ifles. For their particular defcription, I refer the reader to Mr. Muller's account, and fhall only obferve further here, that these islands, perhaps, have trade and correfpondence, with that chain of iflands which runs over eastward from them to the American fhore, mentioned above; for, from the first and second of the Kurilian Islands, over to Seduction Island, which is the firft, in an eastern direction, is but 300 miles, and the respective distances between this whole chain fo litttle, that they might eafily pass from one to another, in order to reach the American coaft, some of them being very close to it, as well as near one another. Thus I have enumerated feveral places, which the inhabitants of these parts of Afia might have paffed over to North America, with great ease; and, indeed, there is scarce a point, from the latitude of 51, along the whole ftreight, to 74, north, that can be thought at too great a distance for such a passage.

Ir is, however, no great wonder that authors were fo incredulous, as to the probability of inhabitants paffing over from Afiatic Tartary to North America, confidering the vaft distances which two eminent geographers, Moll and Senex, have laid down between them; but a comparative view of the differences between them and Jefferies's chart of North America, as projected from the Ruffian discoveries, will remove all manner of difficulties about it; for there appears to be fixty degrees difference of longitude, between Moll and the chart laid down in the Russian difcoveries, of the most eastern coaft of Siberia; and twenty degrees difference of the most west coast of America, which

makes a vast extent of country gained by the latter, where

by

by the intervening fea is reduced to a ftreight, for several degrees of north latitude: fo that these later obfervations have reduced the paffage from Afia to America, to less than 100, in several places, which Moll and Senex have made more than 1000, leagues.

The comparative table of the latitudes and longitudes of the nearest oppofite coafts of Afia and America, is printed in the first sheet of the charts mentioned, and is as follows:

Weft of London longitude. This Chart. Most E. coast of Siberia by Moll 130° 00'] 190° 00′ Moft E. coaft of Siberia Senex 137 00

Moft W. coast of Amer.

{

Moft E. coaft of Siberia by Moll 72° 00' | 72°00′

Senex 72 00

72 00

Moft W. coaft of Amer.

by Moll 50 00

70 00

BUT, before we difmifs this fubject, of the peopling North America, it will be neceffary, and not very foreign to our general plan, to give a short sketch of some opinions concerning it, from an ingenious and learned author, the Reverend Mr. Catcott, which I had heard nothing af till very lately, though his book was published eleven years ago, entitled, Remarks upon the Bishop of Clogher's Vindication of the Hiftories of the Old and New Teftaments, &c.

THE vicinity of the Afiatic and American shores, just mentioned, and the other anecdotes which accompany the Ruffian account of it, would certainly induce the reader to think this, at least, one way by which North America was peopled; but, perhaps, inhabitants arrived there from other parts; by fome, it is believed that ships were driven thither from Phoenicia; by others, north-weftward from the most north-western parts of Europe, and by other ways; for which the reader is referred to De Laet's Notes upon Grotius, De Origine Gentium Americanarum. And, therefore, we shall here give some account of the opinion of the reverend gentleman mentioned, as it is very fingular, and founded upon an interpretation of the text, which mentions the divifion of the earth in Peleg's days.

THE authors of the Universal History, which have so often entertained, and been serviceable to, me, feem to think, "that the more received opinion, and the most

agreable to Scripture, is, that the divifion of the earth, "in the days of Peleg, and the dispersion of mankind at "Babel, were one and the fame tranfaction." See vol. i. page 358, after having mentioned the fentiments of several

writers;

writers; but Mr. Catcott adopts another notion of the matter, and makes the difperfion, and the divifion of the earth, two separate tranfactions: in which, with the addition of feveral ingenious arguments of his own, he follows that celebrated biblical critic, Bengelius, whofe words. are these, in his Ordo Temporum: "Peleg was named "from the divifion of the earth, which happened in his days. The earth, after the deluge, was divided by degrees, by a genealogical and political division, which is

נפרדו and נפצה exprefied by the word

But a very "different kind of divifion is meant by the word "(NePeLÈGE), namely, a phyfical and geographical divi"fion, which happened at once, and which was so re“markable, and of such extent, as fuitably to answer the " naming the patriarch therefrom. By this word (PELeG) "that kind of divifion is principally denoted, which is applicable to land and water. From whence, in the "Hebrew tongue, Peleg fignifies a river; and, in the “ Greek, ПE^AÑO, the sea." From this meaning of the word, our author fays, we may conclude that the earth was fplit, or divided afunder, for a very great extent, and the sea came between, in the days of Peleg. Now, he thinks, from the disjunction of America from this part of the world by a great fea, it may be allowed, that this was the grand divifion intended by the paffage under confideration. And, therefore, he supposes, with Bengelius, "that "foon after the confufion and difperfion, fome of the fons "of Ham went out of Africa into that part of America, "which now looks towards Africa: and the earth being.

ར་

divided, or Split afuuder, in the days of Peleg, they, " with

I i

"with their pofterity, the Americans, were, for many

ages, feparated from the reft of mankind, &c." Our author, in order to ftrengthen this explanation, brings twoquotations from two ancient writers; one from Plato, and another from Ælian's Hiftory of various things. Plato introduces an event, which happened in the most early ages of the world, in his Timæus, of a vaft tract of land, or an ifland, greater than Lybia and Afia, fituated beyond the bounds of Africa and Europe, which, by the concuffion of an earthquake, was fwallowed up in the ocean. Plato introduces this fact, as related by Solon, who, while he was in Egypt, had heard it from an old Egyptian priest; when he discoursed with him concerning the most ancient The priest informed him, "that this island was "called Atlantis, and was larger than Lybia and Afia;

events.

that it had an easy paffage from it to many other islands, " and from these to all that continent, which was oppo"fite; that, within the mouth, or entrance of the ocean, "there was a gulph, with a narrow entry; but that the "land, which furrounded the fea, called Pelagos, where "the divifion was made, might juftly be called a contiIn after-times, there happened a dreadful earthquake and inundation of water, which continued for the fpace of a whole day and night, and this island, Atlantis, "being covered and overwhelmed by the waves, funk be"neath the ocean, and disappeared, &c."

"nent.

THE other narrative, from Elian, is as follows, which corroborates this, and, indeed, would incline one to believe the tradition of fo great a catastrophe could not arise without fome juft foundation; he fays: "Theopompus

"relates