e.

CHAPTER XII

CANOES

I SUPPOSE I have paddled about every sort of craft in use, and have
found good qualities in all. Now that I am called upon to pick out one
of them and label it as the best, even for a specific purpose, I must
confess myself puzzled as to a choice. Perhaps the best way would be to
describe the different sorts of canoe in common use, detail their
advantages, tell what I consider the best of each kind, and leave the
choice to your own taste or the circumstances in which you may find
yourself.

[Sidenote: Kinds of Canoes]

Practicable canoes are made of birch bark stretched over light frames;
of cedar; of basswood; of canvas, and of canvas cover over stiff frames.

[Sidenote: The Birch Bark]

[Sidenote: Advantages and Disadvantages]

The birch bark canoe has several unassailable advantages. It is light;
it carries a greater weight in proportion to its length than any other;
it is very easily mended. On the other hand it is not nearly so fast as
a wooden canoe of sweeter lines; does not bear transportation so well;
is more easily punctured; and does not handle so readily in a heavy
wind. These advantages and disadvantages, as you can see, balance
against one another. If it tends to veer in a heavy wind more than the
wooden canoe, it is lighter on portage. If more fragile, it is very
easily mended. If it is not quite so fast, it carries more duffle.
Altogether, it is a very satisfactory all-around craft in which I have
paddled many hundreds of miles, and with which I have never been
seriously dissatisfied. If I were to repeat some long explorations in
the absolute wilds of Canada I should choose a birch canoe, if only for
the reason that no matter how badly I might smash it, the materials are
always at hand for repairs. A strip of bark from the nearest birch tree;
a wad of gum from the next spruce; some spruce roots; a little lard and
a knife will mend a canoe stove in utterly.

[Sidenote: Selection of a Birch Bark]

In selecting a birch bark canoe the most important thing to look after
is to see that the bottom is all one piece without projecting knots or
mended cracks. Many canoes have bottoms made of two pieces. These when
grounded almost invariably spring a leak at the seam, for the simple
reason that it takes very little to scrape off the slightly projecting
gum. On the other hand, a bottom of one good piece of bark will stand an
extraordinary amount of raking and bumping wit