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A Description of their Lakes and Rivers, the Nature of the Soil and Climates, and their Methods of Commerce, &c. Shewing the Benefit to be made by settling Colonies, and opening a Trade in these Parts; whereby the French will be deprived in a great Measure of their Traffick in Furs, and the Communication between Canada and Mississippi be cut off.

I. A Letter from Bartholomew de Fonte, Vice-Admiral of Peru and Mexico; giving an Account of his Voyage from Lima in Peru, to prevent, or seize upon any Ships that should attempt to find a North-west Passage to the South Sea.

II. An Abstract of all the Discoveries which have been publish’d of the Islands and Countries in and adjoining to the Great Western Ocean, between America, India, and China, &c. pointing out the Advantages that may be made, if a short Passage should be found thro’ Hudson’s Streight to that Ocean.

IV. The Standard of Trade in those Parts of America; with an Account of the Exports and Profits made annually by the Hudson’s Bay Company.

V. Vocabularies of the Languages of several Indian Nations adjoining to Hudson’s Bay.

The whole intended to shew the great Probability of a North-west Passage, so long desired; and which (if discovered) would be of the highest Advantage to these Kingdoms.

he Divine Providence having called Your August Family to the Government of the British Empire, and placed Your Majesty on the Throne, to be the Guardian of our Civil and Religious Liberties; not content with securing these inestimable Blessings to Your own, Your Majesty extends Your auspicious Regards to other Nations: Those of Europe have already experienced the happy Influence of Your Royal Care, and hope for the Restoration of Peace, and Continuance of their Tranquillity, and future Prosperity, from the Success of Your Arms, and the Wisdom of Your Counsels. While Your Majesty is asserting and defending the Rights of Princes abroad. Your British Dominions reap the Fruits of Your gracious and Prudent Administration; extending their Commerce, increasing in Wealth, and flourishing with Arts and Sciences. Since these Advantages for Your People are the perpetual Objects of Your Care, permit me, SIR, to implore Your Royal Patronage of the following Sheets, which are published with no other View than that of increasing the Commerce and Riches of Your Kingdoms: An Intention that must always be agreeable to Your Majesty, which they are calculated to improve, by opening a new Field of Trade, where vast Improvements may be made, and Nations yet unknown may be made happy, and contribute to raise the Power and same of Britain; from whence Your Sacred Name will derive additional Honour, and Your Realms a considerable Increase of Wealth and Happiness.

That Your Majesty’s Reign may be long and glorious, over a free and grateful People, is the ardent Wish and Prayer of,

udson’s Bay is a great inland Sea, situated betwixt 51 and 65 Degrees North Latitude, and from 78 to 95 West Longitude from London, being in Length from Nodway and Moose Rivers, in the Bottom of the Bay, to Whalebone Point, 14 Degrees; which, at 69 English Miles to a Degree, is about 970 Miles; and in Breadth from Digg’s Isle, the East Entrance of the Bay, to the Land Westward of Churchill River, 200 Leagues, of 20 to a Degree, 690 Miles, surrounded by a great Continent, except the Opening of Hudson’s Streight, and the North-west Side of the Bay, which to be all broken Land, the surrounding Coast being above 3000 English Miles.

These Countries, tho’ most of them are in cold Climates, yet in the coldest Parts, even North of the Polar Circle, are inhabited by the Eskimaux Indians; and by the Whalebone and Oil, Skins and furs got there at present, are of considerable Advantage to those who are concerned in that Trade; and if the Trade was laid open, would be of vastly greater Benefit to Britain, by affording a considerable Market for our coarse Woollen and Iron Manufactures; and by forming proper Settlements in healthy and shelter’d Situations, out of the swampy Grounds, there might be comfortable Settlements made in most Places, and very tolerable, even in the worst and coldest Parts of that Continent, which are the North-east and North-west Sides of the Bay; but in the Southern and Western Sides of the Bay, there might be made as comfortable Settlements as any in Sweden, Livonia, or the South Side of the Baltick; and farther into the Country South-west, the Climate is as good as the Southern Part of Poland, and North Part of Germany and Holland; nothing being wanting to make it so, but the building convenient Houses with Stoves, such as are used in the same Climates in Europe.

The Reason why the Manner of living there at present appears to be so dismal to us in Britain, is intirely owing to the Monopoly and Avarice of the Hudson’s Bay Company, (not to give it a harsher Name) who, to deter others from trading there, or making Settlements, conceal all the Advantages to be made in that Country, and give out, that the Climate, and Country, and Passage thither, are much worse, and more dangerous, than they really are, and vastly worse than might be, if those Seas were more frequented, and proper Settlements and Improvements were made, and proper Situations chosen for that Purpose; this they do, that they may ingross a beneficial Trade to themselves, and therefore oblige their Captains not to make any Charts or Journals that may discover those Seas or Coasts, in order to prevent others from sailing to their Factories. They also prevent their Servants from giving any Account of the Climate or Countries adjacent, that might be favourable, and induce others to trade and settle there; nor do they encourage their Servants, or even allow them to make any Improvements without their Factories, unless it be a Turnip Garden; confining them all the Summer Season, during the Time of the Indian Trade, within their Factories, lest they should trade by Stealth with the Natives, and by a Crane let down their Goods to the Natives, and take up their Furs and Skins in Exchange; by which Means no Improvement can be made but their Kitchen Garden adjoining to their Factories; nor can any comfortable Settlements be made; for they, not having thirty Men in any of their Factories, dare not go at any Distance either to improve or make Discoveries, their whole Time being employed in cutting and carrying Wood for their Winter Firing, and catching Fish, and killing Geese, for their Winter Provisions; in which the Natives generally assist them, by shooting for them in the Swamps, they depending upon Britain for all other Things for their Sustenance; which, if Settlements were made in proper Places, might very well be raised and procured in those Countries.

I therefore think myself obliged, from the Accounts published by the French, and from what I have had communicated to me by those who have resided there, or have been employed in that Trade, and particularly from what I have collected from Joseph la France, a French Canadese Indian, who was born near the French Lakes, and lived and traded from these Lakes to Monreal and Quebec for above thirty Years, and having surrounded the superior Lake, had, in a Journey of three Years, passed from thence to York Fort, on Nelson River, through all the Lakes and Rivers on the Southwest Side of the Bay, and came over in September, 1742, from thence: I say, I think myself obliged to make publick all I can depend upon of the Climate, Soil, Lakes and Rivers, contiguous to the Bay, and the Indian Nations adjoining, and also what Improvements this spacious Country is capable of, and of the great Benefit which may be made of the Trade, in case it be laid open, and Settlements be made there: for by that Means the Fur Trade might be vastly enlarged, and be intirely recovered from the French, which they have now in great Measure gained from us by the Monopoly and Avarice of the Company, upon account of the exorbitant Prices they take for their Goods from the Natives, even to 2000 per Cent. Profit; who, for that Reason, sell their most valuable Furs to the French, tho’ the Carriage to Canada be near 200 Leagues farther than to our Factories.

Since the Eastern Main of Hudson’s Bay, otherwise called Terra de Labarador, extends to the Atlantick Ocean, North of Newfoundland, in which many of the Eskimaux Indians live, who feed upon raw Flesh and Fish, preserved in the Winter by Frost; I shall, in this Description of the Bay, take notice of the East Coast of that Country, so far as it is known, from the Streight of Bell Isle in Newfoundland, in 52 Degrees, to Button’s Isle, at the Entrance into Hudson’s Streight, in about 61 Degrees, which extends about 620 Miles.

This Coast, from Hudson’s Streight to 57°, is pester’d with Ice in the Beginning of Summer, occasioned by the Quantity which comes out from the several Inlets there, as well as that which comes from Hudson’s and Davis’s Streights, these Islands of Ice being frequently carried as far as the Banks of Newfoundland, before they are dissolved; but the rest of the Coast to the Southward, from 57 to 52°, is free from Ice.

Along that Coast a very fine Fishery might be carried on, there being as fine and large Fish there as any upon the Coast of Newfoundland; and at the same time a Trade for Furs might be introduced with the Natives, the Furs upon the East Main being as fine as any in America, and richer than those to the Southward. The French from Canada get the most of these at present, there being none to interfere with them in that Trade, it being too far from the Factories in the Bay, and at present it is open to any who should go there to trade or fish; and it would prevent the Natives, by getting a Market nearer Home, from going so far to trade with the French; our Goods also could be afforded cheaper than the French Goods from Canada.

In the Latitude 56°. is a very great and bold Inlet to this Country, into which Captain Davis sail’d 10, and Captain Weymouth afterwards 30 Leagues, which was 2 Leagues wide; the Sea, Inlet and Coast, was full of the finest Cod that Davis had ever seen; there were great Numbers of all sorts of Land and Water-fowl, and the Country full of fine Woods, of Fir, Pine, Alder, Yew, Withy and Birch; he coasted that Land to the Southward of the Inlet four or five Days, and found it improve in Woods and low Grounds, with fair Inlets, and vast Numbers of Cod. It is surprizing that none of late have attempted to begin a Trade there with the Natives; at first they might not only make saving, but beneficial Voyages, by the Fish to be caught there, and also by naval Stores; for undoubtedly the Timber and Masts there are stronger and more durable than those which grow in New-England, they being of a slower Growth, as it is a colder Climate, and consequently the Timber would be closer in the Grain, and tougher, as well as more durable.

It is more than probable that this, or some other Inlet near it, may go into the Heart of that Country, which seems to be made up of Islands near Hudson’s Streight; for a great inland Sea has been discovered lately within the East Main from Hudson’s Bay, betwixt Sleepers Isle and Cape Smith, in Lat. 59°, which is 2 or 300 Leagues in Circumference, and probably may have a Communication with some of these Inlets.

The Entrance of Hudson’s Streight, betwixt Button’s Isle to the Southward, in about Lat. 61°. and Cape Warwick, the South End of Resolution Isle, in Lat. 61°, 25′, and Long. 64°. West from London, is about 13 Leagues wide. In the South Side is a great Bay or Inlet never yet sailed into; here the Variation is 40°. West, the Depth 200 Fathoms in the Channel. Beyond this, about 87 Leagues from the Entrance, is Cape Hope; further Westward is Prince Henry’s Foreland and Cape Charles; and at the West End of the Streight, and South Side is Cape Diggs, in Lat. 62°. 42′. and Long. 77°. 45′. West 140 Leagues from Resolution Isle, which is the whole Length of the Streight.

From Cape Charles to the Western Savage Isle, in the Middle of the Streight, it is 15 Leagues in Breadth; and at the West End, from Cape Diggs to Cape Charles, on the North Shore, the Streight is enlarged to 20 Leagues.

There are several great Bays and Inlets in the South Side, with Head-lands and Islands, it being all a broken Coast, crowded with Ice in the Beginning of Summer; some of these probably communicate with the inland Sea lately discovered upon the East Main.

The North Shore is also a broken Land, full of Inlets and Islands; the first were called the Isles of God’s Mercy, the next were called Savage Isles, about 60 Leagues from the Entrance. Beyond these is Nicholas Isle, Cape Cook, on the East Side of it, and Cape Dorset to the Westward; these last were so named by Fox. Ten Leagues W. N. W. is Prince Charles’s Foreland, the North-west Side of the Streight. Five Leagues North-west from this is King Charles’s Promontary, in Lat. 64°. 46′; and six Leagues Northward of that Promontary, in Lat. 65°. 13′. is Cape Maria. In Lat. 65°. 26′. is Cape Dorchester, near which are three Islands called Trinity Isles. North of these is Cooks Isle, and North-east of this, in Lat. 66°. 35′. is Lord Weston’s Portland; beyond which the Land falls off to the Eastward toward Cumberland’s Inlet.

At the Entrance of the Bay, in Lat. 63°. 30′. Long. 78°. West, is Salisbury Isle; and to the Westward of it Nottingham Isle, North-west of which lie Mill Isles, Lat. 64°. 20′. Long. 80°. 30′. West. All the Coast on each Side the Streight is very high, covered with Snow, and the Coast crowded with Islands of Ice, until the latter End of Summer, when it is mostly discharged into the Ocean, or dissolved by the Sun. There are great Numbers of Sea-horses, Seals and White Bears seen there; but no other fish are seen, nor any Whales, except a little Way within the Entrance, as they pass to Davis’s Streight.

At the Entrance of the Bay, 14 Leagues West from Cape Diggs, is Mansel’s Isle, which is 20 Leagues long, and about 3 Leagues broad. It is a low flat Island, not to be seen above three or four Miles from the Deck in clear Weather, with deep Water close to the Shore. The North End is in Lat. 62°. 40′. and Long. 79°. 5′. West.

The Coast upon the East Main, East of the Bay, from Cape Diggs to the Bottom of the Bay in 51°. to Rupert’s and Nodway Rivers, is very little known. There are many Islands at some Distance from the Coast, as the North Sleepers, twenty Leagues from the Coast, in Lat. 61°. and the Western Sleepers in 59°. Betwixt these on the Main is Cape Smith, near which was lately found an Inlet to that great inland Sea before-mentioned. In 59°. South of the Western Sleepers, are a Number of Islands called the Baker’s Dozen. There are many more nameless Islands scattered along the Coast towards the Bottom of the Bay, from thence to 53°. where the Coast begins to be low and full of Trees. In about 52°. is Slude River, where the Company have a House and seven or eight Servants. To the Northward of it is a Rock of clear Stone, which proves to be Muscovy Glass. To the Southward of Slude River, in 51°. is Rupert’s River, discovered by Zachariah Gillam in 1667, where the Company established their first factory. He found eight Feet Water at the Entrance, and anchor’d within it in 2 Fathoms and a half in fresh Water. The River there was a Mile broad; its Course came from E. S. E. it flow’d in that River eight feet. All the Trees were Spruce except on an Island in the River, which was full of Poplars. From that to St. Margaret’s River, which falls into the River St. Laurence, is about 150 Leagues. A little to the Southward of this is Frenchman’s River, which cometh from the S. E. and a little to Southward is Nodway’s River, which runneth from the S. S. E. This last is five Miles broad to the Falls, full of Islands and Rocks, upon which Geese breed. There are also great Numbers of Duck, Teal and Plover. To the Westward of this is Point Comfort, where are many Seals, and some white Whales, as big as Grampus’.

About eight Days Journey from Nodway’s River to the Westward, in the Bottom of the Bay, is Moose River or Monsipi, in 51°. 28′. Lat. This is a very large River, upon which the Company have a Factory, and might have a very considerable Trade. About twenty Leagues from this River in 52°. is Albany River, or Kichichouan, another very large River upon which the Company have a Factory, which runneth from the W. S. W. Northward from this on the West Coast, is a small River called Equon, not regarded, nor any Thing observable upon that Coast; from thence to Cape Henrietta Maria in 55°. from the Moose River to this Cape is about 80 Leagues, and the Breadth of the Bay here about 50 Leagues; at the Bottom of the Bay it is about 40 Leagues wide; in that Space are many Islands, Viner’s Island near the West Shore in Lat. 52°. is 30 Leagues in Circuit; Lord Weston’s Isle in Lat. 53°. 5′; Roe’s in Lat. 52°. 10′. full of small Wood; Denbigh’s and Charleton’s in Lat. 52°. 3′. on the last Captain James wintered in 1632; Hay’s Island more southerly, on which the Company had once a Factory; Robinson’s and Willow Island near the South Shore, and many other nameless Islands.

From Cape Henrietta Maria the Coast falls away to the W. N. W. and the Bay is enlarged.

In Lat. 56°. is the River Savanne, or New Severn, called by the French St. Huiles, a fine River, tho’ not deep, call’d by the Indians Kouachoue; it is full of Woods within Land, and Pools of Water, in which Beavers abound, and many other Beasts of rich Furs.

North-west from this River, in Lat. 57°. is Nelson River, call’d by the French the River Bourbon. In Hay’s Island, upon this River, is York Fort, a Factory belonging to the Company. This is a noble, fine River, running through many Lakes, for some hundred Leagues, from the South-west; it is of difficult Entrance, the Water without of a red, muddy, sandy Colour, and shallow, not 7 or 8 Fathom out of Sight of Land: There are two small Islands to the South-eastward of it, at 4 Leagues Distance, it is shoal, and full of Breakers, where they must constantly use the Lead; the Tide here rises from 9 to 12 Feet. Forty Leagues to Northward of this is the Danish or Churchill River, in Lat. 58°, 56′, a noble River, and a deep, bold Entrance; the Tide flows here from 10 to 14 Feet. Here is the Prince of Wales’s fort, upon which they have 40 Guns mounted: This is the Company’s chief Factory, and is new built of Lime and Stone; it stands elevated 40 Feet high, on the North-west Side of the River, within two Points, one called Cape Merry, the other Eskimaux Point. On the South-east Side of the Point is Ward’s Mount; 15 Leagues to the Northward is the River the French call Loup Marine, or River of Seals; in Lat. 59°. 40′. is the Place call’d Hubbart’s Hope, and in 60°. 30′. Cape Eskimaux; in Lat. 61°. is Hopes check’d; a flat sand Coast, with Islands lying off it; in Lat. 61°. 40′. are three Islands at some Distance from the Coast; from thence to Lat. 62°. is a broken Coast full of Islands, called by Fox, Briggs’s Mathematicks. The Company at present send a Sloop to this Latitude annually from Churchill to Whale Cove, where they trade with the Eskimaux for Whale-fin and Oil, there being plenty of Whales from that Place along the Coast to 65°. all the Coast being a broken Land, full of Islands and Inlets. In Lat. 62°. 30′. is Dun Fox’s Island, with many Islands betwixt it and the suppos’d Main. In Lat. 63°. is an Island called Marble Island, or Brook Cobham by Captain Middleton, tho’ not the same so called by Fox, within 3 Leagues of the Coast; it is about 7 Leagues long, and 3 broad, its Length from East to West; on the South-side is a fine Cove safe from all Winds, an Island lying cross the Entrance, and an Opening in the Coast Westward of the Island, from whence the Tide flowed with a great Current; the Tide sometimes rising there 22 Feet; it is in Long. 93°. 40′. West from London. On this Island are white Bears, Deer, Swans, Ducks, and other Water-fowl.

To the North-eastward of this Island, in Lat. 63°. 20′, is a Head-land, near which were many Whales seen by Captain Middleton upon his Return; he took it to be a Head-land upon the Main; but Fox called this Brook Cobham, and says it is an Island of white Marble, six or seven Miles long, upon which he hunted a Rain-deer, and got Swans and other Fowl, and saw forty Whales sleeping near it; betwixt it and the Coast was all broken Shelves, and a great Bay betwixt the high Land to the North, and the low Ground to the Southward; there was a Cove or Harbour on the East Side, where a Ship might lie in Safety in two Fathoms at low Water. From this Island or Head-land is a great Bay in Land, and then another Head-land in Lat. 64°, 10′, which is also an Island, Soundings betwixt them from 35 to 72 Fathoms, all within is broken Land and Islands. This Head-land Scroggs called Cape Fullerton; this was Fox’s Welcome, and Button’s Ne Ultra. Here is a great Bay, an Opening betwixt this and Whalebone Point, in Lat. 64°, 56′, in which Scroggs saw many Whales, and Captain Norton from a high Land saw an open Sea leading to the Southward of the West.

North-east of this Point, in Lat. 65°, 10′, Long. 88°, 6′ West, a fair Cape or Head-land was discovered by Captain Middleton, which he called Cape Dobbs; to the Northward of which was an Opening, River or Streight, which at the Entrance, in Lat. 65°, 24′, was six or seven Miles wide, and from 14 to 44 Fathoms deep in the mid Channel; it continued of that Breadth for 4 or 5 Miles; 4 Leagues higher it was 4 or 5 Leagues wide; and higher up even to 30 Leagues. It was from 8 to 10 Leagues wide, and above 70 Fathom deep. The Course of the River was about N. West by Compass, which Variation allowed of 35°, is about W. by N. At a high Bluff, on the South-west Side, 30 Leagues up the River, they saw a large Streight or River, 4 or 5 Leagues wide, running W. S. W. with high, mountainous, broken Lands, on each Side. The Tide slowed from the Eastward at the Mouth of the River, and in the Narrows 5 or 6 Miles in an Hour. At the Entrance, without in the Welcome, and for a considerable Way up the River, it was choaked with Ice, driving backwards and forwards with the Tide. At 16 Leagues Distance from the Entrance was a Sound 6 or 7 Miles wide, and below it a very large, safe Harbour, capable of containing a fleet in Safety; the Sound he called Deer Sound. He anchored in a Cove 8 Leagues below it, within some Isles which he called Savage Sound. The upper Part of the River was almost clear of Ice, and many true Whales in it, but none below, nor without the River; this Streight he called Wager Streight.

To the North-east of this is another Streight, running N. N. E. to Cape Hope, so called by him, upon Pretence of his Expectation of its being the North Point of America, in Lat. 66°, 40′. To the North-west and North of this, is a great Bay; about 20 Leagues deep, and 8 or 10 wide, quite surrounded with Land, except to the Eastward, where he gave out, upon his going to Land, that there was a Streight frozen over, leading to the South-east, from 4 to 7 Leagues wide, full of Islands, through which the Tide flowed; but by others who were on Shore, it appears there was no such Streight nor Tide, but only a narrow Sound around an Island, upon which they stood, about 3 Leagues wide, where was no Tide but what flowed from the Southward up the Streight from the Welcome, which ended in the Bay, in which they found no Tide nor Current. The North Point of this Island he called Cape Frigid; and to the Southward of the Sound, South of the Island, was a low Beachy Point, but high Lands to the Eastward of it, and so round to the Northward. from this Beachy Point to Cape Hope, the Streight was 7 or 8 Leagues wide; and from it, along the East Side of the Welcome, as far as Lat. 64°, was a low continuous Beachy Coast, and so on to Cape Southampton, in about Lat. 62°; from whence the Coast is Easterly to Cary’s Swan’s Nest; from thence to Cape Nasdrake N. E. in Lat. 62°. 40′. Long. 83°. 50′. West; thence Northerly to Cape Pembrook, in Lat. 63°. 30′. Shark, or Sea-Horse Point, North of this, in Lat. 64°. 10′. and Cape Comfort, in Lat. 65°. 85′. West; from whence the Land falls away North-west towards his imaginary frozen Streight. On the other Side of a Bay, E. N. E. from this Point, is Lord Weston’s Portland, already mentioned, on the North-west of Hudson’s Streight, where the Land falls away towards Cumberland’s Inlet; so far Fox had sailed. This is the whole Extent of the Bay and Streights adjoining to it that are yet known or divulged.

Having given this short Description of the Coast of Hudson’s Bay and Streights adjoining, as far as any thing has been published, or is come to my Knowledge by private Journals or Information, the Company concealing, as much as they can, all Things relating to the Commerce and Navigation of the Bay, as well as of the Climate and Countries adjoining; I shall, before I make any general Observations upon the Rivers, Soil, Climates, and Produce of the several adjoining Countries, give some short Abstracts of Journals relating to the Seasons and Weather in different Parts of the Bay, and afterwards give such Descriptions of these Countries as the French have published, and what I have collected from some who have been there, and particularly from Joseph la France, the French Canadese Indian, already mentioned.

The first Journal that can be depended upon for Observations upon wintering in this Bay, is that of Captain James in Charleton Island, in Lat. 52°. for Hudson’s and Button’s Journals are not to be found.

He wintered there in 1632; he was obliged to take Harbour in the Beginning of October, the Snow and Ice began in that Month, but the Sea was not frozen close to the Island until the Middle of December. The Cold was very intense until the Middle of April, unto those who had no Place to reside in, but a Tent covered with their Sails, and such Branches of small Spruce as that Island afforded; and consequently in such a Situation they endured great Hardships in so long a Winter, surrounded by a Sea all covered with Ice, for a long Time after it was dissolved upon the Lands adjoining to the Bay. The 29th of April it rained all Day. The third of May the Snow was melted in many Places of the Island. The thirteenth the Weather was very warm in the Day-time, but there was still Frost in the Night. The 24th the Ice was consumed along the Shore, and crack’d all over the Bay, and began to float by the Ship. The 30th the Water was clear of Ice betwixt the Shore and the Ship, and some Vetches appeared. The 15th of June the Sea was still frozen over, and the Bay full of Ice. The 16th was very hot, with Thunder. The 19th they saw some open Sea, and by the 20th all the Ice was drove to the Northward. This Island was a dry Sand, covered with a white Moss, and small Shrubs and Bushes, no Trees but Spruce and Juniper, the longest a Foot and a Half over. The Sea to Northward was full of floating Ice until the 22d of July.

The next that wintered in the Bottom of the Bay was Captain Gillam, in the Nonsuch Catch, in 1668; it was September before he got to the Bottom of the Bay, where he was embay’d betwixt Rupert’s, Frenchman’s, and Nodway Rivers. He got into Rupert’s River the 29th of September, and came to an Anchor in two Fathoms and a Half Water, the River was a Mile broad. The 9th of December they were frozen up in the River, and went upon the Ice to a small Island full of Poplars, all the other Trees were Spruce. In April 1669, the Cold was almost over, and the Indians came down to them. They saw no Grain there, but many Gooseberries, Strawberries, and Dewotter Berries. The Indians about that River are simpler than those of Canada. The Nodways or Eskimaux Indians, near Hudson’s Streight, are wild and barbarous. In 1670 the Ice began in Rupert’s River on the 10th of October, but they had warm Weather after that. The River was frozen over the 6th of November, they then shot white Partridges in Petre River to Northward of them, and at Frenchman’s River, a great River to Southward of them. The Snow that Year was 7 or 8 Feet thick, tho’ in 1673 it was but 4 Feet thick. The first of February they had such a Change of Weather, that it rather thawed than froze. About the 20th of March it began to thaw, and the first of April the Geese returned; the River was thawed the 20th of April.

The next is an Abstract of a Journal kept at Albany River, in Lat. 52°. one of the Factories belonging to the Company, from October 1729, to the Year 1731, giving an exact Account of the Weather and Climate, and how they spent their Time there.

The Frost began in October 1729, about which time the Geese, that returned from the Northward to that River in August, departed from thence to the more southern Countries. The Creek near the Factory was frozen over the 13th; by the 21st there was a great deal of Ice floating in the River; by the 31st it was fast as far as Charles Creek; by the 5th of November the whole River was frozen over, but not so strong as to bear; the Weather was temperate with some Snow to the 27th; all the Month of December was interchangeably three or four Days cold, and then a temperate Frost, with some Snow; the Month of January much the same, cold and temperate interchangeably; the Month of February was variable, but mostly moderate, at Intervals warm, and then sharp Weather; March, to the 8th, was warm temperate Frost; from that Time to the 17th fine clear Weather, with some Snow; thence to 29th clear Weather tolerably warm; on the 30th a Storm of Snow, and then it began to thaw in the middle of the Day; it continued thawing till the 5th of April, then two Days Frost, it thawed again until the 13th, when the Geese returned from the Southward; then to 17th raw cold Weather; 18th warm and Rain; then interchangeably warm, and raw Weather, until the 28th; when the Frost was broke up in the Country by the Freshes coming down; the 29th the Ice gave Way to the Head of the Island, and next Day drove down to Baily’s Island, when all the Marshes were overflowed, the Bay being not yet thawed; the Ice continued driving in the River until the 5th of May, then the River fell five Feet, by the breaking up of the Ice at Sea; the 7th they had Thunder and Rain, the Ice still driving in the River; the 8th the Indians came down in their Canoes to trade; to 13th they had raw cold Weather; 16th they began to dig their Garden; 22d the Tide began to flow regularly; the 23d they sowed their Turnips, the Geese went then to the Northward to breed; raw cold Weather until the 29th; 30th variable Weather, with some Hail and Snow; from that Time to the 12th of July fine warm Weather, and then to the 7th of September, warm or very hot Weather; to the 18th warm and temperate; then to 25th variable and temperate, with some Rain; then Frost in the Night; fine Weather until the 29th; October 2d and 3d, Snow and some Frost in the Night; then to the 9th moderate Weather, with some Snow and Frost in the Night; to the 12th fine Weather; stop’d Fishing, having no Frost to freeze the Fish; to the 24th fine warm Weather with small Frost; the 28th Ice in the River and the Geese going away; November 13th the River full of heavy Ice; the 18th it was frozen over, but still moderate Weather; the Winter was not so severe as the former, the Geese returned the 14th of April 1731, the Freshes came down May 5th, the 12th the Ice was gone to Sea, the 13th the Indians came to trade in their Canoes; they had fine warm Weather that Year from the 11th of May to the middle of September. The Indians that came that Year to trade were 35 Canoes of Western Indians, 31 of upland Indians, 10 of French Indians, 1 of strange Indians, 22 of Sturgeon Indians, 5 of Home Indians, 9 of Jack Indians, and 5 of Moose River Indians, 118 in all.

The Beaver Sloop left the Factory 20th of August 1729, to winter in Slude River on the East Main, and returned to Albany 5th of July 1730. August 22d Captain Middleton arrived at the Factory in the Hudson’s Bay Frigate, was loaded by the 29th, and sailed September 1st for England.

The 7th the two Sloops sailed for Moose River, to fix a Factory there, in 51°. 28′. This is a much finer and larger River than Albany, and navigable for Canoes above the Falls, a great Way to the Southward, towards the Inland Lakes.

July 2d 1731, the Beaver Sloop returned from Slude River; the 31st Captain Middleton returned, and sailed for Moose River the 9th of August, and the 21st sailed from thence for England; the 28th the Beaver Sloop returned to Slude River; November 10th 1731, Albany River was frozen over. So far goes this Journal.

If I may depend upon a short Sketch mentioned by Fox from Button’s Journal, of his wintering in Nelson River, in 57°. in 1612, it would appear that the Winter was not so long or severe at Port Nelson, as at Albany in 52°. occasioned, I suppose, from the Strength and Heighth of the Tide there, which rises near 14 Feet, when at Albany it does not rise above 4 Feet; for he says, altho’ the River was not above a Mile over, it was not frozen over that Year until the 16th of February; and they had several warm thawing Days before, and the River was clear of Ice the 21st of April: But by this Journal, Albany River was frozen over the Beginning of November, and the Ice did not break up at the Factory until the Beginning of May. I have seen no late Journal of the Weather at York Fort, on the Southern Branch of Nelson River, so can’t tell whether the Climate be such now, as is here represented. But since the Winter 1741 was so severe at Churchill River, only 2°. more northerly than Nelson River, of which the following Journal was taken by Captain Middleton, I should suppose this more severe than usual, or wrote with a View to serve the Company, by setting it forth in its worst Colours, or the Climate at York Fort is more severe than is here mentioned from Button’s Journal.

Captain Middleton arrived at Churchill River the 10th of August 1741, the Weather was moderate and fair, with Calms until the 24th; the Home Indians having been gone into the Country, they sent to York Fort for Indians to kill Geese for their Winter Store, before they went to the Southward; they sunk a Pit six Feet deep in the new Fort to put their Beer in, to preserve it from the Winter’s frost, which they covered eight Feet high above Ground with Earth and Horse Dung; the 26th was stormy with Rain.

The first Snow they had was on the 1st of September, the Geese then going to the Southward; cold blowing Weather with Snow Showers until the 8th, the Ground still marshy and Boggy; the same Weather until the 13th; moderate Weather, with some Rain and Thunder until the 22d; 23d freezing, with small Snow; 27th the Thermometer as low as in London in the great Frost, they killed 100 white Partridges before the cold Weather came on; they then went to the Woods; 30th the River full of floating Ice driving out with the Ebb; October 1st the Ice fast along the Shore for two Miles; 7th the River almost full of floating Ice, but not much Snow on the Ground; 12th most of the Ice that lined the Shore for two Miles above them, drove to Sea, and was out of Sight next Day; the Ice farther up fast froze, they cross’d the River upon the Ice eight Miles above the Fort the 9th; 16th the Ice not yet fast at the Mouth of the River, tho’ the Sea was full of Ice when the Wind blew upon the Shore; 17th all the Ice without drove out of Sight; 18th cold Weather now with all Winds; 21st Water and Ink freeze by the Bedside; 22d the River still open in several Places. The Company’s Servants take white Foxes, which are plenty here; from 18th to 27th moderate calm Weather, but hard Frost, the Snow in many Places 10 or 12 feet deep; no stirring without Snow Shoes, 5 feet long, and 18 Inches broad; high Winds and much Snow till the 30th; 31st cold with thick Fog; some of the Company’s Men came home from Wooding and Hunting, having their Necks and Faces frozen. November 2d the Ice drives in and out each Tide, but no Water to be seen at Sea, nor above a Mile up the River; the 9th a Bottle of Spirits full Proof, set out at Night was frozen; they still get white Foxes and Partridges near the Fort, tho’ not so plenty as in former Years; 11th hard Gales and stormy, no going out without being froze; 12th the River now fast froze at the Entrance; 15th set up Beacons cross the River to guide them, the Ice 4 or 5 feet thick; not yet fast above a Mile from Shore; the Weather sometimes moderate, sometimes severe, until the 10th of December; they got to that Time 1500 Partridges; 14th so cold an Indian seventy Years old was starved to Death under the Walls of the Fort in his Tent; 22d most of the Factory’s Men, who had been Hunting and Fishing, returned for a Fortnight to keep Christmas; 30th moderate warm Weather, six Home Indians came from the Northward with Buffalo’s Flesh and Goods for Trade; they were five Months from the Factory, and twenty Days in their Journey home; they say their Country is barren and without Wood; very cold from the 1st to 9th of January; close hazy Weather, very cold from that Time to 18th; the Captain walked five Miles to the old Factory and returned in the Evening; cold Frost to 24th; got to that Time 300 more Partridges; 29th several of the Factory’s Men came from the Woods for a Fortnight’s Provisions; most of them lie in the Woods all the Winter, shooting, fishing, and cutting fire Wood; got fifteen Jacks from one of them, who fished all the Winter in Holes in the Ice; 31st returned again to the Woods; moderate Weather, clear and cold until 8th of February; it freezes still hard in the Night; the Weather very cold, but generally clear until the 15th; got to that Time 229 more Partridges; none who lie out in the Woods and exercise, are troubled with any Distemper; moderate, fair, temperate Weather, with Frost, until the 2d of March; very cold from that Time to the 12th. Several Indians came down almost starved for want of Food, and several Wolves. Thirteenth very cold, got 50 Partridges, and 22 Fish from his Servant, who had fished all the Winter 25 Miles up the River; 14th and 15th, very cold, hard Gales, and drifting Snow; 16th and 17th, moderate and clear; to 21st fresh Gales with Frost, but fair; 22d moderate, began to repair the Ships; to 27th moderately warm, with some Snow in the Nights, the Weather now grown milder; 28 and 29th a great Snow for 30 Hours, the Fort full within and without, as high as the Ramparts; 30th the Storm abated, but very cold; the Ice 3 or 4 Inches thick under the Deck. Cold until the 2d of April, then calm and warm, with a clear Sky, the Sun now begins to thaw some Places. Fourth drift Snow, but not so cold as usual; 5th to 7th cold freezing Weather. The Water rose 9 or 10 feet, the Ice at the Ship 10 feet thick, and Snow 13 feet above it; 9th and 10th moderate warm Weather to what they had, some Hail, and large flakes of Snow, a Sign the Winter is spent, all the Snow for 6 Months being as fine as Dust; 11th moderate and hazy, got 300 Partridges; 12th to 18th Frost, with some Snow and Sleet; Ink freezes by the Fire; 19th light Airs, and warm in the Day, but cold in the Night; 20th warm, clear Weather, with fresh Gales, the Ice without the Harbour, not fast, is drove to Sea; but when it drives to the Shore, no End to be seen of it; 21st and 22d moderate, pleasant, warm Weather, had a Shower of Rain, none before for 7 Months; 23d fresh Gales, with Frost, and some Snow; the Tide rose 10 feet 3 Inches; Frost and some Snow until the 28th, then moderate and fair, with some Snow Showers; saw a Goose that Day, which was killed 4 Miles from the Ship; Frost, Sleet and Rain, to the 1st of May; 2d Thunder, Rain and Hail; 3d and 4th cold and Frost; 5th Fog and Rain; 6th to 10th Frost and Snow, then moderate, fair Weather; 12th and 13th Hail, with Frost; 14th to 18th moderate and cloudy, with some Rain, fresh Gales, with some Snow, Hail and Rain, until the 23d; cloudy and hazy, with some Rain, until the 26th; the River opens a little above, but is fast below; 31st moderate and clear. June the 1st the Ice gave way in the Channel, and drove to Sea, but still fast on the Flats, near a Mile from the Shore; 2d moderate, fair Weather, Ice driving in and out with the Tide; 3d Thunder and large Hail, very warm after the Shower; 4th moderate and cloudy, with Thunder and Rain; shot a white Whale, and got a Barrel of Oil from it; 5th cloudy, most of the Ice broke off from the Flats, and drove to Sea; 6th and 7th fair and cloudy; 8th squally, with Showers of Rain; the Flats almost clear, Ice still driving in the River; 9th and 10th moderate, fair Weather, got the Ship out of her Dock, and moored her; 11th fair Weather, with thick Fog; several Northern Indians came to trade; 13th got the Ship into the Stream, all the Ice gone out of the River; 14th and 15th moderate, hazy Weather; 16th squally, Thunder and Rain; sent a Sloop to the Goose Tent, 7 Leagues from the River, for Geese; 17th Cloudy, 30 Canoes of upland Indians came down to trade; 18th to 20th cloudy; the Sloop returned with 16 Casks of salted Geese; employed in watering and digging up their Beer, which was in one Cake of Ice; from that time to the 28th warm and fair, got every thing ready for sailing.

Since the Hudson’s Bay Company conceal as much as possible the Nature of the Soil and Climates of the several Countries within their Grant, as well as the Benefit to be made by their Trade, upon such noble Rivers and Lakes as communicate with the Bay, from the Merchants in Britain, lest they should interfere with them in their Trade; in order to give a better Idea of these Countries, before I make any Observations upon these Journals, I shall give a brief Description of these Rivers and Lakes on the West Side of the Bay from the French Accounts of Monsieur Jeremie and de la Poterie, and then give the Account I got from Joseph la France, who travelled through all these Countries within these 3 or 4 Years, and from their Accounts, and these Journals, make the best Observations I can upon the Soil, Climates, and extensive Trade of these great inland Countries and Lakes from Canada to the Western Ocean of America, and what great Improvements may be made by laying open that Trade, and settling in proper Places, on the Rivers which enter into the Bay.

The French were in Possession of Fort Bourbon, which we call now York Fort, upon St. Theresa, the Eastern Branch of Nelson River, from the Year 1697 to 1714. Monsieur Jeremie, who was Lieutenant there from 1697 to 1708, and afterwards Governor, until he gave it up in 1714 to us, gives a very particular Account of that River and the adjoining Countries, great Part of which he affirms to be of his own Knowledge, having travelled a great Way South-west into the Country among the Rivers and Lakes.

The Danish or Churchill River, upon which the Company have lately built a strong Stone fort, he says, is situated in 59°. North Latitude, and is about 500 Paces wide at the Entrance, for about a Quarter of a League, and is very deep; but within it is much broader, and is navigable into the Country 150 Leagues; there is but little Wood upon this River, near the Bay, except in the Islands. At 150 Leagues Distance is a Chain of high Mountains, with great Cataracts and Falls of Water; but beyond these it is again navigable, and has a Communication with a River Called the River of Stags.

Fifteen Leagues Northward of this River, is the River of Loup Marine, or River of Seals; betwixt these Rivers is a kind of Ox, called the Musk Ox, which smells at some Time in the Year so strong of Musk, that it cannot be eat. They have very fine Wool, which is longer than that of the Barbary Sheep; they are smaller than French Oxen, with very crooked Horns, which turn round like Rams Horns, and are so large, that they weigh sometimes 60 Pounds; they have short Legs, and their Wool trails upon the Ground; they are not numerous.

This River comes from a Country he calls Platscotez de Chiens, who make War against the Savanna Indians, who traded with the French. In that Country they have a large Copper Mine, so fine, that without smelting it, they make Copper of it by beating it betwixt two Stones. He saw a great deal of it, which their Indians got when they went to War against that Nation.

This Nation has a sweet, humane Aspect, but their Country is not good. They have no Beaver, but live by Fishing, and a kind of Deer they call Cariboux, (Rain-Deer.) The Hares grow white in Winter, and recover their Colour in Spring; they have very large Ears, and are always black. Their Skins in Winter are very pretty, of fine long Hair, which does not fall, so that they make very fine Muffs.

He says he can say nothing positive in going farther Northward, but only that their Savages reported, that in the Bottom of the Northern Bay, there is a Streight where they can easily discover Land on the other Side; they had never gone to the End of that Streight; they say there is Ice there all the Year, which is drove by the Wind sometimes one Way, sometimes another. According to all Appearance, this Arm of the Sea has a Communication with the Western Ocean, and what makes it more probable, is, that when the Wind comes from the Northern Quarter, the Sea is discharged by that Streight in such Abundance into Hudson’s Bay, so as to raise the Water 10 feet above the ordinary Tides; insomuch as when they find the Waters rise, Ships take Shelter against these Northerly Winds.

The Savages say, that after travelling some Months to the W. S. W. they came to the Sea, upon which they saw great Vessels with Men who had Beards and Caps, who gather Gold on the Shore, that is at the Mouths of Rivers.

In passing to the Southward from the Danish River, at 60 Leagues Distance, is the River of Bourbon, or Nelson, in Lat. 57°, there is nothing remarkable in the Country betwixt these two Rivers, but a great Number of the Deer called Cariboux, which being drove from the Woods by a great Number of Musketoes or Midges, come to the Shore to refresh themselves; they are in Herds of 10000 together, and spread through a Country 40 or 50 Leagues in Extent; they might have as many of their Skins as they pleased, and some have been dressed, which have been very fine.

They have there also all Sorts of Wild-fowl, as Swans, Bustards, Geese, Cranes, Ducks, and those of the smaller Kind, in such great Numbers, that when they rise they darken the Sky, and make so much Noise, that they can scarce hear each other speak. He says that may appear fabulous, but affirms he says nothing but what he saw himself; for he would not trust to the Report of others, but went himself to almost every Place he mentions.

The River St. Theresa, upon which they built Fort Bourbon, is a Branch of Nelson River, by which the Natives come down to trade. This River is of so great Extent, that it passes thro’ many great Lakes; the first is 150 Leagues from the Entrance of the River, and is 100 Leagues in Circuit: The Natives call it the Lake of Forts (or rather Forests). On the North Side a River discharges itself, called the Rapid River; this takes its Rise from a Lake 300 Leagues from the first, which they call Michinipi, or the great Water, because in Effect it is the greatest and deepest Lake, being 600 Leagues in Circumference, and receives into it many Rivers, some of which have a Communication with the Danish River, and others with the Plascotez de Chiens. About this Lake, and along these Rivers, are great Numbers of Indians, who call themselves the Nation of the great Water, or of Assinibouels; it is to be remarked that these are as humane and affable, as the Eskimaux are fierce and barbarous, as are also all the other Nations along Hudson’s Bay. At the Extremity of the Lake of Forests, the River Bourbon continues its Course, and comes from another Lake, called, the Junction of the two Seas, because the Land almost meets in the middle of the Lake. The East Side of this Lake is a Country full of thick Forests, in which are great Numbers of Beaver and Elks. Here begins the Country of the Christinaux. This is in a much more temperate Climate; the West Side is full of fine Meadows, filled with wild Oxen; the Assinibouels live here. The Lake is 400 Leagues in Circumference, and 200 from the other Lake. A hundred Leagues further W. S. W. along this River, is another Lake they call Ounipigouchih, or the Little Sea. It is almost the same Country and Climate with the other, inhabited by the same Indians, the Assinibouels, the Christinaux, and Sauteurs, it is 300 Leagues in Circumference; at the further End is a River which comes from Tacamiouen, which is not so great as the other; it is into this Lake that the River of Stags is discharged, which is of such a Length that the Natives have not yet discovered its Source.

From this River they can go to another which runs Westward, but all the rest run either into the Bay, or River of Canada. He endeavoured to send the Natives to discover if it went to the Western Sea; but their Enemies lying in their Way prevented them; however they brought some of them Prisoners, who said they also were at War with another Nation farther West; these said they had Neighbours with Beards, who liv’d in Stone Houses and Forts; that they were not cloathed like them; that they had white Kettles, and shewing them a Silver Cup, they said it was of that Mettal; they said they tilled their Land with Tools of that Mettal; according to their Description, it was Maize they cultivated.

The Intendant of Canada wanted to discover these Countries from thence; but it is much easier from Fort Bourbon, as it is shorter, and through a fine Country, full of Beasts and wild Fowl, besides Fruit which grow wild, as Plumbs, Apples and Grapes, and a great Variety of smaller Fruit.

On the South-west Side of this Lake Tacamiouen, is a River which comes from another, called the Lake of Dogs, which is not far from the superior Lake.

The River St. Theresa is but half a League wide where the Fort is built. Two Leagues higher is Fort Philipeaux, built for a Retreat; there the River begins to be interspersed with Islands. Twenty Leagues above the Fort the River divides into two Branches, one which comes from the North-west Side, communicates with Nelson or Bourbon River, by which the Natives come down to trade, by the Means of a Land Carriage from the Lake of Forests to this River. Twenty Leagues above the first Fork there is another, that comes from the South-east, which the Natives call Guichematouang, or the great Fork. This has a Communication with the River St. Huiles; the Western Branch, tho’ still called St. Theresa, is but of small Extent, coming from its Source by several small Brooks, in each of which are great Numbers of Lynx, Beavers, Martins, and others of smaller Furs. Betwixt the two Forts is a small River called Egaree, from whence they get their Wood for firing, it being scarce at the Fort. Near the Mouth of the River is another small one they call Gargousse; there comes in at high Water a great Number of Porpoises; the River being narrow here. There might be a good Fishing, where they might make above 600 Barrels of Oil annually.

From this River to St. Huiles, or New Severn, is 100 Leagues S. E. It is situated in Lat. 56°. The Entrance is but shallow, only capable of Vessels of 60 Tons. Here might be made good Houses, for Wood is very plenty here, and there are great Numbers of Beavers higher up the River.

As to the Climate at Fort Bourbon, it being in Lat. 57°. it is very cold in Winter, which begins about Michaelmas, and ends in May. The Sun sets about 3, and rises about 9 in the Winter. When the Days grow a little longer, and the Cold is more temperate, the Sportsmen kill as many Partridges and Hares as they please. One Year, when they had eighty Men in Garison, they had the Curiosity to reckon the Number, which amounted to 90,000 Partridges, and 25,000 Hares.

At the End of April, the Geese, Bustards, and Ducks, return in such Numbers, that they kill as many as they please; they also take great Numbers of Cariboux or Rain-Deer. In March and April they come from the North to the South, and extend then along the River 60 Leagues; they go again Northward in July and August; the Roads they make in the Snow are as well padded, and cross each other as often as the Streets in Paris; the Natives, make Hedges with Branches of Trees, and leave Openings in which they fix Snares, and thus take Numbers of them. When they swim the Rivers in returning Northwards, the Natives kill them in Canoes with Lances, as many as they please. In Summer they have the Pleasure of Fishing, and with Nets take Pike, Trout and Carp, and a white Fish something like a Herring, by much the best Fish in the World; they preserve those for their Winter Provision, by putting them in Snow, or freezing them, as also the Flesh they would preserve: They keep thus also Geese, Ducks, and Bustards, which they roast with the Hares and Partridges they kill in Winter; so that tho’ it be a cold Climate, there is good Living there, by getting Bread and Wine from Europe. Tho’ the Summer be short, they had a Garden and good Coleworts, with Sallads and small Herbs, which they had in their Soups in Winter. He had 120,000 Livres Profit out of 8000 sent him in Goods in one Season; they have also Bears, Elks, and all Sorts of Beasts whose Skins and Furs are valued in France; and according to him it is one of the most profitable Posts in North America, considering the Expence. This is an Extract of so much as is material out of Monsieur Jeremie’s Letter, describing the Climate and Countries adjoining to Fort Bourbon. To this I will give an Abstract of what de la Poterie mentions in relation to that River, and the Nations and Countries adjoining to it.

He says the Ouinebigonhelinis inhabit on the Sea-coast. The Poaourinagou, or River Bourbon is a League wide, inhabited by the Miskogonhirinis, or Savanna Indians, who make War with the Hakouchirmiou. Five Leagues within it, are two Islands of a League in Circuit each, where there are large Trees; this River is but five Leagues from St. Theresa by Land, and seven by Water; here is a flat Coast for 100 Leagues; a League without the Mouth of the River is a Pool betwixt two Banks, in which is 18 Foot at low Water, and five Fathoms at high Water, 200 Fathom over, and 600 in Length, where Ships may ly at Anchor. A League within the River on the Star-board Side is Fort Nelson. This River takes its Source from a great Lake called Michinipi, where is the true Nation of the Cris, or Christinaux; from whence there is a Communication with the Assinibouels, tho’ far from each other; the River Mathisipi, called Leogane, empties itself on the Larboard Side near its Mouth; and about a League higher over against the Fort is Matchisipi, called Gargousse; by these two Rivers the Savages come to the Fort of New Savanne, by the great River they call Kouachoue. Twelve Leagues above the fort is the River Oujuragatchousibi, and two Leagues higher is the River Apithsibi, called the River Pierre de Fleches, which is the Way by which the Savages come to a great Lake called Namousaki, or the River of Sturgeons, where the Nakonkirhirinous reside.

