cers fay, that they travelled more than a hundred leagues from the dilicious country watered by the Ohio, through Louisiana, without meeting a fingle family of favages. Labrador is very thin of inhabitants; no people having been difcovered in it, but the Efquimaux, a very small tribe. And as that tribe has plenty of food at home, there is no appearance, that they ever fent a colony to any other part of America. The civilization of the Mexicans and Peruvians, as well as their populoufnefs, make it extremely probable that they were the first inhabitants of America. In travelling northward, the people are more and more ignorant and favage: the Efquimaux, the most northern of all, are the most favage. In travelling fouthward, the Patagonians, the most fouthern of all, are so stupid as to go naked in a bitter cold region.

I venture still farther; which is, to conjecture, that America has not been peopled from any part of the old world. The external appearance of the inhabitants, makes this conjecture approach to a certainty; as that appearance differs widely from the appearance of any other known people. Excepting the eye-lafhes, eye-brows, and hair of the head, which is invariably jet black, there is not a fingle hair on the body of any American: not the least appearance of a beard. Another distinguishing mark is their copper-colour, uniformly the fame in all climates, hot and cold; and differing from the colour of all other nations. Ulloa remarks, that the Americans of Cape Breton, resemble the Peruvians in complexion, in manners, and in customs; the only visible difference being, that the former are of a larger stature. A third circumstance no less distinguishing is, that American children are born with down upon the skin, which disappears the eighth or ninth day, and never grows again. Children of the old world are born with skins smooth and polished, and no down appears till puberty. That the original inhabitants of America are a race distinct from

all

all others, I once thought demonftrable from fome reports concerning the Efquimaux. The author of the history of New France and feveral other writers report, that the Efquimaux are bold, mischievous, fufpicious, and untamable; that it is not even fafe to converse with them but at a distance; that no European skin is whiter; and that they are bearded up to the eyes. Suppofing these facts to be true, had I not reafon to believe, that the Efquimaux must have sprung from fome nation in the north of Europe or Afia, tho' I could not pretend to fay, whether the transmigration was by land or fea? From the fame facts, however, I was forc'd to conclude, that the rest of the Americans could not have had the fame origin; for if the Canadians or any other American nation were of Afiatic or European extraction, they must, like the Esquimaux, have had a beard and white skin to this day. But one cannot be too cautious in giving faith to odd or fingular facts, reported of diftant nations. It is difcovered by later accounts more worthy of credit, that the foregoing defcription of the Efquimaux is false in every particular. Of all the northern nations, not excepting the Laplanders, the Efquimaux are of the smallest fize, few of them exceeding four feet in height. They have heads extremely grofs, feet and hands very fmall. That they are neither cruel nor fufpicious, appears from what Ellis fays in his account of a voyage anno 1747, for discovering a north-west passage, that they offered their wives to the English failors, with expreffions of fatisfaction for being able to accommodate them. But what is the moft to the prefent purpofe; they are of a copper colour, like the other Americans, only a degree lighter, occafioned probably by the intense cold of their climate; and they are also altogether destitute of a beard. It is common indeed among them, to bring forward the hair of the head upon the face, for preferving it from flies, which rage in that country during fummer; an apVOL. II.

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pearance

pearance that probably has been mistaken by travellers for a beard.

