But men have always been trying to invent something better than what
their enemies have; and so they soon began putting different pieces
together to make either better canoes or lighter ones, or to make any
kind that would do as well as or better than the dug-out. Thus the
ancient Britons had coracles, which were simply very open basket-work
covered with skins. Their Celtic descendants still use canvas coracles
in parts of Wales and Ireland, just as the Eskimos still use
skin-covered kayaks and oomiaks. The oomiak is for a family with all
their baggage. The kayak--sharp as a needle and light as a feather--is
for a well-armed man. The oomiak is a cargo carrier. The kayak is a
man-of-war.
When once men had found out how to make and use canoes they had also
found out the third and final principle of sea-power, which is, that if
you live beside the water and do not learn how to fight on it you will
certainly be driven off it by some enemy who has learnt how to fight
there. For sea-power in time of war simply means the power to use the
sea yourself while stopping the enemy from using it.
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