NORTHERN OCEAN 417 



man under me who had the least symptoms of the scurvy ; 

 whereas at York Fort, Albany, and Moose River, there were 

 almost annual complaints that one half of the people were 

 rendered incapable of duty by that dreadful disorder. 



I do not wish to lay claim to any merit on this occasion, 

 but I cannot help observing that, during ten years I had 

 [458] the command at Churchill River, only two men died of 

 that distemper, though my complement at times amounted 

 in number to fifty-three. 



The Forest Trees that grow on this inhospitable spot Trees. 

 are very few indeed ; Pine,^ Juniper,'^ small scraggy Poplar,^ 

 Creeping Birch,* and Dwarf Willows,^ compose the whole 

 catalogue. Farther Westward the Birch Tree ^ is very plenti- 

 ful ; and in the Athapuscow country, the Pines, Larch, 

 Poplar, and Birch, grow to a great size ; the Alder ^ is also 

 found there. 



{} Picea alba (Ait.) and P. mariana (Mill.).] 



[^ Larix laricina (Du Roi).] 



[^ Populus balsamifera Linn., and P. tremuloides Michx.] 



[* Betula nana Linn.] 



[^ A number of dwarf willows, including Salix anglorum Cham., S. phy- 

 licifolia Linn., and S. reticulata Linn., grow on the coast of Hudson Bay to 

 the northward of Fort Churchill.] 



[' Betula papyri/era Marsh, from whose bark the Indians make their 

 canoes.] 



[' The common alder of the interior is Alnus alnobetula (Ehrh.).] 



2 D 



