A hole cut in the square sail enables the voyager to see ahead.

To carry on Horseback.—­Mr. Macgregor, when in Syria, took two strong poles, each 16 feet long, and about 3 inches thick at the larger end.  These were placed on the ground 2 feet apart, and across them, at 3 feet from each end, he lashed two stout staves, about 4 feet long.  Then a “leading” horse was selected, that is, one used to lead caravans, and on his back a large bag of straw was well girthed and flattened down.  The frame was firmly tied on this, and the canoe, wrapped in carpets, was placed on the frame.  This simple method was used for three months over sand and snow, rock and jungle, mud and marsh—­anywhere indeed that a horse could go.  The frame was elevated in front, so as to allow the horse’s head some room under the boat’s keel.  Two girth-straps kept the canoe firmly in position above, and carpets were used as cushions under its bilge.  A boy led the horse, and a strong man was told off to hold fast to the canoe in every difficulty.  It will be seen, that in the event of a fall, the corners of the framework would receive the shock, not the canoe.

Boating Gear.—­Anchors may be made of wood weighted with stones.  Fig. 1 shows the anchor used by Brazilian fishermen with their rude boat or sailing-raft already described.  Fig. 2 shows another sort of anchor that is in common use in Norway.

Mast.—­Where there is difficulty in “stepping” a mast, use a bar across the thwarts and two poles, one lashed at either end of it, and coming together to a point above.  This triangle takes the place of shrouds fore and aft.  It is a very convenient rig for a boat with an outrigger:  the Sooloo pirates use it.

[Fig. 2—­sketch of anchor].

Outrigger Irons.—­Mr. Gilby informs me that he has travelled with a pair of light sculls and outrigger irons, which he was able to adapt to many kinds of rude boats.  He found them of much service in Egypt.

Keels are troublesome to make:  lee-boards are effective substitutes, and are easily added to a rude boat or punt when it is desired to rig her as a sailing-craft.

Rudder.—­A rude oar makes the most powerful, though not the most convenient rudder.  In the lakes of North Italy, where the winds are steady, the heavy boats have a bar upon which the tiller of the rudder rests:  this bar is full of small notches; and the bottom of the tiller, at the place where it rests on the bar, is furnished with a blunt knife-edge; the tiller is not stiffly joined to the rudder, but admits of a little play up and down.  When the boatman finds that the boat steers steadily, he simply drops the tiller, which forthwith falls into the notch below it, where it is held tight until the steersman cares to take the tiller into his hand again.

Buoys.—­An excellent buoy to mark out a passage is simply a small pole anchored by a rope at the end.  It is very readily seen, and exposes so little surface to the wind and water, that it is not easily washed away.  A pole of the thickness of a walking-stick is much used in Sweden.  Such a buoy costs only a rope, a stick, and a stone.  A tuft of the small-branches may be left on the top of the pole.