Methye Portage
Encyclopedia
The Methye Portage or Portage La Loche in northwestern Saskatchewan
was one of the most important portage
s in the old fur-trade
route across Canada. It connected the Mackenzie River
basin to rivers that ran east to the Atlantic. It was reached by Peter Pond in 1778 and abandoned in 1883 when steamboats began running on the Athabasca River
with links to the railroad. It ranks with Grand Portage
as one of the two most important and difficult portages in Canada.
'Methye' is Cree and 'La Loche' is French for a fish that is called 'Burbot
' in English.
The Methye had been in use by indigenous peoples as a trade route for generations. They introduced it to Peter Pond
in 1778. Although Anthony Henday
had come within sight of the Rocky Mountains
in 1754 by overland routes to the south, the advance of western exploration was limited until this fur trade
transportation route to the Athabasca opened. The portage was in constant use until 1883 when the Canadian Pacific Railway
reached Calgary
ending more than 100 years as the main access to the north. From the winter of 1822, York boat
s came into use on this route in addition to canoes. Furs were transported up the Clearwater River by crews who would bring them to the centre of the portage, where they would be picked up by crews from Norway House for that portion of their transport.
It also allowed for the spread of smallpox
to previously untouched aboriginal populations, decimating them in a matter of years.
The Methye was also used by Sir Alexander MacKenzie on his exploratory expedition to the west coast, an expedition which reached the Pacific Ocean
in 1793, fully 12 years before the more famous Lewis and Clark expedition.
For background see Canadian Canoe Routes (early)
. The trade route began on Lake Winnipeg
and ran west up the Saskatchewan River
to Cumberland House, Saskatchewan
north up the Sturgeon-Weir River
, across Frog Portage
to the Churchill River
, west up the Churchill past the depot on Lac Île-à-la-Crosse, through Peter Pond Lake
to Lac La Loche
. The portage proper, which is 12 miles long, began at Wallis Bay on the north side of Lac La Loche. The path ascends slowly for 8 miles to the small Rendezvous Lake. Here crews coming from the north and south would exchange their loads (Different boats were used on the two sides of the portage and were rarely carried across it.). The path ascends slowly from Rendezvous Lake until there is suddenly a view of the Clearwater River valley and the path descends about 180 meters in three or four miles to the Clearwater. (The altitude of Lac La Loche is about 1460 feet, Rendezvous Lake about 1680 feet and the Clearwater about 1035 feet.) This section is so steep that sledges, horses and oxen were used. The portage road, which is wide enough for a wagon, is still visible. Leaving the portage the route went west down the Clearwater River
into the Mackenzie River
basin.
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
was one of the most important portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...
s in the old fur-trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
route across Canada. It connected the Mackenzie River
Mackenzie River
The Mackenzie River is the largest river system in Canada. It flows through a vast, isolated region of forest and tundra entirely within the country's Northwest Territories, although its many tributaries reach into four other Canadian provinces and territories...
basin to rivers that ran east to the Atlantic. It was reached by Peter Pond in 1778 and abandoned in 1883 when steamboats began running on the Athabasca River
Athabasca River
The Athabasca River originates from the Columbia Glacier of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada...
with links to the railroad. It ranks with Grand Portage
Grand Portage National Monument
Grand Portage National Monument is a United States National Monument located on the north shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota that preserves a vital center of fur trade activity and Anishinaabeg Ojibwe heritage....
as one of the two most important and difficult portages in Canada.
'Methye' is Cree and 'La Loche' is French for a fish that is called 'Burbot
Burbot
The burbot is the only gadiform fish inhabiting freshwaters. It is also known as mariah, the lawyer, and eelpout. It is closely related to the marine common ling and the cusk...
' in English.
The Methye had been in use by indigenous peoples as a trade route for generations. They introduced it to Peter Pond
Peter Pond
Peter Pond was born in Milford, Connecticut. He was a soldier with a Connecticut regiment, a fur trader, a founding member of the North West Company, an explorer and a cartographer.-Biography:...
in 1778. Although Anthony Henday
Anthony Henday
Anthony Henday was one of the first white men to explore the interior of the Canadian northwest. His explorations were authorized and funded by the Hudson's Bay Company because of their concern with La Vérendrye and the other western commanders who were funnelling fur trade from the northwest to...
had come within sight of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
in 1754 by overland routes to the south, the advance of western exploration was limited until this fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
transportation route to the Athabasca opened. The portage was in constant use until 1883 when the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
reached Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
ending more than 100 years as the main access to the north. From the winter of 1822, York boat
York boat
The York boat was an inland boat used by the Hudson's Bay Company to carry furs and trade goods along inland waterways in Rupert's Land and the Columbia District. It was named after York Factory, the headquarters of the HBC, and modeled after Orkney Islands fishing boats...
s came into use on this route in addition to canoes. Furs were transported up the Clearwater River by crews who would bring them to the centre of the portage, where they would be picked up by crews from Norway House for that portion of their transport.
