Tour the Smithsonian After its First Fifty Years

The simplest, probably, are the rafts or catamarans used for fishing in India, made of logs pinned or tied together, and having an out- rigger. Those from China are made of bamboo. In Mexico and on our Pacific coast the tules (rushes) were bound into bundles, upon which the redskin pushed himself about the interior lakes. The reed swimming raft, or "balsa" of the East Indies closely resembles it. Then follows the "dug-outs " -canoes hollowed from a log. One of the simplest of these is the spoon- shaped doxga of Eastern India, which is hollowed from the split half of a palm, the broadly expanding base of the tree forming the prow. A Carib canoe from Guiana is similarly excavated, but has square ends stopped with separate cross- heads. The dug- outs of our North American Indians were much superior to these and are imitated in Canada, on the Chesapeake, in Florida and elsewhere, to this day. The perfection of this work was reached by the Indians of our north- western coast- particularly the Haidas, one of whose war- canoes, 60 feet in length, and covered with totemic emblems, is present as a splendid example of these graceful and serviceable boats.

These canoes are hollowed from a single trunk of the white cedar. The log having been cut off to the required length is stripped of its bark and the upper portion removed by splitting with wedges. "The two ends are then roughly hewed to a tapering form, and a portion of the inside dug out. The log is next turned over and properly shaped for a bottom, then turned back and more chopped from the inside until enough has been removed from both inside and out to permit it to be easily handled, when it is slid into the water and taken to the lodge of the maker, where he finishes it at his leisure. . . . Before the introduction of iron tools the making of a canoe was a work of much diffficulty. Their hatchets were made of stone and their chisels of mussel shells ground to a sharp edge by rubbing them on a piece of sandstone. It required much time and extreme labor to cut down a large cedar, and it was only the chiefs who had a number of slaves at their disposal who attempted such large operations. Their method was to gather around a tree as many as could work, and these chipped away with their stone hatchets till the tree was literally gnawed down after the fashion of beavers. Then to shape it and hollow it out was also a tedious job, and many a month would intervene between the times of commencing to fell the tree, and finishing the canoe. when the canoe is finished it is painted inside with a mixture of oil and red ochre. Sometimes charcoal and oil are rubbed on the outside, but more commonly it is simply charred by means of long fagots of cedar splints, set on fire on one end like a torch, and held against the side of the canoe. The surface is then rubbed smooth with a wisp of grass or a branch of cedar twigs.

These canoes are made of all sizes and each tribe gives its special peculiarity of shape. The intricate and grotesque figures which adorn them are symbolical of the descent of the owner's clan from a mythical animal ancestor. That upon the great Haida canoe (No. 26,785) is hoortz, the bear that on model No. 72,686, skina, the gull; 72,687, goot goonu the owl; 75.688, koorts, the wolf; 72,689, sangar, the albatross 72,690,skung; the large round clam; 72,691, stahun, the wolf-fish; etc., etc.

The bark canoes represent various ways of fitting this substance for purposes of navigation. Rudest of all is one from British Guiana made of one sheet of thick, rough bark as peeled from tree, notched about four feet from each end to permit the bending the bark and aft, where the ends are plugged; a pole is lashed with along each gunwale, part of the way, to help keep the sides and bent- up ends in position, which are further held in shape by two cross- ties of twisted rattan. Another extraordinary canoe is that in use on the upper Columbia river, B. C., though this is well sewed and pitched, so as to be dry and durable. Its peculiarity lies in its cocked- hat shape, due to its being two- fifths longer on the keel than at the gunwales, so that the pointed ends protrude like rams, fore and aft, underneath the water. Fine specimens and many models of the eastern "birch- bark" are to be seen here, and differences in style noted. Beside them stands avariety of modern wooden. Canvas and paper canoes, made for sportsmen or for pleasure cruising, and embracing several well- known forms.

Among these is Bishop's paper canoe "Maria Theresa," in which he traveled from Quebec to Lake Champlain, thence down the Hudson, through bays and canals to the Delaware, thence to Cape Henlopen and by interior salt-water passages to Norfolk, thence through canals and sounds via Wilmington, N. C., arid Georgetown, S. C., to Flonda, across which he passed by the St, Mary's and Suwanee rivers into the Gulf of Mexico.

