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A large M^p of Canada, extending to the Pactfc Ocean, containing the New Difcoveries made ^y /-^f Russians ^W French. ByTnoMAsjEFFERYS Geographer to his Majefty. LONDON: Printed for T. Jeff erys, the Corner of ^/. Martinh-Lane, Charing Crefs^ 1761. U' — ■■' % .He 6, •to V- JO. J; Cnp'TirWrilumra M • '^ LanJui^ {iu« m/rtiUvti/ tin SiM^ i^tAe oxT^e V a. S E deSaiMiUluie' YAiufiirAe Ttdeflimiuup Amritfd "^»5r^ O 1^ B.drPmos' T^deJKrrtv j ■% /^»T- ••»•» « Sinras Nrvadas 00 nanud iffia ruliufuU ^ Tko-fJtA Ckmru^a^ jAtnubn. .Vrti'.t:*'^. A L K S H.-iUft f'.t.r 1 ■»l ^»> V . Vt-mwtj^aki Hit m7tAhl-',UL r^Kanm •■"> 1, /'(•/•) f-hiTf » .Ouii'lifsligoiiets biuint:irliir riniuc lulling D ,/ "liJSS'y /*^^' lU^tU^HOn IliJiV.' OTA I. ..a N.I S^^«tf /^^A T L A I!f T I *. aA w . ^'»«'-^- _ »•*« .*«^^ a ■■■ i»< .:|»4 if- i V iy^ %> : '''>fe*^>r »^*..*r^*..4<^-f;^S>.w*<^Sy-<^ THE Editor's Preface. '"»fS;<>^?*"*j O afcertain the following Particulars l-ath been long -^f*s '*« i^ Matter of ca^er Enquiry, equally among the curious T ^ ^ and commercial Part of mankind, whether there is ^ ^ 3^ SI Pofiibility of reaching the Eaji- Indies hy Vi fliortcr -^ '^V^ ^^*^y *^"" ^^^^' "^ doubling the Cape of Good- Hope \ jK©iO''^3«-J«{ '^"'^ whether the two great Continents of yljia and ylnicricay do adlually any where join or not. In regard to the firft Article, there i.re at prefent only two known Mari- time Trads, by which wc have a free Communication with the Eaji- IrJian Part of the Globe, either round the Southernmoft Promontory of yf/ricat to the Eaflwaid, or that ftill more Southernly one of America^ called Cape-Horn, to the Weft ward. The former of thefc, is almoft wholly uled by the feveral Nations of £«;-(?^^, whofc Com- merce invites them to the Indian Seas, as being by much the fliortcr of the two, though yet the longeft and moft tedious of all ufual Navigation. Various l-ave been the Methods thought upon to facilitate our Arrival in ihcfc Parts, to fliorten the vaft Circtiit taken about, and to fave both the Time and Trouble expended in coafting round the Continent of Africa. As a Remedy againft this Inconve- nience, it has been piojedled to cut a Canal through the Neck of Land, intercepted between the moft Northern Extent of the Red Sea, and tl:c oppofitc Part of the Levant, (which dividing ^f^z a 2 from ( Iv ) from Africa, renders the latter a great Pcniiifula,) and Co to make an uninterrupcd Puffagc to the Indian Se,i, from ilic Mediterranean through tnc Straits of Bahelnuwdel ', hut this Sclicme, though concerted and begun to be put in Execution, more than once, in remote Ages, was found to ht impra(5^icabK', and tl:e Projectors were ohUged to defil}, after having confumeJ Multitudes of' Men in the Attempt, either from the Didiculty of cutting through vaft Mountains and Ikds of Granate in the Way, or a Fear of wliat Confequences might cnfuc from a Jundlion of tiiofe Seas ; the Red Sea being naturally fupjHjfod to be much higher than the Mediterranean ; bccaufe the Nile empties itfelf into the latter ; the Event, tl;ercf<)rc, cf a Jundion of fuch vaft Bodies of Water, they dreaded mi^ht cauf' great Dcvailatlon by the over-filling of the Mediterranean^ which in all Probability would have laid Egypt entirely under Water. Belidcs, as the lurks fovern the Country on both Sides the Red Sea, tiiey would alio be lafters of the Palfage, and levy what exoilntant Tax they fliould tliink proper to demand, in Oppofition to all the Powers in Europe, though they united in fighting for this Door to the Eaji-Indies. Anodier Proje«5t was, that of cutting a Way for failing from Europe to yf//t>an. Indted, if we confider the extreme Dif- .*mtk*i0y«gc hy the Co: mentioned Continent, and \\xiXoi America ^ muft be fcparated. By thefe Means alio the Boundaries of the vaft Empire oi Ruffia, to the North and EaO, were fixed, and many of the fcattercd and barbaroui Nations that inhabit thofe prodigious Tracts of Land, reduced under feme Sort of Rec;ulation. The Second Part relates the Voyages and Adventures of the Commanders and Mariners, that by the Order of the late C/.ar, Peter the Great, and the fucceeding Emprefs, were undertaken in order to prove whether A/ia and America were any where connected ; if not, how wide the Didance might be between them. Thefe feveral Voyages, like all others that arc made for the Pifcovery of unknown Coafts, were attended with great Perils and Diibclles to the Navigators ; but by their Adiftance our Curiofity is at length latisfied, and we are certain of thefc two Points, from Proofs founded upon very authentic Teftimonies, both that the Poflibiiiiy of a North Eaftern Paflage to India does indeed cxift, and that the abovementioned Continents are really feparated by Sea from each other. But as in all Probability the Diftance between the Extremities of each is not great, the Population of America, which has fo long puz/led the Inquilitive, may be very fairly hence accounted for, lince Accident niight more than once have driven fome of the Inha- bitants of Kamtchatlia, or Ochotzk, in their Boats too far out to Sea, for thetn to recover their native- Shore, and have landed them upon the oppofite Coall of America. Neither is it impoffible, that the intermediate Channel in this fcvere Climate, may (ome Years be lb entirely fro/en over, at leaft for a time, as to have give) thole People an Opportimity of palling it on toot, whole Return back again a llidtleii Thaw of the Ice may naturally be fuppoied to have prevented.' Tiie Dirttrence of Lani',iiage, Cuftoms, Shape, and Fealiu-es, that appear between the y^/z/tv/Vv//; Savages and the Nations abovementioned, may arile from various Cuufes in the Courfe of lb lon-^ a Trac\ of Time as may have palTed lince iUch a Chance a» this fird happened j duriiif; ( vi ) it 'J. during which the fame, moil lilvcly, hath been repeated often in dlftant Ages of the World. But to return ; I obferved above, that there is indifputably, according to thefc Memoirs, a PalTage along the Northern Coaft: of yf/ia round the Tcbiitfchi A'o/s, and lo to tlie South hy "jopan into the Indian Scnsy which is witiiout Doubt a much nearer VVav, mccrly in re- g ud 'o Diftance, than tiie prclcnt Tra^t alx)ut the Cape of Good Hope. yet there is one grand Obflacle that, I am afraid, can never he lb far ovi ivonie as to make the Voyage tins Way pradicable, even although the Courfe was muc h fhorttr than it is ; I mean the vail Shoals of Ice, ibmcdmes fixed and forrctimes floating, that inccllantly prcfent them- lllvcs in the Frozen Ocean, which oftentimes congeal together in Inch a Manner as to form a new Continent, as it were, and freeze the Ships, that are unfortunate enough to be furroundcd by them, fall for fcveral VV..eks together. The Dcl.iy, occalioned by this Circumflancc, to the Ritfjian Veflels, has been fo great, that two or three Years have elapfed in making the Voyage from xhzhena to Kamtchatka ; it being hadly poflible, during the Ihort Extent of the Summer in thefe Parts, to pafs through the broken Shoals of Ice before the Winter fets in again. And though undoubtedly the Britijh Sailors are the moll intrepid and Ikilful on the Globe, yet, provided the Voyage one Time with another (hould only take up Twelve Months from Europe to Indiay notwithftanding the va(l Addition made to it is by the Circuit from England round Norway , Lapland, ^c. into the Frozen Ocean, flill this would be much more inconvenient, as well as of longer Duration, than the ufual Tradl about the Cape of Good Hope. The Danger and Mifery that accrues, when a Stay is made of any Length of Time in fuch Climates, and the People are not continually excrcifed with Labour, is almoil as intolerable as any Thing elfe, it incon- ceivable, I mean from that dreadful Dillemper the Scurvy, which is always found in fuch Cafes to make horrible ravages in the human Frame. Indeed it is very uncertain whether this Diforder could be prevented by any Means whatever, while the Men are forced to fubiift upon Salt Provifions ; and to liipply them with Freih in thofc Regions would be impofiible j (o that, upon the whole, fuch a Voyage fcems, in my Opinion, altogether unfit and impolTible to be executed with any tolerable Degree of Succefs, that can be depended upon, for facilitating a Communication between Nations fo very remote from each other. It has been aflerted that the Ocean under the Northern Pole is open, and but little incumbered with Ice, and that therefore m ft { VII ) Id therefore the Performance of the Voyage we are treating of, fecms probable to bo efteded this Way ; one would be loth to difcouri'.ge any Endeavour to promote the public Benefit, but yet it fliould he confiditred, that was the Certainty of this Fadl proved by repeated Tcflimonies, \vhich is far from being the Cafe, even then tlie gre:it Obrtrudlon, both in entering and leaving the Polar Ocean, would Hill make the Voyage exceedingly hazardous, tedious, and uncertain. I have thought proper to make thefe few Animadverfions upon the North-eaftern Navigations, and ihali now proceed to fay fomething relating to the Work in general. The Reader will here find, in their Order, the fevcral Expeditions undertaken by the Ru/Junji and ColKicks to make themfelves acquainted with Ibme of the barbarous Nations, that roam over the vail Trad, of Northern AJiuy to extend the Limits of the Mufcovitijh Territories, and levy a Tribute from the Inhabitants of the only riches thofe Coun- tries are as yet produdive, of which are indeed the moft properly fuited to them, the warm and beautiful Furs wherewith Nature has cloathed manv of the animals that are bred there. In the Courfe of thefs Narrations is a Number of curious and ftrange Particulars, which arife fomctimes from the uncouth Cuftoms, as they appear to us, of the rude Polfefibrs j at others, from a Soil and Climate fo different and diftant from our own, that it is only from the Rujians and CofjUcks we ciui expedt any authentic Information in what appertains to thefe rugged Regions, bccaufc they arc not only better fitted to travel therein, and nearer of a Complexion in Temper and Dilpolition with the wild Nations that people them, but their Intereft alio, and the Gain they expedl to make by Difcoveries of this Sort, prompts them thus to exert tliemfelves. The Reader will find the Stile of this Recital to be very unaffeded and fimple, being only a plain Tranfli- tion of Memoirs of Voyages collected from the Original Manufcripts, containing the Difcoveries made. Step by Step, along the Coafls of tlie Frozen Sea, and to the Continent of America, from the Year 1636 to that of 1742. In regard to tlie Maps, whicli are infcrted kli xhh. hdC^T Explaiia'.ion of the Matters related in the Work, the original Map of the RuJ/ian Difcoveries, comprehending the Coall of Ajia, from Noi:a Zembla round the TchiitkJ'chi to the llle of Japa}:, witli the Courfe of the RiiJJia Ships which actually failed froui tlie Ri\'er Lena round the Tchutjk'A Nofs to Kamtchatka, and al:o the- Trad:s of Captain Bering and 'Tchirekoiv, from the Port of Au^atjchj, in KamicLuitkii, likewifc to the oppofite Coafls oi Korih Ar.u-rija ; I i.lV< ( viii ) have likewifcinferted on it the Routs of the feveral Travellers by Land and Sea, which are not in the Original ; and added three other Maps. The Fi'r/i is a Copy ct Part of a ^apancfc Map of the World, formerly belonging to Sir Hans 5/rn: But rain it be in as the f Weeks arizon in id : And le Earth,, I that the at of the Harveft ; ijoy this polite to led to be to come fat, and hr iroin here is a ores Sulk > tlie Supreme Beini; to blefs them v.i'..i S;i< celi.. ITavcvi r, the/ have then- iV/) .\//.j.-/«) or Magicians, and are a very filthy Per ,'!e. Thc^ Jo not bailj their liutson the GrounJ, but ui>')n fovir Polls, like I'omc yfi ift::iuii:s, and gci up, by n:eans of aLa.lder, to th: Toj, where tluy entrr throuj^h a Hole, For their n^c>-!iuvy Oieauuns th^y nuke u!e of a Tub, which they have with ihe:n in the llut, and, wlieii full, tliey carry ( ix ) to have hclongcil xo rcJot /Jicscciv. lie r.flictl licr wIkic her M,hlc^ was? She aniwcrctl, •• I'cdot and (Jcrcjim ( Aukudlnciv) clicil < T tlur ** Scurvy ; others of their Company v/crc Uain, and a lew Iiad fivcU *' tht.inlclvcs hy Fhght, in linall Vcficls, without any Body's knovvin;; " what was hccoinc oF thjm." Of thck latter V^clli^cs were afterwards difccncreil on the River Kiiniffcbaika. When IVoloJImer yltLilJow^ in the Year 1697, ^^'^^ ^^^ Foundation of tlic Conquefl: of the Coiuitry of KiimtjchatkiU the Riiljiciiis weic al'ead.y known to its Inhabitants. It is a common Report among the Vvir/w/- Jchcdiilcsy that loni; before AthiJjoiVy a certain Fcdotow, wlio, probably, ^vas the Son of Vedot Alexccw^ had, with fome of his Comrades hved amongfl; them, and intermarried with their Kamtfcbcddh' Women : tlicy ftill Ihewed the Place of the RuJ/um Habitations, and the Mouth of the fmall River Nikiil, whicli falls into the Kiwiffchatkay and therefore in the Rujjian Language is called Fcdoiicba. But at Athifjb'ws Arrival, none of thele firfl: Rt(/;ii!fis were left. They arc fiid to b.ave been fo much honoured that they were almofl: deify 'd. It was not believed that a human Hand could hurt them , but after the R?(jjums began to quarrel among themfelves, and one wounding the other, lb that the Kamtfchc^ dales law the Blood flow from tliem ; after their feparating from each other, and fome of them going over to the Sea of Perijchinjky, they were all flain, partly by the KiifntJchcdalcSy partly by the Korjokcs, The River Fedotcba (alls into the River KamtJ'cbaika on the South Side, i Wo Werfts * hdow JVcrcbniKxjmtcbatzkoi OJlrog. Upon this River Fedotrjba were feen, at tlie Time of the firll Expedition oi Kamtfchatkciy the Ruins carry it out, and make ufe of the fame Tub to bring in Water, for other Occafions : A whole Family will lie all nakcil together untlcr one large Coverlet, The RuIJhvis who UaJe with them, carry thither a Kind ofMuflirooms, called, \x\\}nQ Rujjtnn Tonjiuc, AIrid>unio!\ which they exchange for Squirils, Fo.", Ermin, Sable, and other Furs : Tlioil; who .iic rich among them, lay up large Frovifions of thefc Muiluooms, for the Winter. \\ Jicn they make a Feaft, they pour Water upon fome of ihcfc Muflirooms, and boil th-^m. Tlicy then drink the I iquor, which intoxicates them ; the poorer Sort, v/ho cannot allord to l.i\' in a Store of thefe Muflirooms, polt thcmfclvc\s, on thele Occafions, roinid the Huts of the Rich, and watch the Opportunity of the Guells coming down to make Water, and iljcn hold a Wooden Bowl to receive the Urin, wliich they drink ofF greedily, as having flill fome Virtue of the Mulhroom in it, and by thij Way they alfo get drunk. In Sp ing and Summer they catch a large Qiianiity of Fifh, and digr.';ing Holes in the Ground, which they line with the Bark of Birch, they hll them with it, and cover the Holes over with Farth. As foon as they think the Fith is rotten and tender, they take out fcimc of it, pour Water upon it, and boil it with red-hot Pebbles (as the FinhirJuins Ao their Beer) and reed upon it, as the greateft Delicacy in the World. This Mcfs flinks fo abominiiblv, tliat llio Rujpans who deal with them, and wlio are none of the moft fqueamifli, are tlieinfelvcs iK.-r iible to endure it. Of this Liquor they likcwifc drink lo immoderately, tlut they wiil b.; quite intoxicated, or drunk with it. * Verfta, or Werft, is a RuJ/J.m Meafure of Land, ufed inftcad of Miles, of ^co S-ilclics, or RMJjian Fathoms j 104 1-5111 Wciits a:c equal to a Decree of 69' En^Hjb Miles.' b " ' of A III ( X ) of two Siinowics, wherein Fiuktovj witli his Companions, Is laid ro have lived} hut nobody could tell the Way by whiih thele firtl RiiJ- Jians eainc to KiinitJaMUKJ. This was not known till the Year 17 "^6, when the Particulars ot" this Affair were found in the Archives of Ja- Concerning the pretended great Ifland in the Frozen Sva, of which Mention has been n^i^de on Occafion of the Voyage of Mic/.uii'h Stti- ti:icbiny the Co/Juci', that in the Year 1645 an Account had been received of it, which was not then confirmed. It is firft to be oblervtd, that in all Uefcriptious of V^oyages between the Rivers Lt'//a and Ko/y/fui, of which there arc a confiderable Number in the Archives oi Jtikiitzk^ not one mentions a Word of this great Kland, although feveral Vcll'els have been ihiven by contrary Winds fo far into the Sea, that they muft: neccf- firily have lecn it, if there liad been any fuch liland. To prove this, tv.o Voyages may ferve, made in 1650, partly by one and the fame Company j fo tliat the Accounts of the one may ferve as a Confirmation of thofc of the other. One may likcwife gather from them, vvitii what Toil nnd Danger thcfe Voyages were accompanied. Andrei Gorcloi, a CoJliiCyW2.s> difpatched from "Jakutzk in July 1650, to go by Sea to the River Indigirka and to render tributaiy the People dwelling above this, and the River Mumat which falls into the ///- digirka. He failed fo far fuccefsfully, that on the laft Day of Aiigujl he came over againfl the Mouth of the River Chroma. Tliere he was frozen in, according to his Account, two Days Voyage from the Continent, when he fliould have gone to it on Foot over the Ice : but he was not lb happy : the Ice broke up af»ain, and a violent Temped which billed ten Days, drove his Kcjtfche flill farther into the Sea, where he was froze in again, and had a Journey of a Fortnight over the Ice on Foot, to the Land. In the mean while the Kotfche was wreck'd between the Ice. Gorcloi and his Men had drawn with him upon Sledges, fome of the Naval Stores and Provifions; but left great Part in the Sea. From the Place where they reached the Continent, they fet out with Sledges drawn by Dogs *, on the 5 th of OSiobcr^ and came in four Days to the Mouth '^ Dogs, arc very fcarce in Ch'ina^ nor will they thrive there : wherefore Merchants and 'I ravtllcrs who go troin Ruffia thither, commonly carry fome with them, which turn to a very good Account, cfpeciaily if they are broke, and have learned fome Tricks. On the Dtlvjr HajiJ, there are at Thibet and Tanguht, Dogs of a vaft Size: This fcems to agree witii vh;U M:}ra;s Paulus relates of the large Dogs in Tauguhtia., as alfo with that Palfage in ■frlar.usy and i^uintris Curtiusj where they mention, that King Porus made a prcfent of two i.'f ihck large Dogs to yllcxonder. On the Eall Side of the Country of Kamtjihatki, towards the Sea, th^nc lives a People, who keep no other Sorts of Beads but Dogs, which though tliv-y ^ m i |ir ly-^O, of >. which \uu7s Sta- rcccivcd that \n \lyina, of tzk^ not els Imve ncccf- >vc this, le fame rination 1, with y 1650, : People the In- igtiji he 5 fro:?eii ntinent, ivas not h hUlcd as froze ''oot, to een the bme of From Sledges > to the Mouth antn anj urn to a On the rce with [ilHige in it of two toward* though ( Xi ) Mi)iitli orLholllvci* f/ufi\:;ir/:a, and from liicncc, on the I2th o^ November to Vjiiniiin') aimoivK't wlicrc a l*oud§ ofMcal coll eight Rubles^, on ac- count u\' ihi many Mibl">rtuncs tlut happened by Sea, and no Corn be- ing lent thither. The iL ond Voy i^e to be l)rought here as a Proof, was tliat of T/- tnofi-i BiiUiiko'iVt a Colliic { who, in i64(;, was fent as Comnvuidt r to the River Kolynui, but had piillcd the Winter at ScLiganl^ on the Rivvr Lena. lie came the 2d oi' J/z/y, 1650, to the Mouih of the River, and failed to the Gulph of O/W^t-tiv;. There he met with Ice, and was driven between it tor eight Days together in tlic Sea. Near one of the Illands, formed by the fevcral liranclics of the Li'fiti, he was obliged to beat his Way thnnigh the Ice, for two Days, in order to reach it. At lall it feemed as if the Sea was quite free Irom Icej wherefore B,'//- diiko\i} lailed again towards the Oulph of Of/io/ocx:\i ; but there found llill great Slioals of Ice, among which he drove about in the Sea four b 2 Days they arc hut of a cfimmon Si/.c, arc rcmarlcahlr, in that they have Il.iir of fix fiK-hcs lonjt. In 171s, a certain //'rt/aa./i- travtiling in a fledj^e with t.velve dogs, towarl^ u'it City of Bin-fowa, got himfelf wrapped up in warm <^iili.';, and girt fill in ihc Sledi^e, in ordif I') fecurc him fiom the Severity of tlie Cold, and to prevent his falling out, in cafe the SlcJcji* fhould over-turn ; the OjlitiJ^ who was his Guide, (kaited along Side of him, (aciordln;^ to Cuftom, in cafe the Sledge fhould over-turn, to raife it upagiiii) and coming on a large Plain, where the Ground is generally covered Man'> Depth with Snow, tho Dogs (which thi; fijiituis .alfo ufe for Hunting) efpying a Fox ataDiltince, inimali itJy flew in Purfuit of their Game, and run away with the /l^aiwode^ with fuch Sw/ftnefi, that it wa-« impoflihle for theCjuide to keep pace with them, and th -y fjon gut f I-leckoning was to have a 'i'ally, and at the Sum of evcrv hund'cd Deng.iV, they cut a Notch upon the Tally, which Notch they called Rubel, and, tiKn.: );e, v/h,.jj they aftcrv,-aid coined Silver Coin, of jult one hundred ICopeiks in Value, i;;.. y cilled it a Rubel, or Notch. KM I'll. 'iii ll'i (xii) Days more. There were no Hopes of his getting forward j his fbfe Endeavour was therefore to get rid of the Ice, in order to return to the Lena. At the Mouth oithtLcna there lay eight Kotfches manned partly with ColJhcsy partly with Merchants and Fromyjchknu and ready to put to Sea. Soon after a Land-wind arole which removed the Ice; when all the nine Kotfches pafied the Gulph of Ofnohewa at the fame Time. Beyond this Gulph lies an Ifland near the Land, behind which was, at that Time, the ufual Navigation. When they were going to enter the Streights that feparated the Illand from the Continent, they found a Shoal of Ice fixed to the Bottom of the Sea, and could no otherwife pafs through it than by all the Crews of the feveral Velfels joining to remove this Obllrudion. In the Streights behind the Ifland the Kotfches were drawn by Men; and after Twenty-four Hours Navigation. in the Streights, a favourable Wind began to blow, which brought them in Twenty-four Hours more to the Mouth of the river Jana. Here a Wind from the Sea brought fuch a quantity of Ice together, that it almoft fqueezed the Kotches to pieces. But as the Coafls of the Frozen Sea are in thefe Parts floping, fo that the great Shoals of Ice which link deep in the Water, cannot come nigh the Shore, they work'd themlelves happily through near the Land, and on tlie 29th of Aitgujl palled the Cape, which formerly, on Account of its northerly Situation was reckoned to be the niofl difficult Place in this Voyage, and tlierefore w^as called S'li'atoi Nofs. They were nearly oppofite the Moutli of the River Cbrcnia; when in the Night between the 30th and 31ft of Augnjlj the Sea was frozen quite over. Bti/!ihikoio'& and four other Kotfches that were not far from the Shore, having but one Fathom Water, thought as foon as the Ice would be rtrong enough to tranfport tlieir Eflcills over it to the Land ; but thefe Hopes vaniihed ; fince on the Firfl of Septcmbrr., when the Ice was already half a Span thick, a violent Wind from the Land arofe, and bore tlie Ice up again, driving tlie Kotfches between the Ice into the open Sea, which took up five Days. There afterwards being a Calm, the Sea froze again in one Night, and on the third Day the Ice was fo thick, that they might pafs over it. People were then fcnt out to take a Survey on which Side was the ncareft Land j when it was found that Kotche commanded by Andrei Gorchi, was a Day's Voyage more to the South tiian the other Kotfches, of which there were five, including his. Where- fore, for tiic prefent, they embarked with their Provifions and other Necellaries, on board Gordoi% Kotfche, that in cafe the Sea fhould break up again, the way to the Continent might be fo much the fliorter; but when every thing was ready for beginning the Voyage, the Sea fud- denly ^51 '•■:-^: ^.!, ( xiii ) denly begun to fwell j the Ice, whicli was already half an Arfchin * thick, broke in Pieces, and a llrong Wind drove the Kotfches ftill far- ther into the Sea than before. This again lalled five Days ; after which the Wind ceafed, and the Kotfches froze in a third Time. They were obliged to leave them, and proceed on foot over the Ice to the Conti- nent, every one taking upon a fmall Sledge, as much Provilions and Im- plements with him as he could draw. But even now they had much l).ingcr and Fatigue to undergo ; the Ice often broke under their Feet; they were often obliged to leap from one Shoal of Ice to another ; to throw over their Provilions and Implements, and to pull one another over with great Poles and Ropes. M hill they arrived at the Shore, near the A'loutli of the Lidigtrkay and proceeded up. the River to Ujan- Two Years after, viz. in 1652, we find the Inftrudtions of one F'uitidejatniks hvan Rebrowy who, in Bultlako-ws Room, was fent as Commander to ilie River Kolynuiy to inform himfelf of the above- mentioned great Ifland in the Frozen Sea, of which all was repeated to him ihat Micbailo Staduchin had reported. And it is poffible that the fameThing was afterwards enjoined to the KolymijJi and other Commanders tJiere. But this is certain, that in the Archives of Jakutzk no Ac- counts of Difcoveries that have followed thereupon are to be met with ; and fo the Affair might reft here, if of late it had not been brought upon the Carpet again, and by exprefs Expeditions had been treated in fuch a ?