Chap. I. fymg round N O R T H POLE. 
the higheft" of the Mountains Pico Antonio *, and tells us 
farther, That the Country thereabouts was very like that 
of England, that is to fay, a rich Clay, covered with 
Grafs and Herbs, and at a Diftance he faw very wide 
Dov/ns. There is no fort' of Doubt, that this was the 
Eafl: Coaft of the Continent of JeJfo. He proceeded 
from thence through a Gulph, which in the Latitude of 
55 Degrees 50 Minutes difcovered itfelf to be aStreight 
about fourteen Leagues, or fomewhat more than forty of 
our Miles broad, in theMidftof which was an Ifland, and 
two vaft Continents on each Side. He called the Ifland 
States Land *, the new difcovered Continent, Comp,angds 
Land •, and to the Streights he gave his own Name, 
which they have ever fince borne, and thefe are the fa- 
mous Streights of Urie% •, which are fuppofed to divide 
the Continent of Afia from that oL America \ the Land 
Miich belongs to Afia, lying on the Left-hand, 
and Company's Land, which is fuppofed to be Part of 
America, on the Right. 
If this Notion be well founded, then the Country be- 
tween California and the Streights of Uriez, comprehends 
no lefs than 80 Degrees of Longitude, and is confe- 
quently one thoufand fix hundred Leagues in Extent. 
The Account that Capt. Uriez gives of States Ifland is, 
that it is full of high Mountains, the Tops of which are 
covered with Rocks, without Trees or Grafs : He gives 
us a large Defcription of the Country on the Left-hand, 
which is the Land of Jeffo but I do not find that he 
landed upon the Company's Land at all, or made any far- 
ther Difcoveries about it ; we muft therefore confine our- 
felves at prefent to this Land of Jeffo, with which the 
Mufcovites have brought us better acquainted ; for they, 
by travelling from Siberia, have difcovered that, in the 
Latitude of 59 Degrees, there is a Gulph which feparates 
the Continent of Great Partary from a Peninfula, which 
they call the Country of Kamtfchatcka which extends from 
the 42d Degree of Latitude, which is the mofl: fouthern 
Part of the Continent of Jeffo, to 65 Degrees 30 Minutes, 
and there is bounded by the Ocean. 
This Country is divided from the Peninfula of Corea 
and Great Partary, by a Gulf of its own Name, and 
from Company's Land by the Streights of Uriez % fo 
that we need be in no farther Perplexity about the Land 
of JeJfo, fince it appears plain to be the fouthern Ex- 
trernity of this , vaft Country, of which the Ruffians 
are in a great meafure Mailers, and aflually navigate 
that great Sea which feparates Afia from America, in 
which they have difcovered large Iflands, well peopled, 
and abounding with various riqh Commodities. 
All thefe Difcoveries plainly fhew what vafl Advantage 
would accrue to the maritime Powers, if a PalTao-e to 
the North-eaft were prafticable; and perhaps, yrhoever 
confiders thefe Difcoveries attentively, will be apt to 
think it might be done, more efpecially when it is re- 
membred that the Dutch, who were employed in 1670, 
in endeavouring to find a North-weft Paflage, advanced 
within a very few Degrees of that open Sea whiqh is 
commonly navigated by the Ruffians, and which had infal- 
libly brought them to the Coafts of Japon and China ; fo 
that it feems equally Arrange that in former Times, when 
there was no Sort of Knowledge in our Part of Europe, 
of the Vicinity of thefe Countries to the Ruffian Domi-. 
nions, fo many Attempts fhouid be made (as will ap- 
pear hereafter) to the North-eaft, and that none at all 
ftiould be made now, when there is a kind of moral 
Certainty that fuch a Paflage might be difcovered. 
■ The only fatisfadory Reafon that, as I apprehend, can 
be given is, the Dutch are now of Opinion, that the 
Difcovery of a North-eaft Paflage, or indeed of any 
other PaflTage to the Indies, except that by the Cape' of 
Good Hope, would be extremely prejudicial to them, and 
therefore think no more of it and as we are generally 
governed in our Notions of Things by what th^ reft of 
the World thinks, we* likewife have quitted all Thoughts 
of finding fuch a Paflage ; but the Confideration of this 
Matter belonging properly to another Place, we will fay 
nothing more of it here, but proceed to the proper Bu- 
fmefs of this Section. 