It has been lately difcovered, that the language of the Esquimaux. is the fame with that of the Greenlanders. A Danish missionary, who by fome years refidence in Greenland had acquired the language of that country, made a voyage with Commodore Pallifer to Newfoundland ann. 1764. Meeting a company of about two hundred Efquimaux, he was agreeably surprised to hear the Greenland tongue. They received him kindly, and drew from him a promife to return the next year. And we are informed by Crantz, in his history of Greenland, that the fame Danish missionary vifited them the very next year, in company with the Rev. Mr Drachart. They agreed, that the difference between the Efquimaux language and that of Greenland was not greater than between the dialects of North and South Greenland, which differ not so much as the High and Low Dutch. Both nations call themselves Innuit or Karalit, and call the Europeans Kablunet. Their ftature, features, manners, dress, tents, darts, and boats, are entirely the fame. As the language of Greenland resembles not the language of Finland, Lapland, Norway, Tartary, nor that of the Samoides, it is evident, that neither the Esquimaux nor Greenlanders are a colony from any of the countries mentioned. Geographers begin. now to conjecture, that Greenland is a part of the continent of North America, without intervention of any fea* *. One thing is. certain, that the Greenlanders refemble the North-Americans in. every particular: they are of a copper colour, and have no beard; they are of a small fize, like the Efquimaux, and have the fame

The Danes had a fettlement in Greenland long before Columbus fiw the Weft Indies. Would it not appear paradoxical to fay, that America was difcovered by the Danes long before the time of Columbus, and long before they knew that: they had made the difcovery?

language.

ence.

language. And thus I am obliged to abandon my favourite argument, for proving the Americans, the Efquimaux excepted, to be indigenous, and not indebted to the old world for their exiftAt the fame time, the other arguments urged above remain entire; and from what is now faid a circumstance occurs, that fortifies greatly the chief of them. People, who with a bold face furmount all difficulties rather than give up a favourite opinion, make light of the copper colour and want of beard, willing. to attribute all to the climate. We want data, I acknowledge, to determine with accuracy what effects can be produced by a climate. But luckily we have no occasion at prefent to determine that difficult point. It is fufficient that the climate of Labrador is much the fame with that of the northern parts of Europe and Afia. From that circumstance I conclude with certainty, that the copper colour and want of beard in the Efquimaux cannot be the refult of climate. And if fo, what foundation can there be for making these circumstances depend on the climate in any Other part of America? Truly none at all. I add, that as the copper colour and want of beard continue invariably the same in every variety of climate, hot and cold, moist and dry, they must depend on fome invariable cause acting uniformly; which may be a fingularity in the race of people (a), but cannot proceed from the climate.

If we can rely on the conjectures of an eminent writer (b), America emerged from the fea later than any other part of the known world and fuppofing the human race to have been planted in America by the hand of God later than the days of Mofes, Adam and Eve might have been the first parents of mankind, i. c. of all who at that time exifted, without being the first parents of the Americans.

(a) Book 1. fketch 1.
(5) M. Buffon.

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The

The Terra Auftralis incognita is feparated from the rest of the world by a wide ocean, which carries a fhip round the earth without interruption. How has that continent been peopled? There is not the flightest probability, that it ever has been joined to any other land. Here a local creation, if it may be termed fo, appears unavoidable; and if we must admit more than one act of creation, even the appearance of difficulty, from reiteration of.. acts, totally vanifheth. M. Buffon, in his natural history, bears teftimony, that not a fingle American quadruped of a hot climate is found in any other part of the earth: with refpect to these we must unavoidably admit a local creation; and nothing feems more natural, than under the fame act to comprehend the first parents of the American people.

:

It is poffible, indeed, that a fhip with men and women may,, by contrary winds, be carried to a very distant fhore. But to ac-count thus for the peopling of America, will not be much relished Mexico and Peru must have been planted before navigation was known in the old world, at least before a ship was brought to fuch perfection as to bear a long courfe of bad weather. Will it be thought, that any fuppofition ought to be embraced, however improbable, rather than admit a separate creation? We are, it is true, much in the dark as to the conduct. of creative providence; but every rational conjecture leans to a feparate creation. America and the Terra Auftralis must have been. planted by the Almighty with a number of animals and vegetables, fome of them peculiar to those vaft continents: and when fuch care has been taken about inferior life, can fo wild a thought be admitted, as that man, the nobleft work of terreftrial-creation,. would be left to chance? But it is fcarce neceffary to infift upon. this topic, as the external characters of the Americans above mentioned reject the fuppofition of their being defcended from any people of the old world..