company, however, reserve to themselves the whole of what is carried on between Africa and the American islands.

The other lands, Bonaire and Aruba, are inconfiderable in themfelves, and fhould be regarded as appendages to Curaffou, for which they are chiefly employed in raifing cattle and other provifions.

The small islands of Saba and St. Martin's, fituated at no great diftance from St. Euftatia, hardly deferve to be mentioned: they were both c tured by admiral Rodney and general Vaughan, at the time when St. Euftatia furrendered to the arms of Great Britain; but were afterwards retaken by the French.

DANISH ISLANDS IN AMERICA.

ST. THOMAS.] AN inconfiderable inland of the Caribbees, is fitaate in 64 degrees weft long. and 18 north lat. about 15 miles in circumference, and has a fafe and commodious har

bour.

ST. CROIX, OR SANTA CRUZ.] Another fmall and unhealthy island, lying about five leagues caft of St. Thomas, ten or twelve leagues in length, and three or four where it is broadeft. Thefe iflands, fo long as they remained in the hands of the Danish Weft-India company, were ill managed, and of little confequence to the Danes; but that wife and benevolent prince the late king of Denmark bought up the company's stock, and laid the trade open; and fince that time the island of St. Thomas has been fo greatly improved, that it is faid to produce upwards of 3000 hogfheads of fugar of 1000 weight each, and others of the Weft-India commodities in tolerable plenty. In time of war, privateers bring in their prizes here for fale; and a great many veffels trade from hence along the Spanish main, and return with money, in fpecie or bars, and valuable merchandise. As for Santa Cruz, from a perfect defert a few years fince, it is beginning to thrive very faft; feveral perfons from the English iflands, fome of them of very great wealth, have gone to fettle there, and have received very great encouragement.

NEW DISCOVERIES.

OUR knowledge of the globe has been confiderably augmented by

the late discoveries of the Ruffians, and ftill more by thofe that have been made by British navigators in the prefent reign, which have been numerous and important; and of these discoveries we fhall therefore give a compendious account.

NORTHERN ARCHIPELAGO.

THIS confifts of feveral groups of islands, which are fituated between

the eastern coaft of Kamtfchatka and the western coaft of the continent of America*. Mr. Mulier divides these islands into four principal groups, the first two of which are styled the Aleutian islands. The first group, which is called by fome of the iflanders Safignan, comprehends, 1. Beering's Ifland; 2. Copper Ifland; 3. Otma; 4. Samyra, or Shemyia; 5. Anakta. The fecond group is called Khao, and comprifes eight iflands, viz. 1. Immak; 2. Kifka; 3. Tchetchia; 4. Ava; 5. Kavia; 6. Tfchangulek; 7. Ulagama; 8. Amtfchidga. The third general name is Negho, and comprehends the iflands known to the Ruffians under the name of Andreanoffiki Oftrova; fixteen of which are mentioned under the following names: 1. Amatkinak; 2. Ulak; 3. Unalga; 4. Navotfha; 5. Uliga; 6. Anagin; 7. Kagulak; 8. Illafk, or Illak; 9. Takavanga, upon which is a volcano; 10. Kanaga, which has alfo a volcano; 11. Leg; 12. Sketthuna; 13. Tagaloon; 14. Gorleoi; 15. Otchu; 16. Amla. The fourth group is called Kavalang, and comprehends fixteen iflands; which are called by the Ruffians Lyffic Ofirova, or the Fox Islands; and which are named, 1. Amuchta; 2. Tschigama; 3. Tfchegula; 4. Uniftra; 5. Ulaga; 6. Tauagulana; 7. Kagamin; 8. Kigalga; 9. Skelmaga; 10. Umnak; 11. Agun Alathika; 12. Unimma; 13. Uligan; 14. Anturo Leiffume; 15. Semidit; 16. Senagak.

Some of thefe itlands are only inhabited occafionally, and for fome months in the year, and others are very thinly peopled; but others have a great number of inhabitants, who conftantly refide in them. Copper Ifland receives its name from the copper which the fea throws up on its coafts. The inhabitants of these islands are in general of a fhort ftature, with ftrong and robuft limbs, but free and fupple. They have lank black hair and little beard, flattith faces and fair skins. They are for the moft part well made, and of ftrong conftitutions, fuitable to the boisterous climate of their ifles. The inhabitants of the Aleutian ifles live upon the roots which grow wild, and fea animals. They do not employ themselves in catching fifh, though the rivers

* Mr. Coxe obferves, that "the first project for making discoveries in that tempef tuous fea which lies between Kamtschatka and America was conceived and planned by Peter I." Voyages with that view were accordingly undertaken at the expenfe of the crown; but, when it was difcovered that the islands of that fea abounded with valuable furs, private merchants immediately engaged with ardour in fimilar expeditions; and, within a period of ten years, more important difcoveries were made by thefe individuals, at their own private coft, than had hitherto been effected by all the efforts of the crown. The inveftigation of ufeful knowledge has alfo been greatly encouraged by the late emprefs of Ruffia; and the most diftant parts of her vaft dominions, and other countries and iflands, have been explored, at her expenfe, by perfens of abilities and learning; in confequence of which, confiderable difcoveries have

1

abound with all kinds of salmon, and the fea with turbot. Their clothes are made of the tkins of birds, and of fea otters.

