Hints to Travellers, Scientific and General, Vol. 2 / Tenth edition, revised and corrected

by Royal Geographical Society

Canoeing.

Choice of a Canoe.—In making choice of a canoe the traveller must bear in mind that, in all probability, there will be rapids in the river, which will necessitate a portage being made, and that the canoe may have to be carried over rough ground for a considerable distance. For this reason, it is far better to take two canoes of moderate size than one large one, besides which, a small canoe is much more easily handled in bad water, and even should it become necessary to carry a large load, this can easily be done by lashing two small canoes together, at about one yard apart, and laying a platform across them, on which to place the stores, &c. This, however, should not be done in dangerous and rapid rivers. The following remarks do not, therefore, apply to large canoes, which, having nearly the stability of a boat, may be handled in the same manner.

Paddles.—It will generally be found that the native paddles will be best suited for the work. The double-bladed paddle, such as is used with the Rob Roy canoe, is quite useless on a rapid and dangerous river.

Sail.—The sail should be made of duck, or some such light material, fastened to a light yard at each end, and its hoist should be about twice its breadth; its size must be in proportion to the canoe, the hoist being about one-fourth of the canoe’s length. The mast should be as light as possible, with a hole at the top for the halliards to pass through freely. The end should be stepped in a chock in the bottom of the canoe (when in use), and it should be lashed to one of the stays, or cross-pieces of the canoe. The sail should never be used unless the wind is steady and abaft the beam, and the halliards should be taken to the after part of the canoe in order to stay the mast, and secured in such a manner that it can be instantly let go, when the sail will at once fall, and undue pressure on the canoe relieved.

The Tow-line.—Too much attention cannot be paid to this important article. It should be light, but of the best material (such as the rope used by the Alpine Club), as its giving way at a critical moment in a rapid is sure to be attended with most serious results.

Loading the Canoe.—The packages should not exceed 50 lbs. in weight, as they may have to be carried long distances over portages, and care must be taken not to overload the canoe. Natives, who are all good swimmers, and have nothing to lose by a capsize, are very apt to put more into a canoe than is safe, so that it is a matter in which the traveller should use his own discretion.

In ascending a rapid river, keep close to one of its banks, and endeavour to take advantage of eddies. It will often happen that, owing to the strength of the stream, no headway can be made with the paddles, in which case recourse must be had to poling or tracking. In the event of the former, the poles should be straight and tough, and as long as can be conveniently carried in the canoe. Natives generally stand up to pole, but this the traveller should not attempt to do, or he will in all probability either fall overboard, or capsize the canoe, or both. In tracking, as great a length of line as possible should be used, as a sheer of the canoe in a rapid, with a short line, will often end in a capsize. Only two men should remain in the canoe, one in the bow with a pole, and the other in the stern with a paddle to steer; this man should also have his pole handy. The line should be made fast to one of the stays in the bow of the canoe, and never to a towing mast, as in a boat; as in passing round bad corners, or places where there are snags, and where it is necessary to give the canoe a wide sheer, the leverage of the mast, if the line were fastened to the top of it, would pull the canoe over. The man in the bow, however, should always have his knife handy to cut the tow-line, should necessity arise for his doing so. In tracking, when a river passes through sandy soil, the men on the line should keep at some little distance from the edge of the bank, as it is likely to give way under their weight, and precipitate them into the river. Several men lost their lives in Fraser River, in the early days of the gold discovery, by neglecting this precaution.

In crossing from one bank of a river to the other above a rapid, be careful to ascend the river for a considerable distance before attempting to do so; and then make the crew paddle as hard as they can, keeping the head of the canoe, if anything, rather down the stream, as in the case of a rapid river you would only lose ground by trying to fight against it.

In descending a river, the traveller should keep a look-out ahead for snags and places where the river is narrowed in between hills, as in such places there is nearly sure to be a rapid which may be so bad as to render navigation impossible. In all cases before descending an unknown rapid, he should land and inspect it throughout its entire length before attempting to run it in the canoe. When descending a rapid, care must be taken to keep steerage way on the canoe, as this will be needed to avoid rocks, or whirlpools. These latter are very serious dangers, as they generally do not remain fixed in one spot, but move about within a certain distance of a centre. There are, however, in most cases, short intervals when they break up, and that is the time to make a dash past them. To attempt this when they are in full swing could only end in the loss of the canoe and its occupants.