*Luiner, tliat the Reality of the fiid Ifland leems to have gained fome Appearance of Credit. On February 20, 1 7 1 o, the following Account was taken down in Writing, in the Chancery of Jakutzk, upon the Interrogation and De- pofition of fevcral Celiacs of Jakutzk , in relation to that and other fcbatka. the JVayivodc of Jakutzk, KhJus I-ivan Petroivitjch Borjatwjkoiy (who, from 1667 to 1675, had prelided in the Government oi Jakutzk) liad lailed by Sea with a Mer- cliant named Andrei WoripaetVy from the Lena to the River Kolyma ; during winch Voyage they had moftly failed along the Continent as far as Sivjatoi Nojs -, but afterwards, on Account of the great Qiuintity of Ice taftened to the Shore, they had been obliged to keep out from Sea. In this Voyage, the Pilot of their Kotfche had fliewn the whole Company, at a great Diftancc, an Ifland on this Side of the Mouth of the Iflands fituated oppofitc to tlie Land oi Kamtfa Kikipbar Malgin faid, that in the Time of * AiTvhia, i. 1 RuJJlan Mcafurc, twcntv-cight Inches Ions:, and is divided into fixiccn Wcilchock, or l\ii tb, io that ciuli (^lai lu uV iliis Mcafurc contains ibur VVerlchocks j three Ailthiii make a Siuohcn or RujJuiH lathom. :'lfl| rill I m. m ■i n ( xW) the River Kofymii, \vliich every body was able to dilccrn : And after tlicir coming to the Kolyma y n Merchant, named J if oh JVjdthiy had told them in what Manner nine Kotfchcs in Company, iiad failed from the Lena to the KolymCy when three of thefc Vefiels were driven to that Ifland. The People that were font afhorc, obfcrvcd the Impreilion of the Hoofs of unknown Beafcs, but law no Inhabitants : Thefe Kotfchcs arrived at Kolyma ; but of an liland fituated oppofitc the Mouth of the River Lt'«^, he had never heard, iSc. This Depofition contains alfo an Account of an Ifland, fuppofed to lie oppolite the Country of X^wZ/t'/'^^z/v/, but with fo many uncertain Circumftances, that it requires a good Explanation, if the Accounts publiflied afterwards are to be rendered confident with it. Taras Sta- iiuchiiit a Merchant, is fiid to have told M.ilghiy that many Years ago he filled with ninety Men in a Kotfchc from the Pvivcr Kolyma, to make Difcoveries in relation to the great Cape of Tfchuktjchy ; that they could not double it, but went over it on Foot ; and on the ether Side, where they built new Vcllels, in which, fiiling along the Coails, they came to the Mouth of the River PenJcJjina. There the Narrowncfs of the Place they crofled over is moil remarkable : But going farther, faid, that oppofite the Mouth of the Penfchma, we may fee in the Sea an Ifland, and that the Hime Ifland, according to the Relation of a Wo- man, whom they took Prifoner, is inhabited by People who h ve great Beards, wear long Cloaths, and call the Rt/JJianSy Brethren. Theie are the Circumflances that want a good Explanation. Firft, It is poflible that the Name of the River Penfchma may have been put by miftake inftead of the River Kumtfchatka y for, as impro- bable as it is that Staducbin fliould have failed all round Kamtfchatka to the River Pcnfchina in one Voyage, fo certain is it on the other Hand, that oppofite to Penjchlnay there is no Ifland to he met with in the Sea : And altho' there is none to be feen from the Mouth of the River Kamtf- chatka, yet the Kamtfchcdales may have had an Account of the Iflands that are known in thofe Parts. The great Beards and long Cloaths (hat are to (hew a Similitude with the Riijfansy feem to be borrowed from the Nation of the KnriUes, who inhabit the Iflands fltuated to the South of Kamtfchatka : as indeed thefe, contrary to the Nature of all the People of Siberia and Kamtfchatkay are bearded, and hairy on their bo- dies : But it is a Miftake that they call the Ruf/ians Brethren : At the Time oiTaras ^taduchin, the Kurilles had perhaps never heard of the Ruffians. Staduchin, it may be concluded, tlie Brotherhood, from the fimilar Form of Body ; and MaJgln, from a Miftake of Memory, may have afcribed it to the Kamtfchcdales. Iivan m. nd after lad told om the to that ifion of otrches 1 of the ofed to ncertain ccounts Tt/J" Sul~ ;ars ago to make y could where -y came of tile ;r, faid. Sea an a Wo- ve great hei c are ay have impro- afka to ■ Hand, he Sea : Katntf- IHands ths that ?d from - South all the lelr bo- At the of the 3m tlie J, may (XV) hmn Scbamaew, fiid. That in the Year 1700, he was fent to Kamtfchatkay with Timrjei KobdeiVy the Commander of that Country : they making ufe of Rein Deer, ixom Anadirjk to the River PaT/c/jma, where they built Vellels and failed with them by Sea to Pi/Jioi OJIrog, probably on the River Pi(/Iala, v/here again they got Rein Deer, with which they pafled over a Chain of Mountains to the RxwerKamtJcbatkii-y oppofite the Mouth of the River Penjchinay there was a little Ifland in the Sea. At laft, in the Return from Kiimtjchatkciy he had ieen an Ifland oppofite tiie Mouth of the River Karagiiy on which the Cojj'ac lavan Go/yginlvAd been with two others, at the Diftance of a Day's rowing from the Conti.ient to the Illand, where they found Inhabitants ; but thefe refufnig to pay Tribute, ihey did not venture to go far upon the Illand, or to take a minute Account of it. Mkhaih NaJ'tUn i.x'vAy that in the Year 1702, he had been fent to Kamtjcbatka\ Their Way had been, as in the former Journey, hy Ana- dirjk to the River Penjchinay frc m whence they went by Water to the River Lejr.aiiiy and from thence by Land with Sledges to the River KamtJ'c hatha . At the Mouth of this River might be feen at a Diilance in the Sea, an Illand; but it was uncertain whether it was inhabited or not, and that the Ruffians had never been upon it. From the South Promontory of Kamtfchatkay he had feen Iflands or Land, fuch as he had likewile obferved on his return to Jakutzky when he failed by Sea, between the Rivers Kolyma and Indigirka. This laffc Land, or Ifland, is, according to the Account of the ViXotDanih Alonaf- tirjkoit who at that Time was with them, is contiguous to the Land, lituated oppofite to Kamtfchatkay and extends oppofite to the Mouth of the River Lena-, but whether the Land was inhabited or not, that Pilot was entirely ignorant. Alexei PorotoWy who in the Year 1704, had been :x.t Kamtfchatkay has faid the fame of the Ifland overagainft the Mouth of the River Karaga, as Iiaan Schamaciv. Here ends the Interrogations in the Chancery of fakutzk. At the fxme Time the Stolnick and Chief Commandant Knjas Wafiki LwanouutchGagariiiyW^kS prefent at Jakutzky being difpatched to Siheria from the Governor Knjas Matfei Petroicitfch Gagarhiy his Father's Brother, with full Power to make Difcoverics and better Regulations. On the ijihoi March he delivered an Order to ihclVaywodcTrauernichty confifting of feveral Points, one of v/hich was as follows : " That he ** fliould make diligent Enquiry about the Iflands fltuated oppofltc the *' Mouth of the River Kolymay and the Land of Kamtfchatkay what •* People inhabited them; under whofc Jurifdidtion they were; what was Iwan ■i i< nil'' ill I'M ( "-vl ) *« was their I^niployir.ci^t ; how lan^c tlie Illnnc^s were, iind how far ** diit.mt from the ContiiK-nt." With which l'JU]ir.;ics the Ccnnm in- ders and Ccjjlxs who were to be lent to tJiolePlace!! were' coinmifhoiied, v.-ith Promile th.it they might cxpcft a particular Reward for this Ser- \-icc from hiis Czarijh Maje'.ly, to wliom an Account Ihould be fent of wliat had been done, by an Hxorefs. In confequcncc of this. Orders Vv'crc at firft given, dated the 20th of Aug.wvA 9th o^ Sept. 1710, to tlic Comm;\nders of ^'/- '/c'/iv; and/vcA';;;,,', from tlie Chancery of yukutz!:, to make tliefc Dilcoverics their parti- cular Bufinefsj upon which a Depofition in Writing was received from "JiKob Pcrmakoiv, a CoJJ'ac of VJl-'juna, which mentioned tliat he once lailed from the Lcnay to the River Kolyma j and that on the farther Side of the Swdtoi Nofs, lie had feen an Illand in the Sea; but did not know v/hcther it was inhabited or not. There was likewife fituated di- redtly oppofitc the River Kolymay an Illrind that might be leen from the Continent, and Mountains were obfcrved upon it; but that it was alfo uncertain whether it had anylnhabitance: this perhaps might be known from the Jukagiri, who dwelt thereabouts.* A Letter from the Governor Knjas Matj ei Fetroivltfch Giigarniy of the 2 8 til of ^'jan. 171 1, impovv^ering the Wayvvod;^ Traucrnicht, to do flill more; his own Words are as follow: ** I have heard hy Cofjacs -awA Dioonines from yakutzk, that you intend to fend a Party of CoJJacs and Volunteers to the New Countiy,or Illand, oppofite the Mouth of the River Kolyma-, but that you helitated about doing it without Or- ders J therefore I have found it neceffary to tell you, that you fliould by no Means negledt to do itj and if other Ulands may be difcovered, you will be plealed to do the fame with refpeft to them. But above all Things, the Expedition is to be made this prefent Year, 171 1. This I write to you, by Order of His Czarijh Majefty. ** Knjas Matfd Gagariji. jf(in, 28, 171 1." Here TV on the Waywode Traurfiicbty prepared for two Expeditions, one to the Mouth of the River Jana, and the other to the River Kolyma^ in Order to go in Search of the pretended Illand from both Places at * Jii/.-rt'^!}-!, Ju/:.7^ri, or yuhniri is a Pagan Nation, near the Frozen Sea, between tl\e Mouth ot the River Lem, and the Promontory of Tilling othcrwifc called Sivjatoi Nofs. Tiie Speech oF thtl'e People were like thcGubbliiig of Geefc. Fcrhiper, in his 'rravcls, fays the lame of three S.ivag.^s, v.'liich w.s brought away from Davit's Streights; I'/z. That tlicy made fiicli a Gabbluvj; and i ttcr'd nothing but inarticulate Sound-,cxcept thefe two Words, Oxai idabii. Thefe fukigin ha,\i thci Dta.l on Trees, tut the Skeletons, or Bones of their Parents anl Reli.ti >ns, thjy a.'teiwards c irry alonj. w th them, when they go a Hunting. 'I'his acj ets w.t.i what 'n afli.m.d ol" t.ic Saii.ojuis wlio never bury ihcEones of their Pill eat j. • tt *t *( it m :ik If*! 1i i how C\r ■ ommm- this Ser- c Tent of 20 th of -■ir parti- t'ed from he once I fcA-ther did not a ted di- i'om tJie was a]fo ; known ^ of the do fljll ^^I'cs and CoJJacs outh of )ut Or- fliould overed, t above 1711. I." litions, lolymny ices at 2en the . 'ilie fays t!iL- It they kVords, )nes of y go a nes of ( xvll ) cnce J for which Purpofe, the Men were either to fail by Sea, or to travel over the Ice, till a fufficient Certainty could be obtained, whether there was, or not any fuch Ifland. Concerning the firft Expedition, which had Merkurei IVagtriy a CofJlu\ for its Conductor, I have found feveral Writings in the Archieves at J^- kutzk'i but they muft be judicioufly examined, and we muft not take every Thing they contain for Truth. Wagin departed from Jakutzk in Autumn 171 1, with eleven other CoJJacs ; and in May 171 2, he made a Voyage from VJl-'JanJkoe Simowie to the Frozen Sea. The above- mentioned yacob Permakow ferved him for a Guide. The Carriage confifted, according to the Cuftom of the Country, of Nartes, a Kind of Sledges, drawn by Dogs . Having followed the Coaft to Swiatoi No/s, they from thence entered the Sea diredtly towards the North, and failed to a defart Ifland, without Wood, that was from nine to twelve Days Journey in Circumference. From this Ifland it is faid they faw, farther in the Sea, another great Ifland or Land ; but Wagin durft not go over to it, as the Spring was too far advanced, and on Account of his want- ing Provifions ; he therefore returned to the Continent, to provide him- felf with a fufficient Supply of Fifh during the Summer, and to make the Voyage once more the following Winter. The Place where he reached the Continent on his Return, was be- tween Swiatoi Nofs and the River Chromay and was called after ^Jakutzk Cojfac who had formerly erected a Crofs there, Kataiew Kreji : From thence he wanted to go to the river Chroma^ in order to catch Fifli ; but on their Way he and his Company were in fuch extreme Want of Provifions, that at firft they eat the Dogs which drew their Sledges, and afterwards Mice and other unclean Animals. In this Diftrefs, thinking it too far to tlie Chromay they returned to the Sea Coafl:; where they remained the whole Summer, living Iparingly upon a few Fiflies, Wild- Ducks, Geefe, and their Eggs. In the mean-while, the Remembrance of the Hunger they had fuf- fered, and perhaps the Fear of being in ftill more miferable Circum- ftances by going in Search of the Land they had feen, imbittered the Minds of the Coffacs that were fent with Pl^agin for jakutzky againll him and the Guide, in fuch a Manner, that they murdered him, his Son, the Cojfac , Jacob Permakowy and a Promyfchlenoi. The Faifl was difcovered by an Accomplice, and the Murderers feized. At their Trial, it appeared that the Guide Jacob PermakoiVy did not take that great Ifland which they believed to have feen from the firft, to be really fin Ifland, but that he thought it no more than Vapours arifmg from c tlie '' 11, ^1 .id ilHi^ll ■'■I 'I riiv I the fVa. ( xvili ) PerTinps Doubts of f()me Moment may likevvife be raliec! ag.iinil: the Reahiy of the firll Illand. The icc;ond Expedition from tlic Iliver Kolyma was jufl: as fruitlcfs as this. It was to have been carried on by 50 Men, in two Veflels ; but there were only 22 Men, who failed in one Vefiel, and were condut1:ed by a Cojjhc named Wojilei Staduchin., who obferved no more than a Pro- moiUory, running Ealt from the River Kolyma into the Sea; being fur- rounded by fum Ice, through which no Veflel was able to pafs. No liland was to be feen, even at a Dillance. They ufed in this Voyage a Kind of Boats, the Boards of which were faftened, or, in a Manner, fewed together, with Straps, and, from their Conftrudion, have the Name Schitiki } they are ufually five Fathoms long and two broad, with one Declc, and a flat Bottom caulked with Mols : They are properly made Ufe of in the Rivers, and in palling to them along the Coafts. The Sail confifts of foft Rein Deer Skins, drefled, and inrtead of Ropes they make Ufe of Straps df Elk-Skins j the Anchors arc of Wood, ta which are fallened great Stones. Such a Vedel Staducbin had 3 what Wonder is there, then, that he could make no Difcoveries ? In the Year 1714a new Expedition was prepared from "Jakutzky for the fame Place, under the Command of Akxci MarkoWy who was to fill from the Mouth of the 'J ana; and if the Schitiki were not fit for Sea Voyages, he was to conftrudl, at a proper Place, VeiTels fit for profecuting the Difcoveries without Danger. Each Veflel w"s allowed a Sailor who had been fent by the Governor Krijas Gagarin to yakutzky in order to difcover the Navigation from Ochozk to Kamtfchatka. Mar koto and his Company were fcarce arrived at XJJi-janfuo Simoivie, v/hen he fent an Account, dated Ff^. 2, 171 5, to the Chancery of yakutzky mentioning, that it was impoilible to navigate the Sea, ;i3 it was continually frozen, both in Summer and Winter j and there- fore the prefcribed ILxpedition was no otherwife to be carried on but with Sledges drawn by Dogs. In this Manner, he fet out, with nine Perfons, on the i oth of March the fame Year, and arrived on the 3 d of April at VJl-'JanJkoe Simoivie. His Account is as follows : That he went feven Days^ as fafl: as his Dogs could draw him (which, in good Ways and Weather, is 80 or 100 Werfts in a Day) diredtly towards the North, on the Sea upon the Ice, without difcovering any Land or Ifland : That it had not been poflible for him to get any farther, the Ice rifing there in the Sea like Mountains : That he h?d cl'mbcd to the Top of fome of them, and looked at a Diftance round about, but could difcern no Land. At laft, wanting Food for his Dogs, many of them liied. Now i J >e raifec! iiitlcfs as ; I'ls; but J mduc'ted -J n a Pro- M ■UT^ fur- gjfl to pais. " ! Voyage vlanner. lave the , ■ id, with properly Coafts. '[ f Ropes ^ ood, to i what M '^■^, for ^3 was to fflH t fit for mM ' ^^ ^^^ H allowed |H 'akiitzky ^H ImoiviCf ^H eery of ^B i(= Sea, ^^K there- ^^| on but ^H !i nine fl| the -jd -'^1 1iat he M 1 good yH ) wards /^^f and or ' r, the ll to the , 'M CDuId ,^ them .S ( Jf'lf ) ^ ' Now nothing farther was done, till, in 1723, a Sin-bojarfkoi of 'Jakut'zJiy whofe Name was Vedot Amo/Jkvt renewed the old Report cf an Illand in the Frozen Sea, and oUcred to go thither, and render tribu- taiy its Inhabitants. According to him, the Ifland extended from the Mouth of the J ana beyond the Mouth of the Indlgirka. He was fent with a Party of CoJJhcs 5 but he went to the River Kolyma to difcover the ifland from thence. On 'yuly 13, 1724, he intended to let lail from the Mouth of this River, but found, according to his Account, fuch Shoals of Ice before him, that he was hindered in liis free Navigation. Jlmoffoiv fiiiled along the Coall, eaflwards, to the Hiibitations of Kopai; which he reached on the 7tli oi Aiiguji the lame Year. lie could hardly get along the Coall on Account of the Ice; and the Wind being mollly contrary, he was obliged to lay afide the Hopes of making Dilcoveries, and to haflre back to the Kolyma. As I knew this Man at 'Jakittzky I have learnt from him, that the Plabitations of Kopai were about 200 Werfts dillant, to the eaftward of the Mouth of the Kolyma. He alio made mention of a fmall Illand lituated very near the Continent; and at the Beginning of the following Winter he made a Journey, v/ith Sledges ; of which he gave the following Account to the Chancery of Jakutzk : That on the 3d of November y 1724, he fet out from NiJ'ch- me Kolymjkoc Simowiet and met with Land in the Frozen Sea, Irom whence he came back to Kolyma on the 23d of the lame Month. Upon this Land he law nothing but old Huts covered with Earth ; but it w.is unknown by what People they we- e inhabited, and v\ here they uxrc gone. The Want of Provilions, nd cfpecially of Food' for the Dogs, had obliged him to turn4)ack, without making any farther Difcoveries. This Journey was very ditlicult, on Account ot the Shoals of Ice, ^^'hich extended to a great Height, and the Sea Salt with which all the Ice was covered. To this Account I may add feme Explanations, which I got by Word of Mouth from AmofJ'jio, at Jakutzk. The Place where he left the Continent to go over to the Land, he fays, is between the Rivers 'O.'fcmikoffcbia and Alafeay it was an Illand that might be encompaHcu, in a Sledge drav/n by Dogs, in a Day, and that it was lituated about the fame Diftance from the Continent ; from whence it might be fecn, on Account of its high rocky Mountains. Behind it there were two odur Illands, as mountainous as th lepari' V Now which he had not been, and confequendy did not know their Exteit. Tile firft Illand was without Forclis -, and of Animals he had obfcrved no other Footfteps but thole of the Rein Deer, whofe uf.al Food is Mofs- Tile old Huts were.built of Wood driven alhore by the Sea, c 2 . and :# 'Htfs , ■.'llli I I (XX) and covered with Earth. If this be Fad:, then it feems that the former Inhabitants were Jukagiri or Tfchuktfchiy who, on the Conqueft of the Regions about the Indigirkdy Ahijcay and Kolyma, fled over thither, and afterwards fought the Continent again. What has been alledged may, or may not be fufHcient to put the Certainty of the pretended Ifland in the Frozen Sea out of Doubt ; yet no farther Refearches have been made about it. I cannot deny, that AinoD'oiv\ written Account, as well as his verbal Relation of it, has not fuisficd me ; for having Reafon to fufpedl, that it was not fo much the Defign of making new Difcoveries in fuch difmal Parts, as other felf-interelted Reafons, that occalioned his offering to undertake this Expedition j that it proceeded from his Defire of becoming a Commander, with which feveral Advantages are conne(5tedj or to trade with the Nations in thofe Parts, and by this Means revive the Report of the liland in the Frozen Sea. Yet we may fuppofe, that he after- wards found it neceflary to put his written Accounts and verbal Rela- tions in fuch Order, as to prevent his meeting with Reproach j but if this be the Cafe, it may farther be aiked. Why he did not, in the Be- ginning of his Account of the Expedition to yakiitzk, give an exadt Defcription of the Way he went to the Ifland, of its Extent, and all other Circumftances ? And why he did not, at that Time, make Men*- tion of the other two Iflands fituated behind the firfl;? One might like- wife aflc. How it could be poflible that Amo/fonnfs Ifland, lying fo near the Continent, fliould not have been difcovered in former Voyages to tile River Kolyma, of which I have found fo many circumftantial Ac- t:ounts in the Archives of Jakutzk. At leaft its fmall Circumference, according to Afnoffow, does not afford a Confirmation of the old Report, of a large Country extending from the Mouth of the River hena, or '^ana, as far as oppofite the River Kolyma, or flill farther. Confidering all thefe Circimiftances, it cannot be confidered but as too precipitate, when MefT. IXe Lijle and Buache, in their new Maps of the Difcoveries of Kamtf€hatka, publiflied at Paris, reprefent, under the 73d Degree of North Latitude, an Ifland oppofite the Mouth of the. River Kolyma; and beyond it, under the 75th Degree, a large Country, faid to have been difcovered by the Ru^t'ans in 1723. They refer, in this Refpedt, to written Accounts received by M. De LiJle at St. Peterjbourg, and eipecially to a Map made by Col. Schejlakow, a CoJJ'ac. They alledge hiflorical Circumftances ; that, in the firft Ifland, a Schelagan Prince, called Kopai, was made Prifoner of War, who was the Conductor of the Difcovery of the great Country : But this is the "' in^; which fliews the little Grovind there is for thcfe Allefraiions; very for 't ^1 i I ,|f: ic former eft of the ther, and put the Doubt ; lot deny, on of it, ^as not fo Parts, as mdertakc coming a r to trade e Report he after- 3al Rela- 1 ; but if ri the Be*- an exadl f and all ke Men«- |ght like* g fo near oyages to ntial Ac- nference, i Report, Lena, or id but as :w Maps t, under th of the. I^ountry, refer, in ? at St. a Co//ac. fland, a vho was is is the gationsi for Jl ( xxi ) for it is not to be fuppofed, that the Writings of the Archives I have quoted will be called in Queftion, as they may ferve for the beft Expla- nation that can be given. Kopai, who did not live upon an Ifland, but on the Continent, was never a Prifoner to the Rujjiam : He for the firlt Time paid Tribute to Willegin the PromyJcbrlcmU for Ruffui ; and he did the fame in 1724 to Amojjbw : But foon after he defcrtcd the Rujjian Party, and killed fome of ylmq/fows Company. This is all that is known of him. According to the verbal Depofition of AmcD'ow, there was fituated, not far from his Habitations, a little Kland near the Con- tinent. Is it not, then, fufficiently clear, that it is this, and no other Ifland, which Schejlakow, and after him MelV. De Lip and Buache, have placed oppofite the River Kolyma ? As to Schejiakow, and his Map, it is to be obferved, he could neither read or write, and merely from his Memory, or from the Accounts he had heard from others who could fcarcely write, got the Situation of the Countries and Rivers marked upon Maps. He was in 1726 at St. Fcterjbourgy where he formed great Projects for fubduing the favage Tfchuktfchi. At that Time feveral of his Maps appeared, and I myfelf have .'eceived one of them ; but never ventured to make Ufe of it, except in what was confirmed by more certain Accounts. According to this Map, Kopai\ Ifland, as it is marked in Writing, is fituated two Days Voyage from the Continent, and takes up almoft as much Room in Lengtli as the oppofite Coaft between the Rivers Alajeia and Kolyma. It is farther mentioned, that it is inhabited by a refolute People called the Schelages. Behind it, to the North, there is a Coaft, under the Name of the Large Country, between which, and the Ifland, it is faid in exprefs Words, that is not quite two Days Voyage from the Ifland. This being founded neither on verbal or written Accounts, may juftly be confidered as an Addition by Schejiakow, to what he had had from others. So that I cannot fee what can be taken from this, more than from the other Reports, to fix the Situation of this Land, though we fuppofe its Reality to be out of the Queftion. But what fliall we fay, when, according to the Teftimony of P. Ax'riU who, in 1686, pretends to have heard at Smohnjk, that that Country is inhabited, and full of Forefts. I think this is plainly con- trary to Fadt, if the former Difcoveries are to be depended upon ; and if we confider, that along the Coafts of the Frozen Sea there are no Forefts, and that thefe northerly Regions admit of none. In the mean while, the Suppofition given in Writing by P. Avril, to the Waywode ot Smohnjk, that by means of this Ifland America was peopled from AJia, does honour to thofe Times, if even the Ifland itfelf ihould be proved «, !iii ■'11 I,,, II il ( xxil ) proved to liave no Kxlrtcnce ; as it may be undcrftood of the Idands and the Continent oppofite Tfchnkotjkoi A^', of wliivli we fh;ill mention Avhat has been dilcovered in former Tunes, without the Navigation of Dtj'c/jficiv. Sbtjinkoivs Map is here very impcrfcdt ; it only fays, " upon the ** Nofs dwell the llubborn 'Ijchuklfcbi^ who throw Stones with Slings. ** There are alfo many red Foxes." And oppofite, on the Eall Side, there is marked a large Illand, which is thus del'cribed : <' An liland op- *• x^o^Mz Anadirjkoi Nojs^ well peopled: Upon it are found abundance *• of all Sorts of Animals. The Ir.liabitants arc not tributary, and are fubjedt to none." Another Map which I got at yakntzky from a Dive- rcDihiy named hvan LnvaiVy who is the Author of It, furnishes us with fome more Accounts. It rcprelents a two-fold Nofs j tire tarthermofl: towards the North Eaft, which, from the Nation of the 'Tfclmtfchiy is commonly called Tfchukotf^Gi Nofs, and ha:, there the N.iinc of Sc/jc/iiiZ' koi, from Cac ScbclageUy Vvho are a particular Race amonc^ the T/t-Z'/Z/^/'/t-/?/. The other, which lies South from this, though it is fa;- enough from the River ylnad'iVy is called from that River Anadirikj'i Nojs. It is therefore a Millake in She/iakoids Map, to give this laf.; Name to the former, which he has quite forgot. "Tjlbiikofskci, or Scb.'/t/fzkoi Ncjs, is not limitted, as the Author of the Map did not knov/ its Extent. In a large Gulph between T/ibukotskoj and yl'ujd/rskoi No/s lies an Illand, which is fiid to be inhabited by the T/ibuktJrbi, and anotlier over- againft Anadirskoi Nojsy the one farther from the Continent than the other ; which are dcfcribed in the following; Manner : ** To the firil ** Ifland is half a Day's Voyage j upon it lives a People Mhom the *• Tjibiiktjcbi call Acbjticbaljat j thefe fpeak their own Language, v. ear Cloaths of Duck-lkins, and live by catching of Sea-Horfes and Whales; and, as the Illand is without Forefls, they boil their Pro- vifions with Train Oil. The fecond is two Days Voyage Diftance from the firfl: ; the Inhabitants are called, in the Tjcbuktjcbi Language, Pcekeli. They have Teeth fet in through their Checks ; *• they live in fortified Places, and are alfo cloathed with Duck-fl;ms.'* I am of Opinion, that the Situation here given to this Ifland is a Mirtake, and that it mufl; be looked for over-againft Tfcbtikotskci Nofs. Beyond this Ifland there is marked a large Country, tlic Inliahitants of wiiich are called by the Tjibntkifcbiy Kitfcbhi FJjat. Tiicy have their own Language ; wear Cloatlis of the Skins of Sables, Foxes, and Rein Deer, dwell in fortified Places, have their Habitations in the Ground, and flioot with Bows and Arrowj. All the Animals of wliofe Skins they «( (( «( \\ a ( xxlii ) they make Cloaths, are found there. Their Wood is Pint, Fir, Birf^, and liic Laich Tree. To this I will aild anotlvjr Map, whofc Autlior is ulfo i Inhabi iut o^^Jiikiiizkt in wiilcii Scbcunskoi Nofs is unlimited, as in th'- toinn.^ Of* the Inhabitants it is here laid, «* 1 hat they Ipealc their own L.ingUJgc, " are warlike and cannot be fubdiied ; beeaule, if any one of th'/ni is " taken Pilbner, he kills himlclf." This is in general tiie Caie with refpi'tt to the rcll: of the People of Siheriii, whole firft: Subjedlion was inouly tffedled by taking fonie of them Prifoners, and keeping tliem as Hoitages for the Fidelity ot the reft ; or, as they ufed to exprefs it in Siberitit as Amanatcn. Over-againil Schchit-zkol Nojs another unlimited Country prcients itfelf j the Inhabitants of which are called, in the 'I^fcbuklJi/jan'L'X\\^\x2iPCt Kykybnciy and are faid to refcmble the yukaglri. Other Accounts which I ihall mention here, are founded in the Writings of our Chiefs. On the 14th of March 1710, the Waywode Dorofe'i Trauern'icbt Qn- quired at Jakutzk of feverul Cojj'acs there, vviio had been at Anadinkci OJhogy about all the Circumftances of the Tj'chuktjchan Nations, and liad from three CoJJacsy "Timojci Daurzo'Wy Fcdor Pornoiy andPt'/tr Miin^ ga/y the iollowiiig Relation : In 1 70 1 , the Tributary yukagiriy under Anad'irskoi Ojlrog complained to the Commander of the Place, that they were o.ten attacked by the Tjcbuktfcbiy and defired that fome R?!/- Jidiis might bo fcnt with them to fubdue thefe Enemies. The Com- mander gave them Twenty-four Men, who were joined by 1 10 juka^ giriy who were eight Weeks in their March from April to yiinc. The firft Action was to fummon, on tlie Sea Coaft of Anadir, thirteen Habitations of the Tjchukljchiy to fubmit themfelves and pay Tribute ; but this they refufcd, and an Engagement enfuing, about ten Men of the Tjbbuktjcboi were killed, and the Women and Children made Prifoners. The Men whom they thought to keep as Prifoners, foon after killed each other ; but fome efcaped, and railed near 300 Men at Tjcbukotskoi NoJ'sy who ventureil to make head againft the Ri/J'^ Jums and Jukagiriy but were defeated, near 200 being left dead on the Spot, and the reft ran away. The next Day, an Army of above 3000 I'J'chuktJ'chi was feen on their March : The Battle began in the Morn- ing and lafted till the Evening j in which many of the Tfchuktfcbi were llain J and yet the Rujians and Jukagiri loft no Men, and had only ten wounded : but the Tjcbuktjchi retired, and encamped in fuch a Man- ner, that the Rii[]ians and "Jukagiri were furrounded by them for five Days : At laft, however, they efcaped, and retired to Anadirskoiy with- out Lofs. Upon this Occafion, the following Obfervation has been made ; '»! I- 4 "^ •I v'ii :(i) ^-'^ ( xxlv ) made : Although it is not to he denied that the Tfcbuhtfchi arc expert at throwing Stones with 8hng«, yet in War they mollly make ufe ot Bowa and Arrows. The Tfchukotshi Nofs is quite dcftitute of all Wood : Thofc of the I'fchukt/ibit who keep tan^c Rein Deer, live by them ', but thofe who walk on foot, live by catching Sea-horfes, Whales, and other Fifli. In the midft of the Nofs, between the rocky Mountains, dwell the TfchnktJchU who keep Rein Deer ; but the Footmen live on both Sides on the Sea Coaft. There arc no Sables on the Nofs, and no other wild Animals, except red Foxes and Rein Deer. Sea-horfc Teeth are found in Abundance on the Coafl:. Thus far the written Relation taken down at Jakutzk. A Picttde- fatnik of the Cojfacst called Matjei Skrc/jykint who at that Time was lent as Commander to Anadirskoi OJirogt received Orders to get better Intelligence in relation to the Tjchtiktjchiy and the Country inhabited by them. This was done i and the following Account is the Fruit of his Endeavours : ** j4nadirsky Sept. 2, 171 1. The Depofition of the Jakutzic/jy Co/- •* Jiic Peter Iliin Sin PopoWy of the Promijchknoiy yegtir IVaJiHeiu Sin Toldiny and the newly baptized Jtikagir livan Wajtliew Sin Terefchkin. Peter Iliin Sin PopoWy was fent with two ethers, who ferved him as Interpreters, on the ii^\\oi January y 171 1, by the Governor F^^<:^r Kotkoivskoiy to the Banks of the River Anadiry to receive the Tri- bute from fome tributary Tj'chuktfchi ; whereupon they were ordered to go to the Nofs to admonifli the obftinate ufchuktj'cbi to pay Obe- dience j to receive Hoftages from them; to get full Intelligence con- cerning their Manner of Living, their Cuftoms, and the Nature of the Country and the neighbouring Iflandsj and then to return to Anadir skoy OJirog. Popow went from the Mouth of the River Anadir to the Tfchuktfchit who lived beyond a Gulph, and from thence to 'Tfchukotskoi No/s, He every where met with a Denial with refpedl: to their rendering themfelves fubjedt, and paying Tribute. The Tfchuktfchi faid, that, formerly, RuJJians came to them in Kotfchcs by Sea, to whom they paid no Tribute, and therefore they would not do it now j confequently, he ought to expert no Hoftages from them. However, he had an Opportunity to make many ufeful Ob- ** fervations, and to get fuch Intelligence as were agreeable to his Orders. The folenm Obligation, or Oath of TjchukF/chiy confifts in calling on the Sun to be Security for their Promifes. The Tfchuktfchi who dwell on theNofskcep tameReinDeer,on Account of which they often thange their Habitations between the Rocks; thofe who have no Rein D§er live on both Sides of the Nofs, on the Banks of the Sea, " where ** t( *t *< t< « «( it 4t «t tt tt « <( *i « <( <« ft •If expert at ot Bow8 Wood : y them ; lies, and )untains, 1 live on and no "c Teeth Pictide" me was ;t better bited by lit of his fV/6, Co/' Hlieio Sin rcfchkin. him as or Fedor he Tri- ordered ay Obe- ice con- Nature eturn to ■ Anadir lence to refpeft ; The lotfchcs ' would es from ful Ob- to his nfifts in biiktfchi ch they have no :he Sea, ■ where i. Accoiding to the Computation of '« Popowt in relation to the Number of thefe IVople that live o-i ** the Nofs, as well of thofe that have Rein Deer, as of thoi;.