidents have befallen the upper part of the low tract of Holderneſs, which faces the congruent ſhores. Hedon, a few miles below Hull, ſeveral hundred years ago a port of great commerce, is now a mile and a half from the water, and has long given way to the riſing fortune of the latter (a creation of Edward I. in 1296) on account of the excellency of its port. But in return, the ſea has made moſt ample repriſals on the lands of this hundred: the ſite, and even the very names of ſeveral places, once towns of note upon the Humber, are now only recorded in hiſtory: and Ravenſper was at one time a rival to Hull ^*; and a port ſo very conſiderable in 1332, that Edward Baliol and the confederated Engliſh barons ſailed from hence with a great fleet to invade Scotland; and Henry IV. in 1399, made choice of this port to land at, to effect the depoſal of Richard II. yet the whole of it has long ſince been devoured by the mercileſs ocean: extenſive ſands, dry at low water, are to be ſeen in their ſtead; except Sunk Iſland, which, till about the year 1666, appeared among them like an elevated ſhoal, at which period it was regained, by embankments, from the ſea; and now forms a conſiderable eſtate, probably reſtored to its priſtine condition.

Spurn Head, SPURN HEAD. the Ocelum Promontorium of Ptolemy, terminates this ſide of the Hum⯑ber, at preſent in form of a ſickle, near which the wind-bound ſhips anchor ſecurely. The place on which the lighthouſes ſtand is a vaſt beach near two miles long, mixed with ſand-hills flung up by the ſea within the laſt ſeventy years.

The land from hence for ſome miles is compoſed of very lofty cliffs of brown clay, perpetually preyed on by the fury of the German ſea, which devours whole acres at a time, and expoſes on the ſhores conſiderable quantities of beautiful amber. Fine wheat grows on the clay, even to the edge of the cliffs. A country of the ſame fertility reaches from Kilnſey, near this place, as far as the village of Sprottly, ex⯑tending, in a waved form, for numbers of miles; and, when I ſaw it, richly cloathed with wheat and beans.

From near Kilnſey the land bends very gently inward, as far as the great promon⯑tory of Flamborough; and is a continuance of high clayey cliff, till about the village of Hornſey. Near it is a mere, noted for its Eels and Pikes, at preſent ſepa⯑rated from the ſea by ſo ſmall a ſpace as to render its ſpeedy deſtruction very proba⯑ble. A ſtreet, called Hornſey Beck, has long ſince been ſwallowed: and of Hide, a neighboring town, only the tradition is left.

The country grows conſiderably lower; and, near the baſe of the promon⯑tory, retires ſo far in as to form Bridlington bay,BRIDLINGTON BAY. antiently called Gabrantovicorum Sinus, to which the Geographer adds [...], on account of the excellency and [XI] ſafety of its port, where veſſels ride in full ſecurity under the ſhelter of the lofty head-land. Smithie ſand, the only one between Flamborough and Spurn Head, ſtretches acroſs the entrance into Bridlington bay, and, in hard gales from the north and north-eaſt, adds to the ſecurity of that noble aſylum for the coaſting veſſels. Sureby, an adjacent village, ſeems no more than a tranſlation from the old appellation. The Romans, in all probability, had a naval ſtation here; for here ends the road, viſible in many places between this place and York, and named, from its founders, the Roman ridge.

The head is formed of lime-ſtone, of a ſnowy whiteneſs^*,FLAMBOROUGH HEAD. of a ſtupendous height, and vaſt magnificence, viſible far at ſea. If we may depend on Richard of Cirenceſter, the Romans named it Brigantum Extrema, and the bay Portus Felix. The Saxons ſtyled the cape Fleamburg, perhaps from the lights which directed the great Ida, founder of the Northumberland kingdom, to land here, in 547, with a great body of their countrymen.

The vaſt height of the precipices, and the amazing grandeur of the caverns which open on the north ſide, giving wide and ſolemn admiſſion, through moſt exalted arches, into the body of the mountain; together with the gradual decline of light, the deep ſilence of the place unleſs interrupted by the ſtriking of the oar, the colliſion of a ſwelling wave againſt the ſides, or the loud flutter of the pigeons affrighted from their neſts in the diſtant roof; afford pleaſures of ſcenery which ſuch formations as this alone can yield. Theſe alſo are wonderfully diverſified. In ſome parts the caverns penetrate far, and end in darkneſs; in others are per⯑vious, and give a romantic paſſage by another opening equally ſuperb. Many of the rocks are inſulated, of a pyramidal form, and ſoar to a great height. The baſes of moſt are ſolid; but in ſome pierced through and arched. All are covered with the dung of the innumerable flocks of migratory birds which reſort here annually to breed, and fill every little projection, every hole, which will give them leave to reſt. Multitudes were ſwimming about; others ſwarmed in the air, and ſtunned us with [XII] the variety of their croaks and ſcreams. Kittiwakes and Herring Gulls, Guille⯑mots and Black Guillemots, Auks, Puffins, Shags, and Corvorants, are among the ſpecies which reſort hither. The notes of all ſea-fowl are moſt harſh and inhar⯑monious. I have often reſted under rocks like theſe, attentive to the various founds over my head; which, mixed with the deep roar of the waves ſlowly ſwelling, and retiring from the vaſt caverns beneath, have produced a fine effect. The ſharp voice of the Gulls, the frequent chatter of the Guillemots, the loud notes of the Auks, the ſcream of the Herons, together with the deep periodical croak of the Corvorants, which ſerves as a baſs to the reſt, have often furniſhed me with a con⯑cert; which, joined to the wild ſcenery ſurrounding me, afforded in an high degree that ſpecies of pleaſure which reſults from the novelty and the gloomy majeſty of the entertainment.

ROCKY COASTS BEGIN.At Flamborough head commence the hard or rocky coaſts of this ſide of Great Bri⯑tain, which continue, with the interruption of a few ſandy bays and low land, to the extremity of the kingdom. It often happens, that the bottom of the ſea partakes of the nature of the neighboring element: thus, about the head, and a few miles to the northward (in places) the ſhores are rocky, and the haunts of lobſters and other cruſtaceous animals. From theſe ſtrata a tract of fine ſand, from one to five miles in breadth, extends ſloping eaſtward, and from its edge to that of the Dogger-bank is a deep bottom, rugged, rocky, and cavernous, and in moſt parts overgrown with corallines and ſubmarine plants.

This diſpoſition of ſhore gives to the inhabitants of this coaſt the advantageous fiſhery which they poſſeſs; for the ſhore on one hand, and the edges of the Dogger-bank on the other, like the ſides of a decoy, give a direction to the im⯑menſe ſhoals of the Cod genus, which annually migrate from the northern ocean, to viſit, reſide, and ſpawn, in the parts adjacent to our coaſts. They find plenty of food from the plants of the rocks, and the worms of the ſand, and ſecure ſhelter for their ſpawn in the cavernous part of the ſcarry bottom. It is in the channel between the banks and the ſhores, in which the Cod are taken, or in the hollows between the Doggers and Well-bank; for they do not like the agita⯑tion of the water on the ſhallows. On the contrary, the Skates, the Holibuts, Flounders, and other flat fiſh, bury themſelves in the ſand; and ſecure themſelves from the turbulence of the waves.

An amazing ſhoal of Haddocks viſit this coaſt periodically, generally about the tenth of December, and extend from the ſhore near three miles in breadth, and in length from Flamborough head to Tinmouth caſtle, perhaps further north. An army of a ſmall ſpecies of Shark, the PICKED, Br. Zool. iii. N^o 40, flanks the outſide of this ſhoal to prey upon it; for when the fiſhermen caſt their lines [XIII] beyond the diſtance of three miles from land, they never catch any but thoſe vo⯑racious fiſh.^*

Between Flamborough head and Scarborough projects Filey Brig, FILEY BRIG. a ledge of rocks running far into the ſea, the cauſe of frequent ſhipwrecks. Scarborough caſtle, ſeated on a vaſt rock projecting into the water, ſucceeds. The ſpring-tides, at the time of the equinoxes, riſe here twenty-four feet; but at other times only twenty: the neap-tides from twelve to ſixteen. Then Whitby, noted for its neighboring allum-works, and more for its fine harbour, the only one on the whole coaſt: the admittance into which is a narrow channel between two high hills: it expands largely within, and is kept clean by the river Eſk. From hence to the mouth of the Tees, the boundary between this county and that of Durham, is a high and rude coaſt, indented with many bays, and varied with little fiſhing villages, built ſtrangely among the cliffs, filling every project⯑ing ledge, in the ſame manner with thoſe of the peaſants in the pictureſque and rocky parts of China.

The Tees, TEES. the northern limit of this great county, opens with a wide mouth and mudded bottom into the ſea. This was the Dunum Eſtuarium of Ptolemy; and ſerves as a brief entrance for navigators into the country. Almoſt all the northern rivers deſcend with a rapid courſe, from their mountanous riſe and ſup⯑ply; and afford but a ſhort navigation. From hence the lead of the mineral parts of Durham, and the corn of its more level parts, are imported. In the mud of this eſtuary, more particularly, abounds the Myxine Glutinoſa of Linnaeus, the Hag of the neighboring fiſhermen; a worm, which enters the mouths of the fiſh taken on hooks, that remain a tide under water, and devours the whole, leaving only the ſkin and bones. This alſo is the worm which converts water into a ſort of glue.

From Seaton Snook, in the biſhoprick of Durham, DURHAM. to Hartlepool, is a ſeries of ſand-banks, and the ſhore a long-continued ſandy ſhallow. From the Neſs Point of Hartleppol to Blackhalls is a rocky lime-ſtone coaſt, with frequent inter⯑vals of ſand-bank, and a ſtony beach; but Seham and Hartlepool is ſo very rugged, that no enemy could land, or even ſtand off the ſhore, without the moſt imminent danger: in particular, the coaſts about Hawthorn Hive are bold, excavated, and formed into groteſque figures, for ſeveral miles, and the ſhores rough with a broken and heavy ſea, by reaſon of the hidden rocks and ſpits of ſands which run out far [XIV] from land. From Seham to Sunderland are ſand-hills and ſhallow ſandy beaches. From Weremouth to near Cleadon, low rocks of lime-ſtone form the coaſt, here and there interſected with ſand-hills and ſtony beaches. From thence to the mouth of the Tyne, and even to Dunſtanbrough in Northumberland; NORTHUMBER⯑LAND. the ſhore is ſandy, and the land in a few places rocky; but from thence to Bamborough, the coaſts are high and rocky, in many places run far into the ſea, and at low tides ſhew their heads above water.

Bamborough caſtle ſtands on the laſt of the range of rocky cliffs. This fortreſs was founded by the Saxon monarch Ida. After various fortunes it, has proved in its diſmantled ſtate of more uſe to mankind than when it boaſted ſome potent lord and fierce warders. A charitable prelate of the fee of Durham purchaſed the eſtate, and left it for the uſe of the diſtreſſed ſeamen who might ſuffer ſhip⯑wreck on this dangerous coaſt, and to unconfined charitable purpoſes, at the diſ⯑cretion of certain truſtees. The poor are, in the deareſt ſeaſons, ſupplied with corn at a cheap rate; the wrecked, found ſenſeleſs and benumbed with cold, are taken inſtantly into theſe hoſpitable walls, and reſtored to life by the aſſiſtance of food, medicine, and warm beds; and if the ſhip is capable of relief, that alſo is ſaved, by means of machines always ready for the purpoſe^*.

The Farn iſlands, FARN ISLES. or rather rocks, form a group at no great diſtance from ſhore; the neareſt a mile and ſixty-eight chains; the fartheſt about ſeven. Theſe probably, at ſome remote period, have been convulſed from the land, but now divided from it by a furious tide, ruſhing through a channel from five to twelve fathoms in depth. The original ſea, to the eaſt of the Staples, the remoteſt rocks, ſuddenly deepens to forty or fifty^†. St. Cuthbert firſt made theſe rocks of note: he occaſionally made the largeſt of them the ſeat of his devotion and ſecluſion from the world; expelling, ſays ſuperſtition, the malignant ſpirits, the pre-oc⯑cupants. Some remains of a chapel are ſtill to be ſeen on it. For ages paſt, the ſole tenants are a few cows, wafted over from the main land in the little cobles, or boats of the country; and the Eider Ducks, Arct. Zool. ii. N^o 480, ſtill diſtinguiſhed here by the name of the Saint. Numberleſs ſea-fowls, and of great variety of kinds, poſſeſs the remoter rocks, on which they find a more ſecure retreat than on the low-cliffed ſhores. To the marine feathered tribe the whole coaſt from Flamborough head to that of St. Ebb's is inhoſpitable. They ſeek the loftieſt promontories. Where you hear of the haunts of the Razor-bills and Guillemots, Corvorants and Shags, you may be well aſſured, that [XV] the cliffs ſoar to a diſtinguiſhed height. Where thoſe are wanting, they retire to ſea-girt rocks, as ſpots the leſt acceſſible to mankind. The five ſpecies of Auks and Guillemots appear in ſpring, and vaniſh in autumn: the other birds preſerve their native haunts, or ſpread along the neighboring ſhores.

From Bamborough to the mouth of the Tweed is a ſandy ſhore, narrowing as it approaches our ſiſter kingdom. Lindesfarn, or the Holy iſland, with its ruined cathedral and caſtle, lie remote from ſhore, acceſſible at every receſs of tide, and poſſibly divided from Northumberland by the power of the waves in diſtant ages. The tides do not ſwell over this tract in the uſual manner of apparent flow⯑ing and gradual approach; but ooze gently out of every part of the ſand, which at firſt appears a quaggy extent, then, to the terror of the traveller, ſurrounds him with a ſhining plain of ſmooth unruffled water, reflecting the varied land⯑ſcapes of the adjoining ſhores^*.

The Tweed, the antient Alaunus, SCOTLAND. a narrow geographical boundary between us and our fellow-ſubjects the Scottiſh nation, next ſucceeds. After a ſhort conti⯑nuance of low land, St. Ebb's head, ST. EBB'S HEAD. a lofty promontory, projects into the ſea (frequented in the ſeaſon by Razor-bills, Guillemots, and all the birds of the Baſs, excepting the Gannet) and its lower part is hollowed into moſt auguſt caverns. This, with Fifeneſs, about thirty miles diſtant, forms the entrance into that magnificent eſtuary the firth of Forth, FIRTH OF FORTH. which extends inland ſixty miles; and, with the canal from Carron to the firth of Clyde, intirely inſulates the antient Caledonia. The iſle of May appears near the northern ſide of the entrance; the vaſt towering rock, the Baſs, lies near the ſouthern. This lofty iſland is the ſummer reſort of birds innumerable, which, after diſcharging the firſt duty of nature, ſeek, with their young, other ſhores or other climates. This is one of the few ſpots in the northern hemiſphere on which the Gannets neſtle. Their ſize, their ſnowy plumage, their eaſy flight, and their precipitate plunge after their prey, diſtinguiſh them at once from all the reſt of the feathered tenants of the iſle, the Corvorants and Auks, the flights of whom are rapid, and the Gulls, which move with ſluggiſh wing.

Near the Baſs the entrance narrows, then opens, and bending inwards, forms on each ſide a noble bay. The Firth contracts to a very narrow ſtreight at Queensferry; then winds beautifully, till it terminates beyond Alloa, in the river to which it owes its name. The ſhores are low, in part rocky, in part a plea⯑ſant beach; but every where of matchleſs beauty and population. Edinburgh, the capital, riſes with true grandeur near the ſhore, with its port, the great em⯑porium, [XVI] Leith, beneath, where the ſpring-tides ſometimes riſe fifteen and ſixteen feet, and to ſeventeen or eighteen when the water is forced up the firth by a violent wind from the north-eaſt. Almoſt every league of this great eſtuary is terminated with towns or villages, the effects of trade and induſtry. The ele⯑gant deſcription of the coaſt of Fife, left us by Johnſton ^*, is far from being ex⯑aggerated; and may, with equal juſtice, be applied to each ſhore.

FIFESHIRE, bounded by the firths of Forth and Tay, projects far into the ſea; a country flouriſhing by its induſtry, and happy in numbers of ports, natural, artificial, or improved. Coal and lime, the native productions of the county, are exported in vaſt quantities. Excepting the unimportant colliery in Suther⯑land, thoſe at Largo Wood, midway between the bay and St. Andrews, are the laſt on this ſide of North Britain. The coaſts in general of this vaſt province are rocky and precipitous; but far from being lofty. The bays, particularly the beautiful one of Largo, are finely bounded by gravelly or ſandy ſhores; and the land, in moſt parts, riſes high to the middle of the county. Towards the northern end, the river Edin; and its little bay, by ſimilarity of ſound point out the Tinna of the old geographer.

FIRTH OF TAY.The eſtuary of the Tay limits the north of Fifeſhire. Before the mouth extends the ſand retaining the Britiſh name of Aber-tay, or the place where the Tay diſ⯑charges itſelf into the ſea. The Romans preſerved the antient name, and Latinized it into Tava. The entrance, at Brough-tay caſtle, is about three quarters of a mile wide; after which it expands, and goes about fourteen miles up the coun⯑try before it aſſumes the form of a river. At the receſs of the tides there ap⯑pears a vaſt extent of ſands, and a very ſhallow channel; but the high tides waft, even as high as Perth, veſſels of a hundred and twenty tons. The ſhores are low, and the ground riſes gently inland on the ſouthern ſide: on the north it continues low, till it arrives at the foot of the Grampian hills, many miles diſtant. In ſome remote age the ſea extended on the north ſide far beyond its preſent bounds. At a conſiderable diſtance above the flouriſhing port of Dundee, and remote inland, anchors have been found deep in the ſoil^†. When theſe parts were deſerted by the ſea, it is probable that ſome oppoſite country was devoured by an inundation, which occaſioned this partial deſertion.

From thence to Aberbrothic, in the ſhire of Angus, noted for the venerable re⯑mains of its abbey, is a low and ſandy ſhore. From Aberbrothic almoſt to Mon⯑troſe, ariſes a bold rocky coaſt, lofty and precipitous, except where interrupted by the beautiful ſemicircular bay of Lunan. Several of the cliffs are penetrated by [XVII] moſt amazing caverns; ſome open into the ſea with a narrow entrance, and in⯑ternally inſtantly riſe into high and ſpacious vaults, and ſo extenſively meandring, that no one as yet has had the courage to explore the end. The entrance of others ſhame the work of art in the nobleſt of the Gothic cathedrals. A mag⯑nificent portal appears divided in the middle by a great column, the baſis of which ſinks deep in the water. Thus the voyager may paſs on one ſide in his boat, ſurvey the wonders within, and return by the oppoſite ſide.

The cavern called the Geylit-pot, almoſt realiſes in form a fable in the Perſian Tales. The hardy adventurer may make a long ſubterraneous voyage, with a pictureſque ſcenery of rock above and on every ſide. He may be rowed in this ſolemn ſcene till he finds himſelf ſuddenly reſtored to the ſight of the heavens: he finds himſelf in a circular chaſm, open to the day, with a narrow bottom and extenſive top, widening at the margin to the diameter of two hundred feet. On attaining the ſummit, he finds himſelf at a diſtance from the ſea, amidſt corn⯑fields or verdant paſtures, with a fine view of the country, and a gentleman's ſeat near to the place from which he had emerged. Such may be the amuſement of the curious in ſummer calms! but when the ſtorms are directed from the eaſt, the view from the edge of this hollow is tremendous; for, from the height of above three hundred feet, they may look down on the furious waves, whitened with foam, and ſwelling from their confined paſſage.

Peninſulated rocks often jut from the face of the cliff's, precipitous on their ſides, and waſhed by a great depth of water. The iſthmus which joins them to the land, is often ſo extremely narrow as to render it impaſſable for more than two or three perſons a-breaſt; but the tops ſpread into verdant areas, containing veſtiges of rude fortifications, in antient and barbarous times the retreat of the neighboring inhabitants from the rage of a potent invader^*.

Montroſe, MONTROSE. peninſulated by the ſea, and the baſon its beautiful harbour, ſtands on a bed of ſand and gravel. The tide ruſhing furiouſly through a narrow en⯑trance twice in twenty-four hours, fills the port with a depth of water ſufficient to bring in veſſels of large burden. Unfortunately, at the ebb they muſt lie dry; for none exceeding ſixty tons can at that period float, and thoſe only in the chan⯑nel of the South Eſk, which, near Montroſe, diſcharges itſelf into the ſea.

A ſandy coaſt is continued for a ſmall diſtance from Montroſe. Rude rocky cliffs re-commence in the county of Merns, and front the ocean. Among the higheſt is Fowls-heugh, noted for the reſort of multitudes of ſea-birds. Bervie and Stonehive are two ſmall ports overhung with rocks; and on the ſummit of a [XVIII] moſt exalted one, are the vaſt ruins of Dunnoter, once the property of the warlike family of the Keiths. The rocks adjacent to it, like the preceding, aſſume various and groteſque forms.

A little farther the antient Deva, or Dee, opens into the ſea, after forming a harbour to the fine and flouriſhing town of Aberdeen. A ſandy coaſt continues for numbers of miles, part of which is ſo moveable as almoſt totally to have over⯑whelmed the pariſh of Furvie: two farms only exiſt, out of an eſtate, in 1600, va⯑lued at five hundred pounds a year.

A majeſtic rocky coaſt appears again. The Bullers of Buchan, BULLERS OF BUCHAN. and the noble arched rock, ſo finely repreſented by the pencil of the Reverend Mr. Cordiner ^*, are juſtly eſteemed the wonders of this country. The former is an amazing harbour, with an entrance through a moſt auguſt arch of great height and length. The inſide is a ſecure baſon, environed on every ſide by mural rocks: the whole projects far from the main land, and is bounded on each ſide by deep creeks; ſo that the traveller who chuſes to walk round the narrow battlements, ought firſt to be well aſſured of the ſtrength of his head.

A little farther is Peterhead, PETERHEAD. the moſt eaſtern port of Scotland, the common retreat of wind-bound ſhips; and a port which fully merits the attention of go⯑vernment, to render it more ſecure. Kinnaird-head, the Taizalum promontorium, lies a little farther north, and, with the north-eaſtern extremity of Cathneſs, forms the firth of Murray, the Tua Aeſtuarium, a bay of vaſt extent. Troup-head is an⯑other vaſt cape,CAVERNS AND SINGULAR ROCKS: to the weſt of the former. The caverns and rocks of that pro⯑montory yield to none in magnificence and ſingularity of ſhape: of the latter, ſome emulate the form of lofty towers, others of inclining pyramids with central arches,HOW FORMED. pervious to boats. The figures of theſe are the effect of chance, and owing to the colliſion of the waves, which wearing away the earth and crumbly parts, leave them the juſt ſubjects of our admiration. Sea-plants, ſhells, and va⯑rious ſorts of marine exſanguious animals, cloath their baſes, waſhed by a deep and clear ſea; and their ſummits reſound with the various clang of the feathered tribe.

From hence the bay is bounded on the ſouth by the extenſive and rich plains of Murray. The ſhore wants not its wild beauties. The view of the noble cavern, called the rocks of Cauſſie, on the ſhore between Burgh-head and Loſſie mouth, drawn by Mr. Cordiner, fully evinces the aſſertion. The bottom of the bay cloſes with the firth of Inverneſs, from whence to the Atlantic ocean is a chain of rivers, lakes, and bays, with the interruption only of two miles of land between Loch-oich and Loch⯑lochy. Unite thoſe two lakes by a canal, and the reſt of North Britain would be completely inſulated.

[XIX]To the north the firth of Cromartie, and the firth of Tayne, the Vara Aeſtua⯑rium, penetrate deep into the land. From Dornoch, the coaſt of Sutherland is low and ſandy, except in a few places: one, at the water of Brora, is diſtinguiſh⯑ed by the beauty of the rocky ſcenery; in the midſt of which the river precipi⯑tates itſelf into the ſea, down a lofty precipice. The Scottiſh Alps, which hereto⯑fore kept remote from the ſhore, now approach very near; and at the great pro⯑montory, the Ripa Alta of Ptolemy, the Ord, i. e. Aird of Cathneſs, ORD OF CATH⯑NESS. or the Height of Cathneſs, terminate in a moſt ſublime and abrupt manner in the ſea. The upper part is covered with gloomy heath; the lower is a ſtupendous precipice, ex⯑cavated into vaſt caverns, the haunt of Seals and different ſea-fowl. On the eaſtern ſide of the kingdom, this is the ſtriking termination of the vaſt mountains of Scotland, which form its Highlands, the habitation of the original inhabitants,HIGHLAND ALPS. driven from their antient ſeats by the anceſtors of Lowland Scots, deſcendants of Saxons, French, and Normans, congenerous with the Engliſh, yet abſurdly and invidiouſly diſtinguiſhed from them. Language, as well as ſtriking natural boundaries, mark their place. Their mountains face on the weſt the Atlantic ocean; wind along the weſt of Cathneſs; among which Morvern and Scaraben, Ben-Hop and Ben-Lugal ariſe pre-eminent. Sutherland is entirely Alpine, as are Roſs-ſhire and Inverneſs-ſhire. Their Summae Alpes are, Meal Fourvounich, the Cory⯑arich, Benewiſh, and Beneviſh near Fort William; the laſt of which is reported to be fourteen hundred and fifty yards in height. Great part of Aberdeenſhire lies in this tract. It boaſts of another Morvern, ſoaring far beyond the others: this is in the centre of the Grampian hills, and perhaps the higheſt from the ſea of any in Great Britain. They again comprehend the eaſtern part of Perth⯑ſhire, and finiſh on the magnificent ſhores of Loch-lomond, on the weſtern ſide of which Ben-lomond riſes, diſtinguiſhed among its fellows. From hence the reſt of North Britain forms a chain of humbler hills; but in Cumberland, ENGLISH. part of Weſt⯑moreland, Yorkſhire, Lancaſhire, and Derbyſhire, CAMBRIAN. the Alps reſume their former ma⯑jeſty. A long and tame interval ſucceeds. The long ſublime tract of Wales ariſes, the antient poſſeſſion of the antient Britiſh race. From the Ord, the great mountains recede inland, and leave a vaſt flat between their baſes and the ſea, fronting the waves with a ſeries of lofty rocky precipices, as far as the little creek of Staxigo; the whole a bold, but moſt inhoſpitable ſhore for ſhipping. Wick and Staxigo have indeed their creeks, or rather chaſms, which open between the cliffs, and may accidentally prove a retreat, unleſs in an eaſtern gale.

Sinclair and Freſwick bays are ſandy, and afford ſafe anchorage: from the laſt the country riſes into lofty cliffs, many compoſed of ſmall ſtrata of ſtones, as re⯑gular as a maſon could lay them; and before them riſe inſulated ſtacks or co⯑lumns [XX] of ſimilar materials, ſome hollowed into arches; others, pillar-like, aſpire in heights equal to the land^* Theſe are animated with birds. All their oeco⯑nomy may be viewed with eaſe from the neighboring cliffs; their loves, incuba⯑tion, excluſion, and nutrition.

Dungſby-head, the antient Berubium, terminates the eaſtern ſide of this kingdom, as Far-out-head, the old Tarvedum, does the weſtern. Strathy-head, the Verve⯑drum of Ptolemy, lies intermediate. The whole tract faces the north, and con⯑ſiſts of various noted headlands, giving ſhelter to numerous bays, many of which penetrate deep into the country. Let me make this general remark,—that nature hath, with a niggardly hand, dealt out her harbours to the eaſtern coaſts of the Britiſh iſles; but ſhewn a profuſion on their weſtern ſides. What numberleſs lochs, with great depth of water, wind into the weſtern counties of Scotland, over-ſhadowed and ſheltered by lofty mountains! and what multitudes of noble har⯑bours do the weſtern provinces of Ireland open into the immenſe Atlantic ocean!

But fortunately, to the north of theſe,SAND-BANKS. this ſea is much more remarkable for ſand-banks of utility than of danger, and would never have been obſerved but for the multitudes of fiſhes which, at different ſeaſons, according to their ſpecies, reſort to their ſides, from the great northern deeps, either for the ſake of variety of food which they yield, or to depoſe their ſpawn in ſecurity. The firſt to be taken notice of does not come within the deſcription, yet ſhould not be paſſed over in ſilence, as it comes within the natural hiſtory of the North ſea. An anonymous ſand runs acroſs the channel between Buchan-neſs and the north end of Juts-riff: the left depth of water over it is forty fathoms; ſo that it would ſcarcely be thought of, did not the water ſuddenly deepen again, and form that place which is ſtyled the Buchan deeps.

The Long Bank, or the Long Fortys, LONG FORTYS. bears E. S. E. from Buchan-neſs, about forty-five miles diſtant, and extends ſouthward as far as oppoſite to Newcaſtle; is about fifty leagues in length, and ſeven in breadth; and has on it from thirty-two to forty-five fathoms of water. The ground is a coarſe gravel, mixed with marine plants, and is eſteemed a good fiſhing bank.

The Mar Bank lies between the former and the ſhore oppoſite to Berwick; is oval, about fifteen miles long, and has about twenty-ſix fathom of water, and round it about forty.

The bank called Montroſe Pits lies a little to the eaſt of the middle of the Long Fortys. It is about fifty miles long,MONTROSE PITS. and moſt remarkable for five great pits or hol⯑lows, from three to four miles in diameter: on their edges is only forty fathom water; yet they ſuddenly deepen to ſeventy, and even a hundred fathom, on a ſoft muddy bottom: the margins on the contrary are gravelly. I enquired whether the [XXII] ſurface of this wonderful bank appeared in any way agitated, as I had ſuſpicion that the pits might have been productive of whirlpools; but was informed, that the ſea there exhibited no uncommon appearance.

The noted Doggers Bank next ſucceeds.DOGGERS BANK. It commences at the diſtance of twelve leagues from Flamborough Head, and extends acroſs the ſea, nearly eaſt, above ſeventy-two leagues, joining Horn-riff, a very narrow ſtrip of ſand which ends on the coaſt of Jutland. The greateſt breadth is twenty leagues; and in parts it has only on it ten or eleven fathoms of water, in others twenty-four or five. To the ſouth of the Dogger is a vaſt extent of ſand-bank, named, in different parts, the Well Bank, WELL BANK. the Swart Bank, and the Brown Bank, all covered with ſufficient depth of water; but between them and the Britiſh coaſts are the Ower and the Lemon, dreaded by mariners, and numbers of others infamous for ſhipwrecks. The channel between the Dogger Bank and the Well Bank deepens even to forty fa⯑thoms. This hollow is called the Silver Pits, and is noted for the cod-fiſhery which ſupplies the London markets. The cod-fiſh love the deeps: the flat-fiſh the ſhallows. I will not repeat what I have, in another place, ſo amply treated ofSee Br. Zool. iii. Articles Haddock, Ling, and Turbot.. I muſt only lament, that the fiſheries of this bank are only ſubſervient to the pur⯑poſes of luxury. Was (according to the plan of my humane friend, Mr. Travis of Scarborough) a canal formed from any part of the neighboring coaſt to that at Leeds, thouſands of manufacturers would receive a cheap and wholeſome food; inſurrec⯑tions in times of ſcarcity of grain be prevented; our manufactures worked at an eaſy rate; our rivals in trade thereby underſold; and, in defiance of the probably ap⯑proaching decreaſe of the Newfoundland fiſhery (ſince the loſs of America) contri⯑bute to form a nurſery of ſeamen ſufficient to preſerve the ſmall remnant we have left of reſpect from foreign nations.

I have, to the beſt of my abilities, enumerated the Britiſh fiſh, in the third volume of the Britiſh Zoology. The Faunula which I have prefixed to Mr. Light-foot's Flora Scotica, contains thoſe which frequent the northern coaſts of Great Britain; in which will be found wanting many of thoſe of South Britain. The Reverend Mr. LIGHTFOOT, in that work, hath given a moſt elaborate account of the ſubmarine plants of our northern ſea.

I will now purſue my voyage from the extreme ſhores of North Britain through a new ocean.CALEDONIAN OCEAN. Here commences the Oceanus Caledonius, or Deucaledonius, of Ptolemy; a vaſt expanſe, extending to the weſt as far as Greenland, and northward to the ex⯑treme north. This I ſhould call the NORTHERN OCEAN, diſtinguiſhing its parts by other names ſuitable to the coaſts. From Dungſby Head the Orkney iſlands [XXIII] ‘appear ſpreading along the horizon, and yield a moſt charming proſpect.ORKNEY ISLANDS. Some of them are ſo near as diſtinctly to exhibit the rocky fronts of thoſe bold promon⯑tories which ſuſtain the weight of the vaſt currents from the Atlantic. Others ſhew more faint: their diſtances finely expreſſed as they retire from the eye, until the mountains of the more remote have ſcarcely a deeper azure than the ſky, and are hardly diſcernible riſing over the ſurface of the ocean^*.’

Between theſe and the main land, about two miles from the Cathneſs ſhore, lies Stroma, STROMA. the Ocetis of Ptolemy, a little iſland, an appertenance to that county, fertile by the manual labor of about thirty families; pleaſant, and lofty enough for the reſort of the Auk tribe. The noted mummies are now loſt, occaſioned by the doors of the caverns in which they were depoſited being broken down, and admiſſion given to cattle, which have trampled them to pieces. This catacomb ſtands on a neck of land bounded by the ſea on three ſides. The ſalt air and ſpray expels all inſects, and is the only preſervation the bodies have; ſome of which had been lodged here a great number of years. In many of the iſles, the inhabitants uſe no other method for preſerving their meat from putrefaction than hanging it in caves of the ſea, and the method is vindicated by the ſucceſs.

This iſland lies in the Pentland Firth, noted for the violence of the tides;TIDES. tre⯑mendous to the ſight, but dangerous only when paſſed at improper times. They ſet in from the north-weſt: the flood, on the contrary, on the coaſts of Lewis, pours in from the ſouth^†. The tide of flood upon Stroma (and other iſlands ſimilarly ſituated in mid-ſtream) divides or ſplits before it reaches it. A current runs with great violence on both ſides, then unites, at ſome diſtance from the oppoſite end, and forms a ſingle current, running at ſpring-tides at the rate of nine knots an hour; at neap, at that of three only. The ſpace between the dividing tides, at different ends of an iſland, is quite ſtagnant, and is called the eddy. Some of them are a mile or two long, and give room for a ſhip to tack to and fro, till the tides are ſo far ſpent as to permit it to purſue its voyage.

The moſt boiſterous parts of the ſtreams are at the extremities of the iſland,THE SWELCHIE OF STROMA. and a little beyond the top of the eddy, where they unite. The colliſion of theſe oppo⯑ſite ſtreams-excite a circular motion, and, when the tide is very ſtrong, occaſion whirlpools in form of an inverted bell, the largeſt diameter of which may be about three feet. In ſpring-tides they have force enough to turn a veſſel round, but not to do any damage: but there have been inſtances of ſmall boats being ſwallowed up. Theſe whirlpools are largeſt when firſt formed; are carried away with the ſtream, and diſappear, but are quickly followed by others. The ſpiral motion or ſuction [XXIV] does not extend far beyond the cavity: a boat may paſs within twenty yards of theſe whirlpools with ſafety. Fiſhermen who happen to find themſelves within a dangerous diſtance, fling in an oar, or any bulky body, which breaks the con⯑tinuity of the ſurface, and interrupts the vertiginous motion, and forces the water to ruſh ſuddenly in on all ſides and fill up the cavity. In ſtormy weather, the waves themſelves deſtroy this phaenomenon. A ſunk rock near the concourſe of theſe rapid tides occaſions a moſt dreadful appearance. The ſtream meeting with an interruption, falls over with great violence, reaches the bottom, and brings up with it ſand, ſhells, fiſhes, or whatſoever elſe it meets with; which, with boats, or whatſoever it happens to meet, is whirled from the centre of the eruption towards the circumference with amazing velocity, and the troubled ſurface boils and bubbles like a great cauldron, then darts off with a ſucceſſion of whirlpools from ſucceſſive ebullitions. Theſe are called Rouſts, ROUSTS. and are attended with the utmoſt danger to ſmall boats, which are agitated to ſuch a degree, that (even ſhould they not be overſet) the men are flung out of them, to periſh without any chance of re⯑demption. It is during the ebb that they are tremendous, and moſt ſo in that of a ſpring-tide with a weſt wind, and that in the calmeſt weather; for during flood they are paſſed with the greateſt ſafety. Veſſels in a calm are never in danger of touching on an iſland or viſible rock, when they get into a current, but are always carried ſafe from all danger.

Swona, SWONA. a little iſland, the moſt ſouthern of the Orknies, is about four miles beyond Stroma, and is noted for its tremendous ſtreams, and in particular the whirlpools called the Wells of Swona, which in a higher degree exhibit all the appearances of the former. What contributes to encreaſe the rage of the tides, beſides their con⯑finement between ſo many iſlands, is the irregular poſition of the ſounds, and their little depth of water.DEPTH OF WATER. The ſame ſhallowneſs extends to every ſide of the Orknies; an evidence that they had once been part of the mother iſle, rent from it by ſome mighty convulſion. The middle of the channel, between Stroma and the main land, has only ten fathom water: the greateſt depth around that iſland is only eighteen. The ſounds are from three to forty-ſix fathom deep: the greater depths are between South Ronaldſha and South Wales; for in general the other ſounds are only from three to thirteen; and the circumambient depth of the whole group very rarely exceeds twenty-five.

TIDES.About theſe iſlands commences a decreaſe of the tides. They lie in a great ocean, in which the waters have room to expand; therefore never experience that height of flood which is conſtant in the contracted ſeas. Here ordinary ſpring-tides do not exceed eight feet; and very extraordinary ſpring-tides fourteen, even when acted on by the violence of the winds^*.

[XXV]The time of the diſcovery and population of the Orknies is unknown. Pro⯑bably it was very early; for we are told that they owe their name to the Greeks. ‘Orcades has memorant dictas a nomine Graeco ^*.’ Mela and Pliny take notice of them; and the laſt deſcribes their number and cluſtered form with much accuracy^† The fleet of Agricola ſailed round them, and made a conqueſt of them; but the Romans probably never retained any part of Caledonia. I found no marks of them beyond Orrea or Inchtuthel ^‡, excepting at Fortingal ^‖ in Breadalbine, where there is a ſmall camp, poſſibly no more than a temporary advanced poſt. Notwithſtanding this, they muſt have had, by means of ſhipping, a communicated knowlege of the coaſts of North Britain even to the Orcades. Ptolemy hath, from information collected by thoſe means, given the names of every nation, conſiderable river, and head-land, on the eaſtern, northern, and weſtern coaſt. But the Romans had forgotten the navigation of theſe ſeas, otherwiſe the poet would never have celebrated the courage of his countrymen, in ſailing in purſuit of the plundering Saxons through unknown ſtreights, and a naval victory obtained off theſe iſlands by the forces ſent to the relief of the diſtreſſed Britons by Honorius.

The Orkney iſles in after times became poſſeſſed by the Picts; and again by the Scots. The latter gave way to the Norwegian pirates, who were ſubdued by Harold Harfargre about the year 875^¶, and the iſlands united to the crown of Norway. They remained under the Norwegians till the year 1203, accepted their laws, and uſed their language. The Norſe, LANGUAGE. or Norwegian language was generally uſed in the Orkney and Schetland iſlands even to the laſt century: but, except in Foula, where a few words are ſtill known by the aged people, it is quite loſt. The Engliſh tongue, with a Norwegian accent, is that of the iſlands; but the appearance of the people, their manners and genius, evidently ſhew their northern origin. The iſlands vary in their form and height. Great part of Hoy is mountanous and lofty. The noted land-mark, the hill of Hoy, ROCKS OF THE ORKNIES. is ſaid to be five hundred and forty yards high. The ſides of all theſe hills are covered with long heath, in which breed multitudes of Curlews, Green Plovers, Redſhanks, and other Waders. The Short-eared Owl is alſo very frequent here, and neſtles in the ground. It is [XXVI] probable that it is from hence, as well as from Norway, that it migrates, in the beginning of winter, to the more ſouthern parts of Britain. Moſt of the Waders migrate; but they muſt receive conſiderable reinforcements from the moſt diſtant parts of the north, to fill the numbers which cover our ſhores. The cliffs are of a moſt ſtupendous height, and quite mural to the very ſea. The Berry Head is an exalted precipice,BIRDS. with an auguſt cave at the bottom, opening into the ſea. The Ern Eagles poſſeſs, by diſtant pairs, the upper part of the rocks: neither theſe nor any other Falcons will bear ſociety; but, as Pliny elegantly expreſſes it, Adultos per⯑ſequitur parens et longè fugat, aemulos ſcilicet rapinae. Et alioquin unum par aquilarum magno ad populandum tractu, ut ſatietur, indiget ^*. Auks, Corvorants, and all the tribes which love exalted ſituations, breed by thouſands in the other parts. The Tyſte, or Black Guillemot, N^o 236, ſecures itſelf in a crack in the rock, or by ſcraping a burrow in the little earth it may find; there it lays a ſingle egg, of a dirty olive blotched with a darker. This ſpecies never migrates from the Orknies. The Fooliſh Guillemot, N^o 436, continues till November. The Little Auk, N^o 429, a rare bird in other parts of Britain, breeds in the holes of the lofty precipices. And the Lyre, or the Sheerwater, N^o 462, burrows in the earth among the rocks of Hoy and Eda, and forms an article of com⯑merce with its feathers, and of food with its fleſh, which is ſalted and kept for the proviſion of the winter. In that ſeaſon they are ſeen ſkimming the ocean at moſt ſurprizing diſtances from land. The Stormy Petrel, N^o 464, breeds fre⯑quently among the looſe ſtones; then takes to ſea and affrights the ſuperſtitious ſailor with its appearance. Woodcocks ſcarcely ever appear here. Fieldfares make this a ſhort baiting-place: and the Snow Bunting, N^o 122, often alights and covers whole tracts of country, driven by the froſt from the fartheſt north.

A few Wild Swans breed in ſome lochs in Mainland; but the greateſt part of theſe birds, all the Bernacles, Brent Geeſe, and ſeveral other palmated birds, retire in the ſpring to more northern latitudes. But to the Swallow-tailed Duck, the Pintail, and a few others, this is a warm climate; for they retire here to paſs their winters in the ſheltered bays. Any other remarks may be intermixed with thoſe on Schetland; for there is great ſimiliarity of ſubjects in both the groups.

The laſt lie about ſixty miles to the north-eaſt of the moſt northern Orkney. Mid⯑way is Fair Iſland, FAIR ISLE. a ſpot about three miles long, with high and rocky ſhores, in⯑habited by about a hundred and ſeventy people: an induſtrious race; the men fiſhers; the women knitters and ſpinners. The depth of water round varies to twenty-ſix fathoms. The tide divides at the north end, runs with great velocity, and forms on the eaſt ſide a conſiderable eddy.

[XXVII] Schetland conſiſts of ſeveral iſlands. Mainland, SCHETLAND. the principal, extends from ſouth to north twenty-eight leagues, and is moſt ſingularly formed; conſiſting of an infinite number of peninſulae connected by very narrow iſthmuſes. That called Maviſgrind, which unites the pariſh of North Maven, is only eighty yards broad. But the irregular ſhape of this iſland occaſions it to abound with the fineſt and moſt ſecure ports, called here voes; a moſt providential diſpenſation in a ſea which ſwarms with fiſhes of the moſt general uſe. The adjacent iſlands are in general ſo near to the mother iſland, and their headlands point ſo exactly to its correſponding capes, that it is highly probable that they once made a part of the Mainland. The rocks and ſtacks aſſume great variety of forms, ſuch as ſteeples and Gothic cathe⯑drals riſing out of the water, fleets of ſhips, and other fancied ſhapes. The Dore⯑holm, in the pariſh of North Maven, is very ſingular: part is rounded, the reſt ſeems a ruin, compoſed of a ſingle thin fragment of rock, with a magnificent arch within, ſeventy feet in height.

To uſe the words of Captain Thomas Preſton, to whom we are indebted for an excellent chart of this group, ‘the land is wild, barren, and mountanous; nor is there ſo much as a buſh or a tree to be ſeen. The ſhores are difficult, and in many parts inacceſſible; rude, ſteep, and iron-like; the ſight of which ſtrikes the mind with dread and horror; and ſuch monſtrous precipices and hideous rocks as bring all Brobdingnag before your thoughts. Theſe iſlands lie between lat. 60 to 61. In winter the ſun ſets ſoon after it riſes, and in ſummer riſes ſoon after it ſets; ſo that in that ſeaſon the nights are almoſt as light as the day; as on the contrary, in December the day is nearly as dark as the night. About the ſolſtice, we ſee every night the aurora borealis, or, as they are called by the natives, the merry dancers, which ſpread a broad glaring appearance over the whole northern hemiſphere^*.’

They are the conſtant attendants of the clear evenings in all theſe northern iſlands, and prove great reliefs amidſt the gloom of the long winter nights.AURORA BORE⯑ALIS. They commonly appear at twilight near the horizon, of a dun color, approaching to yellow: ſometimes continuing in that ſtate for ſeveral hours without any ſenſible motion; after which they break out into ſtreams of ſtronger light, ſpreading into columns, and altering ſlowly into ten thouſand different ſhapes, varying their colors from all the tints of yellow to the obſcureſt ruſſet. They often cover the whole hemiſphere, and then make the moſt brilliant appearance. Their motions at theſe times are moſt amazingly quick; and they aſtoniſh the ſpectator with the rapid change of their form. They break out in places where none were ſeen before, ſkimming [XXVIII] briſkly along the heavens: are ſuddenly extinguiſhed, and leave behind an uniform duſky tract. This again is brilliantly illuminated in the ſame manner, and as ſud⯑denly left a dull blank. In certain nights they aſſume the appearance of vaſt co⯑lumns, on one ſide of the deepeſt yellow, on the other declining away till it becomes undiſtinguiſhed from the ſky. They have generally a ſtrong tremulous motion from end to end, which continues till the whole vaniſhes. In a word, we, who only ſee the extremities of theſe northern phoenomena, have but a faint idea of their ſplendor, and their motions. According to the ſtate of the atmoſphere they differ in colors. They often put on the color of blood, and make a moſt dreadful ap⯑pearance. The ruſtic ſages become prophetic, and terrify the gazing ſpectators with the dread of war, peſtilence, and famine. This ſuperſtition was not peculiar to the northern iſlands; nor are theſe appearances of recent date. The antients called them Chaſmata, and Trabes, and Bolides, according to their forms or colors^*. In old times they were extremely rare, and on that account were the more taken notice of. From the days of Plutarch to thoſe of our ſage hiſtorian Sir Richard Baker, they were ſuppoſed to have been portentous of great events: and timid imagination ſhaped them into aerial conflicts.

After, I ſuppoſe, a very long intermiſſion, they appeared with great brilliancy in England, on March 6rh, 1715-16. The philoſophers paid a proper attention^†. The vulgar conſidered them as marking the introduction of a foreign race of princes. The novelty is now ceaſed, and their cauſe perhaps properly attributed to the greater abundance of electrical matter.

STORMS.The tempeſts which reign over theſe iſlands during winter is aſtoniſhing. The cold is moderate; the fogs great and frequent; but the ſtorms agitate the water even to the bottom of theſe comparatively ſhallow ſeas.HERRINGS. The fiſh ſeek the bottom of the great deeps: and the Herrings, which appear off the Schetlands in amazing columns in June, perform the circuit of our iſland, and retire beyond the know⯑lege of man. When the main body of theſe fiſh approaches from the north, it alters the very appearance of the ocean. It is divided into columns of five or ſix miles in length, and three or four in breadth, and they drive the water before them with a ſort of rippling current. Sometimes they ſink for a ſmall ſpace, then riſe again; and in bright weather reflect a variety of ſplendid colors, like a field of moſt [XXIX] precious gems. Birds and fiſh of prey attend and mark their progreſs. The Whales of ſeveral kinds keep on the outſide, and, deliberately opening their vaſt mouths, take them in by hundreds. Gannets and Gulls dart down upon them; and the diving tribe aid their perſecution, with the cetaceous fiſhes^*. Mankind joins in the chace; for this uſeful ſpecies gives food to millions, medi⯑ately and immediately. Dutch, French, Flemings, Danes, and Engliſh, rendezvous in Braſſa ſound to meet theſe treaſures of the ocean: and return to diſtribute their booty even to the diſtant Antilles.

Cod, Ling, and Torſk ^† furniſh cargoes to other adventurers.COD-FISH. I wiſh I could ſpeak with the ſame ſatisfaction of this as of the free fiſhery of the Herring; but in theſe diſtant iſlands, the hand of oppreſſion reigns uncontrolled. The poor vaſſals (in defiance of laws ſtill kept in bondage) are compelled to ſlave, and hazard their lives in the capture, to deliver their fiſh to their lords for a trifling ſum, who ſell them to adventurers from different parts at a high price.

Among other ſcarcer fiſhes the Opah,OPAH. Br. Zool. iii. N^o 101. is found in abundance. It ſeems a fiſh of the north as well as the Torſk; the laſt is not found ſouth of the Orknies; the former extends even to the banks of Newfoundland.

The birds of theſe iſlands are the ſame with thoſe of the Orknies, BIRDS. except the Skua, p. 531, which breeds only in Foula and Unſt. Among the few land-birds which migrate to them in ſummer, is the Golden-creſted Wren, N^o 153. Its ſhorteſt flight muſt be ſixty miles, except it ſhould reſt midway on Fair iſland; a ſurpriſing flight for ſo diminutive a bird!

Multitudes of the inhabitants of each cluſter of iſlands feed, during the ſeaſon,FOWLING. on the eggs of the birds of the cliffs. The method of taking them is ſo very hazardous, as to ſatisfy one of the extremity to which the poor people are driven for want of food. Copinſha, Hunda, Hoy, Foula, and Noſs head, are the moſt celebrated rocks; and the neighboring natives the moſt expert climbers and adventurers after the game of the precipice. The height of ſome is above fifty fathoms; their faces roughened with ſhelves or ledges, ſufficient only for the birds to reſt and lay their eggs. To theſe the dauntleſs fowlers will aſcend, paſs in⯑trepidly from one to the other, collect the eggs and birds, and deſcend with the ſame indifference. In moſt places, the attempt is made from above: they are lowered from the ſlope contiguous to the brink, by a rope, ſometimes made of ſtraw, ſometimes of the briſtles of the hog: they prefer the laſt, even to ropes of hemp, as it is not liable to be cut by the ſharpneſs of the rocks; the former is apt to untwiſt. They truſt themſelves to a ſingle aſſiſtant, who lets his companion down, and holds the rope, depending on his ſtrength alone; which [XXX] often fails, and the adventurer is ſure to be daſhed to pieces, or drowned in the ſubjacent ſea. The rope is often ſhifted from place to place, with the impend⯑ing weight of the fowler and his booty. The perſon above receives ſignals for the purpoſe, his aſſociate being far out of ſight; who, during the operation, by help of a ſtaff, ſprings from the face of the rocks, to avoid injury from the pro⯑jecting parts.

