170 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



prized as fire-wood, burning well when cut 

 green. The populus balsamifera, or tacca- 

 mahac, called by the Crees matheh uneteos, 

 or ugly poplar, in allusion to its rough bark 

 and naked stem, crowned in an aged state 

 with a few distorted branches, is scarcely 

 less plentiful. It is an inferior fire-wood, and 

 does not burn well, unless when cut in the 

 spring, and dried during the summer ; but it 

 affords a great quantity of potash. A de- 

 coction of its resinous buds has been some- 

 times used by the Indians with success in 

 cases of snow -blindness, but its application 

 to the inflamed eye produces much pain. 

 Of pines, the white spruce is the most com- 

 mon here: the red and black spruce, the 

 balsam of Gilead fir, and Banksian pine, 

 also occur frequently. The larch is found 

 only in swampy spots, and is stunted and 

 unhealthy. The canoe birch attains a con- 

 siderable size in this latitude, but, from the 

 great demand for its wood to make sledges, 

 it has become rare. The alder abounds on 

 the margin of the little grassy lakes, so 

 common in the neighbourhood. A decoc- 



