deck pieces inserted under the caps. The edges of 

 these deck pieces were trimmed flush with the out- 

 board edges of the caps, so that no wulegessis resuhed. 



In spruce-bark canoes, because the bark was stiff 

 the ribs were spaced 6 to 8 inches, whereas in birch- 

 bark canoes the ribs were spaced about as usual, 

 1 to 2 inches edge to edge. In the Dogrib and Slave 

 canoes the ribs were without taper; in the Chipewyan 

 there was usually a slight taper from the bottom to 

 the gunwale end. The ends of the ribs were forced 

 under the gunwales in the usual manner employed 

 in the east, the gunwales being rectangular in cross- 

 section, with the lower outboard corner beveled. 



The thwarts were all parallel-sided, but tapered 

 toward the ends, in elevation. The thwart ends were 

 tenoned into the inner gunwale and usually had 

 two holes in each end for the lashings. 



In the bark cover the horizontal sewing was often 

 over root battens. In many canoes rawhide was 

 used in much of the lashing and sewing, and in the 

 last-built bark canoes the end lashings of the gunwales 

 were often protected by a decking formed of a small 

 triangular sheet of metal, obtained from a large can 

 and crimped along its edges so as to clamp the bark 

 and main gunwales. When this metal deck-piece 

 was used, the cap and outwale ended against the 

 inboard edge of it. 



For use in open water these canoes were often 

 fitted with a blanket square-sail. The sapling serving 

 as a temporary mast stood in a hole in the second 

 thwart, and was stepped on a block, or board, pegged 

 or lashed to the ribs. 



The sheathing of all canoes of this class was of the 

 same form — wide, short strakes amidships, narrower 

 short strakes afore and abaft. The midship strakes 

 were often quite short and their ends were over the 

 longer end strakes. The end strakes were, of course, 

 tapered toward the stems. The placing of the strakes 

 was often irregular, with the result that the butts 

 were somewhat staggered. Some canoes had four 

 strakes to the length, but three appears to have been 

 most common. 



The large canoe was employed on the large lakes 

 of the Mackenzie region; smaller canoes of the same 

 general form, 14 to 16 feet in length and 30 to 40 

 inches in beam, were used on the large rivers and 

 streams. In the smaller canoes of this class, the flare 

 of the topsides was often less than in the larger 

 craft. The Cree in this area, particularly to the south 

 of Great Slave Lake, also employed the Athabascan 

 form. This class of canoe, in general, appears to have 



been strongly affected by outside influence; conse- 

 quently this description must be understood to cover 

 existing canoes and models, not pure Athabascan 

 canoe building. 



The usual construction methods were employed in 

 building this class of canoe; the stakes around the 

 building frame were set vertically, and when the bark 

 cover was lashed to the gunwale members (inwale 

 and outwale together) the gunwales were spread and 

 the thwarts inserted in their tenons. Skill was re- 

 quired in preshaping the gunwale members, which, 

 as in the fur-trade canoes, had to be arched in sheer 

 amidships to allow for the change in sheer caused 

 by spreading the gunwales in construction. The 

 building bed was also arched at midlength to allow 

 for the lifting of the ends that occurred in spreading 

 the gunwales with the bark cover attached. 



A typical large Chipewyan canoe of this class was 

 21 feet 4 inches in overall length, 43 inches beam 

 and 14 inches in depth amidships. A smaller Dogrib 

 canoe of the same class was 14 feet 7 inches in overall 

 length, 31}^ inches beam, and 11,^ inches in depth. 

 However, these smaller canoes appear to have been 

 relatively uncommon, and the average large canoe 

 was about 20 feet long. 



Kayak-ForP2 Canoe 



The kayak-form canoe was widely employed in the 

 Northwest and was highly developed in both model 

 and construction. It was essentially a portage and 

 hunting craft, ranging in length from 12 to 18 feet and 

 in beam from about 24 to 27 inches, with a depth 

 between 9 and 12 inches. In areas where the kayak 

 form was used as a family and cargo canoe, the length 

 would be as great as 20 or 25 feet and the beam might 

 reach 30 inches. Except in the family or cargo canoe, 

 which had none, there was usually some decking at 

 the ends, most of it forward. Some tribal groups built 

 the kayak form with its greatest beam at midlength, 

 but the most common form had its greatest beam 

 abaft midlength and its greatest depth there likewise. 

 Many of the kayak forms had unlike end profiles, so 

 that there was a distinct bow in appearance as well 

 as in fact. 



There was much variety in end profile, and the 

 canoes of each tribal group were usually identifiable 

 by this means. The kayak-form bark canoes of the 



158 