In Foula, they will truſt to a ſmall ſtake driven into the ground, or to a ſmall dagger, which the natives uſually carry about them; and which they will ſtick into the ground, and, twiſting round it a fiſhing cord, deſcend by that to climbing places, and, after finiſhing their buſineſs, ſwarm up by it without fear. Few who make a practice of this come to a natural death. They have a common ſaying, ‘Such a one's Gutcher went over the Sneak; and my father went over the Sneak too.’ It is a pity that the old Norwegian law was not here in force. It conſidered this kind of death as a ſpecies of ſuicide. The next of kin (in caſe the body could be ſeen) was directed to go the ſame way; if he refuſed, the corpſe was not to be admitted into holy ground^*.

But the moſt ſingular ſpecies of fowling is on the holm of Noſs, a vaſt rock ſevered from the iſle of Noſs by ſome unknown convulſion, and only about ſixteen fathoms diſtant. It is of the ſame ſtupendous height as the oppoſite precipice^†, with a raging ſea between; ſo that the intervening chaſm is of matchleſs horror. Some adventurous climber has reached the rock in a boat, gained the height, and faſtened ſeveral ſtakes on the ſmall portion of earth which is to be found on the top: correſpondent ſtakes are placed on the edge of the correſpondent cliffs. A rope is fixed to the ſtakes on both ſides, along which a machine, called a cradle, is contrived to ſlide; and, by the help of a ſmall parallel cord faſtened in like manner, the adventurer wafts himſelf over, and returns with his booty, which is the eggs or young of the Black-backed Gull, N^o 451, and the Herring Gull, N^o 452.

QUADRUPEDS.The number of wild Quadrupeds which have reached the Orkney and Schet⯑land iſlands are only five; the Otter, Brown Rat, Common Mouſe, Fetid Shrew, and Bat. Rabbets are not of Britiſh origin, but naturalized in every part. In the ſandy iſles of Orkney, they are found in myriads, and their ſkins are a great article of commerce; but the injury they do in ſetting the unſtable ſoil in motion, greatly counter-vales the profit.

The great quantity of turf which Providence hath beſtowed on all theſe iſlands, excepting Sanda, is another proof of the abundance of trees and other vegetables, long ſince loſt from the ſurface. The application of this humus vegetabilis for the purpoſe of fuel, is ſaid to have been firſt taught the natives by Einar, a Nor⯑wegian, ſurnamed, from that circumſtance, Torf einar, Einar de Ceſpite ^*. Had he lived in Greece, he could not have eſcaped deification for ſo uſeful a diſ⯑covery.

Before I quit the laſt of Britiſh iſles, I ſhall,ANTIQUITIES. as ſupplemental to the antiquities mentioned in my Tours in Scotland, give a brief account of others found in theſe groups.

The Orknies, the Schetlands, Cathneſs, Sutherland, and Roſs-ſhire, with the He⯑brides, were, for centuries, poſſeſſed by the Norwegians; and, in many inſtances, they adopted their cuſtoms. Of the antient monuments ſtill remaining, ſeveral are common to Scandinavia and the old inhabitants of Britain: others ſeem peculiar to their northern conquerors. Among thoſe are the circular buildings, known by the names of Pictiſh houſes, Burghs, and Duns: the firſt are of mo⯑dern date, and to be exploded, as they never were the work of the Picts; the ſecond are aſſuredly right, and point out the founders, who at the ſame time beſtowed on them their natal name of Borg, a defence or caſtle^†, a Sueo-Gothic word; and the Highlanders univerſally apply to theſe places the Celtic name Dun, ſignifying a hill defended by a tower^‡. This alſo furniſhes the proof of their uſe, was there no other to be diſcovered. They are confined to the coun⯑ties once ſubject to the crown of Norway. With few exceptions, they are built within ſight of the ſea, and one or more within ſight of the other; ſo that on a ſignal by fire, by flag, or by trumpet, they could give notice of ap⯑proaching danger, and yield a mutual ſuccour. In the Schetland and Orkney [XXXII] iſlands, they are moſt frequently called Wart or Wardhills, which ſhews that they were garriſoned. They had their wardmadher ^*, or watchman, a ſort of centinel, who ſtood on the top, and challenged all who came in ſight. The gackman ^† was an officer of the ſame kind, who not only was on the watch againſt ſurprize; but was to give notice if he ſaw any ſhips in diſtreſs. He was allowed a large horn of generous liquor, which he had always by him, to keep up his ſpirits^‡. Along the Orkney and Schetland ſhores, they almoſt form a chain; and by that means not only kept the natives in ſubjection, but were ſituated commodiouſly for covering the landing of their countrymen, who were perpetually roving on piratical expeditions. Theſe towers were even made uſe of as ſtate-priſons; for we learn from Torfaeus, that after Sueno had ſurprized Paul, count of Cathneſs, he carried him into Sutherland, and confined him there in a Norwegian tower^§. So much has been ſaid on this ſubject by the Reverend Mr. Cordiner and myſelf, that I ſhall only refer to the pages, after ſaying, that out of our kingdom, no buildings ſimilar to theſe are to be found, except in Scandinavia. On the mountain Swalberg ^‖ in Norway is one; the Stir-biſkop ^¶, at Upſal in Sweden, is another; and Umſeborg, in the ſame kingdom, is a third^**.

After the expulſion of the Norwegians, the coaſts of Scotland, which they poſſeſſed, were ſtill protected by caſtles; many of which, ſuch as Oldwick, ex⯑hibit very ſmall improvements on the model left by the antient Scandinavian architects: a few deviated from the original manner, were ſquare, had great thick⯑neſs of wall, furniſhed with cells like thoſe in the round towers or burghs. Borve caſtle,BORVE CASTLE. in Cathneſs, is a little more advanced. This was the reſidence of Thorkel, a famous freebooter in the tenth century. It is a ſmall ſquare building, on a rock projecting into the ſea, adjoined to the main land by an iſthmus not ten feet wide; and beneath the caſtle is a magnificent paſſage for boats, which pierces the rock from ſide to ſide, and is covered by a matchleſs natural arch.

I cannot but revert to the former ſubject, to mention the Snaburgh in Tet⯑lor, one of the moſt remote of the Schetland iſles. It is in the form of a Roman camp;ROMAN CAMP: and when entire, had in the middle a rectangular area ſurrounded by a wall, and that by an earthen rampart of the ſame figure, at ſome diſtance from it. Two ſides of the walled area have the additional defence of another rampart of earth; which commences on the inſide of one of the narrower ſides, and, preſerving the ſame diſtance from the leſſer area as the two other ſides of the outward fence do, terminates at the latter, near an artificial well. That this was Roman, I greatly ſuſpect. The care for water was a peculiar object with that wiſe nation; but neglected by barbarians. This is incloſed within the rampart, and at a ſmall diſtance on the outſide, had the protection of a mount, which once probably had its caſtellet, garriſoned for the further ſecurity^†. The regular portae are wanting; in other reſpects it reſembles a Roman camp. The ſea, over which it impends, has deſtroyed one half: the entire part is given in the plate, and the reſt ſupplied with dotted lines.

I know but of two periods in which the Romans viſited theſe iſlands: one at the time when the fleet of Agricola ſubdued them; the other, when the fleet of Honorius defeated the Saxons in the ſeas of Orkney. A copper medal of Veſ⯑paſian, with Judaea devicta ^‡ on the reverſe, was found on the ſouth ſide of Main-land, probably loſt there by the firſt invaders, who might venerate Veſpaſian, under whom many of them had ſerved, and who might naturally carry with them ſuch honorable memorials of his reign. The only antiquities found near [XXXIV] this place, were ſix pieces of braſs, caſt into a form the neareſt reſembling fet⯑ters. They were wrapped in a piece of raw hide; but we cannot pretend to ſay that they belonged to the occupiers of the camp.

STONE WEAPONS.Flint heads of arrows, flint axes, ſwords made of the bones of a whale, ſtones, beads, and antiquities, muſt be referred to the earlieſt inhabitants, at a period in which theſe kingdoms were on a level with the natives of new-diſcovered iſlands in the South Sea. CIRCLES. Druidical circles of ſtones, the temples of primaeval religion of our iſland, are not uncommon. The fineſt and moſt entire are thoſe at Stennis, in one of the Orkney iſles. The diameter of the circle is about a hundred and ten yards. The higheſt ſtone fourteen feet. The whole is ſingularly ſurrounded with a broad and deep ditch, probably to keep at a diſtance the unhallowed vulgar.

SEMICIRCLES.At the ſame place is a noble ſemicircle, conſiſting of four vaſt ſtones entire, and one broken. The higheſt are twenty feet high above ground. Behind them is a mound of earth, conformable to their poſition. If there never was a num⯑ber of ſtones to complete a circle, this antiquity was one of the kind which the learned Doctor Borlaſe calls a theatre, and ſuppoſes was deſigned for the exhi⯑bition of dramatical performances^*. I ſuſpect them to have been either for the purpoſes of religion, or judicial tranſactions; for the age was probably not ſuf⯑ficiently refined for the former amuſements. Upright ſtones, either memorials of the dead,PLAIN COLUMNS. or victories obtained on the ſpot, are very numerous. The moſt re⯑markable is the ſtone of Sator, in the iſle of Eda. It is a flag, fifteen feet high, five and a half broad, and only nine inches thick. Its ſtory is quite unknown; but it probably reſts over a hero of that name. Notwithſtanding the long reſi⯑dence of the Norwegians in theſe iſlands, I find only one ſtone with a Runic in⯑ſcription, which runs along the ſides. The reſt of the ſtone is plain, and deſti⯑tute of the ſculptures ſo frequent on thoſe found in Scandinavia.

SCULPTURED CO⯑LUMNS.In the wall of the church at Sandneſs, is a ſtone with three circles, a ſemi⯑circle, and a ſquare figure, engraven on it. This is the only one which bears any reſemblance to the elegant carved columns at Meigle and Glames, and which extend, after a very long interval, as far as the church-yard of Far, on the ex⯑treme northern coaſt of Cathneſs. Several of theſe have been before attended to. I can only remark, that they are extremely local, and were, by their ſimilarity, only the work of a ſhort period. We imagine that the firſt, about which we can form any conjecture, was erected in 994, on the defeat of Camus, the Dane: the laſt in 1034, on the murder of Malcolm the Second.

[XXXV]In the iſle of Unſt are two ſingular circles, near each other.SEPULCHRAL ANTIQUITIES. The largeſt is fifty feet in diameter, to the outmoſt ring; for it conſiſts of three, concentrical; the outmoſt is formed of ſmall ſtones, the two inner of earth; through all of which is a ſingle narrow entrance to a tumulus which riſes in the centre. The other circle is only twenty-two feet in diameter, and has only two rings, formed of earth:CIRCULAR. in the centre is a barrow, the ſides of which are fenced with ſtones. No marks of their having been places of interment have been found, yet moſt probably that was their uſe.

The links or ſands of Skail, in Sandwich, one of the Orknies, abound in round barrows. BARROWS. Some are formed of earth alone, others of ſtone covered with earth. In the former was found a coffin, made of ſix flat ſtones. They are too ſhort to receive a body at full length: the ſkeletons found in them lie with the knees preſſed to the breaſt, and the legs doubled along the thighs. A bag, made of ruſhes, has been found at the feet of ſome of theſe ſkeletons, containing the bones, moſt probably, of another of the family. In one were to be ſeen multitudes of ſmall beetles. Whether they were placed there by deſign, or lodged there by acci⯑dent, I will not determine; but, as I have diſcovered ſimilar inſects in the bag which incloſed the ſacred Ibis, we may ſuppoſe that the Egyptians, and the nation to whom theſe tumuli did belong, might have had the ſame ſuperſtition reſpecting them. On ſome of the corpſes interred in this iſland, the mode of burning was obſerved. The aſhes, depoſited in an urn which was covered on the top with a flat ſtone, have been found in the cell of one of the barrows. This coffin or cell was placed on the ground, then covered with a heap of ſtones, and that again caſed with earth and ſods. Both barrow and contents evince them to be of a dif⯑ferent age from the former. Theſe tumuli were in the nature of family vaults: in them have been found two tiers of coffins^*. It is probable, that on the death of any one of the family, the tumulus was opened, and the body interred near its kindred bones.

The violence of the winds have,GRAVES OF WESTRA. by blowing away the ſands in a certain part of Weſtra, one of the Schetlands, diſcovered an extenſive burying-place, once covered with the thickneſs of twenty feet. This ſeems to have belonged to different na⯑tions. One is marked by the tumuli conſiſting of ſtones and rubbiſh; ſome rounded, others flat at top like truncated cones. Near them are multitudes of graves, which are diſcoverable only by one, two, three, four, and ſometimes even more ſhort upright ſtones, ſet in the level ſand. The corpſe was interred a few feet deep, and covered with a layer of fine clay, to keep the ſand from touching it. [XXXVI] Not only human bones, but thoſe of oxen, horſes, dogs, and ſheep, have been found in theſe graves. Beſides, were ſeveral ſorts of warlike inſtruments, battle-axes, two-handed ſwords, broad ſwords, brazen daggers and ſcull-caps, and ſwords made of the bones of the whale: knives and combs: beads, brotches, and chains of ornament: a metal ſpoon, and a neat glaſs cup greatly corroded: ſmall flat cir⯑cular pieces of marble: ſtones ſhaped like whetſtones, and ſpherical ſtones per⯑forated, ſuch as were in former uſe in Scotland for turning of ſpindles: but the moſt ſingular thing was a thigh-bone cloſely incircled by a ring of gold. The tumuli ſeem to have been the places of ſepulture of the inhabitants of the iſles: the graves, thoſe of ſome foreign nation who had landed here, had a conflict, and prov⯑ed victorious. I found my conjecture on the arms and other matters found in them. The braſs were Norwegian ^*, the iron belonging to the natives; but the weapons of conquerors and conquered were, with ceremonies reſembling thoſe at the funeral of Pallas, flung into the graves of the victorious party.

The antiquities of this claſs found in Scandinavia are very numerous,IN SCANDINAVIA. and of a magnitude which evince the extreme population of the country. I diſcover only three kinds. The firſt may be exemplified in the vaſt rounded earthen tumulus in Smaland, with a rude monumental upright ſtone at top; and near it a ſpherical ſtone, beautifully carved, flung up in honor of Ingo King of Sweden, in the latter end of the ninth century^†: others in honor of Humblus, and Laudur brother to King Angantyr; the laſt ſurrounded at its baſe with a circle of rude ſtones^‡. The Rambora Rolle is a mount of earth, with three upright pillars, placed ſo as to form a triangular ſpace^‖. Other tumuli conſiſt entirely of vaſt heaps of ſtones. Several of the ſepulchral memorials are formed of ſtones diſpoſed in a circular form: ſome of low ſtones, like that of the Daniſh King Harald Hyldeland, placed round the edge of the flat area of a low mount. He was ſlain in battle by Ringo King of Sweden ^§, who paid him all funeral honors, burnt his body with great pomp, and placed around his tumulus the numerous bodies of his faithful fol⯑lowers who were ſlain around their prince; and their places of reſt are marked by multitudes of ſmall earthen barrows, with a ſingle ſtone at the top of each. On [XXXVII] the regal mount is a flat ſtone, with five hollows in it, baſons to receive the blood of the victims^*. Others conſiſt of ſmall ſtones with Maen-hirion, as the Welsh ſtyle them, lofty rude pillars, intermixed. In ſome the leſſer ſtones depart from the circu⯑lar form, are oval or oblong: their edges are often contiguous, and thoſe parts are often marked with a lofty pillar^†. Two pillars are ſometimes found, with an enor⯑mous ſtone ſet from top to top, ſo as to form the reſemblance of a gateway^‡. Co⯑lumns of great height are alſo found, ſurrounded at their baſe with two circles of ſmall ſtones^¶. Finally, the ſtones are diſpoſed ſo as to form wedges, ſquares, long rows, as well as circles. The firſt denoted that armies of foot and horſe had prevaled: the ſecond, troops of warriors: the third, duels of champions: and the laſt, the burials of families^§. Multitudes of ſingle obeliſcs are ſcattered over the country: ſome quite plain; others inſcribed with Runic characters, memorial of the dead, intermixed with well-fancied ornaments^‖.

In many of the tumuli are found the weapons and other matters which had been depoſited with the burnt bones of the deceaſed. In thoſe of the earlieſt ages are the ſtone weapons, ſuch as axes and ſpears heads made of flint. In others have been met with a ſmall lamp, a key, and ſwords of braſs of the ſame form with ſome of the Roman ſwords^**. A ſuperſtition attending the ſwords was ſingular: thoſe of higheſt temper were ſuppoſed to have been made by Duergi, dwarfs or fairies, and were thought to have been irreſiſtible. The reader will not be diſpleaſed with the elegant verſion ^†† of a Runic poem, deſcribing the in⯑cantations of a fair heroine, to obtain the magical ſword out of the tomb of her deceaſed father.

I ſhall juſt mention, that the antient Scandinavians had alſo their Cromlehs ^*. I can trace but one inſtance, and that on the top of a tumulus in Zealand; which, with two other barrows, is included in a ſquare of ſtones.

Circles, for the purpoſe of religious rites, were not wanting here. The Etteſtupa, or circle of lofty rude columns in Weſt Gothland, was celebrated for the ſacrifices of the heathens^†; and the great ſtones at Finſtad, diſpoſed in form of a cell, and called St. Birgitta's Oratory ^‡, was no other than a temple of worſhip, ana⯑logous, probably, to that of the Druids.

The next ſtep is to the FEROE iſlands,FEROE ISLES. a group about two hundred and ten miles to the north-weſt of the northern Schetland, between lat. 61, 15. and 62, 30. There are ſeventeen which are habitable, each of which is a lofty mountain ariſing out of the waves, divided from the others by deep and rapid currents. Some of them are deeply indented with ſecure harbours; providence ſeeming to have favored mankind with the ſafeſt retreats in the moſt boiſterous ſeas. All are very ſteep, and moſt of [XL] them faced with moſt tremendous precipices. The ſurface of the mountains con⯑ſiſts of a ſhallow ſoil of remarkable fertility; for barley, the only corn ſown here, yields above twenty for one; and the graſs affords abundant paſturage for ſheep. The exports are ſalted mutton and tallow, gooſe quils, feathers, and Eider down; and, by the induſtry of the inhabitants, knit woollen waiſtcoats, caps, and ſtock⯑ings. No trees beyond the ſize of juniper, or ſtunted willows, will grow here: nor are any wild quadrupeds to be met with, except rats and mice, originally eſcaped from the ſhipping.

The liſt of land birds is very ſmall:LAND BIRDS.—The Cinereous Eagle, p. 214. B; the Lanner, p. 225. K; the Sparrow Hawk, p. 226. N^*; a ſpecies of Owl; the Raven, N^o 134; and Hooded Crow, p. 251. B. are the pernicious ſpecies. Ravens were ſo deſtructive to the Lambs and Sheep, that in old times every boat⯑man was obliged to bring into the ſeſſions-houſe, on St. Olaus's day, the beak of one of thoſe birds, or pay one ſkin, which was called the Raven-fine, in caſe of neglect. The remaining land fowl are Wild Pigeons and Stares, White Wagtails, Wrens, and ſometimes the Swallow. The Snow Bunting only reſts here in ſpring, on its paſſage northward. The Heron is ſometimes met with. The Spoon-Bill is Common^†. The Sea Pie, Water Rail, and Lapwing, are ſeen here. The birds of the rocks, ſuch as Puffins, Razor Bills, and Little Auks, Fooliſh and Black Guillemots, ſwarm here; and the Geyir-fugl, or Great Auk, at certain periods viſits theſe iſlands. The laſt, by reaſon of its ſhort wing incapable of flight, neſtles at the foot of the cliffs. The Skua, Arctic, Black-backed, and Herring Gulls, Fulmars, Manks, Stormy Petrels, Imber and Northern Divers, Wild Swans and Geeſe, (the Swans only vernal paſſengers towards the north) Eider Ducks, Havelda or Long-tailed Ducks, Corvorants, and the Sula Gannet, form the ſum of the palmated fowl of theſe inhoſpitable ſpots.

FOWLING.The manner of fowling is ſo very ſtrange and hazardous that the deſcription ſhould by no means be omitted. Neceſſity compels mankind to wonderful attempts. The cliffs which contain the objects of their ſearch are often two hundred fathoms in height,FROM ABOVE. and are attempted from above and below. In the firſt caſe, the fowlers provide themſelves with a rope eighty or a hundred fathoms in length. The fowler faſtens one end about his waiſt and between his legs, recommends himſelf to the protection of the Almighty, and is lowered down by ſix others, who place a piece of timber on the margin of the rock, to preſerve the rope from wearing againſt the ſharp edge. They have beſides a ſmall line faſtened to the body of the ad⯑venturer, by which he gives ſignals that they may lower or raiſe him, or ſhift him [XLI] from place to place. The laſt operation is attended with great danger, by the looſening of the ſtones, which often fall on his head, and would infallibly deſtroy him, was it not protected by a ſtrong thick cap; but even that is found unequal to ſave him againſt the weight of the larger fragments of rock. The dexterity of the fowlers is amazing; they will place their feet againſt the front of the preci⯑pice, and dart themſelves ſome fathoms from it, with a cool eye ſurvey the places where the birds neſtle, and again ſhoot into their haunts. In ſome places the birds lodge in deep receſſes. The fowler will alight there, diſengage himſelf from the rope, fix it to a ſtone, and at his leiſure collect the booty, faſten it to his girdle, and reſume his pendulous ſeat. At times he will again ſpring from the rock, and in that attitude, with a fowling net placed at the end of a ſtaff, catch the old birds which are flying to and from their retreats. When he hath finiſhed his dreadful employ, he gives a ſignal to his friends above, who pull him up, and ſhare the hard-earned profit. The feathers are preſerved for exportation: the fleſh is partly eaten freſh: but the greater portion dried for winter's proviſion.

The fowling from below has its ſhare of danger.FROM BELOW. The party goes on the expe⯑dition in a boat; and when it has attained the baſe of the precipice, one of the moſt daring, having faſtened a rope about his waiſt, and furniſhed himſelf with a long pole with an iron hook at one end, either climbs, or is thruſt up by his companions, who place a pole under his breech, to the next footing ſpot he can reach^*. He, by means of the rope, brings up one of the boats crew; the reſt are drawn up in the ſame manner, and each is furniſhed with his rope and fowling-ſtaff. They then continue their progreſs upwards in the ſame manner, till they arrive at the region of birds; and wander about the face of the cliff in ſearch of them. They then act in pairs; one faſtens himſelf to the end of his aſſociate's rope, and, in places where birds have neſtled beneath his footing, he permits himſelf to be lowered down, depending for his ſecurity to the ſtrength of his companion, who is to haul him up again; but it ſometimes happens that the perſon above is overpowered by the weight, and both inevitably periſh. They fling the fowl down to the boat, which attends their motions, and receives the booty. They often paſs ſeven or eight days in this tremendous employ, and lodge in the crannies which they find in the face of the precipice.

The ſea which ſurrounds theſe iſlands is extremely turbulent. The tides vary greatly on the weſtern and eaſtern ſides. On the firſt, where is received the un⯑interrupted flood of the ocean from the remote Greenland, the tide riſes ſeven fa⯑thoms: on the eaſtern ſide it riſes only three. Dreadful whirlwinds, called by the Danes, oes, agitate the ſea to a ſtrange degree; catch up a vaſt quantity of water, [XLII] ſo as to leave a great temporary chaſm in the ſpot on which it falls, and carries away with it, to an amazing diſtance, any fiſhes which may happen to be within reach of its fury. Thus great ſhoals of Herrings have been found on the higheſt moun⯑tains of Feroe. It is equally reſiſtleſs on land, tearing up trees, ſtones, and animals, and carrying them to very diſtant places. We muſt no longer laugh at the good archbiſhop^*, who gravely tells us, that at times, the Rats called Lemming are poured down from the clouds in great ſhowers on the Alps of Norway. We aſſent to the fact; but muſt ſolve the phoenomenon by aſcribing it to a whirlwind, as he does in one place; yet immediately ſuppoſes they may be bred in the upper regions out of feculent matter.

Among the numerous whirlpools of theſe ſeas, that of Suderoe, near the iſland of the ſame name, is the moſt noted. It is occaſioned by a crater, ſixty-one fathoms in depth in the centre, and from fifty to fifty-five on the ſides. The water forms four fierce circumgirations. The point they begin at is on the ſide of a large baſon, where commences a range of rocks running ſpirally, and terminating at the verge of the crater. This range is extremely rugged, and covered with water from the depth of twelve to eight fathoms only. It forms four equidiſtant wreaths, with a channel from thirty-five to twenty fathoms in depth between each. On the outſide, beyond that depth, the ſea ſuddenly ſinks to eighty and ninety. On the ſouth border of the baſon is a lofty rock, called Sumboe Munk, noted for the multitude of birds which frequent it. On one ſide, the water is only three or four fathoms deep; on the other fifteen. The danger at moſt times, eſpecially in ſtorms, is very great. Ships are irreſiſtibly drawn in: the rudder loſes its power, and the waves beat as high as the maſts; ſo that an eſcape is almoſt miraculous: yet at the reflux, and in very ſtill weather, the inhabitants will venture in boats, for the ſake of fiſhing. Mr. Debes omits the times of greateſt danger. It is to be hoped that attention will be paid to the various periodical appearances of a phoenomenon, the cauſe of which is very ſatisfactorily explained by the worthy paſtor^†.

Mankind found their way to theſe iſlands ſome time before the diſcovery of Iceland. Naddodd, a Norwegian pirate, had retired here, as the only place of ſecurity he could find^‡. About this time, Harold Harfagre poſſeſſed himſelf of Norway, and flung off the Daniſh yoke. A party was formed againſt him; but it was ſoon ſubdued, and the malecontents quitting the kingdom, retired to the Hebrides, Orknies, Schetland, and Feroe, and gave riſe to the Norwegian reign in all thoſe iſlands.

ICELAND.From the Feroe iſlands, the hardy Scandinavians made the next ſtep, in their nor⯑thern migrations, to ICELAND. I muſt premiſe, that there is the higheſt pro⯑bability that this iſland was diſcovered in an age moſt remote to theirs: and that it was the Thule of Pytheas, an illuſtrious Marſeillian, at leſt cotemporary with [XLIII] Ariſtotle ^*, and who puſhed his diſcoveries towards the north, as his countryman Euthymenes did beyond the line. Pytheas arrived at Thule, an iſland, ſays he, ſix days ſailing northward from Britain, where, he informs us, was continual day and night for ſix months alternately^†. He does not exactly hit on the length of day and night; but he could have been at no other, at that diſtance from Britain, but Iceland, in which there was a moſt remarkable abſence of light. As to Naddodd, in 861, he was accidentally driven by a tempeſt to the eaſtern ſide of Iceland, to a place now called Reidarfiall. He found the country covered with ſnow, and therefore named it Snoeland; yet he returned home full of its praiſes. Soon after, Gardar, a Swede, experienced the ſame fortune. On a voyage to the Hebrides, he was tempeſt-driven to the ſame iſland; on which, by the advice of his mother, who was a ſort of diviner, he landed at Horn. At this period Iceland was cloathed with wood from the ſhore to the very tops of the mountains. He wintered there, and likewiſe returned full of its praiſes^‡.

FLOKE, a celebrated pirate, was the next adventurer. He took with him three Ravens, and, like another Noah, made them the augury of the land. Before he ſailed, he performed a great ſacrifice for the ſucceſs, upon a vaſt pile of ſtones, which he raiſed for the purpoſe. This points out another origin of the vaſt tumuli we ſo frequently ſee. He made the Schetland and the Feroe iſles his firſt ſteps; and looſed from the laſt for Iceland, the neareſt point of which is about five hundred and forty miles diſtant. His firſt Raven returned to Feroe: the ſecond flew back to the ſhip: the third directed him to the wiſhed-for land^§. He wintered there. The cattle he brought with him periſhed through want. The ſpring proved unuſually cold, and the ſea appeared full of ice; for which reaſon he beſtowed on the iſland the name it at preſent bears. Floke was ſick of his voyage: returned full of diſpraiſes of the country. This did not diſcourage other adventurers, all of them Scandi⯑navians, thruſt out of the exuberant northern hive. The reſt of the world, which their countrymen ravaged, was aſſuredly too ſmall for them, otherwiſe they never would have colonized almoſt the moſt wretched ſpot in the northern hemiſphere. Ambition poſſibly actuated the leaders, who might think it ‘Better to reign in hell than ſerve in heaven.’ Colony after colony arrived. They confederated, and formed a republic, which exiſted near four hundred years; but with as many feuds and ſlaughters as could [XLIV] happen in a climate where luxury might pamper and corrupt the inhabitants. In 1261, wearied with their diſſenſions, they voluntarily re-united themſelves to their mother-country, Norway, under the reign of its monarch Haquin. It is re⯑markable, that the poetic genius of their aboriginal country flouriſhed with equal ſublimity in every climate. The Scalds, or bards, retained their fire in the inhoſ⯑pitable climate of Iceland, as vigorouſly as when they attended on their chieftains to the mild air of Spain, or Sicily, and ſung their valiant deeds.

Every thing which furniſhed topics to the poets of other countries, was, in the moſt remote period, wanting here. Groves, verdant meadows, purling ſtreams, and gentle zephyrs, were totally unknown; and in their ſtead, ſtunted ſhrubs, a thin herbage, rude torrents, and fierce gales, reign in every part. We admit the apology of the learned Torfoeus for the preſent ſtate of his country^*. Violent tempeſts might cover whole tracts with the unſtable ſand, eruptions of water from the mountains deſolate ſome parts, earthquakes bury vaſt extents of fertile land with fragments of rocks, and inundations of the ſea change the face of others. But ſoft ſcenery was not requiſite to inſpire poets who were to ſing only the pre⯑parations for warlike exploits, the ſlaughter of a battle, the deeds of their heroes, and the magic ſolemnities of ſuperſtitions.

The iſland, at preſent, exhibits to the traveller amazing ſlopes of lava, which once ſtreamed from the vulcanoes, and terminated in the ſea. Such is the appear⯑ance, about three miles from Hafnaifoird, in lat. 64. 4. of vaſt maſſes of lava piled to a montanous height upon each other, broken, vitrified, ſharp, rude, and black. In parts, ſandy tracts intervene: in others, a ſoil peculiar to the place, a tufa, originated from the violent eruptions of impure water which ruſh from the moun⯑tains, attendant on the fiery eruptions. Vallies compoſed of a very thin ſoil, afford graſs for a numerous breed of cattle and ſheep. Here is found variety of ſpecies of the beſt graſſes; of the aira, poa, feſtuca, and carex. Part is harveſted againſt winter; but not in ſuch plenty, but that the farmer is obliged often to feed his ſtock with the wolf-fiſh, or the heads of cod-fiſh beaten ſmall, and mixed with a quarter part of hay. To what food will not neceſſity compel both man and beaſt to recur!

WOODS LONG LOST.The woods of Iceland have long ſince vaniſhed, unleſs we except a few ſtunted birch, ſcarcely ten feet high, and four inches in diameter; and a few ſpecies of willow,DRIFT-WOOD. ſo ſmall and ſo rare as ſcarcely to be of uſe to the inhabitants. But they are abundantly ſupplied with drift-wood from Europe and America, as appears by the ſpecies found on the ſhores, eſpecially on all the northern coaſt, as Langaneſs on the north-eaſt and Hornſtrandt on the north-weſt. That woods were found here [XLV] in very remote periods, is very evident, from the quantity of ſuturbrand met with in ſeveral parts; which ſtill retains traces of its vegetable origin; the marks of branches, and circles of the annual growth of the wood: ſome pieces are even capable of being planed. It is found in the fiſſures of the rocks, much compreſſed by their weight, and in pieces ſometimes big enough to make a middle-ſized table. This is ſometimes uſed as fuel; but the want of it is ſup⯑plied, in ſome meaſure, by the drift-wood, by peat, and by ſeveral ſtrange ſubſti⯑tutes, the effect of neceſſity. Smiths prefer the ſuturbrand to ſea-coal in their buſineſs. The beds of this foſſil ſtrongly refute the notion of Iceland having been entirely formed by vulcanic violence, ſince the original creation; and raiſed out of the ſea in later times, as others have been known to have done. Delos and Rhodos, in very remote ages; Thera, the modern Santorini, and Theraſia, in the 135th Olympiad; Thia, in the time of Pliny ^*; and in the beginning of this century another ſprung from the ſea, by the force of ſubterraneous fires, near to Santorini ^†: and, while I am now writing, an iſland is forming by the ſame cauſe, not remote from the Reickenes, part of the very iſland in queſtion. But theſe ſutur or ſorte brands are certainly the remains of antient foreſts, overturned and buried by earthquakes, after the golden age of the iſland. Let me add to this another proof, from the number of its vegetables:PLANTS, NUMBER OF. there being found on it not fewer than three hundred and nine perfect, and two hundred and thirty-three cryptogamous plants. On the iſle of Aſcenſion, which is totally and aboriginally vulcanic, a Flora of not more than ſeven plants is to be ſeen^‡.

THIS vaſt iſland extends from 63. 15. to about 67. 18. north latitude: is reckoned to be five hundred and ſixty Engliſh miles long, and about two hundred and fifty broad^‖. It has a rugged coaſt, indented deeply with ſecure bays; but faced with very few iſles. It lies in the Hyperborean ocean, divided from Greenland by a ſea about thirty-five leagues wide^§. The whole is traverſed with great ridges of mountains; the higheſt naked, and uſually free from ſnow, by reaſon of the ſaline and ſulphurous particles with which they abound. The lower, called Jok⯑keler, are caſed with eternal ice and ſnow; and are the glacieres of Iceland. Of theſe, Snaefiaell Jokkel, which hangs over the ſea in the weſt part of the iſland, is far the higheſt^¶. Out of theſe, at different periods, have been tremendous eruptions of fire and water, the burſt of which is attended with a moſt terrific noiſe: flames and balls of fire iſſue out with the ſmoke: and ſhowers of ſtones are vomited up; of which there has been an inſtance of one weighing near three hundred pounds being flung to the [XLVI] diſtance of four miles. The heights of the mountains have not been taken; but that of the Hecla-fiall is not far ſhort of ſeventeen hundred yards. Of this ſpecies of mountain, Hecla has been moſt celebrated: the records of Iceland enumerate ten of its eruptions ſince the arrival of the Norwegians. It was the hell of the nor⯑thern nations; but they ſeem divided in their opinions, whether the pains of the damned aroſe from fire, or, what was more tremendous to the natives of theſe countries, from the cold^*.

Hecla has been known to have had only ten eruptions between the years 1104 and 1693; from the laſt to 1766, when it burſt out in flames and lava. It emitted flames in 1771 and 1772; but did not overflow with Stenna, or a ſtone flood. But other vulcanoes have, in the preſent century, proved the ſpiracles to the internal fires of Iceland. The vallies between the mountains are in general ſandy and ſterile. Fiery eruptions are not confined to the mountains. Laſt year they burſt out of the fulphure⯑ous ſoil of the low parts of Skaftafield Syſſel or province; and the lava has overflown the country for the ſpace of thirty miles, and has at laſt reached the ſea, deſtroying every thing in its progreſs. It dries up the rivers, and fills their beds with lava. Moors in ſome places ſtop its courſe; but it totally changes their nature. It has taken to the deſerts of the ſame province, and begins to ſpread to the eaſt, or Mulé Syſſel, the moſt populous and fruitful part of the iſland; nor were there any ſigns of its ceaſing at the time when this account was ſent to me^†.

HUERS, OR BOIL⯑ING JETS D'EAUX.THE FOUNTAINS of many of the vallies are of a moſt extraordinary nature; are called Huers, and form at times jets d'eaux of ſcalding water, ninety-four feet high, and thirty in diameter, creating the moſt magnificent gerbes in nature! eſpecially when backed by the ſetting ſun. They ariſe out of cylindrical tubes of unknown depths: near the ſurface they expand into apertures of a funnel ſhape, and the mouths ſpread into large extent of ſtalactitical matter, formed of ſuc⯑ceſſive ſcaly concentric undulations. The playing of theſe ſtupendous ſpouts is foretold by noiſes roaring like the cataract of Niagara. The cylinder be⯑gins to fill: it riſes gradually to the ſurface, and gradually encreaſes its height, ſmoking amazingly, and flinging up great ſtones. After attaining its greateſt height, it gradually ſinks, till it totally diſappears. Boiling jets d'eaux, and boiling ſprings, are frequent in moſt parts of the iſland. In many parts they are applied to the culinary uſes of the natives. The moſt capital is that which is [XLVII] called Geyer, in a plain riſing into ſmall hills, and in the midſt of an amphi⯑theatre, bounded by the moſt magnificent and various-ſhaped icy mountains; among which the three-headed Hecla ſoars pre-eminent.

Theſe Huers are not confined to the land. They riſe in the very ſea,IN THE SEA. and form ſcalding fountains amidſt the waves. Their diſtance from the land is unknown; but the new vulcanic iſle, twelve-miles off the point of Reickenes, emitting fire and ſmoke, proves that the ſubterraneous fires and waters extend to that ſpace; for thoſe aweful effects ariſe from the united fury of theſe two elements^*. The depth of water between this new creation and the Geir-fugl Skier, is forty-four fathoms; ten leagues to the weſt, two hundred and five: and the bottom compoſed of black ſand^†; doubtleſs no other than the Pumex arenaceus, the frequent evomition of vulcanoes. How much paſt human comprehenſion muſt the powers have been, that could force up materials for an iſland, even from the medium depth I have given! and how deep beneath the bottom of the ocean muſt have been the cauſes which could ſupply ſtone, or pumice, or lava, to fill the ſpace which this iſland oc⯑cupies, many miles in circumference, and poſſibly above a hundred fathoms in depth!

If ſome iſlands ſpring out of theſe ſeas, others are ſwallowed by the force of earthquakes. Their foundations are undermined by the fury of the ſubterraneous elements, which carries off the materials of their baſis, and diſcharges it in lava, or different forms, through the vulcanic ſpiracula. The earthquakes ſhatter the cruſt on which they ſtand, and they tumble into the great abyſs. Such was the fate of the nine iſles of Gouberman, which lay about four leagues from Sandaneſs, between Patrixfiord and Cape Nort, all which ſuddenly diſappeared. Their names ſtill exiſt in ſeveral maps; but their place is only diſtinguiſhable by the ſuperior depth of water in the ſpot on which they ſtood^‡.

The number of inhabitants in Iceland is computed not to exceed ſixty thouſand.PEOPLE, NUMBER OF. Conſidering the ungenial ſurface of this vaſt iſland, probably the number is equal to the means of ſupport. Writers apologize for the fewneſs of inhabi⯑tants, by attributing it to the almoſt depopulation of the place by the ſorte diod, PESTILENCE. or black death, a peſtilence which commenced in Cathay, or China, in 1346, ſpread over all Aſia, and Africa, reached the ſouth of Europe in 1347, and in 1348 ſpread itſelf over Britain, Germany, and northern Europe, even to the extremity of the inhabited north. The ſmall-pox, and other epidemics, are mentioned as contributing to thin the iſland. During the time of the plague, tradition relates, [XLVIII] in terms moſt graphically horrid, that the perſons who eſcaped to the moun⯑tains, ſaw the whole low country covered with a thick peſtiferous fog. A gueſs may be made at the number of inhabitants in the eleventh century; for a biſhop of Schalholt cauſed, in 1090, all who were liable to pay tribute to be numbered: four thouſand of that rank were found; ſo that, giving five to a family, the ſum is twenty thouſand^*. Much of the labor in the northern world falls to the female part of the family; and in thoſe patriarchal times, the ſons alſo ſhared the toil. I cannot therefore under-rate the number of commonalty, or untaxable people, heads of families, at ten thouſand; which, by the ſame rule, will give fifty thouſand of the lower rank. Beſides the dearth of food in this rude iſland, other cauſes contribute to prevent the increaſe of inhabitants. Neceſſity forces the men to ſeek from the ſea ſubſiſtence, denied by their niggardly land. Con⯑ſtant wet, cold, and hard labor, abridge the days of thouſands; and that labor is in⯑creaſed tenfold, to ſupply the rapacity of their maſters. Incredible as it may ſeem, a late king of Denmark ſold the whole iſland, and its inhabitants, to a company of merchants, for the annual rent of one thouſand pounds. This company en⯑ſlave the poor natives; who are bound to ſell their fiſh, the ſtaple of the iſland, at a low price to theſe monopolizers; who, dreading reſiſtance, even have taken from them the uſe of fire-arms! Here is given a ſtronger cauſe of depopulation, perhaps, than the others; for Hymen can have but faint votaries in the land from whence liberty is baniſhed. But for theſe cauſes, here ought to be found the genuine ſpecies of the Norman race, unmixed with foreign blood; as muſt be the caſe with every place remote from the reſt of the world. Here are to be ſought the antient cuſtoms and diet of their original ſtock, which are now pro⯑bably worn out in the land of their diſtant anceſtors. The luxury of food has ſo little crept in among them, that their meat and drink in general is peculiar to themſelves; and much of the former compoſed of herbs neglected in other places.

DRESS.The dreſs of the natives ſeems unchanged for a very conſiderable time: that of the men is ſimple, not unlike that of the Norwegian peaſants^†; that of the fe⯑males is graceful, elegant, and peculiar to them, and perhaps ſome very old-faſhioned Norwegian lady. They ornament themſelves with ſilver chains and rich plates of ſilver, beautifully wrought. On their head is a lofty ſlender dreſs, not unlike a Phrygian bonnet. I cannot compare this to any antient European faſhion. Iſabel of France, queen to Edward II. wore a head-dreſs of an enor⯑mous [XLIX] height, of a ſlender conic form^*; but which, for want of the flexure at top, gave place in elegance to the taſte of the Icelandic fair.

Mr. Troil awakens our curioſity about the Icelandic antiquities; ſpeaks of caſtles, and heathen temples, and burying-places, and upright ſtones, and mounts. Of the firſt I am ſolicitous to gain ſome further knowlege, for poſſibly they might direct to the origin of the round buildings in the Hebrides, Orknies, Schet⯑land, and the north of Scotland ^†: others ſeem to me the various Scandinavian antiquities, admirably exemplified in Baron Dahlberg's Suecia Antiqua et Moderna.

The ſpecies of quadrupeds of this iſland are very few.DOMESTIC QUA⯑DRUPEDS. Small horſes of a hardy kind; cows in great abundance, and moſtly hornleſs, the fleſh and hides of which are conſiderable articles of exportation. Sheep are met with in great flocks in every farm; the wool is manufactured at home, the meat ſalted, and, with the ſkins, much of it is ſold to the Company, at the twenty-two ports al⯑lotted for the purpoſes of traffic. It is remarkable, that the climate diſpoſes their horns to grow very large, and even to exceed the number of thoſe of the ſheep of other countries; examples of three, four, and five, being extremely frequent. Goats and ſwine are very ſcarce; the firſt, for want of ſhrubs to brouze, the laſt through deficiency of their uſual food, and the ſupply which the farm-yards of other countries afford.

The dogs are ſharp-noſed, have ſhort and ſharp upright ears, buſhy tails, and are full of hair. Here are domeſtic cats; but numbers are grown wild, and multiply among the rocks, ſo as to become noxious. The reader need not be reminded, that theſe, and every ſpecies of domeſtic animals, were originally in⯑troduced into Iceland by the Norwegians.

An attempt has been made to introduce the Rein Deer, Arct. Zool. N^o 4. Thoſe which ſurvived the voyage have bred frequently. There can be little doubt of their ſucceeding, as Iceland has, in common with Lapland, moſt of the plants for their ſummer food^‡, and abundance of the Rein Deer lichen for their winter proviſion.

Rats and Mice ſeem to have been involuntarily tranſported.RATS. Both the domeſtic ſpecies are found here; and the white variety of the Mouſe, called in the Icelandic, Skogar Mys, is common in the buſhes. I ſuſpect that there is a native ſpecies, allied, as Doctor PALLAS imagines, to the Oeconomic, Arct. Zool. p. 134, A.; for, like that, it lays in a great magazine of berries by way of winter-ſtores. This ſpecies is particularly plentiful in the wood of Huſafels. In a country where [L] berries are but thinly diſperſed, theſe little animals are obliged to croſs rivers to make their diſtant forages. In their return with the booty to their magazines, they are obliged to repaſs the ſtream; of which Mr. Olaffen gives the following account:— "The party, which conſiſts of from ſix to ten, ſelect a flat piece of dried cow-dung, on which they place the berries in a heap in the middle; then, by their united force, bring it to the water's edge, and after launching it, embark, and place themſelves round the heap, with their heads joined over it, and their backs to the water, their tails pendent in the ſtream, ſerving the purpoſe of rudders^*." When I conſider the wonderful ſagacity of Beavers, and think of the management of the Squirrel, which, in caſes of ſimilar neceſſity, make a piece of bark their boat, and tail their ſail^†, I no longer heſitate to credit the relation.

FOXES.The Common Fox, Arct. Zool. N^o 11, and the Arctic, N^o 10, are frequent; are proſcribed, and killed for the ſake of a reward, in order to prevent the havock they would make among the ſheep.

BEARS.The Polar Bear, N^o 18, is often tranſported from Greenland, on the iſlands of ice; but no ſooner is its landing diſcovered, than a general alarm is ſpread, and purſuit made till it is deſtroyed. The Icelanders are very intrepid in their attack on this animal; and a ſingle man, armed only with a ſpear, frequently enters the liſts with this tremendous beaſt, and never fails of victory. A perſon who lived near Langeneſs, the extreme northern point, where the Bears moſt frequently land, is ſtill celebrated for having ſlain not fewer than twenty in ſingle combat. There is a reward for every ſkin, which muſt be delivered to the next magiſtrate.

The Common Bat, p. 185, A. is ſometimes found in this iſland, and finiſhes the liſt of the land-animals of the country.

The amphibious quadrupeds, or Seals, are very numerous. Iceland, being bleſſed with domeſtic animals, has leſs uſe of this race than other Arctic coun⯑tries; yet they are of conſiderable advantage. The ſkins are uſed for cloathing; a good one is equal in value to the ſkin of a ſheep, or the hide of a cow; and the fat ſupplies the lamps in the long nights with oil. The Common, during winter, is exceſſively fat, and will yield ſixty pounds.

SEALS. The Icelanders have two ſpecies of native Seals: the Common, N^o 72, called by them Land Saelur, becauſe it keeps near the coaſt; the other, the Great, N^o 73, or Ut-Saelur. They are taken in nets placed in the creeks and narrow bays, which they paſs through to get on ſhore. When it begins to grow dark the hunters make a fire, and fling into it the ſhavings of horns, or any thing that ſmells ſtrong; this allures the Seals, who ſtrike into the nets, and are taken. [LI] At other times, a koder or lure is tied to a rope, and placed before the nets; to which the Seals, ſuppoſing it to be ſome ſtrange animal, will eagerly ſwim, and ſtrike into the nets, paying with their lives for their curioſity. This carries them ſometimes ſo far, that they will ſtray to a conſiderable diſtance inland, attracted by a candle, or the fire in a ſmith's forge. If they are taken young, they are capable of being tamed: they will follow their maſter, and come to him like a dog, when called by the name which is given them. The Icelanders have a ſtrange ſuperſtition about theſe animals: they believe they reſemble the human ſpecies more than any other, and that they are the offspring of Pharaoh and his hoſt, who were converted into Seals when they were overwhelmed in the Red Sea.

Other ſpecies of Seals are migratory. Among them is the Harp, N^o 77, or Vade-Selur. Theſe quit the ſeas of Iceland in March, and ſwim through the ſtreights of Davies, by ſome unknown opening, to the fartheſt north; bring forth their young, and return, by the north of Greenland, in May, extremely lean, to the north of Iceland; continue their route, and return to that iſland about Chriſt⯑mas, chiefly upon the drift-ice, on which they are either ſhot, or harpooned. The Hooded Seal, N^o 76, or Bladru Seal, is rarely taken here. The Walrus, N^o 71, or Roſt-unger, is ſometimes wafted here from Greenland on the ice.

It cannot be expected,BIRDS. that many of the feathered tribe ſhould inhabit an iſland ſo very ſevere in its climate, and ſo remote from the more ſouthern continent and iſlands. It is, like all other Arctic countries, the aſylum to water-fowl, to breed and educate their young; but, being an inhabited place, fewer reſort here than to the untrodden waſtes of the more diſtant north. The Guland Duck, p. 572. E. may poſſibly be a local bird. The reſt, whether land or water, are common to Norway, and many other parts of Europe. The Great Auks, N^o 428, are found here in greater numbers than elſewhere: they inhabit and breed on the rocks, called from them Geir-fugl Skier, off the point of Raekenes, the moſt ſouthern part of the iſland. Notwithſtanding they are ſurrounded with a ſwelling ſea, and tremendous breakers, the Icelanders venture there annually, in order to collect the eggs, to contribute to the proviſion of the year. I can only reckon ſixteen land-birds^*: twenty cloven-footed water-fowl; four with pinnated [LII] feet, and forty-three with webbed feet, natives or frequenters of the iſland. I have omitted, in the Zoologic part, the Leſſer Guillemot, Br. Zool. ii. N^o 235, which is a native of Iceland, and called there Ringuia. It ought to have had a place in an appendage to the Guillemots, p. 517.

The Raven holds the firſt rank among the land-birds in the Scandinavian mythology. We ſee the uſe made of them by the chieftain Floke. The Bards, in their ſongs, give them the claſſical attribute of the power of preſage. Thus they make Thromundr and Thorbiorn, before a feudal battle, explain the foreboding voice of this bird, and its intereſt in the field of battle^*.

The Raven had ſtill higher honors in the northern nations. It was ſacred to Odin, the hero and god of the north. On the ſacred flag of the Danes was em⯑broidered this bird. Odin was ſaid to have been always attended by two, which ſate on his ſhoulders; whence he was called the God of Ravens: one was ſtyled Huginn, or Thought; the other Muninn, or Memory. They whiſpered in his ear all they ſaw or heard. In the earlieſt dawn, he ſent them to fly round the world, and they returned before dinner, fraught with intelligence. Odin thus ſang their importance:

I have already ſpoken of the excellent Falcons of this iſland: let me add, that Falcons were among the animals ſacrificed to Odin ^‡, being birds of the firſt courage, and which delighted in blood.

