"Repairing the Canoe." 



of Canada photo) . 



From an oil painting by Hopkins {Public Archives 



large canoes, in proportion to length, because, as will 

 be remembered, one function of the end was to hold 

 the upended canoe far enough off the ground to 

 permit the user to seek shelter under it. 



Extremes of dimension appear to have been rare in 

 fur-trade canoes; none whose length overall exceeded 

 37 feet have been found in the records, and the maxi- 

 mum beam reported in a mailre canot was 80 inches. 

 When canvas replaced birch bark in the fur-trade 

 canoes, the high-ended models disappeared; the 

 canvas freight canoes were commonly of the white 

 man's type having low-peaked ends, or a modified 

 Peterborough type. 



Before discussing the methods of construction, the 

 loading and equipment of the fur-trade canoes should 

 be described from contemporary fur trade accounts. 

 The goods carried in these canoes were packed into 

 easily handled bundles, or packages, of from 90 to 

 100 pounds weight. Wines and liquor were carried 

 in 9-gallon kegs, the most awkward of all cargo to 

 portage. In some cases the furs were packed into 



80- or 90-pound bundles in the Northwest, and were 

 repacked into 100-pound bundles before being 

 placed on the large canoes of the Montreal-Great 

 Lakes route, but bundles lighter than 90 pounds were 

 made up for the shipment of small quantities of 

 individual goods to isolated posts. The bundles, or 

 packs, of furs were formed under screw presses so 

 that 500 mink skins, for example, were made into a 

 package 24 inches long, 21 inches wide and 15 inches 

 deep, weighing very close to 90 pounds. Buffalo 

 hides formed a larger pack, of course. In the canoe, 

 packs were covered by a parala, a heavy, oiled red- 

 canvas tarpaulin. 



Boxes called cassettes were carried; these were 28 

 inches long and 16 inches in width and depth, made 

 of 54-inch seasoned pine dovetailed and iron-strapped, 

 with the lid tightly fitted. The top, and sometimes 

 the bottom too, was bevelled along the edges. The 

 lids were fitted with hasps and padlocks and the boxes 

 were as watertight as possible. Each box was painted 

 and marked; in these were placed cash and other 



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