The fur traders used not only the so-called fur-trade canoes, of course, but they employed various Indian types when small canoes were required. And in the construction of the high-ended fur-trade models, they did not limit themselves to canoes of relatively great length. Each "canoe road" forming the main lines of travel in the old fur-trade had requirements that affected the size of the canoes employed on it. The largest size of fur-trade canoe, the standard 5½-fathom (bottom length), was employed only on the Montreal-Great Lakes route, in the days before this run was taken over by bateaux, schooners, sloops, and later, by steamers. At the western end of this route, a smaller 4-or 4½-fathom canoe came into use. The latter was used on the long run into the northwest. Even smaller canoes were often employed by the northern posts; the 3-or 3½-fathom sizes were popular where the canoe routes were very difficult to operate. For use on some of the large northern lakes, the large canoes of the Montreal-Great Lakes run were introduced. Fur coming east from the Athabasca might thus be transported in canoes of varying size along the way.

In judging the size of the canoe mentioned in a fur-trader's journal, it is often very difficult to be certain whether the measurement he is employing is bottom or gunwale length. In the largest canoes, however, the 5½-fathom bottom-length was the 6-fathom gunwale length, and the use of either usually, but not always, indicates the method of measurement. This is not the case in the small canoe however, where the matter must too often be left to guesswork. To give the reader a more precise idea of the sizes of the canoes last employed in the fur trade, the following will serve. The maître canot of the Montreal-Great Lakes run was commonly about 36 feet overall, or about 32 feet 9 inches over the gunwales, and a little over 32 feet on the bottom. The beam at gunwale was roughly 66 inches (inside the gunwales) or about 68-70 inches extreme beam. The width of the building frame that formed the bottom would be somewhere around 42 inches. The depth amidships, from bottom to top of gunwale might be approximately 30-32 inches and the height of the stems roughly 54 inches. These dimensions might be best described as average, since canoes with gunwale length given as 6 fathoms were built a number of inches wider or narrower, and deeper or shallower. The earlier fur-trade canoes of the French and of the North West Company, for example, were apparently narrower than the above.

The 5-fathom size that replaced the larger canoe at the close of the bark-canoe period was about 31 feet long over the gunwales or 30 feet 8 inches in a straight line from tip of upturned rail cap at one stem to the other. The beam inside the gunwales was 60 inches. The width of the building frame would be between 40 and 45 inches, and the frame when formed would be about 26 feet 8 inches long. The depth of the canoe amidships, from bottom to top of gunwale, was approximate 30 inches and the height of the stems about 50 inches. The overall length of such a canoe was about 34 feet 4 inches. An express canoe of this size would be about 56 inches beam inside the gunwales or even somewhat less, and the depth amidships about 28 inches or a little less.

A 4-fathom canoe measured 26 feet 8 inches over the tips of the upturned rail caps, and 29 feet 11 inches overall. The beam amidships was 57 inches inside the gunwales and the depth amidships to top of gunwales was 26 inches; the height of the stem was 53 inches.

A 3-fathom canoe was 19 feet 2 inches overall, 16 feet 8 inches over the ends of the gunwale caps, 42 inches beam amidships inside of gunwales, the depth of the canoe from bottom to top of gunwale amidships was 19 inches, and the height of the ends was 38 inches. The building frame for this canoe was 15 feet 8 inches long and 27 inches wide.

The canoes falling between the even-fathom measurements were often of about the same dimensions as the even-fathom size next below; a 3½-fathom canoe would have nearly the same breadth and depth as a 3-fathom; only the length was increased. The half-fathom rarely measured that—a canoe rated as 3½ fathom was actually only 20 feet 5 inches overall. One express canoe rated 3½ fathoms measured 20 feet 1 inch overall, 18 feet 3 inches over the gunwale caps, 44 inches beam inside gunwales amidships, and 21 inches deep, bottom to top of gunwale cap. The height of the ends was 39 inches. This example will serve to indicate how inexact the fathom classification really was. It should also be noted that the height of the ends varied a good deal in any given range of length, as this dimension was determined not by the length of the canoe but by the judgment and taste of the builder and his tribal form of end. Generally, however, small canoes had relatively higher ends than large canoes, in proportion to length, because, as will be remembered, one function of the end was to hold the upended canoe far enough off the ground to permit the user to seek shelter under it.