[LIII]The ſea which ſurrounds Iceland is ſaid to be more ſalt than uſual in other countries. It leaves great ſaline incruſtations on the rocks,SEA. which the natives ſcrape off and uſe. I can, with no certainty, give the depth of the water, ex⯑cept where Mr. Kerguelin ſounded, ten leagues to the weſt of Geir-fugl Skier, where he found it to be two hundred and five fathoms^*. The equinoctial tides riſe as high as ſixteen feet: the ordinary tides twelve^†. The coaſts almoſt univerſally bold, thoſe of the inlets excepted, where there appears a ſmall ſtrand.

The bays, eſpecially thoſe of the ſouth,BAYS FROZEN. which lie under the influence of the cold of Greenland, are annually frozen over; that of Patrixfiord was ſhut up even as late as the 14th of May ^‡: but the ſea near the coaſts never feels the influence of the froſt. It is in thoſe places deep, and agitated by a moſt turbulent motion. The dreaded ice is what floats from Greenland and Spitzbergen, and often fills,FLOATING ICE. during the whole ſummer, the ſtreight between the former and this iſland^‖, and even extends along the northern coaſt, covering the ſea to a vaſt diſtance from land. It conſiſts of the two ſpecies, the mountanous ice, called Fiael-jakar; and the ſmooth ice of inconſiderable thickneſs, ſtyled Hellu-is. Theſe arrive generally in Ja⯑nuary, and go away in March. Sometimes it does not touch the land till April, when it fixes for a conſiderable time, and brings to the Icelanders the moſt tre⯑mendous evils; a multitude of polar bears, which ſpread their ravages far and wide among the cattle; and a cold of incredible violence, which chills the air for many miles, and even cauſes the horſes and ſheep to drop down dead^§. To this is attributed the ſtunted ſtate of the miſerable woods of the country; which cauſe muſt have exiſted from the commencement of its iron age; for there ſeems to have been a period in which there had been conſiderable wooded tracts^¶.

The bottom of the ſea is probably rocky; for it abounds with greater variety of fuci than Great Britain, which give ſhelter to fiſhes innumerable; a ſource of wealth to the natives (were they permitted the free uſe) as they are of food to diſtant nations, the veſſels of which annually reſort here to fiſh, but without any com⯑merce with the Icelanders, which is ſtrictly prohibited. In 1767, two hundred Dutch, and eighty French doggers, of about a hundred tons each, were employ⯑ed, thoſe of each nation under the orders and protection of a frigate. They keep from four to ſix leagues from ſhore, and fiſh with hooks baited commonly with large muſſels, in forty or fifty fathoms water. Others go to the diſtance of fifteen leagues, and fiſh in the depth of a hundred fathoms. The great cap⯑ture [LIV] is Cod. As ſoon as the fiſhermen take one, they cut off the head, waſh, gut, and ſalt it in caſks, with either rock-ſalt or that of Liſbon. The fiſhery commences in March, and ends in September. It begins at the point of Breder⯑wick, and extends round the North Cape, by the iſle of Grim, to the point of Langeneſs.

The Engliſh have entirely deſerted this fiſhery ſince they have been in poſſeſſion of Newfoundland. It had been, in very early times, the reſort of our veſſels, as is evident by the proclamation of Henry V. in order to give ſatisfaction for the ill conduct of ſome of his ſubjects, in 1415, on the coaſts of this iſland^*, in which he forbids them to reſort to the iſles of Denmark and Norway, eſpecially to Iceland, otherwiſe than had been antiently cuſtomary. In 1429, the Engliſh parlement enforced this order, by making it penal for any of our ſubjects to trade in the Daniſh ports, except in North Earn or Bergen. At length, the Daniſh monarch wiſely reſolved to reſerve the benefits of the fiſheries to his own ſubjects; and in 1465 made it capital for any Engliſhman to trade in the ports of Iceland ^†. Even thoſe of Helgeland and Finmark were ſhut againſt them, unleſs they were driven in by a ſtorm. I imagine that this ſeverity muſt have ariſen from ſome glaring inſolence of our countrymen. But the antient treaties were revived, which were renewable by a freſh grant every ſeven years^‡. In later times, even Queen Elizabeth deigned to aſk leave of Chriſtian IV. to fiſh in thoſe ſeas; but afterwards inſtructed her ambaſſador to inſiſt on the right of a free and univerſal fiſhery. The anſwer does not appear: but in the reign of her ſucceſſor, we had not fewer than a hundred and fifty veſſels employed in this fiſhery. Poſſibly we might comply with the regulations inſiſted on by the king of Denmark; or perhaps a greater indulgence was given, by reaſon of the marriage of James with his ſiſter Anne. I obſerve, that the Daniſh prince excepts the port of Weſtmony, it being reſerved for the peculiar ſupply of the royal court^‖.

The oppreſſed natives fiſh in the bays in boats, containing one, and never more than four men. If they venture to ſea, which they ſeldom do to above eight miles diſtance, they have larger boats, manned with twelve or ſixteen hands; in theſe they ſlave for the benefit of the monopoliſts, to whom they are com⯑pelled to ſell their fiſh at a trifling price. How weak muſt be the feelings of that government which can add miſery to miſery; and not attempt rather to be⯑ſtow comforts on ſubjects condemned to ſuch a dreadful abode!

The ſpecies of fiſh in theſe ſeas are few; but the multitudes, under ſeveral of the moſt uſeful kinds, are amazing; thoſe of Cod in particular. Herrings paſs by [LV] this iſland in their annual migrations from the north, and for a ſhort ſpace fill every bay. Poverty and want of ſalt make theſe riches of other nations a tantalizing appearance to the unfortunate natives. This is the moſt northern place in which the Herring is ſeen: they are not found in the ſhallow water of Spitzbergen; neither is it probable that they double Greenland, and retire to the frozen ocean, equally wanting in depth of water;VAST DEPTHS OF WATER.—are they not rather loſt in the vaſt profundity of theſe very ſeas, in the depth of ſix hundred and eighty-three fathoms, in lat. 65, between this iſland and the north of Norway; or in the un⯑fathomable depths a little farther north, where the water was found bottomleſs with ſeven hundred and eighty fathoms^*? The other fiſhes of Iceland are in general common to Greenland: my remarks reſpecting them ſhall be deſerred till I treat of that icy region.

In order to view the correſpondent ſhores of the tract I have paſſed over,STREIGHTS OF DOVER. I ſhall return to the ſtreights of Dover. Calais is ſeated in a low wet tract; and the whole coaſt, from thence to the extremity of Holland, is ſandy, and fronted with ſand-hills; providentially higheſt in that loweſt of countries, in which the ſtrongeſt protection againſt the fury of the ſea is neceſſary. The coaſt of Flanders, SAND-BANKS OFF FLANDERS AND HOLLAND. the rich bait of ambi⯑tion, ſtained with blood, is dangerous by reaſon of frequent narrow ſand-banks, diſpoſed in parallel rows, according to the direction of the land. The coaſts of Holland are alſo greatly infeſted with ſands; but between them and the land is a clear channel. From between Dunkirk and Calais, even to the Scar, at the extremity of Jutland, is low land, not to be ſeen but at a ſmall diſtance, unleſs at Camperden in Holland; Heilegeland, off the mouths of the Elbe and Weſer; and Robſnout, and Hartſhal, in Jutland. While the oppoſite coaſts of England are comparatively high, and the channel deep, theſe are univerſally obſtructed with ſand: the great German rivers bring down by their floods amazing quantities of ſand and mud, the courſe of which is impeded at ſea by the violence of the winds, blowing at ſouth and weſt two-thirds of the yearYarranton's England's Improvement, 4, 5.. Theſe, with the help of the tides, arreſt the progreſs of the ſand into the open ſea, and form the numerous banks which, fatal as they may be to mariners, are the ſecurity of Holland, in particular, from naval invaſions. The ſpring-tides at Calais riſe twenty feet; at the pier head at Dover, TIDES. to twenty-five; the cauſe of the variation is ſuppoſed, by Mr. Cowley, to be the different diſ⯑tances of the two piers from low-water mark, the firſt being half a mile, the laſt only a hundred yards; at Oſtend it riſes to eighteen; at Fluſhing, ſixteen and a half; at Helvoetſluys and the Texel, twelve; and on the coaſts of Holſtein and Jut⯑land, where the ſea expands to a more conſiderable breadth, the tides grow more irregular, and weaken both in height and ſtrength; at the Elbe they do not ex⯑ceed [LVI] ſeven or eight feet; on the coaſt of Jutland only two or three; a ſingular phoenomenon, as they are ſo greatly higher on the correſpondent eoaſts of England. The flood on the weſt coaſt of Holland ſets to the northward, contrary to the courſe of the tides on the eaſt coaſts of England and Scotland.

ANTIENT FLAN⯑DERS AND HOL⯑LAND. Flanders and Brabant formed part of the Gallia Belgica of Ceſar; and Holland the Batavorum Inſula. The rivers are the Scaldis, Moſa, and Rhenus, the modern Scheld, Maeſe, and Rhine. The two firſt probably do not vary greatly in their diſ⯑charge into the ſea: the laſt has experienced a moſt conſiderable change. The right branch of this river runs, for ſome ſpace, as it did in antient times, when it formed the lake Flevo, then reſumed the form of a ſtream, and diſcharged itſelf into the ſea at a place ſtill called the Flie-ſtroom, between the iſles of Flie-landt and Schelling, at the mouth of the Zuyder-zee. Long after that period the country was dry, firm, and well inhabited; a mighty inundation totally changed the face of it, and enlarged the Flevo lacus into the preſent Zuyder-zee, and broke the coaſt into the chain of iſlands which now front the ſhore, even as far as the mouth of the Weſer. The Dutch hiſtorians date this accident in 1421: it ſeems to have been the operation of a length of time; for the paſſage through the Texel was forced open in 1400, and gave riſe to the proſperity of Amſterdam ^*. This country was firſt peopled by the Catti, a German nation; theſe were thinned almoſt to extirpation by the ſwarms from the great northern hive, in their expeditions by land to other parts of Europe. For a very long ſpace Flanders and Holland were a ſeat of banditti: the vaſt foreſt of Ardennes gave protection to them in one country; the moraſſes ſecured them in the other. Government at length took place, in Holland under its counts, in Flanders under its foreſters. Theſe provinces fell at laſt under the dominion of the dukes of Burgundy; from them to the houſe of Auſtria and crown of Spain. The revolutions from that are well known. Holland received its ſecond popula⯑tion from Germany, happily (for a country whoſe exiſtence depends on induſtry) a moſt induſtrious race. The Rhine annually brings down multitudes of people, to repair the loſs of men occaſioned by diſtant voyages, and by the moſt unwholeſome colonies in the Eaſt and Weſt Indies. Holland is, from its climate, unfavorable to the encreaſe of mankind: it cannot depend on itſelf for the reparation of the loſs of people, but muſt look elſewhere for ſupplies.

ANIMALS.FLANDERS has many of the ſame ſpecies of animals with Great Britain; but, from the nature of its coaſt, wants moſt of the water-fowl, a few cloven-footed birds excepted, which breed on ſandy ſhores. Holland has ſtill fewer quadrupeds and birds. Of the quadrupeds which we want, are a few Beavers in the Rhine and Maeſe. The Wolf is common in Flanders, and is found [LVII] in the parts of Holland bordering on Germany. Both countries have a few birds which never appear in Britain, except forced by the violence of weather or purſuit of ſome bird of prey.

The antient Germany next ſucceeds. Holland was a ſort of neutral country, a retreat of the German Catti, and not Germany itſelf. As at preſent, the bordering parts were divided into petty ſtates. The rivers which derive their origin far up the country, are the Ems, the Weſer, and the Elb, the antient Amiſius, Viſurgis, and Albis.

Oppoſite to the mouth of the eſtuary of the Weſer and the Elb, INSULA SACRA, OR is the remnant of the Inſula, Caſtum Nemus, celebrated by Tacitus, with his uſual elegance, for the worſhip of HERTHUM, or MOTHER Earth, by the neighboring nations. Eſt in inſula oceani, CASTUM NEMUS, dicatum in eo vehiculum veſte contectum, attingere uni ſacerdoti conceſſum. Is adeſſe penetrali DEAM intelligit, vectamque bubus feminis multa cum veneratione proſequitur. Laeti tunc dies, feſta loca, quaecumque adventu hoſpitioque dignatur. Non bella ineunt, non arma ſumunt, clauſum omne ferrum. Pax et quies tunc tantùm nota, tunc tantùm amata. Donec idem ſacerdos ſatiatam converſa⯑tione mortalium Deam templo reddat. Mox vehiculum et veſtes, et, ſi credere velis, numea ipſum, ſecreto lacu abluitur. Servi miniſtrant, quos ſtatim idem lacus haurit. Arcanus hinc terror, ſanctaque ignorantia, quid ſit illud quod tantum perituri vidit ^*. The worſhip was continued very long after that period, and the iſland was diſtinguiſhed by the name of Foſtaland, Farria, Inſula Sacra, or Heilgeland, HEILGELAND. or the Holy iſle, from the ſacrifices made there to the goddeſs Foſta, or Foſeta, the ſame with Veſta, Herthum, or the EARTH. She was called by the Scandinavians, Goya. The victims to her were precipitated into a pit: if they ſunk at once, the ſacrifice was thought to be accepted: the reverſe if they ſwam any time on the ſurface^†. This iſland was viſited, out of reſpect to the goddeſs, by people of high rank. Radbo⯑thus I. king of the Friſians, was here in 690, when Winbertus, and other Chri⯑ſtian miſſionaries, landed, overthrew the temples, and put an end to the pagan rites^‡. It had been an iſland of great extent; but by different inundations, be⯑tween the years 800 and 1649, was reduced to its preſent contemptible ſize^§. The great iſland of Nordſtrandt (one of the Inſulae Saxonum) not remote from this, in 1634 was reduced, by the ſame cauſe, from twenty pariſhes to one: fifty thouſand head of cattle, and between ſix and ſeven thouſand ſouls, were ſwept away. Such are the calamities to which theſe low countries are liable.

[LVIII] JUTLAND. Jutland and Holſtein, the antient Cimbrica Cherſoneſus ^*, and Cartris ^†, terminat⯑ing in the low point called the Skagen, or Scaw, ſtretches out in form of a penin⯑ſula, bounded by the North ſea and the Kattegatte, the oblique approach into the Baltic. It is a very narrow tract, and only the reſting-place of birds in their way from Scandinavia, and the farther north, the reſidence of numerous ſpecies. The rich marſhes, in a climate mild from its ſituation between two ſeas, afford numbers of wholeſome plants, the food of a remarkably fine breed of cattle. Be⯑ſides the home conſumption, theſe provinces ſend out annually thirty-two thouſand head. The nobility do not think it beneath them to preſide over the dairy: and their number of cows is princely. M. De Rantzau had not fewer than ſix hundred milch cows.

What the extent of this country might have been in very early times is un⯑known: it muſt have been prodigiouſly great, otherwiſe it never could have pour⯑ed out that amazing number of people it did, in their eruption into France, when they were defeated by Marius, in 101 before CHRIST. Their army was comput⯑ed to conſiſt of three hundred thouſand fighting men (including the Teutoni) be⯑ſides women and children.CIMBRIAN DELUGE. About ſeven years before, they had ſuffered a great calamity from an inundation of the ſea, which had deſtroyed great part of their country; and compelled the ſurvivors, then crouded in the narrow Cherſoneſus, to apply to the Romans for other lands. Tacitus ſpeaks of the veſtiges of this once mighty people, in the lines, viſible in his time, on each ſhore. I preſume that the inundations to which this coaſt is ſubject from the ſea, hath utterly deſtroyed every trace of them. The charts plainly point out their overwhelmed territories in Juts-riff, and the neighboring ſand-banks. The firſt might have been the con⯑tinuation of land from the end of Jutland, beginning at the Skaw, and running out into the North ſea in form of a ſcythe, not very remote from land, and ter⯑minating a little ſouth of Bergen in Norway, leaving between its banks and that kingdom a deeper channel into the Baltic.

The Kattegatte lies between part of Jutland and the coaſt of Sweden: the laſt covered with iſles innumerable. It is almoſt cloſed at the extremity, by the low Daniſh iſlands of Seland and Funen, which had in old times been (with Sweden) the ſeat of the Suiones. THE SOUND. Between the firſt and the coaſt of Sweden, is the famous Sound, the paſſage tributary to the Danes by thouſands of ſhips. Theſe iſles were of old called Codonania ^§, and gave to the Kattegatte the name of Sinus Codanus. The proper Baltic ſeems to have been the Mare Suevicum of the antients; and the far⯑theſt part, the Mare Sarmaticum, and part of the Mare Scythicum. As a na⯑turaliſt, [LIX] I muſt mention, that when LINNAEUS ſpeaks of the Mare Occidentale, he intends the Kattegatte. Its greateſt depth is thirty-five fathoms. It decreaſes as it approaches the Sound; which begins with ſixteen fathoms, and near Copenhagen ſhallows to even four.

The Roman fleet, under the command of Germanicus, ſailed, according to Pliny, VOYAGE OF THE ROMAN FLEET. round Germany, and even doubled the Cimbricum Promontorium, and arrived at the iſlands which fill the bottom of the Kattegatte ^*: either by obſervation or infor⯑mation, the Romans were acquainted with twenty-three. One they called Gleſſaria, from its amber, a foſſil abundant to this day on part of the ſouth ſide of the Baltic. A Roman knight was employed by Nero's maſter of the gladiators, to col⯑lect, in theſe parts, that precious production, by which he came perfectly ac⯑quainted with this country^†. I cannot ſuppoſe that the Romans ever ſettled in any part of the neighborhood, yet there was ſome commerce between them, either direct, or by the intervention of merchants. Many ſilver coins have been found at Kivikke, in Schonen in Sweden, of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Commodus, and Albinus ^‡. Among the iſlands, Pliny makes Norway one, under the name of Scandinavia incompertae magnitudinis, and Baltia another, immenſae magnitudinis, probably part of the ſame, and which might give name to the Sounds called the Belts, and to the Baltic itſelf. The geographer Mela had the juſteſt information of this great water, which he deſcribes with great elegance, ‘Hac re mare (CODANUS SINUS) quod gremio littorum accipitur, nunquam latè patet, nec USQUAM MARI SI⯑MILE verum aquis paſſim interfluentibus ac ſaepe tranſgreſſis vagum atque diffuſum facie amnium ſpargitur, qua littora attingit, ripis contentum inſularum non longè diſ⯑tantibus, et ubique poene tantundem, it anguſtum et par FRETO curvanſque ſe ſubinde, longo ſupercilio inflexum eſt.’ The different nations which inhabited its coaſts ſhall hereafter be mentioned.

I would, like Mela, THE BALTIC A GULPH. prefer giving to the Baltic the name of a gulph rather than a ſea; for it wants many requiſites to merit that title. It wants depth, having in no one place more than a hundred and ten fathoms.DEPTH. From the eaſtern mouth of the Sound to the iſle of Bornholm it has from nine to thirty: from thence to Stockholm, from fifteen to fifty: and a little ſouth of Lindo, ſixty. It has in this courſe many ſand-banks, but all in great depths of water. Between Alands Haff, amidſt the great archipelago, the Aland iſles, and the iſle of Oſel in the gulph of Riga, the depths are various, from ſixty to a hundred and ten^‖. Many freſh-water lakes exceed it in that reſpect.

[LX] NO TIDES.It wants tides, therefore experiences no difference of height, except when the winds are violent. At ſuch times there is a current in and out of the Baltic, ac⯑cording to the points they blow from; which forces the water through the Sound with the velocity of two or three Daniſh miles in the hour. When the wind blows violently from the German ſea, the water riſes in the ſeveral Baltic harbours, and gives thoſe in the weſtern part a temporary ſaltneſs:NOT SALT. otherwiſe the Baltic loſes that other property of a ſea, by reaſon of the want of tide, and the quantity of vaſt rivers it receives, which ſweeten it ſo much as to render it, in many places, fit for domeſtic uſes. In all the Baltic, Linnaeus enumerates but three fuci ^*, plants of the ſea: in the gulph of Bothnia, which is beyond the reach of ſalt water, not one^†.

FEW SPECIES OF FISH.The fewneſs of ſpecies of fiſh in the Baltic is another difference between it and a genuine ſea. I can enumerate only nineteen ^‡ which are found in this vaſt ex⯑tent of water: and may add one cetaceous fiſh, the Porpeſſe. No others venture beyond the narrow ſtreights which divide the Baltic from the Kattegatte; yet the great Swediſh Fauniſt reckons eighty-ſeven belonging to his country, which is waſhed only by thoſe two waters. Let me mention the Herring as a ſpecies which has from very early times enriched the neighboring cities. There was, between the years 1169 and 1203, a vaſt reſort of Chriſtian ſhips to fiſh off the iſle of Rugen, the ſeat of the antient Rugii, inſomuch that the Danes cloathed themſelves with ſcarlet and purple, and fine linen.

The Hornſimpa, or COTTUS QUADRICORNIS, Faun. Suec. N^o 321, and the SYNGNATHUS TYPHLE, or Blind Pipe-fiſh, N^o 377, are unknown in the Britiſh ſeas: the firſt ſeems peculiar to the gulph of Bothnia, and is a fiſh of ſingular figure, with four flat hornlike proceſſes on the head^‖.

LENGTH AND BREADTH OF THE BALTIC.The extent of the Baltic in length is very great. From Helſingor, where it properly begins, to Cronſtadt, at the end of the gulph of Finland, is eight hundred and ten Engliſh ſea miles. Its breadth, between Saltwic, in Smaland, and the oppo⯑ſite ſhore,OF THE GULPH OF BOTHNIA. two hundred and thirty-ſeven. The gulph of Bothnia, which runs due north, forms an extent almoſt equal to the firſt, being, from Tornea in Lapland, to [LXI] the ſhore near Dantzic, not leſs than ſeven hundred and ſeventy-eight: an amazing ſpace, to be ſo ill ſtocked with fiſhy inhabitants.

From the iſle of Rugen, the courſe of the Baltic is ſtrait and open, except where interrupted by the famous iſle of Gottland, ISLE OF GOTT⯑LAND. the place of rendezvous from whence the Goths made their naval excurſions. In 811, on this iſland, was founded the famous town of Wiſbuy, the great emporium of the north: it was, for ages, the reſort of every Chriſtian nation. The Engliſh long traded here, before they ventured on the diſtant voyage of the Mediterranean. It became an independent city, and made its maritime laws the ſtandard of all Europe to the north of Spain. In 1361, Walde⯑mar III. of Denmark, attacked, ravaged, and plundered it of immenſe riches; all which periſhed at ſea after they were ſhipped^*. Its preſent inhabitants are huſ⯑bandmen and fiſhermen, ſecure from the calamities of war by the happy want of exuberant wealth.

Beyond Stockholm the Baltic divides into the gulphs of Bothnia and Finland: the firſt runs deeply to the north, and the country is compoſed chiefly of granite rock, or ſtrewed over with detached maſſes of the ſame. Its greateſt breadth is between Gefle and Abo, in Finland, where it meaſures a hundred and ſixty-two miles: its greateſt depth a hundred and ninety-five yards^†. It terminates in Lapland, LAPLAND. a country divided by the river Tornea, which runs navigable far up between a continued mountanous foreſt. It is ſuppoſed to have been peopled in the eleventh century by the Finni: a fact not eaſy to be admitted; for the Finni, or Fennones, are a brawny race, with long yellow hair, and brown irides. The Laplanders are, on the contrary, ſmall in body, have ſhort black hair, and black irides. It is certain that a party of Fins deſerted their native country, Finland, in the age before mentioned, rather than relinquiſh the brutality of heatheniſm. Their offspring remain converted, and in ſome meaſure reclamed, between Nor⯑way and Sweden ^‖; but are a moſt diſtinct race from the Laplanders, who poſſeſſed their country long before. In the ninth century, the hero Regner ſlew its king or leader in battle^§: at that period it was in a ſavage ſtate; nor was its conqueſt at⯑tempted by Sweden till 1277, when Waldemar added it to his kingdom, and in vain attempted its converſion^¶. Scarcely two centuries have elapſed ſince it has ſin⯑cerely embraced the doctrines of Chriſtianity. In conſequence of which, cultiva⯑tion and civilization have ſo well ſucceeded in the ſouthern parts, that many deſerts are peopled, moraſſes drained, and the reaſon of the natives ſo greatly improved, that they have united with the Swedes, and even ſent their repreſentatives to the [LXII] Houſe of Peaſants in the national diet^*. But theſe were at all times the moſt cultivated of this diſtinct race. They trained the Rein-deer to the ſledge, domeſti⯑cated it from its wild ſtate, and made it the ſubſtitute for the Cow.

Their country, which penetrates even to the Northern ocean, conſiſts of ſavage mountains, woods, vaſt marſhes, rivers, and lakes, the haunts of myriads of water⯑fowl,BIRDS. which reſort here in ſummer to breed, free from the diſturbance of mankind. LINNAEUS, the great explorer of theſe deſerts, my venerated example! mentions them as exceeding in numbers the armies of Xerxes; re-migrating, with him, in autumn, eight entire days and nights, to ſeek ſuſtenance on the ſhores and waters of more favorable climates^†.

FISH.Their lakes and rivers abound in fiſh; yet the number of ſpecies are few. Theſe are the Ten-ſpined Stickle-back, Br. Zool. iii. N^o 130; Salmon, N^o 143, in great abundance, which force their way to the very heads of the furious rivers of Tornea and Kiemi, to depoſit their ſpawn; Char, N^o 149, are found in the lakes in great abundance; and Graylings, N^o 150, in the rivers; Gwiniads, N^o 152, are taken of eight or ten pounds weight; Pikes, N^o 153, ſometimes eight feet long; and Perch, N^o 124, of an incredible ſize^§; and the Salmo Albula, Faun. Suec. N^o 353, cloſes the liſt of thoſe of the Lapland lakes and rivers.

ALAND ISLES.The mouth of the gulph of Bothnia is filled with a prodigious cluſter of little iſlands and rocks, dangerous to mariners. Aland is the chief, an iſland of ſur⯑priſing rockineſs, and with all the other aſpects as if torn from the continent by ſome mighty convulſion.GULPH OF FINLAND. The gulph of Finland extends from thence due eaſt, and has, on its northern coaſt, a chain of ſimilar iſlands, and a few ſprinkled over the channel. All the coaſt and all its iſles are compoſed of red or grey granite; and all the coaſts of Sweden are the ſame, mixed in places with ſand-ſtones. Fin⯑land and Carelia are the bounds of the gulph on this ſide: Livonia, the granary of the north, and Ingria, on the other. Theſe countries, with Ruſſia, made part of the European Scythia, or Sarmatia; and this part of the Baltic has been ſometimes ſtyled Mare Scythicum, and Mare Sarmaticum ^‖. The gulph decreaſes in depth from ſixty to five fathoms, as you advance towards Cronſtadt, the great naval arſenal of Ruſſia. PETERSBURG. From thence is twelve miles of ſhallow water to Peterſburg, that glorious creation of PETER the GREAT; the inlet of wealth and ſcience into his vaſt dominions, before his time inacceſſible to the reſt of Europe, unleſs by the tedious voyage of the White ſea; and a country unknown, but by the report of the ſplendid barbariſm of its tyrants. Peter was formed with a ſingular mixture of [LXIII] endowments for the purpoſe of civilizing a rude and barbarous people: his mind was pregnant with great deſigns, obſtinate perſeverance, and unrelenting ſeverity in the exertion of puniſhment on all who dared to oppoſe the execution of his ſyſtem for the good of the whole. A mind filled with the milkineſs of human nature, would never have been able to deal with the ſavage uninformed Ruſſians. Peter hewed his work into ſhape: for the laſt poliſh, Heaven formed another CATHE⯑RINE, the admiration of Europe, the bleſſing of an empire which forms at leſt one eleventh of the globe, extending from the northern point of Nova Zemlja, in the frozen latitude of near 78, to the influx of the Terek into the Caſpian ſea, in the warm latitude of about 43 and a half; or, to give it the ſhorteſt breadth, from the coaſt of the Frozen ocean, at the extremity of the country of the Tſchutki, lat. 73, to the mouth of the Aimakan, in the gulph of Ochotz, in lat. 54. Its length is ſtill more prodigious, from Peterſburgh as far as the Aſiatic ſide of the ſtreights of Bering.

In the following work, I have, by the aſſiſtance of that celebrated naturaliſt Doctor PALLAS, given a deſcription of the Quadrupeds and Birds of this vaſt em⯑pire, as far as was compatible with my plan, which was confined between the higheſt known latitudes of the northern hemiſphere, as low as that of 60. The remainder will be comprehended in the great deſign formed by the Imperial Academy, and ex⯑ecuted by profeſſors whoſe glory it is to prove themſelves worthy of their illuſtri⯑ous and munificent patroneſs, under whoſe auſpices they have pervaded every part of her extenſive dominions in ſearch of uſeful knowledge.

To Peterſburg, this corner of the empire, is brought, as to a vaſt emporium, the commerce of the moſt diſtant parts; and from hence are circulated the European articles to ſupply even the remote China. The place of traffic is on the Chineſe borders, at Kjackta, a town without women; for none are allowed to attend their huſbands. By this route the furs of Hudſon's-Bay find their way to warm the luxuri⯑ous inhabitants of Pekin, the animals of the neighboring Tartary and Sibiria being inadequate to the increaſed demand. The want of a maritime intercourſe is no obſtacle to this enterpriſing nation to the carrying on a trade with India. It has encouraged above a hundred Banians, all males, from Multan, to ſettle at Aſtracan; and their number is kept up by a ſupply of young unmarried relations from home. Theſe ſupport the moſt important trade of Aſtracan, by carrying through Aſtrabad to the inland parts of the Mogol empire. I ſtray a little from my plan; but it may be excuſed on account of the novelty of the relation, and becauſe it points out a more ſouthern inland road than was known in the middle ages, when the merchants went by the way of Bochara and Samarcand to the northern cities of India, Candahar and Cabul.

[LXIV] SAPMATAE.In my return to the German ſea, let me review the antient inhabitants of the Baltic. The wandering Sarmatae, of Scythian deſcent, poſſeſſed all the country from lake Onega to the Viſtula; and part of the vaſt Hercynian foreſt, famous of old for its wild beaſts, occupied moſt of this country. Biſons with their great manes: Uri with their enormous horns, which the natives bound with ſilver and quaffed at their great feaſts: the Alces, or Elk, then fabled to have jointleſs legs: and Wild Horſes, were among the quadrupeds of this tract^*. I ſmile at the deſcription of certain birds of the Hercynian wood, whoſe feathers ſhone in the night, and often proved the guide to the bewildered travellerSolinus, c. 32. Plin. x. c. 47.. The reſplendent plumage of the Strix Nyctea, the Snowy Owl, N^o 121, might probably have ſtruck the eye of the benighted wanderer, and given riſe to the ſtrange relation.

ENINGIA. Eningia was the oppoſite ſhore, and the ſame with the modern Finland, inhabited by people of amazing ſavageneſs and ſqualid poverty; who lived by the chace, headed their arrows with bones, cloathed themſelves with ſkins, lay on the ground, and had no other ſhelter for their infants than a few interwoven boughs^‡. They were then, what the people of Terra del Fuego are now. There is no certainty reſpecting the Oonae; OONAE. iſlanders, who fed, as many do at preſent, on the eggs of wild fowl and on oats^‖; but moſt probably they were the natives of the iſles of Aland, and the adjacent archipelago; for Mela expreſsly places them oppoſite to the Sarmatae. HIPPOPODAE. We may add, that the Hippopodae and Panoti might be the inhabitants of the northern part of the Bothnian gulph; the firſt fabled to have hoofs like horſes, the laſt ears ſo large as to ſerve inſtead of cloaks. The Hippopodae were certainly the ſame ſort of people as the Finni Lignipedes of Olaus, and the Skride Finnus of Ohthere. They wore ſnow-ſhoes, which might fairly give the idea of their being, like horſes, hoofed and ſhod. As to the Panoti, they baffle my ima⯑gination.

The Bothnian and Finland gulphs ſeem to me to have been, in the time of Ta⯑citus, part of his Mare pigrum ac immotum, which, with part of the Hyper⯑borean ocean, really inſulated Scandinavia, and which he places beyond the Suiones, or modern Sweden. Pliny gives, I ſuppoſe from the relation of Britiſh or other voyagers, to part of this ſea, probably the moſt northern, the title of Mo⯑rimaruſa, or Dead Sea, and Cronium. The learned Forſter, with great ingenuity, derives the word from the Gaelic and Celtic language. The firſt, from the Welſh, môr, ſea, and marw, dead; the other from the Iriſh, muir-croinn, the coagulated, i. e. congealed ſea. Tacitus adds to his account, that it was believed to encir⯑cle [LXV] the whole globe, and that the laſt light of the ſetting ſun continued ſo very vivid as to obſcure the ſtars themſelves. There is not a ſingle circumſtance of exag⯑geration in all this: every winter the gulph is frozen, and becomes motionleſs. Many inſtances may be adduced even of the Baltic itſelf being frozen^*. The ſtars are frequently loſt in the amazing ſplendor and various colors of the aurora borealis. The Hilleviones, an antient people of Sweden, ſtyled Scandinavia, al⯑terum orbem terrarum, and their deſcendants, long carolled the junction of the Bothnian gulph with the northern ocean, traditionally rehearſed in old Swediſh ſongs. Tacitus uſes the two laſt words to expreſs the world ſurrounded by this ſea. In the days of the geographer Mela, there certainly was a ſtrong tide in this upper part of the Baltic; for, ſpeaking of the iſlands off Finland, he ſays, ‘Quae Sarmatis adverſa ſunt, ob alternos acceſſus recurſuſque pelagi, et quod ſpatia queis diſtant, modò operiuntur undis, modò nuda ſunt; aliàs inſulae videntur, aliàs una et continens terra.’ With propriety, therefore, in another place, does he compare it to a ſtreight, par freto, notwithſtanding he was ignorant of its other entrance.ANTIENT STREIGHTS BE⯑TWEEN Doctor Pallas moſt juſtly aſcribes the formation of not only the Baltic, but its former communication with the White Sea, to the effects of a deluge. The whole intermediate country is a proof; the foundation being what is called the old rock, and that covered with variety of matter; ſuch as beds of pebble and gravel, and fragments of granite, torn from the great maſs.THE BALTIC AND WHITE SEA. Parts of the channel which formed the inſulation of Scandinavia, are the chain of lakes, from that of Ladoga to the White Sea, ſuch as Onega, and others, often connected by rivers, and lying in a low country, filled with the proofs above-mentioned. This was the ſtreight through which the tide poured itſelf from the Hyperborean ocean, and covered, at its flux, the iſlands deſcribed by Mela. This, like the other northern ſeas, was annually frozen over, and could be no obſtacle to the ſtocking of Scandinavia with quadrupeds. There is no fixing the period in which this paſſage was ob⯑ſtructed. An influx of ſand, or an earthquake, might cloſe it up. As ſoon as this event took place, the Baltic felt the want of its uſual feed: it loſt the pro⯑perty of a ſea; and, by a conſtant exhalation, from that time decreaſed in the quantity of water. Modern philoſophers have proved the great loſs it has ſuſ⯑tained, and that it decreaſes from forty to fifty inches in a century: that, near Pithea, the gulph of Bothnia has retired from the land half a mile in forty-five years; and near Lulea, a mile in twenty-eight. Notwithſtanding its preſent ſtate, when we conſider the accounts given by the antients, the old Swediſh tra⯑ditions, and the preſent veſtiges of the former channel, we can, without any [LXVI] force of fancy, give full credit to the inſulated form of Scandinavia, given in one of Cluverius's maps^*; which, he ſays, is drawn from the erroneous ac⯑counts of the antients.

SUIONES.The Suiones poſſeſſed the modern Sweden, and extended even to the ocean, and were a potent naval power. Their ſhips were ſo conſtructed, with prows at each end, that they were always ready to advance. Theſe people, in after times, proved, under the common name of Nortmans, the peſt and conquerors of great part of ſouthern Europe; their ſkill in maritime affairs fitting them for diſtant expeditions. In the ſixth century they were called Suethans, and were famous for their cavalry. In their time, the Sable, N^o 30, was common in their country: Jornandes, therefore, obſerves, that notwithſtanding they lived poorly, they were moſt richly cloathed: he alſo informs us, that they ſupplied the Romans with theſe precious furs, through the means of numbers of interven⯑ing nations^†. Scandinavia, in that period, had got the name of Scanzia; and as it was then called an iſland, and by Jornandes ^‡, a native of the country, there is all the reaſon to imagine, that the paſſage into the Hyperborean ocean was not in his time cloſed.

After repaſſing the Sound, appear Schonen, Halland, and Bohuſtand, Swediſh pro⯑vinces, bounded by the Kattegatte. Halland, from ſome ſimilitude of ſound, is ſuppoſed to have been the ſeat of the Hilleviones, a moſt populous nation; perhaps the ſame with the Suiones of Tacitus; for beyond them he places the Sitones, or the country of Norway, NORWAY. who were a great naval people; as the hiſtorian ſays that they differed not from the Suiones, except in being under a female government. The pro⯑montory of the Naze, THE NAZE. viſible at eight or ten leagues diſtance, with the low land of Bevenbergen in Jutland, forms the entrance into the German ſea. The Bommel, and the Drommel, high mountains to the eaſt of it; and the high land of Leſt, a vaſt mountain, gradually riſing from the ſhore, to the weſt, are noted guides to mariners. It is reaſonably ſuppoſed, that Pliny intended this vaſt region by his iſland of Nerigon, from whence, ſays he, was a paſſage to Thule. He ſpeaks alſo of Bergos, which, from agreement of ſound, is thought to be the preſent province of Bergen. The promontorium Rubeas is gueſſed to be the North Cape, between which and the Cimbri, Philaemon ^§ places the Mare Morimaruſa, or the Dead Sea, ſo called from the clouded ſky that uſually reigned there.

Our firſt certain knowlege of the inhabitants of this country, was from the deſolation they brought on the ſouthern nations by their piratical invaſions. [LXVII] Their country had, before that period, the name of Nortmannaland, and the in⯑habitants Nortmans; NORTMANS. a title which included other adjacent people. Great Britain and Ireland were ravaged by them in 845; and they continued their invaſion till they effected the conqueſt of England, under their leader, Canute the Great. They went up the Seine as far as Paris, burnt the town, and forced its weak monarch to purchaſe their abſence at the price of fourteen thouſand marks. They plun⯑dered Spain, and at length carried their excurſions through the Mediterranean to Italy, and even into Sicily. They uſed narrow veſſels, like their anceſtors the Sitones; and, beſides oars, added the improvement of two ſails: and victualled them with ſalted proviſions, biſcuit, cheeſe, and beer. Their ſhips were at firſt ſmall; but in after times they were large enough to hold a hundred or a hundred and twenty men. But the multitude of veſſels was amazing. The fleet of Harold Blaatand conſiſted of ſeven hundred^*. A hundred thouſand of theſe ſavages have at once ſallied from Scandinavia, ſo juſtly ſtyled Officina Gentium, aut certè velut vagina nationum ^†. Probably neceſſity, more than ambition, cauſed them to diſcharge their country of its exuberant numbers. Multitudes were deſtroyed; but multitudes remained, and peopled more favorable climes.

Their king, Olaus, was a convert to Chriſtianity in 994; Bernard, an Eng⯑liſhman, had the honor of baptizing him, when Olaus happened to touch at one of the Scilly iſlands. He plundered with great ſpirit during ſeveral years; and in 1006 received the crown of martyrdom from his pagan ſubjects. But reli⯑gious zeal firſt gave the reſt of Europe a knowlege of their country, and the ſweets of its commerce. The Hanſe towns poured in their miſſionaries, and reaped a temporal harveſt. By the year 1204, the merchants obtained from the wiſe prince Suer every encouragement to commerce; and by that means introduced wealth and civilization into his barren kingdom. England, by every method, cheriſhed the advantages reſulting from an intercourſe with Norway; and Bergen was the emporium. Henry III. in 1217, entered into a league with its monarch Haquin, by which both princes ſtipulated for free acceſs for their ſubjects into their reſpective kingdoms, free trade and ſecurity to their perſons. In 1269, Henry entered into another treaty with Magnus, in which it was agreed, that no goods ſhould be exported from either kingdom except they had been paid for; and there is beſides a humane proviſion on both ſides, for the ſecurity of the perſons and effects of the ſubjects who ſhould ſuffer ſhipwreck on their ſeveral coaſts.

This country extends above fifteen hundred miles in length,COASTS. and exhibits a moſt wonderful appearance of coaſt. It runs due north to Cape Staff, the [LXVIII] weſtern point of Sondmor, then winds north-eaſt to its extremity at the North Cape. SEA. High and precipitous rocks compoſe the front, with a ſea generally from one to three hundred fathoms deep waſhing their baſe^*. Multitudes of narrow creeks penetrate deep into the land, overſhadowed by ſtupendous mountains. The ſides of theſe chaſms have depth equal to that of the adjacent ſea; but in the middle is a channel called Dybrendes, DYBRENDES. i. e. deep courſes, from fifty to a hundred fa⯑thoms broad, and of the diſproportionable depth of four hundred^†, ſeemingly time-worn by the ſtrength of the current from the torrent-rivers which pour into them. Fiſh innumerable reſort to their edges. Theſe creeks are, in many places, the roads of the country; for the vallies which traverſe it are often ſo precipitous as to be impervious, unleſs by water. Some, which want theſe con⯑veniences, are left uninhabited by reaſon of the impoſſibility of conveying to and from them the articles of commerce.

CHAIN OF IS⯑LANDS.Millions of iſlands, large and ſmall, ſkerries, or rocks, follow the greateſt part of this wondrous coaſt. The iſlands are rude and mountanous, and ſoar corre⯑ſpondent to the Alps of the oppoſite continent. Thoſe of Loeffort, on the north ſide of the dreadful whirlpool Maelſtrom, engraven by Le Bruyn, give a full idea of the nature of the coaſts^‡. The ſea near the iſlands is ſo deep and rocky, that the Norwegian kings cauſed vaſt iron rings to be faſtened with lead ^§ to the ſides, to enable ſhips to moor in ſecurity, or to aſſiſt them in warping out. A few of the former give ſhelter to the fiſhermen and their ſmall ſtock of cattle; the reſt riſe in columns of groteſque forms. On the outſide of theſe natural counterſcarps, are multitudes of haubroe, or ſea-breakers, longitudinal banks of ſand, running north and ſouth, from the diſtance of four to ſixteen leagues from the continent, and from ten to fifteen fathoms below the ſurface of the water; the haunts of myriads of uſeful fiſh.

TIDES.The tides off the Naze, and moſt of the coaſts of Norway, are very inconſider⯑able. At the North Cape, the ſpring tides have been obſerved to riſe to the height of eight feet one inch; the neap to ſix feet eight inches^‖. Mr. Wil⯑liam Ferguſon, an able pilot, who had often the conduct of our fleets in the North ſea, informed me, that on the Naze, and many other parts of Norway, the tides were hardly perceptible, except with ſtrong weſterly winds, when they roſe two or three feet, and fell with the eaſterly winds.

RIVERS.Into the ends of moſt of the Dybrendes ruſh the furious rivers, or rather tor⯑rents, of the mountains; uſeleſs for navigation, but moſt ſingularly advantageous [LXIX] for the conveyance of the great article of commerce, the maſts and timber of the country, from the otherwiſe inacceſſible foreſts. The trees are cut down, and at preſent conveyed from ſome diſtance to the rivers, down which they are precipi⯑tated over rocks and ſtupendous cataracts,LENTZES. until they arrive at the Lentzes or booms^*, placed obliquely in the ſtream in fit places. To them the owners of the timber reſort; and, on paying a certain rate to the proprietors, receive their pieces, which are all marked before they are committed to the water; but numbers are injured or deſtroyed in the rough paſſage.

The ſpecies which is of ſuch great value to Norway, is the Fyr or Fare, our Scotch Pine, and the Pinus Sylveſtris of Linnaeus. It grows in the drieſt places, and attains the vaſt age of four hundred years^†; and is of univerſal uſe in the northern world. Such trees as are not deſtined for maſts are ſquared, and arrive in England under the name of Balk: the reſt are ſawed on the ſpot, in hundreds of mills, turned by the torrents, and reach us in form of planks. An immenſe quan⯑tity of tar is made from the trees, and even from the roots, very long after they have been divided from the trunk. The Gran, Pinus Abies, or what we call Nor⯑way Fir, is in little eſteem. Thouſands are cut down annually by the peaſants, who feed their cattle with the tender ſhoots. It is the talleſt of European trees, growing to the height of a hundred and ſixty feet. In winter, the branches are depreſſed to the ground with ſnow, and form beneath them the dens of wild beaſts.

I muſt here mention the adventitious fruits,EXOTIC FRUITS FOUND ON THE SHORES. ſuch as nuts and other vegetable productions, which are brought by the waves to theſe ſhores, thoſe of Feroe, and the Orknies, from Jamaica and other neighboring parts^‡. We muſt have re⯑courſe to a cauſe very remote from this place.GULPH-STREAM. Their vehicle is the gulph-ſtream from the gulph of Mexico. The trade-winds force the great body of the ocean from the weſtward through the Antilles into that gulph, when it is forced back⯑ward along the ſhore from the mouth of the Miſſiſſipi to Cape Florida; doubles that cape in the narrow ſea between it and Cuba, and from Cape Florida to Cape Cannaveral runs nearly north, at the diſtance of from five to ſeven leagues from ſhore, and extends in breadth from fifteen to eighteen leagues. There are re⯑gular ſoundings from the land to the edge of the ſtream, where the depth is ge⯑nerally ſeventy fathoms; after that no bottom can be found. The ſoundings off Cape Cannaveral are very ſteep and uncertain, as the water ſhallows ſo quick, that from forty fathoms it will immediately leſſen to fifteen, and from that to four, or leſs; ſo that, without great care, a ſhip may be in a few minutes on ſhore. It muſt be obſerved, that, notwithſtanding the gulph-ſtream in general [LXX] is ſaid to begin where ſoundings end, yet its influence extends ſeveral leagues within the ſoundings; and veſſels often find a conſiderable current ſetting to the northward all along the coaſt, till they get into eight or ten fathom water, even where the ſoundings ſtretch to twenty leagues from the ſhore; but their current is generally augmented or leſſened by the prevaling winds, the force of which, however, can but little affect the grand unfathomable ſtream. From Cape Cannaveral to Cape Hatteras the ſoundings begin to widen in the extent of their run from the ſhore to the inner edge of the ſtream, the diſtance being generally near twenty leagues, and the ſoundings very regular to about ſeventy fathoms near the edge of the ſtream, where no bottom can be afterwards found. Abreaſt of Savannah river, the current ſets nearly north; after which, as if from a bay, it ſtretches north-eaſt to Cape Hatteras; and from thence it ſets eaſt-north-eaſt, till it has loſt its force. As Cape Hatteras runs a great way into the ſea, the edge of the ſtream is only from five to ſeven leagues diſtant from the cape; and the force and rapidity of the main ſtream has ſuch influence, within that diſtance, over ſhips bound to the ſouthward, that in very high foul winds, or in calms, they have frequently been hurried back to the northward, which has often occaſioned great diſappointment both to merchant ſhips and to men of war, as was often experienced in the late war. In December 1754, an exceeding good ſailing ſhip, bound from Philadelphia to Charleſtown, got abreaſt of Cape Hatteras every day during thirteen days, ſometimes even with the tide, and in a middle diſtance be⯑tween the cape and the inner edge of the ſtream; yet the ſhip was forced back regularly, and could only recover its loſt way with the morning breeze, till the fourteenth day, when a briſk gale helped it to ſtem the current, and get to the ſouthward of the Cape. This ſhews the impoſſibility of any thing which has fallen into the ſtream returning, or ſtopping in its courſe.

On the outſide of the ſtream is a ſtrong eddy or contrary current towards the ocean; and on the inſide, next to America, a ſtrong tide ſets againſt it. When it ſets off from Cape Hatteras, it takes a current nearly north-eaſt; but in its courſe meets a great current that ſets from the north, and probably comes from Hudſon's Bay, along the coaſt of Labrador, till the iſland of Newfoundland divides it; part ſetting along the coaſt through the ſtreights of Belleiſle, and ſweep⯑ing paſt Cape Breton, runs obliquely againſt the gulph-ſtream, and gives it a more eaſtern direction: the other part of the northern current is thought to join it on the eaſtern ſide of Newfoundland. The influence of theſe joint cur⯑rents muſt be far felt; yet poſſibly its force is not ſo great, nor contracted in ſuch a pointed and circumſcribed direction as before they encountered. The prevaling winds all over this part of the ocean are the weſt and north-weſt, and con⯑ſequently [LXXI] the whole body of the weſtern ocean ſeems, from their influence, to have what the mariners call a ſet to the eaſtward, or to the north-eaſt by eaſt. Thus the productions of Jamaica, and other places bordering on the gulph of Mexico, may be firſt brought by the ſtream out of the gulph, inveloped in the ſargaſſo or alga of the gulph round Cape Florida, and hurried by the current ei⯑ther along the American ſhore, or ſent into the ocean in the courſe along the ſtream, and then by the ſet of the ſtream, and the prevaling winds, which generally blow two-thirds of the year, wafted to the ſhores of Europe, where they are found^*.

The maſt of the Tilbury man of war, burnt at Jamaica, was thus conveyed to the weſtern ſide of Scotland; and among the amazing quantity of drift-wood, or timber, annually flung on the coaſts of Iceland, are ſome ſpecies which grow in Virginia and Carolina ^†. All the great rivers of thoſe countries contribute their ſhare; the Alatamaha, Santee, and Roanok, and all the rivers which flow into the Cheſapeak, ſend down in floods numberleſs trees^‡; but Iceland is alſo obliged to Europe for much of its drift-wood; for the common pine, fir, lime, and willows, are among thoſe enumerated by Mr. Troille; all which, probably, were wafted from Norway.

