The cargo of a fur-trade canoe was not placed directly on the bottom; light cedar or spruce poles were first laid in the bottom of the canoe and then the cargo loaded aboard. The poles prevented damage to the canoe by any undue concentration of weight. The weight of cargo carried varied with the size of the canoe and with the conditions of the canoe route. The canoes were usually loaded deeply, except in the case of the light express canoe, in which the cargo was reduced for sake of rapid travelling. An account written in 1800 by Alexander Henry the younger gives the following list of cargo in a trade canoe on the run to Red River in the Northwest, where canoes under 4½ fathoms were generally used: General trade merchandise, 5 bales; tobacco, 1 bale and 2 rolls; kettles, 1 bale or basket; guns, 1 case; hardware, 1 case; lead shot, 2 bags; flour, 1 bag; sugar, 1 keg; gunpowder, 2 kegs; wine, 10 kegs. This totaled 28 pieces: in addition the crew had 4 bales (1 for each paddler) of private property, 4 bags of corn of 1½ bushels each, and ½ keg of "grease," plus bedrolls and the canoe gear. The trade goods carried to the posts included such items as canoe awls, axes, shot, gunpowder, gun tools, brass wire, flints (or, later, percussion caps), lead, beads, brooches, blankets, combs, coats, fire-steels, finger rings, guns, spruce gum, garters, birch bark, powder-horns or cartridge boxes, hats, kettles and pans, knives, fish line, hooks, net twine, looking glasses, needles, ribbons, rum, brandy, wine, blue and red broadcloth, tomahawks or hatchets, tobacco, pipes, thread, vermillion and paint, and false hair. [Illustration: Figure 137 FUR-TRADE CANOES ON THE MISSINAIBI RIVER, 1901. (_Canadian Geological Survey photo._)] The tarpaulins used to cover the cargo were 8 by 10 feet, hemmed and fitted with grommets around the edges for lashings. The cloth was treated with ochre, oil, and wax to give it a dull red color and to waterproof it. One of the tarpaulins usually served as the sail. The fur bales were each sacked, that is, wrapped in a canvas cover that was sewed on and stenciled with identification and ownership marks. The cargo manifests were not always the same. Compare the previous list with this cargo, with which two light canoes were each loaded: 3 _cassettes_, 1 travelling case, 2 baskets, 1 bag of bread, 1 bag of biscuits, 2 kegs of spirits, 2 kegs of porter, 1 tin of beef, 1 bag of pemmican for officers and 2 for the crew, 2 tents for officers, cooking utensils, canoe equipment, and 1 _pacton_ for each of the 9 men in each canoe. The rate of travel varied a good deal, depending upon the condition of the waterway and of the men. Perhaps, as an average, 50 miles a day would be the common expectation during a 3-month run into the northwest. Traveling fast with good conditions, an express canoe might average as much as 75 or 80 miles a day, but this was exceptional.