122 THE GREAT NORTH-WEST 



ever meet with a trapper who had. My conviction, how- 

 ever, is that such instances occur : the case I have just 

 narrated being an instance in point. 



During parts of the months of December and January 

 1867 I was very unwell, suffering from a stricture of the 

 bowels, which seems to be a very common complaint 

 among persons during the first year or two of their 

 residence in the north of America. Fortunately I had 

 brought a few medicines with me, and I succeeded in 

 rallying, but for a time I was so ill that my companions, 

 as they afterwards admitted, despaired of my recovery. 

 As a consequence Christmas day passed unnoticed, as 

 did the first day of the New Year. 



When I began to recover I became ravenous for 

 green food, my great desire being for a boiled cabbage 

 with pickled pork. This, of course, was not to be had, 

 but my companions boiled a quantity of the moss from 

 the rocks, which they gathered at great trouble, for 

 they had to dig under six feet of snow for it. This 

 reminds me that we often found spots where the cariboo 

 had scraped away the snow from a tract of land that 

 often extended to several acres, to get at this same moss, 

 of which they are exceedingly fond. It seemed to me, 

 possibly because I was in an erratic state from disease, 

 to be delicious as a boiled vegetable, and I ever after 

 greatly relished it, and used it constantly when in the 

 districts where it grows. It is certainly a highly nutritious 

 substance, and I believe that in the more northern 

 regions the cariboo have no other food, at least in the 

 whiter. 



By the end of January I had recovered, but I remained 

 weak for a long time, and should have returned to the 

 settlements if travelling had been possible. However, 

 youth has large recuperative powers, and before spring 

 came round I had entirely recovered, and from that day 

 forth I had seldom to complain on the score of health 

 while I remained in America. 



