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delineated boiler and tray. They commence by digging a shallow excavation in the sand into which they lay one end of a rough bark tray, thereby obtaining an oblique inclination for the whole vessel, the lower end of which is alone folded up. Inside the upper half of the tray, a boiler of corresponding width and made of a large piece of spruce bark is erected and secured in position by three sticks driven in the ground on the outside of both boiler and tray. This boiler has no other bottom than that of the tray wherein it stands upright and wherewith it forms an obtuse angle. As a consequence of this last circumstance an aperture is left between the bottom of the tray and the lower edge of the front side of the boiler, that facing the projecting part of the shallow vessel. A few twigs are there deposited which will act as a strainer with regard to the escaping juice of the berries. Once the boiler has been filled up with the fruit, heated stones are cast in which have the double effect of pressing down and boiling its contents. The juice escaping in the outer part of the tray is transferred when necessary to another vessel. The berries in the

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boiler having considerably sunk down and the stones beginning to cool, a new supply of both is thrown on top of the mash, which operation is repeated as long as the size of the boiler will allow. After all the juice has thus been extracted, the residue of the berries is thoroughly kneaded, after which it is spread out in thin layers on willow hurdles previously covered with heraeleum leaves, and then exposed to the action of the sun and air. By frequently sprinkling the mash with the juice of the berries and letting it dry until it attains the proper degree of consistency,

it finally coagulates into cakes of uniform thickness which are then stored away for future use. When properly prepared, these will keep for years and if sprinkled over with a little sugar, they are of tempting succulency even to others than Indians.

ESCULENT AND MEDICINAL PLANTS.

Before proceeding further in our description of native utensils, it may not be irrelevant to complete our knowledge of the means of subsistence of the Western Dénés by a brief nomenclature of the other esculent berries, roots or plants they use as food, as well as of the chief medicinal herbs which they have, or had formerly, recourse to in case of bodily ailment. Their flora, such as represented in their vocabulary, is somewhat limited, inasmuch as, with very few exceptions, only such plants as have a place in their domestic economy are deemed worthy of a name. Question, for instance, a TsiĮKoh'tin about the native name of a beautiful flower which may strike your fancy, and if it is not that of an edible or medicinal plant, he will look at you wondering if your mind is not getting unbalanced and ask you scornfully: "Do you think that we eat such a thing, that we should have a name for it?" A great many berries they do eat, and therefore honour with a distinctive name These, added to those already mentioned in the course of the present monograph, are:

The small, low-growing blue berry (Vaccinium myrtillus) which is common in dry, stony places, such, generally, as are wooded with the scrub pine. These are gathered in the autumn and either eaten fresh, when they are very succulent, or dried and kept until needed for use. In this latter case, they are first boiled in a common tin kettle, then thoroughly kneaded, and spread, without extracting the juice, over small trellis, much as is done with the mash of the service berries. Their Carrier name is yǝn-tha-mai or ground berries.

A larger species of blue berries (V. myrtiloides) is also much sought after and treated, as a rule, as the small ground blue berries. Such is also the case with the swamp cranberry (Oxicoccus palustris) which, though rather scarce here, is none the less appreciated by the natives. The Carrier name of the former is yatsǝl, a secondary root; that of the latter ǝya'-kə-mai, or marsh berry, a noun of the third category.

Tatqe is a large, dark-colored berry, (Empetrum nigrum) somewhat acid and very juicy. When not eaten fresh, or seasoned with bear grease, whole basketsful of it are deposited in long trough-like vessels of spruce bark, tucked up at both ends so as to form provisional receptacles therefor. After they have undergone the usual kneading process, heated

stones are thrown over the mash until it has boiled long enough to prevent its deteriorating with age, after which cakes are obtained by drying on hurdles, as practised with regard to the service berry.

A species of high bush cranberry (Viburnum paneiflorum), in spite of its pungency, is also much appreciated by the native palate. It comes to perfect maturity late in September, and is generally eaten with bear grease. But when it ripens early enough, and when the service berries are not kept in dried cakes, it is mixed with them to render them more digestible. The service berry, when eaten alone, is rather heavy on the stomach, and the addition of the cranberries is intended to correct this drawback. The Carriers call the high bush cranberry tsaptsé.

The soap berry (Shepperdia canadensis), which is so unpalatable to a white man, is not the least esteemed of esculent berries among the Western Dénés. It is either eaten raw or dried for future use. In both cases, it requires some preparation to become edible. After it has been mashed in a tin or bark vessel and sprinkled with a little sugar to soften down its bitter taste, it is vigorously stirred with the hand until it springs up into a beautiful rosy foam-whence its name-which is highly appreciated, especially on a hot summer day. If not needed at the time the berries are collected, their mash is put in a spruce bark vessel and boiled by means of heated stones until nothing remains but the roasted residue of the fruit. This is now given the form of the usual plug-like cakes by spreading and drying on hurdles and finally stowed away. When these are required for consumption, they are put in a kettle, dissolved in a little water, and stirred with the hand as in the case of the fresh berries and with similar results.