Extremes of dimension appear to have been rare in fur-trade canoes; none whose length overall exceeded 37 feet have been found in the records, and the maximum beam reported in a maître canot was 80 inches. When canvas replaced birch bark in the fur-trade canoes, the high-ended models disappeared; the canvas freight canoes were commonly of the white man's type having low-peaked ends, or a modified Peterborough type.

Before discussing the methods of construction, the loading and equipment of the fur-trade canoes should be described from contemporary fur trade accounts. The goods carried in these canoes were packed into easily handled bundles, or packages, of from 90 to 100 pounds weight. Wines and liquor were carried in 9-gallon kegs, the most awkward of all cargo to portage. In some cases the furs were packed into 80-or 90-pound bundles in the Northwest, and were repacked into 100-pound bundles before being placed on the large canoes of the Montreal-Great Lakes route, but bundles lighter than 90 pounds were made up for the shipment of small quantities of individual goods to isolated posts. The bundles, or packs, of furs were formed under screw presses so that 500 mink skins, for example, were made into a package 24 inches long, 21 inches wide and 15 inches deep, weighing very close to 90 pounds. Buffalo hides formed a larger pack, of course. In the canoe, packs were covered by a parala, a heavy, oiled red-canvas tarpaulin.

Boxes called cassettes were carried; these were 28 inches long and 16 inches in width and depth, made of ¾-inch seasoned pine dovetailed and iron-strapped, with the lid tightly fitted. The top, and sometimes the bottom too, was bevelled along the edges. The lids were fitted with hasps and padlocks and the boxes were as watertight as possible. Each box was painted and marked; in these were placed cash and other valuables. Also carried was a travelling case—a lined box for medicine, refreshments for the officers, and what would be needed quickly on the road.

Provisions such as meat, sugar, flour, etc. were carried in tins and were stowed in baskets which were usually of the form known to woodsmen as pack-baskets. Baskets also served to carry cooking utensils and other loose articles. Bedrolls consisted of blankets or robes, made up in a tarpaulin or oilskin groundsheet and were used in the canoe as pads or seats. The voyageur's term for the canoe equipment—paddles, setting poles, sail, mast, and yard, and the rigging and hauling lines—was agrès, or agrets.

The term pacton was applied to packs made up ready for portage; they were ordinarily made up of two or more packages, so the weight carried was at the very least 180 pounds. No self-respecting voyageur would carry less, as it would be disgraceful to be so weak. The pacton was carried by means of a collier, or tump-line similar to that used to portage canoes (see p. 122). It was made of three pieces of stout leather. The middle piece was of stout tanned leather about 4 inches wide and 18 inches long, tapered toward each end, to which were sewn pliant straps 2 or 2½ inches wide and 10 feet long. These were usually slightly tapered toward the free ends. The middle portion of this piece of gear was of thick enough leather to be quite stiff, but the straps were very flexible. Sometimes the middle portion and 2 or 3 feet of the end straps were in one piece with extensions sewn to the latter. The pacton was lifted and placed so that it rested in the small of the carrier's back, with its weight borne by the hips. The ends of the collier were tied to the pacton so as to hold it in place, with the broad central band around the carrier's forehead. On top of the pacton was placed a loose package, cassette, or perhaps a keg. The total load amounted to 270 pounds on the average if the trail was good; the maximum on record is 630 pounds. With his body leaning forward to support the load, the carrier sprang forward in a quick trot, using short, quick paces, and moved at about 5 miles an hour over a good trail. A carrier was expected to make more than one trip over the portage, as a rule.

The traditional picture of the fur-trade voyageur as a happy, carefree adventurer was hardly a true one, at least in the 19th century. With poor food hastily prepared, back-breaking loads, and continual exposure, his lot was a very hard one at best. The monstrous packs usually brought physical injury and the working life of a packer was very short. In the early days, and during the time of the North West Company, the canoemen were allowed to do some private trading to add to their wages, but when the Hudson's Bay Company took over this was not allowed and discipline became far more harsh. As a result, the French Canadians deserted the trade, to be replaced with Indians and half-breeds. The paddling race against time, to reach the destination before the fall freeze, was labor comparable to that of a galley slave, but in a very harsh climate. Altogether, if the brutal truth is accepted, the life of the canoeman was far more hardship than romance.

