OF THE POLAR SEA. 



87 



is much intersected by small lakes. A very new magnesian lime- 

 stone is found every where under a thin stratum of soil, and it not un- 

 frequently shows itself above the surface. It lies in strata generally 

 horizontal, but in one spot near the fort, dipping to the northward 

 at an angle of 40°. Some portions of this rock contain very perfect 

 shells. With respect to the vegetable productions of the district, 

 the populus trepida, or aspen, which thrives in moist situations, is, 

 perhaps, the most abundant tree on the banks of the Saskatchawan, 

 and is much prized as fire-wood, burning well when cut green. The 

 populus balsamifera, called by the Crees matheh metoos, or ugly pop- 

 lar, in allusion to its rough bark and naked stem, crowned, in an aged 

 state, with a few distorted branches, is scarcely less plentiful. It is 

 an inferior fire-wood, and does not burn well, unless when cut in 

 the spring, and dried during the summer ; but it affords a great 

 quantity of potash. A decoction of its resinous buds has been 

 sometimes used by the Indians with success in cases of snow-blind- 

 ness, but its application to the inflamed eye produces much pain. 

 Of pines, the white spruce is the most common here ; the red and 

 black spruce, the balsam of Gilead fir, and Jersey pine, also occur 

 frequently. The larch is found only in swampy spots, and is stunted 

 and unhealthy. The canoe birch attains a considerable size in this 

 latitude, but from the great demand for its wood to make sledges, 

 it has become rare. The alder abounds on the margin of the little 

 grassy lakes, so common in the neighbourhood. A decoction of its 

 inner bark is used as an emetic by the Indians, who also extract 

 from it a yellow dye. A great variety of willows occur on the banks 

 of the streams ; and the hazel is met with sparingly in the woods. 

 The sugar maple, elm, ash, and the arbor vita, termed by the Ca- 

 nadian voyagers cedar, grow on various parts of the Saskatchawan ; 

 but that river seems to form their northern boundary. Two kinds 

 of prunus also grow here, one of which, a handsome small tree, 

 produces a black fruit, having a very astringent taste, whence the 



