Learning

Hosting a hunting-based outdoor skillsevent in yourcommunity

Mary Kay Salwey, Ph.D.WisconsinDepartment of Natural Resources2004

to Hunt

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24 Credits

Project DirectorMary Kay Salwey, Ph.D.Wisconsin DNRBureau of Wildlife ManagementBox 7921Madison, WI 53707-7921

Editorial AssistanceNancy WilliamsCarrie L. Armus

ArtworkEric DeBoerMary Kay SalweyDynamic GraphicsCindie Brunner

PhotosRobert QueenMary Kay SalweyMike Roach

Design ConceptBlue Raven Graphics

Electronic LayoutMary Kay Salwey, Wisconsin DNR

Published by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Copyright 2004 by Wisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesMadison, Wisconsin.

All original illustrations copyrighted.

This book is educational in nature and not-for-profit. It is intended toinspire organizations to pass the tradition of hunting down to youngergenerations. However, all rights are reserved, including the right toreproduce this book or any part thereof in any form except briefquotations for reviews, without the written permission of the publisher.

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24A Double-enderCanoeing basics forbeginning waterfowlers

Participantsexperience some

of the basicmaneuvers for

launching, ridingand paddling a

canoe and learnways toprevent

drowningsas well as

ways tosurvive

mishaps.

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24 Station Setup

In this on-the-water activity yourparticipants will have theopportunity to learn how tomaneuver a canoe. Hold yoursession on a clear, warm summerday, in shallow water along a flatbeach or dock. Participants shouldlearn their canoeing techniques ona quiet lake or slow-movingstream.

Provide one experienced paddlerwith knowledge of rescuetechniques for every 2-4 canoes onthe water. Having a lifeguard onduty is also beneficial in case ofemergencies and to calm any non-swimmer fears.

If you choose to set up this stationat a public boat or canoe launch,decide in advance how to handleconflicts with other peoplelaunching their craft or returningashore. Have canoes secured inthe water if possible soparticipants don’t have to carry thecanoes any distance. Keeppaddles, PFD’s, hip boots andwaders on shore fordemonstration purposes.

Objectives

Participants shall:

Use canoe terminology anddiscuss basic canoe safety.

State how to remaincomfortable while canoeing.

Demonstrate the use of the J-stroke and the power stroke.

Demonstrate safe and accuratehandling of a canoe in thewater.

List the common reasons whywaterfowl hunters drown.

Describe or demonstrate waysto save yourself if you fall intocold water.

Equipment

CanoesPaddlesPersonal Flotation Device’s

(PFD’s) including severalchild-sized PFD’s.

Hip boots and wadersCar, Truck, SUV or other

vehicleCanoe racks, rope, bungie

cords or other straps

Safety Note: Everyparticipant must wear aPersonal FloationDevice (PFD...LifeJacket) for this activitystation.

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24BackgroundInformation

More hunters die from water-related accidents each year, thanthey do from gunshot wounds.Waterfowl hunters are especiallyvulnerable to drowning andhypothermia because they hunt onor near water. Participants shouldunderstand that they shouldalways approach the water withcaution and safety in mind. Theyneed to know the wetlands andwaterways they hunt, they need toknow their canoe or boat they areusing, they need to pay attentionto the weather forecasts and theyneed to know their ownlimitations.

Canoes are versatile, traditionalwatercrafts that can get you intobackwater reaches and shallowrivers and streams where no 16-foot, 40-horsepower boats cantravel. They are relatively light,easy to transport and easy topaddle and canoes are very wellsuited to traveling rivers andstreams.

Due to their narrow keels, canoesare quite prone to tipping suddenlyor capsizing, tossing the paddlersinto the water. They are notsuited for use on large, openbodies of water during roughweather.

Stow your gear low and in thecenter of the canoe. Avoidstanding and moving about onceyou are in the canoe. Train yourhunting dog to sit still when in thecanoe. While shooting, stay seatedand brace yourself against thegun’s recoil.

One good thing about canoes isthat most will generally nevercompletely sink. The upsweepdesign of the bow and stern oftenmeans that air is trapped in theseparts when the canoe isoverturned. Therefore, the canoeusually always will stay afloat.Always stay with your capsizedcanoe if you can’t get to shoresafely.

Canoes have come a long way inthe last several hundred yearssince Native Americans plied thewaters in birch bark and dugoutmodels. You can still find canoesmade of wood, but most modernmodels are made of aluminum,fiberglass, ABS plastic(acrylonitrile-butadienes-tyrene) orKevlar. Kevlar canoes are about25% lighter than fiberglasscanoes.