The cargo of a fur-trade canoe was not placed directly on the bottom; light cedar or spruce poles were first laid in the bottom of the canoe and then the cargo loaded aboard. The poles prevented damage to the canoe by any undue concentration of weight. The weight of cargo carried varied with the size of the canoe and with the conditions of the canoe route. The canoes were usually loaded deeply, except in the case of the light express canoe, in which the cargo was reduced for sake of rapid travelling.

An account written in 1800 by Alexander Henry the younger gives the following list of cargo in a trade canoe on the run to Red River in the Northwest, where canoes under 4½ fathoms were generally used: General trade merchandise, 5 bales; tobacco, 1 bale and 2 rolls; kettles, 1 bale or basket; guns, 1 case; hardware, 1 case; lead shot, 2 bags; flour, 1 bag; sugar, 1 keg; gunpowder, 2 kegs; wine, 10 kegs. This totaled 28 pieces: in addition the crew had 4 bales (1 for each paddler) of private property, 4 bags of corn of 1½ bushels each, and ½ keg of "grease," plus bedrolls and the canoe gear. The trade goods carried to the posts included such items as canoe awls, axes, shot, gunpowder, gun tools, brass wire, flints (or, later, percussion caps), lead, beads, brooches, blankets, combs, coats, fire-steels, finger rings, guns, spruce gum, garters, birch bark, powder-horns or cartridge boxes, hats, kettles and pans, knives, fish line, hooks, net twine, looking glasses, needles, ribbons, rum, brandy, wine, blue and red broadcloth, tomahawks or hatchets, tobacco, pipes, thread, vermillion and paint, and false hair.

The tarpaulins used to cover the cargo were 8 by 10 feet, hemmed and fitted with grommets around the edges for lashings. The cloth was treated with ochre, oil, and wax to give it a dull red color and to waterproof it. One of the tarpaulins usually served as the sail. The fur bales were each sacked, that is, wrapped in a canvas cover that was sewed on and stenciled with identification and ownership marks.

The cargo manifests were not always the same. Compare the previous list with this cargo, with which two light canoes were each loaded: 3 cassettes, 1 travelling case, 2 baskets, 1 bag of bread, 1 bag of biscuits, 2 kegs of spirits, 2 kegs of porter, 1 tin of beef, 1 bag of pemmican for officers and 2 for the crew, 2 tents for officers, cooking utensils, canoe equipment, and 1 pacton for each of the 9 men in each canoe.

The rate of travel varied a good deal, depending upon the condition of the waterway and of the men. Perhaps, as an average, 50 miles a day would be the common expectation during a 3-month run into the northwest. Traveling fast with good conditions, an express canoe might average as much as 75 or 80 miles a day, but this was exceptional.

The number of men required to man a fur-trade canoe varied with the use required of the canoe, with its load, and its size. There were rare occasions in which a maître canot had 17 paddlers and a steersman, but normally such a canoe was manned by between 7 and 15 men, depending upon how much space aboard was required by cargo or passengers and upon the difficulties of the route. An express canoe, traveling light and at high speed, was manned by 4 to 6 paddlers, one of whom acted as steersman or stern paddler, and one as the equally important bowman in river work.

The most valuable information on the construction methods of fur trade canoes was obtained in 1925 from the late L. A. Christopherson, a retired Hudson's Bay Company official. He had joined the Company in 1874 and retired in 1919, after 45 years service, 38 of which he had spent in western Quebec at the posts on Lake Barrière and on Grand Victoria. These were canoe-building posts, and Christopherson had supervised the construction of both the 5-and 4½-fathom trade canoes. His posts had built the nearly vertical-ended nadowé chiman, the Iroquois, or Ottawa River, type of Algonkin canoe. The actual building was done by Indians, but the work was directed by the Company men.

In the building the eye and judgment of the builder were the only guides, aided by the occasional use of a measuring stick, and Christopherson made it abundantly clear that the Company had no rules or regulations that he knew of, regarding the size, model, and construction of the canoes, nor any standards for decoration. The model and appearance of the canoes were determined by the preferences of the builders and the size by the needs of the posts. For example, the 5-fathom canoe had been built at the Grand Victoria post until it was decided there that a 4½-fathom canoe would serve. The decoration, if any, was apparently according to "the custom of the post."

The method of construction described by Christopherson seems to be largely that of the Algonkin, modified slightly by Ojibway practices. The canoes were built on a plank building bed made of 2-or 2½-inch thick spruce; its middle was higher than the ends, as were the earthen beds used in the east, and holes were bored in it to take the stakes. A stake was placed near the end of each thwart and one between, along the sides of the canoe. The individual builders had their preferences as to the method of setting stakes; some set them vertically while others bored the bed so that the stakes stood with their heads pointed outward. A post might have two or more building beds, one for each size, or model.

