SUBSTITUTES FOR TEA AND TOBACCO. 299 



by one last smoke. We had not had tobacco for 

 weeks, but now obtained the flavour of it by pounding 

 up one or two black and well-seasoned clays, and 

 mixing the dust with "kinnikinnick." But this was 

 killing the goose with the golden egg, and as pure 

 " kinnikinnick" did not satisfy the craving, we laid 

 our pipes by for a happier day. We had tea, too — 

 not indeed the dark decoction of black Chinese 

 indulged in by unthrifty bachelors, or the chlorotic 

 beverage affected by careful, mature spinsters — but 

 the "tea muskeg" used by the Indians. This is 

 made from the leaves and flowers of a small white 

 azalea which we found in considerable quantities 

 growing in the boggy ground near our camp. The 

 decoction is really a good substitute for tea, and we 

 became very fond of it. The taste is like ordinary 

 black tea with a dash of senna in it. 



By noon on the following day the meat was 

 dry. There was but little of it, not more than 

 thirty or forty pounds, for the horse was small and 

 miserably lean, and we resolved to restrict our- 

 selves still to a small "rubaboo" twice a day. As 

 we had now two axes, and The Assiniboine's hand 

 was nearly well, he and Cheadle both went ahead 

 to clear the way, and we again entered the forest, still 

 following the Thompson Yalley. The same diffi- 

 culties met us as before, the same mishaps occurred, 

 and the horses proved as perverse and obstinate as 

 ever. The weather was fine and exceedingly hot, 

 and the second evening after leaving "Black Horse 

 ' Camp" — as we named the scene of " Blackie's" fate — 