Canoes range in length from 13 to18 feet, with a typical 2-personcanoe being 16 or 17 feet. Theycan weigh from 18 pounds to 125pounds, with 65-90 poundsconsidered average. Wider, longercanoes, with gently rounded to flatbottoms, are very stable, but

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24 slower moving. Although widercanoes are slower, they are moredifficult to tip and so a waterfowlhunter carrying valuable huntinggear would find the stability ofwider canoes very important.Canoes between 33-38 incheswide provide sufficient stability.Seats should be high enough sothat feet don’t catch under them,but not so high as to make thecanoe tippy. Thwarts, or the re-inforcement bars running acrossthe canoe, are good to havebecause they not only givestrength to the canoe, they alsoprovide backrests, lashing pointsand hand holds.

When teaching canoeing, consideryour participants’ prior skills, age,disabilities, coordination, fears andapprehension of trying somethingnew. Calm reassurance is essentialto the beginning paddler.Introduce this activity by askingwho can and cannot swim. Make amental note of those who say theycan’t swim. Tell your group it isimperative that every participantmust wear a PFD, regardless oftheir swimming abilities. Thisteaching station is divided into twoparts:

A. Safety and Ethics andB. Terminology and Techniques.

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24Safety andethicsProcedure

Discuss some of the safety issuesto keep in mind while using acanoe during a waterfowl hunt.Tell participants they should:

take along enough food andwater as they may need in anemergency. Good sources ofquick energy include trail mix,sausage and fruit. Drink abouttwo quarts of water as aminimum per day.

use waterproof bags to storeall food and extra foul weatherclothing.

avoid taking cans and nevertake glass containers.

carry a first aid/safety kit inthe canoe.

carry both day and night visualemergency signaling devices,since waterfowl hunting oftentakes place in remote areas andcanoes and hunters arecamouflaged.

carry an old coffee can, bleachbottle scoop or other devicefor bailing water.

ActivityA

For greater enjoyment of yourwaterfowling expedition, avoidgetting sore. If your hands areexposed to sun and water for longperiods they can dry out, burn orchap. Some people prefer to weargloves to reduce burning andprotect their hands fromdeveloping blisters from paddleuse. Your muscles can also getsore from overdoing your canoeingat the start. The key is to paceyourself. Relax and enjoy yourcanoeing and you will last longerand be less sore. When duckhunting on a water course, startyour trip heading upstream soyour return, when you are moretired, will be easier. Longdownstream hunting trips can betaken if you have someone meetyou or a vehicle waiting at a pickuppoint down river. Also, paddlingupstream brings you to thesafer, slower eddyingwaters below swiftcurrents and rapids.Paddling downstream onan unfamiliar river canpull you into fast-movingwater before you know it.

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24cause of waterfowler drowning.Check your canoe to see if it willfloat when filled with water.

❑❑❑❑❑ Stow it Low. Stow all yourhunting gear, decoys, blinds,coolers and other equipment lowin the boat. Demonstrate how toproperly stow gear in a canoe. Tellyour group that if they have topaddle alone, they should move upcloser to the center of the canoe.Demonstrate how to kneelamidships to keep your center ofgravity lower. Explain that your J-stroke will have to be very good,or you may wish to switch sidesafter every five strokes. Paddlingalone with brisk winds can bedangerous—it can be virtuallyimpossible to control your owncanoe on a large windy lake.

❑❑❑❑❑ Don’t Rock the Boat. Stayseated in the middle of the boat.No leaning out over the side. Ifyou must change places aboard aboat, follow the “one-at-a-time”rule, and have your buddiescounter-balance the weight shift.Don’t play musical chairs. Keepyour hunting dog seated andwithin sight. If you “gotta go”when “nature calls,” then goashore to urinate and preventunnecessary rocking of thewatercraft.

Prevent Drowning

Stress the following ten points toyour participants to help themlearn how to prevent drowning.

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Wear your PFD. The first andmost important tip to prevent afoolish drowning is to wear a U.S.Coast Guard approved personalflotation device (PFD) whiletraveling too and from yourhunting blind. By law, inWisconsin, each boat must haveone wearable PFD per person,although the law doesn’t specifythat persons aboard must wear thePFD. Float coats and flotationcoveralls will also provide someprotection against hypothermia.