The Fox iflands are fo called from the great number of black, grey, and red foxes with which they abound. The drefs of the inhabitants confifts of a cap, and a fur coat which reaches down to the knee. Some of them wear common caps of a party-coloured bird-skin, upon which they leave part of the wings and tail. On the fore part of their hunting and fishing caps they place a fmall board like a fkreen, adorned with the jaw-bones of fea-bears, and ornamented with glafs beads which they receive in barter from the Ruffians. At their festivals and dancing parties they use a much more fhowy fort of caps. They feed upon the Refh of all forts of fea animals, and generally eat it raw. But if at any time they choose to drefs their victuals, they make use of a hollow fione: having placed the fish or flefl therein, they cover it with another, and close the interftices with lime or clay. They then lay it horizontally upon two ftones, and light a fire under it. The provifion intended for keeping is dried without falt in the open air. Their weapons confift of bows, arrows, and darts, and for defence they use wooden shields.

The most perfect equality reigns among thefe iflanders. They have neither chiefs nor fuperiors, neither laws nor punishments. They live together in families, and focieties of feveral families united, which form what they call a race, who, in case of an attack, or defence, mutually help and fupport each other. The inhabitants of the fame island always pretend to be of the fame race; and every perfon looks upon his ifland as a poffeffion, the property of which is common to all the individuals of the fame fociety. Feats are very common among them, and more particularly when the inhabitants of one inland are vifited by thofe of the others. The men of the village meet their guefts beating drums, and preceded by the women, who fing and dance. At the conclufion of the dance, the hofts ferve up their beft provifions, and invite their guests to partake of the feat. They feed their children when very young with the coarseft flesh, and for the most part raw. If an infant cries, the mother immediately carries it to the fea fide, and, whether it be fummer or winter, holds it naked in the water until it is quiet. This cuftom is fo far from doing the children any harm, that it hardens them against the cold, and they accordingly go barefooted through the winter without the leaft inconvenience. They feldom heat their dwellings; but, when they are defirous of warming themfelves, they light a bundle of hay, and ftand over it; or elfe they fet fire to train oil, which they pour into a hollow ftone. They have a good thare of plain natural fenfe, but are rather flow of understanding. They feem cold and indifferent in most of their actions; but let an injury, or even aufpicion only, roufe them from this phlegmatic ftate, and they be come inflexible and furious, taking the moft violent revenge, without any regard to the confequences. The leaft affliction prompts them to fuicide; the apprehenfion of even an uncertain evil often leads them to defpair, and they put an end to their days with great apparent in fenfibility,

NORTH-WEST COAST OF AMERICA. FROM the obfervations made by captain Cook on the inhabitants of the western coaft of North America, in the neighbourhood of Prince William's Sound, and to the latitude of 64° north, it appeared that

ftrong fimilarity was difcernible between them and the Efquimaux on the eastern coaft; whence it was conjectured by fome that a communication by fea existed between the eastern and western fides of that continent. In fupport of this conjecture old accounts were revived of the difcoveries of John de Fuca, and De Fonte or De Fuentes; the one a Greek pilot, who made his voyage in 1592, and the other a Spanish or Portuguese admiral, who failed in 1640. John de Fuca had related that between the 47th and 48th degrees of north latitude he had entered a broad inlet which led him into a far broader sea, wherein he failed above twenty days; and De Fonte had failed through crooked channels in an extenfive archipelago 260 leagues, and 60 leagues up a navigable river which flowed into it, in 53° of north latitude, and communicated, by other lakes and rivers, with a paffage in which a fhip had arrived from Bofton in New England. The truth of these ancient accounts appeared to be ftrongly corroborated, fome years fince, by the difcovery faid to be made by one Mr. Etches, who had fitted out fome thips for the fur trade, that all the wefiern 'coast of America, from lat. 48° to 57° north, was no continued tract of land, but a chain of islands which had never been explored, and that these concealed the entrance to a vatt inland fea, like the Baltic or Mediterranean in Europe, and which feemed likewife to be full of flands. Among thefe, Mr. Etches' fhip, the Princess Royal, was faid to have penetrated several hundred leagues, in a north-eatt direction, till they came within 200 leagues of Hudfon's Bay; but as the intention of their voyage was merely commercial, they had not time fully to explore the archipelago juft mentioned, nor did they arrive at the termination of this new mediterranean fea.

