=* A Distributed Proofreaders Canada eBook *= This eBook is made available at no cost and with very few restrictions. These restrictions apply only if (1) you make a change in the eBook (other than alteration for different display devices), or (2) you are making commercial use of the eBook. If either of these conditions applies, please contact a https://www.fadedpage.com administrator before proceeding. Thousands more FREE eBooks are available at https://www.fadedpage.com. This work is in the Canadian public domain, but may be under copyright in some countries. If you live outside Canada, check your country's copyright laws. IF THE BOOK IS UNDER COPYRIGHT IN YOUR COUNTRY, DO NOT DOWNLOAD OR REDISTRIBUTE THIS FILE. _Title:_ An account of the countries adjoining to Hudson's Bay _Date of first publication:_ 1744 _Author:_ Arthur Dobbs (1689-1765) _Date first posted:_ Feb. 10, 2021 _Date last updated:_ Feb. 10, 2021 Faded Page eBook #20210247 This eBook was produced by: Howard Ross & the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net This file was produced from images generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries. A N A C C O U N T Of the C O U N T R I E S adjoining to _ H U D S O N ’ s B A Y _, I N T H E NORTH-WEST PART of _ A M E R I C A _; C O N T A I N I N G A DESCRIPTION of their LAKES and RIVERS, the Nature of the SOIL and CLIMATES, and their Methods of COMMERCE, _&c._ Shewing the Benefit to be made by settling COLONIES, and opening a TRADE in these Parts; whereby the _French_ will be deprived in a great Measure of their TRAFFICK in FURS, and the Communication between _Canada_ and _Mississippi_ be cut off. W I T H An ABSTRACT of Captain _Middleton_’s Journal, and OBSERVATIONS upon his Behaviour during his Voyage, and since his Return. To which are added, I. A Letter from _Bartholomew de Fonte_, Vice-Admiral of _Peru_ and _Mexico_; giving an Account of his Voyage from _Lima_ in _Peru_, to prevent, or seize upon any Ships that should attempt to find a North-west Passage to the _South Sea_. II. An Abstract of all the Discoveries which have been publish’d of the Islands and Countries in and adjoining to the _Great Western Ocean_, between _America_, _India_, and _China_, &c. pointing out the Advantages that may be made, if a short Passage should be found thro’ _Hudson’s_ Streight to that Ocean. III. The _Hudson’s Bay_ Company’s Charter. IV. The Standard of Trade in those Parts of _America_; with an Account of the Exports and Profits made annually by the _Hudson’s Bay_ Company. V. Vocabularies of the Languages of several _Indian_ Nations adjoining to _Hudson’s Bay_. The whole intended to shew the great Probability of a =North-west Passage=, so long desired; and which (if discovered) would be of the highest Advantage to these Kingdoms. * * * * * By _ A R T H U R D O B B S _, Esq; * * * * * _ L O N D O N _: Printed for J. ROBINSON, at the _Golden Lion_ in _Ludgate-Street_. M DCC XLIV. T O T H E K I N G. _SIR_, The Divine Providence having called Your August Family to the Government of the _British_ Empire, and placed Your Majesty on the Throne, to be the Guardian of our Civil and Religious Liberties; not content with securing these inestimable Blessings to Your own, Your Majesty extends Your auspicious Regards to other Nations: Those of _Europe_ have already experienced the happy Influence of Your Royal Care, and hope for the Restoration of Peace, and Continuance of their Tranquillity, and future Prosperity, from the Success of Your Arms, and the Wisdom of Your Counsels. While Your Majesty is asserting and defending the Rights of Princes abroad. Your _British_ Dominions reap the Fruits of Your gracious and Prudent Administration; extending their Commerce, increasing in Wealth, and flourishing with Arts and Sciences. Since these Advantages for Your People are the perpetual Objects of Your Care, permit me, SIR, to implore Your Royal Patronage of the following Sheets, which are published with no other View than that of increasing the Commerce and Riches of Your Kingdoms: An Intention that must always be agreeable to Your Majesty, which they are calculated to improve, by opening a new Field of Trade, where vast Improvements may be made, and Nations yet unknown may be made happy, and contribute to raise the Power and same of _Britain_; from whence Your Sacred Name will derive additional Honour, and Your Realms a considerable Increase of Wealth and Happiness. That Your Majesty’s Reign may be long and glorious, over a free and grateful People, is the ardent Wish and Prayer of, _May it please Your Majesty,_ _Your Majesty’s_ _most dutiful,_ _and most obedient_ _Subject and Servant,_ ARTHUR DOBBS. [Illustration] A N A C C O U N T O F T H E _Situation_, _Climate_ and _Trade_, of the COUNTRIES adjoining to _Hudson_’s _Bay_, &c. _Hudson_’s _Bay_ is a great inland Sea, situated betwixt 51 and 65 Degrees North Latitude, and from 78 to 95 West Longitude from _London_, being in Length from _Nodway_ and _Moose_ Rivers, in the Bottom of the Bay, to _Whalebone Point_, 14 Degrees; which, at 69 _English_ Miles to a Degree, is about 970 Miles; and in Breadth from _Digg_’s _Isle_, the East Entrance of the Bay, to the Land Westward of _Churchill River_, 200 Leagues, of 20 to a Degree, 690 Miles, surrounded by a great Continent, except the Opening of _Hudson_’s _Streight_, and the North-west Side of the Bay, which to be all broken Land, the surrounding Coast being above 3000 _English_ Miles. These Countries, tho’ most of them are in cold Climates, yet in the coldest Parts, even North of the Polar Circle, are inhabited by the _Eskimaux Indians_; and by the Whalebone and Oil, Skins and furs got there at present, are of considerable Advantage to those who are concerned in that Trade; and if the Trade was laid open, would be of vastly greater Benefit to _Britain_, by affording a considerable Market for our coarse Woollen and Iron Manufactures; and by forming proper Settlements in healthy and shelter’d Situations, out of the swampy Grounds, there might be comfortable Settlements made in most Places, and very tolerable, even in the worst and coldest Parts of that Continent, which are the North-east and North-west Sides of the Bay; but in the Southern and Western Sides of the Bay, there might be made as comfortable Settlements as any in _Sweden_, _Livonia_, or the South Side of the _Baltick_; and farther into the Country South-west, the Climate is as good as the Southern Part of _Poland_, and North Part of _Germany_ and _Holland_; nothing being wanting to make it so, but the building convenient Houses with Stoves, such as are used in the same Climates in _Europe_. The Reason why the Manner of living there at present appears to be so dismal to us in _Britain_, is intirely owing to the Monopoly and Avarice of the _Hudson_’s _Bay_ Company, (not to give it a harsher Name) who, to deter others from trading there, or making Settlements, conceal all the Advantages to be made in that Country, and give out, that the Climate, and Country, and Passage thither, are much worse, and more dangerous, than they really are, and vastly worse than might be, if those Seas were more frequented, and proper Settlements and Improvements were made, and proper Situations chosen for that Purpose; this they do, that they may ingross a beneficial Trade to themselves, and therefore oblige their Captains not to make any Charts or Journals that may discover those Seas or Coasts, in order to prevent others from sailing to their Factories. They also prevent their Servants from giving any Account of the Climate or Countries adjacent, that might be favourable, and induce others to trade and settle there; nor do they encourage their Servants, or even allow them to make any Improvements without their Factories, unless it be a Turnip Garden; confining them all the Summer Season, during the Time of the _Indian_ Trade, within their Factories, lest they should trade by Stealth with the Natives, and by a Crane let down their Goods to the Natives, and take up their Furs and Skins in Exchange; by which Means no Improvement can be made but their Kitchen Garden adjoining to their Factories; nor can any comfortable Settlements be made; for they, not having thirty Men in any of their Factories, dare not go at any Distance either to improve or make Discoveries, their whole Time being employed in cutting and carrying Wood for their Winter Firing, and catching Fish, and killing Geese, for their Winter Provisions; in which the Natives generally assist them, by shooting for them in the Swamps, they depending upon _Britain_ for all other Things for their Sustenance; which, if Settlements were made in proper Places, might very well be raised and procured in those Countries. I therefore think myself obliged, from the Accounts published by the _French_, and from what I have had communicated to me by those who have resided there, or have been employed in that Trade, and particularly from what I have collected from _Joseph la France_, a _French Canadese Indian_, who was born near the _French_ Lakes, and lived and traded from these Lakes to _Monreal_ and _Quebec_ for above thirty Years, and having surrounded the superior Lake, had, in a Journey of three Years, passed from thence to _York Fort_, on _Nelson River_, through all the Lakes and Rivers on the Southwest Side of the Bay, and came over in _September_, 1742, from thence: I say, I think myself obliged to make publick all I can depend upon of the Climate, Soil, Lakes and Rivers, contiguous to the Bay, and the _Indian_ Nations adjoining, and also what Improvements this spacious Country is capable of, and of the great Benefit which may be made of the Trade, in case it be laid open, and Settlements be made there: for by that Means the Fur Trade might be vastly enlarged, and be intirely recovered from the _French_, which they have now in great Measure gained from us by the Monopoly and Avarice of the Company, upon account of the exorbitant Prices they take for their Goods from the Natives, even to 2000 _per Cent._ Profit; who, for that Reason, sell their most valuable Furs to the _French_, tho’ the Carriage to _Canada_ be near 200 Leagues farther than to our Factories. Since the Eastern Main of _Hudson_’s _Bay_, otherwise called _Terra de Labarador_, extends to the _Atlantick_ Ocean, North of _Newfoundland_, in which many of the _Eskimaux Indians_ live, who feed upon raw Flesh and Fish, preserved in the Winter by Frost; I shall, in this Description of the Bay, take notice of the East Coast of that Country, so far as it is known, from the Streight of _Bell Isle_ in _Newfoundland_, in 52 Degrees, to _Button_’s _Isle_, at the Entrance into _Hudson_’s _Streight_, in about 61 Degrees, which extends about 620 Miles. This Coast, from _Hudson_’s _Streight_ to 57°, is pester’d with Ice in the Beginning of Summer, occasioned by the Quantity which comes out from the several Inlets there, as well as that which comes from _Hudson_’s and _Davis_’s _Streights_, these Islands of Ice being frequently carried as far as the Banks of _Newfoundland_, before they are dissolved; but the rest of the Coast to the Southward, from 57 to 52°, is free from Ice. Along that Coast a very fine Fishery might be carried on, there being as fine and large Fish there as any upon the Coast of _Newfoundland_; and at the same time a Trade for Furs might be introduced with the Natives, the Furs upon the East Main being as fine as any in _America_, and richer than those to the Southward. The _French_ from _Canada_ get the most of these at present, there being none to interfere with them in that Trade, it being too far from the Factories in the Bay, and at present it is open to any who should go there to trade or fish; and it would _prevent the Natives_, by getting a Market nearer Home, from going so far to trade with the _French_; our Goods also could be afforded cheaper than the _French_ Goods from _Canada_. In the Latitude 56°. is a very great and bold Inlet to this Country, into which Captain _Davis_ sail’d 10, and Captain _Weymouth_ afterwards 30 Leagues, which was 2 Leagues wide; the Sea, Inlet and Coast, was full of the finest Cod that _Davis_ had ever seen; there were great Numbers of all sorts of Land and Water-fowl, and the Country full of fine Woods, of Fir, Pine, Alder, Yew, Withy and Birch; he coasted that Land to the Southward of the Inlet four or five Days, and found it improve in Woods and low Grounds, with fair Inlets, and vast Numbers of Cod. It is surprizing that none of late have attempted to begin a Trade there with the Natives; at first they might not only make saving, but beneficial Voyages, by the Fish to be caught there, and also by naval Stores; for undoubtedly the Timber and Masts there are stronger and more durable than those which grow in _New-England_, they being of a slower Growth, as it is a colder Climate, and consequently the Timber would be closer in the Grain, and tougher, as well as more durable. It is more than probable that this, or some other Inlet near it, may go into the Heart of that Country, which seems to be made up of Islands near _Hudson’s Streight_; for a great inland Sea has been discovered lately within the East Main from _Hudson’s Bay_, betwixt _Sleepers Isle_ and Cape _Smith_, in Lat. 59°, which is 2 or 300 Leagues in Circumference, and probably may have a Communication with some of these Inlets. The Entrance of _Hudson’s Streight_, betwixt _Button’s Isle_ to the Southward, in about Lat. 61°. and Cape _Warwick_, the South End of _Resolution Isle_, in Lat. 61°, 25′, and Long. 64°. West from _London_, is about 13 Leagues wide. In the South Side is a great Bay or Inlet never yet sailed into; here the Variation is 40°. West, the Depth 200 Fathoms in the Channel. Beyond this, about 87 Leagues from the Entrance, is Cape _Hope_; further Westward is Prince _Henry_’s _Foreland_ and Cape _Charles_; and at the West End of the Streight, and South Side is Cape _Diggs_, in Lat. 62°. 42′. and Long. 77°. 45′. West 140 Leagues from _Resolution Isle_, which is the whole Length of the Streight. From Cape _Charles_ to the Western _Savage Isle_, in the Middle of the Streight, it is 15 Leagues in Breadth; and at the West End, from Cape _Diggs_ to Cape _Charles_, on the North Shore, the Streight is enlarged to 20 Leagues. There are several great Bays and Inlets in the South Side, with Head-lands and Islands, it being all a broken Coast, crowded with Ice in the Beginning of Summer; some of these probably communicate with the inland Sea lately discovered upon the East Main. The North Shore is also a broken Land, full of Inlets and Islands; the first were called the Isles of _God’s Mercy_, the next were called _Savage Isles_, about 60 Leagues from the Entrance. Beyond these is _Nicholas Isle_, Cape _Cook_, on the East Side of it, and Cape _Dorset_ to the Westward; these last were so named by _Fox_. Ten Leagues W. N. W. is Prince _Charles_’s _Foreland_, the North-west Side of the Streight. Five Leagues North-west from this is King _Charles_’s _Promontary_, in Lat. 64°. 46′; and six Leagues Northward of that Promontary, in Lat. 65°. 13′. is Cape _Maria_. In Lat. 65°. 26′. is Cape _Dorchester_, near which are three Islands called _Trinity Isles_. North of these is _Cooks Isle_, and North-east of this, in Lat. 66°. 35′. is Lord _Weston_’s _Portland_; beyond which the Land falls off to the Eastward toward _Cumberland_’s Inlet. At the Entrance of the Bay, in Lat. 63°. 30′. Long. 78°. West, is _Salisbury Isle_; and to the Westward of it _Nottingham Isle_, North-west of which lie _Mill Isles_, Lat. 64°. 20′. Long. 80°. 30′. West. All the Coast on each Side the Streight is very high, covered with Snow, and the Coast crowded with Islands of Ice, until the latter End of Summer, when it is mostly discharged into the Ocean, or dissolved by the Sun. There are great Numbers of Sea-horses, Seals and White Bears seen there; but no other fish are seen, nor any Whales, except a little Way within the Entrance, as they pass to _Davis_’s _Streight_. At the Entrance of the Bay, 14 Leagues West from Cape _Diggs_, is _Mansel_’s _Isle_, which is 20 Leagues long, and about 3 Leagues broad. It is a low flat Island, not to be seen above three or four Miles from the Deck in clear Weather, with deep Water close to the Shore. The North End is in Lat. 62°. 40′. and Long. 79°. 5′. West. The Coast upon the East Main, East of the Bay, from Cape _Diggs_ to the Bottom of the Bay in 51°. to _Rupert_’s and _Nodway_ Rivers, is very little known. There are many Islands at some Distance from the Coast, as the _North Sleepers_, twenty Leagues from the Coast, in Lat. 61°. and the _Western Sleepers_ in 59°. Betwixt these on the Main is Cape _Smith_, near which was lately found an Inlet to that great inland Sea before-mentioned. In 59°. South of the _Western Sleepers_, are a Number of Islands called the _Baker’s Dozen_. There are many more nameless Islands scattered along the Coast towards the Bottom of the Bay, from thence to 53°. where the Coast begins to be low and full of Trees. In about 52°. is _Slude River_, where the Company have a House and seven or eight Servants. To the Northward of it is a Rock of clear Stone, which proves to be _Muscovy_ Glass. To the Southward of _Slude_ River, in 51°. is _Rupert_’s River, discovered by _Zachariah Gillam_ in 1667, where the Company established their first factory. He found eight Feet Water at the Entrance, and anchor’d within it in 2 Fathoms and a half in fresh Water. The River there was a Mile broad; its Course came from E. S. E. it flow’d in that River eight feet. All the Trees were Spruce except on an Island in the River, which was full of Poplars. From that to St. _Margaret_’s River, which falls into the River St. _Laurence_, is about 150 Leagues. A little to the Southward of this is _Frenchman_’s River, which cometh from the S. E. and a little to Southward is _Nodway_’s River, which runneth from the S. S. E. This last is five Miles broad to the Falls, full of Islands and Rocks, upon which Geese breed. There are also great Numbers of Duck, Teal and Plover. To the Westward of this is Point _Comfort_, where are many Seals, and some white Whales, as big as Grampus’. About eight Days Journey from _Nodway_’s River to the Westward, in the Bottom of the Bay, is _Moose_ River or _Monsipi_, in 51°. 28′. Lat. This is a very large River, upon which the Company have a Factory, and might have a very considerable Trade. About twenty Leagues from this River in 52°. is _Albany_ River, or _Kichichouan_, another very large River upon which the Company have a Factory, which runneth from the W. S. W. Northward from this on the West Coast, is a small River called _Equon_, not regarded, nor any Thing observable upon that Coast; from thence to Cape _Henrietta Maria_ in 55°. from the _Moose_ River to this Cape is about 80 Leagues, and the Breadth of the Bay here about 50 Leagues; at the Bottom of the Bay it is about 40 Leagues wide; in that Space are many Islands, _Viner_’s Island near the West Shore in Lat. 52°. is 30 Leagues in Circuit; Lord _Weston_’s Isle in Lat. 53°. 5′; _Roe’s_ in Lat. 52°. 10′. full of small Wood; _Denbigh_’s and _Charleton_’s in Lat. 52°. 3′. on the last Captain _James_ wintered in 1632; _Hay_’s Island more southerly, on which the Company had once a Factory; _Robinson_’s and _Willow_ Island near the South Shore, and many other nameless Islands. From Cape _Henrietta Maria_ the Coast falls away to the W. N. W. and the Bay is enlarged. In Lat. 56°. is the River _Savanne_, or _New Severn_, called by the _French St. Huiles_, a fine River, tho’ not deep, call’d by the _Indians Kouachoue_; it is full of Woods within Land, and Pools of Water, in which Beavers abound, and many other Beasts of rich Furs. North-west from this River, in Lat. 57°. is _Nelson River_, call’d by the _French_ the River _Bourbon_. In _Hay_’s Island, upon this River, is _York Fort_, a Factory belonging to the Company. This is a noble, fine River, running through many Lakes, for some hundred Leagues, from the South-west; it is of difficult Entrance, the Water without of a red, muddy, sandy Colour, and shallow, not 7 or 8 Fathom out of Sight of Land: There are two small Islands to the South-eastward of it, at 4 Leagues Distance, it is shoal, and full of Breakers, where they must constantly use the Lead; the Tide here rises from 9 to 12 Feet. Forty Leagues to Northward of this is the _Danish_ or _Churchill River_, in Lat. 58°, 56′, a noble River, and a deep, bold Entrance; the Tide flows here from 10 to 14 Feet. Here is the Prince of _Wales_’s fort, upon which they have 40 Guns mounted: This is the Company’s chief Factory, and is new built of Lime and Stone; it stands elevated 40 Feet high, on the North-west Side of the River, within two Points, one called _Cape Merry_, the other _Eskimaux Point_. On the South-east Side of the Point is _Ward_’s Mount; 15 Leagues to the Northward is the River the _French_ call _Loup Marine_, or _River of Seals_; in Lat. 59°. 40′. is the Place call’d _Hubbart’s Hope_, and in 60°. 30′. Cape _Eskimaux_; in Lat. 61°. is _Hopes check’d_; a flat sand Coast, with Islands lying off it; in Lat. 61°. 40′. are three Islands at some Distance from the Coast; from thence to Lat. 62°. is a broken Coast full of Islands, called by _Fox_, _Briggs_’s _Mathematicks_. The Company at present send a Sloop to this Latitude annually from _Churchill_ to _Whale Cove_, where they trade with the _Eskimaux_ for Whale-fin and Oil, there being plenty of Whales from that Place along the Coast to 65°. all the Coast being a broken Land, full of Islands and Inlets. In Lat. 62°. 30′. is _Dun Fox’s_ Island, with many Islands betwixt it and the suppos’d Main. In Lat. 63°. is an Island called _Marble Island_, or _Brook Cobham_ by Captain _Middleton_, tho’ not the same so called by Fox, within 3 Leagues of the Coast; it is about 7 Leagues long, and 3 broad, its Length from East to West; on the South-side is a fine Cove safe from all Winds, an Island lying cross the Entrance, and an Opening in the Coast Westward of the Island, from whence the Tide flowed with a great Current; the Tide sometimes rising there 22 Feet; it is in Long. 93°. 40′. West from _London_. On this Island are white Bears, Deer, Swans, Ducks, and other Water-fowl. To the North-eastward of this Island, in Lat. 63°. 20′, is a Head-land, near which were many Whales seen by Captain _Middleton_ upon his Return; he took it to be a Head-land upon the Main; but _Fox_ called this _Brook Cobham_, and says it is an Island of white Marble, six or seven Miles long, upon which he hunted a Rain-deer, and got Swans and other Fowl, and saw forty Whales sleeping near it; betwixt it and the Coast was all broken Shelves, and a great Bay betwixt the high Land to the North, and the low Ground to the Southward; there was a Cove or Harbour on the East Side, where a Ship might lie in Safety in two Fathoms at low Water. From this Island or Head-land is a great Bay in Land, and then another Head-land in Lat. 64°, 10′, which is also an Island, Soundings betwixt them from 35 to 72 Fathoms, all within is broken Land and Islands. This Head-land _Scroggs_ called Cape _Fullerton_; this was _Fox_’s _Welcome_, and _Button_’s _Ne Ultra_. Here is a great Bay, an Opening betwixt this and _Whalebone Point_, in Lat. 64°, 56′, in which _Scroggs_ saw many Whales, and Captain _Norton_ from a high Land saw an open Sea leading to the Southward of the West. North-east of this Point, in Lat. 65°, 10′, Long. 88°, 6′ West, a fair Cape or Head-land was discovered by Captain _Middleton_, which he called _Cape Dobbs_; to the Northward of which was an Opening, River or Streight, which at the Entrance, in Lat. 65°, 24′, was six or seven Miles wide, and from 14 to 44 Fathoms deep in the mid Channel; it continued of that Breadth for 4 or 5 Miles; 4 Leagues higher it was 4 or 5 Leagues wide; and higher up even to 30 Leagues. It was from 8 to 10 Leagues wide, and above 70 Fathom deep. The Course of the River was about N. West by Compass, which Variation allowed of 35°, is about W. by N. At a high Bluff, on the South-west Side, 30 Leagues up the River, they saw a large Streight or River, 4 or 5 Leagues wide, running W. S. W. with high, mountainous, broken Lands, on each Side. The Tide slowed from the Eastward at the Mouth of the River, and in the Narrows 5 or 6 Miles in an Hour. At the Entrance, without in the _Welcome_, and for a considerable Way up the River, it was choaked with Ice, driving backwards and forwards with the Tide. At 16 Leagues Distance from the Entrance was a Sound 6 or 7 Miles wide, and below it a very large, safe Harbour, capable of containing a fleet in Safety; the Sound he called _Deer Sound_. He anchored in a Cove 8 Leagues below it, within some Isles which he called _Savage Sound_. The upper Part of the River was almost clear of Ice, and many true Whales in it, but none below, nor without the River; this Streight he called _Wager Streight_. To the North-east of this is another Streight, running N. N. E. to Cape _Hope_, so called by him, upon Pretence of his Expectation of its being the North Point of _America_, in Lat. 66°, 40′. To the North-west and North of this, is a great Bay; about 20 Leagues deep, and 8 or 10 wide, quite surrounded with Land, except to the Eastward, where he gave out, upon his going to Land, that there was a Streight frozen over, leading to the South-east, from 4 to 7 Leagues wide, full of Islands, through which the Tide flowed; but by others who were on Shore, it appears there was no such Streight nor Tide, but only a narrow Sound around an Island, upon which they stood, about 3 Leagues wide, where was no Tide but what flowed from the Southward up the Streight from the _Welcome_, which ended in the Bay, in which they found no Tide nor Current. The North Point of this Island he called _Cape Frigid_; and to the Southward of the Sound, South of the Island, was a low Beachy Point, but high Lands to the Eastward of it, and so round to the Northward. from this Beachy Point to Cape _Hope_, the Streight was 7 or 8 Leagues wide; and from it, along the East Side of the _Welcome_, as far as Lat. 64°, was a low continuous Beachy Coast, and so on to Cape _Southampton_, in about Lat. 62°; from whence the Coast is Easterly to _Cary_’s _Swan’s Nest_; from thence to Cape _Nasdrake_ N. E. in Lat. 62°. 40′. Long. 83°. 50′. West; thence Northerly to Cape _Pembrook_, in Lat. 63°. 30′. _Shark_, or _Sea-Horse Point_, North of this, in Lat. 64°. 10′. and Cape _Comfort_, in Lat. 65°. 85′. West; from whence the Land falls away North-west towards his imaginary frozen Streight. On the other Side of a Bay, E. N. E. from this Point, is Lord _Weston_’s _Portland_, already mentioned, on the North-west of _Hudson_’s _Streight_, where the Land falls away towards _Cumberland_’s Inlet; so far _Fox_ had sailed. This is the whole Extent of the Bay and Streights adjoining to it that are yet known or divulged. Having given this short Description of the Coast of _Hudson_’s _Bay_ and Streights adjoining, as far as any thing has been published, or is come to my Knowledge by private Journals or Information, the Company concealing, as much as they can, all Things relating to the Commerce and Navigation of the Bay, as well as of the Climate and Countries adjoining; I shall, before I make any general Observations upon the Rivers, Soil, Climates, and Produce of the several adjoining Countries, give some short Abstracts of Journals relating to the Seasons and Weather in different Parts of the Bay, and afterwards give such Descriptions of these Countries as the _French_ have published, and what I have collected from some who have been there, and particularly from _Joseph la France_, the _French Canadese Indian_, already mentioned. The first Journal that can be depended upon for Observations upon wintering in this Bay, is that of Captain _James_ in _Charleton Island_, in Lat. 52°. for _Hudson_’s and _Button_’s Journals are not to be found. He wintered there in 1632; he was obliged to take Harbour in the Beginning of _October_, the Snow and Ice began in that Month, but the Sea was not frozen close to the Island until the Middle of _December_. The Cold was very intense until the Middle of _April_, unto those who had no Place to reside in, but a Tent covered with their Sails, and such Branches of small Spruce as that Island afforded; and consequently in such a Situation they endured great Hardships in so long a Winter, surrounded by a Sea all covered with Ice, for a long Time after it was dissolved upon the Lands adjoining to the Bay. The 29th of _April_ it rained all Day. The third of _May_ the Snow was melted in many Places of the Island. The thirteenth the Weather was very warm in the Day-time, but there was still Frost in the Night. The 24th the Ice was consumed along the Shore, and crack’d all over the Bay, and began to float by the Ship. The 30th the Water was clear of Ice betwixt the Shore and the Ship, and some Vetches appeared. The 15th of _June_ the Sea was still frozen over, and the Bay full of Ice. The 16th was very hot, with Thunder. The 19th they saw some open Sea, and by the 20th all the Ice was drove to the Northward. This Island was a dry Sand, covered with a white Moss, and small Shrubs and Bushes, no Trees but Spruce and Juniper, the longest a Foot and a Half over. The Sea to Northward was full of floating Ice until the 22d of _July_. The next that wintered in the Bottom of the Bay was Captain _Gillam_, in the _Nonsuch Catch_, in 1668; it was _September_ before he got to the Bottom of the Bay, where he was embay’d betwixt _Rupert_’s, _Frenchman_’s, and _Nodway Rivers_. He got into _Rupert_’s _River_ the 29th of September, and came to an Anchor in two Fathoms and a Half Water, the River was a Mile broad. The 9th of _December_ they were frozen up in the River, and went upon the Ice to a small Island full of Poplars, all the other Trees were Spruce. In _April_ 1669, the Cold was almost over, and the _Indians_ came down to them. They saw no Grain there, but many Gooseberries, Strawberries, and Dewotter Berries. The _Indians_ about that River are simpler than those of _Canada_. The _Nodways_ or _Eskimaux Indians_, near _Hudson_’s _Streight_, are wild and barbarous. In 1670 the Ice began in _Rupert_’s _River_ on the 10th of _October_, but they had warm Weather after that. The River was frozen over the 6th of _November_, they then shot white Partridges in _Petre River_ to Northward of them, and at _Frenchman_’s _River_, a great River to Southward of them. The Snow that Year was 7 or 8 Feet thick, tho’ in 1673 it was but 4 Feet thick. The first of _February_ they had such a Change of Weather, that it rather thawed than froze. About the 20th of _March_ it began to thaw, and the first of _April_ the Geese returned; the River was thawed the 20th of _April_. The next is an Abstract of a Journal kept at _Albany River_, in Lat. 52°. one of the Factories belonging to the Company, from _October_ 1729, to the Year 1731, giving an exact Account of the Weather and Climate, and how they spent their Time there. The Frost began in _October_ 1729, about which time the Geese, that returned from the Northward to that River in _August_, departed from thence to the more southern Countries. The Creek near the Factory was frozen over the 13th; by the 21st there was a great deal of Ice floating in the River; by the 31st it was fast as far as _Charles_ Creek; by the 5th of _November_ the whole River was frozen over, but not so strong as to bear; the Weather was temperate with some Snow to the 27th; all the Month of _December_ was interchangeably three or four Days cold, and then a temperate Frost, with some Snow; the Month of _January_ much the same, cold and temperate interchangeably; the Month of _February_ was variable, but mostly moderate, at Intervals warm, and then sharp Weather; _March_, to the 8th, was warm temperate Frost; from that Time to the 17th fine clear Weather, with some Snow; thence to 29th clear Weather tolerably warm; on the 30th a Storm of Snow, and then it began to thaw in the middle of the Day; it continued thawing till the 5th of _April_, then two Days Frost, it thawed again until the 13th, when the Geese returned from the Southward; then to 17th raw cold Weather; 18th warm and Rain; then interchangeably warm, and raw Weather, until the 28th; when the Frost was broke up in the Country by the Freshes coming down; the 29th the Ice gave Way to the Head of the Island, and next Day drove down to _Baily_’s Island, when all the Marshes were overflowed, the Bay being not yet thawed; the Ice continued driving in the River until the 5th of _May_, then the River fell five Feet, by the breaking up of the Ice at Sea; the 7th they had Thunder and Rain, the Ice still driving in the River; the 8th the _Indians_ came down in their Canoes to trade; to 13th they had raw cold Weather; 16th they began to dig their Garden; 22d the Tide began to flow regularly; the 23d they sowed their Turnips, the Geese went then to the Northward to breed; raw cold Weather until the 29th; 30th variable Weather, with some Hail and Snow; from that Time to the 12th of _July_ fine warm Weather, and then to the 7th of _September_, warm or very hot Weather; to the 18th warm and temperate; then to 25th variable and temperate, with some Rain; then Frost in the Night; fine Weather until the 29th; _October_ 2d and 3d, Snow and some Frost in the Night; then to the 9th moderate Weather, with some Snow and Frost in the Night; to the 12th fine Weather; stop’d Fishing, having no Frost to freeze the Fish; to the 24th fine warm Weather with small Frost; the 28th Ice in the River and the Geese going away; _November_ 13th the River full of heavy Ice; the 18th it was frozen over, but still moderate Weather; the Winter was not so severe as the former, the Geese returned the 14th of _April_ 1731, the Freshes came down _May_ 5th, the 12th the Ice was gone to Sea, the 13th the _Indians_ came to trade in their Canoes; they had fine warm Weather that Year from the 11th of _May_ to the middle of _September_. The _Indians_ that came that Year to trade were 35 Canoes of Western _Indians_, 31 of upland _Indians_, 10 of _French Indians_, 1 of strange _Indians_, 22 of _Sturgeon Indians_, 5 of _Home Indians_, 9 of _Jack Indians_, and 5 of _Moose River Indians_, 118 in all. The _Beaver_ Sloop left the Factory 20th of _August_ 1729, to winter in _Slude_ River on the East Main, and returned to _Albany_ 5th of _July_ 1730. _August_ 22d Captain _Middleton_ arrived at the Factory in the _Hudson’s Bay_ Frigate, was loaded by the 29th, and sailed _September_ 1st for _England_. The 7th the two Sloops sailed for _Moose_ River, to fix a Factory there, in 51°. 28′. This is a much finer and larger River than _Albany_, and navigable for Canoes above the Falls, a great Way to the Southward, towards the Inland Lakes. _July_ 2d 1731, the _Beaver_ Sloop returned from _Slude_ River; the 31st Captain _Middleton_ returned, and sailed for _Moose_ River the 9th of _August_, and the 21st sailed from thence for _England_; the 28th the _Beaver_ Sloop returned to _Slude_ River; _November_ 10th 1731, _Albany_ River was frozen over. So far goes this Journal. If I may depend upon a short Sketch mentioned by _Fox_ from _Button_’s Journal, of his wintering in _Nelson_ River, in 57°. in 1612, it would appear that the Winter was not so long or severe at Port _Nelson_, as at _Albany_ in 52°. occasioned, I suppose, from the Strength and Heighth of the Tide there, which rises near 14 Feet, when at _Albany_ it does not rise above 4 Feet; for he says, altho’ the River was not above a Mile over, it was not frozen over that Year until the 16th of _February_; and they had several warm thawing Days before, and the River was clear of Ice the 21st of _April_: But by this Journal, _Albany_ River was frozen over the Beginning of _November_, and the Ice did not break up at the Factory until the Beginning of _May_. I have seen no late Journal of the Weather at _York_ Fort, on the Southern Branch of _Nelson_ River, so can’t tell whether the Climate be such now, as is here represented. But since the Winter 1741 was so severe at _Churchill_ River, only 2°. more northerly than _Nelson_ River, of which the following Journal was taken by Captain _Middleton_, I should suppose this more severe than usual, or wrote with a View to serve the Company, by setting it forth in its worst Colours, or the Climate at _York_ Fort is more severe than is here mentioned from _Button_’s Journal. Captain _Middleton_ arrived at _Churchill_ River the 10th of _August_ 1741, the Weather was moderate and fair, with Calms until the 24th; the Home _Indians_ having been gone into the Country, they sent to _York_ Fort for _Indians_ to kill Geese for their Winter Store, before they went to the Southward; they sunk a Pit six Feet deep in the new Fort to put their Beer in, to preserve it from the Winter’s frost, which they covered eight Feet high above Ground with Earth and Horse Dung; the 26th was stormy with Rain. The first Snow they had was on the 1st of _September_, the Geese then going to the Southward; cold blowing Weather with Snow Showers until the 8th, the Ground still marshy and Boggy; the same Weather until the 13th; moderate Weather, with some Rain and Thunder until the 22d; 23d freezing, with small Snow; 27th the Thermometer as low as in _London_ in the great Frost, they killed 100 white Partridges before the cold Weather came on; they then went to the Woods; 30th the River full of floating Ice driving out with the Ebb; _October_ 1st the Ice fast along the Shore for two Miles; 7th the River almost full of floating Ice, but not much Snow on the Ground; 12th most of the Ice that lined the Shore for two Miles above them, drove to Sea, and was out of Sight next Day; the Ice farther up fast froze, they cross’d the River upon the Ice eight Miles above the Fort the 9th; 16th the Ice not yet fast at the Mouth of the River, tho’ the Sea was full of Ice when the Wind blew upon the Shore; 17th all the Ice without drove out of Sight; 18th cold Weather now with all Winds; 21st Water and Ink freeze by the Bedside; 22d the River still open in several Places. The Company’s Servants take white Foxes, which are plenty here; from 18th to 27th moderate calm Weather, but hard Frost, the Snow in many Places 10 or 12 feet deep; no stirring without Snow Shoes, 5 feet long, and 18 Inches broad; high Winds and much Snow till the 30th; 31st cold with thick Fog; some of the Company’s Men came home from Wooding and Hunting, having their Necks and Faces frozen. _November_ 2d the Ice drives in and out each Tide, but no Water to be seen at Sea, nor above a Mile up the River; the 9th a Bottle of Spirits full Proof, set out at Night was frozen; they still get white Foxes and Partridges near the Fort, tho’ not so plenty as in former Years; 11th hard Gales and stormy, no going out without being froze; 12th the River now fast froze at the Entrance; 15th set up Beacons cross the River to guide them, the Ice 4 or 5 feet thick; not yet fast above a Mile from Shore; the Weather sometimes moderate, sometimes severe, until the 10th of _December_; they got to that Time 1500 Partridges; 14th so cold an _Indian_ seventy Years old was starved to Death under the Walls of the Fort in his Tent; 22d most of the Factory’s Men, who had been Hunting and Fishing, returned for a Fortnight to keep _Christmas_; 30th moderate warm Weather, six Home _Indians_ came from the Northward with Buffalo’s Flesh and Goods for Trade; they were five Months from the Factory, and twenty Days in their Journey home; they say their Country is barren and without Wood; very cold from the 1st to 9th of _January_; close hazy Weather, very cold from that Time to 18th; the Captain walked five Miles to the old Factory and returned in the Evening; cold Frost to 24th; got to that Time 300 more Partridges; 29th several of the Factory’s Men came from the Woods for a Fortnight’s Provisions; most of them lie in the Woods all the Winter, shooting, fishing, and cutting fire Wood; got fifteen Jacks from one of them, who fished all the Winter in Holes in the Ice; 31st returned again to the Woods; moderate Weather, clear and cold until 8th of _February_; it freezes still hard in the Night; the Weather very cold, but generally clear until the 15th; got to that Time 229 more Partridges; none who lie out in the Woods and exercise, are troubled with any Distemper; moderate, fair, temperate Weather, with Frost, until the 2d of _March_; very cold from that Time to the 12th. Several _Indians_ came down almost starved for want of Food, and several Wolves. Thirteenth very cold, got 50 Partridges, and 22 Fish from his Servant, who had fished all the Winter 25 Miles up the River; 14th and 15th, very cold, hard Gales, and drifting Snow; 16th and 17th, moderate and clear; to 21st fresh Gales with Frost, but fair; 22d moderate, began to repair the Ships; to 27th moderately warm, with some Snow in the Nights, the Weather now grown milder; 28 and 29th a great Snow for 30 Hours, the Fort full within and without, as high as the Ramparts; 30th the Storm abated, but very cold; the Ice 3 or 4 Inches thick under the Deck. Cold until the 2d of _April_, then calm and warm, with a clear Sky, the Sun now begins to thaw some Places. Fourth drift Snow, but not so cold as usual; 5th to 7th cold freezing Weather. The Water rose 9 or 10 feet, the Ice at the Ship 10 feet thick, and Snow 13 feet above it; 9th and 10th moderate warm Weather to what they had, some Hail, and large flakes of Snow, a Sign the Winter is spent, all the Snow for 6 Months being as fine as Dust; 11th moderate and hazy, got 300 Partridges; 12th to 18th Frost, with some Snow and Sleet; Ink freezes by the Fire; 19th light Airs, and warm in the Day, but cold in the Night; 20th warm, clear Weather, with fresh Gales, the Ice without the Harbour, not fast, is drove to Sea; but when it drives to the Shore, no End to be seen of it; 21st and 22d moderate, pleasant, warm Weather, had a Shower of Rain, none before for 7 Months; 23d fresh Gales, with Frost, and some Snow; the Tide rose 10 feet 3 Inches; Frost and some Snow until the 28th, then moderate and fair, with some Snow Showers; saw a Goose that Day, which was killed 4 Miles from the Ship; Frost, Sleet and Rain, to the 1st of _May_; 2d Thunder, Rain and Hail; 3d and 4th cold and Frost; 5th Fog and Rain; 6th to 10th Frost and Snow, then moderate, fair Weather; 12th and 13th Hail, with Frost; 14th to 18th moderate and cloudy, with some Rain, fresh Gales, with some Snow, Hail and Rain, until the 23d; cloudy and hazy, with some Rain, until the 26th; the River opens a little above, but is fast below; 31st moderate and clear. _June_ the 1st the Ice gave way in the Channel, and drove to Sea, but still fast on the Flats, near a Mile from the Shore; 2d moderate, fair Weather, Ice driving in and out with the Tide; 3d Thunder and large Hail, very warm after the Shower; 4th moderate and cloudy, with Thunder and Rain; shot a white Whale, and got a Barrel of Oil from it; 5th cloudy, most of the Ice broke off from the Flats, and drove to Sea; 6th and 7th fair and cloudy; 8th squally, with Showers of Rain; the Flats almost clear, Ice still driving in the River; 9th and 10th moderate, fair Weather, got the Ship out of her Dock, and moored her; 11th fair Weather, with thick Fog; several Northern _Indians_ came to trade; 13th got the Ship into the Stream, all the Ice gone out of the River; 14th and 15th moderate, hazy Weather; 16th squally, Thunder and Rain; sent a Sloop to the Goose Tent, 7 Leagues from the River, for Geese; 17th Cloudy, 30 Canoes of upland _Indians_ came down to trade; 18th to 20th cloudy; the Sloop returned with 16 Casks of salted Geese; employed in watering and digging up their Beer, which was in one Cake of Ice; from that time to the 28th warm and fair, got every thing ready for sailing. Since the _Hudson_’s _Bay_ Company conceal as much as possible the Nature of the Soil and Climates of the several Countries within their Grant, as well as the Benefit to be made by their Trade, upon such noble Rivers and Lakes as communicate with the Bay, from the Merchants in _Britain_, lest they should interfere with them in their Trade; in order to give a better Idea of these Countries, before I make any Observations upon these Journals, I shall give a brief Description of these Rivers and Lakes on the West Side of the Bay from the _French_ Accounts of Monsieur _Jeremie_ and _de la Poterie_, and then give the Account I got from _Joseph la France_, who travelled through all these Countries within these 3 or 4 Years, and from their Accounts, and these Journals, make the best Observations I can upon the Soil, Climates, and extensive Trade of these great inland Countries and Lakes from _Canada_ to the Western Ocean of _America_, and what great Improvements may be made by laying open that Trade, and settling in proper Places, on the Rivers which enter into the Bay. The _French_ were in Possession of _Fort Bourbon_, which we call now _York Fort_, upon St. _Theresa_, the Eastern Branch of _Nelson River_, from the Year 1697 to 1714. Monsieur _Jeremie_, who was Lieutenant there from 1697 to 1708, and afterwards Governor, until he gave it up in 1714 to us, gives a very particular Account of that River and the adjoining Countries, great Part of which he affirms to be of his own Knowledge, having travelled a great Way South-west into the Country among the Rivers and Lakes. The _Danish_ or _Churchill River_, upon which the Company have lately built a strong Stone fort, he says, is situated in 59°. North Latitude, and is about 500 Paces wide at the Entrance, for about a Quarter of a League, and is very deep; but within it is much broader, and is navigable into the Country 150 Leagues; there is but little Wood upon this River, near the Bay, except in the Islands. At 150 Leagues Distance is a Chain of high Mountains, with great Cataracts and Falls of Water; but beyond these it is again navigable, and has a Communication with a River Called _the River of Stags_. Fifteen Leagues Northward of this River, is the River of _Loup Marine_, or _River of Seals_; betwixt these Rivers is a kind of Ox, called the _Musk Ox_, which smells at some Time in the Year so strong of Musk, that it cannot be eat. They have very fine Wool, which is longer than that of the _Barbary_ Sheep; they are smaller than _French_ Oxen, with very crooked Horns, which turn round like Rams Horns, and are so large, that they weigh sometimes 60 Pounds; they have short Legs, and their Wool trails upon the Ground; they are not numerous. This River comes from a Country he calls _Platscotez de Chiens_, who make War against the _Savanna Indians_, who traded with the _French_. In that Country they have a large Copper Mine, so fine, that without smelting it, they make Copper of it by beating it betwixt two Stones. He saw a great deal of it, which their _Indians_ got when they went to War against that Nation. This Nation has a sweet, humane Aspect, but their Country is not good. They have no Beaver, but live by Fishing, and a kind of Deer they call _Cariboux_, (Rain-Deer.) The Hares grow white in Winter, and recover their Colour in Spring; they have very large Ears, and are always black. Their Skins in Winter are very pretty, of fine long Hair, which does not fall, so that they make very fine Muffs. He says he can say nothing positive in going farther Northward, but only that their Savages reported, that in the Bottom of the Northern Bay, there is a Streight where they can easily discover Land on the other Side; they had never gone to the End of that Streight; they say there is Ice there all the Year, which is drove by the Wind sometimes one Way, sometimes another. According to all Appearance, this Arm of the Sea has a Communication with the Western Ocean, and what makes it more probable, is, that when the Wind comes from the Northern Quarter, the Sea is discharged by that Streight in such Abundance into _Hudson_’s _Bay_, so as to raise the Water 10 feet above the ordinary Tides; insomuch as when they find the Waters rise, Ships take Shelter against these Northerly Winds. The Savages say, that after travelling some Months to the W. S. W. they came to the Sea, upon which they saw great Vessels with Men who had Beards and Caps, who gather Gold on the Shore, that is at the Mouths of Rivers. In passing to the Southward from the _Danish_ River, at 60 Leagues Distance, is the River of _Bourbon_, or _Nelson_, in Lat. 57°, there is nothing remarkable in the Country betwixt these two Rivers, but a great Number of the Deer called _Cariboux_, which being drove from the Woods by a great Number of Musketoes or Midges, come to the Shore to refresh themselves; they are in Herds of 10000 together, and spread through a Country 40 or 50 Leagues in Extent; they might have as many of their Skins as they pleased, and some have been dressed, which have been very fine. They have there also all Sorts of Wild-fowl, as Swans, Bustards, Geese, Cranes, Ducks, and those of the smaller Kind, in such great Numbers, that when they rise they darken the Sky, and make so much Noise, that they can scarce hear each other speak. He says that may appear fabulous, but affirms he says nothing but what he saw himself; for he would not trust to the Report of others, but went himself to almost every Place he mentions. The River St. _Theresa_, upon which they built Fort _Bourbon_, is a Branch of _Nelson_ River, by which the Natives come down to trade. This River is of so great Extent, that it passes thro’ many great Lakes; the first is 150 Leagues from the Entrance of the River, and is 100 Leagues in Circuit: The Natives call it the Lake of _Forts_ (or rather _Forests_). On the North Side a River discharges itself, called the _Rapid River_; this takes its Rise from a Lake 300 Leagues from the first, which they call _Michinipi_, or the _great Water_, because in Effect it is the greatest and deepest Lake, being 600 Leagues in Circumference, and receives into it many Rivers, some of which have a Communication with the _Danish_ River, and others with the _Plascotez de Chiens_. About this Lake, and along these Rivers, are great Numbers of _Indians_, who call themselves the Nation of the great Water, or of _Assinibouels_; it is to be remarked that these are as humane and affable, as the _Eskimaux_ are fierce and barbarous, as are also all the other Nations along _Hudson’s Bay_. At the Extremity of the Lake of _Forests_, the River _Bourbon_ continues its Course, and comes from another Lake, called, _the Junction of the two Seas_, because the Land almost meets in the middle of the Lake. The East Side of this Lake is a Country full of thick Forests, in which are great Numbers of Beaver and Elks. Here begins the Country of the _Christinaux_. This is in a much more temperate Climate; the West Side is full of fine Meadows, filled with wild Oxen; the _Assinibouels_ live here. The Lake is 400 Leagues in Circumference, and 200 from the other Lake. A hundred Leagues further W. S. W. along this River, is another Lake they call _Ounipigouchih_, or the _Little Sea_. It is almost the same Country and Climate with the other, inhabited by the same _Indians_, the _Assinibouels_, the _Christinaux_, and _Sauteurs_, it is 300 Leagues in Circumference; at the further End is a River which comes from _Tacamiouen_, which is not so great as the other; it is into this Lake that the River of _Stags_ is discharged, which is of such a Length that the Natives have not yet discovered its Source. From this River they can go to another which runs Westward, but all the rest run either into the Bay, or River of _Canada_. He endeavoured to send the Natives to discover if it went to the Western Sea; but their Enemies lying in their Way prevented them; however they brought some of them Prisoners, who said they also were at War with another Nation farther West; these said they had Neighbours with Beards, who liv’d in Stone Houses and Forts; that they were not cloathed like them; that they had white Kettles, and shewing them a Silver Cup, they said it was of that Mettal; they said they tilled their Land with Tools of that Mettal; according to their Description, it was Maize they cultivated. The Intendant of _Canada_ wanted to discover these Countries from thence; but it is much easier from Fort _Bourbon_, as it is shorter, and through a fine Country, full of Beasts and wild Fowl, besides Fruit which grow wild, as Plumbs, Apples and Grapes, and a great Variety of smaller Fruit. On the South-west Side of this Lake _Tacamiouen_, is a River which comes from another, called _the Lake of Dogs_, which is not far from the superior Lake. The River _St. Theresa_ is but half a League wide where the Fort is built. Two Leagues higher is Fort _Philipeaux_, built for a Retreat; there the River begins to be interspersed with Islands. Twenty Leagues above the Fort the River divides into two Branches, one which comes from the North-west Side, communicates with _Nelson_ or _Bourbon_ River, by which the Natives come down to trade, by the Means of a Land Carriage from the Lake of _Forests_ to this River. Twenty Leagues above the first Fork there is another, that comes from the South-east, which the Natives call _Guichematouang_, or the great Fork. This has a Communication with the River _St. Huiles_; the Western Branch, tho’ still called _St. Theresa_, is but of small Extent, coming from its Source by several small Brooks, in each of which are great Numbers of Lynx, Beavers, Martins, and others of smaller Furs. Betwixt the two Forts is a small River called _Egaree_, from whence they get their Wood for firing, it being scarce at the Fort. Near the Mouth of the River is another small one they call _Gargousse_; there comes in at high Water a great Number of Porpoises; the River being narrow here. There might be a good Fishing, where they might make above 600 Barrels of Oil annually. From this River to _St. Huiles_, or _New Severn_, is 100 Leagues S. E. It is situated in Lat. 56°. The Entrance is but shallow, only capable of Vessels of 60 Tons. Here might be made good Houses, for Wood is very plenty here, and there are great Numbers of Beavers higher up the River. As to the Climate at Fort _Bourbon_, it being in Lat. 57°. it is very cold in Winter, which begins about _Michaelmas_, and ends in _May_. The Sun sets about 3, and rises about 9 in the Winter. When the Days grow a little longer, and the Cold is more temperate, the Sportsmen kill as many Partridges and Hares as they please. One Year, when they had eighty Men in Garison, they had the Curiosity to reckon the Number, which amounted to 90,000 Partridges, and 25,000 Hares. At the End of _April_, the Geese, Bustards, and Ducks, return in such Numbers, that they kill as many as they please; they also take great Numbers of Cariboux or Rain-Deer. In _March_ and _April_ they come from the North to the South, and extend then along the River 60 Leagues; they go again Northward in _July_ and _August_; the Roads they make in the Snow are as well padded, and cross each other as often as the Streets in _Paris_; the Natives, make Hedges with Branches of Trees, and leave Openings in which they fix Snares, and thus take Numbers of them. When they swim the Rivers in returning Northwards, the Natives kill them in Canoes with Lances, as many as they please. In Summer they have the Pleasure of Fishing, and with Nets take Pike, Trout and Carp, and a white Fish something like a Herring, by much the best Fish in the World; they preserve those for their Winter Provision, by putting them in Snow, or freezing them, as also the Flesh they would preserve: They keep thus also Geese, Ducks, and Bustards, which they roast with the Hares and Partridges they kill in Winter; so that tho’ it be a cold Climate, there is good Living there, by getting Bread and Wine from _Europe_. Tho’ the Summer be short, they had a Garden and good Coleworts, with Sallads and small Herbs, which they had in their Soups in Winter. He had 120,000 Livres Profit out of 8000 sent him in Goods in one Season; they have also Bears, Elks, and all Sorts of Beasts whose Skins and Furs are valued in _France_; and according to him it is one of the most profitable Posts in _North America_, considering the Expence. This is an Extract of so much as is material out of _Monsieur Jeremie_’s Letter, describing the Climate and Countries adjoining to Fort _Bourbon_. To this I will give an Abstract of what _de la Poterie_ mentions in relation to that River, and the Nations and Countries adjoining to it. He says the _Ouinebigonhelinis_ inhabit on the Sea-coast. The _Poaourinagou_, or River _Bourbon_ is a League wide, inhabited by the _Miskogonhirinis_, or _Savanna Indians_, who make War with the _Hakouchirmiou_. Five Leagues within it, are two Islands of a League in Circuit each, where there are large Trees; this River is but five Leagues from _St. Theresa_ by Land, and seven by Water; here is a flat Coast for 100 Leagues; a League without the Mouth of the River is a Pool betwixt two Banks, in which is 18 Foot at low Water, and five Fathoms at high Water, 200 Fathom over, and 600 in Length, where Ships may ly at Anchor. A League within the River on the Star-board Side is Fort _Nelson_. This River takes its Source from a great Lake called _Michinipi_, where is the true Nation of the _Cris_, or _Christinaux_; from whence there is a Communication with the _Assinibouels_, tho’ far from each other; the River _Mathisipi_, called _Leogane_, empties itself on the Larboard Side near its Mouth; and about a League higher over against the Fort is _Matchisipi_, called _Gargousse_; by these two Rivers the Savages come to the Fort of _New Savanne_, by the great River they call _Kouachoue_. Twelve Leagues above the fort is the River _Oujuragatchousibi_, and two Leagues higher is the River _Apithsibi_, called the River _Pierre de Fleches_, which is the Way by which the Savages come to a great Lake called _Namousaki_, or the River of Sturgeons, where the _Nakonkirhirinous_ reside. Twenty Leagues above _Apithsibi_ is _Kechematouamis_, called the _Great Fork_, by which they go to _Kichichouane_ or _Albany River_, in the Bottom of the Bay. The Country about Fort _Nelson_ is