Demonstrate proper use ofpersonal flotation devices (PFD’s).Repeat that all participants mustwear PFD’s when on the water.Stress the importance of wearingPFD’s at all times, even if theythink they are strong swimmers.

❑❑❑❑❑ Don’t overloadyour boat. Huntingboats are typicallysmall craft under 14feet, and many have

flat bottoms whichare particularlyunsuitable for

rough water.Overloading and toolittle freeboard is aninvitation to capsizingand the most common

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24❑❑❑❑❑ Watch the weather. Bewareof changing weather, especially infall and early winter when coldfronts and squall lines arecommon. If the weather report orcommon sense tells you“no”...then don’t go. If you’realready out when a storm warningcomes, heed it and head in. All butone of the waterfowling boatfatalities in a seven-year periodhappened after October 21, and inwindy or stormy weather. Don’tlet bluebird weather at the start ofa hunting trip lull your judgment,and be sure to get an up-to-dateweather forecast before you headout onto the water. DO NOTCANOE DURING ELECTRICALSTORMS! You will only lose if youtry to play “whether or not”against the weather.

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Handle the waves. Wavesfrom the wake of fast-movingboats can be dangerous to canoers.Try to canoe perpendicular to thewaves. If a wave hits your canoebroadside, you may get swamped.Avoid crossing large open bodiesof water and stay as close to shoreas possible when traveling to andfrom hunting locations. If you arehosting this activity on a busy lake,you may want to show yourparticipants how to turn yourcanoe into the waves.

❑❑❑❑❑ Don’t Anchor from Stern.Always anchor off the bow, neverfrom the stern. Let rough waterbreak over the bow, not “breakup” your waterfowling trip.

❑❑❑❑❑ Handle the wind. Wind onopen water can make yourcanoeing more difficult if it isagainst you. You will have topaddle hard to compensate forbeing blown away from thedirection you are trying to go.When canoeing against strongwinds, adjust the load so the bowis a bit lower in the water than thestern. This “weather vane” actionhelps you control the canoe. Also,kneel or sit on the bottom to keepyour center of gravity lower—you’ll feel and be more stable andserve as less of a sail. On largebodies of water on windy, wavydays, stay near the shoreline,protected from wind. Neverpaddle or drift toward the middleor across a large body of water.

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ No alcohol. Never drinkalcohol while you are in awatercraft. Alcohol impairs yourjudgment, increases your senseof risk taking and reducesyour visual awareness—allkey factors needed toprevent foolish drowning.

❑❑❑❑❑ Learn to Swim.Swimming canextend yourenjoyment of thewater beyond theconfines of a boat. Itmay also extend yourlife beyond the limits ofa day’s hunting trip.

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24 To the Rescue

If the unthinkable happens and youfind yourself about to tip into coldwater, or if you have already fallenin, here are some things to keep inmind:

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Hypothermia, your greatestrisk. Most drowning victims diefrom hypothermia rather thanfrom water-filled lungs. (SeeStation # 7 Now What Did IForget, for a discussion ofhypothermia). When you falloverboard or capsize, you losebody heat—one of the greatesthazards to survival. Cold waterdoesn’t have to be ice cold to causehypothermia. It just has to becolder than you are. Water robsyour body of heat 25-30 timesfaster than air. Sudden immersioninto cold water cools your skinvery quickly. Within 10 to 15minutes your core bodytemperature (brain, spinal cord,heart and lungs) begins to drop.Your arms and legs become numband completely useless. You maylose consciousness and drownbefore your core bodytemperature drops low enough tocause death.

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Torso reflex: your last gasp.Anyone who has ever gotten into acold shower, knows the effects ofthe “Torso Reflex.” This is yourautomatic gasp for air in responseto being hit in the chest area withcold water. If your mouth is under

water when this gasp occurs,drowning is the most probableoutcome. If you know you areabout to fall into cold water, coveryour face with your hands andhold your breath.

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Minimize body heat loss.Certain areas of your body are“hot spots” that lose largeamounts of body heat faster thanother parts. Your head and neckare the most critical areas. Thesides of your chest and your groinarea also lose large amounts ofheat. Do not remove yourclothing! Button, buckle, zip andtighten collars, cuffs, shoes andhoods. Cover your head, ifpossible. The layer of watertrapped inside your clothing will bewarmed by your body and helpinsulate you. Act quickly to getout of the water before you losefull use of your hands. Boardanything floating, even yourcapsized canoe if you can’t right it.