Twenty Leagues above Apithsibi is Kechematouamis, called the Great Fork, by which they go to Kichichouane or Albany River, in the Bottom of the Bay.

The Country about Fort Nelson is very low, it is filled with Woods of small Trees, and is very marshy. The Natives live by Hunting and Fishing; Seals abound there, which are larger than those of Canada; they sell the Oil extracted from them at the Fort, which is better and clearer than Nut Oil. They have Bustards and wild Geese in great Numbers, and sell the Feathers at the Fort. The white Partridges are as large as Capons. They have white Foxes and Martin Zebelins fairer than those in Muscovy.

The Monsonis or Nation of the Marshes live higher up, than the Ouenebegonhelinis, in a Country full of Marshes. As they have a great many small Rivers and Brooks, which fall into great Rivers, these People kill a great many Beavers; they find some very black, a Quality rare enough; for they are commonly of a reddish Colour. These would have prevented the Nations at a greater Distance from trading with the English; but they obliged them to give them a Passage if they would enjoy any Commerce themselves.

The Savanna Indians are more to the Southward; they have Savannas, Meadows, and fine Hills in their Country. There the Elks, Roe-Bucks, Rain-Deer, and Squinaton, have Place to range in. The Squinaton resembles a Roe-Buck; it is higher, has finer Legs, and the Head longer and sharper.

The Cris, or Christinaux, that is Savages who dwell upon the Lakes, are 160 Leagues higher; they use the Calumet of Peace; they are a numerous Nation, and extend over a vast Country, as far as the upper Lake, and trade sometimes at Missilimakinac. They are lively, always in Action, dancing and singing; they are at the same time Warriors, and very like to the Manners of the Gascoyns.

The Migichilinious, that is Eagle ey’d Indians, are at 200 Leagues Distance; the Assinibouels inhabit the West and the North; they are reputed to be the same Nation, because of the great Affinity of their Language. The Name signifies Men of the Rock. They use the Calumet, and live at 250 Leagues Distance. They paint their Bodies, are grave, and have much Phlegm, like the Flemings.

The Osquisakamais live upon Fish; they kill but few Beavers, but their Coat Beaver is the best from their greasy Way of living, and cleaning their Hands upon them.

The Michinipicpoets, or Men of Stone of the great Lake, are at 300 Leagues Distance; they live North and South.

The Attimospiquay which signifies the Coast of Dogs; they have yet had no Commerce with the French, because they dare not pass the Lands of the Maskigonehirinis, with whom they have War; here is the Musk Ox, whose Hair is as fine as the Beavers, which is fit for Hats; their Horns turn round like Rams Horns; they learn from these People, that there is a Strait, at the End of which is an Icy Sea, which has a Communication with the South Seas.

These Nations, who come from a great Distance, assemble in May at a great Lake, sometimes 12 or 1500 together, to begin their Voyage. The Chiefs represent their Wants, and engage the young Men to prepare and get Beavers, and each family makes a Feast, and fix upon a certain Number to go together, and they renew Alliances with each other; then Joy, Pleasure, and good Cheer reigns, in which Time they make their Canoes, which are of Birch Bark; the Trees are much larger than those in France; they make the Floor-timbers of little Pieces of white Wood, four Inches thick; they bind them at the Top to Pieces an Inch thick, which keeps the Bark open above, and sew up the two Ends; these are so swift as to go 30 Leagues in a Day with the Stream; they carry them easily on their Backs, and are very light in the Water; they have no Seats, and they must paddle either sitting in the Bottom, or upon their Knees; when they are ready for their Voyage they choose several Chiefs; the Number that trade annually are not certain, according as they happen to have War or not, which affects their Hunting; but there comes down generally to Port Nelson 1000 Men, some Women, and about 600 Canoes.

The first is the fat Winter Beaver, kill’d in Winter, which is worth 5 s. 6 d. per Pound.

The third the dry Winter Beaver, and fourth the Bordeau, is much the same, and are worth 3 s. 6 d.

The fifth the dry Summer Beaver is worth very little, about 1 s. 9 d. per Pound.

The sixth is the Coat Beaver, which is worn till it is half greased, and is worth 4 s. 6 d. per Pound.

The 7th the Muscovite dry Beaver, of a fine Skin, covered over with a silky Hair; they wear it in Russia, and comb away all the short Down, which they make into Stuffs and other Works, leaving nothing but the silky Hair; this is worth 4 s. 6 d. per Pound.

The eight is the Mittain Beaver, cut out for that Purpose to make Mittains, to preserve them from the Cold, and are greased by being used, and are worth 1 s. 9 d. per Pound.

Before I mention the Account given by Joseph la France, the French Canadese Indian, whose Father, he says, was a Frenchman, and his Mother an Indian of the Nation of the Santeurs, who reside at the Fall of St. Mary, between the Upper Lake and Lake of Hurons; I shall mention the State of the English and French Trade at present upon these Canada Lakes.

Mr. Burnet, when he was appointed Governor of New-York in 1727, finding that the French in Canada were in Possession of all the Indian Fur Trade, through all the Countries adjoining to the Canadese Lakes, except what Trade the English carried on with the six Iroquese Nations, (the Tuskeruro Nation now united to the others, making the 6th Tribe) and knowing that the chief Support of the Colony at Canada was the Benefit they made by their Indian Fur Trade, thought it of great Moment to gain that Trade to our Colony of New-York from the French; upon enquiring into the Nature of that Trade, and Manner of carrying it on, he found, that the French at Quebec and Monreal, were chiefly supplied with European Goods from the Merchants at New-York, where they had them upon much easier Terms than they could have them from France; by which he found we could trade upon much better Terms directly with the Indians, than with the French, and would by that Means make all the Indians our friends; and consequently by our giving them our Goods cheaper at the first Hand, we might gain most of that Trade from the French, and by that Means weaken their Colony at Canada, whose chief Support is from that Trade; accordingly, he prohibited the Trade from New-York to Canada, by an Act he got pass’d in the Assembly there; and being oppos’d in it by the Merchants trading to Quebec, who appeal’d against it to the Council in England, at last got the Act confirmed by the Council; by this Means a Trade was open’d directly with the Western Indians through the Iroquese Country, and an Intercourse and Familiarity of Consequence, betwixt all these Nations and our Colonies; the Assembly was at the Expence to build and fortify a trading House at Oswega, on the Cadarakui or Frontenac Lake, in the Neighbourhood of the Iroquese, near the Onontagues, and have from that Time maintain’d a Garison there; by this Means they have gained a considerable Part of the Trade which the French formerly had with the Western Indians, and all the Allies of the Iroquese now trade with us, as well as those on the Illenese Lake, Missilimakinae, and Saut St. Mary. Before that Time a very inconsiderable Number were employed in that Trade; now above 300 are employed at the Trading House at Oswega alone, and the Indian Trade since that Time has so much increased, that several Indian Nations come now each Year to trade there, whose Names before were not so much as known to the English.

The several Indian Nations who are now in Alliance with the six Nations, and trade with us according to the Information given to Conrad Weaser Esq; in open Council at Turpehawkie, at their Return from the Indian Treaty at Philadelphia in July 1742, are,

1. A Nation of Indians living on the West Side of the Lake Errie, and along the Straits to Huron Lake, and the South Side of Huron Lake; they are called by the Iroquese Unighkillyiakow, consisting of about 30 Towns, each of about 200 fighting Men.

2. The second live among the former called —— consisting of four Towns of their own People, and 400 able Men all.

3. The third called by them Ishisageck Roanu, live on the East Side of the Huron Lake; several of the Council have been there, and they all agree they have three large Towns of 600, 800, and 1000 able Men.

4. The fourth, called Twightwis Roanu, live at the Head of Huakiky River, near the little Lakes.

5. The fifth, Oskiakikis, living on a Branch of Ohio, that Heads near the Lake Errie, four large Towns of about 1000 Warriors.

6. The sixth, Oyachtownuk Roanu, near Black River, consists of four Towns, and 1000 Warriors.

7. The seventh, Kighetawkigh Roanu, upon the great River Mississippi, above the Mouth of Ohio, three Towns, the Number of People uncertain.

8. The eighth, Kirhawguagh Roanu, several Savage Nations as their Name signifies (the People of the Wilderness) they live on the North-side of the Huron Lake; they neither plant Corn, nor any Thing else, but live altogether upon Flesh, Roots and Herbs; an infinite Number of People of late become Allies to the Iroquese.

The above Account was communicated by a Gentleman of good Understanding and Probity, and very well skill’d in the Indian Tongue and Manners, being himself adopted into one of their Tribes, and is their constant Interpreter at the Philadelphia Treaties, and the Account may be depended upon.

The Iroquese are now civilizing, and many of them become Christians and Protestants, by the Care of Mr. Barclay now among them; who among the Mowhawks has in great Measure suppressed their darling Vice Drunkenness, and has persuaded them to marry, and not to divorce their Wives; they are not now so cruel to their Enemies as formerly, and have in great Measure left off their Wars with their Neighbours, having entered into Alliances with them, and by that Means have brought their Fur Trade to Oswega in their own Country, and thus the most material Points are gained towards civilizing and converting them to Christianity. This Account is of last Summer 1742.

Oswega is situated upon the Lake Frontenac, about 20 Leagues below the Fall of Niagara; the Indian Traders have two Ways of coming there, either by a short Land Carriage betwixt two Rivers, which fall into Huron and Frontenac Lake, and so cross that Lake to Oswega, or by the Streight of St. Joseph, betwixt Huron and Errie Lakes, and so to the Fall of Niagara, where they have one Land Carriage, and then go by Water to Oswega. This is a much easier Voyage and Passage than to Monreal, and so to Quebec, there being above 36 Falls upon the River Outaouas, by which they pass from Huron Lake to Monreal; and if they should go by the Lake Frontenac down the River St. Laurence to Monreal, which is 80 Leagues; above 60 Leagues of it is all Sharps and Water-falls, which makes it both dangerous and tedious in returning from Monreal, and the English also afford their Goods better and cheaper than the French.

Joseph la France is now about 36 Years old. He was born at Missilimakinac and was 5 Years old when his Mother died. His Father then took him with him to Quebec to learn French, where he staid the Winter, about 6 Months. He says, as well as he can remember, Quebec was about a League long, and Half a League broad, and had 4 or 5000 Men in Garrison, it being about the Time of the Peace of Utrecht. He returned from thence with his Father, and lived with him until his Death, which happened when he was 14 Years old. After his Death, when he was about 16, he went down to Monreal, to sell what Furs and Peltry his Father had left him, and then returned to Missilimakinac, where he traded and hunted in the neighbouring Countries until he was 27 Years old; in which Time he went one Year to Mississippi. He went by the Illinese Lake, which he calls Michigon. At the Bottom of the Lake there was a French Fort, in which there were 15 French in Garrison, about 11 Years ago. The River upon which it is built, he calls St. Joseph, it is very rapid. He passed by Ouisconsic to the Mississippi, and went down it as far as the River Missouris, and returned by the same Rout. In his Return he passed by the Bay of L’Our qui Dort, so called from a Heap of Sand upon a Point, which resembles a Bear sleeping. When he was 28 Years old, he went with a Parcel of Furs, with 8 Iroquese, in 2 Canoes, cross the Lake of Hurons, by the Bay of Sakinac, to the Streights of Errie, which they passed in the Night for fear of being stopped by the French, who have a Village or little Fort there, in which he believes there may be 100 Houses. He from thence passed thro’ Lake Errie to the Fall of Niagara, and the Iroquese carried his Canoes and Furs down by the Fall to Lake Frontenac, for which he gave them 100 Beavers, and thence went to Oswega, but was not within the Fort or Town, the Iroquese selling his Furs for him, and then returned by the same Way to Missilimakinac. He says the French have a Fort on the North Side of the Fall of Niagara, betwixt the Lakes Errie and Frontenac, about 3 Leagues within the Woods from the Fall, in which they keep 30 Soldiers, and have about as many more with them as Servants and Assistants; these have a small Trade with the Indians for Meal, Ammunition and Arms.

About 6 Years ago he went again to Monreal with two Indians, and a considerable Cargo of Furs, where he found the Governor of Canada, who wintered there. He made him a Present of Martins Skins, and also 1000 Crowns, for a Conge or Passport to have a Licence to trade next Year: But in Spring he would neither give him his Conge nor his Money, under Pretence that he had sold Brandy to the Indians, which is prohibited, and threatened him with Imprisonment for demanding his Money; so that he was obliged to steal away with his two Indians, and what Goods he had got in Exchange for his Furs, with his 3 Canoes. Monreal, he says, is about 60 Leagues above Quebec. It is a large Town, about a League and a Half in Circuit within the Walls, which are 15 Feet high, of Lime and Stone. They have 300 Men in Garrison. This is the only considerable Town in Canada besides Quebec; for Trois Rivieres is but a Village. He says they have a Fort the Natives call Catarakui Fort, 80 Leagues above Monreal, near Lake Frontenac, in which they keep a Garrison of 40 Men, as the Indians informed him, and about as many more Inhabitants. The River St. Laurence, from thence to Monreal, is so full of Water-falls, and so rapid, that there is the utmost Danger and Difficulty in going by Water, and no going so far by Land through the Woods, so that no Trade can be carried on that Way but at great Expence.

They have no other fortified Places in Canada but one Fort called Champli, near Champlain Lake, upon the English and Iroquese Frontiers, in which they have 20 Men in Garrison.

He was above 40 Days in going up the River from Monreal to the Lake Nepesing, which is at the Source of that River which he calls St. Laurence, and not the River which passes through the Lakes, but La Hontan calls it the River Outaouas. He had 36 Land Carriages before he got to Nepising. He was but 18 Days in going down it to Monreal. He says the River Nepising runs from the same Lake into the Lake of Hurons. This is what La Hontan calls French River; it is 20 Leagues in its Course, and had three Falls upon it, which they descended in two Days; and with a fair Wind they might go from thence to Missilimakinac in two Days more along the Islands. Upon his Return he exchanged his Goods for Furs, and resolved to try his Fortune once more to Monreal, and make his Peace with the Governor. He says, when he left Missilimakinac, there were but 2 Men with the Governor in Garrison, which was only to open and shut the Gates. He says, that of late the Trade from thence to Monreal is so much lessened upon account of the English supplying the Indians much cheaper and better, by an easy Navigation through the Lakes to Niagara, that there does not go above 12 Canoes in a Year, and those Licences are generally given to superannuated Officers; the Avarice and Injustice of the Governor of Canada has likewise disgusted the Natives.

After having got a Parcel of Furs, he, with two Indian Slaves, and 3 Canoes, passed the Lake Huron, and enter’d the River Nepising, and went up it several Leagues; but at a Turn in the River he met 9 Canoes, in which was the Governor’s Brother-in-law, with 30 Soldiers, and as many more to manage the Canoes, who seized him and his Furs, and Slaves, as a Runaway without a Passport, and would have carried him away to Monreal, but he made his Escape into the Woods in the Night, with only his Gun and five Charges of Powder and Ball, and passed by Land alone through the Woods on the North Side of Huron Lake, until he met with some of the Missada Indians, who live there, having been six Weeks in his Journey, travelling behind the Mountains, on the North Side of the Lake, in a marshy Country, abounding with Beavers, and thus returned to Saut St. Marie; and having lost all, determined to go to the English in Hudson’s Bay, by passing through the Indian Nations West of the upper Lake, until he should arrive, by these Lakes and Rivers which run Northwards, at York Fort, on Nelson River.

He set out in the Beginning of Winter 1739 upon this Journey and Voyage, and hunted and lived with the Indians his Relations the Sauteurs, on the North Side of the upper Lake, where he was well acquainted, having hunted and traded thereabouts for fourteen Years. He says the upper Lake has three Islands near the North Shore, about 3 Leagues from the Shore; they are about 3 or 4 Leagues each in Circumference. One of them he calls Isle du Lignon; they are full of fine Woods, as is all the North Coast, which is very mountainous, but the Country is very fine to the Northward of the high Land.

The Upper Lake falls into the Lake of Hurons by the Falls of St. Mary, which is a Rapid Current of several Leagues. From that Fall to the River Michipikoton on the North Side of the Lake, is 60 Leagues; that River is navigable Northward for 20 Leagues, being 3 Fathoms deep and without Cataracts; it runs through a Valley betwixt the Mountains, which is about three Leagues wide, full of fine Woods; and then there is a fork where two Branches meet, and on each Side, at a considerable Distance, are two round Hills detached from the others, which they call Le deux Mamelles, or two Paps; these two Branches come from their several Sources, after running about eight Leagues, through a Country abounding in Beavers. There are two Indian Nations upon this North Coast, the Epinette Nation are upon the East Side of that River, and the Ouassi upon the West Side, both Tribes of the Sauteurs.

About 100 Leagues farther West is another River, which runs from the North-west into this Lake, which he calls the River du Pique from a sharp Rock at the Mouth of the River, formed like a Pike or Halbert, it is only navigable for about three Leagues to a Fall, above which is a Lake about six Leagues long, which comes from a marshy Country full of Beavers; on the West Side of this River, and of the Upper Lake, is a Range of Mountains full of Woods, and a River full of Cataracts descends from them, and enters into the River du Pique, a little before it passes into the Lake; among these Mountains are several rich Mines; he saw some very good Lead and Copper Oar, which the Natives brought down from these Mountains. On the South-west Side of the Lake, under these Mountains, is a flat Country, full of Woods and Beavers, but the South and South-east Side is a sandy, low, dry Country, without Wood. He staid Part of the Winter with the Indians at Michipikoton, and in the Month of March got to the River Du Pique, which he passed on the Ice, it being not then thawed. He says there are many Beavers also among the Mountains, Southward of that River, they having great Flats above, and among the Mountains, where they make their Dams and Ponds. The Ice was quite gone on the South-west Side of the Lake by the 15th of April N. S. He says the Lake is never frozen at any Distance from the Shore, only in little Bays, where it sometimes is frozen, and breaks off, and is carried out and in with the Wind.

On the sandy Coast on the South-east Side of the Lake, there is nothing but Shrubs not above six Feet high; but at some Distance from the Coast there are fine Meadows and Pasture, full of Elks, Stags, Deer, Goats, wild Beeves, &c. interspersed with Woods; and the Indian Nations in the neighbouring Countries remove thither in the Summer Season to hunt and feed upon them.

On the South-west Side of the Lake, betwixt the woody and Champaign sandy Country, there is a Land Carriage of 3 Leagues, and they came to a Marsh or Bog about a League long, and five Furlongs over, and from thence another Land Carriage of nine Leagues to the River Du Pluis, which, after a Course of fifteen Leagues, falls into the Lake Du Pluis. He was from the Beginning to the 18th of April 1740 in getting to this River; there he, and the Indians with him, got fine Birch Trees of a great Size to make their Canoes. The River they embark’d upon was about three Furlongs broad, but was not deep, and had no Water-falls; the Course was South-west. The Indians who are on the West Side of that River are called Monsoni or Mosonique, or Gens de Orignal. The Lake Du Pluis is 100 Leagues in Length, and is so called from a perpendicular Water-fall, by which the Water falls into a River South-west of it, which raises a Mist-like Rain. He was 15 Days in passing down this River to the Lake Du Pluis in his Canoe; he coasted along the North-west Side of the Lake, which was full of fine Woods, but there was none on the South-east Side, as the Natives informed him, except near the Edge of the Lake, for about Half the Length of the Lake, at which Place a River enters it from the South Side, which comes from a low Country, full of Beavers. The French, upon account of these Land Carriages, never pass into these Countries adjoining to this Lake.

He passed the Lake Du Pluis in the latter End of April, and Beginning of May, and staid 10 Days at the Fall with the Monsoni, where they fish with Nets at the Bottom of the Fall. They have two great Villages, one on the North Side, and the other on the South Side of the fall.

The River Du Pluis, which falls from the Lake, is a fine large River, which runs Westward, and is about 3 Furlongs in Breadth; its Course is about 60 Leagues before it falls into the Lake Du Bois, or Des Isles, and is free from Cataracts, having only two sharp Streams. He was 10 Days in going down it in his Canoe; the whole Country along its Banks is full of fine Woods, in which are great Variety of Wild-fowl and Beasts, as wild Beeves, Stags, Elk, Deer, &c. and the River and adjoining Lakes full of excellent fish. This River falls into the Lake Du Bois, where he arrived about the End of May. This Lake is very large, and filled with fine Islands; he was 30 Days in passing it, fishing and hunting as he went with the Natives, and staid a Month in one of the Islands with the Monsoni and Sturgeon Indians, who live on the North Side of this Lake, and meet in that Island to be merry and confirm their Friendship and Alliance; these last are called so from the great Number of Sturgeons they take in this Lake, which is the greatest Part of their Provisions. He staid there until the Month of August; all these Islands and Coasts are low, and full of fine Woods, where all kind of Fowl breed. At the West End of this Lake, which is much longer than the Lake Du Pluis, a great River enters it near the Place where the great Ouinipique River passes out of it, and runs into the Lake of the same Name. This River has a long Course from the Southward. On the South-west of this Lake is the Nation of the Sieux Indians. The River Ouinipique is as large as the River Du Pluis, but is much more rapid, having about 30 Falls or Sharps upon it, where they must carry their Canoes. Two or three of them are Carriages of a League or two, the others are very short. Upon that Account he was 15 Days in going down the River, which runs North-west about 100 Leagues. It also runs through a fine woody Country, having many Sorts of Timber Trees of great Bulk. On the South-west Side, at some Distance, is a flat Country, full of Meadows; at the Falls it is about a Furlong in Breadth, in other Places three or four. He arrived at the great Ouinipique Lake in September; he was about 30 Days in passing it, shooting and fishing as he went. After going half way through it, he joined the Cris or Christinaux Indians, who live on the North-east Side, and went on Shore, and hunted Beavers all the Autumn. He saw but two Isles in it; one was full of Wood, it was about 3 Leagues long and 2 broad. He called it the Isle Du Biche, or of Hinds, there being several upon it; the other was sandy, and without Wood, full of Geese and other Water-fowl, which breed there; he called it Goose Isle, but the Natives called it Sandy Isle.

On the West Side of this Lake the Indians told him a River enter’d it, which was navigable with Canoes; it descended from Lac Rougeor, the Red Lake, called so from the Colour of the Sand; they said there were two other Rivers run out of that Lake, one into the Mississippi, and the other Westward, into a marshy Country, full of Beavers.

The Country West of the Ouinipique Lake has dry Islands or Hills with marshy Bottoms, full of Wood and Meadows. On the East Side is a fine flat Country, full of Woods, until they come to the Bottom of the Mountains, which are betwixt this and the upper Lake. On a Lake on that Side, betwixt this Lake and Lake Du Bois, are the Migechichilinious, or Eagle-eyed Indians; these, he says, are not called so from their having a sharp Sight, but upon account of many Eagles which breed in Islands in that Lake.

Upon the West Side of Lake Ouinipique are the Nation of the Assinibouels of the Meadows, and farther North a great Way, are the Assinibouels of the Woods. To the Southward of these are the Nation of Beaux Hommes, situated betwixt them and the Sieux Indians. The Indians on the East Side are the Christinaux, whose Tribes go as far North on that Side as the Assinibouels do on the other. All these Nations go naked in Summer, and paint or stain their Bodies with different Figures, anointing themselves with Grease of Deer, Beavers, Bears, &c. which prevents the Muskitoes, Serpents, or other Vermin, from biting them, they having an Antipathy to all Oils.

The great Ouinipique Lake was frozen over in Winter; it is no where 10 Leagues wide, and in some Places not above a League and a Half wide; the Winter there was not severe, it lasted about 3 Months and a Half, the Frost breaking up there in March.

This Lake is discharged into the little Ouinipique by a River he calls the Red River, or little Ouinipique, after a Course Northwards of about 60 Leagues.

This River runs through the like woody Country as the others; but the West Side is more temperate than the East, upon account of the Mountains to Eastward of it; from whence a River descends into it through a marshy Country, full of Beavers.

He made his Canoe in the Spring, at the North End of this Lake, and went down to the little Ouinipique in the Beginning of Summer; this last Lake is about 35 Leagues long, and 6 broad; there is but one little Island in it, almost upon a Water Level, the Indians call it Mini Sabique.

The Course of this Lake is from South to North, through a woody, low Country. In all these Countries are many Kinds of wild Fruit, as Cherries, Plumbs, Strawberries, Nuts, Walnuts, &c. The Winters here are from 3 to 4 Months, according as they happen to be more or less severe. He passed this Lake, and the River which runs into the Lake Du Siens, in Summer and Autumn; this is about 100 Leagues from the other. He says there is a Fork in this River Du Siens, by which one Branch discharges itself more Westerly, and runs into the Country, where is the Nation of Vieux Hommes; this Nation is not called so from the Age of the Inhabitants, but from a Number of old Men, who separated from some others, under a Chief or Leader of their own; and from that time they were called so. On the East Side there enters a rapid River from the Mountains, full of Falls, upon which the Nation Du Cris Panis Blanc inhabit, who are still a Tribe of the Christinaux.

The Lake Du Siens is but small, being not above 3 Leagues in Circuit; but all around its Banks, in the shallow Water and Marshes, grows a kind of wild Oat, of the Nature of Rice; the outward Husk is black, but the Grain within is white and clear like Rice; this the Indians beat off into their Canoes, and use it for Food.

All the Country adjoining this River is also full of Beavers. Here the Winter overtook him, and he was obliged to part with his Canoe, and travelled and hunted through that Country for six Months, in which Time he passed Northwards near 100 Leagues, but would have been much more, had he followed the Course of the River in Summer in his Canoe. He got to the Lake Cariboux in the Beginning of March 1742: This Lake is about 10 Leagues long, and 5 broad; the Ice was beginning to thaw when he came there; a Tribe of the Christinaux live on the East of this Lake, and the Assinibouels of the Woods on the West Side. The River Cariboux runs out of this Lake Northwards for about 15 Leagues, and then it spreads, and is wasted in a marshy Country, where there is no passing by Water, nor by Land in Summer; the Ice being then breaking up, he was obliged to go about 15 Leagues Eastward, to avoid the Bogs, before he could reach the Lake Pachegoia, into which the River Cariboux descends through the Marshes.

Pachegoia is the Lake where all the Indians assemble in the latter End of March every Year, to cut the Birch Trees and make their Canoes of the Bark, which then begins to run, in order to pass down the River to York Fort on Nelson River with their Furs; it is divided so as to make almost two Lakes; the West Side by which he pass’d was about 100 Leagues in Circuit; the other Side or Eastern Lake was much larger, as the Indians informed him. The River De vieux Hommes runs from the West for about 200 Leagues, and falls into this Lake, near the Place the River Cariboux enters it; it has a strong Current and is always muddy, but there are no Falls upon it; these go generally down the River Manoutisibi or Churchill River, and trade there, having either a Passage or short Land Carriage to that River. The Lake Pachegoia was surrounded with fine Woods of Oak, Cedar, Pine, Poplar, Birch, &c. He arrived there the latter End of March, and he, with the other Indians, cut the Bark for their Canoes, and then hunted for some Time for Provisions; they begun to make their Canoes the first of April N. S. which they finished in three Days; on the 4th, he being appointed one of their Leaders, set out with 100 Canoes in Company, for the Factory at York Fort; there are generally two Indians in a Canoe, but he was alone in his; they were three Weeks in passing along the West Side of the Lake before they came to the Place it is discharged by the River Savanne or Epinette; for they were obliged to coast the West Side of the Lake in their little Canoes, and keep along the Bottom of each Bay; for these small Canoes can bear no Surge or Waves when the Wind blows, and when they came to any Point on the Lake, if there was any Wind, they were obliged to carry their Furs and Canoes over the Land to the next Bay, which, with hunting for Provisions delayed them greatly; at that Time they had neither Ice on the Lake nor Snow on the Land. In the Beginning of May N. S. he enter’d the River Savanne, but did not reach the great Fork where the River divides, until the Beginning of June; for the Indians, what with hunting for Provisions, and from their Laziness, who would not stir or exercise in the Heat of the Day, it being then very warm, and the Trees all fully blown, and from some Land Carriages upon the Sharps and Falls, did not go above two or three Leagues in a Day. The River was small where it came out of the Lake for about six Leagues, it spreading through several little Passages through the Marshes, but farther down, when collected together, formed a large River; it was then quite free of Ice, they had a brisk Current, and several Sharps, but had but one Carriage of 100 Yards; it is about 80 or 90 Leagues from the Lake to the Fork. The Land at some Distance from the River was dry and hilly, and full of fine Trees of great Bulk and Heighth, as Fir, Pine, Spruce, Ash, Elm, Birch, Cedar, Alder, &c. The Banks were low, until they got to the great Fork, where the River is divided by a Rock upon which a convenient Fort might be built, which might be cut off by bringing the Water around it. It is about 60 Leagues from this Fork to the Factory; they stay’d here eight Days to hunt for Provisions; there not being plenty of Game upon the East Branch, which is the Way he went down, it being the shortest Passage; at the same time another Fleet of 100 Canoes went down the Western Branch; it was the 29th of June N. S. when he got to the Factory, and the other Party who went down the other Branch, were three Weeks later. From this Fork to within four or five Leagues of the Fort, the Banks are high, and of red Earth, from which he calls the River from the Fork, the River de Terre rouge; and from that Place they descend gradually to the Sea, until they are near a Water Level; the Current was very easy from the Fork to the Fort, the Island to Westward of their Channel was full of Wood, but the Country above and beyond the other Bank, was not so woody. They were about three Weeks in going from the Fork to the Factory; for the Indians told him, notwithstanding it was so warm and pleasant in passing down the River, and the Trees fully blown, that when they would come near the Sea, they would find it very cold with Snow and Ice in the River, and the Trees but just beginning to bud; and accordingly they delayed going down so soon as they otherwise might, or they could have gone down in four or five Days; this he could not easily believe, considering how forward the Spring was there, and the Weather so warm; but when he came within four or five Leagues of the Fort where the Land began to slope towards the Sea, he then found a great deal of Ice in the River, and the Trees but just budding, and when he got to the Fort, the Snow fell in one Night three or four Inches thick, but all above, along the River, the Climate and Season was warm, and the Trees all in high Bloom.

Two Days after he got to York Fort, one of the Monsoni Indians arrived there with his Wife; he had four Packs of Beavers of 40 each; he told him he came by the River and Lake Du Pique, and was two Years hunting from thence before he got to the Fort; that he had about sixty Land Carriages, passing from Lake to Lake, having no Rivers running the Course he came, except one which he passed down for two Days; he came to one very great Lake, in which he could discover no Land on either Side, but passed along it from Island to Island, which took him up a considerable Time.

The Indians being obliged to go ashore every Day to hunt for Provisions, delays them very much in their Voyages; for their Canoes are so small, holding only two Men and a Pack of 100 Beavers Skins, that they can’t carry Provisions with them for any Time; if they had larger Canoes they could make their Voyages shorter, and carry many more Beavers to Market, at least four times as many, besides other Skins of Value, which are too heavy for their present Canoes; this, and the high Price set upon the European Goods by the Company in Exchange, discourages the Natives so much, that if it were not that they are under a Necessity of having Guns, Powder and Shot, Hatchets, and other Iron Tools for their Hunting, and Tobacco, Brandy, and some Paint for Luxury, they would not go down to the Factory with what they now carry; at present they leave great Numbers of Furs and Skins behind them. A good Hunter among the Indians can kill 600 Beavers in a Season, and can carry down but 100, the rest he uses at home, or hangs them upon Branches of Trees, upon the Death of their Children as an Offering to them, or use them for Bedding and Coverings; they sometimes burn off the Fur, and roast the Beavers like Pigs, upon any Entertainments, and they often let them rot, having no further Use of them. The Beavers, he says, are of three Colours; the brown reddish Colour, the black, and the white; the first is the cheapest; the black is most valued by the Company, and in England; the white, tho’ most valued in Canada, giving 18 Shillings, when others gave 5 or 6 Shillings, is blown upon by the Company’s Factors at the Bay, they not allowing so much for these as for the others; and therefore the Indians use them at home, or burn off the Hair, when they roast the Beavers like Pigs, at an Entertainment when they feast together; he says these Skins are extremely white, and have a fine Lustre, no Snow being whiter, and have a fine long Fur or Hair; he has seen 15 taken of that Colour out of one Lodge or Pond. The Beavers have three Enemies, Man, Otters, and the Carcajon or Queequehatch, which prey upon them when they take them at an Advantage; the last is as large as a very great Dog, it has a short Tail like a Deer or Hair, and has a good Fur, valued at a Beaver and half in Exchange. The Beavers chiefest Food is the Poplar or Tremble, but they also eat Sallows, Alders, and most other Trees not having a resinous Juice; the middle Bark is their Food; in May when the Wood is not plenty, they live upon a large Root which grows in the Marshes a Fathom long, and as thick as a Man’s Leg, the French call it Volet; but the Beavers are not so good Food as when they feed upon Trees. They will cut down Trees above two Fathoms in Girth with their Teeth, and one of them observes when it is ready to fall, and gives a great Cry, and runs the contrary Way, to give Notice to the rest to get out of the Way; they then cut off all the Top Twigs, and smaller Branches two or three Fathoms in Length, and draw them to their Houses which they have built in their Ponds, after having raised or repaired their Pond Head, and made it staunch, and thrust one End into the Clay or Mud, that they may lie under Water all the Winter, to preserve the Bark green and tender for their Winter Provision; after cutting off the small Branches, they cut and carry away the larger, until they come to the Bole of the Tree. The Beavers are delicious Food, but the Tongue and Tail the most delicious Parts of the whole; they are very fat from November until the End of March; they have their Young in the Beginning of Summer, at which time the Females are lean by suckling their Young, and the Males are lean the whole Summer, when they are making or repairing their Ponds and Houses, and cutting down and providing Timber and Branches for their Winter Store. They breed once in a Year, and have from ten to fifteen at a Litter, which grow up in one Season; so that they multiply very fast, and if they can empty a Pond, and take the whole Lodge, they generally leave a Pair to breed, so that they are fully stocked again in two or three Years.

The Loup Cervier, or Lynx, is of the Cat Kind, but as large as a great Dog; it preys upon all Beasts it can conquer, as does the Tyger, which is the only Beast in that Country that won’t fly from a Man.

The American Oxen, or Beeves, have a large Bunch upon their Backs, which is by far the most delicious Part of them for Food, it being all as sweet as Marrow, juicy and rich, and weighs several Pounds.

The Indians West of the Bay, living an erratick Life, can have no Benefit by tame Fowl or Cattle; they seldom stay above a Fortnight in a Place, unless they find Plenty of Game. When they remove, after having built their Hut, they disperse to get Game for their Food, and meet again at Night, after having killed enough to maintain them for that Day; they don’t go above a League or two from their Hut. When they find Scarcity of Game, they remove a League or two farther, and thus they traverse through these woody Countries and Bogs, scarce missing one Day, Winter or Summer, fair or foul, in the greatest Storms of Snow, but what they are employed in some kind of Chace. The smaller Game, got by Traps or Snares, are generally the Employment of the Women and Children, such as the Martins, Squirrels, Cats, Ermins, &c. The Elks, Stags, Rain-Deer, Bears, Tygers, wild Beeves, Wolves, Foxes, Beavers, Otters, Corcajeu, &c. are the Employment of the Men. The Indians, when they kill any Game for Food, leave it where they kill it, and send their Wives next Day to carry it home. They go home in a direct Line, never missing their Way, by Observations they make of the Course they take upon their going out, and so judge upon what Point their Huts are, and can thus direct themselves upon any Point of the Compass. The Trees all bend towards the South, and the Branches on that Side are larger and stronger than on the North Side, as also the Moss upon the Trees. To let their Wives know how to come at the killed Game, they from Place to Place break off Branches, and lay them in the Road, pointing them the Way they should go, and sometimes Moss, so that they never miss finding it.

In Winter, when they go abroad, which they must do in all Weathers, to hunt and shoot for their daily Food, before they dress they rub themselves all over with Bears Grease, or Oil of Beavers, which does not freeze, and also rub all the Fur of their Beaver Coats, and then put them on; they have also a kind of Boots or Stockings of Beavers Skin well oiled, with the Fur inwards, and above them they have an oiled Skin laced about their Feet, which keeps out the Cold, and also Water, when there is no Ice or Snow; and by this Means they never freeze, nor suffer any thing by Cold. In Summer also, when they go naked, they rub themselves with these Oils or Grease, and expose themselves to the Sun, without being scorched, their Skins always being kept soft and supple by it; nor do any Flies, Bugs, or Musketoes, or any noxious Insect ever molest them. When they want to get rid of it, they go into the Water, and rub themselves all over with Mud or Clay, and lets it dry upon them, and then rub it off; but whenever they are free from the Oil, the Flies and Musketoes immediately attack them, and oblige them again to anoint themselves.

The Indians make no Use of Honey; he saw no Bees there but the wild humble Bee; but they are so much afraid of being stung with them, they going naked in Summer, that they avoid them as much as they can; nor did he see any of the Maple they use in Canada to make Sugar of, but only the Birch, whose Juice they use for the same Purpose, boyling it until it is black and dry, and then using it with their Meat. They use no Milk from the Time they are weaned, and they all hate to taste Cheese, having taken up an Opinion that it is made of dead Mens Fat. They love Pruins and Raisins, and will give a Beaver Skin for twelve of them to carry to their Children, and also for a Trump or Jew’s Harp. He says the Women have all fine Voices, but have never heard any musical Instrument. They are very fond of all kind of Pictures or Prints, giving a Beaver for the least Print, and all Toys are like Jewels to them.

When he got to the Natives Southward of Pachegoia, he had about 30 Cowries left, and a few small Bells less than Hawks Bells; when he shewed one of them, they gave him a Beaver Skin for one, and they were so fond, that some gave him two Skins, or three Martin Skins for one, to give their Wives to make them fine. The Martins they take in Traps, for if they shot them, their Skins would be spoiled; they have generally five or six at a Litter.

He says the Natives are so discouraged in their Trade with the Company, that no Peltry is worth the Carriage, and the finest Furs are sold for very little. When they came to the Factory in June 1742, the Prices they took for the European Goods were much higher than the settled Prices fixed by the Company, which the Governors fix so, to shew the Company how zealous they are to improve their Trade, and sell their Goods to Advantage. He says they gave but a Pound of Gunpowder for 4 Beavers, a Fathom of Tobacco for 7 Beavers, a Pound of Shot for one, an Ell of coarse Cloth for 15, a Blanket for 12, 2 Fish-hooks, or three Flints, for one, a Gun for 25, a Pistol for 10, a common Hat with white Lace 7, an Ax 4, a Bill-hook 1, a Gallon of Brandy 4, a chequer’d Shirt 7, all which are sold at a monstrous Profit, even to 2000 per Cent. Notwithstanding this Discouragement, the two Fleets which went down with him, and parted at the great Fork, carried down 200 Packs of 100 each, 20000 Beavers; and the other Indians who arrived that Year, he computed carried down 300 Packs of 200 each, 30000, in all 50000 Beavers, and above 9000 Martins.

The Furs there are much more valuable than the Furs upon the Canada Lakes, sold at New-York; for these will give five or six Shillings per Pound, when the others sell at three Shillings and Sixpence. He says, that if a Fort was built at the great Fork, 60 Leagues above York Fort, and a Factory with European Goods were fixed there, and a reasonable Price was put upon European Goods, that the Trade would be wonderfully increased; for the Natives from the Southward of Pachegoia, could make at least two Returns in a Summer, and those at greater Distances could make one, who can’t now come at all; and above double the Number would be employed in Hunting, and many more Skins would be brought to Market, that they can’t now afford to bring for the Expence and low Price given for them. The Stream is so gentle from the Fork to York Fort, on either Branch, that large Vessels and Shallops may be built there, and carry down bulky Goods, and also return again against the Stream; and the Climate is good, and fit to produce Grain, Pulse, &c. and very good Grass and Hay for Horses and Cattle; and if afterwards any Settlements were made upon Pachegoia, and Vessels built to navigate that Lake, which is not more northerly than Lat. 52°. the Trade would be still vastly more enlarged and improved, and spread the Trade not only up the Rivers and Lakes as far as the Lake Du Bois and De Pluis, but also among the Assinibouels and Nations beyond them, and the Nation de vieux Hommes, who are 200 Leagues Westward of Pachegoia. He says the Nations who go up that River with Presents to confirm the Peace with them, are three Months in going up, and say they live beyond a Range of Mountains beyond the Assinibouels, and that beyond them are Nations who have not the Use of Fire Arms, by which Means many of them are made Slaves by them, and are sold to the Assinibouels, Panis Blanc, and Christinaux. He saw several of them, who all wanted a Joynt of their little Finger, which they said was cut off soon after they were born, but gave no Reason for it.

Whilst he was at York Fort he got acquainted with an old Indian, who lived at some Distance from Nelson River, to the Westward, being one of those they call the Home Indians, who had, about 15 Years ago, gone at the Head of 30 Warriors to make war against the Attimospiquais, Tete Plat, or Plascotez de Chiens, a Nation living Northward on the Western Ocean of America; he was the only one who returned, all the rest being either killed, or perished through Fatigue or want of Food, upon their Return. When they went they carried their whole Families with them, and hunted and fished from Place to Place for two Winters, and one Summer, having left their Country in Autumn, and in April following, came to the Sea-side, on the Western Coast, where they immediately made their Canoes. At some little Distance they saw an Island, which was about a League and a Half long when the Tide was out, or Water fell, they had no Water betwixt them and the Island, but when it rose, it covered all the Passage betwixt them and the Island as high up as the Woods upon the Shore. There they left their Wives and Children, and old Men to conduct them home, and provide them with Provisions, by hunting and shooting for them upon the Road; and he, with 30 Warriors, went in quest of their Enemies the Tete Plat. After they parted with their Families, they came to a Streight, which they passed in their Canoes. The Sea Coast lay almost East and West, for he said the Sun rose upon his Right-hand, and at Noon it was almost behind him, as he passed the Streight, and always set in the Sea. After passing the Streight they coasted along the Shore for three Months, going into the Country and Woods as they went along to hunt for Provisions. He said they saw a great many large black Fish spouting up Water in the Sea. After they had thus coasted for near three Months, they saw the Footsteps of some Men on the Sand, by which they judged they were not far from their Enemies, upon which they quit their Canoes, and went five Days through the Woods and Bushes, which were but very low and shrubby, and so close, they could with Difficulty make way through it, and then came to the Banks of a River, where they found a large Town of their Enemies, and after making their usual Cry, they discharged their Arrows and Guns against those who appeared, upon which they fled; but upon finding how few they were, they returned and killed 15 of them, and wounded 3 or 4 more, upon which they fled to the Woods, and from thence made their Escape to their Canoes before their Enemies overtook them, and after a great deal of Fatigue got to the Streight, and after getting over, they all died one after another, except this old Man, of Fatigue and Famine, leaving him alone to travel to his own Country, which took him up about a Year’s Time, having left his Gun when his Ammunition was spent, and lost all his Arrows, and upon his Return had not even a Knife with him; so that he was reduced to live upon Herbs and the Moss growing upon the Rocks, and was almost famished when he reached the River Sakie, where he met his Friends again, who relieved him, when he despaired of ever again seeing his own Country. This is the Account, so far as Joseph la France could inform me, of those Countries Southward of York Fort, which may be brought to trade there.

Mr. Frost, who has been many Years employed by the Company in the Bay, both at Churchill and Moose River Factory, who was their Interpreter with the Natives, and travelled a considerable Way into the Country, both North-westward of Churchill, and Southward of Moose River Factory, and has resided at Moose River since the Factory was made there in 1730, gives a very good Account of the Climate and Country there, and up the River Southward of it. He says the Factory is built near the Mouth of the River, in Lat. 51°. 28′. upon a navigable River, which at 12 Miles Distance Southward of the Fort, is divided into two Branches, one comes from the Southward, the other from the South-west; upon the Southern Branch all Sorts of Grain thrives, as Barley, Beans and Pease do at the Factory, tho’ exposed to all the chilling Winds which comes from the Ice in the Bay. Upon the Southern Branch above the Falls, there grows naturally along the River the same Kind of wild Oats or Rice, mentioned already upon the Lake of Siens, the Husk being black, but the Grain within perfectly white and clear like Rice, the Indians beating it off into their Canoes when ripe, as they pass along the River, it growing in the Water like Rice. In their Woods, at the Bottom of the Bay at Moose and Albany, as well as at Rupert’s River, are very large Timber Trees of all Kinds, Oak, Ash, &c. as well as Pine, Cedar and Spruce; they have exceeding good Grass to make Hay, which improves every Day as they cut and feed it, and may have every where within Land all Sorts of Pulse and Grain, and all Sorts of Fruit Trees as in the same Climates in Europe, for what Sorts they have tried thrive very well; the Ice breaks up at Moose Factory in the Beginning of April, but higher up in the Country in March; it is navigable for Canoes a great Way up among the Falls; at a considerable Distance there is one Fall of 50 Feet, but above that it is deep and navigable for a great Way. The Climate above the Fall is very good, and the River abounds with that wild Rice. The French have got a House or Settlement for Trade near the Southern Branch, about 100 Miles above the Factory, where they sell their Goods cheaper than the Company do, altho’ it be so difficult to carry them so far from Canada, and very expensive, and give as much for a Martin’s Skin as they do for a Beaver, when we insist upon three for one; so that the French get all the choice Skins, and leave only the Refuse for the Company. The French have also got another House pretty high up upon Rupert River, by which they have gained all the Trade upon the East Main, except a little the Company get at Slude River. He says, upon the South Side of the great Inland Sea upon the East Main, which has lately been discovered, there is an exceeding rich Lead Mine, from which the Natives have brought very good Ore, which might turn out to great Advantage, as well as the Furs upon that Coast, which might be vastly increased, if the Trade was laid open and Settlements made in proper Places. He says when he was at Churchill, he travelled a considerable Way in the Country North-westward of the River of Seals; that near the Rivers and Sea-coast, there was small shrubby Woods, but for many Miles, at least 60 farther into the Country, they had nothing but a barren white Moss upon which the Rain-Deer feed, and also the Moose, Buffalos, and other Deer; and the Natives told him, further Westward beyond that barren Country, there were large Woods. He was acquainted, when there about fifteen Years ago, with an Indian Chief, who traded at Churchill, who had been often at a fine Copper Mine, which they struck off from the Rocks with sharp Stones; he said it was upon Islands at the Mouth of a River, and lay to the Northward of that Country where they had no Night in Summer.

As to the Trade at Churchill it is increasing, it being at too great a Distance from the French for them to interfere in the Trade. The Year 1742 it amounted to 20,000 Beavers: There were about 100 Upland Indians came in their Canoes to trade, and about 200 Northern Indians, who brought their furs and Peltry upon Sledges; some of them came down the River of Seals, 15 Leagues Northward of Churchill, in Canoes, and brought their Furs from thence by Land. They have no Beavers to Northward of Churchill, they not having there such Ponds or Woods as they choose or feed upon, but they have great Numbers of Martins, Foxes, Bears, Rain-Deer, Buffalos, Wolves, and other Beasts of rich Furs, the Country being mostly rocky, and covered with a white Moss upon which the Rain-Deer or Cariboux feed. There is a great deal of small Wood of the Spruce or Fir Kind near the old Factory, but the Wood improves as it is further up the River from the Bay, where they have Juniper, Birch and Poplar, and more Southerly the Timber is larger, and there are greater Variety of Trees. They are under great Inconveniencies at the new Fort, which is upon an elevated Situation upon a Rock without Shelter, close by the Shore, surrounded with Snow and Ice for eight Months in the Year, exposed to all the Winds and Storms that happen, where they can have no Conveniency of Grass or Hay or Gardening, and yet they had four or five Horses there, and a Bull and two Cows near the Factory; but they were obliged to bring their Hay from a marshy Bottom some Miles up the River, to feed them in Winter; but if a Settlement were made higher up the River Southward, some Leagues from the Bay, in Shelter without the Reach of the chilling Winds, they would have Grass and Hay sufficient, and might have also Gardens and proper Greens and Roots propagated there.

They say there is a Communication betwixt that River and Nelson River at a great Distance within Land, or a very short Land Carriage betwixt them; for the Indians who trade here, tell them each Season what Chiefs, with their followers, go down that Year to Nelson or Albany Rivers.

