Massachusett in “Voyages”

[...] Those who live here have canoes built of a single piece, and very liable to upset unless one is well skilled in managing them. We had heretofore not seen any of this kind. This is how they build them. After taking great trouble and spending much time in felling with hatchets of stone [...] the thickest and tallest tree they can find, they remove the bark and round off the trunk, except upon one side, where they gradually apply fire throughout its whole length. Sometimes they also place glowing red-hot stones upon it. If the fire becomes too fierce, they extinguish it with a little water, not completely, but tp prevent the edge of the canoe from burning. When it is hollow enough for their fancy, they scrape it all over with stones, which they use in place of knives. [...]

Source: Samuel de Champlain, "[Massachusett in] Voyages" in The Works of Samuel de Champlain, vol. 1, H.P Biggar (Toronto: The Champlain Society, 1922), 338-339.

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