elow them, and carried his canoe and small
amount of baggage to the smooth water above the falls. In this he
followed the example of the fur-traders and Indians of North America,
who travel over any number of miles of wilderness in this manner.
Shallows could not stop him, because his little bark drew only a few
inches of water. Turbulent water could not swamp him, because the waves
washed harmlessly over his smooth deck, and circled innocently round his
protective apron. Even long stretches of dry land could not stop him,
because barrows, or carts, or railways could transport his canoe hither
and thither with perfect ease to any distance; so that when the waters
of one river failed him, those of the next nearest were easily made
available. In conclusion, it may be said that the "Rob Roy" canoe is a
most useful and pleasant craft for boys and young men, especially at
those watering-places which have no harbour or pier, and where, in
consequence of the flatness of the beach, boats cannot easily be used.

It would be an almost endless as well as unprofitable task to go over
the names and characteristics of all our various kinds of boats in
detail.

Of heavy-sterned and clumsy river craft, we have an innumerable fleet.

There are also _Torbay Trawlers_, which are cutters of from twenty to
fifty tons; and the herring-boats of Scotland; and cobbles, which are
broad, bluff, little boats; and barges, which are broad, bluff, large
ones; and skiffs, and scows, and many others.

In foreign lands many curious boats are to be met with. The most
graceful of them, perhaps, are those which carry lateen sails--enormous
triangular sails, of which kind each boat usually carries only one.

_India-rubber boats_ there are, which can be inflated with a pair of
bellows, and, when full, can support half-a-dozen men or more, while,
when empty, they can be rolled up and carried on the back of one man, or
in a barrow. One boat of this kind we once saw and paddled in. It was
made in the form of a cloak, and could be carried quite easily on one's
shoulders. When inflated, it formed a sort of oval canoe, which was
quite capable of supporting one person. We speak from experience,
having tried it some years ago on the Serpentine, and found it to be
extremely buoyant, but a little given to spin round at each stroke of
the paddle, owing to its circular shape and want of cut-water or keel.

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