- tliat '* are wlth.out, they are about 2000 Men, or more ; whereas ilie ** Idanders are fiid to be three Times lliat Number} vvhic li is con- •« firmed, not only by the Prifoners, but by one of the ^Tfcbiiltfcbi, ** who has often been there. From yinadhjko OJlrog to the Nofs 'they " go with loaden Rein Deer, and conlequently p'retty How, in te'i »« Weeks, and even then they mull not be detained on tlic Utnuh. bv " violent Winds, which are generally acc'^mpanied with Snow. Tli'c ♦' Way leads by a Rock called Matkoly fiiuated ii\ the mitldlemoil or ♦' dcepeit Part of a great Bay." d . To I,, .Jit (.' ... .>'-]'^ M ■ I.|' ( xxvi ) To tliis I will add another Kc-lafioii, received frotn fomc T/r/:''//://Zv5/ nt the Time of tlicir comii\i; io AiuiJirjhJ Ojli ogy in order to aclcnow- lidgc the Dominion of the Krjid/^s. '' 'I'he f)lcinn Obligation, or Oath, with tlie Tjcbuktfchi, is, by "• conliitLiiinir iheSun.or their Sorcerer-Priells, theirSuretics. Tliev live " Oil the Nofs, beyond the Rivers yi/W/r ^nd Ko/yma ; their Niniiber " inav be bctv.'een '}^ or 4000, and innvards , tliey thenifeUeo do nnt ♦< knov/ cxafily how Ilrong tliey are, lince thev have but httie Know- " ledge of Nil rnhers. As they live without Oo\ernment, every one *' dcx:s what lie pleafes ; however, thofe who i)clong to one Tril)e '■■ keep together. I'heir Plerds of tame Rein Deer are numerous ; by •< them they live, and, in tlie mean-while, they catcli wild Rein Deer, " Sea-horfes, Whales, and otiter Sea Animals, which ferve them for " Food. Of wild land Animals there are none upon the Nofs but " Foxes and Wolves; Sables are not found there, becaufe there are no " Woods. The Nofs is full of rocky Mountains, and the low Grounds ** confift of Land covered with Turf. Oppofite to it lies an liland, •' within Sight of it, of no great Extent, and void of Wood. It is " inhabited by People who have the fame Afpect as the Tjcbuktfchiy ♦« but arc a quite different Nation, and fpeak their own Language, '• though they arc not numerous. It is half a Day's Voyage, with " Badaires from the Nofs to the IHand. There are no Sables on the ♦* Illand, and no other Animals but Foxes, Wolves, and Rein Deer. " Beyond the Illand is a large Continent that can be fcarcely dif- *< ccnied from it, and that only in clear Days ; in calm Weather one ♦' may row over the Sea from the Ifland to the Continent, which is in- •' habited by a People who in every particular refemble the Tjcbuthfcki. •* There are large Foreils of Fir, Pine, Larch, and Cedar Trees ; " ^",rcat Rivers How through the Country, and fall into the Sea. The " inhabitants have Dv/elline-s and fortified Places of Abode, environed " with Ramparts of Earth ; they live upon wild Rein Deer and Fifli ; " their Cloaths are made of Sable, Fox, and Rein Deer Skins, for " Sables and Foxes are there in great Abundance. The Number of ♦« Men in that Country may he twice or three Times as many as " that of the Tfcbukt/chi, who are often at War with them." 'Jbus far tbis Relation deferves Credit j but noTv Jolloivs Joniething fabulous. •« There are likewife faid to be People in this Country who have Tails " like Dogs 3 fpeak their own Language j are often at War among ** themfelves, and are without Religion : They wear Cloaths like the •* ^ormer, and live upon wild Rein Deer and Sea Animals. Another ** Nation there, is faid to have Feet like Ravens, covered with the fame " Kind ^1? T'll I, with on tlie 1 Deer. Iv dil- ler one 1 is in- ut\fctL Trees ; > -i V ■ The 'ii- 'ironed Fifll ; IS, for ''<* bcr of inv as u' 'Thus -.if. hulottS. Tails mong ce the , _^V lother J: fame iM ( xxvil ) «« Kind of Skins as theirs. They never wear Slices or Stockings." Wo lliall be fo juft as to excufe the Fables of tlic wild Tfvbnktjcbl, fmci* European Authors, writing of unknown Countries, luuc fallen into no Icfs Abfurdities. The rell of the Relation regards, in the firll Place, the Dillance between Tjchukotjkol Nofs and the Mouth of the River Aiuuiir : To de- termine which, the 'Tjchiikt/cbi fiid, •* 7'liat they fpcnt three V/eeks, *• or lefs Time, in filling with their Baideres from the inner Bav of the *' ylniU'ir along the Coail, to the Extremity of the Noil., over-;:gainll ** which the Illand lies." A Circumllance next occurs, which we iLould entirely omit, as foreign to our Purpofe, if it did not con- tain a very particular Cuilom of the Tj'chuktfchty ib contrary to t.he Ciiil:oms of all civilized Nations, that, though Somethinn; of it is mentioned in Mr. Rcfident Weber's, RiiJJia CbtvigeJ'*, yet, wifnour llulher Confirmation, is hardly to be credited. What ]>[. Pu/i/us l\netns relates -f- of the Holpitality of the Inhabitants of the Counirv of Ciivv.iU and what is obferved of lihet ;[; ; wliat Wltfen jj, and t!ic Jefuit Ttigaut repeats after him; and what this latter §alledges about the Land of Ccijcbcniiry is, out of all Doubt, the fame with the T/rlwucl/cbi : *' When a Stranger comes to them, let him be of their own, or another '* Nation, they ofr'tr him, upon the firll Salutation, th..ir Wives and " Daughters, as Bedfellows. If they are not hanJfome enough, or ** are too old for the Gueil, they bring him fome Irom among theii' *' Neighbours ; whereupon the Woman prefents him a Bafon of tuine, *• frelh made in his Prefence, wlih whieli he is obliged to rince his " Mouth : If he refufes the Offer, they hold him i"or their Knemy ; '* but, from his accepting of it, they conclude his nnccre Friendfhip." This the Tj'chuktfchi told, not only at A}:adirky but it is contaiiicd in the written Account I have given ; and I have alf ) frce^uently heard it at yakiiizk, by People wlio ]ia\'e been amongft the Tjchukfjch'! . Wc riiall not amufe ourfelves with comparing thefe Acccnmts wliere thry contradicT: each other ; the Difference only confiib in things of no Moment. The chief Point flill remains the fame, that there is a real Separation between the two Parts of the World, AjL:, and .^-///Vtvv.v,' ; that it confifts only in a narrow Streight ; and that, within this Streight, one or more lilands are fituated : Iw which the PalTac^e from one of tiu'fe Parts of the World to tlie other is facilitated. hVorn antient Times the Inhabitants of each of thele Parts of the World had Kiunv- iedi^e of each other. O- her Accounts iVom thefe Parts thou'jh I canm.r an.l Vol. i. p. 4c6. Y::ATa.Uu y- Kdit. ii. V t Koo'v i. Clu 46. rt> .'7C Book ii. Ch. !! N 01 til Kind prc^vc c; ■>!"%■ ■it V I ■ m "W^, ' i ■ '■' ,:'il rK ■if If ■5 •m ; M|:l 'iiHrlni ■i ' 1.11' ■ !■• * Hi' ftti !| ( xxvlil ) prove them by written Orioinals, like tliolb hitlicrto alledged, yet they do not Iccni to me unworthy of Attention. Pccjile nnul believe i\:ii upon my Word, :ind give Credit to me wlien I aUert, that they have b.'en told me at jd/c/lz.'i by Perfons of Credit. What Nikijof Malg!:i i^iys above, of i>earucd People on an I Hand in ^.\?. Pcnfcbinjkdfi Sra, and whieh I have interpreted of the Knri/rSf this the Inlnbitants o^ Aiiadhskoi OJt rog (-xy oi the Continent, whidi lits ovcr-againll the Habitations of xhc Tjchuktftbi. I'hcre is faid to ave ibrnewh;:re in that Country, a People who have a great deal in commori with the Rnj/iansy not only in refped: to Beards and Cloathing, but likcwife in their Trades and Employments : The Tjihuktjcbi get Platters and other wooden VelTels from them, that are hardly to be dillinf^uiflried from thofe made in Ru/Jia. Some believe that they are really delccnded from the RnJ/iiins, and that tlieir Ancellors were driven by Shipwreck to this Country, where they have remained. It is ffid, that in the Year 171 5, there lived a Man of a foreign Nation at Kamtjbhatkiiy who, upon Account of the Kamtjchatkan cedar Nuts, and the low Shrubs on which they grow, faid, that he came from a Country where there were larger Cedars, which bore bigger Cedar Nuts than thofe of Kamtfchatka j that his Country was fituated to the Eall oi Kamtfchatka ; that there were found in it great Rivers, which diicharged themlelves weftward into the Kamtjchatkan Sea ; that vile Inhabitants called themfelves Tontoli -y tliey rcfembled, in their Mumer of Living, the People OiKamtfcbatka, and made Ufe of Leathera lioats, or Baidares, like the Katiiijchadali's : That, many Years ago, lie went over, with fome more of his Countrymen, to Karagimkoi OJlroiv, where his Companions were flain by the Inhabitants, and he alone made his Efcape to Kamtfchatka. On Karaghisko OjiroKV, an lllandoppofite tlie River Kamga, by which if is called, it is faid, in the fubterrancous Dwellings of the Inhabitants, there are obferved great Beams of Pine and Fir Trees, with which thefe Caves are partly wainfcotlcd : The Inha.bltants being all-ied whence tl)cy liad thefc Beams, fince fuch Kind of Wood was not found in Kamt- fchatkat or the neighbouring Illands ? They made Anfv/er, that, fome- times, they were driven on Shore by eafterly Winds, when, for Want of Wood in t\\? Ifland, they uled to take them and make Ufe of them. It has ever been oblerved in Kamtfchatka^ that, in Winter Time, a ftrong Eait Wind drives Ice to tlie Kamtjchatkan Coaft in two or three Days, and then certain Birds annually fly from the Kail, which having remained fome Months on the Coafls of Kamt- fchatkcy return back. What elle can be concluded from this, but that tiie yet they [hey luuO IiLmd In 'llt'Sy this i-hicli Its Id to live common Jiing, but let Platters liiif^uifl-ieil (Iclccnded iliipwreck a foreign tkan cedar he came ore bigger as fituatcd at Rivers, Sea; that I, in their f Leathers 5fears a;ro, \araginikoi :s, and lie by wliich I habitants, hich thefe lence tlicy m Kcimt- at, fome- for Want 3f them. 1 Winter Coafl: in fiom the 3f Kcimt- but that tile ( x:;!;^ ) the Continent oppofite the Country oi tlu ■7y't/^//Zv/t/c'/ extends fouthwurd of Kim'fckntka '^ and may not this be likewilb conjcdlured from the Mirtins ibund in that Country, which arc not to be met with even in th'^ n 01 them moil Countries, nor in Siberia, except in the Dominions about Catherincbourg and the Iji'ttijcken Province. Perhaps in the former Re- lations of the neighbouring Continent, inftead of Sables, are to be under- flood Martins : Tliis is certain, that the TjchiilitJcIA get Cloaths of Martins Skins frotn thence : Some fuch have now and then been brought from Aiiadirjiioi OJirog to jakutzk i as is knov- n to every Perfon there- abouts. *Tis probable, th:'.t here, by the Continent fituated eaftward, near Kamtjchatka and the Country of the ^Ijubukijchi, is to be underflood, not a large Illand, but North America itlelf ; lince its Nature, fo far as it is known, gives Reafon for this Suppofition. French Travellers who have been in Louijiana make mention of a great River that flows weit- ward, to the Sea, from the Head of the Mijjmri, which empties itfelf into the MiJ/iJ/ippi : 'Tis true, they have not been on that River ; but 'tis enough that they have Intelligence of it from the Heathen Nations who live there. The MiJJhuri falls into the Mif/ijjippi between the 39th and 40th Degree North Latitude, and is reckoned four hundred Leagues and upwards to the Middle of the Courfe of the MiJJ'ourit and, from thence, fix Days Journey to that River; which, according to the Ac- count of the People there, falls into the unknown Wefterly Ocean*. Although MelT. De Lijle and Biiache, in the Maps tliey have lately published, reprefent this Sea as a great Lake, or Gulph, fituated between the 40th and 50th Degree of North Latitude; but the Ground on which they fupport their Opinion does not feem to me of fufficient Weight. William De Li/Ie, the Royal Geographer, figured to himfelf, firft, the Situation of the Weftern Ocean in this Manner, in the Year 1 697 ; following in this the Defcriptions of Journeys in which were contained the Dcpofitions of Americans about this Sea, and the Rivers falling into it. In the Year 1700 he compofed a Book on this Subjed", in Hopes of animating the French Miniftry to make Preparations for new Difcoveries. But when we come to a clofe Examination of the Teftimonies alledged therein, we find that the greatefl Part of them do not fpeak of a Sea or Gulph, but of the Atlantic Ocean itfelf ; that the • We will take the lateft Teftimony : Memoire fur la Louifiane, par M. Le Sage du Pratz ill Journal Oeconomique, 1751, Sept. P. 140. On croit que le Miflburi vieiit tie rOucft. Selon le Rapport des Peuples du pais; il a 800 lieu es dc coiirs, & r? fix iournecs au Nnrd du milieu de fon cours ontrouve unc autre riviere, qui contaut da levant au couchant va lb fe jettcr dans la tner incomue de lOucJi. refb Ml.., ■ 1 ^ : h. '..im ■1. :,, Inil^i" ;i^^l3 ( XXX ) reft are doubtful ; but all oi" tliom arc o'i liicli a Nature, that an Opinion, which lias lufficicnt GrouiKis againft it, cannot be confirmed by them. Let us look in the Map of yhiicrica. The River Mi[]huri falls into the MiffJJippi fomewhat below the 40th Degree o( North Latitude ; \vc will iuppofe it flows from the North-Welt, as the People in thole Parts allcdgc: From its Mouth to its Head it is reckoned 800 French Leagues : How does that coniift widi the Weftern Sea, in the Manner Meli". Dc LijJc and Buacbe figure it to themfelves ? For here this Weftern Sea or Gulph, which they believe t.ikes up the lame Parts which the iliver MilJniri ought to pais through ; but it is ftill fix Days Journey from the River Milfiwi to the River that falls inti) the Weftern Sea. This River is of confiderable Bignefs, conlcquentlv its Head muft be very remote i but Melf. D.' Lijlc and BunclK' repreibnt it as quite narrow and Ihort, probably from no oti)er Reafon but to have fufficient Room for their Weftern Sea. They add to the Argmnents of M. De Lijlct fen. the Trwels of Job)! dc Fuca, which v^'e have ihev/n above cannot be relied on ; and when M. Biiachc endeavours to confirm his Opinion by the Teftimonies of modern Travellers of the prefent Cen- tury, Ave may eafily fee that it is by that Means only the more weakened *. We may fubjoin to this, that the jdnicricans call the Weftern Sea an iinkno'wn Sdj, i. e. fuch a one, the Bounds or Limits of which they neither know, nor can know; but was it a Sea or Gulph, on all Sides furrounded with Land, how ftiould the People who live near it be unable to give better Accounts of it ? Therefore, in my Opinion, the wefterly River, fo often mentioned, falls into the Atlantic Ocean, either oppofite Kamtfchatkay or over-againft the Country of the Tfchnktjctji ; fo that, hereby, the Accounts received from the Tjclmktfcbi are confirmed, and with thefe we muft content ourfelves, till fomething more precife liappens to be known of thofe Parts by more exaft Difcoveries. ' We proceed now to the Iftands fituated towards the South from Kamtfcbdtka, the Difcovery of which we ftiall likewife confider, as it has been made gradually, and fo far as the propofcd Period of Time has a Share in it. The Country of Kamffcbatka has been known at yakutzk ever fince the Year 1690 ; but only from a mere Report. Hence it is that JJhrand Ides, in his Travels to Cbina, Chap. xx. and in his Map be- longing to that Work, was able to mention it. The firft Expedition '•^ Ntw Charts of the Difcoveries of Ailmm\ Fcr.te, and other Navigators, ijc. wiih their Fxplicatiori;;, <^c.h\ Al. Dc Lijlc, printed at Prt/v.c in 175'^, 410. C}cographical and i-'h)ika! ConfiJeratioiis on thv ncv/ Dilcovcrict^, K^c, by M. huiiJ.c, Pcirls 1^753, 4to. to 1 ^pillion, y them, into tJiy de ; v/c >le Parts French ■Tamier Veilcni ich the ourney rn Sea. uit be quite ^ficicnt above m his : Cen- niorc li the limits ea or ^eopJe re, in the the :eivcd •ntent tiiofe from as it ehas ever that bc- tion With ami ). to ,.4 ( X'XX'I ) to it was made by fixte^n '^fahiUzk Coljlia \\\ 1696, \k^c/caz Leader was calL'd Lucas Scmoaiow Sin Morr.Jkoy m which they did not qulie reach the River Kaintfchatka, but were coiUcnt to receive Tiibiite from a Kamtjcbcil.ile OJlrogy and to rctura N\-ith it to Aiuidlrjkjl Ojlrog^ from ^vhence thefe CoJ/'iics were difpatclied. Tlic Piatidjiatiiik WQlodimcr yltla/J'jiVy who is commonly reprclentcd as the Dhcovcrcr of Ku/.>ii- fchatkdy was at that Tirae Commander at Anndlrskoi Oftrog : He had lent Morosko to tiie K-jTJakin (>n tlie Kivei Opiikay to make lliem tribu- tary J tlie rell M^rosh'j did v.'itb.out ())'tlcrs. yhl'i[foiv writes of him, that he came witliin four Days X^oynp^o of tlic River Kaintj'chatka., and ■with tliis agrees a verbal Tradition, that terminates his Voyage at the River 'Tigil. Morosko^ on tire contrary, nier/Liojis, that lie iiad been only one Day's Voyage diflant from the River Kumtjchatka. In the l\iwUjchcdde OJlrog he found unknov/n Wiitlngs, which he brought back \vith him. We fliall prove that they wx-re Japa?icfe j for when yillaJjhiVy the fucceeding Year, followed the Steps of Moroskoy with a more numerous Company, by erecting a Crofs *, took PolTeflion of the River Kamtfchatkay at the Place where the River Kanutfch falls into it, and founded a Simowie in the Parts where afterwards IVcrchnei Kamt- jcbatkoi Ojlng was built, he met on the River Itfcba a Jiipajicfcy who two Years before had been caft by Shipwreck on the Coaft of Kamt- fcbatkay at the Place where the River Opala empties itfelf into the Sea, on the South of Bolfcbaia Reka. The Intelligence of y^r/./^i7:''s Voyage, which Strabkiil>crg\\-xs fub- joincd at the End of his Defcnption, is a Relation, by which he pro- bably anfv/erecl many Qucftions that were put to him, and which, to all Appearance, were taken down in Writing at Mofcow. It is no Dc- polltion before a Magiilrate, and does not agree with that which At- lajjhxv iTientions in a Petition, alter his Arrival at Jakutzk in the Year 1700 J nor with that which he depofitcd at Alo/coWy in the Siberian Prikafe, in 1701 ; it feems rather to have been fet down by fome in- quifitive private Perlbn; wherefore it is much more circumftantial than tlie other; and as AtUjjbw may have been alked about more Things than he knew, and yet be unwilling to pafs for ignorant, fome falfe Circum- ilances in Relation to the Country may have arifen from it, or, to judge with greater Candour, from a Defedt in his Memory. Others are ma- nifeftly owing to a iVIifunderftanding of the Writer, or, perhaps, of the Tranflator. In Strablenbcrg'^ Relation, the "Japancfe whom Atlafow * The Crofs was ftill feen at the Time of the laft Kmntfchatkan Expedition, and had the following Infcription: On th lyh af July, in the Year 1205, [This Date is from German Copy; but the Editor thinks it ihouid be 1697] this Crofs was ercSicdy by Fiatdefiatniclc Wolodimir Atlaftbw, and his Company y canfyling cf e^^ Mm. found h" Jill) m 'if- |i.|.| '% 1 :'» n iU . t'l ( xxjdi ) found In Kamtfchatka is called an IncU/ui ; and in the Remarks' it is faid, that he was a ydpiincfcy ^vllo afterwards \\ms brought to Mofcoiv when the Siv^'des were in Siberia, This "^apanrje Icems to have been con- founded with another, who will be mentioned hereafter. AtlaJJoiv himfclf., in his Petition, has c.illed the Stranger a Prifoncr from tlie Kingdom of Ojacka. What clfc can here be undcrflood, Imt the great trading Town of Ofucka in Japan ^ Jtlaffno took him with him in iiis Voyage to Jakutzk ; but it does not appear that he arrived there. StrabL'rJMYgs Intelligence lays, that on AccouiU of Wcaknefs he ilaid behind at Anadir sk. Thsfc Intellij^ences alfo contain fomjthin[r of the Iflandr. fituated to the South of tlic Country oi Kanifjcbatska. We call ilicm tb.e Kiiritian Klands, becaufe feveral of tliem are iniiahited by the Kuriks. I'lie People in that Country are faid to have \ Ad Ail/ge ^ ^ thither >ij ■.r m m t Is faid, w when ;cn con- AtlaJJoiv rom tlie ic great m in his cl there, he llaid mted to Kuriiian s, Tlie icy con- noh(xly y^.juuu'jl' d in tlie that this What is lilands und:niOn ^'orth, is of 7,/o ; The R-ft irely iin- e Wind;^ 'hich vvc g Times lie Coart firft Ja- :e to tlie .*^pace at lahitants i; out of li/Oy or (7 in tlic Re\\ard hrought Voy;>gc thhhtr ( xxxiii ) thither was commenced no fooner than the Tear 1706. During the mean Time, in the Years 1701, 1702, and 1703, the three Oilroges JVtrcbnei, Nijcbiwiy and Boljcheretjkoi, were built by other Commanders fent from Jaktitzk to KamtJ'chatka j and, in the Year 1706, a Beginning had been made of the Conqueft of the fouthernmoft Part of Kamt- fchatka: Upon which Occafion tlie Ruffian Nations coming to the Extre- mity of the Neck of Land, convinced themfclves of the Situation of the neareft Kuriiian Iflands, by Infpe<5tion ; though only at a Diftance, and without leaving the Continent. An Infufredtion amongft the Kamtj'chcdalesy in the Year 1 707, in which Bolfcheretjkoi Ojlrogy with tlie whole Garrifon there, were loft, was, doubtlefs, the Reafon of tlieir not proceeding with the Difcoveries. On the contrary, a Mutiny of the Cqffiics againft their Commanders, which, in 1 7 1 1 , coft the Wolodimir AtlaJJoWy and two others, their Lives, ferved for this Pur- pofe, that the Guilty, in order to atone for their Crime, firft reduced to Obedience the Kamtjchedales of Boljcheretzkoi^ rebuilt Boltfcberetzkoi OJlrogy and from among themfelves provided it with a Garrifon j and, next, were fo afliduous in difcovering the Kuriiian Iflands, that the In- habitants of the two firft could hefitate no longer about acknowledging themfelves fubje»5t to the Dominion of the Ruffians. In the- preceding Year, viz. in April 17 10, znothtv J apattefe Veflel was ftranded on the Coaft of Kamtjchatkay in the Kaligirian Bay (which lies North of AwatfchaJ of which ten Perfons came aftiore, who were furprized by the Kamt/c/jfdales AS Enemies, and fix of them made Prifoners, after four had been killed in the Engagement. Of thefe fix Perfons, four again fell into the Hands of the Ruffians -, one, called Sanimay was m 1 7 1 4 fent to the Imperial Court at Peterjbourgy and as they foon learnt fo much of the Ruffian Language, as plainly to anfwer the Queftions that were put to them, the Knowledge jf '.*e Situation and Nature of the Kuriiian Iflands was fet in a ftill plainer Light by their Relations, and by what was otherwife learnt from the Kurilians. But before we Ipeak of this, we muft fee what came to the Knowledge of the RuJJiart Cojffacs from their own Experience, in Relation to the two firft Iflands, in the Year 1 7 1 1 . Danilo Anziphorowy and Iwan Kofirewjkoiy Ringleaders of the Coffac Mutiny, had rebuilt Bolcheretjkoi OJlrogyTmd fubdued the Kamtjchedales who dwelt in thofe Parts. Hereupon they fet out, on the firft of Auguji 171 1, with as many Men as they could, without weakening Bolfche- retjkoiy and pafled, with fmall Baidares, a Streight, to the firft Ifland ; where, at the Mouth of the Rivulet Kudutugany a Multitude of the Kuriies ftood afiTembled, who entered into an Engagement with e the '(' I ■ 111"" [A V '; i . ! • • I "11" "If ■^ p [^ ,tlj,ii;l I I'll'" |.i I "ir It! E:1 .11" Sli'r lili.,. #!■(* *ii iiWi It •f ( xxxlv ) the "Ruffians. However, the firlt Ifland is not Inhabited by proper Kuriles : Thele are, ftridly fpeaking, the Poflcflbrs of the fecond and following Iflands j but it is ufual in Kamffchatka to give the Name of Kuriles eVen to the Inhabitants of the Continent fouth of Bolfchaiareka and Aiaatjcha^ though they differ in Dialed: from the Kamtfchedales. A Lake in the Midft of the Country is called Kurihkoe Ofero, while the Kamtfchedale OJirogt on an Ifland in this Lake, bears the Name of Kurilskoi OJirog -, and with thefe Inhabitants thofe of the firft Ifland, who, perhaps, may, in Part, have fled thither from the Continent iince the Year 1706, and have formed a new Nation. I follow here written Intelligences, founded on the con^mon Ufe of the Name. The Confe- quence of the Engagement was, that the Inhabitants of the Ifland, after lofmg ten Men, and having many more wounded, promifed an eternal Subjedtion; though no Tribute was received from them im- mediately; for the Ifland had neither Sables or Foxes, nor did the Otters ufe to make their Appearance in the Sea hereabouts. The Inhabitants lived by catching of Seals, the Skins of which, together with thole of Swans, wild Geefe, and Ducks, ferved them for Cloathing. As for the Reft, the Coff'acs greatly praifed thefe People for their Valour in War; and they had not met with any like them in all Knmtfchatka. Three Kurilian Veflels, built at the firft Ifland, was ufed in the Naviga- tion to the fecond Ifland, which immediately took Place. On this fecond Ifland, according to the Cojj'acst dwelt a People called Jefowitenes : Thefe afl^embltd near a Brook termed JaffowUkat in great Numbers, and completely nrnied ; therefore the CoJJacSy who were but few, and were befides in Want of Powder, would not venture to engage them j they rather endeavoured, by good Words, to perfuade the Iflandtrs to acknowledge themfclves fubjedt to Ru/Jlay and to pay a certain Tribute : But thefe anfwered, <* Hitherto we have been fubjeft to nobody, and have known nothing of paying Tribute. Sables and Foxes are not found amongft us ; but in Winter Time we catch Beavers, and thefe we have already fold to Strangers who come to us from a neighbouring Country, which you fee lying there towards the South, and who give for them Iron Tools, Muflin, and other ** Goods; confequently you have no Tribute to expedt now." What they intended to do for the future they did not declare ; wherefore the Coff'acs found it advifeable, after ftaying two Days on this Ifland, to re- turn to the Continent, and arrived, on the 18 th oi September ^ at BoJf- cheretskoi. The Name of Jeffowitenest feems to be an Imitation of the Name Jtfo ; by which thie Kuriles are called by the Japaneje. As, probably. *€ 4* *t t( Naviga People cSf who venture 'erfuade :o pay a fubjeft 'les and • catch e to us rds the other What )re the to re- Bo//:. of the As, 3abJy, M ( XXXV ) probably, this Name came to be known to the Cojfacs of Kamtfcbatka by Means of the ftranded Japaneji'^ (o we may conclude that, from this and the fecond Ifland, the Nations of the Kurilest as has been alrtwdy mentioned, had their real Origin* After this firfl Attempt, two other Expeditions were made, in 17 1 2 and 1713, liom Kamtjchatka to the kurilian Iflands, both -founded on an Order received from yakutzk. This Order was occalioned by the Inflrudbons given to the W.iywode Trauernkhtt by the Prince Wajtlei Iwamwitjch Gagarin, us is mentioned above; in which Inftrudions, amongft the rcll, it is recommended to the Care of the Waywode, to hiivi; Enquiry made after the Iflands fituated near Kamtfchatkay and a Dcicription given cithern. Both Expeditions were performed under the Condudl of the Cojjac named Iivan Kojirewskoiy who feems to have been moft ailiduous in getting Intelligence from the (hipwrecked Ja^ panefe. Kojirewskoiy afterwards, in the Year 17I7» turned Monk, and from that Time was called Ignatei Kojirewjkoi. He came in 1720 to yakutzky and in 1730 to Mojioiv; from whence an Account of his Merit was fcnt to Peterjhurgh^ and inferted in the Peterjburg Gazette of the 26 th oi March. His whole Life was a Chain of Broils and Dif- quietudes; but this is not to the Purpofe. His Intelligences, which he delivered in Kumtjchatkay to the Commanders there, and afterwards in the Chancery of the Waywode of Jakutzk j as alio to Capt. Beringy on his coming to Jakutzk in 1726, are altogether remarkable. They were accompanied with a Kind of Draughts, in order to reprefent, in a plainer Manner, the Continent and the Iflands j of all which I will here give an Extradt. Firfl of all, a low Promontory extends from the South End of Kamt- fchatkay to theDiftance of 15 or 20 Werfls, into the Sea; it is about 400 Fathoms broad; and, on Account of its fquare Figure, is called Lopatkoy i. e, a Shovel. From this one may row over a Streight with Baidares in two or three Hours, and arrive at the lirfl Ifland, Schumtfchuy which is inhabited by the Kuriles. A remarkable Difference between thefe and the Kuriles that inhabit the Iflands fituated farther towards the South, confiffs in this, that thofe wear long Hair ; whereas thefe, have their Heads fhaved to the Neck ; and when they falute any one, they bend their Knees. The foutherly Kuriles come fometimes hither for the fake of Trade ; the Goods which they take back with them are. Sea Beavers, Foxes, and Eagles Feathers, wherewith they plume their Arrows. Of the fame Nature is the fecond Ifland, Purumufchury which is fituated only three or four Werfls from the firfl. The Lihabitants e 2 make . |( («.