Smt T/tt^arfj 



Extinct Forms of Canoes Reconstructed From Old Models, showing varia- 

 tions in the bottom frame construction and the effects of hull form. Dimensions 

 are estimated from the sizes of canoes in the area of each example. 



But in the Mackenzie form of canoe, the longitudinals 

 had no cross-members and, like the side battens, were 

 held in place by the pressure of the sprung ribs 

 against the bark cover. There was a difference in the 

 form of midsection: in the Yukon canoes the bottom 

 athwartships was flat, but in the Mackenzie canoes 

 there had to be some rounding there. At least one 

 exception existed in the Mackenzie Basin, where the 

 Loucheux canoe was formed on the Yukon bottom. 

 Another is to be seen in an old model of an extinct 

 Athabascan kayak form, which has only four longitu- 

 dinals and chine members that are very wide and 

 rounded only on the outboard face. Between the 

 chine battens are two light rectangular battens. 

 These are all held together by a few splints and by 

 lashings which pass around each individual batten, 

 thus serving both as lashing and spreader. This 

 canoe has what is apparently a very narrow bottom 

 compared to known types. In some of the Eskimo- 

 built birch kayak forms, the separators between the 

 bottom battens were rectangular blocks held in place 

 by a thong threaded through two holes in each batten 

 and block, to make a round turn, and tied at one chine. 

 In some bateau variations of the kayak-form canoe, 

 the longitudinals were secured by crosspieces, the ends 

 of which were tenoned into the inside faces of the 

 chine battens. The three inner battens were below 

 the cross pieces. As a result, their bottoms were slightly 



below the bottom of the chine members, so that 

 in this canoe two chine lines show through the bark 

 cover on each side of the canoe. 



From tribe to tribe the method of building the 

 kayak-form canoe varied somewhat, but generally 

 the following procedure was employed. On a smooth, 

 level piece of ground the form of the canoe was staked 

 out in the usual manner, using a building frame, 

 with the stakes sloped outward at the top to iTiatch the 

 desired flare of the sides. 



Stem and stern posts were shaped of cedar by char- 

 ring and scraping. The gunwales were made in the 

 same manner and were then lashed at the desired 

 heights on the stakes. Next, the bark cover was 

 formed, usually of two or more sheets sewn together. 

 This was placed inside the stakes and the building 

 frame was forced down on it and weighted with stones. 

 The ends were then trimmed and the sides were gored, 

 sewn, and trimmed to fit the gunwales, to which the 

 bark was laced. The stem and the stern post were 

 then placed and lashed to the gunwales and secured 

 to the bark by lashing, in some instances through 

 holes in the posts. The bark at this stage was usually 

 quite dry and stiff and the gunwales could be freed 

 from the side stakes. 



The bottom frame, assembled before other con- 

 struction had started, was hogged; the middle was 

 placed on a log or block and the ends weighted. Hot 



161 



