OCR Text |
Show contain ten or twelve persons, it may he carried with grcai case hr four. Tl~c fourth anti largest species of canoe we did not meet till we reached tide-water, neaa· the gramt raJli<ls below, inJwhich place they are found among all the nations, cspeci· ally the Killamucl~s, and others r('siding on. the sc:w~ast. They arc upwards ol' fifty feet Ion~, aml -w1ll cal'ry from ciooht to ten thousand pounds weight, or from twenty to thirty0 persons. Like all the canoes we have ~ncn~ ioncd, they arc cut out of a single trunk of a t•·et•, wlu~h 1s generally white eeda1·, though the fu· is . ometimcs used. 'rhe sides are secured by cross-bars, or rountl stirks, two or three inches in thickness, which arc inserted through holes mnde Just below the gunwale, and made fast with cords. The upper edge of the gunwale itseH' is about five eighths of an inch thicl<. and fout· or five in breadth, aud folds outwm·ds, so as t.o form a ldnd of rim~ \Yhiclt JWCV('nts the water ft·om beat· ing into the hoat. The bow and stm·n arc about t.hc same height, and each provided with a. comb, reaching to the bottom ofthc boat. At each end, n.lso, a1·c pedestals, formed of tlae same solid piece, on which nrc }llacctl strange gt'O· tcsquc figures of men or animals, rising sometimes to the height of ftve feet, am\ composed of small pieces of woo~J, firmly united, with great in~cnuity, by inlaying and mortl· sing, without a S}like of any kind. 'I'he paddle is usually from f'our feet aml a half to iivc feet in length; the handle being thick for one thi1·d of ils length, " ·hen it wic.Iens, ~nd is hollowed and thinned on each side of t.hc centre, wluch forms a sort of t·iu. 'Vhcn they embark, one Indian sits in tho stCJ·n~ and steers with a paddle, the ot.he1·s kneelin pairs in the bottom of tbc canoe, and sitting on the it· heels, paddle over the gunwale next to them. In this way they ride with perfect safety the highest waves, and venture without Ow least concern in seas, where otbct• boats or seamen could not live an instant. They sit quietly ami paddle, with no other m.o'Vement; except, wl,en any lar~e wave throws the boat u1' the .7JfissoU1·i. Qln her si<lc, an<l, to the eye of a spectator, she seems lo!Jt: the nmn to windwat•d then steadies her by tlu·owing his body to .. wa1•ds the upper· side, and sinking his paddle deep into tbe wa.vt•, ,appears to catch the water an<l force it. under the boat. which the same stroke pushes on with great velocity. In the management of these canoes the women are equally cxpcr·t with the men; for in the smallcl' boats, which contain fout· oarsmen, the helm is g<~ncrally given t.o the lemale. As soon as they land, the canoe is generally hau)c(t on shore, unless she be VCl'Y heavily laden; but at night t.hc load is univea·sally discharged, and the canoe braught. on shore. Our admi•·ation of their skill in these curious constructions was increased by observing the YCI'Y inadequate implements with which they arc made. 'I'hcsc Indians possess very few axes, and the only tool employed in 1 heit· building, from felling of the tree to the delicate woa·kmanship of the images, is a chisel made of an old file, about an inch or an inch and a halfin width. }_:ven or this too, they have not yet learnt tbo management, far t.he chisel is sometimes fixed in a large block of wood, and being hcltl in the right hand, the uloek is pushed with the left without the aid of a malret. But umler all these disatlvantagcs, these canoes, which one woul<l suppo ~c to uc the work or years. arc made in a few weeks. A canoe, however, is very highly pt·izcd: in traffic, it is an article or the gt'eatest value, except a wife, which is of equal consideration; so that a lovca· gcnct·a.lly t;ivcs a canoe to the father in exchange for hiH daughter. ,·o:r .. n. |