fpirits; and, having procured thefe articles, they proceeded on their voyage, paling by Madeira, and the Canary Islands; and anchored in Porto, Praya Bay, in the Ifland of St. Jago, on the 24th of October. In this navigation, the moft, if not the only, remarkable circumftance that occurs, is their picking up a cafk of wine in the Bay of Biscay, which proved to be excellent claret, and had been fo long at fea that it was covered with barnacles.

They left St. Jago on the 29th of October, and touched at Falkland's Iflands in January 1786, when they completed their water; and, doubling Cape Horn, in lat. 60° S. anchored in Karakakooa Bay, at Owhyee, one of the Sandwich Islands, on the 26th of May following. They remained among these iflands, taking in wood and water, and recruiting their people, among whom the fcurvy had begun to make its appearance. On the 13th of June, they proceeded on their voyage, and arrived in Cook's River, on the weft coaft of America, on the 19th of July following.

They found here a company of Ruffian traders; but few fkins however, they purchafed fome; and, which was no inconfiderable circumftance in their fituation, they procured great quantities of excellent falmon. But the moft remarkable difcovery which they made here, was a vein of coals, in the harbour where the Ruffians had taken up their abode; and from which circumftance they called it Coal Harbour. It lies between Cape Elizabeth and Point Bede.

Not finding what they came for here in any confiderable quantity, they left Cook's River on the 12th of Auguft, with an intention to go to Prince William's Sound, but which they were not able to make: they, therefore, ftood along the coaft, to the fouthward, in hopes of making fome of the other barbours which Captain Cook has defcribed, but were fo unfortu nate as not to find, or be able to reach any of them. They therefore quitted the coaft of America on the 29th of September, being then off Nootka Sound, and returned to Sandwich Islands, which they made on the 15th of November following.

They remained among thefe iflands from this time to March the 15th, purchafing provifions, water, wood, &c. all which they procured in great plenty, good of their kind, and at reafonable prices; but it appears that, toward the latter end of the time, the natives began to grow weary of them, and to endeavour to ftarve them from their coafts, by declining farther traffic with them, at leaft for provifions. It is not indeed abfolutely certain that this was their motive: there might be a real fearcity among the natives themselves at that time; but this does not appear to have been the cafe from the narrative before us. On the 23d of April, they made the land about Prince William's Sound;

and

and, on the 25th, anchored in a pretty deep bay near the southeaft end of Montague Ifland. They lay here till the ift of May, when they weighed and worked farther up into the Sound; and foon found by the natives, that there were other Europeans in the neighbourhood, who proved to be a Captain Mears and crew, who had come from Bengal in a fnow, called the Nootka. Captain Mears had wintered in the Bay which Captain Cook called Snug Corner Bay, and was then lying there in a very deplorable fitua zion; the veffel being ftill faft in the ice, and having loft many of his officers and crew in the courfe of the winter; and the rest were so much enfeebled by the fcurvy, that, at one time, he was the only person who was able to walk the deck.

They foon found that Captain Mears had left them little prospect of meeting with many furs in that place; it was therefore agreed, that only Captain Portlock fhould remain in Prince William's Sound, and fend his long-boat, properly fitted, to fee what could be got in Cook's River; and that Captain Dixon fhould ftand to the fouthward, along the coaft, and try what could be met with in fuch rivers and creeks as he might be able to fall in with and laftly, that the two fhips should meet at Nootka Sound toward autumn. In confequence of these refolutions, Captain Dixon left Prince William's Sound on the 14th of May; and on the 23d, anchored in a bay, in lat. 59° 32' N. and long. 140° W. which he called Port Mulgrave. It feems to be the bay which Captain Cook faw on the 7th of May 1778, and has taken notice of in vol. ii. p. 348. of his laft voyage. This place afforded them 16 or 18 good fea-otter skins, two cloaks of marmot skins, a few racoons, and about a puncheon of flips of beaver, fea-otter, &c.

They quitted Port Mulgrave on the 4th of June, and on the 12th, entered the bay which was difcovered by Captain Cook a little to the eastward of Mount Edgecumbe (See his laft Voyage, vol. ii. p. 344.), and which they found to be exceedingly fpacious and convenient. It lies, by Captain Dixon's account, in lat. 57° 03' N. and long. 135° 36′ W. and he called it Norfolk Sound. In this place they purchased about 200 excellent feaotters skins, a large parcel of pieces, or lips, about 100 good feal skins, and a great number of fine beaver tails; and left the place on the 23d of June. The fame day they entered another inlet, which formed a most beautiful harbour, fituated in lat. 56° 35' N. and long. 135° W. Captain Dixon called it Port Banks, in honour of Sir Jofeph Banks; but here they found neither furs nor inhabitants. Captain Cook remarks that this part of the coaft feemed to be much broken, forming bays and harbours every two or three leagues. Vol. ii. p. 344.

On the aft of July, being then arrived on that part of the coaft which Captain Cook was prevented from exploring, by the REV. June, 1789.

L1

gale

gale of wind that happened immediately after he had left Nootka, they came abreast of the north end of a very confiderable groupe of iflands, confifting, as appears from the chart, of one very large ifland and feveral smaller ones, which Captain Dixon called Queen Charlotte's Ilands; and here they met with the principal part of their traffic.

