Popular Adventure Tales

by Mayne Reid

  CHAPTER XI.

  HOW TO BUILD A BARK CANOE.

  Norman expected that they would be able to finish the canoe in about aweek. Of course, the sooner the better, and no time was lost in settingabout it. The ribs or "timbers" were the first thing to be fashioned,and a number of straight branches of cedar were cut, out of which theywere to be made. These branches were cleared of twigs, and rendered ofan equal thickness at both ends. They were then flattened with theknife; and, by means of a little sweating in the ashes, were bent so asto bear some resemblance in shape to the wooden ox-yokes commonly usedin America, or indeed to the letter U.

  The ribs when thus bent were not all of the same width. On the contrary,those which were intended to be placed near the middle or gangway of thevessel, were about two feet across from side to side, while the spacebetween the sides of the others was gradually less in each fresh pair,according as their position was to be near to the stem and stern. Whenthe whole of them had been forced into the proper shape, they wereplaced, one inside the other after the manner of dishes, and then allwere firmly lashed together, and left to dry. When the lashing should beremoved, they would hold to the form thus given them, and would be readyfor fastening to the kelson.

  While Norman was occupied with the timbers the others were not idle.Basil had cut down several of the largest and straightest birches, andLucien employed himself in carefully removing the bark and cleansing itof nodules and other inequalities. The broad sheets were suspended by asmoke fire, so as completely to dry up the sap, and render it tough andelastic. Francois had his part to play, and that was to collect theresinous gum which was distilled in plenty from the trunks of theepinette or spruce-trees.

  This gum is a species of pitch, and is one of the most necessarymaterials in the making of a bark canoe. It is used for "paying" theseams, as well as any cracks that may show themselves in the barkitself; and without it, or some similar substance, it would be difficultto make one of these little vessels water-tight. But that is not theonly thing for which the epinette is valued in canoe-building; far fromit. This tree produces another indispensable material; its long fibrousroots when split, form the twine-like threads by which the pieces ofbark are sewed to each other and fastened to the timbers. These threadsare as strong as the best cords of hemp, and are known among the Indiansby the name of "watap."

  In a country, therefore, where hemp and flax cannot be readily procured,the "watap" is of great value. You may say that deer are plenty, andthat thongs of buckskin would serve the same purpose. This, however, isnot the case. The buckskin would never do for such a use. The moment itbecomes wet it is liable to stretch, so that the seams would open andthe canoe get filled with water. The watap, wet or dry, does not yield,and has therefore been found to be the best thing of all others for thispurpose.

  The only parts now wanted were the gunwale and the bottom. The formerwas easily obtained. Two long poles, each twenty feet in length, werebent somewhat like a pair of bows, and then placed with their convexsides towards each other, and firmly lashed together at the ends. Thiswas the gunwale. The bottom was the most difficult part of all. For thata solid plank was required, and they had no saw. The axe and thehatchet, however, were called into requisition, and a log was soon hewnand thinned down to the proper dimensions. It was sharpened off at theends, so as to run to a very acute angle, both at the stem and stern.

  When the bottom was considered sufficiently polished, and modelled tothe right shape, the most difficult part of the undertaking was supposedto be accomplished. A few long poles were cut and trimmed flat. Thesewere to be laid longitudinally between the ribs and the bark, somewhatafter the fashion of laths in the roofing of a house. Their use was toprevent the bark from splitting. The materials were now all obtainedcomplete, and, with a few days' smoking and drying, would be ready forputting together.

  While waiting for the timbers to dry, paddles were made, and Norman,with the help of the others, prepared what he jokingly called his"dock," and also his "ship-yard." This was neither more nor less than along mound of earth--not unlike a new-made grave, only three times thelength of one, or even longer. It was flat upon the top, and gradedwith earth so as to be quite level and free from inequalities.

  At length all the materials were considered quite ready for use, andNorman went to work to put them together.

  His first operation was to untie the bundle of timbers, and separatethem. They were found to have taken the exact form into which they hadbeen bent, and the thongs being no longer necessary to keep them inplace, were removed. The timbers themselves were next placed upon thebottom or kelson, those with the widest bottoms being nearer to"midships," while those with the narrower bend were set towards thenarrower ends of the plank. Thus placed, they were all firmly lashedwith strong cords of watap, by means of holes pierced in the bottomplank.

