Job Carr's Canoe

Job Carr's Canoe. The Red, White, and Blue. As early settlers on the Puget Sound, Job, Anthony, and Howard Carr quickly learned the importance of having a canoe for transportation. Unfortunately, there is no record of the type of canoe the Carrs used. Both Anthony and Howard Carr mention canoe travel in their journals: one canoe was named The Red, White and Blue. Howard mentions pulling this canoe out of the water to paint it. From Anthony's journal entries, the vessel was likely similar to a Coast Salish-style canoe; a typical model used in the Pacific Northwest's inner waters and on the Puget Sound. These utilitarian canoes were similar in style to the one-man or fishing canoe because they were small enough to be handled by one person but similar to larger dugout canoes. Our canoe is a smaller scale proportional model., There were six different types of canoes used on the Puget Sound: war canoe, freight canoe, trolling canoe, shovel-nose canoe, single person canoe, and children's canoe. Carved out of a single cedar log, they were durable and naturally resistant to rot and insect infestation, The canoes were usually no larger than 40 feet, painted red on the inside and charred black on the outside, then buffed to a smooth finish. Early settlers noted that natives could often be heard singing as they paddled their canoes on Commencement Bay., In his diaries, Anthony Carr talks about his travels on the Sound, especially trips between Old Town and Steilacoom, approximately 15 miles or 3 hours one way., Anthony made this trip as Tacoma's first postal carrier, when weather was favorable. Many of Anthony's entries talk about the rough and heavy sea that made for difficult travel on the Sound during the winter months, including several swamping incidents that left him stranded., "Mr. Billings telling me there were several nice places along the shore of the bay, as we went along in our canoe. When we came opposite where Old Tacoma now stands, I raised on my feet and exclaimed 'Eureka, Eureka' and told my companions there was my claim." Job Carr (April 14, 1884)