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Don’t try to swim. Unlessyou are swimming for a nearbyboat, another person or a floatingobject on which you can climb,don’t swim. Swimming pumps outthe warmer water near your skinand pumps warm blood to yourextremities where it cools quicklyand reduces your survival time byas much as 50%. The moreenergy (heat) your expend, thequicker your body temperature

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24drops, reducing your survival time.An average adult in 50 degreewater will survive for two hoursby swimming slowly or treadingwater. That person can surviveabout three hours if holding still.The person can last four hours byusing the H.E.L.P. position orhuddling (see below).

❑❑❑❑❑ Remain as still as possible,however painful. Intenseshivering and severe pain in coldwater are natural body reflexes.These won’t kill you, but heat losswill!

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Hip boots and waders willfloat. Waders do not turn thepracticed wearer upside down, andeven when filled with water, theywill not pull you to the bottom.They do offer some protectionfrom hypothermia. Fasten a goodstrong belt around your waders tohelp trap air and provide somebouyancy. If you keep your legsbent in a seated position, enoughair is trapped in the shin area ofthe boot to keep you afloat forhours. You can then propelyourself backward to return toyour boat. If weather and timepermits, demonstrate how to usehip boots and waders to help youfloat.

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24 Get back into your canoe:Hypothermia is a factor in mostduck hunter fatalities. Since waterconducts heat 25 times faster thanair of the same temperature, it isimportant to keep as much of yourbody out of the water as possible.If you unexpectedly enter coldwater (any water less than 70degree is considered cold),immediately attempt to re-enterthe boat. This will minimize theeffects of hypothermia, and greatlyincrease your chances for survival.Demonstrate how to properly getback into the canoe.

Do not remove wet clothing:Keep your wet clothes on while ina swamped boat unless it’sabsolutely necessary to removethem. Even wet clothing holdsbody heat in like a diver’s wet suit.

❑❑❑❑❑ Handling a swamped canoe.If you tip over, most canoes aremade to float even if they areswamped. Stay with your canoe.You can either paddle in it while itis filled or push or tow it to shorewhile holding on with one hand. Ifcapsized in fast water, stayupstream of your canoe so youdon’t get caught between it and alog or rock. Demonstrate this toyour group.

Emptying a swamped canoe:You can either right your canoe inshallow water by gradually tippingit over and emptying it, or in deepwater using a second canoe as abrace. Demonstrate this to yourgroup.

If your canoe capsizes,roll it right side up. Hold onto onegunwale and reach for the other.

Pull yourself acrossthe gunwale with a slow,easy motion, keeping yourbody well submerged.

To empty a swamped canoe, swim to one end. Put yourhands on the end, push forward, then bring your weightdown hard. As the end goes down, push the canoe forwardand upward without letting go. The water will surge out.Repeat until the canoe rides high in the water.

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24❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ H.E.L.P. position. If you fallin while wearing a PFD and decidenot to swim for shore, and can’tget back into your swamped boat,you can reduce the effects ofhypothermia by assuming theH.E.L.P. position (Heat EscapeLessening Position). Cross yourankles, cross your arms over chest,draw knees to chest, lean back andtry to relax. This head-out-of-the-water fetal position reduces bodyheat flow to the water by at least50%. It should, however, be triedin a pool before depending on it.Note that the hands should be kepthigh on the shoulders or neck. Ifkept out of the water, the handswill stay warmer and moreflexible—an important factor inself-rescue. Studies have shownthat 97% of all non-PFD wearingadult males can float motionlessly,hands stretched behind theirheads, with faces out of the waterfor long periods. If large wavesprevent floating on the back, anon-PFD wearing individual shouldkeep his or her head out of thewater and slowly tread water ordog paddle. The operative wordhere is slowly. Excess movementsuch as swimming or thrashingabout, accelerates heat loss andencourages hypothermia.Unconsciousness can occur in aslittle as 15 minutes in very coldwater, and death followsunconsciousness. Demonstratethis position.

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Huddle together. If morethan one person is in the waterand wearing PFDs, the “huddle” isrecommended. This is wheresmall groups of two to four “hug”with chest closely touching chest.Your arms should be placedaround the backs of the others andkept underwater, while smallerindividuals or children can beplaced in the middle of the“sandwich.” The huddle helps toconserve body heat and it is alsoeasier for rescuers to locate agroup of people than one lonevictim. The close proximity ofvictims can serve also as asignificant morale booster. Withthe help of volunteers,demonstrate this position.

