I quite agree with Dr. Barth, that a
makara would be particularly suitable for a traveller. In Bornu, they
make large rafts, by putting a frame over several of these makara, placed
side by side.
[Sketch of sailing boat].
Rude Boats.--Brazilian Sailing-boat.--A simpler sailing-boat or raft
could hardly be imagined than that shown in the figure; it is used by
fishermen in Brazil.
Log Canoes are made by hollowing out a long tree by axe and by fire, and
fastening an outrigger to one side of it, to give steadiness in the
water. Recollect Robinson Crusoe's difficulty in launching his canoe
after he had made it. (See "Rafts of Wood.") It is not a difficult,
though a tedious operation, to burn out hollows in wood; the fire is
confined by wet earth, that it may not extend too far to either side, and
the charred matter is from time to time scraped away, and fresh fire
raked back on the newly-exposed surface. A lazy savage sill be months in
making a single canoe in this way.
[Fig 1 and fig 2 sketch of boat and pattern].
Canoe of Three Planks.--A swift, safe, and graceful little boat, with a
sharp stem and stern, and with a bottom that curves upwards at both ends,
can be made out of three planks. The sketch, fig. 1, is a foreshortened
view of the boat, and the diagram, fig. 2, shows the shape of the planks
from which it is made. The thwart or seat shown in fig.
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