The Company avoid all they can making Discoveries to Northward of Churchill, or extending their Trade that Way, for fear they should discover a Passage to the Western Ocean of America, and tempt, by that Means, the rest of the English Merchants to lay open their Trade, which they know they have no legal Right to, which, if the Passage was found, would not only animate the rest of the Merchants to pursue the Trade through that Passage, but also to find out the great Advantages that might be made of the Trade of the Rivers and Countries adjoining to the Bay, by which Means they would lose their beloved Monopoly; but the Prospect they have of Gain to be made with trading with the Eskimaux Indians, for as Whale-Fin, Whale and Seal Oil, and Sea-Horse Teeth, induces them to venture a Sloop annually as far 62°. 30′. to Whale Cove, where these Indians meet them, and truck their Fin and Oil with them: But tho’ they are fully informed of a fine Copper Mine on a navigable Arm of the Sea North-westward of Whale Cove, and the Indians have offered to carry their Sloops to it, yet their Fear of discovering the Passage puts Bounds to their Avarice, and prevents their going to the Mine, which by all Accounts is very rich; yet those who have been at Whale Cove own, that from thence Northwards is all broken Land, and that after passing some Islands, they from the Hills see the Sea open, leading to the Westward; and the Indians who have been often at the Mine say, it is upon a navigable Arm of the Sea of great Depth, leading to the South-west, where are great Numbers of large black Fish spouting Water, which confirms the Opinion, that all the Whales seen betwixt Whale Cove and Wager River, all come there from the Western Ocean, since none are seen any where else in Hudson’s Bay or Strait. All along this Coast from Lat. 62°. to 65°. a very beneficial Fishery of Whales may be carried on with these Eskimaux Indians, who even without the Use of Iron, can harpoon and kill Whales, and if they were supplied with Iron Harpoons, and with proper Cordage, might be brought to kill great Numbers of them; at present all their Nets, Lines and Snares are made of Whale-bone, and most of their Boats and other Necessaries of that, Seal Skins, Fish Bones, and Sea-Horse Teeth, and in making all Things necessary for them they are very neat and ingenious.

From these several Journals, and from the Accounts taken from Monsieur Jeremie and De la Poterie, and from Joseph la France and Mr. Frost, we may frame a tolerable Judgment of the Climate, Soil, Rivers, and Lakes adjoining to the Bay, and the great Advantage to be made by improving our Trade there, by making Factories or Settlements upon several of these fine Rivers and Inland Lakes; for tho’ the Names, Situation and Distances of these Lakes are not the same, being taken from Indians perhaps of different Nations and Languages, and by People who had no Opportunity, or perhaps were not capable of fixing the proper Latitudes or Longitudes of these Lakes, yet they all concur that there are many noble and great Rivers and Lakes extending to the Southward, South-westward, and Westward of the Bay, in fine Countries and temperate Climates, the Lands and Countries being capable of great Improvement, and to afford a Trade of great Extent, and in Time, of an immense Profit. I shall therefore, from these Accounts make some Observations upon the Climate, Soil and Improvements which may be made by Trade in the several Parts of the Bay already known, and then shew the Probability of extending it by a new Passage to the Western Countries of America, and through that great Western Ocean.

The Soil and Climates are vastly different in the several Countries adjoining to the Bay, The East Main, from Slude River to Hudson’s Straight, is least known, there being no Factories fixed there for Trade, altho’ the best Sable and black Fox Skins are got there. Here the Nodway or Eskimaux Indians live, who are in a manner hunted and destroyed by the more Southerly Indians, being perpetually at war with each other. They seem not to be Natives of America, but rather Europeans from Greenland. The French imagine they are descended from Biscayners, they having Beards up to the Eyes, which the Americans have not; they are of a white Complexion, not Copper coloured like the other Americans, having black, strong Hair. They live in Caves under the Snow in Winter, feeding upon Seals Flesh and dried Fish, drinking the Oil, and using it for their Lamps, with which they also grease their Bodies, which defends them from the piercing icy Particles in the Air. If when travelling a Storm of Snow is too violent for them to withstand, they dig a Hole in the Snow five or six Feet deep, and cover the Hole with Skins or Branches, and so lie warm under the Storm. Upon this Coast, in Lat. 59°. near Cape Smith, is a Passage lately discovered into an inland Sea, 300 Leagues in Circuit, which, if a proper Use was made of it, would open a considerable Trade for Furs into the Heart of the Terra de Labarador, which the Company now neglects for fear of Expence, as they do all the Coast on the East Main, having only a House, with seven or eight Servants, at Slude River, in Lat. 52°. 30′. It is near the South Side of this Sea that the rich Lead Mine has been lately discovered, which would also turn to very good Account, if a Settlement was there in about Lat. 56°. or 57°. it would be in as good a Climate as at York Fort or New Severn, which is in a Climate equal to the middle Part of Sweden or Livonia, being in the Latitude of Edinburgh; and if one was made in 59°. near Cape Smith, it would be equal to that now at Churchill.

Rupert River, in about Lat. 51°. is in a very good Climate, and is a fine River, well wooded, having eight Feet Water at the Entrance, and the Tide rises eight Feet; the River is a Mile over, and cometh from the Southward of the East; it is about 150 Leagues from St. Margaret’s River, which falleth into St. Laurence in Canada. A little to Southward of Rupert’s is Frenchman’s and Nodway Rivers; these run from S. E. and S. S. E. from Sources a great Way up in the Country; the last is 5 Miles broad to the Falls. These, tho’ in so good a Climate, are all neglected by the Company, upon account of the Neighbourhood of the French, who have encroached upon them, and have a trading House upon the Head of Rupert’s River, by which they have engrossed almost all the Trade of the East Main. To avoid Expence they will not fix a sufficient Factory there to recover so great a Trade, nor will allow any other from Britain to settle there and trade, choosing rather to give it up to the French than to their Countrymen, that they may preserve their present Monopoly to themselves. The Factories at present on Moose River, in Lat. 51°. 28′. and in Albany, in Lat. 52°. on the South-west of the Bay, are at present in a very tolerable Climate, being the same with these already mentioned, but would be in a vastly better Climate, if they were fixed some Miles higher up, at some Distance from the chilling Winds in the Bay, where it appears all Sorts of Grain and Pulse would grow to Perfection, and most kind of European Fruits. Here they may have Horses, Cows, Sheep, and all other domestick Animals, here being excellent Grass, and very good Hay may be made of it, which would improve by feeding and cutting it for their Use in Winter; and all Sorts of Grain may be had for their Use, as well as for the Inhabitants, wild Oats or Rice growing in Abundance spontaneously farther up the Rivers to the Southward, at some Distance from the Bay. The Moose River is a noble, large River, which cometh from two Branches, Southward and South-westward, of the Bay, for some hundred Miles from the Mountains, above the Huron and Upper Lakes, to near Lat. 48°. There are several Falls upon it, but above the Falls it is again navigable a great Way into the Country, from whence the Natives come down some Hundreds of Miles in their Canoes to trade at the Factory; yet, from the Avarice of the Company, they have in a manner left that Southern Trade to the French, having allowed the French to have a trading House upon, or near, the Southern Branch of Moose River, within three Days Journey, not 100 Miles from that Factory; who, at so many hundred Miles from Canada, undersell the Company, and carry away all the valuable furs, leaving only the Refuse to them, because of the exorbitant Prices they take for their Goods from the Natives in Exchange. If the Trade was opened, and these Rivers on the Bottom of the Bay were settled farther up in the Country, they would have a very temperate, fine Climate, with all Necessaries for Life, and even for Luxury. Here are very fine Woods of all Kinds of large Timber for Shipping or Building, where they may have all Sorts of Fruit and Grain, tame Cattle and Fowl. The Rivers abound with excellent Fish, and the Woods with Wild-fowl, and most kind of wild Beasts for Profit or Pleasure. Gooseberries, Raspberries and Strawberries, grow wild in the Woods, every thing in Gardens would grow with proper Culture. In the Country the Snow and Frost breaks up in March, and does not begin again until about November.

Albany River is also very considerable, in Lat. 52°. and cometh from W. S. W. and within Land has the same Climate and other Advantages; at present the Situation of the Factories of Moose and Albany are very unhappy, being placed in the Swamps, at the Mouths of the Rivers; for the Company’s chief Aim being Trade, they don’t regard the Soil, Aspect or Situation, where they fix them, provided they are upon navigable Rivers where their Ships can approach them, and where the Natives can come in their Canoes; so that their Factories there, are placed in a low swampy Ground, which is overflowed by the Rivers upon the breaking up of the Ice, which makes them much moister and warmer in Summer, and colder in Winter, from the Quantity of Ice there is in Winter in the Rivers and Bay: If they had fixed them higher up in the Country, where the Thaw begins much sooner than at the Bay, they would have had a happier Situation, and a quite different Climate and Soil. How can it be expected that any Thing can thrive in their Garden, or be brought to Perfection? when the Floods in the latter End of April leave Flakes of Ice several Feet thick in their Gardens, which are not dissolved until the latter End of May; and yet after that Time, when they dig their Gardens, they have very good Coleworts and Turnips, green Pease and Beans, when if they had been situated higher up in the Country from the Bay, they might have had all Sorts of Fruit, Grain and Roots in Perfection, and tame Cattle and Fowl for their Use; at present the Company’s Servants depend upon the Fish and wild Geese they take for their Winter Store. They have Pike, Trout, Perch, and white Trout in great Perfection in all their Rivers; but the principal Fish they take is a little larger than a Mackarel, of which 13 or 14000 are taken at Albany in a Season, which supplies them and their Indian friends in Winter; these they take after the Rivers are frozen over, keeping Holes open in the Ice, in a streight Line at proper Distances, through which they thrust their Nets with Poles, and the Fish coming there to breathe, are mash’d or entangled in the Net; these they freeze up for Winter without Salt. The wild Geese come to these Rivers from the Southward in the Middle of April, as soon as the Swamps are thawed, at which Time they are lean; they stay until the Middle of May, when they go Northward to breed; they take at Albany in that Season about 1300 for present Use; they return again with their young about the Middle of August, and stay until the Middle of October, when they go farther Southward; they save generally about 3000 of these, which they salt before the Frost begins, and what they take afterwards they hang up in their Feathers to freeze for Winter Store, without Salt; the Natives shoot them in the Swamps. There are three Kinds, one a grey Goose, which without Giblets weighs from 6 to 10 Pounds, another which they call Whaweys, are from 4 to 6 Pounds; they have also Swans, grey Plover exceeding fat, white Partridges as big as Capons, in Abundance all Winter and Spring, which feed upon the Buds of Spruce, Birch and Poplars.

The New Severn River, which the French call St. Huiles, is in Lat. 56°. this the Company neglects, to avoid Expence, tho’ it be a very fine River, well wooded, capable of receiving Ships of 50 or 60 Tons Burthen, and full of Beavers and other wild Beasts of rich Furs; for they being too far off the French, they oblige them to come to Albany or York Fort, with their Furs. The River Bourbon or Nelson, upon whose South-eastern Branch is York Fort in Hay’s Island in Lat. 57°. is one of the noblest Rivers in America, and by much the finest and largest in the Bay, and tho’ the Names given to the several Lakes and Rivers which enter into these Lakes, which are upon it, betwixt its Source on the South-west Side of the Upper Lake, and York Fort are different, according to the Accounts given by Jeremie, De la Poterie, and Joseph la France, yet they all agree in this, that there are a great Number of very large Lakes upon it, at great Distances within Land, South-westerly and Westerly from the Bay, in fine Climates and fruitful Countries, among many populous erratick Nations, such as the Assinibouels, Christinaux, Savanna, Monsoni, Vieux Hommes, Tête Plat, Panis Blanc, Sturgeon Indians, &c. which abound with all Sorts of excellent Fish, and are navigable for many hundred Leagues, tho’ the Rivers which fall into them have several Sharps and Falls, which occasions several Land Carriages, yet Canoes pass and repass all these Lakes and Rivers from its Source to York Fort, the Natives coming down for above a thousand Miles to trade there.

The Climate at York Fort, tho’ in Lat. 57°. seems not to be colder than at Albany in 52°. since, if the Account taken from Button be true, the Ice broke up there in that River on the 26th of April, and the River, tho’ not above a Mile broad, was not that Year frozen over the 16th of February, when at Albany it was frozen over in the Beginning of November, and it did not break up at the Factory until the Beginning of May; this might probably be occasioned by the Strength of the Tide at Port Nelson, which rose sometimes 14 Feet, when at Albany it does not rise 4 Feet, and the Waters of Nelson River run from the Southward, from more immediately warm Climates, when that at Albany comes from the W. S. W. and all the Bottom of the Bay being full of Ice, makes the Cold more intense and continue longer at the Mouth of that River.

This seems confirmed from La France’s Account, that within four or five Leagues of the Sea at York Fort, the Cold continued, and there was Ice in the River in June, when above that they had a fine Spring, all the Trees in Bloom, and very warm Weather, up to the great Fork in the Beginning of June, and in the River from thence to Pachegoia, or the Lake of Forests, there was a fine Spring and Bloom from the Beginning of May, all the Lands about that Lake, and to the Southwards, being free from Ice and Snow, in the Beginning of April N. S. so that here is an excellent Soil and Climate upon this River, a few Days sailing up the River, even below the great Fork, which is but 60 Leagues to the Southward, and the River navigable so far with large Shallops and Boats.

This River opens a Trade into a Country of surprizing Greatness through the Lakes Pachegoia, Coriboux, Siens, Great and Little Ouinipique, the Lakes Du Bois, De Pluis, and Red Lake, according to La France, and the Rivers Vieux Hommes and others which enter these several Lakes; or by the Lake of Forests, the Great Water, the Junction of the two Seas, Tacamiouan and others, according to Jeremie, abounding with all Kinds of Game, Fish, and Beasts of rich Furs, in excellent Climates, abounding with Timber Trees of all Sorts, and wild Fruit, and capable of all other Kinds of Fruit and Grain upon Cultivation. What an immense Trade might be begun and improved through these Countries? for the Natives being numerous, and of a humane Disposition, upon having an equitable Commerce with us, would soon be civilized and become industrious. In such rich and delightful Climates, what a Vent might be had there for our Woollen and Iron Manufactures, as well as for others, may be easily conceived?

At present the Company have a little wooden Fort upon Hay’s Island much decayed, in which they keep 25 Servants to manage their Trade, from whence they return annually about 50000 Beavers Skins, or other Furs to that Value, under all the Disadvantages the Indians trade with them at present. Northwards from this in Lat. 59°. is Churchill River, where the Climate, at some Distance from the Bay, is not worse than at Stockholm or Petersburgh. This River is navigable for 150 Leagues; and again, after passing some Mountains, is navigable far to the Westward, to a Country abounding in Copper. This communicates with the River of Stags, which falls into the great Lakes upon Nelson River, insomuch that the South-western and Western Part of the Bay, without including the Southern or Eastern Sides, would in some Years, if settled and improved by civilizing the Natives, afford an inexhaustible Fund for Trade. The present Situation of the Prince of Wales’s Fort on Churchill River is vastly cold, and for that Reason very inconvenient, as are all the other Factories in the Bay, all the others being fixed with a View only to Profit, and this alone for Profit and Strength, without any View to other Conveniencies, and therefore they have fixed it upon an Eminence 40 Feet high, surrounded on all Sides, without any Shelter, by a frozen Sea and River, and Plains of Snow, exposed to all Storms, which causes its being colder than in proper Situations within the Polar Circle, being vastly colder than a few Leagues up the River among the Woods, where the Factory’s Men lived comfortably in Huts or Tents all the Winter, without any Complaint of Cold or Sickness, hunting, shooting and fishing the whole Season.

The Trade upon this River, tho’ very much short of that on Nelson River, yet is very much increased. Last Year, 1742, it amounted to 20000 Beavers, and all the Amount of Moose, Albany and Slude, don’t exceed it, but rather falls short of it, which is occasioned by the Monopoly, Avarice and Weakness, of the Company, they having but 25 Men in Albany, as many at Moose River, and 7 or 8 at Slude, upon the East Main, and have therefore suffered the French to encroach upon them, and to trade and settle at the Head of Rupert’s River, and near Moose River, within three Days Journey of their Factory, betraying the English Right to that Part of the Bay, by giving up the Possession to the French by their Weakness, and have lost the Trade there to them by their Avarice, upon account of the exorbitant Gain they take upon their Goods from the Natives of near 2000 per Cent. Profit, taking a Beaver Skin, worth from eight to nine Shillings in England, for a Quart of English Spirits, mixed with a Third Water, which probably may cost them a Groat; they also in Exchange value three Martins or Sable Skins at one Beaver, when the French give as much for a Martin as for a Beaver; so that the Natives carry all their best Furs to the French, and leave them the Refuse; for which Reason, and the French giving them Goods at a cheaper Rate than the Company, all the Eastern and Southern Trade is in a manner lost to the French, and a considerable Part of the South-western Trade, they scarce preserving the Trade at York Fort and Churchill River to themselves; so that were the Trade laid open, and the Southern and Western Countries settled, we might not only regain that Trade from the French, which would probably increase our Profit from 40000 l. which the Company gain at present upon their Trade, to 100000 l. but we might in a short Time increase it to 200000 l. by supplying the Natives with Woollen Goods, Iron Tools, Guns, Powder and Shot, at reasonable Rates; for by this Treatment, and fixing Factories for Goods higher up the Rivers, upon Rupert’s, Moose, Albany, and Nelson Rivers; by having Markets nearer them, and cheaper, the Number of Hunters would increase, and would bring four times as many Furs, besides other valuable Skins, not worth the Carriage at present, and they would make two Returns for one, and many come from greater Distances, which don’t now come at all; and we should have all that now perish and rot, and they use at home, by getting better and cheaper European Goods in Return, and a shorter and quicker Carriage to Market; this would make them more industrious, and would preserve the Lives of many of them who can’t subsist now without Fire Arms and Iron Tools, having in great Measure lost the Use of Arrows, and instead of our exporting to the Value of 2 or 3000 l. which is the most the Company exports in one Season, we might export to the Value of 100000 l. in coarse Woollen and Iron Manufactures, Powder, Shot, Spirits, Tobacco, Paint, and Toys, which would afford Subsistence and Employment to our industrious Poor, and yet the Merchant might gain near Cent. per Cent. upon his Trade. By increasing our Settlements to the Southward, in the Bottom of the Bay, we should by this Encouragement make all the Natives our Friends, by underselling the French, and securing the Trade, and force the French out of their Trade upon the East Main, and Countries North of Huron, and the other Canada Lakes, and become so powerful, as not to fear the French in case of a War; whereas at present, if a War should commence, the Company in a few Weeks would lose all their Factories in the Bottom of the Bay, and York Fort, where they have but 25 Men, would soon after fall into their Hands; for they have none but the Prince of Wales’s Fort at Churchill that is in a State of Defence, and even there they keep but 28 Men to defend a Fort in which they have 40 Guns mounted. Such is the melancholy Situation of our Factories and Trade in so extended a Country at present, from the Monopoly and Covetousness of the Company, who have been in Possession of Part of these Countries to the Southward from the Time of their Charter in 1670, above 70 Years, and have enjoyed the rest uninterrupted from 1714 near 30 Years; yet, tho’ they have had the most extensive Powers granted to them that were ever granted to any Company, the whole Property and exclusive Trade of all these Countries, and all others they should discover from thence not possessed by any Christian Power; with a Power to make War, raise Troops, and fit out Ships of War to preserve their Possessions, to induce them to discover, plant and improve, these Countries, and to extend the British Trade, by finding out a Passage to the Western Ocean of America; yet they have been so base to their Country, as not only to neglect it themselves, but to prevent and discourage any Attempt to find out so beneficial a Passage, and have also prevented any Persons from settling in those Countries, which would have effectually secured all their Factories, and put them out of Danger of being insulted by the French in case of a War, and this with a View only of keeping a Monopoly and exclusive Trade to themselves from the rest of the British Merchants, which they have no Right to by Law, it being only granted by Charter, without Act of Parliament. But supposing they had a legal Right, they have forfeited their Right by not settling these Countries, and preventing any of his Majesty’s Subjects from settling there; so that they have forfeited their Right to all these Countries except their present Factories, upon account of their not taking in, and settling upon those Lands: Besides, they have not only neglected to find a Passage to the Western Ocean, but have also refused to look for it, and have discouraged and endeavoured to seduce others from finding it, by offering Rewards or Bribes to Captain Middleton, who was employed by the Government to make that Discovery, as he informed me; tho’ the attempting that Discovery was the chief Prayer for their Patent, and the principal Motive which induced King Charles to grant them their Charter, which was then given to some of the most considerable Noblemen, Gentlemen and Merchants, in England, but now is confin’d to eight or nine private Merchants, who have ingrossed nine Tenths of the Company’s Stock, and by that Means are perpetual Directors; the small Proportion of Stock which is in other Hands, when sold, being purchased by those who have in a manner ingrossed the whole, it not being allowed to go to a publick Market.

What great Advantages might Britain by this time have receiv’d, had the Proprietors settled these Countries after the same manner our other Colonies are settled, at a trifling Quit-rent, with a Freedom of Trade to all British Subjects? We should, by this time, have had populous Settlements, and an extensive Trade in the Southern and Western Countries adjoining the Bay, among those noble Rivers and Lakes which have their Sources in, and run through temperate and healthy Climates, in rich and fruitful Countries. The Slude, or Petre River, in Lat. 52°. the Rivers Rupert, Frenchman’s, and Nodway, at the South-west Corner of the Bay, in Lat. 51°. which have their Courses some Hundreds of Miles into the Country, even to the Latitude of 48°. or 49°. in a Climate as good as North France and Germany. The Moose River, which disembogues in Lat. 51°. 28′. in the South-west Corner, and is by two Branches navigable for the most part from Lat. 48°. and 49°. in the same Climate as the others, by which the Indians descend some hundred Miles to the Factory from near the Upper Lake, whence by a Land Carriage they come at a River which falls into that Lake.

The River Albany, tho’ not so large, yet is navigable some hundred Miles W. S. W. and enters the Bay in Lat. 52°. coming from some of those Lakes which communicate with Nelson River, running through fertile and woody Countries in a temperate Climate.

The New Severn enters the Bay, in Lat. 56°. and comes from the South-west from at least 53°. through a rich and fertile Country, full of fine Woods for above 100 Leagues, full of Beavers and other Beasts of rich Furs, having Branches which communicate with Albany and Nelson Rivers.

The River Nelson, or Bourbon, opens a Navigation into a Country of surprizing Greatness, through many Lakes of great Extent, having many navigable Rivers running into them from distant Countries in delightful Climates, even to Lat. 46°. and to Nations adjoining to the Western Ocean.

Churchill River, in Lat. 59°. a noble River, navigable for 150 Leagues, and after passing the Falls, navigable again to far distant Countries, abounding in Mines of Copper, and other rich Commodities, even to the Western Sea; so that the Southern and Western Parts of the Bay would, in some Time, afford an inexhaustible Fund for Trade; nor is the East Side of the Bay despicable, about the new discover’d Inland-sea, where there are rich Furs, and Mines of Lead. What an immense Trade might be begun and carried on from these Countries; for the Natives, being numerous, and of a humane Disposition, inclin’d to trade, upon having an equitable Trade with us, would be soon civilized, and become industrious, in such rich and delightful Climates? What a Vent might be had in those Countries for our Woollen, Iron, and other Manufactures, may be easily conceived: So that by opening the Trade, and settling these Countries, the French in time would be confined to the Rivers which fall into the River St. Laurence, and be deprived of all their North-western Trade.

The North-west Part of the Bay, beyond the River of Seals, in Lat. 60. is the most incapable of Improvement, there being little Wood, to be had there near the Bay; nor is it necessary to have any Settlements there, unless one should be made for convicted Felons, by way of Punishment or Banishment, as is practised in Muscovy, by sending Criminals to Siberia, or by the Danes lately to their Settlement in Davis’s Streight, upon the Coast of Greenland; But tho’ there are few Woods there, yet there is Plenty of Game, Rain-Deer in great Numbers, Hares, Buffaloes, Foxes, and many other Beasts, whose Skins and Furs are valuable; and the Natives there might be employed in Hunting and Fishing, and also in the Mines, there being a fine Copper Mine already discovered on a Streight or Arm of the Sea in that Country. Whale-fin and Oil may be had in Abundance, from the Number of Whales seen there, as also Seals, white Bears, and Sea-Horses, from the Latitude of 62°. to 66°. and this Trade would increase by employing the Eskimaux Indians, who are already so dextrous as to strike and kill them with Harpoons made of Bone, and must improve, by furnishing them with our Harpoons and Lines, and other Implements of Iron, and Fire Arms to such as would be reclaimed and civilized, which the Benefit they would have by a free Trade would very much contribute to. We find the North Bay, above the Welcome, even to 66°. is in a habitable Climate, having met with the Eskimaux Indians in Wager River, at Deer Sound, and we find in Europe many Inhabitants within the Polar Circle, for all to the North of the Bothnick Gulph from Torneo exceeds that Latitude; all the Laplands, Petzora, the Samoyeds, and all North of Siberia, and yet by their Rain-Deer and Sledges they are so well pleased with their Country, that they are with Difficulty prevailed with to leave it, so that some Advantage may be made of the most Northerly Parts; tho’ few or no Europeans settle there, by civilizing the Natives, and learning them the Use of Rain-Deer and Sledges, and Lapland Shoes for the Snow, and shewing them the way to make Stoves where Firing may be had, so that an Advantage may be had of the coldest Parts of that Country.

But besides the Advantage to be made of these Countries adjoining to the Bay, by opening the Trade, and settling there, a still more considerable one might be made, by opening a Communication with our present Northern Colonies upon that Continent by the Means of the Canada Lakes, by forming a Settlement on the River Conde, which is navigable into the Lake Errie, which is within a small Distance of our Colonies of Pensylvania and Maryland, and being above the great Fall of Niagara, and in the Neighbourhood of the Iroquese, who are at present a Barrier against the French, and a sufficient Protection to our Fort and trading House at Oswega, in their Country upon the Lake Frontenac, who by that Trade have secured the Friendship of all the Nations around the Lakes of Huron and Errie. We should from thence, in a little Time, secure the Navigation of these great and fine Lakes, and passing to the Southward, at the same time, from Hudson’s Bay to the Upper Lake, and Lake of Hurons, we should cut off the Communication betwixt their Colonies of Canada and Mississippi, and secure the Inland Trade of all that vast Continent. I shall therefore from Lahontan, and other French Authors, give a short Account of the Climates and Situations of these Lakes, and the Soil of the adjacent Countries. The Upper Lake is situated South-westward of Hudson’s Bay, which may be come at by the Moose River; from whence, after a Navigation of 100 Leagues, and passing some Falls, there is a Land Carriage of seven Leagues to the River Mechipikoton, which falls into that Lake. This Lake is situated between 46°. and 49°. of Latitude, and is about 500 Leagues in Circuit, taking in the several Windings of the Coast. It is calm from May to September, the South Side well shelter’d with Bays. There is a large River, call’d Camanistigayan, on the North Side; there are many large Islands in it, in which are Elks and wild Asses, great Quantities of Sturgeon, Trout, and white Fish, and very good Copper is got near the Lake. This Lake is cold for near six Months, and is frozen sometimes several Leagues from the North Shore.

This falls into Huron Lake by the fall of St. Mary, a Sharp of two Leagues. Huron Lake is to the South-eastward, situated betwixt Lat. 43°. and 46°. and is about 400 Leagues in Circuit. The North Side is well sheltered by many Islands full of Woods, one called Manatoualin is 20 Leagues long and 10 broad; on the East Side is the River Françoise, which is as broad as the Seine at Paris; it runs 40 Leagues from the Lake Nepicerini North-eastward, and South-east of it is the Bay of Toranto, which is in Depth 25 Leagues and 15th in Breadth; the River Toranto falls into it, which is full of Cataracts, from the Head of which they can go by a short Land Carriage to Lake Frontenac by the River Taneoute. There is nothing remarkable from that Bay to the Streights of St. Joseph, through which it is emptied into Lake Errie, on the North-west Side below St. Mary’s, is the Town of Missilimakinac, situated between the fall and the Illinese Lake. Crossing the Entrance of this Lake, we come to the West Side of Huron Lake, in which is the Bay of Sakinac, 16 Leagues deep and 6 broad at the Entrance. The River Sakinac falls into it, which is navigable for 60 Leagues, and is as broad as the Seine at Seve Bridge; this Country abounds with Beavers; from this Bay the Coast runs South East to the Streight of St. Joseph already mentioned.

Missilimakinac is situated in 45°. 30′. within a League of the Entrance into the Illinese Lake, extremely pleasantly, as well as conveniently for Trade. Here is a great Fishery for white Fish, the richest and best Fish in the World, being so luscious that all Sauce spoils it. The Indians here sow Indian Corn, Beans and Pease, and have excellent Citruls and Melons.

This Lake is situated in an excellent Climate, affording all Things necessary for Life, as well as all Fruit and Trees which are for Ornament and Pleasure, filled with Fish, and surrounded with Herds of Deer, wild Oxen, Beavers, and other Beasts of rich Furs, and all Sorts of wild Fowl: In the Northern Side of the Lake the Spring begins with April N. S. In the Land the Ice breaks up in March, but there is floating Ice until the Beginning of April, and the Frost and Winter sets in, the latter End of November. On the South Side the Winter breaks up the Beginning of March, all the Ice being gone before April, and the Winter does not begin until the Beginning of December. From the French River, he says, there is a Land Carriage to a River which falls into St. Laurence near Monreal.

The Illinese Lake begins at Missilimakinac in Lat. 45°. 30′. and extends Southwards to about 40°. being above 300 Leagues in Circumference, in one of the best Climates in the World; it is free from Sands, Shelves, or Rocks, surrounded with Woods of the largest and best Kinds, either for Food, Delight, or Use, having most excellent Fruit of all Kinds. Forty Leagues Southward of the Entrance, on the West Side of the Lake, is the Bay of Puants, 10 Leagues broad at the Entrance, filled with fine Islands, and 25 Leagues deep, betwixt Lat. 43°. and 44°. it produces all Sorts of Grain and Fruit almost without Culture. The Fall of Kakalin is on the River which falls into this Lake; above it is the Nation of Kikapous, and above them a small Lake called Malominis; upon the Sides of it grows a Kind of wild Oats, from which the Natives get plentiful Crops; above this is the Outagamis Fort, and a little higher the Land Carriage to Ouisconsic River, which falls into the Mississippi.

There is nothing remarkable from the Bay of Puants to the River Chicakou, in the South End of the Lake, which has its Source near the Illinese River, to which there is a Land Carriage of some Miles. The Illinese River is navigable from about Lat. 39°. to the Mississippi for about 60 Leagues South-west. This River runs through one of the most delightful Countries in the World, abounding with the most delightful Meadows and Woods, which produce every Thing for Delight or Use, filled with plenty of Deer, wild Oxen, and wild Fowl of all Kinds; on the East Side of the Lake is another fine River, called Oumamis or Miamis, whose Source is near the Huron Lake. There is nothing remarkable on this East Coast, except the Bay De L’Ours qui dort, until you come to its Entrance into the Huron Lake.

The Climate upon this Lake is most delightful, few Storms met with here. The Bay of Puanti is frozen over about the Middle of December, and the Frost is gone again in February, the Grass being well grown in the Meadows by the Middle of March. On the South Side of the Lake the River Chicacou was frozen over the Beginning of December; and upon the 3d of January it began to thaw, and was navigable the 24th. The whole Country around this Lake is fill’d with Woods of most excellent Timber of the greatest Growth, which are fill’d with Deer, Buffalo’s, &c. and all kind of wild Fowl; and rich Mines have been discovered upon the Illinese River in its Neighbourhood.

To the Southward of the Lake of Hurons, by the Streights of St. Joseph, which are half a League broad, after a Course of six Leagues, is the Lake of St. Clair, which is 12 Leagues in Circuit; and from thence by another Streight of 20 Leagues long, and the same Breadth, is the Entrance into the Lake Errie. All along this Streight, and around St. Clair Lake, are fine Woods full of Harts and Roe-bucks, stored with all kinds of Fowl. The Lake Errie or Conti is 230 Leagues in Circumference, in the most excellent Climate in the World, from 40°. to 42°. The Country around it is low and champaign, fill’d with most delightful Woods, full of excellent wild Fruit, interspersed with Meadows filled with several Sorts of Deer and wild Beeves. Two fine Rivers fall into it from the Southwest, without Cataracts or rapid Currents. From one of these, by a Land-carriage, there is a Passage to the Illinese River; and by another to the River Ouabach or Ohio; which, after a Course of near 200 Leagues, 100 of which is three and a half Fathoms deep, enters into the Mississippi, in about 36°. Latitude, about 80 Leagues below the Illinese River.

This Lake abounds with Sturgeon and white Fish, the best in the World. It is clear of Rocks, Shelves, or Sands, generally 14 to 15 Fathoms deep, seldom or never disturbed with Storms, and these only in the three Winter Months, when they happen. Stags, Roe-bucks, and wild Beeves abound on its Banks, and Turkeys and other wild Fowl in the Woods. On the North Side a narrow Strip of Land runs into the Lake for 15 Leagues. Thirty Leagues to the Eastward of this is a small River that rises near the Bay of Gamaraski in Frontenac Lake. From this River to the Fall of Niagara is 30 Leagues; this is supposed to be the greatest Fall in this Globe, from its Height and Quantity of Water it discharges; the Height was computed formerly above 100 Fathom, but by a late exact Account taken by the French in 1721, it is said to be only 26 Fathom perpendicular by a Plumb Line, besides the Declivity above and below, it being rapid and full of Shelves for six Miles below it, before it is again navigable. The Streight above Niagara at the Lake is about a League wide. From this to the River Conde is 20 Leagues South-west; this River runs from the S. E. and is navigable for 60 Leagues without any Cataracts or Falls; and the Natives say, that from it to a River which falls into the Ocean, is a Land Carriage of only one League. This must be either the Sasquehana or Powtomack, which fall into the Bay of Chisapeak. There are several fine Islands on the South-west of this Lake filled with Fruit Trees of several Kinds, and there is a Prospect of rich Mines within 20 Leagues of it upon a Mountain from which Oar has been brought which proved good.

From this short Abstract of the Lakes, taken from the French, who discovered them, we must conclude that the Countries adjoining to them are the most delightful in the World; that in time, by civilizing the Natives, and making them become industrious, a very fine Commerce might be carried on through these extensive Lakes, which might be secured to us, by making a sufficient Settlement upon the River Conde, where it begins to be navigable, which is but at a small Distance from our present Colonies of Maryland and Pensilvania, from whence we might extend that Settlement by Degrees, and by building proper Vessels there to navigate these Lakes, we might gain the whole Navigation and Inland Trade of Furs, &c. from the French, the Fall of Niagara being a sufficient Barrier betwixt us and the French of Canada by Water, and the Iroquese and Fort at Oswega upon Lake Frontenac, an impregnable Barrier by Land, and by the Neighbourhood of our most populous Colonies, and Numbers transplanting themselves annually from Europe, particularly from Switzerland and Germany to Pensilvania they would be easily induced to strengthen our Settlements upon this River and Lake Errie, in such a rich Soil and delightful Climate; and by our securing the Streights of St. Joseph, betwixt Errie and Huron Lake and the River Françoise, near the Bay of Toranto, we should cut off the French at Canada from their Communication with these Lakes and the Mississippi, and join our Settlements to be made Southward of Hudson’s Bay upon the Moose, Nodway and Rupert’s Rivers, which in time would secure to us the whole Fur Trade, and make Canada insignificant to the French; and also by settling upon the Ouabach or Ohio near Lake Errie, by having the Cherokees and Chickesaws to the Southward, as a Barrier betwixt us and Louisiana, and securing the Choctaws, we might spread our Commerce beyond the Mississippi; by which Means, the Inland Trade of that vast Northern Continent, much greater than Europe, would in time be wholly enjoy’d by us in Britain, independent of any other European Power.

How glorious would it be for us at the same time to civilize so many Nations, and improve so large and spacious a Country? by communicating our Constitution and Liberties, both civil and religious, to such immense Numbers, whose Happiness and Pleasure would increase, at the same Time that an Increase of Wealth and Power would be added to Britain.

There is at present a Beginning of this Scheme by the Zeal of Mr. Barclay, who is instructing and civilizing the Mowhawks among the Iroquese, who from a warlike Nation have embarked in Trade, and entered into Alliances with all the Nations around the Lakes Huron and Errie, and to the Westward as far as the Mississippi, which is firmly established by the Gain they make by the Trade the English from New-York have fixed at Oswega in their Country, upon equitable Terms with all the Indians, who come now from a great Distance to trade at that Town, Indians coming now to trade there whose Names were never before known to the English. This therefore seems to be the critical Time to begin this Settlement on the Banks of Conde River. If there be a War with France, as we are at a great Expence to save the Liberties of Europe, and support the House of Austria, since we can have nothing in Europe beneficial for us, in case we are successful at the Conclusion of the War, we ought to stipulate for something advantageous in America; and the least we ought to claim is our Right to the American Lakes, and securing the Navigation of them. The French have at present two little Forts, of about thirty Men in each, at Niagara, and the Streights of St. Joseph, and a few Men at Missilimakinac, and at the Bottom of the Illinese Lake; these we ought to have from them, either by Force or Treaty, which would secure the Inland-Trade to us, and prevent their future Incroachments either there or in Hudson’s Bay; and to do this effectually, would be to make this Settlement near the Lake Errie, which may be done at little or no Expence, considering our present Barrier, and Alliance and Trade with the Natives; and when our Troops are disbanded, some of them may be sent over upon Half-pay to fix in proper Places, and make good our Possessions, which would be a fine Retreat to our Soldiers, who can’t so easily, after being disbanded, bring themselves again to hard Labour, after being so long disused to it.

By these Settlements, and those adjoining to Hudson’s Bay, and by opening the Trade in the Bay, many Thousands more would be employed in Trade, and a much greater Vent would be opened for our Manufactures; whereas all the Gain we have at present, whilst the Trade is confined to the Company, is the Employment of 120 Men in all their Factories, and two or three Ships in that Trade, mann’d perhaps with 120 Men in time of War, to enrich nine or ten Merchants at their Country’s Expence; at the same time betraying the Nation, by allowing the French to encroach upon us at the Bottom of the Bay, having given up by that means the greatest Part of their Trade there to the French; it is therefore humbly submitted to the Government, whether it is not just, as well as prudent, to open that Trade to all the British Merchants, and resume, at the same time, the Charter so far, as to take from them all those Lands they have not reclaimed or occupied after 70 Years Possession, leaving them only their Factories, and such Lands as they have reclaimed adjoining to them; and to give Grants as usual in other Colonies, to all who shall go over to trade and make Settlements in the Country; for no Grant was ever intended to be made to them, to enable them to prevent other Subjects of Britain from planting those Countries, which they themselves would not plant or occupy; for such a Power, instead of being beneficial, would be the greatest Prejudice to Britain, and is become a general Law in all the Colonies, that those who take Grants of Land, and don’t plant them in a reasonable, limited Time, forfeit their Right to those Lands, and a new Grant is made out to such others as shall plant and improve them; and if this Grant be not immediately resumed so far, and the Trade laid open, and some Force be not sent to secure our Southern Possessions in the Bay by the Government, in case there should be a French War, we shall see the French immediately dispossess the Company of all their Factories but Churchill, and all these Countries, and that Trade, will be in the Possession of the French.

To the making such Settlements some Objections have been made by the friends of the Company; as the great Difficulty of getting People to go to settle and plant in so cold a Country, and the Difficulty and Danger attending the making Settlements higher up upon the Rivers, and navigating them, they being so full of Falls and Rapids, that can only be navigated by the Natives in small Canoes made of Birch Bark, which can’t contain above two Men with any Cargo; and in these they are often overset, and are in danger of being drowned, and of spoiling their Goods; that they are often obliged to carry their Canoes and Cargo from Place to Place, which obstructs greatly, and delays the Navigation, and that scarce 5 Men out of 120, which the Company now have in the Bay, will venture themselves in, or can conduct such Canoes, without imminent Danger of being drowned, and consequently these Hardships and Difficulties will counterbalance the Profit to be made of settling higher up in the Country, upon the Rivers in pleasanter and warmer Climates.

To this I answer, that by the Accounts already given here of these Climates and Countries by impartial Persons, who don’t want to disguise the Truth, it appears that the Cold is tolerable even at these disadvantageous Settlements at present in the Bay, and that upon passing only five or six Leagues up the Rivers into the Country, the Climate is so altered, as to be equal to those of the same Latitudes in Europe; and that these prodigious Accounts of the Effects of Cold are calculated only to serve the Company, in order to prevent People from going there to settle, and encroach upon the Company’s Monopoly of Trade.

As to the Difficulty they make about navigating these Rivers in those small Canoes, and the small Number of those employed by the Company, who will venture in them, or can conduct them; I answer, that their Servants, being at present no Gainers by Trade, won’t endeavour to learn to navigate these Canoes, where there is any Risque, and Care necessary to prevent the Danger: Besides, the Company allows them no Time to learn, by confining them to their Factories whilst the Indian Trade continues, and the Navigation is open; and at other Times keep them employed in cutting Wood for Firing, bringing it home, and in shooting, fishing, and digging in their Gardens, to supply themselves with Provisions, to lessen the Company’s Expence; so that they are allowed no Time to learn to navigate these Boats, or to go up the Rivers to observe the Soil and Climate, or what Improvements might be made in the Country: But if they were Masters of their own Time, and could advance their Wealth by Trade, and found a considerable Profit to arise to them by their Dexterity in managing these Canoes, and the great Pleasure and Satisfaction they would have, by living in a fine Climate among these Lakes and Rivers, they would be as enterprizing and dexterous as the Cureur de Bois, and be as able to navigate among these Water-falls as the French. Neither is it impracticable to prevent even these Canoes from oversetting, by Outlagers or blown Bladders fixed to their Sides; or other Kinds of Boats may be used, such as are made at Torneo, in Sweden, upon the Rivers falling into the Bothnick Gulph; and Laplanders might be prevailed upon to go there to teach them how to make and manage these Boats, and train up Rain-Deer to draw in Sleds in Winter, and also to use Lapland Shoes, which are better than those used in America.

If the Trade was once made free, the Profit made upon it would induce many to go and settle upon these Rivers, when not only Horses and other Conveniencies would be had near these Water-falls to assist the Land Carriage in Summer, but also Horses and Rain-Deer to draw their Sleds in Winter as in Russia, which is almost as cheap a Carriage as by Water, when the proper Roads are made through the Woods; so that Objection must be of no Force to prevent our opening the Trade, and settling these Countries.

But supposing the worst, that we could not manage these Canoes, that could not prevent our settling to Advantage upon these Rivers and Lakes above the Falls; for the Natives might still be our Carriers in navigating those dangerous Places, and taking our Goods from one Settlement to another, whilst we should be employed in Navigation and Trade among the Lakes and Rivers where there are no Falls in larger Vessels, and push our Commerce Southward into better Climates and richer Soils, and put the Natives upon Improvements in Trade, by civilizing and instructing them in building convenient Houses, and associating in Towns, making Gardens, and tilling their Lands, providing them with Horses and tame Cattle, and Fowl for their Use, and proper Tools, which our Trade would furnish them with.

Another Objection is, that it is a difficult and dangerous Navigation into the Bay, and the Trade is not worth the Risque.

To this I answer, that the Navigation is not so dangerous as it is apprehended to be, but appears to be more so by the Insinuations and Report of the Company and their Friends, who give it out in order to deter others from venturing and interfering in their Trade; and for that Reason they oblige their Captains, under a Penalty, not to publish any Charts of the Bay and Streight. Captain Middleton, who was in their Service, made above twenty Voyages to different Parts of the Bay, and never lost a Ship, nor had any Accident in these Voyages; nor have I heard that the Company, in about 23 Years, have lost any Ships in that Trade but two, and the Men and Cargo were saved by Captain Middleton. Where Captains are careful in the Ice, there is not much Danger; it is of great Advantage to them that there is no Night at that Season they enter the Bay where the Quantity of Ice is greatest; and when they return in September, or even in October, all the Ice is in a manner dissolved, or passed out of the Streight into the Ocean, and none seen that can obstruct their Passage.

It is probable, that during the whole Winter, from October to March, there is no Ice in the Streight to obstruct their Passage into, or out of, the Bay; for a Ship which chanced to be closed up with Ice in an Inlet, by the breaking of the Ice got out, and came through the Streights at Christmas, without finding any Ice in the Streight to prevent her Passage: for the Ice which is formed in Bays and Rivers in Winter, does not break up, and get into the Channel or Streight, until it begins to thaw upon the Shores in March and April; at which Time it is carried by the Winds and Tide into the Streight, and obstructs the Passage in May, and Part of June, until it is dissolved; yet even then good Pilots know how to avoid it, and get into the Eddy Tide, out of the Current, where the Ice is more open, and not drove together by the Winds and Current, as it is in the Channel; but these Difficulties would lessen every Day, if the Trade were open’d, and the Voyages were more frequent by the greater Number of Ships, which would make many more experienced Pilots; and as there is now a more accurate Chart published of the Streight and Bay by Captain Middleton, with the Islands, Soundings, Tides and Variation, the Navigation will become less dangerous daily, and Coves and Places of Shelter for Ships will be found out by the Numbers of Ships which would then pass, and be trading in these Seas, which are now unknown.

I therefore apprehend, that the Danger from the Ice is more in Imagination than Reality, when Care and Judgment are employed; for Ships are mostly inclosed in Ice in calm Weather and Fogs, when the Ice prevents the Motion of the Sea; stormy Weather disperses and breaks the Ice and blows off the Fogs, and Ships keep a good Offing from the Ice, unless they get under the Lee of a large Island of Ice, and then they fasten to it and drive along with it, whilst the smaller Ice to Leeward is drove from them by the Wind; and the large Islands being many Fathoms deep in the Water, come on Ground before the Ships are in Danger of being forced on Shore in shallow Water.

The greatest Danger and Delay from the Ice is in the Entrance into the Streight; for the first 40 Leagues from thence the Quantity is less, and they pass on with less Difficulty, and after getting into the Bay, the North-west Side is freest from Ice, the Bottom of the Bay is full of low flat Ice, which is all dissolved in the latter End of Summer.

Upon the whole, except two Ships which were lost in King William’s Reign, and a French Ship, after an Engagement with our Ships, when they attack’d Fort Nelson, I have heard of none but the Ships already mentioned which have been lost in that Voyage. The two Ships which went with Barlow in 1719 to find the North-west Passage, contrary to the Inclinations of the Company, if they did not make the Passage, were probably in the Winter surprized by the Natives, and were not lost in the Ice; for they say that the Natives in about Lat. 63°. where they suppose they were lost, are shyer since that Time in trading with the Company’s Sloops, which they apprehend to be from a Consciousness of Guilt, fearing that it might be known, and they should be punished for it.

Since therefore the greatest Danger from the Ice is in passing the Streight, and so few Accidents have happened in so many Years, the Navigation, I think, can’t be call’d dangerous, tho’ it has been generally so apprehended; and not equal to the Whale Fishers who go annually to Spitzberg and Davis’s Streights, to Lat. 78°. and 80°. without any Objection to that Navigation, either by the Dutch, Hamburgers, Danes, Biscayners, or English.

I think therefore it appears, that upon opening the Trade, and settling in the Bay, a very great Improvement may be made to our Trade, by the Increase of our Fur Trade, and from the Mines; and beneficial Whale Fishery, which may be improved and carried on there by the Indians; and the whole may be had without Danger or Difficulty, altho’ no Passage should be found to the Western Ocean; but if there be a Probability of that Passage, and the Presumptions are now vastly stronger, since the Discoveries lately made by the Ships under Captain Middleton’s Command, and the Advantages would be so very great to our Trade, in case a safe Passage should be found, I shall here give a short Abstract of the Journal which he has been pleased to give us, wherein, tho’ many material Observations have been concealed and omitted, and others have been misrepresented; and the chief Part of the Coast, where the greatest Hopes was of a Passage, was entirely slighted and neglected by him, Part being passed in the Night, and the Remainder sailed along in hazy Weather, at five, six, and eight Leagues Distance, so as to make no Discovery of those broken Lands, of which that whole Coast consists; which seems plainly done with a Design in him to compliment the Company at the publick Expence, that he might have it in his Power to gratify them by concealing the Discovery; and thought from his Character of being an experienced Sailor, no other after him would pretend to look after it for the future, which would quiet the Company in the Possession of their darling Monopoly in the Bay, for which, no doubt, he had strong Motives to induce him to slight it, they having offered him before he went the Voyage l. 5000 not to go, or to slight the Discovery, by going to Davis’s Streights, or any other Way but where he was directed, as he has own’d to several Persons; yet notwithstanding all his Art in concealing a great deal, and disguising more, in his Journal, enough is discovered in it, to shew he was in the Passage, and that if his Inclination had been as good as his Ability, he could have made a considerable Progress in the Discovery of the Passage last Voyage; and after observing upon his own Journal, I shall add what further Remarks have been made in the Voyage by some Officers who were on board him, and Objections to his Conduct upon the Voyage, so far as related to his concealing and slighting the Discovery; and by comparing his Journal and their Observations, with the Accounts formerly given by Button, Fox, Scroggs and Norton, shall shew that the Presumptions now of their being a safe Passage to the Western Ocean of America, are as strong as well can be, without a Demonstration by an actual passing it.