■!«» a t , ■■■» I ,'>«')' : mi u% .l-t, .^ ,!tllll !'■■*! I m . \m .'a 'ii I !' it I '> 1 ,!■ till ( xxxvi ) make a Sort of Stuff, wove from Nettles, with which they cloath thcm- felves ; but they Hicewife get Silic and Cotton Stuffs, by trading with the remote Kuriks, and a Sort of Veffcls, which probably mud be Por- celaine. He praifes their Valour and Dexterity in War : They ufe Bows and Arrows, and likewife Pikes and Sabres. They are, more- over, covered with Armour. Paffing a Streight with Baidares, lightly loaded, in ftw' Weather, in half a Day, there is the third Ifland, called Mujciu, or Omknttin, which is alfo inhabited by Kurilcst who manufacture Stuffs made of Nettles, and catch Sea Beavers and Foxes. There are no Sables to be found a this and the two aforementioned Iflands. The Inhabitants go, for the Sake of Hunting, to fome Iflands fituated on its Side, and fometimes viiit the Continent of Kamtfchatkay where they buy Beavers, Foxes, and other Merchandize, and trade with thefe to the Iflands fituated farther to the South. Many of them underftand the Language of the KamtJchedaUs fituated on the River Boljchaiay with whom they trade and intermarry. On the Weft Side of thefe three inhabited Iflands, there are three un- inhabited ones, in the following Order : Ujachkupa, oppofite the Ifland of Schumtfchiy at fome Diftance : Upon it ftands an high Mountain, which, in clear Weather, may be leen from the Mouth of the River Bnlfchia. The Inhabitants of the firft and lecond Iiland, as likewife fome from the Continent of Kamtjchatkay come now and then over to this Ifland in the Hunting Seafon. Sirinki, a fmall Ifland oppofite the Slreight, between the fecond and third Iflands, towards the Weft. Kukumiivay likewife a fmall Ifland, fituated to the South-weft of the former. Both are vifited by the Inhabitants of the before-mentioned Iflands, in the Hunting Seafon. We proceed in the Order of the Iflands that extend themfelves towards the South. The fourth is called Araiimakutan^ and is unin- habited : Upon it is a Volcano. The Streights between this Ifland and Mujchtty as alfo that between this and the following Ifland Siaskuta?i, are but about half as broad as that between the fecond and third Iflands. Siaskutaiiy the fifth Ifland, has a few Inhabitants. This is the Market for the Inhabitants of the before-mentioned and following Iflands, where they meet to trade. Ikarma, is a fmall uninhabited Ifland, to the weftward of Siaskufan. Mafchavtfch is fuch another. South-weft from Ikarma. IgaitUy is an Ifland, like the former, to the South-eaft of Siaskufan. Thefe three Iflands are not reckoned in following the Order in which they extend to the Soutli. From .ill' !■■* ':'l.;|f I n ( xxxvii ) From Slaskutan it requires a whole Day to crofs the Sea, with heavy laden Baidarcs, to the following Ifland Schokokit which is to be con- fidercd as the lixth in Order. Between this and the following 111 iiid the Oiftance is but half as much. MotogOy the feventh. Scbajhowat the eighth. Ufchifchirt the ninth. kittiit the tenth Ifland. Thefe are all but fmall Iflands, in which is nothing worthy of Ob- fervation, but that the Streights between them, and between Kitui and the following Ifland oiSchlmufchir^'XCQ fo narrow, that one may row over, in light Baidarcs, in lefs than half a Day's Time ; heavy laden Badaires require half a Day, and fometimes more. There is a ftrong Current between thefe Iflands, efpecially at the Time of Ebb and Flood ; which laft rifcs very high in thofe Parts, an ! therefore many People lofe their Lives in attempting to crofs over at that Time. On the Ifland of Kitui there grow Reeds that are ufed for Arrows. Schimufchirt the eleventh Ifland, is inhabited. From hence the Paf- fage to the following Ifland, Iturpu, is fomething broader than the former. Tjchirptiiy an Ifland out of the Number, is fitiated to the Wefl: of the Streights betv/een Scbimufcbir and Iturpu. Upon it is an high Mountain. ■ ItiirpUy the twelfth Ifland, is large, and well inhabited. The In- habitants are called by the Ktiriles of the aforementioned Iflands, Gyc/j- Kuriles. The 'Japanefe call them Rfo. Such Ktiriles are alfo Pofl'ellbrs of the following Iflands : Their Language and Manner of Living differ from the former ; they fliave their Heads j their Salutation confifl:s in bending of the Knees ; as to their Valour, and Dexterity in War, they may be preferred to the former. Great Forefts, and various Sorts of wild Bcafts, are found there, particularly Bears. Here and there arc alfo Rivers, at the Mouths of which convenient Places are found wiierein large Ships may anchor fafe from the Winds and Waves : This has been particularly taken Notice of, becaufe, on the other Iflands, but little Wood is found, and no Convenience for large Sliips. After a fmall Pafiagc we come to the thirteenth Ifland, named Vriip^ the Inhabitants of which are the fame with thofe on Iturpu. They manufacture Stuffs fpun from Nettles ; but buy Cotton and Silk Stuffs at Kuncifchiry and trade with them to the firll and fccond Iflands j from whence they biing . back with them Sea Beavers, Foxes, and Eagles I 'I ■ "> ' t l!lH' ■illii Jift i I ( xxxviii ) Englcs Feathers. It has been laid for certain, that they arc under no Subjedion ; which may be much more certainly concluded of the la- habitants of liurpu. Between Vrup is a narrow Streight, to the fourteenth Ifland A'//- nqfihirt which is larger than either of thofe already mentioned. The Inhabitants are very numerous, and the l^\mc with the former j but whether they are a free People, or dependant on the Town of Matmai, on the Illand of the fame Name, is uncertain. As they frequently go (ver to Mtitmai on Account of Trade, fo thofe of Aiatnuii trcquently come over to them. Many Kamtfchedalcs^ of both Sexes, are kept as Slaves upon Iturpu, Urup, Kunajcbiry and Matmai, How far it is irom KunaJ'chir to the Illand of Matnuii, is not certainly known. The Ifland of Matmai is the 15th, and concludes this Range. It i& the largeft of all, and inhabited by the fame People of iS/o, or Kytcb~ Kuriles. The Japanefe have built a Town on this Illand, called by the fame Name, Matmai^ which ftand.^' upon the South Weft Shore, and is inhabited by 'Japanefe. People are l\iniflied thither from Japatit and a Garrifon kept there for the Defenct of the Place, which is fufficiently provided with Cannon, Mufkets, and all other Arms and warlike Stores* There are, befides, ftrong Guards on the Eaft and Weft Coafts, to watch narrowly over every Thing that happens. The Inhabitants of the Illand trade with thofe of the Town. Filh, Blubber, and Skins of Beafts, arc the Merchandize carried to the Town. Between the Ifland of Matmaiy and the principal Ifland of the Empire of JapaHt there is but a fmall Streight, over which the Navigation is not without Danger, oa Account of the many rocky Capes on both Sides, particularly at the Time of Flood and Ebb. Of Japan itfelf many Pieces of Intelligence were alio received, of which I (hall only mention the principal ones. The Name of the chief Ifland is Niphon^ after which the whole Empire is named. Japan is a Name entirely unknown on that Ifland ^ it is to be attributed to the Portugucfiy who thus pronounce the Ch'mcje Word, Gc-pueny properly, DJihebyngj whereby Japan^ or rather Niphony is called. The cjiief Town of the Country, in which the King Kubofama has his Refidence, lies on the River Jcdo, which empties itfelf ir.o a great Bay» at a fmall Diftance from the Town. The Japanefe who told this, and many Things befides, at Kamtjchatkay leemed to be worthy of Credit ; fince moft of tKeir Accounts agree with what we know of Japan from Kaempjer and others. I cannot help oblerving one Thing, which contradiifls the Difcoveries made by the Ship Cajlrkom in 1643, and all the Reprefentation.. (>f jdcr no |thc In- id Ku- The krj but \fafnaiy jiuly go fqucntly kept as ib Iroin . It k KyicJb- I by the and is (irit and iciently : Stores* )afts, to tants of Skins of Empire ation is m both ived, of ; whole Iflandi Chincfe rather ich the L-mpties The 'chatka^ :e with overie& ion,. y the JapdHefe was not confirmed by the Difcoveries of our Navigators, as ih:ill be fliewn in its proper Place. It is probable, that the Dutch o\\ board the Ship Cajiricom held the Streights between the Ulands to be Bays ; but what can be faid to the fwift Torrint obferved in thefu Streights, at the Time of low and high Water ? Thcfe ought not to have efcaned the Obfervation of the Dutch \ and if they did oblcrvo them, why did they not enquire into the Paflages, and difcovcr that, inllcad of one, there were feveral Ulands ? To reconcile thefe contra- didory Accounts, a Medium may, perhaps, be found, that will preju- dice neither Party. Suppofe Jti/b was, at the Time of the Dutch Navi- gation, really fuch a Country as is defcribed by the People on board the Ship C.t/// // w; ; but let us adopt, at the fame Time, as a Thing well Jcn.'vvn, that our Earth is fubjedt to many, and, frequently, llrangc Cii I'.iges : Great Earthquakes fwallow up Countries and Iflands, and produce n^'w ones. Now, Earthquakes are very ufual in thofc Parts ; therefore the Lmdof Jr/o may, after the Voyage of the Dutch, have been torn info fi^crariellcr Iflands by an Earthquake. This feems to be, at lead, more vquit \Lle, than wlien MeliV De Ltjle and Buache call in Queition the modem Discoveries made in our Times, on Account of the Situation of the Land Jt^o defcribed by the Ship Cajiricom, We ihall make Mention of fome other Iflands, that are fituated to the South of the River L/i/, on the Continent of Slbi'riay and are com- monly called the Scbantarian Iflands. The Name leems to be old ; ti)'- it has its Origin from the Giljackes, a People who dwell near the Mouth of the River Amur, and, about the Miadle of the laft Century, were fubjed: to the RuJJian Empire, as I have fliewn in The Hijiory of the River Amur. At that Time the RuJJians, probably, enquired of the Giljackes for the Name of this Ifland : Thefe latter, not knowing any particular Name it had, anfwered, Schantar, which fignifies, in the Giljackijh Language, an Ifland in general. Now, though from that Time thefe Iflands were known to the RuJJians, yet we do not find, in written Accounts, that any Body had taken the Pains to make a more cxad Enquiry about thern, till, in the Year 1710, the Prince Wii/ilci IwanoivijJ'ch Gagarin, among other Prepa ations at Jakutzk, committed this Aftair to the Waywode Trauernicht. It was only known in general from the Relations of fome Cojacs and Tungujes who had been at Vdjkoi OJirog, ^m I ■ ''mi itt r^ 'M I .i.i^£!2t m I •ji:, r,i>i i«« # im . ,J>)l! ^0 VOYAGES FROM ASIA to AMERICA, THE Czar, Pf/^r the Great ^ being curiou" to know whether Afta and America were contiguous, or feperated by a wide or narrow channel of the fea, wrote the following inftruc- tions with his own hand, and ordered the chief Admiral Count Fedor Matfeivitfch Aprnxhiy to fee them carried into execution. I. One or two Boats with decks to be built at Kamtfchatka, or at any other convenient place ^ with which If. Enquiry Jhould be made in relation to the northerly coafls^ to fee whether they were not contiguous with America, Jince their end was not known. And this done^ they Jhould III. See whether they could not fomewhere find an harbour belonging to Europeans, or an European y7^//>. T^hey Jljould likewife fet apart fame men^ who were to enquire after the name and fituation of the coafls dif- covered. Of all this an exadl jourjial Jhould be kept^ with which they J/.ould return to Peterfliurg. The Emprefs Catharine^ ns Hie cnJeavourtd in all points to ex- ecute mod precifely the plans of iier dcccafcd hulband, in a manner btg;;n her \i\^n with an oriler for the expedition to KavUjchatka . Vitus Betin':;^ at that time Captain ofaniip, was nominated com- mander of this expalltion, and two Lieutenants, Martin Sjangberg^ ' iin.l Alexii Tfcjiirihy-n'^ were his afiifl.ints, together with other lea oiiicers of inferior rank } they alio had foinc along with them tivat % underflooJ i 4 VOYAGES FROM I". <• ASIA to AMERICA. TH E Czar, "Peter the Great ^ being curious to know whether Afta and America were contiguous, or feperated by a wide or narrow channel of the fea, wrote the following indruc- tions with his own hand, and ordered the chief Admiral Count Fedor Matfewitfch Apraxiuy to fee them carried into execution. I. One or two Boats with decks to be built at Kamtfchatka, or at any other convenient place ^ with which If. Enquiry Jhould be made in relation to the northerly coa/ls^ to fee whether they were not contiguous with America, Jince their end was not known. And this done^ they Jhould III. See whether they could 7iot fomewhere find an harbour belonging to Europeans, or an European yZ'//>. They JJoould likewife fet apart fome men^ who were to enquire after the name and Jit nation of the coafts dif- covered. Of all this an exadl journal Jl^ould be kept^ with which they Jhould return to Peterfliurg. The Kjnprefs Call:ariiu\ ns (lie cnJcavonrcd in all points to ex- - ccutc mod preciftly the ^V;\m of her dcccafcd hiiibnnd, in a manner btgiin her rti^n with an order for the expedition to Kamtfchatka. Vitus Berin':;^ at th;\t time Captain ofafiiip, was nominated com- mander of this expedition, and two Lieutenants, Martin Sjangberg^ '' ;ind Alexti Tfchirik'yi.\ were his afiid.ints, together with other lea ollicers of inferio; rank } they alTo had foine along with them tlvat li unde/ flood if. Ifi Ml, h i n}\ », ■Uj ii\''\ m w i> nndcrftood fliip building. Tlic day of their tlcparturc from Peter/-- burg wasthe5lh o( February, 1725. On the 16th of March ihey reached Toholjky the chief town of Si/nria, where they remained till the 1 6th of M/y, as vvfll to wait for the convenience of a pafllige by water, as to take with them feveral mechanicks and materials, which they wanted for their voyage. The following fummer was fpent in naviL!;ating the rivers Irtfc/.\ Ob^ Rrt, yenifeiy Tungujka and ///'///, after which they found themfelvcs under the necelTity of wintering in the ilimjky and, in the mean while, took in provifions for a longer voyage. In the i'pring of 1726, they failed down the river Lena to yakut-zk j Lieut. Spangberg went immediately before them upon the rivers ^"ildan, Maia^ and Judoma^ with part of the provifions, and heavy naval ftores. He was followed by Capt. Bering by land, with ano- ther part of the provifions that were packed upon horfes j while Lieut. Tjckirikoiv ftaid at Jakutzk^ in order to bring by land the reft of the provifions. This divilion was neceffary, on account of the toilfome way between yaktUzk and Ochotzky it being not paflable in fummer with waggons, or in winter with fledges, on account of the marflies and rocky ground, and the country's not being at all inhabited, ex- cept in the neighbourhood of yakutzk. Lieut. Spangberg'^ voyage was as unfortunate as Capt. Bering's was fuccefsful, fince he did not reach yudomjkoi Krejl, the place to which he was bound, but was frozen up in the river yudoma^ at the mouth of the little river Gorbei. He fet out on the 4th of November to go a foot to yudomjkoi Krejty and Ocbotzk^ with the moft neceffa- ry naval ftores, but iuffered fo much with hunger by the way, that he was obliged to fupport life by eating leather bags, ftraps, and Ihoes } at length he MnsQA^xOcbotzky on the ift oi jfamiaryy 1727. Li the begining of February he returned to the yudoma to fetch the reft of his lading j but, as this was not fufficient, a third party, who were difpatched with horfes from Ochotzk, affifted in tranfporting c- very thing happily. Upon this, on the 30th of j^w/y, Lieut. Tfchiri- kow, with the laft provifions, arrived alfo from yakutzk. In the mean while a veffel had been built at Ochotzk^ named the FortunCy which fet fail on the 30th of yunCy under the command of Lieut. Spangberg, to tranfport to Bolfcljeretzkoi the moft neceffary naval ftores, and fome fliip carpenters. This ihip returned, together with the old veffel, which ftill remained, ever fince the year 171 6, when the navigation between Ocbotzk and Kamtfchatka began. On { i ) On the 2iftof yftf^tt/?,Capt. Bering, and Lieut. 7'/J-/&/V//low, began their voyage j they entered the mouth of the river Bolfchid^ on the 2d of September^ and went the following winter, together with Lieut. Spangbergy from Bolfcheretzkoi to Nifchnd Kamjchatkoi Oftrog, whither the (hip carpenters went before them, in the fummcr, to fell wood for building of fhips ; they carried along with them as much provifions, and naval ftorcs, as they believed were necelTury, with which they went on very flowly, on account of the tedious carriage with dogs. On the 4th of April 1728, a boat was put upon the ftocks, like the packet boats ufcd in the Ba/tick', and, on the loth of Jufy, was launched, and named the boat Gabriei. This being provided with all necefiary (lores and proviHons for forty men, during a year's voyage, they did not delay accomplishing the chief point they had an view. For this end, Capt. Bering went to fca, from the mouth of the river Kamtfchatka^ on the 20th of July^ of the abovementiuned year, and (leered North Ead, generally in (ight of the coaft of Kamtfcbatka \ his chief endeavour was todefcribe this coad as exadly aspo(iible up- on a map, in which he fucceeded pretty well, at lead we have none better than this. On the 8th of Augufi^ being in the latitude of 64d. 5om. eight mc.i of the Tjchuktfcbi came rowing from the (hore in a leathern canoe, called a, ^<7/i/^r^, formed of feal-dcins, in order to in« form themfelves about the intention of this voyage. Thefc people were converfed with by means of a Rorjak interpreter, and invited aboard the (hip, upon which one of them, by means of two blown up feal-fkins tied to a pole, came fwimming to the (hip, and was follow- ed by all in the canoe. The captain obtained information from them, of the fituation of the coaft, and learnt that they would find it turn'd towards the Weft. Whether they made any enquiry about the op- po(ite iflands, or coafts, or not, is not mentioned in the captain's ac- count, of which thi« is an extract. One may almoft believe thty were not thought of, fince our navigators had no knowledge at all of what had been done before them, and confequently could not fuppofe tlie land (q near. They heard of an ifland, which was laid to lie fome- W'hat farther, at no great diftance from the continent j to this thi-y gave the name oi St Lawrence, on account of its being the loth of Augu/i, that faint's day, when they pafs'd by it, without obferving any thing upon it, bcfides cottages of fidiermen. B 2 At ^b' ri It' ii f!!r In ■•NtfiA ^<, I'l ' * < 4 ) '" At laft they f.rilvec!, on llie 15111 of ^//^///', in Cjdc^. 1.8 niln. North latitude, at a jMo:r.oiitory, bthimi whicli the coaft extended to- wards the Weft, as the former Tfcbuktfchi had faid. From this the captain drew a pretty plaulible concliilion, that now he had reached the extremity of yl/ia towards the North Eaft. He was of opinion that from thence the co.ift muft continually run to the Weft j and was this the cafe, no connedlion with America could take place j con- fequcntly he believed that he had fulfilled his orders, and therefore propofed to the officers and the reft of the fhips company, '* That it *' was time to think of their return. If they ftiould fail farther ta " the North, it was to be feared they might meet with ice, in which " they might he involved, fo as not eafily to extricate themfelvcs ; the ufual thick fogs, in autumn, which already began to appear, might rob them of a free profpedl ; and, in cafe a contrary wind " lliould arife, it would be almoft: impoflible for them to return to Kamtfchatka that fummer, and yet it was not advifeable to winter in thofe parts, fincc the well known want of wood in all the northerly regions towards the frozen fca, the favages of the country not yet " reduced to the obedience of the Ruffian government, and the fteep " rocks, every where found along the Ihore, between which there was " not anchorage nor harbour, rendered it too dangerous." It muft be allowed that the circumftances, on which the captain founded his judgment, was falfe; for it was afterwards found that this was the promontory which, by the inhabitants o{ Anadirjkoi Oftro^^ is called Serdze Kamefit on account of a rock upon it in the form of a heart. And, although the country '^ehind it winds to the Weft, yet this winding compofcs only a large bay, in the innermoft part of which the rock Matkol lies, according to the above account given by the Coflack Popcw, But here the coaft begins again to run regularly to the North and North Eaft, till in the 70th degree or more, of North latitude, the proper Tchuktfchian Nofs, as a great peninfula, ap- pears; where, and not before, it might be faid, tliat there was no connedion between the two parts of the world, but who on board that fliip could know this ? For the particular and true knowledge of the country of the Tfchuktfchi is owing to my geographical refearchcs made at Jakutzk, in the years 1736, and 1737. It may fuftice, that in tlie chief point there was no miftake, and that A/ia is really (cpa- rated from America by a channel wliich connects the frozen fea with the Pacific Ocean. -, . They <( •t «( k { 5 ) They returned without any tiling rcmarkahlc happening ; but only, on the 20th of ylugu/f^ 40 men of the Tjlhuktjchi came rowing to the fl)ip in four Baidares, and brought prcfcnts, confifting of the flcfh of fain-deer, fiih, frcfli- water, fox-ll;ins, white foxes, nnd fca-hor!c tcelli i for which they were rewarded with needles, (Icelii for ilrikinj^ fire, iron, &c. On the 29th they canne to an anchor on the coaft of Kamtfcbatka in foggy and ftormy wcatlier j and, as the following morn- ing the cable was torn to pieces m attempting to weigh the anchor, they were obliged to leave it behind them. On the 20th of September they returned to the river Kamtfcbatka^ went up it, and took again their winter quarters at Nijchnci Kamtfcbatjkoi OJlrog. Our fea oHicers frequently heard relations of the inhabitants of Kamtfcbatka^ that were important cnougl to merit their obfcrvation> fuice, according to them, •<>. country muft 'jc at no great diftancc to^ wards the Eaft, the difcovt/y of which and following its coafts after- wards was their duty ; they themfclvc had not obferved fuch great and high waves, as» in other places, art common in the open fea ; they had fcen fir-trees fwimming in tht fea, tli / they do not grow in Kamtfcbatka. Some even affured them, th; . hey had fcen this near- ly fituated land, in clear weather, fr i:r» the elevated coafts of Kamtfcbatka. Now the captain, willing to be . llur i of the truth, made preparati- ons for another voyage, and difpofed things in fuch a mann:: , that the return might not be by the way of Kamtfcbatka, but immediately th Ockotzk'f and, on the 5th oi June 1729, he fet fail the fccond time, but a violent wind did not fuffcr him to leave the coafts at a greater dlftance than about 200 Werfts ; and, meeting in the mean while with no land, he failed back, and fleered round the South promontary of Kamtfcbatka *, the proper fituation and form of which he dcfci ibed in his map, and returned by fea to the mouth of the river Bc/fdaia, whence he went to Ockotzk on the 23d of yuly. Hence he travelled n the 29th of the fame tnonxh to JuJomfkoi Krci'fy there he found iwi^w fmall veflels, built floats, and with thetn went down the rivers Judoma, Maia^ and Aldau. At Bdfkoi Pere- wofs, which is a pufTige over the AJdan^ at the river Bcla, lie again took horfes of th- neighbouring Jakutes ; with thefe he arrived, on the 29th of Augitjly at Jakutzk^ and fet out from thence on the loth of • This is caller' by fome Cape O/ko'i, perhaps OJkoi has its origin from the RuJJ'an word for Southerly* Se^tembcr^ If A'' iM I n ( 6 ) September y in order to proceed by water up the Lena as far as poffible The violent driving of the ice obliged him to flop on the loth of OSlober^ at Fcledutjkaia Stoboda^ but this lafted no longer than till the 29th of the fame month, when he proceeded on his travels with lledges. He took his way by Jlimjk^ ^enifeijk, Tomjk^ and Tara^ to 'Tobolky where he ftaid from the loth to the 25th oi January ^ and re- turned on the I ft oi March 1730, to Peterjburg. A little before a miftuke had dipt into the geography of foreign countries, as if Kamtfchatka was the fame with the land of yefo, and confcquently extended towards the South, as far as the neighbourhood of Japan. Two maps publiChed foon after the death of Peter the Great {a) had occafioned this. They were confided in, as founded on the neweft difcoveries, and the affair was confirmed in the remarks of the Swedijh officers, who had been prifoners in Siberia^ annexed to the hiftory of Tartary^ written by Abulgaji Bayadur Chan (b). Therefore this hypo- thefis was alfo adopted by Scheuchzer^ on his publifliing Kaempfer'% hiftory of Japan (c). M. Strahlenberg feemed to give it new weight by his teftimony('t to dilcover the pretended country in the frozen fea, and finally he comprifed Ifo the Schantarian and Kurilion iflands in the enquiries he was to make. The eloquence with which he biought his propofals on the carpet, and laid them before perfons of all ranks, and the benefit that might be derived from them, procured him a great deal of applaufc. He was appointed tiic chief of a particular cxpe- m :' ti ( 9 ) expedition, in which he was to accomplifh all he had promifed. The admiralty office at Peterjburg appointed one Jacob Hens for his Pilot j Iwan Fedorow for his fecond mate j Michael Gwofdew for his geodefift, or navigo'ior ; Herdebol for a fearcher of ore, and ten failors. He was pre vidi-d at Cathcrineburg * with fmall cannon and mortars, with all their appurtenances. At Toboljk^ a captain of the Siberian regi- ment of dragoons, named Dmitri Pawluzki^ was ordered to join him, and they both had the command of 400 Cojfacks, having more- over all the Cojfacks at their command who were garrifon'd in the OJlroges and Simowies within the Tfclmkutfch jurifdidlion, to which they fliould come. With thefe difpatches Schejlakow returned from Peterjburg to Si^ beriay in the month oi June 1727. At Toboljk he tarried till the 28th of November y fpent the winter in the upper huts of the Le?ia^ and arrived at Jakutzk in the fummer 1728. Here a great difpute arofe between Sche/iakow and Paw/ufzki, which probably occafioned their feparation, though both had the fame defign in their intended enterprifes. Schejiakow went in 1729 to Ochotzk, and there for his ufe took pofTeffion of the vefTels with which captain Bering was late- ly come back from Kamtfchatka. Having difpatched on the firfl: of September his coufin Sinbojarjki Jwan Schejlakow^ in the boat Gabriel^ to the river Vd^ from whence he was to proceed to Kamtfchatka, * Catherineburg. A new city, begun in the year 1721, in the government of Siberia, in the province of Ugor^ on the river Ifett^ betvireen the Uralcian mountains, and had this name given it, in honour to the late Emprefs Catharine. This place is five hun- dred and fifty IVerJis from the city of loboljki. The fortification is fquare, and has fix whole, and four half baftions: The river Ifett runs through it, along which is a great dam made, and near it the following works and manufadlures are fet on foot : (t) Two high maft-ovens : (2) Four mills with hammers for drawing iron bars : (3) Three mills M'lth hammers for flatting plate iron : (4) Two fabricks, for making of plates for tin, with a (lone building where the plates are tinn'd : (5) A fabrickfor working rough fleel, containing two fmall hammer works, and eight forges : (6) A fteel fabrick with two hammer works : (7 j A wire fabrick : (8) Two machines for making iron hoops : (9) A machine for cutting iron into fmall bars for courfe wire and nails : ( lo) A mill for ham- merino of anchors : (11) Two machines for making i'word -blades : (12) A machine for boring and polifhing cannon : ("13) Six furnaces to melt copper: (14) A faw-mill v'th three frames ; all thefe works are kept going by forty-two water wheels. The diredlors of thefe feveral works, are mollly Germans., each of whom has a houfe to himfclf, all built in a regular and uniform manner ; they have, befides the RuJJian^ a church of their own, and a German minifter, who alfo teaches their children reading, writing, and the lan- guages, o C and M: m ft m V IS I m ( 10 ) ^ and enquire into nrd defcribe the iflands lying within this navigation ; he himlelf went with the other velTel, called the Fortwia^ to TauiJ- koi 0/}rcg, but had the misfortune to fufFer fliipwreck on his way, and to Ice the greatefl: part of tiic men he had with him perifli in tlie water, narrowly efcaping himfelf alive with four others in a ca- iioe. On tlie 30th of September he fent from Tau'/Jkoio OJirog, Iwan Oftaficiv^ a Cojjack, with fome Korjack elders, before him along the coafl, with orders to go to the river Penfchina, and to perfuade, by fair promiies to obedience the obftinate Korjdks dwelling in the places he Hiould go through. He himfelf followed in the beginning of December with the refl of his people, overtook OJlafiew on the road, and arrived fortunately within two days journey from the ri- ver Pe/i/chi?2a, where he met an innumerable fwarm of Tfchuktfchi, who were on their march to make war againft the Korjak's el- ders. So inconfiderable were Scbejlakow's company of RuJ/ians, added to the Ochozjk Tungujes '\^ LamuteSy and Korjaks he had f Tungufi. This is a moft numerous a' >.' moft ftraggling Pagan nation (with refpeft to their dwellings ) that is in Siberia^ and are fuppofed to amount to 70 or 80000 men. Thefe people arc, in general, diftinguiflied by tliree names, viz. Konni Tungufi^ Oleni Tun- gufi, and Sabatfchl Tuuguft, that is, thofe that make ufe of horfcs for riding and draught, thofe who ufe rein-ueer tor that purpofe, and thofe who ufe dogs. In the fame manner as the FinlandiaKs have been diftinguiflied formerly, by fome writers, into Skrete and Rede', i. e. into fkaiting finlandlans, and fuch as ufed fledges. The Ruffians in Siberia give, be* iides, to the latter fort of thefe Twiguft^ divers other names, as Podkumena, Tumaii, and If'^cuki Tungufi, iifc. becaufe the latter have very difajrceable fmells, occafioned by the fifli, :ind other uncommon things they feed upon ; and the former live in and about the moun- tains : In other things they are no way different from the Sabatfchi Tungufi. The Ja- k'uhti call them Udfchicsen, from the word Ud, fignifying a Dog : Whence alfo a Capital river, which ilifchargcs itfelf into the bay of Lama, on account of thefe people, who keep dogs, that have hair one fourtii of an ell long, is named Ud-Reka, i. e. the river of dogs. Moreover, thefe Sabatfchi Tungufi living partly at tlie point of the bay of Penfchin or La- ma, and partly near the rivers Aldan, Tungur, and Ud, the Ruffians have given that point the name of Sabatfchi Nos. The Sabatfchi Tungufi are fubdivided among themfelves into divers tribes, viz. 1. Lamunka. 