Diet of the deer, to force them into the Place where they have fet their Nets. They carefully obferve the Wind, which they guess at the Alteration of, by certain Signs; for, if the North Wind fets in, there is no enduring the open Country; if they cannot efcape to fome Cave, and fhelter themfelves, till it is over, they certainly perifh; from whence we may conclude, there are no conftant Inhabitants' about there, tho' fome pretend to have seen them. The Diet of the Oftiacks is chiefly Fifh, Venifon, Wild Fowl, and Roots: Bread they have none: Their Drink, for the moft part, is fair Water, and fometimes the Blood of a Raindeer, or of any other Beaft they take; and it is faid, they can dispense with a Draught of Train Oil. Tobacco they are immoderately fond of; but, instead of blowing the Smoke out of their Mouths, they hold a little Water in their Mouths, with which they fwallow the Smoke down; which fo intoxicates them, that they foon lose their Senfes, and throw up the Phlegm; and this they will repeat feveral times a Day. In Winter, they fet up their Huts in Woods and Forefts, where there Houses. are the greatest Plenty of wild Beafts and Game; Marriages. they dig deep in the Ground to fecure themselves from the Cold, laying a Roof of Bark, or Rufhes, over their Huts, which are cover'd with Snow in the hard Seafon. In the Summer, they build above Ground, on the Banks of Rivers, for the Conveniency of Fifhing. The Oftiacks, like the Samoieds, purchase their Wives of their Relations, for three or four Rain-deer; and take as many as they please, returning them again to their Friends, if they do not like them, and their Lofs is only the Rain-deer they gave for them. And, in fome Parts of the Country, they take the Liberty of felling their Wives for Slaves, when they are offended with them. They bury their Dead in the Clothes they wore when alive, Funerak. hanging by them, on the next Tree, their Bows, Quivers, Hatchets, and other Utenfils. The Tartars, who live along the River Irtis, South eaft of Tobolsky, are wealthy in Cattle, having vaft Flocks and Herds. Thefe People live chiefly upon dried Fifh, Venifon, and Barley-meal: they drink Mares Milk, as moft of the Tartars do, and fometimes Tea, but mix it with Flour and Butter. At great Entertainments, they ufually drefs a young Horfe, which is their moft delicious Food. Their drink they make of Oatmeal, and Spirits diftilled from Mares Milk, with which they often get Tartars on the Diet. drunk, Drefs. Barabinsky Tartars, Diet. Drefs. Bratsky Diet, drunk, and behave themselves very brutishly. Their Habit resembles that of the ancient Ruffians, and the Women wear Rings in their Noftrils. Beyond thefe People, in the great Defart of Baraba, live certain Herds, or Tribes, called Barabinsky Tartars: In the Winter, they hunt in this Defart for Sables; but in Summer, they remove to the Banks of their Rivers, and are bufied in Fishing. The Defart affording no other Water, they drink melted Snow, and eat dried Fish, and Barley-meal, like their Neighbours. For a little Tobacco, a Man may purchase any thing they have; but they scarce know the Ufe of Money. Their Cloaths, Caps, and Stockings, are made of Pieces of Fur patched together. The Bratfky Tartars live chiefly on Venifon, but Value Horfe-flefh much more. Their Women wear long plaited Gowns; and the Virgins diftinguish themselves, by adorning their Hair with Brafs, and glittering Toys. They alfo purchase their Wives, as in fome other Parts of Siberia, with their Cattle; and often give a hundred Horses, or Oxen, for a Virgin they admire; and fifteen or twenty Camels, befides Sheep. The Tartars about Aftracan, call'd Nagaian Tartars, are conftantly moving from Place to Place, for the Convenience of Pasture: They cover their Tents with Cloth, made of Camels or Horfes Hair: The Floor is laid with fine Mats, or Carpets; their Furniture confifts The Circaffian of fine Cabinets, Trunks, and Boxes. The Circaffians have Plenty of Wild Fowl, Venifon, Mutton, and