He could not get out sooner than the 1st of July from Churchill River in Lat. 58°. 56′. to search for the Passage; on the 3d at five in the Morning he saw three Islands in Lat. 61°. 40′. on the 4th he saw Brook Cobham in Lat. 63°. Long. 93° 40′. West from London, the Variation there was 21°. West. This Island had much Snow upon it; on the 6th in the Morning he saw a Head-land in Lat. 63°. 20′. Long. 93°. West; Soundings from 35 to 72 Fathoms; at five the Current set N. N. E. 2 Knots 2 Fathoms; the Tide flowed from N. E. by N. Variation 30°. West; a W. by N. Moon made high Water; the 8th he was in Lat. 63°. 39′. saw no Whales or other Fish yet, except one white Whale as big as a Grampus, and some Seals; much Ice North of them, close in Shore for several Leagues; Depth 60 to 90 fathoms; Land 7 or 8 Leagues N. W. 10th in Lat. 64°. 51′. Long. 88°. 34′. West, the Welcome here 11 or 12 Leagues wide, the East Coast a low flat Coast, the whole Welcome full of Ice; they filled fresh Water off the Ice; clos’d in the Ice until the 12th; the 13th he got through the Ice to Northwards of Cape Dobbs, a new discovered Head-land, on the N. W. Side of the Welcome, in Lat. 65°. 10′. Long. 86°. 6′. West, saw a fair Opening N. W. of it; sailed into this Opening or River to secure the Ships from the Ice, until it dispersed in the Welcome. The Entrance of this River 6 or 8 Miles wide for 4 or 5 Miles. Four Leagues higher it was 4 to 5 Leagues wide; he anchored on the North Side above some Islands in 34 Fathoms; the Tide in the Narrow flowed 5 Miles an Hour; not so strict further up; much Ice came down with the Ebb; the Soundings, as they went up, were from 14 to 44 Fathoms in the Middle of the Channel. Next Morning several of the Eskimaux Indians came on board, who had nothing to exchange but their old Cloaths and 20 Gallons of Train Oil; he gave them several Toys; he went higher about four Miles, above some Islands, and anchored in a Sound betwixt them and the North Shore, in an Eddy Tide, to be out of the Way of the driving Ice, which went in and out with the Tide, and anchored in 16 Fathoms; this he called Savage Sound; the River above and below full of Ice; the 15th he sent up the Lieutenant with nine Men well armed, with Provisions for 48 Hours, in the eight oar’d Boat, to try the River, who returned on the 17th; he had been up as far as the Ice would permit, it being fast above from Side to Side; he found the Depth above from 70 to 80 Fathoms. The 16th the Captain went ashore on some Islands, and found them quite bare, except some short Grass, and Moss in the Valleys, and a little Sorrel and Scurvy-Grass above High-water Mark. They set the Fishing Nets but got no Fish; many of his Men relapsed in the Scurvy, above half not serviceable. The Tide at the Mouth of the River on Change Days flows five Hours, and rises from 10 to 15 Feet, Variation 35°. West; where the Lieutenant was, it flowed from the Southward, and rose 13 Foot at Neap Tide. The Northern Indians he took from Churchill knew nothing of the Country; 18th got the Ships into a safe Cove, and moor’d in nine Fathoms and a half: The Captain went up the River in the Morning with eight Men and the two Indians, and by eight at Night was got up 15 Miles: He found the Tide flowed 12 Feet, and a West Moon made high Water; the Tide flowed from S. S. E. the Indians killed a Deer; they heard an uncommon crying in the Night, generally made by Savages when they see Strangers; 19th by two in the Morning went five Miles higher, and got into a small River or Sound, six or seven Miles wide, but how far it went up they knew not; the main River was there six or seven Leagues wide, but so full of Ice they could not go much farther; the Lands on both Sides very high; he went upon one of the highest Mountains 24 Miles above Savage Cove, where the Ships lay, from whence he could see where the Ships lay, and about 8 or 10 Leagues higher up than the Place he was at; he observed the River run N. by W. by the Compass, which, Variation allowed, was to Westward of N. W. but it grew narrower in its Course upwards, and was full of Ice; the 20th, at eight in the Evening, he returned on board with six Deer, which the Indians had shot whilst he was on Shore: He called that Place Deer Sound; the Land is very mountainous and barren, with Rocks of the Marble Kind; in the Vales a great many Lakes, with some Grass, and Numbers of large Deer, as big as a small Horse, 12 or 13 Hands high; upon Islands not half a Mile in Circuit they generally saw a small Herd. 21st he went down the River, which was still full of Ice; when he was within 4 Miles of the Entrance, he got upon a high Hill, and saw the Welcome still full of Ice from Side to Side. 22d the Ice very thick in the River above and below, and more drives in every Tide, if the Wind comes from the Welcome; he sent the Lieutenant with the six oar’d Boat up the River. 24th more Ice in the River than ever; no sending a Boat downwards. 25th Lieutenant returned, after having been 48 Hours sounding among the Islands near Deer Sound; he found the River full of Ice; he brought three Deer with him. 26th sent the Lieutenant and Master down to see if the Ice was clearer below, and in the Welcome; Savage Sound is in Long. 89°. 28′. West, Variation 35°. West; the Entrance of Wager River is in Lat. 65°. 23′. Deer Sound 65°. 50′. the Course from Savage Bay is N. W. by Compass, which, Variation allowed, is W. by N. 27th Lieutenant returned, having been carried out by the Ice and Tide six or seven Leagues, and found the River below quite choak’d up with Ice, but thinner when they got into the Welcome. 28th at one in the Afternoon, the Lieutenant and Master went up the River, to try if they could find out any other Way into the Welcome besides that they came in at, on Account they had seen many black Whales, and other Fish, the Time they were up last, and none were seen where the Ships lay, nor any where below; he was likewise ordered to try Deer Sound, and every Opening, to find whether the Tide came in any other Way, than the Way they came in at, this he had Time to do, until the Ice cleared in the Mouth of the River and Welcome. 29th he sent the Boat with eight sick Men, and several that were lame with the Scurvy, to an Island about five Miles off, it having Plenty of Sorrel and Scurvy-Grass upon it, and left with them Tenting and Necessaries; the Tide flowed 12 Fathom 6 Inches; the Captain went up one of the highest Hills, and found the River full of Ice below, but something thinner above. 30th he perceived the Ice was all fast below them, and for eight or ten Miles above them, without the Islands; but pretty clear without the Cove. 31st Abundance of Ice drove in from the Welcome, and almost filled the Bay without them. The 1st of August the Lieutenant and Master came on board, having been four Days out, who said they had been 10 or 12 Leagues above Deer Sound; they saw a great many black Whales of the Whale-bone Kind; they tried every Opening they saw, and constantly found the Tide of Flood came from the Eastward, or in at the Mouth of the River Wager, 2d they unmoored and warp’d out into Savage Sound, and on the 4th by 10th at Night got out of the River, the Ebb carrying them out at the Rate of five Miles in an Hour, being clear of Ice until they got out; it being almost calm put the Pinnace a Head, and tow’d and row’d with the Ship’s Oars. They were then in 65°. 38′. and Long. 87°. 7′. West Variation 38°. Here they entered a new Streight N. E. of Wager River, 13 Leagues wide; the Entrance of Wager River is in Lat. 65°. 24′. Long. 88°. 37′. the 5th they were in Lat. 66°. 14′. Long. 86°. 28′. West; the Strait there was about 8 or 9 Leagues wide, sailing among Ice; the S. E. Coast was low and shingly 7 Leagues long; at the N. E. End of the Beach was a mountainous ragged Land like Part of Hudson’s Streight; good Soundings here from 25 to 44 Fathoms, Variation 40°. West; the Tide comes from E. by N. by the Compass; the Tide runs very strong here with Eddies and Whirlings. 6th tried the Tide, and found it came from the E. by S. the Point of the Beach at two was distant four or five Miles; at half an Hour past two sent the Lieutenant ashore with the six oar’d Boat to try the Tide, and found it had ebbed two Feet, and the Flood came from the Eastward; at three made a Signal for the Boat to come on board; at four saw a fair Cape or Head-land on the West or North Shore, bearing from them S. W. half S. six or seven Leagues, the Land trenching away from E. by N. to N. by W. making eight Points of the Compass; this gave them Joy, believing it the North Point of America, and therefore he called it Cape Hope; they work’d round it through much straggling Ice all Night; in the Morning when the Sun clear’d away the Haze, they saw Land all round, quite from the low Beach to the Westward of the North, meeting the West Shore, and made a deep Bay, but to make sure they kept their Course to the Cod of it, until two next Afternoon, when every one saw plainly it was a Bay, and they could not go above six or eight Miles farther; so trying the Tide several Times, and finding it always slack Water, they found they had overshot the Opening where the Tide came in at, from the Eastward, the Variation here was 50°. This Bay at the Bottom was six or seven Leagues wide from Side to Side; very high Land from thence to the frozen Streight Eastward of them; Soundings from 50 to 105 Fathom; they sailed Eastward out of the Bay, much Ice to Eastward. The 8th at 10 in the Morning the Captain went on Shore with the Boat, taking the Gunner, Carpenter, and his Clerk with him, to try if he could find from whence the Flood came in at to this Streight or Bay. At Noon Cape Hope bore N. half E. five or six Leagues; the Beach W. S. W. four Leagues; the Entrance of the frozen Streight amongst the Islands on the East Side, bore East two Leagues; at four the Middle of the frozen Streight bore E. S. E. three Leagues; at half an Hour past nine at Night he returned on board; he had travelled about 15 Miles to the highest Mountain that overlooked the Streight, and East Bay on the other Side, and saw the Passage the Flood came in at; the narrowest Part of this Streight is four or five Leagues, and five, six or seven in the broadest, almost full of large and small Islands, and in length about 16 or 18 Leagues; it stretches S. E. round to the South and to the Westward; it was full of Ice not broke up, all fast to both Shores, and Islands therein; he saw very high Land, about 15 or 20 Leagues Southward of the Place he was at, which he took to run towards Cape Comfort, and the Bay betwixt that and Weston’s Portland, being Part of Hudson’s North Bay; the Ice being not yet broke up, it was resolved in Council to try the other Side of the Welcome, from Cape Dobbs to Brook Cobham, to know if there was any Opening there, and then return to England.

The 9th at two in the Morning they bore away; at three sounded 35 Fathom within a Mile of the Beach, six Leagues to Cape Hope, and three to the Beach Point; they sailed along the South-east Shore at three Leagues Distance; there being much Ice to Westward, almost one third over; at four in the Afternoon Cape Dobbs bore N. W. three fourths W. by Compass six Leagues; at 10 sounded 50 Fathom; at 12, 60 to 65. The 10th at four in the Morning 43 to 25 Fathom, five Leagues from the West Land at eight; 66 to 70 Fathom; then in Lat. 64°. 10′. Long. 88°. 56′. West; the Welcome here 16 or 18 Leagues wide; the extreme Part of the S. E. Shore still in Sight, bore from S. to S. E. by E. distant six or seven Leagues. The 11th at four in the Morning 45 to 35 Fathom, the North Shore from N. E. to N. N. W. four or five Leagues distant, then in about Lat. 64°. and Long. 90°. 53′. near the Head-land; they kept as near as they could to the Shore, to see if there was any Opening into the Land, 25 to 35 Fathoms; continued sailing in Sight of the North Shore from Cape Hope; at four in the Afternoon haul’d off from the Shore to deepen the Water; at six, 34 to 28 Fathom; at eight, 30 to 40; then lay by until Day-light; Soundings all Night from 44 to 60 Fathom. At four on the 12th made sail; at six, stood in with the Head-land 9 or 10 Leagues to Eastward of Brook Cobham; it bore then from them N. W. by N. 5 or 6 Leagues; sounded 60 to 49 Fathom; at ten 49 to 9 Fathom, standing in to the Head-land; at twelve haul’d off to deepen the Water, they were then in Lat. 63°. 14′. and Long. 92°. 25′. W. He says he found in coasting along the Shore of the Welcome, from the frozen Streight to this Place, that it was all a Main-land, tho’ there are several small Islands and deep Bays; this Head-land, and the other in Lat. 64°. makes a deep Bay; in their Passage out they did not see the Bottom of it, as they did upon their Return; and by keeping close along Shore, they saw many large black Whales of the right Whale-bone Kind.

They had from 20 to 40 Fathom off Brook Cobham, which at four in the Afternoon was W. N. W. 4 Leagues distant. The 13th he sent ashore to see if he could water the Ships; the two Northern Indians went ashore in the Boat; the Island is 3 Leagues from the Main, 7 Leagues long and three broad, all of hard white Stone like Marble. The 14th the Lieutenant returned with the Boat, and brought a Deer the Indians had shot, and a white Bear; they saw several Swans and Ducks.

The 15th sent the Boat for more Water with the two Northern Indians, who were desirous of being left near their own Country, he gave them a small Boat, which he taught them the Use of, and loaded it with Powder, Shot, Provisions, Hatchets, Tobacco, and Toys, of every Kind he had on board. The Afternoon the Boat returned on board, and brought an Account, that by Marks left on the Shore, the Tide flows sometimes there 22 Feet; they left the two Indians ashore, who designed to go to the Main-land the first Opportunity; the other Indian being desirous of seeing England, he brought with him, and the same Day bore away for England.

If nothing more was known or discovered by this Voyage, than what is here mentioned in this Journal, yet it even appears from it, and by the former Accounts given by Button, Fox, Scroggs, and Norton, that there are strong Presumptions of a Passage, of which I shall give a short Abstract, with Observations upon this Journal, as here given in by Captain Middleton. But when I shall take Notice of what more has been discovered in this Voyage, which has been industriously concealed by him, and that he not only slighted examining the material Parts of the Coast, and the Direction and Height of the Tide, where the greatest Probability was of a Passage by all former Accounts; but even avoided the Coast, and passed great Part in the Night, and has given false Accounts of the Course of the Tides, and has made an imaginary frozen Streight, in order to bring a Tide of Flood through it to support the false Facts he has laid down in his Journal, and published in his Chart of the Course of the Tide, from thence to conclude, that there is no Passage; and when a Passage or Streight free from Ice, leading to the W. S. W. four or five Leagues wide was discovered, and reported to him under the Lieutenant and Master’s Hand, he would not pursue it, but sail’d out of the Streight N. E. a Course the Reverse of what he should have taken, and followed the Tide contrary to his Instructions; and afterwards, when a Tide of Flood was discovered coming from the Westward at Marble Island, through an Open on the Western Shore, he not only slighted looking into it, but even refused the Lieutenant when he desired to try that Opening, and discouraged all those who were on board him, who were of Opinion that there was a Passage, and were inquisitive and desirous of having it found. When all this is shewn, it will not only increase the Probability of there being a Passage, but also confirm the Belief, that undue Influence has been made Use of by the Company, to induce the Captain to conceal the Passage and stifle the Discovery, and publish a false Chart to fix it, and deter any others from attempting it for the future.

In order to make all this plain, I shall first give a short Abstract from Button, Fox, and Scroggs, of what they observed, and then reason from their Accounts, and the Facts he himself has allowed in his Journal, before I mention what he has concealed, avoided and falsified in it.

It appears from Button’s Journal, who was the first we have recorded to have been upon that Coast in 1613, after wintering in Port Nelson, that he saw a Head-land when in 62°. 42′. North Latitude, bearing from him N. E. by E. 8 or 9 Leagues, and another Head-land in about Lat. 64°. which are the same mentioned in this Journal; he was then forced by a Storm into Lat. 65°. and fell in with the East Land; this Place he called Ne Ultra, not knowing whether it was a Bay or Inlet. He was afterwards forced by stormy Weather to the Southward, without making any other Discovery, only leaving it doubtful. He was here on the 28th of July, but saw neither Ice nor Snow upon the Coast at that Time, but said all he saw was a broken Land and Islands upon the North-west Coast.

Fox was the next, who was there in 1632. The first Land he made, after passing Cary’s Swan’s Nest, was in Lat. 64°. 10′. which he called Sir Thomas Roe’s Welcome, but was the same Button called Ne Ultra. This, he says, was an Island, a high, broken Land. He had fine, clear Weather, an open Sea, free from Ice, no Snow on the Land, but a bold, ragged Coast, like Head-lands upon the Ocean, with Tangle and Rock-weed, and great Store of Fish leaping. Here the Tide rose 4 Fathom. He sailed from thence South-west, and in Lat. 63°. 37′, saw another Head-land to Southward of him, and small Islands and broken Land upon the Main, with many Fish and Seals, and one black Whale. He sailed to Southward, and came to Brook Cobham, an Island in Lat. 63°. where he saw two Whales, and betwixt that Island and the Main his Men saw 40 Whales. This was the 27th of July. He sailed thence to the Southward.

Scroggs was the third that was there. He sailed from Churchill River on the 22d of June 1722. In Lat. 62°. he traded with the Natives for Whale-fin and Sea-horse Teeth. On the 9th of July he was drove in hazy, thick Weather, to Lat. 64°. 56′. where he anchored in 12 Fathoms. When it cleared up, he found himself within 3 Leagues of the North Shore. The Head-land which bore E. N. E. from him, he called Whalebone Point. He saw at the same time several Islands bearing from S. W. by W. to S. W. by S. which, Variation allowed, was from S. W. by S. to S. S. W. He saw Land from South up to the West; the Welcome was very high Land, as high as any in Hudson’s Streight. The Southermost Island he called Cape Fullerton. Here he saw many black Whales, and some white. He sent his Boat on Shore, they saw many Deer, Geese, Ducks, &c. He said it flowed there 5 Fathoms upon his Lead-line, he having but 7 Fathom at low Water, and 12 at high Water. He had two Northern Indians with him, who had wintered at Churchill, and told him of a rich Copper Mine somewhere in that Country, upon the Shore, near the Surface of the Earth, and they could direct the Sloop so near it, as to lay her Side to it, and be soon loaden with it; they had brought some Pieces of Copper from it to Churchill, that made it evident there was a Mine thereabouts. They had sketched out the Country with Charcoal upon a Skin of Parchment before they left Churchill, and so far as they went it agreed very well. One of the Indians desired him to leave him, saying, he was within three or four Days Journey of his own Country, but he would not let him go. He said he was up in the Cod of the Bay, and that there was a Bar there; but his Men said he was 10 Leagues from what he called a Bar. He sailed out S. E. and on the 15th crossed to the West Side of the Welcome, in Lat. 64°. 15′. In Lat. 64°. 8′. he saw again many Whales, but saw no Ice when he was there. The Land from Whalebone Point fell off to the Southward of the West, and the Men who went ashore, said they saw nothing to prevent their going farther. They had Soundings there from 40 to 70 Fathoms.

Captain Norton, late Governor of Churchill, was then with him, and confirmed this Account, and that the Tide rose 5 Fathom; and said that he was on Shore, on the Top of a Mountain, and saw the Land fall away to the Southward of a West, and nothing to prevent their going further.

Captain Middleton in his Journal confirms all these Head-lands in the very same Places they mention them, with high, ragged Lands and Islands off the Main, and saw many Whales at the same Head-land Fox had seen one. Upon his going out it appears he kept at a great Distance from the West Shore, so as scarce to descry it, under Pretence of Ice; and upon his Return, tho’ there was then no Ice, it appears he was 6 Leagues to Eastward of Cape Dobbs, passed Whalebone Point in the Night, without seeing that Coast, and was 5 or 6 Leagues to Eastward of Cape Fullerton next Morning, as it appears from his Logg-book; he afterwards coasted down the Bay Southward of that Cape. But by the Logg-book it appears he was 7 or 8 Leagues off the Coast, and generally so hazy, as only barely to descry Mountains, as it were, in the Clouds, never once sending his Boat on Shore to try the Tide, or look out for Inlets, until he arrived at the Marble Island he called Brook Cobham; so that he could not see any Whales where Scroggs observed them, nor could he descry any Land at the Bottom of the several Bays, when he was so far to Eastward of the Islands and Head-lands; and yet he takes upon him to say, he had searched all that Coast, and found it to be a main Land from Cape Hope to Brook Cobham, and found the Tide always flowed from the North-east.

In his going out he saw much Ice from Lat. 63°. 35′. to Cape Dobbs, as well as to Deer Sound, in Wager River, and in the Streight and Bay near Cape Hope, this Year; but none was seen in the Welcome by Button, Fox and Scroggs, the several Years they were there at the same Season, tho’ Button and Scroggs were as high up as Whalebone Point in Lat. 65°. and Fox saw as far from Lat. 64°. 10′. without seeing any Ice in the Sea, or Snow upon the Land, but saw great Numbers of small Fish leaping, as well as many Whales, near Brook Cobham. Captain Middleton had, during his whole Voyage out from Churchill, and back again to Brook Cobham, very fine Weather, without any Storm, or Frost, or Snow, the Winds for the most part blowing from the Eastern Quarter; so that he had no Pretence upon his Return to avoid searching the West Side of the Welcome; it was these Easterly Winds that Year, which carried so much Ice into the Welcome from the South-east, as well as from the Bay and Streight near Cape Hope, all which was forced by the rapid Tide into Wager River; and it appears from the Journal, that it was these Winds which caused so great a Quantity of Ice in the River as high as Deer Sound, and not from the breaking up of the Ice above, in a fresh Water River, as he gave out, and he would have made the flowing in of the Tide so far from the South-eastward to have been a Confirmation of it; whereas, by what he has mentioned in his Journal, it is by all Circumstances a salt Water Streight or Passage; for the Increase of its Wideness, from 7 Miles at its Entrance, to 8 Leagues, and of its Depth, from 14 to 80 Fathoms, the Boldness, Height, and Craggedness of the Coast, without Tree or Shrub, and without any Snow or Ice in the Valleys or Hills, are all Symptoms of its being a salt Water Passage; but the Number of Whales and other Fish seen above in the Streight, at least 20 Leagues up the River, when none were seen below, or in the Welcome, or Streight and Bay above Cape Hope, is a Demonstration they did not come under the Ice into Wager River from the Eastward; and there being none ever seen in the Bay or Streights of Hudson, but by the broken Lands on the North-west Coast, it is next to a Certainty that they came from the Western Ocean to that Place: For it is contrary to Reason and Fact to suppose that Whales and other Sea Fish should go up a fresh Water River, and none be below, and that they should be there under the Ice, before it was broken up; which, if the Journal be true, must be the Case, if it were a fresh Water River, as he affirms it to be; but it was very natural for the Whales to be there, if they came in from the Western Ocean, which was not so liable to be frozen as an Inland Bay; for they would push their Way through the Streights and broken Lands, until they were prevented by the Ice, which the Easterly Winds drove into the Streight from the Welcome along with the Flood; and this was jamm’d in among the Islands in the Passage, and appeared to be firm Ice, as it also appeared from the Hills to be so below them, to the Mouth of the River.

This also easily accounts for the Number of Whales seen from Whalebone Point to Brook Cobham, and even to Whale Cove, in Lat. 62°. 30′. where many are caught by the Eskimaux Indians, when none are seen in the other Parts of the Bay, or in the Streights; for if there be a Communication betwixt the Western Ocean and the Bay in this Place, the Presumption is that it is not by one Passage, but that it may be all a broken Land, interspersed with Islands, as the Lands of Terra del Fuogo are at the Streights of Magellan, which is almost a parallel Instance, and therefore this Streight of Wager may not be the only Inlet into the Bay; but from Whale Cove unto that River may be all broken Lands, with several Sounds among the Islands, which is mentioned by Scroggs and Fox, and can’t be controverted from this Journal; so that the Whales might get to that Part of the Bay sooner, as there was no Ice there to obstruct their Passage, when there was much Ice in the Welcome and East Entrance of Wager Streight, which prevented these Whales getting any farther than Deer Sound. This, I think, makes it highly probable, that there is a better and easier Passage Southward of Cape Dobbs, betwixt that and Whale Cove, in Lat. 62°. 30′. where there is no Ice to obstruct the Passage from the Middle of June to October; and if the Trade was opened, this might be discovered by any Ships who would go there to fish for Whales, or would trade with the Natives for Fin and Oil, who might follow them into the Inlets through which they come into the Bay, and this may be done without wintering in the Bay, for they may return any time in September or October safe from any Obstruction from the Ice.

The only seeming Objection to this, and which gave a Handle to Captain Middleton to represent Wager Streight as a fresh Water River, was the Tide flowing into it from the Eastward, when, if it had been a Streight, he imagined he might have met a Tide of Flood from the Westward, and therefore represented it as if the Ice was but breaking up in the River after he had enter’d it. But since this is a Streight, and not an immediate Communication with the Western Ocean, he could not expect to meet the Western Tide until he had got half way through the Streight; for each Tide flows up its own End of the Streight, and meet in the Middle. This is not only founded upon Reason, but upon Fact, in the only parallel Instance we know, that is, in the Magellanick Streight, tho’, by Appearance, this Streight is a greater and bolder Streight than the other.

The Tide at the North-east Entrance of Magellan Streight flows from the Eastward, and rises 4 Fathom, before it comes to the first Narrow, which is but half a League wide, and from 30 to 35 Fathom deep; after a League or two it increases to six or seven Leagues wide to the second Narrow, where it is about a League wide, and 30 Fathom deep. Within the second Narrow it increases again to five or six Leagues wide, and the Tide still flows from the Eastward, and rises about 10 Feet. In the Mid-channel, about 30 Leagues within the Streight, it is 200 Fathom, and the Channel but 3 Leagues wide, and from thence to the Middle of the Streight it is lessened to 2 Leagues wide, and about 100 Fathom deep, and the Tide still flows from the Eastward for above 50 Leagues. As they come near the Middle of the Streight the Current of the Tide is not above an Hour at each Tide, and the Tide rises nine Feet. Near Cape Quad, beyond the Middle of the Streight, it is but 2 Leagues wide, and for about 13 Leagues farther is rather less, sometimes not 4 Miles wide, from whence it gradually widens to the West Entrance, where it is 5 Leagues wide; so that Wager Streight is much larger, for so far as they were in it, which was about 30 Leagues, it being by the Account, as mentioned in the Journal, 6 or 7 Leagues wide, and 80 Fathom deep, which, if there be no other, is a noble Passage; but there is a great Probability of their being a better and safer Passage to the Southward of Whalebone Point, by which the Whales get into that Part of the Bay.

Thus from the former Accounts, and what has been divulged by Captain Middleton in this Journal, there seems to be strong Presumptions of a Passage; but after shewing what he has concealed and falsified in his Journal, and his whole Conduct from his going to Churchill until his Return to England, and even since his Return, it will appear plainly that he intended to serve the Company at the publick Expence, and contrived every thing so as to stifle the Discovery, and to prevent others from undertaking it for the future, so as to secure the Favour of the Company, and the Reward he said they promised him before he began the Voyage.

As to his Declarations and Conduct during the Voyage, it appears by undeniable Evidence, that he declared, in Presence of some of his Officers, to the Company’s Governor at Churchill, That he should be able to make that Voyage, and none on board him should know whether there was a Passage or not; and he would be a better Friend to the Company than ever.

The Lieutenant finding one of the Men at the Factory, who very well understood the Northern Indian Language, and would have been of great Use upon the Discovery, offered to take him with them at his own Risk, saying he would answer it when he came back, it being for the good of the Service they were upon; but the Captain would not allow of it for fear of disobliging the Company. The Captain, in going Northward from Churchill, never once went ashore, nor sent his Boat to look out for any Inlet or try the Tide; having only once tried the Current at Sea in 63°. 20′. where he found a very rapid Tide, altho’ he found much Ice to Northward, and had Time enough before he entered the Ice to try all the Coast, but stood off to the Eastward, until he passed Cape Dobbs; and tho’ he then found an Opening North-westward, he only went in with a View to shelter his Ships, but not to look out for a Passage; and therefore, when he went in, got to the North-east Side out of the Tide, instead of the South-west Side, where he ought to have gone, if he had pushed for a Passage; and tho’ he lay there three Weeks, he never but once went cross to the Western Shore, and that only one Day or two before he quit the River, pretending he could not do it for Ice, and even this he does not mention in his Journal, altho’ he found there an excellent Cove for sheltering his Ships. He once pretended to cross the Streight from Deer Sound, where he had no Ice to prevent him, but after going two Leagues he returned, and said it was too far, and he had tasted the Water which was fresh, asking the Boatmen if it was not so, which they contradicted, saying only, it was not very salt. When the Lieutenant went up to Deer Sound, he discovered from a Mountain an Opening South-westward, upon the other Shore 10 Leagues distant, betwixt a high and low Head-land, and also observed the Ice there, when it was a Quarter Flood at Wager River, move down the River against that Tide; upon his mentioning this to the Captain, he was laugh’d at, who ask’d him from whence that Tide could come, and no farther Enquiry was made into it.

Afterwards, when from the Numbers of Whales, and Breadth and Depth of the River, it was given out among the Ship’s Company, that they believed it was a Streight and no River; he rated several of them for pretending to say so against his Opinion, saying his Clerk was a double-tongued Rascal, that he would cane the Lieutenant, broomstick the Master, and lash any others who would concern themselves about the Voyage, and threatened that if any kept private Journals, he would break up their Boxes, and take them from them; and tho’ he allowed his Clerk to take the Bearings of the Land, and Prospect in other Parts of the Voyage, yet when in Wager River, and at the Welcome, he forbid him from taking any. This happened when the Lieutenant and Master were down the River, to look out for a Cove for the Ships, when they should sail out of the River; when they returned, he imagining that Rumour might turn out to his Prejudice, in case no farther Enquiry was made about its being a Streight, or River, he said they might go up to try the Tide, and see if there was any other Way out into the Welcome; which was into the Bay, not into the Western Ocean; but by his Warrant limited them to go to Deer Sound or thereabouts; which was only where he had been himself before, and ordered them to come back with the utmost Dispatch the Nature of the Service would allow; this was the 28th of July. When they were gone, he said, he supposed the Lieutenant would bring back some romantick Account of a Streight or Passage; but for his Part he would not take the Ships a Foot farther, and accordingly before their Return unmoored, and was preparing to warp out of the Cove, which he did the Morning after they returned. The Lieutenant upon his Return gave the following Report under his Hand. viz.

This being a strong Proof of an open fair Channel or Streight going to the Southward of a West, the Captain thought it too flagrant, and therefore, there being some little Variation between his Account and the Master’s, made them cook up the following Report between them, which both were to sign, which being not so particular, did not appear so strong for the Passage: It run in these Words.

It may be easily seen with what View that Report was altered, the most material Points being changed: For when they got beyond the N. W. Bluff, instead of saying that the Current or Fresh suddenly turned against them; it is here said, being against them, the first being a Tide, the other a Stream. Again, instead of mentioning a fair Channel or Streight over the Islands, running between high Lands to the Westward; it is here altered, to a large Collection of Water to the Northward, in which were several Islands, with high Land on each Side of it, the West Side having Bluff Points and broken Lands, without determining the Course of the Streight to the Westward. And instead of saying there was a great Probability of an Opening on the West Side, by the coming in of the Whales it is here altered to, Upon the whole, we think there may be some other Passage into the Sea from the River Wager, besides that which his Majesty’s Ships came in at, without determining it to the Westward, as in the other; but on the contrary, to make it seem otherwise, they say, and imagine, there is a great Probability of an Opening or Inlet into the Sea, somewhere on the East Side thereof, tho’ we cannot fix the Place. This Change seems wholly calculated with a View to leave it undetermined, that the Captain might have it in his Power to say that the Open was from the Northward or Eastward from Baffin’s Bay, and pretend that the Whales came from thence. But both the Lieutenant and Master have since confirmed, that the Streight beyond the Islands was four or five Leagues wide, free from Ice, and its Course ran W. S. W. and the Master having seen further than the Lieutenant from the Top of the Mountain where he killed two Deer, was for going further; but the Lieutenant, his Provisions being spent, and he having exceeded his Orders by 15 Leagues at least (for he computed it 20 Leagues, but the Captain would not allow it to be so far) and had also outstay’d his Time, he was afraid he should be put in arrest if he proceeded farther, and durst not proceed. However, he took a Bottle of Water filled there at the Shore, and two Bottles filled further down the Streight Eastward; and the Captain, when he came on board, own’d that the Bottle of Water taken up at the Western End of the Streight, near the Current or Fall of Water, was the saltest, which the Master said was as Salt as any he had tasted in those Seas, which was also confirmed by others who tasted it on board; the Lieutenant is now convinced that it was a Tide or Ripling which came from the W. S. W. which stopt the Way of the Boat, and made them come to a Grapnel, and that it was the Tide of Flood; for it was then flowing Water, and flowed 6 Feet when he was ashore: But the Captain, under Pretence it was brackish, would not pursue the Discovery of that South-western Streight or Passage, but immediately warped out of the Cove, and on the 4th of August, the best Month in the Year to perfect the Discovery, he sailed out of the River to make the Discovery North-eastward, the quite contrary Course he should have taken according to his Instructions: Nor did he call a Council to warrant him for quitting the Discovery; tho’ on all Emergencies, or where it was likely to turn out of Advantage in promoting the Discovery, he was directed to call one, and act for the best of the Service he went upon, but quit the Passage without Advice, by his own Authority and Pleasure; pretending all the while he was in the Passage, to regret that he could not get out of the River, for the Ice in it and the Welcome, in order to prosecute the Discovery. After this, in order to have an Excuse, and to pretend that he had followed his Instructions, which was to proceed without Loss of Time to Whalebone Point, and there to endeavour to meet the Tide of Flood on either Side of that Point he found the best Passage, in case it were an Island, whether the Flood came from the Northwest or Southwest; and if he found, after doubling that Cape, either a Streight or open Sea to pursue his Course, still meeting the Tide of Flood; tho’ this limited him to meet the Tide, if it came from any Part to the Westward, yet he finding that the Tide did not meet him, but followed him into Wager River, and having taken no Pains to know how the Flood was at the West End of the Streight beyond Deer Sound, despising the Lieutenant’s first Report, which mentioned a Tide from the W. S. W. meeting them, thought, if he could find a Tide, or have a Probability to account for a Tide’s coming from the North-eastward into Wager River, he might then say he followed his Instructions in meeting the Tide, altho’ it came from the N. E. and accordingly, without allowing any Boat to go ashore to try the Tide, until he himself landed at Cape Frigid, at what he calls the frozen Streight: He in his Journal from his own Observations of the Current, always affirms the Tide of Flood came from the N. E. by Cape Hope, to Wager River, and affirms that at Cape Frigid a W. by S. Moon made high Water, and that it flowed from the South-eastward through a frozen Streight, from four to seven Leagues wide, and accordingly he has laid it down so in his new Chart since his Return, and pointed all the Darts in it, shewing the Course of the Flood, through that frozen Streight up into Wager River, and as far as Brook Cobham along the Welcome, where he pretends the South-eastern Tide meets it.

Now I shall plainly make it appear from Reason, and from the Observations of experienced Men on board him, his own Officers; and from his Caution in preventing any on board him, from knowing the Time, Current, and Height of the Tide, by his making his Observations only on board, and regulating and minuting them down in the Logg Book and Journal as he thought proper; that there was no such Tide from the North-east, and that he must have known that there was no such Tide, but endeavoured to conceal the true Tide from his People on board; I shall also shew, that the Tide of Flood came the contrary Way from the South-westward near Brook Cobham, and so went up Part of Wager River; I shall also shew, there was no such frozen Streight as he has laid down in his Chart, but the whole is falsely laid down, and the only Streight there was round the Island he stood upon, which was but three Leagues wide, and full of smaller Islands, which Streight went round the Island from the North by the East, and came out again by the South and West, between the Island he was on, and the low Beach opposite to Cape Hope, so that to make out that Point, that he had so far followed his Instructions in meeting the Tide of Flood, he has manifestly and falsely imposed upon the Publick in his Chart, by making a Streight and Tide where there were none.

To shew that he has given a false Account of this Tide and frozen Streight, I must observe, that when he sent down the Lieutenant and Master to look out for a Cove at the Mouth of Wager River, they were inclosed in the Ice, and drew up their Boat upon a large Piece of Ice, which was carried by the Tide of Ebb to the South-eastward, close by the Shore about Cape Dobbs, and when the Tide slack’d, they row’d over with the Flood to the North Shore, to get into the Eddy out of the Current, and next Day went up the River. Again, when the Ships sailed out of the River, they were becalm’d, and were afraid of being forced up again by the Return of the Flood; upon which they towed with their Boats a-head, and plied with the Ships Oars with all their Force to the North-eastward, to get out of the Way of the Tide of Flood; but if the Flood had come from the N. E. they would have been just in the Way of the Tide of Flood, and to have avoided it, they ought to have steer’d their Course S. E. to Cape Dobbs; so that both these Accounts tally, that the Flood came from the S. W. round Cape Dobbs. At half an Hour after two, on the 6th of August, he ordered the Lieutenant on Shore at the low Beach, to try the Tide, being then four Miles from the Shore; at three he made the Signal for him to come on board before he got to the Shore, but he was so near as to report that the Tide had fallen two Feet; so that he seemed to repent his having sent him to try the Tide, lest he should find a contrary Tide to what he gave out. And tho’ the Lieutenant, when he got aboard, told him it was ebbing Water, and that the Ebb went to the South-westward, yet he minuted it down in his Logg-Book, and printed it so in his Defence, that it was flowing Water, and the Flood came from the Eastward; but in his Journal, he says it had ebbed two Feet, and the Flood came from the Eastward.

The Captain, Clerk, Gunner and Carpenter went ashore at Cape Frigid the 8th of August, about ten in the Morning, and after going fifteen Miles into the Country, returned to the Boat about seven at Night, when he found it was low Water, and rose 15 Feet, which being three Days and a half after the full Moon, a W. S. W. Moon made low Water, and consequently a N. N. W. Moon made high Water; and having ascertained that a W. by N. Moon made high Water in Wager River, the Tide at Cape Frigid being five Points later, could not raise that Tide; for the Tide the farther it flows, is always the later in flowing; and therefore the Tide in Wager River being at least three Hours sooner than at Cape Frigid, it could not possibly be caused by any Tide from thence; nor could the Tide near Brook Cobham, where a West Moon made high Water be caused by that Tide for the same Reason, it being above four Hours sooner than the Tide at Cape Frigid.

It appears also that there was no Tide nor Current in the Bay above Cape Hope, and the Gunner, who was ashore with the Captain, went with the Carpenter 2 or 3 Miles farther than the Captain and Clerk, even to the very Shore of what he called the Frozen Streight, and consequently knew it better than the Captain; he says it was an Island they were upon, and the Streight was only an Arm of the Sea that surrounded the Island, and detached it from the Low Beach; that it was not above 3 Leagues wide on the East Side, and full of Islands, and the Ice was frozen fast from Side to Side; so that it is impossible so great a Quantity of Water could flow through that Passage, if it had a Communication with Hudson’s Streight by Cape Comfort, as would fill so large a Bay as that above Cape Hope, (the Streight from Cape Hope to Wager River) all that River, for thirty or forty Leagues, which was from 4 to 12 Leagues wide, and the whole Coast of the Welcome to Brook Cobham, for above 60 Leagues, and that from a Streight which was but 3 Leagues wide, and had many Islands in it; so that the Streight, exclusive of the Islands, was not probably four Miles wide: Besides, had so much Water flowed through that Streight, as he has laid it down in his Chart, it must have caused a very rapid Current in the Bay above Cape Hope, it being in the direct Course of the Tide. The Captain of the Discovery also in his Answer allows, that the Opening of the Streight he saw, which was betwixt Cape Frigid and the Low Beach, was not above three Miles wide, and no such Tide flowed there as in Wager River, altho’ it was so narrow in that Place.

This also accounts for that Arm of the Sea’s being frozen which surrounded the Island, because there was no Tide or Current there to break it up. It also appears from the Lieutenant, who was left on board to command when the Captain went ashore, that at eleven of the Clock, after the Captain left the Ship, a strong Current forced him to Northward, which must have been the Flood, as it was not high Water until near one of the Clock. And it appears also the same from the Men who were left with the Boat; for upon the Captain’s Return to the Boat, he ask’d them which way the Flood set, and they said to the Northward, which he contradicted, and said they were mistaken, for it could not be so. So that from all these Facts, as well as from Reason, it appears that the Tide of Flood came from the South-westward to that Place and the River Wager, and that the Tide and Streight which he has laid down in his Chart, and published in his Journal, is false, and an Imposition upon the Publick, and only calculated to serve his Purpose of concealing the Passage, by endeavouring to make out that no Tide came from the Westward, but all through Hudson’s Streight, or Baffin’s Bay, and that Wager was a fresh Water River, and that the Whales seen there came all in through that frozen Streight from Baffin’s Bay or Cumberland’s Inlet, he having allowed that none came in through Hudson’s Streight, or round Cary’s Swan’s Nest.

But as a further Confirmation of this South-western Tide, and that it came from the Western Ocean, it appears, that after the Captain had neglected looking into the Bays and Inlets in the West Side of the Welcome, from Cape Dobbs to Marble Island, (altho’ it had been ordered in Council) in these Words:

When he came to Marble Island, which he then called Brook Cobham, having called another Island so upon his going Northward, the same Fox had called so before, on the 12th, at 3 in the Morning, he sent the Lieutenant ashore to try the Tide, and to look out for a Place of Safety to water the Ships before they returned to England. The Island was 7 Leagues long, and 3 over, in the broadest Place. It lay E. by S. and W. by N. the true bearing Variation allowed, and about 3 Leagues from what they called the Western Main. The Lieutenant on the South Side found an excellent Cove, safe from all Winds, with a small Island lying cross the Entrance. He sounded without and within the Cove, and found two and a Half Fathom in the Entrance at low Water, and deep and safe lying within it. Whilst he was sounding, taking a Draught of the Cove, and upon the Island taking a View of an Opening, he observ’d on the West Main; the Indians killed a Deer and white Bear, and about eight at Night, as they were taking off the Bear’s Skin, a strong Tide of Flood came from the North-west by the Compass, and had almost carried the Bear away, which proves that the Tide of Flood came from the Westward. This I shall give in his own Words, as he minuted it down at Marble Island at the time it happened, annexed to the rough Draught he had made of the Cove, viz.

After the Lieutenant returned on board, the Master was sent ashore; upon his Return he told him the Tides rose there sometimes very high, and wanted to go ashore again to observe them; which he refused, under Pretence he had staid too long ashore before. It appears from the Journal, that by Marks on the Shore it sometimes rose there 22 Feet.

It is allowed also that a North-westerly Wind at Churchill always raised the Tide higher at Neap Tides than an South-easterly Wind did at Spring Tides.

The two Northern Indians who were on board Captain Middleton were very intelligent Men, and the other Indian being a very bad Interpreter for them, Mr. Thompson, the Surgeon, who could speak some of the Southern Indian Tongue, was endeavouring to learn their Language, and to teach them English, and was making out a Vocabulary of their Language, which the Captain observing, threatened to use him ill, or crop him, in case he had any Correspondence with them; so that he was obliged to meet them in private, and for that Reason could not know so much from them as he otherwise would; but by the best Account he could get from them, they told him, that the Copper Mine which they generally went to once in two Years, was not far from that Coast where they were, between Lat. 62°. and 64°. that it was upon an Arm of the Sea, the Water being salt; that they were five Days in passing it in their Canoes; that it was so deep, that if they cut a Deer’s Skin into Thongs, it would not reach the Bottom; that the Streight went towards the Sun almost at Noon, and that there were many large black Fish in it spouting up Water. Lovegrove, one of the factory Men at Churchill, who had been often at Whale Cove, in Lat. 62°. 30′. in the Company’s Sloop, trading for Whale-fin with the Natives, also told them, that the Coast there was all a broken Land and Islands, and that upon his going upon one of these Islands, he saw an open Sea Westward of it. Smith also, who has been Master of the Sloop, which goes to Whale Cove, for several Years, told at Churchill, that he had the Curiosity to pass in through those Islands near the Whale Cove, and found the Opening enlarge itself South-west, and became so wide, that he could see no Land on either Side. Yet, tho’ the Captain might have known this, and much more, which he had from Norton and Scrogg’s Crew, as well as Accounts from the Indians before this Voyage to the same Purpose, he never once made any Essay to land upon that Western Coast, or to look out for a Western Tide or Inlet.

What was still as unpardonable as neglecting the Discovery, was his putting the two Northern Indians ashore on Marble Island against their Inclinations, when they were desirous to come to England, in a very bad Boat he got at Churchill, which they did not know how to manage, in an Island 3 Leagues from the supposed Main, the Eskimaux Indians, their Enemies, living upon that Coast, and some hundred Miles distant from their own Country, insomuch that one of them, who was about 40 Years old, when he parted with Mr. Thompson the Surgeon, with Tears told him, he did not know what would become of them; he told them he was very much concerned at it, but since it was the Captain’s Pleasure, it must be complied with.

The Captain gave them some Provisions, Ammunition, Hatchets and Toys; but leaving them in a desolate Island, with a bad Boat, among their Enemies, at so great a Distance from their own Country, was unpardonable, when by a Day or two’s Sailing to the Southward, he could have landed them in a Country they knew, where they had no Enemies to be afraid of. The Excuse he made for not bringing them to England was, that upon his Return his Friends might be out of the Admiralty, and as he had no Orders to take them home, they would be left a Charge upon him; and when they learned to speak English, they would be talking of the Copper Mine and Passage, and would put the Publick to the Expence of sending out more Ships in quest of it. And this, no doubt, was the true Reason for that Piece of Cruelty, for he thought if they came to England, he should not be able to conceal the Passage.

Whilst he was returning home he has sometimes said, his Character was so well established, that no Man after him would ever attempt to discover the Passage; so that I think it is plain, from every Circumstance of his Conduct during the Voyage, that he wanted to make his Peace, and get such a Reward from the Company, tho’ at the Expence and Loss of the Publick, as should make him easy afterwards, without his making any more uncertain Voyages, by his stifling the Discovery, and his making it appear impracticable for any other to undertake it with any Prospect of Success for the future; and since his Return he has acted accordingly, as was plain from his corresponding with the Company even before he got to London, letting them know he had conveyed home one of their Ships from the Orkneys, and directing all his Crew not to mention any thing of the Voyage or Discovery for some time, which was done with a View of closing upon better Terms with the Company, by letting them know that he had conducted Matters so, that he had it in his Power either to make out the Passage, or stifle it, according to the Manner he could make out his Journal and Charts; and it is plain, from the Time he took to give Copies of his Journal, and to make out his Chart, that it was delayed until they had settled every thing to his Liking, and then he published, or gave out, his Chart and Journal, with the Concealment and Disguises I have already taken notice of, making all the Coast, from Whale Cove to Cape Dobbs, to be a continued main Land, and Wager Streight to be a fresh Water River, making out his frozen Streight, and Flood coming from thence, in order to make all Things tally, and shew there was no Tide in the Bay from the Western Ocean of America, but that all these high and rapid Tides, and Whales in the Bays and River of Wager, come from Hudson’s Streights or Baffin’s Bay, through his finely projected frozen Streight, which was to answer all Difficulties. Upon this the Hudson’s Bay Company exulted, and said, Captain Middleton had not only not found a Passage, but that he had shewn it to be impracticable for any other to make any future Attempt with any Prospect of Success.

Whilst this Scheme was going on, he was preparing his Journal, making, and altering his Charts, to answer his Purpose, and securing his People from divulging what they knew. The Master of the Discovery was his Cousin, and some said was to marry his Daughter. He himself had got great Reputation from the Royal Society by his Observations upon Cold, and for what he had discovered had got a Medal from them. He was upon good Terms with the Lords of the Admiralty, and was to dedicate his Charts and Discoveries to the King, and Noblemen of the first Rank, as well as to the Lords of the Admiralty; so this put him in a Condition of serving his Master, Gunner, &c. in some Time. He had also recommended his Lieutenant, and thought no other on board had Weight enough to impeach his Proceedings, which, if they failed in, would ruin their Characters; so that securing his Officers, he thought he had all Things safe among the rest of his Crew; for those on board him, who were but young Seamen, could have no Weight against him; so all he had to do was to lull me asleep, and convince me that there was no Passage: For as he knew I had the Discovery much at Heart, and had strong Reasons to believe there was a Passage, which he had always before confirmed me in, it might be difficult for him all at once to convince me that there was none, and that all former Journals and Accounts were false; however, as he knew I had a good Opinion of his Capacity, and did not doubt his Integrity, seeming always zealous before to promote the Attempt, which had occasioned my recommending him as a proper and experienced Commander to undertake the Discovery; and he having owned to me the Company’s endeavouring to bribe him with an Offer of 5000 l. to return to their Service, and not go the Voyage, or to go in pursuit of it to Davis’s Streight, or any other Way but that he was ordered upon, he thought himself sure of my not doubting his Integrity, and therefore should be ready to believe whatever Accounts he should send me. Accordingly, before he came to England, he sent me a Letter from the Orkneys, dated September 17, 1742, a Duplicate of which he sent me upon his Arrival in the River, wherein he gave me a short Abstract of his Voyage from Churchill until his Return to Brook Cobham and the Orkneys, concealing every Article that made for the Passage, only mentioning the Difficulties he was in by the Ice in the Welcome, and in Wager River, affirming it to be a fresh Water River, fill’d with Ice, and that he staid so long in it as to take a Draught of it, regretting his being so long confined in it, that he could not get out of it to prosecute the Discovery; and said, (upon sailing out North-eastward, getting into another perilous Streight, full of Ice, and afterwards being embayed in Lat. 66. 40′. and finding a frozen Streight, from whence the Tide came, from the South-eastward, through Hudson’s Streight, which flowed 15 Feet, and a W. by S. Moon made high Water, and it not being likely to break up) they returned, and searched all the West Side of the Welcome, close in to the Shore, which he found was a continuous Main-land, tho’ there were several deep Bays and small Islands; and after trying the Tides, and finding them still come from the Eastward, and having no Encouragement, he sailed from Brook Cobham for England; but carelesly said, in coasting along the Shore, he saw several black Whales near Brook Cobham of the Whalebone Kind: To which Letter at large I refer in the Appendix. His being so certain that Wager was a fresh Water River, full of Ice, into which the Tide flowed from the Eastward, and that the whole Coast was a Main-land from thence to Brook Cobham, and that he was absolutely embayed above Cape Hope, and his affirming that the Tide came by Cape Comfort, through Hudson’s Streights, and his new frozen Streight to Wager River, all which I believed, as I did not doubt his Veracity, made me despair of the Passage, and give it up, thinking it would be impracticable, or at least very difficult, in case there was one farther North than 67 Degrees: However, as I found a Difficulty in accounting for a Tide at the frozen Streight from a W. by S. Moon, so near Cape Comfort, where a S. by E. Moon made high Water, and could not account how such rapid Tides as he mentioned were in Wager River, could come through a frozen Streight, and could not know how the Whales came to be near Brook Cobham, since none were ever seen in any other Part of the Bay, or were ever seen in Hudson’s Streights, I wrote him a Letter the 20th of October, telling him, that since he was sure it was a Main-land from Brook Cobham to Wager River, and that it was a fresh Water River, and that there was no Passage above Cape Hope to near Lat. 67°. I despaired of there being any safe Passage farther North; but as I could not account how a W. by S. Moon could make high Water at the frozen Streight, when a S. by E. Moon made high Water at Cape Comfort so near it, and could not account how the Whales came to Brook Cobham, since they were no where else in the Bay, and never were seen in Hudson’s Streights; I desired him to answer those two Objections, and let me know his Opinion upon those two Points, and to send me a Copy of his Journal, and the Chart of the Coasts he had discovered, and desired to know if it was a continuous Coast on the East Side of the Welcome from Cary’s Swan’s Nest to the frozen Streight, or Islands; and how so great and rapid Tides could be in Wager River, as to run at the Rate of five or six Miles in an Hour, if the Streight was frozen through which it came; and how there came to be so much Ice in the Welcome this Year, since when Button, Fox, and Scroggs were there, in the same Month of July, none of them had seen any Ice there.