The mountains of Norway might prove a boundleſs ſubject of ſpeculation to the traveller. Their extent is prodigious, and the variety of plants, animals,MOUNTAINS. and fiſhes of the lakes, are funds of conſtant amuſement. The ſilver mines,METALS. wrought ever ſince 1623, are ſources of wealth to the kingdom, and afford the fineſt ſpecimens of the native kinds yet known. Gold was found in a conſider⯑able quantity in 1697. Chriſtian V. cauſed ducats to be coined with it; the in⯑ſcription was the words of Job, VON MITTERNACHT KOMT GOLD, out of the north comes GOLD^‖. Copper and iron are found in abundance; lead in leſs quantities: tin does not extend to this northern region. It is difficult to ſay which is the beginning of this enormous chain. In Scandinavia it begins in the great Koelen rock at the extremity of Finmark. It enters Norway in the dioceſe of Drontheim, bends weſtward towards the ſea, and terminates at a vaſt precipice, I think, the Heirefoſs, about three Norwegian miles from Liſter. Another branch of this mountain divides Norway from Sweden, fills Lapland, and riſes into [LXXII] the diſtinguiſhed ſummits of Horrikalero, Avaſaxa, and Kittis, and ends in ſcat⯑tered maſſes of granite, in the low province of Finland. It incloſes Scandinavia in form of a horſe-ſhoe, and divides it from the vaſt plains of Ruſſia. The an⯑tient name of this chain was Sevo mons, to this day retained in the modern name Seveberg. Pliny compares it to the Riphaean hills, and truly ſays, it forms an immenſe bay, even to the Cimbrian promontory^*.

The mountains and iſlands break into very groteſque forms, and would furniſh admirable ſubjects for the pencil. Among the deſiderata of theſe days, is a tour into thoſe parts by a man of fortune, properly qualified, and properly at⯑tended by artiſts, to ſearch into the great variety of matter which this northern region would furniſh, and which would give great light into the hiſtory of a race,ROMANTIC VIEWS. to which half Europe owes its population. Among the views, the moun⯑tains of the Seven Siſters in Helgeland ^†, and the amazing rock of Forg-hatten ^‡, riſing majeſtically out of the ſea, with its pervious cavern, three thouſand ells ^‖ long, and a hundred and fifty high, with the ſun at times radiating through it, are the moſt capital. Not to mention the tops of many, broken into imagi⯑nary forms of towers and Gothic edifices, forts, and caſtles, with regular walls and baſtions.

HEIGHTS OF MOUNTAINS.I agree with the Comte De Buffon, in thinking that the heights of the Scan⯑dinavian mountains, given by Biſhop Pontoppidan, and Mr. Browallius, are ex⯑tremely exaggerated^§. They are by no means to be compared with thoſe of the Helvetian Alps, and leſs ſo with many near the equator. The ſober accounts I have received from my northern friends, ſerve to confirm the opinion, that there is an increaſe of height of mountains from the north towards the equato⯑rial countries. M. Aſcanius, profeſſor of mineralogy at Drontheim, aſſures me, that from ſome late ſurveys, the higheſt in that dioceſe are not above ſix hun⯑dred fathoms above the ſurface of the ſea; that the mountains fall to the weſtern ſide from the diſtance of eight or ten Norwegian miles^¶; but to the eaſtern, from that of forty. The higheſt is Dovre-fiael in Drontheim, and Tille in Ber⯑gen. They riſe ſlowly, and do not ſtrike the eye like Romſdale-horn, and Horn⯑alen, which ſoar majeſtically from the ſea. In Sweden, only one mountain has been properly meaſured to the ſea. Profeſſor Ritzius of Lund, acquaints me, that Kinnekulle in Weſtro-Gothia is only eight hundred and fifteen Engliſh feet [LXXIII] above the lake Wenern, or nine hundred and thirty-one above the ſea. He adds, the following have been only meaſured to their baſes, or to the next adjacent waters: Aorſkata, a ſolitary mountain of Jaemtland, about four or five Swediſh miles from the higheſt Alps, which ſeparate Norway and Sweden, is ſaid to be ſix thouſand one hundred and ſixty-two Engliſh feet above the neareſt rivers: Swuckuſtol, within the borders of Norway, four thouſand ſix hundred and fifty-eight above lake Famund; and that lake is thought to be two or three thouſand above the ſea: and finally, Sylfiaellen, on the borders of Jaemtland, is three thouſand one hundred and thirty-two feet perpendicular, from the height to the baſe. Pontoppidan gives the mountains of Norway the height of three thouſand fathoms: Browallius thoſe of Sweden two thouſand three hundred and thirty-three, which makes them nearly equal to the higheſt Alps of Savoy, or the ſtill higher ſummits of the Peruvian Andes.

In Finmark, FINMARK. the mountains in ſome places run into the ſea: in others recede far, and leave extenſive plains between their baſes and the water. Their extreme height is on the Fiaell-ryggen, dorſum Alpium, or back of the Alps, a name given to the higheſt courſe of the whole chain: the ſummits of which are clad with eternal ſnow. Theſe are ſkirted by lower mountains, compoſed of hard ſandy earth, deſtitute of every vegetable, except where it is mixed with fragments of rock,PLANTS. on which appear the Saxi⯑frages of ſeveral kinds; Diapenſia Lapponica, Fl. Lapp. N^o 88; Azalea Procumbens, N^o 90; the Andromeda Caerulea, N^o 164; and Hypnoides, N^o 165, thinly ſcatter⯑ed. Lower down are vaſt woods of Birch, N^o 341, a tree of equal uſe to the Laplanders, and the northern Indians of America. On the lower Alps abound the Rein-deer Lichen, N^o 437, the ſupport of their only cattle; the Dwarf Birch, N^o 342, the ſeeds of which are the food of the White Grous beneath the ſnow, during the long and rigorous winter; the Arbutus Alpina, N^o 161; and Arbutu [...] Uva Urſa, N^o 162; and, finally, the Empetrum Nigrum, or Black Heath Berries, uſed by the Laplanders in their ambroſial diſh the Kappifiàlmas ^*.

The Scotch Pine, N^o 346, and Norway Fir, N^o 347, form the immenſe foreſts of Lapland, aſſociated with the Birch: the Pine affects the dry, the Fir the wet places, and grow to a vaſt ſize; but, being inacceſſible, are loſt to the great uſes of man⯑kind. On their northern ſides they are almoſt naked, and deprived of boughs by the piercing winds; the wandering Laplander remarks this, and uſes it as a compaſs to ſteer by, amidſt theſe wilds of wood. Whole traits are oft-times fired by light⯑ning; then proſtrated by the next ſtorm. The natives make, of the under part of the wood (which acquires vaſt hardneſs by length of time) their ſnow-ſhoes; and [LXXIV] form their bows for ſhooting the ſquirrel with pieces united with glue, made from the ſkin of the perch. Their fragile boats are formed of the thinneſt boards: their ropes of the fibrous roots: and finally, the inner bark, pulverized and baked, is the ſubſtitute for bread to a people deſtined to this rigorous climate. Theſe three trees, the Dwarf Birch, N^o 341, the Alder, N^o 340, and not leſs than twenty-three ſpecies of Willows, form the whole of the trees of Lapland. Every other Swediſh tree vaniſhes on approaching that country.

There is a great analogy between the plants of theſe northern Alps, and thoſe of the Scottiſh Highlands. A botaniſt is never ſurprized with meeting ſimilar plants on hills of the ſame height, be their diſtance ever ſo great. It may be remarked, that out of the three hundred and ſeventy-nine perfect plants which grow in Lapland, two hundred and ninety-one are found in Scotland; and of the hundred and fifty cryptogamous, ninety-ſeven are to be met with in North Britain.

QUADRUPEDS OF SCANDINAVIA.The Alps, the woods, and marſhes of the vaſt region of Scandinavia (for I will conſider it in the great) give ſhelter to numbers of quadrupeds unknown to Britain. Thoſe which brave the ſeverity of the extreme north of this country are diſtin⯑guiſhed by the addition of the Lapland name. The Elk, N^o 3 of this Work, is found in many parts: the Rein, Godde, N^o 4, is confined to the chillieſt places: the Wolf, Kumpi, N^o 9, is a peſt to the whole: the Arctic Fox, Njal, N^o 10, ſkirts the ſhores of all the northern regions: the Croſs Fox, Raude, N^o 11. β, and the Black Fox, N^o 11. α. is ſcattered every where: the Lynx, Albos ^*, N^o 15, inhabits the thickeſt woods: the Bear, Guouzhia, N^o 20, and Glutton, Gjeed'k, N^o 21, have the ſame haunts: the Sable, N^o 30, which continued in Lapland till the middle of the laſt century, is now extinct: the Leſſer Otter, or Maenk, of the Swedes, is confined to Finland: the Beaver, Mejaeg, N^o 90, is ſtill found in an un⯑ſociable ſtate in ſeveral parts: the Flying Squirrel, p. 124, the Orava of the Fin⯑landers, is found in their foreſts^†, and thoſe of Lapland: the Lemmus, Lumenik, p. 136, is at ſeaſons the peſt of Norway, iſſuing like a torrent from the Koelen chain: The Walrus, Morſh, N^o 71, is ſometimes found in the Finmark ſeas: the Harp Seal, Daelja, N^o 77, the Rough Seal, N^o 74, the Hooded, Oanide? N^o 76, and the Little Seal, Hiſt. Quad. ii. N^o 386, omitted by me in this Work, inhabit [LXXV] the ſame place^*. The laſt, ſays Biſhop Gunner, is eaten ſalted, not only by the Laplanders, but by the better ſort of people in Finmark.

Of animals found in Britain, the Fox, Ruopſok, N^o 11; Pine Martin, Naette, N^o 27; Ermine, Boaaid ^†, N^o 26; Weeſel, Seibuſh, N^o 25; Otter, Zhieonares, N^o 34; Varying Hare, Njaumel, N^o 37; Common Squirrel, Orre, p. 122. A; Mouſe, N^o 60; Field Mouſe, N^o 61; Water Rat, N^o 59; and the Shrew, Vandes and Ziebak, N^o 67, are ſeen as high as Finmark: the Common Seal, Nuorroſh, N^o 72, and the Great Seal, N^o 73, alſo frequent the ſhores. All the other quadrupeds, common to Scandinavia, ceaſe in Norway, and ſome even in Sweden. Scandinavia received its animals from the eaſt; but their farther progreſs was prevented by the intervention of the North ſea between that region and Britain. Our extinct ſpecies, the Bear, the Wolf, and the Beaver, came into this iſland, out of Gaul, before our ſeparation from the continent. Some of the northern animals never reached us: neither did the north ever receive the Fallow Deer, Br. Zool. N^o 7; the Harveſt Mouſe, N^o 29; the Water Shrew, N^o 33; nor yet the Brown Rat, N^o 57, of this Work; notwithſtanding it familiarly goes under the name of the Norway ^‡.

This great tract has very few birds which are not found in Britain. BIRDS. We may except the Collared Falcon, p. 222. G; the Scandinavian Owl, p. 237; Rock Crow, p. 252. F; Roller, p. 253; Black Woodpecker, p. 276; Grey-headed, p. 277; Three-toed, N^o 168; the Rehuſak Grous, p. 316. B; and the Hazel Grous, p. 316. F. The Ortolan, p. 367. D; the Arctic Finch, p. 379. A; and the Lulean F. p. 380. B. The Grey Redſtart Warbler, p. 417. C; the Blue Throat W. p. 417. E; Bogruſh W. p. 419. I; Fig-eater, 419. K; and Kruka W. p. 422. U. All the cloven-footed water-fowl, except the Spoon-bill, p. 441. A; the Crane, p. 453. A; White and Black Storks, p. 455, 456. C. D; Finmark Snipe, p. 471. D; Striated Sandpiper, N^o 383; Selninger, p. 480. C; Waved, p. 481. E; Shore, p. 481. F; Wood, p. 482. G; Alwargrim Plover, N^o 398; and Alexandrine, p. 488. B. And all the web-footed kinds, except the Harle⯑quin Duck, N^o 490, and Lapmark, p. 576. M. are common to both countries; but during ſummer, Fieldfares, Redwings, Woodcocks, and moſt of the water-fowl, retire from Britain into Scandinavia, to breed in ſecurity: and numbers of both land and water-fowl quit this frozen country during winter, compelled, for want of food, to ſeek a milder climate.

[LXXVI]The fiſhes of this extenſive coaſt amount to only one hundred and eleven, and are inferior in number to thoſe of Britain by twenty-eight. The ſpecies of the North Sea which differ from the Britiſh, are not numerous. The depth of water, and the foreſts of marine plants which cover the bottom of the Norwegian ſeas, are aſſuredly the cauſe of the preference of certain kinds, in their reſidence in them. Infinite numbers of rare Vermes, Shells, Lithophytes, and Zoophytes, are found there,CURIOUS FISHES. ſeveral of which, before their diſcovery by Biſhop Pontoppidan, were the ſuppoſed inhabitants of only the more remote ſeas^*. Among the fiſhes which have hitherto ſhunned our ſhores, are the Raia Clavata, Muller, N^o 309; Squalus Spinax, 312^†; Sq. Centrina, 313, which extends to the Mediterranean; Chimera Monſtroſa, 320, a moſt ſingular fiſh; Sygnathus Typhle, and Aequoreus, 324, 328; the Regalecus Gleſve, 335, Aſcan. Icon. tab. xi.; Gadus Broſme, 341; G. Dypterygius, or Byrke-lange, 346; Blennius Raninus, & Fuſcus, 359, 360; Echeneis Remora, 361; Coryphaena Novacula, & Rupeſtris, 362, 363; Gobius Jozo, 365; Plearonectes Cynogloſſus, Limanda, & Linguatula, 372, 375, 377; Sparus Erythrinus, 380; Labrus Suillus, 381; Perca Norvegica, and Lucio-perca, 390, 391; Scomber Pelagicus, 398; Silurus Aſotus, 404; Clupea Villoſa, 425.

THOSE OF USE.Theſe are not the fiſhes of general uſe. Providence hath, in theſe parts, beſtow⯑ed with munificence the ſpecies which contribute to the ſupport of mankind; and made thereby the kingdom of Norway a coaſt of hardy fiſhermen. The chain of iſlands, and the ſhores, are the populous parts. It is the ſea which yields them a harveſt; and near to it ſtand all the capital towns: the ſtaples of the produce of the ocean on one hand, and of the more thinly inhabited mountains on the other. The farther you advance inland, the leſs numerous is the race of man.

The Herring,HERRINGS. the Cod, the Ling, and the Salmon, are the maritime wealth of this country. The Herring has two emigrations into this ſea: the firſt is from Chriſtmas to Candlemas, when a large ſpecies arrives, preceded by two ſpecies of Whales, who, by inſtinct, wait its coming. The fiſhermen poſt themſelves on ſome high cliff, impatiently waiting for the cetaceous fiſh, the harbingers of the others. They look for them at the moon Torre, or the firſt new one after Chriſt⯑mas, and the moon Gio, which immediately follows.

Theſe Herrings frequent the great ſand-banks, where they depoſit their ſpawn. They are followed by the Spring Herrings, a leſſer fiſh, which approach much nearer to the ſhore; after which arrive the Summer Herring, which almoſt literally fill every creek: the whole fiſhery is of immenſe profit. From January to October, [LXXVII] 1752, were exported, from Bergen alone, eleven thouſand and thirteen laſts; and it was expected that as many more would be ſhipped off before the expiration of the year. The Herrings which viſit this coaſt are only part of the vaſt northern army which annually quits the great deeps, and gives wealth and food to numbers of European nations.

THE Cod yields another fiſhery of great profit.COD. They firſt arrive immediately after the earlieſt Herrings, and grow ſo pampered with their fry, that they reject a bait; and are taken in vaſt nets, which are ſet down in fifty or ſeventy fathom water, and taken up every twenty-four hours, with four or five hundred great fiſh entangled in them. As the Herrings retire, the Cod grows hungry; and after that is taken with hook and line, baited with Herring. In more advanced ſeaſon, other varieties of Cod arrive, and are taken, in common with Turbot and other fiſh, with long lines, to which two hundred ſhort lines with hooks are faſtened: the whole is ſunk to the bottom; its place is marked by a buoy faſtened to it by another line of fit length. The extent of the Cod-fiſhery may be judged of on hearing that 40,000 tonder, of four buſhels each, of French and Spaniſh ſalt, are annually im⯑ported into Bergen for that purpoſe only.

The Ling is taken on the great ſand-bank during ſummer, by hook and line,LING. and, being a fiſh noted for being capable of long preſervation, is much ſought after for diſtant voyages.

The Salmon, SALMON. a moſt univerſal northern fiſh, arrive in the Norwegian rivers, and vaſt quanties are ſent, ſmoke-dried or pickled, into various countries.

The praefecture of Nordland, NORDLAND. is the fartheſt part of the kingdom of Norway. In it is the diſtrict of Helgeland, remarkable for that uncommon genius, Octher, OF OCTHER. or Ohthere, who, in a frozen climate, and ſo early as the ninth century, did ſhew a paſſion for diſcovery, equal perhaps with that of the preſent. His country was at that time the laſt in the north which had the leſt tincture of humanity. In the year 890 he was attracted by the ſame of our renowned ALFRED. He viſited his court, and related to him his voyages. He told the monarch that he was deter⯑mined to prove if there was any land beyond the deſerts which bounded his country. It appears that he ſailed due north, and left, on his ſtarboard ſide, a waſte, the pre⯑ſent Finmark, occaſionally frequented by the Finnas, or wandering Laplanders, for the ſake of fiſhing and fowling. He went as far as the Whale-fiſhers uſually ven⯑tured: a proof that the men of Norway practiſed that fiſhery many centuries before the Engliſh. He doubled the North Cape, and entered the Cwen Sea, or White Sea, and even anchored in the mouth of the Dwina. He was to theſe parts what Columbus was to America: but the knowlege of this country was loſt for centuries after the days of Octher. He mentioned the Seride Finnas, who lived to the north-weſt of [LXXVIII] the Cwen Sea, and who wore ſnow-ſhoes. The country about the Dwina was well inhabited by a people called Beormas, far more civilized than the Finnas. The map attending ALFRED's Oroſius places them in the country of the Samoieds, a race at preſent as uncultivated as mankind can be: we therefore muſt ſuppoſe thoſe Beormas to have been Ruſſians. Octher ſays, that in this ſea he met with Horſe-Whales (Walruſes) and produced to the prince ſpecimens of their great teeth, and of thong-ropes made of their ſkins; a mark of his attention to every thing curious which occurred to him^*.

NORWEGIANS A FINE RACE.I muſt not leave Norway without notice of its chief of animals, Man. Scandi⯑navia, in the courſe of population, received its inhabitants by colonies of hardy Scythians, who, under the name of Sarmatians, extended themſelves to the coaſts of the Baltic. In after-times their virtue was exalted by the arrival of their coun⯑tryman, Odin, and the heroes he ſettled in every part of the country. The ſeverity of the climate has not checked the growth, or diſtorted the human form. MAN here is tall, robuſt, of juſt ſymmetry in limbs, and ſhews ſtrongly the human face divine. Their hair is light: their eyes light grey. The male peaſants of the mountains are hairy on their breaſts as Bears, and not leſs hardy: active in body: clear and intelligent in their minds.LONGEVITY. Theirs certainly is length of days; for out of ſix thouſand nine hundred and twenty-nine, who died in 1761, in the dioceſe of Chriſtiana, three hundred and ninety-four lived to the age of nintey; ſixty-three to that of a hundred; and ſeven to that of a hundred and one^†. The Norwegians juſtly hold themſelves of high value; and ſlightingly call their fellow-ſubjects, the the Danes, Jutes ^‡. The Danes tacitly acknowlege the ſuperiority, by compoſing almoſt their whole army out of theſe deſcendants of the all-conquering Normans.

I ſhall here ſupply an omiſſion in my account of the Scandinavian antiquities, p. xxxvi. by mentioning the famous tomb, about ſeven Swediſh yards long and two broad, found at Kivike, a pariſh of Schonen in Sweden, in the centre of a vaſt tumu⯑lus of round ſtones. It was oblong, and conſiſted of ſeveral flat ſtones, the inſide of which is carved with figures of men and animals, and the weapons of the age, axes and ſpears heads. A figure is placed in a triumphal car; cornets ſeem ſound⯑ing: captives with their hands bound behind, guarded by armed men; and figures, ſuppoſed to be female, form part of the conquered people. It is ſuppoſed that the Roman fleet made an accidental deſcent here, had a ſucceſsful ſkirmiſh with the natives, might have loſt their leader, and left this mark of their victory amidſt the [LXXIX] barbarous conquered. The tomb had been broken open by the country people, and whatſoever it might have contained was ſtolen away and loſt^*.

Within the Arctic circle, begins Finmark, FINMARK. a narrow tract, which winds about the ſhores eaſtwards, and bends into the White Sea: a country divided between Nor⯑way and Ruſſia. The view from the ſea is a flat, bounded, a little inland, by a chain of lofty mountains covered with ſnow. The depth of water off the ſhore is from a hundred to a hundred and fifty fathoms^†. The inhabitants quit their hovels in winter, and return to them in the ſummer: and, in the middle of that ſeaſon, even the Alpine Laplanders viſit theſe parts for the ſake of fiſhing; and, like the antient Scythians, remove with their tents, their herds, and furniture, and return to their mountains in autumn^‡. Some of them, from living near the ſea, have long been called Siae Finni, and Soe Lappernes.

In this country begins inſtantly a new race of men. Their ſtature is from four to four feet and a half: their hair ſhort, black, and coarſe: eyes tranſverſely nar⯑row: irides black: their heads great: cheek-bones high: mouth wide: lips thick: their cheſts broad: waiſts ſlender: ſkin ſwarthy: ſhanks ſpindle^‖. From uſe, they run up rocks like goats, and ſwarm trees like ſquirrels: are ſo ſtrong in their arms that they can draw a bow which a ſtout Norwegian can hardly bend; yet lazy even to torpidity, when not incited by neceſſity; and puſillanimous and nervous to an hyſterical degree. With a few variations, and very few exceptions, are the inhabitants of all the Arctic coaſts of Europe, Aſia, and America. They are nearly a diſtinct ſpecies in minds and bodies, and not to be derived from the ad⯑jacent nations, or any of their better-proportioned neighbors.

The ſeas and rivers of Finmark abound with fiſh. The Alten of Weſt Finmark, SALMON FISH⯑ERIES. after a gentle courſe through mountains and foreſts, forms a noble cataract, which tumbles down an immenſe rock into a fine baſon, the receptacle of numbers of veſſels which reſort here to fiſh or traffic for Salmon^§. The Tana, and the Kola of the extreme north ſwarm with them. In the Alten they are taken by the natives in weirs built after the Norwegian model; and form, with the merchants of Bergen, a great article of commerce. Theſe fiſheries are far from recent: that on the Kola was noted above two centuries ago for the vaſt concourſe of Engliſh and Dutch, for the ſake of the fiſh-oil and Salmon^¶.

The moſt northern fortreſs in the world, and of unknown antiquity^††, is Ward⯑huys, WARDHUYS. [LXXX] ſituated in a good harbour, in the iſle of Wardoe, at the extremity of Finmark; probably built for the protection of the fiſhing trade, the only object it could have in this remote place.

SIR HUGH WIL⯑LOUGHBY.A little farther eaſtward, in Muſcovitiſh Finmark, is Arzina, noted for the ſad fate of that gallant gentleman, Sir Hugh Willoughby, who, in 1553, commanded the firſt voyage on the diſcovery by ſea of Muſcovia, by the north-eaſt; a country at that time ſcarcely known to the reſt of Europe. He unfortunately loſt his paſſage, was driven by tempeſts into this port, where he and all his crew were found the fol⯑lowing year frozen to death. His more fortunate conſort, Richard Chancellor captain and pilot major, purſued his voyage, and renewed the diſcovery of the White Sea, or Bay of St. Nicholas; a place totally forgotten ſince the days of Octher. The circumſtances attending his arrival, exactly reſemble thoſe of the firſt diſcoverers of America. He admired the barbarity of the Ruſſian inhabitants: they in return were in amaze at the ſize of his ſhip: they fell down and would have kiſſed his feet; and when they left him ſpread abroad the arrival of 'a ſtrange nation, of ſingular gentleneſſe and courteſie^*.' He viſited in ſledges the court of Baſilowitz II. then at Moſcow, and layed the foundation of immenſe commerce to this country for a ſeries of years, even to the remote and unthought-of Perſia.

I ſhall take my departure from the extreme north of the continent of Europe, or rather from its ſhattered fragments, the iſle of Maggeroe, and other iſlands, which lie off the coaſt,NORTH CAPE. in lat. 71. 33. At the remote end of Maggeroe is the North Cape, high and flat at top, or what the ſailors call Table-land ^†. Theſe are but the con⯑tinuation of the great chain of mountains which divides Scandinavia, and ſinks and riſes through the ocean, in different places, to the Seven Siſters, in about lat. 80. 30, the neareſt land to the pole which we are acquainted with.

Its firſt appearance above water, from this group, is at Cherie Iſland, CHERIE ISLAND. in lat. 74. 30. a moſt ſolitary ſpot, rather more than midway between the North Cape and Spitzbergen, or about a hundred and fifty miles from the latter. Its figure is nearly round: its ſurface riſes into lofty mountanous ſummits, craggy, and covered with perpetual ſnow: one of them is truly called Mount Miſery. The horror of this iſle to the firſt diſcoverers muſt have been unſpeakable. The proſpect dreary, black, where not hid with ſnow, and broken into a thouſand precipices. No ſounds but of the daſhing of the waves, the craſhing colliſion of floating ice, the diſcordant notes of myriads of ſea-fowl, the yelping of Arctic Foxes, the ſnorting of the Walruſes, or the roaring of the Polar Bears.

[LXXXI]This iſland was probably diſcovered by Stephen Bennet in 1603^*, employed by Alderman Cherie, in honor of whom the place was named. The anchorage near it is twenty and thirty fathoms. He found there the tooth of a Walrus, but ſaw none of the animals, their ſeaſon here being paſt: this was the 17th of Auguſt. Encouraged by the hopes of profit, Bennet made a ſecond voyage the next year, and arrived at the iſland the 9th of July; WALRUSES. when he found the Walruſes lying huddled on one another, a thouſand in a heap. For want of experience, he killed only a few; but in ſucceeding voyages the adventurers killed, in 1606, in ſix hours time, ſeven or eight hundred; in 1608, nine hundred or a thouſand in ſeven hours; and in 1610, above ſeven hundred. The profit, in the teeth, oil, and ſkins, was very conſiderable^†; but the ſlaughter made among the animals frightened the ſurvivors away, ſo that the benefit of the buſineſs was loſt, and the iſland no more frequented. But from this deficiency originated the commencement of the Whale-fiſhery by the Engliſh.

It is remarkable that this iſland produces excellent coals^‡;COALS. yet none are known nearer than the dioceſe of Aggerhuys, in the ſouth of Norway, and there in very ſmall quantities. Lead ore is alſo found,LEAD. both in Cherie Iſland and a little one adjacent, called Gull Iſland ^‖.

About a hundred and fifty miles almoſt due north, is South Cape, north lat. 76. 30, the extreme ſouthern point of Spitzbergen, SPITZBERGEN. the largeſt of the group of frozen iſlands which go under that name, or New Groenland. From this to Ver⯑legan-hook, north lat. 80. 7, the northern extremity, is above three hundred miles; and the greateſt breadth of the group is from Hackluyt's Headland to the extreme eaſt point of North Eaſtland, comprizing from 9. to near 24. eaſt longitude. The ſhores are ragged and indented. A very deep bay runs into the eaſt ſide from ſouth to north; and a large trifurcated one from north to ſouth. Stat's Forland is a large iſland rent from the ſouthern part of the eaſt ſide. North Eaſtland is divided from the north-eaſt ſide by the Waygat and Hinlopen ſtraits, uſually blocked up with ice, and ſo ſhallow as to be, in one part, only three fathoms deep^§. The long iſle of King Charles lies parallel to the weſt ſide. At the ſouthern end is Black Point; the coaſt high, black, and inacceſſible; in parts ſeeming ſoaring above the clouds; and the interjacent vallies filled with ice and ſnow. Fair Foreland, or Vogel-hook, is the northern headland, made by ſailors. And due north of it, at the weſtern point of Spitzbergen, is the ſmall lofty iſle of Hackluyt's Headland, ano⯑ther object of the mariners ſearch.

To the north of the great group is Moffen's Iſle, MOFFEN'S ISLE. in lat. 80, oppoſite to the mouth of Leifde bay. This iſland is very low, and ſuſpected to be a new creation, [LXXXII] by the meeting of the ſtreams from the great ocean, ruſhing along the weſt ſide of Spitzbergen, and through the Waygat, and forcing up the gravelly bottom of this ſhallow part, where the lead touches the bottom at from two to five fathoms water, at half a mile from its weſtern ſide^*.

LOW ISLAND.To the eaſtward of this is another low iſland, almoſt oppoſite to the mouth of the Waygat: it is remarkable for being part of the Baſaltic chain,BASALTIC. which appears in ſo many places in the northern hemiſphere. The columns were from eighteen to thirty inches in diameter, moſtly hexagonal, and formed a moſt convenient pave⯑ment.PLANTS. The middle of the iſle was covered with vegetables, Moſſes, Sorel, Scurvy Graſs,ANIMALS. and Ranunculuſes in bloom on July 30th. Of quadrupeds, the Rein⯑deer fattened here into excellent veniſon; the Arctic Fox; and a ſmall animal larger than a Weeſel, with ſhort ears, long tail, and ſpotted with black and white, were ſeen.BIRDS. Small Snipes, like Jack Snipes; Ducks, then hatching; and Wild Geeſe feeding, helped to animate this dreary ſcene^†.

The beach was formed of an antient aggregate of ſand, whale-bones, and old timber, or drift-wood.DRIFT-WOOD. Fir-trees ſeventy feet long, ſome torn up by the roots, others freſh from the axe, and marked with it into twelve feet lengths, lay con⯑fuſedly ſixteen or eighteen feet above the level of the ſea, intermixed with pipe-ſtaves, and wood faſhioned for uſe; all brought into this elevated ſituation by the ſwell of the furious ſurges.

The appearance of drift-wood is very frequent in many parts of theſe high lati⯑tudes: in the ſeas of Greenland, in Davis's ſtreights, and in thoſe of Hudſon; and again on the coaſts of Nova Zemlja. I have only two places from whence I can derive the quantity of floating timber which appears on the coaſt of Nova Zemlja and theſe iſlands: the firſt is from the banks of the Oby, and perhaps other great rivers, which pour out their waters into the Frozen ocean. In the ſpring, at the breaking up of the ice, vaſt inundations ſpread over the land, and ſweep away whole foreſts, with the aid of the vaſt fragments of ice; theſe are carried off, rooted up, and appear entire in various places. Such as are found marked into lengths, together with pipe-ſtaves, and other faſhioned woods, are ſwept by the Norwegian floods out of the rivers, on the breaking of a lentze ^‡, a misfortune which ſometimes happens, to the bankruptcy of multitudes of timber-merchants. At ſuch times not only the trees which are floating down the torrents, but the ſaw-mills, and all other places in which buſineſs is carried on, undergo the ſame calamity; and the timber, in whatſoever form it happens to be, is forced into the ocean, and con⯑veyed by tides or tempeſts to the moſt diſtant parts of the north.

[LXXXIII]Let no one be ſtaggered at the remoteneſs of the voyage: I have before ſhewn [...]nſtances, but from a contrary courſe, from weſt to eaſt. Part of the maſts of the Tilbury, burnt at Jamaica, was taken up on the weſtern coaſt of Scot⯑land; and multitudes of ſeed or fruits of the ſame iſland, and other hot parts of America, are annually driven on ſhore, not only on the weſtern ſide of Scotland P. 21. of this Work. ^†, but even on thoſe of more diſtant Norway ^‡, and Iceland.

The iſlands of the Seven Siſters, laſt of known land, lie due north from North-Eaſt⯑land: the extreme point of the moſt remote is in lat. 80. 42. They are all high primaeval iſles: from a high mountain on the fartheſt, the hardy navigators of 1773 had a ſight of ten or twelve leagues of ſmooth unbroken ice to the eaſt and north-eaſt, bounded only by the horizon; and to the ſouth-eaſt certain land laid down in the Dutch maps. Midway between theſe iſlands and North-Eaſtland, Lord Mulgrave, VOYAGE BY LORD MULGRAVE. IN 1773. after every effort which the moſt finiſhed ſeaman could make to accompliſh the end of his voyage, was caught in the ice, and was near experiencing the unhappy fate of the gallant Engliſhman, Sir Hugh Willoughby, who was frozen in 1553, with all his crew, in his unhappy expedition.

The ſcene, diveſted of the horror from the eventful expectation of change, was the moſt beautiful and pictureſque:—Two large ſhips becalmed in a vaſt baſon, ſurrounded on all ſides by iſlands of various forms: the weather clear: the ſun gilding the circumambient ice, which was low, ſmooth, and even; covered with ſnow, excepting where the pools of water on part of the ſurface appeared cryſtalline with the young ice^‖: the ſmall ſpace of ſea they were confined in perfectly ſmooth. After fruitleſs attempts to force a way through the fields of ice, their limits were perpetually contracted by its cloſing; till at length it beſet each veſſel till they became immoveably fixed^§. The ſmooth extent of ſurface was ſoon loſt: the preſſure of the pieces of ice, by the violence of the ſwell, cauſed them to pack; fragment roſe upon fragment, till they were in many places higher than the main-yard. The movements of the ſhips were tremendous and involuntary, in conjunction with the ſurrounding ice, actuated by the currents. The water ſhoal⯑ed to fourteen fathoms. The grounding of the ice or of the ſhips would have been equally fatal: the force of the ice might have cruſhed them to atoms, or have lifted them out of the water and overſet them, or have left them ſuſpended on the ſummits of the pieces of ice at a tremendous height, expoſed to the fury of the winds, or to the riſque of being daſhed to pieces by the failure of their frozen dock^¶. An [LXXXIV] attempt was made to cut a paſſage through the ice; after a perſeverance worthy of Britons, it proved fruitleſs. The commander, at all times maſter of himſelf, directed the boats to be made ready to be hauled over the ice, till they arrived at navigable water (a taſk alone of ſeven days) and in them to make their voyage to England. The boats were drawn progreſſively three whole days^*. At length a wind ſprung up, the ice ſeparated ſufficiently to yield to the preſſure of the full-ſailed ſhips, which, after laboring againſt the reſiſting fields of ice^†, arrived on the 10th of Auguſt in the harbor of Smeeringberg, at the weſt end of Spitzbergen, be⯑tween it and Hackluyt's Headland.

It was the hard fortune of Lord Mulgrave, at this ſeaſon, to meet with one of thoſe amazing ſhoals of ice which cover, at times, theſe ſeas, for multitudes of leagues. He made the fulleſt trial, from long. 2 to 21 eaſt, and from about lat. 80. 40, as low as about 78. 30, oppoſed by a face of ice without the leaſt opening, and with all the appearance of a ſolid wall. It is well known, that the coaſts of Sibiria are, after a northern tempeſt, rendered inacceſſible for a vaſt extent, by the polar ice being ſet in motion. It is as well known, that a ſtrong ſouthern wind will again drive them to their former ſeats, and make the ſhores of the Frozen ocean as clear as the equatorial ſeas. A farther diſcovery on this ſide was denied to the noble navigator. His misfortune will for ever redound to his honor, as it proved his ſpirit, his perſeverance, and a ſoul fertile in expedients among the greateſt dif⯑ficulties!

That navigators have gone into higher latitudes I cannot deny: the authenticated inſtances only ſhew their accidental good fortune, in having the ice driven towards the pole, and in making a retreat before they were enveloped in the returning ice. The Ruſſians, under vice-admiral Tſhitſhaghef, within theſe very few years, made an attempt to ſail to the pole by the eaſtern ſide of Spitzbergen; but after ſuffering great hardſhips, returned without effecting any diſcovery. Curioſity has been amply ſatisfied: and I believe we may reſt fully content with the common paſ⯑ſage to India, on the conviction of this tract being totally impracticable.

ICE.The forms aſſumed by the ice in this chilling climate, are extremely pleaſing to even the moſt incurious eye. The ſurface of that which is congealed from the ſea-water (for I muſt allow it two origins) is flat and even, hard, opake, reſembling white ſugar, and incapable of being ſlid on, like the Britiſh ice^‡. The greater pieces, or fields, are many leagues in length: the leſſer, are the meadows [LXXXV] of the Seals, on which thoſe animals at times frolic by hundreds. The motion of the leſſer pieces is as rapid as the currents: the greater, which are ſometimes two hundred leagues long, and ſixty or eighty broad^*, move ſlow and majeſtically; often fix for a time, immoveable by the power of the ocean, and then produce near the horizon that bright white appearance, called by manners the blink of the ice ^†. The approximation of two great fields produces a moſt ſingular phaenomenon; it forces the leſſer (if the term can be applied to pieces of ſeveral acres ſquare) out of the water, and adds them to their ſurface: a ſecond, and often a third ſucceeds; ſo that the whole forms an aggregate of a tremendous height. Theſe float in the ſea like ſo many rugged mountains, and are ſometimes five or ſix hundred yards thick^‡; but the far greater part is concealed beneath the water. Theſe are continually encreaſed in height by the freezing of the ſpray of the ſea, or of the melting of the ſnow, which falls on them. Thoſe which remain in this frozen climate, re⯑ceive continual growth; others are gradually wafted by the northern winds into ſouthern latitudes, and melt by degrees, by the heat of the ſun, till they waſte away, or diſappear in the boundleſs element.

The colliſion of the great fields of ice, in high latitudes, is often attended with a noiſe that for a time takes away the ſenſe of hearing any thing elſe; and the leſſer with a grinding of unſpeakable horror.

The water which daſhes againſt the mountanous ice freezes into an infinite variety of forms; and gives the voyager ideal towns, ſtreets, churches, ſteeples, and every ſhape which imagination can frame^‖.

The Icebergs, ICEBERGS. or Glacieres of the north-eaſt of Spitzbergen, are among the ca⯑pital wonders of the country; they are ſeven in number, but at conſiderable diſtances from each other: each fills the vallies for tracts unknown, in a region totally inacceſſible in the internal parts. The glacieres of Switzerland ſeem con⯑temptible to theſe; but preſent often a ſimilar front into ſome lower valley. The laſt exhibits over the ſea a front three hundred feet high, emulating the emerald in color: cataracts of melted ſnow precipitate down various parts, and black ſpir⯑ing mountains, ſtreaked with white, bound the ſides, and riſe crag above crag, as far as eye can reach in the back, ground^§.

At times immenſe fragments break off, and tumble into the water, with a moſt alarming daſhing. A piece of this vivid green ſubſtance has fallen, and grounded in twenty-four fathoms water, and ſpired above the ſurface fifty feet^**. Simi⯑lar [LXXXVI] icebergs are frequent in all the Arctic regions; and to their lapſes is owing [...] ſolid mountanous ice which infeſts thoſe ſeas.

Froſt ſports alſo with theſe icebergs, and gives them majeſtic as well as other moſt ſingular forms. Maſſes have been ſeen, aſſuming the ſhape of a Gothic church, with arched windows and doors, and all the rich tracery of that ſtyle, compoſed o [...] what an Arabian tale would ſcarcely dare to relate, of cryſtal of the richeſt ſap⯑phirine blue: tables with one or more feet; and often immenſe flat-roofed temples, like thoſe of Luxxor on the Nile, ſupported by round tranſparent columns of cae⯑rulean hue, float by the aſtoniſhed ſpectator^*.

Theſe icebergs are the creation of ages, and receive annually additional height by the falling of ſnows and of rain, which often inſtantly freezes, and more than repairs the loſs by the influence of the melting ſun^†.

SNOW.The ſnow of theſe high latitudes is as ſingular as the ice. It is firſt ſmall and hard as the fineſt ſand^‡; changes its form to that of an hexagonal ſhield, into the ſhape of needles, croſſes, cinquefoils, and ſtars, plain and with ſerrated rays. Their forms depend on the diſpoſition of the atmoſphere; and in calm wea⯑ther it coaleſces, and falls in cluſters^§.

SEASONS.Thunder and lightning are unknown here. The air in ſummer is generally clear; but the ſky loaden with hard white clouds. The one night of this dread⯑ful country begins about October 20th, O. S.; the ſun then ſets, and never appears till about the 3d of February ^‖: a glimmering indeed continues ſome weeks after its ſetting: then ſucceed clouds and thick darkneſs, broken by the light of the moon, which is luminous as that in England, and ſhines without intermiſſion during the long night^¶. Such alſo is the caſe in Nova Zemlja ^**. The cold, according to the Engliſh proverb, ſtrengthens with the new year; and the ſun is uſhered in with unuſual ſeverity of froſt. The ſplendor of that luminary on the ſnowy ſummits of the mountains was the moſt glorious of ſights to the ſingle party who ſurvived to relate the account.BEARS. The Bears ſtalk forth at the ſame time from their dens,FOXES. attended by their young cubs. By the beginning of March, the chearful light grows ſtrong:FOWLS. the Arctic Foxes leave their holes, and the ſea-fowls reſort in great multitudes to their breeding-places^††.

[LXXXVII]The ſun, in the height of ſummer, has at times heat enough to melt the tar on the decks of ſhips. It ſets no more after the third of May, DAY AND NIGHT. O. S. Diſtinc⯑tion of day and night is loſt; unleſs it be fact what Fr. Marten alleges, that during the ſummer night of theſe countries, the ſun appears with all the faint⯑neſs of the moon^*. This is denied by Lord Mulgrave ^†. From Auguſt the power of the ſun declines, it ſets faſt; in September day is hardly diſtinguiſhable; and by the middle of October takes a long leave of this country; the bays be⯑come frozen; and winter reigns triumphant.

Nature, in the formation of theſe iſlands,MOUNTAINS. preſerves the ſame rule which ſhe does in other places: the higheſt mountains are on the weſtern ſide; and they gradually lower to the eaſt. The altitude of the moſt lofty which has been taken by Lord Mulgrave, ſeems to have been one a little to the north of Black Point, which was found by the megameter to be fifteen hundred and three yards^‡: that of a hill on the little iſle, the Norways, a ſmall diſtance to the north-eaſt of Spitzbergen, was two thouſand four hundred feet: one on Vogel Sang, ſixteen hundred and fifty; an⯑other, on the iſle near Cloven Cliff, in about lat. 80, eight hundred and ſixty-five; a third on that near Cook's Hole, ſeven hundred and eleven; and one on Hackluyt's Iſland, only three hundred and twenty-one^§. Theſe are the moſt northern lands which ever were meaſured; and the experiments favor the ſyſtem of the decreaſe of the heights of the mountains toward the poles.

Earth and ſoil are denied to thoſe dreadful regions: their compoſition is ſtone, formed by the ſublime hand of Almighty Power; not frittered into ſegments by fiſſures, tranſverſe or perpendicular, but at once caſt into one immenſe and ſolid maſs; a mountain is but a ſingle ſtone throughout, deſtitute of fiſſures, except in places cracked by the reſiſtleſs power of froſt, which often cauſes lapſes, attend⯑ed with a noiſe like thunder, ſcattering over their baſes rude and extenſive ruins. The ſtone is granite, moſtly grey and black; ſome red, white, and yellow. I ſtrongly ſuſpect, that veins of iron are intermixed; for the meltings of the ſnow tinge the rocks frequently with a ferruginous ochre. A potter's clay and a gypſum are to be met with on the eaſtern part of the iſlands^‖.

The vallies,VALLIES. or rather glens, of this country, are filled with eternal ice or ſnow; are totally inacceſſible, and known only by the divided courſe of the mountains, or where they terminate in the ſea in form of a glaciere. No ſtreams water theſe dreary bottoms; even ſprings are denied; and it is to the periodical [LXXXVIII] cataracts of melted ſnow of the ſhort ſummer, or to the pools in the middle of the fields of ice, to which the mariners are indebted for freſh water.

HARBOURS.The harbours on the weſt ſide are frequent; penetrate deep into the iſland of Spitzbergen; and are the only channels by which the ſlight knowlege of the interior parts is attained. North Harbour is a ſcene of pictureſque horror, bounded by black craggy Alps, ſtreaked with ſnow; the narrow entrance divided by an iſland; and at ſeaſons affording a land-locked ſhelter to multitudes of ſhips.

TIDE AND SEA.The tide at the Vogel Sang flows only four feet, and the flood appears to come from the ſouth. The depth of the ſea is very irregular: near the ſhore it is generally ſhallow: off Low Iſland only from ten to twenty fathoms; yet ſud⯑denly deepens to a hundred and ſeventeen: off Cloven Cliff from fourteen to twenty-eight, and deepens to two hundred. The ſhallows are uſually on rock; the great depths on ſoft mud: the former I look on as ſubmarine iſlands; but, from the ſmall number of fiſh, the bottoms muſt be univerſally barren.

SOIL!The grit worn from the mountains by the power of the winds, or attrition of ca⯑taracts of melted ſnow, is the only thing which reſembles ſoil, and is the bed for the few vegetables found here. This indeed is aſſiſted by the putrefied lichens of the rocks, and the dung of birds, brought down by the ſame means.

PLANTS.Even here Flora deigns to make a ſhort viſit, and ſcatter over the baſes of the hills a ſcanty ſtock. Her efforts never riſe beyond a few humble herbs, which ſhoot, flower, and ſeed, in the ſhort warmth of June and July; then wither into reſt till the ſucceeding year.—Let me here weave a ſlender garland from the lap of the goddeſs, of ſuch, and perhaps all, which ſhe hath beſtowed on a country ſo repug⯑nant to her bounty. Let the ſalubrious Scurvy Graſs, the reſource of diſtempered ſeamen, be remarked as providentially moſt abundant in the compoſition.

Let me firſt mention its only tree, the Salix Herbacea, or Dwarf Willow, de⯑ſcribed by Marten, p. 65, Phips, 202, which ſeldom exceeds two inches in height, yet has a juſt title to the name. The plants are, a new ſpecies of Graſs, now named Agroſtis Algida: Tillaea Aquatica, Sp. Pl. 186. Fl. Suec. 156: Juncus Campeſtris, Fl. Sc. i. 186: Sibbaldia Procumbens? Fl. Lap. 111.; Marten's Spitz. tab. H. fig. b: Polygonum Viviparum, Fl. Lap. 152; Marten's Spitz. tab. I. fig. a: Saxifraga Oppoſitafolia, Fl. Lap. 179, 222: Sax. Cernua, Sp. Pl. i. 577; Fl. Lap. 172: Sax. Rivularis, Sp. Pl. 577; Fl. Lap. 174: Sax. Caeſpitoſa, Sp. Pl. 578; Fl. Suec. 376: Sedum Annuum? Sp. Pl. 620; Marten's Spitz. tab. F. fig. c. Ceraſtium Alpinum, Sp. Pl. 628; Fl. Lap. 192: Ranunculus Sulphureus, Phips Voy. 202; Mart. Spitz. 58: R. Lapponicus, Fl. Lap. 461, 503: R. Nivalis? 232; Mart. Spitz. tab. F. fig. a: Cochlearia Danica, Sp. Pl. 903; Fl. Suec. 578, 579: [LXXXIX] Cochl. Groenlandica, Sp. Pl. 904: Polytrichum commune, Fl. Lap. 395: Bryum Hypnoides, Fl. Lap. 396: Bryum Trichoides? Dill. 391; Muſc. tab. 50, fig. 61: Bryum Hypnoides? Dill. Muſc. 394, tab. 50, fig. 64, C: Hypnum Aduncum, Sp. Pl. 1592; Fl. Succ. 879, 1025: Jungermannia Julacea, Sp. Pl. 1601: Jung. like the Lichenaſtrum Ramoſius, fol. trif. Dill. Muſc. 489, tab. 70, fig. 15: Li⯑chen Ericetorum, Fl. Lap. 936, 1068: L. Iſlandicus, 959, 1085: L. Nivalis, 446: L. Caninus, 441: L. Polyrhizos, Sp. Pl. 1618; Fl. Suec. 1108: L. Pyxi⯑datus, Fl. Lap. 428: L. Cornutus, 434: L. Rangiferinus, 437: L. Globiſerus, Lin. Mantiſſ. 133: L. Paſchalis, Fl. Lap. 439: L. Chalybeiformis, Sp. Pl. 1623; Fl. Suec. 988, 1127: and the Fucus Saccharinus? Fl. Lap. 460; Mart. Spitz. tab. F. fig. 6.

It is matter of curioſity to trace the decreaſe of vegetables from our own iſland to this ſpot, where ſo few are to be found. They decreaſe with the numbers of herbivorous animals, and the wants of mankind. The following catalogue may not be quite juſt, but is probably pretty near the truth:

Thoſe of Spitzbergen are given above.

The three terreſtrial quadrupeds of theſe iſlands are confined here without poſſibility of migration.QUADRUPEDS. The Polar Bears paſs the greateſt part of the winter in a torpid ſtate: appear in numbers at the firſt return of the ſun, when, probably, they take to the ice, in queſt of their prey, Seals, or dead Whales.

It is difficult to account for the means which the Foxes find for ſupport, as the iſland is deſtitute of birds during the whole winter; and, the bays being totally frozen up, they can find no ſubſiſtence from the ſea. Perhaps they lay up pro⯑viſion for winter, on which they ſubſiſt till the arrival of the birds in March; at which ſeaſon they have been obſerved firſt to quit their holes, and appear in multitudes^*. The Rein Deer have at all times their favorite lichen, which they can readily get at, by help of their palmated horns.

WALRUSES and Seals are found in great abundance; the latter are often the object of chace, for the ſake both of oil and ſkins: the Ruſſians make voyages on [XC] purpoſe. In 1743, four unhappy mariners of that nation were accidentally left on ſhore on North Eaſtland, called by the Ruſſians Maloy Broun. Here three (the fourth died in the laſt year) lived till Auguſt 15th 1749; when they were providentially relieved by the arrival of a ſhip, after paſſing ſix years, realizing in ingenious contrivances the celebrated Engliſh fable of Robinſon Cruſoe ^*.

In the year 1633 ſeven Dutch ſailors were left voluntarily on the weſtern part of Spitzbergen, to paſs the winter, and form their remarks. They were fur⯑niſhed with medicines, and every requiſite to preſerve life; but every one periſhed by the effects of the ſcurvy. In the next year, ſeven other unhappy men devoted themſelves, and died in the ſame manner. Of the firſt ſet, it appeared by his journal, that the laſt was alive the 30th of April 1634; of the ſecond, the life of the laſt ſurvivor did not continue far beyond the 28th of February 1635^†. Yet eight Engliſhmen, left in 1630 in the ſame country, by accident, and unprovided with every thing, framed themſelves a hut from ſome old materials, and were found by the returning ſhips, on May 28th 1631, in good health^‡. Thus Ruſſian hardineſs and Britiſh ſpirit braved a climate, which the phlegmatic conſtitution of a Dutchman could not reſiſt.

