The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North AmericaChapelle, Howard Irving
History
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America
Chapelle, Howard Irving
Canoes and canoeing -- North America; Indians of North America -- Boats; Skin boats -- North America
In 1897, Adney went to the Klondike as an artist and special
correspondent for _Harper's Weekly_ and _The London Chronicle_, to
report on the gold-rush. He also wrote a book on his experience,
_Klondike Stampede_, published in 1900. In 1899 he married Minnie Bell
Sharp, of Woodstock, but by 1900 Adney was again in the Northwest,
this time as special correspondent for _Colliers_ magazine at Nome,
Alaska, during the gold-rush of that year. On his return to New
York, Adney engaged in illustrating outdoor scenes and also lectured
for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In 1908
he contributed to a Harper's Outdoor Book for Boys. From New York
he removed to Montreal and became a citizen of Canada, entering the
Canadian Army as a Lieutenant of Engineers in 1916. He was assigned
to the construction of training models and was on the staff of the
Military College, mustering out in 1919. He then made his home in
Montreal, engaging in painting and illustrating. From his early years
in Woodstock he had made a hobby of the study of birch-bark canoes, and
while in Montreal he became honorary consultant to the Museum of McGill
University, dealing with Indian lore. By 1925 Adney had assembled a
great deal of material and, to clarify his ideas, he began construction
of scale models of each type of canoe, carrying on a very extensive
correspondence with Indians, factors and other employees (retired and
active) of the Hudson's Bay Company, and with government agents on the
Indian Reservations. He also made a number of expeditions to interview
Indians. Possessing linguistic ability in Malecite, he was much
interested in all the Indian languages; this helped him in his canoe
studies.
Owing to personal and financial misfortunes, he and his wife (then
blind) returned in the early 1930's to her family homestead in
Woodstock, where Mrs. Adney died in 1937. Adney continued his work
under the greatest difficulties, including ill-health, until his death,
October 10, 1950. He did not succeed in completing his research and had
not organized his collection of papers and notes for publication when
he died.
Through the farsightedness of Frederick Hill, then director of The
Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia, Adney had, ten years before
his death, deposited in the museum over a hundred of his models and a
portion of his papers. After his death his son Glenn Adney cooperated
in placing in The Mariners' Museum the remaining papers dealing with
bark canoes, thus completing the "Adney Collection."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account