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HISTORY
OF THE
VOYAGES
AND
DISCOVERIES
JOHN   REINHOLD   FORSTER,   I. U. D.
AND    ELUCIDATED    BY UtU.U
NEW   and   ORIGINAL MAES.
Orbis fitum diccre ... impeditum opus et facundls minlme capax .. . verum afpici tamen cog-nofcique dingiffimum. Pomtonius Mela in Procemio.
t
LONDON: PRINTED  for G. G. J. and J. Roc in-son, Patcr-Norter-Rovv
Mi DCC. LXXXTI.
CONTENTS.
O
Book L
Page
'F the most ancient discoveries i Chap. I. The voyages and difcoveries of the Phoenicians - ibid.
Chap. II. The voyages and difcoveries of the Grecians      - -12 Chap. III. The voyages and difcoveries of the Romans       - 22
Book IL Discoveries made in the middle ages
. 31
Chap. I. Difcoveries of the Arabians ibid. Chap. II. Difcoveries of the Saxons, Franks, and Normans - 44
Chap. III. Difcoveries of thcltalians and fome other nations - 89
Sec, I. Travels of Rabbi Benjamin
of Tudcla Sec. II. of Johannes de Piano
Carpini 92 See. III. of Andreas Luciu-
mel      - - 95
Sec. IV. of William of Ruyl-
bcoek        - 96 Sec. V. of Haitho, King of
Armenia       -        113 Sec. VU of Marco Polo of
Venice        - HI 7
Sec. VII. of Oderic of Porte-
nan      - 147 Sec.VIII. of Sir John Man-
deville        - 148 6'ec. IX. of Francifco Bal-
ducci Peiioletti 150 Sec. X. of John Schildtbcr-
gcr      - - 153
Page
Sec, XI. of the ambafladors
ofMirzaShahRokh 158
Sec. XII. of Jofaphat Barbaro
to Tanna      - 165
Sec. XIII. of the Chevalier
Nicolo Zeni 178
Sec. XIV. of Pietro Quirini
209
General view of the ftate of afFairs at this period _ 2^2
Strictures and Remarks
24?.
Book IIL
Discoveries made in the north in modern times     - - 252
General observations      - ibid. Chap. I. Difcoveries of the Englifh in the North       - - 265
Sec. I.   1497. ]phn Cabot and his three Cons 26b Sec. II. 1553. Sir Hugh Willoughbv
268
Sec. III. 3555. Richard Chancellor
271
Sec. IV. 1556. Stephen Burrough 272 Sec. V. 1567. MartinFrobilher 274 Sec. VI. 1577.   FrobinWs feconct voyage
Sec. VII. 1578. Frobifticr's third voyage       - 280
Sec. VIII. i58o7 Arthur Pet and Charles Jackman 287
Sec. IX. 1583. Sir Humphry Gilbert
289
Sec. X. 1585. John Davis 298 Sec. XI. 1586. Davis's fecond voyage - 302 Sec. XII.
Page
Sec. XII. 1587. Davis's third
voyage 308 Sec. XIII. 1591.    George Weymouth       - 311 Sec. XIV. 1605. John Knight 317 Sec. XV. 1607. James Hall 320 Sec. XVI. 1607. Henry Hudfon 324 Sec. XVII. 1608.  Hudfon's fecond voyage       - 327 Sec. XVIII. 1603, 1611. Divers voyages made to Cherry or BearIfland 328 Sec. XIX. 1610.    Hudfon's third voyage       - 332 Sec. XX. 1612. Thomas Button 344 Sec. XXI. 1614. Capt. Gibbons 347 Sec.XXiI.1614. Fothcrby and Baffin
348
Sec. XXIII. 1615. Fotherby 349 Sec. XXIV. 1615. Robert Bylot 350 Sec. XXV. 1616. Robert Bylot and
William Baffin 352 Sec. XXVI. 1616, 1631. William
Hawlcbridge 357 Sec. XXVII. 1631. Lucas Fox 359 Sec. XXVIII, 1631. Thomas James
367
Sec. XXIX. 1668. Zachary Gillam andDe Grofeiller 376
Sec. XXX 1676. John Wood and William Flawes 383
Sec. XXXI. 1719. Knight and Barlow        - 386
Sec. XXXII. 1722. Capt. Scroggs
387
Sec. XXXIII. 1737. The Hudfon's Bay Company fends out two (hips 390
Sec. XXXIV. 1741. Qhriftooher Middleton and William Moor 390
Sec. XXXV. 1746. William Moor and Francis Smith 392
Sec XXXVI. 1773. Captain Con-ftantinc John PhippS, now Lord Mulgrave 397
Sec. XXXVII. 1776. James Cook
399
Sec. XXXVIII. 1776. Richard Pick-erfgrll     - 407 Sec. XXXIX. 1777. Michael Lane
409
Page
Chap. II. Difcoveries of the Dutch in the
North      - - 410
Sec. I. 1593. Cornells Cornel if ion Nay andWilliamBarentz 411 Sec. II. 1595. Seven (hip? from Amsterdam, Zealand,Enkhuyfen, and Rotterdam 416 Sec. III. 1596. Jacob van Heemfkerk, William Baientz, and Cornells Ryp        - 417 Sec. IV. 1609. Henry Hudfon 421 Sec. V. i6n. Jan Mayen 422 Sec. VI. 1611, 1614.  Voyage of a fbip fitted out by Dutch merchants 423 Sec. VII. 1614.   Dutch Greenland Company 423 Sec. VIII. 1633. vVmteringof certain failors at Spitsbergen 423 Sec. IX. 1640 or 1645. Ryke Yle's voyage - 424
Sec. X. 1043. Voyage of the fhips Caitricom and Brefkes 424 Sec. XI. 1614, 1641. Voyage round the North Pole at the distance of two degrees from it - 426
Sec. XII. 1654—1707. Various difcoveries made at different times - 428
Chap. III. Difcoveries of the French in the North - 430
Sec. I. 1504. Voyages of the Bif-cayans, Normans, Bretons, and others        - 431 Sec. II. 1524. Juan Verazzani 432 Sec. III. 1534. Jaques Cartier 437 Sec. IV. 1535. His fecond voyage 438 Sec. V. 1540. His third voyage 441 Sec. VI. 1542. Francois de la Roque de Roberval 441 Sec. VII. 1598. Marquis de la Roche
443
Sec. VIII. 1709, Captain I rondad
44+
Chap. IV. Difcoveries of the Spaniards in the North      - 445 Sec. I. IL'24. Erevan Gomez 447 1537.   Francifco Ulloa and others t ibid.
Sec. II. 1542. Juan Rodiiguez de de Cabrillo 448 Sec.III. j 556. Andrea Urdanietta 448
Sec. IV.
Page
Sec.lV.I582. Francifco Guallc 448 Sec. V. 1592. Juan de Fuca, alias Apo-irolos Valerianos 450 Sec. VI, 1596. Sebaftiano Vizcaino
452
Sec. VII. 1602. His fecord voyage 453 Sec, VIII. 1640.   Bartholomeo de Fuentc's pretended voyage 454
Sec. IX. 1775. Don Bruno Heceta, Don Juan de Ayala, and J. Francifco de la Bodega y Quadra        - 455 V. Difcoveries of the Portuguefe in the North - 458
Sec. 1.1500. Cafpar de Cortercal 460 Sec. II. 1578. Fifty Portuguefe vcf-fcls fifh off Newfoundland Bank - 461
Sec. III. 1555. Martin Chaque 462 Sec. IV. 1620, 1621, Father de An-gclis and Jacob Garavalho
463
Page
Sec. V. 1621, 1649, Joao de Gama
Sec. VI. 1660. David Melguer ibid. Chap.VI. Difcoveries of the Danes in the North
466
Sec. 1.1564. Dithmar Blefkcns Sec. II. 1605. Gottke Lindenau and James Hall 467 Sec. III. 1606. Their fecond voyage
468
Sec. IV. i6o7.KarflcnRichardt 469 Sec. V. 1619. Jens Munk 470 Sec. VI. 1636. The Danifh Greenland Company 471 Sec.VII. 1769. Baron von Uhlcfeld's pretended voyage 472 Chap. VII. Difcoveries of the Rulhans in the North            - 473 General observations on the difcoveries. made in the North, together with Phyfical, Anthropolgical, Zoological, Botanical, and Mineralogical reflections on the objedts occurring in thofe regions          - 483
PREFACE,
The Translator's P R E F A C E,
The Author of the work, of which the following ftieets arc a t ran 11 at ion, is too well known to fland in need of any recommendation to the public.   That he hid,  for a long time previous to this publication, made the Northern Geography of Europe his particular ftudy, we are informed by the Hon. Mr. Daines Barrington, in the Preface to his elegant Edition of Alfred's Orofius.   If, to this confidcration, we add the circumftance of his having himfelf made a long and fuc-cefsful voyage of difcovery in the coldcfl climates, his multifarious erudition, and more particularly his great acquifuions in natural feience, we fhall be ready to own, that it would not be very eafy to find a Hiftorian fitter to record the Northern Difcoveries, than the Writct of the pre Cent compilation.
The fubjecl is confefledly of the greateft importance ; and, though treated in a very different manner, bears a ftrong affinity to that of the juftly-admired Hiflory of the European Settlements, to which, if it is inferior in point of fide and rhetorical ornaments, it will perhaps be found equal in profundity of reflection and philofophical inveftigation, and fuperior with refpect to accuracy and extent of information.—Er-
a rors
ii Translator's PREFACE.
rors there muft be in every human undertaking, and confequently this compilation is not without its fhare. Many of thefe have been rectified in filence by the Tranflator, who has carefully compared almoft every page with the original writers, whence this work is chiefly extracted. Other miftakes of his Author he has openly noticed, and that principally for the fake of foreigners, and thofe who have read the book in its original language. Such is the note to page 341, in which, however, the Tranflator has perhaps gone too far in afTerting, that the anecdote there referred to has not even the ftiadow of truth to fupport it. In fad, he rather fuppofes, on the contrary, that Dr. Forfter himfclf, or elfe (which is more probable) his informers have, by confounding two different fiories, inadvertently blended truth with falichood, and thus rendered the whole anecdote fwbjeft to contradiction.
The Tranflator has likcwife omitted a long note full of invective againft Mr. Barrington, as he could by no means prevail on himfelf to make the following fhcets, which were fo happily calculated for instruction and innocent amufement, the vehicles of abufe and calumny.— Mr. B. it fcems, neglected to mention Dr. Forfter's name in his edition of Alfred's Orofuis, probably for the fame reafon as he omitted to mention the name of the perfon who laid down the map for the Spa-nifh Voyage, publilhed in his Mifcellanies, viz. becaufc he did not attach anv high degree of glory to the bufinefs of map-making, and was confeious of bis right to publifh what he had purchafed. This omiflion, however,, might have been confidered in fome meafure as blameable, had not the Doctor himfelf, by a filence of more than eleven years, entirely exculpated him in this refpect. Why Mr. B. did not own the obligation afterwards in his Mifcellanies, is a que/tion that no one perhaps but Dr. F. will ajfc. Again, why the Doctor did not claim his property before, he himfelf bed knows, and perhaps may
not
Translator's   PREFACE. iii
not Willi any one to enquire. • Mr. B. in his Preface to his Veriion of Alfred's Orofius, has done ample juftice to Dr. F.'s remarks. The map was not worth contending for; but if it were, no one would be difpofed to difpute it with the author of thofe excellent remarks.
Of Mr. B—'s Verfion the Tranflator has made a free ufe in the fol-t lowing pages, excepting in thofe few paflages in which it differs from that of Dr. Forfter.
The  Author's  PREP A C E..
Th E work here offered to the public is of a very different kind from thofe with which it is continually peftered, and which are the joint produce of illiterate writers and greedy bookfellers. This, on the contrary, lias employed the whole of my attention and indufrry. for thefe lair, eighteen months; though, like every other production of human nature, it flill has its faults and imperfections.
The numerous refearches, upon which, more efpecially in the ancient part and that relative to the middle ages, I was obliged to enter, the multifarious departments of learning from which I have derived fome of the following notes and remarks, the orthography of a proper name, the expreflion of a number, may appear at prefent very oafy to many of my readers •> and perhaps I (hall hardly gain credit for the affertion, or at leafl it may be coniidered as a mere boaft, when I con-fefs that a fhort annotation, the proper name of a place or perfon, or the expreflion of a number, has frequently cofl me whole hours, and fometimcs days.
Not content with merely flating facts, I was alfo defirous to place them in the cleared: light. With this view I have laid down three new maps.—The firft, which exhibits the countries about the North Pole as far as the 50th, and in fome places, the 45th degree, comprizes the lateft difcoveries, with tolerable accuracy and preciflon; and mufl on that account, it is prefumed, merit the preference to all
others
Author's   PREFACE. v
others of the kind.—-The fecond map was drawn up by my ion and me together in 1772, for the purpofe of illuftrating the Anglo-Saxon Vcriion of Orofius, publifhed the year afterwards by the Hon. Mr.. Daines Harrington, who has iince that time, in a very ungentleman-li;ce manner, attempted to pais it on the public for his own.    So that. I have in this cafe done no more than  reclaim my own. property.. But, befides this, I have made in the map coniidcrable improvements and eorrections, which, on better information, appeared to me to be.-neceiTary.—The third and Lift map is entirely new, and comprizes the refults of a great number of critical refearches, which arc too numerous to be particularized even in the work itfelf, and ftill lefs in the Preface.   The map is intended to exhibit the geography of the middle ages, relative, to the parts therein mentioned.   The names of the towns and cities founded and built long after that period, are introduced with a very fparing hand, and indeed merely with a view to give the reader a certain fixed point, by means of which he may be the better -able to convince himfelf of the real place of refidence of this or that nation.
As this work contains a great number-of proper names as well as facts, I thought proper to annex at the end of it a very complete Index, of the great utility of which I was perfectly convinced, by the: recollection that, for the fake of finding fome fhort trifling paffage, I have often found myfelf under the neceflity of reading the major part of a book.,
INTRO
L
i
INTRODUCTION.
Among all the difcoveries which have tended to enlighten mankind, to promote commerce, and to advance Europe to the glorious zenith of power and refinement in which it appears at prefent, navigation has indifputably contributed much, if not more than all the reft. On this account alone, even were we not to confider the numerous, bold, and curious manoeuvres, and the grand, though minute and complicated mechanifm which it conftantly difplays, it might juftly claim an exalted place, if not a diftinctive preference among!! the arts. We commonly regard lailors merely as a ruftic and unpolifhed race of men: vifiting, as they do, many different countries, and thofe frequently at a great diftance from each other, their drefs cannot, without much trouble, be any where in the fafhion, neither can they be expected, nor indeed would it be rational for men in their fituation to attend to elegance and finery, rather than to convenience and eafe. This Angularity of appearance is alone fufficient to render them ridiculous in the eyes of the more polifhed inhabitants of towns and cities, and the plain and homely manners which they generally contract in long voyages, fecluded as they are from the reft of mankind, are apt to inlpire fome of the mofl refined amongft us with difguft ; whence the tranfition is eafy to an utter contempt of their way of life, as alfo
of
of this very ufeful profeffion which connects the mofl diftant parts of :the world in the bands of focietyand concord.
Of all the arts and profefuons which have at any time attracted my notice, none has ever appeared to me more aftonifhingand marvellous than that of navigation, in the ft ate in which it is at prefent, an art which doubt-.lefs affords one of the mo.ft certain and irrefragable proofs of.the amazing powers of the human underftanding. This cannot be made more evident, than when, taking a retrofpective view of the tottering, inartificial craft, to which navigation owes its origin, we compare it with a noble and majeftic edifice, containing iooo men, together with their pfoviiions, drink, furniture, wearing apparel, and other neceffaries for many months, be fides 100 pieces of heavy ordnance ; and bearing all this van. apparatus fafely, and as it were on the wings of the wind, acrofs immenfe feas to the moft diftant fhores. We are fo much ac-cuftomed to talk and tc judge of many different fubjects in the grots, that fuch particular and decompounded ideas as thefe occur to us but ■feldom; and very frequently we are not poffeffed of a fufficient degree of Speculative knowledge to be able to trace an idea of this kind up to firft principles. The following example may ferve for the prefent to delineate at full length, as it were, the idea above alluded to. But firft I muif. premife, that a huge, unwieldly log of wood, with the greateil uity, and in the moft uncouth manner, hollowed out on the infide, ai | fomcwhat pointed at both ends., and in this guile let on a river, for thepurpofe of tranfporting two or three perfons belonging to one and the lame family acrofs a piece of water a few feet deep, by the af-i\(lance of a pole pufhed againft the ground, cannot with any propriety be conlidered as the image of navigation in its firft and earlieft date. For it feems evident to me, that people in the Beginning only took three or four trunks of trees, and fattened them together, and 4 then,
then, by means of this kind of raft, got acrofs fuch waters as were too deep for them to ford over, and acrofs which they could not well fwim with their children and various kinds of goods which they might wifh to preferve from being wet.   The canoe, however, is a fpecimen of the art in a more advanced ftate, as this kind of craft is capable of having direction given to it, and even of fo capital an improvement as that of having a fail added to it.   For which reafon I chufe this vehicle for a ftandard, in preference to a mere raft, to which, imperfect as it is, it is fo much fuperior.   Let us, then, compare this with a large majeftic floating edifice, the rcfult of the ingenuity and united labour of many hundreds of hands, and compofed of a great number of well-proportioned pieces, nicely fattened together by means of iron nails and bolts, and rendered fo tight with tow and pitch, that no water can penetrate into it.   Now, in order to give motion and direction to this enormous machine, fome aftonifhingly-lofty pieces of timber have been fixed upright in it, and fo many moveable crofs pieces have been added to it, together with fuch a variety of pieces of ftrong linen cloth, for the purpofe of catching the wind and of receiving its impulfe and propelling power, that the number of them amounts to upwards of 30.   For changing the direction of thefe yards and fails, according to particular circumftances, it has alfo been requiiitc to add a vaft quantity of cordage and tackling, and neverthlefs, even all this would not be fuflicient for the perfect direction and government of thevefTel, if there was not faftened to the hinder part of it, by means of hinges and hooks, a moveable piece of wood, very fmall indeed in proportion to the whole machine ; but the leaft inclination of which to either fide is fuflicient to give immediately a different direction to this enormous large mafs, and that even in a ftorm, fo that two men may direct and govern this fmimming ifland with the fame or rather with greater cafe than a fingle man can do a boat.   But if, befides, we confider that, in a
b veffel
vcff^l ltk<5 this,  not a fingle piece is put in at random, but that every* part of it has its determinate mcalure and proportion, and is fixed pre-cifely in that place which is the moft advantageous for it; that, throughout every part of it, there is diftributed an aflortlining quantity of. Blocks, flays, and pulties,.f6r thepurpofe of diminishing,the friction, and of accelerating the motion of. thefe pirts; tnat.even the bellying and vaulted part of the fabric, together with its (harp termination underneath, are proportioned according to the niceft calculations.and the.. moft accurately determined rules -y, that, the length.and. the thicknefsr of the mafls,. the fize of the booms and yards> the length, .width, and) ilrength of the fails and tackling are all in due proportion to one another, according to certain rules founded upon the principles of motion : when we confider all this, I lay, our admiration increafes more and more at this great mafter-piece of human power and undemanding.   Still, however, there are wanting a few traits to complete this, defcription.   A man in. health confumes, in thefpace of 24 hours, about 8 pounds of victuals and drink ; confequently 8000 lb. of proT virions are required per day in fuch a.fhip.   Now let us fuppofe her to, be fitted out for 3 months only, and. we fhall find that fhe muff, be, laden with 720,0001b. of provifions.   A large 42-pounder. weighs, about 6100 lb. if made of brafs, and about 55001b. if of iron; and' generally there are 28 or 30 of thefe on board a {hip of 100 guns, the weight of which, exclufive of that of their carriages, amounts to 183,0001b.: on the fecond deck there are 30 twenty-four pounders, each' of \vhichweighabout5100lb.and therefore all together, 153,0001b. and the weight of the 26 or 28 twelve-pounders on the lower deck amounts to about 75,4001b.; that of the 14 fix-po.unders on the upper deck,, to about 26,6oolb. 5 and befides that, on the round tops even there are 4 three-
three-pounders and fwivels.   Now, if to this wrc add, that the complete charge of a forty-two pounder weighs about 64II). and that at lead upwards of 100 charges are required for each gun, we mall find this to amount nearly to the fame weight as the guns themfclvcs. In addition to this we muft reflect, that every (hip mult have, by way of providing again ft exigencies, at leaft another let of tails, cables, cordage, and tackling, which altogether amount to a considerable weight. The ftores likewife coniifting of planks, pitch, and  tow ;  the ehells belonging to the oilicers and tailors ;. the  furgeon's (tores', and various other articles requiiite on a long voyage; as alio the l'mail arms,   bayonets, fwords, and piftols,: are no in-coniiderable load; -to which we muft Anally add the weight of the crew, which is not very trifling, fo that one of thefe large {hips carries at leaft 2163 tuns burthen, or 4,324,0001b.  and at the fame time is {teered and governed with as much eafe as the fmalleit boat,   Now, the confideration of thefe circumftances alone are fuflicient to excite the molt ferious reflections in a contemplative mind ; and yet, if fuch a fhip failed along the coalt only, and never loft fight of the fliore, as the navigators of old ufed to do, we might ftill be tempted to look upon navigation as an eafy and trifling bufinefs.   But the finding the ftraightelt and fhortcft way over an ocean of more than 60 or 80 degrees in longitude, and 30 or 40 in latitude; or acrofs a tract from 4000 to 6000 miles in extent, by day or by night, in fair weather or in foul, as well when the fky is overcaft, as when it is clear, and often with no other guide than the compafs (which does not even point directly to the north in all places) and the being able to determine the true poiition of the fhip at fea by the height of the fun, though this latter be enveloped in clouds, or to direct one's courfe by the moon and the itars with fuch exactnefs and preciflon, as not to make a mistake of the value of half a degree or 30 miles ; this at lean: mews the progrefs and great perfection of an art pn>ctifed by a fet of people of
h 2 whofe
whofe underftandings many conceited and fupercilious landmen have but a mean opinion, and whofe plain and fimple manners they frequently take the liberty of turning into riducule.
A violent dorm of wind will make us tremble with fear, even in a flrong well-built houfe, and in the midft of a populous city; yet we have feldom or never either feen or experienced the vafl power of the enraged waves, when beat about by the winds, and dallied again ft each other, till they feem transformed into froth and vapour, and the whole furface of the ocean prefents to the eye a confufed fcene of immenfe watery mountains, and bottomlefs precipices 3 and yet on fuch a fea as this the true feaman, provided he has but a good (hip* rides with calm and unfhaken courage, and thinks himfelf as fafe in the midft of the ocean as in the beft fortified caftle.
This art, carried to that height of perfedion in which we have de-fcribed it, clofely connects the moft diftant regions, furnifhes the houfes and fpreads the tables of the luxurious natives of Europe with the rarities, dainties, and treafures of both the Indies, bears protection and-fafety to the remoteft fhores, and diffufes terror and deftruction beyond the moft extenfive feas. In ihort, it is the greateft and moft aftonifiling of all human inventions, and produced by the moft vigorous exertion of the intellectual faculties of man, whom, in defpite of his natural debility and feeblenefs, it muft neceffarily infpire with the higheft degree of pride, were he not, on other accounts, but too liable to that failing.
It is, however, gradually, and by little and little only that this art has attained to that degree of perfection in which it now fubfifts, after having for whole ages before advanced towards it with a flow and al-moft imperceptible pace. A minute enquiry into the whole fyftem of nature; into the powers of the loadftone ; into the nature of the planet! ; their determinate periodical revolutions 5 their influence upon 1 each
INTRODUCTION.
xiii
each other, and upon the winds and tides   a more accurate knowledge of the nature of the air; of its periodical currents ; of its conftituent parts, and of the various denfity of its different ftrata; a knowledge of the difference of the gravitating power at the different parts of the earth ; and of many other fciences, in which by the help of the mathematics in thefe later times only, confidcrable advances have been made, have alfo of late greatly contributed towards the perfection of navigation ; and as undoubtedly thefe fciences are very far from having as yet arrived at their higheft pitch, they muft of courfe receive a daily increafe, and by confequcncc likewife continually impart new improvements to this art.
Before navigation could attain to its ptefent perfection, it muft have advanced flowly through many fucceflive gradations; and how rude and imperfect: muft it have been above 2000 years ago ? How contracted and limited alfo muft the ideas of mankind have been with regard to foreign countries and nations ? This our northern part of the globe, however, and Europe, began at an early period to contribute to the extenfion of human knowledge in relation to foreign countries and nations, by means of voyages of difcovery, by commerce and by conqueft.   Thefe three fources of the enlargement of our knowledge of people and countries I mention together, becaufe we are ufed with an implicit confidence to repeat after the great Montefquieu (a), " that countries are now difco-" vered by voyages on the fea, but that formerly the fea was difcovered '* by the conqueft of countries."   And I may with great juftice add mere chance likewife, as a fource not lefs fruitful than the former. The peopling of the iflands in the South Sea by a Malayan nation, is perhaps to be attributed to mere accident alone. They probably fet out for a neighbou ring ifland, in order to fee their friends, and were driven by a ftorm to an ifland, of which they had not the leaft previous knowledge. When in the year 1774, we landed for the fecond time at lluahcinc, we found three men and a woman from the ifland of 0-matciva,o\: O-matea, who in their boat had been caft away on this former ifland by a ftorm; and Capt. Cook, in his laft voyage in 1777, found in an ifland at a great diftance
(a) Efprit des Loix, lib. x.\i. c. 7..
from
fxomO^raii'dca, three countrymen of Omai's, who were the onlyfurvi-vor.s of 50 perfons, the reft.having been gradually deftroyed bj the ftorm, •and by hunger and thirft.
In fact, voyages made for the gratification of curiofity, and for the f:\teniionof commerce, Teem to have greatly contributed to the promotion of knowledge, and to the introduction of milder manners an i cuftoms into fociety. For it is highly-cultivated nations only, that explore diftant-countries and nations for the fake of commerce, in like manner as the feeking them for the gratification of curiofity, prc-fup-pofes a Hill higher degree of cultivation and refinement.
On the ether hand, the more rude and uncivilized, march armies into foreign territories for the lake of conqueft. Though it can -. be denied, that even in this way, nations, which have arrived at a high degree of culture, have added confiderably to the knowledge they were before poffjfled of, with refpect to different nations and countries. All thefe are the varied means which an infinitely wife Being has appointed for the purpofe of humanizing mankind, of drawing them, if I may fo exprefs myfelf, out of their native flare of barbarifm, and of dif-fuling amongft them the liberal arts and gentler courtefies of life. It is, however, by Navigation principally that we learn, that men and nations exift not for themfelves alone, but likewife for the fake of others. In long and diftant voyage S the bands of .fociety and friendfhip, too apt to be relaxed when we find ourfelves independent, are cemented by our w-ants, of which it is impoifible at that time not to be fenfible. Urged by diftrefs and hardihip, we are then willing to receive the afliftance we cannot do without, even from flrangers. Our mutual neccffities give rife to mutual favours and reciprocal benefits, till the gentle {pint of humanity and kindnefs, thus kindled from a fpark of laudable felf-interefl, and gradually encreaiing by repeated exertions, burfts forth at laft into a glorious blaze of habitual benevolence and univerfal philanthropy.
Without voyages and without navigation, uncultivated and favage nations look upon themfelves as the only, or at leaft as the principal, inhabitants of the earth.
The
I NTRODUCTIO N. xv
The ancient inhabitants of our native country afiumed the name of Teu'fche, i. e. Germans, from the \ve>rd Thiud, which Signifies a people.-Before other names were introduced, every habitable part of Egypt was called \Tbebe(b), from Q-cvs'( (Theveb) the habitation.   The people of Greenland call themfelves-Innuit men, i. e. natives, and the K'amtfcha- • dales afiume the name of ltd men, or inhabitants j for the fame reafon the-Europeans are likewife called by the Greenlanders Kablunas,\.c. fir-auger■/■, or foreigners, in like manner as all ft rangers amongft the Moguls were-termed Uigur, or Jugur. Thus, too, the S.ficn, or Saxons intitled them- • fcl vc s the -confian t, fixed inhabit an t s of t h e c o u n t ry.   A n d i n fi u e n c e c 1 11 y the fame principles, the Chinefe, who, though far from being in a ftatc of high cultivation, are extremely proud and conceited, arc of opinion that their country is the center of the univerfe, and that their nation is the onlyone, which on account of their knowledge and underftanding may be (aid to have two eyes, whllft on the contrary, all other people' on the earth have but one; as alfo that they are the fiaceot' the world,* and other nations only the backfide of it; or, as the French would fay, uuils appartie'nnent aux parties honteufies du'monde.    It is only in confe-quence of repeated intercourfe between diftant nations, that the knowledge of nations and countries has been developed.'   In the be&itinirifft
p. r c t>»
ail the Sclavonian nations were called Sauromates ; when they became better known, it was found, that each tribe called itfelf in general Slave, or Sclave, with another peculiar or fpecific name annexed to it, e.g. Ruffian, Pblonian, Bohemian, Serbian, Polabian, Vandalian, Cro-batian, and Bulgarian Haves.
The greater the diftance of the difcovered countries was from the refpedive feats of learning and civilization at any particular period, the longer time it was, before in confequence of repeated voyages and expeditions, any certain information concerning them was difTufed through thefe more refined and cultivated parts of the world. But then this knowledge of diftant. nations and countries, waslikewife always in proportion to the ftate in which the difcovering nation itfelf was, with re-
(b) Herodat. Lib. II. Cap. 15.
fpect to learning, culture, and refinement of manners. It was at a late period only that the Romans learned that Great-Britain was an ifland ; and even in the days of I Tomer, it was fuppofed that a total darknefs pervaded Crimea, or the land of the Cimmerians, becaufe in that country the nights were much longer than in Greece. The cold induced the Arimafpians to wrap themfelves up during the winter in fuch a manner that there appeared but one aperture in their head -drefs for them to look through ; this circumftance gave occafion to the Bofphorian Scythians to inform Herodotus that thefe people had but one eye. In like manner, too, they told him, that beyond the country of the Arimafpians there was nothing but feathers, by which they meant nothing more than a great quantity of flakes of fnow (c).
The mod remote northern regions could not pofTibly have been difcovered all at once, but only one after another, and by degrees; and fo long as upwards of 3270 years ago, the Phenicians and Egyptians had fome knowledge of "fartejus, or Tarfiifi, for at that time lived Mofes, who makes mention of TarfiiJJj; and Herodotus, who was alive fo long as 2191 years ago, was acquainted, though imperfectly, with Great-Britain and Pruffia. The firft he knew to^ be the country of Tin, and the fecond that of Amber. So early as about 2106 years ago, Pytheas of Marfeilles had knowledge of the fame countries, as alfo of Tbule, or Iceland.
In lets enlightened times, a great deal of this knowledge was loft, and accordingly in the time of Vcfpafian, the Romans thought they had made a great difcovery, when they had found that Great-Britain was an ifland (d).
In ftill darker times, geographical knowledge became yet more contracted, till at length in our days new difcoveries have been made, which have brought us better than ever acquainted with the North, and have left us little more to difcover with refpect to thefe regions.
(c) Herodot. L. IV. Cap. 27 and 31. (d) Tacitus, vita Agricolae.
HISTORY
HISTORY
of the
VOYAGES, &c.
BOOK I.
OF THE MOST ANCIENT DISCOVERIES MADE IN THE NORTH,
CHAP. I.
Of the Voyages and Difcoveries made by the Phoenicians.
THE north was certainly not a region likely to be chofen by any people voluntarily and without compulhon for a habitation, as long as there was room for new colonies towards the eaft and the well.   It might however happen that famine, diflentions with their countrymen, and many other caufes, compelled feveral families and tribes to remove farther towards the north.   For the grcater degree of the cold of the winters there, the deficiency of fuch plants as grew fpontaneoufly, and might be ufed for food, together with the earth being (hut up by the froft for the fpace of many months, were fuflicient to deter any race of people from making choice of thofe regions for their abode.   Notwithstanding which, hiilory informs us, that thefe countries were inhabited even at an early period.
B It
It is, however, no lefs certain, that the notions entertained by the antients, relative to the north and its inhabitants, or, as the Grecians uiually called them, the Hyperboreans, were different at different periods. Accordingly it will be our endeavour, in the following pages, to mew, how this idea has been extended by degrees, In proportion as new difcoveries were made in geography, and the different nations with which the earth was peopled, became better known.
It has been known from time immemorial, that the Phoenicians wTere the firft people who attained to an extenfive knowledge of the earth and its inhabitants; a knowledge which they acquired indeed by the great extent of their voyages and commerce. That we may be the better enabled to fhew, with any tolerable degree of certainty, at how early a period the voyages of difcovcry made by the Phoenicians began, and how far they extended, it will be neceffary for us to take a fhort view of the hiftory of this people.
At a very early period of antiquity, there exifted a race of men on the fhores of the Red Sea, or of the moft northerly part of the Arabian Gulph. They dwelt in caves formed by nature in the range of hills that ran along the fea-coaft, and fpread themfelves alfo by degrees farther away from the fea-fide into the deferts, where, in like manner, they inhabited indifferently, and without making any fixed fettlement, every hole and cavity in the earth, nay, under every thorn [Rhamnus Pallurus Linn. & Na&eca Forfkal] whofe branches could afford them even a fcanty flicker. They had neither cattle nor any kind of agriculture; but near the fea, lived on fifh and other marine animals, and in the deferts on locufts, and on the tender tops and young fhoots of broom, and fome miferablc, paltry fruits from off the few plants that grew wild in thofe parts. This wretched way of life procured them various names and appellations from their more polifhed nnd civilized neighbours. The Hebrews called them Ilorites, and the children of Enai; both which denominations had a reference to their living in holes and caves: and the Grecian name of "Troglodytes is merely a translation of the former of thefe terms. From their diet they were likewise called in Greek lebtbyopbagi of fiih-eaters, Acridopbagi or locuft-3 caters,
cater?, and Hyhphagi or wood-eaters. This is an evident proof, that when they feparated from the other tribes who were occupied in cultivating the earth and tending cattle, they were not upon good terms with them; and that, in all probability, thev carried nothing with them, when they lied into the wildernefs to avoid the effects of the difpleafure and vengeance of their brethren. Confequently, they looked on all their neighbours in the light of enemies; and whoever went unarmed into the deferts which they inhabited, was fure to be robbed by them. On the other hand, whenever any one of this race went near the dwellings of the more civilized tribes, there was a general hue-and-cry raifed immediately, which quickly obliged him to betake himfelf again to the wildernefs. In the mean time neccflity made them bold and inventive. They were the firft to venture on the Red Sea, on a wretched float made of thefprays of trees faftened together, (a)\\\ order to get their livelihood by fifhing. By land they were obliged to range alone all over the deferts in queft of food; when, if they met with a woman of their race, fhe was per force obliged to fatisfy their luft: the next thorn, or hollow in the rock, was their bedchamber; and none of them, in this cafe, ever fpared even their nearcft of kin. On this account the whole race was held in the greateft deteftation by the other nations. It is thus likewife that they are defcribed by Job fbjt and the very fame picture of this people we find in Diodorus (c).
Part of this people went fo early as before the call of Abraham, into the Land of Promt]e f dj. In this country they took from Canaan, the father of their tribe, the name of Canaanites; a name they gave themfelves in publick monuments * fo late as after the victory of Alex-
(a) Plin. Lib. vii. c. 56.
(b) Job, chap. 3©. v. 1—8.
(e) Diodor. Sicul. Biblioth. Lib. iii. & Strabi. Gcograph. Lib. xiv. (d) Geneftc, chap. 12. v. 6. 13, v. 7.
# The celebrated Mr. John Swinton in the Gentleman's Magazine for Dec. 1760, p. 560, has given a defcription and diawing of a con (truck by the City of Laodicea, and beating a Spanilh or Phoenician infc iption; on which coin Laodicea is called a Metbtr-Citj, or Metre-polis in Canaan,
B 2 ander
ander the Great, in the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, which confti-tutes a period of more than 1742 years. The fhepherds pofTefTed the internal part of the country; and the part inhabited by the Ca*naanites extended from the lake of Genezareth quite to the Mediterranean. In this new habitation, commerce, together with the fabrication of a few articles of luxury and curiofity, was their chief employment, and what they fubfifted by. This they carried to fuch an extent, that at laft Canaanite and merchant became fynonymous terms. To the Greeks this nation was known by the name of Phoenicians, a name, which this latter people probably beftowed on them on account of the palms (<p«w£) which grew in that country in great abundance-.
The eftablifhment of their government, and their manners (till retained a great deal of tjjeir primitive rude and wild ftate. To every little tribe they had a icing or prince. The fame fpirit of freedom and independence, by which they were actuated in the wildernefs and on the mores of the Red Sea, flill remained with them at the time when they lived under the government of a prince in walled and fortified cities. Even fo late as a thoufand years after this, they were reproached with their licentioufnefs, impure defires, and fhameful practice of promifcuous copulation ; and in like manner the deceitfulnefs of their difpoiitions, their avarice, cruelty and perfidy became almoft proverbial.
The wars of the Elamitic princes fej9 together with the earthquake (f) which followed foon upon thefe wars, induced the few Horites, which Hill remained fcattcrcd on the lhorcs of the Red Sea, to go over to their brethren in Paieftine. Here their occupation, immediately after their arrival, was navigation and commerce (g) ; and they carried Egyptian and AfTyrian commodities from one place to another in the Mediterranean.   In the very firft commencement of their navigation, they
* It is poflible, however, that Efau's other name, Edom, which fignifies red, am! whom the Creeks have changed into a king Erytbras, may have alfo contributed towards the appellation of PLvehiciam\ as 0M'Jv£ fignifies likewife a red .:ate-colour.
(e) Genefis, chap. 14. v. 1,4..
(f) Genef. chap. 19. v. 24, 25, 28.   Hcrodot. L. i. c. I. Si Juftin. Lib. xviii. c. 3. fmj Herodotus, I. c,
made
made ufe of long flips, and arrived at fuch an acquaintance with nations and countries, as at that period, in the infancy of the world, naturally aftonifhcd the reft of mankind. For about 600 years after Noah's Hood, the navigations of the Sidonians in the Mediterranean, their trade, and t-hc flourifhing circumftances they were in in confequence of thefe, were fo famous, as to be made mention of by the dying patriarch Jacob, (h)
Very early we find mention made of Tarfiifi, the Spanifh Tartt'Jfus fij, as of a European people. For fo far, at leaft, is true, that Moses muft have heard from the Phoenicians, that there actually ex-ifted fuch a people; which people, confequently, muft have been vifited by them. But this fact he learned in the flower of his age, when he was lefs than 40 years old, at the time when he accompanied the Egyptian King Seftoris hi his grand expedition through Alia and Europe; confequently about 730 years after the deluge*. According to this calculation the Phoenicians had at that period extended then-navigation as far as Spain, and even as far as to the other fide of the Straits of Gibraltar ; and by confequence they were acquainted with all the coafts of the Mediterranean : for in thofe days, in all their voyages, navigators followed the coafts, and went to as little diftance from it as poflible, This diftant navigation was continually extending; and, beyond the Straits, they went as well to the left hand and fouth-wards along the coaft of Africa, as likewife to the right hand and northwards along the coafts of Spain and Gaul, 'till they at laft reached the Britifh fhore, and there found both AW and //>/, both which metals were known fo early as in the time of Mofcs (k). And thefe metals were, according to the univerfal teftimony of the ancients, no where to be found but in the Britifh iflands (I).   Accordingly they were
i
(h) Genef. chap. 49. v. 13.
(i) Genef. chap. 10. v. 4.
* Vide J. R. Fcrftcri Epiftolx ad Jo. Dav. Michaelem, hujus fpicilegium gcographiac He-brxorum efcterae jam con firman tcs, jam caftigantes, p. 1—7, & p. iy—24. (k) Numbers, chap. 31. v. 24.
(!) Herodotus, Lib. iii. cap. 115. where he cor.fefles, that it was hroiuhl aloig with am. her from the faithe/t extremity of Europe.
called
called the Sorting or Scilly iflands ; likewife the CaJJiterides, or Tin-iflands; and in the language of the country, this land is called Bro-or Bra-tain, viz. the land of tin: an appellation which it prefer ved in the times of the Romans, and indeed has preferved it even to this day. Nay, as Pliny exprefsly fays ** that a certain Midacritus firft brought lead and tin from the Caflitcrian iflands, we have reafon to fuppofe that the name of this perfon was corrupted, and we can almoft take upon us pofitively to affert, that it is a Phoenician name. Betides tin and lead, which the Phoenicians, and no other nation whatever, fetched from Britain (m) , they likewife brought amber from the moft remote regions of Europe. To the Greeks amber was known fo early as in the times of Herodotus, and perhaps of Homer; and yet we are well allured, that it was only to be had from the countries bordering on the German Ocean ; but no Greeks ever went to thofe parts : for the utmoft extent of their commerce was to the Phoenician colony of Cadiz confequently, the trade of the Phoenicians muft have extended as far as Prullia, which is one of the moft aftonifhing voyages that ever was undertaken by any people in the infancy of the world.
This early acquaintance of the ancients with the north of Europe cannot be denied under the pretext, that afterwards, in the times of the Greeks and Romans, rather lefs, if any thing, was known of thefe regions than is fuppofed to have been known to the Phoenicians : for it is the very fame cafe with refpect to the circumnavigation of Africa. It is at prefent proved almoft to a demonftration*, that the Phceni-
** PJinii Hift. Nat. L. vii. cap. 56. Indeed the name of MH^AKPlTOS appears origi-riuJly to have been MEAK.APTOS, which was properly cne of the appellations of the Phaml. dan or Tyrian Hercules. And the word Hercules *. r Harokel in the Phcsnician language figni-ficd a merchant.
(m) Strabonis Geograph. Lib. iii. fub finem.
*    Vid,  'Job. Mattb. Gejheri Prtfkcliones de Phcen'uuin extra C'olumnas Herculis Na-vigatio-m'lus, at the end of his edition of the Orphic!; likewife Jug. L«i. Scb Inzer's Sketch of a General Hiftory of Commerce and Navigation in the remoter! antiquity ; and the Chevalier Joh, Dav. Michaelis's Spicilegium Geographic Hcbrxorum extern poft Bochartum.   Pars prima.
p. 82---10).
cians
cians and Egyptians have more than once undertaken and happily accomplished the circumnavigation of this quarter of the globe. Even the celebrated voyages to Opbir of the Phoenicians and Hebrews in Solomon's time, were nothing elfe than circumnavigations of Africa -f, and yet they were all forgotten ; and when Vafco Gama in the years 1497 anQi H98 failed round Africa to the Indies, it was confide ed as an abfolutely novel undertaking, and a voyage that had never been attempted before.
In order the better to fecure to themfelves the very important commerce of thefe countries, the Phoenicians founded colonies and cities every where in the moft commodious places, as far as their voyages extended.
About 80 years after the Trojan war, the city of Gades (or Cadix) was founded in a iinall ifland not far from TartcfJ'us in Spain, and foon afterwards that of Utica in Africa fnj. They had long before this traded thither, and had already found their way to Britain j they had likewife made voyages to Greece, Thrace and Italy, and had even peopled and founded cities in Cittium, Thera, Argos, Thebes, Samo-thrace and Thafus; nay, they had, in all probability, extended their commerce as far as the Black Sea to Bithynia and Colchis. Their very lucrative traffick however to Africa, and efpecially to Spain, induced them to creel: on the hither fide of it, on an ifland near Tarteflus, a
t The land of Ophir is, in my opinion, the fame with thatwhich was otherwife called Africa, The Phoenicians fent out for the purpofe by the Egyptian King and Conqueror Ssfojirii and his father Pumaifuor Jmafis i. gradually difcovered, together with th- Egyptians  who were joined with them, the coafis of all Africa : hence we meet with fuch admirable, and, in fart, comprehc-n-five accounts of the natives of Africa fo early as in Mofes's time, in the xth book of Gencfis. Now gold and other precious commodities being found in many parts of Africa, this newly difcovered country became celebrated and got a great name : and this in the Egyptian language it Ov-ftf/, and, with the addition of the word ku.* , which fignifies a country, Oy-J/f  letc*, (i.e. the celebrated country) Opbiri and Ophirikab.    The third epocha of the circumnavigation of Africa fell in the time of Solomon, nearly 500 years later.   Three hundred and eighty years after this Kecbo gave orders for the circumnavigation of Africa to be performed; and in ihe reign of Ptolemy BttergeM II. one Eudoxus failed once more round Africa, which is 450 years later thai the voyage of Necho : and yet in Strabo's time many people doubted of the portability of making the tour of Africa by fea. (») Veil Paterc. ilift. Lib. i. cap. i.
fortified
fortified place, which they might make ufe of as a repofitory or warehouse for the Spanifh trade. From hence they fpread as far as Britain and PrurTia, and filled their magazines with the commodities which they had got by way of barter for their glafs, purple die, cloth, and all forts of manufactures and productions of ingenuity and art, and vended again in Phoenician and all the countries and towns on the fhores of the Mediterranean, and that almolt always to advantage.
Shortly after this, we find Phoenician colonies on every ifland in the Mediterranean, in the Balearic iflands, in Sardinia, Corlica, Sicily,. Malta, and many parts of the northern coaft of Africa.
Nothing, however, is more worthy of remark, than the foundation qf a new Phoenician State on the African Coaft. About 140 years after the building of the Temple of Solomon at Jerufalem, Elissa or Dido fled from Tyre in order to avoid the folicitations and perfecuti-ons of her brother, who was king of that place. She landed firft in Cyprus, an ifland on which at that time there had long been Phoenician trading towns and colonies, and which her father had very lately brought more under fubjection than ever, foj. Here flie was accompa-nanied by a prieft, and her followers took wives along with them : and fo the failed with her younger brother Barcas and her fifter Anna to Africa. As foon as fhe arrived, fhe bought a piece pf ground of the Africans, for the purpofe of building on it a fortification; to this, from the oxes hide, on which when fhe made the negotiation, fhe fit by way of carpet after the eaftern manner, fhe gave the name of Byrfa. About 25 years after this, juft under the fort which was fituated on an eminence, and whither more and more Phoenicians continually rcigi'ted, fhe laid the foundation of a new city, which accordingly was called Cartha-chadta or Nen.e-town : or as it was abbreviated by the Greeks, Karehedon, and according to the Latin pronunciation, Carthago, The fertility of the adjacent foil, the excellence of the harbour, the happy feite of the town, in the center of fo many
(") Virgilis /Kneeis, L. i, v. 621, biz.
rich
rich iflands and countries conveniently fituated for carrying on a lucrative commerce, together with the induftry of the inhabitants, all contributed greatly to the rapid incrcafe and improvement of the colony. It was not long before, in confequence of the enlargement of its territory, it became a feparate State ; and this inconfiderable State foon increafed to a kingdom, which, from the firft building of the city to its deftruction, in all 700 years, extended its dominion over a confiderable portion of Africa, and over a great part of Spain, Sicily, Corfica, and Sardinia, as likewife over the Balearic Iflands.
The internal regulation of the State, the moft perfect: and refined policy often fhewn and practifed by it, the numerous wars carried on for the protection and extenfion of its commerce; the emoluments arifing to it from this commerce (which was extended to the moft remote countries) as well as from the fllver mines of Spain, and from the active diligence and unwearied induftry of its inhabitants, contributed very much to the rapid incrcafe of their power, of their riches, and of their profperity in general.
The great variety of profefTions and arts, which fubfifted at Carthage in the moft flourifhing flate; the fpirit of emulation, the fkill arifmgfrom experience, and the great art exhibited by them in the conftrucTion and navigation of their fhips ; the fpirit of cnterprize and the courage regulated by prudence which manifefted itfelf in all their undertakings, foon put them in a condition to extend their commerce to thofe nations with which the Phoenicians had, till then, carried on an exclufive trade.—Soon after the State of Carthage had acquired a fuflicient degree of firmnefs and confiftence, the power of the Phoenicians decayed, tor about 120 years after the building of Carthage, Salmanaff'ar, king °f Affyrm> made war on the united States-of Phoenicia; and the cities in Cyprus, as well as the cities of Akra, Sidon and old Tyre, revolted from the kingdom of Tyre. Thefe internal troubles and infurrections among the Phoenicians themfelves, joined to the victories of the AfTy-rians, confiderably weakened their power. In the fpace of 150 years more the States of Tyre, after having fuftaincd a 13 years fiege, be- [ came fubject to Ncbuchadnczar, king of Chahhea. The reft of the Phoe- ,
C nician
nician States had likewife fallen into the hands of the Chaldeans, and the whole commerce of this nation was now entirely annihilated. This event ferved greatly to throw the trade of the Phoenicians entirely into the hands of the Carthaginians. In confequence of this, the power and credit of this latter people, as well as their riches, cn-Creafed great!y, on which account it was, that about this period, or rather later, they formed the defignef getting into ftill more branches of the trade of the moil remote countries, by means of voyages of difcovery made for the purpofe. Being therefore at that time in the height of their profperity, (p) they fent out two fquadrons of fhips with this view. One of thefe was under the command of Hanno, and went out of the Straits of Gibraltar to the fbuthward, along the African coafl. The other was commanded by Imilco or Himilco, and failed out of the Straits northwards along the coafts of Spain and Gaul to Bjitain *. Accurate accounts of both thefe voyages were drawn up and were preferved in the archives of Carthage. The fouthern voyage is defcribed in a Greek fragment. And on the fubject of that of the northern Admiral, there are extant fome obfeure, mutilated Latin verfes. In fliort, it appears that the voyages which had been relinquifhed by the Phoenicians in confequence of the deftruction of their towns and of the ftate of flavery to which they were reduced after the conqueft made of them
(p) Plinii Hiftor. nat. Lib. ii. Cap. 67, & L. v. c. 1.
* Rufus Fejlus Avienus Ora? maritime, verfn 17 — 415. Avienus fays exprefsly : that all which he there relates, is taken out of the Punic Himilco, which he had feen himfelf; and that he had extra&cd from the very inmoft of the Punic Annals, and had made it public to pleafe his friend Probus. NotwithUanuing this aflertion, this geographical fragment appears to be very much mutilated, and very incoherent. In it he (peaks much of lead and tin, and of fhips cafed with leather, (which in Kimtfchatka would be called Baidars, and in Wales Coracles) and mentions that in thofe parts the Eajl-rymui lived, to whom the people of Tarteffus and Carthage went, for
the purpefe of tracing with them.-Yet I will not deny, but that it fjraettmes appears, as if
thefe tin countries (agreeably to what Avienus fays) all lay in Spain ; on which account I confi-
der this fragment of Avienus as very imperfeft and much matilated.-Thus much, however,
is. certain ; that at the very fame time that Hanno failed to the fouthward, Himilco made a voyage towards the North, to the tin countries, and that an accurate account of this voyage was preferved in the annals of Carthage, which were Rill extant in the middle of the 5 th century, at the time when Avienus wrote (viz. about the year 450). Perhaps the Enjl-rymni were fituatcd at the promontory of Ocrinum in Britain.
by the Affyrians and Chaldaeans, gave occafion to the Carthaginians to make themfelves better acquainted with the countries whence their kinf-men and allies, the Phoenicians, had derived fuch confiderable advantages,   and being once in poffeflion of thofe advantages, they ufed every means in their power to exclude ethers from participating with them.   It is therefore not to be wondered at, that although fome few reports got abroad, that Braetain was the tin-country, or that Baltia on the river Rhodun, where the Aefti lived, not far from the Guttoni, was the country that "produced amber, neverthelefs their posterity in later times had not the leaft: knowledge left of the true fituation of thefe countries, it being the intereft as well of the Phoenicians as of the Carthaginians after them, to conceal as much as poffible the real fituation of thefe countries from others.   In a fubfequcnt period the Romans, being as defirous to difcover thefe fources of the wealth of the Carthaginians as they were to conceal them, fent a verlel out for that purpofe, with orders for it to fail in the wake of a Phoenician Ihip bound for Britain.   This was foon obferved by the wary Carthaginian, In confequence of which he ran his velTel purpofely among the rocks and find-banks, fo that it was loft together with that of the inquifitive Roman.   The patriotic commander of the  former was indemnified for his lofs by his country: and thus the way to the Britifh tin mines was for a confiderable time longer (q) concealed from the Romans.   But now the North likewife,  together with all the nations and regions in that quarter, continued to be unknown; and an acquaintance with it was rendered ftill more difficult by this feliifh concealment; and in all probability the civilization and refinement of the manners of mankind was ftill farther retarded bv this circumftance.
(q) Strain) Lib, iii, fub finem.
\
C H A P.
CHAP. II.
Of the Voyages and Difcoveries made by the Grecians.
TH E Grecians were originally a people, that had at an early period of time palled from yJJia Minor to the peninfula which they inhabited. In procefs of time they were civilized by new-comers from Afia Minor, Phoenicia and Egypt. From Ajia they received many arts and profeflions, together with agriculture and the cultivation of the vine. The Egyptians feem to have introduced among them the regulations of civil eltabliihment, matrimony, laws, and many of their religious doctrines. From the Phoenicians they learned navigation, commerce, aftronomy and the ufe of letters.
As foon as they had got fome kind of eftabliihment, which was merely in the form of little independent States, they began to practife navigation: and their rude, unfettled way of life, their internal commotions and mutual diflentions, together with their warlike turn of mind, difpofed them to piracy. But when they arrived at a higher degree of civilization, they were infenfibly led to commerce. At an early period they undertook an expedition towards the North, through the Straits which feparate Alia from Europe, into the Black Sea as far as the river Phafis, celebrated for its golden fands. They returned by fome rivers, which they failed up, and after a confiderable time and going a great way about, at length arrived again in their native country. As romantic as this expedition appears, it is neverthelefs founded upon truth. The Argonauts, without doubt, viiited a great many countries in the North. Only we cannot at this period of time determine what circuit they took in their way back. They went, no doubt, to the Hyperboreans, a nation, the fituation of which was, according to cir-cumflances, frequently varied by the Grecians. Indeed, every tract: of country that lay towards the North, or that was (lieltcrcd by its fituation from the violence of the north wind, might lay claim to this appellation.
Thus
DISCOVERIES in t hu NORTH. 13
Thus they at firft met with the Hyperboreans beyond thofe tracts of Thrace, which lie to the north of Greece; for Boreas, the ravifher of Orythia, lived in the land of the Cicones. fsj Afterwards, when the world had acquired a more extenfive acquaintance with the northern regions, they removed this people to the other fide of the Black Sea, the Danube and the Adriatic Sea, where lived the Sauromates, the Arimafpians and the Celts, ft $ Atna ftill later period they placed them beyond theRiphacan mountains, where they had fix months day and fix months night, and where, without contentions and quarrels, in a warm and extraordinarily fertile country, they paffed their days in repofe and happinefs, till fatia-ted with life, their heads adorned with flowers, they precipitated themfelves from a certain rock into the fea. fuj It is eafy to perceive that thefe accounts are formed out of various others aukwardly put together. In the infancy of navigation there went a report among the Grecians concerning certain Fortunate Iflands (as they were termed) lying at a~great diftance to the weftward (probably the Canary Iflands and the Ifland of Madeira) which were warm and fertile, and peopled with a race of men living to a great age, in a calm, delightful ftate of repofe and happinefs. fx) On the other hand, the account of days and nights of fix months long belongs to the defcription of Tbule, as indeed we fhall have occafion in the fequel to mention. Were thefe northern regions where the nights and days were imagined to be of fuch an extraordinary length, actually the fame with the Fortunate I/lands, they might in this cafe be the Hyperborei of the Grecians. But unfortunately they have nothing in common with thefe others, but their being iituated beyond the Straits of Gibraltar. The Fortunate Iflands lie to the fouth-weft of the Straits, and Thule almoft directly to the northward of them.
Probably at an earlier period, and before the Fortunate Iflands were pitched upon as the feat of the Plyperboreans, the refidence of thefe people was transferred to Spain.   For, according to fome accounts,
(ij Hynmus Orpliicns (79) in Borcam. v. z, & Ovid. Metam. vi. 709. (t) Suabo, Lib. ii.
(>0 Mela, Lib. ill. 5. Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. iv. 12, & Lib. vi. 13.   Sottn, xxi. (x) Mccka^v ;wq; Strabo, Lib. i. & Plin. Lib. vi. c. 32, & Plutarch in Sertorio.
the
the prefents which this nation fent to Delos for Apollo, came through the hands of the Scythians (or Celtae) to the Hadriatic Gulf, from thence to the Dodomeans, then by the Sinus Maliacus to Caryftus and Tenos, and fo at laft to Delos. (y) One fees very plainly from the track by which thefe prefents came, that they came from the weftward: and as beyond the Adriatic Celts, there lay only the Spaniards farther on towards that quarter, the Hyperboreans and thefe people, according to the foregoing accounts, muft have been one and the fame nation. There it is likewife probable that they might have offered up afTes in facrifice, which are uncommonly beautiful in this country, fzj where the laurel, with which they were wont to encircle their temples, grew in abundance, and whence Hercules brought the olive which he planted in Pifa. (a) The different fituations of the country of the Hyperboreans here mentioned, fhew very evidently the progrefs of human affairs and opinions. At firft the Greeks were very near the extremities of the North. But in proportion as their knowledge of different countries and nations increafed, the extremity of the North was carried farther back ; indeed in the infancy of navigation they had no juft idea of the fituation of countries with refpecl: to the Heavens. They therefore continually carried their North farther on to the weftward, viz. to Poland and Bohemia on the other fide of the Riphaci, to Gaul, to Spain, and at laft to the Canary Iflands.
The firft celebrated Grecian writer, who had any knowledge of the North, though that was but very imperfect, was Homer. He fpeaks of the Cimmerians, who live in conftant darknefs. (b) This i.s undoubtedly an error, for the Cimmerians did not live in Italy; but in the Crim, and beyond that in Ruflia, where the nights in winter are very long, which gave rife to this fable. But Homer, in his travels to Phoenicia and Egypt, had collected many accounts from travellers ,who had undertaken long and diftant voyages; and he made a point
(y) Heroclot. Lib. iv. 32.
(%) Pindar, Pyth. Ode. x 46, & feq.
(a) Pindar. Q.Iymp. iii. 55.
(t>) 11 oiiicr i OdyflT. A. 14—19.
to
to interweave every thing he had heard into the body of his poems. Confequently, it is not fo much to be wondered at, if he was fome-times miitaken in the fituation of countries with which he was acquainted only by hearfay : but, on the other hand, thofe which he had actually feen himfelf, were fo much the more prefent to his imagination. His defcriptions of Greece appeared fo finking to the Greeks, and fo decihve on account of their cxactnefs, that in every difpute concerning their refpeetive boundaries, they applied to the poems of Homer, and the authority of thefe records was refpected and acknowledged by all parties.
In defcribing what Telemachus faw at the houfe of Menelaus, Homer makes mention of Eleffrum or Amber, and in two places more he defcribes *' golden collars fet with amber," which makes it probable either that thefe materials had been brought to Greece by the Phoenicians ; or elfe that Menelaus had received them by way of prefent from the King of Sidon. This mineral, which was fo much eitcemed by the ancients, was brought to them from Pruilia; confequently, neither it, nor the country it came from, could be totally unknown to the Greeks, any more than tin, a metal with which Homer was likewife acquainted, and which probably was in thofe days brought from Britain.
Thefe meager accounts, however, are not calculated to give us much information. Herodotus, who lived 408 years before Chrift was born, even at that early period was acquainted with the Cafpian and Black Seas, with the Wolga, the Don, a great part of Ruflia and Poland, together with the Crim and Beflarabia, and the Rivers Moldau and Danube. His knowledge of thefe places was undoubtedly very exact, as he had converfed much with the Scythians, and from them had learned the fituation of thefe countries, feas, and rivers, and the manners and cuftoms of the refpeclive inhabitants of thefe regions.   With the country of the Celtae, however, he was not atall
fO Homeri Odyfl*. A. 73. O. 459, & 2. 295. (d) Homeri Iliad. 5. 474.
acquainted,
acquainted, for he affirmed that the Ifter took its rife in the country of the Chinefe and Pirrbent. The Cafliterian Iflands, whence tin was brought, were known to him by name; and in like manner he had heard of the country that produced amber, fituate at the extremity of Europe but to the true fituation of thefe countries he was an utter ffranger.
About 70 years after the time of Herodotus, the Phocacan colony, Maffilidy appears to have formed the defign of partaking of the wealth which the Phoenicians and Carthaginians had acquired by their commerce. The expeditions of Hanno and Himilco were every where fpoken of; but the way to the Tin Country, and to the weflern part of Africa, remained unknown to all. The Maffilians, therefore, about this time, fent out Euthymenes, to fearch for the way which Hanno had taken, when he made his difcoveries in the South; and Pytheas was commilTioned to follow the track of Himilco, and to make difcoveries in the North. Of Euthymenes, (e) little more than the name is handed down to us; but concerning Pytheas, divers writers give us information, (f) He was certainly a man that had great knowledge of nature, was thoroughly vcrfed in aftronomy, and was indued in a high degree with courage, and a true philosophical fpirit of obfer-vation. He was one of the firft among the Greeks who were acquainted with the real caufe of the ebbing and flowing of the fea, and afcribed thefe phenomena to the influence of the moon. In the Mediterranean, the ebb and Hood-is fo fmall, that it has been hitherto fuppofed that it could not be obferved there at all. We find, however, by the latefl obfervations made at Toulon, that even there, three hours fifteen minutes after the moon has pa fifed its meridian, the tide rises one foot, and in the highdt fpring- tides, augmented by the concurrence of other caufes, it fwells as high as two feeti - This ele-
(e) Seneca? Nat. Quaeft. Lib, iv. cap. 2. k Marcian Heracleeta. p. 63. Ed. Hudfoni inter Geogr. Graecos minores.  t. I,
(f) Plutarch, de placitia philofoph. Lib. iii. art. 18. Strab. Lib. ii. Hipp.archus Comment, in A rat. Lib. ii. c. 5. Cleomcdes de Sphacra. Gcminus Ifagoges. c. 5. Plin. Hilt. Nat, Lib. ii. cap. 75. iv. c. 16. vi. 34.
4 vation,
vation, however, was fo inconfiderablc,   that none of the ancients took notice of it,  but as foon as they had got through the Straits of Gibraltar into the great Ocean,   the tide became fo new and fo ftriking a phenomenon to them, that they then for the firft time looked on it as a fuhjccl: of wonder and aftonifhment.    Such, in fad, it appeared to Laslius, when he bore up againft the Carthaginian fleet, commanded by Adherbal in thefe Straits.   The light Carthaginian vefTels were obliged to give way more to the tide, and two of them were funk by one Roman (hip fgj.   Alexander's fleet fuffered greatly at the mouth of the Indus fbj, and Julius Caefar was likewife very little acquainted with the currents caufed by the tide, when he arrived in the Britifh Ocean fij9 on which occafion he loft a good many fhips.   This phenomenon, as may be fuppofed, excited all the ftudious men of antiquity to give their opinions concerning it.   Cicero, Strabo, Seneca, and Pliny, have all made mention of it, and attributed the caufe of it to the moon (k).   But thefe writers lived three hundred years after the deceafe of Pytheas, of whom it is recorded,  that he affirmed " that the flood-tide depended on the incrcafe of the moon, but the tide of ebb on its decreafe (I)"   Were we at prefent in poiTeffion of the works of Pytheas, which, in fact, were ftill extant in the fifth century, we might then know, whether the author, who has handed down to us this faying of Pytheas, has reported it precifely in the terms in which it was delivered ; for I have fome reafon to doubt whether his meaning has been rightly underftood.   It is not the tide of flood, but the encreafed height of the tide of flood that depends on the new and full moon, in like manner as the leffer height of it is obfervable in the firft and laft quarters. This could not poffibly efcape the obfervation of Pytheas, who had failed fo far upon this fea, and
CgJ Livii I lift. Lib. xxviii. c. 30.
(k) Q^Curtii, Lib. ix. c. 9.   Arrian. Exped. Alex. Lib. vi. c. 18. (') CiiLir de Bell > Gall. Lib. iv. parag. 85. S6. Edit. Else*.
(k) Cicero dc Natura Deor. Lib. ii. c. 7,   Strabo, Lib. iii.   Seneca dc Providcntia, c, I. 1*15". Hilt. N.t. Lib. ii. c. 97.
CO Plutarchusde Pladtis & Diftis Philofoph. Lib. iii. art. 17.
D (agreeably
(agreeably to the method practifed at that time) conttantly along the coait. But it is not at all unlikely that fome Philofopher, who without having ever actually feen the Ocean, had contented himfelf with navigating it in his own chamber, mould have not been able to comprehend this paifage of Pytheas, and have mifreprefented it accord ingly.
Pytheas, even before he fet out on his journey, appears to have occupied himfelf in obferving the Heavens. Before his time, it was believed, that the Polar Star, or the outermod ftar in the Bear's Tail, was next to the Pole: but he pointed out three more flars, with which the North Star formed a fquare, and in this fquare was the true place of the Pole. (m\ Pie likewife erected at Marfeilles, his birth place, a pillar or gnomon, and from the proportion which the height of this gnomon bore to the length of the fhadow caff, by it at the fummer folflice, he found, with great exattnefs and precifion, the north latitude of the City of Marfeilles, or its diflance from the Equator. Hence Eratofthenes, and Hipparchus, inferred very juilly, that this latitude amounted to 34 deg. 17 min. a precifion, which in the then infant ftate of Aftronomy, one could hardly fuppofe any perfon capable of. In fact, Wen del in prevailed upon Gassendi to correct this obfervation >, who accordingly found that it hardly differed a minute from the real latitude (n).
It muff be confcfTcd,*' that Pytheas, with fuch extent!vc as well as folid acquifitions in fcience, was perfectly well qualified for the great enterprife to which he was appointed. He failed out of the Straits along the coafts of Portugal, Spain, and Gaul, till he defcried that of Britain, along which he likewife coafted till he came to the very northern moft point of it, and from thence failed fix days longer till he difcovered Thule foj, where at the fummer folftice, the fun did not fet for 24 hours.   From this defcription of Thule, fome have ima-
(m) Hipparchi Comment, in Arat. Lib. ii. c. 5.
(n) GaHl-ndi Proportio Gnomonis ad Solftitialem Umbram Obfcrvata Maflilix, Anno 1638. Oper. Tomo iv. p. 565 &fcq. (9) Plin. Hill. Nat. Lib. ii. c. 75, & iv. c. 16.
gincd
gined it to be Iceland. But if we confulcr, that in the manner of failing ufed at that time, it was impoffible to get from the northern moil point in Britain, to Iceland, in the fpace of fix days, we lliall rather be inclined to fuppofe that it was the Shcthmd Iflands that he reached. For though, in fact, it is only within the Arctic Circle, or in lat. 66\ dcg. that the day is 24 hours long at the fummer folftice, yet it cannot be denied, but that by means of the refraction of the atmofphere it is ftill fo light at this period, even in the 60th degree of latitude, that one may read, write, and t ran fact any bufinefs whatever without any other light than that of the fun. And indeed, this great man's knowledge of Aitronomy enabled him to infer with great certainty the total elevation of the fun above the horizon; for at every place he came to, he afked the inhabitants in what part of the heavens the fun rofe and fet. Now, thefe points he found approached each other in proportion as he went farther to the Northward; whence he might ealily conclude, that at about the 66th deg. the fun never fet at the time of the fummer folftice.
Pliny fiys likewife that Pytheas had feen the tide on the Britim Coaft rife to theheighth of 80 cubits, or 120 feet. But we know, that it is only in narrow feas, fuch as the Britifh Channel, that the tide rifes to any great heighth. The greateft heighth to which it riles at Breft, is 23 feet. In Briftol too, it mounts as high as to 42 ; and in St. Malo, to 48 feet. The text, therefore, in Pliny, is certainly cor--r up ted*.
A day's journey on the other fide of Thule, according to Pytheas, the fea was coagulated, whence it is called Cronium**.   The fact is,
D 2 that
* Plin. Hlft. Nat. Lib. ii. c. 97. OSlogcnis cubitii fupra Britanniam intumefcere ajlus, Pytheas Mofjihenjis auclor ej}. Perhaps the fyllable <vi has been omitted after Otlo by the copyifb, fo that the paffage fhould be read, Oclo *>tcekit cubitis, lSc, which makes it 42 feet, i. e. ujual to the greateft heighth of the tide at Briftol.
** Plin. Hift. Nat. Lib. iv. c. 16. A Thule canius dici navigatione mare concretvm, a iion-nullis Cranium appcllatum. And inc. 13. Septemtrionalis Ocean us ; amalcbiitm eum Hecateus adpellat, a Paroparriifo amne, qu '. Scythiam alluit, quod nomen ejus gentis lingua fignificat cow-gelatum. Philemon Mcrimomfam a Cimbris vocari, hoc eft, mortuum mare, ufque ad promontorium
Kjibeas: ultra deinde Cranium.-Tacitus de Mpribm Germ. c.45. Trans Suionas ali-.'d mare
figrum
that he knew from the relations made him by the inhabitants, that part of the North Sea in fevere winters was covered with ice; whick part indeed at times, in cafe of a hard froit, was concreted in fuch a manner, and, as it were, coagulated in the fpace of one night, as to be entirely converted into ice.
Pytheas, however, not content with having made thefe difcoveries, was delirous likewife of becoming acquainted with the region whence the Phoenicians ufed to fetch their amber. He muft certainly have had fome directions, either oral or written, which he followed in his enquiriesotherwife it muft appear abfolutely impoffible for him to have penetrated quite to the farthermoft part of the Baltic,, and there hit exactly on the very fpot of the Southern Coaft where it is found in the greatefr. abundance. And yet, we have great reafon to fuppofe him to have been perfectly well acquainted with the fpot; as we may very plainly perceive even from the fragments of Pytheas pre-ferved in the writings of the later Geographers, that he knew the fituation of the whole place, and that he was likewife acquainted with the neighbouring nations, and the adjacent rivers; and that he was even no ilranger to the names given to thefe places by the inhabitants themfelves.
pigrurn ac prope immotum—quodextremus cadetuls jam foils fulgor in ortus eduraf, adeo clarus,. uLiidera hebetet. —— Dionyf. Peiicgetes. v. 32, 33.
riovlov f/,w u.:-Metri llfennrOTA te kPONION *» A> Xei <i'av nai hZKPOH t^ifAicu,/, £tv«x M^AUfUr HtAia.
And Orpheus Argonautic, v. 1079, 108a.. Ty.iTl-t f ilKittVft', KPONION $t tKix\n?KU<ri rtavlsv TUEPBOPEirN /xlf.Trti;,. NBlt i'lIM ti &*}ut«r<IT.
Strabo, Lib. ii. obferves from Pytheas of Marfeille ■, that in the vicinity of Thule to the N r inward, the fea is neither Land, nor fea, nor air,, but a mixture of all.
One may plainly perceive that all the authors cited sbove, have taken the expreflions by which they defcribed the Frozen Northern Ocean, from one and the fame fourcc, viz. from Pytheas of Marfeilles, who had heard them h;mfelf made ufe of by the Celtic or Gaelic inhabitants of the neighbouring regions; for even the names mentioned here are Gaelic and Welfli, Mori-marufa comes undoubtedly frq.n Mor, in Wellh, Sea, and Mamu, dead; which Pliny has very properly tranflated " the Dead Sea." Muri-croinn in the Irilh language liquifies an incruft-d, thick, co igulated fea ; snd cenfequently the epithet of Man Crcnlum is by no means t > be derived from JLpivoi or Saturn.
The
The information he gives us on this fubject is as follows: "on the " mores of a certain Bay (Aeftuarium or Eirth) called Mc?it on onion, *' lives a people called Guttoni, and at the diftancc of a day's voyage '* from thence is the iiland Abalus, (called by Timaeus Baltia) upon *' this the waves throw the amber, which is a coagulated matter call " up by the fea ;  they ufe it for firing in (lead of wood, and alfo fell " it to the neighbouring Teutones fpj".   All this is as exact as it is polTible for it to be;  for upwards of 1700 years after, we find traces of the truth of this;  the provinces of Nadraiten and Schala-vonia are to this very day called Gudde, and their inhabitants Guddai, in the Lithuanian tongue of the Sudavians, Galindians, and Natangians (q). The Bay is the FriJJj and Curifi Haf, or fea.   It is from 8 to 16 miles wide, and this ufed to be a fhort day's trip, "confequently the oppofite iiland or iflands, were on the very fame fpot where they are now. The name of Mcntonofnon fignifies the promontory of pine-trees, (men^-daniemi) and in fact on both peninfulas or necks of land here, -we find large forefts of thefe trees.   The fpot on Samland, where the amber was calf, moft plentifully on the fhore, bore, fo late as in the time of the Crufades, the name of Witt land, or Wittlandts Ort, i. e. Whit eland    now this in the Lithuanian tongue is Baltikka, from Bal-tos, i. e. white ; and therefore I mould prefer reading in Pliny, AbaU tica or Baltia, inftead of Abahts.   Neither was it cuitomary with the inhabitants to burn amber inftead of wood,  but only to fet it on fu*e, probably by way of fumigation or perfume; and they fold it to thofe Teutones or Germans that lived neareft to them.
From Pytheas's, or fome other ancient relations of the Greeks, it was moreover known, that the fubfiance known by the name of amber, came from the river Raduhn, and this name was foon changed by the Greeks into Eridamts, (viz. the PoJ or Rkodanus, i, e. the river Rhone ; in like manner as the Wends, or Vandals, who lived to th* weftward of the Viftula, were, without the leaft fhadow of reafon^
(p) Plin. Lib. xxxvii.  c. 2.
(qj PnEtorius Act. Boruflic. ii. p. 900,
4- confounded
confounded with the Veneti, refiding on the coaft of the Adriatic. Confequently, with iEfchylus, they looked for amber in Iberia or Spain, or with JLuripides and Apollonius, on the mores of the Adriatic.
This is the fubflance of the relations of the Difcoveries made by Pytheas ; relations, which even after all the fallifications of names made by thofe who copied after him, are found to be as accurate and exact as they are important. But of what confequence thefe Difcoveries of Pytheas were to his native country, we are entirely ignorant, as not the lead intelligence on this fubjecl: has been preferved to our days. Since that time, the affairs of the Greeks continually declined more and more; fo that we hear nothing farther of any Voyages or Difcoveries made by them in the North, as their power and dominion paffed into the hands of a quite different nation.
CHAP, III.
Of the Voyages and 'Difcoveries of the Romans in the North.
TH E Romans in the firft years fubfequent to the fettling of their ftate, gave themfelves very little trouble about knowledge or learning of any kind ; agriculture and war being their principal occupations ; infomuch, that they fometimes fet Generals at the head of their armies, who, a few days before, had held the plough with their own hands, Confequently they likewife knew very little of fuch countries and people, as lay beyond their next neighbours.
At a period when the Phoenicians had long before viiited the coafts of Spain and Britain, when the Grecians had in like manner already navigated the whole Mediterranean, the Romans had hardly any knowledge at all of commerce and navigation.   Thofe Greeks
who
who had carried their arts into Hctruria, and who fometimes ftrayed as far as Rome itfelf, had, however, difFufed in Rome fo much information concerning Greece, that they had in this city fome knowledge oi the famous oracle of Delphi, and had heard of the laws of Draco and Solon. Moreover, when commerce had brought the Carthaginians to the coafts of Italy, the Romans, foon after they had expelled the royal family of the Tarquins, made a treaty with this people. For 364 years after the foundation of their ftate, they had not yet heard of that great and numerous people the Gauls, who at that time lived not fourfcore miles from the gates of their city; and, indeed, at that very juncture likewife took it, but were not able to keep poiTeiTion of their conqueft. About 107 years after this event, the Romans were continually employed in fighting thefe Gauls in the neighbourhood of the city of Rome. About 64 years after this, the Romans muff, have already been in fome meafure acquainted with Spain, as they had at this period made a league with the Sagunti; and two years after this, the firft Roman army that ever was in Spain, marched thither under the command of the Scipios; and in about ten years fubfequent to this, they had entirely driven the Carthaginians out of the country, and remained fole poflefTors of that very wealthy region. All Italy had by this time been over-ran and conquered by the Romans. The Gauls, who refided in the upper part of it, were already fubject to them; And they now, in the 156th year antecedent to the Chriftian a?ra, for the firft time waged war on the other fide of the Alps. In 33 years after this, that part ©f Gaul, which is bounded by the fea to the fouthward, by the Alps to the eaftward, and by the Pyrenna?an Mountains to the weft, and extends northwards from Geneva, along the river Rhone, to the Ce-vennian Mountains, and along thefe, weftward, to the Garonne and the Pyrennees, was a Roman Province. But of the remaining part of Gaul, the Romans had but very confufed ideas. Their merchants, indeed, carried their wines to the thirfty Gauls all over the country ; juft as the Britons at this time do rum to the North Americans, and the Europeans trading to the Weftern Coaft of Africa and to
Guinea,
Guinea, do brandy to the Negroes. This occasioned the internal part of Gaul to be- better known to the Romans than it had been before. Scarcely eight years had paffed fince the fubje&ion of the Provincia Narbonenfis, when they had the ■ news at Rome of the approach of two northern nations, which were called Cimbri and Teutones. The former of thefe probably had that appellation from Ktrmpfen, to fight, viz. Hampers, or combatants; for long after the period here alluded to, the northern heroes continued to diftinguiOi themfelves by this name. The latter apparently got their title from being the allies, or Theodan, i. e. companions of the Kaempers*. According to the accounts
given
# Some may perhaps chufe to derive this name rather from Tbicd, a folk or people, than from Tbeodan, a companion ; but I confcfs I do not fee why the name of people fhoulJ be given to the Teutones in preference to the reft of the nations of Germany, as it is notorious, that all the ancient Germans, when there were feveral of them together, and they were nfked, who they were ?   ufed to call themfelves Thiod, i. e. people, an appellation which the Romans miflook for the proper name of this nation.    Befnles, they are not called, Tbiod, Tbiaud, or H'blud, i. e. Teutfche, Dutch,  or Germans ;  but Tbccdon, or Teutons.   Finally, the word %-1','od may perhaps itfelf be derived from Tbeodan.   A folk, or people, is a fociety of men connected together by fome band or tie, cither that of their common origin, or that of their mutual interelt.   Befides this, many denominarons of feveral of the German tribes, as handed down to us, fecm to owe their origin to fome fuch appellation or other mifconflrued by the Romans. It is plain, for example,  that the different holds when they made their entrance into Gaul under the command of Arioviltus, muit have anfwered to the enquiries of the Romans, that they were IVcbrmeenncn,   Guermans,   or Germans,  i. e. warriors ;   an appellation, however, which was adapted to them, only as long as they kept together, and comjofed  one great army.  The confederacy German nations cn the banks of the Upper Rhine, which f .bfiftcd aboi.t the time of Conflanrine and Julian, and in virtue of which,   every man fit to bear arms, was obliged to take the field, occaiioned them to be called Aihmans, i. e. all men. The confed< rated nations of lower Germany,   who in confequence of their love of liberty, as well as in the defence of it, were high-fpiritcd, brave, and haughty,  were called Freaks, or Franks.   It has, however, even been doubted by many, whether the Cimbri were really Germans or not.   But the fart is, that they dwelled quite in the northern extremity of Germany, which was afterwards inhabited by the Jutlanders.   Nay, according to Strabo, Lib. 7, they were even to be found between the Rhine and the Elbe.   They fubfifled in his time ATI on the* fame fpot where they had lived firft; and had then made a prefent to Auguftus of a large cauldron. With l.irge and flout bodies, the) had reJ hair and blue eyes, like all the Germans of thofe times ;  and according to Plutarch, in his life of Marius, it was the cuftom among the Germans to call all Marauders, or fuch as made war and plundering their bufinefs, Kimbers, or Kajmpers, i.e. combatants.   It is therefore very evident, that thefe people were the Goths and Saxons
given of this people, they made their fir ft appearance at Noricum, viz, in the fouthern part of what is now called Auftria, Stiria, Carinthia, and the Ukrain. It was there that they beat Papirius Carbo. A few years after this, we find them already in Gaul, in the country of the Allobrogi, and in the year after, near Touloufe j then, after having conquered Mallius and Ca^pio, they advanced as far as Spain, where they remained near two years, and at length, in the courfe of the third year, returned towards the Eaft, but divided and left the Teutones and Ambrones (a people from Helvetia) to oppofe Marius j while the Cimbri, on the other hand, retired through the upper part of Germany, as far as Trent, and to the banks of the Etfch, where Catulus had taken his pott. The Teutones and Ambrones were the firft that were routed by Marius; and the fame fate befel alfo the Cimbri after the two armies had made a junction near Vercelli, about 101 years before Chrift. This action, however, gave the Romans a high idea of the valour of the Germans; and they now learned that they were a numerous nation, inhabiting a tract of country that extended even to the North-Sea.
In the year 59 before Chrift, Caefar was made Conful; and imme-mediately began a war in Gaul, which lafted almoft ten years, during which time the Romans, under the command of Caefar, not only became perfectly well acquainted with Gaul, and the country of the Belgse, but likewife croffed the Rhine twice, and forced their way into Germany : Cae&r even built a fleet, with which he crofled the Britifh Channel, and landed twice in Britain.
who dwelt on the pcninfula, fitu ted to the north of the Elbe, on fcCafion of an ext1 aordinary and dreadful inundation, many of them were induce*1, having probably lull all their cattle by the flood, to quit their country and turn robbers. They became therefore Ka-mpeis, in like manner as the defendants of their northern neighbours became Wickingers. The route their army tcok, as well as that of their companions, the Teutones, who were likewife Germans, ftretched alrng the Kibe as far jis Bohemia, where they were repulfcd by the Boii. Upon this they turned abjut to the eaft, going along the Carpathian mountains, till they came to the Black-Sea and the Danube ; here, turning tbout again to the weft, they marched to the Skordifkers and Taurilkers, two nations from Gaul, and directly upon this they met with the Roman Conful near noreja for the firft time. We may therefore fafely conclude,.that as in fuccecdingages, in confequence of their being better informed, the Germans and their name have been loft and totally vanilhed ; in like manner the denomination of Kiempcrs and Kimbcrs, or Cimbri, has likewife funk into obliv on, thefe people having been found to be Saxons and inhabitants of Jutland.
E The
26 VOYAGES
AND
The opportunity which had before offered to the Romans by the conqueft of Mithridates, as well as at his death, of getting acquainted with the Bofphorus and the environs of Crimea, presented itfelf to them again, when, about 37 years before Chrift, Afander, who had made himfelf matter of the Bofphorus at the death of Phar-naces, was nominated king by Auguftus Ca;fu\ During the life of this fame Auguftus Ca?far, the Romans got alfo better acquainted with the weftern fhores of the Black-Sea or Thrace : and in like manner the whole range of Caucafus, together with the numerous petty nations dwelling in thofe parts, were laid open to them by the victorious arms of Pompey.
So early as ten years before the birth of Chrift, Drufus advanced with an army as far as the Elbe, and it feems probable, that Domitius,. the grandfather of Nero, eroded it fix years after. Eight years after this, Tiberius was feen on the banks of this river. Next Varus and his whole army were (lain by the Germans between the Ems and the Lippej and Germanicus went thither alio in order to explore thofe countries which had been fo fatal to Varus. In the year 17, he went to the Wefer by the North Sea, or German Ocean ; and on that occasion-difcovered, near the mouth of the Wefer and that of the Elbe, many iflands 1 fome of thefe were rich in amber, which the Germans called glafs, and the iflands themfelves, the Glafs-iflands. Here the Romans got better acquainted with amber, which was ftill held in great efleem among them.
A. D. 41, Claudius made an expedition to Britain, and from t; is period the Romans continued to fpread all over Britain 3 and though the Britons now and then ufed all poflible means to defend their liberties, and ftrugglcd hard to fhake off* the yoke, the Romans neverthe-lefswenton, advancing gradually with victorious arms towards the north, till at laft the whole of Britain, quite to the Grampian mountains* fubmitted to their empire. Agricola fent the Roman fleet to the Orkneys, and fubdued them alfo. Thule, however, was only feen at a diftance; and the Roman fleet having in very calm weather circumnavigated.all Britain, afcertained this cxtcnfive country to be an A ifland.
iiland. Agricola took this opportunity to procure, by means of the merchants trading to liibcrnia or Ireland, an exact account of the fituation, extent, and population of this country, as well as of the manners and cultoms of its inhabitants. From what he could collect from thefe accounts, he was of opinion, that one Roman legion, with their attendants and fhips, would be fuflicient to fubmit this ifland to the dominion of the Romans, and to prevent any infurrection therein. This is therefore a frefh proof of the truth of the aflertion, that the ancients did not make their difcoveries merely by their military expeditions, but that, very frequently, navigation afTifted in enlarging their knowledge of different countries and people. In fact, it was not their conqnefts which merely ferved to enlarge the circle of their information ; but their merchants were alfo very eager to pufli ftill further forward than their victorious armies. For in general -men are capable of the greateft and moil difficult undertakings, when their de-figns and actions are actuated by ambition, avarice, and other paffions j and they execute them with judgment and refolution ; and the beneficent Creator of mankind makes ufe even of the paflions of men, to accomplifli his infinitely great and benevolent defigns of introducing into all parts of the world civilization and refinement of manner.-, together with the knowledge of the true and only God.
The victories as well as the defeats of the Romans in the weflcrn and north-eaitern parts of Germany, ferved likewife to this purpole, that it gave them at leaft fome idea of the vaft extent of this brave and never perfectly fubdued nation, whofe ailifiance in war they courted on account of its known valour. The Romans and Italians had been enervated by luxury and defpotifm, fo that they were become unfit for military for vice j particularly, as the manner of carrying on war at that time required ltrength of body, pcrfonal valour, ftrict difcipline, great fkill in tactics, and great prefence of mind. The finews of the young Romans had been debilitated, and the growth of their limbs had been checked by early enjoyment and excefs of voluptuoufnefs. In fact, a delicate fmooth-faced youth, vain of his perfon, which it is his chief fludy to fet off to advantage, and whofe whole care is to recommend him-
E 2 felt"
28
VOYAGES      a \' t>
felf to the great, by wit, drefs, and flattery, has k-ldom the courage to face death and dangers without fhrinking. The fpirit of diflipation and licentioufnefs, which at this time reigned in Rome, rendered the youth of that itate unfit to live under the conflraint of fubor-dination ; and, indeed, how is it to be fuppofed that thcv could poflibly exhibit any marks of fpirit in a way of life which they detefted -t or that they fhould have prefence of mind, or be fit for forming quick and fudden refolves in circumftances and occurrences to which they were abfolute ftrangers ? Whole armies, therefore, were railed amongfl the Batavians, Germans, Pannonians, and other nations on whom luxury had not as yet fhed its baneful influence. But the fidelity and valour of the Germans made them deferve the honour of being chofen in preference to others to be the body-guards of the Emperors, (a) This circumftance gave occafion to the Romans to become better acquainted with the fituation and nature of the country, and the manners and cufloms of a people which had found means to acquire fuch honorable diftinctions by its intrepidity and valour.
The defire of getting amber in great quantities determined Nero to fend Julianus, a Roman Knight, to the amber coaft. He landed fafely in Prufha, and reckons it almoft 600 miles from Carnuntum in Pannonia to the coaft. He brought home an immenfe quantity of# amber, which was all to ferve for the pomp and decoration of one day, on which the Emperor gave an entertainment of gladiators. How much foever like a merchant Julianus may have carried on this amber-trade, yet frill he could not have avoided learning a great deal concerning the country and its inhabitants, by being amongft them. But Pliny, who relates this event to us fbj, feems himfelf to have known but imperfectly where this coaft was. For inftance, amber had been found in great abundance, in his days, along the coaft of Friefland, near the mouth of the Ems. The ifland on which the fea had caftit, was called Burcbana -y in our days, Borkiwu   Now Pliny
(a) Tacit. Anna!. I. 1. paragr. 17.  Edit. Elzevir. 164.Q.
(b) Plin. Hilt. Nit. Lib. xxxvii. c 3.
feems
feems to have miftaken this amber iiland for the real native country of amber, and confequently it feems evident, that the conceptions the Romans had of the North, were not altogether clear and accurate ; for in general, Pliny fuppofed, that the Baltic was connected with the Cafpian and the Great Indian teiifc), though Herodotus had already fhewn, that the Black and Cafpian Seas, to the northwards, did not join to any other fea; confequently, all the fea beyond Germany and Pruilia, was in the days of Pliny lefs known than it had been long before, in the times of the Phoenician navigations.
It is true, that the conqueft of Dacia under Trajan, had ferved to extend the boundaries of the empire towards that fide; but his immediate fuccefTor, Adrian, withdrew all the Roman armies out of this new province, and thereby again precluded the means of procuring any more intelligence concerning this part of the North.
The great Marcomannian war, which Marcus Aurelius was obliged to enter upon, furnifhed opportunities of collecting many particulars which might ferve to determine with greater accuracy than before, the extent and fituation of thofe countries. But this period was deftitute of hittorians, at lealt of fuch as might have transmitted to us exact accounts of the fituation s of the belligerent powers. Luxury, depravity of manners, the decline of the army and of the whole Roman irate, paved the way, at a diflance, to the great revolutions which threatened this diffracted empire. It was among the Romans themfelves that the northern nations learned the arts which enabled them to conquer them with greater facility, and to fhake the very foundations of their government. Ignorance and a vitiated tafte, which always go hand in hand with effeminacy and luxury, continually infinuated themfelves more and more into the Roman flate, whiie true learning and genuine ufeful knowledge daily decreafed.
Of the Finlanders, Rfthonians, ovAeJliers, together with all the Schala-von;an tribes, in thofe times known only by the appellation of Sauro-matesy or Northern Medes, (of which nation they either were, or pre-
(ej Plin, Hlft, Nat. Lib. vi. c. 13.
tended
tended to be, the defcendants) as alfo of the Goths, the Romans fcarcely knew any thing but the names. Norway (Nerigon) Sconen (Scandia) Dunney * and Vocroe, were, according to them, iflands lying near the Icy Sea, as well as Thule, whither they ufed to fail from Norway, as well as from the northern moft point of Scotland. Thefe obfcure notions of the Romans reflecting the geography of the northern nations, are confequently ftill very incoherent, and of no manner of ufe.
* Pliny exprefTes himfelf thus, Lib. iv. c. 16. Sunt qui & alias (infulas) prodant, Scandium, J)umnam, Bcrgos : maximanque omnium Nerigon, ex qua in T'bulen navigetur. A Thule unius diei navigatione, marc concretum, a nonnullis Cranium appellatum. It is evident, that the whole coaft is meant here ; and though the learned Ccunfcllur Schlatter, whofe information on thefe points in general is univerfally refpetted, in his Introduction to the Univerfal Hijlory of the North, an excellent work, chufes to undcriland by Bergos, one of the two fons of Hercules mentioned by Mela, viz. Albion and Bergion, who gave the names of Albion and Bergion (or QvtfPa Jwerna, Hibernia) to the Britifii Iflands ; yet, I cannot perfuade myfelf to take it in this light; and it feems more probable to me, that the appellations of Dumna and Bergos belonged to the iflands Dumnoe, or Dumncy, near Halgoland, and Voeroe, near Malftrom, for the continued feries in which thefe countries are difpofed, feems to render this fuppofition in a manner necefiary. For the fame reafon, I fliould never think of looking for Thule in Iceland, but rather in Shetland.
BOOK
BOOK II.
OF THE DISCOVERIES MADE IN THE NORTH IN THE
MIDDLE AGES.
C    H    A    P. I.
Of the Voyages and Difcoveries of the Arabians in the North.
T"} O M E had been fo much weakened and enervated by its riches AY- and luxury ■>   by the neglect of difeipline among the military*
by the divifion of its power into an eaftern and a weftern empire; by the ambition of a great number of private men, who all pretended to the imperial crown ;   by the abfolute corruption of manners among the people, and by the fcholaflic difTentions of its bifhopsj that the neighbouring nations foon perceived  this weaknefs, and began to attack the Empire with united force.   Even before the divilion of the empire had taken place, the Marcomanni and their allies from 166 to 180, had driven the great Emperor Marcu9 Aurelius to fuch limits, that he had been compelled to difpofe of the fumptuous imperial wardrobe and furniture by public auction, in order to provide the fupplies neceflary for carrying on the war ;  a flep which mews very plainly the defperate fituation of the empire.   At fo early a period as the year 240, the Franks conftituted a confederacy of undaunted nations in Lower Germany,  which at length, in the fifth century, A. D. 486, laid the foundation of the Frankifh, or French kingdom. The Goths likewife, fo early as in 244, were in motion in Dacia, and foon after we find Rome plundered by king Alaric, and his Wejlern or Vifi-Gothsy and a new empire founded by his fucceffors in the fouthern parts of Gaul and Spain.   The Eajl, or Ofro-Goths, under Dietrick
of
of Bern, went to Italy and re-took this empire from the Heruli, who had born the fovereign fway about 20 years after the termination of the weftern empire ; this lafled about 60 years, viz. till 554. In the fouth-weflern part of Germany, fo early as in the year 268, arofe the confederacy of the Allemanni, which exifted for a long while after.   Soon after this, viz. in the year 286, we find the Anglo-Saxons and Franks making their predatory incurfions into Britain,  till the Britons, on account of the opprefTions they fuffered from the PiSls and Scots, found it neceffary to call in the Saxons to their afTiflancc, who in 449, arrived under their Kings Hengifl and Horfa, but kept pofleflion of the country themfelves, and eflablifhed feveral fmall Hates, which in procefs of time were united into one.   The Vandals, Suevl and Alani, ravaged the Roman dominions in 407, as far as Spain, and the former of thefe people at length even went over to Africa in order to eftablifh a new dominion there.   So early as in the beginning of the fifth century, the Burgundi had advanced from their ancient abodes on the fhores of the Baltic, to the river Maine j and for the aflifiance they had afforded the Romans againfl the Weflro-Goths, took a part of Gaul to themfelves.   In the land of Rugcn on the Baltic, and in that part of Germany which is now called Brandenburg,  were the Longobardl, or Lombards, who in the year 548 were received by the Emperor Juftinian in Pannonia, where, in concert with the Awari, they fubverted the empire of the Gcpuks, and A. D. 568, eftabliflied a new fovereign ty in the upper part of Italy, which lafled upwards of 200 years. Thus was the Roman Empire difmembered and parcelled out by numerous armies compofed of the different nations of Germany, and the whole wefternpart of it was now in the hands of princes defcended from Germans. TheEafl was ravaged by the Schalavonians, Huns, Aivari, Bulgc.ri, and a variety of other nations j and the great power of the Periiar.s had even forced its way to the fhores of the Hellefpont, whiHl the Christians in the Roman Empire, forgetful of the principles of their great founder, who preached as well as practifed univerfal love and benevolence,  were continually quarrelling,  perfecuting, and killing each other on the fcore of difference of opinion in irntters of religion.
To
To fuch a flate of moral corruption and political debility, the great Roman Empire, in thofe days the feat of all knowledge, civilization, and refinement, was now debafed. At this period there flarted up in Arabia, an illiterate man, of the name of Mohammed, endowed with a good underflanding, and lively imagination ; and of a dark and melancholic difpofition, yet not infenfible to the phyfical influence of love. At his firfl fetting out in life he was poor, though he belonged to the noble family of the Koreifchites; but falling in love with Chadidfcha, the widow of an opulent merchant, he married her, by which means he became rich, and in confequence of this, led a more inactive life than he had formerly done, and had leifure to give himfelf up entirely to the eccentric reveries and projects with which in his younger years he had often indulged himfelf in the folitary defarts on the road from Mecca to Damafcus. The want of the bodily exercife to which he had been accuflomed, together with a rich diet, and the weaknefs refulting from amorous exceffes, gave a greater play to his imagination, and rendered it more irregular thnn before. The unconnected and very much adulterated religious maxims which he had picked up from Jews and fuperflitious monks, he reduced into an ill-digeited fyilem, the only tolerable part of which was, that which concerns the unity of God and his glorious attributes. With the language and exprefftons of poetry he was not entirely unacquainted ; as the bed Arabian poets ufed to meet every year at the annual fair of Okad, to read their poems publickly to the people, and to contend for prizes, feven only of whom obtained the honour of having their prize poems hung up in the Raaba at Mecca. With tuch foundations, and with thefe previous attainments, Mohammed appeared all on a fudden in the capacity of a prophet, who faw viiions, was haunted with apparitions, and preached a new religion. In the beginning there were but few that approved of his new doctrines, and he and his adherents were ridiculed and perfecuted in his native country, Mecca. But in the year 622, he fled to Medina, to the enemies of the inhabitants of Mecca, and that whole city went
F over
over to his party. Strengthened by fo powerful a fupport, the enthufiailic prophet became a perfccutor. Hiy new party became the tool of his revenge, lie took Mecca, and thereby procured himfelf an addition of territory, and a frefli army of profelytes. The fword being once drawn, victory and the new religion foon fpread over all Arabia. The predatory tribes of Arabia were now united by the 11 rongefl ties of religion* and, with the enthufiafiic zeal of profelytes„ fubjugated every thing, from the Indus to the Pyrennean Mountains, to the religion and dominion of the fuccefTors (or Caliphs) of Mohammed.. Upon this the fciences foon began to flourifh amongil thefe people formerly fo rude and illiterate ; and poets, phyficians, philofo-phers, uatural-philofophcrs, hiftorians, and geographers, now made their appearance., With but few of thefe laft, however, the Europeans are acquainted., either on account of their ignorance of the language, or becaufe the writings of thefe men are, for the greater part,, to. be found only at Morocco, in Egypt, in Syria, and at Constantinople, buried as it were in Turkiih libraries, inacceffible to Chriftians ; and the remainder, in the almoft-as-inaccem-ble libraries of Rome and Spam ; or elfe, perhaps, becaufe the printing of fuch. works actually produces but little: profit either to, a bookfeller or editor; and the great are generally more inclined to employ their fortunes on the means of their own advancement, or to bellow them on their flatterers, and on the indulgence of their paflions, than by their liberalities to encourage an edition of an old Arabian geographer.. In fact, the only Oriental authors, who have written geographical works that have been printed, and are now extant, are,. Scherifal EdriJJi, who wrote his Geographical Recreations in ii 53; Abulfeda, Prince of Hamath, who publifhed a. fyftem of geography in i 321 ; NaJ/ir Eddmy of Tus, in Perlia, the friend of Holaku Chan, whom he perfuaded to make the conqueft of Bagdad, and to aboliih the Caliphate, wrote in 1260, his Ilchanian Tables on the longitude and latitude of places ; and Ulugbek, the nephew of the great Timur, who, in 1437, wrote his Geographical Tables.
The;
The Arabian generals had long before this been ordered by the Caliphs to tranfmit, in the courfe of their victories, exact and accurate defcriptions of the nations and countries conquered by them ; none, however, of the works we have referred to above, can certainly be reckoned in the number of fuch as were drawn from thefe authentic geographical records* Some of them content themfelves with communicating merely what they have gathered from common report, concerning diftant nations j for this reafon, thefe accounts are no where lefs to be depended on, than where they relate to our northern part of the globe.
The author of the extracts from Scherif al Edriffi is a Chriilian, and though it feems as if he had extracted from the original author all that he fays in the feet ion on the iixth climate, there is ncverthelefs room to fuppofe, that this Chriilian abbreviator has advanced what is found in his work relating to theChrillian countries, either from his own knowledge of thefe countries, or from the accounts given of them by other authors.   But whether thefe relations are original or borrowed, they are fo meagre and mutilated, that it is evident they have contributed but little to give us any information concerning the regions of the North.   The countries they are acquainted with are Brit any and Poiton i   then come France, Normandy, Flanders,  Hinu- (i.e. TIamaultJ Lorrain, and Bcrri;   with fome countries of the Frank Burgundians, and the Allemannian Bnrgundiahs;   then Limania, or Allemania ;   the land of Bakir  (doubtlefs for Bafir, or Bavaria/ Carentara   (or Carinthia)   Louvain,  Friefeland,   Savoy,  and fome parts of  the ifland of England.    In Allemannia and Saxony, he names the towns of Harbek,  Kulozat, Mafchliat, and Kallah. Towards the north, on all parts, is the dark fea.   Germania, Getkulia, and Rujjia , the land Bergian, or Bergen, Rufia and Romania, Heraclia on the Black-Sea; the countries of Wailakan (or IValachia) Chozaria (or Chazaria) Bolyfaria, Befegert, Lan (or Alania),   In the land of the Afconian Turks is the river Atbel (or Wolga) which falls into the fea Tabarefan (or the Cafpian Sea).   The land Samricki, or of the
F 2 Walachian
Walachian Turks; the land Sijian, the land Choffach (i. e. of the Co/Jacks) the land Torkos, and the wall of Jagog and" Magog (in the Caucafus) which was built by D/ulcarnaini (or Alexander) ; in the dominions of a certain Chakan Odkos, who was a Mahometan. Beyond this wall arrived the travellers, difpatched by the Caliph, at the towns of Locbman, Araban, Berfagian, Turan, and Samarkand. From thence their route palled over Ray (or Rages, in Media) to Sorraman-rai. In the dark fea are defart iflands, and ruined cities, to which, whilil they were inhabited, mips ufed to go in order to buy amber and coloured ftones. Then he defcribes the ifland called England in the dark fea, • the iiland of Scotia (or Scotland) and the iiland Irlanda (or Ireland. The land Bolonia, Svcda, Finmark, Iceland, RuJJia, the farther Romania, Bolgbar (or Bulgaria) Befegert, and Bcge?iak* This is pretty nearly the idea he had of Europe and the northern regions. Many of thofe countries the reader will undoubtedly be able to recognize ; others of them are totally unknown to us, in like manner as it is impoffible to know again the greateff. part of the towns in thefe countries.
The Prince of Hamath fays, he knows in the north the countries of the Franks and of the Turks. Amongft them is the empire dVBidigah, i.e. Apidia, Kallafrijab (Calabria) Bafilija (perhaps Bajilicata, the ancient Lucania) el-Mara (i. e. Morea) part of which belonged to the Grecian Emperor, and part to a nation of the Franks, called Ki-thalan, i.e. Catalonians. Clofe by this is the land Malfaguth (or A-vhdfi) and to the weftward the land Iklerens: then he defcribes Rome, and St. Peter's church : then follows the land Tojkan, i. e. Tuf-cany, and the two Borkans, or Volcanos, one of which is in Sicily. The province Ol-Kirm, or Crimea, with the cities of Solgat, Sudac, and Kafa. Then he defcribes the Bofphorus and Conftantinople. To the countries of the North appertains alfo Kumager % a city in the
empire
* Kumager feems to be the ruins of a targe town, which are even at prefent to be found on the coatt of the river Kuma, not fdr from the place where it receives the Byxuara, and wh'ch is ftill
called:
empire of the Tatar Borkah, which lies m the middle between the Iron Port (Derbend) and Azok, or AJbph. Next to this lie the Lokzi, or Lfjfcr. In the habitable part of the North, are alfo the Ruffian countries, which are fituated towards- the north of the town Balar (or Bulgaria). Then follows Bartbanyah (i. e. Britania) in the fea; Ber-d/'I, (Burdegala, Bourdeaux) Scbont Jakuh, a town in Galiikijah, i. e. Gallicia, and their capital Samurah, perhaps Santa Maria, or San Maria. Pizaj or Pifcba, i. e, Pila. On the oppofite fide is the iiland Sardanijab (i. e. Sardinia) Lombardia (Lombardy) Ganaveab (Genoa) Bandakijab (Venice). One of the citizens here is their Prince, and is called Duk. They are in ponellion of the iiland Nakrapant, i. c, Negroponte. Rumijah cl Kobra, i. e. Rome the Great, lituated on both fides the river Ttfri (viz. the Tiber) the feat of the Caliph'of the Chriftians, who is called dl-Pap. Borfchan, or Borgan, the capital of the Burgans, i. e. Burgundians, who have been conquered by the Allemanni. Itfcbanijah, i. e. Athens, the city of the wile Greeks : Konftantbinijah, or Buzanthijah, i. e. Conftantinople, or Byzantium. Makdnnijah, the city of Alexander the Great. Sakgi (A-zakt or AfapbJ a town at the mouth of the Tbana (Tanais, or Don) where it empties itfelf into the fea Nitbafch (the Palus Maeotis and the Black Sea). Abzu, a town fituated eaftwards on the Bofphorus, or Straits of Conftantinople. This is probably Abydus. Akga Karman, on the fea Nitbafch, hAkierman. Thernau is lituated at three days journey from Sakgi, or Afaph, and is therefore in all probability Taganrok. Sari Karman (probably a place called Inkerman, in the peninfula of Crimea) is five days journey from Kirm, or So/gat, i, e. Efki Crimea, Kerkri is a Turkifh word, fignifying 40 men, and by this name is called a certain very ftrong caflle on the top of an inacceflible mountain.
called MaJ/cbiar. This is the town which Prince Abulfeda means, and, fr-om the fituation on the Kuma, it may perhaps formerly have been called Kumagtr, juft as a part of the Hungarians, or Madjcbari, from the circumftancc of their dwelling near this river, were called Kumani, or Ko-ftiani.
I Clofc
Clofe by it is the highefl mountain of all, Ghatcr Tbeg (at prefent called Tfchettirda). Sudac is a fortified harbour, (and ftill bears the flime name.) Sulgat was formerly called el Kerm, but at prefent the province is called by this name. (In our times EJki-KrimJ. Kafa lies on a plain to the eaft of Sudac, and is a port and flaple town; oppofite to it is Tbarapezun (Trebifond) but to the eaft and the north is the defart of Kaptfebiak, Ol-Kars (now called Kerfch) is a fmall town between Kajf'a and Azok, at the mouth of the fea of Azok. Azok is a famous city at the mouth of the Thana, in the fea of Azok, which in ancient books is called the fea of Manitafch*, or Manjetz* Serai**, a large town, and the refidence of the Tartars, which in my (viz. Al-bufeda'sj time, are the Ufbccs. It is fituated in the plain, at the diftance of two days journey from the Cafpian Sea, to the fouth-eaft. The river Atol, i. e. Wolga***, runs from the north-wen: to the fouth-eaft on the northern coaft of it is Sarai. (The remains of this great town are ftill to be found on this fpot.)   Okak is a town on the
* The fea of Ax*f having formerly in ancient writings been called Mauitafcb, and the fmnll lakes and the river Manjetz, even in thefe days deriving their names fro.n it, fe?ms to be a freih proof in favour of the opinion of Mr. Pallas, that the Black and Cafpian Seas were formerly connected with each other by thefe parts, and both together made but. one fi»a.
** Sarai was an ancient refidence of the people who formerly inhabited this country ; but by which of them it has been built, is as difficult to afcertain as the true fituation of it. On the banks of the Achtuba, or the eaftward arm of the Wolga, from which it feparated near Y,arh;in, feveral remains of very ancient buildings have been found, fome to the north-call of Zarizin, and others to the call, near Cbarachudfchir and Zare-ivpod, a* alfo lover down near Dfebigitand fieli-Tr.i/moi-Gorcdok. What Abulfeda fays of its being at the dillance of two day:-journey from the Cafpian Sea, (hould.rather point out SeUtratuni-Qfrodti, than Zare-v.pcd for this place. It appears to have been built by Batu Kban, between the years 1256  and 1266.
*** Athtl is the name of the Wolga, amonglt the Ruffian'Tartars, who, ftrifUy fpc.iking, call it Jdel, or Atcl; which the Tf bu-zv aft bi hive transformed into Ada I. This word fignifies a river in general, whence the Tfcbwwafcbi call the Wolga, Afiiadal, or the Great River ; but the Kama ilicy oil! Seborab-adal, i. e. the White River, becaufe the water of it is whiter than that of the Wolga; t;he river Wiectka the Tartars call Naubed Idel. The Calmucks tranflate the word At si by BtfhlL TheMr,iduans, on the contrary, have given to the Wolga the name of the Rbau, which perfectly refcmblcs the denomination Rl.-a, made ufe of by Ptolemy.
weftern
weftern more of the Athol (or Wolga) half way between Sarai and Bolar.   The empire called Ardu, which belongs to the Tartarian king of Borkab, extends as Air . as Okak.   [This Okak is undoubtedly Uwjeck, which lies 7 wcrfts to the fouth of SaratoJ] and was formerly a famous Tartarian town.]   Bolar or Bolgar*, a town in the moft remote part of the habitable northern countries, to the eaftward of the Athol (or Wolga) at no great diftance from the river.   This town has three baths ; the inhabitants are Mahometans, and belonging to the feet: of the Hanefites.   Here grow no fummer fruits on account of the intenfe cold; neither are there any grapes. According to the relation of an inhabitant of thefe parts, there is hardly any end to the days in fummer, and the nights are but very fhortj which, indeed, is very probable; the town being fituated in upwards of 48 degrees of northern latitude, and, agreeable to the principles of aftronomy,  fubjedt to a very long twilight.   Balangar, or Athol, is the capital of the Cbozars.
Such is the information furnifhed by the Arabians on the fubjec"t of the geography of the North, down to the year 1321.
So early as about the fecond century, the Hum had made approaches towards lake Aral and the Cafphn Sea, and inhabited thefe regions; foon after which they turned their thoughts to ftill greater enterprizes, which under Attila, in the years 434, 454, were crowned with amazing fuccefs; his dominions extending from China quite into Gaul. As to his fons, fome of them remained mafters of the country from Dacia as far as Noricumj others retired towards the Don, and fome crofling,
* Bolgar is in our days ftill called Bogari, and contains the remarkable and beautiful ruins Which Mr. Pallas has defcribed and given drawings of in his travels, part i. pa. 12.1, & feq. The Arabian inferjptions bear date, A. D. 1226—1341. The Armenian reach from 1161 to 157S'. It is not in the leaft improbable then, that this town of Bolgar was known to Abulfeda, who wrote as W as in the year 1321. The firft Bulgarians the Europeans were acquainted with, were probably a tribe of Turks.—They feem to have been even at that time civilized to a confiderable degree, as appears from their ornaments, furniture, drefs, coins, and edifices. There were, indeed, many Armenians amongft them.
the Con, withdrew to Mount Caucafus;; and all the iubjects of the powerful empire of the Huns recovered their liberties. The Turks, a people who at firft had dwelled to the fouthwards, on the banks of the lake Saffian, of the river Irtifch, and on Mount Altai, retired in the fixth century to the eaftward of lake Aral, and of the Cafpian Sea. Here they fpread out by degrees into their numerous tribes, as Cbazars, Petfcbenegs, Uzes, Polovzes, Bulgars, &c. and took poflefiion of the whole fouthern part of Rufiia, Moldavia, Bef-farabia, and Crimea. Thefe were the people whofe pofiefTions and fituation Conftantine Porghyrogenetes defcribes in his Thematae. They were alfo the beft foldiers of the Arabians and their Caliphs, after this latter nation was enervated by luxury and defpotifm. In confequence of this circumftance they foon arrived at fuch a pitch of power, that they ufed to difpofe at pleafure of the throne of Bagdad, and even took into their own hands the adminiftration of the larger provinces. At length, fome of their princes eftablifhed great empires, in which they governed for a while in an independent manner, till the Moguls, under the command of Zinghis-Khan and his dcfcen-dants, over-ran with their armies almoft the greateft part of Afia, and a confiderable part of Europe, as far as Brcflaw. Many of thefe in Afia adopted the religion of Mahomed, and the Arabian letters, as alfo the ufe of the Perfian language; by which means they both acquired a great deal of information, and became very much refined in their manners. In Perfia, under the aufpices of Holaka-Cban, Naffir-Eddin drew up a table of the longitudes and latitudes of places, for the pur-pole of correcting his aftronomical obfcrvations. The fame tiling was done immediately upon this by the nephew of the great Timur, U/ug Belt, who likewife in the year 1437, compofed tables of the latitudes and longitudes of places, for the purpofe of correcting his aftronomical obfervations. Thefe are in many points fo fimilar to each other, that it is very evident that the prince has made ufe of the work of the Perfian aftronomer.
Of the countries to the North of the Cafpian and Black Sea, both of them have particularly mentioned the three Empires of Cbozar,
Rus,
DISCOVERIES   i n   the  NORTH. 41'
Rus, and Bolgar. In the firft of thefe is Balatgar, the capital of the king of the Cbozars, which Abulfeda likewife had before denominated Athol and Balangar. The Chozars lived in Crimea, and in the defert plains of Nogai; but it is impolTible at this prefent period of time to point out their capital. The town called Kujavab, muft certainly be Kiew (or Kiow). But Sakjin, the fecond Ruffian town, it is alfo impoffible to indicate with any degree of certainty. Finally, in the empire of Bolgar, there is mentioned a city of the fame name. What knowledge thefe people had of Korafan, Choarefm, and Maw-aralnakan, does not deferve to be noticed here, many of thefe places being extremely well known at prefent. But for certain reafons, we will give the reader an account of wrhat information they had concerning Turkcfan, or thofe countries which in our days are called the leiTer Bukharia, the country of the Kalkas-Mongols, and the northern part of China. To this country belongs Chotcn, a well known town in the LefTer Bukharia, the capital of a fmall empire, which at prefent is fubjeel: to the Chinefe. Almalig, a town in a country called Getc, not far from Mount Arjatu. When, in the year 1490, Timur prepared to make war againft this country of Gete, his army marched from Tafchkent near the Sihon, to Lake IJJikol, not far from Barket, or Barek \ then they came to Gbeuktopa, from thence to the mount called Arjatu, and fo to the town Almalig. They then crofted the river Ab-Eile, came to Itjchna-Butjcbna, and Uker Keptadfchi, and, finally, arrived on the banks of the Irtifi, where they learned that Prince Kamareddin was gone into the marten-and-fible forefts of Daulas. Hence it follows that this place is fituated between Tafchkent and the Irtifch, and, indeed, on this fide the river Ab-Eile, which at this day empties itfelf into the Sihon. And as the armies of Timur returned over lake Eutrakgheul, fituated near Harafcbar, and haftened by the way of Akfu to Samarkand on account of the winter approaching ; this Almalig muft not be confounded with Kabalig, Bijcbbalig, and ftill lefs with Karacorum, the feat of the M.oguls on the
g river
river and lake Onghin. A Florentine named Francifco Balducci Pcgolctti, (whofe travels till lately lay buried in oblivion, when they were firft drawn out of it by the references made to them by Profeffor Sprengel) defcribedat fo early a period as the year 1335, the route from Azof to Pt'-hng, and in this route, at a diftance of 45 days journey (travelling on aftcs) beyond Otrar, he places the town of Armalecco, which undoubtedly is Almalig in the land of Gift, to the north-eaft of Tafcbkent, and on this lide of the Irtifch.—The two geographers next lay down Kabalig, a place not known to modern times, more to the eastwards of Almalig. Then Autan Kcluran (likewife unknown) ftill more to the eaft than Karakum.—Farther they have Bifchbalik, a place probably the fame with that which the Chinefe call Ilibalik, which confequently is fituated on the hanks of the river Hi. Then comes Karakum, i. e. the black find, a place which was alfo called Karakorum, and ufed to be the refidence of the Mogul Emperors, of the race of Zinghis Khan. Finally, they fpeak of Cbanbalik, or Cambalik, which is what is now called Peking. The Florentine continues the route from Almalig by the way of Camexu, which muft certainly be Cami, or Hamil, with the addition of Tfchcu, which means a town, and is a word which the Chinefe ufe to add to the name of every place of the leaft confideration, and which the Florentine has endeavoured to exprefs by the fyllable xu. This town was known to the famous traveller, Marco Polo of Venice. From the former of thefe places to the latter it is 70 days journey. Pcgolctti next reckons 65 days journey to a river, of which he has not given us the name, but informs us, that from this river it is eafy to come to Kafai. This Kajfai, is KiJJ'cn, a place on the great river Kara-Murcn, or Ho-ang-ho. From hence it is 30 days journey to Gamalccco, the capital of the land Gattai, i. e. Kambalig, in the land of Kathay, by which is meant the northern part of China.
Thefe countries, though they have been frequently laid wafte by various great revolutions and the hoftile attacks of barbarous and uncivilized nations, have neverthelefs retained, better than could have been expected, the names of their towns, rivers, lakes, &c. through fo
many
DISCOVERIES in theNORTH, 4?
many centuries : for the want of good and drinkable water in thofe countries, is an obif.ruc~r.ion to the building of towns or cities in every part of them, The cities therefore are fuffered to remain, and their names are preferved, even after conquefts; and for a fimilar reafon the names of the rivers and lakes are preferved with equal care, viz. on account of thefe fubjects being fo rare, and fo feldom to be met with. The people too of thofe countries have almoft always fpoken the fame, or at leafl a kindred language, a circumflance which has likewife contributed to preferve fo well the names of the rivers and lakes.
By what has been faid above, it appears, that thefe fragments of the knowledge pouefled by the Oriental Nations with refpeci to our northern parts of the globe, are very imperfect.. For though it muft be owned that thefe people made extcnfive military expeditions, and over-ran a great many countries, yet at the fame time it muft be obferved that they were not much addicted to writing; and fuch of them as were actually polTefTed of learning, feldom wrote on Geographical fubjects, or, if they did, their performances were very defective.
Kublai-Khan indeed was the firft Emperor of the Moguls, who fitted out a large fleet on that part of the eaftern ocean called the Chinefe Sea, which he did for the purpofe of conquering Nipon, or, as Marco Polo fays, Zipangri. This enterprife however mifcarried, in confequence of the intervention of a violent and deftructive ftorm, and of other misfortunes *«
G 2 CHAP.
. \ > '
* Kublai-Khan reigned from the year 1259 to 1204 of the ChriiUr.n a?ra, when he fent a fleet and army to Nipon (or Japan), for the pnrpofe of conquering that country.- The-mips compofuig this fleet, were very much mattered by the ftorm, and it is probable that fome of them may not have been able to get back to Japan and China. About this period there fprung up in America, almoft at one and the fame time, two great empires (thofe of Mexico and Peru) which had regular inftitutes of religion; notions of rank and fubordi nation, were in fome mca-fure civilized, were connected with each other by various kinds of aflociation, pra&ifed agriculture, and in the matrimonial ftate did not allow -of polygamy. In Mexico,, indeed, they even had.akindof hieroglyphic writing, together with many other marks of cultivation; notwitli^
Handing
C    EI   A    P. II,
Of the Voyages and Difcoveries made in the North, by the Saxons,
Franks, and Normans.
TH E Roman empire having been ravaged and brought low by many foreign nations, and particularly by thofe which were of German origin, infomuch that the Romans were unable to oppofe them in all parts of the empire j fome provinces fuffered exceedingly from thefe ravages. Britain had to the northward very troublefome enemies in the Pitts and Scots, while the fouthern part of it fuffered by the depredations of the Franks and Saxons. The Britifh nation implored the afliftance of the Roman Chief, Mtius, which he however refufed them. In this fituation nothing more was left for them, than forthwith to call the Saxons to their fuccour. Accordingly, A. D. 449, thefe latter went to Britain ; not however to deliver Britain from oppreffion, but rather to conquer it, and to take poflemon of it in form for themfelves. The nrfl party was foon followed by others, and, in a lhort time after, Britain was parcelled out, under the Anglo-Saxons, into feven fmall kingdoms. As to the unfortunate Britains, fome of them were brought under the yoke, and mad'e flaves of, or (as they were then called) Villains : others retired into the mountains of Galloway, Cumberland, Wales, and Cornwall, in the weftern part of the ifland; while others croffed the fea, and took refuge in the country called after them Britany. But it feems that thefe people had for a long time before been ufed to infefl
Handing that both thefe empires are furrounded on all fides by favage and rude nations very in-confiderablc in point of extent, and are befides at a diftance from each other. Now all this favours the fuppofitiun, that thefe two colonies came thither by fea, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; periwgS they are fome of the people that were lolt in the expedition to Japan, their Jhips having been driven by the ftorm to America.
1 the
the coafts of France and Britain by fea with their depredations, infomuch that the Romans gave to a certain tract: of the French and Britifh coafts the appellation of the Saxon Boundaries; and placed them under the protection of a Count [Conies littoris Saxonici.] Neither did the Franks, who had been conquered by the Emperor Probus, and whom he had tranfplanted to Pontus, forget that they formerly had lived on the fea coaft, and had made piracy their profefTion and livelihood ; for as foon as a favourable opportunity offered, they feized upon what mips they met with, and ravaged all the lands lying along the coafts.of Alia minor and Greece, and then, fetting fail for Sicily, furprifed the city of Syracufe, famous for its navigations, where they killed a great number of people. After they had plundered the whole African coaft, from which however they were at length repulfed by fome troops fent again ft them from Carthage, they proceeded to the Straits of Gibraltar, in the Great Ocean, and arrived at laft, enriched with fpoils, amongft their countrymen, between the Rhine and the Wefer (aJ. Such a naval expedition as the above-mentioned certainly reflects great honour on this enterpriiing people, particularly when we confider the fhips of thofe days and the mifcrable condition of thefe velTels; as alfo, how few they had of thofe aids which are requiiite to navigation, being poffefled neither of charts nor compalTes, and (as being in fo rude and Uncultivated a ftate) having but a very imperfect knowledge of aftro-nomy. It fhould feem, neverthelefs, that thefe Franks, thus tranfplanted to the interior part of the Pontus, on the Black Sea, muff have had fome conception of the fituation of the countries they viiited, and of the ancient place of their refidence; for it is contrary to every dictate of common-fenfe, to imagine, that they fhould by mere accident have got juft into the tract which led to their native country. Phis and other fuch enterprifes gave the Frankifh tribes courage, together with fkill in naval matters, and at the fame time infpired yet more of them with a difpofition to piracy and navigation.   Accord-
(a) Zofim. Lib. i, paragr 66. edit. Cuon. Eumen in panegvr. Conttantii Cajfaris. Cap. 18—and Vopifeus in probo.
ingly
ingly they went with numerous fleets and armies over to England, where the city of London, which even at that early period was grown rich by commerce, fell into their hands. But Conftantius Casfar beat them foon after, and delivered England from thefe cruel marauders.
Befides the Franks and Saxons, who feem to have acquired confiderable knowledge of the maritime affairs and countries of the North ; we alfo find, that about the year 753 of the Chriftian a?ra, the Danes ventured with their fhips as fir as Thanet on the Kentifh coaft, and ravaged the country. Thefe were followed by three other Danifh fliips, which came from Heredalande, and the crews of which even landed A. D. 787 in Weflfex, that part of the ifland which fell to the fhare of King Brithrik (or BeorhtricJ. In the year 793, the Convent called Lindisfarne, on the iiland which is now called Holy-Ifland, was plundered of every thing in it by the Danes; who having acquired additional courage in confequence of the confiderable booty they had made there, the year immediately following, viz. 794, plundered likewife the Convent on the mouth of the Tyne, which had been built there by King Egjrid. It was no unpleafing circumftance to thefe Heathens to find that the good monks had preferved in their convents fuch immenfe riches, which it was cuftomary for the Chriftians of thofe days, in confequence of the opinion they entertained of the merit of good works, to heap up with bountiful hands in thefe repofitories.
The ftill more remote country of Ireland was not fecure from the predatory invafions of the Danes. So early as in the year 795, they appeared on the coafts of that iiland, and, after having ravaged the Orkneys and the Wejlern I/lands, they made their appearance again fo early as in 798 in Uljler, which province fuffered greatly from their ravages. But long beforethis period the Normans had made fome predatory in-curiions into Ireland, as appears from the life of St. Findanus, who was of a noble family in that country, and had been carried off from thence by them.   Thefe pirates afterwards landed on the Orkney
(b) Scriptorcs rerum Alemannicarum Gohlafti,   Tom. i. p. Z02,
Iflands,
DISCOVERIES  in t n ft NORT IE 47
Iflands, when Findanus ran away from tliem, and, after having undergone various fortunes, having wandered through France and Lombardy, and remained four years in Alemania, he finally, in the year 700, embraced a monaftic life.
In general, we may obferve, as an acknowledged fact, that all the different nations and people, which afterwards were known to the world under the denominations of Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians, were not diftinguifhed by thefe names in the earliefl ages; as the countries they inhabited were not at that time divided, fo as to admit of it.   Every petty diilrict, fometimes even a fmall ifland, had its peculiar fovereign.   No general name confequently could be bellowed on.the whole country taken collectively*.   The petty fovereigns in t efe countries feem to have been mere feudatory lords, or lords of manors, who undertook expeditions by fea as well as by land with their vaflals. Their mother-country, as well on account of the fmall quantity of cattle on it, as in confequence of the neglected flate of agriculture, was very unfruitful** : they therefore, after their fubjeds had once experienced the beneficial emoluments accruing from a piratical expedition, found no great difficulty in perfuading them to frefh undertakings of this nature.   The firft mips, which the northern nations made ufe of, were boats, either hollowed out of large trunks of trees, or elfe made of wicker, and cafed over with leather •f.   Long fhips, of a larger fize,
were
* The names however of Snlcna-, in Tacitus, and of Nerigon, in Pliny, feem to have been general names of thefe countries ; yet it is much to be doubted, whether they arc to be taken in thatfenfe in which they have been ufed fincc. Neverthclefs we have the word Dania in fo early a writer as Guido of Ravenna, who probably wrote his book in the 7th century.