BIRDS.To meet with the Snow Bunting, N^o 222, a bird whoſe bill, in common with the reſt of that genus, is calculated for granivorous life, is a kind of miracle. The country has a very ſcanty proviſion of ſeeds; the earth yields no worms, the air no inſects; yet theſe birds are ſeen in flocks innumerable, and that chiefly on the ice around Spitzbergen: as it breeds early, poſſibly the old and young may have quitted the land, and collected on the ice at the time of the arrival of the ſhips.

Of cloven-footed water-fowl, the Purre, N^o 390, alone is ſeen here.

Of web-footed, the Puffin Auk, N^o 427; the Razor Bill, N^o 425; the Little Auk, N^o 429; the Fooliſh Guillemot, N^o 436; the Black Guillemot, N^o 437; the Northern Diver, N^o 439; the Ivory Gull, N^o 457; the Herring Gull, N^o 452; the Arctic Gull, N^o 459; the Kittiwake, N^o 456; and the Greater Tern, N^o 448: theſe, with the Eider Duck, N^o 480, complete the ſhort liſt of the feathered tribe of Spitzbergen. All theſe breed in the froſt-rent cracks of the mountains, and appear even in theſe regions before the 16th of March ^§.

FISH.The Whale is lord paramount of theſe ſeas; and, like a monſtrous tyrant, ſeems to have terrified almoſt every other ſpecies of fiſh away. A few Coal Fiſh, Br. Zool. iii. N^o 78, and two of the unctuous Suckers, N^o 58, were the whole which were taken by Lord Mulgrave, after ſeveral trials by hook and by net. [XCI] I can never imagine that the ſhallow, barren, and turbulent ſhores of the polar regions receive, as is popularly thought, the immenſe ſhoals of Herrings and Cod which annually repair to other more ſouthern ſeas. Their retreat muſt be in the great depths before deſcribed^*, where they are ſecure from the greateſt ſtorms, and probably enjoy a bottom luxuriant in plants and vermes.

The Whale which inhabits theſe ſeas, and occaſions the great reſort of ſhip⯑ping, is the common ſpecies, Br. Zool. iii. N^o 16. I have in that Work given its hiſtory; therefore ſhall add no more, than that during ſpring theſe animals keep near Greenland and the iſland of John Mayen; and towards ſummer they ap⯑pear in the ſeas of Spitzbergen. The Fin Fiſh, Br. Zool. iii. N^o 18, is another ſpecies: on their appearance, the Common Whale makes its retreat. The Beluga or White Whale, p. 183 of this Work, is ſeen here in ſummer, and prognoſti⯑cates a good fiſhery.

The inſects, vermes, and ſhells, of Spitzbergen, are very few. The Prawn, Br. Zool. iv. N^o 28, and Sea Flea, N^o 33, are found there. The Cancer Boreas, Am⯑pulla, and Nugax, are three new ſpecies^†, added to the genus by the noble na⯑vigator.

Of the known ſpecies of vermes, the Aſcidia Gelatinoſa, Lin. Syſt. 1087: the Aſcidia Ruſtica, 1087, 5: the Lernea Branchialis, 1092: and the Clio Helicina, the ſmall Slime Fiſh of Marten, p. 141, tab. Q. fig. e: and the Clio Limacina, the Sea May Fly of the ſame, p. 169, tab. P. fig. 5: the Sipunculus Lendix, a new ſpecies, Phips, 194, tab. xiii. are found here: the two laſt, the ſuppoſed food of the Com⯑mon Whale, are met with in vaſt abundance^‡: the Meduſa Capillata, the Aſterias Pappoſa, Lin. Syſt. 1098: Aſt. Rubens, 1099; Aſt. Pectinata, 1101; Br. Zool. iv. N^o 70: Aſt. Ophiura, 1100; Br. Zool. iv. N^o 62: and Aſt. Caput Meduſae, Lin. Syſt. 1101; Br. Zool. iv. N^o 73. And of Shells, the Chiton Ruler, 1107; Lapes Tintinnabulum, 1168: the Mya Truncata, 1112; Br. Zool. N^o 14: and Mytilus Rugoſus, 1156; Br. Zool. iv. N^o 72: the Buccinum Carinotum, a new ſpecies, Phips, 197, tab. xiii: Turbo Helicinus of the ſame, 198: the Serpula Spirorbis, Lin. Syſt. 1265; Br. Zool. iv. N^o 155: Serpula Triquetra, 1265; Br. Zool. iv. N^o 156: and the Sabella Fruſtuloſa, Phips, 198, complete the liſt of this claſs. Among the Zoophytes is the Millepora Polymorpha, Lin. Syſt. 1285; and Millep. 1286; and a moſt curious new genus, diſcovered in the voyage, named the Synoicum Turgens, 199, tab. xiii: the Fluſtra Piloſa, Lin. Syſt. and Fl. Membranacea, 1301, 3, 5: and, to conclude, that very curious Zoophyte, the foundation of the foſſil Encrini, [XCII] the Vorticella Encrinus, Lin. Syſt. N^o 1317, engraven in our Tranſactions, vol. xlviii. p. 305, and taken in lat. 79, off this coaſt: two of them being drawn up with the ſounding-line, in 236 fathom water.

DISCOVERY OF SPITZBERGEN.The priority of diſcovery of theſe iſlands has been a great matter of controverſy between the Engliſh and the Dutch. We clame it from the ſight which Sir Hugh Willoughby is pretended to have had of it in his unfortunate voyage; but if what he ſaw, in lat. 72, was not a fog-bank, we muſt ſuppoſe it to have been either John Mayen's iſle, or part of Eaſt Greenland. The abſurd zeal of the Engliſh compilers makes Stephen Boroughs the ſecond diſcoverer of this country, in 1556; but it is very certain, that he never got higher than lat. 70. 42, nor ever meant any diſcovery but a paſſage to the river Ob ^*. It doubt⯑leſsly was firſt diſcovered by the Dutch Barentz; who, in his third voyage, in 1596, for the finding out the north-eaſt paſſage, met with a land in lat. 79 ½, and anchored in a good road, in eighteen fathom water. He afterwards ſailed as high as 80, and found two of the iſlands of which Spitzbergen is compoſed^†. Embar⯑raſſed with ice, he took a ſouthern courſe, and was ſoon after wreeked on the coaſt of Nova Zemlja: but the Engliſh and Dutch purſued the hint; and the Whale-fiſhery, which before was chiefly carried on by the Biſcayeners in the bay of St. Laurence, was commenced here with great ſucceſs. So active were we, that our ſhips frequented the place within two years after its diſcovery.

I now return to the North Cape on the coaſt of Finmark; and after paſſing by the ſeveral places mentioned in pages lxxix. and lxxx. enter a ſtreight, bounded by Muſcovitiſh Finmark, conſiſting of low hills, and the flat province of Meſen, on the eaſt. This leads into the Biocle Mari, or White Sea, WHITE SEA. or, more pro⯑perly, gulph; for its waters are ſhallow, its bottom full of mud, brought by the great rivers which diſcharge themſelves into it, which almoſt deprive it of ſaltneſs. This was the Cwen ſea of Octher; but had been forgotten ſince his time. The Dwina, or Double River, is the greateſt, which takes its name from being formed by the Suchona and the Yug, very remote from its mouth. It is navigable to a great diſtance, and brings the commodities of the interior parts of the empire to Archangel, ARCHANGEL. a city ſeated on its banks, about ſix miles from the ſea. It roſe from a caſtle built there by Baſilowitz II. to protect the in⯑creaſing [XCIII] trade brought here on the diſcovery of the White Sea by the Engliſh; for ſhips of all nations reſorted to this port, even as far as from Venice. Its exports, in 1655, amounted to three hundred and thirty thouſand pounds^*. Peter the Great, intent on aggrandizing his creation, Peterſburg, prohibited all trade to Archangel, except from the neighboring provinces. Still its exports of tar were conſiderable: in 1730, to the amount of forty thouſand laſts, of eleven barrels each^†. It ſends, during winter, great quantities of the Nawaga, a ſmall ſpecies of three-finned Cod^‡, to Peterſburg, frozen, as Kola does Herrings in the ſame ſtate.

The White Sea is every winter filled with ice from the Frozen ocean, which brings with it the Harp Seal, N^o 77; and the Leporine, N^o 75, frequent it during ſum⯑mer. Whoever ſurveys the maps of the provinces between this ſea and the gulphs of Bothnia and Finland, will obſerve them to be more occupied by lakes than land, and be at once ſatisfied of the probability of the once-inſulated ſtate of Scandinavia. As ſoon as theſe ſtreights were cloſed, the White Sea loſt its depth, and is at preſent kept open only by the force of its great rivers.

On the eaſtern ſide of the entrance into the ſtreight is the iſle of Kandinos, often ſpoken of by our early navigators in their way to the Waygatz, in their ſearch for a north-eaſt paſſage. Between it and the main land is a very narrow channel. After doubling the cape of Kandinos, the ſea forms two great bays. A conſiderable part of the ſhore to the eaſt conſiſts of low ſandy hills^‖. Into the moſt remote bay flows, in lat. 68. 30, by many mouths, the vaſt river Peczora, a place of great trade before the time of Peter I. Thouſands of Samoieds and other ſavages reſorted to the town, with feathers of White Grous, and other birds; Sables, and the moſt valuable furs; ſkins of Elks and other deer; the oil from the Walrus, N^o 71, from the Beluga, p. 182; and different ſort of fiſh^§. Here was, in 1611, a great fiſhery of Beluga: above fifty boats, with three men each, were employed to harpoon them^¶. The entrance into the river is dangerous, by reaſon of a ſandy ſhoal. The tide riſes there only four feet.

The coaſts eaſt of Archangel, even as far as the river Ob, are inhabited by the Samoieds; SAMOIEDS. a race as ſhort as the Laplanders, more ugly, and infinitely more brutalized; their food being the carcaſſes of horſes, or any other animals. They uſe the Rein Deer to draw their ſledges, but are not civilized enough to [XCIV] make it the ſubſtitute for the Cow. Theſe are in fact the Hottentots of the north.

To the eaſt of the Peczora commences the continent of ASIA,

Which has moſt natural and ſtrongly-marked limits. Here appear the Wercho⯑turian mountains, or famous Urallian chain,URALLIAN CHAIN. which begins diſtinctly (for it may be traced interruptedly farther ſouth) near the town of Kungur, in the government of Kaſan, in lat. 57. 20, runs north, and ends oppoſite to the Waygatz ſtreight, and riſes again in the iſle of Nova Zemlja. The Ruſſians alſo call this range Semennoi Poias, or the Girdle of the World, from a ſuppoſition that it encircled the univerſe. Theſe were the Riphaei montes: Pars mundi damnata a natura rerum, et denſa merſa Caligine ^*, of which only the ſouthern part was known to the antients, and that ſo little as to give riſe to numberleſs fables. Beyond theſe were placed the happy Hyperborei, a fiction moſt beautifully related by Pomponius Mela ^†. Moderns have not been behind-hand in exaggerating ſeveral circumſtances relative to theſe noted hills. Yſbrand Ides, who croſſed them in his embaſſy to China, aſſerts that they are five thouſand toiſes or fathoms high: others, that they are covered with eternal ſnow. The laſt may be true in their more northern parts; but in the uſual paſſages over them, they are free from it three or four months.

ITS HEIGHT.The heights of part of this chain have been taken by M. l' Abbè d' Auteroche; who, with many aſſurances of his accuracy, ſays, that the height of the mountain Kyria, near Solikamſkaia, in lat. 60, does not exceed four hundred and ſeventy-one toiſes from the level of the ſea, or two hundred and eighty-ſix from the ground on which it ſtands^‡. But, according to M. Gmelin, the mountain Pauda is much higher, be⯑ing ſeven hundred and fifty-two toiſes above the ſea^‖. From Peterſburg to this chain [XCV] is a vaſt plain, mixed with certain elevations or platforms, like iſlands in the midſt of an ocean. The eaſtern ſide deſcends gradually to a great diſtance into the wooded and moraſſy Sibiria, which forms an immenſe inclined plane to the Icy Sea. This is evident from all the great rivers taking their riſe on that ſide, ſome at the amazing diſtance of lat. 46; and, after a courſe of above twenty-ſeven degrees, falling into the Frozen ocean in lat. 73. 30. The Yaik alone, which riſes near the ſouthern part of the eaſtern ſide, takes a ſouthern direction, and drops into the Caſpian ſea. The Dwina, the Peczora, and a few other rivers in European Ruſſia, ſhew the inclined plane of that part: all of them run to the northern ſea; but their courſe is comparatively ſhort. Another inclination directs the Dnieper and the Don into the Euxine, and the vaſt Wolga into the Caſpian Sea.

The Altaic Chain, ALTAIC CHAIN. its ſouthern boundary, which begins at the vaſt mountain Bogdo, paſſes above the head of the Irtiſch, and then takes a courſe rugged, precipi⯑tous, cloathed with ſnow, and rich in minerals, between the Irtiſch and Ob; HOW DISTRI⯑BUTED. then proceeds by the lake Telezkoi, the riſe of the Ob; after which it retires, in order to comprehend the great rivers which form the Jeneſei, and are locked up in theſe high mountains; finally, under the name of the Sainnes, is uninterruptedly con⯑tinued to the lake of Baikal ^*. A branch inſinuates itſelf between the ſources of the rivers Onon and Ingoda, and thoſe of Ichikoi, accompanied with very high moun⯑tains, running without interruption to the north-eaſt, and dividing the river of Amur, which diſcharges itſelf into the eaſt, in the Chineſe dominions, from the river Lena and lake Baikal. Another branch ſtretches along the Olecma, croſſes the Lena below Jakoutſk, and is continued between the two rivers Tongouſka to the Jeneſei, where it is loſt in wooded and moraſſy plains. The principal chain, rugged with ſharp-point⯑ed rocks, approaches and keeps near the ſhores of the ſea of Ockhozt, and paſſing by the ſources of the rivers Outh, Aldan, and Maia, is diſtributed in ſmall branches, which range between the eaſtern rivers which fall into the Icy Sea; beſides two principal branches, one of which, turning ſouth, runs through all Kamtſchatka, and is broken, from the cape Lopatka, into the numerous Kurile iſles, and to the eaſt forms another marine chain, in the iſlands which range from Kamtſchatka to America; moſt of them, as well as Kamtſchatka itſelf, diſtinguiſhed by fierce vul⯑canoes, or the traces of vulcanic fires. The laſt chain forms chiefly the great cape Tſchutſki, with its promontories and rocky broken ſhores.—I have ſo far pillaged the labors of my friend^†, to trace the boundaries of the vaſt region which has ſo amply furniſhed my Zoologic part.—To that, and the Table of Quadrupeds, I refer the ſeveral peculiarities of their ſituations.

[XCVI]At the northern end of the great Urallian chain, is the Waygatz ſtreight, which cuts them from Nowyia Zemlja, Nova Zembla, or the New Land. The paſſage is narrow, obſtructed by iſlands, and very frequently by ice. The flux and reflux is here uncertain, by reaſon of the winds; but the tide has been obſerved to riſe only four feet^*: the depth from ten to fourteen fathoms. It was diſcovered by Stephen Boroughs, in 1556; and the navigation was often attempted by the Dutch, in hopes of a paſſage that way to China. Continual obſtructions from the floating ice baffled their deſigns, and obliged them to return.

Nova Zemlja conſiſts of five iſlands; but the channels between them are always filled with ice^†. It is quite uninhabited, but is occaſionally frequented by the people of Meſen, who go there to kill Seals, Walruſes, Arctic Foxes, and White Bears, the ſole animals of the place, excepting a few Rein Deer. Attempts have been made to find a way to the Eaſt Indies to the north of it; but with equal bad ſucceſs as through the Waygatz. Barentz juſt doubled the eaſtern end in 1596; ſuffered ſhipwreck there with his crew; and paſſed there a moſt miſerable winter, continually beſieged by the Polar Bears: ſeveral of the crew died of the ſcurvy or exceſs of cold; the ſurvivors made a veſſel of the remains of their ſhip, and ar⯑rived ſafe in Europe the following year; but their great pilot ſunk under the fatigue^‡.

The ſouthern coaſts of theſe iſlands are in a manner unknown. Between them and the continent is the Kara ſea, which forms a deep bay to the ſouth, in which the tide has been obſerved to flow two feet nine inches. Fiſhing people annually come here from the Peczora through the Waygatz, for the ſake of a ſmuggling trade in furs with the Samoieds of the government of Tobolſki ^‖. In the reign of the Empreſs Anne attempts were made to double the great cape Jalmal, between the gulph of Kara and that of the Ob; one of which (in 1738) only ſucceeded, and that after encountering the greateſt difficulties^§. Had the diſcovery of Sibiria depended on its approach by ſea, it might have ſtill remained unknown.

THE RIVER ON.The mouth of the Ob lies in a deep bay, which opens into the Icy Sea, in lat. 73. 30. This is the firſt and greateſt of the Sibirian rivers: it riſes from a large lake in lat. 52, has a gentle courſe through eight hundred leagues of country, navigable almoſt to its ſource^¶: is augmented by the vaſt river Irtiſch, in lat. 61, which again receives on each bank a multitude of vaſt rivers in its extenſive pro⯑greſs. Tobolſki, capital of Sibiria, lies on the forks, where it takes in the Tobol. The [XCVII] banks of the Irtiſch and Ob, and other Sibirian rivers, are, in many places, covered with immenſe foreſts, growing on a ſoft ſoil; which being torn up by the reſiſtleſs force of the vaſt fragments of ice brought down by the torrents occaſioned by the melting of the ſnows, are conveyed into the Icy and other ſeas, and form the drift⯑wood I have before ſpoken of. The channel of the Ob, from its ſource to the Ket, is ſtony: from that river to the mouth it runs through a fat land. After it has been frozen ſome time, the water grows foul and fetid.ITS ANNUAL STENCH. This is owing to the vaſt moraſſes it in ſome places goes through, to the ſlowneſs of the current, and to the earth-ſalt (erdſaltz) with which ſome of the rivers which run into it are impregnated. The fiſh therefore ſhun the waters of the Ob, and reſort in vaſt ſhoals to the mouths of thoſe rivers which ruſh into it from ſtony countries, and in ſuch places are taken in great abundance. This ſtench continues till the river is purified in the ſpring by the melting of the ſnow. The Taz, another river which empties itſelf into the eaſt of the gulph of Ob, is liable to the ſame impurity.

The Jeneſei next ſucceeds. Mr. Gmelin, as a naturaliſt,JENESEI RIVER. would conſider this as the boundary between Europe and Aſia. From its eaſtern banks every thing puts on a new appearance: a certain new and unuſual vigour reigns in every thing. The mountains, which to the weſtward, as far as the Urallian chain, appeared only ſcattered, now take full poſſeſſion, and are interſperſed with moſt beautiful vallies. New animals, ſuch as the Argali, p. 12, and Muſk, p. 34, and ſeveral others, begin to ſhew themſelves. Many European plants diſappear, and others peculiar to Aſia, gradually mark the alteration^*. This river is ſcarcely inferior to the Ob. It riſes from the two rivers Ulu-kem and Bei-kem, in north lat. 51. 30, long. 111, and runs due north into the Icy Sea, forming a mouth filled with multitudes of iſlands: its channel for the moſt part ſtony or gravelly: its courſe ſwift: its fiſhes moſt delicate: its banks, eſpecially the eaſtern, mountanous and rocky; but from the fort of Saiaenes to the river Dubtches, rich, black, and cultivated. It is fed by numbers of rivers. The Tunguſca, and the lower Tunguſca, are the moſt noted. The firſt ruſhes, near Irkutz, out of the great lake Baikal, LAKE BAIKAL. under the name of the Angara, between two vaſt rocks, natural, but with all the appearance of being cut through by art, and tumbling over huge ſtones in a bed a mile wide, and for a ſpace nearly the ſame^†. The colliſion of the waters againſt the ſtones is attended with a moſt dreadful noiſe, which, with the magnificence of the ſcenery, forms the moſt awful approach imaginable to this ſacred water. A deity preſided over the lake; and no one dared call it by that degrading name, for fear of incurring the pe⯑nalty of the diſreſpect. Inſtead of lake, the borderers ſtyle it the Holy Sea; and its vaſt mountains, the Holy Mountains. St. Nicholas preſides over them, and has [XCVIII] here his chapel. The mountains are cloathed with foreſts: of large trees on the lower parts; with fewer and leſſer as they gain the heights. Theſe are the retreat of the Wild Boar, and variety of game. Its depth of water is very great: its clearneſs perfect: free from iſlands, except the Olchon and Saetchia: navigable in all parts: and in ſtorms, the waves like thoſe of the ſea. Its length is a hundred and twenty-five common leagues: its breadth from four to ſeven^*. The Com⯑mon Seal abounds in this lake.SEALS. It is a ſmall variety, but ſo fat as to appear almoſt ſhapeleſs. Theſe animals muſt have been here aboriginally; for, beſides the vaſt diſtance from the ſea, their paſſage muſt have been entirely obſtructed by the cata⯑racts which intervene. I am got eight degrees beyond my plan; but I could not reſiſt the deſcription of this prince of lakes.

TOWN OF MAN⯑GAZEA.The Angara runs nearly due north for a great way; then aſſumes the name of Tunguſca, turns weſtward, and joins the Jeneſei in lat. 58. The lower Tunguſca riſes far to the ſouth-weſt, approaches very near to the Lena, and falls into the Jeneſei in lat. 65. 40. Above its junction ſtands the town of Mangazea, cele⯑brated for its great fair of furs of every kind, brought there by the ſurrounding pagans, who paſs the long winter in the chace. Many Ruſſians have alſo migrated, and ſettled here for the ſame purpoſe, and draw great profit from the ſpoils of the animals. This neighborhood is, during ſummer, the great reſort of multitudes of ſpecies of water-fowl. About the feaſt of St. Peter, here Flora begins to diſcloſe her beauties: the country is covered with the moſt beautiful Sibirian flowers; many of which enliven the gardens of our more ſouthern climate. The fowls now exult, and unite in emitting their various notes; none particularly melodious in them⯑ſelves, but together form a concert far from diſagreeable^†; perhaps from the hear⯑er being conſcious that they are the notes of happineſs, at the enjoyment of the reviving rays of the ſun.

In antient times, Mangazea, or, as it was then called, Mongozey, and Mongolmy, was ſeated near the mouth of the Taz ^‡; but was removed by the inhabitants into a milder climate, i. e. juſt to the ſouth ſide of the Arctic circle. Before that period it was a place of great trade, and was eagerly viſited from Archangel, through a complication of difficulties, by ſea, by rivers, by land, by rein-drawn ſledges, and by drawing the veſſels from river to river over frequent carrying-places^‖. Theſe tracts were certainly Le pais preſque inacceſſible à cauſe de boües, & de glaces, and, Le pais de tenebres, ſpoken of by Marco Polo ^§, as the regions from whence the Chams of Tartary procured the richeſt furs.

CAPE TAIMURA.From the mouth of the Jeneſei, the immenſe promontory Taimura ſtretches [XCIX] fartheſt north of all this region into the Icy Sea, nearly into lat. 78. To the eaſt of it the Chatunga, Anabara, and Olenek, rivers little known, fall into the ſea, and have before the mouth of each a conſiderable bay. Remarks have been made on the tide which flows into the Katanga, that at the full and new moon it riſes two feet; at other times is much leſs^*. We may conclude, that if it flows no higher in this contracted place, and that of the gulph of Kara, its encreaſe muſt be very ſmall on the open ſhores of the Icy Sea. The coaſts are in general ſhallow, which has proved a ſafety to the few ſmall veſſels which have navigated this ſea; for the ſhoalneſs of the water preſerves them from the montanous ice, which grounds before it can reach them.

BEYOND the Olenek, the vaſt Lena, which riſes near lake Baikal, RIVER LENA. after a gentle and free courſe over a ſandy or gravelly bottom, diſcharges itſelf by five great mouths, the eaſtern and weſtern moſt remote from each other. The middle, or moſt northerly, is in lat. 73. 20. To form an idea of the ſize of this river, I muſt remark, that at Iakutſk, in lat. 61, twelve degrees from its diſcharge, the breadth is near three leagues^†. Beyond this river the land contracts itſelf, and is bounded to the ſouth by the gulph of Ochotz. The rivers Jana, Indigirſka, and Kolyma or Kowyma, have a comparatively ſhort courſe. The laſt is the moſt eaſterly of the great rivers which fall into the Icy Sea. Beyond it is a woodleſs tract,ARCTIC FLATS WOODLESS. which cuts off the Bea⯑ver, the Squirrels, and many other animals to whom trees are eſſential in their oeco⯑nomy. No foreſts can exiſt farther north than lat. 68; and at 70, bruſh-wood will ſcarcely grow. All within lat. 68, form the Arctic Flats, the ſummer haunts of water-fowl; a bare heath or moor, mixed with rocky mountains: and beyond the river Anadyr, which in lat. 65. falls into the Kamtſchatkan Sea, the remainder of the tract between it and the Icy Sea has not a ſingle tree^‡.

I ſhall now take a review of the vaſt extent of ſhore which borders on the Icy Sea. The Jouratzkaine coaſt, which lies between the Ob and the Jeneſei, is high but not mountanous, and almoſt entirely compoſed of gravel or ſand; but in many places there are low tracts. Not only on theſe, but on more elevated ſituations, are found great fragments of wood, and often entire trees, all of the ſame ſpecies; Fir, Larch, and Pine, green and freſh; in other places, elevated beyond the reach of the ſea, are alſo great quantities of floated wood, antient, dried, and rotting^§. This is not the only proof of the loſs of water in the Icy as well as other ſeas; for in theſe places is ſeen a ſpecies of clay, called by the Ruſſians, Il, which is exactly like the kinds uſually depoſited by the water: and of this there is, in theſe parts, a bed about eight inches thick, which univerſally forms the upper ſtratum^‖. Still farther to [C] the eaſt, it grows mountanous, covered with ſtones, and full of coal. On the ſummit of the chain, to the eaſt of Simovie Retchinoïe, is an amazing bed of ſmall Muſſels, of a ſpecies not obſerved in the ſubjacent ſea. I think them brought there by ſea-fowl, to eat at leiſure; for it is not wonderful that numbers of objects of natural hiſtory ſhould eſcape the eye in ſuch a ſea as this. Many parts again are low; but in moſt places the ſea near the ſhore is rugged with pointed rocks. The coaſt about the bay of cape Tſchutſki, the moſt eaſtern extremity of Aſia, is in ſome places rocky, in others ſloping and verdant; but within land riſing into a double ridge of high mountains.

FREEZING OF THE ICY SEA.About the end of Auguſt, there is not a day in which this ſea might not be frozen; but in general it never eſcapes later than the firſt of October. The thaw commences about the twelfth of June, at the ſame time with that of the mouth of the Jeneſei ^*. From the great headlands, there is at all times a fixed, rugged, and mountanous ice, which projects far into the ſea. No ſea is of ſo uncertain and dangerous navi⯑gation: it is, in one part or other, always abundant in floating ice. During ſum⯑mer, the wind never blows hard twenty-four hours from the north, but every part of the ſhore is filled for a vaſt diſtance with ice; even the ſtreights of Bering are obſtructed with it^†. On the reverſe, a ſtrong ſouth wind drives it towards the pole, and leaves the coaſt free from all except the fixed ice. During winter, the ſea is covered, to the diſtance of at leſt ſix degrees from land. Markoff, a hardy Coſſac, on March 15th, O. S. in the year 1715, attempted, with nine other perſons, a journey from the mouth of the Jana, in 71 north lat. to the north, over the ice, on ſledges drawn by dogs. He went on ſucceſsfully ſome days, till he had reached lat. 77. or 78: he was then impeded by moſt mountanous ice. He climbed to the ſummit of one of the Icebergs; and ſeeing nothing but ice as far as his eye could reach, returned on April 3d, with the utmoſt difficulty: ſeveral of his dogs died, and ſerved as food for the reſt^‡.

I ſhall juſt mention ſome of the attempts made to paſs through the Icy Sea to that of Kamtſchatka. The firſt was in 1636, from the ſettlement of Yakutzk. The rivers from the Jana to the Kolyma were in conſequence diſcovered. In 1646 a company of Ruſſian adventurers, called Promyſchleni, or Sable-hunters, made a voyage from the Kolyma to the country of the Tſchutſki, and traded with thoſe peo⯑ple for the teeth of the Walrus. A ſecond, but unſucceſsful voyage was made in the next year; but in 1648 one Deſchnew, on the 20th of June, began his memo⯑rable voyage, was fortunate in a ſeaſon free from ice, doubled the Tſchutſki-noſs, arrived near the river Olutora, ſouth of the river Anadyr, where he ſuffered ſhip⯑wreck, [CI] but eſcaped to enjoy the honor of his diſcovery. Many other attempts were made, but the moſt which the adventurers have done was to get from the mouth of one great river to another in the courſe of a ſummer. I find very few names, ex⯑cept of rivers, in a tract ſo vaſt as it is, on account of its being ſo little frequented. To the eaſt of the promontory Taimura, that of St. Transfigurationis bounds the eaſt ſide of the bay of Chatanga, in lat. 74. 40, long. from Ferro 125. Swaitoi-noſs, or the Holy Cape, in lat. 73. 15, is a far-projecting headland, and, with the iſles of the Lena, and another intervening headland, forms two vaſt bays. Out of the moſt eaſtern, into which the river Yana diſcharges itſelf, one Schalourof, a broken Ruſſian merchant, took his departure for an eaſtern diſcovery. He began his voyage in July 1760 from the Lena, but was ſo obſtructed with ice that he was forced into the Yana, where he was detained the whole winter, by the ſame cauſe, till July 29th, 1761. He doubled the Swaitoi-noſs September the 6th; according to ſome, ſaw to the north a montanous land, poſſibly an iſland. He was eight days in getting through the paſſage between the continent and the iſle of St. Diomede, which lies a little to the ſouth-eaſt of the Noſs. He paſſed with a favorable wind the mouths of the Indigirka and Alazeia, and getting entangled among the ice between the Medviedkie Oſtrova, or Bear Iſlands, was obliged to lay up his veſſel in one of the mouths of the Kolyma during winter, where he ſubſiſted on rein-deer, which frequented thoſe parts in great herds during the ſevere ſeaſon; and on various ſpecies of ſalmon and trout, which were puſhing their way up the river before it was frozen. After this he made two other attempts. In the year 1763 he paſſed the Peſzcanoi-noſs, and got into a deep bay, called Tſchaoûn Skaja Goûba, with the iſle of Sabedei at its mouth; the great Schalatſkoi-noſs to the eaſt; and at its bottom the little river Tſchaoûn, which diſcharges itſelf here out of the land of the Tſchutſki, ſome of whom he ſaw on the ſhore, but they fled on his appearance. He found no means of ſubſiſting in this bay, therefore was obliged to return to the Lena, and was greatly aſſiſted in his paſſage by the ſtrength of the current, which uni⯑formly ſet from the eaſt. In 1764 he made his laſt attempt, and was, as is conjectured, ſlain by the Tſchutſki; but whether he doubled the famous cape of that name, is left uncertain. A MS. map, which Doctor PALLAS favored me with, places the montanous iſle before mentioned in lat. 75, oppoſite to the cape Schalatſkoi ^*. Thus cloſes all the accounts I can collect of the voyages along [CII] this diſtant coaſt. Part is taken from Mr. Coxe's Ruſſian Diſcoveries ^*, and part from a manuſcript for which I am indebted to the learned Profeſſor before men⯑tioned.

The wind which paſſes over the ice of this polar ſea, has rendered Sibiria the coldeſt of inhabited countries: its effects may perhaps extend much farther. At Chamnanning, in Thibet, in lat. 30. 44. (according to Major Rennel's claſſical map) Mr. Bogle found, during winter, the thermometer in his room at 29° be⯑low the freezing point. In the middle of April the ſtanding waters were all frozen, and heavy ſnows perpetually fell^†. I have heard of ice even at Patna, in lat. 25. 35; and of the Seapoys who had ſlept on the ground being found in the morning torpid. Near the fort of Argun, not higher than lat. 52, the ground ſeldom thaws deeper than a yard and a half^‡. At Iakutſk, in lat. 62, the ſoil is eternally frozen even in ſummer, from the depth of three feet below the ſurface. An inhabitant, who by the labor of two ſummers ſunk a well to the depth of ninety-one feet, loſt his labor, and found his fartheſt ſearches frozen^§. Birds fall down, overcome with the cold; and even the wild beaſts ſometimes periſh. The very air is frozen, and exhibits a moſt melancholy gloom^‖.

AURORA BOREA⯑LIS.The Aurora Borealis is as common here as in Europe, and uſually exhibits ſimilar variations: one ſpecies regularly appears between the north-eaſt and eaſt, like a luminous rainbow, with numbers of columns of light radiating from it: beneath the arch is a darkneſs, through which the ſtars appear with ſome brilliancy. This ſpecies is thought by the natives to be a forerunner of ſtorms. There is another kind, which begins with certain inſulated rays from the north, and others from the north-eaſt. They augment little by little, till they fill the whole ſky, and form a ſplendor of colors rich as gold, rubies, and emeralds: but the attendant phaenomena ſtrike the beholders with horror, for they crackle, ſparkle, hiſs, make a whiſtling ſound, and a noiſe even equal to artificial fire-works. The idea of an electrical cauſe is ſo ſtrongly impreſſed by this deſcription, that there can remain no doubt of the origin of theſe appear⯑ances. The inhabitants ſay, on this occaſion, it is a troop of men furiouſly mad which are paſſing by. Every animal is ſtruck with terror; even the dogs of the hunters are ſeized with ſuch dread, that they will fall on the ground and become immoveable till the cauſe is over^¶.

FISH.I am ſlightly acquainted with the fiſh of the Icy ſea, except the anadromous kinds, or thoſe which aſcend from it into the Sibirian rivers. The Ob, and other [CIII] Sibirian rivers, are viſited by the Beluga Whale, the common Sturgeon, and the Sterlet or Acipenſer Ruthenus, Lin. Syſt. 403; but I am informed by Doctor Pallas, that they have neither Carps, Bream, Barbels, nor others of that genus, nor yet Eels, Silurus Glanis, Lin. Syſt. 501; Perca Lucioperca, 481; or common Trout: all which are found in the Amur, and other rivers which run into the eaſtern ocean: in the latter, our common Cray-fiſh is found. In return, the Si⯑birian rivers abound in vaſt variety of the Salmon kind, and many unknown to us in Europe, which delight in the chilly waters of theſe regions. The common Salmon, Br. Zool. iii. N^o 143, is one of the ſcarcer kinds: the Salmo Nelma, Pallas Itin. ii. 716, or Salmon Leucichthys of Guldenſtaedt, Nov. Com. Petrop. xiv. 531, is a large ſpecies, growing to the length of three feet: the head greatly protracted: the lower jaw much the longeſt: the body of a ſilvery white: ſcales oblong: tail bifid. P. D. Rad. 14. The Salmo Taïmen, or Hucho, Pallas, ii. 716, grows to the weight of ten or fifteen pounds, and the length of a yard and a half: the color of the back is duſky; towards the ſides ſilvery: the belly white: ſpotted with duſky on the back: anul fin of a deep red: tail bifurcated: fleſh white: Salmo Lavaretus, iii. 705, or Gwiniad, Br. Zool. iii. N^o 152: Salmo Albula, Lin. Syſt. 512: Salmo Schokur, Pallas Itin. iii. 705; a ſpecies about two feet long, not unlike the Gwiniad: the Salmo Pidſchian, Pallas Itin. iii. 705; about two ſpans long, broader than the Gwiniad, and with a gibbous back: Salmo Wimba, Lin Syſt. 512: and Salmo Naſus, Pallas Itin. iii. 705^*, are extremely common in the Ob. Others ſhun that ſtill river, and ſeek the Jeneſei, and other rapid ſtreams with ſtony bottoms. Such are the Salmo Lenok, Pallas Itin. ii. 716^†: Salmo Oxyrhynchus, Lin. Syſt. 512: and Salmo Autumnalis, or Omul, Pallas Itin. iii. 705; SURPRIZING MI⯑GRATIONS OF FISH. which annually force their way from the ſea, from lat. 73. to lat. 51. 40, into lake Baikal, a diſtance of more than twenty-one degrees, or near thirteen hundred miles. The Omul even croſſes the lake, and aſcends in Auguſt the ri⯑ver Selinga, where it is taken by the inhabitants in great quantities, and is pre⯑ſerved for the proviſion of the whole year. After dropping its ſpawn in the ſtony beds of the river, it again returns to the ſea. The Salmo Arcticus, Pallas Itin. iii. 206; and S. Thymallus, or Grayling, Br. Zool. iii. N^o 150; may be added to the fiſh of the Sibirian rivers. The Salmo Cylindraceus, or Walok of the Ruſſians, is a fiſh very ſlender, and almoſt cylindrical, with a very ſmall mouth, large ſilvery ſcales, and the under fins reddiſh. This is found only in the Lena, the Kowyma, [CIV] and Indigirſka. M. Gmelin and the Abbé D' Auteroche aſſure us, that Pikes, Perch, Ruffs, Carp, Bream, Tench, Crucians, Roach, Bleaks, and Gudgeons, are alſo met with in the Ob, and different rivers of this country^*. I cannot reconcile this to the former account given me by ſo able a naturaliſt, to whom I owe this hiſtory of the Arctic fiſh. The Salmo Kundſha, Pallas Itin. iii. 706, abounds in the gulphs of the Icy ſea, but does not aſcend the rivers; and the Pleuronectes Glacialis, Pallas Itin. iii. 706, is frequent on the ſandy ſhores.

To review the inhabitants of the Arctic coaſts, I ſhall return as far as Fin⯑mark. I refer the reader to p. LXXIX. for what I have ſaid of the Laplanders. The Samoieds line the coaſts from the eaſt ſide of the White ſea, as far (according to the Ruſſian maps) as the river Ob, and even the Anabara, which falls into the Icy ſea in lat. 73. 30; and poſſeſs the wildeſt of countries inland, as low as lat. 65. After them ſucceeds, to the eaſt, a race of middle ſize; and, extraordinary to ſay, inſtead of degeneracy, a fine race of men is found in the Tſchutſki, in a climate equally ſevere, and in a country equally unproductive of the ſupports of life, as any part of theſe inhoſpitable regions. The manners of all are brutal, ſavage, and nearly animal; their loves the ſame; their living ſqualid and filthy beyond conception: yet on the ſite of ſome of theſe nations Mela hath placed the elegant Hyperborei: and our poet, Prior, giving free looſe to his imagination, paints the manners of theſe Arctic people in the following beautiful fiction, after deſcribing the condition of the natives of the torrid zone.

With greater reality ſpeaks that juſt obſerver of nature, the naturaliſt's poet, of the inhabitants of this very country, as a true contraſt to the foregoing lines:

This amazing extent of the Aſiatic Ruſſian dominions remained undiſcovered to a very late period. The Czars, immerſed in ſenſuality, or engaged in wars, had neither taſte or leiſure to explore new countries. A plundering excurſion was made into it in the reign of Baſilovitz I; a ſecond was made under his ſuc⯑ceſſor: but a ſtranger, the celebrated Coſſac, Yermac, driven from his country on the ſhores of the Caſpian ſea, puſhed his way with a reſolute band as far as Orel, near the head of the Kama, on the weſtern ſide of the U [...]allian chain. There he met with one Strogonoff, a Ruſſian merchant, recently ſettled in thoſe parts for the ſake of the traffic of furs. He continued in that neighborhood the whole winter, and was ſupplied by the Ruſſians with all neceſſaries. In the ſpring he turned his arms againſt Kutchum Chan, one of the moſt powerful of the petty princes of the country which now forms part of the government of Tobolſki. In 1581, he fought a deciſive battle with the Chan, overthrew him, and ſeated himſelf on the throne. Finding his ſituation precarious, he ceded his conqueſts to Ba⯑filovitz, who ſeized on the opportunity of adding this country to his dominions. He ſent Yermac a ſupply of men. But at length his good fortune forſook him. He was ſurprized by the Chan; and, after performing all that a hero could do, periſhed in attempting to eſcape.

[CVI]The Ruſſians, on the death of their ally, retired out of Sibiria; but they ſoon returned, recovered the conqueſts made by Yermac, and, before the middle of the following century, added to their antient poſſeſſions a territory fourteen hundred and ſeventy leagues in length, and near ſeven hundred in breadth (without in⯑cluding the Ruſſian colonies on the iſland of Oonalaſhka, on the coaſt of America ^*) yet is ſo thinly peopled, and with ſuch barbarians, as to add no ſtrength to the empire by any ſupplies to the army or navy. They are almoſt torpid with inaction; lazy to the higheſt degree, from their neceſſary confinement to their ſtoves during the long winter of the country. In that ſeaſon, the ground is clad with deep ſnow, and the froſt moſt tremendouſly ſevere. The ſpring, if ſo it may be called, is diſ⯑tinguiſhed by the muddied torrents of melting ſnows, which ruſh from the moun⯑tains, and give a ſea-like appearance to the plains. Miſts, and rain, and ſnow, are the variations of that ſeaſon, and they continue even to the fourth of June. The ſhort ſummer is hot, and favorable to vegetation. Corn may be ſeen a foot high by the 22d of June; and the graſs is moſt luxuriant. Culinary plants will ſcarcely grow about Tobolſki. Fruits of every kind, except a currant, are un⯑known. A ſingle crab-like apple, raiſed in a hot-houſe, was once produced there, ſliced in a large diſh, at a great entertainment, and ſerved up with as much oſtentation as we would in England a pine-apple.

The animals of Sibiria, the furs of which were the original object of its conqueſt, are now ſo reduced, that the Ruſſians are obliged to have recourſe to England for a ſupply from North America, which they add to their own ſtock of furs exported into China. Metals ſeem the ſtaple trade of the country. Thoſe of iron and copper are abundant and excellent. Gold and ſilver are found in ſeveral places, and in ſuch abundance, as to form a moſt important article in the revenues of Ruſſia. The copper mines of Kolyvan, from which thoſe pretious metals are extracted, employ above forty thouſand people, moſtly coloniſts. The ſilver mines of Nertſchinſk, beyond lake Baikal, above fourteen thouſand. The whole revenue ariſing from the mines of different metals, is not leſs than £. 679, 182. 13 s. ^†

PLANTS.Next to the diſcovery of the new world, no place has added more to the en⯑tertainment of naturaliſts than Sibiria. As has been before obſerved, nature there aſſumes a new appearance in the animal world: it does the ſame in the vegetable; at leſt, very few trees are found common to Europe and Aſia. Let me juſt mention the nobler kinds: the Oak, frequent as it is in Ruſſia and in Caſan, is not to be ſeen in this vaſt region nearer than the banks of the Argun [CVII] and Amur, in the Chineſe dominions. The White Poplar, Populus alba; and the Aſpen, Populus tremula, are extremely common. The Black Poplar, Populus nigra; the Common Sallow, Salix caprea; Sweet Willow, Salix pentandra; White Willow, Salix alba, are very frequent. The Hazel, Corylus Avellana, is circumſtanced like the Oak. The Common Birch, Betula alba, is moſt abundant; and, as in all northern nations, of univerſal uſe. The Dwarf Birch, Betula nana, is confined to the neighborhood of lake Baikal. The Alder, Betula Alnus, is very frequent. The Pinaſter, Pinus Pinea; the Pine with edible ſeeds, or Pinus Cembra; and Larch, Pinus Larix; all trees of the firſt uſe, medicinal or oecono⯑mical, cover many parts of the country. The Norway Fir, Pinus Abies, and the Silver Fir, Pinus Picea, form, in moſt parts of the country, great foreſts: the firſt grows in this country not farther north than lat. 60; the laſt not higher than lat. 58; yet the former flouriſhes in Europe, and compoſes in Lapmark, far beyond the Arctic circle, woods of great extent: a proof of the ſuperior rigour of cold in the Aſiatic north. Theſe form the ſum of European trees growing in Sibiria. Of other plants, common to both continents, M. Gmelin gives the reader, in p. xciv. of his Preface, a ſlender liſt of ſuch which fell under his obſerva⯑tion.

The trees or ſhrubs peculiar to Sibiria and Tartary, are the Acer Tartaricum, Sp. Pl. ii. 1495: the Ulmus pumila, 327: Prunus Sibirica, Amman. Ruth. 272, tab. 29: Pyrus baccata, 274: Robinia Caragana, fruteſcens, and pygmaea, Sp. Pl. ii. 1044. I may alſo obſerve, that the Taccamahacca, or Populus balſa⯑mifera, 1463, common alſo to North America, abounds about the upper part of the Lena, the Angara, and Jeneſei, and between the Onon and Aga. An infuſion of its buds is uſed by the natives as an excellent remedy for an infa⯑mous diſorder, frequent in this great country.

EUROPE is obliged to Sibiria for that excellent ſpecies of Oat, the Avena Sibirica, Fl. Sib. i. 113. tab. 22. Lin. Sp. Pl. i. 117; and our gardens are in a moſt peculiar manner enlivened with the gay and brilliant flowers introduced from that diſtant and ſevere climate. I ſhall only ſelect a few out of the mul⯑titude^*. Veronica Sibirica, Iris Sibirica, Fl. Sib. i. 28. Eryngium planum, i. 185. Lilium bulbiferum, i. 41. L. pomponium, i. 42. L. Martagon, i. 44. Delphi⯑nium grandiſtorum, Sp. Pl. i. 749. Erythronium Dens canis, i. 39. tab. 7. Hemerocallis flava, i. 37. Saxifraga croſſifolia, Sp. Pl. i. 573. Lychnis chalce⯑donica, Sp. Pl. i. 625. Pyrus baccata, Lythrum virgatum, Sp. Pl. 642. Amyg⯑dalus [CVIII] nana, Sp. Pl. 677. Poeonia tenuifolia, Sp. Pl. i. 748. Clematis integrifolia, Sp. Pl. i. 767. Adonis vernalis, Sp. Pl. i. 771. Aſtragalus alopecuroides, Sp. Pl. ii. 1064. Hypericum Aſcyron, Sp. Pl. ii. 1102. Echinops Ritro, Fl. Sib. ii. 100. Veratrum nigrum, Fl. Sib. i. 76.

TSCHUTSKI.After the conqueſt of Sibiria, the Tſchutſki were the firſt people diſcovered by the Ruſſians, who were indebted to the adventure of Deſchnew for the knowlege of them. They are a free and brave race, and in ſize and figure ſuperior to every neighboring nation; tall, ſtout, and finely made, and with long and agreeable countenances; a race inſulated ſtrangely by a leſſer variety of men. They wore no beards. Their hair was black, and cut ſhort, and covered either with a cloſe cap, or hood large enough to cover the ſhoulders. Some hung beads in their ears, but none had the barbariſm to bore either noſes or lips. They wore a ſhort and cloſe frock, breeches, and ſhort boots: ſome had trowſers. The materials of their cloathing was leather admirably dreſſed, either with or without the hair^*. It is ſaid that at times they wear jackets made of the inteſtines of whales^†, like the Eſkimaux; probably when they go to ſea, for they excel their neighbors in fiſhing, and uſe open boats covered with ſkins^‡, and like the women's boats of the Greenlanders. They have alſo the leſſer or kajak. They make uſe of ſledges, and have large fox-like dogs of different colors, with long ſoft woolly hair, which are probably deſigned for the draught. Some ſay that they uſe rein-deer, of which they have vaſt abundance, but neither milk them nor kill them for food, preferring the fleſh of ſea animals, except one dies by chance, or is killed by the wolves. They are a brave and warlike people; are armed with bows and arrows; the laſt pointed with ſtone or bone. They had ſpontoons headed with ſteel, pro⯑cured by traffic from the Ruſſians; theſe they uſually ſlung over their right ſhoul⯑der; and a leathern quiver of moſt elegant workmanſhip hung over the left^§. The Ruſſians have often gained dear-bought victories over this brave people, but never were able to effect their conqueſt. They retained an high ſenſe of liberty, and conſtantly refuſed to pay tribute; and the ambitious European miſcalled them rebels. They will not on any conſideration part with their weapons: poſſibly a Tſchutſki may think a diſarmed man diſhonored. Captain COOK, in his three hours viſit to them, found their attachment to their arms, notwithſtanding they willingly parted with any thing elſe, and even without the proſpect of exchange. They treated him with great civility, but prudent caution: ſaluted him by bow⯑ing [CIX] and pulling off their caps, poſſibly a piece of politeneſs they learned from the Ruſſians. They treated him with a ſong and dance, and parted friends; but not without a moſt remarkable and conſequential event:—A year after the interview between Captain COOK and the Tſchutſki, a party of thoſe people came to the frontier poſt of the Ruſſians, and voluntarily offered friendſhip and tribute. Theſe generous people, whom fear could not influence, were overcome by the civility and good conduct of our illuſtrious commander: they miſtook him and his people for Ruſſians, and, imagining that a change of behaviour had taken place, tendered to their invaders a laſting league^*. Poſſibly the munificent empreſs may bluſh at the obligation conferred by means of Britiſh ſubjects, in procuring to her empire a generous ally, at the inſtant her armed neutrality contributed to deprive us of millions of lawful ſubjects.

From the ſhortneſs of the interview little knowlege could be gained of their cuſtoms. I ſhall only obſerve, that they bury their dead under heaps of ſtones,TUMULI. or carnedds: ſeveral were ſeen here with the rib of a whale on the top inſtead of a pillar^†; a proof of the univerſality of theſe memorials of the dead.

The country of the Tſchutſki forms the moſt north-eaſterly part of Aſia. It is a peninſula, bounded by the bay of Tchaoûn, by the Icy Sea, the ſtreights of BERING, and the gulph and river of Anadir, which open into the ſea of Kamtſchatka. It is a mountanous tract, totally deſtitute of wood, and conſequently of animals which re⯑quire the ſhelter of foreſts. The promontory Schalotſkoi, before mentioned, is the moſt weſterly part. Whether it extends ſo far north as lat. 74, as the Ruſſians place it, is very doubtful: there is the opinion of our great navigator againſt it. From his own reaſonings he ſuppoſed that the tract from the Indigirſka, eaſtward,CORRECTIONS IN GEOGRAPHY BY CAPT. COOK. is laid down in the maps two degrees to the northward of its true poſition^‡. From a map he had in his poſſeſſion, and from information he received from the Ruſſians, he places the mouth of the Kowyma, in lat. 68, inſtead of lat. 71. 20, as the Peterſburg map makes it. It is therefore probable, that no part of Aſia in this neighborhood extends further than lat. 70, in which we muſt place the Schalotſkoi Noſs; and after the example of Mr. Campbell, who formed his map of this country chiefly from the papers of Captain BERING^§, give the land which lies to the eaſt of that promontory a very ſouthern trend. As Captain COOK had cauſe to imagine that the former charts erred in longitude as well as latitude, it is probable that he reached within ſixty miles of the Schalotſkoi Noſs ^‖. There we find him on Auguſt 29th, 1778, and from this period are enabled, from his remarks, to pro⯑ceed ſecurely accurate.

