Jack Snipe.
Jack Snipes.[195]Those birds visit Hudson's Bay in Summer in considerable numbers, but are seldom seen to the North of Whale Cove. They do not arrive till the ice of the rivers is broke up, and they retire to the South early in the Fall. During their stay, they always frequent marshes near the sea coast, and the shores of great rivers. In manner and flight they exactly resemble the European Jack Snipe; and when on the wing, fly at such a distance from each other, that it is but seldom the best sportsman can get more than one or two at a shot. Their flesh is by no means so delicate as that of the English Snipe.
Red Godwait.
Red Godwaits,[196]usually called at the Northern settlements in Hudson's Bay, Plovers. Those birds visit the shores of that part in very large flocks, and usually frequent the marshes and the margins of ponds. They also frequently attend the tide, like the Esquimaux Curlews; fly down to low-water-mark, and feed on a small fish, {426} not much unlike a shrimp; but as the tide flows, they retire to the marshes. They fly in such large flocks, and so close to each other, that I have often killed upwards of twelve at one shot; and Mr. Atkinson, long resident at York Fort, actually killed seventy-two at one shot; but that was when the birds were sitting. Near Churchill River they are seldom fat, though tolerably fleshy, and are generally good eating. They usually weigh from ten to thirteen ounces; the female is always larger than the male, and differs in colour, being of a much lighter brown. They retire to the South long before the frost commences; yet I have seen this bird as far North as the latitude 71° 50'.
Spotted Godwait.
Spotted Godwait,[197]known in Hudson's Bay by the name of Yellow Legs. This bird also visits that country in considerable numbers, but more so in the interior parts; and usually frequents the flat muddy banks of rivers. In summer it is generally very poor, but late in the Fall is, as it may be called, one lump of fat. This bird, with many others of the migratory tribe, I saw in considerable numbers as far North as the latitude 71° 54'; and at York Fort I have known them shot so late as the latter end of October: at which time they are in the greatest perfection, and most delicious eating, more particularly so when put into a bit of paste, and boiled like an apple-dumpling; for in fact they are generally too fat at that season to be eaten either roasted or boiled.
Hebridal Sandpipers.
{427}Hebridal Sandpipers,[198]but more commonly known in Hudson's Bay by the Name of Whale Birds, on account of their feeding on the carcases of those animals which frequently lie on the shores, also on maggots that are produced in them by fly-blows. These birds frequent those parts in considerable numbers, and always keep near the margin of the sea. They may, in fact, be called beautiful birds, though not gay in their plumage; they are usually very fat, but even when first killed they smell and taste so much like train-oil as to render them by no means pleasing to the palate, yet they are frequently eaten by the Company's servants. As the Summer advances they fly so far North of Churchill River, that their breeding-places are not known, though they remain at that part till the beginning of July, and return early in the Fall. They are by no means large birds, as they seldom weigh four ounces. The bill is black, plumage prettily variegated black and white, and the legs and feet are of a beautiful orange colour.[CK]
Plover.
Plovers,[199]commonly called Hawk's Eyes, from their watchfulness to prevent a near approach when sitting. When these birds are on the wing, they fly very swift and irregular, particularly when single or in small flocks. At Churchill River they are by no means numerous, but I have seen them in such large flocks at York Fort in the Fall of one {428} thousand seven hundred and seventy-three, that Mr. Ferdinand Jacobs then Governor, Mr. Robert Body Surgeon, and myself, killed in one afternoon as many as two men could conveniently carry. They generally feed on insects, and are at all times good eating, but late in the Fall are most excellent. They are by no means equally plentiful in all years; and at the Northern settlements in the Bay they are not classed with those species of game that add to the general stock of provisions, being only killed as a luxury; but I am informed that at Albany Fort, several barrels of them are annually salted for Winter use, and are esteemed good eating. This bird during Summer resorts to the remotest Northern parts; for I have seen them at the Copper River, though in those dreary regions only in pairs. The young of those birds always leave their nests as soon as hatched, and when but a few days old run very fast; at night, or in rainy weather, the old ones call them together, and cover them with their wings, in the same manner as a hen does her chickens.
Black Gullemots.
