Hi, I was exploring my library's stacks and found a book by Pierre Pulling (his woods name--his real name is Albert Van Siclen Pulling). The book is Canoeing the Indian Way: Straight Talk for Modern Paddlers from the Dean of American Canoeists. I had never heard of him, but it was a little book, so I decided I would check it out and see what the Dean had to say. I was especially intrigued by the opening statement... "This preface is so important that I trust you will not skip it." I've now read the whole book, including the preface, and I really have to ask--have any of the rest of you heard of this guy? It was published in 1979, and I believe the author passed away rather soon after. Pringles
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Pierre Pulling
- Thread starter Pringles
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I went to Abe Books and bought it, along with 4 other books for $23 total.
I just bought: Birchbark Canoe: The Story of an Apprenticeship With the Indianshttp://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Book...PL...Birchbark Canoe: The Story of an Apprenticeship With the Indians
Gidmark, David
I just bought: Canoe Route of Ontario {A Comprehensive Guide to More Than 100 Canoe Routes Throughout the Province}http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL...Canoe Route of Ontario {A Comprehensive Guide to More Than 100 Canoe Routes Throughout the Province}
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
I just bought: The Lady and the Trapperhttp://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL...The Lady and the Trapper
n/a
I just bought: Portage Into the Past: By Canoe Along the Minnesota-Ontario Boundary Watershttp://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL...Portage Into the Past: By Canoe Along the Minnesota-Ontario Boundary Waters
Bolz, J. Arnold
I just bought: Canoeing the Indian way: Straight talk for modern paddlers from the dean of American canoeistshttp://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Book...sPL...Canoeing the Indian way: Straight talk for modern paddlers from the dean of American canoeists
Pulling, Pierre
I just bought: Birchbark Canoe: The Story of an Apprenticeship With the Indianshttp://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Book...PL...Birchbark Canoe: The Story of an Apprenticeship With the Indians
Gidmark, David
I just bought: Canoe Route of Ontario {A Comprehensive Guide to More Than 100 Canoe Routes Throughout the Province}http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL...Canoe Route of Ontario {A Comprehensive Guide to More Than 100 Canoe Routes Throughout the Province}
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
I just bought: The Lady and the Trapperhttp://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL...The Lady and the Trapper
n/a
I just bought: Portage Into the Past: By Canoe Along the Minnesota-Ontario Boundary Watershttp://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL...Portage Into the Past: By Canoe Along the Minnesota-Ontario Boundary Waters
Bolz, J. Arnold
I just bought: Canoeing the Indian way: Straight talk for modern paddlers from the dean of American canoeistshttp://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Book...sPL...Canoeing the Indian way: Straight talk for modern paddlers from the dean of American canoeists
Pulling, Pierre
Well, I wasn't too impressed, which is why I asked if you folks had heard of the guy. I recognize that sometimes authors from days gone by have different views about how to do things than I might. I'm thinking of those like Kephart and Rustrum--their technology and experience is vastly different than mine and sometimes I just need someone to whack me upside the head to tell me that this is good stuff. This guy argues, many times, that teaching people to canoe properly shouldn't include any swimming. I'm not too fond of the water, so I rather like that view. 
He also says that "neither the Indians I worked with nor the Canadian guides had any generally accepted names for these strokes." So he named them. The Forward Stroke, the Backing Stroke, the Draw Stroke, and the Push-over Stroke, along with the Stern Steering Stroke, the Sweep, and the Scull. From his description, I'm not exactly sure how a Scull works. I like calling the J Stroke the Stern Steering Stroke, it sounds so complicated and wonderful. (The diagram is plain-ole J stroke.). He talks about portaging, too. An "ordinary man" should be able to "pick up an 85-pound canoe and walk off with it." Women can carry canoes, but "few somencan do it without undue punishment." (I shall stand right here, and wait for a man to come along! Yes, I'm kidding, though when I need strength, I'm willing to ask for help.). He discusses poling, and in a comment about canoeing etiquette, he says that when canoes pass and you have nothing to speak about you should say, "Quay, quay. I do not know exactly what "quay" means, nor is it important. It is proper." I fell in love with his attitude--except for those times when I wanted to clobber him. What really blows my mind is that the book was published in 1979. It's not ancient. It was interesting but dated.
Robin, I hope you enjoy your new books. The Canoe Routes of Ontario book title reminded me of a man I knew when I lived in Sault Sainte Marie, MI. He was from Sault, Ontario. He was rather old, and gregarious. He had known someone who had run the Sand River from the Algoma Train to Lake Superior. That man ran the Sand long ago, but had done it a number of times. The man told Maurice that the water gets high in the spring and there were platforms built into the trees (like tree houses) along the river, so people who ran the Sand had "ground" upon which to spend the nights. I've not run the Sand, and the trail that parallels it only goes so far upstream, so I never got to a point where I saw any tree platforms. But I believe Maurice, that the man told him they were there. As to whether the man was telling the truth... I dunno.
I drove to Sault Ste. Marie, MI from Wyoming last summer. I went over Lake Superior, through Ontario because I could and because it's so beautiful. On the way, I wanted to canoe a wee bit in the Arrowhead area, so I took the Gunflint Trail to the first lodge sign I saw. There, I asked about renting a canoe. I had been at Sawbill before, and had driven the Gunflint before, and had seen many places with canoes to be rented. So I figured everyplace had canoes... . This place did indeed have canoes! Two. Both aluminum. I went in to pay for my rental ($10 for the rest of the afternoon) and the lady (older) said to her son, "Don't give her the canoe with the snake in the bow." Wait, WHAT? Turns out that the day before they had rented out the other canoe to two women who came back laughing about the snake that had crawled out of the front bulkhead, looked about, and crawled back into the bulkhead. I had really hoped to be able to rent something classy--I had brought my beautiful, flexible, warm, wooden paddle and my comfy life jacket, and I hoped to rent a beautiful steed. Well, I sat in the stern of the aluminum barge (the son had said not to try sitting backwards on the front seat), and rode off onto the kind-of-windy lake with the boat rearing up like a scared horse encountering a rattlesnake. So, as you read the book about the Minnesota/Ontario border, imagine running into a woman paddling a reared-up aircraft carrier. I got my "fix" of canoeing, with no snake.
He also says that "neither the Indians I worked with nor the Canadian guides had any generally accepted names for these strokes." So he named them. The Forward Stroke, the Backing Stroke, the Draw Stroke, and the Push-over Stroke, along with the Stern Steering Stroke, the Sweep, and the Scull. From his description, I'm not exactly sure how a Scull works. I like calling the J Stroke the Stern Steering Stroke, it sounds so complicated and wonderful. (The diagram is plain-ole J stroke.). He talks about portaging, too. An "ordinary man" should be able to "pick up an 85-pound canoe and walk off with it." Women can carry canoes, but "few somencan do it without undue punishment." (I shall stand right here, and wait for a man to come along! Yes, I'm kidding, though when I need strength, I'm willing to ask for help.). He discusses poling, and in a comment about canoeing etiquette, he says that when canoes pass and you have nothing to speak about you should say, "Quay, quay. I do not know exactly what "quay" means, nor is it important. It is proper." I fell in love with his attitude--except for those times when I wanted to clobber him. What really blows my mind is that the book was published in 1979. It's not ancient. It was interesting but dated.Robin, I hope you enjoy your new books. The Canoe Routes of Ontario book title reminded me of a man I knew when I lived in Sault Sainte Marie, MI. He was from Sault, Ontario. He was rather old, and gregarious. He had known someone who had run the Sand River from the Algoma Train to Lake Superior. That man ran the Sand long ago, but had done it a number of times. The man told Maurice that the water gets high in the spring and there were platforms built into the trees (like tree houses) along the river, so people who ran the Sand had "ground" upon which to spend the nights. I've not run the Sand, and the trail that parallels it only goes so far upstream, so I never got to a point where I saw any tree platforms. But I believe Maurice, that the man told him they were there. As to whether the man was telling the truth... I dunno.
I drove to Sault Ste. Marie, MI from Wyoming last summer. I went over Lake Superior, through Ontario because I could and because it's so beautiful. On the way, I wanted to canoe a wee bit in the Arrowhead area, so I took the Gunflint Trail to the first lodge sign I saw. There, I asked about renting a canoe. I had been at Sawbill before, and had driven the Gunflint before, and had seen many places with canoes to be rented. So I figured everyplace had canoes... . This place did indeed have canoes! Two. Both aluminum. I went in to pay for my rental ($10 for the rest of the afternoon) and the lady (older) said to her son, "Don't give her the canoe with the snake in the bow." Wait, WHAT? Turns out that the day before they had rented out the other canoe to two women who came back laughing about the snake that had crawled out of the front bulkhead, looked about, and crawled back into the bulkhead. I had really hoped to be able to rent something classy--I had brought my beautiful, flexible, warm, wooden paddle and my comfy life jacket, and I hoped to rent a beautiful steed. Well, I sat in the stern of the aluminum barge (the son had said not to try sitting backwards on the front seat), and rode off onto the kind-of-windy lake with the boat rearing up like a scared horse encountering a rattlesnake. So, as you read the book about the Minnesota/Ontario border, imagine running into a woman paddling a reared-up aircraft carrier. I got my "fix" of canoeing, with no snake.
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