** Obtber told king Alfred, that he was in pofTeflion of twenty beaves, twenty fheep, and as many fwine ; and that the trifling quantity of land that he had in tilth, he ploughed with horfes; and yet Ohthcr was one of the richeft and moft confiderable men in his country. In I Ice manner Adam of Bremen, affirms, that Nordmanland is very barren, without chufing to determine, however, whether this barrennefs is to be afcribed to the coldnefs of the country or to the ir.oun-tains with which it is covered. Adamus deJitu Dantoe ad calcem Iliji. Eccles. Cap. 238. parag. 146. edit,. Lugd. Bat 1595, 4to-
t Boats like thefe, made of wicker and cafed over with leather, are called Coracles in England, where they are ftill in ufe on the rivers Dee aud Severn ; in Ireland they are termed Curacbs.
Csefar,
were called Chiule, Cyule, Ceol (an appellation, whence the German and EngUfh term " flip's keel," is derived, as well as the Englifh word Keelman, i. e. people who work in the veffels belonging to the colliers. With thefe two kinds of veffels, neither of which were of any confiderable fize* the latter of them carrying 200 men at the moll, thefe northern nations undertook their piratical expeditions. But the fmallnefs of the number of men on board each veifel was amply com-penfated by the multitude of the veffels themfelves. Infomueh that even Tacitus, in thofe early ages, makes mention of the fleets of the Suionac. This people appears to have fpread at firft within the boundaries of the Baltic to Finland, Efthonia, and Courland, whither it was very eafy for them to pafs over from Gothland. The Normans, or rather the Norwegians, followed their own coaft, according to Ohther's defcription j confequently they circumnavigated the extreme point of their peninfula, and of Europe, viz. the North Cape, and coming at laft to the Cwen Sea, arrived at the Dwina and among the £?/-armians that lived on its hanks. The Danes failed along the coaft as far as the Britifh Channel, and at length went to Britain itfelf.
At the end of the 8th century the Danes and Norwegians, who, taken collectively, bore the name of Normans, ventured to go to England, Scotland, the Orkney and Shetland Iflands, the Weftern
Csfar, fo early as in his time, found them in Britain, and made ufe of them himfelf, Cafar de hello ci-vili parag. 259. Ed. Elxcu. 1635. Lucani Pharfal. Lib. iv. v. 131. Plin. Hi/}. Nat. Lib. iv. cap. j6. vii. cap. 57. Solin. Pvlyhifi. cap. 25. The Kfquimaux and Greenlanders, and likewife the Kamtfchadalles have fhips made of filh hones, with a few wooden clumps and bends, and covered over with the foins of Marine animals. The people lait-mentioned call them Baidars. Even the Greeks made ufe of boats of wicker, covered with leather, which they took with thun on board of their large /hips, calling them ka^Ciu, and in Latin Carabi. From this kind of craft the Ruffians have in all probability taken their term for a fhip, which they call a KorabV. It is certain, that the vefiels belonging to the Saxon pirates were made of leather*   For in the poem upon Auitus, this circumftance is mentioned exprefsly :
Quin et armoricus pirat.im Saxona tr.iftus
Spirabat, cui pelle falum fulcare Britannum
Ludus, ct afluto glaucum marc finderc lembo.
Iflands,
Iflands, and even to Ireland ; all which places they made the iiihjccls of their depredations, carrying with tlum, wherever they went, de-folation and ilaughter. At length they fucceeded in making themfelves mailers of Ireland, and remained fuch from the year 807 to 815. The Orkneys, the Shetland and Wcftern Iflands, v/cre now in like manner regularly peopled by the Normans. Some of them even formed the relolution of fixi/ig themfelves in Ireland. The attempt, however, did not fucceed immediately, and they were obliged to put off the execution of their defign to a more convenient time.
The booty and wealth which they carried home, incited others among them to advance with their fleet along the coaft of Britain to France, where, as has been obferved, they firft landed in 820, not having dared, in the reign of Charles the Great, to invade that coaft. The indolence of Charles's fucceffors, and the civil wars in which they were continually engaged, put it out of their power to make the ne-celTary preparations on the northern coaft of France for repelling the Normans, who, rather excited than difcouraged by the weak reiiifance they met with, repeated their attacks fo frequently, that at laft they prepared to make a complete conqueft of thefe countries, and take pofieflion of them.
Though Egbert in England, upon the union of the lefler Saxon diviiions, or, as they are called, the Heptarchy, became a powerful Sovereign, yet the Normans did not fufTer themfelves to be intimidated by his power ; but, in 832, made an attack on the Kentifh coaft, in which they met with fuccefs, carrying off with them abundance of booty ; though, the following year, having landed in Dorfetfhire, they were obliged to make a precipitate retreat.
About the year 835, the Normans went to Ireland, under thcirlea-der J urges, and maintained poffeflion of their conqueft for the fpace of 30 years.
In 840 a fleet fitted out by thefe people, made for the coaft of France, where, having penetrated into the internal part of the kingdom, they committed great ravages. Some of them indeed, in 844, proceeded
H as
as far as  to the coaft   of  Andalufra ;   and even Pi/a,   in Italy,, together with the once-flourilliing city of Luna, was brought into1 fubje&ion by them, A..D. 857.   But thefe were, in fact, their expeditions to the South,, which we mall content ourfclves with barely mentioning in this place.
Their voyages, on the other hand, were continually more and more extended likewife in the northern regions.   In the year 859 they went eaitward to the coaft of EJlhonia, and brought the inhabitants of it under fubjection, and in 862, three Normans, who were brothers,, foun ded a'new fovereignty in Novgorod and' its vicinity,
Jud: about this time, viz. in 861, one of thefe pirates, of the name of Naddodd, was thrown by a {form on an ifland never before difcovered j and called it, on account of the fnow which lay on the high mountains belonging to it, Schnec, or Snow-land. Naddodd wasbut a very fhort time in this newly-difcovered ifland -f yet it appeared to him a very good country; in confequence of which a Swede, by name Gardar Suafarsson, who was fettled in Denmark, undertook an. expedition to Snowland 111864; an^ baving failed quite round it, named it Gardarhoim, i. c, Gardar's Ifland. Here likewife he fpent the winter ; and going to Norway in the fubfequent fpring, reported that this newly-difcovered country was entirely covered with wood, and in other refpecrs was a fine tract of land. This account of the place induced another Swede, of the name of F/oc/cr, who by his voyages had acquired a great name, as well as the confidence of the peopleim the north, alfo to go thither. He arrived faie: but having wintered there likewife, on the northern fide of the ifland met with a great quantity of drift ice, on which account he gave this ifland the name of Iceland, a name it ftill bears. It mould feem too that he was not at all pi cafed with the country, fince he defcribed it, on his return to Norway, as a very indifferent foil and fituation. Some of his companions, on the contrary, gave it out as a country flowing with milk and honey. Thefe contradictory reports feem to have damped in many people the dciire of vilxting this ifland. At laft, in the year 874, In golf, and his friend Lief, refolved upon making another trial. Accordingly,
thefe
thefe two friends repaired thither together; and the country was to far from appearing to them in a bad light, that, on the contrary, its natural advantages induced them to fettle there, which they did about four years afterwards. Ingolf took thither people, cattle, and all kinds of necellary tools and implements ; and Lief, who in the mean time had been in England to the wars* carried thither his booty. The firft difcoverers of this ifland, from the circumftance of their having found fome Irifh books, Bells and Biftiops Croziers on it, imagined that fome people from Ireland had refided there previoufly to this period. But it appears more probable to me, that a party of Norman pirates, who had previoufly landed in Ireland, and carried oft from thence a confiderable booty, and among other things the above-mentioned articles, had been driven thither by a ftorm, as had been the cafe with Naddodd, and left thefe articles behind them.
The contradictory reports concerning this country by the people who firft vifited it, muft oertainly have been exaggerated on both fides. However, it may be obferved, that although thofe who firft inhabited the ifland, doubtlefs confidered it as an advantageous fpot $ yet, the poftureof affairs in the North at that juncture, probably contributed much to their fettlement in this cold region *.
About this time, Harold Schoenhaar, one of the petty fo-vereigns in Norway, began to conquer and bring into fubje&ion the other chiefs of that country; and in 875, eftablifhed the Norwegian monarchy. Gorm the Ancient likewife attacked all his neighbours round him, and united the petty ftates in Jutland and the Danifh iflands into one: as Ingiald Illrode had done long before in Sweden. It was impoflible for fuch great changes in the pofture of affairs, and thofe fo contrary to the old eftablifliments, to be effected
* The firft difcoverers of Iceland found forefts of a confiderable extent on the ifland and there are ftill to be feen in different parts of it, the roots and flumps of large fir-trees, which confirm this afiertion. We know likewife from authentic information, that corn has been cultivated in Iceland ; though at prefent, excepting a few ftuntcd birch-trees, and other underwood, thera is not a tree on the ifland, and no corn will grow on it. The fact is, that the ftraits between O/dT (or the EaJIern part of) Greenland and Iceland, having been for many years part choaked up with ice,  have occafloned a great change in the temperatutt of rhis latter ifland,
IT ?. without
52 V   O   Y   A   G   S   S and
without making a vaft number of malcontents. Thefe, at this juncture, found a fure refuge in Iceland ; and at length fo many, even-among the great people, and fome indeed of the blood royal, repaired, to the new afylum, that King Harold thought proper, by way of putting a flop in fome meafure to thefe emigrations, to publifh an edict, according to the tenor of which, no man was allowed to go to Iceland without previously paying to the king half a mark of ltandard filver. The great wealth accumulated by the piratical practices of the whole collective body of bold Normans in thefe regions from the year 516, when they iirft appeared off the French or Gallic coaft (and confequently during a period of more than 360 years)' muft neceifarily have extended the power of fome of their petty fovcrcigns, and at the fame time muft have produced a gradual change in the manners, way of living, fentimerfts, and political eftablifh-mcnts of the northern nations. Accordingly, it appears to me, that thefe very piratical expeditions laid in fome meafure the foundation of the political changes that happened almoft at one and the fame time in the northern kingdoms.
In the courfe of their expeditions, the people of thefe kingdoms' became acquainted with the different ftates of Chriftendom in the South. On this occafion it was, that the moft zealous among the monks, as well as many others, whole fole view was the acqtuutioTi of riches; and to lead a voluptuous life, rcfolvcd at length to get fent out to thefe countries as bimops. Confequently, Chrift and his pretended vicegerent, the pope, were foon preached among thefe people. The fcriptures were introduced everywhere; codes of law were compiled and committed to writing ; and the rude and wild way of life of thofe people was considerably humanized. Commerce and various arts, as well as improvements in agriculture, gained ground; and thefe barbarous regions became in fome meafure enlightened, and the manners of their inhabitants refined.
In the mean time the Danes had again invaded England,  and that with fo much fuccefs,  that King Ai.frhd,   in the beginning of his reign was obliged to relinquish  it entirely to the ravages of x thefe
thefe plunderers. In Ireland they erected a Sovereignty at Dublin, which fell to the mare of Ainlav, or Ol af, as that at Wdterfor^ did to Sitrik, and that at Limerick to Ywar. In the year 868, the Fcrro, or Sheep Illands were difcovered, and afterwards peopled, no inhabitants having been found on them. In like manner the Orkneys too were peopled with Normans, as alfo the Shetland Iflands. The fune advantages attended the Hebrides, or Weftern Illands, as they art now called, though by the Normans, who came to them from the North and the itMheys, they were denominated the Southern Iflands *.
But foon after this, Alfred emerging from his retirement, on a fudden made his appearance, and his Tubjects by his appointment likewife coming forward at a certain fixed time,  immediately fell on the Danes quite unawares,  and made great havock amongit them. Alfred did not chufc to difpatch the remainder of his vanquished foes > but gave them their lives, and permitted them to live ^Northumberland,   a province which had been laid wafle and depopulated by their countrymen.   By this humane conduct he gained the heart even of many of the Danes.   Among others, there was a Norman at his court, by name Out her, wdio had made himfelf famous by his travels.   There was another too, a Jutlander, of the name of Wulf-£ tan, who in like manner gave the king an account of his travels into Ruiua.   All thefe accounts the learned Prince collected with great care; and having purpofed to give a tranflation of the Ormejla of Orosius, in the Anglo-Saxon, his mother-tongue, he interwove in this tranflation the relations of Ohthcr and Wulfftan, with the remit of the information he had got elfewhere concerning the flate of
* It was only by the Scotch that (on account of their weftern fituation with refpect to them) they were termed the Weftern Iflands ; but the Danes, who went to them from the North, gave them the name of Soderoc ; hence originates the title of the bifhop, in whofe diocefc thefe iflands w?re, together with the Lie of Man ; as he ftill is called, though the reafon of it be not rightly known, Uifhop of Sodor and Man. But it is eafy to perceive that this .War can be no other than the Sotterotof the Danes. [Or rather the Sodoar, by contraction from the Swedifh Seder, South and Oar Oands] Note of the tranfliUr.
the.
the three parts of the world known at that period. It is very evident, from comparing them together, that Alfred's account of Europe is not that of Orofius, but rather that the Englifh Prince has principally fet before us the flate of Europe as it was in his own time. In fact we are poflelTed of fuch flender information concerning the Geography of the middle ages, that fuch an exhibition as this is of Europe and the northern regions conformable to the ideas of that age, and that from So refpectable a fource, mull be extremely valuable. I mail therefore in this place infert that part of it, which refpects the North of Europe.
The Geography of the Northern parts of Europe, according to King Alfred, almoft literally tranfated from the Anglo-Saxon.
Now will I alfo flate thofe (i. e. the boundaries) of Europe, as much as we are informed concerning them. From the river Danais (Tanais) weftward to the river Rhine (which takes its rife in the Alps, whence it runs northward to the arm of the Ocean (i), that furrounds Britannia, and fouth to the river. Donua (or Danube) (a), whofe fource is near that of the Rhine, and runs eaftward in the north of Greece, till it empties itfelf into the Wendel Sea (or Mediterranean) (3) and north even unto the ocean, which men call Cwen Sea (or the White
(1) Alfred calls the Great Sea, or Qceaa, Garjecg, a word of which I cannot find the origin, either in the German language or any of its kindred dialects. A little narrow fea he conftantly calls Sae, or Sea.
(2) In the original the Danubeis con Unfitly called the Dcnua.
(3) As directly at the commencement of the Mediterranean Seaj where it joins the Atlantic Ocean, is fituated the province of Andaiufm, in Spain, which province it n-.ec iti name from the Wandals or Vandals, who inhabited it; and as thefe Vandals afterwards lived in Africa, on the coafts of the Mediterranean, it is not at all to he wondered at, that Alfred, a prince defcended from German ancellors, mould call this part of the Mediterranean by the name of Wendel-Sea, a name of German origin,
Sea),
Sea) (4). Within this are many nations, and the whole of this tract of country is called Germany (5).
Hence to the north of the fource of the Danube, and to the eaft of the Rhine, are the EafiFrancan (6), and to the fouth of them are xheSwaefas, or Suevae (7); on the oppolite bank of the Danube, and to the fouth and eaft are the Baegthieare (8), in that part which is called Regnejburgh (9).,
Due
*
(4) It is well known, that the ancient inhabitants of the north made a diftin&ion between the Givcnas and the Laplanders, by the former underftand'mg the Finlanders, fo that Cwenland, according to them, was Finland. Hence it is eafy to perceive, that Adam of Bremen, when he fpeak^ of the Amazons and of the Land of Females, as being Czvctdand, totally miilakes the fignification of the word Cwenland. Given, in the northern languages, means a >-jjoman ; in that of Iceland it is Kivinva. Ulphilas calls a woman !$ucns, Quino; in the Anglo-Saxon dialect it is Kxven; in the Alcmannic, .^uena. Hence theEnglifli have got the word S^ueen. Now, previous to this period the Finlanders inhabited all this tract as far as Halfingeland ; C.WtfA;>/</confequentlv reached as fnr as this fpot ; in procefs of time, the Snvcons and Gcths, continually advancing farther and fanner towards the north, the Finlanders at laft had nothing left but what is ftill called Finland, and confequently Cwenland was much dirninifhed in extent. Adam of Bremen has, throughout His whole tieatifc, confounded the proper name of Kwehn, i. e. the Kwehn nation, or Kwehn country, with K<wtnt or 9uibir, It ib likewife obfcrvable, that where this Kwehn Sea was fituated, itwas Gar/leg, as Alfred calls it, or Ocean, and not a Sea like the Mediterranean or the Baltic. Confequently this Kwehn Sea was the White Sea, and no part of the Baltic.
(5) By confequence all that traft of country which is included between the Rhine, Danube, ^on, r.nd Dwina, the White Sea, and the Ocean, was at that period Germany. The northern Waraegrlans were become mailers of the whole of RufTia ; therefore the whole country, as far a? l'ieDon, or 7'anais, was Germany, according to the royal Geographer, and in fact, every place whcre the Germans bore the fway.
(6) The Eaft Franks were to be found in that part of Germany, which reached from the Rhine to the Saale ; in the North, to the Ruhre and Caftel ; and in the South, almoft to the Necker ; 0r> accordingto F.giubard, from Saxony to the Danube. They were called Eaft Franks, in order todiftinguifh them from the Franks that inhabited ancient Gaul.
(7) The Suez/as of the Royal Geographer make part of the Alemannic Confederacy, which however, pollerior to this, gave to the whole nation and province the name of S-ivabes. Part of modern Swabia is comprifed in this region, which, even in the times of Alfred and Jordan, was called by the name it now bears.
(8) Baegtbwar:. That by this word is meant Bavarians, there is not the leaft doubt; but whence arc ihey fo called, is the qucftion ? It has been obferved, that all names of people or nations, that end in ware or warians, as e. g. the Ampf,<variavs, Angrivarians, Bcrucluarians, Cbat-r^ar;unj, 8:z. indicate the remains of fuch tribe or people,   Thu< alfo the remainder of the Boij
that
Due eaft from hence are the Berne (i o), and to the north-call the Thyringas (i i) j to the north of thefe are the Old-Seaxan (12), to the north-well are the Fry fun (13), and to the weft of Old Seaxum is the mouth of the Aelfa (or Elbe) (14), as alfo Fry/an (or Friefcland). Hence to the north-weft is that land which is called Angle (15), Sil-lende (.16), and tome part of Den a (17).
To
that were exterminated by the Suevi , and who fettled atNoricum, were called Byu-vavians. By the ancients they were termed Boioarii, or Bajcarii; fo that the Baeg/bwares were the Boij or Batghttn remaining after the Slaughter made of them by the Suevi. Fid, TbunmatCs Ncrdifche Vtlker.    P. 40, 41.
(9) RcgnrjLurg was, as we may gather from this expreflion of Alfred'?, a province as well as a city.   Perhaps the diftrift of RrgeuJI>urg, or Ratijlon.
(10) The Berne are without difpute the prefent Bohemians, whom Alfred farther on mentions under the denomination of Bebemds. This appellation they had from the word Boierheim, or Dwelling-place of the Boij, who were exterminated by the Suevi.
(11) We cannot eafily miltake the Tbyringas; and the fituation of their country is ftill the fame as it was in thofe ages; though the Thuringen of that period muft neceJT.irny have taken in a greater circuit than our modern Thuringen does ; as the king of that country was at that time powerful enough to be able to wage war with the king of the Franks.
(12) By the words AU-Seaxan and Alt-Scaxum, is meant the country that lies on the eaftern fide of the Elbe. It ftill prefcrves its ancient name, viz. Old Baffin (Old Saxony) or H.dfatia iii Latin, which by degrees has degenerated to its prefent denomination of Hoi Rein. This country was of great importance in the eyes of King Alfred, as it was the habitation of his anedtors.
(13) Without difpute the Finlanders lived to the north-weft of Thuringen, between the Elbe and the Rhine, along the fea coaft ; confequently they lay to the weftward of Old Saxony, as Alfred afterwards indicates.
(\.\) This pronunciation of the word Elbe (Aelfe) is ftill retained in the Swedifh language, and the names of places Gotbaelf, Daleljcn, ftill in ufe. Elf, taken in its general acceptation, iignif.es a river.
(15) The word Hence refers to Old S,axum, and with refpect to Old Saxony, Angle is, I believe, to the north-weft, and not to the north-eaft, as the reviewer of my remarks upon Alfred afterts in the 6th part of the zd volume of the Goitingen Philological Library. For the Angles were without difpute the aihftants of the Saxons in their expedition to England, and indeed in all probability a peculiar branch of this nation ; therefore probably they dwelt in Old Saxony, on the other fide of the Oder ; and the fjjme fituation had Sillende, or the ifte of Zeeland, part of Denmark, I make this remark merely btcaufe it might othcrwife have been imagined fr«m the later fituation of the Engers between Eaft and Wtft-phalia, that the Engers, Englesox Angles, had like-wife refided on the weftern fide of the Elbe.   Alfred, in his defcription of Old Saxony, went on
in
To the north is Jpdrede (18) j and to the north-can: the Wolds (19), whicharecalled Aellcldan (20) \ from hence eaftward is Wfaedafond (21),
which
in progreffion ; fo that firft to the northweffward are the Angles, rind then Denmark, to which alfo helo^igs the hit-mentioned iiland, Zeeland. H cannot, however, be denied . bat that fome of the Angles may have likewife relidcd on the Danifli iiland-., fcfl King Alfred himfelf tel!, us as much in Ohther's relation.
(16) Sdicude, and (17) Dena, are doubtlcfs Zealand and Denmark.
(18) That the Apdrede are the Ohotrites. no rcafonable pcrfon will deny; though the pun-loving and pedantic writers of the Chronicles of the middle ages have gone fo far as t<* make them out to be the Abdentes. A little farther on, thefe people are likewife termed Afdrtdc. They are not, however, to the north of Old Saxony, but rather to the eaftward of it. Perhaps the copyift infertcd the word North inftcad of Eaft. Or clfe we fhould read as follows: " To the North-eaft is Apdrcde, and to the North the Wolds."
(19) (20) To the north-eaft of the Obotrites dwelled the Wilzi, the Rami, Sec. Hut thefe it was not Alfred's intention to indicate, but merely the Wends, who lived on the Havel, and were termed HeirUi, or llaveldi, and fometimes Heveldum. This happy obfervation of the reviewer before alluded to is doubtlefs better than mine ; only in that cafe, inftcad of north-eaft we muft read fouth-eaft ; for this is the fituation of Havelland with refped to Old Saxony.
(21) (22) Wincdaland, fays Alfred, lies to the eaft of Old Saxony, and this is precifelv the fituation of Mecklenburg, where the Wendian Sclavi lived. They were called Wends, or Vandals, from the fituation of their country near the fea ; for Woda, or Wavda, fignifies water, or fea ; hence too they were denominated Pomeranians; i. e. people who lived by the fea fide—fo moriti. Th;s is right alfo on another account, viz. becaufe Wulfftan, in the fequel, exprefdy fays, that Weonodland was always to the right hand of him in his journey from Ilacthum to Ilfing, and that the Viftula runs from Weonodland into the Bftmert, er the Haf.
Confequently Weonodland, or Wincdland, muft have been the modern Mecklenburgh and Pomc-rania. The reviewer of my Comment, in the Philological Library, blames me for taking the Wend.-, for the Lcttovians, a miftake which I never committed. My map, indeed, plainly fhews that J did not: Ionlyfaid, that this people fpoke the Lcttovian or Pruflian language, and therefore were different from the other Sclavi. They were, however, connected with the other branches of the Sclavi ; and fo were the Lettovians and Prufljans, the words of whofe language arc even to this day, almoft all Sclavifh. I am likewife accufed by this gentleman of having afterwards given up or elfe forgot the above-mentioned opinion of mine, and abfolutely looked on this Wendealand on the Viftula, to be the Daniih iiland of Funen. The fad is, however, that I have never altered my fentirnents on this fubjecl ; but on the contrary, abide firmly by them, and moreover do not take thr- Ljle of Funen for this fame Wendcnland ; but do no moie'than merely follow Wulfftan in this point, who,, as foon as he is come out of the harbour of Ilacthum has the country of Wconoth-land (not Weonodland) to the right of hiru; and Langelami, Laeland. falfter, and Schonen, tn deleft: then he comes to Burgendaland, Blecinga, Metre, Ecwland, and Gotland; after this he mentions Wt*n*dltntd, which at other times he call* Winodland, and v. as alwayj to the right ;:.v d of
I him.
which men call Syfyle (22). To the South-eaft at fome diftance is Mar oar 0 (23) ; and thefe Mar oar 0 have to the weft the *£byringas and Bcbcmasy as alfo part of the Baegtbware; and to the fouth, on the other fide of the Donna, is the country called Carendra (24).
Southwards towards and along the mountains which are called the Alpis, lie the houndaries of Baegtbware, as alfo Swaeva (25) ; and then
him. To me nothing appears plainer than the difference between Winodland and W&nothland'; t1.;\ latter lies near Langeland, the other to the well of the Viftula, along the fea coaft. But with refpecT. to Srjyk, it muft be owned, that Alfred feems to have made amiftake. There is an in considerable place called SirJIi, or Sujle, which is fituated on the Baltic, in Wagcrland, between Ti .iveiniuide and Eutyn, and is ftill called Sxfftl. This is to the weftward about the bep inning of the tracts inhabited by the Wends. But there is another diftrict, that of Siuftlli, of which Dithmar, of Merfeburg makes mention. It lies not far from the Mulda, below Eulenburg, in Saxony ; and at this prefent time there is in that diftricl a parifh called Srfelitz, or Seufelitz, or Seufedlitz, As this place was likewife inhabited by Wends, Alfred poflibly might have heard of bath thefe places, and millaken the one for the other. For immediately after the Winds and Sy/yli, hefpeaksof the Moravians. This, in fact, is too great a leap. But this Syjyk cqnne&a the Wends on the Baltic, who have likewife a Syjfel in their country, with the Moravians, or rather with their neighbours the Delamenfam, of whom mention is made farther on.
(23) By the Moroaro are meant the people of Moravia, fo called from the river Mora-va, and the fituation that is given them here, is likewife right. They lie to the fouth-eaft of old Saxony,, at fome diftance from it. Ofer fumme daU Mr. Harrington's tranflation of this padage is very erroneous. When I wrote my remarks on Alfred's Or opus, I had not the Anglo-Saxon original before mc; as it was then in the hands of the printer; I therefore ufed Mr. Harrington's tranflation only, which I then fuppofed to be accurate; and was confequently now and then led into mi flakes by it.
The aflertion that Moravia (which at that time was a very powerful kingdom, under the aufpices of Sxvatophk, and confequently was of a much greater extent than it is at prefent) was bounded by Thuringia and Bohemia to the weft, as well as by part of Bavaria, is perfectly agreeable to truth.
(24) Ctweadramuft certainly be Carinthia, or the country of the Carentani, or Carendcrs, and this C irinthia includrs Auilria and Styria. The Carcntini had their own peculiar princes, of fome of which the names are known to us; as for example, Boruth, who put himfelf under the protection of the Franks in 732, and Wonomir, who affifted in taking the Hring of the Awari with Duke
Henry of Forli in 796.
(•■:>, The h'itidurltt (or Gtmaerc) for the boundaries of Bavaria anji Ssvabia to the South
to the eaftward of the Carendre Country, and beyond the Wafte (26), is Pulgaraland (27) (or Bulgaria); to the eaft is Grecaland(28) (or Greece), to the eaft of Maroara is Wifleland (29), and to the eaft of that is Datia (30), though it formerly belonged to the Got tan (31) (or Goths).   To the North-eaft of Moroaro are the Delamenfan (32).
(26) It is fomewhat lingular, that the Reviewer, who has fo frequently taken upon him to cenfure me, fhould here, of his own authority, put, by way of note (Orig. weftwards). Me cannot furely have looked at this pailage very narrowly in the original; for there it Hands word for word thus : And tbonne be eaftan Carcndradwde begeondan tbatm wejlenne is Pulgaraland. So that Alfred exprefsly fays, " eallward ;" and the word weftenne docs not fignify welt, but a wafte ordefert. For juft hereabouts it Was that the Awari were fo n.uch thinned by Charlemagne, that their priftine habitations were a perfect defcrt. Nay, this very circumftance (hews, that the accounts here given us by JE\hed coincides exactly with what palled in his time; for fo foon after as in 89j, the Madfchiari (or Hungarians, as they are now called) came and took pofleflion of this tract of country. The geography of this part therefore is very accurate and exact, and not fo full of chafms and contradictions as the reviewer above-mentioned would makt us believe.
(27) By Pulgaraland is meant the extenfive kingdom of 13ulgaria of thofe times, which extended to both fides of the Danube, and comprifed th^ modern Bulgaria and Wallachia, with part of Moldavia and Bcftarabia. The Bulgarians were probably a tribe of Turkifh origin, which dwelt on the other fide of the Wolga in Cafan, where they had their metropolis called Bolgar, but afterwards, together with the Huns under the command of Attila, made nearer approaches to the domains of the Greek emperors in Europe, where they erected a new Hate on the North fide of Mount Hsmus.
(28) Grecaland (or Griekenland, as the people of the northern countries called it) is the domains of the Greek Byzantinian Emperors.
(29) W:Jleland is the tract of country that lies on the Wifte, or Viftula (in modern German M'eijlel) confequently it is principally great and little Poland.
(30) Datia therefore, in all probability, is not Moldavia and Tranfylvani.i, as has been fup-' pofed ; for thefe countries are fomewwhat more to the fouthward. But, indeed, the bearings here laid down, rrtay likewife, in fuch diftant regions, very well be fuppofed to differ a point or two from the real fituation.
(31) The Gottan are the Goths, who for fome time inhabited Dacia. As thefe were a famous nation in hiftory, King Alfred was willing, at leaft, to point out one of their dwelling places.
(32) The Delamenfan, or Delamenfan, are a people frequently, by the writers of the middle ages, termed Daleminztn. This, to (hew their erudition, they fometimes wrote Dalmatians. The people and race here alluded to, were fituated in the environs of Lommatfcb, or as the Sclavonians called it, Hhmmatfcb, Gktnmatfch. Confequently it was round about Mciften on both ftdes of the Elbe, that the Dalemir.zen refided.
I 2 Eaft
Eaft of Delamenfan are the Horithl (33), and North of the 'Delamenfan are the Surpe (34), to the Weft alfo are the Syfjele.   To the North of the IJorithi is Maegthaland (35), and North of Maegthaland is Ser-mendl (36) quite to the Rjffin^j) (or Riphasan) Mountains.
To the South-wcil: of Dena is that arm of the ocean that furrounds Brytannia, and to the North is that arm of the fea which is Oft-Sea, to the Eaft and to the North are the North Dene, either on the continent or on the ifland, to the Eaft are the Afdrcde; to the South is the mouth of the Elbe, and fome part of Old Saxony (38). The North Dene have, to the northward,   that fame arm of the fea which is
{33) The IJcritbi, or Horiti, area Sclavonian people, with whom we are unacquainted; though I fhould be apt to conjecture that the part of Germany in which they rcfided was fome-wherc about Gorlitz, or clfe near Quarlitz, not far from great Glogau ; for to the North of ther DcJaminzians lay the Sorbs, of Lower Lufatia.
T34.) The Surges, or Surfs are eafily diftinguifhed ; in faft, they are the Sorbian Sclavonians, or the Sorbi, Sirbi, Strbi, and Saba of the old writers of chronicles. The modem Wends of Lufatia. call themfelves Sfcrbs, or Sforbs. As the Daleminzians lived on both fides of the Elbe, to the North-caft of Moravia, and towards the Eaft were bounded by the Horithi in Upper Lufatia, the Sorbs mull ncccffarily be the fame with the Wends of Lower Lufatia; and the Syfeltans about Seufelig are, according to Alfred's account, only to the weflward of the Sorbs of Lower Lufatia.
(35) It is not pofliblc that Maegthaland fhould be the terra facminarum. of Adam von Bremen, as the reviewer in the Gcttingen PhiLhgical Library afTerts it to be. For, i. if the the word Maegthaland be fuppofed to be a tranflation of terra fceminarum, or Kzvenland, it is evidently a miftake ; for this in the Anglo Saxon dialect would be Wif manual and. 2. But fuppofing it to mean Maidenland, Hill it is wrong; for in this cafe it would be written Madenland, and not Maegthaland. 3. We are to look for this fame Maegthaland directly to the northwards of Upper Lufatia and Lower Silefia, and confequently in Great Poland, and not near the Eflland of Adam von Bremen. Perhaps, indeed, the name of this country is wrong fpelt, and it mould be Wartaland, as it is fituated on the banks of the Warte. But this is mere conjecture !
(3f)) (37) Sermende is the mutilated and difguifed name of Sarmatia, a mere falvo and difguife for ignorance, like the Rijfin Mountains,   or Riplucan Mountains of the ancient geographers.
(38) In order to underfland the following paflages clearly, it will be neccflary to be previoufly acquainted with the point of view from which Alfred makes his furvcy. Here it feems to be on the Eider. To the South-eaft is the Brittifh Channel. To the Eaft and North arc the North-Danes, To the Eaft are the Obotritcs, and to the South is the mouth of the Elb« and Old Saxony.
called
DISCOVERIES in t u e NORTH. 61
Called Oft:$ea, To the Eaft is the nation of the Ofti\ and Afdrcde to the South. (The Op have, to the North of them, that fame arm of the fea) fo are the Winedas and the Burgendas (39). And (ftill more) to the South is FLaefeldan (40). The Burgcndan have this fame arm of the fea to the Weft, and the Sveon to the North ; to the Eaft are the Sermendc, to the South the Surfe (41)- The Sveons have to tha South the arm of the fea called OJli, and to the North, over the waftes, is Cwenland, to the North-weft are the Scrick-Finnas (42), and to the weft the Northmen (43).
Ohthere
(39) Burgendas is without doubt the Iiland of Bomholm ; for from Borgendaholm (or Borgenda Ifland) it has been gradually altered to Borgendbohn, Bergen, and at length to Bonibo/m. Pliny
refers the Burgundiona to the Vindili in the North of Germany. Lib. iv. c. 14.-Mamertinus
fays in Genathliaco, c. 17, that both thefe nations were nearly exterminated by the Goths. Am-mianus Marcellinus, lib. xxviii. cap. 5. informs us, that they had often been at variance with the Allemanni on account of the fait fprings at Halle on the Sale. After the havock made of them by the Goths, they feem to have betaken themfelves to this ifland for refuge, which therefore took its name from them. They were governed by a king of their own. Farther on, Wulfftan very plainly afcribes the fame fituation to this country.
(40) Here wemuft again remind the reader, that it is neceflary to know King Alfred's point of view in order to undcriland his description. Hemuft now be fuppofed to Hand in the ifle of Zealand. In the north is the arm of the fea, by him called the Oft Sea ; to the eaft are the 0,1i, who confequently lived in Prufiia, as will be (hewn ftill plainer a little farther on. He does not mention Sconen ; for this belonging to Denmark, is naturally included in it. There is nothing, therefore, nearer to the eaftward than Efthonia. To the South of Zealand is the country of the Obotntes. Now comes a parenthefts, tu which the king fays, that this fame arm of the fea is likewife to the north of the Ojli'; and! then proceeds to mention the Wends and inhabitants of Bcrnholm, as being fituated to ihe fouth of the Danes, at leaft of thofe that refided in Sconen ; and a good diftance farther to the fouthward ii Haeueldau, which in this place is very propcrlv fpellcd with an H,
(41) Now/Elfrcd takes anew point of view. Bornholm has to the weft of it the fen, to the northward the Sueones, to the eaft behind Efthonia are the Sarmatians, and behind the Wends above-mentioned and the Havellanders are Sorbian Sclavonians.
(42) The Seridrfinnas. The Geographer of Ravenna, fo early as in his time, makes mention, in bookiv. chap. 12 and 4/), of the Patria Rerefumorum and Sirdifenncrum, which latter he like-w»fc calls Serdefenni. Proccpius in iiift. Gotb. L, ii. p. 261, calls them Scritifinni, and place-, them fo far diftant as I'bule, Jordanus de rebus Geticis, cap. 3. fpeaks of the Grefe/ut*,of whom there are three different nations ; and iW«s Diacwur, in his ////?. Ungob. L. U cap. 5. terms
3 them
Ohthcre (44) told his lord (King Alfred) that he lived to the North of all the Northmen. He. quoths that he dwelt in that land to the northward, oppofite to the Weft Sea; he faid, however, that the land of the Northmen is due North from that fea, and it is all a wafte, except in a few places, where the Einnas (45) for the moft part dwell, for hunting in the winter, and in the fummer for fifhing in that fea. He faid that he was determined to find out once on a time, how far this country extended due North, or whether any on« lived to the North of the waftes before mentioned. With this intent he proceeded due North from tins country, leaving all the way the wafte land on the ftarboard, or right hand, and the wide fea to the Baecbord, or left.   He was within three days as far North as the
whale-
them Scriionvini and Scritolini: Adam von Bremen Scritefrwi. Confequently King iElfrcd's orthography is apparently juft. According to Adam von Bremen they lived, In eonfimo Sntonum <vel N<rdmannorum contra Boream. They therefore bordered both on Sweden and Nordmanna-Jand. They were extremely fwift, and indeed more fo than the wild animals of the country. Paul Wtrtufi'iti affirms, that they took their name from the word which, in this barbarous language, fionified ti ipringot leap ; as by means of a curve piece of wood, formed with great art, they leaped forwards with fuch fwittnefs, that they overtook animals in their flight. One cannot here hejp immediately recogni/.ing the large fno-iv-frces, or fchrit-fioes, in ufe at prefent in many of the niojft northerly regions of Europe. Hence too it was that thefe people were called Schreit-Fin landers', according to the univeriai tcftimony of authors, they lived by hunting and fowling.
(43) Here again i» another point of view for the determination of the fituation of the Sueones, or Swedes. To the fouth they have the Ojl-Sea, or Baltic; towards the eaft the Sarmatians in Livonia, and the country ftnee called Efthonia ; to the north, beyond the Defert, i.- Civte/and, the modern Finland, and to the north-weft are thefe Finlanders who live entirely by hunting, or the Scrid finlanders ; and Lilly, to the north arc the Northmen.
(44) Ohthere was a great man from Norway, and, as fome affirm, from Nummadalen, or, as is reported by Others, from Nordland, whL h comprifes the extremity of Norway towards the North,; he undertook a voyage of difcovery towards Permien, and another to Sweden ; both of which ALIfred here defcribes from Ohthcre's own mouth. This is extremely accurate and authentic, and entirely in the ftile of thofe times, when fo many of the Normans went abroad in fearch of adventures. Boih thefe voyages, together with that of Wulfftan, arc the beft accounts we have of the middle ages in the nor'h of Europe,  and throw a great light on geographical fciencc.
(45) Ohthere calls the inhabitants of this Defert Finnas, and in fart it appears that the modern Laplanders are really Finlanders ; and that the name of Laplanders was not beftowed on them till of late years ; the Danes ftill calling this country Finmark.
' , (46) The
whale-hunters ever go, and then proceeded in his courfe due North, as far as he could fail within another three days, whilft the land lay from thence due Eat*. Whether the fea there lies within the land, he knows not j he only knows, that He waited there for a weft wind, or a point to the North, and failed near that land eaftward as far as he could in four days, where he waited for a due north wind, becaufe the land there lies due South. Whether the fea lies within the land he knows not. Upon this he failed along this country due South u lar as he could in five days.
Upon this land there lies a great river, at the mouth of which they lay to, becaufe they could not proceed far further on account of- th? inhabitants being hoftile, and all that country was inhabited on &HC fide of this river, nor had Ohthere met before with any land that was inhabited fince he came from his own. All the land to his right, during his whole voyage, was a defert, and without inhabitants (except fifhermen, fowlers, and hunters), all of whom were Finnas, and L -had a wide fea to his left (46). The Beormas (47), indeed, had well-peopled their country, for which reafon Ohthere did not dare enter upon it; on the other hand, the cTerfenna (48) land was all a defert, except when it was thus inhabited by nthers and fowlers.
{■[(>) The track of Ohthcre's voyage is traced out in the map, where the figures fhew the number of days he was in failing from place to place.
(d.7) The Beormas are the Biarmiers of the northern writers, and the country of Permia is ftill mentioned in the title of the Emperors of RufTia. After this expedition of Ohthere, many more Normans went toBiarmia infearch of adventures.
(48) Terfennaland is mentioned as being different from the country of the Scrite Finnas. We have already feen juft above (42) that Guido of Ravenna had fo early as in his time diftinguifhed them into Rffjinni and Scritifumi; the latter lived entirely by hunting, for which purpofe in winter they made ufe of Schrit or fnow-fhoes; while the former fubfuled on their rein-deer. The word Rerejinnas in Ravenna, fhould therefore certainly be written Renejinnas; and in the ! text here Rhanefinnas, or perhaps (from the circumftancc of thefe people rending and journeying in fledges). Fer-finnas (from the word Farat in German Fabren, fignifying to go in a carriage of any kind, to travel). For Ohthere tells us, in faft, that the Finnas had rein-d«cr, and made ufe of decoy.deer, in order to catch the wild ones.
Th*
fH V   O   Y   A   G   B   S and
The Beormas told him many particulars about their land, as welt as of the other countries near them 3 but Ohthere could not rely upon their accounts, becaufe he had not an opportunity of feeing with his own eyes (49); it fecmed, however, to him, th.it t\)e Beormas and the Finnas, fpoke the fame language (50). He went the rather, and ihaped his courfe to each of thefe countries, on account of the horfe-whales, becaufe they have very good hone in their teeth, fome of which he brought to the king, and their hides are good for fhip-ropes (51). This fort of whale (52) is much lefs than the other kinds, it being not longer commonly than feven ells; but (Ohthere fays) thai in his own country is the beff. whale-hunting, becaufe the whales are eight-and-forty ells long, and the largeft fifty j that he has killed fixty-lix in two days.
Ohtlnre was a very rich man in fuch goods as are valuable in thofe countries (namely, in wild deer) and had, at the time he came to the king, fix hundred tame deer, none of which he had purchafed (53);
(49) This nice flrictnefs of Ohthere, not to mention any thing to which he had not been himfelf an cye-witnefs, is, as it were, a pledge to us for the authenticity of the roll of his relation, and mskes the whole the more valuable and rcfpectable.
(50) It is highly probable, that the Biarmians were a branch of the great Finlandifh Mock ; for they even had a God Jcmala, which is the name of the Finlandifh Deity, and they were rich and in pofl'eflion of gold and precious (tones; they moreover had fixed and fettled habitations, and confequently were not wandering hcrdfmcn or hunters, like their neighbours, the Finlanders. The identity of their language likewife (according to the tcllimony of Ohthere) with thefe latter people, is a proof of their Finlandifh origin.
(51) The hide of the fea-horfe is even at this day made ufe of in Ruflia, particularly for coach-harnefTes. They have one defect, and that is, that when they are wet, they give aftonifhingly, more, indeed, than any leather 1 ever faw.
(52) King Alfred very properly terms the fea-horfes whales ; as in fart they belong to that clafs of animals, which are aquatic, or viviparous, fuckle their young, and have a warm blood.
(53) The expreflion in the original is unbebohtra, i.e. never offered for fale, or unbought. There is a peculiar fmiplicity in this expreffion, perfectly according with the manners of the patriarchal ages. Abraham's riches (befides his cattle) confided likewife in 318 fervants, none of | which he had bought, but who were all born in his own houfe ; in like manner, Ohthere, though ju a much poorer country, was in poflefiion of 600 deer, all of which he had brought up himfelf, having neither bought nor caught any of them.
befides
befides this, he had fix decoy rein-deer (54), which arc very valuable among!! the Finnas, becaufe they catch their wild ones with them.
Ohthere himfelf was one of the molt confiderable men in thofe parts, and yet he had not more than twenty horned cuttle, twenty fheep, and twenty fwine; and what little he plowed was with horfes. The rents in this country confift chiefly of what is paid by the Finnas (55), in deer-fkins, feathers, whale-bone, and fhip-ropes, made of whales hides, or thofe of feals. Every one pays according to his fubftance; the wealthier! pay the fkins of fifteen martens, five rein-deer, one bear's-fkin, ten hampers (56) full of feathers, a cloak (57) of bear's or otter's-fkin, two fhip-ropes (each lixty ells long), one made of whale's and the other of feal's-fkin.
Ohthere moreover faid, that Northmanna-land was very long and narrow, and that all of the country which is fit either for pafture (58) or plowing is on the fea coaft, which, however, is in fome parts very rocky; to the eaftward are wild moors (59) parallel to the cultivated
(54) Decoy rein-deer muft doubtlefs be highly valued among a people that lived by hunting, and on the ficfh and produce of thefe animals. In India they have elephants of this kind, which have been trained up to catch the wild ones. [See a circumftantial account of this in The Life unci Adventures of John Chrijlopher Wolf, with a Defaipton cf Ceylon, lately publifhed.] In the fame manner, likewife, almoft every butcher in London has a weather, which goes regularly to meet the fhecp juft brought home from the market, and infidioufty leads them into a fkughter-houfe under ground ; whither having, by frequently leaping in and out, enticed the whole flock he at laft leaps out once for all, and leaves his new acquaintance to the murderous "knife of the butcher.
(55) The term made ufe of in the original for this tribute is Gafol; whence the French word Cabelle. Hut this ftiews, that fo early as towards the end of the 9th century, the Normans had compelled the Finlanders to pay them tribute.
(56) In the original, ambra. Langeleek has a long note on this word, which he explains by' the amphora of the Latins. Mr. Harrington tranflatcd it bujbcls ; but, in my opinion, both of them are millaken ; as. I rather fuppofe it to be the fame with the modern Englifh word Hamper, in old finglifli, Hanapcr, which is derived from hand-bear.
(57) Kyrtel in the original.   In German, kuettel, or cloak.
(5s) Orig. Euan.   (59) Mora, moor, a black turfy foil.   It is well known, that in Lapland and Finland there is at prefent a great number of thefe uncultivated moors; and the Flora Lap-itfelf gives abundant proof of this circumfiance.
K land.
66 V   O   Y   A   G   £   S and
land. The Finnas inhabit thefe moors, and the cultivated land is broadetl to the eaftward (60), and grows narrower to the northward.. To the Had it is fixty miles broad, in fome places broader; about the middle it is perhaps thirty miles broad, or fomewhat more: to the northward (where it is narrowed) it may be only three miles (from the fea) to the moors, which are in fome parts fo wide, that a man could fcarcely pafs over them in a fortnight, and in other parts, perhaps, in lix days.
Oppofite to this land, to the South, is Sweoland (61), on the other fide of the moors $ (quite to that land northwards,) and oppofite to that again to the North, is Cwenaland. The Cwenas fbmetimes make incurfions againft the Northmen over their moors, and fome-times the Northmen on them ; there are very large frefli meres (62) amongft the moors, and the Cwenas carry their mips (63) over land into the meres, whence they make depredations on the Northmen; their (hips are fmall, and very light.
Ohthere faid alfo, that the fhire (64) which he inhabited is called Heligoland, and that no one dwelt to the North of him $ there is
(60) To the Eaftward; fo in fact it ftands in the original ; but it is very plain that it fhould be to the South ; and particularly if one has the map of Norway before one, one fees at a glance, from the form of the country, that no other word can be ufed here than South: befides t-iis, it is juft afterwards oppofed to northwards ; and confequently there can be no doubt but that it is a miflake of the copyift-
(61) This paflage is very obfeure. Thus much however is evident, viz. that between Ohthere's dwelling-place in Halgoland and Sweoland, which lay over againft it in the fouth, there were large, cxtenfive moors ; and farther, that oppofite the moft northerly part of Sweoland, was Cwen~ land, i. e. Finland. Thefe Cwenas, or Finlanders, did not join immediately to Northmanna-land ; but the moors of the defert tract were interpofed between thefe two countries*
(62) A lake, or large collection of frefh water, is ftill called Mere in the north of England j. and the fame word is here ufed in the fame fenfe by Alfred.
(63) Thefe portable fhips, which were fo fmall and light, muft doubtlefs have been mere boats.
(64J In the original, Scir,.
likewife
DISCOVERIES   i if   the  NORTH. 67
likewife a part of this fouthern land which is called Sciringes-heal(65), which no one could reach in a month, if he lay to at night, though
he
(65) The name of this place has given a great deal of trouble to former commentators on Alfred, viz. Sir John Spelman, Buffxus, Somner, John Phi!. Murray, and Langebcck, who have allchofen fpots totally different to place Sciringes heal in.   Spelman and others look for this place near Dantzic, where, in their opinion, the Scares formerly refided.   But firft, the fpot where the Seyres lived, is by no mean s determined ; and next, it is evident that Ohthere went continually along the coaft from Halgoland to Sciringes-heal, and that this latter was to the left of him during the whole paflage thither.   The late Mr. Murray places it at Skanor ; but I cannot think this to have been five days voyage from Htethum, in Jutland, as Ohthere fays it was. I.angebeck is for carrying it to Kongahelle, on the Gautelf, near Marftrand ; and afl'erts, that the name of this place is written wrong, and that for Sciringes-heal we fhould read Cynwges-heal. If this word occurred indeed but once, I would allow Langebeck to bj in the right; but, in fad, we meet with it five times in the fpacc of a few lines; and each time it is written, without the lealt variation, Sciringes-heal; on which account it does not appear to me at all probable, that it fhould be fpch in any other manner.    2dly, The voyage from Halgoland to Kongahelle is not fufliciently extenfive to take up a month to accomplifh it.   jdly, Kongahelle is too near Jutland, to require five days for making the tiip, as Ohthere fays it does.   Having demonftrated the infufHciency of thefe conjectures, it is now incumbent on us, in our turn, to point out where Sciringes-heal actually is lituated.   Paul Warcnfricd, in his Hijl. Longohard, lib. i. cap. 7 and 10, makes mention of a diflrid, called Sccrunga, in which the Winili, or Lombards, refided for fome time, ere they removed to Mauringa, and from thence ftill further on to Gotland, Anthabet, Bethaib, and rurgundaib.   Now this Scoruvga feems to have been the difttid in which the poll of Sciringes-heal was.    This Scorunga was not far from Gotland; confequently it was fomewhere in Sweden. Add to this, that Ohthere, having exprefsly defcribed Sueoland as being to the fouthward of the pi ace of his habitation, immediately afterwards fays, " There is a port in this fouthern land which is called Sciringes-heal."   By this he feems to indicate very plainly, that this place is no where to be fought for but in Sweden.   But all this will appear ftill more evident, if we take the pains to follow the track of his voyage.   Firft, he has Iraland, i. e. Scotland, to the right of him; as likewife the iflands which lie between Scotland and Halgoland, viz. the Shetland and Orkney [Hands; but the continent is conftantly to the left of him, quite till he comes to Sciringes-heal. But farther, a large bay ftrctches to the northward, deep in that country, along the coaft of which he kept continually failing ; and this bay commences quite to the fouthward of Sciringes-heal. It is fo broad that a man cannot fee acrofs it, and Gotland lies directly oppofite to it.   But the fea, which extended from Zealand to this fpot, goes many hundred miles farther up in the country (that is to fay, to the eaftward). From Sciringes-heal Ohthere could go in five days to Hatbum, which lies between the Wends, Saxons, and Angles.   Now, by means of this voyage, we are enabled to determine with ftill greater exadnefs the fituation of the place we are in fearch of. In order to get to Hat bum from Sciringes-heal, he left Gotland to the right, and foon afterwards Zealand likewife, together with the other iflands, which had been the habitations of the Angles, be-
K z fore
he had every day a fair wind ; daring this voyage he mull fail near the land, on his right hand would he Iraland (66), and then the iflands which are between Iraland and this land. For this country is to Sciringes-healy all the way on the left. As you proceed north--ward, a great fea to the fouth ward of Sciringes-heal, runs up into this land j and is fo wide, that no one can fee acrofs it. Gotland (68) is qppofitc on the other fide, and afterwards the fea of Siilende lies many miles up in that country. Ohthere further fays, that he failed in five days from Sciringes-heal, to that port v/hich men call llaethnm (70), which is between the Wirudum, Seaxun, and Anglen, and makes part of Dene,.
When
fore they landed in England; while thofe which belonged to Denmark were to the left of him for the fpace of two days. Sch-inges-heal confequently is in Sweden ; at the entrance of the Gulf of. Bothnia, •vlrich runs up into the land northwards; juft on that fpot, where the Baitic parting by Zealand, fpivads out into a wide gulf "extending feveral hundred miles into the 1 and : if one goes to Jutland from Sciringes-heal, one muft of ncceflity paf> by Gotland. Now juft here it is that I find the Svia-Sciscren, or Swedifh Shicrs (a duller of little iflands furronnded by rocks). Heal, in the northern languages, fignifies a port,, as in fuch places a fhip may be kept in fafety.. Sciringes-heal therefore was " the harbour in the SI. irs," and was probably at the entrance of. the Gulf of Bothnia, and confequently where Stockholm now is; and the tract of land before which tht Shiers lay towards the fea, was the Sccrunga of Paul Warnefricd.
(66) Iraland, fays Alfred ; yet he means that country which we now call Scotlaud; and a little farther on he mentions our modern Ireland in thefe terms : Igbemia, that ive Scotland hatad.. This fhews therefore}., that the people removed from the one country to the other, ;.nd peopled them alternately.
|(; ) As 1 have already remarked above, that Ohthere here means the land along which he had hitherto been failing : this word is of great fcrvice towards determining the fituation of Sciringe-fieal, and befides fhews the fituation of the two bays which here begin to feparatc from each'other.
(68) Gotland is without doubt the ifland of Gotland, as maybe feen ftill more plainly in Wulfllan's Voyage to Trufo.   It cannot therefore mean Jutland, as Langebcck affirms it docs.
(69) Alfred calls the fea which reaches from Zealand to Gotland the Siilende Sea, and .'Tier having made mention of that arm of it which runs out to the northward deep into that land, along the coaft of which he had hitherto failed, farther fajs, this fea extends yet many hundred miles farther in the fame direction in which he had failed from Zealand to it, viz.  from weft to^ eaft. ■
(70) This port of Hat bum has given /Elfrcd's Commentators a great deal of trouble. However, they are all agreed in affirming, the place thatis here meant, to beSlrfwic, as this latter is ball •' Hail baby by the Anglo-Saxon Ethelwtrl.   A Norwegian poet gives it the name of Hey-
tbabae,
When Ohthere failed to this place from Sciringes-heal, Denmark-was on his left, and on the right was a wide fea for three days, as were alfo two days before he came to llaethnm, Gotland, Siilende, and many iflands (thefe lands were inhabited by the Angles before they came hither) • and for two days the illands which belong to Dene were on the left.
Wulfftan (73) faid, that he went from Ilacthum to Trufo (74) in
feven
thalae, and others write it Hey Jake, and by Adam of Bemcn, it Is called HeielaL ; this in their opinion is Htethum: yet it appears to me that the difference between H:c;baby and HafMM is not fo very intoufiderable ; neither indeed is it poflible for this place to be Slefwic, as the'fituation-<>f it does not accord with that of the fpot defcribed by Ohthere and Wulfftan.   In fact, ir Slefwic be Hal bum, I muft confefs, that I cannot in the leaft comprehend the track of the voyage of either of thefe ancient navigators.   Ohthere tells us,  that in failing from Sciringet-heal to Htetbum, he had Denmark to the left, and the open fea for the fpace of three days to the right ; but that for two days before he reached Hiethum, he had Gotland and Zealand to the right, and the iflands which belonged to the Danes, to the left.   But had he been going to Slefwic, he would have found all the Danifh iflands lie to the right hand of him, and not one, befides Fevum, to the left.   Now, I beg leave to enquire, how can this fituation of Slefwic be made to correfpond with Hsethum ?. The very fame may be faid with refpeft to Wulfftan's Voyage ; though indeed this fituation attributed to Slefwic is rather more applicable to Hajthum.   But now 1 will take the liberty of fuppofing, that, as in the dillria ofAarbnus there is an extcnfivc trad of land called Albeide (for it is in fad a heath) ; the prefent town of Aarbuu: (in Englilh oar-hrufe) is new, and in the 9th century lay higher up towards Albeide, or AUheaib; and confequently the harbour may at that time have had the name of Al-h<tthum, or Hsethum.   So that if Ohthere fet °ut from Stockholm, Gothland was to the right of him, and fo was Zealand ; and he failed between Zealand and Funen, in which cafe all the Danifh iflands were to the left hand of him, and l'e had the Schager Rack and the Cattegai, a wide fea, to the right.   Farther, when Wulfftan went from Aarhuus, (or Ha;thum,) to Trufo, he kept Wconotbland (not IVinodland) i. e. Funen (or Fionia) to his right hand ; and to the left were Langeland, Lacland, Falfier, and Sconeg, as well as Bornbolm, Blehing Moebre,  Oeland,  and Gotland.   But IVcndenland remained to the right hand of him, quite to the mouth of the Viftula.
(72) King Alfred fays here, in exprefs terms, that the Furies, before they came to England,, had refided on the Danifh iflands. Confequently it is impoftible that F.ngcrn on the Wefer, which' was of a pofterior date,, fhould have been the priftine country of the Angles.
(73) The ftrongeft poihble proof that Slefwic was not Hu?thum, arifes from the confidcration that, were that the cafe, the Danifh iflands muft, with refpecl to thofe that were going to Ha-tbum, have lain to the right hand ; whereas Ohthere fays, they lay to the left.
(73) Wuljlan appears to have been a Dane, who, perhaps, had become acquainted with-Ohthere in the courfe of his expedition, and had gone with him to England.
(74) There is at this time a take between Elbing and Prufft?.n Holland called Trt'fo, or Dravjin,
from
feven days and nights (the fhip being under fail all the time) that Weonothland (75) was on his right, but Langaland, Laeland, Faljlcr, and Sconeg, on his left, all of which belong to Denemearcan (76). We had alfo Burgendaland on our left, which hath a king of its own. After having left Burgendaland, the iflands of Beclnga-eg, Meore, Rowland, and Gotland, were on our left, which country belongs to Sueon (77)*, and Weonodland (78) was all the way on our right, to th« mouth of the Wijle (79). This river is a very large one, and near it lies Witland (80) and Weonodland, the former of which belongs to EJlum, and the Wifle does not run through Weonodland, but through EJhnere (81), which lake is fifteen miles broad.   Then runs the
from which, probably, the town he mentioned, which (bod on the banks of the Frifcb Uaf, took its name.
(75) We have before in two different places in the notes remarked the difference between Weonothland and Winodland, the firft of which is in all probability Fuehnen (Funen) or Fionia, which place is ftill called Fjen.
(76) That Weonothlandh not Wendenland, appears from the obfervation of Wulfstan, that all thefe countries belong to Denmark, which could not be faid of IVinodland.
(77) The countries here mentioned, which all belong to Sueon, or Sweden, have need of a few remarks by way of elucidation. By Becinga-eg is certainly meant Blekingen, orBleking; and the / muft have been left out in the hurry of tranferibing: this Bleking, conformably to the cuftom of many writers in thofe times, he calls an ifland. Meore is without difpute, the Upper and Lower Moehre in Smoland, Eowland' \% Oclmnd, and Gotland is doubtlefs the Ifland of Gotland, and not Jutland, as Langebeck aflerts it to be in a note to a paffage where it occurs above; for all thefe countries were provinces of Sweden.
(78) Weonodland, or IVinodland, extends to the mouth of the Viftula; and is, evidently, a peculiar and independent country, and different from the IVeonotbland of the Danes.
(79) Witt* is the Sclavonian orthography, or rather Wifta. The Germans, on the other hand, call this river the Weicbfel; the Pruffians, Weijfcl; by other nations it is called the Viftula.
(80) Witland is a tract in Samland in Pruflia, which was celebrated for the amber it produced; and at the time of the crufades it was called by the fame name, as is manifeft from two different ancient records.   The word itfelf is a tranflation of Baltikka, i. e. the White-land.
(81) The Eftmcre is (as we may perceive from the termination of the word) a lake of frefh water, into which the Elbe and Viftula empty themfelves. It is at prefent called the Frifcb Haf, ci frefh-water fea.   H*f in the Dutch and Swedifh languages fignify/-*. In fome places it is above
three
l\fing (82) from the eaftward, into Eftmere ; on the bank of which ftands Tr^/i>, and the Iliing flows from Eaftland into the Eftmere from the Eaft j and the Wifle from Weonodland from the South ; the Ilfing having joined the Wifle takes its name, and runs to the Weft of Eftmere, and northward into the fea; when it is called the Wifle's mouth (83). Eaftland is a large tract of country, and there are in it many towns, and in every town is a king (84); there is alfo a great quantity of honey and fifh, and the king, and richeft men drink mare's milk (85), whilft the poor and the Haves ufe mead (86).
They
three German miles broad j and this aflertion of iElfred's, who reckons by Englifh- miles, is perfectly accurate and juft.
(82) Ilfing is indifputably the name of the river Elbing, which flows from Lake Draufen or Trufo, (vid.74.) and by one of its arms joins with that arm of the Viftula called Neugat, or Nogat, and both thus united, empty themfelves into the Haf, while the other arm runs into the Haf by itfelf.
(83) Every thing that yElfred here mentions concerning the fituation of that part of the world* inconteftibly (hews, that he had his intelligence immediately from the mouth of one who was perfectly well acquainted with the place. The Ilfing comes out at Efthonia, yet not from the Eaft., as yElfred fays it does, but from the South. Excepting, indeed, that he means that arm of the Elbing which runs into the Viftula or Nogat. Bu;t the Viftula comes out of Wendenland from the South; and, the two rivers having difembogued themfelves into the Haf, this latter ftretches, no dcubt, from Weft to North, that is in a North-eaft direction, and at Pillau goes into the fea. It ls poflible, that this, as well as the weftern arm, may have formerly born the name of JViJlemunJ, °f the mouth of the Viftula.
(84) This account of the (late of Pruflia at that time, while under the Efthonians, who had already built many cities there, each of which had a chief (or as he terms it, a king,) is perfectly confonant to the condition in which it was found by the adventurers in the crufades many centuries afterwards.
(85) This piece of intelligence, that the richeft perfons of the country were content with ware's milk, at the fame time that the poorer fort of the (laves drank mead, is extremely Angular.   If, however, we confider, that this mare's milk was not barely milk, but milk which
•lo undergone a kind of fermentation, and was tranfmutcd into a fpecies of brandy, fuch as the inhabitants of the defert plains of Afia Media drink in great quantities, calling it Kumyf, while they diftinguilh their double-diftilJed brandy by the name of Arrack; if,.I fay, we take this mto confideration, we (hall find it eafier to conceive why the principal people of the land only W^the prerogative to get drunk with brandy, while their fubjefts drank nothing but mead. For we *now that it has been,;and is ftill, the conftant practice with ail rude uncultivated nations, to 3 leave-
They have many contcfls amongft themfelves, and the people of EJlum brew no ale (87), as they have mead in profufion.
There is alfo a particular cuftom amongft this nation, that when any one dies, the corpfe continues unburn! with the relations and friends (88) for a month or two, and the bodies of kings and nobles lie longer (according to their refpective wealth) fometimes for half a year, before the corpfe is thus deftroyed ; and it continues above ground in the houfe, during which time drinking and fports laft, till the day on which the body is confumcd. Then, when it is carried to the funeral pile, the fubftance of the deceafed (which remains after their drinking-bouts and fports) is divided into five or fix heaps (fometimes into more) according to what he happens to be worth.
leave to their fupcriors the exclusive privilege of intoxicating themfelves whenever they plcafe. It is only the men of rank among the Turks, Pcrfians, and Malays, that make ufe of opium; it is only the people of quality among the Otaheiteans who intoxicate themfelves with the juice of the root of the Aw a, a fpecies of pepper ; and it is only the principal Tfhuktfchis that can get drunk with the infufion of the inebriating fungus, purchafed from the Ruffians. Adam pf Brtmen (pwragr, 138.) fays, that the ancient Pruflians ate horfe-fiefh, and drank the milk of their mares to intoxication ; and Peter of Duljburg (paragr. 80.) relates of thefe people, that at their fcalts, they drank water, mead, and mare's milk.
(86) Mead, even fo early as in thefe times, had the name of Medo in Anglo-Saxon ; in the Lithuanian tongue it is ca'led Middus ; in Polilh, Miod; in Ruffian, Med; in German, M:tb. Hence it appears probable to me, that mead is a beverage of great antiquity, as the name by which it is known is exactly the fame in languages of fo different an origin. With thefe it is perhaps worth while to compare the Greek verb /us9i>&>, / intoxicate, I mult once more repeat the general remark I made before, viz. that Wulfftan muft have been very well acquainted with the country. Abounding, as it did, in forefts of lime-trees and in lakes, Prufiia had a profufion of the fineft honey and rifh 5 and the towns, horfes, cloaths, weapons, drinking-bouts, and games cf its inhabitants evince, that they were not ignorant of agriculture, and that they were in a tolerably flourilhing ftate, and had arrived at no contemptible degree of cultivation,
(87) King ^Lifted obferves, that thefe drinking-bouts occafioned many frays. He alfo gives "a reafon, why the Efthonians brewed no ale, which is, that they had fuch a vaft abundance of honey, that it was eafier for them to make mead than to brew beer.
(83) That the ancient Pruflians burned their dead and buried them together with their horfes, weapons, cloaths, and valuable polTefiions, appears from a treaty concluded through the mediation of the Archdeacon of Liege, in quality of the Pope's Legate, between the German Knights and the newly-converted Pruflians, wherein the Pruflians exprefsly promife never in future to burn their dead, nor bury thctn with their horfes, arms, cloaths, and valuables.
4 • There
There heaps are difpofcd at a mile's diftance from each other, the largeft heap at the greatefl diftance from the town, and fo gradually the fmaller at leller intervals, till all the wealth is divided, fo that the leaft heap {hall he neareft the town where the corpfe lies.
Then all thofe are to be fummoned who have the fleeted horfes in that country, within the diftance of five or fix miles from thefe heaps, and they all ftrive for the fubftance of the dcceafed ; he who hath the fwifteft horfe obtains the moft diftant and largeft heap, and fo the others, in proportion, till the whole is feized upon. He procures, however, the leaft, who takes that which is neareft the town ; and then every one rides away with his fhare, and keeps the whole of it; on account of this cuftom, fleet horfes are extremely dear. When the wealth of the deceafed hath been thus exhaufted, then they carry the corpfe from the houfe to burn it, together with the dead man's weapons and cloaths ; and generally they fpend the whole wealth of the deceafed, by the body's continuing fo long in the houfe before it is buried; and by what is laid in heaps on the road, and is taken away by the ftrangers (89).
It is alfo a cuftom with the F.ftum, that the bodies of all the inhabitants ftiall be burned; and if any one can find a fingle bone uncon-fumed, it is a caufe of anger. Thefe people alfo have the means of producing very fevere cold, by which the dead body continues fo long above ground without putrefying; and if any one fets a vefTel full of ale or water, they contrive that the liquors flia.ll be frozen, be it fummer or winter.
The part of King Alfred's Geography, of which we have here given a tranflation as literal as could be done confidently with the different genius of both languages, without difpute conftitutes, with relation to the ftate of the North of Europe in the 9th century, a record of the
(%) It U eafy to perceive, that this power, fo much admired by King /Elfred, of producing cold cither in fummer or in winter, by which the putrefaction of dead bodies was prevented, and beer and water were frozen, was the effect of a gooJ Ice cellar, and this every Prafllan of any conference had in, or clfe hard by Us houfe.
L utmoil
utmoft Importance. As /Elfred in his youth had been in Rome, whither, even at that early period, zeal for the Chriftian religion carried people from every country, he might in all probability have collected in that city the materials for his Geography, and his other hiflorical acquifitions, which in thofe times of deplorable ignorance and dark-nefs, give him a very high rank among writers. This fragment like-wife is a confirmation of what we have before advanced, viz. that the voyages and predatory expeditions of the northern pirates have very much contributed to the illuftration of Geography and of the Uiftory of Nations.
The art of navigation too Was in thofe days held in great eflccm by the people of the North. Amongff. them it was even confidered as peculiarly praife-worthy, to underfland the ftructure of a fhip, and the belt method of conftructing it fo as to be ftrong and firm, and at the fame time a quick failer; and'as fmith was an appellation peculiarly appropriated to every one that wrought in metals, all artizans and handicraftsmen went likewife under the fame general denomination; and accordingly a man of the name of T'orflen, was, on account of his great ikill in (hip-building, called the fip-fmitb. The direction of a fhip by means of oars, and dexterity and perfeverance in rowing, were in thofe days confidered in fo advantageous a light, that King Harold Hardrade, and Earl Rognivald, lord of the Orkneys, prided themfelves greatly on their fuperior fki.ll in handling the oar. Rowing, however, was not the only method they had in thofe ages of getting a veffel forward in its courfe. They had likewife fails withal ; and their manner of ufing them makes them defervedly celebrated. Moft of the people of antiquity,, who were famous for navigation, made ufe of fails but feldom, and that only when the wind blew.directly at their backs, fo that they could fail with a full wind, or right before the wind.. If the wind blew hard, and fomewhat tideways, they were obliged to run immediately into a harbour, which indeed in a fea like the Mediterranean, is very eafily done. But the numerous and extenfive' .4. voyages
voyage^ of the Normans on the Great Ocean, particularly to England, the Orkneys, Ireland, Gaul, and even into the Mediterranean, fuffi-ciently indicate, that they knew how to ufe their fails, even when they had only a fide-wind. It does not appear, however, that this great art of fetting the fails of a fhip according to the wind was generally known in thofe times; as, of fuch as did polTefs it it was affirmed, that as foon as their veffels had their lading, they had only to fet their fails, and fet off diredly, without troubling themfelves in the leaft from what quarter the wind blew. This property was attributed to the fhip called the Drache Ufanaut, and to Freyer's fhip the Skydbladner, in the Edda, and in for/lens Vikingfons Saga. It was fuppofed, that this was effected by forcery ; though, in fact, it proceeded from nothing more than a certain degree of fkill and dexterity in fetting and fhift-ing the fails, founded on experience and mechanical fcience. This way of failing with the wind half, or almoft quite contrary, or, as it is called by the mariners, near the wind, is in reality one of the greateft and moft ingenious inventions made by man. As the mariner's compafs has 32 points from which the wind may blow, and which have been diftinguifhed by peculiar names; and from which foevcr of thefe the wind blows it is in the power of the mariner to avail himfelf of one and the fame wind, to carry him to twenty different points or quarters of the globe ; fo that, the fix points excepted which are on each fide of the line of direction in which the wind blows, he is able to fail with this wind on any other courfe.
This
•The compafs Is a magnetic piece of ftccl, which is moveable in a circular direction, on the point •f a very fharp needle, within a conical cap : to this piece of ftccl, in order to make it ftill more *>kful,is affixed a circular paftcboard, on which are delineated the 32 different winds orpoints of the compafs. Now the magnetic needle, conftantly pointing to the North Pole, the compafs, faftened to ratains its pofition, notwithstanding the alterations that may be made in the ihip's courfe ; *n<l as the box,' containing the compafs, is placed directly before the man at the helm, who
L 2 ftamls
This important fcience, with refpect to ordering the fails, mull: either not have been very general, at leaft not known in Ohthere's time; for we read in his voyage to Biarmien, that he was obliged to lay fo long at two different places exprefsly for the fake of waiting for a better wind *> and he names in exprefs terms the wind, which would fcrve him for failing with full fails. On the other hand, the opinion that was then harboured concerning magical fhips feems to prove the fkill of their pilots, or conductors, in relation to managing the fails, fo as to fail likewife near the wind.
The conftruction too of the northern Veffels was totally different from that which was followed by the Greeks and Romans in theirs. The fhips of the northern nations were built of the ftouteft oak that could be procured, and were made with high forecaftles and poops ? thofe of the Mediterranean, on the contrary, were low and flat, and were chiefly impelled by means of oars the whole of their ftructure. too, feemed much flighter than that of the veffels ufed by the northern nations. The fhips of the northern people, appointed for long expeditions, were likewife covered at the top $ while thofe ufed in the Mediterranean were covered at top in a few particular cafes only. For which reafon the Roman writers, whenever there were any covered fhips in a fleet, never fail to inform us of this circumftance, and t©
(kinds with his face turned towards the prow of the fhip, he has it in his power to fee, with the greateft precifion, towards which point of the compafs the courfe of the fhip is directed. Now every circle, and in fad the compafs is nothing elfe, being divided by mathematicians into 36a degrees, uf fuch degrees are comprifed in one point of the compafs ; and as according to the prefent method-of failing near the wind (i. e. of failing as near to the point, whence the wind blows, as poffible) we are fix points from the wind ; it follows, that at 67^ degrees from the wind, we are able, as it were, to fail againft it, and that on either fide of the point whence the wind blows. Now twice 6 7-J,- is 135, therefore we are able to fail to 225 degrees of the horizon with each wind. It is true indeed, that as in failing near the mind, the wind comes into contact witft the fails and the veflelTideways only, and in an oblique direction, the latter by this means always lofes fomewhat in her courfe in confequence of this direction; but the exact amount of this can only be determined by actual obfervation on board the fhip.
difcriminatc
difcrimnate with great care the number of thefe from that of the open veffels.
All the advantages here enumerated of the mode of navigation in ufe among the northern nations, joined to conftant practice, gave: thefe reftlcfs people a great aptitude to, as well as inclination for, a fea-faring life. The immenfe riches, which moft of their adventurers had acquired both by ftratagem and violence in their piratical expeditions • the fame attendant on the performance of valorous actions at fea; their religion itfelf, in the very texture of which was interwoven a love 01 intrepidity and perfonal courage; and, laftly, the expectation of a delightful reward in a future life for fuch as died in battle, who with Othine in Valhalla, drank mead and beer, poured out to them by the beautiful Valkyriurs, in horns and the fkulls of their conquered enemies, and feafted on the roafted flefh of the wild boar Scrimner ; all thefe circumftances principally contributed to fpirit up the northern nations to undertake the moft dangerous naval expeditions; confequently they fallied out, animated by the moft daring confidence, wherever they had the leaft hopes of acquiring glory. The greateft dangers, nay, death itfelf, far from deterring, on the contrary, rather feemed to excite them to accomplifh their defperate undertakings. For which reafon thefe people were fometimes feen to attempt things, the very idea of which would have terrified others. As they were continually employed in navigation, it naturally followed, that many of their fhips were eaft away on entirely foreign coafts, coafts which they* had never feen before, and of which neither they nor their cotempo-raries had ever heard the leaft mention made.
Thus the firft difcovery of Iceland was, as we have feen above at page 50, to be attributed to a mere accident of this kind. But; the population of this ifland was effected by the continual migrations of the people thither from the neighbouring countries. The Shetland Iflands, which by the people of the North were conftantly called
the
the Hialtaland Illands) together with the Orkneys, as likewife the Soderoe or Weftern Iflands, and the Faroar or Ferro Iflands, were fub-jugated by Harold, King of Norway, in confequence of his finding that the peculiar turn of that age for piratical expeditions exhaufted his kingdom of his fubjects, who ufed to fettle on thefe iflands in order to carry on their depredations. Upon this he gave Rognwald Jarl (or Earl) of Moere and Raundel, the Orkneys and Hialtaland to him and his heirs for ever, as an Earldom fjarlrik) without tribute : and the latter made a grant of it as a mefne fief to his brother Sigurd. But he dying foon, and his fon Guthorm not living long after him, the Earldom devolved to Rognwald's fon Hallad, who became fo odious to his father on account of the drowiinefs of his nature, that he bequeathed the Earldom of the Orkneys to his baftard fon Eynar, from whofe pofterity, likewife, the latter Earls of the Orkneys are actually defcended.
It was about this time that the enterprises of certain Normans in
Ruflia took place. OJkold and Dir went with a party of their followers along the Dnieper down as far as Kiow, where, at this time, the Cbazars, a Turkifli race, maintained the fovereign fway over the Sclavonian inhabitants. Here they now laid the foundations of a new ftate, which, however, was afterwards united with that of Novgorod.
One of the numerous fons of Rognwald, Earl of the Orkneys, Hrolfhy name, having in defiance of King Harold's prohibition, har-rafled the coafts of Norway by frequent depredations and ravages, had been confequently banifhed from Norway. Upon this he repaired to the Soderoe, where there refided a great number of malcontents and fugitives, and having ingratiated himfelf with them, conducted them, A. D. 876, along the coafts of England and Germany, to the mouth of the Seine. Here he found the throne filled by the Carlovinian race, but. the country at the fame time fo much weakened by the imbecillity
and
and inactivity of its rulers, as well as by its internal difTenfionsj that it was by no means difficult for him to ravage and lay wane a great part of it in the moft cruel and barbarous manner. But he foon, together with his train, difcovered that it would anfwer much better to them to feize on a confiderable part of it for themfelves, and make it their conftant refidence. Finally, after a great many battles, truces, treaties of peace, and infringements of thefe treaties, they were at length acknowledged as the rightful owners of a large tract of this country; and Hrolf, or (as the French called him fubfequcn' to his being baptized) Robert, in 912 received the Dutchy of Normandy from the hands of King Charles, by way of fief, and efpoufed Charles's daughter, Gijla. By his firft wife he had a fon called William, who fucceeded him in the throne, and from whom the Norman kings of England defcended, as did the kings of Sicily and Naples of the Norman race from a near relation of his, the conqueror Tancred.
The Normans continued to eftablifh themfelves in Ireland, and to gain ground in the North of England and of Scotland,, perpetually harrafTing all thefe countries by their depredations. Bfcit in the year 982 or 983, on occafion of the banifhment of an offender,, a new country was difcovered. Among other petty fovereigns, King Harold had brought one of the name of Thorrer under fubjection. His great uncle Thorwa/d had lived at the court of Earl Hayne, and had been obliged to fly on account of a murder he had committed ; and accordingly went to Iceland, where he fettled a conliderable tradt of country with a new colony. His fon Eric Raude, or Redhead, having been perfecuted by Eyo/f Saur, a powerful neighbour of his, on account of Raude's having killed fome of the latter's fervants, his revengeful fpirit at laft prompted him to kill Eyolf likewife. This, and other mifdemeanors he had been guilty of, obliged him likewife to °tuit his country. He knew, that a man of the name Gunbiorn had difcovered the banks called Gunbiorn s Schieren on the weftern fide of Iceland, but likewife ftill more to the weftward a country of yet
greater
greater extent. Being condemned to banilhmcnt for the fpace ot three years, he determined upon making a voyage of difcovery to this country. Soon after he had fet fail, he faw the point of land called Herjolfs Nefs, and after failing a little longer to the South-well:, entered a large inlet, which he called Eric's Sound, and paused the winter on a pleafant ifland in the vicinity of it. The following year he explored the continent, and the third year returned to Iceland, where, with the view that a confiderable number of people might be induced by his reprefentation of matters, to refolve upon going to this newly-difcovered country, to which he gave the name of Greenland, he beftowcd the moft lavifh praifes on its rich meadows, its wood, and its fifheries. Accordingly, there fet out far this place 25 veffels, laden with people of both fexes, houfchold furniture, and cattle for breeding, of which veffels 14 only arrived fafe. Thefe firft colonifts were foon followed by more, as well from Norway as Iceland; and in the fpace of a few years their number encreafed fo much, that they occupied not only the eaftern, but likewife the weftern part of Green-land; and, indeed, they were fo numerous, that it was fuppofed there were almoft enough of them to form the third part of a Danifh Bifhop's diocefe.
This is the common account of the firft fettling of Greenland, and it refts on the credit of the Northern Hiftorian and Icelandic Judge, Snorro Sturlefon, who wrote this account in the year 1215. But others afTert, that Greenland was known long before this time, and, for confirmation of what they advance, appeal directly to a Bull of Pope Gregory IV* an I 'o the Letters Patent of the Emperor Lewis the Pious, the latter of which is dated in the year 834, but the former in 835. In this Patent, as well as in the Bull, permifTion is granted to the Archbifhop Anfgarius, to convert the Sueones, Danes, and Sclayo-jjuaiiS; and it is added, the Noriva&ers, the Farriers, the Greenlanders, the Halfmgalanders, the Icelanders, and the Seridevinds.   Now this
neeeffarily
■neceflarily implies, that all the countries here mentioned muft have been already known previous to the years 834 and 835 ; and what is yet more, that Iceland was at that period known by the name it yet bears, though it is universally allowed, that it was at firft called Sww? land byNadodd, its difcovcrcr. (Vide pag. 50). Here, then, there appears an evident contradiction. We fee very plainly, however, that, fuppofmg both the Charter and Bull to begcnuir.c, the words GrorJan-don and IJlandon thould in all probability be read differently, and perhaps Quenlandon and Hitlandon. By the former is meant Finland ; and Hit-land, or Hialtaland, is the name of the Shetland Klands. By adopting this alteration the whole difficulty is unravelled ; but it may likewiie, not without reafon, be doubted, whether poffibly all the names of nations inferted after the " Sueones, Danes, and Sclavonians," have nui been interpolated at a later period; as St. Rcmbert, the immediate fuc-celTor of Anfgarius, and who wrote his life, mentions only the names of the Sueones, Danes, and Sclavonians, whom Aufgarius was allowed to convert; together with other nations fituated in the North *. It js therefore not improbable, that fome conceited copyift, at a later period) was defirous of making particular mention of the people, who might appear to him to be comprifed under the defcription of ether nations ftuate in the North, and therefore very fagacioufly adds> the Norwrc-hers, Farriersy Greenlanders, Halfngalandevs, Icelanders, and Scride-vinders; without once reflecting, that in St. Angarius's time the Green-landers and Icelanders had not been difcovered. So that the authorities of St. Rembert and Snorro Sturlefon, remain firm and unfhaken, maugre thefe falfificd copies of the Papal Bull and Imperial Letters Patent ; and we may reft allured, that Iceland was not difcovered bc-
* C on flit u turn legatum, in omnibus circumquaque gentibus Sueonum, five Danorum, nec n°n ctiam Slavorum, diarumq; in Aquilonis partibus, gentium conilitutarum.   Vita S. Anfcbani *p*i hangdeck Script, hift. Dan. Tom i. p. 451, 452.   Even  Adam of Bremen, Ecclcs. W ]. cap. i7, mentions by name thefc three nations only, towhich he nJds " ct aliis conjneen tdius in circuitu populis.* ,
M tort
fore the year 861, nor inhahited before 874; and that Greenland was hardly difcovered previous to the year 888, or 889, or inhabited before 892. The former of thefe countries appears at that time to have had wood upon it. Nay, a comparatively modern writer even ipeaks of an orchard, which the Monks of St. Thomas endeavoured to keep in good order and increafe its fertility by means of a warm fprifig which they carried through it.
The paffion which the Normans had always manifeftcd for making difcoveries, flill prevailed among them even in the cold regions of Iceland and Greenland. An Icelander, of the name of Herjolf, was ac-cuftomed, together with his fon Biorfi, to make a trip every year to different countries, for the fake of trading. About the year 1001 their mips were feparated by a (form, Biorn being arrived at Norway, heard that his father Herjolf, wras gone to Greenland. Upon this he refolved upon following his father thither; but another ftorm drove him a great away to the fouth-weft of his track. In confequence of this, hedefcried a flat country, covered all over with thick woods ; and juft as he fet out on his return, he difcovered an ifland likewife. He made no flay at either of thefe places, but haftened as much as the wind would allow him to do, which had now fallen greatly, by a north-eafterly courfe to Greenland. Here this event was no fooner ^nown, than Leif the fon of Eric Redhead, who had an inordinate defire to acquire glory, like his father, by making difcoveries and founding colonies, fitted out a veffel, carrying 35 men, and taking Biorn with him, fet out for this newly-difcovered country. Having fet fail, the firft land he faw was rocky and barren. Accordingly, he called it Helleland, or Rockland. Upon this he came to a low land, with a fandy bottom, which, however, was over-grown with wood ; on which account he named it Mark land* or Woody land. Two days after this he faw land again, and an ifland lying before the northern coaft of it.   Here was a river, up which they failed.   The buflies on
the
the banks of it bore fwect berries; the temperature of the air was mild, the foil fertile, and the river well ftored with full, and particularly with very fine falmon.   At laft they came to a lake, from which the river took its rife.   Here they determined to pais the winter, which they accordingly did j and in the fhorteft winter day, faw the fun eight hours above the horizon :    this  therefore fuppofes that the longeft day (excluiive of the dawn and twilight) mull have been 16 hours long.    Hence again it follows,  that this place being in the 49th degree of north latitude, in a fbuth-wefterly direction from Old Greenland, mull either be the river Gander, or the Bay of Exploits in Newfoundland, or elfe fome place on the northern coaft of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.   Here they erected feveral huts; and they one day found in the thickets a German of the name of Tyrker, who had been mitling, making  himfelf very happy at having found grapes, from which, he told them, in his country they ufed to make wine. Leif having tailed them, from this circumftance, which appeared to him very remarkable,   called the country Winland dat Gode;  i. c. the Good Wine-country"*".
In the following fpring they returned to Greenland. This occafioned Thorwald, Leif's mother, to take a trip thither with the fame fuite as he had done, in order to make farther advances in this new difcovery. Having explored the land that lay to the weftwards, the next fummer he inveftigated that which lay to the eaftwards. The coaft was covered with wood, and befet with iflandsj but they could neither perceive a human creature, nor indeed animals of any kind upon it.
The third fummer after they examined the iflands, where, on a point of land they damaged their fhip to fuch a degree, that they found it neceffary to build a new one, and the old veffel was laid up on
" It is true that grapct grow wild in Canada ; but, though they are good to cat, yet nobody has ever been able to make any tolerable wine of their juice. Rut whether thefe wild gr;ip« :ire to be found as fur to the eaftward as Newfoundland A cannot fay. The fpeciei of vines whidi BHh» in North- Vmerica, a*e tailed bv Litwseuft, fin's labm/ca, lutyina et or bore*.
M a the
S'4 VOYAGES      a n r>
the promontory, which for that reafon they called Kicekr Nifs. Then they once more examined the eaftern /here, and now they difcovered three boats covered with leather, in each of which there were three men : thefe they feized: but one man found means to get off', the others were all wantonly and cruelly murdered by the Normans. Soon after this, however, they were attacked by a great number of thefe people with bows and arrows. A fence made of planks fcreened them in their fhips again (I them, and they defended themfelves with fo much tbirit, that their enemies having given them battle for the fpace of an hour, were obliged to decamp again. To thefe original inhabitants of the country, on account of their being very fhort in ftature, they gave the name of SkrceUingcr, i. e. cuttings, or dwarfs. Tbor-tuald, who in the flcirmifli had been dangcroufly wounded by an arrow, died, and over his tomb on the promontory were placed two crolTes, agreeable to his requeit, which promontory obtained from this circumftance the name of Kroff'a-nefs. His companions patted the winter in V/inland, and in the beginning of the fpring returned to Greenland.
In the fame year, ^horjlein, the third fon of Eric Raudc, fet fail fo'- IVinland, with his wife Gudrid, the daughter of Thorbcrn, his children and fervants, amounting in all to 25 fouls, ; but they were by a ftorm cafl on the weftern fhore of Greenland. Being obliged to fpend the winter there, he, as well as many more of his. retinue, died, probably of the fcurvy. In the fpring, Gudrid took the cornfe of her deceafed hufband home.
"Thcrp.n, an Icelander of fome confequence, furnamed Kalljifner, and a descendant of King Regncr-Lodb?ok, married the widow Gudrid, and thereby thought himfelf intitled to the poffemon of the newly-difcovered country. Accordigly, he fet out for Winland with a vaft quantity of houiliold furniture and cattle, and with 65 men, and
5 women,
5 women, who begun to eftablifh a regular colony there. They were immediately viiited by the Skrcrllingers, who began to barter with them. From the circumilancc we have mentioned before* viz. that thefe people were of a low lTature, and had boats covered with leather, it feems probable that they were the ancetlors of th* prefent EJkimaux, who are the fame people as the Greenlandcrs, and in the language of the Abenaki are called EJkimantjih, on account of their eating raw fifli; in like manner as the Ruffians in their official papers of ftate call the Samojedes Sirojed'zi, becaufe they alfo eat tav frozen nth and flcfli.
The natives gave the Normans in exchange, the mod coflly furs for other wares. They would alfo willingly have bartered for their weapons, but this Thorjin had exprefsly forbidden. One of them, however, found an opportunity to ileal a battle-axe, and having made trial of it immediately on one of his countrymen, whom he killed with it on the fpot, a third perfon feized this mifchievous inurnment, and threw it into the fea. In three years time, the Normans having got a large {lock of very rich furs and other articles of merchandife, ^horj'.n returned to Greenland. The riches he brought home, created in a great many of his countrymen a defire to try their fortunes in Winland. At length TVhorfin went back to Iceland, where he built himfelf a very elegant houfe on an eflate of his, called Glaiunba> which he had purchafed in the northern part of Syjjel. After his deceafe, Gudrid his fpoufe made a voyage to Rome, and ended her days in Iceland, in a nunnery, which her fon Snorro, who was born in Winland, had founded for her. *
• The defendants of Snorro, Thorf.ns fon, were people of fome eminence in Iceland, for Thorlak, the fon of Runulf, a nephew of Snorro, was in the year 1110. made Biiliop ol Skalbollt. Thorlak's fon, Brander, was Bifhop of the fame place in 1163. A descendant of Snorro, by name Biorno, was alfo a Bilhop in Iceland, and to the fame dignity was promoted Him to, an Icelandic judge, who lived in 1308, and wrote a Tohography and Chronicle of Iceland, which is called Haukjbok, i. e. Hauko's book, after the name of the author.
4 After
36 V   O   Y   A   G   E   9 and
After this Finbog and Helgo, two Icelanders, fitted out each of them a (hip, carrying 30 men, with which they made a voyage to Winland. They took along with them Freidis, a daughter of Eric Rcude; but by her turbulent difppfition fhe occafioned manifold divi-fions and quarrels in the colon), in one of which, Helgo and. Finbog were killed, together with thirty men. Upon this Freidis returned to Greenland, where fhe lived uimerlally defpiled and dctefted, and died in the greatefl mifery. The remaining Normans were difperfed ; and it is probable, that their defcendants were ftill in being for a long time after, though nothing farther pofitive was heard concerning them; for it is faid, that A. D. 1121, about 100 years after the dif-covery and firft cultivation of the land, Bifhop Eric went from Greenland to Winland, in order to convert his countrymen who were ftill heathens. From this period we have no more intelligence with refpect. to Winland, and it is highly probable, that the tribe ftill exifting in the interior parts of Newfoundland, which differs remarkably from all the American Savages as well in fhape as in their manner of living, and lives in a flate of conftant enmity with the EJkimaux rending on the oppofite northern coaft, are defcended from thofe ancient Normans,
Now it appears from hence, that the ancient Norman people were, ftrictly fpeaking, the firft difcoverers of America, and that, in fact, nearly 500 years before the difcovery of it by Chrijiopher Columbus in the year 1493, and before the difcovery of Newfoundland by Seba/liun Cabot in 1496. And, as it has long been a contefted point, who were in reality the firft difcoverers of America, it is to be hoped, that this circumftantial detail of the difcovery of the ancient Winland will meet with the readier excufe. The facts themfelves have been collected from a great number of ancient Icelandic manufcripts, and \ have been handed down to us by Thormod Tborf&us in his two works intitkd,  Veteris Groenlandice Defiriptio, Hajhie, 1706, in 8vo, and
Bijloria
Hiftoria Vinlandicc Antiqua, Haf nice, 1705, in 8vo. We alio find early mention made of the country called Winland, in Adam -err. Bn men s Church LIijlo,y, p. 151 ; in like manner, very exact relations of thefe difcoveries have been preferved in Arngrim Jonas\ Specimen Ijlandicc Hiforicum, and in many other writings; fo that it is hardly poflible to harbour the leaft doubt concerning the authenticity Of this relation.
The only intelligence we meet with pofterior to thefe firft difcoveries, is, that when about the year 999, Leif, the fon of Eric Raudc, { made a voyage to Norway, and was by King Olaf Tryggefon perfuaded to take upon him the Chriftian faith, he took Chriilian Priefts over with him to Greenland, for the converfion of the remaining part of his countrymen. He landed there A. D. 1000, and his father, Eric, together with many people, went over to the Chriftian faith.
About 100 years after this, the Chriftian religion was diffufed every where i upwards of 190 farms had already been laid out, with many fmall tenements on them; on the eaftern fide more than 12 churches and two convents had been ere&ed; and on the weftern coaft were built four churches. This great increafe appeared to the inhabitants fo confiderable, that Sok, the nephew of Leif, having aiTembled the whole people at Breitahlid, where the Judge, or Lagmann always ufed to refide, they were unanimouily of opinion, that they might, with great propriety, have a bifhop of their own ; and, in fact, one Ertc was pitched upon for this office; but it is fuppofed that, inftcad of going to Greenland, he went ftraight on to Winland, in order to convert the Normans, who were ftill heathens: however, nothing farther was ever heard concerning him. A learned prieft, of the name of Arnold, was therefore, at the requeft of the Greenlanders, nominated their Bifhop by Sigurd, King of Norway ; and, having been confecrated by the Archbifnop of Lunden, in Schonen, went to Greenland. We have an account of about 17 of thefe Bifhops; but the SkralUngers, or pre-1 fent
fcnt Ejkhaaax, began to flievv themfelves about the year 1376, and it is probable, that thefe people have at length extirpated the whole Norman race, particularly, as-in the beginning of the 15th century, an entire ftop was put to the navigation from Denmark and Norway to thofe parts. . Neither was it poflible to go thither from Iceland; for it is remarkable, that the whole eaftern coaft of Greenland is furround-ed by ice-fields, which have lain there from time immemorial, and increafe everyyear, and occaiioning fuch cold weather, even in Iceland, that it is found to be at prefent far colder there than it was fome centuries ago, when it was ftill poflible to fow corn, and when forefts were to be met with in many parts of the country. Even in Greenland there was a grove near the Billiop's refidence, for the feeding of cattle, of which there are now no traces left in the whole weftern part of Greenland, v/hich, however, is poiTeiTedof a milder climate than the other parts. Thofe circumftances have been the caufe that nobody has been able to approach, even from Iceland, the inhabitants, thus cooped up and imprifoncd. To this muft be added/ that in the beginning of the 15th century, an innumerable multitude of people were carried off from the year 1402 to 1404, by the black death, as it was called, or the peftilence : fo that, what with the diminution of their numbers, the want of afllftance from Norway and Iceland, and the in-creaflng cold, the Norman inhabitants were weakened to fuch a degree, that at laft it became an eafy matter for the Skra?llwgers to make war upon them, and to extirpate them. In this fituation thofe countries remained till the beginning of the 16th century, when a new fpirit for inveftigating the earth, and for geographical refearches, burft forth in Europe, and was continually kept alive by the accounts of the great difcoveries made by the Portuguefe and Spaniards.
C II A P.
C   HA   P. Ill,
Of the Difcoveries made by the Italians in the North, as well by Land
as by Sea.
IN general there were but two motives, which in thefe dark middle ages could induce people to undertake voyages to diftant countries. In fact, it was a fpirit of commerce and zeal for the diffufion of the Roman Catholic religion which imparted the courage and mental vigour neceftary for great cnterprizes, to men whofe fpirits had been debafed, and the energy of whofe minds had been deftroyed by fuperftition, aided by the preffure of dcfpotifm, and of the feudal fyftem.   Confequently it was felf-intereft and enthuliafm alone, that
operated on the torpid and uncultivated minds of mankind in thofe ages.
In the north of Europe and Afia, barbarifm predominated, and that not unfrequently combined with the moft favage abufe of that authority, which fuperior force and power had thrown into the hands of the moft rude and uncultivated nations. From the north-eaft of Afia numbers of favage hordes ilfued forth, one after another, and diffufed inexpreflible mifery over the whole human race in all thofe countries, which had the misfortune to lie in their way. The bad form of government of the (fates in thofe times; without fortified towns, without any good military arrangements, without funds in the treafury, for fupplying the expences of their wars; together with the difmem-bermcnt of the fmall ftates, which were fubjedl to petty Princes, unable to defend them, and the enfeebled condition of the greater, rendered their conquefts but too eafy to thefe encroaching deftroyers of the univcrfe. From the fea, which in the remoteft .eaft ferves for a Boundary
N to
to the coaft of China, as far as the Oder and Danube, every thing was expofed to the ravages of thefe people, who, like a whirlwind, lay every thing wafte before them; and from India and its mountains, quite to the Icy-Sea, the Moguls (for fo thefe barbarians were called) were the univerfal and uncontrolled mafters.   The terror which thofe Moguls had fpread every where, determined the Pope to endeavour to flop the progrefs of their irrefiftible power by ambaffadors ; and at the fame time to inflame their minds againft the Infidels, or Mahometans, in Paleftine and in Egypt.   The Emperor Frederic II. invited all the European Princes to oppofe this torrent, which, in a manner, overwhelmed every country by the conjunction of their colle&ive forces. But what ferved to protect the European ftates againft the farther depredations of thefe favage conquerors, was on one fide the difunion iubfifting among the Chiefs of the Mogul tribes, and on the other, the following circumftance, viz. that the valour as well as the rapacious difpofition of the great, was diminifhed by riches and voluptu-oufnefs.   The ambaffadors that were fent to the Mogul Princes, were all of them mere Monks, becaufe they alone were able to bear the terrible humiliations, when fuch kind of meffengers were made to differ.   The Moguls then believed, as the Chinefe do at this prefent time, that all the ambaffadors from other Princes, who, according to the eaftern cuftom, brought them prefents, were come merely to acknowledge their fupremacy, and to fubmit themfelves to their Emperor and Khan; and therefore they very frequently obliged thofe ambaffadors to make fubmiflions of a very extraordinary nature, and to go through a ceremonial, which was fometimes highly degrading to humanity.
Befides thofe Monks, fome noble Venetians likewife, who however were carried thither merely by the defire of gain, went to the country of the Moguls as far as to the refidence of the KJoans. Finally, we have alfo fome accounts of a few military men, who have penetrated a good way into the north-eaftern parts of Afia, which are even as yet unknown,,
known. All thefe relations are of very great importance for the purpofc of bringing us acquainted with the north, and with refpect to the hiflory of the manners and characters of the northern nations. But our aim being merely to give a general fketch of the whole of the hiftory of thefe people and countries, it is impoflible for us to be fo full and copious as the variety of objects prefented may indeed require, but which would ky no means correfpond with our prefent plan.
Previous to mentioning the voyages of the monks in the North-eaft parts of Afia, we will make a few fhort remarks on the narrative of the travels of a Spanifh Jew. He was called Rabbi Benjamin of Tuae/a^ a fmall town in Navarre. His father was Rabbi Jonas; and probably lived alfo at Tilde la. On the ftrength of the teftimony of Rabbi Abraham Zuka, a celebrated aftronomer, and profeftbr at Salamanca, who lived in the fifteenth century, it is fuppofed, that this Rabbi Benjamin travelled from 1160 to 1173, or thereabout, and wrote his travels afterwards. Young Barratier, that early literary genius, afterts, that Benjamin never made the journey in reality, but patched up the whole work from the writings of his cotemporaries. It is true, many of the incredible tales which he mentions, appear to be very ftrong proofs of this affertion : there are other circumftances which militate againft it. For example; where he fays, that he has heard himfelf from a certain Rabbi Mofes, in Jjpaban, a hiftory of the unbelieving Turks. (Chap, xviii. &c). The anomalies to t)c met with in his work, are to be attributed to the miftakes of the copyift, to his own want of memory, and to many other circumftances
* But thefe incredible tales arc all in the tafie of thofe times ; and the other travellers of thofe ag£s, who are neverthelcfs believed to have travelled in reality, are quite as full of incredible relations. The whole difference is, that the tales which they relate are Chriilian tales, while thefe are Jewifh, The others frequently take notice of the miracles of pretended Chriilian faints and he, of thofe of Jewiflt Rabbies.
N 2 At
At the end of his travels he lays, that Prague in Bohemia is the beginning of Se/.nwnia. Then he fpeaks of the Ruffian Empire, which extend;? from the gates of Prague to the gates of Finn \>s a large town at the beginning of the kingdom. In that country are the animals called Wai-regres ^nJTTttl and Neblinat-z On the meaning of thefe words the interpreters are not agreed ; but it appears clearly, that Phin is no other than Kwwt the capital of the Ruffian Empire at that time. We fhould therefore here read lis and indeed the interpreters, from the final nun being wanting, might eafily have fuppofed, that this name ought to have been written ditfcrcntly. Now follow the names of the animals; RufTia has ever been famous for its grey foxes, or grey fquirrels ; thefe in the Ruffian language are called Wje-worka, in the Hebrew text therefore, we fhould read E^nVftl Waiwerges, which is as nearly rcfem-bling the Ruffian as a Spanifh Jew could poffihly write it: and by the animals   called Zeblinatz,   are meant Sables, the fkins
of which, Jordanis had before him called Sapphilinas pelles. For they have ever been a rare and choice fur. Excepting this little, Rabbi Benjamin has nothing at all relating to this our northern part of the globe.
II. The news of the victories of the Moguls, who on one fide of the Cafpian Sea, under the command of Tufchi-Khan, the fon of the great Zinghis-Khan, and under that of the fon of Tufchi, Batu-Khan, advancing through Kiptfchak, Rujjia, Poland and Hungary had penetrated into Si/e/ia; while the fame people on the other fide of the Cafpian Sea, had, under the command of Zagathai Khan, another fon of Zinghis-Khans, and of his nephew Holanghu-Khan, made their appearance on the rivers ^Tigris and Euphrates* This news having reached the ears of Pope Innocent IV. he thought it advifeable in the convocation held at Lyons, A. D. 1245, that fome of the clergy fhould go as ambaffadors to thefe formidable conquerors, partly in order to pacify them, and to turn their conquefts to fome other object, and 4 PartI>?
Partly to endeavour if poflible to convert them to the Chriftian faith, and to direct their arms againft the Turks and Saracens.   For this purpofe fix monks were pitched upon, fome of whom were Minorites, and others Dominicans.   John de Piano, or Palatio Carpini, an Italian minorite, with friar Benedict likewife of the fame order, as alfo brother Afcelin or An/elm, brother Alexander, brother Albert, and brother Simon of St. §>uentin, all Dominicans.    Out of thefe, John de Piano Carpini, and brother Ben.dicJ, went to the North of the Cafpian Sea, to Batu-Khan, and to the chief of all the Mognls, the Emperor Kajuk-Khan but brother Afcelin, with his affiftants, brothers Alexander, Albert, and Simon of St. Quentin, went to the South of the Cafpian Sea, through Syria, Perfia, and Khorafan, to Baiju-Nojon, or as the monks called him, Bajotlmoy. This latter expedition contains nothing inftructive with refpect to the northern regions ; we will therefore keep to the cxpe-dition of John de Piano Carpini, who travelled through Bohemia and Poland as far as Kiow, and from thence to the mouth of the Dnieper to Korrenfa, a general of the Moguls.   Finally, they crofted this river in winter when it was frozen, and fet out to go eaft wards over the Don and Wolga, to Batu-Khan. Having waited upon him, they were informed by him, that they muft go to the Cuyne (as they called him) or rather to the Kajuk-Khan.   They travelled therefore on horfeback in the coldeft weather, and many days without food, through the land of the Comanians, to the northward of which are, Rujjia, Bolgaria, and the Morduines, as alfo the Bajiarks (or rather Bafchkirs) who are in poiTefTion of Upper Hungary, and behind thefe are the Paro-Jites * and the Samojades, who are faid to have faces like thofe of dogs.   To the South of the (Romanians are the Alanians, the Cir-
* Meaning, perhaps, the Parm/iiet, or Pcrmiers, or, a? the Ruffian? call them, Ptrmtah.
cajfians,
94 V   g   Y   A   G   E   S and
cajjians, and the Chazars*, the Grecians, the city of Conftantinople, together with the Iberians, Cbathians**', and Brutakis f j then the lands of the Cythians\, Georgians, Armenians, and Turks. Continuing now their journey, they came into the country of the Kangitta? ||, who were all fhepherds like the Comanians, and did not practife agriculture.
From the land of the Kangittse, they came to that of the Bifer-mini (i. e. Bufurmen, Mufurmen, or Mahometan inhabitants of Tur-kejlan) who in fact fpoke the fame language as the Comanians, but profeffed the religion of Mahomet. To the South of it were, Jeru-falem, and Baldach, (Bagdad) and the whole country of the Saracens. To the North of it is Black-Kathaya (or Karakithai) §, in which the Emperor has built himfelf a palace. From thence they travelled for fome days along a lake which was all the while on their left hand, and in which there were many iflands. The Emperor being not yet formally elected and eftablifhed on the throne, they could not yet go into
* The Alans and Cireajftans are ftill the inhabitants of Caucafus, but what part of it they inhabit, and whether the Chazarj ftill inhabit thofe regions, I am entirely ignorant. In the time of the Emperor Conjlantin Porphyrogcnata, A. D. 949, the Cbazari lived in Crimea, near themoutli of the Kuban, and to the North of the Sea of Azof.
"* This name is probably Kaketi, a province of Gurgijlan, or Georgia, which is called here Iberia.
-j The Brutaks, or Brutacbs, arc probably ftill cxifting, for we find in the range of the Caucafus, innumerable remnants of fmall nations. In the original map of Caucafus, by Major General Frauendorf, we find, to the South of the Alanians, a people called Brutani; but as it is eafy in the Ruffian language to confound the n with the k, it is very probable, that the name of this people fhould be Brutaks. In a note, it is added, that they arc an independent people, and have a language of their own, as alfo filver and copper coin.
% Cythiam. In all probability this fhould be the Cycbians, or, as the word is generally written, Zicbians.
|{ Kanghit<e\ thefe people are alfo frequently called Kanglis, or Kanklis. They extend from the Jaik, or, as it is now called, Ural, to the Birr, or Sirdaria ; and their habitations expended even to the river Talas, or Talajh, and Ijfikul. The country they lived in was an uncultivated defert plain.
% Oktaikbun, or Vgadai Kbati, built in Karakithai the town Omyl, or Chamyl,
his
DISCOVERIES  if  the NORTH. 95
his Honk. They went therefore to the land of the Naymans, who are heathens, and inhabit a very high, mountainous, and cold country, for in fact, it fnowed there on the 29th of June. Then travelling on for three weeks longer, they arrived at length at the Cuynes, or Kajuk-Khan's, who was then juft going to be elected Emperor; where they were well received, and treated better than other ambaffadors. Having had an audience of the Emperor, they were difmifled, and went back the fame road by which they had come.
The country of the Tartars is- in that part of the eaft which borders on the north ; towards the eaft they have Rat hay and the Solan-gums **; To the fouth the Saracens, to the fouth-weft the Huirs (or Uigurs) to the weft the Naymans_ and to the north the Great Ocean. The place where they waited on the Emperor was called SyraHorda.
They acknowledge but one God, the Creator of all things, vifible and invifible • who diftributes to all mankind rewards and punifhments, according to their deferts. But they do not pay any particular worfhip to him. On the other hand, they have many idols made of felt (called in the Ruffian tongue Woelocks) which they fix up in their houfes; fome are even made of filk, and are more honoured than the others. To thefe they facrifice fome part of what they eat and drink, as alfo the hearts of the beafts they kill. In fhort, they feem to have profeffed the Schaman religion, which is an elder branch of that of the Bramins and of Dalai Lama. They were accuftomed to leave thofe that were dangeroufly lick to themlelves, and afterwards, when they died, to return and bury them, which the Calmucks ftill do at this time. They were polygamifts, and had many virtues, but were not without their failings.
III. The views of the Moguls were merely to put the Chriftians off with fair words, and then, on the firft opportunity that offered, to carry the war into their countries when they leaft expected it, and
** The Sulangti are, without doubt, the very fame nation with the Mandfourians, who are ftill to this day called Sdonians.
3 agreeably
agreeably to their conftant cuftom, to ravage and deftroy every thing they came near. In the years 1246 and 1247, another ambafTador arrived from the Pope, who was alfo a Monk, and was named Andrew Luciumel. But, notwithftanding this, the preparations for war againft the Chriftians went on without interruption. The Emperor lent feveral troops againft the people that had rebelled againft him in Korea, and died foon after, having removed from Karakorum, more weftward to Kamfatki, by which means this defign of his was entirely fruftrated.
IV. To the new-elected Emperor, Mangu Khan, who was chofen In the year 1251, and of whom it was reported in the weft, that he had been converted to the Chriftian religion, King Lewis IX. of Trance, lent, in the quality of AmbafTador, a Brabantine Friar, of the minorite order, by name William Ruyjbroek, otherwife called Rujbrock, Rubruck, and Rubruqius.
Ruyjbroeck went from Conftantinople by fea, to the Black Sea, to Gafaria (Crimea) to that part of Soldeya, which is otherwife called Sogdat, or Soldadia, and at this prefent time Sudak, to the weftward of which is the town called Kerfcna (Cherfone, or Cherfon) which according to Inkerman, is the modern Schurzi, or Gurzi, or Scherfon. But to the eaft, at the mouth of the Tanais, is Maricandis, and the town Matriga, or Materea * ; for the Don, before it falls into the fea, forms yet another lake towards the north, the depth of which is not above fix paces, while in length it is 700 Italian miles. To this Materca merchants go from Conftantinople to buy dried fifh, viz. Sturgeons, Thofes, or Tunnies, and Barbels.   Beyond the mouth of
* Maiicandh and Matriga, or Mitcrca, muft be fought for on the (bores of the Straits. The full name ippei tains to a village or ifland, which lies oppofite to the Straits, and is at this prefent time called Tamenda. At the mouth of une of the branches of the river Kuban isthe town of Ttm-nuk, which was formerly called by the Ruffians Tt.iutrakban, and by the Greeks, Tamatarcba ; this is Ta-materca, or Materca, and Matriga. Some Ruflian Princes even had their refidcnces in Jrnutrakban; Prince MjHJluf, for infUnce, the fen of Wladimlr the Great, and brother of j JaroJlaJ I, was Prince of Tmutrakhan.
this
DISCOVERIES   t W   THk   NORT II. 97
this lake is Zichia, which is not fubject to the Tartars, and the Suevi (or SuauiJ and the Iberians. The whole country, from the mouth of the Tanais as far as the Danube weftward, all is fubject to the Tartars, and even beyond the Danube towards Conftantinople. The whole of IValachia, which is the country belonging to Ajjan *, and the whole of Bulgaria, quite to Solinia, (or Sohnoma **,) pay them tribute.
Along thefe mores, between Karfona, Soldeya, and the mouth of the Don, there are many high promontories. But from Soldeya t* Kerfona are about 40 caifles, each of which has its peculiar language; amongft them are many Goths, whofe mother-tongue is theGerman***. Going from Soldaya acrofs the mountains, they came into a plain, where they found a foreft, and where, near the land's end, there arc ftagnated falt-lakes, the fait of which cryftalizes like ice, and was fold, by Sartach and Batu, at the rate of a waggon load, fuch as could be drawn by two horfes, for two pieces of cotton fluff, or for one hyperpyron, which is the value of about two dollars. Ships alfo take in ladings of this fait. Then he went acrofs a fofle which is drawn at the end of Gazaria from one fea to the other (perhaps near Pere-kop).   Upon this they travelled to the eaftward on the north fide of
A. D. 1235, John AJfan became King of Bulgaria, and reigned till 1241, when his fon Koloman, fnccecded him in the throne till 1245, and was in his turn fucceeded by Ajjan^s fecond fon, Michael, who waged war again It the Tartars, and againll John fatatzes. But how comes it then to paf> that Ruyjbroeck gives Walachia to Allan, and not Bulgaria, the empire he inherited from his father, of which he neverthelefs makes mention immediately after? ** By this probably is meant Thejfalonica, or Salotiica.
*** Ruyjbroeck is the firft who fpoke of thefe Goths in Crimea. After him, a Venetian, named Jojaphat Barbaro, has made mention of them A. D. 1436, in his Viaggio alia Tannat parag. 20 ; and afterwards Bujbeck fpoke to fome of thofe Goths, Ambaffadors from the Crimean Tartary, A. D. 1562, and gives us a catalogue of words of their language. Upon this tefti-mony of Ruyfbrocck depends the exiftence of the Cajlella Judeorum, or rather Gothorum, which are laid down in fome ancient maps of Crimea, and which even that rcfpetfable geographer, father Danville, has admitted into his maps, and transformed thwn^ into Chateaux des Juifs.
0 the
g8 V   O   Y   A   Q   E   S       ^ v h
the fea, and law many Comanian fepulchres, and Kaptfcbak Comamatt&i who reached from" tJie Danube to the Don, and to the river Etilia, or Wolga, Between the two laft rivers, it is 10 long days journey more. To the north of Kaptfcbak-Comania is Ruflia, full of forefts : this •country is daily ravaged by the Tartars $ and when the poor people have no more gold and filver left to give, they drive them away together with their children, like cattle, and make them tend their flocks. Beyond the Don, they found a people called Moxel*'j the principal l^ords of which the Tartars had taken with them to Germany, where they were killed. They arc all heathens, and have a great quantity of hogs, wax, rich furs, and falcons. Then follow next to thefe, the Mer-das, called in Latin, Merduas **, who are of the Mahometan religion. Farther on to the eaflwards is the great river Etilia which is the
largeft river Ruyjbroeck ever faw. It comes from the northward and from Great Bulgaria, and to the fouthward empties itfelf into a large lake, or fea, which takes four months to travel round its circumference. To the fouth arc large mountains, which are inhabited by the Cergis ~f (or KergisJ and the Alanians (or Akas%) who are Christians and make
war
* Mekjcha is the name the Mcrduani call themfelves by; thefe people therefore arc probably the Mcxcl of Ruyjbroeck*
** By thefe Morduas, or Merdas, are in all probability meant the T/lbirem.tfcs, who call them-felves Mart-Mart, or the people of Mari; but Ruyjbroeck (in the fame manner as Guaguinus has clone) very erroneoufly calls them Mahometans, merely becaufe they do not work on Fridays, a practice which they probably learned from the neighbouring Mahometan Tartars; for they them-, j 1   ; are all heathens.
• * ' The river Wolga is called Idcl by the Tartars, the Tjcbu^afches call it Ate!; or Atal, from which the word Etilia feems to be derived.   Taken in its general fignification, the word means a river; and this is in faft, as Ruyjbroeck calls it, the greateft river in Europe. I The Cefgis, or Kergis, arc the fame as the Tjcherkcejcbians, or Circajjans. J The Alanians are called by Ruyfbroeck Abas, probably from Odigas (Adgas, Adkas and Mas'.) But it is the Tjcberktefchians who call themfelves Adigas, and not the Alanians. I find in the manu-fcript remarks of the late profeflbr Tbunman on Bergeron's collection of travels, which are to be 4 . found;
D I S C O V E R IE S in t ii e N O R T 11. 90
M» upon the Tartars. Towards the great fea, viz. the Cafpian, are fome Mahometans called Lefghi, who are tributary to the Tartar;, beyond thefe is the iron gate, (Derbend*,) built by Alexander the Great, to hinder the irruption of the Barbarians into Perfia.
Having travelled for feven diys to the eaft wards from the JQon* they came at length to the camp of Sartach the fon of Batu, and having had an audience of him, they went to the Wolga, three days journey, and in boats five days journey, down to the camp of Bntu-Khan, on the Eaft fide of the river. They had an audience of him alfo; and foon after, having followed his camp for fome time, they went with a Mod (Mogol) of diftinction to the eaftward, through the land of the Canglev, who are defcendants of the ancient Romanl (Komani), being previoufly provided with pelhTes and boots of felt. Having travelled for the fpace of twelve days from the Wolga eaftwards, they came to the river Jagag fjaik, or Ard), which runs from the North out of the land of the Pafcaiir** into the fea above-mentioned. The language of the Pafcatirs is the fime as that of the Hungarians.   To the weftward of them is Bulgaria, but
found in the library of the Univcrfity at Halle, that againll the word Akas he has written in the margin Adiga; but this was revcrfed by the remark made by profeflbr Guldenjladt, in Bufcbing's Weekly Intelligencer for the year 1773, according to which the Tjcherkerfchiaus call them* fclves Adiga. But the Alanians' next neighbours in the mountains are the Diketi, or Adiketi, whence Adketi, Adktfi, and finally, Akas. And as the Ruffian princes in Tmutrakan had a Lord-'hip in this neighbourhood, it is very poflible that they may have converted fome of the nations dwelling in the Caucafus to the Chriilian religion, of which indeed the Ruffians have lately difecr-vercd many traces.
* Of this pafs and of the ancient wall, which runs from Derbent to the weftward, Bayer
*reats in his Diflcrtation De Muro Cauca/co, in the Commentar. Petropolit. torn. i. pag. 425, to 436.
** Pafcatir is alfo written Bafchart, or Bafcart. This country was the feat of the ancient Hun-*arlans> or Mad/chars (Magyar). The B is often ufed for M, and vice vet-fa; fo that Bafchart **« Madfhar feem to be abfolutely the fame. The Ruffians call the people that inhabit this an-C1?nt BafcJiartt Rafchkirs.
O 2 their
their country has neither towns nor villages, of which none are to be met with from thence-forward, neither'to the Eaft, nor to the North ; fo that the Lejjlr Bulgaria is the laft country in which there are any. From this land of Pafcatir, (Bafchart, or Bafcart), came by the Huns, who are now called Hungarians, and confequently this is Great Bulgaria. It is reported of the Huns, that they penetrated through the Pafs of Alexander in the Caucafus, and mounted on their fwift horfes, laid wafle every country as far as Egypt, and on the other fide as far as France. They were ftill more powerful than the Modern Tartars (or Mogols), and were oppofed by the Blacs (Wlachs), Bulgarians, and Vandals. For thefe Bulgarians came from Great Bulgaria, and thofe beyond the Danube near Conftantinople, as well as thofe near the Pafcatir, are the llacs, which is the fame as Blacs ', for the Tartars cannot pronounce the B. Now, from thefe are defcended thofe who are in the country of Ajj'an. For they are both called Ilac (both thefe and the other) in the language of the Ruffians, Poles, and Bohemians. The language of the Sclavonians is the lame with that of the Vandals. All the Sclavonians were connected with the Huns, and now they are alfo united with the Tartars. What I, viz. Ruyjbroeck, have related of the land of Pafcatir, I have learned from the monks Predicant, who went thither before ever the Tartars came abroad; and from that time they were fubjugated by the neighbouring Mahometan Bulgarians, and many of them became Mahometans *.   Having travelled on to the eaftward
from
* This important pafihge feems not to have been perfectly well comprehended by many people, nor made all the advantages of which it is capable of affording. As well the ancient and primitive Bulgarians, as alfo the Bafchartians, or Mad/chars, feem to be either a nation which is defcended from a Turkilh tribe, but which having lived for a long time amongft, or in the vicinity of the eaftern and northern Ruffian tribes, which fpeak the language of the Finlanders, have in confequence thereof adopted much of the language of thofe people, or elfe they are entirely of Finnifh extraction ;  that is to fay, they originate from the fame people from whom the Fin-
3 landers
from Holy-rood day, or the 14th of September, to All-faints day, or the 1 ft of November, they found that the people were already gone with their flocks to the South; they therefore directed their courfe to the fouthward over fome mountains.   In this journey they met
Anders, Etonians, Laplanders, Livonians, Permians, Syrjanians, Woguls, Wotiaks, Tfche-remifles, Morduanians, and the Kondian Oftiaks defcend, as there is a great affinity between the Ianguages of all thefe people. The Bafchartians, Madfchars, or Bafchkirians, are defcended *>om-the Finlanders, bat thefe, and the Tfchuwafches have adopted the languages of their conquerors, the Tartars. But Ruylbrocck is certainly much miftaken, when he makes the Huns alfo proceed from the fame (lock. It mufl be owned, however, that tribes of very different and quite foreign nations went along with tlte Huns ; even Goths, Sclavonians, and Alanians; it is therefore not to be wondered at, that fome tribes of Finlanders likewife, or even Turks, fhould have advanced with them in their grand predatory and devaftatory expeditions to the weftern countries, as far as France and Italy. Of thefe tribes it was the Bulgarians (fo c;;l!cti, perhaps, after their capital Buljar, from which too afterwards, to the great river Atel, or /.'/,/, got the name of Wolga), and the Walachs, or Wolochs, or IVolcgars, or Wolgars, (and confequently thefe fame Bulgarians) which A. D. 489, fettled on the north fide of the Danube. The Facials mentioned here, are indubitably the #W,, or that tribe of the Sclavonians which «Ppofed the Moguls and the Tartars who fought under the banners of the latter. Ruyjbroeck feems to confirm the conjecture, that the Bulgarians and the U'ckgi, or Wohchi, or Wlacs, or Macs, are one and the fame people. He fays; " from Great Bulgaria come as well the Bulgarians " beyond the Danube, as alfo thofe near the Pafcatir arc the llac, which, however, is the fame aa V Bloc," (or in the manner in which the B is frequently pronounced, Wlac). In fact, we fhould read here, " thefe are the llac:1 The original runs thus, " dc ilia enim Majori Bulgaria " vencrunt illi Bulgari; et qui funt ultra Danubium prope Conftantinopolin & juxta Pifcuii " funt llac, quod idem ell quod Blac." Here it feems as if the article ii fhould be fupplied, *id the paflage fhould be read " hi funt llac." But when Ruyjbroeck fays, »« that the name of "\ thefe people in the Ruffian, Polonian, and Bohemian tongues is llac," he is much miftaken, for in all thefe languages it muft be, Wlach, or Wloch; and even Neftor calls them Wolocbs. The land of AJJan is Bulgaria on the Danube ; confequently, he means only to indicate, that the Bulgarians who firft fettled on the Danube were IVologians. The Bulgarians or Wohg<ans on the Danube, had a» original language of their own, but having much intercourfc with the Sclavonians, Albanians, and Romans, this produced a jargon compounded of Albanian, Sclavonic, and Latin, or of the lingua rujl-ca, or language of the Romifh pcafants ; this mixed language is ftill fpoke in Walacbia. Before I end this remark, 1 fhall only add, that probably ln Germany and France, the cuftom of caftrating horfes was firft learned from thefe eaftem nations; for in French, a caftrated horfe or gelding is called unhongre, probably from the Hungarians; the German name for it is, Wallach, taken, as it fhould feem, from thefe Wlacbiaus; and fv*n in the Polifh language a gelding is called a Walach.
with
102 V   O   Y   A   G   E   5      a n i>
■with wild aifes, called Koltm *, which reiemblcd mules.   At the end of fcven days, they faw fome very high mountains at a diftance. Here they came into a plain which was well watered, and found the :!and cultivated.   And foon after this they arrived at a town called Kenkat.   The guides could not even tell Ruyfbroeck the name of the i-ountry.   It was watered by a large river proceeding from the mountains : this river, however, did not difcharge itfelf into any fea, but loft itfelf in the ground, and produced large marfhes there. Here he faw vines growing, and procured wine to drink.    The next day they came to another dwelling, nearer to that chain of mountains, which beyond the Cafpian Sea, forms the Caucafus, and runs on to the eaftward of it.   He found here, that they had entirely paffed by the Cafpian Sea.   Here too, Ruyjbroeck enquired after a town called Vii/,is, in which lived fome Germans, fubjects of Bury,  according to what he had heard from Friar Andrew.   But he obtained no information concerning them till he arrived at the court of Manghu-Khan ; and all he learned there was, that the town called Talus lay about fix days journey farther in the mountains.   At the court of Manghu-Khan •he was told, that the Khan, with the confent of Batu, had placed thefe people at the diftance of more than a month's journey to the, Eaft, where they wrought in the gold mines, and forged arms ; fo that he could not get to fee them.   It is true, in his road, he had got fo near, as to be within three days journey of them, but did I know it, nor,  indeed, if he had, would he have ventured to go fo far out of his road on this account -f.   From this laft place, they
went.
