"...A tumplineis a strap attached at both ends to a sack, backpack, or other luggage and used to carry the object by placing the strap over the top of the head. This utilizes the spine rather than the shoulders as standard backpack straps do. Tumplines are not intended to be worn over the forehead, but rather over the top of the head just back from the hairline, pulling straight down in alignment with the spine. The bearer then leans forward, allowing the back to help support the load..."
With the academics (Wikipedia) out of the way, we can proceed. The tumpline allowed the user to carry bulky loads by distributing the weight across both shoulders. Compared to a haversack, which utilizes only a single shoulder strap, the tumpline can be much more comfortable. Illustrations of tumplines depict them being used by both native peoples and European explorers.
The photo at the right is from the Townsend's web catalog. It brings up an interesting point: Leather is a period-correct material, but may not be authentic, since leather was very expensive and anybody involved in carrying heavy loads would have been far from wealthy. Historically, a tumpline woven from natural fibers would make a better representation of the period.
The thread of these trekking posts follow a specific theme - self sufficiency and mobility on the frontier. As a trekker, you would be expected to travel great distances while carrying everything you needed to survive at your side or on your back. This is like backpacking, except you had to rely on hunting or foraging to fill out your meager rations. As such, you can see why pemmican, jerked meat, and parched corn would be in high demand. Being in the woods "on your own hook" meant you had to make do with what you brought, supplemented with what you could find on the trail. And yes, this would include wild hickory nuts and edible parts of a pine tree*.
The following YouTube video shows a young longhunter preparing to carry his bedroll with a tumpline. You'll notice that the two "legs" of his tumpline are made to pass through the bedroll, while the Townsend tumpline is wrapped around the outside of the roll. The user can decide which method suits the load best. With a wide load, wrap the legs around the bundle. With a narrow(er) load, draw the legs through the bundle, assuming you're schlepping a bedroll and not a wooden box.
Make Your Own: You can make your own tumpline by using upholstery webbing, which you can purchase here. For the legs, you can use natural fiber rope available at most hardware stores. Just unwind the strands any you'll have an almost unlimited supply of natural fiber. To facilitate matters, you could install a 1/2" or 1" grommet at each end of a 24" piece of webbing, loop the rope through the grommet, and Bob's your frontiersman uncle. So for about $20.00, you can outfit you entire team with tumplines.
Blanket Lore: Points: "...Points’ are the size categories of blankets in common use during the days of the American Frontier. They are a series of horizontal stitched lines on the blanket's selvage to denominate if it is a 1, 1½, 2, 2½, 3, 3½, & 4 point size. This was done so that a blanket's size can be seen without removing it from a stack and unfolding it. The method was developed by mid-18th century French mill workers and would be adopted by other firms such as Hudson Bay Company. Trade-blankets were bulky and were often transported to various trade outposts and rendezvous locations by canoe and portage or pack animals. This meant that the heavier blankets commanded significantly more in trade. Even despite this, they were well-worth the price to the residents of the distant western lands. In a store, a good blanket may sell for around $3 to $8 dollars..."
Text and table from "The Frontier American Illustrated News". Read the entire post here.
If you looking for a period correct (and inexpensive) for your team to carry their bedrolls, this one one way to go.
*If you're too young to remember Euell Gibbons, watch this video. I think you'll get the idea.
