MtMan-List: Packs

[gottfred@agt.net (Jeff Gottfred)]

I followed the discussion about packs with interest. Is it possible 
that the mountain men used portage slings (aka portage collars, tump lines,
burden straps) rather than packs? Voyageurs used these as early 
as 1786 (and probably much earlier). You tie either end of the 
sling to your pack of goods or furs, load it on your back, and 
pass the tump line over your forehead. The tump line serves 
mostly to stabilize the load, as the bulk of the weight is carried 
on the back (no, you can't walk upright--you have to lean 
forward). I think it is very likely that Alexander Mackenzie's 
men used portage slings when they were forced to travel 
overland from the Fraser River to Bella Coola on the Pacific in 
1793 (the first overland crossing of North America north of 
Mexico by Europeans).

If anyone has any comments, please e-mail me directly; I have 
to unsubscribe for a while, but hopefully I will return when 
things are less hectic here.

Your humble & obedient servant,
Angela Gottfred