*

of fome hermit; or, perhaps, places of fecurity for the monks to retire to in time of danger. Near Penrith, a little below the confluence of the Eimot and Eden, is alfo a large grotto dug out of the rock, faid to have been once a place of fome ftrength, known by the name of Ifis Parlifh. And at Little Salkeld, not very far from thence, may be feen that great curiofity called Long Meg and her daughters, not perhaps well accounted for by any of our antiquarians.

When fpeaking of profpects, I ought to have mentioned that vaftly extenfive and much admired one from Warnal, which takes in all the low country, and bounded on the north by Solway Frith, and a fine chain of Scottish mountains. Not far from hence, near- Denton's, efquire, is a petrifying fpring. There is alfo another in the estate of fir William Dalfton, at Uldale, out of which have been taken several large and extremely curious petrefactions of mofs, leaves, roots, &c. but it does not appear that this mutation would be produced in any fubftance put therein, but in a rotation of a prodigious number of years. In fome parts of the country are fome mineral waters, much reforted to at the season, and several rich mines of lead, fome copper, &c.

Upon the whole, from what I have faid, it may appear that Cumberland is as well worth visiting, on feveral accounts, as most other bounties in England.

An account of that part of America. which is the nearest to the land of Kamtchatka. Extracted from the

description of Kamtchatka by Professor Krashennicoff, printed at Petersburg, in two volumes, 4to in 1759; and translated by Dr. Dumaresque, chaplain to the English factory at Petersburgh.

Read before the Royal Society, Jan. 24, 1760.

HE continent of America,

T which is

52 to 60° of north latitude, extends from the fouth-weft to the northeaft, every where almost at an equal diftance from the Kamtchadalian fhores, viz. about 37° longitude; for the Kamtchadalian fhore, alfo, from the Kurilian Lopatka [the fhovel] to cape Tchukotski, in a strait line (except where there are bays and capes) lies in the very fame direction. So that one has ground to infer, that those two lands were once joined, efpecially in thofe parts, where lies cape Tchukotfki: for, between that and the coaft that projects, which is found at the east, directly over against it, the distance does not exceed two degrees and a half.

Steller, in his Memoirs, brings four arguments to prove this:

1. The ftate of the fhores, which, both at Kamtchatka, and in America, are cragged.

2. The many capes, which advance into the fea, from 30 to 60 verftes.

3. The many iflands in the fea, which feparate Kamtchatka from America.

4. The fituation of those islands, and the inconfiderable breadth of that fea.

The fea, which divides Kamtchat

ka

kafrom America, is full of islands, which lying over against the fouthweft end of America, extend to wards the ftreights of Anian, in fuch an uninterrupted feries as the Kurilian iflands do towards Japan. That row of islands is found between 51 and 54° of latitude, and lies directly eaft; and it begins not farther than 5 degrees from the Kamtchadalian fhore.

Steller thinks, that Company'sland is to be found between the Kurilian and American iflands (which many doubt of), if one fetting out from the fouth-weft extremity of America advance fouth-weft: for, in his opinion, Company's-land muft be the base of a triangle, which it forms with the Kurilian and the American iflands. This feems not to be deftitute of foundation, if Company's-land be rightly laid down on the maps.

The American land is in a much better ftate, with regard to climate, than the farthermoft caftern part of Afia, though it lies near the fea, and has every where high mountains, fome of which are covered with perpetual fnows; for that country, when its qualities are compared with thofe of Afia, has by far the advantage. The mountains of that part of Afia are every, where ruinous and cleft; from whence they have, long fince, loft their confiftency, they have loft their inward warmth; upon which account, they have no good metal of any kind; no wood nor herbs grow there, except in the valleys, where is feen finall brush-wood and ftiff herbs. On the contrary, the mountains of America are firm, and covered on the furface, not with mofs, but with fruitful earth or mold; and therefore, from the foot to the very top,

they are decked with thick and very fine trees. At the foot of them

grow herbs proper to dry places, and not to marfhy ones; befides that, for the most part, those plants are of the fame largenefs and appearance, both on the lower grounds and on the very tops of the mountains; by reafon that there is every where the fame inward heat and moiffure. But in Afia, there is fo great a difference between them, that of one kind of plants growing there, one would be apt to make feveral kinds, if one did not obferve a rule, which holds generally with regard to thofe places, viz. that in lower grounds herbs grow twice as large as on the mountains.

In America, even the fea-fhores, at 60° latitude are woody; but in Kamptchatka, at 51° latitude, no place fet with fmall willows and alder trees, is found nearer than 20 verftes from the fea: plantations or woods of birch-trees are, for the most part, at the difiance of 30 verftes, and, with regard to pitchtrees,on the river Kamptchatka, they are at the diftance of 50 verftes, or more, from its mouth. At 62 there is no wood at Kamtchatka.

In Steller's opinion, from the aforementioned latitude of America, the land extends as far as 70°, and farther; and the chief caufe of the abovefaid growth of woods in that country, is the cover and fhelter it has from the wet. On the other hand, the want of wood on the Kamptchadalian fhores, especiallyon the shore of the Penfinian fea, doubtlefs, comes from a fharp north wind, to which it is much expofed. That thofe parts which lie from the Lopatka, farther to the north, are more woody and fruitful, is owing to cape Tchukotfhi, and the land

that

that has been obferved over againft it, by which thofe parts are fheltered from the fharp winds.