Canoes were always built by means of a building frame. This was made with four or five crosspieces that determined the fullness or fineness of the bottom of the canoe toward the ends. By altering the lengths of the end crosspieces, the degree of fullness in the lines of the finished canoe could be predetermined. As a result the bed, which was usually about 18 inches wider than the building frame, might have the shape of its frame marked on it twice, with two sets of holes for stakes. Otherwise, the alteration in the building frame would require a special bed to be used. In addition to the alteration in the ends of the building frame, there could also be variations in its width amidships. Christopherson's posts commonly built canoes intended for fast travel, so most of them were narrower in beam at the gunwale and across the bottom than were the fur-trade canoes of the period, and the building frame was likewise narrower.

The length of the building frame used in these canoes was the same as the bottom length, or a little longer than the distance between the two headboards of the finished canoe. Thus, in a 5-fathom canoe the bottom length would be 30 feet, and in a 4½-fathom canoe, 27 feet; the beds would be some 6 feet longer than these lengths.

As the canoes at Christopherson's were built for speed and rarely measured more than 48 inches beam between the gunwale members, the building frame was about 32 inches wide amidships, or approximately two-thirds the beam inside the gunwales in a 5-fathom canoe. The beam of his 4½-fathom canoes was less, say 42 inches inside the gunwales and 27 or 28 inches across the building frame, with a depth, bottom to top of rail cap, of between 19 and 21 inches. A 5-fathom canoe of this narrow model would carry nearly 2½ short tons with a crew of six, while the smaller model would carry nearly 2 tons. However, the capacity of a wide canoe was much greater. A 6-fathom canoe, the Rob Roy, built by another post about 1876 to bring in the bishop for the consecration of a church at the Lake Temiscaming post, was described by Christopherson as being about 6 feet beam on the gunwales. Considered a fine example of a freight canoe, the Rob Roy was afterwards loaded with 75 bags of flour, totaling 3½ tons deadweight, and carried as well a crew of seven and their provisions and gear.

The bark cover was commonly in two lengths on the bottom of the canoe, summer bark being used. The post maintained a supply of bark for canoe building and sheets 4 fathoms in length and 1 in breadth were not uncommon. Such sheets would have been ample for the cover of a small canoe but would not be expended so needlessly; hence, the canoes, large or small, had two lengths of bark in their bottoms. The lap was toward the stern. In what appears to have been a local characteristic of the canoes built at Christopherson's posts, the bows were indicated by making the thwarts toward that end slightly longer than those toward the stern, so that the forebody was fuller at sheer than the afterbody; the canoe master could thus instantly see which end was the bow without having to examine the bottom or the bark cover.

The two pieces of bark sewn together were placed on the building bed and the building frame placed on it and weighted down, in the usual manner. The stakes were then set in the holes in the bed and the bark secured to them with the usual inside stakes, as well as with the clothespin-like clamps used by the Algonkin and other Indian canoe builders. The end stakes were set in a peculiar manner: a short pair were set with their heads sloping inboard, for use later to support the sheering of the outwales, and a long pair were set raking sharply outboard to help support the bark required for the high ends. As the bark cover was made up, pieces were worked into the ends to allow the high ends to be made. The side panels often seen on the eastern Indian bark canoe were used, and the bark doubled at the gunwales. The doubling pieces were put on about 6 inches wide and trimmed off after the outwales were in place. The pieces were widest amidships, and when trimmed would extend about two inches or a little more below the outwales, narrowing somewhat toward the ends. Longitudinal battens to fair the bark along the sides were placed as usual in canoe building.

The main gunwales were originally made of white cedar, but when this became scarce at the posts, whipsawed spruce was used instead. The gunwales were rectangular in cross section, with the outer lower corner beveled off. The cross section of the inner gunwale member was smaller, in proportion, than the outwale, compared to a small eastern Indian canoe. The gunwales were bent "on the flat" in plan, and were sheered "edge bent." The tenons for the thwart ends were cut slanting, so that when the gunwales were made up they stood at a flare outward toward the top edge. The gunwales had much taper toward the ends as it was usual to work in some sheer in these members. The canoes built at Christopherson's posts, unlike some other trade canoes, had a good deal of sheer at the ends, as the main gunwales rose nearly to the top of the stem.

