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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, 11 est film4 A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 32X 1 t 3 ■ ■ ■ • 6 t-« ft I " VP^a^'fiO- COMPARATIVE VIEW O F THE RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES WITH THOSE MADE BY" Captains COOK and CLERKeT i*£5#Vv H^ t«s ^tfc ^#*? • ■^; * « ■ — -^ •" ♦^■'-^»*^ \ AND A SKET C H OF WHAT REMAINS TO BE ASCERTAINED BY FUTURE NAVIGATORS. u» BY WILLIAM COXE, A.M. F. R. S. - • One of the Senior Fellows of King's College, Cambridge ; Member of * ^ the Imperial CEconomical Society at St. Peterfburgh, of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen ; and Chaplain to his Grace the Duke of Marlborough. r LONDON, P R I N T E D B Y J. N I C H O L S, FOR T. CADELL, IN THE STRAND. MDccLxxxvrr. «. r i;1TW'fN' 'li^wtfUi T O PETER SIMON PALLAS, M. D. F. R. S. COUNSELLOR OF THE BOARD OF MINES TO THE EMPRESS OF RUSSIA, MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AT ST. PETERSBU^GH, &c. &c. THE FOLLOWING ATTEMPT TO COMPARE THE DISCOVERIES OF A NATION. WHOSE CIVIL, TOPOGRAPHICAL, AND ^ NATURAL HISTORY HE HAS SO AMPLY ELUCIDATED, IS INSCRIBED BY HIS FAITHFUL AND OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT, ca.b.dge. WILLIAM COXE. r I » ,.- ^ 1 /■ i t vil ] ADVERTISE ME NT. 4 ^T^HE author would have arranged, at a more errly peilod, JL the following Comparative View, which feems necefliuily conne£led with his former publication on the Rufiian DifcoverleS ; • if he had not been abfen': from England when G^ok's Voynge firfl: made its appearance; and if continued travels and avo- . cations had not prevented him from confulting thofe books, charts, and manufcripts, which the Qxamination of foiutcicdte a. fubjedt required. ; . '-^ '• .':"■-; " ' ' .; r • Mr. Pallas has lately favoured the public, m his Neue Nor- difcbe Beytraege, with feveral curious particulars concerning the Tchutiki, the two iflands lying between Eaft Cape and Cape Prince of Wales, and relative to the New-difcovertd iflands. An. extradt of fome of thefe particulars Is given by Mr. Pennant in his Introduftion to the Ar(5lic Zoology, and more amply in his Supplement to that interefting work, in which the reader will i find an excellent map of thofe parts, which are mentioned iu , this Comparative View. :f I OCTAVO EDITION. "Jujl ptiblijhed. Elegantly printed in Four Volumes Oflavo, lUuftratcd wltb Maps, Plans^, and other Plates, Price rl. io«. bound. The Third Edition of TRAVELS into Poland, Ruflia, Sweden, and Dennriark, Interfperfed with Hiftorical Relations and Political In- ijuiries. By WILLIAM COXE, A. M, F. R. S. One of th« Senior Fellows of King's College CanUnidge, Chap« lain to his Grace the Duke of' Marlborough, Member of thtt Imperial Oeconomical Society of St. Peterlburgb, and of the Roya) Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen. Printed for T. Cadell, in the Strand. ^y whom will Jpttdily be fuhlijhed. An 06taTO Edition of Mr. Coxe*^i Account of the Ruffian Difcoveries between Afia and America ; in which will bo added a> Comparative View of the Ruflian DifcoTcries with thofe made by Captains Cook and Clerke, &c. &c. X...\Jmr' [ 9 3 CHAP I. *i A comparative View of the RufTwin DiTcovene.f, with thofe made ^ Cook and Gierke, i . On the Coiji of Afia. 2. On that of Aiiio- rica. 3. IVith refpedl to the New-difcovered IJlands, AS my account of the Ruffian Difcoveries, printed in 1780, contained the principal intelligence at that time known ; and as, fince its publication, a new light has been thrown upon that important fubjed by Cook and Clerke, I fhall, in this chap- ter, compare the difcovcries of the Ruflians with the fubfequent obfervations of the Englifti navigators, i. On the coaft of Afia, 2. on that of America ; and 3. with relpedl to the New-difco- vered Iflands. ' t ; ^ * • The accuracy of Krafilnikof *s obfervations, at the Port of Ct, Peter and St. Paul, has been confirmed by Captain Cook. The latter places that harbour in lat. 53' i'\ long. 158' 36^' eaft * . the former in lat. 53' o^' 38'^, long. 176' 10^'' from Fero, or 158'' 35/' from Greenwicli. The diflerence is only 22 feconds in the latitude, and 7 minutes in the longitude. Hence the aflertion of Vaugondy, that the Ruffians had advanced the peninfula of Kamtchatka eleven degrees too much to the caft, and of Engel, who fuppofed that error to be no lefs than 29 degrees, is evidently confuted ; and the juftnefs of the aftronomical obfervations, made by the Ruffian geographers, * It is neceffary to apprife- the reader, th^it, in this Supplement, whene\'er the' longitude given by Cook is mentioned, it is taken from the meridian oi Greenwich. The reader is alfo defned to coui'ult the maps and charts which accompany Cook's Voyage to the Vacifit Ocean. '■'' .Du 1 . • ■" B which 10 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF ( which I nttempted to prove hi the fccoiul number of the Appen- dix to the RuHiau Dlfi:oveiies, is now hicontrovertibly afcertaiiied. Though we cannot expe£l nearly the fame accuracy hi the Ion- gituiie of thofe places, whicii have not been laid down by aftro- nonilcal