De Pan

Over the years I've posted on the various canoe-themed artwork of Cornelius Krieghoff (1815 – 1872). A 2010 writup discussed the paddle decoration on a well known painting - Indian Encampment at Falls.



A relatively new online exhibit, Heritage Passages, features some more detailed full-sized images of historic Canadian artwork no longer in copyright. Among them is this same painting, albeit listed with a different title. Unfortunately, the high resolution image (3.2mb jpg) is in greyscale.




Nonetheless, you can clearly make out the decorated paddle resting on the rolled pack cloth in the centre of the image, a further clue to the decorations on native paddles in this time period.

Paul Kane (1810-1871) was an Irish-born Canadian painter whose artwork serves as an insightful ethnographic record into the lives of First Nations people of the period. In a few of his paintings and sketches, canoe paddles can be seen oriented into a cooking tripod for use over an open fire.

In the pencil sketch entitled Indian Encampment, Sault Ste. Marie below, a single paddle is lashed with some saplings to form the tripod structure.


Indian Encampment, Sault Ste. Marie (Southeastern Ojibway)
August 1845

A sketch entitled Eleven Studies of Indian Life, includes a set of three paddles (lower left) illustrating another tripod image.


Eleven Studies of Indian Life, Southeastern Ojibway
Paul Kane (1810-1871)
Pencil on paper
14 cm x 21.5 cm
August 1845


Paddle Tripod Closeup

It seems these sketches were used in a full colour painting entitled, Indian Encampment at Georgian Bay around 1850. The paddle tripod is clearly visible on the left side of the image.


Indian Encampment at Georgian Bay
Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1995-215-1
ca. 1850
It seems the First Nations used their paddles in a very utilitarian manner, often for more than the obvious role. I wouldn't be carrying 3 paddles on a solo canoe trip, but it is nonetheless an interesting bit of bushcraft history.

Found another slightly higher resolution image of a painting by Lieut. Robert Petley (1809-1869) previously posted back in 2010.



The higher resolution image shows some subtle chevron markings on the blade the paddle...

An article entitled, "Canadian Aboriginal Canoes" originally published in Canadian Field-Naturalist Vol XXXIII(2), May 1919 appears on Archive.org. The well written article features some wonderful illustrations of various bark canoe designs as well as sketch of some different paddles shapes (mostly NorthWest coast designs)

Here's a lovely illustration by Arthur Heming depicting a hardy voyageur  climbing up a steep slope. His tumpline is loaded with a crate and large sacks of supplies while a narrow paddle acts as a support stick.




Heming produced many voyageur themed artworks, each with long narrow paddles. This particular illustration was selected to visualize a description of a tough uphill portage by the canoe party in J.W. Tyrell's Across the sub-Artics of Canada available now on Archive.org

A 2007 exhibit entitled Wolastoqiyik - Portrait of A People  (sponsored by the Government of New Brunswick) has some great canoe related online images.  The online portal has a downloadable exhibit guide (*.pdf format) which features some better high resolution grayscale photos.

One such image is of Margarette Francis of Kingsclear. She is posing with traditional garb, a snowshoe in one hand and a lengthy paddle in the other.

From the Smithsonian Institution Research Information Service (SIRIS) comes this photo featuring a decorated Iroquois (Mohawk) ceremonial paddle dated circa 1891...




The paddle features a dual tone motif, sometimes seen in other artistic renditions or model samples. This earlier post featuring a painting by James Peachey dated to 1785 shows Iroquoian paddlers on Lake Ontario with similarly themed paddle decoration.....





New York's Metropolitan Museum of the Arts has a bark canoe model with similarly decorated paddles in their collection dated to pre-1845 (original post HERE) although of course the pigment has faded with time.

With Rod and Gun in New England and the Maritime Provinces by Edward A. Samuels (published 1897) has an image of a Mi'kmaq bark canoe with Guides paddling a Sport to some ideal fishing grounds.



A closeup of the stern paddler shows the artist captured a paddle without a distinct grip...



Live action video of Mi'kmaq paddlers using their distinctive humped ocean canoes can be seen in this earlier post HERE

Here is a 1926 photo of a French-Canadian guide in a canoe in the Laurentides region in the Province of Quebec, Canada. Great shot dismissing the common warning of never standing up in a canoe!


1926 Canoe Guide, Laurentides, Quebec
Year: 1926
Type: Original Photogravure
Expired Ebay Link
A closeup of the paddle reveals a very slender blade with a distinct spinal ridge. Seems to be somewhat consistent with the ideal paddle of Paul Provencher from the similar North Shore region of Quebec.


Paddle Closeup


October 25, 2015 Update: Found an older source for the above image dated to 1914. Click HERE for that post update.




From the same seller is a 1902 photo of a man poling up a tiny stream


Man Canoeing Canoe Stream
Photograph by William Lyman Underwood.
Year: 1902
Type: Original Halftone Print

Here's an image by James Peachey (active 1773-1797) documenting a stylized canoe with inhabitats. Paddles look to be painted red  fitting the theme of earlier images...

