The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-04-07

plest and accordingly the most print
| tive type is the dugout or periagua
| type. AS such it should receive first
consideration.
The essentials of this canoe are a
hull followed out of the trunk of a tree
IN a single piece, and an outrigger, on
the port side, which Is attached to the
null by double set of braces, vertical
and horizontal. These canoes still
abound on every Samoan beach. They
are commonly from three to five faith
oms long, and seldom vary in the other
dimensions with any attempt to pre-
! serve a ratio to the length. The beam
is approximately eighteen inches; that
Is to say, just wide enough for the
hips of the paddler, who sits on the
outrigger braces, where they cross the
hull. The depth is the same as the
BEAM The space between the hull and
the outrigger is less than a fathom,
generally between four and five feet
The builder, a select and much re-
spected class in Samoan social condi-
tons, selects from his store of dried
| logs trunk that measures the right
| number of fathoms for the canoe he is
about to construct. In the present
days, when he can buy civilized utensils
of carpentry, his tools are seldom other
than gouge and a plane iron mounted
as an adze. Similarly in his own work.
shop, before the white man introduced
metals, he used but the stone adze and
the shell gouge, using now, as then, the
coral stems for finishing off rough cuts
Fire was not used by the Polynesian
carpenters to assist in excavation, yet
the Fijians, who have been for ages In
constant intercourse with the Samoans,
and Tongans, We're we'll acquainted
with this labor-saving device.
The carpenter invariably begins the
shaping Of the log at the end which Is
to form the stern of the canoe, and
hacks out the inner and outer shape to-
gether. When the first rough cutting is
done he begins on the inner hull and
cuts that in its final dimensions before
touching the outer side. The outer sur
face is dressed last Of ALL and it is
shaped with respect to the finished in
ner surface the thickness of timber be-
Ing just about one inch throughout. All
this work is done with neither measure
ment nor templet, yet each canoe is as
like each other as though the same
builder hi constructed them on exact
ly the same lines. The cuts will show
the form of the hull The bow is sharp
and horned, the keel, while approxi-
mately fiat, is yet slightly on the rocker
type, the runs begins at about two
thirds of the length. For some space
abaft the bows the hull is left in a solid
block, which bears the ornamentation
of several small cubes carved in line
along the central line of the canoe
These ornaments are frequently decor
ated with un-bleached cowrie shells.
The builder of the canoe undertakes
to turn out hull that will float in still
water and it is only by repeated expert
ments of it's flotation that he is able to
complete this work to his own satsfac-
ton. But no hulls are designed to pre-
serve their equilibrium when carrying
weight. That balance is obtained by
means of the out-rigger. This consists,
in the Samoan type, of three essential
features. The first Is the out-rigger
beam, the second the horizontal braces,
the third the system by which the beam
is attached to the braces. The beam is
a stick about two-thirds of the hull in
more than six inches at its widest, cut
off square astern and for several feet at
the forward end shaved down to CHS
ell edge, in which the bevel is upper
most.
The horizontal braces are light sap
lings about two inches in diameter and !
a fathom long. These are dashed across
both gunwales of the hull, one just for
ward of the beam, the other at point
just above the beginning of the run. |
The butts of the braces project hand
breath over the starboard gunwale; I
their cupboard ends to port are Joined |
by a light brace laid over them and |
lashed into place. All fastenings of the
outrigger system are lashings of coir
sennit. Between each horizontal out
rigger brace and the beam are two rods
Of hardwood carefully whitfield down
until they they are no more than fin
ger thick The upper ends of these rods
are dashed to the horizontal braces in
such a way that the rods form an angle
At the beam. Here they engage in sock
ats which have been cut for them in
he upper surface Of the beam Through
1 hole in the beam between the sock
cts for the rods a lashing of sennit is
passed and carried over the brace
above. This is repeated in as many
parts as may seem desirable: it is haul
I'd as taut as possible, and then a final
strain is put on it by whipping togeth-
II the two sets of parts. 1t will be no.
iced that the whole outrigger system
las nowhere an absolutely rigid joint;
1t each point Of attachment there is to
,e found a lashing instead of a pin;
very joint has a certain degree of
Outrigger have been shorn
IF by coming in contact with rock or
eef. They resist all wrenching power
# the waves even in the highest gales.
The forward end of the outrgger is
ven with the bow of the canoe; it's af-
er end stops short at the after brace.
Before leaving this simplest type of
he primitive Polynesian vessel, it may
re of interest to show 1t has developed
mong the Hawaiians. In the course Of
Is wanderings this Polynesian family
las lost the clean lines of the bow and
tern of the Samoan canoe; both ends
re about the same. The outrigger has
ost one essential of its system, the YER
ical supports. In attaching the beam
y means of curved braces the Ha-
laiian canoe makes the system by so |
1uch the more rigid, therefore by an
quail or possibly greater amount the
lore exposed to carrying away under
ave stress, danger which is made all
ne more probable in the Hawaiian
anOa by the much greater interpace