' .The wild afiVs in thefe parts are ftill called Kulan;   this therefore is a confirmation of ■oetf's veracity.   Farther particulars concerning thefe wild aflcs are to be found in the 2d vol, of M. 1'allas's Northern Collections, [Kordtfche Beitrage] page 22, &c.
f- Jt U evident, that the author went through the whole defart, from the Wolga to the Jaik, 01 I •,?/, the "Jemba, and the north of lake Aral, as far as the border* of Turkeftan. The
town
went-lo the Eaduartl along the mountains before-mentioned, ant^ tame to the fubjects of Manghu-Khan, who paid great honours to the ambaffadors of Batu, for Bab us people alTume more confequence than the others, and do not obey fo willingly.    A few days after, they came into the mountains where the Kara-Kathaians * had formerly dwelled ;  here they met with a large river, which they were °bhgcd to crois in a fhip.   They then defcended into a valley, in Which they found the ruins of a cattle,  though the walls of it were °nly of clay;  the country round about it was cultivated. Thence they came to a good town, called Equius : the inhabitants fpoke Uw Perfian tongue, and profeffed the Mahometan religion.   The next day, having crofted the high hills which communicated with the great mountains to the fouthward, they arrived on a large and very beautiful plain, on the right of which was a ridge of high mountains, and on the left a lake 15 days journey in circumference.  This country is watered at plcafure by the ft reams coming from the mountains, which at lad: flow altogether into this lake    When they returned in the fummer, they went along the north tide of the lake, where there ^*cre alfo very high mountains.   In the above-mentioned plains there had formerly been many towns, but they had almoft all been demo-liihed, that the Tartars (i. e. Moguls) might graze their herds there ;
'own of Kenkat is about the fpot where nowKafchkanat i> fituated. The rivers T/chui and Tain, u°th of which are in that neighbourhood, lofe themfelves both in marlhy lahca. The country hereabouts is fertile and plcafant j and it is not unlikely that there was formerly on the river Ttlat a town of the fame name. In faft, there is to the eaftward, at this prefenttime, the town called Bolak, or Hatdak, or Baulak, though not at fo great diftance from thence as Ruyfbrocck had been informed it was.   Thefe parts alfo produce good wines.
* The weftern Khitans conquered the countries round Turfau and Ka/chiar,'from Ob ;u\,\ Irtifch to the Amudaria (Oxus Gihon, Dfaihun) : and Sirdaria (Jaxartes, Sirt, Sihon) and the c°untry was called Kbit or, after the conquerors of it, the Khitaians, and, becaufe the inhabitants were obliged to pay tribute to the Khitaians, Kara-K/.itai; in the eaft, all fmall, infignificant Nations that pay tribute, being called Kara, or black ; while the free nations, on the contrary, are called dibits: the Ruffian Czar, for inftance, is by the people of the cait called the fvAftJ* Czar,
for
for about this fpot there are the fined paftures for cattle. They found a large town called Kdilac * (Caitac, or Gtaiecjl where there was a market, or fair, to which a number of merchants reforted. Here they waited a whole fortnight for a fecretary of Batiis, who was to alii ft their guides in the difpatch of Bat us affairs at the court of the Khan. The whole of this country was wont to be called Orga-nuniy and they had a language, as well as written characters, peculiar to themfelves. But it was altogether occupied at this time by the Kontomanni. The Nefiorians, in their divine worfhip, were accuf-tomed to make ufe of the language and written characters of this people. Here he likewife found the Neftorians mixed with the Heathens,
• The whole of this country may be pointed out with the greateft exnftncfs. For the large fea, or lake, mentioned by the author, is the Bakhifh Nor, or Palkaf.,^ which, in the new large map of Ruftia, publiihed in the year 1776, by the Academy of Sciences at Peteriburgh, is and republished in Mr. Coxe's ufeful and entertaining Travels into Rujjia, is called Lac Tcngis, i. e. the Lake Sea; for Tenges, or Zeughiz, fignifies a fea or lake; and this fea is fo large, that it is hardly poflible to travel round it in lefs than 15 days. It is about z\ degrees long, and \\ degree broad, and confequently about 480 miles in circumference, which is at the ratcof 32 miles per day ; and thefe are, in fact, long days journeys, unlefs one has relays of horfes. Into this lake feveral rivers difcharge themfelves, but particularly the Hi, not far from which the Kalmuck Longarian Khans ufed to pitch their winter camp (Vrga) on the banks of the river Korgos (or Harkas) in like manner as their fummer camp ufed to be on the banks of the Tikes, which ran weftwards into the Hi. All thefe rivers come from the Mus-Tau, #r the Icy-mountains, and run together with the ///' into the Palkaji. By the town Equius is meant the Akfu, fituated on the river Tekes. The town of Kailak is alfo to be found in the above-meavtioned map, being there called Golka, and placed on the banks of the ///'. The country called Orgamtm, is, in my opinion, the Irgonekon (or Irganakon) of Abulgajt Bayadur Khan, vol. ii. cap. c, for it fignifies a valley, furrounded by fteep mountains, which exactly anfwers to Ruyf-brocck's defcription of the country of Organum. The Kontomanians are people entirely unknown j neither can I any where find any traces of them. We muft therefore endeavour to feek rlicin out. They were certainly a Mogul tribe ; for they were in the number of thofe particular fubjecls of ManghuKhan, who had diflodged the Kara-Kithaians. The Moguls had long before extended to a great diftance northwards along the banks of the Ob, Irtifch, and Ifhim, quite to the ocean. The people of that tribe, which lived on the banks of the river Khonda, or Konta, were called Kontomanni, in like manner as the Turks were called Turkomanni. Now thefe Kontomanni am appear in the courfe of time, and after the dcftruclion of the empire of the Kara-tXkitans, to have fettled on the banks of the river ///, and of the lake Balchafch, or Palkafi. This river Khonda, or Konda, was afterwards added to the title of the Czar, in which we find infertcd ihe province of Obdoria, a name derived from the river Ob, and that of Kondinia, from the Konda,
DISCOVERIES in theNORT H. 105
thens, of whom there are different fpecies. But firft arc the Jugurs, whofe country is lituated between the mountains above-mentioned to the eaftward of Organum. But in all the towns the Ncjlorians live promifcuoufly amongft the Mahometans, and are fcattcrcd everywhere up and down in the Mahometan towns as far as Perfia. Thefe Nejlo-nans are Heathens, worfhip idols, and have paternofters, or beadrolls, with about 100, or 200 beads on each ; the words in which they pray, arc, Ou Mam Haflaui, i.e. " God, thou knowcjl it," as one of them explained it to Ruyfbroeck*. They alfo believe that as often as they repeat this prayer, fo often will God reward them. From thefe people it is that the Tartars or Monks have got their alphabet and nu-de of writing. They begin to write at the top of their paper, on the left-hand fide, drawing their line downwards, and fo go on repeating their lines  from the left  to the right **.    Zinghis  Khan gave his
daughter
* Thefe Neftorians, who,had feveral ufages and cultures correfponding with Chriftun'uy, but Were at the fame time idolaters, arc undoubtedly profef.brs of the Dalai-Lamai religion. They have, like the Roman Catholic Christians, 10S beads, and their prayer is, ftric^ly fpe king, as follows : HQm-M<vii Pana-lhtin. This is, in fa£t, the profellion of faith of the followers of this religion; but neither fignifies, as Ruylbroeck aflerts it docs, God, thou Jino-utjl it, nor, as the Phyfician Mejfer/chmid fuppofed, God la-ve Mercy upon m ; but the true and real import of it is, " that the Beginning and End of the higher magic, of Maui," who holds the flowers of the Lotus who hears thofe who pray to him in thefe words, is propitious to them, and renders them hapj?) ■ ^ id. Alphabet Hint. p. 500, icC. M> Pallas pronounces thele words thus, Om ma -.vie pad am rhitm. Hut it fhould rather feem that the //in pad is mute, and alfo that we lhouhl read, not ma ie/f, but, nut nit They have rolls or cylinders, which they twirl round, for they turn on an axis, end have a weight fixed to them for the purpefe of accelerating the motion, and they believe, that all the prayers contained on thofe rolls, are virtually, and to all intents and purpOfcs, pronounced at each turn of the roll ; and all the time they arc twirling them, they continually repeat, lie/a mani p,r>ia burn. It is poflible, that the religion of Dalai La?>:a may partake f>r.ie-what of the Neftorian fyllnn of Chriftianity ; but in fact it is a branch of the tirabmtkit and Stbamanic fupcrllitions ; and has alfo for its foundation the Manich<rat doctrine of the two principles. Now Manes having attempted to incorporate this doctrine of the two principles with the Chriftian religion, it is no wonder, that in many points, the religion of the Maniclnran Chnflian-accords with that of Lamai.
The Neftorian Chrillians undoubtedly penetrated as far as the north of China, and propn-fiated the Chriftian religion there.   They made ufe of the Syrian dtara&er in writing, and it was
p Out
daughter to the king of the Jugurs, and the town of Kara Korum * itfelf is in a manner within their territory ; and the whole country of Frejle&John,** and of his brother Vat, lies round about their dominions. The Moals (Moguls) live in the plain palhires to the North, but the Jugurs in the mountains to the- South. Between the fame mountains, to the Eaft of the Jugurs are the Tangutians. Thefe are a brave,, intrepid nation* and once took Zinghis: Khan, but releafed him again. They have exceedingly ftrong oxen, the tails of which are bufhy like thofe of horfes, and which have alfo long hair along their backs and under the bellies ; their legs are fhorter, but they are much fiercer than other oxen; they- draw the large houfes of the Moguls, and have long, taper, and fharp horns,
this likewife which was firft introduced into thefe countries. The characters and mode of writing of the Ccdmuc/cs, Moguls, and Mandfcburians, are tr.ken from the Uigurian, and thefe* again from the Syrian. The Syrians alfo ftill continue to this day to write exactly as the Calmuck-s do, viz. they begin at the. top, and draw a line down to the bottom, with which line the letters are in contact from the top down to the bottom of it; and fo they continne to write one line after the other, at each line going farther on to the right, and carrying their writing from the top to the bottom j but in reading, the Moguls and Calmycks, in like manner as the Syrians, turn the leaf fideways, and read from the right to the left. This I have feen myfelf during my ftay in ther great defert plain beyond the Wolga, where I was intimately acquainted with a great number of Calmucks, and enquired minutely into every particular relative to their religion and learning, their manners, their government, and their Princes.
■ This fame Karakarum. is alfo called Karokarum, Kwakuvan, Karakum.; and by the Chinefe lhlin. It was the capital of the Mogul Emperors, and was fituated on the eaft fide of the river, Orcbeu; for, notwithstanding that Danville places this town on the Qngui Munis, yet Fifcber's determination upon this point, in his Introduelion to the Hiftory of Siberia, § 18, feems to me to be more juft.
** Prefer John (or Priefter Johann, as the Germans call him) is the Unkcban, a word which has been ftrangely perverted and twilled, in order to make it form the name of Johann, or John, He was Prince of the Naymavni', and his name was Togrul; having ferved the Chinefe againft na- ) tions which had rebelled againll them, he was dignified with the honorary title of Uang, or Dug, out of which was foon fabricated the appellation of Uticcban, or Vnkcban. But how it tomes to pafs tha' he is called a Chriilian, and even a Chriftian Pricft, feems aknoft incom-prehen&bte.
' which
DISCOVERIES        thk  NORTH. 107
which the owners of the hearts are obliged to la-v off*. After the Tangutians come the people of Tebet, who ufed to eat their dead parents; but they have left off this cuftom, on account* of their being held in univerfal deteflation for it; ncvcrthelcfs, they ftill make large drinking veffels of the fkulls of their parents. There is much gold in this country, Thefe people are very ugly ; but the Jugurs are of a middle fize like us. The language of the Jugurs is the root and fource of the Turkifh and Romanian languages. Behind Tvief are the people of Langa and Solanga **, whofe ambaifadors Ruyfbroeck faw at court, each of whom had brought along with him more than ten waggons drawn by fix oxen. Behind thefe, are the people called Muc, who dwell in towns, and whofe cattle are fo tame, that they come entirely of their own accord when called, and allow themfelves to be handled at pleafurc, though they run about wild. Then comes Great Katbaya, the inhabitants of which, according to Rityf-!>roeck, are the Seres of old, for from this country come the bed filken fluffs, (Serica). The "Setts are fo called, from a town in that region, and in this country is a town which has walls of filver and
* The Buffalo, here defcribed by Ruyfbroeck, is the Calmuck Buffalo, which ufed to be called Sarluck, and, in the language of'Tibet, JaL Since jjUmi*' time, no one of the ancients* befides Ruyibroeck, has given a description of thefe Buffaloes with long-haired coats and thick tMils, which latter are ufed in the Indies as fly-flaps. Afterwards thefe animals were feen by Marco Polo, and now lately by Bogle, an Englishman, in this very country of -Tibet. Vid. Pbilofopbical Tran/aSl. 1777, Part ii. vol. 67, pag. 484. Finally, the belt account we have of them, has been given by Pallas, in his Northern Collections, vol. i. pag. 1. to 28, plate i.
** The country and people of Tangut are by fome anthors, particularly the Arabians and Perfiap*, miftaken fa' Tiba the feat of Dalai Lama ; but Marco Polo fays, that Sacbion, or Sotfcbeu, js fituated in Tagntb, or Tengi/th; in like manner, Kbamil, or Khami, belonged alfo to Tangulh . *nd fo did hampition, or Kbantfcheu. It appears probable, therefore, that the Tanguth of Ruyfbroeck is the fame with this. The land of Tebct i, doubtlefs the modern Tibet, or, as it mould in ftridt propriety be called, Butan. But of the countries of Langa and Solanga, lying bevo Tebct, I have not the fmallcft knowledge, but am apt to think that in Ruyfhrocck's original rnanufcript the words were not « beyond 7'cbef," but " beyond Tangutj" and in this cafe th« countnes here mentioned mult be thofe of the Lamutes, and Soltnians, the parent flocks of the i>loplc now known by the name of the Maut/chu, or Mandftburiam.
P 2 ramparts
ic3 V   O   Y   AGES      a n d
ramparts or towers of gold *. And many provinces of Great Kathay are not as yet brought into fubjecticn by the Mogols. Between the great tea and them lies India. The Kathay/.ins are of a low ftature, and fpeak through thenofe, and, like nil the eailern nations, have fmall eyes. They perform works of great art and ingenuity, and have ikilful phyhcians, who judge of difeafes by the pulfe. Ruyibrocck law many of them at Karakarum. Each father teaches his fon his own trade.. The Ncllorians and Mahometans are alfo in Kiitb.iy, and are looked upon as foreigners, c me from foreign parts. The Neilo-rians inhabit fifteen towns of the country of Kathay. Their Bifhop regies in the city of Segin **.   Here Ruyjbroeck takes an opportunity
of
* The fuppohtbn that the Kathayans, or Inhabitants of north China, .ire the- Camp with the Sertt of the ancients, feems to be without foundation. The $eres lived in Turifftan, G,te, and Vigur.. They were the people, who at that time ruled over a great tr;id of Alia, and probably had alfo extended their dominion over the nor.th-rn part of China. Th" nation that boje the fway had always the denomination of Golden given to it,. Hence the golden horde of the Moguls on the Wolga ; and hence die powerful Prince to whom the Moguls wete fuij c\, even before Zinghis Khan, was called Altyn Khan, or the Golden Khan. Hence, too, the Chinefe call themfelves Kin, i. e. the Golden or Sovereign, Natiun. \w the language of Tibet, Ser means gold. Vid. A.:!-. Gerrgii Alphabet. Tibet. Rotnsr, ij6z. pag. 654. And hence perhaps Serhind was called the Golden India. The Sens were confequently at that time the fovereign, dominating or goldtn people. Their capital bore the fame name, according to Ruyfbroeck ; probably this g&ld.n town is that part of Pciting which is called Tji-kin, and'contains the palace oJ the Kmpcror; and, as fabulous a found as thefe walb of ft Ivor and rampart's of gold may o-irry with tl.em, it is neverthlefs evident enough, that it is the appellation of Kin, or the Golden Town, which, has given rife to thefe exaggerated reports of the fable..
JS'cn efl de nibilo, quod public a fama fujurrat, Et partem <vcr: J'abula femper habet.
** This town of Segin is. undoubtedly Sigan, the capital o£ Schenfi, a province in the north-rallern part of China. Here, in the year 162c, a ftonc was found with Chinefe writing on it, but with Syrian letters round the edge, which mentioned, in exprefs terms, that the Syrian' &4ejfi rians had already, in the yerr 6j6, fent Weputn to China, to preach the gofpel there ; that the Kmpcror, Tai-Jum-ven, had approved of this Hep, and had iffued an edict, ordering that it Ihojld be preaciied all over China ; that in the royal town of Ininfatt, a church had been built -
that
DISCOVERIES in  t ii e  NORTH. 109
°r- relating many tilings concerning the Neftorian priefts, their bigamy, ignorance, avarice, fimony, drunkennefs, 6cc, fo tiiat the morals and conduct of the Moguls and Tninians ~*> though they are idolaters, are far more regular and exemplary than thofe found amongft thefe Chriiliar.s.
Having quitted the town of KaiLicy they came the third day After to the great fea or lake, which appeared to be as boifterous as the ocean itfelf; in the middle of it was a large iiland. The water was rather brackifh, though potable. On the other iide, between high mountains, was a large valley, and to the South-eah: another great lake or fea, connected with the firfL by a river The wind all the time was very violent, infomuch that they were in clanger of being bio wn into the fea. At the farther end of the vale there are feen, to the northward, mountams quite covered with fnow. Having goftfc through thefe mountains, and through a dreadful pafs, between rocks, they at laft came to the country of the Nay/nans, who had formerly been fubject to Prefler John.   They continued their route to
that A. D. 6jr. the Chridhn religion was known in all the provinces of China; tbatin 6^9 and 7J 3 the Btuzes had railed a perfecution againft the Chrillians ; that A. D. 747 another pricll, named Kicbo, went thither from Tatfin (FciTia) and that in 757, 1 he Emperor So-bum--ven-mi, had built mere churches, and his fucccJF>rs had continued to protect the Chriilian religion, and that in commemoration of all thefe events, this Itone had been erected A. d. 782, in the fecond year of the reign of the Emperor Tarn, in the time of the Patriarch or Catholicus Ilananje/us, I his flonc exhibits alfo an abllracl of the whole Chriilian doitrine. The pcrfon that erected this ftone ftyles himfelf a Cholr-Bifhop of Kumdan (Nankin) the capita! of the caftcrn empire. It •* probable, that there refided likewife a Bifhop at Smgnnfu ; fa that the account given here by Ruyfbroeck, every way eitabliihes and confirms the authenticity of this remarkable monument, which has been called in qucftion by many even of our modern literati.
* The Oriental Chrinians give XoMani, or Manes, the name of Thenaoui, and to his feci that ^ Al-Thenaouih, which word fignifies the doclrine of the two Principles. Vid. Herbeiot. Bib/i-tfbeque Oriental*.   The Tninians of Ruyibroeck are therefore no other than Mnuicbeam.
** The above-mentioned fecond fea, or lake, fituated to the fouth-eaft of the lake PaUafi, or &alcha/ch, is likewife to Lie found in the great general map of the Rullian empire, publilhed by Accademy of Sciences in 1776; together with another lake ; ofth-de, the fecond and third *akes are joined to each other by means of a river, and it is poflible that the fecond and firil ^0, agreeably to what Ruyfbroeck aflerts above, may be united in the ftme manner
the
the North, and after travelling fome time, entered a large plain, which at a diftance looked like a fea, for there were neither hills nor mountains to he feen, and the next day they came to the court of the greai Khan *. But the tract of country which they had now palfed over in live days, would, had they been guided by their landlord, have taken them up a whole fortnight, for he had propofed to take them round about by 0nam and Cbcrule **, the firft diftricts in the pof-feflion of Zinghis-Khan; but their conductor prevented this fchemc being put in execution.
Mangbu Khan, followed by his camp, went twice to the fouthward, and afterwards began to turn back again to the northward, that is to fay, to Karakarum. From this firft camp of the Khan, to Kathay, it is about twenty days journey to the fouth-weft, and from thence directly Eaft, is the real country of the Moguls, where (at the diftance of about ten days journey) Zingis Khans court-camp, or head-quarters, ufed to be, viz. in Onan and Cherule, or on the banks of the Onon and Cher/on. In thefe countries there are no towns. Towards the North too, there are neither towns nor villages, but only poor mepherds called Kcrkis (or Kirgifes). There are alfo the Orangey or Orengay, who wear fmall fmooth bones on their feet, on which they run with fuch fwiftnefs over the ice and fnow, that they can even overtake the game they are in purfuit of. There are in the North yet more nations, who are poor and of no account, and who live in ancient Hungary, as far as to the Pa/catirs.
•* The refidence of the Great Khan was not far from Karakarum, and M, Danville places it on the river Onghiu. But we have already oblervcd, that Karakarum muft be looked for on the caft fide of the river Orcbo/i, at the entrance of a large plain, which at prefent feparate* the Ruf-n.n territories from thofe of the Chinefe within the great wall. On the banks of the Orebon are the ruins of a place called Erdeni-tfchao. This fignifies the noble King, and probably the word Balga, or Baigufun, is for brevity's fake omitted.   This town of the noble King is Karakarum.
*f* Thefe countries of Ouam and Cberule, are the counties lying along-fide of the rivers Onon Kherlcn, where Zinghis Khan was born, and which we*c the firft over which he bore the fove-vi«n fway.
Ruyfbroeck
Ruyfbroeck having now had feveral audiences of the Emperor, and having been there for many months, was at laft difmiffed with handfome prefents. Hfe was two months and fix days travelling from Karakorum to the Wolga, where he met with Eatu ; with him he travelled about for the fpace of a month. At laft, in the middle of October, they began to go to the fouth ward along the Wolga to Sarey ; nere the Wolga divides into three different branches, each of which is twice as wide as the river Nile is near Damiate. Lower down, the river divides- into four other fmaller branches. On the banks of the middle one, is the town of Sumefkent *, which has no walls, and whenever the river overflows, is entirely furrounded with water like an ifland. The Tartars had befieged this place, which is inhabited by Alanians and Mahometans, for eight years, before they could take it. The Tartars never went farther to the fouthward than this place in winter. In thefe parts there is pafture, herbage, and cattle in abundance, and a great quantity of reeds, in which the Tartars hide themfelves In winter till the ice thaws again.
After this Ruyfbroeck travelled through the above-mentioned uncultivated defart, in which fometimes there was no water to be met with till he came to the mountains inhabited by the Alanians, who make head againft the Tartars. It is on this account that the Tartars are obliged to fend every tenth man hither, under the command of Sartag, in order to check the depredations of thefe people. At the end of die plain which lies between the Moguls and thefe Alanians,
The town of. Sarey feems to have been built not far from the modern Zariizdn, on the eaftern* Wnch of the Wolga, or the Aebtuba, at no great diftance from Zare<wpod,  where many traces
ftill to be met with of the former exiftence of a large town. But the town of Sumerkent is. * place entirely unknown. Nevertheless it feems as if the fpot where this town had been, and whcre the Wolga begins to divide into feveral branches, was not far from Ajiracban (which formerly was called Hadfchi AidarKkan); for there are alfo on both fides of the Wolga ruins of fonu t0wns exifting, which ruins have been chiefly ufed for the purpofe' of making faltpetrc,
ll
is the oafs called the Iron Gate.   This part of the country is inhabited by Mahometans, called Lejgbi,   who alfo defend themfelves againft the Tartars.   The Tartars, who efcorted Ruyfbroeck, wore breafl-platcs and cuiralfes, which they had taken from the Alanians in war ;  thefe people excelling greatly in all kinds of iron-work. Near the Iron-gate is a fortification taken from thefe Alanians: here they already found vines, and got wine to drink.   The next day they reached Derbend, or the Iron-Gate.   The town occupies the whole plain lying between the Cafpian fea and the high mountains. Its length from the mountains to the fea is half an hour's walk, but the breadth only about a ftone's throw.    At the higheft part of it there is a itrong cattle.   After two days journey, they met with another town called Samaron (Scbabran, Scbabiran J in which lived a great number of Jews.   Two days after this they came to Samacb fScbamakie). Here a level champain opened to their view, called Moan (or Mahan, and at prefent Mokban).    Through this runs the river Kur, whence the Kurgians   (or Georgians J whofe capital is  Tipblis,   take their name.   In this fame campaign runs likewife the river Araxes, which, coming out of Armenia Major, takes its courfe to the fouth-weftward. in tins beautiful plain, to the weftward of which lies Georgia, lived formerly the Krofmians, or Korafmians j (thefe are the anceftors of the pivlent Turks, who laid the foundation of the Ofmanian empire). At the entrance of the mountains is the town of Ganghe, which was their capital.   As they went upwards along the Araxes, they were afterwards conducted to Naxum (or NakcbivanJ.   After this Ruyfbroeck went into the dominions of the Turkifh Sultans, and travelled through Sebae (or Si-was J Ccfarea, in Capadoqia, and leg mum.   From thence he readied Kurcb (or Kurke) a haven in the King of Armenia's dominions • then Layece (or El-Agas) another harbour, from whence he croifed over to Nikcjia, in the ifland of Cyprus; from thence he went to Ant lochia, in Syria, and at laft to Tripoli    from which place he fent an account of his whole journey in writing, to Lewis, King of France.
4 V. Haitfjo,
V. Uaitho, or Hatto, was the Ton of Livon or Leon II. nephew of i/^/V/^ I. king of Armenia Minor.   At the deceafe of his father he would not accept of the crown, but left the empire to his brother Thores, or Thetkior\ and after having in all the troubles and wars in which they were involved, afhfted his royal relations in action as well as in council,  he took,  at Epifcopia in Cyprus, the order of the Praemon-ftratenhan  Monks, A. D.   1305, during the reign of his nephew Leon III. Subfequent to this he went to Poitou in France, and dictated in French to Nicholas Salconi the hiftory of the events that had palled in the Eaft, iince the Moguls firft made their appearance : this account Salconi, by order of the Pope,  tranilated into Latin, A. D. 1307.   His hiftory confifts,  1. in what written information he could find relative to the hiftory of the Tartars j this narrative reaches from Zinghis Khan,   down  to Mangu Khan.    2. In the  relation of fuch incidents and events as had either happened to Haitho I. king of Armenia himfelf, or which had come within the fphcrcof his own knowledge. He having even been, in the year 1254, together with his wife and child, at the court or head-quarters of Mangu-Khan, at which time he met with Ruyfbroeck, who was then on his return home, and had lome convention with him.   Thefe fads Haitho related to his children, and grand-children, and ordered them to be taken down in writing. 3. The Monk Haitho knew from his own proper experience all that had happened in AJia iince the reign of Abaha Khan, (or rather Abaga Khan) from the year 1265 to 12S3, and might juftly have laid, quorum pars magna fui.
Haitho's Oriental Hiftory contains, befides the hiftorical part, a geographical one likewife, of which I fhall briefly mention thofe particulars only which relate to the northern parts of Alia.
The Empire of Kathay is one of the moft exteniive, opulent, and populous empires of the univerfe; it is entirely lituated along the fea coaft. The inhabitants believe themfelves to be the only People on earth that have two eyes; to the Latins they allow one, and
to all other nations none at all j they have fmall eyes and no beards. Their money coniifts of fquare pieces of paper, (lamped with the king's feal. To the Weft this Empire is bounded by the Empire of Tar/a, to the North by the defart of Belgian, and to the South are innumerable illands in the fea. They are {killed in works of ingenuity and art, but are very timorous. From thefe traits one immediately recognizes the Empire of China.
The Empire of Tarfie has three provinces, the fovereign rulers of which call themfelves kings; the inhabitants are calledy&gur, (Jagur, Uigur Ten tribes of them are Chriftians, the reft are Heathens, They abftain from meat and wine, and eat nothing that has ever had life in it. They raife a great quantity of corn, but no mute. Their towns are very pleafant, and contain a great number of temples in which idols are worftiipped. They are not inclined to war, have their own peculiar manner of writing, which, indeed, is adopted by all the neighbouring nations, and they learn all arts and fciences with great facility.
To the Eaft this Empire is bounded by Kathay, to the Weft by Turkejlan, to the North by a certain defart, and to the South by a [ very rich province fituated between India and Kathay, called Syrn (or rather Pei/nJ, and in which diamonds are to be found.—By what is here faid, it appears that Haitho is defcribing in this place the country of Uigur, in conjunction with that of Gete-, but how it conies to be called Tarfa, I really do not know.
The Empire of Turkejian is bounded on the Eaft by the Empire of Tarfa, and to the Weft by Khorafmin ; to the South it extends as far as to the defart which lies juft in the front of India. There are but few good towns in it; the large plains afford good pafturage for the cattle, confequently the inhabitants are almoft all of them graziers and ihepherds, and their dwelling is in tents and huts which are capable of being tranfported at pleafure. Their capital is Ocerra (or Otrar).   The inhabitants raife but a fmall quantity of corn, and no
wine ;
DISCOVER. IES   i m  the NORT II. u5
wine ; their drink is beer and milk, and their food rice, millet, and meat. They are known by the name of Turks, are of the Mahometan religion, and fuch of them as live in the towns, make ufe of the Arabian letters.
The Empire of Khorafmin (or Khuarefm) is populous, fertile, and pleafant; in it they raife a great quantity of corn, but little wine ; it contains many good and ftrong towns; the capital of it is Korafma (or rather Korkang). This Empire borders on a defart of a hundred days journey in extent; to the Weil is the Cafpian fea ; to the North the Empire of Kumania ; to the South (here we fhould read Eaft), the Empire of Turkejlan. The inhabitants are Heathens without either letters or laws. The Soldinians (or Sogdians) are the moft intrepid of warriors, have a peculiar language of their own, ufe the Greek characters in writing, follow the utages and rites of the Greek Church, and are fubject to the Patriarch of Antioch.
The capital of the empire of Khuarefm, is, according to Prince TJlug Beg, the city of Korkang, neither has any author ever mentioned •a place called Kborajme. Haitho having faid before, that Turkejlan was bounded on the weft by Khorafmia, it is clear, that here we muft read eajl inflead of fouth. The Soldini, mentioned above, who were Chriftians of the Greek Church, are entirely unknown.
The empire of Kumania is undoubtedly of vaff. extent, but, on account of the inclemency of the climate, thinly inhabited. In winter the cold is fo intenfe in fome parts, that neither man nor bead can remain there; and in others, the extreme heats and fwarms of flies in fummer are equally infupportable. Kumania is quite level and flat, and without any wood, except fome orchards near the towns. The inhabitants live in tents, and their fuel is the dung of their cattle. It is bounded on the eaft towards Korafmia by a defart; to the weft is the great fea, viz. the Black Sea, and the fea of Tenue (Tanna, or Azof J;
to the north, it is bounded by the empire of Kaffia (Kiow)-, and to the
Qji fouth
fouth it extends to a large river called Etik (i. e, the Wolga) which pafll's by the capital. This river is frozen over every year, and men and beafts walk on it as on dry land ; along the banks of this river there are fmall trees ; on the other fide of the river there are people, who, though they are not Rumanians, yet are fubject to the Khan. Some live alfo towards the high mountains Cocas (i. e. Caucafus). In the mountains are white kites. This range of mountains runs between the two feas; to the weft is the great (i. e. the Black) Sea; and to the eaft, the Cafpian Sea, which has no connection with the ocean, but is like a lake, though it is called a fea on account of its fize, it being the largeft lake in the univerfe. It divides Afia into two parts ; that part towards the eaft is called Lower Afia, and the weftern part, Great Ajla : this lake contains a great quantity of good fifli. In the Cafpian mountains there are found buffaloes, and many other wild beafts. In this fea there are alfo many iflands on which the birds build their ncfts, and particularly the falcon, commonly known by the name of Begrim (Faucon Pelerin, the Pilgrim-Falcon) and Efmet-llones (or Efmer-Hones, Merlins) and Bonjacci (or the Bondree and Sacre, the Honey Buzzard, and the SacreJ and many other birds not to be found in any other part of the world. The largeft town of the empire of Cuniania, is Sara (or SarayJ. This town was large and of great renown ; but it has been ravaged and almoft entirely deftroyed by the Tartars, who took it by ftorm. It is obvious, that Haitho defcribes here that part of the empire of the Moguls, which was fubject to Batu Khan. The Black-Sea he calls the Great Sea, becaufe it is connected with the Mediterranean and the ocean ; and the fea de Tcnue, is the fea of Tanna, or of Azof, for fo the town at the end of the Don was called at different times. The empire of Kajfia cannot well be fuppofed to be any other place than Kiow, or Kiavia, the capital of the Ruffian empire and refidence of the Grand Duke.
The
The reading, too, which we have propofed with refpe3 to the names of the birds, is probably the heft.
As worthy of notice as are the particulars above-mentioned, which are the contents of the firft five Chapters, the lixtcenth Chapter is no lefs fo, on account of fome geographical information it contains receding the ancient feats of the Tartars (i. c. the Moguls).
Beyond the large mountain of J$elgian,QT Bilkban, the Tartars lived at firft, without religion and without the ufe of letters. Their chief occupation confifted in tending their flocks j and fo far were they from being of a warlike difpoiition, that they readily paid tribute to atly one that demanded it. All the tribes of the Tartar race were known by the name of Mogles. They increafed to that degree, as to compofe feven capital independent nations. The firft was called Tatar, after a province of the fame name, in which they at firft ha ! lived j the fecond was caXle&tongOt (i. e. Tangut) 5 the third, Kan at ; the fourth, Jalair (or Thahdr) • the fifth, Sonicb 1 the iixth, Monghi; and the feVenth, Tabetb. The Chiefs of thefe nations, prompted by a vifion,\and by a command from God, had chofen Cbangie (i. t\ Zinghis) for their fovereign Lord and Ruler. After this we are told, how he came through the mountains, when the fea withdrew nine feet, and made a way for him where there was none before. This feems to be the fame hiftory with that of Irgone Kon, which is alfo related by Abnlga/i. The mountain Belgian, can hardly be looked for any where elfe than in the environs of lake Balchas in the country of Organum, or Irganekon. According to the Nighiarijlan, a collection of Oriental Hiftory, the Turkomanni likewife came from a place called Bclgiaa, or Bilkban.
VI. Marco Polo, a noble Venetian, whofe father, Nicola Polo, had before been in the eaft with his brother Matthco Polo, on commercial affairs, in 1260, and had returned with him in 1269, was by his father taken along with them on this voyage A. D. 1271, when he was but 1 r years old. Marco learned at the court of Kublal Kban to fpeak and 4. write
ix8 V   0   Y   AGES and
write four languages which were in ufe in the country; and the Emperor made ufe of him in weighty matters, and on embailies in which it took him up a journey of fix months to reach the place of his dell ination.   He was in the fervice of the Emperor 17 years, and at laft, with his father and uncle, returned in the year 1295, fafe to Venice, It is prefumed he wrote his remarks in Latin, and in prifon, as on his return he was taken prifoner by the Geuocfe, who were at that time at war with the Venetians.   He was a man of great fenfe, probity, and piety,  whofe domeftics unanimously gave him a good character,   and   confequently   his   narrative is  every  way defending of our confidence.   His father, Nicola, who was the honefteft man in the whole country, conftantly certified the truth of the narrative contained in his ion's book; and his uncle Matthco, who was a pious as well as very wife man, even on his death-bed told his ConfeiTor, that thefe relations were true in every refpect.   A Monk translated his book into the Italian language, and from the Italian it was again tranflatcd by another Monk into Latin.   Thefe multiplied tranflations are the caufe of the names of the countries and towns appearing fo much disfigured as they do.   It is therefore to be wifhed, that fome man of great erudition would compare thefe various tranflation s with the manufcript to be found in the library of Wolfenbut-tel, and publifh a new and correct edition of this ufeful book, which is of the greateft importance with refpect to the geography of the middle ages.   This book has moreover been tranflated into a great many modern languages, e. g. into German, French,   Dutch, and Portugnefe*.   We fhall extract from it fome very fhort obfervations only relative to the north.
A.D.i 260, the two brothers having embarked at Venice, with a cargo confifting of a great many valuable articles of commerce, went by
* There was likewife .1 tranflation publifhed in Knglifh, in 1579, under the title of The tnoft noble andfamcui Travtls of Marcus Paulus.   London, 8vo.
the
the way of the Mediterranean, and fo through the Dardanelles to Conftantinople. After a ftay of a few days, they failed acrofs the great fea, Mar Maggiorc (i, e. the Black-Sea) to a harbour called Soldadia (or Sudak). From whence they went by land to the refi-hdence of a great Tartarian Lord, named Barcha (properly Bcreke Khan, who reigned from 1256 to 1266) who lived in the towns of Bo/gara and Aff'ara*. He received them very kindly, and they made him confiderable prefents in jewels, for which he made them returns by other prefents of double the value. Having remained there for the fpace of a year, they were defirous of returning to Venice but a war breaking out fuddenly between Alau fHo/aghu, probably the Iranian, or Perfian Khan, Holaghit Khan, to whom the whole of Perlia belonged quite to Syria) and Barcha; the armies approached each other, and the battle turned out in favour of Holaghit. The roads were now unfafe; fo that they could not return by the fame road as they came, and they were advifed to travel by a large circuit round about the Empire of Berekekhan ; following this counfel they came to a town called Ukakab (alias Gw-thakha, Grikhata, Khorkang, JJrghenz), and a little farther on they croffed the Tigris (or Gihon), one of the four rivers of Paradife; after this they travelled for the fpace of feventcen days in a defart, in which they faw neither town, caftle, nor village, but only a few Tartars living in huts. Having left the defart, they came to a very good town called Bokhara (Bochara), in the province of Bokhara in Perfia, the fovereign of which was called Barach; (Berrak Khan). Here they ftayed for three whole years, being unable to aavance any farther on account of the r/reat war that fubfifled  between the Tartar?.
* Rcl-ram is without doubt Bclgari, the capital of Bulgaria, a town, which according to mo-nilment;, ilill extant, actually exifted from 11G1 to 1578, and was inhabited ; fo that it is very Poflible, that Biveii Khan may have ibmetimes refided there.   But Ajjara is the town of Al-
*9% which was new built by Bantu Khan on the Aihtuba, a branch of the Wolga.
2 . At
At this time there came from llolaghu to Bokhara, a man of great talents and underitanding, who was going as ambaflador to the great KuHai-Khan. Meeting with thefe brothers, who had now become well acquainted with the Tartarian tongue, and having confer fed with them for many days, he perfuaded them to take a trip .with him to the great king of Taitary, and promifed them great honors and advantages. They, on their parts, being perfectly aware that it was impoflible for them to return home without imminent danger, went along with the ambaflador, together with a number of Chriftan fervants which they had brought with them from Venice, ibaping their courfe at firft. towards the North-eaft. It being winter, they were a whole year on the road, and they were often obliged to wait on account of the fnow, or of the waters having overflowed the roads, till the fnow was melted, and the waters had retired. At length they arrived at the refidence of the great Khan Kublai, who gave orders for them to be brought before him, received them very gracioufly, and treated them with great distinction; he alfo interrogated them much concerning the Roman Emperor, the Kings and Princes of Europe, their different governments, their military force, their jurif-prudence, the manners and cuftoms of the different nations, their religion, and finally, concerning the Pope; to all which queries they made proper and fuitable replies. After fome time, Kiiblai-Kban called them before him, and told them, that he would fend them as ambaffadors to the Pope at Rome, with letters' to delire his ho-linefs to let him have 100 wife and judicious men, well fkilled in the Chriftian doctrine. He ordered a man of distinction, named Cbo-gatal (Gogakdj Gogatai, Cogatal) to accompany them, and gave them thefe letters, as alio a golden table, on which the imperial feal was engraved, and in virtue of which, the bearer or bearers thereof are intitled (free of all expence) to relay horfes, provisions, convoy, and any thing elfe they may delire or ftand in need of.
Having
Having travelled on for the fpace of twenty days, the ambaflador Cboga-tal fell lick.; they therefore left him behind, and went on without him. Their golden table procured them every where the bell reception. The fnow, the ice, and the overflowing rivers, retarded them, fo as to occafion them to be three whole years on this journey : at length they arrived in an Armenian harbour, called la Giazza (otherwife Glaza, Galza, and more properly ftill, al AjaffaJ, and went immediately to Acre (or Ancona, properly AkkoJ, where they were informed of the death of Pope Clement IV. by the Pope's Legate, Theobald Vlfcount of Placenzia* Upon this they took {hipping, and going by the way of Negroponte, arrived at Venice among their relations and friends, where they refolved to ftay till the election of a new Pope. Here Nicolo Polo found, that his wife, whom he had left big with child, was dead; but Marco, the fon he had by her, was alive, and nine years old*.   Having waited for the election of a Pope two years in
vain,
* The dates in Andrew Mailer's edition are falfe throughout; thofe however in the Italian tranflation, printed in Ramujio's Collection, are more accurate. They fet out A. D. 1260, and flayed one year with Berth Khan, 1261. Then they flayed three years in Bokhara, viz. till 1264. One year they fpent on the road to Kublaikhan, which brings it to iz6j. They were three years in returning; but then they fpent fome time with the Khan, for the purpofe of converfing with him, and receiving their dilpatches, for which we may reckon at leaft one year. So that it amounts to four years in all, and confequently they did not return till the year 1269, and Marco, the fon of Nicolo, could be but nine years old, though Ramufia has made him 19, and all the others ij, But the chronology of the other Princes and Kings mentioned in this book do not allow us to adopt thefe dates of Ramufio and Andrew Muller. For firft, it is certain, that Kublaikhan was ftill alive, though advanced in years, when they took their departure: and they were on their way home, when they firft received the news of his death. They were informed of his death, on tfceir way home. Now Kublai-Khan reigned from 1259 to 1294, and died at the age of So years. But if Nicolo and Mattbeo had fet out on their firft journey in 1 z;o, they would have arrived therein 1255, before Kublai-Khan had afcended the throne; they muft therefore have fet out on their firft journey in 1260, and have come back in 1269, foon after the death of Pope Clement IV. Farther, they muft have fet out again in 127!, for at that time Pope Gregory X. was elecltfd, from whom they had letters to take to Kublai-Khan.   Their firft journey
aPpened at the time that Baldwin ii. who reigned from 1234 to 1261, was ftill Emperor of Byzantium.   The Khan of Khiptfchak was Bercke, who reigned from 1256 to 1266, fo that
R tjiey
tZ2 VOYAGES      A :< d
vain, they fet out with young Marco Polo, who was now 11 years of age, for Acre The Legate gave them letters for Kiiblai Khan, and they fet out for the harbour of Giazza. In the mean while news arrived from Italy, that this fame Legate had been elected Pope, on which occafion he took the name of Gregory X. He immediately difpatched meffengers with letters to the King of Armenia, to give him notice of his election, and to rcqucft, that in cafe the Ambaflador to the Khan had not yet left his territories, th y fhould return. Thefe letters found the Poli ftill in Armenia; they returned therefore in a galley to Akko, where the Pope gave them his letters to the Khan, befides a great many prefents, and lent along with them two learned Monks Predicant, viz. Friar Nicholas, of Viccnza, and Friar William, of Tripoli. Immediately upon this they returned by fea to al jVhi[]'d, and fet out on their journey from that place by land to Armenia. There they learned, that the Sultan of Babylon (in Egypt or of Kahirah) (Bibars) el Bendokdari (or Benhokdare) had made an incuriion with a great army into Armenia, where lie committed the moft cruel ravages. This news alarmed the two Monks to fuch a degree, that they remained with the Grand-mafter of the Knights-Templars, and afterwards likewife returned with him; but the three Poli proceeded boldly through many dangers, and, by per-feveranee audlabour, got over every difficulty; fo that at laft, in the fpace of three years and a half, they arrived at the Khan's, who,, while they were ftill at the diftance of 4.0 days journey from him,, fent to meet them, and took care that at every place they came to,,
they fonld not have commenced their travels for the fir ft time Before izr6. Nay they could not well have fet outon their journey before 1 2.5S, for, i HolagEu, who was at war with Bereke Khan^. c:d not begin his reign before 1258, and he reigned till the year 1265. It is evident, therefore, that the fir It timr, they co old not have ftaid out above 11 years, and.confequently Marco, the {an of Nicolo, could not at the tiuie of his father's return be mere than 11 years old, nor lefs thar. o; which latter coi'j^'birc is very probable..
they
DISCO V E R I E S   in   the  N O R 1' 11. faj
they fhould be provided with every thing ncceffary, till at length they arrived fafe at his court. Kublal Khan received them with great kindnefs, and with many marks of distinction, in the midft of all his illuftrious Barons {Taijchis, Nojoncs, and Sat/Jans J. They were aiked concerning the health of the Pope; when they gave a circumftantial account to the Emperor of every object: of his enquiry, as well as of what had befallen them in their journey. The Khan then enquired, who Marco was ? and being informed, that he was the fon of Nicolo, he received him very gracioufly, and had him immediately regiflered among the mod diftinguiihed of his officers. In confequence of this, Marco was very much refpected by every one at Court, and not only in a fliort time acquired the manners of the Tartars, but learned likewife four different languages, each of which he was able to read and write. On this account the Khan willing-to.make a trial of his capacity for bufinefs, dj/patched him on an affair of importance relative to the empire, to a town called Karazan, the journey to which place took him up fix intire months. He executed the whole bufinefs with judgment and discretion, and perfectly to the fatisfaction of the Khan ; and knowing, that the Khan was very fond of hearing of uncommon phenomena, ftrange occurrences, and other novelties, and that lie was very defirous of getting information refpecting the manners and cufloms of the people, he made minute enquiries every where after whatever was remarkable, and taking it down in writing, drew up an account of the whole, which he prefented to the Khan. By this means he got fo much into the Khan's good graces, that in the twenty-fix years he {laid with the Khan, the latter was continually Ending him through all his kingdoms, and made ufe of him as 1 iis ambaflador. Now it is principally from this caufe, that this fame ^larco faw and heard fo many new things relative to the Eaft, of
R 2 all
ail which he has given a defcription in the books he has written ori this fubjecl:. After the two brothers, Nicolo, and Mattheo, as alfo the young man Marco Polo4 had lived many years at the court of the Khan, and had amaffed great quantities of jewels and gold; conli-dering that the Khan grew old, and that after his deceafe it might have become difficult for. him to return home, Nicolo one day begged-of the Khan to permit him and his family to fet out on their travels homeward. At this, however, the Khan was very much hurt, and offered them additional riches and honours, but refufed their requeft. juft at this time died Bolgana, the confort of king Argon in the Eaft Indies ; who, on her death-bed, had defired Argon, after her deceafe, to chufe a wife from amongft her relations in Kathay, where the great Khan reigned. Accordingly, he fent three ambaffadors to Kublai Khan, to whom the Khan granted Kogatin (Gogatin, Go-gonyn), one of his near female relations; upon this the ambaffadors fet out with her, but returned after having been eight months on the road, the paffage all the way to the Eaft Indies being obftrucf ed by a War which had juft broke out. In the mean time Marco Polo had been by fea to India, and had juft returned from his voyage. The ambaffadors being now apprifed of the conveniency and fafety of a paffage by fea, by the perfuafions of the Poli, requefted of the Khan to fend them by fea to India, and to grant them-the Poli, as-being goo3 and experienced feamen, for their conductors-, and to permit thefe latter to return home. However unpleafing this requeft was to the Khan, he did not, however, refufe; when, together with the queen and the ambaffadors, they fet fail with 14 four-maft fhips, four or five of which carried from 250 to 260 perfons. After lofing a great many men, they paffed by the Ifland of Jwa, and at length arrived in the country of Argon.. He, they found, was dead,, but due Chiacato (Akata),   governed  in  the name of young Kafa'n,
3 *hz
*he £bn of Argon, a minor, to whom Chiacato had alfo deftined the princefs Gogatin for a confort; he, however, was at that time with the army making a campaign on the frontiers of Perfia. Chiacato, by the recommendation and at the defire of Kublai Khan, furniflied the Poli with 200 horfes and money for their journey, and, after a tedious journey by land, they at length reached Trebi-fande (i.e. Trebizond) from whence they proceeded by the way of Gonjlantinople and Negroponte to Venice, where they arrived fafe, A. D. 1295. On their way they learned the death of Kublai Khan, and deemed themfelves very happy in getting to their native country, after having furmounted fo many difficulties, and having been ah lent from it in the eaft, for the fpace of 26 years (viz. from 1269 to I295*)
Marco Polo having defcribed the fouthern provinces belonging to Perfia, comes at length to the unknown northern regions, and fetting: out from the country of the Ajfajjina in Dilem, and from a town belonging to them called Mulete (or Alamut) not far from Kafvin, arrives at the town of Sopurgan (Esferain) and immediately after, at Balach (Balkh) a city of great celebrity, though its marble palaces are now deftroyed by the Tartars. At two days journey from thence to the eaft we find the caftle of Thakan (Thalkan) in the neighbourhood of which a great quantity of corn is grown. But to the fouth of it there are mountains of fait, which is fetched from them to the diftance of 30 days journey. The inhabitants, though Mahometans, make a common practice of drinking wine, which indeed they have perfectly mature, of a very full body, and excellent in its kind. As to other particulars, they are of an extremely mifchievous and wicked difpofition ; they are, however, good huntfmen, and their cloaths are made of the fkins of the beafts which they kill.
At the diftance of three days journey farther on, is the town of Scaffem (Scaife, al-Schafch); through the town runs a very large ftream (the Sirr——Daria, or Dfaihum).   In this country thd'e are
many
many porcupines. The inhabitants have a language of their own. At the diftance of three days journey more, is the province of Ba* laxiam (Balafcia, Balafagan), the inhabitants of which are Mahometans, and fpcak a language peculiar to themfelves : the extent of the country is about twelve days journey. In the mountains there are found beautiful ftones of great value, called Balaffc, particularly in the mountain of Skiuam, where the king alone has the privilege of digging. There are alfo mountains with veins of Lapis Lazuli, which is reckoned the fined: in the work1 j as alfo veins of filver, copper, and lead in great quantity • but the weather there is intenfely cold. In this country they have very fwift horfes, whofe hoofs are-ib hard that they want no fhoeing. In the mountains are caught the Sacre falcon-(Falco Sdcef) ; the Lannar (Falco lanarius cincrcus Brlfs.J the Gofs-hawk (Falco ajlur Brifi.J, and the Sparrow-hawk (Fal conifus), which are all, in their kind, very excellent, and, by the inhabitants, who are all very keen fportfmen, are made ufe of for the chace. They grow much wheat and Indian corn; they have no olive oil, but make this article of food of nuts and the feeds of the Sefamum, which of all oils is the moft palatable. The great number of narrow palles and ftrong holds they have in this country render the inhabitants perfectly fecure againft any invafion from an enemy. The air on the mountains is fo falubrious, that the fick almoft always recover their health on taking a journey to them, as indeed Marco Polo experienced in his cwii cafe. On thefe mountains there are flocks of from 400 to " 600 wild fheep, of which but few are to be caught. The women of rank make themfelves a drefs of inuflin, containing from 60 to 80, or evert 100 ells, and, (in order that they may appear the more bulky below the waift,) crumpled up from the waift downwards, like trow-f:i-s, and fhe who appears the biggeft, is confidered by the men as the greateft beauty.
At
D I S C O V E Pv I E S in the NORTH. 127
At the diftance of about 10 days journey is the province d*£gf$ri (alias Vafch, on the river Vafch, which falls into the Gihon). The inhabitants are Idolaters, and very much addicted to forcery and witchcraft j live upon flefli and rice, and have a language of their own. They arc of a very tawny complexion, and are accounted very malicious, faithlefs, and cruel. They wear golden ear-rings fet with diamonds and pearls.
The province of Chefnmr (Kheftmur,   Khafchimir) is at about fcven days journey from Bafilmu   The inhabitants have a language their own, and are pi a brown complexion ; neverthelefs, the women are very handfomc.   Their principal food is flcfh and rice. Their country is covered with towns and caftlcs, and being furrounded by defarts and mountains,  they have nothing to fear from any enemy. Their king is not tributary to any one.    There are many and large bodies of hermits among them, who live in a very frugal and abfte-mious manner,  and are in great eflcem among the people. The natives never fried blood, nor kill any animal;  therefore, they make ufe of the Mahometans for flaughtering the beads of which they eat the flefli.  Corals arc held in great eflcem among them, and fell at a very high price.
From Balaxiam one comes to a number of caftles and dwellings on the banks of a river, and at length into the province called Vochan (alias Vocham or Vakhan, on the river Vafch). The inhabitants are honeft and valiant, and have a language of their own, but follow the law of Mahomet. Their Lord is fubject to the King of Ba-laxiam. In going out of this province to the eaftward, one travels for three days continually upon the afcent, till at laft one comes to fo elevated a fpot, that one is apt to take it for the higheft in the whole world. On this fame fpot, between two mountains, one finds a large lake, from whence a very beautiful river flows through a plain, containing the heft and richeft paftures in the world, for if cattle arrive there ever fo lean, they return home in 10 days quite
a fat
fat and in good condition. In this diffcricTt, too, there are a great number of wild beads, and particularly of very large wild fheep, fome of which have horns of the length of fix palms, or about 18 inches; and others of two or three palms at leaft: of thefe the fhepherds make fmall porringers, and large dimes for their victuals; and even the folds in which they keep their flocks are made of thefe horns. The numberleft wolves that are in thefe parts devour fuch immenfe quantities of thefe goats, or fheep, that their horns and Skeletons are to be found piled up in heaps, in order to point out the way in the fnow *. One travels for the fpace of 12 whole days on this plain, which is called Pamer. Confequently one muft carry all one's provifions along with one. On account of the great height of the mountains, there are no birds to be feen here, and even the fires do not burn fo clear, by reafon of the cold, as it does in other places, fo that one can hardly drefs any victuals by it**. Having accomplished this 12 days journey, one muft travel 40 days longer to the eaftward, and that continually over mountains and through rallies, crofting many rivers, and parting through defarts, in which there are neither dwellings nor even a blade of grafs; fo that one muft carry all the provifions one ftands in need of along with one;
• It is remarkable, that fo many centuries ago Marco Polo has taken notice of the extraordinary height of thefe inland Afiatic campaigns, and at the fame time made accurate and juit observations on thefe wild fheep, which by the ancient nations were called Mufmones, and by the French and Italians are termed Moufions, Muffioni, and of whichthe horns have been alfo defcribed. by modern writers to be fo large, that the Korfaks, or fmall foxes of the defart, can hide themfelves in them.
** This truth, difcovered by M. De Luc, one of the moft attentive natural Philofophers of the prefent age, on the mountains of Savoy and Switzerland, viz. on the higheft mountain, fire burns more fluggiftily, and the effects it produces are more inconfidcrable than at the level of the fea, we find here very carefully noticed by Marco Polo, above 500 years ago. Vid.     A. di Luc, Rechercbet fur Us modifications de Vatmo/pbere. No, 903, 910,
and
and this country is called Beloro (alias Belor, or Belur). The fum~ mits of thefe mountains are inhabited by an idolatrous, favage, and cruel race of men, who live merely by hunting, and are cloathed in the fkins of beads.
From thence one comes to the kingdom of Cafcar (alias Chafcar, Caflar, Kafchgar, and Haficar) which at prefent belongs to the great Khan, and is five days journey in length. The inhabitants are Mahometans, and get their livelihood by commerce and manufactures, and particularly by the working of cotton. The fice of the country is covered with towns and caftles: they have fine gardens and lands, which produce grapes for making wine, and other fruits in abundance. They cultivate cotton, flax, and hemp, in great quantities ; and the land yields plentifully all the neceiTaries of life. From this province numbers of traders goto all parts of the globe ; but they are fo extremely covetous, that they do not even allow themfelves to eat, and much lefs to drink any thing that is good. Befides the Mahometans, there live alfo fome Nefcorians in thefe parts, who have a public church here, in which they wor/hip the Deity after their own manner.
Samarchan (or Samarkand) is an excellent town and a plain, which produces abundance of all kind of fruits that man can poffibly with for. The inhabitants are part of them Chrilfians and part of them Mahometans, and are fubject to a nephew of the great Khan,
From hence, in five days journey, one comes to the province of Carc/jan (alias Carcham, Carcam, Hiarkand, Jarkim, Jerket, Jerken, andUrkcnd). The inhabitants are of the Mahometan perfuafion^and there are alfo fome Neftorian Chriftians here but all are fubject to the nephew of the great Khan. They have all the neceiTaries of life in great plenty, but chiefly cotton. The inhabitants are good artizans, and have, the greateft part of them, thick legs, and goitres or tumors m their necks, which proceed from the quality of the water which they drink,
& Going
Going from hence to the cad wards one comes to the province of Cot an (otherwife Cotam, Hotum, Khoten, and Khotan), which is fubject to the nephew of the great Khan. This country is eight days-journey in length, and is full of towns and caftles. The inhabitants are Mahometans. The country abounds in all the neceiTaries of life-. here they cultivate cotton, flax, hemp, wheat, wines, and other productions of the vegetable kingdom. The inhabitants live by trade and manufactures, and are unfit for war.
Purfuing this track, one comes to the province called Peym (Peim, or Peym), which contains many towns and caftles. Through the capital of the fame name there runs a river, in which many precious ftones are to be found, viz. Chalcedonians and Jafper. In this province are to be had all neceflaries of life, and a great quantity of lilk is produced. The inhabitants are Mahometans, and immediately fubject to the great Khan ; they live by trade and manufactures. In this country they have a very particular cuftom, which is, that if a man goes on a journey, and ftays away from his wife above twenty days, die may, if fhe pleafes, marry another man, and when the man returns, he may, in like manner, marry another woman. All thefe laft mentioned countries, viz. Kafchgar, Jerkin, Khoten, Peym, and Scentctm, to the town called Lop, are reckoned among the frontiers of Great Turkey.
The province called Ciarcian (Ciartiam, Sartcm), was formerly very beautiful and fertile, but it has iince been deftroyed by the Tartars. The inhabitants are Mahometans. In this country there are a great number of caftles and towns, the chief of which is* likewife called Ciarcian. There are many rivers containing precious ftones, chiefly Chaltcdonians and Jafper, which are carried for fale to Ouchah (Kathay), and of which, by reafon of the great quantity there is of them, they make great profit. From Peym to the end of this province there are many bitter and fait waters in the ftrata ©f fand which, are to be met with every where in thefe parts ; but
• frefli
frefh water fit for drinking is very rare. And if it happens that an army of Tartars, either friends or enemies, marches through ; if of the latter, they plunder the inhabitants of their goods ; and if friends, they kill their cattle and eat it up ; whence it happens, that the inhabitants, on perceiving the approach of an army, retire with their wives, children, and cattle, to the diftance of feveral days journey into the fandy defart, near a fpring of good water, where in that cafe they live. For it is to be obferved, that after the wheat harveft, every one of the inhabitants hides his corn in caverns under the fand, unknown to any one but himfelf, as the place is immediately covered over with fand by the wind j and they carry home at one time only juft as much as will ferve them for the fpace of a month.    Going from Ciarcian backward,   rive days journey in the find, one comes to nothing but bitter waters, except that at the entrance of the great defart, one meets with the town called Lop.   From the town of Lop you enter immediately into the great defart.   The inhabitants of Lop are Mahometans,  and fubjects of the great Khan.   In this town, thofe that intend to travel through the defart, reft for many days, and prepare all that is neceflary for the journey, and load many ftrong aifes and camels with food, provifions, and merchandife.   But if their provifions are fpent before they arc quite through the defart, they kill the atTes and camels and eat them.   They muft lay in a ftock of provifions fuflicient to laft a whole month, and if it does not, they eat the aftes rather than the camels, becaufe thefe latter can carry heavier burthens, and are fatisfied with lefs food.   During the whole thirty days the road goes through fandy plains, and over barren mountains, but at the end of each day's journey they meet with water, though not in fuflicient quantity, but only for about 50 or 100 men : *n three or four of thefe places the water is even bitter, but in all
$ 2 the
!32 VOYAGES A N D
the other nocturnal baiting-places, which are twenty-eight in number, the water is frefli. In the dciart neither birds nor beads are to be found, there being nothing for them to live upon. It is alfo very eafy, in cafe one loiters behind, to lofe one's company, and confequently perith miferably.
Having travelled through the defart in this manner for the fpace of thirty days, you come to a town called Sachion (Schatfcheu, Tfchat-fcheu, on the river Sirgentfchi, which runs into the Polongbir, and in the Kara-nor, or Harii-nory or perhaps it fhould be Schotfchcut or Sotfcheu, on the river Ezina, which difcharges its waters into two lakes) : this town is in the dominions of the great Khan, and in the province of Tanguth. In it there are fome fev/ Nedorian Chridians, as alfo Mahometans, and finally, Idolaters, who have their own peculiar language. They do not live by commerce, but by agriculture, and the produce of their own country. They have many convents full of idols* which they wordiip with the greated devotion - and if they beget a fon, they recommend him to one of thefe idols, in honour of whom they feed a ram at home, which, at the expiration of the fird year, they carry to the temple, together with the child, on the day which is confederated to the above idol, and after killing the ram, boil the Belli of it, and fet it before the idol, while they fiy their prayers, in which they recommend the fon to the idol, and beg of him to keep their fon in health; and they aflfert, that during this, the idol has extracted all the virtues and tade of the meat - upon this they take the meat home, and eat it in company of their friends and relations invited for that purpofe, but the bones they preferve very carefully in a handfome veffel. The prieds of the idol have for their fhare the head, the feet, the entrails, the fkin, and part of the flefh. Thefe Idolaters obferve alfo fome very fingular cudoms in the burning of their dead 3 if the deceafed was a man of rank, they go to the
aftrologer,
aftrologer, and tell him the year, day, and hour, on v/hich the deceafed perfon was born - the Sage then examines the iigns, the placet, and the ftar under whofe influence  the defunct was born, and, according to thefe, determines the day and the hour on which he is to be burnt; and if the planet does not reign at that time, they keep the corpfe for a week, or even for fix months together; now being obliged to keep it in the houfe, they get a coffin made of boards three inches thick, very clofely joined together, and painted over.    In this they lay the corpfe, together with many fragrant perfumes, camphire, and other fpices; and, after filling up all the chinks with pitch and lime, cover the coffin with filk.   During the whole time that they keep the corpfe thus, a table is fpread for it with bread, meat, and wine, and left (landing for as long a time as it would take a living perfon to eat and drink his fill.    Moreover the aftrologer will fometimes deem it unlucky to carry the corpfe through the door; when to plcafe the planet, a hole muft be broken through the wall, and the corpfe carried out that way.   Should any one take it in his head to object to all this, and refute to comply, the ghoft of the deceafed would certainly bedif-pleafed at it, and do him amifebief.  When the corpfe is carried out of the town, they have little wooden houfes built for it in the ilreets, in which they fet it down and place victuals before it.   The proceffion is accompanied with mufic.   Whilft the body is burning, they paint on a paper, the figures of men and women, together with the representations of corns, horfes, camels, and cloaths ; and burn thefe together with the corpfe, in the belief that the deceafed will have an equal number of man-fervants and maid-fervants, money and cattle, at his dif-pofal in the other world.   The mufic muff play during the whole ceremony of the incremation of the body.
Kamul (alias Chamul, Hamil, Hami, Khami, Came-xu) is a diflrict belonging to the extenfive province of Tanguth, and is fubject to the Great Khan. It is fituated between the above-mentioned great defvrt and another fmaller one.   The capital bears the fame name as the
diflrict
134        .      VOYAGES and
diftricl itfelf: it produces fruit and grain of all forts, which ferve for the maintenance of its inhabitants, as well as of the foreigners that travel through it.   The inhabitants fpeak a language peculiar to themfelves, and worship idols.    Thefe people feem to be born for nothing elfe but enjoyment; and, indeed, their chief occupation is muficr ringing, and dancing, and other amufements.    If a traveller arrives in their country, and is deiirous of taking up his lodging with any of them, they immediately lay the ftricteft injunctions on their wives, daughters, lifters, and other female relations, to be in every refpect •at the ftranger's fervice j at the fame time the huiband leaves the houfe, and procures in the town whatever is requifite for the accommodation and kind reception of his gueft; neither does he return to his houfe till the latter has left it.   The women in the mean while obey the ftranger as if he was their huiband ; and it muft be con felled, that, in general they polfcfs no fmall thare of vivacity and beauty. The prevailing opinion in this country is, that by (hewing fo much hofpitality to the travellers, they render a very acceptable fervice to the Gods, and they attribute it entirely to this cuftom, that the Gods beftow on them a profufion of every worldly good, and a protection againft all dangers, together with the incrcafe of their families. When Mangu Khan fat on the throne, having heard of this indecent cuftom, he commanded that they fhould preferve and promote the chaftity of their wives and daughters, and keep houfes for the reception of ftran-gers and travellers at the public expence.   This mandate they punctually obeyed for the fpace of three years.   But within this time the produce of their fields and gardens happening not to fucceed, and having met likewife with other diftfters in their domeftic concerns, they fent ambaffadors,  moft humbly to petition the Emperor for the repeal of his mandate.   Mangu Khan, having heard their remon-ftrances, anfwered as follows : " I conceive it to be my duty to put a itop to this fcandalous cuftom; but fince you glory in your fhame,
3 y°u
you may even bear it, and continue henceforth to make your wives-perform their ufual charitable offices to ftrangers and travellers." The meffengers who carried back the repeal of the Imperial prohibition, Were received with great rejoicings by the whole nation, and the ancient cuftom is ftill kept up there to this day : (that is, when Marco Polo was in that part of the world; for how matters (land there now, it is impoflible to fay).
Beyond the provmceof Cbamul is the country izAX^Chincblntahu (alias Chinchincalas, Sanghin-Talgin, Sankin-talai, Chitalas-Dalai) which to the north is bounded by the deiart j it is 16 days journey in length, and belongs to the territories of the Great Khan, and has towns and borou<:hs in it. The inhabitants are fome of them Neftorian Chriftians, though the number of thefe is fmall - fome again are Mahometans, and the reft Idolaters. In this country is a mountain which yields fteel-ore and Andanicum (otherwife audanicum) asglfoSalamander (i. e. afbeftos) of which they make a kind of cloth which is indeftructible by fire.
Leaving the province of Chinehlntalas directly behind you, the road goes eaftward (or rather fouthward) through an almoft uncultivated country, for 13 days journey, to the province of Suchur * (alias Suc-cuir, Souck, or Suck, on the river Suck, which empties itfelf into
" The country defcribed but very lately by M. Pallas, whew the genuine rhubarb grows, and from whence it is carried by the merchants of Bucharia to the Ruffians at Kjachta, is to the fouth-*cft of the lake Kokonor, not far from the town of Stliin, on the river Selingol, which dif-cHarges itfelf into the Cbattungol, or. as the Chinefe call it, hhangbo (alias. Choango) which is alfo called Karamuren. This whole trnft is compofed of high mountains, bare of wood, where **>e rhubarb grosvs out of chinks of the rocks. The roots that are fit for ufe flioot out ftalks of <n amazing thicknefs, and being dug up in April and May, are cleaned and hung upon the trees. The leaf we arc told is round, and but flightly indented; confequently the compadum, or undulatum, mult be the genuine rhubarb plant. This indication of the real nativ- country of rhubarb induced me to look in thefe parts likewife for the town called s"tkuir, or Suckur, which I eafily d:fcovcred, together with the province of the fame name, in ;he Province and town of Suck.
the
the river Pegu, to the northward of Tibet, and to the fouth-eaft-ward of Kokonor) i this province has feveral towns and boroughs, the capital of which bears the name of the country. The inhabitants, a few Chriftians excepted, are idolaters, and fubjects of the Great Khan. They are of a very tawny complexion, and live without commerce on the produce of the earth. The Reubarbar (Reobarbar, or Rhubarb) which grows on the mountains here in great abundance, is carried by the merchants all over the world. On thefe mountains, too, grows a poifonous plant, upon eating which, the cattle call their hoofs. The cattle belonging to the natives know this plant, and carefully avoid it; it is therefore neceftary, on a journey to thefe mountains, always to make ufe of the cattle of the country.
The city or town called Kampiou (Kampitiou, Kampiciou, Kant-ft heu, in the province of Schenfi, on the Etzine Moren) is the capital of alt Tanguth ; it is elegant and very large. Part of the inhabitants are Neftorian Chriftians, and have three fine large churches; part of them arc Mahometans, and the reft idolaters. The numerous convents they have for their ecclefiaftics 'are filled with idols made of wood, earth, or ftonc, and covered over with gold, fome of which are about 10 feet long, and lie on the ground, being furrounded by the fmaller idols, which feem to pay homage to them, in the manner of difciples. The priefts of the idols lead fir more regular lives, and are lefs addicted to voluptuoufnefs than the other idolaters. They abftain from certain meats, and from fuch acts of concu-pifcence and difhonourable deeds, as are there commonly confidered as not to be very finful. For if a woman makes the firft advances to a man, it is according to their confeience no fin to enjoy her. But ii the men make the firft advances, in that cafe they look on it as a fin. The laymen have many wives, fometimes thirty and more, and fome-
4 times
times lefs, according to their circumftances, for they get no portion with their wives ; hut, on the contrary, give the wife a fortune, con-fifting of cattle, Haves, and money. But the firft: wife always has the precedence; moreover, if they find that one of their wives does not live in harmony with the other, or if (lie difpleafes them, they may difinifs her. They marry their relations and kindred, and even their mothers in law. They have a kind of cycle or periodical revolution of lunar months, and in each of thefe they abftain for three, four, or five days, from blood and from the rlefti of beafts and fowls, and worship their Gods according to the courfe of thefe lunar cycles. In the mean time they commit many other deadly fins, and live like beafts; as Marco Polo fuiliciently experienced, when he with his father and uncle, on account of their bufinefs, refided for about a year in this place.
Travelling 12 days journey from Kampion (Kampition, Kantfcheu^ you come to a town called Ezhia (Eziva, Etzine is the name of a river in the northeaftern part of Schenfi, which difcharges itfelf into the lake Sohuc-Nor, and Sopu-Nor), which borders on the great Sandy Defart, and is in the province of Tangutb. The inhabitants are idolaters, and live on their cattle and by agriculture, but have no traffic. In this country we find many Lannar falcons (Falco Lanarius) and very good Sacre falcons (Falco facer). There are alfo forefts of pine-trees, inhabited by wild afles, and many other wild beafts. The inhabitants keep a great number of camels and other cattle. Such travellers as intend going through the great defart, which is 40 days journey in length, buy their provifions here, as they afterwards meet with neither men nor habitations, excepting a few ftraggling people here and there on the. mountains and in the valleys. At the end of thefe 40 days journey to the northwards, is the town called Carachoran (aliasTaracoram, Caracoram, Korakarum, Karakoran, Karakum, Karakarin, and Holin). AH the diftricts juft defcribed, viz. Sacbiou (Schatfcheu) Chamul (Kha-
T mil)
mil) Chinchitalas (Sankindalai) Succuir (Suck) Campion (Kantfcheu) and Ezina (Etzine) arc in the great province of Tcmgut.
Carachoran (Carchoran, Kara-Koran) is a town of three Italian miles in circumference. It is the place from which in times of yore the Tartars originally came \ for want of ftones, it is furrounded by an earthen bulwark or rampart only. On the outfide of this there is a great caftle, with a very elegant palace, in which the Governor ufually refides.
In going to the northward from Carachoran (Karakoran) and from mount Alt ay* where the Emperors are buried, one comes to a large plain called Bcrgu (Bargu-fin is the name of a river on the eaft fide of lake Baikal). The inhabitants are called Metrites (alias Medites, Meclites, Markasts) they are quite favage, and live on the ileftiof wild beafts, (the largeft of which are like ftags, which moreover they ride, or rather harnefs to their carriages) as alfo on the birds and fifti which they catch.
In travelling from the province of Campion to the eaft (fouth-weft) for live (fifty) days, one comes to the empire called Ergimul (Erigimul, Eriginul) which is fubject to the Great Khan, and belongs to the province of Tanguth. In it there are fome Neftorian Chriftians, and Mahometans, as alfo Pagans. The capital of the country bears the dime name, Erginul (Erdfchi-nur), with the country itfelf. In going from thence to the fouth-weftward to Kathey (North-China) you come to the town of Singui (Sigan in Schenii) fituated in a diftricl: of the fame name, which is alfo in the province of Tanguth, and is fubject to the Great Khan. The inhabi-bitantsare fome of them Neftorians, fome of the religion of Mahomet, and others Idolaters. In this country there are great numbers of wild oxen, black and white, which are nearly as large as elephants, and 3 .have
have a very fine appearance.   The hairs all over their bodies are fhort, excepting on the fbouldcrs, where they arc nine inches long, and as fine and white as poflible, fo as even to furpafs iilk; and Marco Polo brought fome of thefe hairs to Venice, where every one admired them as great curiofities.   Many of thefe wild oxen have been tamed, and made to cover common cows.   The race engendered by thefe is fit for the hardeft labour, and capable of bearing the greater! fatigue. Their owners make them carry the moft heavy burthens, and plough twice as much ground with them as with oxen.   In this fame country, too, one meets with the fineft mufk.   It is produced by a little animal of the fhape of a gazel or antilope, and of the fize of a goat. The form of it is as follows : The hair is coarfer than that of a ftag ; the feet and tail are like thofe of a gazel, but it has no horns, as the gazel has.    It has four teeth, two in the upper jaw, and two in the lower, which are above three inches long; two of them point upwards, and two downwards.   Thefe teeth are as white as ivory ; and the animal has a beautiful fhape*.   About the time of the full moon it has  an abfeefs in the region of the navel, which yield? the fined mufk.   The flefli of this creature is good to eat. Marco Polo brought the head and feet of one of them to Venice. The inhabitants  of this  country live   by  commerce   and handicraft profeflions,   and   the  country  itfelf produces  a  great quantity of corn.   It is a journey of twenty-five days to travel through this province.    There are pheafants   in this country,   twice as
• It is but a very little while fince there was alive mufk-goat«t Fer/ailles; to which the decfrip-tjon here given anfwers perfectly well, except in this one particular, that it hath only two fuch teeth of three inches long in the upper jaw, but in the under jaw there are eight cutting teeth, befides fix grinders in each jaw-bone. There muft therefore be a mittike either in Marco Polo's defcription, or in the translation of it, or elfe his mufk-goat muft have been different from that which was kept alive at Verfailles, as alfo from that, of which I have feen the fkin Huffed, in Sir Afhtoa Lever's Muieum. That this animal fhould fjcrete its mufk at the time of the full moon only, and that lt is an abfeefs. is one of the prejudice* appertaining to the childhood of Natural Hiftory.
T 2 large
large as ours, and but very little lefs than peacocks. Their tails are from 3*4 to 30 inches long *. There are alfo other pheafants, in fize and appearance like ours; as alfo many other forts of birds, with the moft beautiful plumage. The inhabitants are idolaters, rather fat, have fmall nofcs, black hair, and no beard, except here and there a fingle hair on the chin. The women of rank have beautiful hair, are very filir, perfectly well formed in all their limbs, but extremely lafcivious. The men marrying, according to cuftom, as many wives as they are able to maintain, they do not fcek rich but handfome women, and confequently make great prefents to the mother and relations, in order to obtain their wives.
If now you travel for eight days from Ergimul (Erdfchi-nur) to the cad (to the weftward) you come to the diftrict of Erigaia (alias Eggaya, Organum, and Irganekon), in which there are many towns and cities. It is the great province of Tanguth; its capital is Calacia (alias Cai-lac, Gailac, Golka). The inhabitants are idolaters, and the Neftorian Chriftians have three elegant churches here. They are all fubjecl to the Great Khan. In the town of Calacia they make of white wool and the fineft hair of camels (perhaps Chamois) a great quantity of Zambelottes (Schamlotte, Kamlotte) i. e. Camlets, which are the mofl beautiful in the world, and which are exported by the merchants to all parts of the globe, and particularly to Kathay (or North China). Tcndtic (Tenduch, Teuduch) is a province to the eaftward which formerly belonged to Prcfter John, but at prefent is fubject to the Great
* Thefe large pheafants belong undoubtedly to the extraordinarily beautiful genus which Linnaui calls Pbaftanui Argus, of which in Europe there are to be found fome feathers only of the wingj and tails, in the collections of the curious; but as for the entire animal, perhaps no European, befides our traveller, has ever feen it. This is the more remarkable, as it is now already coo years that this beautiful bird has been known, and yet wc have never had acjmple.it defcription of it,
3 Khan.
Khan.   It contains various towns and cities, and the capital of it is Tenduc.   This province has a king of the family of Prefter John, whofe name is George, and to whom the Great Khan has ceded it, ©n condition, however, of the King's acknowledging his fuperiority; and thefe Kings generally marry the daughters of the Great Khan. King George is a Prieft and a Chriftian ; the greater part of his fubjeefs alfo are Chriftians.   In this province they find ftones, from which tn.ey prepare very fine Ultramarine Blue, and that in great quantity. They alfo manufacture here Zambellottes or Camlets, of camels hair. The inhabitants live by agriculture, commerce, and handicraft pro-feflions.   There are, however, befides the Chriftians, many Idolaters and Mahometans here.   There is alfo a fort of people called Argon, becaufe they have been begotten by two different races, viz. by the Idolaters at Tenduc and the Mahometans.   Thefe are without difpute the handfomeft men of any in thefe parts, as well as the moft ingenious and the moft fubtle in commerce.
This province was the principal refidence of Prefter John, in the North, whilft he reigned over the Tartars, and King George is the lourth from him; and there are two kingdoms here, over which this fame Prefter John formerly reigned, and which in our part of the World (viz. Europe) are known by the names of Gog and Magog; but by the inhabitants of thefe countries are called Ung and Mongid*.
l'he
1 The celebrated Prefter John is, m was faid before, in the note to page 610, the Ung-Cban, or Unkcben, an appellation derived from the Chinefe Vang, or Wang, but by others tranfmuted to A'ouck, or Avenak Khan. He reigned over the Karaitet, a tribe residing near the river Kallajfui (Karaf;bi) which difcharges itfelf into the Abakan, and afterwards into the Jcni/ea; and here at MUl very day live the Kirgifits, who have a tribe among them, which they call Karaites. Vid. h'fiber's Sibirijche Gefichichte, or f/ifiay ofi Siberia, pag. 69S, 709, and 710, But, after the man-!-ier of the Chriftians of tiiofe times, who eonftantly fought to introduce their Bible by hook or ^ y crook on every occafion, the Oriental Chriftians no fooner had heard the leaft mention mada of
"glban, than the name immediately brought to their remembrance that of John ; and a? perhaps
i42 VOYAGE   S      a n d
The inhabitants of Ung are Gog, and thofe of Mongnl are Tartar??. Travelling for feven days eaftward through tins province to J^athny, one meets with many towns and cities, the inhabitants of which worfhip idols j others are Mahometans, and others again are Neftorian Chriftians. They live by commerce and manufactures ; for they make fluffs wrought with gold and flowers, and other iilkcn fluffs of all kinds and colours, like thofe made amongft us ; alfo woollen ftuffs' of various forts. Thefe people are fubject. to the Great Khan. There is alfo a town here called Sindkin (alias Sindacui) where all the arts and occupations are carried on, which furnifh the various kinds of weapons, arms, and warlike inftruments, requiftte for the uie of an'" army : in the mountainous part of this province^ is a place called Idlfa \ Ydifu) where there is an excellent filver mine, from which this metal is extracted in great quantities.
Going three days journey firther on, one arrives at the town of Cianganor* (Cianganior, Cyangamor, or Tfahan-nor) which fignifies the White Lake : in this place the Great Khan has a palace, which he is very fond of inhabiting, there being many lakes and rivers thereabouts, in which there is a great number of fwans, as alfo many plains, with cranes, pheafints, partridges, and birds of various kinds, in
haps this Vngkhan had fuft'ered himfelf to be converted to the Chriftian religion by the Neftorians, and had even been perfuaded to take Prieft's orders, they, without any more ado, transformed the Prieft Vngkhan, into the Prieft Johann, or Prefter John ; and farther, as in the Prophet EzekicI, mention is made of Gog and Magog, by the fame fpiritual alchemy they turned Vng into Gog, and the Moguls into Magog.
* This Cianganor'u even according to Marco Polo's explication, the White Sea, i. c. that lake on the banks of which the fovereign ufually refides, and this is properly called, in the Mogul language, T/ahan^nor. It is very poflible indeed that it was fomcwhatmore than three days journey from the country of the Karaites and the town of Tenduc, to the Tfahan-nor ; but no other Tfahan-nor can be meant, but the lake of this name, fituated in 45 deg. 30 min. N. lat. and 117 deg. long. It appears that Marco Polo does not point out the fituations of his places in their proper order, but goes from one to another, juft as his fancy leads him, though perhaps they do not lie immediately contiguous.
large
large flocks. The Great Khan Is fond of hawking there with falcons, and gerfalcons, and catches birds innumerable. There are five different kinds of cranes here. The firft is quite black, like a raven, with large wings : the fecond has ftill larger wings, which are white and beautiful, and the wings are ornamented with round eyes, like thofe of the peacock, glittering with gold ; the head is black and ted, and finely fhaped ; the neck is black and white. The third fort refembles the Italian cranes. The fourth is a very fmall kind of crane, beautifully marked with a mixture of red and blue feathers. The fifth fort is grey, with a red and black head, and is very large Withal. Very near the town is a valley, containing an aftonifhing dumber of partridges and quails, for the maintenance of which the Khan orders in fummer, millets to be fown, and other feeds, as thefe birds are fond of eating the harveft of which feeds is never got in, that they may find plenty of food; a great number of people alfo is appointed to take care that nobody catches them, not even in the ^Pr^ng. when they fow the millet. Thefe birds are therefore fo "tame and accuftomed to their food, that the keeper needs only whiftle and throw their meat on the ground, when they immediately come to him. The Great Khan has alfo ordered many fmall houfes to be ^ade for them to Hay in during the night. Now whenever he comes to this province, he finds thefe birds in the greateft abundance j and ln the winter, when they are quite fat, he orders great quantities of *hem to be brought over to him on camels and other beafts of burthen,
Us he is not ufed to ftay there himfelf, on account of the intenfe cold.
In turning from the province to the fouth-weft, three days journey, Js a town called Xandu (Ciandu, Cyandi, Tfchangtu), which was built by Kublai Khan, and in which he has had a palaoceredted, of ^rvellous art and beauty, and ornamented with marble and other
choice
H4   . V   O   Y   A-  G   E   S and
choice kinds or ftone. On one fide of the palace is a park including a plain of more than 16 Italian miles, in this iriclofure are fine rich meadows, fhrubberies, and rivers, and animals of all kinds are kept in it, fuch as tfags, harts, deer, and other animals, which the Khan has ordered to he brought thither to feed his falcons and gerfalkohs with, which he keeps there whilft they are moulting, When he rides out, he orders a leopard or more to be carried behind a man on horfe-back, and when he gives his command, the leopard is let loofe, and immediately catches a hart, flag, or deer, which is given to the falcons for their food. In the mid ft of thefe meadows is a grove, in which there is a very elegant houfe, japanned all over, and ornamented with a great number of gilt columns and dragons, throughout which upwards of 200 filken cords are expanded, to prevent its being thrown down by the wind, it being made of cane, and confequently very light. This houfe may be taken quite to pieces, and put together again at pleafure. Every thing in it is arranged for the pleafure of the Khan, as he fpends here three months every "year, viz. June, July, and AuguJL But on the 28th of Auguft he adjourns to go to another place, in order to perform certain facrifices. In fad, the Khan has a flud of horfes and mares as white as fnow, perhaps 10,000 in number, of the milk of which none dare venture to drink, but thofe who belong to the.family of Zinhis-Chan, except the family of Boriat, which once having behaved with great prowefs in a battle, were honoured with the privilege of drinking alfo of this milk. Part of this mare's milk the Great Khan-is accuftomed to fprinkle with his own hands in the air and on the earth, as an offering to the Gods .and the Spirits, in order that his fubjects, wives, children, cattle, and birds, the corn, and fruits of the earth may flourifh and profper. Three months of the year, viz. December, January, and February, Kublai Khan rcfides at Cambalu, properly called Khan Balgajjun, or, for fhortnefs, Khati-Balga, which the Arabian authors
have
Jave converted into Khanbalick, or Khanbalighj and the Italians, to Chanbalig, or Chanbalu, Cambalu, and like wile Gamalecco. It figniiies Kiugftown, and is a tranflation of the Chinefe word King-Tfehing, which is at prefent the northern part of the city of Pe-King, i. e. of the northern refidence, and contains the Imperial palace. This town is at the beginning of Kathay, to the fouth-eaftward, and the name of it fignifies the Town of the Sovereign Lord (or Khan). The ftreets in it are ftraight, is full of irately edifices, and the Imperial palace is large and magnificent. There is alfo within the town an exteniivc park, with plenty of game, and feveral groves and fhrubberies, together with lakes, and other pieces of water.
Thefe are, in brief, the contents of the defcription of the northern parts of Afia, by Marco Polo.
Befides the remarkable circumftances mentioned here, we farther find the following piece of intelligence, viz. that in Kathay, or North China, they make a wine of rice and fpices, which is very palatable, and intoxicates fooner than real wine. But far more ancient is the account given by a Mahometan traveller, A. D. 851, tran-flated from the Arabian, and publifhcd by Etfebius Renaudot. He fays, " They (viz. the Chinefe) have a kind of wine made of rice; they have " no other kind of wrine in the country, nor indeed is there any other " brought to them y they do not drink wine, and do not even know what it is." Thus we find the moft ancient account of brandy in Ch ina, where they in all probability have learned this method of making an intoxicating liquor, by means of fermentation and by the afliftance of hre, from the northern ihepherds, who fo frequently have conquered that country ; for if we take a review of all thofe nations of fhephcrds in the north of Afia, which have horfes, we fhall find already prevalent amongft them, the ufe of the fermented and intoxicating milk of mares, which they call Kwnyfs (Kofmos); and
U this
this liquor being drawn off by the afliftance of fire, is called Arrak, which name is alio at prefent all over China and India, and even in' Europe,  given to the rice brandy.
Anotker remark of Nfarco Polo's deferves to be mentioned relative to pit-coals, which he calls black combuftible ftones, which are dug out of the mountains, and which, if laid on the fire, will burn like wood, and continue burning for a long time; fo that when they are kindled in the evening, they tontinue to burn for the whole night. Thefe ilonearc very much ufed, as in fome places wood is very facrce.
Laftly, Marco Polo confirms what Ruyflroech and Haitho, and ether authors after him, have faid concerning the ufe of paper money in China. lie fays it is made of the bark of the mulberry tree, the leaves of which ferve for food for the filkworms ; the finch: inner-moft bark is feparated from the exterior coarfe bark ; it is then rubbed and ftampt, and the whole made up with a kind of fize fo as to look like cotton paper. Thefe coins are all black, of an oblong-fquare form, the greater as well as the fmaller, and are made with great precifenefs and formality. Every otlicer engaged in the procefs puts his mark upon each piece; and laft of all, the Intendant appointed by the Emperor for this purpofe, makes a ftamp upon it with red cinnabar, from which {tamp it receives its currency and value. The counterfeiting of this coin is puniihed with death, nor dares any body refufe to receive it on pain of death ; and all payments are made in this money. It is pretty evident, that as well the bark of the morus pa-pyrifera, or paper-mulberry tree, as of that with which the filkworms are railed in China, and perhaps alfo that of the white and b'ack, and of the Tartarian mulberry-tree, is fit for the manufacturing of paper; and as ftill all the paper in China and Nipon (Japan) is made of the bark of the mulberry-tree, it would be certainly worth while, in the prefent prevailing fcarcity of rags, to cultivate that very hard fort, the Tartarian mulberry-tree, as not only the leaves of
it
DISCOVERIES  in   the  N 0 R T H. 147
it will produce good food for filk-worms, but alio its bark may be ufed with great advantage for the purpofe of making paper.
VII. Oderic of Portenau*, a minorite Friar, in the )ear 1^1$, travelled to the eaftern countries, and went, in company with other Monks, as far as China; after his return, he dictated the whole account of his journey, but without any order or arrangement, and juft as it occurred to his memory, to Friar William dc Solona (or Solangna) at Padua, A. D. 1330.
From this relation we learn, that Oderic failed from Conftantinople acrofs the great (i. e. the Black) Sea to Trebizond, where he faw a man travelling along with a flock of more than 4000 partridges, which had been made fo tame, that whenever he fat down to reft himfelf, they all gathered round about him, like tame fowls, and in this manner he tranfported them to Trebizond, where the Emperor took as many of them as he wanted, the remainder being taken back by the man to place whence he had brought them. After this, Oderic went to Armenia Major, and Azaron (Erz-el-Rum) from thence to Taaris (Tebrig) Soldania (or Soltania) Caff an (alias Kafiibin, or Kafvin) and Gcfl (or Yezd) which is fituated where the Sandy Sea (Mare Arenofum) begins, and at length to Konnum (alias Kom, Komru, Ghomrun, or Gombron) and finally to Ormes (orOrmus). From this laft place he went to India, then to Manzi (South China) and after palling through
* This Odtr'u is likewife fly led dcForo Julii de Portu Vabonis (read Nahonis) ■ he is alfo called Olderteus and Oder/Jim. This Portenau is probably the Mulatto ad Nonum mentioned in the Itinerarium Hierofolymitanum, being derived from Port, in the Kymerian tongue, a (tntion, ftage, or baiting-place, and Na<v, or Naou, nine; Pcrtus Naonis confequently is Portenau. In FriuU thii place is at prefent called Pordanone. The account of his travels he has intitlcd De Mirabillhus teundi. Thefe travels, together with the Hiftory of his Life, are to be found in Holland* Aais IT* **- Jan. d. 14, as alfo in IVaddingii Anna let Minor. Tom. iii. He died at Udine, A. D. 1331. BafiUo Afquini, an Italian Barnabitc, published at Udint in 1737, La Vita e I'iaggi del beato °*°rico da Vdine, in 8vo.
U 2
many
many difficulties, at length arrived at the capital of the empire, Kam-baletb (otherwife called Kambalick, or Khan-Balga) which is lituated beyond the river Khara-moran (Kara-mcrin, or Hoang-Ho). Having leen many ftrangc and marvellous things in Katbai, he proceeded 50 days journey to the weftward, to the country of Prefter John, and to the capital called Texan (otherwife Kofan, Tfahan, or Tfahan-Nor). Upon this, after a long journey, he came to the province of Kajfan (Kafan, or Turkeftan) which is upwards of 50 days journey in breadth, and 60 in length, and is full of populous towns, and likewife produces abundance of excellent provifions, particularly chefnuts. At length he came quite to Tibek (Tibet, or Tebet) in the capital of which re-fides an Abajfii the Pope and Chief of the Idolaters. The women in this country wear their hair plaited in more than 100 braids. If any one dies, and the fon of the deceafed withes to do his father honourr he calls together a number of ccclefiaftics, who, followed by all the friends and relations of the defunct, carry the body in great pomp into the fields; there they cut off the head, and give it to the fon ; the flefli they cut off piecemeal from the bones, praying all the while devoutly. As foon as ever they depart, come the vultures, which arc quite ufed to- this bufinefs, and carry off all the flelli. In confequence of this, the deceafed is accounted a good man, and a faint, the angels being fuppofed to carry his corpfe to Paradife. The fon in the mean time takes the head home, and eats the flefh of it. Of the fkull a cup is made, out of which he and all the relations of the defunct drink with feftal folemnity.
As we have only a few imperfect fragments left of the journey of Friar Oderic, it is hardly worth while to make any farther extracts from the remainder.
VIII. John de Mandeviile was defcended from an ancient and very noble family in England.  He was_bornat St. Alban's. His inquifitive
turn,
turn of mind, and his undaunted refolution prompted him to inquire into all the fciences, and that with equal fuccefs.   He had ftudicd phyfic as well as mathematics, with diligence and attention j and like-*ife, following the fafhion of thofe times, had made great prgrefs in divinity, and had written books in all thefe fciences.   He was equally expert in the excrcifes proper for a gentleman ;  and thus,  in fearch of new adventures, he fet out A. D. 1332 (1322) on a journey to the Holy Land, by the way of France ; and, after an abfence of 33 years, returned to his native country, having travelled nearly over all Alia, and having ferved in the army of the Sultan of Egypt, Mandybron (Malck el Nafer Mohammed, who reigned from 1310 to 1341) and in that of the Great Khan in China (Schun Hoamti, orTokatmur).    He died at laft on the 17th of November, 1371, at Liege, where he alfo lies interred. He drew up an account of his Travels in Latin, French, and Engliih. The beft of thefe works feems to be that publifhed in London in large 8vo, 1727, in the old Englifli dialed, for all the others are merely extracts.   However, it is with this journey, as it ufed to be With the writers of Chronicles in the middle ages.   One always copied from the other.   The Travels of Friar Oderic contain many things which are likewife to be found in the Travels of Sir John Mandeville.   The copyifts feem to have had the intention of com-pleating their copy from another author who had written on a limilar Object, and this is probably the reafon of the exact correfpondence obferved between them.   Befides the Latin, French, and Englifli editions, already mentioned, there are alfo tranflations of thefe travels into the Italian, Spanifh, and German languages.
The accounts of the fouthern parts of Afia do not concern us ; we fhall therefore content ourfelves with obferving, that in Mande-vdle's time, the war was already begun with the revolted Prince of "6*nzi9 or South China, who entirely drove the defendants of Zinghis Khan out of Kathay, or North-China. Cambalu however was ftill tne reftdence of the Great Khan, where he refided for the fpace of three years.
The
The province of Kathai (by which probably is meant Kara-Kathav) has the kingdom of Tharjis to the ealf, and to the weft the empire of Turquefcen (Turkeftan). It contains many beautiful towns, the principal of which is Oclopar (or Otrar). The empire of Turquefcen is bounded on the weft (fouth-weft) by Perfia, and on the north (on the weft) by Corafine (Khuarefm). This empire is very large, and to the eaftward (to the northward) is contiguous to the defart. It abounds in all kind of provifions ; the capital is alfo called Corafine (alias Khuarefm, or, according to Abulfeda, Korkang). It is bounded on the weft (north-weft) by the empire of Kommania, which is very exten-five, but not fo well inhabited ; for in fome places there is an infup-portable heat, and in others as intolerable a degree of cold; the fwarms of flies, too, which infeft this country, render it uninhabitable.
IX. Francifco Balducci Pegolctti, an Italian, wrote in the year 1335, a fyftem of commercial geography, of great importance, confidcring the period in which it was written : the title is; Di divifamenti di paeji, e di Mefurc, di mercatanziey cd altre cafe bifognevoli di fapcre a mercatanti, di divcrfi parti del mondo *. No hiftorian has hitherto profited by this treatife. Profeffor Sprengel has been the firft to make ufe of it in his Extent aud Incrcafe of Geographical Knowledge. We fhall therefore infert here a tranflation of that part of it which relates to our prefent undertaking, entire, and without any abridgment he calls it, Avifa/nento del viaggio del Gat tap per lo Cam-mino delta Tana ad andare e tornate con mercatanzia, i. e. an indication of the route that may be taken with merchandife from Tana (or Azof), to Gattayt (Kathay, or North China) and from thence back again.
♦ Tliis Commercial Geography has been reprinted entire in a book where one would hardly think of looking for it, viz. in the 3d vol. of the work intitled Delia Dccima e della altre gra-vcz*1, Lijl'Cna e Lucca.  1766, ^to.
? • « In
Hrln the firft place from Tana (or Azof) to Gintarchan (1) (or ft Aftrakhan) it is twenty-five days journey with waggons drawn by M oxen ; but with waggons drawn by horfes it is only ten or twelve ff days journey. On the road one meets with a great number of ''armed Moccols (Mogols). From Gintarchan to Sara {2), by the " liver, it is but one day's fail ; but from Sara to Saracanco (3), it "is eight days journey by water; one may, however, travel either 11 by land or water, whichever is moft agreeable ; yet, with merchan-'! dife, it is cheapeft to go by water. From Saracanco to Organci (4.) t( it is twenty days journey travelling with camels. Whoever travel* " with merchandife will do well to go to Organci, it being a conve-M nient country for the expeditious fale of goods. And from Organci ** to Oltrarra (5) it is thirty-five or forty days journey with camels. u But in going from Saracanco ftraight on to Oltrarra, it takes up
(1) Gintarchan, or Zintarcban, is by Jofaphat Barbara alfo called Gifarchan; and Witjin fays, in his Noord en Oojl Tartarye, pa. 709, Jftracan ivas -van ouds genatmt CitraCan, i.e. Aftrakan was anciently called Citracan. By the Calmucks it is called Hadjchi Aidar Khan Balgajfun, or the city of Hadfchi Aidar Khan ; whence all thofe names are derived, of Zitarkhan, °Jttrak'ban, and Aftrakhan.
(2) Sara is undoubtedly the town of Saray, fo often fpoken of above, and fituated on the ftaftern arm of the Wolga, or Achmba. The AJlrachan mentioned by Balducci Ptgoletti, was lot on the fame fpot where that town ftands now, but the ancient Aftrachan was demolimetl together with Saray, by the Emperor Timur, in the winter of 1395. The old town of Saray was pretty near the ancient Aftrakhan.
(3; Saracanca is very probably the town formerly exifting on the river Jaik, or Ural, the reniains of which are ftill called Saratfchik.
(4) it is eafy to recognize Organci in the town of Urgenz, in Kheucarefm. This place is called likewife by Abulfeda, D/chord/chania, and by the Perfians, Korkang. But there were two towns of this name, viz. the Great and the Letter Urgenz. The one was very near the place *here the Gihun d'.fcharges itfelf into lake Aral, this was called Old Urghenz; another of this n*rne, callcdAV-iu Urgenz, is to be fjund near Chixva, on the Gihun.
(5) Oltrarre is properly called Otrar, and alfo Farab, ^vhich latter name is to be found in fo c-*Hy a writer as Abulfeda.   It is fituated on the river Sihon, or Sirr.   The Chinefe, who can
01 pronounce the letter r, call it Uotala.
" fifty
" fifty days journey ; and if one lias no mcrchandife, it is a better *< way than that by Organci. From Oltrarrc to Arm die ceo (6), it is ** forty-five days journey travelling with affes, and in the road M one meets every day with Moccols (Mogols). From Armalecco to <( Camexu (7) it is feventy days journey on affes, and from Camexu i( to a river called Kara Morin (8) it is fifty days journey on horfes. ** From this river the traveller may go to Caffai (9), to difpofe of his " loadingof filver there, this beinga very good country for theexpeditious •f fale of merchandize, and from Caffaih< goes through the whole land *' of Gattay with the money he has received at Caffai for his filver; " this money is paper money, called Babifchi, four of which Babifchies te make a filver Somno. From Caffai to G amah ceo (10), which is the " capital of the land of Cattai, it is 30 days journey."
If the reader has any .idea of the difficulty attendant on making out fo many names of places difguifed by a vicious orthography, a difficulty which is ftill more increafed by the neceffity there is for determining with accuracy the fituation of thefe places, and their probable diftance from each other, he will perhaps be ready to allow, that the Safk is certainly not very trifling, nor to be accomplifhcd without much labour.
(6) Armalecco is the name of a town called Almalig, which, according to NaJJir Ettuji, and i \ughbegh, is in Turkejlan. From Scbcrfeddin Ali, the author of the life of Timur, it appears, ih.it thi-. Ahncdcg is fituated between the town of Tafchkent and the river Irtifch, in the country of Gcte, on the banks of the river Ab-Eiie, which at this very day discharges itfelf into the Sihon, or S/rr-Daria.
(7) Came-xu is probably nothing more than the nam? of Kbame, or Kbami, with the addition of xu, inftead of Tfc'hen, which in the Chinefe language fignifies a town.
(8) The river above-mentioned is doubtlcfs the Kara Morin, i. c. Kara Moran, but which the Chinefe call Hoang-bo.
(9) Kajfui feems to be the place called Kijfen, on the northcrnmoft winding of the Hoang-HO'
(10) Gamalecco is without doubt Cambalig, or Peking; in like manner as Gattay is put for Katay.
3 ' • Balducci
DISCOVERIES  in t ii k N O R T H.      153
Balducci Pegolctti certifies alfo the exiflence of the paper money in China, previoufly mentioned by Ruyfbroeck, Haitho, Marco Polo, and Oderic of Portenau, which fome of the above authors defcribe as being made of cotton paper ; others, on the contrary, remark very juftly, that it is made of the bark of the mulberry-tree. Oderic of Portenau calls it Balis, Balducci Pegoleti Balifchi; Mandeville fays it is made of leather. A jefuit, named Gabriel de Magaillam, pretends, that Marco Polo was miftaken with regard to the paper-money : but it is pretty clear, by the teftimonies of about fix travellers, cye-witnefles to the fact, that fuch paper-money actually did exiit in the times of the Emperors of the Mogul race, or of the regal tribe of Tu, and then only,   having been aboliflied afterwards.
X. John Schildtberger, from Munich in Bavaria, went from Hungary, A. D. 1394, with the army of king Sigifmund, againfl the Turks, but in 1395 was taken prif >ner by them, and by Bajazet I. or, as he conflantly writes it, Weyafit, who reigned from 1389 to 1403, was fent into Afia. On Bajazet's being defeated and made captive by Timur, Schildtberger was taken prifoner likewife, and accompanied the Emperor Tir:ur in his expeditions; and even in the laft., during which he died, in the year 1405, at Otrar, or Farab, though Schildtberger fays, that he died in his capital of Samarkant. He was afterwards with Scharoch (Schah-Rokh), and remained with the auxiliaries which Schahrokh left with his brother Miranfchah to fight againft Kara-Jofph, a Turkomannian Emir, of the black-weather tribe. Miranfchah having been beheaded by order of Kara-Jofeph, Schildtberger followed Abubachir (Abubekr), Miranfchah's fon. With Abubekr there lived a fon of a king of Great Tartary, 6f the name of Zegra. This Zegra received a meilagc from Edigj* (Aidcku,  Ideku,  or Yedighcy-Khan), purporting that he
X would
* About this time many abufes had got footing amongft th''golden tribe on the Wolga. %£ainay >d Tfedigbei, had not, it is tru?, the title of the Great Khan of the golden tribe in K iptfcJb
but
54 V   O   Y   A   G   E   S      A n d
would give up to him the fovereignty over Kaptfchak, Zegra fetting out on this occafion for Great Tartary, Schildtberger and four others went along with him. Their route carried them through Strang, which produces good (ilk ; then through Gitrfcy (Gurghia, or Georgia), where there are Chriilians ; after this into the country of Lahhifcbam, where filk is alfo cultivated $ and then through another called Sehurban (Schirwan), where the filk is produced, from which
filk fluffs are made at Damafbus and Kaffcr. Next they palled through a (own called Bur/a (the mountain of al Burs) which is fituated in Turkey*, and from whence the fine filk is fent to Venice and Lucca, of which velvet is made : this is an unhealthy country : then through another called Temur cap it (Demirkapi, or Derbend), that is, in the Tartarian tongue, the Iron-Gate, which feparates Perfia from Tartary. Then he went through a town of great ftrength, called Qrigens, lituated in the middle of the water of Edit. After this he paffed through a mountainous country, called Setzalet, in which there are many Chrif-liaitfa who have a Bifhop, and fome Carthuiian Monks, who, however, do not perform the church fervice in the Latin, but in the Tartarian language, to the end that the common people may un.derifand what is fung and read. They were now come into Great Tartary to Edigi, who had fent word to Zegra to come over, and that he would give him the crown. This Edigi had juft: at that juncture affembled all Jiis troops, and was going to march them into the land of Ibiffihur (Biilibur, or Iflibur). They were obliged to march for the fpace of two months before they could reach it.   In this country there is a range of moun-
but they had jn fat! the power in their hands, and fet Khans from among the royal family en the throne, and depofed ilu-m again at their pleafure. They weie defendants of Tufchin Khan ; it is therefore no wonder, that after Timor's death,Ttdlghei Khan mould endeavour to raife Zegra to the throne, who was of royal defcent.
* It is evident;, that Schildtberger miftakes here the mountain Al Burs for the town of Bur/a, which was fituated in thofe parts, and which at that time belonged to the Turkilh Sultans of the race of Oiman.
tains,
tains, of 32 days journey in length, and at the end of it is a defart, which is the end of the earth. The defart is uninhabitable on account of the reptiles and wild beafts with which it is infeftcd. In the mountains there are favages roaming about, who are hairy all over, excepting on the face and hands. They live on green leaves and roots, and on whatfoever elfe they can get at. In thefe mountains alfo there are wild affes as big as horfes, together with other wild beafts. The dogs in this country are made to draw carts and (ledges, and ferve their mafters likewife for food. They are as big as affes. The inhabitants of IJJibur believe in Chrift. They bury their young people who die in celibacy, with mufic and rejoicing, and eat and drink on their graves. In this country they cultivate nothing but beans, and never eat any bread. Schildtberger likewife obferves, that he faw all this himfelf, when he was with Zegra, the king's fon.
Having conquered Bijjibv.r, they went to Walor (Bulgar, or Wbl-gar) and conquered that alfo ; and then returned into their own country. It is a cuftom obtaining in that country, that the King of Great Tartary has an Obmann over him, who has the power to elect, a King and to difmifs him; and alfo has power over the Lords of the land: this dignity was at that time in the hands of Edigi; and the king, together with the Obmann, all the nobility, and the whole people, with their wives and children, wander up and down, winter and fummer, with their cattle' and their whole property, in huts, which amounts to about the number of one hundred thoufand.
Now there was at that time a king in Great Tartary, named $t&u-dichbocbeu, or Kom (Schadibeck-Khan) the fon of Timur Vtiuck, the grandfon of Timur-melik-aglen, and great grandfon of Urus-KLau ; he reigned from 1401 to 1406. The inftant he heard that Edigi was approaching, he took flight, but was purfued and killed in the ikir-mifh. Edigi gave him a fucceffor, named Polat (Pulad-Khan, fon of Schadibeck).   lie reigned for the fpace of a year and a half (from
X 2 1406
14c6 to 1408). After him Segil Alladie (Zedy Khan, the fon of Ted-aimxfch, or 1 ok/e.Kyfch-Khan) got pofteftion of the throne : but he was foon driven away by Timir, the brother of Poiat (Timur-Khan, fon of Timur-h'thick) who reigned 14 months. His brother Thebak, taking the field againft him, with a view to difpute the fo-verelgnty with- him, killed him, not\s ith (landing which he never attained to the throne, but his brother, Kcntn'\n\'iuy afcended it, who however reigned but five months. Thebak now endeavoured to dif-polfefs his brother of the fovereignty j but he did not enjoy it long; f< rat this juncture came Edigi, and fet up Zegra in his place. But Zegra was Khan only for nine months, for Machmct (Mohammed-Khan, fon of the above-mentioned Timur Khan, and grandfon of Timur Utluck) fought a pitched battle with Edigi and Zegra, in which the firft was taken prifoner, and the fecond fled into a country called Keftihipfchah (Defcht-Kiptfchak). But Machmct was in his turn driven away by Waroch ; from whom, however, foon after, Machmct rctcofe his dominons, which were a fecond time taken from him by Eoblabcrd, who kept pofleftion of them but three days, when he was in his turn dethroned by Waroch. He was, however, after»vards killed by Machmet, who affumcd the fovereign power : now Zegra endeavoured to feat himfelf once more on the throne, but he was killed ; and Schildtberger, with the four other Chriftians, attached themfelves to Manujlzufch, who had been Zegra s counsellor* and who went on his journey to Kafj'a in Crimea, where there are Chriftians, and where there are fix different religions prevalent among the people. After a ftay of five months in Kaffa, Mauuftzufcb crofted an arm of the Black Sea (the ftraits of Zabake) into a country called Zeckchas (Zikchia) where he remained fix months. But the Sultan of Turkey fent to the fovereign of the country, requefting him not to allow Manujlzufch to flay in his dominions. He therefore went into the 4 land
hnd of Magrill (Mangrill, or Mingrelia).     Schildtberger and his Chriftian companions now refolved to return home, as they were at the diftance only of three days journey from the Black Sea ; they took leave therefore of Mdnitffziifch, and going to the capital of the country of Bat ban (Bedian, Bedias) defire : they might be conveyed acrofs the fea, which was, however,  refilled them : upon this they rode four days along the coaft, till at length they cfpied a Kokan (or ftiip) which was at the diftance of about eight Italian miles from the fhore.   They then made a iignal to the fhip by means of fire, which thereupon fent people to them in a zullcn (boat) to whom they made themfelves known ; and having, by rehcarfing the Lord's Prayer, Avc-Maria, and the Creed, proved themfelves to be Chriftians, and the men having carried an account thereof to the Captain of the fhip, they came back with zulkn (boat-:) to fetch them.    After £oing through many dangers, they landed at laft at Conftantinople, where they were well received by the Grecian Emperor (Johannes Pal&o-logus), who fent them in a galley to the eaftle of Giii (Kilia), on the lower end of thcThonauw (or Danube).   Schildtberger having parted with his friends, went with fome merchants to a town called WMit-town (Akkierman,  Afprokaftro, Tfchetat-alba, Belgorod) which is fituated in Walachia.   From thence he went to the capital of the Leifer Walachia (Moldavia), called Scdbof (Sutfchawa, formerly the capital of all Moldavia).   Then they came to a town called in the German tongue Lubich (Lwow, or Lemberg) which is the capital of all White Ruffia), where Schildtberger lay fick for near three months ; and, finally, he went by the way of Cracow, the capital of Bolcn (Poland), and Prefsla (Breflau), the capital of St'/efia, through Mtfnia, Eger, Ratijhon, and Preyjingen, back to Munich, having been from home upwards of thirty-two years.
This
This narrative of Schildtberger's furnifhes us with many particulars which afccrtain the fituation of Tartary at that time. The fuc-ceffion of the Khans of Kbaptfchak is very deferving of our attention ; as is alfo the following circumftance, viz. that we no longer find any mention made of Saray and Aftrakhan; for if I am not miftaken, his Origcns is Agrachan. As to his faying that it flands in the middle of the Edit, or Wolga, this is probably a miflake, for Edit fignifies any river whatever; in fact, Aftrakhan, as well as Saray, has already been demolifhed by the Emperor Timur, about the year 1595. He fpcaks of the wild alTes in the mountainous defarts, and the dogs which were barneffed to Hedges. The town IJibur, or Biffibur, is the ancient Ruffian town of IJborJk. In mort, he muff be allowed to be a feniible writer, and a man of veracity.
The ambaffadors of the Emperor Timurs fon, Schah Rokh, in the year 1420, went from Herat, the refidence of Schah Rokh, to Kathai, to the court of the Emperor Tonglo, and had audience of him. This iourney has been defcribed by the famous Perfian hiftorian, Emir Khond (or Emir-Khovand, or Mirchond), in his book *' of the won-*A ders of the world." The worthy Burgomafter of Amfferdam, Nichda s Witfcn *, has inferted this journey, tranllated from the Per-
* This remarkable work of Nicholas U'iifcn is very rare, either of the two editions of it being extremely feldom to be met wiih ; for Wit/en fup pre fled this work fn.m motives with which we are not acquainted. This ii the reafon why it is fo feldom to be found even in large collections of books. The library of our Univcrfity is in pofilfiion of a copy of it | which formerly belonged to the Emprcfs of RufiU's library, and was purchafed for the faid library, at the fale of the late M. Thanman's eie&e, for eighty rix-dollars. I have now the pleafure to inform the publ ck, that Scoaahcamp the bock feller at Amilerdam, has at length procured from the heirs of M'itfin the remaining copies of this book, together with the plates; and according to the advices I have received from Amfterdarw, he intends to accommodate the pwblick with it in the month of May ; but at the fame time I am informed " that it will not appear in fo compleat a ftate as that of the *' genuine impreflion," though it will be fet off with a new pref.xe, and " with as many plates as
the editors have been able to find."
fian language into the Dutch, in the fecond edition of his excellent work, in titled Nord en Oojl Tartary** from page 435 to 452. We will here give an extracl of the moft iaterefting part of it. And though this journey was not undertaken by Italians, yet as, like all the other travels infer ted above, it throws fome light on the interior parts °f the North of Alia, with which we have hardly the leaft acquaintance, think ouffelves juftified in prefenting it to our readers, as an important addition to the common ftock of knowledge with refpect to different countries and nations.
<( The ambaffadors of Mirza Schah Rokh, of whom Shadi Khod-fcha was the principal, fet out from Herat, A. D. 141 9, about the month of November,  and went to Balkh.    In January 1420, they proceeded to Samarkaiid, from which place they did not depart till February, when they went to Taofchkent', and jfjperab, and immediately after came into the territory of the Moguls: on the firft of April they arrived in Pieigulu (Palchas ?) a place belonging to Muhammcd Reck.   They then went over the water of Lengcr (Abi-leuger, Abi-longur), and v iii ted the Sultan Schadt Gurgahn, the fon ofMuhammcd Beck, who received them kindly; and in eight days after this they came to that diilrict which was the refidence of the Jcl, the tribe of Schier Begrahm.   This was a defart, where the cold is fo intenfe, that even at the fummer folftice the water is fometimes covered with ice two inches thick.    Some time after having learned that the ambaf-fadors of Oiceys Khan had been attacked and plundered, their fears occafioned them to travel over the mountains with the greaieft expedition, notwithstanding that it rained and mowed continually, info-much that, by the 1 2th of May,  they reached the town of Turfnn (Turkhan, Tarfaan,  or Tarkhaan).   The greateft part of the inhabitants here were Idolaters, and worfhiped a large idol called Se&amku, Wnieh they kept in a temple.   Two days after this the ambaffadors made their departure, and in three days more came to Kharadziah (Rarafchar, or Afaralic, or rather Haracofd).   Here they had fcarcely
been
been five clays, before there arrived fome Kathayan fecretaries, who took down in writing the names of the ambaffadors, and the number of their retinue. Nine days after this they came to a town called tVaaZ (or Naar), where there are feveral Zeijids, or defcendants of Mahomed, who are fettled thereabouts at a certain place called Termed, fn two days more they came to the town of Kabul (Kamyl, or Khamil), where the Mahometans have a fine mofque, built by their fuperintendant Emir Fakhr-Eddicn. From thence they travelled for the fpace of twenty-five days through a defart, during all which time they came every fecond day only to a watering place. They alfo fvw lions there, contrary to the opinion of fome who pretend there are no lions in Kathay; they obferved likewife, a very particular kind of wild bulls, called Gau Kbottabs, which were endued with fuch flrength, as to be able to lift a man from off his horfe, and had very hairy tails, which are in great eRimation over all Afia; they being by fome carried about on long poles by way of ornament, and by others hung round their horfes necks; while on other cccafions they are made ufe of for fly-flaps. Next they came to a fmall Kathayan town called Katafekt-fchcu (Sektfcheu, Schatfchcu) j and the latter part of the journey having been through the defart, where they were for the fpace of ten days without water, they were met by the ordi r of the Emperor, in a pleafmt green field, by fome Kathayans. Thefe latter erected tents for them, and entertained them with roafled geefe, fowls, and other forts of flefli-meats, as alfo with different kinds of fruits, dried and frefli, which were ferved up to them in china dimes ; after their repaft they were regaled likewife with all forts of inebriating liquors. The huts in which thefe entertainments were given, were ornamented with green boughs of all kinds; the entertainments, however, were not fo elegant and expcnfivc as thofe with which they were uftially
welcomed
welcomed in large towns.   At this place very exact, lifts were made of all the fervants belonging to the embaffy, the ambaffadors being at the fame time very earneftiy requefted to ftate the exact number and no more, and the merchants having been ftated in the number of fervants, were on that account obliged to perform the ferviccs falling to their lot.  The lift of the fervants belonging to the Emir Khodfcha, and to the ambaflador Kukfchah, amounted to two hundred people ; and that of Ardcwahn to fifty.   The ambaffadors of Mirza Vlug Bek, the fon of Schah Rokh, had fet out before; but thofe of Mirza Ibrahim Sultan*,  were not as yet arrived.   It is   remarkable, that amongft the many viands, fruits, and liquors, that were fet before them, there was alfo a pot of Chinefe tea, a potation which the jefuit Trigau/t imagined had come into ufe of late years only in China **.
From this place their route lay again through a defart, in which, after fome days, they met with a Karawul***, or out-poft, which
* Mirza Ibrahim Sultan was alfo a fon of Schah Rokh, and his dominions extended over the province of Fars, the capital of which was Schiras.___
*# Tea is called by the Chinefe T/cba, and its ufe is very ancient. We have two Arabian authors, *hc one of which wrote A. D. 851, and the other 867. The moft ancient of thefe mentions, that even at that early period, the Chinefe made frequent ufe of an infufion of the leaves of a ihrub, Called by them Sah, or T/cba ; and the ufe of this herb muft by this time have become absolutely neceflary to the Chinefe, for the Emperor had a great income from a tax he had laid upon tea ; a fad, which involves the fuppofition, that by long ufe, this plant was become fo Unavoidably necefTary, that they might confidently venture to lay a tax on it. Eufebius Renaudot has publifhed a French tranflation of thefe two Arabian writers of travels, the title of which is, ^tcictttter Relations des Indcs et dc la Chine, traduites de f Arabc par V Abbe Renaudot a Paris. »7«S> 8vo.
. *** This Perfian word is alfo introduced into the Tartarian language, and from thence tnc Ruffians have tranfplanted it into theirs; for a guard, or watch, is called in the Ruffian UnSuage, a karaul.
Y was
was not only very ilrongly fortified, but alfo very full of people. Now this was a pafs in the mountains through which all travellers muff unavoidably go.   Here their retinue was examined again. From this pafs they came to the town of Natfcblu (Nang-tfieu, Naatfieu), which is very large, and encompafTed by a ffrong wall, and has many markets for all kinds of merchandife and meat.   The markets are very clean fwept, and are laid with a ftrong cement of ftucco. The four principal ffreets crofs each other at right angles.   From Nang--tfieu they came to another town called Kbamtfchu.   After fome time they came to the Abi Daraan (or the water of Daman, which immediately after is called Khararaan, and probably ought to be Kara-Moran), which they croffed on a pont volant, or flying boat-bridge, and. came to a very fine town with magnificent temples ; here they alio found three houfes, with fome elegantly dreffed and very beautiful public women in them, moft of whom were natives. The Perfians called this town in their language (Rhofnabaad) the habitation of beauty.   After this they paifed through fome more towns, and came to a river which was twice as large as the Oxus (or Gihon), and then they met with feveral more rivers, which they croffed by means of bridges and ferry-boats, till they arrived at Chkndienpuhr, a very large and populous town;   there they faw a caff image of yellow metal gilded, a hundred feet high, which had a great number of hands, each of which held an eye;   this image was placed on a pedeffal of polifhed flone, and furrounded by fix tiers of baluftrades. At length, in December 1420, they reached the city Cbaan-Balug (Khan- j baligh).   The workmen here were ftill occupied in building the walls of the town, which is fquare ; and of which the external wall mea-fures four miles on each fide.   The ambaffadors being arrived at the imperial palace, which was very magnificent, were, after fome
time*
time, prefented to the Emperor, and having taken refrefliments, were difmiffed. Some days after, the Emperor gave them an elegant entertainment, and they were daily well received at court, where . they remained five months. The Emperor then made prefents to the ambaffadors, and gave them alfo fome other prefents for their mailers, which latter prefents chiefly confifled of falcons. It is farther to be obferved, that each of the principal ambaffadors was prefented with feveral Balifch of filver j hence it appears that a Balifch is either a coin or a weight j and as we have feen before, that the paper money of the Zinghifkanidcs was alfo called Balifch, it feems evident that thefe Balifch were pieces of filver of a certain value \ we know, however, that the amount could not be very confiderable, as filver has always been fcarcc in China, and the principal ambaflador had only ten Balifch given him, while the others received no more than feven or eight. Finally, I find alfo amongfl the prefents many things of which we have not the leaft knowledge ; and laft of all, 2000 or 5000 Dzjau, or Tzjait, which Wit fen interprets to be an unknown fpecies of coin. It is poflible, however, that Witfen may have been miftaken in this, juft as he was in the Balifchcs of filver, which he makes out to be head-pillows; and indeed to me it appears probable, that it was Tfcha, or tea, of which we fhould perhaps underftand here, 2000, or 5000 Kafch, or Kanderins, i. e. certain very fmall Chinefe weights. But what is no lefs remarkable, is that tin appears alfo here amongfl the prefents, in feventy, and twenty-four fmall pieces.
Juft before the departure of the ambaffadors, one of the Emperor's favourite conforts happening to die, great preparations were made for her funeral, when the palace, which was quite new-built, and japanned and gilded all over, was ftruck by lightning, and, together with many out-buildings, burnt down to the ground. Thefe events affected the Emperor fo much, that he fell fick, and died of mere grief and forrow ; and for the remainder of the time that the Ambaffadors ftaid there, his fon conducted the affairs of the empire,
Y 2 About
164 VOYAGES      a n d
About the middle of May, 1421,  the ambaifadors fet out again from Chaubdf'gh, accompanied by fome of the chief officers of the Empire, and were again regaled in all the towns in the fame manner as they had been in their way thither.   In about a fortnight they arrived at Sekaan, or Segaan (Sigan-fu);   they were likewife permitted to purfue their journey uninterrupted, and without having their baggage fearched, as was otherwife ufually done. Thirty-five days after this, they came to the river Kharamuran ; and in nineteen days more they reached Khamtfiu (Khantfcheu); here every thing was reffored to them, that had been taken from them by the Kathayans, when they were on their road to the capital, as well as what they had left there to be taken care of till their return.   In this town they ftaid feventy-five days,   and foon after came to Nangtfchiu. They did not fet out again on their journey before the month of January, 1412, when they came to Karaul, the out poft before-mentioned, near the pafs in the mountains.   From the middle of January, to the tenth of March, in order to avoid the bad roads, they travelled with great difficulty and labour through the defart, and reached,  in fifty-five days,  Chotan (Khoten,   Hotum) about the beginning of May.   In the beginning of Augufh they came to Kba-figcr (Kafchar, or Hafiker).   In fifteen days from this, they arrived at Andegan (Andifchdan, or Dedfchan) ; and in about twenty days more, reached Herat, the refidence of Scbabrokb, in the firfl part of September, 1422.
This expedition is alfo remarkable, inafmuch as the ambaftadors returned by a road very different from that by which they came; for the tracks of thefe routes are in fome places nearly five degrees of latitukle diftant from each other. We find tea already in ufe here. We fee that at this period the paper balifches are no longer ufed, filver balifches, which however feem to be very fcarce, being made ufe of in their ftead.   Tin muft have been a commodity of
3 peculiar
■
pcculiar value even amongft the Chinefe. We cannot here avoid remarking with pleafure, the honorable reception given by the Chinefe, to the Ambaffadors; the particular attention with which they regiflered the number of their retinue ; and the exact probity with which they P refer ved, and reftored the things cntrufted to their care. Finally, 1 muft obferve farther, that gilt and japanned dwclling-houfes, like the before-mentioned, muff neceffarily be very much expofed to thun-der, as the gold ads as a conductor, and draws the fire of the lightning ftraight into the inner rooms, which are compofed of wood, and var-mfhed with fo combuftible a fubflance as lac, and where, confequently, it muff hardly be poffible to extinguifh it."
XII. Jofapbat Barbara, a Venetian, was, by the republic of Venice, in the year 1436, fent ambaffador to Tana, a town now called Azof, which at that time belonged to the Genoefe 5 and alfo afterwards, viz. in 1471, to Perfia, toUjum Haf an (alias Affambei), at that time a Turkomannian prince, of the tribe of the white weather. He was fix-teen years among the Tartars, and on his return to his native country, gave an account of both thefe his expeditions. This relation has been Printed in a fmall and fcarce collection, published by Antonio Minutio, *t AMus's prefs, at Venice, in 1543, and was afterwards inferted, by Qovanne Baptijia Ramufio, in his large colledion of travels, coniifting of three volumes in folio. It is to be alfo found tranflated into Latin in the Scriptores rerum perficarum, publifhed at Frankfort it 1607. He died at a very advanced age in his native country, in 1494.
The journey to Perfia to Vjj'un Haffan containing but few accounts °f thofe parts which are the peculiar objects of our refearches, I fhall c°mmunicate only fome fhort extracts from the firft: journey to Tana, 0r Azof
Jofapbat
166 V   O   Y   AG   E   S      K N o
Jofapbat Barbaro began his journey to Tana in 1436, and explored that country with great afiiduity,yand fpirit of enquiry that docs him honour, partly by land, and partly by water, for the fpace of fixtecn years. The plain of Tartary is bounded on the Eaft by the great river Ledil, (Wolga) on the Weft by Poland, on the North by Ruftia, and on the South by the Great (or Black) Sea, Alania, Kumania, and Gazaria, which all together border ou^the fea of Tabacke (Zabachi from Tfchaback-Denghifli, i. e. the Bracbfen Sea). Alania has its name from the people called Alani, who in their own language call themfelves As. They were Chriftians, and their country had been ravaged and laid wafte by the Tartars (i. e. the Mogols). This province contains mountains, rivers, and plains, in which latter are found many hills made by the hands of men, and ferving for fepulchral monuments; on the top of each of them is a large ftone with a hole in it, in which they fix a crofs, which is like-wife made of a piece of ftone. Thefe fepulchral monuments are innumerable ; and it is faid, that fometimes there are great treafurcs buried in them. But it is 110 years fince the religion of Mahomet was introduced amongft the Tartars (or rather Mogols); before that period, indeed, there were fome Mahometans here, but, at the fame time, every one was permitted to follow whatever religion he pleated. In confequence of this fome worshipped wooden images, and idols of fir, which they carried about with them on their carts ; but the compulfion to the Mahometan religion takes its date from the time of Hedighi (alias Edigi, and Jcdighei), who was a general of the Tartarian Emperor Sidahameth Khan. This Hedighi was the father of Naur us, of whom Jofapbat relates, that in his days JJlu-Mahumetb (i. e. the great Mahomet) was Khan. But this Naur us happening to have fome mifunderftanding with the Emperor, went with the Tartars that adhered to him, to the river Ledil (i. e. the Wolga), where there was
one
°ne of the Emperor's relations called Khezi Mahameth, i. e. little Mahomet. Thefe two refolved to wage war againft Uht Mahamcth ; Accordingly they marched by Glterchan (or Aftrakhan) and through the plains of Tumcn (i.e. the great. Defart extending between the Wolga and the Don, quite to the Caucafus), clofe to CircaJJia, and turned off to the river Tana (or Don) and to the fea Tabache (Tfcha-baki), which was frozen over, as was the river Tana. They marched m different parties, and at a confiderable diftance from each other, in order to find food for their cattle ; fo that fome of them croffed the Don at a place called PalaJIra, while others croffed this river where it was covered with ice, near Bofagaz, which two places are at the diftance of 120 miles from each other. They came upon Vlu-Mahu-meth fo unexpectedly, that he fled with his wife and children, and left every thing in confufion behind him ; when Khezi-Mahomcd became Emperor in his ftead, and in the month of June croiTed the Don again.