[CX]After croſſing the Icy Sea from the moſt extreme part of the coaſt of America which he could attain, he fell in with land. It appeared low near the ſea, and high inland; and between both lay a great lake. To a ſteep and rocky point, nearly in lat. 68. 56, and long. 180. 51, his ne plus ultra on the Aſiatic ſide, he gave the name of Cape North; CAPE NORTH. beyond which he could not ſee any land, notwith⯑ſtanding the weather was pretty clear. The ſea, at three miles diſtance from the ſhore, was only eight fathoms deep: this, with a riſing wind, approaching fog, and apprehenſion of the coming down of the ice, obliging him to deſiſt from farther attempts in theſe parts, he proceeded as near to the coaſt as he could with prudence,BURNEY'S ISLE. towards the ſouth-eaſt, and found it retain the ſame appearance. In lat. 67. 45, he diſcovered a ſmall iſle, about three leagues from the main, with ſteep and rocky ſhores, on which he beſtowed the name of Burney, in honor of one of his officers; gratefully immortalizing the companions of his voyage, in this and other inſtances. After paſſing the iſland, the continent inland roſe into mountains of conſiderable height, the termination of the great chain I before deſcribed.

In lat. 67. 3, long. 188. 11, he fell in with Serdze Kamen ^*,SERDZE KAMEN. a lofty promontory, faced towards the ſea with a ſteep rocky cliff. To the eaſtward the coaſt continues high and bold, towards the North Cape low, being a continuation of the Arctic flats. This was the northern limit of the voyage of another illuſtrious navigator, Captain VITUS BERING,CAPT. BERING. a Dane by birth, and employed on the ſame plan of diſcovery in theſe parts as our great countryman was in the late voyage. He was in the ſervice of PETER the GREAT; who, by the ſtrength of an extenſive genius, conceiving an opinion of the vicinity of America to his Aſiatic dominions, laid down a plan of diſcovery worthy of ſo extraordinary a monarch, but died before the attempt was begun; but his ſpirit ſurvived in his ſucceſſor. BERING, after a tedious and fatiguing journey through the wilds of Sibiria, arrived in Kamt⯑ſchatka, attended with the ſcanty materials for his voyage, the greateſt part of which he was obliged to bring with him through a thouſand difficulties. Several of the circumſtances of his adventures will be occaſionally mentioned^†. I ſhall only ſay here, that he ſailed from the river of Kamtſchatka on July 15th, 1728; on the 15th of Auguſt ſaw Serdze Kamen, or the heart-ſhaped rock, a name be⯑ſtowed on it by the firſt diſcoverer.

From Serdze Kamen to a promontory named by Captain COOK Eaſt Cape ^‡,EAST CAPE. the land trends ſouth-eaſt. The laſt is a circular peninſula of high cliffs, projecting [CXI] far into the ſea due eaſt, and joined to the land by a long and very narrow iſthmus, in lat. 66. 6. This is the Tſchutſki Noſs of our navigators, and forms the beginning of the narrow ſtreights or diviſion of the old and new world.BERING'S STREIGHTS. The diſtance between Aſia and America in this place is only thirteen leagues. The country about the cape, and to the north-weſt of it, was inhabited. About mid-channel are two ſmall iſlands, named by the Ruſſians the iſles of St. Diomedes; neither of them above three or four leagues in circuit^{* †}. It is extremely extraordinary that BERING ſhould have ſailed through this confined paſſage, and yet that the object of his miſſion ſhould have eſcaped him. His misfortune could only be attributed to the foggy weather, which he muſt have met with in a region notorious for miſts^‡; for he ſays that he ſaw land neither to the north nor to the eaſt^§. Our generous commander, determined to give him every honor his merit could clame, has dig⯑nified theſe with the name of BERING'S STREIGHTS.

The depth of theſe ſtreights is from twelve to twenty-nine or thirty fathoms.DEPTH. The greateſt depth is in the middle, which has a ſlimy bottom; the ſhalloweſt parts are near each ſhore, which conſiſts of ſand mixed with bones and ſhells. The current or tide very inconſiderable, and what there was came from the weſt.CURRENT.

From Eaſt Cape the land trends ſouth by weſt. In lat. 65. 36, is the bay in which Captain COOK had the interview with the Tſchutſki. Immediately beyond is the bay of St. Laurence, about five leagues broad in the entrance, and four deep, bounded at the bottom by high land. A little beyond is a large bay, either bounded by low land at the bottom, or ſo extenſive as to have the end inviſible. To the ſouth of this are two other bays; and in lat. 64. 13, long. 186. 36, is the extreme ſouthern point of the land of the Tſchutſki. This formerly was called the Anadirſkoi Noſs. Near it BERING had converſation with eight men, who came off to him in a baidar, or boat covered with the ſkins of ſeals; from which BERING and others have named it the Tſchutſki Noſs. A few leagues to the ſouth-eaſt of this point lies Clerke's iſland, in lat 63. 15, diſcovered by Capt. COOK;ISLES OF CLERKE AND ST. LAURENCE. and immediately beyond a larger, on which BERING beſtowed the name of St. Laurence: the laſt, the reſort of the Tſchutſki in their fiſhing parties^‖. Both of theſe conſiſt of high cliffs, joined by low land. A ſmall iſland was ſeen about nineteen leagues from St. Laurence's, in a north-eaſt by eaſt half eaſt direction; I ſuſpect it to be that which Capt. COOK named Anderſon's, in memory of his ſurgeon, who died off it, and from his amiable character ſeems to have well [CXII] merited this memorial. It lies in lat. 63. 4, long. 192. An anonymous iſlet, imperfectly ſeen, and lying in lat. 64. 24, long. 190. 31, in mid-channel, com⯑pletes the ſum of thoſe ſeen remote from land between the ſtreights and the iſle of St. Laurence. As to thoſe named in the chart given by Lieut. Synd, who in 1764 made a voyage from Kamtſchatka towards BERING'S Streights, they ſeem to exiſt only in imagination, notwithſtanding the Ruſſian calendar has been exhauſted to find names for them. St. Agathon, St. Titus, St. Myron, and many others, fill the ſpace paſſed over by Capt. COOK, and which could not have eſcaped the notice of his ſucceſſor^*.

The land from BERING'S Tſchutſki Noſs trends vaſtly to the weſt, and bounds on that ſide the vaſt gulph of Anadir, into the bottom of which the river of the ſame name empties itſelf; and limits the territory of the Tſchutſki.

From thence is a large extent of coaſt trending ſouth-weſt from Cape St. Thad⯑deus, in lat. 62. 50, long. 180, the ſouthern boundary of the gulph of Anadir, to Oljutorſkoi Noſs, beyond which the land retires full weſt, and forms in its boſom a gulph of the ſame name. Off Thaddeus Noſs appeared, on June 29th, abundance of walruſes and great ſeals; and even the wandering albatroſs was ſeen in this high latitude^†. Between this and the Penginſk gulph, at the end of the ſea of Ochotſk, is the iſthmus which unites the famous peninſula of Kamtſchatka to the main land, and is here about a hundred and twenty miles broad, and extends in length from 52 to 61, north lat. The coaſts are often low: often faced with cliffs, in many parts of an extraordinary height; and out at ſea are rude and ſpiring rocks, the haunts of leonine ſeals, whoſe dreadful roarings are frequently the preſervation of mariners, warning them of the danger, in the thick fogs of this climate^‡. The coaſt has but few harbours, notwithſtanding it juts frequently into great headlands. The moſt remarkable are, the North Head, with its needle rocks, at the entrance of the bay of Awatcha (Voyage, vol. iii. tab. 58); Cheepoonſkoi Noſs, ſtill further north, engraven in vol. ii. tab. 84; and Kronotſkoi Noſs, with its lofty cliffs. The peninſula widens greatly in the middle, and leſſens almoſt to a point at Cape Lopatka, which ſlopes into a low flat, and forms the ſouthern ex⯑tremity of the country. The whole is divided lengthways by a chain of lofty rocky mountains, frequently covered with ſnow, and ſhooting into conic ſummits,VULCANOS. often ſmoking with vulcanic eruptions. They have broken out in numbers of places: the extinct are marked by the craters, or their broken tops. The vulcano near Awatcha ^§, that of Tolbatchick, and that of the mountain of Kamtſchatka ^‖, are the modern. They burſt out ſometimes in whirlwinds of flames, [CXIII] and burn up the neighboring foreſts: clouds of ſmoke ſucceed, and darken the whole atmoſphere, till diſperſed by ſhowers of cinders and aſhes, which cover the country for thirty miles round. Earthquakes, thunder, and lightning, join to fill the horror of the ſcenery at land; while at ſea the waves riſe to an uncommon height, and often divide ſo as to ſhew the very bottom of the great deep^*. By an event of this kind was once expoſed to ſight the chain of ſubmarine mountains which connected the Kuril iſles to the end of this great peninſula. I do not learn that they overflow with lava or with water, like the vulcanos of Europe. There are in various parts of the country hot ſprings,HOT SPRINGS. not inferior in warmth to thoſe of Iceland ^†: like them they in ſome places form ſmall jets d'eaux, with a great noiſe, but ſeldom exceed the height of a foot and a half^‡.

The climate during winter is uncommonly ſevere; for ſo low as Bolcheretſk, CLIMATE. lat. 52,30, all intercourſe between neighbors is ſtopped. They dare not ſtir out for fear of being froſt-bitten. Snow lies on the ground from ſix to eight feet thick as late as May; and the ſtorms rage with uncommon impetuoſity, owing to the ſubterraneous fires, the ſulphureous exhalations, and general vulcanic diſpo⯑ſition of the country. The prevaling winds are from the weſt, which paſſing over the frozen wilds of Sibiria and Tartary, add keenneſs and rigour to the winters of Kamtſchatka. Winter continues till the middle of June: from that month to the middle of September may be called ſummer, if a ſeaſon filled with rain, and miſts, and ungenial ſkies, merits that name. Rye, barley, and oats, are committed to the earth, but ſeldom come to perfection. The ſubſiſtence of the Ruſſians and Coſſacks depends therefore on importation from Sibiria. In ſome parts graſs grows to a great height, and hay of uncommon nutriment is harveſted for the fattening of cattle^§. Grain is a luxury for the coloniſts only: the natives have other reſources, the effects of neceſſity. Excepting in few places, this is a land of in⯑corrigible barrenneſs. As ſoon as the ſea otters and other pretious furs are ex⯑hauſted, Kamtſchatka will be deſerted by the Ruſſians, unleſs they ſhould think fit to colonize the continent of America, which the furs of that country, or the proſpect of mineral wealth, may induce them to attempt.

Few ores have as yet been diſcovered in this peninſula:ORES. not that it wants either copper or iron; but every neceſſary in thoſe metals is imported at ſo cheap a rate, that it is not worth while for a people ignorant in mining and ſmelting to ſearch for them in the almoſt inacceſſible mountains.

From the climate and the barren nature of Kamtſchatka, PLANTS. the reader need not be [CXIV] ſurprized at the poverty of its Flora. It muſt not be ſuppoſed that the ſcanty enu⯑meration of its plants ariſes from a neglect of ſearch, or the want of a botaniſt to explore its vegetable kingdom. STELLER, a firſt-rate naturaliſt of Germany, who attended BERING in his laſt voyage, reſided here a conſiderable time after his eſcape from that unfortunate expedition, expreſsly to complete his remarks in natural hiſtory. The reſult of his botanical reſearches was communicated to Doctor Gmelin, another gentleman ſent by the Ruſſian government to examine into the natural hiſtory of its dominions. Europe has from time to time been ranſacked for men of abilities to perform this meritorious miſſion, and the fruits of their labors have been liberally communicated to a public thirſting for knowlege. The names of MULLER, GMELIN, STELLER, DE L'ISLE, KRASHANINICOFF, GUILDENSTAEDT, LEPECHIN, and PALLAS, will ever be held in reſpect, for adding to the ſtock of natural knowlege. But how much is it to be lamented that England wants a patron to encourage the tranſlation of their works, locked up at preſent in Ruſſian or German, concealed from the generality of readers, to the great ſup⯑preſſion of knowlege!

I here give a liſt of the plants of Kamtſchatka in ſyſtematic order; and from it annex an account of the uſes made of them by the natives of the peninſula. I muſt not omit my thanks to the Rev. Mr. Lightfoot, and the Rev. Mr. Hugh Davies of Beaumaris, for the great aſſiſtance I received from them. Let me premiſe, that the plants marked A. are common to America and Kamtſchatka; with B. to BERING'S Iſle; with E. to England or Scotland; and with Virg. thoſe which extend to Virginia, or the eaſtern ſide of North America ^*. It is remarkable, that the European plants, which had deſerted Sibiria about the Jeneſei, appear here in great abundance.

• Veronica. Gmel. Sib. iii. 219. N^o 33.
• V. incana.
• V. ſerpyllifolia. E.
• Iris ſibirica.
• Iris. Gm. Sib. i. 30. N^o 28.
• Dactylis. Gm. Sib. i. 130. N^o 68.
• Bromus criſtatus. Amoen. Acad. ii. 312.
• Triticum. Gm. Sib. i. 119. N^o 56.
• Plantago major. A. E. Virg.
• Pl. aſiatica.
• Sanguiſorba canadenſis. A.
• Cornus ſuecica.
• Pulmonaria virginica. A. Am. Acad. ii. 310.
• Cerinthe major. A.
• Cortuſa Gmelini. Am. Acad. ii. 313.
• Anagallis. Gm. Sib. iv. 87, 37.
• Azalca procumbens. E.
• Phlox ſibirica. Am. Acad. ii. 314.
• Convolvulus perſicus. Ibid.
• [CXV]Polemonium caeruleum. A. E.
• Lonicera Xyloſteum. A?
• L. caerulea.
• Ribes alpinum. A. E.
• R. rubrum. Virg.
• R. groſſularia. A. Virg.
• Claytonia virginica. A. Am. Acad. ii. 310.
• Salſola proſtrata 318.
• Anabaſis aphylla. 319.
• Heuchera americana. 310.
• Swertſia dichotoma. 317.
• Sw. corniculata. ibid.
• Gentiana amarella. E.
• G. aquatica. Am. Acad. ii. 316.
• Heracleum panaces. A.
• Angelica archangelica.
• Ang. Sylveſtris. E. Virg.
• Cicuta viroſa.
• Chaerophyllum Sylveſtre.
• Chaer, aureum?
• Sambucus racemoſa.
• Tradeſcantia. Virg?
• Allium urſinum. E. Virg.
• Allium triquetrum.
• Lilium martegon.
• L. Camſchatcenſe. A. Virg. Am. Acad. ii. 320.
• Uvularia perfoliata. 310.
• Convallaria bifolia.
• Juncus filiformis. E. Virg.
• J. campeſtris. E.
• Rumex acetoſa. Virg.
• Melanthium ſibiricum. Am. Acad. ii. 320.
• Trillium erectum. ii. 310.
• Aliſma plantago aquatica. E.
• Alſinanthemos. Gm. Sib. iv. 116. N^o 86.
• Epilobium latifolium.
• Vaccinium myrtillus. A. E.
• Vaccinium uliginoſum. E.
• Vac. vitis idaea. A. E.
• Vac. oxycoccos. E. Virg.
• Erica. Gm. Sib. iv. 130. N^o 21. B.
• Er. Gm. Sib. iv. 131. N^o 22. A.
• Bryanthus. Gm. Sib. iv. 133. N^o 23.
• Polygonum biſtorta. E.
• Pol. viviparum. E.
• Adoxa moſchatellina. A. E.
• Sophora Lupinoides. Am. Acad. ii. 321.
• Ledum paluſtre.
• Andromeda. Gm. Sib. iv. 121. N^o 9.
• Chamaerhododendros. Gm. Sib. iv. 126. N^o 13. B.
• Arbutus uva urſi. E. Virg.
• Pyrola rotundifolia. E. Virg.
• Tiarella trifoliata. Am. Acad. ii. 322.
• Sedum verticillatum. ii. 323.
• Prunus padus. E.
• Sorbus aucuparia. E. Virg.
• Crataegus oxyacantha. Voyage, iii. 334.
• Spiraea hypericifolia. Am. Acad. ii. 310.
• Sp. Sorbifolia. 324.
• Spiraea. Gm. Sib. iii. 192. N^o 55.
• Spiraea. 192. N^o 56.
• Sp. aruncus.
• Roſa alpina.
• Rubus Idaeus. A. E. Virg.
• R. Caeſius. E.
• R. fruticoſus. E. Virg.
• R. arcticus. Virg.
• R. chamaemorus. E.
• Fragaria veſca. A. E.
• Potentilla fruticoſa. E.
• Dryas pentapetala.
• Actaea cimicifuga. Am. Acad. ii. 325.
• Papaver nudicaule.
• Aconitum napellus.
• [CXVI]Anemone narciſſifolia.
• Anem. ranunculoides.
• Anem. Dichotoma. Am. Acad. ii. 310.
• Thalictrum flavum. E.
• Ranunculus.
• Troillius europeus. E.
• Helleborus trifolius. Am. Acad. ii. 327.
• Bartſia pallida. ibid.
• Pedicularis verticillata.
• Linnaea borealis. Virg.
• Myagrum ſativum. E.
• Thlaſpi burſa paſtoris. E. Virg.
• Arabis grandiflora.
• Turritis hirſuta. E.
• Geranium pratenſe. E.
• Lathyrus. Gm. Sib. iv. 85.
• Aſtragalus alopecuroides. Am. Acad. ii. 330.
• Aſtr. alpinus.
• Aſtr. Gm. Sib. iv. 44. N^o 58.
• Aſtr. phyſodes. Am. Acad. ii. 329.
• Hypericum. Gm. Sib. iv. 279. N^o 3.
• Picris hieraciodes. E.
• Sonchus. Gm. Sib. ii. 13. N^o 13.
• Prenanthes repens. Am. Acad. ii. 331.
• Serratula noveboracenſis. Virg.
• Circium. Gm. Sib. ii. 69. N^o 49.
• Cacalia ſuaveolens. Am. Acad. ii. 310.
• Artemiſia vulgaris. A. E.
• Gnaphalium margaritaceum. E. Virg.
• Erigeron acre. A. E.
• Tuſſilago. B. Gm. Sib. ii. 145. N^o 125.
• Senecio. B. 136. N^o 118.
• Aſter. A. B. Gm. Sib. ii. 175. N^o 145.
• Aſter. 186. N^o 152.
• Solidago virga aurea. A. B. E.
• Solidago. Gm. Sib. ii. 170. N^o 190.
• Cineraria ſibirica.
• Pyrethrum. A. B. Gm. Sib. ii. 203. N^o 170.
• Orchis bifolia. E. Virg.
• Orchis latifolia. E.
• Ophrys Camtſcatca. Am. Acad. ii. 332.
• Drachontium Camtſcatcenſe. Am. Acad. ii. 332.
• Carex panicea. E. Virg.
• Carex. Gm. Sib. i. 139. N^o 77.
• Betula alba. E.
• Betula nana. E. Virg.
• Betula alnus. A. E. Virg.
• Urtica dioica. E.
• Sagittaria latifolia. E.
• Pinus cembra.
• Pinus Larix. A. Virg.
• Pinus picea.
• Salix retuſa.
• Salix viminalis. E.
• Empetrum nigrum A. E. Virg.
• Populus alba. E.
• Juniperus communis. E.
• Equiſetum hyemale. E. Virg.
• Aſplenium Rhyzophyllum. Am. Acad. ii.
• 311. Virg.
• Lycopodium rupeſtre. Virg. ibid.
• Lycop. Sanguinolentum. ii. 333.

USES.The Kamtſchatkans boaſt of their ſkill in the knowlege of the application of the vegetable kingdom to the uſes of mankind. The Sibirians cure the venereal diſeaſe by a decoction of the root of the Iris Sibirica, which acts by purging and vomiting. They keep the patient eight days in a ſtove, and place him in a bed of the leaves [CXVII] of the Arctium Lappa, or common Burdock, which they frequently change till the cure is effected.

The Heracleum Panaces, or Sweet graſs, was a plant of the firſt uſe with the Kamtſ⯑chatkans, and formerly made a principal ingredient in all their diſhes; but ſo powerful does the love of hot liquors ſway with the Ruſſians, that, ſince their ar⯑rival, it is entirely applied to diſtillation. The beginning of July the more ſuc⯑culent ſtalks and leaves are gathered; after the down is ſcraped off with ſhells, they are layed to ferment; when they grow dry, they are placed in bags, and in a few days are covered with a ſaccharine powder: only a quarter of a pound of powder is collected from a pood, or thirty-ſix pounds of the plant, which taſtes like liquorice. They draw the ſpirit from it by ſteeping bundles of it in hot water; then promote the fermentation in a ſmall veſſel, by adding the berries of the Lonicera Xyloſteum, Sp. Pl. i. 248, and Vaccinium uliginoſum, 499. They con⯑tinue the proceſs by pouring on more water, after drawing off the firſt: they then place the plants and liquor in a copper ſtill, and draw off, in the common manner, a ſpirit equal in ſtrength to brandy^*. Accident diſcovered this liquor. One year, the natives happening to collect a greater quantity of berries of ſeveral kinds, for winter proviſion, than uſual, found in the ſpring that a great quantity had fermented, and become uſeleſs as a food. They reſolved to try them as a drink, and mixed the juice with water. Others determined to experience it pure; and found, on trial, the Arctic beatitude, drunkenneſs^†. The Ruſſians caught at the hint, introduced diſtillation, and thus are enabled to enjoy ebriety with the pro⯑duction of the country.

The Moucho-more of the Ruſſians, the Agaricus muſcarius, Sp. Pl. 1640, is an⯑other inſtrument of intoxication. It is a ſpecies of Toadſtool, which the Kamtſ⯑chadales and Koriaks ſometimes eat dry, ſometimes immerſed in a fermented liquor made with the Epilobium, which they drink notwithſtanding the dreadful effects. They are firſt ſeized with convulſions in all their limbs, then with a raving ſuch as attends a burning fever; a thouſand phantoms, gay or gloomy (according to their conſtitutions) preſent themſelves to their imaginations: ſome dance; others are ſeized with unſpeakable horrors. They perſonify this muſh⯑room; and, if its effects urge them to ſuicide, or any dreadful crime, they ſay they obey its commands. To fit themſelves for premeditated aſſaſſinations, they take the Moucho-more. Such is the faſcination of drunkenneſs in this country, that nothing can induce the natives to forbear this dreadful potion^‡!

[CXVIII]As a food, the Saranne, SARANNE. or Lilium Kamtſchatcenſe, is among the principal. Its roots are gathered by the women in Auguſt, dried in the ſun, and layed up for uſe: they are the beſt bread of the country; and after being baked are reduced to powder, and ſerve inſtead of flour in ſoups and ſeveral diſhes. They are ſometimes waſhed, and eaten as potatoes; are extremely nouriſhing, and have a pleaſant bitter taſte. Our navigators boiled and eat them with their meat. The natives often parboil, and beat it up with ſeveral ſorts of berries, ſo as to form of it a very agreeable confection. Providentially it is an univerſal plant here, and all the grounds bloom with its flower during the ſeaſon^*. Another happineſs re⯑marked here is, that while fiſh are ſcarce, the Saranne is plentiful; and when there is a dearth of this, the rivers pour in their proviſions in redoubled profuſion. It is not to the labors of the females alone that the Kamtſchatkans are indebted for theſe roots. The oeconomic Mouſe, p. 134. A. ſaves them a great deal of trouble. The Saranne forms part of the winter proviſions of that little animal: they not only gather them in the proper ſeaſon, and lay them up in their ma⯑gazines, but at times have the inſtinct of bringing them out, in ſunny weather, to dry them, leaſt they ſhould decay^†. The natives ſearch for their hoards; but with prudent tenderneſs leave part for the owners, being unwilling to ſuffer ſuch uſeful caterers to periſh.

Let me add, that STELLER enumerates other ſpecies of the Lilly genus, which I believe are edible. Every ſpecies of fruit, except berries, is denied to this un⯑kind climate; but the inhabitants uſe various ſorts of them as wholeſome ſubſti⯑tutes, which they eat freſh, or make into palatable jams, or dreſs with their fiſh, either freſh or when preſerved for winter uſe: ſuch are thoſe of the Lonicera Xylo⯑ſteum or Gimoloſt, a ſort of Honeyſuckle: the Rubus Chamaemorus, Morochka, or Cloudberries: the Vaccinium Myrtillus, Uliginoſum, Vitis Idaea, and Oxycoccos, or Bilberries, Marſh Bilberries, Red Bilberries, and Cranberries: the Empetrum Nigrum, or Heathberries: the Prunus Padus, or Bird Cherry: Crataegus Oxyacan⯑tha, or White Thorn with red and with black berries: the Juniperus Communis, or Common Juniper: and finally, of thoſe of the Sorbus Aucuparia, or Common Service.

Of the Epilobium Latifolium, Sp. Pl. 494, or Kipri, is brewed a common beve⯑rage; and, with the aſſiſtance of the Sweet Plant, is made an excellent vinegar: the leaves are uſed as a tea, and the pith is mixed with many of the diſhes, and ſerved up green as a deſert. When the infuſion of it is mixed with the Sweet Herb in the diſtillation, much more brandy is procured than if water alone is uſed^‡.

[CXIX]The Polygonum Biſtorta, Snake-weed, or Jikoum, is eaten freſh or dried, and often pounded with the Caviar. The Chaerophyllum Sylveſtre, Wild Chervil, or Cow-weed, the Morkavai of the natives, is eaten green in the ſpring, or made into ſour krout. The Solidago Itſchitſchu, Fl. Sib. ii. 170, is dried and boiled with fiſh; and the broth from it taſtes as if the fleſh of the Argali or wild ſheep had been ſeethed in it. The root of Kotkonnia, a ſpecies of Tradeſcantia, is eaten either freſh, or uſed with the roes of fiſh: the berries have an agreable acidity, like an unripe apple, but will not keep, therefore they muſt be eaten as ſoon as they are gathered. Allium Urſinum, Tcheremcha, our Wild Garlic, is very common, and uſeful in medicine as well as food; both Ruſſians and natives gather it in great quantities for winter ſervice: they ſteep it in water, then mix it with cabbage, onions, and other ingredients, and form out of them a ragout, which they eat cold. It is alſo the principal remedy for the ſcurvy. As ſoon as this plant appears above the ſnow, they ſeem to put this dreadful diſorder at defiance, and find a cure almoſt in its worſt ſtages. The Potentilla fruticoſa, Sp. Pl. i. 709, or Shrubby Cinquefoil, is very efficacious in the dyſentery, or in freſh wounds. The Dryas pentapetala, Sp. Pl. i. 717, or Ichagban, is employed in ſwellings or pains of the limbs. That dreadful poiſon the Cicuta viroſa, Sp. Pl. i. 366, Water Hemlock, the Omeg, is applied to uſe, by the bold practitioners of this country, in caſes of pains in the back. They ſweat the patient profuſely, and then rub his back with the plant, avoid⯑ing to touch the loins, which, they ſay, would bring on immediate death.

The trees of uſe are a dwarf ſpecies of Pinus Cembra, TREES. or Pine with edible kernels; it grows in great quantities on both the mountains and plains, covered with moſs. It never grows upright, but creeps on the ground, and is therefore called by the Ruſſians, Slanetz. The natives eat the kernels, with even the cones, which brings on a teneſmus; but the chief uſe of the tree is as a ſovereign medi⯑cine in the ſcurvy. BERING taught the Kamtſchatkans to make a decoction of it: but they have neglected his inſtructions, notwithſtanding they ſaw num⯑bers of his people reſtored to health in a ſhort time, and ſnatched, as it were, from the jaws of death^*. Even at this time the Ruſſian coloniſts periſh miſerably with the diſorder, notwithſtanding the remedy is before their eyes.

The Pinus Larix, or Larch-tree, grows only on the river of Kamtſchatka, and the ſtreams which run into it. This tree is of the firſt uſe in the mechanical ſervices of the country: with it they build their houſes, their fortifications, and boats. They make uſe of the Populus alba, or White Poplar, for the ſame pur⯑poſes. [CXX] Of the Betula alba, or Common Birch, a tree ſo uſeful to theſe northern nations, they make their ſledges and canoes; and cut the freſh bark into ſmall ſlices like vermicelli, and eat it with their dried caviar: they alſo tap the trees, and drink the liquor without any preparation. With the bark of the alder they dye their leather; but that, and every tree they have near the coaſt, is ſtunted, ſo that they are obliged to go far inland for timber of proper ſize.

I muſt add, as a vegetable of uſe in oeconomics, the Triticum, Gm. Sib. i. 119, N^o 56, which grows in great quantities along the ſhores, which they mow, and work into mats, which ſerve for bed clothes and curtains; into mantles, ſmooth on one ſide, and with a pile on the other, which is water-proof. They alſo make with it ſacks, and very elegant baſkets; theſe, as well as the mats, they ornament with ſplit whale-bones, and work into variety of figures^*. The Urtica dioica, or Common Nettle, is another plant of great uſe: this they pluck in Auguſt or September, tie in bundles, and dry on their huts: they tear it to pieces, beat, and clean it; then ſpin it between their hands, and twiſt the thread round a ſpindle. It is the only material they have to make their nets; which, for want of ſkill in the preparation, will rot, and laſt no longer than one ſeaſon^†.

QUADRUPEDS.In reſpect to the quadrupeds of this country, I have reaſon to think, from the great aſſiſtance I have received from the Ruſſian academiſts, or their labors, that my account of them, in my zoological part of this Work, can receive little addi⯑tion. I requeſt that the Brown Bear, N^o 20, may be ſubſtituted inſtead of the Black, N^o 19, as the native of Kamtſchatka. I was led into the miſtake by the ſuſpicions of a moſt able naturaliſt. I am ſince informed, by the beſt authority (that of Captain KING^‡) that it is the brown ſpecies which is found there; that they are carnivorous^§, and prey at times on the Argali or wild ſheep; but do not attack man, except urged by extreme hunger, or provoked by wounds, or by the ſlaughter of their young; when nothing but their death can ſecure the ſafety of the perſons who fall in their way. In the firſt caſe, they will hunt mankind by the ſcent, and ſacrifice them to their want of food, which uſually is fiſh or berries.—The Kamtſchatkans never read Pope, but obſerve his advice: ‘Learn from the Beaſts the phyſic of the field.’ The Bear is their great maſter; and they owe all their knowlege in medicine and ſurgery, and the polite arts, to this animal. They obſerve the herbs to which he has recourſe when he is ill, or when he is wounded, and the ſame ſimples prove [CXXI] equally reſtorative to the two-legged Urſine race. The laſt even acknowlege the Bear as their dancing-maſter, and are moſt apt ſcholars in mimicking his attitudes and graces^*. I was informed by one of the gentlemen who was on the voyage, that the Sea Otter, N^o 36, was ſeen on the firſt arrival on the American coaſt; but, as it is not mentioned in that excellent and magnificent work till the arrival of the ſhips in Nootka ſound, I will not inſiſt on the accuracy of its latitude.

The Argali yields a diſh of moſt excellent flavor.ARGALI. The natives work the horns into ſpoons, ſmall cups, and platters; and have frequently a ſmall one hang⯑ing at their belts, by way of a drinking horn, in their hunting expeditions^†.

The Dogs are like the Pomeranian, but vaſtly larger; the hair rather coarſer,DOGS. and the uſual color light dun, or dirty creme-color. Bitches are never uſed for the draught, but dogs alone; which are trained to it from their puppy-hood, by being tied with thongs to ſtakes, with their food placed at a ſmall diſtance beyond their reach; ſo that by conſtant laboring and ſtraining, they acquire both ſtrength of limb and habit of drawing^‡.

The leonine and urſine Seals, and the Manati,SEALS. muſt have been on their mi⯑grations during the time the navigators viſited this peninſula; for they ſaw not one of thoſe curious animals. The common Seals, being ſtationary, were met with in great numbers. The bottle-noſed Seal, or Sea-Lion of Lord Anſon, is totally unknown in theſe ſeas. I refer the reader, for a view of the quadrupeds and birds of Kamtſchatka, to the catalogue which Captain KING honored with a place in the third volume of the Voyage^§. I ſhall only add, that the claſs of Auks is far the moſt numerous of any, and contains ſix ſpecies unknown to Eu⯑rope; that the only bird which has eſcaped me is a ſmall Blue Petrel ^‖, ſeen in numbers in about lat. 59. 48, off the northern part of the peninſula.

Kamtſchatka is deſtitute of every ſpecies of ſerpent and frog.REPTILES. Lizards are very frequent, and are deteſted by the natives, who believe them to be ſpies ſent by the infernal gods to examine their actions, and predict their deaths. If they catch one, they cut it into ſmall pieces, to prevent it from giving any account of its miſſion: if it eſcapes out of their hands, they abandon themſelves to melancholy, and expect every moment their diſſolution; which often happens through fear, and ſerves to confirm the ſuperſtition of the country^¶.INSECTS. The air is very unfavorable [CXXII] to inſects, except lice and fleas, which are in all their quarters; and, filthy to relate! are eaten by theſe beaſtly people^*. Bugs are acquiſitions of late years, imported into the bay of Awatcha.

FISH.The fiſh of Kamtſchatka are with difficulty enumerated. There does not ſeem to be any great variety of genera; yet the individuals under each ſpecies are found in moſt aſtoniſhing abundance. Providence hath been peculiarly atten⯑tive to the natives of this peninſula, by furniſhing them in ſo ample a manner, who for the greater part muſt for ever be deprived of ſupport derived from grain and cattle. The vegetables they have are ſufficient to correct the putreſcent quality of the dried fiſh, and often form an ingredient in the diſhes; which are prepared different ways. The Joukola is made of the ſalmon kind, cut into ſix pieces, and dried either in the open air or ſmoked: the roes are another diſh in high eſteem with them, either dried in the air, or rolled in the leaves of different plants, and dried before the fire. They can live along time on a ſmall quantity of this food, and eat with it the bark of birch or willow trees, to aſſiſt them in ſwallowing a food ſo very viſcid; but their ambroſial repaſt is the Huigul, or fiſh flung into a pit till it is quite rotten, when it is ſerved up in the ſtate of carrion, and with a ſtench unſupportable to every noſe but that of a Kamtſchatkan ^†.

The Fin Whale,WHALE. Br. Zool. iii. N^o 18, is very frequent, and is of ſingular uſe to the inhabitants. They eat the fleſh; preſerve the fat for kitchen uſe and for their lamps; with the corneous laminae they few the ſeams of their canoes, and make nets for the larger ſort of fiſh; they form the ſliders of their ſledges with the under jaw-bones, and likewiſe work them into knives; with the blade-bones, worked down to a ſharp edge, they form ſcythes, and moſt ſucceſsfully mow the graſs. The Tſchutſki verify the relation of Pliny ^‡, and, like the Gedroſi of old, frame their dwellings with the ribs^§; with the ligaments they make excellent ſnares for different animals; with the inteſtines dried, cleaned, and blown, they make bags for their greaſe and oil; and with the ſkins the ſoles of their ſhoes, and ſtraps and thongs for various purpoſes. The Tſchutſki take theſe animals by har⯑pooning; the Oloutores, in nets made of thongs cut out of the ſkins of the Wal⯑rus; and the Kamtſchatkans, by ſhooting them with darts or arrows, the points of which, having been anointed with the juice of the Zgate, a ſpecies of Anemone and Ranunculus ^‖, are ſo noxious as to bring ſpeedy death from the ſlighteſt wound, like the celebrated poiſon of the Paragua Indians. The vaſt animals in queſtion, [CXXIII] when ſtruck with it, are infected with ſuch agonies that they cannot bear the ſea, but ruſh on ſhore, and expire with dreadful groans and bellowing.

The Kaſatka or Grampus,GRAMPUS. Br. Zool. iii. N^o 26, is very common in theſe ſeas: they are dreaded by the natives, who even make offerings to them, and entreat their mercy, leaſt they ſhould overſet their boats; yet, if theſe fiſh are thrown on ſhore, they apply them to the ſame uſes as the Whale^*.

The Motkoïa or Akoul, or White Shark, Br. Zool. iii. N^o 42, is among the uſeful fiſh. They eat the fleſh, and form of the inteſtines and bladder, bags to hold their oil. In the chaſe of this fiſh they never call it by its name, for fear of provoking it to burſt its bladder^†.

Lampries, Br. Zool. iii. N^o 27; Eels, — 57; Wolf-fiſh, — 65; common Cod⯑fiſh? — 73; Hadock, — 74; and Hake, — 81, are found in the Kamtſchatkan ſea: and I alſo ſuſpect, that the three-bearded Cod, — N^o 87, is alſo met with: it is called there Morſkie Nalimi ^‡. An elegant ſpecies of Flounder, of excellent flavor, was taken here in abundance by our navigators: the back was ſtudded with prickly tubercles, and marked longitudinally with lines of black on a brown ground. The Jerchei, poſſibly our Ruffe, — N^o 127, is among the fiſh of the country; as is a ſpecies of the Engliſh Sticklebacks.

But the fiſh of the firſt importance to the Kamtſchatkans, SALMON. and on which they de⯑pend for ſubſiſtence, are the anadromous kinds, or thoſe which at ſtated ſeaſons aſcend the rivers and lakes out of the ſea. Theſe are entirely of the Salmon genus, with exception to the common Herring, which in autumn quits the ſalt water. It is ſayed, that every ſpecies of Salmon is found here. I may with certainty adjoin, that ſeveral of the Sibirian ſpecies, with variety peculiar to this country, aſcend the Kamtſchatkan rivers in multitudes incredible. The inhabitants dignify ſome of their months by the names of the fiſh. One is called Kouiche, or the month of Red Fiſhes; another, Ajaba, or that of Little White Fiſh; a third, Kaiko, or of the fiſh Kaiko; and a fourth, Kijou, or the month of the Great White Fiſh ^§. It is obſervable, that each ſhoal keeps apart from others of different ſpecies, and fre⯑quently prefers a ſeparate river, notwithſtanding the mouths may be almoſt con⯑tiguous. They often come up in ſuch numbers as to force the water before them, and even to dam up the rivers, and make them overflow their banks; inſomuch that, on the fall of the water, ſuch multitudes are left on dry ground, as to make a ſtench capable of cauſing a peſtilence, was it not fortunately diſperſed by the violence of the winds; beſides, the bears and dogs aſſiſt, by preying on them, to leſſen the ill effects.

[CXXIV]Every ſpecies of Salmon dies in the ſame river or lake in which it is born, and to which it returns to ſpawn. In the third year, male and female conſort together, and the latter depoſits its ſpawn in a hole formed with its tail and fins in the ſand; after which both ſexes pine away, and ceaſe to live. A fiſh of a year's growth continues near the place, guards the ſpawn, and returns to the ſea with the new-born fry in November ^*. The Salmons of this country ſpawn but once in their lives: thoſe of Sibiria and Europe, the rivers of which are deep, and abound with inſect food, are enabled to continue the firſt great command of nature during the period of their exiſtence. In Kamtſchatka the rivers are chilly, ſhallow, rapid, full of rocks, and deſtitute of nouriſhment for ſuch multitudes: ſuch therefore which cannot force their way to the neighborhood of the tepid ſtreams, or get back to the ſea in time, univerſally periſh; but Providence has given ſuch reſources, in the ſpawners, that no difference in numbers is ever obſerved between the returning ſeaſons. It is ſingular, that neither the lakes or rivers have any ſpecies of fiſh but what come from the ſea. All the lakes (for this country abounds with them) communicate with the ſea; but their en⯑trance, as well as that of many of the rivers, is entirely barred up with ſand brought by the tempeſtuous winds, which confine the fiſh moſt part of the winter, till they are releaſed by the ſtorms taking another direction.

The ſpecies which appears firſt is the Tſhawytſcha. TSHAWYTSCHA. This is by much the largeſt; it weighs ſometimes between fifty and ſixty pounds, and its depth is very great in proportion to the length. The jaws are equal, and never hooked: the teeth large, and in ſeveral rows: the ſcales are larger than thoſe of the common Salmon;P. D. 12. P. 16. V. 10. A. 15. on the back duſky grey, on the ſides ſilvery: the fins bluiſh white, and all parts unſpotted: the tail is lunated: the fleſh, during its reſidence in the ſea, is red; but it becomes white in freſh waters. It is confined, on the eaſtern ſide of the peninſula, to the river of Kamtſchatka and Awatcha; and on the weſtern to the Bolchaia-reka, and a few others; nor is it ever ſeen beyond lat. 54. It enters the mouths of the rivers about the middle of May, with ſuch impetuoſity as to raiſe the water before it in waves. It goes in far leſs numbers than the other ſpecies; is infinitely more eſteemed; and is not uſed as a common food, but re⯑ſerved for great entertainments. The natives watch its arrival, which is an⯑nounced by the rippling of the water; take it in ſtrong nets; and always eat the firſt they take, under a notion that the omiſſion would be a great crime.Numbers of rays in the dorſal, pectoral, ventral, and anal fins.

[CXXV]The Naerka is another ſpecies, called by the Ruſſians, Kraſnaya ryba, NAERKA. from the intenſe purpliſh redneſs of the fleſh. It is of the form of the common Salmon;P. D. 11. P. 16. V. 10. A. 15. but never exceeds ſixteen pounds in weight. When it firſt enters the rivers it is of a ſilvery brightneſs, with a bluiſh back and fins: when it leaves the ſea the teeth are ſmall, and jaws ſtrait; but after it has been ſome time in the freſh water, the jaws grow crooked (eſpecially in the male) and the teeth large. It begins to aſcend the rivers in vaſt numbers in June; penetrates to their very ſources; and returns in September to the ſea, firſt reſting for ſome time in the deep parts of the intervening lakes. It is taken in nets, either in the bays, as it approaches the rivers, or in the rivers, after it has quitted the ſea^*.

The Kyſutch, KYSUTCH. or Bjelaya ryba, or White Fiſh of the Ruſſians, aſcends the rivers in July, particularly ſuch as are diſcharged from the inland lakes, and remain till December, when all the old fiſh periſh, and the fry take to the ſea.P. D. 11. P. 14. V. 10. A. 14. The upper jaw of the male, in its laſt period, becomes crooked. This ſpecies has the form of a common Salmon, but never attains three feet in length. It is of a ſilvery gloſſy color, ſpotted about the back; but in the rivers acquires a reddiſh caſt: the jaws are long and blunt: the teeth large: the fleſh is reddiſh before it quits the ſea; but in the freſh water grows white. It is reckoned the moſt excellent of the light-colored fiſh.

The Keta or Kayko, KETA. in form and ſize reſembles the laſt; but the head is ſhorter and more blunt: the tail is lunated: the fleſh white:P. D. 14. P. 15. V. 11. A. 18. the color of the ſcales a ſilvery white: the back greeniſh; and the whole free from ſpots. It aſcends the rivers in July, and the fiſhery continues till October. This ſpecies is found in great abundance; and is ſo common, that the Joukola made with it is called houſhold bread.

The Gorbuſcha, GORBUSCHA. or Hunch-back, arrives at the ſame time with the laſt. In form it reſembles the Grayling: never exceeds a foot and a half in length:P. D. 12. P. 15. V. 10. A. 15. is of a ſilvery color, and unſpotted: the tail forked: the fleſh white. After it has been ſome time in the freſh water it changes its ſhape (the male eſpecially) in a moſt ſurprizing manner. The jaws and teeth grow prodigiouſly long, eſpecially the upper, which at firſt is ſhorteſt, but ſoon ſhoots beyond the under, and grows crooked downwards; the body becomes emaciated, and the meat bad: but what is moſt characteriſtic, an enormous bunch riſes juſt before the firſt dorſal fin, to which it owes its name. Its fleſh is bad; ſo that this fiſh falls to the ſhare of the dogs.

[CXXVI]The Malma, MALMA. or Golet of the Ruſſians, grows to the weight of twenty pounds, and to the length of about twenty-eight inches.P. D. 12. P. 14. V. 8. A. 10. It is the moſt ſlender and cylindrical of all the genus. The head reſembles that of a trout: the ſcales are very ſmall: the back and ſides bluiſh, with ſcattered ſpots of ſcarlet red: the belly white: ventral and anal fins red: tail ſlightly forked. This and the two following are ſporadic, going diſperſedly, and not in ſhoals. It aſcends the rivers with the laſt, and at⯑tains their very ſources. It feeds on the ſpawn of the other ſpecies, and grows very fat. The natives ſalt thoſe they take in autumn, and preſerve frozen thoſe which are caught when the froſts commence^*.

MILKTSCHITSCH.The Milktſchitſch is a ſcarce ſpecies, in form like a young Salmon; but the ſcales larger in proportion,P. D. 11. P. 14. V. 10. A. 13. and the body more flat: it never exceeds a foot and a half in length: is of a ſilvery white, with a bluiſh back: noſe conical: jaws equal: tail ſlightly forked.

The Mykiſs, MYKISS. appears at firſt very lean, but grows ſoon fat: it is very voracious: feeds not only on fiſh,P. D. 12. P. 14. V. 10. A. 12. but inſects and rats, while ſwimming over the rivers; and is ſo fond of the berries of vaccinium vitis idaea, that it will dart out of the water, and ſnatch at both leaves and berries, which hang over the banks^†. In ſhape it re⯑ſembles a common Salmon: ſeldom grows above two feet long: has large ſcales, blunt noſe, and numerous teeth: the back is duſky, marked with black ſpots; and on each ſide is a broad band of bright red: the belly white. It is a ſpecies of excellent flavor; but is ſcarcer than the other kinds. Its time of arrival is not known: M. STELLER therefore ſuſpects that it aſcends the rivers beneath the ice^‡.

The Kunſha, KUNSHA. mentioned in page CIV, frequents the bays of this country, but never advances inland; and grows to the length of two feet: the noſe is ſhort and pointed: the back and ſides duſky, marked with great yellowiſh ſpots, ſome round, others oblong: the belly white: the lower fins and tail blue: the fleſh white, and excellent. It is a ſcarce fiſh in theſe parts; but near Ochotſk aſcends the rivers in great ſhoals.

I conclude this diviſion of the tribe with the common Salmon, which is frequent here, and, like the others, aſcends the rivers, equally to the advantage of the natives of the country.

Of the Salmon which LINNAEUS diſtinguiſhed by the title of Coregoni is the Inghaghitſh, INGHAGHITSH. P. D. 8, 9 P. 12. V. 10. A. 12. which has the habit of a ſmall carp, with very large ſcales: the jaws nearly of equal length: the eyes very great, and ſilvery: the teeth very minute: the body ſilvery, bluiſh on the back: tail forked: it does not exceed five inches [CXXVII] in length. It arrives in ſpring and autumn, and in both ſeaſons is full of ſpawn, and ſmells like a ſmelt.

The Innyagha is another ſmall kind,INNYAGHA. about five inches long, and not unlike the S. Albula of LINNAEUS. It is a rare ſpecies, and found but in few rivers. P. D. 9. P. 11. V. 8. A. 16.

The moſt ſingular is the Ouiki, OUIKI. or Salmo Catervarius of STELLER. It belongs to the Oſmeri of LINNAEUS. Swims in immenſe ſhoals on the eaſtern coaſt of Kamtſ⯑chatka, and the new-diſcovered iſlands, where it is often thrown up by the ſea to the height of ſome feet, upon a large extent of ſhore: is exceſſively unwholeſome as a food, and cauſes fluxes even in dogs. It never exceeds ſeven inches in length. Juſt above the ſide-line is a rough faſcia, beſet with minute pyramidal ſcales, ſtanding upright, ſo as to appear like the pile of ſhag: their uſe is moſt curious— while they are ſwimming, and even when they are flung on ſhore, two, three, or even as many as ten, will adhere as if glued together, by means of this pile, inſo⯑much that if one is taken up, all the reſt are taken up at the ſame time.

To conclude this liſt of Kamtſchatkan Salmon, I muſt add the Salmo Thymallus, or Grayling; the S. Cylindraceus, before deſcribed; the Salmo Albula, Lin. Syſt. 512; and the Salmo Eperlanus, or common Smelt, to thoſe which aſcend the rivers.— For this account I am indebted to Doctor PALLAS, who extracted it from the papers of STELLER, for the uſe of this Work.

The Herring,HERRING. both the common and the variety, found in the gulph of Bothnia, called the Membras, and by the Suedes, Stroeming, Faun. Suec. p. 128, viſit theſe coaſts in ſhoals, perhaps equal to thoſe of Europe. There are two ſeaſons, the firſt about the end of May, the ſecond in October. The firſt ſpecies are re⯑markably fine and large^*; they aſcend the rivers, and enter the lakes: the autumnal migrants are cloſed up in them by the ſhifting of the ſand at the mouths of the entrance, and remain confined the whole winter. The natives catch them in ſummer in nets; and in winter in moſt amazing numbers, by breaking holes in the ice, into which they drop their nets, then cover the opening with mats, and leave a ſmall hole for one of their companions to peep through, and obſerve the coming of the fiſh; when they draw up their booty: and ſtring part on pack-thread for drying; and from the remainder they preſs an oil white as the butter of Finland ^†.

The ſea,SEA. on which theſe people depend for their very exiſtence, is finely adapted for the retreat and preſervation of fiſh. It does not conſiſt of a level uniform bottom, liable to be ruffled with ſtorms, but of deep vallies and lofty [CXXVIII] mountains, ſuch as yield ſecurity and tranquillity to the finned inhabitants. We find the ſoundings to be moſt unequal: in ſome places only twenty-two fathoms, in others the lead has not found a bottom with a hundred and ſixty fathoms of line. On ſuch places the fiſh might reſt undiſturbed during the rage of the tempeſtuous winters. I do not find the leaſt notice of ſhells be⯑ing met with in theſe ſeas: either there are none, or they are pelagic, and eſcape the eyes of the navigators. But nature probably hath made ample pro⯑viſion for the inhabitants of the ſea, in the quantity of ſea-plants which it yields; STELLER, the great explorer of this region, enumerates the following, many of which are of uncommon elegance:

• Fucus peucedanifolius, Gm. Hiſt. Fucor. 76
• Fucus turbinatus 97
• Fucus corymbiferus, E. 124
• Fucus dulcis, E. 189
• Fucus tamariſcifolius^*, E.
• Fucus bifidus 201
• Fucus polyphyllus 206
• Fucus clathrus 211
• Fucus myrica 88
• Fucus roſa marina 102
• Fucus crenatus 160
• Fucus fimbriatus 200
• Fucus anguſtifolius 205
• Fucus agarum 210
• Fucus quercus marina^†
• Fucus veficuloſus, Sp. Pl. 1626, E.
• Ulva glandiformis 232
• Ulva Priapus 231

Of theſe the Quercus marina is uſed as a remedy in the dyſentery; and the fe⯑males of Kamtſchatka tinge their cheeks with an infuſion of the Fucus tamariſci⯑folius in the oil of Seals.

