Daysi Tragesser

Been out of commission for a while with an absolutely nasty flu that's kept me bed-ridden, feverish, nauseous and otherwise incapacitated since Christmas day...brutal way to spend the holidays but thankfully I've finally recovered on the last day of 2010. Want to wish all of the visitors and online friends to my site a very healthy and prosperous new year.

As a last post for the year, found this online exhibit of the Toronto Public Library with a photo dated 1890 showing off some paddles used in the Muskoka cottage region.


Judge Joseph Easton MacDougall and his family
proudly display their catch at their summer cottage
1890
The lower leaning paddled has an interested scalloped mushroom grip that I've seen on a few paddle designs today.


Closeup of paddles
Wonder how many of these antique paddle gems are still in old boathouses and cottages today?

A watercolour painting by Henry Pooley dated to 1833 shows a native encampment complete with wigwam, bark canoe and paddles.

Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce de Lahontan was a French officer who traveled extensively in New France in the 17th century. Upon returning to Europe, he wrote an extremely poplar book entitled Nouveaux voyages de Mr. le baron de Lahontan dans l'Amérique septentrionale. A english translated version, New voyages to North-America (1905) is available for download as a PDF (24 MB). There is a brief section that explains the design of a typical paddle (without mentioning tribal affiliation) as well as crude sketch that seems out of scale with the text description.


LaHontan's illustration of a paddle

"The paddles they make use of are made from Maplewood, and their form is represented in the annex'd Cutt. The Blade of the Paddle is twenty inches long, six inches broad, and four Lines [1/3 inch] thick. The Handle [shaft] is about three Foot long, and as big [thick] as a Pigeons Egg"

What struck me however, is the chevron style decorative pattern on the blade which seems consistent with some of the earlier decorations posted in the Codex canadiensis and by Champlain.

Here's an illustration of a decorated canoe paddle by British Artist, Thomas Davies (1737 - 1812). This painting is dated to 1788 and features some bark canoes and wigwams. The 2nd standing figure from the right is holding a short canoe paddle decorated in a yellow and red pattern.




I recall seeing a similar pattern earlier and is nearly identical to the colours and design depicted in William Armstrong's much later painting, Hudson's Bay Story, Fort William (see earlier post HERE). It's also been replicated in an exhibit at the Canadian Canoe Museum.



Armstrong's Paddle Closeup



Canadian Canoe Museum Replica