a single sheet of birch but were covered with a num- 

 ber of sheets sewn together, as in other early Indian 

 birch-bark canoes. The canoe birch of Newfoundland 

 grew to a diameter of 2 to 2}^ feet at the butt, which 

 would produce a sheet of birch of 6 to 7 feet width; 

 the length would be decided by how far up the tree 

 the Indian could climb to make the upper cut. As 

 has been stated, the prehistoric Indians seemingly 

 made little attempt to build birch-bark canoes of 

 long lengths of bark, preferring to use only the bark 

 obtainable near the ground and above the height 

 of the winter snows. 



The form of the Beothuk canoes, pardcularly the 

 lack of bilge and the marked V-form, has caused 

 much speculation. One writer assumed that the 

 form was particularly suited for running rapids. 

 Actually, the Beothuk appeared to have used canoes 

 for river travel very rarely, as few rivers in their 

 country were suited for navigation. Instead, they 

 seem to have been coast dwellers and to have used 

 canoes for coastal travel and for voyages from island 

 to island. 



Their canoes were undoubtedly designed for open- 

 water navigation, and the V-form was particularly 

 suitable for this. The draft aided in keeping the 

 canoe on its course with either broadside or quarter- 

 ing winds, and if the Beothuks knew sail, the hull- 

 form would have served them well. It is quite 

 evident that the Beothuk canoes used ballast in the 

 form of stones or heavy cargo. Stones would have 

 been placed along the keel piece and covered with 

 moss and skins. The strongly hogged sheer was 

 useful in protecting cargo amidships from spray and, 

 in picking up a seal or porpoise, the canoe could be 

 sharply heeled without taking in water. The V 

 sections fore and aft were suitable for rough-water 

 navigation; because of its form and the weight of 

 ballast, the canoe would pass partly over and through 

 the wave-top without pounding. If a wave of such 

 height as to overtop the gunwales just abaft the stem 

 were met, the strongly flaring sides would give reserve 

 buoyancy, causing the canoe to lift quickly as the 

 wave reached up the sides. 



The small sticks in the ends, mentioned by John 

 Gay, served not only for lifting the canoe but also as 

 braces to support the canoe at a given angle when 

 turned over ashore to serve as a shelter. The Beothuk 

 canoe, because of its form, was not well suited for portag- 

 ing, and it must be concluded that little of this was 

 done. In coastal voyages, the canoe would be unloaded 

 and brought ashore each night to serve as a shelter. 



It is believed that the gunwale lashing of these 

 canoes was in groups, as in the Malecite. Howley 

 questioned an old Micmac who had seen the Beothuk 

 lashing; he likened it to the continuous lashing used 

 by his own people, indicating some form of group 

 wrapping, at least. It is probable that the group 

 lashings were let into the gunwales by shallow 

 notching at each group, a common Indian practice 

 when no rail cap was used, to prevent abrasion from 

 the paddle or from loading and unloading the canoe. 

 The lacing of the ends appears to have been in the 

 common spiral stitch, judging by the grave models. 

 These, however, show a continuous wrapping at the 

 gunwales, a common simplification found in Indian 

 canoe models, representing either group or con- 

 tinuously wrapped gunwales indiscriminately. 



The paddle of the Beothuks had a long, narrow 

 blade, probably with a pointed tip and a ridged 

 surface. The shape is nearly spatulate. The handle 

 is missing from the grave model but was perhaps of 

 the usual "hoe-handled" form without a top cross- 

 grip. 



From these descriptions and on the basis of common 

 Indian techniques in birch-bark canoe construction, 

 the form and methods of building the Beothuk canoe 

 can be reconstructed. The drawing on page 97 shows 

 the probable shape and appearance of the finished 

 canoe. It seems likely that a level building bed was 

 first prepared. The keel, probably rectangular in 

 cross section, was then formed of two poles placed 

 butt-to-butt, worked to shape, and scarfed. The 

 fastening of the scarf was probably two or more 

 lashings let into the surface of the wood. These 

 lashings are assumed to have been of split-root 

 material but may have been sinew. Possibly to 

 strengthen the scarfs, pegs were also used, a tech- 

 nique consistent with the state of Beothuk culture. 

 The keel probably had its ends split into laminae 

 to allow the sharp bend required to form the bow 

 and stern pieces; and it was probably treated with 

 hot water and staked out to the desired profile. 

 The main gunwales were similarly made and worked 

 to the predetermined sheer which, in staking out, was 

 hogged to a greater degree than was required in the 

 finished canoe. The ends of the gunwales were 

 apparently split into laminae to allow the shaping 

 of the sharp upsweep of the sheer close to bow and 

 stern. The outwales were probably formed in the 

 same manner, after which the three thwarts were 

 made and the material for ribs and sheathing pre- 

 pared. The ribs were apparently bent to the desired 



96 