Black Gullemots,[200]known in Hudson's Bay by the name of Sea Pigeons. Those birds frequent the shores of Hudson's Bay and Straits in considerable numbers; but more particularly the Northern parts, where they fly in large flocks; to the Southward they are only seen in pairs. They are of a fine black, but not glossy, with scarlet legs and feet; and the coverets of the wings are marked with white. They are in weight equal to a Widgeon, {429} though to appearance not so large. They usually make their nests in the holes of rocks, and lay two white eggs, which are delicate eating, but not proportionably large for the size of the bird. My friend Mr. Pennant says, they brave the coldest Winters in those parts, by keeping at the edge of the ice near the open water; but as the sea at that season is frozen over for several miles from the shore, I believe no one's curiosity ever tempted him to confirm the truth of this; and it is well known they never make their appearance near the land after the frost becomes severe.
Northern Divers.
Northern Divers.[201]These birds, though common in Hudson's Bay, are by no means plentiful; they are seldom found near the sea coast, but more frequently in fresh water lakes, and usually in pairs. They build their nests at the edge of small islands, or the margins of lakes or ponds; they lay only two eggs, and it is very common to find only one pair and their young in one sheet of water; a great proof of their aversion to society. They are known in Hudson's Bay by the name of Loons. They differ in species from the Black and Red throated Divers, having a large black bill near four inches long; plumage on the back of a glossy black, elegantly barred with white; the belly of a silver white; and they are so large as at times to weigh fifteen or sixteen pounds. Their flesh is always black, hard, and fishy, yet it is generally eaten by the Indians.
Black-throated Divers.
{430}Black-throated Divers.[202]This species are more beautiful than the former; having a long white bill, plumage on the back and wings black, elegantly tinged with purple and green, and prettily marked with white spots. In size they are equal to the former; but are so watchful as to dive at the flash of a gun, and of course are seldom killed but when on the wing. Their flesh is equally black and fishy with the former, but it is always eaten by the Indians. The skins of those birds are very thick and strong, and they are frequently dressed with the feathers on, and made into caps for the Indian men. The skins of the Eagle and Raven, with their plumage complete, are also applied to that use, and are far from being an unbecoming head-dress for a savage.
Red-throated Divers.
Red-throated Divers.[203]This species are also called Loons in Hudson's Bay; but they are so far inferior to the two former, that they seldom weigh more than three or four pounds. They, like the other species of Loon, are excellent divers; they always feed on fish, and when in pursuit of their prey, are frequently entangled in fishing-nets, set at the mouths of creeks and small rivers. They are more numerous than either of the former, as they frequently fly in flocks; but like them make their nests at the edge of the water, and only lay two eggs, which, though very rank and fishy, are always eaten by Indians and English. The legs of those three species of Loon are placed so near {431} the rump as to be of no service to them on the land, as they are perfectly incapable of walking; and when found in that situation (which is but seldom) they are easily taken, though they make a strong resistance with their bill, which is very hard and sharp.
White Gulls.
White Gulls.[204]These birds visit Hudson's Bay in great numbers, both on the sea coasts and in the interior parts, and probably extend quite across the continent of America. They generally make their appearance at Churchill River about the middle of May; build their nests on the islands in lakes and rivers; lay two speckled eggs, and bring forth their young in June. Their eggs are generally esteemed good eating, as well as the flesh of those in the interior parts of the country, though they feed on fish and carrion. They make their stay on Hudson's Bay as long in the Fall as the frost will permit them to procure a livelihood.
Grey Gulls.
Grey Gulls.These birds, though common, are by no means plentiful; and I never knew their breeding-places, as they seldom make their appearance at Churchill River till the Fall of the year, and remain there only till the ice begins to be formed about the shores. They seldom frequent the interior parts of the country. They are not inferior in size to the former, and in the Fall of the year are generally fat. The flesh is white and very good eating; and, like {432} most other Gulls, they are a most excellent shot when on the wing.
Black Gulls.
Black Gulls,[205]usually called in Hudson's Bay, Men of War, from their pursuing and taking the prey from a lesser species of Gull, known in that country by the name of Black-head. In size they are much inferior to the two former species; but, like them, always make their nests on islands, or at the margins of lakes or ponds; they lay only two eggs, and are found at a considerable distance from the sea coast. The length of their wings is very great in proportion to the body; the tail is uniform, and the two middle feathers are four or five inches longer than the rest. Their eggs are always eaten, both by the Indians and English; but the bird itself is generally rejected, except when other provisions are very scarce.
Black-heads.