Going from Tana weft-wards, along the coaft of the fea of Tabache to the left, and then for fome diftance along the Great (or Black) Sea, quite to the province of Mengleria (or Mingrelia); one arrives after three days journey along the fea, at the province of Chremuch (other-wife Kremuk, and Kromuk), the fovereign of which is called Bi-perdi, i. e. Deodati, given by God; and his fon is called Chertibei (or Khertibey), i. e. the true and real Lord. He is in pofTeffion of a beautiful country, adorned with fertile fields, a great number of fine woods, and confiderable rivers. He can raife about a thoufand horfe. The great people of this country live on plundering the caravans. Their horfes are good, the people themfelves valiant, and very artful j they have nothing ftrange in their appearance. This country abounds in corn, as alfo in meat and honey; but produces no wine. Beyond this province are others, which have a different language, and are not far from each other, viz. 2. EUpehc (Chippiche, Kippike)
3. Tatarkojia
i6S V   O   Y   A   G   E   S      a n d
3. Tatarkofia (otherwife Tatakofta, Titarcoffa, Tatartofia, Tatartupia),
4. Sobai, 5. Chcncrtbci (otherwife Cheuerthci, Khewerthei, Kharbatei, Khabarthei, Khabardaj, 6. As, i. e. the Alani. Thefe provinces extend for the fpace of 12 days journey quite to Mcngkria (Min-grelia). This Mingrelia borders on the Kaitacchi (or Chaitaki) who live about the Cafpian Mountains, partly alfo near Giorgiania, and on the fhores of the Black Sea, and on the range of mountains which extends into Circaffia. On one fide it is encompaffed alfo by the river Phafus, which empties itfelf into the Black Sea. The fovereign of this province is called Bendian ("Dadian), and is in poiTefuon of two fortifications near the fea, the one of which is called Vatbi (Badias), and the other SavaJIopoii (otherwife Sabaftopoli, alfo Ifguriah, or Diofku-rias) ; and befides thefe, he has feveral other caftles and fortified rocks. The whole country is ftony and barren, and produces no other kind of corn than millet. They get their fait from Kaj]e. They manufacture fome dark fluffs, and are a beaftly people. In this country, white is called Tetarti, and properly fignifies filver coin ; in like manner the Greeks call filver coin A/pro, the Turks Akeia, and the inhabitants of Zagathai, Te?igb, all of which fignifies white; hence, as well at Venice as in Spain, certain coins are ftill called Bianchi. (This laft obfervation exhibits a furprizing conformity of fo many different nations to call one and the fame thing by a name of the fame, or fimi-lar import).
" Now going from Tanna acrofs the river, along the fea of Tabache, to the right hand from the mouth of the Don quite unto Kaffa, one comes to an ifthmus which connects the ifland with the main land, and is calfe4?Zucbala: fimilar to that which connects the Morea with the continent, and is called PJJimiilia. Here are large fait lakes, in which the fait cryftallizes.
" Going into the peninfula, on the fea of Tabache, the firft province one comes to is Kumania, named thus after the people called Rumanians.
Then
follows the chief province, which is called Gazzaria(Cha«aria) where alfo Kaffa is. The ell (pico), by which in thofe parts, and even in Tana, every thing is meafured, is called, from this country, the Gaz-zarian ell (pico dc Gazzaria).
" The low country of the Ifland of Kaffa is governed by Tartars, who have a fovereign called Ulubi, the fon of Azicharci, They arc able, in cafe of need, to bring into the field three or four thoufand horfe. They poffefs two walled, but not ftrong, places ; the one, Sorgathi*, (Solgathi), is by them alfo called Incremia (ChIonia), which fignifies a fortification $ the other, Cherchiarde **, (Kerkiarde) means, in their language, forty places. On the Ifland, even on the mouth of the fea of Tabaccha, is a town called Cherz (Kerfch, or Kars),
which by the Italians was called Bofphorus Cimmerius. Then comes Kajfa-f, Sa/daia-f-jr, (alias Soldadia, Soldaja, more properly Sugdaja, and at prefent Sudak, or Sudag), Grafui -[f-f, (or Grufui) Cymbalo
* Sorgathi is the place which Abulfeda, previous to this author, had called Sslget, ox Kir in ; it is at prefent called BJkihyrym, \. e. the Old Citadel.
** Kerk'nrtla is the Kcrkri of Abulfeda, fituated on an inacceflible mountain, and fignifies, in the Turkifh language, forty men. Some call the place Kyrk, and the Poles give it the name of Kirkjel. This was a caftle belonging to the Jews, or Goths, who dwelled in thefe mountain?, and of whom but a fhort time ftnee there were fome traces remaining; they had a language of their own, winch contained many words common to it and the German,
*#* Kerz is even now called Kerfch, and was the ancient Pantikapauni of the Bofphorian kings, and fo early as in Philip of Macedon's time bore the name of Bofphorus. It is the Ol-Kars of Abulfeda.
t Kaffa, or Kapha, is nearly on the fame fpot, w"hcre, in the times of the Greeks and Romans, flood the town of Thcodofia.
It Saldaia was fo early as in Abulfcda's time called Sudak, as, indeed, it is at prefent; it was formerly very famous, and a town of great trade.
-j- ft Grafui is a place at prefent entirely unknown ; it, however, probably Hood where now, ^nder the denomination of Krufim«fen, there feem to remain fome traces of the name.
1 Cimbah is certainly Hvpfiihcev Kiyw, and is the harbour of Biduklniua of the moderns.
2 (Cimbalo,
i7o VOYAGES      a n d
(Cimbalo, Symbolon Hormos, or Limen), Sarfona *, (or Cherfon) and KaUimita**. All thefe places 'are at this prefent time fubject to the Tu;ks.—Farther on from Kaffa, in the Ifland where it is en-j pompafTed by the Black Sea, lies Gothia, and (fill farther Alania, which is fituated without the Iiland, towards Moncaftro ***'. The Goths {peak German : I know it from this circumftance, that when the fervant whom I had with me, and who was a German, fpoke with them, they underftood him tolerably well, juft as a native of Furli in the Pope's dominions might underftand a Florentine-j-.
From
* Sarfon (otherwife Sarfona, Scherfn, and Scbiirfchi) was formerly called Cbttfon Trachea, and [lie foundations of it were laid almoft 600 years before the birth of Chriit, by the inhabitants ol Hcr&cle& in Pontus. It was alfo called Cherfnefui, i. c. the Peninfula, for thereby was meant the whole of the Peninfula between this harbour of Cherfon, and that of Symbolon, which was entirely inhibited by Greeks. The Ruffians took the town in the reign of H'ladimir the Great, and in their ancient annals call it Korfun.
** Kulamita apppears to me to be an adulteration of the word Klimata. For all thofe towns which Jofapbat Bar ban names, from Kafj'a to Cherfon, belonged formerly to the fortified caftles and towns called k,u^t^u ray vhiij.ct.Tc<v.
Moncaftro is a place at the mouth of the Dnicfter, which the Turks at this prefent time call Ak-kicrman ; the Wallachians, Tfchctat Alba ; the Ruffians, Belgorod; the Greeks, Afprs Kaflro ; and the Genoefc, 350 years ago, called it Moncaftro. Now all thefe different appellations have their origin in the name given to this place by the Romans, who called it Alba Julia,
I This circumftance is worthy of obfervation. Ruyfbroeck had before remarked it, (our Author remark* it too) and lb docs Bufheck. Father Mohudorf met with many of the flaves in the galleys at Conftantinople, who were defcended from the Goths, and fpoke a language very like the German. Nw.v, at this time, when Ruflia is in pofTeffion of the Crimea, it is to be wifhed, that the few remaining traces of the Gothic language may be inquired after, and particularly, that ilricTt fearch maybe ntade among the rc licks of this Gothic people, which muft ftill dwell fomewhere in the Crimea. This language woald fervc to explain and illoitratc the few remains we pofl'efs of Bifhop Ulftlas's tranflation of the gofpcl into Gothic; while the names and cultoms of this people, together with many of their phrafes, and peculiar turns of expreflion, would throw great light on the manners and cuftoms of the ancient Germans. Nay, it is poflible, that fome families of the firft rank among them may have preferved to this day feveral books, the finding of which would prove a very important difcovery indeed. Our ingenious traveller here compares the 4 difference
From this vicinity between the Goths and Alanians, originates, as I imagine, the name of Gotkalani. The Alanians were the firft inhabitants j the Goths came at a later period, and conquered thefe countries, and, as the two nations mingled with each other, this mixed name likwife came into ufe. All thefe people profefs the Greek religion, as do likewife the Tjcherliajians.
And as I have before made mention of Tumen and Githercan (which latter is otherwife called Citracan and Aftrakhan) I will relate fome remarkable circumftances concerning them. Going from Tnmen eaftwards, and to the fouth-weft, feven days journey, one arrives at the river of Ledil (otherwife the Erdir, Erdil, Atel, Athol, and Wolga) on the banks of which is fituated Githercan, a little, infignificant town f terrazuola, terriciola) laid wafte, as it were, and in ruins.    Formerly it was very confiderable and celebrated-y   as before the   devaftation of  it by Tamerlane, the fpices and filks, which go to Syria, were carried by Githercan, and fo to Tana, from whence they were fetched, by fix or feven large gallies, to Venice j for at that time no other nation befides Venice traded to Syria.   The Edil is a large and very broad river, which difcharges itfelf into the fea of Baku, 25 Italian miles below Githercan.   Both in this fea and in the river, innumerable fifti are taken.   In this fea (which is likewife tolerably fait) there is a great number of filh, like Tunnies  (Morone) and fturgeons (Schenali). One may fail up this river to within three days journey from Mnfco (Mofcow, or Mofkwa) in RuJ/ia.   The inhabitants of Mufco go with their fhips every year to Githercan to fetch fait: and down to this
difference between the language of a Goth of Crimea, and that of a German, to the difference between the dialect of the inhabitants of Furli in the Pope's dominions, who train out their words in the pronunciation to a great length, and that of the Florentines, who fpeak from the throat; both which people, though they are near neighbours, yet fpeak very different dialecls, but at the fame time are able to comprehend each other,
Z 2 place
|j2 V   O   Y   A   O   E   S and
place the paflage is eafy, as the river Mojco runs into the Occa, and this again into the ErdiL In this river there are a great many iflands and forefts ; Tome of the iflands are 30 miles in circumference, and
the woods contain trees of fuch a fize, that one of them, when hollowed out, will make a boat, which will take eight or ten horfes, and twice as many men to draw it. doffing the river, and going 15 days journey to the north-wed: of Mojco, along the fame river, one meets with innumerable hordes of Tartars. But, if one travels to the northward, and reaches the confines of Ruflia, one arrives at a fmall town called Rifan (or Rezan) which belongs to a relation of the Grand Duke of Ruflia, John. The inhabitants of it are all Chriftians, and follow the ufages of the Greek Church. The country abounds in corn, flefli, honey, and other good things. They likewife import Bojj'a* here, which is a kind of beer. In this country there are woods and villages in great number. Somewhat farther ftill, is a town called Co-tona (or Colonna). The fortifications of both places are made of wood, of which materials likewife all the houfes are built, as nothing is feen in thefe parts built of ftone or bricks. Three days journey farther on is the province of Mofio, where John, Duke of Ruflia, re-fides. Through this province runs the river Mofio (Mofkwa, or Mof-cow) which in feveral places has bridges over it, and from which in all probability the country takes its name. The caftle is fituated on a hill, and is encompafled round about with woods. The fertility of the country with refpect to corn and flefli, may be underftood, from this circumftance, that flefli is not fold by weight, but they give it cut in large pieces, as much as would weigh four pounds. Seventy hens may be bought for a ducat, (from four to five (hillings each,
' At this preterit lime they have in Rufiia an inebriating liquor, prepared from millet, which ii culled Bufa, and is very heady.   This probably is what is meant here by our author.
4 though
though the value varies iu Italy according to the different provinces) and a goofe is worth three marketti or little marks (i. e. fomewhat lefs than a penny). It is very cold in this country, fo that even the river freezes over. In winter they carry to market oxen and other beads, ready flaughtered, and with their entrails taken out, and fet them on their feet, which are frozen as hard as a ftone, in fuch numbers, that if any one chofe to buy up 200 of them, it might ealily be done; as to cutting them up, it is impoflible, for being as hard as Garble, they are delivered out whole. As to fruit, one meets with none, except a few apples, nuts, and fmall walnuts. When they have a mind to travel from one place to another, efpccially when the diftance is very great, they travel in winter, as at that time every thing is frozen : they then travel very comfortably, excepting the inconveniences arifing from the cold. At this fcafon of the year they take with them on their Sani (or fledges, which are to them what our waggons are to us) every thing they have a mind, with the greateft eafe. In fummer, when it is very dirty, and there are large clods on the road, a circumftance which proceeds from the country being extremely woody, and for that reafon, in a great mei-fure, uninhabitable, they do not venture to take long journies. They have no grapes, but make a kind of wine from honey, or a fpecies of beer from millet, in which beer they put hop-bloflbms (fiori di brufcandoli) of which the odour is fo powerful as to occafion fneezing, and which intoxicate like wine. And here I cannot pafs over unnoticed what the Grand Duke did, on finding that his fubjects were fuch drunkards, and, in confequence of their ^l"unkcnnefs, neglecfed bufinefs of every kind ; as indeed he took in hand many other things for their fervice. He gave orders, in fad, that no more beer fhould be brewed, nor mead made, nor hops ufed, by which means he obliged them to lead fobes and regular lives. This naPpened about 25 years ago.
Before
Before this period the Ruffians paid tribute to the Emperor of Tartary ; but now they have conquered a country, called Kafan, which tigniues Keltic, and is fituated at the diftance of five miles from Mof-cow. Ibis country lies to the left of the river Ledil [or Wolga) as one goes to the fea of Bocbri (or Bakhu). This country has a confiderable trade, and a great quantity of furs is got from thence, which are carried by way of Mofcow to Poland, Pruflia, and Flanders. Thefe furs come from the north-eaft, at a great diftance, out of the empire of Zagatbal*, and from Mixta**, which northern diftriefs are inhabited by Tartars, part of whom are idolaters, as are the Moxians to this day.
Now as I have fome accounts concerning the Moxians, I fhall relate what I know of their religion and fituation. At a certain time they are wont to take ahorfe, which they lead into the midft of their afiembly, and bind its four feet to an equal number of flakes, likewife his head to a ftake driven into the earth. Upon this, one of them takes his bow and arrow, and places himfelf at a confiderable diftance, and /hoots at the heart of the animal, till he has killed him. After that he fleas him, and fluffs the fkin. But the flefh they eat, after having performed certain ceremonies with it. The fkin they ftuff with ftraw, and few it together, fo as to make it appear entire; and ftick 1 trait pieces of wood through the fkin that covered the legs, fo that the creature may feem to ftand on its legs juft as it did when alive.
* Zagathai was the name of one of the fons of Zinghis Khan ; and as that part of the empire feU to his (hare, which comprehended Turkrflan, Maicara/nchara, and Kuart/m, in the fecjucl thefc provinces were called the empire of Zagathai.
•* Moxia is the country of the Morduanians, part of whom give themfelves the name & ■Mokfchiu
Lafttyi
Laftly, they cut the branches of a large tree, and making a ftage on the top of it, fet the horfe upon it; when they worfhip it, and offer nP to it fables, crmins, grey fquirrels (vari) and foxes, which they bang on the tree (juft as we offer up wax-lights to the faints) in fuch aguife, that the tree is hung all round with thefe furs. The food of this people, conlifts in a great meafure of ticih, and that chiefly venU and likewife of fifh, which they catch in the rivers; and fo much for the Moxians. Of the Tartars, I have nothing farther to obferve, than that many of them are idolaters, who carry the idols which they worfhip about in their carts : fometimes one meets with thofe who are accuftomed to worfhip each day the animal that meets them firft, when they go out of their houfes.
The Grand Duke has likewife taken Noivgorod, which fignifies Newcaftk\ It is an extenfive diftricl:, which is eight days journey to the north-weft of Mofcow. It was formerly governed by the people. The inhabitants were people without any fenfe and reafon, and had a great many heretics among them : but at prefent the Catholic faith makes its way by degrees, though even now fome believe, and others not: in the mean time, however, they lead more rational lives, and juflice is properly adminiftered.
In going from Mofcow to Poland, it is 22 days journey ere one reaches the latter. The firft place one meets with in Poland is a fortified place called Trocki* ; but one cannot get thither otherwife than by travelling through woods and over hills, as it lies in a defart. There are, it is true, fire-places from place to place, where the inns are befpoke before-hand, in which travellers may, if they plcafc, reft themfelves awhile, and make a fire. Sometimes, though extremely feldom indeed, one meets with a fmall hamlet a little way
Trocki is likewife called Trczi, and is a well-known town in Lithuania, in the neighbour, hood of mi„a,
OUfc
out of the road. Going from Trocki, farther on, one meets with more hills and woods; there are, however, fome habitations, and nine days journey from Trocki is a fortified place called Loniri (or Lonin*). After this one comes into** Lithuania, where one meets with a diftrict called Farfonicb ***, which belongs to certain Lords, who are fubjecf to K&zimir, King of Poland. The country is fertile, and contains a great many walled towns and villages, but none of any great importance. From Trocki it is feven days journey to Poland, and the country is good and beautiful. Plere one meets with Mcrfaga\, a tolerable good town, and here ends Poland, concerning the towns and provinces of which country I (hall fay nothing farther, for want of proper intelligence, excepting that the King, together with his fons and his whole houfehold, are very good Chriftians, and that the eldeft of the Princes is the prefent King of Bohemia.
Travelling four days more, we got out of Poland, and reached Frankfort, a city which belongs to the Margrave of Brandenburg. We were now in Germany; but I fhall fay nothing of this country, as it is a place where we are, as it were, at home, and with which befides moft people are well acquainted.
Now
* Or* loniri, or Lenin, I hfive not the le.al-knowledge ; lam therefore apt to imagine that we mould read Sio/.ym, which was formerly a place of great note, and ufed to be a duchy allotted to the appennged Princes of the Grand-Ducal Houfe of Lithuania. ** Here we mult read out of, not in Lithuania ; for IVarfaw is not in this province, but in Ma-
furea, or Maiovia.
-•'•* By Varfonich in all probability is meant the city of War/aw.
j Otmtrfaga it is not eafy to determine the fituation ; though I am apt to conclude, from its fitu'atidn on the borders of Poland towards the Brandenburgh territories and the neighbourhood
Frankfort on the Oder, that by it Mrferiz, or Micdzyrzyez, mud be me;.nt. In the mean time, with refpsc't to thefe three lall-mentioned names of [daces in Poland, the fituation of which 1 have endeavoured to inveiligate in the notes, 1 have been feveral times llruck with the refleftion, thai in the explication of the names of thefe places, which, as Jofapbat Barbaro fays, are fituated in countries with which we are well acquainted, there appears lefs certainty and lefs degree of probability, than in the explication of the nanus of thofe places that lie in much more unknown regions; and indeed I myfelf have received kfs fatisfadion from them.   May not the greater
progreft
Now we muft fay fomewhat concerning Giorgiania, which lies directly oppofite to the laft-mentioned places, and borders upon Mon-grelia (Mingrelia). The King of the province is called Pancranus* He is the Sovereign of a delightful country, which produces bread, "wine, flefli, corn, and other fruits of the earth in great abundance. They make a great quantity of wine on the trees, as in Trebijonde, The people are very handfome and well made; but they have moft horrid manners and the worft cufloms of any people I ever met with. Their heads are fhaved, excepting fome few hairs, all around, which they fuffer to remain, in the fame manner as it is pradifedby our Abbots, who have a good income. They wear whifkers above fix inches long. On their heads they wear a cap of various different colours^ with a feather at top. They cover their bodies with a tolerably long, though ftrait jacket, which is cloven behind quite up to the loins, for otherwife they could not mount their horfes; in which refpect I do not blame them, as I fee that the French wear the fame. On their feet and ancles they wear boots, the foles of which are made in fuch a manner that when the wearers (fand upright on their feet, the toes and heels touch the ground. But in the middle they are fo high from the ground, that one may thru ft one's fift under the fole, without hurting one's felf, and thence, when they walk, they do it with difficulty. I fhould blame them for this, did I not know that they wear the fame in Perfia. At their meals thefe people have the following cuftom, agreeable to what I law in the houfe of one of their great men. They have a quadrangular table, half an ell over, with a rim to it. In the middle of it they fet a heap of boiled millet without fait, and without any fat or other addition to it; this they
progrefs made in point of cultivation in fuch countries as are more known and occupied by civilised and Chriftian nations be the caufe, that we are not able at prefent to recognize thefe places Mentioned 400 years ago,
A a ufe
ufe inftcad of faucc. On another ftmilar tabic they place, over coal?, fome wild boar's rlefti, which is fo little roafted, that the blood runs out, when they cut into it s and of this they arc very fond. I, for my part, could not touch it, and fo took up with a little millet,.. There was wine in abundance, and it went round the table with great hofpitality.   Other provifions we had not.
In this country there is a great number of large woods and mountains. There is in it a diftrict called Zijilis (Tiflis) befide which runs a river named Tigris* (or Tygris) : this is a very good country, but thinly inhabited. It has likewife ftill a fortification ~)~, Gori (Gonieh) which lies towards the Black Sea.
This is what I have to relate concerning my journey to Tanna, the countries in that part of the world, and the events that are worth mentioning.
§ XIII. The family of the Zenos, in Venice, is very ancient, and is not only of the higheft rank of nobility, but is likewife celebrated for the performance of great actions, as alfo by reafon that the higheft offices and dignities in the flate had been filled from time immemorial, by men of merit belonging to this family. About the year 1200, Marin Zeno aftifted in making the conqueft of Conftantinople, and he was Podejla, or Governor of that place about the year 1205. He had a fon named Pietro Zeno, who was the father of Rinieri Zeno, who, in 1282, was Duke or Doge of Venice, and governed it for the fpace of 17 years, and carried on a war againft the Genoefe with great fuccefs. He adopted his brother Marco's fon Andrea, who was afterwards
* It is not the 1 igris which runs by the fide Tifih, or Tbiliji, but rather the Kur, or the Kyi us of the ancients, and the Mrknari of the Georgians.
f Not far from Tiflis, and to the weftward of it there is a place called Gori ; but this is flill at a confiderable diftance from the Black Sea. Gonieh lies on the fhores of this fea. There is like-wife the province of Guria, fituated between the Pha/ch and the Bathum (or Bathys).
3 Captain-
Captain-General of the Venetian fleet, fated out againft the Ge-noefe. His fon, Rimer HI. was the father of Pietro, who, in 1362, was Captain-General of the ftate in the league of the Chriftians againft the Turks, and had the firname of Dracone, from the dragon which he bore in his fhield. He had three fon'S, viz. Carlo Leone, Nicolo il Cavaliere, and Antonio. Of thefe Carlo Leone was Procurator and Captain-General of the Republic, and refcued her from imminent danger in a war, in which the power of almoft all Europe was joined againft her. The fecond fon, Nicolo, was a Knight, and having fhewn great valour in the laft-mentioned war of Chioggia with the Genoefe, he had a ftrong defire to travel, in order that, by getting acquainted with the manners and languages of foreign nations, he might render himfelf ftill more ufeful to his country, and acquire to himfelf credit and honour. With this view (being a man of great property) he fitted out a fhip at his own expence, and failed through the ft raits of Gibraltar to the northwards, with an intention to vifit England and Flanders; but, by a ftorm that lafted feveral days, the veffel was at length eaft away on the coaft of Friejland (Friflanda); the crew, however, were faved, with great part of the cargo. This happened in the year 1 380 ; neverthelcfs they were foon attacked by the natives, againft whom they were hardly able, weary and weather-beaten as they were, to defend themfelves. But, fortunately for them, the reigning Prince of P or land (Porlanda) by name Zichmni, who was at that time in Friefland, fearing of their misfortune, came with all fpeed to give them his aftiftancc, of which indeed they ftood at that juncture in great need. After difcourfing fome time with them in Latin, finding that Nicolo Zeno was very expert both in naval and martial affairs, he gave him the poft of Admiral of his whole fleet, which the latter, however, at firft refuted,   Nicolo not long aftci wards wrote to his bro-
A a 2 the:
thcr Antonio, inviting him to come to Frielland, who accordingly foon arrived there, and lived four years with him, and afterwards ten more with Prince Zichmni alone. The whole of this relation was written by Francifco Marcolini, having been extracted by him from the letters fent by Antonio Zeno to his eldefl brother Carlo : in it he laments, that thefe writings having fallen into his hands in his earlieft youth, he had (child like) torn them, and afterwards, finding them to be of great confequence, he had collected together what remained of them, and put them into order, in order that a difcovery of fo much importance might not be entirely forgotten.
This is the account given of the affair by Ramufio, Vol. II. p. 232, fob 2. From the manufcript relation of Marcolini, others have, it feems, extracted the accounts which they have given of this difcovery, and though thefe relations have very much the air of the marvellous, yet it is evident, that upon the whole there is every reafon to fuppofe them authentic : and as it may be farther objected, that the countries mentioned in them no longer exifl, we intend, towards the conclulion of this relation, to expatiate on this topic, and not only to give a fuflicient reafon for what we fhall advance, but likewife anfwer every objection that may be made.
Nicolo Zeno having been fhip wrecked in 1380 on the ifland of Friejland, in confequence of their having been overtaken by a tempeff, and likewife having been faved by Prince Zichmni from the rude attacks of the inhabitants, put himfelf, with all his men, under the protection of this Prince, who was Lord of certain fmall iflands which lay to the fouth of Friefland, which were called Portandy and were the molt fertile and populous of all the iflands thereabouts. He was befides this, Duke of Sorany, a place which lies over againft Scotland. Of thefe northern
thern parts, I (i. e. Antonio Zeno) have drawn up a chart, which hangs up in my houfe, and although it be much decayed by time, may ferve to give fome infight to the curious in thefe matters.
Zichmni, the Lord of all thefe countries, was a man of great courage, and famous for his ikill in navigation. The year before Ni-colo's arrival there (viz, A. D. 1379 *) he had defeated the King of Norway (Hakon) in a pitched battle, and was now come with his forces to conquer Friefland, which is much larger than Iceland. On account of the knowledge Nicolo Zeno had of maritime affairs, the Prince took him and all his crew on board the fleet, and gave it in charge to his Admiral to treat him with the higheft refpecf, and to afk his advice m every affair of importance.
Zichmni's fleet confifted of thirteen veffels, of which two only were
* Though this Friefland, together with Par landand Sorany, appear to be countries which ! been fwallowed up by the fea in confequence of earthquakes and other great revolution- in the above-mentioned clement, yet I cannot help communicating in this place a conjecture, which has mcwhilftl was employed on this fubjccl.   Prccifely in this fame year 13-9, Hakok, King of Norway, inveilcd with the Orkneys, a perfon of the name of Uairy Sinclair, who was one of the defendants in the female line from the ancient Earls of Orkney. This name of Sinclair appears to me to be exprcfTed by the word Zichmni.   The appellation of Fair a, North Fara, South Para, or Para s Land, have probably given rife to that of Friefland.   Parland muft be the Fara Iflands (the Far-ver, or Farland) and Sorany is the Soderoe, or Soreona ; i. c. the weftern iflanch. Add to this, that &e names of the Shetland Iflands correfpond with many of thofe conquer:d by Zichmni in Eftland ; Bras is indubitably Bra fa Sound, Talas appear,- to htTcli, or Zeal, Brcas is B raff a, 1/cnnt is Uuft, ^'ans is probably Trondra, and Mill more fimililudcs of this kind affording yet greater foundation f°i" thele conjectures. Nay, the amazing quantity of fifli that was caught yearly oft* the Orkney*, or, according to Zeno's account, oft" Friefland, and with which Flanders, Britania, England, Scotland, Norway, and Denmark were fupplicd, and the inhabitants of Friefland greatly enriched, relates doubtlefs to the herrings that arc caught here every year in great abundance. Iceland was too powerful for Sinclair (or Zichmni) to conquer.   Nicolo Zeno vifitcd likewife Eaft Greenland.   But Eftoti -land and Drogio, which were difcovered afterwards, appear to be fome country that lies to the* fouthward of Old Greenland.   Perhaps Newfoundland, or Winland, where fome Normans had fettled previous to this, who I ike wife, in all probability, had brought with them from Europe th« Latin books which were at this time in the King's, library thcic,
a rowed
rowed with oars; the reft were fmall barks, and only one of them was a fhip- With all thefe they failed to the weft wards, and, without much difficulty, made themfelves mafters of Lcdovo and Ikfe% and divers other fmaller iflands; and turning into a bay called Sudero, in the haven of the town named Sancftol, they took feveral fmall barks laden with fifth ** j and here they found Zichmni, who came by land with his army, conquering all the country as he went. They flayed here but a fhort time, and ftiaped their courfe to the weft-wards till they came to the other cape of the gulph or bay, and here turning again, they found certain iflands and broken lands, all which they brought under fubjedtion to Zichmni. Thefe feas were in a manner nothing but flioals and rocks, infomuch, that if Nicolo Zeno, and the Venetian mariners, had not been their pilots, the whole fleet, in the opinion of all that were in it, had been eaft away, fo fmall was the fkill of Zichmni § men, in refpect of ours, who had been trained up in the art and practice of navigation from their childhood. Now the fleet having done as we have juft before mentioned, the Admiral, by the advice of Nicolo Zeno, determined to go afhore, at a town called Boudcndan, with a view to get intelligence what fuccefs Zichmni had in his wars; where they heard,
* It Is hardiy poflible to mention all the little ifland?, and the places fituated on the largeft of the Orcadian iflands, which by the ancients was called Pomona, and, on account of its fize, bore likewife the name of Mainland, alfo of Hrofs-ey, i. e. Grofs~tjft the Great If a id. The town had the name of Kirkiuivog, or the Harbour near the Church, and is at this time called by the Scots Kirk wall.
** This a very early mention made of falted fifli7 but yet within the life-time of William Beuckels John, the fuppofed inventor of the art of pickling herrings, who died in 1397. ^llt Profeflbr Sprcngel has (hewn, that herrings were caught at Gcrncmvc, i. e. Yarmouth) fo t arjy as in the year 1283 ; nay, in Lelaml's Colled. Vol. III. p. 173, we meet with a proof that pickled herrings were fold in 1273 j ind there are extant German records which fpeak of them fo carl/ a, in 1236.   Vid. Gerien Cede.x Dipkmat. Brandtnhurg.   T.I. p. 45. T. It. p. 431,
to
to their great fitisfaction, that he had won a great battle and put to flight the army of his enemy; in confequence of which the inhabitants fe»t Ambail-dors from all parts of the ifland to yield the country up into his hands, taking down their flags and enligns in every town and caftle • they therefore thought good to flay in that place for his com-ing, it being reported for certain that he would be there very fhortly. At his coming there were great congratulations and rejoicings, as Well for the vidory by land, as for that by fea j for which the Venetians were honoured and extolled in all parts, infomuch that there was no converfation but of them, and of the great prowefs of Nicolo Zeno; the Prince, on his part, caufed Nicolo to be brought before him, and, after having beflowed the higheft commendations upon him, and in particular praifed his great valour and naval knowledge, by which two things he acknowledged that he had received an inclinable benefit, fuch as the faving of his fleet and the taking of niany towns without any great difficulty, he knighted him, and rewarded his men with many rich and liberal prefents.   Then, departing thence, they went in triumph towards Friefland, the chief city of that ifland, fituated on the fouth-eaft fide of it, within a gulph, °f which there are many in the ifland.   In this gulph, or bay, there are fuch great quantities of fifth taken, that many fhips are laden with them to ferve Flanders, Britania, En& land, Scotland, Norway, and Denmark, which brings great riches into the country.
This was the contents of a letter fent by Nicolo Zeno to his brother Antonio, in which he invited him to come to him to Friefland; accordingly the latter fet fail, and after having paft many dangers, arrived at his brother's. Antonio ftaid in Friefland fourteen years in all, ten /Cars alone, and four years with his brother Nicolo, who ingratiated himfelf fo much in the Prince's favour, that this latter made him Admiral
miral of the fleet fent out on the expedition to EJlland, which lies between Friejland and Norway.   Here they committed great ravages; but hearing that the King of Norway was coming towards them with a confiderable fleet, they departed in hafte, the wind blowing with fuch violence that they were driven upon certain fhoals, where a great part of their mips was calf away ; the reft were faved upon Grijland, a large iiland, but uninhabited.   The King of Norway's fleet was overtaken by the fune ftorm, and perifhed.   Of this Zichmni was apprized by one of the enemy's mips which, as well as they, was eaft away upon the coaft of Grijland* ; when, after having repaired his own fleet, perceiving that he had been driven fo far northwards, he refolved to make an attack upon Iceland, which belonged to the King of Norway; but rinding it too well fortified and defended, and reflecting that his fleet was both fmall and ill equipped, he was glad to retire. He therefore fell upon the other iflands, of which there are feven in number, viz. Talas (Zeal) Broas (Braifa Sound) I/cant (Unft or Vuft) Trans (Trondra) Mimant, Dambert, and Brcs (Braifa) all of which he plundered, and built a fort in Bres, where he left Nicolo Zeno with feveral fmall barks, men and ammunition, while he himfelf went back to Friefland.   In the fpring Nicolo Zeno refolved to go out on difcoveries ; and having fitted out three fmall fhips, he fet fail in July, and limping his courfe to the northwards, arrived in Engroveland (En-n-oneland, Groenland, or Greenland) where he found a monaftery of Predicant Friars, and a church, dedicated to St. Thomas, hard by 3 mountain that threw out fire like /Etna or Vefuvius.
They have here a fpring of boiling hot water with which they heat the church, the monaftery, and the Friars chambers. It comes likewife fo Very hot into the kitchen, that they ufe no fire for dreffing their
- ('■■■: Ian 1 feems to be the name of the ifland, which lies in the neighbourhood of Iceland t<7
itic eaftward, and is by the modems called E;ikbu\z£n.
victuals;
victuals; and putting their bread into brafs pots without any water, it is baked as though it was in a hot oven.   They have alfo fmall gardens covered over in winter, which gardens being watered with this water, are defended from the fnow and cold, that in thefe regions, fituated fo near the Pole, is extremely great.   In this manner they produce flowers, fruits, and different kinds of herbs, jufl as they grow in temperate climates ; fo that the rude favages of thofe parts, feeing thefe fupernatural effects, take thefe Friars for Gods, and bring them divers prefents, fuch as hens fPolii, thefe, however, can have been nothing clfe than PtarmagansJ. flefli (viz. of rein-deer) and various other things; befides this they reverence the Monks as their Lords. When the froff and fnow is confiderable, they heat their houfes in the manner above mentioned ; and by letting in the water, or opening their windows, are able in an inftant to temper the heat at their pleafure. In the buildings of their monaftery they ufe no other matter than what is prefented to them by this fire; for they take the burning ftones that are eaft out, in the form of fparks or cinders, at the fiery mouth of the mountain, and when they are at the hotteft throw water on them, by which means they are entirely diffolved, and are converted into a very good lime, which is fo binding, that when it is ufed in building, it lafts for ever; and the very fparkles, when cold, ferve inftead of ftones to make their walls and vaults, for when they are once cold, they cannot be broken, except indeed they be cut with fome iron tool; and the vaults that are made of them are fo light, that they need no prop to hold them up, but continue always whole and entire.   On account of thefe great conveniencies, the Friars have made fo many walls and buildings of different kinds, that it is really wonderful to fee them.   The coverings or roofs of their houfes are for the moft part made in the following manner : Firft, they carry the wall up to its ftftl height, and then they make it inclining or bending in by little
B b ■ and
and little, till it forms a regular vault. But indeed they arc not much troubled-with rain in that country for the climate being, as I have faid before, extremely cold, the firft fnow that fall's does not thaw for the fpace of nine months, at which time their winter ends.
They live on wild fowl and fifh ; for in confequence of the warm water running into the fea, in a large and wide haven, which, by reafon of the heat of the water, never freezes, there is fo great a concourfe in this place of fea fowl and fifli, that they take as many of them as they can poffibly have occafion for, with which they maintain a great number of people round about, whom they keep continually employed, both in building and in taking of fowls and fifli, as well as in a thou fand other neceffary occupations and affairs relative to the monaflery.
Their houfes are built about the hill on every fide, of a round form, and 25 feet in width j as they go upwards they arc made narrower and narrower, a little hole at the top being left for the air and the light to enter at; and the floor of the houfe is fo hot, that thofe who are in the houfe feel no cold at all.   Hither in the fummer time come many barks from the neighbouring iflands, and from the cape above Norway, and from Trondm (or Drontheim) and bring the Fathers all kinds of commodities and merchandize, according to what they with for, taking in exchange fifli (which they dry either in the fun or elfe by means of the cold) and the fkins of divers beafts;  for which they have wood for fuel, and wooden utenfils very ingenioufly carved j together with corn, and cloth to make their clothes with.   For all the nations around them are very defirous of bartering with them for thefe two commodities, fo that the Monks have all they can defire without either pains or coil.   To this monaftery refort Monks from Norway and Sweden, and from other countries, but principally from Ice/and. Here is continually a great number of bark., which cannot get away
by
by reafon of the fea being frozen over, but wait for the fpring of the year, to diffolve the ice. The fifliers boats have the form of a Weaver's (buttle. They are made of fifli bones, cafed over with the fldns of fifthes; thefe they few together in many doubles, and by this means make them fo tight and fubflantial, that it is furprizingto fee how they will in dorms bind themfelves faff within them, and let the winds and waves carry them they care not whither, without any fear either of their boats fplitting or of themfelves being drowned : and if they happen to be driven upon a rock, ftill they remain found without the leaft hurt or damage. They likewife have a kind of fleeve at the bottom, which is always tied faft in the middle; and when there comes any water into the boat, they let it run into one half of the fleeve, then fattening the end of the fleeve with two pieces of wood, and loofmg the band beneath, they convey the water out of the boat; and this operation they repeat as often as is neceiTary, without the leaft danger or hindrance.
Farther, the water of the monaftery, being of a fulphureous nature, is conveyed into the cells of the principal Friars, by means of copper, tin, or ftone pipes, fo hot, that it heats the place like aftove, without carrying along with it any difagrecablc or unwholefome ftench.
Befides this, they convey frefli water, fit for druiking, in a walled canal under ground, in order that it may not freeze, into the middle of the court, where it falls into a large copper veffel, which ftands-in a refervoir of boiling hot water; and by this means they heat the water for their own drinking and for watering their gardens. So that from this mountain they have every poflible convenience ; and thus thefe good Friars make it their chief ftudy and bufinefs to keep their gardens in order, and to erect: commodious and elegant buildings;
B b 2 neither
neither do they want for good workmen, and ingenious artizans for they give great wages, and to thofe that carry them fruits and feeds they are bountiful beyond meafure ; fo that there is a great refort of workmen and artiffs of every denomination, as there are great profits to be made, and provihon is very cheap. Moft of thefe Monks fpeak Latin, and particularly the fuperiors and principals of the monaftery.
And this is as much as is known of Engroveland (Engroneland, Groenland, or Greenland) from the relation of Nicolo Zeno, who gives likewife a particular defcription of a river that he difcovered, as is to be feen in the chart that I (viz. Antonio Zeno) have drawn. Nicolo, not being able to bear the fevere cold of thefe northern climates, fell lick, and a little while after returned to Friefland, where he died. He left behind him two fons, one of whom was named John, and the other Thomas, which latter likewife had two fons, Nicolo, the father of the celebrated Cardinal Zeno, and Peter, from whom are defcended the reft of the Zenos, who are now living.
After the death of Nicolo, his fortune, as well as his dignity and honours, devolved upon Antonio $ and though he made great Applications and entreaties for the purpofe, yet he was not permitted to return to his native country : for Zichmni, being a man of a high fpirit and great valour, had refolved to make himfelf mafter of the fea. For this end he made ufe of the talents and advice of Antonio, and ordered him to go with a few barks to the weftward ; as in the fummer feveral iflands had been difcovered in thofe feas by fome of his filhermen. Of this difcovery Antonio gives a defcription in a Letter to his brother Carlo, which we here give juft as it was written, having made no other alteration in it than that of a few antiquated (Italian) words.    (Letter III.)
'* Six and twenty years ago four fifliing-boats, which had been overtaken by a violent ftorm, were tolled to and fro in a terrible manner on the fea, for the fpace of a great many days j when, at length, the
tempeft
tempeft ceafing, and the weather growing fair, they difcovered an ifland called Eftotiland, which lay above a thoufand miles to the weftward of Friefland.   One of the boats, with fix men in it, was eaft away °n this ifland, and the men were immediately taken by the inhabitants, and conducted to a fine and populous city, where the King of the place was, who fent for various interpreters, but none could be found, ^vho underftood the fifhermens language, excepting one, that fpoke Latin.   This man, who had in like manner been eaft by accident on the fame ifland, afked them, on the part of the King, of what country they were ; and, having been made acquainted with their cafe, informed the King of it, who, upon this, ordered that they fhould ftay in the country :  thefe orders they obeyed, as indeed they could not do otherwife, and flayed in that country five years, and learned the language of it; one of them indeed was in various different parts of the ifland, and affirms, that it is a very rich country, abounding with, every commodity and convenience of life ;  that it is little lefs than Iceland, but much more fertile, having in the middle of it a very high mountain, from which fpring four rivers, that pafs through the whole country.
u The inhabitants are a very ingenious and fenfible people, and have arts of every kind, and handicrafts, as we have; and it is highly probable that formerly they have had fome traffic with our Europeans for he fays, that he faw fome Latin books in the King's library, which at prefent they do not underftand ; for they have a language of their own, and letters and characters peculiar to themfelves*.   They trade
with
* In Hakluyt's Colle&ion of Voyages, Vol. III. p. 124, it is added, «• They have mines of a^ banner of metals, but cfpecially they abound with gold." This paffage, however, is not to ^e found in the Italian original of Ramufio.
[From many circumllances it appears that Hakluyt's Collection was made principally with a *lew to ex-cite his countrymen to profecute new difcovesies in America, ;md to promote the trade
to
with Engronehmd, and get from thence furs, brimftone, and pitch. To the fouth of them there lies a very large and populous country, which abounds greatly in gold. They fow corn, and make beer (cervofa) a liquor which is drank by the people of the North, as wine is by us. They have large and extenfive woods ; they make their buildings with walls, and have a great number of towns and caftles; They build fhips, and navigate the fea j but they have not the loadflone, and know nothing of the ufe of the compafs : on which account thefe hfhermen were held in high effimation, infomuch that the King fent them with twelve fhips to the fouth ward, to a country called Drogio. In their voyage thither they had fuch contrary weather, that they thought they muff have perifhed in the fea ; but, ef-caping that dreadful kind of death, they met with another ftill more terrible ; for they were taken prifoners in the country, and were moft of them devoured by the favages, who feed on mens flefli, efteeming it the moft delicious of all food. But this fifherman, with his comrades, fhewing them the way to take fifh with nets, faved their lives; and would go every day to the fea and the frefh rivers, ar:d catch great quantities of fifli, and give it to the principal people of the country; by which means he got into fo great favour, that he was beloved and highly rcfpcctcd by every body,
" The fame of this man being fpread abroad in the country, there was a Lord in thofe parts, who was very delirous of having him with him, in order to fee how he pracf ifcd his wonderful art of catching fifli i infomuch that he made war with the other Lord with whom the fifherman was before; and in the end prevailing, as he was more
to that quarter of the globe.   Considering it in this light, and that hardly any thing was thought worthy of notice in that age but mines of filver and mountains of gold, we need not wonder at the interpolation.   But the paflagc itfelf is to be found in Ortdius.   Seethe fame Collection, 3 page 127-]  E« T.
3 powerful
powerful and a better warrior, the fifherman was fent to him, with the reft of his company; and for the fpace of thirteen years that he refided in thefe parts, he fays, that he had been fent in this faftiion to more than twenty-five different Lords, as they were continually at war with each other for the poffeflion of him; fo that, in wandering about the country in this manner, without any fixed abode, he was perfectly well acquainted with all that region.   He fays, it is a very sxtenfive country, and, as it were, a new world; but the inhabitants are a rude, unpoliftied people, without the enjoyment of any convenience of life; for they all go naked, fo that they are miferably pinched With the cold; neither have they the fenfe to cover their bodies with the fkins of the beafts which they take in hunting.   They are not in poffeflion of any kind of metal, and live by the chace.   They carry fpears of wood, made fharp at the point, and ufe bows, the firings of which are made of the fkins of beafts. They are a very uncivilized people, and, in the wars they make one with the other, commit dreadful ravages, fo as even to devour each other.   They have Governors, and laws very different from each other :  but farther to the fouth-weft the manners are more civilized, in proportion to the increafing mildnefs of the climate, infomuch that one there meets with cities and temples, dedicated to idols, to whom they offer up men in facrifice, and afterwards eat them.   The people, too, in thofe parts, are not without fome degree of knowledge, and make ufe of gold and filver.
"Now this fifherman, after having refided a great many years among them, purpofed, if it were poffible, to return to his own country ; out his companions, defpairing ever to fee it again, wifhed him health ajid happinefs, and ftaid behind; fo, bidding them farewel, he fled
through
through the woods, by the way that led to Drogio, and was received with great kindnefs by the Lord that lived near to the place from whence he came, who knew him, and was a great enemy to the other Lord; and thus, going from one Lord to another, with all of whom he was already acquainted, having palled through their hands before, after a long time, and with much difficulty, he arrived at Drogio, where he (laid three years ; when, fortunately hearing of fome of the inhabitants, that feveral fmall veffels were arrived on the coaft piece of intelligence which infpircd him with great hopes of accomplifhing his purpofc) he went to the fea-fide, and afking them what country they were of, learned, to his unfpeakable fatisfaction, that they were from Eflofiland. Upon this he requefted that they would take him on board, which they did very willingly; and as he could fpeak the language of the country, which none of their company could do, <they made ufe of him as their interpreter ; and afterwards he made repeated voyages thither in company with them, infomuch that he became very rich ; and fo, equipping a bark of his own, he returned to Friefland, where he made a report to his Lord of the difcovery of this wealthy country ; and his ftrange and marvellous account was credited, as every thing he faid was confirmed by the teftimony of the failors.
*' Accordingly this Lord (i. e. Zichmni) is determined to fend me out with a fleet to thefe parts, and there are fo many that defire to make the voyage with us, on account of the novelty and uncommon-nefs of the thing, that I believe we fhall be very well manned and fitted out, without any expence to the public in general."—-And this is the tenor of the Letter before mentioned, which I have here fet down, in order to give an account of another voyage made by Antonio Zeno, who fet fail with a great number of fhips and men, though at that time he was not Commander in Chief, as he at firft thought to have been, for Zichmni went in perfon ; and upon this fubjecf I have a letter to the following purport :
X " Our
<f Our great preparation for the voyage to Ejlotiland was begun in an unlucky hour; for, three days before our departure, the fifherman died, who was to have been our guide : notwithflanding which, this Lord would not give up the enterprize ; but, inftead of the fifherman, took with him for his guides feveral failors who had returned with him from the ifland.   And fo, fliaping our courfe to the weflwards, we difcovered feveral iflands, fubject to Friefland j and, after paffing by a fhoal or two, we arrived at Lcdovo, where we flaid a week to refrefh. ourfelves, and to provide the fleet with neceffaries.   Departing from hence, we arrived on the firft of July off the ifland of Ilofe; when, the wind being in our favour, we did not flop there, but went farther on.    Shortly after, being on the main fea, we were overtaken by fo dreadful a temped, that for the fpace of eight days we were toffed to and fro by the winds and the waves, without knowing whereabouts we were.   By the violence of this ftorm we loft a great part of our mips j afterwards the weather proving fair, we collected together the wrecks and fhivers of our fhattered veffels ; and, having got a good wind, failed till we defcricd land to the weftward, to which directing our * courfe, we arrived in a good and fafe harbour.   Here we faw an infinite number of armed men come running furioufly to the fea-fide, as it were, for the defence of the ifland.   Upon this, Zichmni commanding his men to make figns of peace to them, they fent ten men to us, who could fpeak ten different languages, none of which j. however, we underftood, excepting one that was an Icelander.   This man being brought before our Prince, anil aiked, what was the name of the ifland, by what people it was inhabited, and who governed it, an-fwered, that the land was called Icaria, and that all the Kings of it were named lain', after the name of its firft King, who, according to them, was the fon of Dccda/its, King of Scotland, who conquered-this
C c ifland,
iihnd, and left them his ion to be their King, together with thofe laws by which they ftill were governed.   After this, he failed farther on ; but, being overtaken by a violent ftorm, was drowned ; in me-* mory of which fatal accident they called that fea the Icarian Sea, and the Kings of the iiland leap: and forafmuch as they were contented with the ftate which God had given them, and did not chufe to make the leaft alteration in their manners and cuftoms, they would not receive any ftranger   and therefore requefted of our Prince, that he would not leek to violate thofe laws which they had received from this their King of glorious memory, and had hitherto duly obferved ; which, however, fhould he attempt, it would turn out to his manifeft deftrucfion, as they were abfolutely refolved rather to lofe their lives, than give up their laws.   Neverthelefs, that we might not imagine they fhunned all manner of intercourfe with other people, they told us, by way of conclufion, that they were very willing to receive one of our men, and advance him to be one of the chief amongft them, and that merely with a view to Jearn my language, and to gain information concerning our manners and cuftoms, in the fame manner as they had already received amongft them thofe other ten men who had come into their country from ten other different nations.   To all this Zichmni returned not the leaft reply; but, ordering his men to look out for fome good harbour, made as though he was going to depart ; when, failing round the ifland, he efpied at length a harbour on the eaftern fide of the ifland, where he put in with all his fleet. The mariners now went on ftiore to take in wood and water, which they did with all poflible fpeed, for fear of being attacked by the natives.   Neither indeed was this precaution taken in vain, for fuch of them as refided near that fpot, made fignals to the others by means of fire and fmoke, and immediately took to their arms, and the others going to them, they all came running down together to the fea-fide upon our men, with bows and arrows, and other weapons, fo that
1 many
many of them were killed, and others dangcroufly wounded. And though we made fignals of peace to them, it was to no purpofe, for they were only the more enraged, and fought as though their all was at flake.   We were therefore obliged to depart, and to fail on in a large circuit round the ifland, being all the while accompanied on the tops of the hills and on the fea coaft by an infinite number of armed men; and juft where the point of the ifland bends to the northward, we met with many large ftioals, on which we were in continual dan* ger, for the fpace of ten days, of loling our whole fleet; but that, very fortunately for us, the weather was fair during the whole time. We failed on, however, till we came to the eaftern cape ; and faw the inhabitants ftill keeping up with us on the tops of the hills and on the fea fliore, and by loud cries and fhooting at us from afar, giving us the moft manifeft token of their unconquerable hatred and averfton to us, We therefore refolved to ftay in fome fafe harbour, and endeavour, if poflible, to fpeak again with the Icelander; but all in vain ; for thefe people, fcarcely a degree above the brute creation, ftood continually under arms with the intent to attack us, if we once attempted to land.   Upon this Zichmni, feeing that he could do nothing with them, and that if he perfevered and obftinately adhered to his firft intentions, the fleet would have been in want of provifion, weighed anchor, and failed with a fair wind, for the fpace of fix days, to the weftward ; but the wind fhiftiug to the fouth-weft, and the fea growing rough, we failed four days with the wind in the poop, and at length difcovered land, to which, however, we were afraid of approaching too near, as well on account of the fea being extremely rough, as of our being unacquainted with the coaft.   But, by the providence of God, the wind ceafed and the fea became calm.   Upon which fome of our company rowed to land with oars, and returned with the agreeable tidings that they had found a very good country and an excellent harbour.   On the receipt of this piece of intelligence we towed our fhips and fmall
C c 2 barks
196 V   O   V   A   G   E   S      a n* b
barks into the harbour, which when we entered, we defcried at a fmall diftance a huge mountain that emitted fmoke, which gave us great hopes that we fhould find fome inhabitants in the ifland: and though the place where the fmoke appeared to iifue was at a great diftance from us, Zichmni would not reft till he had fent 100 foldiers to explore the country, and bring back word what people they were that inhabited it. In the mean while they took in wood and water for the ufe of the fleet, and caught vaft quantities of fifti and fea fowl; and at the fame time found fo great a number of birds eggs, that our men, who before were half famifhed, had more than they could eat. While we rode in this harbour the month of June * commenced, at which time the air in the ifland was as mild and temperate as one could wifti; but feeing nobody, we began to fufpect that this delightful place was defolate and uninhabited. To the haven we gave the name of Trin, and the point that ftretched out into the fea, we called Cape Trin. The hundred foldiers that had been fent out, in the fpace of eight days returned, and informed us, that they had been all through the ifland quite to the mountain, and that the fmoke we faw proceeded from a fire at the bottom of it, and that at the fame place there was a fpring, from which iffued a liquid of the nature of pitch, which ran into the fea. Likewife that the interior part of the country was inhabited by wild people, who hid themfelves in caves ; were fhort of ftature, and very timid ; for as foon as they faw our people they fled to their holes: moreover, that in that part of the ifland there was a lapge river and. fafe harbour.   Zichmni, after receiving this piece of
» So long before as when the fleet was arrived off the Ifle of Ilofe, it was the id of July ; and now we are told, " commenced the month of June ;'r which (hews very evidently, that there muft be an error in one of thefe paffages j and as Zeno foon after this tells us, that the people under his command complained that «' the winter was coming on," there can be no doubt but that inthi-i place, inltcad of June, we fhould read Augujl,
intelligence,
DISCOVERIES in theNORT H, 197
intelligence, conlidering that the ifland was bled with a pure and healthy air, a good foil, fine rivers, and many other advantages, refolved to people it, and bui!d a town on it. But his people, quite wearied °ut with fo long and tedious a voyage, began to murmur, faying, that they chofe to return to their own country; for the winter approached Very faff, and were that once come, they fhould not be able to get ■Way again before the enfuing fummer. On which account, retaining °nly the barks with oars, and fuch of the men as were willing to ftay with him, fent all the refl, with the fhips, back again, and chofe that T though fore againft my will, fhould command them.
" Taking therefore my departure (as indeed I was obliged to do) I failed for the fpace of 20 days to the eaftward, without having light of any land ; then, ftufting my courfe towards the fouth-eaft, in five days I difcovered land, and perceived that I was near the ifland of Neome*, and knowing the country, found that I had already paffed by Iceland; fa that taking in refrefhments of the inhabitants, who were fubject to Zichmni, we failed in three days, with a fair wind, to Friefland ; where the people, who by reafon of our long abfence, thought they had loft their Prince, received us with demonftrations of the greateft joy."
Beiides what is contained in this Letter, I know nothing more, than what I gather by conjecture from part of another Letter, which I will here fet down, viz. " That Zichmni built a fmall town -j- In the harbour of the iiland he had difcovered, and that he took great pains to explore the country, and difcovered the whole of it, together with the rivers on both fides of Engroneland (Greenland) forafmuch as I
* Neomc feems to be the ifland of Stromce, one of the Faro Illands, as "v   , in fa£t, to the
fo"thWard cf Iceland, and only three days fail from the Orkney?, or Far as Ijtanus, i. e. Fricf-land,
t Hakluyt tranflates it thus, l* built a town,"   The original fays, Fac una terra,
fee
fee it particularly defcribed in the map, but the narrative of it is loft. The paffage alluded to of the Letter runs thus :
** As to the particulars you are defirous to know of me concerning the cuftoms of the people, the animals, and the adjacent countries, of all thefe I have written a feparate book, which, God willing, I intend to bring with me : in this book I have given a defcription of the country, the wonderful fifhes, the laws and cufloms of Friefland, Iceland, Eflland, the kingdom of Norway, EJlotiland, JDrogio, and, finally, the life of the Chevalier Nicolo Zeno, our brother ; with the difcoveries made by him, and the ftate of Greenland (Grolanda). I have alfo written the life and acts of Zichmni, a prince as worthy of immortal fame as any that ever lived, on account of his great valour and humanity; therein, too, I have defcribed the difcovery of Engroveland (Engroneland, or Greenland) on both its fides, and the town that he built.   I fhall therefore fay no more on the fubject in this Letter, as I hope foon to be with you and fatisfy you concern-^ ing many other things, in perfon."
AU thefe Letters were written by Meffer Antonio to his brother Carlo.
This is the whole of the account of the voyages made in the North by the two Zcnos. Many have been inclined to reject the whole of this narrative, as being falfe and fabulous, becaufe the names of the countries, Friefland, Eflland, Porland, Sorani, Eftoti-land, Drogio, and Engroveland, are no longer any where to be met with. But after 1 had narrowly infpected it, and tranflated it myfelf from the Italian of Francefco Marcolini, preferved in Ramufio's collection, it was in the higheft degree evident to me, that the whole of tjiis re* lation is true, as, in fact, it contains within itfelf the ftrongeft proofs of its own authenticity.
The author of this relation, Marcolini, has extracted it from the original letters of the two Zenss, one of the moft confiderable families in Venice; a family on which no one would have the boldnefs to Palm ftories of this kind, fuppofing them to be abfolutely falfe. It muft doubtlefs be well known, and be demonftrable from accounts to bc found in original records and archives at Venice, that there were fuch people aftually in being as thefe brothers, Carlo, Nicolo, and Antonio Zeno; that the Chevalier undertook a voyage to the North, and his brother Antonio followed him thither; that this fame An-tonio laid down all thefe voyages and countries on a map, which he brought with him to Venice, and which hung up in his houfe in Mar-t'otini's time (where it was in the power of every one to fee and examine it) as a fure pledge and an ineonteftible proof of the truth of this narrative. This being then the cafe, how is it poflible for any one to harbour the leaft doubt concerning the truth of thefe relations, much ^ore abfolutely to reject them as fabulous ? Should, however, any *ne perftft in fuch incredulity, nothing farther can be oppofed to him ; ^ in this cafe there muft be an end to all faith in hiftory ; and it ^ould be but labour in vain to endeavour to convince one who pur-Pofely fhuts his eyes againft the truth.
felt it is alledged likewife, that the whole narrative has the aj>-France of a mere fable. In what part of the North is Friefland, and the other countries mentioned in the narrative ? Who has ever heard °*a Zichmni, that in 1379, or 1380, vanquished the King of Norway, who at that time was called Hakon ? It muft be confeffed that lWe is fome degree of plaufibility in all this. Yet we think we can ^° a great deal towards clearing the whole of this hiftory from the Acuities which attend it.
And.
And firft, we mail endeavour to get over the geographical objections. Long before I had taken in hand this work on the Difcoveries made in the North, the countries defcribed by the Zenos appeared to me to have actually exilted at that time, but that they had been fwallowed up fincc by the fea in a great earthquake.   This opinion I if ill held in the winter of 1782, when I laid down my map of the countries near the North Pole.    It is founded on the probability that all the high iflands which have been hitherto difcovered in the middle of the fea, either have volcanoes in them ftill burning, or elfe exhibit the molt evident traces of extinct volcanoes, fuch as craters, lava, puzzolana, black flags, and pumice-flone.   This can be proved beyond a fhadow of doubt to be the cafe with refpect to Madeira, the Azores, the Cape Verd Illands, St. Helena, Afcenfion Ifland,  Otahcite, and the whole clutter of the Society Iflands, Eafler Iiland, the Marqueias, many of the new Hebrides and Friendly Iflands, and even with refpect to Iceland and the Faro Iflands. It was therefore probable, that thefe iflands, mentioned in the narrative of the Zenos, were likewife volcanic, and had been by a violent earthquake a fecond time buried in the bottom of the fea. But afterwards reflecting, thatfo great a revolution muff however have left behind it fome hiitorical veiliges, or traditions, I began to examine over again the names of the countries defcribed; and now I found that they actually bore the flrongeff. refemblance to the Orkneys, the Shetland, Faro, Weftern Iflands, 6cc. and as I have already made fome mention of t\\'^ above, I fhall only (lightly touch upon the fubject at prefent. The Zenos having reprefented Porland  as   entirely compofed of (imm iflands, has fuggefled to me the idea that all thefe general names of countries appertained to whole clutters of iflands taken col] vel)^ Accordingly Eftland appeared to me very much to refembk the Zit* land, or Shetland iflands ; and on comparing the names of Talas, B - "> Jfiant, Tram, Mimant, Da/ubere, and Bres, with thofe f Tell, or Z*A (probably Teal) Burr ay, (or Bura, of which name there are two places
Wcjibura
iVefthurn and Eaft-Bura, when taken collectively called the Bums) Unft, Tronda, Mainland, Hamcr (a place in Mainland to the northward). Brafta, or Brefla, the refemblance appeared to me fo obvious, that I could no longer harbour the leaft doubt about the matter. After this I began to confider where the other iflands and clufters of iflands were to be fought for. The land of Sorani, of which Zichmni was Duke, lay over-Againft Scotland (according to the Englifli tranflation in Hakluyt) but the Italian original of Marcolini, fays (pofta dclla handa ncrjo Scotia) it lay on one fide of Scotland. Here the Soderoe, or fouthern iflands of the Normans and Danes, naturally fuggcfted themfelves to me, ifles, which arc, in fact, the fame with thofe called at prefent the Wcftcm Iftes, and lie directly clofe to Scotland, but which in refpect to the Shetland and the Faro Iflands, lie to the fouth ward. Now, from the word Soderoer (Soder ftgnifying fouthern, and Oer iflands) is formed by contraction Sorb'er, and (varying the termination of the plural) Soroen, which again might, by a corrupt pronunciation, be caiily tranfmuted to Sorani. Zeno relates that he had found the bay of Sudero near the ifles of Ledovo and Ilofe. Now thefe are the Soderoe, and the Ifles of Lewis * and of Hay. Saneftol appears to me fituated near the ifle of Lewis, and to be that clutter of iflands which are called Schantfoer, whence the word Saneftol is evidently derived. The town of Bondendon is nothing more than a place in the-Ifle of Skye, called Pondon, or Pondontown, a name which, by a very flight change in the pronunciation, is cafily transformed to Bondendon.
* The Ifle of Lewis was by the Normans called Lodhus, from which appellation probably originated the name of Ledo-vo. Vid, Pennant's Tour in Scotland, and a Vnyage to the Hebrides, 1782, Part i. page 326. the zd or 4th edition. The Soderoc were all the Weftern JJlands that lay 10 the fouth of Point Ardnamurchan, in Scotland, in 57 deg. N. lat. and thofc that, lay to the north were ^lled the Northern Ifland^.
D d From
202 VOYAGES a  N d
From this conqueft of the Weftern Iflands, Zichmni's fleet returned in triumph to Friefland, the capital of the ifland of that name, in a bay of which, quite to the fouth-weftward, it was iituate. Here then we have again an ifland, or perhaps even an affemblage of iflands, under this denomination. They are famous for the vaft quantities of fifh, which are (hipped from them to Flanders, the coaft of Bretagne, -England, Scotland, Norway, and Denmark. The place here fpoken of is then no other than the ifland of Faira, or Fera, which is alfo called Feras land, and belongs to the Orkneys, being fo encompaffed with various iflands, that it appears to lie quite in a gulph or bay and here, too, a great number of herrings are caught yearly. So that this fpot appears to be Fairefland, by abbreviation, Friefland.
The defcent upon Eflland was interrupted by the news of the arrival of the King of Norway. Both fleets fuffered by the ftorm, but that of the Normans more than Zichmni's ; and fome fhips from both fleets, that had been faved from the general wreck, arrived at Grijland, an uninhabited ifland. This Grijland lies far to the northward, and near Iceland. It fhould feem confequently that it was the ifle of Grimf-ey, which lies to the north of Iceland. Indeed I fhould rather take it for the ifland of Enkhnyzen, which is fup-pofed to lie to the eaftward of Iceland, and which, from the name it bears, we may conclude to have been feen by fome Dutch ma-.■;■ rmers; but as many navigators, and but very lately M. Kergue-len have very diligently looked out for it without being able to find it, in all probability it is merely an ifland, formerly thrown up above the furface of the fea by the repeated concuflions of the volcano in Iceland, but afterwards by the fame fea fwallowed up again entire. However, it is likewife poflible, that this ifland Enkhuyzen was nothing pore than a large floating mountain of ice, and thus could not have been feen again.   Upon the whole, therefore, it feems more natural to
3 fuppofe
fuppofe that Grijland is the Gritnf-cy of the moderns. For this latter ^vord, according to the old orthography, might very well be written Grijland. Now thofe words, which in Zeno's narrative have the word land added to them, are by the Danes and Icelanders terminated in oe, or ey; and confequently Grijland is neither more nor lefs than Grinif-(■'y. Zichmni was delimits likewife of making an attempt on Iceland ; but found that country too well defended, and his fleet, which was Shattered by the ftorm, too weak to give him any hopes of fuccefs in that quarter. He now turned his arms againft the other illands of Mjllandj i. e. Shetland, and made a conqueft of them. Formerly thefe illands went by the name of Tallaland, or Hi/land, which, in pro-cefs of time, was changed into Zet-land and Shetland-, and hence the EJlland of Zeno is eafily deduced, particularly, if we at the fame time have recourfe for the names of thefe illands taken fe-parately, which names we have already compared with each other, and explained.
Nicolo Zeno undertook, from Brcff'a, in the Shetland illands, a voyage to Greenland; for his Engroveland, as well as the Engroncland of the Englifh tranflation, is no other than Greenland, of which he gives a very exact: defcription, as well as of the monaftery of St. Thomas. He fpeaks of the uncultivated lavages, who, according to this account, fo early as in the year 1380 odd, were on the eaftern coaft of the ifland near the monaftery of St. Thomas, The trade of the Friars was carried on by means of fhips, which went thither from the Orkneys, the Shetland and Faro Iflands; as likewife from Drontheim in Norway, from Sweden, and other northern regions. Zeno even defcribes the fmall leathern boats in which the Grccnlandcrs tie themfelves faft ; fo that it is evident, that he made ftrict enquiry into, and faw with his own eyes, every thing which he relates.
After the demife of Nicolo Zeno, Antonio goes to Efiotiland, and, oi) this occafion, informs us by what accident it was difcovered. He
D d 2 %s,
204 VOYAGES      a tt d
fays, that It was more than iooo miles to the weftward of Friefland j that the inhabitants were civilized, had arts and handicraft trades, carried on a trade in furs with Greenland, and brought back from thence brimfloneand pitch ; that they were in poftoflion of Latin books which they no longer undcrffood, but had a peculiar language, as well as letters and a written character of their own. To the fouth wards there were countries abounding with gold; here they had walled cities, and built fhips ; they likewife practifed agriculture and brewed beer. All thefe particular designations are ftrong indications of a people that had its origin from the northern nations of Europe. Nay, it is evident, that this EJlotiland cannot poffibly be any other country than that of Winland, which was difcovered in the year 1001, and which we have fhewn at page 83, with a tolerable degree of certainty, to be the New* foundlandoi the moderns. It is beyond all doubt that feveral Normans fettled in this country; thefe carried thither with them the arts and handicraft trades then known, and traded to Greenland, from whence they originally came. It is very poflible indeed that their language might have been altered by their mixture with the natives; and a fifherman from the Orkneys might be very well fuppofed to have been ignorant of the Runic. That Latin books were found in the collection belong* ing to the King, or Chief, is not furprizing, as it is well known, and indeed has been obferved at page 87 of this Hiitory, that Eric, Bifhop of Greenland, went in the year 1121 to Winland, in order to convert his countrymen in thofe parts, who were ftill heathens. But it is not to be fuppofed that this Bifhop would have been at the pains to make a voyage to Winland above a hundred years after the firft difcovery of it, if he had not known with certainty, that there were at that time many of the defcendants of his countrymen in that region. Now,, as this prelate was never known to have returned to Greenland, it is not improbable that he died in Winland ; and confequently the Latin books found in this latter country might have been carried thither by
him.
him. The Normans had alio introduced into it the art of brewing beer, and agriculture. The people of this country understood navigation too, and went backwards and forwards to Greenland ; but at the time when the Normans firft fettled in Winland, the ufe of the compafs was not known. For the commonly received opinion is, that Fluvio Gioia, of Amalfi, in the kingdom of Naples, made the difcovery of it in 1302; though others maintain, that Marco Polo, who was i.n China and the Eaft from 1271 to 1295, brought home with him the ufe of the compafs from China, where it is faid to have been known long before. On the other hand, Fauchct, from a palTage in Guyot de Provence, a Provencal poet, who flourifhed about the year 1200, and mentions the compafs by the name of la mar metis* concludes, that this inftrument was then in ufe among manners. In ftiort, it is evident, that the Orkney fifhermen at this time made ufe of the compafs in their navigations, an inftrument at that period not known to the inhabitants of EJlotiland.
The land of Drogio lay more to the fouthward than Eftotiland, as did all the other countries through which the fifherman wandered during the fpace of 13 years, and among which he at laft found nations, who lived in a very temperate climate; and had cities and temples, wherein they offered up human beings by way of facrifice, and devoured their flefh. Thefe people, too, were not totally without information, and were poftefted of gold and filver. Nearly thus were the firft inhabitants of Florida defcribed, who were in poffeflion of cities and temples as well as of gold and filver, at the time when their country was firft re-difcovered by the Europeans.
Antonio Zeno now proceeds to relate the hiftory of the laft voyage °f difcovery which he made with Zichmni, in order to explore the country that had been feen, and thus circumftantially defcribed by the fiHierman.—From Frlejland, i. e, Faira, in the Orkneys, the fleet
goes
goes to Ledovo, or Lewis, one of the weftern iflands, and then to Ilofe9 viz. Hay, or, as it was probably called, Ili-oe.   When they had failed a little way to the weft wards, they were tolfed to and fro by a tem-peft, for the fpace of eight days, and as foon as the wind became fair, defcried land.   Here the inhabitants would not fuffer them to make a landing, but fpoke to them by an interpreter, who was a native of Iceland.   The country was called Icaria: after this follows a flrange ftory of one Daedalus, King of Scotland, and his fon Icarus, who became their King and Legiflator.   This country, which had been newly peopled, was no other than Ireland, where they had the recollection of the piracies of the Normans deeply impreffed on their memories, and therefore would not permit thefe warriors, who were quite unknown to them, to land.   It was perhaps from the county of Kerry that this name of Icaria took its origin ; and the name of Icarus\ father muft of courfe be Dcedalus, who, in all probability, was fome Scottifh Prince, with a name founding fome what like this word. From this place they failed fix days to the weftward, with a fair wind ; but in four days a ftorm from the fouth-weft drove them to the northwards, when they defcried land, with a burning mountain, whence iffued fmoke and fire, and a river which flowed with afphaltus. A half-wild, diminutive race of men, lived here in caverns.   In the fe-quel, Zeno himfelf tells us, that Zichmni had explored the whole country, and together with it had difcovered the rivers on both fides of Engroneland, i. e. Greenland, and built a town there.   So that it is beyond all doubt, that the country difcovered by Zichmni was Greenland.   At the feme time it is remarkable, that he met with no Europeans, nor any of their defcendants, nor even with the Monks found a few years before by Nicolo Zeno in the cloifter of St. Thomas. The inhabitants are, according to the defcription here given, real Green-landers, fhort of llature and half wild, but live in caverns, which, in fact, are at this junclure the winter habitations of the natives of Green-tan cL
land. This feems to intimate, that the natives of this country, or the anceftors of the prefent race pf Grcenlanders, between 1380 and 1384, or thereabouts, had extirpated the new comers from Europe, together with the Monks. Farther, it is evident, from this narrative, that the eaftern as well as the weftern coaft of Greenland, not only was known to the Europeans, but they were both laid down in a map by Antonio Zeno.
This fame perfon, in returning to Friefland, faw the ifland of Fteome, which I take to be Stromoe, one of the Faro ifles; a circumftance which feems to point out with ftill greater certainty the courfe of his navigation. I take the liberty of obferving here, en paifant, that Porriand likewife belonged to the domains of Zichmni, and that by this name in all probability are meant the Faroer, or Faro Iflands : the great number of fheep which were fed there having furnifhed thefe illands both with weapons and a name ; for Far, in Danifh, fignifies a ram.   Now, Far-oe, or Far-land, is eafily tranfmutcd into Porland.
In confequence of the preceding elucidations, I flatter myfelf that the unprejudiced part of my readers will not be difpofed, from any con-"derations reflecting the geography of it, to harbour the leaft doubt concerning the truth of this relation, having endeavoured to make it appear, with as much probability as the fubject. is capable of, that the countries viiited and defcribed by the two Zenos, are of the number °f thofe which are already known, that Greenland was vifited by them, and that thefe illuftrious adventurers were even not unaccounted with America.
We will now turn to the hiftorical proofs. It i; true, among the Winces 01 Sovereigns of the Orkney, between the years 1370 and I394> we find 110 fuch name as Zichm :i, and confeq- intly no Orcadian King or Prince, who about this time vnquiilied the King of Norway 111 a pitched battle. The Hiftory of the Orkneys at this period will Probably ferve to throw fome light upon this fubject.
The
The ancient Earls of Orkney, the defcendants of the Jarl Einar* Torf, were extincf; in confequence of which the King of Norway, Magnus Smak, about the year 1343, nominated Erngifel Sunafon Bot, a Swedifh nobleman, jfarl, or Earl of Orkney, and the treafure of the earldom was feized upon for the Crown, In the year 1357, Malic Conda, or MallisSperre, by his guardian, Duncan Anderjbn, made kno<vn to the flates of the Orkneys his pretenfions to the earldom, as being rightful heir to it in the female line ; which pretenfions the flates laid before the King.   Afterwards (in 1369) Henry Sinclair (de Santa Clara) like-wife put in his claim as rightful heir in the female line, and in 1370, was nominated to this earldom by King Hakon.   Now, as befides this, Alexander of Ard, or Le-ard, claimed the Orkneys as a defendant in the female line, and there were many that, under this pretence, harraffed the iflands by repeated acts of piracy, Hakon requefled of David, King of Scotland, to put a flop to this growing evil • in confequence of which requeff, King David forbad, on pain of death, any of his fubjeefs to go to the Orkneys, except with a view {o trade. In 1375* Hakon appointed Alexander Le-ard, for a year, to the earl-, dom.   Thefe frequent changes feem to fhew, that the Kings of Norway, on account of the troubles at that time exifling in Sweden and Norway, were not very well able to defend the Orkneys, which, therefore, continued to be expofed to the depredations of the pretenders to the earldom.   Want of money, too, obliged the Norwegian monarchs to favour all thefe claimants, and grant them letters of in-veftment, accordingly as the latter funiifhed them with money. In confequence of this the degraded and malcontent Earls had continual bickerings with the newly-invefled Lords, and even fometimes regularly waged war with them.   Now Henry Sinclair appears to have fairly vanquished Le-ard, and taken poffeflion of the Orkneys, and upon this to have made fuit to the King to be invefted with the earldom, which fuit the King, after Sinclair's viclory overy Le-ard, granted.
At
At the fime time, however, Henry Sinclair was obliged to pay him 1000 golden nobles, and promife to accommodate matters with Maliis Sperret and the other claimant, Alexander Le-Ardy fo that they fhould make no farther pretenfions to the Orkneys, but entirely give up their right and title to thefe iflands, and fince the year 1379 there are veftiges to be met with in hiftory, that Henry Sinclair was ftill Earl of •the Orkneys in the year 1406, and likewife in the poffeflion of Hialta-landy (or the Shetland Iflands). With thefe few hifforical anecdotes we are now able to elucidate many particulars which before feemed involved in obfeurity. The name of Sinclair, or Siclair, is eafily taken for Zichmni by an Italian who only hears the word pronounced ; and as this Sinclair vanquished Alexander Le-Ardy who reprefentcd the King of Norway in the Orkneys, and as he made himfelf mailer of thofe iflands, of which he then, and not till then, applied for the in-veftiture, and obtained it in 1739 ; it might with no great impropriety be affirmed, that he had beat the King of Norway, viz. in the perfon of his vaffal. The thoufand golden nobles, too, doubtlefs contributed fomewhat towards King Hakon s making no great difficulty of the matter. So that after thefe elucidations there can be no reafon left to doubt of the truth of this narrative of the Zenos, which yet, confidered with refpecT; to the geography of the North at that period, is of great importance.
XIV. Pietro Quirini> a Venetian nobleman, was a merchant and mailer of a fhip in the ifland of Candia, which at that time was in the poffeflion of the Venetians. With a view to acquire fame as well as profit, in the year 1431, he undertook a voyage from Candia to Flanders, and towards the end of autumn fuffered fhipwreck on the coaft. of Norway, not far from Rofi Ifland.   Here he wintered, and the fol-
E e lowing
lowing fummer travelled through Drontheim to Wadjlena, in Sweden, and arrived again in 1432 at Venice. He has himfelf given an account of the voyage, and two of his fellow-travellers, Chrijlopho Fioravantc, and Nicolo di Micbiel, did the fame. Both thefe works are to he found in Ramujios Collection, published at Venice, in two volumes, A. D. 1583, page 200—211. They have likewife been publifhed in the German language, by way of extract, from Ramufio, by Hieronymas Megiferits, in a work called Sep ten trio Novantiquus. Printed in 8vo at Leipfic, 1613.
Quirini informs us, that on the 25th of April, 1431, he fet fail from Candia, on a weftward courfe, but, meeting with contrary winds, he was obliged to keep near the coaft of Africa. On the 2d of June he paffed the Straits of Gibraltar, and through the ignorance of his pilot ran upon the ftioals of St. Petro, in confequence of which the rudder was thrown off the hinges, and the fea entered the fhip at three places. In fact, it was with great difficulty that they could fave the veffel from going to the bottom, and run into Cadiz, where they unloaded her, and in 25 days, having put her into perfect repair, took her lading in again. In the mean time, having heard that the Republic of Venice was at war with that of Genoa, he augmented the number of his crew, fo that in the whole it amounted to 68 men. On the 14th of July he fet fail again, and bore up for the Cape of St. Vincent; but, by reafon of a contrary wind, which blew from ofF the land in a north-eaft direction, and on that coaft is called Agione, they were obliged to traverfe for the fpace of 45 days at a great diftance from the land, and indeed near the Canary Iflands, in tracks which were very dangerous, and with which they were entirely unacquainted. But at length," juft as their ftock of provifions began to fail, they had a fair wind from the fouth-weft, and directed their courfe to the north-eaft : fome of the iron-work, however, gave way, on which the rudder was hung. In the mean time they mended them as well as they could, and on the 25th of Auguft, arrived fafe at Lifbon,.
Here
Here having carefully repaired the iron-work of their rudder, and taken in a frefh ftock of provifions, they fet fail again on the 14th of Sept. They were now a fecond time toffed to and fro by contrary winds, till the 26th of October, when they reached the port of Mures, whence Quirini, with y of the crew, went to San Jago di Compoftella, in order to perform their devotions. They returned with all poflible fpeed, and fetting fail with a fair fouth-weft wind, kept, in hopes that the wind would continue, at the diftance of 200 miles from the land, and Cape Finijlcrcy till the 5th of November, when the wind Shifting to the eaft and fouth-eaft, prevented them from entering the Britifh Channel, and carried them beyond the Sorlingian, (or Scilly) Iflands. The wind now encreafed in violence, and on the 10th of November, carried the rudder a fecond time from off its hinges. They flung it indeed by ropes to the quarters of the fhip, but it foon got loofe again, and was dragged after the (hip for the fpace of three days, when they ufed their utmoft efforts, and made it faft again. But their veffel now drove continually farther from the land; and as the crew con-fumed the victuals and drink without bounds, or limitation, at length two or three of them wrere fet to guard the provifions, who twice a-day diftributed to each man his Share, Quirini himfelf not excepted. In this condition, by the advice of the carpenter, they conftructed, out of the mainmaft and the fpare yards, two rudders with triangular boarded ends, in order to prevent the veffel from going unsteady. Thefe new rudders were properly faftened, and proved very ferviceablc, a circumftance which infpired them all with frefh hopes $ but, by the violence of the winds, likewife this their laft refuge wa# torn away from the fhip. On the 26th of November, the ftorm encreafed to fuch a degree, that they had no doubt but that that day would be their laft, The ftorm indeed, by degrees, became 'omcwhat lefs violent j but they were driven out to fea, W. N. W,
E e 2 and
212 VOYAGES and
and the fails* which had been perpetually fatigued by the rain and wind, were now torn to Shivers j and though they clapt on new ones, yet thefe did not laft long. Now the fhip drove without either fails or rudder, and was filled with water by the waves which continually beat over it, infomuch that the crew, debilitated by labour and anxiety, were fcarcely able to keep the water under. Having heaved the lead, and found ground at 80 fathoms, they fpliced all the four cables together, and rode at anchor for the fpace of 40 hours. One of the crew, terrified at the dreadful working of the fhip in confequence of the tempeft and the fwell of the fea, cut the cable at the forecaftle of the fhip, which now drove about as before.. On the 4th of December, four large waves breaking over the ill-fated veffel, filled it fo full that it was almoft ready to fink. The crew, however, fummoning up all their refolution and fpirits, baled the water out, though it reached up to their waifts, and in the end quite emptied the veffel of it. On the 7th the tempeft encreafed to fuch a degree, that the fea flowed into the veffel on the
windward.
fide, and their destruction feemed to them inevitable. But now they were of opinion, that if the mainmaft were cut away, it would lighten the fhip. They therefore fet about this bufinefs immediately,, and a large wave fortunately carried away the malt, together with the yard, which made the fhip work lefs. The wind, too, and the waves, became fomewhat more calm, and they again baled out the water. But now the malt was gone, the veffel would no longer keep upright, and lying quite on one fide, the water ran into it in. torrents, when, being exhaufted with labour and want of food, and finding that they had not ftrength left fufficient for clearing the veffel of the water, they refolved at length to fave themfelves in the boats, of which
iic
the larger held 47, and the fmaller 21 men.   Quirini, who had the choice which boat he would go in, at laft Went with his fervants rnto the great boat, into which he faw the officers enter.   They took with them a ftock of provifions, and as foon as the winds and the waves were become fomewhat more calm, which was on the 17th of December, they quitted the fhip, which, among other coftly articles °f commerce, was laden with 800 calks of Malmfey wine, and a great Quantity of fweet-fcented Cyprus wood, ginger, and pepper.   On the following night the fmall-boat, with the 21 men in her, was feparated. from them by the violence of the ftorm, and they never heard of her 'ttore.   Indeed they were themfelves obliged, in order to lighten their-boat a little, to throw over-board their ftock of wine and provifions, to-* gether with all their clothes, excepting what they carried on theirbacks. The weather proving fair for a time, thay fleered to the eaftward, with1 a view to get, as they fuppofed, to Iceland; but the wind chopping' about, drove them to and fro again.   Their liquor beginning to fail, and befides many of them being exhaufted in confequence of the preced--lng fcarci'ty of provifions, as well as of the inceffant labour, long watch-lngs, and other hardfhips they had undergone, a great number of them ^ed : the fcarcity of drink in particular was fo great, that each man had> n° more than the fourth part of a cup (and that not a large one) every 24 hours.   With falted meat, cheefe, and bifcuit, they were better Provided : but this fait and dry food excited in them a thirft which they Were not able to quench. In confequence of this, fome of them died fud-^nly, and without having previoufly exhibited the leaft fymptoms of complaint j and in particular it was obferved, that thofe were firft Carried off who had before this period lived in the moft riotous man-^er> who had drank great quantities of wine, or entirely given themfelves
felves up to drunkennefs, and had hovered continually over the fire, without ftirring at all but to fliift from one fide of the fire to the other. Thefe, though they had externally the appearance of being ftrong and healthy, were yet leaft of all capable of bearing the hard-fhips they were obliged to undergo, in confequence of which they died two, three, and four in a day. This mortality prevailed among the crew from the 19th of December to the 29th, the corpfes being thrown into the fea. On the 19th the laft remainder of the wine was ferved out, and every one prepared for death. Some of them drank fea-water, which haftened their deaths, while others had recourfe to their own urine, and this latter beverage, joined with the precaution of eating as -little fait provifion as poftible, contributed moft of all to the prefervation of their lives. For the fpace of five days tney con-tinned in this dreadful fituation, failing all the time to the northeastward. On the 4th of January, one of them, who fat at the fore part of the boat, defcried, fome what to the leeward, as it were, the fhadow of land, and immediately informed the crew of it in an anxious tone of voice. Their eyes were now all turned to the object and continued ftedfaftly fixed upon it, and by break of day they faw> with extreme joy, that it was really land.
The fight of this infpired them with frefli vigour, fo that they now" took to their oars, in order to arrive the fooner at the ftiore; but this* on account of its great diftance, as well as of the fhortnefs of the day* which was only two hours long, they could not compafs. Befides, they could not long make ufe of their oars, as they were fo weak, and as the night foon overtook them, which, long as it was, feemed ftitt longer to them from the impatience natural to men in their condition-The next morning, by day-break, they loft fight of the land ; however, to the leeward, they difcovered another mountainous country very near them. That they might not, on the following night, lofe fight of this, they took the bearings of it with the compafs, and then immediate!/
DISCOVERIES   in the iV O R T If. 215.
diately fet fail for it with a fair wind, and arrived at it about four 0 clock in the evening.   When they approached near to it they ob-krvedthat it was furrounded by a great number of (hallow places, for *hey heard very diftinctly the fea breaking upon them.   They gave themfelves up, however, to the guidance of the Almighty ; and once **cir boat being brought upon a fhoal, a vail wave came and carried it again, at the fame time fetting them entirely out of danger, and upon a rock which now was their great fecurityand prefervation. This Was the only place where they could land, as the rock was encom-Paffed on every other fide by other projecting rocks.   They therefore rar* their boat on to the land, when thofe that were in the fore part of the D°at, leaped directly on more, and finding it entirely covered with fnow, ^ey fwallowed the fnow inimmenfequantities, filling with ittheirparch-ed and burning flomachs and bowels.   They likewife filled a kettle and Water-pitcher for us, that from weaknefs flaid in the boat. I muft con-fefs, fays Quirini, that I fwallowed as much fnow as I mould find it very difficult to carry on my back.   It feemcd to me as though all my wel* %e and happinefs depended on my fwallowing it.   However, this ex-travagant quantity of fnow agreed fo ill with five of our men, that tr!"y died that fame night, though, indeed, we confidered the fea-watcr they had fwallowed as thecaufe of their death.
Having no ropes to fallen the boat with, and thus prevent it fr°m being dallied in pieces, they remained in it the whole night, ^he next day, at dawn, thefe 16 poor wretches, the only remains of 46, Went a-fhoreand laid themfelves down in the fnow. Hunger,however, *°°n obliged them to examine whether there was not fome provifion remaining of their flock ; but they found nothing more than a crumbs of bifcuit in a bag, mixed with the dung of mice, a very ^all ham> aild an inconfiderable quantity of cheefe.   Thefe they warmed by means of a fmall fire, which they had made of the feats of tne boat, and this, in fome meafure, appeafed their hunger.   The day
after*
after, having convinced themfelves, beyond a doubt, that the rock they were on was uninhabited and quite deferted, they were going t0 quit it, and accordingly, after filling five fmall calks with fnow-water, got into the boat, when the inftant they entered it, the water ran into it in torrents through all the {earns, as during the whole of the preceding long night the boat had been dathing againft the rock, info* much that it went to the bottom immediately, and they were all obliged, quite wet through, to go a-fliore again. They now made of the oars and fails of the boat two fmall tents, by way of flickering themfelves from the weather, and with the knees and planks of ib which they hewed in pieces, they kindled a fire to warm themfelves by. The only food that was now left for them confided in a fe^ mufcles and other fea-fliells which they picked up on the Hi ore* Thirteen of the company were in one tent, and three in the other* .The fmoke of the wet wood occafioned their faces and eyes to fweM up to fo great a degree, that they were afraid of lofing their eye-fight i and what ftill added to their fufterings, was that they were almoft devoured by lice and maggots, which they threw by handfuls into
the
fire. Quirini's fecretary had the flefli on his neck eaten bare to tbe finews by thefe vermin, which, indeed, occafioned his death. There died alfo three Spaniards befides, who were of a very robuft frame of body, but probably loft their lives in confequence of the fea-water they had drunk*.   The 13 ftill remaining alive were fo weak thac
the/
* It ii highly probable that this obfervation is founded on fad, as well as that mention?'' 3 little before, viz. that the hardeft drinkers, who at the fame time were the moil inactive peop^ were the lirll victims of death : for even now we find that in long voyages, fuch as are idle & inactive, and drink a great quantity of itrong liquors of any kind, are always the firft to be* tacked with the fcurvy and are carried off fuddenly by it. Jn the mean time 1 cannot refrain ^r°^ relating an incident which actually happened, and which was communicated to me in En£**T
•fcv perfons of untpteltionable vcracitv.   A vefl'el on its vovage from Jamaica to England had ^
(ft*
they were not able, for the fpace of three days, to drag away the corpfcs from the fire-fide, where they lay.
Eleven days after this, Quirini's fervant going along the ihore to pick up mufcles, the only food they had, found on the fartheft point of the rock, a fmall houfe, built of wood, in which, as well as round about it, they faw fome cow-dung. From this circumftance they had reafon to conclude that there were both men and cattle in the neighbourhood of this fpot; an idea that ferved to revive their drooping fpirits, andinfpired them with frefh hopes. This houfe offered them good /belter and houfe-room, and all, but three or four of them, who, were too weak, went to occupy it, taking with them feveral bundles of wood from the ruins of their boat. With great difficulty they crawled thither through the deep fnow, the diftance being about a mile and a half. Two days after this, going along the fhore to feck their ufual food of mufcles and other fea fliells, one of the company found a very large fifh, eaft up by the fea, which appeared to weigh about 2oolb. weight, and to be quite fweetand frefli. This fifh was cut
fered fo mach from the ftorms by which it was overtaken, that at length it was on the point of finking. The crew had rccourfe in all liaib to the boat. The great hurry they were in, having occafioned them to take with them but a fmall quantity of provifions and liquor, they foon began to be afflicted with hunger as well as thirft in a high degree, when the Captain advifed them by no means to drink ths fea-watcr, as the effects of it would be extremely noxious; but rather to follow his example, and, thinly clad, dip in the fea. He himfelf pra&ifed this constantly, and *lot only he, but all thole who followed his example, found that, when they came out of the water, °oth their hunger and thirit were perfectly appeafed for a long time. Many of the crew laughed •it him and at thofe that followed his inductions, but at length grew weak, exhauited, and died of hunger and third ; nay, fome of them, urged by defpair, threw themfelveu into the fea: but the Captain, and fuch as feveral times a-day dipped into the fea, preferved their lives for the fpace of 19 days, and at the end of that period were taken up by a vcflel which was failing tha't ^ay. It fhould feem that they abforbed, by the pores of their bodies, as much pure water as was fuflicient for their nouriihment, all the fait being at the fame time left behind. In fact, I was tQld that the fait was depofited on the exterior furface of their bodies in the form of a rtiin pel-^ck, which they we^e obliged repeatedly to rub of}".
F f into
into fmall ftices, and carried to their dwelling, where they directly let about boiling and broiling it. But the fmell of it was fo extremely-tempting, that they had not patience to wait till it was thoroughly dreflcd, and cat it half raw. They continued gorging themfelves with this fifth, a!moil without intermiffion, for the fpace of four days ; but at length the evident decreafe of this their flock taught them to be more ceconomical with it in future, fo that it lafled them ten days longer. Thofe three that ftaid behind in one of the firft huts had fent one of their number to look for the reft, and as foon as he was re-frefhed with fome of the fifh, he carried a part of it to his companions, and now they all affembled together again in the wooden hovel they had difcovered. During the whole time that they lived on the fifh the weather was exceedingly tempeftuous, fo that they certainly would not have been able to look out for mufcles.
Having made an end of their fifli, they were obliged to return to their firft refource of picking up mufcles wherever they could find them ; and there being about eight miles from them a rock, inhabited by fifhermen, it fo happened, that a man, with two of his fons, came to this rocky iflot, which (as Ftovarante informs us) was called Santi (Sand ey, or Sand ee) to feek after fome cattle which had ftrayed away from them.   The fons went ftrait to the hovel, where thefe unfortunate wretches were, for they had feen fmoke ^ctnd from it, a circumftance which greatly aftonifhed them, and became the fubjedt of their difcourfe.   Their voices were heard, in fact, by the people in the houfe ; but they fuppofed the noife to be nothing more than the fcream-ing of the fea-fowl, which had devoured the corpfes of their deceafed companions.   Notwithftanding which Chriftopher Fiorovante went out, when fpying two youths, he ran in again in hafte, and called to the reft aloud, that two men were come to feek them out.   Upon this the whole company ran out immediately to meet the lads, who, on their % parts.
parts, were terrified at the fight of fuch a number of poor, famiftied wretches. Indeed, thefe latter had debated with each other, whether they fhould not detain one or two of thefe vifitors with a view to make themfelves more certain of procuring afliftance ; but Quirini diffuaded them from putting in execution fo very unadvifeable a plan. They all accompanied the youths to their boat, and intreated the father and fons to take two of their people with them to their habitations, in order the fooner to procure them affiflance from thence. For this purpofc they chofe one Gerard of Lyons, who had been purfer of the fhip, and one Cola, of Otranto, a mariner, as thefe two men could fpeak a little French and German.
The boat, with the fifhermen and the two Grangers, went to the ifland of Ruficne (Roff, or Roftoe) on a Friday. On their landing, the inhabitants were greatly afloniflied at their arrival, but were not able to underftand them, though thefe latter addreffed them in different languages, 'till at laft one of the ftrangers began to fpeak German a little with one of the company, a German Prieft of the order of the Monks Predicant, and informed him who they were, and whence they came. On the 2d of February the feftival of the Purification of the Virgin Mary fell on a Sunday, when the Prieft admonilhed all the people in Rujlene to am ft the unhappy ftrangers to the utmoft of their power, at the fame time reprefenting the difficulties they had undergone, and pointing to the two famiflied wretches prefent. Many of the congregation were foftened even to tears, and refolved to bring away the reft of thefe miferable people as foon as poflible, which they did the next day. In the mean while, to thofe that remained behind lr* Santi, the time of their companions abfence appeared an age; and what with hunger and cold together, they were almoft dead. Their
F f 2 ^ joy
220 VOYAGES AND
joy at the firft fight of the fix boats that went for them is not to be defcribed. The Dominican Prieft enquired which of them wils the fnip's Captain , and when Quirini made himfelf known as fuch, the former prefented him with fome rye bread to eat, which he looked upon as manna, and fome beer to drink. After this the Prieft took him by the the hand, and defired him to choofe out two of his company to go along with him. Quirini accordingly pitched upon Fran* a's Quiriniy of Candia, and Chrijhpher Fioravante, a Venetian j when they all four went together in the boat of the principal man in Ruf-tene. The reft were diftributed in the other five boats. Nny more, thefe good Samaritans went likewife to the firft dwelling-place of thefe unfortunate people under the tent, and taking away with them the only furvivor of the three men who had ftaid behind, from weaknefs, buried the others. The poor invalid, however, died the next day. The boats arrived at Ruflene, and Quirini was quartered with the principal perfon in the ifland. The fon led him by the hand, on account of his great debility, to his father's dwelling ; when the miftrefs of the houfe, with her maid, advanced to meet him, and Quirini going to fall at her feet, fhe would not permit him, but got immediately a bafon of milk for him out of the houfe, by way of comforting him and reftoring his ftrength. During three months and a half that Quirini fpent in this houfe, he experienced the greateft friendfhip and humanity from the owners ; while, on the other hand, he endeavoured by complaifance to acquire the good-will of his hofts, and to requite their benevolence. The other partners, too, of his misfortunes, were diftributed into the different houfes of the place, and taken good care of,
3 The
The rocky ifle of Roll: lies 70 Italian miles to the weftward of the fouthernmoft promontory of Norway, which in their language they call the World's Backfide (Culo Mundij.    It is three miles in circumference.   This rock is inhabited by 120 fouls, of whom 72, like good Catholic Chriftians, received the Communion on Eafter~day with great devotion.   They get their livelihood and maintain their families by fifhing, as there grows no corn of any kind in this very remote part of the world.   For in all this time, during the three months of June, July, and Auguft, they have but one continued day*; as the fun never fets with refpect to them.   In the oppofite months of the winter they have alfo but one continued night, and they are never without the light of the moon.   They catch, during the whole year, an incredible quantity of fifh ; thefe, however, are of two different forts only; one, which they catch in an incredible number in the greater bays, is called Jlockftjlj  (Gadus morrhua)  and the other is a kind of flat fifh, °f an aftonifhing fize, for one of them was found to weigh near 200 pounds.   The ftockfifh is dried, without fait, in the air and fun, and as there is not much fat and moifture in them, they grow as dry as wood.    When they are prepared for eating they are beaten with the back part of the hatchet,  by which manoeuvre they are divided mto filaments like nerves: after this they are dreffed with butter and tpices to give them a relifh.   With this commodity the people here carry on a confiderable trade beyond fea with Germany.   The halibuts are cut into pieces on account of their fize, and then falted, in which ftate they eat very well.   With thefe fifh they afterwards, in the month °f May, load a ihip of about 50 tuns burthen, and fend them to
Fioi-avante fays, that from the 20th of November to the 20th of February the ni^ht was il n°urs long, and that on the contrary, from the 201I1 of May to the 20± of Auguft they coa-*v faw either the fun itfelf or clfc the light proceeding from it.
Bergen,
Bergtvi, a place in Norway, about iooo miles diftant from them; whither like wile at this time of the year a great number of fhips, from 300 to 350 tuns burthen, carry all the produce of Germany, England, Scotland, and Pruilia; together with every thing neceffary in regard to food, drink, andcloathing; and thefe fifli they barter for thofe commodities and necelfaries, becaufe their country being entirely barren and unfruitful, they confequently have no ufe for money. Immediately as the exchange is made, they return home, landing in one place only, whence they carry wood for the whole year for burning, and for other exigencies.
The inhabitants of thefe rocks are a well-lo king people, and of pure morals. They are not in the leaft afraid of being robbed. Accordingly they never lock up any thing, but leave their doors and every thing open. Their women alfo are not watched in the fmalleft degree; for their guefts lay in the fame room with the hufbands and their wives and daughters, who, when they went to bed, ft ripped quite naked in their prefence. The beds of the foreigners, who were faved from the wreck, flood clofe to thofe in which flept the grown-up fons and daughters of their landlords. Every other day the father and fons went a fifhing by break of day, and were abfent for eight hours together, without being under any concern with refpect to the honour and chaftity of their wives and daughters. In the beginning of the month of May their women ufually begin to frequent the baths. Cuftom and purity of morals have made it a law amongft them, that they fhould firft ftrip themfelves quite naked at home, and then go to the bath, at the diftance of bow-fhot from the houfe. In their right-hand they carry a bundle of herbs to wipe the fweat from off their backs ; at the fame time laying their left-hand fomewhat extended on their middle, as if they thereby wifhed to cover the parts of fhame, though, in fact, they did not feem to rake much pains about it.   In the bath they were
ken promifcuoufly with the men *. They had not the leaft notion of fornication or adultery, and did not marry from fenfual motives, hut merely in order to conform to the divine commands. They alfo abstained from fwearing and curfing. At the death of their relations they fhewed the greatefr. refignation to the will of God, and even returned thanks to the Almighty in their churches for having fpared their friends fo long a time, and for having fuffered them to live fo long with them, and in that he now called them to himfelf to be partakers of his heavenly bounty.   They alfo fhewed fo little of extrava-
■ * The cuftom of men and women frequenting the baths at one and the fame time is very ancient, *"°r it exifted among the Romans, and of them the Grecians learned it, according to the teftimony Qf Plutarch, in the Life of Cato the Elder,  p. 348, edit. Aubriar.ee Franco/. 1620 fol.   But in the courfe of time this cuftom gave rife to fuch fhameful lewd practices, that the Emperors AdrianiH and Marcus Antoninus found it ncccfi'ary to prohibit it by law.   Spartian in Vita Adrians « Jul. Capitolin. in Marco.   Heliogabalus, on the contrary, bathed himfelf along with the women, and as it was countenanced by the Emperor's example, this practice mwft again have become univerfal.   JEl. Lamprid. in Hcliogabalo and Alcxandro Scvcro : for his fucceflbr, Alexander, prohibited it afreih.   Thefe laws, however, feem to have fallen into oblivion, fince even the Chriftians retained this immoral practice, affording occafion to many fynods to compofc decrees for the prohibition of it.   The Council of Laodicea, in the 30th canon, forbids the bathing o£ ^cn with women.   But this decree, though often rigoroufly infilled on, was continually tranf-grefled againft, and even Priefts and Friars bathed in common with the women, 'till the Council, tald at Trullo, again prohibited it by the 77th canon.   And the Emperor Juftinian, in his 117th No<vell, among the lawful caufes of divorce mentions likewife that of a married woman's having bathed at the fame time with men, without the permiflion of her huiband.   Ruflia very probably received the cuftom of bathing, together with the Chriftian Religion, from Conftantinople, and from thence the immoral practice above-mentioned, which, however, principally fubftfts in the cOuntry, feems to have been introduced among them.   People of diftinction, indeed, have always their own baths, which no one ufes but themfelves.   The rubber here mentioned, confifting of herbs or rods, is alfo ufed in Ruffin.   The Ruffians, indeed, always run immediately out of taeir hot baths into fome neighbouring pond, and in the wiater time roll thcmielves in the r«ow.
gant
gaiit lamentations and grief, that it appeared juft as if the deceafed had laid himfelf down and fallen into a fweet ileep. If the perfon who died was married, the widow, on the day of burial, prepared a fumptuous banquet for the neighbours ; when flic herfelf as well as her guefts, appeared in their beft clothes; and on this occafion fhe intreated the guefts to eat and drink heartily in memory of the deceafed, and to his eternal repofe and happinefs. They went conftantly to church, praying there very devoutly on their knees, and kept the faft-days very ftrictly.
Their houfes were made of wood, and were of a round form, with a hole in the middle of the roof for the admiftion of the light, which hole in winter they covered with a tranfparent fifh-fkin, on account of the feverity of the cold. Their clothes were made of coarfe cloth, manufactured at London and elfewhere. As to furs, they wore them but feldom ; but, in order to ufe themfelves the better to the cold, they would lay their new-born infants, the fourth day after their birth, naked, under the fky-light, which they then opened in order to let the fnow fall upon them; for it fnowed almoft continually during the whole winter that Quirini's people were there, from the 5th of February to the 14th of May. In confequence of this treatment the boys are fo inured to the cold, and become fo hardy, that they do not mind it in the leaft.
The Ifle of Roll: is furrounded by a great number of fca-fowl, which the inhabitants in their language call Muxi*,   They are fond of living
* The Norwegians call this fpecies of fea.mew or gull, Maafe. It is therefore, in all probability, the Larus Candidus, a new fpecies, and quite white, of the gull kind, which, in the Voyage of Capt. Phipps (now Lord Mulgrave) towards the North Pole, London, 1774, p. i8/» }$$,,is called Lams eburneut; and in Job* Miller's Plates, Plate XIL Larus JIbus ; but in Qtho F«* bricius's Fauna Groenlandica.p, 103, and inMuller'yPredrom. Zool.Dan. p. VIIL it is denominated the Larus Candidus, and feems to be the fame bird with that which in Frederic Marten s Voyage to Spitf* tcrgen,]). 56,Tab, I. a. is called thoRaths herr; andin Item's Defcription of Lapland, the WaldMaafe^
Th«
ing near mankind, and are as tame as the common pigeons. They make an inccflant noife, excepting in the fummer, when it is one continued day, and then they are filent for about four hours, and this filence ferves to point out to the inhabitants the proper time for them to retire to reft. In the early part of the fpring arrived alfo an amazing number of wild-geefe, that made their nefts upon the iiland, and that fometimes againft the walls of the houfes. They likewife were very tame, infomuch that when the miftrefs of the houfe went to take fome eggs out of their nefts, the female would walk flowly from the neft, and ftay away till the houfewife had taken as many eggs as fhe wanted for baking. As foon as the good woman was gone, the goofe would immediately fet herfelf on the neft again.
In the month of May the inhabitants began to prepare for their voyage to Bergen, and were willing alfo to take the ftrangers along with them. Some days before their departure the intelligence of their being at Roftoe reached the wife of the Governor over all thefe illands; and her huiband being at that time abfent, fhe fent her Chaplain to Quirini with a prefent of 60 ftock fifh, three large flat loaves of rye bread, and a cake ; and at the fame time let him know that ftie had been informed their hofts had not ufed them well, and defired them to mention in what point they had been wronged, and that they ftiould receive inftant fatisfaction; it was alfo recommended to the inhabitants to treat them well, and to take them over to Bergen along with them. They thanked the Lady, and giving their teftimony to the innocence of their hofts, fpoke of the reception they had met with in the higheft termsand as Quirini had ftill remaining a firing of amber
The Greenlandcrs, however, give it the name of Vagavarfuk. It is a very bold bird, and is found only a great way to the northward, in Finmark, Norway, Ifland, Greenland, and Spitz-kergen. This maafe, or fea-gull, is probably the white fea fowl Muxis defcribed above by Q«irini,
G g beads,
heads, which he had brought from St. Jago in "Gallicia, he took the liberty of fending them to the Lady, and deiired her to pray to God with them for their iafc return to their own country. •
When the time of - their departure was come, the people, by the advice of the Dominican Friar, forced them to pay two crowns for* each month, that is, feven crowns a-piece ; and as they had not call*, enough about them, they gave, befides money, fix filver cups, fix. forks, and fix fpoons, together with fome other articles of fmall. value, fuch as girdles and rings. The greater part of thefe things fell into the hands of the rafcally Prieft, who, that nothing might be left, to them of this unfortunate voyage, did notfcruple to take them, under pretence that it was due to him for having aded as their interpreter. On the day <of their departure all the inhabitants of Roft made them prefents of-fifli, and, at taking leave, the women and children fhed tears, as did alfo the ftrangers themfelves. The Prieft, however, accompanied them, in order to pay a vifit to his Archbifliop, and give him part of his booty.
At their departure from Roft, the feafon was fo far advanced, that, at the end of the month of May, during their run, they faw the image of the fun 48 hours above the horizon j but, as they continued failing farther on towards the fouth, they loft the fun for a fliort time, though but for one hour,, it being all the while broad day-light. They failed conftantly between the rocks, and they perceived here and therc„ near the projecting points of the land, marks of deep and navigable water. Many of thefe rocks were inhabited - and they were kindly received by the inhabitants, who gave them meat and drink without accepting any recompence. The fea-fowl, that when awake were always fo loud and noify, they found had built their nefts upon all thefe rocks, and-the ftillnefs and filence of thefe birds was a fignal for them alfo to retire to fleep.
In
DISCOVERIES  in  the  N O R T H. 227
In the courfe of their voyage they met the Bifhop of Trondon (Dron-theim) who, with two gallies, was making the tour of his diocefe, which extended all over thefe countries and illands, attended by above 200 people. To this Prelate they were now prefented, who, when he was informed of their misfortunes, their rank, and family, expreffed great companion for them. He gave them a letter of recommendation for Trondon, his archiepifcopal fee, where St. Olave, one of the Kings of Norway, was buried, which procured them a kind reception ; and a horfe was given to Quirini. But as the King of Norway happened at that time to be at war with the Germans, their hoft, who was likewife mailer of the veifel, refuted to fail any farther, but landed at a little inhabited ifle near Drontheim ; and, after recommending them to the inhabitants, returned directly. The next day, being Afcenfion-Day, they were conducted to Drontheim, into the church of St. Olave, which was very handfomely ornamented, and where they found the Lord Lieutenant with all the inhabitants. There they heard mafs, after which they were conducted before the Lord Lieutenant, who immediately afked Quirini if he fpoke Latin ? and being informed by him that he did, invited him, together with all his attendants, to his table, whither they were conducted by a Canon. They were afterwards taken, by this fame Canon, to good comfortable lodgings, and amply provided with all kinds of ncceflaries.
Quirini wiflied for nothing more than to return to his own country ; and he therefore defircd advice and afliffance to enable him to return home by the way of Germany or England. That they might avoid travelling too much by fea, which was not fafe on account of the war, they were advifed to apply to their countryman, Giovanne Franco, whom the King of Denmark had knighted, and who refided at his cattle of
p g 2 Stichimborg
Stichlmborg (Stegeborg, in Eaft Gothland) in the kingdom of Sweden, 50 days journey from Drontheim. Eight days after their arrival, the Lord Lieutenant gave them two horfes and a guide, to take them to Stichimborg: but as Quirini had prefented the Lord Lieutenant with his fhare of the ftockfifh, a filver feal, and a filver girdle, he received from the latter a hat, a pair of boots, fpurs, and leathern cloak-bags, and a fmall axe, with the image of St. Olave, and the Lord Lieutenant's coat of arms on it, together with a packet of herrings, fome bread, and four guilders Rhenifti. They had befides this, a third horfe from the Archbifhop of Drontheim ; and now, being twelve in number, they all fet out together on their journey, with their guide and three horfes. They travelled on for the fpace of 53 days, chiefly to the fouthward (fouth-eaft) and frequently met with fuch miferable inns on the road, that they could not even procure bread at them. In fome places they ground the bark of trees, and, with milk and butter, made cakes of it, which they eat inftead of bread. Befides this, they had milk, butter, and cheefe, given them, and whey for drink. They ftill proceeded on their journey, and fometimes met with better inns, where they could have meat and beer. One thing, however, they every where found in great abundance ; and this was a kind and friendly reception, fo that they were extremely welcome wherever they went.
There are but few dwellings in Norway, and they often arrived in the night, at the hour of repofe, though it was not dark, but broad day-light. Their guide, who knew the cuftom of the country, opened the door of the houfe, in which they found a table, furrounded by benches, covered with leathern cuftiions, fluffed with feathers, which ferved inftead of matraffes. As nothing was kept locked up, they took fome of the victuals they found ready there, and then went to reft. Sometimes the matters of the houfe happened to come in, and fee them afleep, and were much amazed, 'till the guide, who heard them,
3 acquainted
acquainted them with all the particulars, upon which their aftonifh-ment was mingled with companion, and they gave the travellers every neceff iry without taking any recompence, by which means thefe 1 2 people and three horfes did not fpend, on a journey of 53 days, more than the four guilders they had received at Drontheim.
On the road they met with horrid barren mountains and vallies, and with a great number of animals, like roes (reindeers, Cervus tarandus) befides fowls, as hafel-hens, and heath-cocks, which were as white as fnow (probably ptarmigans, tetrao lagopus) and pheafants of the fize °f a goofe (probably the tetrao urogallus). In St. Olave's church they faw the hkin of a white bear, which was 14 feet and a half long. Other birds, fuch as gerfalcons (Falco Gyrfalctis) gofs-hawks (falco aflur Brifs.) and various other forts of hawks are whiter here than common, on account of the great cold of the country.
Four days before they reached Stichimborg (Stegeborg) they came to a place called Vajlhena (Wadftena) where St. Bridget was born, and had founded a monaftery of Nuns, together with Chaplains of the lame order. At this place the northern Kings and Princes have built a moft magnificent church, covered with copper, in which they counted 62 altars. The Nuns and Chaplains received the ftrangers very kindly, who, after two days ftay there, at length fet out in order to wait on the Chevalier John Franco, who did all he could to comfort them in their diftrefs, and relieved them in a manner that did honour to his generoftty. A fortnight after, there was given at St. Bri-gitta's church in Wadftena, a plenary indulgence, of which the people of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, as well as thofe of Germi iy, Holland, and Scotland, came to partake. Some of them came from the diftance of 600 miles.
They went to the indulgence at Wadftena with the Chevalier John Franco, in order to fee whether they could not procure fome intelligence there of any fhips bound for Germany or England, there being always
at
at that time a great concourfe of people. The Chevalier was five days on the road, and had more than 100 horfes in his train. Here they took leave of their beneficent countryman, who had furnifhcd them plentifully with clothes and money for their journey, and had ordered his fon Mat hew, a very amiable young man, to accompany them to the diftance of eight days journey to Lodefe (on the Gotha Elf) where they were lodged at his own houfe, the fhip not fetting fail directly. He had lent them his own horfes all the way from Stichimborg; and, as Quirini was ill of a fever, he mounted him on a horfe, which had an eafier pace than ever he had met with in one of thefe animals before. From Lodefe three of his crew went home in a veffel bound for Rojlock, and eight of them accompanied him to England, where they came to their friends in London, by way of Ely and Cambridge ; and, after a two months refidence there, continued their route through Germany and Ba/il, and at length, in the fpace of 24 days, arrived fafe and in good health at Venice.
We fee in this moft unfortunate voyage of Quirini, in the firft place, a concourfe of misfortunes which one would hardly fuppofe human nature able to fupport: but great fpirit, vigorous efforts, perfeverance, and the employ of the moft rational means that can be devifed, often make things polfible, which, in other circumftances, would be abfolutely im-poflible ; and thus ferve to fhew, in an eminent manner, of what great advantage the ufe of reafon and refolution is in difficulties and dangers. > . i
One obfervation of Quirini, having been fo often confirmed fincc, deferves attention. Thofe who, when the fhip was in great diftrefs, had given all up for loft, and, without moderation, had drunk the fine Malvafia wine, which they had on board, when the want of provisions began to be felt, and thefcurvy commenced its ravages, foon died,
and that fuddenly; while thofe who had lived temperately held out longer, and, indeed, for the moft part, faved their lives. In like manner thofe who had approached too near the fire, in order to warm themfelves, paid for this rafh action with their lives • while, on the other hand, fuch as had recourfe to the unnatural expedient of drinking their own urine, an expedient which is likewife to moft people highly difgufting, even when urged to if by the moft intolerable thirfT, cfcapsd the jaws of death. We may obferve farther, that the drinking of fea-water proved very beneficial to thefe adventurers, and that the great quantity of fnow they had fwallowed on their landing did not hurt them in the leaft. The different kinds of fhell-fifh and the flefli of a dolphin,. .upon which they fed, undoubtedly ferved to keep them all alive.
The Defcription oi^riie flate of Norway, and of its commerce, together with the picture of the manners and cuftoms of its inhabitants, are extremely fine fragments of the hiftory of mankind. The three northern kingdoms were at that time governed by King Erich, of Pomerania, and, confidering the times, the flate of them was not abfolutely bad. We fee that the cattle made the principal food of the inhabitants, that corn was very fcarce, and that, juft as it does now in the mountains and in barren years, the bark of trees, mixed with a certain quantity of flower, milk, and butter, ferved them for food. Money, on the other hand, was fcarce; and a little filver plate, and a few trinkets, were very acceptable prefents. To Quirini, as a Venetian, the length of the days in fummer *, and that of the nights
in
* Though the day-light tailed very long, or rather, though it was but one continued day, whcn Quirini went from the ifle of Roftoe to Drontheim, his guides ufed neverthelefs to 2° to fleep, when the reft and the ftillncfs of the birds gave them the fignal for fo doing. This circumftance, therefore, explains in a new yet decifive manner the paffage in Obtber's de~ fcril;tion of his voyage to Sciriuges-kal (Vid. fupra p. 67) where he fays, " No one could fail
to
in winter, the great quantity of water-fowl, that were fo little fhy, and the fmgular chaftity and the purity of morals of the northern nations, mud neceflarily have appeared extremely finking. And, laflly, we fee the ftockfifh and herring trade, even at that time, in a flourifhing flate. In fhort, it is, in my opinion, one of thofe voyages, which, from the general utility of their contents, are as initructive as they are important.
General View of the State 0/* Affairs at this Period.
FROM the 4th and 5th centuries, the barbarous nations of the North had in Spain, Gaul, and England, nay, in Italy itfelf, raifed the provinces they had taken from the Romans, a fecond time to the dignity of kingdoms. But the form of their Governments, the preceding wars they had fuflained, and the devaflations attendant on thefe wars, together with the dreadful cruelty with which the new pof-feffors ravaged thefe countries on taking poileffion of them, in the wantonnefs of their power flaughtering the poor inhabitants by millions , all thefe circumflances were at the fame time productive of great debility in thefe newly-founded kingdoms. The country, flripped of its labourers, lay uncultivated, was over-grown with bufhes, and in procefs of time was covered with thick, gloomy forefls, the habitations of voracious wild beafls, and afylums for robbers.   The brooks
to it in a month, if he lay-to at night, though he had a fair wind every day fo that it was the cultom to lay-to at night with their vefl'els, even in the cafe of continual day-light; and this cuftom fubfiftcd fo early as in the time of Ohther, and was obferved alfo in Quirini's time, 533 years afterwards. It is evident, therefore, that this fcemingly-fufpicious expreflion was not ufed without deftgn or meaning, but had its origin and foundation in the manners of the country.
and
and rivers, formerly kept within due bounds by banks and dykes, now broke through thefe limits that had been fet them by the induftry of man, and overflowing the meads which had before been rcfcued from their ravages, remained on them fo long, 'till thefe latter were converted into putrid marfhes, replete with noxious vapours. In fine, the earth, embelliflied in confequence of a high degree of population, of cultivation, and of a luxury, carried perhaps too great a height, funk again into a wild and dreary defart, almoft unprofitable and ufelefs to man. Cities, once the feats of induftry, arts, and commerce, were pillaged and deftroyed by fire, and the few remaining inhabitants, bewailing in the fad ruins the lofs of their former profpe-rity, with dejected minds and depreffed fpirits, became the vaffals of
' their infolent victors.    As for law and juftice they were at this time utterly baniihed out of Europe.     Every man of courage, ftrength of body, dexterity in wielding weapons, and in the management of the horfe; who had influence enough to affemble a train of diforderly banditti, became their leader, and gloried in im-pofing, far and near, the iron yoke of flavery and oppreflion. Thefe petty tyrants (of which there were many) fat in their caftles, and paid cafual homage to a fovereign almoft without power or authority, while each of this lawlefs train committed fuch outrages as he was able upon the reft of the people, whom toil and tyranny had now nearly ex-haufted.   Popery, and its fuperftitious rites, effectually baniflied religion and its ficred influences.   For the worfhip of God in fpirit and in truth, was fubftituted that of faints; for virtue, probity, and purity of life, were introduced penances, corporal chaftifements, works of fupererogation,  and the power of indigencies.    All freedom of thought was totally fuppreffed by the influence of legions of Monks, and the frowns of a haughty and jealous Hierarchy.   Numberlefs pretended, miracles, and endlefs fcholaftic controverfies, completed this mife-
II h rable
234 VOYAGES      a m r>
rable fyftem of harbarifm and idolatry. In fhort, the corruption of manners pervaded all ranks and clalfes of men, proceeding from the Prince on his throne to the Monk in his cell, and to the Prieft attendant on the altar; and thence arifing again to the Abbots and Bifhops, up to the very head of the Church, who founded and fuftained his papal authority, by perfecution, treachery, and murder. There was no longer the leaft fpark of knowledge or information to be found in all Chriftendom. The great vaflals could feldom read, and hardly ever write. Tafte, the arts, decency, and decorum, were not to be expected in the defolation, the gloomy obfeurity, and the depth of barbarity in which the whole of Europe was involved. The poor opprefted (lave in the country bewailing his wretched ftate, led merely an animal or rather a vegetable life. In the few towns that remained, the inhabitants, in like manner, lived deprived of liberty, and expofed to all the oppremons of the great feudatory tenants of the crown and their vaflals, which the caprice, infolence, and pride of a barbarian could at any time fuggeft. All the dreadful effects of the wildeft and moft unbridled paflion, nurtured and fupported by lafcivioufnefs, drunkennefs, avarice, revenge, and fnperftition, are to be found pourtrayed in the few rude annals and memoirs produced in thefe unfortunate ages. The Philofbpher—the Philanthropift—is ftruck with horror, in contemplating the depth of mifery and humiliation to which, from the want of information, and in confequence of moral as well as political corruption, mankind is capable of finking. But, in contemplating this picture, he will naturally be led, on the other hand, to conftder the means which an all-wife Providence has, with more than paternal kindnefs, made ufe of to bring men back to that happi-nefs in focial life, for which they were originally deftined. In fact, it is thefe inordinate defires, thefe infatiable paftions, this wild en-
thuiiaftrt,
thufiafm, and this fanatical fuperftition, by which the Author of our exiftence conducts us again into the paths of virtue and knowledge, and to a flate of exalted felicity.
--Deus tile fuit-
Qui princeps vita- rationem invenit cam qua* Nunc appcllatur fapientia; quippe per artem Flu&ibus e tantis vitam, tantifque tenebris In tam tranquillo, & tarn clara luce locavit,
Lucret. Lib. V. v. 7-— \t.
In the eaft, at Conftantinople, the altercations of the clergy, and the ambition of thofe who grafped after the Imperial dignity, had introduced the fame grofs ignorance and immorality into every rank and condition of life ; and in the other parts of Afia, the Arabian Caliphs, or fucceffors of Mahomet, in confequence of their voluptuoufncfs, their inactivity, and of their impolitic reception of a number of Generals of theTurkifti race into their kingdoms, and at their courts, had dwindled away into inlignificant Mahometan Priefts. Syria and Pa-leftine had long been fubject to Arabian Princes, who, in the flate of refinement to which they had arrived at that period, behaved to the Chriftians of thofe provinces with great moderation : and from motives of policy and love of lucre, the pilgrims from the weft, whom fuperftition and idle conceits had brought in crouds into thofe parts, to vifit the holy Sepulchre, were received very favourably. But the Seldfchukidian Turks, as well from fuperftition as from a miftruft of thefe pilgrimages, which, indeed, were too frequently repeated, and with too numerous trains, began to opprefs the Chriftians and ufe the pilgrims very ill. Thefe grievances, which were continually encreafing, appeared to Hil-debrand, Bifhop of Rome, important enough to induce him to fummons all Chriftendom to make war againft the oppreffors of Chriftianity. But the difputes in which Gregory VII, by his pride and ambition, had involved himfelf in Europe, prevented him from heading himfelf the
H h 2 army
army thus raifcd.    Soon after,  it happened that an enthufiaftic Prieft, who is known to poflerity by the name of Peter the Hermit, was eye-witnefs to the injuries and opprefTions under which the Chriftians in the eaft, as well as the pilgrims, groaned.   His own heated imagination, the perfuafions of the Patriarch of Jerufalem, and the approbation of Pope Urban, incited him to travel through all the countries of Europe, with  tears in his eyes,  ftirring up the fuperftitious people to wreak their vengeance on the enemies, as they were termed, of Chriftianity.   Every individual now, even to the very children, was filled with holy rage, and people ran in flocks to take part in this meritorious expedition.   Thoufinds of them pe-rifhed miferably; and, having undergone many hardfhips, the Chriftians at laft got poffeffion of a wild, wafte country, without either cultivation or inhabitants, in which, however, lay Jerufalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and other places of facred fame - and Conftantinople itfelf, together with Cyprus and Greece, fell into the hands of the European Chriftians.   Thefe great peregrinations, however, of Chriftians, frantic with fuperftitious zeal, who frequently marked the whole courfe of their expedition by the moft atrocious crimes, and the molt infamous actions, and were, for the greater part, the very fcum of the earth ; thefe peregrinations were the caufe of a revolution throughout all Europe, which, in fact, was attended with too great confequences to pafs unnoticed by an inquilitive mind.
The landed nobility, and the Princes their Sovereigns, wanted money to equip them as well as to maintain them on thefe long expeditions > in confequence of which they fold the privileges which they had hitherto made fo bad ufe of, over their poor fubjects. To thoufands of people they gave liberty in exchange for money ; and beflowed on innumerable cities great privileges 3 and among others the power of chuf-ing their own magiflrates from among themfelves, that of governing themfelves by their own laws, and according to their own free election, 1 that
that of levying their taxes among themfelves, at their own dif-cretion, and the privilege of defending themfelves. Every burgher now might bequeath the fortune he had acquired to whomfoever he Would, after his death; he might marry without firft afking leave for that purpofe of his liege Lord ; he might appoint whomfoever he pleafed to be guardians to his children ; and, after having commenced a legal procefs, might accommodate matters with his adverfary, without paying the fees in his Liege's court for an adjudication which had not been made ; and merchants and artizans were relieved from the intolerable opprcflion of gifts and other extortions, with which they had before been harraifed. Previous to this period the great feoffees only appeared in the affemblies of the nation, as reprefenting the ftate, but now this privilege was beflowed on many towns and cities, in order to make a counterpoife to the too-preponderating powers of the great feudatory tenants and nobles; and, indeed, it was foon obfcrved that thefe innovations were attended with the moft defirable confequences with refpect to the general good of mankind.
