Height of Land
From BWCAWiki
The Height of Land portage connects South Lake and North Lake in the northeastern BWCAW. This portage, while not particularly long or challenging, is significant because it crosses the continental divide between the Great Lakes watershed to the southeast and the Hudson Bay watershed to the northwest.
Description
Height of Land portage is relatively flat and straight, although it can be quite muddy in places.
History
The portage, known to the Voyageurs as Portage du Hauteur des Terre [1], was a significant landmark on the historical Border Route canoe trail between Grand Portage on Lake Superior and the vast interior wilderness to the northwest. This portage separated the "Pork Eaters", or Montreal Voyageurs, from the "North Men", who wintered over at distant posts and traded for furs with the native peoples.
When a novice Voyageur first crossed Height of Land, he would be "baptized" as a Northman. This ritual involved collecting waters from both sides of the portage and sprinkling this water on the Voyageur with a cedar bough. The initiate vowed to never let other Voyageurs pass the Height of Land without also being similarly baptized, as well as to never kiss the wife of another Voyageur against her will. [2]
References
- References for T2K Website, accessed June 13, 2006.
- Podruchny, Carolyn. Baptizing Novices: Ritual Moments among French Canadian Voyageurs in the Montreal Fur Trade, 1780-1821, Canadian Historical Review, Volume 83, Number 2, June 2002.
