not stick well unless it were snaoothed with a glowing 

 stick, and hence was used only in emergencies. 



It is believed that before steel tools were available 

 birch-bark canoes were commonly built of a number 

 of sheets of bark rather than, as quite often occurred 

 in later times, of only one or two sheets. The 

 greater number of sheets in the early canoes resulted 

 from the difficulty in obtaining large sheets from a 

 standing tree. Comparison of surviving birch-bark 

 canoes suggests that those built of a number of sheets 

 would have contained the better bark, as large sheets 

 often included bark taken from low on the trunk, and 

 this, as has been mentioned, is usually of poorer 

 quality than that higher on the trunk. 



It is known that the early Indians carried on some 

 trade in bark canoe building materials, as they did 

 in stone for weapons and tools. Areas in which some 

 materials were scarce or of poor quality might thus 

 obtain replacements from more fortunate areas. 

 Fine quality bark, "sewing" roots, and good spruce 

 gum had trade value, and these items were sold by 

 some of the early fur traders. Paint does not appear 

 to have been used on early canoes, except, in some 



instances, on the woodwork. This use occurred 

 mostly in the East, particularly among the Beothuks 

 in Newfoundland. Paint was apparently not used 

 on birch bark until it was introduced by white men 

 in the fur trade. 



Summary 



It will be seen that the Indian gathered all mate- 

 rials and prepared them for use with only a few simple 

 tools, most of which could be manufactured at the 

 building site and discarded after the work was com- 

 pleted. The only other tools he usually brought to 

 the scene were those he normally required in his 

 everyday existence in the forest. Some instruments 

 used in canoe building, however, might be preserved; 

 these were the measuring sticks on which were 

 marked, by notches, certain measurements to be used 

 in shaping a canoe. Also, some Indians used a build- 

 ing frame that shaped the bottom in plan view. 

 These are best described when the actual building 

 methods are examined. 



Building Frame for a Large Canoe. Dotted lines show change in shape is 

 caused by omitting cross-bars or by using short bars in ends. Note lashing at 

 ends and method of fastening thwart with a thong. 





^ 



26 



