Fun Fact #356 Kayaks

Fun Fact # 356

Kayaks

As the settlers of Jamestown were learning how to make Canoes, the Powhatan told them a tales of superstitions, wendigos and more. Yet one stuck out to them more than the rest, a legend of peoples who lived in the far north who used bones and skin to build canoes designed with Hunting in mind. They also claimed them to be manned by spirits and the dead as no one could survive the frigid cold. 

This spine chilling tale would become the first Europeans record of what would become known as “The Kayak”. Surprisingly they were originally made from seal skins fur and bones, as wood was a rare resource in the Artic. As for their ability to survive the extreme cold they had a covered top, which when combined with the seal skin jackets they wore, would keep the operator warm and dry –allowing them to hunt for dinner. Surprisingly this style of Kayak is still in use today primarily by the Eskimos of Canada, Greenland Alaska and Siberia (North-Eastern Russia).