obfervarions ; yet we (hall find, perhaps, that the er- rors of the Ruflians, even under fuch dilad vantages, have not always been fo great, as i.iight reafonably be fuppofcd. Thus while the latitude of Kamtchatka Nofs, and of Kronotfkoi Nofs the moH: norih-eaf^erly point in the peninfula of Kamtchatka, .ngrces with the latitude of tnofe places, given by Captain Cook, their longitude is laid down 2' 46'' too much to the weft ; and the fame error feems to prevail in the bearings of the Kamtchatka Coaft, as traced on the RufTian charts. Towards the north, the deficiency in the longitude is far more confidcrablc. The promontory of St. Thaddacus, the nwft north caftcrly point in the country of the Koriacs, lies, according to Cook, in lat. 62' 50'^ long. 180' ; and is fituated, on the general map of Rullia, in lat. 63, long. 190, from Fero, or 172'' 25" from Greenwich ; whicli gives a difference of only 50' in the latitude, but of 7' 35^' in the longitude. ' • i« ' > ' .i..l The next point of land obferved by the Englifh navigators, was that promontory called by Beering Tchukotflcoi Nofs, a name adoptc d by Captairt Cook, but which is denominated by moft of the Ruflian geographers Anadirlkoi Nofs, from its pofition on the Bay of the Anadyr. The application of the term Tchukot- (koi Nofs to this promontory, may, perhaps, occafioii fome con- fufion to future navigators and geographers, as thit appellation has been ufually given, and ought therefore to be appropriated to the eaftern extremity of Afia, the Eaft Cape of Cook. From Anadirlkoi Nofs, placed by the Englilhin lat. 64' 13^% wndcr the name of Tchukotlkoi Nofs, to Cape Serdze Kamen, in Tat. it (( THE RUSSIAN DI SC O V ERIES. &c. ii lat. 67. the utmoft extent 01 I3cerlng*s navigation to the north. Captain Cook, witli great candour, does jufticc to the memory of Bcering, by obferving, that •* he has here delineated the coaft very well, and fixed the latitude and longitude of the places better tiian could be expedlcd from the methods he *' hnJ to go by *.'* Within this fpacc our great navigator has correflcd the er- rors of the Rulhan charts, and afcertaincd the pofitlon of the real Tchukotlkoi Nofs, which Muller had erroncoufly conjec- tured to lie above the 70th degree of latitude. He calls this great promontory of the Tcluitlki Eafl: Cape, proves it to be the moft eaftern extremity of Afia, and fixes its latitude in 66^ (i'\ and long. 190' 12,". Thus he has unqueftionably (hewn, that the Ruffians did not err in aflerting, that the north eaftern ex- tremity of Afia ftretched beyond the 200th degree of longitude from the Ifle of Fero, or 182' from Greenwich. The earlicft and moft important of the Ruirinn voyaojes in thefe parts, as it firft afcertained the feparation of the two con- tinents, is that remarkable expedition of De(hnef, in which, ac- cording to Muller, he failed from the mouth of the Kovyma, doubled Tchukotlkoi Nofs, or the Eaft Cape of Cook, and was * Cook'» Voyage, yoI. II. p. 474. The reader is defired to concft a pnfTage in the note, p. 323, of my Ruilian Difcoveries ; in which I nfTerted, upon the autliDi'.iy of Muller, that ''cering, in his expedition to the northern courts of Alin, did not double the north eaftern promontory of thit continent, properly c.iilcd Ichn- -kotikoi Nofs. VVliereas it appears, from a comparative view of Ha-ri ig's ind Cook's difcoveries, that the foimer aftiially pilRd that celebrated point; and, that Cape Scrdze Kamen, the utmoft extent of liis voyajije, is fituated to the north and not, according to Muller, to the fouth of the faid promontory. Captain C: ok, who alone could afcertain thcfr* points, and whofe jndt^mcnt muft be confidcred as de- cifive, informs us, that Mulkr's account of Beeriiig's expedition, and that p.rt of the chart prefixed to his Ruffian Difcoveries, which r:fcis '.; hat expedition, are I accurate than the lelation of the fi;me voyage, and the nn "xed map publiflied Df. Campbell in the fccond edition of Harris's CollciStion oi Voyages. B 2 fliip ^ Jl Rl 12 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF ihipwrecked in the Sea of Kamtchatka. An account of this ex- pedition is given in my Ruffian Difcoveries *. But as, from want of circumflantial evidence, many perfons flill doubt, whe- ther Defhnef failed re. nd this celebrated promontory ; it may not, perhaps, be uninierefting to ftate a few particulars in Cook's narrative, which may feem to corroborate the authen- ticity of Deflinef's voyage. . Defhnef s defcription of the North Eaflern Cape correfponds in feveral material circumftances with that of the fame promon- tory given by Cook. According to Defhnef it " confijh ahnojl *' entirely of rocks -f-." Cook fays, that " it fliews a fleep ro.ky *' cliff next the fea ; and at the very point areyow^ roch likefpires. *' The land about this promontory la compofed of hills and vallies : *' the former terminate at the fea mjieep rocky points, and the lat- *' ter in low fhores. The hills feemed to be naked rocks |." Defhnef adds, that, on the coail near the promontory, the natives had reared a pile like a tower, with the bones of whales. Cook likewife noticed thefe piles as very common on the coafl of the Tfchutfki. *' Over the dwelling flands a kind of fentry box, comfofed of the large bones of largefjh-y' and again, ** near the dwellings were eredled flages of bones, fuch as before de- fcribed §." Cook alfo agrees with Defhnef in placing two fmall iflands dire£lly oppofite to the promontory ; and Captain King || confirms another alTertion of the Ruffian navigator, that the palTage from the fame promontory to the mouth of the Anadyr may, with a fair wind, be performed in feventy-two hours **. '• See p. 314- f '« Aus lauter Felfen beftiinde." S. R. G. III. p. 17. J Cook's Voyage, Vol. II, p. 472. § Vol.11 p. 451, 472. !