Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-07-22

gunwsles with dyed wooden fibre. III
has round bottom the ends being alike,
sharp and curved upward.
A balsa or swimming raft from the
| East Indies is made simply OF long
bundles Of rushes bound together A
cstamsran from Madras, lndis, is made
OF logs bound together with ropes aud
fashioned 90 that they tend to point
and bend upward slightly in front. This
is used as suri-boat. When heavy
swell threatens the craft the native ma
riner deserts it altogether, jumping into
the wave and then clsmbering upon 1t
when he comes 70 the surface again. On
this craft, too, he sometimes sets up
tiny mast and HOSTS bit OF cotton as
sail.
A SIMPLE DCGoUT,
perhaps the simplest, is donga" from
| Jessore. India. 1t smsdef from the stem
Of the tar palm. The natural form OF the
tree, with its dubious end, is preserved,
and the boat looks like big spoon
The native sits in the bowl Of tho spoon
1 or boat, and his weight keeps the other
end ont Of the water. A dugout made by
! Chinese fishermen is q log completely
followed out from end 70 end. In
stead Of gougiDg tho log 80 as 10
leave the ends solid, the simple Chi
naman cuts out the ends and then stops
them up again with pieces Of wood made
TO Git tho apertures. A dugout from
PAtna, India, made from the trunk OF
semul tree, looks much like shallow
wooden trough with square ends. Ar
other rude dugout, made without any
pretence at design further than the
making of hollow vessel, is from the
gold coast of Africa. There is largo
dugout canoe from Cape Flattery, ". T.,
in which Makah Indians of the north
west coast put out to sea in search OF
whales.
The Indians of the northwest coast OF
America developed the art Of making
boats from single logs to tho highest de-
gree. The huge cedSr-trees that grow
on the coast, the wood being soft enough
to be worked with their rude tools,
afforded them natural opportunity that
they did not neglect The great canoe
that is suspended from the ceiling on
one side of the hall and makes ell other
canoes look like pigmies is f specimen
of the work of the Haidah In
disns. and WINS brought to the
museum from the Queen Char
lotto islands, British Columbia. 1t
vas hewn out Of single log of yellow
cedar. The length IS 50 feet and the
beam 8 feet. The ends are sharp AID
alike, the stem being carried up and fin
ished in an angular sort OF ornament
suggesting the outline OF the head of
some aquatic animal The body Of the
canoe is painted & dingy white. and mt
each end is series Of figures painted III
white, blue, and green, rude circles. and
rh0mboids cnclO1Dg representations OF
ewes. These figures are symbols OF to-
tens of the chief who owned the canoe,
representing the traditions OF his family,
like the hcTaldiC cOatOi-arms or some
royal or noble family Of Europe. IN tins
cnnoe a chief would set out with fifty or
more men on warlike expedition.
None but men OF consequence, who could
command the labor Of many HANDS,
could own such canoe. To cut down
the immense tree, hollow out the log,
and fashion the canoe with the rude
stone hatchets and cbisels with which
these Indians worked required the labor
of many men for months and years. A
dugout canoe in which Hoopah Indians
sailed on Trinity river, California, is
made like an
OLD-FAsuIONED WOODEN CRADLE,
almost as broad as it is long. 1t has
gunwale that curls inbOard, round and
square ends that rise to point
4 Hawaiian fishing canoe occupying
n conspicuous position in the hall Was
gift from Queen Kapiolani of Hawaii.
1t is over one hundred years old, and
represents tho type of boats used in the
Sandwich Islands a century ago, when
the islanders had not yielded much 10
European influence. The boat is mar
row dugout, and has a mast and sail.
The only evidence of the influence OF
contact of the native with white men is
that the nail is cut like that ordinarily
used on acatrigged boat, and is attached
to boom. As tho dUgout is narrow 1t
has an outrigger. formed by two stout
poles extending out from one eide, and
to which is attached 4 log that floats IN the
water and keeps the dugout from up
setting. These outrigger canoes are
commonly found III places where the
trees are Of small diameter, and the dug
outs have TO be made narrow. A Malay
outraged canoe from tho straits OF Ma
lacca and one from Ceylon are exceed
inglv narrow, and have square calls. An
outraged canoe from the Caroline islands
represents all advance i'll savage boat
building. 1t is made in sections secured
together with thongs. 1t has a mast
with small booms and mating Ssll. On
the masthead is feather ornament like
an Indians head-dress There is q Malay
proa, like that used by pirates Of the
eastern seas, having two small guns
mounted on swivos IN the bows.
The Chinese iunks show many odd
forms, with high stems and Stems. Some
of them have little sails act at the stern
like the digger" sail used sometimsSby
cAnoists Of the American Canoe Club.
The iuuks have rudders that are perfo-
rated to let the water through. One !
case contains series Of models of beau
tiiul, slender pleasure boats from Sism.
The bulls are long, graceful, and turned !
up slightly at the ends, the form being
similar to that of single scull racing |
shells. In the centre is placed little
structure fer passengers like that on a
Venetian gondolA. These boats are
gilded and mighty ornamented.
There are several boats placed together
showing how people in different parts of
the world hit upon the samo form.
These are boats of the corrscle pattern, |
round as the bowl that the old nursery |
rhyme rays three wise men OF Gotham |
went to sea,in. There is Boyne CORA
clio IN which Irish fisherman take out |
their snap-nets and fish for salmon on the |
Boyne. 1t is almost perfectly hound. |
The frame is made of willow like huge |
basket, and over it hides are stretched.
Another corracle of similar construc-
ton is from the river Dee, and another
is from India. The latter is child's
corracle, plated like basket Of stiff
rushes, and has no outer covering. Near
il stands bull.boat, used by Indians OF !
Dakota. II is q round boat, about four !
feet in diameter, the frame being made