Black-heads.[206]These are the smallest species of Gull that I know. They visit the sea coast of Hudson's Bay in such vast numbers, that they are frequently seen in flocks of several hundreds; and I have known bushels of their eggs taken on an island of very small circumference. These eggs are very delicate eating, the yolks being equal to that of a young pullet, and the whites of a semi-transparent azure, but the bird itself is always fishy. Their affection for their young is so strong, that when any person attempts to rob their nests, they fly at him, and sometimes {433} approach so near as to touch him with their pinions; and when they find their loss, will frequently follow the plunderer to a considerable distance, and express their grief by making an unusual screaming noise.
This bird may be ranked with the elegant part of the feathered creation, though it is by no means gay. The bill, legs, and feet are of a rich scarlet; crown black, and the remainder of the plumage of a light ash-colour, except the quill feathers, which are prettily barred, and tipped with black, and the tail much forked. The flight, or extent of wing, in this bird, is very great, in proportion to the body. They are found as far North as has hitherto been visited, but retire to the South early in the Fall.
Pelicans.
Pelicans.[207]Those birds are numerous in the interior parts of the country, but never appear near the sea-coast. They generally frequent large lakes, and always make their nests on islands. They are so provident for their young, that great quantities of fish lie rotting near their nests, and emit such a horrid stench as to be smelt at a considerable distance. The flesh of the young Pelican is frequently eaten by the Indians; and as they are always very fat, great quantities of it is melted down, and preserved in bladders for Winter use,[CL]to mix with pounded {434} flesh; but by keeping, it grows very rank. The Pelicans in those parts are about the size of a common goose; their plumage is of a delicate white, except the quill-feathers, which are black. The bill is near a foot long; and the bag, which reaches from the outer-end of the under-mandible to the breast, is capable of containing upwards of three quarts. The skins of those birds are thick and tough, and are frequently dressed by the Indians and converted into bags, but are never made into clothing, though their feathers are as hard, close, and durable, as those of a Loon.
Goosanders.
Goosanders,[208]usually called in Hudson's Bay, Shell-drakes. Those birds are very common on the sea-coast, but in the interior parts fly in very large flocks. The bill is long and narrow, and toothed like a saw; and they have a tuft of feathers at the back of the head, which they can erect at pleasure. They are most excellent divers, and such great destroyers of fish, that they are frequently obliged to vomit some of them before they can take flight. Though not much larger than the Mallard Duck, they frequently swallow fish of six or seven inches {435} long and proportionably thick. Those that frequent the interior parts of the country prey much on crawfish, which are very numerous in some of the shallow stony rivers. In the Fall of the year they are very fat, and though they always feed on fish, yet their flesh at that season is very good; and they remain in those parts as long as the frost will permit them to procure a subsistence.
Swans.
Swans.[209]There are two species of this bird that visit Hudson's Bay in summer; and only differ in size, as the plumage of both are perfectly white, with black bill and legs. The smaller sort are more frequent near the sea-coast, but by no means plentiful, and are most frequently seen in pairs, but sometimes single, probably owing to their mates having been killed on their passage North. Both species usually breed on the islands which are in lakes; and the eggs of the larger species are so big, that one of them is a sufficient meal for a moderate man, without bread, or any other addition. In the interior parts of the country the larger Swan precedes every other species of water-fowl, and in some years arrive so early as the month of March, long before the ice of the rivers is broken up. At those times they always frequent the open waters of falls and rapids, where they are frequently shot by the Indians in considerable numbers. They usually weigh upwards of thirty pounds, and the lesser species from eighteen to twenty-four. The flesh of both are excellent {436} eating, and when roasted, is equal in flavour to young heifer-beef, and the cygnets are very delicate.
