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that the cuftom of the Scythians, when they find 

 themfelves under the neceffity of crofting an arm of 

 the fea, is to kill their horfes, to flea them, and to 

 cover the boats in which they embark with their 

 hides. Laftly, he maintains, that according to all 

 appearance, thefe tranfmigrations happened very 

 foon after the difperfion of Noah's grandfons, and 

 that at that time, the Scythians and Tartars might 

 as yet be unacquainted with the ufe of horfes. 



He proves the antiquity of thefe colonies by the 

 multitude of people inhabiting North- America 

 when it was firft difcovered ; and as to the pretend- 

 ed impoflibility of getting paft the Ifthmus of Pa- 

 nama, he fhows the abfurdity of it by the few ob- 

 it ades the Europeans met with in that paffage. He 

 afterwards undertakes to mew, that the moft north- 

 em Americans have much greater refemblance, not 

 only in the features of their countenances, but alfo in 

 their complexion, and in their manner of livings 

 with the Scythians, Tartars, and Samoeides, than 

 with the Norwegians and German nations : And 

 with refpecl: to what Grotius fays, in making thefe 

 pafs from Iceland, he very well remarks, that this 

 ifland began to be peopled only towards the end of 

 the ninth century ; that even then there pafled only 

 a few families thither, and that thus this ifland 

 could not prefently be in a condition to fend over 

 to America fuch numerous colonies as to have pro- 

 duced fo many thoufands of inhabitants as reple- 

 nifhed thofe vaft regions in the fifteenth century. 



The route which Grotius makes his Norwegians 

 take, likewife furnifhes his adverfary with danger- 

 ous weapons againft him. He makes him obferve, 

 that Greenland is cut thorough with vaft and deep 

 arms of the fea, aim oft always frozen up, that the 



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