Portage

For other uses, seePortage (disambiguation).

Portaging a tandem prospector inAlgonquin Park

Canoe rest along a portage trail

Portageorportaging(CA:/pɔːrˈtɑːʒ/;US:/ˈpɔːrtɪdʒ/) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called aportage.The term comes from French, whereportermeans "to carry", as in "portable". InCanada,the term "carrying-place" was sometimes used.

Early French explorers inNew FranceandFrench Louisianaencountered manyrapidsandcascades.TheNative Americanscarried theircanoesover land to avoid river obstacles.

Over time, important portages were sometimes provided withcanalswithlocks,and evenportage railways.Primitive portaging generally involves carrying the vessel and its contents across the portage in multiple trips. Small canoes can be portaged by carrying them inverted over one's shoulders and the centerstrutmay be designed in the style of ayoketo facilitate this. Historically,voyageursoften employedtump lineson their heads to carry loads on their backs.

Portages can be many kilometers in length, such as the 19-kilometre (12 mi)Methye Portageand the14-kilometre (8+1⁄2mi)Grand Portage(both in North America) often covering hilly or difficult terrain. Some portages involve very little elevation change, such as the very shortMavis GrindinShetland,which crosses anisthmus.

Technique

This section deals mostly with the heavy freight canoes used by the CanadianVoyageurs.

Portage trails usually began as animal tracks and were improved by tramping or blazing. In a few places iron-plated wooden rails were laid to take a handcart. Heavily used routes sometimes evolved into roads when sledges, rollers or oxen were used, as atMethye Portage.Sometimes railways (Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad) or canals were built.

When going downstream through rapids an experienced voyageur called theguidewould inspect the rapids and choose between the heavy work of a portage and the life-threatening risk of running the rapids. If the second course were chosen, the boat would be controlled by theavantstanding in front with a long paddle and thegouvernailstanding in the back with a 2.7-metre (9 ft) steering paddle. Theavanthad a better view and was in charge but thegouvernailhad more control over the boat. The other canoemen provided power under the instructions of theavant.

Small railway portage in the U.S.

Going upstream was more difficult, as there were many places where the current was too swift to paddle. Where the river bottom was shallow and firm, voyageurs would stand in the canoe and push it upstream with 3-metre (10 ft) poles. If the shoreline was reasonably clear the canoe could be 'tracked' or 'lined', that is, the canoemen would pull the canoe on a rope while one man stayed on board to keep it away from the shore. (The most extreme case of tracking was in theThree Gorgesin China where all boats had to be pulled upstream against the current of theYangtze River.) In worse conditions, the 'demi-chargé' technique was used. Half the cargo was unloaded, the canoe forced upstream, unloaded and then returned downstream to pick up the remaining half of the cargo. In still worse currents, the entire cargo was unloaded ('décharge') and carried overland while the canoe was forced upstream. In the worst case a full portage was necessary. The canoe was carried overland by two or four men (the heavierYork boatshad to be dragged overland on rollers) The cargo was divided into standard 41-kilogram (90 lb) packs orpièceswith each man responsible for about six. One portage orcanoe packwould be carried by atumplineand one on the back (strangulated herniawas a common cause of death). To allow regular rests the voyageur would drop his pack at aposeabout every1 kilometre (1⁄2mi) and go back for the next load. The time for a portage was estimated at one hour per half mile.

History

Europe

Greco-Roman world

Paved section of theDiolkos

TheDiolkoswas a paved trackway inAncient Greecewhich enabled boats to be moved overland across theIsthmus of Corinthbetween theGulf of Corinthand theSaronic Gulf.It was constructed to transport high rankingDespotsto conduct business in the justice system. The6-to-8.5-kilometre-long (3+1⁄2–5+1⁄2mi) roadway was a rudimentary form ofrailway,and operated from around 600 BC until the middle of the 1st century AD. The scale on which the Diolkos combined the two principles of the railway and the overland transport of ships was unique inantiquity.

There is scant literary evidence for two more ship trackways referred to as diolkoi in antiquity, both located inRoman Egypt:The physicianOribasius(c. 320–400 CE) records two passages from his first-century colleagueXenocrates,in which the latter casually refers to a diolkos close to the harbor ofAlexandria,which may have been located at the southern tip of the island of Pharos.Another diolkos is mentioned byPtolemy(90–168 CE) in his book on geography (IV, 5, 10) as connecting a false mouth of a partly silted upNilebranch with theMediterranean Sea.