Notwithstanding the size of this bird, they are so swift on the wing as to make them the most difficult to shoot of any bird I know, it being frequently necessary to take sight ten or twelve feet before their bills. This, however, is only when flying before the wind in a brisk gale, at which time they cannot fly at a less rate than an hundred miles an hour; but when flying across the wind, or against it, they make but a slow progress, and are then a noble shot. In their moulting state they are not easily taken, as their large feet, with the assistance of their wings, enables them to run on the surface of the water as fast as an Indian canoe can be paddled, and therefore they are always obliged to be shot; for by diving and other manœuvres they render it impossible to take them by hand. It has been said that the swans whistle or sing before their death, and I have read some elegant descriptions of it in some of the poets; but I have never heard any thing of the kind, though I have been at the deaths of several. It is true, in serene evenings, after Sun-set, I have heard them make a noise not very unlike that of a French-horn, but entirely divested of every note that constituted melody, and have often been sorry to find it did not forebode their death. Mr. Lawson, who, as Mr. Pennant justly remarks, was no inaccurate observer, properly enough calls the largest species Trumpeters, and the lesser, Hoopers. Some years ago, when I built Cumberland House, the Indians killed those {437} birds in such numbers, that the down and quills might have been procured in considerable quantities at a trifling expence; but since the depopulation of the natives by the small-pox, which has also driven the few survivors to frequent other parts of the country, no advantage can be made of those articles, though of considerable value in England.[CM]
Geese.
Geese.There are no less than ten different species of Geese that frequent the various parts of Hudson's Bay during Summer, and are as follow: First, The Common Grey Goose.Second, The Canada Goose. Third, The White, or Snow Goose. Fifth, The Blue Goose. Sixth, The Laughing Goose. Seventh, The Barren Goose. Eighth, The Brent Goose. Ninth, The Dunter; and Tenth, the Bean Goose.
Common Grey Goose.
Common Grey Goose.[210]This bird precedes every other species of Goose in those parts, and in some forward Springs arrives at Churchill River so early as the latter {438} end of April, but more commonly from the eleventh to the sixteenth of May; and in one year it was the twenty-sixth of May before any Geese made their appearance. At their first arrival they generally come in pairs, and are so fond of society, that they fly straight to the call that imitates their note; by which means they are easily shot. They breed in great numbers in the plains and marshes near Churchill River; and in some years the young ones can be taken in considerable numbers, and are easily tamed; but will never learn to eat corn, unless some of the old ones are taken with them, which is easily done when in a moulting state. On the ninth of August one thousand seven hundred and eighty-one, when I resided at Prince of Wales's Fort, I sent some Indians up Churchill River in canoes to procure some of those Geese, and in the afternoon they were seen coming down the river with a large flock before them; the young ones not more than half-grown, and the old ones so far in a moulting state as not to be capable of flying; so that, with the assistance of the English and the Indians then residing on the plantation, the whole flock, to the amount of forty-one, was drove within the stockade which incloses the Fort, where they were fed and fattened for Winter use. Wild Geese taken and fattened in this manner are much preferable to any tame Geese in the world. When this species of Geese are full-grown, and in good condition, they often weigh twelve pounds, but more frequently much less.
Canada Goose.
{439}Canada Goose,[211]or Pisk-a-sish, as it is called by the Indians, as well as the English in Hudson's Bay. This species do not differ in plumage from the former, but are inferior in size; the bill is much smaller in proportion, and the flesh being much whiter, of course is more esteemed. They are by no means so numerous as the former, and generally fly far North to breed; but some few of their eggs are found near Churchill River. It is seldom that either of these species lay more than four eggs; but if not robbed, they usually bring them all forth.
White or Snow Goose.
