22 ALL AFLOAT 



the letter ' V.' The gunwale is quite the most 

 important part of the canoe, as it holds all 

 the other parts together and serves some of 

 the constructional purposes of a keel. The 

 voyageurs, recognizing this, call it le maitre. 

 It is laid on the ends of the ribs, which are 

 made fast to it. Then the frame is completed 

 by the three or more cross-bars, which keep 

 the two sides of the gunwale from spread- 

 ing apart. After this the birch-bark skin is 

 stretched on the frame as tightly as possible, 

 turned in over the gunwale, and clamped 

 on there by the faux maitre or super-gunwale. 

 The two ends, both as sharp as an ordinary 

 bow, are then sewn together by a sort of criss- 

 cross fibre lacing, and every hole or seam in 

 the bark is well gummed with melted rosin. 

 The finishing touches are equally important, 

 each in its own way. Thin boards are laid in 

 lengthwise, either between the ribs and the 

 skin or over the ribs, so as to protect the 

 bark bottom from being injured by the cargo. 

 The ends of the canoe are reinforced inside 

 by the Indian equivalent for a collision bulk- 

 head. This bulkhead sometimes rises well 

 above the gunwale and is carved like a figure- 

 head, which accounts for its voyageur name 

 of le p'ti* bonhomme. A third finishing touch, 



