York Boats

Those acquainted with North American history and the fur trade have no doubt heard of the rivalry between the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the North West Company (Nor' Westers). But did you know that while the Nor' Wester French-Canadians were skilled canoe builders, the HBC was made up mostly of Orkney men and Scottish Highlanders who weren't familiar with the birch tree, let alone how to make a birch-bark canoe?

Voyageurs with Birch Bark Canoe Greeting First Nations man, ca 1891. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

Instead, the Orcadians working for the HBC built boats they were familiar with, ones that drew on their Norse heritage like this full-scale replica of a Viking long ship.

Full-scale replica of a Viking snekkja based in Morąg, Poland. Courtesy of
commons.wikimedia.com and archiwum własne wikingów, Jarmeryk

Starting in 1749, the HBC built flat-bottomed York boats, 36-46 feet long, with pointed bows and angled sterns making beaching, launching and navigating the low inland waterways easier. The largest ones could carry up to 13,000 lbs of cargo. The boat was propelled by long, large oars which required the oarsmen to stand to push the oar forward and sit down to pull the stroke. When under sail, it was steered by a long steering pole or, when under sail, by a rudder. It had a crew of between six and eight men.

York Boats Under Sail, undated. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

The photo below shows the York boat being propelled by poling over shallow water areas like sand banks, etc. 

Klondikers poling a York boat up the Peace River, Alberta, ca 1899. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

With gold being discovered in the Klondike in 1896, and settlers wanting land for agricultural purposes, the Canadian government and the First Nations people signed Treaty No. 8 in 1899, with the last in the series being signed in 1914. In the following series of photographs, we see the interior of a York boat as shown by some of the participants of Treaty No. 8.

Mrs. C. West and Doctor Christopher H. West, some members of Treaty Party No. 8
 in a York Boat on the Peace River, 1903-1909. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

Daily ablutions were a necessary part of the journey and here in the next photograph you see how members carried out this task while still aboard the boat.

Doctor Christopher H. West having a wash on the side of a York boat on the Athabasca River, 
1903-1909. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

You can see the width of the York boat in this next photograph which also shows a steamer in action. I'm not sure who is pulling who, but it wasn't long after steamers started plying the same waterways that the era of York boats ended.

Treaty Party No. 8 crossing Great Slave Lake in a York Boat, 1903-1906.  Courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

Although a large boat, the angled bow and flat bottom enabled the York boat to be pulled onto shore with relative ease. 

Launching a York boat on to the Saskatchewan River at Prince Albert, ca 1907. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

As well as the oars, each York boat was equipped with a mast and a tarpaulin. Placing the oars in a pyramid shape enabled the tarpaulin to be placed over them for ample shelter during bad weather. 

Hislop and Nagle Company York boat sheltering from heavy winds on Great Slave Lake between
Fort Resolution and Fort Rae, Northwest Territories. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

In 1920, the Hudson's Bay Company celebrated its 250th anniversary. In honour of the occasion, an HBC historical pageant was held in Winnipeg. Below you see the York boat re-enactment. The funny thing is, many are dressed in the costumes of the North West Company's voyageurs. Also, the Mountie looks out of place since the North West Mounted police weren't even formed until 1874 and it was many years before they adopted the Stetson as their head wear. But I'm sure it was a very lively and colourful event. 

York boat crew, Hudson's Bay Company historical pageant, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 3 May 1920. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

The York boat shown below in this 1932 photo was built in 1920. It was the last York boat ever constructed for transportation purposes.

Last York boat, built in 1920, shown at HBC post Norway House, Manitoba, 1932. 

Courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

Some historical societies like Fort Edmonton Park have built new York boats for educational purposes. Although Fort Edmonton Park's original York boat can no longer be put in the water, they are in the process of building a new York boat which, once constructed, will take to the waters all summer long like the old one did. 

The following York Boat Construction video from the Fort Edmonton Park website shows the pain-staking detail involved with adding that first steamed plank using original tools and means.

I'll leave you with this final image of a York boat brigade crossing a Manitoba lake enroute to the HBC post at Norway House, Manitoba. Square-rigged sails blowing across a Canadian lake on Orcadian York boats modeled after a Viking long ship. You gotta love history.

York boat brigade under sail on Split Lake en route to HBC fort Norway House, Manitoba, 1906-1909. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

Fort Edmonton Park was asking for volunteers to help with the York boat construction - costume not required, nor carpentry experience. 

Would you have volunteered if you lived close? 

Is there a similar construction project going on in your area that you can share with us?