Before I got an Answer to this Letter, I had a Letter dated the 1st of November, from Mr. Lanrick, a Gentleman who had been bred a Scholar, and I had recommended him to Captain Middleton to go the Voyage: He had used him well, as he said, upon my Recommendation, but more probably to gain his good Opinion, thinking him capable of making Observations upon the Voyage; and that I might depend upon what he might relate.

In his Letter to me, he, in a manner, recited the same Particulars I had before from the Captain, as if it had been penned by the same Hand, only with this particular Addition, that they entered the Mouth of a great River, which was quite full of Ice, just breaking up as they entered it; that it was in some Places four Leagues wide, and in others less, having high Lands on both Sides, with deep Water close by the Rocks; that at first they thought there might be a Passage through that Way; but finding the Flood came from the Welcome, they knew there was no such Thing; besides, they sent up the Boat so far, that they could see the Stream or fresh Water River; this also seemed to confirm me that it was a River, tho’ this Letter was probably penned by the Captain’s Order or Knowledge; for after he had closed his Relation, he began this remarkable Paragraph.

Sir, This Account I should have sent you before now, but that the Captain, for Reasons to himself best known, desired that none of us should say any Thing relating to the Discovery for a little.

This Paragraph, however, raised no Doubts in me, as I did not doubt the Captain’s Veracity.

About the Beginning of December I received the following Answer to my Letter from the Captain, which I shall deliver in his own Words.

London, Nov. 27th, 1742.

SIR,

Had the Favour of yours of the 20th ult. which happened to lie some Days at my former Habitation, before it was forwarded to me, and I shall transmit you the Chart, together with the Journal and other Observations, by the first convenient Opportunity; in the mean time, I shall give you the best Satisfaction I am able, with relation to the Difficulties which have occurr’d to you; and first, ’tis to be noted, that all the Land along the East Side of the Welcome, from the 64th Degree of Latitude to the frozen Streight, is one continued level Land, somewhat like to Dungenness, low and shingly. The great Tides you mention, which flows up the River Wager, and off Cape Dobbs, comes all from the frozen Streight E. by N. by Compass, according to the Course of the new Streight, that we passed between Cape Dobbs and Cape Hope; the mean Variation between the said Capes is 40°. Westerly, and makes the true Course of this Streight N. 40°. Easterly; the said Streight ends to the Westward of Cape Hope, in a Bay 20 Leagues deep, and 15 Leagues broad, which lies W. N. W. by the true Bearings; and we very carefully surrounded it, sailing up to the very Bottom, within two or three Leagues, and found no Appearance of a Passage for either Tides or Vessels; and all the Way I sailed from Cape Hope, quite down to the Bottom of this Bay, I tried the Tides, and all round, found neither Ebb nor Flood, which must have appeared, had there been any. The Land was all very high and bold, ascending into the Country to a vast Heighth, without any Breaks, so that had there been a Passage here, we could not have missed of it.

With regard to the Tide, which you think would have been obstructed from flowing so rapidly to Wager River, if the Streight was froze fast from Side to Side; I need only observe to you, that at Churchill, all the Winter, the Tide ebbs and flows up the River in the same Manner as if there was no Ice, being lifted every Tide from 12 to 18 feet, all, except what is fast to the Ground, and falls again upon the Ebb, tho’ eight or nine Foot thick; now close to the frozen Streight is 100 Fathoms of Water or more, and probably that Depth may continue the whole Length; and then there is a Passage free for the Flood and Ebb to pass without lifting; but I observed this Ice was all crack’d round the Shores, and on the Islands as at Churchill.

You seem to be at a Loss how to account for the black Whales getting to Brook Cobham, if they do not pass and repass by Hudson’s Streights; now, ’tis true I never saw any above 20 Leagues up Hudson’s Streights, but I have traded with Indians off Nottingham and Diggs, for Whale-bone fresh taken; for my own Part, I can’t think these Whales came round Cary’s Swan’s Nest, but through the frozen Streights under the Ice, for we saw many of them in Wager River, and in the 66th Degree of Latitude; and these may not come through Hudson’s Streights, but to the Northward, as all the North Side of Hudson’s Streight, appears to be broken Land and Islands; and Cumberland’s Bay, Baffin’s Bay, and Streight Davis, may have a Communication with this new frozen Streight, and Whales, &c. may come from thence.

It is hardly possible to account for all the Difficulties about the Tides; for tho’ it flows E. S. E. at Resolution, and S. by E. at Cape Diggs, which makes five Points in running 130 Leagues; yet it is but one Point in going down to Albany and Moose River; for there it flows South, and the Distance is 250 Leagues. So from Humber to Cromer in the Lincolnshire Coast, (as I mentioned formerly) is but 14 Leagues, and at one Place it flows W. by S. at the other N. W. likewise from the frozen Streight to Churchill, is but two Points Difference, or an Hour and half of Time, in the Distance of 200 Leagues. So that I think no Rule can be fixed where Tides flow into deep Bays, obstructed by Islands or Counter Tides.

The Ice I met with in the Welcome, was most of it to the Northward of all the Parts before discovered; so that none who went before me could have seen it, for most of it lay to the Northward of Whalebone Point, and every Year is not alike, with respect to the Wind bringing it to the Southward; and it is entirely directed by the Winds here, as well as in all other Parts of the Bay; in our Way to Churchill there was less Ice than usually happens, and it was also sooner clear in the Spring by 15 Days than common.

Undoubtedly there is no Hope of a Passage to encourage any further Trial between Churchill and so far as we have gone; and if there be any further to the Northward, it must be impassable for the Ice, and the Narrowness of any such Outlet in 67°. or 68°. of Latitude, it cannot be clear of Ice one Week in a Year, and many Years, as I apprehend, not clear at all.

In any other Attempts, I shall be glad to give you all the Assistance I can, and furnish you with any other Informations, that you may think needful to promote your Design; but I hope never to venture myself that Way again.

My Friends being out of the Admiralty, I find there will be a great deal of Difficulty to get any Thing done for me in the Navy at present, or to procure any other Recompense for my Loss these two Summers, in leaving the Hudson’s Bay Service, where I should have received 1400 l. in the Time that I have acquired 160 l. in the Government’s.

I remain with great Sincerity and Respect,

Sir, Your most obliged humble Servant,

Christopher Middleton.

P. S. The Eskimaux and the Northern Indians I had with me, are utter Strangers to each other, in Manners and Language, neither could I make the Eskimaux understand me by the Vocabulary I had of those in Hudson’s Streight.

It appears from this Letter, how useful it was for him to have this new frozen Streight; for without it he could not account for the great and rapid Tides at Cape Dobbs and Wager River, and at Brook Cobham, the Tide from Hudson’s Streight being all lost in the Bay, and could not possibly afterwards raise such high Tides in the Welcome and Wager River; nor could he give any Reason why Whales should be at Brook Cobham, or how they could get there, without coming from the Western Ocean, but for his frozen Streight; since he gives up their coming in through Hudson’s Streight, and also is convinced they did not come round Cary’s Swan’s Nest; and as a further Proof that they came through his new frozen Streight, he discovers, what he had concealed before, that there were several also in Wager River, and says farther, that they were also seen in Lat. 66°. which was to make me believe they were seen near Cape Hope by the frozen Streight; tho’ it is evident from his Journal, and all his People on board, that none were ever seen there; and to make this appear more probable, he says, the Sea at the North Entrance of the frozen Streight was above 100 Fathoms deep, tho’ it appears both from Logg-Book and Journal, that these Soundings were taken in the Bay North of Cape Hope, and when they came near Cape Frigid by his frozen Streight, in the Mid-Channel between that and Cape Hope, they had but 55 Fathoms; and as they went nearer it, had 48, and standing in still nearer to it, had Soundings from 40 to 27 Fathoms; so that what he mentions of the Depth of the Streight, was not only at random, but seems to be contrary to Fact, but were necessary to be believed to serve his Purpose of Hoodwinking me; and tho’ he owns the Difficulty of accounting for the Time of the Tide at Cape Frigid, yet he endeavours to evade it, by shewing in other Instances where different Tides met, and in Eddy Tides, Difficulties not easily accounted for; tho’ in these the Instances were not parallel. For the Instance he gives of its slowing from Resolution to Diggs’s Isle, 140 Leagues, the Length of Hudson’s Streight in five Points, or 3°. 48′. and being but one Point or 48′. in flowing to Moose River 250 Leagues, is a gross Imposition; for a North and South Moon making high Water at the same Place, a North Moon makes it there, which is 17 Points Difference, or 12 Hours 48 Minutes, which he must know is the Case; and yet in his Letter he would impose this for Fact, that I might believe there was nothing to be known from the Tide. Yet as he dogmatically asserted, that there was no Hopes of a Passage from Churchill to the frozen Streight, but all was a Mainland; since I did not doubt his Veracity, I was obliged to take his Solution to my Objections as the best could be given to account for it. And accordingly on the 14th of December I answered his Letter, that since no other Way could be found for the Whales to come into that Part of the Bay but through his frozen Streight, nor for the Tide, I took it as the only Solution could be given, and therefore did believe he had done as much as could be done, in his Attempt to find out the Passage; and that it would be to no Purpose to look for it farther North, as the Navigation would be too difficult and dangerous; but as he promised to assist me in any other Attempt, I desired his Assistance, by informing me of what he knew in relation to the Climate, Coasts, River, and Trade in the Bay, that I might prepare Matters to attack the Company’s Charter, and open the Trade, which I thought would be of great Advantage to Britain, by making Settlements higher up upon the Rivers in better Climates, and by that Means securing that Country and Trade from the French.

This I had Reason to hope for from him, because before he went upon the Voyage, the Company had done all they possibly could to have distressed him in the Attempt of the Discovery of a Passage, even so far as to forbid their Governors to give him the Use of their Ports, and when applied to by the Lords of the Admiralty, to give him Assistance, they only allowed their Governors to give him Assistance if he were in the utmost Danger, but not otherwise; but to my great Surprize, instead of his assisting me as he promised in his former Letters in any other Attempt, I found his Answer calculated to serve the Company, and shew it to be impracticable to settle the Lands, or lay open the Trade; unless we could dispossess the French of Canada, which was the only Method to secure the Company in their Monopoly; and this he said was the principal Thing he could think of at present, for his Indisposition prevented him from drawing up a further Account of his Voyage; and he had nothing material farther worth imparting to me, except a Chart of the whole Bay and Streight, which would be soon engraved, having already sent his Journal and Observations. His Letter I shall give in his own Words, viz.

SIR,

was duly favoured with yours of the 14th December, and am sorry I could not return my Answer sooner, but the ill State of Health that I labour under prevented me in this, as well as in many other of my Affairs.

It gives me much Satisfaction to find, that you approve of the Solutions I sent in regard to the Difficulties you proposed; and that you are convinced I have done all that was necessary to put the Impassability through those Seas to the Westward out of Question, in such Manner as to render any Attempt needless for the future; but on the contrary, I should have been infinitely pleased had our Expedition succeeded according to the Reasonableness of your Expectations.

I have seriously considered your Proposition of laying open the Hudson’s Bay Trade, and settling the Country higher up, upon those great Rivers which run into the Bay; and tho’ I may agree with you in the great Advantage the Publick would reap from such a Settlement, (could it be made) in the Obstruction it would give to the French, both as to their Trade, and their cutting off their Communication with the Mississippi; yet I must declare my Opinion, that it is altogether impracticable upon many Accounts; for I cannot see where we could find People enough that would be willing or able to undergo the Fatigue of travelling those frozen Climates, or what Encouragement would be sufficient to make them attempt it, with such dangerous Enemies on every Side; no Europeans could undergo such Hardships as those French that intercept the English Trade, who are inur’d to it, and are called by us Wood-runners, or Coureurs de Bois; for they endure Fatigues just the same as the native Indians, with whom they have been mixed and intermarried, for two, three, or more Generations. As to the Rivers you mention, none of them are navigable with any Thing but Canoes, so small that they carry but two Men, and are forced to make Use of Land Carriages near one fourth Part of the Way, by Reason of Water-falls, during that little Summer they enjoy.

Out of 120 Men and Officers the Company have in the Bay, not five are capable of venturing in one of these Canoes, they are so apt to overturn and drown them; many of our People have been twenty Years and upwards there, and yet are not dextrous enough to manage a Canoe; so there would be no transporting People that Way.

Should there happen a French War, the best Step we could take towards rooting them out of America, would be, in the first Place to take Canada, which I make no question might be done, if attempted in a proper Manner, and at a right Season of the Year. Had Sir Hovenden Walker succeeded when he was sent upon that Expedition, it would undoubtedly have been of great Advantage to us; for at that Time the French were not one tenth Part so numerous as now, that they have intermarried with the Natives, and over-run the whole Country: So that it is become a Matter of infinite Difficulty to root them quite out of their Possessions and Trade in America.

I look upon Sir Hovenden’s Miscarriage in his Expedition, to be owing to this, that he did not arrive there till the latter End of August, at which Time he ought to have been returning; and whenever a War happens again with France, should it be thought proper to attempt the taking of Canada, we ought to be in the River St. Laurence by the first of June at farthest; and as to the Difficulties Sir Hovenden complained of, from the Uncertainties of the Currents, Fogs, &c. they are such as we make no Account of conquering in Hudson’s Bay, and the Streights, where they are certainly greater.

I can set the Currents and Tides in any Weather, even under a Main-sail, in a Storm of Wind, so as to discover both how fast and upon what Point of the Compass it sets: And then as to observing the Latitude in foggy Seasons, I have seldom missed two Days together, if it be tolerable smooth Water, as you will find in our Journals. Now I apprehend that the Navigation in the River St. Laurence must be attended with much fewer Inconveniencies than in Hudson’s Streight; and those Coasts where we have no Soundings, much Ice, great Fogs, with strong Tides and various Currents.

This is the principal Matter that I can think of at present. Had not my Indisposition prevented me, I should before this Time have drawn up some further Account of our late Voyage; but I have nothing material worth imparting to you farther, except a Chart of the whole Bay and Streight, which will be engraved in a little Time; for you already have my Journals and Observations, as well as the Accounts of those that attempted the Discovery before me.

I am very much obliged to you for your kind Wishes, and all the Favours you have conferred on me, and am as yet quite uncertain as to what their Lordships intend to do for me; they treat me with great Respect, and such as I have the Honour to visit, as Lord Winchelsea, Lord Baltimore, and Admiral Cavendish have all promised me their Favours.

       I am, Sir,
 Your most obedient humble Servant,
                 Christopher Middleton.

London, Jan. 18.

1742-3.

Before I got this Answer, his long expected Journal and Chart of so much of the Bay as took in all his new Discovery came to hand, about the 18th of January, and, to my agreeable Surprize, I found many Things mentioned in the Journal which I thought very material to prove a Passage which he had altogether concealed in his Letters to me, and found, from his Journal, that he had not made any thing like a Search or Discovery of the Coast from Cape Dobbs to Brook Cobham, having not been within 5 or 6 Leagues of the Head-lands, and passed a great Part in the Night, and had never once gone ashore to look for any Inlet, or to try the Height and Direction of the Tides; so that all the material Part of the Coast, where the Passage was expected, had never been look’d into, notwithstanding he had good Weather, and no Ice, upon his Return from Wager River and Cape Hope. But what surprized me most was, that he should have been so much imposed upon or mistaken (for I then had no doubt of his Integrity or Veracity) as to call or suppose Wager River to be a fresh Water River, when it increased as he went up it from 2 to 7 or 8 Leagues wide, and in Depth from 14 to 80 Fathoms, and that it was full of large black Whales at the upper End, which he had alledged to be all frozen, when there were none below, or without the River; but I still imagined his Mistake arose from the Tide’s coming in from the Eastward, and from his not meeting a contrary Tide from the Westward: However, as these Observations from his Journal gave me great Hopes that he had been in the Passage or Streight, without his knowing it to be so, and finding that no Part of the Western Coast of the Welcome, to the Southward of it, had been look’d into at all, and observing that there was scarcely any Notice taken in the Journal of what the Lieutenant and Master had observed the last time they had gone up, altho’ they went 12 Leagues higher than the Captain or they had been before, only saying they had searched every Inlet, and still found the Tide came from the Eastward, and saw a great many black Whales. Upon finding so slight an Observation or Minute enter’d in the Journal, upon the only material Part of the Discovery, I wrote to him the 22d of January, telling him, I imagined he had made a much greater Progress in the Discovery of a Passage than he expected when there, and that from the Light I had got from his Journal, I could almost prove that he was in the Passage, and that Wager River was a Streight, and no River; and the Way he enter’d the Streight was one, tho’ not the greatest and easiest into the Streight: For I must conclude that the Whales seen there came from the Western Ocean, as far as they could, until the Ice stopp’d them, which was forced in from the Welcome; and that the Whales at Brook Cobham, having no Ice there to prevent their getting into that Part of the Bay, they had got through the Streight from the Western Ocean by a better and easier Passage to the Southward. That I imagined what had made him mistake it for a River, was by the Tide’s flowing from the Eastward, and because he did not meet the Western Tide; but that if he had considered it was a Streight, and no immediate Communication with the Western Ocean, he must have expected the Eastern Tide to rise, until he had got half way through the Streight, where he would have met the contrary Tide, as it is in Magellan’s Streight; that I observed the Journal was very short in relating what the Lieutenant and Master had observed the last time they were up, and therefore I expected that he would send me under their Hands all they observed when they went last up; whether the River grew broader or narrower, and what Depth it was; whether they were in every Opening; whether there was more or less Ice, or whether it was fresh or salt; that I might be able to form a Judgment upon the whole, and know whether it was a River or Streight.

A few Days before I wrote this Letter, I inclosed a Letter to a Friend in London to be delivered to a Nobleman of the first Distinction, to acquaint him of my Intentions of proposing to have Settlements made in Hudson’s Bay, and to lay open the Trade, and by that means we should recover that Part of our Fur Trade which the Company had lost to the French, and in time secure the whole, and break off the Communication between Canada and Mississippi through the Lakes; that in case he approved of it as a proper Scheme, I should prepare Matters so as to go over to London and set it on foot, and as I then expected that I should have great Assistance from Captain Middleton, I desired him to shew my Letter to the Captain before he sealed and delivered it as directed. This he saw soon after he had sent me the former discouraging Letter; but then, finding I was resolved to stir in it, he thought it would be impolitick in him to oppose it, lest he should be suspected of being in Friendship with the Company; so he said the Discouragement he gave me in his former Letter arose from his Opinion that I could not break the Company’s Charter; but if that could be done, then the settling the Rivers upon the Bay would be practicable.

Whilst this Correspondence was carrying on, before I got his Answer, or mine could reach him in London, I received an anonymous Letter, dated the 21st of January, from London, the Day before the Date of mine to the Captain, from two Gentlemen who had been in the Voyage with him, who desired me to direct to them under feigned Names, as they did not desire to be known, until it might be proper for them to own who they were. These Gentlemen finding him resolved to stifle the Discovery, disguising and altering his Charts, making out frozen Streights where there were none, and closing up Streights, and making Rivers and Mainland, where there were Opens, and broken Lands, and making and altering the Direction of the Tides and Currents, to answer the End he designed, and that he concealed a great Part of what he had discovered; having had Reason to suspect his Conduct before upon the Voyage, thought it scandalous, and Injustice to the Publick, to conceal what they knew, and as they knew his Correspondence with me, one of them having been employed in writing his Answers to me, by which they found how he endeavoured to impose upon me by falsifying Facts, thinking it unjust to have me imposed upon so scandalously, after all the Pains I had been at in promoting so beneficial a Discovery, they thought it a Piece of Justice to the Publick, and to me, to acquaint me with his Views, and put me upon a Scrutiny into his Conduct, and accordingly wrote to me in a feigned Character and Stile in the following Terms.

This I answered as desired the fifth of February, which happened to be the very Day the Captain answered my former Letter, desiring them to send me over the Queries they mentioned, and upon the Receipt of them I should be ready to go over and give my best Assistance in prosecuting the Discovery.

The Captain got my Letter of the 22d of January, and my Friend seeing him soon after, he found him very much chagrined. He said he wished I would lay aside Thoughts of the Passage, that I gave myself a great deal of Trouble to no Purpose, it being quite impracticable; but upon his pressing him to send me an Answer, he said he would do it as soon as he could, but the Person who wrote for him was out of Town; but upon his pressing him to send it by him, as he was to go soon for Ireland, he at last got his Answer the Morning he came away, and also a Copy inclosed of his Warrant to the Lieutenant and Master, and the Report they signed upon their Return, after they had been up the River, which I have already given; but his Answer being very extraordinary, affirming several Facts which were absolutely false, with a Design to impose upon me, by my depending on his Veracity, which must consequently oblige me to give up all future thoughts of the Passage, it will be proper to give it in his own Words, and afterwards shew the Falsities he affirms in it.

SIR,

Received yours of the 22d of January, and saw the Letter you inclosed in Mr. Smith’s to the Lord —— concerning opening the Trade to the Bay.

You say I have made a much greater Progress in the Discovery of a Passage than I imagined when there, and that from the Light you have got from my Journal, you can almost prove that I was in the Passage, and that Wager River is properly Wager Streight, and not a fresh Water River, and that the Way I enter’d it was one, tho’ not the greatest and easiest Way into the Streight.

You also observe, that if there is a Communication between the Bay and the Western American Ocean, or Passage through Islands and broken Lands, as in the Magellanick Streights, the Tide will continue to rise until we get half way through, and then meet the Tide of the other Ocean. This I thought of when there, made several Trials, and ordered my Officers to do the same, not only near Deer Sound, but in their Progress up the River as far as they went, and to take notice of the Flux of the Tides, their Direction and Height, as you will find inclosed here. Now, as by mine and their Observations it flowed at Savage Sound 15 feet, and the same Day but 10 Feet at Deer Sound, and 15 Leagues above Deer Sound, on the West Side, but 6 feet. The Tides kept their regular Course as high up as I was myself, which was 5 Leagues above Deer Sound, about 7 Hours Ebb, and 5 Hours Flood, 20 Leagues up. Whereas, if there had been a Tide from the Westward to have met this, it must have raised the Tide higher the farther we went up, as it does in Narborough’s Account of the before mentioned Streight, and the Flood would not run above two Hours as he found it there. All these Observations confirmed me that it could not be a Streight as you seem to think.

The Whales we saw in the River Wager certainly come in at the Mouth of that River where the Ships enter’d it; for we saw several in the Welcome, and some off from Cape Dobbs, after we came out, and before we went in. The high Land and deep Water gave me great Hopes before I tried the abovementioned Tides. Brook Cobham was covered with Snow when we went out, but in our Return home there was none upon it. The Snow on the Land in the River Wager was much wasted before we got out of it, especially upon the Tops of the Mountains, but in the Valleys it lay very thick, and froze so hard, as to be able to bear Waggons and Horses.

As to any Passage or broken Lands between the River Wager and Lat. 62°. 40′. I am certain that I searched that Coast very narrowly, and stood into every Bay all along, so near, that the Indians I had on board knew all the Coast, and would have had me to set them on Shore at Cape Fullerton, for they knew their Way to Churchill, and had that Way travelled several times in the Summer, which they could not have done, had it consisted of Islands or Rivers; for they have no Canoes, neither is there any Wood to raft them over, as the Indians do to the Southward.

The Copy of the Lieutenant’s and Master’s Report I have here inclosed, and what is wanting in their Relation I shall mention here. The River, 5 Leagues above Deer Sound, is 8 or 10 Leagues broad; the Channel is 70 or 80 Fathoms deep in the Middle, and lieth near N. W. by the true Chart, as far as they went up, and met with as much Ice or more than we had below where the Ships lay. I went several times up the River myself, but all was so choak’d with Ice, that I could but once get over to the West Shore; so that ’tis my Opinion that the River cannot be above one Week or two at most clear of Ice in a Year, and many Years not clear at all.

There must be Land to the Westward, and a very great Tract of Land, from the Reasons I mentioned in the Observations of the Effects of Cold. Whilst the Wind blows from the N. W. Quarter, the Air is continually frozen, by the Winds passing over Mountains perpetually covered with Snow. The Land from the Waterside ascends gradually up into the Country, and is very high, as I saw from off some very high Mountains above Deer Sound.

This is all I have time to think upon at present, but I should be heartily glad you could dissolve the Company, for they have used me, and all my Men who were with me, very ill; and those who voluntarily enter’d with me at Churchill they refuse to pay their Wages due, neither can I get any Money for my Servants whom I formerly put into their Service. There are many other Things which have been very fatiguing to me, and no doubt will be tiresome to you; therefore beg leave you will conclude me to be, as I really am, with great Respect,

Sir, Your most obedient humble Servant,

Christopher Middleton.

London, Feb. 5,

1742-3.

As this Letter was wrote with a Design to impose upon me, and make me believe many Falsities and false Reasonings, I must make Observations upon each particular Paragraph separately.

The first of his Reasons for its being a River, and no Streight, is from its flowing less the higher they went up, as from 15 Feet at Savage Sound, where the Ships lay, to 10 Feet at Deer Sound, the same Tide; and at the West End, 15 Leagues higher, but six Feet, which he alledges was contrary to my Observation, and Narborough’s Account of the Tides in Magellan’s Streight, which were higher in the Middle of the Streight. Now these Observations are false; for I did not say the Tides would be higher the nearer they came to the Middle of the Streight, but that they would continue to rise and flow from the Eastward, until they met the contrary Tide, if it were a Streight. And Narborough expresly says the contrary, that it rose 4 Fathom at the East Entrance, 10 Feet within the second Narrow, and near the Middle 8 or 9 Feet. Nor were the Tides in Wager River the several Heights he mentions; for by his Journal the Tide at Savage Sound rose that Tide but 12 Feet 6 Inches, instead of 15, when it rose 10 Feet in Deer Sound; and when they were beyond the West Bluff they did not stay a Tide, and could only conjecture how much it flowed; nor did they observe in their Report whether the Eastern or Western Current was Ebb or Flood; tho’ now, upon Recollection, the Lieutenant is positive it was the Tide of Flood from the Westward which brought the Boat to a Grapnel, it having flowed six Feet immediately after he anchored the Boat; nor are his Reasonings just about the Time of the Tide’s flowing; for tho’ Narborough says there was but 2 Hours each Tide, without any Ripling or Current to affect the Navigation, he does not say that it flowed 2 Hours, and ebbed 10; nor does it any where appear how long it flowed in Wager River at the upper End: For what he mentions was only at Deer Sound, and the Entrance of the River, where he says, that in each Place it flowed but 5 Hours, and ebbed 7; whereas, by his own Principles, if it had been a fresh River, the Flood would still have been in shorter Time, and the Current or Ebb longer, the higher they went up. So that neither his Reasoning nor Facts are true to prove it a River, nor his Recital from Narborough just.

The next Falsity he would have imposed upon me was, that the Whales came in certainly at the East Entrance of Wager River; for they saw several in the Welcome, and near Cape Dobbs, before they went in, and after they came out, which none on board saw but himself; and the Journal expresly says, when they came up with the Ice, Hitherto have we seen no Whales except one white Whale as big as a Grampus, and 5 or 6 Seals; and both Logg-book and Journal are intirely silent about any when they came out, until they came near Brook Cobham. When I taxed the Captain with this, all he could say was, he was sure he heard one or two blow. Yet in the Logg-book which he has printed he says he saw 2 or 3 blow in that Watch, tho’ nothing of it is enter’d in the original large Logg-book, nor were any seen by any other Person on board the Furnace; nor did Captain Moor in the Discovery see any, tho’ two on board him took upon them to swear they saw or heard 2 or 3 blow.

The next Falsity he advances is, that tho’ the Snow was thawed and wasted upon the Tops of the Mountains in Wager River when they were there, yet it froze so hard in the Valleys as to carry Waggons and Horses; whereas, except in such Places where the Sun could not come at it, there was no Ice in the Valleys, but all the Ponds and Lakes were free from Ice, and full of Trouts and other Fish.

The next Falsity he asserts is, that there was no Passage or broken Lands betwixt Wager River and Lat. 62°. 40′. for he had searched narrowly every Bay, and stood in so close, that the Indians on board him knew all the Coast, and desired to be put on Shore at Cape Fullerton, for they knew the Way from that to Churchill, and had travelled it several times by Land in Summer, which they could not have done if there was any Openings or Streight, having no Canoes there, or Timber to make Rafts. Now this was a glaring and absolute Falsity throughout; for it appears from his Logg-book and Journal, that he was not nearer any of the Head-lands than 5 or 6 Leagues, that he allows there were many deep Bays and Islands, and that he passed from Cape Dobbs to the Southward of Cape Fullerton in the Night, and by his Logg-book it appears that he was 8 Leagues off Shore, when off the Bay between that and Brook Cobham, and his Men who were on board him could scarce see the Land but like Clouds at a Distance in the Haze; and he himself in Council owned that it was all broken Lands and Islands when he left his frozen Streight. And it appears also that he knew it to be so as well from Governor Norton as from Scroggs’s Crew, and the Indians who were on board Scroggs, and might have also known the same from his own Indians, had he consulted them; for in his Letter to me of October 18, 1739, he says,

In another of his Letters of the 21st of January 1737, he says, That the Company think it their Interest rather to prevent than forward new Discoveries in that Part of the World, and for that Reason they won’t suffer any of our Journals to be made publick. All the Intimation I am able to give is, that the Tides rise more with a North and North-west Wind, at Neap-Tides, than ever the Spring-Tides do at Churchill, or Albany, with a Southerly or Easterly Wind; and as there’s little or no Tide between Mansfield and Cary’s Swan’s Nest, nor any in the N. or N. N. W. of Mill Isles, in that Bay, it must come from the Welcome, which cannot be far from some Western Ocean; also in Mr. John Scroggs’s Journal of 1722, he mentions, that in Lat. 64°. 50′. the Tide ebbed five Fathoms, but gives no Account which Way, or from whence the Tide came; and they all agree, that a great many Whales are seen in the Welcome, whereas I don’t remember to have seen any in other Parts of Hudson’s Bay, and I have been in all Parts of it except the Welcome, all which are favourable Circumstances: I shall be glad at all Times to contribute what I can to your Information, and beg you’ll believe me to be, Sir, &c.

In another of his Letters of November 5th 1737, he mentions the Company’s having sent out two Sloops (at my Solicitation) upon the Discovery, they prosecuted their Voyage no farther than Lat. 62°. one fourth North, and returned without making any new or useful Discovery, so far as I can learn; they found a great many Islands, Abundance of black Whales, but no very great Tides, the highest about 2 Fathoms, the Flood coming from the Northward.

In his Extract from Scroggs’s Journal of the Welcome, he also says, that he had two Northern Indians on board, who had been entertained in the Factory all the foregoing Winter, upon the Account of this Discovery; they gave us Intimation of a rich Copper Mine that lay near the Surface of the Earth, and said they could direct the Sloop or Ship to lay her Side to it, where she might land very soon: We had several Pieces of Copper brought to Churchill, which made it evident there is a Mine somewhere in that Country. These Indians sketched out the Lands with Charcoal upon a Skin of Parchment, before they left the Factory, and as far as they went they found it agree very well.

He afterwards says, When they returned, which was in a Month’s Time, or thereabouts, I examined the Officers and Men, Several had been my Scholars in the Winter to learn Navigation. They told me they saw nothing at these Times they were on Shore to hinder their going further; for when they were eight or ten Miles from Whalebone Point, which bore E. N. E. from them, they saw an open Sea, and the Land trenched away to the Southward of the West; this they said to Scroggs’s Face as soon as they were got on board our Ship at Churchill, tho’ while they were under his Command, they dissembled it, and said what he pleased to have them. From this, and all other Accounts, it appears there must be a Passage for the Tides from the Western Ocean.

Since these are all from his own Letters, how could he pretend to say it was all a Main-land from Wager River to Lat. 62°. 40′. when he passed this Coast in the Night, or how could he say that his Indians desired to be set ashore there, when they also gave him the same Account of the Copper Mine and Streight; and all who traded to Whale Cove from Churchill, said that even there, it was all broken Land and Islands, with Sea behind them and full of Whales; and these Indians, when they were put ashore on Marble Island, tho’ much nearer their own Country, thought they were undone, and would be sacrificed to their Enemies the Eskimaux, who were upon that Coast, between them and their own Country. So that his affirming these as true Facts was too gross to be believed.

His next Paragraph is, That he had sent me the Lieutenant and Master’s Report of what they had observed, and he would make out what they were deficient in; and in Part of this he says Truth, that five Leagues above Deer Sound, the River was 8 or 10 Leagues wide, and 70 or 80 Fathoms deep in the Middle; but then he adds, the Course lay N. W. by the true Chart, when they affirm, that from the Western Bluff, the true Course was near W. S. W. And he farther says, That there was as much Ice or more above, as far as they went, than there was below where the Ships lay; and it was his Opinion that the River could not be clear of Ice above one Week or two in the Year, and some Years not at all; when both the Lieutenant and Master affirmed before the Lords of the Admiralty, that they had no Ice to obstruct their Passage above Deer Sound; and when they got up 15 Leagues higher, they saw a noble Streight going W. S. W. without any Ice in it, with high broken Lands on each Side. So that his whole Letter is made up of Falsities, and false Reasoning, to make out his Assertion, that there was no Passage: And to give his Assertions more Weight, he brings in his Theory and Observations upon Cold, to prove the whole a Continent of vast Extent, to the North-westward of the Bay, contrary to the authentick Accounts given by the Indians who were at Churchill in 1739, who had been at the Western Ocean of America, in the same Latitude of Churchill, mentioned in his own Letter.

At the Close of his Letter, in order to take me off from my Pursuit of the Passage, he wishes that I would attack the Company, and break their Charter, pretending they had used him ill, that I might not suspect him of being their Friend, or suspect him for having received any Bribes or Rewards from them, in order to stifle the Discovery. So that upon the whole it seems evident, that his whole Scheme has been to make his Terms with the Company before he should fix the Journal of his Discovery, and when that was fixed, he then was to impose upon the Publick and me, by publishing false Charts and Currents, in order to prevent all future Attempts.

From what I have here observed of the Discoveries made, and the Management during, and since the Voyage, to stifle and conceal what has been discovered, I presume that strong Presumptions for a Passage will appear to all who impartially consider the whole; and I hope I may be indulged to shew from Reason, as well as these Observations, that these Presumptions are as strong as possible, and amount almost to a Demonstration.

Since all great Tides are caused by the Attraction of the Sun and Moon upon a great Body of Water in a large Ocean, an Inland-sea, that does not communicate with the Ocean by some very large Opening, can have no Tide in it which can be any way sensible, unless such Inland-sea be vastly large. The Mediterranean, tho’ vastly large, having but a small Entrance by which it communicates with the Ocean, has no sensible Tide, except the irregular Tide at the Euripus, now Negropont, and a small Tide of about 2 Feet on the North-east and North-west Sides of Italy; and in the Baltick is no Tide at all, altho’ there are three Passages into it from the Ocean by the Sound, and the Great and Little Belt.

Hudson’s Bay, in which are such strong and high Tides, is the only Inland-sea known, that has such high and rapid Tides, and consequently must have a considerable Communication with some Ocean or Oceans; if it have only a Communication with the Atlantic Ocean by Hudson’s Streight, let us consider whether that alone can possibly raise such high Tides as are throughout the whole Bay, but more remarkably on the West and North-west Side of the Bay, where the Tides rise near equally to those at the Entrance of Hudson’s Streight.

This Streight at the Entrance is only 13 to 14 Leagues wide from the South Side to Resolution Isle, and a small Channel some Leagues wide, Northward of that Island, in which is no great Current. It runs in the Entrance about 5 or 6 Miles in an Hour, and rises about 18 Feet at Spring-tide. At Cape Charles, in the Middle of the Streight, it is about 15 Leagues wide, and has there lost nigh Half its Force. At Cape Diggs, the West End of the Streight, it is about 20 Leagues wide, and is still more diminished in its Heighth and Current; and when it enters the Bay at Cary’s Swan’s Nest, it rises but 6 Feet. Now it is very reasonable it should be diminished so, when it is considered what Space it has to fill in its Course so far; for there is a great Bay or Inlet on the South-west Side within Button’s Isle, and several others betwixt Cape Charles and Cape Diggs, and great Inlets on the North Side; and the Streight being 140 Leagues in Length before it reaches the Bay, it requires a great Current even to fill the Streight, when to these is added the Space it has to fill in the great Bays and Inlets above Mill Isles, by Cape Comfort and Lord Weston’s Portland, it may be easily conceived to be almost spent before it passes Mansell’s Isle and Cary’s Swan’s Nest. How then is it possible that a Tide or Current, running through so narrow a Passage only 5 or 6 Miles an Hour, which is not above 30 Miles each Tide, should raise a high Tide, not only for 140 Leagues, besides all the Bays and Inlets on each Side the Streight, and above Mill Isles, but also fill a great Inland-sea, above 800 Miles long, and 500 broad? and after it is expanded in the Bay, and the Current lost, should be able to raise a Tide on the West and North-west Side of the Bay from 12 to 16 Feet, nay sometimes to 22 feet? and if Norton and Scroggs are to be believed, even to 5 Fathom, and occasion such rapid Currents as at Brook Cobham, Marble Island, Wager River, &c. so as to run there from 4 to 6 and 7 Miles an Hour, if only filled from Hudson’s Streight, when at the same time the Tide flowing through Davis’s Streights, which are above 40 Leagues wide up into Baffin’s Bay in Lat. 78°. does not there exceed 5 or 6 feet any where? Since therefore no other Inland-sea has any sensible Tide, and even the Tide in the South End of Hudson’s Bay does not rise above four Feet without a strong Wind at North, how can these high and rapid Tides be at the North-west Side without a Communication with some other Ocean than that which flows through Hudson’s Streight. When it is also known that a North and North-west Wind raises a higher Tide on the West Side of the Bay at Neap Tides, than an Easterly or South-east Wind does at Spring Tides, which blows from our Ocean, does not that almost amount to a Demonstration without farther corroborating Proofs? But when all other Circumstances coincide with these, such as the great Number of Whales seen on the North-west Side, tho’ none are ever seen in other Parts of the Bay or Streight, and that all that Part of the Coast, from Lat. 60°. to Wager Streight, is found to be broken Land and Islands, and a Tide flowing from the West has been found at Marble Island and the West End of Wager Streight, and a West Moon makes high Water from Marble Island to Wager Streight, which shews they are all equally near the Ocean, and a W. S. W. Moon at Whale Cove, which being earlier, shews it is nigher the Ocean, where an open Sea has been discovered Westward of these Islands, and the Attestation of the Indians who have been at the Copper Mine, and there being no Ice there to obstruct Navigation when all other Parts of the Bay is choak’d with Ice; all these Things concurring, gives as great a Certainty for a Passage as any thing can do but an actual passing and Return through it.

For these Reasons, and from Captain Middleton’s Behaviour during his Voyage, and the Care he has taken to stifle all the material Parts of the Discovery since his Return, and from the Weakness of his Defence, wherein he has been obliged to advance several Falshoods, and has evaded artfully where he could not answer to the Charges brought against him; and has also given all the intimidating Accounts he could well imagine to prevent any others from prosecuting the Discovery, it seems evident that both the Hudson’s Bay Company and he are convinced there is a Passage, and are equally afraid of being detected in having neglected and prevented the Discovery of it: For if there is no Passage, and Captain Middleton has acted a fair Part, they are acting with the greatest Imprudence, and against their Interest; for nothing can so effectually establish his Character, and shew that the Company have done their Duty to the Publick, as to have other Ships to go out and try it; for if they should shew that there is none, then it would appear that the Captain had behaved well, and the Company would not be deemed faulty in having concealed and neglected so beneficial a Discovery, and all the Blame would be laid at my Door in pushing on a second Attempt unreasonably, and my Character must suffer, and the next Voyage determine every thing against me; so that by sending Ships to make another Attempt it is brought to this Crisis: If there is no Passage, the Falseness of my Reasonings and Observations, and my Charge against him will be exposed, and his Character be established; but if there is a Passage, he is in the right to struggle hard to prevent a farther Attempt, for then both his Misconduct and the Company’s Neglect in finding it will be detected; and if so, a corrupt Correspondence would be laid to their Charge, in endeavouring to prevent the Publick from a Discovery which would be of great Importance in adding to the Wealth and Power of Britain.

As a farther Proof of this Passage, I shall here give De Fonte’s Letter, Vice-Admiral of Peru and Mexico, giving an Abstract of his Voyage from Lima in Peru, to prevent, or seize upon, any Ships who should attempt to find a North-west Passage to the South-Sea, as I took it from the Memoirs of the Curious published in April and June 1708, having only abridged it a little in his Way to California, that not being material towards the Discovery, and alter’d the Expression from the first to the third Person.

An Abstract of his Voyage from Lima in Peru, to prevent or seize upon any Ships who should attempt to find a North-west Passage to the South-Sea.

he Viceroys of New Spain and Peru having Advice from the Court of Spain, that the Attempt for the finding a North-west Passage, which had been tried before by Hudson and James, was again attempted in 1639 by some industrious Navigators from Boston in New-England, Admiral De Fonte received Orders from Spain, and the Viceroys to equip four Ships of Force, and being ready, he put to Sea the 3d of April, 1640, from Lima, the Admiral in the Ship St. Spiritus, the Vice-Admiral, Don Diego Penelossa, in the St. Lucia, Pedro de Barnarda in the Rosaria, and Philip de Ronquillo in the King Philip. The 7th of April, at 5 in the Evening, he got to St. Helen, in 2°. South Lat. where he took in a Quantity of Bitumen or Tar, by way of Medicine against the Scurvy and Dropsy. The 10th he passed the Equinox at Cape del Passao, the 11th Cape St. Francisco, in 1°. 7′. N. Lat. and anchored at the Mouth of the River St. Jago, and took in there several Refreshments. The 16th he sailed from thence to the Port and Town Ralco, 320 Leagues W. N. W. Westerly, in about 11°. 14′. N. Lat. It is a safe Port, covered from the Sea by the Islands Ampallo and Mangreza, both well inhabited by Indians; Ralco is but 4 Miles over Land to the Head of the Lake Nicaragua, that falls into the North Sea in 12°. N. Lat. near the Corn or Pearl Islands: Here being Plenty of fine Timber, he bought four Shallops, built expresly for sailing and rowing, about 12 Tons each, 32 Feet in the Keel. The 26th he sailed from thence to Saragua, within the Islands and Shoals of Chamilli, in 17°. 31′. N. Lat. 480 Leagues N. W. by W. from Ralco. From Saragua and Compostella, near this Port he took in a Master and six Mariners, used to trade with the Natives on the East Side of California for Pearl, which the Natives catch on a Bank in Lat. 29°. North from the Baxas St. Juan, in 24°. N. Lat. 20 Leagues N. N. E. from Cape St. Lucas, the S. E. Point of California. The Master, the Admiral had hired with his Vessel and Mariners, informed him that 200 Leagues North from Cape St. Lucas, a Flood from the North had met the South Flood, and he was sure it must be an Island. Don Diego Penelossa undertook with his Ship and the four Shallops, to discover whether California was an Island or not, along with the Master and his Mariners they hired at Saragua; but Admiral de Fonte, with three Ships, sailed from them within the Isles of Chamilly the 10th of May 1640; and having got the length of Cape Abel on the W. S. W. Side of California in 26°. N. Lat. 160 Leagues N. W. by W. from the Isles Chamilly, the Wind sprung up at S. S. E. a steady Gale; that from the 26th of May to the 14th of June, he had sailed to the River Los Reys in 53°. N. Lat. not having Occasion to lower a Top-sail in sailing 866 Leagues N. N. W. 410 Leagues from Port Abel to Cape Blanco, and 456 to Rio los Reys, and sailed about 260 Leagues in crooked Channels amongst Islands, named, the Archipelago de St. Lazarus, where the Ships Boats always sailed a Mile a-head, sounding to see what Water, Sand and Rocks there were. The 22d of June Admiral Fonte dispatched one of his Captains to Pedro de Barnarda, to sail up a fair River, a gentle Stream and deep Water; he went first N. and N. E. N. and N. W. into a large Lake full of Islands, and one very large Peninsula full of Inhabitants, a friendly honest People in this Lake. He named it Lake Velasco, where Captain Bernarda left his Ship; nor all up the River was it less than 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Fathom Water, both the Rivers and Lakes abounding with Salmon, Trouts, and white Perch, very large, some two Foot long, and with three large Indian Boats called Periaguas, made of two large Trees, 50 and 60 Foot long, Captain Bernarda first sailed from his Ships in the Lake Velasco 140 Leagues West, and then 436 E. N. E. to 77°. N. Lat. Admiral de Fonte, after he had dispatched Captain Bernarda on the Discovery of the North and East Part of the Tartarian Sea, sailed up a very navigable River, which he named Rio los Reys, that ran nearest N. E. but on several Points of the Compass 60 Leagues, at low Water, in a fair navigable Channel, not less than 4 or 5 Fathom Water; it flowed in both Rivers near the same Water, in the River los Reys 24 Foot Full and Change of the Moon, a S. S. E. Moon made high Water; it flowed in the River de Haro 22 Foot and a half Full and Change. They had two Jesuits with them who had been on their Mission to 66°. N. Lat. and had made curious Observations. The Admiral de Fonte received a Letter from Captain Bernarda, dated the 27th of June 1640, that he had left his Ship in the Lake Velasco, betwixt the Island Bernarda and the Lake Conibasset, a very safe Port; he went down a River from the Lake three Falls, 80 Leagues, and fell into the Tartarian Sea in 61°. with the Pater Jesuits and 36 Natives in three of their Boats, and 20 of his Spanish Seamen, that the Land trended away N. E. that they should want no Provisions, the Country abounding with Venison of three Sorts, and the Sea and Rivers with excellent Fish, (Bread, Salt, Oil and Brandy they carried with them) that he should do what was possible. The Admiral, when he received that Letter, was arrived at an Indian Town called Conasset, on the South Side of the Lake Belle, where the two Pater Jesuits on their Mission had been two Years, a pleasant Place. The Admiral, with his two Ships, entered the Lake the 22d of June, an Hour before high Water, and there was no Fall or Cataract, and 4 or 5 Fathom Water, and 6 and 7 generally in the Lake Belle: There is a little Fall of Water till half Flood, and an Hour and Quarter before high Water, the Flood begins to set gently into the Lake Belle. The River is fresh at 20 Leagues Distance from the Mouth or Entrance of the River Los Reys. The River and Lake abounds with Salmon, Salmon Trouts, Pikes, Perch and Mullets, and two other Sorts of Fish peculiar to that River, admirable good, and Lake Belle also abounds with all those Sorts of Fish large and delicate; and Admiral de Fonte says, the Mullets catch’d in Rios Reys and Lake Belle, are much delicater than are to be found, he believes, in any Part of the World. The 1st of July 1640 the Admiral sailed (from the Ships in the Lake Belle in a good Port covered by a fine Island, before the Town Conasset) from thence to a River he named Parmentiers, after his Comrade Mr. Parmentiers, who had exactly marked every Thing in and about that River, and pass’d eight Falls, in all 32 Feet perpendicular from its Source out of Lake Belle; it falls into the large Lake he called Lake de Fonte, at which Place they arrived the 6th of July; this Lake is 160 Leagues long and 60 broad; the Length is E. N. E. and W. S. W. 20, 30, and in some Places 60 Fathoms deep; the Lake abounds with excellent Cod and Ling, very large and well fed; there are several very large Islands, and ten small ones; they are covered with shrubby Woods; the Moss grows 6 or 7 Foot long, with which the Moose, a very large Sort of Deer are fat in the Winter, and other lesser Deer, as Fallow, &c. There are abundance of wild Cherries, Strawberries, Hurtle-berries, and wild Currants, and also of wild Fowl, Heath-cocks and Hens, likewise Partridges and Turkeys, and Sea Fowl in great Plenty; on the South Side of the Lake is a very large fruitful Island, which had a great many Inhabitants, and very excellent Timber, as Oak, Ash, Elm and Fir Trees, very large and tall. The 14th of July they sailed out of the E. N. E. End of the Lake de Fonte, and passed a Lake he named Estricho de Ronquillo, 34 Leagues long, 2 or 3 broad, 20, 26 and 28 Fathom Water; they passed this Streight in 10 Hours, having a stout Gale of Wind and whole Ebb, as they sailed more Easterly, the Country grew very sensibly worse, as it is in the North and South Parts of America; from 36 to the extreme Parts, North or South, the West differs not only in Fertility, but in Temperature of Air, at least 10 Degrees, and it is warmer on the West Side than on the East, as the best Spanish Discoverers found it, whose Business it was, as it is noted by Alvarez Acoste and Mariana. The 17th they came to an Indian Town, and the Indians told their Interpreter, Mr. Parmentiers, that a little Way from them lay a great Ship, where there never had been one before; they sailed to them, and found only one Man advanced in Years, and a Youth; the Man was the greatest Man in the mechanical Parts of the Mathematicks he had ever met with. The Admiral’s second Mate was an Englishman, an excellent Seaman, as was his Gunner, who had been taken Prisoner in Campeachy, as well as the Master’s Son. They told him the Ship was of New-England, from a Town call’d Boston. The Owner and the whole Ship’s Company came on board the 30th, and the Navigator of the Ship, Captain Shapley, told him his Owner was a fine Gentleman, and Major General of the largest Colony in New-England, called the Massachusets; so he received him like a Gentleman, and told him, his Commission was to make Prize of any People seeking a North-west or West Passage into the South-Sea, but he would look upon them as Merchants trading with the Natives for Beavers, Otters, and other Furs and Skins, and so for a small Present of Provisions he had no need of, he gave him his Diamond Ring, which cost him 1200 Pieces of Eight, (which the modest Gentleman received with Difficulty) and having given the brave Navigator, Captain Shapley, for his fine Charts and Journals, 1000 Pieces of Eight, and the Owner of the Ship, Seimor Gibbons, a Quarter Cask of good Peruan Wine, and the 10 Seamen each 20 Pieces of Eight, the 6th of August, with as much Wind as they could fly before, and a Current, they arrived at the first Fall of the River Parmentiers. The 11th of August eighty six Leagues, and was on the South Side of the Lake Belle, on board their Ships, the 16th of August, before the fine Town Conasset, where they found all Things well, and the honest Natives of Conasset had in his Absence treated his People with great Humanity, and Captain De Ronquillo answered their Civility and Justice. The 26th of August an Indian brought him a Letter to Conasset, on the Lake Belle, from Captain Bernarda, dated the 11th of August, where he sent him word he was returned from his cold Expedition, and did assure him there was no Communication out of the Spanish or Atlantick Sea by Davis’s Streight; for the Natives had conducted one of his Seamen to the Head of Davis’s Streight, which terminated in a fresh Lake of about 30 Miles in Circumference, in the 80th Degree N. Lat. and that there was prodigious Mountains North of it; besides, the North-west from that Lake, the Ice was so fixed from the Shore to 100 Fathom Water, for ought he knew from the Creation, for Mankind knew little of the wonderful Works of God, especially near the North and South Poles. He wrote farther, that he had sailed from Basset Island N. E. and E. N. E. and N. E. by E. to the 79th Degree of Latitude, and then the Land trended North, and the Ice rested on the Land. He received afterwards a second Letter from Captain Bernarda, dated from Minhanset, informing him he made the Port of Arena, 20 Leagues up the River Los Reyes, the 26th of August, where he waited his Commands. The Admiral having Store of good salt Provisions of Venison and Fish that Captain De Ronquillo had salted, by the Admiral’s Orders, in his Absence, and 100 Hogsheads of Indian Wheat or Maize, he sailed the 2d of September, 1640, accompanied with many of the honest Natives of Conasset, and on the 5th of September, in the Morning, about 8, was at an Anchor betwixt Arena and Minhanset, in the River Los Reys, sailing down that River to the N. E. Part of the South-Sea, after that returned home, having found there was no Passage into the South-Sea by that they call the North-west Passage. The Chart will make this much more demonstrable.

