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Canoes: A Natural History in North America

Mark Neuzil and Norman Sims 2016

This is the story of the canoe, that singular American artifact so little changed over time. Featured here are canoes old and new, from birch bark to dugout to carbon fiber; the people who made them; and the adventures they shared. With features of technology, industry, art, and survival, the canoe carries us deep into the natural and cultural history of North America.

Follow author Mark Neuzil on Twitter: @mrneuzil

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9780816681174 (hardcover)

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This woodcut illustration of a Taino dugout canoe first appeared in Girolamo Benzoni’s La Historia del Mondo Nuovo in 1562. It is titled Modo di nauigare nel Mare di Tramontana, or “navigating into the north wind.” Since the canoe and paddle shapes are not accurate, this illustration probably came from Columbus’s written description rather than from personal contact.

Modo di nauigare nel Mare di Tramontana

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Woodcut illustration of a Taino dugout canoe, Girolamo Benzoni’s La Historia del Mondo Nuovo, 1562.

A Florida dugout canoe and typical Timucua houses are shown in a 1591 engraving by Theodor de Bry after Jacques Le Moyne.

Florida Dugout Canoe and Typical Timucua Houses

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Florida dugout canoe and typical Timucua houses, 1591, engraving by Theodor de Bry after Jacques Le Moyne.

Inscriptions on bone from the Late Classic Era Mayan burial site at Tikal (c. 800–c. 1000 CE), redrawn by Linda Schele, artist and Mesoamerican scholar. These and several other images document Mayan canoe transport.

Mayan Bone Inscriptions

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Inscriptions on bone from the Late Classic Era Mayan burial site at Tikal (ca. 800–ca. 1000 CE), redrawn by Linda Schele, artist and Mesoamerican scholar.

The Putun were a group of Chontal Maya from the Gulf Coast of what are today the Mexican states of Tabasco and Campeche. They were the star navigators of the Mayans. Called the “Phoenicians of Mesoamerica,” to them goes the credit for the maritime trading empire along the Caribbean west coast. This fresco featuring dugout canoes is from the interior of the Temple of the Warriors at Chichén Itzá.

Fresco Featuring Dugout at Chichén Itzá

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Fresco featuring Putun dugout canoes, interior walls of the Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza.

This drawing by John White dates between 1585 and 1593, and was probably intended to display a bounteous scene to encourage English colonists. Inscribed “The manner of their fishing.” The Algonquin of North Carolina used dugout canoes to harvest fish from February to May. The word “cannow” is written on the hull of the boat.

The Manner of Their Fishing

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Drawing by John White (~1585–1593), inscribed The manner of their fishing and A Cannow.

In one of the earliest views of New York, this woodcut by Kryn Frederycks, titled T’ Fort Nieuw Amsterdam op de Manhatans, depicts native dugouts amidst European sailing vessels, ca. 1626.

T’Fort Nieuw Amsterdam op de Manhatans

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Kryn Frederycks woodcut titled T’ Fort Nieuw Amsterdam op de Manhatans, ca. 1626.

An engraving of a sea otter on a beach.

Sea Otter Engraving, 1780

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Sea otter engraving, 1780.

An etching of two men working with steam to hollow a dugout. Men in the background fell trees with fires.

The Manner of Makinge Their Boates

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

The Manner of Makinge Their Boates, Theodor de Bry, 1590.

An illustration of a birch-bark canoe and a paddle. The ends of the canoe are shaped similarly to the ends of the Kutenai canoe.

Amur River Valley Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Birch-bark canoe from the Amur River Valley region in Russia. From Puteshestvie na Amur . . . (Expedition to the Amur), Richard Karlovich Maack, 1859.

Stakes are planted in the general shape of the canoe; a frame in the shape of a gunwale is dropped in with temporary thwarts attached.

Constructing the Birch-Bark Canoe, 1

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Stakes are planted in the general shape of the canoe; a frame in the shape of a gunwale is dropped in with temporary thwarts attached.

A sheet of bark is placed on the ground, the frame is set on top and weighted with rocks. The stakes are temporarily moved aside.

Constructing the Birch-Bark Canoe, 2

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

A sheet of bark is placed on the ground, the frame is set on top and weighted with rocks. The stakes are temporarily moved aside.

The stakes are put back and the bark shaped inside of them. Note that the stakes are now tied at their tops. Long battens are used to strengthen the frame.

Constructing the Birch-Bark Canoe, 3

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The stakes are put back and the bark shaped inside of them. Note that the stakes are now tied at their tops. Long battens are used to strengthen the frame.

The bark is in place and the gunwale frame is lifted into position. The sheer height is shown in cutaway (a). Blocks (b) are placed under the ends to provide the rocker.

Constructing the Birch-Bark Canoe, 4

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The bark is in place and the gunwale frame is lifted into position. The sheer height is shown in cutaway (a). Blocks (b) are placed under the ends to provide the rocker.

Shaping the ends and sewing is done upside down, on sawhorses.

Constructing the Birch-Bark Canoe, 5

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Shaping the ends and sewing is done upside down, on sawhorses.

Sheathing and ribs are added to give the canoe its final shape.

Constructing the Birch-Bark Canoe, 6

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Sheathing and ribs are added to give the canoe its final shape.

An idyllic painting of two men and a dog in a birch bark canoe on the glassy surface of a lake. The lake reflects the image of the men in the canoe, and their paddles send ripples across the surface.

Evening on a Canadian Lake

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Frederic Remington, Evening on a Canadian Lake, ca 1908. Library of Congress.

A black and white illustration of two men sitting in a birch-bark canoe on the reflective surface of a lake. One man is sitting in the front of the canoe with a gun, and the other is standing in the back of the canoe with his mouth to the cylindrical moose horn.

Calling Moose with the "Moose Horn"

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Tappan Adney, Calling Moose with the “Moose Horn,” ca. 1896

A drawing depicting several elm-bark canoes and an oar.

Elm-Bark Canoes of New France

From Sidebar: Elm-Bark Canoes

The Baron of Lahontan (Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce) drew this description of the Iroquois' elm-bark canoes for a three-volume memoir of his time in New France, which ended in 1693.

A drawing of John Enys.

British Army Lieutenant Colonel John Enys

From Sidebar: The Oldest Birch-Bark Canoe

John Enys

An illustration of pearl divers and canoes in the water.

Pearl Diving

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

French explorers witnessed the pearl diving industry in the Caribbean, where the newcomers got a glimpse of the native dugouts used in the activity.