The citizen, who was now affured that the fruits of his induftry would be reaped by himfelf and his children, was thereby excited to Work with redoubled ardour, as well as to the invention of new arts and trades. The merchant was feen to brave dangers with frefli courage, and, infpired by the hope of gain, to truft his life and property to the mercy of the winds and waves : and every one, of what profeffioii foever he was, turned all his thoughts to the procuring of an honeft livelihood by induftry, talents, and perfeverance. Finally, for the greater fecurity of the fubject, the perpetual frays and fkirmifhes of the great vaffals with each other were put an end to, and the civil peace Was every where eftablifhed. It was therefore found neceffary to apply to Judges for the diftribution of juftice. For this purpofe new laws were mtroduced for cafes that had never before been determined ; and recourfe
was
was had to the long-forgotten Roman code of laws, in order to learn from it the principles of equity and juftice, which had been fo long neglected : from the cccleliaflical law were borrowed in part the regulations and forms of law fuits, befides a great many rules and cuftoms, as the clergy were in the exclufive pofleffion of the little knowledge and learning that was left in the world at that period. The fhameful practice of judiciary duels, which were commonly though blafphe-moufly called the Judgment of God, was abolifhed, and the practice was introduced of making appeals to the higher Courts.
Europe now began, by little and little, to enjoy the blefted fruits of thefe young fhoots of liberty which had been fo lately planted. From the eaft, the priftine nurfery of the arts and fciences, a fecond time were brought, by means of the very crufades themfelves, new lights for the information of the human underftanding, new arts and manufactures for the employment of tne towns and cities, and new plants and animals for the improvement of rural oeconomy. ■ In Italy, the Genoefe, together with the Venetians and the people of Pifa, by lending their fhips to the crufaders, as well as by their Blare of the booty, had greatly enriched themfelves, and confequently had not only a fair occafion conliderably to augment the number of their veffels, but likewife ta> learn the places whence they could import filk, cotton, fpices, and all the precious commodities of India, eafier than by the way of Conftantinople ; and in a fhort time they, with the reft of the free ftates of Italy, were in the fole poffeftion of the whole trade not only of the Mediterranean, but alfo of the Black Sea. Even the German towns that lay fcattered up and down all along the coafts of the Baltic and the German Ocean, began to unite in a confederacy for the purpofe of promoting and extending their trade, a confederacy, which they dif-tinguifhed by the title of the Hanfi, a word of like import in the old German language.   The Greeks too, and the Arabians, afforded the
Europeans
Europeans many opportunities of acquiring new fcience and frefh information; and though this ingrafted wifdom was principally cm-ployed by the Chriftians on religion and fpeculative philofophy, yet from, this period learning began to be a regular occupation among the people of the Weft. Public fcliools were founded, and the learned had rank and precedence beftowed on them, befides enjoying other advantages j fo that by degrees the dawn of fcience dirfufed itfelf every where, by which means the rude and unpolifhed weftern world was prepared for a long time before-hand for the Reformation, for the ftate in which learning fubfifts at prefent, for the ftill encreafing fpirit of Toleration, and for the free fpirit of enquiry by which thefe our times are diilinguiflied.
In Paleftine and Spain the rude warriors among the Chriftians had frequently occafion to experience the magnanimity, courage, and gallantry of the Saracen Knights. All thefe qualities imparted Something fo peculiarly great and fplendid to the characters of the Knights above-mentioned, that the Chriftians confidered it as an honour not only to imitate them in every article, but even to furpafs them, and particularly in their attachment to religion, in their defence of op-preffed innocence, in their refpect for truth, and in the gentlenefs of their manners. The foundations of real honour, the greater humanity with which war is now carried on, and the politenefs and reciprocal generofity fubfifting even between foes, of which we have frequently in thefe times the happy experience amidft the horrors ne-ceffarily attendant on war, are the pure and genuine fruits of the knight-errantry of that period.
All this, taken collectively, without doubt contributed to liberate the human mind from thofe fetters of fuperftition, ignorance, and flothful. indolence, by which it had hitherto been fhackled. Individuals might now venture to acquire knowledge and information, without dreading either fire or fword, as the punifhment of their audacity. A thirft 0 after
after knowledge was diffufed overall Europe, and the public difco-. vered a particular avidity for accounts and relations concerning foreign and remote countries, and long, extenfive voyages and travels into diftant parts.   The eftabliflimcnt of the more quiet poffeflion of private property, encouraged the merchant to ftill greater undertakings, exciting him, from a defire of gain, to navigate unknown fcas, and to brave every danger.   On the other hand, the enthu-i'iaftic defire of ditfufing the doctrines of Chriftianity, and of fubject-ing whole nations and countries to Chrift and the Roman Pontificate,  ftill  continued to  be a great motive for undertaking new travels into diftant regions.   The fpirit of Knight-errantry, too, and the defire of atchieving heroic actions in the wars, fuch as might allure everlafting glory and renown to the performers of them, contributed their fhare towards inducing many perfons to range up and down the moft remote countries.   The encreafing trade of the Italians, together with the great progrefs they made in the arts, as well as the great profits made by the northern merchants who were united in the Han/a, or Hanfeatic league, excited from time to time feveral cnter-priiing minds to undertake voyages, which, coniidering the ignorance which ftill prevailed in refpect to foreign nations and countries, were then much more dangerous than they are at prefent.   The important difcovery of the magnetic needle for the purpofes of navigation gave new advantages to this art, and made a great addition to the knowledge pofiefled by thofe times in relation to different people and countries: and whereas before this, people had fcarcely ventured togc out of fight of the fhore, they now boldly fiiled acrofs the greateft feas.   Now, if we even put the date of this invention fo early as the year 1200, yet then we find the compafs fo commonly known about this period, that the fifhermen in the Orkneys made ufe of the compafs fo early as 1S0 years afterwards, viz. about the year 1386.
The
The immenfe riches which the Venetians had acquired by the monopoly of the Eaftern and Indian trade, the fkill and experience they had attained in navigation, as well as the information they had obtained relative to the diftant nations and climates, prepared the world for thofe great and important difcoveries, and the involutions confequent thereon, which have given to Europe and the weftern world a quite different form to what they had before.
By the taking of Conftantinople, in which the Turks at length ftic-ceeded under Mahomet the I Id, the Greeks were difperfed into different parts of the world. Some of thefe fled to Italy, whither they carried their learning, arts, and handicraft profeftions. This incident ferved in fome meafure to add to the knowledge of the people among whom .they fojurned, to refine their tafte, and to give greater perfection to their manufactures, and confequently likewife to their navigation. To the people of the Weft, who, by means of their conquefts as well as their commerce, were continually extending themfelves over the globe, the vaft and encreafing power of the Turks ferved, by way of barrier, which lay in their way invincible obftacles to their penetrating any farther to the eaftward. Confequently they were now obliged to turn the courfe of their navigation, trade, and discoveries in the weft towards the northern and fouthern regions, where they did not meet with any fuch obftacles; an undertaking which at laft was likewife crowned with the greateft fuccefs.
Strictures
Strictures   and Remarks  on   BOOK II.
I.   Of Andanicum, or Steel.
PAG E 135 : According to the account given here by Marco Polo, of the province of Chinchintalas, there is in this diftricl; a mountain which produces fteel ore and Andanicum. At the time that I tranfcribed this paifage, I was not able to give any intelligence concerning the meaning of the word. But Ramuiio, to the 2d Part of his Collection of Voyages, has prefixed a Dichiarazionc d'alcuni luoghi ne libri de Marco Polo, in which (page 14) he affirms that the word Andanicum * fignifies the belt fteel•> and firther, that when any of the Orientals had a fpear or fabre of Andanicum, he valued it as highly as though it had been the moft precious jewel.
* The origin of the word Andanicum has caufed me a great deal of trouble ; for as Ramufio fays, that he had learned the meaning of this word of Mejfer Michcle Mambre, the Turkifh Interpreter to the Republic of Venice, and as likewife Chinchintalas is not at a great diftance from the ancient Turkcftan, I thought myfelf juftified in looking into the Turkifh language for its origin ; but finding in this tongue only the word i»xJc* dfchenk, which means war, I conjectured that a nation as warlike as the Turks have been for many years pall, might have called the belt kind of fteel, which they ufed for their fpears and fab res, D/chenb/ehi, i. e. the warrior, agreeably to the figurative mode of expreflion not unusual with the Eaftern Nations ; conceiving at the fame time, that an Italian might have pronounced this word Daniko, or Al-Dauiko, or, by eufion of the /, Ad-Daniki, which comes pretty near to Andanicum, or Andanico. Still, however, I had my doubts with refpeel to this etymology. Therefore I had recourfe to the Perfian language, and found there, together with two more words which fgnify fteel, the word oCo* djchenk, or dfehaneb, which apparently makes the neareft approaches of any to the word ad-danck and al-danck, and thus may have given rife to that of andaniko.
Our ingenious Profefl'or, Dr. Knapp, fuppofes, that this Andanicum might have been alfo called Andalicum, and this been derived from th? Arabic to nnfi.ath the /word, or from J&J
of which many fubftantives are formed, which fignify /jarpne/s,point, polijh,, &c. obferving, at the fame lime, that the words cJtal OT acuminatus, mucronatus, pclitus, bear a great refem-
blance to each other. I am not capable of deciding this point, and therefore leave it to be determined by others, who, having more (kill in this department of fcience, are better intitled to iud^e of the matter,
of
II.   Of Rhubarb, and the Place called Suckuk.
AT page 135, Marco Polo informs us, that, upon the mountains, in the country of Suchur, grows the bed Rhubarb, in great quantities, from whence the merchants carry it all over the world. Accordingly Ramufio enquired of one Hadfchi Mehemet, a Perfian merchant from Tubas in Ghilan, concerning the Rawend, or Rewend Tfchln, i. e. Rhubarb, and where it grows, as well as concerning the whole commerce of this commodity; this merchant having fome months before brought a great quantity of Rhubarb to Venice.
Hadfchi Mchemet (called here Chaggi Memet) had been himfelf to Succuir and Campion, in the country of the Great Khan; and, indeed, excepting Ambaffadors to the Khan, no merchants are fuffered to penetrate farther into Kathai than to Succuir and Campion. Both thefe towns are built of brick and frceflone. The Great Khan fends his Viceroy thither to govern them. They are merely inhabited by Idolaters, and there arc no Mahometans to be met with till one comes to Camul. The name of the Great Khan at the time when Hadfc&i Mehemet was in Kathai, was Daimir Can *.
* Daimir-Khan would Term to be the fame as Timur-Khan, the immediate fucceiTor to Kublai. Khan ; but the former bore the fovereign fway in China and Kathay from the year 1294 to 1307, and, as Ramufio wrote about the year 1553, this Khan could riot be meanthere; and indeed had a Mogul Emperor at that time filled the Throne, the Perfian and Bukharian merchants would not have been hindered from penetrating farther into Kathay ; for this reftri&ion commenced only with the reign of the new race of the family of Mim, which had expelled the Moguls out of China. Probably at that time Tfchi-tfong, or Kiat Sing was Emperor, who reigned full 45 years, from the year 1521 to 1566, and under whofe aufpices the Jefuits eftablifhed themfelves in China. But why Hadfchi Mehemet calls him Daimir-Kban, I confefs I cannot in the leaft comprehend.
I i 2 The
244 VOYAGES      a n d
The town of Succuir, in the province of Tangut/j, is large and populous, and is fituated on a plain, through which run a great number of fmall rivulets. It has abundance of provifions of every kind, and a great quantity of filk is raifed there on the leaves of the black mulberry-tree. It produces no wine, but the inhabitants brew a kind of drink from honey, in imitation of beer. On account of the cold of the climate no fruits grow there except pears, apples, apricots, peaches, melons, and water-melons.
The Rhubarb plant grows all over this province, but no where better than on fome neighbouring rocky mountains (Saflbfe Montague,) on which there are a great many fprings, and forefts confiff ing of different kinds of high trees. The foil, however, is of a red (roffo) colour, and almofl always boggy, on account of the great quantity of rain that falls, and of the vaft number of brooks by which the country is interfered. The leaves of this plant are commonly two fpans in length, are narrower at bottom, and wider at top. The margin of the leaf is furrounded by a woolly matter. The flalks on which the leaves grow are green, and about a fpan and four inches long; the leaves
themfelves at firfl are green, but in time become yellow, and fpread vaffly on the furfaceof the earth. In the middle grows a ftem, which bears flowers round about, of the fhape of a clove gilliflower, fviole mammole) and are of a milk white and light-blue colour. The fcent rof them is ffrong and naufeous, fo that thefe flowers are both unplea-fant to the fmell and to the fight. The root is one, two, and fometimes three fpans long; the colour of the bark is a chefnut-brown. It is as thick as the lower part of a man's leg ; fome, indeed, are as thick as a man's loins. Out of the great root proceeds a confiderable number of very fmall radicles, which fpread greatly in the earth. Thefe
3 2X0
are taken away, when the gre^t root is to he cut in pieces, which is yellow internally, with many beautiful red veins full of a clammy yellow juice that ftains the fingers and hands of a yellow colour. Were the root hung up immediately, all the juice would run out of it, and the root itfelf would become light and unferviceable.   The pieces, therefore, are firfl laid upon long tables, and turned three or four times a day, in order that the juice may incorporate with, and, as it were, coagulate in, the fubftance of the root.   Four, five, or fix days after this, holes are made through them, and they are hung up on firings, expofed to the air and the wind, care being taken at the fame time, that the fun-beams fhould not come to them   and in this manner the roots become dry, and arrive at their full perfection in the fpace of two months.   The roots are dug up in winter, before they put forth their leaves, becaufe at this time the juice and the whole virtue of the plant is confined to the root.   The fpring, however, does not commence in the provinces of Campion and Succuir before the end of May.   Thofe roots which are taken up in fummer, when they have put forth their leaves, continue to be light, fpnngy, full of holes, and without fubftance ;  neither have they the yellow colour of thofe that have been dug in the winter, but, notwithflanding that they are red, they are not equally good with thofe which were taken out of the ground before the fpring.   Thofe who dig the roots on the mountains, carry them, either on carts or upon horfes backs, down into the plain, and to Succuir; when they fell them at the rate of 16 fmall Weights of filver (Saggio, each being of the value of 20 Venetian foldi) for a cart-load.
To make up one fmall horfe-load of perfectly dry Rhubarb, it will take feven loads of green roots, newly dug out of the ground. The Rhubarb,  when green, is fo very bitter, that one cannot venture
even
even to tafte it. If the roots are not cleaned and cut immediately within the fpace of five or fix days after they have been taken out of the ground, they grow foft and rotten. In Kathay the root is in no eftima-tion, and in fome places they ufe it for fuel, or elfe in the difeafes of horfes ; and indeed no more of them are dug up than what are befpoke. But there is another fmall root far more effeemed, which grows on the Rhubarb mountains of Succuir: this root is called Mambroni Tfchin, and is very dear withal. They ufe to grind this root on a ftone with rofe-water, and anoint the eyes with it, by which means they find aftonifhing relief. All over Kathay, they make ufe alfo of the leaves of another plant, called Tfchiai Tfcbin (Chinefe tea) which grows chiefly in the province called Katfchianfu. The dried leaves of this plant are boiled in water, and of this decoction they take faffing a cup or two as hot as poffible ; when it is looked upon to be very fer-viceable in head-achs, fevers, complaints of the ftomach, rheuma-tifm, and feveral other difeafes ; but particularly in the gout.
With regard to the road which leads from Succuir and Kampion to Conftantinople, Mehemet Hadfchi relates, that going thither with the caravan, he had taken a road quite different from that by which he returned ; for juft as he was ready to fet out with the caravan, on his way homewards, the Tartars with the green caps (who thence are called Jefcbil-BafchJ* had refolved, to fend an ambaflador with a numerous retinue to Conftantinople to the Grand Turk, through the defart part of Tartary to the northward of the Cafpian fea, for the purpofe of concluding a treaty of alliance with the Turks againft the Sophi, their mutual enemy.   Forefeeing now many advantages therein,
* The Ulbecks are called Jc/cbilbafcb (i. e. Grecnheads) on account of the green caps which • they wear in their turbans, in like manner as the Perfians, on account of the red bonnets in their turbans, arc called Kifdlafsh (or Redheads).
even
even fetting afide that of the road, he had undertaken the journey with them as far as Kaffa (in Crimea) ; but if he had come back with the caravans, he mufl have paffed through the following places. At the fame time he remarked, that the length of the road was meafured by days journies, confifting of eight farfcngs (parafangs) each, and each of thefe again were computed to be equal to three Venetian miles, (of which latter 58 or 59 make a degree.)
Kampion (Kampition, Kampicion, or Kantfcheu, in the province of Schenfi, on the river Etzine-Moren) is a large city, furrounded with a thick double wall, filled up with earth, and fituated in a fertile, well-cultivated plain. The houfes are of brick, two or three flories high, and elegantly painted. The temples are magnificent, being built with free-ffone, and ornamented With idols of a gigantic fize, gilded all over, and fome fmaller ones, having fix or feven heads and ten hands, each hand holding a ferpent, a bird, a flower, or other fimilar devices. The inhabitants are numerous, are extremely fkilful in flone-mafonry, and have very large blocks of ftones brought them from the quarries, on waggons with 40 wheels, drawn by five or fix hundred horfes or mules each. Their long garments are made of black cotton, and in winter are lined with wolf's or fheep's furs. But the people of rank make ufe of fable and marten furs for this purpofe. Their hats, which are black, are pointed at the top like fugar-loaves. White is with them the colour for mourning. They are not tall. They make ufe of preffes for printing their books. From this city of Kampion to Gauta (Ganta, Kenta) it is fix days journey, and but five from Gautu to Succuir* (according to Marco Polo, Suckur).   From Succuir you
* This Succuir^ which has alfo been mentioned before at pnge 170, in Mirco Polo's account of Bis travels, at that time I took f-r the city of Suuc,';, or Suit, on the river iSitck, wh-ch difcharges tfelfrnto the river Tegu, to the northward of Tibet, and to the fouthward of Kokowr : but by *5lls relation of Hadfchi Mehtmtl, I am now convinced, that we muft] iok for tkj| town farther *o the northward, on the river Etxint-mcrtn, perhaps en Jh#lake Sobuk, Sit'nk, or SuJL*$t into which the the above river run1!. In thefe parts there are high mountains, and fcv.r;;J pie e^ of ,ltc,'> and the whole fituation is very convenient for rhubarb mountain^, fuch as thofe defcribed by He J/J/, Mei
evict.
no in i 5 days to Kamul (alias Khamul, Kamil, II ami], Hami, Khami, Camexu). Here the habitations of the Mahometans begin, and thofe of the Idolaters terminate. From Kamul to Turfon (Turfan) it is 13 days Journey, From Turfon they went through three towns, the firft of which, named Chialis (Goez calls it Chalis, it is alfo called Cialis) is 10 days journey from thence; the fecond is called Chuchi (according Goez, Kufcha) at the diftance of 10 days more; and, laftly, Acfu (Akfu, the white river) 20 days journey farther on. From Acfu to Qrf-car (Chafear, CaiYar, Kafchar, Haiicar) it is 20 days journey through a horrid defart, but till then they had palled through inhabited regions. From Cafcar it is 25 days journey to Samarkandj from Samarkand to Bochara (Bokkara) in Corajj'am (Khorafan) five ; and from Bochara to Eri (Heri, Herat) 20 days journey. From Eri to Veremi [Varami to the fouth-eaft of Kafbin, in Irakadfchemi) one may travel in 15 days; from thence to Ca/ibin (Kafbin) it is fix ; from Cajibhi to Soitania (Sultania) four ; and, finally, from Soltania to Tauris (Tcvris, Tebriz) which is a large town, it is fix days journey.
From this circumftantial relation of Hadfchi Mehemet we learn, that the genuine Rhubarb plant is not the Rheum pa/matum, as it is even now frequently fuppofed to be; and we are induced, on the contrary, to credit the information given us by M. Pallas, relative to this fubject. We alfo find, that to cultivate Rhubarb in Europe to advantage, we muft look for a foil in a mountainous country, watered by a number of rivulets; it fhould have a ftratum of ftone under it, and perhaps contain Iron. A foil of this kind may, in all probability, be eafily found in the lofty mountains of Mansfield, Halberftadt, and of Sileiia; as likewife in Upper Silefia. Laftly, we alfo learn from the preceding account, of how great a confequence it is to the gcodnefs of Rhubarb, that the roots be dug up exactly at the proper time, and that the proper methods of cleanfing and drying it be purfued. Perhaps the information here given may ferve to promote the culture of Rhubarb in Europe,
rope, and likewife Germany, and particularly in the Pruman territories. Finally, thefe relations ferve to eftablifh, with greater precifion than before the fituation, of the places lying between the Cafpian Sea and the Chinefe wall.
III.   Of the Gothic Language.
IN page 97 and 170 the reader will find, in the narratives of Ru\f-hrockand Jofapbat Barbara, an account of fome Goths in the Crimea, who fpoke a language refembling the German. This has been confirmed by Bufbeck and Father Mohndorfi and the former even gives us a very confiderable lift of Gothic words. In the year 1779, the learned Profeffor Semmler, in a feftal Programma, explained and illuftrated a feffival celebrity of the Court of Byzantium, called TO FOT0IK.ON. In the twelve days between Chriftmas and the feftival of the Epiphany, a number of people, dreffed in a flrange, uncouth manner, reprefenting Goths, advanced in two different parties, and walked in proceffion in the Emperor's prefence, and finally fang a fong in the language of their own country (otxusv ^t=Ao?) accompanied by the Pandure. Upon this, Conftantine Porphyrogeneta, in his Book de Ceremonils aula; Byzantlna?, p. 223, cites fome foreign founding words, which, in all probability, conftituted part of the oiKBiov psXo,;. At page 224 and 225, there is added a As^xov ruv ev to Tor-§iKu uhptv&v (or, a Dictionary of the words fung in the Gothic); together with another explanation of thefe words. Thefe are doubtlefs by a more modern hand, and give the explication of Gothic words from the Latin, the Greek, and even the Hebrew ; therefore we cannot rely greatly on thefe explications. Dr. Semmler, in the Pro-gramma mentioned above, gives it as his opinion, that all thefe words,
K k without
250 VOYAGES      a n d
without any diftinction, are Latin.   As much as I refpect the uncommonly extenlive and withal folid erudition of this great literary Genius, yet I cannot be perfuaded, by the arguments he adduces, to look on the whole of this compofition as Latin, efpecially as Conftantine ex-prefsly intitles it di»«m /*«Aoc-, a domeftic (i. e. a Gothic) long. Kodi-eius fvys, that in his time, at the Court of Byzantium, the Waerin-gers at Clmftmas had paid their duty to the Emperor, and wifhed him health and happinefs in their own, i. e. in the Englifh, tongue (lyKX:ci), Another party, viz. confifting of Wardariotians, likewife paid their compliments in their, viz, in the Perfian language (7r^c;;<). Confequently it appears that we may conclude from hence,, that it wa3 con^ fidered as' an addition to the magnificence of the Court feftivals for people of foreign nations to wifh the Emperor joy in their own languages.   Hence I fufpecf, that the words, cited by Conftantine, are Gothic; and as thefe words are fung by two chorulfes, it came into my head that poffibly the Gothic words might occur in this relique of antiquity, tranflated into another language.   Moreover, it appeared to me, that agreeably to what ProfelTor Semmler has already fhewn us, there is actually a great number of Latin words in it j and the rather, as I found that, previoufly to this conjecture of mine, the fecond iiv terpreter of the words had placed them on oppofite fides, as though they had been actually fung by two chorulfes.   I therefore thought it might be worth while to examine into this fragment of the Gothic tongue, and, as far as it was poflible to be done, to explain it. As we have fo few reltques of this language, they are all extremely valuable.   It appears, moreover, that at the Imperial Court of Conftantinople the Gothic Life-Guards made a practice of going through this ceremony, as long as they actually belonged to the Emperor's Guards ; but afterwards the Goths, on the one hand, becoming fcarce and difficult to be procured, and on the other, having loft likewife their reputation for valour, the Imperial Body Guard was chofen from the Franks
i and;*
and Waringians, Saracens, Perfians, Farganians, Chazarians, and other nations, as the late ProfefTor Reifke has already fliewn in his Notes upon Conftantine Porphyrogeneta. That in copying fuch a number of words from one or more foreign languages, fome miftakes muft neceffarily have been committed, few of my readers, who have at all attended to this fubject, will be difpofed to doubt. We will therefore firft place all the words one after another, and then fet about arranging and explaining them in the manner in which it appears probable that they were fung by the two choruffes.
yacv<^oc;' (3ovoc;' fiyixr^iot,;' ocyix' yxuSivre;' eXxnjQovih;' ivxtyTVf' uyta' Covoc' uoet* tuts' Cctvjtf* (3ovac ocfjuoov t-TrtiTKVccvlig' throtX^ecjug* VOCVU' 6iVq' ItHq' fi&uuC&' va-voc yvZiXxc;- yu&eXczgez vomo." ra yeyhfxst,' 9i tvX&bXv VMotrai raXdV wvat" 'Pep' i@epiep' nt lyysaxor.' yepysf&pu)' volvx, a-iKct^icccr' Tr^eTK^e;.
In the fame order in which the words ftand here, they are placed in the explications above-mentioned, fome fmall aberrations excepted.
fau^, is in my opinion Gothic, and tranflated into Latin in the next word (Zovatq. Gods, or Goda, in the Gothic language, is the German word Gut, and the Englifh Good. In certain dialects of this tongue the 0 is pronounced as au in German * (or ou in Englifh) ; and therefore founds like Gauds. This could not be written otherwife by a Greek, than Gauzas with a z ; and confequently it is properly tranflated by bonas or bona.
fiw, is alfo written Ciiqy. The week, in the Anglo-Saxon, is called weoc, or wic, which comes from the Gothic word wik, a
The word Waurd itfelf is in Engliflh nvsrd, in German nvort ; farther, the Gothic word is in Engliih deer, and in German Thor ; and Duuds, fignifying d«ad in the Gothic, in ut*h is dood, and in German tidt.
K k 2 fcries
feries or order of things which return in conftant rotation : fit**! therefore is wike, or week. The Latin correfponding with this, has only bus, or probably and, in my opinion, Z mould be prefixed to this latter word; fo that wike is tranflated by feptem dies.
xyiuyoL'jhvjes fhould be read thus, uiyovyuuhv rsy or rccy, and fignifies fpecial good days, iXt'fcrty Govt mi,   Eletti honi dies.
initiriiff. In the Gothic language, as well as in the Englifh and modern German, the fyllable un, prefixed to a word, imparts to it a fignification contrary to that which it otherwife bears: e. g. unable, unfeeling in our own language, and in the Gothic we have unagein, without fear unbairands, unfruitful; un-barnahs, childlefs; unbrukja, ufelefs ungalaubjanda, unbelieving, &c. and, in the prefent cafe, unkauridas, evxapro^, without trouble or forrow, happily, in good time. Covet tmt9 bona bora.—N. B. The ocyix put here after anteflvs is not to be found in the firft interpreter, and is probably redundant.
ram Com* fhould perhaps be TOAA BAN2TAN2, Goda banflans, or banflins, good crops, or barns bona borrea, ficvee uge* inftead Of £oVCt Ot,{JL0QZ.
STrdrKvctvTBg. The Latin words immediately following this, viz. th (rxXpocTar, which ProfefTor Semmler very properly reads, vide Salvatos, muft be ufed here for the purpofe of afcertaining the Gothic; and though it requires a confiderable change in the letters, we cannot read otherwife in the Gothic than sctM> fee, vide-, as the Greeks could not exprefs the Gothic q-or qu, otherwife than by their x, and after f*<K> Xav<rtrg, or Xctv<riT£s; which together make coa* XavrtTis, behold the faved> cctX^nraq,
vxvoc oeovg. I explain this firft by the fubfequent Latin, which here, indeed, is font ve^a, but fhould doubtlefs have been written hue a-ifiat, Deus ferva, God five, or preferve. Now this in the Gothic might be, Earn Axvcrsi, Fana laufias the copy iff probably not well knowing what to make of the ancient digamma, took it for an N; and the A in Auvrei is eafily miftaken for a A. But Fana laufei fignifies Lord or God preferve.
mm. In the exprelTion kvpovoyuyyv immediately following, ProfefTor Semmler thinks he defcries the word Domino, or rather as it appears to me, Dominum; and the phrafe xifiu. yam is probably the Gothic guivaiz Fana; which means the Lord alive, foptpou viow Dominum vivum (fc. Deus ferva), (3eXs yu£iXu$. The Latin following this fhould be yu£e jube hilares; confequently the Gothic might poffibly be written fiiXtx yv^Xovg, wilja jubilons, bidding them be merry ; or, as the Italians would fay, giubilare.
This fpecimen, I hope, will ferve to convince many of my readers that the ftrange, uncouth words above cited, are to be confidered as a collection of fuch Gothic and Latin acclamations as were at that time in ufe at the Byzantinian Court.
If we had time fuflicient, and were any confiderable advantage to be expected from it, I am apt to believe it would be poflible likewife to reftore and explain the few remaining words. In the mean time this fragment of the Gothic language fhews clearly enough, that even in the tenth century, the Gothic words of this feftival were not entirely configncd to oblivion, though at the fame
time
time the Goths in the Crimea were no longer much known, Thefe people, however, have continued to exift even to thefe our days ; a circumftance which naturally excites in us an ardent with that, under the protection and aufpices of Catherine II. the learned may be enabled to fearch in the Crimea for the remnants of this cele« brated nation and language.
BOOK III.
BOOK III.
OF THE  DISCOVERIES MADE IN THE NORTH IN
MODERN TIMES.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS,
TH E flate of improvement in which Europe was with refpect to knowledge and general information, the extenfion of commerce, the liberty beftowed on bondfmen and Haves, the progrefs of induftry in the townfr and. cities, the almoft-inde-pendency of their internal government; the riches, power, and confequence which thefe towns in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, had acquired chiefly by commerce and navigation; the improvements made in the administration of juftice, and the confequcnt decreafe of the right claimed and exercifed by every individual of avenging his own wrongs; the gradually encreafing power of the Kings and Princes, and their endeavours to annihilate the in~ fluence of the higher order of vaff ds, and of the Nobility, in matters of Government; the eftablifhment of Handing armies in France and Italy,, and the neceflity ariling from thence to augment the revenues of the flate by all poflible means ; all thefe circumftances had produced a great alteration in all the forms of Government in Europe. The thoughts of all the European Princes were entirely bent on their °wn aggrandizement, and that either by new conqucfts or by the augmentation of their power in their own ftates. Portugal had fo early ls in 1250 driven the Arabian Princes out of their native countries; aud, in order to prevent the Mauritanian Arabs from entering into
any
any confederacy with thofe that ftill remained in Spain, and thus caufing frefti difturbmces, the Portuguefe went over to the coaft of Mauritania, where now Fez and Morocco are, and there endeavoured to do as much injury as. poflible to the enemies fas they were called) of the Chriilian religion ; and having conquered Ceuta in the year 1415, fortified feveral harbours fituated in the vicinity of it on the (bores of the great Weftern Ocean. A. D. 1418, John Gonfalez Zarco, and Trijlan Vaz, after having weathered a violent ftorm, difcovered an ifland which, on account of the afylum it fo happily afforded them, they called Porto Santo. It was impoflible to be in Porto Santo without feeing Madeira, in cafe the weather was fair; and, failing to the ifland which had the appearance of a cloud, they called it, after the faint of the day on which it was difcovered, St. Lawrence, and fhortly after, on account of the great number of forefts that were upon it, Madeira. To thefe forefts they fet fire in 1420, and cultivated fugar with great fuccefs on the fpot. The Infant of Portugal, Don Henry, thirfting after ftill greater difcoveries, and at the fame time very well verfed in geographical knowledge, as fir as it extended in thofe times, fent out Gonfalo Velho Cabral for the purpofe of making new difcoveries to the weftward. The firft difcovery he made in this voyage, which he undertook in 1431, was that of a few barren rocks, which from the continual motion of the fea by which they were furrounded, he took occafion to call las Formigas (the Ants) and foon after he defcried the ifland of St. Maria, which in the year 1432, having had a grant of from the Infant Don Henry, he peopled and flocked with cattle.
At this period it was that Antonio Gonfalez was fent out with two caravels, a kind of fmall fhip, to the  coaft of Africa, °n new  difcoveries.     Hitherto it  had  been  the   practice  to feize upon the tawny Moorifh  Mahometans   that  were caught wan-% dering
Bering up and down in that quarter of the globe, and to fell them for ftaves, as being enemies of the Chriftian faith ; but in the year 1442 fome of thefe prifoners were redeemed by their relations, who gave in exchange for them, not only other negroes who were of a quite black complexion, and had woolly hair, but alfo a certain quantity of gold dull. From this time forward, the defire of difcovering the gold country, and that from whence the negroes came, encreafed daily. In 1443, Nunno Trijian difcovered Cape Argiiin, or Akaget, and the Ifland of Cranes (If ha de GarzasJ.   The next year was feen the ifland of St. Miguief (or St. Michael) one of the Azores.   Lanzorote took a great number of prifoners on the 902ft of Africa, and Cadamofto made the difcovery of the river Gambra.   A. D. 1445, another of the Azores, or (Hawk-IHands)  was difcovered, which,  from the circumftance of its being the third ifland difcovered,  was called Terceira.    In the fame year Denys Fernandes difcovered a promontory covered with frefh verdure, thence  called by him Capo Verde, and alfo the Cafo Verde Iflands, which lay over-againft it.   Between that period and the year 1449, tne reft °f tnc  ^ores, St.  George,   Graciofa,   Fayal, and Pico, had alfo been difcovered; for thefe four iflands being partly feen from Terceira in fair weather, it was impoiiible for them to have remained much longer undifcovered. After the death of the Infant Don Henry, the ifland of Fayal, which was named fo, not after the beech-trees which grew on it, but after a new fpecies of myrica (myrica Faya) Was made a prefent of by Ifabella, Duchefs of Burgundy, to Job/? Von Hurter,  by the Portuguefe called Jos: de Utra, and Hura, a native, of Nuremberg; King Afphonfo V-. having before made a prefent of this ifland to the above-mentioned Duchefs, who was his lifter. Hurter, who had become connected, by marriage, with the illu fir ions Portuguefe family de Macedo, went, in 1466, with a colony of more
L 1 than
than 2000 Flemings of both fexes, to his property, the ifle of Fayal. The Duchefs, though at a time when the nation was afflicted both with aburdenfome war, and a great dearth, had provided the Flemifh emigrants with all neceffaries for two years, and the colony very foon en-creafed there. In the year 1472 fome attempts were made likewife to people the Capo Verde iflands ; and the year before the iflands of San Tomajjb, Ilha do Principe, and Anho-bon, had been difcovered, together with the coaft of Guinea, and particularly the Gold Coaft. Guinea, on Martin Bebaims globes, was alfo denominated Genea • and, according to Leo Africanus *", it was called by the Arabians Gbeneoa, and by the negroes, Genni. The fituation of this golden country was kept fecret by the Portuguefe with as much care as that of the tin-country had formerly been by the Carthaginians; notwithstanding which, the French, contrary to all probability, pretend to have been fo early as in 1346, or at leaft in 1 364, from Dieppe, along the weftern coaft of Africa, quite to Delia Mina, on the coaft of Giunea. The great profits accruing to Portugal from the bees-wax, ivory, oftrich feathers, negro flaves, and particularly from the gold of this country, determined King John II. to fend, in 1481, twelve fhips to this coaft, under the command of Don Diego d' Azembuya, and to build a fort there for the protection of commerce, which fort was called St. George della Mina. A. D. 1483, Diego Cant, or Jacob de Cano, and Martin Bebaim, from Nuremburg, fet fail with two caravels for the purpofe of making new difcoveries. (This Martin Behaim married afterwards at Fayal, about the year i486, Johanna de Macedo, daughter of the Chevalier Jobft von Hurter, and ii/1479 had a fon by her named Martin). Firft, they found the country of Benin, where there grows a kind of fpice, which was pretended to be pepper, and which was tranfported in great quantities to Eu-
* Leo Afrit, p. 369, Ed. E!ze\ir, 160.
rope. This fpice, however, it mud be obferved, was no other than the grains of Paradife (amentum gram BaraMfiJ, They are alfo called Gmines de maniguette, or tnalaguette. After this, in 1484, they lighted on the coaft of Congo. The Portugufe continued exploring the whole of this coaft with great diligence and attention. Bartbolomeo Diaz, with three Hups, failed farther to the fouth ward than any of his pre-deceflbrs, and at length got fo far that, in i486, he defcried the fouthernmoft promontory of Africa, which, on account of the violent ftorms that prevailed there, he called Cabo de todos hsTormientos; but which the King of Portugal, who was now in hopes of foon making a much greater difcovery, viz. of finding a new route to India, called Cabo de bona FJperanza. The renown and advantages which the Portuguefe had acquired by the above-mentioned voyages induced many perfons, well verfed in mathematics and navigation, to endeavour to participate in thefe difcoveries. Germans, in particular, Netherlanders, and Italians, were intent on acquiring by this means Hull, fame, and opulence. A Jacob van Brugge, and a Wilhelm van ~Dagora, which latter affumed the name of Siheira, both Netherlanders, peopled fome of the Azores iflands. Jobjlvon Hurter, and Martin Behaim, both natives of Nuremberg, were Lords of Fayal and Pico. Antonio de Nolle, an Italian, difcovered St. Jago, one of the Capo Verde illands, of which he alfo afterwards was Governor; and, in like manner, Jean Baptijle, a Frenchman, became proprietor of Mayo, another of thefe iflands. Bethencourt. a French gentleman, was the firft who took poffeflion of the Canary Ifles; and foreigners of all nations, confpicuous for their rank in life, knowledge, and enterprizing fpirit, mixed with the Portuguefe adventurers in every undertaking, Now, although the Portuguefe did not permit other nations to take poffeflion of the lands they had difcovered by their unwearied zeal, at a vaft cxpence, and by undergoing fo many dangers, yet they were in noways averfe to allow fuch foreigners as chofe to enter into their fervice, and to incorporate with
L I 2 them
them by marrying into Portuguefe families, to fhare with the them profits of their extenfive difcoveries.
All the fhips which the immortal Don Henry fent on thefe voyages were in part provided with good pilots, who underffood Geography, Affronomy, and Navigation,, to the full extent of that degree of perfection to which thefe fciences had been brought at that time.. He had alio taken care to have all the young nobility in his fervice inftructed at Ternaubel, near Sagre, in Algarva, in geography,-navigation, and in the art of laying down charts and maps, by a very fkil-fnl mathematician of Maljorca, for whom he had fent for this purpofe.. In confequence of this, all the difcoveries were laid down on maps-and accordingly we find, that when Pedro de Covillam, and Alonfo de Payva, fet out for the purpofe of making new difcoveries, A. D. 1487, they took with them a map of the globe which had been drawn by Ca/fadiJ/a, Bifhop of Vifeu, an extraordinarily fkilful mathematician. John II. King of Portugal, ordered his two body-phyficians, Roderic and Jbfeph> together with Martin Bebaim, who were all three excellent mathematicians for thofe times, to invent fomething by which the courfe of a fhip, and the particular place fhe is in at fea, might be determined with greater certainty than before. In compliance with this charge they made improvements in the aftrolabe, which till that time had been ufed only with a view to affronomy, fo that it could be likewife ufed for the purpofe of navigation. It is alfo a well-known fact, that when Martin Behaim went to Nuremberg in 1492, in order to vifithis relations, he made a globe, upon which he laid down all the regions and countries known at that period : from, this globe we learn, amongft other things, that he was of opinion that, in failing farther to the weftward, one might at length come to Kathay, or North China, and to CipangUy or Japan j hence, too, we find drawn upon this globe
the
the Greater and Leff'er Java, and the iflands of Kandyn and Angama, defcribed by Marco Polo. Now, agreeably to this opinion, which Was farther confirmed by the circumftance of exotic fruits having been often eaft on fliore at the Azores by the currents and weftern Winds, even a boat with the corpfes of people of a ftrange and Unknown country having been once brought thither by them, it feemed more than barely probable that there muft be an inhabited country to the weftward, which, however, was all along fup, •pofed to be India. A Genoefe, Cbrijlopho Colom by name, who, to a confiderable fhare of mathematical and cofmographical knowledge, joined great fkill in navigation, had been a long time in Portugal, and had married Pbilippina Mniz Perejlrella,. the daughter of Bartho-lomeo Perejlrcllo, who had been one of the firft that contributed to fettle Porto Santo and Madeira. It was impartible for him to have been ignorant of the important difcoveries which the Portuguefe had made with fuch envied fuccefs. He muft alfo neccffarily have been acquainted with the prevailing notion of thofe times, viz. that in failing to the weftward a (hip muft inevitably at length arrive at the Indies.. He therefore requeued King John II. of Portugal, to let him have fome fhips to carry him to the iiland of Cipangu Cor Japan) of which there was fome account in the writings of jVIarco Polo. The King reared him to Diego Ortiz, Bifhop of Ceuta, and to his two Phyfi-cians Roderic and Jofepb, all of whom looked upon the opinion commonly entertained concerning the fituation of Marco Polo's Iiland of 'Cipangu, to be vifionary, and confequently, feeing but little plausibility iri Colom's plan, abfolutely rejected his petition. Colom, who was a ttian of a determined difpofition, and not eafy to be fliaken in his revives by fuch refufals as thefe, quitting Portugal, where they did not chufeto accept his propofals, went himfelf, in 1484, to Spain, and fent W$ brother Bartbolomeo to England, in order to make the fame propofals *° King Henry VII. During the fpace of feven years Chrijlopber % Colom
Colom follicited the Court of Spain for aftiftance in the execution of his great plan, and met with nothing but tedious delays. His brother had in themean time been plundered by pirates, and was detained in prifon. In 1488 he made King Henry a prefent of a map of the world, drawn up by himfelf. Henry VII. a Prince of unbounded avarice, and by no means fit for great enterprises, fuffered Bartbolomeo to depart the kingdom without doing any thing for him, when this latter immediately went to Charles VIII. at Paris, who gave him the firft intelligence of his brother Cbrijiopbcrs important'difcovery.
In the mean time, Cbrijlopber Colom, wearied out with fruitlefs attendance and deluded expectations, was juft on the point of leaving Spain. He ftaid, however, to make one more trial, and not receiving expeditioufly enough the wifhed-for anfwer, fet tail in order to go to his brother in England. In confequence of the conqueft lately made of Grenada, and of the earneft follicitations of two of her courtiers, men of enlarged views and unprejudied minds, Queen Ifabella was at length determined to grant a fupply of the fcanty fum of 40,000 guilders for the fervice of this expedition. A boat was now fent after Co~ lorn ; accordingly he went afhore again, and an agreement was concluded with him in due form. Colom fet fail from Polos, in Spain, on the 3d of Auguft, A. D. 1492, and the next fpring, on the 15th of March, returned to Pahs, with important news of fome iflands having been difcovered by him. Gold, cotton, and Pimento pepper, together with a great number of parrots of variegated plumage, and fome rare and uncommon animals; as alfo feveral inhabitants of the ifland Haiti (or St. Domingo) which he brought with him, exhibited incontef-tible proofs of his difcovery. The attention of all h urope was nov/ turned to this great event. There were many who were likewife de-firous of Sharing in the honours of having difcovered new countries; among thefe was Amerigo Vefpucci, who had feen the main land of the new-found countries, if riot before, at leaft foon after Cbrijlopher Colonh
and, by fome lingular effect of chance, the whole of this extenfivc quarter of the globe has been called, after him, America. Finally, about the fame time, viz. in the year 1496, Vafco Gama, failing round the Cape de todos los Tormientos (or rather de bona EjperanzaJ arrived fafe in the Eafl-Indies. Now there arofe an emulation between the Caftilians and the Portuguefe, of extending their difcoveries continually farther and farther, and of rendering them ftill more profitable and important. A. D. 1500, Pedro Alvarez Cabral failed for the Indies, and defcried by chance a large coaft which he called the Land of the Holy Crofs, and which at prefent, after the name of a certain wood which dyes red (a name previoufly to this period known to the Arabians) * is called Brajil.
For a long time after this it was not known that the extenfive continent newly difcovered was any other than the Indies. It was in pro-cefs of time, however, found out that a coaft, extending as this did, many hundreds of miles to the northward and to the fouthward, could not poffibly be that of the Indies; and Vafco Nunnez de Balbao having at length, viz. A. D. 1513, defcried the ocean again beyond the iflhmus of Panama, there was no farther doubt about the matter. Portugal in the mean time derived immenfe treafures from the Indies, and Spain feemcd to have enrichc.l herfelf no lefs. All Europe muft neceffarily have contemplated this acceffion of wealth and power with aftonidiment and diffatisfaclion. Spain, the Netherlands, a great part of Italy, and in Germany the Auftrian hereditary dominions, were now all united in the perfon of the Emperor C&arlesV. and the treafures of the Weft-Indies encouraged and enabled him to ufurp in Germany Ail 1 more power than he had had before over the Princes of that empire. Francis I. of France, who ventured to meafure forces with him, was defeated and taken pri-foner near Pavia. The armies he made ufe of for the execution of his ambitious defigns, were chiefly compofed of Spaniards, a nation which
* Abulfeda Tab. XVI. exhibens Infuhs maris Oricntalis, Lamri eft matrix lignl BrafJIl 1 it CLnruc Indies.
by
by lb many bold exploits, and by being in conftant action, was endued with an uncommon degree of valour, and inured to hardibips and fatigue.   Thefe military operations which took place in Italy, in the Netherlands, and in almoft every part of Germany, ferved but the fooner to diffufe the treafures of both the Indies over all thofe countries; and both war and wealth not only introduced a great mixture of the manners, together with the refinements in luxury of foreign nations, but likewife gave rife to fnnilar attempts in all the Princes of Europe to oppofe the encreafmg power and oppreflions of the Pope and of the Emperor, by the improvement of their finances,  by flanding armies, and by the undaunted fpirit which thefe circumftances were calculated to infpirc. The different nations of Europe began now to viiit each other more than ever; and their refpective Sovereigns courted the friendfhip even of Princes at a di dance, with a view to acquire additional ftrcngth by means of treaties, and to be the better enabled to execute the plans they had formed either of aggrandizement or defence.   Men of talents and genius now began to feel their own powers; the facred fire of freedom was now lighted up in every generous breaft, and difplaysd itfelf as well in thought as in action ; in fhort, Europe was quite transformed. The two Indies, the fources of fuch material alterations in the cenfti-tution of Europe, became the objects of the withes of all the European Princes, as well as of every private man who, to a competent degree of fkill in navigation, cofmography, and aftronomy, joining an undaunted and refolute fpirit, fancied himfelf equal to the execution of great -enterprizes.   It could not therefore well be otherwife, but that in every commercial and maritime nation people mould be found who offered themfelves to go to the Indies by fome new route.
Since the difcovery of the navigation to the two Indies, almoft all maritime nations have made attempts either to go to the Indies by new
tracks
tracks, or die merely with a general view to dlfcover new countries. The limits we have prefcribed to ourfelves in this work, confine us folely to the difcoveries made in the North ; notwithflanding which, we found it neceffiry to connect the thread cf our narration by the above introduction j and (ball only obferve, in addition to what we hate juft flated, that the attempts made to arrive at the Indies by a new and fhorter route, have given rife to many voyages in the North. But many of thefe voyages of difcovery have alfo originated in other caufes, which we mall take occafion gradually to unfold one after the other.
It will be neceffary, however, for the fake of order, in treating of thefe difcoveries, to arrange them under the heads of the different nations which have participated in them ; we mail therefore here give a brief account of the Difcoveries made by the Englifh, Dutch, French, Danes, Ruffians, Spaniards, and Portuguefe -t and conclude the whole with fome general phyfical, zoological, botanical, mineralogieal, and anthropological Obfervations, and with a few words concerning the probability there is of getting through the Northern Seas into the great Pacific Ocean.
Major rerum mihi nafdtur crJo.--Virgil.
chap. 1.
Of the Difcoveries made by the Englifh in the North.
ENGLAND, in the reign of Henry VII. after the lofs of all the countries which the Kings of England had poffeifed in France, and the long civil war that fublifled between the Houfes of Tork and Lan-tfficr* was ftill in a very weak flate. The timorous, miflruftful, and ceco-
M m nomical
266 VOYAGES      a n d
nomical difpofition of Henry, contributed in a fpecial manner to the prefervation of tranquillity at home andpeace abroad. In confequence of this, commerce and manufactures increafed greatly, and London contained merchants from all parts of Europe. The Lombards and the Venetians in particular were remarkably numerous, fo that even a ilreet in London was named after the former of thefe people. The Eailcrliivjs from the Hanfe-towns likewife did a great deal of bufinef; there. The difcovery of the Weft-Indies by Chrljlophcr Colom in 1492, made a great .rumour, and. firft created a wifti for a voyage, by v/hich fnnilar difcoveries might be made.
I. At that time there lived in.London a Venetian, by name John Cabota, or Cabot,, who had three fons with him, Lewis, Sebajllan, and Sanfbes. Sebajllan was but.young,,but had neverthelefs made great pra-grefs in the Belles Lettres, and efpecially in the doctrine of the fphere, that is to fay, in every fcience fubfervient to the mathematical knowledge of. the earth and to navigation. Sebajllan.,., hearing of the fuccefs of Colom, was infpired with a defire of likewife acquiring renown by ftmilar enter-prizes; and King Henry VII. in 1495, or 1496, impowcred the father and his three fons to fail, under the royal flag, with five fhips to the Eaftern, Weftern, and Northern Seas, and there find out fuch countries and iflands belonging to the Heathen, as had'not before been difcovered by any Chriftian power. In the 13th year of this King's r.ign, John Cabot obtained permiflion to fail with fix mips, of 200 tuns burthen and under,.011 new difcoveries. He did not fail, however, till the beginning of May, 1497,. and then,, by his own account, had but two fhips fitted out and flocked with provifions at the King's ex-pence ; but the merchants of Brjftol fent with him three or four fmall veffels laden with coarfe cloth, caps, and other trifling wares. He failed for fome time without feeing any land at all. His crew was beginning to murmur, when at length, for fear of a mutiny, he fleered more to the fouth-weft, and, after fome time longer .-{ailing, on the
24th •
J&fth of June, defcried fome land, to which, alluding to this circumftance, he gave the name of Prima Vijla, and which the Englifh, making ufe of a word of ftmilar import, called Newfoundland.   Other authors remark, that he met with many large mountains of ice, that he found the days lengthened, and the countries he vifited free from froft. Some fay he went to 67 deg. 30 min. N. lat. ; others reckon his moft northerly track to have been to 58 deg. N. lat.   He himfelf informs us, that he reached only to 56 deg. N. lat, and that the coaft in that part trended to the eaft. This feems hardly probable, for the coaft of Labrador trends neither at 56 deg. nor at 58 to the eaft, and at 67 \- deg. is the coaft of Greenland.    I fhould therefore fuppofe that Sebaflian Cabot had the firft fight of Newfoundland, off Cape Bona Vijla. Peter Martyr's account lays, that Cabot called the new-difcovered land alfo Baccalaos, from the circumftance of his having found there an immenfe quantity of large fifties, which the inhabitants called Baccalaos.  This word Bac~ calaos is by the inhabitants pronounced with the Spanifh double //, Baccaljaos, whence the Germans and Dutch have taken their term of Kabbeljau,   bearing the fame ftgnification.    This inclines me to fuppofe, that Prima Vijla, the firft land difcovered by Cabot, was the headland in Newfoundland,  which is ftill called Cape Bona-vijla, and this conjecture is ftill farther confirmed by the fituation of the ifland of Baccalao, which lies not fir from thence.   The inhabitants that Cabot met with here were dreffed in the fkins of animals ; he likewife faw feveral flags and white bears, which ufed to catch the Baccalaos fifh in the fea.   He alfo found at this place black hawks, with partridges and eagles of the fame colour ; and remarks, that the inhabitants there had a great quantity of copper.
Having refrefhed himfelf and his crew here, he failed to the fouth-weftward, till he was nearly in the fame latitude as the Straits of Gibraltar, and in the fame longitude as the Ifland of Cuba. According to this remark of Peter Martyr, Sebaflian Cabot muft hive been about as far as Chcjapeak Bay in Virginia.    He was now obliged,
M m 2 through
through want of provifions, to let out on his return, when he took-alone with him three inhabitants of Baccalao, or Newfoundland. But great preparations being made at that time for a war with Scotland, it did not appear at all probable to him that any ufe would be made of his difcovery ; he therefore went into the fervice of Spain, where he was made Pikte Mayor, and explored the coaft of Brand, and the river Plata ; after which he undertook fome other voyages in the fervice of Spain. In a writ of King Edward VI„ iffued out in 1549> one Sebaj-tian Cabot was alfo promoted to be Grand Pilot of England, with a fa-lary of 1661. 13s. 4d, per ann. fterling -r but if it be the fame perfon, he muft at that time have been very old.
II. We do not find, that fmce this, during the reign of Henry VII. and in that of Henry VIII. any great cnterprifes and voyages to the North were undertaken.   The avaricious difpofition of the former prevented him from any new undertakings after the firft expedition of Sebaftian Cabot, who, in fact, although he had difcovered a great extent of land, reaching from the 56th to the 36th degree of northern latitude, had brought home no treafures in gold and filver, which alone were coveted in thofe days ; neither was the turbulent, voluptuous, proud, and cruel difpofition of Henry VIII. any great encouragement to men of abilities and enterprise to undertake voyages of difcovery,. and thereby expofe themfelves to the King's fickle and tyrannical temper in cafe of mifearriage, as fuch expeditions depend merely on wind and weather, and may eafily turn out unfortunately. After his   deceafe,   came,   in   1548,.  a   Sebafian Cabot,   who   was not; only appointed Grand Pilot of England, but was allowed befides, a. a falary for life of 1661. 13s. 4d. in conjuleration of the good and acceptable fervice done and to be done by him. This expreflion feems to indicate, that this Sebajlian Cabot was the fame perfon as fo long ago as in 3. l497>
DISCOVERIES   in'   the  N O R T IT. 269
1497, ha4j with his father, John Cabot, made the difcovery of North-America, Newfoundland, and Terra di Laborador. By his own account he was very young at that time: let us therefore fuppofe him to have been 22 years old in 1497 J confequently he was born A. D. I475, and of courfe in 1548 was 73 years of age. Now, if Sebajlian Cabot, or Gavota, had been a young man, and different from the firfl difcoverer (as Fere Bergeron fuppofes in his Traite des Navigations, chap. x.J he would have gone himfelf upon the voyage we are about to niention : but even his rank as Governor of the Society of Merchants affociated for the purpofe of making difcoveries of unknown lands, dominions, iflands, and other places, fhews that he mufl have been at this time a man of great experience, and in a very refpectable fituation. It is therefore probable, that either from difcontent, or fome other caufe,. this Sebajlian Cabot had quitted the Court of the Emperor Charles V. in Spain, and returned to England. In the reprefentations &e made on this fubject, he endeavoured to prove, that it was poflible to find a way by the north-eaft to Kathay and India, in cafe any one undertook the voyage.
A Company of Merchants formed an affociation, at the head of which he was placed. This Society, in the year 1553, fent out three, mips under the command of Sir Hugh JVilloughby, Knt. for the Purpofe of making difcoveries. In the month of June they got as for as Halgoland, the birth-place of Ohther: going farther on, they arrived at Rojl, where Quirini had wintered, and proceeding farther ftill, at Lafot and Seynam (Senju). Directly after this, the Edward ^onaventura, commanded by Capt. Richard Chancellor, was feparated. from the Admiral's fhip by a ftorm. The Admiral foon after defcried land, but could not land on it, on account of the ice and the ihallow-
nefs
nefs of the water. He fuppofed it to be 160 leagues diftant from Seynam, in the direction of eaft by north, and in 72 degrees north lat. Confequently it muft have lain to the eaft of Kola, Perhaps this land was the coaft of Nova Zembla, or the iiland of Kolgow. Sailing now again to the weft, he came at length to a river and harbour, where he determined to winter. But, not having a fufficient quantity of wood for fuel, and being perhaps attacked by the fcurvy, they all perifhed ; though it appeared by the papers they left behind them, that they were ftill alive in the month of January 1554. The account fays, that the river or harbour, in which Sir Hugh Willoughby anchored, was called Arzina. A river of this name is found in Ruffian Lap-land, between Kola and the cape which the Ruffians call Swjcetoi-Nofs. For, that Willoughby faw Spitzbergen, is not at all probable; though Wood afferts that he did j the moft fouthern part of Spitzbergen being at leaft in 77 deg. N. lat. and confequently four or five degrees more to the north than Willoughby § Land.
As foon as Willoughby had got fight of this land, the Bona Confidential Capt. Durforth, was feparated in another ftorm, and returned to England. The Edward Bonaventure, under the command of Richard Chancellor, arrived at the harbour of St. Nicholas, at the mouth of the Dwina, and Chancellor went to Mofcow to the Czar Ivan Wafjielewltfch. The Grand Dukes had till then been obliged to fuffer very much under the yoke of the Tartars. But now they had entirely fliakcn it off, and Ruftia was no longer divided and parcelled out, as it had been before, amongft a number of petty Princes, but had now one fole Sovereign, the Grand Duke, who confequently was a Prince of confiderable power. This country bordering upon no other Chriftian countries but Poland, Livonia, and Sweden, and, on the contrary, having for neighbours to the fouth, the Turks, Tartars, Perfians, and other favage nations, the
merchants
DISCOVERIES   in   the   NO R T II. 271
merchants of the Hanfe-towns took great advantages over them in matters of commerce. It could not therefore but have been very Agreeable to Ivan IVafielewiich to fee the Englifh arrive in his dominions. Accordingly he made them the moft ample offers, granted them great privileges, and treated them with much kindnefs and friend-fhip. Richard Chancellor fold his cargo, and, taking in other commodities in lieu of thofe he had difpofed of, returned in the year 1554, with a letter from the Czar Ivan Wafficlewitfch, to England, where at that time King Edward VI. being dead, Queen Mary, his fiffer, fat on the throne.
III. The profits refulting from this firfl: navigation to Ruflia, mad'e the trading-company flail more eager to turn this fortunate event and the friendly difpofition of the Grand Duke Ivan Wafjielewitfch, to the bell advantage. Queen Mary and her confort, Philip, King of Spain,, were therefore pleafed to grant to the Company of Merchants Adventurers for Difcoveries in the North, North-eaft, and North-wefl, a charter with many privileges, under their Governor Sebaflian Cabot. Their Majeflies wrote likewife a letter to the Grand Duke Ivan tyaljjiekwitfch, and empowered Richard Chancellor, George Killingworth, and Richard Gray, to treat with the Grand Duke about the commercial privileges and immunities which he might be pleafed to grant to this newly-chartered trading Company. The mips which fet fail with thefe Plenipotentiaries, and with a frefli cargo of merchandize, were the Edward Bonavcnture before-mentioned, and the Philip and Mary. They were very kindly received by Ivan Wafjielewitfch, and having obtained from him a grant, with very ex ten live privileges, difpofed very profitably of their cargo at Kolmogori, Wologda, Mofcow, and Great' Nowgorod. Thus the Englifh Company was at once richly rewarded for their enterprize of finding out a fhort way to the Indies. They continued, however, to give commiflion to their mariners, to make di-^gent refearches after the way to Imjia. and to Kathay,
2>2 VOYAGES AND
In the year i 556, the fame two fhips, under the command of Richard Chancellory returned from the Dwina and the Bay of St. Nicholas, to England. In the mean time intelligence had been received concerning the two {hips loft on the firft voyage, and the BonaEjperanza,.?Ls well as the Bona C-svjidcntla, let out alio on their return home with rich cargoes. The Grand Duke, Ivan Waflielovvitfch, had difpatched by th fe fhips an AmbaflFador, with his retinue, to England. But of all thefe fhips only one got lack to Enghnd j all the others were loft. Richard Chancellor perh'hed, and the Ambaflador Ofcp (Jofeph) Nepea, with the greater! difficulty laved his life on the coaft of Scotland, where, however, he fuftaincd a very confiderable lofs in clothes, articles of merchandize, and prefents. As ibon as this became known in England, the Ambaflador was fent for to London, where he was received with great magnificence ; the Company made him feveral rich prefents, and fent him back toRuflia in 1557, in their own fhips. On his audience, he was very politely received by the King and Queen, and their Majefties gave him fome prefents to take over with him to the Grand Duke. Thus fhips continued to go every year to Ruffia, where they carried on a very cxtcniivc and profitable trade, which Dantzick and the other Hanfe-towns endeavoured to obftrucf as much as pofTible.
IV. A. D. 1556, the Company fent out a pinnace under command of Stephen Bnrrough, or Burrow, who had been, with Rtcbaw» Chancellor, in the capacity of Mafter, in his firfl voyage in the yt&f 1553. This veffel, merely deft in ed for difcoveries, was named the Searchthrift. At their departure the Governor of the Company, Sebajlian Cabot a, paid them a viiit, and is called, in the relation publifhed of the voyages, the good old Gentleman. This feems to be a very evident proof that this Sebajlian Cabot is the fame with him who had difcovered New"-foundhnd, and who, if at that time he was 22 years old, at this latter period muft have been 8i. Burrough went to the coaft of Nor faw Lafot and the North Cape, which latter he had named thus on his
firft
firfl voyage in the year 1553, and at length came to Cola. From thence he went, in company with fome fmall Ruffian veffels, or lodjes, as far as Kanyn-Nofs, or Kauda-No/s. Immediately after one is paft the cape of this ifland, one finds the caff, north-eaft., and north winds prevail more and more. After this he arrived at 30 leagues E. N. E. from thence, at the harbour of Morfch'mvez (Morzowets) in 68 deg. 20 min. N. lat. From thence he failed 25 miles to the eaftward, and at the diftance of eight leagues in the N. by W. found the ifland of Colgolve (Kolgow ojlrowJ. After this he came to Swctinotz (Swjsetoi Nofs); from whence he foon arrived in the dangerous mouth of the Petfchora. The whole land here confiftcd of low fandy hills. At length he reached Nova Zembla (Newland) and the iflands of Waigats *. But Burrough, finding it impoffible to advance any farther on account of the north-eafterly winds, and the great quantity of ice, and moreover the nights beginning already on the 22c! of Auguft to be very dark, determined to return, and to fpend the winter in Colmogori; though the Ruffians faid much to him in favour of the mouth of the river Ob, and concerning the great quantities of morfes, (or fea-horfes)., to be met with
* Waygats, according to the opinion of fome learned men, takes its name from the Dutch <waaieu, i. e. to blow, to be windy, and gat, i. e, a hole or a {trait, and is called waaipit, because in thefe ftraits the wind blows with great violence. But as thefe ftraks were already called Waigats by Burrough, before the Dutch had feen them ; and moreover, as the Englim had already heard the names of Nova Zembla and Waigats, from One Lojhak, a native of Ruflia, this name tnull be rather of Ruffian than of Dutch origin, Barentx. found afterwards on Konja Zembla fome carved images on a head-land near the {traits, in confequence of which he called it j'fgccden-hoek, the Cape of Idols. Now, in the Sclavonian tongue, li'ajat means to carve, to muki- am. image. Wajati-Nofs would therefore be the Cawed or Image Cape ; and this feems to me to be the true origin of the word iVaigats, which properly fhould be called IV/tjatelJlwoi Froli-w, the [mage o traits,
N xi there.
there. In Nova Zembla they faw not a human being, but caught a great number of birds, and faw fome white foxes and white bears. On the main land were the Samojedes, a heathen nation, who, living in the neighbourhood of the river Petfchora, were even at that early period fubjeft to Ruflia, and were tolerably peaceable and friendly; but thofe of this nation, who lived on the river Ob9 were of a rioflilc, cruel, and ferocious difpofition. Having wintered in Ruflia, he returned to England in the year 1557, and was afterwards made Comptroller of the King's navy.
V. The attempt to difcover a north-eafr. paffage to India having mifcarried, people began again to entertain the hopes of fuc-ceeding by a north-weft paffage. Accordingly, Queen Elizabeth fent Martin Forbi/Jjer out with three fmall fhips in 1567. On the nth of July lie faw land in 61 deg,. N. lat. which land he fuppofed to be the Friejland of Zeno ; and here he found a great quantity of ice. On the 28th of the fame month he faw land again, which, he took for the coaft of Labrador. On the 1 ft of Auguft land again appeared, and a large ifland of ice, which the next day fell, to pieces with a dreadful noife. Qn the nth he was in a ftrait, though,perhaps it was merely a found. After he had made them fome prefents, the inhabitants came on board the fhip, and the next day one of them went on board in the fhip's boat, and was taken a-fhore again j but the five failors who were with him, went to the natives, contrary to orders, and neither they, nor the boat, were ever feen again. Upon this, they feized on a native and took him along with them;, but he died foon after his arrival in England. Amongft other things which they carried home with1 them was a black, mining, and very heavy Honc^ which was gold marcafitc, (Pyrites aureus) as.it con trained a confiderable quantity of gold.
VI. The gold found in this ftone encouraged the members of the Society to fend the next year (1577) three other (hips.   Martin Fro-
lifier
fyfker was again Commander in Chief.   When he had got to the diflance of fix days fail from the Orkneys, he met with a great quantity of drift-wood, which was continually driven forwards with a current fetting from the S. W. to the N. E.   After 26 days failing in a weft and north-weft direction, he went from the Orkneys t© the country which was by them taken for Friefland.   Soon after, he came to Fro-bijher's Straight, where, even fo late as the 4th of July, all was ftitt covered with fnow and ice.   Neverthelefs he could not perfuade himfelf that the cold was fo intenfe as to freeze the fea-water, and fo much the lefs, as the difference between the tides of ebb and flood was above ten fathoms ; indeed, FrobiJJjer found ice at the diftance of upwards of 1000 miles from any land whatever, and this ice confifted of frefli, and not of fait water.    At the fame time it is inconceivable how this, ice fhould break off from the entire mafs, the air being fo fharp here, and the rays of the fun falling fo obliquely, as never to be elevated, even when it is at the higheft, more than 23 degrees 30 min. above the horizon.   It muft therefore have been either very rapid ftreams and torrents of frefli water, or elfe a high flood, which can have had force fuflicient to detach thefe enormous maffes of ice, and carry them into the fea,   Frobiflier, not daring to approach nearer witi his fhips on account of the ice, went on fliore with boats, and having examined every thing, and alfo feized on a native of the country, he returned again on board, and brought word, that in the bowels of the bare and barren mountains, probably great riches were hidden. I He landed on feveral other fpots, and at every place attempted to lay hold on fome of the natives ; but they fometimes defending themfelves bravely with their bows and arrows, fome of which were armed with iron points, but moft of them with fliarp ftones or bones, the Englifh fired, too, on their part, and wounded fome of them, who
N n 2 then,
276 VOYAGES      A * D
then, in order to avoid being taken, leaped into the Tea and drowi.e.T themfelves, an action which appeared very extraordinary to the Englifh, who intended to cure their wounds, and carry them over to England. The Greenlanders ufed every art poflible to be practifed In order to entice ttik Engliih to land, infomuch that one of them feigned himfelf lame, and got another to carry him y however, they could not lay hold on the Englifh : thefe latter, on the contrary, frightened the Greenlandcrs away by firing off* their blunderbuffes, when the pretended cripple ran away with the reft very fwiftly, and without limping in the leaft. The Englifh examined their huts (made of the fkins-of reindeer and the hides of other animals) and found fome of the clothes of the five Englifhmen who had been miffing the year before. They found alfo fome other miferable habitations of the natives, made of ftones heaped up together. After this follows a defcription of their, boats for one man,, as alfo of thofe for the women, their darts, clothes, and furniture. Of two women whom they found there, they took one along with them, together with her wounded child; the other was left on the fpot, on account of her extreme uglinefs. The failors,, moreover, fufpected this woman to have a cloven foot j but her bufkins being taken off her legs, her feet were found to be exactly like thofe of other human beings. They then took fome more of the glittering ftones along with them, and fet fail again for England. During the .voyage the Greenland captives, both man and woman, behawed with great decorum, and exhibited a degree of chaftity and modefty-which was not expected from them. The Admiral's fhip was feparated from the two fmaller ones in a ftorm, both of which, however, got fife, the one into Briftol, and the other into Scotland, as did the Admiral's fhip in MUford Haven.
Tho
The remark of the author of Frobifher's voyage, on the current which carried the great quantity of drift-wood they met with, in a direction from fouth-w^ft to north-eaft, has fince been frequently confirmed. For it is by this current that fo many Weft-Indian woods and fruits are call on thore in Ireland, Scotland, the Faro Illands, the Weftern Illands, the Orkneys, the Shetlmd Iflands, Iceland,- and Norway-: and it is probable that the black and red beans or peafe, which were afterwards, in the third voyage, found in the huts of the Greenlandcrs, and which, it is to be prefumed, came from the abrus precatorius, but. were fuppofed to be fruits from Guinea, had been brought by the fame current. In the fame manner the Icelanders are furnifhed with wood for firing, and receive other great advantages, by means of this current ; and other fcafaring people have, in Nova Zembla and Spitzbergen, as alio in Greenland, and even 011 the northern and eaftern coafts of Siberia, every where found great quantities of this drift-wood, which was of great ufe to them in building their dwellings, as alfo for firewood.
That this part of Greenland difcovered by Frobifher, which is lituated more to the fouth ward than any part of Iceland, or than Drontheim, In Norway, is neverthelefs far colder and more furrounded with ice than thefe latter places, feems chiefly to proceed from the following circumftance, viz. that the country of Greenland ftretches very far to the northwards, and is full of inlets, running deep into the country, and founds, where, in hard winters, maffes of ice of an aftonilh-ing fize are generated by the mountains of fnow which are blown down from off the high rocks, and in the fpring, in confequence of the thaws, of heavy rains, and of the fea-water dafhing upon them, are converted into ice. Thefe mountains of ice are torn off by the tides and torrents of rain-water, and at length carried out to
* Works of the Society at Drontheim, Vol. III. page 13, 28.
fea*
fea. But frequently they are fo numerous, that in the ftraits between Iceland and Greenland they are preffed together by florms, and without previoufly melting, freeze into one mafs fo as to form large fields of ice; particularly if they happen to be formed on fand-banks or fhallows, and cannot go any farther j for they extend to fuch an aftonifhlng depth in the water, that hardly one fifteenth part of them is above the furface of it, and fometimes many thoufand feet of fuch a mafs are under water. Now, as by thefe enormous mountains and fields of ice, large tracts of the ocean are entirely covered with ice, and confequently no vapours from the fea, which are ufually mild and damp, can reach the land in Greenland, or at leaft but in very fmall quantities, the cold muft be thereby prodigioufly augmented, when in addition to this, the north winds, already of them felves fufiiciently cold, blow over thefe immenfe fields of ice, and in their courfe are continually cooled more and more, till at laft they are rendered fo cold as to be abfolutely infupportable.
Here again we meet with an inftance of that cruelty which has ever marked the difcoveries of the Europeans. It was concluded to make captures of thefe poor people at all events, and pretended that it was deligned for their good. It is not furprifing that the innocent inhabitants could not form any favourable conception of the benevolent views of their conquerors, who brought devastation into their country, and deflrutition upon their families, or that they mould refifl their unprovoked attacks but the Europeans generoufly imagined that to cure them of the wounds they had inflicted, after having deprived them of their liberty, and perhaps their limbs, was an ample reward. Defpair, however, at laft infpired thefe injured people with refolution, and taught them to prefer death to the more lafting affliction of captivity, and to the lingering pains of their wounds. By this event again fome families were deprived of thofe who protected and maintained them, and were expofed to the danger of ftarvi ng in this rough and miferable
country.   Now, fuppoflng the Europeans had the laudable intention
of
of doing them fervice, and of inftructing them in the Chriftian religion, yet furely thefe violent proceedings were not the moft likely methods of effecting their purpofe, nor could the religion of Chrift have any great attractions for a people groaning under the oppreflion. of its teachers; and who could not but perceive their violation of its moft fundamental precept, that of philanthropy.    But befides what the profeffors of Chriftianity were far mope intent upon was, to procure intelligence whereabouts in that country gold was to be found, which at that time Was coveted by all the Europeans, a circumftance, which proves to a demon ftration that their zeal for the converfion of fouls was all pretence, and that avarice and a thirft after wealth were the real motives of all the voyages which were then undertaken, whilft the cruelty and rapaciouf-nefs by which they were diftinguifhed, have ftamped them with indelible difgrace, and only ferved to depopulate ftill more regions already too thinly peopled.   The modefty and decorum, too, of the two Grcen^ landers,, were the fubjects of much aftonifhment, as if chaftity and virtue were the fole property and exclufive privilege of the Europeans and nominal Chriftians; whereas they are too often found in greater purity amongft unenlightened nations; and finally,  what are we to think of Chriftians that could miftake an ill-favoured old woman forme Devil incarnate, and were not to be convinced to the contrary till they found that fhe had not a cloven foot ?   Men who are ftill under the influence of fuperftition like this, are but ill qualified to become leaders of the blind ; men who can treat with fo much inhumanity a people, whom, in fpite of prejudice, they are compelled to acknowledge are poffeffed of great and folid virtues ; furely fuch men are totally unfit to propagate a gofpel which only breathes the gentle fpirit of Charity and Peace.
All the defcriptions given of the drefs, the implements, the manners, and the language of thefe Greenlandcrs, evince that the modern Greenlanders have hardly at all deviated from their anccftors in any one of thefe particulars.
That at fo early a period arrows with iron points, and iron knives, were found amongft thefe Greenlanders, mews, in my opinion, that they are very careful to hoard up the iron which have been brought to that part of the world by thipwreck and other accidental occurrences. It feems alfo probable to me, that they may have preferved from generation to generation part of the iron which their anceftors had acquired at the deftruction of the Norwegian colony. It is true, that upwards of 900 years had elapfed fince this memorable event; yet this piece of ceconomy is by no means unlikely; for in 1773, * bought in the iiland of New Amfterdamy a fmall nail that had been left there in 1643, and confequently 130 years before, by Abel Janfen Tafmann.
VII. Queen Elizabeth was extremely well iatisned with the difcoveries of Martin Frobifier; and the report he made, as well as the probability of reaching Kathai (China) having been examined into, the profits alfo likely to accrue from the gold ore which he had brought home, having been duly weighed and confidered, it was refolved, that in the new-difcovered country, on which her Majefty beftowed the .name of Meta Incognita (the unknown Goal) a fort Cbould he built, and that for the defence of it, 100 men, together with three fhips under the command of the Captains Fenton, Beji, and Fiipoi, fhould be left there. The 100 men were to coniift of 40 feamen, y ncers, and 30 foldiers; amongft which were alfo bakers, goldrcu. carpenters, and other fuch neceflary perfons. Fifteen fmall vefie, trC fitted out for this enterprize, and the command of them was gjye J Admiral Martin Frobifher.
They fet fail from Harwich on the 31 ft of May, A. D. 1578. When they were paft Ireland, they again met with a ftrong current fetting from S. Vv.
3 10
to N. E. On the 20th of June, they difcovered Weil Friefland, which they now called Weft England. Having landed there, and taken poffeflion of it, they fpied fome huts or tents, from the form, con-flruction, and furniture of which they concluded them to be perfectly fimilar to thofe they had found in Met a incognita. The inhabitants took to their heels ; the huts were fearched, and amongft other things a fmall box with little iron nails was found, as alfo fome pickled herrings, and fome well-cut deal boards; whence it was concluded that thefe people muft either carry on fome trade with other civilized nations, or elfc be very good artiffs themfelves. Near thefe huts they alfo faw fome dogs, two of which they took along with them, and in lieu of them left feveral prefents, confifting of fmall bells, looking-glaffes, and other toys* They faw whales in fuch fhoals as it is ufual to fee porpoifes. The fhip Salamander, being under full fail with a fair wind, ftruck fohard againft a whale, that the fhock made the fliipftand ftill. The whale made a terrible hideous noife, rofe with his body and tail above the water, and immediately after plunged again into his element. Two days after this they found a large dead whale floating on the fea, which they fuppofed to be that which had been ftruck by the Salamander. They could not get into Frobifher's Straits on account of the ice, which the Admiral took to be a collection of ice formed from frefh water, it being in his opinion impoflible for the fea to freeze,. Particularly as here the tides ebb and flow above ten fathoms ; moreover he found ice at the diftance of ioo miles from the land, which *ce being melted, yielded frefli water without any fait in it. Probably the icehadbeen carried thither that year by thecafterly and wefterly winds., which were frequent there, and the large flakes of ice were continually hanging their pofition, fo that the fhips often came into great danger.. The bark Dennis, indeed was funk by a fhock ihe received from one of thefe large flakes of ice ; but, having fired off a gun in time, all the Cl"ew was faved ; the fhip itfelf, however, was loft, with part of the
O 0 timber
timber Intended for the habitation of thofe who were to winter there. A ftorm from the fouth-eaft put the fleet into the moft imminent danger; for they were fo frequently befet and blocked up by the large flakes of ice, that they found it a very difficult matter to guard againft the repeated (hock and preffureof it; till at length a weft north-weft wind difperfed all this ice, and freed them from the moft imminent danger. As they approached again towards the land, the appearance of it was fo much changed by the fnow and thick fogs, that they could not in the leaft diftinguith whereabouts they were. Avery ftrong current in a direction from north-eaft to fouth-weft, carried the fhips entirely out of their courfe. Frobiihcr was of opinion that the caufe of this current was that the fea flowing conftantly from the Bay of Mexico towards Ireland and Norway, and finding a reiiftance on thofe coafts, as alfo from a current coming round the North Cape from the Siberian Sea to meet it, is repelled with redoubled force to the northern coaft of Greenland, and fo takes its courfe along the coaft from north-eaft to fouth -weft.
The Admiral now fent the fhip Gabriel into an inlet, and found that (he could go through it into Frobijher's Straits, and round the Qyeens Foreland, which was an ifland, again into thofe Straits, which he had before miftaken for Frobifiers Straits. He now explored the numerous iflands in its vicinity, and withftood the murmurings of his crew with magnanimity and fortitude; and, after ftruggling a fecond time againft the dangers of the ice in a frefh ftorm, arrived fife in the Countefs of Warwick's Sound. Going on fhore, he fearched for minerals, and found that in the vallics of thofe parts the air is fometimes aftoniihingly hot, yet, the leaft wind blowing from over the ice will fuddenly change all this heat into the moft piercing cold. Three mips had been miffing, which for a long while had kept out at fea in great danger, but at laft came into a harbour, where the crew repaired tl">c mips, and, by fitting the pieces together which they had with them ready for the purpofe, built a pinnace, in which they went in queit
of the Admiral, whom they accordingly found.   Now likewife allays were made of the ore found by Captain Beit, as alfo of that difcovered by the Admiral, and all the mips were loaded with confiderable quantities of both.   At this time it was refolved not to leave any body here for tlus year, conikiering that the feafon was already fo fir advanced, and great part of the timber for the dwelling as well as the provifions for the 100 men, had been loft.   It had been determined that they ihould fet out on their voyage homewards on the laft day of Auguft; but a violent ftorm obliged them to fet fail immediately. In the courfe of the whole voyage they loft but 40 men in all the fleet. The inhabitants were extremely fhy.   It was fuppofed that thefe people traded with other nations, as iron in bars was found amongft: them, alfo iron heads for darts,  needles with four-fquare points, and copper buttons for ornaments On the forehead, things they were by no means capable of making themfelves.   They ufed to kindle their fires by rubbing two flicks together.   They drew their furniture over the ice with dogs • their kettles were made, with great art and ingenuity, of ftone (viz. lapis oliaris). In the Bear-Sound they had built a houfe of lime and ftone, as alfo an oven; and had left in the houfe toys of different kinds, and dolls for the natives.   When the Buffe Bridgewater returned,  the found a land to the fouth-eaft of Friefland, in 57 deg. 30 min. N. lat. along the coafts of which, that were covered with woods,,and in fome places with grafs, they fuled for three days.
From the whole tenor of this voyage of Frobifher we learn his opinion concerning the origin of the ice, which is found in fuch abundance in the northern feas. Firft, we fee, that though Sir John Fringley in his difcourfe addreifed to Captain Cook,, bellowed fuch high encomiums on him. for having made ufe of the ice fwimming in the fea, for the purpofe of providing the mips
O o z under
284 V   O   Y   A   G   E   S and
under his command with frefh water ; yet nothing is more certain now, than that he was not the firfl who knew that the ice found in the fea being melted would produce frefh drinkable water j for Frobifher had after ted this fo early as the year 1578, and confequently 194 years before Cook made the experiment. In fad, he had Hackluyt on board his fhip,, in whofe collection of voyages there is this very voyage of Fro-bifher's, and he ufed to read this book by way of amufement. Nay, in Hackluyfs work, immediately after this voyage of Frobifher, follows that of John Davis, performed in the year 1585, in which it is exprefsly mentioned that he had loaded a whole boat with ice, which yielded good frefli water. So true is it on one hand, that by the ignorance of men many things have been cried up as new and important difcoveries, which neverthelefs had been known and brought into ufe long before; and on the other hand, that provided we can but find fome man of confequence to found our praifes, we may be certain of being extolled, even for fuch things as deferve no praife at all. Cook is a great man, who has merit fufficient of his own without the addition of this circumftance; it would therefore be unjuft to magnify him at the expence of other men of merit, who lived at an earlier period.
It is true that the mountains of ice confifl of frefh water frozen ; but from this it does not follow, that all the ice in the fea has been generated from rain and fnow. Mr. Nairne fhewed, in 1776, that when Fahrenheit's thermometer is at 27^ degrees, the frefh particles of the fea water will freeze, and leave nothing but ftrong brine behind. Barentz faw the fea at Nova Zembla fuddenly frozen over, to the thicknefs of feveral inches; it is therefore nothing new for fea-water to freeze, and for this ice, neverthelefs when melted, to produce 3     ♦ frefh
frefh potable water. Without doubt, it is poflible that fome ice mountains may be produced in the fpring from the fnow and torrents of frefh rain-water j but it does not follow from hence, that all the ice found m thefe feas have the fame origin. More on this fubject may be read in my Obfervations made during a Voyage round the World.
It is remarkable, that the fhock of a fhip under full fail mould be fo powerful as to kill fo large an animal as a whale at one ftroke. I remember in our voyage round the world, that one day feveral whales appearing about our veffel, while fome of thefe unwieldy animals amufed themfelves with diving under the water on one fide of her and coming up again on the other, the fhip in her courfe grazed againft the back °f one of them, which, in purfuing thefe gambols, had probably not gone deep enough ; for when it came up on the other fide, the whole fea was immediately dyed red with its blood : though at the fame time we had but a very moderate breeze; and the direction taken by the whale went right acrofs the motion of the fhip* Now had we been failing before the wind with a ftiff gale, and at the fame time the whale had met us in a direct line, its death would have been unavoidable.
I have alfo mentioned in my Obfervations, that the fea between the Tropics by reafon of its being conftantly propelled by the eafterly winds, m the Atlantic towards the continent of America, and in the Pacific Ocean towards China, New Holland, and the Molucca Iflands, flows north and fouth along the coaft of the American continent, and comes in the temperate Zone from fouth-weft to north-eaft, in the northern he-mifphere; and from north-weft to fouth-eaft, in the fouthern Hemif-phere. Confequently we find, that in the northern hemifphere a current fets in from the Bay of Mexico north-eaftward towards Ireland arid Norway; and from the coaft of Brazil* in the fouthern hemifphere, Mother current drives the waters of the ocean paft the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Sea.   But, on the other hand, this current runs
northwards
northwards againft Norway, and is repelled again from eaft to well on the weftern coaft of Greenland in the northern Frigid Zone. In the fouthern hemiipbere the current going from the Cape, breaks againft New Holland, and then in the Frigid Zone goes again to the weftward, which is the reafon, that beyond Terra del Fuego, near Cape Horn,-and in the Streights of Le Malrc,, we obferved a ftrong current coming from the eaft,, which we alfo took notice of even near Staaten Land and Ncwyears IJlan-ds. In the South Sear too,, there are iimilar currents, viz, between the Tropics from eaft to weft,, in the temperate: Zones from weft to eaft,. and in the frigid Zones again,, from eaft' to* weft. Thefe currents in the fea partly occafion alfo fimilur currents iiv the air which is the reafon that in the temperate Zones the weftenv winds predominate in like manner as in the frigid Zone3. The eafb winds occur more frequently than any other winds -y fo that Frobifhcr's remark is perfectly confiftent with truth. For the frequent mention of an ore being found in Greenland, there muft certainly have been fome foundation.. But wlvat degree of fkill the aflayers pofleffed, which our navigators took out with them, it is not poflible to. determine, much lefs whether real gold ore was ever found in this country. It is poflible,. however, that there are iron as well as copper ores iff Greenland, which perhaps contain confiderable quantities of filver and gold, Crautz, in. his Hijhry of Greenland, Book I. chap, 4.,. § 26> feems in fome refpect to confirm this fuppofition.. Indeed, the northern regions cannot be faid to be entirely deftitute of gold and filver, as the mines in Aedeljlors and Klngfherg are known to every one,, and as the Ruffians have found in Bear Ifland pieces of native filver, of a confiderable fize, and branched out into the moft beautiful ramifications.
That the Greenlanders ftill make kettles for their own. ufe of the lapis ollaris, is alfo afcertained by the above-mentioned Crantz in %W place before referred to, § 25.
It is very improbable that the Greenlanders mould have carried on a trade with any civilized nation, and received from them iron bars, and topper buttons, for the ornaments of their foreheads. The iron and copper found amongft them had doubtlefs been hoarded up by them ever fince the deftruction of the Norwegian colony, or elfe they had been furniihed with thefe metals by the mips wrecked near this coaft, or, at the utmoft, they may have got fome native copper from the American favages dwelling in Hudfon's Bay, either by barter, ftratagem, or force ; for even at prefent pieces of un wrought copper are found amongft thefe favages, which they have beaten with great difficulty into the form of bracelets. In other reflects, the manners of thefe Greenlanders are perfectly conformable to thofe of the prefent natives.
If the Buffe Bridgwater really, and bona jidey found a land overgrown with woods and grafs in 57 deg. 30 mirj. N. lat. it muft have funk afterwards into the fea, as it has never been feen again in the voyages repeatedly made fmcc to Hudfon's Bay, Greenland, and Labrador ; or elfe thefe navigators muft have been pretty much miftaken in their reckoning, and muft have taken Iceland for quite a new country, and formed the woods in their own imagination.
VIII. Frobifher having effected nothing in three voyages made to the north-weft, for the purpofe of difcoveringa paffage to Kathay and India, the Company of Ruftia Merchants were dciirous of trying once more, whether it was poflible to find out a way to thefe empires by the north-eaft; as the wealth which the Portuguefe daily acquired by their voyages to India was very confiderable, in confequence of which a new paffage to Kathay (or China) and India, became the object of the wifhes of all the maritime nations of Europe. They therefore difpatched two fhips in the year 15S0, by way of making a trial, under the command of Arthur Pet and Charles Jackman, Accordingly they failed from Harwich on the 30th of May, and after
fome
fome time reached the North Cafe and Wardhoufebut the eaft, north-eaft, and fouth-eaft winds prevailed for a long time, and hindered them from purfuing their voyage: at length, having worked through great quantities of ice, and been often deceived by falfe appearances of land, on the 18th of July they arrived off Waigatz. They then failed through the Straits, and foon met with a large quantity of folid ice ; fo that, after feveral fruitlefs attempts to get through it, they were obliged to return. It is remarkable, that in the fea extending between Nova Zembla and the continent, wherever they founded, they foon came to ground % that is to fay, they had from 4 to 33, 68, 70, and 95fathoms. Not far from Colgoyeve*. or Kolgow, they ran upon a fand-bank. They faw the land Hugri (or Jugria on the banks of the Petfchora) and the Bay of Morzowetz. At length they made the North Cape, and on the 26th of November arrived fafely at Ratcliff'. The other fhip,. the William, commanded by Charles Jackman, having been feparated from them in a very thick fog^ was-obliged to winter in a harbour in Norway y from whence fhe fet fail in the month of February, in company with a Danifh fhip bound for Iceland fmce which time there was never any farther intelligence to be obtained concerning her.
This attempt at a north-eaft paffage, which, like the former ones,, proved abortive, chiefly ferves to corroborate two phyfical remarks mentioned above. The firft is,, that in thefe high northern latitudes we meet with frequent eafterly,. north-eafterly, and fouth-eafterly winds. The fecond regards the great 'mailownefs of the water of the northern, or Icy-Sea, which has been noticed not. only then, but alfo fmce,. by more modern navigators. We find alfo in this voyage the ufual complaints with refpect to the enormous quantities of ice and. the terribly dangerous fogs with which they were annoyed,/and which every where occur, as well in the northern as in the fouthern hemifphcre, in the cold regions near the Poles, and both of which greatly contribute to hinder any progrefs from being made in thefe dreadful feas.
IX. Though
IX.   Though none of the former voyages to the North had turned out to any advantage, yet there were always others who endeavoured to make new difcoveries, partly in hopes ot actually finding countries abounding in gold, filver, and fpices, and partly from a notion that in the purfuit of their difcoveries,  they might hit upon a new way to India.   Queen Elizabeth, therefore, in  1578, made a grant to Sir Humphry Gilbert, of all the lands which he fhould difcover and take poffeflion of; in confequence of which, he made preparations for his voyage.   However, I cannot deny but that there are ftill fome obfeure accounts extant of voyages of difcovery undertaken long before this. We find that fo early as 1502, Hugh Elliot and Thomas Ajhhurjl, merchants of Briftol, obtained letters patent from Henry VII. for the eftablifhment of colonies in the countries newly difcovered by Cabot. But whether they ever made ufe of this permiflion, and fet on foot any voyages thither, we find no traces to inform us, either in the writers who were their cotemporaries,   or in thofe that immediately fuc-ceeded them.   But likewife, in the reign of King Henry VIU. A. D. 1527, two (hips, the one of which was called Domlnus vobifcum, were by the advice of Robert Thome, of Briftol, fent to make difcoveries to the north-weftward.   The one of thefe veffels was loft in a dangerous gulph, between the northern parts of Newfoundland, and the country afterwards called, by Queen Elizabeth, Meta Incognita.   The fecond fhip, after the lofs of the firft, fhaped its courfe towards Cape Breton, and the coaft of Arambec.   In their way thither thefe navigators often went on fhore, and explored thefe unknown regions, and arrived again fafe in England in the beginning of October.   But the preceding very imperfect account is all that is known of this expedition. However, from hence it appears, that Cape Briton, which is here at fo early a period called by this name, muft have been named thus by Sebajlian Cabot, when, in company with his father, he difcovered Newfoundland, Or Baccallaos, and afterwards failed along the coaft of America as far
P P as
as Chefapcak Bay. With regard to the coaft of Aramhec, I am free to confefs, that as yet the fituation of this coaft is entirely unknown to me; though I rather fuppofe it to be the coaft of what is now called Nova Scotia, or perhaps of even a more foutherly region.
After this voyage we find it alfo mentioned, that a perfon of the name of Here, fet fail in 1536, from London, with two fhips, the Trinity and the Minion, about the latter end of April.   They arrived at Cape Briton, and from thence went to the north.-eaff.ward,, till they came to Penguin IJIand, an ifland lituated on the fouthern coafl: of Newfoundland, and which was named thus after a kind of fea-fowl, which the Spaniards and Portuguefe called Penguins, on account of their being fo very fat, and which ufed to build their nefts and to live in aftonifh-ing quantities on this little rock..   After this they went to Newfoundland.   Here they fuv fome of the inhabitants, who came to look at their fhip j but, being purfued,. fled to an ifland, where a piece of roafted bear's flefh was found on a wooden fpit.   They alfo afterwards frequently ufed to (hoot white and black bears themfelves, and found the flefli of them very palatable.   But at length their ftock of provi-fion decreafed, fb that they were neceftitated to eat fome fifli which an ofprcy had carried to her neft for the purpofe of feeding her young ; and befides that, were obliged to feed upon herbs and roots of all kinds;. nay more, when the fcarcity of food increafed, it was obferved, that fome of the failors were miffing one after another,, who were at length difcovered to have been killed and eaten in the woods by their own comrades.   The Captain, reproached his people very feverely for this piece of cruelty; at length, however, they were again reduced to fuch extremities as to be ready to eaft lots whofe turn it fhould be to be devoured next; when the following day a French fhip arrived there, of which they made themfelves maftcrs, and left theirs to the French, after having diftributed to them a fuflicient quantity of provifions. They arrived fafe in England, where, foon after, a complaint was preferred againft them by the French, for the forcible feizure made of their 2 veffel r
veffel j but the King being informed of the dire neceliity which ij.;'d compelled them to commit this act of violence, indemnified the French out of his own purfc, and did not punifh , this act of piracy as it would otherwife have richly deferved to have been punifhed.
It is pretty evident that thefe adventurers knew very little of the immenfe ftore of fifh to be found on all the banks round about the ifland of Newfoundland, or elfe they would have made a better ufe of it for their maintenance. For there are many accounts extant which mention that, finee the year 1504, the French from Normandy and Bretagne, and the Spaniards from Bifcay, as alfo the Portuguefe, ufed to carry on the cod fiihery on thefe banks, with a great number of fhips. This fimery mull: therefore have been carried on at leaft 32 years without the Englifhmen having the leaft knowledge of it; neither, indeed, did they feem to have any conception in what manner people in diftrefs muft endeavour to live, even without bread or other provifions in common ufe amongft the Europeans. It is in fact inconceivable how any men, at a time when want and famine flared them as it were in the face, could be fo inactive and infenfible as thofe people have been defcribed to us. Humanity thirties at the high degree of calloufnefs and the forgetfulnefs of every duty exhibited by thefe people, when we read that one of them came behind another who was digging up fome roots out of the earth, and killed him, with a view to prepare himfelf a meal from his fellow-creature's flefli; and that a third, fmelling the delicious odour of broiled meat, went up to the murderer, and, by threats and menaces, extorted from him a fharc in this fhocking meal*.
* This faft is here mifrcprefented. The man who quarrelled with the murderer did not know on what kind of flefh the latter was" feafVmg; and when he was infjrmedof it, went, it feem , r.nd divulged the matter to the rea of his companions.   Vide Hakluyt** Voyages, Vol. III. p. ijo.
P p 2 It
It appears alio, by an act of Parliament, pafTed in the reign of King Edward VI. A. D. 1584, that for the better promotion of the fiihery in Ice/and arijd Newfoundland, the exaction of money, fifh, or other rewards, under any pretext whatfoever, from the Englifh fifhermefii and mariners going on this fervice, was prohibited. This ferves al lead: to prove, that the Englifh, even at that time, were accuftomed to fifh on the banks of Newfoundland ; as alfo, that many other nations at the fame time ufed to carry on a lucrative fifhery, which it was intended to wreft out of their hands by thefe means.
The Captain of a veffel from Briftol, by name Antony Pnrkhurft, in 1578, gave the learned Richard Hakluyt a very authentic and good account of the great cod-fifhery which was then annually carried on in the vicinity of Newfoundland ; by which it appears, that at that time about 50 Englifh fhips were employed on this fiihery. For the fame purpofe there ufed alfo to come about 100 Spanifh mips, and about 30 or 30 from Bifcay, which latter went thither with a view to thef whale-fifhery only. All the Spanifh fhips taken together, made about 5 or 600 tuns burthen. Moreover, there came about 50 Portuguefe fhips to fifh for cod, and their fhips might carry about 3000 tuns. Finally, there came alfo from France, and that chiefly from Britatmy, 150 mips, carrying all together about 7000 tuns. Parkhurft gave likewife a very picture (que defcription of the immenfe quantity of fifli which arrived yearly off Newfoundland; as alfo of the remaining products of the country, fuch as game, birds, and fowls, furs,- fait, copper, and iron, and other profitable articles of commerce.
In the fame year 1578, Sir Humphrey Gilbert obtained from Queen Elizabeth a munificent grant for the peopling and occupation of all fuch heathen countries as were not at that time peopled and occupied by any other Chriftian power. In confequence of this, many of his friends and acquaintance joined him , fo that it was hoped this preparation would incrcafe to fuch a fleet as would be able even to encounter
a royal
a royal fquadron ; but juft as they were ready for failing, many of them declined their former engagements; notwithstanding which Sir Humphrey, with a few friends and mips, ventured on this expedition. They had hardly fet fail, when a violent ftorm damaged the fleet very much, and occafioned the lofs of one of their largeft fhips. Now, though the adventurous Knight fuffered a great lofs thereby, having engaged in this affair a confiderable part of his fortune, by which means his eltate was deeply involved; he neverthelefs endeavoured by every means in his power to put his plan in execution, and gave away tracts of land on the mouth of the river Canada, to other people, on condition of their peopling and flocking them. But finding that they did not intend to fulfil thefe conditions, he refolved at laft to undertake this voyage once more himfelf, as there were but two years remaining before the entire expiration of the royal grant. He made therefore every poflible effort, and was moreover aflifted by fome friends with money as well as advice, and at length fet fail with five fhips and about 160 men from Can/on(Caufand) Bay, near Plymouth, on the 1 ith of June, 1583. They met with ftorms and abundance of fogs, chiefly on the great fifli— ing-bank that lies before Newfoundland. On the nth of July they faw land; but finding nothing before them but bare rocks, theyfhaped their courfe more to the fouth ward, and arrived at length at Penguin Ifland*) where they took in a good ftock of fowls. After this, they repaired to the Ifland of Baccalaos, and to the Bay of Conception, where they met again with the Swallow, one of the fhips they had loft in the fog. Then they ran into the bay of St. John, where they found a great number of fhips, Englifh as well as foreigners, which were there on
* This Penguin Ifland muft not be confounded with that Penguin Ifland which was feen by Hoi-c j for that is on the fouthern coaft of Newfoundland, while this is on the eaftern, and is n°w called FcSo.
account
294      '      VOYAGES and
account of the cod-fifhery. Sir Humphrey Gilbert now took pofleflion of the iiland, and of all other lands that lay 200 leagues from it in all directions; and received rich prefents from all the Captains of the fhips that lay off that ifland, particularly from the Portuguefe, who were very numerous there. By one of thefe he was informed that, about 30 years before, feveral hogs, as well as horned cattle, had been landed on the ifland of Sablon (Sable Ifland). After having taken poffeflion, the Admiral made enquiry concerning the nature of the country, and he and his people began to explore it themfelves. This country was found to be in fummer very hot, but extremely cold in winter ; yet not fo cold as to be infupportable. The fea furrounding Newfoundland abounded fo much in fifh, that there were but few inftances of any thing equal to it elfe where. In the bays and rivers there were falmons and trouts, and in every part of the fea bonitos, turbots and large lobflers; alfo a kind of large herrings, equal to thofe of Norway. There was a great number of whales; wood grew with the greater! luxuriance over the whole country, which therefore was capable of furnifhing mafts, planks, timber for fhipping, tar, fifli, and potafh, in great abundance. There was alfo game of all kinds, fo that they could eafily get hides and all forts of furs. Moreover the foil was very fertile, fo that by cultivation they might obtain great quantities of hemp, flax, and corn, and manufacture the former of thefe into ropes, cables, linen, and other commodities. Add to this, that all kinds of. fowl were found here in great plenty. They likewife difcovered iron ore, lead, and copper. Nay, Matter Daniel, a native of Saxony, an honeft and religious man, and a very expert miner and affayer, brought Sir Humphry Gilbert a kind of ore, faying, that if he was in fearch of filver, this certainly was what he wanted, and that he would flake his life that there was fome filver in this ore.   As there was a great number of fo-
reign fhips then in the harbour, Sir Humphry did not chufc to have
this
this affair much talked of, and ordered the ore to be carried immediately on board. While he was on more, many of the people going to a neighbouring bay, feized upon a fhip, and having put the crew a more, failed away with it; fome of his people ran away and hid themfelves in the woods , others fell fick of the dyfentery or flux, and many died of that diftemper; the fleet, therefore, was divided : one fhip remained with the fick„ and fome were fent home. But he, for his part, was dehrous of purfuing his difcoveries, and of taking pof-feifion of fome other countries which lay to the fouthward, and therefore fet fail in order to find the land of Cape Briton,as alfo the ifland of Sablon, where there was faid. to be a great quantity of cattle. Sailing to and fro in thefe parts, with contrary winds, the great Admiral fhip ftruck on a fand-bank, in a thick fog, and was wrecked ; fome few people, however, faved themfelves in a fmall boat, but all the reft were loft. This misfortune, together with the circumftance of the feafon of the year being advanced, determined the Commander in Chief for the prefent to return to England. Accordingly they fhaped their courfe thither. Near England they were overtaken by another ftorm ; when a fmall veffel, on board of which the Admiral then happened to be, went to the bottom with him.
With refpecf to this unfortunate voyage, I mall only make my remarks on fome particulars. Firft, it appears, that very foon after the difcovery of Newfoundland, the fifhery on the banks or fhallows to the eaft and fouth of this country was carried on by the Portuguefe, Bif-cayans, French, and other nations, who ufurped this fifhery on the coaft of a country which the Crown of England had difcovered at its own expence. As long as Spain, Portugal, and France, were ftrong and powerful at fea, the Englifh did not venture to difpute with them the title to this fifhery; but as foon as Spain was engaged in a war with England, the latter, in 1585', fent a fquadron into thefe feas, under the command of Sir Francis Drake, who feized all the Portuguefe
ihipSj
mips, tnd carried them, as good and lawful prizes, to England ; and in procefs of time, as the power of England increafed at fea, (he endeavoured to exclude entirely from this fiihery, of fo great importance to the Roman Catholic powers, both Portugal and Spain, who were declining very faff. In the year 1756, England took all the French fifhing veffels that vi-fitcd thofe Teas, whereby France loft upwards of 25,000 feamen, and during the whole remainder of the war, was incapable of manning her fleet properly. By the peace of Paris nothing was left the French but the ifland of St. Pierre, and the two Miquelons, together with a paltry title to the fifhery, cramped by a thoufand reftrictions. They have, however, flipulated rather more freedom for themfelves, and made better conditions, in the late peace of 1783. The Americans who, from the beginning, have always taken a fhare in this fifhery, have alfo been confirmed by the fame peace in this prerogative, now that they have acquired independence. In the fecond place, it is very clear, in the in-ftance mentioned here, of the Portuguefe having flocked the ifland of Sablon with tame domeftTc animals; that this nation, as well as the Spaniards, directly after the firft difcovery of America, and of the new route to India, ufed to flock all the iflands and continents with tame, domeftic animals, which they turned loofe there, and which in fome places have increafed greatly : e. g. the immenfe number of wild horfes and oxen found in Chili and Patagonia, proceed from thofe which the Spaniards had at firfl turned loofe in thofe countries. At Afcenfion Ifland there are ftill in being fome wild goats which the Portuguefe had left there ; and in like manner there are yet fome wild goats remaining at St. Helena. In the Iiland of Juan Fer* nandez, too, there was in the former part of this century a great number of wild goats ; but they are very much di mini fhe J, and perhaps are even entirely extirpated, fmce the Spaniards have turned fome dogs loofe there, which have nearly devoured all thefe animals. There were likewife great numbers of wild oxen, hogs, and fowls on the ifle of 77-
< 3 nSwi i
man; but the dogs left on the ifland have in like manner thinned their numbers greatly, and have rendered them very my. On the Manillas, or Luzon, and on fome other of the Philippine Iflands there are ftill confiderable herds of wild horfes and oxen, proceeding from thofe which the Spaniards had left there. In fact, the firft difcoverers of the new world were men of humanity, and were defirous of providing for fuch unfortunate people as might happen to be eaft away on thofe -coafts. On the other hand, the falfe policy of modern times is tyrannical and callows, exporting dogs to thofe places, which the firft difcoverers of them had flocked with ufeful and domeftic animals. Are thefe, then, the happy confequences of the fo-much-boafted, enlightened flate of the prefent age, and of the refinement of manners peculiar to thefe our times ? Father of mercies ! when will philanthropy, now almoft bamfhed from the univerfe, again take up its abode in the breads of men* of Chriftians, and of the rulers of the earth !
This taking poffeflion of Newfoundland, effected A. D. 1585, on the part of the Crown of England, is the foundation of the rights this nation has to the fifhery carried on by her fubjects in thofe fcas, which Would be ftill more profitable for the Englifh if Newfoundland *was better peopled. But the revolt of the thirteen North-American Colonies, the great decreafe of population in Great-Britain, in confequence of the frequent wars fhe ha6 been engaged in, and many other eonfideration6., make the Englifh extremely averfe in every refpect to promote the population and cultivation of thefe very fine iflands. There are in Newfoundland, as well as at Cape Breton, fuch rich coal mines, that if the Crown would but grant leave to work them, their produce *vould be fufftcient to fupply all Europe and America abundantly with this commodity ; and fome are even fo commodioufly fituated, that the c°als might be thrown directly from the coal-works themfelves into
Q^q the
•
the mips, as they He clofe to the more. This piece of intelligence I had from my lyte friend, the great circumnavigator, Capt. Cook, who, for feveral years fucceffively, had explored the mores of this ifland, taken their bearings and refpective diflances, and laid them down on charts.
X. Some merchants, and gentlemen of landed property, as alfo fome noblemen belonging to the Court, in 1585 formed an affociation for the purpofe offending out two fhips on difcoveries,. under the command of John Davis, a very experienced, navigator. They fet fail from Dartmouth on the 7th of June, and, on. the 13th of the flime month, left Falmouth. Firfl they failed to the weflward, and then ta the north-wefl. They met with a great number of whales and dolphins, one of which latter they killed with a fpear, took it on board, and cat it, when the flefli feemed to them as well tailed as mutton. On the 19th of July they heard a great noife in the fea during a thick fog. The current fet to the northward , with a line of 300 fathoms they found no ground; and they difcovered that the noife they had heard proceeded from the waves dailiing againfl the ice. They loaded their boat quite full with this ice, which, when melted, produced good palatable water. The next day, viz. the 20th of July, they faw Ian tl, which confifled entirely of fummits of mountains in the form of fugar-loaves, quite covered with fnow, fome of them indeed reaching above the clouds. They named this horrid land the Land of Deflation.
The whole of this land was fo furrounded with ice, that they could not come near it. They imagined they faw forefts upon it, and in the fea found fome drift-wood, out of which they took up one entire treo with the roots upon it, which was 60 feet long, and 14 fpansin circumference. On the 25th they fhaped their courfe to the north-wefl i*1 hopes to find the wifhed-for paffage.   After four days fuling, they
agnin faw land on the 29th of July, in 64 deg. 15 min. N. lat. ifl
wbick
which land they found many convenient harbours and deep founds, one of which they named Gilbert's Sound, They went on more, and faw fome of the inhabitants, cloathed in feal fkins, with whom they foon became friends, and obtained almoft any thing for which they fhewed but the fmalleft inclination ; for the natives gave away their clothes, boats, and arms, and in lieu of them, accepted any thing that was offered them. The Englifh expreifmg their withes for more furs, the inhabitants promifed to return the next d^y. They did not, however, venture to come near the Englifh, till both parties had repeatedly pointed to the fun, and then {truck their breafts. Here they found again Mofcovy glafs (Mica membranacea Linnrei) as alfo the fame kind of ore as had b.en found by Sir Martin Frobifher. Next morning, the wind being favourable, Davis would not wait for the return of the inhabitants, but purfued his courfe to the north-weftward. On the 6th of Auguft, he again fiw land, in 66 deg. 40 mm. N. lit. The road was named Totnefs Road • the found which encompaffed a high mountain glittering like gold, Exeter Sound ; the mountain itfelf, Mount Raleigh y the northern promontory, Dyers Cape, and the fouthern, Cape WaU Jingham, after the then Secretary of State, Sir Francis JValJingham. Here they met with four white bears, three of which they killed, afd the next day they difpatched another enormoufly large one, the paws of which meafured 14 inches in breadth. On the 8th of Auguft, Davis failed fouth fouth-weft, along the coaft. On the 11 th, he faw the moft fouthern point of this land, which he called the Cape of God's Mercy, and, having failed round it, he found a large (trait, which in fome places was 20 leagues broad. The weather was mild, and the fea bore the colour and appearance of the ocean. Davis was now in great hopes of finding at laft the paffage. He failed up the ftraits 60 leagues, and in the middle of them found many iflands, and an open paffage on both fides. In making this refearch, he divided his fhips fo that one of them was to explore the north paliagc, and the other
Q_q 2 the
the fouth. But the fouth-eaft winds, had weather, and thick fogs fetting in, they were thereby prevented from advancing any farther, They went on more, and found traces of people dwelling there, and likewife faw dogs with pricked ears and thick bufhy tails, one of which animals had a collar about its neck. Two fledges, the one of which was made of fir, fpruce, and oaken boards ; the other of whalebone, were alfo found there, together with fome carved images, and the model of a boat. In this fea they met with a great many iflands, with large founds palling between them : they rowed farther on between the illands, and faw feveral whales, which they had not feen at the mouth of the Straits to the eaftward. They proceeded by the afliftance of the tide which went along with them from the eaft to the weft, and the rife and fall of which was fix or feven fathoms (i. e. from 36 to 42 feet). Her?, at 300 fathoms, they could find no ground. But the moft remarkable circumftance was, that going along with the tide to the fouth-wefl, they were met all at once by a ftrong counter tide, without being: able to imagine the caufe. The depth of the fea at the mouth of the Straits was about 90 fathoms ; but the farther they advanced in it, the more the depth increafed, and here there was no ground at 330 fathoms. %it the wind being againft them, they refolved to turn back. On the 10th of September they faw the Luna* of Deflation, where they refolved to go afliore; but, a violent ftorm arifing, they could not put their defign in execution. Upon this, they haftened homewards, and on the 30th of September arrived again lafely at Dartmouth.
Thus it appears that Davis was the firft who in later times faw the weftern coaft of Greenland, on which Cape Deflation lies. He afterwards difcovered land farther to the weftward, on the ifland which he afterwards himfelf called Cumberland's Ifland. On this ifland alfo isMnnt Raleigh, Totnefs-Road, Exeter Sound, Dyer s Cape, and Cape li'al/ingham. The fea between Cumberland's Ifland and the wefteifB coaft of Greenland was afterwards named Davis's Straits ; and as in the fcquel all the land quite to Button's Iflands-, on the coaft of Labrador, was difcovered by Davisx Davis's Straits were alfo extended as far as
this
this fp«.   He likewife faw the Cape of God's Mercy, and the (traits which he alfo afterwards called Cumberland Straits.   Thefe then are Davis $ difcoveries on his firfl voyage, which (hew him to have been an honeft, and, at the fame time, enterprizing man.   He ordered his people by no means to injure the natives on Cumberland Ifland, and by his friendly conduct, and prefents, he gained the goodwill of thefe harmlefs creatures,  who have the fime origin with the Greenlanders and the Labrador Ffkimaux.   So true it is, that gentle and humane treatment will in the end gain the affections of every one, and ferves to cement mankind together by the focial ties of philanthropy and friendfhip ; an alfertion which receives additional confirmation from the kind and even affectionate behaviour of the Moravian brethren in our times towards the Greenlanders and the Efkimaux in Okak and Nam, on the coafl of Labrador ; in confequence of which they live with thofe people on the mofl friendly terms, while the other Europeans, who refidc in Hudfon's Bay, and the fifhermen about Newfoundland, are accuftomed by circumvention and fraud, as well as by acts of repeated violence, to raife quarrels and debates on every the leaft occaiion with this miferable handful of human beings, by which means they fow in the rude and uncultivated minds of thefe innocent people the feeds of hatred, malice, and miftruft, which they perpetually nourifh by their continual oppreflions.
The tide which met Davis in the fouth-weflern arm of Cumberland Straits, between the duller of illands there, and which was contrary to that by which he went, muft undoubtedly have appeared very ftrange to him, and perhaps he might take it as a proof that this tide came from fome other ocean, perhaps from the v/cllcrn one : but if we only <--alt an eye on the map of the North Pole, we (hall eafdy conceive, that the fame tide which had forced itfelf through Davis's Straits into Cumberland Straits, may alfo have come through thofe of Hudfon*
round the Iiland of Good Fortune, as far as to the end of Cumberland
Straits,
3oi V* O   Y   A   G   E   3 and
Straits, near the group of iflands where the two tides mud of com have met, and the one have retarded the other. We fee, then, hov/ cautious we ought to be in forming and adopting conclufions of this kind, and more efpecially when, upon the ftrength of (hem, we are about to enter upon an expenflve undertaking. It is the lame thing with regard to the increafing depth of the lea, the tranfparency of the fea-water, and to the abundance of whales which were found at the end of Cumberland Straits ; they ceafe to be proofs of the ex-iftence of a paffage here, as foon as we are acquainted with the real fituation of the neighbouring countries, which was not difcovered till fome time afterwards. Davis faw here Mufcovy glafs, and fuch ores as Frobifher had brought home from the coafl. I am myfelf in poffeflion of fome Mica and Mufcovy glafs from Greenland , and thence it becomes probable that the foil of almofl all the mountains in eafl and weft Greenland, and on the iflands beyond Davis's Straits, are of the fame nature and contain the fame kinds of ftones.
XI. On the 7th of May, 1586, Captain John Davis fet out from Dartmouth, with four fhips, on his fecond voyage. Two of thefe fhips went into the Straits between Greenland and Iceland, to feck for a paffage there. Nearly where Statcnhock is now, Davis faw land, but the ice hindered him from proceeding firther. He was therefore obliged to fail to 57 deg. N. lat. in order to avoid the ice. Having weathered many ftorms, he came in 64 deg. N. lat. to a land lying to the eaftward of him, entered into a harbour, then known by the name of Gil&ert's Sound; but which is at prefent called, in the Danifh language, God Haab (or Good Hope). Here they found many inhabitants, with whom they entered into a friendly intercourfe, and who, in return for fome trifling prefents, rendered their vifitors many friendly fervices, but neverthelefs could not fefift the temptation of
flealing
ftealing from the Europeans, even before their faces, all the iron and iron utenfils they could get at. And though Davis always endeavoured as much as poffible to put the bell construction on every thing, yet they carried the boldnefs of their thefts rather too far. The Englifh attempted to frighten them with their fire-arms, which had fome effect, but they foon returned and made their peace again ; which they, however, broke afrefh by throwing large ftones, of half 3 pound weight, into the fhips, by one of which the boatfwain of one of the fhips was felled to the ground. At length Davis yielded to the preffing entreaties of his crew, and they feized the ringleader of thefe affailants, and foon after, getting a fair wind, the fhips fet fail cn the 11 th of July. The great quantity of ice they now met with, and the intenfe cold which froze all the rigging of the mips, difheartened the crew and made them fickly; infomuch, that though Davis was already far advanced to the northward, yet the danger of the voyage, and the murmurings of hta crew, determined him to fleer to the eaft fouth-eaft, when, on the ifl of Auguft, he difcovered land in 66 deg. 33 min, N. lat. and 70 deg. W. long, from London. Here he took fome provifions out of the larger fhip, and endeavoured to encreafe the burthen of hrs, by taking in additional ballaft. He purchafed from the inhabitants fome fcal-fkins, quitted the large fhip and failed with the fmaller one to the weft, and again in 66 deg. 19 min. N. lat. found land, which was at the diftance of 70 leagues from that which they had left laft. On the 15th he departed from this land to the fouthward, and on the 18th faw land in the N. W. On the fame day faw land again in the S. W. by S. On the 17th of Auguft he was in 64 deg. 20 min. N. lat. Here he met with a ftrong current, fetting to the weftward. He explored the land, and found that it confifted almoft entirely of iflands. Till the 28th of Auguft he fliaped his courfe conftantly to the fouthward, from the 67th to the 57th deg. N. lat. coafting all the while. Here they faw aftonifhing quantities of mews, and other fea-fowl. They alfo caught, with 3, a very
a very indifferent apparatus, upwards of 100 large cods.   At length on the 28th of Auguft they arrived in j6 deg. N. lat. in a harbour two leagues in breadth, and failed up above 10 leagues into it.   The fhores on both fides of it were covered with fine forefts.   Here they lay at anchor till the 1 ft of Sept. and in the mean time had two heavy florins. The forefts were compofed of fir, pine, alder, yew, ofier, and birch. Here, too, they faw a black bear ; and of the fowl kind they faw phea-fants f Tetrao Pbafianellus, or long-tailed grous) Barbary hens (meaning the Tetrao Canadenjis, or fpotted grous) Partridges (viz. the Tetrao to-gat us, or fhoulderknot grous) Wild-geefe, ducks, blackbirds, jays, (meaning the Corvus Canadenjis, or cinereous grous)  Thrufhes (viz. the Turdus migratorius, or red-breafted thrufh) and many other fmall birds.  Of the phcafants and partridges they killed a confiderable number, and likewife caught a great quantity of cod. Having fet fail on the I ft of September, they ranged along the coaft till the 3d, when a calm afforded them leifure again for fifhing.   On this coaft, which was in 54 deg. 30 min. N. lat. they caught a great many excellent cod j and fome very experienced fifhers on board the fhip affured the Captain, that they had never feen larger fhoals of thefe fifh.   They went on till the 4th, when they came to an anchor, being quite furrounded with woody iflands.   At about eight leagues from this fpot, they had feen a ftrong current paffmg between two lands, and taking its direction to the weftward, which gave them hopes of finding a paffage there, and particularly, as towards the fouth there lay a great number of iflands.   At this place they had left a quantity of fifh on an ifland, and fent five young failors to bring it afhore ; but the inhabitants, who lay fecretly lurking in the woods, fhot at them on a fudden with their arrows, fo that two of them died, two were dangeroufly wound* ed, and but one efcaped, which he did by fwimming, though his arm too was pierced with an arrow.   The people on board, it is true„ dipt their cables, and bore up to the fliore; but the mifchief was already
DISCOVERIES in th e N 0 R T H. 305
ready done , however, they fent two difcharges of a double mufket amongfl: thefe cruel and treacherous favages, and thereby forced them to fly. Immediately after this, too, they met with a violent ftorm, which had nearly driven them on fhore, though they had partly taken in their yards and booms. At length, the wind abating, they found their anchor again, and, having new moored their fhip, weathered out another ftorm, and at length fet fail on the nth of September, and, in the begining of October, landed fafely in England.
The two fhips which were to feek for a paffage between Eaft Greenland and Iceland, left the Captain on the 7th of June in about 60 degrees N. lat. and had orders to feek for a paffage as fir as 80 deg. N. lat. if not prevented by the land. So early as on the 9th they faw large fields of ice, till the 11 th, when they defcried land, which on the 12th they found to be Iceland, in 66 deg. The inhabitants here had ftockfifli, ling, and fkates (Rata Bath) in abundance, alfo horfes, oxen, ' and fheep, and hay to feed their cattle with. Their houfes were built of ftone, and covered with wood, over which was laid another covering of turf. Their tools and utenfils were like thofe in England, of wood, brafs, copper, 6cc. On the 16th of June they left Iceland, and failed ft rait on to the north-weft. On the 3d of July they were between two firm fields of ice, and neverthelefs filled on between them, till late in the night; when they tacked about and made for Greenland. On the 7th they fiiw Greenland. The land was high and of a blue colour; but they were prevented from landing by the firm and folid ice which lay before it : they therefore continued ranging along the coaft. On the 17th they faw the Land of Deflation, fo called by Davis' the year before. But the ice hindered them from landing there. On the 3d of Auguft they anchored in Gilbert's Sound, their place of ren-'
R r dezvous,
dezvous ; but Davis had fet fail from thence on the nth of July. They traded peaceably with the Greenlanders till the 30th of Auguft, when a quarrel happened about a boat that had been bought of the latter, and which they would not deliver up. Several men were killed on both fides, and others wounded. On the 31ft of Auguft they fet fail, and came into the Thames, as high as Ratcliflf, on the 6th of October.
This voyage of Capt. John Davis is in every refpect. of the higheft importance. The great fault of it is, that in confequence of his not having named the countries he few, it is very unintelligible. Thus much, however, we are able to collect from it; that he a fecond time put into Gilbert's Sound, which had been difcovered the year before, and was lituated on the weft lide of Greenland. After this, Davis went again, in foggy weather, into Cumberland Straits, as fir as the group of illands there, and it was entirely owing to the murmur-ings of his crew that he at length ran into a harbour on the fouth fide of Cumberland Straits, or in the ifland of Good Fortune, in 66 deg. 30 min. N. lat. and 70 deg. W. long, from London. He again met with land, fituated on the north fide of Cumberland Straits, or in Cumberland Ifland. Then he tacked about to the fouth, and faw land continually to the weftward. On the 19th of Auguft he was in 64 deg, 20 min. N. lat. fomewherc about the Bay of Good Fortune. In 57 deg. he faw land again, and confequently he was already on the coaft of Labrador. On the 28th of Auguft he put into a deep inlet in lat. 56. The former of thefe is nearly where the iflands are lituated which lie directly before the colony of the Moravian brethren, called Nain. The latter is probably the inlet that lies to the weft of Nantucktuht. In like manner the place fituated in 54 deg. 30 min. N. L. near the large inlet, where they found the great fea running to the weft, is the inlet of Eywuck-toke. From whence they foon haftened eaftward for England. The voyage of the other fhips is full as indeterminate.   However the firft part of
Iceland
Icel nd they met with mould feem to have been fomewhere about Bar-deft ran dfyjj el, in the JVeftfildmga F tor dung, perhaps in Patrick/lord Harbour. To the north-weft of this place is that part of Eaft Greenland, through which probably the ftrait goes, which comes from Chriftian s IJaab, and which is at prefent entirely blocked up with ice, whence it is that that there is annually fo much ice likewife at this fpot, as to prevent the mips From advancing any farther. This was alfo now the cafe with the bold and enterprising Englifh, and they were obliged to range along the coaft to the fouth-weft, till they came at length round by Cape Farewell to the Land of F)efolation and Gilbert's Sound. Confequently they hardly went as far as 67 deg. though they were to have gone to 80.
The inhabitants of the different countries where Davis touched were treated by him with great tendernefs; and yet thofe of Greenland at length gave flagrant proofs of their perfidy, and were guilty of continual infractions of the peace; but it fhould feem as if Davis's people had not always told him by what means the Greenlanders had been provoked to thefe violations of the peaec; their attacking the Englifh with flings and ftones feems to indicate a great animofity on the part of thefe people, and confequently their having received fome previous offence. But on the coaft of Labrador the inhabitants appear to have had lefs humanity, and to have been more unpolifhed in their manners than thofe of Greenland ; though indeed it is not improbable but that thefe people may have been, previous to this period, ill-treated, and excited to vengeance by the Europeans that ufed to fifh on the coaft of Newfoundland, and towards the north. Iron, being fo folid and indeftruclible a metal, had at all times fuch a ftrong attraction for thefe poor wretches, that they could not poflibly refift the great temptation it lay them under of ftealing. The Europeans, too, Were always fo remifs in their care of this article, as to make it very eafy for them to commit this theft, and thus provoke the vengeance of thefe latter. The defcription of Labrador, here prefented to us, feems alfo
R r 2 to
to agree perfectly with that given of this coaft by Lieutenant Curtis, in the Philofophical Transactions: forefts, birds, and game in abundance, together with an aftonifhing quantity of huh.