TIDES.In the harbours of Sts. Peter and Paul the greateſt riſe of the tides was five feet eight inches at full and change of the moon, at thirty-ſix minutes paſt four, and they were very regular every twelve hours^‡. The Ruſſian philoſophers obſerved here a ſingular phaenomenon in the flux and reflux of the ſea twice in the twenty-four hours, in which is one great flood and one ſmall flood; the laſt of which is called Manikha. At certain times nothing but the water of the river is ſeen within its proper channel; at other times, in the time of ebb, the waters are obſerved to overflow their banks. In the Manikha, after an ebb of ſix hours, the water ſinks about three feet, and the tide returns for three hours, but does not riſe above a foot; a ſeven-hours ebb ſucceeds, which carries off the ſea-water, and leaves the bay dry. Thus it happens three days before and [CXXIX] after the full moon; after which the great tide diminiſhes, and the Manikha, or little tide, increaſes^*.

The rivers of the country riſe in the midſt of the great chain of mountains, and flow on each ſide into the ſeas of Ochotſk, or that of Kamtſckatka. They fur⯑niſh a ready paſſage in boats or canoes (with the intervention of carrying-places) quite acroſs the peninſula. As has been mentioned, the waters yield no fiſh of their own, but are the retreat of myriads of migrants from the neighboring ſeas.

This peninſula, and the country to the weſt,NATIVES. are inhabited by two na⯑tions; the northern parts by the Koriacs, who are divided into the Rein-deer or wandering, and the fixed Koriacs; KORIACS. and the ſouthern part by the Kamtſ⯑chatkans, properly ſo called: the firſt lead an erratic life,WANDERING. in the tract bounded by the Penſchinſka ſea to the ſouth-eaſt; the river Kowyma to the weſt; and the river Anadir to the north^†. They wander from place to place with their Rein-deer, in ſearch of the moſs, the food of thoſe animals, their only wealth^‡. They are ſqualid, cruel, and warlike, the terror of the fixed Koriacs, as much as the Tſchutſki are of them. They never frequent the ſea, nor live on fiſh. Their habitations are jourts, or places half ſunk in the earth: they never uſe ba⯑lagans, or ſummer-houſes elevated on poſts, like the Kamtſchatkans: are in their perſons lean, and very ſhort: have ſmall heads and black hair, which they ſhave frequently: their faces are oval: noſe ſhort: their eyes ſmall: mouth large: beard black and pointed, but often eradicated.

The fixed Koriacs are likewiſe ſhort, but rather taller than the others,FIXED. and ſtrongly made: they inhabit the north of the peninſula: the Anadir is alſo their boundary to the north; the ocean to the eaſt; and the Kamtſchatkans to the ſouth. They have few Rein-deer, which they uſe in their ſledges; but neither of the tribes of Koriacs are civilized enough to apply them to the purpoſes of the dairy. Each ſpeak a different dialect of the ſame language; but the fixed in moſt things reſemble the Kamtſchatkans; and, like them, live almoſt entirely on fiſh. They are timid to a high degree, and behave to their wandering brethren with the utmoſt ſubmiſſion; who call them by a name which ſignifies their ſlaves. Theſe poor people ſeem to have no alternative; for, by reaſon of the ſcarcity of Rein-deer, they depend on theſe tyrants for the eſſential article of cloathing. I cannot trace the origin of theſe two nations; but from the features may pronounce them offspring of Tartars, which have ſpread to the eaſt, and degenerated in ſize and ſtrength by the rigour of the climate, and often by ſcarcity of food.

[CXXX] KAMTSCHAT⯑KANS.The true Kamtſchatkans ^* poſſeſes the country from the river Ukoi to the ſouthern extremity, the cape Lopatka. They are ſuppoſed, by M. STELLER, to have been derived from the Mongalian Chineſe, not only from a ſimilarity in the termina⯑tion of many of their words, but in the reſemblance of their perſons, which are ſhort. Their complexion is ſwarthy: their beard ſmall: their hair black: face broad and flat: eyes ſmall and ſunk: eye-brows thin: belly pendent: legs ſmall— circumſtances common to them and the Mongalians. It is conjectured, that in ſome very remote age they fled hither, to eſcape the yoke of the eaſtern conque⯑rors, notwithſtanding they believe themſelves to be aboriginal, created and placed on the ſpot by their god Koutkou.

RELIGION.In reſpect to their deity, they are perfect minute philoſophers. They find fault with his diſpenſations; blaſpheme and reproach him with having made too many mountains, precipices, breakers, ſhoals, and cataracts; with forming ſtorms and rains; and when they are deſcending, in the winter, from their barren rocks, they load him with imprecations for the fatigue they undergo. In their morals they likewiſe bear a great ſimilitude to numbers among the moſt poliſhed rank in the European nations—they think nothing vitious that may be accompliſhed with⯑out danger; and give full looſe to every crime, provided it comes within the pale of ſecurity.

GENII.They have alſo their leſſer deities, or genii. Each of them have their peculiar charge; to theſe they pay conſiderable veneration, and make offerings to them, to divert their anger or enſure their protection. The Kamouli preſide over the mountains, particularly the vulcanic; the Ouchakthou, over the woods; Mitg, over the ſea; Gaetch, over the ſubterraneous world; and Fouila is the author of earthquakes. They believe that the world is eternal; that the ſoul is immortal; that in the world below it will be reunited to the body, and experience all the pains uſual in its former ſtate; but that it never will ſuffer hunger, but have every thing in great abundance: that the rich will become poor, and the poor rich; a ſort of juſt diſpenſation, and balance of former good and evil^†. But almoſt all theſe ſuper⯑ſtitions are vaniſhed by the attention of the Ruſſians to their converſion. There are few who have not embraced the Chriſtian religion. Churches have been built, and ſchools erected, in which they are ſucceſsfully taught the language of their conquerors, which has already almoſt worn out that of the native people.

NUMBERS OF PEOPLE.The country was very populous at the arrival of the Ruſſians; but, after a dread⯑ful viſitation of the ſmall-pox, which in 1767 ſwept away twenty thouſand [CXXXI] ſouls^*, at preſent there are not above three thouſand who pay tribute, the inha⯑bitants of the Kuril iſles included. Here are about four hundred of the military Ruſſians and Coſſacks, beſides a number of Ruſſian traders and emigrants perpe⯑tually pouring in, who intermix with the natives ^† in marriage, and probably in time will extinguiſh the aboriginal race. The offspring is a great improvement; for it is remarked, that the breed is far more active than the pure Ruſſian or Coſſack. Sunk in lordly indolence, they leave all the work to the Kamtſchatkans, or to their women; and ſuffer the penalty of their lazineſs, by the ſcurvy in its moſt frightful forms.

The Kamtſchatkans ſeem to retain the antient form of their dreſs;DRESS. but during ſummer it is compoſed of foreign materials; in the warm ſeaſon both ſexes uſe nankeen, linen, and ſilk; in winter, the ſkins of animals well dreſſed: the dreſs of men and women reſembles a carter's frock with long ſleeves, furred at the wriſts, the bottom, and about the neck. On their head is a hood of fur, ſome⯑times of the ſhaggy ſkin of a dog, and often of the elegant ſkin of the earleſs Marmot. Trouſers, boots, and furred mittens, compoſe the reſt. The habit of ceremony of a Toion or chieftain is very magnificent, and will coſt a hundred and twenty rubels: in antient times it was hung over with the tails of animals, and his furred hood flowed over each ſhoulder, with the reſpectability of a full-bottomed perriwig in the days of Charles II. The figure given in the Hiſtory of Kamtſchatka, tranſlated into French, exhibits a great man in all his pride of dreſs^‡; but ſo rapidly has the preſent race of natives copied the Ruſſians, that poſſibly in ſo ſhort a ſpace as half a century, this habit, as well as numbers of other articles and cuſtoms, may be ranked among the antiquities of the country.

Bows and arrows are now quite diſuſed.ARMS. Formerly they uſed bows made of larch-wood, covered with the bark of the birch. The arrows were headed with ſtone or bone, and their lances with the ſame materials. Their armour was either mats, or formed of thongs cut out of the ſkins of Seals, and ſewed toge⯑ther, ſo as to make a pliable cuiraſs; which they fixed on their left ſide; a board defended their breaſt, and a high one on their back defended both that and the head.

Their ſavage and beaſtly hoſpitality is among the obſolete cuſtoms.HOSPITALITY. Former⯑ly, as a mark of reſpect to a gueſt, the hoſt ſet before him as much food as would ſerve ten people. Both were ſtripped naked: the hoſt politely touched no⯑thing, but compelled his friend to devour what was ſet before him, till he was [CXXXII] quite gorged; and at the ſame time heated the place, by inceſſantly pouring water on hot ſtones, till it became unſupportable. When the gueſt was crammed up to the throat, the generous landlord, on his knees, ſtuffed into his mouth a great ſlice of whale's fat, cut off what hung out, and cried, in a ſurly tone, Tana, or There! by which he fully diſcharged his duty; and, between heat and cramming, obliged the poor gueſt to cry for mercy, and a releaſe from the heat, and the danger of being choaked with the noble welcome: oftentimes he was obliged to purchaſe his diſ⯑miſſion with moſt coſtly preſents; but was ſure to retaliate on the firſt oppor⯑tunity^*.

DWELLINGS.From the birds they learned the art of building their balagans or ſummer-houſes. They ſeem like neſts of a conic form, perched on high poles inſtead of trees; with a hole on one ſide, like that of the magpie, for the entrance. Their jourts, or winter reſidences, are copied from the oeconomic Mouſe, p. 134; but with leſs art, and leſs cleanlineſs. It is partly ſunk under ground; the ſides and top ſupported by beams, and wattled, and the whole covered with turf. In this they live gregariouſly, to the number of ſix families in each; in a ſtate in⯑tolerable to an European, by reaſon of ſmoke, heat, and ſtench, from their ſtore of dried or putrid fiſh, and from their lazineſs, in never going out to perform their offerings to Cloacina ^†.

Inſtigated by avarice, the Ruſſians made a conqueſt of this ſavage country; and found their account in it, from the great value of its furry productions. They have added to their dominions this extremity of Aſia, diſtant at leaſt four thouſand miles from their capital.ROADS TO KAMTS⯑CHATKA. The journey to it is ſtill attended with great difficulties, through wild and barren regions, over dreadful mountains; and poſſibly impracticable, but for the multitude of Sibirian rivers, which, with ſhort intervals of land, facilitate the paſſage. Travellers uſually take their de⯑parture out of Sibiria from Jakutz, on the river Lena, in lat. 62: they go either by water along the river, to its conflux with the Aldun, along the Aldun to the Mai, and from that river up the Judoma; and from near the head of that river to Ochotſk, the port from whence they embark, and croſs the ſea of Ochotſk to Bolſchaia-reka, the port of the weſtern ſide of Kamtſchatka. The whole journey uſually takes up the ſhort ſummer: that over the hills to Ochotſk (and which is moſt convenient) was performed by STELLER in thirty-four days, excluding ſeven of reſt^‡.

The Kuril or Kurilſki iſles,KURIL ISLES. which probably once lengthened the peninſula of Kamtſchatka, before they were convulſed from it, are a ſeries of iſlands running [CXXXIII] ſouth from the low promontory Lopatka, in lat. 51; between which and Shoomſka, the moſt northerly, is only the diſtance of one league. On the lofty Paramouſer, the ſecond in the chain, is a high-peaked mountain, probably vulcanic^*:VULCANIC. on the fourth, called Araumakutan, is another vulcano^†; on Uruſs is another; on Storgu two; and on Kunatir, or Kaunachir, one. Theſe three make part of the group which paſs under the name of the celebrated land of Jeſo ^‡. Japan abounds with vulcanoes^§; ſo that there is a ſeries of ſpiracles from Kamtſchatka to Japan, the laſt great link of this extenſive chain. Time may have been, when the whole was a continuation of continent, rent aſunder before the labor⯑ing earth gave vent to its inward ſtruggles, through the mouths of the frequent vulcanoes. Even with theſe diſcharges, Japan has ſuffered conſiderably by earth⯑quakes^‖. Vulcanoes are local evils, but extenſive benefits.

The Ruſſians ſoon annexed theſe iſlands to their conqueſts. The ſea abound⯑ed with Sea Otters, and the land with Bears and Foxes; and ſome of them ſheltered the Sable. Temptations ſufficient for the Ruſſians to invade theſe iſlands; but the rage after the furs of the Sea Otters has been ſo great, that they are become extremely ſcarce, both here and in Kamtſchatka.

The iſlands which lie to the eaſt of that peninſula, and form a chain be⯑tween it and America, muſt now engage our attention. They lie in the form of a creſcent, and are divided into three groupes; the Aleutian, the Andreanoffskie, and the Fox iſles: but mention muſt firſt be made of BERING'S iſle, and that of Mednoi, and one or two ſmall and of little note. Theſe lie about two hundred and fifty verſts to the eaſt of the mouth of Kamtſchatka river.BERING'S ISLE. BERING'S is in lat. 55, where that great ſeaman was ſhipwrecked in November 1741, on his return from his American diſcoveries; and, after enduring great hardſhips, periſhed miſera⯑bly. Numbers of his people died of the ſcurvy, with all the dreadful ſymptoms at⯑tendant on thoſe who periſhed by the ſame diſeaſe in Lord Anſon's voyage^¶; the ſurvivors, among whom was the philoſopher STELLER, reached Kamtſchatka in Auguſt 1742, in a veſſel conſtructed out of the wreck of their ſhip. The iſle is about ſeventy or eighty verſts long; conſiſts of high granitical mountains, craggy with rocks and peaks, changing into free-ſtone towards the promontories. All the vallies run from north to ſouth: hills of ſand, formed by inundations of the ſea, floated wood, and ſkeletons of marine animals, are found at great diſtances from the ſhore, at thirty fathoms perpendicular height above the high-water level; which ſerve as a monument of the violent inundations that the vulcanoes before mentioned [CXXXIV] produce in theſe ſeas. Farther, the effect of the meteoric waters, and of the froſts, cauſes the rocks very ſenſibly to ſhiver and fall down, and precipitates every year ſome great maſs into the ſea, and changes the form of the iſland. The others are in the ſame caſe; ſo nothing is more probable than their gradual diminution, and, by conſequence, the more eaſy communication formerly from one continent to the other, before the injuries of time, the effects of vulcanoes, and other cataſtrophes, had inſenſibly diminiſhed the ſize, and perhaps the number of theſe iſles, which form the chain; and had eaten in the coaſts of Aſia, which every where exhibit traces of the ravages they have undergone^*.

The iſland ſwarmed with Sea Otters, which diſappeared in March. The Urſine Seal ſucceeded them in vaſt numbers, and quitted the coaſt the latter end of May. The Leonine Seal, the Lachtach or Great Seal, and the Manati, abounded, and proved the ſupport of the wrecked during their ſtay. Arctic Foxes were ſeen in great multitudes, and completed the liſt of Quadrupeds. The ſame ſpecies of water-fowl haunt the rocks, and the ſame ſpecies of fiſh aſcend the rivers, as do in Kamtſchatka. The tides riſe here ſeven or eight feet. The bottom of the ſea is rocky, correſpondent with the iſland.

The few plants of this iſland, which have not been diſcovered in Kamtſchatka, are as follow:

• Campanula, Gm. Sib. iii. 160, 28.
• Leontodon taraxacum, A. E. Virg.
• Hieracium murorum, β. E.
• Tanacetum vulgare, E.
• Gnaphalium dioicum, A.
• Senecio, Gm. Sib. ii. 136, N^o 118.
• Arnica montana.
• Chryſanthemum leucanthemum, A. Virg.

Theſe, with a few creeping Willows, added to thoſe in the Kamtſchatkan Flora, form the ſum of thoſe obſerved in Bering's iſland.

Mednoi, MEDNOI. or the copper iſland, lies a little to the ſouth-eaſt. A great quantity of native copper is found at the foot of a ridge of calcareous mountains on the eaſtern ſide, and may be gathered on the ſhores in vaſt maſſes, which ſeems originally to have been melted by ſubterraneous fires. This iſland is full of hillocks, bearing all the appearance of vulcanic ſpiracles; which makes it pro⯑bable, that theſe iſlands were rent from the continent by the violence of an earth⯑quake. [CXXXV] Among the float-wood off this iſland is camphor, and another ſweet wood, driven by the currents from the iſle of Japan.

The Aleutian group lies in the bend of the creſcent,ALEUTIAN ISLES. THE NEAREST. nearly in mid-channel be⯑tween Aſia and America, lat. 52. 30, and about two hundred verſts diſtant from Mednoi. It conſiſts of Attok, Schemija, and Semitchi. The firſt ſeems to ſur⯑paſs in ſize Bering's iſle; but reſembles it in its component parts, as do the other two. Attok ſeems to be the iſland which Bering called Mount St. John. Theſe are inhabited by a people who ſpeak a language different from the northern Aſiatics; they ſeem emigrants or coloniſts from America, uſing a dialect of the neighboring continent. They were diſcovered in 1745, by Michael Nevodtſikoff, a native of Tobolſki, who made a voyage, at the expence of certain merchants, in ſearch of furs, the great object of theſe navigations, and the leading cauſe of diſcoveries in this ſea. This voyage was marked with horrid barbarities on the poor natives. The marine animals muſt have ſwarmed about this period, and for ſome time after. Mention is made of adventurers who brought from hence to Kamtſchatka the ſkins of 1,872 Sea Otters, 940 females, and 715 cubs. Another, on a ſmall adjacent iſle, killed 700 old, and 120 cub Sea Otters, 1,900 blue Foxes, 5,700 black Urſine Seals, and 1,310 of their cubs^*. The blue Foxes abound in theſe iſlands, brought here on floating ice, and multiply greatly. The blue variety is ten times more numerous here than the white; but the reverſe is ob⯑ſerved in Sibiria. They feed on fiſh, or any carrion left by the tide. The natives bore their under lips, and inſert in them teeth cut out of the bones of the Walrus; and they uſe boats covered with the ſkins of ſea animals.

At a great diſtance from the firſt group is the ſecond, or fartheſt Aleutian iſles:ALEUTIAN ISLES. THE FARTHEST. of thoſe we know no more than that the natives reſemble thoſe of the firſt. By the vaſt ſpace of ſea which Doctor PALLAS allows between the two groups, Captain COOK is fully vindicated for omitting, in his chart, the multitude of iſlands which, in the Ruſſian maps, form almoſt a complete chain from BERING'S iſle to America. Dr. PALLAS'S information muſt have been of the beſt kind; and he and our illuſtrious navigator coincide in opinion, that they have been needleſsly multiplied, by the miſtake of the Ruſſian adventurers in the reckoning, or, on ſeeing the ſame iſland in different points of view, putting it down as a new diſcovery, and impoſing on it a new name. The Andreanoffskie, ANDREAN ISLES. ſo called from their diſcoverer (in 1761) Andrean Tolſtyk, ſucceed. On two of them are vulcanoes. Eaſtly, are the Fox iſlands, ſo called from the number of black, grey,FOX ISLES. and red Foxes found on them; the ſkins of which are ſo coarſe, as to be of little [CXXXVI] value. The natives bore their noſes and under lips, and inſert bones in them by way of ornament. Among the laſt in this group is Oonolaſcha, which was viſited by Captain COOK. This lies ſo near to the coaſt of America, as to clame a right to be conſidered as an appurtenance to it. I ſhall therefore quit theſe de⯑tached paths for the preſent, and, in purſuance of my plan, trace the coaſts of the northern diviſion of the great continent, from the place at which it is di⯑vided from South America.

CALIFORNIA.After traverſing obliquely the Pacific Ocean, appears California, the moſt ſoutherly part of my plan on this ſide of the new world. This greateſt of pen⯑inſulas extends from Cape Blanco, lat. 32, to Cape St. Lucas, lat. 23; and is bounded on the eaſt by a great gulph, called the Vermillion ſea, receiving at its bottom the vaſt and violent river Colerado. The weſt ſide is mountanous, ſandy, and barren^*, with ſeveral vulcanoes on the main land and the iſles^†: the eaſtern, varied with extenſive plains, fine vallies watered with numbers of ſtreams, and the country abounds with trees and variety of fruits. The natives, the moſt in⯑nocent of people, are in a ſtate of paradiſaical nature, or at leſt were ſo before the arrival of the European coloniſts among them. The men went nearly naked, without the conſciouſneſs of being ſo. The head is the only part they pay any attention to; and that is ſurrounded with a chaplet of net-work, ornamented with feathers, fruits, or mother of pearl. The women have a neat matted apron falling to their knees: they fling over their ſhoulders the ſkin of ſome beaſt, or of ſome large bird, and wear a head-dreſs like the other ſex. The weapons of the country are bows, arrows, javelins, and bearded darts, calculated either for war or the chace. In the art of navigation, they have not got beyond the bark-log, made of a few bodies of trees bound parallel together; and in theſe they dare the turbulent element. They have no houſes. During ſummer they ſhelter themſelves from the ſun under the ſhade of trees; and during nights ſleep under a roof of branches ſpread over them. In winter they burrow under ground, and lodge as ſimply as the beaſts themſelves: ſuch however was their condition in 1697; I have not been able to learn the effect of European refinement on their manners. Numbers of ſettlements have, ſince that time, been formed there, under the auſpices of the Jeſuits. The Order was of late years ſupported by the Marquis de Valero, a patriotic and munificent nobleman^‡, who favored their attempts, in order to extend the power and wealth of the Spaniſh [CXXXVII] dominions; and I believe with ſucceſs. The land and climate, particularly Monterey, in lat. 36, is adapted for every vegetable production; and a good wine is made from the vines introduced by the coloniſts.

The natives are a fine race of men, tall, brawny, and well made;NATIVES. with black hair hanging over their ſhoulders, and with copper-colored ſkins. We have a moſt imperfect account of the animals of this peninſula. It certainly poſſeſſes two wool-bearing quadrupeds. As to birds, I doubt not but the Jeſuits are right, when they ſay, that it has all that are found in New Mexico and New Spain. The capes of Florida and cape St. Lucas lie nearly under the ſame lati⯑tudes, and form the ſouthern extremities of North America; but our ignorance of the productions of the vaſt provinces of New Mexico, will leave ample ſubject to a future naturaliſt to ſupply my deficiencies.

This country was diſcovered under the auſpices of the great Cortez, and Don Antonio de Mendoça, cotemporary viceroy of the new conqueſts: each, actuated by a glorious ſpirit of emulation, ſent out commanders to advance the welfare of their country to the utmoſt; and Franciſco Ulloa, in 1539, and Fernando Alarchon, in 1540, ſoon diſcovered this peninſula, and other adjacent regions, ſources of im⯑menſe wealth to their country^*. The Spaniſh adventurers of theſe early times ſailed as high as lat. 42; and named, in honor of the viceroy, the fartheſt point of their diſcovery Cabo di Mendoça.

Our celebrated navigator, Sir Francis Drake, SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. on June 5th 1578, touched on this coaſt, firſt in lat. 43; but was induced, from the ſeverity of the cold, to ſail to lat. 38, where he anchored in a fine bay. He found the natives to be a fine race of men, naked as the Californians, with the ſame kind of head-dreſſes; and the females habited like their ſouthern neighbors. He was treated like a deity. The chief of the country, by the reſignation of his crown or chaplet, his ſceptre, i. e. calumet, and other inſignia of royalty, veſted in Sir Francis the whole land; which he named New Albion, from its white cliffs, and took formal poſſeſ⯑ſion [CXXXVIII] of in the name of his royal miſtreſs. We may be thankful that we never clamed the ceſſion: it forms at preſent part of New Mexico; and probably is re⯑ſerved for future conteſts between the Spaniards and the offspring of our late coloniſts. Sir Francis found this country a warren of what he calls, ‘a ſtrange kind of Conies, with heads as the heads of ours; the feete of a Want, i. e. a Mole, and the tail of a Rat, being of a great length: under her chinne is on either ſide a bag, into the which ſhe gathereth her meat when ſhe hath filled her bellie abroad.’ The common people feed on them, and the king's coat was made of their ſkins^*. This ſpecies is to be referred to the diviſion of Rats with pouches in each jaw; and has never been obſerved from that period to this.

CAPTAIN COOK.Exactly two hundred years from that time the coaſt was again viſited by an Engliſhman, who in point of abilities, ſpirit, and perſeverance, may be compared with the greateſt ſeaman our iſland ever produced. Captain JAMES COOK, on March 7th 1778, got ſight of New Albion, in lat. 44. 33 north, and long. 235. 20 eaſt, about eight leagues diſtant. The ſea is here (as is the caſe the whole way from California) from ſeventy-three to ninety fathoms deep. The land is mode⯑rately high, diverſified with hills and vallies, and every where covered with wood, even to the water's edge. To the moſt ſouthern cape he ſaw he gave the name of Cape Gregory, its latitude 43. 30: the next, which was in 44. 6, he called Cape Perpetua; and the firſt land he ſaw, which was in 44. 55, Cape Foul-weather. The whole coaſt, for a great extent, is nearly ſimilar, almoſt ſtrait, and harborleſs, with a white beach forming the ſhore. While he was plying off the coaſt, he had a ſight of land in about lat. 43. 10, nearly in the ſituation of Cape Blanco de St. Sebaſtian, diſcovered by Martin d' Aguilar in 1603. A little to the north, the Oregon, or great river of the Weſt, diſcharges itſelf into the Pacific Ocean. Its banks were covered with trees; but the vio⯑lence of the currents prevented D'Aguilar from entering into it^†. This, and the river of Bourbon, or Port Nelſon, which falls into Hudſon's Bay; that of St. Laurence, which runs to the eaſt; and the Miſſiſipi, which falls into the bay of Mexico, are ſaid to riſe within thirty miles of each other. The intervening ſpace muſt be the higheſt ground in North America, forming an inclined plane to the diſcharges of the ſeveral rivers. An ill-fated traveller, of great merit, places the ſpot in lat. 47, weſt long. from London 98, between a lake from which the Oregon flows, and another called White Bear lake, from which the Miſſiſipi ^‡.

[CXXXIX]This exalted ſituation is part of the Shining Mountains, CHAIN OF ALPS IN AMERICA. which are branches of the vaſt chain which pervades the whole continent of America. It may be fairly taken from the ſouthern extremity, where Staten Land and Terra del Fuego riſe out of the ſea, as inſulated links, to an immenſe height, black, rocky, and mark⯑ed with rugged ſpiry tops, frequently covered with ſnow. New Georgia may be added, as another, horribly congenial, riſing detached farther to the eaſt. The mountains about the ſtreights of Magellan ſoar to an amazing height, and infi⯑nitely ſuperior to thoſe of the northern hemiſphere, under the ſame degree of la⯑titude. From the north ſide of the ſtreights of Magellan, they form a continued chain through the kingdoms of Chili and Peru, preſerving a courſe not remote from the Pacific Ocean. The ſummits, in many places, are the higheſt in the world. There are not leſs than twelve which are from two thouſand four hun⯑dred toiſes high, to above three thouſand. Pichincha, which impends over Quito, is about thirty-five leagues from the ſea, and its ſummit is two thouſand four hundred and thirty toiſes above the ſurface of the water; Cayambé, imme⯑diately under the equator, is above three thouſand; and Chimborazo higher than the laſt by two hundred. Moſt of them have been vulcanic, and in different ages marked with eruptions far more horrible than have been known in other quarters of the globe. They extend from the equator, through Chili; in which kingdom is a range of vulcanoes, from lat. 26 ſouth, to 45. 30^*, and poſſibly from thence into Terra del Fuego itſelf, which, forming the ſtreights of Magellan, may have been rent from the continent by ſome great convulſion, occaſioned by their laborings; and New Georgia, forced up from the ſame cauſe. An un⯑paralleled extent of plain appears on their eaſtern ſide. The river of Amazons runs along a level cloathed with foreſts, after it burſts from its confinement at the Pongo of Borjas, till it reaches its ſea-like diſcharge into the Atlantic Ocean.

In the northern hemiſphere, the Andes paſs through the narrow iſthmus of Darien, into the kingdom of Mexico, and preſerve a majeſtic height and their vulcanic diſpoſition. The mountain Popocatepec made a violent eruption during the expedition of Cortez, which is moſt beautifully deſcribed by his hiſtorian, Antonio de Soils ^†. This, poſſibly, is the ſame with the vulcano obſerved by the Abbé d' Auteroche, in his way from Vera Cruz to Mexico, which, from the na⯑kedneſs of the lavas, he conjectured to have been but lately extinguiſhed^‡. From the kingdom of Mexico, this chain is continued northward, and to the eaſt of California; then verges ſo greatly towards the weſt, as to leave a very [CXL] inconſiderable ſpace between it and the Pacific Ocean; and frequently detached branches jut into the ſea, and form promontories; which, with parts of the chain itſelf, were often ſeen by our navigators in the courſe of their voyage. Some branches, as we have before obſerved, extend towards the eaſt, but not to any great diſtance. A plain, rich in woods and ſavannas, ſwarming with Biſons or Buffaloes, Stags, and Virginian Deer, with Bears, and great variety of game, occupies an amazing tract, from the great lakes of Canada, as low as the gulph of Mexico; and eaſtward to the other great chain of mountains, the Apalachian, which are the Alps of that ſide of northern America. I imagine its commencement to be about lake Champlain and lake George, with branches pointing obliquely to the river St. Laurence eaſtward, and riſing on its oppoſite coaſts: others extending, with lowering progreſs, even into our poor remnant of the new world, Nova Scotio. The main chain paſſes through the province of New York, where it is diſtinguiſh⯑ed by the name of the Highlands, and lies within forty miles of the Atlantic. From thence it recedes from the ſea, in proportion as it advances ſouthward; and near its extremity in South Carolina is three hundred miles diſtant from the water. It conſiſts of ſeveral parallel ridges^*, divided by moſt enchanting vallies, and generally cloathed with variety of woods. Theſe ridges riſe gradually from the eaſt one above the other, to the central; from which they gradually fall to the weſt, into the vaſt plains of the Miſſiſipi. The middle ridge is of an enormous bulk and height. The whole extends in breadth about ſeventy miles; and in many places leaves great chaſms for the diſcharge of the vaſt and numerous rivers which riſe in the boſoms of the mountains, and empty themſelves into the Atlantic ocean, after yielding a matchleſs navigation to the provinces they water. In p. XCV, I have given a view of the immenſe elevated plain in the Ruſſian em⯑pire. Beyond the branch of the Apalachian mountains, called The Endleſs, is another of amazing extent, nearly as high as the mountains themſelves^†. This plain, (called the Upper Plains) is exceedingly rich land; begins at the Mohock's river; reaches to within a ſmall diſtance of lake Ontario; and to the weſtward forms part of the extenſive plains of the Ohio, and reaches to an unknown diſtance beyond the Miſſiſipi. Vaſt rivers take their riſe, and fall to every point of the compaſs; into lake Ontario, into Hudſon's river, and into the Delawar and Suſ⯑quehanna. The tide of the Hudſon's river flows through its deep-worn bed far up, even to within a ſmall diſtance of the head of the Delawar; which, after a [CXLI] furious courſe down a long deſcent, interrupted with rapids, meets the tide not very remote from its diſcharge into the ocean^*.

Much of the low grounds between the baſe of the Apalachian hills and the ſea (eſpecially in Virginia and Carolina) have in early times been occupied by the ocean. In many parts there are numbers of ſmall riſings, compoſed of ſhells, and in all the plains incredible quantities beneath the ſurface. Near the Miſſiſipi again, in lat. 32. 28, from the depth of fifty to eighty feet, are always found, in digging, ſea-ſand and ſea-ſhells, exactly ſimilar to what are met with on the ſhores near Penſacola ^†. This is covered with a ſtratum of deep clay or marle, and above that with a bed of rich vegetable earth. All this proves the propriety of applying the epithet of NEW to this quarter of the globe, in a ſenſe different to that intended by the novelty of its diſcovery. Great part of North America at leſt became but recently habitable: the vaſt plains of the Miſſiſipi, and the tract between the Apalachian Alps and the Atlantic, were once poſſeſſed by the ocean. Either at this period America had not received its population from the old world, or its inhabitants muſt have been confined to the mountains and their vallies, till the waters ceaſed to cover the tracts now peopled by millions.

The compoſition of the northern mountains agrees much with thoſe of the north of Aſia, and often conſiſts of a grey rock ſtone or granite,COMPONENT PARTS. mixed with glimmer and quartz; the firſt uſually black, the laſt purpliſh. Near the river St. Lau⯑rence, a great part of the mountains reſts on a kind of ſlaty limeſtone. Large beds of limeſtones, of different colors, are ſeen running from the granitical mountains, and are filled with Cornua Ammonis, and different ſorts of ſhells, par⯑ticularly with a ſmall ſpecies of ſcallop, together with various ſorts of corals, branched as well as ſtarry. The ſtrata of limeſtone alſo appear near the baſe of different parts of the Apalachian chain^‡. Without doubt, the ſchiſtous band, conſiſting of variety of ſtone, ſplit and divided by fiſſures horizontal and perpen⯑dicular (in Aſia the repoſitory of metallic veins) is alſo found attendant on the granitical mountains of North America, and like them will be found rich in ores^§: but that country has not yet been ſurveyed by a philoſophical eye. The labor will be amply repayed to the proprietors, by the diſcovery of mineral ſources of wealth, perhaps equal to thoſe already diſcovered in the ſimilar ſecondary chains of mountains in the Ruſſian empire^‖.

Captain COOK continued his voyage to the northward; but, by reaſon of ſqually weather and fogs for a few degrees, or from lat. 50 to 55. 20, was deprived [CXLII] of the opportunity of making the obſervations he wiſhed. In lat. 48. 15, he in vain looked for the pretended ſtreights of Juan de Fuca, DR FUCA'S PAS⯑SAGE. who impoſed on a Michael Lock, an Engliſhman he met with at Venice, an account of having found, in 1592, an entrance in this latitude, and ſailed through it, till he arrived in the North ſea, i. e. Hudſon's Bay ^*. Of equal credibility is the pretended paſſage of Ad⯑miral de Fontes, in 1640, which is placed in lat. 50. 1; and, according to one map, falls into that of De Fuca: according to another, into a vaſt inland ſea, called Mer de l'Oueſt ^†. Diligent ſearch was alſo made after this in the Spaniſh expedition of 1775; which ended in diſproving theſe ſtrange fictions^‡. It had likewiſe the farther importance of filling up the gap in the charts, by furniſhing us with a ſurvey of that tract of coaſt which Captain COOK was obliged to quit.

NOOTKA SOUND.In lat. 49, Captain COOK found a ſecure ſhelter in an harbor called by him King George's Sound; by the natives, Nootka. The ſhores are rocky^§; but within the Sound appears a branch of the range I before mentioned. It is here divided into hills of unequal heights, very ſteep, with ridged ſides, and round blunted tops; in general cloathed with woods to the very ſummits. In the few exceptions, the nakedneſs diſcovers their compoſition, which is rocky, or in parts covered with the adventitious ſoil of rotten trees or moſſes.

The trees were the Pinus Canadenſis, or Canada Pine; the P. Sylveſtris, or Scotch Pine, and two or three other ſorts; Cupreſſus Thyoides, or the White Cedar. The Pines of this neighborhood are of a great ſize: ſome are a hundred and twenty feet high, and fit for maſts or ſhip-building^‖; but the dimenſions of ſome of the canoes in Nootka Sound beſt ſhew their vaſt bulk—they are made of a ſingle tree, hollowed ſo as to contain twenty perſons; and are ſeven feet broad, and three deep. They are the ſame with the monoxyla of the antient Germans and Gauls ^¶, but conſtructed with much more elegance. The old Europeans were con⯑tent if they could but float. They probably were formed on the ſame rude model as thoſe of the old Virginians ^**, or of the antient Britons, ſimilar to one I have ſeen dug up in a moraſs in Scotland, as artleſs as a hog-trough^††. Thoſe of Nootka Sound are at the head tapered into a long prow, and at the ſtern they decreaſe in breadth, but end abrupt.

The day-tides riſe here, two or three days after the full and new moon, eight [CXLIII] feet nine inches. The night-tides, at the ſame periods, riſe two feet higher. Pieces of drift wood, which the navigators had placed during day out of the reach (as they thought) of the tides, were in the night floated higher up, ſo as to demonſtrate the great increaſe of the nocturnal flux^*.

I have deſcribed, to the beſt of my power, the quadrupeds and birds of the Ame⯑rican part of this voyage. In p. 12 I have given my ſuſpicions of certain animals of the Sheep kind being natives of this neighborhood and California; but am not ſufficiently warranted to pronounce them to be the ſame with the Argali or wild Sheep. Woollen garments are very common among the people of this Sound, and are manufactured by the women. The materials of many of them ſeem taken from the Fox and the Lynx; others, I preſume, from the exquiſite down of the Muſk Ox, N^o 2. The only peculiar animal of theſe parts is the Sea Otter, N^o 36: it extends ſouthward along the coaſt, as far as lat. 49, and as high as 60^†. The other quadrupeds obſerved by the navigators are common to the eaſtern ſide of North America.

I may mention, that ſmall Perroquets, and Parrots with red bills, feet, and breaſts, were ſeen by M. Maurelle about Port Trinidada, in lat. 41. 7; and great flocks of Pigeons in the ſame neighborhood^‡. This was in June: BIRDS. poſſibly they were on their migration when our navigators reached the coaſts, which was on March 29th. As to the Parrots, it is poſſible that thoſe birds may not extend ſo far north as Nootka; for on the eaſtern ſide of the continent they do not inhabit higher, even in ſummer, than the province of Virginia, in lat. 39; or, in the mid⯑land parts, than lat. 41. 15, where they haunt in multitudes the ſouthern ſides of the lakes Erie and Michigam, and the banks of the rivers Illinois and Ohio. Another delicate ſpecies of bird was ſeen here in plenty, a kind of Honey-ſucker or Humming-bird, a new ſpecies; which I have deſcribed, N^o 177, under the title of the Ruffed. Among the water-fowl were ſeen the Great Black Petrel, p. 536. A. or the Quebrantahueſſos, or Bone-breaker of the Spaniards, which ſeems to be found from the Kuril iſles to Terra del Fuego; the Northern Diver, N^o 439; a great flock of Black Ducks with white heads; a large ſpecies of White Ducks with red bills; and Swans flying northward to their breeding-places: common Corvorants were alſo very frequent.

The inhabitants of this Sound alter in their appearance from thoſe who live more ſouthern. They are in general below the middle ſtature; plump,MEN. but not muſcular: their viſage round, full, and with prominent cheeks; above which the face is compreſſed from temple to temple: the noſtrils wide: noſe flat, with a rounded point; through the ſeptum narium of many is introduced a ring of iron, [CXLIV] braſs, or copper: eyes ſmall, black, languiſhing: mouth round: lips large and thick: hair of the head thick, ſtrong, black, long, and lank; that on the eye⯑brows very thin: neck ſhort and thick: limbs ſmall and ill-made: ſkin a pallid white, where it can be viewed free from dirt or paint. The women are nearly of the ſame form and ſize as the men, but undiſtinguiſhable by any feminine ſoft⯑neſs. Many of the old men have great beards, and even muſtachios; but the younger people in general ſeem to have plucked out the hair, except a little on the end of the chin.

Their dreſs conſiſts of mantles and cloaks, well manufactured among themſelves, and either woollen, matting, or ſome material correſpondent to hemp. Over their other cloaths the men frequently throw the ſkin of ſome wild beaſt, which ſerves as a great cloak. The head is covered with a cap made of matting, in form of a truncated cone, or in that of a flower-vaſe, with the top adorned with a pointed or round knob, or with a bunch of leathern taſſels. Their whole bodies are incruſted with paint or dirt, and they are a moſt ſquallid offenſive race; ſilent, phlegmatic, and uncommonly lazy; eaſily provoked to violent anger, and as ſoon appeaſed. The men are totally deſtitute of ſhame: the women behave with the utmoſt modeſty, and even baſhfulneſs^*. I ſhall not repeat what has been ſaid of the infinite variety of hideous maſques this nation poſſeſſes, and ſeems particularly fond of, was not the ingenious Editor of the Voyage at a loſs for their intent, whether for religious or for maſquerading purpoſes^†. Mr. Bartram ^‡ proves that theſe maſques extend to the eaſtern ſide of the continent, and that their uſe was ſportive; for he was plagued part of a night with the buffoonery of a fellow, who came into his lodgings while he was on his travels, and, after playing a thouſand antic tricks, vaniſhed in a manner as if he meant to be taken for a hobgoblin. The Oſtiaks have exactly the ſame cuſtom^§.

From lat. 55. 20, towards the north, the country increaſes in height, eſpecially inland, where a range of very lofty mountains, moſtly covered with ſnow, is ſeen nearly parallel with the coaſt, a branch of thoſe I have before mentioned. Above lat. 56 the coaſt is broken into bays and harbours.RUSSIAN VOYAGE. In this neighborhood Captain Tſchirikow, conſort to the great navigator BERING, who was ſeparated from his commander by a ſtorm, was ſo unfortunate as to touch on an open part of the coaſt, in about lat. 55, in which he anchored in a moſt dangerous ſituation, full of rocks. Having loſt his ſhallop, and after that his ſmall boat, with part of his crew, which he had ſent on ſhore to water, and which were deſtroyed by the na⯑tives, he was obliged to return from his ineffectual voyage^* A vaſt conic moun⯑tain, called by Captain COOK Mount Edgecumbe ^†,MOUNT EDGECUMBE. riſes pre-eminent above all the others. This is in lat. 57. 3, long. 224. 7. Not remote from hence is the Bay of Iſlands, the ſame as the Port los Remedios, nearly the ne plus of the Spaniſh ex⯑pedition of 1775. The adventurers comforted themſelves with having reached lat. 58, and having attained the higheſt latitude ever arrived at in theſe ſeas^‡. This coaſt, as well as the reſt, continued covered with woods.

A high peaked mountain, Mount Fair-weather, and the inlet Croſs Sound, next appear. The firſt is the higheſt of a chain of ſnowy mountains, which lie inland about five leagues, in lat. 58. 52. The land between them and the ſea was very low, for the trees ſeemed to ariſe out of the water. Several ſea-birds, with a black ring round the head; the tip of the tail, and upper part of the wings, marked with black; the body bluiſh above, white beneath, came in view; and on the water ſat a browniſh Duck, with a deep blue or black head^§.

In lat. 59. 18, is a bay, with a wooded iſle off its ſouth point, named by Captain COOK, BERING'S; in honor of the illuſtrious Dane who firſt diſcovered this part of America, and, as was conjectured, anchored there for a ſmall ſpace. The appearance of the country was terrific; it conſiſted of lofty mountains (in July) covered with ſnow: but the chain is interrupted near this port by a plain of a few miles in extent; beyond which the view was unlimited, having behind it a con⯑tinuance of level country, or ſome great lake. He had not leiſure to make obſer⯑vations; he only named a cape, which advanced into the ſea, Cape Elias ^‖: this is not at preſent known; but the name of Mount Elias was beſtowed by Captain [CXLVI] COOK on a very conſpicuous mountain^*, which lay inland to the north-weſt of the bay, in lat. 60. 15.

BERING, during the ſhort ſtay he made on the coaſt, ſent his boat on ſhore to procure water. That great naturaliſt, Steller, companion of the voyage, took the opportunity of landing. The whole time allotted him was only ſix hours; during which he collected a few plants, and ſhot that beautiful ſpecies of Jay, N^o 139, to which I have given his name. He returned on board with the regret a man of his zeal muſt feel at the neceſſity of ſo ſlight an examination in ſo ample a field, What he could have done, had circumſtances permitted, is evident from the ex⯑cellent collection he formed of natural hiſtory reſpecting Kamtſchatka, and ſome of its iſlands^†.

PLANTS.Among the plants found by him on the American continent were, Plantago ma⯑jor, Sp. Pl. i. 163; Great Plantane, Fl. Scot. i. 117. K. Virg.: Plantago Aſiatica, Sp. Pl. i. 163. K.: Polemonium Caeruleam, Sp. Pl. i. 230: Greek Valerian, Hud⯑ſon, i. 89. K.: Lonicera Xyloſteum, Fl. Sib. iii. 129. K.: Ribes Alpinum, Sp. Pl. i. 291. Fl. Scot. i. 146. K.: Ribes groſſularia, Sp. Pl. i. 291; Gooſeberries, K. Virg.: Claytonia Virginica? Sp. Pl. i. 294. K. Virg.: Heuchera Americana? Sp. Pl. i. 328. K.: Heracleum Panaces, Sp. Pl. i. 358; or Cow Parſnep, K. which he found in one of the habitations of the natives, tied up in bundles ^‡ ready for uſe. (I have mentioned, at p. CXVII. the application of it in Kamtſchatka, for the purpoſes of diſ⯑tilling an intoxicating liquor; but the Americans are fortunate enough to be ignorant of that art, and only uſe it as a food.) Vaccinium Myrtillus, Sp. Pl. i. 498; Bilberries, Fl. Scot. i. 200. K.: Vaccinium Vitis Idaea, Virg. Sp. Pl. i. 500; Red Whortle-berries, Fl. Scot. i. 202. K.: Erica, Fl. Sib. 131, N^o 22. K.: Adoxa Moſchatellina, Sp. Pl. i. 527; tuberous Moſchatel, Fl. Scot. i. 209. K.: Rubus Idaeus, Sp. Pl. i. 706; Raſberry-buſh, Fl. Scot. i. 263. K.: Fragaria Veſca, Sp. Pl. i. 708; Wood Strawberry, Fl. Scot. i. 267. Virg. K.: the Leontodon Ta⯑raxicum, Virg. B. Sp. Pl. ii. 1122; or common Dandelion, Fl. Scot. i. 433: Ab⯑ſinthium, Sp. Pl. ii. 1188; or common Wormwood, Fl. Scot. i. 467: Artemiſia Vulgaris, Sp. Pl. ii. 1188; or Mugwort, Fl. Scot. i. 468: Gnaphalium Dioicum, Sp. Pl. ii. 1199; Mountain Cudweed, or Cat's-foot, Fl. Scot. i. 470. K.: Aſter ſeu potiùs Helenium fruticoſum, Fl. Sib. ii. 175, B. K. with beautiful yellow flowers: Erigeron acre, Sp. Pl. ii. 1211; Blue Fleabane, Fl. Scot. i. 474. K.: Chryſanthemum Leucanthemum, ii. 1251; Great Daiſy, or Ox-eye, Fl. Scot. i. 488. B. K. Virg.: Pyrethrum, Fl. Sib. ii. 203, N^o 170. B. K.: Achillea Millefolium, [CXLVII] Sp. Pl. ii. 1267; Milfoil or Yarrow, Fl. Scot. i. 490. K. Virg.: Empetrum nigrum, Sp. Pl. ii. 1450; Black-berried Heath, Crow-berries, Fl. Scot. ii. 612. K. Virg.: Meniſpermum Canadenſe? Sp. Pl. ii. 1468. K. Virg.—I retain the mark of Britiſh vegetables, to ſhew the vaſt dilatation of plants; and that of Virg. to ſhew thoſe which ſpread to the eaſtern ſide of America.

To theſe may be added a few trees and plants obſerved by our navigators; ſuch as the Pinus Strobus, Sp. Pl. ii. 1490, the white or Weymouth Pine, which grows to an enormous ſize; Pinus Canadenſis, Sp. Pl. ii. 1421, the Canada Pine; three or four other Pines, which we cannot determine; the Cupreſſus Diſticha? Sp. Pl. ii. 1422, the deciduous Cypreſs; Cupreſſus Thyoides, Sp. Pl. ii. 1422, or white Cedar; ſome Birch, Alders, and Willows; wild Roſe-buſhes; and ſeveral plants, the ſpecies of which are unknown to us. Probably that uſeful Lily, the Lilium Kamtſchatchenſe, or Saranne, extends to the continent, for it is found in abun⯑dance in the adjacent iſland Oonalaſchka, where it ſerves as a food, as it does in Kamtſchatka ^*.

In this neighborhood, in lat. 59. 49, about Kaye's iſland^†,KAYE'S ISLAND. off Cape Suckling, Captain COOK obſerved variety of birds; among them ſome Albatroſſes, the ſnowy Gulls, and the common Corvorant: and in the poor woods which encircled the iſland like a girdle, were ſeen a Crow, the white-headed Eagle, and another ſpecies equally large, of a blacker color, with a white breaſt, which proves to be the kind deſcribed by Mr. Latham, i. p. 33. N^o 72, under the name of the white-bellied Eagle ^‡.

After doubling a cape, called by our great navigator, Hinchinbroke ^§,PRINCE WILLIAM'S SOUND. he anchored in a vaſt ſound, named by him Prince William's, in lat. 61. 30, ſecured by a long iſland, called Mountague's, ſtretching obliquely acroſs from north-eaſt to ſouth-weſt. The land round this harbour roſe to a vaſt height, and was deeply covered with ſnow^‖. Vegetation in theſe parts ſeemed to leſſen. The principal trees were the Canadian and Spruce Firs, and ſome of them moderately large.

Beſides the quadrupeds found at Nootka, QUADRUPEDS. there is a variety of Bear of a white color; I will not call it the Polar, as that animal inhabits only the ſevereſt cli⯑mates, where it can find dens of ſnow and iſles of ice. An animal of the er⯑mine kind, varied with brown, but the tail ſcarcely tipt with black. Wolve⯑renes were here, of a very brilliant color; and the earleſs Marmot, N^o 47, was very common. None of theſe were ſeen living, but their ſkins were brought [CXLVIII] in abundance as articles of commerce. The ſkin of the head of the male leonine Seal was alſo offered to ſale: in the Voyage it is called the Urſine; but from the great ſhaggineſs of the hair I preſume I am not wrong in my conjecture. This is the only place in the northern hemiſphere in which it was found by the navi⯑gators^*.

BIRDS.Among the birds were the black Sea Pies with red bills, obſerved before in Van Diemen's Land and New Zealand. A Duck, equal in ſize to our Mallard, with a white bill tinged with red near the point, and marked with a black ſpot on each ſide near the baſe: on the forehead a large white triangular ſpot, and a larger on the hind part of the neck: the reſt of the plumage duſky: the tail ſhort and pointed: the legs red. The female was of duller colors, and the bill was far leſs gay. Another ſpecies reſembled the ſmall one found at Kerguellen's Land. A Diver (Grebe?) of the ſize of a Partridge; with a black compreſſed bill: head and neck black: upper part of the body deep brown, obſcurely waved with black; the lower part duſky, ſpeckled minutely with white. Honey-ſuckers, probably migratory in this high latitude, frequently flew round the ſhips^†.

