Although reconstruction of extinct canoe types 

 is difficuh, for the strange canoes of the Beothuk 

 Indians of Newfoundland Adney appears to have 

 solved some of the riddles posed by contemporary 

 descriptions and the few grave models extant (the 

 latter may have been children's toys). Whether or 

 not his reconstructed canoe is completely accurate 

 cannot be determined; at least it conforms reasonably 

 well to the descriptions and models, and Adney's 

 thorough knowledge of Indian craftsmanship gives 

 weight to his opinions and conclusions. This much 

 can be said: the resulting canoe would be a practical 

 one and it fulfills very nearly all descriptions of the 

 type known today. 



Adney's papers and drawings dealing with the con- 

 struction of bark canoes are most complete and 

 valuable. So complete as to be almost a set of "how- 

 to-do-it" instructions, they cover everything from the 

 selection of materials and use of tools to the art of 

 shaping and building the canoe. An understanding 

 of these building instructions is essential to any sound 

 examination of the bark canoes of North America, for 

 they show the limitations of the medium and indicate 

 what was and what was not reasonable to expect from 

 the finished product. 



In working on Adney's papers, it became obvious 

 that this publication could not be limited to birch- 

 bark canoes, since canoes built of other barks and 

 even some covered with skins appear in the birch bark 

 areas. Because of this, and to explain the technical 

 differences between these and the birch canoes, 

 skin-covered canoes have been included. I have 

 also appended a chapter on Eskimo skin boats and 

 kayaks. This material I had originally prepared for 

 inclusion in the Encyclopedia Arctica, publication of 

 which was cancelled after one volume had appeared. 

 As a result, the present work now covers the native 

 craft, exclusive of dugouts, of all North America 

 north of Mexico. 



In my opinion the value of the information gathered 

 by Edwin Tappan Adney is well worth the effort that 

 has been expended to bring it to its present form, and 

 any merit that attaches to it belongs largely to Adney 

 himself, whose long and painstaking research, carried 

 on under severe personal difficulties, is the foundation 

 of this study. 



Howard Irving Chapelle 



Curator of Transportation^ 

 Museum of History and Technology 