Next to these may be put the boats made of skins, which, with little diversity, belong to all the maritime inhabitants of our polar coasts.

"Two kinds of skin- boats are employed by the natives of the Alaskan coast- a large and a small one. The former is called by the natives Ooniak, and by the Russians baidar. This is a large, flat on the or whale- ribs, fastened with seal- skin thongs or whale sinews, and covered with oiled sea, Or sea - lions' skins, which are first sewed together and then stretched over the frame. The baidar is usually about 30 feet in length, 6 feet in extreme breadth, and three feet in depth. It is propelled by oars,and will carry 15 or 20 persons, but its capacity is greatly increased by lashing inflated seal skins to the outside. In storms at sea, two or three small baidars are sometimes tied together. The small boat is called by the natives kyak, and by the Russians bidarka. It is constructed of the same material and in the same manner as the baidar except that it is entirely covered with skins, top as well as bottom, save one hole left in the deck, which is filled by the navigator. After taking his seat and thereby filling this hole, the occupant puts on a waterproof overdress, the bottom of which is so secured around the rim of the hole that not a drop of water can penetrate. This dress is provided with sleeves and a hood. It is securely fastened at the wrists and neck, and when the hood is drawn over the head, the boatman may bid defiance to the water. The bidarka is about 6 feet in length and two feet in width at the middle, tapering to a point at either end. It is light and strong, and when skilfully handled is considered very safe. The native of Norton Sound will twirl his kyak completely over, turn an aquatic somersault, and by the aid of his double- bladed paddle come up safely on the other side, without even losing his seat. So highly were these boats esteemed by the Russians, that they were at once universally adopted by them in navigating these waters. They were unable to invent any improvement in either of them, although they made a bidarka with two and three seats which they employed in addition to the one- seated kyak."

-BANCROFT, Native Races of the Pacific States

In Bering's sea the skins of the sea- lion and walrus are those employed. In the Hudson's bay and Greenland waters, the skins of Phooca barbata are almost exclusively used. The kyaks of different localities have peculiarifies by which they may be distinguished by experts, and, on the Atlantic coast those of Greenland are by far the best and neatest.

Another style of skin-boat is sure to attract attention, - the hemispherical " coracle.

One kind is just going out of vogue in Finland and Wales as a fishing- craft in rivers and ponds; another belongs to central Europe; a third is a relic of Indian navigation on the upper Missouri where I saw several in I877, before the extinction of the buffalo had made its hide too valuable to be devoted to this Purpose. "The skin canoes of the Mandans," remarks Catlin, the Indian painter, "are made almost round like a tub, by straining a buffalo's skin over a frame of wicker work, made of willow or other boughs. The woman, in paddling these awkward tubs stands in the bow and makes the stroke with the paddle by reaching it forward in the water and drawing it to her, by which means she pulls the canoe along with some considerable speed."

The coracles boast high antiquity. Herodotus mentions them as in use among the Assyrians, ancient in his time. Caesar found the Teutons paddling up and down the rivers of central Europe in them, and when his conquering legions invaded Britain, it was in these coracles that they crossed the interior lakes and rivers of the island. Four centuries later, according to an old Latin poem, the Saxon pirates greatly aided their inroads upon the British coast (as, afterward. did the Finns a raid in Sweden) by taking with them similar horse or bull- hide boats, since these could be carried overland. The curraghs of to- day are survivals of this type; and the Russian word korab'l, "ship," is said to be derived from the old Greek karabza, designating this kind of boat.

The models of foreign fishing boats and vessels present a great attraction. One is a full- rigged out- rigger canoe, or catamaran from the Caroline islands. Another is the long, slender boat belonging to Tuticoris, which has its bulwarks so high and compressed, and its bottom so round that a cross- section would be like the outline of a jug; it is kept steady by an immense out- rigger.

"One curious boat from Chitagong," notes Francis Day, "but which is also employed throughout Burmah and the East, is fitted up with a bamboo platform on one side, behind which a bamboo, having palm leaves attached, projects into the water. Thus fish are scared and spring upon the platform, which is partly submerged, and on into the boat, while a net on the opposite gunwale precludes their clearing the boat."

A model in the Museum represents a Formosan dug-out with a net extended on one side like an out-rigger into which the fish are said to jump.