Tho’ the Style of the foregoing Piece is not so polite (being wrote like a Man whose Livelihood depended on another Way, but with Abundance of Experience, and like a Traveller) yet there are in it so many curious, and hitherto unknown Discoveries, that it was thought worthy a Place in these Memoirs, and ’tis humbly presumed it will not be unacceptable to those who have either been in these Parts, or will give themselves the trouble of reviewing the Chart.

By this Abstract of De Fonte’s Voyage, which has all the Appearance of being authentick, it is plain that there is a navigable Passage from Hudson’s Bay to California, and tho’ it has not had Justice done to it in the Translation, and probably has not been exactly copied or printed; yet, giving an Allowance for Errors of that kind, and it has throughout the Air of Truth. There may be probably some Errors in the Figures relating to the Degrees of Latitude and Leagues in their Course; for the Length of the Lake De Fonte is said to be 160 Leagues, and the Streight Ronquillo 34. Upon his Return from the Boston Ship he is said to have got again to the Mouth of the River Parmentiers in 5 Days, with a stout Gale and brisk Current, which he says was 80 Leagues, which plainly ought to have been 180, otherwise with that stout Gale and Current it would have been but 16 Leagues in 24 Hours, and the other would be but 36, which was reasonable Sailing.

As to his saying there was no Passage, altho’ he met the Boston Ship, I take his Meaning to be, that either Bernarda found no Passage by the North-west of Davis’s Streights, the Way probably the Spaniards expected it; or that by his passing up one River to Lake Belle, and down another to Lake De Fonte, by what he called Sharps or Falls, he apprehended there was no navigable Passage for Ships the Way he went, or he desired to disguise it, to prevent other Europeans from attempting it to his Country’s Prejudice, and therefore he did not publish his Chart which he refers to in his Letter. It is plain that it was an Island below the Lake Belle which divided the River Los Reys from the River Parmentiers, and as the Sea in Lake De Fonte was upon a Level with the Sea at the Mouth of Rio Los Reys, and the Tide flowed up that River into the Lake Belle, it must also flow up the River Parmentiers, and the Sharps and Falls he observed in that River, were only the Sharps occasioned by the several Ebbs he had in sailing down that River, being 5 Days in passing to the Sea; so that the great and true Passage was without that Island, which the Admiral missed by getting among the Islands in the Archipelago of St. Lazarus.

It is a Misfortune his Chart was not published, which would have given more Light as to the Lands, Lakes and Rivers he mentions, now we can only guess in the Dark, and may be mistaken; however I shall venture to give my Opinion of their Situation, tho’ I may not judge right.

As I apprehend it, the Archipelago of St. Lazarus, and Rio Los Reys, and Lake Belle, and also the Lake of Velasco, are no Part of North America, but a Country distinct from it, the Passage lying betwixt those Lands and America; for in his Journal he says he sailed 866 Leagues N. N. W. from Cape Abel in California, in Lat. 26°. the last 260 of which was in crooked Channels among Islands, until he got to Rio Los Reys, in Lat. 53°. since by all other Accounts the Coast of America falls off N. E. from Cape Blanco. This must have been a Country distinct from America; here he found two Rivers, one came from the North, from the Lake Velasco, which Bernarda sailed up, and the other came from the N. E. from the Lake Belle, which lay betwixt Lat. 54°. and 55°. Upon what Point the River Parmentiers ran out of the Lake Belle is not mentioned; but as Rio Los Reys ran S. W. we may suppose the other ran E. or S. E. and fell into the Sea which he calls the Lake de Fonte, in near the same Latitude, that Lake, or Arm of the Sea, stretching thence E. N. E. 160 Leagues; if there was any West Variation, as there is now, the N. E. End of that Lake might be in Lat. 57 or 58°. almost West of Churchill, and the Streight Ronquillo running still N. E. might end in Lat. 59°. In two Days from thence he came to an Indian Town, probably about Lat. 60°. near which the Boston Ship lay; so that it may be imagined that the Boston Ship had passed into some of the Openings near Whale Cove, and got to Lat. 60°. or perhaps to 59°. and was trading for Furs, and the Ship might have been afterwards lost or surprized by the Eskimaux upon her Return, having but 12 or 13 Hands on board, since no Account of this Voyage was ever transmitted from Boston. Upon Enquiry made by Order of Sir Charles Wager, whether any of the Name of Shapley, which was the Master’s Name, lived at that time in Boston, it appeared from some Writings that some of that Name then lived in Boston, which adds to the Weight of De Fonte’s Letter, and confirms its being an authentick Journal.

The Advantages to BRITAIN from such Discoveries, in case a Passage should be found from HUDSON’s BAY to that Western Ocean, which has lately been undertaken with great Probability of Success.

All the Discoveries which have been published of the Islands and Countries in the Great Western Ocean, between America, India, and China, &c.

ince there are the greatest Presumptions of a Passage to the Western Ocean, from the late Discoveries made on board the Furnace in Wager River, and in the broken Lands near Marble Island, it may be proper to take notice of what Discoveries have hitherto been made in that great Pacifick Ocean, as it is called, as well in the temperate Zones on each Side of the Tropicks, as between the Tropicks from America, on the East Side of that Sea, to the Coast of Japan, China, the Philippines, and New-Guinea, on the West Side of the same; and also give Reasons why hitherto so few Discoveries have been made, or divulged when made, in so large a Tract, which makes very near one Third of the Globe; when at the same time there are very large Countries, and almost an infinite Number of Islands dispersed through it, part only of which have been discovered and divulged; and the vastly greater Part remains undiscovered to us in Europe, as the greatest Number of the Islands yet discovered are extremely populous, and probably most of them abound in the several rich Mines and Commodities found in other Countries in their several Latitudes, their further Discovery, and establishing a Commerce with them, may be of immense Benefit to Britain, in case this Passage is found, as it will give us a more immediate Passage and Course to them, than to any other Nation in Europe, except the Spaniards, who might have a Trade cross the Isthmus of America; and we may have the earliest and choicest Settlements and Factories in proper Climates, securing to ourselves the best Harbours in the best Parts of America; from whence we may carry on a Commerce as well to Japan and China, as to the more Southerly Parts of America, and all the Countries and Islands in the South-Sea, yet to be discovered, as far as New-Guinea and the Philippines.

I shall therefore first give the Reason why so little has yet been discovered, notwithstanding the Number of English, Dutch, and Spanish Ships, which have sailed round the Globe, and many French Ships which have been also in those Seas; and then shall take notice of such Journals as have been published of those Ships which have been in those Seas, and have made any Discovery worth taking notice of; and from these Accounts shew how much has been discovered, and what remains still to be discovered, and then propose the most convenient Places to make Settlements in, from whence further Discoveries may be made with the greatest Hopes of Success, and enumerate some of the great Advantages we may reap from such Settlements and Discoveries.

The Reason why greater Discoveries have not been made in that vast Tract, notwithstanding the Number of Ships that have been in those Seas, I take to be this; that most of the Ships that went into those Seas, or surrounded the Globe, either went to enrich themselves with the Plunder of the Spaniards on the Western American Coast, or to carry on a clandestine Trade with them, or else to find out a short Passage to the East Indies and Moluccoes, so as to avoid the Portuguese, who were at first Masters of the Indian Seas, that they might more easily come at the Riches of the East; and therefore all these Ships, upon passing the Magellanick Streights, or those of Le Mair, by Cape Horn, sailed close along the American Coast, to get the sooner into a warm Latitude, and into the Trade-wind, and also to get Wood, and Water, and fresh Provisions, for their fatigued and sick Men; and for these Reasons did not attempt Discoveries in the Southern temperate Zone, at any Distance from the American Coast, from the Latitude of Cape Horn, in near 58 Degrees, to the Latitude of 28 Degrees, where they generally met the Trade-wind; for if they had been at any Distance from the Coast, when they came into the Trade-wind, they could not then pretend to make the Coast, against both Wind and Current; therefore all those who went to carry on a clandestine Trade, or to plunder the Spaniards, kept as close as they could to the American Coast, and those who went to find a Passage to India, got out of the variable Winds, into the Trade, as soon as they could, and never endeavoured to go farther West than the Islands of John Firnando, until they got into the Way of the Trade-wind, within 28 Degrees S. Lat.

The Spaniards, who were the only People who sailed in the South-Sea to make Discoveries, (except 3 Dutch Ships sent by their West India Company in 1721) after making some, concealed them all they could from the rest of Europe; and where any were published, took up the whole Impression, finding that the English and Dutch had found the Way into those Seas, they being sensible that they had discovered in America more Countries than they were able to protect or defend; and if these Countries were discovered and divulged, it would have tempted the English and Dutch to make Settlements there, which would not only enrich them by their Trade, but enable them to carry on a private Trade with Peru and Chili, and all their Southern and Western Coast, and perhaps dispossess them of some of their Conquests and Settlements, and therefore they took all the prudent Methods they could to check these Discoveries, and prevent their being divulged; notwithstanding which, I shall shew, from what Discoveries have been made, that the greatest Part of these Seas are full of rich populous Islands, and that there is the greatest Probability, that in the higher Latitudes in these temperate Zones, there are great Countries equivalent to Continents, since the Continent of America is only a greater Island, and ours of Europe, Asia and Africa, is surrounded by the Sea, and are therefore called Continents, as they are greater than the smaller Islands surrounding them; so all other great Countries or Islands, surrounded by the Sea, may be called Continents in respect to the lesser Islands on their several Coasts.

To illustrate this, and shew that these are the true Reasons why so few Discoveries have been made in those Seas, I shall give short Extracts from the Journals which have been published of all those who have surrounded the Globe, or navigated in those Seas, who have made any Discoveries worth remarking, and then make some Observations upon their Journals.

Magellan, with five Ships, was the first who sailed through these Seas in 1519, and found out the Streights called after him, and by that Way passed to the Philippines. He died in India, but his Crew were the first that surrounded the Globe, Sebastian de Cano being Captain. After passing the Streights he sailed near the American Coast, until he got within the Tropicks, and then being in haste to get to India, he did not attempt to make Discoveries, but sailed N. W. from 20 Degrees S. Lat. to 13 Degrees N. Lat. that he might fall in with India North of the Line. In his Course he saw but 3 Islands South of the Line, one in 20 Degrees uninhabited, which he called Copinghar, another in 15 Degrees, which he called Sumbdit, and the third in 5 Degrees South Latitude, and 120 long; the two last were 200 Leagues asunder; he takes no notice whether these last were inhabited or not. In 13°. N. Lat. and 146°. Long, he discovered the Marian or Ladrone Islands, and in 10°. N. Lat. and 161°. Long. he sailed through the Archipelago of St. Lazarre, a Number of Islands between the Marian and Philippines, and thence discovered the Philippines.

Sir Francis Drake was the next who circumnavigated the Globe in 1537. He went only with Design to plunder the Spaniards, and therefore coasted America as far as California, seeing only one Island Southwest of Terra del Fuego, where he was drove by a Storm. After passing the Streights, he landed on California to refresh his Men, which he called Nova Albion, in about Lat. 38°. in a fine Bay, of which he took Possession for the Crown of England, by the Consent of the Natives. He sailed from thence for India South-westerly, to get into the Trade-wind, and fell in with Land in Lat. 8°. North, among the Ladrone Islands, and therefore made no Discovery, only endeavouring to bring home the Treasure he had got from the Spaniards by the fastest Passage.

Sir Thomas Candish, in 1586, was the next who sailed round the Globe; he also made his Course along the American Coast, and from the Coast of New-Spain sailed West for India, in the usual Latitude of 13°. which the Spaniards take to the Philippines, touching at Guam. He sailed it in 45 Days, this Course being chosen as the readiest and safest Passage, being free from Islands until they reach Guam, and therefore he made no Discovery.

Noort, a Dutchman, was the next, and he also kept along the American Coast until he passed the Line. The 20th of May he sailed North-west from 5°. N. Lat. until he got into 15°. the Lat. of Guam, and arrived there the 15th of September; he therefore, by keeping much the same Course as the others, made no farther Discovery, but had some Rain in his Passage, which is oftener had near Land than in the open Sea, within the Course of the Trade-winds.

Spilbergen, another Dutchman, in 1614 followed these, and coasted America until he came to Port Natividad, on the Mexican Coast, in Lat. 19°. and sailed thence for the Ladrone Islands on the 20th of November. The 26th he was in Lat. 20°. 26′. December the 3d he saw two Islands. The 4th he saw a Rock in Lat. 19°. 53 Leagues from the American Coast. The 6th he saw an Island, with 5 Hills, and falling into Lat. 13°. he got to Guam the 23d of January. The four last went without any View of making Discoveries, their Design being to plunder the Spaniards.

The next who went was Schooten, a Dutchman, in 1615, with Design to find out a new Passage to India by America; he found out Lemair’s Streight, and the Passage by Cape Horn, in 57°. 48′. S. Lat. He kept in with the American Coast until he arrived at John Fernando’s Island in 34°. S. Lat. March the 3d he left that Island, steering North-west to get into the Trade-wind, and in 15°. 12′. S. Lat. 925 Leagues from the Coast of Peru, saw an Island which he called Dogs Island. The 14th, 100 Leagues further West, in Lat. 15°. he came to another Island, where he could get no Ground upon Sounding, and called it the Island without Ground. It was a low Island, full of Cocoas, well inhabited; they were of a reddish Colour, had long black Hair, but having no Anchorage he could not stop there. There was no hollow Sea from the South, so he apprehended there was more Land to the Southward. On the 16th he got to another low Island, but found no Anchorage, 15 Leagues from the other, in Lat. 14°. 46′. he called it Water Island, but saw no Inhabitants in it, it being often overflowed by the Sea. The 18th he saw another low Island he called Fly Island, from the vast Number of Flies that covered his Boat when he sent it ashore, which plagued him on board the Ship for some Days. They saw some Savages on this Island; it was in Lat. 15°. The 9th of May, in Lat. 15°. 40′. 1510 Leagues from Peru, he saw a large Boat, like a double Canoe, coming from the Southward, which had 23 Men, Women and Children, in it, of a reddish Colour; the Women had short Hair, the Men long, black Hair, curled. After firing at, and killing some of them before they would submit, they took them on board, and after detaining them for some time, they gave them some Trifles, and let them go off; upon, which they in the Boat sailed away S. E. which was probably the Way to their own Country, from whence they came. On the 10th they saw a high Island S. E. of them, in 16°. 10′. S. Lat. full of Inhabitants, which he called Cocos Island, and near it another Island, which he called Traitors Island, from the Natives Behaviour to them. On the 14th they saw another Island, which they called Hope Island, about 7 Leagues from the other. The 19th they sailed North, and came to two other Islands full of tall Men of a yellowish brown Colour, he called it Horn Island, it was in Lat. 14°. 56′. They sailed from that Island the 1st of June; the 21st they saw other Islands where the Men were blacker; they had Bows and Arrows, which were the first they had seen in the South-Sea; they were in 4°. 47′. S. Lat. The 25th they saw St. John’s Isle, 1840 Leagues from Peru; this was near the Coast of New-Guinea, and the Natives were all black.

Le Hermite went from Holland with 10 Ships in 1623; he died, and Scapenham returned the usual Course by the Ladrones.

Dampier, who was among the Buccaneers in the South-Sea in 1686, also coasted America, and made no Discoveries, seeing no new Islands but the Gallopagos under the Line, near the American Coast, which were uninhabited. When he sail’d for India, he sailed in the old Course until he came to Guam, one of the Ladrone Islands, and saw no Islands in his Passage.

The Duke and Dutchess of Bristol, fitted out as Privateers in 1708, coasted America to Cape St. Lucas in California, in 23°. 10′. N. Lat. and from thence sailed S. W. until they fell into Lat. 13°. 30′. In Lat. 18°, and 2°. 27′. West from Cape St. Lucas they saw several Sea-Fowl, and in Lat. 16°. 32′. and Long. 3°. 46′. they saw many Crawfish, Symptoms of their being near Islands, but they saw no Land until they got to Guam.

Captain Shelvock was also fitted out upon the same Design in 1719, and after losing his Ship, and many Disasters, he touched at 3 Islands called Les tres Marias, on the Mexican Coast, near California, and afterwards sailing from Cape St. Lucas, discovered an Island 110 Leagues from it, about 7 or 8 Leagues round, called after him Shelvock’s Isle. At 500 Leagues Distance they had Westerly Winds, and then fell into the usual Course to Guam.

There are no other Voyages published, that I have seen, of any other Ships that have sailed round the Globe, except a Voyage lately made by 3 Dutch Ships in 1721, who have made considerable Discoveries, which I shall give an Abstract of, after taking notice of what Discoveries have been made and published by the Spaniards, in sailing from the Philippines and China to America, and of some others fitted out in Peru and Mexico to make Discoveries in the Southern Ocean, part of which were published in Spain, but the greater Part kept concealed, and then shall mention the Dutch Discoveries from Batavia by Tasman.

Gama, in a Voyage he made from America to China, coasted a large Country Eastward of Japan, in about Lat. 45°. but no Account of it is published that I have seen, it being only taken notice of in several Maps and Charts of those Seas.

The Dutch seized at the Port of Namboe, in Lat. 39°. on the N. E. of Japan, were strictly examined, whether their Intention, instead of going to Tartary, where they said they were sailing, had not been to find out their golden Islands, one of which was 60 Leagues East of Yedo.

In 1642 the Dutch sent Ships to endeavour to find a Passage to Europe from Japan by Tartary; they discovered the Streights of Urias, and Land North from Japan, from Lat. 40°. to 48°. the Land of Yedso. The Inhabitants were of a sallow Complexion in Lat. 43°. and were very populous, and the Seas full of Fish. In Lat. 44°. 30′. it was mountainy, and full of Silver Mines. In Lat. 46°. it looked like England. In Lat. 48°. were small Hills covered with Grass.

In 1522, one of the Ships that sailed to the Moluccas with Magellan, sailed from Tidore to endeavour to get to New-Spain, under Gonzalo Gomes de Spinosa; they sailed N. E. to Lat. 16°. where they found two Islands they called St. John’s, and in that Course came to another Island in Lat. 20°. which they called Griega, where some of the Natives went on board them; they continued their Voyage four Months until they came to Lat. 42°. where they saw Seals and Tunnies, Signs of being near Land; they found the Climate very cold after leaving the warm Latitudes; they returned back to Tidore.

Saavedra, in crossing the Line North from New Guinea, found an Island he called de los Pintados, inhabited by painted People, and in Lat. 10°. or 12°. found many more he called les Jardines; he intended to have sailed to America, but the Trade Winds prevailing, he could not; he died on the Voyage, and the Ship returned to the Moluccas.

In 1542, Mendosa sent Ships from New Spain to the North of California, to discover the Coast near Cape del Enganno; they sailed to the Sierras Nevados, or snowy Mountains in Lat. 40°. there they pretended they saw Ships that had on their Stems Birds they called Alcatrazos, their Yards they said were gilded, and Prows laid over with Silver, said to have come from China or Japan.

At the same time he sent a Fleet under the Command of Ruiz Lopez de Villa Lobas, from Natividad to Mindanao, one of the Philippine Islands; the 31st of October, in their Passage, they saw the Isle of St. Thomas, which Grivolga had before discovered, and beyond it in Lat. 17°. they saw another they called Nublada or the Cloudy Island; from thence they sailed to another they called Roca Partida; the 3d of September they came to certain Flats or Baxas, 6 or 7 Fathom deep; the 15th they got to the Islands de los Reys, and de los Canales, and beyond them other Islands in Lat. 10°. in the Midst of which they anchored, and took in Wood and Water; in January they sailed from thence, and found other Islands, where they were saluted in the Spanish Tongue, having been christened by Missionaries from India; they called these the Isles de las Cruzes, or de los Matelotes.

Michael Lopez sailed the 21st of November 1565 from Natividad, and sailed South-westerly until he got into North Lat. 9°. looking there for the Isles de los Reys, sailing between Lat. 9°. and 10°. 50 Days, they saw an Island inhabited by Fishers, and many uninhabited Islands: He then altered his Course, and got into North Lat. 13°. and on the 17th of January got to Guam.

Francis de Gualle in passing from China to America in 1584, saw the Islands de Lequeo, 260 Leagues E. by N. from Formosa, which were rich in Gold: In 29°. N. Lat. 70 Leagues East of Japan, he saw Islands in which were several Volcanoes; and 30 Leagues farther East, in Lat. 32°. and 33°. he saw four Islands; farther East he said were many Islands, in which was Gold, Cotton Cloths and Fish; 300 Leagues E. by N. from Japan, he found a hollow Sea, which continued so for 700 Leagues, until within 200 Leagues of California; from which Time they had no hollow Sea; they saw in their Passage many Whales, Albicores and Bonetas, and fell in with Land in Lat. 37°. 30′. which was a fine Country free from Snow; he saw the Isle St. Augustine in Lat. 30°. 45′. and the Isle of Cedars in Lat. 28°. 15′. which were near the Californian Coast.

Cabrillo in 1542, sailing Northwards along the Coast of California, came to Cape Enganno in Lat. 31°. to Cape de la Cruz in 33°. the Town of Canoes in Lat. 35°. Cape Galena farther North, and beyond it Port Possession; he sailed to Lat. 44°. North.

Gemelli took his Passage on board the Ship trading from the Philippines to Acapulco in 1697; he sailed the 29th of June from Cavite in Manila; on the 1st of August he met the Acapulco Ship at the Streights of Manila; the 6th of September he saw the Maran Islands in 19°. 20′. N. Lat. these, by others called the Ladrones, stretch from Japan to the Line; the 25th being in Lat. 29°. 3′. they saw two small Rocks in about Lat. 30°. the 30th they were in Lat. 31°. 58′. their Course N. E. by E. in Lat. 30°, there is an Island they apprehended to be rich in Gold; October 3d they were in Lat. 33°. 20′. they saw two Ducks and small Birds, supposed to come from an Island called Rica de Plata; which was then about 30 Leagues Distance from them; they were then in Lat. 34°. 7′. the 12th they were in Lat. 37°. 44′. the Sky was cloudy, and then had small Rain; 36°. 42′. is the highest Latitude they choose to sail in, during that Voyage to California. The St. Joseph, a Spanish Ship, was in a former Voyage forced upon an unknown Island in Lat. 18°. 20′. which they named St. Sebastian; the Island was small, plain, and full of pleasant Trees; the 21st they were in Lat. 36°. 37′. where they saw a Dove they supposed came from Donna Maria Laxara, an Island in Lat. 31°. these were not Land Doves, but a Sea-fowl, being web-footed; the 25th, being in Lat. 35°. 10′. they had Rain and Thunder, and supposed they were near some Land; the 31st in Lat. 36°. 40′. they saw a Piece of wrought Wood; November 3d, they saw more Wood; the 14th in Lat. 38°. they saw a large Branch of a Tree; the 15th they saw several tunny Fish usually seen near Land; the 19th in Lat. 39°. 38′. they saw 50 Ducks; the 20th it hail’d for the first Time in the Voyage; they supposed they were then within 80 Leagues of Cape Mendocino; the 24th they saw another Piece of a Tree; December 3d they saw other Signs of Land, and then first saw a Weed called Barras; the 9th in Lat. 37°. 38′. they saw some Snakes, and had but little Wind from that to the 12th, so made but small Way; they were then in Lat. 37°. and saw more Weeds; the 14th in Lat. 36°. they saw the Isle of St. Catharine, 12 Leagues from the Coast, beyond the Bay of Toque; this was inhabited by savage Indians; there they saw five Islands; the 20th they saw the Isle Cenisas, in about Lat 30°. ten Leagues from the Coast, which was about eleven Leagues long, and six broad, being naked of Trees and uninhabited. The Island Guadaloupe is in Lat. 29°. 9′. the Island Curras, seventeen Leagues from the Coast, is thirty six Leagues in Compass; the 26th they got to Cape St. Lucas, the Southern Cape of California in Lat. 22°. 25′. Port Montery is in Lat. 37°. it is a good Harbour and Water enough, and well timber’d, Plenty of Game on the Mountains, Bears, Deer, &c. and Ducks in the Lakes; six Leagues N. W. of it is a rapid River, seven Fathom deep, and another large River in Lat. 41°. which has so strong a Current that it is difficult to sail in against it. The Port de los Reys is a good one, and also that of Don Gasper in Lat. 38°. Cape Mendocino is in Lat. 41°. 20′. and Cape Blanco in Lat. 43°. The Gulf of California is seven Leagues wide in Lat 29°. So far Gemelli gives his Observations upon that Voyage.

Castro sent out Alvarez de Mandana, with Pedro Sarmiento, Lieutenant, and Pedro de Ortiga, Vice-Admiral, from Lima, in 1568. At 800 Leagues Distance West, in 11°. S. Lat. they found several Islands inhabited by People of a yellowish Complexion, naked, armed with Bows and Arrows, and Darts; they saw there Hogs, little Dogs, and Fowl, and also Cloves, Ginger, and Cinnamon, the last not of the best Kind, and they had some Shew of Gold. The first Island they called St. Isabella; here they built a Pinnace, with which and their Boat, between 9 and 15°. S. Lat. they found out 11 great Islands, one with another 80 Leagues round; the greatest they called Guadalcanal; they sailed 150 Leagues along it before they knew that it was an Island, to 18°. S. Lat. and then did not see the End of it; there they got Gold, of which they carried away to the Value of 40000 Pezo’s. The Natives had great Canoes, which carried 100 Men. They were four Months among these Islands, and finding the Trade-wind always prevail, they sailed North of the Line to make New-Spain, and after being in many Storms, having lost all their Masts, after 9 Months got safe to Land, but most of them died for want of Food. The other Ship fared better, and got safe with most of their Men to New Spain; these they called Solomon’s Isles.

Sir Francis Drake going soon after into those Seas, they stifled the Discovery, to prevent others from trading with them. This Account was taken from Lopezvaz, a Portuguese, by Captain Withrington, in the River of Plate.

Mandana sailed upon a further Discovery in 1595, and in 10°. S. Lat. 1000 Leagues from Peru, 650 from New-Spain, and 1000 from New-Guinea, came to an Island he called Magdalene, 10 Leagues round, and near it three other Islands, St. Peter’s, Dominica, 15 Leagues in Circuit, and St. Christina, 9 Leagues; he called them Las Marquisas. The Natives were of a dark Colour. He found a fine Harbour in the West Side of St. Christina, in Lat. 9°. 30′. He left it the 5th of August. The 15th, after sailing 400 Leagues, he discovered four little low Islands, in 10°. 40′. S. Lat. 1535 Leagues from Peru, called Solitary Isles. The 7th of September he discovered a burning Island, well inhabited, where he enter’d a Harbour, and removed to a better on the 21st; here he staid some Time, and resolved to settle.

There being but a Part of the Account of this Voyage preserved it breaks off here abruptly, and then says, after he left this Island he crossed the Line, and found an Island in 6°. N. Lat. 30 Leagues in Circuit. Monday, the first of January, he was in 14°. N. Lat. and on the 3d got to Guam.

Simon Hernandez, a Lisbon Pilot, told Hackluit in 1604, that he being in Lima in 1600, four Ships went from thence in February that Year, designed for the Philippines; the General was a Mestizo; they were drove by a Storm South of the Line, and fell in with several rich Countries and Islands near the Isles of Solomon. One Place they called Monte de Plata, from the Abundance of Silver likely to be found there; for they said they found two Crowns worth in two Handfuls of Dust, and they gave them an equal Quantity of Silver for Iron. It was two Months sailing from Peru; they returned from thence to Peru in August. A Captain of Quality was then suing for Leave to settle there.

Ferdinando Giros, or De Quir, under De Torres, was sent from Peru on a Discovery in the South-Sea, and made some that were very considerable; but the English at that time sending several Ships through the Magellanick Streights into those Seas, the Accounts which were published were taken up by Order of the King of Spain, and nothing was divulged but the Copies of two Memorials given to the King in 1610, which Purchas got by Accident, and has published in his Collections, one in English, and the other in Spanish, from the Original, an Abstract of which I shall give here.

In his eighth Petition he sets forth, that in those great Islands and Countries he discovered, the Inhabitants were civilized, and dwelt in wooden Houses; they made use of earthen Vessels and wooden Spoons; they had Flutes and Drums for Musick; their Gardens were regularly divided, and fenced with Poles. They used Mother of Pearl Shells for different Purposes, as well for Use as for Ornament; they were clothed, and had Boots; they made Capons and Hogs, their Bread was made of Roots. They had six Kinds of Plane-trees, four Kinds of Almonds, a Fruit they called Obi, like to Melacotoons; they had Nuts, Oranges, Lemons, Sugar-canes, Palm-trees, and Cocoas, as also Pears, Melons and Beans. They had Variety of Fowls and Goats, and the Natives said they had Cows and Oxen, with great Variety of Fish. He saw in those Countries Silver and Pearl; one of their Captains saw Gold; he saw Nutmegs, Mace, Ginger, Pepper, and Cinnamon, and Materials for Silk, and also Ebony,

The Country was hilly, full of Brooks and Rivers; the Bay of St. Philip and James was 20 Leagues in Extent, without any Bar, where they had fine Anchorage. The Harbour of Vera Cruz could contain a thousand Ships; it was at the Mouth of two large deep Rivers of easy Entrance, where were Woods of fine Timber, full of all Sorts of singing Birds; the Haven and Bay were in the Neighbourhood of many fine Islands, seven of which were 200 Leagues in Extent; one of these, within 12 Leagues of the Harbour, was 50 Leagues in Circuit. They were in 15°. 40′. S. Lat. the Air fine and healthy, and the Serenas not dangerous; they took Possession of it, and kept their Whitsuntide there.

In another Memorial to the King of Spain, which is preserved in the original Spanish, he says, that in the South is concealed the fourth Part of the Globe, that they discovered many Islands, and mentions 20 of the Names of them. Joined to them are three Countries called Australia de Spiritu Sancto, in which is the Bay of St. Philip and James, and Harbour of Vera Cruz abovementioned, where they staid with three Ships 36 Days. He believed they were all one Country, from their high and double Mountains, and by the Greatness of the River Jordan, which appeared from an Information lodged in Mexico, to which he refers.

He says further, that in the Isle Taumaco, which is 1250 Leagues from Mexico, they staid ten Days, and a Lord of that Island, who was called Tamay, a Man of Sense, Tall, and full bodied, his Colour was of Sea-ware, or reddish, grey-eyed, with a high Nose, his Beard and Hair curled, of a grave Aspect; he was of great Service to them with his People, in helping them to Water. He came on board, and conversed with Signs. He enquired of him if there were other Islands around them, and if inhabited; he named above sixty of them, and a great Country called Manicola; they lay from S. S. E. to N. E. To describe the large Islands he made large Circles, and smaller for the lesser Islands; and for the great Country he opened his Arms, and, pointing to the Sun, shutting his Eyes, and laying his Head upon his Hand so often, made out that it would be ten Weeks in sailing around them, in which were People of all Colours, some Friends, some Enemies, and Canibals, which he signified by biting his Arm. The next Day he saw many of his People in the Bay, who agreed in the same Account, and said they had Cows and Buffaloes, Fowl and Swine, which they signified by crowing and grunting, &c. to make them sensible of what they would express to them; and upon shewing them a Pearl, they said they had of them, and in every Thing told the Truth, and might be depended upon.

When they sailed from Taumaco they took four of the Natives with them, three were drowned in swimming, and the other they called Pedro came to Mexico, and after learning Spanish, upon asking him Questions, in different Companies, at different Times, he never varied once in his Account, or ever contradicted himself. He was a Native of an Island called Chicayana, greater than Taumaco, and four Days Sailing from it; he said it was leveller, and abounded more with Fruit; the Natives were most of his Indian Colour, with lank Hair; yet some were white, with red Hair; some Mullattoes, with half curled Hair, and some were woolly headed. In his Island were many Kinds of Oysters, with Pearl of several Sizes in shallow Water.

He said further, that three Days Sailing from Taumaco is another Island called Guatopo, greater than the other two, peopled with some as white as the common Spaniards, with red and black Hair. He said, that from another Island called Tucopia, at the Distance of 5 Days Sailing, is a great Country called Manicola, inhabited by many who were fair as well as Mullattoes; it was a high Country, full of Rivers, which could not be passed but in Canoes; he talked much of the Greatness, Fertility, and other Advantages of that Island; that he and other Indians went there in a great Canoe or Periagua, and he saw there a good Harbour of a straiter Entrance than that of Philip and James; that it was betwixt four Rivers, and that they might coast along that Country more Days than in going from Acapulco to Mexico without seeing the End of it; there he says are many Pearl Oysters.

In three Days Sailing with a stiff Gale from Taumaco is another Island called Fanofano; it is low and plain, in which were great Rivers, the Country very fertile and populous, and the Natives, some fair, and some Mullattoes. Near this are the Islands Pilar and Nupon; in all these are Pearl Oysters.

He said that in Taumaco was a grave Indian Pilot, who had been in many more Islands, and in one great Island called Pouro, where the People were warlike; he brought with him from thence some Fish-Gigs and Arrows, which had coloured Points; upon shewing him a Piece of Plate, he said the Points were of that Colour. Giros says, that in the Bay of Philip and James were many black Stones, very heavy, some of which he took to Mexico, in which, upon their being essayed, they found Silver. Upon shewing Pedro some of these, he said, that in Taumaco there was much of that Sort, which they called Teraque, and also in Manicola. When he came to be well understood in Spanish, he talked much of the populousness of their several Islands, and of the Variety of Colours in them, and of other great Countries South-east and West of them.

Giros says further, that in the Isles of Solomon, discovered by Alvares de Mandasia in his first Voyage, and in Santa Cruz in his second Voyage, many Pearls being found, and he himself seeing Mother of Pearl Shells in three of these Islands, added to these Pedro mentions, there are 15 Islands in which there are Pearls at no great Depth, and there must be large Pearls since there are large Shells to contain them. So much of Giros’s Discoveries are preserved in these two Memorials.

Gallego, sailing from New-Guinea towards Magellan’s Streights, was by Western Winds cast upon a Southern Country.

The next authentick Journal published of Discoveries made in the South-Seas, is that of Abel Tasman, a Dutchman, fitted out from Batavia the 14th of August, 1642. On the 5th of September he got into Maurice Island, in 20°. S. Lat. The 24th of October, in Lat. 42°. 25′. and Long. 163°. 50′. he saw Van Dieman’s Land, and sailed S. by E. along the Coast, to Lat. 44°. where the Land fell away East, and then N. E. They anchored in a Bay in Lat. 43°. 10′. on the first of December, and called it Frederick Henrick’s Bay; here they heard the Voices of Men, but saw none, and heard Musick like the Jew’s Harp; they saw the Traces of Beasts and fine Trees, but little or no Under-wood, all Marks of a cultivated Country, and that the People were under Government, and in some sort civilized. They sailed thence the 5th of December, designed for the Isles of Solomon, in Long. 195°. The 9th, in Lat. 42°. 37′. and Long. 176°. they had hollow Waves out of the South. The 13th, in Lat. 42°. 10′. and Long. 188°. 28′. they discovered a Country they called New-Zeland; they sailed North-eastward along it to Lat. 40°. 50′. where they anchored the 18th; the Inhabitants were strong, had a rough Voice, and blew upon an Instrument sounding like a Moorish-trumpet; their Colour was a brownish yellow, their Hair black, and thick, tied upon the Tops of their Heads; they had Mats, and Cotton Cloaths; their upper Parts were naked, the Land appeared to be very good. Upon sending their Shallop ashore, some of their Men were killed by the Natives, so they called the Place Murderers Bay. They endeavoured to sail East from that Bay, but had Land all around them, the Flood came from the South-east. The 26th they went away North, somewhat Westerly, to clear the Coast. January the 4th, in Lat. 34°. 35′. they got to the N. W. Cape, and had hollow Waves from N. E. here they saw the Isle they called of three Kings, and in it 35 tall, great Men, who had Sticks and Clubs. The 19th, in Lat. 22°. 35′. and Long. 204°, they saw an Island, two or three Miles round, they called Peelstreet Island, from the Number of these Fowls seen in it. The 20th they saw two Islands, in Lat. 21°. 10′, and Long. 205°. 29′. one they called Amsterdam Island, and the other Middleburgh; on the first they got Hogs, Fowl and Fruit, and met with peaceable and friendly Inhabitants; the Ebb there ran N. E. and Flood S. W. a South-west Moon made high Water, and it flowed 8 Foot. The 25th, in Lat. 20°. 15′ and Long, 206°. 19′. after seeing several small Islands, they came to an Isle they called Rotterdam Isle, where they also found peaceable Inhabitants; the Gardens were all laid out, divided and planted with Fruit-trees, and all other Lands improved.

In sailing from thence they saw many more Islands; the 16th of February they were in Lat. 17°. 29′. among eighteen or twenty Islands, Shoals and Rocks; they called them Prince William’s Isles, and Heemskirk’s Shoals. From the 8th of February in Lat. 15°. 29′. to March 2d, in Lat. 9°. 11′. and Long. 192°. 46′. they had rainy thick Weather, and variable Winds, undoubted Signs of being near Land; they had variable Winds and Weather until the 22d, when they had again fine Weather; and being then in South Lat. 5°. 2′. Long. 178°. 32′. they saw many Islands called Onthong Java, ninety Miles from New Guinea; May 12th, after seeing and stopping at many Islands, along and near the Coast of New Guinea, they arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in South Lat. 0°. 26′. and Long. 147°. 55′. and from thence they returned to Batavia, June 15th, in Lat, 6°. 12′. and Long. 127°. 18′. after a ten Months Voyage.

There are several other Islands laid down in the Sea Charts, published as well by the French as English, both to the Northward and Southward of the Line, which are said to be taken from the Discoveries made by the Spaniards traversing those Seas, when drove by Storms upon them; but as they never published their Voyages or Journals, I cannot tell whether they are sufficiently vouched, and therefore won’t mention them, nor those Islands Northwest of California, mentioned by Cox in his Carolana, which he says he took from a Manuscript Journal of a Privateer in those Seas, not having seen that Journal, and therefore doubt the Truth of it, he making these Islands to be civilized, and abounding in Gold. I shall only mention one Discovery more, made by Captain Davis in his Return from the South Sea, in Lat. 27°. 30′. as he was stretching Southward to get into the variable Winds Way, who saw Land in South Lat. 27°. about 500 Leagues from Copiapo in Chili, there was a small sandy Island just by him, and to the Westward and North-westward he saw a large Tract of Land as far as he could see; but being straitned in Time, and having no spare Provisions to double Cape Horn, and make so long a Voyage, he did not stop to observe the Country.

Since that Time no Attempts have been made that are published, or have come to my Hands, except that lately published in Holland, made by three Dutch Ships in 1721, fitted out by their West India Company, to find out that Southern Country in the South Sea; an Abstract of so much as is material I shall here give, altho’ the Longitudes they mention can’t be depended upon, being either incorrectly printed, or wrong laid down on Purpose by the Author, or Publisher, since they don’t correspond with each other, nor with any other Longitude taken from any other usual first Meridian.

These Ships sailed from Holland the 21st of August 1721 N. S. and after stopping at the Canaries, and at St. Sebastian in Brazil, they sail’d by Le Maire’s Streight round Cape Horn, and arrived at Mocha Isle in Chili the 10th of March following; they made no Stay there, but sail’d to Ferdinando’s Island in South Lat. 34°. and after refreshing there, sailed from thence the latter End of March N. W. and got into South Lat. 28°. and Long. 251°. as the Author has made it; but from what first Meridian, he takes his Account I can’t find out; there they expected to see the Land Davis saw, but did not, tho’ some of the Crew apprehended they saw some Land; (what he saw was in Lat. 27°.) but they had Symptoms of being near Land, for they saw great Numbers of Fowl, and among them many Teal; and had variable Winds, which are all Signs of Land in that Latitude. They sailed in that Parallel 12 Degrees West, and were in all that Course attended by many Land as well as Sea-fowl, until the 6th of April, being Easter-Day, when they saw an Island they called Easter Isle; which was sixteen Leagues in Circuit, in South Lat. 28°. 30′. it was full of Inhabitants of a brown Colour, tho’ some among them were black, white, and red. The Lands were all well cultivated, regularly divided and bounded, and laid out in Plots; they had Abundance of Fowl and Fruit, particularly Cocoas, and Indian Figs. The Inhabitants were peaceable, and had no hostile Weapons; they came on board them in Canoes, and invited them ashore; they observed they had Idols set up along the Coast, before whom they prostrated themselves next Morning; when they landed, they crowded about them, and being afraid of their Numbers, they were obliged to fire among them to make them to keep their Distance, by which one who had invited them to go ashore happened to be killed. They intended to have gone next Day ashore, and made some farther Discovery of the inward Part of the Island; but being in a Place open to the Sea, and having no good Anchorage, they were forced by high Winds to weigh Anchor, and were drove by the Wind and Current to Leeward of the Island, and tho’ they beat some time to Windward, they could not regain the Island.

Leaving that Island they quitted the Parallel, and in a little Time got into Lat. 15°. which they called the bad Sea of Schouten, in which Parallel he sailed many Days without seeing Land, yet they apprehended they were in the right Tract to find the Southern Land; but they sailed 300 Leagues, and so on to 800 Leagues, without Sight of Land; about the Middle of May they saw an Island in Lat. 15°. 45′. and Long. 280°. which they thought might be Schouten’s Isle of Dogs, but his being in Lat. 15°. 12′. they called it Carleshoff; the Wind changed to S. W. and drove them next Night to four Islands 12 Leagues West of Carleshoff, which they called Pernicious Isle, two Brothers, and Sister; they were low Islands, full of Trees, Cocoas, &c. where were many Oysters, Muscles, and Mother of Pearl Shells. Falling in with these Isles in the Night, they lost their smallest Ship, which kept a-head; they were five Days getting clear of these Islands, and saving their Men; four or five of them who had mutinied, got on Shore there and quit them; nor would they again come on board, tho’ they promised to pardon them.

These Islands were fully inhabited; the Natives were a large strong People; the Morning after they left these Islands, eight Leagues farther West, they discovered an Island four Leagues in Circumference, full of Trees, which they called Aurora or Morning Isle, and in the Evening saw another Island about 12 Leagues in Circuit, which was flat, and look’d very green with Trees, which they called Vespers, or Evening Isle; going Westward still, between Lat. 15°. and 16°. they at once discovered another Country, on all Sides full of Smokes, and well inhabited; and were engaged in a Number of Islands; here were six very pleasant, about 30 Leagues in Extent; they are 25 Leagues from Pernicious Isle; they called them the Labyrinth, being inclosed and engaged so among them, that with their winding and turning they could scarce get through them; as they found no good Anchorage, and no Inhabitants came off to them, they sailed on West, and in some Days saw an Island which appeared high and fine; they found no Anchorage, but sent their Sloop on Shore with twenty five Men; Crowds met them armed with Lances upon the Shore, so that they were obliged to fire upon them, and then landed to gather Herbs for their sick Men, and gave some Trifles to the Natives who assisted in gathering them; but attempting to do the same next Day, and going farther into the Island to view it, the Natives, with a Chief at their Head, decoy’d them on, and then in great Numbers fell upon them with Stones, wounded many of them, who being ill of the Scurvy afterwards died on board, and drove them to their Boats; they called this the Isle of Refreshment, because of the Benefits they found from the wholesome Herbs they found there; it is in Lat. 16°. and Long. 285°. about 12 Leagues in Circuit; it was very fertile, with many fine Trees; the Natives were well featur’d, had long black Hair, oil’d and shining; they were very active, the Men half clad with a Kind of Net, and the Women all cloathed with a Stuff as soft as Silk, with Ornaments of Mother of Pearl.

