'NaJ-®**1«
C u r io s i t
i e s ^ * 1!
ÏSLES.
Kurilian.
climate being .adverfe to the curious traveller. O f ffloft of them the
fmoke is perpetual,’ but. they" rarely throw out allies or lava.
ISLES BELONGING TO ASIATIC. RUSSIA.
•These were formerly divided into the Aleutian, Andrenovian, and
Kurilian .groupes, with the Fox ifles, which" extend to the promontory;
of Alaika in North America. The Aleutian ifles, on the eaft of Kamchatka,
' were multiplied by the early nayi-gators as theylaw them in
different directions, but are now reduced-to only two worth notice, Beering’s
ifle and Copper ifle. The Andrenovian ifles may be regarded ait
the fame with the Fox iflands, being lhe* weftetn part oftheffaffitPringe *:
ff they niuTTBe diftinguiffied, the^Andfenbviati foErhv1^ grouped fixUr*
more iffes^ about £00' miles "to the S. E. of BeermgL;1* It appears that*
the. F o x aUd-Andrenoviah fffes arealiind of eMn^tticM!b^tSd-XtnericMii-
-promontoryof Alaika, and may more juftly be referved fpr the„ description'of
N. America,Mate Englifh navigators' having di%lled- riahy
dbubts concerning : the real pofition of thefe'tfles'l.i Beering’s^fle^and
Copper ifle,: are. both uninhabited, and do not merit particular dsfctipr
tioriJ* J
The Kurilian ifles extend from the . fouthern ..promontory of Kamchatka
towards the-land of Jeflfo and Japan, being fuppofed:to be about
20 in .number, of which the largeft are Poro Mufchir and Mokanturu.
Several of tbefe ifles are volcanic; and fome contain forefts of birch,
aider, and pine. - Moft of them fwarm ..-with foxes of various colours.
Even after the difcoveries of La Peroufe it is difficult to diftinguifh.what
particular ifles in the fbuth of this chain are implied by the Ruffian
■ 8 Coxe, Ruffian Difc. 25..; but he fays the N. E;
* The Andrenovian ifles have almoft vaffiffieji;from :Englifli maps and charts, which only
admit the' Aleutian or Fox iflands; and the Ruffian navigators muft have erred grofsly in their ob-
. fervations.
Q appellations.
appellations. Lf Matmai be the land, of jiffej, Tjhikota may be Staten Isles.
land anchKunaffyr the Companies Land; but it* feems more probable
that this laft i^Ouropj^apdiitbat: Jeffods- Etorjffiv The difcoveries are
tqo impeiffedb$6 admit of dfcifrpn''; and it, would even' appear that the
Riifflan navigates Lad, with their uffiaHo^utton, defcrfbed the fame
Rands'" under different’ names. ‘ !Tha, inhabitants of the Kurilian ifles**
feem t,o be of flmilai? origin with the Kajnchadals; and’in'the interior p
efS-uneisa people Galled hairy Kuriliansv,from, what cixcumftdnce. is?
aot explained..' -
VOli. It. M