Page:Voyage of discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and round the world in the years 1791-95, volume 3.djvu/367

Rh maibematical exaftnefs. The whole had a mofl; beautiful appearance of ^,J.3mbp' human ingenuity and labour; but fince it is not poflible, from the rude ^ and very humble race of beings that are found to be the native inhabi- tants of this country, to fuppofe they rould have been capable of raifing fuch a firufture, its being the prod-^tion of nature, cannot be quel- tioned, and it may not be prepofterous to infer, that it has been from iimilar pha:nomena that man has received that architeftural knowledge, by which he has been enabled to raife thofe maffy fabricks, which have flood for ages in all civilized countries.

In this excurfion I had an opportunity of feeing what before I had been frequently given to underftand ; that the foil improved in richnefs and fertility, as we advanced from the ocean into the interior country.

The fituation we had now reached was an extenfive valley between two ranges of lofty mountains, whofe more elevated parts wore a fteril and dreary afpeft, whilft the fides and the intervening bofom feemed to be compofed of a luxuriant foil. On the former fome pine trees were produced of different forts, though of no great fize, and the latter generally fpeaking was a natural pafture, but the long continuance of the dry weather had robbed it of its verdure, and had rendered it not very interefting to the eye; yet the healthy growth of the oak, both of the £ngli(h and holly-leaved kind, the maple, poplar, willow, and ftone pine, diftributed over its furface as well in clumps as in fingle trees, with a number of different fhrubs, plainly fhewed the fuperior excellence of the foil and fubffratum in thefe fituatious, to that which was found bordering on the fea (hore. The fame uninterrupted lerenity of the weather continued, and on friday evening the courier from St. Diego returned, but it brought no ':ind of intelligence whatever ; and the 24th being the day fixed for the return of the exprefs to Mexico, I embraced that opportunity for tranfmitting to the Admiralty a brief account of our tranfaftions during the preceding fummer, and a copy of our furveys made in that and the former year, which had been prepared for that purpofe. Thele documents, agreeably to the advice of the governor and our other Spanifh friends, I took