SCIENTIFIC CONSTRUCTIONS BY SAVAGE RACES 165 



the larger lakes with which many parts of the country 

 abound, the seaworthy properties of the Indian canoes 

 are often put to a severe test, as a very ugly sea gets 

 up in no time when a storm comes on. It is however 

 in shooting rapids that the skill of the Indian voyageur 

 is seen to its best advantage ; and it is safe to say they 

 will often guide these frail bark boats down tremendous 

 rapids, which would test to the utmost the strength 

 and buoyancy of many a stoutly built European boat, 

 as well as the sailor-like qualities of her crew. In 

 forest travelling however the lumbering white man's boat 

 is but a poor substitute of the light Indian canoe, espe- 

 cially in going up-stream, when falls and other obstruc- 

 tions require frequent portages; the bark canoe can 

 then be carried by one man. 



It has been well said that " necessity is the mother 

 of invention," and certainly we venture to think that 

 the birch bark canoe is by far the most wonderful in- 

 stance that has ever been recorded, of scientific invention 

 and construction executed by savage races. These 

 remarkable boats, we do not hesitate to say, would 

 have shed a ray of glory upon the constructive genius 

 of our best naval architects, had they been invented by 

 them. They are very light and buoyant, and withal 

 so strong, that they float like a cork on the most 

 troubled waters. They are however easily upset, by 

 incautious persons unaccustomed to their management ; 

 as having no keel, they have no hold upon the water 

 to maintain their stability but the Indian by balancing 

 himself like a rider on horseback, rarely gets overset ; 

 and should he at any time do so, he can swim along- 

 side and right his boat again, and after bailing it 

 partially out, can climb on board over one end and 



