oa 81 part 02 - Ontario Archaeological Society

More documents

Recommendations

Info

10 Ontario Archaeology No. 81/82, 2006Muskrat Lake to the Meath Portage entrance atMeath Lake by canoe is about 22 km whenscaled on topographical maps. This distanceincludes the swampy areas at the head of theselakes, and the assumed circuitous canoe tripthrough Mud Lake into Meath Lake. A distanceof 22 km is in close agreement with a distance ofnearly seven leagues recorded by Champlain forthe length of Lac de Nibachis (Biggar 1922-1936:2:277) when using the petite lieue averageof 3.4 km (2.1 statute miles) (Heidenreich1976:44-46), rather than the 4.8 km (3 statutemiles) used previously by researchers.The Meath Portage extends about 3.8 km fromMeath Lake to Lower Allumette Lake. If higherwater levels than present occurred in LowerAllumette Lake, as seems likely, the portagewould have been shorter, consistent with a totallength of 3.4 km, or one petite lieue, the distancerecorded by Champlain for the overland trailfrom Lac de Nibachis to Tessoüat’s encampment.The Meath PortageThe Canadian Central Railroad was built in 1876between steep hills rising to 145 m (amsl) at theentrance at Meath Lake (Figure 4). Preparatoryconstruction work would have been necessary tomake this route suitable for this railway thatinclines from about 123 m (amsl) at Meath Lake toabout 137 m (amsl), before declination towardLower Allumette Lake. A portage trail possibly ledthrough this route to the north before railroad construction.Other walking routes could also, however,have been chosen. Champlain stated that thetrail to Lower Allumette Lake was to the northeast,not the route later taken by the railway. Tessoüat’scamp was probably located on the involuted southshore of Lower Allumette Lake, east of the presentdaylocation of Greenwood (Figure 1).Stoqua’s Portage versus the Meath PortageStoqua’s Portage and the Meath Portage are bothcontenders as walking routes (Figure 4). Thereare, however, some important differencesbetween them when each is considered from thepoint of view of Champlain’s guides in 1613.Stoqua’s Portage Road would be convenientwhen canoeing from the head of Muskrat Lakeand portaging to Lower Allumette Lake. Near thelocation of present-day Perretton, however, itcrosses the same stream twice. It is also longer thanthe Meath Portage. Low, wet areas of Stoqua’sPortage Road may have been sufficient reason forChamplain’s guides to avoid this route in favour ofthe Meath route, which was accessible by canoethrough the surrounding wetland. Considerationof the destination may have been more importantthan the condition of the trail. The Meathroute may have been deemed more suitable thanStoqua’s Portage Road for an important visitor.The Meath Portage would have been convenient,enabling a short overland trip to an importantdestination well known to Champlain’s guides.Tessoüat’s abode on Morrison Island would fitsuch an important destination, located near theend of a 3.8-km route to the northeast.The Winter Road used by early settlers waslikely based on a portage route from LowerAllumette Lake to the Muskrat Lake wetlandestablished sometime during the precontact era.This trail led directly to locations on the OttawaRiver near Morrison Island, where both MiddleArchaic period materials (5000-4000 B.P.) aswell as contact period artifacts dating to the timeof Champlain have been found (Clermont andChapdelaine 1998). The Meath Portage couldhave been used for several thousand years, providingan efficient means of travel to exploit theexcellent fishing in Lac de Nibachis. The 783-haMuskrat River wetland is an important waterfowlbreeding area where 17 species of cold andwarm water fish have been recorded (OntarioMinistry of Natural Resources 1990:31). Samuelde Champlain stated that this lake is so “abundantin fish that all the local surrounding tribesdo their fishing here” (Biggar 1922-1936:2:275).ConclusionsAccepting the Meath Portage as the route fromthe head of Muskrat Lake to Lower AllumetteLake taken by Samuel de Champlain in 1613,and published in 1614, meets our expectations ofhis known cartographic ability. Distances equatewell with the petite lieue as the league used by
