Canoeing: Tranquility on the Water

Posted by Susanna McLeod Aug 19, 2007

Dipping the paddle into the calm water, only the wind rustling through the tree branches, the ribbits of frogs, and chirps of birds make sound. The blue canoe glides along the shoreline, allowing us time to peer down into the clear, cold water. We pass through clusters of lily pads and over waving, furry-armed weeds. Glints of light are reflected off rocks and shells, shimmering up through schools of small fish. Our heads turn suddenly at the call of a loon, only a dozen feet or so from the canoe. We feel almost a natural part of the lake’s environment .

In our canoe, we are not just paddling around as a contemporary Saturday’s leisure. We are participating in Canada’s vibrant history of travel and transportation. Native Canadians used canoes for survival, for trade and for communication from coast to coast, north to south. When explorers arrived, they found an intricate network of canoe routes and lanes already in place. It was, according to the Canadian Canoe Museum, “the symbol of a frontier perhaps unique in the world, on which a canoe-based trading partnership (between Europeans and Native peoples) emerged that created Canada”.

A canoe’s construction was unique to each group that built it. From the Pacific Northwest, canoes were dug from large trees with carvings for decoration. Others made kayaks, a relative of the canoe, of seal skin and caribou hides. Central natives crafted sturdy canoes of birch bark, able to withstand the rushing rivers and portages needed in rough country. Eastern boats were humped and had the unusual addition of sails. The canoes across the countryside were the envy of the explorers, being sturdy, light, and able to carry large loads.

Our canoe seems to have little similarity to history. Formed of modern fiberglass, it cuts through the water nicely, especially when a small electric motor is attached to help us get back to the dock after a long afternoon of paddling with the wind. I can envision the urgent deep stroking through roiling rivers with a cargo of freshly-hunted meat, or stacks of furs to trade, and quiet escapes from approaching warriors as we slip the canoe into the water and paddle silently away into the dark night.

Visit the fascinating Canadian Canoe Museum site for a virtual tour, hours of operation, information and links about canoes. It is the only Canoe museum in North America.

More history of the Canoe