The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1892-04-13
ODD BOATS FOR SAY AGES.
CANOES MADE OUT OF LOGS AND
SKINS BY ALASKAN INDIANS.
Surprising Skill is Shown in Their
Construction 80 The Implements
That Are Used--BuiIding a Kaiak.

y dependent upon boats than arc
the natives of southeast Alaska.
q They live in region where the
coast line is broken into many channels,
straits and harbors by the numerous ISL
ands of the Sitkan archipelago. The land
offers little to reward the skill or perse-
verance of the hunter and supplies of
food and other necessaries must be drawn
from the sea. Accordingly the one thing
of Joy, of delight and of infinite use to
the inhabitant of that part of the world
is a car oe. Existence, indeed, would be
a sad problem for him were it not for this
adjunct of his own creation. Upon its
construction he lavishes the best of his
thought, the height of his manual skill
and his tireless patience. The result is
the fashioning from single log of lit
tie vessel which challenges admiration
for its fine outline, its seaworthiness and
its strength.
So says a report about to be issued by
the United States Fish Commission writ
ten by Captain j. w. Collins. The
author goes on to remark that the In
diaus of the Sitkan region, in modelling
their canoes, have apparently by intuition
solved successfully the difficult problem
of least resistance, buoyancy and requisite
stability-qualities essentially necessary
in working boat, but the proper CON-
bination of which has often put to the
severest test the constructive skill of the
most experienced white man. All the
tribes of that region use dugout canoes,
the size of which varies from ten feet to
more than thirty feet in length.
Before the introduction of iron tools
the making of canoe was work of
enormous difficulty. The hatchets we're
of stone and the chisels were of mussel
shells ground to a sharp edge. 1t re-
quired much time and labor to cut down
a large tree for the purpose, and it was
only the chiefs, with "a number of slaves
at their disposal, who attempted such
operations. Their method was to gather
round tree, as many as could work,
and these clipped away with their stone
hatchet until the tree was literally
gnawed down. Then to shape it and
hollow it out was a tedious job, and
many month would intervene between
the telling of the tree and the finishing
of the canoe. The implements used at
present are axes and steel chises.
Fire is employed to assist in excavat-
ing the canoes. A small trench is first
dug lengthwise through the middle, and
enough chips having been made for the
purpose, they are kept burning at one
end of the boat. When the wood at
that end is charred enough to make the
working of it comparatively easy, the
fire is transferred to the opposite end and
the workmen proceed to excavatc the
part that has been burned. This process
is repeated over and again until the bulk
OF the interior wood has been removed.
1t would not be safe to use fire too long,
for in The last stages of the work the
craft might be ruined by being burned
through.
The final process in the forming of the
little vessels consists in spreading out its
sides, so that it may be made wide
enough to insure the necessary stability.
For this purpose the canoe is steamed by
filing it one.third full of water and then
putting hot stones into the water, the
canoe being covered with cedar mats to
prevent the escape of the steam When
this process has been continued long
enough the gunwales are forced apart
and thwart sticks are inserted to hold
them in proper position. After this the
boat is painted or otherwise ornameuted.
The great war canoes formerly made,
which were sometimes as much as sixty
feet in length, are no longer built. One
of them is exhibited at the National
Museum.
In the cold regions of the far North,
where timber or bark is difficult or i'm
possible to get, boats of skin arc almost
exclusively employed. To provide ma.
terial for them the native hunter relies
upon the seal, the sea lion and the wal
rus. Many patterns of such craft are
utilized in the fisheries pursued among
the Aleutian Islands and elsewhere on
the Alaskan coast. Mostly they are of
two types-the "kaiak," employed by
the men, and heavier aud safer woman's
boat, known as the "oomiaE," ," aud used
for transporting females and freight.
The kaiak is the most seaworthy small
boat in existence. 1t is covered over,
save only for hole in which the voy-
ager sits, the garment which covers him,
itself waterproof, being fastened around
the rim of the manhole in such manner
as to exclude the water Thus hotatiou
is perfect, and even when the boat turns
upside down, as not infrequently hap
pens, the owner is able to quickly right
it with his double paddle. Larger kaiaks
with two or three manholes are used for
fishing and for capturing whales and sea
otters, when one man must manage the
canoe while another throws spear or
harpoon
The franc of kaiak is composed of
light pieces of driftwood and small
withes, which are firmly lashed together
with sinews, so rs to stifTen the whole
fabric. 1t is said that recently rattan
was used to some extent for the purpose,
this light and elastic material being OBJ
tanned through traders. Once made, the
frame is covered with the untanned
skins of sea lions, which have been freed
from hair. These hides are drawn over
the skeleton of the boat, deftly sewed,
properly secured in place while they arc
wet aud pliable. Tho entire boat, top
and all, is covered, except the manhoe or
manholes. When the skins dry they
contract so as to bind the frame firmly
and are as taut as the parchment Of a
ell.strung bass drum. Then the ma |
tive smears the hole over with thicl seal |
oil, which keeps the water out OF the !
pores Of 6he skin for long period.