The Native People of the Eastern Woodlands built
two types of canoes: dug-outs, fashioned from tree trunks, and
more lightweight canoes made of bark, preferably birch since it
was easier to form.
The men in The Agile Bark Canoe are in hunting canoes
of a style attributed to the Passamaquoddy but perhaps these Indians
traded for them, as was done frequently. They were as light as
an autumn leaf upon water, with the ability to navigate rivers,
shallow streams, marshes and moderate rapids. Being extremely
light enabled easy portage between waterways and yet they were
capable of carrying heavy loads. A canoe this size (12 feet long
by 30 inches wide at its center) could be lifted with one hand
and was very stable when fully loaded. The bark canoe was fast
and infinitely more versatile than any small craft of the European
settlers.