It also allowed for the spread of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
to previously untouched aboriginal populations, decimating them in a matter of years.
The Methye was also used by Sir Alexander MacKenzie on his exploratory expedition to the west coast, an expedition which reached the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
in 1793, fully 12 years before the more famous Lewis and Clark expedition.
For background see Canadian Canoe Routes (early)
Canadian canoe routes (early)
This article covers the water routes used by early explorers of Canada with special emphasis on the fur trade.-Canada and Siberia:Both Canada and Siberia were explored mainly by river. Both countries have many navigable rivers with short portages between them. There are no serious barriers to canoe...
. The trade route began on Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg is a large, lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, with its southern tip about north of the city of Winnipeg...
and ran west up the Saskatchewan River
Saskatchewan River
The Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada, approximately long, flowing roughly eastward across Saskatchewan and Manitoba to empty into Lake Winnipeg...
to Cumberland House, Saskatchewan
Cumberland House, Saskatchewan
Cumberland House is a village in Census Division No. 18 in north-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada on the Saskatchewan River. It is the oldest community in Saskatchewan and has a population of about 2000 people...
north up the Sturgeon-Weir River
Sturgeon-Weir River
The Sturgeon-Weir River is a river in east-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It flows about 110 miles south-southeast to join the Saskatchewan River at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan. It was on the main voyageur route from eastern Canada northeast to the Mackenzie River basin. Its steep gradient led...
, across Frog Portage
Frog Portage
Frog Portage or Portage du Traite was one of the most important portages on the voyageur route from eastern Canada to the Mackenzie River basin. It connects the Saskatchewan River and Churchill River basins...
to the Churchill River
Churchill River (Hudson Bay)
The Churchill River is a major river in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada. From the head of the Churchill Lake it is 1,609 km long. It was named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and governor of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1685 to 1691...
, west up the Churchill past the depot on Lac Île-à-la-Crosse, through Peter Pond Lake
Peter Pond Lake
Peter Pond Lake is a glacial lake in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located in northwestern Saskatchewan in the Boreal Forest and Canadian Shield within the Churchill River drainage basin. It was on the fur trade route to the Methye Portage which connected eastern Canada to the MacKenzie River area....
to Lac La Loche
La Loche
La Loche is a northern village located in northwestern Saskatchewan. The second largest community in northern Saskatchewan, it is located on Highway 155 on the eastern shore of Lac La Loche in Canada's boreal forest....
. The portage proper, which is 12 miles long, began at Wallis Bay on the north side of Lac La Loche. The path ascends slowly for 8 miles to the small Rendezvous Lake. Here crews coming from the north and south would exchange their loads (Different boats were used on the two sides of the portage and were rarely carried across it.). The path ascends slowly from Rendezvous Lake until there is suddenly a view of the Clearwater River valley and the path descends about 180 meters in three or four miles to the Clearwater. (The altitude of Lac La Loche is about 1460 feet, Rendezvous Lake about 1680 feet and the Clearwater about 1035 feet.) This section is so steep that sledges, horses and oxen were used. The portage road, which is wide enough for a wagon, is still visible. Leaving the portage the route went west down the Clearwater River
Clearwater River (Saskatchewan)
Clearwater River is the name of a river in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.-Course:The Clearwater River totals 295 kilometres in length and rises in northwestern Saskatchewan in the northern forest region of the Precambrian Shield. From its headwaters at Broach Lake it flows...
into the Mackenzie River
Mackenzie River
The Mackenzie River is the largest river system in Canada. It flows through a vast, isolated region of forest and tundra entirely within the country's Northwest Territories, although its many tributaries reach into four other Canadian provinces and territories...
basin.
External links
- Rendezvous Lake near the centre of Methye Portage 56°40′55"N 109°48′55"W
- Portage La Loche
- History of La Loche
- Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan