CATALOGUE OF THE WATERCRAFT COLLi^uriUJSI. 31 



line fisheries these boats came rapidly into favor and of late years 

 have been very generally adopted by the fishermen of the British 

 Provinces of North America and also by the French, who resort to 

 the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. 



The " sharpie " used in the oyster and other fisheries is a very serv- 

 iceable form of boat in localities where the waters are generally shal- 

 low. Provided with centerboard and sails, they are frequently swift 

 sailers in smooth water, and on certain parts of the Atlantic coast 

 boats of this type are in high favor as small yachts. 



The " pound boat " of the Great Lakes is a variation of the 

 " sharpie " pattern, but is made of extra width in order that it may 

 be adapted to its work. As a matter of fact, a fisherman's boat is 

 usually as good an illustration of the adaptation of means to 

 ends as can be found. The Eskimo of the far north, where wood 

 is not obtainable, builds his " kaiak " or " bidarka " of the skins 

 of such animals as he can capture. The tribes living on the north- 

 west coast of America, in regions where forests of large trees 

 grow, construct for themselves boats dug out of the solid wood, 

 while other Indians make boats of the bark of trees, birch bark being 

 the favorite material among many North American tribes. Among 

 white men we find even a greater diversity. And in a country having 

 such an extensive area as the United States, with all the varying 

 conditions of climate, weather, and local surroundings, having within 

 its limits fishermen from almost every country under the sun, it is 

 not at all surprising that a remarkable variety of form and rig should 

 exist in fishing boats. 



North America stands prominent among all countries of the globe 

 both for the number and variety of skin boats, employed chiefly by 

 the natives of the far north. In building these the aborigine has not 

 only demonstrated an ability to apply means to ends but he has ex- 

 hibited a skill in design and construction which is most remarkable. 

 Force of circumstances has compelled the northern savage to build 

 a boat well adapted to his needs and which at the same time stands 

 as a prototype of the white man's racing scull and combines a sym- 

 metry of design with a fitness for its purpose which may well cause 

 wonder on the part of those who have spent j^ears of study and scien- 

 tific research in reaching the same result. 



So far as known and so far as represented by the collections, 

 only one type of " coracle " was used in North America. This was 

 made by Indians in a region where formerly the buffalo roamed in 

 undiminished numbers. The skins of this animal furnished the cov- 

 ering, which stretched over a light framework made of boughs or 

 saplings took the form of a bowl-shaped boat, extremely light in 

 weight, which was easy of portage and well adapted to crossing 

 streams or other small bodies of water. 



