There are several different kinds of canoes made by Indians, of which
the birch-bark canoe is the most generally available. The skin boats of
the Esquimaux are larger and are skilfully made, but we are considering
here only the handiwork of our own Indians.
The Plains Indians formerly used the buffalo-skin boat, called
"bull-boat," but this is at best an emergency vessel, constructed only
when they were forced to cross a river too deep to ford and too wide to
swim. It can scarcely be called a boat and might be termed a raft of
skins, for it cannot be paddled like the true canoe. It is probably the
crudest form of native craft.
The bull-boat is made upon a framework of willow withes roughly woven
into an oblong shape, using long poles for the bottom to give the
necessary firmness. Over this frame rawhides are stretched, and sewed
with sinew. The seams are smeared with tallow or gum. Two or three long
strings are attached to the front end. Having loaded the unwieldy vessel
to its full capacity with household goods and children, one or two
persons would stand in it with long poles to shove, while two or three
others swam ahead, pulling it by the ropes, and sometimes others pushed
from behind. The bull-boat was easily capsized, therefore every
precaution was taken against accident to the precious cargo. As soon as
the stream was crossed, it was taken apart, and the materials put to
other uses.
The dugout is much used where birch-bark is not obtainable. The tree,
preferably basswood, cottonwood, or soft maple, is selected with care,
the trunk cut the proper length, twelve to sixteen feet, roughly shaped
externally, and then hollowed out with much pains. Some of these boats
are very serviceable, and many Indians think them swifter as well as
more durable than the birch canoe; but it is not safe for a novice to
undertake to handle one. It is very graceful in the hands of an expert
Indian canoeist, but in some respects still retains the characteristics
of a log in water.
After the introduction of modern tools, the dugout became common
throughout the Indian country, while the forest Indian alone still clung
to the bark canoe. The white trapper, hunter, and explorer readily
adopted the convenient dugout, but it has almost disappeared with these
avocations; yet the boy hunter or camper who has the requisite patience
can easily make his own.
The Indian makes his dugout by first hewing it roughly into the shape of
a boat, then making crosswise cuts inside of the trunk about a foot
apart and splitting the wood lengthwise between these cuts until well
hollowed out. After this he uses a small pickaxe to cut still deeper,
until the walls are from four to six inches in thickness; finally he
smooths the surface with a chisel. On the outside the final work is done
with the draw-knife or ordinary knife. Bone knives and sharp clam-shells
were used in primitive times. Fire may be used to dry and polish.
Our Indian leaves his canoe to season sufficiently after making and
before he launches it. He oils it instead of painting, as he has no
paint. His paddles are shaped from any kind of light wood; always two in
number, in order that he may have an extra one on hand.
The bark canoe requires more skill and labor to make, and is much more
ornamental. In the first place, you need just the right kind of bark,
and for this you must search through the woods. You must unbark many
trees to obtain sheets of uniform thickness and elasticity, sound, and
of the proper length and width. You will then temper and season them by
laying them smoothly on the ground atop of one another, for some days or
even weeks, every alternate one cross-grained, and weighted with stones
or logs. Some bark is brittle and cracks easily, and this must be
discarded. In early spring when the sap runs is the best time to gather
bark.
The next thing is to secure the materials for your framework. The wood
used is the swamp or white cedar. The Indian cuts down slender, limbless
ones and splits them into convenient lengths, then whittles them flat,
like boards, about two to four inches wide, and seasons them before they
are fully finished. The longest are used for bracing the canoe
lengthwise, usually four to six on the bottom and two to three on each
side, beside the rim. The shorter ones are laid crosswise for the ribs,
a foot or more apart, tapering to either end. The crosspieces are four
in number. The Indian does not use these for seats, but sits in the
bottom of the canoe. His canoe is from twelve to sixteen feet long, and
somewhat wider than the one the white man makes.
After collecting and preparing your material, drive stakes into the
ground a foot apart in the exact shape of a canoe, and within this
arrange your ribs and braces in the proper order, and tie them firmly
together with the long, pliable roots of the swamp cedar or fir-tree.
Sometimes strips of the inner layer of basswood bark are used for this
purpose. When the frame of the canoe is complete, remove it, and lay the
pieces of birch-bark, cut to the pattern and partially sewed together,
within the pegged-out space. Allow a little for seams and fitting. Now
lay the frame upon the covering, turn the latter up and fit it smoothly,
as a dress is fitted to the manikin. An awl is used for making holes,
and the dried cedar roots for sewing the bark. Turn the upper edges
inward over the rim and sew them closely over and over. Lastly, take
out, invert, and caulk all the seams well with boiling pitch outside,
and inside with sturgeon blubber or glue made by boiling horn or
rawhide.
Now your canoe is finished except for the decoration, which may consist
of figures drawn with the awl on the soft bark, or of paintings on bow
and stern. The conventionalized figure of some water-fowl or fish, such
as the swan, loon, or sturgeon, forms an appropriate emblem, and may
also serve to name your craft.