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  2. Canoes: A Natural History in North America

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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  • Regional Studies
  • Literature
  • History
  • Cultural Studies
  • Native American Studies
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  • Foreword1
  • Introduction8
  • Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes26
  • Sidebar: Napolean Sanford5
  • Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes43
  • Sidebar: Elm-Bark Canoes2
  • Sidebar: The Oldest Birch-Bark Canoe2
  • Chapter 3: The Fur Trade31
  • Sidebar: The Algonquin Fur Trade3
  • Sidebar: Frances Anne Hopkins1
  • Chapter 4: All-Wood Canoes54
  • Sidebar: Jule Fox Marshall6
  • Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes56
  • Sidebar: Tom Seavey4
  • Sidebar: Canoe Sails2
  • Chapter 6: Synthetic Canoes30
  • Sidebar: Canoe Patents5
  • Sidebar: Canoes in Wartime2
  • Sidebar: Square-Stern Canoes3
  • Chapter 7: The Human-Powered Movement32
  • Sidebar: Paddles2
  • Sidebar: Canoe Packs2
  • Chapter 8: Canoe Tripping25
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A watercolor painting of two people paddling through rapids in a birch-bark canoe.

Canoe in Rapids

From Foreword

Winslow Homer, Canoe in Rapids, 1897. Watercolor over graphite on off-white wove paper, 35.4 × 53.3 cm (13 15/16 × 21 in).

Canoeists paddling a Wenonah Kevlar canoe above a rapids in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

Shooting the Rapids

From Introduction

Canoeists paddling a Wenonah Kevlar canoe above a rapids in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

Canoeists in a birch-bark canoe near Steamboat Rock, Wisconsin Dells.

Steamboat Rock

From Introduction

Photograph by H. H. Bennett, canoeists in a birch-bark canoe near Steamboat Rock, Wisconsin Dells.

Sigurd Olson’s Border Lakes Outfitting Company supplied paddlers with the necessary gear during the 1940s. Here a canoe is retrieved from the company warehouse, April 4, 1940.

Border Lakes Outfitting Company

From Introduction

Sigurd Olson’s Border Lakes Outfitting Company, April 4, 1940.

An oil painting of four canoes traveling past Picture Rock.

Picture Rock at Crooked Lake (Return of the Voyageur)

From Introduction

Francis Lee Jaques, Picture Rock at Crooked Lake (Return of the Voyageur), 1947. Oil on canvas, 83.8 x 106.6 cm.

Myron Nickerson, a former employee of J. Henry Rushton appears on the far right in this 1894 photograph. Nickerson’s livery on the Grasse River in Canton, New York, offered rentals of Adirondack guideboats, Rushton-style pleasure rowboats, small skiffs, and canoes. Nickerson holds a double-bladed canoe paddle in a boat that has also been fitted with non-feathering guideboat-style oars.

Myron Nickerson

From Introduction

Myron Nickerson, a former employee of J. Henry Rushton appears on the far right in this 1894 photograph.

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.

An oil painting of a figure portaging a canoe.

Crossing the Shallows, Snake River

From Introduction

Mark Hamel, Crossing the Shallows, Snake River, 2014. Oil on mounted linen, 40.64 × 50.8 cm.

Canoeing became a more popular pastime in the twentieth century after the establishment of several national parks throughout North America. Here, two paddlers are photographed in 1952 at Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada.

Two Paddlers at Banff National Park, Alberta

From Introduction

Two paddlers are photographed in 1952 at Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Photograph by Gar Lunney, National Film Board of Canada Collection, Library and Archives of Canada, R1196-14-7-E.

A black-and-white photograph of two people poling a dugout canoe on the Columbia River in 1900.

Log Canoe on the Columbia River

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Lee Moorhouse, Log canoe on the Columbia River, ca. 1900.

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.

Dugout canoes are still used in daily life throughout the Americas. This contemporary dugout was photographed at Playa de San Mateo del Mar near Oaxaca, Mexico.

Contemporary Dugout at Playa de San Mateo del Mar

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Contemporary dugout photographed at Playa de San Mateo del Mar near Oaxaca, Mexico.

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.

Map of Caribbean.

Map of Caribbean

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Map of Caribbean.

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.

A dugout next to an oyster house on the water near New Haven, Connecticut, 1872.

Oyster Dugouts

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

The oyster industry of the East Coast relied on dugout canoes to navigate the rivers of Connecticut during the nineteenth century. This photograph dates to 1872 and depicts a dugout next to an oyster house near New Haven.

