69 



The appellation "woman's boat" is not so appropriate in 

 either Labrador or Alaska as it is in Greenland. In the former 

 sections, we find the boat nearly always in charge of the men, 

 who steer and handle the big oars; the women are only passengers. 

 The boat is also used by the men in hunting large game, as whale 

 and walrus. 



The stem and stern of the Labrador umiak are wider than 

 the Alaskan, and the sides straighter in proportion to its length, 

 giving it an unwieldy appearance. It lacks the "lines" of the 

 Alaskan type. The kayak, on the other hand, is less broad than 

 the Alaskan type and tapers gracefully. 



The Labrador umiak is usually about 25 feet long, although 

 it is found in smaller models down to 10 f-eet. The stem and 

 stern are nearly straight and the gunwales project, giving it 

 an appearance of being really longer than it is. The keel is a 

 straight piece of wood, about 4 inches wide, hewn from a single 

 stick. The stem and stern posts are made from a curved stick 

 which, when worked down with the adze, gives the desired 

 crook. They are firmly lashed to the keel with sealskin thongs. 

 A series of cross-pieces make up the flat bottom and give the 

 desired "spread." These cross-pieces are notched at the middle 

 to fit on to the keel and at the ends to hold the bottom rail. 

 The ribs of the sides rise alternately between the cross-pieces 

 from the bottom rail to the gunwale, and are reinforced by the 

 two side rails. The top rail or gunwale fits into notches in the 

 tops of the ribs. A broad board at the stem and stern fits over 

 the posts and under the gunwales, constituting the brace for 

 the width of the boat, and forming a seat for the steersman. 

 In the Labrador boats it is hard to tell which is stem and which 

 stern, and the ends look as though they might be used indifferently. 

 Three or four thwarts fit into the top rail, and reinforce the end- 

 pieces. They may serve as seats, but the men usually stand up 

 to handle the long oars. The rudder is hung over the stern, and 

 handled as in a whaleboat. In Alaska, where the umiak is gener- 

 ally propelled with paddles, the steersman uses an extra long and 

 heavy paddle. We find oars employed in this section too, but 

 not of the long and heavy Labrador type. The oars used in 

 Labrador are very much like the long sweeps found on the Hudson 



