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 3C //?j/f^e ^tfnt^a/ej JO" 



Modern (1895) Malecite sH-Fathom St. John River Canoe, with low ends 

 and moderate sheer, developed late in the 19th century. 



The bottom is flat for only a short width. The depth 

 amidships is 11)4 inches and the height of the ends is 

 20 inches, with 1 inch of rocker in the last two feet of 

 length. The sheer is a long fair sweep without any 

 quick upward lift near the ends. The headboards 

 are very narrow and belly only very slightly toward 

 the ends. The end profile illustrates the short radii 

 and straight line form that marked many of the last 

 Malecite birch-bark canoes of the St. Lawrence 

 Valley. It is possible that the end-form was copied 

 from the white man's St. Lawrence skiff, which usually 

 had ends that were straight and nearly vertical, with 

 a sharp turn into the keel. 



Since a Malecite canoe of the form having rounded 

 low ends was the subject used to describe the construc- 

 tion of a birch-bark canoe in Chapter 3 (see p. 36), 

 there is no need to discuss all the details here. There 

 was some variety in the sewing and lashing used 

 in Malecite canoes; the combination of cross and 

 spiral stitches in the ends and the use of a batten and 

 the over-and-over stitch in the side panels are, of 

 course, very common in these canoes. The occasional 

 use of other stitches in the side panels and even in 



the gores would probably be normal, since individual 

 preferences in such details were not controlled by a 

 narrow tribal practice. 



The Malecite are known to have hauled their 

 canoes overland in the early spring, before the snow 

 was entirely gone, by mounting the canoe on two 

 sleds or toboggans in tandem, binding the canoe to 

 each. This was done as late as the 1890's for early 

 spring muskrat hunts. The Malecite also fitted their 

 river canoes with outside protection when much run- 

 ning of rapids or "quick water" work was done. This 

 protection consisted of two sets of battens (see p. 80), 

 each set being made up of five or six thin splints of 

 cedar about % inch thick and 3 inches wide, tapering 

 to 2 or 1}^ inches at one end. These were held together 

 by four strips of basket ash, bark cord, or rawhide. 

 Each cord was passed through holes or slits made 

 edgewise through each splint. The cords were located 

 so that when the splints were placed on the bottom 

 of the canoe, the cords could be tied at the thwarts. 

 The tapered ends of the splints were at the ends of 

 the canoe; the butts of the two sets being lapped amid- 

 ships with the lap toward the stern. This formed a 



79 



