Shifts and expedients of camp life, travel & exploration

by William Barry Lord; Thomas Baines

Collapsible boat.

We have not seen Colonel Buchanan’s boat, but we remember one perhaps not very dissimilar, it was, in fact, a collapsible boat—the gunwales, the keel, and all the intermediate pieces being exactly alike, and made of ¾in. plank from 4in. to 6in. wide; these were hinged together at the two ends, just as are the frames of the oval reticules, and covered with stout canvas; the thwarts have hinges below the centre, from which also the third board, serving as a stanchion, reaches downward to rest upon the keel. There is a ring-bolt near the centre of each of the midship thwarts, and when the boat is hoisted out of the water by tackles at either end, a couple of small lines from these rings jerk up the centre of the thwarts and allow the gunwales and all the corresponding boards on either side to fall down beside the keel, as shown in the upper figure of our illustration (p. 155). There are also ring-bolts to the gunwales, and a couple of lines from these are held fast while the boat is lowered; the gunwales rise, and a man sitting upon the thwarts presses them into their place and the boat assumes its proper shape: of course the segments of plank below the gunwales have to be cut a little shorter at each end as they come nearer to the keel, or the boat would not shut up on its hinges. A boat 4ft. wide would collapse into a width of not more than 1ft. Such a frame could be readily taken to pieces by withdrawing the bolts of the hinges, and if each piece, supposing the boat to be 4ft. wide and 16ft. long were hinged in its centre, it would not be much too long to carry on a mule, except the country were more than ordinarily difficult, when it might be hinged in three lengths.

At the meeting of the British Association, in Birmingham, we saw some model boats of good form, but with very little projection of keel or stem or stern post, so that one might be fitted into the other without rising more than a few inches above the gunwale of the first; the thwarts of the lower one are stowed between the two very conveniently, and three or four may be thus packed, the uppermost, however, retaining all her fittings in readiness for immediate use.

Canoe birch.

The aborigines of many countries make use of the bark of certain trees for the purpose of canoe building. The most important of these is the canoe birch (Betula papyracea); its range may be estimated at 37° north to 43° south. Trees of this description not unfrequently grow to 70ft. in height, and are proportionately thick, so that sheets of bark of very large size can be readily stripped from them. The bark canoes of the Canadians and Indian traders are often of a very large size.

In the absence of forest conservators, economic considerations go for very little. It may be convenient, when canoe building or repairing is the object, to “fall” the tree, and, in doing so, care must be taken that the bark shall not be rent or bruised, either by fracture of the tree or by falling across a rock or stump, while the log ought to lie with both ends somewhat supported, so that the required sheet of bark may not be crushed between it and the ground. Perhaps it will be found generally easier to detach the bark while the tree is standing, and in this case a cut must be made all round the tree at the lower end of the sheet; the most perfect side should be left for the bottom of the canoe, and the longitudinal slit should be so made as to cut right through any defective portion which may thus be cut out with the least possible waste of material. If the tree has an inclination, it will be easier work to make the slit on the upper side. The bark should be detached by broad round-edged spuds of soft wood, thrust gently and cautiously between it and the tree; and it may also be previously loosened by striking it with a broad log or mallet on the outside, taking care not to break its texture. Steps may be cut in the wood to stand in, and hand-holds also as the work proceeds; and the lower part of the bark should be made fast with cord or slips of bark, passed loosely round, so that it may not swing clear of the tree and split the upper part before it is finally detached.

CANADIAN BARK CANOE.

Canadian bark canoe.

The sheet should now be taken to a plot of level ground, carefully spread out with the inside downward, and the outside should be cleaned from any knots, excrescences, or hard and brittle layers that increase its weight without adding to its strength; and it should then be cut nearly to the form shown in the sketch (Fig. 1). A sufficient number of ribs or hoops of light flexible wood should be provided, and great care should be taken, in bending it, not to split or unduly to force any part so as to make an unsightly protuberance, which would also most probably become a leak. The holes should be carefully bored along the edges that come in contact, and they may be sewn with fibres from the roots of pine trees or from small cedar twigs, and rendered water-tight by the use of pine-tree gum. Flexible poles or laths are then stitched in for gunwales or thwart stringers, and the canoe is more or less tastefully trimmed off and ornamented, according to the taste of the builder, as in Fig. 2 (p. 157).