| Vol.111, p. 264. ** The reader will find thefe two lall-mentioned points more fully difcufled by Captain King, Vol. HI. p. 264. To I 't. I II itt'>'A»- ^ i THE RUSSIAN DI SCO V E?.IES, &c. 13 To thofe perfons who obje£l to Deihnef 's narrative, becaufc Cook and Gierke were, in two fucceffive years, prevented by the ice from penetrating into the frozen ocean ; it may be replied, that Defhnef paffed in a fmall veflel, which might more eafily be worked through than the EngliQi (hips ; and that the year, in which Defliiief failed round, is reprefented as more free from ice than ufual. The feafon alfo, in which Dellmef probably doubled the great Siberian promontory, was more favourable to navigation in the Frozen Sea, than the times of the year em- ployed by the Englifh. For although he failed on the flrft of July *, yet he does not appear to have arrived in the Eaftern Ocean until the latter end of September. Soon after Ankunidof's veflel was (hipwrecked on Tchukotlkoi Nofs, Deflinef mentions, that he landed on the firft of October -f, and fkirmifhed witii the Tchutlki. It follows therefore, from the length of the interval between the day of his departure from the mouth of the Kovyma to his arrival in the Eaftern Ocean, that he probably waited for an opportunity of getting through the ice, which he at length eiFe£led. Whereas Cook quitted that dreary region on the 29th of Auguft ; and Gierke, fo early as the month of July. The middle and the latter end of September are generally efteemed the moft proper periods for navigating the Frozen Ocean. The fole aim of Defhnef being to fail from the Kovyma to the Anadyr, it was not incompatible with his plan ^o -continue on the coaft, and to perfevere in expeding a favourable occafion for executing his purpofe, without cxpofing himfelf to thofe diffi- culties and dangers, which feamen from more diftant quarters muft neceflarily experience. On the contrary, the grand defign of the Englifli navigators being to afcertain the praflicability of a North Eaftern paft'age, and having incontrovertibly determined * June ao, O, S. f Sept. 20, O. S. that 14 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF HI ♦hat imp' '^tant qncftion in the negative, they accomplifhed the primary obje£V of tlieir expedition. They could not therefore, confulcntly with their views and inftruftions, by delaying their departure from thofe frozen regions, hazard the danger of being heanned in by the ice, in order merely to fhow the poffibility of getting round to the Kovyma. S'loutd all thefe circumftances be confidered as proofs, that Dtflinef performed this much-difputed voyage ; yet, as he nei- ther made any aftronomical obfervations, nor traced a chart of the coaft, his expedition, though it decided the long-agitated difpute concerning the feparation of the two continents, did not, however, contribute to an accurate knowledge of the north- cafterii extremity of Afia,for which we are indebted to Cook alone. 2. Tlve difcoveries of the Ruffians on the Continent of Ame- rica come next under confideration. Several of thofe coafls, vifited by the Ruffians, which they fuppofed, though on very uncertain grounds, to be parts of America, and which they had jmperfc6lly defcribed, have been alcertained by Cook to belong to that Continent. • Thus Cook * difcovered a great mountain on the Coaft of America, in latitude 58' ^2!'^ longitude 220'' 52'% which he allows to be the fame as Beering's Mount St. Ellas, lying, according to his eftimation, in latitude 58^ 28^', longitude 236', from Fero, or 218' 25" from Greenwich. The difference in latitude is merely 28 feconds, and of longitude only 2/ 27'''' j and the defcriptions of it, given by Cook and Beering, exadly agree. Cook-t likewife explored the fame Continent, fituated in lati- tude 54' 43'' and ^s^' 2o'\ in longitude 224' 44^'', which makes it probable, that the land vifited by Tchirikof, and placed by * Vol. II. p. 346. t lb. p. 343. him w iyJnm » THE RUSSIAN D I S C O V E R I E S, &c. 15 him in latitude 56', longitude 24.1' from Fero, or 223' 35" from Greenwich, was really a part of America, , Alaxa, called fometimea Alaxfu, AlachOlak and Alafhka, reached by many Ruffians *, particularly by Krenitzin and Le- vatchef, and fuppofed to be a great ifland in the vicinity of America, was found by Cook to be a promontory of that Con- tinent, Its fouth-weftern point, reprefented on Krenitzin's chart, in latitude 54' 42^', longitude 206' 50'', from Fero, or 189' 15^' from Greenwich, is laid down by Cook in latitude 