The manner of forming the gunwales varied somewhat. If the stakes around the building frame had been set to stand vertically, it was necessary to assemble the gunwales with temporary crosspieces, or false thwarts, each shorter by several inches than would be the finished thwart in their place, or twice the amount of flare desired. After the gunwale assembly had been set above the building frame on the usual posts to determine its height above the building bed, the bark cover would be lashed to each gunwale member. This done, each crosspiece would be removed in turn and replaced with its corresponding thwart. By this means the gunwales would be spread and, in the process, lowered in proportion to the change in beam. This would usually make too much sheer. Therefore, if the gunwales were to be spread as a result of the side stakes standing vertically, they had to be formed with some reverse sheer amidships. This was done as usual, by first treating each member with hot water and then weighting it on a long plank, or unused building bed, over a block placed under it at midlength. The height of the block would determine the amount the sheer was "humped" in the middle, usually only an inch or so. The gunwale ends were also treated with hot water and sometimes were split horizontally to get the required sheer there; they were then bent up and held, while drying and setting, by a long cord that was stretched between them and placed under tension by means of a strut, about 4 feet long, placed under the cord at midlength and stepped on the gunwale member being bent. However, if the side stakes were set sloping outward, it was unnecessary to hump the sheer amidships.

The reason why many builders preferred to set the stakes on the bed vertically was that it made easy the goring and the sewing of the bark cover side panels; if the bark available for the cover required little sewing, the sloping stakes might be preferred. It appears, however, that the usual procedure was to set the stakes vertically and to spread the gunwales, since good bark was usually available. A good deal of judgment was required to estimate the amount of hump or reverse to be worked into the gunwale members; too much would leave a hump in the sheer of the finished canoe and not enough would cause too much dip amidships. Before being bent to sheer, the gunwale members were worked smooth with a plane or with scrapers made of glass or steel. The building frame was taken apart and removed from the canoe after most of the thwarts were in place.

The ribs Christopherson called "timbers" and the sheathing, "lathing." The ribs, commonly of cedar, were usually ¼ to ⅜ inch thick, and were 2½ to 3¼ inches wide in most canoes, with a long taper so that near the ends the width was about half that at the middle, and at the ends they tapered almost to a point. Some large canoes had ribs 4 inches wide at the centerline, amidships, but these appear to have been unusual. The ribs were placed on the building frame at their proposed position and the width of the frame at that point was marked on each. After being cut to about the required length and tapered, the ribs were then treated with hot water, and were then usually bent over the knee in pairs, the marks determining where the bending was to be done. In a freight canoe the ribs amidships would be nearly flat across the bottom but in a fast canoe they would be slightly rounded. The parts of the rib nearest the ends were not bent, and thus the rib would appear dish-shaped when in form. Each pair while drying was sometimes held by cords tied across the ends, or the ribs might be inserted in about their proper location in the unfinished canoe and held in place by battens and struts until they took their final set. The ribs at the extreme ends were often "sprung" or "broken" at the centerline to get the V-section required there, particularly in a sharp-ended express canoe.

The sheathing was about ¼-inch thick and was laid according to the tribal practice of the builder; Christopherson appears to have followed the Algonkin practices generally in this as in other building matters at his posts.

Whereas Malecite practice was to lash the bark cover to both inwale and outwale, in the western type of canoe the cover was lashed to the main gunwale first, owing to the spread gunwales, and the outwale was then pegged to the gunwale and also lashed, the ends being wrapped with figure-eight turns. All gunwale lashing in fur-trade canoes was in groups. Because of the sheer at the ends, the outwales were split horizontally into four or more laminae, and the splitting extended almost to the end-thwart positions. In a few canoes outwales were omitted or were short and did not extend beyond the end thwarts, but this practice was relatively uncommon. The outwales were usually rectangular in cross section and much tapered toward the ends.

The rail caps were also rectangular in cross section, but often they had the outboard upper edge rounded off or beveled. The caps were pegged at 1-foot intervals to the main gunwales, but at the ends they could only be lashed to the outwale, as both outwales and caps were so sharply upswept at the ends that they stood almost vertically. The ends were squared off and stood a little above the top of the stems, so that when the canoe was placed upside down as a shelter for the paddlers and packers it rested upon these members rather than on the sewing of the bark cover on the tops of the stems, as was usual with all the high-ended Algonkin and Ojibway canoes.

