Paddling a Duggout Canoe

SUBJECT: Paddling a Duggout Canoe
AUTHOR: Kris Gates, Age 7, lives with his parents, one brother and two sisters, and cousins in the village of Kaikan, Guyana, near the Venezuelan border.
DATE: September 8, 1997

Kris launching out in the canoe

Having a canoe is very important. We go to the store in our canoe. The store is on the other side of the river. There it is Venezuela.

Families that are big have a big canoe. Small families have a small canoe. We are a big family but we have a small canoe because we didn't have enough money to get a big one, I think. My daddy also wanted a small canoe so I could learn to paddle it.

Paddling took some time to learn. My sister Katrina and cousin Kristen taught me how. I like to paddle because you can go lots of places -- to the store, up as far as you can go by the rapids. Lots of times we can even get past the rapids. One time my Daddy
[The Water Fall]
The water fall where we sunk
and Uncle Donnie (who was visiting us) and my brother Carlos paddled up past the rapids to the water fall. I had my life jacket on.

Shouting "Danger...Excitement." We paddled as hard as we could all the way to the bottom of the falls. The water was very swift, bubbling and foamy, splashing, and loud. I was very scared. And then the canoe started sinking right in the middle of all the waves. Finally the canoe sank all the way. Since the canoe was wooden, it tried to float and we all just hung on. Then we hit a rock and the canoe sounded like it cracked. But finally we floated back down and close to the shore. We got out and emptied the water out. The crack was very small and the canoe still works OK. For a long time I was scared of rapids, but now I am glad I did it and
[Cicada]
In my spare time, I like to play with Cicadas
think it was fun. But it is always important to wear a life jacket.

Duggout canoes are better than aluminum ones because metal canoes sink all the way to the bottom.

We keep our canoe chained because if not a drunk person would borrow it at night, and then they don't return it because they can't remember where they got it. And other times, the water goes up and could carry off the canoe if it wasn't chained.

Our canoe is little but we have carried up to seven children in it without sinking, but its very near to the water.

I think every family should have a duggout canoe.

Your friend Kris

You may write to Kris at: gates@andrews.edu

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Last Updated: May 13, 1997