Mt^Ki-ocB.] KAIAKS. •};51 



with a bliud stitch, like the seiims ahcndy dcsciihcd on lli.- walcrprdor 

 bouts, from the inside. These seams arc ucaih 1.' iiiclio wide. 'I'hc 



longitudinal seam is sewed in the same \\:\\ li tlii' outsi<ic, hm 



not so In-oadly lapped, with the edge turned over info ;i roll. There 

 are two pieces of stout thong stretched :icross the dedi. oni' forward 

 of the cockpit and the other aft, which scrse to fasten arlich's lo 

 the deck. The thong passes out through a h.ilc In tin- gunwale, one- 

 half inch from the upper edge and (i inches from the cock))it, on the 

 starboard side forward and on the port side alt, ami is secured by 

 a knot in the end inboard. The otlun- end i)asses in tlirough a cor- 

 responding hole in the other gunwale and is loosely knotted to the ileck 

 beams, so that the line can be slackened olf m- tautened np al |ilcasnre. 

 Three feet from the bow is a becket for holding sixars. etc.. (-istcmd 

 into two little holes bored diagonally outward through the cd-c of the 

 gunwales. It is of two parts of seal thong, one pari twisted round the 

 other, but is broken in the middle, so that only one half of it is left. 

 The weight of this kaiak in its present dry condition is .'.L' pounds. 



This is about the ordinary pattern of kaiak used at i'oint iiarrow, 

 and is a medium-sized one. These boats are made to tit the size of the 

 owner, a youth or small man using a mtu'h smaller and ligliter kaiak 

 than a heavy adult. They are never made to carry more than one per 

 son, and I have never heard of their being used by the women. In 

 carrying the kaiak across the land from lake to lake, it is held hoi i 

 zontallj' against the side with the bow pointing forward, 1>.\ thrusting 

 the forearm into the cockpit. We never saw them carried on the head. 

 in the manner practised at Fury and Hecla Straits.' 



In entering the canoe the man takes great care to wijie liis feet clean 

 of sand and gravel, which would work down under the timl)crs aud 

 chafe the skin. The canoes is laiinched iu shoal water, preferably 

 alongside of a little bank, and the man steadies it by sticking down his 

 paddle on the outer side and holding it with his left hand, while he bal- 

 ances himself on his right foot, and with his free hand carefully wipes 

 his left foot. He then steps with his left foot into the kaiak, and still 

 balancing himself with the help of the paddle, lifts and wipes his light 

 foot before he stei)S iu with that. He then jiushes his feet aud legs for 

 ward under the raised deck, settles himself in a pro])cr position for 

 trinuning the l)oat, and shoves oft'. As elsewhere, the kaiak is always 

 ])roi)elled with a i)addlc. 



No. S<.ll'4() |.");}!)|. Fig. .'UO. is the padiUe which belongs to the kaiak 

 just described. It is 7 feet long. The siiaft .joining th.' blades is 

 elliptical iu section, with its greatest width at riglit angles to the plane 

 of the blades so to present the greatest resistance to the strain ol' pad- 

 dling. The shape of the blade, with rounded tip and thin rounded 

 edges is admirally adapted to give the blade a clean entry int(j the 



I Lyou, .Tournal, ]). 233. See also Capt. Lvim's figure in P.-irry's 2d Voy.. pi. opposite p. 274. 