For this reafon alfo fifh come up the rivers of America earlier, than thofe of Kamptchatka. The 20th of July, there has been obferved a great plenty of fish in thofe rivers; whilft at Kamptchatka, it is then but the beginning of an abundant fishery.

Of berries they faw there an unknown kind of rafberries, which bore berries of an extraordinary bignefs and tafte. As to the reft, there grow in that country black-berries, with feveral other kinds, of berries, called in Rufs, jimolost, golubitsa, brusnitsa, and shiksha, in as great plenty as at Kamptchatka.

There are creatures enough,good for the fupport of the inhabitants of thofe parts; particularly feals, feadogs, fen-beavers, whales, canis carcharias, marmottes [marmotta minor] and red and black foxes, which are not fo wild as in other places, poflibly because they are not much hunted.

Of known birds, they faw there magpies, ravens fea-mews, fearavens, fwans, wild ducks, jackdaws, woodcocks, Greenland pigeons, and mitchagatki, otherwife called northern ducks. But, of unknown birds, they obferved more than ten forts, which it was not difficult to diftinguifh from European birds, by the livelinefs of their colours.

With regard to the inhabitants of thofe parts, they are fuch a wild people, as the Koriaki and Tchutchi. As to their perfons, they are well fet, broad and strong shouldered,

The hair of their head is black, and ftrait, and they wear it loofe. Their face is brown, and flat as a plate; their nofe is flat, but not very broad; their eyes are as black as jet; their lips thick; their beard small; and their neck fhort.

They wear fhirts with fleeves which reach lower than the knee; and they tye them up, with thongs of leather, below the belly. Their breeches and boots, which are made of the fkins of feals, and dyed with alder, much refemble the Kamtchadalian. They carry at their girdles, iron knives, with handles, like thofe of the Ruffian boors. Their hats are platted of herbs, as with the Kamptchadalians, without a rifing top, in the fhape of an umbrella; they are dyed in green and in black, with falcon's feathers in the fore part, or with fome herb, combed, as if it were a plume of feathers, fuch as the Americans ufe about Brafil. They live upon fish, fea animals, and the sweet herb, which they prepare after the Kamtchatka manner. Befides this, it has been obferved, that they have alfo the bark of poplar, or of the pine-tree, dried, which, in cafe of neceffity, is made ufe of as food, not only at Kamtchatka, but likewife throughout all Siberia, and even in Ruffa itfelf, as far as Viatka : alfo ftaweeds made up into bundles, which in look and in ftrength, are like thongs of raw leather. They are unacquainted with fpirituous liquors and tobacco; a fure proof, that, hitherto, they have had no communication with the Europeans.

They reckon it an extraordinary ornament, to bore, in feveral places,

the

"the inhabitants of America?" For though we fhould fuppofe, that America and Afia were never joined; neverthelesfs, confidering the nearness of thofe two parts of the world at the north, no one can fay, that it was impracticable for people from Afia to go over to fettle in America; efpecially, as there are iflands enough, and at fo fmall a diftance, which might facilitate not a little fuch a paffage in order to fettle.

Their armour for war is a bow and arrows. What kind of a bow it is, we cannot fay, as it did not happen to our people to fee any; but their arrows are much longer than the Kamtchadalian, and greatly refemble the Tungufian and Tartarian arrows. Thofe, which came in the way of our people, were dyed black, and planed fo fmooth, that they left no room to doubt of the Americans having alfo iron tools.

The Americans fail upon the fea in canoes made of fkins, in the fame manner as the Koriaki and the Tchutchi. Their canoes are about fourteen feet long, and about two feet high. The fore part of them is fharp; and they are flatbottomed. Their inward frame confifts of flicks, which are linked together at both ends, and in the middle are prefled outwards, in a rounding or belly, with crofs-ftichs, which keeps the fides at a proper diftance. The fkins, which they are covered with, all around, feem to be thofe of fea-dogs, dyed of a cherry colour. The place where the Americans fit, is round, about two arfhines (four feet eight inches) from the poop; there is fewed upon it the ftomach of fome great fish, which one may gather and

loofen as a purfe, with the help of thongs of leather, paffed through fmall holes, at the edge. An American, fitting in that place, ftretches his legs and gathers round him the ftomach abovementioned, that water may not fall into the canoe. With one oar, fome fathoms long, they row on both fides alternately, with fuch a progreffive force, that contrary winds are but a small hindrance to them; and with so much fafety, that they are not afraid to go upon the water, even whilft the fea rifes in terrible furges. On the contrary, they look with some terror upon our larger veffels, when they are toffed, and advise thofe, who fail in them, to beware, leit their veffels fhould be overfet. This happened to the boat Gabriel, which, fome years fince, was going to cape Tchukotfki. As to the reft, their canoes are fo light, that they carry them with one hand.

When the Americans fee upon their coafts people whom they do not know, they row towards them, and then make a long speech: but it is not certain, whether this is by way of a fell, or charin, or fome particular ceremony ufcd at the reception of ftrargers; for both the one and the other are in ufe among the Kurilians. But before they draw near, they paint their cheeks with black lead, and ftuff their noftrils with fome herb.

When they have guefts, they ap pear friendly; they like to converfe with them, and that in an amicable manner, without taking off their eyes from them. They treat them with great fubmiffion, and pretent them with the fat of whales, and with black lead, with which they ufed to befmcar their cheeks, as was before obferved; doubtlefs from a