Tfchutkfchi. We know rein deer are common beafts for draught, or burden, in Lapland, Ruffia, Tartary, &c. and whoever reads Muller's account of the Ruffian expeditions, I mentioned before, will find, that when some of the adventurers were obliged to travel over land, they hired dogs to carry their goods, and often themfelves, for many leagues, there being neither horfes nor rein deer to be had in those parts. If it be objected, that no parts of the world produce horfes in greater numbers than Tartary; it will hold true of the more fertile temperate nations, where there is naturally plenty of proper forage for them ; but no horse could live in regions fo far north, where the ground is perpetually covered with snow, and where nothing fit for the nourishment of that noble animal is to be found; in a word, where no animal, of any use to mankind, could ever find food, but the rein deer, by fcraping away the snow, and eating the poor moss, and such like herbage, there; and the dogs, which they feed with a certain allowance of dried fish only; whereas, in the whole range of Southern Tartary, which is a prodigious tract of land, horses abound; which appears from what is faid before, where we had occafion to mention the prophefy of Ezekiel : and from hence, it is easy to conclude, that in those nor¬ thern latitudes, for it is in those the continents of Afia and America approach each other the nearest, it would be wholly impracticable to bring horses from the more southern parts; for they would perish with cold and hunger and, consequently, there could not be any horses found in North America. The people, we know, can shift for themselves, and dwell in thofe places, from whence

they failed over to America; but could not carry horses along with them: and in the more fouthern latitudes, where horses are common enough, the fhores of the Eastern and Western worlds were at too great a distance for transportation by sea, over the great Pacific Ocean, in those carly times.

THIS brings us to mention briefly the points of land, on both fides, with the places of nearest communication between them, as laid down in Muller's map, copied by Mr. Jefferies. The river Lena, one of the greatest that empties itself into the Frozen Ocean, opens into it by five great mouths, each of which forms, from the place where it is divided, a large river for about one hundred miles, more or less; and it is from the most eastern mouth of the five, that the adventurers took their departure, at the most proper season of the year, to fail by way of coafting round to Kamptschatka, and wherever else they were ordered by the court of Russia, in order to make new difcoveries. It appears, that this course was anciently much frequented; although, of late, those ships that were sent out, had fuffered much hardship, and run through many dangers, from the floating ice they fo often met with, in their paffage. They often run into the mouths of rivers for fhelter, by the way, and fo remained many months, wherever they could find any manner of accommodation, to wear out the inclemency of the weather, before they could proceed; and, at last, in the year 1648, three Ruffian fhips fet out from that river, and coasted it towards the great head of land, called the land of the Tfchutkfchi, whofe extent is not known; one of which

only failed round it, and arrived at Kamptschatka. It was then known, that the two continents were not contiguous; but, at the fame time, it was made manifeft, that the fea that divided them was but a very narrow ftreight, in comparison of the vaft diftance that was formerly fufpected. The following notices of the diftances in the nearest points of their approximation, as laid down by Muller, will be both agreeable and neceffary, in this place; in order to fhew how practicable a paffage the Tartars had to the American fhore, and that in feveral places, and in different latitudes.

To begin then, we fhall take notice firft of the distance between the most eastern promontory of Afia, to the American coast, and this is a part of the land of the Tschutkfchi, which lies between the seventy-fecond and feventyfifth degrees of north latitude, and is a peninsula, being divided by a narrow neck from the more fouthern parts of the land, which these people inhabit, down to the river Anadir, and the country of the Jukagiri, a people fituated above the northernmost parts of Kamptfchatka, which is divided from that people by this river. Now, from the most eastern point of this peninfula, to the oppofite shore of North America, according to the scale laid down in Mr. Jefferies's map, it is not more than 150 English statute miles, being exactly at the end of the 73d degree of north latitude, longitude about 206: below this, the ftreight widens to about double that breadth; but in the latitude of 67, it grows narrower again, where, from two points of land, over to the American coast, discovered by Surveyor Gwofdew, in 1730, the distance is lefs than that Hh 2

men

CHAP. VIII. mentioned above: and, if we confult Mr. Green's remarks upon the new chart of North America, in fix fheets, printed in 1763, for Mr. Thomas Jefferies, we find, in the note, page 25, that," according to later informations, "the distance is twenty-four leagues fcarce, from the most "east part of Siberia, to the nearest land oppofite; but "whether it be America, or an ifland, is yet uncertain." Now, if it be an ifland, it cannot be at a very great distance from the American shore; because the Tschutkschi have an intercourse with the Americans, as was mentioned before, in trading with each other for feveral neceffaries. In going further fouth, to the fea of Anadir, so called from the river taken notice of above, there is a land's end, near which an island, called St. Laurence, projects, from the eastern coast of which, it is no more than two hundred miles to the American continent, and this is in the latitude of about 64. It was here, that eight men of the Tfchutkfchi came on board Captain Bering, while he was on his course, by this island, into the fea of Anadir, to Kamptfchatka. This commander failed along the coast of the Korjacks, till he paffed the land's end of this country, called Olutorowskoy Nos, which is the beginning of the Kamptschatcan Sea; and when he had doubled this cape, he fteered till he arrived upon the coaft of Kamptfchatka, between the 56th and 57th degrees of north latitude.

FROM this place, due eaft to the oppofite American fhore, it is about 500 miles; but there are four islands fituated nearly in the middle of this fea, between the two fhores, by which a frequent communication might be

kept

kept up, between the inhabitants of Kamptscharka and thofe of North America: the most eastern of these is called Bering's Island; because here he was caft away, and died. Now, the American land, due east of this island, was indicated by the inhabitants of Kamptschatka; and it is afferted, by navigators, that it may be feen from that island. There are feveral more islands to the fouthward of thefe four, which lie caft of the land's end of Kamptfchatka, at very trifling distances from each other, running due east and weft, in a chain, till the most eastern of them comes clofe to America. There are ten or eleven of these iflands; round which, both captains Bering and Tfchirikow failed into the Pacific Ocean, and, in 1741, both of them difcovered the American fhore; the former, in the latitude 60; and the latter, in latitude 56, and much about the fame time, ten or twelve degrees to the northward of New Albion, which lies north of California. Now this chain of islands mentioned, and the fouthern part of the American land, to which they run, are in the latitude of 51 and 52, and, the latter, longitude 194; for that land, at this place, projects thus far to the fouthweft; but then, the coaft begins to run back again northeast, till it comes to the 62d degree of latitude, and of longitude 230, and is the northern bound of the great Pacific Ocean.

FROM the land's end of Kamptfchatka, a chain of islands, called the Kurilian Islands, begins, whose inhabitants trade and correfpond with one another, and with thofe of the continent of Kamptfchatka; and these islands run in a fouthwest direction, till they fall upon the Japan