Boats and Portages 

Red Lake Waterway
Swing of Canoes, 1927

 Red Lake, Rev. Keith Love and
​Rev. A Allison Rogers, in canoe, 1929

Everything changed with the gold rush in 1926. Many individuals started small water-based transportation companies for freight or passengers. Most of these smaller companies went out of business. Red Lake Transportation Company was one of the first companies to offer freight and passenger transportation. However, with stiff competition, even this pioneer freighting company went out of business in 1930. Soon, there were only two leading companies which prospered: Patricia Transportation Company and the Northern Transportation Company (later renamed Starratt Airways and Transportation). These companies offered both passenger and freight transportation from Hudson to Red Lake.

​In summer, prospectors or men looking to work in the mines would often travel to Red Lake by boat. The cost of passage was $18 for a 2-day trip. This was a one-way trip and did not include meals or hotel costs. The first boats were tugboats and fishing boats, but quickly passenger boats were either purchased or built. Often a boat only had a 12-18 passengers capacity, however, it was common for there to be double or more than the listed size.

Snow Shoe Portage, June 25th 1930

snowshoe portage,
​mcdougall's tug boat, 1940s
​The earliest form of water transportation in Red Lake was
the canoe. There were some commercial fishermen who worked on Lac Seul, but there were not many people travelling to Red Lake. After arriving at Goldpines, canoes were often the easiest way to travel as there are several portages to Red Lake. Before the gold rushes, very few people that went to the Red Lake region. The Hudson Bay
Company had an outpost in Post Narrows and would transport in supplies and furs out of the area. Indigenous people lived and trapped in the area and knew the trails, but not many others recognized the area.

​It was not easy to get to Red Lake in the early 1920s. Findley McCullum found gold in Red Lake in 1922, but he
was not able to raise money for further exploration. The Toronto-based businessmen McCallum was trying to get to invest in his property were not interested in a place was so inaccessible. The businessmen thought the cost of shipping would cut into profits too much. The area had no roads or railways into it, and the closest a large boat could get to Red Lake was Goldpines. Red Lake’s transportation companies also did not exist at this time.

Ear Falls, Red Lake Transportation, 1930s

Northern Transportation or Starratt Airways and Transportation Tug Boat, Date Unkown

​On the first day, the passengers would cross Lac Seul from Hudson to Goldpines. The boats would usually leave around 7 am, arriving in Goldpines at roughly 7 pm. Passengers would disembark and get a hotel room for the night. The next day, passengers left at 6 am. The passage was fundamental as the waterways were shallower, and there are 4 portages. Passengers traveled by canoe or a skiff propelled by an outboard motor to the portage in Lower Ear Falls. At Lake Pakwash, passengers crossed the lake, usually in a larger boat as the waters of Pakwash could become treacherous. After crossing Lake Pakwash, passengers would cross the portage at Snake Falls. The passengers continued through the Chukuni River waterway to Sam’s Portage and finally Snowshoe Portage. Passengers either walked across the portage or rode in a cart pulled across by horses. After crossing Snowshoe Portage, passengers would board a diesel tug and cross Gullrock Lake, Keg Lake, Two Islands Lakes to Red Lake.

​​This was a difficult journey. The transportation companies
continued to improve their services, making portage crossings easier as well as have better boats for travel
between portages. However, by the mid-1930s, air transportation had become affordable, and most people
preferred flying for 1 hour rather than 2 days of rough travel.

Water Crafts 

Swing of Barges, Date UNKNOWN  

 Red Lake, Campbell
Colin pulling mining EQUIPMENT
​by barge, 1928

The NORTHERN Prince Tug Boat, 1930s      


​​By 1936, the portages were modernized with a marine rail
system which pulled the scows across with steam-powered winches. This reduced the time crossing the portages as not only could the scows be pulled across but also the tugboats.
The marine rail system was funded by the government and tolls were charged at each portage. The tolls were based on the tonnage and were paid at the Howey Mine office and later at the Hasaga Mine office. The tolls paid for maintenance and workers’ wages at each portage site.

In 1936, the Patricia Transportation Company started
shipping produce. Prior to this, fresh produce had to be
grown in Red Lake or flown in. These barges of produce
were delivered as quickly as possible. The produce would
arrive in Hudson on Thursday afternoon. The barges would be filled with ice, then covered in ice to keep the produce cool on the trip. As soon as the barge was ready, it would begin its journey across Lac Seul. Both the Patricia Transportation Company and the Northwest Transportation Company shipped produce, but the Patricia Transportation Company boat would often arrive slightly earlier. The Patricia Transportation Company captain, who often traveled through the night would usually arrive on Saturday morning.
​
​​Many preferred to travel or ship items to Red Lake in the
summer as it was less expensive. The route may be longer, but it was significantly safer. This was indicated in the cost of freight. It was approximately $80/tonne in the summer, but by 1946 summer freight rates were only $20/tonne. In 1946, the highway opened, and use of the portages decreased. By 1949, all the communities in the Red Lake region were connected by roads, and water freighting became obsolete.
The transportation companies also carried freight by water. Some of the smaller freighting companies started by using skiffs or canoes with outboard motors to pull loaded canoes. The larger companies had diesel tug boats, which were able to pull 6 scows/barges. The early barges carried 8-10 tonnes each, but the later barges could hold up to 15 tonnes each. The larger transportation companies had different barges for different types of freight. The barges were stored away from the loading docks in Hudson and would be brought to the loading dock, then loaded. After the barge was loaded, it was tied to another barge by a bridle (thick rope). After all the barges were attached to each other, they were referred to as a swing, which would be pulled across Lac Seul.
A scowman would be on the scows/barges for the entire
journey. The scowman’s job was to watch how much water was coming on board. In rough weather, the waves would be high, and the barges could fill with water. There was a hand pump to bail out the water, but one scowman stated that it was not very effective if too much water came on board. The scowman would inspect the entire swing and would move across the gunwales (sides of the barge/boat) in summer. When the weather turned cold and icy, the scowman would crawl over the freight on the barges rather than walk along the gunwales. Occasionally one or more of the barges would become damaged or gain too much water and would sink. The load was lost, but the transportation companies had insurance to cover the losses in these situations.

​Once the shipment arrived in Goldpines, the difficult job of crossing the portages would start. The freight would cross the same four portages at Ear Falls, Snake Falls, Sam’s and Snowshoe. At each portage, labourers would unload the freight from the scows. These would be loaded onto smaller carts pulled across the portage by teams of horses. Once over the portage, the load would be reloaded back onto scows. The process of unloading and reloading was continued at each portage. This laborious way of moving across portages could take a long time, and loads of freight could become backlogged.

Mining equipment being hauled by boat, 1927-28

The NORTHERN Prince Tug Boat, 1929

Sam's Portage, Date UNKNOWN