416 A JOURNEY TO THE 



and much resembles it in colour ; but all the species have the 

 same smell and flavour. 



Jackashey- Jackashey-puck,^ This herb much resembles Creeping 



^"'^ ' Box ; and is only used, either by the Indians or English, 



to mix with tobacco, which makes it smoke mild and pleasant ; 

 and would, I am persuaded, be very acceptable to many 

 smokers in England. 



Moss. Moss of various sorts and colours is plentiful enough 



in most parts of this country, and is what the deer usually 

 feed on. 



Grass. Grass of Several kinds is also found in those parts, 



and some of it amazingly rapid of growth, particularly that 

 which is there called Rye-grass, and which, in our short 

 Summer at Churchill, frequently grows to the height [457] 

 of three feet. Another species of Grass, which is produced 

 in marshes, and on the margins of lakes, ponds, and rivers, 

 is particularly adapted for the support of the multitudes 

 of the feathered creation which resort to those parts in 

 Summer. The Marsh Grass at Churchill is of that peculiar 

 nature, that where it is mowed one year, no crop can be 

 procured the next Summer ; whereas at York Fort, though 

 the climate is not very different, they can get two crops, 

 or harvests, from the same spot in one Summer. Vetches 

 are plentiful in some parts as far North as Churchill River ; 

 and Burrage, Sorrel, and Coltsfoot, may be ranked among 

 the useful plants. Dandelion is also plentiful at Churchill, 

 and makes an early salad, long before any thing can be 

 produced in the gardens. 



In fact, notwithstanding the length of the Winter, the 

 severity of the cold, and the great scarcity of vegetables at 

 this Northern settlement, by proper attention to cleanliness, 

 and keeping the people at reasonable exercise, I never had one 



\} This refers to the common bearberry, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Linn.). 

 Its leaves are smoked both by the Indians and the Eskimo, and also by the 

 white residents.] 