The stem-pieces and headboards were assembled into single units, as shown on pages 149 and 151, before being installed during construction. The stem-pieces were of white cedar, about four fingers deep fore-and-aft and laminated, and about ¾ to 1¼ inches wide, depending upon the size of the canoe and the judgment of the builder. In Christopherson's area the stem-piece was relatively short, the head coming up and around and ending at a point far enough under the rail-cap ends for it to be securely lashed to these members and to the outwale ends. It was bent by use of hot water and the laminae were secured by wrapping the stem piece with fine twine. The stem was stiffened by stepping the headboard on its heel in the usual manner, and the two were held in the required position by two horizontal struts, the outboard ends of which were lashed to the sides of the stem piece well up above the heel; the inboard ends were pegged at the sides of the headboard, in notches, or were passed through the headboards in slots and the strut ends secured with wedges athwartships on the inboard face of the headboard. The result was a rigid and strong end-frame. More complicated bending was employed at some posts, where the building of fur-trade canoes followed Algonkin or Ojibway practices. In these, as has been mentioned, the stem-pieces were brought down and around under the stem-head to the back or inboard edge of the stem-piece and lashed, then brought inboard horizontally to end in a hole in the headboard, between struts placed as in the Christopherson-built canoes. Another method was to bring the stem-piece around the stem head and down and around outboard to the inboard face of the stem, where the end was split and each half lashed to the sides of the stem-piece. In this case there was a lashing between stem-piece and the headboard, placed where the reverse was made, inboard and below the top of the stem, well up on the headboard. The heel of the headboard and stem-piece were pegged together.

Struts were not required with this construction, described earlier (on p. 123) as the Ojibway method. In bending the stem-piece, the reverse curve around the stem-head was formed over a short strut that was removed when the stem-piece was dried and set to shape. As a variety of forms were used in shaping these stem-pieces, it was the ingenuity of the builder that decided just how the end of the stem-piece was best secured and how the whole was to be braced. These details will be better understood by reference to the plans and illustrations on pages 134 to 151.

The headboards were not sprung or bellied, but stood nearly vertical in the canoes. The inboard face was often decorated; in the old French canoes and in those of the North West Company, the board was carved or painted to represent a human figure, le petit homme, which was often made in the likeness of a voyageur in his best clothes. In some canoes, only a human head was used, or the top of the headboard, or "button," was decorated with a rayed compass drawn in colors.

The thwarts were usually rather heavy amidships and were made in various forms to suit the taste of the builder. They were commonly of maple, but Christopherson's canoes had spruce or tamarack thwarts, the latter being his preference. These thwarts were not intended to be used as seats, though the sternman, or steersman, often sat on the aftermost one. The paddlers often used seats in the large canoes; these were planks slung from each end by cords made fast to the gunwales. These cords allowed the height of the seats to be adjusted; the paddlers usually knelt on the bottom of the canoe with hips supported by the seat. The seats were usually slung before the thwarts, except amidships, where the space was taken up by passengers or cargo.

The factors often took great pride in the appearance of the canoes from their posts and many, like Christopherson, had the craft gaily painted in a rather barbaric fashion. Christopherson's canoes did not use any of the circular decoration forms; his canoes usually had painted on them, he recalled, such names as Duchess, Sir John A. MacDonald, Express, Arrow, and Ivanhoe. The ends were often painted white, with the figures or letters on this background. The Company flag was often painted on the stern with the initials of the Company, H.B.C., said to mean "Here Before Christ" by disrespectful clerks. Many posts used such figures as the jackfish, loon, deer, wolf, or bear, on the bow. The rayed circular devices appear to have been long popular and were said to have been introduced by the French. There is no record of any device being officially required in any district but the cassettes of certain districts were marked with distinctive devices at one time; Norway House used a deer's head with antlers, Saskatchewan two buffalo, Cumberland a bear, Red River a grasshopper, and Manitoba a crocus.

During Christopherson's long service he knew the canoes built in his vicinity at such nearby building posts as Lake Abitibi, Lake Waswanipi, and Kipewa, in western Quebec; and Lake Timagami (Bear Island), Matachewan on Montreal River, Matagama (west of Sudbury), and Missinaibi, in nearby Ontario. These were but a few of the building posts, of course, for canoes were built at numerous posts to the west and northward.