  Fortunately Lucien happened to have a pocket-knife, in which there was agood awl or piercer, that enabled them to make these holes--else thematter would have been a much more difficult one, as an awl is one ofthe most essential tools in the construction of a bark canoe. Of courseit took Norman a considerable time to set all the ribs in their properplaces, and fasten them securely; but he was ably assisted by Francois,who waited upon him with much diligence, handing him now the awl, andthen the watap, whenever he required them.

  Norman's next operation was the laying of his kelson "in dock." Thetimbers being attached to it, it was lifted up on the earthen mound,where it reached quite from end to end. Half-a-dozen large heavy stoneswere then placed upon it, so that, pressed down by these upon the evensurface of the mould, it was rendered quite firm; and, moreover, was ofsuch a height from the ground that the young shipwright could work uponit without too much bending and kneeling.

  The gunwale, already prepared, was next placed so as to touch the endsof the ribs all round, and these ends were adjusted to it with greatnicety, and firmly joined. Strong cross-pieces were fixed, which weredesigned, not only to keep the gunwale from spreading or contracting,but afterwards to serve as seats.

  Of course the gunwale formed the complete mouth, or upper edge of thecanoe. It was several feet longer than the bottom plank, and, when inplace, projected beyond the ribs at both ends. From each end of thebottom plank, therefore, to the corresponding end of the gunwale, astraight piece of wood was stretched, and fastened. One of these pieceswould form the stem or cutwater, while the other would become the sternof the craft. The long poles were next laid longitudinally upon the ribsoutside, and lashed in their places; and this done, the skeleton wascompleted, ready for the bark.

  The latter had been already cut to the proper dimensions and shape. Itconsisted of oblong pieces--each piece being a regular parallelogram, asit had been stripped from the tree. These were laid upon the ribslongitudinally, and then sewed to the edge of the bottom plank, and alsoto the gunwale. The bark itself was in such broad pieces that two ofthem were sufficient to cover half a side, so that but one seam wasrequired lengthwise, in addition to the fastenings at the top andbottom. Two lengths of the bark also reached cleverly from stem tostern, and thus required only one transverse seam on each side. Therewas an advantage in this arrangement, for where the birch-bark can onlybe obtained in small flakes, a great number of seams is a necessaryconsequence, and then it is extremely difficult to keep the canoe fromleaking. Thanks to the fine birch-trees, that grew in abundance around,our boat-builders had procured the very best bark.

  The canoe was now completed all but the "paying," and that would nottake long to do. The gum of the epinette had to be boiled, and mixedwith a little grease, so as to form a species of wax. For this the fatalready obtained from the buffaloes was the very thing; and a small tincup which Basil had saved from the wreck (it had been strung to hisbullet-pouch), enabled them to melt the gum, and apply it hot. In lessthan an hour the thing was done. Every crack and awl-hole was payed, andthe canoe was pronounced "water-tight," and, as Francois added, with alaugh, "seaworthy."

  A small pond was ne
ar, at the bottom of the hill: Francois espied it.

  "Come, boys," cried he, "a launch! a launch!"

  This was agreed to by all. The great stones were taken out. Basil andNorman, going one to the stem the other to the stern, lifted the canoefrom the "dock," and, raising it upon their shoulders, carried it downto the pond. The next moment it was pushed into the water, where itfloated like a cork. A loud cheer was given, in which even Marengojoined; and a salute was then fired--a full broadside--from the fourguns. Francois, to complete the thing, seized one of the paddles, andleaping into the canoe, shot the little craft out upon the bosom of thepond, cheering all the while like one frantic.

  After amusing himself for some minutes, he paddled back to the shore,when they all looked eagerly into the canoe, and perceived to theirgratification that not as much as a drop of water had leaked during the"trip." Thanks and congratulations now greeted Norman from every side;and, taking their vessel from the water, the young voyageurs returned totheir camp, to regale themselves with a grand dinner, which Lucien hadcooked for the occasion.