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793–December 10, 1864) was an American geographer and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures. One of his publications entitled, Narrative journal of travels through the northwestern regions of the United States (1821) has an illustration plate documenting 2 paddles including one with an unusual banded decorative pattern. Unfortunately any meaning or significance of the decoration is unknown and Schoolcraft never mentioned the name of tribe. Here's a quote from p 69. of his book available for download in PDF format (26 MB).

"The Fur Companies have lately introduced the use of oars, in propelling
the canoe but the natives employ the cedar paddle, with a light and slender blade. See fig. 14, plate 2. In either case, they are steered with a larger paddle, having a long handle, and a broad blade. See Fig. 2, plate 2."

Schoolcraft's documented paddles - Fig. 14; Fig. 2

This circa 1815 painting from P. Grant entitled Indian Encampment shows a decorated red paddle at the bottom right of the image. The style seems very similar to the vermillion hued paddles used by the Voyageurs documented by Frances Anne Hopkins as well as some of the historic art of David Wright.


INDIAN ENCAMPMENT
Watercolour, gouache over pencil
30.0 x 38.0 cm.
ca. 1815
Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. R9266-4148


Paddle Closeup
Supposedly brightly coloured paddles made them more easy to find if dropped in the thick brush or were used as a way of personal identification. Difficult to tell from the angle, but it looks to have a bobble style grip.

Here is a photo of an Ojibwe woman using a gripless pole paddle while attending to some ricing chores...

About a month ago, I decided to get back to paddle making using a wood I hadn't used in a while - black cherry. The design I wanted to try came from Adney's book - an 1849 Passamaquoddy paddle decorated with a double scroll pattern on an elongated beavertail blade. In Canoe Paddles, there is a rough hand drawn sketch by Liz Regan of this very same pattern. A search revealed that the Peabody Museum also has a version of this paddle in their collection


Adney's sketch - Decorated Passamaquoddy on top


Peabody Museum paddle; Peabody Number 99-12-10/53655
I'm not the first person to try and replicate this paddle. Doug Ingram of Red River Canoe documented his version on his page on historic canoe paddles (UPDATE 2012 - unfortunately the original article is no longer online after switching internet servers). I ended up using Doug's image of the painted blade for my basic pattern.


Adneys's Illustration; Doug Ingram's paddle; Closeup of Blade
courtesy Doug Ingram - http://www.redrivercanoe.ca/
Instead of colouring the beautiful cherry wood with bright green paint however, my intention was to burn the negative image onto the blade, resulting in a look similar to the Fusion Paddle made last year. I also chose a different grip pattern than Adney since I had already put this style of grip on the Omer Birch. Instead, I used a stretched out Malecite grip that I've begun to favour. I free-handed a similar scroll pattern on the grip area. Burning the whole negative pattern on the paddle with just a tiny flow-point tip took a while, but I'm happy with they way it turned out.


Carved out paddle; Initial pattern; Completed blade
I was actually working on filling in the remaining portions on the handle section when my wife's water broke and the chaos of the little one's birth left this paddle in limbo. It's been in my den nearly complete for a while now and I'll always associate this paddle with the early delivery. Below is a shot of the incomplete paddle posing on a glorious Autumn day with the fall colours beginning in Toronto.

Incomplete paddle
Part 2 will be posted whenever I find the time to finish this one off.

UPDATE: November 20, 2008:: Paddle now complete - read Part 2

Continuing with some vintage pics of celebrities in canoes, here is a shot of Ginger Rogers using a giant looking beavertail.

From this great Virtual Exhibit by the Nova Scotia Archives come some pictures of Mi'kmaq bark canoes and paddles


Mi'kmaq Guides with Party of Sportsmen Fishing from Four Canoes, Digby County
Date: May 1899
Photographer: J.A. Irvine
FULL Citation



Paddle Grip Closeup




Indian Encampment outside Dartmouth, NS
Date: ca. 1900
Photographer: W.L. Bishop
FULL Citation



Paddle Closeup



Mi'kmaq guides from Bear River at camp near Weymouth, N.S.
Date: ca. 1893
Photographer: J.A. Irvine
FULL CITATION



Paddle Closeup


Images courtesy of Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, Halifax, NS as per their non-commercial use policy

Here's an interesting paddle illustration from The Micmac Indians of Eastern Canada by Wilson D. Wallis and Ruth Sawtell Wallis (1955) partially available for preview on Google Books. The chapter details a Mi'kmaq game called waltes which involved the use of carved counting sticks to keep track of the score.

The authors documented various shapes sticks including one accurately carved in the shape of a canoe paddle. Below the pear grip is a circular etching.

Can't seem to get enough of the online editions of In the Maine Woods. The 1917 Edition has some great photos of some canoe poling. Here's one from Page 70. Check out the crazy bend on the pole as the Guide works the canoe upstream on the Moose River...


A crazy action shot ascending rapids well beyond my abilities found in the 1910 Edition...