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Don’t Drink Alcohol.Contrary to what many peoplebelieve, alcoholic beverages don’twarm you up, they actually serveto speed up cooling and bring onhypothermia.

The H.E.L.P. position helps thewaterfowler float and conservebody heat.

If more than one huntercapsizes with the canoe, theyshould huddle together toconserve body heat.

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24 The Gales ofNovember

Help your participants appreciatethe safety issues of hunting onwater. Tell them thatwaterfowlers seldom think ofthemselves as boaters or canoers.After all, a boat is simply a meansto cross the slough to the blindand set out decoys....right? Whybother with lifejackets and boatcushions that take up valuablespace that could be used for extradecoys, dogs, guns and a wholehost of other little things thatduck hunters deem essential? Butthe reason to bother withlifejackets and boat cushions issimple. Every year, hunters drownneedlessly because they spendmore time getting the perfectcamouflage paint job on theircanoe, than making certain theyhave the necessary equipment andskills to survive in an emergency.

Review the following statisticswith your participants. In aninvestigation of 10 separateaccidents resulting in 14waterfowl hunter deaths inMinnesota, the following factorswere in common:

Factors Leading toWaterfowler Drownings

❑❑❑❑❑ Waterfowlers were more likelyto drown in a boating accidentthan to be shot by a huntingcompanion.

❑❑❑❑❑ All accidents resulted from theboat capsizing or swamping due tooverloading, sudden shifts inweight, or weather conditions.

❑❑❑❑❑ All but one accident happenedunder cold, stormy conditions inthe latter half of the season.

❑❑❑❑❑ None of the victims wore apersonal flotation device (PFD).

❑❑❑❑❑ Sixty percent of the accidentswere in canoes or boats 12' orunder.

❑❑❑❑❑ Hypothermia was acontributing cause of most ofthese deaths.

❑❑❑❑❑ More waterfowl hunterdrownings occur on small sloughsrather than on big lakes, possiblybecause big water hunters uselarger, more stable boats, and aremore likely to carry PFD’s.

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Two-thirds of the accidentsinvolved young men, ages 18 to23. Young men tend to takegreater risks. They generally haveless experience than older hunters.

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24If time permits, either read ordistribute a copy of the followingMilwaukee Journal article, bythe late outdoor writer, GordonMacQuarrie. Explain that theinfamous Armistice Day storm ofNovember 11, 1940, struck theupper Midwest with a vengeance.Temperatures dropped more than50 degrees in a few hours andwinds reached 80 mph. Morethan 50 duck hunters were founddead by rescuers, their frozen

bodies recovered from marshes,lakes, potholes, ponds and riversfrom Ontario to Illinois and fromIowa to Michigan. GordonMacQuarrie was on the scene inWinona, Minnesota and this storyappeared only days after thedisaster.

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24 Fatal ArmisticeBy Gordon MacQuarrie

Milwaukee Journal

The winds of hell were loose on the Mississippi Armistice day andnight.

They came across the prairies, from the south and west, a mighty,freezing invisible force. They charged down the river bluffs to theplacid stream below and reached with deathly fingers for the life thatbeat beneath the canvas jackets of thousands of duck hunters.

They will tell you of this for years to come. They will recall how dadand brother were saved, and men who came through it alive togetherwill look at each other with new understanding, as is the way withthose who have seen death brush them close.

And eventually they will look back upon it as “the year of the bigwind.” To such a futile phrase will come what now seems to be thegreatest hunting season disaster in Northwest history and perhapsthe greatest in the country’s history.

“The dead in this area, 50 miles up and down the river, will likelycome to 20 and we know of 16 men,” say Winona newspapermen. Somuch for the statistics, which will be tallied for days as more of themissing are found and more upturned skiffs located.

The winds of hell it was that were abroad that frightful Monday andTuesday and the winds of hell in high gear with the throttle wideopen.

They came, those winds, with little warning of their intensity. After apoor duck hunting season along the Mississippi, duck hunterswelcomed the wrath from the west. They liked it in its early stages.They tossed out their decoys and said, “Let’er blow, that’s what we’vebeen waiting for.”

Forgotten ducksThey stationed themselves on tiny sandspits and boggy islands andthe ducks came. The ducks came with the blast, riding it bewilderedand headlong, so many a man, in the first mad hours, took his limit

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24of birds easily. “Bushels of ducks we could have killed,” said onesurvivor. “But we forgot about the ducks...”

