Curious Facts about Canada

Curious Facts about Canada

Bow and arrow. Coiled baskets. Animals as gifts. Legend of a mask. Andrew Bonar Law. McIntosh Apple Tree

Use of the basic bow and arrow: Like many other Indian customs, the use of the basic bow and arrow is inaccurately portrayed by white persons. From the earliest sketches on down through many years of hollywood extravaganzas Indians have been depicted shooting their bows in the classic stance of the European archers of the Middle ages. For many years leading Indians like Chief Dan George of British Colombia have consistently pointed out that Indians held their bows horizontally, not vertically like Robin Hood.

Coiled baskets: Coiled baskets made by interior Salish Indians, B.C., were so tightly woven they were used as cooking vessels.

Majestic animals used for royal gifts: Nearly a thousand years ago vikings of medieval times traveling o what is now the Canadian Arctic, were capturing live polar bears. The Bears were used by Norse Kings as Gift Pets that impressed other European rulers.

Toronto downtown. Photo: Elena.

Legend of a mask: A humorous legend is attached to a mask called the Great One. The Mask was used in Eastern Indian Rites for the sick, and it represented a spirit who once challenged the Creator himself to a mountain moving contest. The Creator responded by smacking a mountain up against the Great One’s nose, leving him with a permanent nose tilt and a sheepish expression.

Andrew Bonar Law: Andrew Bonar Law born at Rexton (Kingston), New-Brunswick, was the first and only Canadian to become Prime Minister of Great Britain. He is buried among renowned figures of British history in Westminster abbey.

The McIntosh apple tree: In 1796, John McIntosh planted an apple orchard in Dundas County, Upper Canada (Ontario). The seeds weren’t reliable and the resulting growth made this plain. Only one tree showed promise. But careful crossing and grafting from the single good tree brought the other trees along. Today, every McIntosh apple grown can be traced back to the seeds and grafts of the lone tree that John McIntosh nurtured to bring forth the world famous apple named after him.

Lumbering: One of Canada’s first important commercial industries was lumbering. Far up the mighty rivers, huge rafts of squared logs were assembled by the loggers in preparation for the spring journeys downstream. With their living quarters on the deck, many men worked, slept and ate on the was down to ports where the rafts of squared timber were disassembled and loaded on ships bound for England. As early as 1790, a timber raft from near Kingston, Ontario, reached Quebec City.

Log trough roofs: From the earliest days of French settlement in the East to relatively recent times in the West, roof of hollowed half logs were used. The bark was left on and it is surprising how long they lasted without cracking or becoming non-water shedding.

(It happened in Canada, by Gordon Johnston, 1985, Scholastic Canada Ltd, Toronto, pages 3 and 4).

View from Elena's appartement in Montreal. Photo by Elena.