Canoeing and Nature-Study 



By John B. May, M.D., 

 Director, The Winnetaska Canoeing Camps, Ashland, New Hamspshire. 



"Thus the Birch Canoe was builded 

 And the forest's life was in it; 

 All its mystery and its magic, 

 All the lightness of the birch-tree, 

 All the toughness of the cedar, 

 All the larch's supple sinews; 

 And it floated on the river 

 Like a yellow leaf in Autumn, 

 Like a yellow water-lily." 



Hiawatha. 



The Indian originated the canoe, that he might creep up silently 

 upon his prey, the timid deer drinking from the stream, the wild 

 goose feeding in the shallows, or the salmon in search of its spawn- 

 ing ground. The sportsman has developed the canoe for his more 

 modern hunting and fishing, making it more seaworthy and more 

 serviceable. And the thousands of boys and girls who annually 

 visit the organized camps of our Vacation Land, find in the canoe 

 the ideal vehicle for much of their nature-study, as well as their 

 sport. 



All life requires water in greater or less amount. Insects, 

 reptiles, birds, or mammals, are found in greatest abundance near 

 water, vegetation grows rankest near it, and it goes without saying 

 that fishes cannot be found away from it. While the bare and rocky 

 mountain top, the shifting sand dunes, and even the desert have 

 much of interest for the nature student, it is along our ponds and 

 streams and swamps that we find the greatest variety of interesting 

 things. 



The advantages of the canoe are many and obvious. There 

 are no noisy oarlocks to frighten the birds and drown out their 

 songs, no rudder to foul at the critical moment as 3 ou work your 

 way among the lily pads, no flapping great sail sticking up above 



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