54' 10^', longitude 195', which gives only a difference of 33 minutes ia latitude, and 5' 45'' in longitude. That promontory lying oppofite to tlie country of the Tchutlki, which, according to MuUer -f , was firfl: feen by Gvofdef in 1730, and the moft weftern point of which is repre* fented on the chart that accompanies his Ruffian Difcoveries, as lying in the 66th degree of latitude, and in the 21 ith of lon- jT'tude from the Ifle of Fero, or 193'' 25''' from Greenwich, This point of land is probably the fame as that touched at by Synd, and placed by him In latitude 64' 40", and longitude 38' 15'' from Okotik; or 181* 25' from Greenwich. This promontory, named Cape Prince of Wales, Cook found to be the moft weftern point of America hitherto explored,, lying in latitude 65' 46', in longitude 191' 45^'', which gives a difference of latitude from Muller of only 14 minutes, from Synd of i' 20^' ; and of longitude from Muller of only i' 40''^, but from Synd of 10 degrees. It is diftant from the eaftern cape of Siberia only thirteen leagues. Thus Cook has the glory of afcertaining the vicinity of the two continents, which had only * See Ruf. Dif. p. 65. 68, 69, 254. t S. R. G. III. p. 131. been §t i ft f (i! a 1 1 i& COMPARATIVE VIEW OF been conjedlurci from the reports of the Tchutfki, and from the imperfe<5t obfervations of the Ruffian navigators. It refledls the higheft honour even on the Britifh name, that our great navigator extended his difcoveries much further in one expedition, and at fo great a diftance from the point of his departure, than the Ruffians accompliih d in a long feries of years, and in parts belonging or contiguous to their own empire. But although we afcribe this tribute of applaufe to the man whofe claim is indifputably founded ; yet we ought not to with- hold that portion of praife due to the Ruffians, for having ftrft navigated thofe feas, and made thofe difcoveries which the Englifh have confirmed and greatly exceeded. It muft indeed be confcHcd, that Cook ceufures with jurtice StaehKn's chart of the New Archipelago*; and ftrongly con- demns it as an impolition on the public ; fuch fidlions in a work fo refpeclably vouched, as the moft accurate reprefentation of t+ie New-difcovered Iflands, being calculated only to miflead future navigators. In fa£t, MuUer alfo, and the beft-informed Ruffians, had previoufly pronounced Mr. Staehling's account, and the annexed map, to be extremely erroneous f. But our great navigator feems to have been too rigid in cenfuring Muller for placing Tchukotlkoi Nofs in too high a latitude ; and for " his very imperfeft knowledge of the geo- ** graphy of thefe parts ^*' He did not fufficiently appre- ciate the merits of an author, who, though he unavoid- ably erred in feme particulars, yet defetves great appro- bation for his fagacity in uniformly fuppcrtir.g the exigence. * Vol. II. p. 475. 486. 506. particularly. t Ruf. Dii. p. 28. 283, 284. J Vol. II. 470, 471. See alfo p. 505 '-)t ♦ vl , i)}.. uj .it'j J, of o£ THE RUSSIAN D I S C O V E R I E S, 5cc. 17 of Bccring's Straits, and the vicinity of the two continents; when thofe opinions had been treated as chimerical. If Cook had been able to read Muller's account of the Ruflian Dif- covcries in the original German, and not in inaccurate tranf.a- tions* ; if he had fairly weighed the extreme difficulty of draw- ing intelligence from Imperfc6l journals of ignorant adventurers, from vague accounts, or uncertain tradition : if he had diitin- guifhed what MuUer advances as conjeiSturaH-, from what he lays down as fa£l ; if he had known that MuUer liad candidly acknowledged and re<5lified feveral miftakes ; if he had com- pared his trifling fources of information with his own pofitive proofs ; he would not have been offended by thofe inaccuracies, which muft neceflarily arife from fuch complicated and multi- fu.ious queftions: he would probably have been Icfs fcvere in his judgement of a writer, who firfi: excited the cuiiofity of the public towards thofe difcoveries, which occafioned his own glo- rious expedition, imder the aufpices of the fovcreign who now fits upon the Britifh throne. 3 . The new-difcovered iflands between Afia and America form the third part of the prefent inquiry. As my former account of the Ruffian Difcoveries renders it vmncceiTary to particularize all the iflands vifited by the Ruflians, and laid down in their charts, I fliall only feled: the principal iflands which were either afceriained, or appear to have been obferved by the Englifh navigators. Kadyak, one of the moft diflant iflands reached by the Ruf- * The Englifli tranflation of that work is the mofl innccuiatc. f Mr. IVIuller's map of tlie north eafteru coall; (Af Siberia is allowed, by Captain King, '* to bear a conliderabie reiembiance to the fiirvey of the Englifli navigators, ** as far as the latter extended % ;" and it is to be obferved, that the great promon- tory, which Muller lays down in iatitude 75. as Tchukotficoi Nofs, is reprcfented in his map ar very uncertain ; a^d as a country, the extent of wliich is wholly un- known. P«yj «/ti 7fchutjht dont on ne connoit pas Vetendue» % Vol. III. p. 163, C flan?, i8 