AMERICA. 
eaft and weft fide?, it is wafhed by the Atlantic and Pacific 
oceans. From its fouthern point, it is probable that an 
open fea ftretches to the airtarfti'c pole. In whichever of 
thefe directions the wind blows, it is cooled before it ap¬ 
proaches the Magellanic regions, by palling over a vaft 
body of water; nor is the land there of fuch extent, that 
it can recover any confiderable degree of heat in its pro- 
grefs over it. Thefe circumftances concur in rendering 
the temperature of the air in this diftriCt of America more 
fimilar to that of an infular, than to that of a continental, 
climate ; and hinder it from acquiring the fame degree of 
fummer-heat with places in Europe and Alia in a corre- 
fponding northern latitude. The north wind is the only 
one that reaches this part of America, after blowing over 
a great continent. But, from an attentive furvey of its 
polition, this will be found to have a tendency rather to 
diminilh than augment the degree of heat. The fouthern 
extremity of America is properly the termination of the 
immenfe ridge of the Andes, which ftretches nearly in a 
direCt line from north to fon'th, through the whole extent 
of the continent. The moft fultry regions in South Ame¬ 
rica, Guiana, Brafil, Paraguay, and Tucuman, lie many 
degrees to the eaft of the Magellanic regions. The level 
country of Peru, which enjoys the tropical heats, isfitu- 
ated confiderably to the weft of them. The north wind, 
then, though it blows over land, does not bring to the 
fouthern extremity of America an increafe of heat collect¬ 
ed in its paftiige over torrid regions; but, before it arrives 
there, it muft have fwept along the fummit of the Andes, 
and come impregnated with the cold of that frozen region.” 
Another particularity in the climate of America, is its 
exceflive moifture in general. In fome places, indeed, on 
the weftern coaft, rain is not known ; but, in all other parts 
the moiftnefs of the climate is as remarkable as the cold. 
The forefts wherewith it is every where covered, no doubt, 
partly occafion the moifture of its climate ; but the moft 
prevalent caufe is the vaft quantity of water in the Atlan¬ 
tic and Pacific oceans, with which America is environed 
on all fides. Hence thofe places where the continent is 
narroweft are deluged with almoft perpetual rains, accom¬ 
panied with violent thunder and lightning, by which fome 
of them, particularly Porto Bello, are rendered iri a man¬ 
ner uninhabitable. 
This extreme moifture of the American climate is pro¬ 
ductive of much larger rivers than there are in any other 
part of the world. The Danube, the Nile, the Indus, or 
the Ganges, are not comparable to the Miftiftippi, the 
river St. Laurence, or that of the Amazons; nor are fuch 
large lakes to be found any where as thofe which North 
America affords. To the fame caufe we are alfo partly 
to afcribe the exceflive luxuriance of all kinds of vegeta¬ 
bles in almoft all parts of this country. In the fouthern 
provinces, where the moifture of the climate is aided by 
the warmth of the fun, the woods are almoft impervious, 
and the furface of the ground is hid from the eye, under 
a thick covering of flirubs, herbs, and weeds. In the 
northern provinces, the forefts are not encumbered with 
the fame luxuriance of vegetation ; neverthelefs, they af¬ 
ford trees much larger of their kind than what are to be 
found any where elfe. 
With regard to population in America, there are no data 
from which we can eftimate the number of its inhabitants 
with any degree of accuracy. All calculations muft pro¬ 
ceed on uncertain grounds. The population of moft of 
thofe countries which have been fettled by Europeans has 
not been afcertained; who then is capable of eftimating 
the number of inhabitants in thofe numerous countries 
which have been very particularly explored, and thofe 
which are altogether unknown to any European or other 
civilized nation? and fuch are thofe vaft regions weft, 
north-weft, and north, of the Mifliflippi and the lakes, and 
immenfe countries in the interior parts of South America. 
