practice was relatively uncommon. The outwales 

 were usually rectangular in cross section and much 

 tapered toward the ends. 



The rail caps were also rectangular in cross section, 

 but often they had the outboard upper edge rounded 

 off or beveled. The caps were pegged at 1-foot in- 

 tervals to the main gunwales, but at the ends they 

 could only be lashed to the outwale, as both out- 

 wales and caps were so sharply upswept at the ends 

 that they stood almost vertically. The ends were 

 squared off and stood a little above the top of the stems, 

 so that when the canoe was placed upside down as a 

 shelter for the paddlers and packers it rested upon 

 these members rather than on the sewing of the bark 

 cover on the tops of the stems, as was usual with all 

 the high-ended Algonkin and Ojibway canoes. 



The stem-pieces and headboards were assembled 

 into single units, as shown on pages 149 and 151, 

 before being installed during construction. The stem- 

 pieces were of white cedar, about four fingers deep 

 fore-and-aft and laminated, and about % to 1% inches 

 wide, depending upon the size of the canoe and the 

 judgment of the builder. In Christopherson's area 

 the stem-piece was relatively short, the head coming 

 up and around and ending at a point far enough under 

 the rail-cap ends for it to be securely lashed to these 

 members and to the outwale ends. It was bent by use 

 of hot water and the laminae were secured by wrap- 

 ping the stem piece with fine twine. The stem was 

 stiffened by stepping the headboard on its heel in the 

 usual manner, and the two were held in the required 

 position by two horizontal struts, the outboard ends 

 of which were lashed to the sides of the stem piece 

 well up above the heel; the inboard ends were pegged 

 at the sides of the headboard, in notches, or were 

 passed through the headboards in slots and the strut 

 ends secured with wedges athwartships on the inboard 

 face of the headboard. The result was a rigid and 

 strong end-frame. More complicated bending was 

 employed at some posts, where the building of fur- 

 trade canoes followed Algonkin or Ojibway practices. 

 In these, as has been mentioned, the stem-pieces were 

 brought down and around under the stem-head to the 

 back or inboard edge of the stem-piece and lashed, 

 then brought inboard horizontally to end in a hole in 

 the headboard, between struts placed as in the Chris- 

 topherson-built canoes. Another method was to 

 bring the stem-piece around the stem head and down 

 and around outboard to the inboard face of the stem, 

 where the end was split and each half lashed to the 

 sides of the stem-piece. In this case there was a 



lashing between stem-piece and the headboard, placed 

 where the reverse was made, inboard and below the 

 top of the stem, well up on the headboard. The heel 

 of the headboard and stem-piece were pegged 

 together. 



Struts were not required with this construction, 

 described earlier (on p. 123) as the Ojibway method. 

 In bending the stem-piece, the reverse curve around 

 the stemhead was formed over a short strut that was 

 removed when the stem-piece was dried and set to 

 shape. As a variety of forms were used in shaping these 

 stem-pieces, it was the ingenuity of the builder that 

 decided just how the end of the stem-piece was best 

 secured and how the whole was to be braced. These 

 details will be better understood by reference to the 

 plans and illustrations on pages 134 to 151. 



The headboards were not sprung or bellied, but 

 stood nearly vertical in the canoes. The inboard 

 face was often decorated; in the old French canoes 

 and in those of the North West Company, the board 

 was carved or painted to represent a human figure, 

 !e petit homme, which was often made in the likeness 

 of a voyageur in his best clothes. In some canoes, only 

 a human head was used, or the top of the headboard, 

 or "button," was decorated with a rayed compass 

 drawn in colors. 



The thwarts were usually rather heavy amidships 

 and were made in various forms to suit the taste of 

 the builder. They were commonly of maple, but 

 Christopherson's canoes had spruce or tamarack 

 thwarts, the latter being his preference. These 

 thwarts were not intended to be used as seats, though 

 the sternman, or steersman, often sat on the aftermost 

 one. The paddlers often used seats in the large 

 canoes; these were planks slung from each end by 

 cords made fast to the gunwales. These cords allowed 

 the height of the seats to be adjusted; the paddlers 

 usually knelt on the bottom of the canoe with hips 

 supported by the seat. The seats were usually slung 

 before the thwarts, except amidships, where the space 

 was taken up by passengers or cargo. 



The factors often took great pride in the appearance 

 of the canoes from their posts and many, like 

 Christopherson, had the craft gaily painted in a 

 rather barbaric fashion. Christopherson's canoes did 

 not use any of the circular decoration forms; his 

 canoes usually had painted on them, he recalled, 

 such names as Duchess, Sir John A. MacDonald, Express, 

 Arrow, and Ivanhoe. The ends were often painted 

 white, with the figures or letters on this background. 

 The Company flag was often painted on the stern 



150 