very low, it is filled with Woods of small Trees, and is very marshy. The Natives live by Hunting and Fishing; Seals abound there, which are larger than those of _Canada_; they sell the Oil extracted from them at the Fort, which is better and clearer than Nut Oil. They have Bustards and wild Geese in great Numbers, and sell the Feathers at the Fort. The white Partridges are as large as Capons. They have white Foxes and Martin Zebelins fairer than those in _Muscovy_. The _Monsonis_ or Nation of the Marshes live higher up, than the _Ouenebegonhelinis_, in a Country full of Marshes. As they have a great many small Rivers and Brooks, which fall into great Rivers, these People kill a great many Beavers; they find some very black, a Quality rare enough; for they are commonly of a reddish Colour. These would have prevented the Nations at a greater Distance from trading with the _English_; but they obliged them to give them a Passage if they would enjoy any Commerce themselves. The _Savanna Indians_ are more to the Southward; they have Savannas, Meadows, and fine Hills in their Country. There the Elks, Roe-Bucks, Rain-Deer, and Squinaton, have Place to range in. The Squinaton resembles a Roe-Buck; it is higher, has finer Legs, and the Head longer and sharper. The _Cris_, or _Christinaux_, that is Savages who dwell upon the Lakes, are 160 Leagues higher; they use the Calumet of Peace; they are a numerous Nation, and extend over a vast Country, as far as the upper Lake, and trade sometimes at _Missilimakinac_. They are lively, always in Action, dancing and singing; they are at the same time Warriors, and very like to the Manners of the _Gascoyns_. The _Migichilinious_, that is _Eagle ey’d Indians_, are at 200 Leagues Distance; the _Assinibouels_ inhabit the West and the North; they are reputed to be the same Nation, because of the great Affinity of their Language. The Name signifies Men of the _Rock_. They use the Calumet, and live at 250 Leagues Distance. They paint their Bodies, are grave, and have much Phlegm, like the _Flemings_. The _Osquisakamais_ live upon Fish; they kill but few Beavers, but their Coat Beaver is the best from their greasy Way of living, and cleaning their Hands upon them. The _Michinipicpoets_, or Men of Stone of the great Lake, are at 300 Leagues Distance; they live North and South. The _Netouatsimipoets_, or Men of the Point, are distant 400 Leagues. The _Attimospiquay_ which signifies the Coast of Dogs; they have yet had no Commerce with the _French_, because they dare not pass the Lands of the _Maskigonehirinis_, with whom they have War; here is the Musk Ox, whose Hair is as fine as the Beavers, which is fit for Hats; their Horns turn round like Rams Horns; they learn from these People, that there is a Strait, at the End of which is an Icy Sea, which has a Communication with the South Seas. These Nations, who come from a great Distance, assemble in _May_ at a great Lake, sometimes 12 or 1500 together, to begin their Voyage. The Chiefs represent their Wants, and engage the young Men to prepare and get Beavers, and each family makes a Feast, and fix upon a certain Number to go together, and they renew Alliances with each other; then Joy, Pleasure, and good Cheer reigns, in which Time they make their Canoes, which are of Birch Bark; the Trees are much larger than those in _France_; they make the Floor-timbers of little Pieces of white Wood, four Inches thick; they bind them at the Top to Pieces an Inch thick, which keeps the Bark open above, and sew up the two Ends; these are so swift as to go 30 Leagues in a Day with the Stream; they carry them easily on their Backs, and are very light in the Water; they have no Seats, and they must paddle either sitting in the Bottom, or upon their Knees; when they are ready for their Voyage they choose several Chiefs; the Number that trade annually are not certain, according as they happen to have War or not, which affects their Hunting; but there comes down generally to Port _Nelson_ 1000 Men, some Women, and about 600 Canoes. There are eight Kinds of Beavers received at the Farmer’s Office. The first is the fat Winter Beaver, kill’d in Winter, which is worth 5 _s._ 6 _d._ _per_ Pound. The second is the fat Summer Beaver killed in Summer, and is worth 2 _s._ 9 _d._ The third the dry Winter Beaver, and fourth the Bordeau, is much the same, and are worth 3 _s._ 6 _d._ The fifth the dry Summer Beaver is worth very little, about 1 _s._ 9 _d._ _per_ Pound. The sixth is the Coat Beaver, which is worn till it is half greased, and is worth 4 _s._ 6 _d._ _per_ Pound. The 7th the _Muscovite_ dry Beaver, of a fine Skin, covered over with a silky Hair; they wear it in _Russia_, and comb away all the short Down, which they make into Stuffs and other Works, leaving nothing but the silky Hair; this is worth 4 _s._ 6 _d._ _per_ Pound. The eight is the Mittain Beaver, cut out for that Purpose to make Mittains, to preserve them from the Cold, and are greased by being used, and are worth 1 _s._ 9 _d._ _per_ Pound. Before I mention the Account given by _Joseph la France_, the _French Canadese Indian_, whose Father, he says, was a _Frenchman_, and his Mother an _Indian_ of the Nation of the _Santeurs_, who reside at the Fall of _St. Mary_, between the Upper Lake and Lake of _Hurons_; I shall mention the State of the _English_ and _French_ Trade at present upon these _Canada_ Lakes. Mr. _Burnet_, when he was appointed Governor of _New-York_ in 1727, finding that the _French_ in _Canada_ were in Possession of all the _Indian_ Fur Trade, through all the Countries adjoining to the _Canadese_ Lakes, except what Trade the _English_ carried on with the six _Iroquese_ Nations, (the _Tuskeruro_ Nation now united to the others, making the 6th Tribe) and knowing that the chief Support of the Colony at _Canada_ was the Benefit they made by their _Indian_ Fur Trade, thought it of great Moment to gain that Trade to our Colony of _New-York_ from the _French_; upon enquiring into the Nature of that Trade, and Manner of carrying it on, he found, that the _French_ at _Quebec_ and _Monreal_, were chiefly supplied with _European_ Goods from the Merchants at _New-York_, where they had them upon much easier Terms than they could have them from _France_; by which he found we could trade upon much better Terms directly with the _Indians_, than with the _French_, and would by that Means make all the _Indians_ our friends; and consequently by our giving them our Goods cheaper at the first Hand, we might gain most of that Trade from the _French_, and by that Means weaken their Colony at _Canada_, whose chief Support is from that Trade; accordingly, he prohibited the Trade from _New-York_ to _Canada_, by an Act he got pass’d in the Assembly there; and being oppos’d in it by the Merchants trading to _Quebec_, who appeal’d against it to the Council in _England_, at last got the Act confirmed by the Council; by this Means a Trade was open’d directly with the Western _Indians_ through the _Iroquese_ Country, and an Intercourse and Familiarity of Consequence, betwixt all these Nations and our Colonies; the Assembly was at the Expence to build and fortify a trading House at _Oswega_, on the _Cadarakui_ or _Frontenac_ Lake, in the Neighbourhood of the _Iroquese_, near the _Onontagues_, and have from that Time maintain’d a Garison there; by this Means they have gained a considerable Part of the Trade which the _French_ formerly had with the Western _Indians_, and all the Allies of the _Iroquese_ now trade with us, as well as those on the _Illenese_ Lake, _Missilimakinae_, and _Saut St. Mary_. Before that Time a very inconsiderable Number were employed in that Trade; now above 300 are employed at the Trading House at _Oswega_ alone, and the _Indian_ Trade since that Time has so much increased, that several _Indian_ Nations come now each Year to trade there, whose Names before were not so much as known to the _English_. The several _Indian_ Nations who are now in Alliance with the six Nations, and trade with us according to the Information given to _Conrad Weaser_ Esq; in open Council at _Turpehawkie_, at their Return from the _Indian_ Treaty at _Philadelphia_ in _July_ 1742, are, 1. A Nation of _Indians_ living on the West Side of the Lake _Errie_, and along the Straits to _Huron_ Lake, and the South Side of _Huron_ Lake; they are called by the _Iroquese Unighkillyiakow_, consisting of about 30 Towns, each of about 200 fighting Men. 2. The second live among the former called —— consisting of four Towns of their own People, and 400 able Men all. 3. The third called by them _Ishisageck Roanu_, live on the East Side of the _Huron_ Lake; several of the Council have been there, and they all agree they have three large Towns of 600, 800, and 1000 able Men. 4. The fourth, called _Twightwis Roanu_, live at the Head of _Huakiky_ River, near the little Lakes. 5. The fifth, _Oskiakikis_, living on a Branch of _Ohio_, that Heads near the Lake _Errie_, four large Towns of about 1000 Warriors. 6. The sixth, _Oyachtownuk Roanu_, near Black River, consists of four Towns, and 1000 Warriors. 7. The seventh, _Kighetawkigh Roanu_, upon the great River _Mississippi_, above the Mouth of _Ohio_, three Towns, the Number of People uncertain. 8. The eighth, _Kirhawguagh Roanu_, several Savage Nations as their Name signifies (the People of the Wilderness) they live on the North-side of the _Huron_ Lake; they neither plant Corn, nor any Thing else, but live altogether upon Flesh, Roots and Herbs; an infinite Number of People of late become Allies to the _Iroquese_. The above Account was communicated by a Gentleman of good Understanding and Probity, and very well skill’d in the _Indian_ Tongue and Manners, being himself adopted into one of their Tribes, and is their constant Interpreter at the _Philadelphia_ Treaties, and the Account may be depended upon. The _Iroquese_ are now civilizing, and many of them become Christians and Protestants, by the Care of Mr. _Barclay_ now among them; who among the _Mowhawks_ has in great Measure suppressed their darling Vice Drunkenness, and has persuaded them to marry, and not to divorce their Wives; they are not now so cruel to their Enemies as formerly, and have in great Measure left off their Wars with their Neighbours, having entered into Alliances with them, and by that Means have brought their Fur Trade to _Oswega_ in their own Country, and thus the most material Points are gained towards civilizing and converting them to Christianity. This Account is of last Summer 1742. _Oswega_ is situated upon the _Lake Frontenac_, about 20 Leagues below the Fall of _Niagara_; the _Indian_ Traders have two Ways of coming there, either by a short Land Carriage betwixt two Rivers, which fall into _Huron_ and _Frontenac_ Lake, and so cross that Lake to _Oswega_, or by the Streight of St. _Joseph_, betwixt _Huron_ and _Errie_ Lakes, and so to the Fall of _Niagara_, where they have one Land Carriage, and then go by Water to _Oswega_. This is a much easier Voyage and Passage than to _Monreal_, and so to _Quebec_, there being above 36 Falls upon the River _Outaouas_, by which they pass from _Huron_ Lake to _Monreal_; and if they should go by the Lake _Frontenac_ down the River St. _Laurence_ to _Monreal_, which is 80 Leagues; above 60 Leagues of it is all Sharps and Water-falls, which makes it both dangerous and tedious in returning from _Monreal_, and the _English_ also afford their Goods better and cheaper than the _French_. _Joseph la France_ is now about 36 Years old. He was born at _Missilimakinac_ and was 5 Years old when his Mother died. His Father then took him with him to _Quebec_ to learn _French_, where he staid the Winter, about 6 Months. He says, as well as he can remember, _Quebec_ was about a League long, and Half a League broad, and had 4 or 5000 Men in Garrison, it being about the Time of the Peace of _Utrecht_. He returned from thence with his Father, and lived with him until his Death, which happened when he was 14 Years old. After his Death, when he was about 16, he went down to _Monreal_, to sell what Furs and Peltry his Father had left him, and then returned to _Missilimakinac_, where he traded and hunted in the neighbouring Countries until he was 27 Years old; in which Time he went one Year to _Mississippi_. He went by the _Illinese_ Lake, which he calls _Michigon_. At the Bottom of the Lake there was a _French_ Fort, in which there were 15 _French_ in Garrison, about 11 Years ago. The River upon which it is built, he calls St. _Joseph_, it is very rapid. He passed by _Ouisconsic_ to the _Mississippi_, and went down it as far as the River _Missouris_, and returned by the same Rout. In his Return he passed by the Bay of _L’Our qui Dort_, so called from a Heap of Sand upon a Point, which resembles a Bear sleeping. When he was 28 Years old, he went with a Parcel of Furs, with 8 _Iroquese_, in 2 Canoes, cross the Lake of _Hurons_, by the Bay of _Sakinac_, to the Streights of _Errie_, which they passed in the Night for fear of being stopped by the _French_, who have a Village or little Fort there, in which he believes there may be 100 Houses. He from thence passed thro’ Lake _Errie_ to the Fall of _Niagara_, and the _Iroquese_ carried his Canoes and Furs down by the Fall to Lake _Frontenac_, for which he gave them 100 Beavers, and thence went to _Oswega_, but was not within the Fort or Town, the _Iroquese_ selling his Furs for him, and then returned by the same Way to _Missilimakinac_. He says the _French_ have a Fort on the North Side of the Fall of _Niagara_, betwixt the Lakes _Errie_ and _Frontenac_, about 3 Leagues within the Woods from the Fall, in which they keep 30 Soldiers, and have about as many more with them as Servants and Assistants; these have a small Trade with the _Indians_ for Meal, Ammunition and Arms. About 6 Years ago he went again to _Monreal_ with two _Indians_, and a considerable Cargo of Furs, where he found the Governor of _Canada_, who wintered there. He made him a Present of Martins Skins, and also 1000 Crowns, for a Conge or Passport to have a Licence to trade next Year: But in Spring he would neither give him his Conge nor his Money, under Pretence that he had sold Brandy to the _Indians_, which is prohibited, and threatened him with Imprisonment for demanding his Money; so that he was obliged to steal away with his two _Indians_, and what Goods he had got in Exchange for his Furs, with his 3 Canoes. _Monreal_, he says, is about 60 Leagues above _Quebec_. It is a large Town, about a League and a Half in Circuit within the Walls, which are 15 Feet high, of Lime and Stone. They have 300 Men in Garrison. This is the only considerable Town in _Canada_ besides _Quebec_; for _Trois Rivieres_ is but a Village. He says they have a Fort the Natives call _Catarakui_ Fort, 80 Leagues above _Monreal_, near Lake _Frontenac_, in which they keep a Garrison of 40 Men, as the _Indians_ informed him, and about as many more Inhabitants. The River St. _Laurence_, from thence to _Monreal_, is so full of Water-falls, and so rapid, that there is the utmost Danger and Difficulty in going by Water, and no going so far by Land through the Woods, so that no Trade can be carried on that Way but at great Expence. They have no other fortified Places in _Canada_ but one Fort called _Champli_, near _Champlain_ Lake, upon the _English_ and _Iroquese_ Frontiers, in which they have 20 Men in Garrison. He was above 40 Days in going up the River from _Monreal_ to the Lake _Nepesing_, which is at the Source of that River which he calls St. _Laurence_, and not the River which passes through the Lakes, but _La Hontan_ calls it the River _Outaouas_. He had 36 Land Carriages before he got to _Nepising_. He was but 18 Days in going down it to _Monreal_. He says the River _Nepising_ runs from the same Lake into the Lake of _Hurons_. This is what _La Hontan_ calls _French_ River; it is 20 Leagues in its Course, and had three Falls upon it, which they descended in two Days; and with a fair Wind they might go from thence to _Missilimakinac_ in two Days more along the Islands. Upon his Return he exchanged his Goods for Furs, and resolved to try his Fortune once more to _Monreal_, and make his Peace with the Governor. He says, when he left _Missilimakinac_, there were but 2 Men with the Governor in Garrison, which was only to open and shut the Gates. He says, that of late the Trade from thence to _Monreal_ is so much lessened upon account of the _English_ supplying the _Indians_ much cheaper and better, by an easy Navigation through the Lakes to _Niagara_, that there does not go above 12 Canoes in a Year, and those Licences are generally given to superannuated Officers; the Avarice and Injustice of the Governor of _Canada_ has likewise disgusted the Natives. After having got a Parcel of Furs, he, with two _Indian_ Slaves, and 3 Canoes, passed the Lake _Huron_, and enter’d the River _Nepising_, and went up it several Leagues; but at a Turn in the River he met 9 Canoes, in which was the Governor’s Brother-in-law, with 30 Soldiers, and as many more to manage the Canoes, who seized him and his Furs, and Slaves, as a Runaway without a Passport, and would have carried him away to _Monreal_, but he made his Escape into the Woods in the Night, with only his Gun and five Charges of Powder and Ball, and passed by Land alone through the Woods on the North Side of _Huron_ Lake, until he met with some of the _Missada Indians_, who live there, having been six Weeks in his Journey, travelling behind the Mountains, on the North Side of the Lake, in a marshy Country, abounding with Beavers, and thus returned to _Saut St. Marie_; and having lost all, determined to go to the _English_ in _Hudson_’s _Bay_, by passing through the _Indian_ Nations West of the upper Lake, until he should arrive, by these Lakes and Rivers which run Northwards, at _York_ Fort, on _Nelson_ River. He set out in the Beginning of Winter 1739 upon this Journey and Voyage, and hunted and lived with the _Indians_ his Relations the _Sauteurs_, on the North Side of the upper Lake, where he was well acquainted, having hunted and traded thereabouts for fourteen Years. He says the upper Lake has three Islands near the North Shore, about 3 Leagues from the Shore; they are about 3 or 4 Leagues each in Circumference. One of them he calls _Isle du Lignon_; they are full of fine Woods, as is all the North Coast, which is very mountainous, but the Country is very fine to the Northward of the high Land. The Upper Lake falls into the Lake of _Hurons_ by the Falls of _St. Mary_, which is a Rapid Current of several Leagues. From that Fall to the River _Michipikoton_ on the North Side of the Lake, is 60 Leagues; that River is navigable Northward for 20 Leagues, being 3 Fathoms deep and without Cataracts; it runs through a Valley betwixt the Mountains, which is about three Leagues wide, full of fine Woods; and then there is a fork where two Branches meet, and on each Side, at a considerable Distance, are two round Hills detached from the others, which they call _Le deux Mamelles_, or two Paps; these two Branches come from their several Sources, after running about eight Leagues, through a Country abounding in Beavers. There are two _Indian_ Nations upon this North Coast, the _Epinette_ Nation are upon the East Side of that River, and the _Ouassi_ upon the West Side, both Tribes of the _Sauteurs_. About 100 Leagues farther West is another River, which runs from the North-west into this Lake, which he calls the River _du Pique_ from a sharp Rock at the Mouth of the River, formed like a Pike or Halbert, it is only navigable for about three Leagues to a Fall, above which is a Lake about six Leagues long, which comes from a marshy Country full of Beavers; on the West Side of this River, and of the Upper Lake, is a Range of Mountains full of Woods, and a River full of Cataracts descends from them, and enters into the River _du Pique_, a little before it passes into the Lake; among these Mountains are several rich Mines; he saw some very good Lead and Copper Oar, which the Natives brought down from these Mountains. On the South-west Side of the Lake, under these Mountains, is a flat Country, full of Woods and Beavers, but the South and South-east Side is a sandy, low, dry Country, without Wood. He staid Part of the Winter with the _Indians_ at _Michipikoton_, and in the Month of _March_ got to the River _Du Pique_, which he passed on the Ice, it being not then thawed. He says there are many Beavers also among the Mountains, Southward of that River, they having great Flats above, and among the Mountains, where they make their Dams and Ponds. The Ice was quite gone on the South-west Side of the Lake by the 15th of _April_ N. S. He says the Lake is never frozen at any Distance from the Shore, only in little Bays, where it sometimes is frozen, and breaks off, and is carried out and in with the Wind. On the sandy Coast on the South-east Side of the Lake, there is nothing but Shrubs not above six Feet high; but at some Distance from the Coast there are fine Meadows and Pasture, full of Elks, Stags, Deer, Goats, wild Beeves, _&c._ interspersed with Woods; and the _Indian_ Nations in the neighbouring Countries remove thither in the Summer Season to hunt and feed upon them. On the South-west Side of the Lake, betwixt the woody and Champaign sandy Country, there is a Land Carriage of 3 Leagues, and they came to a Marsh or Bog about a League long, and five Furlongs over, and from thence another Land Carriage of nine Leagues to the River _Du Pluis_, which, after a Course of fifteen Leagues, falls into the Lake _Du Pluis_. He was from the Beginning to the 18th of _April_ 1740 in getting to this River; there he, and the _Indians_ with him, got fine Birch Trees of a great Size to make their Canoes. The River they embark’d upon was about three Furlongs broad, but was not deep, and had no Water-falls; the Course was South-west. The _Indians_ who are on the West Side of that River are called _Monsoni_ or _Mosonique_, or _Gens de Orignal_. The Lake _Du Pluis_ is 100 Leagues in Length, and is so called from a perpendicular Water-fall, by which the Water falls into a River South-west of it, which raises a Mist-like Rain. He was 15 Days in passing down this River to the Lake _Du Pluis_ in his Canoe; he coasted along the North-west Side of the Lake, which was full of fine Woods, but there was none on the South-east Side, as the Natives informed him, except near the Edge of the Lake, for about Half the Length of the Lake, at which Place a River enters it from the South Side, which comes from a low Country, full of Beavers. The _French_, upon account of these Land Carriages, never pass into these Countries adjoining to this Lake. He passed the Lake _Du Pluis_ in the latter End of _April_, and Beginning of _May_, and staid 10 Days at the Fall with the _Monsoni_, where they fish with Nets at the Bottom of the Fall. They have two great Villages, one on the North Side, and the other on the South Side of the fall. The River _Du Pluis_, which falls from the Lake, is a fine large River, which runs Westward, and is about 3 Furlongs in Breadth; its Course is about 60 Leagues before it falls into the Lake _Du Bois_, or _Des Isles_, and is free from Cataracts, having only two sharp Streams. He was 10 Days in going down it in his Canoe; the whole Country along its Banks is full of fine Woods, in which are great Variety of Wild-fowl and Beasts, as wild Beeves, Stags, Elk, Deer, _&c._ and the River and adjoining Lakes full of excellent fish. This River falls into the Lake _Du Bois_, where he arrived about the End of _May_. This Lake is very large, and filled with fine Islands; he was 30 Days in passing it, fishing and hunting as he went with the Natives, and staid a Month in one of the Islands with the _Monsoni_ and _Sturgeon Indians_, who live on the North Side of this Lake, and meet in that Island to be merry and confirm their Friendship and Alliance; these last are called so from the great Number of Sturgeons they take in this Lake, which is the greatest Part of their Provisions. He staid there until the Month of _August_; all these Islands and Coasts are low, and full of fine Woods, where all kind of Fowl breed. At the West End of this Lake, which is much longer than the Lake _Du Pluis_, a great River enters it near the Place where the great _Ouinipique_ River passes out of it, and runs into the Lake of the same Name. This River has a long Course from the Southward. On the South-west of this Lake is the Nation of the _Sieux Indians_. The River _Ouinipique_ is as large as the River _Du Pluis_, but is much more rapid, having about 30 Falls or Sharps upon it, where they must carry their Canoes. Two or three of them are Carriages of a League or two, the others are very short. Upon that Account he was 15 Days in going down the River, which runs North-west about 100 Leagues. It also runs through a fine woody Country, having many Sorts of Timber Trees of great Bulk. On the South-west Side, at some Distance, is a flat Country, full of Meadows; at the Falls it is about a Furlong in Breadth, in other Places three or four. He arrived at the great _Ouinipique_ Lake in _September_; he was about 30 Days in passing it, shooting and fishing as he went. After going half way through it, he joined the _Cris_ or _Christinaux Indians_, who live on the North-east Side, and went on Shore, and hunted Beavers all the Autumn. He saw but two Isles in it; one was full of Wood, it was about 3 Leagues long and 2 broad. He called it the _Isle Du Biche_, or _of Hinds_, there being several upon it; the other was sandy, and without Wood, full of Geese and other Water-fowl, which breed there; he called it _Goose Isle_, but the Natives called it _Sandy Isle_. On the West Side of this Lake the _Indians_ told him a River enter’d it, which was navigable with Canoes; it descended from _Lac Rougeor_, the _Red Lake_, called so from the Colour of the Sand; they said there were two other Rivers run out of that Lake, one into the _Mississippi_, and the other Westward, into a marshy Country, full of Beavers. The Country West of the _Ouinipique_ Lake has dry Islands or Hills with marshy Bottoms, full of Wood and Meadows. On the East Side is a fine flat Country, full of Woods, until they come to the Bottom of the Mountains, which are betwixt this and the upper Lake. On a Lake on that Side, betwixt this Lake and Lake _Du Bois_, are the _Migechichilinious_, or Eagle-eyed _Indians_; these, he says, are not called so from their having a sharp Sight, but upon account of many Eagles which breed in Islands in that Lake. Upon the West Side of Lake _Ouinipique_ are the Nation of the _Assinibouels_ of the Meadows, and farther North a great Way, are the _Assinibouels_ of the Woods. To the Southward of these are the Nation of _Beaux Hommes_, situated betwixt them and the _Sieux Indians_. The _Indians_ on the East Side are the _Christinaux_, whose Tribes go as far North on that Side as the _Assinibouels_ do on the other. All these Nations go naked in Summer, and paint or stain their Bodies with different Figures, anointing themselves with Grease of Deer, Beavers, Bears, _&c._ which prevents the Muskitoes, Serpents, or other Vermin, from biting them, they having an Antipathy to all Oils. The great _Ouinipique_ Lake was frozen over in Winter; it is no where 10 Leagues wide, and in some Places not above a League and a Half wide; the Winter there was not severe, it lasted about 3 Months and a Half, the Frost breaking up there in _March_. This Lake is discharged into the little _Ouinipique_ by a River he calls the _Red River_, or _little Ouinipique_, after a Course Northwards of about 60 Leagues. This River runs through the like woody Country as the others; but the West Side is more temperate than the East, upon account of the Mountains to Eastward of it; from whence a River descends into it through a marshy Country, full of Beavers. He made his Canoe in the Spring, at the North End of this Lake, and went down to the little _Ouinipique_ in the Beginning of Summer; this last Lake is about 35 Leagues long, and 6 broad; there is but one little Island in it, almost upon a Water Level, the _Indians_ call it _Mini Sabique_. The Course of this Lake is from South to North, through a woody, low Country. In all these Countries are many Kinds of wild Fruit, as Cherries, Plumbs, Strawberries, Nuts, Walnuts, _&c._ The Winters here are from 3 to 4 Months, according as they happen to be more or less severe. He passed this Lake, and the River which runs into the Lake _Du Siens_, in Summer and Autumn; this is about 100 Leagues from the other. He says there is a Fork in this River _Du Siens_, by which one Branch discharges itself more Westerly, and runs into the Country, where is the Nation of _Vieux Hommes_; this Nation is not called so from the Age of the Inhabitants, but from a Number of old Men, who separated from some others, under a Chief or Leader of their own; and from that time they were called so. On the East Side there enters a rapid River from the Mountains, full of Falls, upon which the Nation _Du Cris Panis Blanc_ inhabit, who are still a Tribe of the _Christinaux_. The Lake _Du Siens_ is but small, being not above 3 Leagues in Circuit; but all around its Banks, in the shallow Water and Marshes, grows a kind of wild Oat, of the Nature of Rice; the outward Husk is black, but the Grain within is white and clear like Rice; this the _Indians_ beat off into their Canoes, and use it for Food. All the Country adjoining this River is also full of Beavers. Here the Winter overtook him, and he was obliged to part with his Canoe, and travelled and hunted through that Country for six Months, in which Time he passed Northwards near 100 Leagues, but would have been much more, had he followed the Course of the River in Summer in his Canoe. He got to the Lake _Cariboux_ in the Beginning of _March_ 1742: This Lake is about 10 Leagues long, and 5 broad; the Ice was beginning to thaw when he came there; a Tribe of the _Christinaux_ live on the East of this Lake, and the _Assinibouels_ of the Woods on the West Side. The River _Cariboux_ runs out of this Lake Northwards for about 15 Leagues, and then it spreads, and is wasted in a marshy Country, where there is no passing by Water, nor by Land in Summer; the Ice being then breaking up, he was obliged to go about 15 Leagues Eastward, to avoid the Bogs, before he could reach the Lake _Pachegoia_, into which the River _Cariboux_ descends through the Marshes. _Pachegoia_ is the Lake where all the _Indians_ assemble in the latter End of _March_ every Year, to cut the Birch Trees and make their Canoes of the Bark, which then begins to run, in order to pass down the River to _York_ Fort on _Nelson_ River with their Furs; it is divided so as to make almost two Lakes; the West Side by which he pass’d was about 100 Leagues in Circuit; the other Side or Eastern Lake was much larger, as the _Indians_ informed him. The River _De vieux Hommes_ runs from the West for about 200 Leagues, and falls into this Lake, near the Place the River _Cariboux_ enters it; it has a strong Current and is always muddy, but there are no Falls upon it; these go generally down the River _Manoutisibi_ or _Churchill_ River, and trade there, having either a Passage or short Land Carriage to that River. The Lake _Pachegoia_ was surrounded with fine Woods of Oak, Cedar, Pine, Poplar, Birch, _&c._ He arrived there the latter End of _March_, and he, with the other _Indians_, cut the Bark for their Canoes, and then hunted for some Time for Provisions; they begun to make their Canoes the first of _April_ N. S. which they finished in three Days; on the 4th, he being appointed one of their Leaders, set out with 100 Canoes in Company, for the Factory at _York_ Fort; there are generally two _Indians_ in a Canoe, but he was alone in his; they were three Weeks in passing along the West Side of the Lake before they came to the Place it is discharged by the River _Savanne_ or _Epinette_; for they were obliged to coast the West Side of the Lake in their little Canoes, and keep along the Bottom of each Bay; for these small Canoes can bear no Surge or Waves when the Wind blows, and when they came to any Point on the Lake, if there was any Wind, they were obliged to carry their Furs and Canoes over the Land to the next Bay, which, with hunting for Provisions delayed them greatly; at that Time they had neither Ice on the Lake nor Snow on the Land. In the Beginning of _May_ N. S. he enter’d the River _Savanne_, but did not reach the great Fork where the River divides, until the Beginning of _June_; for the _Indians_, what with hunting for Provisions, and from their Laziness, who would not stir or exercise in the Heat of the Day, it being then very warm, and the Trees all fully blown, and from some Land Carriages upon the Sharps and Falls, did not go above two or three Leagues in a Day. The River was small where it came out of the Lake for about six Leagues, it spreading through several little Passages through the Marshes, but farther down, when collected together, formed a large River; it was then quite free of Ice, they had a brisk Current, and several Sharps, but had but one Carriage of 100 Yards; it is about 80 or 90 Leagues from the Lake to the Fork. The Land at some Distance from the River was dry and hilly, and full of fine Trees of great Bulk and Heighth, as Fir, Pine, Spruce, Ash, Elm, Birch, Cedar, Alder, _&c._ The Banks were low, until they got to the great Fork, where the River is divided by a Rock upon which a convenient Fort might be built, which might be cut off by bringing the Water around it. It is about 60 Leagues from this Fork to the Factory; they stay’d here eight Days to hunt for Provisions; there not being plenty of Game upon the East Branch, which is the Way he went down, it being the shortest Passage; at the same time another Fleet of 100 Canoes went down the Western Branch; it was the 29th of _June_ N. S. when he got to the Factory, and the other Party who went down the other Branch, were three Weeks later. From this Fork to within four or five Leagues of the Fort, the Banks are high, and of red Earth, from which he calls the River from the Fork, the River _de Terre rouge_; and from that Place they descend gradually to the Sea, until they are near a Water Level; the Current was very easy from the Fork to the Fort, the Island to Westward of their Channel was full of Wood, but the Country above and beyond the other Bank, was not so woody. They were about three Weeks in going from the Fork to the Factory; for the _Indians_ told him, notwithstanding it was so warm and pleasant in passing down the River, and the Trees fully blown, that when they would come near the Sea, they would find it very cold with Snow and Ice in the River, and the Trees but just beginning to bud; and accordingly they delayed going down so soon as they otherwise might, or they could have gone down in four or five Days; this he could not easily believe, considering how forward the Spring was there, and the Weather so warm; but when he came within four or five Leagues of the Fort where the Land began to slope towards the Sea, he then found a great deal of Ice in the River, and the Trees but just budding, and when he got to the Fort, the Snow fell in one Night three or four Inches thick, but all above, along the River, the Climate and Season was warm, and the Trees all in high Bloom. Two Days after he got to _York_ Fort, one of the _Monsoni Indians_ arrived there with his Wife; he had four Packs of Beavers of 40 each; he told him he came by the River and Lake _Du Pique_, and was two Years hunting from thence before he got to the Fort; that he had about sixty Land Carriages, passing from Lake to Lake, having no Rivers running the Course he came, except one which he passed down for two Days; he came to one very great Lake, in which he could discover no Land on either Side, but passed along it from Island to Island, which took him up a considerable Time. The _Indians_ being obliged to go ashore every Day to hunt for Provisions, delays them very much in their Voyages; for their Canoes are so small, holding only two Men and a Pack of 100 Beavers Skins, that they can’t carry Provisions with them for any Time; if they had larger Canoes they could make their Voyages shorter, and carry many more Beavers to Market, at least four times as many, besides other Skins of Value, which are too heavy for their present Canoes; this, and the high Price set upon the _European_ Goods by the Company in Exchange, discourages the Natives so much, that if it were not that they are under a Necessity of having Guns, Powder and Shot, Hatchets, and other Iron Tools for their Hunting, and Tobacco, Brandy, and some Paint for Luxury, they would not go down to the Factory with what they now carry; at present they leave great Numbers of Furs and Skins behind them. A good Hunter among the _Indians_ can kill 600 Beavers in a Season, and can carry down but 100, the rest he uses at home, or hangs them upon Branches of Trees, upon the Death of their Children as an Offering to them, or use them for Bedding and Coverings; they sometimes burn off the Fur, and roast the Beavers like Pigs, upon any Entertainments, and they often let them rot, having no further Use of them. The Beavers, he says, are of three Colours; the brown reddish Colour, the black, and the white; the first is the cheapest; the black is most valued by the Company, and in _England_; the white, tho’ most valued in _Canada_, giving 18 Shillings, when others gave 5 or 6 Shillings, is blown upon by the Company’s Factors at the Bay, they not allowing so much for these as for the others; and therefore the _Indians_ use them at home, or burn off the Hair, when they roast the Beavers like Pigs, at an Entertainment when they feast together; he says these Skins are extremely white, and have a fine Lustre, no Snow being whiter, and have a fine long Fur or Hair; he has seen 15 taken of that Colour out of one Lodge or Pond. The Beavers have three Enemies, Man, Otters, and the Carcajon or Queequehatch, which prey upon them when they take them at an Advantage; the last is as large as a very great Dog, it has a short Tail like a Deer or Hair, and has a good Fur, valued at a Beaver and half in Exchange. The Beavers chiefest Food is the Poplar or Tremble, but they also eat Sallows, Alders, and most other Trees not having a resinous Juice; the middle Bark is their Food; in _May_ when the Wood is not plenty, they live upon a large Root which grows in the Marshes a Fathom long, and as thick as a Man’s Leg, the _French_ call it Volet; but the Beavers are not so good Food as when they feed upon Trees. They will cut down Trees above two Fathoms in Girth with their Teeth, and one of them observes when it is ready to fall, and gives a great Cry, and runs the contrary Way, to give Notice to the rest to get out of the Way; they then cut off all the Top Twigs, and smaller Branches two or three Fathoms in Length, and draw them to their Houses which they have built in their Ponds, after having raised or repaired their Pond Head, and made it staunch, and thrust one End into the Clay or Mud, that they may lie under Water all the Winter, to preserve the Bark green and tender for their Winter Provision; after cutting off the small Branches, they cut and carry away the larger, until they come to the Bole of the Tree. The Beavers are delicious Food, but the Tongue and Tail the most delicious Parts of the whole; they are very fat from _November_ until the End of _March_; they have their Young in the Beginning of Summer, at which time the Females are lean by suckling their Young, and the Males are lean the whole Summer, when they are making or repairing their Ponds and Houses, and cutting down and providing Timber and Branches for their Winter Store. They breed once in a Year, and have from ten to fifteen at a Litter, which grow up in one Season; so that they multiply very fast, and if they can empty a Pond, and take the whole Lodge, they generally leave a Pair to breed, so that they are fully stocked again in two or three Years. The Loup Cervier, or Lynx, is of the Cat Kind, but as large as a great Dog; it preys upon all Beasts it can conquer, as does the Tyger, which is the only Beast in that Country that won’t fly from a Man. The _American_ Oxen, or Beeves, have a large Bunch upon their Backs, which is by far the most delicious Part of them for Food, it being all as sweet as Marrow, juicy and rich, and weighs several Pounds. The _Indians_ West of the Bay, living an erratick Life, can have no Benefit by tame Fowl or Cattle; they seldom stay above a Fortnight in a Place, unless they find Plenty of Game. When they remove, after having built their Hut, they disperse to get Game for their Food, and meet again at Night, after having killed enough to maintain them for that Day; they don’t go above a League or two from their Hut. When they find Scarcity of Game, they remove a League or two farther, and thus they traverse through these woody Countries and Bogs, scarce missing one Day, Winter or Summer, fair or foul, in the greatest Storms of Snow, but what they are employed in some kind of Chace. The smaller Game, got by Traps or Snares, are generally the Employment of the Women and Children, such as the Martins, Squirrels, Cats, Ermins, _&c._ The Elks, Stags, Rain-Deer, Bears, Tygers, wild Beeves, Wolves, Foxes, Beavers, Otters, Corcajeu, _&c._ are the Employment of the Men. The _Indians_, when they kill any Game for Food, leave it where they kill it, and send their Wives next Day to carry it home. They go home in a direct Line, never missing their Way, by Observations they make of the Course they take upon their going out, and so judge upon what Point their Huts are, and can thus direct themselves upon any Point of the Compass. The Trees all bend towards the South, and the Branches on that Side are larger and stronger than on the North Side, as also the Moss upon the Trees. To let their Wives know how to come at the killed Game, they from Place to Place break off Branches, and lay them in the Road, pointing them the Way they should go, and sometimes Moss, so that they never miss finding it. In Winter, when they go abroad, which they must do in all Weathers, to hunt and shoot for their daily Food, before they dress they rub themselves all over with Bears Grease, or Oil of Beavers, which does not freeze, and also rub all the Fur of their Beaver Coats, and then put them on; they have also a kind of Boots or Stockings of Beavers Skin well oiled, with the Fur inwards, and above them they have an oiled Skin laced about their Feet, which keeps out the Cold, and also Water, when there is no Ice or Snow; and by this Means they never freeze, nor suffer any thing by Cold. In Summer also, when they go naked, they rub themselves with these Oils or Grease, and expose themselves to the Sun, without being scorched, their Skins always being kept soft and supple by it; nor do any Flies, Bugs, or Musketoes, or any noxious Insect ever molest them. When they want to get rid of it, they go into the Water, and rub themselves all over with Mud or Clay, and lets it dry upon them, and then rub it off; but whenever they are free from the Oil, the Flies and Musketoes immediately attack them, and oblige them again to anoint themselves. The _Indians_ make no Use of Honey; he saw no Bees there but the wild humble Bee; but they are so much afraid of being stung with them, they going naked in Summer, that they avoid them as much as they can; nor did he see any of the Maple they use in _Canada_ to make Sugar of, but only the Birch, whose Juice they use for the same Purpose, boyling it until it is black and dry, and then using it with their Meat. They use no Milk from the Time they are weaned, and they all hate to taste Cheese, having taken up an Opinion that it is made of dead Mens Fat. They love Pruins and Raisins, and will give a Beaver Skin for twelve of them to carry to their Children, and also for a Trump or _Jew_’s Harp. He says the Women have all fine Voices, but have never heard any musical Instrument. They are very fond of all kind of Pictures or Prints, giving a Beaver for the least Print, and all Toys are like Jewels to them. When he got to the Natives Southward of _Pachegoia_, he had about 30 Cowries left, and a few small Bells less than Hawks Bells; when he shewed one of them, they gave him a Beaver Skin for one, and they were so fond, that some gave him two Skins, or three Martin Skins for one, to give their Wives to make them fine. The Martins they take in Traps, for if they shot them, their Skins would be spoiled; they have generally five or six at a Litter. He says the Natives are so discouraged in their Trade with the Company, that no Peltry is worth the Carriage, and the finest Furs are sold for very little. When they came to the Factory in _June_ 1742, the Prices they took for the _European_ Goods were much higher than the settled Prices fixed by the Company, which the Governors fix so, to shew the Company how zealous they are to improve their Trade, and sell their Goods to Advantage. He says they gave but a Pound of Gunpowder for 4 Beavers, a Fathom of Tobacco for 7 Beavers, a Pound of Shot for one, an Ell of coarse Cloth for 15, a Blanket for 12, 2 Fish-hooks, or three Flints, for one, a Gun for 25, a Pistol for 10, a common Hat with white Lace 7, an Ax 4, a Bill-hook 1, a Gallon of Brandy 4, a chequer’d Shirt 7, all which are sold at a monstrous Profit, even to 2000 _per Cent._ Notwithstanding this Discouragement, the two Fleets which went down with him, and parted at the great Fork, carried down 200 Packs of 100 each, 20000 Beavers; and the other _Indians_ who arrived that Year, he computed carried down 300 Packs of 200 each, 30000, in all 50000 Beavers, and above 9000 Martins. The Furs there are much more valuable than the Furs upon the _Canada_ Lakes, sold at _New-York_; for these will give five or six Shillings _per_ Pound, when the others sell at three Shillings and Sixpence. He says, that if a Fort was built at the great Fork, 60 Leagues above _York_ Fort, and a Factory with _European_ Goods were fixed there, and a reasonable Price was put upon _European_ Goods, that the Trade would be wonderfully increased; for the Natives from the Southward of _Pachegoia_, could make at least two Returns in a Summer, and those at greater Distances could make one, who can’t now come at all; and above double the Number would be employed in Hunting, and many more Skins would be brought to Market, that they can’t now afford to bring for the Expence and low Price given for them. The Stream is so gentle from the Fork to _York_ Fort, on either Branch, that large Vessels and Shallops may be built there, and carry down bulky Goods, and also return again against the Stream; and the Climate is good, and fit to produce Grain, Pulse, _&c._ and very good Grass and Hay for Horses and Cattle; and if afterwards any Settlements were made upon _Pachegoia_, and Vessels built to navigate that Lake, which is not more northerly than Lat. 52°. the Trade would be still vastly more enlarged and improved, and spread the Trade not only up the Rivers and Lakes as far as the Lake _Du Bois_ and _De Pluis_, but also among the _Assinibouels_ and Nations beyond them, and the Nation _de vieux Hommes_, who are 200 Leagues Westward of _Pachegoia_. He says the Nations who go up that River with Presents to confirm the Peace with them, are three Months in going up, and say they live beyond a Range of Mountains beyond the _Assinibouels_, and that beyond them are Nations who have not the Use of Fire Arms, by which Means many of them are made Slaves by them, and are sold to the _Assinibouels_, _Panis Blanc_, and _Christinaux_. He saw several of them, who all wanted a Joynt of their little Finger, which they said was cut off soon after they were born, but gave no Reason for it. Whilst he was at _York_ Fort he got acquainted with an old _Indian_, who lived at some Distance from _Nelson_ River, to the Westward, being one of those they call the _Home Indians_, who had, about 15 Years ago, gone at the Head of 30 Warriors to make war against the _Attimospiquais_, _Tete Plat_, or _Plascotez de Chiens_, a Nation living Northward on the Western Ocean of _America_; he was the only one who returned, all the rest being either killed, or perished through Fatigue or want of Food, upon their Return. When they went they carried their whole Families with them, and hunted and fished from Place to Place for two Winters, and one Summer, having left their Country in Autumn, and in _April_ following, came to the Sea-side, on the Western Coast, where they immediately made their Canoes. At some little Distance they saw an Island, which was about a League and a Half long when the Tide was out, or Water fell, they had no Water betwixt them and the Island, but when it rose, it covered all the Passage betwixt them and the Island as high up as the Woods upon the Shore. There they left their Wives and Children, and old Men to conduct them home, and provide them with Provisions, by hunting and shooting for them upon the Road; and he, with 30 Warriors, went in quest of their Enemies the _Tete Plat_. After they parted with their Families, they came to a Streight, which they passed in their Canoes. The Sea Coast lay almost East and West, for he said the Sun rose upon his Right-hand, and at Noon it was almost behind him, as he passed the Streight, and always set in the Sea. After passing the Streight they coasted along the Shore for three Months, going into the Country and Woods as they went along to hunt for Provisions. He said they saw a great many large black Fish spouting up Water in the Sea. After they had thus coasted for near three Months, they saw the Footsteps of some Men on the Sand, by which they judged they were not far from their Enemies, upon which they quit their Canoes, and went five Days through the Woods and Bushes, which were but very low and shrubby, and so close, they could with Difficulty make way through it, and then came to the Banks of a River, where they found a large Town of their Enemies, and after making their usual Cry, they discharged their Arrows and Guns against those who appeared, upon which they fled; but upon finding how few they were, they returned and killed 15 of them, and wounded 3 or 4 more, upon which they fled to the Woods, and from thence made their Escape to their Canoes before their Enemies overtook them, and after a great deal of Fatigue got to the Streight, and after getting over, they all died one after another, except this old Man, of Fatigue and Famine, leaving him alone to travel to his own Country, which took him up about a Year’s Time, having left his Gun when his Ammunition was spent, and lost all his Arrows, and upon his Return had not even a Knife with him; so that he was reduced to live upon Herbs and the Moss growing upon the Rocks, and was almost famished when he reached the River _Sakie_, where he met his Friends again, who relieved him, when he despaired of ever again seeing his own Country. This is the Account, so far as _Joseph la France_ could inform me, of those Countries Southward of _York_ Fort, which may be brought to trade there. Mr. _Frost_, who has been many Years employed by the Company in the Bay, both at _Churchill_ and _Moose_ River Factory, who was their Interpreter with the Natives, and travelled a considerable Way into the Country, both North-westward of _Churchill_, and Southward of _Moose_ River Factory, and has resided at _Moose_ River since the Factory was made there in 1730, gives a very good Account of the Climate and Country there, and up the River Southward of it. He says the Factory is built near the Mouth of the River, in Lat. 51°. 28′. upon a navigable River, which at 12 Miles Distance Southward of the Fort, is divided into two Branches, one comes from the Southward, the other from the South-west; upon the Southern Branch all Sorts of Grain thrives, as Barley, Beans and Pease do at the Factory, tho’ exposed to all the chilling Winds which comes from the Ice in the Bay. Upon the Southern Branch above the Falls, there grows naturally along the River the same Kind of wild Oats or Rice, mentioned already upon the Lake of _Siens_, the Husk being black, but the Grain within perfectly white and clear like Rice, the _Indians_ beating it off into their Canoes when ripe, as they pass along the River, it growing in the Water like Rice. In their Woods, at the Bottom of the Bay at _Moose_ and _Albany_, as well as at _Rupert_’s River, are very large Timber Trees of all Kinds, Oak, Ash, _&c._ as well as Pine, Cedar and Spruce; they have exceeding good Grass to make Hay, which improves every Day as they cut and feed it, and may have every where within Land all Sorts of Pulse and Grain, and all Sorts of Fruit Trees as in the same Climates in _Europe_, for what Sorts they have tried thrive very well; the Ice breaks up at _Moose_ Factory in the Beginning of _April_, but higher up in the Country in _March_; it is navigable for Canoes a great Way up among the Falls; at a considerable Distance there is one Fall of 50 Feet, but above that it is deep and navigable for a great Way. The Climate above the Fall is very good, and the River abounds with that wild Rice. The _French_ have got a House or Settlement for Trade near the Southern Branch, about 100 Miles above the Factory, where they sell their Goods cheaper than the Company do, altho’ it be so difficult to carry them so far from _Canada_, and very expensive, and give as much for a Martin’s Skin as they do for a Beaver, when we insist upon three for one; so that the _French_ get all the choice Skins, and leave only the Refuse for the Company. The _French_ have also got another House pretty high up upon _Rupert_ River, by which they have gained all the Trade upon the East Main, except a little the Company get at _Slude_ River. He says, upon the South Side of the great Inland Sea upon the East Main, which has lately been discovered, there is an exceeding rich Lead Mine, from which the Natives have brought very good Ore, which might turn out to great Advantage, as well as the Furs upon that Coast, which might be vastly increased, if the Trade was laid open and Settlements made in proper Places. He says when he was at _Churchill_, he travelled a considerable Way in the Country North-westward of the River of _Seals_; that near the Rivers and Sea-coast, there was small shrubby Woods, but for many Miles, at least 60 farther into the Country, they had nothing but a barren white Moss upon which the Rain-Deer feed, and also the _Moose_, Buffalos, and other Deer; and the Natives told him, further Westward beyond that barren Country, there were large Woods. He was acquainted, when there about fifteen Years ago, with an _Indian_ Chief, who traded at _Churchill_, who had been often at a fine Copper Mine, which they struck off from the Rocks with sharp Stones; he said it was upon Islands at the Mouth of a River, and lay to the Northward of that Country where they had no Night in Summer. As to the Trade at _Churchill_ it is increasing, it being at too great a Distance from the _French_ for them to interfere in the Trade. The Year 1742 it amounted to 20,000 Beavers: There were about 100 Upland _Indians_ came in their Canoes to trade, and about 200 Northern _Indians_, who brought their furs and Peltry upon Sledges; some of them came down the River of _Seals_, 15 Leagues Northward of _Churchill_, in Canoes, and brought their Furs from thence by Land. They have no Beavers to Northward of _Churchill_, they not having there such Ponds or Woods as they choose or feed upon, but they have great Numbers of Martins, Foxes, Bears, Rain-Deer, Buffalos, Wolves, and other Beasts of rich Furs, the Country being mostly rocky, and covered with a white Moss upon which the Rain-Deer or Cariboux feed. There is a great deal of small Wood of the Spruce or Fir Kind near the old Factory, but the Wood improves as it is further up the River from the Bay, where they have Juniper, Birch and Poplar, and more Southerly the Timber is larger, and there are greater Variety of Trees. They are under great Inconveniencies at the new Fort, which is upon an elevated Situation upon a Rock without Shelter, close by the Shore, surrounded with Snow and Ice for eight Months in the Year, exposed to all the Winds and Storms that happen, where they can have no Conveniency of Grass or Hay or Gardening, and yet they had four or five Horses there, and a Bull and two Cows near the Factory; but they were obliged to bring their Hay from a marshy Bottom some Miles up the River, to feed them in Winter; but if a Settlement were made higher up the River Southward, some Leagues from the Bay, in Shelter without the Reach of the chilling Winds, they would have Grass and Hay sufficient, and might have also Gardens and proper Greens and Roots propagated there. They say there is a Communication betwixt that River and _Nelson_ River at a great Distance within Land, or a very short Land Carriage betwixt them; for the _Indians_ who trade here, tell them each Season what Chiefs, with their followers, go down that Year to _Nelson_ or _Albany_ Rivers. The Company avoid all they can making Discoveries to Northward of _Churchill_, or extending their Trade that Way, for fear they should discover a Passage to the Western Ocean of _America_, and tempt, by that Means, the rest of the _English_ Merchants to lay open their Trade, which they know they have no legal Right to, which, if the Passage was found, would not only animate the rest of the Merchants to pursue the Trade through that Passage, but also to find out the great Advantages that might be made of the Trade of the Rivers and Countries adjoining to the Bay, by which Means they would lose their beloved Monopoly; but the Prospect they have of Gain to be made with trading with the _Eskimaux Indians_, for as Whale-Fin, Whale and Seal Oil, and Sea-Horse Teeth, induces them to venture a Sloop annually as far 62°. 