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF t '1 ''I fians, is fully defcribed from Glottof's journal in the tenth chapter of my Ruffian Difcoveries. It is placed by Glottof in the 230th degree of longitude from Fero, or 212' 15^'' from Green- wich ; and is fuppofed to be not far diftant from the coaft; of a wide extended woody continent, or from that part of America which Beering formerly touched at. This conjedlure is con- firmed by Cook, who mentions it as contiguous to America, and forming one of an extenfive group, which he imagines to comprife thofe called by Beering Shumagin's Iflands *. Its true, pofition is determined by Cook to be in latitude 55'' 18'''', and longitude 199. The difference of longitude will not appear fa remarkably erroneous, when it is confidcred that Glottof's ac- count was computed merely from fhips reckonings, and that of Cook is founded on aftronomical obfervations. This group is part of that chain, called the Fox Iflands ; the longitude of which is very erroneoufly given upon all the Ruffian maps, and the latitude fliithfully reprefented only on Kreniizln*s chart J as will be more fully Ihewn in the comparative acco'-nt of Unalaflca. The next ifland which Cook accurately defcribes is that; named Halibut, probably the fame as the ifland called Sannaga by Soloviof, in his journal, a manufcript extract of which I have, in my pofleffion. This ifland, termed Senagak by the Aleutian- chief "f-, is flightly mentioned in my account of the Ruffian Difco- veries ;|:, but is not laid down in any of their charts under that name ; it will probably appear to be Halibut's Ifland, by a com- parative examination of the tvvodefcriptions given by Cook and Soloviof. * Vol. II. p. 413. t Ruff, Dif. p. 2()6. X It is not impiobable, that this illaiul is the fame as Kita Managan, which i» reprefented on Krenitzin's chart, as lying near to Alaxa, and which has nearly the lanie pofition as Halibut's Ifland in Cook's chart. Halibut's uiy the THE RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES, &c. 19 *« Halibut's Ifland lies near to the promontory of Alalka, " is (even or eight leagues in circuit, and, except the head^ ivhich ** Is a round hill, the land of it is very low and barren. There are *' feveral fmall iflands near it of a fimilar appearance ; but thcrj " feemed to be a paflage between them and the main, two or *' three leagues broad *." Soloviof +, who anchored in a bay of Sannaga, Augufl: 19, 1 77 1, thus defcribes it : *' Sannaga is fituated not far from Unimak and Alaxa, and is ** feparated from the latter by a channel of about twenty leagues. " It appeared to be about eight leagues in length, and about a *' league and three quarters in breadtli. On the northern Ikle of *' the weftern point is a /m^JJ peah, joined to a lovj ridge of hills *♦ extending to the eaft and weft, about a verft, or three quarters ** of a mile. Except this rifmg ground, the whole ijland is low and *' marjhy. It is watered by many fprings and lakes, containing *' fifh fimilar to thofe of Okotlk. The ijland produces neither *' trees nor berries. It is furrounded by many fmall iflands. It " is feparated from a little ifland fituated near its fouthetn point *' by a ftrair, about a league broad, which is fometimes dry. In *' reconnoitring this ifland, Solovief obferved feveral deferted " huts, but met with no inhabitants." Unalalka or Oonalalka, the largefi. ifland, next to Umnak, in the whole chain of the Fox Iflands, and which has been fre- quently vifited and defcribed by the Rufllans, was alfb particu- larly obferved by Cook, who anchored in a fine bay on the north fide, called by the natives Sanganovodha, and of which he * VoI.it. p. 416 t I have only printed a fmall part of his journal, as it contains no materia, in. formition, in additional to thofe journals already piiblilhcd in my Account of the RulTuin Difcoverics. Solovioi' failed from Okotfk on this expedition to the Fox Iflandt on the 6th of September, 1770 j and returned on the i6th of July., 1775. C 3 has r i 20 COMPARATIVE VIEW OP has given a chart. Unalafka is placed by Cook in latitude ^^ ^^^\ longitiulc 193' 30-" ; by Krenitzin in latitude 55^30", lon- gitude 205' 30" iVom Fcro J or 187' 55^' from Greenwich ; on the general map of Ruflia in latitude 58', longitude 225' from Fcro; or 205' 25'^ from Greenwich, Thus it appears, that in latitude Krenitzin only differs from Cook 25 minutes ; and in longitude 5' 35'^ ; whereas the general map of Ruffia varies 4' 5'' even in latitude, and in longitude 11' 55'^ The fame er- ror alfo prevails in the pofition of Unimak, Umnak, Amughta, and the other ifles adjacent to Unalafka, the fituations of which are corrected and determined by Cook *. Here it may be remarked, that the relative pofition of that part of the Fox Iflands, which ftretches fouth-eaft from the head-land Alaxa, is well laid down in Krenitzin's chart ; and that in all refpedls it dcl'erves the preference over the reprefentation of thofe iflands on the general Map of Ru/Tia. The defcription of Unalafka and of the contiguous iflands, their extent, produdions, and the manners of the natives, as given by Cook, corrcfponds