cords of hemp, and are known among the Indians
by the name of "watap."

In a country, therefore, where hemp and flax cannot be readily procured,
the "watap" is of great value. You may say that deer are plenty, and
that thongs of buckskin would serve the same purpose. This, however, is
not the case. The buckskin would never do for such a use. The moment it
becomes wet it is liable to stretch, so that the seams would open and
the canoe get filled with water. The watap, wet or dry, does not yield,
and has therefore been found to be the best thing of all others for this
purpose.

The only parts now wanted were the gunwale and the bottom. The former
was easily obtained. Two long poles, each twenty feet in length, were
bent somewhat like a pair of bows, and then placed with their convex
sides towards each other, and firmly lashed together at the ends. This
was the gunwale. The bottom was the most difficult part of all. For that
a solid plank was required, and they had no saw. The axe and the
hatchet, however, were called into requisition, and a log was soon hewn
and thinned down to the proper dimensions. It was sharpened off at the
ends, so as to run to a very acute angle, both at the stem and stern.

When the bottom was considered sufficiently polished, and modelled to
the right shape, the most difficult part of the undertaking was supposed
to be accomplished. A few long poles were cut and trimmed flat. These
were to be laid longitudinally between the ribs and the bark, somewhat
after the fashion of laths in the roofing of a house. Their use was to
prevent the bark from splitting. The materials were now all obtained
complete, and, with a few days' smoking and drying, would be ready for
putting together.

While waiting for the timbers to dry, paddles were made, and Norman,
with the help of the others, prepared what he jokingly called his
"dock," and also his "ship-yard." This was neither more nor less than a
long mound of earth--not unlike a new-made grave, only three times the
length of one, or even longer. It was flat upon the top, and graded
with earth so as to be quite level and free from inequalities.

At length all the materials were considered quite ready for use, and
Norman went to work to put them together.

His first operation was to untie the bundle of timbers, and separate
them. They were found to have taken the exact form into which they had
been bent, and the thongs being no longer necessary to keep them