30′. to _Whale Cove_, where these _Indians_ meet them, and truck their Fin and Oil with them: But tho’ they are fully informed of a fine Copper Mine on a navigable Arm of the Sea North-westward of _Whale Cove_, and the _Indians_ have offered to carry their Sloops to it, yet their Fear of discovering the Passage puts Bounds to their Avarice, and prevents their going to the Mine, which by all Accounts is very rich; yet those who have been at _Whale Cove_ own, that from thence Northwards is all broken Land, and that after passing some Islands, they from the Hills see the Sea open, leading to the Westward; and the _Indians_ who have been often at the Mine say, it is upon a navigable Arm of the Sea of great Depth, leading to the South-west, where are great Numbers of large black Fish spouting Water, which confirms the Opinion, that all the Whales seen betwixt _Whale Cove_ and _Wager_ River, all come there from the Western Ocean, since none are seen any where else in _Hudson’s Bay_ or _Strait_. All along this Coast from Lat. 62°. to 65°. a very beneficial Fishery of Whales may be carried on with these _Eskimaux Indians_, who even without the Use of Iron, can harpoon and kill Whales, and if they were supplied with Iron Harpoons, and with proper Cordage, might be brought to kill great Numbers of them; at present all their Nets, Lines and Snares are made of Whale-bone, and most of their Boats and other Necessaries of that, Seal Skins, Fish Bones, and Sea-Horse Teeth, and in making all Things necessary for them they are very neat and ingenious. From these several Journals, and from the Accounts taken from Monsieur _Jeremie_ and _De la Poterie_, and from _Joseph la France_ and Mr. _Frost_, we may frame a tolerable Judgment of the Climate, Soil, Rivers, and Lakes adjoining to the Bay, and the great Advantage to be made by improving our Trade there, by making Factories or Settlements upon several of these fine Rivers and Inland Lakes; for tho’ the Names, Situation and Distances of these Lakes are not the same, being taken from _Indians_ perhaps of different Nations and Languages, and by People who had no Opportunity, or perhaps were not capable of fixing the proper Latitudes or Longitudes of these Lakes, yet they all concur that there are many noble and great Rivers and Lakes extending to the Southward, South-westward, and Westward of the Bay, in fine Countries and temperate Climates, the Lands and Countries being capable of great Improvement, and to afford a Trade of great Extent, and in Time, of an immense Profit. I shall therefore, from these Accounts make some Observations upon the Climate, Soil and Improvements which may be made by Trade in the several Parts of the Bay already known, and then shew the Probability of extending it by a new Passage to the Western Countries of _America_, and through that great Western Ocean. The Soil and Climates are vastly different in the several Countries adjoining to the Bay, The East Main, from _Slude_ River to _Hudson_’s Straight, is least known, there being no Factories fixed there for Trade, altho’ the best Sable and black Fox Skins are got there. Here the _Nodway_ or _Eskimaux Indians_ live, who are in a manner hunted and destroyed by the more Southerly _Indians_, being perpetually at war with each other. They seem not to be Natives of _America_, but rather _Europeans_ from _Greenland_. The _French_ imagine they are descended from _Biscayners_, they having Beards up to the Eyes, which the _Americans_ have not; they are of a white Complexion, not Copper coloured like the other _Americans_, having black, strong Hair. They live in Caves under the Snow in Winter, feeding upon Seals Flesh and dried Fish, drinking the Oil, and using it for their Lamps, with which they also grease their Bodies, which defends them from the piercing icy Particles in the Air. If when travelling a Storm of Snow is too violent for them to withstand, they dig a Hole in the Snow five or six Feet deep, and cover the Hole with Skins or Branches, and so lie warm under the Storm. Upon this Coast, in Lat. 59°. near Cape _Smith_, is a Passage lately discovered into an inland Sea, 300 Leagues in Circuit, which, if a proper Use was made of it, would open a considerable Trade for Furs into the Heart of the _Terra de Labarador_, which the Company now neglects for fear of Expence, as they do all the Coast on the East Main, having only a House, with seven or eight Servants, at _Slude_ River, in Lat. 52°. 30′. It is near the South Side of this Sea that the rich Lead Mine has been lately discovered, which would also turn to very good Account, if a Settlement was there in about Lat. 56°. or 57°. it would be in as good a Climate as at _York_ Fort or _New Severn_, which is in a Climate equal to the middle Part of _Sweden_ or _Livonia_, being in the Latitude of _Edinburgh_; and if one was made in 59°. near Cape _Smith_, it would be equal to that now at _Churchill_. _Rupert_ River, in about Lat. 51°. is in a very good Climate, and is a fine River, well wooded, having eight Feet Water at the Entrance, and the Tide rises eight Feet; the River is a Mile over, and cometh from the Southward of the East; it is about 150 Leagues from St. _Margaret_’s River, which falleth into St. _Laurence_ in _Canada_. A little to Southward of _Rupert_’s is _Frenchman_’s and _Nodway_ Rivers; these run from S. E. and S. S. E. from Sources a great Way up in the Country; the last is 5 Miles broad to the Falls. These, tho’ in so good a Climate, are all neglected by the Company, upon account of the Neighbourhood of the _French_, who have encroached upon them, and have a trading House upon the Head of _Rupert_’s River, by which they have engrossed almost all the Trade of the East Main. To avoid Expence they will not fix a sufficient Factory there to recover so great a Trade, nor will allow any other from _Britain_ to settle there and trade, choosing rather to give it up to the _French_ than to their Countrymen, that they may preserve their present Monopoly to themselves. The Factories at present on _Moose_ River, in Lat. 51°. 28′. and in _Albany_, in Lat. 52°. on the South-west of the Bay, are at present in a very tolerable Climate, being the same with these already mentioned, but would be in a vastly better Climate, if they were fixed some Miles higher up, at some Distance from the chilling Winds in the Bay, where it appears all Sorts of Grain and Pulse would grow to Perfection, and most kind of _European_ Fruits. Here they may have Horses, Cows, Sheep, and all other domestick Animals, here being excellent Grass, and very good Hay may be made of it, which would improve by feeding and cutting it for their Use in Winter; and all Sorts of Grain may be had for their Use, as well as for the Inhabitants, wild Oats or Rice growing in Abundance spontaneously farther up the Rivers to the Southward, at some Distance from the Bay. The _Moose_ River is a noble, large River, which cometh from two Branches, Southward and South-westward, of the Bay, for some hundred Miles from the Mountains, above the _Huron_ and Upper Lakes, to near Lat. 48°. There are several Falls upon it, but above the Falls it is again navigable a great Way into the Country, from whence the Natives come down some Hundreds of Miles in their Canoes to trade at the Factory; yet, from the Avarice of the Company, they have in a manner left that Southern Trade to the _French_, having allowed the _French_ to have a trading House upon, or near, the Southern Branch of _Moose_ River, within three Days Journey, not 100 Miles from that Factory; who, at so many hundred Miles from _Canada_, undersell the Company, and carry away all the valuable furs, leaving only the Refuse to them, because of the exorbitant Prices they take for their Goods from the Natives in Exchange. If the Trade was opened, and these Rivers on the Bottom of the Bay were settled farther up in the Country, they would have a very temperate, fine Climate, with all Necessaries for Life, and even for Luxury. Here are very fine Woods of all Kinds of large Timber for Shipping or Building, where they may have all Sorts of Fruit and Grain, tame Cattle and Fowl. The Rivers abound with excellent Fish, and the Woods with Wild-fowl, and most kind of wild Beasts for Profit or Pleasure. Gooseberries, Raspberries and Strawberries, grow wild in the Woods, every thing in Gardens would grow with proper Culture. In the Country the Snow and Frost breaks up in _March_, and does not begin again until about _November_. _Albany_ River is also very considerable, in Lat. 52°. and cometh from W. S. W. and within Land has the same Climate and other Advantages; at present the Situation of the Factories of _Moose_ and _Albany_ are very unhappy, being placed in the Swamps, at the Mouths of the Rivers; for the Company’s chief Aim being Trade, they don’t regard the Soil, Aspect or Situation, where they fix them, provided they are upon navigable Rivers where their Ships can approach them, and where the Natives can come in their Canoes; so that their Factories there, are placed in a low swampy Ground, which is overflowed by the Rivers upon the breaking up of the Ice, which makes them much moister and warmer in Summer, and colder in Winter, from the Quantity of Ice there is in Winter in the Rivers and Bay: If they had fixed them higher up in the Country, where the Thaw begins much sooner than at the Bay, they would have had a happier Situation, and a quite different Climate and Soil. How can it be expected that any Thing can thrive in their Garden, or be brought to Perfection? when the Floods in the latter End of _April_ leave Flakes of Ice several Feet thick in their Gardens, which are not dissolved until the latter End of _May_; and yet after that Time, when they dig their Gardens, they have very good Coleworts and Turnips, green Pease and Beans, when if they had been situated higher up in the Country from the Bay, they might have had all Sorts of Fruit, Grain and Roots in Perfection, and tame Cattle and Fowl for their Use; at present the Company’s Servants depend upon the Fish and wild Geese they take for their Winter Store. They have Pike, Trout, Perch, and white Trout in great Perfection in all their Rivers; but the principal Fish they take is a little larger than a Mackarel, of which 13 or 14000 are taken at _Albany_ in a Season, which supplies them and their _Indian_ friends in Winter; these they take after the Rivers are frozen over, keeping Holes open in the Ice, in a streight Line at proper Distances, through which they thrust their Nets with Poles, and the Fish coming there to breathe, are mash’d or entangled in the Net; these they freeze up for Winter without Salt. The wild Geese come to these Rivers from the Southward in the Middle of _April_, as soon as the Swamps are thawed, at which Time they are lean; they stay until the Middle of _May_, when they go Northward to breed; they take at _Albany_ in that Season about 1300 for present Use; they return again with their young about the Middle of _August_, and stay until the Middle of _October_, when they go farther Southward; they save generally about 3000 of these, which they salt before the Frost begins, and what they take afterwards they hang up in their Feathers to freeze for Winter Store, without Salt; the Natives shoot them in the Swamps. There are three Kinds, one a grey Goose, which without Giblets weighs from 6 to 10 Pounds, another which they call Whaweys, are from 4 to 6 Pounds; they have also Swans, grey Plover exceeding fat, white Partridges as big as Capons, in Abundance all Winter and Spring, which feed upon the Buds of Spruce, Birch and Poplars. The _New Severn_ River, which the _French_ call _St. Huiles_, is in Lat. 56°. this the Company neglects, to avoid Expence, tho’ it be a very fine River, well wooded, capable of receiving Ships of 50 or 60 Tons Burthen, and full of Beavers and other wild Beasts of rich Furs; for they being too far off the _French_, they oblige them to come to _Albany_ or _York_ Fort, with their Furs. The River _Bourbon_ or _Nelson_, upon whose South-eastern Branch is _York_ Fort in _Hay’s_ Island in Lat. 57°. is one of the noblest Rivers in _America_, and by much the finest and largest in the Bay, and tho’ the Names given to the several Lakes and Rivers which enter into these Lakes, which are upon it, betwixt its Source on the South-west Side of the Upper Lake, and _York_ Fort are different, according to the Accounts given by _Jeremie_, _De la Poterie_, and _Joseph la France_, yet they all agree in this, that there are a great Number of very large Lakes upon it, at great Distances within Land, South-westerly and Westerly from the Bay, in fine Climates and fruitful Countries, among many populous erratick Nations, such as the _Assinibouels_, _Christinaux_, _Savanna_, _Monsoni_, _Vieux Hommes_, _Tête Plat_, _Panis Blanc_, _Sturgeon Indians_, &c. which abound with all Sorts of excellent Fish, and are navigable for many hundred Leagues, tho’ the Rivers which fall into them have several Sharps and Falls, which occasions several Land Carriages, yet Canoes pass and repass all these Lakes and Rivers from its Source to _York_ Fort, the Natives coming down for above a thousand Miles to trade there. The Climate at York Fort, tho’ in Lat. 57°. seems not to be colder than at _Albany_ in 52°. since, if the Account taken from _Button_ be true, the Ice broke up there in that River on the 26th of _April_, and the River, tho’ not above a Mile broad, was not that Year frozen over the 16th of _February_, when at _Albany_ it was frozen over in the Beginning of _November_, and it did not break up at the Factory until the Beginning of _May_; this might probably be occasioned by the Strength of the Tide at _Port Nelson_, which rose sometimes 14 Feet, when at _Albany_ it does not rise 4 Feet, and the Waters of _Nelson_ River run from the Southward, from more immediately warm Climates, when that at _Albany_ comes from the W. S. W. and all the Bottom of the Bay being full of Ice, makes the Cold more intense and continue longer at the Mouth of that River. This seems confirmed from _La France_’s Account, that within four or five Leagues of the Sea at _York Fort_, the Cold continued, and there was Ice in the River in _June_, when above that they had a fine Spring, all the Trees in Bloom, and very warm Weather, up to the great Fork in the Beginning of _June_, and in the River from thence to _Pachegoia_, or the _Lake of Forests_, there was a fine Spring and Bloom from the Beginning of _May_, all the Lands about that Lake, and to the Southwards, being free from Ice and Snow, in the Beginning of _April_ N. S. so that here is an excellent Soil and Climate upon this River, a few Days sailing up the River, even below the great Fork, which is but 60 Leagues to the Southward, and the River navigable so far with large Shallops and Boats. This River opens a Trade into a Country of surprizing Greatness through the Lakes _Pachegoia_, _Coriboux_, _Siens_, _Great_ and _Little Ouinipique_, the Lakes _Du Bois_, _De Pluis_, and _Red Lake_, according to _La France_, and the Rivers _Vieux Hommes_ and others which enter these several Lakes; or by the _Lake of Forests_, the _Great Water_, the _Junction of the two Seas_, _Tacamiouan_ and others, according to _Jeremie_, abounding with all Kinds of Game, Fish, and Beasts of rich Furs, in excellent Climates, abounding with Timber Trees of all Sorts, and wild Fruit, and capable of all other Kinds of Fruit and Grain upon Cultivation. What an immense Trade might be begun and improved through these Countries? for the Natives being numerous, and of a humane Disposition, upon having an equitable Commerce with us, would soon be civilized and become industrious. In such rich and delightful Climates, what a Vent might be had there for our Woollen and Iron Manufactures, as well as for others, may be easily conceived? At present the Company have a little wooden Fort upon _Hay_’s Island much decayed, in which they keep 25 Servants to manage their Trade, from whence they return annually about 50000 Beavers Skins, or other Furs to that Value, under all the Disadvantages the _Indians_ trade with them at present. Northwards from this in Lat. 59°. is _Churchill_ River, where the Climate, at some Distance from the Bay, is not worse than at _Stockholm_ or _Petersburgh_. This River is navigable for 150 Leagues; and again, after passing some Mountains, is navigable far to the Westward, to a Country abounding in Copper. This communicates with the River of _Stags_, which falls into the great Lakes upon _Nelson_ River, insomuch that the South-western and Western Part of the Bay, without including the Southern or Eastern Sides, would in some Years, if settled and improved by civilizing the Natives, afford an inexhaustible Fund for Trade. The present Situation of the Prince of _Wales_’s Fort on _Churchill_ River is vastly cold, and for that Reason very inconvenient, as are all the other Factories in the Bay, all the others being fixed with a View only to Profit, and this alone for Profit and Strength, without any View to other Conveniencies, and therefore they have fixed it upon an Eminence 40 Feet high, surrounded on all Sides, without any Shelter, by a frozen Sea and River, and Plains of Snow, exposed to all Storms, which causes its being colder than in proper Situations within the Polar Circle, being vastly colder than a few Leagues up the River among the Woods, where the Factory’s Men lived comfortably in Huts or Tents all the Winter, without any Complaint of Cold or Sickness, hunting, shooting and fishing the whole Season. The Trade upon this River, tho’ very much short of that on _Nelson_ River, yet is very much increased. Last Year, 1742, it amounted to 20000 Beavers, and all the Amount of _Moose_, _Albany_ and _Slude_, don’t exceed it, but rather falls short of it, which is occasioned by the Monopoly, Avarice and Weakness, of the Company, they having but 25 Men in _Albany_, as many at _Moose_ River, and 7 or 8 at _Slude_, upon the East Main, and have therefore suffered the _French_ to encroach upon them, and to trade and settle at the Head of _Rupert_’s River, and near _Moose_ River, within three Days Journey of their Factory, betraying the _English_ Right to that Part of the Bay, by giving up the Possession to the _French_ by their Weakness, and have lost the Trade there to them by their Avarice, upon account of the exorbitant Gain they take upon their Goods from the Natives of near 2000 _per Cent._ Profit, taking a Beaver Skin, worth from eight to nine Shillings in _England_, for a Quart of _English_ Spirits, mixed with a Third Water, which probably may cost them a Groat; they also in Exchange value three Martins or Sable Skins at one Beaver, when the _French_ give as much for a Martin as for a Beaver; so that the Natives carry all their best Furs to the _French_, and leave them the Refuse; for which Reason, and the _French_ giving them Goods at a cheaper Rate than the Company, all the Eastern and Southern Trade is in a manner lost to the _French_, and a considerable Part of the South-western Trade, they scarce preserving the Trade at _York_ Fort and _Churchill_ River to themselves; so that were the Trade laid open, and the Southern and Western Countries settled, we might not only regain that Trade from the _French_, which would probably increase our Profit from 40000 _l._ which the Company gain at present upon their Trade, to 100000 _l._ but we might in a short Time increase it to 200000 _l._ by supplying the Natives with Woollen Goods, Iron Tools, Guns, Powder and Shot, at reasonable Rates; for by this Treatment, and fixing Factories for Goods higher up the Rivers, upon _Rupert_’s, _Moose_, _Albany_, and _Nelson_ Rivers; by having Markets nearer them, and cheaper, the Number of Hunters would increase, and would bring four times as many Furs, besides other valuable Skins, not worth the Carriage at present, and they would make two Returns for one, and many come from greater Distances, which don’t now come at all; and we should have all that now perish and rot, and they use at home, by getting better and cheaper _European_ Goods in Return, and a shorter and quicker Carriage to Market; this would make them more industrious, and would preserve the Lives of many of them who can’t subsist now without Fire Arms and Iron Tools, having in great Measure lost the Use of Arrows, and instead of our exporting to the Value of 2 or 3000 _l._ which is the most the Company exports in one Season, we might export to the Value of 100000 _l._ in coarse Woollen and Iron Manufactures, Powder, Shot, Spirits, Tobacco, Paint, and Toys, which would afford Subsistence and Employment to our industrious Poor, and yet the Merchant might gain near _Cent. per Cent._ upon his Trade. By increasing our Settlements to the Southward, in the Bottom of the Bay, we should by this Encouragement make all the Natives our Friends, by underselling the French, and securing the Trade, and force the _French_ out of their Trade upon the East Main, and Countries North of _Huron_, and the other _Canada_ Lakes, and become so powerful, as not to fear the _French_ in case of a War; whereas at present, if a War should commence, the Company in a few Weeks would lose all their Factories in the Bottom of the Bay, and _York_ Fort, where they have but 25 Men, would soon after fall into their Hands; for they have none but the Prince of _Wales_’s Fort at _Churchill_ that is in a State of Defence, and even there they keep but 28 Men to defend a Fort in which they have 40 Guns mounted. Such is the melancholy Situation of our Factories and Trade in so extended a Country at present, from the Monopoly and Covetousness of the Company, who have been in Possession of Part of these Countries to the Southward from the Time of their Charter in 1670, above 70 Years, and have enjoyed the rest uninterrupted from 1714 near 30 Years; yet, tho’ they have had the most extensive Powers granted to them that were ever granted to any Company, the whole Property and exclusive Trade of all these Countries, and all others they should discover from thence not possessed by any Christian Power; with a Power to make War, raise Troops, and fit out Ships of War to preserve their Possessions, to induce them to discover, plant and improve, these Countries, and to extend the _British_ Trade, by finding out a Passage to the Western Ocean of _America_; yet they have been so base to their Country, as not only to neglect it themselves, but to prevent and discourage any Attempt to find out so beneficial a Passage, and have also prevented any Persons from settling in those Countries, which would have effectually secured all their Factories, and put them out of Danger of being insulted by the _French_ in case of a War, and this with a View only of keeping a Monopoly and exclusive Trade to themselves from the rest of the _British_ Merchants, which they have no Right to by Law, it being only granted by Charter, without Act of Parliament. But supposing they had a legal Right, they have forfeited their Right by not settling these Countries, and preventing any of his Majesty’s Subjects from settling there; so that they have forfeited their Right to all these Countries except their present Factories, upon account of their not taking in, and settling upon those Lands: Besides, they have not only neglected to find a Passage to the Western Ocean, but have also refused to look for it, and have discouraged and endeavoured to seduce others from finding it, by offering Rewards or Bribes to Captain _Middleton_, who was employed by the Government to make that Discovery, as he informed me; tho’ the attempting that Discovery was the chief Prayer for their Patent, and the principal Motive which induced King _Charles_ to grant them their Charter, which was then given to some of the most considerable Noblemen, Gentlemen and Merchants, in _England_, but now is confin’d to eight or nine private Merchants, who have ingrossed nine Tenths of the Company’s Stock, and by that Means are perpetual Directors; the small Proportion of Stock which is in other Hands, when sold, being purchased by those who have in a manner ingrossed the whole, it not being allowed to go to a publick Market. What great Advantages might _Britain_ by this time have receiv’d, had the Proprietors settled these Countries after the same manner our other Colonies are settled, at a trifling Quit-rent, with a Freedom of Trade to all _British Subjects_? We should, by this time, have had populous Settlements, and an extensive Trade in the Southern and Western Countries adjoining the Bay, among those noble Rivers and Lakes which have their Sources in, and run through temperate and healthy Climates, in rich and fruitful Countries. The _Slude_, or _Petre_ River, in Lat. 52°. the Rivers _Rupert_, _Frenchman_’s, and _Nodway_, at the South-west Corner of the Bay, in Lat. 51°. which have their Courses some Hundreds of Miles into the Country, even to the Latitude of 48°. or 49°. in a Climate as good as _North France_ and _Germany_. The _Moose_ River, which disembogues in Lat. 51°. 28′. in the South-west Corner, and is by two Branches navigable for the most part from Lat. 48°. and 49°. in the same Climate as the others, by which the _Indians_ descend some hundred Miles to the Factory from near the Upper Lake, whence by a Land Carriage they come at a River which falls into that Lake. The River _Albany_, tho’ not so large, yet is navigable some hundred Miles W. S. W. and enters the Bay in Lat. 52°. coming from some of those Lakes which communicate with _Nelson_ River, running through fertile and woody Countries in a temperate Climate. The _New Severn_ enters the Bay, in Lat. 56°. and comes from the South-west from at least 53°. through a rich and fertile Country, full of fine Woods for above 100 Leagues, full of Beavers and other Beasts of rich Furs, having Branches which communicate with _Albany_ and _Nelson_ Rivers. The River _Nelson_, or _Bourbon_, opens a Navigation into a Country of surprizing Greatness, through many Lakes of great Extent, having many navigable Rivers running into them from distant Countries in delightful Climates, even to Lat. 46°. and to Nations adjoining to the Western Ocean. _Churchill_ River, in Lat. 59°. a noble River, navigable for 150 Leagues, and after passing the Falls, navigable again to far distant Countries, abounding in Mines of Copper, and other rich Commodities, even to the Western Sea; so that the Southern and Western Parts of the Bay would, in some Time, afford an inexhaustible Fund for Trade; nor is the East Side of the Bay despicable, about the new discover’d Inland-sea, where there are rich Furs, and Mines of Lead. What an immense Trade might be begun and carried on from these Countries; for the Natives, being numerous, and of a humane Disposition, inclin’d to trade, upon having an equitable Trade with us, would be soon civilized, and become industrious, in such rich and delightful Climates? What a Vent might be had in those Countries for our Woollen, Iron, and other Manufactures, may be easily conceived: So that by opening the Trade, and settling these Countries, the _French_ in time would be confined to the Rivers which fall into the River St. _Laurence_, and be deprived of all their North-western Trade. The North-west Part of the Bay, beyond the _River of Seals_, in Lat. 60. is the most incapable of Improvement, there being little Wood, to be had there near the Bay; nor is it necessary to have any Settlements there, unless one should be made for convicted Felons, by way of Punishment or Banishment, as is practised in _Muscovy_, by sending Criminals to _Siberia_, or by the _Danes_ lately to their Settlement in _Davis_’s Streight, upon the Coast of _Greenland_; But tho’ there are few Woods there, yet there is Plenty of Game, Rain-Deer in great Numbers, Hares, Buffaloes, Foxes, and many other Beasts, whose Skins and Furs are valuable; and the Natives there might be employed in Hunting and Fishing, and also in the Mines, there being a fine Copper Mine already discovered on a Streight or Arm of the Sea in that Country. Whale-fin and Oil may be had in Abundance, from the Number of Whales seen there, as also Seals, white Bears, and Sea-Horses, from the Latitude of 62°. to 66°. and this Trade would increase by employing the _Eskimaux Indians_, who are already so dextrous as to strike and kill them with Harpoons made of Bone, and must improve, by furnishing them with our Harpoons and Lines, and other Implements of Iron, and Fire Arms to such as would be reclaimed and civilized, which the Benefit they would have by a free Trade would very much contribute to. We find the North Bay, above the _Welcome_, even to 66°. is in a habitable Climate, having met with the _Eskimaux Indians_ in _Wager_ River, at _Deer Sound_, and we find in _Europe_ many Inhabitants within the Polar Circle, for all to the North of the _Bothnick_ Gulph from _Torneo_ exceeds that Latitude; all the _Laplands_, _Petzora_, the _Samoyeds_, and all North of _Siberia_, and yet by their Rain-Deer and Sledges they are so well pleased with their Country, that they are with Difficulty prevailed with to leave it, so that some Advantage may be made of the most Northerly Parts; tho’ few or no _Europeans_ settle there, by civilizing the Natives, and learning them the Use of Rain-Deer and Sledges, and _Lapland_ Shoes for the Snow, and shewing them the way to make Stoves where Firing may be had, so that an Advantage may be had of the coldest Parts of that Country. But besides the Advantage to be made of these Countries adjoining to the Bay, by opening the Trade, and settling there, a still more considerable one might be made, by opening a Communication with our present Northern Colonies upon that Continent by the Means of the _Canada_ Lakes, by forming a Settlement on the River _Conde_, which is navigable into the Lake _Errie_, which is within a small Distance of our Colonies of _Pensylvania_ and _Maryland_, and being above the great Fall of _Niagara_, and in the Neighbourhood of the _Iroquese_, who are at present a Barrier against the _French_, and a sufficient Protection to our Fort and trading House at _Oswega_, in their Country upon the Lake _Frontenac_, who by that Trade have secured the Friendship of all the Nations around the Lakes of _Huron_ and _Errie_. We should from thence, in a little Time, secure the Navigation of these great and fine Lakes, and passing to the Southward, at the same time, from _Hudson_’s _Bay_ to the Upper Lake, and Lake of _Hurons_, we should cut off the Communication betwixt their Colonies of _Canada_ and _Mississippi_, and secure the Inland Trade of all that vast Continent. I shall therefore from _Lahontan_, and other _French_ Authors, give a short Account of the Climates and Situations of these Lakes, and the Soil of the adjacent Countries. The Upper Lake is situated South-westward of _Hudson_’s _Bay_, which may be come at by the _Moose_ River; from whence, after a Navigation of 100 Leagues, and passing some Falls, there is a Land Carriage of seven Leagues to the River _Mechipikoton_, which falls into that Lake. This Lake is situated between 46°. and 49°. of Latitude, and is about 500 Leagues in Circuit, taking in the several Windings of the Coast. It is calm from _May_ to _September_, the South Side well shelter’d with Bays. There is a large River, call’d _Camanistigayan_, on the North Side; there are many large Islands in it, in which are Elks and wild Asses, great Quantities of Sturgeon, Trout, and white Fish, and very good Copper is got near the Lake. This Lake is cold for near six Months, and is frozen sometimes several Leagues from the North Shore. This falls into _Huron_ Lake by the fall of _St. Mary_, a Sharp of two Leagues. _Huron_ Lake is to the South-eastward, situated betwixt Lat. 43°. and 46°. and is about 400 Leagues in Circuit. The North Side is well sheltered by many Islands full of Woods, one called _Manatoualin_ is 20 Leagues long and 10 broad; on the East Side is the River _Françoise_, which is as broad as the _Seine_ at _Paris_; it runs 40 Leagues from the Lake _Nepicerini_ North-eastward, and South-east of it is the Bay of _Toranto_, which is in Depth 25 Leagues and 15th in Breadth; the River _Toranto_ falls into it, which is full of Cataracts, from the Head of which they can go by a short Land Carriage to Lake _Frontenac_ by the River _Taneoute_. There is nothing remarkable from that Bay to the Streights of _St. Joseph_, through which it is emptied into Lake _Errie_, on the North-west Side below _St. Mary’s_, is the Town of _Missilimakinac_, situated between the fall and the _Illinese_ Lake. Crossing the Entrance of this Lake, we come to the West Side of _Huron_ Lake, in which is the Bay of _Sakinac_, 16 Leagues deep and 6 broad at the Entrance. The River _Sakinac_ falls into it, which is navigable for 60 Leagues, and is as broad as the _Seine_ at _Seve_ Bridge; this Country abounds with Beavers; from this Bay the Coast runs South East to the Streight of _St. Joseph_ already mentioned. _Missilimakinac_ is situated in 45°. 30′. within a League of the Entrance into the _Illinese_ Lake, extremely pleasantly, as well as conveniently for Trade. Here is a great Fishery for white Fish, the richest and best Fish in the World, being so luscious that all Sauce spoils it. The _Indians_ here sow _Indian_ Corn, Beans and Pease, and have excellent Citruls and Melons. This Lake is situated in an excellent Climate, affording all Things necessary for Life, as well as all Fruit and Trees which are for Ornament and Pleasure, filled with Fish, and surrounded with Herds of Deer, wild Oxen, Beavers, and other Beasts of rich Furs, and all Sorts of wild Fowl: In the Northern Side of the Lake the Spring begins with _April_ N. S. In the Land the Ice breaks up in _March_, but there is floating Ice until the Beginning of _April_, and the Frost and Winter sets in, the latter End of _November_. On the South Side the Winter breaks up the Beginning of _March_, all the Ice being gone before _April_, and the Winter does not begin until the Beginning of _December_. From the _French_ River, he says, there is a Land Carriage to a River which falls into St. _Laurence_ near _Monreal_. The _Illinese_ Lake begins at _Missilimakinac_ in Lat. 45°. 30′. and extends Southwards to about 40°. being above 300 Leagues in Circumference, in one of the best Climates in the World; it is free from Sands, Shelves, or Rocks, surrounded with Woods of the largest and best Kinds, either for Food, Delight, or Use, having most excellent Fruit of all Kinds. Forty Leagues Southward of the Entrance, on the West Side of the Lake, is the Bay of _Puants_, 10 Leagues broad at the Entrance, filled with fine Islands, and 25 Leagues deep, betwixt Lat. 43°. and 44°. it produces all Sorts of Grain and Fruit almost without Culture. The Fall of _Kakalin_ is on the River which falls into this Lake; above it is the Nation of _Kikapous_, and above them a small Lake called _Malominis_; upon the Sides of it grows a Kind of wild Oats, from which the Natives get plentiful Crops; above this is the _Outagamis_ Fort, and a little higher the Land Carriage to _Ouisconsic_ River, which falls into the _Mississippi_. There is nothing remarkable from the Bay of _Puants_ to the River _Chicakou_, in the South End of the Lake, which has its Source near the _Illinese_ River, to which there is a Land Carriage of some Miles. The _Illinese_ River is navigable from about Lat. 39°. to the _Mississippi_ for about 60 Leagues South-west. This River runs through one of the most delightful Countries in the World, abounding with the most delightful Meadows and Woods, which produce every Thing for Delight or Use, filled with plenty of Deer, wild Oxen, and wild Fowl of all Kinds; on the East Side of the Lake is another fine River, called _Oumamis_ or _Miamis_, whose Source is near the _Huron_ Lake. There is nothing remarkable on this East Coast, except the Bay _De L’Ours qui dort_, until you come to its Entrance into the _Huron_ Lake. The Climate upon this Lake is most delightful, few Storms met with here. The Bay of _Puanti_ is frozen over about the Middle of _December_, and the Frost is gone again in _February_, the Grass being well grown in the Meadows by the Middle of _March_. On the South Side of the Lake the River _Chicacou_ was frozen over the Beginning of _December_; and upon the 3d of _January_ it began to thaw, and was navigable the 24th. The whole Country around this Lake is fill’d with Woods of most excellent Timber of the greatest Growth, which are fill’d with Deer, Buffalo’s, &_c._ and all kind of wild Fowl; and rich Mines have been discovered upon the _Illinese_ River in its Neighbourhood. To the Southward of the Lake of _Hurons_, by the Streights of St. _Joseph_, which are half a League broad, after a Course of six Leagues, is the Lake of St. _Clair_, which is 12 Leagues in Circuit; and from thence by another Streight of 20 Leagues long, and the same Breadth, is the Entrance into the Lake _Errie_. All along this Streight, and around St. _Clair_ Lake, are fine Woods full of Harts and Roe-bucks, stored with all kinds of Fowl. The Lake _Errie_ or _Conti_ is 230 Leagues in Circumference, in the most excellent Climate in the World, from 40°. to 42°. The Country around it is low and champaign, fill’d with most delightful Woods, full of excellent wild Fruit, interspersed with Meadows filled with several Sorts of Deer and wild Beeves. Two fine Rivers fall into it from the Southwest, without Cataracts or rapid Currents. From one of these, by a Land-carriage, there is a Passage to the _Illinese_ River; and by another to the River _Ouabach_ or _Ohio_; which, after a Course of near 200 Leagues, 100 of which is three and a half Fathoms deep, enters into the _Mississippi_, in about 36°. Latitude, about 80 Leagues below the _Illinese_ River. This Lake abounds with Sturgeon and white Fish, the best in the World. It is clear of Rocks, Shelves, or Sands, generally 14 to 15 Fathoms deep, seldom or never disturbed with Storms, and these only in the three Winter Months, when they happen. Stags, Roe-bucks, and wild Beeves abound on its Banks, and Turkeys and other wild Fowl in the Woods. On the North Side a narrow Strip of Land runs into the Lake for 15 Leagues. Thirty Leagues to the Eastward of this is a small River that rises near the Bay of _Gamaraski_ in _Frontenac_ Lake. From this River to the Fall of _Niagara_ is 30 Leagues; this is supposed to be the greatest Fall in this Globe, from its Height and Quantity of Water it discharges; the Height was computed formerly above 100 Fathom, but by a late exact Account taken by the _French_ in 1721, it is said to be only 26 Fathom perpendicular by a Plumb Line, besides the Declivity above and below, it being rapid and full of Shelves for six Miles below it, before it is again navigable. The Streight above _Niagara_ at the Lake is about a League wide. From this to the River _Conde_ is 20 Leagues South-west; this River runs from the S. E. and is navigable for 60 Leagues without any Cataracts or Falls; and the Natives say, that from it to a River which falls into the Ocean, is a Land Carriage of only one League. This must be either the _Sasquehana_ or _Powtomack_, which fall into the Bay of _Chisapeak_. There are several fine Islands on the South-west of this Lake filled with Fruit Trees of several Kinds, and there is a Prospect of rich Mines within 20 Leagues of it upon a Mountain from which Oar has been brought which proved good. From this short Abstract of the Lakes, taken from the _French_, who discovered them, we must conclude that the Countries adjoining to them are the most delightful in the World; that in time, by civilizing the Natives, and making them become industrious, a very fine Commerce might be carried on through these extensive Lakes, which might be secured to us, by making a sufficient Settlement upon the River _Conde_, where it begins to be navigable, which is but at a small Distance from our present Colonies of _Maryland_ and _Pensilvania_, from whence we might extend that Settlement by Degrees, and by building proper Vessels there to navigate these Lakes, we might gain the whole Navigation and Inland Trade of Furs, _&c._ from the _French_, the Fall of _Niagara_ being a sufficient Barrier betwixt us and the _French_ of _Canada_ by Water, and the _Iroquese_ and Fort at _Oswega_ upon Lake _Frontenac_, an impregnable Barrier by Land, and by the Neighbourhood of our most populous Colonies, and Numbers transplanting themselves annually from _Europe_, particularly from _Switzerland_ and _Germany_ to _Pensilvania_ they would be easily induced to strengthen our Settlements upon this River and Lake _Errie_, in such a rich Soil and delightful Climate; and by our securing the Streights of _St. Joseph_, betwixt _Errie_ and _Huron_ Lake and the River _Françoise_, near the Bay of _Toranto_, we should cut off the _French_ at _Canada_ from their Communication with these Lakes and the _Mississippi_, and join our Settlements to be made Southward of _Hudson_’s Bay upon the _Moose, Nodway_ and _Rupert_’s Rivers, which in time would secure to us the whole Fur Trade, and make _Canada_ insignificant to the _French_; and also by settling upon the _Ouabach_ or _Ohio_ near Lake _Errie_, by having the _Cherokees_ and _Chickesaws_ to the Southward, as a Barrier betwixt us and _Louisiana_, and securing the _Choctaws_, we might spread our Commerce beyond the _Mississippi_; by which Means, the Inland Trade of that vast Northern Continent, much greater than _Europe_, would in time be wholly enjoy’d by us in _Britain_, independent of any other _European_ Power. How glorious would it be for us at the same time to civilize so many Nations, and improve so large and spacious a Country? by communicating our Constitution and Liberties, both civil and religious, to such immense Numbers, whose Happiness and Pleasure would increase, at the same Time that an Increase of Wealth and Power would be added to _Britain_. There is at present a Beginning of this Scheme by the Zeal of Mr. _Barclay_, who is instructing and civilizing the _Mowhawks_ among the _Iroquese_, who from a warlike Nation have embarked in Trade, and entered into Alliances with all the Nations around the Lakes _Huron_ and _Errie_, and to the Westward as far as the _Mississippi_, which is firmly established by the Gain they make by the Trade the _English_ from _New-York_ have fixed at _Oswega_ in their Country, upon equitable Terms with all the _Indians_, who come now from a great Distance to trade at that Town, _Indians_ coming now to trade there whose Names were never before known to the _English_. This therefore seems to be the critical Time to begin this Settlement on the Banks of _Conde_ River. If there be a War with _France_, as we are at a great Expence to save the Liberties of _Europe_, and support the House of _Austria_, since we can have nothing in _Europe_ beneficial for us, in case we are successful at the Conclusion of the War, we ought to stipulate for something advantageous in _America_; and the least we ought to claim is our Right to the _American_ Lakes, and securing the Navigation of them. The _French_ have at present two little Forts, of about thirty Men in each, at _Niagara_, and the Streights of St. _Joseph_, and a few Men at _Missilimakinac_, and at the Bottom of the _Illinese_ Lake; these we ought to have from them, either by Force or Treaty, which would secure the Inland-Trade to us, and prevent their future Incroachments either there or in _Hudson’_s _Bay_; and to do this effectually, would be to make this Settlement near the Lake _Errie_, which may be done at little or no Expence, considering our present Barrier, and Alliance and Trade with the Natives; and when our Troops are disbanded, some of them may be sent over upon Half-pay to fix in proper Places, and make good our Possessions, which would be a fine Retreat to our Soldiers, who can’t so easily, after being disbanded, bring themselves again to hard Labour, after being so long disused to it. By these Settlements, and those adjoining to _Hudson_’s _Bay_, and by opening the Trade in the Bay, many Thousands more would be employed in Trade, and a much greater Vent would be opened for our Manufactures; whereas all the Gain we have at present, whilst the Trade is confined to the Company, is the Employment of 120 Men in all their Factories, and two or three Ships in that Trade, mann’d perhaps with 120 Men in time of War, to enrich nine or ten Merchants at their Country’s Expence; at the same time betraying the Nation, by allowing the _French_ to encroach upon us at the Bottom of the Bay, having given up by that means the greatest Part of their Trade there to the _French_; it is therefore humbly submitted to the Government, whether it is not just, as well as prudent, to open that Trade to all the _British_ Merchants, and resume, at the same time, the Charter so far, as to take from them all those Lands they have not reclaimed or occupied after 70 Years Possession, leaving them only their Factories, and such Lands as they have reclaimed adjoining to them; and to give Grants as usual in other Colonies, to all who shall go over to trade and make Settlements in the Country; for no Grant was ever intended to be made to them, to enable them to prevent other Subjects of _Britain_ from planting those Countries, which they themselves would not plant or occupy; for such a Power, instead of being beneficial, would be the greatest Prejudice to _Britain_, and is become a general Law in all the Colonies, that those who take Grants of Land, and don’t plant them in a reasonable, limited Time, forfeit their Right to those Lands, and a new Grant is made out to such others as shall plant and improve them; and if this Grant be not immediately resumed so far, and the Trade laid open, and some Force be not sent to secure our Southern Possessions in the Bay by the Government, in case there should be a _French_ War, we shall see the _French_ immediately dispossess the Company of all their Factories but _Churchill_, and all these Countries, and that Trade, will be in the Possession of the _French_. To the making such Settlements some Objections have been made by the friends of the Company; as the great Difficulty of getting People to go to settle and plant in so cold a Country, and the Difficulty and Danger attending the making Settlements higher up upon the Rivers, and navigating them, they being so full of Falls and Rapids, that can only be navigated by the Natives in small Canoes made of Birch Bark, which can’t contain above two Men with any Cargo; and in these they are often overset, and are in danger of being drowned, and of spoiling their Goods; that they are often obliged to carry their Canoes and Cargo from Place to Place, which obstructs greatly, and delays the Navigation, and that scarce 5 Men out of 120, which the Company now have in the Bay, will venture themselves in, or can conduct such Canoes, without imminent Danger of being drowned, and consequently these Hardships and Difficulties will counterbalance the Profit to be made of settling higher up in the Country, upon the Rivers in pleasanter and warmer Climates. To this I answer, that by the Accounts already given here of these Climates and Countries by impartial Persons, who don’t want to disguise the Truth, it appears that the Cold is tolerable even at these disadvantageous Settlements at present in the Bay, and that upon passing only five or six Leagues up the Rivers into the Country, the Climate is so altered, as to be equal to those of the same Latitudes in _Europe_; and that these prodigious Accounts of the Effects of Cold are calculated only to serve the Company, in order to prevent People from going there to settle, and encroach upon the Company’s Monopoly of Trade. As to the Difficulty they make about navigating these Rivers in those small Canoes, and the small Number of those employed by the Company, who will venture in them, or can conduct them; I answer, that their Servants, being at present no Gainers by Trade, won’t endeavour to learn to navigate these Canoes, where there is any Risque, and Care necessary to prevent the Danger: Besides, the Company allows them no Time to learn, by confining them to their Factories whilst the _Indian_ Trade continues, and the Navigation is open; and at other Times keep them employed in cutting Wood for Firing, bringing it home, and in shooting, fishing, and digging in their Gardens, to supply themselves with Provisions, to lessen the Company’s Expence; so that they are allowed no Time to learn to navigate these Boats, or to go up the Rivers to observe the Soil and Climate, or what Improvements might be made in the Country: But if they were Masters of their own Time, and could advance their Wealth by Trade, and found a considerable Profit to arise to them by their Dexterity in managing these Canoes, and the great Pleasure and Satisfaction they would have, by living in a fine Climate among these Lakes and Rivers, they would be as enterprizing and dexterous as the _Cureur de Bois_, and be as able to navigate among these Water-falls as the _French_. Neither is it impracticable to prevent even these Canoes from oversetting, by Outlagers or blown Bladders fixed to their Sides; or other Kinds of Boats may be used, such as are made at _Torneo_, in _Sweden_, upon the Rivers falling into the _Bothnick_ Gulph; and _Laplanders_ might be prevailed upon to go there to teach them how to make and manage these Boats, and train up Rain-Deer to draw in Sleds in Winter, and also to use _Lapland_ Shoes, which are better than those used in _America_. If the Trade was once made free, the Profit made upon it would induce many to go and settle upon these Rivers, when not only Horses and other Conveniencies would be had near these Water-falls to assist the Land Carriage in Summer, but also Horses and Rain-Deer to draw their Sleds in Winter as in _Russia_, which is almost as cheap a Carriage as by Water, when the proper Roads are made through the Woods; so that Objection must be of no Force to prevent our opening the Trade, and settling these Countries. But supposing the worst, that we could not manage these Canoes, that could not prevent our settling to Advantage upon these Rivers and Lakes above the Falls; for the Natives might still be our Carriers in navigating those dangerous Places, and taking our Goods from one Settlement to another, whilst we should be employed in Navigation and Trade among the Lakes and Rivers where there are no Falls in larger Vessels, and push our Commerce Southward into better Climates and richer Soils, and put the Natives upon Improvements in Trade, by civilizing and instructing them in building convenient Houses, and associating in Towns, making Gardens, and tilling their Lands, providing them with Horses and tame Cattle, and Fowl for their Use, and proper Tools, which our Trade would furnish them with. Another Objection is, that it is a difficult and dangerous Navigation into the Bay, and the Trade is not worth the Risque. To this I answer, that the Navigation is not so dangerous as it is apprehended to be, but appears to be more so by the Insinuations and Report of the Company and their Friends, who give it out in order to deter others from venturing and interfering in their Trade; and for that Reason they oblige their Captains, under a Penalty, not to publish any Charts of the Bay and Streight. Captain _Middleton_, who was in their Service, made above twenty Voyages to different Parts of the Bay, and never lost a Ship, nor had any Accident in these Voyages; nor have I heard that the Company, in about 23 Years, have lost any Ships in that Trade but two, and the Men and Cargo were saved by Captain _Middleton_. Where Captains are careful in the Ice, there is not much Danger; it is of great Advantage to them that there is no Night at that Season they enter the Bay where the Quantity of Ice is greatest; and when they return in _September_, or even in _October_, all the Ice is in a manner dissolved, or passed out of the Streight into the Ocean, and none seen that can obstruct their Passage. It is probable, that during the whole Winter, from _October_ to _March_, there is no Ice in the Streight to obstruct their Passage into, or out of, the Bay; for a Ship which chanced to be closed up with Ice in an Inlet, by the breaking of the Ice got out, and came through the Streights at _Christmas_, without finding any Ice in the Streight to prevent her Passage: for the Ice which is formed in Bays and Rivers in Winter, does not break up, and get into the Channel or Streight, until it begins to thaw upon the Shores in _March_ and _April_; at which Time it is carried by the Winds and Tide into the Streight, and obstructs the Passage in _May_, and Part of _June_, until it is dissolved; yet even then good Pilots know how to avoid it, and get into the Eddy Tide, out of the Current, where the Ice is more open, and not drove together by the Winds and Current, as it is in the Channel; but these Difficulties would lessen every Day, if the Trade were open’d, and the Voyages were more frequent by the greater Number of Ships, which would make many more experienced Pilots; and as there is now a more accurate Chart published of the Streight and Bay by Captain _Middleton_, with the Islands, Soundings, Tides and Variation, the Navigation will become less dangerous daily, and Coves and Places of Shelter for Ships will be found out by the Numbers of Ships which would then pass, and be trading in these Seas, which are now unknown. I therefore apprehend, that the Danger from the Ice is more in Imagination than Reality, when Care and Judgment are employed; for Ships are mostly inclosed in Ice in calm Weather and Fogs, when the Ice prevents the Motion of the Sea; stormy Weather disperses and breaks the Ice and blows off the Fogs, and Ships keep a good Offing from the Ice, unless they get under the Lee of a large Island of Ice, and then they fasten to it and drive along with it, whilst the smaller Ice to Leeward is drove from them by the Wind; and the large Islands being many Fathoms deep in the Water, come on Ground before the Ships are in Danger of being forced on Shore in shallow Water. The greatest Danger and Delay from the Ice is in the Entrance into the Streight; for the first 40 Leagues from thence the Quantity is less, and they pass on with less Difficulty, and after getting into the Bay, the North-west Side is freest from Ice, the Bottom of the Bay is full of low flat Ice, which is all dissolved in the latter End of Summer. Upon the whole, except two Ships which were lost in King _William_’s Reign, and a _French_ Ship, after an Engagement with our Ships, when they attack’d Fort _Nelson_, I have heard of none but the Ships already mentioned which have been lost in that Voyage. The two Ships which went with _Barlow_ in 1719 to find the North-west Passage, contrary to the Inclinations of the Company, if they did not make the Passage, were probably in the Winter surprized by the Natives, and were not lost in the Ice; for they say that the Natives in about Lat. 63°. where they suppose they were lost, are shyer since that Time in trading with the Company’s Sloops, which they apprehend to be from a Consciousness of Guilt, fearing that it might be known, and they should be punished for it. Since therefore the greatest Danger from the Ice is in passing the Streight, and so few Accidents have happened in so many Years, the Navigation, I think, can’t be call’d dangerous, tho’ it has been generally so apprehended; and not equal to the Whale Fishers who go annually to _Spitzberg_ and _Davis_’s Streights, to Lat. 78°. and 80°. without any Objection to that Navigation, either by the _Dutch_, _Hamburgers_, _Danes_, _Biscayners_, or _English_. I think therefore it appears, that upon opening the Trade, and settling in the Bay, a very great Improvement may be made to our Trade, by the Increase of our Fur Trade, and from the Mines; and beneficial Whale Fishery, which may be improved and carried on there by the _Indians_; and the whole may be had without Danger or Difficulty, altho’ no Passage should be found to the Western Ocean; but if there be a Probability of that Passage, and the Presumptions are now vastly stronger, since the Discoveries lately made by the Ships under Captain _Middleton_’s Command, and the Advantages would be so very great to our Trade, in case a safe Passage should be found, I shall here give a short Abstract of the Journal which he has been pleased to give us, wherein, tho’ many material Observations have been concealed and omitted, and others have been misrepresented; and the chief Part of the Coast, where the greatest Hopes was of a Passage, was entirely slighted and neglected by him, Part being passed in the Night, and the Remainder sailed along in hazy Weather, at five, six, and eight Leagues Distance, so as to make no Discovery of those broken Lands, of which that whole Coast consists; which seems plainly done with a Design in him to compliment the Company at the publick Expence, that he might have it in his Power to gratify them by concealing the Discovery; and thought from his Character of being an experienced Sailor, no other after him would pretend to look after it for the future, which would quiet the Company in the Possession of their darling Monopoly in the Bay, for which, no doubt, he had strong Motives to induce him to slight it, they having offered him before he went the Voyage _l._ 5000 not to go, or to slight the Discovery, by going to _Davis_’s Streights, or any other Way but where he was directed, as he has own’d to several Persons; yet notwithstanding all his Art in concealing a great deal, and disguising more, in his Journal, enough is discovered in it, to shew he was in the Passage, and that if his Inclination had been as good as his Ability, he could have made a considerable Progress in the Discovery of the Passage last Voyage; and after observing upon his own Journal, I shall add what further Remarks have been made in the Voyage by some Officers who were on board him, and Objections to his Conduct upon the Voyage, so far as related to his concealing and slighting the Discovery; and by comparing his Journal and their Observations, with the Accounts formerly given by _Button_, _Fox_, _Scroggs_ and _Norton_, shall shew that the Presumptions now of their being a safe Passage to the Western Ocean of _America_, are as strong as well can be, without a Demonstration by an actual passing it. He could not get out sooner than the 1st of _July_ from _Churchill_ River in Lat. 58°. 