their spirit of invention and industry. To these qualities, they add foresight their canoes, when they are not employed afloat, are carefully placed under sheds, and sometimes drawn into the habitation. Their weapons for hunting and their implements for fishing, little different from those of the Techinkitanayans, bespeak pains in the execution. They still employ the paddle to move their canoes; but they have already discovered the utility of the sail, and they have been seen, with the wind aft, to spread a blanket for performing the same office; as they have a spirit of imitation, we may presume that it will not be long before they improve among them the art of rigging and working their little vessels. "Music seems not to be unknown to these islanders; I am not speaking merely of that chanting, of that music in chorus, which, in some of the tribes of the north-west coast of America, appears to be a species of a religious rite; but surgeon Roblet mentions that he saw, in the habitations, some of those flutes with several pipes, imitating in miniature part of an organ, known among the musical instruments of the ancients, by the name of Pan's pipe, and one of the attributes of that divinity. He reckoned on some of those flutes as many as eleven pipes: does this instrument give more than the whole gamut, more than the complete system of seven tones and the octave? Or, what would be more astonishing, is there but one gamut with the hal: tones necessary for varying modulation?" To music, these islanders of the northwest coast of America unite some knowledge of architecture, sculpture, and painting captain Chanal and surgeon Roblet went on shore at North Island in Coxe's Channel, and found habitations with two stories, fifty feet in length, thirtyfive in breadth, and twelve or fifteen in height: they describe the ingenious and solid frame work and junction of the materials; they describe to us various carved figures of birds, fishes, and other animals; they describe articles of furniture in use among the natives, ornamented with carved work in intaglio and in relief, partly they describe pictures painted on wood, nine feet long by five broad, on which all the parts of the human body, drawn separately, are represented in different colours: in short, so many vestiges of ancient civilization are observable among these savages, as to corroborate the supposition, that these islands of the north-west coast of America were originally peopled from another country. For the purpose of making it appear that that country was Asia, the editor M. Fleurieu has entered into an elaborate and learned discussion, whither we are prohibited from following him by the necessary limits of our review. The operations of the fur-trade had been very languid on the northern part of the west coast of Queen Charlotte's island: the English had perhaps exhausted the riches of the country. The hope of procuring furs on the coast of the continent at Nootka Sound, appeared no better founded: these considerations prompted captain Marchand to direct his course towards Berkley Sound, where he assured himself a more abundant harvest: but here he was unfortunate, for the dissipation of the fog which enabled him to steer for the entrance of the sound, discovered to him a three-masted vessel coming out of the harbour where he intended to trade! Having been thus anticipated, he wisely determined, if possible," to get the start in the markets of China, of the ships which had got the start of him on the coast of America, and to endeavour to compensate for the smallness of the cargo, by the advan tageous price that might be obtained for it:" he immediately directed his route for China. On his arrival at Macao, he was informed, that the Chinese govern ment had, under severe penalties, prohibited all introduction of furs into the southern parts of the empire, and particularly that of otter skins: this prohibition, which was supposed to have been made in favour of the Russians, by the new treaty of commerce between the Emperor of China and the Empress of Russia, had already been attempted, without any success, to be evaded by ships from other countries. Thus disconcerted in all his commercial specula tions, captain Marchand resolved to proceed without delay to the Isle of France. In his passage of the China sea, captain Marchand has corrected some hydrographical errors of importance; one in the chart of the China sea by Alexander Dalrymple; another on the general chart of the world by lieutenant Roberts, annexed to captain Cook's third voyage. "The error in Dalrymple's chart lies in the longitude of Pule-Sapata, reverts on that of the Two Brothers, and is owing to the difference of meridian on this chart between Pulo-Sapata and Macao being too great by 50 min. of a degree." "The error in the chart of Cook's third voyage, consists in its placing the Two Brothers to the north, about 33 deg. east of Pulo-Sapata; whereas, by the route which the Solide follow ed, in passing from the former islands to the latter, the Two Brothers must be situated to the north about 22 deg. west of Puto-Sapata, nearly in the position in which they are seen in Dalrymple's chart." After having passed ten weeks at the Isle of France, in order to repair ship, and make preparations for a long voyage, the Solide got under way, and came to anchor in the inner road of Toulon, on the 14th of August 1792, having happily completed her voyage round the world. As to the success of her commercial speculations-baffled at China, "as a sole and wretched resource, the cargo of furs was brought to France. It was immediately sent to Lyons, where the commercial concerns of the place, and the favourable season, might promise no inconsiderable advantages in the sale; but it arrived there only a few days before the period when that unfortunate city, torn by civil war, experienced all the horrors of a long siege: in the midst of fire and devastation, the furs belonging to the house of Baux were seized; and, being forgotten under the seals, notwithstanding their remonstrances, which were rendered more urgent by the danger of delay, they became a prey to the worms." We have already devoted so much. space to these volumes, that we can now only allow ourselves to offer a particular recommendation of them to seamen, who will find much useful information as to the velocity and direction of the cur rents, and their influence on the ship's course: they will find many nautical observations exhibiting much accuracy and science, and will altogether acknow ledge, that captain Marchand is an able navigator, and that Monsieur Fleurieu was perfectly qualified to compose the narrative of his voyage. ART. II. An Account of a Geographical and Astronomical Expedition to the Northern Parts of Russia; by COMMODORE BILLINGS, in the Years 1785 to 1794. The zbole narrated from original Papers, by MARTIN SAUER, Secretary to the Expedition, 4to. pages 380, 15 Plates and Maps. THE history of this Russian expedition is remarkable: an Englishman's work upon the Russian empire, induced the empress to have her own dominions explored, and the journal of the under taking is now published in England by an Englishman. "The extraordinary discoveries of the ever-memorable circumnavigator Cook, inspired all Europe with an enthusiastic desire of being acquainted with the parts of the globe still remaining unknown. Russia, though more interested in these events than any other power, being engaged in different pursuits, did not consider the distant and barren regions belonging to her own empire as of sufficient importance to justify the expeace and trouble of exploring them; until the genius of the country was completely roused by the animating intelligence communicated in the "Account of the Russian Discoveries between Asia and America, by the Reverend William Coxe," which the late Catherine the second commanded to be translated for her own perusal, although the original papers were in the archives of the admiralty at St. Petersburg. "The court of Russia was astonished at the discoveries already made, by its own rising subjects, of islands, and of a continent; of which latter it had indeed an idea, but not the smallest notion of its extent or proximity to its own territories, and only supposed that it might be America. However, these voy agers did not ascertain the geographical situations of places, nor explain the advantages that they offered to the country to which they belonged; nor, in short, any thing more than their mere existence. "The amazing extent of dominion acknowledging the sovereignty of Russia, independent of her late acquisitions by conquest, became now the fashionable topic of conversation at court. Mr. Coxe, being at St. Petersburg, took advantage of the favourable moment to suggest an expedition, to complete the geographical knowledge of the most distant possessions of that empire, and of such northern parts of the opposite continent as captain Cook could not possibly ascertain. The learned Dr. Pallas, then in great favour, undertook to make the neces sary representations to her imperial majesty, who, well pleased with the hint, immediately approved of the plan drawn out by these two gentlemen; and count Besborodko was, in consequence, ordered to prepare a mandate for the admiralty: this was in the autumn of the year 1784. Mr. Billings, who had just received a lieutenancy, said, that he had been the astronomer's assistant in captain Cook's last voyage; and he was therefore thought a proper person to conduct the enterprize." The instructions of her imperial majesty state, that the expedition was designed "for the exact determination of the longitude and latitude of the mouth 1 of the river Kovima, and the situation of the great promontory of the Tshutski, as far as the East Cape; for forming an exact chart of the islands in the Eastern Ocean extending to the coast of America; in short, for bringing to perfection the knowledge acquired under her glorious reign of the seas lying between the continent of Siberia and the opposite coast of America. Captain Billings and his company were to proceed by land to Ochotsk. Two vessels were there to be built for his voy age to the Eastern Ocean: while they were preparing, he was to march over to the river Omolon, and from thence proceed to survey the Kovima, and the promontory of the Tshutski to the East Cape; he had therefore two distinct expeditions to attempt. Nothing worthy of notice occurred on their road to Ochotsk, except, indeed, that admiral Zshemtshuzshnikoff made a point of drinking the king's health at Kazan; such is the orthography of this gentleman's name, that should his majesty be graciously, disposed to return the compliment, he would find it very difficult to drink the health of admiral Zshemtshuzshnikoff. The Siberians throughout the whole country are represented as more industrious and independant than the Russian peasantry. A little poem sung by a Yakut Tartar should be quoted; "In crossing a very boggy spot, our guide sung a melancholy song, which was thus interpreted: "This is the sad spot that was moistened by the tears of the venerable Tshogonnoi. The worthy old man! most skilful in the chase, and the constant protector of his friend. "Twas here that, unable to support the fatigues of the journey, his companion, his friend, his last horse, fell. He sat down by the side of his last horse, and vented his anguish in the bitterest of tears: Yes, the bitterest of tears; for he never failed in the duties of a Sochalar*. He never deserved to weep. (The third day he was relieved by a traveller and assisted home)." The name of the place is Tshogonnoi Utaby ta (the tears of Tshogonnoi)." A few days after their arrival