270
P r o d u c e *
I sl e o f
M a t m a y .
L a n d o f J eso .
J A P A N . I
T h e a r t ic le s b r o u g h t f r o m th e n c e a r e c o d , a n d o t h e r f u l l
p i c k l e d , w a ln u t s , r a r e m e d i c in a l p la n t s , a n d f lo w e r s , a n d t h e
f am o u s Gingfeng r o o t s , a n i l b e f o r e t h e im p e r ia l p r o h ib i t io n , c e r ta
in e a r th e n p o t s m a d e in t h e 'Tartarian p r o v in c e s o f Japii a n d
Niuke.
T h e other country dependent on Japan, is the ifland of
Matmay or Matfumai, part of the land o f Jefo, divided from the
north end of Nipon by an incurvated ftreight, in the neareft
place fixty verjls, or forty-five miles broad. According to Charlevoix',
in his Fajles Chronologiques, the firft European who vifited
that ifland was father Jerom de Angelis, a Sicilian jefu.it, who
went there by fea fro.m Japan, and landed at the capital. He
reached it in the year 1620, and returned in 1621, but without
being certain whether it was an ifland or part o f the continent,
nor has he left us any account, either of it or its inhabitants.
T h e next Europeans who vifited this country were the Dutch,
who in 1643 failed from the Cape Nabo in the ihips Caftricom,
captain De Fries, and the Brejkes, on a voyage o f difcovery off
the coafls o f Tartary. In Lat. 44“ 36' north, they fell in with
what they call Efo or Jefo. Whether this was the north extremity
of Matfumai, or another land almoft contiguous to it, does
hot appear. By Mr. Arrowfmttb’s map it ihould feem that thefe
difcoverers failed along the eaftern coaft o f a certain country
from the moft fouthern part of Matfumai, as high as Lat. 49° 30',
and gave names to lèverai bayé- or points o f lands. As to the
weftern fides o f the region, they probably are quite undifco-
vered. In the map I am fo partial to, not only that coaft, but
thofe o f the' correfponding continent are left undetermined,
2 noted
J A P A N . 271
noted only with dotted lines, even as high as the fouth end o f
the ifland o f Sachalin. The intermediate fpace is the fuppofecl
ftreight of Jefo. Whether the land o f Jefo is, as Mr. Muller conjectures,
any more than an archipelago, or whether it is part of
the Tartarian continent, at prefent remains extremely doubtful.
Matfumai alone feems to have
* The Voyage of the unfortunate de la
Permfe, has thrown conftderable light on the
hitherto ur.defcribed land of Jefo, and the op-
pofite fhore of Tartary. After coafting for |
fome time the inhofpitable iflesof Japan, that
able navigator traverfed the intervening fea,
till he came in fight of the continent of Afia, in
'Lat. 420, which he followed in a northerly di-
re&ion, and in Lat. 45° ,-13'lafided at the Bale
de Ternai. Here he found a country o f the
moft abundant vegetation, but ihewing no figns
o f being occupied, eiccept by wandering hunters,
or occafional vifitants by ■fea. G.ame of
all kinds were ieen in .quantities, and the fea
afforded a copious fupply of cod, herring, and
falmon. In an excuriion inland, fome-of the-
party difcovered a tomb, in which were-depofited
two bodies clad in the ikin of bears, Chinefe
coin, and copper ornaments were attached to
their girdles, and near them lay fdver earings,
an iron hatchet, a knife, a wooden fpoon, a
comb, .and a fmall bag. of rice.
Still purfuing the coafts .0f-Chinefe Tartary,
the navigators touched at a bay to which they
gave the name of Sujfrein, iituated in Lat.
47° 51-i'Coritinual fogs retarded -their progrefs.
In Lat. 48° 35/ they difcovered to the eaft the
apparently rocky .and barren ihores of the nominal
land of Jtfo-> part of the vaft ifland Tchoka
or Sachalin, to which they failed. They found
the inhabitants advanced to a confiderable debeen
proved to be an ifland.*
That
gree o f civilization in confequence of their
i ntercourfe with the Chinefe,' parts of whofe
drefs, they ^iad adopted, and with whom, apd the
Mantche'w Tar.tdrs, they carried on a trade in
dried jfiih and oil. Leaving-thefe intelligent
iflanders, who had traced pn the fand with almoft
geographical accuracy the obje& of his
farther enquiry, dela P-eraufe proceeded northwards,
and touched.at a ipot fie denominated
Baie d'Ejlaing’, the channel between Tchoka and
¡the continent narrowed to :the diftance o f
.twelve leagues jthefoundings alfo became gradually
Ms, and in Lat. 510 45' did not exceed
nine fathoms. The enterprising fpirit of a
:Q>ok or a Vancouver feemed here wanting.;
de ,la Perovfe, after a trial o f a few hours,
remained fatiisfied ¡that a bank o f (and, over
which boats only cquld pafs, conne£ted the
ihoFes and clofed the extremity of the, vaft
gulf. He however,draws ithe juft conclufion,
that the ifland called Sachalin by the Ruffians,
the northern extremity of-which has
long been known, extends from the 46th to
the 54th degreesiof-latitude,,and confequently
•includes a. portion of,the Yedizj)9-or Jefo o f our
,gepgraphers. The ftraights which feparate
this ifland from that of .Maifumay, are afcer-
tained with accuracy, and juftty diftinguiihed
by the name.,of the French navigator.— On
the return of the ihips from their fruitlefs attempt
to penetrate into the fea of Ochotfk, they
entered