DCHP-3

maître canot

Cdn French, Hist.
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.

a large freight canoe, measuring about 40 feet and capable of carrying 4 to 5 tons, used for the voyage from Montreal to the Grand Portage. [See picture at Montreal canoe.]

Quotations

1791
Having . . . exchanged my large canoes, or maitre canots, for smaller ones . . . we proceeded to the Falls of St. Mary.
1836
Both our maitre-canôt, and the other, which was of smaller dimensions, were rather lumbered than loaded.