84 PITTONIA. 
There is, however, a compensation for this excessive moist- 
ure in the entire immunity of this region from such forest 
fires as annually make such havoc in the coniferous woods 
of the Pacific coast from British Columbia to California. 
The number of fragrant plants to be found in Alaska is 
very small even for the limited flora of this region. Those 
which I met with are as follows: 
Acteea arguta, Angelica genuflexa, 
Galium triflorum, Hierochloa borealis, 
Lupinus Nutkaensis, Heracleum lanatum, 
Valeriana Sitchensis, Cassiope tetragona,! 
Poterium Sitchense, Fatsia horrida. 
Ledum latifolium, 
An universal scarcity of soil characterizes the whole sur- 
face of these parts of Alaska; and to this cireumstance I 
attribute that practice of cremation which was universal 
among the natives until within the last twenty-five years, 
and which is still in use among the Hoonahs and other coast 
tribes to the north. The only exceptions to this method of 
disposal were made in the case of the Sheh-shoohs (shamans 
or sorcerers), whose bodies, together with the paraphernalia ; 
of their profession, were generally buried, but sometimes — 
placed in inaccessible clefts or other spots in the steep rocky — — 
bluffs, where they would be safe from the visits of the prowl- 
ing wolves. ; ; 
The bodies of the common people were usually burned on 
the beach, no attention being paid to the ashes, while the — 
remains of the Tyees (chiefs) were cremated either on the — 
beach or near the village and the ashes gathered up and 
placed in a eavity made for this purpose in the back of the e 
totem poles, such as still adorn the vicinity of all their old 
villages. ; t 
Having frequently referred to the use of ulikon oil (Eula- — 
chon or Candle-fish—Thaleichthys pacificus) in conjunction — 
1 The dried plant exhales a delicate fragrance which lasts for years: — d 
