They are two-sail bateaux, and the term 'bateau' is still preferred by watermen. Alternate spellings of bateau include batteau, batoe and the plurals bateaux, batoes, and batteaux. The earliest vessels on the Great Lakes were human powered canoes and bateaux. The ships were supported by two gunboats and many bateaux. Durham boats replaced the use of bateaux on the Niagara River. The Boys, in a panic, piled into their bateaux and rowed with all speed upriver. Matt Haskins was a legendary strong man of the Staunton River bateaux men. Durham boats were flat-bottomed and double-ended, much like large bateaux in both construction and appearance. Arnold called for 200 bateaux (boats) and for "active woodsmen, well acquainted with bateaux". This was convenient to canoe and bateaux traffic. Colburn's crew devoted some of this time to making repairs on the bateaux. Colburn and his crew spent the next three days building additional bateaux. Soon after, seven bateaux overturned, spoiling the remaining food stores. French voyageurs from New France explored the area and called the area Bateaux. Bateaux were flat-bottomed and double-ended.