at Ochotsk, they were spectators of a duck chase, which seems to have been upon as extensive a circle of slaughter as one of the great mogul's hunting parties, Wednesday the 15th, between three and four o'clock in the morning, the weather being calm and cloudy, about fifty small Russians, went out to sea, and returned with canoes, with Lamuti, Yakuti, and a few immense number of the sea-duck called Turthe tide at noon, driving before them an pan. When they were got into the bay of Kutchtui, about a mile from its discharge into the sea, they were surrounded by more than 200 canoes, drawn up in a regular line, forming a crescent. Thus enclosed, the tide left them in about six inches water, and all (the policy master) appointed by the comthe canoes were aground. A signa! o:fcer mandant, gave the word for a general attack, when a scene of the most whimsical confusion ensued. Men, women, and children, plunged in an instant into the water; some armed with short bludgeons, and others with strings and nets. While one knocked on the head all that came in his or her way, others of the same party strung or netted other. No field of battle is subject to such a them, all hurly burly, huddling over each variety of incidents and transitions. An illdirected blow sometimes lights on the hand of a friend, instead of the head of the foe. Suddenly the shrieks, scolding, and swearing of the women, and wrangling among all, change to peals of laughter and merriment; and the supplication of the ducks, and the noise of myriads of gulls hovering about, form the strangest medley of sounds, perhaps, that were ever heard. The women caught by far the greater quantity; and the whole number destroyed amounted to more than 6500. "The Turpan is as large as a domestic duck. The neck short; the bill black, short, and narrow, with a callous knob on the nostrils. The feathers black, with dark grey spots. They moult all the quill feathers at once, and consequently cannot fly; being driven, therefore, into shallow water, they are prevented from effecting their escape by diving, and become an easy prey. They taste very fishy, but make an agreeable change of food for the poor inhabitants. When salted and smoke-dried, they are esteemed an excellent whet, with a dram, before dinner," There are occasional peculiarities in Mr. Sauer's style, which we should attribute to affectation, if that gentleman had not been so long accustomed to speak a foreign language, that his own is probably not quite familiar to him. The supplication of the ducks is one of these objectionable phrases. The word casque is used for a grenadier's cap. "Nothing grows within five versts of *The Yakuti call themselves Sochu, and the singular is Sochalar. the sea. Here stunted and withered larch trees commence scantily” Fish is the chief food, but the finny tribe appear late." Numberless instances of such bloated phraseology might be produced, for which we believe we have assigned the right cause. The city of Ochotsk is a wretched place. It stands upon a neck of land chiefly composed of sand, shingles and drift wood, the whole thrown up by the surf. The town contains "132 miserable wooden houses, a church and belfry, several rotten store houses, and a double row of shops badly stocked." The air is unwholesome in the extreme. Fogs, mists, and chilling winds constantly prevail. The scurvy rages there with great violence, owing, perhaps, as much to want of cleanliness in the people as to the climate. Every spring is a time of scarcity: the dogs then become so ravenous, that it is not uncommon for them to destroy one another; and the first horses that arrive are generally torn to pieces. What a picture! The roasted beef tasted so fishy that the strangers thought it had been basted with train oil. In the afternoon, says Mr. Sauer, we drank tea at the commandant's; this also tasted of fish; and when I mentioned it to our host, he recommended the next cup without cream, which was very good. He told me, that the cattle had been fed for the last ten weeks entirely upon the offals of fish, and that the cows preferred dried salmon to hay. From this city the party proceeded inland to Virchni Kovima. Mr. Sauer travelled upon a rein-deer, a mode of riding neither safe nor agreeable. Having with me the ship-builder and my servant, at three P. M. I left the party, mounted on a beautiful young rein-deer; the saddle placed on its shoulders, without stirrups; no bridle, but a leather thong, about five fathom long, tied round the head of the deer; this is kept in the rider's left band, that he may prevent its escape if he fais, and, when refreshing, have a little scope to select its food. A strong stick, about fire feet long, assists the rider to mount; though the Tungoose, for this purpose, use their bow; standing on the right side of the deer, they put the left leg upon the saddle, kan on the stick with the right hand, and spring up with astonishing apparent ease: we, however, could not effect it by any means without assistance; and, during about three hours travelling, I dare say that we fell near twenty times. The top of the saddle is square and flat, projecting a few inches over the sides of the deer; the seat is secured by drawing up the calves of the legs towards the thighs, and clinging fast to the causes astonishing pain to the thighs: by projecting parts of the saddle, which at first the third day, however, I became a very expert rider; the ship-builder could not manage it at all, and went for the most part on foot; of course my travelling was not very expeditious." Our author crossed the track of country over which the Tungoose wander. He asked them, why they had no settled places of residence? They answered, that they knew no greater curse than to live in one place like a Russian or Yakut, where filth accumulates, and fills the habitation with stench and