The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America 1

The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America 1

The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America

Author: Edwin Tappan Adney and Howard Irving Chapelle

 

 

_Page_

 

Introduction 1

 

1. Early History 7

 

2. Materials and Tools 14

 

3. Form and Construction 27

Form 27

Construction 36

 

4. Eastern Maritime Region 58

Micmac 58

Malecite 70

St. Francis 88

Beothuk 94

 

5. Central Canada 99

Eastern Cree 101

Têtes de Boule 107

Algonkin 113

Ojibway 122

Western Cree 132

Fur-trade Canoes 135

 

6. Northwestern Canada 154

Narrow-Bottom Canoe 155

Kayak-Form Canoe 158

Sturgeon-Nose Canoe 168

 

7. Arctic Skin Boats: by _Howard I. Chapelle_ 174

The Umiak 181

The Kayak 190

 

8. Temporary Craft 212

Bark Canoes 212

Skin Boats 219

 

Retrospect 221

 

Appendix: The Kayak Roll, by _John D. Heath_ 223

 

Bibliography 231

 

Index 235

 

 

 

 

_Illustrations_

 

 

_Figure_ _Page_

 

1 Fur-trade canoe on the Missinaibi River, 1901. (_Canadian

Geological Survey photo._) 2

 

2 Page from a manuscript of 1771, "Observations on Hudsons

Bay," by Alexander Graham, Factor. (In archives of Hudson's

Bay Company.) 9

 

3 Canoes from LaHontan's _Nouveaux Voyages ... dans l'Amerique

septentrionale_, showing crude representations typical of

early writers. 11

 

4 Lines of an old birch-bark canoe, probably Micmac, brought to

England in 1749 from New England. (_From Admiralty Collection

of Draughts, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich._) 12

 

5 Ojibway Indian carrying spruce roots, Lac Seul, Ont., 1919.

(_Canadian Geological Survey photo._) 15

 

6 Roll of bark for a hunting canoe. Algonkin Reserve, at Golden

Lake, Ont., 1927. 16

 

7 Sketch: wood-splitting techniques, cedar and spruce. 17

 

8-19 Sketches of tools: 8, stone axe; 9, stone hammer, wedge, and

knife; 10, mauls and driving sticks; 11, stone scraper; 12,

bow drill; 13, modern Hudson Bay axe; 14, steel fur-trade

tomahawk; 15, steel canoe awls; 16, crooked knives; 17, froe;

18, shaving horse; 19, bucksaw. 17

 

20 Peeling, rolling, and transporting bark. (_Sketches by

Adney._) 25

 

21 Sketch: Building frame for a large canoe. 26

 

22, 23 Sketches: Effect on canoe bottom of crimping and goring

bark. 30

 

24 Sketch: Canoe formed by use of gores and panels. 31

 

25 Gunwale ends nailed and wrapped with spruce roots. (_Sketch

by Adney._) 31

 

26 Gunwales and stakes on building bed, plan view. (_Sketch by

Adney._) 32

 

27 Photo: Gunwale lashings, examples made by Adney. 33

 

28 Photo: Gunwale-end lashings, examples made by Adney. 33

 

29 Sketch: Splints arranged in various ways to sheath the bottom

of a canoe. 34

 

30 End details, including construction of stem-pieces.

(_Sketches by Adney._) 35

 

31 Lines of 2½-fathom St. John River Malecite canoe. 36

 

32 Malecite canoe building, 1910. (Canadian Geological Survey

photos.) 39

 

33 First stage of canoe construction: assembled gunwale frame is

used to locate stakes temporarily on building bed. (_Sketch

by Adney._) 40

 

34 Second stage of canoe construction: bark cover is laid out on

the building bed, and the gunwales are in place upon it.

(_Sketch by Adney._) 41

 

35 Photo: Malecite canoe builders near Fredericton, N.B., using

wooden plank building bed. 42

 

36 Sketch: Two common styles of root stitching used in bark

canoes. 43

 

37 Comparison of canoe on the building bed and canoe when first

removed from building bed during fifth stage of construction.

(_Detail sketches by Adney._) 44

 

38 Third stage of canoe construction: the bark cover is shaped

on the building bed. (_Sketch by Adney._) 45

 

39 Cross section of canoe on building bed during third and

fourth stages of construction. (_Sketch by Adney._) 46

 

40 Sketch: Multiple cross section through one side of a canoe on

the building bed, at the headboard, middle, first, and second

thwarts. 46

 

41 Fourth stage of canoe construction: bark cover has been

shaped and all stakes placed. (_Sketch by Adney._) 47

 

42 Fifth stage of canoe construction: canoe is removed from

building bed and set on horses to shape ends and complete

sewing. (_Sketch by Adney._) 49

 

43 Ribs being dried and shaped for Ojibway canoe. (_Canadian

Geological Survey photo._) 50

 

44 Sketch: Details of ribs and method of shaping them in pairs. 51

 

45 Sixth stage of canoe construction: in this stage splints for

sheathing (upper left) are fixed in place and held by

temporary ribs (lower right) under the gunwales. (_Sketch by

Adney._) 53

 

46 General details of birch-bark canoe construction, in a

drawing by Adney. (From _Harper's Young People_, supplement,

July 29, 1890.) 54

 

47 Gunwale construction and thwart or crossbar fastenings, as

shown in a sketch by Adney. (_Harper's Young People_,

supplement, July 29, 1890.) 56

 

48 "Peter Joe at Work." Drawing by Adney for his article "How an

Indian Birch-Bark Canoe is Made." (_Harper's Young People_,

supplement, July 29, 1890.) 57

 

49 Lines of 2-fathom Micmac pack, or woods, canoe. 59

 

50 Lines of 2-fathom Micmac pack, or woods, canoe. 60

 

51 Lines of 2-fathom Micmac pack, or woods, canoe. 61

 

52 Lines of 2½-fathom Micmac big-river canoe. 62

 

53 Lines of 3-fathom Micmac ocean canoe fitted for sailing. 63

 

54 Micmac rough-water canoe, Bathurst, N.B. (_Canadian

Geological Survey photo._) 64

 

55 Micmac Woods canoe, built by Malecite Jim Paul at St. Mary's

Reserve in 1911. (_Canadian Geological Survey photo._) 64

 

56 Micmac rough-water canoe fitted for sailing. (_Photo W. H.

Mechling, 1913._) 65

 

57 Micmac rough-water canoe, Bay Chaleur. (_Photo H. V.

Henderson, West Bathurst, N.B._) 66

 

58 Micmac rough-water sailing canoe, Bay Chaleur. (_Canadian

Geological Survey photo._) 66