WhiteorSnow Goose.[212]These are the most numerous of all the species of birds that frequent the Northern parts of the Bay, and generally make their appearance about a week or ten days after the Common Grey Goose. In the first part of the season they come in small parties, but in the middle, and toward the latter end, they fly in such amazing flocks, that when they settle in the marshes to feed, the ground for a considerable distance appears like a field of snow. When feeding in the same marsh with the Grey Geese, they never mix. Like the Grey Geese, they fly to the call that resembles their note; and in some years are killed and salted in great numbers for Winter provision; they are almost universally thought good eating, and will, if proper care be taken in curing them, continue good for eighteen months or two years. The Indians are far more expert in killing Geese, as well as every other species of game, than any European I ever saw in Hudson's Bay; {440} for some of them frequently kill upward of a hundred Geese in a day, whereas the most expert of the English think it a good day's work to kill thirty. Some years back it was common for an Indian to kill from a thousand to twelve hundred Geese in one season; but latterly he is reckoned a good hunter that kills three hundred. This is by no means owing to the degeneracy of the natives; for the Geese of late years do not frequent those parts in such numbers as formerly. The general breeding-place of this bird is not known to any Indian in Hudson's Bay, not even to the Esquimaux who frequent the remotest North. The general route they take in their return to the South in the Fall of the year, is equally unknown; for though such multitudes of them are seen at Churchill River in the Spring, and are frequently killed to the amount of five or six thousand; yet in the Fall of the year, seven or eight hundred is considered a good hunt. At York Fort, though only two degrees South of Churchill River, the Geese seasons fluctuate so much, that in some Springs they have salted forty hogsheads, and in others not more than one or two: and at Albany Fort, the Spring season is by no means to be depended on; but in the fall they frequently salt sixty hogsheads of Geese, besides great quantities of Plover. The retreat of those birds in Winter is equally unknown, as that of their breeding-places. I observe in Mr. Pennant's Arctic Zoology, that about Jakutz, and other parts of Siberia, they are caught in great numbers, both in nets, and by decoying them into hovels; but if {441} these are the same birds, they must at times vary as much in manner as they do in situation, for in Hudson's Bay they are the shyest and most watchful of all the species of Geese, never suffering an open approach, not even within two or three gun-shots: yet in some of the rivers near Cumberland House, and at Basquiau, the Indians frequently kill twenty at one shot; but this is only done in moon-light nights, when the Geese are sitting on the mud, and the sportsmen are perfectly concealed from their view. Though the plumage of those Geese are perfectly white, except the quill-feathers, which are black, the skin is of a dark lead-colour, and the flesh is excellent eating, either fresh or salt. They are much inferior in size to the Common Grey Geese, but equal to the Canada Geese.
Blue Geese.
Blue Geese.[213]This species are of the same size as the Snow Geese; and, like them, the bill and legs are of a deep flesh-colour, but the whole plumage is of a dirty blue, resembling old lead. The skin, when stripped of its feathers, is of the same colour as the Snow Goose, and they are equally good eating. This species of Geese are seldom seen to the North of Churchill River, and not very common at York Fort; but at Albany Fort they are more plentiful than the White or Snow Geese. Their breeding-places are as little known to the most accurate observer as those of the Snow Geese; for I never knew any of their eggs taken, and their Winter haunts have {442} hitherto been undiscovered. Those birds are frequently seen to lead a flock of the White ones; and, as they generally fly in angles, it is far from unpleasant to see a bird of a different colour leading the van. The leader is generally the object of the first sportsman who fires, which throws the whole flock into such confusion, that some of the other hunters frequently kill six or seven at a shot.
Horned Wavey.
Horned Wavey.[214]This delicate and diminutive species of the Goose is not much larger than the Mallard Duck. Its plumage is delicately white, except the quill-feathers, which are black. The bill is not more than an inch long, and at the base is studded round with little knobs about the size of peas, but more remarkably so in the males. Both the bill and feet are of the same colour with those of the Snow Goose. This species is very scarce at Churchill River, and I believe are never found at any of the Southern settlements; but about two or three hundred miles to the North West of Churchill, I have seen them in as large flocks as the Common Wavey, or Snow Goose. The flesh of this bird is exceedingly delicate; but they are so small, that when I was on my journey to the North I eat two of them one night for supper. I do not find this bird described by my worthy friend Mr. Pennant in his Arctic Zoology. Probably a specimen of it was not sent home, for the person that commanded at Prince of Wales's Fort[CN]at {443} the time the collection was making, did not pay any attention to it.
Laughing Goose.
Laughing Goose.[215]This elegant species has a white bill, and the legs and feet are of a fine yellow colour; the upper part of the plumage is brown, the breast and belly white, the former prettily blotched with black. In size they are equal to the Snow Goose, and their skins, when stripped of their feathers, are delicately white, and the flesh excellent. They visit Churchill River in very small numbers; but about two hundred miles to the North West of that river I have seen them fly in large flocks, like the Common Waveys, or Snow Geese; and near Cumberland House and Basquiau they are found in such numbers, that the Indians in moon-light nights frequently kill upwards of twenty at a shot. Like the Horned Wavey, they never fly with the lead of the coast, but are always seen to come from the Westward. Their general breeding-places are not known, though some few of their eggs are occasionally found to the North of Churchill; but I never heard any Indian say that he had seen any eggs of the Horned Wavey: it is probable they retire to North Greenland to breed; and their route in the Fall of the year, as they return Southward, is equally unknown. They are, I believe, seldom seen on the coast of Hudson's Bay to the Southward of latitude 59° North.
Barren Geese.