56′. to search for the Passage; on the 3d at five in the Morning he saw three Islands in Lat. 61°. 40′. on the 4th he saw Brook _Cobham_ in Lat. 63°. Long. 93° 40′. West from _London_, the Variation there was 21°. West. This Island had much Snow upon it; on the 6th in the Morning he saw a Head-land in Lat. 63°. 20′. Long. 93°. West; Soundings from 35 to 72 Fathoms; at five the Current set N. N. E. 2 Knots 2 Fathoms; the Tide flowed from N. E. by N. Variation 30°. West; a W. by N. Moon made high Water; the 8th he was in Lat. 63°. 39′. saw no Whales or other Fish yet, except one white Whale as big as a Grampus, and some Seals; much Ice North of them, close in Shore for several Leagues; Depth 60 to 90 fathoms; Land 7 or 8 Leagues N. W. 10th in Lat. 64°. 51′. Long. 88°. 34′. West, the _Welcome_ here 11 or 12 Leagues wide, the East Coast a low flat Coast, the whole _Welcome_ full of Ice; they filled fresh Water off the Ice; clos’d in the Ice until the 12th; the 13th he got through the Ice to Northwards of Cape _Dobbs_, a new discovered Head-land, on the N. W. Side of the _Welcome_, in Lat. 65°. 10′. Long. 86°. 6′. West, saw a fair Opening N. W. of it; sailed into this Opening or River to secure the Ships from the Ice, until it dispersed in the _Welcome_. The Entrance of this River 6 or 8 Miles wide for 4 or 5 Miles. Four Leagues higher it was 4 to 5 Leagues wide; he anchored on the North Side above some Islands in 34 Fathoms; the Tide in the Narrow flowed 5 Miles an Hour; not so strict further up; much Ice came down with the Ebb; the Soundings, as they went up, were from 14 to 44 Fathoms in the Middle of the Channel. Next Morning several of the _Eskimaux_ _Indians_ came on board, who had nothing to exchange but their old Cloaths and 20 Gallons of Train Oil; he gave them several Toys; he went higher about four Miles, above some Islands, and anchored in a Sound betwixt them and the North Shore, in an Eddy Tide, to be out of the Way of the driving Ice, which went in and out with the Tide, and anchored in 16 Fathoms; this he called _Savage Sound_; the River above and below full of Ice; the 15th he sent up the Lieutenant with nine Men well armed, with Provisions for 48 Hours, in the eight oar’d Boat, to try the River, who returned on the 17th; he had been up as far as the Ice would permit, it being fast above from Side to Side; he found the Depth above from 70 to 80 Fathoms. The 16th the Captain went ashore on some Islands, and found them quite bare, except some short Grass, and Moss in the Valleys, and a little Sorrel and Scurvy-Grass above High-water Mark. They set the Fishing Nets but got no Fish; many of his Men relapsed in the Scurvy, above half not serviceable. The Tide at the Mouth of the River on Change Days flows five Hours, and rises from 10 to 15 Feet, Variation 35°. West; where the Lieutenant was, it flowed from the Southward, and rose 13 Foot at Neap Tide. The Northern _Indians_ he took from _Churchill_ knew nothing of the Country; 18th got the Ships into a safe Cove, and moor’d in nine Fathoms and a half: The Captain went up the River in the Morning with eight Men and the two _Indians_, and by eight at Night was got up 15 Miles: He found the Tide flowed 12 Feet, and a West Moon made high Water; the Tide flowed from S. S. E. the _Indians_ killed a Deer; they heard an uncommon crying in the Night, generally made by Savages when they see Strangers; 19th by two in the Morning went five Miles higher, and got into a small River or Sound, six or seven Miles wide, but how far it went up they knew not; the main River was there six or seven Leagues wide, but so full of Ice they could not go much farther; the Lands on both Sides very high; he went upon one of the highest Mountains 24 Miles above _Savage Cove_, where the Ships lay, from whence he could see where the Ships lay, and about 8 or 10 Leagues higher up than the Place he was at; he observed the River run N. by W. by the Compass, which, Variation allowed, was to Westward of N. W. but it grew narrower in its Course upwards, and was full of Ice; the 20th, at eight in the Evening, he returned on board with six Deer, which the _Indians_ had shot whilst he was on Shore: He called that Place _Deer Sound_; the Land is very mountainous and barren, with Rocks of the Marble Kind; in the Vales a great many Lakes, with some Grass, and Numbers of large Deer, as big as a small Horse, 12 or 13 Hands high; upon Islands not half a Mile in Circuit they generally saw a small Herd. 21st he went down the River, which was still full of Ice; when he was within 4 Miles of the Entrance, he got upon a high Hill, and saw the _Welcome_ still full of Ice from Side to Side. 22d the Ice very thick in the River above and below, and more drives in every Tide, if the Wind comes from the _Welcome_; he sent the Lieutenant with the six oar’d Boat up the River. 24th more Ice in the River than ever; no sending a Boat downwards. 25th Lieutenant returned, after having been 48 Hours sounding among the Islands near _Deer Sound_; he found the River full of Ice; he brought three Deer with him. 26th sent the Lieutenant and Master down to see if the Ice was clearer below, and in the _Welcome_; _Savage Sound_ is in Long. 89°. 28′. West, Variation 35°. West; the Entrance of _Wager_ River is in Lat. 65°. 23′. _Deer Sound_ 65°. 50′. the Course from _Savage Bay_ is N. W. by Compass, which, Variation allowed, is W. by N. 27th Lieutenant returned, having been carried out by the Ice and Tide six or seven Leagues, and found the River below quite choak’d up with Ice, but thinner when they got into the _Welcome_. 28th at one in the Afternoon, the Lieutenant and Master went up the River, to try if they could find out any other Way into the _Welcome_ besides that they came in at, on Account they had seen many black Whales, and other Fish, the Time they were up last, and none were seen where the Ships lay, nor any where below; he was likewise ordered to try _Deer Sound_, and every Opening, to find whether the Tide came in any other Way, than the Way they came in at, this he had Time to do, until the Ice cleared in the Mouth of the River and _Welcome_. 29th he sent the Boat with eight sick Men, and several that were lame with the Scurvy, to an Island about five Miles off, it having Plenty of Sorrel and Scurvy-Grass upon it, and left with them Tenting and Necessaries; the Tide flowed 12 Fathom 6 Inches; the Captain went up one of the highest Hills, and found the River full of Ice below, but something thinner above. 30th he perceived the Ice was all fast below them, and for eight or ten Miles above them, without the Islands; but pretty clear without the Cove. 31st Abundance of Ice drove in from the _Welcome_, and almost filled the Bay without them. The 1st of _August_ the Lieutenant and Master came on board, having been four Days out, who said they had been 10 or 12 Leagues above _Deer Sound_; they saw a great many black Whales of the Whale-bone Kind; they tried every Opening they saw, and constantly found the Tide of Flood came from the Eastward, or in at the Mouth of the River _Wager_, 2d they unmoored and warp’d out into _Savage Sound_, and on the 4th by 10th at Night got out of the River, the Ebb carrying them out at the Rate of five Miles in an Hour, being clear of Ice until they got out; it being almost calm put the Pinnace a Head, and tow’d and row’d with the Ship’s Oars. They were then in 65°. 38′. and Long. 87°. 7′. West Variation 38°. Here they entered a new Streight N. E. of _Wager_ River, 13 Leagues wide; the Entrance of _Wager_ River is in Lat. 65°. 24′. Long. 88°. 37′. the 5th they were in Lat. 66°. 14′. Long. 86°. 28′. West; the Strait there was about 8 or 9 Leagues wide, sailing among Ice; the S. E. Coast was low and shingly 7 Leagues long; at the N. E. End of the Beach was a mountainous ragged Land like Part of _Hudson’s Streight_; good Soundings here from 25 to 44 Fathoms, Variation 40°. West; the Tide comes from E. by N. by the Compass; the Tide runs very strong here with Eddies and Whirlings. 6th tried the Tide, and found it came from the E. by S. the Point of the Beach at two was distant four or five Miles; at half an Hour past two sent the Lieutenant ashore with the six oar’d Boat to try the Tide, and found it had ebbed two Feet, and the Flood came from the Eastward; at three made a Signal for the Boat to come on board; at four saw a fair Cape or Head-land on the West or North Shore, bearing from them S. W. half S. six or seven Leagues, the Land trenching away from E. by N. to N. by W. making eight Points of the Compass; this gave them Joy, believing it the North Point of _America_, and therefore he called it _Cape Hope_; they work’d round it through much straggling Ice all Night; in the Morning when the Sun clear’d away the Haze, they saw Land all round, quite from the low Beach to the Westward of the North, meeting the West Shore, and made a deep Bay, but to make sure they kept their Course to the Cod of it, until two next Afternoon, when every one saw plainly it was a Bay, and they could not go above six or eight Miles farther; so trying the Tide several Times, and finding it always slack Water, they found they had overshot the Opening where the Tide came in at, from the Eastward, the Variation here was 50°. This Bay at the Bottom was six or seven Leagues wide from Side to Side; very high Land from thence to the frozen Streight Eastward of them; Soundings from 50 to 105 Fathom; they sailed Eastward out of the Bay, much Ice to Eastward. The 8th at 10 in the Morning the Captain went on Shore with the Boat, taking the Gunner, Carpenter, and his Clerk with him, to try if he could find from whence the Flood came in at to this Streight or Bay. At Noon _Cape Hope_ bore N. half E. five or six Leagues; the Beach W. S. W. four Leagues; the Entrance of the frozen Streight amongst the Islands on the East Side, bore East two Leagues; at four the Middle of the frozen Streight bore E. S. E. three Leagues; at half an Hour past nine at Night he returned on board; he had travelled about 15 Miles to the highest Mountain that overlooked the Streight, and East Bay on the other Side, and saw the Passage the Flood came in at; the narrowest Part of this Streight is four or five Leagues, and five, six or seven in the broadest, almost full of large and small Islands, and in length about 16 or 18 Leagues; it stretches S. E. round to the South and to the Westward; it was full of Ice not broke up, all fast to both Shores, and Islands therein; he saw very high Land, about 15 or 20 Leagues Southward of the Place he was at, which he took to run towards Cape _Comfort_, and the Bay betwixt that and _Weston_’s _Portland_, being Part of _Hudson_’s North Bay; the Ice being not yet broke up, it was resolved in Council to try the other Side of the _Welcome_, from Cape _Dobbs_ to Brook _Cobham_, to know if there was any Opening there, and then return to _England_. The 9th at two in the Morning they bore away; at three sounded 35 Fathom within a Mile of the Beach, six Leagues to _Cape Hope_, and three to the Beach Point; they sailed along the South-east Shore at three Leagues Distance; there being much Ice to Westward, almost one third over; at four in the Afternoon Cape _Dobbs_ bore N. W. three fourths W. by Compass six Leagues; at 10 sounded 50 Fathom; at 12, 60 to 65. The 10th at four in the Morning 43 to 25 Fathom, five Leagues from the West Land at eight; 66 to 70 Fathom; then in Lat. 64°. 10′. Long. 88°. 56′. West; the _Welcome_ here 16 or 18 Leagues wide; the extreme Part of the S. E. Shore still in Sight, bore from S. to S. E. by E. distant six or seven Leagues. The 11th at four in the Morning 45 to 35 Fathom, the North Shore from N. E. to N. N. W. four or five Leagues distant, then in about Lat. 64°. and Long. 90°. 53′. near the Head-land; they kept as near as they could to the Shore, to see if there was any Opening into the Land, 25 to 35 Fathoms; continued sailing in Sight of the North Shore from _Cape Hope_; at four in the Afternoon haul’d off from the Shore to deepen the Water; at six, 34 to 28 Fathom; at eight, 30 to 40; then lay by until Day-light; Soundings all Night from 44 to 60 Fathom. At four on the 12th made sail; at six, stood in with the Head-land 9 or 10 Leagues to Eastward of Brook _Cobham_; it bore then from them N. W. by N. 5 or 6 Leagues; sounded 60 to 49 Fathom; at ten 49 to 9 Fathom, standing in to the Head-land; at twelve haul’d off to deepen the Water, they were then in Lat. 63°. 14′. and Long. 92°. 25′. W. He says he found in coasting along the Shore of the _Welcome_, from the frozen Streight to this Place, that it was all a Main-land, tho’ there are several small Islands and deep Bays; this Head-land, and the other in Lat. 64°. makes a deep Bay; in their Passage out they did not see the Bottom of it, as they did upon their Return; and by keeping close along Shore, they saw many large black Whales of the right Whale-bone Kind. They had from 20 to 40 Fathom off Brook _Cobham_, which at four in the Afternoon was W. N. W. 4 Leagues distant. The 13th he sent ashore to see if he could water the Ships; the two Northern _Indians_ went ashore in the Boat; the Island is 3 Leagues from the Main, 7 Leagues long and three broad, all of hard white Stone like Marble. The 14th the Lieutenant returned with the Boat, and brought a Deer the _Indians_ had shot, and a white Bear; they saw several Swans and Ducks. The 15th sent the Boat for more Water with the two Northern _Indians_, who were desirous of being left near their own Country, he gave them a small Boat, which he taught them the Use of, and loaded it with Powder, Shot, Provisions, Hatchets, Tobacco, and Toys, of every Kind he had on board. The Afternoon the Boat returned on board, and brought an Account, that by Marks left on the Shore, the Tide flows sometimes there 22 Feet; they left the two _Indians_ ashore, who designed to go to the Main-land the first Opportunity; the other _Indian_ being desirous of seeing _England_, he brought with him, and the same Day bore away for _England_. If nothing more was known or discovered by this Voyage, than what is here mentioned in this Journal, yet it even appears from it, and by the former Accounts given by _Button_, _Fox_, _Scroggs_, and _Norton_, that there are strong Presumptions of a Passage, of which I shall give a short Abstract, with Observations upon this Journal, as here given in by Captain _Middleton_. But when I shall take Notice of what more has been discovered in this Voyage, which has been industriously concealed by him, and that he not only slighted examining the material Parts of the Coast, and the Direction and Height of the Tide, where the greatest Probability was of a Passage by all former Accounts; but even avoided the Coast, and passed great Part in the Night, and has given false Accounts of the Course of the Tides, and has made an imaginary frozen Streight, in order to bring a Tide of Flood through it to support the false Facts he has laid down in his Journal, and published in his Chart of the Course of the Tide, from thence to conclude, that there is no Passage; and when a Passage or Streight free from Ice, leading to the W. S. W. four or five Leagues wide was discovered, and reported to him under the Lieutenant and Master’s Hand, he would not pursue it, but sail’d out of the Streight N. E. a Course the Reverse of what he should have taken, and followed the Tide contrary to his Instructions; and afterwards, when a Tide of Flood was discovered coming from the Westward at _Marble Island_, through an Open on the Western Shore, he not only slighted looking into it, but even refused the Lieutenant when he desired to try that Opening, and discouraged all those who were on board him, who were of Opinion that there was a Passage, and were inquisitive and desirous of having it found. When all this is shewn, it will not only increase the Probability of there being a Passage, but also confirm the Belief, that undue Influence has been made Use of by the Company, to induce the Captain to conceal the Passage and stifle the Discovery, and publish a false Chart to fix it, and deter any others from attempting it for the future. In order to make all this plain, I shall first give a short Abstract from _Button_, _Fox_, and _Scroggs_, of what they observed, and then reason from their Accounts, and the Facts he himself has allowed in his Journal, before I mention what he has concealed, avoided and falsified in it. It appears from _Button_’s Journal, who was the first we have recorded to have been upon that Coast in 1613, after wintering in _Port Nelson_, that he saw a Head-land when in 62°. 42′. North Latitude, bearing from him N. E. by E. 8 or 9 Leagues, and another Head-land in about Lat. 64°. which are the same mentioned in this Journal; he was then forced by a Storm into Lat. 65°. and fell in with the East Land; this Place he called _Ne Ultra_, not knowing whether it was a Bay or Inlet. He was afterwards forced by stormy Weather to the Southward, without making any other Discovery, only leaving it doubtful. He was here on the 28th of _July_, but saw neither Ice nor Snow upon the Coast at that Time, but said all he saw was a broken Land and Islands upon the North-west Coast. _Fox_ was the next, who was there in 1632. The first Land he made, after passing _Cary_’s _Swan’s Nest_, was in Lat. 64°. 10′. which he called Sir _Thomas Roe_’s _Welcome_, but was the same _Button_ called _Ne Ultra_. This, he says, was an Island, a high, broken Land. He had fine, clear Weather, an open Sea, free from Ice, no Snow on the Land, but a bold, ragged Coast, like Head-lands upon the Ocean, with Tangle and Rock-weed, and great Store of Fish leaping. Here the Tide rose 4 Fathom. He sailed from thence South-west, and in Lat. 63°. 37′, saw another Head-land to Southward of him, and small Islands and broken Land upon the Main, with many Fish and Seals, and one black Whale. He sailed to Southward, and came to _Brook Cobham_, an Island in Lat. 63°. where he saw two Whales, and betwixt that Island and the Main his Men saw 40 Whales. This was the 27th of _July_. He sailed thence to the Southward. _Scroggs_ was the third that was there. He sailed from _Churchill_ River on the 22d of _June_ 1722. In Lat. 62°. he traded with the Natives for Whale-fin and Sea-horse Teeth. On the 9th of _July_ he was drove in hazy, thick Weather, to Lat. 64°. 56′. where he anchored in 12 Fathoms. When it cleared up, he found himself within 3 Leagues of the North Shore. The Head-land which bore E. N. E. from him, he called _Whalebone Point_. He saw at the same time several Islands bearing from S. W. by W. to S. W. by S. which, Variation allowed, was from S. W. by S. to S. S. W. He saw Land from South up to the West; the _Welcome_ was very high Land, as high as any in _Hudson_’s Streight. The Southermost Island he called Cape _Fullerton_. Here he saw many black Whales, and some white. He sent his Boat on Shore, they saw many Deer, Geese, Ducks, _&c._ He said it flowed there 5 Fathoms upon his Lead-line, he having but 7 Fathom at low Water, and 12 at high Water. He had two Northern _Indians_ with him, who had wintered at _Churchill_, and told him of a rich Copper Mine somewhere in that Country, upon the Shore, near the Surface of the Earth, and they could direct the Sloop so near it, as to lay her Side to it, and be soon loaden with it; they had brought some Pieces of Copper from it to _Churchill_, that made it evident there was a Mine thereabouts. They had sketched out the Country with Charcoal upon a Skin of Parchment before they left _Churchill_, and so far as they went it agreed very well. One of the _Indians_ desired him to leave him, saying, he was within three or four Days Journey of his own Country, but he would not let him go. He said he was up in the Cod of the Bay, and that there was a Bar there; but his Men said he was 10 Leagues from what he called a Bar. He sailed out S. E. and on the 15th crossed to the West Side of the _Welcome_, in Lat. 64°. 15′. In Lat. 64°. 8′. he saw again many Whales, but saw no Ice when he was there. The Land from _Whalebone Point_ fell off to the Southward of the West, and the Men who went ashore, said they saw nothing to prevent their going farther. They had Soundings there from 40 to 70 Fathoms. Captain _Norton_, late Governor of _Churchill_, was then with him, and confirmed this Account, and that the Tide rose 5 Fathom; and said that he was on Shore, on the Top of a Mountain, and saw the Land fall away to the Southward of a West, and nothing to prevent their going further. Captain _Middleton_ in his Journal confirms all these Head-lands in the very same Places they mention them, with high, ragged Lands and Islands off the Main, and saw many Whales at the same Head-land _Fox_ had seen one. Upon his going out it appears he kept at a great Distance from the West Shore, so as scarce to descry it, under Pretence of Ice; and upon his Return, tho’ there was then no Ice, it appears he was 6 Leagues to Eastward of Cape _Dobbs_, passed _Whalebone Point_ in the Night, without seeing that Coast, and was 5 or 6 Leagues to Eastward of Cape _Fullerton_ next Morning, as it appears from his Logg-book; he afterwards coasted down the Bay Southward of that Cape. But by the Logg-book it appears he was 7 or 8 Leagues off the Coast, and generally so hazy, as only barely to descry Mountains, as it were, in the Clouds, never once sending his Boat on Shore to try the Tide, or look out for Inlets, until he arrived at the Marble Island he called _Brook Cobham_; so that he could not see any Whales where _Scroggs_ observed them, nor could he descry any Land at the Bottom of the several Bays, when he was so far to Eastward of the Islands and Head-lands; and yet he takes upon him to say, he had searched all that Coast, and found it to be a main Land from Cape _Hope_ to Brook _Cobham_, and found the Tide always flowed from the North-east. In his going out he saw much Ice from Lat. 63°. 35′. to Cape _Dobbs_, as well as to _Deer Sound_, in _Wager_ River, and in the Streight and Bay near Cape _Hope_, this Year; but none was seen in the _Welcome_ by _Button_, _Fox_ and _Scroggs_, the several Years they were there at the same Season, tho’ _Button_ and _Scroggs_ were as high up as _Whalebone_ Point in Lat. 65°. and Fox saw as far from Lat. 64°. 10′. without seeing any Ice in the Sea, or Snow upon the Land, but saw great Numbers of small Fish leaping, as well as many Whales, near Brook _Cobham_. Captain _Middleton_ had, during his whole Voyage out from _Churchill_, and back again to Brook _Cobham_, very fine Weather, without any Storm, or Frost, or Snow, the Winds for the most part blowing from the Eastern Quarter; so that he had no Pretence upon his Return to avoid searching the West Side of the _Welcome_; it was these Easterly Winds that Year, which carried so much Ice into the _Welcome_ from the South-east, as well as from the Bay and Streight near Cape _Hope_, all which was forced by the rapid Tide into _Wager_ River; and it appears from the Journal, that it was these Winds which caused so great a Quantity of Ice in the River as high as _Deer Sound_, and not from the breaking up of the Ice above, in a fresh Water River, as he gave out, and he would have made the flowing in of the Tide so far from the South-eastward to have been a Confirmation of it; whereas, by what he has mentioned in his Journal, it is by all Circumstances a salt Water Streight or Passage; for the Increase of its Wideness, from 7 Miles at its Entrance, to 8 Leagues, and of its Depth, from 14 to 80 Fathoms, the Boldness, Height, and Craggedness of the Coast, without Tree or Shrub, and without any Snow or Ice in the Valleys or Hills, are all Symptoms of its being a salt Water Passage; but the Number of Whales and other Fish seen above in the Streight, at least 20 Leagues up the River, when none were seen below, or in the _Welcome_, or Streight and Bay above Cape _Hope_, is a Demonstration they did not come under the Ice into _Wager_ River from the Eastward; and there being none ever seen in the Bay or Streights of _Hudson_, but by the broken Lands on the North-west Coast, it is next to a Certainty that they came from the Western Ocean to that Place: For it is contrary to Reason and Fact to suppose that Whales and other Sea Fish should go up a fresh Water River, and none be below, and that they should be there under the Ice, before it was broken up; which, if the Journal be true, must be the Case, if it were a fresh Water River, as he affirms it to be; but it was very natural for the Whales to be there, if they came in from the Western Ocean, which was not so liable to be frozen as an Inland Bay; for they would push their Way through the Streights and broken Lands, until they were prevented by the Ice, which the Easterly Winds drove into the Streight from the _Welcome_ along with the Flood; and this was jamm’d in among the Islands in the Passage, and appeared to be firm Ice, as it also appeared from the Hills to be so below them, to the Mouth of the River. This also easily accounts for the Number of Whales seen from _Whalebone_ Point to Brook _Cobham_, and even to _Whale Cove_, in Lat. 62°. 30′. where many are caught by the _Eskimaux Indians_, when none are seen in the other Parts of the Bay, or in the Streights; for if there be a Communication betwixt the Western Ocean and the Bay in this Place, the Presumption is that it is not by one Passage, but that it may be all a broken Land, interspersed with Islands, as the Lands of _Terra del Fuogo_ are at the Streights of _Magellan_, which is almost a parallel Instance, and therefore this Streight of _Wager_ may not be the only Inlet into the Bay; but from _Whale Cove_ unto that River may be all broken Lands, with several Sounds among the Islands, which is mentioned by _Scroggs_ and _Fox_, and can’t be controverted from this Journal; so that the Whales might get to that Part of the Bay sooner, as there was no Ice there to obstruct their Passage, when there was much Ice in the _Welcome_ and East Entrance of _Wager_ Streight, which prevented these Whales getting any farther than _Deer_ Sound. This, I think, makes it highly probable, that there is a better and easier Passage Southward of Cape _Dobbs_, betwixt that and _Whale_ Cove, in Lat. 62°. 30′. where there is no Ice to obstruct the Passage from the Middle of _June_ to _October_; and if the Trade was opened, this might be discovered by any Ships who would go there to fish for Whales, or would trade with the Natives for Fin and Oil, who might follow them into the Inlets through which they come into the Bay, and this may be done without wintering in the Bay, for they may return any time in _September_ or _October_ safe from any Obstruction from the Ice. The only seeming Objection to this, and which gave a Handle to Captain _Middleton_ to represent _Wager_ Streight as a fresh Water River, was the Tide flowing into it from the Eastward, when, if it had been a Streight, he imagined he might have met a Tide of Flood from the Westward, and therefore represented it as if the Ice was but breaking up in the River after he had enter’d it. But since this is a Streight, and not an immediate Communication with the Western Ocean, he could not expect to meet the Western Tide until he had got half way through the Streight; for each Tide flows up its own End of the Streight, and meet in the Middle. This is not only founded upon Reason, but upon Fact, in the only parallel Instance we know, that is, in the _Magellanick_ Streight, tho’, by Appearance, this Streight is a greater and bolder Streight than the other. The Tide at the North-east Entrance of _Magellan_ Streight flows from the Eastward, and rises 4 Fathom, before it comes to the first Narrow, which is but half a League wide, and from 30 to 35 Fathom deep; after a League or two it increases to six or seven Leagues wide to the second Narrow, where it is about a League wide, and 30 Fathom deep. Within the second Narrow it increases again to five or six Leagues wide, and the Tide still flows from the Eastward, and rises about 10 Feet. In the Mid-channel, about 30 Leagues within the Streight, it is 200 Fathom, and the Channel but 3 Leagues wide, and from thence to the Middle of the Streight it is lessened to 2 Leagues wide, and about 100 Fathom deep, and the Tide still flows from the Eastward for above 50 Leagues. As they come near the Middle of the Streight the Current of the Tide is not above an Hour at each Tide, and the Tide rises nine Feet. Near Cape _Quad_, beyond the Middle of the Streight, it is but 2 Leagues wide, and for about 13 Leagues farther is rather less, sometimes not 4 Miles wide, from whence it gradually widens to the West Entrance, where it is 5 Leagues wide; so that _Wager_ Streight is much larger, for so far as they were in it, which was about 30 Leagues, it being by the Account, as mentioned in the Journal, 6 or 7 Leagues wide, and 80 Fathom deep, which, if there be no other, is a noble Passage; but there is a great Probability of their being a better and safer Passage to the Southward of _Whalebone Point_, by which the Whales get into that Part of the Bay. Thus from the former Accounts, and what has been divulged by Captain _Middleton_ in this Journal, there seems to be strong Presumptions of a Passage; but after shewing what he has concealed and falsified in his Journal, and his whole Conduct from his going to _Churchill_ until his Return to _England_, and even since his Return, it will appear plainly that he intended to serve the Company at the publick Expence, and contrived every thing so as to stifle the Discovery, and to prevent others from undertaking it for the future, so as to secure the Favour of the Company, and the Reward he said they promised him before he began the Voyage. As to his Declarations and Conduct during the Voyage, it appears by undeniable Evidence, that he declared, in Presence of some of his Officers, to the Company’s Governor at _Churchill, That he should be able to make that Voyage, and none on board him should know whether there was a Passage or not; and he would be a better Friend to the Company than ever_. The Lieutenant finding one of the Men at the Factory, who very well understood the Northern _Indian_ Language, and would have been of great Use upon the Discovery, offered to take him with them at his own Risk, saying he would answer it when he came back, it being for the good of the Service they were upon; but the Captain would not allow of it for fear of disobliging the Company. The Captain, in going Northward from _Churchill_, never once went ashore, nor sent his Boat to look out for any Inlet or try the Tide; having only once tried the Current at Sea in 63°. 20′. where he found a very rapid Tide, altho’ he found much Ice to Northward, and had Time enough before he entered the Ice to try all the Coast, but stood off to the Eastward, until he passed Cape _Dobbs_; and tho’ he then found an Opening North-westward, he only went in with a View to shelter his Ships, but not to look out for a Passage; and therefore, when he went in, got to the North-east Side out of the Tide, instead of the South-west Side, where he ought to have gone, if he had pushed for a Passage; and tho’ he lay there three Weeks, he never but once went cross to the Western Shore, and that only one Day or two before he quit the River, pretending he could not do it for Ice, and even this he does not mention in his Journal, altho’ he found there an excellent Cove for sheltering his Ships. He once pretended to cross the Streight from _Deer Sound_, where he had no Ice to prevent him, but after going two Leagues he returned, and said it was too far, and he had tasted the Water which was fresh, asking the Boatmen if it was not so, which they contradicted, saying only, it was not very salt. When the Lieutenant went up to _Deer Sound_, he discovered from a Mountain an Opening South-westward, upon the other Shore 10 Leagues distant, betwixt a high and low Head-land, and also observed the Ice there, when it was a Quarter Flood at _Wager_ River, move down the River against that Tide; upon his mentioning this to the Captain, he was laugh’d at, who ask’d him from whence that Tide could come, and no farther Enquiry was made into it. Afterwards, when from the Numbers of Whales, and Breadth and Depth of the River, it was given out among the Ship’s Company, that they believed it was a Streight and no River; he rated several of them for pretending to say so against his Opinion, saying his Clerk was a double-tongued Rascal, that he would cane the Lieutenant, broomstick the Master, and lash any others who would concern themselves about the Voyage, and threatened that if any kept private Journals, he would break up their Boxes, and take them from them; and tho’ he allowed his Clerk to take the Bearings of the Land, and Prospect in other Parts of the Voyage, yet when in _Wager_ River, and at the _Welcome_, he forbid him from taking any. This happened when the Lieutenant and Master were down the River, to look out for a Cove for the Ships, when they should sail out of the River; when they returned, he imagining that Rumour might turn out to his Prejudice, in case no farther Enquiry was made about its being a Streight, or River, he said they might go up to try the Tide, and see if there was any other Way out into the _Welcome_; which was into the Bay, not into the Western Ocean; but by his Warrant limited them to go to _Deer Sound_ or thereabouts; which was only where he had been himself before, and ordered them to come back with the utmost Dispatch the Nature of the Service would allow; this was the 28th of _July_. When they were gone, he said, he supposed the Lieutenant would bring back some romantick Account of a Streight or Passage; but for his Part he would not take the Ships a Foot farther, and accordingly before their Return unmoored, and was preparing to warp out of the Cove, which he did the Morning after they returned. The Lieutenant upon his Return gave the following Report under his Hand. _viz._ _July 27th, 1742._ I was ordered, with the Master, to take the six oar’d Boat, and to go up _Savage Sound_, as high as _Deer Sound_, and try the Tides. I find that the Flood there comes from the River _Wager_; it flow’d there 10 Foot Water. We then sail’d from _Deer Sound_ for the High Bluff Land on the N. W. Side of the River _Wager_. The Course from the Islands off the North Side of _Deer Sound_ is N. W. and N. W. by N. by Compass (Variation allowed W. by N.) We sounded all the Way over, and had no Ground with a Line of 68 Fathom, to the High Bluff Land. We then ran up a Branch of the main River, and sounded, and found 50 Fathom one third over that Branch. There were several Islands in it; sounded about a League off an Island on the North Side, and found 30 Fathom Water. In running between the Islands and the supposed Main, which was on the West Side of that Branch, the Tide or Freshes suddenly turned against us, the Boat altering the Land very much before; sounded near some of the Islands, and had no Ground at 68 Fathom; as we run up it, we sounded near a small Island, and had 29 Fathom. We steered W. N. W. between the Islands, and the West Land by Compass (W. by S.) there being several Islands in the fair Way, and no Ground in the Middle of the Channel at 68 Fathom. We went about 15 Leagues above _Deer Sound_, and saw a Fresh or Run of Water coming against us; and the Wind being fair, I was afraid of staying any longer for fear of hindering the Ships from going to Sea. There is a great Probability of an Opening on the West Side, by the coming in of the Whales; but I could not go higher up to try it for the above mentioned Reasons. We went to the Top of a high mountainous Land, from whence we saw a great Run or Fall of Water between the West Land and the Islands, it was very narrow, seemingly not a Mile broad, and at the same time saw a fair Channel or Streight to the Northwards of the Islands, with Lands on both Sides, as high as the Cape of _Good Hope_, running away to the Westward, with many Bluff Points and broken Lands. In coming down we saw several very large black Whales playing about the Boat and in Shore. _John Rankin._ _Aug. 1. 1742._ This being a strong Proof of an open fair Channel or Streight going to the Southward of a West, the Captain thought it too flagrant, and therefore, there being some little Variation between his Account and the Master’s, made them cook up the following Report between them, which both were to sign, which being not so particular, did not appear so strong for the Passage: It run in these Words. _Pursuant to an Order from Captain_ Christopher Middleton, _Commander of his Majesty’s Ship the_ Furnace, _bearing Date the 27th of July, 1742_. We whose Names are hereunto subscribed, took the _Furnace_’s six oar’d Boat, and went from _Savage Sound_, where his Majesty’s Ships _Furnace_ and _Discovery_ then lay; and on the 28th at one in the Morning arrived at _Deer Sound_, where we tried the Tide, and found the Flood came into that Place from the River _Wager_, and rose at that Time 10 Feet; at six o’Clock the same Morning we left _Deer Sound_ (where we put the two Northern _Indians_ ashore to kill some Deer) and sailed for a high Bluff Land on the North-west Side of the River _Wager_. Our Course from the Islands on the North Side of _Deer Sound_, to the High Bluff Land, was N. W. by N. by Compass; we sounded frequently, and had no Ground with a Line of 68 fathom all the Way over. When we were abreast of the High Bluff Land, we steered W. N. W. keeping the Mid-Channel, and still found no Ground at 68 Fathom, except nigh some Islands that lay in the fair Way, about one third over the River, and 30 Fathom within a League of one of them; this Course we kept until we got about 15 Leagues from _Deer Sound_; but finding the Tide or Fresh against us, and the Wind coming fair, we were afraid of staying any longer, for fear of hindering the Ships going to Sea. However, we came to a Grapnel with the Boat, and went upon a high mountainous Land, where we had a very fair View of the River; from thence we saw a great Run or Fall of Water between the suppos’d Mainland and the aforesaid Island, very narrow, seemingly not a Mile broad, and about a League from where the Boat lay; but to the Northward we discovered a large Collection of Water, in which were several Islands and high mountainous Land on both Sides of it, the West Side of it having many Bluff Points and broken Lands. In our Return towards the Ships, and not far from _Deer Sound_, we saw several large black Whales of the Whalebone Kind, some of which came very near the Boat; so that upon the whole, we think there may be some other Passage into the Sea from the River _Wager_, besides that which his Majesty’s Ships _Furnace_ and _Discovery_ came in at; and imagine there is a great Probability of an Opening or Inlet into the Sea somewhere on the East Side thereof, tho’ we cannot fix the Place. Given under our Hands this first Day of _August_, 1742. _John Rankin._ _Robert Wilson._ It may be easily seen with what View that Report was altered, the most material Points being changed: For when they got beyond the N. W. Bluff, instead of saying that the Current or Fresh suddenly turned against them; it is here said, being against them, the first being a Tide, the other a Stream. Again, instead of mentioning a fair Channel or Streight over the Islands, running between high Lands to the Westward; it is here altered, to a large Collection of Water to the Northward, in which were several Islands, with high Land on each Side of it, the West Side having Bluff Points and broken Lands, without determining the Course of the Streight to the Westward. And instead of saying there was a great Probability of an Opening on the West Side, by the coming in of the Whales it is here altered to, Upon the whole, we think there may be some other Passage into the Sea from the River _Wager_, besides that which his Majesty’s Ships came in at, without determining it to the Westward, as in the other; but on the contrary, to make it seem otherwise, they say, _and imagine, there is a great Probability of an Opening or Inlet into the Sea, somewhere on the East Side thereof, tho’ we cannot fix the Place_. This Change seems wholly calculated with a View to leave it undetermined, that the Captain might have it in his Power to say that the Open was from the Northward or Eastward from _Baffin_’s Bay, and pretend that the Whales came from thence. But both the Lieutenant and Master have since confirmed, that the Streight beyond the Islands was four or five Leagues wide, free from Ice, and its Course ran W. S. W. and the Master having seen further than the Lieutenant from the Top of the Mountain where he killed two Deer, was for going further; but the Lieutenant, his Provisions being spent, and he having exceeded his Orders by 15 Leagues at least (for he computed it 20 Leagues, but the Captain would not allow it to be so far) and had also outstay’d his Time, he was afraid he should be put in arrest if he proceeded farther, and durst not proceed. However, he took a Bottle of Water filled there at the Shore, and two Bottles filled further down the Streight Eastward; and the Captain, when he came on board, own’d that the Bottle of Water taken up at the Western End of the Streight, near the Current or Fall of Water, was the saltest, which the Master said was as Salt as any he had tasted in those Seas, which was also confirmed by others who tasted it on board; the Lieutenant is now convinced that it was a Tide or Ripling which came from the W. S. W. which stopt the Way of the Boat, and made them come to a Grapnel, and that it was the Tide of Flood; for it was then flowing Water, and flowed 6 Feet when he was ashore: But the Captain, under Pretence it was brackish, would not pursue the Discovery of that South-western Streight or Passage, but immediately warped out of the Cove, and on the 4th of _August_, the best Month in the Year to perfect the Discovery, he sailed out of the River to make the Discovery North-eastward, the quite contrary Course he should have taken according to his Instructions: Nor did he call a Council to warrant him for quitting the Discovery; tho’ on all Emergencies, or where it was likely to turn out of Advantage in promoting the Discovery, he was directed to call one, and act for the best of the Service he went upon, but quit the Passage without Advice, by his own Authority and Pleasure; pretending all the while he was in the Passage, to regret that he could not get out of the River, for the Ice in it and the _Welcome_, in order to prosecute the Discovery. After this, in order to have an Excuse, and to pretend that he had followed his Instructions, which was to proceed without Loss of Time to _Whalebone Point_, and there to endeavour to meet the Tide of Flood on either Side of that Point he found the best Passage, in case it were an Island, whether the Flood came from the Northwest or Southwest; and if he found, after doubling that Cape, either a Streight or open Sea to pursue his Course, still meeting the Tide of Flood; tho’ this limited him to meet the Tide, if it came from any Part to the Westward, yet he finding that the Tide did not meet him, but followed him into _Wager_ River, and having taken no Pains to know how the Flood was at the West End of the Streight beyond _Deer Sound_, despising the Lieutenant’s first Report, which mentioned a Tide from the W. S. W. meeting them, thought, if he could find a Tide, or have a Probability to account for a Tide’s coming from the North-eastward into _Wager_ River, he might then say he followed his Instructions in meeting the Tide, altho’ it came from the N. E. and accordingly, without allowing any Boat to go ashore to try the Tide, until he himself landed at Cape _Frigid_, at what he calls the frozen Streight: He in his Journal from his own Observations of the Current, always affirms the Tide of Flood came from the N. E. by Cape _Hope_, to _Wager_ River, and affirms that at Cape _Frigid_ a W. by S. Moon made high Water, and that it flowed from the South-eastward through a frozen Streight, from four to seven Leagues wide, and accordingly he has laid it down so in his new Chart since his Return, and pointed all the Darts in it, shewing the Course of the Flood, through that frozen Streight up into _Wager_ River, and as far as Brook _Cobham_ along the _Welcome_, where he pretends the South-eastern Tide meets it. Now I shall plainly make it appear from Reason, and from the Observations of experienced Men on board him, his own Officers; and from his Caution in preventing any on board him, from knowing the Time, Current, and Height of the Tide, by his making his Observations only on board, and regulating and minuting them down in the Logg Book and Journal as he thought proper; that there was no such Tide from the North-east, and that he must have known that there was no such Tide, but endeavoured to conceal the true Tide from his People on board; I shall also shew, that the Tide of Flood came the contrary Way from the South-westward near Brook _Cobham_, and so went up Part of _Wager_ River; I shall also shew, there was no such frozen Streight as he has laid down in his Chart, but the whole is falsely laid down, and the only Streight there was round the Island he stood upon, which was but three Leagues wide, and full of smaller Islands, which Streight went round the Island from the North by the East, and came out again by the South and West, between the Island he was on, and the low Beach opposite to Cape _Hope_, so that to make out that Point, that he had so far followed his Instructions in meeting the Tide of Flood, he has manifestly and falsely imposed upon the Publick in his Chart, by making a Streight and Tide where there were none. To shew that he has given a false Account of this Tide and frozen Streight, I must observe, that when he sent down the Lieutenant and Master to look out for a Cove at the Mouth of _Wager_ River, they were inclosed in the Ice, and drew up their Boat upon a large Piece of Ice, which was carried by the Tide of Ebb to the South-eastward, close by the Shore about Cape _Dobbs_, and when the Tide slack’d, they row’d over with the Flood to the North Shore, to get into the Eddy out of the Current, and next Day went up the River. Again, when the Ships sailed out of the River, they were becalm’d, and were afraid of being forced up again by the Return of the Flood; upon which they towed with their Boats a-head, and plied with the Ships Oars with all their Force to the North-eastward, to get out of the Way of the Tide of Flood; but if the Flood had come from the N. E. they would have been just in the Way of the Tide of Flood, and to have avoided it, they ought to have steer’d their Course S. E. to Cape _Dobbs_; so that both these Accounts tally, that the Flood came from the S. W. round Cape _Dobbs_. At half an Hour after two, on the 6th of _August_, he ordered the Lieutenant on Shore at the low Beach, to try the Tide, being then four Miles from the Shore; at three he made the Signal for him to come on board before he got to the Shore, but he was so near as to report that the Tide had fallen two Feet; so that he seemed to repent his having sent him to try the Tide, lest he should find a contrary Tide to what he gave out. And tho’ the Lieutenant, when he got aboard, told him it was ebbing Water, and that the Ebb went to the South-westward, yet he minuted it down in his Logg-Book, and printed it so in his Defence, that it was flowing Water, and the Flood came from the Eastward; but in his Journal, he says it had ebbed two Feet, and the Flood came from the Eastward. The Captain, Clerk, Gunner and Carpenter went ashore at Cape _Frigid_ the 8th of _August_, about ten in the Morning, and after going fifteen Miles into the Country, returned to the Boat about seven at Night, when he found it was low Water, and rose 15 Feet, which being three Days and a half after the full Moon, a W. S. W. Moon made low Water, and consequently a N. N. W. Moon made high Water; and having ascertained that a W. by N. Moon made high Water in _Wager_ River, the Tide at Cape _Frigid_ being five Points later, could not raise that Tide; for the Tide the farther it flows, is always the later in flowing; and therefore the Tide in _Wager_ River being at least three Hours sooner than at Cape _Frigid_, it could not possibly be caused by any Tide from thence; nor could the Tide near Brook _Cobham_, where a West Moon made high Water be caused by that Tide for the same Reason, it being above four Hours sooner than the Tide at Cape _Frigid_. It appears also that there was no Tide nor Current in the Bay above Cape _Hope_, and the Gunner, who was ashore with the Captain, went with the Carpenter 2 or 3 Miles farther than the Captain and Clerk, even to the very Shore of what he called the _Frozen Streight_, and consequently knew it better than the Captain; he says it was an Island they were upon, and the Streight was only an Arm of the Sea that surrounded the Island, and detached it from the _Low Beach_; that it was not above 3 Leagues wide on the East Side, and full of Islands, and the Ice was frozen fast from Side to Side; so that it is impossible so great a Quantity of Water could flow through that Passage, if it had a Communication with _Hudson_’s Streight by Cape _Comfort_, as would fill so large a Bay as that above Cape _Hope_, (the Streight from Cape _Hope_ to _Wager_ River) all that River, for thirty or forty Leagues, which was from 4 to 12 Leagues wide, and the whole Coast of the _Welcome_ to Brook _Cobham_, for above 60 Leagues, and that from a Streight which was but 3 Leagues wide, and had many Islands in it; so that the Streight, exclusive of the Islands, was not probably four Miles wide: Besides, had so much Water flowed through that Streight, as he has laid it down in his Chart, it must have caused a very rapid Current in the Bay above Cape _Hope_, it being in the direct Course of the Tide. The Captain of the _Discovery_ also in his Answer allows, that the Opening of the Streight he saw, which was betwixt Cape _Frigid_ and the _Low Beach_, was not above three Miles wide, and no such Tide flowed there as in _Wager_ River, altho’ it was so narrow in that Place. This also accounts for that Arm of the Sea’s being frozen which surrounded the Island, because there was no Tide or Current there to break it up. It also appears from the Lieutenant, who was left on board to command when the Captain went ashore, that at eleven of the Clock, after the Captain left the Ship, a strong Current forced him to Northward, which must have been the Flood, as it was not high Water until near one of the Clock. And it appears also the same from the Men who were left with the Boat; for upon the Captain’s Return to the Boat, he ask’d them which way the Flood set, and they said to the Northward, which he contradicted, and said they were mistaken, for it could not be so. So that from all these Facts, as well as from Reason, it appears that the Tide of Flood came from the South-westward to that Place and the River _Wager_, and that the Tide and Streight which he has laid down in his Chart, and published in his Journal, is false, and an Imposition upon the Publick, and only calculated to serve his Purpose of concealing the Passage, by endeavouring to make out that no Tide came from the Westward, but all through _Hudson_’s Streight, or _Baffin_’s Bay, and that _Wager_ was a fresh Water River, and that the Whales seen there came all in through that frozen Streight from _Baffin_’s Bay or _Cumberland_’s Inlet, he having allowed that none came in through _Hudson_’s Streight, or round _Cary_’s _Swan’s Nest_. But as a further Confirmation of this South-western Tide, and that it came from the Western Ocean, it appears, that after the Captain had neglected looking into the Bays and Inlets in the West Side of the _Welcome_, from Cape _Dobbs_ to _Marble Island_, (altho’ it had been ordered in Council) in these Words: “It was agreed upon to make the best of our Way out of this cold, dangerous, and narrow Streight, and to make further Observations between the Latitudes of 64°. and 62°. on the North Side of the _Welcome_, having seen large Openings, broken Land and Islands, with strong Tides, but had not an Opportunity of trying from whence the Flood came in our Passage hither.” Given under our Hands this 7th of _August_ 1742. _C. Middleton._ _J. Rankin._ _W. Moor_, Master of the _Discovery_. _Rob. Wilson._ _Geo. Axx._ _J. Hodgton._ When he came to _Marble Island_, which he then called _Brook Cobham_, having called another Island so upon his going Northward, the same _Fox_ had called so before, on the 12th, at 3 in the Morning, he sent the Lieutenant ashore to try the Tide, and to look out for a Place of Safety to water the Ships before they returned to _England_. The Island was 7 Leagues long, and 3 over, in the broadest Place. It lay E. by S. and W. by N. the true bearing Variation allowed, and about 3 Leagues from what they called the Western Main. The Lieutenant on the South Side found an excellent Cove, safe from all Winds, with a small Island lying cross the Entrance. He sounded without and within the Cove, and found two and a Half Fathom in the Entrance at low Water, and deep and safe lying within it. Whilst he was sounding, taking a Draught of the Cove, and upon the Island taking a View of an Opening, he observ’d on the West Main; the _Indians_ killed a Deer and white Bear, and about eight at Night, as they were taking off the Bear’s Skin, a strong Tide of Flood came from the North-west by the Compass, and had almost carried the Bear away, which proves that the Tide of Flood came from the Westward. This I shall give in his own Words, as he minuted it down at _Marble Island_ at the time it happened, annexed to the rough Draught he had made of the Cove, _viz._ This is the Cove upon Brook _Cobham_ or _Marble Island_, it was almost dark, my Men were taking the Skin off the Bear they had killed in the Water. The Tide came suddenly from W. N. W. round the North-west End of the Island upon us, and flowed so fast, that we had almost lost the Bear; we were forced to throw it into the Boat, my Men up to the Middle in Water by the sudden Flowing of the Tide, as all the Men can prove. I am very certain that there is a great Probability of a Passage or Streight leading to some Western Ocean from the above Reason; for I did observe an Opening to the Westward of _Marble Island_, and desired I might go there, but he told me it did not signify much to go thither; but if I had a mind to go to _Marble Island_ for Water I might, so I did not come nigh the Opening I perceived to the Westward. It was almost calm all the Day we lay there. _John Rankin._ _August 12th, 1742._ After the Lieutenant returned on board, the Master was sent ashore; upon his Return he told him the Tides rose there sometimes very high, and wanted to go ashore again to observe them; which he refused, under Pretence he had staid too long ashore before. It appears from the Journal, that by Marks on the Shore it sometimes rose there 22 Feet. It is allowed also that a North-westerly Wind at _Churchill_ always raised the Tide higher at Neap Tides than an South-easterly Wind did at Spring Tides. The two Northern _Indians_ who were on board Captain _Middleton_ were very intelligent Men, and the other _Indian_ being a very bad Interpreter for them, Mr. _Thompson_, the Surgeon, who could speak some of the Southern _Indian_ Tongue, was endeavouring to learn their Language, and to teach them _English_, and was making out a Vocabulary of their Language, which the Captain observing, threatened to use him ill, or crop him, in case he had any Correspondence with them; so that he was obliged to meet them in private, and for that Reason could not know so much from them as he otherwise would; but by the best Account he could get from them, they told him, that the Copper Mine which they generally went to once in two Years, was not far from that Coast where they were, between Lat. 62°. and 64°. that it was upon an Arm of the Sea, the Water being salt; that they were five Days in passing it in their Canoes; that it was so deep, that if they cut a Deer’s Skin into Thongs, it would not reach the Bottom; that the Streight went towards the Sun almost at Noon, and that there were many large black Fish in it spouting up Water. _Lovegrove_, one of the factory Men at _Churchill_, who had been often at _Whale Cove_, in Lat. 62°. 