2. Ktseltaku, which is the largeft and ftrongefh 3. La- k'lgir. 4. Brangatkal. 5. Ninengath. 6. Bugagi. 7. Maimogur. 8. Boldatt. g. Sologon. 10. Mamour. 11. Ilagin. 12. Kotnachan ; and, l-^.f ukagri or Jukairi. As to the twa other fort', viz. the Kouni and Oeeni Tungufi, they are fufficiently defcribed in the travels of Jflrand Ides, and in thofe of Adam Brant, where it is obfervable, that both thefe writers are of opinion, the Konni-Tungufi, as well as the Targuzini, came originally from Dauria, and that the Olcni-Tungufi, who live near the river Angara, are all one people with the /io«r', tho' their tongues are different ; and the account of the above authors, with my table, taken together, will pretty well clear up what I have faid concerning this •nation. That their anceftors were thofe primitive Tartar s^ who are called in ancient Eu- rolb 16. i9» 28, Aug. i3> 20, Sept. 5. Juft at a time when Schejiakow came back to Ochotzky Jacob HenSy the pilot, received an order from captain Paivlutzki, who in the mean while had advanced from Jakutzk by the ufual land road to Nifchnce Kolymjkoe Simoiviey or OJtrog^ that, although advice had been received by the way of Anadirjkoi Ojirog^ of the death of Schef- takoiVy chief of the Cojfacks, yet it would occafion no impediment to the expedition ; that the pilot Hens Ihould, with one of the vef- fels left at Ochotzk by captain Bering^ come round Kamtfchatka to Anadirjky for which place he, captain Paivlutzki^ would fhortly depart, &c. In confequence of this order, Hem took the boat Gabriel^ and failed to Kamtfchatka. The 20th of July 173 1, he was at the mouth of the river Kamtfchatka^ in order to proceed on his voyage to the river Anadir ^ when he received intelligence, that on the fame day a rebellious band of Kamtfchedales were come to Nifchnei Kamtfchatzkoi Ojirog, had killed mod of the RuJJians there, and fet fire to the houfes of the inhabitants. The remaining few RuJJians took flielter in the vefTel, and Hens fent fome men to reduce the Kamtfchedales to obedience, which they efFedted. But by this means a flop was put to the navigation to the river Anadir. In the mean while captain Pawlutzkiy on the 3d of Septem- ber 1730, arrived at Anadirjkoi O/lrog. From thence he made, in the following fummer, a campaign againft the obftinate 7fchuktfchi. 1 have colledted, not only written, but likewife verbal relations of it, from perfons who were prefent on the fpot, which are remarkable on account of feveral circumftances, but efpecially becaufe they explain the geography of thefe parts. The 1 2th oi March 1731, Pawlutzki marched with 215 Rujians^ 160 KorjackSy and 60 Jukagiri^ againft the rebellious Tfchtcktfchi. The rout was taken by the fources of the rivers Uboina^ Bela^ and , Tjchernay a ( 13 ) ^tfcherna, which full In the Anadir, and then they turned directly northward to the frozen fea. The Iburce of the river AnatUr re- mained to the left of the way. It is not known that tb.ty palfed any other rivers, fincc nobody could indicate or name them. After two months, marching hardly more than ten werds a day, and refting now and then, Paialutzki arrived at the frozen fea, at place where a confiderable river falls into it, which, however, none could name. For a fortnight together he travelled towards the eafl, along the coafts, moftly upon the ice, without obfeiving the mouths of rivers, becaufe of his going frequently at too great a diftance from the land. At laft they obferved a great company of Tfchuktfchi ad- vancing, who feemed prepared to engage our people. Pawliitzki^ by his interpreters, fumnioned them to obedience. But, as they would not lilten to it, he attacked them as enemies, and had the good fortune to beat them entirely from the field of battle. This was done on the 7th of June. After eight days reft, Pawlutzki went farther, and arrived towards the end of yune at two rivers, the mouths of which, towards the frozen fea, are about a day's journey diftant from each other. On the latter of thefe rivers a fecond engagement happened on Jime 30^ the event of which was as fortunate as the former. Hereupon they halted three days, then advanced towards the Tfchukotzkoi Nofs, intending to crofs it in their way to the Anadir/k fea, when for the third time they met a great army of Tfchuktfchi, who had aflembled from from both feas. Here enfued the third en- gagement, on the 14th of Julyy in which the lofs on the fide of the enemies was greater than the advantage on the fide of the Riifjimis ; lince the Tfchuktfchi would not fubmit, nor agree to pay tribute among the fpoils, fome things were found that had belonged to Schefiako'w, the chief of the Cofjacks, and had been lofl: in the engagement near the brook Jegatfch. Thus they had avenged themfelves pretty well of their enemies, lince in all the three engagements but three Ruf- fians, one Jukagir, and five Korjacks, were killed. We are aflured, that among the enemy's flain in the laft engagement, there was found one who had two holes in the upper lip on each fide of the mouth, through which pieces of fea-horfe-teeth are put in. Now Pawlutzki pafl^ed in triumph to the Tfchukotzkoi Nofs, he had pretty high mountains to climb, and fpent ten days in his way, till he regained the coaft. From thence he made part of his people go H if:' I « i(j*ii 4 If m I l.i ^ ft'v ' Id. ( 14 ) go by water with baidares-, but he himfelf with the greatefl: part of his men, continued upon the land, and Ibllowed the co^dy which there extends itfelf towards the Ibiith-eall, fo that every evening he received intelligence from the baidares. The feventh day they came bv fca to the mouth of a river, and twelve days after to the mouth of another ; upon which, at the diflance of about ten wcrlls, there runs into the fea far towards the eall, a point of Kind, which at firft is mountainous, but ends in a plain that cannot be overlooked. This is probably the poiiit of land that caufed c.iptain Bering to re- turn. Among the mountains upon it, there is one whici; by the in- habitants of AnadirJliGi Ojlrog is called Serdze Ka?nai. From hence Paivintzki took his rout through the inland country, and came back to Anndirjk on the 2ifl: of Ochbcr^ by the w.-y he went. I omit the reft of the exploits of this man of merit, (who after- wards was made a major, then lieutenant-colonel, and at laft died at Jiikittzk^ a waywode) and proceed to the fecond expedition of Kamtfchatkii^ which, as it fuipufles all thofe before made, deferves a more circumflantial defcription. Captain Bering himfelf made the propofals for it, and he, as well as the two lieutenants, Spa)igbeyg and Ijchirikoiv^ declared that they would travel a fecond time to Kamffc/jatka, and undertake the dif- coveries that remained to be made in thofe feas. For this purpofe the captain was made a commander, and both lieutenants were raifed to be captains in the beginning of the year 1732. The defign of the firft voyage was not brought on the carpet again upon this occalion, fince it was looked upon as compleated j but inftead of that, orders were given to make voyages as well eaftward to the continent of America y as fouthward to Japan^ and to difcover, if poflible, at the fame time, through the frozen fea, the north paf- fage, which had been fo frequently attempted by the EngHJh and Dutch, The fenate, the admiralty-office, and the academy of fciences, all took their parts to compleat this important under- taking! and M. Kirilow^ the upper fecretary in the fenate, and af- terwards counfellor of ftate, pufhed the affair, fo that it was foon brought to bear The firft imperial order from the cabinet to the fenate with re- gard to this affair, was of the 17th of April 1732. The fenate de- fired of the academy of fciences, that they might communicate to them the intelligence which till then they had received of Kamtf^ ckatka. I ( 15 ) chatha^ anil its neighbouring countries, rivers and leas. With this M. iU Lijlf was charged by the academy, and accordingly n)adc a mjp, upon wliicii Kamtfchatka, the land of Ji'fo^ agreeable to the defcription of the Ihip Gz/Zr/Vc;;;;, Staten IJland^ the company's illand, Japan, and the coall that had been (qqw by a Spanijh captain, named, Don Juan dc Gawa^ were reprcfented. To this map was added an account in writing, in which M. <\c L'ljle delcribcd the old di(co- vcries, and propo(ed ways and means of making new ones. It was therefore alter his return to Parh^ a fault in his memory, to fay, in a memoir which he delivered to the academy of fciences at Farisy that tlie faid map, and account, had been made by him in the year 1731, imd that a new liamtfchatkan expedition had been made by it. When the map and the account belonging to it had been deli- vered to the fenatc, by the academy of fciences, there followed an order, that a profefllbr of the academy fhould be nominated to ac- company captain Bering in his vovage, who was to afcertain, by aRronomical obfervations, the proper lituation of the countries that were to be difcovered, and to notice whatever might occur with refpedl to animals, plants, and mik'.erals belonging to natural hiftory. It happened fortunately for the fciences that two profeffors of the academy, 'viz. John George Gmeli?ty profeflbr of chemiftry and natu- ral hiftory, and Lewis de LiJIe de la Croyere^ profeflbr of aftrono- ny, voluntarily offered to make the voyage, and, upon the academy's propofal, were nominated by the fenate. In the beginning of the year i733> I myfelf offered my fervices, to defcribe the civil hiftory of Siberia^ and its antiquities, with the manners and cuftoms of the people, as alfo the occurrences of the voyage, which was likewife approved of by the fenate. It may be faid with truth, that fo te- dious and long a voyage was never undertaken with more alacrity than this was by all who had a fliare in it. On account of the feveral voyages that were to be made, the admiralty ordered the following fea officers to join tlie commander, as lieutenants •. Peter LafJ'eniiis^ William Walton^ Dmitri LaptieiOy Jegor Jendauro^ Dmitri OiDzin^ Swen IFaxel, JVaJili ProntfchifchtfcheWy Michaih Plautin, and Alexander Schel- tinga^ midftiipmen. Three of thefe were defigned for the dif- covery of the north pafTage, one was to go from the Ob to the Je- mfci. '••tj if- /I i. % \ k ^ m 1*4 I* ■ ( i6 ) nilci*, the other out of the. Lena, towards the weft, was likewife to liiil into the ycmjli, and the third was to fail out of the Lena to- wards tlic callt, round Tfchukctzkoi No/s, antl to endeavour to reach Knuitjlhi't.'ia. Tlic p.iflage from ^Ircbdn^cl to tlic 0^, tlic admlraUy r^'lcrvcd lor their own immediate infpcv^I jn ; tor which three licu- tcii.iiits, Aturaivicxv, Afa/ngi//, and Skuratoiv, were employed. The rcll of the lea olhccrs were IhitioiK' 1 aboard tiicj lliips that were to be commanded by the captain conimander, and the captains Spang' /wir and 'TJ'chirikoiv. One was alio to navin;ate a particular fliip, bc- caulc U was orde-ed that four fliips ihould put out to fea from /C(f/w/- Captain Spangbcrg having gone before with a party, and the hea- vicll- materials, on the 2 ill: of February 1733, the captain comman- der let out froni Pcterjburg on the i8th of y/^r//; he went from 'r-wcr as far as Cofan by water, and then by Cathcrincburg to 'Toboljk. The lame way was taken by our academical travellers, who departed on the 8th oi An guff the lame year, and in January 1734 overtook the captain commander at 1'cboljk. The captain commander tra- velled by the way of 'Tara^ Tomjk^ and K. afnojarjk^ to Irkutzky from whence he went to the Lena^ and took advantage of the water car- lidge as far as Jakutzk. O 1 the otiier hand, captain Tchirikow went * Jemfcl or Jenzea. This is one of the largeft rivers that luns through Tartary and Liberia ; it extends itfclf from its fource to its mouth, one thoufand fix hundred Englijl) miles in length. I could never learn the fignification of the name of this great river, the word being neither Sclavonian nor Ruffian ; nor do the Tartars, who live on liie banks of it, near its fource, give it the name of Jenifil, but call it Kemm, However, the word Jenifei fignifying, in the Tartarian and Turkijh tongues, tofivellox to over-ftoiv^ and this river overflowing the land every fpring, towards if mouth, on both fides, for feveral miles, it is not unlikely that it had the name Jcn'tfei from thence: For Sai or Eel fignifies Rocky river, where there are watcr-ialls, and having a rapid current; and Jinic, denotes fpreading, fwelling, *. _g-. the rivers Jiixartes and Chefeldaria., are alfo called, near their iburccs, or Dfai Dfeihun : Now the river Jeuifeiy near its fprings, between the town of jibakan and the river Kimtfchyk, is not only ftony and rocky, but has above ten Potrogg!, or cataraiSs ; as it has likewife between the cities of Crofnayabr and yenifei, not far from Kcmfkroi Ojircgg. VViicnce it comes, that this river, from the town of Abakan, towards its fource into Mungalia, is njt navigable, which otherwife would much fhorten and fa- cilitate the way, through Mungnlia into China, and render tliat trade much more cafy •as well as profitable, 'rhis river, on account of its ftony bottom, yields no fifh, till below the city of Jeniji'i, and after it has received the rivers jngara and Tuiigus, which caufes annually a great number of vcflels from tiiis city, and others, to go down fo far as Nova jVIiingaJeia, in order to catcli and fait filh. At this city, tlie river is one werfl-, or one thoul'and five hundred paces over ; from which the reader may judge of its vaft breadth ilovvtiWivrd;, near the fea, after it has fwallowed up fo many large hvcrs. f ■■}■ ( 17 ) in the fummer 1734 from Toboljk, upon the rivers Irtifch, Ob, Ret, Tutigujka and ///w, as far as Ilimjk^ and only reached Jakutzk the following year. While the fhip-building at Ochotzk went on, our academical fel- low travellers made feveral tours, that have been of no fmall advan- tage to geography and natural hiftory. Profeflbr de la Croyere tra- velled with captain Tjchirikow by water, left him at the mouth of the river ///w, went 6rther to Jakutzk, and from thence pafled the lake Baical, to Selenginky Nertjchinjk, and the river Argun-, but profeflbr Gmelin and I went up the Irtifch, as far as UJi-Kameno- gorjkaia Krepofi ; we proceeded farther, by KoliwanO'WoJkrefenJkoi, Sanvod, Kufnetzk, and Totn/k, to Jenifeijk-, and from thence like- wife to the parts fituated beyond the lake Baical, with which latter voyage we fpent the fummer of the year 1735. In fpring 1736 we aflembled again in the upper parts of the river Lena. De la Croyere went to Jakutzk, without flaying by the way. Gmelin and I fpent the whole fummer again in this navigation, in order to obtain the more time for our afiiiirs. The captain commander was ftill at Jakutzk, and from thence took care to tranfport provifions to Ochotzk. Captain Spangberg ftaid with the fhip-builders at Ochotzk -, but both of them had no great fuccefs in what they undertook. Every thing went on fo flowly, that one could not fee when the voyage to Kamtfchatka would be begun. In the mean while we would not be idle ; but were think- ing on new travels, in order to employ ourfelves. A fire at Jakutzk deprived profeflbr Gmelin of all his itinerary obfervations, among which, thofe he made laft fummer are particularly to be regretted, (for of the former, copies were already fent to Peterjburg;) this lofs, I fay, moved him to go in the fummer 1737, up the Lena a- gain. But de la Croyere made a voyage down the Lena to Schigani Siktak, and the river Olenek. I was obliged, on account of my ill ftate of health, to accompany M. Gmelin, in order to obtain help from him. This ficknefs was the reafon that I did not afterwards return to Jakutzk, and there came an order from the fenate, which releafcd me from proceeding on the voyage to Kamtfchatka, and in- ftead of that gave me a commiflion to travel thofe countries of Si- beria where I had not yet been, in order to give a more (jircum- ftantial defcription of all Siberia. Gmelin petitioned likewife to be recalled, which was granted him. On our being at Jakutzk we D had I '. If %\ |. v> t \ w\ 1 I 'J't' 'I! *'!? ( 18 ) had lent before us to Kamtfcbatka^ Stephen Krafiheniniko'Wf a . Au- dent, in order to make fevcral preparations there before our arrival. Afterwards, in the year 1738, the yliijundfrn^ George IVilbehn^ Stel/er, whom the academy of Icienccs had fcnt to allitl profclTor Gmelin, joined us. By him was complcated wliat was to be done at Kamtjcbatkii^ in regard to the icicnces. While the time was fpent in preparations for the chief bufincfs, feveral voyages were made along the coafts of the frozen fca, to fee whether a paflage might not be found that way to Kamtfcbatka. Lieutenant Murawicw was firft deftined for a voyage from Arcbangel to the Ob, The firft fummer, 1734, he got no farther than the river Petfcbera^ and wintered at Pujloferjkoi OJlrog. TheJ following fummer he failed through the freights of JVeygat^ leaving the illand of IVeygat to the left, and the continent to the right. The RuJJian promyfchleni, who from Nova Zembla go to catch fea-horfes, feals, ftone-foxes, and white bears, call this paffage Jugorfioi Schar. The other paflagc between the ifland of Weygat and Nova Zembla was not enquired into. From thence lie came again into an open fea, which from a river called Kara^ that falls into a bay of this fea, bears the name of Karjkoe More, Thus far this navigation has been known ever fince the beginning of the laft century. The inhabitants of Arcbangel^ Kolmagori^ Me- fofj, Puftoferjkoi OJirog^ fail almoft annually to Ni/va Zembla^ to catch fea-horles, feals, and vvhite bears. There have formerly been voy- ages made this way by fea to Siberia^ I mean to the river O^, and to Mangafea, This was done in the following manner. Mutnaja is the name of a river which with the river Kara falls into the fame bay. This they failed up for eight days to a lake, out of which the river has its origin. The lake was crofled in a day. Hereupon the fmall veflels, or cajucks, that were ufedfor this navigation, were drawn overland 200 fathoms, or according to other accounts 3 Werfts, to another lake, out of which a river known by the name Selenaiay or according to the Ruffian Atlas Tylowka^ runs towards the bay of the river Ob. They were obliged to unload thefe vcflels, that they might not be too heavy on account of their being drawn over land, and the goods were carried by land. Now, as this muft coft a great deal of labour, efpeci- ally the drawing of the veflels, feveral of thefe vefTels commonly join in the paffage, that the people may aflift one another. Being once in ihtSelenaia^ they went with the current, but from the many fhallows, al- moft ! 'S 'll M )•'•* ( 19 ) mod ten days were {pent before they reached the bay of tlic rivrr Oh. Tlicn fomc went to Obdorjkoi Gorodocky in order io trade with the Samojadci j but nioft of them turned into the gulf of the river Tap, and thus arrived at the place were formerly ftood the town of Mangafca. Along the faid cape, Lieut. Murawiew failed in 1735, as far as 72 deg. 30 min. North lat. The Lieutenants Mlyagin and Skuratow went on with this navigation. They doubled the cape Jalmaly and came into the bay of the river 0/^ fo that thereby this navigation may be confidered as entirely difcovered and accomplifhed. This was done in the year 173B. In this fame year the navigation from the Ob to the river 'Jenifeiy with two veiTcIs that were built at Tcholjk, was alfo made by Lieut. Owzin, and Iwan Kofcbelew, the mafter of the fleet. After fome difli- culties they at lafl: not only happily doubled cape Matfol, lituated Eafl from the bay of the river Oby but alio without farther hindrance en- tered the yenifei. Lieut; Front fchifchtfcheWy having failed from Jaktitzky on the 27th of June 171 Si came no farther that fummer than to the mouth of the river Olenek, where he found a Ruffian village fome Werfts up that river, in which he wintered. The following fummer he went farther, failed by the rivers Anabaray and Chatangay and did not quite reach the mouth of the river Taimura. Here he found a row of illands be- fore him, that extended from the Continent towards the North Weflr, far into the fea. Between them the fea was every were full of ice, and no paffage feeimed pofllble. Prontfchifchtfcbew was of opinion, that if he failed along the iflands he would at laft meet with an open fea where thefe iflands end. But this was not the cafe, he failed as far as yy deg. 25 min. North latitude, and found fuch ftrong ice before him, that now he gave over all hopes of proceeding farther, and re- turned and foon after died. In the year 1738, the lieutenant Chariton Laptiew was fent from Peterjburg in his (lead, and had orders, if he could proceed no far- ther by fea, to defcribe the coafts by land. In doing of which his travels were of particular ufe. Now follows the lafl: voyage into the frozen fea, which was made from the mouth of the riVer Lena towards the eafl:, to difcover the way by fea to Kamtfcbatka. It was conducted by lieutenant Lajje- 721 us. He proceeded on his voyage from Jakiitzk on the 30th of D 2 June 'I'j :|, t:. mi I ( 20 ) Jtme 1735. On the 7th oiAugu/i ht failed from the mouth of the Lena, or properly, from Buikowjkoi Muis, into the fea ; but, on the 14th of the fame month, found himfelf obliged to look out for a harbour to take up his winter quarters, on account of the contrary winds, fogs, and ice. He met with no conveniency for this till the 19th of Augujly on which day this navigation was finiftied, Lafje- nius then entering the river Charaulack, which falls into the frozen fea between the rivers Lena and jfana. On this river, a werft from its mouth, he met with fome old Jakutzk habitations. Next to them Lafenius had barracks built, with partitions, in which he in- tended to pafs the winter with his people j but he and moft of his people were feized with fuch a dreadful fcurvy, that of 52 perfons who failed on board the fhip from Jakutzk they all died except fix men. Laffenius was fucceeded by lieutenant Dmitri Laptieiv, who, in the beginning of the fummer 1736, departed from Jakutzk with fre(h men. When he came to the river Charaulack, where the fhip lay J he proceeded on the 1 5th of Auguji, but found, after 48 hours failing, fuch rocks of ice before him to the eaft and north, that he gave up all hopes of proceeding any farther j and, after a confulta- tion had been held, it was unanimoufly concluded to return to the Lena, which he reached on the 23d oi Auguft, went up the river in the month of September^ and, on account of the great quantity of ice driving againft the veflel, took his winter quarters at the mouth of the little river Chotufchtack. Here the fcurvy began to appear among the fliip's crew j but a ftop was put to the progrcfs of the diilemper by the leaves or points of the dwarf cedar, which grows there, and, according to the cuftom of that country, by frozen fi{h, which, raw and frozen as they are, are fcraped fmall and eaten. By this food, added to affiduous labour and exercife, moft of the men preferved their health, and the fick were reftored. Our academical fellow-travellers were at Jakutzk, when, in the beginning of the year 1737, advice was received there from lieute- nant LaptieWy of this navigation having mifcarried now the fecond time. The inftrudtions given by the fenate to the captain com- mander contained, that if fuch a navigation could not be accom- pliflied in the firft voyage, it was to be attempted a fecond time j and if, even then, they fliould meet with obftacles, the command- ing officer ihould be ient to Peterjburgh to give an account of his voyages f-l ( 21 ) voyages to the fcnate and admiralty. Now two voyages had been made in vain, of which, however, lieutenant Laptiew had made but one, fo that the captain commander was undetermined what to do. His inftruftions likewife diredted him to advife with the pro- feiTors that were in the Kamtfchatkan expedition. This was done. His and our judgment was, that the decifion (hould be left to the fenate. At that time I had already gathered from the archieves of Jakutzkf thofe intelligences of former navigations through the fro- zen fea, fome of which I have inferted in the beginning of this tradt. I digefted them in proper order, and added other accounts of the prefent nature of the frozen fea, which I had likewife learn- ed at yakutzk from perfons who had been in that fea. Now, to promote a common good thereby, in cafe any farther attempt fliould be made, I delivered my writings to the captain commander, who fent them to Peterjhurghy where, in 1742, they were inferted in the Feterfiurgb obfervations, by way of extradls. In confequence of this, the captain commander fent an order to the lieutenant Laptiew to return with the boat Irkutzk, and all the men, to yakutzk. He came, and travelled to Peterjbiirghy from whence, in 1738, he was agaiti difpatched to Siberia. Another at- tempt was to be made, whether the navigation, which, according to the accounts difcovered by me, had been really accompliQied many years ago, might not poflibly be made now. In cafe the lieutenant fhould meet with unfurmountable difficulties, he was ordered to fol- low the coaft by land, and to make both a circumftantial defcription of them, and a chart. It muft be owned that this able and induf- trious officer has fpared no pains to fulfil the orders he had received, though he did not every where meet with the fuccefs he could have wiflied. He arrived in the fpring 1739 at the firft open water at Jakutzk^ embarked on board his former (hip, and fl\iled in her towards the frozen fea. On the 1 5th of Auguji he came to the Swjatoi Nofs, and at the end of the mouth to the mouths of the yndigirka. Here was already fuch a fevere winter, that the fhip was frozen in on the ift of September. Laptiew would have entered one of the mouths of this river, had not they been too Ihallow for his fliip. A florm tore the veflel loofe, and drove her flirther into the fea, where, on the 9th of September^ he was frozen in again about 60 wcrfts from the land. The men had now no otlier re- fource I!''' *■ r, :'J ;1' ■4% I II :»t!, ■ tvl« I *i' ( 22 ) but bringing the naval ftores and provifions afhore, which was ef- feded, and the fliip itlelf, as it could not be avoided, Was left to her fate. Laptieio having paffed the winter on the river 'Jndigirka^ went the following fumnier in a fmall veilel along the coaft to the river Kolyma \ for to follow the coafts any fl\rthcr, either by land or by water was not advifeable, on account of the T/chikt/lbi : he there- fore went over land to Anadirjk^ and from thence as far as the mouth of the river Anadir. Here his expedition was finiflied, after which no other has been undertaken through the frozen fea in thofe parts. The ufe of all thefe endeavours was, on the one hand, to afford an increafe of knowledge, and more certainty in the geography of thofe parts, and, ow the other, to afcertain, in the moft decifive manner, the impoffibility of the navigation through the frozen fea, that had been formerly undertaken by the Englijtj and Dntcl\ in order to dilcover a nearer way to the Eaji Indies^ which has here been fo artfully done, that now, in my opinion, nobody will eafily think of attempting any fuch voyage. To put this Important truth in its full light, I will add the following confiderations : Firfl, fuch a navigation ought to be made in one fummer, if it be of any ufe. But now we have feen, that we cannot get in one fummer fo much as from Archangel to the Ob^ and from thence to the Jenifei. Five or fix years have elapfed before one fuch fingle voyage was accompliflied. And have not alfo the Dutch and Englijh met with infinite difiiculties in their paflage through the ftreights We \' gat ? In the next place, between the Pjajida and Chatanga^ a row of illands extends from the continent a great way into the fea, and de- nies all paffiige as well on one fide as the other. 