38 THE AXGLER AND HUNTSMAN 



the load in this comparison. Even some men of experience 

 use a round-bottomed boat, in spite of their intention to 

 load heavily, rather than sacrifice speed. As a matter of 

 fact, loading up a flat bottomed canoe brings out its vir- 

 tues and speed. 



"You can't have all the good qualities of canoes in one 

 boat, and it requires careful consideration to determine the 

 best combination just how much speed you want to sac- 

 rifice for stability and capacity, just how much style for 

 service, etc. The best river canoe will not be as good on a 

 lake, and vice versa. But if you are headed for the North, 

 the Hudson Bay country, say, you must have an all-round 

 boat, not the best for any one place, but able to navigate 

 rivers and lakes, fairly easy of portage, fairly swift, yet 

 capacious enough for several months' stores. Such an all- 

 purpose canoe must not be too long nor too short, we will 

 select a 16-f ooter. The ends must be high enough for run- 

 ning rapids, so the current does not grip them; yet low 

 enough to give us enough "wet keel" for safety on wind- 

 swept lakes. (You'll encounter every old style of going in 

 the North Country.) An experienced canoeman on this trip 

 usually leans a bit to the straight keel, depending on his 

 skill to get through the fast water. This boat, 35 or 36 

 inches wide and 14 inches deep, if well made, will weigh 70 

 pounds and be heavy enough on some of the long portages, 

 but you won't dare take anything much lighter for such a 

 voyage. 



"Not all canoeists contemplate a long rough trip. The 

 sport is a winner in all its forms, and the man or woman 

 who must be content with a paddle in the placid park 

 lake will have a lot of pleasure at that. For such a pur- 

 pose we select a rather showy canoe, brilliant coat and gun- 

 wales, high, gracefully curved ends, Indian style. Need- 

 ing no capacity for supplies and no particular stability, 

 we can have a narrow, tapering boat that will cut through 

 the water with great speed. Assuming that it will be used 



