Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/301

* CAKRIAGE. 253 CARRIAGE. aeteristics which comiiu'iuleil it to the conquerors. It was on higher wheels than the Kouian chariot, and was entered at the front instead ol" the back. The pole, instead of sloping upward to the horses' necks, went horizontally out between their bodies and was so broad that the driver could stand on it, and, if necessary, drive his horses from its outer end. But the most striking peculiarity of this chariot was that it possessed a seat. Cicero wrote to a friend in Britain that there appeared very little worth bringing away from Britain except the chariots, of which he wished his friend to bring him awaj" one as a pattern. This form of chariot, called by the Romans the essedum, from having a seat, became very popular in Rome, and a diminutive form of the vehicle, with still larger wheels, was adopted for the convey- ance of dispatches over the public roads. This carriage, called the cisium, resembled the modern gig. In the Xational iluseum in Washington is an interesting series of models showing the develop- ment of wheeled vehicles from the simplest and most primitive forms. Among these models is a reproduction of an Egj'ptian chariot, based on a ■wheel and forked brace, which were found at Dashur by H. Abbot, and are now in the museum of the Historical Society of Xew York. The wheel has six spokes with slots near the hub, through which to run a rope to secure the spokes more firmly. The felloe is in six pieces with scarfed joints. The tire of wood, also with scarfed joints, is attached to the felloe with a lacing of thongs. Near the reproduction of this ancient vehicle stands a miniature child's coach, or bashlir, used in Russia, which is probably the oldest surviving type of vehicle still in use. The wheels are of solid wood, through the centre of w hich holes are pierced by burning. In these holes is inserted a forked stick, which serves both as tongue or pole and axle. The covered body of the vehicle is made from the bark of trees sewn together. Another example, showing how the development of the arts repeats itself among different peoples, is given in the two full-sized carts on exhibition in the museum. The first of these is a caretta or oxcart which is used by the Pueblo and other tribes of Indians of Arizona and Xew Mexico, as well as in parts of Spain, from which country it was introduced into America. The wheels, which are 3 feet 7 inches in diameter, are solidly built up of three pieces of thick timber, held together by dowels of wood. At the centre of the wheel the wood is left thicker to form the hub. The wheels revolve on an axle 7 feet 11 inches long, to which a tongue 8 feet 11 inches long is attached. A tall frame is constructed of light bows. Xo seat is provided. The second example of primitive wagon construction is the Red River cart, which is built and used by the half-breeds of British North America. These carts are constructed en- tirely of wood, including the axles and tires. Each consists of a light frame, poised on an axle connecting two strong w'heels. These wheels are 5 feet 3 inches in diameter, and consist of 12 spokes and felloes. The native driver sits on the bottom plank of the cart, and as the bed of the vehicle is lower than the shafts, his heels are higher than his hips. Over the top of this cart the native straps a hide and makes of it a tent. Underneath it he straps the same hide and con- verts his vehicle into a boat by means of which he crosses streams. Huge trains of these carts are used for carrying produce over the northern l)lains, as they are the chief means of land trans- portation. Four-wheeled carriages for the conveyance of heavy loads were used by the civilized nations of antiquity, but they are probably of more re- cent origin than the two-wheeled vehicles. Hero- dotus tells us that the Scythians used a four- wheeled vehicle, consisting of a rougli platform on which was jilaced a covering like a beehive, composed ot basket work and skins. This cover they removed from the wagon and used for a tent. The Romans had many varieties of four- wheeled vehicles. The earliest forms seem to iiave been used for agricultural purposes, for carrying loads of general merchandise, and for the conveyance of images and vestal virgins in religious processions. Sir William Gcll, in his work on Pompeii, describes a wine-cart, which is a four-wheeled wagon with an arch in the centre for the front wheels to turn under. Dur- ing the later days of the Roman Empire chariots were mounted upon four wheels, and were so luxurious!}- equipped, even when owned by pri- vate citizens, that sumptuary laws were pro- nmlgated limiting the extent of their decora- tions. It must be reniemliered, however, that among the civilized nations of ancient times, as among modem Oriental nations, litters were used for the conveyance of persons from place to place. These litters were supported by poles, and were borne either by mules ihnxterna;) or by men (lecticw). Their popularity imdoubt- edly retarded the development of pleasure car- riages. During the Dark Ages carriages fell into dis- use. The old Roman roads, which had niade their use possible, were ruined either wilfully or by neglect, and riding upon the backs of horses and mules was the only alternative for those who did not go on foot. Kven goods were conveyed chiefly in huge panniers hung on the sides of strong draught animals. Gradually the use of carriages was revived, at first by royalty and the nobility, and later by the families of wealthy citizens. One of the earliest of these vehicles was the rchirlicote, or cot upon wheels. King Richard II. and his mother rode in a whirli- cote in 1380, when she was ill. The caretta was another vehicle often mentioned in mediaeval literature. It seems to have been simply a highly ornamented two-wheeled cart, the de- scendant of the ancient ehar'.ot. During the Fifteenth Centuiy these were very popular on the Continent, and in Germany an edict was issued forbidding their use, "because the useful discipline and skill in riding has been almost lost." About the commencement of the Si.x- teenth Century the art of coach-making assumed great importance in Continental Europe. (See Co.cu.) It was in the construction of coaches, to enable them to turn in a shorter space, that the custom arose of making the front wheels smaller than the hind wheels. With their intro- duction, also, l)egan the use of leather springs. Carriages were not introduced into England until long after they had become popular on the Con- tinent. State coaches were first built in Eng- land during the reign of Elizabeth, and about the same time long wagons for transporting goods, called caravans, began to be used. Their intro-