10 6f captain hillings 'July 10. 



It was this young gentleman who discovered the 

 curious mount, (probably of volcanic origin,) on 

 the coast of the sea of Ochotlk, which I believe is 

 taken notice of in one of my former literarj bud- 

 gets, consisting of a whitilh matter like volcanic 

 allies, with one side stuck like a pudding stone with 

 roundifh red vitreous pebbles ; the other with white 

 of the same kind. The father gave us soiQe of both 

 when last here. 



From the information received by captain Billings's 

 courier, we are now enabled to continue the general 

 notices on his expedition begun in last budget, but 

 which must be acknowledged to be very superfi- 

 cial and v&^iie. as none of his dispatches have or 

 will be publiftied, till her imperial majesty fhall give 

 orders to communicate a narration of the whole to 

 Europe at large. The only circumstances then known/' 

 are from his mefsengers, the Kamtchatka hunters, 

 merchants, %3c. who occasionally come down here, 

 and to which little crtdit can be given for accuracy. 

 However was I to give a general opinion on the ex- 

 pedition, ] fhould suppose, that as the same icy bar- 

 rier which put limits to the great captain Cook's . 

 northern cou:;se, still opposed itself to captain Bil- 

 lings, we have rather to expect local surveys, than 

 important discoveries in seas navigated by able Bri- 

 tilh navigators, who examined them with attention, 

 before the present commander was ordered to ex- 

 plore them ; so that h s not furnilhing much new mat- 

 ter, if so it flioulji turn out, wiii rather reflect ho- 

 nour on his predetcfsors than oifhonour on himself. 



