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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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Citable Link

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This map of Maine’s Moosehead Lake and the headwaters of the Aroostook and Penobscot Rivers was drawn in 1880 by W. R. Curtis to accompany Canoe and Camera, a book by Thomas Sedgwick Steele. It was one of the first maps prepared expressly for canoeists.

Map of Maine’s Moosehead Lake

From Introduction

Map of Maine’s Moosehead Lake and the headwaters of the Aroostook and Penobscot Rivers, drawn in 1880 by W. R. Curtis.

Map of Caribbean.

Map of Caribbean

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Map of Caribbean.

Black and white photograph of a woman posing with an oar in a dugout canoe. The canoe is full of vegetables, and the staged river is lined with vegetation.

Woman in Canoe

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Woman In Canoe. Photograph from collection of Cruces y Campa Mexican Occupationals “cartes-de-visites” series, 1862–1877.

A black and white photograph of five indigenous men and women standing in or around a long dugout canoe. Written text in white on the bottom of the photograph reads, "Indian Family near Chimacum Creek, Wash."

Hicks Family of the Clallam Tribe

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Photograph of the Hicks family of the Clallam tribe posing with a canoe near Chimacum Creek, Washington, ca. 1914.

A black and white photograph of two men and one barefoot child standing beside a long dugout canoe. The unifinished canoe is held up by a wooden structure.

Natives Making Canoe from Tree Trunk

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Natives making canoe from tree trunk at Mission ca. 1900. Photograph by Alexander McLean.

A map of the range of the paper birch (Betula papyrifera) in North America.

Range of the Paper Birch

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The range of the paper birch (Betula papyrifera) in North America. The tree is sometimes called canoe birch.

A black and white photograph of a group of people on the shore of a lake. A group of men relax on the sand as a woman sits in a canoe and a man points a gun across the lake.

Picnic along Shore of Lake, near Mouth of Socateau

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Joseph John Kirkbride, Picnic along Shore of Lake, near Mouth of Socateau, ca. 1884, photograph.

A black and white photograph of seven men standing or sitting in a small fleet of birch-bark caones by a dock on a lake.

Expedition to Michican's Upper Peninsula and Lake Superior

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Photograph of an expedition to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Lake Superior, ca. 1868. Photographer unknown.

A black and white photograph of a man bent over a birch-bark canoe on the shore of a lake. Large teepees are visible in the background of the photo. Hand written text on the photograph reads "Mending his canoe. Linde."

Mending His Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Carl Gustave Linde, Mending His Canoe, ca. 1912.

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 black and white illustration of five people working on or around various birch-bark canoes on the shore of the lake. In the foreground are three birch-bark canoes, and in the background is the smoke from a fire near a wigwam.

Indians Making Birch Bark Canoes

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Artist Unknown, Indians Making Birch Bark Canoes, ca. 1871.

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.

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.

A map of the British possessions in North America.

A New and Exact Map of the Dominions of the King

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

John Bowles, Thomas Bowles and Herman Moll, A New and Exact Map of the Dominions of the King, 1731.

The process of making hats from the pelts of beavers is partially illustrated in this 1858 artwork from Charles Knight, produced by the London Printing and Publishing Company.

Making Beaver Hats

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

The process of making hats from the pelts of beavers is partially illustrated in this 1858 artwork from Charles Knight, produced by the London Printing and Publishing Company.

A map depicting the routes of the voyageurs.

Voyageur Routes

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

The voyageurs plied the North American frontier for generations, often leaving from Montreal or York Factory or Lake Winnipeg on their long-distance trading journeys and not returning for many months, or sometimes years.

Hudson’s Bay Company employees are shown in this engraving from the late nineteenth century.

Hudson Bay Company Employees

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

H. A. Ogden, “At the Portage” from George Monro Grant, ed., Picturesque Canada (New York: Belden Brothers, 1882). Hudson’s Bay Company employees are shown in this engraving from the late nineteenth century. The sheer size of the 90-pound packs, boxes, and barrels to be transported in the canoes can be appreciated.

An illustration of voyageurs singing around a campfire.

Voyageurs in Camp for the Night

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

Music played an important role in the daily life of the voyageurs, from songs to help keep time while paddling to entertaining each other at the end of a long workday.

A colorfully illustrated map of Canada depicting various landmarks, locations of historical events, people and settlements surrounding the Hudson's Bay Company.

Trading Posts and Territories of the Governor & Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson’s Bay

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

Hudson’s Bay Company: Historic Trading Posts and Territories of the Governor & Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson’s Bay. Stanley Turner, Made in Canada. 1969