Tomah Joseph

Tomah Joseph     Passamaquoddy


     

Contents from my unpublished manuscript....Song of the Crooked Knife

    How the Partridge built Good Canoes for all the Birds

     When a partridge beats upon a hollow log he makes a noise like an Indian at work upon a canoe, and when an Indian taps at a canoe it sounds afar off like the drumming partridge. And this comes because that N'karnayoo, of ancient days, the Partridge, was the canoe-builder for all the other birds. Yes, for all at once.

     And on a certain day they everyone assembled, and each got into his bark, and truly it was a brave sight to see. First of all the Eagle, entered his great shell and paddled off using the ends of his wings; and then came the Owl doing the same; and the Crane, the Bluebird, the Snipe, and the Blackbird, all came sailing proudly after. Even the tiny Humming-bird had a dear little canoe, and for him the good Partridge had made a pretty little paddle, only that some thought it rather large, for it was almost an inch long. And the Fish-Hawk, who lived on the wing, cried in amazement, "A canoe is coming!" when he beheld this beautiful squadron standing out to sea.

     But when Partridge, the great builder was asked why he had not built a canoe for himself, he merely looked mysterious and drummed. And being further questioned by the birds, he shook his head, and at last hinted that when he built a canoe for himself it would be indeed a marvel; yea, a wonder such as even birds; eyes had never beheld,___an entire novelty, and something to dream of. And this went on for many days.

     But in due time it was noised abroad that the wonderful canoe had at last been really built, and would soon be shown. And at an appointed time all the birds assembled on the banks to behold this new thing. Now Partridge had reasoned that if a boat having two end could be rowed in two ways, one which was all ends, all round, could be rowed in every way. So, he had made a canoe which was exactly like a nest, or perfectly round. And this idea had greatly amazed the honest feathered folk, who were astonished that so simple a thing had not occurred to all of them.

     But what was their wonder when Partridge, having entered his canoe and proceeded to paddle, made no headway at all; for it simply turned round and round, and ever and again the same way, let him work it as he would. An after wearying himself and all in vain, he went ashore, and flying far inland, hid himself for very shame under the low bushes, on the earth, where he yet remains. This is the reason why he never seeks the sea or rivers, and has ever since remained an inland bird.*

                                                   *Text adaptation from 'ALGONQUIN LEGENDS', Charles Leland, 1824-1903

Cesar Newashish

Cesar Newashish

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Contents are from my unpublished manuscript...Song of the Crooked Knife

Notes on Building a Birch Bark Canoe

Notes on Building a Birch Bark Canoe
Text and Photo adaptations from 'THE BEAVER' by Lynus R. Pattee, June 1942


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Contents from my unpublished manuscript......Song of the Crooked Knife

Indians in Eden (continued)

A Canoe of One's Own


Owning one's  own Indian-made birch bark canoe was a status symbol on Mount Desert Island, so the canoes were in considerable demand. It took considerable time to make one, but the financial rewards provided enough incentive for the Indian craftsman. The best were made of one large flexible sheet of paper birch bark, ideally more than one-eighth inch thick and tightly sewn and lashed with very long, thin, and durable roots of black spruce, or sometimes deer sinew, to hand-hewn gunwales, the ends of which were nailed and also securely wrapped with spruce. The well rounded bottom was framed with flat, wide spruce or cedar sheathing and ribs. For structural strength, these canoes usually had five thwarts, the ends of which were mortised into the gunwales and also fastened with spiral lashing. To make the bark cover watertight, all seams and sewing were coated with spruce gum. The paddles were usually carved from hard maple wood. Some tribesmen engraved or dyed their personal mark, their families animal totem, or some stylized figure on the bow of their canoe.
If selling a birch bark box or wood split basket was comparable to snaring a rabbit, selling a birch bark canoe was like bringing down a bull moose___a family could live off the proceeds for quite some time. As noted in a 1881 local paper: "Birch bark canoes made by the Indians at Bar Harbor sell at prices ranging from $25 to $40.
The canoe has become so popular a craft among sportsmen and tourists, even indispensable with the former class, that the building of this light and graceful craft is now quite an important industry in Maine, especially the Penobscot River. Thirty-five dollars, the usual price, is none too much for a good canoe.

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"Nowadays, the big, clear, straight birches are from twenty to one-hundred miles distant from up-river towns, and two suitable trees are seldom found within sight of each other___In winter, the bark's inner side has a reddish-brown coat, but in summer it is smooth and yellow. The winter bark is preferred because it is tougher, and because of the opportunities for ornamentation___The canoe builder fells a white birch which is at least one foot in diameter eighteen inches from the butt, allowing it to fall across some small logs to keep it from the ground and then strips off its outer coat. The bark must be warmed, toasted as it were, before it can be straightened out and rolled up in proper shape for transportation__The  builder drives stakes into the ground and thus forms a frame the shape of his canoe. The bark, after more toasting, is smoothed out and fitted to the frame, after which the gunwales, strips of spruce or cedar, are put in place and the top edge of the bark secured to them by copper nails. Then the whole inside of the birch is lined with lengthwise strips of thin shaved cedar, and next, about fifty cedar timbers are 'sprung' into place over these, and the ends being secured under the gunwales. All cuts made in bringing the bark to the required shape are sewn up with cane threads and gummed over with a paste composed of resin and oil. Ash thwarts, very narrow, are put in, strips of canvas glued on over the ends of the canoe where the two sides of the bark meet and the craft is done. Paddles are shaved from poplar, maple and ash."

