The real story of Mad River Canoe begins in a patch of ferns, oh so long ago, with friend Rabbit. Native American legend has it that Rabbit was a great hunter and a bit of a trickster, but most of all Rabbit was confident in his abilities. So confident in fact, that even as Lynx circles the fern, planning his attack, Rabbit is free to enjoy his pipe, secure in his abilities to avoid this mortal enemy.
I was reading John McPhee's 1975 classic The Survival of the Bark Canoe last night and came across his description of the fleur-de-lis that Malecites would put on the stern of their canoe. The smoking bunny on one side and the lynx on the other was one such fleur-de-lis. The rabbit symbolized the tribe and the fact that it could calmly smoke a pipe so near the lynx showed the cool of the Malecite in the presence of enemies.
The pictures were created on the canoes by scraping the birch's rind from its bark. The pictures had a practical side. Birch bark canoes have a slight overlap where one piece of bark is sew into another. The overlap faces the stern, so the seams won't be torn open by canoe scraping a rock. One look at the canoe and a Native American would know which way to get in and paddle it.
This is good to know. With the demise of Royalex, it's time to look back to the sustainable materials of the past. Birch bark, anyone? What have I been smoking? Ask the bunny.