entirely with the account of the lame iflands in the Ruflian Difcoveriesj and ferves to prove, that the journals, from which my account was drawn, are in thefe refpeils faithful and accurate. No iflands in the chain of the Fox Iflands were obferved by Cook to the wefl of Amughta: a few fcattered Iflands are indeed reprefented on the chart which accompanies his journal, not from his own obfervation, but from si map communicated by a Ruffian, named Ifmailof, which I fhali hereafter confider-j-. Whether the ifland, called by Cook Gore's Ifland, lying in latitude 60^ 10'% in longitude 187', may be confidered * See Cook's Voyage, Vol. II. •j- Vol. II. p. 497, Sec. See alfo Vol. III. p. 193^ 194, as I 5 *il '♦*Uiit. ^ THE RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES, &c. 21 as the iiland of St. Matthew, placed on Synd's chart in lati- tude 59' 30'', longitude 34' ic'' from Okotfk ; or 176' 42" from Greenwich ; is a conjedure which may dclervc inquiry. The difTerence of latitude is oi.ly 40 minutes; and tiie defici- ency in the longitude of 10' 18^'' nearly coincides with Synd's error of longitude obfervable in other inflances, while the ge- neral outline of its coaft. its relative fize and bearings to the head- lands of the two continents, fufficienily agree in the two charts. The exiftence of the ifland St. l/aurence, obferved by Beering near the Coad of Siberia, was alfo confirmed by Cook ; and it is not without probability, that thofe called Gierke's, Anderlbn*s, and King's I{l;ind«, may pciliaps form pare of that group ob- ferved by Synd, and reprefcnted, on his chart, as lying near the head-lands of the Tchutlki. The moft eaftern part of Copper Ifland is laid down, in the Ruffian charts, in latitude 55% longitude 184' from Fero ; or 166^25^' from Greenwich ; and, after the obfervations of the EngliQi, is determined to lie in latitude 54'' 28^'', longitude 167' 52'% which gives a difference of but 32' in the latitude, and of only i' 27'' in the longitude. CHAP. 2t COMPARATIVE VIEW OF i C H A p. II. Skttch of whiit remains to he afcertaiited. — i. On the coaji of h^\^- —2. On that o/' America.— 3. And in relation to the New-dif covered IJlands, — Expedition of Captain Billings, HAVING now reviewed and compared the Ruffian Difco- veries with thole made by Cook ond Plrrke. it is the defign of this lecond chapter to lay before the reader what re- mains to be afcertained in thole remote quarters of the globe. In treating this fubje^l, I fhall follow the fame order which I adopted in the firft; and endeavour to explain the defderata towards completing the geography, i. of the Afiatic coaft ; 2. of the American Continent ; 3. of the New-difcovered Iflands. I. What principally remains to be examined on the Aliatic coafl:, is that region of Siberia ftrctching from Cape North in latitude 68'' 56", longitude 180' 51^', the utmoft extent of Cook's difcoverics, to the mouth of the Kovyma in the Frozen Ocean. Cook conjc£lures, and the conjedlures of fo great a man de- fervc to be weighed with the utmoft attention, that the iiortlicrn coalt of Afia, from the Indigirka eaftwards, has been laid down by the Ruffian geographers more than two degrees too much to the northward : and Captain Kingnolefs ingenioufly conceives, that nearly the fame error of longitude prevails in the bearings of tlie A'iatic coaft in the Frozen Ocean, which is proved to 3 exift I f U.»' ! THE RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES, &c. 23 exifl: In the caftcrn coaft of Siberia *. If therefore it (hould be deemed probable, that the Kovyma U reprcfcntcd too much to the north and weft, the didancc* between the mouth of that river and Cape North mud be confiderably leA than is ufually imagined +. It now remains to determine the unknown coaft between Cape North and Slichitllcoi Nofs, the moil cailern point traced by the RuHian,> in the Frozen Ocean, to take a more accurate dcIr;'ation of the fliore between Shehitfkoi Nofs and the Ko- vyma than has been ctTedcd by Shalaurof :j:, and to fix, by aftro- nomical obfervations, the longitude and latitude of the mouth of the Kovyma.. 2. The principal ohjp'^^ of examination on tlie American coaft are tlie following parts of that continent, which Cook was prevented from explormg. That fpace reaching from Woody Point in latitude 50' i^\ and longitude 229'' 26^^, to latitude ^3' 22.'% longitude 225^ 14^'', comprizes 3' 22'' of latitude, and 4' I 2'^ of longitude ; and is the more remarkable, as it contaui* the place where geographers have afcribed the ftrait of Admiral de Fonte. *' And although there is little reafon to give credit,** as Cook exprefies himfelf, *' to luch vague and improbable ** ftiories, as carry their own confutation § ;" yet it is to be regretted, that he was prevented from entirely difproving thofc pretended difcoveries which fome perfons ftill confider as au- thentic. The ftiore between Shoal-Nefs, in latitude 6o\ longitude 198.'' to'', and Point Shallow Water, in latitude 63', longitude 198',, is alfo entirely undefcribed ; and what n nders this coaft an in^ * See thefe qneflions fully and iibly difcufled by Captain King, f Cook's Voyage, Vol, IJ. p. 263 — 270. t See Shnlaurof's Voyage and Chart in my Ruflian Difcoveries. § Vol. II, p. 543. V ol.lll. tereflinE: I a+ COMPARATIVE VIEW OF tcrcfling fuhjcifl of l;iquiry, is the infLrciicc of Ciiptaiii Cook, tlut here runs a conlulcrablc river from the conthicnt into the lea *. Ptrhnjis it would well defcrve tlic attention of fomc future navigator, to explore Cook's river ilill further than tiic Knghlh navigator v.