The existence of any fuch inland fea is, however, now, completely difproved by the voyage of the late captain Vancouver, who, during the fummers of 1792, 1793, and 1794, explored and accurately surveyed the whole western coaft of North America, from lat, 30° to 60°. Between the 47th and 57th degrees of north latitude there is indeed an archipelago, compofed of innumerable iflands and crooked channels; but he no where found either the inlet of John de Fuca, the river of De Fonte, or the inland fea of Mr. Etches' thip.-" The precifion," fays captain Vancouver, "with which the furvey of the coaft of North-west America has been carried into effect, will, I truft, remove every doubt, and fet afide every opinion of a north-west paffage, or any water communication navigable for thipping, exifting between the North Pacific and the interior of the American continent, within the limits of our researches."

This coaft, with very little deviation, has the appearance of one continued foreft, being covered with pines of different fpecies, intermixed with alder, birch, and other trees. The natives of the northern parts are in general fhort in ftature, with faces flat and round, high checkbones, and flat noses. They have fome very peculiar cuftoms of mutilating or disfiguring their perfons, probably by way of ornament, though to us they appear difgufting and even hideous. At Port Trinidada, in lat. 41° north, the cuftom, fays captain Vancouver, was particularly fingular, and must be attended with much pain in the firft inftance, and great inconvenience ever after. All the teeth of both fexes were, by fome procefs, ground uniformly dow, horizontally to the gums; the women especially carrying the fafhion to an extreme, had their teeth reduced even below this level; and ornamented the lower lip with three perpendicular rows of punctuation, one from each corner of the mouth, and one in the middle, occupying three fifths of the lip and chin." On

under lip, extending from one corner of the mouth to the other, entirely through the flesh, which orifice is by degrees fufficiently ftretched to admit an ornament made of wood, which is confined close to the gums of the lower jaw, with the external furface projecting horizontally. Thefe wooden ornaments are oval, and resemble a small oval platter or dith made concave on both fides: they are of various fizes; some of them above three inches in length, and an inch and a half broad. The chief object of civilized nations in navigating this coaft, hitherto, has been to traffic with the natives for furs, which they give in exchange for pieces of iron, nails, beads, penknives, and other trifling trinkets. Theft furs are carried to China, and difposed of at a great profit. The kins obtained are thofe of the fea-otter, racoon, pine-martin, land-beaver, and earless marmot. Ginfeng, copper, oil, and fome other commodities, might alfo be procured.

In 1788, fome English merchants engaged in this trade formed a fettlement in King George's Sound, fince called Nootka Sound, from the name by which it is called by the natives. The Spaniards, however, being jealous of the intrufion of the Englith into a part of the world which they long regarded as their exclufive property, fent a frigate from Mexico, which captured two Englifh veffels, and took poffefhion of the fettlement. The British miniftry, on receiving intelligence of this tranfaction, fitted out a powerful armament to give weight to their demand of reparation; but the affair was amicably terminated by a convention in 1790.

Nootka Sound is fituated in lat. 49° 33′ north, long. 126° 48′ weft, on an island about 300 miles in length and 80 in breadth, named by captain Vancouver, in 1792, Quadra and Vancouver's Iland, in compliment to Senor Quadra, the Spanish commandant at Nootka,

THE PELEW ISLANDS.

THE existence and fituation of these itlands were probably known to the Spaniards at a diftant period; but from a report among the neighbouring islands, of their being inhabited by a favage race of cannibals, it appears that there never had been the leaft communication between them and any of the Europeans, till the Antelope packet (belonging to the Eaft-India company) was wrecked on one of them, in Auguft 1753. From the accounts given of these iflands, by captain Wilfon, who commanded the packet, it appears that they are fituated between the 5th and 9th degrees north latitude, and between 130 and 135 degrees of eaft longitude from Greenwich, and lie in a N. E. and S. W. direction; they are long but narrow, of a moderate height, and well covered with wood; the climate temperate and agreeable, the lands produce fugar-cane, yams, cocoa-nuts, plantains, bananas, oranges, and lemons; and the furrounding feas abound with the fineft and greateft variety of fith.

The natives of thefe idlands are a flout, well-made people, above the middle fature; their complexions are of a far deeper colour than what is understood by the Indian copper, but not black. The men go entirely naked, and the women wear only two Ymall aprons, one behind, and one before, made of the bufks of the cocoa nut dyed with different thades of yellow.