Digital Time Traveler Home Page
Virtual Trip along the portage
Quotes from 19th century travelers
How to get a video or Quicktime version of 2002 6-Pause Portage project
2002 marks the 4th year of the Digital Time Traveler (DTT) Program that recreates historic canoe and portage routes in northern Wisconsin. Results of DTT will be published on the Internet, and in digital video/quick time to be shared with the broadest possible audience. The DTT Program will model the preservation of cultural and natural resources for area communities by rediscovering the lost historic portage route of 6-Pause Portage that was a gateway for Native Americans and early EuroAmerican cultures.
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1847 Map Owen/Norwood Expedition This historic map illustrates how 6-Pause Portage was part of a critical historic district that included the Turtle Portage, the Turtle Band of the Ojibwe, and the traditional stop for travelers on the Flambeau Trail. Historic records are clear, for at least 50 years all fur trade goods and furs from Lac Du Flambeau traders moved through this key route. Each year tons of furs and trade goods had to be transported due to Lac Du Flambeau traders dominating the fur trade in what is today north central Wisconsin. |
6-Pause Portage is named after a French voyagers term of a pause. A pause is a period of 5 to 10 minutes of rest after rigorous travel. Portage pauses were often predetermined paces of rest or were taken after a certan period of time. The number of pauses compare to the distance traveled indicated the difficulty of the trail. If a portage is relatively short, but has many pauses the terrain over part of the trail would be difficult.
6 Pause Portage is arguably the most used traditional portage route in all of north central Wisconsin. This route was a 2 1/2 mile trek through difficult terrain that linked the Turtle River to the Manitowish River. The Lac Du Flambeau and Trout Lake Ojibwe Bands were accessed most directly via 6-Pause Portage. Other Ojibwe bands of Wisconsin River, Lac Vieux Desert and Pelican Lake would also find 6-Pause Portage as a direct route to Lake Superior. All of the above Native American communities, fur traders, geologist, missionaries, and government agents used 6-Pause Portage to link with the Flambeau Trail. The Flambeau Trail was a 120 pause overland trail which travelers would carry only packs, trade goods and furs. The Flambeau Trail runs from the east side of the mouth of the Montreal River to the Northwest corner of Long Lake in Iron County. Canoes would be cached at either end of the Flambeau Trail to allow travelers water passage.
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