DCHP-1 Online

skin canoe

• 1 Obs. a coracle-like boat of saplings and hide used by prairie Indians.

  See also: bull boat  

  • 1801  (1897)  Maymiutch came down Park river in a skin canoe, with 25 beaver skins.
  • 1858  (1863)  Crossed the river in a skin canoe at sunrise.

• 2 Northwest See skin boat (def. 3) 1956 quote.

  See also: skin boat (def. 3)  

  • 1801  (1933)  . . . Fallardeau . . . intends making a Skin Canoe to drift down with the Ice in hopes of being able to kill a few Beaver. . . .
  • 1825  (1931)  The object of bringing so many Horses is to carry our little Baggage, live on them if Game fails and make Skin Canoes of their Hides if we find it necessary on account of Indians Sickness or any other cause to go down the Assiniboine River after reaching its heads instead of Crossing the Red River plains.
  • 1922  In spring we made another large skin canoe and travelled . . . to Fort Assiniboine and on to Fort Edmonton.

• 3 North a light sealskin boat completely decked except for a cockpit to accommodate the hunter, who propels the craft with a double-bladed paddle.

  See also: kayak ((1)) (and picture)  

  • 1882  In summer they kill a few reindeer from their kyacks, or skin canoes, while crossing the big lakes in their migrations.
  • 1898  When the sagas mentioned skin canoes as being used by the inhabitants of Vinland, it was thought to settle the question of the site, at least as far as latitude was concerned.