XII. Finally, we come to the third and moft important of Davis's voyages of difcovery, which was made in the year 1587. There were three (hips fitted out, one of which only was deftiued to the purpofe of making difcoveries, the two others being intended for frilling. Leaving Dartmouth on the 19th of May, they failed ftrait on to the coaft. of Weft Greenland, and landed on the 16th of June on one of the illands in 64 deg. N. lat. Here Davis parted with the two other fhips, ordering "them to follow the fifhery to 55 or 54 deg. N. lat. and to wait for him till the end of Auguft. lie fhaped his own courfe N.. W. and fometimes N. as alfo N. W. by N. and even N. by E. Being come to 67 deg. 40 min. N. lat. i. e. oppofite to Dijko Road, he faw a great number of whales, and of thofe fowls which the furors call Cortinous. Here fome inhabitants came in their fmall boats, and bartered their darts armed with pointed bones, for a knife. The next day upwards of 30 boats came 10 leagues diftance from the land, and brought young falmons, fea-birds, and caplin (Gadus minutus Linnai-i) which they exchanged for needles, bracelets, nails, knives, fmall bells, looking-glalfes, and other trifles; but they brought only 20 feal-fltins. On the 30th of June they were in 72 deg. 12 min. N. lat. and as the fun during the whole time, and even at midnight, remained above the horizon, the variation of the needle was found to be 28 degrees weft, the image of the fun being 5 degrees above the horizon. The whole of this coaft was called London Coaft. The fea had for the whok time been open to the weft and north, and the land on the ftarboard fide had all along been to the eaft. But, the wind fhifting to the north, they could not faitany firther to that point of the compafs ; however, Davis called point of land Hope Sanderfon, after Mr. William Sanderfon, who con-3 tributed
tributed the largeft mare in fitting out the fhip for the difcovery, and then fhaped his courfe to the weft. After failing 40 leages, he found a very large field of ice. Here he would willingly have failed again to the northward along the ice, but the north wind would not permit it. He tried once more to force his way through it, having perceived a fmall opening, but was foon obliged to return after having fpent two days between the ice. The weather being fair and calm, they coafted along the ice to the fouthward. Finding that the fun had great power, Davis thought it would be better to wait a few days, and then, when the ice mould be wafted away by the wind, the fea, and the fun, to make another effort to the weftward ; he therefore flood over to the eaftern coaft. But his people were too timorous to anchor here, and he flood out to fea again to the weftward. The poor inhabitants, not-withflanding that the waves ran high, followed them out to fea, and bartered for fome trifles. Davis having tarried fome time longer in this fea, near the ice, furrounded with fogs, at length difcovered Mount Raleigh, in Cumberland I/Iand. On the 20th of July he arrived at the entrance of Cumberland Straits. By the 23d he had failed 60 leagues up thefe ftraits, and anchored among a great number of Iflands, fituated in a clufter at the end of the bay, and which he called after the Earl of Cumberland. Whilft they were at anchor here, a whale palled them, and went weftward in among the ifles. The variation of the needle here was 30 degrees weft. When they returned to fea by the fame way by which they were come, they were overtaken by a calm, and it was exceffive hot. Bruton, the mafter of the fhip, going on fhore witii fome of the failors for the purpofe of hunti ig, faw feveral graves, and alfo found train-oil fpilled on the ground. The dogs of the natives which they faw were fo fit that they were fcarcely able to run. Davis having left Cumberland Straits, and being again in the open fea, difcovered, between 62 and 63 deg. N. lat. an opening which, after my Lord Lumley, he called Lumley $ Inlet.   Here he found ftrong and boifterous currents,
like
like cataracts, which alfo hurried away the fhip very fwiftly along with them. On the 31ft of July he faw a headland, which he named Warwick's Foreland. The direction of the current was to the weftward, and the water formed a whirlpool, with a loud roaring noife. On the ift of Auguft he law in 61 deg. 10 min. N. lat. a promontory on the fouth-weft fide of the inlet, which he called Chidleys Cape. Having had nothing but fogs and calms for feveral days, they came at length to an ifland, which Davis, after Lord Darcyy named Darcy's Ifland. On the top of it they found fome animals of the flag kind; but having landed to fhoot them, and having chafed them two or three times round the ifland, the deer fwam over to another ifland at three leagues diftance. One of them was very fat, as large as a cow, and had very broad feet, as large as thofe of an ox. While they were looking about for the fhips, which Davis had. ordered to fifli here, and to wait for him till the end of Auguft, their veffel ftruck upon a rock and fprang a leak ; which, however, they were afterwards fo fortunate as to flop, even during a ftorm. On the 15th of Augufl became to 52 deg. 12 min. N. lat. where he faw a great number of whales: but not being able to find any trace of the two fhips, they having finifhed their fiihery in 16 days, and failed home, he refolved to fhape his courfe for England. On the 16th of Auguft therefore he quitted this coaft, and on the 15th of September arrived at Dartmouth.
Davis feems to have poffeffeda confiderable (hare of humanity, induftry, and refolution. He went farther to the north than any of his predeceffors , and if the ice had not prevented him, he would certainly then have made the difcovery which was afterwards happily effected in 16 j 6, by Baffin.
The northern regions, notwithftanding all the fogs that are to be met with there, feem in general to enjoy a clearer fky than the 3 fouthern
fouthern countries fituated under the fame parallel of latitude, Neither at 66 deg, 30 min. S. lat. (where, however, we were three times), nor even when we had got as far as to 71 deg. 12 min. S. latitude, did we ever fee tne fun above the horizon ; and when it did mine out in the day time, Hill fo many fogs were collected towards evening, that We could never fee the image of it, though it continued to be broad day-light, and that even at midnight.
During all the three warm feafons which we fpent in the fouthern hemifphere, at a great diftance from the Equator, though not fo far fouthward as Davis was to the north, we met, it is true, with mild days, yet never faw the thermometer rife more than a few degrees above the freezing pointj it appears, therefore, very remarkable, that Davis fhould mention more than once the weather's being extremely hot in 72 and 66 deg, N. lat. The caufe of this great heat can therefore only be attributed to the great quantity of land by which they were furrounded. The want of land in the fouthern hemifphere is, on the contrary, the caufe of the more intenfe cold there, as I have proved in a more ample manner in my Observations*.
The animals of the flag kind, found on the coaft of Labrador, may have been either the American flag or the reindeer, or elfe the elk, or what is called the moofe deer. I am rather inclined to think that it was this latter which Davis faw here.
XIII. The Englifh at length found it advifeable to fend a fquadron, confifting of four large mips, to the Eaft-Indies. The execution of mis great enterprize was entruftcd to Capt. George Raymond, and after his death to Capt. James Lancajler, The fquadron fet fiil in the year 1591, and Lancafter returned in 1593. Having encountered,a'heavy *Wm near the Cape, and being in danger of finking with his fhip, his own crew endeavoured to perfuade him to go on board one^d'f the
• Ohftrintion! made during a Voyage round the World,
other
other veffels; but he with great magnanimity refufed it, and refolved at at all events to keep his poft. However he took this opportunity of writing by the other fhips to England. In his letter he affured the Company, that he would ftill try every means to fave his fhip and cargo ; and in the mean time could inform them, that the paffage to the Indies was in the north-weft of America, in 62 deg. 30 min. N« lat. This declaration from a man of fuch extenfjve knowledge in navigation, and who had had fo fair an opportunity of collecting many different relations and accounts from the Portuguefe in the Indies, could not fail of having great weight in England. To the inforrr< tion collected, there may alfo be added that given by fome Portuguefe, taken prifoners by the Englifh, viz. that a fhip of their nation had fome time before failed upwards along the coaft of China to the northward, and had found an open fea to 55 deg. N. lat. The two Companies of Ruffia andTurky Merchants refolved, therefore, to have this paffage fought for at their joint expencd • and accordingly they fitted out two fhips, the command of which was entrufled to Captain George Weymouth, or Way mouth.
Weymouth fet fail from England in the Difcovery, on the 2d of May. He went round Scotland to the northward, by the Orkneys. On the 18th of June he faw ice, and the fouthernmoft part of Greenland. Soon after, viz. on the 28th, he went to the weftward, and in 62 deg. N. lat. difcovered Warwick's Foreland, which he found to be nothing more than an iiland. He next came to Lumleys Inlet, where there was a ftrong current to the weftward, in 61 deg. N. lat. at the diftance of 12 leagues from the coaft of the American continent. On the i# of June the air was cold, with fogs and fnow. On the 2d he defcried a large mafs of ice , he hoifted out his boat, and took on board tw"Q
loads of ice, which made very good frefli water.   He met with many
currents
currents along the coafl; of America, which appeared to him not like a continent, but as if it confifted of nothing but iflands.   On the 3d and 8th he faw the land of America, which was high, and covered with fnow, in 60 deg. 53 min. N. lat.   On the 17th the weather was very gloomy, foggy, and cold, fo that all his rigging and fails were covered with ice.   The next day it was (fill very cold, infomuch that his rigging flill continued to be frozen, and he could not get forward in the leaf! with his fhip.   His crew had confpired to mutiny againfl him, and intended to return ftrait to England.   But, being informed of this plot in time, he prevented its being put into execution.   On the 22d, being already in 68 deg. 55 min. N. lat. (or rather 63 deg. 53 min.) he fent for the moft refractory among them, and punifhed them fe-verely ; he alfo had the boats hoifted out in order to take up fome ice, to make into frefli water.   This large ifland of ice burft afunder two or three times, with a noife like that of thunder, by which means nearly one of the boats, that had already got in half its lading, was very much damaged.   On the 25th he faw the entrance of an inlet, in 61 deg. 40 min. N. lat.   On the 30th the weft and north-weft winds blew very hud, and thefeafon being already far advanced, many of the crew were fick in both mips.  He determined therefore to return, though he had already failed near 100 leagues up the inlet, which was 40 leagues broad.   The variation of the needle was 35 degrees to the weft. By the 5th of July he had got quite clear of the bay.   He then failed along the coaft of America, involved in almoft continual fogs, and between numerous iflands of ice.   In 55 deg. 30 min. N. lat. he faw an ifland.   He continued ranging along this coaft till the 14th, in foul weather, and between many illands.  In 56 deg. he entered an inlet, and, by many probable reafons, was induced to hope for a paffage.   In 55 deg. 30 min. and in 55 deg. 50 min. N, lat. he found the variation of the needle to be 17 deg. 15 min, and 18 deg. 12 min. to the weft wards. The coaft was clear of ice.   If any ice ever comes here, it comes from the north. He
S obferved
3i4 VOYAGES      a n- d
obferved that a whirlwind carried the Tea-water to an extraordinary height in the air. He had failed 30 leagues up an inlet, in 56 deg. N. lat. a circumftance which undoubtedly muft have proved his de-ftruction, if the wind but for one day only had blown from the north, fouth, or eaft. On the 4th of Auguft he defcried the Scilly Iflands, and the next day arrived at Dartmouth.
The account given by Lancajler, as he returned to England, and thus was able to prove the truth and authenticity of it by entering into minute details, and anfwering particular objections, muft have had great weight with the Ruflia and Turky Companies ; for it induced them to give orders for a new expedition for the purpofe of making the difcovery. The Eaft-Indies, the very profitable trade to thofe parts, and the immenfe wealth arifing from this trade, were the objects of the dc-fires of all the maritime powers of Europe. The Portuguefe and the Spaniards, at that time united under the fame mafter, were in poffeflion of all the defenlible places where any refreshments were to be had on the voyage. Without places of this kind for the fupplying of veffels with provifions and water on fo long and tedious a paffage, it was then, and indeed is partly ftill, impoffibleto undertake a voyage to the Eaft-Indies which took up at leaft fix months in going, and as long a time in returning. All nations were therefore bufy in feeking a new route to India, in the courfe of which they might eftablifh for their own ufe fimilar ftorc-houfes and places of refreshment. This determined the Erglifli, and afterwards alfo the Dutch, to feek for fuch a route, as well in the north-eaft as likewife in the north-wefl. Now as it appears by Lan-cajier's account, that the Portuguefe had advanced with their fhips as far as to 55 deg. N. hi. to the northwards of China, and had found a free and open fea without any land at all; as alfo that, according to fome probable arguments, the paffage to the Indies muft be fought for fomewhere in 62 deg. 30 min. N. lat. to the north-weft of America, it would feem that the Portuguefe fhips went either into the vicinity of a the
the ifland of Saga I'm Angahata, of the river Amur, and fo on as far as the neighbourhood of the river Uda, where at prefent is the Ruffian fettlement TJdfkot, (fuppofing they failed along the coafl of the continent to the northward of China) : or elfe, in cafe they failed by the iflands of Lekiu, Japan, or Nipon (which had been difcovered by the Portuguefe in 1542) Matfmai, and the Kuriles, they muff neceffarily have reached Kamtfthaka, in 55 deg. N. lat. and Lancajlermuff have founded his account of the exiffence of a paffage in 62 deg. 30 min. N. lat. merely on a conjecture taken from the voyages of Davis.
The tide which flows into the capacious opening called Hudfon's Bay, caufes in it, according to the unanimous tcflimony of the different navigators who have been there, at 66 deg, in Cumberland Straits, from 60 to 62 deg. in Hudfon's Straits, and at 59 deg. where probably another flrait divides the land of Labrador, a flrong current; and perhaps there are more entrances into the fame flrait, at 56 deg. 15 min. N. lat. at 55 deg. ~f min. and at 54 deg. 40 min. which have not as yet been explored enough, and yet have a flrong current. It is probable that the tide, which preffes by fo many different ways into Hudfon's and Baffin's Bay, may run out again through Davis's Straits*.
This voyage affords again two inflances of ice having been taken up out of the fea in boats, and converted into frefli water fit for drinking. This t; erefore is already the third confirmation we have of this matter, which confequently can no longer be faid to be unknown ; much lefs is it in our days to be extolled as a great and new invention, fince by fo doing, a man would only difcover his ignorance in nautical hiftory.
* This is partly ascertained by what Weymouth himfelf had already remarked. Speaking of the Coaft of Labrador, he fays, it is free from ice, but if any ice comes, it cpmcs from the frorth.   Confequently it muft be brought through Davis's Strait.
S S 2
When
When the mild weather begins to operate upon the iflands of ice, upon the enormous maffes of ice called mountains, they will fometimes fall to pieces. The breaking up of fuch a huge mafs of ice is always accompanied with a very loud noife, ftmilar to that of thunder. Two or three times in our voyage round the world we were very near one of thefe burfting mountains of ice, and confequently heard the noife made by it. But as the center of gravity in thefe pieces of ice is quite dirfe cut from that of the intire mafs, it frequently happens, that they roll over in the water feveral times before they come into the fituation requifite to preferve their balance. One of thefe pieces rolling over in this manner, came fo near our fhip, that had it been 10 or 12 feet nearer, it would have hit her; in which cafe fhe would undoubtedly have been dafhed to pieces, or at leaft very materially damaged. I muftconfefs that this tremendous fcene is Hill prefent to my imagination in all its horror, and will, I believe, never be erafed from my memory. For furely a more dreadful fituation cannot be conceived than to range about, imprifoned, as it were, in a folitary fhip, between dreary mafles of ice, on an immenfe ocean, many hundred miles diftant from any land, and remote from all human afliftance; and in this ftate, conftantly furrounded by gloomy fogs, to be under continual apprehenfions either of running foul of one of thefe glacial mountains, whilft under a prefs of fail, in confequence of which the fhip muft be inevitably dallied to pieces; or elfe, in cafe this enormous mafs fhould burft, to behold its fragments (which however are larger than Peters mountain in the Saal diftricf) rolling about in the fea with unwieldy turbulence, approach the veffel with a tremendous noife, and perhaps fuddenly plunge both it and the unfortunate crew to the bottom of the vaft abyfs.
With a fair wind, clear weather, and an open fea, it is tolerable failing in thefe icy feas; but when once fogs, and cold freezing vapours attach themfelves every whereto the fails and rigging, fometimes forming lumps of ice 3 cr 12 ounces in weight, which are detached by the
leaft
leaft puff of wind, and fall on the heads of the Tailors; when the fails and tackling become fo ftirf and brittle by the froft, as to break on the application of the fmalleft force ; then the navigation in thefe parts becomes extremely difagreeable and dangerous. Thefe were the circumftances which extorted complaints even from the intrepid Weymouth, and obftructed his progrefs in unknown feas covered with ice.
In thofe cold climates, too, Weymouth faw a water-fpout, a phenomenon which Davis alfo had remarked before. This obfervation feems to be a confirmation of the remark which I formerly made in the ob-fervations on my voyage round the world, viz. that water-fpouts are chiefly feen in narrow feas, where there is land at no great diftance from each fide of it.
XIV. The King of Denmark had been induced, by the fame of the difcoveries made in the north by other powers, to give orders likewife for a voyage to be undertaken. The Englifh being already at that time looked upon as the moft experienced and by far the moft fkilful mariners in Europe, he had appointed in the year 1605 the Englifh Captains John Knight and James Hall, to command the fhips fent out upon this expedition. But in 1606, Knight was appointed in his own native country to conduct a ftmilar voyage of difcovery, by the RufTia and Eaft-India Companies. He fet fail from Grave/end, and reached the Orkneys on the 26th of the fame month, where he was obliged, by contrary winds, to lie for a fortnight. On the 12th of May he put to fea again. On the 16th he was in 58 deg, 19 min. N. lat. The variation of the compafs was 8 deg. On the 21ft he found himfelf hi 57 deg. 5° min. N. lat. The weather was foggy, and there was a flrong current that fet to the northward. On the 22d he faw a great quantity of gulls, and rock-weed. On the 23d he obferved an owl. On the 28th he was in 57 deg. 57 min. N. lat. and the variation of the needle was 14 deg, 30 min. to the weft. There were black ftreaks in the fea-water, and alfo currents, feme of which fet to
the north, others to the weft. On the 29th he found the latitude to be 58 degrees, and the current now fet to the fouthward. He faw a confiderable number of white fowls, that made a chirping noife like fparrows. He alfo obferved many dead cows (or rather crows) floating on the water. On the 1 3th of June he faw land, which appeared to him like illands, in 57 deg. 25 min. but there was a great quantity of ice driving to the fouthward. In fact, he proceeded as far into the ice as it was poflible to do; but, in a ftorm which arofe foon after, the fhip fuffered fomuch from the ice with which fhe was encompaffed, that fhe had nearly been crufhed to pieces. On the 19th he faw land again at 15 leagues diftance, in 56 deg. 48 min. N. lat. where the needle varied 25 degrees to the weft. The tide came from the northward. On the 24th a ;very high north wind fnapped the rope in two by which the fhip had been made faft to the land; and by the great quantity of large maffes of ice that was collected here, the rudder was torn away. Capt. Knight therefore found himfelf obliged to enter an inlet, and run his fhip a-ground, in hopes of faving at leaft their clothes, provifions, and furniture; but before fhe could be brought afhore fhe was half full of water. He then had the water pumped out, that they might be able at leaft to flop the leak. They begun alfo to fet up. the floop, and to take their boat over the ice into the water, in order to feek for a more convenient fpot for repairing the fhip. They could not, however, meet with any fuch fpot, as every thing was ftill covered with ice; neverthelefs they found that there was wood growing on the land.—Thus far had Knight proceeded in the relation.—On the 26th he himfelf, with his pilot's mate, and three failors, all well armed, went in the boat over to a large ifland, to feek for a convenient harbour to repair the fhip in. He left two men in the boat, and went himfelf with three others, one of whom was his - - brother,
brother, to the upper part of the iiland. The two men that had been left in the boat, waited, but all in vain, from ten in the morning till eleven at night. One of them founded the trumpet two or three times, and the other as often fired off his piece; but, hearing nothing of the Captain and his companions, they returned to the fhip. The whole crew was feized with the utmoft conflernation, and they paffed the night in anxiety and grief. The next day 7 men, well armed, went with an intent to fearch for their Captain and his companions, but they could not get to the ifland with their boat on account of the ice. They then cleared the fhip, as they alfo did on the 28th, and at the fame time kept the pump going brifkly, with a view to find out the leak and flop it. The natives, however, came over the rocks to their boat and floop,-when the centinel gave the alarm, and, though very numerous, the favages were fortunately repulfed. The crew now carried the flores again on board, made hafle to finifli the floop, and at length, with their leaky fhip and the floop, which was neither caulked nor payed, went away from that foot, rowing the fhip along between the ice, though flie had no rudder. Afterwards, out of two pickaxes they made two pintles to hang their rudder on. They kept the pump continually going, and taking their main bonnet, and, hading it with oakum, applied it on the out fide of the fhip under the keel, where the great leak was, which effectually prevented the water from milling in as fail as it did at firft % neverthelefs they were obliged ftill to keep ♦he pump going, and in this manner proceeded to Newfoundland, Where they at length ran into a bay near Fogo on the 23d of July, repaired their fhip, and relied themfelves. From thence they fet fail on the 72d of Auguft, and landed on the 24th of September at Dart-
This voyage took fuch an unfortunate turn, that though much was fXpe&ed from Knight's profeilional abilities, as well as from his accu-faty i^ making ohforvations.j yet all was frustrated by the tmhappy
death
death of this deferving man. It was probable the former cruelties of the Europeans to the Ffiimaux, together with the great grcedincfs of the latter after iron, that occafioned the death of the good Captain Knight, and animated the favages to attack the reft likewife. There is nothing elfe in this voyage worth remarking, but that the fame current which had been feen before by fo many, but which fet to the northward, was alfo obferved by Knight. The owrl which he faw probably came from the Faro ifles, as his courfe went pretty near them, though, on account of the fogs, he was not able to difcern them.
XV. James Hall had already been out three years fucceffively, viz. from 1605 to 1607, in the Danifh fervice, on voyages of difcovery in the northern parts, and in this laft voyage, in confequence of the crew mutinying againft him, was obliged to go to Iceland, without having feen any thing more than the coaft of Greenland. This may perhaps have deterred him from going anymore to the north in the Danifh fervice. We find but very little related of this voyage, except that he fet fail from King/Ion upon Hull, with two fhips, the one of which was called the Patience, and the other the Heart's Eafe. The firfl thing mentioned is the obfervation he made, on the 19th of July, on the longitude of a place which he calls Cocking Sound, but which is in 65 deg. 20 min. N. lat. and is otherwife called Baals Revier, and, according to his reckoning, is 60 deg. 30 min. weft long, from London. The next remark made is, that Hall was killed by a Greenlander with a fpear on the 22d of July. Before this event happened, tl; , _t had any difpute with the natives, neither had they any afterwards ; only thefe latter had been obferved now and then to point at Hall, arid mention him by the name of Captain, from which circumftance they conjectured, that the murderer muft have been a brother or fome relation of the five Greenlanders, who in the year 1606 had been carried off
by the Panes.   Before Hall's death they made a diligent fearch after
minerals,
minerals, and on this occafion had difcovered feveral rivers and harbours, and had likewife feen the traces of a large flag or elk, as large as thofe of an ox. After his deceafe they refumed their fearch in the bowels of the earth, and found many places where the Danes had already dug before them : they found alfo ftones with bright mining colours ; but thefe, when they were brought to the teft, yielded nothing but mere flags ; for they contained no metal, but refemblcd Glacies Maria?, or Mofcovy talk.
As they could neither find any minerals, nor induce the inhabitants to carry on any further trade, they left Rummels-Ford (Rommels-Fiord) in 67 deg. N. lat. where the needle varied 24 deg. 16 min. and arrived the fame day at Kings Foord (Kongs-Fiord). They now fhaped their courfe to the fouth, as another of the failors had been killed by a Greenlander, in confequence of an attempt the failor had made to pull him by force out of his boat. On the 18th of Augufl they were in 58 deg. 50 min. N.lat. till the 6th of September they had continual ftorms. They were in 61 deg, 18 min. N. lat. the variation of the compafs was 6 degrees eaftward, and they had ground at 68 fathoms. On the 8th of September they reached the Orkneys, where they anchored, and procured from the inhabitants fowls, geefe, and fheep, in exchange for old clothes and fhoes ; and on the 11 th they made Kingjion upon Hull,
William Baffin, who was but very young at the time, and who has written the account of this voyage, adds to it, that probably thofe glittering ftones, of different colours, did not contain any metal. From this it fhould feem, that thefe ftones were Labrador—or glimmering fpar. Perhaps they are found here alfo; and nobody can give a better account of the matter than the Moravian brethren, who are refident in thofe parts. That there are mountains of white alabafter here we are affured by Baffin. At a place about 40 miles up the country there are faid to .be fome trees; for near Baals Rivler they faw a little grove of trees not
T t more
more than fix or feven feet high, confifting of willows, juniper, and other trees of this kind. They found alfo a great quantity of angelica ; this perhaps was the Hcracleum Spbondyllum, or cow's parfnep ; and it was fuppofed that the people ufed to eat the roots of it, as they were found in their boats.
A great number of foxes was feen here, fome of which were quite white. There were alfo large animals of the flag kind here, (viz. reindeer) which had very large hoofs. The Greenlanders lilh during the whole fummer, and dry their fifh and feal's flefh on the rocks for their winter provision. They have little boats, two feet broad, and fometimes 20 feet long, clofely covered over with feal-fkins, with a round hole in them, where the owner of the boat gets in, and envelops himfelf with fkins,, fo that no water can get into the boat. Their oars have two blades* one on each end of them. They take hold of the oar in the middle,, and work alternately with it on each fide. They row fo fwiftly that no fhip can keep pace with them. In thefe boats they catch feals, fea-horfes, falmons, and other fifh, which they pierce with a dart or harpoon. The point is made of bone, the line of whalebone. In fummer they live in tents, in winter in houfes, which are half under ground. They do not live conftantly on the fame fpot, but wander from place to place, juft as it happens to be convenient for their fifhing. They ufually worfhip the fun. When any ftranger comes towards them, they point up to the fun, and call aloud, Ilyout; and, if yotx extend your hand in the fame manner to the fun, and pronounce the fame word, they approach towards you, but otherwife they will not venture to come near. They bury their dead in a pit encompaffed with ftones, to prevent the foxes from eating them, and in another pit next to this they inter the bow, dart, arrows, and other utenfils of the deceafed. They eat raw flefli and drink fea-water, yet they are not cannibals. They are very defirous, however, to obtain iron by any means whatever.
From
From this account we have another inftance to what lengths this people will carry their vengeance, as we find that they made a point of revenging the capture of their rive countrymen on the Captain. Not-withflanding which another of the failors was tempted to try to carry off another Greenlander, who, however, had courage and adroitnefs enough to punifh with immediate death the man that attempted to deprive him of his liberty.
All the preceding obfervations of Baffin are excellent. There is one, however, upon which, with Crantz*, we find ourfelves obliged to make fome flrictures; this is, that they worfhip the fun. The mariner fees the Greenlander, newly rifen from his bed, go immediately out of his hut, and look fledfaftly at the heavens and the rifing fun, in order to know from them what weather he is to expect in the courfe of the day. Now this act is confidered by the failors as an adoration of the fun, a thing of which the Greenlander never had the leaft thought.
XVI. The idea of finding a paffage to the Indies fomewhere in the north, was, notwithstanding the fruitlefs attempts that had repeatedly been made, not yet given up ; on the contrary, it was fuppofed to be an eafy matter to difcover it under the direction of a man of fkill and refolution. The former enterprizes had been backed partly by Government, partly by the firft people in the country, and partly like-wife by merchants. But then, after a fimilar attempt, their zeal had foon abated again. It is true, the voyage of Capt. James Lancajler, in the years 1591, 1592, and 1593, t0 India, by the Cape of Good Hope, had indicated the poffibility of the paffage ; but then it had likewife fhewn the difficulties attending it. He failed, too, a fecond time, in *6oi, to the Eaft-Indies, as Commander of a fleet belonging to the
* Pavld Crantz's Hiftory of Greenland, Parti. Book IV. Chnp. 5. § 35.
T t 2 ncwlv-
j
newly-eftablifhed Eaft-India Company, and returned in 1603 to England with great riches. Sir Henry Mlddleton, as alfo Sir Edward Mi-chtdboum, returned fafe in 1606 from the Indies to England, each of them with a very richly-laden fleet. From hence one would be apt to imagine that thefe fuccefsful expeditions to the Indies had entirely ftifled the pallion for making new attempts to find out a paffage by the north. There was neverthelefs a fociety of rcfolute and wealthy men found, who not only believed in the probability of the paffage, but alfo were aware of the advantages that would refult from it, and who, therefore, with a refolution, perfeverance, and noble liberality, almoft unexampled, furniihed the money neceffary for three expeditions. To the command of thefe expeditions they appointed Henry Hudfon, a great and experienced feaman, whofe knowledge, capacity, and intrepidity, are fcarcely to be equalled, and who certainly, in unwearied aftlduity, and unremitting labour, was furpaffed by no one in thofe times. 'Hudfon's Journals, and the names of the Gentlemen who employed him in thefe expeditions, have not been tranfmitted down to us; and upon the whole, what is come to our knowledge concerning his navigation, are only fragments. It was refolved to fearch for this paffage by three different routes, either flrait on by the north, or by the north-eaft, or by the north-weft; and all thefe three voyiges were actually performed by Hudfon.
Hudfon begun his firft voyage in 1607, and fet fail from Gravef-end on the ift of May. On the 13th of June, in 73 deg. N. lat, he faw land, which he called Hold with Hope. This land is fituated between 6 and 7 degrees to the north of Iceland, on the eaft fide of Greenland. He had found the weather far colder in 63 deg. than he did here ; for here it was quite mild and agreeable. On the 27th they were in lat. 78 deg. and ftill had mild or rather quite warm weather. On the 2d of July it was very cold, though they had not altered their latitude. On the 8th of July they were ftill in the fame latitude of 3 78 deg,
*rg deg. when they had calm weather, and an open fea, in which there was a great quantity of drift-wood floating. Whenever the fea appeared green, it was always a free and open fea , but when it looked blue, it was generally covered with ice. On the 14th of July Hudfon fent the mate of his fhip and the boatfwain on fhore in 80 deg. 23 min. N. lat. They found the veftigcs of reindeer, and faw fome water-fowls, and alfo found two ftreams of very frefli water, of which, the weather being hot, they drank with great fatisfaftion. The fun remained even at midnight 10 deg. 40 min. above the horizon. Hudfon failed as far as 82 deg. N. lat. and would have proceeded flill farther if he had not been prevented by the great quantity of mountains and fields of ice by which he was encompaffed. This, however, did not deter him from making yet another trial, whether he could not find about the part where he had feen Hold with Hope, a way quite round Greenland, which he confidered an ifland ; and then return home by Davis's Straits. But this paffage was likewife obffrudted by the ice, and he was obliged to fail back to England, where he arrived on the 15th of September at Gravefend.
By this voyage more of the eaftern coaft of Greenland was difcovered to the northward than had been done in any former voyage. The great degree of warmth felt in the high northern latitudes appears to me to be owing merely to the lands fituated fo high up towards the north; for in the fouthern hemifphere, in which in 30, 40, and 54 deg. S. lat. there is nothing to be feen but fea, the fea abforbs all the rays of the fun, which confequently are not able to produce any heat in the air; for it is only thofe rays of the fun which are reflected from the earth, and its unequal furfaces, that crofs each other in every direction, and thus produce heat in the air. It appeared therefore very ftrangc to Hudfon, that, in fo high a latitude, he fhould meet with warmer weather than that which he had experienced in 63 deg. at fea. But he could not but know at the lame time, that it is not from the
vicinity
vicinity or prefence of land alone, that we are able to form aconclufion refpecting the warmth of the weather; for winds blowing over the ice, and through very cold regions, contract in their courfe a degree of cold, of which, without having experienced it, it is hardly poffible to form any idea.  Even beyond 73 deg. N. lat. between Greenlandand Spitzbergen, he ftill met with drift-wood, which probably had been carried thither from out of the mouths of fome Siberian or American rivers ; a circumftance, however, of which we have not obferved the leaft veftiges all over the fea fituated near the South Pole, becaufe there is no land in thofe parts, and nothing is to be feen but fea.    The honour of the difcovery of Spitzbergen confequently belongs to Hudfon* The firft who afterwards failed thither on the whale fifhery, were Eng-liftimen.   It was a long time ere the Dutch refolved upon going thither; however, they found fo much profit arife from this expedition, that in the beginning of this century the Dutch and the Hamburgh people were almoft the only whale-ft fliers in the Spitzbergen feas. For at length the Englifh fent no more than one fhip thither every year, till the attention of Government was directed to it, when Parliament found it neceffary to grant confiderable premiums to the Spitzbergen (or, as they are improperly called, the Greenland) navigators and whale-fi(hers,by way of encouraging the Englifh topnrfue this bufinefs, which premiums are ftill continued in part every year.   In the firfl years the Englifh were fo inexperienced in the whale-fifhery, that though they fitted the fhips out in England, yet they were obliged to let half of the refpective crews be Dutchmen.   Spitzbergen, cold as it is, neverthelefs affords food for fome reindeer, which, as this country is fur* ;unded on all fides by the fea, muft come to it over the frozen fea from Greenland, where thefe animals are alfo met with in very high latitudes.   In thefe high northern latitudes the image of the fun continues, as is well known, from the Arctic Polar Circle onwards, during the whole of the 24 hours above the horizon ; and the nearer we come to the Pole, the higher the 3 image
image of the fun appears above the horizon at midnight, and the lower it finks at noon, till at laft, juft under the Pole, it continues the whole 24 hours at an almoft equal height above the horizon. Hudfon, with great intrepidity, endeavoured to approach the Pole, and indeed went as far as 82 deg. N. lat. and is without doubt the firft who has advanced beyond 80 deg. to the northward. It is true, the ice prevented him from failing any farther, notwithstanding he fliapedhis courfe once more towards Greenland, where he was in hopes to find a paffage, and return by Davis's Straits ; but the ice again obftructed his way. All this, however, evinces the intrepid fpirit, unfliaken fortitude, and courage of the man w ho was felected for this great enterprize.
XVII. Hudfon having in vain fought for this paffage directly by the north, the members of the Society at whofe expence and under whofe direction the firft voyage had been undertaken, refolved to make, another attempt the very next year, and Hudfon was to have the command of this expedition likewife. He fet fail on the 24th of April, 1608, and endeavoured to find the paffage in the north-eaft, between Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla, difcovered by him the preceding year; but here alfo he found infurmountable obftacles in the ice he met with. At the fame time it is to be regretted that no narrative has been preferved to inform us how high a latitude Hudfon failed by this route. The refult not anfwering his expectation, he failed along the land of Nova Zembla, where he found the climate mild and agreeable, and the coaft free from ice. He therefore thought it would bepoffible to find, on the further moft fide of Nova Zembla, a paffage, which till then navigators had in vain attempted to difcover in the interior fea beyond tVaygatz Straits , but here alfo he found fo much ice in his progrefs, that he was obliged to abandon his defign.   Accordingly he made all
poftible
poflible hafte to fearch for this paflage by Lumley's Inlet;, but the fea-fon being already far advanced, the days beginning to Shorten, and the weather growing cold and Stormy, he was obliged to poftpone this netf attempt to another year. He haftened therefore to England, where he arrived fafe on the 22d of Auguft. This voyage, of which but few, and thofe very few imperfect accounts, are come to our knowledge, juftly excites in us a with that it were poflible to find in any part of England the journal of this great navigator ; for we cannot doubt that the obfervations made in the courfe of this attempt, though it did not fucceed, muft yet be extremely important and instructive to posterity with refpect to phyfical geography.
XVIII. Before we begin the relation of Hudfon's laft remarkable voyage of difcovery, we find it neceffary to make a few remarks on feveral other undertakings of this nature. Already the Dutch had difcovered, under the command of William Barents and Heemjkerk, a fmall ifland in 74 deg. 30 min. N. lat. to which, on account of a very large b^ar they had killed there, they gave the name of Bear Ijland* They then failed to the N. N. W. and in about 80 deg. \\ min. N. lat. again difcovered land, which proved an extenfive country. They failed along the weft fide of it as far as 79 deg. 30 min. and there found a bay. This extenfive' country was afterwards difcovered by Hudfon in 1607, and was called by the Dutch Spitzbergen, but by the Englifh Greenland, becaufe they looked upon it to be really a continuation of Greenland. In 1603 Sir Francis Cherry, an Englishman, fent a fhip out, at his own expence, which in 74 deg. 55 min. N. lat. difcovered an iiland, on which a tooth of the fea-horfe (Trichechus Rofmarus) was found, as alfo lead ore. This ifland the failors called Cherry Ijland, in honour of Sir Francis Cherry, and alfo took poffeflion
of
of it in his name.   Now this was the fame with Bears Ijland difcovered in 1596 by William Barentz.   In 1604 another fhip fet out for Cherry Ijland, the proprietor of which was a Mr. Wclden, and Stephen Bennet the commander.   They fet fail on the 15th of April, arrived on the 1 ft of May at Kola, in Lapland, and remained there till the iff of July, when they continued their voyage, and on the 8th made Cherry Ifland.   The current was fo flrong, that they could not land 1 they therefore failed round the whole Ifland, and anchored at the diftance of two miles from the land.   They then landed and fhot fo many birds, that they loaded their boat with them.   On the 9th of July they faw a great number of foxes, or rather what the Ruffians call Pefzi, viz. the arctic fox (Canis Lagopus). They found this part of the ifland to be in 74 deg. 45 min. N. lat.   They then weighed anchor, and went on the 10th to another bay, where they found above 1000 fea-horfes, lying in heaps one upon the other afleep, of which, however, they killed but 15.   On the other hand they found as many teeth lying about as filled a whole hogfhead.   Thefe were in all probability the remains of fuch of thefe animals as had died there of old age, or elfe had been devoured by the bears.   Before the 13th they had killed more than 100 fea-horfes, of which they ufed only the teeth.—In 1605 the fame people went again with the fame fhip to this ifland, where they landed on the 2d of July.   They killed a great number of fea-horfes, •which they now however ufed alfo for the purpofe of making train-oil.   Five fea-horfes produce one tun of train-oil, and they fdled 11 tuns.   They difcovered alfo a vein of lead, under a mountain, which they called Mount Mifery, and they took above 30 tuns of the ore with them to England.—In 1606 the fame people undertook with the fame fhip another voyage to Cherry Ijland, where they landed on the 3d of July, in 74 deg. 55 min. N. lat.   They flaid there till the ice was diffolved, as before that time the fea-horfes do not go on fhore. In
U u about
330 VOYAGES      a n d
about fix hours they killed 7 or 800 of them, and two white bears. From the fea-horfes, they got 22 tuns of oil and filled three hogiheads with their teeth.—In 1608, they made another trip, when the weather was fo hot on the 2lit of June, that the pitch melted, and ran down fhe fides of the fhip. In the fpace of 7 hours they killed more than 900 fea-horfes, which yielded them 31 tuns of train-oil. They took two young fea-horfes alive along with them, the female died on the voyage, but the male lived ten weeks after their arrival in England, where he had been taught feveral tricks.—In 1609 a fhip, called the Amity, fitted out by Sir Thomas Smith, and the Rulfia Company, and commanded by Jonas Poole, went on a voyage to Cherry Ijland, as alfo to make difcoveries towards the North Pole. Poole fet fail from Blackball, near London, on the 1 ft of March,, and, after enduring very fevere cold and ftormy weather, difcovered the fouthern part of Spitzbergen on the 16th of May. He failed along the coafl, took the foundings as he went on, gave a name to every point of land, and to every bay he met with, and made fome very exact and excellent obfervations for the benefit of navigation. On the 26th of May he was off Fair Foreland, a point of land which itands on the weft fide of Spitzbergen, on the ifland called Foreland, or Foorland. By the Dutch this point is called Vogel-hoek.- He fent his mate on fhorc, from whom he learned that all the ponds and lakes were unfrozen, which induced him to expect a mild fummer , and as the fun had fo much power here., he judged that a paffage was as likely to be found in this place as any where elfe, it being far lefs cold here than he had found it to be in 73 deg. N. lat. In the mean time, having made twro ufelcfs attempts to get beyond 79 deg. 50 min. N. lat, the ice obliged him to turn back again and look out for fifh, in order to pay the expencc of the voyage. On the laft day of Auguft he arrived fafe at London. In this voyage Poole and his people were in great danger from the fea horfes j and one of flis people was furrounded in the water by thefe creatures, which 3 wounded
wounded him very dangeroufly in the thigh, fo that it was with the greatefl difficulty that he was faved from deflruction. This animal, which bears a great affinity to the feal kind, is very much fought after for its teeth, which are ufed for the fame purpofes as ivory, for its fat, which yields train-oil, and for its very thick fkin which is covered with a yellowifh hair. Thefe creatures live in large families together, on cruflaceous animals, fifh, grafs, and rock-weed. Formerly, when they were not fo much fought after and killed, it was an eafy matter to come near them, while they were fleeping on fliore by the hundreds together; but at prefent they are become very fhy in confequence of the eagcrnefs and fury with which they are killed, perfecuted, and de-flroyed, with fpears, by the human race. They are rarely feen on the land, and in cafe they are there, they do not go far from the (bore, and always take care to place one of their number on the watch by way of centinel, or elfe they will lay themfelves down to fleep on a fmall flat piece of ice. If the fpot where they lie on fhore is very fleep, they are ufed, when attacked, to put their hind legs between their two long projecting tufks, and, with great force and velocity, roll over into the fea. They bring forth one, or, at the mofl, two live young ones at a time. When they arc clofely befct, and in danger, or find that they are wounded, they grow very furious, and endeavour to do mifchief both to the boats and men with their long tufks. They have alfo more courage in the water than they have on fhore. In 1610 the Ruflia Company again fent two mips out, which killed fome white bears on Cherry JjJarJy and likewife took two young ones with them to England : they alfo killed many fads, and fiiot a great number of birds. On the 15th of June they hoifled a flag, and took poffeflion of the ifland in the name of the Company. On Gull ifland they difcovered three veins of lead ore, and in the northern part of it,
U u a a coaU
332 VOYAGES      a n d
a coal-pit. Three other fhips came alfo to the ifland in order to fifh, and killed more than 800 fea-horfes. At length Poole was fent out again in 1611. He flaid in Crofsroad, off Spitzbergen, till the 16th of June, on account of the ice and the badnefs of the weather. After this he failed 14 leagues to W. by N. and fell in with a field of ice. From thence as far as to 80 degrees the ice lay clofe to the land; but the flrong currents deterred him from venturing in between the ice ; he therefore flood to the fouthward, hoping by this means to get to the weftward of it, but found it lie the next hand, S. W. and S. W. and by S. and ranged along it 120 leagues. Near the ice he could get no ground with 160, 180, and 200 fathoms. He therefore returned to Spitzbergen to follow the whale Emery, but had the misfortune to lofe the fhip.
All thefe voyages to Cherry Ijland, had been undertaken chiefly with a view to the killing of fea-horfes. This place has been often miftaken for Jan Mayens iiland; but it materially differs from that, as well in. latitude and longitude, as alfo in fhape j for Cherry Ijland is nearly fquare, and Jan May ens iiland is long and narrow. In Cherry Ijland the Englifh have found many veins of lead, and in more modern times the Ruffians have alfo difcovered virgin filver, of which I have myfelf feen fome very fine fpccimens of a dendritic form as alfo others in the form of O&aedrous cryftals. Befides this, coal-pits are faid to be found here. This ifland confequently feems to abound in all forts of ufeful minerals. But nobody has yet obliged the public with the mineralogy of it. The fea-horfes and whales which formerly were found here in fuch great abundance, have been much diminifhecV in their numbers by the chace of them, they having at length retired to fome other parts lefs frequented by men.
XIX. Henry Hudfon had made a voyage to America in 1609, where he had difcovered Hudfon's River, and, after having traded fomewbat
* See alfo on this fubjeft Georgi's Edition of Brunnich's Mineralogy, pag. 201.
farther
farther ftill, was returned home.   He had undertaken this voyage in behalf of the Dutch.-   He offered to undertake another voyage, which they however refufed, and in confequence of this, finding himfelf re-leafed from his engagements, he entered again into the fervice of the. Englifh Company, which had already employed him in two former voyages; and Hudfon fet fail from Blackwall, near London, on the 17th of April, 1610.   The Company which had joined in fitting out the fhips for this expedition had made it a claufe,  that Hudfon fhould take with him, by way of afliffant, one Cokburne (Fox calls him Coolbrand) a very experienced and aMe feaman :  Fox fays,, that he was preferable to Hudfon in every refpect.   But this great confidence of the owners in CcL:bume\ fkill excited Hudfon's envy; accordingly he fent him from Lee on the river Thames to London with a letter to the Proprietors, in which he allcdged his reafon s for having taken this ftep.   All thofe who have given an account of the voyage, afl'ert that this ram flep of Fludfon was in part the fource of his own misfortunes, and had fet his crew an example of difobedience to the commands of their fuperiors,. and of the neglect of that consideration and refpect which is due from every one to his Commander.    On the 15th of May he had got as far as the Orkneys and the northern- end of Scotland, which he found to be in 59 deg. a3 min. N. lat.   On the 8th he faw the Faro Iflands, in 62 deg. 24 min.   On the nth he came to the eafl fide of Iceland, and failed along its fouthern coafl, till he reached the weflern coaft of it. It muft have been fomewhere thereabouts that he put into a harbour, where he met with a friendly reception from the inhabitants, but alfo at the fame time had the misfortune to find great diffentions amongft his crew, which he could not appeafe without great difficulty. On the ift of June Hudfon failed farther to the weft, in 66 deg. 34 min. N. lat.   On the 4th he faw Greenland very clearly over the ice that lay before it.   He now kept along the coaft, which was every where fur-? rounded
rounded with ice. On the 9th he was off Frobifher's Straits. On the 15th he defcried the Land of Defolation in 59 deg. 27 min-N. lat. He failed to the north-weft, to 60 deg. 42 min. The current fet to the N. W. On the 23d he came in fight of a great quantity of ice, in 62 deg. 19 min. On the 25th he faw land to the northward, and kept ftill failing to the weftward in 62 deg. 19 min. But now he plyed to the fouthward, in hopes of finding the coaft on that fide. In 62 deg. 16 min. he had ftill a great quantity of ice before him. On the 8th of July he left the fhore again, and faw extending from the N. W. by W. quite to the S. W. by W. a champaign land covered with fnow, and named it Defire provoked. He continued ftill plying to the weftward, and, on the 11 th, being apprehenfive of a ftorm, anchored behind three very rocky iflands, in a very uneven ground, and found it but an indifferent harbour at high water ; he had paffed over rocks, one of which was the next morning two fathoms above water; for the tide rofe here above four fathoms. It came from the north. The latitude was 62 deg. 9 min. and this harbour, in which were the iflands called by him the Iflands of God's Mercy, feems to lay clofe by the large ifland of Good Fortune, to the north of Hudfons Straits, in 308, or 309 deg. E. long, from Ferro. On the 19th he found that he was in 61 deg. 24 min. and faw in the land to the fouthward a bay, to which in a former voyage he had given the name of Hold with Hope. 'Till the 21ft he plyed to the northward, and found the fea more grown than he had feen it fince his departure from England. On the 23d the height of the Pole was 61 deg. 33 min. On the 25th he faw land to the fouth (viz. the Coaft of Labrador) which he named Magna Britannia. On the 26th he found the latitude to be 62 deg. 44 min. On the 2d of Auguft he difcovered a high promontory to which he gave the name of Salifburys Foreland. He then failed 14 leagues farther \V, S. W. and at about midway found the fea full of whirlpools and
currents P
currents. Having failed feven leagues more, he found himfelf at the ci trance of a ftrait, not above two leagues broad, and which was at the diftance of 250 leagues from the northernmoft fide of Davis's Straits. On the 3d he paifed through thefe ftraits, and named the cape on the right hand, or ftarboard fide, Cape Diggs, and that on the left, or larboard fide, Cape Woljle?iholm. Some of his people having been lent on fhore, obferved the tide to rife to 5 fathoms, and that it came from the North. Having failed through the ftraits, he obferved, that the land trended to the fouthward, and that there was a wide fea to the wed ward.
This is all that is to be fonnl of Hudfon's narrative; the rerfl mull: be fought in the narrative of a feaman, named Habakuk Pricket, who Was in the fervice of Sir Dudley Diggs. Amongft other things he mentions, that when Hudfon was near the Land of Deflation, they met with a great number of whales, fome of which fwam along-fide the lhip, while others palled under her without touching her. After this, while Hudfon was flill in iJavis's Straits, between a great quantity of ice, he faw a large mountain of ice overturn, which ferved them as a warning not to go near thefe high malfes of ice. It feems Pricket was ignorant of the real caufe of this overturning of the ice-mountain, which, in fact, Lies in their hurtling afunder. Near heftre-provoked they faw mountains of ice a-ground in fix or feven fcore fathom water. On the iiland of God's Mercy Pricket fprung a covey of partridges, but killed only the old one. The whole country Was barren and gloomy, having nothing on it but plafhes of water and riven rocks, as if it were fubject to earthquakes. They alfo found fome drift-wood lying afhore here. Then they came again amongft a great quantity of ice, and feeing at length on the fouth fide of the ftraits, land, with high promontories, he called the firft Prince Henry's Cape, that with two hills, which was farther to the weft, but on the fouth fide, was named King James s Cape, but towards the north
were
were fome iflands which totalled Queen Anne's Foreland. All thefe lay to the northward in a bay, in which there appeared to be a great deal of broken land, lying quite clofe to the main land. At length, after a ffonn, they faw another mountainous part to the northward, which they named Mount Charles, or Cape Charles. To the weftward was more broken land, forming a bay, in which poifibly a good road might be found for fhips, and the promontory here was named Cape SaUjhury. Between the main laud to the fouthward and an iiland was a ftrait with a Itrong current; the two promontories enclofing it wcrs called Cape Diggs and Cape Wolfienholm. On Diggs's ifland they found a herd of animals of the flag kind (viz. reindeer) but could not get within a mufket-fhot of them. From this part forward we have only Pricket's relation to guide us. They failed fouthward, and had the land to the eaftward of them. After a run of about 20 or 30 leagues, the fea grew /hallow, and they got among rocks and broken land, and the fea grew ftill fhallower and fhnllower, fo that they were obliged to anchor in 15 fathoms. Not long after, they weighed, and {food to the fouth-eaft along the land, till they had land on both fides. They then itood again into a large fea, but at length found it to be only a bay, and here they took in water and ballad. In 53 deg. N. lat. was an ifland. Various remarks having been made by the crew on occafion of Hudfon's entering the bay and going out of it again, he displaced the mate of the fhip, Robert Feet, as well as the boatfwain, and appointed Robert Bylot to be mate, and William Wilfon to be boatfwain. At length, on Michaelmas-Day, they flood in among a clufter of iflands, and called the place Michaelmas Bay. They anchored in very fhallow water; but in weighing again, they loft the anchor, but fortunately faved the cable.   In the dark they ran a-ground up^rt
a rock*
a rock.   The tide carried them however off from it again without their having received any damage; and after fiiiling to and fro for a long time, Hudfon refolved to anchor in the bay where he then was, and fpend the winter there, it being already the latter end of October. Having found out a fit place, they fecured the fhip by running her a-ground, and here fhe was frozen in, ten days afterwards. Hudfon now thought of hufbanding their provifions, for he had only taken with him victuals for fix months, though he might have taken more. He fought how ever only to ftretch out their provifions till the fpring, when he might go to Cape Diggs, where the fea-fowl bred.   In the mean time he propofed rewards to thofe that killed either beaft, fifli, or fowl.    In the middle of November died the gunner, in confequence, as it is here infinuated, of the hard and unkind treatment he had met with from Hudfon.   Hudfon had in London taken into his houfe a young man, named Henry Green+ of a refpectable family, but who had loft the affection of all his friends and relations by his ill behaviour and extravagance, and had fpent all that he had.   By the affiftance of a friend, Hudfon had procured him four guineas from his mother, to buy clothes with.   This young man he had taken along with him, without the knowledge of his owners ; and he had already been guilty of feveral mifdemeanors; for at Harwich he had attempted to defert with a fiilor, and in Iceland he had feverely beat the fliip's furgeon. Hudfon had, however, always taken his part. Now the feafon being far advanced, and the ground covered with ice and fnow, Hudfon requeued the carpenter to build the houfe for them to winter in ; but the carpenter ' refufed to do it, on the pretence that he was not a houfe-carpentcr, but a fhip-carpenter, and that Hudfon had not given orders for the building of the houfe till the fnow and froft had fet in. In the courfe,of this quarrelv
X x Hudfon
Hudfon was fo much provoked as to beat the carpenter ; and this latter now being about tobegin upon the work, and wanting a companion, and at the fune time pofitive orders having been given that nobody mould go any where by himfelf, on account of its being unfafe, Green accompanied him.  This circumftance made a wide breach between Hudfon and the young man, who from that time forward took every opportunity of lef-fening the former in the eftcem of every one in the fhip, and alienating their hearts from him, as well as of laying the foundation to the ungrateful and cruel behaviour he afterwards experienced from them During the whole winter they had fuch aimlufuice of ptarmigans, that of thefe and other forts of grous, they killed above a hundred dozen.   In the fpring, when thefe birds left them, they were replaced by fwans, wild-geefe, ducks, and teal,  which, however, were more difficult to come at, becaufe they did not ftay there to breed, as it was expected they would do ; but as faft as they came from the fouth, proceeded to the north, fo that in a iliort time there were none at all to be feen.   And now the great fcarcity began;   they eat mofs, and the frogs which were beginning to couple.   Thomas JFoodhoaJex a young man who had gone out with them as I volunteer, and who had ftudied the mathematics, brought them branches and buds of a tree, which were full of a fub-ftance like turpentine j thefe the furgeon boiled, and made a diet drink for them, and the boiled buds were applied hot, by way of poultice, to fuch as had pains in their limbs, who alfo found an immediate relief from the application.   I imagine that thefe buds were from the Tacamahaca Tree (popnlus balfamifera) the buds of which are very alhefive, in confequence of their containing a glutinous rcftn, like turpentine, of which they have alfo the fmell.    The decoction was certainly a very .powerful antifcorbutic remedy, and the warm application of the boiled buds ferved to relieve the pains and fwelliags of their limbs, which were rendered fore and painful by fcurvy and rheumatifm.   But,  in fact, the young moots, or (as they are called
in
in America) the buds of the fpruce fr fPinus Mariana & Finns Canadenfis) are alfo a remedy againft the fcurvy. A native paid them a vifit, to whom they gave a knife and fome other trifles, in return for which he brought them fome beaver-furs and deer-fkins; he alfo promifed to come to them again, but never appeared afterwards. They caught fome fifh, and got the fhip ready for their departure, after Hudfon had, with tears in his eyes, diftributed all the remaining provifions in equal (hares. Immediately after the departure of the fhip, Green, together with fome others, and in particular Wilfon, Michael Pierce, and the difcarded mate, Ivet, mutined. They put Henry Hudfon, together with his fon, John Hudfon, who was but a boy, Woodhoufe, the mathematician, Philip Staffs, the (hip's carpenter, and five more failors, in all nine perfons, into the floop, to whom they only gave one gun, fome fpears, with a very fmall ftock of provifions, and then abandoned them to their fate, with a want of feeling hardly to be equalled. Thofe who remained in the fhip failed along the eaftern coafl. They landed often, and not being able to catch any fifh, they gathered a herb they called Cockle-grafs (which it may be prefumed was a kind of tang, or rock-weed, perhaps the Fucus Saccharinus) and without which they muft unavoidably have perifhed. At length they reached the ftrait and the capes, where they faw the birds brooding on their nefts, and killed a great number of them; but here they ran a-grcund upon a rock, on which they were obliged to remain eight or nine hours; for they ran upon it during the ebb, which came from the eaft, as the tide of flood did from the weft. As foon as they were afloat again, they purfued their courfe, and endeavoured to get fome fowl near Cape Diggs. Here they faw feven boats filled with the natives, with whom they made friends. But fhortly after, they were attacked by thefe favages, who killed Green, and wounded the others fo defperately, that three more of them, chiefly the ringleaders in the mutiny, and thofe the ftoutefl men in the lhip, died in a day or two after.   Now Bylot
X x 2 became
became their leader. They killed 300 more fea-birds, and being driven back by the wind, they killed 100 more. At length they proceeded farther, but were driven to fuch ftraits for want of food, that they were obliged, after fmgeing off the feathers, to eat the fkins which they had torn off from the fea-fowls, as alfo their entrails. At firft they attempted to go to Newfoundland, but were prevented by a S. W. wind, and lliaped their courfe for Ireland. Their diftrefs encreafing, they took the bones of the birds which they had eaten, fried them in tallow, poured fome vinegar on them, and eat them as a great dainty. Juft at the time when they had loft all hopes of reaching Ireland, Robert Ivet died. They had put their laft fowl in the fteeping~tub, and were at the end of their provifions, when they defcried Ireland. Here they with great difficulty obtained fome provifions, and arrived at laft, by the way of Plymouth and Gravefend, in London.
This voyage, notwithftanding all the important difcoveries made in the courie of it, coft poor Hudfon and the few people who were with him, their lives. Never perhaps was the heart of man poffefTed by ingratitude of a blacker die, than that of the infamous villain Green. Hudfon had faved this wretch from perdition, had cheriihed him with the utmoft kindnefs in his own houfe, and had but with too much weaknefs taken his part, even then when he had been guilty of the greater! mifd'emeanors; notwithftanding which, this outcaft of fociety had the wickednefs to ftir up the reft of the crew againft their commander, and to expofe his benefiictor and fecond father, without clothes and arms,, and without provifions, in a fmall boat, to the open fea, in an inhofpitable climate,, where none but favage beafts, and ftill more favage men, dwelt j and where, during the greateft part; of the year,, all is covered with fnow and ice. It is fcarcely to be believed, yet it is certainly true, that the foundation of all this lay in the bad conftitution of the laws with refpect to navigation and ft-amcn. It is fcarcely 40 years-fmce an act was paffed, by which the teamen belonging to the royal navy who fhould refufe to obey their officers orders, after fuffering fhipwreck, were made liable to be piuiiilied ; and, even now, it is only
the officers of the royal navy who have the privilege of punifiling fuch as have committed any mifdemeanor, or have been guilty of any infraction of the articles of war. On board the merchantmen, and even on board the fhips belonging to the Eaft-India Company, neither the Captains nor any of the mates have power to punifh any individual , if they do, the feaman at their return may lodge a complaint againft them, and demand fatisficlion ; which fatisfaction indeed is feldom refufed, as it is well known that the power ufurped by thefe gentlemen but too often exceeds the proper limits. Self-intereft, and the fear of having the whole or part of their pay flruck off, in cafe of their refufal to do their refpeclive duties, are the only ties by which the crew are bound to obey the Captain's orders j and hence it is that we fo frequently hear of a (hip's crew rifing againft their Captain, and either killing him or putting him on fhore fomewhere, and running away with the veffel. New voyages of difcovery would have been often undertaken at the expence of private individuals, but the fear of the crew's mutinying, and by this means interrupting the progrefs of the difcovery, has in thefe days-proved an obftacle to every'undertaking of this kind; for this reafon, at prefent none but men of war can be employed in thefe expeditions. Mr. Alexander Dairy mple, a very able navigator, and whofe zeal for making difcoveries is equal to his resolution and courage, would have long ago collected amongfl his friends as much as would be requifite for undertaking a voyage of difcovery ; and to this end petitioned Government to extend the laws refpecting the regulation of the royal navy, only to the fhip in which he was going j but met with a refufal. The cruel behaviour of Green and his accomplices towards Hudfon did not, however, remain long unpunifhed. The faithlefs "Fjkimaux killed him and his chief a ffiflants in iniquity t and the others fuffered fuch great hardfhips,. and were driven to fuch dreadful {traits, that humanity fhudders at the idea *.
* The author has ben grofsly deceived with refpeft to this anecc'ote, which has not even the fludovv of truth^ and is only inlerted here to hi contradicfed.   [K. F\
Hudfon
Hudfon found the eaflern coafl of Greenland covered all over with ice, in the fame manner as it is ftill found to be at prefent. The dreadful overfetting of the mountains of ice has alfo been obferved by Hudfon's continuator, Pricket. By the great quantity of ice accumulated in Davis's Straits, Hudfon was obliged to go to the weftward, and confequently, without intending it, to make the difcovery of the flrait and bay called after his name. What by men is often termed chance, is, without doubt, under the direction of infinite power and wifdom, which is but too often miftaken by fhort-fighted mortals. At Cape Diggs they found reindeer, forrel, and fcurvy-grafs (Cocblearla officinalis J both of which herbs are excellent remedies againft the fea fcurvy, whence the latter has taken the name it bears in Englifh. It flruck me very much, in my voyage round the world, to find that the fhores of all the countries which we viiited were abundantly furnifhed with herbs, which are antidotes to the fcurvy. In the Tropical iflands we found wood-forrel (OxallsJ pepperwort (Lepidium oleraceum & pifcidium) and a new fpecies of ladies-fmock (Cardamine farmentofaJ ; and at New Zealand and Tierra del Fuego, a fpecies of wall-creffe (Arabls heteropbylla) and celery (Apium decumbens), It would feem as if Providence had intentionally diftributed on thefe fpots, for the benefit of the inhabitants of the fea-coafl, and of the people returning from lon^ voyages, fuch plants as might be fervicea-ble in mitigating the dreadful fymptoms and effe&s of the fcurvy. Neither has the afflicted mariner far to go after them, as, almoft the firft flep he takes on fhore, he finds under his feet thofe wholefome plants, fo well adapted to his wants. But is itpoffible to miftake this invariable order of nature in the production of them for mere chance ? and can the determination of the fpots where thefe plants chiefly grow, have been left to a mere accident ? And if, in anfwer to this, it be faid, that this foil and fituation are belt adapted to the growth and en-
creafe
creafe of thefe plants, and that other animals eat them as well as men; I mull then take the liberty to aik again; but who is it that has connected this circumftance of their being fo fingularly antifcorbutic, with the particular fpot where they grow, and with that other circumftance of their thriving the befl near the fea fhore ? If it be mere accident, what is the reafon then that it takes place not in one country onlv, but every where alike ? And does it follow that mankind is excluded from making ufe of thefe plants, becaufe animals are fond of them ? or, indeed, is it not rather a proof of fuperior wifdom, when different effects are accomplished by the intervention of one and the frnie caufe ? Certainly, to mifconceive the intentions of this fupreme wifdom, this more than fitherly kindnefs, in this admirable regulation of the works of nature, is nothing lefs than to degrade the intellective faculty of man, his nobleft prerogative, and reduce him to a level with the ftupid and fenfelefs brutes ! Should, however, after all that has been faiJ, fome fceptical mifcreants ftill infift upon this topic, we can only fay, that we do not in the leaft envy them their boafted enlarged ideas and philofopfiy.
It is really inconceivable what an aftonifhing quantity of different kind of grous there is every year caught and eaten in the factories of the Hudfon's Bay Company. Of ptarmigans alone they kill more t]ian 10,000. While Hudfon's Bay was in the hands of the French, from* the year 1697 to 1714, a French Governor at Fort Bourbon, together with his garrifon, confiding of 80 men, eat in one winter 90,000 fpotted grous and ptarmigans, and ac,oco hares. To the above account muft be added in the fpring, the immenfe number of fwans, geefe, and ducks, which are eaten there ■„ befides which, they catch a great many reindeer. It is therefore aftonifhing, that Hudfon, who Ufed to act with fo much prudence and forceaft in every thing, mould not have taken care tc have preferved out of the hundred dozen
of
of ptarmigans which they caught in the winter, at leaft fome few dozen for a ftore of provision in the fpring, and on the voyage. But probably the mutiny of his crew was the caufe of this neglect.
The villains, who behaved with fo much cruelty to Hudfon, bound themfelves to this atrocious wickednefs and inhuman deed, as though it had been a laudable, beneficent act, by an oath, which, according to the Englifh cuftom, they took on the Bible. In fact, they fwore that every thing they were going to undertake, Jloould be to the glory of God, and harm to no man, which, however, was a moft horrid abufe of a facred act of religion, and the moft fhameful piece of hy-pocrify that it is poftible to conceive.
XX. The account of Habakuk Pricket, that when Hudfon's fhip had ftruck upon a rock near Dlggs's Ifland, fhe had been heaved off again by a high tide coming from the weftward, excited new hopes in the Society which had planned the former voyages, that ftill, in fome part of the weftern coaft of Hudfon's Bay, there muft be a ftrait, through which this tide could come from the weft ; for if this part of the fea difcovered by Hudfon was a mere bay, the tide muft needs come into it from the eaft or the entrance : nowj fuppofing the tide to come from the eaft, it muft needs diminifh in height in proportion, as it advanced farther into the bay ; but here it was exactly the contrary, for it happened to be lower at the entrance than farther into it, and therefore it was highly probable, that this wefterly and higher tide actually proceeded from a fea which had no connection with the mouth of Hudfon's ftraits. Befides, humanity feemed to demand, that in cafe the unfortunate Captain Hudfon and his companions fhould happen to be ftill alive, they fhould be refcued from the dreadful ftate of mifery into which they had been plunged by the moft hardened of villains. Accordingly they fitted out two fhips for this expedition, the one of
which
which was named the Refolutim, and the other the Difcovery *, Capt. fkmas Button, a very experienced navigator, whom the King after-Wa. Js created a Knight on account of fome fervices he had done to the crown, and who was then in the fervice of Prince Henry, was elected commander of the whole expedition, and the command of the Difcovery was given to Capt. Ingram. Befides this gentleman, Button took with him feveral other very fkilful men. His firft mate in the Relolution was Nelfon, a man of great experience and knowledge : and it was after this perfon that he named the river where he wintered, Ncl~ fons River. Moreover, he had two gentlemen with him, of whofe knowledge and experience we muft, even from Button's own teftimony, form a very high idea. The one was his relation and favourite, by name Gibbons; and the other was Capt. Hawkridge. The name of his mate was Jofab Hubbart, a man poffeffed of very juft conceptions of fuch an undertaking, and of the probability of a paffige. Finally, he was alfo accompanied by Habakuk Pricket, who had made the laft voyage with the unfortunate Hudfon. They were victualled for 13 months, and fet fail in the beginning of May 1612. They fhaped their courfe to the weftward, and arrived off Hudfon's Straits, which they entered to the fouth of the Refolutlon Iflands, and f»r fome time were blocked up in the ice. At length they came to Diggs s Ifland, where they ftaid eight days, and in that time fet up a pinnace they had brought with them in pieces from England. After this, they went farther to the weftward, where they faw land, to which they gave the name of Carey s Swans Nefl. From thence they proceeded to the fouthward of the weft, and came in 60 deg. 40 min. N. lat. again to a
* i; is very remarkable, that in the laft voyage of difcovery, undertaken by the glorious and unfortunate Capt. Cook to the Sou h Sea and the northern parts between Afia and America, thefe were likewife the names of the fliips employed on that expedition.
Y y land,
land, which on this account was called Hopes checked by Button. Here they were overtaken by a terrible ftorm, fo that they were obliged, on the 13th of Auguft, to put into a harbour, to repair the damages done to the fhips. But immediately after, the dreadful winter fet in, and Button was obliged to winter there in 57 deg. 10 min. N. lat. in a fmall creek on the north fide of a river, which he named Port Nelfon, after his deceafed firft mate. He fecured both the fhips,, as well as he could, againft florms, ice and the tides, with piles of deal driven into the ground, and a mound of earth. They wintered In the fhips, keeping three fires conftantly; notwithftanding which many of his people died, though he took the greateft care of them; and they confumed 1800 dozen «= 21,600 ptarmigans and wood-grous. Button himfelf was indifpofed during the firft three or four months of the winter. The river Nelfon was not frozen over till the 16th of February, although at times it had been very cold; yet the mild winds immediately following upon the cold weather, had brought on a thaw. Button had obferved, that in former voyages, inactivity and the want of employment had but too often been the occafion of difcontent, murmurings, and fecret confederacies in the crew againft their fuperiors in command ; he refolved, therefore, to prevent this by allotting to every one his talk, and even to the beft of them he gave employments fuitable to their fta-tions and capacities , for of fome he enquired, what was to be done in cafe the water fhould happen to be fpent in their prefent place pf abode ? and in what manner they had beft proceed in the difcovery, which was the end of their prefent voyage ? Others he enjoined to give him in writing an exact calculation of their voyage till then, with, the mutual diftances of each place, the fhip's courfe, the latitude and longitude, the variation of the compafs, the different foundings, together with other obfervations on wind and weather, the tides, &c. fo that nobody could find leifure from idlenefs and want of employment for fuch dangerous affociations. The ice began to clear out of NJ/ons 3 River
DISCO V ERIES in t ii | NORT H. 347
River fo early as on the 21ft of April, but it was not till two months after, that they fet out again with a view of exploring the whole Weftern coaft of the bay, which he called, after his own name, Button's Bay.   The neighbouring land was named New Wales,   In the 6.0th degree they found a ftrong current, fetting fometimes to the eaft, and at other times to the weft.   This circumftance induced Hubbcr-t to name this part in his map, Ilubbarfs Hope.   The higheft latitude to which Buttons refearches extended, was about 65 deg.   The obferva-tions which he had an opportunity to make there on the tide-flux w< re fuch as not to have him the leaft doubt of the portability of a north n paffage*   Some iflands, lying to the fouth-eaft from Carey's Swan's Ne/l, lie named Man/el's (Mansfield's) Iflands.    On the weft fi leof the land called Carey's Swan's Njl, he came to a kind of a bay, which he called Non plus ultra.   The fouthern moft point of the land was Cape Southampton ; and on the eaft fide of the land was a promontory to which he gave the name of Cape Pembroke.   He reckoned 10 leagues from this cape to Man fet* (Mansfield's) Iflands,   Between Cape Chid-ley and the coaft of Labrador they found another ftrait, through which they failed, and from thence, in 16 days, arrived in England, in the autumn of 1613.
It is a great pity that Button never published his Journal, for, from all the difperfed and unconnected accounts now remaining, we learn no more than that this Journal really contained fome very important obfervations on the tides, and other objects of natural philosophy, The great quantity of ptarmigans and grous there is in thole regions is very evident, from the circumftance of Button and his people having eaten 1800 dozen of them.
XXI. The frme Society which had promoted Button's and fo many* former voyages, in the year 1614, fent on the fame errand Capt. Gibbons, the kinfman and friend of Button, in the Difcovery, the very fame fhip in which Button had made his voyage of difcovery.   But he was
Y y 2 fcarcely
348 V   O   Y   A   G   E   S and
fcarcely arrived at the mouth of Hudfon $ Straits, when a large quantity of ice quite encompaifed him, and carried him by means of the current and the winds, into a bay on the coaft of Labrador, in 58' deg, N. lat, which his people on this account named Gibbons $ Hole. Here he was obliged to lie for the fpace of 10 weeks, in the greateft danger all the time of lofing his fhip and his life. Being at length freed from this danger, he immediately fet fail for England, partly becaufe the (hip had been very much damaged by the ice ; and partly alfo, becaufe the feafon was too far advanced for going upon any frefli enterprises in thofe cold regions. Fox calls the land where the bay lay, Stinenia, an appellation for which I can give no reafon*. It was, without doubt, the coaft of Labrador ; and Gibbons % Hole is nearly on the fame fpot with the colony of the Moravian brethren, to which they have given the name of Nam.
XXII. The fame year, 1614, Fotherby and Baffin were fent out with a ftngle fhip on a voyage of difcovery in the north, and that probably by the Ruftia Company. With great difficulty, and after feveral fruitlefs effays made with the fhip, they fuccecded, however, at length, in getting with their boats to the firm ice, which enclofed Red Beach. This forms the north-eaft point of Spitfbergen, and is fituated on what is called the Deer Field (or Renncn Felde). The Moffen If and Iks to the north-eaft of Red Beach. To this Red Beach they went on foot over the ice, in hopes of being lucky enough to find fome whale-bones there; they were, however, for once deceived in their expectation. Fotherby adds, '* Thus, as wo could not find that which we defired to fee, fo did we behold that which we wifhed had not been there to be feen, viz. a great abundance of ice, which lay clofe to the fhore, and ftretched out in the fea as far
• la the Tabic of Errata annexed to Fox's book, the word Stinenia is changed for America : but this und feveral other errors (which are here corrected) fucceeding wricers, and with the ri Dr. Forfter, have been led into by Fox's having abfurdly placed that table in the middle of tiiL B& k.
as we could difcern." On the ill of Auguft they failed from Fair Haven (a place fituated between Hikluyt's Headland, which is likewife called Amjlerdarner Ifland, and the lihndof Fog elfting, lying off the north weft point of Spitsbergen), with a view to try whether the ice would admit them to pafs towards the north or north-eaft. They failed from Cape Barren, or Vogelfang, N. eaft by eaft, eight leagues, when they met with ice, lying eaft by fouth, and weft by north. On the 15th of Auguft they fjund the in the fea, which was frozen as thick as a half crown piece.
This very fhort account of another attempt to feek for a paffage in the north, by Spitzbergen, is a freih proof of the great exertions made to difcover this paffige to India. Thofe alfo who have hitherto believed, with M. de Bufjon and Mr. Dairies Barrington, that fea-water could not freeze, will here find a frefli proof to the contrary : for if even in the fummer ibafon, fix weeks after the fummer folftice, it freezes in one night as thick as a half crown piece, how hard muft not the fea be frozen during the fevere cold of the long winters in thefe parts ?
XXIII. In 1615 Fotherby was again fent out to the north, in the pinnace Richard, by the Ruflia Company. He could not get farther this than in the preceding year, on account of the ice. On this oc-caiion he refers to a chart, in which he had laid down what was already known and difcovered in the fpace comprized between 80 and 71 deg. N. lat. and within 26 deg. W. long, from Hakluyfs Headland (reckoning weftward). For his part, he fays, he could have wiflied to have been able to advance farther than lie did, but the ice always prevented him from fo doing j however there was ftill a large fpace of fea between Greenland and King James's Newland (which is alfo called Spitzbergen) where perhaps a paftagc might be pom hie, though this fea he much obia-uded rtfttfi ice.   Since this attempt the Englifh Ruflia
^ Comp.ii:.*
Company feems not to have concerned itfelf any farther with making difcoveries in the north.
XXIV. The fame merchants who had fupported the former enter-prizes with fo much ardour, and at fo great an expence, were iii 11 buoyed up with the hope that at length they mould fucceed in difco-vering this paffage. Accordingly, in 1615, they fent out the Difcovery, which had already been on the voyages of difcovery made under the refpeclive commands of Hudfon, Button, and Gibbons, now, for the 4th time, and for the fame purpofe, under the command of Robert Bylot or, (as Furchas calls him) Byleth. Bylot, too, had been each time in the fhip now entrulled to his care, with Hudfon, Button, and Gibbons. He had with him in the capacity of mate, William Baffin, who had made the voyage with Hall in 1608, and had been out afterwards with Hudfon, Button, and Fotherby, and confequently had acquired great experience, as well as very juft conceptions of the nature of thofe regions, and of the voyages that might be undertaken to thofe parts. Bylot fet fail on the 18th of April; on the 6th of May he faw Greenland on the ea(l fide of Cape Farewell. Shortly after he fell in with a great quantity of ice. Baffin faw a mafs of ice, which meafured 140 fathoms, i. e. 840 feet above the level of the fea; and fome aifert, that there is never more than i-yth part of the ice above the water. But by referring to my Ob-fervations, page 60, it will appear, that as, according to Mairan fur la Gla&e, p. 264, ice is only i-i4th part of its height above the furfice in frefli water, or, according to Dr. Irving, in Capt. Phipp's voyage towards the North Pole, Appendix p. 141, no more than 1-15 th of its height
* This calculation might well have been fparci. It is founded on Fox's aiFertion. (Vid. Fox's Ncrth-wejt Fox, p. i^7.) that Baffin faw ice 140 fathom above water. But this is evidently a blunder of Fox, proceeding from Ids having miftaken Baffin's account publifhedby Purchas. Baffin himfelf fays, it was 2^0 feet; and thence infers that It iOat \^ fathoms, or 1680 feet front the bittom.   Vid. Purchas's Pilgrims, Part III. p. 837.
in mow-Water j therefore ice in fea-water may probably be only i - ioth of its height above the fnrface, and that confequently 840 feet inftead of 7 ought to be multiplied by 10 to meafure the whole height; fo that this mafs of ice was 8400 feet high, which is indeed a moft tremendous height) ! In 61 deg. 16 min. N. lat. he came to the firm ice, and put in amongft it, in hopes that every tide it would open more and more. Having paffed fome days among the ice, on the 27th of May he defcried the Refolution Iflands. On the ift of June he difcovered a good harbour on the weft fide of the Refolution Iflands. At the change of the moon the water rofe and fell nearly 5 fathoms. The variation of the compafs was 24 deg. 6 min. The northern channel* or Lumle/s Inlet, was 8 miles in the narroweft places. On the 8th of July he came to the Salvage Ifles (Savage Iflands) which form a confiderable group : here he found a great number of natives, with whom he traded. Their dogs were moft of them muzzled, and wore collars and harneffes for the purpofe of drawing their mailers furniture when they remove from one place to another. They are of a black-brown colour, and have very much the appearance of wolves. Their fledges are fliod or lined with large fifh-bones. This ifland lies in 62 deg. 32 min. N. lat. about 60 leagues from the mouth of the ftrait. The variation of the compafs is 27 deg. 30 min. a fouth-eafterly moon makes a full tide, which rifes almoft as high as at the Refolution Iflands, and cornea from the caff. On the 29th of June, the weather being cleared up, he at length law Salifbury Ifland. On the ift of July he difcovered a group of illands, which he named Mill-Ifles, becaufe of the grinding of the ice among thefe iflands. The latitude of them is 64 deg. As he was Handing along thefe iflands the fea came with the tide from the fouth-eaft, and drove his fhip with great force into the eddy of the iflands. On the 11 th he difcovered land to the weftward, which being a headland «e named Cape Comfort. The latitude of it is 65 degrees N. The farther he proceeded in the inlet, the fhallower it grew.   This eape
was
was on the land of Carey s Swans Nft. By lot went only to 65 deg. 25 min. N. lat. and to about 86 deg. 10 min. well long, from London. Having tacked about to return, becaufe the land trended to the north-eaft, he found on the 16th, near a point of land, a great number of fea-horfes lying on the ice, and from this circumftance named it Point Sea-horfe. Here he obferved that the flood came from the fouth-eaft, and the ebb from the north-weft. On the 26th he palled between the illands Saliflniry and Nottingham. He came to an anchor at Diggs's IjlarJ, where his people killed a great quantity of fea-fowl on the rocks for their food, and at laft arrived again at Plymouth.
XXV. The public-fpirited gentlemen who had had the former voyages on difcoveries made at their own expence, were willing to fet on foot one more. The gentlemen alluded to were Sir Thomas Smith, Sir Dudley Diggs, Mr. John Woljlenholme, and Mr. Alderman Jones, together with fome others. They again chofe Robert Bylot t3r the Captain, and William Baffin to be pilot. The fhip Difcovery went out now for the fifth time on a voyage of difcovery. They fet fail from Gravefend on the 26th of March, 1 616, The firft land they faw, being the 14th of May, was within Davis's Straits in 65 deg. 20 min. N, lat. Several Greenlanders came to their fhip, and received fome fmall pieces of iron from them. But feeing that he was failing away, they appeared much diflatisfied. Bylot did not come to an anchor till he was in 70 deg. 20 min. near Davis's London coaft, where the inhabitants fled before them in their boats. In this found, which was a very good one, the tide did not rife above 8 or 9 feet. Two days after, he failed farther to the northward. On the 30th he reached Hope Sanderfn (the fartheft land that Davis had been at) in 72 deg. 20 min. Continuing his courfe, he came in 72 deg. 45 min. to fome iflands, where he found po-thing but women,whom he treated with kindnefs, making them prefents of iron. To thefe iflands he gave the name of Women s Ifles. Here the 3 tide
tide did not rife above 6 or 7 feet. The women had black llreaks on their faces, winch were raifed above the fiirfacc of the fkin. Bylot now failed farther on to the northward, but met with a great deal of ice. He therefore looked about for a harbour, till the ice mould be wafted and gone, and flood into one in lit. 7,3 deg. 45 min. Here the inhabitants came immediately to them, and brought them feal-fkins and unicorns * horns, in exchange for iron. Hence he named the found Horn Sound. He flayed here a few days longer, and then fet fail again. The wind was ftill contrary, but the ice wis almoft all diifolvcd, infomuch that he had it in his power to go again to Women s Ijhnds, from which he fxlhd 20 leagues to the weftward, without finding any more ice. On Mid fummer-Day all the fhip's tackling was covered with frofl, neverthelefs the cold was by no means intolerable. The fea was free and open, but the wind was contrary. He therefore flood off from the fhore, and flood in for it again. He then let fall an anchor to meafure the tide, which afforded him however but little hope. The weather now grew very foggy, he therefore failed along the coaft. The next day he came to a fair cape or headland, which he named after Sir Dudley Diggs. It wais in 76 deg. 35 min. N. lat. and clofe adjoining to it lay a fmall iiland. At the diftance of 12 leagues from the cape he faw a confiderable inlet, in the middle of which was a fmall iiland, which caufed a double current. Here he anchored, but the (hip drove with the current though fhe had two anchors out. He was therefore obliged to weigh and ftand out to fea.   This inlet he
* Thefe horns are very improperly calhd by the nrme fiey bear; for it is well known that the navb%<jali or fea unicorn, a kind of whale found in Greenland, has two fuch horn?, which arc long aul wreathed, but that feldom both horns are found together in the fiih ; probably they may I iCe one of them in their wars with each other, or in the combats they have with other fifli. There h./s been an inltance of a fea-imicorn having run his horn into the bottom of a iliip, where he had broke it on* and left it.
Z z f named
r
named Woljlenholme's Sound; it fpreads out in feveral fmall inlets, and is very convenient for the whale-fifhery. Another florm now arofe, which obliged him to lie a Hull; and when the weather cleared up again, he found himfelf in a large bay. He then fet fail again, and Hood over to the fouth-weft fide, where he anchored in an inlet, but loft both anchor and cable, the wind blowing with great violence from the tops of the mountains. He was therefore obliged to ftand off and on, the bottom of the bay being ftill entirely covered with ice. This bay contained a great many whales, on which account he alfo named it Whale Sound. The latitude of it is 77 deg. 30 min. The weather being very fair, he kept along by the land, till he came to a large bank of ice, behind v/hich lay the land. On feeing this he flood back about eight leagues to an ifland to which he gave the name of Hakluyt's Ijland. This ifland lies between two inlets, viz. Whale ^ound and Sir Thomas Smith's Sound-, which latter runs to the north of 78 deg. and is alfo extremely remarkable in one refpecl, viz. becaufe in it there is the greateft variation of the compafs of any part of the known world. For, by divers very exacf obfervations, he found it to be above five points*, or 56 degrees varied to the weftward. This inlet feems to be very conveniently fitCtated for the whale-fifhery, it being the brgeft in the whole bay. That which induced him to fail over to the ifland was that he intended to fearch for whale-bone there. But the wepther was fo bad, that he could not land with the boat. The next day the wind CLUiie more outward. The fea was grown fo high, that he weighed anchor, and it was two days before he could find a good anchoring place. This day the weather cleared up, and he difcovered a group of iflands at the diftance of about 10 or  12 leagues from the land.
* The mariner's compafs la divided into 32 different pointy or v/nds. Now the whole compafs comprizing 360 degrees, each of thefe 32 points or vviadi mail .uacuntto ll| degrees \ con-fecjuently five points are equal 1056^ degrees.
I He
■
He could have wifhrd indeed to {land over to them, but the wind would not permit it, nor would he fpend any more time after thefe iflands, which he diflinguifhed by the name of Cary's Ijlands. He then flood to the weftward with a ftiff gale of wind, which was fucceeded by a calm, accompanied by a fog, when he found himfelf at the entrance of a large inlet, which he called Alderman Jones's Sou.id. In the afternoon the weather turned out fine and clear; and he fent a boat on fhore, whilfl the fhip kept on her courfe ; but the wind getting up again, the boat returned on board, and the men related, that they had feen a great number of fea-horfes lying on the ice along the coafl. Then having an eafy gale of wind at E. N. E. they failed along by the coafl, which began to trend more to the fouthward, and began to have the appearance of a bay. On the 12th day he opened another great found, or inlet, and named it James Lancajler's Sound. Their hopes of finding a paffage began now to decreafe every day. From this inlet to the fouthward a ledge of ice ran all along the fhore $ he therefore kept clofe by the ice till he came to 71 deg. j6 min. where he could fee the land as far as 70 deg. 30 min. Being now almofl furrounded by the ice, he was obliged to fland more to the eaftward; for he expected to be foon clear of the ice, and defigned to have kept on the off-fide of it till he came to 70 deg. when he intended to fland in again to the fouthward; but matters turned out quite contrary to his expectation, for he was obliged to run above 60 leagues through the ice, and was often fafl locked in it, though he kept his courfe due cafl. He kept con-ftantly fo near the ice, that many times he found it difficult to get clear of it; and yet he could not get near the land till he came to 68 deg. 41 min.; when he faw the fhore, but by reafon of the great qunntity of ice could not come to it by 7 or 8 leagues.   This was on the 24th
Z z 2 of
of July. Here he continued for three days more, endeavouring to come to an anchor, in order to try the tide ; but the ice carried him at length into the latitude of 65 deg. 40 min. upon which he left the weftern coaft entirely, being now directly oppofite Cumberland ,(traits; where he had no hopes of a paffage. He therefore found himfelf under the neceflity of putting an end to his voyage of difcovery, as the proper fcafon for it was already elapfed, and his crew but weakly ; fome of them, indeed, being abfolutely fick, and his cook even dead. He now flood over to the coafl of Greenland, and came to an anchor in the harbour of Cocking Sound, in lat. 65 deg. 45 min. Going on fhore on an ifland there, they immediately found fome Greenland icurvy-grafs (Cochlearia officinalis varietas Groenlandica) forrel (Ru-mex acetofa) and orpine (Sedlim acre) in great quantity. They boiled the fcurvy-grafs in beer, and in a week all the fick were-perfectly recovered, and continued well till their arrival in England. Soon after their landing the inhabitants came and brought them fome young fal-mons and other fifli, which they bartered for glafs beads, counters-, and pieces of iron ; and which contributed very much to the recovery of the crew. It was quite aftonifhing to fee the great fhoals of falmoa that were fwimming to and fro in this harbour. The tide rifes in k about 18 feet. The crew being perfectly refrefhed, he fet fail again., and, in 19 days, faw land on the coaft of Ireland. On the 30th of Auguft he anchored in Dover Road.
This voyage likewife, though in the higheft degree worthy of attention, is but very imperfectly known to us from Baffin's relation ; and all the charts of the newly-difcovered Ratlin's bay have been merely laid down from the obfervations made in his journal for Purchas, who has publifhed fo many wretched, paltry maps, was afraid of theexpence attending the publication of Baffin's important chart, and it is therefore
probable
probible that it is entirely loft. The female Greenlanders on Women's IJlauaIs had black ftreaks on their faces, railed above the furface of the fkin, and the fame kind of decoration has been obferved to be ufed among the Tangufes in Siberia, as alfo on fome Jakutes *, The gradually decreafe of the tide to the northward feems to me to be a pretty flrong proof of its coming from Davis's Straits, and that confequently this Baffin's Bay has ho connection either to the northward or the weft-ward with the great ocean; in which cafe no paffage can be expected to be found in the whole bay. It is, however, aftonifhing, that Baffin fhould have been the only perfon hitherto that has explored this bay, and that after him no one has ever ventured upon this fea. The whales, which are found here in great abundance, may perhaps have purpofely (elected this bay, which no mortal befides Baffin has ever navigated, for. their refidence, on account of the fecurity it affords them. The whale is a fubtle animal, and very capable of diftinguifhing the places where frequent chace is made after him.—It is aftonifhing that all thofe who were afflicted with the fcurvy on board of Bylot's fhip, fhould have been reftored within eight or nine days by the ufe of frefh herbs and fifh. This proves that nothing contributes more to caufe this kind of putrid fever than the want of fweet air and of frefh provifion. It is poflible, without doubt, to retard, In fome meafure, the progrels of this difeafe, by the infulion of malt or fweet-wort; but as to curing it radically, that can only be effected on fhore, by means of frefli provifions, and a diet confifting chiefly of vegetables.
XXVI. This laft unfuccefsful voyage of Bylot and Baffin feems to have put almoft an entire flop to the inclination of the entcrprizing fociety above-mentioned to promote any farther voyages to the north ; neither indeed do we find any one recorded for a long fpace of time.
* Vide Jtb* Geo. Gmelin% Travel, to Siberia, Part I. page 79. Fart II. page 208. Georgife J ravels. Vol. I. page iy\,
3 Something,
Something, however, is mentioned of a voyage made by Capt. William Hawkbridge, or Hawkrldgc. This is the fame perfon who, in 1612 and 1613, had accompanied Sir Thomas Button in his voyage of difcovery. But the account is very imperfect.: for firft, it is entirely unknown in what year this voyage took place : 2dly, neither is it known at whofe expence or at whofe inftigation it was undertaken : nor, laftly, is it poflible to difcover the name of the fhip in which Hawkbridge failed, nor from what port he went, nor where he landed on his return to Engiand; it feems probable, however, that this expedition took place after that of Bylot in 16165 becaufe Fox defcribes it quite at the end, after Bylot's ; and that it was before that of Fox and James, which took place in 1631 5 becaufe the fame writer places it exprefsly before his own.
Hawkbridge failed to the weftward, and, on the 29th of June, found himfelf in the great entrance to Lumleys Inlet; and in fact was the firft that ever was in this inlet, for all his predeceffors had only imagined that they were in it, but had at length found it prove otherwife. He did not leave this inlet till the 8th of July; on the 9th, he found the pinnace again, which had failed out with him. He was retarded for a long time by flrong currents and contrary winds. Near Cape Charles he found a fmall ifland, and the ground thereabouts feemcd to promife a great quantity of fifli; neverthelefs he caught none. The latitude of the ifland was 62 deg. 19 min. The variation of the compafs 3 deg. 9 min. The tide rofe 21 feet, and fet to the fouth-eaft. On the 27th he failed farther on: after making many efforts to this purpofe, he faw land on the 7th of Auguft, which appeared to him to be Salifbury Ijland. Towards the bottom of the bay the latitude was 64 deg. 30 min,; tnc variation 23 deg. 10 min. At length, on the 10th of Auguft, he came to Seahorfe Point. On the 11 th he went deeper into the bay, till he at laft found the lat. to be 65 deg. N. He therefore tacked about, and flood !or Diggs's Ijland, in order to try the tide there.   After this, he ftaid a few days
off the Kings Foreland and Mansfield Ijland. A little farther on, feeing firm ice, he returned. On the 7th of September he was again near the Refolution Iflands. On the 10th the pinnace loft her boat, and probably he haftened home, for here the account breaks off.
This attempt of Hawkbridge's has difcovered nothing new, but that between Carey $ Swans Nejl and the eaftern iflands he went as far as 65 deg. where Bylot, however, had already, in 1615, been before him.
XXVII. After a long paufe, the fpirit of enterprizeand inveftigation again burfl forth. Lucas Fox, a man who from his earlieft years had ufed the fea, and who was to have gone out with John Knight, in the capacity of mate, in i6o6, and fince that time had collected all the information he poffibly could arrive at concerning the progrefs that had been made in the voyages of difcovery undertaken to the North, formed an intimacy with feveral fkilful mathematicians of his time, amongft whom he particularly cites Thomas Sterne, who had carefully collected all the journals and charts of the former voyages, with a vie., to his profefiion, viz. the making 01 globes. After this he renewed his former acquaintance with the famous mathematician Henry Bri± s, who made him acquainted with Sir John Brooke, when feveral refpi -table people formed an affociation for fetting on foot another voyage of difcovery, which was, however, put a ftop to by Henry Brlgges's death. In the mean time Capt. Thomas James had pcrfuaded many merchants in Briftol to fet on foot a voyage of difcovery in the north, and thefe folicited Mr. Brigges and Sir John Brooke, to allow both fhips to g j out together on this expedition, a requeft which was willingly granted. Sir Thomas Roe, who was returned from his embaffy to the Court of Sweden, and old Sir John Woljlenhdmc, were appointed by the King, to procure every thing that might ferve to promote this voyage. The brethren of the Trinity Houfe were alfo to give their alfimxice, and young Mr. Wolftenholme, aftewards Sir John JVolflenhdmc, was to be
Trcafurer
Treafurcr to the whole entcrprize. The King (Charles I.) gave alfo cue fhip to it, and ordered it to be fitted out with all neceiTaries in the moll: complete manner, and to be victualled for 18 months. When Capt. Fox was prefented to the King, his Majefty gave him a map, Containing all the difcoveries made by his predeceifors, with inflruclions and a letter to the Emperor of Japan, in cafe he mould get into the 8011th Sea, and reach Japan by the paflagfe he went out to difcover.
Capt. Lucas Fox fet fail from Deptford on the 5th of May, 163 1, in his Majefty's (hip Charles, of 80 tuns burden. On the j5th he broke his main-yard in two. He went to the Orkneys j but not being able to procure a new main-yard there, failed on. After pafling Cape Farewell in a fog, he lliaped his courfe towards Hudfon's Straits. When he came near the ice, he found that to the leeward of every large iiland of ice, there floated a great many fmall pieces, formed by the continual beating of the fea upon thefe iflands, and undermining them fo that they fell to pieces by their own weight. At length, on the 20th of June, Fox faw land on the north fide of Lumleys Inlet. He was then in 62 deg. 25 min. N lat. Finding ice in this inlet, he was defirous of getting into Hudfon's Straits ; hut here likewife there was floating a great deal of ice. He flood over from Cape Warwick on Refolution Ijland, to Cape Chidley, or Buttons //lands, of which he difti nelly faW four. On the 23d the morning was foggy, but later in the day the fun (hone fo hot, that the ice as well as the pitch on the fides of the (hip began to melt. In the ftrait was ft ill-a great quantity of ice, of which he obferves two forts : firft, mountainous ice, of a very confiderable fize and height, fome of which reached from 20 to 40 yards above the fur face of the water; and next, jlaked ice, fome of which was above a rood, and fome two acres fquare, but molt of it about one or two feet above the water, and eight or ten under the water. On the 30th they paffed by a piece fomething higher than the reft ; on this
lay
lay a large ftone, weighing at leaft 5 or 6 tuns j befides which there were other ftones on it, and fome mud. Thefe mountains of ice are formed on fhore by the fnow, which the wind blows on to the fteep brow of fome high mountain, to which it adheres, and is compacted into a firm and folid piece of ice, which in the fpring becomes loofe at the approach of a thaw, and rolls into the fea, carrying with it the earth, ftones, mud, and trees, which it before enveloped. One night a mountain of ice came driving ftrait on towards the fhip • as it was deeper under water than the faked ice, the current confequently made it drive fatter over than the latter, fome of which was between the fhip and the mountain, elfe this huge mafs being already perforated by the action of the water upon it, in confequence of its perc union againft the fhip might have burft ; when the broken pieces falling into the veffel, might eafily have funk it, as this mountain was 9 or 10 fathoms (i. e. from 54 to 60 feet) above water, and who can fay how many under it ? (perhaps 9 or 10 times as much, and confequently the whole height of the mountain of ice was about 540, or even 600 feet). On the ift of July Fox was oppofite to a fecond ifland, feparated from the Refolution Iflands, which in fome maps is called Terra Nivea. The weather was hot and clofe, but calm, fo that they could not ftir for want of wind. On the 4th he fent a boat to the north land, where they found feveral huts deferted by the natives, as alfo a piece of driftwood, and the footing and dung of an animal of the flag kind. On the 14th he faw a fea-unicorn, about 9 feet long. The back of it was black, with a fmall fin upon it; the tail lay flat, tranfverfe with refpect to the ridge, and between the two peaked ends was, as it were, indented. The fides were dappled, black and white ; the belly was all over of a milk white ; the body, from the gills to the tail, was fhaped like a mackerel's ; but the head refembled that of a lobfter, and on the fore part of it grew a wreathed horn, 6 feet long and of a black colour all over, excepting juft at the tip.   The fame evening he faw 20
A a a more
more fea-unicorns. On the 15th, feeing the iflands of Salifbury and Nottingham at 7 leagues di fiance, he went fomewhat to the fouthward, out of the way of the ice, and had ground in 160 fathoms. The ftones-brought up by the lead were of the fame kind with thofe that ufual'ly lay upon the ice, and are carried by it from the main land; thefe Hones confequently being by degrees detached from the ice, fall to the bottom ; fo that in the fpace of fo many years it is not to be fuppofed that any fpot on the bottom of the fea hereabouts can be free of them. Here he obferved that the needle had loft its powers, and gives his conjectures on this phenomenon, and on the caufe of it, which he was inclined partly to deduce from want of motion in the fhip, in confequence of its being becalmed, or from the action of the neighbouring mountains, which perhaps might contain fuch minerals as had an influence on its magnetic powers; or elfe from the cold benumbing it, and operating upon it in the fame manner as it does upon us, or rather from the fharpnefs of the air interpofed between the needle and its attractive point, weakening the force of its direction *. He was now near Nottingham Ifland, whither he intended to fend his boat. He had ground, with mufcle-(hells and ftones, at 35 fathoms. The ebb came from the N. W. Their latitude was 63 deg. 12 min. Oa the 15th Fox made a very important obfervation : the iflands Refolution, Sallfhury, and Nottingham, were all three of them high on the eaft
* The celebrated Mr. Henry Ellis, who in 1746 and 1747 made a voyage in the Dobbs galley to HuJfcn's Bay, obferved between the iflands and the higher latitudes, that the magnetic needle had loft its power. As the probable caufl-s of this phenomenon, he affigned, ift, the minerals, by which pofllbly the needle was ftrongly attracted (as for inftance, it is in the ifle of Elba) 2d, the proximity of the magnetic Pole, and finally, the cold of the climate, which latter he confidered as the true caufe ; finding that the compafles, as foon as they were removed into a warmer place, immediately recovered their ufual power and direction. We fee, however, that Fox had obferved this fact before him, and affigncd nearly the fame caufes for it. After this can we refrain from exclaiming with the wife man, There is nothing new under the fun t
fide,
fide, and low on the weft *. Here he alfo faw a great many fea-horfes. He faw the fame day, at a diftance, Cape Pembroke on the main land of Carys Swans Nejl, where likewife were many fea-horfes. On the 18th he was pretty near this lafl-mentioned land, and on the 19th, on a flake of ice, faw a white bear, which after fome time they killed. It yielded 48 gallons of oil; they ate the flefh of it boiled, and found it to be good; but when roafted, it tatted fifhy and rank. The lame night they fiw a dark ftreak in the horizon, and in thefky to the northward the meteors, known by the name of Henbanes, or petty Dancers, v/hich were confidered by Fox as the fore-runners of a ftorm to follow within 24 hours j an event which did not, however, happen. On the 21 ft they were not advanced much farther. They came to Careys Swans Nejl, where they chaced many fwans, but caught none, on account of the marfhes, brooks, and pools of Handing water, fo frequent on this fhore. On the 24th they faw feveral feals in 62 deg. 20 min. N. lat. but as for fowl there were but few cf any kind. On the 27th it was warm, even at night. There he faw abundance of rock-weed and tangle (or Tang). Near the main land on the weft-fide of Hudfon's Bay, he difcovered an ifland in 64 deg. 10 min. N. lat. which he named Sir Thomas Roes Welcome. They found fome burial places of the natives, but not one human creature alive. The fpears left behind in thefe fepulchres were headed, fome with iron and fome with copper. On the 28th he obferved a great number of fifh leaping in the water, together with many feals, and alfo a whale. He came at length to a white ifland, to which he gave the name of Brook Cob-
* Thiaphyfico-geographical obfervation is of the higheft importance, and feems to me to prove that at that time, when the fea burit impetuoufly into Hudfon's Bay, and tore away tlicfe iflands from the main land, it mult have come rufhing from the eaft and fouth;eaft, and h-ve wafhed away the earth towards the weft; a circum(lance which has occafioned their prefent low pofuion.
A a a z ham.
hdm, after Sir John Brook. (It is alfo now called Marble Ijland). They found fwans and ducks, and a young bird with a long neck and head, of which Fox did not know whether it was not an oflrich (probably it was a fpecies of crane). Their dog purfued for a long time a reindeer, but the quarter-mafter, having neither gun nor fpear with him, was obliged to let the creature efcape, though the dog had brought it to a fland, both the deer and the dog having hurt their feet very much on the rocks, fo that they bled copioufly. They faw alfo near the iiland about 40 whales, which were probably afleep there. Fox then failed along the weftern coaft off the main land, which he kept con-ftantly in light, and before which there lay a great many fmall rocks. On the 20th the mafter went on fhore on a fmall ifland, on which he found a confiderable quantity of fea-fowl (viz. black guillemots, the Colymbus Grylle Llnncci). He brought alfo from thence a live dun fox (the Cams Lagopus, or arctic fox) and had feen two f -horfes, one of which he ftruck with a lance, which neverthelefs efcape 1, for want of the ailiftancc of fome perfon befides himfelf. They alfo brought a great quantity of fcurvy-grafs on board, from which Fox ordered the juice to be prciTed out, and mixed with a hogfnead of ftrong beer, and commanded that every one that chofe it mould have a pint of it for his morning's draught; but not a man on board would tafte.it, till fuch time as it was entirely fpoilcd, and they were all terribly afflicted with the fcurvy *.   The iiland was called
Dun
• This h the cotulant complaint of all the Comnnnders of fhips at lea. The private men will never fubmit to any innovation being made in their manner of living ; and were they 10 be ever fo fick, will not make ufe of prelervative remedies. The m'ufion of malt, four trout, together With the bifcuits made at the Cape with rye flour, and prepared with four leven, were held by our crew in abhorrence ; and it was only with greut d ifticulty, and after having feen the officers make ufe of all thefe means, and obferved the benefits reiuhing with regard to their health and prefcrvation againft'the fcurvy, that they confented to take them too. It was juft the fair.e when at New Zealand Capt. Look, ordered a kind of celery and crefU-s to be boiled with the peafc-
J)un Fox [fluid. On the 31 ft they came to a quantity of illands, which Fox named Briggss Mathematics. The land along which they failed On '.lie 3d of Auguft was low, with here and there a little land-hill, like the coaftj of Holland and Flanders. The farther Fox removed from the Welcome, the fmaller was the height to which the tidc-rofe. On the 9th he determined at length to go into the River Ncljon, at the mouth of which he fiw feveral white whales. Here he fet up his pinnace, and here he found the remains of Button's winter dwelling, and faw numberlefs white whales of the fize of porpoifes. On the 15th of Auguft the weather was very hot. On the 17th, higher up the river, they found blackberries, ftrawberries, goofeberries, and fome vetches. They alfo faw the footing of an animal of the flag kind, and hard by this fpot the wooden frame of a tent {landing, which had lately been made, together with the fire-place, the hair of deer, the bones of fowl, and other tokens, that not long before men had been there. On the 18th they faw from on board the fhip a reindeer trotting along theftrand, but could not overtake him. Having found Button's crofs overiuru-'d, they erected it again, nailing an inscription on it, engraved on a leaden plate, and named the land New Wales. As they were not able to fail on the 19th, on account of the wind being contrary, he once mere fent the carpenter on fhore to fell the bell of five trees feleded by the mafter, to fupply the place of a main-yard. None of them was of any tolerable fize, the wood here being univerfally fmall; for the thicknefs of the mofs in which they fland hinders them from taking root deep in the ground. Hence it is, i/ait for a fhort while they growout of tharnofs pretty ilout, though they never grow tall, andare
rm;p ; for many refVr<| to cat it till they faw the Captain, the cfHccr?, and al] the refl of us eat it, when a. laft <-' • / oo condefcended to do the fame. The fame diihcultie3 occurred, when. s*v liiu -an 1 the Ulflrdiy -rs ami pingulit* in Tierra del Fugo, as alfo feals flefli; but indeed, at length, from our example, the crew k'unu-d to cat almoft any thing.
eafily
eafily beat down by florins, and then perifh. Of ail the five trees pointed out, not one was ferviceable, they being all rotten within-The higheft tide that fpring had rifen to 14 feet. But then the eafl fouth-eaft, and eaft north-eaft winds had forced the tide in, or elfe it would not have rifen higher than 12 feet. From this place Fox went along the coaft to the eaftward. On the 29th of Auguft he for the firft time had fight of Capt. James and his fhip, and converfed with him. On the 2d of September he came to Cape Henrietta Maria, where the fhores of the bay take a foutherly direction ; and thus far Hudfon had explored the bay. Now likewife all the coaft was explored between Port Nclfon and Cape Henrietta Maria. Confequently there was no farther hope left for a paffage in this part of the world, from 64 deg. 30 min. to 55 deg. 10 min. N. lat. Fox therefore was now defirous of making fome frefh attempts beyond Nottingham Ijland, where before he had found every part choaked up with ice. To Cape Henrietta Maria Fox gave the name of Wolflenholme's Vltimum Vale. Already, on the 6th, the mafter and the boatfwain were fick. On the yth Fox came to Careys Swans Neft, on which they would have been ftranded if he had not happened accidentally to go upon deck. On the 8th he found himfelf in 62 deg. 21 min. and to the north of him was Cape Pembroke. At length he came to Seahorfe Point, and on the 15th faw Mill If e. The fails were frozen as ftiff as vellum. On the 18th he faw a headland, which he named King Charles s Promontory, and the point that lay to the north of it he cdledC^ Maria, after the Queen. The former of thefe is in lat. 64 deg, 46 min. the latter 8 leagues more to the northward. To the north-wefl of King Charles's Promontory are three iflands, which together form an equilateral triangle, and which he called the Trinity Iflands, after the brethren of the Trlnity-Houfe. Another ifland, fomewhat farther from the land, he named Cook's Ifle, after his friend Walter Cook. The Queen's Cape was in N. lat. 65 deg. 13 min.   On the 20th he faw another promontory,
fituated
fituated fome leagues within the Arctic Circle;  this he named L*rd Wejion's Portland, it having in fact fome refemblance with the Po nt of Portland in the Britifh Channel. To the northward of this promontory the land ftretches to the fouth-eaft, and this he called Fox's Fart heft. But the iiland, along the eaftem coaft of which Fox made thefe difcoveries, is in fome maps called James Ifland, though the extenfive country in the fouthern part of Baffin's Bay, oppofite to Dlfco Ijland, is alfo called James's Ifland, which has introduced a great deal of dif-order and confufion into geography *.   Now Fox fet out upon his return, and gave names to every point of land on this coaft, and to every inlet, and adjacent ifland ; and after paffing on the 5th of October, when already many of his crew were fick, near Cape Chldley, where the head of his fhip by frequent dipping into the fea, was, as it weie, candied over with ice, the current drove him with great impetuofity to the fouthward.   At length, having croffed the Atlantic, he got through the Channel into the Downs, on the 31ft of October, without the lofs of a fingle man or of any the leaft part of the fhip's tackling.
The whole narrative of this voyage, together with the occafional remarks made by Fox, (hews that he was a fkilful and experienced navigator, and that he even did not overlook fuch particulars, as would rather feem to belong to natural philofophy; as, for inftance, his ob-fervations on the ice, the tides, the compafs, and the northern lights, which latter he calls Henbanes and the Petty Dancers. We may add, that Fox was of opinion, that if a paffage were yet to be found, it muff neceffarily be in Sir Thomas Roe's Welcome, the tide being higher there than in any other part of Hudfon's Bay, and there being moreover a great number of whales about this fpot.
XXVIII. We have before obferved, that Capt. Thomas James had been fent on this voyage by fome merchants at Briftol, in a ftrong-built
* It would therefore be better to call this land Fox't lJlanJ, the extreme northern, point of ic having been difcovered by him. .
fhip of 70 tuns burthen, named the Mafia.   James went up to London, and was prefented, by Sir Thomas Roe, to King Charles I. and like Fox, had letters given him for the Emperor of Japan. Directly upon this, he fet fail from Briftol, viz. on the 3d of May, 1631. On the 4th of June he came within fight of Greenland, but was en-compaffed by mountains of ice.   On the 9th they had already Cape. Farewell in the eaft.   On the 10th they were off Cape Deflation, from whence to the iflands of Refolution it is about 140 leagues.   They iaW a great many high mountains of ice : between the ice were many gram-puffes (Delphlnus Orca).   The fea looked black, the fog was continual, thick, and (linking.    On the 17th he faw the iiland of Refolution.   At this juncture the motion of the needle was impeded, a circumftance which James attributed to the thick, heavy, and piercing fogs.   A ftrong current fet into Hudfon's Straits.   The fails and rigging of the fhip were frozen.   The ftraits were full of ice, and as they wcri endeavouring to proceed forwards, they were faft inclofed in it, fo that they were driven with it to and fro,   James was entirely unacquainted with the voyages that others had made before him to the northward, and had purpofely avoided engaging any of the people who had, previoufly to this, made a voyage to the north-weflward, or to Spitzbergen ; confequently he was entirely ignorant of what he muft do in this cafe, or of the beft means of faving himfelf in fuch actuation.   The want of experience with refpect to this point expofed him to inexpreftible fufferings between the ice, and to the moft imminent danger of perifhing in it, together with his fhip and crew.   Having at length worked through Hudfon's Straits with incredible difficulty, he flood ftrait on to the Weftern fhore of Hudfon's Bay, where the veffel ftruck more than once on the rocks.   He feldom got fight of the land on account of the ice.   At length he met and converfed with Capt. Lucas Fox, between Port Nelfon and Cape Henrietta Maria, as he call d it, but which is in fact no other than IVolflenholme's Ultlmum Vale. Then, 3 after
after he had taken leave of Fox, he came himfelf to this promontory, which he firfl: named Henrietta Maria, after her Majefty the Queen of England. The feafon for making difcoveries was now pretty nearly over; he fought therefore, quite at the end of the bay, for a place to winter in. After encountering many florins, and thoufands of perils, amongfl the ice and the many rocks which are found in that part of the fea, and his fhip having two or three times ftruck on the flioals, he ran her himfelf a-ground on the ifland, which he afterwards called Charleton Ifland. With great difficulty and danger they carried their provifions, cables, fails and rigging, clothes and utenfils, and a thou-find other neceffaries on fhore. They made themfelves fome miferable huts, of pieces of wood, which they placed in an inclining pofture round a tree, and covered them with boughs of trees and with their fails, which were foon covered over with a good thick bed of fnow. Befides this hut, they built another, and a ftore-houfe. The hands, feet, ears, or nofes of every one of them were froft-bitten. Their clothes that had lain under wTater in the fhip, they were obliged to dig out of the ice, and, after thawing them by the fire, to dry them again. As they entirely gave their fhip up for loft, they fet about building a fmall pinnace, with which they hoped, after having once got over the winter, to fave themfelves from this dreary place of exile. The cold was moft terrible here, in N. lat. 52 deg. 3 min. Wine, fack, oil, beer, vinegar, and even brandy froze to folid ice; fo that they were obliged to cut the firft of thefe liquors with hatchets and axes. A well which they had dug, froze alfo : but a fpring, at 200 or 300 fleps from their dwelling, did not freeze below the furfice, though at the furface it was covered with ice and fnow. The fun and the moon appeared on the horizon twice as long as they did broad, on account of the great quantity of vapours with which the atmofphere was filled. The ifland was quite covered with forefts, but contained but few reindeer, and fome
B b b arctic
arctic foxes. On the 31ft of January the atmofphere was fo clear, that Capt. James could very plainly perceive more liars by two thirds than he had ever feen before in his life. The fea is frozen over every night, two or three inches thick. The half-flood breaks this ice, and drives the flakes over each other, which freeze immediately together ; by t\\h means the ice in a few hours time becomes five or fix feet thick, and the number of flakes and fields of ice is increafed to that degree, that the fea is entirely filled with them, and the water cools more and more every day, fo that at length it becomes intolerably cold; for when Capt. James's people waded in the fea-water in the month of December, though it froze upon their legs, yet they did not feel it near fo fenfi* bly as in the month of June, when to their feelings it was fo fharp and piercing, that they could not bear to wade in it *.   In the month
of
* It is very probable that the generation of ice here-indicated miy be one of the various means which Nature actually m.ke-; ufe of in the ccconomy of our f> Item. Short fighted and weak is that mortal who, on observing any particular method employed by Nature in hit operations, immediately conclude;,, that is the only way in which fhe operates. Nature pofTeucs a vaft variety of means for the accocipliflirrKnt of her purpofes, of which that feeble creature Man can form no adequ ite idea ! But the more we contemplate this vaft profufion of means, all tending to the fame end, thefe wonderful and varied links in the complicated chain of Nature's fyf. tern, the better we (hall become acquainted with them, and the nearer will the reflecting mind approach to the great fource of Being,
Qui mare & terras variifque mundum
temperat holds.-IIor.
" Snow and hail, fire and vapour, wind and (form, fulfilling his word !"-Davio.
Some, but by far not all of thefe moans I have mentioned in my Obfcrvations. The daily augmentation of the coldnefs of the fea in winter, is as certain as the greater increafe of the ic<: there at that feafon ; yet the circumftance here related of the ihip's crew having been more fen-iible of cold in the month of J.uns than inDeccmbcr, mar not be altogether without foundation.
.Vkat
of February, that horrible difeafe, the fcurvy, made its appearance. They
bled at the mouth,  their gums were fwoln, and fometimes black
and putrid, and all their teeth were loofe.   Their mouths wcrefo fore,
that they could no longer eat their ufual food.    Some complained of
mooting pains in the head, others in the bread, others felt a weaknefs in
their reins, others had pains in their thighs and knees, and others
again had fwollen legs.   Two thirds of the crew were under the hands
of the furgcon, and neverthelefs were obliged to work hard, though
they had no (hoes to their feet, but inftead of fhoes faflened clouts
about them.   In the open air the cold was quite Infupportable, no
clothes being proof againft it, nor any motion fuflicient to keep up
their natural warmth.    It froze the hair on their eye-lids, fo that they
could not fee, and it was with difficulty that they could fetch their
breath.   In the woods the cold was fomcwhat lefs fevere, yet here they
were afflidled with chilblains on their faces, hands, and feet.   The leaft
decree of cold was within doors.   On the outfide, the houfe was co-
vered with fnow two thirds of its height, and withinfide, every thing
was frozen and hung full of icicles.   Their bedding was quite ftiff,
and covered with hoar fro ft, though their beds were almoft clofe to the
fire in their fmall dwelling.   The water in which the cook foaked the
fait meat froze within doors, though it flood but three feet from the
fire.   But, during the night, when the fire was not fo well kept up,
whilft the cook flept only for four hours, all was frozen, in the tub
■
IIe.it and cold, as long as we do not judge of them by a certain unalterable fiandard, are, with refpect- to the human body, mere relative ideas. Now the external air in the month of June being much warmer than it is in December, the coldnef* of the fea-water muft natural')' have affc&cd the bodies of the failors more fenfibly in June than in December ; to this we may add, that in the fpring Capt. James's people were almoft entirely debilitated by cold, fatigues, and fcorbutig complaints, which was not yet the cafe in December, j uil in the beginning of the winter,
B b b 2 into
into one lump. When afterwards the cook foaked the meat in a copper kettle, clofe to the fire, to prevent it from freezing, the fide near the fire was found to be quite warm, while the oppofite fide was frozen an inch thick. All their axes and hatchets had been fpoiled and rendered unfit for ufe, by cutting the frozen wood, fo that Capt. James found it neceffary to lock up the carpenter's axe, in order to prevent it from being fpoiled alfo. The green wood that they burned in their dwelling almoft fuffocatcd them with fmoak ; that which was dry, on the contrary, was full of turpentine, and produced fo much foot, that they themfelves, all their beds, clothes, and utenfils, were covered with it; and, in fhort, they looked like chimney-fweepers. The timber, knees., beams, and bent pieces, wanted for the conftruclion of their pinnace, caufed the greateft difficulty, as the trees, before they could fell them, were obliged to be thawed by the fire. After this, the pieces were firfl: hewn out in the rough, then dried again, and at length worked into the laff form that was to be given them, and fitted into each other ; for which purpofe they were obliged conftantly to keep up a large fire near the flocks, as otherwife it would have been impoffible for them to have worked there. Many of them were difabled by the fcurvy, or had frozen limbs, boils, ami fores; others were every morning focontra&ed in their joints by the rheumatifm, that it was neceflary to reflore the fupplenefs and pliancy of their limbs by fomenting them every morning-with warm water and a decoction of the fir-tree, before they were able to go a flep forward, or to make ufe of their hands. In the month of March the cold was as fevere as in the midil of winter ; in April the fnow fell in greater quantities than it had done during the whole win-ter,but the flakes were large and rather moift, while in the winter, the fnow was dry, like dufl; even on the 5th of April, the fpring which wre mentioned, that they had found, was frozen. An iflandwhich was iituate at the diftance of four leagues from tfiem, they could never fee
from
from a fmall hill in fine weather, and when th~ air was clear j but, on the contrary, when the air was thick and full of vapours, the ifland was vifible, even from plain, level ground.
They now began once more to clear away the ice in the fhip's hold, and to feek for the rudder, which the ice had beat off the year before; they wifhed likewife to fee whether poffibly the fhip was not tight enough to carry them fafe home. With this view they all worked very hard, and were fortunate enough to clear the ice away by degrees, to get the anchors on board, to find the rudder again, and to bring it on deck, and likewife to find the (hip tighter than they had expected. Having cleared away fome of the ice, they found water in her hold. At low water they ftopped up the holes which they had bored in her themfelves the preceding autumn with a view to fill the hold, and thus to render her heavier than before, and keep her fteady, fo that the fea might not lift her up from the bottom, and in letting her down again, dafh her to pieces. They found both the pumps, thawed the water which was. frozen in them, and fet about pumping the water out of the hold. On the laft day of April it began to rain, which to them was a fign of the fpring's approach. On the 2d of May it fnowed again, and was excemvely cold. This made the fick very low-fpirited, and their dif~ orders increafed to fuch" a degree, that they fainted away whenever they were lifted out of bed. Geefe and cranes came now flying in great numbers, but they were extremely fliy. Even on the 8th, the froft was fo intenfe, that the ice would bear a man. On the 24th the ice broke in the bay, with a very great noife : in the day time the fun {hone very hot, but at night it froze. On the laft day of May they faw here and there fome vetches fpring up,, which were carefully gathered, and dreffed for the fick. During the whole month of May the north winds chiefly prevailed. On the four firft days of June they had much fnow, fleet, and hail y and it was fo cold that the pools were covered with ice, and even the water in their pitchers was frozen within doors, and their
newly
newly-wafhed linen continued frozen the whole day. They now hove up the anchor, and found the cable in good condition. On the 9th, all the fick were fo far recovered by the eating of the green leaves of the vetches, that they could make fhift to creep about in the houfe, and were even able to bear the air; and thofe who had been leaft enfeebled were grown tolerably flrong. The green vetch-leaves were dreffed twice a day, and eaten with oil and vinegar. They likewife bruifed the leaves and mixed the juice with their drink. They alfo ate them raw with bread. On the nth they hung on their rudder, which, for many days before, they had not been able to accomplifh, on account of their weaknefs. They alfo lightened the fhip, by heaving out her ballaft. On the 1 5th all the fick were fo far recovered, that they could walk about; their palates and gums were quite found and well, and their teeth were no longer loofe, fo that they could now cat their green vetches with beef. The fea was flill frozen and full of ice. On the 16th the weather was very hot, and they had thunder and lightning : it was fo hot, indeed, that they were obliged to bathe in order to cool themfelves. But now an incredible quantity of mufquitoes (Culex pipiensJ made their appearance, which tormented them extremely } at the fame time there was feen a great number of ants and frogs : but the bears, foxes, and fowl, had totally withdrawn themfelves. On the 20th they got the fhip into deep water, though there was flill abundance of ice lying about. They alfo began to rig the fhip again, and to carry their provifions on board, together with their fails, clothes, and other neceiTaries. On the 2d of July they fet fail again. At Cape Henrietta Maria they met with fome flags, but their dogs could not overtake th.m; James, therefore, put thefe latter animals on fhore, they being a dog and a bitch, and left them there. They got, however, half a dozen of young geefc. After working with infinite labour and difficulty through great quantities of ice, till the 22d of Auguft, he came to Careys Swans Neft, and at length to Nottingham Ijland.   Upon this, confidering that the feafon for
making
making difcoveries was now elapfed, that he had but a fmall ftock of provifions left, and that his (hip was very crazy and leaky, he refolved to make for England with all poflible fpeed. lie was of opinion, that there was no paffage to be found, and that for the following reafons: ) ft, Becauie the tide in every part of this fea comes from the eaft through Hudfon's Straits, and the farther it goes, the later it arrives at every plac^ within the ftrait and bay. 2dly—Becaufe thefe feas contain no fmall fifh, fuch as cod, ilockfiih, &c. and few large ones, which like-wiic are fcidom feen. Neither arc there any whalebones, nor any fea-horfes or Other large fifli found on the fhore ; nor is there any drift-wood here. 3cl 1 y—Becaufe the ice in 65 deg. 30 min. N. lat. lies in large fields or flakes on the fea, becaufe it is generated in the flat bays, but if there was a great ocean farther on, nothing but large mountains of ice would be found, fuch as are at the entrance of Hudfon's Straits, and farther on to the eaftward. 4thly and laftly, Becaufe the ice drives eaftward through the ftraits into the great ocean, by reafon that it comes from the north, and has no other way to go out by.—Having cleared the ftraits, they croffed the Atlantic, and came to anchor in Brljlol Road on the 22d of October, 1632.
It cannot be denied, that James's voyage contains fome remarkable phvfical obfervations with regard to the intenfjnefs of the cold, and the great quantity of ice in thefe climates; but relative to the difcovery of new regions, countries, and feas, we do not find the fnalleft hint. His arguments to prove the non-exiftence of a paflage in thefe fcas, arc by no means fatisfactory. For, ift, his firft pofition is true only in part: in the fouthern recefs of the bay the tide decreafes in height greatly, and alfo arrives there far later than at the mouth of the ftraits \ but it docs not follow from thence that this is every where the cafe, particularly it is not fo in Sir Thomas Roe's Welcome, where the tide is even higher than it is at the mouth of Hudfon's Straits ; and yet even there it does not come from the weft.- 2d. Fox found 3 many
VOYAGES and
many whales near Brook Cob/jam Iiland (Marble Ifle) and alio many fea unicorns ; confequently this argument holds good only with refpect to the other parts of the bay. The 3d and 4th arguments are, in fact, one and the fame; and as there is always much water coming from the northward, which breaks the ice there in pieces, and drives it out of Hudfon's Straits to the eaftward, this would rather induce one to draw an inference in favour of an influx from fome other fea.
XXIX. After the enterprizes of Fox and fames, there feemed to be no farther difpofition in the public to give its fupport to fimilar undertakings. But in the mean time a burgher of Canada, named Tk Grofelie, or De Grqff'cllers, an enterprizing man, and who had travelled very much in thofe parts, had happened to come with the Canadian favages into the land of Outauoas (Utawas, fituate on the river of the fame name) and at length penetrated fo far into the country, that he got intelligence concerning Hudfon's Bay, and its fituation. When he was returned to Quebec, he joined with fome of his countrymen in fitting out a bark for the purpofe of accompliih-ing this difcovery by fea. Soon afrer he fet fail, and landed within the mouth of a river, which the favages call Pinaf/iwet febiewan, i. e. the tearing fir earn, which is fituated but one league from the river Paicirini-ivagau, or Port Nelfon River. He fixed his refidence on the fouth fide, on an ifland three leagues up the river. The Canadians, as being good fportfmen, arrived at length, in the midfl of winter, at Port Nelfon River (which the French called Riviere de Bourbon J and there difcovered a fettlemcnt of Europeans. He therefore went thither with his people, in order to attack them, but found only a miferable hut, covered with turf, and containing fix half- flarvcd people. A fhip from Boftori, in New-England, had put them on fhore, on purpofe to look out for a place where they, together with the whole crew, might pafs the winter.   The ice had in the mean time driven the fhip, with the
reft of the crew, out to fea again,, nor did they ever hear any thing
farther
DISCOVERIES  in  t h t, NORT II. 377
fact hex of either.   But that very fame winter GrofcilUer received intelligence that at 7 leagues from the place of his refidence, there fub-fiited another fettlement of Englifh men on the banks of Port Nelfon's River.   He intended to attack-thefe alfo; but learning that they lived in a fortified place, he chofe a day for this undertaking on which the Englifh are accuftomed to make merry.   Accordingly he went on Twelfth-Day to put his defign in execution; and found them all fo drunk, that though there were So men of them, they  could not defend themfelves in the leaf!;  fo that he made them all prifoners, though he had no more than 14. Frenchmen with him.   In confequence of t'^ns, he remained mailer of the country.    Grofeiller afterwards explored the whole diflrict, and returned with his brother-in-law, Ratifjon, to Quebec, loaded with abundance of rich furs and Englifh merchandize.    He left, however, his nephew, Cbouart, and five men in pofleffion of the conquered poff.   Inftead of being well received In Canada for his good conduct, he had a difpute with his employers on account of fome plunder, for which GrofeiUier and his people had not accounted.   He therefore fait his brother-in-law, Ratijjon, to France, to complain of the injuflice he had fuffered, who, however, was  not lillened to.     He then went himfelf to France, and re-prefented to the Minifiers the importance of his difcovery in the mofl favourable light he could ; but neither he nor his reprefentations met with the leafc attention.   The Englifh Ambaflador at Paris, Mr. Montague, who was afterwards created Duke of Montague (and to whom the prefent BritifhMufcum formerly belonged, the Englifh nation having bought it of his heirs) having heard of Grofei/iie.^s offers, and of the un-juft treatment he had met with from the Miniifers, fpoke with him, and gave him and his brother-in-law letters to the Count Palatine Rupert, in London.   This Prince was a great patron and encourager of all laudable and ufeful enterprizes, and faw perfectly well, that great advantages would refult to England from fuch a fettlement.   Accordingly a
C c c King's
King's fhip was fitted out in 1668, under the command of Capt. Zacharias Gillam, and the two Frenchmen went with him. Capt. Gillam went as far as to 75 deg. N. lat. in Baffin's Bay, and then flood into Hudfon's Bay, in the moft foutherly end of which, on the 29th of Sept. he entered Rupert's River; where he paffed the winter. This Rupert's River comes out of the great lake Miftajfie, and difcharges itfelf into the fouth-eaftern corner of Hudfon's Bay. On the 9th of December they were frozen in, in the river, and went on foot over the ice to a fmall ifland overgrown with poplars and American firs. In April the cold was almoft entirely gone, and the natives ftraggling in thofe regions, who are poffeffed of greater fimplicity as well as goodnefs of heart than the Canadian favages, came to vifit them. On the other hand, the Nodways, or Efkimaux (who probably had their name from the river Nodway, or indeed may have given their name to the river) are fir more uncivilized and cruel. It was here that the Englifh built the firft ftone fort, which they called Fort Charles, and to the country round it they gave the name of Rupert's La?id. At length, after having completely performed his commiffion, Capt. Gillam returned and left the fortification garrifoned with a furhxient number of men.