They quitted that Parallel of Latitude, and sailed N. W. giving up the Discovery to get to New Britain and the East Indies, as soon as they could, that they might not lose the easterly Monsoon, and in three Days were in Lat. 12°. and Long. 290°. they saw there many Islands at once, which appeared fine and agreeable, with green Trees; the Inhabitants met them with Fish, and many excellent Fruits, Cocoas, Indian Figs, &c. many Thousands came to the Shore, with Bows and Arrows; a Man of Distinction came on board, with a fair young Woman in a Boat, surrounded with many more; all the Inhabitants were white, but burnt with the Sun; they were peaceable and humane, were well cloathed, and not painted, like the others they had seen; they wore Silk Garments, and had a kind of Hats upon their Heads, and Bracelets of fine flowers about their Necks and Arms. The Islands were hilly, and were from 10 to 20 Miles in Circuit. They called these Bowman’s Isles; the Lands were cultivated and divided, and the People the most civilized, and the honestest they had seen in the South-Sea. There they were received like Angels, they had good Anchorage, and were all well refreshed, and might have had all their sick Men cured, but the Commanders being afraid of losing the Monsoon, tho’ they were mistaken by two Months; yet their Haste made them neglect to search and know these Islands more accurately, and many more they passed by in their Passage from thence. They sailed on N. W. and next Day saw two Islands, which they took to be Cocos and Traylors Isles, discovered by Schouten. Cocos was high, and about 8 Leagues in Circuit; the other was low and bare, in about 11°. S. Lat. Soon after they saw two very large Islands, they call’d one Teerhoven, and the other Groninghen; the last was so large, they imagined it might have been Part of the Continent; they look’d fine, and they coasted them a Day without seeing the End of them, so that they apprehended it to be a Part of Terra Australis. They saw other neighbouring Isles 150 Miles in Circuit; some were for landing, but the Haste they were in to gain the Monsoon, prevented them from landing, and they thought they would have been soon at New Britain, but they were mistaken, for they had many Days sailing before they arrived at it; at last they saw New Britain in S. Lat. 5°, it was full of Inhabitants, and look’d fine, it was mountainy, the Natives were of a yellow Colour; after a Storm they sailed N. W. and saw so many Islands they could not name nor number them; at last, in S. Lat. 2°. they came to Moa and Arimoa, so called by Schouten; they sailed from thence among numberless Islands, they called them 1000 Isles, the Natives were black, and were very bad People; they sailed along New Guinea 400 Leagues, which was very high Land, but fertile; at last, through innumerable Islands they arrived at Boere in South Lat. 2°. a Dutch Island, about 40 or 50 Leagues in Circumference, in September 1722.

These being all the Journals or Extracts I have met with that I can depend upon, relating to the Discoveries made in the Southern and Western Ocean of America; I shall from these, endeavour to shew in one View, what Regions or Islands have already been discovered by Europeans, and what Space in those Seas remain still undiscovered in that immense Tract, which comprehends at least one third Part of the Globe; in which we have Reason to believe, that many noble, rich, and populous Countries and Islands, are yet undiscovered to us in Europe, which might afford an extensive Trade to Britain, and open a new Market for our Manufactures, and vastly enlarge our Commerce and carrying Trade, and we might assist in civilizing numberless Nations, and afford them many Necessaries and Conveniencies, as well for Food as Cloathing, which they are now entirely unacquainted with, and at the same time improve Britain both in Wealth and in the Knowledge of Nations we are at present entirely Strangers to.

In making these Observations I shall begin with the more Northerly Latitudes, and proceed Southerly to the Southern Polar Circle.

From these Journals or Extracts, I don’t find that any Countries have been discovered by Europeans, except those seen by Gama in about N. Lat. 45°. to the Eastward of Japan, in all that great Tract betwixt Japan and California, from the Lat. of 38°. to the Polar Circle, unless those Islands mentioned by Cox in his Carolana, N. W. from Cape Blanco in California, be a real Discovery, in case the Manuscript Journal from which he took it was genuine; the Spaniards never exceeding that Latitude in sailing from Manila to Acapulco, unless Storms should force them out of their Course; and yet there is the greatest Presumption to believe, in so great a Tract, at least 1000 Leagues from the Lands of Jedso to America, and from Lat. 38°. to 65°. 540 Leagues, that there are great and populous Countries and Islands not yet discovered; as also all the N. W. of America from Cape Blanco in Lat. 43°. to the Polar Circle; and it seems to be confirmed from the Accounts given by De Gualle and Gemelli in their Journals, the first coming within 200 Leagues of California had no hollow Sea, and saw many Fish which are generally seen near Islands or Sea Coasts; and also from the Ducks, small Birds and Doves seen by Gemelli, as well as the Weeds, Trees and Fish, he saw some hundred Leagues from California, which were all Symptoms of their having been near Land.

From Lat. 35°. to 38°. I apprehend there are no Islands, from 200 Leagues East of Japan to California; for that being the general Course from Manila to America, the Spanish Ships, had there been any, had discovered them in their Passage.

From Lat. 29°. to 35°. I apprehend there may be several Islands. De Gualle saw many Islands Eastward of Japan, in Lat. 32°. and 33°. and sailing farther East, he saw many populous and rich Islands, some with Volcanos, which abounded with Gold, Cotton, and Fish; Gemelli mentions Rocks seen in Lat. 30°. and an Island said to be rich in Gold, and also another in Lat. 32°. called Rica de Plata; which, from their Names, and abounding in Gold, may be supposed to be well inhabited; he speaks also of another more easterly, called Donna Maria Laxara, in Lat. 31°.

Since few or no Ships have traversed that Ocean from Mexico and California, to the Philippines and China, betwixt the Latitude of Guam in 13°. 20′, and 35°. a Tract of above 400 Leagues in Extent from North to South, except some few who have been forced out of their Way by Storms; as the St. Joseph, upon an Island they called St. Sebastian in Lat. 18°. 20′. and the Fleet sent by Mendosa from Natividad, which discovered St. Thomas, and Nubleda or the Cloudy Island, in Lat. 17°. and Roca Partida, I may reasonably suppose, in so large a Tract, that there are many more Islands to be discovered, probably in those Latitudes, very rich, and as well inhabited as the Marian Islands, and the others discovered East of Japan. Spilbergen discovered some Islands in Lat. 18°. 19°. and 20°. within 100 Leagues of the American Coast; and the Duke and Dutchess of Bristol had Symptoms of Land from the Fish and Fowl they saw, and the Rain they had in the same Latitude; and Captain Shelvock saw an Island S. W. from Cape St. Lucas in California in Lat. 22°. but most of these Ships falling into the Parallel of Lat. 13°. as soon as they could, after leaving the American Coast, can give us no farther Account of what may be found in those Latitudes at any Distance from the American Coast.

For the same Reason, very little has been discovered betwixt the Line and N. Lat. 13°. Noort sailed West from America in N. Lat. 5°. but soon got into the Lat. of 13°. and therefore could make no Discovery, but near the American Coast. Lopez sailed from Natividad in N. Lat. 19°. and steered thence S. W. to Lat. 9°. in that Height looking for the Islands de los Reys, after sailing 50 Days West, he saw an Island of Fishermen, and many uninhabited Islands, and then changed his Course to Guam.

The Fleet sent by Mendosa, found the Isles de los Reys, and several other Islands in Lat. 10°; and Saavedra found les Jardines in the same Latitude; but all the Remainder of that Tract remains undiscovered.

From the Line to S. Lat. 9°. nothing as yet has been discovered, except an Island by Magellan in S. Lat. 5°. near the Ladrone Islands, as he crossed the Line to get to a Northern Latitude, and no other Ships came within 9 Degrees of the Line, until they were near the Coast of New Britain, except the Ship commanded by the Mestizo mentioned by Hackluit, who found out several rich Islands, one of which he called Monte de Plata, near the Islands of Solomon, so that all under and near the Line is yet undiscovered except the Gallopagos Islands under the Line, near the American Coast, which are uninhabited.

That Tract in the Southern Ocean from 9°. to 15°. S. Lat. is filled with great, rich, and populous Islands, and large Countries. The Isles of Solomon found by Mandana, 800 Leagues from Peru, in those Latitudes, in which were 11 great Islands, one with another, 80 Leagues in Circuit; Guadalcanal, one of them, being above 150 Leagues in Length, in which they found Gold and Spice, together with those discovered by Giros, extending to 15 Degrees Westward of Solomon’s Isles, twenty of which he gives Names to, seven of which extended 200 Leagues, all abounding in Pearl, and exceeding fruitful, one of them near Santa Cruz being 50 Leagues in Circumference; to which is joined a large Country called Australia de Spiritu Santo, having large and capacious Harbours and Rivers, being exceeding populous and civilized, abounding in Spice, Gold, Silver and Pearls.

Tasman, in the Western Part of that Ocean, and near the New Guinea Coast, found many Islands from Lat. 15°. to 22°. 35′. but the Eastern Part of that Parallel has never yet been discovered.

From the Lat. of 22°. 35′. to the Lat. of 34°. 35′. nothing has been discovered but the Island of Easter, in Lat. 28°. 30′. by the three Dutch Vessels in 1721, at no great Distance from America; nor is there any Thing discovered from that to the Southern Polar Circle, except so much of New Zealand as Tasman sailed along from Lat. 34°. 35′. to 42°. 10′. a Country very populous and warlike; some Accounts mention that Giros had coasted a Country from the Height of the Magellanick Streights to Lat. 17°. but that is doubtful, and not supported by his own Memorials, or any other authentick Account; so that the greatest Part of that vast Tract in the Southern Temperate Zone, is yet undiscovered, tho’ there is the greatest Presumption that there are, in so great a Tract, very great, rich, and populous Countries and Islands, very capable of Trade, and of being civilized and improved.

From the Numbers of People in New Zealand discovered by Tasman, and in the Islands discovered by Schouten, and the three Dutch Vessels, and the large Countries and Islands discovered by Giros; and also the Isles of Solomon and those of de las Marquisas; and from the different Colours and Mixtures among them, as black, Copper-colour’d, brown, yellow, and white, it is highly probable that they are a mixed Breed from many different Countries and Islands, adjacent to those discovered; for since the Canoes and Vessels seen with them were small, except some large Periaguas mentioned by Giros, which held a hundred People, and the double Canoe seen by Schouten, which held 23 Persons; it is probable that these Isles and Countries are almost contiguous, and that a considerable Continent is in the Temperate Zone, South-westward of America; the Country seen by Tasman being near 500 Miles long, confirms this; and the Numbers of warlike People, and their Use of Trumpets, shews that they were civilized, and belong’d to a populous State, which encouraged them to resist the Dutch when they attempted to land, otherwise their Fire-arms must have struck a Terror into them.

From the variable Winds and Rain in Lat. 28°. and the Number of Land and Sea Fowl which accompanied the three Dutch Ships for 2 or 300 Leagues, we may conclude they were near some Sea Coast until they came to the Isle of Easter; and had they continued in that Parallel, they might probably have discovered that Southern Country; but by quitting that Latitude, and falling into Lat. 15°. where Schouten had before found an open Sea, with only a few Islands in it; they sailed from that Southern Land, and so missed the Country they went to discover.

The Tract betwixt S. Lat. 9°. and N. Lat. 13°. having never yet to our Knowledge been discovered, except the Isles de los Reys, and the Island of Fishermen, and some uninhabited Islands near the Ladrones, we have the same Reason to believe that there may be rich and populous Islands there, as well as in those Seas which have been attempted, where Discoveries have been made; for I find no Account of any Ships sailing between these two Parallels, except the Ships that cross’d the Line in sailing towards Mexico, after finding out the Isles of Solomon, and these Ships endeavouring to shape their Course to Mexico the shortest Way, must cross this Tract from South to North, sailing upon a Wind to get out of the Trade Wind, which was against them, and had consequently very little Chance to make any Discovery in their Passage.

The Reason why this great Tract in the richest Climate in the Globe is not yet discovered, I take to be this; That most of our Navigators have shunned sailing near, or under, the Line, from a mistaken Notion, that the Equator was more liable to Calms, Rains and Tornado’s, than other more distant Latitudes; because it so happens, that upon the Guinea and African Coast the Line is so situated, as to be in the Eddy between the Land-wind and Trade, which occasions these Calms, Rains and Tornado’s; and the Spaniards also find it so upon the American Coast, in the South-Sea, under the Line, for the same Reason; but it is not so under the Line near the River of Amazons, where the true Trade blows, nor at a proper Distance from the Western Coast of Africa, nor in the South-Sea more Westerly, where the Trade-wind prevails; for there it will blow as fresh as in any Part betwixt the Tropicks, unless there should be many Islands more Westerly under the Line, and then they would have the regular Land and Sea-breeze, or if interrupted, as in India, by many very large Islands, then they would have regular Monsoons, as they have in India.

If therefore we should attempt to discover these Seas near, and under, the Line, I make no doubt but we should discover Islands equally abounding in Spice and other rich Commodities as any in India. I make no doubt but many Islands may be found in the Northern Seas, from Lat. 13 to 35°. as populous as those to the Southward, tho’ we have no Account of them at present from the Spaniards, who discovered some of them, since in the Marian Islands, and those Eastward of Japan, they are all inhabited, and very populous; nor can there be the least Doubt but those Countries, from Lat. 40°. to the Polar Circle, are as well peopled as those in the same Latitudes in Asia and America.

If then an easy Passage should be found by Sea from Hudson’s Bay to that vast Western Ocean, and a Trade to it be open’d to all the Merchants in Britain, it may, from the foregoing Discoveries and Observations, plainly appear, that a most extensive, as well as beneficial Commerce, would be laid open to Britain, preferable to any other Nation in Europe; for we are already in Possession of all the Trade carried on through the Streights, and in the Bay of Hudson; and also all the Trade to be found through the Bay, which has been given up to us by the French in the Treaty of Utrecht; and therefore we have a legal Right, by that Treaty, to prevent the French from having any Benefit by that Passage; and we shall have a Right against the Dutch, Swedes, and Danes, as first Discoverers, besides the Advantage of settling in the most convenient Situations and Harbours on the other Side of the Passage, which will be of great Benefit in carrying on our Commerce in those Seas: Besides, by the unaccountable Behaviour of the Hudson’s Bay Company, the Government and Parliament have a just and legal Right to lay open that Trade to all the Merchants in Britain, as it is at present a Monopoly granted only by Charter from King Charles the II. without any Act of Parliament for it, as I have already mentioned; besides, if they had a Right, they have intirely forfeited that Right by Law, in not fulfilling the Intention of the Grant, which was chiefly to encourage them to find out the Passage North-west to the Western Ocean, which is the Prayer of their Petition, upon which their Charter was founded, and is so expressed in their Charter: This they have not only neglected to do, but have concealed the Knowledge, or Presumptions they had of it, as much as possible; and have not only chican’d when applied to, but have actually, by Letter from their Governor, refused to look for it, when applied to upon that Account, and have also discouraged the Attempts of others, not only by concealing the Navigation into those Seas, by obliging their Captains, under a Penalty, not to make or publish any Charts or Journals of those Seas and Coasts, or Voyages thither, but also by having laid all the Difficulties they durst upon the King’s Ships lately sent upon the Discovery, having claimed and taken from Captain Middleton an Indian Boy, whom he had brought to England, and having learned the English Tongue, would have proved a good Interpreter, and made his Clerk a Governor of one of their Factories to induce him to leave him, and also sent away their Ships a Month earlier than usual, to lie in the Orkneys, lest he should have got any of the Sailors who had been accustomed to, and acquainted with, that Navigation; but even went farther, to tempt the Captain, if he is to be believed, to quit the King’s Service, and not to attempt the Discovery, and offered him 5000 l. either to return into their Service, or look for it in Davis’s Streight, or Baffin’s Bay, and not look for it in Hudson’s Bay at the Welcome, alledging it would cost the Company so much to support their Right against the Crown, and as he had been their Friend, and knew all their Concerns, it would be better to give him that Sum than to give it to the Lawyers. When they found him Proof against their Bribery, they then thought to distress him another Way, by writing to their Governor at Churchill, which was the most convenient Harbour for the King’s Ships to winter in, and was nearest to the Passage, not to receive him into their Port; and afterwards, when the Company were applied to by the Lords of the Admiralty, to allow him to winter there, if it was necessary for him, and to give him what Assistance they could in supplying his Wants, which they would thankfully repay the Company in London. After deliberating some Time upon an Answer, they wrote to the Lords of the Admiralty, that they had sent such a Letter as their Lordships desired to their Governor at Church-hill, and dispatched it by Post to their Ships at the Orkneys. This being no way satisfactory to Captain Middleton, who had been informed of their Letter to their Governor not to admit him, he applied for a Duplicate, to carry it with him, in case the other should miscarry, there being no settled Post to the Orkneys; upon which they gave him a Duplicate sealed up, and upon Application a Copy of it, to know what it contained, which was in these Words:

Upon so extraordinary a Discovery of the Inclinations of the Company to baffle the Attempt of finding out the Passage, and to discourage Captain Middleton from prosecuting the Discovery, the Lords of the Admiralty thought it necessary to apply to the Lords of the Regency, that the Secretary of State might, by their Orders, write to the Company, to require that Assistance which they refused to the Admiralty, which was sent; and upon that the Company gave a Letter to the Captain in a more humane and friendly Stile; but, in consequence of their Offer, it is plain that he stifled and disguised the Discovery of the Passage. By this it is evident that the Company believe there is a Passage, which they want to conceal; for otherwise it had been their Interest to have had the Attempt made, and if not found, there would have been an End to the prosecuting it any farther; and they might probably have enjoyed their Trade to the Bay, without its being coveted, or enquired into. Upon the Presumption therefore of this Passage, I shall mention what beneficial Commerce may be laid open upon this Discovery’s being made.

The first that appears is upon the North-west Coast of America, from the Welcome, or Ne Ultra, in Lat. 65°. to Cape Blanco, in California, in Lat. 43°. In this is contained 22°. of Latitude, and at least 30°. in Longitude, besides the Inlets that may be in those Seas into the North-west Coast of America, a Tract of at least 600 Leagues, which abounds with Furs, Skins and Copper, and probably with other rich Commodities.

By all the Accounts transmitted to us from the Spaniards upon the first Discovery of New Mexico, and the Countries of Cibola and Quivira, North-westward of it, we have reason to believe that there are many populous, civilized, and industrious Nations, from the Latitude of 38°. North, to the Latitude of 50°. or more Northerly, on the North-west of the Continent of America; which Accounts are of late confirmed by Lahontan, and by Cox, if his Account may be depended upon, in which they severally agree that there are great trading Nations upon large Rivers and Lakes, which discharge their Waters into the Western Sea, in which they have great Vessels for Trade, which is carried on upon that Coast. This is now confirmed by the Natives Westward of Churchill, who having been there, informed them that they saw upon the Western Coast, almost in the same Latitude of Churchill (Lat. 59°.) many trading Ships, as large as ours, from whom they got Copper Oar, and Copper, which they produced to them at Churchill, within these few Years. I think therefore a short Abstract of the Spanish Account, and also of Lahontan’s, may be properly inserted in this Place.

In the Year 1537, some Friars travelling Northward from Mexico, as Missionaries to instruct and civilize the Natives, and make Discoveries, went as far North as Cibola, in about Lat. 37°. and upon their Return gave so fine an Account of that Country, and those through which they passed, affirming that there were large Cities, the Houses 3 or 4 Stories high, built of Lime and Stone, which were very rich, abounding in Turquoises and rich Mines; that it encouraged the Viceroy to send Vasques de Coronado, with a large Body of Horsemen, and others, to make a further Discovery, and to subdue them, and make a Settlement; and in 1539 he sent two Ships, commanded by Francis de Ulloa, to discover the Gulph and Coast of California, and the Year following Ferdinand Alarchon sailed the same Course, to discover that Gulph by Sea, whilst Coronado was to travel by Land, and, if possible, to correspond with each other, Coronado being supposed not to travel far from the Sea-coast.

Coronado either went a different Rout from the Friars, until he got to Cibola, or found the Country he passed through quite different from what the Friars had represented it; and when he came there, found the Towns neither so rich nor populous as the Friars had given out. They had Stone and Lime Houses 3 or 4 Stories high, and went into the upper Stories by Ladders; but they found very few Turquoises or other rich Metals among them. He push’d farther Northwards, towards Quivira, and Westward, where he found the Country better improved, and the People more industrious, and better civilized, and sent Don Garcias Lopez de Cardenas as far as the Western Sea; the Country was very temperate, and abounded with fruit there; they said they saw Ships on the Coast which had Alcatrazas or Pelicans of Gold and Silver on their Prows, which had Merchandize; they apprehended them to be from China, having been above 30 Days in sailing thither, as they made appear by Signs to the Spaniards.

Coronado sending so indifferent an Account of Cibola, which the Spaniards said was occasioned from his just having married a young Wife, and his being apprehensive, that if he made a Settlement, the Viceroy would oblige him to stay there; and afterwards dying upon the Road as he was returning, the Spaniards for many Years did not renew the Attempt. Alarchon, at the same time, by Sea, in about Lat. 35°. got to the very Head of the Gulph of California, where both Ulloa and he found a Tide, which flowed from the Southward, which rose 6 Fathoms, he coming on Ground upon the Falling of the Tide, thought he had lost his Ship; but it soon after floating with the Tide of Flood, he got into a great River, moored his Ship, and in his Boat went up the River about 85 Leagues, finding numerous Nations of humane and civil People, and at last got some Account of Cibola and Coronado, which was ten Days Journey from the Place he was at. He thence returned to his Ships, and from thence to Acapulco; he called the River Buena Guia. These two Voyages ascertains California to be a Part of the Continent, they having had the Land in view on both Sides until it closed in that River.

The Spaniards discontinued the further Discovery of Cibola and Quivira until the Year 1582, when it was again undertaken by Antonio de Vespejo, from St. Bartholomew in Mexico, by the Rio del Nord, or North River, a very large River, which runs from the North through New Mexico, and falls into the Gulph of Mexico, Westward of the Mississippi. He set out the 10th of November, 1582. In two Days Journey he reached the Conchas Indians, who conducted him 24 Leagues North. He then got to the Passaquetes, who went with him four Days Journey in a Country rich in Silver Mines. A Day’s Journey farther he got to Tobosas. 12 Leagues farther he got to others called Jumanos, a numerous People, in Stone and Lime Houses. They travelled on 12 Leagues along the North River, still Northward, and got to another Nation cloathed in Shamois Skins, and covered with Cotton Mantles; these conducted them five Days Journey Westward, to a Country full of Silver Mines. They went thence higher up the River to another populous Nation, 15 Days Journey West; they were told there was a great Lake, the Coast of which was full of populous Towns, but they went not to it, but proceeded Northward 15 Days, above 80 Leagues, through Woods and Plains, upon the same River, until they got to New Mexico, so named by them. Two Days further they got to 10 Towns upon the same River, well inhabited by 10000 People, well cloathed, who lived in high Houses with Stoves; they had Cotton and Deer Skin Cloaths, with Shoes and Boots, and arable Lands. From thence they went to the Province of Tigues, who having some time before kill’d two Friars, they fled from them. The Captain and two of his Men went to another Province, near Cibola, where there were 40000 People; they then went to the Quiros, where there were 14000, in Lat. 37°. 30′. 14 Leagues farther they arrived at Cunanes, or Punanes, where were 5 Towns, one called Cia, which had 8 Market Places; the Houses were plaistered and painted; in this were 20000 Inhabitants, these were civilized, and better governed and cloathed; here were rich Metals. 6 Leagues farther they came to another Province of 7 Towns, containing about 30000 Inhabitants, these were also well governed and civilized. 15 Leagues further West they found another Town called Acoma, situated upon a Rock, containing 6000 People, clad as the others in Cottons and Shamois Skins. 24 Leagues farther West they came to Zuni, called by them Cibola, where Coronado had been above 40 Years before; there they found three Indian Christians, who had been there from that Time, who told them, that 60 Days Journey farther was a great Lake, upon the Banks of which were many large populous Towns, rich in Gold. Coronado had gone 12 Days Journey towards it, but wanting Water returned, designing to go again, but died upon his Return, as is mentioned before. The Captain, with nine Men, designed to go and make this Discovery, the rest returning. After he had travelled 28 Leagues West, he found a great Province, which contained above 50000 People, who sent to him not to enter their Country, but they afterwards received him kindly, and gave him many Presents. Those confirmed the Account he had before of the great Lake, and the Riches of the Towns about it; he left here five of his Men to return to Zuni, and rode Post with four to see some rich Mines which they told him of, and travelling with his Guides 45 Leagues West, he got to the Place, and took out very rich Oar from the Mine. Here were peaceable Indians, and two pretty large Rivers, where were fine Vines, Walnut-trees, and Flax. The Men, by Signs, told them, that beyond these Mountains there was a great River, 8 Leagues wide, but could not find out how far it was to it, but said it run into the North-Sea, and that upon its Banks were great Towns, to which their own, when compared to them, were but small Hamlets. He returned from thence to Mexico.

Ludovicus Tribaldus wrote from Valadolid to Richard Hackluit, in 1605, that Don John de Onate in the Year 1599, went with 5000 People to conquer those Countries 500 Leagues from Mexico; that he took the Town of Acoma in about Lat. 32°. 40′. after that he proceeded Northwards to another great City, which he obliged to submit; and after that came to another which was greater, which he through Friendship induced to submit to him; he afterwards built a City near Cibola, which he called St. John’s Town, and finding rich Mines there, they resolved to settle. In 1602 he undertook a new Discovery of the great Northern River, which at length he accomplished, and went from thence to the famous Lake called the Lake of Conibas, where he pretended he saw a City of vast Extent, seven Leagues long, and two wide, the Houses separated from each other, and finely built and ornamented, with fine Gardens; he said the numerous Inhabitants had all retired at his Approach, and fortified themselves in the Market-place or great Square; upon which not daring to attack them, he returned to St. John’s Town, and lived there happily. This latter Part seems to have the Air of a Romance.

Lahontan sailing up the long River in 1688 and 1689, found the Gnacsitares more civilized than the more easterly Indians near the Mississippi, and the Mosemleek Nation at the Foot of the Hills on the West Side, where the Rivers take their Rise which fall into the Western Sea, were much more civilized than the Gnacsitares, they were cloathed and had Beards, and their Hair came down to their Ears, and had as grave an Aspect as Spaniards; these last told him, at the Distance of 150 Leagues from the Place he was in, their River discharged itself into a great Salt Lake 300 Leagues in Circumference, where it was two Leagues wide; that on the lower Part of the River were six large noble Cities, surrounded with Stone, cemented with fat Earth; that there were 100 Towns great and small around the Lake; they had upon it large Vessels 130 Foot long, with which they navigated that Lake, the Inhabitants made Stuffs, Copper Axes, and other Manufactures; the Government was despotick; they were called Tahuglauk, and said, in their Way of Speech, they were as numerous as the Leaves upon the Trees; they had Leather and make Boots of it; the Lake is 30 Leagues broad, stretching to the Southward. The Tahuglauk had Beards two Inches long, Coats down to their Knees, had sharp Caps on their Heads, had Canes with tip’d Heads, and Boots; the Women did not shew themselves; they were at War with several populous Nations near the Lake, and in its Neighbourhood.

Cox in his Carolana says the Yellow River, or River of the Massorites, has its Source in the same Hills with the long River, on the West Side of which, after a Day’s Journey, are Springs, which form a great River, which falls into the great Lake mentioned by Lahontan, the Indians affirming that there are great Ships sailing in that Lake, twenty times larger than their Canoes; that this Lake forms another River below it, which is discharged into the Western Sea.

Cox says farther, that he had a Journal communicated to him in Manuscript, by which, if genuine, it appeared that one Captain Coxton, in King Charles the Second’s Time, Commander of a Privateer cruizing for the Manila Ship, being too soon at California by some Months, sailing Northwards, discovered a great River in N. Lat. and within it a great Lake; near the Entrance he found a convenient Island to refit his Ship in, and staid there two or three Months; he happened to have a Man on board who understood their Language; he was kindly received by them, when they understood he was an Enemy to the Spaniards; he called them the Nation of Thoya; they often engage the Spaniards and beat them, bringing 30 or 40000 Men into the Field. At the proper Season they sailed W. by S. and came to five Islands, about 50 or 60 Miles each in Compass, one he touch’d at was called Earinda or Carinda, they supplied him with Provisions, and 86 Pound Weight of Gold, in Truck for his Commodities, in three or four Days Time; they said they had no more then, supplying themselves only at a certain Season, when Ships came to trade with them from the West, supposed by him from Japan. So far Cox, if he is to be credited.

On the Right or Starboard Side of the Passage, it is highly probable that there are many great Countries, in a Tract of above 13 or 1400 Leagues betwixt Ne ultra and Japan; which is in Lat. 38°. which would afford a vast Variety in Trade, to return for the Woollen and Iron Manufactures, and other Goods which they would necessarily take from Britain, in those temperate or cold Climates.

The Peninsula of California, from Cape Blanco in Lat. 43°. to Cape St. Lucas in Lat. 23°. 30′. a Coast of above 400 Leagues, and also within the Gulph higher than the Latitude of 34°. where it terminates in a great River navigable for some hundred Miles into the Country of Cibola and Quivira, populous and civilized Nations; and also the East Coast of the Gulph, of near 300 Leagues Extent, of which no Part is possess’d by the Spaniards; so large a Coast and Country will in some time open a considerable Trade to us.

The Trade along the Mexican and Guatimala Coast, and Terra Firma, as far as Panama, nay even as far as Peru and Chili, would then be within the Circle of our Commerce in Time of Peace; and open to our Depredations in Time of War, which would induce the Spaniards to live upon good Terms with us.

On the other Hand, we should be able to open a Trade to Japan and China, an easier and shorter Way, as well as the rich Islands in the Neighbourhood of Japan, which would afford a very extensive Trade; for the Emperor of Japan would find it his Interest to trade with us upon equitable Terms; for they being very bad Sailors, our Ships might distress them, and cut off their Communication from the rich Islands they trade to, Eastward of them, in case they us’d us as Enemies, and refused us an equitable Trade; since Furs are highly valued in Japan and China, the Fur Trade in North America, and the cold Countries betwixt it and Japan, when discovered, would afford us a very great Fund for that Trade, besides what European Goods would be wanted there.

The Philippine and Spice Islands would be within the Circle of our Trade, and we might probably find out other Spice Islands, equally beneficial to trade with, as those possessed by the Dutch, since there are a vast Number of Islands Eastward of the Dutch Spice Islands, in the same Latitudes; and both Mandana and Giros in their Discoveries of the Isles of Solomon, and the other Islands, say expresly, that they saw in them Cloves, Nutmegs, Ginger and Cinnamon; and if to these Islands we add that vast Tract yet undiscovered on each Side of the Line, and beyond these from S. Lat. 15°. to the Lat. of 66°. it can’t easily be conceived how extensive that Trade may prove; being a Space almost equal to all I have already named, extending from New Guinea to Chili, about 2000 Leagues, and from the Lat. of 60° South, only to 40°. North, 2000 Leagues; which is almost a Square of 2000 Leagues; a most immense Tract, almost equal to the Continent of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

If then a Discovery should be made of this Passage, to carry on so vast a Trade to Advantage, a considerable Settlement should be immediately made in California, or rather upon some convenient Island near that Coast, in case one should be found with a safe and capacious Harbour, with Woods and proper Materials for supplying and refitting of Ships; the Isle of Cenisas or Carras, or Isle of Cedars, or any on that Coast which may be found proper, these being in a fine Latitude, betwixt 28°. and 32°. or the Port of Montery in Lat. 37°. That Settlement should be made the Rendezvous for all Ships going from, or returning to Europe, where Ships should stop for Refreshments, and to be refitted before they proceed farther, or return to Europe; and should be the Head Settlement, as Batavia is to the Dutch in India, and from hence the Trade might Spread to Asia, India, Mexico and Peru; and from this Place the Islands in the great South Sea might be discovered, and a Commerce be begun with them. After this Settlement is made secure, another should be formed in a Southern Latitude, about 30°. about 7 or 800 Leagues from the American Coast, perhaps the Isle of Easter, or some other Island with a good Harbour and fruitful Soil, where the Natives are peaceable and humane, and from thence a further Discovery Southerly and Westerly, and a Trade, may be begun with these Regions, as well as with those nearer the Line; so that those two Settlements would be as two Centres, the one for the Southern, and the other for the Northern Countries and Islands dispersed through those Seas; when these were made, if the only true and laudable Method was followed, of civilizing and assisting the Natives, and putting them upon proper Improvements in their several Countries and Islands, suitable to their different Climates, that might be beneficial to themselves, and proper for Trade; the English might be the Carriers of all those Nations, which would give them an immense Profit, and furnish them with all our Manufactures, and such other European Commodities as they should want, without being at any great Expence of People, to settle other Countries in those Seas: Here would be Room for Improvements in Trade for Ages to come, and would give full Employment to our Manufacturers, and Merchants in Britain, and a perpetual Return of Wealth; and at the same Time we should civilize and make happy numberless Nations, and bring them, by Degrees, to be capable of knowing divine Truths.

harles the II. by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. to all to whom these Presents shall come, greeting: Whereas Our dear intirely beloved Cousin, Preamble, Names and Qualities, of the Patentees. Prince Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria and Cumberland, &c. George, Duke of Albemarle, William, Earl of Craven, Henry, Lord Arlington, Anthony, Lord Ashley, Sir John Robinson, and Sir Robert Vyner, Knights and Baronets, Sir Peter Colleton, Baronet, Sir Edward Hungerford, Knight of the Bath, Sir Paul Neele, Sir John Griffith, Sir Philip Carteret, and Sir James Hayes, Knights, John Kirke, Francis Millington, William Prettyman, John Fenn, Esquires, and John Portman, Citizen and Goldsmith of London, have, at their own great Cost and Charges, undertaken an Expedition for Hudson’s Bay, in the North-west Parts of America, for the Discovery of a new Passage into the South-Sea, and for the finding of some Trade for Furs, Minerals, and other considerable Commodities, and by such their Undertaking, have already made such Discoveries as do encourage them to proceed farther in Pursuance of their said Design, by means whereof there may probably arise great Advantage to Us and Our Kingdoms.

And whereas the said Undertakers, for their farther Encouragement in the said Design, have humbly besought Us to incorporate them, and grant unto them, and their Successors, the whole Trade and Commerce of all those Seas, Streights and Bays, Rivers, Lakes, Creeks and Sounds, in whatsoever Latitude they shall be, that lie within the Entrance of the Streights commonly called Hudson’s Streights, together with all the Lands, Countries and Territories, upon the Coasts and Confines of the Seas, Streights, Bays, Lakes, Rivers, Creeks and Sounds, aforesaid, which are not now actually possessed by any of Our Subjects, or by the Subjects of any other Christian Prince or State.

Now now ye, That We being desirous to promote all Endeavours that may tend to the publick Good of Our People, and to encourage the said Undertaking, have, of Our especial Grace, certain Knowledge, and mere Motion, given, granted, ratified and confirmed, and by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, do give, grant, ratify and confirm, unto Our said Cousin Prince Rupert, George, Duke of Albemarle, William, Earl of Craven, Henry, Lord Arlington, Anthony, Lord Ashley, Sir John Robinson, Sir Robert Vyner, Sir Peter Colleton, Sir Edward Hungerford, Sir Paul Neele, Sir John Griffith, Sir Philip Carteret, and Sir James Hayes, John Kirke, Francis Millington, William Prettyman, John Fenn, and John Portman, that they, and such others as shall be admitted into the said Society as is hereafter expressed, shall be one Body Corporate and Politique, in Deed and in Name, by the Their Title, The Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson’s Bay. Name of The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson’s Bay, and them by the Name of The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson’s Bay, one Body Corporate and Politique, in Deed and in Name, really and fully for ever, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do make, ordain, constitute, establish, confirm and declare, by these Presents, and that by the same Name of Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson’s Bay, they shall have perpetual Succession, and that they and their Successors, by the Name of Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson’s Bay, be, and at all Times hereafter shall be, personable and capable in Law to have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy and retain, Lands, Rents, Privileges, Liberties, Jurisdiction, Franchises and Hereditaments, of what Kind, Nature or Quality soever they be, to them and their Successors; and also to give, grant, alien, assign and dispose Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments, and to do, execute all and singular other Things by the same Name that to them shall or may appertain to do. And that they, and their Successors, by the Name of The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson’s Bay, may plead, and be impleaded, answer, and be answered, defend, and be defended, in whatsoever Courts and Places, before whatsoever Judges and Justices, and other Persons and Officers, in all or singular Actions, Pleas, Suits, Quarrels and Demands, whatsoever, of whatsoever Kind, Nature or Sort, in such Manner and Form as any other Our Liege People of this Our Realm of England, being Persons able and capable in Law, may, or can have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy, retain, give, grant, demise, alien, assign, dispose, plead, defend, and to be defended, do, permit, and execute. And that the said Governor and Company of Adventurers Power for the said Company to make a common Seal, and to break or alter it. of England, trading into Hudson’s Bay, and their Successors, may have a common Seal to serve for all the Causes and Businesses of them and their Successors, and that it shall and may be lawful to the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, the same Seal, from time to time, at their Will and Pleasure, to break, change, and to make anew, or alter, as to them shall seem expedient.

And furthermore, We will, and by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do ordain, that there shall be from henceforth A Governor and Committee to be chosen. one of the same Company to be elected and appointed in such Form as hereafter in these Presents is expressed, which shall be call’d The Governor of the said Company.

And that the said Governor and Company shall and may elect seven of their Number in such Form as hereafter in these Presents is expressed, which shall be called The Committee of the said Company, which Committee of seven, or any three of them, together with the Governor or Deputy Governor of the said Company for the time being, shall have the Direction of the Voyages of and for the said Company, and the Provision of the Shipping and Merchandizes thereunto belonging, and also the Sale of all Merchandizes, Goods, and other Things returned, in all or any the Voyages or Ships of or for the said Company, and the managing and handling of all other Business, Affairs and Things, belonging to the said Company. And We will, ordain and grant by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, that they the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, shall from henceforth for ever be ruled, ordered and governed, according to such Manner and Form as is hereafter in these Presents expressed, and not otherwise: And that they shall have, hold, retain and enjoy, the Grants, Liberties, Privileges, Jurisdictions and Immunities, only hereafter in these Presents granted and expressed, and no other. And for the better Execution of Our Will and Grant in this Behalf, We have assigned, nominated, constituted and appointed, by these Presents for us, Our Heirs and Successors, and We do assign, nominate, constitute and make, our said Cousin, Prince Rupert, to be the first and present Governor of the said Company, and to continue in the said Office from the Date of these Presents until the 10th November then Prince Rupert, the first Governor, to continue to the 10th November, 1670. The Names of the first Committee, to continue to the said 10th of November, 1670. next following, if he, the said Prince Rupert, shall so long live, and so until a new Governor be chosen by the said Company in Form hereafter expressed. And also We have assigned, nominated and appointed, and by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do assign, nominate and constitute, the said Sir John Robinson, Sir Robert Vyner, Sir Peter Colleton, Sir James Hayes, John Kirke, Francis Millington, and John Portman, to be the seven first and present Committees of the said Company, from the Date of these Presents until the said 10th of November then also next following, and so until new Committees shall be chosen in Form hereafter expressed.

And farther, We will and grant by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, unto the said Governor and their Successors, that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company for the Time being, or the greater Part of them present, at any publick Assembly commonly called, The Court General to be holden for the said Company, the Governor of the said Company Power to elect a Deputy Governor. being always one, from time to time to elect, nominate and appoint one of the said Company to be Deputy to the said Governor; which Deputy shall take a corporal Oath, before the Governor and three more of the Committee of the said Company for the Time being, well, truly, and faithfully to execute his said Office of Deputy to the Governor of the said Company, and after his Oath so taken, shall and may from time to time, in the Absence of the said Governor, exercise and execute the Office of Governor of the said Company, in such Sort as the said Governor ought to do.

And farther, We will and grant by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, unto the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson’s Bay, and their Successors, that they, or the greater Part of them, whereof the Governor Election of the future Governor to be between the first and last Days of November yearly. for the Time being, or his Deputy to be one, from time to time, and at all Times hereafter, shall and may have Authority and Power, yearly and every Year, between the first and last Day of November, to assemble and meet together in some convenient Place, to be appointed from time to time by the Governor, or in his Absence by the Deputy of the said Governor, and the said Company for the Time being, and the greater Part of them which Manner of Election. then shall happen to be present, whereof the Governor of the said Company, or his Deputy for the Time being to be one, to elect and nominate one of the said Company, which shall be Governor of the said Company for one whole Year, then next following, which Person being so elected and nominated to be Governor of the said Company, as is aforesaid, before he be admitted to the Execution of said Office, shall take a corporal Oath before the last Governor, being his Predecessor or his Deputy, and any three or more of the Committee of the said Company for the Time being, that he shall from time to time, well and truly execute the Office of Governor of the said Company, in all Things concerning the same; and that immediately after the same Oath so taken, he shall and may execute and use the said Office of Governor of the said Company, for one whole Year from thence next following.

And in like Sort, We will and grant, That as well every one of the above named to be of the said Company or Fellowship, Each Member of the Company to take an Oath before the Governor or his Deputy. as all others hereafter to be admitted, or free of the said Company, shall take a corporal Oath before the Governor of the said Company, or his Deputy for the Time being, to such Effect as by the said Governor and Company, or the greater Part of them, in any publick Court to be held for the said Company, shall be in reasonable and legal Manner set down and devised, before they shall be allowed or admitted to trade or traffick as a Freeman of the said Company. And farther, We will and grant by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, That the said Governor, Election of a new Committee between the first and last Days of November yearly. or Deputy Governor, and the rest of the said Company, and their Successors for the Time being, or the greater Part of them, whereof the Governor or Deputy Governor, from time to time, to be one, shall and may from time to time, and at all Times hereafter, have Power and Authority yearly, and every Year, between the first and last Day of November, to assemble and meet together in some convenient Place, from time to time to be appointed by the said Governor, or in his Absence by his Deputy; and that they being so assembled, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and his Deputy, and the Company for the time being, or the greater Part of them, which then shall happen to be present, whereof the Governor of the said Company, or his Deputy for the Time being to be one, to elect and nominate seven of the said Company, which shall be a Committee of the said Company, as aforesaid, before they be admitted to the Execution of their Office, shall take a corporal Oath, before the Governor or his Deputy, and any three or more of the said Committee of the said Company, being the last Predecessors, that they, and every of them, shall well and faithfully perform their said Office of Committees in all Things concerning the same, and that immediately after the said Oath so taken, they shall and may execute and use their said Office of Committees of the said Company, for one whole Year from thence next following.

And moreover, Our Will and Pleasure is, and by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, that when, and as often as it shall happen, the Governor or Deputy Governor of the said Company for the Time being, at any Time within one Year after that he shall be nominated, elected, and sworn to the Office of the Governor of the said Company, as is aforesaid, to die or to Power to remove the Governor or Deputy Governor before their Year be expired. be removed from said Office, which Governor or Deputy Governor not demeaning himself well in his said Office, We will to be removeable at the Pleasure of the rest of the said Company, or the greater Part of them which shall be present at their publick Assemblies, commonly called, Their General Courts holden for the said Company, that then it shall, and so often may be, lawful to and for the Residue of the said Company for the Time being, or the greater Part of them, within a convenient Time, after the Death or Removing of any such Governor, or Deputy Governor, to assemble themselves in such convenient Place as they shall think fit, for the Election of the Governor or Deputy Governor of said And elect others in their Room for the Remainder of that Year. Company; and that the said Company or the greater Part of them, being then and there present, shall and may, then and there, before their Departure from the said Place, elect and nominate one other of the said Company, to be Governor or Deputy Governor for the said Company, in the Place or Stead of him that so died or was removed; which Person being so elected and nominated to the Office of Governor or Deputy Governor of the said Company, shall have and exercise the said Office, for and during the Residue of the said Year, taking first a corporal Oath, as is aforesaid, for the due Execution thereof; and this to be done from time to time, so often as the Case shall so require.

And also, Our Will and Pleasure is, and by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do grant unto the said Governor and Company, that when, and as often as it shall happen, any Person or Persons of the Committee of the said Company for the Time being, at any Time within one Year next after that they or any of them shall be nominated, elected and sworn to the Office of Committee of the said Company as is aforesaid, to die or to be removed from the said Office, which Committee not demeaning Power also to remove any Member of the Committee. themselves well in their said Office, We will, to be removeable at the Pleasure of the said Governor and Company, or the greater Part of them, whereof the Governor of the said Company for the Time being, or his Deputy, to be one; that then, and so often, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor, and the rest of the Company for the Time being, or the greater Part of them, whereof the Governor for the Time being, or his Deputy, to be one, within convenient Time after the Death or removing of any of the said Committees, to assemble themselves in such convenient Place as is or shall be usual and accustomed for the Election of the Governor of the said Company, or where else the Governor of the said Company for the Time being, or his Deputy, shall appoint. And that the said Governor and Company, or the greater Part of them, whereof the Governor And elect another in his Room, and the like also in case of Death. for the Time being, or his Deputy, to be one, being then and there present, shall, and may, then and there, before their Departure from the said Place, elect and nominate one or more of the said Company, in the Place or Stead of him or them that so died, or was or were so removed, which Person or Persons so nominated and elected to the Office of Committee of the said Company, shall have and exercise the said Office, for and during the Residue of the said Year, taking first a corporal Oath as is aforesaid, for the due Execution thereof, and this to be done from time to time, so often as the Case shall require.

And to the End the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson’s Bay, may be encouraged to undertake, and effectually to prosecute the said Design, of Our more especial Grace, certain Knowledge, and mere Motion, We have The Grant of the Trade. given, granted and confirmed, and by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, do give, grant, and confirm, unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, the sole Trade and Commerce of all those Seas, Streights, Bays, Rivers, Lakes, Creeks And Territories to the said Company, with the Royalties of Fishing, &c. and Sounds, in whatsoever Latitude they shall be, that ly within the Entrance of the Streights commonly called Hudson’s Streights, together with all the Lands and Territories upon the Countries, Coasts and Confines of the Seas, Bays, Lakes, Rivers, Creeks and Sounds aforesaid, that are not already actually possessed by the Subjects of any other Christian Prince or State, with the Fishing of all Sorts of Fish, Whales, Sturgeons, and all other Royal Fishes, in the Seas, Bays, Inlets, and Rivers within the Premisses, and the Fish therein taken, together with the Royalty of the Sea upon the Coasts within the Limits aforesaid, and all Mines Royal, as well Mines and Minerals. discovered as not discovered, of Gold, Silver, Gems, and precious Stones, to be found or discovered within the Territories, Limits, The Plantation to be called Rupert’s Land. and Places aforesaid, and that the Land be from henceforth reckon’d and reputed as one of our Plantations or Colonies in America, call’d Rupert’s Land.

And further, We do by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and The first Company Lords Proprietors of said Land. Successors, make, create and constitute, the said Governor and Company for the Time being, and their Successors, the true and absolute Lords and Proprietors of the same Territories, Limits and Places aforesaid, and of all other the Premisses, saving always the Faith, Allegiance and Sovereign Dominion to Us, Our Heirs and Successors, for the same to have, hold, possess and enjoy the said Territories, Limits and Places, and all and singular other the Premisses, hereby granted as aforesaid, with their, and every of their Rights, Members, Jurisdictions, Prerogatives, Royalties and Appurtenances To hold the same for ever. whatsoever, to them the said Governor and Company, and their Successors for ever, to be holden of Us, Our Heirs and Successors, as of Our Mannor of East Greenwich in the County of Kent, in free and common Soccage, and not in Capite or by Knight’s Service; yielding and paying yearly to Us, Our Heirs and Successors, for the same, two Elks and two black Beavers, whensoever, and as often as We, Our Heirs and Successors, shall happen to enter into the said Countries, Territories and Regions hereby granted.

And farther, Our Will and Pleasure is, and by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and to their Successors, that it shall and may be lawful, to and for the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, from time to time, to assemble themselves, for or about Power for assembling the said Company. any the Matters, Causes, Affairs, or Businesses of the said Trade, in any Place or Places for the same convenient, within our Dominions or elsewhere, and to hold Court for the said Company, and the Affairs thereof; and that also, it shall and may be lawful to and for them, or the greater Part of them, being so assembled, and that shall then and there be present, in any such Place or Places, whereof the Governor or his Deputy for the Time being to be Who may make Laws for the Government thereof, and all their Forts, Plantations, Ships, &c. one, to make, ordain, and constitute, such, and so many reasonable Laws, Constitutions, Orders and Ordinances, as to them, or the greater Part of them being then and there present, shall seem necessary and convenient for the good Government of the said Company, and of all Governors of Colonies, Forts and Plantations, Factors, Masters, Mariners, and other Officers employed or to be employed, in any the Territories and Lands aforesaid, and in any of their Voyages; and for the better Advancement and Continuance of said Trade, or Traffick and Plantations, and the same Laws, Constitutions, Orders and Ordinances so made, to be put in Use and execute accordingly, and at their Pleasure to revoke and alter the same, or any of them, as the Occasion shall require: And that the said Governor and Company, so often as they shall make, ordain, or establish, any such Laws, Constitutions, Orders, and Ordinances, in such Form as aforesaid, shall and may lawfully impose, ordain, limit and provide, such Penalties and Punishments upon all Offenders, contrary to such Laws, Constitutions, Orders and Ordinances, or any of them, as to the said Governor and Company for the Time being, or the greater Part of them, then and there being present, the said Governor or his Deputy being always one, shall seem necessary or convenient for the Observation of the same Laws, Constitutions, Orders and Ordinances; and the same Fines and Amerciaments shall and may by their Officers and Servants, from time to time to be appointed for that Purpose, levy, take and have, to the Use of the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, without the Officers and Ministers of Us, Our Heirs and Successors, and without any Account thereof to Us, Our Heirs and Successors, to be made. All and singular which Laws, Constitutions, Orders and Ordinances, so as aforesaid to be The said Laws being reasonable, and not repugnant to the Laws of this Realm. made, We will to be duly observed and kept under the Pains and Penalties therein to be contained; so always as the said Laws, Constitutions, Orders and Ordinances, Fines and Amerciaments, be reasonable, and not contrary or repugnant, but as near as may be agreeable to the Laws, Statutes or Customs, of this Our Realm.