30′. in the Company’s Sloop, trading for Whale-fin with the Natives, also told them, that the Coast there was all a broken Land and Islands, and that upon his going upon one of these Islands, he saw an open Sea Westward of it. _Smith_ also, who has been Master of the Sloop, which goes to _Whale Cove_, for several Years, told at _Churchill_, that he had the Curiosity to pass in through those Islands near the _Whale Cove_, and found the Opening enlarge itself South-west, and became so wide, that he could see no Land on either Side. Yet, tho’ the Captain might have known this, and much more, which he had from _Norton_ and _Scrogg_’s Crew, as well as Accounts from the _Indians_ before this Voyage to the same Purpose, he never once made any Essay to land upon that Western Coast, or to look out for a Western Tide or Inlet. What was still as unpardonable as neglecting the Discovery, was his putting the two Northern _Indians_ ashore on _Marble Island_ against their Inclinations, when they were desirous to come to _England_, in a very bad Boat he got at _Churchill_, which they did not know how to manage, in an Island 3 Leagues from the supposed Main, the _Eskimaux Indians_, their Enemies, living upon that Coast, and some hundred Miles distant from their own Country, insomuch that one of them, who was about 40 Years old, when he parted with Mr. _Thompson_ the Surgeon, with Tears told him, he did not know what would become of them; he told them he was very much concerned at it, but since it was the Captain’s Pleasure, it must be complied with. The Captain gave them some Provisions, Ammunition, Hatchets and Toys; but leaving them in a desolate Island, with a bad Boat, among their Enemies, at so great a Distance from their own Country, was unpardonable, when by a Day or two’s Sailing to the Southward, he could have landed them in a Country they knew, where they had no Enemies to be afraid of. The Excuse he made for not bringing them to _England_ was, that upon his Return his Friends might be out of the Admiralty, and as he had no Orders to take them home, they would be left a Charge upon him; and when they learned to speak _English_, they would be talking of the Copper Mine and Passage, and would put the Publick to the Expence of sending out more Ships in quest of it. And this, no doubt, was the true Reason for that Piece of Cruelty, for he thought if they came to _England_, he should not be able to conceal the Passage. Whilst he was returning home he has sometimes said, his Character was so well established, that no Man after him would ever attempt to discover the Passage; so that I think it is plain, from every Circumstance of his Conduct during the Voyage, that he wanted to make his Peace, and get such a Reward from the Company, tho’ at the Expence and Loss of the Publick, as should make him easy afterwards, without his making any more uncertain Voyages, by his stifling the Discovery, and his making it appear impracticable for any other to undertake it with any Prospect of Success for the future; and since his Return he has acted accordingly, as was plain from his corresponding with the Company even before he got to _London_, letting them know he had conveyed home one of their Ships from the _Orkneys_, and directing all his Crew not to mention any thing of the Voyage or Discovery for some time, which was done with a View of closing upon better Terms with the Company, by letting them know that he had conducted Matters so, that he had it in his Power either to make out the Passage, or stifle it, according to the Manner he could make out his Journal and Charts; and it is plain, from the Time he took to give Copies of his Journal, and to make out his Chart, that it was delayed until they had settled every thing to his Liking, and then he published, or gave out, his Chart and Journal, with the Concealment and Disguises I have already taken notice of, making all the Coast, from _Whale Cove_ to Cape _Dobbs_, to be a continued main Land, and _Wager_ Streight to be a fresh Water River, making out his frozen Streight, and Flood coming from thence, in order to make all Things tally, and shew there was no Tide in the Bay from the Western Ocean of _America_, but that all these high and rapid Tides, and Whales in the Bays and River of _Wager_, come from _Hudson_’s Streights or _Baffin_’s Bay, through his finely projected frozen Streight, which was to answer all Difficulties. Upon this the _Hudson_’s _Bay_ Company exulted, and said, Captain _Middleton_ had not only not found a Passage, but that he had shewn it to be impracticable for any other to make any future Attempt with any Prospect of Success. Whilst this Scheme was going on, he was preparing his Journal, making, and altering his Charts, to answer his Purpose, and securing his People from divulging what they knew. The Master of the _Discovery_ was his Cousin, and some said was to marry his Daughter. He himself had got great Reputation from the Royal Society by his Observations upon Cold, and for what he had discovered had got a Medal from them. He was upon good Terms with the Lords of the Admiralty, and was to dedicate his Charts and Discoveries to the King, and Noblemen of the first Rank, as well as to the Lords of the Admiralty; so this put him in a Condition of serving his Master, Gunner, &_c._ in some Time. He had also recommended his Lieutenant, and thought no other on board had Weight enough to impeach his Proceedings, which, if they failed in, would ruin their Characters; so that securing his Officers, he thought he had all Things safe among the rest of his Crew; for those on board him, who were but young Seamen, could have no Weight against him; so all he had to do was to lull me asleep, and convince me that there was no Passage: For as he knew I had the Discovery much at Heart, and had strong Reasons to believe there was a Passage, which he had always before confirmed me in, it might be difficult for him all at once to convince me that there was none, and that all former Journals and Accounts were false; however, as he knew I had a good Opinion of his Capacity, and did not doubt his Integrity, seeming always zealous before to promote the Attempt, which had occasioned my recommending him as a proper and experienced Commander to undertake the Discovery; and he having owned to me the Company’s endeavouring to bribe him with an Offer of 5000 _l._ to return to their Service, and not go the Voyage, or to go in pursuit of it to _Davis_’s Streight, or any other Way but that he was ordered upon, he thought himself sure of my not doubting his Integrity, and therefore should be ready to believe whatever Accounts he should send me. Accordingly, before he came to _England_, he sent me a Letter from the _Orkneys_, dated _September_ 17, 1742, a Duplicate of which he sent me upon his Arrival in the River, wherein he gave me a short Abstract of his Voyage from _Churchill_ until his Return to Brook _Cobham_ and the _Orkneys_, concealing every Article that made for the Passage, only mentioning the Difficulties he was in by the Ice in the _Welcome_, and in _Wager_ River, affirming it to be a fresh Water River, fill’d with Ice, and that he staid so long in it as to take a Draught of it, regretting his being so long confined in it, that he could not get out of it to prosecute the Discovery; and said, (upon sailing out North-eastward, getting into another perilous Streight, full of Ice, and afterwards being embayed in Lat. 66. 40′. and finding a frozen Streight, from whence the Tide came, from the South-eastward, through _Hudson_’s Streight, which flowed 15 Feet, and a W. by S. Moon made high Water, and it not being likely to break up) they returned, and searched all the West Side of the _Welcome_, close in to the Shore, which he found was a continuous Main-land, tho’ there were several deep Bays and small Islands; and after trying the Tides, and finding them still come from the Eastward, and having no Encouragement, he sailed from Brook _Cobham_ for _England_; but carelesly said, in coasting along the Shore, he saw several black Whales near Brook _Cobham_ of the Whalebone Kind: To which Letter at large I refer in the Appendix. His being so certain that _Wager_ was a fresh Water River, full of Ice, into which the Tide flowed from the Eastward, and that the whole Coast was a Main-land from thence to Brook _Cobham_, and that he was absolutely embayed above Cape _Hope_, and his affirming that the Tide came by Cape _Comfort_, through _Hudson_’s Streights, and his new frozen Streight to _Wager_ River, all which I believed, as I did not doubt his Veracity, made me despair of the Passage, and give it up, thinking it would be impracticable, or at least very difficult, in case there was one farther North than 67 Degrees: However, as I found a Difficulty in accounting for a Tide at the frozen Streight from a W. by S. Moon, so near Cape _Comfort_, where a S. by E. Moon made high Water, and could not account how such rapid Tides as he mentioned were in _Wager_ River, could come through a frozen Streight, and could not know how the Whales came to be near Brook _Cobham_, since none were ever seen in any other Part of the Bay, or were ever seen in _Hudson_’s Streights, I wrote him a Letter the 20th of _October_, telling him, that since he was sure it was a Main-land from Brook _Cobham_ to _Wager_ River, and that it was a fresh Water River, and that there was no Passage above Cape _Hope_ to near Lat. 67°. I despaired of there being any safe Passage farther North; but as I could not account how a W. by S. Moon could make high Water at the frozen Streight, when a S. by E. Moon made high Water at Cape _Comfort_ so near it, and could not account how the Whales came to Brook _Cobham_, since they were no where else in the Bay, and never were seen in _Hudson’s Streights_; I desired him to answer those two Objections, and let me know his Opinion upon those two Points, and to send me a Copy of his Journal, and the Chart of the Coasts he had discovered, and desired to know if it was a continuous Coast on the East Side of the _Welcome_ from _Cary’s Swan’s Nest_ to the frozen Streight, or Islands; and how so great and rapid Tides could be in _Wager_ River, as to run at the Rate of five or six Miles in an Hour, if the Streight was frozen through which it came; and how there came to be so much Ice in the Welcome this Year, since when _Button, Fox_, and _Scroggs_ were there, in the same Month of _July_, none of them had seen any Ice there. Before I got an Answer to this Letter, I had a Letter dated the 1st of _November_, from Mr. _Lanrick_, a Gentleman who had been bred a Scholar, and I had recommended him to Captain _Middleton_ to go the Voyage: He had used him well, as he said, upon my Recommendation, but more probably to gain his good Opinion, thinking him capable of making Observations upon the Voyage; and that I might depend upon what he might relate. In his Letter to me, he, in a manner, recited the same Particulars I had before from the Captain, as if it had been penned by the same Hand, only with this particular Addition, that they entered the Mouth of a great River, which was quite full of Ice, just breaking up as they entered it; that it was in some Places four Leagues wide, and in others less, having high Lands on both Sides, with deep Water close by the Rocks; that at first they thought there might be a Passage through that Way; but finding the Flood came from the _Welcome_, they knew there was no such Thing; besides, they sent up the Boat so far, that they could see the Stream or fresh Water River; this also seemed to confirm me that it was a River, tho’ this Letter was probably penned by the Captain’s Order or Knowledge; for after he had closed his Relation, he began this remarkable Paragraph. _Sir, This Account I should have sent you before now, but that the Captain, for Reasons to himself best known, desired that none of us should say any Thing relating to the Discovery for a little._ This Paragraph, however, raised no Doubts in me, as I did not doubt the Captain’s Veracity. About the Beginning of _December_ I received the following Answer to my Letter from the Captain, which I shall deliver in his own Words. _London, Nov. 27th, 1742._ _SIR,_ I Had the Favour of yours of the 20th _ult._ which happened to lie some Days at my former Habitation, before it was forwarded to me, and I shall transmit you the Chart, together with the Journal and other Observations, by the first convenient Opportunity; in the mean time, I shall give you the best Satisfaction I am able, with relation to the Difficulties which have occurr’d to you; and first, ’tis to be noted, that all the Land along the East Side of the _Welcome_, from the 64th Degree of Latitude to the frozen Streight, is one continued level Land, somewhat like to _Dungenness_, low and shingly. The great Tides you mention, which flows up the River _Wager_, and off Cape _Dobbs_, comes all from the frozen Streight E. by N. by Compass, according to the Course of the new Streight, that we passed between Cape _Dobbs_ and Cape _Hope_; the mean Variation between the said Capes is 40°. Westerly, and makes the true Course of this Streight N. 40°. Easterly; the said Streight ends to the Westward of Cape _Hope_, in a Bay 20 Leagues deep, and 15 Leagues broad, which lies W. N. W. by the true Bearings; and we very carefully surrounded it, sailing up to the very Bottom, within two or three Leagues, and found no Appearance of a Passage for either Tides or Vessels; and all the Way I sailed from Cape _Hope_, quite down to the Bottom of this Bay, I tried the Tides, and all round, found neither Ebb nor Flood, which must have appeared, had there been any. The Land was all very high and bold, ascending into the Country to a vast Heighth, without any Breaks, so that had there been a Passage here, we could not have missed of it. With regard to the Tide, which you think would have been obstructed from flowing so rapidly to _Wager_ River, if the Streight was froze fast from Side to Side; I need only observe to you, that at _Churchill_, all the Winter, the Tide ebbs and flows up the River in the same Manner as if there was no Ice, being lifted every Tide from 12 to 18 feet, all, except what is fast to the Ground, and falls again upon the Ebb, tho’ eight or nine Foot thick; now close to the frozen Streight is 100 Fathoms of Water or more, and probably that Depth may continue the whole Length; and then there is a Passage free for the Flood and Ebb to pass without lifting; but I observed this Ice was all crack’d round the Shores, and on the Islands as at _Churchill_. You seem to be at a Loss how to account for the black Whales getting to Brook _Cobham_, if they do not pass and repass by _Hudson’s Streights_; now, ’tis true I never saw any above 20 Leagues up _Hudson’s Streights_, but I have traded with _Indians_ off _Nottingham_ and _Diggs_, for Whale-bone fresh taken; for my own Part, I can’t think these Whales came round _Cary’s Swan’s Nest_, but through the frozen Streights under the Ice, for we saw many of them in _Wager_ River, and in the 66th Degree of Latitude; and these may not come through _Hudson’s Streights_, but to the Northward, as all the North Side of _Hudson’s Streight_, appears to be broken Land and Islands; and _Cumberland’s Bay, Baffin’s Bay_, and _Streight Davis_, may have a Communication with this new frozen Streight, and Whales, &_c._ may come from thence. It is hardly possible to account for all the Difficulties about the Tides; for tho’ it flows E. S. E. at _Resolution_, and S. by E. at Cape _Diggs_, which makes five Points in running 130 Leagues; yet it is but one Point in going down to _Albany_ and _Moose_ River; for there it flows South, and the Distance is 250 Leagues. So from _Humber_ to _Cromer_ in the _Lincolnshire_ Coast, (as I mentioned formerly) is but 14 Leagues, and at one Place it flows W. by S. at the other N. W. likewise from the frozen Streight to _Churchill_, is but two Points Difference, or an Hour and half of Time, in the Distance of 200 Leagues. So that I think no Rule can be fixed where Tides flow into deep Bays, obstructed by Islands or Counter Tides. The Ice I met with in the _Welcome_, was most of it to the Northward of all the Parts before discovered; so that none who went before me could have seen it, for most of it lay to the Northward of _Whalebone Point_, and every Year is not alike, with respect to the Wind bringing it to the Southward; and it is entirely directed by the Winds here, as well as in all other Parts of the Bay; in our Way to _Churchill_ there was less Ice than usually happens, and it was also sooner clear in the Spring by 15 Days than common. Undoubtedly there is no Hope of a Passage to encourage any further Trial between _Churchill_ and so far as we have gone; and if there be any further to the Northward, it must be impassable for the Ice, and the Narrowness of any such Outlet in 67°. or 68°. of Latitude, it cannot be clear of Ice one Week in a Year, and many Years, as I apprehend, not clear at all. In any other Attempts, I shall be glad to give you all the Assistance I can, and furnish you with any other Informations, that you may think needful to promote your Design; but I hope never to venture myself that Way again. My Friends being out of the Admiralty, I find there will be a great deal of Difficulty to get any Thing done for me in the Navy at present, or to procure any other Recompense for my Loss these two Summers, in leaving the _Hudson’s Bay_ Service, where I should have received 1400 _l._ in the Time that I have acquired 160 _l_. in the Government’s. I remain with great Sincerity and Respect, _Sir, Your most obliged humble Servant,_ _Christopher Middleton._ _P. S._ The _Eskimaux_ and the Northern _Indians_ I had with me, are utter Strangers to each other, in Manners and Language, neither could I make the _Eskimaux_ understand me by the Vocabulary I had of those in _Hudson’s Streight_. It appears from this Letter, how useful it was for him to have this new frozen Streight; for without it he could not account for the great and rapid Tides at Cape _Dobbs_ and _Wager_ River, and at Brook _Cobham_, the Tide from _Hudson’s Streight_ being all lost in the Bay, and could not possibly afterwards raise such high Tides in the _Welcome_ and _Wager_ River; nor could he give any Reason why Whales should be at Brook _Cobham_, or how they could get there, without coming from the Western Ocean, but for his frozen Streight; since he gives up their coming in through _Hudson’s Streight_, and also is convinced they did not come round _Cary’s Swan’s Nest_; and as a further Proof that they came through his new frozen Streight, he discovers, what he had concealed before, that there were several also in _Wager_ River, and says farther, that they were also seen in Lat. 66°. which was to make me believe they were seen near Cape _Hope_ by the frozen Streight; tho’ it is evident from his Journal, and all his People on board, that none were ever seen there; and to make this appear more probable, he says, the Sea at the North Entrance of the frozen Streight was above 100 Fathoms deep, tho’ it appears both from Logg-Book and Journal, that these Soundings were taken in the Bay North of Cape _Hope_, and when they came near Cape _Frigid_ by his frozen Streight, in the Mid-Channel between that and Cape _Hope_, they had but 55 Fathoms; and as they went nearer it, had 48, and standing in still nearer to it, had Soundings from 40 to 27 Fathoms; so that what he mentions of the Depth of the Streight, was not only at random, but seems to be contrary to Fact, but were necessary to be believed to serve his Purpose of Hoodwinking me; and tho’ he owns the Difficulty of accounting for the Time of the Tide at Cape _Frigid_, yet he endeavours to evade it, by shewing in other Instances where different Tides met, and in Eddy Tides, Difficulties not easily accounted for; tho’ in these the Instances were not parallel. For the Instance he gives of its slowing from _Resolution_ to _Diggs_’s Isle, 140 Leagues, the Length of _Hudson’s Streight_ in five Points, or 3°. 48′. and being but one Point or 48′. in flowing to _Moose_ River 250 Leagues, is a gross Imposition; for a North and South Moon making high Water at the same Place, a North Moon makes it there, which is 17 Points Difference, or 12 Hours 48 Minutes, which he must know is the Case; and yet in his Letter he would impose this for Fact, that I might believe there was nothing to be known from the Tide. Yet as he dogmatically asserted, that there was no Hopes of a Passage from _Churchill_ to the frozen Streight, but all was a Mainland; since I did not doubt his Veracity, I was obliged to take his Solution to my Objections as the best could be given to account for it. And accordingly on the 14th of _December_ I answered his Letter, that since no other Way could be found for the Whales to come into that Part of the Bay but through his frozen Streight, nor for the Tide, I took it as the only Solution could be given, and therefore did believe he had done as much as could be done, in his Attempt to find out the Passage; and that it would be to no Purpose to look for it farther North, as the Navigation would be too difficult and dangerous; but as he promised to assist me in any other Attempt, I desired his Assistance, by informing me of what he knew in relation to the Climate, Coasts, River, and Trade in the Bay, that I might prepare Matters to attack the Company’s Charter, and open the Trade, which I thought would be of great Advantage to _Britain_, by making Settlements higher up upon the Rivers in better Climates, and by that Means securing that Country and Trade from the _French_. This I had Reason to hope for from him, because before he went upon the Voyage, the Company had done all they possibly could to have distressed him in the Attempt of the Discovery of a Passage, even so far as to forbid their Governors to give him the Use of their Ports, and when applied to by the Lords of the Admiralty, to give him Assistance, they only allowed their Governors to give him Assistance if he were in the utmost Danger, but not otherwise; but to my great Surprize, instead of his assisting me as he promised in his former Letters in any other Attempt, I found his Answer calculated to serve the Company, and shew it to be impracticable to settle the Lands, or lay open the Trade; unless we could dispossess the _French_ of _Canada_, which was the only Method to secure the Company in their Monopoly; and this he said was the principal Thing he could think of at present, for his Indisposition prevented him from drawing up a further Account of his Voyage; and he had nothing material farther worth imparting to me, except a Chart of the whole Bay and Streight, which would be soon engraved, having already sent his Journal and Observations. His Letter I shall give in his own Words, _viz._ _SIR,_ I was duly favoured with yours of the 14th _December_, and am sorry I could not return my Answer sooner, but the ill State of Health that I labour under prevented me in this, as well as in many other of my Affairs. It gives me much Satisfaction to find, that you approve of the Solutions I sent in regard to the Difficulties you proposed; and that you are convinced I have done all that was necessary to put the Impassability through those Seas to the Westward out of Question, in such Manner as to render any Attempt needless for the future; but on the contrary, I should have been infinitely pleased had our Expedition succeeded according to the Reasonableness of your Expectations. I have seriously considered your Proposition of laying open the _Hudson’s Bay_ Trade, and settling the Country higher up, upon those great Rivers which run into the Bay; and tho’ I may agree with you in the great Advantage the Publick would reap from such a Settlement, (could it be made) in the Obstruction it would give to the _French_, both as to their Trade, and their cutting off their Communication with the _Mississippi_; yet I must declare my Opinion, that it is altogether impracticable upon many Accounts; for I cannot see where we could find People enough that would be willing or able to undergo the Fatigue of travelling those frozen Climates, or what Encouragement would be sufficient to make them attempt it, with such dangerous Enemies on every Side; no _Europeans_ could undergo such Hardships as those _French_ that intercept the _English_ Trade, who are inur’d to it, and are called by us Wood-runners, or _Coureurs de Bois_; for they endure Fatigues just the same as the native _Indians_, with whom they have been mixed and intermarried, for two, three, or more Generations. As to the Rivers you mention, none of them are navigable with any Thing but Canoes, so small that they carry but two Men, and are forced to make Use of Land Carriages near one fourth Part of the Way, by Reason of Water-falls, during that little Summer they enjoy. Out of 120 Men and Officers the Company have in the Bay, not five are capable of venturing in one of these Canoes, they are so apt to overturn and drown them; many of our People have been twenty Years and upwards there, and yet are not dextrous enough to manage a Canoe; so there would be no transporting People that Way. Should there happen a _French_ War, the best Step we could take towards rooting them out of _America_, would be, in the first Place to take _Canada_, which I make no question might be done, if attempted in a proper Manner, and at a right Season of the Year. Had Sir _Hovenden Walker_ succeeded when he was sent upon that Expedition, it would undoubtedly have been of great Advantage to us; for at that Time the _French_ were not one tenth Part so numerous as now, that they have intermarried with the Natives, and over-run the whole Country: So that it is become a Matter of infinite Difficulty to root them quite out of their Possessions and Trade in _America_. I look upon Sir _Hovenden_’s Miscarriage in his Expedition, to be owing to this, that he did not arrive there till the latter End of _August_, at which Time he ought to have been returning; and whenever a War happens again with _France_, should it be thought proper to attempt the taking of _Canada_, we ought to be in the River _St. Laurence_ by the first of _June_ at farthest; and as to the Difficulties Sir _Hovenden_ complained of, from the Uncertainties of the Currents, Fogs, &_c._ they are such as we make no Account of conquering in _Hudson’s Bay_, and the Streights, where they are certainly greater. I can set the Currents and Tides in any Weather, even under a Main-sail, in a Storm of Wind, so as to discover both how fast and upon what Point of the Compass it sets: And then as to observing the Latitude in foggy Seasons, I have seldom missed two Days together, if it be tolerable smooth Water, as you will find in our Journals. Now I apprehend that the Navigation in the River _St. Laurence_ must be attended with much fewer Inconveniencies than in _Hudson’s Streight_; and those Coasts where we have no Soundings, much Ice, great Fogs, with strong Tides and various Currents. This is the principal Matter that I can think of at present. Had not my Indisposition prevented me, I should before this Time have drawn up some further Account of our late Voyage; but I have nothing material worth imparting to you farther, except a Chart of the whole Bay and Streight, which will be engraved in a little Time; for you already have my Journals and Observations, as well as the Accounts of those that attempted the Discovery before me. I am very much obliged to you for your kind Wishes, and all the Favours you have conferred on me, and am as yet quite uncertain as to what their Lordships intend to do for me; they treat me with great Respect, and such as I have the Honour to visit, as Lord _Winchelsea_, Lord _Baltimore_, and Admiral _Cavendish_ have all promised me their Favours. _I am, Sir,_ _Your most obedient humble Servant,_ _Christopher Middleton_. _London, Jan._ 18. 1742-3. Before I got this Answer, his long expected Journal and Chart of so much of the Bay as took in all his new Discovery came to hand, about the 18th of _January_, and, to my agreeable Surprize, I found many Things mentioned in the Journal which I thought very material to prove a Passage which he had altogether concealed in his Letters to me, and found, from his Journal, that he had not made any thing like a Search or Discovery of the Coast from Cape _Dobbs_ to Brook _Cobham_, having not been within 5 or 6 Leagues of the Head-lands, and passed a great Part in the Night, and had never once gone ashore to look for any Inlet, or to try the Height and Direction of the Tides; so that all the material Part of the Coast, where the Passage was expected, had never been look’d into, notwithstanding he had good Weather, and no Ice, upon his Return from _Wager_ River and Cape _Hope_. But what surprized me most was, that he should have been so much imposed upon or mistaken (for I then had no doubt of his Integrity or Veracity) as to call or suppose _Wager_ River to be a fresh Water River, when it increased as he went up it from 2 to 7 or 8 Leagues wide, and in Depth from 14 to 80 Fathoms, and that it was full of large black Whales at the upper End, which he had alledged to be all frozen, when there were none below, or without the River; but I still imagined his Mistake arose from the Tide’s coming in from the Eastward, and from his not meeting a contrary Tide from the Westward: However, as these Observations from his Journal gave me great Hopes that he had been in the Passage or Streight, without his knowing it to be so, and finding that no Part of the Western Coast of the _Welcome_, to the Southward of it, had been look’d into at all, and observing that there was scarcely any Notice taken in the Journal of what the Lieutenant and Master had observed the last time they had gone up, altho’ they went 12 Leagues higher than the Captain or they had been before, only saying they had searched every Inlet, and still found the Tide came from the Eastward, and saw a great many black Whales. Upon finding so slight an Observation or Minute enter’d in the Journal, upon the only material Part of the Discovery, I wrote to him the 22d of _January_, telling him, I imagined he had made a much greater Progress in the Discovery of a Passage than he expected when there, and that from the Light I had got from his Journal, I could almost prove that he was in the Passage, and that _Wager_ River was a Streight, and no River; and the Way he enter’d the Streight was one, tho’ not the greatest and easiest into the Streight: For I must conclude that the Whales seen there came from the Western Ocean, as far as they could, until the Ice stopp’d them, which was forced in from the _Welcome_; and that the Whales at Brook _Cobham_, having no Ice there to prevent their getting into that Part of the Bay, they had got through the Streight from the Western Ocean by a better and easier Passage to the Southward. That I imagined what had made him mistake it for a River, was by the Tide’s flowing from the Eastward, and because he did not meet the Western Tide; but that if he had considered it was a Streight, and no immediate Communication with the Western Ocean, he must have expected the Eastern Tide to rise, until he had got half way through the Streight, where he would have met the contrary Tide, as it is in _Magellan_’s Streight; that I observed the Journal was very short in relating what the Lieutenant and Master had observed the last time they were up, and therefore I expected that he would send me under their Hands all they observed when they went last up; whether the River grew broader or narrower, and what Depth it was; whether they were in every Opening; whether there was more or less Ice, or whether it was fresh or salt; that I might be able to form a Judgment upon the whole, and know whether it was a River or Streight. A few Days before I wrote this Letter, I inclosed a Letter to a Friend in _London_ to be delivered to a Nobleman of the first Distinction, to acquaint him of my Intentions of proposing to have Settlements made in _Hudson_’s _Bay_, and to lay open the Trade, and by that means we should recover that Part of our Fur Trade which the Company had lost to the _French_, and in time secure the whole, and break off the Communication between _Canada_ and _Mississippi_ through the Lakes; that in case he approved of it as a proper Scheme, I should prepare Matters so as to go over to _London_ and set it on foot, and as I then expected that I should have great Assistance from Captain _Middleton_, I desired him to shew my Letter to the Captain before he sealed and delivered it as directed. This he saw soon after he had sent me the former discouraging Letter; but then, finding I was resolved to stir in it, he thought it would be impolitick in him to oppose it, lest he should be suspected of being in Friendship with the Company; so he said the Discouragement he gave me in his former Letter arose from his Opinion that I could not break the Company’s Charter; but if that could be done, then the settling the Rivers upon the Bay would be practicable. Whilst this Correspondence was carrying on, before I got his Answer, or mine could reach him in _London_, I received an anonymous Letter, dated the 21st of _January_, from _London_, the Day before the Date of mine to the Captain, from two Gentlemen who had been in the Voyage with him, who desired me to direct to them under feigned Names, as they did not desire to be known, until it might be proper for them to own who they were. These Gentlemen finding him resolved to stifle the Discovery, disguising and altering his Charts, making out frozen Streights where there were none, and closing up Streights, and making Rivers and Mainland, where there were Opens, and broken Lands, and making and altering the Direction of the Tides and Currents, to answer the End he designed, and that he concealed a great Part of what he had discovered; having had Reason to suspect his Conduct before upon the Voyage, thought it scandalous, and Injustice to the Publick, to conceal what they knew, and as they knew his Correspondence with me, one of them having been employed in writing his Answers to me, by which they found how he endeavoured to impose upon me by falsifying Facts, thinking it unjust to have me imposed upon so scandalously, after all the Pains I had been at in promoting so beneficial a Discovery, they thought it a Piece of Justice to the Publick, and to me, to acquaint me with his Views, and put me upon a Scrutiny into his Conduct, and accordingly wrote to me in a feigned Character and Stile in the following Terms. _January_ 21, 1742-3. _SIR_, This Script is only to open your Eyes, which have been sealed or closed with too much (we cannot say Cunning) Artifice, so as they have not been able to discover our Discoverer’s Pranks. All Nature cries aloud there is a Passage, and we are sure there is one from _Hudson’s Bay_ to _Japan_. Send a Letter directed to Messieurs _Brook_ and _Cobham_, who are Gentlemen who have been the Voyage, and cannot bear so glorious an Attempt should die under the Hands of mercenary Wretches, and they will give you such pungent Reasons as will awake all your Industry. They desire it may be kept secret so long as they shall think fit; they are willing to venture their Lives, their Fortunes, their All, in another Attempt; and they are no inconsiderable Persons, but such as have had it much at Heart ever since they saw the Rapidity of the Tides in the _Welcome_. The frozen Streights is all Chimera, and every thing you have ever yet read or seen concerning that Part of our Voyage. We shall send you some unanswerable Queries. Direct for us at the _Chapter Coffee-house, St. Paul’s Churchyard, London_. This I answered as desired the fifth of _February_, which happened to be the very Day the Captain answered my former Letter, desiring them to send me over the Queries they mentioned, and upon the Receipt of them I should be ready to go over and give my best Assistance in prosecuting the Discovery. The Captain got my Letter of the 22d of _January_, and my Friend seeing him soon after, he found him very much chagrined. He said he wished I would lay aside Thoughts of the Passage, that I gave myself a great deal of Trouble to no Purpose, it being quite impracticable; but upon his pressing him to send me an Answer, he said he would do it as soon as he could, but the Person who wrote for him was out of Town; but upon his pressing him to send it by him, as he was to go soon for _Ireland_, he at last got his Answer the Morning he came away, and also a Copy inclosed of his Warrant to the Lieutenant and Master, and the Report they signed upon their Return, after they had been up the River, which I have already given; but his Answer being very extraordinary, affirming several Facts which were absolutely false, with a Design to impose upon me, by my depending on his Veracity, which must consequently oblige me to give up all future thoughts of the Passage, it will be proper to give it in his own Words, and afterwards shew the Falsities he affirms in it. _SIR,_ I Received yours of the 22d of _January_, and saw the Letter you inclosed in Mr. _Smith_’s to the Lord —— concerning opening the Trade to the Bay. You say I have made a much greater Progress in the Discovery of a Passage than I imagined when there, and that from the Light you have got from my Journal, you can almost prove that I was in the Passage, and that _Wager_ River is properly _Wager_ Streight, and not a fresh Water River, and that the Way I enter’d it was one, tho’ not the greatest and easiest Way into the Streight. You also observe, that if there is a Communication between the Bay and the Western _American_ Ocean, or Passage through Islands and broken Lands, as in the _Magellanick_ Streights, the Tide will continue to rise until we get half way through, and then meet the Tide of the other Ocean. This I thought of when there, made several Trials, and ordered my Officers to do the same, not only near _Deer Sound_, but in their Progress up the River as far as they went, and to take notice of the Flux of the Tides, their Direction and Height, as you will find inclosed here. Now, as by mine and their Observations it flowed at _Savage Sound_ 15 feet, and the same Day but 10 Feet at _Deer Sound_, and 15 Leagues above _Deer Sound_, on the West Side, but 6 feet. The Tides kept their regular Course as high up as I was myself, which was 5 Leagues above _Deer Sound_, about 7 Hours Ebb, and 5 Hours Flood, 20 Leagues up. Whereas, if there had been a Tide from the Westward to have met this, it must have raised the Tide higher the farther we went up, as it does in _Narborough_’s Account of the before mentioned Streight, and the Flood would not run above two Hours as he found it there. All these Observations confirmed me that it could not be a Streight as you seem to think. The Whales we saw in the River _Wager_ certainly come in at the Mouth of that River where the Ships enter’d it; for we saw several in the _Welcome_, and some off from Cape _Dobbs_, after we came out, and before we went in. The high Land and deep Water gave me great Hopes before I tried the abovementioned Tides. Brook _Cobham_ was covered with Snow when we went out, but in our Return home there was none upon it. The Snow on the Land in the River _Wager_ was much wasted before we got out of it, especially upon the Tops of the Mountains, but in the Valleys it lay very thick, and froze so hard, as to be able to bear Waggons and Horses. As to any Passage or broken Lands between the River _Wager_ and Lat. 62°. 40′. I am certain that I searched that Coast very narrowly, and stood into every Bay all along, so near, that the _Indians_ I had on board knew all the Coast, and would have had me to set them on Shore at Cape _Fullerton_, for they knew their Way to _Churchill_, and had that Way travelled several times in the Summer, which they could not have done, had it consisted of Islands or Rivers; for they have no Canoes, neither is there any Wood to raft them over, as the _Indians_ do to the Southward. The Copy of the Lieutenant’s and Master’s Report I have here inclosed, and what is wanting in their Relation I shall mention here. The River, 5 Leagues above _Deer Sound_, is 8 or 10 Leagues broad; the Channel is 70 or 80 Fathoms deep in the Middle, and lieth near N. W. by the true Chart, as far as they went up, and met with as much Ice or more than we had below where the Ships lay. I went several times up the River myself, but all was so choak’d with Ice, that I could but once get over to the West Shore; so that ’tis my Opinion that the River cannot be above one Week or two at most clear of Ice in a Year, and many Years not clear at all. There must be Land to the Westward, and a very great Tract of Land, from the Reasons I mentioned in the Observations of the Effects of Cold. Whilst the Wind blows from the N. W. Quarter, the Air is continually frozen, by the Winds passing over Mountains perpetually covered with Snow. The Land from the Waterside ascends gradually up into the Country, and is very high, as I saw from off some very high Mountains above _Deer Sound_. This is all I have time to think upon at present, but I should be heartily glad you could dissolve the Company, for they have used me, and all my Men who were with me, very ill; and those who voluntarily enter’d with me at _Churchill_ they refuse to pay their Wages due, neither can I get any Money for my Servants whom I formerly put into their Service. There are many other Things which have been very fatiguing to me, and no doubt will be tiresome to you; therefore beg leave you will conclude me to be, as I really am, with great Respect, _Sir, Your most obedient humble Servant_, _Christopher Middleton_. _London, Feb. 5,_ 1742-3. As this Letter was wrote with a Design to impose upon me, and make me believe many Falsities and false Reasonings, I must make Observations upon each particular Paragraph separately. The first of his Reasons for its being a River, and no Streight, is from its flowing less the higher they went up, as from 15 Feet at _Savage Sound_, where the Ships lay, to 10 Feet at _Deer Sound_, the same Tide; and at the West End, 15 Leagues higher, but six Feet, which he alledges was contrary to my Observation, and _Narborough_’s Account of the Tides in _Magellan_’s Streight, which were higher in the Middle of the Streight. Now these Observations are false; for I did not say the Tides would be higher the nearer they came to the Middle of the Streight, but that they would continue to rise and flow from the Eastward, until they met the contrary Tide, if it were a Streight. And _Narborough_ expresly says the contrary, that it rose 4 Fathom at the East Entrance, 10 Feet within the second Narrow, and near the Middle 8 or 9 Feet. Nor were the Tides in _Wager_ River the several Heights he mentions; for by his Journal the Tide at _Savage Sound_ rose that Tide but 12 Feet 6 Inches, instead of 15, when it rose 10 Feet in _Deer Sound_; and when they were beyond the West Bluff they did not stay a Tide, and could only conjecture how much it flowed; nor did they observe in their Report whether the Eastern or Western Current was Ebb or Flood; tho’ now, upon Recollection, the Lieutenant is positive it was the Tide of Flood from the Westward which brought the Boat to a Grapnel, it having flowed six Feet immediately after he anchored the Boat; nor are his Reasonings just about the Time of the Tide’s flowing; for tho’ _Narborough_ says there was but 2 Hours each Tide, without any Ripling or Current to affect the Navigation, he does not say that it flowed 2 Hours, and ebbed 10; nor does it any where appear how long it flowed in _Wager_ River at the upper End: For what he mentions was only at _Deer Sound_, and the Entrance of the River, where he says, that in each Place it flowed but 5 Hours, and ebbed 7; whereas, by his own Principles, if it had been a fresh River, the Flood would still have been in shorter Time, and the Current or Ebb longer, the higher they went up. So that neither his Reasoning nor Facts are true to prove it a River, nor his Recital from _Narborough_ just. The next Falsity he would have imposed upon me was, that the Whales came in certainly at the East Entrance of _Wager_ River; for they saw several in the _Welcome_, and near Cape _Dobbs_, before they went in, and after they came out, which none on board saw but himself; and the Journal expresly says, when they came up with the Ice, Hitherto have we seen no Whales except one white Whale as big as a Grampus, and 5 or 6 Seals; and both Logg-book and Journal are intirely silent about any when they came out, until they came near Brook _Cobham_. When I taxed the Captain with this, all he could say was, he was sure he heard one or two blow. Yet in the Logg-book which he has printed he says he saw 2 or 3 blow in that Watch, tho’ nothing of it is enter’d in the original large Logg-book, nor were any seen by any other Person on board the _Furnace_; nor did Captain _Moor_ in the _Discovery_ see any, tho’ two on board him took upon them to swear they saw or heard 2 or 3 blow. The next Falsity he advances is, that tho’ the Snow was thawed and wasted upon the Tops of the Mountains in _Wager_ River when they were there, yet it froze so hard in the Valleys as to carry Waggons and Horses; whereas, except in such Places where the Sun could not come at it, there was no Ice in the Valleys, but all the Ponds and Lakes were free from Ice, and full of Trouts and other Fish. The next Falsity he asserts is, that there was no Passage or broken Lands betwixt _Wager_ River and Lat. 62°. 40′. for he had searched narrowly every Bay, and stood in so close, that the _Indians_ on board him knew all the Coast, and desired to be put on Shore at Cape _Fullerton_, for they knew the Way from that to _Churchill_, and had travelled it several times by Land in Summer, which they could not have done if there was any Openings or Streight, having no Canoes there, or Timber to make Rafts. Now this was a glaring and absolute Falsity throughout; for it appears from his Logg-book and Journal, that he was not nearer any of the Head-lands than 5 or 6 Leagues, that he allows there were many deep Bays and Islands, and that he passed from Cape _Dobbs_ to the Southward of Cape _Fullerton_ in the Night, and by his Logg-book it appears that he was 8 Leagues off Shore, when off the Bay between that and Brook _Cobham_, and his Men who were on board him could scarce see the Land but like Clouds at a Distance in the Haze; and he himself in Council owned that it was all broken Lands and Islands when he left his frozen Streight. And it appears also that he knew it to be so as well from Governor _Norton_ as from _Scroggs_’s Crew, and the _Indians_ who were on board _Scroggs_, and might have also known the same from his own _Indians_, had he consulted them; for in his Letter to me of _October_ 18, 1739, he says, I was this Year at _Churchill_ Factory, where Mr. _Norton_ is Governor; he was along with _Scroggs_ in the Year 1722, and remembers very well, that when they came to an anchor in the _Welcome_, near the Latitude of 65°. they had 12 Fathom at high Water, and but 7 Fathom at low Water; and he seems confident, from a View that he took from a Promontary ashore, that there must be a clear Passage; the Land is very high, and falls off to the Southward of the West. This Year some of the Natives who came down to trade at _Churchill_, and had never been before at any of our _English_ Settlements, informed him they frequently traded with _Europeans_ on the West Side of _America_, near the Latitude of _Churchill_ by their Account; which seems to confirm that the two Seas must meet. I remain, _&c._ _Christopher Middleton._ In another of his Letters of the 21st of _January_ 1737, he says, That the Company think it their Interest rather to prevent than forward new Discoveries in that Part of the World, and for that Reason they won’t suffer any of our Journals to be made publick. All the Intimation I am able to give is, that the Tides rise more with a North and North-west Wind, at Neap-Tides, than ever the Spring-Tides do at _Churchill_, or _Albany_, with a Southerly or Easterly Wind; and as there’s little or no Tide between _Mansfield_ and _Cary’s Swan’s Nest_, nor any in the N. or N. N. W. of _Mill Isles_, in that Bay, it must come from the _Welcome_, which cannot be far from some Western Ocean; also in Mr. _John Scroggs_’s Journal of 1722, he mentions, that in Lat. 64°. 50′. the Tide ebbed five Fathoms, but gives no Account which Way, or from whence the Tide came; and they all agree, that a great many Whales are seen in the _Welcome_, whereas I don’t remember to have seen any in other Parts of _Hudson’s Bay_, and I have been in all Parts of it except the _Welcome_, all which are favourable Circumstances: I shall be glad at all Times to contribute what I can to your Information, and beg you’ll believe me to be, Sir, _&c._ _Christopher Middleton._ In another of his Letters of _November_ 5th 1737, he mentions the Company’s having sent out two Sloops (at my Solicitation) upon the Discovery, they prosecuted their Voyage no farther than Lat. 62°. one fourth North, and returned without making any new or useful Discovery, so far as I can learn; they found a great many Islands, Abundance of black Whales, but no very great Tides, the highest about 2 Fathoms, the Flood coming from the Northward. In his Extract from _Scroggs_’s Journal of the _Welcome_, he also says, that he had two Northern _Indians_ on board, who had been entertained in the Factory all the foregoing Winter, upon the Account of this Discovery; they gave us Intimation of a rich Copper Mine that lay near the Surface of the Earth, and said they could direct the Sloop or Ship to lay her Side to it, where she might land very soon: We had several Pieces of Copper brought to Churchill, which made it evident there is a Mine somewhere in that Country. These _Indians_ sketched out the Lands with Charcoal upon a Skin of Parchment, before they left the Factory, and as far as they went they found it agree very well. He afterwards says, When they returned, which was in a Month’s Time, or thereabouts, I examined the Officers and Men, Several had been my Scholars in the Winter to learn Navigation. They told me they saw nothing at these Times they were on Shore to hinder their going further; for when they were eight or ten Miles from _Whalebone Point_, which bore E. N. E. from them, they saw an open Sea, and the Land trenched away to the Southward of the West; this they said to _Scroggs_’s Face as soon as they were got on board our Ship at _Churchill_, tho’ while they were under his Command, they dissembled it, and said what he pleased to have them. From this, and all other Accounts, it appears there must be a Passage for the Tides from the Western Ocean. Since these are all from his own Letters, how could he pretend to say it was all a Main-land from _Wager_ River to Lat. 62°. 40′. when he passed this Coast in the Night, or how could he say that his _Indians_ desired to be set ashore there, when they also gave him the same Account of the Copper Mine and Streight; and all who traded to _Whale Cove_ from _Churchill_, said that even there, it was all broken Land and Islands, with Sea behind them and full of Whales; and these _Indians_, when they were put ashore on _Marble Island_, tho’ much nearer their own Country, thought they were undone, and would be sacrificed to their Enemies the _Eskimaux_, who were upon that Coast, between them and their own Country. So that his affirming these as true Facts was too gross to be believed. His next Paragraph is, That he had sent me the Lieutenant and Master’s Report of what they had observed, and he would make out what they were deficient in; and in Part of this he says Truth, that five Leagues above _Deer Sound_, the River was 8 or 10 Leagues wide, and 70 or 80 Fathoms deep in the Middle; but then he adds, the Course lay N. W. by the true Chart, when they affirm, that from the Western Bluff, the true Course was near W. S. W. And he farther says, That there was as much Ice or more above, as far as they went, than there was below where the Ships lay; and it was his Opinion that the River could not be clear of Ice above one Week or two in the Year, and some Years not at all; when both the Lieutenant and Master affirmed before the Lords of the Admiralty, that they had no Ice to obstruct their Passage above _Deer Sound_; and when they got up 15 Leagues higher, they saw a noble Streight going W. S. W. without any Ice in it, with high broken Lands on each Side. So that his whole Letter is made up of Falsities, and false Reasoning, to make out his Assertion, that there was no Passage: And to give his Assertions more Weight, he brings in his Theory and Observations upon Cold, to prove the whole a Continent of vast Extent, to the North-westward of the Bay, contrary to the authentick Accounts given by the _Indians_ who were at _Churchill_ in 1739, who had been at the Western Ocean of _America_, in the same Latitude of _Churchill_, mentioned in his own Letter. At the Close of his Letter, in order to take me off from my Pursuit of the Passage, he wishes that I would attack the Company, and break their Charter, pretending they had used him ill, that I might not suspect him of being their Friend, or suspect him for having received any Bribes or Rewards from them, in order to stifle the Discovery. So that upon the whole it seems evident, that his whole Scheme has been to make his Terms with the Company before he should fix the Journal of his Discovery, and when that was fixed, he then was to impose upon the Publick and me, by publishing false Charts and Currents, in order to prevent all future Attempts. From what I have here observed of the Discoveries made, and the Management during, and since the Voyage, to stifle and conceal what has been discovered, I presume that strong Presumptions for a Passage will appear to all who impartially consider the whole; and I hope I may be indulged to shew from Reason, as well as these Observations, that these Presumptions are as strong as possible, and amount almost to a Demonstration. Since all great Tides are caused by the Attraction of the Sun and Moon upon a great Body of Water in a large Ocean, an Inland-sea, that does not communicate with the Ocean by some very large Opening, can have no Tide in it which can be any way sensible, unless such Inland-sea be vastly large. The _Mediterranean_, tho’ vastly large, having but a small Entrance by which it communicates with the Ocean, has no sensible Tide, except the irregular Tide at the _Euripus_, now _Negropont_, and a small Tide of about 2 Feet on the North-east and North-west Sides of _Italy_; and in the _Baltick_ is no Tide at all, altho’ there are three Passages into it from the Ocean by the _Sound_, and the _Great_ and _Little Belt_. _Hudson_’s _Bay_, in which are such strong and high Tides, is the only Inland-sea known, that has such high and rapid Tides, and consequently must have a considerable Communication with some Ocean or Oceans; if it have only a Communication with the _Atlantic_ Ocean by _Hudson_’s Streight, let us consider whether that alone can possibly raise such high Tides as are throughout the whole Bay, but more remarkably on the West and North-west Side of the Bay, where the Tides rise near equally to those at the Entrance of _Hudson_’s Streight. This Streight at the Entrance is only 13 to 14 Leagues wide from the South Side to _Resolution Isle_, and a small Channel some Leagues wide, Northward of that Island, in which is no great Current. It runs in the Entrance about 5 or 6 Miles in an Hour, and rises about 18 Feet at Spring-tide. At Cape _Charles_, in the Middle of the Streight, it is about 15 Leagues wide, and has there lost nigh Half its Force. At Cape _Diggs_, the West End of the Streight, it is about 20 Leagues wide, and is still more diminished in its Heighth and Current; and when it enters the Bay at _Cary_’s _Swan’s Nest_, it rises but 6 Feet. Now it is very reasonable it should be diminished so, when it is considered what Space it has to fill in its Course so far; for there is a great Bay or Inlet on the South-west Side within _Button_’s _Isle_, and several others betwixt Cape _Charles_ and Cape _Diggs_, and great Inlets on the North Side; and the Streight being 140 Leagues in Length before it reaches the Bay, it requires a great Current even to fill the Streight, when to these is added the Space it has to fill in the great Bays and Inlets above _Mill Isles_, by Cape _Comfort_ and Lord _Weston_’s _Portland_, it may be easily conceived to be almost spent before it passes _Mansell_’s _Isle_ and _Cary_’s _Swan’s Nest_. How then is it possible that a Tide or Current, running through so narrow a Passage only 5 or 6 Miles an Hour, which is not above 30 Miles each Tide, should raise a high Tide, not only for 140 Leagues, besides all the Bays and Inlets on each Side the Streight, and above _Mill Isles_, but also fill a great Inland-sea, above 800 Miles long, and 500 broad? and after it is expanded in the Bay, and the Current lost, should be able to raise a Tide on the West and North-west Side of the Bay from 12 to 16 Feet, nay sometimes to 22 feet? and if _Norton_ and _Scroggs_ are to be believed, even to 5 Fathom, and occasion such rapid Currents as at Brook _Cobham_, _Marble Island_, _Wager_ River, _&c_. so as to run there from 4 to 6 and 7 Miles an Hour, if only filled from _Hudson_’s Streight, when at the same time the Tide flowing through _Davis_’s Streights, which are above 40 Leagues wide up into _Baffin_’s Bay in Lat. 78°. does not there exceed 5 or 6 feet any where? Since therefore no other Inland-sea has any sensible Tide, and even the Tide in the South End of _Hudson_’s _Bay_ does not rise above four Feet without a strong Wind at North, how can these high and rapid Tides be at the North-west Side without a Communication with some other Ocean than that which flows through _Hudson_’s Streight. When it is also known that a North and North-west Wind raises a higher Tide on the West Side of the Bay at Neap Tides, than an Easterly or South-east Wind does at Spring Tides, which blows from our Ocean, does not that almost amount to a Demonstration without farther corroborating Proofs? But when all other Circumstances coincide with these, such as the great Number of Whales seen on the North-west Side, tho’ none are ever seen in other Parts of the Bay or Streight, and that all that Part of the Coast, from Lat. 60°. to _Wager_ Streight, is found to be broken Land and Islands, and a Tide flowing from the West has been found at _Marble Island_ and the West End of _Wager_ Streight, and a West Moon makes high Water from _Marble Island_ to _Wager_ Streight, which shews they are all equally near the Ocean, and a W. S. W. Moon at _Whale Cove_, which being earlier, shews it is nigher the Ocean, where an open Sea has been discovered Westward of these Islands, and the Attestation of the _Indians_ who have been at the Copper Mine, and there being no Ice there to obstruct Navigation when all other Parts of the Bay is choak’d with Ice; all these Things concurring, gives as great a Certainty for a Passage as any thing can do but an actual passing and Return through it. For these Reasons, and from Captain _Middleton_’s Behaviour during his Voyage, and the Care he has taken to stifle all the material Parts of the Discovery since his Return, and from the Weakness of his Defence, wherein he has been obliged to advance several Falshoods, and has evaded artfully where he could not answer to the Charges brought against him; and has also given all the intimidating Accounts he could well imagine to prevent any others from prosecuting the Discovery, it seems evident that both the _Hudson_’s _Bay_ Company and he are convinced there is a Passage, and are equally afraid of being detected in having neglected and prevented the Discovery of it: For if there is no Passage, and Captain _Middleton_ has acted a fair Part, they are acting with the greatest Imprudence, and against their Interest; for nothing can so effectually establish his Character, and shew that the Company have done their Duty to the Publick, as to have other Ships to go out and try it; for if they should shew that there is none, then it would appear that the Captain had behaved well, and the Company would not be deemed faulty in having concealed and neglected so beneficial a Discovery, and all the Blame would be laid at my Door in pushing on a second Attempt unreasonably, and my Character must suffer, and the next Voyage determine every thing against me; so that by sending Ships to make another Attempt it is brought to this Crisis: If there is no Passage, the Falseness of my Reasonings and Observations, and my Charge against him will be exposed, and his Character be established; but if there is a Passage, he is in the right to struggle hard to prevent a farther Attempt, for then both his Misconduct and the Company’s Neglect in finding it will be detected; and if so, a corrupt Correspondence would be laid to their Charge, in endeavouring to prevent the Publick from a Discovery which would be of great Importance in adding to the Wealth and Power of _Britain_. * * * * * As a farther Proof of this Passage, I shall here give _De Fonte_’s Letter, Vice-Admiral of _Peru_ and _Mexico_, giving an Abstract of his Voyage from _Lima_ in _Peru_, to prevent, or seize upon, any Ships who should attempt to find a North-west Passage to the _South-Sea_, as I took it from the Memoirs of the Curious published in _April_ and _June_ 1708, having only abridged it a little in his Way to _California_, that not being material towards the Discovery, and alter’d the Expression from the first to the third Person. [Illustration] * * * * * A L E T T E R F R O M _BARTHOLOMEW de FONTE,_ VICE-ADMIRAL of _Peru_ and _Mexico_: G I V I N G An ABSTRACT of his VOYAGE from _Lima_ in _Peru_, to prevent or seize upon any Ships who should attempt to find a NORTH-WEST PASSAGE to the _South-Sea_. The Viceroys of _New Spain_ and _Peru_ having Advice from the Court of _Spain_, that the Attempt for the finding a North-west Passage, which had been tried before by _Hudson_ and _James_, was again attempted in 1639 by some industrious Navigators from _Boston_ in _New-England_, Admiral _De Fonte_ received Orders from _Spain_, and the Viceroys to equip four Ships of Force, and being ready, he put to Sea the 3d of _April_, 1640, from _Lima_, the Admiral in the Ship _St. Spiritus_, the Vice-Admiral, _Don Diego Penelossa_, in the _St. Lucia_, _Pedro de Barnarda_ in the _Rosaria_, and _Philip de Ronquillo_ in the _King Philip_. The 7th of _April_, at 5 in the Evening, he got to _St. Helen_, in 2°. South Lat. where he took in a Quantity of Bitumen or Tar, by way of Medicine against the Scurvy and Dropsy. The 10th he passed the _Equinox_ at Cape _del Passao_, the 11th Cape _St. Francisco_, in 1°. 