Eastern Cree Crooked Canoe of rather moderate sheer and rocker. 

 {Canadian Pacific Railway Company photo.) 



the stem batten through the bark cover at the point 

 where the stem met the bottom. The sht thus made 

 was sealed with gum or, more recently, covered with 

 cloth impregnated with gum. The stems were lashed 

 in various ways; the most common was a spiral form 

 up to the sheer. Near the gunwale caps crossed 

 stitches or small, closely spaced wrappings were also 

 employed. The tops of the battens, forming the peak 

 of the stem, were brought along under the rail caps, 

 in line with the gunwale lashings inboard, and secured 

 with a continuous lashing for about 6 inches. In the 

 northern parts of the area under discussion the stem 

 lashing was often of rawhide. 



Gunwale caps were wider than the gunwales and 

 thus gave some protection to the lashing there. The 

 ends of the gunwale caps were heavily tapered to allow 

 the sharp bends necessary to carry them out on the 

 stems. They were pegged or nailed to the gunwales, 

 but at the ends were lashed; usually with two or three 

 small group lashings over and under the stem battens, 

 below the caps. 



The most recent canoes had canvas covers instead 

 of bark. Nails, tacks, and twine for sewing were used; 

 otherwise they were built as the Indians built birch- 

 and spruce-bark craft, and not as white men built 

 canvas canoes and boats. 



The framework of the canoes was usually spruce or 

 larch. Toward the south and along the St. Lawrence 

 some white cedar was used, and in the south maple 

 was sometimes used for thwarts. The ribs of the 

 canoes inspected by Adney were usually about 3 

 inches wide, and a short taper brought them to about 

 2 inches at the ends, where they were cut square 

 across. They were spaced about 1 inch apart edge- 

 to-edge amidships and somewhat further apart toward 

 the ends of the canoe. The canoes usually had an 

 odd number of ribs, as the first was placed under the 

 thwart amidships. The last three ribs at the ends 

 were "broken" at the centerline to allow them to take 

 the necessary V -section there; but the fourth rib from 

 each end was only sharply bent. In some canoes the 

 heel of the very narrow headboard was stepped on 



104 



