and usually contain obvious errors as to proportions 

 and materials. (An example is that of Nicolas Denys, 

 who, sometime between 1632 and 1650, saw bark 

 canoes being built in what is now New Brunswick 

 and Cape Breton.) The best descriptions are rela- 

 tively recent and, as a result, may describe methods 

 of construction that are not aboriginal. 



The description given here is based upon notes 

 made by Adney in 1889-90 and upon inspection of 

 old canoes from the various tribal areas. It was noted 

 that, although among canoes of the same approxi- 

 mate length there was some variation in dimensions 

 and some variety in end form, the construction 

 appeared to vary remarkably little, and it is apparent 

 that the Malccites held very closely to a fixed sequence 

 in the building process. There was, however, great 

 variation in detail. The number of gore slashes in 

 canoes 18 to 19 feet long varied from 10 to 23 on a 

 side. The number was not alwavs the same on both 



sides of a canoe nor were the gores always opposite 

 one another. Canoes with long, sharp ends often 

 had a large number of closely spaced gores in the 

 middle third of the length, with widely spaced gores 

 toward the ends. Full-ended canoes, on the other 

 hand, had rather equally spaced gores their full 

 length. The amount and form of rocker was also a 

 factor in spacing the gores, and when the rocker was 

 confined to short distances close to the ends there 

 would naturally be rather closely spaced gores in 

 these portions of the sides. 



A number of the building practices remain to be 

 described, but these will be best understood when the 

 individual tribal canoe forms are examined. No 

 written description of building canoes can be under- 

 stood without reference to drawings, and to promote 

 this understanding construction details have been 

 shown on many of those of individual canoes of each 

 tribal type. 



"Peter Joe at Work." Drawing by .Xdiiey for his article "How an Indian 

 Birch-Bark Canoe is Made" [Harpeis Young People, supplement, July 29, i8go). 



57 