7′. N. Lat. and anchored at the Mouth of the River _St. Jago_, and took in there several Refreshments. The 16th he sailed from thence to the Port and Town _Ralco_, 320 Leagues W. N. W. Westerly, in about 11°. 14′. N. Lat. It is a safe Port, covered from the Sea by the Islands _Ampallo_ and _Mangreza_, both well inhabited by _Indians_; _Ralco_ is but 4 Miles over Land to the Head of the Lake _Nicaragua_, that falls into the North Sea in 12°. N. Lat. near the Corn or Pearl Islands: Here being Plenty of fine Timber, he bought four Shallops, built expresly for sailing and rowing, about 12 Tons each, 32 Feet in the Keel. The 26th he sailed from thence to _Saragua_, within the Islands and Shoals of _Chamilli_, in 17°. 31′. N. Lat. 480 Leagues N. W. by W. from _Ralco_. From _Saragua_ and _Compostella_, near this Port he took in a Master and six Mariners, used to trade with the Natives on the East Side of _California_ for Pearl, which the Natives catch on a Bank in Lat. 29°. North from the _Baxas St. Juan_, in 24°. N. Lat. 20 Leagues N. N. E. from Cape _St. Lucas_, the S. E. Point of _California_. The Master, the Admiral had hired with his Vessel and Mariners, informed him that 200 Leagues North from Cape _St. Lucas_, a Flood from the North had met the South Flood, and he was sure it must be an Island. _Don Diego Penelossa_ undertook with his Ship and the four Shallops, to discover whether _California_ was an Island or not, along with the Master and his Mariners they hired at _Saragua_; but Admiral _de Fonte_, with three Ships, sailed from them within the Isles of _Chamilly_ the 10th of _May_ 1640; and having got the length of Cape _Abel_ on the W. S. W. Side of _California_ in 26°. N. Lat. 160 Leagues N. W. by W. from the Isles _Chamilly_, the Wind sprung up at S. S. E. a steady Gale; that from the 26th of _May_ to the 14th of _June_, he had sailed to the River _Los Reys_ in 53°. N. Lat. not having Occasion to lower a Top-sail in sailing 866 Leagues N. N. W. 410 Leagues from Port _Abel_ to Cape _Blanco_, and 456 to _Rio los Reys_, and sailed about 260 Leagues in crooked Channels amongst Islands, named, _the Archipelago de St. Lazarus_, where the Ships Boats always sailed a Mile a-head, sounding to see what Water, Sand and Rocks there were. The 22d of _June_ Admiral _Fonte_ dispatched one of his Captains to _Pedro de Barnarda_, to sail up a fair River, a gentle Stream and deep Water; he went first N. and N. E. N. and N. W. into a large Lake full of Islands, and one very large Peninsula full of Inhabitants, a friendly honest People in this Lake. He named it _Lake Velasco_, where Captain _Bernarda_ left his Ship; nor all up the River was it less than 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Fathom Water, both the Rivers and Lakes abounding with Salmon, Trouts, and white Perch, very large, some two Foot long, and with three large _Indian_ Boats called Periaguas, made of two large Trees, 50 and 60 Foot long, Captain _Bernarda_ first sailed from his Ships in the Lake _Velasco_ 140 Leagues West, and then 436 E. N. E. to 77°. N. Lat. Admiral _de Fonte_, after he had dispatched Captain _Bernarda_ on the Discovery of the North and East Part of the _Tartarian_ Sea, sailed up a very navigable River, which he named _Rio los Reys_, that ran nearest N. E. but on several Points of the Compass 60 Leagues, at low Water, in a fair navigable Channel, not less than 4 or 5 Fathom Water; it flowed in both Rivers near the same Water, in the River _los Reys_ 24 Foot Full and Change of the Moon, a S. S. E. Moon made high Water; it flowed in the River _de Haro_ 22 Foot and a half Full and Change. They had two Jesuits with them who had been on their Mission to 66°. N. Lat. and had made curious Observations. The Admiral _de Fonte_ received a Letter from Captain _Bernarda_, dated the 27th of _June_ 1640, that he had left his Ship in the Lake Velasco, betwixt the Island _Bernarda_ and the Lake _Conibasset_, a very safe Port; he went down a River from the Lake three Falls, 80 Leagues, and fell into the _Tartarian_ Sea in 61°. with the _Pater_ Jesuits and 36 Natives in three of their Boats, and 20 of his _Spanish_ Seamen, that the Land trended away N. E. that they should want no Provisions, the Country abounding with Venison of three Sorts, and the Sea and Rivers with excellent Fish, (Bread, Salt, Oil and Brandy they carried with them) that he should do what was possible. The Admiral, when he received that Letter, was arrived at an _Indian_ Town called _Conasset_, on the South Side of the Lake _Belle_, where the two _Pater_ Jesuits on their Mission had been two Years, a pleasant Place. The Admiral, with his two Ships, entered the Lake the 22d of _June_, an Hour before high Water, and there was no Fall or Cataract, and 4 or 5 Fathom Water, and 6 and 7 generally in the Lake _Belle_: There is a little Fall of Water till half Flood, and an Hour and Quarter before high Water, the Flood begins to set gently into the Lake _Belle_. The River is fresh at 20 Leagues Distance from the Mouth or Entrance of the River _Los Reys_. The River and Lake abounds with Salmon, Salmon Trouts, Pikes, Perch and Mullets, and two other Sorts of Fish peculiar to that River, admirable good, and Lake _Belle_ also abounds with all those Sorts of Fish large and delicate; and Admiral _de Fonte_ says, the Mullets catch’d in _Rios Reys_ and Lake _Belle_, are much delicater than are to be found, he believes, in any Part of the World. The 1st of _July_ 1640 the Admiral sailed (from the Ships in the Lake _Belle_ in a good Port covered by a fine Island, before the Town _Conasset_) from thence to a River he named _Parmentiers_, after his Comrade Mr. _Parmentiers_, who had exactly marked every Thing in and about that River, and pass’d eight Falls, in all 32 Feet perpendicular from its Source out of Lake _Belle_; it falls into the large Lake he called _Lake de Fonte_, at which Place they arrived the 6th of _July_; this Lake is 160 Leagues long and 60 broad; the Length is E. N. E. and W. S. W. 20, 30, and in some Places 60 Fathoms deep; the Lake abounds with excellent Cod and Ling, very large and well fed; there are several very large Islands, and ten small ones; they are covered with shrubby Woods; the Moss grows 6 or 7 Foot long, with which the Moose, a very large Sort of Deer are fat in the Winter, and other lesser Deer, as Fallow, _&c._ There are abundance of wild Cherries, Strawberries, Hurtle-berries, and wild Currants, and also of wild Fowl, Heath-cocks and Hens, likewise Partridges and Turkeys, and Sea Fowl in great Plenty; on the South Side of the Lake is a very large fruitful Island, which had a great many Inhabitants, and very excellent Timber, as Oak, Ash, Elm and Fir Trees, very large and tall. The 14th of _July_ they sailed out of the E. N. E. End of the Lake _de Fonte_, and passed a Lake he named _Estricho de Ronquillo_, 34 Leagues long, 2 or 3 broad, 20, 26 and 28 Fathom Water; they passed this Streight in 10 Hours, having a stout Gale of Wind and whole Ebb, as they sailed more Easterly, the Country grew very sensibly worse, as it is in the North and South Parts of _America_; from 36 to the extreme Parts, North or South, the West differs not only in Fertility, but in Temperature of Air, at least 10 Degrees, and it is warmer on the West Side than on the East, as the best _Spanish_ Discoverers found it, whose Business it was, as it is noted by _Alvarez_ _Acoste_ and _Mariana_. The 17th they came to an _Indian_ Town, and the _Indians_ told their Interpreter, Mr. _Parmentiers_, that a little Way from them lay a great Ship, where there never had been one before; they sailed to them, and found only one Man advanced in Years, and a Youth; the Man was the greatest Man in the mechanical Parts of the Mathematicks he had ever met with. The Admiral’s second Mate was an _Englishman_, an excellent Seaman, as was his Gunner, who had been taken Prisoner in _Campeachy_, as well as the Master’s Son. They told him the Ship was of _New-England_, from a Town call’d _Boston_. The Owner and the whole Ship’s Company came on board the 30th, and the Navigator of the Ship, Captain _Shapley_, told him his Owner was a fine Gentleman, and Major General of the largest Colony in _New-England_, called the _Massachusets_; so he received him like a Gentleman, and told him, his Commission was to make Prize of any People seeking a North-west or West Passage into the _South-Sea_, but he would look upon them as Merchants trading with the Natives for Beavers, Otters, and other Furs and Skins, and so for a small Present of Provisions he had no need of, he gave him his Diamond Ring, which cost him 1200 Pieces of Eight, (which the modest Gentleman received with Difficulty) and having given the brave Navigator, Captain _Shapley_, for his fine Charts and Journals, 1000 Pieces of Eight, and the Owner of the Ship, _Seimor Gibbons_, a Quarter Cask of good _Peruan_ Wine, and the 10 Seamen each 20 Pieces of Eight, the 6th of _August_, with as much Wind as they could fly before, and a Current, they arrived at the first Fall of the River _Parmentiers_. The 11th of _August_ eighty six Leagues, and was on the South Side of the Lake _Belle_, on board their Ships, the 16th of _August_, before the fine Town _Conasset_, where they found all Things well, and the honest Natives of _Conasset_ had in his Absence treated his People with great Humanity, and Captain _De Ronquillo_ answered their Civility and Justice. The 26th of _August_ an _Indian_ brought him a Letter to _Conasset_, on the Lake _Belle_, from Captain _Bernarda_, dated the 11th of _August_, where he sent him word he was returned from his cold Expedition, and did assure him there was no Communication out of the _Spanish_ or _Atlantick_ Sea by _Davis_’s Streight; for the Natives had conducted one of his Seamen to the Head of _Davis_’s Streight, which terminated in a fresh Lake of about 30 Miles in Circumference, in the 80th Degree N. Lat. and that there was prodigious Mountains North of it; besides, the North-west from that Lake, the Ice was so fixed from the Shore to 100 Fathom Water, for ought he knew from the Creation, for Mankind knew little of the wonderful Works of God, especially near the North and South Poles. He wrote farther, that he had sailed from _Basset Island_ N. E. and E. N. E. and N. E. by E. to the 79th Degree of Latitude, and then the Land trended North, and the Ice rested on the Land. He received afterwards a second Letter from Captain _Bernarda_, dated from _Minhanset_, informing him he made the Port of _Arena_, 20 Leagues up the River _Los Reyes_, the 26th of _August_, where he waited his Commands. The Admiral having Store of good salt Provisions of Venison and Fish that Captain _De Ronquillo_ had salted, by the Admiral’s Orders, in his Absence, and 100 Hogsheads of _Indian_ Wheat or Maize, he sailed the 2d of _September_, 1640, accompanied with many of the honest Natives of _Conasset_, and on the 5th of _September_, in the Morning, about 8, was at an Anchor betwixt _Arena_ and _Minhanset_, in the River _Los Reys_, sailing down that River to the N. E. Part of the _South-Sea_, after that returned home, having found there was no Passage into the _South-Sea_ by that they call the North-west Passage. The Chart will make this much more demonstrable. * * * * * _Tho’ the Style of the foregoing Piece is not so polite (being wrote like a Man whose Livelihood depended on another Way, but with Abundance of Experience, and like a Traveller) yet there are in it so many curious, and hitherto unknown Discoveries, that it was thought worthy a Place in these Memoirs, and ’tis humbly presumed it will not be unacceptable to those who have either been in these Parts, or will give themselves the trouble of reviewing the Chart._ * * * * * By this Abstract of _De Fonte_’s Voyage, which has all the Appearance of being authentick, it is plain that there is a navigable Passage from _Hudson_’s _Bay_ to _California_, and tho’ it has not had Justice done to it in the Translation, and probably has not been exactly copied or printed; yet, giving an Allowance for Errors of that kind, and it has throughout the Air of Truth. There may be probably some Errors in the Figures relating to the Degrees of Latitude and Leagues in their Course; for the Length of the Lake _De Fonte_ is said to be 160 Leagues, and the Streight _Ronquillo_ 34. Upon his Return from the _Boston_ Ship he is said to have got again to the Mouth of the River _Parmentiers_ in 5 Days, with a stout Gale and brisk Current, which he says was 80 Leagues, which plainly ought to have been 180, otherwise with that stout Gale and Current it would have been but 16 Leagues in 24 Hours, and the other would be but 36, which was reasonable Sailing. As to his saying there was no Passage, altho’ he met the _Boston_ Ship, I take his Meaning to be, that either _Bernarda_ found no Passage by the North-west of _Davis_’s Streights, the Way probably the _Spaniards_ expected it; or that by his passing up one River to Lake _Belle_, and down another to Lake _De Fonte_, by what he called Sharps or Falls, he apprehended there was no navigable Passage for Ships the Way he went, or he desired to disguise it, to prevent other _Europeans_ from attempting it to his Country’s Prejudice, and therefore he did not publish his Chart which he refers to in his Letter. It is plain that it was an Island below the Lake _Belle_ which divided the River _Los Reys_ from the River _Parmentiers_, and as the Sea in Lake _De Fonte_ was upon a Level with the Sea at the Mouth of _Rio Los Reys_, and the Tide flowed up that River into the Lake _Belle_, it must also flow up the River _Parmentiers_, and the Sharps and Falls he observed in that River, were only the Sharps occasioned by the several Ebbs he had in sailing down that River, being 5 Days in passing to the Sea; so that the great and true Passage was without that Island, which the Admiral missed by getting among the Islands in the _Archipelago_ of St. _Lazarus_. It is a Misfortune his Chart was not published, which would have given more Light as to the Lands, Lakes and Rivers he mentions, now we can only guess in the Dark, and may be mistaken; however I shall venture to give my Opinion of their Situation, tho’ I may not judge right. As I apprehend it, the _Archipelago_ of St. _Lazarus_, and _Rio Los Reys_, and Lake _Belle_, and also the Lake of _Velasco_, are no Part of _North America_, but a Country distinct from it, the Passage lying betwixt those Lands and _America_; for in his Journal he says he sailed 866 Leagues N. N. W. from Cape _Abel_ in _California_, in Lat. 26°. the last 260 of which was in crooked Channels among Islands, until he got to _Rio Los Reys_, in Lat. 53°. since by all other Accounts the Coast of _America_ falls off N. E. from Cape _Blanco_. This must have been a Country distinct from _America_; here he found two Rivers, one came from the North, from the Lake _Velasco_, which _Bernarda_ sailed up, and the other came from the N. E. from the Lake _Belle_, which lay betwixt Lat. 54°. and 55°. Upon what Point the River _Parmentiers_ ran out of the Lake _Belle_ is not mentioned; but as _Rio Los Reys_ ran S. W. we may suppose the other ran E. or S. E. and fell into the Sea which he calls the Lake _de Fonte_, in near the same Latitude, that Lake, or Arm of the Sea, stretching thence E. N. E. 160 Leagues; if there was any West Variation, as there is now, the N. E. End of that Lake might be in Lat. 57 or 58°. almost West of _Churchill_, and the Streight _Ronquillo_ running still N. E. might end in Lat. 59°. In two Days from thence he came to an _Indian_ Town, probably about Lat. 60°. near which the _Boston_ Ship lay; so that it may be imagined that the _Boston_ Ship had passed into some of the Openings near _Whale Cove_, and got to Lat. 60°. or perhaps to 59°. and was trading for Furs, and the Ship might have been afterwards lost or surprized by the _Eskimaux_ upon her Return, having but 12 or 13 Hands on board, since no Account of this Voyage was ever transmitted from _Boston_. Upon Enquiry made by Order of Sir _Charles Wager_, whether any of the Name of _Shapley_, which was the Master’s Name, lived at that time in _Boston_, it appeared from some Writings that some of that Name then lived in _Boston_, which adds to the Weight of _De Fonte_’s Letter, and confirms its being an authentick Journal. A N A B S T R A C T O F A L L T H E D I S C O V E R I E S Which have been Publish’d of the I S L A N D S _and_ C O U N T R I E S I N T H E Great Western OCEAN, B E T W E E N _AMERICA, INDIA_ and _CHINA_, A N D How Great a T R A C T _yet_ remains to be discovered BETWEEN THE ARCTICK _and_ ANTARCTICK CIRCLES: W I T H The ADVANTAGES to _BRITAIN_ from such Discoveries, in case a PASSAGE should be found from _HUDSON’s BAY_ to that WESTERN OCEAN, which has lately been undertaken with great Probability of SUCCESS. [Illustration] A N A B S T R A C T O F All the Discoveries which have been published of the Islands and Countries in the _Great Western Ocean_, between _America, India_, and _China_, &c. Since there are the greatest Presumptions of a Passage to the Western Ocean, from the late Discoveries made on board the _Furnace_ in _Wager_ River, and in the broken Lands near _Marble Island_, it may be proper to take notice of what Discoveries have hitherto been made in that great Pacifick Ocean, as it is called, as well in the temperate Zones on each Side of the Tropicks, as between the Tropicks from _America_, on the East Side of that Sea, to the Coast of _Japan, China_, the _Philippines_, and _New-Guinea_, on the West Side of the same; and also give Reasons why hitherto so few Discoveries have been made, or divulged when made, in so large a Tract, which makes very near one Third of the Globe; when at the same time there are very large Countries, and almost an infinite Number of Islands dispersed through it, part only of which have been discovered and divulged; and the vastly greater Part remains undiscovered to us in _Europe_, as the greatest Number of the Islands yet discovered are extremely populous, and probably most of them abound in the several rich Mines and Commodities found in other Countries in their several Latitudes, their further Discovery, and establishing a Commerce with them, may be of immense Benefit to _Britain_, in case this Passage is found, as it will give us a more immediate Passage and Course to them, than to any other Nation in _Europe_, except the _Spaniards_, who might have a Trade cross the _Isthmus_ of _America_; and we may have the earliest and choicest Settlements and Factories in proper Climates, securing to ourselves the best Harbours in the best Parts of _America_; from whence we may carry on a Commerce as well to _Japan_ and _China_, as to the more Southerly Parts of _America_, and all the Countries and Islands in the _South-Sea_, yet to be discovered, as far as _New-Guinea_ and the _Philippines_. I shall therefore first give the Reason why so little has yet been discovered, notwithstanding the Number of _English, Dutch_, and _Spanish_ Ships, which have sailed round the Globe, and many _French_ Ships which have been also in those Seas; and then shall take notice of such Journals as have been published of those Ships which have been in those Seas, and have made any Discovery worth taking notice of; and from these Accounts shew how much has been discovered, and what remains still to be discovered, and then propose the most convenient Places to make Settlements in, from whence further Discoveries may be made with the greatest Hopes of Success, and enumerate some of the great Advantages we may reap from such Settlements and Discoveries. The Reason why greater Discoveries have not been made in that vast Tract, notwithstanding the Number of Ships that have been in those Seas, I take to be this; that most of the Ships that went into those Seas, or surrounded the Globe, either went to enrich themselves with the Plunder of the _Spaniards_ on the Western _American_ Coast, or to carry on a clandestine Trade with them, or else to find out a short Passage to the_ East Indies_ and _Moluccoes_, so as to avoid the _Portuguese_, who were at first Masters of the _Indian_ Seas, that they might more easily come at the Riches of the East; and therefore all these Ships, upon passing the _Magellanick_ Streights, or those of _Le Mair_, by Cape _Horn_, sailed close along the _American_ Coast, to get the sooner into a warm Latitude, and into the Trade-wind, and also to get Wood, and Water, and fresh Provisions, for their fatigued and sick Men; and for these Reasons did not attempt Discoveries in the Southern temperate Zone, at any Distance from the _American_ Coast, from the Latitude of Cape _Horn_, in near 58 Degrees, to the Latitude of 28 Degrees, where they generally met the Trade-wind; for if they had been at any Distance from the Coast, when they came into the Trade-wind, they could not then pretend to make the Coast, against both Wind and Current; therefore all those who went to carry on a clandestine Trade, or to plunder the _Spaniards_, kept as close as they could to the _American_ Coast, and those who went to find a Passage to _India_, got out of the variable Winds, into the Trade, as soon as they could, and never endeavoured to go farther West than the Islands of_ John Firnando_, until they got into the Way of the Trade-wind, within 28 Degrees S. Lat. The _Spaniards_, who were the only People who sailed in the _South-Sea_ to make Discoveries, (except 3 _Dutch_ Ships sent by their _West India_ Company in 1721) after making some, concealed them all they could from the rest of _Europe_; and where any were published, took up the whole Impression, finding that the _English_ and _Dutch_ had found the Way into those Seas, they being sensible that they had discovered in _America_ more Countries than they were able to protect or defend; and if these Countries were discovered and divulged, it would have tempted the _English_ and _Dutch_ to make Settlements there, which would not only enrich them by their Trade, but enable them to carry on a private Trade with _Peru_ and _Chili_, and all their Southern and Western Coast, and perhaps dispossess them of some of their Conquests and Settlements, and therefore they took all the prudent Methods they could to check these Discoveries, and prevent their being divulged; notwithstanding which, I shall shew, from what Discoveries have been made, that the greatest Part of these Seas are full of rich populous Islands, and that there is the greatest Probability, that in the higher Latitudes in these temperate Zones, there are great Countries equivalent to Continents, since the Continent of _America_ is only a greater Island, and ours of _Europe_, _Asia_ and _Africa_, is surrounded by the Sea, and are therefore called Continents, as they are greater than the smaller Islands surrounding them; so all other great Countries or Islands, surrounded by the Sea, may be called Continents in respect to the lesser Islands on their several Coasts. To illustrate this, and shew that these are the true Reasons why so few Discoveries have been made in those Seas, I shall give short Extracts from the Journals which have been published of all those who have surrounded the Globe, or navigated in those Seas, who have made any Discoveries worth remarking, and then make some Observations upon their Journals. _Magellan_, with five Ships, was the first who sailed through these Seas in 1519, and found out the Streights called after him, and by that Way passed to the _Philippines_. He died in _India_, but his Crew were the first that surrounded the Globe, _Sebastian de Cano_ being Captain. After passing the Streights he sailed near the _American_ Coast, until he got within the Tropicks, and then being in haste to get to _India_, he did not attempt to make Discoveries, but sailed N. W. from 20 Degrees S. Lat. to 13 Degrees N. Lat. that he might fall in with _India_ North of the Line. In his Course he saw but 3 Islands South of the Line, one in 20 Degrees uninhabited, which he called _Copinghar_, another in 15 Degrees, which he called _Sumbdit_, and the third in 5 Degrees South Latitude, and 120 long; the two last were 200 Leagues asunder; he takes no notice whether these last were inhabited or not. In 13°. N. Lat. and 146°. Long, he discovered the _Marian_ or _Ladrone_ Islands, and in 10°. N. Lat. and 161°. Long. he sailed through the _Archipelago_ of St. _Lazarre_, a Number of Islands between the _Marian_ and _Philippines_, and thence discovered the _Philippines_. Sir Francis _Drake_ was the next who circumnavigated the Globe in 1537. He went only with Design to plunder the _Spaniards_, and therefore coasted _America_ as far as _California_, seeing only one Island Southwest of _Terra del Fuego_, where he was drove by a Storm. After passing the Streights, he landed on _California_ to refresh his Men, which he called _Nova Albion_, in about Lat. 38°. in a fine Bay, of which he took Possession for the Crown of _England_, by the Consent of the Natives. He sailed from thence for _India_ South-westerly, to get into the Trade-wind, and fell in with Land in Lat. 8°. North, among the _Ladrone_ Islands, and therefore made no Discovery, only endeavouring to bring home the Treasure he had got from the _Spaniards_ by the fastest Passage. Sir _Thomas Candish_, in 1586, was the next who sailed round the Globe; he also made his Course along the _American_ Coast, and from the Coast of _New-Spain_ sailed West for _India_, in the usual Latitude of 13°. which the _Spaniards_ take to the _Philippines_, touching at _Guam_. He sailed it in 45 Days, this Course being chosen as the readiest and safest Passage, being free from Islands until they reach _Guam_, and therefore he made no Discovery. _Noort_, a _Dutchman_, was the next, and he also kept along the _American_ Coast until he passed the Line. The 20th of _May_ he sailed North-west from 5°. N. Lat. until he got into 15°. the Lat. of _Guam_, and arrived there the 15th of _September_; he therefore, by keeping much the same Course as the others, made no farther Discovery, but had some Rain in his Passage, which is oftener had near Land than in the open Sea, within the Course of the Trade-winds. _Spilbergen_, another _Dutchman_, in 1614 followed these, and coasted _America_ until he came to Port _Natividad_, on the _Mexican_ Coast, in Lat. 19°. and sailed thence for the _Ladrone_ Islands on the 20th of _November_. The 26th he was in Lat. 20°. 26′. _December_ the 3d he saw two Islands. The 4th he saw a Rock in Lat. 19°. 53 Leagues from the _American_ Coast. The 6th he saw an Island, with 5 Hills, and falling into Lat. 13°. he got to _Guam_ the 23d of _January_. The four last went without any View of making Discoveries, their Design being to plunder the _Spaniards_. The next who went was _Schooten_, a _Dutchman_, in 1615, with Design to find out a new Passage to _India_ by _America_; he found out _Lemair_’s Streight, and the Passage by Cape _Horn_, in 57°. 48′. S. Lat. He kept in with the _American_ Coast until he arrived at _John Fernando_’s Island in 34°. S. Lat. _March_ the 3d he left that Island, steering North-west to get into the Trade-wind, and in 15°. 12′. S. Lat. 925 Leagues from the Coast of _Peru_, saw an Island which he called _Dogs Island_. The 14th, 100 Leagues further West, in Lat. 15°. he came to another Island, where he could get no Ground upon Sounding, and called it _the Island without Ground_. It was a low Island, full of Cocoas, well inhabited; they were of a reddish Colour, had long black Hair, but having no Anchorage he could not stop there. There was no hollow Sea from the South, so he apprehended there was more Land to the Southward. On the 16th he got to another low Island, but found no Anchorage, 15 Leagues from the other, in Lat. 14°. 46′. he called it _Water Island_, but saw no Inhabitants in it, it being often overflowed by the Sea. The 18th he saw another low Island he called _Fly Island_, from the vast Number of Flies that covered his Boat when he sent it ashore, which plagued him on board the Ship for some Days. They saw some Savages on this Island; it was in Lat. 15°. The 9th of _May_, in Lat. 15°. 40′. 1510 Leagues from _Peru_, he saw a large Boat, like a double Canoe, coming from the Southward, which had 23 Men, Women and Children, in it, of a reddish Colour; the Women had short Hair, the Men long, black Hair, curled. After firing at, and killing some of them before they would submit, they took them on board, and after detaining them for some time, they gave them some Trifles, and let them go off; upon, which they in the Boat sailed away S. E. which was probably the Way to their own Country, from whence they came. On the 10th they saw a high Island S. E. of them, in 16°. 10′. S. Lat. full of Inhabitants, which he called _Cocos Island_, and near it another Island, which he called _Traitors Island_, from the Natives Behaviour to them. On the 14th they saw another Island, which they called _Hope Island_, about 7 Leagues from the other. The 19th they sailed North, and came to two other Islands full of tall Men of a yellowish brown Colour, he called it _Horn Island_, it was in Lat. 14°. 56′. They sailed from that Island the 1st of _June_; the 21st they saw other Islands where the Men were blacker; they had Bows and Arrows, which were the first they had seen in the _South-Sea_; they were in 4°. 47′. S. Lat. The 25th they saw St. _John_’s _Isle_, 1840 Leagues from _Peru_; this was near the Coast of _New-Guinea_, and the Natives were all black. _Le Hermite_ went from _Holland_ with 10 Ships in 1623; he died, and _Scapenham_ returned the usual Course by the _Ladrones_. _Dampier_, who was among the _Buccaneers_ in the _South-Sea_ in 1686, also coasted _America_, and made no Discoveries, seeing no new Islands but the _Gallopagos_ under the Line, near the _American_ Coast, which were uninhabited. When he sail’d for _India_, he sailed in the old Course until he came to _Guam_, one of the _Ladrone_ Islands, and saw no Islands in his Passage. The _Duke_ and _Dutchess of Bristol_, fitted out as Privateers in 1708, coasted _America_ to Cape _St. Lucas_ in _California_, in 23°. 10′. N. Lat. and from thence sailed S. W. until they fell into Lat. 13°. 30′. In Lat. 18°, and 2°. 27′. West from Cape _St. Lucas_ they saw several Sea-Fowl, and in Lat. 16°. 32′. and Long. 3°. 46′. they saw many Crawfish, Symptoms of their being near Islands, but they saw no Land until they got to _Guam_. Captain _Shelvock_ was also fitted out upon the same Design in 1719, and after losing his Ship, and many Disasters, he touched at 3 Islands called _Les tres Marias_, on the _Mexican_ Coast, near _California_, and afterwards sailing from Cape _St. Lucas_, discovered an Island 110 Leagues from it, about 7 or 8 Leagues round, called after him _Shelvock_’s _Isle_. At 500 Leagues Distance they had Westerly Winds, and then fell into the usual Course to _Guam_. There are no other Voyages published, that I have seen, of any other Ships that have sailed round the Globe, except a Voyage lately made by 3 _Dutch_ Ships in 1721, who have made considerable Discoveries, which I shall give an Abstract of, after taking notice of what Discoveries have been made and published by the _Spaniards_, in sailing from the _Philippines_ and _China_ to _America_, and of some others fitted out in _Peru_ and _Mexico_ to make Discoveries in the Southern Ocean, part of which were published in _Spain_, but the greater Part kept concealed, and then shall mention the _Dutch_ Discoveries from _Batavia_ by _Tasman_. _Gama_, in a Voyage he made from _America_ to _China_, coasted a large Country Eastward of _Japan_, in about Lat. 45°. but no Account of it is published that I have seen, it being only taken notice of in several Maps and Charts of those Seas. The _Dutch_ seized at the Port of _Namboe_, in Lat. 39°. on the N. E. of _Japan_, were strictly examined, whether their Intention, instead of going to _Tartary_, where they said they were sailing, had not been to find out their golden Islands, one of which was 60 Leagues East of _Yedo_. In 1642 the _Dutch_ sent Ships to endeavour to find a Passage to _Europe_ from _Japan_ by _Tartary_; they discovered the Streights of _Urias_, and Land North from _Japan_, from Lat. 40°. to 48°. the Land of _Yedso_. The Inhabitants were of a sallow Complexion in Lat. 43°. and were very populous, and the Seas full of Fish. In Lat. 44°. 30′. it was mountainy, and full of Silver Mines. In Lat. 46°. it looked like _England_. In Lat. 48°. were small Hills covered with Grass. In 1522, one of the Ships that sailed to the _Moluccas_ with _Magellan_, sailed from _Tidore_ to endeavour to get to _New-Spain_, under _Gonzalo Gomes de Spinosa;_ they sailed N. E. to Lat. 16°. where they found two Islands they called _St. John_’s, and in that Course came to another Island in Lat. 20°. which they called _Griega_, where some of the Natives went on board them; they continued their Voyage four Months until they came to Lat. 42°. where they saw Seals and Tunnies, Signs of being near Land; they found the Climate very cold after leaving the warm Latitudes; they returned back to _Tidore_. _Saavedra_, in crossing the Line North from _New Guinea_, found an Island he called _de los Pintados_, inhabited by painted People, and in Lat. 10°. or 12°. found many more he called _les Jardines_; he intended to have sailed to _America_, but the Trade Winds prevailing, he could not; he died on the Voyage, and the Ship returned to the _Moluccas_. In 1542, _Mendosa_ sent Ships from _New Spain_ to the North of _California_, to discover the Coast near Cape _del Enganno_; they sailed to the _Sierras Nevados_, or snowy Mountains in Lat. 40°. there they pretended they saw Ships that had on their Stems Birds they called Alcatrazos, their Yards they said were gilded, and Prows laid over with Silver, said to have come from _China_ or _Japan_. At the same time he sent a Fleet under the Command of _Ruiz Lopez de Villa Lobas_, from _Natividad_ to _Mindanao_, one of the _Philippine_ Islands; the 31st of _October_, in their Passage, they saw the Isle of _St. Thomas_, which _Grivolga_ had before discovered, and beyond it in Lat. 17°. they saw another they called _Nublada_ or the _Cloudy Island_; from thence they sailed to another they called _Roca Partida_; the 3d of _September_ they came to certain Flats or Baxas, 6 or 7 Fathom deep; the 15th they got to the Islands _de los Reys_, and _de los Canales_, and beyond them other Islands in Lat. 10°. in the Midst of which they anchored, and took in Wood and Water; in _January_ they sailed from thence, and found other Islands, where they were saluted in the _Spanish_ Tongue, having been christened by Missionaries from _India_; they called these the Isles _de las Cruzes_, or _de los Matelotes_. _Michael Lopez_ sailed the 21st of _November_ 1565 from _Natividad_, and sailed South-westerly until he got into North Lat. 9°. looking there for the Isles _de los Reys_, sailing between Lat. 9°. and 10°. 50 Days, they saw an Island inhabited by Fishers, and many uninhabited Islands: He then altered his Course, and got into North Lat. 13°. and on the 17th of _January_ got to _Guam_. _Francis de Gualle_ in passing from China to _America_ in 1584, saw the Islands _de Lequeo_, 260 Leagues E. by N. from _Formosa_, which were rich in Gold: In 29°. N. Lat. 70 Leagues East of _Japan_, he saw Islands in which were several Volcanoes; and 30 Leagues farther East, in Lat. 32°. and 33°. he saw four Islands; farther East he said were many Islands, in which was Gold, Cotton Cloths and Fish; 300 Leagues E. by N. from _Japan_, he found a hollow Sea, which continued so for 700 Leagues, until within 200 Leagues of _California_; from which Time they had no hollow Sea; they saw in their Passage many Whales, Albicores and Bonetas, and fell in with Land in Lat. 37°. 30′. which was a fine Country free from Snow; he saw the Isle _St. Augustine_ in Lat. 30°. 45′. and the Isle of Cedars in Lat. 28°. 15′. which were near the _Californian_ Coast. _Cabrillo_ in 1542, sailing Northwards along the Coast of _California_, came to Cape _Enganno_ in Lat. 31°. to Cape _de la Cruz_ in 33°. the Town of Canoes in Lat. 35°. Cape _Galena_ farther North, and beyond it _Port Possession_; he sailed to Lat. 44°. North. _Gemelli_ took his Passage on board the Ship trading from the _Philippines_ to _Acapulco_ in 1697; he sailed the 29th of _June_ from _Cavite_ in _Manila_; on the 1st of _August_ he met the _Acapulco_ Ship at the Streights of _Manila_; the 6th of _September_ he saw the _Maran_ Islands in 19°. 20′. N. Lat. these, by others called the _Ladrones_, stretch from _Japan_ to the Line; the 25th being in Lat. 29°. 3′. they saw two small Rocks in about Lat. 30°. the 30th they were in Lat. 31°. 58′. their Course N. E. by E. in Lat. 30°, there is an Island they apprehended to be rich in Gold; _October_ 3d they were in Lat. 33°. 20′. they saw two Ducks and small Birds, supposed to come from an Island called _Rica de Plata_; which was then about 30 Leagues Distance from them; they were then in Lat. 34°. 7′. the 12th they were in Lat. 37°. 44′. the Sky was cloudy, and then had small Rain; 36°. 42′. is the highest Latitude they choose to sail in, during that Voyage to _California_. The _St. Joseph_, a _Spanish_ Ship, was in a former Voyage forced upon an unknown Island in Lat. 18°. 20′. which they named _St. Sebastian_; the Island was small, plain, and full of pleasant Trees; the 21st they were in Lat. 36°. 37′. where they saw a Dove they supposed came from _Donna Maria Laxara_, an Island in Lat. 31°. these were not Land Doves, but a Sea-fowl, being web-footed; the 25th, being in Lat. 35°. 10′. they had Rain and Thunder, and supposed they were near some Land; the 31st in Lat. 36°. 40′. they saw a Piece of wrought Wood; _November_ 3d, they saw more Wood; the 14th in Lat. 38°. they saw a large Branch of a Tree; the 15th they saw several tunny Fish usually seen near Land; the 19th in Lat. 39°. 38′. they saw 50 Ducks; the 20th it hail’d for the first Time in the Voyage; they supposed they were then within 80 Leagues of Cape _Mendocino_; the 24th they saw another Piece of a Tree; _December_ 3d they saw other Signs of Land, and then first saw a Weed called Barras; the 9th in Lat. 37°. 38′. they saw some Snakes, and had but little Wind from that to the 12th, so made but small Way; they were then in Lat. 37°. and saw more Weeds; the 14th in Lat. 36°. they saw the Isle of _St. Catharine_, 12 Leagues from the Coast, beyond the Bay of _Toque_; this was inhabited by savage _Indians_; there they saw five Islands; the 20th they saw the Isle _Cenisas_, in about Lat 30°. ten Leagues from the Coast, which was about eleven Leagues long, and six broad, being naked of Trees and uninhabited. The Island _Guadaloupe_ is in Lat. 29°. 9′. the Island _Curras_, seventeen Leagues from the Coast, is thirty six Leagues in Compass; the 26th they got to Cape _St. Lucas_, the Southern Cape of _California_ in Lat. 22°. 25′. Port _Montery_ is in Lat. 37°. it is a good Harbour and Water enough, and well timber’d, Plenty of Game on the Mountains, Bears, Deer, _&c._ and Ducks in the Lakes; six Leagues N. W. of it is a rapid River, seven Fathom deep, and another large River in Lat. 41°. which has so strong a Current that it is difficult to sail in against it. The Port _de los Reys_ is a good one, and also that of _Don Gasper_ in Lat. 38°. Cape _Mendocino_ is in Lat. 41°. 20′. and Cape _Blanco_ in Lat. 43°. The Gulf of _California_ is seven Leagues wide in Lat 29°. So far _Gemelli_ gives his Observations upon that Voyage. _Castro_ sent out _Alvarez de Mandana_, with _Pedro Sarmiento_, Lieutenant, and _Pedro de Ortiga_, Vice-Admiral, from _Lima_, in 1568. At 800 Leagues Distance West, in 11°. S. Lat. they found several Islands inhabited by People of a yellowish Complexion, naked, armed with Bows and Arrows, and Darts; they saw there Hogs, little Dogs, and Fowl, and also Cloves, Ginger, and Cinnamon, the last not of the best Kind, and they had some Shew of Gold. The first Island they called _St. Isabella_; here they built a Pinnace, with which and their Boat, between 9 and 15°. S. Lat. they found out 11 great Islands, one with another 80 Leagues round; the greatest they called _Guadalcanal_; they sailed 150 Leagues along it before they knew that it was an Island, to 18°. S. Lat. and then did not see the End of it; there they got Gold, of which they carried away to the Value of 40000 Pezo’s. The Natives had great Canoes, which carried 100 Men. They were four Months among these Islands, and finding the Trade-wind always prevail, they sailed North of the Line to make _New-Spain_, and after being in many Storms, having lost all their Masts, after 9 Months got safe to Land, but most of them died for want of Food. The other Ship fared better, and got safe with most of their Men to _New Spain_; these they called _Solomon_’s _Isles_. Sir _Francis Drake_ going soon after into those Seas, they stifled the Discovery, to prevent others from trading with them. This Account was taken from _Lopezvaz_, a _Portuguese_, by Captain _Withrington_, in the River of _Plate_. _Mandana_ sailed upon a further Discovery in 1595, and in 10°. S. Lat. 1000 Leagues from _Peru_, 650 from _New-Spain_, and 1000 from _New-Guinea_, came to an Island he called _Magdalene_, 10 Leagues round, and near it three other Islands, St. _Peter_’s, _Dominica_, 15 Leagues in Circuit, and St. _Christina_, 9 Leagues; he called them _Las Marquisas_. The Natives were of a dark Colour. He found a fine Harbour in the West Side of St. _Christina_, in Lat. 9°. 30′. He left it the 5th of _August_. The 15th, after sailing 400 Leagues, he discovered four little low Islands, in 10°. 40′. S. Lat. 1535 Leagues from _Peru_, called _Solitary Isles_. The 7th of _September_ he discovered a burning Island, well inhabited, where he enter’d a Harbour, and removed to a better on the 21st; here he staid some Time, and resolved to settle. There being but a Part of the Account of this Voyage preserved it breaks off here abruptly, and then says, after he left this Island he crossed the Line, and found an Island in 6°. N. Lat. 30 Leagues in Circuit. _Monday_, the first of _January_, he was in 14°. N. Lat. and on the 3d got to _Guam_. _Simon Hernandez_, a _Lisbon_ Pilot, told _Hackluit_ in 1604, that he being in _Lima_ in 1600, four Ships went from thence in _February_ that Year, designed for the _Philippines_; the General was a _Mestizo_; they were drove by a Storm South of the Line, and fell in with several rich Countries and Islands near the Isles of _Solomon_. One Place they called _Monte de Plata_, from the Abundance of Silver likely to be found there; for they said they found two Crowns worth in two Handfuls of Dust, and they gave them an equal Quantity of Silver for Iron. It was two Months sailing from _Peru_; they returned from thence to _Peru_ in _August_. A Captain of Quality was then suing for Leave to settle there. _Ferdinando Giros_, or _De Quir_, under _De Torres_, was sent from _Peru_ on a Discovery in the _South-Sea_, and made some that were very considerable; but the _English_ at that time sending several Ships through the _Magellanick_ Streights into those Seas, the Accounts which were published were taken up by Order of the King of _Spain_, and nothing was divulged but the Copies of two Memorials given to the King in 1610, which _Purchas_ got by Accident, and has published in his Collections, one in _English_, and the other in _Spanish_, from the Original, an Abstract of which I shall give here. In his eighth Petition he sets forth, that in those great Islands and Countries he discovered, the Inhabitants were civilized, and dwelt in wooden Houses; they made use of earthen Vessels and wooden Spoons; they had Flutes and Drums for Musick; their Gardens were regularly divided, and fenced with Poles. They used Mother of Pearl Shells for different Purposes, as well for Use as for Ornament; they were clothed, and had Boots; they made Capons and Hogs, their Bread was made of Roots. They had six Kinds of Plane-trees, four Kinds of Almonds, a Fruit they called Obi, like to Melacotoons; they had Nuts, Oranges, Lemons, Sugar-canes, Palm-trees, and Cocoas, as also Pears, Melons and Beans. They had Variety of Fowls and Goats, and the Natives said they had Cows and Oxen, with great Variety of Fish. He saw in those Countries Silver and Pearl; one of their Captains saw Gold; he saw Nutmegs, Mace, Ginger, Pepper, and Cinnamon, and Materials for Silk, and also Ebony, The Country was hilly, full of Brooks and Rivers; the Bay of St. _Philip_ and _James_ was 20 Leagues in Extent, without any Bar, where they had fine Anchorage. The Harbour of _Vera Cruz_ could contain a thousand Ships; it was at the Mouth of two large deep Rivers of easy Entrance, where were Woods of fine Timber, full of all Sorts of singing Birds; the Haven and Bay were in the Neighbourhood of many fine Islands, seven of which were 200 Leagues in Extent; one of these, within 12 Leagues of the Harbour, was 50 Leagues in Circuit. They were in 15°. 40′. S. Lat. the Air fine and healthy, and the Serenas not dangerous; they took Possession of it, and kept their _Whitsuntide_ there. In another Memorial to the King of _Spain_, which is preserved in the original _Spanish_, he says, that in the South is concealed the fourth Part of the Globe, that they discovered many Islands, and mentions 20 of the Names of them. Joined to them are three Countries called _Australia de Spiritu Sancto_, in which is the Bay of St. _Philip_ and _James_, and Harbour of _Vera Cruz_ abovementioned, where they staid with three Ships 36 Days. He believed they were all one Country, from their high and double Mountains, and by the Greatness of the River _Jordan_, which appeared from an Information lodged in _Mexico_, to which he refers. He says further, that in the Isle _Taumaco_, which is 1250 Leagues from _Mexico_, they staid ten Days, and a Lord of that Island, who was called _Tamay_, a Man of Sense, Tall, and full bodied, his Colour was of Sea-ware, or reddish, grey-eyed, with a high Nose, his Beard and Hair curled, of a grave Aspect; he was of great Service to them with his People, in helping them to Water. He came on board, and conversed with Signs. He enquired of him if there were other Islands around them, and if inhabited; he named above sixty of them, and a great Country called _Manicola_; they lay from S. S. E. to N. E. To describe the large Islands he made large Circles, and smaller for the lesser Islands; and for the great Country he opened his Arms, and, pointing to the Sun, shutting his Eyes, and laying his Head upon his Hand so often, made out that it would be ten Weeks in sailing around them, in which were People of all Colours, some Friends, some Enemies, and Canibals, which he signified by biting his Arm. The next Day he saw many of his People in the Bay, who agreed in the same Account, and said they had Cows and Buffaloes, Fowl and Swine, which they signified by crowing and grunting, _&c._ to make them sensible of what they would express to them; and upon shewing them a Pearl, they said they had of them, and in every Thing told the Truth, and might be depended upon. When they sailed from _Taumaco_ they took four of the Natives with them, three were drowned in swimming, and the other they called _Pedro_ came to _Mexico_, and after learning _Spanish_, upon asking him Questions, in different Companies, at different Times, he never varied once in his Account, or ever contradicted himself. He was a Native of an Island called _Chicayana_, greater than _Taumaco_, and four Days Sailing from it; he said it was leveller, and abounded more with Fruit; the Natives were most of his _Indian_ Colour, with lank Hair; yet some were white, with red Hair; some Mullattoes, with half curled Hair, and some were woolly headed. In his Island were many Kinds of Oysters, with Pearl of several Sizes in shallow Water. He said further, that three Days Sailing from _Taumaco_ is another Island called _Guatopo_, greater than the other two, peopled with some as white as the common _Spaniards_, with red and black Hair. He said, that from another Island called _Tucopia_, at the Distance of 5 Days Sailing, is a great Country called _Manicola_, inhabited by many who were fair as well as Mullattoes; it was a high Country, full of Rivers, which could not be passed but in Canoes; he talked much of the Greatness, Fertility, and other Advantages of that Island; that he and other _Indians_ went there in a great Canoe or Periagua, and he saw there a good Harbour of a straiter Entrance than that of _Philip_ and _James_; that it was betwixt four Rivers, and that they might coast along that Country more Days than in going from _Acapulco_ to _Mexico_ without seeing the End of it; there he says are many Pearl Oysters. In three Days Sailing with a stiff Gale from _Taumaco_ is another Island called _Fanofano_; it is low and plain, in which were great Rivers, the Country very fertile and populous, and the Natives, some fair, and some Mullattoes. Near this are the Islands _Pilar_ and _Nupon_; in all these are Pearl Oysters. He said that in _Taumaco_ was a grave _Indian_ Pilot, who had been in many more Islands, and in one great Island called _Pouro_, where the People were warlike; he brought with him from thence some Fish-Gigs and Arrows, which had coloured Points; upon shewing him a Piece of Plate, he said the Points were of that Colour. _Giros_ says, that in the Bay of _Philip_ and _James_ were many black Stones, very heavy, some of which he took to _Mexico_, in which, upon their being essayed, they found Silver. Upon shewing _Pedro_ some of these, he said, that in _Taumaco_ there was much of that Sort, which they called _Teraque_, and also in _Manicola_. When he came to be well understood in _Spanish_, he talked much of the populousness of their several Islands, and of the Variety of Colours in them, and of other great Countries South-east and West of them. _Giros_ says further, that in _the Isles of Solomon_, discovered by _Alvares de Mandasia_ in his first Voyage, and in _Santa Cruz_ in his second Voyage, many Pearls being found, and he himself seeing Mother of Pearl Shells in three of these Islands, added to these _Pedro_ mentions, there are 15 Islands in which there are Pearls at no great Depth, and there must be large Pearls since there are large Shells to contain them. So much of _Giros_’s Discoveries are preserved in these two Memorials. _Gallego_, sailing from _New-Guinea_ towards _Magellan_’s Streights, was by Western Winds cast upon a Southern Country. The next authentick Journal published of Discoveries made in the _South-Seas_, is that of _Abel Tasman_, a _Dutchman_, fitted out from _Batavia_ the 14th of _August_, 1642. On the 5th of _September_ he got into _Maurice Island_, in 20°. S. Lat. The 24th of _October_, in Lat. 42°. 25′. and Long. 163°. 50′. he saw _Van Dieman_’s Land, and sailed S. by E. along the Coast, to Lat. 44°. where the Land fell away East, and then N. E. They anchored in a Bay in Lat. 43°. 10′. on the first of _December_, and called it _Frederick Henrick_’s _Bay_; here they heard the Voices of Men, but saw none, and heard Musick like the _Jew_’s Harp; they saw the Traces of Beasts and fine Trees, but little or no Under-wood, all Marks of a cultivated Country, and that the People were under Government, and in some sort civilized. They sailed thence the 5th of _December_, designed for _the Isles of Solomon_, in Long. 195°. The 9th, in Lat. 42°. 37′. and Long. 176°. they had hollow Waves out of the South. The 13th, in Lat. 42°. 10′. and Long. 188°. 28′. they discovered a Country they called _New-Zeland_; they sailed North-eastward along it to Lat. 40°. 50′. where they anchored the 18th; the Inhabitants were strong, had a rough Voice, and blew upon an Instrument sounding like a Moorish-trumpet; their Colour was a brownish yellow, their Hair black, and thick, tied upon the Tops of their Heads; they had Mats, and Cotton Cloaths; their upper Parts were naked, the Land appeared to be very good. Upon sending their Shallop ashore, some of their Men were killed by the Natives, so they called the Place _Murderers Bay_. They endeavoured to sail East from that Bay, but had Land all around them, the Flood came from the South-east. The 26th they went away North, somewhat Westerly, to clear the Coast. _January_ the 4th, in Lat. 34°. 35′. they got to the N. W. Cape, and had hollow Waves from N. E. here they saw the Isle they called _of three Kings_, and in it 35 tall, great Men, who had Sticks and Clubs. The 19th, in Lat. 22°. 35′. and Long. 204°, they saw an Island, two or three Miles round, they called _Peelstreet Island_, from the Number of these Fowls seen in it. The 20th they saw two Islands, in Lat. 21°. 10′, and Long. 205°. 29′. one they called _Amsterdam Island_, and the other _Middleburgh_; on the first they got Hogs, Fowl and Fruit, and met with peaceable and friendly Inhabitants; the Ebb there ran N. E. and Flood S. W. a South-west Moon made high Water, and it flowed 8 Foot. The 25th, in Lat. 20°. 15′ and Long, 206°. 19′. after seeing several small Islands, they came to an Isle they called _Rotterdam Isle_, where they also found peaceable Inhabitants; the Gardens were all laid out, divided and planted with Fruit-trees, and all other Lands improved. In sailing from thence they saw many more Islands; the 16th of _February_ they were in Lat. 17°. 29′. among eighteen or twenty Islands, Shoals and Rocks; they called them _Prince William’s Isles_, and _Heemskirk_’s Shoals. From the 8th of _February_ in Lat. 15°. 29′. to _March_ 2d, in Lat. 9°. 11′. and Long. 192°. 46′. they had rainy thick Weather, and variable Winds, undoubted Signs of being near Land; they had variable Winds and Weather until the 22d, when they had again fine Weather; and being then in South Lat. 5°. 2′. Long. 178°. 32′. they saw many Islands called _Onthong Java_, ninety Miles from _New Guinea_; _May_ 12th, after seeing and stopping at many Islands, along and near the Coast of _New Guinea_, they arrived at the Cape of _Good Hope_ in South Lat. 0°. 26′. and Long. 147°. 55′. and from thence they returned to _Batavia_, _June_ 15th, in Lat, 6°. 12′. and Long. 127°. 18′. after a ten Months Voyage. There are several other Islands laid down in the Sea Charts, published as well by the _French_ as _English_, both to the Northward and Southward of the Line, which are said to be taken from the Discoveries made by the _Spaniards_ traversing those Seas, when drove by Storms upon them; but as they never published their Voyages or Journals, I cannot tell whether they are sufficiently vouched, and therefore won’t mention them, nor those Islands Northwest of _California_, mentioned by _Cox_ in his _Carolana_, which he says he took from a Manuscript Journal of a Privateer in those Seas, not having seen that Journal, and therefore doubt the Truth of it, he making these Islands to be civilized, and abounding in Gold. I shall only mention one Discovery more, made by Captain _Davis_ in his Return from the _South Sea_, in Lat. 27°. 