The swift-sailing proas, connected with sea- yaros of the Malay pirates and Bornean cannibals; the gorgeously tinseled and caparisoned river barges of Siam (really dug- out canoes) whose long, narrow forms, gliding swiftly over the surface of the water, look the more snakelike from the serpent's head which lifts itself in gilded carving above the prow; and the house- boats of Chinese water courses, will all prove interesting; also the many pleasure skiffs, in full size and in model, which illustrate to what perfection the boatbuilders on our inland lakes, on the St. Lawrence and elsewhere, have brought their elegant workmanship.

An excellent example of the St. Lawrence skiff will attract attention. Place is given elsewhere to a full description of this beautiful type of water craft, furnished by Dr. A. Bain, a leading builder at Clayton, N. Y. (Thousand Islands).

Large vessels next demand attention. Here are models complete in every detail- as only a Chinese modeler is capable of completeness- of junks of each kind and degree, for war, trading, fishing, and river- jaunting. Here are pictures and some models of the queer, highsterned ships of two or three centuries ago, exciting our surprise that they could stand upright. Here are miniatures of ocean steamers, shown in section, so that all the interior from hold to wheel- house can be inspected; and models of famous men-of-war, celebrated yachts and clippers set against mirrors with beautiful effect. Lastly there are scores of large, fullrigged models of fishing vessels from all over the world- a collection unexcelled by any Museum.

It is impossible to attempt a description of the different "builds " and "rigs " represented by the foreign fishing fleet, or even by our own. A study of the models in the cases will cover this deficiency; but it will add interest to our American fishing vessels to condense from Captain J. W. Collins's " Statistics and History of Fishing Vessels, (Bull. U. S. Nat.Mus.,27,p.651), some facts as to our fleet.

The colonization of North America was due almost wholly to the interest felt in the fisheries of the adjacent Atlantic, and as a consequence a fleet of fishing vessels was employed almost as soon as the settlement of the New England shores began.

Fishing boats, as distinguished from "vessels" form an important part of our marine, nearly 50,000 boats, worth about $2,500,000, belonging to the fisheries of the United States. The fishermen of this country, according to Captain Collins, have hitherto preferred sharp- sterned boats, although various forms and rigs of square- sterned boats have been accepted, and some have attained high fame. The most popu lar forms of small yachts on the Atlantic coast have been modeled and rigged like fishing- boats, and plain fishing- boats have often carried off the honors in yacht- regattas. The cat- rigged fishing- boats in the neighborhood of Newport, and the sloops of Maine and Connecticut furnish favorite models for yacht- builders. In England the American cat- boat Lana a few years caused almost a revolution in the line of racing craft of her size. The cutter-rig is carried by Irish fishermen sailing from Boston, and in Louisiana the natives of southern Europe have brought with them the picturesque lateen rig, but neither of these have secured wide adoption.

Many varieties of dat-bottomed boat are used in the sea- fisheries, the most important of which is the dory, which originated nearly a century ago at Newburyport, Mass., where large ones were employed as lighters. Since 1850, when trawling began, this boat has come rapidly into favor and has now been generally adopted by the Canadian and French fishermen frequenting the Newfoundland banks. The good points of the dory are these: It is light and convenient to,handle, can be built at small cost, carries a large burden, is convenient for stowage on deck, since several may be "nested," and is one of the safest boats in the world; in support of the latter statement it is only needful to remember that at least three dories have been sailed and rowed across the Atlantic, one of which was only thirteen and a half feet long. The "sharpy " used in the oyster and other fisheries, is a New Haven, Conn., invention, and is particularly serviceable in shallow water. Under suitable conditions they are swift sailers, and many small yachts are built in imitation of them. The "pound boat " of the Great Lakes is a variation of the sharpy pattern, but made of extra width, following the rule of adaptation of means to end, of which all fishermen's boats are good examples.

The census of 1880 showed 101,684 men employed in the fisheries of the United States, 37,043 of whom belonged to New England, most of whom were engaged in whaling and in the ocean food- fisheries. The South Atlantic states employed 52,4I8 men, the Middle states 14,98I, the Pacific slope 16,803, the Gulf of Mexico 5,131, and the region of the Great Lakes 5,050.

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