Two other species of single berried fruit called respectively tcitcéstetcé* and nontza are generally eaten fresh. As far as I can guess, they belong to the genus Viburnum. The first, which grows only on mountainous soil, is black and resembles the service berry, but the natives claim that it is unknown to the whites. The second is a blue berry ripening on very tall bushes.

Nor should we omit in our nomenclature even the berry of the kinnikinik (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), which is prepared for eating by roasting in a frying pan and mixed with salmon oil or the grease of any animal. Its native name is tanih in all the western dialects.

The natives also relish any species of edible-and sometimes to us non-edible-berries, such as the raspberry (Rubus strigosus), the straw

*This name, though used among the Carriers, is of undoubted Tsé'kéhne origin.

berry (Fragaria canadensis), the black currant (Ribes nigrum), which the Carriers call "toad berry," etc. But none of these has the economic importance of those above enumerated.

Besides these and the bulbous roots ah, sûnti and asroñh which have been mentioned elsewhere, the Western Dénés find in their immediate vicinity several indigenous plants to diversify their daily menu of fish or meat. Chief among these may be quoted the red lily (Lilium Columbianum), the bulb of which is used as an article of food by most British Columbian and other American, or even Asiatic tribes. It is cooked by boiling pretty much as is done with potatoes. The natives harvest it almost as soon as it has sprouted out, a short time after the entire disappearance of snow. The Carrier and TsijKoh'tin name is tsa-tcan or "beaver-stick."

Another plant of a different botanical family whose root is likewise much appreciated as an article of food is the sas or sweet flag (Acorus Calamus). This root is eaten without any other preparation than cleaning and washing in cold water.

The wild onion (Allicum cernuum) is also eaten, root and leaves, either raw or slightly roasted in the ashes. The Carriers call it t'jo-tsa'n, "stinking grass." So is the root of the dog-tooth violet (Erythronium giganteum), which is reputed excellent by the natives. Its Carrier name is tcilkhe-rez, a compound word which is unfit for translation.

In the cow-parsnip (Heracleum lanatum), and a variety of the same (kraz, in Carrier) it is the inner part of the growing stalks which is preferred. It is often used while fresh and unprepared save by the stripping of its fibrous envelope. But if fire is at hand, a Carrier will generally treat it to a slight roasting through the flames previously to peeling off the stalk. The H. lanatum is the kus of the Western Dénés, a primary root, indicative of its importance in the estimation of the natives.

The marrow of the willow herb (Epilobium angustifolium) is also much esteemed, as is manifest from the nature of its Carrier name, Ras It is eaten before the plant reaches maturity.

Nor do the Carriers disdain the leaves of the Oregon grape (Berberis aquifolium), which are simmered in a little water until no liquid remains. This plant, however, was formerly more sought after than is done by the modern Carriers, who call it 'tan-tcis, "simmered-leaf."

Another article of food, cheap because very common, but not the least prized by the aborigines is the hair-like lichen (Alectoria jubata),

which grows hanging from most coniferous trees, especially the Douglas pine-hence its Carrier name tǝh-ra, "above-hair." The natives submit it, after gathering, to a thorough washing, till it loses its outer colouring matter. They next mix it with dough as one would do with raisins, and bake the whole. The lichen has then on the cake the same effect as would a copious application of yeast powder on a loaf of bread. The Carriers assure me that, thus prepared, it is very sweet and savory. Prior to the introduction of flour, they cooked it with grease.

Although the shaman's influence was great and his services frequently resorted to among the prehistoric Western Dénés, especially the Carriers, natural remedies such as provided by the vegetable kingdom were by no means despised by them. Nay more, their medical flora was rather extensive, and it may be said to their credit, that several of nature's most valuable secrets were no mysteries to them. Among the herbs or vegetable growths esteemed among them for their medicinal properties, I may mention the following:

Tatlis (Polyporus officinalis), a fungoid growth from the Douglas pine. It was ground down into a fine powder and taken internally in a little water as a panacea against biliousness. According to the dose, it was a purgative or an emetic. It was very effcctive; so effective indeed as to be really dangerous. For that reason it has been altogether discarded in favour of milder laxatives such as the bark of the elder (Sambucus racemosus), which is pounded while fresh and taken in cold water.

The young shoots of two species of spruce Abies nigra and A. balsamea, were, and are still frequently, used as a febrifuge or against any kind of complaint resulting in cutaneous inflammation or eruptions. The shoots are thoroughly boiled and the decoction drank while warm.

A decoction of the boughs of the juniper bush (Juniperus occidentalis) is also considered effective against such maladies as fever or measles.

In cases of such cutaneous eruptions as particularly affect young children, the diseased part is thoroughly smeared with the mash of the swamp cranberry (Oxicoccus palustris), and it is claimed that beneficial results never fail to follow within an astonishingly short space of time.

The root of the aspen (Populus tremuloides) thoroughly chewed and applied on cuts and bruises, is very extensively resorted to as a sure means of stopping bleeding. Excellent and well authenticated results have more than once attested its efficacy. In urgent cases, the bark of

the tree is used instead of the root.

The root of two other plants Ti-los-reh* a liliaceous plant, and the *Lit. "Dog-urine-root."

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