ey left the trees and began at the lake edge the upper
framework of their canoe, consisting of four strips of cedar, two
for either side of the boat, every one of the four having a
length of about fifteen feet. These strips had a width of about
an inch, with a thickness a third as great.

The strips were tied together in pairs at the ends, and the two
pairs were joined together at the same place after the general
fashion in use for the construction of such canoes.

The frame being ready, they went to their white birch trees for
the bark. They marked off the utmost possible length on the
largest and finest tree, made a straight cut through the bark at
either end, and triumphantly peeled off a splendid piece, large
enough for the entire canoe. Then they laid it on the ground in
a nice smooth place and marked off a distance two feet less than
their framework or gunwales. They drove into the ground at each
end of this space two tall stakes, three inches apart. The bark
was then laid upon the ground inside up and folded evenly
throughout its entire length. After that it was lifted and set
between the stakes with the edges up. The foot of bark
projecting beyond each stake was covered in each case with
another piece of bark folded firmly over it and sewed to the
sides by means of an awl and deer tendon.

This sewing done, they put a large stone under each end of the
bark construction, causing it to sag from the middle in either
direction into the curve suitable for a canoe. The gunwale which
they had constructed previously was now fitted into the bark, and
the bark was stitched tightly to it, both at top and bottom, with
a further use of awl and tendon, the winding stitch being used.

They now had the outside of the canoe, but they had drawn many a
long breath and perspired many a big drop before it was done.
They felt, however, that the most serious part of the task was
over, and after a short rest they began on the inside, which they
lined with long strips of cedar running the full length of the
boat. The pieces were about an inch and a half in width and
about a third of an inch in thickness and were fitted very
closely together. Over these they put the ribs of touch ash,
which was very abundant in the valley and on the slopes. Strips
two inches wide and a half inch thick were bent crosswise across
the interior of the curve, close together, and were firmly
fastened under the gunwales with a loop stitch of th