But K. Charles II. even before Capt. Gillam had fet out on his voyage homewards, had granted to Prince Rupert, and to divers Lords, Knights, and merchants, affociated with him, a charter, dated the 2d of May, 1669 ; by which his Majefty ftiled them the Governor and Company of Adventurers trading from England to Hudfon's Bay j and in confidera-tion of their having, at their own cofts and charges, " undertaken an expedition to Hudfon's Bay, in the north-weft parts of America, for the difcovery of a new paffage into the South-fea, and for the finding of fome trade for furs, minerals and other confiderable commodities, and of their having already made, by fuch their undertakings, fuch difco-3 veries
veries as did encourage them to proceed farther in purfuance of the faid defign 5 by means whereof there might probably arife great advantages to the King and his kingdom," abfolutely ceded and gave up to the faid undertakers the whole trade and commerce of all thofe creeks, feas, ftraits, bays, rivers, lakes, and founds, in what latitude foeverthey might be, which are fituated within the entrance of Hudfon's Straits ; together with all the countries, lands, and territories upon the coafts and confines of the find feas, ftraits, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks, and founds ; fo that they alone, and to the exclusion of all others, fhould have the right of trading thither; and whoever fhould infringe this right, and be found felling or buying within the fud boundaries, fhould be arrefted, and all his or their merchandizes fhould become forfeit and confifcatcd, fo that one half thereof fhould belong to the King, and the other half to the Hudfon's Bay Company.
Such was the beginning of a commercial company, which has fub-fifted without interruption ever fmce the year 1669, and ftill fubfifts the fame, excepting that from the year 1697 to 1714, the French have been in poffeflion of Fort Bourbon, or York Fort, on the river Nclfon. 7 hey have at prefent only four fettlements in the whole extent, vaft as it is, of this bay. The firft, Fort Prince of Wales* on the river Churchill, is alfo c died Fort Churchill, on account of its being erected on the river of this name, and is the moft northern of thefe factories. It is in 58 deg. 55 min. N. lat. and 95 deg. 18 min. weft of Greenwich. The fecond is Fork Fort, on the River Nclfon, where the French formerly had their Fort Bourbon. The third is farther from thence to the fouth-eaft, and bears fhe name of New Severn. The laft and moft fouthern one is fituated entirely within fatness Bay, and is called /Jl-bany Fort, on the river Albany,   Formerly there were alfo fome faclo-
C c c z ries
ries at Moofe Fort, at Fort Rupert, and on the eaft fide of James's Bay in Slude River ; hut it feems that at prefent they are no longer either occupied or vifited by the Hudfon's Bay Company.   The entire Aim which conftitutes the original funds of this Company, amounts to 10,5001. fterling ; every holder of iool. flock has the right of voting, and every one who is polTeifed of more than -iool. of the faid original ftock, has as many votes as he has (hares or hundreds of pounds. But if a (hare be divided among feveral perfons, they are entitled all together to no more than one vote.   By degrees this fociety has raifed the price of their wares, and lowered that of the commodities of the natives of America and of the Efkimaux to fuch a degree, that the commodities exported from England to Hudfon's Bay, will only freight four fmall fhips, which fcarcely require 130 failors to man them, and amount to about 4000I. reckoning them at prime coft.   Thefe exports confift of mu(kets, piftols, powder, (hot, brafs and iron kettles, axes, hatchets, knives, cloth,blankets, baize, flannels, fteels and flints,gun-worms, hats, looking-glaffes, nfh-hooks, rings, bells, needles, thimbles, glafs beads, vermilion, thread, brandy, 6cca &c.   With thefe commodities they buy fkins, furs, caflor, beaver furs, whalebone, train-oil, and eider down, to the amount of more than i20,oool. fterling.   Now this would be at the rate of 25,5001. for every ioool. difburfed by them, or 5250I. per cent.   But from this we muft deduct the duties, the expence of fitting out the fhips, the pay of the officers and failors, the maintenance of the fortifications and factories, and of the people belonging to them; and yet, even then, there remains to them a very great profit. The general opinion is that the proprietors of this ftock, who are at prefent not 90 in number, gain about 2000 per cent.  As for certainty with refpect to this matter,  there is none ; for the Company tranfacts all its affairs with the greateft fecrecy.   Thus much, however, is certain, that no trade in the world is fo profitable as this of Hudfon's
Bay.
Bay.   But, on the other hand, it is equally certain, that as the Englifh nation in no branch of commerce is a greater lofer than in this, no-i thing but the fanctity of a charter granted by Government, can protect: this commercial Company, fo very detrimental to its mother country. If the trade was made entirely free and open, more than 50 or 60 fhips would go every year to Hudfon's Bay, and, inftead of 130 failors, 2500 would be annually maintained and brought up for the fervice of the ftate. Thefe 60 fhips would alfo yearly export to the value of ioo,oool. or 120,000!. of wares and Englifh manufactures, which would greatly ^ncreafe the manufacturing bufinefs, and would provide for a confiderable number of poor, and give them employment and maintenance. Add to this, that thefe North-American provinces might alfo be better peopled and planted with Englifh colonies.   For, were they but removed to the diftance of fome miles inland, and from the fea, which is covered with vaft quantities of ice, and by this means rendered in-tenfely cold, they would find weather far milder, and a more temperate climate ; where they might cultivate themfelves, in great abundance, all thofe neceiTaries of life which it is at prefent impoffible to' raife on the fliores of Hudfon's Bay.   This would enable them to eftablifli by degrees, ftill farther and farther inland, fettlements and habitations of Europeans.    Now the farther they went to meet the Indians, and to carry their merchandize to them, the more confiderable would be the ftock of beaver and deer-fkins, and other furs and peltry, that they might get from thefe people, and afterwards carry in large European boats to the factories by the fea-fide.   A good huntfman among the Indians can kill 600 beavers; but he can carry no more than 100 heaver-fkins to the factories on the fea in his fmall boat, made of the bark of birch : the remaining 500 he makes ufe of for his bed and bed-cloaths, or hangs them up on trees as tokens of remembrance, when any of his children happen to die ; or elfe he tinges the hair off, and, ? broiling
broiling the fkin, eats it as a dainty at their fea ft s ; or perhaps throws them away, and leaves them to moulder and rot. It is flill worfe with refpect: to the deer-fkins, of which the Indians, comparatively fpeaking, carry but very few to the factories by the fea-fide; for in the year 1740, at their firfl public fide, the Company fold about 26,970 beaver-fkins of different kinds, and only 250 deer-fkins, and 30 elk-fkins, when they kept back three-fifths of their merchandize for the next auction. Now the Indians have a notion, that the more deer they kill, the more the number of them will increafe; for which reafon, when they come into a country where the animals are very numerous, they wantonly kill as many as ever they can, though in fact they make no ufe either of the fkins or of the flefli, on account of the great plenty there is of them ; the confequence of which is that they are all left to rot on the fpot. But if they had a place, not too far diflant to refort to, inhabited by Europeans, to whom they could fell their fkins and hartshorns, they would undoubtedly rather preferve them than deflroy them thus wantonly and without occafion. Confequently, by making more new fettlements of Europeans in the country, the quantity of merchandize would be augmented five or fix, or perhaps ten-fold. Befides the mutual concurrence of a variety of chapmen would allure the Indians to make greater efforts to procure a larger quantity of goods, and confequently encreafe and extend the trade very much. To this we may add, that in the northern parts of Hudfon & Bay there are a great many whales, fea-horfes, and feals, the killing of which would be very profitable, and might ferve to freight part of the (hips in the bay. Higher up in the country likewife there is excellent timber fit for mails and yards for the royal navy, as alfo very fine oaks, which would make keels, knees, bent timbers, and planks, as alio pipe flavcs in abundance, an article which at prefent begins to be fcarce almofl every
where,
where, and is fold at fuch extravagant rates, that it'is almoft impoifi-ble to go to the price of it. Now, if there were plantations of any tolerable extent in thofe parts, the felling and forting of fuch fhip and other timber would caufe the money to remain in the kingdom, which is now carried out of it; and the royal dock-yards would be fupplied with ftores of good fhip-timber and malls at a much cheaper rate than they at are prefent. But however detrimental the trade of the Hudfon's Bay Company is to the Britifh ftate, it is neverthelefs ftill carried on; and though the Company is now and then threatened with an enquiry, by a Member of Parliament or two, yet the Proprietors always take care to adduce fuch folid and weighty arguments againft it, that matters are fuffered to remain in the old pofition, and they are left undiffurbed in the poffeflion of their lucrative commerce.
XXX. The mifcarriage of the attempts made in Hudfon's Bay, and the eftablifhtnent of the Hudfon's Bay Company, were now powerful obftacles to the undertaking of new difcoveries in thofe parts. John Wood, however, an experienced feaman, who had paid particular attention to the voyages that had been made to the North, propofed once more to feek for a fhorter way to Japan, China, and the Eaft Indies, between Nova Zembla and Spitzbergen. The King gave the fhip Speedwell for this expedition, and the Duke of York, Lord Berkley, Sir Jofcph Willlamfon, Sir John Banks, Mr. Samuel Peeps, Capt. Herbert, Mr. Dupey, and Mr. Hoopgood, bought a pink called the Profperous, and gave the command of it to Capt. William Flawes, that both might fet out together on this voyage of difcovery. On the 28th of May, A. D. 1676, they fet fail from the Buoy at the Nore. On the 17th and 18th of June they found themfelves in 70 deg. 30 min. N. lat. had 7 deg.
variation,
variation, and faw a great number of whales.   On the 19th, in u <. morning, after foggy weather and rain,  they faw abundance of fea-birds and fin fifh (Balana Phyfalus).   Soon after, they defcried land, viz. the iflands at about 20 leagues to the weft of the North Cape. From hence they fteered nearly north-eaftward, and fo early as on the 22d of June, in 75 deg. 59 min. faw ice, which extended from W. N. W. to E. S. E.   The pieces that were broken off from the ice formed various wdiimfical figures.   The large ice-field, though low, was yet very uneven and rough j  the flakes lying fome by the fide of,, and others upon each other.   In fome places they obferved high hills of a quite a blue ice, whilft all the reft of the ice was as white as fnow.   TIere and there alio they found drift-wood between the ice. Some ice. which they took up and melted yielded frefh water. Near the ice they had ground with 158 fathoms, and the lead brought up with it a greenand foftore.  The current fet along-fide of the ice S. S. Eaft.   On the 26th of June they faw two fea-horfes lying on the ice -r but thefe animals, though they were wounded, made their efcape from them into the fea.   At midnight they had ground, with 70 fathoms and green ore ;  the next evening they faw land from the eaft to the fouth-eaft.   It was at the diftance. of 1 5. leagues, and quite covered with fnow.   On the 27th they found that the ice lay clofe to the land of Nova Zembla, fo that they could not pafs between the land and the ice.   On the 29th the fhip ftruck on fome rocks that lay hidden under the water.   They favedonly a few provifions and tools, and with great difficulty got the crew on fhoiv, after lofmg a great quantity of provifions, together witli the C.-'ptain's papers and other things, by the overfetting of one of the boats.   Being afhore, they were at a great lofs how to get away from thence.   On the 8th of July they efpied at length Capt. Flawes's fhip, and made a great fire, in order to let him know where they were,  upon which he fent his bo.it to their rel . f, and took them all on board his fhip.   Almoft the whole of ;
Zembla
Zembla was covered with fnow, and where there was no fnow the land was marihy, as it were, and overgrown with a kind of mofs, bearing a blue and yellow flower. Having dug two feet deep, they found every thing frozen like ice. The lower hills are free from fnow, but the higher mountains are in all probability covered with an eternal fnow. They found in the country reindeers in abundance, alfo fome arctic foxes, and a fmall animal, like a rabbit, but not quite fo large as a rat, and fome birds like larks. Every quarter of a mile almoft, tnere is a ffream, which however proceeds only from the melted fnow. The mountains they found confiftcd of flate, but nearer to the fea they met with good black marble with white veins. The variation of the needle, IVood found to be 13 deg. to the weftward. The tide riles eight feet, and flows directly againlt the fhore, but not along it, which he confiders as a proof that there can be no paffage to the northward; but as the tide in thefe feas muft neceffarily come from the weft and fouth-weft, it ftands to reafon, that at fuch a diftance from the influence of the moon, it muft be very weak, and confequently cannot rife to a great height; and then as the tide comes from the fouth-weft, it cannot flow other-wife than in a direct line againft the fhore of a headland that ftands out to the north-weft ward. The fea-water he found very fait and very heavy, nay, falter in his opinion, than any he had ever tailed in his life : though at the fame time it was fo clear and limpid, that at the depth of 80 fathoms he could plainly fee the bottom of the fea, and even dif-tinguifh the different mufcles there. The point off which Wood loft his fhip he named Point Speedwell, after his fhip, and fuppofed it to be in 74 deg 30 min. N. lat. and 63 deg. E. long, from London. But as, according to his chart, this point muft be the Time with that which in the Dutch and the new Ruflim charts is called Troofl Hoek, or Comfort Corner, it would rather feem, that the latitude of the place fhould be 77deg. 40 min, and the longitude 85 deg. eaftward from FerrOj whilft, according to his computation, it was only 80 deg. 34 min. from
D d d Ferro.
Perth. Though Wood's journal contains hardly any thing but the fhip's reckoning, yet he does not appear to have been furficiently exact in his computations and obfervations.—Having now faved all the remainder of the crew, they failed ftraight back to England. In their way homewards they fiiw the Faro Iflands, and next came within fight of the Orkneys and Caithnfs, in Scotland, and at length arrived, on the 23d of Auguft, at the Buoy at the Nore, from whence they had fet out.
XXXI. The royal charter having been granted to the Hudfon's Bay Company, partly on the account that they had undertaken, at their own expence, a voyage of difcovery for the purpofe of finding a paffage into the South-Sea, and had made fo great a progrefs, as to be in hopes of difcovering it, it fhould feem that thefe motives alledged by the King for granting the Company fuch extenfive privileges and advantages, would have excited them to purfue this difcovery ftill farther with uncommon ardor; but in fict thefe very advantages which had been granted to them, produced the direct contrary effect. The great profits they actually derived from this trade made them fear, left Government, in cafe of the paffage being found out, might recall their charter, and grant it to the Eaft-India Company, or perhaps even open a free trade to thofe parts. On this account they endeavoured to conceal as much as poflible the true fituation and nature of the coafts of this country, of the feas, of the neighbouring nations, and, above all, of the profitable trade carried on to thefe parts. As the property of all the lands bordering on Hudfon's Bay is vefted in this Company, and as the favages actually repair thither, for the fake of trade, from very remote parts to the fouth-weft and weft of the Bay, it may truly be faid, that about 80 people in England are the proprietors of a country far more extenfive than England, Scotland, and Ireland, taken together. The members of this Company are accufed of having even endeavoured to bribe thofe who had any knowledge of thefe fens and
coafts.
coafts, and who were apprized of the probability of a paffage into the South-Sea. However, that they might not be faid to do nothing, they fent the Captains Knight and Barlow out, with a fhip and a floop, for the purpofe of making difcoveries. According to Ellis's account, this happened in 1719. On the contrary, Drage, the clerk of the California, affcrts that it was in 1720; but nothing more is known concerning them, than that they went out, as nothing farther has ever been heard with refpect to either of the two fhips.
XXXII. As neither of thefe fhips ever returned, they were fuppofed to have been damaged, or perhaps even deftroyed among the ice, and their refpective crews, it was conjectured, had been faved, and might poffibly be ftill fubfifting in fome part of the land within the 63d deg. N. lat. This report being apparently founded on the vague relations of the Eflcimau.x:, there was no dependence to be placed on it. However, as foon as the Hudfon's Bay Company received this information, they immediately gave orders for another floop to be fent out to make fearch after the people that had gone with the two fhips of Knight and Barlow,
and at the fame time to make what difcoveries and obfervations thev
j
could. Accordingly the floop fet fail from Churchill River on the 20th of June, 1722, under the command of Capt. Scroggs. In lat. 62 deg. he purchafed from the inhabitants fome raw whalebone, and fome fea-horfes teeth. In 62 deg. 48 min. he fent his boat out after a piece of drift-wood, and found it to be a foremaft, which had been broken off 5 feet above deck. Scroggs proceeded till he came into the Welcome, where he named one point Whalebone Point, and the fouth-ernmoft ifland was called Cape Fullerton. Here he faw a great many black whales, and alfo fome white ones. Having fent his boat on fhore, the people that went in her fiw many reindeer, geefe,- ducks, and other wild-fowl. He computed that the tide rofe 5 fathoms, for he had meafured it with the lead and line from on board his fhip while it lay at anchor, when he found 12 fathoms ground at high water;
D d d 2 but
but at low water only 7, which would make a difference of 5 fathoms. This obfervation, however, was defective;  for as a fhip that lies at anchor always changes her place with the tide, Scroggs muff neceffarily have pre-fuppofed, that the bottom of the fea, where the fhip lay at anchor, was every where at an equal diftance below the furfacea very falfe fuppofition, the experiment on which it was founded being made, not by a fettled flandard afhore, but by a line from the fliip. Two northern Indians, whom Scroggs had with him, and who had paffed the winter at Churchill, told him of a rich mine of native copper, which was to be found, on the coaft, quite laid open, fo that, in fact, they needed only to go thither with a boat, and might immediately take in a lading of it; they had even, as a proof of their affer-tion, brought fome pieces of copper with them to Churchill. They had alfo at Churchill drawn on parchment with charcoal, the fituation of the coaft from thence to the fpot ; and as far as the fhip was then come, the fketch perfectly correfponded with the real fituation of the country.   One of thefe Indians had teftified a defire of being difmiffed, as he was only about three or four days journey from the ufual place of his abode, a requefl which Scroggs, however, refufed hinT.   Scroggs mentions in his journal, that he had been in the Welcome, but could go no farther, on account of a ridge of rocks that lay in his way.   But it appears evidently, that lie never had been in the Welcome, but only in a bay, which is, in fact, known by three different names, being called Pijlols Bay, Rankin s Inlet, and alfo James Douglass Bay.   That well-known ifland called Marble Ijland, and which likewife was before known by the name of Brook Cobbam, lies at the mouth of this bay, and confequently it cannot be miftaken. The ridge of rocks was the occafion of Scroggs not proceeding any farther.   The Indians, who very much wifhed to return home, had purpofely made up a ftory concerning fome hindrance or obftacle,
only,
only to induce him to tack about, and let them go. Many of his crew, too, were defirous of returning that fame feafon to London. They were therefore anxious left the fhips belonging to the Hudfon's Bay Company fhould not only be already arrived at Churchill, but even might be gone home. Now the boat which Scroggs had fent out, being advanced fomething farther into the bay, the people who wifhed to fet fail for England, returned immediately, frying, that thev had been as far as the ridge of rocks mentioned by the favages, and could not go a ftep futher. Now this was fufficient to perfuade Scroggs to return home, and to give out, that he had himfelf been to the ridge of rocks, though the fact was quite otherwife.
This voyage which, like all the reft, mifcarried, had many original defects. Scroggs was by no means fit for conducting an expedition of this kind, being deftitute as well of the previous knowledge, as alfo of that active and enterprizing fpirit, neceffary on thefe occafions. Neither were the people employed in the voyage inclined to purfue thefe refearches with conftancy and ardor, their voyage home to England being their chief object, an object which made them lofe fight of every other; and finally, they did not go the right way to profit by the information given them by the favages, or to make it worth while for thefe people to go farther with them. And here I cannot help making fome obfervations- on the multiplicity of appellations given to one and the fame place, and on the confufion it caufes in geography. But this confufion becomes ftill greater, when the fame name is given, to two different places or countries. In Wager Straits, which we (hall have occafion to mention hereafter, is a haven named Douglas's Harbour ; and the place fometimes called Rankin's Inlet, is by others called Piftol Bay, and alfo Mr. James Douglas's Bay. Now it muft certainly be allowed.that the man who firft introduces fuch appellations, as tend
to.«
to create confufion, is not very follicitous about the perfpicuity and exact ncfs of geographical defcription ; and we are forry to find that, in confequence of affuming, befides the Cook's Strait between the two iflands of which .'sew Zealand is compofed, another Cooks Strait in the North, between Afia and America, the greateff geographer of the age fhould come under this defcription.
XXXIII. The accounts given by Button and Fox, together wuh the report of the laft navigator, Capt. Scroggs, excited in the year :/ 33, the attention of Mr. Arthur Dolus to all thefe ciremnfiances, and particularly to the high tide in the Welcome. He alfo received fom information refpect ing thefe points from Capt. Chrijlopher Mutdleton, who had navigated thofe feas many years in the fervice of the Hudfon's Bay Company. Accordingly he applied to the Company, and by dint of importunity obtained, in the year 1737, a floop, together with a fhallop, which, however, went only to 62 deg. 30 min. N. lat. where they found a great number of iflands, and fome white whales ; and in a cove where they anchored, the tide flowed 10 or 12 feet, and came from the north. The above imperfeel: account is all that is known at prefent of this voyage of difcovery.
XXXIV. Mr. Dobbs finding that this voyage, made by order of the Hudfon's Bay Company, had been performed in a very flow, tedious manner, with very little ardor, and indeed with a wilful negligence, applied to Government, which ordered a bombketch or Jloop, called the Furnace, to be fitted out, the conduct of which was entruited to Capt, Chrijlopher Middleton, who till then had been in the fervice of the Hudfon's Bay Company. To this was added the Fink Difcovery, commanded by Capt. William Moor. Both mips went out in 1741, and came to Churchill River, where they fpent the winter; and having got every thing ready, fet fail again on the ift of July, 1742. Middleton, according to the inflructions given him, was to fleer to the N. V/. after having gone through Hudfon's Straits,   and palled by Careys
Swans
Swans Nejl, and to purfue the fame courfe till he fhould fall in with the north-wefl: land, at Sir Thomas Roe's Welcome, in 65 degrees N. lat. On the 4th he faw Brook Cohham, or Marble Ifland, covered with fnow, in 63 deg. N. lat. and in 93 deg 40 min. W. long, from London. The variation of the compafs he found to be 21 deg. 10 min. weftward. On the 13th he faw a very high cape or headland on the north-weft fide of the Welcome, in 65 deg. 12 min. N. lat. and 80 deg. 6 min. W. long, which he named Cape Dobbs, and behind it he difcovered an opening bearing N. W. which he entered This he named Wager River, after Sir Charles Wager. The northern promontory upon this river was afterwards named Cape Smith. The entrance into Wager River is in 65 deg. 24 min. N. lat. and 88 deg. 37 min. \V. long, from London. Within this vaff. body of water they found great quantities of ice, and behind fome iflands on the north fide of it was an inlet which they called Savage Sound, in confequence of having feen fome Eflwr.'iux Indians there : on the fame north fide alfo there was another inlet, where the EJklmaux, which were come along with them from Churchill, fhot fome reindeer, and thence it was named Deer Sound. (Thefe Efkimaux having never been here before, had not the lead knowledge of the country.) Having fpent fome weeks in this ilrait, they went at length farther to the north-eaftward along the coaft, on which they at laft difcovered a very fair headland, and belli,- 1 his headland the coaft trended to the weftward jj this they took for the moft northern point of America, and named it Cape Hope. Having worked during the whole night through a great quantity of ice, in the morning after the fun had difperfed the fog, they fiiw land all around t' -m, and alfo a large bay, which they entered, and went to the very end of it The tide came from the eaft, and flowed flowly, as it does in a place where it has no paffage. The variation of the compafs was 50 aeg. Nothing being to be expected here, he called it Re-pnlfl Bay, and afcended a very high mountain, from whence he faw 1 the
the whole ftrait, which was about 18 or 20 leagues in length, lying in the direction of S. E. by S. At a diftance he faw high land, which he took to be Cape Comfort, on the land now made out to be an ifland, on which Carey's Swans Neft is, and oppofite to which, in an oblique direction, is Lord Weftoiis Portland, difcovered by Fox. Middleton having vifited all thefe parts, bore away to the fouthward again, in order to explore, agreeably to his inftrucTions, the weftern coaft of the Welcome from Cape Dobbs to the ifland of Brook Cobham, but found no opening there. Near this ifland he fet the two Efkimaux he had with him afhore, after making them handfome prefents, and immediately afterwards fet fail for England. The ftrait from Repitlfe Bay eaftward, towards Cape Comfort, lies nearly in 67 deg. N. lat. and had no anchoring ground clofe to the fhore, but was very deep, and confequently very dangerous for the fhips, which were without a harbour or any place of fecurity, in cafe of a ftorm. Concerning this voyage, there arofe a very warm difpute between Mr. Dobbs and Capt. Middleton. The firft was of opinion, that the latter had wilfully concealed or at leaft mifreprefented fome difcoveries, in order to curry favour with the Hudfon's Bay Company, who had always been difpleafed whenever any voyages of difcovery, or expeditions for finding out a paffage into the South Sea, had been undertaken in Hudfon's Bay, which had been ceded to them by Government.
XXXV. This difpute was carried on with much acrimony on both fides. The arguments adduced by Mr. Dobbs, which wTere founded on facts, mentioned by Middleton himfelf, were examined, and it was the general opinion, that Mr. Dobbs was in the right. The fum of io,oool. flerling was raifed in fliarcs of iool. each, for the purpofe of undertaking a new voyage of difcovery, and at length two fhips were fent out, viz. the Dobbs galley, commanded by IV: r. William Moor, and the California, under the command of Mr. Fra. Smith, which fet fail together from Gravefend on the 20th of May, 1746. Being arrived at no 3 great
great difb.ncc from Cape Farewell, they palled foi ibme time through a great quantity of drift-wood, which Mr. Henry Ellis defcribes as being pretty large timber.   He is of opinion, that as Fgede had feen in Greenland, in 67 deg. N. lat. birch-trees, elms, and other kinds of wood, about 18 feet high, and as thick as a man's leg, this drift-wood muff probably have come from thence ; and that as the weftern coafls, as well of Norway as of Greenland, are colder than the eaflern, fo the timber growing on the eaflern might furpafs in fize that growing on the weflern coads.   But the quantity of wood growing in Greenland, and even in the flill warmer country of Iceland, is fo fmall, that if for ten years together only as much of it fhould be converted into driftwood, as is actually feen floating about, not a flick of it would have been left in the end.   Befides, the wood never grows fo near the fea as that it could be eafily wadied into it.   Finally, an enormous quantity of drift-wood is found in the fea between Kamtfchatka and America, and along the northern coafl of Siberia.   Near Bear's Ifland, off Spitzbergen, as alfo off Iceland, we find drift-wood in abundance, as well as on all the iflands extending from Kamtfchatka to America. Is this, too, to be deduced from the few trees which grow in Greenland, far from the fea, in a valley, fheltered from tiie cold winds ? This, it mult be owned, is far from probable; but the great rivers in Siberia, which pafs through regions quite overgrown with wood, to the diftance of many miles, and into which other large flrcams difcharge themfelves which flreams alfo come out of woody countries; the Petfchora, for in-fiance, the Ob, the Jenifea, the Lena, the Chatanga, the Anabara, the Jena, the Kolyma, the Indiglrka, the Anadyr, and the Amur, are all large and confiderable rivers, which, at the thawing of the ice in the fpring, carry from their overflowed or undermined banks an inconceivable quantity of trees along with them into the fea.   What valt
E e e quantities
quantities of wood the rivers of the American continent, in King Georges Sound, Sandwich Sound, and Turnagain River, in the Cheuweren, which empties itfelf into Norton $ Sound, and in Gygy, carry along with them into the fea, we mall not find it difficult to conceive, if we do but confider the fize of the rivers, the clofenefs of the trees in the forefts, and the great floods which conftantly take place in the fpring. The river St. Lawrence, and many other North American rivers, carry vaft quantities of wood along with them into the fea, as well as thofe in Newfoundland and  Labrador, as I have been allured by people who had been upon the fpot, and even fpent the winter there, and confequently had feen the breaking up of the ice, and the thawing of the rivers.   To this muft be added, that the rivers in Hudfon's Bay, but chiefly the Churchill, Hayes, Port Nclfon, Albany, and Moofe Rivers, together with many others in like manner carry wood into the fea from the innermoft parts of the country, where alfo grows timber of a confiderable fize.   From all thefe confiderattons taken together, we are likely to form a better conjecture from whence all the drift-wood found in the northern feas, proceeds, than by having recourfc to the trifling and fcanty woods of Greenland.
On occafion of the firft large ice which they found in the neighbourhood of Hudfon s Straits, Mr. Ellis fuppofes the fact to be, as Middleton fays, viz. that it proceeds from a quantity of ice and fnow accumulated for many years back, which is detached every fix or feven years only, and carried into the fea by a great inundation ; at the fame time, however, he endeavours to combine this with the opinion of Egcde, who ex-prefsly afferts, that it is nothing but large pieces broken off from the ice formed on fhore. There may, however, be ftill other caufes befides the foregoing; e. g. In the beginning of winter the ice on the whole fea in
Baffin's
Baffin's Bay, Davis s Straits, and Hudjbns Bay, fets in ftill calm weather fome inches thick : now, when by ftorms and high tides, this ice is broken into flakes, thefe flakes are driven over each other, and freeze together, fo as to form thicker mattes than before, and at length accumulate, fo as to make entire mountains of ice. I have myfclf, in the Polar Seas, feen mountains of ice, compofed of regular layers lying over each other, and each of them nearly of an equal thicknefs. But fome of thefe maffes would have one layer of ice quite tranfparent, and over it another quite opake, which occafioned me to conclude, that the ice before its being broken into flakes by the wind or tide, muft have been quite covered over with fnow, and that the fea warning over the fnow, had converted it into a thick opake ice, till the winds drove the flakes over each other, and thus formed a mafs, compofed of alternate layers of tranfparent and opake ice. It is, however, alfo poflible for a mafs of fnow to be blown, by ftorms, over a high promontory, on to the frozen fea lying beneath it, and there compofe a very high mountain of fnow, which in the fpring, being moiftened by the rains, by rivulets formed of melted fnow, and by the fea itfelf, freezes in this ftate to a folid and compact body. Now this huge mafs is a mountain of ice, which the ftorms and high tides detach from the more, and drive to and fro in the fea ; and who can take upon him to enumerate all the different modes in which ice is generated ? But to return, the adventurers made faft to a large piece of ice, and filled their empty cafks witrj frefli water from the ponds they found on the ice. On the 18 th of July they had a violent ftorm, with thunder and lightning, which all thofe, who were ufed to navigate to thofe parts, looked upon to be fomething exceedingly rare and extraordinary. Ellis is of opinion, that the northern lights kindle and difperfe the vapours, requifite to the formation of thunder and lightning. But though this may be one reafon for the deficiency here fpoken of, it fhould alfo be confidered, that where the earth is covered with fnow for fo long a
E e e 2 time,
time as it is in this cafe, no fuch electric vapours can afcend from it. But if thefe electric vapours come, in great abundance, as they do fur in-itance from the volcanoes in Iceland and Eaft Greenland, they will then likewife caufe thunder-ftorms.
The breaking afunder of their flake of ice obliged them to make faft to another, till they got more room, and by good fortune wrere able to proceed in their voyages.
On the 11 th of Auguft they difcovered land to the weft of the Welcome, and came to Marble Ijland. Here they made obfervations on the time, direction, velocity, and height of the tide -f and found that the tide came from the north-eaft,, and confecjuently followed the courfe. of the coaft; and farther, that at the full and new moon they had high-water at four o'clock y and that the tide rote to the height of 10 feet. They then went immediately to their winter quarters at Port Neljon, wheire they met with but little alTtftance from the fervants of the Hudfon's Bay Company. On the ift of July, 1747, they again fet out in order to make frefli difcoveries, for which purpofe they had made their kmg-boat particularly convenient, by raifmg, lengthening, and. adding a deck to it; this-being done, they named it the Refolution. Not far from Knight's Ifland the needles of their compares loft their magnetic quality; after many trials, they found it neceflary to keep the compaffes warm, when their magnetic power began again to fhew itfelf. They faw feveral Efklmaux, one of whom,, an old. man, fhewed their little fhip, which had ftruck once already, the beft way ; which is certainly a proof of the good difpofition of thefe people, when they are treated humanely and with kindnefs. Their boats, which they fent out, difcovered a very large and broad inlet, but which has never been explored quite to the end ; by fome it wTas named Bow-den's Inlet, after the fecond pilot, mate of the California; but others-named it Chef erfeld's Inlet. In Wager Water they failed in boats quite to. the end. of it,, where it terminates in rivers and. in. a frefli.-water lake,
fo that there is certainly no palTage to be expected in that water. The Efkimaux fold them frefli buffaloes flefli (probably flefli of the mujk ox of thefe parts, a kind of baflard ox, not mentioned by Linna?ns) and alfo furnifhed them with dried deers flefli and dried falmons. In this water they faw feals and black whales in abundance. Having made fome more fruitlefs attempts, they failed again for England, and befides Chejlerjleld's Inlet, and another inlet that is fituated beyond Knight's Ijland, there is no farther hopes for a paffage in thefe places, fo carefully explored by them.
XXXVI. After this laft voyage of difcovery, all farther attempts to find a paffage in the north were fufpended for a tong time. The arguments adduced by that great navigator and commander, Admiral An/on* had rendered the Englifh nation attentive to the fettling of Falkland's Iflands in the Pacific Ocean. Accordingly the late Admiral, at that time Commodore Byron, was fent in 1764, to Falkland's I/lands, and returned in 1766. Directly upon this, the Captains Wallis and Carteret fet out on another voyage round the world in 1766,. and returned in 1768. In this fame year 1768, Lieutenant Cook was fent out with a fingle fhip, accompanied by Mr. (now Sir Jofeph) Banks and Dr. Solander, to obferve at O-Tahelte the Tranfit of Venus through the fun ; and having fulfilled his commimon, went out on difcoveries'; and befides difcovering many illands in the neighbourhood of O-Taheite, found alfo, that New Zealand confuted of two iflands, which are feparated from each other by the genuine Cook's Straits. After this he difcovered on New Holland a coaft of more than 600 leagues in extent, and, after fiiling through the Endeavour Straits to the Molucca Iflands, and Batavia, at length, in 1771, arrived fafe again in England.—Now the grand queftion ftill remained to be decided, whether there are any large tracts of land fituated in the fouth-3 ern
crn hetnifphere ? Cook was fent out alfo on this important and extremely difficult undertaking, in which my fon and I accompanied him. He fet out in 1772, and was the firfl who failed eaftward round the globe, all the other twenty circumnavigators having made the voyage weftward. From this expedition he returned in 1775, crowned with honour and immortal fame. But whilft we were navigating round the South Pole, feas choaked up with ice, his Britannic Majefty was gracioufly pleafed to gratify the wifhes of the Royal Society, by fending two fhips out in 1773, for the purpofe of* exploring the Frozen Sea near Spitzbergen. The one was called the Race-horfe, commanded by Capt. Conjlantine John Phipps, now Lord Mulgrave; the fecond was the Carcafs, under the command of Captain Skeffington Lutwidge. They fet fail on the 4th of June from the Nore. On the 19th they were in 66 deg. 54 min. N. lat. and in o deg. 58 min. weft longitude from Greenwich. The variation of the needle was 19 deg. 11 min. W. The next day there being a calm almoft the whole day throughout, they founded with a very heavy lead the depth of 780 fathoms, without getting ground. At this depth Farcnheit's thermometer was at 26 deg. and in open air at 48;. deg. On the 28th, about midnight, they faw land to the eaft. On the 29th they were in N. lat. 77 deg. 59 min. pretty near Black Point, on Prince Charles s I/land, which the Dutch call Zuydhoek van bet Voorland. One of the mountains on Spitfbergen, in 78 deg. 22 min. they found to be 1503 yards, or 4509 feet high. On a low Iiland oppofite the Waygats, or Hlnlopcn Straits, they faw two reindeer, the one of which they killed, and found it very fat. They alfo faw there a light grey-coloured fox, and an animal fomewhat larger than a weafel, with fhort ears, long tail, and its fkin fpotted white and black. The iiland abounded with fmall fnipes ; the ducks were now hatching their eggs, and a great number of wild-geefe
were
were feeding along the more. The middle of the ifland was covered With mofs, feurvy-grafs,and forrel,and a few ranunculufes then in flower. Soon after they were befet by the ice; at length, however, they difen-gaged themfelves from it, after having been to the fouth-weft of the feven illands. They tried alfo how far they could goto the weftward; but the ice lay there very clofe, and as immoveable as a wall. During a hard gale, they tried the temperature of the fea in that ftate of agitation, and found it confiderably warmer than that of the air; an ob-fervation which had been made already by Plutarch. Finding now, that on account of the ice it would be impoffible to proceed any farther, they refolved to fail homeward.
XXXVII. Capt. Cook being returned, in 1775, from his fouthern voyage, without having made the difcovery of any large continent, it ftill fee me d neceflary to learn the fituation of the lands in the fea between Afia and America, and for this expedition CWagain was chofen. The Refolution, on board of which he had before made the voyage round the Southern Pole, was given him again, together with the Difcovery, the command of which was riven to Capt. Charles Clerke, who had already, once with Byron and twice with Cook, made the voyage round the world. Both fhips left the Thames in the year 1776 ; but Cook fet out on his voyage to the Cape on the 12th of July. Clerke, a man of a noble difmterefted fpirit, had heenfecurity for the debts of his brother Sir John Clerke, at the time that he went on board a King's fhip to the Indies. He having died in India, his creditors would have come upon Capt. Charles Clerk: for payment. Some people of rank, who wifhed him well, advifed him to go into the King's-Bench, as the fum that Sir John owed was pretty confiderable, and much more than his brother Charles was able to pay. An act of grace which came out foon after, fet many thoufands of prifoners at liberty, and, amongft others, Captain Clerke regained his freedom towards the end of July, and fet fail in the Difcovery from Ply-0 mouth
mouth on the ift of Auguft. They arrived in Table Bay on the loth of November, where the Refolution had been already three weeks before them. Cook now explored the illands difcovered by Marion and Ker-guelen, went to Van Dlemens Land, from thence to New Zealand, and lofing the advantage of the wind, was obliged, inftead of going ftrait on to G-Tabette, to fail firft to the Friendly Iflands, and in going along, difcovered a few more iflands not feen before. From thence he went to O-Tahelte, and the neighbouring Society Illands, and having left Omai there, went into the South Sea, in order to explore the northern hemifpherc. Here he defcried, not far from the Equator, an uninhabited low ifland, abounding with turtles, which he thence named Turtle Ifland. After this he went to the Tropic of Cancer, in the vicinity of which \\i difcovered a group of iflands, where the inhabitants received him with great kindnefs, and where he procured very good re-frefhments for his crew. On the yth of March, 1778, in 4^ deg. 10 min. N. lat. and 235 deg. 50 min. E. long, from Greenwich, they dif-covered. Cape Blanco, on the coaft of North-America. On the 30th* with a view to repair their fhips, they went into a harbour which they named King George's Sound, but which is now generally called Nootka Sound, and which is in 49 deg. 38 min. N. lat. and 233 deg. 12 min-E. long, from Greenwich. Capt. Cook, having taken in water and re-frefhments, and got new mails for his fhip, fet fail again. On the 1 2th of May both fhips ran into an inlet, which they named Sandwich Sound, now called Prince Williams Sound; it was fituated in about 60 deg. N. lat. and extended far into the land. Farther to the weftward he found another found, and a confiderable river that emptied itfelf into it, which he named Turnagain River. As the coaft began to trend to the fouth-weft, and they met with many rocky iflands along the coaft* they were obliged to take every precaution poflible to avoid being fhip-wrecked. Once, in a very thick fog, the Refolution was alarmed with* great noife ; they threw out the lead, and immediately after anchored/
as did the Difcovery likewife; and a few hours after, the fog clearing up, they found themfelves in a deep harbour quite furrounded with rocks, between which they had paffed in the dark : this they named Providence Bay, and found that it was in the ifland of Oonalajhka, an ifland difcovered by the Ruffians, and fituated in 54 deg. 18 min. N. lat. After a fhort flay, Cook purfued his courfe along the coaft of America, and gave names to many points of land and bays, though for a great part of this track he was not able to get near the coaft, on account of the fhallownefs of the fea. The halibuts (Bleuroneftes Plippoghfis) and cod (Gadus tnorrbua) which they caught in fuch quantities, tint they not only were enabled to provide an agreeable frefli food for the whole crew, but could alfo fait down feveral thoufand pounds, ferved considerably to encreafe their ftock of provifions, which began todimi-nifh very faff, and vifibly to decay. At length Capt. Cook arrived on the coaft of Alia, in 66 deg. 28 min. N. lat. and 188 deg. 3 min. E. long, from Greemcichy and then flood along this coaft into the if raits not far from thence, which feparate Afia from America. Thefe ftraits on the Afiatic fide are inhabited by the Tfchucktfcbly who very frequently go over to the American coaft, though they are likewife often at war with the inhabitants of thofe parts. As probably the North-Americans, when they peopled this part of the world, croffed the ftraits before the Tfchuktfchi did, thefe ftraits ought to be called after them; but as we are ignorant of the name of the tribe which croffed them firft, and as befides the Tfchuktfchi are a favage and barbarous nation, thefe ftraits fhould perhaps be named after Semen Defcbnewy a Coffack Chief (or Kafatfchla Golowa) who in 1648 firft went oat of the Kolyma with two Siberian Kotfchl (a kind of fhip) to the Anadyr and the Olutora, and confequently was the firft who failed through thefe ftraits: or perhaps after the Geodsefift Givofdef who, in 1730, tailed between 65 and 66 deg. from the coaft of the Tfchuckfchi to a foreign coaft oppofite to it.   Neverthelefs it would be ftill more proper to make this ftrait a
Fff kind
kind of monument to the very deferving and truly great navigator Veit Bering, by naming it, after him, Bering's Straits. And here again, in fpite of the enmity with which I am falfcly charged againft my friend, the immortal Cook, I cannot refrain from putting in my caveat againft the naming of this ftrait after him. His name will never be forgotten even though there were not already a ftrait called after him in the fouth. He knew perfectly well what was moft fui table for himfelf. The ftraits he difcovered in New Zealand he named after himfelf, Cook's Straits, as being the fruits of his own refearches and perfeverance. He was never ufed to- reap where he had not fown, and confequently, had he lived, would have earneftly declined this honour fovery offici-oufly beftowed on him, which moreover belonged to a deferving predecelfor of his ; and indeed it is poftible that he himfelf had determined to give the name of Bering to thefe ftraits. This digrefiicn I owe to myfelf. Had certain perfons been fatisfied with (imply aflerf-ing, that they confidered the name of Cook's Straits as preferable to that of Bering's Straits, by me propofed, I ftiould, on my part, have contented myfelf with adducing the reafons for my conduct in this place, and left it to the public to judge which of us was in the right. But as my enemies ftill continue warmly to infift that it was my differences with Capt. Cook which determined my choice in the adoption of this name, I could not prevail on myfelf to pafs this matter over in filence; and ftill lefs, as I have already explained myfelf concerning it many years ago, and neverthelefs an opportunity feems to have been anxioufly fought for again to obtrude this falfehood on the public. —But, to return to our fubject:. In the middle of the ftraits are three fmall iflands. Cook ranged along the coaft of America as far as 70 deg. 45 min. N, lat. and 198 deg. E, long, from Greenwich, when he found himfelf entirely furrounded by the ice, and prevented from either proceeding farther on to the northward, or even following the courfe of the coaft;
Tor the ice clofed almoft every where on a low defart point of land, which from this circumftance he called Ice. Cape. After failing for a few days along the edge of the ice, he came again to the Afiatic Coaft, following the courfe of which, he foon got into the ftraits again. The whole fea in thefe ftraits, and beyond them, was far from being deep ; neither was the land in that part very high, but more to the fouthward both the height of the land and the depth of the fea increafed. Cook again came to Oonalapka, in Providence Bay, which the inhabitants call Samganoodha, here he fpoke with fome Ruffians, whom he charged with letters for England, to Mr. Stephens, Secretary to the Board of Admiralty, and to Sir James Harris, at that time the Englifh Ambaflador at the Court of Ruflia. At this place alfo they caught abundance of filmon trout and halibuts, of which latter kind of fifli they caught one that weighed 254^. Afterwards he made the beft of his way back again to the Sandwich Iflands, which he had difcovered juft before his arrival on this coaft. Having explored thefe illands for the fpace of fix weeks, he found them to be 1 5 in number *, Here they got every kind of refrefhment neceflary, and were extremely well received by the inhabitants, who almoft paid divine honours to Capt. Cook. The Captain, after he had taken in refrethments, fet fail again in the beginning of February; but the foremaft of the Refolution having given way, he returned to the ifland of Owhyhee. But the reception they now-met with from the inhabitants was quite different from what it had been before. At length the Difcovery's cutter was ftolen, which in fuch a voyage as that they were engaged in, they could not well do without. In confequence of this, Capt. Cook went to King Terreeoboo, in order to perfuade him to go on board his fhip, intending to keep him
* Capt. Cook himfelf, however, leaves this number undetermined. It will be fufficiently obvious to every reader that the above account of Capt. Cook's third voyage was written before the publication of the narrative written by himfelf and Capt. King,
F f f 2 there
there till the cutter fhould he rcflored. But the King being rather averfe to go, and moreover one of their Chiefs having been fhot by fome of the people that had been fent out in the other boats, they began to pelt Capt. Cook with flones, who endeavoured to revenge the infult, but killed the wrong man. He now faw his danger, and began to haffen towards the boats; but one of the Chiefs ftabbed him from behind between the moulders with a large iron dagger, of which Cook himfelf had made him a prefent. Cook had, however, flill flrength enough left to pufh forward, but was beat to the ground with flones and tomahawks, and at lafl killed. Thus fell this truly glorious and juflly-admired navigator.—If we confider his extreme abilities, both natural and acquired, the firmnefs and conflancy of his mind, his truly paternal care for the crew entrufled to him, the amiable manner with which he knew how to gain the friendfhip of all the favage and uncultivated nations, and even his conduct towrards his friends and acquaintance, we muft acknowledge him to have been one of the greateff, men of his age, and that Reafon juftifics the tear which Friendfhip pays to his memory. He was not free from faults, but thefe were more than counterbalanced by his fuperior qualities; and it is very unfortunate that on this laft voyage he mould have had no friend with him, who by his wifdom and prudence might have with-held and prevented him from giving vent to his paffions, which in fict became fo detrimental to himfelf, as to occafion his deflruction. The young men that were with him muft have been in fome meafure undifciplined and diforderly, otherwife he would not have loft his life. For the young officers in the boats having fired perhaps unneceffarily and prematurely, and thereby killed one of the Erics (or Chiefs) of thefe people, the death of this man ftirred up in them the fpirit of revenge which they vented on Cook in preference to another, imagining they had performed a very great action when they killed him.—Capt. Clerke now became the firft in command, and Lieut. Core fecond.   Their firft care
was
was for the fecurity of fuch of their people as were at the obfervatory,* as well as of thofe who were bulled in repairing the mall, and others that were filling the water-cades. Being prevented from filling their cafks by the throwing of flones and other acts of violence, they took vengeance on the natives for thefe outrages, and at the fime time for the death of their great Commander 5 and, having provided themfelves with every neceifary, as alfo taken in. more frefli provifions at the other iflands, they failed at firft for fome time weftward, and then flrait on to Kamtfchatka, where, on the 30th of April, they entered the harbour of Aivatfia, or St. Peter and Paul, the Refolutmi being arrived there fome days before. Here they got refrefhments andfloresof every kind, and got under ful again on the 12th of June, but could not get out of the bay on account of the wind being contrary. On the 15th they were furprized by the eruption of a volcano at the diftance of about 8 leagues W. S. W. from them, but v/hich neverthelefs filled the whole atmofphere with afhes, that lay about an inch thick on their decks, and, after a dreadful noife, there fell a mower of pumice-flones, of the fize of hasel nuts. In the evening they had thunder and lightning, and the next day they proceeded on their voyage. In their courfe they were never far from the more • and they frequently faw drift-wood and whales. They filled again through Bering's Straits, and fell in fell in with the ice on the American fide of them, beyond the 70th degree. It was folid and extended in large fields in a mallow fea, which was from 25 to 27 fathoms deep. They again faw a great number of fea-horfes, fome of which they killed, and to the eaftward faw feveral white bears running: on the ice. They faw alfo fome albatroiles, and the ivory gull (Larus ebur-JieusJ whieh Capt. Phipps had alfo obferved near Spitfbcrgen, as alfo the grey phalarope/rr///^ lobataj. They now went to the coaft of Afia, and followed the courfe of it up to the ftraits, where they faw the 3 iflands
iflands that lie in them; and the weather growing clear, they defcried alfo the mores of both Continents, which are only at about 28 leagues afunder. Their mips being very leaky, and many of the crew on board both of them fickly, they refolved once more to run into the harbour of St, Peter and Paul, in Kamtfchatka. Juft in fight of this harbour died Captain Clerke, in the 38th year of his age. He was a man of great abilities. Having been bred up in the naval academy atPortfmouth, he was a midfhipman in the war which began in 1756 ; and being in an engagement flationed in the mizen-top, the maffc was (hot away, and he fell overboard ; the failors were drowned, and he was the only one who cfcaped, having faved himfelf by the rigging and the fides of the fhip. His firfl voyage round the world, he made with Commodore Byron, from the year 1764 to 1766; the fecond he made with Lieut. Cook, as matter's mate, from 1768 to 1771. In his third voyage he went out as fecond Lieutenant with Cook, from the year 1772 to 1775; and this laft voyage he made in the capacity of Captain. In his fecond voyage he calculated the tables for the Ephemcrides for two years; he was alfo a very experienced and intrepid fea officer, of a iprightly difpofition, almoft bordering on levity, but blended with much benevolence and magnanimity. His juvenile extravagancies had enervated him to fuch a degree, that at length, in thofe cold regions, he funk under manifold attacks of mifery. Mr. Gore now took the command of the Refolution, and flationed Mr. King as Captain on board the Difcovery. They took care of the fick on fhore, repaired the fhips, and, having well refreflied themfelves, fet fail again on the 9th of October, 1779, and following the courfe of the coaft, palled by the Kurile Iflands, defcried Japan ; after which they failed through a confiderable quantity of pumice-flone, and indeed between 25 deg. 56 min. and 23 deg. 56 min. faw a volcano, which to all appearance had thrown out thefe pumice flones. On the ift of JDec. they arrived at Macao, where they procured fome prefent refreshments, and alfo took fome on board for their future octafions, and then fet fail again on the 13th of January, 1780. On
the
the iath of April they reached Simons Bay. at the Cape of Good Hope, On the 9 th of May, proceeding on their voyage, they arrived on the iad of Auguft at the Orkneys, and at length, on the 4th of October, at the Norc, after an abfence of four years, two months, and twenty-two days.
XXXVIII. At the fame time that this voyage was undertaken for the difcovery of a paffage to the northward between Afia and America, the Board of Admiralty fent Lieut. Richard Picker/gill in the brig Lion, to Davis's Straits, in order to try alfo on that fide how far it might be poflible to difcover a paffage there. But on this occafion the Admiralty committed more than one fault in the choice of their meafures. Lieut. Picker/gill had made the voyage round the world in the capacity of mid-fhipman under Capt. Wallis, from 1766 to 1768'j afterwards he had been twice round the world with Cook, from 1769 m 1771,and 1772 to 1775; The firft time as mailer's mate,, and the fecond time as Lieutenant. He was well fkillcd in his profeffion, and, like Cook, Clerke, and many other officers of the Britifh navy, was capable of making aftronomical obfervations, and could, befides, lay down charts with great accuracy and exactnefs; but on two or three different occafions, when Cook, hurried away by his padion, had treated the Lieutenants and Midfhip-mcn rather too harfhly, and in a manner hardly fit for a gentleman to bear with, he had happened to exprefs his opinion on the impropriety of fuch treatment. This, together with Picker/gill's being too fond of ftrong liquors, feems to be the reafon of his never having been promoted, like his two firft Lieutenants, to the poft of Captain of the third rank, or Majler and Commander. This foured PlckerfglWs temper, and rendered him lefs zealous and attentive to the fervice, and induced him to feek oftener than ever to drown his cares in the bottle. The fhip entrufted to his command had already been ufed by the Admiralty for feveral years for furveying the coafts of Newfoundland and Labrador. The name of the perfon to whom this bufinefs was committed Was
Michael
4oS V   O   Y   A   G   E   S      an d
Michael Lane; this office having been given him, when Cook, who till then had been employed to explore and make drawings of the coafts of Newfoundland, was fent to the South Sea.   This Lane had confequently for many years the chief command of the Lion, and was now as mafter in the fame fhip, fubordinate to Lieut. Picker/gill. This muft naturally hurt. Lane i two fuch diflatisfied and fretful fhipmates mult neceffarily be torments and burthens to themfelves ; and the fupe-rior officer being withal of an open difpofition, was very much expofed to his full-as-much  diflatisfied but more clofe  and circumspect fubaltern, Lane.   Diflenfions happened frequently j Pickcrfgill made the other fenfible that he was his Commander.   Lane fubmitted in filence, but collected together a number of trilling circumftances, which afterwards when he made his complaints,   fubjected Pickcrfgill to a trial.   The next year the command was taken from the latter and given to Lane.   At length Pickcrfgill was entirely neglected by the Admiralty :   in confequence   of which he accepted the command of a privateer, and once, going on board his fhip late in the evening, liis foot flipt, and falling into the Thames, he was drowned.    On the ioth of June, 1776, Tickerfgill palled by the Sc'illy Iflands.    On the 29th of June, with 320 and 290 fathoms line, he found a fmdy bottom in 56 deg. 38 min. N. lat. and 17 deg. 44 min. W. of Greenwich, which induced him to call that fpot the Lions Batik, and particularly fo, as he found there, what is ufually feen on all banks at fea, a vaft quantity of fea-fowl, fuch as gulls, dumdivers, 6cc. &c. Soon after this, he could no longer get any foundings, nor were there any more fowls to be feen.   On the 7th of July he was otf Cape Farewell, and on the 12th, off Cape Defolation.   lie now ranged along the coaft of Greenland.    On the 17th he entered an  inlet, which he named Mujkito Cove, fituated in 64 deg. 57 min. N. lat. and 52 deg. 56'- min. W. long, from Greenwich.    In 59 deg. 30 min. Vv\ long, and 65 deg. 38 min. N. lat. he found himfelf near a very large field of ice, and
behind
behind it faw fome thing that had the appearance of land. On the 4th of Auguft, at midnight, he was in 68 deg. 14 min. N. lat. and 58 deg. 50 min. W. long, and faw every where great quantities of ice, which made him by degrees tack about and ftand to the fouthward. On the 18th he faw land appearing like iflands, in 65 deg. 3 min. N. lat. and 54 deg. 2 min. W. long, and they caught a confiderable quantity of halibuts. After this he went to the coaft of Labrador, from whence he fet fail on the 26th of September, and at laft arrived fafe in England.
XXXIX. Pickcrfgill having, in confequence of his difpute wr3th Lane, loft the command of the Lion, Lord Sandwich was pleafed to give it to the latter*, who in 1777, was fent out on the fame difcovery, and came back without hiving difcovered, as far as I know, a paffage or any thing like it-j-. The hiftory of thefe voyages being on the eve of being publifhed under the infpeclion of the Board of Admiralty, we fhall probably obtain more particular information concerning the expeditions of Pickcrfgill and Lane. The object: of Government in thefe two expeditions was, that if by good fortune a paffage fhould be difcovered on one fide, the two expeditions might poffibly meet, and cooperate with each other.
Although the Englifh have for thefe laft 200 years expended confiderable fums upon thefe difcoveries, they have neverthelefs not been fortunate in their undertakings. To the Britifh nation this paffage, in cafe it be poftible to bring it about, would be of infinite advantage, and would be alone fuflicient, provided they could keep It entirely to themfelves, to extend their trade far beyond that of all Europe befides.
* We know from better authority, that it was given to Capt. Young. Vide Introduafon to Cook's laft Voyage.
f This again is a miftakc; for we arc allured that << Pickerfgill was not to attempt then the difcovery of the paflage, being directed only to explore the coafts of Baffin's Bay. Ibid.
G gg CHAP. II.
C   II   A   P. It
Of the Difcoveries made in the North by the Dutch.
PHILIP II. of Spain, having cruelly oppreffed his fubjecls in the Netherlands, with refpect to their religious and civil liberties, thefe poor oppreffed people, who had no other choice left but death or flavery, were infpired with the refolution of defending their rights and liberties, which in this cafe were the rights of mankind in general, to the utmoft of their power.   At the fame time they faw very plainly that the fureft means of refilling the power of Spain, which was at that time fo formidable and extenfive, and likewife of procuring themfelves the means and force requifite for fo very expen-five an oppofition, would be to difcover a way to the Indies, where they might not only have it in their power to attack their enemies, but likewife to enrich themfelves.   The ufual way to the Indies round the Cape of Good Hope, was on the one hand very long, and on the other, the Spanifh and Portuguefe, both of whom were at that time fubject to the fame mafter, had got poffcffion of all the places in which it was poflible to find refreshments and water, or where, in cafe of need, there was a good harbour.   Confequently there were no other means left to go to the Indies, according to the way of thinking of thofe times, than to difcover a new route that would lead thither. Now the Englifh having already made many attempts fince the year 1553 to find a paffage by the north to Kathay and India, it was natural for the Dutch, too, confidering the zeal, activity, and courage they were at that time pofleffed of, to think at an early period of feek-
ing
ft
ing for this paffage. So that interefl and the powerful motive of revenge were the principal inducements with thofe merchants of the United Provinces, who firft fet on foot thefe voyages of difcovery; and though none of the voyages were fuccefsful, as the Dutch foon after went to the Indies by the way of the Cape of Good Hope, and acquired advantages there far beyond their expectations, yet it cannot be denied, that the Dutch have in former times contributed, next to the Englifh, more than any other nation, to the knowledge of the different countries and nations of the north.
I. Balthazar Moucheron, a merchant of Middleburg, in Zealand, propofed, that a new paffage mould be attempted to Kathay and Japan by the north. So early as in 1593 fome merchants formed an affociation for the purpofe of fitting out a fhip from Zealand.   To this affociation acceded fome more merchants from Enkhuyzen and Amfterdam, who all together, with the concurrence of their High Mightineffes the States General, and of Maurice, Prince of Orange and Naffau, as High Admiral,  fitted out three fhips.   The veffel fent from Zealand was called the Swan, that from Enkhuyzen the Mercury, and that from Amfterdam the Boot, or Meffenger.   The command of the firft was given to Cornells Cornelljj'on Nay, who likewife was appointed Admiral on this expedition; Brand TJhrands, or Tetgales, was Captain of the Enkhuyzen veffel ; and Wilhelm Barent:zy of Schelling, was Captain of the fhip from Amfterdam.   This laft is defcribed as being a very fen-fible and active man, who had a perfect knowledge of navigation. Gerard (Gerrit) de Veere wrote the hiftory of Barentz § voyage, and John Hugh van Llnfchoten gave the relation of the adventures of the Zealand and Enkhuyzen fhips.   Barentz had, befides his own veffel, a tifhing yacht with him from Scbelling, which was to accompany him, in cafe he fhould part from the other fhips.    On the 5th of June, 1594, thefe fhips, the Amfterdammer excepted, fet fail together. On the 23d of June they arrived at Kllduyn, in Finmark, or the Ruffian Lapland.   By the 29th Barentz had got under fail, and it was agreed
G g g 2 that
that they mould meet again at Kilduyn, in cafe they did not fee each other near Waigatz. At Kilduyn there is a good cod-fitliery. The other fhips fet fail on the 2d of July. On the 4th they were 26 leagues from Kolgoy, where there was a great quantity of ice and of feals. All over this part of the fea they had 50, 60, and 65 fathoms depth of water. On the 14th of July they chaced a young whale until they had driven it on fhore. The length of it was 34 feet, the tail 8 feet broad, and it had 268 rays in the breaft fins. The weather was as warm as it ufually is in Holland in the dog-days ; and they were much tormented by the gnats. From Swaetoinofs to the Petfchora the water of the fea is thick and muddy, and but little fait, on account of the great quantity of melted fnow which it contains. They met with drift-wood in abundance. On the coaft of the iiland of Waijats there are great heaps of wood, and large trees, and fome even with their roots on, lying one upon the other, as if they had been piled up on purpofe. Seeing no trees grow here, they concluded that this large collection of them muft have come from the continent. They obferved that the face of the country was covered with a fine verdure, and embellifhed with all forts of herbs, flowers, and abundance of leeks. The weather was hot, and the gnats very troublefome. They had palled between the ifland of Waijats and the fouthern ifland, and now fought for a paflage alfo to the fouthward of the ifland. They found a land, which they took for an ifland, and on it upwards of 3 or 400 Idols : fome were male, others female, others reprefented children, on others again appeared from four to eight faces, both male and female. Thefe Idols all flood with their faces towards the eaft, and at their feet lay a great quantity of the horns of reindeer. Some of thefe Idols were old and quite rotten ; others had been newly carved, whence it appears probable to me that the Samojedes, who ufed to rove about thefe parts, had carved the images above-mentioned, in remembrance of their parents, wives,, and children* but not with any intent to worfhip them as Idols. The
nations.
nations in the South Sea we found had on the fepulchral monuments of their princes the fame kind of carved images of both fexes, in memory of the deceafed, which they called Tihhi, or Souls; and alfo ufed to fet victuals before them. The Dutch thought thefe images were Idols, and thence named the promontory on which they found them, Afgoden hoek, or the Cape of Idols. But the Ruffians do not feem to have confidered them in fo ferious a light; for the appellation of Waijati-nof, the Promontory of Images, or Carved Promontory, plainly fliews, that they did not take them for Idols : and upon the whole, a period of more than 228 years having elapfed fince the Ruffians firft faw thefe images, (viz. in 1556) and named the promontory after them, may eafily have caufed fome alteration in the manners of thefe people. At prefent they have one fupreme God, who is good, and one fubaltern bad one. The Koedefnlcks, or Tadebes, a kind of Priefts or favourites of the evil fpirit, advife them, to carry about them a certain kind of fmall idols, of which, however, they otherwife take but little notice. Perhaps the Ruffians, who firft difcovered the Samojedes, may have fhewn their diflike of thefe fuppofed Idols, and may even have expreffed this dif-like very emphatically ; for religious zeal is fometimes apt to break out into threats, and even violence: and hence the Koefdeniks may have advifed them no longer to have fuch large images, to avoid giving offence to the Ruffians; but rather fmall ones, which they might carry about them, and which confequently not being fo eafily feen by the Ruffians, they would not be fo liable to incur their difpleafure. Thus far is certain, that when Burrough explored Nova Zembla in 1556, he then heard the name of Waijat, or Waigatz, from Lofchak, who was a native of Ruffia; confequently the Dutch were not the firfl who difcovered it *.   The ice here gave the Dutch not a little trouble.
The
* The real Waatgctt Slrait, which is alfo called Hinhpen, is near Spitzbergen, and is fituated between the rea! Spitsbergen and the caftert part of it (which is alfo called Ktn» Friefland, and
Sudnjltrland}
The Dutch landed on the fouthern fhore of the flrait, hut had nearly been cut off by fome favages. Afterwards they converfed again with fome other Samojedes, who, however, underflood the Ruffian tongue. The fea beyond the flrait was in quality, colour, and tafle, like the ocean. They failed along the coafl: of Nova Zembla, and faw neither inlet nor harbour. The great quantity of ice here obliged them to turn back; but when it was fomewhat difperfed, they failed on again, and by the time that they had got to the diftance of 40 leagues from Waigatz, they met with a deep blue fea and but little ice: they alfo faw the coaft, beyond a certain point trending more towards the fouth-eaft, and confequently towards China. Having difcovered this, they fiiled back in order to be the firft to carry this good news to Holland. They failed again through Waigatz, which they named Naffau Strait, and to an ifland that lay juft before Waigatz they gave (he name of Staaten Ifland. Dolgoi-OJlrof they culled Mauritius; to a fmall ifland near it they gave the name of Orange Ijland, and to the continent that of New Walcheren. They then croffed over the gulph which leads to the White Sea, paffed by Kllduyn, and ran into Wardhuys, from whence they finally made the beft of their way to Holland, and the Admiral turning off towards Zealand, they ran into the Texel, and arrived on the 26th of September at Enkhuyzen.
Barentz, who had taken quite a different courfe, arrived off the coaft of Nova Zembla on the 4th of July, near a point of land to which they gave the name of Langenefs, and which is fomewhat to the weftward of that body of water, which divides the whole ifland of Nova Zembla. They ranged along the coaft, and gave to a bay there the name of horns Bay, from the great quantity of birds they faw there of this
Sitifaflerland) and the ifland ca'led the Nordoflcvland. This name has, in fatt, been given to the ftrait by Spitsbergen, on account of the violence with which the fouth wind blows there; for waaien, means to blow violently, and gat, means a ftrait, gap, or hole ; confequently it might be Iranflated, nvindhoU.   But ;he Ruffian Waijat has another origin.   Vide Note to page Z73.
name.
name. The bodies of thefe birds are of a confiderable fize, and their wings very fmall : they build their nefts on very high and fteep mountains, in order to fecure themfelves againft the wild beafts ; and lay but one egg, which you may take from them, without the parent's offering to fly away. Then they came to an ifland, which they named the Admiralty Ijland. In 75 deg. 20 min. N. lat. there was a promontory, which they called Zwartenhoek (Black Point) and in 75 deg. 55 min. was Williams Ifland. Here they found driftwood and fea-horfes in abundance. The harbour beyond William's Ifland, where they killed a white bear, was named Berenjbrt. On a certain idand they found two large crolfes, a circumftance which occasioned them to name it Crofs Ijland. A point of land in 76 deg. 30 min. they named Cape Najjait. From thence they went on to Troojlhoek (Comfort Point) and Tjhoek (Icy Point) and to the Orange I/lands. Here turning back again, they failed paft all the before-named places, till they came to an ifland lying beyond Langenejs to the fouih-weft, to which, on account of its colour, they gave the name of the Black Ijlavd. From hence Barentz proceeded to an inlet, which he fuppofed to be the fame place at which Oliver Bennel had been before, and to which he had given the name of Conjlant Search*. On a promontory fomewhat farther on, they fiw a crofs, and thence named it Cruyjhock (Crofs Point). Then he came to an inlet named St. Laurcnz-hoek, and 3 miles farther"to another named Schanjhoek (or cort Point). Proceeding ftill farther, they difcovered a fine fate harbour, where they
* It is evident th-it the navigators mentioned here, who had been in No-va Zembla previous to Barentz's arrival there, wore Englifhmen ; for th.- name Oliver Bennel is entirely Eng. lifh, and the name of the inlet, which Barentz, calls Con/tint Sarcb, can hardly be fopppofed to have bci'n any other than Conjlant Search ; but in which of the known voyages of the Englifh into thefe parts, this place was thus named, or whether Oliver Bennel made a voyage for the fole purpofe of making difcoveries, or was call away here in his ray to other regions, cannot eaHly be determined f0j want of proper information on this fubject,
found
found fome meal or flour on fhore, and thence named it Meelhaven (Flour-haven). At length they faw two fmall iflands, to which they gave the name of the Iflands of St. Clare. Being come to the iflands of Matfeol and Dolgoy, they faw the Zealand and Enkhuyfen fhips which were juff returned from Waigatz; and the people on board of which imagined, that Barentz had failed round Nova Zembla. After rejoicing with each other at their happy meeting, they failed home together,
II. A. D. 1595, feven fhips were fitted out, viz. two at Amfter-fterdam, two at Zealand, two at Enkhuyzen, and one at Rotterdam. On the 2d of July they failed out of the Downs. On the 17th of Auguft they found ice in large flakes. On the 18th they faw Mauritius Ijland (or Dolgoy Oftrof). On the 19th they were oppofite Waigatz Straits, but found them blocked up by the ice. They waited in fome inlets in and before the ftraits; but the ice continued for a long time, and on the 2d and 3d of September, being arrived off Staaten Ifland, they were obliged, on account of the ice and fogs, to run in at the back of the ifland. In a general council it was refolved, that they fhould make another attempt to get forward. Every night the ice froze at leaft an inch thick. They faw two hares on the ifland, which they killed j but a white bear, which they alfo faw, efcaped. The tide came from the eaft, for which reafon they imagined there was a large fea that way. On Staaten Ifland they found fmall tranfparent cryftals •> but, in feeking for them, two of their people were devoured by a white bear. By reafon of the ice they were obliged to go within the ftraits as far as Twifhoek. On the nth they refolved to make one more trial, but in a few hours found it neceflary to tack about again, on account of the ice which obftrucfed their courfe. On the 15th it was determined in a general council to return, it being impoflible to get through the ftraits on account of the ice.   Having fuffered much from ftorms and
bad
bud weather, they were by the ioth of October to the fouth-weft of Waardhuys. It was but feldom that they faw the moon. The light of the ftars nearly compenfated for the want of the fun; and befides that, the Aurora Borealis contributed much to light them. At length, on the 26th, they arrived again in their native country.
III. Notwithftanding that the States General had refufed to advance the money requifite for defraying the expences of another voyage, this did not deter the City of Amfterdam from fitting out two fhips in 1596. The chief command of them was given to Jacob von Heemjkerk, and the place of firft pilot to William Barentz.   In the fecond (hip Jan Cornells Ryp was mafter, and, at the fame time, fupercargo of the merchandize on board of her.   On the 18th of May they failed out of the Vile, and on the 22d faw the Shetland Illands and Fayerhlll. On the 2d of June they faw two parahelia, or mock funs, in 71 deg. N. lat.   A difpute now arofe between Barentz and Rypy concerning the courfe the fhips were to take.   The firft was of opinion that they ought to fail more to the eaftward; but Ryp maintained that they were in the right courfe; for all along he was againft failing to Waigatz Straits.   On the 5th, they for the firft time faw ice, and paffed fafely through it.    On the 9th they faw an ifland in 74 deg. 30 mm. which they conjectured might be about 15 miles in length.   Here they met with a great number of gulls, and brought away their eggs. They afcended a fteep mountain of fnow, and were obliged to flide down it again.   They likewife faw a large white bear, which it took them two hours to kill.   The fkin of this animal was 12 feet long; fome of the crew ate part of the flefh, but it did not agree with them.    This ifland they called Bear Ifland.    On the 17th and 18th they faw a great quantity of ice, and failed along it till they came to a point of land that lay to the fouthward of it.   On the 19th they faw land again, and found that they were in 80 deg. u min.   It ftras an
H h h extenfive
extenfive country-, and they failed along the weftern coaft of it to 79 deg, 30 min. wliere they found a good road, but were prevented by the ice from going nearer to the land; they anchored, however, in a bay that ftretched right north and fouth into the fea. Here again they killed a large bear which was 13 feet long. On one iiland they found a great many barnacles (Anas Bernicla) one of which they killed with a ftone, and got upwards of 60 eggs. On this iiland they obferved in the 80th deg. of N. lat. grafs and clover growing, and reindeer feeding on it, while, on the contrary, all the animals in Nova Zembla, which is fituated far more to the fouthward, were of the carnivorous kind, becaufe no grafs grows there. The variation here was 16 degrees. They failed along the land to 79 degrees, and difcovered a large inlet, 30 miles long at leaft, but were obliged to tack about. On the 28th they came to the point which is on the weft fide, where they found fo great a number of birds, that thefe latter even flew againft their fails. On the ift of July they again faw Bear Ijland. Jan Cornells Ryp came on board their fhip, and told them that he intended to fail along the eaft fide of the land to the 80th deg. Barentz, on the contrary, went to the fouthward on account of the ice. On the 17th of July they difcovered Nova Zembla, not far from the ftiores of Lotus Bay. On the 20th they went aihore on Crofs-IJland, where they found two croffes erected. They went up to the erodes in order to examine them; but being without, arms, this curiofity had nearly coft them their lives,, for two bears had taken a fincy to them, and it was with the greateft difficulty that they efcaped thefe voracious animals. On the 17th of Auguft they were near Trooftboek, about which there was a great quantity of ice. On the 19th they failed round Cape Defire, where they plainly faw the land trending to the fouthward. This fhip was in great danger from the ice, being, in fact, quite encompalfed by it; and they were obliged to carry provifions on fhore, and prepare for the winter. They fhot at a bear,, but the cold was fo intenfe, that the fhot did not take place. They
found
found a river, and a great quantity of drift-wood. On the 15th of September the fea froze two inches thick. On the 16th the fame, and they fetched wood upon fledges for the purpofe of building up their habitation. On the 2d of October the materials for the hut were, ready, but they could not get into the ground, which was frozen fo hard, that they could not even thaw it by means of fire. They therefore heaped fnow round about their houfe, in order to make it tolerably warm, as alfo to feeure it againft the wind. Their beer, too, was frozen, even the flrong Dantzick Joppen beer. They fuffered greatly from the cold, and were continually at war with the bears. They roaited a white fox, which tailed like a rabbit. On the 3d of November they loft fight of the fun ; the bears kept away likewife, but the foxes began to make their appearance. Neither did the bears return till the fun appeared again. The foxes they caught in traps. On the 7th of December they had nearly all been choaked bv the fmoke of pit-coal. The cold now increafed to a dreadful degree. On the 24th of January they faw for the firfl time the face of the fun again, which, for more than a fortnight before this, had been ufhered in by a kind of twilight. They were aftonifhed at this phenomenon ; as, according to their calculations, it fhould have happened about 16 days later. But, in fact, it ought to have been juft to as it was. In thofe regions the refraction of the rays of the fun is fo confiderable on account of the air containing fuch a great quantity of vapours, that this phenomenon is very poflible. Not being provided with a fuflicient flock of wood, they were obliged to get in more with incredible pains and labour, the drift-wood being all covered with fnow. About this time they faw the fea open, and began to entertain fome hopes of their deliverance. But on the 14th of February the eaft north-eaft winds brought on another froft, which depreffed the fpirits of thefe poor people, and drove them almoft to defpair. On the 3th and 9th of March, the wind blowing from the fouth-weft,
H h h 2 drove
drove the ice away ; but on the ioth a very flrong north-eaft wind brought back again enormous fields, and mountains of ice. In the months of April and May the fea was at length entirely clear of the ice, and they began to think on their voyage home. Jn the month of June they fitted out the boats for their return, and were frequently vifited by the bears, many of which they killed. Some of the crew having eat part of the liver of a bear, it made them very ill, and after they recovered from their diforder, the fkin all over their bodies fell off in fcales. Having brought away all the ftores and provifions they could convey on board their two little veffels, they fet fail on the 14th of June, having Barentz and one of the crew fick on board. They were again encompaffed by the ice, and Barentz, together with one Nicholas An-dreijs, died on the 20th. They came often into great danger between the ice. They alfo loft a confiderable quantity of provifions and merchandize ; neverthelfs they got their veffels over the ice into the water, though not without great difficulty, and begun to fail on a fea tolerably clear of it. They landed now and then to look for birds and eggs, as alfo for fuel to drefs them by. Not far from Waigatz they found two fmall veffels with Ruffians, fome of whom remembered feveral of the crew, having met with them on their former voyages. With great difficulty they arrived at length at Kandnoes (Kanyn nofs) and alfo got fome provifions from fome Ruffian veffels, but were feparated from the fmall boat by a ftorm. In the mean time they failed with their fmall open boat in 30 hours acrofs the mouth of the White Sea, which is 120 miles broad: here they lighted on a Ruffian bark and fome timer men, from whom they got provifions, and immediately after, met with their comrades again in the other boat. They arrived at Kilduyn, where they learned that three Dutch mips were then at
Ko/a9
Kola, two of which were juft ready to fail. They fent two failors there with a Laplander, and in three days received a letter from Capt. Jan Cornells Ryp, informing them, that they had long ago been given up as loft .Cornells Ryp went to them with refreshments, and took them to Kola to his fhip, when they went with him, to the number of 12, back to Holland, and reached Amfterdam on the ift of November, 1597.
From the relation of this voyage it is evident that Heemfkerk, Barentz, and Ryp, had fo early as in the year 1595 difcovered Bear Ifland, which was fince feen by the Englifh in 1603, who gave it the name of Cherry Ijland, and afterwards frequently vifited it. In like manner Hudfon, in 1607, faw Spitzbergen, which had been difcovered 11 years before by the Dutch, and which he erroneouily took for part of Greenland. Hence is manifeft the difficulty of getting on in the mallow fea that lies to the northward of Siberia, on account of the ice; as well as the effects of an intenfe degree of cold (which are very evidently fuch, that even the water of the fea will freeze over in one night) as alfo the extreme coldnefs and long duration of the eafterly winds within the Polar Circle. The wonderful effect of the refraction of the fun's rays, by means of which the image of the fun appears above the horizon, even whole weeks fooner than it otherwife would according to the ordinary courfe of nature, may be confidered as another of the many inftances of the tender care of the Almighty over all his creatures, in thus reftoring the light of the day as early as polTible to the inhabitants of thefe regions ; a kindnefs of which we in this part of the world cannot be fo fenfible, having never experienced the privation of the day-light, and of the all-enlivening light of the fun.
IV. In the year 1609 Henry Hudfon fet fail with a yacht, fitted out at the expence of the Dutch Eaft-India Company. He left the Texel on the 6th of April,   By the 5th of May he was off the North Cape,
and
VOYAGES and
and foon after ie-chcd Nova Zembla, where he found the whole country blocked up with firm and folid ice. He therefore left this coaft on the 14th of May, and difcovered on the coaft of America a river, which is ftill named after him, Hudfon s River, on the mouth of which is New~¥ork; and fomewhat higher up ufed to be New Belgium, which the Dutch had formerly actually colonized. But with regard to difcoveries in the north, Hudfon's voyage was entirely fruitlefs.
V. The ifland of Jan Mayen was difcovered in 1611 by a man of this name. It is fituated about 71 deg. N. lat. and 8 deg. 15 min. E. long, from Ferro. It is long and narrow, and ftretches from north-eaft to fouth-weft. As the whales ufed fometimes to come from Old Greenland near the coaft of this ifland, there were formerly a whale-fifhery and a manufactory for train-oil upon it; likewife a great number of white bears, fea-horfes, and other marine animals, together with fome foxes. But the ifland being rather fmall, and the bait on it, or the whale carrion, but fcarce, the fifli foon found out their enemies, and withdrew to the ice, where they enjoy more fecurity. Accordingly this fifhery was chiefly ufed from 1611 to 1633, but fince that time the ifland has been gradually neglected. At prefent it is feen or viiited only by mere chance. It was once, in honour to Prince Maurice of NaiTau, named Mauritius Ijland, in Greenland ■ but then we muft be careful to diftinguifh it from another Mauritius Ijland on the north-weft point of Spitzbergen, which alfo bears the name of Amjler-dammer Ijland, and is by the Englifh called Hackluyt\ Headland. On this Mauritius Ijland, in Greenland, or Jan Mayen Ijland, feven failors were left to winter, from 1633 to 1634, all of whom, however, died, chiefly of the fcurvy. Their journal was brought down to the 30th of April, foon after which period probably they died ; for the people who arrived there from Holland, on the 7th of June, 1634, found them already dead,
VI. In
VI. In the Philofophical Tranfaclions, No. 118, we find-art account of fome merchants in Holland having fent out fhips, which had failed on to 79 and 80 deg. N. lat. 100 leagues to the eaftward of and beyond Nova Zembla, and had met with an open fea, clear of any ice. Now at the 80th deg. one degree of longitude is only 10 geographical miles. But one hundred leagues are 300 common Englifh fea miles ; confequently the Dutch were not at the fartheft, quite 30 degrees to the eaftward of the moft eafterly point of Nova Zembla, perhaps about Chatanga, in 125 deg. E. long, from Ferro, which is in fact no great matter, and did not render it neceffary for this difcovery to be concealed with fuch care as we are informed it was.
VII. Some individuals, who were defirous of continuing the navigations to the north, prefented in 1614 a petition to their High Mightineffes the States General, praying to be eftablifhed in a free navigation to the northward of Davis's Straits, Greenland, Spitzbergen, and Nova Zembla; which privilege was accordingly conferred upon them by a charter bearing date the 27th of January, 1614; and from that time there has fubfuted the Northern, or, as it is otherwife called, Spitzbergen or Greenland Company, which ufed yearly to fend /hips out to the Polar regions, employed in the whale-fifhery and killing feals. It cannot, however, be afferted, that any important difcoveries have been made in the north by this Greenland Company; for thefe affociated merchants were fatisfied with the moderate profits arifing to them from the whale-fifhery and the killing of feals.
VIII. In 1633 the Dutch Northern Company fent their mips out as ufual to Spitzbergen, but gave orders withal, that fome volunteer failors mould be left by their own confent at Spitzbergen, to winter there ; for which purpofe likewife feveral offered themfelves, who, palled the winter there, but fuffered greatly by the cold. They had-many fkirmimes with the bears, fhot fome reindeer, caught and ate
feveral
feveral foxes, killed a fea-horfe or two, prepared fome whalebone that had been caff on fhore by the tide, but did not kill one whale, and returned fafe to Holland in 1634. They had wintered in the north bay on Mauritius Ijland (or Hackluyt's Headland) near Spitzbergen. That fame year again feven more failors were left on the ifland, by their own confent, but died of the fcurvy in 1635, Their journal was brought down to the 26th of February only, and in 1635 they were all found dead.   Since that time no more men have been left to winter there.
IX. A. D. 1640, or 1645, Ryke Tfe, from Flieland, an old Greenland trader, came, on the eaft fide of Spitzbergen, to a group of very fmall iflands, which had never yet been feen nor frequented by any of the former navigators to Greenland, and having always been very fond of fliooting fea-horfes, the immenfe number of thefe animals that lay here on the more, furnifhed him with an opportunity of displaying his own fkill in the difpofition and arrangement of the bufinefs, as well as the dexterity of his people. In a fliort fpace of time, many hundreds of them were killed, and great profit was made of the fat and the teeth.
X. In the year 1643, the Dutch Eaft-India Company gave orders for two fhips to be fent from Jndia to the north, in order to explore the route from Japan northward, and even to go as far as to A orth-America, and to feek for the paffage there. In confequence of thefe orders, two fhips fet fail together on the 3d of February, 1634, from the harbour of the ifland of Termite; thefe were the Cajlricom, commanded by Captain Martin Herizoom van Vriez ; and the Brejkes, under the command of Capt. Hendrick ornelis :-cbaep. On the 14th of May the two fhips were feparatcd by a ftorm at the difl mcc of 56 leagues from Jeddo, the capital of Japan ; and both of them faw he land of J<jo« The Brejkes failed through the ftrait between Jefo and Japan, in 41 deg. 50 min. N. lat. and in long. 164 deg. 18 min. eaft of ieneriffe. They faw land again in 43 deg. 4 min. N lat. In 44 deg. 4 min, fome veifels came off to their fhip from the fhore.
In 43 deg. 45 min. they defcried land again, as alfo in the latitude of 44 deg. 12 min. and longitude 167 deg. 21. min.   In lat. 45 deg. 12 min. and long. 169 deg. 36 min. the land appeared at a diftance like a great number of iflands j but on coming nearer to it, it feemed to be one continued tract of country.   In lat. 46 deg, 15 min. and long 172 deg, 16 min. as alfo in long. 172 deg. 53 min. they had fight of fome high mountains.   They alfo faw ftill more land in lat. 47 deg. 8 min. and long^-173 deg. 53 min.   We fee from this relation, a* well as from that of the Cafricom, that the ifland Jeffe contains, in fact, a quantity of iflands, at prefent known to the Ruffians under the name of theKuriles. The Dutch imagined they had difcovered xnfefo,^ large extenfive country, and, in the lateft accounts we have from the Ruffians *, this defcription likewife is given of the land of Matmai, in which the Dutch mention that there is a place named Acquets, which the Ruffians call Atfo's. The ftrait between Matmai and Japan is about 60 werfts (or 34 geographical miles) broad ; and has a very ftrong current, as have almoft all the ftraits between the Kurile Iflands.   Matmai is a town in the poffeflion of the Japanefe-, the Chinefe trade alfo to the land of Matmai; but the hairy Kuriles are a free people.   It is alfo ftill uncertain whether Matmai is an ifland or not.   But there is a probability that it is, as the inhabitants have not yet been made tributary by the Chinefe; which is alfo confirmed by Father Hieronymus de Angetis, who mentions the ftrait of Teffoi, which feparates Matmai from the continent, and has alfo a ftrong, rapid current.   This country feems to have got the name of Jefs, or Efo, from the people who inhabit it.   The Japanefe call the Kuriles Jefo, and it is thence that"the land of Matmai has obtained this appellation from the Portuguefe and Dutch.   The land with the St. Anthony % Peak, defcribed in the journal of Cafiricom, feems to be the iiland Iterpu, or Etorpu, which, according to the lateft accounts (Vid.
* Pallas's New Northern Collealons, Vol. IV. page 136. (German).
I i i Pallas's
Pallas Northern Collections, Vol. IV. page 133) confifts entirely of a high ridge of mountains with many heads. In this cafe Urup mint be the Staaten Ifland of the Dutch ; in like manner, Tfc/oirpo-oi will anfwer to Company hand, and the flrait between Urup and Tjchirpo-ot will be the Straits of Fan Vriez. On the Kurile Iflands there are many volcanos, fome of which are ftill burning, others are already extinct, while others, quite new ones, are frequently burfling forth into flames, like that which made an eruption on the 8th of January, 1780, on the ifland of Rachkoke, or Rakchotki, the effects of which caufed likewife a dreadful earthquake, and which occafioned great ravages and devafta-tions in the iflands of Ketoi, Schimufchir, Tfchirpo-oi, and Urup. Now, though we fhould allow the authenticity of the accounts of the Dutch, who in the Cajlricom and Brejkes, imagined that they faw here one continued and extenfive tract of land, it cannot neverthelefs be denied, that thefe numerous volcanos give one room to fuppofe, that many an entire and undivided tract of country may have been torn afunder by earthquakes, and parcelled out into fmall illands. So that what we read in the relations of the Cajhicom and the Brcjkes does not appear to me fo very incredible.
XI. At the time when the Northern Company in Holland was frill in the fullncfs of her fplendor, (viz. from 1614 to 1641) a fhip was difpatched to Greenland for the purpofe of fetching train-oil, which ufed to be manufactured in Seiverenberge -y but there being not a fuflicient quantity ready to complete the full lading, the Captain finding the fea quite open, failed ftrait on to the northward, and at the diftance of two degrees from it, went twice round it.   This he ufed to relate publickly, and to refer to his crew as witneffes of the fact. Vid. Zorgdragers Greenland Whalc-Fijhery (German) Vol. II. chap. io, page 162.—Wood?\(oy as he himfelf informs its, was told by Mr. Jofepb Moxon, in 1676, that being in Holland about 20 years before, (confequently in 1656) he had heard a very rcfpe-aablc creditable Dutch 3 Captain.
Captain of a fhip fay, that he had navigated under the very Pole, where he found the weather as warm as it ufed to be at Amfterdam in fummer. In fine, Capt. Goulden likewife, who had made upwards of 20 voyages to Greenland, told King Charles the Second that, being about 20 years before in Greenland, he found himfelf with two Dutch Greenland navigators near Edges Ijland *, to the eaftward of that country, when no whales appearing near the fhore, the two Dutch Captains refolved to fail farther on towards the north; which in fact: they did, and a fortnight afterwards returned, and related that they had been as far as the 89th degree, and had met with no ice, but with a free and open fea, with large and hollow waves, as in the bay of Bifcay. The variation of the compafs there was 5 degrees. One of thefe Captains afterwards happened to go to England, when Captain Gould took him to fome of the Members of the Northern Company, whom he fully convinced of the truth of his relation. Vide An Account of feveral late Voyages and Difcoveries. Lond. 1711, p. 145; as alfo the Hon. Mr. Boyle's Hiftory oj^Cold.
XII. It is the lamentable fate of the learned not to be able, with all their pains, to obtain the information they would with with refpect to all the objects of their refearches. In the beft charts we find fome accounts, or rather hints, relative to countries pretended to be difcovered by the Dutch; but it is a very difficult matter to determine where more particular and circumftantial accounts concerning them are to be met with.   I fhall now mention four or five countries difcovered by
* Edge's Ijland is probably one of the iflands belonging to that group difcovered by Ryke l'Jef Capt. Thomas Edge, who made 10 voyages to Greenland, difcovered this ifland A. D. 1616; and in 1617, an ifland lying off Spitfiergen, was, after Mr. Wjche, called Wjchi\ Ijland.
I i i 2 the
the Dutch in the North, concerning which I can communicate little more than their names. I polfefs a collection of about 700 volumes of voyages, written in various languages, neverthelefs I mud confefs, that in all thefe I have not been able to find out any thing that has the leaft relation to thefe difcoveries 1 perhaps this my acknowledgment may induce fome learned man or other to favour me with fome information concerning them, to whom I mall, in that cafe,, be infinitely obliged, for having thereby furnifhed me not only with the means of adding to the flock of my own knowledge, but alfo of rendering my Hiftory of the Difcoveries in the North, much more complete than it is at prefent ; for I readily confefs, that even in my own opinion, my work has not attained to that ftate of perfection to which I had purpofed to bring it, but from the accomplishment of which 1 have been hindered by a thoufand difficulties, impoftible for me to overcome in my prefent fituation. In 75 deg. N.. lat.. and about 5 deg. E. long, from Ferro, we find on the eaftward coaft of Greenland, Gale Hamkens Land,, which is faid to have been feen in 1654. Gale Hamkens was a Dutch Greenland trader, who as early as the year 1639 had the command of the firft-rate fhip, the Oranjeboom, and who,, when Capt. Dirk Alberts Raven had loft his fhip the Spltjbergen, in the ice near Spltjbergen, took up the faid Captain and the few people remaining of his crew ; and this is all, I know about him. So that whether he difcovered this point of land himfelf, or any other navigator has given it this name in honour of him, I confefs I am not able to determine. In 78 deg. N. lat. and 10 deg, E, long,, from Ferro, a land is laid down on the eaftward coaft of Greenland, which is called the Land of Edam: It was difcovered in. 1655, but by whom,, as alfo whether it was named thus, after a man, a fhip, or after the town of Edam, in North Holland* I cannot pretend to fay..   Farther we find,.
ia
in 73 deg. 30 min. N. lat. not far from the firft meridian drawn through Ferro, an ifland over which is written the name of Bontekoe, with the date of the year 1665 ; the firft difcoverer of which I am likewife unacquainted with; neither can I determine the queftion, whether it was named Bontekoe\ after its difcoverer, or after a fhip, or any man of that country. Again, there is in 79 deg. N. lat and 10 deg. E, long, from Ferro, a land marked with the date of 1670 ; but this is all that I know concerning it. Finally, precifely in 80 deg. N. lat. and 100 geographical miles to the eaft of Northeajiland in Spitzbergen, there is to be feen the mark of a high land. This land was difcovered in 1707 by an experienced and fkilful Greenland trader, by name Cornells Gillis. He had failed, without feeing any ice at all, to the northward of the Seven Iflands, a great way beyond the 8 1 ft deg. then he failed eaftward, and at laft fouth-eaft ward, fo that he always kept to the eaft of Northeaft-land, and at length at 25 leagues from thence in 80 deg. defcried a very high land, which probablvnobody had ever feen before him. Van Keulen has laid down this land in his map of Spitzbergen, merely on the ftrength of the account given of it by Capt. Glllis. Vide Barringtoris Mifcellanies. Lond. 1781. 4to. pages 80 and 85.
Thefe are all the accounts of the difcoveries made in the north by the Dutch, that have ever come to my knowledge. That active public fpirit, by means of which the Republic of the United Netherlands rofe to its prefent pitch of grandeur, and by which all their enterprizes in the 16th and 17th centuries were fo ftrongly characterized, is by degrees evaporated and fpent. They have begun to purfue a fyftem diametrically oppofite to that which led them to fame, dignity, and honour. That contemptible fpirit of party in matters of religion and politicks which occupies itfelf only with trifling objects, thereby 3 neglecting
neglecting thofe that are truly grand and important; that falfe fyftem, in purfuanceof which, flicrificing every thing to commerce, the Republic has endeavoured to remain neuter, and, in defiance of the moft folemn treaties and conventions, has frequently refuted that afliftance to her allies for which fhe had previoufly ftipulated, carrying on her trade in peace, without putting her land and fea forces on a refpecfable footing, and thereby expofing herfelf to the juft clamours of her neighbours, fo that at length fhe has been under the neceffity of depending entirely on the protection and favour of a power, which, if not endowed with the greateft magnanimity, might have made iifelf mafter of the beft and moft important poffeffions : this mode, I lay, of acting and thinking, has entirely fupprelfed in individuals all inclination for great enterprizes or for any undertakings for the good of their country. Thus circumftanced, no farther difcoveries are to be expected from that quarter. Perhaps, indeed, there are but few remaining to be made in the northern hemifphere.
CHAP. III.
Of the Difcoveries made in the North by the French.
THE difcovery of America by the Spaniards, and that of the route to the Eaft-Indies by the Cape of Good Hope, by the Por-tugueze, do not appear to have had fo much effect on the French as to excite them to ftmilar enterprizes. A fhadow of falfe grandeur had fafgiriated her Kings and Nobles.   The alluring baits which
engroffed
engroffed her whole attention were the crown of Naples ami the duchy of Milan. For the fake of conquering thefe countries, both of which neverthelefs at length efcaped her grafp, France lavifhcd her treafures and the blood of her heroes. Hence her r. ivy was neglected, and the romantic fpirit of Chivalry which the fons of France acquired in thefe •wars, infpired them at the fame time with a contempt for every thing relative to trade and commerce ; till Henry the Great, with his favourite Sully, and Lewis XIV. with his great Wm'xdtr, Colbert, did all in their power to procure to merchants and manufacturers, as ufeful members of fociety, that refpect to which thefe profemons, inafmuch as they enrich the flate, are in fact intitled. In the mean time it was thefe prejudices chiefly which prevented France from paying that attention to voyages of difcovery which they deferved. The whole of North-America and Brafil would at this time be the property of France, had the Kings of this country and their Minifters better fupported the firfl voyagers, had they given greater encouragement to the population of thefe new lands, and had they in general paid more attention to navigation than they in actual did. It is not therefore furprizing to find, that France has contributed but very little towards the difcoveries made in the North.
I. Already, fmce the difcovery of Newfoundland by Sebajlian Cabot, in 1496, the Europeans had begun to make advantage of the land of Bacallaos, and of the great quantity of fifli in the vicinity of it. In the year 1502, fome Briflol merchants had already obtained grants for effabliihing colonies there. As early as the year 1504 the Bifcayners, the Normans from Normandy, and the Bretons from Britanny in France, vifited the fouthern coaft of it, for the fake of fifhing. It is even fup, pofed, that the ifland of Cape Breton, which lies near the continent, had its name from thefe very Bretons. In 1506 Jean Denis failed with bib pilot Camart, a native of Rouen, from Honflcu; to Newfoundland. He is raid to have been the firfl who laid down and publifhed a chart
of
of the coaft of this country. In 1508, a navigator, by name Thomas Aubert (according to Ramufio, Vol. III. page 423, but Prevot, in his Hiftoire des Voyages, Calls him Hubert) went with a fhip called the Penfee, from Dieppe to Newfoundland, and brought theiirfl favage native from thence to Paris. The fhip belonged to the Captain's Father, Jean Ango, Vifcount of Dieppe. But all thefe are rather loofe hints than regular accounts of the empires and places explored by the French; neither has any thing more than what we have mentioned, been handed down to our times, and that only by the means of Ramufio.
II. The firft who actually made a voyage, of which the hiftory is preferved to us, was John Verazzani, by birth a Florentine, who, in the fervice of Francis the Firft, fet out with four fhips on a cruize againft the Spaniards 5 but was compelled, by a ftorm, to run with two of his fhips, the Normandy and the Dauphine, into a harbour in Britany. He continued to cruize againft the Spaniards with fuccefs, and at length refolved to undertake a voyage with the Dauphin merely for the purpofe of difcovering new countries.
On the 17th of January,  1524, Verazzani failed from the uninhabited rocks near Madeira *,  500 leagues to the weftward, in 25 days.   After weathering a dangerous ftorm, he continued his voyage twenty-five days longer, in which fpace of time he made 400 leagues more, and then faw before him a low land, on which he difcovered many fires.   But his fears preventing him from landing, he failed 50 leagues to the fouthward along the coaft, without finding a harbour. He therefore returned again to the northward, but, meeting with as little fuccefs as before, he anchored in the open fea, and fent his boat on fhore, upon which great numbers of the inhabitants appeared on the coaft, running backwards and forwards, and exhibiting at once marks of afto-nifhment, joy, and fear.   The figns which the French made induced
* Thefe uninhabited rocks are called by the Portuguese Ilbas Deftrtat; the EngliJh call them th« Dfftrttrt.   They arc fituated to the eaft of Matiira,
fome
fome to ftay, and having hy degrees recovered from their fright, they at length brought fome provifions. They were naked, but wore aprons of fine furs, and bunches of feathers on their heads. They were well lliaped, had fine black eyes, long and If rait black hair, and were very fwift of foot. The country here and there was watered with fmall rivers. Our navigators faw fine plains and confiderable forefts, as alfo thickets and groves of cyprefs, laurels, and palm-trees, and of fome trees entirely unknown in Europe. It is difficult to determine where Verazzani landed fir It ; but it would appear, that he firft arrived on the coaft of America, in that part of Georgia, where at prefent the town of Savannah is, and that afterwards he failed fouth wards as far as to the 30th degree of latitude. What induces me to think fo, is that Verazzani mentions ins having feen palm-trees on the fpot where he landed : now thefe, as far as I know, grow only in Florida; nor would it have been poifible to fail from any other place on the American coaft, 50 leagues to the fouthward ; as the coaft from 40 deg. to 33 deg. ftretches from north-eaft to fouth-wefl. Upon this he fhaped his courfe again to the northward. Having proceeded in this direction for fome time, he found himfelf in lat 34 deg. and faw the coaft trending eaftward. It is true, that the coaft is flat, and has no harbour, but then there arc no rocks. The climate and air are wholefome. Being come to the fpot, where the coaft trends to the eaft, they faw many fires, and, placing fome degree of confidence in the favages, fent their boat on fhore; but the fea was fo rough that they could not land. A young failor, trufting to his fkill as a fwimmer, and the invitations of the favages, ventured to fwim afhore with fome trifling prefents. He approached fo near the fhore, that the water reached no higher than his waift; but his fears predominated fo, that he flung the prefents on fhore, and threw himfelf again into the fea with an intention of fvvim-ing to his boat.   But now a wave eaft him back on fhore with fuch a
K k k force,
force, that he lay quite ftupified and fenfclefs on theflrand. The favages ran immediately to his affiflance, and carried him a little way off from the fea. At the firfl outfet he could not collect himfelf, and great was his terror on recovering, to find himfelf entirely in their power! He fet up a loud cry, and they re-echoed it with violence in order to encourage him ; then, placing him at the foot of a hill, they turned him towards the fun, kindled a fire, and dripped him naked. He now no longer doubted but that they were going to offer him upon it as a facrifice to the fun. They were of the-fame opinion on board the fhip, and in the boat, though unable to afford him any affiflance. But he found himfelf miftaken in his apprehenfions, for they only dried his clothes, and did not even take him nearer to the fire than was ne-ceffiry to w arm him. Still, however, he trembled; but the favages careffed him in the moft friendly manner, admiring the whitenefs of his complexion, and the hair on thofe parts of the body, where, as it is known, the American favages have none. They reflored his clothes, and fet victuals before him. Having fhewn an eager defire to return to his friends, they conducted him to the fhore, and after having embraced him with great tendernefs, withdrew a little to fhew him, that he was entirely at liberty, following him with their eyes until they had feen him again in his boat, and on board the ihip. Now all this muft have paffed fomewhere about New Jerfey or Staaten IJlandy or perhaps on Long-Ifland.—*They now failed farther on, and faw the coafl trend again to the northward. ^ After a run of 50 leagues, Verazzani anchored off a delightful country, full of the fineft forefts. Here 20 of his men landed, and went about two leagues up into the country. The inhabitants fled before them, but they caught an old woman who had hid herfelf in the high grafs, with a young woman about 18 years of age. The old woman carried a child on her back, and had befides, two little boys with her.   The young woman, too, carried
three
three children of her own fex. Seeing themfelves difcovered, they began to fhriek, and the old one gave them to undcrftand, by %ns, that the men were fled to the woods. They offered her fomething to eat, which file accepted, but the maiden refufed it. This girl, who was tall and well fhaped, they were delirous of taking along with them, but as fhe made a violent outcry, they contented themfelves with taking a boy away with them. Thefe people were half clothed with a tiifue, compofed of grafs and reeds. They had nets. Their arrows had bone points. Their boats were hollowed out of one piece of timber. The trees were not fo fragrant as thofe that grew on the places where they landed before; many of them, however, had vines climbing up to their very tope. No houfes were to be feen. After having lain at anchor here three days, they failed farther on along the coafc ; where they difcovered a very fine country, and at the fame time found the mouth of a large river.
The favages pointed out to them the deep places in this river ; but a ftorm coming on on a hidden, obliged them to fiil away to the eaftward, where they found a well-cultivated ifland (the ifle of Nantucket, or cite that of Martinis Vineyard) and a little further on a good harbour, in which they law more than 20 canoes belonging to the lavages. Here they found a very hue race of people, who at the fame time were very pleaiing ; however, the men were extremely jealous. The women wore ornaments of wrought copper. Their houfes were round, made of wood, and covered over with ftraw. The mouth of the river was in 41 deg. Here they laid in a large ftock of provifions, and on the 5th of May, failed farther on to the northward. After a run of 150 leagues (equal to j\. deg.) they difcovered a high land, quite over-grown with forefts. The inhabitants of this country were very favage ; they were covered with the fkins of animals, and lived on roots, which grew in the earth fpontaneoufly. Twenty-five of the crew who landed here, were received by the inhabitants with a volley of ar-
K k k 2 rows.
rows. Here they found alfo ornaments made of copper. Then failing farther on, they came, after a run of 150 leagues more, to 56 deg, N. lat. near a country where the Bretons had already been before. This country, along the coafl: of which they had already failed upwards of 700 leagues, was called New France *. Verazzani's provifions beginning to diminifh very faff, he failed ftrait on to France, whence he dated his letter to King Francis I. on the 8th of July, 1524.
It is faid, that Verazzani undertook another voyage to the new-dif-covered country of New France; but it is abfolutely impoffible to fay in what year this laft voyage was made. Ramufio, however, very po-fitively affures us, that when Verazzani landed, he and the people who went afihore with him, were cut to pieces and devoured by the favages, in the very fight of the reft of the crew, who had remained on board the fhip, and who were unable to come to their refcue. Before I conclude this article, I muft beg leave to add two very fhort obfervations : the firft refpects the iimilarity of the fates attending Verazzani and the immortal Cook, both of whom were killed, cut into pieces, and devoured by a rude, uncultivated people ; both alfo were poffeffed of an extenfive knowledge of navigation, intrepid courage, and the greateft perfeverance. The fecond has already been made before me by others, but is neverthelefs as true as it is remarkable. It is as follows : The three great empires of thofe times, Spain, England, and France, made each of them ufe of an Italian to conduct the voyages of difcovery fet
* In an old map I have feen the land de Nurumbega laid down juft where No<va Scotia is at prefent. At page 290 I freely confeftVd that I could not rightly comprehend the name of Jrttmbcc, which was given there to the coaft of the land, afterwards named Nova Scotia ; it is, however, without doubt, no other than this fame land de Nurumbega, or Norimbega. Neverthelefs the origin of this appellation remains ftill unknown to me; unlefs it be, indeed, that fome of the toys, which were prefented to the favages, confifting of looking-glafTes, bells, &c. &c. were of Nuremberg manufacture, and that thus, by the name given to the country, they meant to preferve the memory of this fact,
on
fet on foot by them.   Spain employed Chrijlopher Colom, a Genoefe; England, Sebajlian Cabot, a Venetian ; and France, Verazzani, a Florentine.   A circumftance which fufficiently proves, that in thofe times no nation was equal to the Italians in point of maritime knowledge and extenfive experience in navigation.   But notwithftanding all their knowledge and experience, the Italians have not been able to acquire one inch of ground for themfelves in America: all the difcoveries made by thefe Italians devolved to the (hare of thofe nations which had fent them out on thefe errands.   The penurious mercantile fpirit of the Republics of Venice, Genoa, Florence, Pifa, and other free ftates, part of whom had already palfed under the yoke of a mafter, their mutual bickerings and petty wars, and their fhort-fighted felfifh-nefs, made them overlook the benefits refulting from fuch great enterprizes, and attach themfelves to mere trifling details, which rendered them unfit for carrying on expeditions of fuch importance to the ftate, though private perfons had courage and magnanimity enough not only to plan thefe important voyages, but alfo to put their plans into execution.
III. The difcoveries made by Verazzani having been of little or no advantage to the realm, all thoughts of a voyage of difcovery were for fome time laid afide : but in the year 1534, the Admiral Philip Chabot reprefented to the King, how advantageous it would be to eftablifh a colony in a country from whence Spain derived fo much wealth. Accordingly James Cartier, of St. Malo, was prefented to the King, and his propofals were accepted. On the 20th of April he fet fail from St. Malo, with two fhips and .122 men, and on the 10th of May he faw Bona Vijla, in Newfoundland; but the land was as yet covered with fnow, and towards the fhore there were great quantities of ice. Six degrees farther to the fouthward, or S. S. E. he faw a harbour, to which he gave the name of St. Catharine § Harbour. He then returned to the northward, and near the IJle of Birds, at the diftance of 14 leagues from Newfoundland, he faw a great white bear.   After this he failed
2 almoft
almoft quite round Newfoundland', where he found fine harbours, but a bad foil. The inhabitants were of a good fize, tolerably well fhaped, and wore their hair tied in a bunch on the crown of their head, which they likewife adorned with feathers. Then he went to the continent, where he flood in to a deep bay. In this bay he fuffered great heat, and thence named it Bayc des Chaleurs. In fome old maps, it is likewife called Spanifh Bay. In Fact, Velafco is faid to have been here before Carder, when, finding no metals of any kind, he cried out, Aca nada% Mere is nothing *; from which expreflion was formed Canada, the name by which this country was afterwards known. In the Bay des Chaleurs there was a great number of feals. Carrier now vifitcd the coafts of the bay of St. Lawrence, and having let iail again on the 15th of Auguft, he arrived on the 5th of September at St. Makes.
IV. Qartier gave an account of his voyage, and this induced the Vice-Admiral, Charles de Mo ay Sieur de Melleraye, to procure him more refpect and authority from the King, as alio three fhips well rigged and manned. On the 6th of May, 1535, Carder with his whole crew, repairing to the cathedral Church at St. Malo, prayed for the blefling of God on their undertaking, and with it received likewife that of the Bifhop. On the 19th he put to fea, having on board a number of young men of diftinction, who were dcfirous of making their fortunes under him.   The fhips were foon after difperfed by a ftorm.
* This derivation of the name of Canada from the Spanifh Aca-nada, having been fo often recurred to, I cannot help Rating fome objections againft it. The Spanifli word for here, is not aca, but aqui; and the formation of Canada from Aaut'nada, appears forced and unnatural. It cannot, however, be denied, that this appellation has by many been derived from thence; for in ancient maps we often find Ca: da Nada, or Promontorium Nihili. But, from a Canadian vocabulary, annexed to the original edition of the fecond voyage of Jaques Cartier, Paris, ^45, it appears, that an aflemblage of houfes, or habitations, i. e. a lo-ivn, was by the natives called
Canada.   Cartier fays, //» appellent une Fill*--—Canada ; and nothing feems more natural than
that when the French alked how they called fuch a place, viz. a certain aflemblagc of habitations or huts, or the town, the favages fhould anfwer them, Canada, a town. Now this was imagined to be the particular and proper name of the country itfelf; and thence the whole country obtained the name of Canada.
On
On the 26th of June they met together again at their general place of rendezvous, in the bay of Newfoundland. On the 1 ft of Auguft he was obliged, by a ftorm, to take refuge in the harbour of St. Nicholas, on the northern coaft of the mouth of the river St. Lawrence, which is in 49 deg. 25 min. N. lat. On the 10th, Cartier bore up again into the great bay, which he named the bay of St. Lawrence ; and though the river which runs into it was at firft called the river of Canada, yet it has in the courfe of time changed this appellation for that of the River of St. Lawrence, after the bay or gulph of that name. The name of St. Lawrence was alfo in the beginning only given to an inlet, fituated between the iiland of Anticofi and the northern coaft of the main land, but in the courfe of time has been extended to the whole of this large bay. On the 15th he came to the ifland which he named Afomption (or Affumption Ifland) but which by the fivages was called Natifcotec, whence the Englifh have made the name Anticofi, a name by which it is known at this very day. After this they failed up the river, and, on the 1 ft of September, ran into the river Seguenay. Then he failed farther, and named an iiland which he fiiw covered with hazel-trees, Ifle mix Coudres (Hazel or Filberd Ifland). Here, feeing land on both fides of the river, he looked about for a harbour to pafs the winter in. Higher up he found a ftill finer and larger ifland, covered with an infinite number of vines *, growing fpontaneoufly in the
" One of the chief and ftrongclt objections tint has been made againft the opinion that Ntnu* fcundland was the Winland of the ancient Normans (vide page 83) is, that no vines grew there fpontaneoufly : but Cartier's Bacbus Ijluid, or the Ijk of Orleans, having been found covered with vines, and the latitude of this ifland being exactly the fame with that of Newfoundland, and indeed of the moft fouthern parts of that country, and moreover, the climate of Newfoundland being, on account of its vicinity to the ocean, rather milder than that of the iile of Orleans, I can no longer doubtbut that feveral forts of wild vines grew alfo on Newfoundland, and chiefly the fpecies before mentioned : Vitts vulpina, labrufca et arborea. But as we have not as yet any Flora of Newfoundland, we cannot affirm this wi'.h abfolute certainty; howsver it is highly probable that this is the cafe.
grove$
groves and forefts, and hence named it Backus Ijland: this name, however, is now forgotten, it being now called the Ijle of Orleans. Car-tier went ftill higher up the great river, and faw a river coming from the north, which he named St. Croix, having difcovered it on the day of the Elevation of the Holy Crofs; but at prefent this river is known by the appellation of Jaques Cartier s River. Here he convcrfed with Donnacona, a Chief of the favages, who was defirous of keeping all the advantages arifing from Cartier and his crew to himfelf, and accordingly advifed him not to go to Hochelaga, a large fettlement of the lavages. But Cartier left two fhips in the river of St. Croix, and went with the third, la grande Hermine, higher up. In lake St. Pierre, he, not having depth of water fuflicient, could not proceed any farther with his fhip. He therefore armed his two boats, and went with them up to Hochelaga*. This place contained about 50 dwellings, each of which was 50 paces long, and 14 or 15 broad. All thefe habitations were encompaffed with pallifadoes. There was but one gate or entrance to it; all around the fortifications there was an elevated ftage, which was to be afcended by a ladder. On this ftage lay a great quantity of ftones, both large and fmall, for the defence of the fortification. The Europeans were well received here: but it was not long before inactivity, the confined and putrid air in the clofe and dirty habitations of the favages, the falted and poor provifion they were obliged to put up with, together with the want of change of cloathing, occafioned the fcurvy amongft Cartier s people; and 25 of them died of this difeafe, till at length they learned from the favages the beft remedy for it, and began to ufe it. This remedy confifts in a decoction of the leaves and innermoft bark of the white North-American pine-
* At prefent this place is no longer called Hochelaga, but Montreal. The firft name is entirely forgotten. This Montreal is the fecond place in Canada, being next to ^uetec. The ifland on which it is fituated is highly cukiva;ed and pretty populous in comparifon with the reft of Canada.
tree
tree (Pinks Canadenjis Linn. Epinette Blanche), By means of this, Cartier and his crew were perfectly recovered within eight days ; nay, even thofe, too, were cured, who laboured under venereal complaints. In the next fpring Cartier returned with what remained of his crew to France ; and having, partly by flratagem and partly by force, carried off Donnacona from the river of St. Croix, prefented him to the King, and expatiated largely on the advantages which were likely to refult from a fettlement in that country, and chiefly by means of the fur-trade i mewing, at the fame time, that from the mildncfs of the climate and the fertility of the foil, every production of the earth might be expected. But the filly prejudice at that time prevailing amongfl; all the nations of Europe, that only fuch countries as produced gold and filver were in any wife valuable and worth taking poffeflion of, had alfo at this juncture fo great an influence on the French, that they flighted the falutary advice of Cartier, and would hear no more of the eftablifhment of a colony in Canada.
V. Neverthelefs there were fome people found, and thofe even at Court, who formed more juft conceptions of the matter. A certain Nobleman of Picardy, by name Francois de la Rogue, Lord of Roberval, who was of great weight in his own province, and whom, on this account, Francis I. frequently ufed to call the Little King of Vi-meu, was more zealous than the reft for purfuing thefe difcoveries. The King, therefore, on the 15th of January, 1540, created him Lord in Norlmbega, and his Lieutenant-General and Viceroy in Canada, Hochelaga, Saguenay, Newfoundland, Belle Ifle, Carpon, Labrador, the Great Bay, and Bacallaos. By thefe great titles Roberval was induced to appear in the countries here mentioned, with a grandeur and magnificence fuitable to his dignity. Accordingly he fent for canons from Normandy, and even from Champaigne, and fitted out two fhips at his own expence.   Cartier was to go before as Captain, as he himfelf
h 1 1 could
could not be ready with his two mips fo foon.   Cartier, therefore, fet fail with five mips on the 23d of May, 1640.   After meeting with many ftorms, he landed at length in Newfoundland, in the harbour of Carpon (probabably Qwrpon, or Klrpon, on the northern point of the iiland).   Roberval not arriving, Cartier went flrait on to Canada, where he fpoke with Agona, the fucceffor of Donnacona, who had died in France.   Having made prefents to each other, Cartier went to the diftance of four leagues from St. Croix into a fmall river, which fecmed more convenient to him than the river of St. Croix itfelf.   Here they faw a great quantity of black grapes; and lowed different forts of garden feeds, fuch as cabbage, navcw, and lettuce, which immediately fprung up.   They likewife erected here a fmall citadel, to which they gave the name of CbarAbourg*.   The country was pleafant, and was furnifhed with a fpring: it contained iron, and was full of chryftal-f tones, and even of gold-duff. Cartier armed two boats with a defign to go over the water-falls to Saguenay, but found it irnpollible, and, having difcovered the perfidioufnefs of the natives, became doubly watchful. Having waited in vain till 1542, for the arrival of the Viceroy M. de Roberval, and confumed all his provifions, befides that he had great reafon to fear an attack from the favages, be fet out on his return to France; but quite unexpectedly found Roberval at Newfoundland, who had left France on)y in the month of April 154a, and had arrived in the road of St, John, in Newfoundland, juft before him, with three fhips full of men, women, and children.   Roberval, indeed, wanted to oblige Cartier to return with him to America ; but this latter gave him the flip with his fquadron in the night, and failed to Britany.
* Hence it would feem that this firft fettlement of the French muft have been at no great diftance from Quebec and the little river of Charles; and, in fact, there is ftill a place called Charlijbourr, about tluafpet,
VI. Roberval
VI. Roberval went with his three fhips to the coafl of Saguenay, built a fort on a mountain near the river of St. Lawrence, and fent his firfl pilot, Jean Alphonjc de Xalntolgne, a native either of Portugal orGallicia, to the northward, to difcover a paffage to the Eaft-Indics. But he did not go beyond 52 deg. N. lat. Roberval mufl have returned to France, for we find mention is made of many more voyages having been undertaken by him. The war between Francis I. and Charles V. prevented Roberval from attempting any other voyage till the year 1549. But in that year he fet fail again, together with his brother, one of the bravefl men of thofe times, and they were both reported to have periflied, though no farther information concerning the particular circumftances attending their deflruclion has been handed down to us.
VII. For fome time after this, people did not care to undertake any more voyages to America, as they could procure no gold from the newly-difcovered northern part of it, not confidering, that the real value of the fur trade and of the fifhery furpaffed by far that of all the gold in Peru, and fecured to the flate more permanent advantages. In 1598, the Marquis de la Roche went in the quality of Lord Lieutenant to thefe countries, and 40 of the people fent out with him, having been taken out of the prifons, he landed them on the miferable iiland called Ifle de Sable, and flood away for Acadia, which fmce lias obtained the name of Nova Scotia, from whence, after having made, in different parts of it, fuch refearches as he thought ncccflary, he returned to France, without having had it in his power to take back with him the poor wretches from the Ijle de Sable. In France many misfortunes befel him, which prevented him from returning to America; and this affected him fo much that he died of vexation. Henry IV. hearing of the unfortunate wretches left on the Ijle de Sable, fent Chetodel to bring them away.   After feven years flay on this miferrble ifland,
L 1 1 2 only
only i 2 of them were alive, whom the King defircd to fee, juft as they PvVere when they left the place, in their feal-fkin clothes, and with their long beards; and afterwards made each of them a prefent of 50 dollars, and remitted them the punifhment of the crimes for which they had formerly been put into prifon.
Immediately after this man, Pontgravede Chauvin went with a grant from the King for an excluiive trade to Tadouffak, on the mouth of the Saguenay, where he bartered for furs, and returning the next year, continued to trade, and had alfo determined to go there a third time, but was prevented by death. After this we find fome accounts of the voyages of Samuel de Chan/plain, a man of a noble family, to Canada; but the difcoveries made by him are very infignificant, and a great many of them do not come within the limits of our plan. What the favage Qtfchagah (perhaps one of the Otfchagras nation) has faid of the paffage from hake Superiour into Lake Bourbon, and to the two Ouini-piques, which are joined to Hudfon's Bay by means of the river Nclfon, is equally uncertain. None of thefe relations, any more than tho(c of certain French officers, are futftcicntly authentic to fervc as a foundation on which a map might be laid down, or for a ciixumftan-tial defcription of thefe countries, and one that may be depended on.
VIII. Philip Buache, in his Confide rations Geographiques et Phyjiques, Paris, \to 1753, mentions the voyage of a Captain Frondad, who, in the year 1709, failed from China to Spanifh North-America. This is the only fhip that ever croffed the South Sea in fo high a latitude. In 165 deg. E. long, from Ferro, he found a ftrong current fetting from the north, and in the month of May met with heavy rains and violent rlaws of wind. Being come to 188 deg. E. long, and 45 deg. N. lat. he found a fea as calm as a pond, which made him fuppofe that to the windward of him there muft be a land which ob-ftructcd the current,   Before he came to lat, 44 deg. and long. 197 deg.
eaft.
eaft of Ferro, he met with dreadful weather, violent flaws from N. N. E. and from the eaft, and ftrong currents fetting to the north and north-weftward. Here likewife he faw a great number of whales. In 4o deg. N. lat. the fea was green. Farther on, currents were to the fouth-eaft. At length, on the 24th of July, he reached the coaft of California, having had, through the whole courfe of the voyage, variable weather and winds, violent ftiowers of rain, heavy feas, and fometimes dead calms.
This is all that I have been able to collect concerning the voyages of the French, and the difcoveries made by them in the north. Upon the whole, it is to be obferved, that this nation has but lately begun to beftow that attention on voyages to diftant regions which they deferve. What has been formerly undertaken in this refpect has been chiefly done by private perfons at their own expence. Government has feldom given its fupport to enterprizes of this nature, or if it has, it has not done it with that zeal and ardour thefe objects deferve. It cannot be denied, however, that Government lias alfo fet on foot fome very confiderable voyages of difcovery, and thofe at a confiderable expence voyages, too, in which obicrvations have been made of great importance and general utility.
CHAP.      IV. i
Of the Difcoveries made- by the Spaniards in the North.
TT was to a concurrence of many fortunate circumftances that Spain was indebted for the difcovery of the Weft-Indian iflands being made for her in the year 1492, by the immortal Genoefe, Chrijlopher Colom.   The important advantages which they reaped from this difcovery,
very, emboldened all the high-fpirited and refolutemcn of the nation to proceed in this career with almoft inconceivable activity. The riches thus acquired ferved for fitting out a great number of mips, and for the execution of frefli enterprizes. The great difcoveries made by the Portuguese in Africa, the circumnavigation of the Cape of Good Hope in 1496, and the finding out of a paffage by fea to the Eaft-Indies, rendered the Spaniards ftill more and more intent upon new difcoveries. Each of thefe nations endeavoured to extend its difcoveries, and to profit by them as much as poflible. Ships were fent out every where on voyages of this nature. Vincent le Blanc afferts, that at the time when Thomas Auhert (or Hubert) went to Canada, viz. in 1508, the Spaniard, Velafco, went thither alfo, and that he failed up the river, which was afterwards called 67. Lawrence, for about 200 leagues, and then coafting along Labrador, came again to the river Nevada, which Cortereal had already difcovered before him. But fo little credit is to be given to the relations of Vincent le Blanc in general, that we likewife cannot place much dependance on this ftory of his with refpect: of the voyage of difcovery made by the Spaniard Velafco, and confequently cannot determine whether and how far it is founded in truth.
I. Alexander VI. Bilhop of Rome, agreeably to the prejudices of thofe times, in 1493, divided the difcovery of new lands between the Spanifh and the Portugueze, by the famous Llneade Demarcation, which in fact, began at 36 deg. to the weftward of Lifbon, or at 27 deg. 29 min. weftward from the firft meridian, viz. that which paffes through Ferro, or 332 deg. 31 min. eaftward from Ferro; but which, for the greater convenience of both powers, was altered in 1494, by the treaty of Tordef lias, in fuch a manner that Portugal might be enabled to conquer the kingdom of Fez, and Spain, on the other hand, might have it in her power to do the fame by Algiers, Bugey, Tunis,
and
and Telefin; and confequently the Linea de Demarcation was now to be drawn at 370 leagues to the weftward of the Cape Verd Illands. The Spaniards having moreover found their way weftward to the Molucca Iflands, by means of Magclhaen\ firft voyage round the world, and both parties extending their 180 degrees from the line of demarcation very unjuftly with a view to enlarge their dominions, attempts were made in 1524 to fettle thefe difputcs by Commiifaries at Badajoz and Ehas ;   but nothing was determined upon till the Emperor Charles V.  in 1529, happening to be in want of money, by the treaty of Saragoffa gave up his pretenfions to the Molucca Illands, in lieu of which he accepted of 350,000 ducats from King John III, of Portugal.   In the mean time the Spaniards continued to have a very difficult, and, on account of the ftorms ufually experienced there, likewife a dangerous route, to go through the Straits of Magellan into the South Sea and to Peru and Chili, as alfo to the Philippine Iflands; they therefore naturally wifhed to find a nearer way.   The attempts made by the Englifh and French to find a paffage by the north to China and Kathay, and into the South-Sea, made them fomewhat un-eafy, left it mould be difcovered and occupied by a foreign nation, and thus they themfelves remain excluded from it;  they, too, therefore, were defirous of trying to find a paffage from the South-Sea into the Atlantic.   But before this entcrprize could be brought to bear, the Emperor Charles V. in the year 1524, fent Eflevan Gomez from Co-runna, to find out a pafiage to the Mollucca Iflands by the North of America.   But finding it impoflible to do this, he brought fome Indians from thefe iflands along with him, and, in 1525, arrived at Toledo. Vide Miguel Ve7icga\ Hiftory of California, p. 1 24.   Cortez, the Conqueror of Mexico, had received intelligence of the attempt of the Portugueze Cnfpar Cortercal, to find a paffage, and of his having already difcovered a ftrait, and named it Anlan.   In confequence of this intelligence he 3 fent
fent out 3 fhips, well manned, under the command of Francifco Ulloa, for the purpofe of finding out this paffage. This event feems to have happened in 1537, though very little has been handed down to us concerning the rcfult of this expedition, as Cortex being willing to appropriate to himfelf the advantage which might arife from this difcovery, if made, took the command of the expedition upon himfelf, but returned without having done any thing.