23. That there is fome Country or other between Cali- 
fornia and Japon, is a Point I believe no feafonable 
Man ever doubted, though it muft be confefled, that 
no fuch Country has been ever hitherto clearly difcover- 
ed; I fay, - clearly, becaufe fome obfcure Hints we have 
both of Continents and Iflands within the Extent before- 
mentioned. I have, in fonle Spanifh Authors, met with 
an Account of one Frederick de Gama, who in pafiing 
from the Philippines to Mexico, difcovered - in a high 
Latitude a very fine Country, along which he failed for 
a few Days together, and if I am not mifcaken, there 
are in fome Spanifh^ Charts the Coafts of this Country laid 
down j but as it is many Years ago fince I faw thefe 
Charts, I cannot take upon me to fpeak of this Matter 
with any Degree of Certainty. I muft however obferve, 
that there is no great Weight in the Objeftion com- 
monly made to this Suppofition, as if the Spaniards muft: 
certainly have difcovered thefe Countries, or fome of them 
at leaft in their Acapulco Ships , and this for tv/o Rea- 
fons ; firft, becaufe it is certain they really have difcover- 
ed feveral Iflands ; and next, becaufe for the fake of an 
expeditious PaflTage, they fail in too loW' a Latitude for 
making any of thefe Difcoveries that we expeft, fince, I 
think, it is not probable that any Part of the Country 
htVNttti Afia and America lies farther to the South than 
forty-five Degrees, and confequently is not within their 
Rout from the Philippines ; but we are not entirely defti- 
tute of Accounts relating to thefe Countries, though it 
muft be confeflTed they are not fo diftinbl and clear as we 
could wifh, yet, fuch, as they are, the Reader will vety 
probably be glad to fee them, and it is our Bufmefs to 
give them. 
The firft that occurs Is from the Account publifhed by 
Dr. Cw, in his Defcription of the Province of Carolana, of 
which he looks upon himfelf as the Proprietor, in virtue 
of feveral Grants from the Kings of England, the Validi- 
ty of which I am fure I Ihall not difpute ^ and which takes 
in all, or the greateft Part, of the French Settlements 
on the Miffiffippi, The Defign of the Debtor’s Book is to 
ftiew the Importance of th^ Country to the Crown of Great 
Britain, which I think he has unqueftionably made out, 
and in the fifth Chapter thereof he gives us a very large 
Account of a Part of that Codntry now under our Con- 
fideration, and therefore we Ihall make no Scruple of 
inferting it here for the Reader’s Perufal, who Will very 
probably find many Things therein not eafy to be cre- 
dited, but which, notwithftanding, deferve to be known 
and examined, and which certainly ought not to be ab- 
folutely exploded, till by fome kind of pofitive Evidence 
the Fabls he aflferts are ablually difp roved. 
“ It will be one great Conveniency of this Country, 
“ if ever it comes to be fettled, that there is an eafy 
“ Communication therewith and the South-Sea, which 
lies between Amerka and China, and that two Ways, 
By the North Branch of the great yellow River, by 
“ the Natives called the River of Mafforites, which 
“ hath a Courfe of five hundred Miles, navigable to its 
“ Heads or Springs, and which proceeds from a Ridge 
“ of Hills fomewhat North of New Mexico, paflTable 
“ hy Horfe, Foot, or Waggon, in lefs than half a Day^ 
“ ori the other Side are Rivers which run into a great 
“ Lake that empties itfelf, by another great navigable 
“ River, into the South-Sea. The fame may be laid 
“ of the River Mifehaouay, up which our People have 
been, but not fo far as the Baron le Hontnin, whq 
“ paired on it above three hundred Miles almoft due 
“ Weft, and declares it comes from the fame Ridge 
of Hills above-mentioned ; and that divers Rivers 
“ from the other Side foon make a large River, which 
“ enters into avail Lake, on which inhabit two or three 
“ great Nations, much more populous and civilized 
“ than other Indians. And out of that Lake a oxeat 
“ River difembogues into the South-Sea, which is, 
“ doubtlefs, the fame with the before-mentioned, the 
“ Head of the two Rivers being little diftant from each 
“ other, 
“ About twelve or fourteen Years fince, I had im- 
“ parted unto me a Journal, from a Gentleman ad- 
“ mirably well fkilled in Geography, efpecially of Arne- 
rica who had niade thither divers Voyages from 
' Nem 
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