3'^ 



A P P E N D .1 X 



I. 



this navigation has been open for above a century and 

 an half; and feveral veflels have at dift'erent times 



pafTed 



" of Tartary, the kingdom of Catay, and the Weft conft of America, 

 " tor^ether with the iflcs fituate to the Ead ot Jipan, cried up tor their 

 " riches of eold and fiK'cr." Thcfe inftrudtions contain no rcLdon of 

 two Dutch vclfels, who paffed 300 leagues Eaft of Nova Zemla, 

 Mention is made of two Dutch veffels, " who were fent out in the 

 " year 16^9, under the command of Captain Kwaft, to difcover the 

 " Eaft coaft of the Great Tartary, efpecially the famous gold and filvci: 

 " iflands ; though, by reafon of feveral unfortunate accidents, they 

 " both returned re infc'fta." Short mention is afterwards made of Cap- 

 tain Kwaft's journal, together with the writings of the merchants who 

 were with him, as foUoivs : " That in the South Sea, at the ^-^l de- 

 " grees Northern latitude, and about 400 Spanifh, or 343 Dutch miles, 

 " that is, 28 degrees longitude Eaft of Japan, there lay a very great 

 " and high ijland, inhabited by a white, handfome, kind and civilized 

 " people, exceedingly opulent in gold and filver, &c. Sec." 



From thefe extrads it appears, that, in the fliort account of the jour- 

 nals of the two Dutch veilels, no longitude is mentioned to the Eaft of 

 Nova Zemla ; but the difcoveries of Kwaft were made in the South 

 fea, to which place he, as well as Captain Vrles afterwards, muft have 

 failed round the Cape of Good Hope. The author of the narrative 

 concludes, indeed, that the N. E. palfage is pradticable. In the follo.v- 

 ing words : " to promote this pafTage out of the Eaft-Indies to the 

 " North into Europe, it were neceflary to fail from the Eaft-Indies to 

 " the Weftward of Japan, all along Corea, to fee how the fea-coafts 

 " trend to the North of the faid Corea, and with what conveniency 

 " Ihips might fail as far as Nova Zemla, and to the North of the fame. 

 " Where our author faith, that undoubtedly it would be found, that 

 " having paft'ed the North corner of Nova Zemla, or, through Wey- 

 " gatz, the North end of Yelmer land, one might go on South-Eaft- 

 *' ward, and make a fuccefsful voyage." But mere conjedtures cannot 

 be admitted as evidence. As we can find no other information relative 



to 