After him, the Viceroy Mendoza, fent people out in 1540, as well by land, under the command of Francifco Vafquez Coronado, as alfo by fea, under that of Francifco Alargon, for the purpofe of finding out the ftraits known by the name of Anlan, and of exploring the coaft to 53 deg. N. lat. Alar con went no farther than to 36 deg. when his fhips being in bad condition, and his crew fickly, the coaft moreover beginning to trend to the northward (probably to the north-weft) in which cafe he muft have removed ftill farther from the land troops, who were even then at the diftance of 10 days march from him, he returned. Vide Antonio Herrera's Defcription de las Indlas, Ambcres, fol. 1728 ; which has alfo been publifhed in Latin at Amfterdam, in folio, 1622 ; as alfo in Io: de Laet, novus Or bis feu America- utriufque Deferiptio ; Antwerp et Lugd. Bat. ap. FJ-zevir. fol. 1633.
II. The news oiAftirfpns ill fuccefs having reached Spain, orders were given for another expedition. Juan Rodriguez de Cabrilht a Portuguese in the fervice of Spain, was appointed to command ir, in the year 1542, but he went no farther than to 44 deg. N. lat. where he found it very cold. The ficknefs of the crew, the want of provifions, and the circumftance of the fhip's being too weak to ftand the turbulence of the fea in thofe parts, obliged Cabrlllo to return, without proceeding as far as he had been inftrucfed to do. Howewer, they faw land in 42 deg. N. lat. on the coaft of North-Americi, which land they named Capo Mendocino, by way of compliment to the Viceroy ; and they found that from thence to the harbour de la Nadividad, the whole 3 . was
was one continued land, without the intervention of a flrait, or any-other feparation.
III. Befides what was done by thefe fhips, it has been advanced, that in the year 1568, a Spanifh nobleman of the name of Sahatierra, on his return home from the Weft-Indies, accidentally landed in Ireland, and related to the Lord Lieutenant, that Andreas Urdanietta had, about the year 1556, or 1557, actually found a paffage, and had fhewn him, eight years before his arrival in Ireland, a map of Mexico, on which he had laid down this paffage. Vrdanietta coming from the South-Sea to Germany, and afterwards fpeaking with the King of Portugal, had related to his Majefty'the difcovery he had made, who earneftly entreated him to obferve a profound filence with refpect to this arfair ; as, if the Englifh fhould get to the knowledge of it, they would become extremely troublefome to the King of Spain, as well as to himfelf, viz. the King of Portugal. This Urdanietta was, in fact, no more than a Monk, but had an extraordinarily extenfive knowledge of mathematics and navigation; in confequence of which he was employed on many voyages and expeditions, particularly on that undertaken to the Philippines in 1564, under the command of Andreas Miguel Lopez Legafpi.
IV. A. D. 1582, Francifco Gualle had orders from the King of Spain to examine if it was true that there exlfted a paffage to the eaft and north-eaft of Japan, by means of which the South-Sea was connected with that fituated to the north of Afia. His own report on this fub* jedt is as follows :—«" Shaping my courfe (viz. eaftward from Japan, " from 32 deg. N. lat.) to the E. N. E. about 300 leagues from Japan, «' I found a very hollow fea, with currents fetting from the north and 94 north-weft, till I had failed above 700 leagues, and was at the dif-** tance of 200 leagues only from the coaft of New Spain (or California);
M m m <* and
" and it was not till then that I loft the currents and the hollow fcav. a Whence I am firmly of opinion, and ftcdfaftly believe, that a chan-** nel-or ftrait is to be found between the continent of New Spain and f Tartary or Afia. During this whole run of 700 leagues we. faw a-" great number-of whales, and of thofe fifh which the Spaniards call " A tuns (Tunnies, Scomber Thynnus) a great number of which are ** caught near Gibraltar in Spain 5, as alfo Albacoras. (Scomber Hippos) 1 " and Bonitos (Scomber Pelamys) ; all which are fifli that ufually haunt. *' channels, ftraits, and currents of the fea*"; and all thefe circum--* ftances, taken together, induce me to believe,, that there muft be a *< channel or ftrait here -f."
Juan de Fuca was, ftricfly fpeaking, a Greek, from the ifland of CV-. p ha Ionia t his real name was Apojlohs Valeriana?.   He had'been up--wards of 40 years in- the fervice of Spain as manner-and pilot", and had alfo loft a confiderable fortune on board the Acapulco fhip, which, was taken from the Spaniards by Cavendijlxy which, however, he certainly over-rated in valuing it at 6o,oqo ducats (perhaps he meant, dollars).    At Venice he became acquainted with John Dowfafi,. an Englifh pilot, and an excellent mariner, to whom he related his adventures, and at the fime time informed him that he had difcovered a paffage.   He likewife offered to go to England, and,. La the fervice of Queen Elizabeth, to fhew this paffage, on condition of being indemnified for the lofs he had fuftained in the Acapulco fhip.   For he, Juan de Fuca, had been fent out by the Vice—
* For my part, I cannot fay that all thefe kind of fifh are fo particularly fond of channels and ftraits; for, in the courfe of my voyage round the world, 1 have more than once feen theie fpj oes of mackerel, and panicularly the Bonitos, in great quantities (nay, we even caught fome of them) in the middle of the Atlantic, at a great diftance from any land. Whales we faw in the high fouthern latitudes, and that chiefly near the ice, far from any land. However, ihe greater! quantity of them that I faw was in a ftrait which has a very ftrong current, viz. the Straits of k Maire.
| Vide de Cento Decad. 10. lib, 5. cap. 3. and Routtir dc Linfcbot%n, cap, 54.
roy
roy of Mexico, as pilot to 3 mips under the command of a Spaniard, to difcover the ft raits of Anlan; but the foldiers that were onboard, to the number of 100, having mutinied, and befides that, the Captain having conducted himfelf improperly, the whole voyage had been fruftrated. But in 1592, the Viceroy had fent him out, with a fmall caravel! and pinnace, to difcover thefe ftraits. Now, having feen, between 47 and 48 deg. N. lat. that the land trended to the north and north-eaft, with a large inlet, he had foiled into this inlet and continued failing in it for the fpace of 20 days. The land ftretched fometimes north-weftward, and fometimes north-eaftward, and even at other times, fouth-eaftward, and the fea grew much wider than it was at the entrance, and contained many iflands. He landed feveral times, faw feveral people clothed in the fkins of animals, and found the country very fertile, and abounding in gold, filver, and pearls. Being now already come into the North-Sea, and having alfo found the fea wide enough every where, and near 30 or 40 leagues wide in the mouth of the ftrait where he entered, he at length refolved to return, having, on the one hand, actually accom-plifhed the difcovery, but, on the other, being too weak to be able to defend himfelf againft the lavages, in cafe there had been a neceifity for fo doing. Accordingly he arrived at Acapulco in 1592, and was in hopes of receiving a confiderable reward from the Viceroy, for which purpofe he waited two years in vain. He therefore went to Spain, where the King received him as kindly as the Viceroy had done; but obtaining no reward after a long attendance, he fet out by ftealth for Italy, intending to go from thence to Cepbaloniay and pafs the remainder of his days in peace amongft his relations in his native country. This relation of Fucas in many inftances feems to be rather fabulous, which renders the remaining part of it very fufpicious *.
# Vide Lucas Fox's North-weft Fox, London, 4to. 163$, p. 163, 166; andl*urchas Pilgrim* Book IV. Part j.
M m m a VI. The
453 VOYAGES      A n r>
VI. The great atchicvements of Sir Francis Drake, who, in the year 1.57s, took poffeflion, in a harbour beyond California, of a land in ^8 deg. jo min. N. lat. and named it Hem Albion, as alfo the expeditions of Sir Fhomas Cavendjh, became in the higheft degree obnoxious and troublcfome to the Spaniards in the beginning of their trade to the Manillas ; add to this, that the report ft ill fubiifted respecting the ftraits of Anian, and encreafed the uneafinefs of the Spaniards,, as the whole coafl, from Cidhuacan (Culiacan) to Acapulco, was without fortifications or defence. On this account the Court commiflioned Seba/liatr Vizcaino,, a man of great courage and underftandiug, to explore the: northern coaft. Accordingly he failed from Acapulco, in the year 1 596,, with three fhips, to*the ifland of Mazatlan, in New Gallicia, and to Port San Sebajlian, where they took in water, and inveftigatcd the coaft for more than 100 leagues to the northward. In one place they loft 17 men, and were obliged, for want of provifions,, to return to New. Spain.
VII. After this fruitlcfs voyage, King Philip III. ordered his Viceroy, Don Gafpar de Zunlga,. Count of Monterey., that as the /hips going from the Philippines to New Spain, ufually came firft in light, of Capo Mendocino, fearch fhould be made in thofe parts for a good harbour, where the fhips might, in cafe of neceffity,. find fhelter, and' take in water and other refreshments & the high north winds raging fo, furioufly on that coaft, that fuch a place of refuge was very ncceilaryj. particularly for fhips that failed quite acrofs the South-Sea.   All pof-fible preparations were immediately made for this voyage. Sebajlian Vizcaino fet fail from Acapulco on the 5th of May, 1602, with two fhips, one frigate, and a fmall long-boat. Keeping along the coaft, they defcribed all the harbours, iflands, and rocks on it, and at the fame time fuffered greatly from the terrible north-wefl winds that prevailed there, At length, in about 36 deg. 44 min. N. lat. they found a very convenient'
venient and fecure harbour, affording excellent wood for the malts and yards of a fhip, as alfo very fine oaks for the planks and timber. They l-ikewife found pines, willows, and poplars ; together with beautiful lakes, fine pafturage, and excellent land for ploughing. Here were bears and wild oxen of two different fizes ; the one as large as a buffalo, and the other of the fize of a wolf, yet made, like a flag, with a long neck and large horns like a flag's horns,, and a tail of 3 feet long,, and 1,' foot broad.   Their hoofs were cloven, like thofe of our oxen.
Add to this, there were flags, rabbits, hares,, wild, cats, geefe, ducks,, pigeons, partridges, blackbirds, kites, and cranes in abundance of various forts of mufcles there was great plenty, as alfo of lobftcrs; and befides that,, there were feals and whales. The harbour was furrounded by Indian habitations (Rancherias) the inhabitants of which were a well-made, good-natured people. This harbour they named Monterey, in honour of the Viceroy.. They alfo faw Cape Mendocino in 41 deg. 30 min. N. lat. and as they had a great many fick people on board, they returned to the coaft of New Spain. The fmall boat faw-a promontory in lat. 43 deg.. which they named Capo Blanco. Eniign Martin Aguilar, who commanded the boat, and the pilot Florez, were now of opinion,, that haying made Cape Mendocino, as they had been, ordered to do, it would be neccflary to turn back and look for the coaft of New Spain; but their report, which is to be found in Torquemadas Monarquia Indiana, contains not a fingle word concerning an inlet, creek, or harbour ; much lefs is there a defcription given of any flrait.. Confequently the whole hiftory of Martin Agullars Jlraits, which is mentioned in fo many charts, is founded on a mere fable. In fine, having fuffered greatly from the fcurvy, End loft many of the crew,, they returned to Acapulco in the beginning of the year 1603.
VIII. Now we are coming to a very famous expedition which, if it was to be depended upon in every refpect, would leave us not the leaft.
doubt
45+ VOYAGES      a ft d
:doubt about the real exiftence of a paffage. In the months of April and June, A. D. 1708, in an Englifh monthly publication, intitled, Memoirs of the Curious, there was inferted an account of a voyage of difcovery made by a Spanifh Admiral, Bartholomew de Fonte, which he himfelf defcribes in a letter. By what means this letter came into the hands of the editor, is not mentioned. Some have pretended that it was genuine, while others have infilled on the contrary. Amongft the former is undoubtedly to be reckoned the author of a work, intitled, $tbe great probability of a North-wefl PafJ'age, deduced from O If r-vat ions on the Letter of Admiral de Fonte. London, ^to. 1761. The author was Theodore Swaine Drage, the fame perfon, who, when clerk of the {hip California, had publifhed an account of the voyage to Hudfon's Bay in the year 1748. We fhall not refer to any of his opponents, but only obferve, that it is difficult to conceive, fince the Spaniards have fo carefully explored the coaft of North-America in 1775 ; fince the immortal Cook has navigated this fame coaft ; fince the Ruffian adventurers have begun, more than ever to frequent and accurately investigate this coaft ; iince the Hudfon's Bay Company has, very lately only, caufed a journey to be made by land to the Frozen Sea 3 it is difficult, I fay, after all this, to conceive where we are to infert the Arcblpela-gus of San Lazaro, the Rio de los Reyes, the Lago Bella, the river Par-mentire, the Lago de Fuente, the Ejlrecbo de Rongiuello, the river Haro, the river Bernardo, the Lago Velafco, and the peninfula of Conlbaffet; all which, however, are found in the narrative or rather reverie of de Fonte. None of the Spanifh authors, who in other refpects fet fo high a value on the difcoveries of their countrymen, know any thing at all of this voyage, which appears to be the production of fome idle vilionary. Indeed this author has in general a very improbable way of writing 5 for he fpeaks of the fait water of the lakes, and of a flux and reflux in thefe lakes, and neverthelefs finds it ncceffary, in order to proceed far-3 thvr,
tficr, to have recourfc to boats, as he is obliged to go over fume waterfalls or cataracts ;  but, in the name of common fenfe and reafon, how is it poflible for the tide to get over a cataract*? and how docs he contrive to find fait water even beyond a cataract:.? But a man muft have a great deal of idle time on his hands, or elfe be very ftrongly infected with1 rhe Cacoethes fcribendi, to undertake a ferious refutation of fuch abfurdi and incongruous dreams.    Indeed they would make much fuch a figure in this work as an- extract of 20 pages from'the well-known Daniel de' Foe's New Voyage round the World, by a courfe never Jailed before, would,, when blended with the genuine materials for hiftory gathered from ftate-papers,  or with a collection of authentic records.
IX. The lift of the Spanifh voyages, which was made in 1775, by order of the Viceroy of Mexico, Don dntonlo Maria de Bukarelli r Orfia, for the purpofe of making difcoveries to the northward on the weftern coafl: of America in the South-Sea, has to.all appearance been* preceded by fome earlier voyages> of which the public has never had. the fmalleft intelligence, it being well known that Spain keeps all her American affairs and tranfactions as clofe and as fecret as poflible; For It appears, that the Spaniards have not only miflionaries, but alfo a harbour and a Commandant at  Monterey.    There are likewife regular packet-boats to this place; and they fry themfelves, that as far as this port, there is no occafion for any inftructions with refpect to the navigation, the route that leads thither having been failed in fo often fince' the eftablifhment of the colony, and the moft advantageous manner of. making this voyage being fo well known already.   The longitude of it is 17 deg. weftward from the harbour of San Bias, and the lat. 36 deg. 44 min. N.   The two fhips were commanded by Bruno Heceta,* and the command of the galley was given to Lieut. Don Juan de slyala, and Lieut. Don Juan Francifco de la Bodega.
In company with them failed the Monterey packet-boat, called the
San
San Carlos, commanded by Don Miguel Maurrique.   The author of this relation was Don Antonio Maurelle, fecond pilot on board of the galley Sonora.   But already before this voyage of difcovery, viz. in 1774, fome mips had been fent out to 55 deg. N. lat.   The frequent voyages of the Engliili to the South-Sea, under Byron, Wallis, and twice under Cook, had roufed the attention of the Spaniards ; as well as the many difcoveries of the Ruffians in the eaflern ocean, which were ■chiefly made between the years 1767 and 1773.   In confequence of this, they twice, if not three times, fent out fhips from Callao to O-Tabeite, and in 1 774 to the northward along the weftern coafl of North-America, .as far as to 55 deg. N. lat. and now again in 1775, in which year the fhips fet fail in company with the packet-boat on the 16th of March.   The Commander of the Don Carlos having betrayed evident marks of infinity, was fet on more, and the command of the packet-boat was entrufled to Don Juan dAyala, and Don Juan Francifco de la Bodega y 'Quadra remained fole Commander on board the Sonora. On their very firft outlet they met with ftrong currents.    On their paffage they faw man of war birds (Pelecanus Aquilus) Gannets (Pelecanus Baifanus)   and Tropic-Birds  (Phaeton /Ethereus)   as alfo Boobies (Bobos, Sterna Stollda). They had contrary winds and currents to ft rive againft.   They did not, however, run into Monterey, but refolved rather to fail to 43 deg. N. lat. and there to repair their fhips, and to take in frefli water.    In their way thither they faw a, very extraordinary fpecies of rock-weed.   The ftalk by which the plant was faftened to the rock, was a long tube, with the upper part fliaped like an orange, from the top of which fhot forth great broad leaves, whence they called it Cabeza de Naranja, or the orange head.   Immediately after, they faw a fpecies of rock-weed with long leaves like ribbands, which is ufually called Zacute del Mare.   They fiw alfo feals, ducks, and j&fh.   The lat. was 38 deg. 14 mm.   On the 8th of June they faw
3 thc
the coaft pretty diftinelly, and the current very ftrong to the fouth. On the 9th they ran into a harbour in 41 deg. 7 min. which they named de la Trinidad, after the Feaft of the Holy Trinity. The inhabitants pretty much refemble thofe whom Cook difcovered about nine degrees farther to the northward. Their arrows were armed with points of flint, copper, or iron, which latter was perhaps obtained by barter either from the Englifti in Hudfon's Bay, or from the Ruffians. The country thereabouts is fertile, and capable of great improvement. Continuing their courfe, they came into the vicinity of the ifland de Dolores, very near the land, and anchored there, purpofing to take in water ; but by this ftep they loft their boat and the beft of their people, who were killed by the favages. Some of thefe who, with perfidious diflimulation, were coming to invite them on fhore, they like-wife (hot in return; after which they went firther on towards the north. On the 17th of Auguft they fiw land again in N. lat. 57 deg. 2 min. Here they fuv a mountain, to which they gave the name of St. Hyaclntbo, and the promontory they called Cabo del Enganno. The top of the mountain was covered with fnow, and the remaining part with wood, as was the country near the harbour de la Trinidad. At length they entered the port of Guadaluppe, in 57 deg. 1: min. and 34 deg. 12 min. to the weft of San Bias. However, they foon got under fiil again, and, on the 18th, came to an anchor in the harbour of Remedlos, in 57 deg. 18 min. N. lat. and 34 deg. 12 min. to the weft of San Bias. Here they erected a crofs, and took poffeflion of this country—a country which the Ruffians had difcovered and frequented long before. They got but one maft, fome wood, and a little water, and then proceeded to the fouthward. In 5^ deg, 17 min. they faw the harbour of Bukarelli, and took in wood and water. By this time they had many of their people ill of the fcurvy; on which account they were oMiged to haften to Monterey.   In 38 deg.
N n n 18 min,
13 min. they entered a harbour, which they called de la Bodega, after the Lieutenant of that name ; here they loft their boat by a high tide, and afterwards went to Monterey. At this time they were almoft all of them afflicted with the fcurvy. Being recovered, and having refreshed themfelves, they fet fail again, and on the 16th of November came again to the harbour of San Bias.
The Spaniards have in former times undertaken very confiderable voyages of difcovery but, in the laft century, fuperftition, indolence, and the decline of their manufactures and trade, together with a falfe fyftem of politics and other caufes, threw them into a kind of lethargy, out of which, however, they begin to awake, under the prefent Government.
C   H   A   P. V.
Of the Difcoveries and Voyages made by the Portuguefe /;; the North.
UNDER the fpirited and patriotic direction of the Infant Don Henry, of glorious memory, the Portuguefe were become the difcoverers of a great many different countries. The fcience of Geography, and the art of Navigation, were more indebted in the 15th century to this nation than to any other. The renowned name of Vafco Gama, fired the men and youth of Portugal to emulation and glorious exploits ; and heroes, without number, were feen treading in the fteps of their predeceffors. Immenfe riches refulting from the commerce with the Indies, were continually navigated up the Tagus, The advantages refulting from this wealthy commerce brought with 3 them
them in their train luxury, pride, and all the vices incident to prof-perity, which ferve to relax the finews of induftry, virtue, and true religion, and thereby gradually to undermine the well-being of the flate. The lofs of its ancient Royal Family, together with the circumftance of the crown having patfed into the hands of Philip II. of Spain ; the conqueffs made by the Dutch in India and Braftl, and the daily-increafing opprcflion on freedom of thought, by the growing power of the Monks and «f the Inquifition, chiefly contributed to degrade this nation, once fo active and renowned for noble enterprizes, to a flate of ignoble indolence and fordid infenfibility. For fome time, indeed, they refumed their wonted fpirit, in confequence of the revolution and of the accefllon of the family of Braganza to the throne. But the new fource of riches opened in the gold and diamond mines of Brafil, ferved only ftill more to degrade this nation, which was already quite in its wane. Her commerce with the Englifh drained her of her riches, and in lieu thereof furnifhed her with the fruits of their induftry; agriculture, the liberal arts, trade, tactics, and navigation, were neglected to fuch a degree, that of each of them nothing remained, but a mere fhadow. Thefe evils, it is true, Tombal endeavoured to remedy; but he was too odious, his meafures too cruel and unjuft, and the nation fallen too low for it to be poflible for him to revive her fpirit. This land, however favoured by nature, is ftill too deeply enveloped in the darknefs of fuperftition. Its lazy, greedy, and too-numerous Monks are too much difpofed to fuck the fat and very marrow out of it. The Government is too little acquainted with the true principles of political ceconomy, and is not fol-licitous enough to render its indolent citizens active and inrjuftrious-Arts and fciences, trade and agriculture, the true pillars of every ftate, are funk too low, a circumftance which increafes daily the weaknefs and feeblenefs of the ftate.   She is confequently in great
N n n 2 danger
danger of being fwallowed up the firft opportunity that may offer by her neighbour, Spain, who daily increafes in power and greatnefs.
But at the period when Portugal was ftill in her glory, while her fons were ftill animated with the fpirit of enterprise and action, and when the Government attended to every object of importance that prefented itfelf; at this time Portugal looked upon all the difcoveries made by Spain in the new world, as upon fo many encroachments made on her own rights and property, maugre the donation made by an ufurping Pope, and of the compromife for half the world, which fhe had reluctantly agreed to.   It was a fimtlar kind of jealoufy that infpircd Cajpar de Cortereal, a man of birth and family, with the refolution of difcovering new countries, and a new route to India,   fie fet fail from Lifbon in 1500, or, as others affirm, in 1501.   In the courfe of his navigation he arrived at Newfoundland in a bay, which he thence named Conception Bay, an appellation it ftill retains.   He explored the whole eaflern coaft of the ifland, and went at length to the mouth of the great river of Canada.   After this, he difcovered a land, which he at firft named Terra Verde, but which, in remembrance of the difcoverer, was afterwards called Terra de Cortereal.   That part of it which, being on this fide of the 50th deg. of N. lat. he thought was flill fit for tillage and cultivation, he named Terra de Labrador, a tract which SebajlianMunjler, in his Cofmography, has called Terra Agrlcolce.   It is highly probable that Cortereal, being come to Buttons Iflands and Cape Cbidieyy did, bona fde, fuppofe this to be the ftrait tfrat leads into the Indian Sea. It is likewife faid, that this flrait obtained at that time from Cortereal, the name of Anian, after two brothers of that name. After making this important difcovery, Cortereal haftened to communicate the interefting news of it to his native country ; and he had fcarcely delivered his intelligence before he haftened back again to vifit the coaft of Labrador, and to go to India through the ftraits of Anian, which he imagined he had juft difcovered.    But nothing farther was ever
heard
heard of him; fo that he muft either have been murdered by the Ejki-maux favages, or have perifhcd in the ice. Upon this, his brother; Michael de Cortereal, undertook the fame voyage with two ihips, and probably met with the lame fate as his brother. No intelligence having been heard of cither of the two brothers, their elded brother, Joao Vafque-z de Cortereal, who was Chamberlain to the King, refolved to undertake the fame voyage, in hopes of finding his brothers j but the King would not by any means allow him to expofe himfelf to fo imminent a danger.
II. Amongft the nations who carried on a confiderable fifhery off the banks of Newfoundland, we find at a very early period the Bifcay-ners, Spaniards, and Portuguefe; for fo early as the year 1578, Capt. Anthony Farkhurjl counted 50 Portuguefe fhips off the coaft of Newfoundland, which all together carried at leaft 3000 tuns burthen. Here we muft obferve that fo confiderable a fifhery never fprings up all at once, but is eftablifhed by degrees only; confequently it muft have been carried on a good while before it could have rifen to the height at which it then was. Now the French having fifhed on this coaft fb fir back as in the year 1504, it is very probable that the Portuguefe, either at the fame period, or at leaft not long after, muft have fifhed there al fb. This evidently fhews the great extent of the navigation, as well as the active and induftrious difpofition of the Portuguefe at that time, fmce they carried on the fifhery on the banks and coaft of Newfoundland with fuch fpirit as to employ upwards of 50 fail on this bufinefs, at a time when as yet there were but very few Englifh fhips that followed the fifhery.
III. In Lucas Fox's Book, called The North-ivejl Fox, London, 4to. J^35» PaSe 162 we find an affidavit made by one Thomas Cowles, an Englifh failor, of Badmlnjler, in Somerfetfilre. This affidavit was made in the year 1579, in an age when an oath was ftill univerlally confidered
* This relation is taken by Fox, from Purchase Pilgrim,   Part III. page 849.   E. T,
as a moft ferious and religious act. The contents of it are, that Cowles being fix years before (confequently in 1573) at Lifhon, in Portugal, had heard one Martin Cbacke, or Cbaque, a Portuguefe mariner, read a book, which he, Martin Cbacke, had written and publifhed in the Portuguefe language 6 years before (viz. in 1567). In this book he affirmed, that 12 years before (viz. in 1555) he had fet fail from India for Portugal, in a fmall veffel of about 80 tuns, accompanied by four very large fhips of great burthen ; but was feparated from the other four in a ftorm with a wefterly wind. He had paffed by many iflands, and at length failed through a gulph near Newfoundland, according to his reckoning in 59 deg. N. lat. and after having mot the fiid gulph, he had feen no more land till he fell in with the north-weft part of Ireland, from whence he had lliaped his courfe for Lifbon, where he arrived a month or five weeks fooncr than the other four fhips. Were this relation of fuch a nature as to be in any wife depended upon, it would be a ftrong proof of a paffage having been actually difcovered. But the fingle unfupported teftimony of a failor, who had heard the defcription of a voyage like this read in a book, which perhaps was only a romance, carries not the leaft weight with it; and confequently it would be as abfurd to place any dependence on it, as it would be, after having read M, Bafcbings Extract: from De Foe's Romance, intitled, 11 A New Voyage round the World, by a courfe never failed before," to conclude, that fuch a voyage had been actually undertaken in the years 1713 and 1715, and that a rich gold country, together with a pearl ifland, fuch as are there defcribed, had been really and bona fide difcovered. Befides, we are fure at prefent, in confequence of Hudfon's Bay having been fo often explored, that we need not feek any more for a paffage in thofe parts. The voyages of the Spaniards, Englifh, and Ruffians, along the weftern coaft of America* have alfo at prefent rendered it pretty probable that no paffage is to
be
be expected there ; and that the Imaginary flrait of Anjoy, or Anian, can only exitt in the weak brains of idle vifionarics, fuppofing by this name to be meant a ftrait, leading from the South-Sea into Hudfon's Bay. For in other refpects the ftrait between Afia and America, v/hich I have named Beerings, and others, Cook's, and others again, Defchneffs Straits, might likewife juft as well be called the Straits of Anian.
IV. Thejefuit de Angelis, a native of Portugal, went in the years 1620 and 1621, to the coaft of Matfmai, as did alfo Father Jacob Caravaiho. Both of them relate, th it on the ifland of Efo, or Tedfo, in the vicinity of the town of Matfnai, there are very rich filver mines, in which there are about 50,000 Japkhefe at work, fome of them voluntarily and by their own choice, but the others are criminals condemned by the laws to labour, among whom there were at that time many Chriftians; and in a river that runs clofe by the town of Matfmai, or Matfumai, there is collected a great quantity of gold-duft. The inhabitants of the eaflern parts bring to market the fkins of a fifli (the fea-otter) which they buy from fame of the neighbouring iflands, which are three in number. The animal to which thefe fkins appertain is called a raccon, and a fkin cofls about 20 crowns. Every inhabitant of Matfmai is his own mafter; they are a flrong, well-made, good-natured people; they wear their beards long, and large ear-rings, either of filver or filk. Their weapons conlifl of bows and arrows (which latter are poifoned) of fpears, and of fhort fwords or daggers. They wear Cuiraffes, compofed of fmall wooden boards. In Matfumai they get wine in exchange for furs, birds feathers, and different kinds of fifties; they alfo barter for rice, together with filk, cotton, and linen clothes. They worfhip the fun, the moon, and the Gods of the mountains and feas; and have at the beft but a very imperfect idea of a future ftate ; they, however, are a very humane, fociable, and good fort of people. Thefe few particulars are all that is known of the nature of the land of Ffo and Matfumai.
V. In
464 YOYAGES and
V. In a map of India, publifhed for the firft time at Lifbon, in 1649, by Peter Texeira, Cofmographer to the King of Portugal 5 and which, as well as many other of his works, proves him to be a very fkilful and accurate geographer; we find firft, a group of iflands laid down at 10 or 12 degrees to the north-eaft of Japan, in 44 and 45 deg, N. lat. and then a coaft ftrctches from weft to eaft, with the following words annexed: " Land of Joao da Gama, the Indian, feen by him in failing from China to New Spain *. In what year this voyage happened is not known. Neither is it poflible to determine with any certainty, who this Joao da Gama was. He feems, however, to have been a fea-faring man, born in India, but of Portuguefe extraction. This land, laid down by Tcxeira, is probably no other than the ifle of Urup, or the ifland Samiiflir, or ScbimuJJyr, the latter of which is about 130 werfts, i. e. 76 geographical miles in length. It is true, Tcxeira has laid down the coaft, ftretching out in one continued line quite to the ftraits of Anian (Eftreito de Anian) which lie between Afia and America ; but one may plainly perceive from this very draught, that he had no exact information with refpect to the continuation of the Afiatic coaft j for, according to him, the ftraits of Anian are in 50 deg. N. lat. which is certainly very far from being the cafe.
VI. Laftly, I find in Mr. Bunches Confiderations Geographiques et Phyfiques, Paris ^.to. 1753, page 138, an account which fays, that in 1701, afailor from Havre de Grace had feen, 28 years before, at Oporto, in Portugal, a fhip called io Padre eterno, commanded by Capt. David Melguer, who died juft at that time, and at whofe funeral he was prefent.   This Melgner is faid to have left Japan with his fhip Lo
* Terra a. uio Do Joao eta Gama Indo, da China per a Nova tfpaba.
4 Padre
Padre eterno> on the 16th of March, 1660, and to have failed along the coaft of Tartary, till he came to the 84th deg. of N. lat. and then to have lliaped his courfe between Spitzbergen and Old Greenland, and fo failing to the weft of Scotland and Ireland, to have at length entered the harbour of Oporto. This is the moft material part of this relation, which, however, deferves no credit; for, ever Iince the years 1637 and 1638, the Portugufe and Spaniards have been abfolutely banifhed from Japan, and that for ever. How then was it poflible for a Portuguefe fhip, 22 years after that period, to fail from Japan, a place where this nation was no longer admitted nor fuffered ? This confideration alone is fufficient to prove, that the whole account is a mere rumour, and a ftory trumped up by fome failors, devoid even of the leaft fhadow of probability arifing from internal evidence,
At prefent we have no farther accounts concerning the navigations of the Portuguefe to the North. They content themfelves with navigating to their poffeftions in the Brafils, to the coaft of Africa, the Azores, the Cape Verd Iflands, and Madeira. It is but feldom that any of their mips go to Goa, Macao, and Timor. The prefent wretched ftate of the whole of their trade and navigation, together with the profound ignorance in which they are plunged, make it very difficult for them to purfue thefe navigations •> confequently no more voyages to the north are to be expected from this nation, fince it cannot reap any benefit from them.
O 0 0 CHAP. VI.
chap, vi.
Of the Difcoveries and Voyages of the Danes in the North.
The defcendents of the ancient Normans, who had been ufed to crofs the moft diftant feas, with an intrepidity which has never yet been furpaffed, not even in the prefent improved ftate of navigation ; thefe people, whofe fir-extending fhores are for the grcateft part furrounded by the fea, and part of them indeed gain their whole fub-liftence out of the fea by fifhing, muft undoubtedly underftand more of navigation, and be more habituated to the coldnefs of the climate than any other nation. Neither can it be denied that, to this very day, the Norwegians and Danes are excellent failors. Towards the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century, the chief of their navigation confided in their voyages to Iceland and Greenland. But even thofe to Greenland were at length entirely neglected.
I. In the year 1564, in the convent of Helgafjcel, in Iceland, the Governor of the iiland having confifcated all the revenues of the convent for the ufe of the King, there was found a blind Monk, who lived there in indigence and mifery. This man the Governor fent for, and learned from him, that in his younger years he had been thrown into a convent by his parents, and that in the 30th year of his age, the Bifhop of Greenland had taken him along with him to Drontheim in Norway, to the Archbifhop : but, on their return, the Bifhop had left him in this convent of Helgafjcel, in Iceland : all this paffed in 1546. He next gives a defcription of Greenland, and of the convent of St. Thomas, in which he had formerly lived, which in every point is like that given by the Zenos, except that he had added fome more 3 fables
\
fables to it. And, as from what he told them, it was concluded that it was an eafy matter to fail to China through the frozen fea, the Governor gave orders for one of the King's fhips that had wintered in Iceland, to be provided with every necellary, and fent to Greenland. Accordingly they fet fail on the 3iff of March, 1564, and made Greenland on the 20th of April, but were prevented from landing by the ice, neither could they come to an anchor on account of the great depth of the fea. They went amore therefore in the boat, clambering over the ice as well as they could. Near the fhore they found a dead Greenlander in his little boat. Soon after their landing they were attacked by a white bear, which, however, they got the better of, and killed. A ftorm ariiing in the mean time, they went on board the fhip again, and failed eaftward from Iceland to the northward, with the purpofe of going through the White Sea into the fea of Tartary, and fo on to Kathay j but they were prevented by the ice from proceeding firther, and therefore returned to Iceland on the it6th of June. This relation is to be found in Dithmar Blefken's Jjlandia, five popular-urn, et mlrabl-Hum qua in ea Infula rcperluntur, accuratlor Defcriptio. Lugd. Bat. 8vo. 1607.
II. Chriftian IV. King of Denmark, too, was defirous of reviving the knowledge of Old Greenland, which had made part of the dominions of his anceftors, and with this view gave orders for a voyage of difcovery to be made to that country. For this purpofe he fent for fome fkilful pilots from England and Scotland, viz. John Cunningham, James Hall, and John Knight. He likewife fitted out three fhips, and appointed as Admiral, to command the expedition, Gotfke Lin den au, a Danifh nobleman, who, for his information, took with him the ancient Icelandic accounts of Greenland, together with the journal of David von Nelle's Voyage to Greenland, made by order of King Frederick II. On the 2d of May, 1605, they ftretched out of the found to fea.   As they came near the ice, Hall lliaped his courfe fouth-weft;
O 0 0 2 Gotfke
Gotfke Lindenau, on the other hand, directed his north-eaft, and arrived on the eaftern coaft of Greenland. The natives came on board his fhip. They drank train-oil, and were very eager after iron and fteel. Lhidenau, after flaying here three days, detained two of them forcibly oh board his fhip, who, however, made a flout reiiftance, while, to procure them their liberty, the other favages mot off their arrows, and, threw ftones at the Europeans legs, but were foon difperfed by the firing off of a gun. Gotfke Lindenau then haftened to Copenhagen, where he arrived fafe by himfelf.
James Hall went to the weftern coaft of Greenland, where he found a great many harbours, very fine land, and good pafturage. The inhabitants here were more fhy. They found many places flaming with burning brimftone; they likewife found a filver ore in the form of a black powder (Jllvcr malm) every hundred weight of which yielded at Copenhagen 26 ounces of filver.   Cape Farewell, in 59 deg. 50 min.
N. lat, he named Cbrijllanus, after the King his mafter. Five leagues farther on, the needle varied 12 deg. 15 min. to the weft. A flrong current drove him northward againft the ice on the American coafl ; but on the coaft of Greenland the current fets to the fouth. In exchange for iron, nails, knives, &c, he got feal-fkins, fea unicorns horns (narhwal) fea-horfe teeth, and whale-bone. Having ftaid fome time in a harbour in 66 deg. 33 min. and traded with the inhabitants, they attacked him once on a fudden with ftones and arrows; but, by firing a falcon amongft them, they were quickly difperfed. He was again attacked twice in the fame manner. He then went into a harbour near Mount Cunningham, which he named Denmark's Haven. On this fpot there were about 300 of the natives. The deep creeks in this part of the fea abound with falmons, herrings, whales, and feals. They faw there ravens, crows, pheafants, partridges (i. e. ptarmigans) gulls, and other kinds of fowl.   There were black foxes in this country, and they faw
4 the
the dune of ftaffS, as alfo the horns of thefe animals. He then failed farther on to 69 deg. The lavages having behaved in a very hoftile manner, he feized three of them, and found himfelf under the necef-fity of killing others. His captives he treated with great kindnefs, and took them to the King. In purfuance of exprefs orders from the Stadtholder of Denmark, he put on fhore two malefactors, condemned to die, having previoufly furnifhed them with provifions and other neceffaries. On the 15th of July he was in 57 deg. and the next day, amongfl fome loofe ice, he met with a large flioal of whales; the current fet to theN. W. On the ifl of Augufl, he fell in with an incredible quantity of herrings, which led him to fuppofe, that he was in the vicinity of the Orkneys. On the 10th he came to an anchor in Heljingor Road.
III. The good fuccefs of this voyage encouraged the King to enter upon a fecond enterprize of this kind, which was undertaken in 1606, in which year, on the 27th of May, five fhips fet fail from Copenhagen, under the command of Gotfke Lindenau and James Hall. On the 4th of Augufl they reached Greenland with four fhips, the fifth having been feparated from them in a ftorm. They failed along the coaft, entered the feveral harbours, and faw fome reindeer -t but the favages treated them in a very hoftile manner, though at firft they had began to trade with them for iron. At their departure the Danes took five favages prifoners, one of whom leaped overboard, and was drowned. On their way home they found the fhip again that had been feparated from them, and at length on the 5th of October, arrived in Copenhagen.
IV. Though nothing new had been difcovered by this voyage, and no advantage had accrued from it, yet the King refolved once more to fend out two fhips, which he did in 1607, under the command of a Holfteiner, by name Karfien Rlchardt. One of thefe veffels was commanded by James Hall. They left the Sound on the 13th of May, and got fight of Greenland on the 8th of June.   Endeavouring to force
their
their way to the land through the great quantity of ice, by which it was furrounded, the mips were feparated. Rlcbardr, after making feveral fruitlefs attempts, was obliged to return home, without having done any thing ; and while Hall was in like manner uiing his bell endeavours to get through the ice, the Danifh crew, under his command, mutinying, forced him to tack about, and make the beft of his way to Iceland.   Confequently this expedition proved abortive.
V. It being known that in the year 1610, Henry Hudfm had difcovered a new ftrait, and beyond it a great fea, Chriftian iV. King of Denmark, imagined, that in this fea there might poflibly be a palfage to the Eail-Indies, which would be productive of great advantages ; he therefore ordered two fhips to be fitted out in 1619, and gave the command of them to Jens Munch. Munck failed from the Sound on the 16th of May, in the fame year, and on the 20th of June, faw Cape Farewell. He paffed through Hudfon's Straits, which he named after his King, Fretum Cbrl/llanl, or Chriftian's Straits. On an ifland in the firfl flrait they found deer (viz. reindeer) one of which they lliot, and thence named the place Deer's Ijland; it is in 61 deg. 20 min. N. lat. The fea near America (viz. the coafl of Labrador) he called Marc Novum (or the New Sea) and to that next to Greenland (if indeed it be Greenland) he gave the name of Mare Chrljlianum (or Chriftian's Sea). In 63 deg. 20 min. he met with fo much ice, that it was abfolutely impoffible for him to proceed any farther j this made him fland over ' to the fouthward, when he put into Cburcblll's River. Here on more he faw a ftone with an image upon it, which had claws and horns. They alfo found fome dogs that wore muzzles, and the fire-places and remains of the huts of favages. They ate white bear's flefli. hares, 2nd partridges, and caught four black foxes, and fome fables. Their beer, wine, and brandy, were frozen, and burft the cafks. The ice was from 300 to 360 feet thick. The greateft part of them fell fick of the fcurvy, which was followed by a flux.   On the 4th of June
Munck
Munck fell ill himfelf, and lay four days without either eating or drinking, for their provifions were nearly exhauffed. Notwithftanding this he recovered, and, crawling out of his hut, out of 64 perfons, of which his crew at firfl confifted, found but two alive.   Thefe two were overjoyed to fee their Captain, and they all three endeavoured to comfort each other, feeking for food amongfl the fnow.   They dug up fome roots, which they ate, and which proved a powerful reflo-rative to them.    On the 18th, the waters being open, they began to fifh for fiilmons and trouts, and foon after entirely recovered their healths.   At length they left the larger fhip in the river, which he named Mttncts Harbour, and fet fail with the fmaller veffel. They now loft their boat, and the ice broke their rudder, which they repaired with great difficulty ; however, when the ice broke up, they found their boat igain, which they had loft 10 days before.   After weathering a very dangerous ftorm, which had broke their maft, and had nearly carried away their fail, they at length landed fafe in a harbour in Norway, and, a few days after, arrived at Copenhagen, where the King, who had long given them up for loft, received them with great aftonifh-ment.   This Munck was afterwards employed by the King in the years 1624,  1625, and 1627, on the northern fea, and on the Elbe, and died on the 3d of June, 1628, in the courfe of a naval expedition. The King had in the year 1620 eftablifhed a new Greenland Company, which was to have fent out two fhips every year on the whale-fifhery; but this Company was diffolved again in 1624, on account of their being fo poor, that they could not follow the whale-fifhery any longer ; and the King gave leave to any Danifh burgher whatever, to go to Greenland.
VI. In 1636 the King again eftabli(lied a new Greenland Company, which accordingly fent out the firft fhips on the 6th of April; but, agreeably to the flupid prejudices of thofe times, did not pay the leaft attention to the killing of feals, or the cod-falmon-and whale-fifheries,
nor
nor to any other ufeful production of the country ; but confined their fearch to gold and filver only. A great quantity of glittering fmd was brought over from Greenland, which, however, proved to be mere rubbifh. By this incident the proprietors were quite diiheartened, and the Company diffolved itfelf.
VII. In the month of November, 1773, a letter from M. de la Lande, was inferred in the Journal des Savans, fetting forth, that on the iff of June, 1769, a Danifh King's fhip, called the Northern Crown, and commanded by the Baron von Uhlefeld, had fet fail from Bornholm, in Norway (where, by the bye, there is no fuch place as Bornholm) furniflied with provifions for 18 months, and provided with aftronomers, draughtfmen, and every neceffary. This fhip, it feems, had found in Hudfon's Bay, a paffage into the American fea, above California. In the If raits they found a great number of buffaloes and wild hearts, and, after having fuffered great hardfhips, they arrived on the 1 ith of February, 1773, through the ftraits of Le Ma/re, near the Ifle of Rofs in Ireland, and went into Bremen, becaufe of the Sound being frozen, and at length, after an abfence of 3 years, 7 months, and 11 days, arrived at Copenhagen.
It is eafy to perceive, that the whole of the preceding relation is the invention of fome genius of more lcifure than veracity, who, knowing the world to be extremely folicitous concerning the refult of Capt. Cook's expedition, has endeavoured by this fictitious voyage, to divert their attention and expectations from it. Indeed the particular aim of the author feems to have been, by pre-occupying the attention of the public, to make it indifferent with regard to Cook's difcoveries, and take from the great merit of this immortal man : but the name of
Cook
Cook will never fall into oblivion, though ten fuch fictitious voyages as thefe were brought in oppofition to him. Perhaps, too, a fpirit of animofity and refentment, excited by the decifive iteps which England took, in 1771, againft Spain, on account of the Falkland's Illands, and againft Denmark on account of the Queen Caroline Matilda, contributed not a little to the invention of this curious romance. In thefe days it would not be of the leaft advantage to Denmark, either to make new difcoveries to the north, or to find a paffage to the Indies; confequently there is no likelihood that they fhould be at any expence to carry into execution apian from which fhe could reap fo little benefit.
CHAP. VIE
Of the Difcoveries and Voyages of the Ruffians in the North*
AGREAT part of the country, at prefent called Ruflia, was Inhabited towards the north-eaft and north, from the moft remote ages, by a people of Finnifo origin, perhaps defcended from the ancient Scythians. Towards the north-wefl were tribes, confilting of a mixture of Sauromates and Grecian colonifls, and from them are defcended the modern Lithuanians, Lettovians, Livonians, and Cour~ landers-, as were alfo the ancient Prujjians. The whole fouthern part of Ruflia, even to the Crimea, was for fome time inhabited by Goths ; and between the Wolga, the Don, and Mount Caucafus, dwelled a nation defcended from the Medes, called Sauromates, i. e. the Nor-
P p p them
them Medes.   In procefs of time, when nations of barbarians iifued one after the other, in fwarms, from the eaft, and fome of the different tribes of Goths had, fince the middle of the third century, penetrated into the weftern regions of the Roman empire; part of the Sauromates found themfelves   under the neceftity of retiring farther to the northward and weftward.   Even at that early period they had the fame political conltitution which we ftill fee take place amongft them.    Each individual of the nation was either matter or flave.   Hence thofe who were of diftinction among them, called themfelves tribes, Slaw,  and Slawne, or Noblemen-y whence again all fuch as were either renowned  for,   or even capable only of performing great atchievements, were in procefs of time in like manner called Slawne.   Under this denomination it was that they became known to the Europeans, who were not till very lately acquainted with the particular tribes of thofe nations.   Thefe tribes had their appellation frequently from fome river, town, or region.   So the Polabes were named after the Laba, or Elbe.   The Pomeranians dwelled po mora, or near the fea.   The Havcllanians, near the river Havel; the Mar oar o, or Moravians, or Marahani, on the banks of the river Moraiva.  The Warnabi had once their refidence near the Warnow, and the Polotzani on the banks of the Polota.   In the mountains fChre-bet) lived the Chrobates; the Tollenjians were named after the river To/~ lenfea in Pomeraniaciterior, which empties itfelf into thePeene, nearDm-min.   From Sidin, or Sedin, the Stettin of the moderns, one tribe was named Sidinians, another from Brizen (Treunbrizen) Brizanians; from Kudin, a town fubfifting in thofe early times, the KiJJinians took their name, the traces of whom are ftill to be found in a village near Roftock, called Ketfen,or Kijfen: and laftly, the Lutitzians were named after Loitz, on the river Peine.   But there are alfo fome names of thefe tribes which are original > as for example, the Sorbs, or Serbs, the T/ehechs, or
Bohemians,
Bohemians, the Lacbs, Lecbs, or Polatzes, i. e. the Poles ; and from the more modern Waregian RoJJi, the Ruffians, about the year 862, had their name. The ftorm which, in the train of Attila, from the year 435 to 456, fpread terror and devaluation over the earth, was but ftiort and tranfient. In the mean time came the Turkifh tribes, which till then had dwelled in Great Turky (i. e. Little Bukharia) and Turki/lan (where is ftill fublifting on the banks of the Taras the town of Turkiftan) and eftabliflied new empires. The empire of the Wlagi, or Wolocbi, or Wologars, or Wolgars, or Bulgarians, is in like manner called Great Bulgaria; it is fituated beyond the Wolga, on the banks of the Kama, Bielaia, and Samara; the empire of Borkah or Ardu of the Afconian Turks extended on this fide of the Wolga from Uwleck, near Saratof, quite to Mount Caucafus. One part of thefe were called Kumani, or Komanl, from the river Kama, and their town was named Kumager *. Farther on refided the Mad/cblars, Mafcbarts, Pafcatirs, or Bafcbklrs, a tribe of Finnifh origin, near the mountains of Ufal and the Bielaia. Soon after this came more Turkifh tribes, viz. the Cbazars, the Petfjenegs, the Uzians, and the Polowzlans, and even the Bulgarians advanced into the fouthern part of Ruflia,
and into Moldavia, Beffarabia, and Crimea.-In the mean time
Ruflia was governed by its Great Dukes, who, together with their Nobleffe, were ofAthc Waregian race. The divifion of the empire into a number of fmall principalities, the pretenfions made by the leffer Princes to the fovereignty, together with the exceffive power and wealth of the clergy, all contributed to weaken it; for the petty Princes were feldom entirely fatisfied with their Great-Dukes, whence arofe trifling conteftations and deftrucfive civil wars.   But in the 13th century, on
* The ruins which at prefent g© under the name of the ruing of Madfcbiar, appear to be rather the remains of this town of Kumager on the banks of the Kama and Bymara. The word Kumakir fignifies, in the Turkifh language, the plain of Kama. In facl, there is round this very fpot an extenfive plain, and by this word Kumager, we muft underitand the town of the plain of Kuma.
j** **>y> Shahr Kumakir.
P p p % the
the banks of the rivers Onon and Kerlon, there ftarted up a new empire, which gave celebrity to the before-unknown nation of Mongols (or Moguls) under Temudfchln, who in 1201, foon after his victories over the TalJJ'u, and over the Nalmans and Mekrltts, or Mcrkltts, and feveral inroads made into the Land of Tangut,had the name of'Zinghis Kan given him by all the hordes fubject. to his command. The victories of this great monarch were very rapid and extenfive. He gave his fons the command of fome Mogul tribes, together with fome of the conquered nations and they went forth to fubdue the nations of Alia to the power of Zinghis Khan. Tufchl Khan, one of his fons, was, in the year 1211, to attack the inhabitants of Gete * and Kaptfchak, that is, of the fouthern part of RuiTia, from the Dniepr to the E/nba, or Yemba, and all the nations that lived to the weftward. The Romanians, the Wlachs, the Bulgarians, and Hungarians, or Madfchiars, were conquered by Tufchi. His fon, Batu Khan, attacked the Ruffians and Polowzians, and defeated them in a great battle near the river Kalka, which runs into the fea of Azof near the Don. The Mogul Chiefs, infolent, and elate with vicfory, often oppreffed the Ruffians in various ways. On the other hand, the Ruffian Princes, induced by falfe ambition and petty contefts amongft themfelves, ufed to repair to the Golden Horde of the Khan, near the Wolga, there to purchafe with fhameful humiliations and lavifli prefents, the title of Great Duke. The Moguls, in the mean time, in confequence of their internal and civil diffentions and wars, decreafed in.power, and the Ruffian Princes at length became afhamed to worfhip fuch a mere fhadow of power
* Gete, according to Des Guignes, is a country fituated to the welt and fouih-weJt of the river Irtifii; but Danville places ic to the north of the country of Turfan, or to the fouth of the Upper Irrifh.
3 and
and grandeur, and to hold of thefe infolent invaders claim to the Great Dukedom, when it would be fo much more honourable to derive it from their own valour. Iwan Wajilewitfch was the firfl Great-Duke, who, in the latter part of the 15th century, broke through this humiliating ceremony, refufing to pay the cuflomary tribute, and defeating the Moguls at different times.   Iwan Waffllewltfch, the firft Czar, and Self-upholder of all the Ruffias, came to the throne in the year 1533. He made the conqueft of Cafan and Aftrachan, and extended the power and dominion of Ruflia to a great diftance.    He found that the Coffacs of the Don did great hurt to his fubjects by their depredations, and ditturbed the public peace.   In the year 1577, therefore, he fent a confiderable force to punifli thefe depredators.   Before this body of men arrived, fome of them had the prudence to fly from the approaching itorm.   Termak Temofeej}\ a valiant CofTac, very expert in the art of war, and held in great eflimation among his brethren, as being a man of abilities and refolution, making his efcape, went up the river Kama and the Tfchuflbwaya, with 6 or 7000 men.    Here he met with a nephew of the famous Anlka Stroganoff, from whom the prefent Counts and Barons Stroganoff are defcended.   His name was Maximius Stroganoffy and he poifeffed part of the lands bequeathed to his anceftors by the crown.   He received this troop of banditti kindly,  in order to avoid being ufed ill by them.   Here Termak had intelligence that fome barbarous nations, viz. the Bafchklrs, Wotes, OJliaks, and Tfcheremlffesy bore very hard upon the Ruffian fubjects near the Kama, and that they were fecretly fupported and their hands ftrengthened by Kutfchum, Khan of Siberia.   Determined to take vengeance for thefe depredations, he went up the rivers in the years1. 1578, 1579, and 1580, and at laft reached Turn, where he conquered feveral petty Chiefs of the Tartars, and palled the winter at Chimgl.   His army, however, was now dimi-minifhed to 1636 men.   He defeated the Tartars once more in the year
1587; but the whole of his forces then confifted only of 1060 men. He was forced to fight many more battles, however, before he could reach the Irtifh and purfue his victories j at .length, having totally routed Kutfchum Khan, and put him to flight, he made his public entry into Sibr. The OJiiaks and Wognls, Kutfchum's ancient fubjects, nowfubmitted toYermak, and even great numbers of Tartars acknowledged his fovereignty. Yermak had made a confiderable booty, and had, befides, received very valuable prefents from his new fubjects. He now regulated the tribute they fhould pay, and fent a Coffack, of the name of Ataman, to the Czar at Mofcow, with the news of his victory. At the fame time he craved the Czar's pardon, fent him the choiceft furs by way of tribute, and requefted that fome fuccours might be given him. The Czar, in return, fent him prefents, granted him a pardon, and confirmed him in his new dignity. He likewife obtained the fuccours de-fired j but, in confequence of his extreme avidity to extend his victories, the too eafy credit he gave to every falfe report, and of his neglect to lay in a ftock of provifions, the greater part of his army was ftarved to death, and he himfelf perifhed, upon an expedition on the Irtifh. Sibir, and all the new conquefts were loft for a time; but greater forces were foon fent, towns built, peopled, and fortified, and in a few years the victories and acquisitions of the Ruffians went in rapid progreflion from one river to another, from one wandering tribe to another, till in the year 1639, Dmitrei Kopiloff at length reached the eaflern coaft of Alia, not far from the fpot where Ochotfk now ftands. If we eaft but a glance on the map, we fhall fee that in the fpace of 59 years, by means of a kind of undifciplined chaffeurs and light troops, there was annexed to the Ruffian empire a tract of country which extends nearly 80 deg. in length, and in the north even reaches to the 185th deg. of long, eaft of Ferro, and confequently far beyond a 4th part of the globe; and in breadth extends above 25 deg. viz. from the 75th to the 50th deg. 0f northern latitude.   We need only read the hiftory of thefe conquefts
in order to get an idea of the ftedfaft, undaunted, and refolute difpofition of the Ruffian nation. Their bodies inured to bear the greateft hardships, their ftrength and the foundnefs of their conftitutions are equal to the fpirit with which they accomplifhed fuch vaft conquefts.   But in the midfl of this great fuccefs and acceffion of wealth and power, this mighty empi.e which had not kept pace with the weflcrn Europeans in the rapid progrefs made by thefe latter towards civilization, found it difficult to refill the power of the petty kingdom of Sweden.     Very fortunately however for this empire, Providence bellowed upon it a man, who, though his education had been entirely neglected, though he was furrounded by fuch as ufed their beft endeavours to give a falfe bias to all his talents and mental qualities ; who, though he had prejudices to conquer, which might be thought infur-mountable, yet poffeffed fpirit and courage fuflicient to give himfelf an education, and form himfelf, even at the age of maturity ; and was befides endowed with penetration enough to know thofe who were about him, and their juft value, and not to be miftaken in the choice of his new fervants ; a man, finally, who, well acquainted with the proper mode of informing the minds of his people, caufed them to make almofl inflantaneoufly, haflyltrides towards cultivation and refinement, and gave them weight in the political fyflem of Europe.   In Ihort, a Prince, who, by his creative genius, prepared his people for the greatncls and fplendor in which they now appear, under the government of his great Niece, to the admiration and afloniihment of all Europe.
The difcoveries of this nation in the North have met with very able hiflorians. The conqueft of Siberia has the pre-eminence over all the conquefts of other Princes of the earth. By thefe countries have been laid wafle and depopulated, and frequently a very inconliderable tract: of land is purchafed with the blood of many thoufands of men. The conqueft of Siberia, on the other hand, coil hardly any blood at all; and fince it has been conquered, this country is populated and
4 Cultivated,
cultivated, and is continually advancing in wealth, population, and happinefs.
This Hiftory has been written at large by M. John Ebcrbard Fifchcr, of the Academy of Peterfburgh, with great fidelity and exactnefs. The firft difcoveries of the Ruffians along the coafts of the northern ocean, the certainty that Alia does not join to America, the diftance between the Ruffian dominions and Japan, and the diftance of the fame from America ; all this has been fet in the cleared light by the late learned Counfellor of ftate*, Geo. Fred. Midler, in the third volume of his Collection of Ruf/ian Hiftory. Finally, that great naturalift, Profeffor Pallas, has, with a laudable diligence and accuracy, continued in his New Northern Collections, the hiftory of the lateft difcoveries made iince M. Midler's hiftory was published, and particularly fince the commencement of the reign of the great Catherine II. It would therefore be highly improper to give here a hiftory of the voyages of difcovery made by the Ruffians in the North. This needs not, like the hiftory of the difcoveries made by other nations, to be collected, with great pains and labour, out of many different and extremely fcarce works, but is in the hands of every body, in works which are entirely new, very well known, and written with a truly philofophical fpirit. Ifhall now onlyfubjoin a few general obfervations.
The capacious mind of the immortal Peter, firft chalked out the whole plan of thefe different voyages of difcovery, and his Emprcfs, and all the fubfequent Monarchs, particularly Anne and Elizabeth, contributed every thing in their power towards carrying it into execution. They went from Archangel to the Ob, from the Ob to the Je-nifei. From the Jenifei they reached the Lena, by travelling partly by water and partly by land. From the Lena they went to the eaftward as
* The Engliih reader will find the want of thefc authors in a great meafure compenfated by Mr, (,Ws elegant Account of the Ruffian Dfcoveries between Ajia and America, aio. 1780.
far
far as the Jiullglrka.   From Ochotjk they went along hy the Kurile Iflands to Japan.   Becring had already previoufly to this, nav igatcd the northern coaft of Kamtfchatka to the 76th deg. of northern latitude, and now they again undertook an extenfive voyage, in order to difcover the American continent from Kamtfchatka, an enterprizc in which Commodore Steering, as well as Captain Tfchirikow, fucceeded. Befides the particular objects of their refearches, both faw fome iflands, and Becring was ftranded upon one of them, not far from Kamtfchatka. He died there, and his crew made a fmall veffel out of the wrecks of the fhip, and ftood into the harbour of Peter and Paul, in Kamtfchatka. After this, fome merchants and freebooters went, with permiflion of the Crown, to make difcoveries, hunt, trade, and collect the tribute ; and though the veffels, in which thefe firft adventurers went, confifted of nothing but a few wretched boards fattened together with leathern thongs, difcovered notwithftanding in the year 1745 and 1750, a group of iflands, which were called the Aleutian Iflands.   Farther on, another group was found, which were called the Andreanoff Iflands; and laft of all they defcried the Black-Fox Iflands, which were near the American continent.   This whole group compofes a very remarkable archipelago, which certainly with great juftice was called, in honour of the great Ca-therlna II. the Cathcrlna Archipelago.   It extends from Kamtfchatka to the point of land called Alajka, in North-America. From this very fame land of Kamtfchatka a chain of iflands extends to Japan. Kamtfchatka, North-America, Japan, the Kuriles, and alfo the Catherina Iflands, have all different volcanos, of which fome arc extinct:, and fome ftill continue burning.   Thefe volcanos daily occafion new and confiderable revolutions in thefe regions. They form a chain of mountains, by which the two continents have been formerly connected, in
Qjl q like
like manner as they have alfo, in all probability, been joined to each other in Becring's Straits. A flood that has come from the fouth-weft and taken its courfe to the north-eaftward, has alfo formed here the point of Kamtfchatka, called Lopatka, together with the bay of Ochotfk, and the Penfchinian Bay, and fwept away with it in its courfe a great quantity of earth, which has remained there, lying on the bottom, and has caufed the Shelves upon which now the ice is fo often lodged at prefent, and by which it is prevented from diilblving. It is not my province to determine when this great flood happened, nor by what means it was produced. We have occular evidence that a great and violent revolution of this kind has actually happened. The illands with the volcanos on them, are acceffory proofs of the truth of my fyftem, viz. that illands are formed from the continent being broken into a great many pieces.
Thefe Gatharina IJlands, and the adjacent continent of North-America, would afford to a diligent naturalift a thoufand fubjects for interesting obfervations, fhould it at any time pleafe the Great Catherine, for the advancement of fcience in general, and of geography and the knowledge of nations in particular, to give orders for the undertaking of a voyage, which would greatly contribute to extend human knowledge, prove extremely beneficial to the great empire fhe rules, and by which fhe would acquire eternal honour and fame from a grateful pofterity.
Nos fequimur probabilia, nec ultra id quod vcrifnnile occurrit pro-gredi poffumus, et refellere fine pertinacia et refelli fine iracundia, parati fumus.
M. Tulhus CicTufculanor. Quaeft L. II. p. 340. edit. Elzevir.
GENERAL
GENERAL REMARKS
ON THE
DISCOVERIES  made in the NORTH;
... .#
TOGETHER WITH
Physical, Anthropological, Zoological, Botanical, and Mineralogical Reflections on the Objects occurring in thofe Regions.
THE globe of this earth, as far as we hitherto know it, contains a much greater quantity of land elevated above the furfacc of the fea, in the northern part, than do the oppofite polar regions in the fouth, which, to thofe who have explored them, have constantly exhibited nothing but a wide extenfive fea. On this principle it is that I have endeavoured to demon(trate in a former work, that in all probability the northern regions, taken collectively, are warmer, particularly in fummer, than the fouthern. See my Observations made during a Voyage round the World, page 99. In fact:, the great depth of the fea abforbs the fo-l'ar rays, which likewife are not capable of imparting warmth to the proditfiouily extenfive, and withal denfer fea, fo eafily as they do to the much-more rarified fluid of the atmofphere. The land, on the contrary, reflects the rays of the fun in every direction ; in confequence of which they crofs each other, and obfervations have fhewn, that it is by its collected beams only that the fun is capable of generating a confiderable degree of warmth. This is confirmed by the experience of all navigators in the northern regions, who, when between the 70th and
CLq q 2 80th
8th degrees of latitude, frequently fpeak of a heat powerful enough to melt the pitch with which the fhip is paid. On the other hand, in the fouth, the temperature of the air is much colder; and in thofe parts they never enjoy the comforts of a warm dav.
In the cold countries there are a great many different fpecies of tale and mica, as likewife a great quantity of the Steatites and lapis ollaris, particularly in Greenland and Hudfon's Bay, as likewife at Spitzbergen. Volcanic productions are found in great abundance in Greenland, Iceland, the weftern coaft of North-America, the Catherine and Kurile Iflands, and in Kamtfchatka. Of metals there has been found native copper in Hudfon's Bay, and in the Copper ifland near Kamtfchatka, Bear, or Cherry Ifland contains a confiderable quantity of lead, and likewife fome native filver. In Greenland a filver an & even gold earth are faid to have been difcovered.
The coaft of Greenland confifts entirely of high fharp-pointed rocks
on both fides. In Hudfon's Bay, however, thefe mountains begin to be lefs fteep, and in fome parts of it, there are even flat level Shores. Iceland is throughout, as well as Spitzbergen, a high rocky country. Nova-Zembla has the fame appearance. The whole northern coaft of Siberia is flat and low. The eaftern coaft of Afia, as far as to the extreme point of Kamtfchatka, is for the moft part high and rocky. The American coaft, on the contrary, is low and flat, but to the fouth of Alajka it begins to be higher.
Hudfon's Bay, Baffin's Bay, and all the little feas from Labrador to Cape Farewrell are evidently made by the fea having broken in upon the land. This likewife appears from the lofty top of Cape Farewell and the high rocks on the eaftern fide of Refolution and Salisbury Iflands, and of all the iflands in Hudfon's Bay, which terminate in flats to the weftward, as though the earth had been wafhed away from 4 them
them by a flood rufhing on them from the eaft. Greenland has an inlet to the eaftward of it, and to the weftward an ifland, viz. Iceland. Spitzbergen has a promontory in the fouth-weft, and to the fouth-eaft an ifland. All the fhores of the Icy Sea along Siberia are flat, and the feas that lie to the northwards of this country are very mallow. What we had to obferve with refpect to the phyfical influence of the fituation of the fea between Afia and America, near Kamtfchatka, has been already touched upon at page 482.
The feas in thefe regions are very cold, and partly covered with ice. The obfervation, that the ocean freezes here even fo early as in Auguft or September, and that in winter it is covered over in the fpace of one night with ice feveral inches thick, is now fully confirmed. The ice therefore is not the production of the rivers running into the ocean, but of the ocean itfelf. The large mafles are impelled by the wind one over the other, and thus form thick and lofty clumps of ice. But various are the ways in which ice is formed. We can never f\y, this is the method which nature purfues in producing a certain effect; for (he has a variety of means to accomplifti her intentions, which man is not able to difcover otherwife than by flow degrees. In the beginning of winter the ocean is not fo cold as at the commencement of fummer, fubfequent to the tedious long winter in thofe parts. The winds in the Icy Sea are very boifterous, and, when they blow over the large fields of ice there, intolerably cold. Eafterly winds alfo are more common in the Arctic Circle than any other. The fame too has been remarked before in the Antartic polar regions. Fogs are in thefe climates very common, and confequently render the navigation there very dangerous. Thefe fogs by their preffure keep down all the vapours which would otherwife rife up into the atmofphere   for which reafon they have frequently an
offenfive
■
4.86 V   O   Y   A: G* E   S and
offenfive fmell.—Thunder and lightning are very rare in thcfeparts; partly by reafon that the northern lights,which often are very frequent, con-fume and wafte the electrical exhalations, and partly becaufe in a region covered with eternal fnow, from whence but a trifling quantity of fnow melts away in the fpace of feveral days, the electric matter cannot pof-iibly rife from the earth in any confiderable quantity, and collect in order to form the matter of thunder and lightning. The trifling portion which appears in tempefts, is thrown into the air from the volcanos in thefe regions.—The abundance of miffs and vapours, which are in part frozen, and fill the whole atmofphere, ferves likewife to make one phenomenon more frequent and common here than it is' elfewhcre. Paraheliums and mock moons are feen very frequently in the north, infomuch that they have been remarked by many travellers;? Thefe very vapours, which in the atmofphere fo greatly abound, ferve alfo the beneficial purpofe of exhibiting the joyous light of the fun in thefe dreary and melancholy regions almoft a fortnight fooner above the horizon than could poffibly be done, were the atmofphere in a different ftate: confequently they contribute to fhorten the difmal nights in thefe countries, and to enliven nature, rendered abfolutely torpid by the deadening bluffs of winter.
It muft be true, the animated organized creation is fcattered with a fparing hand in thefe dreary climates. The furface of the. earth is covered with but few plants, and even thofe which nature has in her bounty beftowed upon it, cling clofe to it, fearing, as it were, to raife their heads from the bofom of their mother into the air, totally deprived, as it is, of warmth, and fhrinking from the deadly blafts of the north and eaft winds. Nay, the earth itfelf is unprepared
pared and unfit to receive and harbour the plants committed-to her care.-Bare and naked rocks, with a calm intrepidity, prefent their callous fronts to the attacks of the all-ravaging froft; during the greateft part of the year, indeed, they are covered by a thick bed of fnow. Confequently they are preferved for a long time without mouldering, and undeftroyed. Rain, wind, and heat, alternating with froft , but above all, the effects of heat and the fixed air floating in the atmofphere, contribute to diffolveand deftroy by degrees the hardeft and mod folid rocks in temperate and warm climates. The fixed air, accompanied by heat, penetrates deep into the fubftance of the ftones, and diffolves fmall particles of them, which the rains and wind walh away and carry to a diftance, and by this means make the furface of the earth continually more and more capable of receiving and harbouring plants, and all kinds of vegetables. In this earth, from a fmall feed brought to it by the wind, at firft there is generated a dimunitive mofs, which fpreading by degrees, with its tender and minute texture, which, however, refills the moft intenfe cold, extends over the whole a verdant velvet carpet. In fact, thefe moffes are the midwives and nurfes of the other inhabitants of the vegetable kingdom. The bottom parts of the moffes which perilh and moulder away yearly, mingling with the diffolved but as yet crude parts of the earth,. communicate to it organized particles, which contribute to the growth and nourishment of other plants : they likewife yield falts and unguinous phlogiftic particles for the nourishment of future vegetable colonies. The feeds of other plants, which the fea and winds, or elfe the birds in their plumage, bring from diftant mores, and fcatter among the moffes, are kindly, and with a truly maternal care fcreened by them from the cold, imbued with the moifture which they have ftored up for this very purpofe, and nourished with their oily exhalations ; fo that they grow, increafe, and at length bear feeds, and after-.
3 wards
4 i | VOYAGES and
wards dying, add to the unguinous nutritive particles of the earth, and at the fame time dirfufe over this new earth and moffes, more feeds, the carneit of a numerous poflerity. Here let us flop fora moment to con-fider thefe productions of the vegetable world in a nearer point of view. They are, as we have already obferved, planted with a fparing hand in thefe northern regions, not becaufe nature acts the part of a ftep-mother by them, but becaufe the feverity of the cold in thefe climates diffurbs and puts a flop to her operations, and confequently makes her employ ages to produce effects, for which fhe has fcarcely a few years allowed her under the benign influence of the fun in milder regions. Yet even here is Nature the lame indulgent parent. On the few dwarf!fh plants that are to be found in thefe regions the animals thrive aflonifhingly ; even the liverworts f lichen ranglferinus cs? ijhndicus) poffefs uncommonly nutritive qualities, and make the animals which feed on them, fat in a fhort time. On the very fhores fcurvy-grafs, and other plants of this clafs, prefent themfelves to feafaring perfons infected with putrid fevers, and with their invigorating juices, put a flop, in the fpace of a few days, to the ravages of the fcurvy.
And however unpromifing thefe regions may appear, yet neither the fea nor land are deffitute of objects, which, befides an organic flruc-ture, have the power of voluntary motion and of confeioufnefs. From the corals to the mammalia, every clafs of animals has its representative in this otherwife inhofpitable climate. Nova Zembla, Spitzbergen, and Greenland, have even their reindeer, their white bears, and grey foxes ; and the country lying to the northward of Hudfon's Bay is inhabited by the bifam ox. Hares, mice, and gluttons, alfo are in* digenous in fome of thefe regions. The fea fwarms with various forts of whales and dolphins; while its Shores and the dreary fields of ice that float upon it, ferve as a habitation to the numerous fpecies of feals, to which the depth of the ocean in the immenfe number of its inhabitants prefents an abundance of food.   Of all thefe northern regions
the
the northern coaft of Siberia alone is conftantly inhabited by mankind, if wc except America as far as Hudfon's Bay and Greenland.   The bodies of this race of men are contracted, as it were, by the cold. They are of a brownifti red complexion, their hair is lank, ftilf, and black. Their food is hfh, feals, and whales, and train-oil is their greateft delicacy.   Their ideas are, according to our way of thinking, very confined ; yet they manifeft in the formation of many of their implements, and articles of houfe-furniture, a Skill, a dexteroufnefs, and capacity, which at firft fight, one would not be apt to imagine they poffeifed. The complaints we frequently heir of their pcrfidioufnefs and cruelty, are entirely groundlefs.   The Europeans, indeed, have often, by acts of violence, by murder, and the perpetration of the greateft cruelties, drawn upon themfelves the vengeance of thefe kind-hearted, hofpita-ble people, and, at length, taught them miftruft.   They fulfil the duties of parents with tendernefs, refolution, and care, and in circumftances in which thoufands of Europeans would neglect their charge. Amidft dangers, amidft the moft piercing frofts, fnow, and winds, they venture out to fea in fmall leathern boats to provide food for their children.   In fliort, the more we attend to thefe objects, the more evidently we lhall perceive in all parts the traces of the providence, goodnefs, and wifdom of a fupreme being, who difpenfes his benefits over the whole univerfe, and manifefts the utmoft Sagacity and intelligence in the accomplishment of his purpofes; all which in perfons of fufceptible and feeling hearts excites the warmeft fentiments of gratitude and adoration, and affecting them with the tendered emotions, draws from their eyes tears of heart-felt joy and admiration.   O that men would therefore fraife the Lord for his goodnefs, and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men I
FINIS.
INDEX.
A. Page
.A.ARHUUS, its former am! prefent
fituation        - - 69
Abalus Ifland, defcribed by Pytheas 21 Abulfeda, the fummary of his information relative to the North - 34, 36 Abubeker - - 153 Acre - - - 121 Acridophagi, fignification of the name and their place or abode - - 2 Adigas, the fame as Circalfia - 98 Adiketi, neighbours of the Alanians 99 Adlcofi, vid. Adilceti
Admiralty Ifland - - 415
JEiii or Efthonians vifited by the Carthaginians - - 11 Long unknown to the Romans 29 Their manners and <rovernment defcribed by Alfred          - - 71 Afgoden Hoek         -           - 413 Africa, original fignification of the Word 7 Firft difcovery of its coalt and circumnavigation of it at different times 6, 7 Agricola fails quite round Britain and fubjects the Orkneys to the Roman Empire 26 AjafTa al, harbour of      - - 121 Akko, vid. Acre        -             - 121 Alanians ravage the Roman dominions 32 Their former place of refidence 94 Their Religion    - - 171 Alareon, Francifco de, his attempt to find the Straits of Anian     -        - 448 Alaric plunders the Romans          - 32 Ale, wliy the Efthonians brewed none 72 Alfred, his generous behaviour to the conquered Danes        - 53 His tranflation of Orofius       - 54 Tranflation of his geographical defcrip-of the North of Europe      - 54 Whence he had his geographical knowledge          -             _ 74
Page
Aleutian Iflands, the difcoverer of them,
and their fituation - 481
Alexander VI. bifhop of Rome, portions out the newly difcovered countries 446 Allcmanni, the origin of the name 24 Confederacy of this people 32 All-Heath or All-Heide      - - 69
Almalig, city of - - 152
Amber  imported  by  the  Phcenicians and G reeks 6 Defcribed by Pliny - 21
Known to the Romans - 26
Anifterdam Ifland - - 349,422 Ancona, vid. Akko
Andanicum, the fame as Steel      ~ 135 Origin of this name 242 AndreanofT Iflands - 481
Angclis, his account of the land of Efo 463 Anglo-Saxons, their piratical expeditions to Britain - 44
The place of their refidence 56 Anian, Straits of      - 447,460,463 Anjoy, vid. Anian Straits Anticofti, Ifland of, its different denominations - - 439 Aral, River of         - 99 Arambec, an unknown coaft 290, 436 Ardu, Empire of the Afconian Turks 475 Argonauts, fail to the country of the Hyperboreans          -             - 12 Argon, his embafly to Kublai Khan 124 A mixed race at Tenduc      - 141 Arimafpians, why they were fuppofed to have but one eye         - Introduction Arrak, the Beverage of the ancient Northern nations and of the Chinefe 146 As, the fame people as the Alanians 166 A^hurft, Thomas, undertakes to plant colonies in the North      -            - 289 Afof         -            -          151, 165, 168 Ailam, John, King of Bulgaria 97, 99 A 2 Ailara,
Aflarn, the (lime as Saray
Afliimption Ifland - - 439
Aftracan - - 151
Its trade in former times 171
Athcl, or Athol, i. e. the Wolga 35, 38, 116 AttiLi, the extent of his Dominions 39 Aubcrt, Thomas, his Voyage to Newfoundland - - 432 AuguflusC;efar, Difcoveries in the North in his reign           - 26
13.
Baals River      - - 320
Baccalaos, the ancient name of Newfoundland, Whence derived - 289
Viiited by Gilbert 293 Baffin, William, his voyage to the North 348 His voyage with Bylot 350 Baglad inhabited by the Bifermians 94 Balafagan or Balaxiam the country of, its inha-
126 104
bitants and its productions Balchafh Nor, a lake, its vail fize Baldach, vid. Bagdad Balifh, a Chinefe weight or coin 163 Balkh, city of - - 125
Baluklawa, its ancient names - 169 Baltia, known to the Carthaginians 11
Whence this name is derived 21 Baibaro, Jofaphat, his journey to Tana 166 Barentz, William, his voyages 379, 411
With Heemfkerk - 417
Barrach, vid. Bercke Khan Bairatier, his opinion of R. Benjamin dc Indela's travels - - 91
Bafchart       - - 100
Bafeiikirians, their language and place of refidence - - 100,475 Their origin - 101 Their mode of writing 105 Bafcia, a country on the River Vafch, its inhabitants          - - 127 Bafhirkians      -             - - 93 Baths, laws and literary anecdotes concerning them             -             - 223 Batu, Khan of the Moguls _    - 102,475 Baulak or Bolak, the gold mines of 102 Bay of Exploits, Hrit ciifcovered by Leif 83 Bear Ifland
Difcovered by the Dutch Bay des Chalcurs
63 415 *53
3P 138 63
Bccinga-ge or Blekingen
32H 417
70
Page
Beering, his voyage with TfehirikofF 481 Bcering's Straits - - 402
Behaim, Martin, his artificial globe 260 Belgian Mountain, the primitive refidence of
the Moguls       - - 117
Belgorod - - 170
Belor Mountain - - 129
Benedict, a Mindorite, accompanies the Pope's
ambafladors to the Moguls 93 Benjamin of Tudela, his obfervations relative
to the North - 91
Bcnnct, Stephen, his voyage to Cherry Ifland
328
Beormas
Berenfort Harbour Bercke Khan
Bergos, its prefent name and fituation Bergu, a plain, its inhabitants defcribed Biarmians
Bilkhan, vid. Belgian Biorn, carried by a ftorm to Newfoundland 82 Bifermini      - - - 94
Biflibur, its fituation - 15S
Its inhabitants and produce 155 Blachs or Balchians - 100, 474
Black Point Blekingen
Bokkara, the province and city of Bolgar, the town of
Dcferibed likewife
Bontekoe, the ifland of -Borkah, vid. Ardu Borkum Ifland, Amber formerly found there 28 BornhoJm        - - - 6i
Bofphorus - - 169
Bowdcns Inlet     : - - 396
Bractain, the land of Tin - 6
Bretagne colonized by fugitive Britons 44 Briggs's Mathematic's Iflands 365 Britain known to the Greeks, as being the tin country   —   Introduction and 15 V ifited by the Phtcnicians - 6
Why it afterwards funk into oblivion II Becomes fubject to the Romans 26 Is vifited by the Franks and Anglo-Saxons
3*i 44
Brizanians - - 474
Brook Cobham Iflands        - 363, 388
Brutacks - - 94
Bukareli y Orfua, his voyage of difcovery 455 Bulgar, Bulgaria - _        -       59^ jco
Conquered by Ycdighey Khan       j 5 5 Bulgarians, their origin - 100
Burchana,
39« 70 119
39 119
429
Page
Burchana, vid. Borkum Burgendas, the fame as Bornholm Burgundians, fettled in Gaul - 32
Burrough, Stephen, his voyage and difcoveries
372
Burs al, the mountain of, a filk manufactory there - * 154
Bufa, an intoxicating liquor drank in Ruflia
172
Bufurmen, vid. Bifermini Butan - - 107
Button, Thomas, his voyage of difcovery 345 Remarks upon it       - - 347
Button's Bay      - - 300
Button's Iflands, by whom difcovered 347 Bylot, Robert, his firft voyage of difcovery 350 His fecond voyage - 352
Remarks upon it      - - 357
C.
Cabota or Cabot, John, with his fons, diicovers Newfoundland      - - 267
Strictures with refpect to him 268 His endeavours to promote voyages of difcovery        - - 269
Cabral, Pedro Alvarez, difcovers the land of the Holy Crofs or Brazil       - 263
Cabrillo, Juan Rodriguez de, his voyage to North America - 448
Cadiz, founded by the Phoenicians, and when 6 The Phoenician ftore-houfes there 8
Caefar, how far he advanced in the North 25
Cailac, its inhabitants and manufactures 104,140
Calacia, vid. Cailac
Caliphs, the promoters of literature 34 Calmucs, their mc!e of writing 106 Their Buffaloes      - 107 Cambalu, the writer abode of Kublai Khan, its fituation and conveniences     145, 162 Camexu, the fame as Khamc       - 152 Canada, origin of this appellation 438 Canglo, are defcended from the Comanians 99 Canary Iflands, known to the Greeks by the name of the Fortunate Illands 13 Cape Breton, by whom thus named 289 Abounds in coals      - - 297
Cape Barren       - - - 349
Blanco - - 453
Charles - - 336
Chidley's       - « 310
Chrifthmus , - - 468
Comfort
Deflation
Del Enganno
Diggs
Dobbs
Dyers
Farewell
Fullerton
Of God's Mercy
Henrietta Maria
By whom thus named Hope
King James's
Langenefs
Maria
Mendocino
NafTau
Pembroke
Prince Henry's
Salifbury
Southampton
Smith
Walfingham
Wolftenholm
Zwartenhoek
- 35'
300
457 335,3S»
39i 299 307,468
3*7
- 301 366 3^9 391 403 335 414 366 452 4i5 347 335 336 347
39i 299
33^ 4i5
Caravallo, James, his defcription of Efo 463 Caracoran - - 137
Cary's Swans-neit        - - 345
Carchan, province of, its inhabitants defcribed
129
Carentarians - - 58
Carpini, John de Piano, a minorite, goes on an embaffy to tlu Mogul Khans 93 Account of his journey      - 94 Carey's Iflands - - 355
Carthage, origin of this name      - 8 Flourifbing ftate of it, founded on the ruin of the Phoenicians 9 Carthaginians make long voyages and pofleft an extenfive commerce      - 10 Cartier, Jaques, de St. Malo, his voyage 437 His fecond voyage - 458
His voyage with Roberval 441 Cafcar, the country of, its inhabitants defcribed
129
Cafpian Sea - - 38,116
Cafhterides, the tin iflands - 6
Chadifcha . - 33
Chamul, the country and city of, its inh bit
and cuftoms - 133,160,748 Chamyl, the town of, where fituated, ind by
whom built - -. 94
Chancellor,
Page
Chancellor, Richard, goes to Ruflia 271 His fecond voyage thither 272 Chaques, Martin, his fictitious voyage 462 Charlebourg - - 442
Charlton Ifland- - - 369
Chathians in Georgia - 94 Chazaria, the province of - 169
Chazarians      - - 169
Theancient inhabitants of Crimea 94 Chenerthci, the province of        - 168 Cherry Ifland, the fame as Bear Ifland 329 Defcription of it - 332
Cherule, a country on the banks of the Kherlon
110
Chefmur, its inhabitants - 127
Chefrerfield's Inlet, vid. Bowden's Inlet Chiacato, an Indian king, equips the Poli for their journey - 125
Chinchintalas, its fituation, produce, and inha-habitants - - 135
Chirmia - - 169
Chitalas Dalai, vid. Chinchintalas 125 Chogatal, fent to Rome with M. Polo 120 Chrcmuch, the country of, the inhabitants, animals, and fertility of it - 167 Chriftians Haab - - 307
Chriftians Straits, the fame as Hudfon's Straits Chrobatians
Cianganor, the town and lake of, their fituation and inhabitants - 142
Ciarciam, the country of, its inhabitants and produce - - 130
Ciconcs, a northern people - 13
Cimbalo,^.vap-xha. iui p, the modern Baluklawa
169
Cimbri, their military expeditions, conqueft;*, and lltrlements - 25
. Whether they were Germans 24 Cimmerians, inhabitants of the Ci im 14 Circaflians - - 93
Profcfs the chriftian religion 171 Clerke, Charles, accompanies Capt. Cook 509 Continues the expedition after Cook's death - - 409
Cocas, fame as Mount Caucafus, its fituation and produce      - - 116
Cocking Sound - - 326
Cogatal, vid. Chogatal
Coleburn, accompanies Hudfon in his third voyage - 333
Colom, Chriftopher, endeavours to fet on foot a voyage of difcovery - 261 Difcovere the Ifland of Haiti 262
Colomna, town of, a defcription of It
Com panic Land
Comanians
Compafs, defcription and ufe of Its inventor
Page 172 426
99 75 205
The period of its more early and general ufe      - - 240 Conception Bay        - - 293
By whom thus named Conftant Search - - 415
Contomanians, rcfearches into their origin Cook, James, his voyage of difcovery to the
North - - 397
His death - - 404
Cook's Ifland - _ 366
Cook's Straits, vid. Beering's Straits Coronado, Francifco Vafquez dc, goes to the Straits of Anian - 448
Cortereal, Cafparde, his voy age of difcovery 460
His brothers attempt the fame 461 Cotan, the province of, its cultivation 130 Croniutn, the Icy Sea, origin of this name 19 Crufades, the occafion and confequence of 236 Cruys Hoek      - - - 415
Cumanians, defcribed by Haitho 115, 168 Cumberland's Iflands      - - 300
Cumberland's Straits - 315
Cwenland, fame as Finland        -        55, 60
Its inhabitants defcried by Ohthcr 66 Cwcnrtas       - - - 66
C wen Sea        - - ce
Currents in the North, remarks upon them 285 Cychians and Cythia-ns - 94
Are a tree people - 9.7
243 59
D.
Daimir Khan      - •»
Dalamcnfam, their refidence
Daleminzians, vid. Dalamenfans
Danes, how far they carried their piracies 48
Reduce Alfred to great ftraits, 52 Erect various ibvereignties in Ireland 52
Darcy's Ifland          -             - 310
Datia 5.
Davis, John, his firft voyage of difcovery 29
Second voyage        -          - 3°2
Remarks upon it            - 306
Third voyage          -          - 308
Remarks upon it            - 310
Davis's Straits          -              - 300
Deer Field      -             - 348
Deer
Page
Deer Sound       - - 391
Denis, Jean, fails to Newfoundland 4.31
Derbent - 99
Its fituation - 112, 154
DefhnerF, Semen, the firft; that failed through
Bee ring's Straits - 401
Defire Provoked, a land lb called by Hudfon
334
Desolation - 298 Dido plants a colony in Africa - 8 Dietrich of Bern, his atchicvemcnt6 32 Dir, the companion of Ofkold - 78 Difco Road - -308
Dobbs, Arthur, propofes a voyage of difcovery
392
Domitian reduces almoft the whole of Britain under his dominion - 26
Douglas Harbour      - - 391
Drache Ufanaut, the fhip fo called 75 Drogio, the country of      - - 190
Its fituation      - - 205
Draufen Lake      - - 69
Dumney or Dumnoe, the ifle of - 30 Dun Fox Ifland     -        -        - 365
E.
Eaftland - . 5 71
Edam, land of - - 428
Edges Ifland - 427 Edigi, the fame as Yedighey Khan 153 Edom, the Progenitor of the Phoenicians 4 Edrefli, Scheriff al, the geographer 34 Extract from his trcatife, and ftridures upon it "35 Eggaya, the fame as Irganckon 140 Elbing, river of - 71
Elipehe, the fame as Kippike Elifa, vid. Dido
Elliot, Hugh, his fuppofed voyage to the North
289
Enak, the children of, inhabitants of caves 2 Their manners - 3
Spread along the coafts of the Mediterranean, where they are called Canaa-nites - - ' 3
At firft trade, and by the Greeks are called Phoenicians - 4
Engern, not the country of the Engels 69 Engels, refided in the Iflands of Denmark 69 Flngroveland, the fame as Greenland 203, 206 Kowland      - . m - 70
Page
Equius, town of, the fame as Akfu 104 Erdfhimur, the country and town of 138 Ergimul, the fame as Erdihimur Erigaia, the fame as Organum 140 Eric, firft bifhop of Greenland, goes to Winland
87
The books found there came from him 204 Eric Raude a fugitive, difcovers Greenland 70c) Gives a defcription of it So Eric's Sound 50 Erythras, vid. Edom
Efkimaux, their anceftors - 85
Efo, the ifland of - . 463
Efthonians, vid. Ofti
Eftmere, viz. the Frifch Haf - 70
Euthymenes purfues Hanno's difcoveries 16 Eynar-Torf, the common anccftor of the earls
of Orkney      - - 208
Eywucktoke Inlet        - - 306
Ezina, the town of, abounds with all kinds of
animals      - - 137
F.
Faira, the Ifland of _ 202
Fairas Land      - - 330
Fair Haven      - - 349
Fair Foreland      - - 330
Faral, the town of, the fame as Otrar Far-oer or Sheep Iflands, when difcovered 53 Conquered by Harold - 78
Fera, vid. t aira
Finbog fails from Iceland to Winland 86 Findanus, ihort account of his lite 46 The Finlanders are defcended from the Scythians
Not known to the Romans till later times
29
Lived on moors and fwamps 66 The ancient name of the people now called Laplanders - 62
Finmark, the fame as Lapland       - 62 Flawcs, William, his voyage of difcovery 383 Flocke fails to Iceland      - 50 Flux and reflux of the ocean, firft obferved by Pytheas and afcribed to the moon 17 Its height on the coaft of Britain accurately afcertained by the fame 19 Fogo Ifland, formerly called Penguin Ifland
293
Fonte, (Bartholoincode) his pretended difcovery
454
Fort Charles,      - 378
Fotherbr,
rage
Fotherby, his firft voyage to the North 348 His fecond voyage - 349 Fox, Lucas, his voyage of difcovery 359 Fox's fartheft voyage of difcovery 367 Franks, origin of their name - 24
Spread as far as Britain - 32 Practice piracy with fuccefs in the Mediterranean 45 Arc expelled out of Britain 46 Eaft, their boundaries - 55 Freidis accompanies Finbog in his expedition
86
Friefland      - 180,202
Frobifher, Martin, his attempt to fail to the North       - - 274
Makes a fecond attempt with fuccefs
His third voyage thither with a fquadron        - - 280 Frobilher's Straits        - - 274 Frondad, his voyage from China to North America         -             - 444 Fuca, Juan de, his voyage         - 450
G.
428
Gale Hamkcn's Land Galza, vid. Ajafla Gama, (joao de) his pretended difcoveries 464 Gama, Vafco - - 263
Gamalecco, the fame as Cambalig 152 Gaidar's Iiland, by whom difcovered 50 Whence it derived its name 50 Geographyand the knowledge of diftant nations,
the fource* of Introduction George, King, oi Tenduc - 141
Georgia      - * - 94
Its fituation and ancient inhabitants 112 Gepide?, their empire fubverted by the Awari
and Longobardi - 32
Germans, fignification of this name 24 The place of their refidence according to Alfred - 55 Gcrmanicus viiits the country which had been
the grave of Varus and his army 26 Gete, land of - - 476
( rhazarians, vid. Chazarians Ghitercan or Aftrachan, its trade in former
times - - 171
Gibbons, his voyage      - - 347
Gibbons's Hole - 348 Gihon, the river of     - - 119
Gilbert, Humphrey, his voyage to the
North      - - - 292
Dies on the paflage homowards 295 Gilbert's Sound, a harbour - 299
Inhabitants on its coaft: 303 Gillam, £achary, his voyage to the North 378 Gillis, Cornells, his voyage and difcoveries 429 Giorgiania, its inhabitants and fertility 177 Glafs, another term for amber - 26 Glafs Iflands - - 26
Glaza, vid. Galza - - 121
God Haab, the fame as Gilbert's Sound Gogatta, vid Chogatal Galea, vid. Cailac
Gomez, Eftevan, fceks in vain for a paffage in North America     - _ 447
Good Fortune, Ifland of - 306
Gore, Captain,  continues the voyage after Gierke's deceafe.     - - 406
Geri, where fituated       - - 178
Gorm, the ancient, unites Jutland and the Danifh iflands       - 51 Goths, their military expeditions       - 32 Found by Ruyfbrock in the Crim 97 Of their language - 170
More on the fame fubject        249, 474 Gotland - -       68,70
Gottan      - - "59
Grafui, where it probably lay - 169 Grecaland - 59
Green, his cruel behaviour to Hudfdn 339 Greenland Company in Denmark, their attempts towards making difcoveries in the North
Greenland, when and by whom firft difcpvcicd
80
Chriftianity planted there and the Normans expelled - 87
The cold is continually increafing there and its fertility decrcafing 88 Nicolo Zeno's difcoveries there 185 Buildings and manner of living of the inhabitants - 186
Their commerce and boats 187 Cruel behaviour of fome Engliih Navigators to them 278 Of the iron and copper in their poficflion - t _ 287
Their manners and religion 322 Griefland, whether it be the lame with Enk-huy/.en? - ,184
OrGrimfey?       - . 202
Grikhata, vid. Guthaka
Grofelliers
Page
Grofeliiers undertakes a voyage of difcovery
in the North - - 376 Gualle, Francis, his voyage of difcovery 449 Guddai or Gudde, a people in Pruflia 21 Gudrid, wife of Thorilein '   - 84
Afterwards of Thorfin        - 84 Goes to Rome and thence into a convent in Iceland      - 85 Gunbiorn      - - 79
Guthaka, the town of -119 Guttoni       - - 11,21
Gwofdeff, his voyage - 401
H.
Hadfchi'Mehemct, his account of Succuir and Kampion - .- 243
Haefellanians - - 474
Hathaby, different from Hrethum 68 Hxthum, the harbour of, its true fituation af-certained        - 68 Haitho, his life and parentage      - 113 Extract from his account of the North
114
Hakluyts's Ifland        - - 354-
Headland, vid. Amfterdam Ifland Halgoland, the birth place of Ohther 66 Vifited by Willoughby 269 Hall, James, his unlucccfsful voyage of difcovery    - 320 His two former voyages in the Danifh fervice - - 467
Ballad, earl of Orkney - 78 Hanno fails round Africa      - - 10
Harbour, de la Trinidad    - - 457
de la Bodega - 458 Bukarelli       - - 457
Guadaluppc      - - 457
Rcmedios      - - 457
Harokel, a Phoenician merchant - 6 Harold, founder of the Kingdom of Norway 51 Sets a fine upon emigrants 52 Makes feveral conquefts - 78 Haficar, vid. Cafcar Hatto, vid, Haitho
Havvkbridge, William, his uncertain voyage 358 Hazel Ifland - 439 Hebrides or Weftern Iflands - 49
Heemfkerk accompanies Barentz 328 His next voyage of difcovery 417 Helgo accompanies Finbog to Winland 86 Helleland      - 82
Hengift together with Horfa fettles in
Britain - 32
Herat, refidence of the Schah Rokh 159 Hercules, vid. Harokel
Herjolf, his voyage - - 82
Herjolf's Nefs - 80
Herrings, when firft pickled - 182 Hialtaland      - . - - 78,81
HiarkairJ, vid. Carchan
Himlico, his voyage to Britain - 10 Hinlopcn Straits - 398,273,413
Holaghu Khan with his Moguls, advances as far as Europe     - -      92, 119
Hold with Hope      - -       324, 334
Hollin, the fame as Karakarum Hoiftein, whence this word is derived 56 Homer was acquainted with amber and tin i£ Hope Sanderfon - - 308
Hopes checked - - 346
Hore fails with two (hips to the North 290 Horites, vid. Enak
Horithi, fuppofed refidence of this Sclavoniau tribe      - - 60
Horn Sound - - 353
Hotum, vid. Cotan
Hrolf, the adventures and conquefts of 78 Hubbart's Hope       - - 347
Hudfon, Henry, his firft voyage of difcovery 324 Remarks on it      - - 325*
His fecond voyage - 327
His third voyage - 421 His laft voyage       - - 332
1     Remarks upon it - 340
Hudfon's Hay Company      - _ 378
Hudfon's Straits      - » 3OI>3I5
Huirs        - - _ v 95
Huns, whence they came and how far they fpread        - -        39, 101
Hylophagi, origin of the name, the place of their refidence, and their manners 3 Hyperboreans, inhabitants of the North 2 The place of their refidence not afcertained - 12
Send prefents to Delos 14
I.
Jackman, Charles, accompanies Pet in his jour-ney to the North      - - 28*
Jagag river, vid. Aral Jaik, the fame as Jagag
B Jalair,
Pa
i r
Jalair, one of the original tribes of the Moguls
James's Ifland, vid. Fox's farthelt James Lancaster's Sound - 355
James Douglas's Bay - 388, 389
James, Thomas, his voyage 368, 375
JanMaycn's Ifland       - - 422
Different from Cherry Ifland 333 Jaqucs Carticr's Rivet) formerly the River of Sainte Croix      - - 44.0
Iberia, vid. Georgia
Icaria, Iiland of, viiited by Zichmni 193 Its probable fituation - 206
Ice, mountains of, their origin 278, 395, 316, 350
Iceland known to Pytheas
To the Greeks early - 13
Vifited by the Swedes - 50 Derivation of the name 50 Nature of this country formerly and at •   prefent - - 51
When certainly discovered and inhabited
82
The incrcafmg cold prevents its fertility
88
Jcthyophagi      - - 2
Idel, the fame as the Wolga - 98
Idifa, the filver mines there - 142
Jerket, vid. Hiarkand
Jerufalem in the hands of the Bifcrmians 94 Jefo, the land of, now the Kurile Iflands, vid.
alfoEfo - - 244
Jews circumnavigate Africa - 7
llacs, vid. Blachs
Hay or Ilioe        - - 201,206
Iifmg, the fame as Elbing
Ilofe, the Ifland of        - - 193
Ingolf fettles in Iceland - 51
Innocentiv. fends ambalTadors to the Moguls
92
Innuit, the natives of Greenland Introduction John, Prefter, the fame as Ungkhan 106 Jones's Sound - - 355
Iraland in King Alfred's geography, fignifies Scotland - 68
Ireland ravaged by the Danes - 46 Attacked by the Normans 51 Irganakon, the land of, defcribed 104, 140 Ifland of God's Mercy, a harbour 334 Itelmen, a name affumed by the Kamtfchadales
Introduction
Jugur, all ftrangers fo called by the Moguls ibid. Name of an extenfive country 105,114
Julian a Roman knight, brings a great quantity of amber to Rome
K*.
28
Kablunat, a name for ftrangers with the Greenlandcrs - Introduction JCafFa, formerly Theodofia - 169 Karri a, the fame as Kiow - 115, 78 Kailac, vid. Galka - .- 104 Kajuk Khun, fovereign of all the Moguls 93,95 Kaketi, vid. Chathians
Kalamita or Klimata      - 170 Kampion, the capital of Tangut, manners and religion of the inhabitants 136 More on the fame fubject 243 Kamul, vid. Chamul
Kanghittre, the place of their refidence 94 Kanklis, the fame as Canglse Kankct, the town of, on the fame fpot where Kafehkanat ftands at prefent 1:3
Kantfchcu, vid. Kampion Kaptfchak, a province of Tartary 154 Series of the Khans of       155, 478 Karakarum, the capital of the Mogul Khans
106, 110
Defcription of - 138
Karakithai - - 94, ic-3
Kars or Kerfch - - 169
Kafan, conquered by the Ruffians 174 Kafchkar, vid. Cafcar
Kaltai the fame as Kiflen
152
Kathay, or North China, its inhabitants 107
Haitho's account of it        - J14
Kergis or Circaflians      -             - 98
Kerkierde      - 169
Kerz, vid. Kars
Khaberda, vid. Chenerthti
Khan-Balga, vid. Cambalu
Khan-Baligh city, defcription of 162
Khara-Moran, river of           - 152
Khafchimir, vid. Chefmur
Khond or Khowand-Emir, his account of the journey of SchakRokh's ambafladors to
Kathay         -              - 158
* N. B. Many names of perfons and places which are not to be found under K, are to be met with under C, and vice verfa.
Khuarefm.
Page
Khuarefm, the country and people of, defcribed      - - 150 Kia lcr Ncfs, the name of a fhip        - 84 King Charles promontory - 366 King George's Sound            - 400 King James's New Land          - 349 King's Foord     -              - 321 Kippikc, province of - 167 Kiflinians,       - 474 Klimata      -             -           - 170 Korafmians, the anceftors of the Ofmanian Turks         -              - H2 Korkang, town of       -          115, 119, 151 Korrenfa, a Mogul general          - 93 Korfun, the town of, fame as Sarfon Kremuk, vid. Chremuch          - 167 Kublai Khan, firft fends a fleet into the eaftern ocean       - 43 His expedition to Japan Treats the Poli with great kindnefs
120
His palace and menagerie 143 Kumager, town of, where 3^,475 Kunat, a tribe of Moguls   - -    117
Kyrk, vid. Kerkri
L.
Labrador, the inhabitants of - 307
Animals found there 311 Name of this coaft, by whom given
_.     . . 4^0
Lachians, a tribe of Sclavonians 475 Lagman or judge - 87 Lancaftcr, James, his voyage       - 311
Remarks upon it - 314
Lane, Michael, accompanies Pickcrfgill in the Capacity of mailer - 408
Obta ins the command after the-former's
death - - 409
Langa, the people of       - - 107
Langa neis     - - - 414
Lechians, vid. Lachians
Ledil, the fame as the Wolga 166, 171
Ledovo, the iiland of - 193,201
leif accompanies Ingulf in his voyage 50 Makes difcoveries in company with Byron
82
Arrives at Newfoundland 83 Takes iVliflionarics to Greenland 87 Lefghi on the mores of the Cafpian Sea 99, 112
Page
Linca de Marcation      - - 446
Lindenau, Gotfke, bis voyage to Greenland 467 His fecond voyage - 468 Lions Bank      • - 408
London Coaft - - 308
Longobardi or Lombards, their different fettle-
ments - - 32
Lo.nym, probably the fame as Slonym 176 Lop, the town of, defcription of it 131 Lopatka, the origin of - 482
Lord Wcfton's Portland - 367
Luciumel, ambaflador from the Pop*- to the
Khan of the Moguls - 96
Lumley's Inlet      - -        309, 351
Lutwidge accompanies Phipps in his voyage
T . . 398 Lutitzians
M.
Madfehiar, vid. Bafehkirians Maegthaland, the fituation of        - 60 Magna Bridtannia      - - 334
Mandeville, John de, his life and adventures 149 Extract of his account of the North
150
Mangu Khan, fuppofed to have embraced the Chriftian religion       - 96 Endeavours to mend the morals of his fubjects - 134
ManfeTs or Mansfield's Iiland        - 3^7 Marahanians, vid. Moravia Marble Ifle - -        388, 364
Marcolini, Francifco, his account of the Zeni's
difcoveries        - - 180
Marcomannian War, its confequenccs 29 Mare Chrillianum       - - 470
Marc Novum - - 470
Mari, the people of, whether Mahometans 98 Markaets, their manners defcribed 138 Markland       - - - 82
Maroaro, vid. Moravians Maflilia, the town of,  forms the iUcfi^n of
making difcoveries .- j6
Matmai - 426 Mati h andis, at prefent called Tamcnda 96 Matriga, now called Temruk - 96 Matfumai, town of, its inhabitants 463 Mauritius Iiland, vid. Jan iYlaycn's Ifland 416 Vid alfo Amfterdam ifland, Hakhiyts Headland
B 2 Mead,
Page
Mead, a very ancient beverage - 72 Melgucr, David, his voyage to the North a
fiction - - 464
Mentonotnon, the fame as the Frifch and Ku-
rifch-JCaf     - - 21
Merdas, vid. Mail
Merfaga, probably the fame as Mcferitz 176 Metrites, vid. Markets
Mexico, when it arrived at any degree of civilization       - - - 43 Midacritus, firft brought lead and tin from Cailiterides        - 6 Middleton, Chriflophcr, his voyage 390 MillL'lands      -            - 351 Mingrelia, defcription of the country and inhabitants of      -             - 168 Mirza Ibrahim, the Sultan, the extent of his dominions        -             _ 161 Moffen Ifland         -              - 348 Moguls overrunAfia and Europe 40 The circumftances  which facilitated their conquefts            - 89 Others which proved an obftacle to them          - 90 Their religion and manners 95 Their mode of writing       - 106 They divide into feven tribes 11 7 Mohamed or Mahomet, his character and military expeditions          - 33 His doctrine anJ adventures 34 Mokfcha, a nation                   - 98,174 Moncaftro, its various names        - 170 Moiighi, a tribe of Moguls          - 117 Monterey Harbour       -             - 457 Montreal, formerly Hochelaga 440 Moor, W illiam, goes to fea with Middleton 390 Afterwards with Francis Smith 392 Moors or Mootlandf, common in Lapland 65 Moravians          -              -          j?8,474 Mordanians       -              -            - 174 Mbfesaccompanies Scfoftris in his expeditions 5 Mofcow, the country and river of 172 Mount Charles          -              - 336 Mount Mifery         -             - 329 Moxcl, vid. Mokfcha
Moxia, the inhabitants of » 174
Moxians, the fame as the Morduanians Muc, the people fb c. Ikd - 107
Munk, Jens, his voyu6e of difcovery 470 Munk's Harbour - -       471
MufeuitO Cove - - 4^3
Muficlmen, \ id. Bifcrmians
N.
Nsjddod, difcovers Snowland, i. c, Iceland 50 Nam, on the coaft of Labtadore 348 Nangtfieu, the town of, defcribed 162 Nannucktuckt - - 306
Naftau Straits      - -       273, 414
Naffir, Eddin, his aftronomical tables 34 Navigation, the previous knowledge neceffary for it - Introduction
Its great ufe and advantage ibid. Held in high cftimation by the northern nations - 74 The circumftances that raifed it again in the middle ages 89 Nay, Cornelius Corneliffbn, his voyage     41 1 Naymans       -             - 95 Nclfon, goes to fea with Button 345 River   - ibid. Neome, the Ifland of         - 197, 207 Nerigon        -              - 30 Ncftoiians, among the Moguls 105 Their religion and mode of writing
ibid.
Monuments of them in the town of Sigan - - io3
Their Manners 109, 129, 136
Newfoundland,by whom firft difcovered 83,204.
Pifcovcred afterwards by the Cabots 267 Its fifhery and produce of the country        - 291,294 The fame as Winland 439 New France - - 43b
NewWalchereh        - * 414
New Wales, fo called by Fox 3O5 New Wales, thus named by Button 347 North, the, muft have been inhabited later than other regions      - 1 Why the ancients ha\ e given fuch imper-
fect accounts of it
43
Of Bur ope and Afia, troubles there 89-O.bfervatiOnsjipon - 483
Normandy, when and by whom firft named 79 Norman*', their navigations - 49
Were in fome meafure civilized by CYriftianity - 52
At an early period knew how to fail near the wind - 75
Caufe of their adventurous fpirit i,t fea - - 77
Northmannalanu deiuibed by Ohther L5
Norway,
Norway, vid. Nerigon
Nova Scotia
Nova Zembla
Novogrod, its origin
Enlargement Inhabitants
Nurumbega
O.
290
327 50 7« 175 436
Obo! rites, the place of their refidence afcer tamed
57
Oelopar      - - - 150
Oderic of Portenau, his birth-place and travels
. . H7
Ocland, vid. Eowland
Ohther, his country Wealth
Travels Okathai Khan
GHaf Tryggefon, King of Norway Oltrare, town of, its lituation Omyl, vid. Chamyl < )npn, country and river of t.)onala:'nka Ifland
Oranie Iflands Organum, vid, Irganakon Orkneys, when difcovered, and colonized by Normans       - 53 Sinclair inverted with the Sovereignty
qf them     - - 181
The firft pofliflbrs of them upon record -. - 208 Orleans Ifland, alias Bacchus Ifland 439 ()fko!d penetrates as far as Kiovv 78 Otrar, vid. Oltrare
70 53>^2
47, &4 62, 76
- 94 87
no 403
P.
PaJkaft
104
Pane* money in China, Marco Polo's account
ofit
the
Other accounts of it Parkhurft, Anthony, his account fiihery off Newfoundland
Parmolitcs
Parojltes, the fame as Pa rm of res Pawiiimw.i^-u, vid. Port Nelfon 376 Pegoktti, ptftijcifco Balducci, his journey from Afia to Pekin. - 42
146
153
cod
292
9 3 93
Page
His writings      - - 150
His account of the North of Afia 151
Penguin Ifland - - 290
Another Ifland of this name, vid. Fog©
Pcrmiaks, vid. Parmofites
Permians, vid. Biarmians
Peru, origin of this empire - 43
Peter I. Czar of Ruffia, his and his fucceflbrs endeavours relative to making difcoveries      - 4 Pet, Arthur, makes a voyage to the North 287 Petfchenegs 4 475
Peym, defcription of this country 130 Phipps, Conltantine John, fails to Spitzbergen
39*
Phoenicians, their origin and manners I, 4 Their trade and navigations 5 Difcoveries - b
They circumnavigate Africa and found colonies        - 7, 8
Their wars aivd the decay of their commerce - 9
Pickerfgili, Richard, fads to Davis's Straits 407 Picts - - -32
PinafTiwet Schiewan, river of - 376 Piftol Bay - - 388, 389.
Pit Coal, Marco Polo's account of it 146 Point Speedwell - - 385
Point Whalebone - - 387
Polabians        ' - - 474
Matthep, and Marco, their,
117 121
Marco, his account of the North Polatzes -
Polowzians      - ^ Pomona, iiland of Pomeranians
Pontgrave, his commercial voyage to- Taouiliic
444-
Pool, Jonas, his voyage    - - 33O'
Portland       - -  • 181,200,207
Port KVf >n - - 46
Portuguefe, their carlv difcoveries in the Soum
Their farther attempts and di.cove ries       - - 260 PrufTia         -             - 1 Pricket, H.ibakuk, accompanies Hudfon ■ Button       -              - 335,
Prince Charles's Iiland Providence Bay
Polo, Nicholo. voyage The time of it afcertairied
125 474 474 182
474-
anl 34S 39* 401
Pytheas,
Pulgaraland, vid. Bulgaria
Pytheas, his voyages in the North 17
His knowledge in affronomy 18
How far he went to the Northward 20
Queens Foreland       - - 282
Queen Ann's Foreland      - - 336
Quirini, Pietro, his voyage - 209
His (hipwreck and fubfequent adventures - - 212 His journey to Bergen and Drontheim
225
His arrival in his native country 230
299
388,389 - 348 65
470 39i
R.
Raleigh, mount Ranking Inlet
a Beech Rein-deer (decoy) Rchc Bland
Rennen-fel, vid. Deerfield Repulfe Bay
Reian, the inhabitants and fertility of the country - - 172 Rhodun, river of       - - 11,21 Rhubarb, its native foil            - 243 'Fhe properties and preparation of it
244
Richards, his voyage      - - 469
Robert, vid. Ilrolf
R.obvTval, Francois de la Rocquc de, his voyage to North America        - 44 1
Roche,Marquis dc la,goes toNorth America 443 Roe, Sir I nomas's, Welcome . - 363 Romans, long ignorant of the northern regions
23
A long time before they palled the Alps - 23
Intimidated by the Cimbri and Teutones        - - 24 Penetrate fa rther to th'* northward 26 Circumnavigate Britain 36 Go to Pruflia in fearch of amber 28 Their power weakened by the depravity of their morals        - 29 Become a prey to the nations of Germany          - -32
Page
Rod, ifland of, its commerce in fifh 221 Inhabitants     - -      222,26
Rogneval, earl of Mocre      - "7 Roflians, fmce called Ruffians        - 475 Rummels-foord - - 321
Rupert's Land - - 384
Rupert's River - - 384
Ruftene, vid. Roft Ifland
Ruyfbroeck, ambaflador from France to the Khan of the Moguls, his travels
Ryp, Jan Cornells, accompanies Hecmfkerk in in his voyage      - - 417
S.
Sable Ifland      -             - 294
Stocked with tame cattle 29b
Saehion, the town of, its inhabitants • 132
Sailing with and near the wind       - 75
Sainte Croix          -                 - 440
Saldaia - - 169 Salconi, Nichola?, Haitho communicates to him
his account of the Laft       - 113
Salisbury's Foreland      -              - 334
Salvage Ules           -                  - 351
Samarkand, its inhabitants and fertility 129
Samuftyr Ifland - - 464 St. Clare, illands of       - _
St. Lorentz Hoek      - •         ._ 4^5
St. Laurence's Bay       -             _ 439
St. Catherine's Harbour     -         _ 437
St. Nicholas's Harbour           - 439
Sandcy Ifland      -           -           - 218
Sandwich Iflands - - 403 Sanghin-Talghin, vid. Chinchintalas
Saray, the town of, when and where built
_    ,        a 38, 119
By wnoin dcrtroyed in, 116, 151
Saracanco, the town of, its fituation 151
Saracens      -              - - 96
Sarmatia, often fignifies merely an unknown
country          - ' - 60
Sarfon, the town of - 170
Sartem, vid. Ciarciam
Saffen, vid. Saxons
Sauromates      -             - - 29
Their different tribes -
Savage Sound     -               - inj
Saxon?, origin of this name    - Introduction
fats over to Britain     - - 44
Scaflen,
Page
Sea Ten, the town of      - - 125
Shadi-Khodfcha, ambaflador from Schah
Rohk        - - 159
Meets with a gracious reception 163 Schaepj Hendrick Cornells, his voyage 244 Schak Rokh fends ambaffadors to Kathay 159 Scharlchc w, vid. Sachion Shetland Iflands, difcoverd by Pytheas 19 Peopled by the Normans 49 Perhaps the fame as Eitland 200 Ships, their trifling origin Introduction, k p. 48 Firft rudiments of, compared with the modern     - - Introduction
Of different nations defcribed . 48 Burden of a  modern  fhip computed
Introduction
The old northern compared with thofe of the Greeks and Romans 76 Schimuffyr, vid. Samuilyr Schildtberger, John, his travels and adventures
Schirwan      - - - 154
Schnceland, vid. Gardars Iflands and Iceland Schurfchi, vid. Sarfon
Scilly Iflands, the fame as Tin Iflands 6 Sciringes-FIeal Harbour, its real fituation 67 Scorunga, a country of, where it was probably fituated - 67
Scots - - 32
Scrit-Finnas, who they were, and where fituated - - m 61,63 Scroggs, his voyage - - 387 Remarks upon it - 389 Sea-horfes, Ohther's account of them 64 Sea-horfe Point         -             - 358
108
Its produce, inhabitants, and trade 138,139 Serbians, where they refided 60, 474
Seres, the place of their refidence 108 Sermende, vid. Sarmate
Setzulct      - * 154
Sidinians - 474 Sigan, vid. Segin
Sigurd, King of Norway - 87 Sillende, fea of _ - 68
Sindicin, the town of, many armourers there
142
Singui, vid. Segin Sirbians, vid, Serbians
Siriojedzi      - _ -85
Skrsellingers, their commerce with the Normans
85
Chriftianity preached to them, vid. alfo Normans        ■> 86
Segin, town of
Page
Skyddbladner, the fhip       - - 75
Slaves or Sclavcs, origin of their name and
tribe      - - 60,474
Slonym, a place formerly celebrated 176 Smith, Francis, his voyage - 392
Smith, Sir Thomas's, Sound 354 Snorro, Stuflefon, his account of the peopling
Iceland, the true one - 81
Snorro, Torfinfon,bis writings and pofterity 85 Snowland, vid. Schnceland
Sobai, the country of      - - 168
Sok fends for a bifhop to Greenland 87 Solangiar.s, the fame as the Mandfchurians
95> 107
Soldmians, chriftians living in Khuarefm 115 Solgct, the fame as the town ofEfkikyrym 169 Solinia        - - - 97
Solonians, vid. Solangians
Sonich, one of the principal tribes of the Moguls
117
Sorany        - - 180
Its true fituation - 201
Sorbi, vid. Serbians Sorgathi, vid. Solget
Sorlingiail Iflands       - . - 6
South Sea Ifland, by whom firft peopled Spanifh Bay      - - - 438
Spitzbergen difcovered, and thus named by the Dutch     - 328,413,421 By Baffin - 348
By Hudfon called Greenland 326,
328
Staaten Ifland      - - 426
Stinenia      - 350 Strana, the town of, its filk manufactory 154 Suafarilon, circumnavigates Snowland and calls it by his own name - 50
Suchur, the country that produces Rhubarb
Suck, vid. Suchur Suckuck, vid. Suchur Sudack, vid. Saldaia
Suevi - - - 32
Suionae - - -47
Sumerkent, veftiges of this town - in Surpe, vid. Sorbi
Swabia, its former boundaries - 55 Syra-Horda - 95 Syflyle      - 58,60
T.
Tabaehe
168 Tabeth,
Page
444
I02
Tabeth, vid, Tebet Tadouilac -"> alas, the town and river of Tana, vid, Afof
Tancred, the common anccflor of the Normans and conqueror of lower Italy 79
Tangut, inhabitants and animals of ic6 Its principal provinces        - 138
Tarfaan, the town of      - 159
Tarkhan, vid. Tarfaan
Tarfae, its boundaries and inhabitants 114 Tarfliifh, known to the Egyptians and Phoenicians     -      Introduction, and p. 5
117
155
Tartars
Their internal commotions TartclTus, vid. Tarihiih Tatarkoiia, the country of Tea, how early ufed by the Chinefe
How ufed, and for what Tebet, the people of, their manners
168 161, 164 146 106, 148,
Tenduc, the country, town, and inhabitants of
140
Tcrfcnna-Land - 63 Terra Agricole - - 460
Terra de Cortereal - - 460
Terra Verde - 460 Tetgales, vid. Yfbrand
Teutones, fignification of this people's name Introduction, and p. 24 Their wars and military expeditions
25
The moft trufty body-guards of the Roman Emperors 28 In poffeflion of the empire of the weft
32
Teutfche, vid. Teutones
Texetra, Peter, his map of the Indies 464
Thalair, vid. Jalair
Tnalkan, the country and people of defcribed
125
Thebe - Introduction Theodan, vid. Teutones Thiud or Thiaud Introduction, and p. 24 Thorfm fails to Winland and trades with the Sknellingers - 84 Tborrer, vanquished by Harold 79 Thorftein with his company dies in Greenland
,   „.     74, «4
Thorwald, Thorrer's great uncle flies to Iceland - "79
Thorwald Lief1! brother continues I difcoveries His death and burial Thule -Tigris, vid. Gihon Tiphlis, the capital of Georgia Togrul, prince of the Nay mans Tottenham Totnefs Road -To/.an, the town of -Trinity Hies Trocki, the country of Troglodytes TrooltHocck Trulb, vid. Draufen Tlaha^i Nor, vid. Cyanganor Tfchechiens -Tfchicndienpuhr, the great city of Tfchirpp-Oi, vid, Campanic Land Tfchutktfchi, a people Tuinians -
Tumen -
Turges, his victories
Turkeftan, the boundaries of     114,
TurivS -
Tun -again River
Turtle Ifland
Tulcni-Khan - -
His conquefts
u.
Ugadai Khan builds the town of Cbamyl 94 Ulnleteld, his hctitious voyage of difcovery 472 Uigurs, vid. jugurs - "95
Ukakha, the town of      - - 119
Ulioa, Francifco, his voyage of difcovery 448 U liter ravaged by the Danes - 46
Uulug lk-k, his geographical tables 34, 40 Ung Khan, Togrul's title - 106
His empire and fucccfTors 141 Uotala, the town of, the fame as Otrar 151 Urdanietta, Andrea, his difcovery in North America - - 449
Urghenz, vid. Khorkan Urup, vid. Staaten Ifland Utica, town of      - -.-7 Uzians 474
Pa^e ief's
o8*
18, jo 112,178
299 148
- 3^>6
- 175
2
385,415
474 16a
401 109 171
*48> 47?
40 400 400
92 476
V. Vakhan,
'age
Vakhan, the land of, its mountains, inhabitants,
and animals      -            - 127
Vandals, their military expeditions 32 Velafco, his voyage to North America uncertain -
Verazzani, John, his voyage        - 432
Vefpucci, Amerigo       -             - 262
Vizcamo, Scbaftian, his voyage - 452 Vochan, vid. V akan
Vocroc Ifland - - - 3° Vogel-Hoek, vid. Fair Foreland
Vogel-Sang     - 349
Vriez, Martin Herizoom van, his voyage 424
The Straits called after his nama 426
Vut, Prefter John's brothcy 106
w.
- 413
391
Waaygat, vid. Hinlopen Wager Water      - t Wajat, vid. Naffau Straits Walar, vid. Bulgaria
Warnabians      - - 474
Warfaw, the country in its environs defcribed
176
Warwick's Foreland    - -     310, 312
Waaygats Ifland       - - - 273
WendelSca      - - - 54
Wends, vid. Slaves      - - 101
Wconothland      - 57,70
Weymouth       - - - 312
Weft England      - 281 Weft Friefland, vid. Weft England Whales, Ohthei's account of them 64 Whale Sound - 2
Williams's Ifland      - - 415
Willoughby, his voyage - 261 Windedaland        - - 57, 70
Winland       - - 83
Is vifited by Icelanders      - 84 Sources, whence the hiftory of it is extracted      - - 86
Grapes produced there 439 Winodland differs from Weonothland 57, 70 Wifleland       » _ 59
Wiflemund       - - 71
Witland, vid. Baltia        - - 70
35,38,98^cr 171
Wlachs, vid. Blachs Wolga, varioufly named Defcription of it Wologians, vid. Blachs
Wolfteiiholme's Sound 354.
Ultimum vale, vid. Cape Henrietta Maria
Women's land      - „ ^$
Women's ifles - m -^52
V/ood, John, his voyage «, 383
70
Wulfstan
Wyche's Ifland
42 7
X.
Xandu, city of, the imperial palace and menagerie there      - . 143
Y.
Ydifu, vid. Idifa
Yermak Timofeeff, his atchievements Y(brand, Brand, accompanies Barentz Yfc Ryke, his voyage Ys Hoek      - .
Z.
477 411
424 4»5
Zagathai Khan       - - - 92
His dominions       - - 174
Zakut, Abraham, his teftimony concerning Benjamin of Tudela's travels 91 Zegra, a Tartarian prince - 153
Zeno
f Carlo 1 ■J Nicolo     >their i L Antonio J
anceftry
J78
Nicolo, his voyage to the North 179 His fubfequent voyages and adventures      - 180 Antonio, Letter from — his adventures and difcoveries - 188
Credibility of their hiftory 199 Zichmni, Prince of Porland        - j 80
IPs naval force and conquefts 181 Zuchala, 1ft h mus of - 168
Zuyd Hoik van het Voorland 398 Zwart or Black Ifland * 41 (,
ERRATA.
Page 4, 1. * 3» ftr eftablimment, read form. _,   . i, for warehoufc, read ltorehoule.
,_-40, 1. ii from bottom, for Hol.iku Chan, read Holaghu Khin.
— — 53, 1. 10, for Ormefta, Hormeftj. *T *^S»     7» ^'/o" tranflated, r**4 has.
-70, 1, 15, the parcnthefis fliould include Fionia.
— 75, I, 19, dele and.
p.— 83, I.22, for mother, rend brother. . — 84. 1. 1, for Nils, read Ncfs.
■ 85, 1. 2 from bottom, for tohography, read topography.
— 87, i. 16, for eve.y where, read all over the country. -- 91, I. 14, for Zuka, read Zakut.
.  .— 92, 1. 6 from b >ttom, for Holanghu, read Holaghu. —— 98, 1. 11 from bottom, for maitmurt, read Mari murt. ——ioi,1. 16, dele to.
. -104,1. 16, for 'Travels into RuJ/ia, read Account of the Ruffian Dlfcoverlet,
-> 106,1. 2, for Kara riorum, read Karakarum.
1        126,1, 14, for Fal conifus, read Falco nifus.
■ — 1 38,1 6 from bottom, for Kathcy, read Kathay, .       140,1. 16, b'fore the great, read in.
-144,1. 2.2., fo> Zinhis Chan, read Zinghis Khan,
-158,1. 15, prefix XI.
——174,1.4, for Mawarnlnchara, read Mavvarilnahaia.
— 182,1. 6 from bottom, for John, read (on.
— 12s 1,1 from bottom, for truth, read fact. —— 201, 1. I, for Wcftburn, read Weftbura.
-211,1. 19, _/V without bounds 01 limitation, read without limits 01* moderation.
— 2l8,l. II, for Sandee, rend Sand-oc.
-242,1. 4 from bottom, for read ^j-'j^t ;md l' l9>/tr Dfchhankfchi, read D'chenkfch>
-Ibid 1. 6 from bottom, for t_read ^JiX j
■--246,1. 19, for Mehemet Hadfchi, read HadfchiMcmemet
—— 308, I. ult. before p lint, read this.
—— 341,1, ult. after truth, read to fupportit.
■ 1     Ibid, 1. 3 from bottom, place the allciilk higher up after refufal. •-        348, 1. ult. for this, read his
--383,1. 12 from bottom, before Bear Sounrl, Arlc the.
■ 385, I- 3 from bottom, for Comfort Corner, read Poi t Comfort. ——— 408,!. 8 from bottom, for dumdivers, read dun divers.
415, I. 9 from bottom, read Sconce, or Fort-Point.
>--425,1, 10, for Jiffr, read Jefo.
—-455,1. 14, for c, read y.
■-463, I. 2 from bottom, for Dcfchncw, read Dcihnerr".
~— 470, I, 19, for Deer's iiland, read Rche-orDccr-lfland.
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