*6o AVOYAGETO 



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>779- and placed in this very fpot by their god Koutkou : that they 



October. , * , . n r 



are the moft favoured or his creatures ■, the molt fortunate 

 and happy of beings ; and that their country is fuperior to 

 all others, affording means of gratification far beyond 

 what are any where elfe to be met with: that they have a 

 perfect knowledge of all the plants of the country, their vir- 

 tues and ufes, which could not be acquired in amort time : 

 that their inftruments and houfehold utenfils differ greatly 

 from thofe of any other nation, and are made with an ex- 

 traordinary degree of neatnefs and dexterity, which implies 

 that they are both of their own invention, and have been 

 long in ariving at fo great perfection: that antecedently to 

 the arrival of the Ruffians and CofTacks among them, they 

 had not the fmalleft knowledge of any people, except the 

 Koreki: that it is but of late they had an intercourfe with 

 the Kuriles, and ftill later (and happened by means of a vef- 

 fcl being fhipwrecked on their coaft) that they knew any 

 thing of the Japanefe ; and, laflly, that the country was 

 very populous, at the time the Ruffians firfl got footing 

 in it. 



The rcafons he alleges for fuppofing them to be originally 

 defcended from the Mungalians are: That many words in 

 their language have terminations fimilar to thofe of the 

 Mungalian Chinefe, fuch as, ong, ing, oi/:g, tel'ing, tcba f 

 tchoing, kfi, kfung, &c. ; and moreover, that the fame principle 

 of inflexion or derivation obtains in both languages : that 

 they are in general under-fized, as are the Mungalians : that 

 their complexions, like theirs, is fvvarthy : that they have 

 black hair, little beard, the face broad, the nofe fhort and flat, 

 the eyes fmall and funk, the eye-brows thin, the belly pen- 

 dant, the legs fmall ; all which are peculiarities that are to 



7 be 



