DCHP-1 Online
bout(te) (usually plural) [< Cdn F bout (de canot)] Hist. 
n. either the bowsman or the steersman in a canoe, bateau, or York boat.
- 1806 (1960) My canoe through the awkwardness of the Bouttes was very much endangered and every soul on board near perishing.
- 1828 (1872) The eight "bouts" (i.e. men of the ends including steersmen and bowsmen, called "boots" from the French word bout, end) [carried] the canoes. . . .
- 1956 (1957) The crew of each boat comprised the middleman and the boutes, the latter being the bowsman and steersman, who sometimes helped with the paddles.
- 1806 (1960) My canoe through the awkwardness of the Bouttes was very much endangered and every soul on board near perishing.