The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13

Of course, the first thing is the choice of a canoe. That depends entirely upon the nature of the water, the length of the trip. and whether or not the outfit has to be carried over portases.
 The original canoe was made by the Indians of birch bark, and Q good birch canoe is hard to beat for lightness and clean running provided it is carefully handled and kept dry, But . birch canoe is easily damaged, and once it is al- lowed to leak and become wateriogged, it loses its lightness and buoyancy.
 For hard service in the wilderness there is nothing equal to the ca avas-covered canoe, made over light but strong white cedar frame. These can be bought from a number of standard makers, and will stand an amazing amount of punishment. This type is almost a necessity where the water is shallow and the canoe is likely to bump frequently on rocks. If the canvas is cut the leak is easily mended and it takes very hard blow to break the wooden sheathing under the canvas.
 But, for ordinary service. such as most scouts will have. a home-n made canoe IS plenty good enough for all practical pur- poses, and every scout who has the right stuff in him will take an especial pride in making his own canoe. know a sum mer camp Of scouts which has a fleet of 20 canoes, every one built by the scouts themselves. The frame is made with 8 flat wooden keel with stem and stern pieces screwed on, ribs of barrel slaves are attached to the keel and held to- gether bs longitudinal strips of bent wood and sanvas cover is tightly stretched over all and carefully painted. Of course, you cannot use a canoe of this type for ramrning submarines unless you want to become q diver. and I wouldn't recom- mend it for running bad rapids or tray cling shallow stony streams; but for lakes and fairly deep rivers 1t is quite satis- factory. l know man who travelled 1200 miles on the rivers of northwestern Canada in a 12-foot folding canvas canoe
 The size of the canoe should be care fully considered. The standard canoe for grown men in wilderness cruising is IS feet long. and about 34 inches beam, and F inches depth amidship. Such a canoe will carry three months' provisions for two men besides all the camp outfit. But this is too heavy for scouts of average size to carry easily. The 16-foot size is much better for older scouts on long trips, while . 14-foot, or even 12-foot canoe, if made 30 inches wide and well 7nodeled so as not to be too cranky, is big enough for two-weeks' trip.
 Be careful in selecting paddles. The stern paddle should reach your chin as you stand on the ground. and should have good broad blade, which takes firm hold on the water without wasting en- ergy in eddies and splashing. The bow paddle should be about three inches shorter.
 OUTFIT FOR CANOE CRUISE
 Quitting for canoe cruise is differ ent in many ways from preparation for ordinary caraping. Tn 2 fixed camp you do not have to consider weight and can bring along all the junk you like. For a back-paelliug trip, on the other hand the outfit has to be cut down to the last ounce or life becomes q burden The canoe hiking outfit lies between these extremes. The chief point is to have everything portable, to provide tent that is quickly pitched and taken down. and to have the outfit conveniently packed so it can be easily handled and not lit tered all over the boat like a rats nest.
 LOADING THE CANOE
 Properly slowing the outit in the canoe is high ar1; and you can always judge the experience of a cruiser by the way his duffel is packed.
 The first thing is b distribute the load So that the canoe will run properly. The heavy things, provisions, etc, should be flat on the bottom with the weight just far enough aft of the middle to make the bow ride an inch or SO higher than the stern, The lighter things, bedding, etc, can be placed on top. The cook ing kit should be placed so that you can get at it for iunch without disturbing the rest Of the oatEt. The whole should be covered with a waterproof tarpaulin. which IS lashed on with ropes stretched across the thwarts. Be sure that your axe is wedsed in with the duffel so that 1t will not cut anything, and will not fall out If you upset
 Loading the outhb loosely and care lessly into the canoe is sure sign or a duffer. I remember reading an article by a well known writer on exploration. telling how he lost his axe, his gun and the greater part of his provisions in an upset in the wilderness and describing the hacdsnips that resulted as if he had done something heroic. instead of feeling foolish for not seeing that his outfit was properly packed
 THE JOY OF CANOE CRUISING
 There is something about canoe cruts- ing that is different from any other kind Of camping. Tn the first place, there is the zest of uncertainty. not knowing just where your next camp will be, or what will appear around the next bend of the river. Then there is the problem of navigating, picking difficult channels. or running rapids or studying the wind conditions on lake ito md the easiest