the bilge, the sheathing will bend transversely as 

 pressure is applied by the temporary ribs; the bark 

 must be again wetted so that the angular bilge can 

 be forced into a roughly rounded form. Particular 

 care is required in finishing the sheathing below the 

 gunwale to be certain that the top strake will be close 

 up against the sewing of the bark at gunwales, but 

 no particular attempt is made to make the edges 

 of the sheathing in the topsides maintain edge-to- 

 edge contact. 



The pressure of the temporary ribs, the heads of 

 which are forced under the gunwales, and the elas- 

 ticity of the bark due to treating it with boiling water 

 are enough to rough-shape the canoe. 



Before the permanent ribs are placed the sheer is 

 checked. If it appears to have straightened, the ends 

 of the gunwales are supported by means of short posts 

 placed under them, with the heels standing on the 

 heels of the stem pieces or on the sheathing. Then 

 some stakes, each having a projecting limb or root, 

 are cut and are driven into the ground with the limb 

 hooked over the gunwale to force it down. 



After measurements have been made for the first 

 rib with a strand of root or an ash batten, it is now cut 

 to a length slightly more than would permit the rib to 

 be forced upright when in place. The ends of the 

 rib are set in place in the bevel, or notch, on the under- 

 side of the gunwales, against the bark cover, and with 

 the bottom part of the rib standing inboard of the 

 head. Then, with one end of a short batten placed 

 against its inboard side, the rib is driven toward the 

 end of the canoe with blows from a club on the head 

 of the batten. If the rib drives too easily it is removed 

 and laid aside; if too hard, it is shortened. It must go 

 home tightly enough to stretch slightly the bark cover 

 by bringing pressure to bear on the whole width of the 

 sheathing. Care is taken, in this operation, to keep 

 moist not only the bark but also the sewing, particu- 

 larly along the gunwales, so that all possible elasticity 

 is obtained. The ribs are set, one by one, working to 

 within two or three frames of the midship thwart; 

 then the other end of the canoe is begun. The last 

 three or four ribs to be placed are thus amidships. 

 In every rib driven, the tension is great, but no rib is 

 driven so that it stands perpendicular to the base. 

 Those first driven stand with their bottoms nearer the 

 midship thwart than the ends, and this angle, or slant, 

 continues to amidships; the ribs in the other end of 

 the canoe slant in the opposite direction. 



It will be evident that skill is required to estimate 

 how much pressure the bark will stand before bursting 



under the strain of the driven ribs. It is also apparent 

 that the shape of the canoe is controlled by the shap- 

 ing given the ribs in the prebending, for this fixes the 

 amount of tumble-home and the amount of round, or 

 rounded-V, given to the bottom athwartships. No 

 fixed rules appear to exist; the eye and judgment of 

 the builder are his only guides. To show how much 

 strain is placed on the bark, however, it may be noted 

 that inspection of two old canoes showed that the 

 gunwale pegs had been noticeably bent between the 

 inner and outer gunwales. 



It appears to have been a rather common practice, 

 after all the ribs had been driven into place, to allow 

 the canoe to stand a few days and then again to set the 

 frames (where unevenness appears in the topsides) 

 with driving batten and maul, the bark cover and the 

 root sewing or lashings having been again thoroughly 

 wetted. 



The headboards are now to be made. These are 

 shaped in the form of an elongate -oval from a wide 

 splint of white cedar about 4 inches wide at mid- 

 length and Yi inch thick. The narrow end is first cut 

 off square or nearly so; the bottom end is notched to 

 fit in the notch in the heel of the stem-piece and the 

 top has a small tenon at the centerline that will be 

 fitted into a hole drilled or gouged in the underside 

 of the inner gunwales where they join at the ends. 

 The length of the headboards in the canoe being built 

 is \S% inches over all, and when they have been made 

 for each end, they are checked as to width and height 

 to see that they can be fitted. Next, the extreme 

 ends of the canoe between the stem and the head- 

 boards are stuffed with dry cedar shavings or dry 

 moss so that the sides stand firm on each side of the 

 bow outboard of the ends of the sheathing, which 

 ends rather unevenly, just outboard of where the head- 

 boards will stand. This completed, the headboards 

 are forced into position by first stepping the heel 

 notch in the stem-piece notch and then bending the 

 board by placing one hand against its middle and 

 pulling the top toward the worker. This shortens the 

 height of the board enough so the tenon projecting 

 on its head can be sprung into the small hole under 

 the inner gunwales, where it becomes rigidly fixed. 

 Its sprung shape pushes up the gunwales and makes 

 the side bark of the ends very taut and smooth, while 

 supporting the gunwale ends. 



Two thin strips about 19 feet long are next split 

 out of white cedar to form the gunwale caps; these 

 are Y^ to Y^ inch thick, and taper each way from about 

 2 inches wide in the middle to 1 inch wide at the ends. 



52 



