32 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



[Vol. XXXIII. 



and are said to have had their ends sHghtly elevated 

 and pointed. 



Among the northern Ojibwa, Cree and Algon- 

 kian tribes generally, the dugout is conspicuous by 

 its absence. The same remark holds good for the 

 Plains tribes and for the Eskimo. 



The Iroquois method of making a dugout is 

 probably typical for the whole eastern region m 

 which it is used. 



A tree of suitable material and size was first cut 

 Jown in former times by burning, the fire being 

 localized by applying some damp material above the 

 point where the tree was to be burned through. The 

 log was cut to length in the same way. The next 

 step was to build a number of small fires at intervals 

 on top of the log, then hack away the charred part 

 with adzes. The fires were rebuilt and the work 

 continued in this way until a suitable hollow was 

 obtained. The ends were shaped in a similar way. 

 The same method of hollowing-out dugouts and large 

 wooden bowls is practised by the present-day 

 Iroquois. 



Among the Dene, the adoption of the dugout is 

 considered by Morice to be of fairly recent origin, 

 dugouts of balsam poplar having, in his opinion, re- 

 placed the original spruce-bark canoe. These dug- 

 outs are sometimes thirty feet in length by not more 

 than three in the middle and are said to possess no 

 elegance or design of beauty. 



Along the Pacific Coast the dugout is the char- 

 acteristic craft and is here elaborated into an article 

 possessing graceful lines and considerable beauty of 

 workmanship. Its development, both in the matter 

 of size and finish, was no doubt due at least partly 

 to the size and workability of the coniferous trees 

 of the coast region, as well as to the decreased 

 demand for portability. A factor which must have 

 greatly improved the product of the last century or 

 two is the introduction of modern tools. Huge sea- 

 faring dugouts were, and are still occasionally, made 

 by the Haida and neighboring tribes of the northern 

 Pacific Coast. 



An interesting feature of construction is the re- 

 tention of the simple or primitive method of alternate 

 charring and hacking in hollowing-out the interior. 

 The final adzing imparts a fine scale-like appearance. 

 When the adzing has been completed the canoes 

 are given additional beam by filling with water, 

 which is heated with stones, after which the sides 

 are forced apart by means of thwarts. 



British Columbian dugouts in general bear a 

 degree of interresemblance in outline and structure 

 that suggests a common cultural or intercultural 

 origin. A groove inside the stern provides a rest 

 for the whaling and sealing harpoon. 



The eastern dugouts, already described, though 

 possessing some broad features of resemblance to 



those of the West Coast, are sufficiently different 

 in general character to suggest a development under 

 differing conditions. r^FTS 



The raft is at least the crudest of the navigatory 

 devices mentioned and possesses a distribution which 

 is practically universal, though used in many regions 

 merely as an occasional or emergency craft. Its 

 form is usually extremely simple and seldom exhibits 

 anything which can be dignified by the name of 

 design or style, though occasionally there are ex- 

 ceptions to this. The balsa, found among certain 

 California Indians and in isolated localities south- 

 ward to Chili, is really a raft composed of bunches 

 of tule or rushes tied together, although its pointed 

 ends give it some resemblance to a canoe. 



Regarding the northern Dene, we have the state- 

 ment of Morice to the effect that they occasionally 

 make use of rafts. "They are made of three dry 

 logs bound together, with their larger ends aft, 

 while a slightly tapering shape is given their op- 

 posite extremities. The logs are fastened together 

 fore and aft by means of ropes, which, when of truly 

 aboriginal make, are of twisted strips or willow 

 bark, starting from one end of a crossbar placed 

 over them and going round each of the logs and the 

 bar alternately. Among the Loucheux, these prim- 

 itive embarkations are used in combination with regu- 

 lar canoes."'' 



GENERAL REMARKS. 

 Decking, so prominent in Eskimo canoes, has been 

 observed to be less extensive in the Dog-rib bark 

 canoe, and still slighter in the Chipewyan, Algon- 

 quin and Malecite. It is interesting, however, to 

 find it outside the Eskimo region. The side flaps of 

 the Algonquin and Malecite and some Ojibwa deck- 

 ing sheets have been already referred to. 



Sewing, like covering materials, exhibits changes 

 based on geographical location, these consisting 

 mainly of a transition from sinew (used by the 

 Eskimo) to spruce root (used by nearly all Cana- 

 dian tribes excepting the Eskimo and Kutchin) ; or, 

 in a few cases, to the bast or inner bark of the bass- 

 wood and elm (used by the Iroquois). 



The seams in all bark canoes are gummed. 

 The wide, flat rib is characteristic of the Eastern 

 Woodlands and extends westward to the Slave coun- 

 try. This is accompanied by an inside sheeting 

 which covers the bark completely. Contrasted with 

 the wide, flat rib, though not differing from it in 

 principle, is the narrow and widely-spaced rib of 

 the Eskimo, Kutchin and Dog-rib crafts. 



A feature which seems to be closely associated 

 with the birch-bark canoe in general is the separate 

 strip or piece used to give shape to the bow and 

 stern respectively. These are also possessed by the 



isMorice, A. G., "The Great Dene Race," Anth^ 

 ropes, vol. 5, p. 443. 



