Lakes and St. Lawrence—when every rapid was a danger and every wood concealed an enemy?[1] Letters were sometimes left hanging conspicuously on trees at portages.
The social nature of the portage camping ground is illustrated by the meetings—friendly and otherwise—between the Indian retinues of the many travelers who encamped here. When Céloron journeyed from Quebec to the Ohio Valley with his leaden plates, he paused at one of the portages to allow his Indian allies to jollify with certain comrades whom they met here.[2] There are cases where such meetings resulted more seriously than mere drunken sprees.[3]
The meeting-place was also the famous camping ground. To reach the portage path the tired paddler bent every energy as the red sun lay on the horizon. Two landings were thus saved. Here the ground around either end of the path had