Archeologists Melissa Memory, Donna, Ruhl, and Ray McGee examine a dugout canoe found during a drought in 2000 at Newnans Lake, Florida. The canoe is one of the longest and better-preserved dugouts from the lakebed. More than 100 dugouts were discovered ranging in age from 500 to 5,000 years old. Photograph by Jeff Gage/Florida Museum of Natural History.

Newnans Lake Dig

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Archeologists examine a dugout canoe found during a drought in 2000 at Newnans Lake, Florida.

John Webber, Tereoboo, King of Owyhee, bringing presents to Capt. Cook, c. 1773-1784. This watercolor depicts the distinctive “crab-claw” sail of the Owyhee (now Hawai’i) island double hull canoes. Artist John Webber traveled with Captain James Cook’s third voyage to the Pacific in 1776-1780.

Tereoboo, King of Owyhee, bringing presents to Capt. Cook

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

John Webber, Tereoboo, King of Owyhee, bringing presents to Capt. Cook.

A black-and-white photograph of six dugout canoes of various sizes along a beach at Songhees Reserve.

Dugout Canoes on the Beach at Songhees Reserve

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Dugout canoes line the beach at Songhees Reserve in Victoria, British Columbia, 1868.

An engraving of a sea otter on a beach.

Sea Otter Engraving, 1780

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Sea otter engraving, 1780.

A black-and-white photograph of a family of three in a dugout canoe: two adults and one small child. One of the adults is throwing a double pronged sealing spear into the water.

Kwakiutl Family

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

A Kwakiutl family navigating the waters of Quatsino Sound.

A black-and-white photograph of a dugout canoe. Logs and structures are in the background.

Haida Dugout in Kasaan

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

British botanist and ethnographer Charles F. Newcombe photographed this newly hewn Haida dugout canoe at the village of Kasaan, Alaska, along the Northwest Coast, c. 1900.

A color photograph of three decorated dugout canoes on a rocky beach.

Three Cedar Canoes at Skidegate

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Three cedar canoes on the beach at Skidegate.

A black-and-white photograph of two men working to make dugout canoes. Each man is working on a separate canoe and two other canoes are in the background to the side.

Four Canoes Cut from One Cedar Log

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Old-growth cedar trees are immense and can provide the materials for several boats. In this photograph, four different canoes are being hewn from one red cedar log at Olympic Loop, Queets River, Washington. Photograph by Dale O. Northrup, c. 1930.

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.

A black-and-white photograph of Bill Reid and several other people using steam to spread the sides of a hollowed dugout canoe.

Bill Reid and Associates Creating a Dugout Canoe, 1985

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Bill Reid and Associates Creating a Dugout Canoe, 1985.

A color photograph of a painted dugout canoe.

Haisla Dugout Canoe

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Haisla dugout canoe carved and painted by David Shaw in 1934, overpainted by Bill Reid in 1967.

A watercolor painting of a painted dugout canoe on a beach.

Sacred Escort

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Graham Herbert (Hornby Island, British Columbia), Sacred Escort, 1994. Watercolor on paper, 36.83 x 52.07 cm.

A black-and-white of a figure paddling a dugout canoe.

Into the Shadow

From Chapter 1: Dugout Canoes

Edward S. Curtis, Into the Shadow, 1910. Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia.

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 color photograph of Napolean Sanford.

Napolean Sanford

From Sidebar: Napolean Sanford

Napolean Sanford

A color photograph of Napolean Sanford sitting with an unfinished dugout canoe.

Napolean Sanford with a Work in Progress

From Sidebar: Napolean Sanford

Napolean Sanford with a work in progress next to the Carib Council House in Salybia, Dominica.

A color photograph of a large gommier tree; a figure stands at the base of the tree to demonstrate the size of the tree.

Gommier Tree

From Sidebar: Napolean Sanford

Gommier trees grow to enormous size in the rain forests of Dominica.

A black-and-white photograph of a beach in Martinique. Several dugout canoes sit on the shore. Palm trees and several structures in the background.

Dugout Canoes in Martinique

From Sidebar: Napolean Sanford

Dugout fishing canoes on the beach in Martinique.

A color photograph of the fishing canoe Storm Petrel tied next to water.

Storm Petrel

From Sidebar: Napolean Sanford

Napolean Sanford's Storm Petrel.

A color photograph of four birch-bark canoes in the water near rocks and grass on the shore.

Birchbarks at Batchewang

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Birchbarks at Batchewang, 2012.

A color photograph of Erik Simula working on a birch-bark canoe.

Erik Simula Working

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Contemporary birch-bark builder Erik Simula working on a bark canoe in 2009.

A color photograph of Erik Simula's canoe in the water, tied near the shore and packed with gear. His dog stands on a log by the shore.

