36 THE ANGLER AND HUNTSMAN 



Points in Choosing a Canoe: 



Over haste in buying a boat is pretty sure to bring re- 

 gret. The prospective purchaser should know where he is 

 going and what he is going to carry. Some sportsmen, who 

 carefully consider every other detail of equipment, seem 

 to figure that a "canoe is a canoe, 77 and let it go at that. 



Mr. L. E. Eubanks, a specialist on this subject, writing 

 in the Sportsmen's Review, says: 



"The birch bark, because it is the original Indian 

 craft, is commonly regarded as the best canoe. But this is 

 not true; the birch has many excellent qualities, the chief 

 being its unequaled ability to weather a gale; but it is slow- 

 er than a wooden or a canvas canoe. A new birch bark is 

 very satisfactory, but as it is used it gets a bit loggy from 

 soaking, and springs leaks easily. Also, it warps and 

 twists you seldom see a straight birch. If you decide to 

 buy one of these canoes, try to procure one that an Indian 

 has made for himself; the ordered one may prove a disap- 

 pointment, bark full of tiny holes, and sewed with inferior 

 stuff instead of jackpine or cedar roots. But the Indian- 

 made craft will always be too high at bow and stem; it is 

 fine for running rapids, but a poor all round boat. 



"The wooden canoe, the favorite in Canada, is smart 

 in appearance and satisfactory for most ordinary purposes, 

 while it is new. Like the birch, it absorbs water and be- 

 comes frightfully heavy for a portage. Of the two woods 

 generally used, cedar and basswood, the latter is the 

 tougher, but it more than loses this advantage by its over- 

 susceptibility to heat. It must be left in water all the time; 

 exposure on a sunny shore will open it up and unfit it for 

 use. The typical Canadian wooden canoe is built without 

 seats, the paddler resting hips on the thwart, but the 

 makers will put in a seat if so desired. 



"The canvas canoe is the master craft in the paddle 

 breed. It has 1h<? grace of a birch without the weight, the 