To give all the additions I am able to my zoologic part, I ſhall here mention certain ſpecies of Petrels, obſerved on the weſtern coaſt of North America: ſuch as numberleſs brown Petrels near the entrance of COOK'S river, flying round a remarkable ſugar-loaf hill^‡. A ſpecies ſeen near Nootka Sound, about eleven inches long, with the noſtrils ſcarcely tubular: bill and plumage above duſky, beneath white: legs back. This is common to Turtle Iſle, lat. 19. 48, ſouth, long. 178. 2, weſt; and Chriſtmas Iſle, lat. i. 59, north, long. 202. 30, eaſt. Another, about thirteen inches long, with the forehead, ſpace between the eyes and bill, the chin, and throat, of a greyiſh white, varied with ſpecks of duſky: crown and upper part of the body duſky: under parts hoary lead-color: legs pallid^§. I may add a fourth, ſeen off the coaſt of Kamtſchatka, which Mr. Ellis mentions as being ſmall, and of a bluiſh color^‖.

MEN.MANKIND here ſhew a variation from the laſt deſcribed. The natives are ge⯑nerally above the common ſtature, but many below it: ſquare-built or ſtrong-cheſted; their heads moſt diſproportionably large; their faces flat, and very broad: their necks ſhort and thick: their eyes ſmall, in compariſon to the vaſt breadth of their faces: their noſes had full round points, turned up at the end: their hair long, thick, black, and ſtrong: their beards either very thin, or extirpated; for ſeveral of the old men had large, thick, but ſtrait beards: their countenances generally full of vivacity, good-nature, and frankneſs, not unlike the Criſtinaux, [CXLIX] a people who live far inland, between the little and the great lakes Ouinepique. On the contrary, the inhabitants of Nootka in their dulneſs reſemble the Aſſinibouels, who live on the weſtern ſide^*: and theſe two nations may have been derived from a common ſtock with the maritime tribes whom we have had occaſion to mention. The ſkins of the natives of this ſound were ſwarthy, poſſibly from going often naked; for the ſkins of many of the women, and the children, were white, but pallid. Many of the women were diſtinguiſhable from the men by the delicacy of their features, which was far from the caſe with thoſe of Nootka.

In theſe parts, within the diſtance of ten degrees, is a change of both dreſs and manners. The cloak and mantle are here changed for a cloſe habit, made of the ſkins of different beaſts, uſually with the hair outwards; or of the ſkins of birds, with only the down remaining; ſome with a cape, others with a hood: over which, in rainy weather, is worn a garment like a carter's frock, with large ſleeves, and tight round the neck, made of the inteſtines probably of the whale, and as fine as gold-beater's leaf. On the hands are always worn mittens, made of the paws of a bear; and the legs are covered with hoſe, reaching to midway the thigh. The head is generally bare; but thoſe who wear any thing, uſe the high truncated conic bonnet, like the people of Nootka ^†. In this place only was obſerved the Calumet; a ſtick about three feet long, with large feathers, or the wings of birds, tied to it. This was held up as a ſign of peace.

I leave the reader to amuſe himſelf in the Voyage, by the account of the ſtrange cuſtom of the natives in cutting through their under lip, and giving themſelves the monſtrous appearance of two mouths^‡: in the orifice they place a bit of bone or ſhell by way of ornament. This cuſtom extends to the diſtant Moſquitos, and even to the Braſilians^§, but ſeems unknown in other parts of America.—I endeavour to confine myſelf to paſſages which may lead to trace the origin of the people. Theſe paint their faces, and puncture or tattow their chins. They are moſt remarkably clean in their food, and in their manner of eating it, and even in the keeping of their bowls and veſſels. In their perſons they are equally neat and decent, and free from greaſe or dirt^‖: in this they ſeem an exception to all other ſavages.

They have two kinds of boats; one large, open,BOATS. and capable of containing above twenty people. It is made of the ſkins of marine animals, diſtended on ribs of wood, like the vitilia navigia of the Britons, at the time in which they were on a level with theſe poor Americans; or like the woman's boat of the Green⯑landers and Eſkimaux. The canoes are exactly of the ſame conſtruction with thoſe of the latter; and the difference of both is very trivial. The canoes of theſe [CL] Americans are broader than thoſe of the eaſtern ſide of the continent; and ſome have two circular apertures, in order to admit two men^*. Every weapon which theſe people have for the chace of quadrupeds or fiſh, is the ſame with thoſe uſed by the Greenlanders: there is not one wanting.

From Prince William's found the land trends north-weſt, and terminates in two headlands, called Cape Elizabeth and Cape Bede; CAPT BEDE. theſe, with Cape Banks on the oppoſite ſhore, form the entrance into the vaſt eſtuary of COOK'S river; in the midſt of which are the naked iſles, diſtinguiſhed by the name of the Barren. Within, to the weſt, is a lofty two-headed mountain, called Cape Douglas; which is part of a chain of a vaſt height, in which was a vulcano, at the time this place was viſited, emitting white ſmoke: and in the bottom of a bay, oppoſite to it, is an iſland, formed of a lofty mountain, on which was beſtowed the name of Mount St. Auguſtine ^†.MOUNT ST. AU⯑GUSTINE. The eſtuary is here of a great breadth, owing to a bay running oppoſite to Mount Auguſtine deeply to the eaſt.

COOK'S RIVER.The eſtuary of COOK'S river is of great length and extent. The river begins between Anchor Point and the oppoſite ſhore, where it is thirty miles wide: the depth very conſiderable, and the ebb very rapid. Far within, the channel con⯑tracts to four leagues, through which ruſhes a prodigious tide, agitated like breakers againſt rocks. The riſe of the tide in this confined part was twenty-one feet. It was examined ſeventy leagues from the entrance, as far as lat. 61. 30, long. 210, and its boundaries were found to be flat, ſwampy, and poorly wooded, till they reached the foot of the great mountains. Towards the north, it divides into two great branches, or perhaps diſtinct rivers. That to the eaſt is diſtin⯑guiſhed by the name of Turn-again river. The firſt is a league wide, and navi⯑gable, as far as was tried, for the largeſt ſhips, and continued very brackiſh; there is therefore the greateſt probability of its having a very long courſe, and be⯑ing, in after times, of conſiderable uſe in inland navigation: that it is of ſome even at preſent is very certain; for here, as well as in Prince William's ſound, the Indians were poſſeſſed of glaſs beads and great knives of Engliſh manufacture, which the Hudſon's bay company annually ſend in great quantities, and exchange for furs with the natives, who travel to our ſettlements very far from the weſt. The company alſo ſend copper and braſs veſſels; but neither copper or iron in bars. There does not ſeem to be any direct dealings with the Indians of this coaſt: the traffic is carried on by intermediate tribes, who never think of bringing furs to a people ſo amply ſupplied as the Indians are who deal with our factories. Nations who uſe the moſt pretious furs merely as a defence from the cold, make no diſtinction of kinds: if they could get more beads or more knives for the ſkins of Sea Otters [CLI] than any other, they would inſtantly become articles of commerce, and find their way acroſs the continent to the European ſettlements.

From Turn-again river to the neareſt part of Hudſon's bay, is fifty-five degrees, or about ſixteen hundred miles; but from the moſt weſtern part of Arapatheſcow lake (which is intermediate) is only twenty-ſix degrees, or about ſeven hundred and fifty miles. There is no diſcharge out of that vaſt water but what runs into Hudſon's bay. We have ſome obſcure accounts of rivers ^* which take a weſtern courſe from the countries eaſt of this coaſt: ſome of which may be thoſe which have been ſeen by our navigators, and which, by means of lakes or other rivers falling into them, may prove a channel of intercourſe between theſe Indians and the Hudſon's bay company, as ſoon as our friendly Indians become acquainted with the value of theſe maritime furs.

The inhabitants of Cook's river differed very little from thoſe of Prince William's found. They had Dogs, which were the firſt ſeen on the coaſts; Sea Otters,DOGS. Martins, and white Hares: and they were plentifully ſupplied with Salmon and Holibut.

After leaving the entrance into the river, appears Cape St. Hermogenes, CAPE ST. HERMO⯑GENES. diſco⯑vered firſt by BERING. It proved a naked lofty iſland, about ſix leagues in cir⯑cuit, and divided from the coaſt by a channel a league broad. This lies in lat. 58. 15, off the vaſt peninſula Alaſchka, ALASCHKA, CON⯑TINENT OF AME⯑RICA. which begins between the eſtuary of Cook's river and Briſtol bay, which bound its iſthmus. It points ſouth-weſt, and continues the creſcent formed by the iſlands which croſs the ſea from Kamtſchatka. Alaſchka is the only name given by the natives to the continent of America. The land to the weſt of COOK'S river riſes into mountains, with conoid tops thickly ſet together. The coaſt is frequently bold, and the rocks break into pinnacles of pictureſque forms: the whole is fronted by groups of iſles and cluſters of ſmall rocks. In a word, the country and ſhores are the moſt rugged and disjointed imaginable, and bear evident marks of having undergone ſome extraordinary change.

Among the iſles, thoſe of Schoumagin are the moſt important, which received their name from having been the place of interment of one of Bering's crew, the firſt which he loſt in theſe ſeas. The principal lies the fartheſt to the weſt, and is called Kadjak: it is about a hundred verſts long,KADJAK. and from twenty to thirty broad; and, from the account of Demetrius Bragin, who viſited it from Oonalaſhka in 1776, is very populous. The inhabitants ſpoke a language different from thoſe [CLII] of that iſland: it ſeemed a dialect of the Greenlanders. They called their wooden ſhields Kuyaky, probably becauſe they reſemble a kaiak, or a little canoe, a Green⯑land word for that ſpecies of boat; and themſelves Kanagiſt, as the others ſtyle themſelves Karalit. They have likewiſe the woman's boat, like the people of Prince William's ſound: in fact, they ſeem to be the ſame people, but more refined. They were armed with pikes, bows and arrows, and wooden ſhields. Their ſhirts were made of the ſkins of birds; alſo of the earleſs Marmot (Arct. Zool. i. N^o 47), Foxes, and Sea Bears, and ſome of fiſhes ſkins. Dogs, Bears, common Otters, and Ermines, were obſerved here. Their dwellings were made with timber, and were from fifteen to twenty fathoms long, covered with a thatch and dried graſs. Within they were divided into compartments for every family, and every com⯑partment lined neatly with mats. The entrance was on the top, covered with frames, on which were ſtretched the membranes of dried inteſtines inſtead of glaſs^*. Theſe people ſeemed to have made far greater progreſs in the arts than their neigh⯑bors. They worked their carpets in a very curious manner; on one ſide cloſe ſet with beaver wool. The Sea Otters ſkins which they brought for ſale were in ſome parts ſhorn quite cloſe with ſharp ſtones, ſo that they gliſtened and appeared like velvet. They ſhewed ſtrong proofs of genius in their invention to preſerve themſelves from the effects of the Ruſſian fire-arms. They had the ſpirit to make an attack, and formed ſkreens with three parallel perpendicular rows of ſtakes, bound with ſea-weeds and oſiers; their length was twelve feet, and thickneſs three: under the ſhelter of theſe they marched; but their ſucceſs was not cor⯑reſpondent to their plan^†: a ſally of the Ruſſians diſconcerted them, and put them to the rout.

The iſland conſiſts of hills mixed with lowlands. It abounds with bulbs, roots, and berries, for food; with ſhrubs, and even trees ſufficiently large to be hollowed into canoes capable of carrying five perſons^‡. In this kind of boat they differ from thoſe of the Greenlanders.

Off the extremity of the peninſula of Alaſchka is Holibut iſland,HOLIBUT ISLE. in lat. 54, riſing into a lofty pyramidal mountain, lying oppoſite to the narrow ſhallow ſtreight which lies between the iſle Oonemaka and Alaſchka. The chain on the continent is ſeen to riſe into ſtupendous heights, covered with ſnow: among them ſeveral of the hills appear to riſe inſulated, and of a conic form. One [CLIII] was a vulcano, flinging up volumes of black ſmoke to a great height^*, then ſtreaming before the wind with a tail of vaſt length and pictureſque appearance. It often took a direction contrary to the point the wind blew from at ſea, not⯑withſtanding there was a freſh gale. It lies in lat. 54. 48 north, long. 195. 45 W. and is evidently a link in the vulcanic chain, which extends, in the ſouthern he⯑miſphere, as low at leſt as that of St. Clement in Chili, in lat. 45. 30.

The extremity of Alaſchka ends abrupt, and has oppoſite to it an iſland called Oonemak or Unmak, OONEMAK. of nearly a correſpondent breadth, ſeparated from it by a very narrow and ſhallow channel, ſituated in lat. 54. 30, and leading into Briſtol bay, pervious only by boats or very ſmall veſſels. The iſle is a hundred verſts long, and from ſeven to fifteen broad; and has in the middle a vulcano. In the low parts ſeveral hot ſprings burſt forth, to which the iſlanders carry the fiſh or fleſh they want to boil; and they are alſo fond of bathing in the temperate parts^†.

To the weſt are the ſmall iſles of Oonella and Acootan: at a ſmall diſtance from them is Oonalaſhka or Aghôun-alaiſka ^‡,OONALASHKA. a name evidently referring to the continent. My MS. calls its length a hundred and twenty verſts, its breadth from ten to eighteen. It is the moſt remote of the Ruſſian colonies, who have now made ſet⯑tlements on moſt of the iſles between Aſia and America; all under the care of pri⯑vate adventurers. The voyage from Ochotſk or Kamtſchatka laſts three or four years; and is ſolely undertaken for the ſake of the ſkins of Sea Otters. Poſſibly other reaſons will, in a little time, induce them to attempt the colonization of the continent. Timber may be one; for their northern Aſiatic dominions and their iſlands yield none. I foreſee docks and timber-yards in all convenient places. At preſent, the natives of theſe iſles have only the ſkin-covered canoes^§,NATIVES. and even for the ribs they are obliged to the chance of drift-wood. In theſe, in dreſs, and in weapons, they reſemble the Eſkimaux. The language is a dialect of the Eſkimaux. They are rather of low ſtature. They have ſhort necks, ſwarthy chubby faces, black eyes, and ſtraight long black hair. The faſhion of wearing fea⯑thers or bits of ſticks in their noſes is uſed in Oonalaſhka. Both ſexes cut their hair even over their foreheads: the men wear theirs looſe behind; the females tie theirs in a bunch on the top of their head: the firſt wear long looſe frocks, of the ſkins of birds; the laſt of the ſkins of Seals. The men fling over their frocks another, of the guts of the cetaceous animals, dried and oiled, to keep out the water^‖; and, to [CLIV] defend their faces from the weather, they wear a piece of wood, like the front of the bonnet of an Engliſh lady^*. Some uſe the bonnet in the form of the trun⯑cated cone. The women ſlightly tattow their faces, and often wear a ſtring of beads pendent from their noſes; both ſexes perforate their under lip, but it is very uncommon to ſee any except the females ſtick in it the ornamental bone. The noſe-ornaments extend far inland on the continent; for the Americans, who trade with the Hudſon's bay company, uſe them: but from the figures given by De Brie, they do not ſeem ever to have reached the people of Virginia and Florida. They inhabit jourts, or ſubterraneous dwellings, each common to many families, in which they live in horrible filthineſs: but they are remarkably civilized in their behaviour; and have been taught by the Ruſſians to pull off their caps, and to bow, in their ſalutations.

BARROWS.They bury their dead on the ſummits of hills, and raiſe over the ſpot a barrow of ſtones^†, in the manner cuſtomary in all the north of Europe in very early days.

On the north ſide of the promontory Alaſchka, the water decreaſes conſiderably in depth, and the mountains recede towards the bottom far inland, and leave a large tract of low land between them and the ſea. Here it forms a great bay, called Briſtol; BRISTOL BAY AND RIVER. with a vaſt river at the end, with an entrance a mile broad, ſeated in lat. 58. 27. Cape Newenham, lat. 58. 42, a rocky promontory, is the northern horn of the bay, eighty-two leagues from Cape Oonemak, its ſouthern: an uni⯑verſal barrenneſs, and want of vegetation, appeared in the neighborhood of the former. The Walruſes (N^o 71) began, the 15th of July, to ſhew themſelves in great numbers about this place: a proof that ice is not eſſential to their exiſtence. The inhabitants of this coaſt were dreſſed much more ſqualidly than thoſe before ſeen; but, like the others, deformed their noſes and lips. They ſhaved their head or cut the hair cloſe, and only left a few locks behind or on one ſide, ſome⯑what in the Chineſe faſhion. From Cape Newenham, the continent runs due north. To the weſt is Gore's iſland,GORE'S ISLE. diſtinguiſhed by a vaſt cliff, in lat. 60. 17, long. 187. 30, called Point Upright; and near it a moſt rugged, high, rocky iſlet, named the Pinnacles ^‡. Myriads of the Auk tribe haunted theſe precipices. This ſeems the extreme northern reſort of the Sea Otter. SEA OTTERS.

From Shoal-neſs, in lat. 60, long. 196, there is a gap in the American geography, as far as Point Shallow Water, lat. 62. 50; and not far from thence were the ſymp⯑toms of the diſcharge of ſome great river, from the uninveſtigated part. Be⯑yond [CLV] Point Shallow, in lat. 63. 33, is Cape Stephens; CAPE STEPHENS. and before it, at a ſmall diſtance, Stuart's iſle. Theſe make the ſouthern points of Norton's Sound, formed by a vaſt receſs of the land to the eaſt. All the land near the ſea is low and bar⯑ren, bounded inland by mountains. The trees, which were Birch, Alder, Wil⯑low, and Spruce, very ſmall; none of the laſt above ſix or eight inches in diameter: but the drift-wood, which lay in plenty on the ſhore, much larger; having been brought down the rivers from land more favorable to its growth. Towards the bottom of the ſound, Cape Denbigh juts far to the weſt into the water, and forms a peninſula. It has been an iſland; for there are evident marks on the iſthmus, that the ſea had once poſſeſſed its place: a proof of the loſs of the element of water in theſe parts, as well as in other remote parts of the globe.

The ſound, from Cape Denbigh, is ſuddenly contracted, and is converted into a deep inlet, ſeemingly the reception of a large river. The continent, in theſe parts, conſiſts of vaſt plains, divided by moderate hills; the former watered by ſeveral rivers meandering through them. Vegetation improves in proportion to the diſ⯑ſtance from the ſea, and the trees increaſe in bulk. A promontory, called Bald Head, bounds the northern entrance into this inlet. Farther to the weſt Cape Darby, CAPE DARBY. in lat. 64. 21, makes the northern horn of this great ſound.

Numbers of people inhabit this coaſt.NATIVES. The men were about five feet two inches high; and in form and features reſembled all the natives ſeen by the navi⯑gators ſince they left Nootka Sound. They had, in their under lip, two perfora⯑tions. The color of their ſkin was that of copper: their hair ſhort and black: the beard of the men ſmall: their language a dialect of the Eſkimaux. Their clothing is chiefly of Deer ſkins, with large hoods, made in the form of looſe jackets, ſcarcely reaching lower than half the thigh; where it was almoſt met by a great wide-topped boot. The Eſkimaux occaſionally ſtick their children in the top: the women of this country place them more commodiouſly within the upper part of the jacket, over one ſhoulder^*. In language there ſeems conſiderable con⯑formity. They had, like them, the woman's boat, and the Kaiack: the firſt they ſometimes made uſe of as a protection from the weather, by turning it upſide down, and ſheltering beneath. But their hovels were the moſt wretched of any yet ſeen; conſiſting of only a ſloping roof (without any ſide walls) compoſed of logs; a floor of the ſame; the entrance at one end, and a hole to permit the eſcape of the ſmoke.THEIR SENSIBI⯑LITY. Theſe poor people ſeem very ſuſceptible of feelings for the misfortunes of each other, which would do honor to the moſt poliſhed ſtate. A family ap⯑peared, one of which was a moſt diſtorted figure, with ſcarcely the human form: [CLVI] another, ſeemingly the chief, almoſt blind: the third, a girl: the laſt, the wife. She made uſe of Captain KING to act as a charm to reſtore her blind huſband to his ſight^*. He was firſt directed to hold his breath; then to breathe on, and af⯑terwards to ſpit on his eyes. We are not without ſimilar ſuperſtitions. The Ro⯑mans ^† applied the ſame remedy to diſeaſes of the ſame part: but I doubt whether they, or our poliſhed nation, ever expreſſed the ſame feelings as this poor woman did. She related her ſtory in the moſt pathetic manner; ſhe preſſed the hands of the Captain to the breaſt of her huſband, while ſhe was relating the calamitous hiſtory of her family; pointed ſometimes to the huſband, ſometimes to the crip⯑ple, and ſometimes to the poor child. Unable to contain any longer, ſhe burſt into tears and lamentation. She was followed by the reſt of her kindred in an uniſon, which, I truſt, filled the eyes of the civilized beholders, as their relation has mine.

From Cape Darby the land trends to the weſt, and ends in Point Rodney; low land, with high land far beyond, taking a northerly direction inland. Off this point, in lat. 64. 30, is Sledge iſland, ſo called from a ſledge being found on it, reſembling thoſe which the Ruſſians uſe in Kamtſchatka to carry goods over the ſnow. It was ten feet long, twenty inches broad, with a rail on each ſide, and ſhod with bone; all neatly put together, in ſome parts with wooden pins, but moſtly with thongs of whalebone: a proof of the ingenuity of the natives. Whe⯑ther it was to be drawn with dogs or rein-deer, does not appear; for the iſland was deſerted, and only the remains of a few jourts to be ſeen. In lat. 64. 55, long. 192, is KING'S iſland, named in honor of the able and worthy continuator of the voyage. The continent oppoſite to it bends towards the eaſt, and forms a ſhallow bay; then ſuddenly runs far into the ſea, and makes the moſt weſtern extremity yet known, and probably the moſt weſtern of all. On it were ſeveral huts; and ſtages of bone, ſuch as had been obſerved in the Tſchutſki country. This cape forms one ſide of BERING'S ſtreights, and lies nearly oppoſite to Eaſt Cape, on the Aſiatic ſhore, at the ſmall diſtance of only thirty-nine miles. This lies in lat. 65. 46; is named Cape Prince of Wales; is low land, and the heights, as uſual, appeared beyond; among which is a remarkable peaked hill. It would be unjuſt to the memory of paſt navigators, not to ſay, that there is the greateſt probability that either this cape, or part of the continent adjacent to it, was diſ⯑covered, in 1730, by Michael Gwoſdew, a land ſurveyor attendant on the Coſſack, [CLVII] Colonel Scheſtakow, in the unfortunate expedition undertaken by him to render the Tſchutſki tributary^*.

Here begins the Icy Sea or Frozen Ocean. The country trends ſtrongly to the eaſt, and forms, in lat. 67. 45, long. 194. 51, Point Mulgrave; POINT MUL⯑GRAVE. the land low, backed inland with moderate hills, but all barren, and deſtitute of trees. From hence it makes a ſlight trend to the weſt. Cape Liſburn lies in lat. 69; and Icy Cape, the moſt extreme land ſeen by any navigators on this ſide, was obſerved in lat. 70. 29, long. 198. 20, by our illuſtrious ſeaman, on Auguſt 18th 1778. The preceding day he had made an advance as high as 70. 41; but, baffled by impenetrable ice, upon the juſteſt reaſoning was obliged to give up all thoughts of the north-eaſt paſſage: which reaſons were confirmed, in the following year, by his ſucceſſor in command, Captain CLERKE. All the trials made by that perſevering commander could not attain a higher latitude than 70. 11, long. 196. 15. He found himſelf laboring under a lingering diſeaſe, which he knew muſt be fatal, unleſs he could gain a more favorable climate; but his high ſenſe of honor, and of his duty to his orders, determined him to perſiſt, till the impoſſibility of ſucceſs was determined by every officer. He gave way to their opinion, ſailed towards the ſouthward on July 21ſt, and on Auguſt 22d honorably ſunk, at the age of thirty-eight, under a diſorder contracted by a continued ſcene of hardſhips, endured from his earlieſt youth in the ſervices of his country^†.

To ſuch characters as theſe we are indebted for the little we know, and pro⯑bably all that can be known, of the ICY SEA.OF THE ICY SEA. The antients had ſome obſcure notion of its coaſts, and have given it the name of Scythicum Mare; a cape jutting into it was ſtyled Scythicum Promontorium; and an iſland at the bottom of a deep bay to the weſt of it, Scythica Inſula. It is following the conjectures of the inge⯑nious to ſay, that the firſt may be the Cape Jalmal, and the laſt, Nova Zemlja, which ſome will make the Inſula Tazata of Pliny, as it reſembles in name the ri⯑ver Tas, which flows almoſt oppoſite to it into the gulph of Ob ^‡. The know⯑lege which the antients had of theſe parts muſt have been from traffic. The old Ladoga was, in very early times, a place of great commerce, by aſſiſtance of rivers and ſeas, even from the fartheſt parts of the Mediterranean; the coins of Syria, Arabia, Greece, and Rome, having been found in the burial-places adjoining to that antient city^§. Another channel of knowlege was formed from the great traffic carried on by the merchants, from even the remote India, up the Volga and the Kama, and from thence to Tſcherdyn, an emporium on the river Kolva, [CLVIII] ſeated in the antient Permia or Biormia, and not far ſouth of the river Peczora. From thence the Biormas, who ſeem to have been the factors, embarked with the merchandize on that river, went down with it to the coaſts of the Frozen Sea; and, after obtaining furs in exchange, they returned and delivered them, at Tſcherdyn, to the foreign merchants^*: and from them the antients might pick up accounts.

The ICY SEA extends from Nova Zemlja to the coaſt of America. We have ſeen how unable even the Ruſſians have been to ſurvey its coaſts, except by in⯑terrupted detail, notwithſtanding it formed part of their own vaſt empire. To our navigators was given the honor not only of ſettling parts of its geography with preciſion, but of exploring the whole ſpace between the moſt northern pro⯑montory of Aſia and the fartheſt acceſſible part of America. This was a tract of one hundred leagues^†. The traverſing it was a work of infinite difficulty and danger.DEPTH. The ſea ſhallow; and the change from the greateſt depth, which did not exceed thirty fathoms, to the leſt, which was only eight, was ſudden: the bottom muddy, cauſed by the quantity of earth brought down from the vaſt ri⯑vers which pour into it from the Aſiatic ſide. We ſuſpect that it receives but few from the American, their general tendency being eaſt and weſt. The Icy Sea is ſhallow, not only becauſe its tides and currents are very inconſiderable; but its outlet through the ſtreights of Bering very narrow, and even obſtructed in the middle by the iſlands of St. Diomedes: both which circumſtances impede the carrying away of the mud. The current, ſmall as it is, comes chiefly from the ſouth-weſt, and is another impediment. The land of each continent is very low near the ſhores, and high at a ſmall diſtance from them: the former is one inſtance of a correſpondent ſhallowneſs of water. The ſoundings off each continent, at the ſame diſtances from the ſhore, were exactly the ſame.

ICE.The ice of this ſea differs greatly from that of Spitzbergen. It probably is en⯑tirely generated from the ſea-water. The Icy Sea ſeems to be in no part bounded by lofty land, in the valleys of which might have been formed the ſtupendous icebergs, which, tumbling down, form thoſe lofty iſlands we had before occaſion to mention. The ice here is moveable, except about the great headlands, which are beſet with a rugged mountanous ice. It is notorious, that a ſtrong gale from the north in twenty-four hours covers the whole coaſt, for numbers of miles in breadth; will fill the ſtreights of BERING, and even the Kamtſchatkan ſeas; and in ſmaller pieces extend to its iſlands. In the Icy Sea it conſiſts chiefly of field ice. Some fields, very large, and ſurrounded with leſſer, from forty [CLIX] to fifty yards in extent, to four or five; the thickneſs of the larger pieces was about thirty feet under water; and the greateſt height of others above, about ſixteen or eighteen. It was tranſparent, except on the ſurface, which was a little porous, and often very rugged: the reſt compact as a wall. At times it muſt pack; for the mountanous ice which the Coſſack Morkoff aſcended (ſee p. c.) muſt have been of that nature. The deſtruction of the ice is not effected by the ſun, in a climate where fogs reign in far greater proportion than the ſolar beams; neither will the ſtreights of BERING permit the eſcape of quantity ſufficient to clear the ſea of its vaſt load. It muſt, in a little time, become wholly filled with it, was it not for the rage of the winds, which daſhes the pieces together, breaks and grinds them into minute parts, which ſoon melt, and reſolve into their ori⯑ginal element.

The animals of this ſea are very few, and may be reduced to the Polar Bear, ANIMALS. N^o 18; the Walrus, N^o 71; and Seals. The firſt does not differ from thoſe of other arctic countries: it is beautifully engraven in tab. LXXIII. of the Voyage. Amidſt the extraordinary ſcenery in tab. LII. is given the only accurate figure of the Walrus I have ever ſeen. I cannot but ſuſpect it to be a variety of the ſpecies found in the Spitzbergen ſeas. The tuſks are more ſlender, and have a ſlight diſ⯑tinguiſhing flexure: the whole animal is alſo much leſs. The length of one (not indeed the largeſt) was only nine feet four inches; its greateſt circumference ſeven feet ten; weight, excluſive of the entrails, about eleven hundred pounds. They lay on the ice by thouſands; and in the foggy weather cautioned our navi⯑gators, by their roaring, from running foul of it. They are uſually ſeen ſleeping, but never without ſome centinels to give notice of approaching danger: theſe awa⯑kened the next to them, they their neighbors, till the whole herd was rouſed. Theſe animals are the objects of chace with the Tſchutſki, who eat the fleſh, and cover their boats and hovels with the ſkins. Whales abound in this ſea. Fiſh,FISH. the food of Seals, and partly of the polar Bears, muſt be found here, notwith⯑ſtanding they eſcaped the notice of the navigators. Shells and ſea-plants, the food of the Walrus, cannot be wanting.

Many ſpecies of birds (which will occur in their place) were ſeen traverſing this ſea. Geeſe and Ducks were obſerved migrating ſouthward in Auguſt; BIRDS. whether from their breeding-place in a circum-polar land, or whether from the probably far-extending land of America, is not to be determined. Drift-wood was very ſeldom ſeen here. Two trees, about three feet in girth, with their roots, were once obſerved, but without bark or branches; a proof that they had been brought from afar, and left naked by their conteſt with the ice and elements.

The ſea, from the ſouth of BERING'S ſtreights to the creſcent of iſles between [CLX] Aſia and America, is very ſhallow. It deepens from theſe ſtreights (as the Britiſh ſeas do from thoſe of Dover) till ſoundings are loſt in the Pacific Ocean; but that does not take place but to the ſouth of the iſles. Between them and the ſtreights is an increaſe from twelve to fifty-four fathom, except only off St. Thaddeus Noſs, where there is a channel of greater depth. From the vulcanic diſpoſition I am led to believe not only that there was a ſeparation of the continents at the ſtreights of BERING, but that the whole ſpace, from the iſles to that ſmall opening, had once been occupied by land; and that the fury of the watery element, actuated by that of fire, had, in moſt remote times, ſubverted and overwhelmed the tract, and left the iſlands monumental fragments.

Whether that great event took place before or after the population of America, is as impoſſible, as it is of little moment, for us to know. We are indebted to our navigators for ſettling the long diſpute about the point from which it was effected. They, by their diſcoveries, prove, that in one place the diſ⯑tance between continent and continent is only thirty-nine miles, not (as a celebrated caviliſt ^* would have it) eight hundred leagues. This narrow ſtreight has alſo in the middle two iſlands, which would greatly facilitate the migration of the Aſiatics into the New World, ſuppoſing that it took place in canoes, after the convulſion which rent the two continents aſunder. Beſides, it may be added, that theſe ſtreights are, even in the ſummer, often filled with ice; in winter, often frozen: in either caſe mankind might find an eaſy paſſage; in the laſt, the way was extremely ready for quadrupeds to croſs, and ſtock the continent of America. I may fairly call in the machinery of vulcanoes to tear away the other means of tranſit farther to the ſouth, and bring in to my aſſiſtance the former ſuppoſition of ſolid land between Kamtſchatka and Oonalaſcha, inſtead of the creſcent of iſlands, and which, prior to the great cataſtrophe, would have greatly enlarged the means of migration; but the caſe is not of that difficulty to require the ſolution. One means of paſſage is indiſputably eſtabliſhed.

But where, from the vaſt expanſe of the north-eaſtern world, to fix on the firſt tribes who contributed to people the new continent, now inhabited almoſt from end to end, is a matter that baffles human reaſon. The learned may make bold and ingenious conjectures, but plain good ſenſe cannot always accede to them. As mankind encreaſed in numbers, they naturally protruded one another forward. Wars might be another cauſe of migrations. I know no reaſon why the Aſiatic north might not be an officina virorum, as well as the European. The overteeming country, to the eaſt of the Riphaean mountains, muſt find it neceſſary to diſcharge its inhabitants: the firſt great wave of people was forced forward by the next to [CLXI] at, more tumid and more powerful than itſelf: ſucceſſive and new impulſes con⯑tinually arriving, ſhort reſt was given to that which ſpread over a more eaſtern tract; diſturbed again and again, it covered freſh regions; at length, reaching the fartheſt limits of the Old World, found a new one, with ample ſpace to occupy unmoleſted for ages; till Columbus curſed them by a diſcovery, which brought again new ſins and new deaths to both worlds.

The inhabitants of the NEW do not conſiſt of the offspring of a ſingle nation: different people, at ſeveral periods, arrived there; and it is impoſſible to ſay, that any one is now to be found on the original ſpot of its colonization. It is impoſſible, with the lights which we have ſo recently received, to admit that America could receive its inhabitants (at leſt the bulk of them) from any other place than eaſtern Aſia. A few proofs may be added, taken from cuſtoms or dreſſes common to the inhabitants of both worlds: ſome have been long extinct in the old, others remain in both in full force.

The cuſtom of ſcalping was a barbariſm in uſe with the Scythians, CUSTOMS COMMON TO AMERICA AND THE NORTH OF ASIA. who carried about them at all times this ſavage mark of triumph: they cut a circle round the neck, and ſtripped off the ſkin, as they would that of an ox^*. A little image, found among the Kalmues, of a Tartarian deity, mounted on a horſe, and ſitting on a human ſkin, with ſcalps pendent from the breaſt, fully illuſtrates the cuſtom of the Scythian progenitors, as deſcribed by the Greek hiſtorian. This uſage, as the Europeans know by horrid experience, is continued to this day in America. The ferocity of the Scythians to their priſoners extended to the remoteſt part of Aſia. The Kamtſchatkans, even at the time of their diſcovery by the Ruſſians ^†, put their priſoners to death by the moſt lingering and excruciating inventions; a practice in fell force to this very day among the aboriginal Americans. A race of the Scythians were ſtyled Anthropophagi ^‡, from their feeding on human fleſh. The people of Nootka Sound ſtill make a repaſt on their fellow creatures^§: but what is more wonderful, the ſavage allies of the Britiſh army have been known to throw the mangled limbs of the French priſoners into the horrible cauldron, and devour them with the ſame reliſh as thoſe of a quadruped^‖.

The Scythians were ſayed, for a certain time, annually to transform themſelves into wolves, and again to reſume the human ſhape^¶. The new-diſcovered Ame⯑ricans about Nootka Sound, at this time diſguiſe themſelves in dreſſes made of the ſkins of wolves and other wild beaſts, and wear even the heads fitted to their [CLXII] own^*. Theſe habits they uſe in the chace, to circumvent the animals of the field. But would not ignorance or ſuperſtition aſcribe to a ſupernatural meta⯑morphoſis theſe temporary expedients to deceive the brute creation?

In their marches the Kamtſchatkans never went abreaſt, but followed one another in the ſame track^†. The ſame cuſtom is exactly obſerved by the Americans.

The Tunguſi, the moſt numerous nation reſident in Sibiria, prick their faces with ſmall punctures, with a needle, in various ſhapes; then rub into them char⯑coal, ſo that the marks become indelible^‡. This cuſtom is ſtill obſerved in ſe⯑veral parts of America. The Indians on the back of Hudſon's bay, to this day perform the operation exactly in the ſame manner, and puncture the ſkin into various figures; as the natives of New Zealand do at preſent, and as the antient Britons did with the herb Glaſtum, or Woad^§; and the Virginians, on the firſt diſ⯑covery of that country by the Engliſh ^‖.

The Tunguſi uſe canoes made of birch-bark, diſtended over ribs of wood, and nicely ſewed together^¶. The Canadian, and many other American nations, uſe no other ſort of boats. The paddles of the Tunguſi are broad at each end; thoſe of the people near Cook's river, and of Oonalaſcha, are of the ſame form.

In burying of the dead, many of the American nations place the corpſe at full length, after preparing it according to their cuſtoms; others place it in a ſitting poſture, and lay by it the moſt valuable cloathing, wampum, and other matters. The Tartars did the ſame: and both people agree in covering the whole with earth, ſo as to form a tumulus, barrow, or carnedd^**.

Some of the American nations hang their dead in trees. Certain of the Tunguſi obſerve a ſimilar cuſtom.

I can draw ſome analogy from dreſs: conveniency in that article muſt have been conſulted on both continents, and originally the materials muſt have been the ſame, the ſkins of birds and beaſts. It is ſingular, that the conic bonnet of the Chineſe ſhould be found among the people of Nootka. I cannot give into the no⯑tion, that the Chineſe contributed to the population of the New World; but I can readily admit, that a ſhipwreck might furniſh thoſe Americans with a pattern for that part of the dreſs.

SIMILAR FEA⯑TURES.In reſpect to the features and form of the human body, almoſt every tribe found along the weſtern coaſt has ſome ſimilitude to the Tartar nations, and ſtill retain the little eyes, ſmall noſes, high cheeks, and broad faces. They vary in ſize, [CLXIII] from the luſty Calmucs to the little Nogaians. The internal Americans, ſuch as the Five Indian nations, who are tall of body, robuſt in make, and of oblong faces, are derived from a variety among the Tartars themſelves. The fine race of Tſchutſki ſeem to be the ſtock from which thoſe Americans are derived. The Tſchutſki again, from that fine race of Tartars, the Kabardinſki, or inhabitants of Kabarda.

But about Prince William's Sound begins a race,ESKIMAUX. chiefly diſtinguiſhed by their dreſs, their canoes, and their inſtruments of the chace, from the tribes to the ſouth of them. Here commences the Eſkimaux people, or the race known by that name in the high latitudes of the eaſtern ſide of the continent. They may be divided into two varieties. At this place they are of the largeſt ſize. As they advance northward they decreaſe in height, till they dwindle into the dwarfiſh tribes which occupy ſome of the coaſts of the Icy Sea ^*, and the maritime parts of Hudſon's bay, of Greenland, and Terra de Labrador. The famous Japaneſe map ^† places ſome iſlands ſeemingly within the ſtreights of BERING, on which is beſtowed the title of Ya Zue, or the kingdom of the dwarfs. Does not this in ſome manner authenticate the chart, and give us reaſon to ſuppoſe that America was not unknown to the Japaneſe, and that they had (as is mentioned by Kaempfer and Charlevoix ^‡) made voyages of diſcovery, and, according to the laſt, actually wintered on the continent? That they might have met with the Eſkimaux is very probable; whom, in compariſon of themſelves, they might juſtly diſtinguiſh by the name of dwarfs. The reaſon of their low ſtature is very ob⯑vious: theſe dwell in a moſt ſevere climate, amidſt penury of food; the former in one much more favorable, abundant in proviſions; circumſtances that tend to prevent the degeneracy of the human frame. At the iſland of Oonalaſcha a dialect of the Eſkimaux is in uſe, which was continued along the whole coaſt, from thence north⯑ward. I have before mentioned the ſimilarity in the inſtruments between the Americans of this ſide of the coaſt and the Eſkimaux, which is continued even to Greenland.

I cannot think the accounts well ſupported,WELSH. that America received any part of its firſt inhabitants from Europe, prior to the fifteenth century. The Welſh fondly imagine that our country contributed, in 1170, to people the New World, by the adventure of Madoc, ſon of Owen Gwynedd, who, on the death of his father, ſailed there, and colonized part of the country. All that is advanced in proof is, a quo⯑tation from one of our poets, which proves no more than that he had diſtinguiſhed himſelf by ſea and land. It is pretended that he made two voyages: that ſailing weſt, he left Ireland ſo far to the north, that he came to a land unknown, where [CLXIV] he ſaw many ſtrange things: that he returned home, and, making a report of the fruitfulneſs of the new-diſcovered country, prevaled on numbers of the Welſh of each ſex to accompany him on a ſecond voyage, from which he never returned. The favorers of this opinion aſſert, that ſeveral Welſh words, ſuch as gwrando, to hearken or liſten; the iſle of Croeſo or welcome; Cape Bre⯑ton, from the name of our own iſland; gwynndwr, or the white water; and pengwin, or the bird with a white head; are to be found in the American lan⯑guage^*. I can lay little ſtreſs on this argument, becauſe likeneſs of ſound in a few words will not be deemed ſufficient to eſtabliſh the fact; eſpecially if the meaning has been evidently perverted: for example, the whole Pinguin tribe have unfor⯑tunately not only black heads, but are not inhabitants of the northern hemiſphere; the name was alſo beſtowed on them by the Dutch, a Pinguedine, from their exceſſive fatneſs^†: but the inventor of this, thinking to do honor to our country, inconſiderately caught at a word of European origin, and unheard of in the New World. It may be added, that the Welſh were never a naval people; that the age in which Madoc lived was peculiarly ignorant in navigation; and the moſt which they could have attempted muſt have been a mere coaſting voyage.

NORWEGIANS.The Norwegians put in for ſhare of the glory, on grounds rather better than the Welſh. By their ſettlements in Iceland and in Greenland, they had arrived within ſo ſmall a diſtance of the New World, that there is at leſt a poſſibility of its having been touched at by a people ſo verſed in maritime affairs, and ſo adventurous, as the antient Nortmans were. The proofs are much more numerous than thoſe produced by the Britiſh hiſtorians; for the diſcovery is mentioned in ſeveral of the Icelandic manuſcripts. The period was about the year 1002, when it was viſited by one Biorn; and the diſcovery purſued to greater effect by Leif, the ſon of Eric, the diſcoverer of Greenland. It does not appear that they reached farther than Labrador; on which coaſt they met with Eſkimaux, on whom they beſtowed the name of Skraelingue [...], or dwarfiſh people, from their ſmall ſtature. They were armed with bows and arrows, and had leathern canoes, ſuch as they have at preſent. All this is pro⯑bable; nor ſhould the tale of the German, called Turkil, one of the crew, inva⯑lidate the account. He was one day miſſing; but ſoon returned, leaping and ſinging with all the extravagant marks of joy a bon vivant could ſhew, on diſco⯑vering the inebriating fruit of his country, the grape^‡: Torfaeus even ſays, that he returned in a ſtate of intoxication^§. To convince his commander, he brought ſeveral bunches, who from that circumſtance named the country Vinland. I do [CLXV] not deny that North America produces the true vine^*; but it is found in far lower latitudes than our adventurers could reach in the time employed in their voyage, which was comprehended in a very ſmall ſpace. I have no doubt of the diſcovery; but, as the land was never colonized, nor any advantages made of it, it may be fairly conjectured, that they reached no farther than the barren country of Labrador.

The continent which ſtocked America with the human race, poured in the brute creation through the ſame paſſage. Very few quadrupeds continued in the peninſula of Kamtſchatka. I can enumerate only twenty-five which are inhabitants of land; for I muſt omit the marine animals, which had at all times power of changing their ſituation: all the reſt perſiſted in their migration, and fixed their reſi⯑dence in the New World. Seventeen of the Kamtſchatkan quadrupeds are found in America: others are common only to Sibiria or Tartary, having, for unknown cauſes, entirely evacuated Kamtſchatka, and divided themſelves between America and the parts of Aſia above cited. Multitudes again have deſerted the Old World, even to an individual, and fixed their ſeats at diſtances moſt remote from the ſpot from which they took their departure; from mount Ararat, the reſting-place of the ark, in a central part of the Old World, and excellently adapted for the diſperſion of the animal creation to all its parts. We need not be ſtartled at the vaſt journies many of the quadrupeds took to arrive at their preſent ſeats: Might not numbers of ſpecies have found a convenient abode in the vaſt Alps of Aſia, inſtead of wandering to the Cordilleras of Chili? or might not others have been contented with the boundleſs plains of Tartary, inſtead of tra⯑velling thouſands of miles, to the extenſive flats of Pampas?—To endeavour to elucidate common difficulties is certainly a trouble worthy of the philoſopher and of the divine; not to attempt it would be a criminal indolence, a neglect to ‘Vindicate the ways of God to man.’ But there are multitudes of points beyond the human ability to explain, and yet are truths undeniable: the facts are indiſputable, notwithſtanding the cauſes are concealed. In ſuch caſes, faith muſt be called in to our relief. It would certainly be the height of folly to deny to that Being who broke open the great fountains of the deep to effect the deluge—and afterwards, to compel the diſperſion of mankind to people the globe, directed the confuſion of languages—powers in⯑ferior in their nature to theſe. After theſe wondrous proofs of Omnipotency, [CLXVI] it will be abſurd to deny the poſſibility of infuſing inſtinct into the brute creation. DEUS eſt anima brutorum; GOD himſelf is the ſoul of brutes: His pleaſure muſt have determined their will, and directed ſeveral ſpecies, and even whole genera, by impulſe irreſiſtible, to move by ſlow progreſſion to their deſtined re⯑gions. But for that, the Llama and the Pacos might ſtill have inhabited the heights of Armenia and ſome more neighboring Alps, inſtead of laboring to gain the diſtant Peruvian Andes; the whole genus of Armadillos, ſlow of foot, would never have abſolutely quitted the torrid zone of the Old World for that of the New; and the whole tribe of Monkies would have gambolled together in the foreſts of India, inſtead of dividing their reſidence between the ſhades of Indoſtan and the deep foreſts of the Braſils. Lions and Tigers might have infeſted the hot parts of the New World, as the firſt do the deſerts of Africa, and the laſt the provinces of Aſia; or the Pantherine animals of South America might have re⯑mained additional ſcourges with the ſavage beaſts of thoſe antient continents. The Old World would have been overſtocked with animals; the New remained an unanimated waſte! or both have contained an equal portion of every beaſt of the earth. Let it not be objected, that animals bred in a ſouthern climate, af⯑ter the deſcent of their parents from the ark, would be unable to bear the froſt and ſnow of the rigorous north, before they reached South America, the place of their final deſtination. It muſt be conſidered, that the migration muſt have been the work of ages; that in the courſe of their progreſs each generation grew hardened to the climate it had reached; and that after their arrival in America, they would again be gradually accuſtomed to warmer and warmer climates, in their removal from north to ſouth, as they had in the reverſe, or from ſouth to north. Part of the Tigers ſtill inhabit the eternal ſnows of Ararat, and mul⯑titudes of the very ſame ſpecies live, but with exalted rage, beneath the Line, in the burning ſoil of Borneo or Sumatra; but neither Lions or Tigers ever mi⯑grated into the New World. A few of the firſt are found in India and Perſia, but they are found in numbers only in Africa. The Tiger extends as far north as weſtern Tartary, in lat. 40. 50, but never has reached Africa. I ſhall cloſe this account with obſerving, that it could be from no other part of the globe except Aſia, from whence the New World could receive the animal creation.

The late voyage of the illuſtrious COOK has reduced the probable conjectures of philoſophers into certainty. He has proved that the limits of the Old and New World approach within thirteen leagues of each other. We know that the intervening ſtreights are frequently frozen up; and we have great reaſon to ſuppoſe, that the two continents might have been once united, even as low as the Aleutian iſlands, or lat. 52. 30. Thus are diſcovered two means of paſſage from Aſia to America; the laſt [CLXVII] in a climate not more rigorous than that which ſeveral animals might very well endure, and yet afterwards proceed gradually to the extreme of heat.

In fact, every other ſyſtem of the population of the New World is now over⯑thrown. The conjectures of the learned, reſpecting the vicinity of the Old and New, are now, by the diſcoveries of our great navigator, loſt in conviction. The ſtrained ſyſtems of divines, laudably indeed exerted in elucidating SACRED WRIT, appear to have been ill-founded; but, in the place of imaginary hypothe⯑ſes, the real place of migration is uncontrovertibly pointed out. Some (from a paſſage in Plato) have extended over the Atlantic, from the ſtreights of Gibraltar to the coaſt of North and South America, an iſland equal in ſize to the continents of Aſia and Africa; over which had paſſed, as over a bridge, from the latter, men and animals; wool-headed Negroes, and Lions and Tigers^*, none of which ever exiſted in the New World. A mighty ſea aroſe, and in one day and night engulphed this ſtupendous tract, and with it every being which had not com⯑pleted its migration into America. The whole Negro race, and almoſt every Quadruped, now inhabitants of Africa, periſhed in this critical day. Five only are to be found at preſent in America; and of theſe only one, the Bear^†, in South America. Not a ſingle cuſtom, common to the natives of Africa and America, to evince a common origin. Of the Quadrupeds, the Bear, Stag, Wolf, Fox, and Weeſel, are the only animals which we can pronounce with certainty to be found on each continent. The Stag^‡, Fox, and Weeſel, have made alſo no farther progreſs in Africa than the north; but on the ſame continent the Wolf is ſpread over every part, yet is unknown in South America, as are the Fox and Weeſel. I ſuſpect, beſides, that the Stag hath not advanced farther ſouth than Mexico. In Africa and South America the Bear is very local, being met with only in the north of the firſt, and on the Andes in the laſt. Some cauſe unknown arreſted its progreſs in Africa, and impelled the migration of a few into the Chilian Alps, and induced them to leave unoccupied the vaſt tract from North America to the lofty Cordilleras.—My promiſed Table of Quadrupeds will at once give a view of thoſe which inhabit North America, and are either peculiar to it, or are met [CLXVIII] with in other countries. It certainly will point out the courſe they have taken in their migration; and, in caſe miſnomers are avoided, will reduce to the ſingle continent of Aſia the original country from whence they ſprung. Men of the firſt abilities, and firſt in learning, who have neglected the ſtudy of natural hiſtory, will give Lions and Tigers to America, miſled by the ignorance of tra⯑vellers, who miſtake the Puma, N^o 14 of this Work, for the firſt; and the ſpotted wild beaſts, allied to the Pantherine race, for the ſecond.