A Journey to the Northern Ocean

by Samuel Hearne

  HORNED WAVEY. 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. This 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 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(16) at the time the collection was making, did not pay any attention to it.

  LAUGHING GOOSE. 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 rout 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. 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. This species certainly breed in the remotest parts of the North, and seldom make their appearance at Churchill River till late August or September. The rout 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 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 their flight 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.

  The DUNTER GOOSE, as it is called in Hudson’s Bay, but which is certainly the Eider Duck. They are common at the mouth of the 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 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. 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.(17)

  Species of Water-Fowl

  DUCKS of 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, Black Duck, Mallard Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Widgeon, and Teal. 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. 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 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. 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.

  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.

  The GOOSEBERRIES 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 grow in great abundance near Churchill, and are not confined to any particular situation, for they 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.

  The HEATHBERRIES 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, 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 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 near 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, 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 time; but if mixed with Cranberries, they never have that effect.

  JUNIPER-BERRIES are frequently found near the new settlement at Churchill River, but by no means in such plenty as in the more Southern and interior parts of the country. The bush they grow on is so similar to the creeping pine, that one half of the Company’s servants residing in Hudson’s Bay do not know one from the other. Like the Gooseberry bushes in those parts, the fruit is always most plentiful on the under-side of the branches. They are not much esteemed either by the Indians or English, so that the few that are made use of are generally infused in brandy, by way of making a cordial, which is far from unpleasant.(18)

  STRAWBERRIES,(19) and those of a considerable size and excellent flavour, are found as far North as Churchill River; and what is most remarkable, they are frequently known to be more plentiful in such places as have formerly been set on fire. This is not peculiar to the Strawberry, but it is well known that in the interior parts of the country, as well as at Albany and Moose Forts, that after the ground, or more properly the under-wood and moss, have been set on fire, that Raspberry-bushes and Hips have shot up in great numbers on spots where nothing of the kind had ever been seen before. This is a phaenomenon that is not easily accounted for; but it is more than probable that Nature wanted some assistance, and the moss being all burnt away, not only admits the Sun to act with more power, but the heat of the fire must, in some measure, loosen the texture of the soil, so as to admit the plants to shoot up, after having been deep-rooted for many years without being able to force their way to the surface.

  Besides the Berries already mentioned, there are three others found as far North as Churchill; namely, what the Indians call the Eye-berry, and the other two are termed Blue-berry and Partridge-berry by the English.

  The EYE-BERRY grows much in the same manner as the Strawberry, and though smaller, is infinitely superior in flavour. This berry is found in various situations; but near Churchill River they are most plentiful in small hollows among the rocks, which are situated some distance from the woods; but they are never known to grow in swampy ground, and I never saw them so plentiful in any part of Hudson’s Bay as about Churchill River.

  The BLUE-BERRY is about the size of a Hurtleberry, and grows on bushes which rise to eighteen inches or two feet, but in general are much lower. They are seldom ripe till September, at which time the leaves turn to a beautiful red; and the fruit, though small, have as fine a bloom as any plum. And are much esteemed for the pleasantness of their flavour.

  The PARTRIDGE-BERRY is nearly as large as the Cranberry imported from Newfoundland, and though of a beautiful transparent red, yet has a disagreeable taste. These berries are seldom taken, either by the Indians or English; and many of the latter call them Poison-berries, but several birds are fond of them. They grow close to the ground, like the Cranberry, and the plant that produces them is not very unlike small sage, either in shape or colour, but has none of its virtues.

  I had nearly forgotten another species of Berry, which is found on the dry ridges at Churchill in considerable numbers. In size and colour they much resemble the Red Curran, and grow on bushes so much like the Creeping Willow, that people of little observation scarcely know the difference; particularly as all the fruit is on the under-side of the branches, and entirely hid by the leaves. I never knew this Berry eaten but by a frolicksome Indian girl; and as it had no ill effect, it is a proof it is not unwholesome, though exceedingly unpleasant to the palate, and not much less so to the smell.

  HIPS of a small size, though but few in number, are also found on the banks of Churchill River, at some distance from the sea. But in the interior parts of the country they are frequently found in such vast quantities, that at a distance they make the spots they grow on appear perfectly red. In the interior parts of Hudson’s Bay they are as large as any I ever remember to have seen, and when ripe, have a most delightful bloom; but at that season there is scarcely one in ten which has not a worm in it; and they frequently act as a strong purgative.

  With respect to the smaller productions of the vegetable world, I am obliged to be in a great measure silent, as the nature of my various occupations during my residence in this country gave me little leisure, and being unacquainted with botany, I viewed with inattention things
that were not of immediate use: the few which follow are all that particularly engaged my attention.

  The WISH-A-CA-PUCCA, which grows in most parts of this country, is said by some Authors to have great medical virtues, applied, either inwardly as an alterative, or outwardly dried and pulverized, to old sores and gangrenes. The truth of this I much doubt, and could never think it had the least medical quality. It is, however, much used by the lower class of the Company’s servants as tea; and by some is thought very pleasant. But the flower is by far the most delicate, and if gathered at a proper time, and carefully dried in the shade, will retain its flavour for many years, and make a far more pleasant beverage than the leaves. There are several species of this plant, of which some of the leaves are nearly as large as that of the Creeping Willow, while others are as small and narrow as that of the Rosemary, and much resembles it in colour; but all the species have the same smell and flavour.

  JACKASHEYPUCK. This herb much resembles Creeping Box; and is only used, either by the Indians or English, to mix with tobacco, which makes it smoke mild and pleasant; and would, I am persuaded, be very acceptable to many smokers in England.