DCHP-3

rabiscaw

[cf. Rabisca]
Fur Trade, Hist.
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.

n.

See quotes.

Quotations

1919
An offshoot of the Algonkian canoe was the "rabiscaw" of the Hudson Bay Company, an extra large birch-bark craft designed to meet the standards of the fur trade. A prominent feature was the high, upturned bow and stern decorated with gaudy designs.
1920
The canoe commonly used was the large birch-bark "rabascaw" with high, rounded ends and about 33 feet long and 4 1/2 feet wide, or, as the canoemen would describe it, "the five-and-a-half fathom variety."