Croft Champlain’s Portage from Muskrat Lake to the Ottawa River 11Champlain and support his description of hisvisit to Muskrat Lake and Lower Allumette Lake.On the seventh day of June 1613, Champlain’sAlgonquin guides paddled down the length ofmodern Muskrat Lake and into the MuskratRiver wetland. Because of spring flooding,Champlain considered Muskrat, Mud andMeath Lakes, including the adjacent wetland, tobe one lake. From Mud Lake they entered MeathLake, where they landed and walked over an easyportage route for a distance of 3.8 km, about onepetite lieue, northeast to Lower Allumette Lakenear Morrison Island.Champlain estimated that Lac de Nibachis wasseven leagues long, as it extended at the time oneleague beyond the Meath Portage. He estimatedthat this lake was two leagues wide, a perceptionwhich is reasonable considering the large size of theflooded wetland he witnessed. The Meath Portageentrance at Meath Lake is situated about 22 km,six petite lieue, by canoe, from the head of modernMuskrat Lake. The Meath route leads from MeathLake one petite lieue to the northeast to LowerAllumette Lake. This was Samuel de Champlain’sdestination as determined by historians.A coincidental match between lieue d’uneheure, 4.8 km, and the length of Stoqua’s PortageRoad seemed to indicate to historians in thetwentieth century a reasonable choice of route.They were unaware of the average 3.4-km, oneleagueequivalent that Samuel de Champlain wasusing on overland expeditions and were thus baffledby his perception of the length and breadthof Muskrat Lake. Stoqua’s Portage Road, ratherthan the Meath route, came to be accepted,incorrectly, as being Champlain’s portage routeto Lower Allumette Lake.Acknowledgments. I wish to acknowledge H.P.Biggar (The Works of Samuel de Champlain [1922-1936]) and other historians who, together, haverecorded almost 400 years of history in the OttawaValley; from 1613 to the twenty-first century. Ithank Mr. and Mrs. John McLaren and family fortheir hospitality and friendship and also for suggestinglocal topographical information. Dr.Donald S. Robertson provided his canoe and withthe author investigated the Muskrat River and wetland.My thanks to Ken Swayze for his study concerningthe locations of Algonquin villages in hispaper on Logos Land and his encouragement topursue archaeological investigation of Champlain’sroute. My thanks also to Ian Badgley for his help insecuring reference material. Typing and mappingwere supported by Mary M. Croft. Maps and articleson the local forest fires were supplied by JackiePatterson and May Prange of the Upper OttawaGenealogy Group and the Champlain Trail andPioneer Village Museum, Pembroke, Ontario.Terry McLeish, Ministry of Natural Resources,Pembroke, and David T. Croft provided access toWestmeath Township maps. Angela Woollam generouslysuggested structural changes and reviewedCanadian grammar. My appreciation to Dr. Jean-Luc Pilon, Archaeological Survey of Canada, forgenerously editing early drafts of this paper and hissuggested additions, changes, and clarification.Andrew Stewart edited later drafts and assembledFigures 1 and 4 from digital spatial data availablefrom the National Topographic Database.References CitedArchives of Ontario1836 Township Plan, Westmeath Township.[map, J. McNaughton, surveyor] C. 277-1-431-0-1. Archives of Ontario, Toronto.Biggar, H.P. (editor)1922-1936 The Works of Samuel de Champlain. 6 vols.Champlain Society, Toronto.Clermont, N., and C. Chapdelaine1998 Ile Morrison Lieu sacré et atelier del’Archaïque dans L’Outaouais. Paléo-Québec28. Recherches amérindiennes au Québec,Montréal.Heidenreich, C.E.1968 A New Location for Carhagouha, RecollectMission in Huronia, Ontario. OntarioArchaeology 11:39-46.1976 Explorations and Mapping of Samuel deChamplain 1603-1632. Canadian Cartographer13(2):1-140.Kennedy, C.C.1970 The Upper Ottawa Valley. Renfrew CountyCouncil, Pembroke, Ontario.
Page 2: 4 Ontario Archaeology No. 81/82, 20
Page 5 and 6: Croft Champlain’s Portage from Mu
Page 10: 12 Ontario Archaeology No. 81/82, 2

oa 81 part 02 - Ontario Archaeological Society

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?