-as able to penetrate : he traced it as hi<.',!i as latitude 6i' 30'^ longitude 210% fevcnty leagues or more from its mouth, without feeing the lead appearat\cc of its fource. Perhaps this great river, wliich, to ufe Cook's expref- fioii -j-, ** promifes to vie with the moft confiderable ones already *' known to be capable of cxtenfive inland navigation," may nearly join thofe waters and lakes whieh Hearne difcovered in Jiis curious exjiedition from Hudfon's Bay to flip Ampathefcow Indians, recorded in Dr. Douglas's learned Introdu(5lion to Cook's Voyage |' ; and may thus help to cflablifli an inland commu- nication between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. To the north of Beering's Straits, the land of America from Point § Mufgrave in hititude 67' 45'', longitude 194' 51'^ to Icy Cape, in latitude 70'' 29^^, longitude 198^ 20", where Cook was totally flopped by the ice, was not, excepting a fmall portion near Cape Lilburne, and another to the fouth of that promontory, oblcrved either by Cook or Clerke ; and its true bearings muft be xifcertained by future navigators. But the moft important point of further inquiry is to trace the diredion of the American continent from Icy Cape, whether it again trends to the north weft, and, according to the reports of the Tchutfki, approaches the coafts of Northern Siberia, or verges direftly to the eafl towards Baffin's Bay. * Vol. 11, p. 492. X P. XI.VII. t lb. p. 396. ^ Vol. II, p. 454. 461. The Miji ^9' 4 THE RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES, &c. 15 The execution of fuch ati undertaking, in fuch tliftant re- gions, and in fo high a latitude, muft: neccflaiily be attended with extreme dilficulty and hazard. For the points of diftance between Icy Cape and the north weftern extremity of Bofiin's Bay, include a fpace of no lefs than feventy-one degrees lon- gitude : of which nearly the central point has '.wCii explored b7 Hearne alone *. It muft be neverthelefs admitted, that fuch inquiries, however intercfting to increafe our knowledge of the globe, do not tend to throw any new light on the prafticabihty of a north-eaft paflage ; which has been difproved by the obftacles and difficulties en- countered by the Ruffians in navigating the Frozen Ocean +, and more particularly by the undoubted tcftimony of Cook himfelf. 3, The new-difcovered iflands remain to be confidered. We have already remarked, that, as Cook obferved only a few of thofe numerous iflands which lie fcattered in the Eaftern Ocean between Alia and America, the pofition and defcription of the remainder are to be drawn from the Ruffian accounts. It cannot be denied that the Ruffians have frequently corrupted their names^ increafed their number, and miftaken their fituation. It is probable, indeed, that Synd may have augmented the number of iflands which lie near the coafts of the Tchutflii ; that St. Theodore, Imyak, and Tzetchina, which are laid do\yn among the Aleutian Ifles in the general map of Ruffia, do not exift ; and that the Andreanoflki Iflis, which are confidered as a feparate group, form the moft wefterly part of that extenfive chain termed the Fox Iflands, of which Uaalaftika, fo amply defcribed by Cook and the Ruffians, is nearly the center. It may be urged, however, that, if the inaccuracy of the Ruffian charts, in general, be admitted, and their accounts are juftly * See Introdu£iion to Cook's Voyage. t Sec RufliaR Difcoveries, p. 330. D deemed ■, J i) 1-^ ;. \ 26 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF deemed ImperfetEl, what advantages can be derived from their publication ? " To this it maybe replied, that confiderable information may be obtained even from imperfed: accounts, and that many points have, in effeift, been afcertained, as the reader has already perceived iu- this Comparative View. We find even Cook himielf anxious to. procure intelligence from a Ruflian named Ifmailof, from whom he received a chart of the Ruffian Difcovcries. This chart, how- ever, was not founded on the obfervations of a fmgle navi- gator, but feems to have been a compilation from different chartj; and journals, and, confeq-uently^ extremely erroneous. Nor does it appear that Ifmailof either poflefled, or had feen^ Krenitzin's chart of the Fox ^flands, which,, according to the obfervations of the Englifh, is proved, to be the moft ac- curate reprefentation of the Fox Iflands given by the Ruffians. The correftion of this erroneous chart from Ifmailof's own experience, and additional remarks^ muft have been ftill doubtful. For, as Captain Cook could not fpeak the Ruffian; language, and as he had no Ruffian interpreter 011 board, the imperfe£t knowledge of this illiterate man was rendered ftili more imperfeft by the only mode of communication