TRAVELLER'S WAY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22628, 16 January 1937, Page 9 (Supplement)

TRAVELLER'S WAY

Transport Through the Ag,es

Transportation was one of the first problems to tax the ingenuity of mankind. For one reason or another men found it necessary to journey from place to place. Firstly to get fresh supplies of foodstuff—fruit, berries, and the shooting of wild game —and later, when animals were introduced into domesticity, to find new grazing ground for their flocks. The primitive man was barefoot, but in very early times we find the feet being bound with strips of hide and laced with leather thongs, which in later vears developed into the sandal. These men had to rely upon their muscles if they desired to carry a burden—their shoulders, arms and head were called into service. Thousands of years have now passed since animals were first used as beasts of burden, but it may be noted that practically the same ones are still being used for the same purposes. There are cases, it is true, where they have been guperseded by some ingenious modern means of transport, but in others they cannot be excelled.

fiVTEN realised very early how unsatisfactory were their means of burdenhearing, and how much better it would be if the loads could be drawn instead. In the British Museum are monuments depicting thousands of slaves straining at ropes that are fixed on to huge stones and drawing them over timber baulks. The ox is one of the most well-known of draught animals, and has been used for transport for many thousands of years. Ancient Egyptian and Assyrian carvings show the oxen drawing rough carts and the Bible refers to them continuaJly. Oxen are still used for draught in India, Africa and especially in China. They will draw a heavy waggon over rocks, plough through deep sand, toil up extraordinarily-steep inclines and traverse country that appears impossible for wheeled transport. The farfamed treks of the Boers would not have been possible without the remarkable endurance of these'hard-work-jng beasts of burden. In addition to the ox, the'chief animals used for these purposes were the mule, the horse and the much-despised ass. A whole volume could be devoted to the horse and the part it has played in transport, but we must be content here to a short reference to its history in England. In the reign of Queen Anne, the horse, or -father the packhorse, was the only means of transport. This was very expensive as, naturally, only comparatively small articles could be carried, as a rule weighing no more than 1501b. in all. The merchandise was packed in panniers which were hung on either side of the animal. These horses travelled in gangs, which at times numbered up to a hundred. The leader of the pack-train wore a bell, which guided the following horses and served as a warning to travellers coming in the opposite direction in the dark. u ' ■_ . . Dogs are used for drawing light carts in Belgium and many other Continental town's, and in Alaska. Canada, Greenland and Northern Siberia dog-slcdge teams play an important part in everv-

crude form was improved upon, and by the time we get the first recorded sledge it had changed considerably from its primary construction. The ancients were truly remarkable in some of their achievements, and it is in the famous Pyramids that we find the most startling examples of transport the world has ever known. Famous

architects have put forth theories from } time to time, but the actual method employed to move these gigantic stones , will ever remain a mystery. It has been suggested that they were raised into position by some machine after the

style of a crane, or that an incline was made from the banks of tho Nilo to the site of the structure, and that these enormous stones, brought down by the river from the Arabian mountains, were made to slide along iron rails. The exact date of the invention of wheels is not known to us, but it could not have been very long before the ancients found that the clumsy roller was neither desirable nor necessary, and that two circles cut from its extremities would serve just as well. However, we must mention two other forms of transport that were generally used before wheeled vehicles came into their own. These, as perhaps you have guessed, are the litter and the sedanehair.

day life, Husky and Malainite dogs being particularly suitable for this kind of work. For long journeys across the snowy interior the husky is usually chosen, while the Malainite dog, because of its shorter logs, is better for the harder snows of the coast.

, Sledges were one of the most primitive forms of vehicle, which most probably originated from a log with its branches cut off and to which thongs of sbnio sort could be conveniently fixed. As time went on this extremely

Tho litter, as it was used in very early times, was actually no more than a sledge slightly lifted off the ground, but gradually as it became more popular, it was designed more elegantly, and wealthy Romans would strive to out-do each other in the richness of the hangings and beautiful carvings. The sedan-chair is only another development of the litter, though its actual origin is not known. It was a portable chair, having a small window, and usually entered through a glazed door at the side. Poles were passed through sockets on either side and the wholo

structure was carried by two "chairmen." Private chairs were often luxuriously upholstered and gorgeously decorated by some of the greatest artists of tho period. Those who travelled by this method protected themselves by

hiring "linkmen," who carried blazing torches to light tho way through the dark and dreary streets of the early nineteenth century.