The Portage |
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| It is likely
that voyageurs often tried to find ways to avoid or
shorten the portages. Sometimes they may have attempted
to run rapids and this often had disastrous results. A
diving expedition has found evidence of many lost
provisions at the bottom of Lower Basswood Falls, a
notorious rapids along the Canadian border in
northeastern Minnesota, a route known to have been used
by the fur traders. The northeastern area of Minnesota and the area of Ontario, Canada that lies immediately north is dotted with thousands of lakes. Some lakes are connected directly by small rivers or streams. But most are separated by sections of land that may be just a few yards wide or several miles. Even where the lakes are connected by streams, rapids and beaver dams may make it impossible to travel through in a canoe. Most of the portages used by the voyageurs were first established by the Indians. Some of these are still being used today by visitors to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota and the Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario. Some campsites in these two large wilderness areas are also known to have been used for hundreds of years. |
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Space provided courtesy of Paulbunyan Net © 1996 White Oak Society, Inc. Site designed & maintained by Internet Express Last update: Friday, July 13, 2001 (ke) URL: http://www.whiteoak.org/learning/portage.htm |