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Anita Mae Draper is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and lives on the prairie of southeast Saskatchewan, Canada with her hubby of 30 plus years and the youngest of their four kids. Anita is pleased to announce that her short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, published in A Cup of Christmas Cheer, Volume 4, Heartwarming Tales of Christmas Present, Guideposts Books, October 2014, is a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Anita is represented by Mary Keeley of Books & Such Literary Management. You can find Anita Mae at  www.anitamaedraper.com

Viking Warrior Women and their Weapons plus Giveaway

Guest Post by: Heather Day Gilbert

Heather will be giving away one ebook copy of God's Daughter to one commenter. To enter, leave a comment at the bottom of the post. 

Now, I usually try NOT to post about Viking women using weapons. Images of Xena: Warrior Princess and Hagar the Horrible's wife spring to mind. With my Viking historical, God's Daughter, I was trying to dispel some of those horned-helmet images.

But historically, we know Viking women would've known how to protect themselves and their families. The sagas show they weren't afraid to use weapons. So when I wrote about a small group of Viking women who sailed to the New World with a large group of Viking men, I knew they had to be prepared to "take up arms."

I had two main female characters, and I wanted each of them to use a signature weapon. Both of them know how to use a sword, but for a more personalized touch, I gave them each something a bit different.

Gudrid, the more nurturing, healer type, used something she kept close to her (in a sheath on her thigh). It was actually her dead first husband's weapon (she's twice-widowed when this novel begins). It is a bit long for her, but believe me, she was ready to use it. This weapon is called a seax.

The description of a seax on the Museum Replicas site is this: "The seax, or sax, was universal in Northern Europe. Carried and used by the Saxons, Angles, Vikings and German tribes, its use probably dated before the fall of Rome and continued on into the early Middle Ages. From small knives with 3-4 inch blades to actual swords with blades of 27-28 inches and always single-edged, the profile of the seax varied a great deal. The original version of this large knife served from camp work to cutting work, on shipboard, and for fighting if a sword or axe was not available."

Gudrid's weapon--a Seax

Freydis, Gudrid's sister-in-law (and Eirik the Red's daughter), was, according to the sagas, a true warrior-woman, with little thought for her life. I wanted her to be dangerous and fierce...as dangerous as the men. She hunts with a bow, but she also had a curved knife that was like her favorite item in the world:

Freydis' curved hunting knife

Since Freydis has long fingers, it was easy to imagine that loop wrapped about her little finger...I was trolling around the internet, looking for Viking knives, and I found this one, made by Michael Mara. The man is a professional knife-maker, and I'm not sure if this is based on actual archeological finds, but he calls it a Viking skinning/hunting knife. I kind of fell in love with it as much as Freydis did.

Viking swords and axes were the men's weapons of choice in my novel. If you want to watch an enlightening film on just how long it took to make a specialized steel Viking sword called the Ulfbehrt, you need to watch this video on Netflix: Secrets of the Viking Sword, in which a master swordsmith today recreates this legendary sword.

I did use a little liberty envisioning my Viking ladies' weapons...but that's the freedom we have as historical fiction authors. We know Vikings were talented craftsman, so it's not a far stretch to imagine Freydis might've had a curved hunting knife or that Gudrid strapped her dead husband's weapon to her thigh (versus on her belt, where many Viking re-enactors carry knives).

I think the thing I wanted people to realize is that Vikings were not dumb. They had all kinds of skills, not limited to invading and plundering. Viking women loved their families and would give their lives to protect them, just like women today. And I believe they had a variety of weapons at their disposal to do just that.

God's Daughter:
One Viking woman. One God. One legendary journey to North America. 

In the tenth century, when pagan holy women rule the Viking lands, Gudrid turns her back on her training as a seeress to embrace Christianity. Clinging to her faith, she joins her husband, Finn, on a journey to North America. 

But even as Gudrid faces down murderous crewmen, raging sickness, and hostile natives, she realizes her greatest enemy is herself--and the secrets she hides might just tear her marriage apart. 

Almost five centuries before Columbus, Viking women sailed to North America with their husbands. God's Daughter, Book One in the Vikings of the New World Saga, offers an expansive yet intimate look into the world of Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir--daughter-in-law of Eirik the Red, and the first documented European woman to have a child in North America.

Author Bio:

Heather Day Gilbert enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Sixteen years of marriage to her sweet Yankee husband have given her some perspective, as well as ten years spent homeschooling her three children. Heather is the ACFW West Virginia Area Coordinator.

You can find Heather at her website, Heather Day Gilbert--Author, and at her Facebook Author Page, as well as Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads. Her Viking novel, God's Daughter, is here on Amazon and Smashwords now, with a soft-cover version slated for release later in November.

Remember Heather will be giving away one ebook copy of her novel. To enter, like her facebook page and leave a comment with your email address below.