'Jelmerla^id is re- prefented by Hqfius^ in his map of RuJJia^ difcovered in 1664, ac-- cording to ancient accounts, uniting Nova Zembla to Liberia. Thefe illands may be the fame impediment to navigation. The fame tnay be faid of the vaft rocks of ice to be m€t with, that are firmly fixed. Thele, at the fame time, raife a doub*- againft the opinion of thofe who are for ordering a navip^ation, not Aovw the coafts, but through the wide fea, near the north pole. 'Tis true, the voyage would be much fliorter ; but would not the ob- llruiliions remain the vey fame ? For, if the before-mentioned moun- tains of ice, fuch as ha/e been found about Greenland and Spitz- burgen^ ( 23 ) hefgeity are innumerable, there muft then be fomething that hin.. ders the motion that would otherwife be communicated "to them by the fea and the winds. This may be occafioned by the ice being continued as far as the north pole, or becaufe under the pole, or near it, there is land to which the mountains of ice are fixed at the bottom, fince they are deeper under the water than above it. Capt. Woody in 1676^ fb-ongly maintained the probability of the north paffage, near the north pole, before he commenced that voyage ; but by the voyage itfelf he was fufficiently convinced of the impoffibility of it. It is true, in the defcription of the mofl: ancient navigations through the frozen fea, I have no where, with certainty, found that great country which has been r-rpurted to be fituated in the frozen fea : but this is. no proof that it does not exift. The Ameri- can coaft lying oppofite the land of the Tjchnktfchiy may extend far enough to the north and weft, without our knowing it. And if fo, it would, together with the mountains of ice fixed to it, be diredly in the way of thofe who would pafs by it near the north pole. Even the pailage along the coafts does not promife better fuccefs than that with which it was made 100 years ago. The general ob- fervation that the water in the fea decreafes, proves alfo here nr.e. There is to be feen along the coafts of the frozen fea, wood caft on fhore on luch heights that now-a-days are not to be reached by any flood or waves. Not far from the mouth of the river Jan a, in tlie weft, there is faid to lie an old Kotfchc^ remote from the fea fliore now about five werfts. From this, an extraordinary flatnefs of the coaft is to be concluded, which is alfo confirmed by verbal relations of people who have frequently been at the frozen fea. But fuch a change is by no means advantageous for the navigation, whicii is moftly made in a channel, not very wide, between the ice and the continent, which grows Ihallower and fluUower. In the year 1709 it was hardly poffiblc to go with fchitikes between the rivers yndi- <^irka and Kolyma, though thefe veffels are fmaller than the kotfclies formerly, and do not go fo deep, of which I have a written tefti- mony. Now, if ftill fmaller and llatter vellels were built, they v/ould do very well for luch lliallow places : but, as in feme places there are likewifc ft,eep rocks that or icct into the fea, they would do the lefs fcrvice there ; not to mevition that friiall velfcis are intirely con* irary to the intention of tJie \;.' ;^c. In I ■ ,. II*' ll ill 1, ■V w m ■^ I i4' f ( 24 ) In the like manner there are impediments which particularly fo- reign fhips would meet with, were they to undertake this palTagc. When, in our days, the navigations through the frozen fea were to be made, people were fent out from all the rivers falling into the frozen fea, who were obliged to eredt at the mouths, certain marks, by pi- ling up wood, for the navigators to diredt their courfe by, at their arrival in thofe parts. Magazines were eftablifhed in feveral places along tlie coafts, out of which, in cafe of need, the provifions might be taken. AH the Pagan nations, dwelling thereabouts, were apprized of the navigation, and had orders, on the firft call, to hallen to the affiftance of the mariners. Such advantages no foreign fhips can promife themfelves. They muft always put a wonder- ful confidence in their own ftrength, which, however, may too eafily fail. What they do not bring with them, they muft not exped: to find j and, luppofing it was to be hoped that the natives there would not deny foreign Ihips their afliftance, yet they are but feldom to be met with along the fea coafts, but rather go up the rivers, becaufc there they enjoy greater advantages of hunting. And what {ad confequences attend an European (hip, (like Heem- Jkirk at Nova Zembld) being obliged to winter there ? The manner of living, and food of the European mariners, are by no means fit for fuch winter quarters. Brandy, fait meat, and bifcuit, are no re- medies againfl, the fcurvy ; and the want of exercife, which necef- farily follows, when a failor has nothing to do out of his hut, is ftill more fatal. In fuch cafes the manner of living of the RuJ/iam may ferve for a pattern, they almoft eviiy other year alternately winter at Nova Zembloy without any harm. Thefe imitate the Samojedes in drink- ing frequently the freQi blood of rain*deer. The brandy, of which they make provifion for the voyage, they confume before they reach the coaft of Nova Zembla. They know nothing of fait, or dry vic- tuals, but live upon the frefli game which they catch, efpecially on wild rain-deer. Hunting requires continual motion. No body re- mains there above one day at a time in his hut, except he is hin- dered from going out by too great a ftorm, or too much fnow. Not to mention, thac thefe people are provided with good warm furr'd cloaths, v/hich the Eitropea?i failors want. Thefe are, in my opi- nion, reafons fufiicient ♦'" •^.•«"o"*- -"„ ^of;^r,'o .,«,?»..#.. !,;.,„ r^» *i,„ to prevent any nation's undertaking for the ' fu. ^M 1.1 { 2S J lure fuch an enterprife. Father Cajlel * had the fame opinions before ; but then they were without fufficient foundation, and men would have remained in a continual uncertainty, if the above related na- vigation through the frozen fea had not cleared up the matter. We proceed now to the chief bufinefs of the fecond Kamtfchatka expedition, which confided in the navigations that were to be made from Ochotzk and Kamtfchatka \.o the Eaft and South. Capt. Spang- herg was already in the month of 'June 1734 arrived at Jakutzk^ and had profecuted the voyage, on the rivers Aldrn^ Maia, and Judomay with the veflel, of which till then he had made ufe of, in order to reach, if pofllble, before the winter, 'Judomfkoi Krefl. But he was frozen in, above 150 Werfts from the place, and advanced on foot with a few men to yudomjkol Krefl ^ and Ochotzk, Now, that he might not want there what was moft neceffary, the captain com- mander fent there, in the fpring of 1735, an hundred horfes, everyone loaded with five pouds of meal, according to the cuftom of the country. In the next place, they were endeavouring to tranfport from Jakutzk to Judomjkoi Krejl^ the naval ftores and provifions in velTels that were partly arrived with the captain commander, and partly built at Jakutzk^ and at the mouth of the river Maja, In the fummer 1736, Capt. Tfchirikow had the infpedion of them, and went the fubfequent winter to Ochotzk. In the fummer 1737, lieutenant Ward Xx2cciivci\x.' ted 33000 pouds of provifions and materials by the fame road to 'Judom- jkoi Kreji j but from Judomjkoi Kreji the tranfport was made in winter by land, to the river Urak^ where magazines were eftablifhed, new veflels built, and the ftores were removed to Ochotzk, with the iirft open water, when this river, which, in fummer, is very ihallow, fwelled very much. The place, on the upper part of the river Urak, from whence the veflels put otf', was called Uratzkoc Plotbifcbtfchc j it lies about half way between Judomjkoi Krejl and Ochtzk j but the river comprehends, with its windings to the fea, about 200 Werfls, which may be accompliflied in feventeen hours, without oars, by means of the fwift current. In the mean while, Capt. Spangberg had ordered two veflels to be built at Ochotzk, for the voyage he was commanded to make to Japan ; an hucker, named Micha-:' the Archangel^ and a double fliallop, called the Hope. Thefe were quite finifhed at the end of the fummer, 1737. :'.^ i» » t " W,' ■I" * Dijjertation fur la cdthre Tcm dc Kamtfciiatka, et fur celle d'i'eco dans Ics Mar^oir^is E Bci m? !^; 'j.. ' 'i, •lii? '*1^ ' r. i' -^ 'kJ} r 26 ) Bering, the captain commander, who, in the fame fummer, came to Ocbotzky ]iad two more packet boats for the American voyage, and two vefTels lor provifions built, that were only to ferve as far as Kai/itfchdtka. All thefe were finiQied in the fummer 1740, and the two packet boats were called by the names of St Peter, and St Paul. In the mean time they went on without interruption, tranfporting the providons from Jakutzk to Judom/koi Krejty and from thence to Ocbotzk. A great help towards which was, that, upon the reprefen- tation of the captain commander, two lieutenants of the fleet, Wajllei Lnriono\i\ and Gabriel Tolbiichin, were, in 1738, fent by the admiralty to Si/jeria, the firft of whom provided at Jakutzk, and the fecond at Jrkutzk, whatever was neceffary for tlie Kamtfckatka expedition. In confequence of this, they were able to make a beginning with the navigation to "Japan, in 1738, Capt. Spangberg commanded the h icke ' Michael, and XJvixxx. Walton, the double rtiallop, called the Ji.pe. ThQ bout Gabriel of the ^rik Kamtfchatka voyage, was added to rhole and the command of her intruded to the midfliipmaii Scbflt-nga^ with thefe three veflels Capt. Spafigberg fet fail from Ocbotzk, about the middle oi June 1738. Sooner he could not fail, for till that time the fea was full of ice, and he had even then much trtMibl: 'ii getting through it. He fleered firfl towards Kamtfckatka^ fntcfcd the river Bolfcbaia-reka, and made preparations for his fature winter quarters. After a ihort (lay there, he diredled his courfe to the Karilian iflands, and arrived at them by a South and Weft courfe, in 46 deg. N. Lat. in the beginning of autumn, but returned to Kam- ifchatka, with intent to put out to fea earlier the following fummer, and then to end the navigation. During his winter refidence, Capt. Spangberg built at Bolfcberetzkoi OJirog, a fmall yacht, a decked ihallop, of birch wood, with twenty four oars, which he called Bolfchaia-reka, to make ufe of it the better to difcover the iflands, in cafe the hucker and double fliallop could be of no fervice between thofe iflands. On May 22, i739> the navigation was began again, with all the four vefTcls ; they waited for one another at the firft Kiilirian iflands, where the captain gave the otfircvs under him the neceffary inflrutftions, and the fignals were agreed upon. This being done, they proceeded on their voyage, on the ift of June, ileding South Eaft, till about 47 deg. North Lat. witliout meeting with any land, and then S W. m order to reach again the Kurilian iflands, which they did. On the ( 27 ; the 14th of June^ there was a violent florm, with a very thick fog, In which Lieut. Walton, with the double fliallop, was Separated from Capt. Spanghcrg^ and, tho' they fought each other for two days, and fired feveral guns for fignals, yet they did not join again during the voyage. Each therefore made his navigation for himfelf ; they both landed in Japan at different places, and, after their return, gave the following accounts to the captain commander. Capt. Spangberg came to an anchor under the land of Japan, on the 1 8th of June, in 25 fathom water, accounting it to be in 38 deg. 41 min. N. Lat. A m\x\\\iviAQ oi Japannefe vt^tX^ werefeen, asalfo fome valleys on the fhore, at adiftance were pretty high woods. • Two JapanneJ'e veffels came rowing towards them, which, at 30 or 40 fathoms diftance, flopped, and would not approach nearer. When the men on board the Ihip beckoned for them to come up, they did the fame, and made them underftand that the captain and his people fliould go on fhore. But this Capt. Spangberg carefully avoided, nay, he did not long remain in one place, for fear of being furprized. On the 20th oi June, many Japannefe veflels were again it^n, each of which contained ten or twelve men. On the 22d. the captain anchored at another place, in 38 deg. 25 min. N. Lat. there two fifliing boats came on board, and the men exchanged frelh firt:i, rice, large tobacco leaves, pickled cucumbers, and other things, for various Kiiljian goods, with which the (hip's company were provided. Cloth, and cloaths made of cloth, likewife bits of blue glafs, feemed mod agreeable to tne Japannefe, but they did not fet any value on cotten, and filk fluffs, nor on looking glaifcs, fciffars, needles, and fuch like implements, that were fliewn them, having all thefe in their own country. They were very civil, and reafonable in their prices. T'he fhip's company got of them fome oblong fquare gold coin, of the fame kind as are defcribed and rcprefented by Kampfer ; they are not of fo high a colour as the Dutch ducats, and fome what lighter, as I have found by examining one of them, and obfervcd, by comparing it to a Dutch ducat, the difference in wciglit to be two grdins. The following day, fevcnty nine liich fifliing boats were feen at a dlflance, ail of which were flat at the flern, and lliarp at the head. Their breadth was from four and a half to five feet, and their length about twenty four feet, in the iijidfl was a deck, and upon it a Jniall iiearth, the rudder might be taken out, and put in the vefiLl v/hcn not uicd : Some vefTels had two rudders, both behind, one on eacii luk*, E 2 but n >]' J' :^ € IS )f4X 'm -'■' 1.! II*! I.ff , r ^« ; but bent quite crooked. They ufe their oars landing. They are al- io provided with four hooked (mail anchors. They ufo another kind of veflels to trade to the circumjacent iflands, and even at a great diilancc along tlic coaft. Thefc are much larger than the Ibrmer, flvirp equally at the head and the ftern ; they car- ry more people, and fail better, though chiefly before the wind ; but they arc tafily call away by contrary winds and weather, when the people, on account of their inexperience in navigation, do not know how to help themfelves, but fubmit to their fate. Such were thofc cafl: away on the coaft of Kamtft: hatha. The Japamnje are moftly of a fmall ftature, and of a fwarthy complexion, with black eyes, and flat nofes. The men, and great boys, {have their hair from tlyj forehead to the crown, the rert of the hair is combed fmooth, and made to fhine with glue ; it is tied in the neck behind, and wrapped up in a paper. From thefe little boys are diftinguilhed by a fliaved patch in the middle of the crown, one and a half, or two inches over, about which the reft of (their hair is drelled in the fame manner as that of the former j their cloaths are long and wide, after the manner of the European night- gowns J they do not wear breeches, but, inftead of them, the lower part of their bodies is wrapped up in linnen. Before Capt. Spangberg left this place, a great canoe came to his fl-jip, in which, befides the mariners, fat four men, who, if we may judge from their embroidered cloaths, and appearance in other re- fpeds, feemed to be people of condition. The Captain invited them into his cabin ; at going in they bowed down to the ground, held up their hands folded over their heads, and kneeled till the Caj)taia delired them to rife ; they were entertained with brandy and eatables, which they feemed to like. When the Captain fliewed them a chart of thofe parts, and alfo a globe, they immediately knew their coun- try, the name of which they pronounced Niphon. They likewife pointed out with their fingers, on the chart, the iflands Matfmai and Sado, and alfo the capes Songar and ISloto. At parting, they again bowed to the ground, and exprelTed their thanks, as well as they could, for what they had received ; the fame day, the former fifliing boats came again, and brought feveral things for fale, which they exchanged for Rujjian goods. Capt. Spangberg had now no doubt that the chief defign of his voyage, which v/as the difcovery of the proper fituation of 'Japan^ with ( 29 ; with refped to the country of Kamtfchatka, was fulfilled. There- fore, fome days after, he fet out on his return, wherein he made fe- veral obfervations on the iflands he had Teen before, and by which he was obliged to pafs again. I cannot avoid mentioning his obfer- vations, referring for the refl: to the map he has made of this voyage, contained in the RuJJian Atlas. He flailed to the N. E. and arrived on the 3d of J///)', in lat. 43 deg. 50 min. at a great ifland, before which he anchored in 30 fathoms water, and fent his birch yatch with a boat on lliore, in fearch of freHi water; but they could find no landing place, on account of the fteep rocks, of which the coaft confifted. He therefore failed to a- nother place, from whence the boat was again fent afliore, and brought 13 caflvS of good water on board. On this ifland grew birch, firs, and other trees, unknown to the RuJJian failorsj they faw men, who ran away as foon as they perceived the Ruffians ; they found lea- thern boats, and the bottom covering, or foles of fledges, made af- ter the Kitrilian and lO'.nitfchatkan manner. This induced the Cap- tain to fail nearer, and to come to an anchor in a fandy bottom in a bay, at eight fathoms water. By this bay was a village, to which the Captain fent a fliallop, that brought eight of the inhabitants on board. The afpeit and ftature of thofe people were like thofe of the Ku- HleSf and they fpeak the Came language. One chief difference be- tween them confided in this, that they had p °tty long hair all over their bodies ; the men of a middling age had black, and the old had grey beards, fome of them wore filver ear-rings. Their cloaths were made of fiik fluffs of various colours, and reached to their feet, which were bare. They had brandy given them, and prefents were made them of various trifles, which they thankfully received. Seeing a live cock on board the fliip, they fell upon their knees, clapped their hands together over their heads, and bowed down to tlie ground, both before the cock, and for the prefents they had received. After which the Captain fet them alhore. On the 9th, of July, Capt. Shanghcrg left this ifland, and failed to difcover the fituation of the others in its neighbourhood, in order to infert them with certainty in his map. Tliis was not done with- out danger and inconvenience. Sometimes they had only from three to four or five fathoms water, many of the Ihip's company grew fick, and feveral died foon after. On the 2^d of Jul)\ he arrived by a South Wefl: coaftin 41 deg. 22 min. North lat. at the ifland Mtitf- IKiU, lit 1' » «: \ f t m €^'A il 5r t 'Ml ^ i ■ r ) "•"iii .lil' ..„ f r 30 J mat, where lie found three large Japannefe buflls, on which account he prepared for an engagement, in cafe they fljould attach him, and was lb cautious that he would neither fend alliore, nor come to an anchor; but, on the 25th, fet fail on his ret irn to Kiimtfchatka. Oil the I 5th of Augujl he reached the mouth of the river Bolfcbaia- rcka, which he entered in order to give his people a little reli. On the 2oth lie fet fail again. On his return to Ochotzk, on tne 29th, he found Lieut, f'f^alton already there, from w hofe report I fhall now mention what is moil remarkable. IFalton having been feparated in a fog and tempeft, from Capt. t)pa?igbergy whom he endeavoured in vain to rejoin, took the rcfoluti- on to feck, without lofs of time, the land of Japtin, of which he got fight two days after, viz. on the i6th, in 38 deg. 17 min. North lat. According to his account, he was then from the firft Kiirilian illand, 11 deg. 41; min. variation. He failed farther to the South, to 33 deg. 48 min North lat. following moftly the coafts, and made the following obfervations : On the 17th of "'"June, being near the fhore, 39 'Japannefe veffels of the fize of gallies appeared. Teem- ing to come out of a harbour j but foon feparated for different pla- ces. They had ftraight fails of cotton fluffs, fome blue and white ftriped, others all white. Walton purfued one of them in fearch of a harbour, and arrived before a great town or city, where he ancho- red in 30 fathoms water. On the 19th, a Japannefe veffel, with 18 perfons on board, came to the Ruffian (hip. As the people appeared very civil, and by tokens gave them to underftand that they might come on flicre, the lieutenant fent the fecond mate Lew KaJimeroiVy and the quarter mafter Tjcherkajcheniny with fix armed foldiers in a yawl alliore, and gave them two empty caflcs, which they were to fill with frelh water. He provided them, at the fame time, with things of which they were to make prefents to the Japannefe, in or- der to gain their friendfhip. . When thefe approached the fhore, above lOO fmall veffels came to meet them, aiid crowded fo hard upon the yawl, that they could fcarce ufe their oars. The Japannefe rowers were naked to the gir- dle. They fhewed pieces of gold, of which they had not a fmall quantity, as a token, feemingly, that they had a mind to engage in trade with their foreign guefts. Mean while, the yaivl landed, and the fmall veffel flayed behind at fome diftance. On the fliore were affembled an innumerable multitude of people, they all bowed to the 'A .1 • ( 31 ) the new comers. TIic two empty watcr-caflcs were carried aHiorc by the "Japannefe with great complairancc, filled with water, and brought back into the yawl. During this interval, the fccond mate and the quarter niaftcr with four foldiers went on rtiore, leaving two foldiers as a guardian in the yawl. The town confifted of about 1500 wooden and ft-Jiie houles, which tf ok a fpace of about three wcrfts along the coaft. Kafi- meroiv went into the houfcs, \\\ which he faw that his caHcs were car- ried. At the door he was received by the landlord in an extraor- dinary friendly manner, conduftcd into an apartment, and entertain- ed with wine and defc ts, which were both fcrved in porcelain veflclj. The defert conlifted in grapes, apples, oranges, and pre- fervcd rudiflies. Out of this houfe i]c went into another, where he was treated in the fame manner, and, befides, had boiled rice pre- fentc'd him to eat. The fume was done to the quarter mafter, and foldiers that were ith him. Kajimerow^ on his part, prefented his benefactors, aui^t the people who took care of his caJks, with glafs beads, and other trifles. After this, he patroled the town a lit- tle, and obferved every where, as well in the houfes as flrects, a great deal of clcanlinefs and good order. In fome houfes he met with fhop , where chiefly, cotton ftuflfs were fold. In this hurry they did not obferve any filk ftuffs. Horfes, cows, and hens, he found in abundance. The fruits of the field there confifted in wheat and pcafe. When Kajimcrow returned to his yawl again, he faw before Jiim two men with fabres, and one had two fabres in his hands. Tiiis fil- led him with fome apprehenfions, wherefore he hurried to the fliip as fa ft as he could. Above one hundred finall 'Jnpanncfe vefTels, with 15 men in each,^ followed the yawls to obferve the fliip near at hand. In one of them was a gentleman, v ho ordered a rope to be thrown into the yawls to have his fmall velTel drawn quite near the fliip. He came on board ; by his fine filk cloaths, and the refpetl that was fhcwcd him by his retinue, it was judged he was the governor of the place. He made a prefent to Lieut. Wakn of a vcfTel with wine, which the latter brought with him to Ochotzk. The wine was of a dark- brown colour, pretty ftrong, and not difagreeable of tafte, only fome- what tart. But it might perhaps be damaged by the heat at fea. Thcfe civilities the Lieutenant returned by other prefents. He treat- ed, %^ I i fi i\ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /> O ^ 1.0 l.i lu m 12.2 lio 12.0 lU Ui& \^ III '-^ U4 < 6" ► y FhotogFaphic Sdences Corpordlion 23 WIST MAIN STMET WIBSTIR.N.Y. MStO (716)t73-4S03 '^ ( 32 ; ed, moreover, his gueft and his retinue with vidluals and drink, when it was obferved, that the Japannefe did not find the tafte of the Ruf- fian brandy amifs. At the fame time the (hip's crew carried on a lit- tle trade with the Rujjiam, Whatever tiie latter had, even old ftiirts, (lockings, Grr. the Japannefe liked. They paid for them in their copper coin, which, as that of the Chinefc^ has a fquarc hole in the middle, and is ftrung together- At laft the perfon of quality, with demonilrations of fatisfadlion and gratitude, returned to the town. In the mean time IValton obferved, that the many fmall veflels which furrounded his fliip, continually increafed, and, therefore, thinking himfelf not fafc, weighed anchor and put to fea again, having firft fired a gun in" token of his taking leave. The 2 2d of yu/iehe reached land again, and anchored in 23 fa- thoms water. The anchor did not hold, and they were obliged to weigh it again. They looked about for a more convenient landing place, but the co.;ft was every where fteep and rocky. In one place veflels were obferved, which, though not fmall, were drawn afliore for want of an harbour. Walton therefore returned to the place, where, before, he could not fucceed in anchoring, when fome fmall veflels came to his aififlance ; he gave them to underfland that he Was In want of water. Immediately the Japanneje took the cafks, that were given them, went afliore with them, and returned them full of fre(h water. They alfo fhewed our people a written paper, which was taken for an order, by virtue of which they are obliged to give all afliftance to ftrangers. It feemed as if the Japannefe wanted to give the Lieutenant to underfland to come nearer to the fliore, where there was a harbour into which the fhip might be hauled ; and tliut they would help him in it. But before Walton reiolved upon it, a boat came from the fhore, which forbid the people any farther communication. In the boat was a perfbn who was taken for a fol- dier, having a fword by his fide, and a piflol in his hand. On which ]J\t\xitmr\t Walton fuppofed this to be a Japannefe guard-boat. The next day they came to an anchor in another place near the fliore, in two fathoms water, where the ground confifted in a coarfe fand and mufcle-fliells. Confidering the great heat of the fummer, they could not lay in too much frefli water j and befides this furnifli- ed always new opportunities to get intelligence about the country. Wherefore Walton fent the 24th of June^ the fecond gunner, Jinje Ah'>;an^ i 33 ) ^^lexandrow^ v/ith fome men, and a furgeon's apprentice, named Iwan Djagilew, n\ the yawl on (hore. Alexandroiv found no water, but faw Japanneje^ who were clad in long white linnen frocks. The horfes in this country were of a dark brown and black colour. He brought back with him an orange tree, pearl-fliells, and the branch of a pine-tree. But the apprentice gathered herbs, and efpecially pro- vided himfelf with the buds of the fir-tree, of which