{444}Barren Geese.[216]These are the largest of all the species of Geese that frequent Hudson's Bay, as they frequently weigh sixteen or seventeen pounds. They differ from the Common Grey Goose in nothing but in size, and in the head and breast being tinged with a rusty brown. They never make their appearance in the Spring till the greatest part of the other species of Geese are flown Northward to breed, and many of them remain near Churchill River the whole Summer. This large species are generally found to be males, and from the exceeding smallness of their testicles, they are, I suppose, incapable of propagating their species. I believe I can with truth say, that I was the first European who made that remark, though they had always been distinguished by the name of the Barren Geese; for no other reason than that of their not being known to breed. Their flesh is by no means unpleasant, though always hard and tough; and their plumage is so thick before they begin to moult, that one bird usually produces a pound of fine feathers and down, of a surprising elasticity.
Brent Geese.
Brent Geese.[217]This species certainly breed in the remotest parts of the North, and seldom make their appearance at Churchill River till late in August or September. The route they take in Spring is unknown, and their breeding-places have never been discovered by any Indian in Hudson's Bay. When they make their appearance at {445} Churchill River, they always come from the North, fly near the margin of the coast, and are never seen in the interior parts of the country. In size they are larger than a Mallard Duck, but inferior to the Snow Goose; and though their flesh appears delicate to the eye, it is not much esteemed. In some years they pass the mouth of Churchill River in prodigious numbers, and many of them are killed and served to the Company's servants as provisions; but, as I have just observed, they are not much relished. When migrating to the South, they generally avail themselves of a strong North or North Westerly wind, which makes them fly so swift, that when I have killed four or five at a shot, not one of them fell less than from twenty to fifty yards from the perpendicular spot where they were killed. Like the White, or Snow Geese, when in large flocks they fly in the shape of a wedge, and make a great noise. Their flight is very irregular, sometimes being forty or fifty yards above the water, and in an instant after they skim close to the surface of it, and then rise again to a considerable height; so that they may justly be said to fly in festoons.
Dunter Geese.
TheDunter Geese,[218]as it is called in Hudson's Bay, but which is certainly the Eider Duck. They are common at the mouth of Churchill River as soon as the ice breaks up, but generally fly far North to breed; and the few that do remain near the settlement are so scattered among small islands, and sea-girt rocks and shoals, as to {446} render it not worth while to attempt gathering their down. Their eggs, when found, are exceeding good eating; and in the Fall of the year the flesh is by no means unpleasant, though they are notoriously known to feed on fish.
Bean Goose.
Bean Goose.[219]This species is seldom found in any part of Hudson's Bay, as in all my travels I have only seen three that were killed. This bird never came under the inspection of Mr. Graham, or the late Mr. Hutchins, though they both contributed very largely to the collection sent home to the Royal Society.[CO]
Species of Water-Fowl.
Ducks.
Ducksof various kinds are found in those parts during Summer; some only frequenting the sea-coast, while others visit the interior parts of the country in astonishing numbers. The species of this bird which is found most commonly here are, the King Duck,[220]Black Duck,[221]Mallard {447} Duck,[222]Long-tailed Duck,[223]Widgeon,[224]and Teal.[225]The two first only visit the sea-coast, feed on fish and fish-spawn; and their flesh is by no means esteemed good, though their eggs are not disagreeable. The Mallard and Long-tailed Duck visit Hudson's Bay in great numbers, and extend from the sea-coast, to the remotest Western parts, and near Cumberland House are found in vast multitudes. At their first arrival on the sea-coast, they are exceeding good eating; but when in a moulting state, though very fat, they are in general so rank that few Europeans are fond of them. At those seasons the difference in flavour is easily known by the colour of the fat; for when that is white, the flesh is most assuredly good; but when it is yellow, or of an orange colour, it is very rank and fishy. This difference is only peculiar to those that frequent and breed near the sea-coast; for in the interior parts I never knew them killed but their flesh was very good; and the young Mallard Duck before it can fly is very fat, and most delicate eating. The same may be said of the Long-tailed Duck. Neither of those species lay more than six or eight eggs in common, and frequently bring them all forth.
Widgeon.
