Note 32 — VOYAGES AND TRAVELS

Grand Portage was the route by the Pigeon River (the present boundary between Minnesota and Ontario) to the lakes and streams of the Northwest. The term was first applied to the carrying place, nine miles long, and later to a landing place somewhat south of the mouth of the river. This route was first explored by La Vérendrye in 1731—(see Wisconsin Historical Collections, xvii, for a map of this region drawn by an Indian for La Vérendrye). It became the established fur-trade route to the Northwest, and a place of great importance as a rendezvous for voyageurs. For a description of the route and the traders gathered here in the latter part of the eighteenth century, see Mackenzie, Voyages through North America (London, 1801).—Ed.