afterwards they made decoction, for the fick on board the (hip. Now Walton having failed about the coafts of Japan a while longer, and having made a paflage pretty far to the Eaft, to fee whether he could not difcover any land, or iflands there, which however was not effedled, he returned to Kamtfchatka^ and arrived the 23d oi July, on rfie river of Boljchaia-reka^ where he tarried till the 7th of Augtift^ to join, if poflible, Capt. Spangberg. But as, in the mean time, the latter did not arrive, he proceeded on his voyage to Ochotzk^ which he reached the 21ft oi Auguji. It is not neceffary to make particular mention of the third vefTei, commanded by the midHiipnian Scheltinga^ he having had the fame fate with the captain, from whom he was not feparated during the voyage. Spangberg^ as well as Walton^ have made charts of their na- vigations, from which thofe are compofed that are inferted in the Ruffian Atlas. After his arrival, Capt. Spangberg obtained permifllon from the captain commander to winter at Jakutzk, and then to travel to Peterjburg^ in order to give an accounthimfelf of his expedition to the fenate and admiralty. Mean time advice was fent to Peterjbnrg of the difcoveries made by him. Now, although at firil they were well received, andoccafioned the order of the captain commander, about Capt. Spangbcrg's return to Peterjhurg to be confirmed, yet the opinions foon changed. The proofs of Spangberg' s having been in Japan^ were looked upon as not convincing enough. Kiriloiv's gene- ral map of Riiffia^ after the example of Strahlenberg's, reprefented Japan almoO: under the fame meridian with Kamtfcbatka. Whereas, according to thecourfe and obfervations o^ Spangberg^ and Walton^ it ought to lie 1 1 or 12 degrees more to the Weftward. It was believed Spangberg might have iiiiftaken the coafts o( Korea for Japan : And it was thought proper that he fhould attempt a fecond navigation, and that, in this expedition, he fliould have for interpreters two Ruffian lads, F . . • w'lo P i iii hi a. f f 15 ^1 V. ^■^ ( 34 ) who had learnt the Japannefe language of the Japannefe ihdXcomtio Vetcrjburg^ in the year 1732. This order Spangberg obtained at Kirenjkoi Oftrogy in the month of July 1 740, being already on his travels to Peterjburg, He went back to Jiikuizky and from thence to Ocbotzky where he did but juft fee the captain commander, becaufe every thing was now ready for his in- tended voyage. In the mean while the proper feafon for the voyage to Japan was not only paft for this year, but a veflel was likewife wanting, fince, one of thofe which Spangberg had ufcd, in his firft voyage, was fent to Kamtfchatkay by the captain commander, on ac- count of certain preparations. It was therefore necefTary to build a new one, and that was done the following winter under Spangberg' 6 infpedtion, who refided at Ochotzk till the veilel was compleated. In the iummer 1741, he went tofea with her, but (he foon became leaky, fo that they could fcarce reach the coafts of Kamtfchatka, The reafon of it was afcribed to the hafty building of the veflel, and the wood having had no time to dry. The refitting of her, at the mouth of the river Bolfchaia-rekay and Spangberg'% pafling the winter, for this reafon, at Bolfcberetzkoi Ofirog was to no purpofe : For he having fet fail again the 25th oi May 1742, and being hardly pafled the firll Kuriliar* Iflands, the water got into her again without his be- ing able to prevent it, or to flop the leaks. In this fltuation of aflairs Spangberg did not choofe to return without having made any difcove- tiesatall. He fent out the midfliipman Scbeltinga to difcover the parts of the fea as far as the mouth of the river Amur, but alfo this had not the wiflied forfuccefs. In fliort^the whole fecond voyage of Capt. Spangberg was nothing but a feries of adverflties. Thus ended the navigation to Japan. By degrees the arguments increafed that our failors had not mifled the aim the firfl time. And now no body doubts any more of it, fince the moft famous French geographers, fuch as d^Anvilky Buache, and Belliny admit in their maps as great, nay, a fomewhat greater diflerence of longitude be- tween Kamtfchatka and Japan^ than Spangberg and Walton. The expedition of Capt. Spangberg to Japan in the year 1738, had deprived the chief detachment at Ochotzk in fuch a manner of provi- fion, that two years elapfed before it was fufliciently fupplied again by frefli importations. During which time alfo two new veflTels were built at Ochotzky viz. the packet-boats St Peter and St Paui, which were properly defigned for the intended American difcoveries. The captain J • I ( 35 ) captain commander had fent before liim to Kamtfchatka, in autumn 1739, the pilot Invan Jelagin^ with one of the veflels that had been with Capt. Spangberg^ in order to enquire into the bay of Awatfcha^ on the eaft coaft of that country, where all the requifite conveniencies for a harbour were reported to be, and to eftablifh magazines and build barracks there. In the following fpring 1 740, the profeflbrs, De Lijle de la Croyere^ and the Adjundtus Steller^ arrived at Ochotzk, and from Pcterjburghy the lieutenant of the fleet Iwan Tfchichatfchew, and the mader of the fleet Sophron Chitrow, who foon after was made a lieutenant, thefe latter were to fupply the places of other fick and difcharged oflicers. Now, nothing more being wanting, it was refolved to pafs over to Kamtfchatka in the fame fummer. But the departure was delayed till the 4th of September. The captain commander conduded the packet- boat St Petery and Capt. Tfchirikow the packet-boat St Paul. Two other (hips were loaded with provifions, and Dc la Croyere and Steller had a particular veflTel for their (lores, with which they followed the reft of this fmall fquadron the 8th of September^ when the packet- boats arrived at the mouth of the river Bolfchaia-reka^ the 20th of September y the captain commander ordered the ftore (hips to enter it. De la Croyere'^ and Sfeller's voyage was (ini(hed here, becaufe they had propofed to make obfervations and difcoveries at Bolfcheretzkoi OJlrog } but the captain commander and captain Tfchirikow^ flnding the entrance into the river too (hallow for their (hips, went the next day farther, and doubling the South point of Kamtjcbatkat made the harbour Awatfcba. In pafling the ftreights between this point and the flrft Kurilian iflands, the captain commander perceived, by the danger he found himfelf in, how neceflary the precaution had been of his leaving be- hind him the ftore (hips at Bolfchaia-reka. In the midft of the ftreights, which is reckoned three leagues broad and one league k>ng, there lies a great ridge of rocks, over which the water rolls. It is pafTable on both fides, but the South paflage being broader is prefer** able to that on the North fide. Favourable and ftrong as the wind was with which the captain commander thought to pafs the ftreight, it little availed, fince juft, at that very time, he had a ftrong flood a- gainft him, and, being unacquainted with thefe feas, he had never feen fuch a one before. For an hour together it could not be ob- ferved on the coafts that the (Iiip had advanced in the leaft. The F 2 wave?, Hi' ■i] m' • •I ii M ( 36 ) waves, which were very high, beat over the fliip's (Icrn, and a boat that was tied to tlie fliip, with a rope of forty fathoms long, often beat againft the (hip with great violence, nay, once it had ahiioft been flung on board with the waves. We had from ten to twelve fathoms water, but wlien the ftiip with the waves went down, flie was reckoned to be harJly three fathoms from the ground. The wind was fo vehe- ment that they could only carry the fore-fail and top-fail, and no- tiling was to be done but to keep the (hip fleady before the wind, a- gainft the flood, for had they turned her ever fo little, they would have been in danger from the waves. Befides the aforcfaid ridge of rocks Wiis very near, which they had reafon to be afraid of, and care- fully to avoid, leafl they fliould be wrecked upon it. When the vehe- ment of the flood began fomewhat to abate, the fliip advanced by little and little, and being quite palTed the flreights, they at laft faw themfelves free from all farther impediments. This only happened to the captain commander, whereas Tfchirikow, pafling through an hour and a half later, met with no difliculties. It was on the 26th of September when they paflbd the faid ftreights. The following day they arrived before the bay of Awatfcha ; but a thick fog Jufl: riflng, hindered them from difcerning the entrance, they were obliged to put to fea again. Finally, both packet-boats had the good luck to enter the bay and harbour of Awatfcha, on the 8th of OSlober^ where they fpent the following winter. This bay has its name from the river Awatfcha, or properly, accord- ing to Kamtfchadaltan pronunciation, Suaatfcha, and empties itfelf into the bay from the Weft fide. This latter is almoft circular, and about twenty Werfts diameter. The entrance may be from 3 to 400 fa- thoms broad, extends to the Southward, and is fo deep that the large ihips may fail through it. The bay itfelf is alfo of a good depth. Three natural divifions in the bay were all alike convenient for har- bours, viz. Niakinay Kakowaia, and Tareinaia-guba, and were only diftlnguiflied in largcnefs. The pilot Jelagin had chofen the firft and leaft for a harbour for the packet-boats, and near it built magazines, houfes, and barracks, and named it Petropauloivjka, or the harbour of St Peter and St Paul, An ofiicer, who during forty years bad navigated the feas to all parts of the univerfe, and was now in this expedition, gave this harbour the charadler of being the beft place for (hipping that ever he had feen. It will hold twenty fliips conveniently, is covered from all winds, has ( 37 ) a fandy ground, and from 14 to 18 feet water j fo that larger vefTcl^ than packet-boats may lie in it. There is, moreover, very good and wholefome water found in the neighbourhood, particularly that of the river Awatjcha, which is much preferred before the water of fomc rivers and brooks thereabouts, that have their origin out of moraflci-. From the entrance of the bay to the harbour, one fteers N. N. ^V. and N. W. by N. where there is 8,9, 10 and 1 1 fathoms water, and a fecure paflage over fandy ground, except about 3 Werrts before the harbour, where in the middle of the channel there lies fevcral funk flones, of which one muft be cautious, as there is but /eight feet of water. The higheft water there, at the time of the new or full moon, when the fpring tides happen, is five feet eight inches EngliJJj meafure, according to obfervations that have been made for that purpofe. During the winter quarters at Petropaiolowjka^ all endeavours were ufed to get tranfported hither the provifions that were brought to Bol- fcherctzkoi j but that could not. be quite compleatcd. The diftance between both places is 2 1 2 Werfts. As, in Kamtfcbatkat there are no horfes, they were not only obliged to put dogs to the carriages, but to fetch thefe creatures fometin^es at thediftance of four or five hun- dred Werfts J eight or ten times as many dogs were required as they would have wanted horfes j for the horfes in Rujjia draw in winter time, where the roads are bad, forty pouds, for which weight eight or ten dogs are neceflary in Kamtfchatka. The Kanttfchedales were not ufed to fuch relays, efpecially at fo great a diftance from their habitations ; fo that it occafions many hindrances. But they had been aware of this, and therefore had bought up a good number of rain- deer at Anadirjkoi OJlrog^ and drove them to Awatfcba^ where they had a good pafture, and were confumed during the following winter ; they like wife got dried fidi in abundance of the Kamtfchedales^ fo that half of the ufual fea provifion could be faved. But, in the following fpring 1741, the captain commander ordered one of the fliips, that re- mained behind at Bolfcheretzkoi^ to bring over the reft of the provi- fions that were left there, (he arrived happily in the harbour of Petropaw/ow/kay before he put to fea, and delivered her cargo, partly on board the fhips that were ready to fail, and partly into the maga- zines there. When the roads began to grow better, De la Croyere and Steller arrived at Petropawlow/ka^ to aflift at the the intended American dif- coverics III ii m ( 38 ) coveries. The captain commander took with him the latter, and the firft joined Tfcbirikow. Now the quedion was, what courfe they Hiould Aeer in their voyage ? To determine which, the captain commander, on the 4th of Mayy called all the officers together to hold a council, to which alfo the Profeflbr De la Croyere was invited. Every one was to give his opinion, out of which the bed was to be chofen. Now the in- dications of a near country towards the Eaft were known to every one, and the officers had judged, during the whole winter, that the coail mud be kept towards the Ead, or fomewhat Northerly. But with this de Lijle'% map did not agree, of which I have mentioned a- bove, that it had been prefented by the academy to the Senate ; the Senate had given it to tne captain commander, that he might be di- reded by it. De la Croyere had alfo a copy of it, which he produ- ced in the council. No land was fet down upon it towards the Bad, but, on the contrary, there was marked on this map South-Eaft from Awatfcha in 46 to 47 deg. North lat. a coaft extending 1 5 deg. from Wed to Ead, in fuch a manner, that it had only been feen on the South fide. The words, Terres vuespar dom Jean de Gama, [land feen by Don 'Jean Gamd\ were put to it. Accordingly it was judged by the maritime council, that if fuch a coad realty exided in thofe parts, as they truded the authors of the map would not have reprefented it on an uncertainty, then that land might extend fur enough to the Ead, and therefore it was determined firft to deer South Eaft by Ead towards that land, and, having difcovered it, to make its coafts ferve as a guide to the North and Ead ; but, if it fhould not be found in 46 deg. North lat. then to alter the coaft, and to fail fo long to the Ead, and Ead by North, till they (hould difcover land, which they were to follow between North and Eaft, or between North and Weft, as far as the 65th deg. North lat. and to order the voyage in fuch a manner as to be able to return Co Awatfcha in the month of September, Since this determination is looked upon by the mariners that were in the expedition, as the fource of all the misfortunes they have met with on their voyage, it is neceffery to dwell a little upon the fubjedt. It is not known who Jean de Gama was, nor when the difcovery was made that is afcribed to him. All we know is, that, in the year 1649, texeiray cofmographer to the king of Portugal^ publilhed a map, in which 10 or 4 2 deg. North Eaft from Japan, in 44 to 45 deg. North lat. ( 39 ) lat. is reprefentcd a multitude of iflands, and a coaft extending to- wards the Uaft, with the following words, Terre vue par Jean de Gainii Indien en allant de la Chine ^ la Nouvelle Efpagne, * [ land fccn by '^ohn de Gama^ tlic Indian^ in going from Unna to Neiu- Spain] fo that the difcovery has been made either at the f mie time as that of the (hip Cajlricomy or bf lore j and the Situation oi the land of Gama^ as it is reprcfcnted in lexeira'^ maps, Ceems not to be dif- tinguifhed from the company's land, difcovered by the fame (hip Caf- tricom. Our failors are of opinion that they have been milled to an unprofitable navigation by de Lijle'^ map. This is true with refpect to the navigation to America^ winch, by this means, was very much retarded. But the only fault is, that M. de Lijle has placed the land of Gama too much towards the Eail, as belonging to the American difcoveries, whereas it ought to have been among thofe of 'Japan or Jefo» If he had done this, the difcovery of it would have been committed to Capt. Spangberg ; and it would have been no miftake, if no more of it had been difcovered than of Jefo^ Staten ifland, or the Company's Land. We need not wonder if the land of Gama^ or the Company's Land, have met with the fame fate with the land of Jefo, As for the refl, it has been obferved, that now the land of Gama is either not at all admitted by geographers, or made fo mi- nute, and placed fo near Japan^ and the Company's Land^ that there remains hardly any difference between it and the Company's Land, We need but to examine in this refpedt the moft modern maps of M. D'Anville, Belling Green^ Buache^ and even de LiJJe's. Now the refl: of the regulations being finifhed, and the (hips Aored with as much provilions as they could contain, the voyage was begun with both (hips on the 4th of June 1741. They fteered the courfe agreed upon, viz. South Eail by South, till the 12th of the faid month, when they found th-Lofelves in 46 deg. North lat. There was no occafion for this to be wonvinced of the nullity of the lands of Gama. They went with a Northerly courfe as far as 50 deg. North lat. and intending to go from thence Eaftcrly, in order to dif- cover the continent of America y on the 20th Capt. Tfchirikow^ in a violent ftorm and fog, was feparated from the captain commander. This was their firft misfortune, the (hips were thereby deprived of the mutual afTiftance which they might have given each other. Qmftderathnes Gtographiquis tt Phftqttes par M. Buache, p. 128. and '•ii I ^1 p ( 40 ) and which was the intention of fitting out two fliips, and giving them inftrudtions never to feparate. The captain commander did all in his power to find Tfchirikoao ; he cruized three days between 50 and 51 deg. North lat. and failed hack to the South Eaft as far as 45 deg. but all in vain. Tfcherikow had taken an Eaft courfe, from 48 deg. North lat. which the captain commander commenced in 45 deg. fo that they did not meet again ; but neverthelefs made difcoveries which moft exactly agree. Nothing particular happened till the i8th of July^ when the cap- tain commander, after having given orders for fleering more and more Northerly, got fight of the continent of America in c8 deg. 28 min. North lat. and believed, according to his journal, tnat he had liuled 50 deg. Eaft long, from Awatfcha. Capt. Tfchirikow reached the fame coaft three days before, viz. on the 1 5tn of July in 56 deg. North lat. and, according to his account, 60 deg. long, from Aivatfcha. But both may have been fomewhat miftaken in the diflference of longitude j for, if we compare their voyage thither with their return, it fecms that the captain commander was on the coafl of America in 60, and Capt. Tfcherikow in 65 deg. long, from A- ivatfcha. Now, the longitude from the harbour of »S/ Peter and Paul^ in the bay of Aivatfcha ^ is about 167 deg. 12 4 niin. from the firft meridian of Ferro ; confequently the longitude of the coafts of A- mericay for the firft place, amounts to 236, and, for the fecond, to 241 deg. but, if thefe places are confidered with refpedttothe near- eft known parts of California^ then the difference of latitude between cape Blancoy the moft Northerly part of Calijornia^ and the place where Capt. Tfcherikow was, is only 13 deg. lat. and the longitude not much above 5 deg. A diftance indeed very confiderable, which might deferve to be enquired into, efpecially as this is the place to which is afcribed the dubious difcoveries of Admiral de Pontes. But of this our navigators had, at that time, no intelligence. The coaft made by Capt. Tfcherikow^ was fteep and rocky, with- out any iflands, wherefore he did not dare to approach it, but an- chored at fome diftance. As he intended to enquire into the nature of the country, and, being likewife in want of frefh water, he fent the mate, Abraham DementieWy with ten of his beft men, and the long boat aftiore, having firft furniftied them with provifions for fome days, with guns and other arms, a brafs cannon, and every other requifite, together with circumftantial inftrudlions, how, in various occafions t.^ .*1 ( 40 occafions they ought to behave, and to make thcmftlvcs iinclcrftood by ligiials. The boat was fcen to row into a bay l)ehind a iniall c.pc. It was conchided that (\)c was fortunately arrived afliore, becaiifc fuch fjgnals were made as were ordered in tliat cafe. Several days part, but the boat did not come back j and yet fignals continued without interruption. The people on board bc^an to think the boat might have received damage in landing, and could not return to the fliip withfjut being repaired, thcFefore it was determined to fend adiore, in the fmall boat, the boatfwain, 5/V/or Siiwckw, with three men, (ano- ther account lays fix men) amongft whom were carpenters, and a ca- reener well armed and provided with the necefiary materials. This was done on the 2 1 ft of yn/y. Saweleav had orders when he had given the necefiary afliftance to Dementiew to return, either with him or by liimfclf, to the fliip. But neither of them obeyed thefe orders : In the mean while a great fmoke was obferved, arifing continually from the Ihore. The next day two veflels came rowing from the land towards tlic fhip. The one was larger than the other : It was believed, on tlieir being feen afar off, that it was Deinetitiew and Sawdew with the two boats. From this opinion Capt. 'Tfchirikow ordered all thel men upon deck, and directed them to prepare for their departure ; but thefe were Ame- ricanSy who, while at fome diftance, feeing many people upon the deck, ceafed rowing, ftood up, and crying out with a loud voice A- gaif Agaif fpeedily returned towards the fliore. If it be true, that the Americans were afraid of the many RiiJJiaui on deck, and that imagining there were few or none left aboard the Ihip, they anight therefore eafily make themfelves mafters of it, it would then have been better for 'Tfchirikow to have concealed his men. , The Americans would, pe;"haps, have come on board ; and, if they had, they and their veflels might have been feized, and exchanged for the RuJJians and their boats on fliore. But the joy he felt at thinking that Dementiew and Sawelcw were returning was fo great, that no fuch precaution was thought of. , . • Now they began to give up all hopes of feeing their comrades re- turn from (hore, they had no more fmall boats, and durft not venture to approach the land with the fliip, on account of the rocky coaft ; hut a ftrong Weft wind arifing, and the fliip being at anchor towards the open fea, without flielter, they were obliged to weigh anchor, and put to fea again for fear of being driven againft the rocks, tfchirikow Q cruized rf % f % s •'.!<*» ( 4i ) ci'uizcd tome days longer in thefc parts, and wHhen the weather be- wail to grow milder, he failed again towards the place where his peo- ple were landed. It muft be laid, in his praile, that it was with re- gret he was obliged to leave his countrymen on fuch a remote coafl, uiul among Savages } but as now he neither heard nor faw any thing of them, it was concluded, in a council of the rel\ of the lea oHi- ccrs, to return to Kamtjiba/ka, which was done on the 27th of "f,,'. uiv. At the time when this happened, the commander Bering likewifo attempted to get a better account of the coaCl which he had difcover- ed, and to provide himfelf with freih water. The country had ter- rible high mountains that were covered with fnow. He failed to- wards it } but only fmall varbblc breezes blowing, he could reach it no fooner than the 20th of July, when, under a pretty large ifland, not far from the continent, he anchored in 22 fathoms water, and a foft clayey bottom. A point of land which there projedts into the fea, they called St Elias's Cape, on account of its being Eiias day. Another headland that afterwards appeared opposite the firft, towards the We(^, received its name from St Hermegenes. Between thefe there was a bay, in which they promifed themfelves fecurity, if per- haps their circumftances (hould require their feeking for a harbour. For this purpofe the captain commander fent Cbttrow^ the mafter of the fleet, with fome armed men, to reconnoitre this bay ; another boat, in which was the Adjundtus Steller^ was fent at the fame time to fetch water. Chitrow found between fome iflands a convenient an- choring place, fecure from all winds, but there was no occasion to make ufe of it. He found in an ifland fome empty huts, and it was fuppofcd that the inhabitants on the continent ufcd to come thither on account of the fiftiery. Thefe huts were formed of fmooth boards, in foiiie places carved } whence it may be concluded, that the inhabi- tants are not quite fo wild and uncivilized as thofe in North America are generally defcribed to be. In the huts he found a fmall box of poplar, a hollow earthen ball in which a flone rattled, like a toy for children, and a whetftone, on which it appeared that copper knives had been fharpened. So neceflity teaches the making ufe of one metal inftcad of another. Even in Siberia^ in the upper- mofl parts on the river Jenifri, all forts of edge tools of copper have been found in the antient Pagan graves, and none of iron, which is :J ( 43 ) !f a proof that the ufe of copper has been of greater antiquity in thofe regions tlian that of iron. Of Sulier'B obfcrvations, I will only mention what is moft material. He met with a cellar, and in it flore of red falmon, and a fwcct herb *, yirhich is drefTed for food in the fame manner as in Kamt- fcbatka } there lay likewifc ropes, and all forts of houfliold furniture. He came to a place where the Americans had but ju(l before dined, but on Hght of him, were run away. There he found an arrow and a wooden inftrument to procure fire, made in the fame manner as they have them in Kamtfchatka -f*, which things on their flight the Ameri- cans had left behind them. Steller gathered lierbs, and brought fuch a quantity of them to the fliip, that the defcribing of them took him up a confiderable time. Of his defcription, Gmelin afterwards made life in the Flora Siberica. He has regretted nothing fo much, as that no more time was allowed him to look about on the American coafl. His whole ftay lafted but Ax hours, for as foon as they had taken ia frefh water, he was obliged to return on board. The failors, who had fetched the water, related that they had met with two fire places, where jufl before fire had been, and found hewn wood, and obferved the Acps of men in the grafs } that they had kcw five red foxes, which went along quite tame, being not in the leafl afraid of them. They brought fmoaked fifhes with them on board, that appeared like large carp, and tafled very well. They had found a hut thrown up of earth, which perhaps is what Steller called a cellar. Having laid in a fufHcient provifion of water, they were willing to (hew the Americans that they had had no reafon to become fugitives from their unknown guefls. Some prefents were fent for them on ihore } a piece of green glazed linnen, two iron kettles, two knives, twenty large beads of glais, two iron Chinefe tobacco-pipes, and one pound of Tfcherkaffian tobacco leaves. Thefc things were thought to be according to the tafte of thefe people, and were carried into the above huts. The next day, v/z. the 21ft of July , it was determined to put to fca again, it was refolved before the departure from Awatjlba^ to take • Sphondiliumfoliolisplnnatifid'ts. Linn. HortClifF. 