Widgeon.[226]This species of Duck is very uncommon in Hudson's Bay; usually keeping in pairs, and being seldom seen in flocks. They are by no means so numerous as the two former, and are most frequently seen in rivers and marshes near the sea-coast. Their flesh is generally esteemed; and the down of those I have examined is little inferior in elasticity to that of the Eider, though much {448} shorter. The same may be said of several other species of Ducks that frequent those parts; but the impossibility of collecting the down in any quantity, prevents it from becoming an article of trade.
Teal.
Teal.[227]Like the Mallard, they are found in considerable numbers near the sea-coast; but are more plentiful in the interior parts of the country, and fly in such large flocks that I have often killed twelve or fourteen at one shot, and have seen both English and Indians kill a much greater number. At their first arrival they are but poor, though generally esteemed good eating. This diminutive Duck is by far the most prolific of any I know that resorts to Hudson's Bay; for I have often seen the old ones swimming at the head of seventeen young, when not much larger than walnuts. This bird remains in those parts as long as the season will permit; for in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, in my passage from Cumberland House to York Fort, I, as well as my Indian companions, killed them in the rivers we passed through as late as the twentieth of October. At those times they are entirely involved in fat, but delicately white, and may truly be called a great luxury.
Besides the birds already described, there is a great variety of others, both of land and water fowl, that frequent those parts in Summer; but these came not so immediately under my inspection as those I have already described.
{449}Of the Vegetable Productions.
The vegetable productions of this country by no means engaged my attention so much as the animal creation; which is the less to be wondered at, as so few of them are useful for the support of man. Yet I will endeavour to enumerate as many of them as I think are worth notice.
Gooseberries.
TheGooseberries[228]thrive best in stony and rocky ground, which lies open and much exposed to the Sun. But in those situations few of the bushes grow to any height, and spread along the ground like vines. The fruit is always most plentiful and the finest on the under-side of the branches, probably owing to the reflected heat from the stones and gravel, and from being sheltered from all cold winds and fog by the leaves. I never saw more than one species of Gooseberry in any part of Hudson's Bay, which is the red one. When green, they make excellent pies or tarts; and when ripe are very pleasant eating, though by no means so large as those produced in England.
Cranberries.
Cranberries[229]grow in great abundance near Churchill, and are not confined to any particular situation, for they {450} are as common on open bleak plains and high rocks as among the woods. When carefully gathered in the Fall, in dry weather, and as carefully packed in casks with moist sugar, they will keep for years, and are annually sent to England in considerable quantities as presents, where they are much esteemed. When the ships have remained in the Bay so late that the Cranberries are ripe, some of the Captains have carried them home in water with great success.
Heathberries.
TheHeathberries[230]are in some years so plentiful near Churchill, that it is impossible to walk in many places without treading on thousands and millions of them. They grow close to the ground, and are a favourite repast of many birds that migrate to those parts in Summer, particularly the Grey Goose; on which account the Indians distinguish them by the name of Nishca-minnick, or the Grey Gooseberry. The juice of this berry makes an exceeding pleasant beverage, and the fruit itself would be more pleasing were it not for the number of small seeds it contains.
Bethago-tominick.
Bethago-tominick,[231]as it is called by the Indians, or the Dewater-berry of Mr. Dragge. I have seen this berry as far North as Marble Island, and that in great abundance. It flourishes best, and is most productive, in swampy boggy ground covered with moss, and is seldom found {451} among grass. The plant itself is not very unlike that of a Strawberry, but the leaves are larger. Out of the center of the plant shoots a single stalk, sometimes to the height of seven or eight inches, and each plant only produces one berry, which at some distance resembles a Strawberry; but on examination they have not that conical form; and many of them are only composed of three or four lobes, while others consist of nearly twenty. The flavour of this berry is far from unpleasing, and it is eaten by our people in considerable quantities during the season, (which is August,) and, like all the other fruits in those parts, is supposed to be wholesome, and a great antiscorbutic.
Currans.
Currans,[232]both red and black, are common about Churchill River, but the latter are far more plentiful than the former, and are very large and fine. The bushes on which those currans grow, frequently exceed three feet in height, and generally thrive best in those parts that are moist but not swampy. Small vallies between the rocks, at some little distance from the woods, are very favourable to them; and I have frequently observed that the fruit produced in those situations is larger and finer than that which is found in the woods. Those berries have a very great effect on some people if eaten in any considerable quantities, by acting as a very powerful purgative, and in some as an emetic at the same {452} time; but if mixed with Cranberries, they never have that effect.