Having ftripped the natives of Charlotte's Iflands of all their furs, they stood away for Nootka Sound; and on the 8th of Auguft, being not far from the entrance into it, they faw two fhips making towards them, which turned out to be two other veffels belonging to the fame gentlemen who had fitted out the King George and Queen Charlotte. The Commanders of these veffels told Captain Dixon that they had been near a month at Nootka, without getting any thing worth notice, because they found there a fhip from Oftend, called the Imperial Eagle, Captain Berkley, who had purchafed all the furs of which the natives were poffeffed before Capt. Berkley's arrival. They found alfo, in that Sound, a perfon of the name of M'Key, who had been left there above a year before, to learn the language, by two fhips that had been fitted out from Bombay.

On the 5th of Auguft, Captain Dixon quitted the American coaft, and arrived a third time at Sandwich Islands, on the 5th of September. Here they laid in a large ftock of wood, water, vegetables, and hogs; and departed for China on the 18th of the fame month; at which place they arrived, after a most pleasant and profperous paffage, on the 8th of November following.

After fome delay, they fold their furs to confiderable advantage; though not, by any means, for what they expected, owing to a great many furs coming juft then into the market from various quarters and having taken a cargo of tea on board for the Eaft India Company, both fhips failed for England on the 9th of February 1788, and arrived fafe in the month of September following.

This voyage is not deftitute of information; and we have no doubt of its affording a great deal of amusement to many readers. But we are forry to fay, it is delivered in a manner not the moft natural, or, in our opinion, the most pleasant,-being written in the form of letters; a form which is not very proper for the narration of a voyage like this, where every circumstance continually reminds the reader, that they could not reach the hands of the perfon to whom they are addreffed, until the writer carried them himself. Befide, the blank spaces at the head and tail of each letter, the cordial greetings with which each is prefaced, and the affectionate farewels which conclude them, are of no ufe to the purchafer of the book. We may add, that the writer's ufing, or affecting to use, the ftyle of the Quakers, and his frequent unfuccessful attempts at humour, do not, in our

opinion

opinion at least, tend to embellifh the work. He fhould allo have confidered, or Captain Dixon for him, that felating every trivial circumftance which occurred, and defcribing every place, indifcriminately, at which they touched, though it might amule his friend, whofe nautical excurfions never reached farther than Deptford or Blackwall, would yet weary fuch of his readers as have extended their travels to Gravefend, Deal, Portsmouth, or perhaps to Guernsey. In fhort, we greatly regret that the account of this voyage was not written by Captain Dixon himself, in the fame plain and fenfible manner that he has drawn up the introduction to it.

As a proof that the book before us contains fome valuable information, we shall lay before our readers the following abridged. account of what has been undertaken in this newly discovered trade; and the fuccefs of the feveral adventurers who have hitherto embarked in it.

The first veffel that was fitted out was a brig of 60 tons, from China, under the command of Captain Hanna. He left the Typa in April 1785, arrived at Nootka in Auguft following, left that place in the latter end of September, and arrived at Macao in December, the fame year. His cargo confifted of 500 fea-otters fkins, befide pieces, which were difpofed of as follows:

140 skins at 60 dollars each, amounting to 8,400 dollars.

In the beginning of 1786, the fnow Captain Cook, of 300 tons, Captain Lorie, and the Experiment, Captain Guife, of 100 tons, were fitted out from Bombay. They arrived at Nootka in June, and left that place fometime before Auguft, with 600 fkins. They traced the coaft up to Prince William's Sound, without adding much to their trade; and arrived at Canton on the 4th of April following. This cargo was fold altogether, at 40 dollars per fkin, which amounts to 24,000 dollars.

Captain Hanna was again fitted out, from China, in the fnow Sea Otter of 120 tons, and 30 men, in May 1786; and arrived at Nootka in Auguft: but he had now the mortification to find the Sound ftripped juft before his arrival; fo that he procured but few skins. He traced the coaft to near 53° of North latitude; anchored in a bay, which he found in 50° 42′ N. and met with inhabitants; but got few furs. He arrived at Canton L12

the

the 12th of March 1787 with 100 fea-otters fkins, which fold for 50 dollars each, and 300 different fized pieces, which fold for 10 dollars each. Total 8000 dollars.

The fnow Lark, Captain Peters, of 220 tons, and 40 men, failed from Macao in July 1786. She was directed to make the N. W. coaft of America by the way of Kamfchatka, and to examine the islands which lie to the north of Japan. The Lark arrived at Kamschatka on the 20th of Auguft, and left it on the 18th of September. Accounts, fince then, have been received that this ship was loft on Copper Ifland, and only two of the people faved.

The Nootka, Captain Mears, of 200 tons; and the Sea Otter, Captain Tipping, of 100, failed from Bengal, feparately, in March 1786. Captain Tipping arrived at Prince William's Sound in September, whilft the Captain Cook and the Experiment were there; and left it, as they understood, for Cook's River; but has never been heard of fince. Captain Mears touched at Oonalafhka in Auguft, and proceeded to Cook's River. He intended to have gone in, by the way of the Barren Iflands; but the weather being thick at the time, he got into Whitfuntide Bay; through which he found a paffage into the river, proving, by that means, that the land which forms Point Banks and Cape Whitfunday is an ifland, contrary to the opinion of Captain Cook, who has offered fome reasons for fuppofing it to be a part of the continent. Here he met with the Ruffian fettlers, who informed him that two other hips had lately been in the river. This induced him to fteer for Prince William's Sound, where they afterward found him. He arrived at Macao fome time before the Queen Charlotte; and the fale of his cargo at Canton was as follows:

50 prime fea-otter skins, at 91 dollars each, 4,550 dollars.