Tuesday night on Louis Stantz’ boat livery dock, a few miles out oftown, 50 skiffs lay at anchor. The dock was snow covered anddeserted. Seven dead ducks, frozen stiff, lay there forgotten. Thepeople who crowded to the dock all day Tuesday had other things tothink of. Up the bank from that dock Tuesday came five dead men.The ducks lay there on the dock where the river goes by.

The wind did it. The furious wind that pierced any clothing, thatlocked outboard engines in sheaths of ice, that froze on faces andhands and clothing so that even survivors crackled when they got tosafety and said their prayers.

The wind did it. The cold was its ally. Mother Nature, sometimes ablue-eyed girl with corn colored hair, was a murderous mistressTuesday night on the Mississippi.

She caught thousands of duck hunters on Armistice Day—a holiday.She teased them out to the river and marshes with her fine, whoopingwind and then when she got them there she froze them like muskratsin traps. She promised ducks in the wind. They came all right. Thesurvivors tell that, grimly, but by that time, the duck hunters of theMississippi were playing a bigger game - with their lives at stake.

By that time men along the Mississippi were drowning and freezing.

The ducks came and men died. They died underneath upturned skiffsas the blast sought them out on boggy, unprotected islands. Theydied trying to light fires- and jumping and sparring to keep warm.They died sitting in skiffs. They died standing in the river water totheir hips, awaiting help.

They died trying to help each other and a hundred tales of heroismwill be told, long after funerals are over.

Over in Winona General Hospital tonight lies Gerald Tarras, 17, asurvivor. He is a big boy, nearly six feet, and strong. He had to be, tolive. He saw his father, brother and his friend die. He has not yetcome to a full realization of what has happened, for grief issometimes far in the wake of a catastrophe.

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24 Gerald Tarras, his head buried in a hospital pillow, his frost-blisteredhands clutching nervously at the bedspread, tell part of it. Just apart. No need to ask him exactly where he was. Just out on the river.Out on the hideous gut of water between the high bluffs near Winona,where the furies came on endlessly. Gerald tells it hazily, in a sort ofopen-eyed trance.

“We went out about 10 in the morning, the four of us. It was rainingand warm. The wind came at noon. We began to worry. My father(Carl Tarras, 43, Winona) said we’d better go back. It got fierce. ThenBill Wernecke (his friend) died. He was cold. We boxed each other tokeep warm. Bill died. I was holding him. He went ‘O-h-h ...’ and hewas gone.

“We were standing in water. We had a black Labrador dog with us.My brother (Ray, 16) died next. Yes he died. I knew he was dead. Hewas cold. An airplane flew over and I moved my arm. It saw us.Then my Dad died. They took me off in the government tug and gaveme some coffee. They gave me some whiskey.”

Max ConradIn a Winona restaurant sits Max Conrad, aviator, sipping coffee withBobby Bean, his assistant. He tells his story very badly for he is amodest man.

Conrad took a Cub straining with a top speed of 75 miles an hour andled the government tug Throckmorton and other rescue boats tomarooned hunters on the river. He flew all day, sometimes with Bean,sometimes alone. He would fly his plane repeatedly over a spot wherehunters were caught and the rescue boats would know where to go.He would toss packages containing sandwiches, whiskey, cigarettesand matches. He would open the door of his plane and, with themotor cut, shout down to the men below to hang on, help is coming.He would route the little plane time after time through the channelsover which marooned hunters could follow skiffs.

Conrad tells a poor story, for he is modest. Harold Eastman, ofWinona, meter superintendent for the Mississippi Valley Public ServiceCompany, tells Conrad’s story and his own better.

“I was hunting with R.J. Rice and Richard Guelzer. The wind caught uson a bog. The oarlock broke. Dick said ‘We camp here.’ We turnedup the skiff for a wind break. We tried to light a fire but everything

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24was wet and it was too windy. At 9:30 a.m. Tuesday we heard aplane. We fired our guns. The plane did not see us. At noon theplane saw us. It was Conrad. I know him. He saved our lives.

“Conrad yelled down to us form the open door of the plane: “Sittight! We’ll get you out of here!” In five minutes he was back with atin of food and cigarettes and dropped it. He kept flying over us, thenhollered down “Start out and go in the direction I am!’

We took our shotguns and started. Conrad said. ‘Leave your gunsand take the skiff.’ We did. We broke through the ice several times,then we would hang onto the skiff and work it along the new ice. TheThrockmorton picked us up. Conrad saved our lives. I feel all rightexcept for the smoke in my eyes from the fire.”

