d your canoe, bring it up broadside to the
shore and put one foot exactly in the middle, then carefully place the
other beside it and sit down quickly, but with care to keep your
balance. If there is no one to hold the canoe for you, use your paddle
to steady yourself by pushing it down to the bottom on the side away
from shore. This will keep the canoe from slipping away from under you
while you are stepping in. One of the first things to learn in
canoeing is to preserve your balance; even a slight lurch to one side or
the other must be avoided. Make every necessary movement cautiously and
do not look backward unless absolutely necessary. Never attempt to
change places with any one while in the canoe. If the change must be
made, land and change there.

[Illustration: Bring your canoe up broadside to the shore.]

=Upset=

Should there be an upset keep hold of your paddle, it will help to keep
you afloat, then if you can reach your craft and hold to it without
trying to climb upon it you can keep your head above water until help
arrives or until you can tread water to shore. If you can swim you are
comparatively safe, and a girl who goes often on the trail should, by
all means, be a swimmer.

=Paddling=

Some expert canoeists strongly advise kneeling in the bottom of the
canoe while paddling, for at least part of the time, but the usual
method is to sit on the seats provided at bow and stern, or sit on the
bottom. The kneeling paddler has her canoe in better control, and
becomes more one with it than one who sits. In shooting rapids and in
rough weather kneeling is the safest when one knows how to paddle in
that position. It is a good thing to learn both methods.

When you paddle close one hand firmly on the end of the paddle and the
other around the handle a short distance above the blade. Then, keeping
your body steady, dip your paddle into the water slightly in front of
you and sweep it backward and downward toward the stern, keeping it
close to the canoe. You face the bow in a canoe, remember, and reach
forward for your stroke. At the finish of a stroke turn the paddle
edgewise and slide it out of the water. For the next stroke bring the
blade forward, swinging it horizontally with the blade parallel to the
water, and slide it edgewise into the water again in front of you. Fig.
34 shows the beginning of a stroke, Fig. 35 while the stroke is in
progress, and Fig. 36 the ending. During the stroke bring your