(The Bangor Journal 1985)

Maliseet canoe-builder Nicholas Lola (with his wife and child), scraping slats for the interior of the birch bark canoe, July 1875, Houlton, Maine.  (National Anthropological Archives)

                                                               Penobscot Indians ca, 1918

 A string of partridge bagged during a successful day afield in the Maine woods.  ca, 1883

Indians in Eden (continued)

A Canoe Will Do


Even after the introduction of train and steamboat transportation, some Wabanakis continued to travel all or part of the journey to Mount Desert Island by canoe, as evident in this 1893 excerpt from the Bangor Industrial Journal:

     Francis Dana, a well-known Indian hunter and guide whose home is at East Machis, having built a 16-foot birch canoe, started out last week to find a customer for it. He put to sea on Friday in his frail craft, and having no sail paddled to Bar Harbor, where he disposed of the canoe, and returned home by Saturday's steamer. The distance is sixty miles, and the water was rough.

Long-distance canoe travel did have its ups and downs, as revealed in this 1885 news bit about the Passamaquoddy tribe's priest who sometimes transported baskets from the reservation to the Mount Desert encampments:

     Rev. Mr. O'Dowd, Catholic priest at the settlement at Pleasant Point, whose visit to Bar Harbor we noticed recently, had a rough passage while returning. At Machiasport he met an Indian from Pleasant Point who was going to Eastport in a canoe. The Indian was afraid to go so far in a canoe alone, and Mr. O'Dowd, who has become accustomed to that mode of travel and can wield a paddle as well as some Indians...readily consented to go with him. Soon after they started, a heavy fog shut out the sight of land, and when night came on a storm arose, and the priest and the Indian found themselves on the ocean fifteen miles from any land, a high sea running, thick fog all around, and nothing between them and the waves but a bark! They paddled through the darkness till 11:00, the Indian much frightened and the priest nearly tired out, when they landed on a small island by chance, wet and tired. They were cared for by a fisherman.

Hyatt Verrill; author, illustrator and naturalist, wrote about his experiences with the Indians including his observations of their seafaring skills. He noted, "I have seen Passamaquoddy canoes, far out to sea, manned only by a woman and several youngsters, scudding home from the fishing banks, with a blanket for a sail, when fishing schooners were making heavy weather of it under double-reefed sails."
     "One old Indian of the tribe actually paddled and sailed his canoe from Eastport to Bridgeport, Connecticut___'merely to see my father'___and thought nothing of the feat."
     Verrill also wrote about a steamship captain seeing an Indian wildly signaling him from a canoe out of sight of land. Assuming he was in trouble, the captain stopped his ship, only to find that the Passamaquoddy paddler simply wanted matches to light his pipe.


Canoe Services and Sales


Many Mount Desert Island tourists and summer residents visited the Indian encampment in search of a guide to take them out in canoes to sight see, fish, or hunt. Some came in response to the ads Indians had posted in local papers. For example, Louis Mitchell's reocurring notice in the Mount Desert Hearld offered birch bark canoes in which he and other "experienced" Indian paddlers would "take parties to the several islands in the bay and around Mount Desert Island" or "carry sporting parties to places where porpoise and seal may be shot."

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Passamaquoddies Tom Joe Lola (front) and Lois Mitchell, c. 1905. 

Passamaquoddy Louis Mitchell, circa 1885. Mitchell gained notoriety for paddling his canoe all the way around Mount Desert Island___60 miles___in just 12 hours.  (New Brunswick Museum)

Passamaquoddy Louis Mitchell

 In the 1880's, hunting guides could be hired for $1.50-2.50 a day. "Fall hunting in Maine. Parties wishing to hunt or camp in Maine can secure an excellent guide by addressing Joe Pierpole, Princeton, Maine, the best Indian guide in Schoodic waters. Two nice birch bark canoes and good accommodations for six persons. Will warrant that good deer hunting will be found."

Most rusticators took advantage of Mount Desert Island's boating opportunities, which, for the more adventurous, included sport-hunting by canoe. Those without boats would rent them, and authentic birch bark canoes made by Wabanaki Indians were particularly prized. Built for hunting seal and porpoise in open water, these swift saltwater canoes were about eighteen feet long, sometimes more. In 1881 it cost 35 cents an hour to hire a canoe___extra for a guide. As noted in a guidebook of the day, "Indians have the principal share of the canoe business, and are thoroughly capable and trustworthy."

     "Here on the beach we found quite a colony. The lodges of the Indians are built chiefly of bark, and kept in place by large stones laid on the roofs and against the sides. A part of them spoke English. Their canoes, finely built, and worth from 25 to 50 dollars apiece, were drawn up on the sand."
Birch-Bark Canoes____Louis Mitchell of the Passamaquoddy tribe of Indians will have during the season, at the shore between Suminsby's and Steamboat Wharf, a number of birch bark canoes, in which he will take parties to the several islands in the bay and around Mount Desert Island. Carrying sporting parties to places where porpoise and seal may be shot. Guns and ammunition furnished when desired. Reliable and experienced paddlers will be provided.



                             
Henry Richards (in stern, foreground canoe) with family members in a birch bark canoe purchased in the 1870s. Richards, a young architect at the time, was traveling to Mount Desert Island by steamer to supervise construction of a summer home for Mrs. Charles Dorr. On that same steamboat, an unidentified Wabanaki was carrying a small fleet of bark canoes to rent to Bar Harbor's burgeoning rusticator population. Before disembarking the steamer, Richards bought this canoe and two paddles for $30. It remained in his family until 2006 when his grandson presented it as a gift to the Abbe Museum.  (Abbe Museum Collection)