DCHP-1 Online

portage strap Fur Trade

• a kind of harness for carrying heavy loads, drawing on a tracking line, etc., consisting of a leather strap that is broad at the middle and tapers at both ends, the broad band being placed around the forehead (or chest) and the two ends attached to the pack or other load. [See picture at tumpline.]

  See also: portage collar  tumpline (and picture)  

  • 1827  (1912)  Passengers, pieces and baggage being as follows . . . 1 bale portage straps . . . Maccaron. . . .
  • 1857  (1863)  The voyageur carried two of these pieces at each trip backwards and forwards across the portage on his back; they are held by a long leather strap called a portage strap, the peculiarity of which is its being broad in the middle, where it is adjusted to the man's forehead leaving him the free use of his arms in passing through the brush.
  • 1948  The simple voyageur Leger lost only a three-point blanket . . . a portage strap, a pair of French shoes, and a cotton shirt.