they could adopt, that of converfing by figns.. . • And yet, under all thefe difadvantages. Cook gained fome in«- formation relative to the pofition and number of the iflands- which he had not explored ; an information which he has thought worthy to be laid before the public. He particularly informs us, that ** a palTage was marked in *' Ifmailof s chart, communicating with Eriftol Bay, which. ** covers about fifteen leagues on the coaft, that I had fuppofed " to belong to the continent, into an ifland diftinguifhed by the ** name of Oonemak. This paflfage might eafily efcapc us, as 7 *' we THE RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES, &c. 27 ** we were informed that it is very narrow, (hallow, and only to *' be navigated througli with boats, or very fmall veffels *." The exiftence of this ftrait, which Cook has adopted in his chart, from Ifmailof 's oblervations, might likcwife have been coUeded from Krcnitzin's chart, and the feveral journals in my Account of the Ruflian Difcoveries, wherein Unimak or Oone- mak is fhewn to be an ifland feparated from Alaxa, fince proved to be the continent of America, by a narrow ftrait. ^ ' - . ' It muft not be thought furprifing, that a colle£lion pf voyages, performed by ignorant traders merely for the fake of obtaining furs, and not with a view of difcovery, (hould be de- feftive in determining the pofition and number of fo many iflands. We ought rather to wonder that the defrriptions, in general, are tolei-ably accurate, and afford that degree of information which they are found to contain. Nor muft it be forgotten that Beering's and Krenitzin's expedition, which alone were undertaken by Im- perial authority, refle£l confiderable honour on the Ruffian name. The particulars, which remain to be afcertained with refpe6l: to the ncw-difcovered iflands, are, to remove the uncertainty arifing from the confufion of names, to determine the true number, and to fix the longitude and latitude. And when it is confidered that the fea, unexplored by Cook, includes a fpace of at leaft ten degrees of latitude, and twenty of longitude, much, in this inflance, remains to be effected by the labours of future ad- venturers. Thefe are the principal objects of examination on the coafts of \fia and America, and in refpedt to the new-difcovered iflands. In order to forward thefe great ends, the Emprefs of Ruffia, * Vol. 11. p. 505. D 2 with ft, ; ill 11 i a8 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF with that boundlefs liberality and enlightened fplrit which chara6lerifes her adlions, has planned and commanded a voyage of difcovery. The care of this expedition, which was agitated and determined during my fecond vifit to Peterlburgh in 1785, is committed to Captain Billings, an Englifli naval officer in the Ruffian iervice, who is well qualified to condudl fuch an under- taking, as he accompanied Captain Cook in his laft celebrated voyage to the Pacific Ocean. I (hall briefly ftate the plan and purport of this expedition. According to its &t{i objedV, Captain Billings is to proceed by Irkutik, Yakutik, and Okotlk to Kovimfkoi OUrog : having traced the courfe of the Kovyma, and fettled by agronomical ebfervations the exad: pofition of its mouth, he will endeavour to delineate the coafls extending from that point to Cape North, the utmoft period of Cook's navigation on the north eadeni ihores of Siberia. For this purpofe he will embark in fuch vef- fels as arc ufually employed for coafting voyages in the Frozen Ocean j fix the longitude and latitude of the principal parts by aftronomkal obfervations ; form exad charts of the bays and in- lets which he may have occafion to explore j and caufe views to be taken of the beariitgs, head-lands, and remarkable ob- jedls on the coaft. If he fhould be prevented by the ice, or any other obftacle, from getting round by fea to Tchukotlkoi- Nofs, he muft difembark, and endeavour to proceed by land or over the ice, furveying the coaft and diflrid of the Tchutfki and obtaining an accurate knowledge of their manners, popu- lation, and country. In both cafes,, and in all inftances, he is enjoined to abftain from the leaft degree of violence ; is direfted to ufe every effort towards conciliating the afFedlion of the natives.; to obtain inforn^ation and affirtance by the gentleft treatment, and a proper diflribution of prefents; and to confirm them in their de- '''SB m THE RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES, &c. 29 dependence and favourable opinion of the Ruffian government, to which they have recently fubmitted. While he continues in thcfe parts, he will not negledl an opportunity of exploring the iflands and coafts of America, that may be fituated in the Frozen Ocean, or to the north of Beer- ing*s ftraits. Having attempted to execute thefe defigns, he is to return to Okotlk, where two (hips of a proper burden for a voyage of difcovery, will be prepared for his further embarkation. He is then to fail and follow the numerous chain of iflan'ls which extend to the continent of America ; determining cheir refpedive longitudes and latitudes by a feries of aftrcnomical obfervations J taking an exfl