414 
A VOYAGE TO 
1778. lafe, and lpoken fomething, and made fome more flgns, 
‘‘ the canoes dropped aftern, and left the Difcoyery. No one 
on board her had any fufpicion that the box contained any 
thing, till after the departure of the canoes, when it was ac¬ 
cidentally opened, and a piece of paper was found, folded 
up carefully, upon which fomething was written in the 
Ruffian language, as was fuppofed. The date 1778 was 
prefixed to it; and, in the body of the written note, there 
was a reference to the year 1776. Not learned enough to 
decypher the alphabet of the writer, his numerals marked 
fufficiently that others had preceded us in vifiting this 
dreary part of the globe, who were united to us by other 
ties befides thofe of our common nature; and the hopes 
of foon meeting with fome of the Ruffian traders, could 
not but give a fenfible fatisfa6lion to thofe who had, for 
fuch a length of time, been converfant with the favages 
of the Pacific Ocean, and of the continent of North Ame¬ 
rica. 
Captain Clerke was, at firft, of opinion, that fome Ruf¬ 
fians had been ffiipwrecked here; and that thefe unfortu¬ 
nate perfons, feeing our ffiips pafs, had taken this method 
to inform us of their fituation. Impreffed with humane 
fentiments, on fuch an occafion, he was defirous of our 
flopping till they might have time to join us. But no fuch 
idea occurred to me. It feemed obvious, that if this had 
been the cafe, it would have been the firft flep taken by 
fuch ffiipwrecked perfons, in order to fecure to themfelves, 
and to their companions, the relief they could not but be 
folicitous about, to fend fome of their body off to the ffiips 
in the canoes. For this reafon, I rather thought that the 
paper contained a note of information, left by fome Ruf¬ 
fian trader, who had lately been amongft thefe iflands, to 
be 