Over at the Conrad home four small daughters, Judy, Jane, Betsy andMolly and their mother waited for their dad. He came home all right.Then he slept hard for today he took up the patrol again looking forthree skiffs and men, dead or alive.

Conrad says the river shambles were bad because pan ice piled up onbanks and islands, so skiffs could not get through. He says he sawdogs alone on boggy islands. He says, “The guys who used theirheads built windbreaks with their skiffs and then built fires.” He saysa lot of fellows “lost their heads.” He is a kind man. He will not evenguess at how many are dead. It will take days to find out, he says.

Some of the dead brought in, like those at the Louis Stantz riverlanding and boat livery, had their faces and hands blue and bruised.It was not possible to park a car at this spot for the cars of anxiousrelatives - waiting. The bruises, they said, were from the men in thebitter night beating each other to keep warm shadow boxing andsparring, likely even when their hands were frozen clubs and werewithout feeling.

Thus they died on the Mississippi on the night following Armistice Day.

Dark Slough rescueOut of town a way is Calvin Volkel. He helped bring in 17. Likelysaved their lives. He was sleeping Tuesday night, in the back of histavern. He awakened and talked:

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24 “At 9 Monday night it began to look bad to me. I needed a good bigfast boat to save those fellows out on the river. I was lookingespecially for Eddie Whitten. I went to town and got Al Squires. Wegot a 12-horse outboard and started out. It swamped. Then werowed, each with a pair of oars, shouting to each other ‘one-two,one-two’ to keep the stroke.

“Our backs were ice coated. I had put on an aviator’s suit. We got tothe place I knew Eddie was hunting. There were 16 others there! Wegot Eddie back ashore, and called the police for help. We neededgood oarsmen. The men on the island were lying on top of the fire.Not beside it. On top of it. They lay on top of it!

“They had been shooting off boughs for fuel with shotgun shells. Twomen would shoot at once and knock off a bough. I came back andbrought off a fellow named Anderson. I brought a hatchet for wood,and whiskey. Then we worked it this way.

Every man who got ashore in the rowboat went back and took offanother, and the one he took off went back and took off the next.

“It was in what we call Dark Slough...” Also in the hospital is 14-yearold Ray Sherin, whose father, Torge Sherin, was in the rescue partythat saved him from the bottomlands death after an all night search.

The boy has a frozen purplish foot, encased in a special tent. He isnot coherent. His eyes stare wildly at the ceiling and sweat stands onhis smooth-boyish forehead. He will be all right. His foot may be allright, doctors say. He is very lucky.

Next to him in the room is Bob Stephan, Winona, with a frozen hand.He will be all right. Older, he tells the story that will be told up anddown this river for years to come “the river, the wind, the cold, thefear and rescue.”

Hundreds made it ashore under their own steam and men stood,white and shaking on solid ground, and looked back on a riverrunning four-foot waves. They came ashore and home and put downtheir guns and looked at them hardly believing there was a safe,warm world and they were in it.

There were long prayers by the Mississippi’s banks Tuesday, the dayafter Armistice, when the ducks came and men died.

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24The Ethics ofWaterfowling

Point out that ethical waterfowlersshould:

❑❑❑❑❑ Respect the rights offishermen and landownerswhile canoeing.

❑❑❑❑❑ Keep noise to a minimum,especially near wildlife andnear others on the water orbanks.

❑❑❑❑❑ Position yourself at least 200feet from water when needingto go to the bathroom.

❑❑❑❑❑ Practice the “Pack it in-Pack itout” ethic. Bury all human andorganic waste and carry out allpaper and sanitary items.

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24Procedure

Gather participants around onecanoe. Point out these canoeparts:

bowsternamidshipskeelthwart (crosspiece)gunwale

ActivityB

Then, point out these parts of thepaddle:

tipbladethroatshaftgrip

Explain to participants that whenthey handle a canoe on shore, theyshould always carry it. Never dragit over rough ground.

Terminology & techniques

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24foot in the canoe. At the sametime, grasp both gunwales withyour hands. Remove your footfrom the dock and place it besideyour other foot in the bottom ofthe canoe. You are then aboardand may take your position forpaddling, walking down the centerof the boat.

When two people board a canoe ata beach, one person on shoreadjusts the canoe so that its end isjust barely touching bottom at thewater’s edge and braces the canoebetween the knees with the hands.The other person steps around intothe canoe, keeping the weight low,and moves down the centerline,holding onto the gunwales, to theproper place in the boat. Theperson on shore then moves thecanoe out another foot and stepsin. Allow participants to boardcanoes in this manner.

