lay not in the barbaric display of color characteristic 

 of the large fur-traders' canoes, but in the tasteful 

 distribution of the scraped winter bark decoration 

 along the sides of the hull. The workmanship ex- 

 hibited by the Malecite in the construction of their 

 canoes was generally very fine; indeed, they were 

 perhaps the most finished craftsmen among Indian 

 canoe-builders. 



St. Francis 



The tribal composition of the Abnaki Indians is 

 somewhat uncertain. The group was certainly made 

 up of a portion of the old Malecite group, the Kenne- 

 bec and Penobscot, but later also included the 

 whole or parts of the refugee Indians of other New 

 England tribes who were forced to flee before the 

 advancing white settlers. It is probable that among 

 the refugees were the Cowassek (Coosuc), Penna- 

 cook, and the Ossipee. There were also some 

 Maine tribes among these — the Sokoki, Andro- 

 scoggin, (Arosaguntacook), Wewenoc, Taconnet, 

 and Pequawket. It is probable that the tribal 

 groups from southern and central New England 

 were mere fragments and that the largest number to 

 make up the Abnaki were Malecite. The latter in 

 turn were driven out of their old homes on the lower 

 Maine coast and drifted northwestward into the old 

 hunting grounds of the Kennebec and Penobscot, 

 northwestern Maine and eastern Quebec as far as the 

 St. Lawrence. The chief settlement was finally on 

 the St. Francis River in Quebec, hence the Abnaki 

 were also known as the "St. Francis Indians." These 

 tribesmen held a deep-seated grudge against the New 

 Englanders and, by the middle of the 18th century, 

 they had made themselves thoroughly hated in New 

 England. Siding with the French, the St. Francis 

 raided the Connecticut Valley and eastward, taking 

 white children and women home with them after a 

 successful raid, and as a result the later St. Francis had 

 much white blood. They were generally enterprising 

 and progressive. 



Little is known about the canoes of these Abnaki 

 during the period of their retreat northwestward. 

 It is obvious that the Penobscot, at least, used the old 

 form of the Malecite canoe. What the canoes of the 

 other tribal groups were like cannot be stated. 



However, by the middle of the 19th century the St. 

 Francis Indians had produced a very fine birch-bark 

 canoe of distinctive design and excellent workmanship. 

 These they began to sell to sportsmen, with the result 

 that the type of canoe became a standard one for 

 hunting and fishing in Quebec. When other tribal 

 groups discovered the market for canoes, they were 

 forced to copy the St. Francis model and appearance 

 to a very marked degree in order to be assured of 

 ready sales. It is obvious, from what is now known, 

 that the St. Francis had adapted some ideas in canoe 

 building from Indians west of the St. Lawrence, with 

 whom they had come into close contact. However, 

 they had also retained much of the building tech- 

 nique of their Malecite relatives. Hence, the St. 

 Francis canoes usually represent a blend of building 

 techniques as well as of models. 



The St. Francis canoe of the last half of the 19th 

 century had high-peaked ends, with a quick upsweep 

 of the sheer at bow and stern. The end profile was 

 almost vertical, with a short radius where it faired 

 into the bottom. The rocker of the bottom took 

 place in the last 18 or 24 inches of the ends, the 

 remaining portion of the bottom being usually 

 straight. The amount of rocker varied a good deal; 

 apparently some canoes had only an inch or so while 

 others had as much as four or five. A few canoes 

 had a projecting "chin" end-profile; the top portion 

 where it met the sheer was usually a straight line. 



The midsection was slightly wall-sided, with a 

 rather quick turn of the bilge. The bottom was 

 nearly flat across, with very slight rounding until 

 close to the bilges. The end sections were a U -shape 

 that approached the V owing to the very quick turn 

 at the centerline. The ends of the canoe were very 

 sharp, coming in practically straight at the gunwale 

 and at level lines below it. The gunwales were longer 

 than the bottom and so the St. Francis canoes were 

 commonly built with a building-frame which was 

 nearly as wide amidships as the gunwales but shorter 

 in length. 



At least one St. Francis canoe, built on Lake 

 Memphremagog, was constructed with a tumble- 

 home amidships the same as that of some Malecite 

 canoes. The rocker of the bottom at each end started 

 at the first thwart on each side of the middle and 

 gradually increased toward the ends, which faired 

 into the bottom without any break in the curves. 

 The end profiles projected with a chin that was full 

 and round up to the peaked stem heads. The sheer 

 swept up sharply near the ends to the stem heads. 