30′. as he was stretching Southward to get into the variable Winds Way, who saw Land in South Lat. 27°. about 500 Leagues from _Copiapo_ in _Chili_, there was a small sandy Island just by him, and to the Westward and North-westward he saw a large Tract of Land as far as he could see; but being straitned in Time, and having no spare Provisions to double Cape _Horn_, and make so long a Voyage, he did not stop to observe the Country. Since that Time no Attempts have been made that are published, or have come to my Hands, except that lately published in _Holland_, made by three _Dutch_ Ships in 1721, fitted out by their _West India_ Company, to find out that Southern Country in the _South Sea_; an Abstract of so much as is material I shall here give, altho’ the Longitudes they mention can’t be depended upon, being either incorrectly printed, or wrong laid down on Purpose by the Author, or Publisher, since they don’t correspond with each other, nor with any other Longitude taken from any other usual first Meridian. These Ships sailed from _Holland_ the 21st of _August_ 1721 N. S. and after stopping at the _Canaries_, and at _St. Sebastian_ in _Brazil_, they sail’d by _Le Maire_’s Streight round Cape _Horn_, and arrived at _Mocha_ Isle in _Chili_ the 10th of _March_ following; they made no Stay there, but sail’d to _Ferdinando_’s Island in South Lat. 34°. and after refreshing there, sailed from thence the latter End of _March_ N. W. and got into South Lat. 28°. and Long. 251°. as the Author has made it; but from what first Meridian, he takes his Account I can’t find out; there they expected to see the Land _Davis_ saw, but did not, tho’ some of the Crew apprehended they saw some Land; (what he saw was in Lat. 27°.) but they had Symptoms of being near Land, for they saw great Numbers of Fowl, and among them many Teal; and had variable Winds, which are all Signs of Land in that Latitude. They sailed in that Parallel 12 Degrees West, and were in all that Course attended by many Land as well as Sea-fowl, until the 6th of _April_, being _Easter-Day_, when they saw an Island they called _Easter Isle_; which was sixteen Leagues in Circuit, in South Lat. 28°. 30′. it was full of Inhabitants of a brown Colour, tho’ some among them were black, white, and red. The Lands were all well cultivated, regularly divided and bounded, and laid out in Plots; they had Abundance of Fowl and Fruit, particularly Cocoas, and _Indian_ Figs. The Inhabitants were peaceable, and had no hostile Weapons; they came on board them in Canoes, and invited them ashore; they observed they had Idols set up along the Coast, before whom they prostrated themselves next Morning; when they landed, they crowded about them, and being afraid of their Numbers, they were obliged to fire among them to make them to keep their Distance, by which one who had invited them to go ashore happened to be killed. They intended to have gone next Day ashore, and made some farther Discovery of the inward Part of the Island; but being in a Place open to the Sea, and having no good Anchorage, they were forced by high Winds to weigh Anchor, and were drove by the Wind and Current to Leeward of the Island, and tho’ they beat some time to Windward, they could not regain the Island. Leaving that Island they quitted the Parallel, and in a little Time got into Lat. 15°. which they called the _bad Sea of Schouten_, in which Parallel he sailed many Days without seeing Land, yet they apprehended they were in the right Tract to find the Southern Land; but they sailed 300 Leagues, and so on to 800 Leagues, without Sight of Land; about the Middle of _May_ they saw an Island in Lat. 15°. 45′. and Long. 280°. which they thought might be _Schouten’s Isle of Dogs_, but his being in Lat. 15°. 12′. they called it _Carleshoff_; the Wind changed to S. W. and drove them next Night to four Islands 12 Leagues West of _Carleshoff_, which they called _Pernicious Isle_, _two Brothers_, and _Sister_; they were low Islands, full of Trees, Cocoas, _&c._ where were many Oysters, Muscles, and Mother of Pearl Shells. Falling in with these Isles in the Night, they lost their smallest Ship, which kept a-head; they were five Days getting clear of these Islands, and saving their Men; four or five of them who had mutinied, got on Shore there and quit them; nor would they again come on board, tho’ they promised to pardon them. These Islands were fully inhabited; the Natives were a large strong People; the Morning after they left these Islands, eight Leagues farther West, they discovered an Island four Leagues in Circumference, full of Trees, which they called _Aurora_ or _Morning Isle_, and in the Evening saw another Island about 12 Leagues in Circuit, which was flat, and look’d very green with Trees, which they called _Vespers_, or _Evening Isle_; going Westward still, between Lat. 15°. and 16°. they at once discovered another Country, on all Sides full of Smokes, and well inhabited; and were engaged in a Number of Islands; here were six very pleasant, about 30 Leagues in Extent; they are 25 Leagues from _Pernicious Isle_; they called them the _Labyrinth_, being inclosed and engaged so among them, that with their winding and turning they could scarce get through them; as they found no good Anchorage, and no Inhabitants came off to them, they sailed on West, and in some Days saw an Island which appeared high and fine; they found no Anchorage, but sent their Sloop on Shore with twenty five Men; Crowds met them armed with Lances upon the Shore, so that they were obliged to fire upon them, and then landed to gather Herbs for their sick Men, and gave some Trifles to the Natives who assisted in gathering them; but attempting to do the same next Day, and going farther into the Island to view it, the Natives, with a Chief at their Head, decoy’d them on, and then in great Numbers fell upon them with Stones, wounded many of them, who being ill of the Scurvy afterwards died on board, and drove them to their Boats; they called this the _Isle of Refreshment_, because of the Benefits they found from the wholesome Herbs they found there; it is in Lat. 16°. and Long. 285°. about 12 Leagues in Circuit; it was very fertile, with many fine Trees; the Natives were well featur’d, had long black Hair, oil’d and shining; they were very active, the Men half clad with a Kind of Net, and the Women all cloathed with a Stuff as soft as Silk, with Ornaments of Mother of Pearl. They quitted that Parallel of Latitude, and sailed N. W. giving up the Discovery to get to _New Britain_ and the _East Indies_, as soon as they could, that they might not lose the easterly Monsoon, and in three Days were in Lat. 12°. and Long. 290°. they saw there many Islands at once, which appeared fine and agreeable, with green Trees; the Inhabitants met them with Fish, and many excellent Fruits, Cocoas, _Indian_ Figs, _&c._ many Thousands came to the Shore, with Bows and Arrows; a Man of Distinction came on board, with a fair young Woman in a Boat, surrounded with many more; all the Inhabitants were white, but burnt with the Sun; they were peaceable and humane, were well cloathed, and not painted, like the others they had seen; they wore Silk Garments, and had a kind of Hats upon their Heads, and Bracelets of fine flowers about their Necks and Arms. The Islands were hilly, and were from 10 to 20 Miles in Circuit. They called these _Bowman_’s _Isles_; the Lands were cultivated and divided, and the People the most civilized, and the honestest they had seen in the _South-Sea_. There they were received like Angels, they had good Anchorage, and were all well refreshed, and might have had all their sick Men cured, but the Commanders being afraid of losing the Monsoon, tho’ they were mistaken by two Months; yet their Haste made them neglect to search and know these Islands more accurately, and many more they passed by in their Passage from thence. They sailed on N. W. and next Day saw two Islands, which they took to be _Cocos_ and _Traylors Isles_, discovered by _Schouten_. _Cocos_ was high, and about 8 Leagues in Circuit; the other was low and bare, in about 11°. S. Lat. Soon after they saw two very large Islands, they call’d one _Teerhoven_, and the other _Groninghen_; the last was so large, they imagined it might have been Part of the Continent; they look’d fine, and they coasted them a Day without seeing the End of them, so that they apprehended it to be a Part of _Terra Australis_. They saw other neighbouring Isles 150 Miles in Circuit; some were for landing, but the Haste they were in to gain the Monsoon, prevented them from landing, and they thought they would have been soon at _New Britain_, but they were mistaken, for they had many Days sailing before they arrived at it; at last they saw _New Britain_ in S. Lat. 5°, it was full of Inhabitants, and look’d fine, it was mountainy, the Natives were of a yellow Colour; after a Storm they sailed N. W. and saw so many Islands they could not name nor number them; at last, in S. Lat. 2°. they came to _Moa_ and _Arimoa_, so called by _Schouten_; they sailed from thence among numberless Islands, they called them 1000 Isles, the Natives were black, and were very bad People; they sailed along _New Guinea_ 400 Leagues, which was very high Land, but fertile; at last, through innumerable Islands they arrived at _Boere_ in South Lat. 2°. a _Dutch_ Island, about 40 or 50 Leagues in Circumference, in _September_ 1722. These being all the Journals or Extracts I have met with that I can depend upon, relating to the Discoveries made in the Southern and Western Ocean of _America_; I shall from these, endeavour to shew in one View, what Regions or Islands have already been discovered by _Europeans_, and what Space in those Seas remain still undiscovered in that immense Tract, which comprehends at least one third Part of the Globe; in which we have Reason to believe, that many noble, rich, and populous Countries and Islands, are yet undiscovered to us in _Europe_, which might afford an extensive Trade to _Britain_, and open a new Market for our Manufactures, and vastly enlarge our Commerce and carrying Trade, and we might assist in civilizing numberless Nations, and afford them many Necessaries and Conveniencies, as well for Food as Cloathing, which they are now entirely unacquainted with, and at the same time improve _Britain_ both in Wealth and in the Knowledge of Nations we are at present entirely Strangers to. In making these Observations I shall begin with the more Northerly Latitudes, and proceed Southerly to the Southern Polar Circle. From these Journals or Extracts, I don’t find that any Countries have been discovered by _Europeans_, except those seen by _Gama_ in about N. Lat. 45°. to the Eastward of _Japan_, in all that great Tract betwixt _Japan_ and _California_, from the Lat. of 38°. to the Polar Circle, unless those Islands mentioned by _Cox_ in his _Carolana_, N. W. from Cape _Blanco_ in _California_, be a real Discovery, in case the Manuscript Journal from which he took it was genuine; the _Spaniards_ never exceeding that Latitude in sailing from _Manila_ to _Acapulco_, unless Storms should force them out of their Course; and yet there is the greatest Presumption to believe, in so great a Tract, at least 1000 Leagues from the Lands of _Jedso_ to _America_, and from Lat. 38°. to 65°. 540 Leagues, that there are great and populous Countries and Islands not yet discovered; as also all the N. W. of _America_ from Cape _Blanco_ in Lat. 43°. to the Polar Circle; and it seems to be confirmed from the Accounts given by _De Gualle_ and _Gemelli_ in their Journals, the first coming within 200 Leagues of _California_ had no hollow Sea, and saw many Fish which are generally seen near Islands or Sea Coasts; and also from the Ducks, small Birds and Doves seen by _Gemelli_, as well as the Weeds, Trees and Fish, he saw some hundred Leagues from _California_, which were all Symptoms of their having been near Land. From Lat. 35°. to 38°. I apprehend there are no Islands, from 200 Leagues East of _Japan_ to _California_; for that being the general Course from _Manila_ to _America_, the _Spanish_ Ships, had there been any, had discovered them in their Passage. From Lat. 29°. to 35°. I apprehend there may be several Islands. _De Gualle_ saw many Islands Eastward of _Japan_, in Lat. 32°. and 33°. and sailing farther East, he saw many populous and rich Islands, some with Volcanos, which abounded with Gold, Cotton, and Fish; _Gemelli_ mentions Rocks seen in Lat. 30°. and an Island said to be rich in Gold, and also another in Lat. 32°. called _Rica de Plata_; which, from their Names, and abounding in Gold, may be supposed to be well inhabited; he speaks also of another more easterly, called _Donna Maria Laxara_, in Lat. 31°. Since few or no Ships have traversed that Ocean from _Mexico_ and _California_, to the _Philippines_ and _China_, betwixt the Latitude of _Guam_ in 13°. 20′, and 35°. a Tract of above 400 Leagues in Extent from North to South, except some few who have been forced out of their Way by Storms; as the _St. Joseph_, upon an Island they called _St. Sebastian_ in Lat. 18°. 20′. and the Fleet sent by _Mendosa_ from _Natividad_, which discovered _St. Thomas_, and _Nubleda_ or the _Cloudy Island_, in Lat. 17°. and _Roca Partida_, I may reasonably suppose, in so large a Tract, that there are many more Islands to be discovered, probably in those Latitudes, very rich, and as well inhabited as the _Marian_ Islands, and the others discovered East of _Japan_. _Spilbergen_ discovered some Islands in Lat. 18°. 19°. and 20°. within 100 Leagues of the _American_ Coast; and the Duke and Dutchess of _Bristol_ had Symptoms of Land from the Fish and Fowl they saw, and the Rain they had in the same Latitude; and Captain _Shelvock_ saw an Island S. W. from Cape _St. Lucas_ in _California_ in Lat. 22°. but most of these Ships falling into the Parallel of Lat. 13°. as soon as they could, after leaving the _American_ Coast, can give us no farther Account of what may be found in those Latitudes at any Distance from the _American_ Coast. For the same Reason, very little has been discovered betwixt the Line and N. Lat. 13°. _Noort_ sailed West from _America_ in N. Lat. 5°. but soon got into the Lat. of 13°. and therefore could make no Discovery, but near the _American_ Coast. _Lopez_ sailed from _Natividad_ in N. Lat. 19°. and steered thence S. W. to Lat. 9°. in that Height looking for the Islands _de los Reys_, after sailing 50 Days West, he saw an Island of Fishermen, and many uninhabited Islands, and then changed his Course to _Guam_. The Fleet sent by _Mendosa_, found the Isles _de los Reys_, and several other Islands in Lat. 10°; and _Saavedra_ found _les Jardines_ in the same Latitude; but all the Remainder of that Tract remains_ _undiscovered. From the Line to S. Lat. 9°. nothing as yet has been discovered, except an Island by _Magellan_ in S. Lat. 5°. near the _Ladrone_ Islands, as he crossed the Line to get to a Northern Latitude, and no other Ships came within 9 Degrees of the Line, until they were near the Coast of _New Britain_, except the Ship commanded by the _Mestizo_ mentioned by _Hackluit_, who found out several rich Islands, one of which he called _Monte de Plata_, near the Islands of _Solomon_, so that all under and near the Line is yet undiscovered except the _Gallopagos_ Islands under the Line, near the _American_ Coast, which are uninhabited. That Tract in the Southern Ocean from 9°. to 15°. S. Lat. is filled with great, rich, and populous Islands, and large Countries. The Isles of _Solomon_ found by _Mandana_, 800 Leagues from _Peru_, in those Latitudes, in which were 11 great Islands, one with another, 80 Leagues in Circuit; _Guadalcanal_, one of them, being above 150 Leagues in Length, in which they found Gold and Spice, together with those discovered by _Giros_, extending to 15 Degrees Westward of _Solomon_’s Isles, twenty of which he gives Names to, seven of which extended 200 Leagues, all abounding in Pearl, and exceeding fruitful, one of them near _Santa Cruz_ being 50 Leagues in Circumference; to which is joined a large Country called _Australia de Spiritu Santo_, having large and capacious Harbours and Rivers, being exceeding populous and civilized, abounding in Spice, Gold, Silver and Pearls. _Tasman_, in the Western Part of that Ocean, and near the _New Guinea_ Coast, found many Islands from Lat. 15°. to 22°. 35′. but the Eastern Part of that Parallel has never yet been discovered. From the Lat. of 22°. 35′. to the Lat. of 34°. 35′. nothing has been discovered but the Island of _Easter_, in Lat. 28°. 30′. by the three _Dutch_ Vessels in 1721, at no great Distance from _America_; nor is there any Thing discovered from that to the Southern Polar Circle, except so much of _New Zealand_ as _Tasman_ sailed along from Lat. 34°. 35′. to 42°. 10′. a Country very populous and warlike; some Accounts mention that _Giros_ had coasted a Country from the Height of the _Magellanick_ Streights to Lat. 17°. but that is doubtful, and not supported by his own Memorials, or any other authentick Account; so that the greatest Part of that vast Tract in the Southern Temperate Zone, is yet undiscovered, tho’ there is the greatest Presumption that there are, in so great a Tract, very great, rich, and populous Countries and Islands, very capable of Trade, and of being civilized and improved. From the Numbers of People in _New Zealand_ discovered by _Tasman_, and in the Islands discovered by _Schouten_, and the three _Dutch_ Vessels, and the large Countries and Islands discovered by _Giros_; and also the Isles of _Solomon_ and those of _de las Marquisas_; and from the different Colours and Mixtures among them, as black, Copper-colour’d, brown, yellow, and white, it is highly probable that they are a mixed Breed from many different Countries and Islands, adjacent to those discovered; for since the Canoes and Vessels seen with them were small, except some large Periaguas mentioned by _Giros_, which held a hundred People, and the double Canoe seen by _Schouten_, which held 23 Persons; it is probable that these Isles and Countries are almost contiguous, and that a considerable Continent is in the Temperate Zone, South-westward of _America_; the Country seen by _Tasman_ being near 500 Miles long, confirms this; and the Numbers of warlike People, and their Use of Trumpets, shews that they were civilized, and belong’d to a populous State, which encouraged them to resist the _Dutch_ when they attempted to land, otherwise their Fire-arms must have struck a Terror into them. From the variable Winds and Rain in Lat. 28°. and the Number of Land and Sea Fowl which accompanied the three _Dutch_ Ships for 2 or 300 Leagues, we may conclude they were near some Sea Coast until they came to the Isle of _Easter_; and had they continued in that Parallel, they might probably have discovered that Southern Country; but by quitting that Latitude, and falling into Lat. 15°. where _Schouten_ had before found an open Sea, with only a few Islands in it; they sailed from that Southern Land, and so missed the Country they went to discover. The Tract betwixt S. Lat. 9°. and N. Lat. 13°. having never yet to our Knowledge been discovered, except the Isles _de los Reys_, and the Island of Fishermen, and some uninhabited Islands near the _Ladrones_, we have the same Reason to believe that there may be rich and populous Islands there, as well as in those Seas which have been attempted, where Discoveries have been made; for I find no Account of any Ships sailing between these two Parallels, except the Ships that cross’d the Line in sailing towards _Mexico_, after finding out the Isles of _Solomon_, and these Ships endeavouring to shape their Course to _Mexico_ the shortest Way, must cross this Tract from South to North, sailing upon a Wind to get out of the Trade Wind, which was against them, and had consequently very little Chance to make any Discovery in their Passage. The Reason why this great Tract in the richest Climate in the Globe is not yet discovered, I take to be this; That most of our Navigators have shunned sailing near, or under, the Line, from a mistaken Notion, that the Equator was more liable to Calms, Rains and Tornado’s, than other more distant Latitudes; because it so happens, that upon the _Guinea_ and _African_ Coast the Line is so situated, as to be in the Eddy between the Land-wind and Trade, which occasions these Calms, Rains and Tornado’s; and the _Spaniards_ also find it so upon the _American_ Coast, in the _South-Sea_, under the Line, for the same Reason; but it is not so under the Line near _the River of Amazons_, where the true Trade blows, nor at a proper Distance from the Western Coast of _Africa_, nor in the _South-Sea_ more Westerly, where the Trade-wind prevails; for there it will blow as fresh as in any Part betwixt the Tropicks, unless there should be many Islands more Westerly under the Line, and then they would have the regular Land and Sea-breeze, or if interrupted, as in _India_, by many very large Islands, then they would have regular Monsoons, as they have in _India_. If therefore we should attempt to discover these Seas near, and under, the Line, I make no doubt but we should discover Islands equally abounding in Spice and other rich Commodities as any in _India_. I make no doubt but many Islands may be found in the Northern Seas, from Lat. 13 to 35°. as populous as those to the Southward, tho’ we have no Account of them at present from the _Spaniards_, who discovered some of them, since in the _Marian_ Islands, and those Eastward of _Japan_, they are all inhabited, and very populous; nor can there be the least Doubt but those Countries, from Lat. 40°. to the Polar Circle, are as well peopled as those in the same Latitudes in _Asia_ and _America_. If then an easy Passage should be found by Sea from _Hudson_’s _Bay_ to that vast Western Ocean, and a Trade to it be open’d to all the Merchants in _Britain_, it may, from the foregoing Discoveries and Observations, plainly appear, that a most extensive, as well as beneficial Commerce, would be laid open to _Britain_, preferable to any other Nation in _Europe_; for we are already in Possession of all the Trade carried on through the Streights, and in the Bay of _Hudson_; and also all the Trade to be found through the Bay, which has been given up to us by the _French_ in the Treaty of _Utrecht_; and therefore we have a legal Right, by that Treaty, to prevent the _French_ from having any Benefit by that Passage; and we shall have a Right against the _Dutch_, _Swedes_, and _Danes_, as first Discoverers, besides the Advantage of settling in the most convenient Situations and Harbours on the other Side of the Passage, which will be of great Benefit in carrying on our Commerce in those Seas: Besides, by the unaccountable Behaviour of the _Hudson_’s _Bay_ Company, the Government and Parliament have a just and legal Right to lay open that Trade to all the Merchants in _Britain_, as it is at present a Monopoly granted only by Charter from King _Charles_ the II. without any Act of Parliament for it, as I have already mentioned; besides, if they had a Right, they have intirely forfeited that Right by Law, in not fulfilling the Intention of the Grant, which was chiefly to encourage them to find out the Passage North-west to the Western Ocean, which is the Prayer of their Petition, upon which their Charter was founded, and is so expressed in their Charter: This they have not only neglected to do, but have concealed the Knowledge, or Presumptions they had of it, as much as possible; and have not only chican’d when applied to, but have actually, by Letter from their Governor, refused to look for it, when applied to upon that Account, and have also discouraged the Attempts of others, not only by concealing the Navigation into those Seas, by obliging their Captains, under a Penalty, not to make or publish any Charts or Journals of those Seas and Coasts, or Voyages thither, but also by having laid all the Difficulties they durst upon the King’s Ships lately sent upon the Discovery, having claimed and taken from Captain _Middleton_ an _Indian_ Boy, whom he had brought to England, and having learned the _English_ Tongue, would have proved a good Interpreter, and made his Clerk a Governor of one of their Factories to induce him to leave him, and also sent away their Ships a Month earlier than usual, to lie in the _Orkneys_, lest he should have got any of the Sailors who had been accustomed to, and acquainted with, that Navigation; but even went farther, to tempt the Captain, if he is to be believed, to quit the King’s Service, and not to attempt the Discovery, and offered him 5000 _l._ either to return into their Service, or look for it in _Davis_’s Streight, or _Baffin_’s Bay, and not look for it in _Hudson_’s _Bay_ at the _Welcome_, alledging it would cost the Company so much to support their Right against the Crown, and as he had been their Friend, and knew all their Concerns, it would be better to give him that Sum than to give it to the Lawyers. When they found him Proof against their Bribery, they then thought to distress him another Way, by writing to their Governor at _Churchill_, which was the most convenient Harbour for the King’s Ships to winter in, and was nearest to the Passage, not to receive him into their Port; and afterwards, when the Company were applied to by the Lords of the Admiralty, to allow him to winter there, if it was necessary for him, and to give him what Assistance they could in supplying his Wants, which they would thankfully repay the Company in _London_. After deliberating some Time upon an Answer, they wrote to the Lords of the Admiralty, that they had sent such a Letter as their Lordships desired to their Governor at _Church-hill_, and dispatched it by Post to their Ships at the _Orkneys_. This being no way satisfactory to Captain _Middleton_, who had been informed of their Letter to their Governor not to admit him, he applied for a Duplicate, to carry it with him, in case the other should miscarry, there being no settled Post to the _Orkneys_; upon which they gave him a Duplicate sealed up, and upon Application a Copy of it, to know what it contained, which was in these Words: _Hudson’s Bay House, London, May_ 15, 1741. _Mr._ James Isham, _and Council_, _at_ Prince of Wales’s Fort, Churchill River, _Gentlemen_, Notwithstanding our Orders to you, if Captain _Middleton_ (who is sent abroad in the Government’s Service to discover a Passage North-west) should, by inevitable Necessity, be brought into real Distress, and Danger of his Life, and Loss of his Ship, in such case you are then to give him the best Assistance and Relief you can. We remain _Your loving Friends,_ _Bibye Lake_, Governor. _William Elderton._ _J. Winter._ _Atwell Lake._ _John Anthony Merle._ _John Merry._ Upon so extraordinary a Discovery of the Inclinations of the Company to baffle the Attempt of finding out the Passage, and to discourage Captain _Middleton_ from prosecuting the Discovery, the Lords of the Admiralty thought it necessary to apply to the Lords of the Regency, that the Secretary of State might, by their Orders, write to the Company, to require that Assistance which they refused to the Admiralty, which was sent; and upon that the Company gave a Letter to the Captain in a more humane and friendly Stile; but, in consequence of their Offer, it is plain that he stifled and disguised the Discovery of the Passage. By this it is evident that the Company believe there is a Passage, which they want to conceal; for otherwise it had been their Interest to have had the Attempt made, and if not found, there would have been an End to the prosecuting it any farther; and they might probably have enjoyed their Trade to the Bay, without its being coveted, or enquired into. Upon the Presumption therefore of this Passage, I shall mention what beneficial Commerce may be laid open upon this Discovery’s being made. The first that appears is upon the North-west Coast of _America_, from the _Welcome_, or _Ne Ultra_, in Lat. 65°. to Cape _Blanco_, in _California_, in Lat. 43°. In this is contained 22°. of Latitude, and at least 30°. in Longitude, besides the Inlets that may be in those Seas into the North-west Coast of _America_, a Tract of at least 600 Leagues, which abounds with Furs, Skins and Copper, and probably with other rich Commodities. By all the Accounts transmitted to us from the _Spaniards_ upon the first Discovery of _New Mexico_, and the Countries of _Cibola_ and _Quivira_, North-westward of it, we have reason to believe that there are many populous, civilized, and industrious Nations, from the Latitude of 38°. North, to the Latitude of 50°. or more Northerly, on the North-west of the Continent of _America_; which Accounts are of late confirmed by _Lahontan_, and by _Cox_, if his Account may be depended upon, in which they severally agree that there are great trading Nations upon large Rivers and Lakes, which discharge their Waters into the Western Sea, in which they have great Vessels for Trade, which is carried on upon that Coast. This is now confirmed by the Natives Westward of _Churchill_, who having been there, informed them that they saw upon the Western Coast, almost in the same Latitude of _Churchill_ (Lat. 59°.) many trading Ships, as large as ours, from whom they got Copper Oar, and Copper, which they produced to them at _Churchill_, within these few Years. I think therefore a short Abstract of the _Spanish_ Account, and also of _Lahontan_’s, may be properly inserted in this Place. In the Year 1537, some Friars travelling Northward from _Mexico_, as Missionaries to instruct and civilize the Natives, and make Discoveries, went as far North as _Cibola_, in about Lat. 37°. and upon their Return gave so fine an Account of that Country, and those through which they passed, affirming that there were large Cities, the Houses 3 or 4 Stories high, built of Lime and Stone, which were very rich, abounding in Turquoises and rich Mines; that it encouraged the Viceroy to send _Vasques de Coronado_, with a large Body of Horsemen, and others, to make a further Discovery, and to subdue them, and make a Settlement; and in 1539 he sent two Ships, commanded by _Francis de Ulloa_, to discover the Gulph and Coast of _California_, and the Year following _Ferdinand Alarchon_ sailed the same Course, to discover that Gulph by Sea, whilst _Coronado_ was to travel by Land, and, if possible, to correspond with each other, _Coronado_ being supposed not to travel far from the Sea-coast. _Coronado_ either went a different Rout from the Friars, until he got to _Cibola_, or found the Country he passed through quite different from what the Friars had represented it; and when he came there, found the Towns neither so rich nor populous as the Friars had given out. They had Stone and Lime Houses 3 or 4 Stories high, and went into the upper Stories by Ladders; but they found very few Turquoises or other rich Metals among them. He push’d farther Northwards, towards _Quivira_, and Westward, where he found the Country better improved, and the People more industrious, and better civilized, and sent _Don Garcias Lopez de Cardenas_ as far as the Western Sea; the Country was very temperate, and abounded with fruit there; they said they saw Ships on the Coast which had Alcatrazas or Pelicans of Gold and Silver on their Prows, which had Merchandize; they apprehended them to be from _China_, having been above 30 Days in sailing thither, as they made appear by Signs to the _Spaniards_. _Coronado_ sending so indifferent an Account of _Cibola_, which the _Spaniards_ said was occasioned from his just having married a young Wife, and his being apprehensive, that if he made a Settlement, the Viceroy would oblige him to stay there; and afterwards dying upon the Road as he was returning, the _Spaniards_ for many Years did not renew the Attempt. _Alarchon_, at the same time, by Sea, in about Lat. 35°. got to the very Head of the Gulph of _California_, where both _Ulloa_ and he found a Tide, which flowed from the Southward, which rose 6 Fathoms, he coming on Ground upon the Falling of the Tide, thought he had lost his Ship; but it soon after floating with the Tide of Flood, he got into a great River, moored his Ship, and in his Boat went up the River about 85 Leagues, finding numerous Nations of humane and civil People, and at last got some Account of _Cibola_ and _Coronado_, which was ten Days Journey from the Place he was at. He thence returned to his Ships, and from thence to _Acapulco_; he called the River _Buena Guia_. These two Voyages ascertains _California_ to be a Part of the Continent, they having had the Land in view on both Sides until it closed in that River. The _Spaniards_ discontinued the further Discovery of _Cibola_ and _Quivira_ until the Year 1582, when it was again undertaken by _Antonio de Vespejo_, from _St. Bartholomew_ in _Mexico_, by the _Rio del Nord_, or _North River_, a very large River, which runs from the North through _New Mexico_, and falls into the Gulph of _Mexico_, Westward of the _Mississippi_. He set out the 10th of _November_, 1582. In two Days Journey he reached the _Conchas Indians_, who conducted him 24 Leagues North. He then got to the _Passaquetes_, who went with him four Days Journey in a Country rich in Silver Mines. A Day’s Journey farther he got to _Tobosas_. 12 Leagues farther he got to others called _Jumanos_, a numerous People, in Stone and Lime Houses. They travelled on 12 Leagues along the _North River_, still Northward, and got to another Nation cloathed in Shamois Skins, and covered with Cotton Mantles; these conducted them five Days Journey Westward, to a Country full of Silver Mines. They went thence higher up the River to another populous Nation, 15 Days Journey West; they were told there was a great Lake, the Coast of which was full of populous Towns, but they went not to it, but proceeded Northward 15 Days, above 80 Leagues, through Woods and Plains, upon the same River, until they got to _New Mexico_, so named by them. Two Days further they got to 10 Towns upon the same River, well inhabited by 10000 People, well cloathed, who lived in high Houses with Stoves; they had Cotton and Deer Skin Cloaths, with Shoes and Boots, and arable Lands. From thence they went to the Province of _Tigues_, who having some time before kill’d two Friars, they fled from them. The Captain and two of his Men went to another Province, near _Cibola_, where there were 40000 People; they then went to the _Quiros_, where there were 14000, in Lat. 37°. 30′. 14 Leagues farther they arrived at _Cunanes_, or _Punanes_, where were 5 Towns, one called _Cia_, which had 8 Market Places; the Houses were plaistered and painted; in this were 20000 Inhabitants, these were civilized, and better governed and cloathed; here were rich Metals. 6 Leagues farther they came to another Province of 7 Towns, containing about 30000 Inhabitants, these were also well governed and civilized. 15 Leagues further West they found another Town called _Acoma_, situated upon a Rock, containing 6000 People, clad as the others in Cottons and Shamois Skins. 24 Leagues farther West they came to _Zuni_, called by them _Cibola_, where _Coronado_ had been above 40 Years before; there they found three _Indian_ Christians, who had been there from that Time, who told them, that 60 Days Journey farther was a great Lake, upon the Banks of which were many large populous Towns, rich in Gold. _Coronado_ had gone 12 Days Journey towards it, but wanting Water returned, designing to go again, but died upon his Return, as is mentioned before. The Captain, with nine Men, designed to go and make this Discovery, the rest returning. After he had travelled 28 Leagues West, he found a great Province, which contained above 50000 People, who sent to him not to enter their Country, but they afterwards received him kindly, and gave him many Presents. Those confirmed the Account he had before of the great Lake, and the Riches of the Towns about it; he left here five of his Men to return to _Zuni_, and rode Post with four to see some rich Mines which they told him of, and travelling with his Guides 45 Leagues West, he got to the Place, and took out very rich Oar from the Mine. Here were peaceable _Indians_, and two pretty large Rivers, where were fine Vines, Walnut-trees, and Flax. The Men, by Signs, told them, that beyond these Mountains there was a great River, 8 Leagues wide, but could not find out how far it was to it, but said it run into the _North-Sea_, and that upon its Banks were great Towns, to which their own, when compared to them, were but small Hamlets. He returned from thence to _Mexico_. _Ludovicus Tribaldus_ wrote from _Valadolid_ to _Richard Hackluit_, in 1605, that _Don John de Onate_ in the Year 1599, went with 5000 People to conquer those Countries 500 Leagues from _Mexico_; that he took the Town of _Acoma_ in about Lat. 32°. 40′. after that he proceeded Northwards to another great City, which he obliged to submit; and after that came to another which was greater, which he through Friendship induced to submit to him; he afterwards built a City near _Cibola_, which he called _St. John’s Town_, and finding rich Mines there, they resolved to settle. In 1602 he undertook a new Discovery of the great Northern River, which at length he accomplished, and went from thence to the famous Lake called the Lake of _Conibas_, where he pretended he saw a City of vast Extent, seven Leagues long, and two wide, the Houses separated from each other, and finely built and ornamented, with fine Gardens; he said the numerous Inhabitants had all retired at his Approach, and fortified themselves in the Market-place or great Square; upon which not daring to attack them, he returned to _St. John’s Town_, and lived there happily. This latter Part seems to have the Air of a Romance. _Lahontan_ sailing up the long River in 1688 and 1689, found the _Gnacsitares_ more civilized than the more easterly _Indians_ near the _Mississippi_, and the _Mosemleek_ Nation at the Foot of the Hills on the West Side, where the Rivers take their Rise which fall into the Western Sea, were much more civilized than the _Gnacsitares_, they were cloathed and had Beards, and their Hair came down to their Ears, and had as grave an Aspect as _Spaniards_; these last told him, at the Distance of 150 Leagues from the Place he was in, their River discharged itself into a great Salt Lake 300 Leagues in Circumference, where it was two Leagues wide; that on the lower Part of the River were six large noble Cities, surrounded with Stone, cemented with fat Earth; that there were 100 Towns great and small around the Lake; they had upon it large Vessels 130 Foot long, with which they navigated that Lake, the Inhabitants made Stuffs, Copper Axes, and other Manufactures; the Government was despotick; they were called _Tahuglauk_, and said, in their Way of Speech, they were as numerous as the Leaves upon the Trees; they had Leather and make Boots of it; the Lake is 30 Leagues broad, stretching to the Southward. The _Tahuglauk_ had Beards two Inches long, Coats down to their Knees, had sharp Caps on their Heads, had Canes with tip’d Heads, and Boots; the Women did not shew themselves; they were at War with several populous Nations near the Lake, and in its Neighbourhood. _Cox_ in his _Carolana_ says the _Yellow River_, or River of the _Massorites_, has its Source in the same Hills with the long River, on the West Side of which, after a Day’s Journey, are Springs, which form a great River, which falls into the great Lake mentioned by _Lahontan_, the _Indians_ affirming that there are great Ships sailing in that Lake, twenty times larger than their Canoes; that this Lake forms another River below it, which is discharged into the Western Sea. _Cox_ says farther, that he had a Journal communicated to him in Manuscript, by which, if genuine, it appeared that one Captain _Coxton_, in King _Charles_ the Second’s Time, Commander of a Privateer cruizing for the _Manila_ Ship, being too soon at _California_ by some Months, sailing Northwards, discovered a great River in N. Lat. and within it a great Lake; near the Entrance he found a convenient Island to refit his Ship in, and staid there two or three Months; he happened to have a Man on board who understood their Language; he was kindly received by them, when they understood he was an Enemy to the _Spaniards_; he called them the Nation of _Thoya_; they often engage the _Spaniards_ and beat them, bringing 30 or 40000 Men into the Field. At the proper Season they sailed W. by S. and came to five Islands, about 50 or 60 Miles each in Compass, one he touch’d at was called _Earinda_ or _Carinda_, they supplied him with Provisions, and 86 Pound Weight of Gold, in Truck for his Commodities, in three or four Days Time; they said they had no more then, supplying themselves only at a certain Season, when Ships came to trade with them from the West, supposed by him from _Japan_. So far _Cox_, if he is to be credited. On the Right or Starboard Side of the Passage, it is highly probable that there are many great Countries, in a Tract of above 13 or 1400 Leagues betwixt _Ne ultra_ and _Japan_; which is in Lat. 38°. which would afford a vast Variety in Trade, to return for the Woollen and Iron Manufactures, and other Goods which they would necessarily take from _Britain_, in those temperate or cold Climates. The Peninsula of _California_, from Cape _Blanco_ in Lat. 43°. to Cape _St. Lucas_ in Lat. 23°. 30′. a Coast of above 400 Leagues, and also within the Gulph higher than the Latitude of 34°. where it terminates in a great River navigable for some hundred Miles into the Country of _Cibola_ and _Quivira_, populous and civilized Nations; and also the East Coast of the Gulph, of near 300 Leagues Extent, of which no Part is possess’d by the _Spaniards_; so large a Coast and Country will in some time open a considerable Trade to us. The Trade along the _Mexican_ and _Guatimala_ Coast, and _Terra Firma_, as far as _Panama_, nay even as far as _Peru_ and _Chili_, would then be within the Circle of our Commerce in Time of Peace; and open to our Depredations in Time of War, which would induce the _Spaniards_ to live upon good Terms with us. On the other Hand, we should be able to open a Trade to _Japan_ and _China_, an easier and shorter Way, as well as the rich Islands in the Neighbourhood of _Japan_, which would afford a very extensive Trade; for the Emperor of _Japan_ would find it his Interest to trade with us upon equitable Terms; for they being very bad Sailors, our Ships might distress them, and cut off their Communication from the rich Islands they trade to, Eastward of them, in case they us’d us as Enemies, and refused us an equitable Trade; since Furs are highly valued in _Japan_ and _China_, the Fur Trade in _North America_, and the cold Countries betwixt it and _Japan_, when discovered, would afford us a very great Fund for that Trade, besides what _European_ Goods would be wanted there. The _Philippine_ and Spice Islands would be within the Circle of our Trade, and we might probably find out other Spice Islands, equally beneficial to trade with, as those possessed by the _Dutch_, since there are a vast Number of Islands Eastward of the _Dutch_ Spice Islands, in the same Latitudes; and both _Mandana_ and _Giros_ in their Discoveries of the _Isles of Solomon_, and the other Islands, say expresly, that they saw in them Cloves, Nutmegs, Ginger and Cinnamon; and if to these Islands we add that vast Tract yet undiscovered on each Side of the Line, and beyond these from S. Lat. 15°. to the Lat. of 66°. it can’t easily be conceived how extensive that Trade may prove; being a Space almost equal to all I have already named, extending from _New Guinea_ to _Chili_, about 2000 Leagues, and from the Lat. of 60° South, only to 40°. North, 2000 Leagues; which is almost a Square of 2000 Leagues; a most immense Tract, almost equal to the Continent of _Europe_, _Asia_, and _Africa_. If then a Discovery should be made of this Passage, to carry on so vast a Trade to Advantage, a considerable Settlement should be immediately made in _California_, or rather upon some convenient Island near that Coast, in case one should be found with a safe and capacious Harbour, with Woods and proper Materials for supplying and refitting of Ships; the Isle of _Cenisas_ or _Carras_, or Isle of Cedars, or any on that Coast which may be found proper, these being in a fine Latitude, betwixt 28°. and 32°. or the Port of _Montery_ in Lat. 37°. That Settlement should be made the Rendezvous for all Ships going from, or returning to _Europe_, where Ships should stop for Refreshments, and to be refitted before they proceed farther, or return to _Europe_; and should be the Head Settlement, as _Batavia_ is to the _Dutch_ in _India_, and from hence the Trade might Spread to _Asia_, _India_, _Mexico_ and _Peru_; and from this Place the Islands in the great _South Sea_ might be discovered, and a Commerce be begun with them. After this Settlement is made secure, another should be formed in a Southern Latitude, about 30°. about 7 or 800 Leagues from the _American_ Coast, perhaps the Isle of _Easter_, or some other Island with a good Harbour and fruitful Soil, where the Natives are peaceable and humane, and from thence a further Discovery Southerly and Westerly, and a Trade, may be begun with these Regions, as well as with those nearer the Line; so that those two Settlements would be as two Centres, the one for the Southern, and the other for the Northern Countries and Islands dispersed through those Seas; when these were made, if the only true and laudable Method was followed, of civilizing and assisting the Natives, and putting them upon proper Improvements in their several Countries and Islands, suitable to their different Climates, that might be beneficial to themselves, and proper for Trade; the _English_ might be the Carriers of all those Nations, which would give them an immense Profit, and furnish them with all our Manufactures, and such other _European_ Commodities as they should want, without being at any great Expence of People, to settle other Countries in those Seas: Here would be Room for Improvements in Trade for Ages to come, and would give full Employment to our Manufacturers, and Merchants in _Britain_, and a perpetual Return of Wealth; and at the same Time we should civilize and make happy numberless Nations, and bring them, by Degrees, to be capable of knowing divine Truths. A P P E N D I X . C O N T A I N I N G His M A J E S T Y’s R O Y A L C H A R T E R T O T H E G O V E R N O R _and_ C O M P A N Y O F _ H U D S O N’s B A Y _: A N D Other PAPERS relating to the TRADE to that Place. T O G E T H E R W I T H A VOCABULARY of the LANGUAGES of some of the adjoining _ I N D I A N _ NATIONS. * * * * * His M A J E S T Y’s R O Y A L C H A R T E R T O T H E G O V E R N O R _and_ C O M P A N Y O F _ H U D S O N’s B A Y_. _Charles_ the II. by the Grace of God, King of _England_, _Scotland_, _France_ and _Ireland_, Defender of the Faith, _&c._ to all to whom these Presents shall come, greeting: Whereas Our dear intirely beloved Cousin, Prince _Rupert_, Count Palatine of the _Rhine_, Duke of _Bavaria_ and _Cumberland_, &c. _George_, Duke of _Albemarle_, _William_, Earl of _Craven_, _Henry_, Lord _Arlington_, _Anthony_, Lord _Ashley_, Sir _John Robinson_, and Sir _Robert Vyner_, Knights and Baronets, Sir Peter _Colleton_, Baronet, Sir _Edward Hungerford_, Knight of the Bath, Sir _Paul Neele_, Sir _John Griffith_, Sir _Philip Carteret_, and Sir _James Hayes_, Knights, _John Kirke_, _Francis Millington_, _William Prettyman_, _John Fenn_, Esquires, and _John Portman_, Citizen and Goldsmith of _London_, have, at their own great Cost and Charges, undertaken an Expedition for _Hudson_’s _Bay_, in the North-west Parts of _America_, for the Discovery of a new Passage into the _South-Sea_, and for the finding of some Trade for Furs, Minerals, and other considerable Commodities, and by such their Undertaking, have already made such Discoveries as do encourage them to proceed farther in Pursuance of their said Design, by means whereof there may probably arise great Advantage to Us and Our Kingdoms. =And whereas= the said Undertakers, for their farther Encouragement in the said Design, have humbly besought Us to incorporate them, and grant unto them, and their Successors, the whole Trade and Commerce of all those Seas, Streights and Bays, Rivers, Lakes, Creeks and Sounds, in whatsoever Latitude they shall be, that lie within the Entrance of the Streights commonly called _Hudson_’s _Streights_, together with all the Lands, Countries and Territories, upon the Coasts and Confines of the Seas, Streights, Bays, Lakes, Rivers, Creeks and Sounds, aforesaid, which are not now actually possessed by any of Our Subjects, or by the Subjects of any other Christian Prince or State. =Now now ye,= That We being desirous to promote all Endeavours that may tend to the publick Good of Our People, and to encourage the said Undertaking, have, of Our especial Grace, certain Knowledge, and mere Motion, given, granted, ratified and confirmed, and by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, do give, grant, ratify and confirm, unto Our said Cousin Prince _Rupert_, _George_, Duke of _Albemarle_, _William_, Earl of _Craven_, _Henry_, Lord _Arlington_, _Anthony_, Lord _Ashley_, Sir _John Robinson_, Sir _Robert Vyner_, Sir _Peter Colleton_, Sir _Edward Hungerford_, Sir _Paul Neele_, Sir _John Griffith_, Sir _Philip Carteret_, and Sir _James Hayes_, _John Kirke_, _Francis Millington_, _William Prettyman_, _John Fenn_, and _John Portman_, that they, and such others as shall be admitted into the said Society as is hereafter expressed, shall be one Body Corporate and Politique, in Deed and in Name, by the Name of _The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson’s Bay_, and them by the Name of _The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson’s Bay_, one Body Corporate and Politique, in Deed and in Name, really and fully for ever, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do make, ordain, constitute, establish, confirm and declare, by these Presents, and that by the same Name of _Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson’s Bay_, they shall have perpetual Succession, and that they and their Successors, by the Name of _Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson’s Bay_, be, and at all Times hereafter shall be, personable and capable in Law to have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy and retain, Lands, Rents, Privileges, Liberties, Jurisdiction, Franchises and Hereditaments, of what Kind, Nature or Quality soever they be, to them and their Successors; and also to give, grant, alien, assign and dispose Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments, and to do, execute all and singular other Things by the same Name that to them shall or may appertain to do. And that they, and their Successors, by the Name of _The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson’s Bay_, may plead, and be impleaded, answer, and be answered, defend, and be defended, in whatsoever Courts and Places, before whatsoever Judges and Justices, and other Persons and Officers, in all or singular Actions, Pleas, Suits, Quarrels and Demands, whatsoever, of whatsoever Kind, Nature or Sort, in such Manner and Form as any other Our Liege People of this Our Realm of _England_, being Persons able and capable in Law, may, or can have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy, retain, give, grant, demise, alien, assign, dispose, plead, defend, and to be defended, do, permit, and execute. And that the said _Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson’s Bay_, and their Successors, may have a common Seal to serve for all the Causes and Businesses of them and their Successors, and that it shall and may be lawful to the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, the same Seal, from time to time, at their Will and Pleasure, to break, change, and to make anew, or alter, as to them shall seem expedient. =And furthermore=, We will, and by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do ordain, that there shall be from henceforth one of the same Company to be elected and appointed in such Form as hereafter in these Presents is expressed, which shall be call’d _The Governor of the said Company_. =And= that the said Governor and Company shall and may elect seven of their Number in such Form as hereafter in these Presents is expressed, which shall be called _The Committee of the said Company_, which Committee of seven, or any three of them, together with the Governor or Deputy Governor of the said Company for the time being, shall have the Direction of the Voyages of and for the said Company, and the Provision of the Shipping and Merchandizes thereunto belonging, and also the Sale of all Merchandizes, Goods, and other Things returned, in all or any the Voyages or Ships of or for the said Company, and the managing and handling of all other Business, Affairs and Things, belonging to the said Company. And We will, ordain and grant by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, that they the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, shall from henceforth for ever be ruled, ordered and governed, according to such Manner and Form as is hereafter in these Presents expressed, and not otherwise: And that they shall have, hold, retain and enjoy, the Grants, Liberties, Privileges, Jurisdictions and Immunities, only hereafter in these Presents granted and expressed, and no other. And for the better Execution of Our Will and Grant in this Behalf, We have assigned, nominated, constituted and appointed, by these Presents for us, Our Heirs and Successors, and We do assign, nominate, constitute and make, our said Cousin, Prince _Rupert_, to be the first and present Governor of the said Company, and to continue in the said Office from the Date of these Presents until the 10th _November_ then next following, if he, the said Prince _Rupert_, shall so long live, and so until a new Governor be chosen by the said Company in Form hereafter expressed. And also We have assigned, nominated and appointed, and by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do assign, nominate and constitute, the said Sir _John Robinson_, Sir _Robert Vyner_, Sir _Peter Colleton_, Sir _James Hayes_, _John Kirke_, _Francis Millington_, and _John Portman_, to be the seven first and present Committees of the said Company, from the Date of these Presents until the said 10th of November then also next following, and so until new Committees shall be chosen in Form hereafter expressed. =And farther,= We will and grant by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, unto the said Governor and their Successors, that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company for the Time being, or the greater Part of them present, at any publick Assembly commonly called, _The Court General to be holden for the said Company_, the Governor of the said Company being always one, from time to time to elect, nominate and appoint one of the said Company to be Deputy to the said Governor; which Deputy shall take a corporal Oath, before the Governor and three more of the Committee of the said Company for the Time being, well, truly, and faithfully to execute his said Office of Deputy to the Governor of the said Company, and after his Oath so taken, shall and may from time to time, in the Absence of the said Governor, exercise and execute the Office of Governor of the said Company, in such Sort as the said Governor ought to do. =And farther,= We will and grant by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, unto the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of _England_ trading into _Hudson’s Bay_, and their Successors, that they, or the greater Part of them, whereof the Governor for the Time being, or his Deputy to be one, from time to time, and at all Times hereafter, shall and may have Authority and Power, yearly and every Year, between the first and last Day of _November_, to assemble and meet together in some convenient Place, to be appointed from time to time by the Governor, or in his Absence by the Deputy of the said Governor, and the said Company for the Time being, and the greater Part of them which then shall happen to be present, whereof the Governor of the said Company, or his Deputy for the Time being to be one, to elect and nominate one of the said Company, which shall be Governor of the said Company for one whole Year, then next following, which Person being so elected and nominated to be Governor of the said Company, as is aforesaid, before he be admitted to the Execution of said Office, shall take a corporal Oath before the last Governor, being his Predecessor or his Deputy, and any three or more of the Committee of the said Company for the Time being, that he shall from time to time, well and truly execute the Office of Governor of the said Company, in all Things concerning the same; and that immediately after the same Oath so taken, he shall and may execute and use the said Office of Governor of the said Company, for one whole Year from thence next following. =And in like Sort,= We will and grant, That as well every one of the above named to be of the said Company or Fellowship, as all others hereafter to be admitted, or free of the said Company, shall take a corporal Oath before the Governor of the said Company, or his Deputy for the Time being, to such Effect as by the said Governor and Company, or the greater Part of them, in any publick Court to be held for the said Company, shall be in reasonable and legal Manner set down and devised, before they shall be allowed or admitted to trade or traffick as a Freeman of the said Company. =And farther,= We will and grant by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, That the said Governor, or Deputy Governor, and the rest of the said Company, and their