103. t Namely, aboard with fvveral holes in it, and a ftick, the one end ofyrhich is put into the holes, and the other turned about fwiftly between the hands, till the wood within the holes begins to burn, when there is tinder ready, which catchei.the fire, and communicates it farther. G 2 the •1^, u i M an ( 44 ) the comTt along the coafts ;i«; faras65tleg. N, lat. butthey couKi get no llivthcr to the North, and were, even obliged to fail continually jiiorc nnd more to th'c South, ' bccaufe the coafts extended South Wefi. At the lame time thby met with continual liindrances from the many illmds whicli were vtry thick, ahnofl: every where about the continent. When they thought to Jail molt i'ccure, land was difcovered a head, and on both iides, w'-hercforc they were obliged fev^eral tfmes to turn back, and feck another and freer paflage. SoriKtimes it cametopafs, tlip.t in the night with the fame wind and weather, they at 'one time failed in a boiftcrous fea, and at another in calm water, and a few hours after found thcmfelves again between large waves, where they could hardly govern the fliip. What elfe could this indicate, than that in the calm they had failed in fheltered water, between iflands which the darknefs of the night did not permit them todifcover. Some days were palTed without their feeing land, when, on the 27th of Juty^ about midnight, tliey came into 20 fathom water. They could not know whether it was a fand-bank, or whether they ought to take care of the continent, or of an ifland ■ for it was quite dark. Every where they found Icfs water* ; to come to an anchor they durft not venture, for the wind was ftrong, an 1 the waves high. More- over it was to be feared that they might be either too far from the fliore, or too near it. At laft it was concluded to hazard failing to the . South, in which they fucceeded fo well, that, after (leering fome hours longer in 20 fathoms water, they regained afecure lea. An illand, which they difcovered on the 30th of July^ in foggy weather, was called Tumannot OJirog^ that is, the Foggy IJland. They arrived at it in 7 or 8 fathoms water, and anchored with great expedi- tion. But when it began to clear up, they found themfelves a Werfl: from it. The whole month of y^«^/^ elapfed with the like occurren- ces J when the fhip's crew begun to be much afFedted with the fcur- ^ey, and particularly the captain commander. When their frefh water began to be reduced to a fmall quantity, they ran, on the 2()th. oi AuguJ}^ to the North, and immediately again dif- covered the continent, and before it a multitude of iflands, between which they anchored. Thefe iflands are iituated in 55 deg. 25 min. N. lat. They were called the Schumagim iflands, after the name of the firft of the rtiip's company, who died in the voyage, and waa buried here. On the. 30th oi Auguft^ the ^\\q\. Andrew Heffelberg was fent to one of the largeft iflands, in fearch of frefli water. He did -■Ml ( 45 ) did not (lay long, and brought two famples of water, whicii, although they were not found to be very gooJ, they being of a brackilli t.ifte, yet, as there was no time to lofe, they thought it was better to liavc this water than none at all, as it might at leall ferve for boiling, while what they had Hill left being ufed fparingly might hold out for drink- ing. Stellcr afterwards attributed to this water the fcurvy and other diilempers which prevailed among the failors. The fliip lay not very fecure, flie was expofed to all the Southerly winds, and to the North they had nothing but rocks and cliffs before them ; wherefore they would not venture to be long at anchor in this place ; but as, in the night before, a fire had been icen on a fmall iiland towards the N. N. E. while they fetched water with the yawls, they fent Chi trow in the fmall boat, with five men, a- mong whom was nTfchitckt/chian interpreter j they were all well arm- ed, and had fome trifles given them to diftribute among the people they ihould find. On the 30th of Auguji^ about noon, they arrived on the ifiand, which was computed about fix leagues difiance from the fliip ; there was yet fires to be feen, but the people were gone. In tlie after- noon Chitrow intended to return to the fliip, but a ftrong contrary wind drove them on another ifland, and detained them till the 2d oi September, when the ftorm ceafed. C/'/Vrcw; not returning the lame day, the large boat was fent for him next morning, the fmall boat had received too much hurt, when (lie was thrown on (hore by the waves for them to venture with her to fea again j flie was therefore left on the ifland, and Chitrow returned on board in the large boat. Immediately difpofitions were made to weigh anchor, and put to fea again ; but they could not advance much, becaufe of the rtrong contrary winds, but were forced towards the evening to feek again a place of fecurity, between the iflands. On the 4th of September it was the (lime ; they fet lail, but the continual vehement contrary wind forced them back to their former anchoring place ; during the night there was a violent ftorm. The next morning they heard on one of the iflands a loud cry of men, and obferved fire burning. Soon after two Americam came row- ing towards the fliip, in two car.oes, fliapcd like thofe ufed by the favages in Greenland^ and Davis's ftreights, but they (lopped at fome dillance. The calumets ufed by the North American nations to ex- prefs their peaceable fentiments were known j and thefe people were obferved II w n h 4« n-r tj-tl ( 46 ) obferved to liave them j they were fticks with hawks wings tied to one end. The people Teemed as well by words, as geftures, to in- vite our mariners on fhore; as, on the other hand, thefe latter by beckoning and throwing prefents to them to bring them to the (hip j but the Americam would not be perfuaded, but turned back to their ifland. It was refolved to pay them a vifit on fliore, lieutenant WaxeU ac- companied by nine men, all well provided with arms, went to the ifland. Our people tried firft to invite the Americans^ nine of whom flood on the fliore, to them in the boat, by a friendly behaviour, and oiFering of various prefents ; but as this proved fruitlefs, and the A- mericam^ on their part, invited the RuJJiam to them on fliore j Waxel ordered three men of his company to debark, among whom was a ^fchuktfchian^ or Korjak interpreter, and to faften the boat with a Lopc to the iloncs, at fome diitance from the (hore. It has been ob- ferved every where that the Tfchuktfchiany and Korjak interpreters, did not underAand the language of thefe people } but they were ne- verthelefs very ferviceable, as conductors, being bold, and looked upon by the Americans, as the fame with themfelves. The whole converfation confequently confided here merely in geflures and figns, by which on both fides they fhewed great good will. The Americam liad a mind to regale the RuJJiam, and gave them whale's flefh, as the only provifion they had. It feems they were there only on account of the whale fifliery } for our people obferved, on the fhore, as many canoes as there were men, but neither huts nor women ; from whence 'tis to be concluded, that their habitations were on the continent, The canoes were fliaped like thofe that had been feen before, not larger than to hold one man. In the middle there is a round opening, in which the American feats Iiimfelf, and ties the leather fo fafl to his body, that not a drop of water can penetrate into the canoe. No bows and arrows, nor any other weapon, were feen among thefe Americam, of which our Ruffiam might have been afraid, and there-* fore they flayed pretty long on fhore, and went about with the Ame^ ricansy yet fo that they did not lofe fight of the boats as they were ordered. In the mean while, one of the Americans had the courage to come to lieutenant Waxel in the boat, he feemed to be the oldefl and mofl important. Waxel prefented to him a cup of brandy, but this was a quite unknown and difagreeable liquor to him j he fpit the brandy out again, ( 47 > again, as foon as he had ufted it, and cried aloud, as if he was cotn- plaining to his country men how ill he was ufcd. He would by no means be appeafed ; needles, glafs beads, an iron kettle, tobacco-pipes, &c. were offered him, but he accepted of nothing ; he only dedred to return to the ifland, and it was not thought proper to dctiu'n him. JVaxely on his part alfo, called to his people that were on fliore, to come back. This the Americans did not like ; they made an attempt to keep all three with them. At laft they let go the two Ruffians^ and kept the interpreter. Some of them went to lay hold of the rope with which the (hip's boat was faftened to the fliore, they pulled as hard as they could, probably thinking that it was as ea/ily to be drawn on Hiore as their fmall canoes. To prevent which, JVaxel ordered the rope to be cut. The interpreter called out to them not to abandon him ; the talking and beckoning out of the boat to the Americans to defift from him, was to no purpofe ; wherefore Waxel difcharged two blunder- bufTes, which, as it was merely done with a defign to frighten them, had the defire effeft. The unufual noife of the report, which was increafed by the echo from a neighbouring mountain, threw all the Americans ftunned to the ground, and the interpreter efcaped out of their hands j foon after they recovered themfelves, they (hewed them- felves very angry by their geftures and noife, and indicated that no body (hould come to them on (hore. The night now approached, it was ftormy weather, and the lliip lay two Werftsdiftance j wherefore Waxel did not think it advifeable to try thefe people further. I have faid before, that no bows and arrows were obferved among the Americans^ but this does not prove that they ufe none, but con- firms the opinion only that at this time they were out on the whale fifliery, for which purpofe fuch arms are not ufed. One fingle man had a knife hanging by his fide, of which, on account of its particular make, our people Teemed to take notice ; the defign of it cannot be conjediured. Their upper garment vvas made of whales guts, their breeches of feal-fkins, and their caps of the fkins of fea lions, which in Kamtfchatka are called Jitvutfcha^ nnd adorned with various fea- thers, efpecially thofe of hawk's. They had their nofes ftopt with grafs, which fometimes they took out, when a great deal of matter iffued out, which they licked up with their tongues j their faces were painted red, and fome of various colours, and differently (haped like thofe of the Europeans j foine had flat nofes as the Cahmtcks, and all were 'ii' <*i J«>'» ( 48 ) v/ere of pretty goo^! Itature. It is probable that they chiefly feed on the fea aniiiuls, vvliich are caught in thofe feas. Thefe are tlie whales, the Tea lions, and bears, the fca beaver, or rather fea-otters, and feals. They were obferved to eat roots too, which they fought out of the ground, and before they eat them fcarcefliaked off the earth. What might be farther added here is only this, that a certain perfon main- tains tliat he nude himfelf underftood, in fome meafure by thefe people by the lift of words, which La Hontan hasfubjoined to his defcription of North America. For having pronounced according to the faid lift, the words ivatcr^ or -wood^ the people had pointed to fuch parts where tiiefe things are found; but, I think, this they may have done by chance, or the geftures, which accompanied the words, may have contributed to render them intelligible ; for La Hontan is not to be placed amonj; the confcientious and credible writers of travels. But, letting afide this, the diftance between the countries is two great for one and the fame language to be fpoken in them j not to maintain, that an European^ particularly a Frenchman^ will hardly conceive and write the words of fuch a language in fuch a manner as to be intelligi- ble to another nation, that fpeaks nearly the fame language. Lieut. Waxel returned to the fliip, and the next morning prepared for his departure, when feven of the Americans^ whom he had left the day before, arrived in fo many canoes, in which they approached ■ near the veflel. Two of them rofe up in the canoes, laid hold of the rope ladders of the Ihip, and delivered as prefents two of their caps, and the image of a man carved out of bone, which was taken for an idol. The ufual mark of peace the Calumet was again offered j it confifted of a ftick five feet long j to the upper and inner part of which were tied many forts of feathers without the leaft order. Whence we fee that the fimilitude of the Calumet to Mercury's ftaffi as the AmC' rican travellers reprefent it, is not effentially neceilary. Prefents were reciprocally made, and they would certainly have come aboard, if the wind had not begun to rife, and obliged them to return to the fliore with all expedition. After their having returned to land, they aflcmbled in a clufter, and made a great noife, which lafted almoft a quarter of an hour. Soon after our people fet fail, and when they pafled the illand on which the Americans were, thefe again began to rpake as great a noife as ever they could, which may as well be taken for a token of friend(hip, whereby they intended to exprefs their wifhing them a happy voyage, as their rejoicing at getting rid of their ftrange guefts m . ( 49 ) gucfts. They fteered for the moft part foutherly, to get clear of the coaft, and indeed could keep no other courfe, the wind blowing W. and W. S. W. From this time till late in Autumn, when the voyage was fini(hed, the wind feldom changed, but be- tween W. S. W. and W. N. W. fo that there is reafon to believe, that, at this time of the year, the wefterly winds blow almoft continu- ally in thofe parts. When an eafterly gale fometimes arofe, it did not lad above a few hours, and then (hifted wefterly again. This was a great hindrance in their return j befides the weather was con- tinually fo foggy, that fometimes for two or three weeks together the fun could neither be feen by day, nor the ftars by night, and therefore no obfervations of the latitude could be made, and, confequently, the ihip's reckoning could not be correded. What ioquietude this mud have caufed in our navigators, who were thus ftecring in an unknown fea, with long uncertainty, is fcarce to be conceived. An officer, who was with them, has exprefled himfelf on this fubjeft, in his relation of this voyage, in the following manner. " I do not know whether there c^n be a more difcontented and wor/e manner of living in the world, than to navigate an undefcribed fea. I fpeak from experi- ence, and can (ay with truth, that during the five months I was in this voyage, without feeing any land known before, I did not deep *' quietly many hours } becaufe I was in continual danger and uncer- « tainty." They had moftly contrary winds and ftorms, till the 24th of Sep* temper, when tliey faw land ugain, which confifted of very high mountains, and many iflands were lying before them at a great dif-^ tance. Here they computed that they were in 5 1 deg. 27 min. N. lat. and 21 deg. 39 min. long, from the harbour of St Peter and Faui&t Awatfcba. As it was the day of the Conception of St John the Baptift, one of the higheft mountains on the coaft was named St "JohrC^ mountain. Afterwards to determine the fituation of the coaft more exai^ly, it was fuppofcd to be in the latitude of 52 deg. 30 min. which, however, is contradided by Capt. Tfchirikoixi'^ account, who had alfo been on this coaft, and placed it in 51 deg. 1 2 min. as is mentioned hereafter. Nothing farther happened here, fince they durft not approach the coaft, on account of a ftrong fouth wind ; but, it was thought ad- vifeable to tack about againft the wind, which foon after changed to a violent ftorm from the weft, and drove the (hip very flir towards H the (C (c (C ank tafte, and the fkin is hardly .good for any thing at all, except that of quite young ones, and thofe taken out of the womb^ which are, in fome meafure, ufeful as furs. They were moftly killed a-fleep, for the old ones, in the fpring time, fpend a couple of months in fleeping, without taking the leall food^ as the fat be^rs do in the depth of winter. When thefe difappeared, it was near the end of the month of May^ then the (hip's crew had for fome time no other fuftenance than the large feals, which, in Kamtfchatka^ are called Lacbtak. They are as big as an ox, weighing about 800 pounds a piece, but the flefn being of a loathfome tafte, it was lucky that fometimes they could catch fea-lions, which aiTorded them better food. The fea-lion is the animal, which, in Kamtfchatkay is called Sci- *vutfcha. They are as big again as the largeft fea-bears, and w;eigh from 36 to 40 pouds, that is about 1600 pounds; they are diftinguifh- ed from the reft of the fea-animals by their ihort and yellow hair. As thefe purfue the fea-bears, it may be the reafon that the latter betake themfelves fo abundantly to the coafts ; whither the fea-li- ons feldom refort. They moftly poft themfelves at fome diftance from the ftiore, on large ftones and rocks in the fea, that, to appear- ance, have been feparated from the continent by earthquakes. Here thefe animals make fiich a terrible roaring, that they may be heard at three or four werfts diftance. All other beafts flee as foon as the fea-lion appears. Their fierce and grim look befpeak their ferocity : Wherefore our fliip's crew unwillingly attacked them. They only killed a few old ones a-fleep, but feveral of the young ones, the flefh of which was found particularly favoury. Dampier de- fcribed them before Steller. Their fimilitude to the lion confifts merely in long hair ftanding up, which grows about the neck of the male. They alfo lived fometimes upon the flefh of the animals, which, in the Ruffian language, as well as in the Dutch and Engltjh^ is called the 1 ( 6. ) the fea-cow.j the Spaniards name it Manati^ and the French Lamen- tin. One would think its limihtude with a cow muft be very great, as it appeared fo to different nations and .travellers at firft %ht^ when people arc ufed to give names to things that wfre unknown to them be- fore. But thislikenefs confiHis in nothing elfe than the fnout, which, probably, they faw firft, and perhaps alone : for it has neither horns nor uraight ears, no feet, nor any thing elfe refembling a cow. It is an a- nimaUike a feal, only incomparably larger j has two fins on the fore part of the body, wherewith it fwims j between them are feen two teats in the females, for fuckling its young ones. This difpofition of parts being fomewhat fimilar with the human, efpecially fince tiie mother makes ufe of the fins to hold her young ones clofe to the teats, is the reafon for the Spanijh name Manati, i. e. the lj.anded anima/ ; for the Spaniards compared the fins to the hands of men. Lamentin it was firft called by the French^ becaufe it does not cry loud, but in a manner whines and fighs. Chrijiopher Columbus is faid to have taken it for the Syren of the ancients. When it fwims in the fea, one part of its back ftands commonly out of the water, which is faid to ap- pear like a boat overfet floating on the fea. It is not only found in thefe feas, but in all others furrounding A/ia^ Africa^ and Ameri- ca^ wherefore many travellers, for inftance, Lopez^ Dampier^ Kolb, Atkins, and Labat, have made mention of it, but they contradict one another too frequently^ which alfo has occafioned many miflakes in the natural hiftory of Clujius, '^ohnjion^ Rajus^ Klein, Artedi, Lin^ neeuSy and others, for the reftifying of all which, Steller's defcripti- on is hardly fufficient. A particular fpecies of thefe animals har- bours in the river Amazon in South America, and an account of it is given by M. ^^ la Condamine in his travels. I return to my defign, to (hew how ufeful the Manati wis to our (hip's company with refpedt to their fuftenance. Some of thefe ani- mals have been caught, which from the fnout to the point of the tail were from three to four fathoms long, and weighed 200 pouds, or 8^000 pounds. One was food enough to ferve for a fortnight, and the flelh was very favoury like the beft beef j that of the young ones, was like veal. And the fick found themfelves confiderably better, when, inftead of the difagreeable hard beaver's flefh, they eat of the Manati, tho' it coft them more trouble to catch than one of the bea- vers. They never came on the land, but only approached the coaft to •^at fea-grafs, which grows on the fliore, or is thrown out by the fea. This A fifli. The young ones that weighed 1 200 pounds and upwards, re- mained fometimes at low water on the dry land between the rocks> which afforded a fine opportunity for killing them j but the old ones which were more cautious, and went off at the right time with the ebb, could be caught no otherwife than with harpoons, fixed to long ropes. Sometimes the ropes were broke> and the animal efcaped before it could be (truck a fecond time. This animal was feen as well in the winter as in the fummer time. They melted fomc of the fat, with which, like hogs, they are covered from three to four inches thick, and ul'ed it as butter. Of the flefli, feveral caflcs full were pickled for fliip's provifion, which did excellent fervice on their return. The month of March 1742, being near concluded, and the ground becoming free from fnow, Lieut. Waxel called together the remain- der of the fhip's company, being 45, to confult with them, and to come to a refolution in what manner it was beft to return. Here the meaneft of the fliilo'rs had the fame right to give his vote as the commanding officer : After they had all given their various opinions, Waxel and Cbitrow made the propofal to break up the packet-boat, and to build a lefs veffel of the wood, which would contain all the company, with fufficient provifions for a fortnight, by which means thofe who had been fellow-fufferers might equally partake of the de- liverance out of their diArefs. If a new misfortune was to happen, they fliould remain together, and there would be no reproaching of one another. This was unanimoufly agreed to, and a writing drawn up, which every one confirmed by figning his name to it. But, notwithftanding, there was oppofition enough afterwards; fome refufed to break up a fliip which had been built at the expence of the crown : But the contumacious were obliged to yield, being out- voted in a new council. In the beginning of the month of April they began to untackle and take to pieces the wreck j a work which lafted the whole month, and at which the officers were always the mofl affiduous, in order to encourage, by their example, the com- mon men to imitate them. The greateft difficulty was, who (hould have the direftion of building of the velTel. For they wanted a fhip's carpenter, three of them that fet out on the voyage, died in the ifland. Lu.ckily a Siberian Coffack^ named Sawa Starodubzoiv^ a native of Krafnojarjk^ who ( 63 ) who had been employed as a workman in building of fliips at O' 4:hotzk^ offered to take upon him the management of the work, if they would but give him his proportion of the veffeU Indeed the Cofack kept his word as well as could be wifhed ^ and, after his re- turn, had the favour beftowed upon him, for his fervices, to be made a Sinbojarjkoi^ by tlie provincial chancery of Jenifei/k^ which is the loweft degree of the Siberian nobility. On the 6th of May the vef- fel was put on the ftocks, 40 feet long in the keel, 13 feet broad, and fix feet and half deep. At the end of the month, all the tim- bers were fet in, fo that in the beginning of June they could begin to plank her as well within as without A deck was made, and the veffcl provided with a mart, and eight oars. There was no want of hemp and old tow for careening, but the quantity of tar not being fuflicient, they helped themfelves in the following manner : They took a new cable, which never had been in the water, chopped it to pieces, each piece a foot long, then pulled the threads afunder, and filled a large copper kettle with them, to which they made a tight •cover with a hole in the middle. Then they took a wooden veflel, which had a cover made in the fame manner as the former, with a hole in the middle, this was fl:uck into the ground as far as the cover, they fet the -copper kettle upon it upfide down, fo that one cover and one hole hit the other. Then fo much earth was laid about the kettle, that no fire could penetrate to the wooden veflel. After which fire was laid round about the kettle, the lower part of which did now ftand up, more than half above the earth. From the heat, the tar, contained in the tow melted, and gathered in the wooden veflel below. By this means they got fo much tar as was requifite to tar the lower part of the veflfel. Her upper part was payd over with melted tallow. In the fame manner they built a canoe, which would hold firom eight to ten men j while all this was executing, mafl:s and fails, ropes and anchors, water-caflcs, and fea provifions were procured, and every thing put in proper order. At the end of the month of July nothing elle was wanting but to make the Aides upon which the veflfel was to be ^launched into the wa- ter. Thefe were 25 fathoms long ; for the veflfel -could not be put on the fliocks quite near the fea, on account of the tide flowing pret- ty high. On the loth of j4ugu/i flie was launched, and named af- ter the packet-^boat, 5/ Peter, out of the wrecks of which this veflel was built. She might be called a Angle mafl:ed hucker; foraccord- ij.s ( 64 ) ing to her tackle f!ie approached nearcft to this fortof veffcls. Aquair- tUy of cannon-balls, cartridges, and all the iron-work that remained of the former veflel, they made ferve as ballaft. The mart was got in, ropes, fails, and rudder properly difpofed. Happily it wasjufta calm, without which they would hardly have fucceeded. The fhip lay from N. N. W. to N. E. expofed to the open fea. If a ftorm had arifen (he might eafily have been Aranded again on the coad. She drew five feet water, and could have carried a greater burthen, but this was fufficient for the intended purpofe. The crew being embarked, they put to fea on the 10th oi Auguji towards the evening. The boat belonging to the former fhip was taken in tow, only by way of trying whether they could preferve her j if it was not pradicable, they refolved to fet her adrift. They paiTed by the rocks and other (hallow places that evening, and found from four to nine fathoms water j after which they took to their oars. When by means of thefe they w^ere advanced about four leagues from the ihore, a gentle breeze from the north began to fpring up, with which they proceeded on their voyage. It is furprizing how well the veilei failed and work'd. Had (he been built by an experienced mailer, (lie could not have well failed better. The next day at noon they were in fight of the fouth-eaft point of Bering' % ifland, at a dif- tance of four leagues N. by E. to which they gave the name of Cape Manatiy from the above-mentioned fea-cows, which herd more here than in any other parts. The north latitude of this cape io 54 deg. 55 min. or about ^^ deg. whereas the place where they refided tliis winter had been obferved to be aimoft in 56 deg. On the i8th of Augufl in the morning they had a (Irong contrary wind from fouth- weft J wherefore it was refolved to cut the tow rope, and fet the boat adrift, for fear the burthen of it might be hurtful to the vtSt\. On the fame day about noon the ve(fcl began to be very leaky j two pumps were not fufficient to keep her free, they were obliged to ufe water buckets, and throw overboard their heavy goods, in order to lighten the veflTcl, to difcover the leak, which they found out and Aopped fo well that they made ufe of but one pump, and that not coiiftantly. On the 25th of Auguft they came in fight of the land of Kamtfchatka i the following day they were fo happy as to make the bay of Awatjcha^ and on the 27th they entered the harbour of St Peter and Faul. What exultations this muft have caufed { 6S ) caufed in our failors, every one may eafily conceive. All dlftrefs and danger to which they had been expofed, was now over. They came to a plenteous magazine of provilions, which Captain Tjchirikow had left there. They wintered here in commodious dwellings, having lirft attempted to return to Ochotzk in the fame autumn, but were prevented by contrary and violent winds. In the mean time the veflel was clean'd and put in a condition for another voyage, they fet fail again in the month of May following, to carry back to Ochotzk the whole fliip's company. Waxel vfent from the harboiu' oi Peter and Paul to Jakutzk^ and having wintered there, pro- ceeded to 'Jenifeiik^ where, on his arrival in OSlcba\ 1744, he Icjund Captain ^fchirikoiv, who had received orders from the fer. c to take up his refidence there, till a refolution (hould be taken witli refpedt to the continuing or not the Kamtfchatka navigations, [faxel ftayed at Jenifeisky and when Tfchtrikow, was ordered in 1745 to Peferjburgy Waxel took upon him the command of the, mariners there, and did not arrive with them at Peterjburg till January 1749, which time may be fixed as the end of the fecond Kamtfchatka expedition, fo that it lafled near 16 years. As to the academical company of travellers, Gmelin and I arrived at Peterjburg on Feb. 15, 1743, having pafled through all the parts of 5/- beria. But Stellery who flayed in Kamtfchatha after Waxel^ to make refcarches in natural hiftory, did not enjoy this good luck. He im- merged himfelf without neceflity, though with a good intention, in matters that did not belong to his department j for which he was called to an account by the provincial chancery at Jakutzk. Steller vindicated himfelf fo perfei <<«. ^J^ / / p^' ?**t v<^^. -^.( x. VI- .4,Vest (^)ast of AMERICA. Published V the Ri)yiVl Aci\deiu\ of Scienres .it Petersburg . London Re^iibh*shiMll»;v Thymus Jeilerys (Teo2;i"ajilier r^rp'" ^j^ to his , MA'jfUSTY, ^ _*%? .vr l,A»l/ 'I'iO 'IW \ A' '■■^ hu T \ "cnitrti,.^ .!"■ .<^ 1 ^.^-i^ •\. ''^':,-j. M / B ' «• . ; liKV i^-.Tyr A Map of the Discoveries made \w tiie Russians on the :NortiiTVesi Coast of America. PiiUished by the Royal Acadwm of Sciences at Petersburg. Repiil)lishtHl by Thomas Jeitecys Geo^'apJier ^ fi to his . MAjfUSTY, /\ ^is.^*!;^.'-:' 4y ^...-*-1^ «i2(7 ^, \ / \ \ \ \ X \ A' \ \ \ .\-- ,.^ \ '"'C'** \ 1 '-A / ^'HTJC '«x^ H \\. [/ ?v,/^*^^^Vj*2^^^^i?' %^ \'. i. ^^} / / ^ m y-:* >) •^^fiuM/l' ^ r / / ^■' '^ / >:^ ^. 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