OF THE PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY ON THE MORE NORTHERN COASTS OF AMERICA, FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME. BY PATRICK FRASER TYTLER, ESQ., WITH DESCRIPTIVE SKETCHES OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE NORTH AMERICAN BY JAMES WILSON, ESQ., F.R.S. E. & M.W.S. TO WHICH IS ADDED AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING REMARKS ON A LATE MEMOIR OF SEBASTIAN CABOT, WITH A VINDICATION OF RICHARD HAKLUYT. ILLUSTRATED BY A MAP, AND NINE ENGRAVINGS BY JACKSON, SECOND EDITION. EDINBURGH: OLIVER & BOYD, TWEEDDALE-COURT; AND SIMPKIN & MARSHALL, LONDON. MDCCCXXXIII. HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY FROM THE LIBRARY OF MRS. ELLEN HAVEN ROSS JUNE 28, 1938 [ENTERED IN STATIONERS' HALL.] OLIVER & BOYD, Printers. PREFACE. AMONG the various Expeditions of Discovery by land and sea, none have been considered of greater importance, or regarded with a deeper interest, than those into the Arctic Regions. The navigator has nowhere to contend with such formidable obstacles, nor does he elsewhere behold an aspect of nature so peculiar. The EDINBURGH CABINET LIBRARY COMmenced with a volume descriptive of the Polar Seas and Countries; and the popularity of that work has afforded a gratifying proof, both of the interest felt by the public in the subject, and of its having been treated in a satisfactory manner. But there remained another branch of adventure equally arduous, which required to be completed before we could be said to have obtained a full and connected view of the various efforts made to explore the extreme north by the nations of Europe, and particularly by Britain. We allude to the expeditions undertaken, partly by land and partly by coast and river navigation, to trace the limits of America, where that continent borders on the Arctic Circle. The scenery, it is well known, is of the same grand and impressive character; and the suc cessive adventurers were exposed to vicissitudes if possible still more striking than those experienced in the Polar Regions. The tracts, also, over which they passed,-being tenanted by animals of remarkable and varied form, adorned by nature with the richest and most beautiful furs,-yielded numerous objects not only of the highest interest to the zoological observer, but of great value as the materials of an extensive commerce. The present volume, therefore, which exhibits a view of all that is important in our knowledge of the most remote territories of America, when studied in combination with the "Polar Seas and Regions," of which it may be regarded as the sequel, will be found to supply a complete account of the whole series of Northern Discoveries by land and water. Of this work the Historical and Critical departments have been contributed by PATRICK FRASER TYTLER, Esq., the distinguished Author of the History of Scotland, and the Natural History by JAMES WILSON, Esq.,-two gentlemen whose names, the publishers are confident, will furnish a sufficient security that the task committed to them has been executed with care. In the Appendix it has been the object of Mr Tytler, not only to vindicate from a late attack the reputation of an excellent writer, but if possible to set at rest the disputed point regarding the discovery of North America. In this investigation he has endeavoured to unite the patient research, which is absolutely requisite for the discovery of truth on such a subject, with a popular mode of communicating it. The high qualifications of Mr Wilson our readers have already had ample opportunities to appreciate; and we may add that, from his intimate acquaintance and correspondence with Dr Richardson, whose name stands so high among |