Fur trade canoe
Fur trading canoes were canoes of the large fur trading companies in Canada, which were mainly in use in the 17th to 19th centuries. They are the best-known form of birch bark canoes and at that time were the only viable means of transport for the large quantities of merchandise, especially furs. They were adapted to a vast country that is crisscrossed by watercourses. Although only in use for 200 years, they have largely determined the widespread image of the Indian canoe. They are often referred to as voyageurs canoes.
history
It is known from reports from the French colonies in North America that these large canoes were developed early on. However, little has survived that can say anything about the shape and manufacture. Presumably they were enlarged versions of the Algonquin canoes. Contact with the Ojibwas on the Great Lakes , the other manufacturers of high-tip canoes, came later.
Initially, these canoes were supplied by the Indians. When this was no longer sufficient, a canoe factory was set up at Trois Rivières . After the French had almost completely lost their colonies to England, English fur traders took over the infrastructure. The North West Company emerged and, together with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), dominated the fur trade. With the increasing expansion of the fur trade, the manufacture of canoes (by Europeans) expanded more and more to the west and northwest. The vigorous advance inland, the general increase in the fur trade and the relatively short lifespan of one to three years on average required an increasing number of canoes. So it is understandable that every major trading post also maintained a boat building site, which ensured the supply of canoes.
After 1821 there was practically only HBC as the only trading company. Although they favored the York boat , the canoe retained in large parts its outstanding importance. Around 1900 the fur trading canoes disappeared from the scene for good, replaced by york boats, barges, boats and wooden canoes built according to the wood-and-canvas design of the European settlers and traders.
Types
The shape of the canoes varied little. The keel line is straight with a slight rise near the ends, the line of the gunwale straight with a slight rise, at the ends then in a sharp curve upwards to form the high peaks (this curve never bends backwards, as is often the case in comics.) These high points are a typical feature of fur trading canoes and do not result from the existing shapes of Indian canoes. For overnight stays it was common practice to turn the boat around and tension a tarpaulin to protect it from the weather. So that the boat does not lie flat, but steeply upwards and thus offers the necessary headroom, high tips are required. The bottom is flat in cross-section and only slightly rounded, the sides relatively straight and pointing outwards. The shape of the ends vary depending on the area or the canoe builder's preference. Different shapes of the stems do not influence the actual shape of the canoe, only the overall length changes.
There are mainly two types or types according to their size: the Montreal canoes ( canot du maitre, maitre canot) and the northern canoes (canot du nord) .
Montreal canoes were mainly used on the route from Montreal to Grand Portage and later Fort William . Here the route was mostly across open water and wide rivers. These canoes were on average 11 m long and 170 cm wide. Amidships they were about 75 cm high, the tips were about 130 cm. The weight was between 250 and 300 kg (when dry). On portages, such a canoe was usually carried by four voyageurs. The Montreal canoes could carry around three tons of cargo. Including the crew, food and other equipment, the payload was around four tons. The average team strength was ten men.
North canoes were smaller. They were preferred in the areas north of the Great Lakes, where the rivers were smaller or the routes more difficult. They were about 8 m long and about 145 cm wide. The height in the middle was 65 cm, the height of the tips 130 cm. The weight should have been between 120 and 150 kg. It only took two voyageurs to carry it. These canoes transported 1.2–1.5 t of goods, the total payload was max. 2.5 t. When fully loaded, they had a draft of around 45 cm. The average crew was six men.
Occasionally, a canot batard is mentioned, a hybrid type between the Montreal and North canoe.
An express canoe was used when there was a hurry, e.g. B. important messages or necessary medication had to be delivered. Speed was the only thing that counted here. For this purpose, special canoes were used that were very fast.
The light canoe (canot léger) , often equated or confused with an express canoe, was not a special canoe. It was only lightly loaded. Due to the lower draft, a higher speed could be achieved, with little luggage it was possible to portage faster. It was more of a regular canoe in a special mission.
The assignment of names was sometimes more based on the intended purpose than was dependent on absolute dimensions. For example, could a canot batard as you canot North have been called when it was used in the northwest, or as canot maitre, if it was on the Great Lakes go.
charge
The goods to be transported were packed in easily manageable bundles or packages called pieces . The goods were distributed so that each bundle weighed about 40-45 kg. The whole thing was wrapped in canvas and sewn. Most of the parcels were labeled with information about, for example, owner, destination, weight, type of content and a serial number. The exchanged pelts and furs were brought to the required size for the pieces in pelt presses . For example, 500 mink skins make a package about 60 × 53 × 38 cm in size and about 40 kg in weight.
Liquids or goods sensitive to moisture were transported in small barrels. These were a standard 9 gallon or 40 liter size.
In addition, boxes, called cassettes , were used. They measured about 40 × 40 cm and were about 70 cm long. Loose items, such as the crew's cooking utensils, were often transported in baskets.
The cargo was not placed directly on the bottom of the canoe. To distribute the pressure, a few spruce or cedar sticks were laid out on the floor. This also protected the cargo from bilge water. Each canoe carried one or more tarpaulins made of oiled canvas to cover the cargo to protect it from rain or splashing water.
journey
The usual form of propulsion was the use of the paddle. The paddles of the milieux, the normal voyageurs, were made of different woods; Black linden was preferred because it is stronger and more flexible than softwood, but lighter than other hardwoods. The length reached to the chin, the sheet was relatively narrow, about 12 cm wide. This narrow blade, in connection with short powerful strokes, enabled paddling frequencies of 90 strokes per minute. The paddles were usually designed roughly enough that you could push yourself off a stone with them every now and then. Both the gouvernail, the helmsman in the stern, and the avant, the foremost man in the bow, used longer paddles because they usually worked standing up. Such paddles were between six feet and eight feet long.
If the wind was favorable, an auxiliary mast was erected on lakes or large and wide rivers and a tarpaulin was used as a sail, a rare opportunity for the voyageurs to rest. If the flow upriver too strong to paddle, was towed when the bank was free enough from bushes or trees or not too muddy. If the river wasn't too deep, long poles were used for stakes. In the worst case, the voyageurs had to jump into knee to waist deep water and push or pull the canoe by hand. If you reached a difficult section, a so-called demicharge sometimes helped . To do this, half of the boat was unloaded to reduce the draft. This section could be navigated with the lightened canoe and only half the load had to be ported.
A Portage was required when this was not possible. The cargo and the boat had to be carried over land until the impassable point was bypassed. The usual load of a voyageur was at least two pieces, which were carried by means of a strap that went over the forehead. The number of pieces usually required a three-step course for each voyageur.
The daily distances that were covered on average could exceptionally reach an average of 120 to 130 km under good conditions. Alexander MacKenzie needed 102 days for the 4800 km long expedition to the Arctic Ocean . That was an average of 47 km a day.
literature
- Edwin Tappan Adney, Howard I. Chappelle: The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC 1983, ISBN 1-56098-296-9 .
- Eric W. Morse: For Trade Routes of Canada. Then and Now. 2nd edition. University of Toronto Press, Toronto 1979, ISBN 0-8020-6384-5 .
- Alexander Mackenzie : With rifle and canoe. In 80 days to the Pacific 1793. Edition Erdmann, Stuttgart et al. 1990, ISBN 3-522-60270-6 .