Now demonstrate the followingtechniques:

End-first launching:Demonstrate the end-first methodof launching. If two canoeists arelaunching the boat, it should belaunched hand over hand, endfirst, onto the water. When thecanoe is entirely clear of the bank,let it down on the water fulllength and guide it to a positionparallel to the bank. To lift thecanoe out, reverse the steps. Letparticipants try their hand atlaunching their canoes in teams oftwo.

Boarding: Now, demonstrateproper boarding procedure.Stand or kneel near the edge ofthe dock or bank, facing the bowof the canoe. Place your outerfoot in the canoe, directly in thecenter over the keel. Transferyour weight downward onto the

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24 Paddling PositionsDemonstrate the following threepaddling positions: cruisingposition, one-knee cruisingposition, and seated position.Stress the importance of properweight distribution in a canoe.After demonstrating each position,have participants practice thesethree positions in their canoes.

Cruising Position

Sitting Position

Cruising position: The cruisingposition is that of kneeling on bothknees on a soft cushion on thebottom of the canoe while at thesame time leaning or sitting on theforward part of a seat. Thisposition is good because it keepsthe paddler’s center of gravitylower in the canoe.

One-knee cruising position:This is often called the reliefposition because it is frequentlyalternated with the normal cruisingposition. Lean back on the seatwhile kneeling on one knee andextending the other leg forward.Always kneel on the knee that ison the paddling side.

Sitting position: Seats arecomfortable, however, they doraise the center of gravity. Youhave less control over the craft in aseated position than in a kneelingposition. The seated position,therefore, should be used only incalm water.

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24StrokesWith the canoes in the water,demonstrate the two basic strokesused in tandem canoeing, thepower stroke and the J-stroke.Remind participants that theyshould apply their strokes on onlyone side of the canoe. The personin front should paddle on the sideopposite the person in the rear.

Power stroke: The forward-propelling power stroke is used tomove the canoe without turning.One hand grasps the grip of thepaddle and the other hand graspsthe shaft several inches above theblade or throat. With the paddleheld vertically, the blade should bein the water with the throat just atthe water surface. The lowerforearm is parallel to the gunwaleand just above it. The upper hand“punches out” at about eye level.To begin the stroke, extend thelower arm forward full length.The upper arm is bent at theelbow so that the fist is beside thehead, near eye level. The lowerarm pulls directly backward,parallel to the keel, and the upperarm drives forward in front of thehead. Feathering the blade in awide sweep above the surface ofthe water to the starting positionmakes the recovery.

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24

Turning the Canoe Around: Toturn the canoe around, bothpaddlers should work together,though in opposite directions. Seeillustration at the left.

J-stroke: This stroke is amodified forward stroke used bythe paddler in the stern to keepthe canoe on a straight course.The beginning of the J-stroke isidentical to the forward stroke. Alittle more than halfway throughthe stroke, the paddler graduallyturns the blade outward to a finalangle of about 45 degrees. Dothis by flexing both wrists androtating the thumb of the griphand away from the body ordownward. A “J” is drawn whenthis stroke is done on the left sideof the canoe. Pulling the paddlethrough the water with the bladeat an angle forces the stern of thecanoe to move away from thepaddling side, thus helping thecanoe stay on course. The blade iskept flat and close to the waterduring recovery.

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24Using the Paddle as Rudder: When you needto turn the canoe sharply and quickly, put theblade of the paddle into the water next to you.The flat side of the blade should be parallel andtight to the boat. Your grip should be at thegunwale. Operate the paddle as a rudder. Youcan change course rapidly and with ease.

Loading the Canoe: Askparticipants to practice loading andunloading a canoe onto a car,truck, SUV or other vehicle.Discuss the need to secure thecanoe tightly with ropes, bungiecords or other straps.

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24 ReferencesSurvival: 10 Tips for Hunters, Fishermen, Canoeists and All Small

Boat Users, Outdoor Empire Publishing, Inc. 1982 (pamphlet).Hypothermia and Cold Water Survival, BOAT/U.S. Foundation

(pamphlet).Fatal Armistice, Gordon MacQuarrie, Milwaukee Journal, November

1940. (newspaper article)Practical Survival for Louisiana Outdoorsmen, Maurice N.

Cockerham, Louisiana Conservationist, Jan-Feb 1987. (article).