And farthermore, of our ample and abundant Grace, certain Grant of all other Trade which they shall find from the Place aforesaid. Knowledge, and mere Motion, We have granted, and by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, that they, and their Successors, and their Factors, Servants and Agents, for them, and on their Behalf, and not otherwise, shall for ever hereafter have, use and enjoy, not only the whole, intire, and only Liberty of Trade and Traffick, and the whole, intire, and only Liberty, Use and Privilege, of Trading and Traffick to and from the Territories, Limits and Places, aforesaid; but also the whole and intire Trade and Traffick to and from all Havens, Bays, Creeks, Rivers, Lakes and Seas, into which they shall find Entrance or Passage by Water or Land out of the Territories, Limits and Places, aforesaid; and to and with all the Natives and People, Inhabitants, or which shall inhabit within the Territories, Limits and Places aforesaid; and to and with all other Nations inhabiting any the Coasts adjacent to the said Territories, Limits and Places aforesaid, which are not already possessed as aforesaid, or whereof the sole Liberty or Privilege of Trade and Traffick is not granted to any other of Our Subjects.

And of Our farther royal Favour, and of Our more especial No Subjects of His Majesty may trade to the said Places besides the said Company. Grace, certain Knowledge, and mere Motion, have granted, and by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, do grant to the said Governor and Company, and to their Successors, that neither the said Territories, Limits and Places, hereby granted as aforesaid, nor any Part thereof, nor the Islands, Havens, Ports, Cities, Towns and Places, thereof, or therein contained, shall be visited, frequented or haunted, by any of the Subjects of Us, Our Heirs or Successors, contrary to the true Meaning of these Presents, and by Virtue of Our Prerogatives Royal, which We will not have in that Behalf argued or brought into Question; We streightly charge, command and prohibit, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, all the Subjects of Us, Our Heirs and Successors, of what Degree or Quality soever they be, that none of them directly do visit, haunt, frequent or trade, traffick or adventure, by way of Merchandize, into, or from any the said Territories, Limits or Places, hereby granted, or any, or either of them, other than the said Governor and Company, and such particular Persons as now be, or hereafter shall be, of that Company, their Agents, Factors and Assigns, unless it be by the Licence and Agreement of the said Governor and Company, Without their Leave, under their common Seal. in Writing first had and obtained, under their common Seal, to be granted, upon Pain that every such Person or Persons that shall trade and traffick into or from any of the Countries, Territories or Limits aforesaid, other than the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, shall incur our Indignation, and the Forfeiture, and Under Penalty of forfeiting all Goods brought from thence into England, and all such as the Company shall seize in any Parts of their Trading. the Loss of the said Goods, Merchandizes, and other Things whatsoever, which so shall be brought into this Realm of England, or any the Dominions of the same, contrary to our said Prohibition, or the Purport or true Meaning of these Presents, or which the said Governor and Company shall find, take and seize, in other Places out of our Dominions, where the said Company, their Agents, Factors or Assigns, shall trade, traffick or inhabit, by Virtue of these Our Letters Patents, as also the Ship and Ships, with the Furniture thereof, wherein such Goods, Merchandizes, and other One Half to the King, the other to the Company. Things, shall be brought or found, the one Half of all the said Forfeiture to be to Us, Our Heirs and Successors, and the other Half thereof by these Presents clearly and wholly for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, give and grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors. And farther, all and every the said Offenders, for their said Contempt, to suffer such Punishment as to Us, Our Heirs and Successors, shall seem meet or convenient, and not to be in any wise delivered until they, and every of them, shall become bound unto the said Governor for the time being in the Sum of One Thousand Pounds at the least, at no time then after to trade and traffick into any of the said Places, Seas, Bays, Streights, Ports, Havens or Territories, aforesaid, contrary to Our express Commandment in that Behalf set down and published.

And farther, of Our more especial Grace, We have condescended and granted, and by these Presents for Us, our Heirs and Successors, do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, that We, Our Heirs and Successors, will not grant His Majesty will not grant Liberty of Trade to any other. Liberty, Licence or Power, to any Person or Persons whatsoever, contrary to the Tenor of these our Letters Patents, to trade, traffick or inhabit, unto or upon any of the Territories, Limits or Places, afore specified, contrary to the Meaning of these Presents, without the Consent of the said Governor and Company, or the most part of them.

And, of Our more abundant Grace and Favour to the said Governor and Company, We do hereby declare Our Will and Pleasure to be, That if it shall so happen, that any of the Persons free, or to be free of the said Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson’s Bay, who shall, before the going forth of any Ship or Ships appointed for a Voyage, or otherwise, promise or agree, Any Persons having subscribed to pay in Money, &c. and failing thereof. by Writing under his or their Hands, to adventure any Sum or Sums of Money, towards the furnishing any Provision, or Maintenance of any Voyage or Voyages, set forth or to be set forth, or intended or meant to be set forth, by the said Governor and Company, or the more Part of them present at any publick Assembly, commonly called The General Court, shall not within the Space of May after twenty Days Warning. twenty Days next after Warning given to him or them, by the said Governor and Company, or their known Officer or Minister, bring in and deliver to the Treasurer or Treasurers appointed for the Company, such Sums of Money as shall have been expressed and set down in Writing, by the said Person or Persons, subscribed with the Name of said Adventurer or Adventurers, that then, and at all Times after, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company, or the more Part of them present, whereof the said Governor or his Deputy to be one, at any of their General May be removed and disfranchised by the said Company. Courts or General Assemblies, to remove and disfranchise him or them, and every such Person or Persons at their Wills and Pleasures, and he or they so removed and disfranchised, not to be permitted to trade into the Countries, Territories, or Limits aforesaid, or any Part thereof, nor to have any Adventure or Stock going or remaining with or among the said Company, without special Licence of the said Governor and Company, or the more Part of them present at any General Court, first had and obtained in that Behalf, any Thing before in these Presents to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.

And Our Will and Pleasure is, and hereby we do also ordain, That it shall and may be lawful, to and for the said Governor and Company, or the greater Part of them, whereof the Governor for They may admit into the Company their Servants and Factors. the Time being, or his Deputy to be one, to admit into, and be of the said Company, all such Servants or Factors, of or for the said Company, and all such others, as to them, or the most Part of them present, at any Court held for the said Company, the Governor or his Deputy being one, shall be thought fit and agreeable with the Orders and Ordinances made and to be made for the Government of the said Company.

And farther, Our Will and Pleasure is, and by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and to their Successors, that it shall and may be lawful in all Elections, and By-laws to be made by the In all Elections, and By-laws every Member to have a Vote for each 100 l. he has paid in Adventure. General Court of the Adventurers of the said Company, that every Person shall have a Number of Votes according to his Stock, that is to say, for every hundred Pounds by him subscribed or brought into the present Stock, one Vote, and that any of those that have subscribed less than one hundred Pounds, may join their respective Sums to make one hundred Pounds, and to have one Vote jointly for the same, and not otherwise.

And further, of Our especial Grace, certain Knowledge, and mere Motion, We do for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, grant to All Lands, &c. aforesaid, to be under the immediate Government of said Company. Who may appoint Governors and other Officers the Power they are to have. and with the said Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson’s Bay, that all Lands, Territories, Plantations, Forts, Fortifications, Factories, or Colonies, where the said Companies Factories or Trade are or shall be, within any the Ports or Places afore limited, shall be immediately and from henceforth, under the Power and Command of the said Governor and Company, their Successors and Assigns; saving the Faith and Allegiance due and to be performed to Us, Our Heirs and Successors as aforesaid; and that the said Governor and Company, shall have Liberty, full Power and Authority, to appoint and establish Governors, and all other Officers to govern them, and that the Governor and his Council of the several and respective Places where the said Company shall have Plantations, Forts, Factories, Colonies, or Places of Trade within any the Countries, Lands or Territories hereby granted, may have Power to judge all Persons belonging to the said Governor and Company, or that shall live under them, in all Causes, whether Civil or Criminal, according to the Laws of this Kingdom, and to execute Justice accordingly.

And, in Case any Crime or Misdemeanor shall be committed in any of the said Company’s Plantations, Forts, Factories, or Places of Trade within the Limits aforesaid, where Judicature cannot be executed for want of a Governor and Council there, then in such Case it shall and may be lawful for the Chief Factor of that Place, and his Council, to transmit the Party, together with the Offence, to such other Plantations, Factory, or Fort, where there shall be a Governor and Council, where Justice may be executed, or into the Kingdom of England, as shall be thought most convenient, there to inflict such Punishment as the Nature of the Offence will deserve.

And moreover, Our Will and Pleasure is, and by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, We do give and grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, free Liberty Liberty to send Ships of War, Ammunition, &c. for Security of such Trade and Territories. and License, in case they conceive it necessary to send either Ships of War, Men or Ammunition, into any their Plantations, Forts, Factories, or Places of Trade aforesaid, for the Security and Defence of the same, and to choose Commanders and Officers over them, and to give them Power and Authority, by Commissions under their Common Seal, or otherwise, to continue or And make Peace or War with any Prince or People not Christians, and right themselves upon their Goods and Estates, and upon any other People whatsoever, that shall interrupt or wrong them in the said Trade; And also to erect Forts and Garison Towns, &c. make Peace or War with any Prince or People whatsoever, that are not Christians, in any Places where the said Company shall have any Plantations, Forts or Factories, or adjacent thereunto, as shall be most for the Advantage and Benefit of said Governor and Company, and of their Trade; and also to right and recompense themselves upon the Goods, Estate or People of those Parts, by whom the said Governor and Company shall sustain any Injury, Loss or Damage, or upon any other People whatsoever, that shall any Way, contrary to the Intent of these Presents, interrupt, wrong or injure them in their said Trade, within the said Places, Territories, or Limits, granted by this Charter. And that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, from time to time, and at all Times henceforth, to erect and build such Castles, Fortifications, Forts, Garisons, Colonies or Plantations, Towns or Villages, in any Parts or Places within the Limits and Bounds granted before in these Presents, unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors from time to time, and at all Times from henceforth, to erect and build such Castles, Fortifications, Forts, Garisons, Colonies, or Plantations, Towns or Villages, in any Parts or Places within the Limits and Bounds granted before in these Presents, unto the said Governor and Company, as they in their Discretion shall think fit and requisite, and for the Supply of such as shall be needful and convenient, to keep and be in the same, to send And to send thither all Kinds of Provision, and so many Men, being willing, as they shall think fit. out of this Kingdom, to the said Castles, Forts, Fortifications, Garisons, Colonies, Plantations, Towns or Villages, all Kinds of Cloathing, Provision of Victuals, Ammunition, and Implements necessary for such Purpose, paying the Duties and Custom for the same, as also to transport and carry over such Number of Men being willing thereunto, or not prohibited, as they shall think fit, and also to govern them in such legal and reasonable Manner as the said Governor and Company shall think best, and to inflict Punishment for Misdemeanors, or impose such Fines upon them for Breach of their Orders, as in these Presents are formerly expressed.

And farther, Our Will and Pleasure is, and by these Presents, for Us, our Heirs and Successors, We do grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their Successors, full Power and lawful Authority to seize upon the Persons of all such English, Liberty to seize all English who shall (without Licence) trade or inhabit in said Parts. The Manner of dealing with their own Servants, in those Parts, offending. or any other Subjects, which shall sail into Hudson’s Bay, or inhabit in any of the Countries, Islands or Territories hereby granted to the said Governor and Company, without their Leave and Licence in that Behalf first had and obtained, or that shall contemn or disobey their Orders, and send them to England; and that all and every Person or Persons, being our Subjects, any ways employed by the said Governor and Company, within any the Parts, Places, or Limits aforesaid, shall be liable unto and suffer such Punishments for any Offences by them committed in the Parts aforesaid, as the President and Council for the said Governor and Company there shall think fit, and the Merit of the Offence shall require, as aforesaid; and in case any Person or Persons being convicted and sentenced by the President and Council of the said Governor and Company, in the Countries, Lands, or Limits aforesaid, their Factors or Agents there, for any Offence by them done, shall appeal from the same; and then and in such Case, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said President and Council, Factors or Agents, to seize upon him or them, and to carry him or them home Prisoners into England, to the said Governor and Company, there to receive such condign Punishment as his Cause shall require, and the Law of this Nation allow of; and for the better Discovery of Abuses and Injuries to be done unto the said Governor and Company, or their Successors, by any The Company may impower any Agent of theirs in those Parts, to examine Witnesses upon Oath; the same not being repugnant to the Laws of this Realm. Servant, by them to be employed in the said Voyages and Plantations, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Governor and Company, and their respective Presidents, Chief Agent or Governor in the Parts aforesaid, to examine upon Oath all Factors, Masters, Pursers, Supercargoes, Commanders of Castles, Forts, Fortifications, Plantations or Colonies, or other Persons, touching or concerning any Matter or Thing, in which by Law or Usage an Oath may be administred, so as the said Oath, and the Matter therein contained, be not repugnant, but agreeable to the Laws of this Realm.

And, We do hereby streightly charge and command all and singular, All Admirals, and other his Majesty’s Officers and Subjects to be aiding and assisting. our Admirals, Vice-Admirals, Justices, Mayors, Sheriffs, Constables, Bailiffs, and all and singular other our Officers, Ministers, Liege Men and Subjects whatsoever, to be aiding, favouring, helping and assisting to the said Governor and Company, and to their Successors, and to their Deputies, Officers, Factors, Servants, Assignees and Ministers, and every of them, in executing and enjoying the Premisses, as well on Land as at Sea, from time to time, when any of you shall thereunto be required; any Statute, Act, Ordinance, Proviso, Proclamation, or Restraint heretofore made, set forth, ordained, or provided, or any other Matter, Cause or Thing whatsoever to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding. IN WITNESS whereof, we have caused these our Letters to be made Patents; Witness Ourself at Westminster, the second Day of May, in the two and twentieth Year of Our Reign.

ince my last, which I sent from Churchill, together with a Journal, by one of the Hudson’s Bay Ships, I have proceeded on the Discovery, and shall here recapitulate only what is mentioned more largely in the Journal, which I shall send you by the first Opportunity, together with a Draught of the Parts discovered.

I sailed from Churchill the first Day of July, being the first Spurt of Wind I could get for sailing out of the Harbour, and continued sailing with a fair Wind till the third, when we saw an Island, the two Extremities bearing N. by E. and E. by N. lying in the Latitude of 63°. 00′. and Longitude from the Meridian of Churchill 3°. 40′. East, which I take to be the same Fox named Brook Cobham. On the fifth Day I saw a Head-land on the North Side of the Welcome, bearing N. W. by N. distant 7 or 8 Leagues, in the Latitude of 63°. 20′. and Longitude from Churchill 4°. 00′. East. I tried the Tides several times, and found close in with the Land the Tide to run two Miles an Hour, from the N. by E. which I take to be the Flood, and by the Slacks from several Trials I found a W. by N. Moon made High-water, having a full Moon that Day. On the eighth Day we saw the North Side of the Welcome, with a great deal of Ice in Shore. I tried the Tide, and found it set E. N. E. two Fathom. On the ninth, continuing my Course, and sailing through much Ice, I was at length obliged to grapple to a large Piece. The Tender did the same to keep off from the Shore, the Wind blowing us right on upon it. I tried the Tide frequently, and could not discover either Flood or Ebb by my current Logg. Here we were first jammed up with Ice, being totally surrounded with it for several Miles, and the Wind setting it right upon us, it was all Ice for 10 Leagues to windward of us, and were in great Danger of being forced ashore; but it happily falling calm, after we had lain in this Condition two or three Days, the Pieces of Ice separated, or made small Openings, we being then within two Miles of the Shore, and with no little Difficulty haul’d the Ships from one Piece to another, till we got amongst what we call sailing Ice, that is, where there are such Intervals of Water, as a Ship by several Turnings and Windings, among these floating Rocks, may get forwards towards the intended Course. In this Manner we continued till we saw a fair Cape or Head-land to the Northward of Whalebone Point, in the Latitude of 65°. 10′. North, and 8°. 54′. East from Churchill; this I named after my worthy Friend Cape Dobbs. I had very good Soundings between the two Shores of the Welcome, having 46, 48, and 49 Fathoms Water. The same time that I saw Cape Dobbs I descry’d an Opening bearing N. W. from us, which, according to my Instructions, I stood in for amongst the sailing Ice. It was just Flood when we enter’d it, the Tide running very strong, which, by Observations afterwards, I found to run 5 or 6 Miles an Hour. I run over some Rocks on the North Side of it very luckily, being just High-water, and anchored in about 34 Fathom Water, but as soon as the Tide of Ebb was made, it ran so strong, and such Quantities and Bodies of Ice came down upon us, that we were obliged to steer the Ship all the Time, and to keep all Hands upon their Guard with Ice-poles to shove off the Ice, notwithstanding which, it brought our Anchor home, and taking hold again, one of the Arms of it was broke off. The next Day I sent my Lieutenant in the Boat to seek out some securer Place for the Ships, it being impossible to keep long afloat where we were. Some Uskimay Savages came off to us, but had nothing to trade. I used them civilly, made them some Presents, and dismissed them. As soon as I got the Ships secured, I employed all my Officers and Boats, having myself no small Share in the Labour, in trying the Tides, and discovering the Nature and Course of this Opening, and after repeated Trials for three Weeks successively, I found the Flood constantly to come from the Eastward, and that it was a large River we were got into, but so full of Ice, there was no stirring the Ships with any Probability of Safety while the Ice was driving up and down with the strong Tides. Here I lay, not a little impatient to get out, went several times in my Boat towards the Mouth of the River, and upon a Hill that overlooked Part of the Welcome, saw that Place full of Ice; so that I found there was no Time lost by our being in Security. However I sent my Lieutenant and Master in the eight oar’d Boat to look out for a Harbour near the Mouth of the River, but they found none, and it was a small Miracle that they got on board again, for they were so jamm’d up with Ice, which, driving with the strong Tides, would inevitably have stove the Boat to Pieces, and all must have perished, had it not been for an Opening in a large Piece of Ice, into which they got the Boat, and with it drove out of the River; but when the Tide slacked, the Ice opened as usual, and then they rowed over to the North Shore, so got in with the Flood. I several times sent the Indians on Shore to see if they knew any thing of the Land, but they were quite ignorant of it. In this vexatious Condition I continued for three Weeks, resolving to get out the first Opportunity the River was any thing clear of Ice, and make what Discoveries I could by meeting the Tide of Flood. This River, which by my frequent Trials of the Lands, Soundings, Tides, &c. I was able to take a Draught of, I named the River Wager aster the right honourable Sir Charles Wager, &c.

On the 3d of August, the River for the first Time was a little clear of Ice, and accordingly sailed out of it in Pursuit of our Discovery, and on the 5th by Noon got into the Latitude of 66°. 14′. We had then got into a new Streight, much pester’d with Ice, and on the North Side of which we saw a Cape or Head-land bearing North. We had deep Water and very strong Tides within four or five Leagues of it. I nam’d this Head-land Cape Hope, as it gave us all great Joy and Hopes of its being the extreme North Part of America, seeing little or no Land to the Northward of it. We turn’d or work’d round it the same Night, and got five or six Leagues to the N. by W. before we could perceive any otherwise than a fair and wide Opening; but about Noon the 6th Day, having got into the Latitude of 66°. 40′. found we were embay’d, and by two in the Afternoon could not go above three Leagues farther, and having tried the Tides all the Forenoon, every two Hours till 2 o’Clock in the Afternoon, found neither Ebb nor Flood, yet deep Water. From this it was concluded, that we had overshot the Streights on the N. E. Shore from whence the Flood came, and as there was no proceeding above three or four Leagues farther, it was agreed upon by all to return back, and search narrowly for a Streight or Opening where we found the strong Tides. On the 7th, after we were confirm’d the Flood came in on the N. E. Side from the E. by S. I went on Shore in the Boat, and found it flow’d 15 Foot three Days after the Full, and a W. by S. Moon made High Water. I travelled 12 or 15 Miles from Hill to Hill in-land, till I came to a very high Mountain, from whence I saw a Streight or Opening the Flood came in at, and the Mountain I stood upon being pretty near the Middle of this Streight, I could plainly see both Ends of it, the whole being 18 or 20 Leagues long, and 6 or 7 broad, and very high Land on both Sides of it; but it was all froze fast from Side to Side, and no Appearance of its clearing this Year, and near the 67th Degree of Latitude, and no anchoring the Ships, being very deep Water close to the Shore, and much large Ice driving with the Ebb and Flood, and but little Room if thick Weather should happen, which we continually expect in these Parts, it was agreed upon in Council to make the best of our Way out of this dangerous narrow Streight, and make Observations between the 64th and 62d Degree of Latitude. The frozen Streight I take to run towards that Land which Bylot nam’d Cape Comfort, and the Bay where Fox has nam’d a Place Lord Weston’s Portland. It is in the Latitude of 66°. 40′. and Longitude 12°. 19′. East from Churchill.

Pursuant to the Resolution we bore away, and tried the Tides on the other Side of the Welcome, sounding and observing close in Shore, but met with very little Encouragement. On the 11th of August I once more saw the Island of Brook Cobham, and continued trying the Tide, still finding the Flood came from the Eastward, and by coasting along the Welcome, was certain of its being the Main-land, tho’ there are several small Islands and deep Bays, and saw several black Whales of the Whale-bone Kind. I work’d off and on by Brook Cobham, sent the two Northern Indians on Shore upon the Island, who, at their Return, gave me to understand it was not far from their Country, and desired I would let them go home, being tir’d of the Sea. I kept them with Assurances that I would act according to my Promise; and finding no Probability of a Passage, in two or three Days after I gave them a small Boat well fitted with Sails and Oars, the Use of which they had been taught, and loaded it with Fire-arms, Powder, Shot, Hatchets, and every Thing desirable to them. They took their Leave of me, and I sent another Boat for Water, which accompanied them on Shore. The Southern Indian, who was Linguist for the Northern ones, returned with the Boat, being us’d to the English Customs at the Factory, and desirous of seeing England, being a willing, handy Man, I brought him with me, and the same Evening, which was the 15th of August, I bore away for England, thinking to have tried the Tides at Carey’s Swan’s Nest, but could not fetch it. On the 20th saw Mansel’s Isle. On the 21st Cape Diggs was in Sight. On the 26th made Cape Resolution, and arrived at this Place the 15th of September. Most of my Men are so very much afflicted with the Scurvy, and otherwise sick and distemper’d, that I must be obliged to leave Part of them behind me, and only wait to impress Hands to carry the Ship safe to London. For the Particulars, I must refer you to my Journal and Draught, this Sheet of Paper not being sufficient for the particular Accidents. I heartily wish you a better State of Health than I have had during the Voyage, and desire you will conclude me

Standard of TRADE carried on by the Hudson’s Bay Company at Albany Fort, Moose River, and the East Main, as it stood in the Year 1733, Beaver Skins being the Standard.

Note. That the Standard at York Fort and Churchill is much higher, the French being not so near those Places, and therefore can’t interfere with the Company’s Trade so much as they do at Albany and Moose River, where they undersell the Company, and by that Means carry off the most valuable Furs.

Beaver being the chief Commodity received in Trade in these Parts, it is made the Standard to rate all the Furs and other Goods by.

The Furs and other Commodities received in this Trade in the Year 1733 at Albany Fort, Moose River, and the East Main.

Beaver and other Skins sold at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Sale the 20th of December, 1740.

A Computation of the Quantity of Skins sold at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Sale in December 1740.

An Account of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Sale, commenced 17th November 1743.

The Quantities of Skins and Furs imported by the French into the Port of Rochelle from Canada for the Year 1743.

An Account shewing the Value of the Goods exported to Hudson’s Bay in the underwritten Years.

          A
An Arm, Telluck.
An Arrow, Caukjuck.
To be angry, Nock-que-took.
Affrighted, Ukzinck.
An aged Woman, Nin-ne-ouck.
 
          B
Brother, Nu-ca-auk.
Beads, Se-pung-nut.
A Bear, Nung-nouk.
The Belly, Now-ha-kaw.
A Bird, Kuper nu-awk.
The Breast, Suck-ke-uck.
The Backside, No-lo-aw.
Breeches, Cock-le-ake.
To bite, Ke-e-uke.
Boots, Cam-meke.
Boys, Su-o-suke.
Blood, Ow-ouk.
Bawl or cry out, Ko-qua-took.
To break Wind, Ne-luck-took.
A Bow, Petick-sic.
The Eye-brow, Caup-loot.
 
          C
To change this, Ah-kil-le-lu-owk.
The Chin, Tap-lou.
Come here, Ki-le-out.
A Child, Nu-taw-ouk.
A Captain, Ot-tan-nuck.
The Cheek, Ou-lu-uck-cur.
A Cap, Nassock.
A Canoe, Ki-rock.
A Coat, Kut-te-e.
Cold, E-ke-ouk-tuck.
A Cat, Am-mi-oke.
To cut, Ou-lim-ma-toke.
 
          D
Deer, Tuke-tow.
Day, Ou-pul-luke.
Darkness, Ou-nu-auk.
Dog, Krig-me-nuck.
Dead, To-co-rock.
Devil, To-nu-ock.
To dive, No-cock-toke.
To dig, Ok-lu.
 
          E
The Eyes, Ehick.
The Ears, Se-u-teck.
An Eagle, Ouk-pick.
To eat, No-e-youk.
An Egg, Mannick.
An Enemy, or one that strives to kill, To-cout-se-me-mi-roke.
 
          F
Father, At-ta-tu-ak.
Fog, Tuck-took.
Fox, Ter-in-ne-uck.
To fasten, Que-luck-tok.
To fight, Ou-ne-tok-tuck-lu-eke.
Fingers, Crin-me-nu-et.
The first Finger, Tick-yuck.
The middle ditto, Cre-tuck-suck.
The ring ditto, Me-ke-le-ouk.
The Fifth, Uki-look.
The little Finger, Lick-it-cock.
A Foot, E-te-ket.
The Heel of the Foot, King-meck.
The Sole of the Foot, A-lung-a.
Fire, E-ko-ma.
Flesh, No-ki.
To follow, Me-leting-auk.
Black Fox, Tree-ig-ne-uck-ko-no-tock.
 
          G
A Gun, Hoo-ke-oot.
Get you out, Ow-le-le-out.
Give it me, Ki-le-oak.
A Goose, Nuck-loke.
Get up, Muck-ke-le-out.
To grieve, or be sorry, Ning-ne-ok-took.
Ground, Nu-nak.
Guts, Ela-wa-be-eet.
Girls, Hung-nock.
Good, Nac-uk-toke.
 
          H
The Head, Ne-aw-cock.
The Hair, New-rock.
The Hand, Alguite.
The Heart, Ou-mut.
To hang, Cre-me-toke.
Make haste, Twa-ve-o-vit.
Hatchet, Willimout.
A Horn, Nock-zuck.
A House or Tent, Tupe uck.
 
          I
Iron or Knife, Sha-veck.
An impudent Fellow, No-koo-e-took.
 
          K
A Knee, Seat-coke.
To keep it, Oo-vong-ah.
 
          L
Light, Ou-pe-luck.
Leg, Ki-naw-auk.
To laugh, Co-ang-took.
You lie, Shuk-le-rook.
Lay it down, Lal-la-la-oat.
Little, Mik-ke-u-awk-rook.
Lead, Koo-suck-se-ock.
 
          M
A Musqueteer, Kic-to-e-al-luck-toke.
Mouth, Con-nock.
Mittings, Po-illuck.
The Moon, Tat-cock.
A Man, Ang-hoot.
To-morrow, How-ook-put.
Much, Won-na we-uk-tuck-luit.
Mother, An-na-na tha.
 
          N
Nose, Cring-yauk.
Neck, Coon-e-soke.
Navel, Kaw-le-soke.
Nails, Cook-e-eet.
Needle, Mid-coot.
 
          O
Oil, Fat, or Blubber, Oak-stroke.
 
          P
Porcupine, Oo-ke-took.
A Paw, Koo ke-do-an-net.
A Paddle, Pow-et-tick.
 
          Q
Quickeehatch, Cap-veck.
Quick, Twa-ve-o-let.
 
          R
A Rabbet, Avign-ark-rook.
Rain, Se-lal-luk-toke.
Rust, Man-nuck-toke.
Ropes or Lines, Ouk-su-nouk.
 
          S
I want to go to sleep, Wing-le-pah-se-me-oma-luk-conga.
To go to Stool, An-nos-pah.
To sing, Eming-ne-ok-toke.
Stars, Oub-low-yar-tuk-toke.
Skin, Am-me-auk.
Go ashore, Nu-nahile-eut.
Seal, Nat-choke.
Sea, Ut-koo-nok-tuk-lea.
Sun, Suck-ki-nuck.
A Ship, O-me-auk.
Salmon, Halluck.
Summer, Owasa.
 
          T
Take time, Twa-vi-ogn-nock.
Tree, No-pah-toke.
Thick, Epi-o-lu-auk.
Thin, Sha-toke.
The Thumb, Coop-lu.
 
          V
To vomit, Mith-e-ark-took.
 
          W
A Whale, Ki-le-lu-ok.
Whalebone, Shoot-cock.
Winter, Ukink.
Wolf, Am-mah-oke.
 
          Y
Yes, An-yuck-toke.
Young Man, Eno-suck-toke.
Young Woman, Ne-be-uck-seuk.

Language spoke among the Northern Indians inhabiting the North-west Part of Hudson’s Bay, as it was taken at different times from the Mouths of Nabiana and Zazana, two Indians, who were on board His Majesty’s Ship the Furnace in the Year 1742, by Edward Thompson, Surgeon of the said Ship.

          A
Afraid, I’sa-at-hoola.
Arms, Tenea-ick-the-ou.
An Arrow, Say-yo-say-hoo.
Arse, Tene-clangh.
Ashes, Encali-hooza.
 
          B
Back, Tene-losse.
A Beaver Coat, Charrough.
A Bed, Et’s-sal-thec-nec.
Belly, Tenabut.
A Belt, Ith-thou.
Belly-ach, Ei-yah.
Buckles, A’ca-li-ca-la-coon.
Breast, Tene cau jau.
Breeches, Clo-hee.
A Button, Boro deli.
A Shirt Button, Petabathai.
A Blanket, Elclunee.
A Book, Ediclish.
A Bottle, Cotiaut-helle.
To blow with the Mouth, Con-nelugh.
Ball or large Shot, Assinnee.
A Boat or Canoe, Chaluzee.
To blow the Nose, Te eetche.
Broth, Son son chize.
Blood, Dell.
A Boy, Enoi-o-zou.
Blue Cloth, Ethcloon delzinne.
A Brush, Petacanatachildi.
Brandy, Cla-hoo-ze, or Co-at hoi.
A Bow, Atheike.
Black, Del-sec-nan.
 
          C
Cheek, Tene clotten.
Chin, Tene ottan.
A Coat, Scoracai.
Come hither, Oudezza.
A Cap or Hat, I’sat il cozee.
Copper, Cha cha nal cozee.
A Copper Mine, Chachanalco-zee-hau.
A Canoe or Boat, Chaluzee.
Cold, Adzak.
A Comb, Thec-it-sec.
A Crow, Ta-at-sau.
A Chip, No-coth-thee.
A Cat Eng. Che-yah-zoo.
  Wild, Ha-e-dah.
To cry, Tsa-at-sau.
To cough, Zetcoth.
A Captain, Belahugina.
A Can, Helle.
Hoops ditto, a High.
Lid ditto, Helle-dau-cau-ne-honne.
Bottom ditto, Helle-claw.
To call, Clay.
To carry, Honne-hough.
To cut, Su-su-la.
What do you call this, Nick-claw-diddee.
 
          D
A Deer, All-thun.
Deers fat, Al-thun Chizza.
A Door, The-o-balle.
A Door Lock, The-o-balle-Clule.
A Drum, Tat-tel-chee.
A Dog, A-nel-wosh.
A Duck, E-hoo-cah.
Dead, Zo-he-la.
Deep, Shoo-can.
To dance, Hela.
 
          E
Ears, Tene’tsaw.
To eat, Che-chellee.
Eyes, Tene-nan.
An Englishman, Be la hoo li.
An Eskimaux, At-hee-na.
An Ermin, Del-coi-a-yen.
 
          F
Fat or Grease, Chizza.
The Fore-head, Tene-se-an-hau.
Fingers, Te-ne-la-clathec.
Feet, Tene-crah.
A File, Oh-coll.
Fire, O-del-chat.
Feathers, Et-the-thau.
Fire or Explosion of a Gun, Cun.
Fat in general, H’er-ha.
To Fart, Say-et-sun.
To fight, Hel-choo-it-hel.
A Fish, Cloo-he-za.
A Fish-hook, Gee-eth.
A Fishing Line, Eda-cluth.
Afar off, Watho.
 
          G
Garters, Co-nelli-co-thee.
Get you gone, Onni-ou-onna.
Give it me, Et-in-Clau-et-hen-soo.
A Gimblet, Chan-et thee,
A Goose, Hah.
To grease the Skin, Shu-na-elt-shun.
Gloves or Mittens, E-la-gish.
A Gun, Il-ker-thee.
 
The Parts belonging to a Gun.
A Ram-Rod, Ilke-co-cotha.
A Gun Lock, Ilke the Solla.
A Gun Barrel, Ilke the Soola.
A Gun Stock, Ilke the Alcaugh.
The Hammer, Ilke the Electha.
Feather Spring, Tha-o-de.
Fore Plate, Tho-la-do.
Black Plate, Ilke the Thaunec.
A Screw Nail, Doo-del-do-thee.
A Flint, Cla-el-col.
A Cock, Ilke the Na-a-tanan.
A Plate, Hoo-elth-onee.
The Muzle, Ke the-dy.
The Guard, Tau-nau-ne-aulee.
The Britch, Ilke the Ee-cau-na.
Britch Plate, Sons-so-nit-than.
Cap on the Rammer, Ilke the Nan-da-onne.
Pipes, Cau-cau-oth-idde-onne.
Worm for a Gun, Cau-oth-deth.
 
          H
The Head, Te-net-thee.
The Fore-head, Tenet-se-an-haw.
The Hair of the Head, Tenet-thea-cau.
The Hands, Te-ne-law.
Nail of the Hand, Ten-ee co-nee.
Handkerchief, Coth e-coth ee.
A Hatchet, Tha elth.
A hungry, Pa-bath-hit.
Hold, Attough.
A Hat, Chaw-cauk-hollee, or Chaw-ell-collee.
To hickup, Shuzz.
The Head-ach, Ei-yawh.
 
          I
I, or myself, She.
Ink, Pe-ti da-clisse.
Ice, Claw.
An Island, Ca-ow-dez.
 
          K
A Key, Sa-challee.
To kill or murder, Is-keth.
To kill or shoot Game, Att-hel-coth.
The Knee, Tene-cha-cut.
A Knife, Pace.
 
          L
A Lake, Ic-too-rough.
To laugh, Na-chen-claw.
A Launce, At-hei-coo.
Leather, Helcoll.
The Legs, Tene-cha-thee.
The Lips, Tene-atough.
A Looking-glass, Et-finee-e-au.
A Louse, E-yah.
To lick, To-ro-bah.
To loose, or lost, Hoo-la.
A Liar, Att-thun-thuee.
 
          M
The Moon, Ec-clee-saw.
The Mouth, Tene-aw-vaub.
 
          N
A Nail, Hoot-sal.
Nail of the Hand, Tenee-conee.
A Needle, Tha loon-can-helle.
The Neck, Tene cassan.
The Nose, Tene-chee.
Nostrils, Tha-nee-ah.
Nothing, See-hoo-la.
 
          O
An Otter, Nabbee.
 
          P
Paint, T’-shee.
Palm of the Hand, Thæ-a-cto-hoi.
Paper, Eddiclish-tha.
A Pen, A-a-ai-ca-na.
A Picture, Teneyoi-ac-Eddicli-ther.
A Pistol, Ilke the oo-la.
To piss, Eth-cluzz.
A Tobacco Pipe, Chel-to-hu-gi-na.
A Pillow, Thee-all.
A Pocket, El-konnah.
Gun-Powder, Elcona.
A Shot Pouch, Ick-ke-thee thee.
A Plover, Ah-collee.
A Powder-Horn, Agrada.
Man’s Privaties, Tene-yo-tha.
 
          Q
A Bed Quilt, Hell.
 
          R
A Rabbit, Cau-choi-a-zou.
A Ruler for Books, Ediclish-ca-na.
A River, See-bee-la.
Red Cloth, Ec-cloon-del-cozee.
 
          S
Salt, Teeth-thy.
Sand, Ho-deh.
The Sea, Ic-too-oz-unne.
To scratch, Eif-eit-sal.
A Shirt, Ehee.
A Pair of Scissars, Tha-o-bess.
To shoot, Isketh.
A Ship, Cha-co.
A Shot-Pouch, or little Bag, Ilk-ke-the-tha.
Shoes, Kin nee chee.
Smoak, Ka-na-clude.
To smack with the Lips, Ho-dat-thoi.
To shoot a Deer, &c. Cha-elcol.
To shoot or kill, At-hellcoth.
A Sore, Tene-caw.
Stockings, Thigh.
Shirt Button, Petabathacana-clude.
Sleep, Itsal-thee-nee.
To smoak Tobacco, Che-chel-loot.
Small Shot, Elgish-hee.
A Spoon, Cloos.
To shoot, or fire a Gun, Isketh-all-o.
Snow, Yath.
The Sun, Saw.
To sneeze, Ya-ice.
To S——t, Say-et-suna.
To spit, Hee-sa.
Summer, Attoughoana.
 
          T
A Table, Bed-hel-kenau.
Teeth, Tene-hough.
Ten, A-noth-noo.
Thirty, Cuth-a-na-na.
Three, At-hoi.
Twenty, Cu-na-noth-noo.
Two, Chel la-telle.
Tenting, or Covering, Ne-o-balle.
A Tinder-Box, Cla-el-thodde.
Tinder, Cla-elth.
The Thighs, Tene-wough’l.
I thank you, Gon-na-zoo.
Thread, Pe-ta-nel-coz.
This, Diddee.
Thou, or you, Nin.
Thirsty, Too-hoo-lee.
The Tongue, Tene-thoon.
Touchwood, Ke-nelt-thee.
Tobacco, Chel-to-hee.
A Tobacco Pipe, Chel-to-hugina.
A Tent, Ya-ho-thy.
 
          V
To vomit, Cla-a-coi.
 
          W
Water, Ic-too.
A Watch, San ya-zoo.
A Walkin-stick or Cane, ’Tthelth.
A Whet-stone, Pe-so-coll.
White Cloth, Ethcloon-dellcoz.
Where, Ei-ya-guze.
What, Onna.
A Whaway, Hoo-cah.
A Periwig, ’Tsab.
Winter, Adz-a-halla.
Wind, Elk-ker.
A Window, Ey-ah.
To wash, Shunnaelt shun.
A Woman, Tene-law.
A Worm for a Gun, Caw-oth-deth.
 
          Y
You, or thou, Nin.

Page 10, Line 24, for contiguous read continuous. p. 20, l. 4, for Hoards read Herds. p. 23, l. 35, for or read de. p. 30, l. 2, for Meat read Meal. p. 34, l. 7, for Beaver read Beeves. p. 48, l. 24, after for read as. p. 52, l. 36, for mask’d read mash’d. p. 61, l. 13, for Camanitigayan read Camanistigayan, p. 64, l. 11, for Gamaxaski read Gamaraski. p. 96, l. 17, for Wilson read Smith. p. 98, l. 9, for she wnit read shewn it. p. 120, l. 35, after even read the. p. 139, l. 35, for Yedso read Yedo. p. 141, l. 18, for Albicove read Albicores.

In the original book all “s” characters in the interior of words were printed using the “long-s” character ſ, as was the custom at that time. Here these letters are replaced by the “short-s” to make it more readable.

The changes listed in the Errata above have been applied to the text. A few obvious typographic errors have been corrected. Spelling has not been modernised.

The italic font is applied quite widely, but inconsistently, throughout especially in regards to possessives. The style used in the original is reproduced here.

A small number of changes were made to the punctuation of longitudes and latitudes, to match the predominant style. In a simple declarative sentence, these positions were punctuated as “. . . is situated in 45°. 30′. within a . . .” When included in an appositive phrase, the punctuation became “. . . the South End of Resolution Isle, in Lat. 61°, 25′, etc.” If the sentence required other punctuation after the position, then it took precedence and replaced the terminal “.” or “,” as shown above.

[The end of An account of the countries adjoining to Hudson's Bay by Arthur Dobbs]

	C. Middleton.
	J. Rankin.
W. Moor, Master of the Discovery.	Rob. Wilson.
	Geo. Axx.
	J. Hodgton.

3	Martin Skins	as	1	Beaver
2	Otters		1	or perhaps 2
1	Queequeehatch		1½
1	Fox		1	unless ext. then 2
1	Cat		2
1	Moose		2
2	Dear Skins		1
1	Wolf		1
1	Pound Castorum		1
10	Pound Feathers		1
8	Pair Moose Hoofs		1
4	Fathom Netting		1
1	Black Bear		2
1	Cub		1
1	Weejack		1

	{	8663		whole Parchment Beaver Skins.
	{	1951		in	3902	half ditto.
	{	2292		in	Coat	Beaver.
	{	1060		in	535	Catts.
This Account taken	{	93		in	62	Queequeehatches.
out of Captain	{	98		in	49	Bears.
Middleton’s	{	9		in	9	Cubbs.
Book in April	{	9		in	9	Wolfs.
1741.	{	70		in	66	Foxes.
	{	1519	⅔	in	4559	Martins.
	{	136		in	272	Otters.
	{	87		in	870	lb. Feathers.
	{	10		in	10	Weejacks.
		——————
		15997	⅔
		——————
		10226	83/120	deducted for the Value of the Goods barter’d at Standard.
		——————
Beaver Skins		5770	117/120	gain’d on that Year’s Trade.

			Quantity in a Lot.
		Lots.	Skins.
5460	Coat Beaver (in Time)	21	260	sold at	5s. 3d.	per Pound.
12320	Parchment ditto (in Time)	44	280		6s. 2d.	ditto.
3690	Cubbs	9	410		6s. 2d.	ditto.
3640	Damd and Stage Parcht Beaver	13	280	about	5s. 2d.	ditto.
1760	Damag’d Cub Beaver	4	440		4s. 9d.	ditto.
16300	Martins	55	300		7s. 10d.	each Skin.
2360	Damag’d and Stage Martin	8	320		4s.	ditto.
560	Otters	3			6s. 3d.	ditto.
50	Ditto in Coats				3s. 2d.	ditto.
730	Cats	7			23s.	ditto.
300	Foxes	6			8s. 4d.	ditto.
210	Ditto				5s. 8d.	ditto.
630	Wolverins	6			8s.	ditto.
220	Stage ditto				3s. 8d.	ditto.
330	Black Bears	5			17s. 6d.	ditto.
720	Wolves (in Time)	8			15s.	ditto.
40	Woodshocks				8s. 2d.	ditto.
250	Deer	2			2s. 2d.	ditto.
30	Elks				7s.	ditto.
————
49600	Skins.
————
2360	Pounds Bed Feathers.
160	Castorum.
610	Whale Fins.
120	Gallons Whale Oil.

		l.	s.
5980	Coat Beaver in 23 Lots, 260 Skins each, weighing upon an Average 450 lb. per Lot, and selling at 4s. 8d. 10350 lb.	2415	00
780	damag’d and Stage ditto in 3 Lots 260 Skins, Weight 1350, at 4s.	270	00
9520	Parchment Beaver in 34 Lots, 280 Skins, each Weight 1½ per Skin, is 14280 lb.	4165	00
4070	Cub Beaver in 11 Lots 370 Skins each Weight 10 Oz. per Skin, is 2543 6s.	762	18
4760	damag’d and Stage Parchment in 17 Lots, 280 Skins each, Weight 172 per Skin, is 7140 5s. 7d.	1918	17
1640	damag’d and Stage Cub in 4 Lots, 410 Skins each, Weight 10 Oz. per Skin, is 1024 4s. 10d.	248	9

No. of Articles.	Goods carried to trade with.	Their Value when barter’d with the Indians.
1	Beads le Milk		½	Pound	for	1 Beaver
2	Ditto coloured		¾	Ditto	for	1
3	Kettles Brass	1		Ditto	for	1
4	Gun-Powder	1	½	Ditto	for	1
6	Shot	5		Ditto	for	1
7	Sugar	2		Ditto	for	1
8	Tobacco Brazil	1		Ditto	for	1
9	Ditto Leaf	1	½	Ditto	for	1
10	Ditto Roll	1	½	Ditto	for	1
11	Thread	1		Ditto	for	2
12	Vermillion	1	½	Ounce	for	1
13	Brandy	1		Gallon	for	4
14	Broad Cloath	1		Yard	for	2
15	Blankets	1			for	6
16	Bays	1		Yard	for	1
17	Duffels	1		Yard	for	1½
18	Flannel	1		Yard	for	1½
19	Gartering	2		Yards	for	1
20	Awl Blades	12			for	1
21	Buttons	12		Doz	for	1
22	Breeches	1		Pair	for	3
23	Combs	2			for	1
24	Egg Boxes	4			for	1
25	Feathers red	2			for	1
26	Fish-Hooks	20			for	1
27	Fire Steels	4			for	1
28	Files	1			for	1
29	Flints	20			for	1
30	Guns	1			for	10 11 12
31	Pistols	1			for	4
32	Gun-Worms	1			for	4
33	Gloves Yarn	1			for	1
34	Gogles	2			for	1
35	Handkerchiefs	1			for	1½
36	Hats laced	1			for	4
37	Hatchets	2			for	1
38	Hawk Bells	8			for	1
39	Ice Chizils	2			for	1
40	Knives	8			for	1
41	Looking-Glasses	2			for	1
42	Mocotagaus	2			for	1
43	Needles	12		{L. 2 S. 2 & Glov.}	for	1
44	Net-Lines	2			for	1
45	Powder-Horns	2			for	1
46	Plain Rings	6			for	1
47	Stone Ditto	3			for	1
48	Runlets	1	½		for	1 or 1½
49	Scrapers	2			for	1
50	Sword Blades	2			for	1
51	Spoons	4			for	1
52	Shirts	1		{white & check’d}	for	1
53	Shoes	1		Pair	for	1
54	Stockings	1		Pair	for	1¼
55	Sashes worsted	2			for	1
56	Thimbles	6			for	1
57	Tobacco Boxes	2			for	1
58	Tongs	2		Pair	for	1
59	Trunks	1			for	2
60	Twine	1		Skane	for	1

	s.	d.
Parchment Beaver on an Average sold for	6	2	per Pound.
Coat Beaver	5	3
Cub Ditto	6	2
Martins	7	10	each.
Otters	6	0
Fishers	8	6
Bears	16	0
Cats	23	0
Foxes as in Goodness from 6s. 2d. to	10	8
Wolfs on an Average	15	0
Wolverins	8	0
Black Bears	17	6
Woodshocks	8	2
Elks	7	0
Deer	2	2
Bed Feathers	1	1	per Pound.
Castorum
Whalefins

15000	Old Coat Beaver.
112080	Parchment Beaver.
10623	Large Bears.
5889	Small Bears.
110000	Raccoons.
30325	Martins.
12428	Otters and Fishers.
1700	Minks.
1220	Fine Cats.
1267	Wolves.
92	Wolverins.
10280	Grey Foxes and Cats.
451	Red Foxes.
————
311355

From Christmas	Year.	l.	s.	d.	Year.	l.	s.	d.
1698 to Christmas	1699	943	15	7	1719	1731	11	9
	1700				1720	1897	9	9
	1701	1658	9	8	1721	1788	4	4
	1702	972	16	3	1722	2449	15	11
	1703				1723	2305	2	7
	1704				1724	1497	18	7
	1705	2021	10		1725	2410	17	1
	1706	958	6	2	1726	1599	15	11
	1707				1727	1756	2
	1708	2025	3	6	1728	2571	13	4
	1709				1729	1941	19	7
	1710	1160	4	3	1730	2315	3	9
	1711	760	2		1731	2876	1	2
	1712	745	14	1	1732	3350	12	3
	1713	893	14	3	1733	3110	9	9
	1714	2349	7	9	1734	3930	19	9
	1715	1402	18	8	1735	2232	7	11
	1716	1259	17	3	1736	1549	16	10
	1717	3191	2	9	1737	4124	18	2
	1718	1847	18	7	1738	3879	17	11

Transcriber’s Notes