Canoe Poling Art

Here's a nice bit of poling artwork that accompanied the article "The Sportsman Notebook - Climbing the Pole" by (Field and Stream March 1974). The brief write up was written by well known outdoorsman and canoeist, Bill Riviere.

In fact, the image might be an artist's rendition of Riviere himself. One of my favourite canoeing books is Pole, Paddle and Portage (A Complete Guide To Canoeing) authored by Riviere.

My hardcover copy was an ex-library book dated to 1964 and is missing the cover sleeve, but the inside of loaded with wonderful photos of Riviere in his trusty Chestnut Prospector. The chapter on poling features photographs of him confidently poling up rapids, snubbing down some swifts and peacefully poling through some stillwater with a packbasket in the canoe and a pipe in his mouth.