Writing in the first half of the eighth century,Cosmas of Jerusalemdescribes the portage of boats across the narrowest part of theThracian Chersonese(Gallipoli Peninsula) between theAegean Seaand theSea of Marmara.The peninsula there is six miles wide. Cosmas describes the dragging of small boats as common in his day for local trade betweenThraceandGothograecia.The motivation for this practice was to avoid the long detour around the peninsula and through theDardanelles,but also to avoid the customs house atAbydos.It would have been too costly to regularly move large ships across the peninsula, but Cosmas says thatConstantine IVdid it, presumably during theblockade of Constantinople(670/1–676/7) when the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles were controlled by theUmayyads.Constantine is said to have "driven" the ships rather than dragged them, probably indicating the use of wheels.Archaeological evidence for a portage across the Thracian Chersonese is lacking, but it is possible that traces of it have been confused with traces of theLong Wall,which was restored byJustinian Iin the 6th century. The region also saw extensive damage during theGallipoli Campaignof 1915.

Pre-Viking and Viking era northern Germany

The Skagerak always has been treacherous for shipping and early navigators tried to avoid it. There are various river systems in (modern) northern Germany and southern Denmark where the watershed is narrow and low, such as between the Treene (discharging into the North Sea) and the Schlei (discharging into the Baltic) that would have allowed portage. There is no certain physical or written evidence, except that it is known that goods were transported along these routes between different merchant settlements.

Venetian Republic

A map of the trip of the Venetian warships.

The land link betweenAdigeRiver andGardaLake inNorthern Italy,hardly used by the smallest watercraft, was at least once used by theVenetian Republicfor the transport of a military fleet in 1439. The land link is now somewhat harder because of the disappearance ofLoppioLake.

Russia

Further information:Don–Volga portage

Yermak Timofeyevichand his band of adventurers crossing theUral Mountainsat Tagil, entering Asia from Europe

In the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries,Vikingmerchant-adventurers exploited a network of waterways inEastern Europe,with portages connecting the four most important rivers of the region:Volga,Western Dvina,Dnieper,andDon.The portages of what is nowRussiawere vital for theVarangiancommerce with theOrientandByzantium.

At the most important portages (such asGnezdovo) there were trade outposts inhabited by a mixture of Norse merchants and native population. TheKhazarsbuilt the fortress ofSarkelto guard a key portage between the Volga and the Don. After Varangian and Khazar power in Eastern Europe waned, Slavic merchants continued to use the portages along theVolga trade routeand theDnieper trade route.

The names of the townsVolokolamskandVyshny Volochekmay be translated as "the portage on theLama River"and" the little upper portage ", respectively (fromRussianволокvolok,meaning "portage", derived from the verbволочитьvoločitʹ"to drag" ).

In the 16th century, the Russians used river portages to get toSiberia(seeCherdyn Road).

Scotland and Ireland

Tarbertis a common place name in Scotland and Ireland indicating the site of a portage.

Africa

Portages played an important role in the economy of some African societies. For instance,Bamakowas chosen as the capital ofMalibecause it is located on theNiger Rivernear the rapids that divide the Upper and Middle Niger Valleys.

North America

Main article:Portages in North America

In theAdirondacksat portages that were heavily used, horse-drawn wagons like this one were furnished with racks for carrying several boats at once, for a fee. This example is typical of those used in the 1890s. (Adirondack Museum).

Places where portaging occurred often became temporary and then permanent settlements. The importance of free passage through portages found them included in laws and treaties. One historically importantfur tradeportage is nowGrand Portage National Monument.Recreational canoeing routes often include portages between lakes, for example, theSeven Carriesroute inAdirondack Park.

Numerous portages were upgraded to carriageways and railways due to their economic importance. TheNiagara Portagehad a gravity railway in the 1760s.The passagebetween theChicagoandDes Plaines Riverswas through a short swamp portage which seasonally flooded and it is thought that a channel gradually developed unintentionally from the dragging of the boat bottoms.The 1835Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroadconnected the cities of New York and Montreal without needing to go through the Atlantic.

Many settlements in North America were named for being on a portage.

Oceania

New Zealand

Main article:Portages of New Zealand

Portages existed in a number of locations where an isthmus existed that the localMāoricould drag or carry theirwakaacross from theTasman Seato thePacific Oceanor vice versa. The most famous ones are located inAuckland,where there remain three roads named 'Portage Road's in separate parts of the city.Portage Roadin the Auckland suburb ofOtahuhuhas historical plaques at both the north and south ends proclaiming it to be 'at half a mile in length, surely the shortest road between two seas'.

The small Marlborough Sounds settlement of Portage lies on theKenepuru Soundwhich links Queen Charlotte Sound at Torea Bay. This portage was created by mid-19th century settler Robert Blaymires.

See also

• Porter (carrier)