Erik Simula's Canoe and Dog

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Erik Simula's canoe, Nama, and his dog, Kitigan, at Mountain Lake in the Arrowhead Region of Minnesota.

Solitary paddler sits in a birch-bark canoe at Moose Factory, Ontario.

Solitary Paddler at Moose Factory

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Solitary paddler sits in a birch-bark canoe at Moose Factory, Ontario.

An oil painting of Cartier and crew on canoes in the water; larger ships are in the background.

Jacques Cartier Discovering the St. Lawrence River

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Jean Antoine Theodore Gudin, Jacques Cartier Discovering the St. Lawrence River, 1847. Oil on canvas, 142 x 266 cm.

A color photograph of a model of a Beothuk canoe with two paddles and a pole.

Edwin Tappan Adney's Model of a Beothuk Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Edwin Tappan Adney's model of a Beothuk Canoe.

A photograph of three outer hulls of birch-bark canoes, decorated with silhouettes, symbols, animals, and shapes.

Decorated Birch-Bark Hulls

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The outer hulls of bark canoes were often engraved with symbols, animal silhouettes, and geometric shapes. Bark collected in the winter was purportedly better for such etchings than summer bark. Edwin Tappan Adney featured these designs on a canoe built in Old Town, Maine and exhibited at the New York Sportsman’s Show in 1897.

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.

A black-and-white photograph of a couple in a canoe. Several boxes and packages are being transported in the canoe as well.

Kutenai Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Phyllop Peter and his wife paddle a Kutenai canoe on Kootenay Lake in 1922.

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 color photograph of a forest of birch trees.

Birch Forest

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Birch trees at Bognor Marsh near Georgian Bay off Lake Huron.

An oil painting of two canoes in the water near a small waterfall. Several other canoes are being portaged up a hill and around the waterfall behind them.

White Mud Portage, Saulteaux

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Paul Kane, White Mud Portage, Saulteaux, ca. 1776–1780.

The Ojibwe (also called Chippewa) built different styles of canoes, including this distinctive long-nose model.

Long-Nose Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The Ojibwe (also called Chippewa) built different styles of canoes, including this distinctive long-nose model.

Birch-bark baskets, like this Ojibwe example from Grand Portage, are used for winnowing wild rice.

Birch-Bark Basket

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Birch-bark baskets, like this Ojibwe example from Grand Portage, are used for winnowing wild rice.

A black-and-white photograph of two women making birch-bark containers on the ground outside.

Mary Bigwind & Maggie Skinaway

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Birch had a number of uses for native tribes. Two Ojibwe women, Mary Bigwind and Maggie Skinaway, make birch vessels for maple sap, which could be made into syrup, supplying the tribe with its sugar.

A painting of about eight figures (some babies or children) paddling a canoe.

Canoe of the Indians

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Eastman Johnson, Canoe of the Indians, ca. 1856–1857.

A color photograph of a birch-bark canoe.

Birch-Bark Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The Cree were excellent birch-bark builders, as seen in this boat dating from the period 1875–1900.

A color photograph of a grove of spruce trees in the winter. Snow is on the ground.

Black Spruce Trees

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Black spruce trees, from which roots were grubbed and made into sewing materials, are plentiful in northern and northeastern forests near birch trees.

A black-and-white photograph depicting the process of building a birch-bark canoe. Stakes are in the ground forming an outline of a canoe. Bark is arranged to form canoe walls. Several figures are in the photograph working on this project.

Setting a Frame

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The setting of a frame for a birch-bark canoe involved preparing the ground, driving in stakes, and sliding in the bark and attaching a frame in the general shape of the boat. Photograph taken ca. 1885 at an Ojibwe camp.

A black-and-white photograph of two figures. A line is cut down the center of the downed log and they are peeling the bark from the tree.

Splitting the Bark

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Splitting the bark from a down tree took a light touch and patience.

A black-and-white photograph of a figure holding a roll of birch bark on their back.

Rolling the Bark

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Native builders would roll the stripped birch bark into a backpack of sorts, secure it with roots, and carry it back to the canoe-making camp. This individual with the pack is identified as Cheemaun of an Ojibwe tribe in Wisconsin.

A color photograph of a birch-bark pouch and several chunks of hardened spruce gum.

Spruce Gum Pouch

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

A tray or pouch made of birch bark was used to carry hardened pieces of specially prepared spruce gum (sap mixed with animal fat and ash), which could be chewed or heated and used to repair canoes when on a trip.

A color photograph of a figure cooking balsam fir pitch in an iron pan over an open flame.

