1927 Tripping Film: "Moose Country"

[Murat V]

Came across a neat silent film (1927) called "Moose Country". Showcases some really great tripping shots and exciting whitewater. The paddlers certainly knew how to handle cedar canvas hulls and put them to work.

It's hosted on Archive.org and can't seem to embed the video here so the link is below:

Moose Country : Fox Film Corporation : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

A silent travelogue to the Canadian wilderness.

archive.org

 

[Crazy Trout Craft (CTC)]

Cool… looking forward to watching!
Thx

 

[Benson Gray]

The Northeast Historic Film site at https://collection.oldfilm.org/ has a wonderful collection of things like this. A recent search for "canoe" came up with 649 hits. It is a great 'rabbit hole' to chase down. I'm just not sure how to put something together from this collection that would be more than 'a bunch of canoe movies that I found interesting.'

Benson

 

[Bob B.]

Man that was neat video!

Bob

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Great find, Murat!

Both the bow and stern paddlers were skilled with repeated pry strokes in the rapids. The stern paddler at the end of the film looked as if he was using short, quick J/Canadian strokes levered off the gunwale, or what some may now call a form of the northwoods stroke.

 

[jdeerfoot]

Very interesting, thanks

 

[Robin]

That was a nice find Murat,
Wood canvas canoes - check
beavertail paddles-check
Canvas packs- check
Canvas tent- check
Cold handle frying pan over a campfire- check
Sitting on the stern deck of a loaded canoe- check

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

That was great- now I want pike, flapjacks, and coffee…

Bob

 

[Gamma1214]

Cool video. It's especially impressive considering the camera equipment that would have been available and the care required to have it and the film survive the trip. Sure seems easier with a GoPro.

 

[Murat V]

The Northeast Historic Film site at https://collection.oldfilm.org/ has a wonderful collection of things like this. A recent search for "canoe" came up with 649 hits. It is a great 'rabbit hole' to chase down. I'm just not sure how to put something together from this collection that would be more than just 'a bunch of canoe movies that I found interesting.'

Benson

Thanks for this resource too, Benson! Already came across another vintage film (circa 1906) that features canoes being portaged by horse-drawn carriage as well as being transported by steamship.

https://collection.oldfilm.org/Detail/occurrences/24427

The guides look so confident paddling standing-up. I really liked the poling footage starting around the 9:45 mark. The solo chap in the 2nd canoe easily pushes up the current and confidently steps ashore like he's taking a leisurely stroll on a sidewalk.

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

Great 1927 footage of canoes and moose. One minor criticism, a cow moose does not weigh "a ton and a half" as stated at the 6:12 mark. Thanks for posting.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Already came across another vintage film (circa 1906) that features canoes being portaged by horse-drawn carriage as well as being transported by steamship.

The canoes are being loaded on the steamboat Twilight on Moosehead Lake, likely at Kineo Wharf. There were two Twilight steamboats, the latter having sunk to the bottom of the lake in 1921.

Video Shows Divers Exploring an Actual 1920's Shipwreck at The Bottom of Moosehead Lake

The region offers unique shopping, hunting, boating, ATV'ing, fishing, and float-plane tours.

92moose.fm

The canoes return on the steamboat Marguerite, which was built in 1901.

Steamboat Marguerite, Moosehead Lake, ca. 1910

The steamboat Marguerite is shown here at the Kineo Wharf on Moosehead Lake. This steamer was built in 1901 for Lester Van Brant and later purchased in 1903 by the Coburn Steamboat Company. The Marguerite transported passengers and cargo.

www.mainememory.net

The challenge is to @Benson Gray to identify the canoes in this video. On some of the canoes the sweep of the sheer to stems reminds me of @lowangle al's E.M. White, although the decks don't protrude as much over the stems.

 

[Benson Gray]

The challenge is to @Benson Gray to identify the canoes in this video.

They all look like wood and canvas canoes with the exception of one double ended boat at the end. There is not enough detail to identify a specific builder. The list at http://wcha.org/catalogs/maine-list.htm indicates that there are hundreds of possibilities and only a few of these can be identified without a builder's tag. There were 27 Maine canoe builders listed in various business directories in 1906. Gerrish would be my guess if I had to pick one since he appears to have dominated the Moosehead Lake area market during that period. White, Old Town, and Gould are other likely candidates since they are all known to have made similar looking canoes with no bow seats. Fun stuff,

Benson

 

[SouthernKevlar]

That is a great bit of history.
Replace the Wood and Canvas canoes with Kevlar canoes, the canvas tent with a nylon tent, the B&W with color and you could have a modern canoe trip. It's nice when things don't change too much.
I don't think I would would be chasing the moose quite that closely though.

 

[1905Gerrish]

Thanks for this resource too, Benson! Already came across another vintage film (circa 1906) that features canoes being portaged by horse-drawn carriage as well as being transported by steamship.

https://collection.oldfilm.org/Detail/occurrences/24427

The guides look so confident paddling standing-up. I really liked the poling footage starting around the 9:45 mark. The solo chap in the 2nd canoe easily pushes up the current and confidently steps ashore like he's taking a leisurely stroll on a sidewalk.

Seems like the video starts at Northeast Carry on the North side of Moosehead Lake. The canoes appear to be White's besides the canoe with two men fishing. One canoe in the beginning seems to have a D shaped stern seat while the others have canvas stern seats similar to the 18'6" White I am currently restoring.

 

[ppine]

For a lot of us, going on a canoe trip that has this same feel is the goal.
Old ways are the best ways.

Anyone recognize the falls in the video?