When portaged, the large canoes might be carried right side up or upside down, the former being more usual method. The canot du nord was often light enough to be carried by two paddlers, one under each end, with the canoe right side up and steadied by a cord tied to the offside gunwale and held in the carrier's hand. The maître canot required four men to carry it. Various methods were used. One was to lash carrying sticks across the gunwales near the ends and to carry the canoe right side up with a man on the end of each stick. Another way was for the men to distribute themselves along the bottom of the canoe, near the ends, and to use steadying cords. Or the canoe might be carried upside down with the men carrying it by placing one shoulder under the gunwales at convenient places. When a bad place in the portage was reached, the whole crew might have to turn to. The method of portaging had to meet the physical limitation of the portage path and the matter was not so much one of standard procedure as of improvisation of the moment.

The voyageur was particular about his paddle; no man in his right mind would use a blade wider than between 4½ and 5 inches, for anything wider would exhaust him in a short distance. The paddle reached to about the users' chin, when he stood with the tip of the paddle on the ground in front of him. Longer paddles, about 6 feet long, were used by the bow and stern men, the two most skillful voyageurs in the canoe and the highest paid. These men had, also, spare paddles whose total length was 8 feet or more; these were used in running rapids only. The paddles were of hardwood, white or yellow birch or maple, as hardwood paddles could be made thin in the blade and small in the handle without loss of strength, whereas softwood paddles could not. The blades were sometimes painted white, the tips in some color such as red, blue, green or black, but other color combinations were often used.

In Christopherson's service, sail was rarely used, as the canoemen were unskilled in handling it and loss had resulted. In early times, however, it appears to have been much used on the Great Lakes routes by the French and the North West Company. A single square-sail was the only rig employed; the canoes could not be worked to windward under fore-and-aft sails.

During the great seasonal movements the trade canoes moved in fleets called brigades, the usual brigade in early times being three or four canoes, but later, when the needs of the individual posts had grown, the brigade could be of any necessary number of canoes to carry in the required supplies and goods or to bring out the season's catch of furs. The leader of the brigade was the conducteur or guide; sometimes he was the post's factor. In French times the maître canot would be loaded with 60 pieces, or packs, to the total of about 3 short tons and half a ton of provisions, and eight men, each with an allowance of 40 pounds for gear, so that the whole weight in the canoe would be something over 4 short tons. An example of such a canoe measured, inside the gunwales, 5½ fathoms long and 4½ feet beam. The usual brigade of four of these canoes would thus carry roughly 12 short tons of goods.

The Company would send one brigade after another, at close intervals of time, until the whole seasonal movement was in progress. Those brigades going the greatest distance were started first. Although cargoes left the coast from early spring on to late summer, the great canoe movement took place towards the fall. Canoe travel north and northwestward from the Great Lakes had to be carefully timed, as goods had to be accumulated at the base posts on the Lakes and the brigades placed in movement at the last safe date which would permit them to reach their destination before the first hard freeze-up. The base posts were those where the run of the maître canot ended and that of the canot du nord began, the places where reloading for the individual trading posts in the Northland was necessary. The late start was usually desirable in order to await the arrival at the base posts of all the goods required, for movements of freight were uncertain before the days of railroads and steamers.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, before the whole canoe trade fell under the control of the Hudson's Bay Company, it was the custom to distribute 8 gallons of rum to each canoe for consumption during the run, and it was also the custom for all hands to see how much of this they could drink before starting out. This grandiose undertaking usually began as soon as the local priest, who gave his blessing to the canoemen, had left the scene. The magnificent drunk lasted one day and the next morning the crew had to be underway. The first day's run, old accounts repeatedly show, not only was short but was often beset by difficulties.

The era of the bark trading canoe did not close with a dramatic change. Its ending was a long, slow process. By the last decade of the 19th century the bark trading canoe had disappeared from most of the old routes, and even in the Northwest it had been almost wholly displaced by York boats, scows, bateaux, and canvas or wooden canoes of white-man construction. By the beginning of the first World War, the maître canots and canots du nord were finished, except as curiosities—hardly even as these, for not one was preserved in a museum.

Indeed, so complete was the disappearance of the fur-trade canoe that any attempt to record its design, construction, and fitting would have been almost hopeless, had it not been for the notes, sketches, and statements of such men as L. A. Christopherson, aided by a few models and pictures, and for the memories of a few Indian builders who had worked on the canoes.