SwANTON] INDIANS OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 597 



a float composed of bundles of canes bound side by side and then crossed double 

 [a second tier being placed at right angles crosswise]. Travelers eiiiploy these 

 vessels in crossing rivers. They are made on the spot when one encounters 

 a river. This happens only to tlicse who travel far away from the habitations 

 of the natives, and when one does not go by water. In all Louisiana one is 

 always assured of having continually at hand something with which to cross 

 a river because canes are found very near the water. (Le Page du Pratz, 

 1758, vol. 2, pp. 186-187; Swanton, 1911, p. 67.) 



At a place called Piachi on the lower Alabama, De Soto was in- 

 formed that the mhabitants had no canoes, and so they were given 

 rafts of cane and dry wood with which to make the passage (Rob- 

 ertson, 1933, p. 126). According to the modern form of the flood 

 stories of the Alabama, Natchez, and other tribes, the Indian Noah 

 was borne up on a raft, and the raft seems to be aboriginal no 

 matter what we may think of the rest of the story (Swanton, 1929 a, 

 pp. 121, 214; Mooney, 1900, p. 261). 



For the Spanish Commander Aguayo, the Hasinai constructed "a 

 raft after their own fashion of dry wood and canes" (Morfi, 1935, 

 p. 236). 



Adair favors us with a description of another type of raft which 

 is of particular interest as recalling the bull boat of the Missouri, 

 though there can have been no direct connection between the two. 



It may not be improper here to mention the method we commonly use in 

 crossing deep rivers — When we expect high rivers, each company of traders 

 carry a canoe, made of tanned leather, the sides over-lappfd about three lingers 

 breadth, and well sewed with three seams. Around the gunnels, which are made 

 of saplings, are strong loop-holes, for large deer-skin strings to hang down 

 both the sides : with two of these, is securely tied to the stem and stern, a well- 

 shaped sappling, for a keel, and in like manner the ribs. Thus, they usually 

 rig out a canoe, fit to carry over ten horse loads at once, in the space of 

 lialf an hour: the apparatus is afterwards commonly hidden with great care, 

 on the opposite shore. Few take the trouble to paddle the canoe ; for, as they 

 are commonly hardy, and also of an amphibious nature, they usually jump into 

 the river, with their leathern barge ahead of them, and thrust it through the 

 deep part of the water, to the opposite shore. When we ride only with a few 

 luggage horses, as was our case at Sip-se, or "Poplar," the above-mentioned 

 high-swelling river, we make a frame of dry pines, which we tie together with 

 strong vines, well twisted; when we have raised it to be sufficiently buoyant, 

 we load and paddle it across the stillest part of the water w^e can conveniently 

 find, and afterward swim our horses together, we keeping at a little distance 

 below them. (Adair, 1775, p. 272.) 



Bartram tells us something about this : 



[In order to cross the Ocmulgee River] we immediately sat about rigging 

 our portable leather boat, about eight feet long, which was of thick soal leather, 

 folded up and carried on the top of a pack of deer-skins. The people soon got 

 her rigged, which was effected after the following manner. We, in the first 

 place, cut down a White-Oak sapling, and by notching this at each end, bent 

 it up, which formed the keel, stem and stern post of one piece ; this was placed 

 in the bottom of the boat, and pretty strong hoop-poles being fixed in the bottom 