Beef; but a Piece of a young Colt is preferred before any of thefe. Their ufual Drink is Water, or Mares Milk, like the other Tartars: They all fmoke Tobacco, Men and Women, Young and Old; they fit cross-legged, and have a Carpet, or a Piece of Ruffian Leather, fpread before them, and little wooden Tables, at Nagaian Tartars. Diet. Calmuck their Meals; but neither Linen, nor Plates, as far as I can find. The Calmucks also rove from Place to Place, during the fair Seafon, not lefs or ten thousand of them frequently in a Body, who drive large Flocks and Herds before them. They begin their March ufually in the Spring, when the Grass is come up; and, as they make but eafy Journeys, leave fcarce any Herbage behind them in the Country they have pafs'd through. In the latter End of than eight Manner of Life. the the Year, when there is a fecond Crop of Grafs, they usually return the fame Way they came; and remain in a more substantial kind of Houfes, during the Winter Seasons, than they inhabited in the Summer; but the People and the Cattle frequently lie in the fame Room. They eat indifferently of all Kinds of Meat almoft, except Hogs Diet. Flesh; and, for their Drink, they have commonly Water; they have alfo Tea, and Spirits extracted from Mares Milk. In the Winter, they hunt Sables, Martens, Ermins, and other Beafts, which afford Furs. CURIOSITIES.] For want of Curiofities, I fhall present the Reader with the best Account I can meet with of that prodigious Wall, which feparates Tartary from China, built by the Chinefe, to hinder the frequent Incurfions of the Tartars. This Wall begins in the Province of Xenfi, which lies on the North-weft of China, in about 38 Degrees of Latitude, and is carried on over Mountains and Valleys; firft, towards the North-eaft to the Latitude 42, and then South-eafterly to the Latitude 39; and terminates at the Kang-Sea, between the Provinces of Pekin and Leotung. The whole Courfe of it, with all the Windings, is about 1500 Miles: It is almost all built with Brick, and fuch well-temper'd Mortar, that it has now ftood above 1800 Years: There are no Breaches in it, except in the Province of Pekin, North of the City Suven, where, inftead of the Wall, are very high and inacceffable Mountains. By the Embafly that was fent from Muscovy to China, and Travellers who have lately feen it, we learn that it is about ten Yards high, and about five Yards thick. It is fortified all along by fquare Towers at a Mile Distance, fay fome; and others, at the Distance of two Bow-fhots from one another. It was formerly guarded by a Million of Soldiers; but now Guards are only placed at fuch Parts of it, as are easiest of Access. Of the Afiatic ISLES. CLIMATE.] to the Kingdom of Japan, extending Rom the Situation of the Islands, belongFing from the 30th to the 38th Deg. of North Lat. and fome fay to the 40th, it may be expected the Air fhould be moderately warm; but to the North of the Mountains, which run thro' the midst of Japan, their Winters are very fevere, and they have great Quantities of Snow. The Mountains of Formofa, it is Japan flords Form fa, faid, Anian, Inland of faid, are full of Brimftone; which makes the Ifland fubject to Earthquakes. Anian is a plen tiful Ifland, and has Mines of Gold and Silver, The Philip- and a Pearl Fishery. The Philippines are a great pine Islands. Number of Iflands; fome fay a thoufand, extending from the 5th to the 19th Degree of North Latitude. Thefe Islands are fubject to great Earthquakes; and the burning Mountains have, 'tis obferved, all thofe Effects which Pliny afcribes to the burning Mountains of Italy'; namely, that they caft out their Flames, shake the Earth, driving from them the neighbouring Rivers and Seas, and fcattering their Afhes round the Country, rending the very Rocks, which fometimes gave a Report like a Cannon. From thefe fubterraneous Fires proceeds a great Variety of hot Baths; and fome of the Rivers and Streams are fo hot, that they immediately kill any Animal that falls into them. Within