30 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



[Vol. XXXIII. 



well loaded. That there was some appreciation of 

 the assistance afforded by sails is likely, even though 

 it failed to crystallize into a definite form. Catlin, 

 for instance, states that among the Sioux a man 

 would sometimes stand in a canoe facing the pad- 

 dlers and hold a blanket spread out as a sail. 

 The upper corners were held by the hands, while 

 the lower part was tied to the body or to a thwart.* 



Denys, a French explorer, speaking of the Micmac 

 in 1651, remarks: "They also went with a sail, 

 which was formerly of bark, but oftener of a well- 

 dressed skin of a young moose. Had they a favor- 

 able wind they went as swiftly as the throw of a 

 stone. One canoe carried as many as eight or ten 

 persons." " 



Skinner informs us, with regard to the Eastern 

 Cree, that the "Canoes average twelve or fifteen 

 feet in length, but those used by the Labrador 



of Athabascans living on Portland Inlet, B.C., used 

 sails of Marmot-skin. 



These items, from various regions, suggest that 

 the idea of sailing may have existed in an incipient 

 form here and there, though none of them is per- 

 haps perfectly free from a suspicion of European 

 influence. 



Brinton, the well-known anthropologist, states quite 

 positively that no sails were used by the Dene, or 

 various Athabascan tribes which occupy an immense 

 region extending throughout northwestern Canada. 

 In this he is supported by Morice, a missionary who 

 spent many years with the Dene.^^ 

 PADDLES. 



Paddles differ little in pattern throughout the 

 greater part of the area in which we have followed 

 canoe navigation, until we reach the extreme west, 

 or the Eskimo country at the north. 



.SAI'LTI-:AUX CANOK-MAKING: Placing upper l)ai-ks in jiosition and tiinmung. 



voyageurs are often twice that size and sometimes 

 more. They are capable of bearing enormous 

 weights, and many will hold twenty or more men. 

 The paddles used are short and rather clumsy. They 

 have no swelling at the end of the handle to facil- 

 itate the grip. In paddling, the Eastern Cree take 

 shorter and more jerky strokes than their Ojibway 

 neighbors of the south. When a fair wind is 

 blowing, a blanket or even a bush is set up in the 

 bow for a sail."'" 



According to Boas, the Tselsaut, a small group 



sCatlin, Geo., "Letter.s and XoUs on tlio Man- 

 ncr.s. Customs and Conditions of llic Nortli Amer- 

 ican Indians," London, 1842, p. 214, and jjiate 294. 



oDcnys, Nicholas, "Description and Natural 

 History of the Coasts of .North America," The 

 Champlain Society, Toronto, 190S, p. 422. 



loSkinner, Alanson, "Notes on the lOastern Cree 

 and Northern Saulteaux," Anthropological Pajjers 

 of the American Mus. of Nat. Hist., vol. IX, part 1, 

 p. 43. 



Those used by the Ojibwa are extremely simple 

 and are usually made of clear cedar. The paddler 

 sits rather low, the toes turned inward and bent 

 backward beneath the body. On a long journey a 

 small pad of leaves or clothing is placed beneath the 

 legs conveniently for sitting on. 



A double-bladed paddle is used throughout most 

 of the Canadian Eskimo region, although in Alaska 

 the single paddle is found. Among the Aleuts of 

 southwestern Alaska the paddle is pointed, like that 

 of the Pacific Coast. 



The Labrador double paddle is about ten or 

 twelve feet long and made of hardwood or spruce 

 tipped with bone. Leather rings on the handles 

 keep the water from dripping on the paddler. 



The British Columbia paddle and that used by 



iiMorice, A. (J., "Tlie Great D6n§ Race," Anth- 

 ropos, vol. 5, p. 441. 



