Struts were not required with this construction, described earlier (on p. 123) as the Ojibway method. In bending the stem-piece, the reverse curve around the stem-head was formed over a short strut that was removed when the stem-piece was dried and set to shape. As a variety of forms were used in shaping these stem-pieces, it was the ingenuity of the builder that decided just how the end of the stem-piece was best secured and how the whole was to be braced. These details will be better understood by reference to the plans and illustrations on pages 134 to 151. The headboards were not sprung or bellied, but stood nearly vertical in the canoes. The inboard face was often decorated; in the old French canoes and in those of the North West Company, the board was carved or painted to represent a human figure, _le petit homme_, which was often made in the likeness of a voyageur in his best clothes. In some canoes, only a human head was used, or the top of the headboard, or "button," was decorated with a rayed compass drawn in colors. The thwarts were usually rather heavy amidships and were made in various forms to suit the taste of the builder. They were commonly of maple, but Christopherson's canoes had spruce or tamarack thwarts, the latter being his preference. These thwarts were not intended to be used as seats, though the sternman, or steersman, often sat on the aftermost one. The paddlers often used seats in the large canoes; these were planks slung from each end by cords made fast to the gunwales. These cords allowed the height of the seats to be adjusted; the paddlers usually knelt on the bottom of the canoe with hips supported by the seat. The seats were usually slung before the thwarts, except amidships, where the space was taken up by passengers or cargo. The factors often took great pride in the appearance of the canoes from their posts and many, like Christopherson, had the craft gaily painted in a rather barbaric fashion. Christopherson's canoes did not use any of the circular decoration forms; his canoes usually had painted on them, he recalled, such names as _Duchess_, _Sir John A. MacDonald_, _Express_, _Arrow_, and _Ivanhoe_. The ends were often painted white, with the figures or letters on this background. The Company flag was often painted on the stern with the initials of the Company, H.B.C., said to mean "Here Before Christ" by disrespectful clerks. Many posts used such figures as the jackfish, loon, deer, wolf, or bear, on the bow. The rayed circular devices appear to have been long popular and were said to have been introduced by the French. There is no record of any device being officially required in any district but the _cassettes_ of certain districts were marked with distinctive devices at one time; Norway House used a deer's head with antlers, Saskatchewan two buffalo, Cumberland a bear, Red River a grasshopper, and Manitoba a crocus. [Illustration: Figure 141