disease. The savages' reply, was more reasonable than Mr. Sauer's own reflection, "the romantic desolation of the scenes that frequently surrounded me, elevated my soul to a perfect conviction, that man is the lord of the creation!" He arrived at Virchni Kovima on the 28th September. Here they built two vessels to proceed down the river, and were detained eight months. Want of provisions was the first evil they endured; all hands reduced to a sorry pittance of bread and salt. The winter set in with severity: the mercury in their thermometer was frequently frozen. Their spirit thermometer never froze; it varied from 32° to 41° below 0 of Reaumur, “At 37° it was almost impossible to fell timber, which was as hard as the hatchet, Except it was perfectly dry; and in the greatest severity, the hatchets, on striking the wood, broke like glass. Indeed it was impossible to work in the open air, which com pelled us to make many holidays much against our inclination. "The effects of the cold are wonderfu’. Upon coming out of a warin room, it is allutely necessary to breath through a handkerchief; and you find yourself immediately surrounded by an atmosphere, arising from the breath and the heat of the body, which encloses you in a mist, and consists of small nodules of hoar ice. Breathing causes a noise like the tearing of coarse paper, or the breaking of thin twigs, and the expired breath is immediately condensed in the fine substance mentioned above, The northern lights are constant, and very brilliant; they seen close to you, and you may sometimes hear them shoot along; they assume an amazing diversity of shapes; and the Tungoose say, that they are spirits at variance fighting in the air." The scurvy next attacked. Their beasts suffered still more than themselves. The poor horses employed in dragging timber from the woods, exhibited such a picture of misery as perhaps never before existed; they were fed with brush wood and the tops of willows, having neither grass nor hay: they seldom worked longer than a fortnight, then tired, and died. Mr. Sauer recommends the rich to go there to learn the pleasure and advantage of prayer, and the Jacobins to enjoy liberty and equality! On the 25th of May they left this miserable place, and entered the river Kovima, and on June 24th came into the Icy Sea. Captain Billings proceeded but a little way along the coast: the author, and apparently with good reason, thought it practicable to advance: one of the company, M. Sharetskeff, offered to attempt it in the boat with six hands, de signing to sleep on shore every night. Major Shmaleff, the ablest of the party, was for proceeding; but the captain appears to have been deficient in all the requisites for such a command, and he accordingly returned without fulfilling this object of his expedition. In November they arrived at Yakutsk. Here they met with an extraordinary man, whose after-fate is well known. "At Yakutsk we found, to our great surprise, Mr. Ledyard, an old companion of captain Billings, in Cook's voyage round the world; he then served in the capacity of a corporal, but now called himself an American colonel, and wished to cross over to the American continent with our expedition, for the purpose of exploring it on foot. secretary, and several necessary hands, were ordered to follow with all possible speed. "We arrived the 16th January 1788, and friend brigadier I took up my abode with my Troepolski. 66 In the evening of the 24th February, while I was playing at cards with the brigadier and some company of his, a secretary belonging to one of the courts of justice came in, and told us, with great concern, that the governor-general had received positive orders from the empress, immediately to send one of the expedition, an Englishman, under but that he did not know the name of the guard to the private inquisition at Mosco; person, and that captain Billings was with a private party at the governor-general's. Now, as Ledyard and I were the only Englishmen here, I could not help smiling at the news, when two hussars came into the room, and told me that the coinmandant wished to see me immediately. The consternation into which the visitors were thrown is not to be described. I assured them that it must be a mistake, and went with the guards to the commandant. Here I found Mr. Ledyard under arrest. He told me, that he had sent for captain Billings, but he would not come to him. He then began to explain his situation, and said that he was taken up as a French spy, whereas captain Billings could prove the contrary; but he supposed that he knew nothing of the matter, and requested that I would inform him. I did so; but the captain assured me, that it was an absolute order from the empress, and he could not help him. He, however, sent him a few rubles, and gave him a pelisse; and I procured him his linen quite wet from the washtub. Ledyard took a friendly leave of me, desired his remembrance to his friends, and, kibitka, and drove off, with two guards, one with astonishing composure, leaped into the on each side. I wished to travel with him a little way, but was not permitted. I therefore returned to my company, and explained the matter to them; but, though this eased their minds with regard to my fate, it did not restore their harmony. Ledyard's behaviour, however, had been haughty, and not at all condescending, which certainly made him enemies." They proceeded to Ochotsk in September, and finding that their ships could not be ready for sea before the following July, returned to winter at Yakutsk Here the author employed himself in collecting information concerning the tribe of the Yakuts, or Socha, as they call themselves. The ceremony of conse crating their Koumiss is curious. "The mares having cast, a short time is allowed the colts to suck, that they may acquire strength; they are then tied up, or |