The number of provinces, kingdoms, and even of nations, 
is unknown. We can therefore hardly guefs at the num¬ 
ber of inhabitants. 
Von.I. No. 27. 
4*7 
It has been common in eftimating the population of the 
whole world to give 150 millions to America. The cal¬ 
culations of P. Riccioli, make them 300 millions. Sufi- 
milch, in one part of his work, computes them at 100 
millions, in another at 150 millions. M. de Pauw fays, 
that political arithmeticians do not reckon more than 100 
■millions ; but it is his own opinion that there are not more 
than from thirty to-forty millions of “real Americans.” 
We know not the principles upon which either of thefe 
authors grounded their calculations. Some of them are 
far beyond the truth ; and M. de Pauw feems to have err¬ 
ed on the other hand. 
Let us fuppofe the continent of America to contain 
fourteen millions of fquare miles; including the illands, 
fifteen millions. The United States contain one million 
fquare miles, or one fifteenth part of the American con¬ 
tinent and illands. We will fuppofe (merely for the pur- 
pofe of calculation), that every other part of America is 
as populous as the United States. Probably there may be 
fome parts, particularly the Weft-India illands, and fome 
provinces in Spanilh America, which are more populous, 
but there are many other parts which are by no means fo 
populous. The probability is, that the other parts of 
America, collectively conlidered, are not nearly fo thickly 
inhabited as the territory of the United States. There is 
certainly no reafon to believe that they are more populous. 
American population is thin: and valt tracts or deferts, 
marfhes, and mountains, are uninhabited. In the United 
States we reckon four millions of inhabitants, Anglo- 
Americans, Negroes, Mulattoes, and Indians, within the 
jurifdiction of the general government. Belides thefe, 
there may be about 50,000 Indians independent of the 
United States, and fubjeCt to their own princes. The 
whole population of the United States we reckon at 
4,050,000. If then we fuppofe America to contain fifteen 
millions of fquare miles, and that in every part it is equally 
as populous as the United States, that is, that there are in 
every million of fquare miles 4,050,000 inhabitants, the 
whole number will be 60,750,000. 
That America was peopled very anciently and foon after 
the flood, is very probable: 1. Becaufe the aboriginal 
Americans, till they became acquainted with Europeans, 
were ignorant of thofe arts and inventions, fuch, among 
others, as thofe of wax and oil for light, which being very 
ancient in Europe and Alia, on the one hand, are, on the 
other, moft ufeful, not to fay neceflary, and when once 
difcovered are never forgotten. 2. Becaufe the poliflied 
nations of the new'world, and particularly thofe of Mexi¬ 
co, preferve in their traditions and paintings the memory 
of the creation of the world, the building of the tower of 
Babel, the confuiion of languages, and the difperlion of 
the people, though blended with fome fables, and had no 
knowledge of the events which happened afterwards in 
Afia, Africa, or in Europe, many of which were too re¬ 
markable to efcape the memory. 3. Becaufe neither w>as 
there among the Americans any knowledge of the people 
of the old continent, nor among the latter any account of 
the paflage of the former to the new world. Thefe rea- 
fons render it at leaft probable that America was peopled 
early after the flood. 
On the tw'o queftions how and from whence America 
was firft peopled, much has been laid. Thofe who call in 
queftion the authority of the facred writings fay, the Ame¬ 
ricans are not defcendants from Adam, that he was the 
father of the Afiatics only, and that God created other 
men to be the patriarchs of the Europeans, Africans, and 
Americans. But this is one among the many weak hypo- 
thefes of unbelievers, and is wholly unfupported by hif- 
tory. It is contrary to the tradition of the Americans, 
who, in their paintings, and in their hymns, called them- 
felves the defcendants of thofe who efcaped from the ge¬ 
neral deluge. The Mexicans, Toltecas, and feveral other 
nations, were agreed in this point. They all laid their an- 
ceftors came from other parts into thofe countries; they 
pointed out the road they came, and even preferved the 
5 O names, 