half a Mile of one of these hot Rivers, in Manila, there runs another, which is exceffive cold. No Country in the World can appear more beautiful; there is a perpetual Verdure; Buds, Bloffoms, and Fruit, are found upon the Trees all the Year round, as well on the Mountains as Gardens. Products of the This Country produces Pearls, Ambergrife, CotPhilippines, ton, and Civet, and is rich in Gold Mines, but feldom wrought; they have vaft Quantities of Gold Duft, which are wash'd down from the Hills by the Rains, and found mix'd with the Sand of their Rivers. The Products of Amboina are Cloves, Oranges, Lemons, Sugar-canes, Cocoes, and other Fruits; they have alfo Potatoes, and fome Tobacco. In the Moluccas, they have neither Corn or Rice, or hardly any Butchers Meat, but Goats Flefh. Here are alfo Almonds, Oranges, and Lemons, and other delicious Fruits; but what is peculiar to these Islands, and, in Return for which, they were once furnish'd with the Pro Amboina Moluccas, their Produce. Banda Ifles. Mace. duce of every other Country, is their Cloves. The Banda Ifles are as famous for Nutmegs, as the Moluccas and Amboina are for Cloves. The Nutmeg-tree is like the Peach, only its Leaves are rounder, and fomething lefs: The fruit is inclos'd in a thick Rind, like a Walnut; under this a Leaf, which covers the Shell, and is what we call Mace; and within this lies the Nutmeg. It feems the Dutch have rooted up all the Cloves in the Moluccas, properly fo called, because 3 because they lay expos'd to the Attempts of other Nations; for this Reason they have encouraged the Planting of Cloves in Amboina only, which have increased to fuch a Degree, that this Ifland alone is now fufficient to ferve the whole World with Cloves. The Air in the Island of Celebes is hot and moift, the whole Country ly- Celebes. ing under or very near the Line, and fubject to great Rains. It is moft healthful during the Northern Monfons; if they fail of blowing their accustomed Time, which is very feldom, the Ifland grows fickly, and great Numbers of People are swept away. They have Mines of Copper, Tin, and Gold; but I do not find they are much wrought: The Gold they have is found chiefly in the Sands of their Rivers, and at the Bottom of Hills, wafh'd down by Torrents. This Country produces many venomous Drugs and Herbs, the very Touch or Smell of which occafions prefent Death. The Cattle have that Sagacity, it is obferv'd, that they seldom touch a noxious Herb; and if they happen to tread near one, immediately fly from it. The Air in the Island of Borneo is not exceffive hot, confidering it is Borneo Air. fituated under the Equinoctial, being refresh'd almost every Day with Showers and Sea-breezes, as all other Countries are under the Line. Gold and Pre cious Stones, which abound in this Ifland, make Products. our Adventurers flight Death in every Shape, ra ther than not poffefs them. As to their Monfons, or periodical Winds, they are Wefterly from September to April, or thereabouts; during which Time is their wet Seafon, when heavy Rains continually pour down, intermix'd with violent Storms of Thunder and Lightning; and, at this Time, it is very rare to have two Hours fair Weather together on the South Coaft of the Ifle, where the Europeans principally refort. The dry Seafon begins ufually in April, and continues till September; and, in this Part of the Year too, they feldom fail of a Shower every Day, when the Sea-breeze comes in. This Ifland alfo produces Pepper, and many other valuable Commodities. The Air of Sumatra is generally very unwholfome; for, from the hotteft fultry Weather, it often fuddenly changes to chilling Cold. The low Grounds alfo, near the Coaft, where the Natives, as well as Foreigners, principally inhabit, being one continued Morafs, the fame Kind of ftinking Fogs arise here as in Borneo, and render this Country no lefs unhealthful, especially to Foreigners. The principal Produce of Sumatra is Pepper, and Gold Duft; it Products. Vol. I. T Sumatra Air. alfo |