Successors for the Time being, or the greater Part of them, whereof the Governor or Deputy Governor, from time to time, to be one, shall and may from time to time, and at all Times hereafter, have Power and Authority yearly, and every Year, between the first and last Day of _November_, to assemble and meet together in some convenient Place, from time to time to be appointed by the said Governor, or in his Absence by his Deputy; and that they being so assembled, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and his Deputy, and the Company for the time being, or the greater Part of them, which then shall happen to be present, whereof the Governor of the said Company, or his Deputy for the Time being to be one, to elect and nominate seven of the said Company, which shall be a Committee of the said Company, as aforesaid, before they be admitted to the Execution of their Office, shall take a corporal Oath, before the Governor or his Deputy, and any three or more of the said Committee of the said Company, being the last Predecessors, that they, and every of them, shall well and faithfully perform their said Office of Committees in all Things concerning the same, and that immediately after the said Oath so taken, they shall and may execute and use their said Office of Committees of the said Company, for one whole Year from thence next following. =And moreover,= Our Will and Pleasure is, and by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, that when, and as often as it shall happen, the Governor or Deputy Governor of the said Company for the Time being, at any Time within one Year after that he shall be nominated, elected, and sworn to the Office of the Governor of the said Company, as is aforesaid, to die or to be removed from said Office, which Governor or Deputy Governor not demeaning himself well in his said Office, We will to be removeable at the Pleasure of the rest of the said Company, or the greater Part of them which shall be present at their publick Assemblies, commonly called, _Their General Courts holden for the said Company_, that then it shall, and so often may be, lawful to and for the Residue of the said Company for the Time being, or the greater Part of them, within a convenient Time, after the Death or Removing of any such Governor, or Deputy Governor, to assemble themselves in such convenient Place as they shall think fit, for the Election of the Governor or Deputy Governor of said Company; and that the said Company or the greater Part of them, being then and there present, shall and may, then and there, before their Departure from the said Place, elect and nominate one other of the said Company, to be Governor or Deputy Governor for the said Company, in the Place or Stead of him that so died or was removed; which Person being so elected and nominated to the Office of Governor or Deputy Governor of the said Company, shall have and exercise the said Office, for and during the Residue of the said Year, taking first a corporal Oath, as is aforesaid, for the due Execution thereof; and this to be done from time to time, so often as the Case shall so require. =And also,= Our Will and Pleasure is, and by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do grant unto the said Governor and Company, that when, and as often as it shall happen, any Person or Persons of the Committee of the said Company for the Time being, at any Time within one Year next after that they or any of them shall be nominated, elected and sworn to the Office of Committee of the said Company as is aforesaid, to die or to be removed from the said Office, which Committee not demeaning themselves well in their said Office, We will, to be removeable at the Pleasure of the said Governor and Company, or the greater Part of them, whereof the Governor of the said Company for the Time being, or his Deputy, to be one; that then, and so often, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor, and the rest of the Company for the Time being, or the greater Part of them, whereof the Governor for the Time being, or his Deputy, to be one, within convenient Time after the Death or removing of any of the said Committees, to assemble themselves in such convenient Place as is or shall be usual and accustomed for the Election of the Governor of the said Company, or where else the Governor of the said Company for the Time being, or his Deputy, shall appoint. And that the said Governor and Company, or the greater Part of them, whereof the Governor for the Time being, or his Deputy, to be one, being then and there present, shall, and may, then and there, before their Departure from the said Place, elect and nominate one or more of the said Company, in the Place or Stead of him or them that so died, or was or were so removed, which Person or Persons so nominated and elected to the Office of Committee of the said Company, shall have and exercise the said Office, for and during the Residue of the said Year, taking first a corporal Oath as is aforesaid, for the due Execution thereof, and this to be done from time to time, so often as the Case shall require. =And= to the End the said _Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson’s Bay_, may be encouraged to undertake, and effectually to prosecute the said Design, of Our more especial Grace, certain Knowledge, and mere Motion, We have given, granted and confirmed, and by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, do give, grant, and confirm, unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, the sole Trade and Commerce of all those Seas, Streights, Bays, Rivers, Lakes, Creeks and Sounds, in whatsoever Latitude they shall be, that ly within the Entrance of the Streights commonly called _Hudson’s Streights_, together with _all the Lands_ and Territories upon the Countries, Coasts and Confines of the Seas, Bays, Lakes, Rivers, Creeks and Sounds aforesaid, that are not already actually possessed by the Subjects of any other Christian Prince or State, with the Fishing of all Sorts of Fish, Whales, Sturgeons, and all other Royal Fishes, in the Seas, Bays, Inlets, and Rivers within the Premisses, and the Fish therein taken, together with the Royalty of the Sea upon the Coasts within the Limits aforesaid, and all Mines Royal, as well discovered as not discovered, of Gold, Silver, Gems, and precious Stones, to be found or discovered within the Territories, Limits, and Places aforesaid, and that the Land be from henceforth reckon’d _and reputed as one of our Plantations_ or Colonies in _America_, call’d _Rupert’s Land_. =And further,= We do by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, make, create and constitute, the said Governor and Company for the Time being, and their Successors, the true and absolute Lords and Proprietors of the same Territories, Limits and Places aforesaid, and of all other the Premisses, saving always the Faith, Allegiance and Sovereign Dominion to Us, Our Heirs and Successors, for the same to have, hold, possess and enjoy the said Territories, Limits and Places, and all and singular other the Premisses, hereby granted as aforesaid, with their, and every of their Rights, Members, Jurisdictions, Prerogatives, Royalties and Appurtenances whatsoever, to them the said Governor and Company, and their Successors for ever, to be holden of Us, Our Heirs and Successors, as of Our Mannor of _East Greenwich_ in the County of _Kent_, in free and common Soccage, and not in _Capite_ or by Knight’s Service; yielding and paying yearly to Us, Our Heirs and Successors, for the same, two Elks and two black Beavers, whensoever, and as often as We, Our Heirs and Successors, shall happen to enter into the said Countries, Territories and Regions hereby granted. =And farther,= Our Will and Pleasure is, and by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and to their Successors, that it shall and may be lawful, to and for the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, from time to time, to assemble themselves, for or about any the Matters, Causes, Affairs, or Businesses of the said Trade, in any Place or Places for the same convenient, within our Dominions or elsewhere, and to hold Court for the said Company, and the Affairs thereof; and that also, it shall and may be lawful to and for them, or the greater Part of them, being so assembled, and that shall then and there be present, in any such Place or Places, whereof the Governor or his Deputy for the Time being to be one, to make, ordain, and constitute, such, and so many reasonable Laws, Constitutions, Orders and Ordinances, as to them, or the greater Part of them being then and there present, shall seem necessary and convenient for the good Government of the said Company, and of all Governors of Colonies, Forts and Plantations, Factors, Masters, Mariners, and other Officers employed or to be employed, in any the Territories and Lands aforesaid, and in any of their Voyages; and for the better Advancement and Continuance of said Trade, or Traffick and Plantations, and the same Laws, Constitutions, Orders and Ordinances so made, to be put in Use and execute accordingly, and at their Pleasure to revoke and alter the same, or any of them, as the Occasion shall require: And that the said Governor and Company, so often as they shall make, ordain, or establish, any such Laws, Constitutions, Orders, and Ordinances, in such Form as aforesaid, shall and may lawfully impose, ordain, limit and provide, such Penalties and Punishments upon all Offenders, contrary to such Laws, Constitutions, Orders and Ordinances, or any of them, as to the said Governor and Company for the Time being, or the greater Part of them, then and there being present, the said Governor or his Deputy being always one, shall seem necessary or convenient for the Observation of the same Laws, Constitutions, Orders and Ordinances; and the same Fines and Amerciaments shall and may by their Officers and Servants, from time to time to be appointed for that Purpose, levy, take and have, to the Use of the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, without the Officers and Ministers of Us, Our Heirs and Successors, and without any Account thereof to Us, Our Heirs and Successors, to be made. All and singular which Laws, Constitutions, Orders and Ordinances, so as aforesaid to be made, We will to be duly observed and kept under the Pains and Penalties therein to be contained; so always as the said Laws, Constitutions, Orders and Ordinances, Fines and Amerciaments, be reasonable, and not contrary or repugnant, but as near as may be agreeable to the Laws, Statutes or Customs, of this Our Realm. =And farthermore,= of our ample and abundant Grace, certain Knowledge, and mere Motion, We have granted, and by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, that they, and their Successors, and their Factors, Servants and Agents, for them, and on their Behalf, and not otherwise, shall for ever hereafter have, use and enjoy, _not only the whole, intire, and only Liberty of Trade and Traffick_, and the whole, intire, and only Liberty, Use and Privilege, of Trading and Traffick to and from the Territories, Limits and Places, aforesaid; but also the whole and intire Trade and Traffick to and from all Havens, Bays, Creeks, Rivers, Lakes and Seas, into which they shall find Entrance or Passage by Water or Land out of the Territories, Limits and Places, aforesaid; _and_ _to and with all the Natives and People_, Inhabitants, or which shall inhabit within the Territories, Limits and Places aforesaid; and to and with all other Nations inhabiting any the Coasts adjacent to the said Territories, Limits and Places aforesaid, which are not already possessed as aforesaid, or whereof the sole Liberty or Privilege of Trade and Traffick is not granted to any other of Our Subjects. =And= of Our farther royal Favour, and of Our more especial Grace, certain Knowledge, and mere Motion, have granted, and by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, do grant to the said Governor and Company, and to their Successors, that _neither the said Territories, Limits and Places_, hereby granted as aforesaid, nor any Part thereof, nor the Islands, Havens, Ports, Cities, Towns and Places, thereof, or therein contained, shall be visited, frequented or haunted, by any of the Subjects of Us, Our Heirs or Successors, contrary to the true Meaning of these Presents, and by Virtue of Our Prerogatives Royal, which We will not have in that Behalf argued or brought into Question; We streightly charge, command and prohibit, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, all the Subjects of Us, Our Heirs and Successors, of what Degree or Quality soever they be, that none of them directly do visit, haunt, frequent or trade, traffick or adventure, by way of Merchandize, into, or from any the said Territories, Limits or Places, hereby granted, or any, or either of them, other than the said Governor and Company, and such particular Persons as now be, or hereafter shall be, of that Company, their Agents, Factors and Assigns, unless it be by the Licence and Agreement of the said Governor and Company, in Writing first had and obtained, under their common Seal, to be granted, upon Pain that every such Person or Persons that shall trade and traffick into or from any of the Countries, Territories or Limits aforesaid, other than the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, _shall incur our Indignation, and_ the Forfeiture, and the Loss of the said Goods, Merchandizes, and other Things whatsoever, which so shall be brought into this Realm of _England_, or any the Dominions of the same, contrary to our said Prohibition, or the Purport or true Meaning of these Presents, or which the said Governor and Company shall find, take and seize, in other Places out of our Dominions, where the said Company, their Agents, Factors or Assigns, shall trade, traffick or inhabit, by Virtue of these Our Letters Patents, as also the Ship and Ships, with the Furniture thereof, wherein such Goods, Merchandizes, and other Things, shall be brought or found, the one Half of all the said Forfeiture to be to Us, Our Heirs and Successors, and the other Half thereof by these Presents clearly and wholly for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, give and grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors. And farther, all and every the said Offenders, for their said Contempt, to suffer such Punishment as to Us, Our Heirs and Successors, shall seem meet or convenient, and not to be in any wise delivered until they, and every of them, shall become bound unto the said Governor for the time being in the Sum of One Thousand Pounds at the least, at no time then after to trade and traffick into any of the said Places, Seas, Bays, Streights, Ports, Havens or Territories, aforesaid, contrary to Our express Commandment in that Behalf set down and published. =And farther,= of Our more especial Grace, We have condescended and granted, and by these Presents for Us, our Heirs and Successors, do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, that We, Our Heirs and Successors, will not grant Liberty, Licence or Power, to any Person or Persons whatsoever, contrary to the Tenor of these our Letters Patents, to trade, traffick or inhabit, unto or upon any of the Territories, Limits or Places, afore specified, contrary to the Meaning of these Presents, without the Consent of the said Governor and Company, or the most part of them. =And,= of Our more abundant Grace and Favour to the said Governor and Company, We do hereby declare Our Will and Pleasure to be, That if it shall so happen, that any of the Persons free, or to be free of the said Company of Adventurers of _England_ trading into _Hudson’s Bay_, who shall, before the going forth of any Ship or Ships appointed for a Voyage, or otherwise, promise or agree, by Writing under his or their Hands, to adventure any Sum or Sums of Money, towards the furnishing any Provision, or Maintenance of any Voyage or Voyages, set forth or to be set forth, or intended or meant to be set forth, by the said Governor and Company, or the more Part of them present at any publick Assembly, commonly called _The General Court_, shall not within the Space of twenty Days next after Warning given to him or them, by the said Governor and Company, or their known Officer or Minister, bring in and deliver to the Treasurer or Treasurers appointed for the Company, such Sums of Money as shall have been expressed and set down in Writing, by the said Person or Persons, subscribed with the Name of said Adventurer or Adventurers, that then, and at all Times after, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company, or the more Part of them present, whereof the said Governor or his Deputy to be one, at any of their General Courts or General Assemblies, to remove and disfranchise him or them, and every such Person or Persons at their Wills and Pleasures, and he or they so removed and disfranchised, not to be permitted to trade into the Countries, Territories, or Limits aforesaid, or any Part thereof, nor to have any Adventure or Stock going or remaining with or among the said Company, without special Licence of the said Governor and Company, or the more Part of them present at any General Court, first had and obtained in that Behalf, any Thing before in these Presents to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. =And= Our Will and Pleasure is, and hereby we do also ordain, That it shall and may be lawful, to and for the said Governor and Company, or the greater Part of them, whereof the Governor for the Time being, or his Deputy to be one, to admit into, and be of the said Company, all such Servants or Factors, of or for the said Company, and all such others, as to them, or the most Part of them present, at any Court held for the said Company, the Governor or his Deputy being one, shall be thought fit and agreeable with the Orders and Ordinances made and to be made for the Government of the said Company. =And farther,= Our Will and Pleasure is, and by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and to their Successors, that it shall and may be lawful in all Elections, and By-laws to be made by the General Court of the Adventurers of the said Company, that every Person shall have a Number of Votes according to his Stock, that is to say, for every hundred Pounds by him subscribed or brought into the present Stock, one Vote, and that any of those that have subscribed less than one hundred Pounds, may join their respective Sums to make one hundred Pounds, and to have one Vote jointly for the same, and not otherwise. =And further,= of Our especial Grace, certain Knowledge, and mere Motion, We do for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, grant to and with the said _Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson’s Bay_, that all Lands, Territories, Plantations, Forts, Fortifications, Factories, or Colonies, where the said Companies Factories or Trade are or shall be, within any the Ports or Places afore limited, shall be immediately and from henceforth, under the Power and Command of the said Governor and Company, their Successors and Assigns; saving the Faith and Allegiance due and to be performed to Us, Our Heirs and Successors as aforesaid; and that the said Governor and Company, shall have Liberty, full Power and Authority, to appoint and establish Governors, and all other Officers to govern them, and that the Governor and his Council of the several and respective Places where the said Company shall have Plantations, Forts, Factories, Colonies, or Places of Trade within any the Countries, Lands or Territories hereby granted, may have Power to judge all Persons belonging to the said Governor and Company, or that shall live under them, in all Causes, whether Civil or Criminal, according to the Laws of this Kingdom, and to execute Justice accordingly. =And,= in Case any Crime or Misdemeanor shall be committed in any of the said Company’s Plantations, Forts, Factories, or Places of Trade within the Limits aforesaid, where Judicature cannot be executed for want of a Governor and Council there, then in such Case it shall and may be lawful for the Chief Factor of that Place, and his Council, to transmit the Party, together with the Offence, to such other Plantations, Factory, or Fort, where there shall be a Governor and Council, where Justice may be executed, or into the Kingdom of _England_, as shall be thought most convenient, there to inflict such Punishment as the Nature of the Offence will deserve. =And moreover,= Our Will and Pleasure is, and by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do give and grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, free Liberty and License, in case they conceive it necessary to send either Ships of War, Men or Ammunition, into any their Plantations, Forts, Factories, or Places of Trade aforesaid, for the Security and Defence of the same, and to choose Commanders and Officers over them, and to give them Power and Authority, by Commissions under their Common Seal, or otherwise, to continue or make Peace or War with any Prince or People whatsoever, that are not Christians, in any Places where the said Company shall have any Plantations, Forts or Factories, or adjacent thereunto, as shall be most for the Advantage and Benefit of said Governor and Company, and of their Trade; and also to right and recompense themselves upon the Goods, Estate or People of those Parts, by whom the said Governor and Company shall sustain any Injury, Loss or Damage, or upon any other People whatsoever, that shall any Way, contrary to the Intent of these Presents, interrupt, wrong or injure them in their said Trade, within the said Places, Territories, or Limits, granted by this Charter. And that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, from time to time, and at all Times henceforth, to erect and build such Castles, Fortifications, Forts, Garisons, Colonies or Plantations, Towns or Villages, in any Parts or Places within the Limits and Bounds granted before in these Presents, unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors from time to time, and at all Times from henceforth, to erect and build such Castles, Fortifications, Forts, Garisons, Colonies, or Plantations, Towns or Villages, in any Parts or Places within the Limits and Bounds granted before in these Presents, unto the said Governor and Company, as they in their Discretion shall think fit and requisite, and for the Supply of such as shall be needful and convenient, to keep and be in the same, to send out of this Kingdom, to the said Castles, Forts, Fortifications, Garisons, Colonies, Plantations, Towns or Villages, all Kinds of Cloathing, Provision of Victuals, Ammunition, and Implements necessary for such Purpose, paying the Duties and Custom for the same, as also to transport and carry over such Number of Men being willing thereunto, or not prohibited, as they shall think fit, and also to govern them in such legal and reasonable Manner as the said Governor and Company shall think best, and to inflict Punishment for Misdemeanors, or impose such Fines upon them for Breach of their Orders, as in these Presents are formerly expressed. =And farther,= Our Will and Pleasure is, and by these Presents, for Us, our Heirs and Successors, We do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, full Power and lawful Authority to seize upon the Persons of all such _English_, or any other Subjects, which shall sail into _Hudson’s Bay_, or inhabit in any of the Countries, Islands or Territories hereby granted to the said Governor and Company, without their Leave and Licence in that Behalf first had and obtained, or that shall contemn or disobey their Orders, and send them to _England_; and that all and every Person or Persons, being our Subjects, any ways employed by the said Governor and Company, within any the Parts, Places, or Limits aforesaid, shall be liable unto and suffer such Punishments for any Offences by them committed in the Parts aforesaid, as the President and Council for the said Governor and Company there shall think fit, and the Merit of the Offence shall require, as aforesaid; and in case any Person or Persons being convicted and sentenced by the President and Council of the said Governor and Company, in the Countries, Lands, or Limits aforesaid, their Factors or Agents there, for any Offence by them done, shall appeal from the same; and then and in such Case, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said President and Council, Factors or Agents, to seize upon him or them, and to carry him or them home Prisoners into _England_, to the said Governor and Company, there to receive such condign Punishment as his Cause shall require, and the Law of this Nation allow of; and for the better Discovery of Abuses and Injuries to be done unto the said Governor and Company, or their Successors, by any Servant, by them to be employed in the said Voyages and Plantations, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company, and their respective Presidents, Chief Agent or Governor in the Parts aforesaid, to examine upon Oath all Factors, Masters, Pursers, Supercargoes, Commanders of Castles, Forts, Fortifications, Plantations or Colonies, or other Persons, touching or concerning any Matter or Thing, in which by Law or Usage an Oath may be administred, so as the said Oath, and the Matter therein contained, be not repugnant, but agreeable to the Laws of this Realm. =And=, We do hereby streightly charge and command all and singular, our Admirals, Vice-Admirals, Justices, Mayors, Sheriffs, Constables, Bailiffs, and all and singular other our Officers, Ministers, Liege Men and Subjects whatsoever, to be aiding, favouring, helping and assisting to the said Governor and Company, and to their Successors, and to their Deputies, Officers, Factors, Servants, Assignees and Ministers, and every of them, in executing and enjoying the Premisses, as well on Land as at Sea, from time to time, when any of you shall thereunto be required; any Statute, Act, Ordinance, Proviso, Proclamation, or Restraint heretofore made, set forth, ordained, or provided, or any other Matter, Cause or Thing whatsoever to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding. I N W I T N E S S whereof, we have caused these our Letters to be made Patents; Witness Ourself at _Westminster_, the second Day of _May_, in the two and twentieth Year of Our Reign. _By Writ of Privy Seal_, _Sign’d_, PIGOTT. [Illustration] * * * * * An Abstract of Captain _Middleton_’s JOURNAL sent from the _Orkneys_. _Honourable Sir_, Since my last, which I sent from _Churchill_, together with a Journal, by one of the _Hudson’s Bay_ Ships, I have proceeded on the Discovery, and shall here recapitulate only what is mentioned more largely in the Journal, which I shall send you by the first Opportunity, together with a Draught of the Parts discovered. I sailed from _Churchill_ the first Day of _July_, being the first Spurt of Wind I could get for sailing out of the Harbour, and continued sailing with a fair Wind till the third, when we saw an Island, the two Extremities bearing N. by E. and E. by N. lying in the Latitude of 63°. 00′. and Longitude from the Meridian of _Churchill_ 3°. 40′. East, which I take to be the same _Fox_ named _Brook Cobham_. On the fifth Day I saw a Head-land on the North Side of the _Welcome_, bearing N. W. by N. distant 7 or 8 Leagues, in the Latitude of 63°. 20′. and Longitude from _Churchill_ 4°. 00′. East. I tried the Tides several times, and found close in with the Land the Tide to run two Miles an Hour, from the N. by E. which I take to be the Flood, and by the Slacks from several Trials I found a W. by N. Moon made High-water, having a full Moon that Day. On the eighth Day we saw the North Side of the _Welcome_, with a great deal of Ice in Shore. I tried the Tide, and found it set E. N. E. two Fathom. On the ninth, continuing my Course, and sailing through much Ice, I was at length obliged to grapple to a large Piece. The Tender did the same to keep off from the Shore, the Wind blowing us right on upon it. I tried the Tide frequently, and could not discover either Flood or Ebb by my current Logg. Here we were first jammed up with Ice, being totally surrounded with it for several Miles, and the Wind setting it right upon us, it was all Ice for 10 Leagues to windward of us, and were in great Danger of being forced ashore; but it happily falling calm, after we had lain in this Condition two or three Days, the Pieces of Ice separated, or made small Openings, we being then within two Miles of the Shore, and with no little Difficulty haul’d the Ships from one Piece to another, till we got amongst what we call sailing Ice, that is, where there are such Intervals of Water, as a Ship by several Turnings and Windings, among these floating Rocks, may get forwards towards the intended Course. In this Manner we continued till we saw a fair Cape or Head-land to the Northward of _Whalebone Point_, in the Latitude of 65°. 10′. North, and 8°. 54′. East from _Churchill_; this I named after my worthy Friend Cape _Dobbs_. I had very good Soundings between the two Shores of the _Welcome_, having 46, 48, and 49 Fathoms Water. The same time that I saw Cape _Dobbs_ I descry’d an Opening bearing N. W. from us, which, according to my Instructions, I stood in for amongst the sailing Ice. It was just Flood when we enter’d it, the Tide running very strong, which, by Observations afterwards, I found to run 5 or 6 Miles an Hour. I run over some Rocks on the North Side of it very luckily, being just High-water, and anchored in about 34 Fathom Water, but as soon as the Tide of Ebb was made, it ran so strong, and such Quantities and Bodies of Ice came down upon us, that we were obliged to steer the Ship all the Time, and to keep all Hands upon their Guard with Ice-poles to shove off the Ice, notwithstanding which, it brought our Anchor home, and taking hold again, one of the Arms of it was broke off. The next Day I sent my Lieutenant in the Boat to seek out some securer Place for the Ships, it being impossible to keep long afloat where we were. Some _Uskimay_ Savages came off to us, but had nothing to trade. I used them civilly, made them some Presents, and dismissed them. As soon as I got the Ships secured, I employed all my Officers and Boats, having myself no small Share in the Labour, in trying the Tides, and discovering the Nature and Course of this Opening, and after repeated Trials for three Weeks successively, I found the Flood constantly to come from the Eastward, and that it was a large River we were got into, but so full of Ice, there was no stirring the Ships with any Probability of Safety while the Ice was driving up and down with the strong Tides. Here I lay, not a little impatient to get out, went several times in my Boat towards the Mouth of the River, and upon a Hill that overlooked Part of the _Welcome_, saw that Place full of Ice; so that I found there was no Time lost by our being in Security. However I sent my Lieutenant and Master in the eight oar’d Boat to look out for a Harbour near the Mouth of the River, but they found none, and it was a small Miracle that they got on board again, for they were so jamm’d up with Ice, which, driving with the strong Tides, would inevitably have stove the Boat to Pieces, and all must have perished, had it not been for an Opening in a large Piece of Ice, into which they got the Boat, and with it drove out of the River; but when the Tide slacked, the Ice opened as usual, and then they rowed over to the North Shore, so got in with the Flood. I several times sent the _Indians_ on Shore to see if they knew any thing of the Land, but they were quite ignorant of it. In this vexatious Condition I continued for three Weeks, resolving to get out the first Opportunity the River was any thing clear of Ice, and make what Discoveries I could by meeting the Tide of Flood. This River, which by my frequent Trials of the Lands, Soundings, Tides, _&c._ I was able to take a Draught of, I named the River _Wager_ aster the right honourable Sir _Charles Wager_, &c. On the 3d of _August_, the River for the first Time was a little clear of Ice, and accordingly sailed out of it in Pursuit of our Discovery, and on the 5th by Noon got into the Latitude of 66°. 14′. We had then got into a new Streight, much pester’d with Ice, and on the North Side of which we saw a Cape or Head-land bearing North. We had deep Water and very strong Tides within four or five Leagues of it. I nam’d this Head-land _Cape Hope_, as it gave us all great Joy and Hopes of its being the extreme North Part of _America_, seeing little or no Land to the Northward of it. We turn’d or work’d round it the same Night, and got five or six Leagues to the N. by W. before we could perceive any otherwise than a fair and wide Opening; but about Noon the 6th Day, having got into the Latitude of 66°. 40′. found we were embay’d, and by two in the Afternoon could not go above three Leagues farther, and having tried the Tides all the Forenoon, every two Hours till 2 o’Clock in the Afternoon, found neither Ebb nor Flood, yet deep Water. From this it was concluded, that we had overshot the Streights on the N. E. Shore from whence the Flood came, and as there was no proceeding above three or four Leagues farther, it was agreed upon by all to return back, and search narrowly for a Streight or Opening where we found the strong Tides. On the 7th, after we were confirm’d the Flood came in on the N. E. Side from the E. by S. I went on Shore in the Boat, and found it flow’d 15 Foot three Days after the Full, and a W. by S. Moon made High Water. I travelled 12 or 15 Miles from Hill to Hill in-land, till I came to a very high Mountain, from whence I saw a Streight or Opening the Flood came in at, and the Mountain I stood upon being pretty near the Middle of this Streight, I could plainly see both Ends of it, the whole being 18 or 20 Leagues long, and 6 or 7 broad, and very high Land on both Sides of it; but it was all froze fast from Side to Side, and no Appearance of its clearing this Year, and near the 67th Degree of Latitude, and no anchoring the Ships, being very deep Water close to the Shore, and much large Ice driving with the Ebb and Flood, and but little Room if thick Weather should happen, which we continually expect in these Parts, it was agreed upon in Council to make the best of our Way out of this dangerous narrow Streight, and make Observations between the 64th and 62d Degree of Latitude. The frozen Streight I take to run towards that Land which _Bylot_ nam’d _Cape Comfort_, and the Bay where _Fox_ has nam’d a Place Lord _Weston_’s _Portland_. It is in the Latitude of 66°. 40′. and Longitude 12°. 19′. East from _Churchill_. Pursuant to the Resolution we bore away, and tried the Tides on the other Side of the _Welcome_, sounding and observing close in Shore, but met with very little Encouragement. On the 11th of _August_ I once more saw the Island of _Brook Cobham_, and continued trying the Tide, still finding the Flood came from the Eastward, and by coasting along the _Welcome_, was certain of its being the Main-land, tho’ there are several small Islands and deep Bays, and saw several black Whales of the Whale-bone Kind. I work’d off and on by _Brook Cobham_, sent the two Northern _Indians_ on Shore upon the Island, who, at their Return, gave me to understand it was not far from their Country, and desired I would let them go home, being tir’d of the Sea. I kept them with Assurances that I would act according to my Promise; and finding no Probability of a Passage, in two or three Days after I gave them a small Boat well fitted with Sails and Oars, the Use of which they had been taught, and loaded it with Fire-arms, Powder, Shot, Hatchets, and every Thing desirable to them. They took their Leave of me, and I sent another Boat for Water, which accompanied them on Shore. The Southern _Indian_, who was Linguist for the Northern ones, returned with the Boat, being us’d to the _English_ Customs at the Factory, and desirous of seeing _England_, being a willing, handy Man, I brought him with me, and the same Evening, which was the 15th of _August_, I bore away for _England_, thinking to have tried the Tides at _Carey’s Swan’s Nest_, but could not fetch it. On the 20th saw _Mansel_’s Isle. On the 21st _Cape Diggs_ was in Sight. On the 26th made _Cape Resolution_, and arrived at this Place the 15th of _September_. Most of my Men are so very much afflicted with the Scurvy, and otherwise sick and distemper’d, that I must be obliged to leave Part of them behind me, and only wait to impress Hands to carry the Ship safe to _London_. For the Particulars, I must refer you to my Journal and Draught, this Sheet of Paper not being sufficient for the particular Accidents. I heartily wish you a better State of Health than I have had during the Voyage, and desire you will conclude me _Your most obedient_ _Humble Servant,_ _Christopher Middleton._ _Cairston_ Harbour, Isles of _Orkney_, _Sept. 17th, 1742_. _P. S._ The greatest Height of the Tides from the Latitude of 65°. 00′. N. to the farthest we went, did not exceed 16 Foot. _Honble_ Arthur Dobbs, _Esq_; * * * * * STANDARD of T R A D E carried on by the _Hudson’s Bay_ Company at _Albany Fort_, _Moose River_, and the _East Main_, as it stood in the Year 1733, Beaver Skins being the STANDARD. Note. _That the Standard at_ York Fort _and_ Churchill _is much higher, the_ French _being not so near those Places, and therefore can’t interfere with the Company’s Trade so much as they do at_ Albany _and_ Moose River, _where they undersell the Company, and by that Means carry off the most valuable Furs_. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── No. of Goods carried to Their Value when barter’d with the Articles. trade with. _Indians_. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1 Beads _le Milk_ ½ Pound for 1 Beaver 2 Ditto coloured ¾ Ditto for 1 3 Kettles Brass 1 Ditto for 1 4 Gun-Powder 1 ½ Ditto for 1 6 Shot 5 Ditto for 1 7 Sugar 2 Ditto for 1 8 Tobacco Brazil 1 Ditto for 1 9 Ditto Leaf 1 ½ Ditto for 1 10 Ditto Roll 1 ½ Ditto for 1 11 Thread 1 Ditto for 2 12 Vermillion 1 ½ Ounce for 1 13 Brandy 1 Gallon for 4 14 Broad Cloath 1 Yard for 2 15 Blankets 1 for 6 16 Bays 1 Yard for 1 17 Duffels 1 Yard for 1½ 18 Flannel 1 Yard for 1½ 19 Gartering 2 Yards for 1 20 Awl Blades 12 for 1 21 Buttons 12 Doz for 1 22 Breeches 1 Pair for 3 23 Combs 2 for 1 24 Egg Boxes 4 for 1 25 Feathers _red_ 2 for 1 26 Fish-Hooks 20 for 1 27 Fire Steels 4 for 1 28 Files 1 for 1 29 Flints 20 for 1 30 Guns 1 for 10 11 12 31 Pistols 1 for 4 32 Gun-Worms 1 for 4 33 Gloves _Yarn_ 1 for 1 34 Gogles 2 for 1 35 Handkerchiefs 1 for 1½ 36 Hats _laced_ 1 for 4 37 Hatchets 2 for 1 38 Hawk Bells 8 for 1 39 Ice Chizils 2 for 1 40 Knives 8 for 1 41 Looking-Glasses 2 for 1 42 Mocotagaus 2 for 1 43 Needles 12 {L. 2 S. 2 for 1 & Glov.} 44 Net-Lines 2 for 1 45 Powder-Horns 2 for 1 46 Plain Rings 6 for 1 47 Stone Ditto 3 for 1 48 Runlets 1 ½ for 1 or 1½ 49 Scrapers 2 for 1 50 Sword Blades 2 for 1 51 Spoons 4 for 1 52 Shirts 1 {white & for 1 check’d} 53 Shoes 1 Pair for 1 54 Stockings 1 Pair for 1¼ 55 Sashes _worsted_ 2 for 1 56 Thimbles 6 for 1 57 Tobacco Boxes 2 for 1 58 Tongs 2 Pair for 1 59 Trunks 1 for 2 60 Twine 1 Skane for 1 Beaver being the chief Commodity received in Trade in these Parts, it is made the Standard to rate all the Furs and other Goods by. 3 Martin Skins as 1 Beaver 2 Otters 1 or perhaps 2 1 Queequeehatch 1½ 1 Fox 1 unless ext. then 2 1 Cat 2 1 Moose 2 2 Dear Skins 1 1 Wolf 1 1 Pound Castorum 1 10 Pound Feathers 1 8 Pair Moose Hoofs 1 4 Fathom Netting 1 1 Black Bear 2 1 Cub 1 1 Weejack 1 The Furs and other Commodities received in this Trade in the Year 1733 at _Albany Fort_, _Moose River_, and the _East Main_. { 8663 whole Parchment Beaver Skins. { 1951 in 3902 half ditto. { 2292 in Coat Beaver. { 1060 in 535 Catts. This Account taken { 93 in 62 Queequeehatches. out of Captain { 98 in 49 Bears. _Middleton_’s { 9 in 9 Cubbs. Book in _April_ { 9 in 9 Wolfs. 1741. { 70 in 66 Foxes. { 1519 ⅔ in 4559 Martins. { 136 in 272 Otters. { 87 in 870 lb. Feathers. { 10 in 10 Weejacks. —————— 15997 ⅔ —————— 10226 83/120 deducted for the Value of the Goods barter’d at Standard. —————— Beaver Skins 5770 117/120 gain’d on that Year’s Trade. Beaver and other Skins sold at the _Hudson’s Bay_ Company’s Sale the 20th of _December_, 1740. _s._ _d._ Parchment Beaver on an Average sold for 6 2 _per_ Pound. Coat Beaver 5 3 Cub Ditto 6 2 Martins 7 10 each. Otters 6 0 Fishers 8 6 Bears 16 0 Cats 23 0 Foxes as in Goodness from 6_s._ 2_d._ to 10 8 Wolfs on an Average 15 0 Wolverins 8 0 Black Bears 17 6 Woodshocks 8 2 Elks 7 0 Deer 2 2 Bed Feathers 1 1 _per_ Pound. Castorum Whalefins A Computation of the Quantity of Skins sold at the _Hudson’s Bay Company_’s Sale in _December_ 1740. _Quantity in a Lot._ _Lots._ _Skins._ 5460 Coat Beaver (in 21 260 sold at 5_s._ 3_d._ _per_ Pound. Time) 12320 Parchment ditto 44 280 6_s._ 2_d._ ditto. (in Time) 3690 Cubbs 9 410 6_s._ 2_d._ ditto. 3640 Damd and Stage 13 280 about 5_s._ 2_d._ ditto. Parcht Beaver 1760 Damag’d Cub 4 440 4_s._ 9_d._ ditto. Beaver 16300 Martins 55 300 7_s._ 10_d._ each Skin. 2360 Damag’d and 8 320 4_s._ ditto. Stage Martin 560 Otters 3 6_s._ 3_d._ ditto. 50 Ditto in Coats 3_s._ 2_d._ ditto. 730 Cats 7 23_s._ ditto. 300 Foxes 6 8_s._ 4_d._ ditto. 210 Ditto 5_s._ 8_d._ ditto. 630 Wolverins 6 8_s._ ditto. 220 Stage ditto 3_s._ 8_d._ ditto. 330 Black Bears 5 17_s._ 6_d._ ditto. 720 Wolves (in 8 15_s._ ditto. Time) 40 Woodshocks 8_s._ 2_d._ ditto. 250 Deer 2 2_s._ 2_d._ ditto. 30 Elks 7_s._ ditto. ———— 49600 Skins. ———— 2360 Pounds Bed Feathers. 160 Castorum. 610 Whale Fins. 120 Gallons Whale Oil. _N. B._ Compute one Skin with another on an Average, which will be near the Truth, considering the Beaver which is sold by the Pound, and weighs 1¾ to 2 Pound each Skin, and it will make the Amount of this Sale to be 24800 _l._ which is only for one Sale, the Company having two every Year, three Fifths of the Beavers being reserved for the second Sale, but no other Skins. An Account of the _Hudson’s Bay_ Company’s Sale, commenced 17th _November_ 1743. _l._ _s._ 5980 Coat Beaver in 23 Lots, 260 Skins each, weighing upon an 2415 00 Average 450 lb. _per_ Lot, and selling at 4_s._ 8_d._ 10350 lb. 780 damag’d and Stage ditto in 3 Lots 260 Skins, Weight 1350, 270 00 at 4_s._ 9520 Parchment Beaver in 34 Lots, 280 Skins, each Weight 1½ 4165 00 _per_ Skin, is 14280 lb. 4070 Cub Beaver in 11 Lots 370 Skins each Weight 10 Oz. _per_ 762 18 Skin, is 2543 6_s._ 4760 damag’d and Stage Parchment in 17 Lots, 280 Skins each, 1918 17 Weight 172 _per_ Skin, is 7140 5_s._ 7_d._ 1640 damag’d and Stage Cub in 4 Lots, 410 Skins each, Weight 10 248 9 Oz. _per_ Skin, is 1024 4_s._ 10_d._ _Skins._ _Lots._ _each._ _s._ _d._ _l._ _s._ _d._ _l._ _s._ { 5670 Martins in 21 270 7 9 2197 2 6} 12370 { 1500 ditto 6 250 5 1 381 5 } 4242 7 { 3640 ditto 14 260 6 9 1228 10 } { 1560 ditto 6 260 5 7 435 10 } 2360 damag’d & Stage ditto 3 9 442 10 590 Otters 14 413 850 Cats 18 765 260 ditto dam. & Stage 4 52 320 Foxes 12 6 200 600 Wolverins 6 10 205 170 ditto damag’d 3 3 27 12 320 Black Bears 23 368 1580 Wolves 20 1580 270 ditto damaged and Stags 9 2 123 15 40 Woodshock Skins 4 2 22 6 10 Mink Skins 3 1 10 5 Raccoon Skins 3 4 16 120 Squirrel Skins 4 2 130 Elk 440 Deer 3170 Bed Feathers. 220 ditto in a Tick. 140 Castorum. 470 Whale-fins. 23 Casks Whale Oil and Blubber. 8 lb. Wesaguipaka. The Company reserve three Fifths of the whole Quantity of Beaver for their _March_ Sale, which, after the Rate they sold at, this Sale amounts to 14670 The Quantities of Skins and Furs imported by the _French_ into the Port of _Rochelle_ from _Canada_ for the Year 1743. 15000 Old Coat Beaver. 112080 Parchment Beaver. 10623 Large Bears. 5889 Small Bears. 110000 Raccoons. 30325 Martins. 12428 Otters and Fishers. 1700 Minks. 1220 Fine Cats. 1267 Wolves. 92 Wolverins. 10280 Grey Foxes and Cats. 451 Red Foxes. ———— 311355 An Account shewing the Value of the Goods exported to _Hudson’s Bay_ in the underwritten Years. From _Christmas_ Year. _l._ _s._ _d._│ Year. _l._ _s._ _d._ 1698 to _Christmas_ 1699 943 15 7│ 1719 1731 11 9 1700 │ 1720 1897 9 9 1701 1658 9 8│ 1721 1788 4 4 1702 972 16 3│ 1722 2449 15 11 1703 │ 1723 2305 2 7 1704 │ 1724 1497 18 7 1705 2021 10 │ 1725 2410 17 1 1706 958 6 2│ 1726 1599 15 11 1707 │ 1727 1756 2 1708 2025 3 6│ 1728 2571 13 4 1709 │ 1729 1941 19 7 1710 1160 4 3│ 1730 2315 3 9 1711 760 2 │ 1731 2876 1 2 1712 745 14 1│ 1732 3350 12 3 1713 893 14 3│ 1733 3110 9 9 1714 2349 7 9│ 1734 3930 19 9 1715 1402 18 8│ 1735 2232 7 11 1716 1259 17 3│ 1736 1549 16 10 1717 3191 2 9│ 1737 4124 18 2 1718 1847 18 7│ 1738 3879 17 11 A V O C A B U L A R Y OF ENGLISH _and_ ESKIMA W O R D S. A An Arm, _Telluck_. An Arrow, _Caukjuck_. To be angry, _Nock-que-took_. Affrighted, _Ukzinck_. An aged Woman, _Nin-ne-ouck_. B Brother, _Nu-ca-auk_. Beads, _Se-pung-nut_. A Bear, _Nung-nouk_. The Belly, _Now-ha-kaw_. A Bird, _Kuper nu-awk_. The Breast, _Suck-ke-uck_. The Backside, _No-lo-aw_. Breeches, _Cock-le-ake_. To bite, _Ke-e-uke_. Boots, _Cam-meke_. Boys, _Su-o-suke_. Blood, _Ow-ouk_. Bawl or cry out, _Ko-qua-took_. To break Wind, _Ne-luck-took_. A Bow, _Petick-sic_. The Eye-brow, _Caup-loot_. C To change this, _Ah-kil-le-lu-owk_. The Chin, _Tap-lou_. Come here, _Ki-le-out_. A Child, _Nu-taw-ouk_. A Captain, _Ot-tan-nuck_. The Cheek, _Ou-lu-uck-cur_. A Cap, _Nassock_. A Canoe, _Ki-rock_. A Coat, _Kut-te-e_. Cold, _E-ke-ouk-tuck_. A Cat, _Am-mi-oke_. To cut, _Ou-lim-ma-toke_. D Deer, _Tuke-tow_. Day, _Ou-pul-luke_. Darkness, _Ou-nu-auk_. Dog, _Krig-me-nuck_. Dead, _To-co-rock_. Devil, _To-nu-ock_. To dive, _No-cock-toke_. To dig, _Ok-lu_. E The Eyes, _Ehick_. The Ears, _Se-u-teck_. An Eagle, _Ouk-pick_. To eat, _No-e-youk_. An Egg, _Mannick_. An Enemy, or one that strives to kill, _To-cout-se-me-mi-roke_. F Father, _At-ta-tu-ak_. Fog, _Tuck-took_. Fox, _Ter-in-ne-uck_. To fasten, _Que-luck-tok_. To fight, _Ou-ne-tok-tuck-lu-eke_. Fingers, _Crin-me-nu-et_. The first Finger, _Tick-yuck_. The middle ditto, _Cre-tuck-suck_. The ring ditto, _Me-ke-le-ouk_. The Fifth, _Uki-look_. The little Finger, _Lick-it-cock_. A Foot, _E-te-ket_. The Heel of the Foot, _King-meck_. The Sole of the Foot, _A-lung-a_. Fire, _E-ko-ma_. Flesh, _No-ki_. To follow, _Me-leting-auk_. Black Fox, _Tree-ig-ne-uck-ko-no-tock_. G A Gun, _Hoo-ke-oot_. Get you out, _Ow-le-le-out_. Give it me, _Ki-le-oak_. A Goose, _Nuck-loke_. Get up, _Muck-ke-le-out_. To grieve, or be sorry, _Ning-ne-ok-took_. Ground, _Nu-nak_. Guts, _Ela-wa-be-eet_. Girls, _Hung-nock_. Good, _Nac-uk-toke_. H The Head, _Ne-aw-cock_. The Hair, _New-rock_. The Hand, _Alguite_. The Heart, _Ou-mut_. To hang, _Cre-me-toke_. Make haste, _Twa-ve-o-vit_. Hatchet, _Willimout_. A Horn, _Nock-zuck_. A House or Tent, _Tupe uck_. I Iron or Knife, _Sha-veck_. An impudent Fellow, _No-koo-e-took_. K A Knee, _Seat-coke_. To keep it, _Oo-vong-ah_. L Light, _Ou-pe-luck_. Leg, _Ki-naw-auk_. To laugh, _Co-ang-took_. You lie, _Shuk-le-rook_. Lay it down, _Lal-la-la-oat_. Little, _Mik-ke-u-awk-rook_. Lead, _Koo-suck-se-ock_. M A Musqueteer, _Kic-to-e-al-luck-toke_. Mouth, _Con-nock_. Mittings, _Po-illuck_. The Moon, _Tat-cock_. A Man, _Ang-hoot_. To-morrow, _How-ook-put_. Much, _Won-na we-uk-tuck-luit_. Mother, _An-na-na tha_. N Nose, _Cring-yauk_. Neck, _Coon-e-soke_. Navel, _Kaw-le-soke_. Nails, _Cook-e-eet_. Needle, _Mid-coot_. O Oil, Fat, or Blubber, _Oak-stroke_. P Porcupine, _Oo-ke-took_. A Paw, _Koo ke-do-an-net_. A Paddle, _Pow-et-tick_. Q Quickeehatch, _Cap-veck_. Quick, _Twa-ve-o-let_. R A Rabbet, _Avign-ark-rook_. Rain, _Se-lal-luk-toke_. Rust, _Man-nuck-toke_. Ropes or Lines, _Ouk-su-nouk_. S I want to go to sleep, _Wing-le-pah-se-me-oma-luk-conga_. To go to Stool, _An-nos-pah_. To sing, _Eming-ne-ok-toke_. Stars, _Oub-low-yar-tuk-toke_. Skin, _Am-me-auk_. Go ashore, _Nu-nahile-eut_. Seal, _Nat-choke_. Sea, _Ut-koo-nok-tuk-lea_. Sun, _Suck-ki-nuck_. A Ship, _O-me-auk_. Salmon, _Halluck_. Summer, _Owasa_. T Take time, _Twa-vi-ogn-nock_. Tree, _No-pah-toke_. Thick, _Epi-o-lu-auk_. Thin, _Sha-toke_. The Thumb, _Coop-lu_. V To vomit, _Mith-e-ark-took_. W A Whale, _Ki-le-lu-ok_. Whalebone, _Shoot-cock_. Winter, _Ukink_. Wolf, _Am-mah-oke_. Y Yes, _An-yuck-toke_. Young Man, _Eno-suck-toke_. Young Woman, _Ne-be-uck-seuk_. SENTENCES. I Love you, _Na-cuck-tuck_. Next Summer, _U-pin-nack-pit-Ousa_. I love you, you are my Brother, _Nu-ca-a-nacucktuck-u-bunga_. Don’t be afraid, _Uck-zin-uck-uck-zi-biet_. Come again, _Kay-ma-la-le-vut-it_. Bring some more, _Kay-se-ma-la-le-vut-it_. Change this for Whalebone, _A-ki-li-law-ut-soot-cock_. Throw it away, _Il-le-uck_. Take hold, _Te-wil-li-ouk_. A S H O R T V O C A B U L A R Y O F T H E Language spoke among the Northern _Indians_ inhabiting the North-west Part of _Hudson’s Bay_, as it was taken at different times from the Mouths of _Nabiana_ and _Zazana_, two _Indians_, who were on board His Majesty’s Ship the _Furnace_ in the Year 1742, by _Edward Thompson_, Surgeon of the said Ship. A Afraid, _I’sa-at-hoola_. Arms, _Tenea-ick-the-ou_. An Arrow, _Say-yo-say-hoo_. Arse, _Tene-clangh_. Ashes, _Encali-hooza_. B Back, _Tene-losse_. A Beaver Coat, _Charrough_. A Bed, _Et’s-sal-thec-nec_. Belly, _Tenabut_. A Belt, _Ith-thou_. Belly-ach, _Ei-yah_. Buckles, _A’ca-li-ca-la-coon_. Breast, _Tene cau jau_. Breeches, _Clo-hee_. A Button, _Boro deli_. A Shirt Button, _Petabathai_. A Blanket, _Elclunee_. A Book, _Ediclish_. A Bottle, _Cotiaut-helle_. To blow with the Mouth, _Con-nelugh_. Ball or large Shot, _Assinnee_. A Boat or Canoe, _Chaluzee_. To blow the Nose, _Te eetche_. Broth, _Son son chize_. Blood, _Dell_. A Boy, _Enoi-o-zou_. Blue Cloth, _Ethcloon delzinne_. A Brush, _Petacanatachildi_. Brandy, _Cla-hoo-ze_, or _Co-at hoi_. A Bow, _Atheike_. Black, _Del-sec-nan_. C Cheek, _Tene clotten_. Chin, _Tene ottan_. A Coat, _Scoracai_. Come hither, _Oudezza_. A Cap or Hat, _I’sat il cozee_. Copper, _Cha cha nal cozee_. A Copper Mine, _Chachanalco-zee-hau_. A Canoe or Boat, _Chaluzee_. Cold, _Adzak_. A Comb, _Thec-it-sec_. A Crow, _Ta-at-sau_. A Chip, _No-coth-thee_. A Cat _Eng._ _Che-yah-zoo_. Wild, _Ha-e-dah_. To cry, _Tsa-at-sau_. To cough, _Zetcoth_. A Captain, _Belahugina_. A Can, _Helle_. Hoops ditto, _a High_. Lid ditto, _Helle-dau-cau-ne-honne_. Bottom ditto, _Helle-claw_. To call, _Clay_. To carry, _Honne-hough_. To cut, _Su-su-la_. What do you call this, _Nick-claw-diddee_. D A Deer, _All-thun_. Deers fat, _Al-thun Chizza_. A Door, _The-o-balle_. A Door Lock, _The-o-balle-Clule_. A Drum, _Tat-tel-chee_. A Dog, _A-nel-wosh_. A Duck, _E-hoo-cah_. Dead, _Zo-he-la_. Deep, _Shoo-can_. To dance, _Hela_. E Ears, _Tene’tsaw_. To eat, _Che-chellee_. Eyes, _Tene-nan_. An Englishman, _Be la hoo li_. An Eskimaux, _At-hee-na_. An Ermin, _Del-coi-a-yen_. F Fat or Grease, _Chizza_. The Fore-head, _Tene-se-an-hau_. Fingers, _Te-ne-la-clathec_. Feet, _Tene-crah_. A File, _Oh-coll_. Fire, _O-del-chat_. Feathers, _Et-the-thau_. Fire or Explosion of a Gun, _Cun_. Fat in general, _H’er-ha_. To Fart, _Say-et-sun_. To fight, _Hel-choo-it-hel_. A Fish, _Cloo-he-za_. A Fish-hook, _Gee-eth_. A Fishing Line, _Eda-cluth_. Afar off, _Watho_. G Garters, _Co-nelli-co-thee_. Get you gone, _Onni-ou-onna_. Give it me, _Et-in-Clau-et-hen-soo_. A Gimblet, _Chan-et thee_, A Goose, _Hah_. To grease the Skin, _Shu-na-elt-shun_. Gloves or Mittens, _E-la-gish_. A Gun, _Il-ker-thee_. _The Parts belonging to a Gun._ A Ram-Rod, _Ilke-co-cotha_. A Gun Lock, _Ilke the Solla_. A Gun Barrel, _Ilke the Soola_. A Gun Stock, _Ilke the Alcaugh_. The Hammer, _Ilke the Electha_. Feather Spring, _Tha-o-de_. Fore Plate, _Tho-la-do_. Black Plate, _Ilke the Thaunec_. A Screw Nail, _Doo-del-do-thee_. A Flint, _Cla-el-col_. A Cock, _Ilke the Na-a-tanan_. A Plate, _Hoo-elth-onee_. The Muzle, _Ke the-dy_. The Guard, _Tau-nau-ne-aulee_. The Britch, _Ilke the Ee-cau-na_. Britch Plate, _Sons-so-nit-than_. Cap on the Rammer, _Ilke the Nan-da-onne_. Pipes, _Cau-cau-oth-idde-onne_. Worm for a Gun, _Cau-oth-deth_. H The Head, _Te-net-thee_. The Fore-head, _Tenet-se-an-haw_. The Hair of the Head, _Tenet-thea-cau_. The Hands, _Te-ne-law_. Nail of the Hand, _Ten-ee co-nee_. Handkerchief, _Coth e-coth ee_. A Hatchet, _Tha elth_. A hungry, _Pa-bath-hit_. Hold, _Attough_. A Hat, _Chaw-cauk-hollee_, or _Chaw-ell-collee_. To hickup, _Shuzz_. The Head-ach, _Ei-yawh_. I I, or myself, _She_. Ink, _Pe-ti da-clisse_. Ice, _Claw_. An Island, _Ca-ow-dez_. K A Key, _Sa-challee_. To kill or murder, _Is-keth_. To kill or shoot Game, _Att-hel-coth_. The Knee, _Tene-cha-cut_. A Knife, _Pace_. L A Lake, _Ic-too-rough_. To laugh, _Na-chen-claw_. A Launce, _At-hei-coo_. Leather, _Helcoll_. The Legs, _Tene-cha-thee_. The Lips, _Tene-atough_. A Looking-glass, _Et-finee-e-au_. A Louse, _E-yah_. To lick, _To-ro-bah_. To loose, or lost, _Hoo-la_. A Liar, _Att-thun-thuee_. M The Moon, _Ec-clee-saw_. The Mouth, _Tene-aw-vaub_. N A Nail, _Hoot-sal_. Nail of the Hand, _Tenee-conee_. A Needle, _Tha loon-can-helle_. The Neck, _Tene cassan_. The Nose, _Tene-chee_. Nostrils, _Tha-nee-ah_. Nothing, _See-hoo-la_. O An Otter, _Nabbee_. P Paint, _T’-shee_. Palm of the Hand, _Thæ-a-cto-hoi_. Paper, _Eddiclish-tha_. A Pen, _A-a-ai-ca-na_. A Picture, _Teneyoi-ac-Eddicli-ther_. A Pistol, _Ilke the oo-la_. To piss, _Eth-cluzz_. A Tobacco Pipe, _Chel-to-hu-gi-na_. A Pillow, _Thee-all_. A Pocket, _El-konnah_. Gun-Powder, _Elcona_. A Shot Pouch, _Ick-ke-thee thee_. A Plover, _Ah-collee_. A Powder-Horn, _Agrada_. Man’s Privaties, _Tene-yo-tha_. Q A Bed Quilt, _Hell_. R A Rabbit, _Cau-choi-a-zou_. A Ruler for Books, _Ediclish-ca-na_. A River, _See-bee-la_. Red Cloth, _Ec-cloon-del-cozee_. S Salt, _Teeth-thy_. Sand, _Ho-deh_. The Sea, _Ic-too-oz-unne_. To scratch, _Eif-eit-sal_. A Shirt, _Ehee_. A Pair of Scissars, _Tha-o-bess_. To shoot, _Isketh_. A Ship, _Cha-co_. A Shot-Pouch, or little Bag, _Ilk-ke-the-tha_. Shoes, _Kin nee chee_. Smoak, _Ka-na-clude_. To smack with the Lips, _Ho-dat-thoi_. To shoot a Deer, _&c._ _Cha-elcol_. To shoot or kill, _At-hellcoth_. A Sore, _Tene-caw_. Stockings, _Thigh_. Shirt Button, _Petabathacana-clude_. Sleep, _Itsal-thee-nee_. To smoak Tobacco, _Che-chel-loot_. Small Shot, _Elgish-hee_. A Spoon, _Cloos_. To shoot, or fire a Gun, _Isketh-all-o_. Snow, _Yath_. The Sun, _Saw_. To sneeze, _Ya-ice_. To S——t, _Say-et-suna_. To spit, _Hee-sa_. Summer, _Attoughoana_. T A Table, _Bed-hel-kenau_. Teeth, _Tene-hough_. Ten, _A-noth-noo_. Thirty, _Cuth-a-na-na_. Three, _At-hoi_. Twenty, _Cu-na-noth-noo_. Two, _Chel la-telle_. Tenting, or Covering, _Ne-o-balle_. A Tinder-Box, _Cla-el-thodde_. Tinder, _Cla-elth_. The Thighs, _Tene-wough’l_. I thank you, _Gon-na-zoo_. Thread, _Pe-ta-nel-coz_. This, _Diddee_. Thou, or you, _Nin_. Thirsty, _Too-hoo-lee_. The Tongue, _Tene-thoon_. Touchwood, _Ke-nelt-thee_. Tobacco, _Chel-to-hee_. A Tobacco Pipe, _Chel-to-hugina_. A Tent, _Ya-ho-thy_. V To vomit, _Cla-a-coi_. W Water, _Ic-too_. A Watch, _San ya-zoo_. A Walkin-stick or Cane, _’Tthelth_. A Whet-stone, _Pe-so-coll_. White Cloth, _Ethcloon-dellcoz_. Where, _Ei-ya-guze_. What, _Onna_. A Whaway, _Hoo-cah_. A Periwig, _’Tsab_. Winter, _Adz-a-halla_. Wind, _Elk-ker_. A Window, _Ey-ah_. To wash, _Shunnaelt shun_. A Woman, _Tene-law_. A Worm for a Gun, _Caw-oth-deth_. Y You, or thou, _Nin_. The _Northern Indians_ Way of COUNTING. One, _Zodeneah_. Two, _Chellatelle_. Three, _Athoi_. Four, _Tenetthee_. Five, _Sha-sha-loi_. Six, _El-cak-hoi_. Seven, _Sa-shant-hoi_. Eight, _Elcadre_. Nine, _Eccloi-a-hant-hoi_. Ten, _O-noth-noo_. Eleven, _Ecoltre_. Twenty, _Cu-na-noth-noo_. Thirty, _Cuth-a-na-na_. The PARTS belonging to a MAN. The Head, _Tenet-thee_. Fore-head, _Tenet-sean-haw_. Hair, _Tenet-thea-caw_. Ears, _Tenet-saw_. Eye, _Tenne-naw_. Nose, _Tene-chee_. Cheek, _Tene-clotten_. Chin, _Tene-ottaw_. Mouth, _Tene-aw-vaub_. Lips, _Tene-a-tough_. Teeth, _Tene-hough_. Tongue, _Tenet-thoon_. Neck, _Tene-cassau_. Breast, _Tene-caw-jaw_. Back, _Tene-tossee_. Belly, _Tene-buk_. Man’s Privaties, _Tene-yo-tha_. Arm, _Tene-ick-the-ow_. Lower Part of the Arm, _Tene-ick-the-na_. Hands, _Tene-law_. Fingers, _Tene-la-Clather_. Nail of the Hand, _Ten-ee-con-ner_. Thighs, _Tene-waughl_. Knee, _Tene-cha-cut_. Leggs, _Tene-cha-thee_. Feet, _Tene-crah_. Arse, _Tene-clough_. _ F I N I S . _ * * * * * E R R A T A . Page 10, Line 24, for _contiguous_ read _continuous_. p. 20, l. 4, for _Hoards_ read _Herds_. p. 23, l. 35, for _or_ read _de_. p. 30, l. 2, for _Meat_ read _Meal_. p. 34, l. 7, for _Beaver_ read _Beeves_. p. 48, l. 24, after _for_ read _as_. p. 52, l. 36, for _mask’d_ read _mash’d_. p. 61, l. 13, for _Camanitigayan_ read _Camanistigayan_, p. 64, l. 11, for _Gamaxaski_ read _Gamaraski_. p. 96, l. 17, for _Wilson_ read _Smith_. p. 98, l. 9, for _she wnit_ read _shewn it_. p. 120, l. 35, after _even_ read _the_. p. 139, l. 35, for _Yedso_ read _Yedo_. p. 141, l. 18, for _Albicove_ read _Albicores_. Transcriber’s Notes In the original book all “s” characters in the interior of words were printed using the “long-s” character ſ, as was the custom at that time. Here these letters are replaced by the “short-s” to make it more readable. The changes listed in the Errata above have been applied to the text. A few obvious typographic errors have been corrected. Spelling has not been modernised. The italic font is applied quite widely, but inconsistently, throughout especially in regards to possessives. The style used in the original is reproduced here. A small number of changes were made to the punctuation of longitudes and latitudes, to match the predominant style. In a simple declarative sentence, these positions were punctuated as “. . . is situated in 45°. 30′. within a . . .” When included in an appositive phrase, the punctuation became “. . . the South End of _Resolution Isle_, in Lat. 61°, 25′, etc.” If the sentence required other punctuation after the position, then it took precedence and replaced the terminal “.” or “,” as shown above. [The end of _An account of the countries adjoining to Hudson's Bay_ by Arthur Dobbs]