88 



A JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



term choke-cherry applied to it. The Crees call it tmcquoy-meena? 

 and esteem it to be, when dried and bruised, a good addition to 

 pemmican. The other species is a less elegant shrub, but is said to 

 bear a bright red cherry, of a pleasant sweet taste. Its Cree name 

 is passee-awey-meenan, and it is known to occur as far north as Great 

 Slave Lake. 



The most esteemed fruit of the country, however, is the produce 

 of the aronia ovalis. Under the name of meesasscootoomeena it is a 

 favourite dish at most of the Indian feasts, and mixed with pem- 

 mican, it renders that greasy food actually palatable. A great 

 variety of currants and gooseberries are also mentioned by the na- 

 tives, under the name of sappoom-meena, but we only found three 

 species in the neighbourhood of Cumberland House. The straw- 

 berry, called by the Crees otei-meena, or heart-berry, is found in 

 abundance, and rasps are common on the sandy banks of the rivers. 

 The fruits hitherto mentioned fall in the autumn, but the following 

 berries remained hanging on the bushes in the spring, and are con- 

 sidered as much mellowed by exposure to the colds of winter. The 

 red whortleberry (arbutus vitis idea) is found every where, but is 

 most abundant in rocky places. It is aptly termed by the Crees 

 weesawgum-meena, sour-berry. The common cranberry (oxycoccos 

 palustris,) is distinguished from the preceding by its growing on 

 moist sphagnous spots, and is hence called maskago-meena, swamp- 

 berry. The American guelder rose, whose fruits so strongly resem- 

 bles the cranberry, is also common. There are two kinds of it, 

 (viburnum oxi/coccos, and edule,) one termed by the natives peepoon- 

 meena, winter-berry, and the other mongsoa-meena, moose-berry. 

 There is also a berry of a bluish white colour, the produce of the 

 white cornel tree, which is named musqua-meena, bear-berry, 

 because these animals are said to fatten on it. The dwarf Canadian 

 cornel, bears a corymb of red berries, which are highly ornamental 

 to the woods throughout the country, but are not otherwise worthy 