Balsam Fir Pitch

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

By the mid-twentieth century, native builders were working to pass on their knowledge before the skills were lost.

A black-and-white photograph of a figure using a crooked knife to carve a piece of wood.

Crooked Knife

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

A crooked knife was an essential tool in the shaping of ribs, sheathing, thwarts, and other parts of the canoe.

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.

In 1939, Ojibwe tribal members at Grand Portage, near the border between the United States and Canada on Lake Superior, completed a birch-bark canoe in the traditional manner as part of a Works Progress Administration arts program. Here a headboard is installed.

Installing the Headboard

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

In 1939, Ojibwe tribal members at Grand Portage, near the border between the United States and Canada on Lake Superior, completed a birch-bark canoe in the traditional manner as part of a Works Progress Administration arts program. Here a headboard is installed.

A black-and-white photograph of a figure kneeling in and paddling a canoe.

Kneeling in Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Chippewa Indian Kneeling in Canoe, ca. 1914.

An oil painting of three figures collecting wild rice in a birch-bark canoe. Additional canoes and rice collectors are in the background.

Rice Gatherers

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Seth Eastman, Rice Gatherers, 1867.

Edwin Tappan Adney, the expert on bark canoes, studies one of his models in 1896.

Edwin Tappan Adney

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Edwin Tappan Adney, the expert on bark canoes, studies one of his models in 1896.

A black-and-white photograph of several birch-bark canoes lined up.

Tetes de Boule Canoes

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

A row of Tetes de Boule canoes was photographed by Edwin Tappan Adney in the early 1900s.

A black-and-white photograph of a crooked canoe on a rocky shore.

Crooked Canoe

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

The crooked canoe was built to turn quickly and handle major river systems, with their quick bends and dangerous rapids.

A group of scattered forest rangers, sitting, socializing, and relaxing on the grass alongside canoes. A cabin is in the background.

Forest Rangers

From Chapter 2: Birch-Bark Canoes

Forest rangers needed canoes to travel on the frontier just as natives, trappers, and explorers did.

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.

A color photograph of an elm-bark canoe.

Elm-Bark Canoe

From Sidebar: Elm-Bark Canoes

As a canoe material, elm bark was distinctly different than birch, as evidenced by this example built by Rick Nash.

A drawing of John Enys.

British Army Lieutenant Colonel John Enys

From Sidebar: The Oldest Birch-Bark Canoe

John Enys

A color photograph of a birch-bark canoe on the grass.

Penobscot Canoe

From Sidebar: The Oldest Birch-Bark Canoe

This Penobscot canoe, held by the Peabody Essex Museum, is one of the oldest birch barks in existence and the oldest canoe in one piece.

A painting of dozens of canoes and figures approaching a portage.

The Red River Expedition at Kakabeka Falls

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

Frances Anne Hopkins, The Red River Expedition at Kakabeka Falls, 1877.

A painting of Samuel de Champlain.

Samuel de Champlain

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

Théophile Hamel, Portrait de Samuel de Champlain, 1870. Oil on canvas, 66 x 86 cm.

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 painting depicting Champlain's arrival. A large ship greeted by several canoes.

The Arrival of Champlain at Quebec

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

George Agnew Reid, The Arrival of Champlain at Quebec, 1909. Pastel on wove paper, 62 × 43 cm.

An illustrated map.

Map of New France

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

Samuel de Champlain, Map of New France, 1632.

A color portrait of Louis, XIV wearing fur.

Portrait of Louis, XIV

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

After Hyacinthe Rigaud, Portrait of Louis, XIV, after 1701.

The painter John James Audubon is more well-known for his images of North American birds, but he also painted other wildlife, such as these two beavers working on a tree.

Beaver

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

The painter John James Audubon is more well-known for his images of North American birds, but he also painted other wildlife, such as these two beavers working on a tree.

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.

Beaver pelts were used in making felt, which could be turned into a top hat, shown here with its case.

Beaver Hat

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

Beaver pelts were used in making felt, which could be turned into a top hat, shown here with its case.

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.

An oil painting of a group of voyageurs traveling at night in a birch-bark canoe.

The Voyageur

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

Arthur Heming, The Voyageur, 1915. Oil on canvas, 76.7 × 102.2 cm.

An oil painting of a voyageur wearing a red hat and smoking a pipe.

The Voyageur

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

Abby Fuller Abbe, The Voyageur, ca. 1860.

An oil painting of several people paddling a birch-bark canoe through water with trees in the background.

Radisson and Groseilliers

From Chapter 3: The Fur Trade

Frederic Remington, Radisson and Groseilliers, 1905. Oil on canvas, 110.2 x 194.3 cm.

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