Transcriber's note:
Minor spelling inconsistencies, mainly hyphenated words, have been
harmonized. Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
Obvious typos have been corrected. An "Illustrations II" has been
added so as to include the illustrations not in the "ILLUSTRATIONS"
section.
[Illustration: RIDING A BULLOCK IN AFRICA.]
HOW THE WORLD TRAVELS
HOW THE WORLD
TRAVELS
BY
A. A. METHLEY, F.R.G.S.
ILLUSTRATED BY
W. H. HOLLOWAY
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. TRAVEL IN THE OLDEN DAYS 1
II. COACHING DAYS 11
III. STRANGE VEHICLES OF EUROPE 21
IV. JOURNEYS THROUGH INDIA 32
V. THE CONVEYANCES OF CHINA AND JAPAN 41
VI. JOURNEYS THROUGH AFRICA 52
VII. JOURNEYS IN THE NEW WORLD 63
VIII. TRAVELLING IN THE WILDS 74
IX. THROUGH ICE AND SNOW 84
X. STRANGE TRAVEL IN STRANGE LANDS 95
XI. TRAVEL OF YESTERDAY AND TO-DAY 105
XII. THE TRAVEL OF TO-MORROW 117
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
PREHISTORIC SLED 3
EARLY CART WITH SOLID WHEELS 4
EGYPTIAN CHARIOT 5
ROMAN TRAVELLING CARRIAGE 6
ROMAN LITTER AND MOUNTING STOOL 7
EARLY SIDE-SADDLE 9
A MEDIÆVAL COACH 12
AN OLD FAMILY COACH 13
RIDING PILLION FASHION 14
SEDAN CHAIR 15
POST-CHAISE 16
IN THE WILD WEST 17
SEASIDE CARRIAGE DRAWN BY GOAT 22
BELGIAN DOG-DRAWN CART 25
SEDAN CHAIR, CONSTANTINOPLE 26
TURKISH MOURNING CAR 27
SCHIESSEL CAR 29
SICILIAN CART 30
CAR IN COLOMBO, CEYLON 33
BOMBAY CAR WITH HOOD 35
CONVEYANCE FOR ZENANA LADIES 36
EKKA 37
CAMELS HARNESSED TO CARRIAGE 38
CHINESE COUNTRY CHAIR 43
MULE PALANQUIN 44
WHEELBARROW OMNIBUS 45
A TRAVELLING TRADESMAN 46
CHINESE CART 48
JAPANESE RICKSHAW 49
CAPE BULLOCK WAGON 53
DURBAN RICKSHAW 55
BEIRA TRAM 58
CAIRO CART 59
IN MOROCCO 61
AMERICAN TROTTER 64
QUEBEC CALÈCHE 65
LLAMAS 68
CUBAN VOLANTE 69
AUSTRALIAN BOUNDARY RIDER 71
COUNTRY COACH, AUSTRALIA 72
MIXED TRANSPORT IN NIGERIA 76
CAMEL WITH BRIDAL BOWER 78
CARRIERS IN THE FOREST 80
MONO-RAIL WORKED BY NATIVES 82
ICE-BOAT 86
REINDEER AND SLEDGE 87
EXPLORERS DRAGGING SLEDGE 88
INDIAN TRAPPER ON SNOW-SHOES 90
ENGLISH SLEDGE 92
A HAPPY PARTY IN AUSTRALIA 93
BULLOCK CARRO, MADEIRA 96
TRAVELLING HAMMOCK, MADEIRA 97
CARRO DA MONTE, MADEIRA 98
BULLOCK CART, AZORES 99
MADAGASCAR LITTER 101
PONDICHERRY PUSH-PUSH 103
EARLY ENGINE 107
WHITE SUDAN TRAIN 108
MOUNTAIN RAILWAY 109
HIGH BICYCLE 111
EARLY CYCLE 113
EARLY MOTOR-CAR 114
MONO-RAIL CAR, WITH GYROSCOPE 119
OVERHEAD TROLLY 121
MONOPLANE, THE FIRST TYPE TO
CROSS THE CHANNEL 123
WATERPLANE, BIPLANE, AND
SCOUT BALLOON 125
ILLUSTRATIONS II
RIDING A BULLOCK IN AFRICA. frontispiece
STATE ELEPHANT IN INDIA. 32
PALANQUIN FOR ARAB WOMEN. 81
HOW THE WORLD TRAVELS
CHAPTER I
TRAVEL IN THE OLDEN DAYS
"Coach, carriage, wheelbarrow, cart": we have all, most likely,
repeated these words again and again, as we counted the
cherry-stones out of a pie, the petals of a daisy, or the tufts
on a blade of grass, and we have hoped, as we counted, that Dame
Fortune would give us a coach or a carriage to drive to church in
on our wedding morning.
A cart seemed a very commonplace affair, and a wheelbarrow was
almost too absurd to be possible. Yet there are countries where
people actually ride in wheelbarrows and in other conveyances even
more quaint and unusual.
It will be interesting, perhaps, to borrow a magic carpet for
a little while, or the cap of Fortunatus, and travel round the
world and back through the ages of history, so that we may see the
strange vehicles that are in use to-day, and those in which our
ancestors made their journeys hundreds of years ago.
The first conveyances of all, used in far-away prehistoric days and
later still in wild uncivilised lands, were simply rough sleds on
which heavy loads were dragged. Later, circular slabs of wood were
cut from the trunks of trees to serve as wheels, and, instead of
pulling these primitive carts themselves, the men trained oxen to
do the work.
As time went on improvements were made, and we find pictures of
chariots on the walls of the ancient, ruined cities of Egypt and
Assyria.
The Bible tells us of the chariots and horsemen of Pharaoh, who
were overwhelmed in the Red Sea, but more than two hundred years
before that time King Thutmosis of Egypt had a wonderful war
chariot, which, in 1903, was discovered in his tomb at Thebes. It
is now in the museum at Cairo, and on it are painted pictures of
Thutmosis driving in the chariot, charging his enemies and shooting
arrows at them.
[Illustration: PREHISTORIC SLED.]
Other nations also used chariots in warfare, and we read that they
carried two men, one being the driver and the other the warrior. In
a close encounter the soldier alighted and fought on foot. Some of
these chariots were armed with great hooks or scythes fastened to
the wheels. Julius Cæsar tells us that when he invaded Britain the
chief, Cassivelaunus, had more than four thousand chariots, and he
describes how skilfully they were handled by their drivers.
[Illustration: EARLY CART WITH SOLID WHEELS.]
"In the most steep and difficult places," he says, "they could stop
their horses at full stretch, turn them which way they pleased, run
along the pole, rest on the harness, and throw themselves back into
the chariots with incredible dexterity."
In Britain, at that time, there were also conveyances for
travelling, called _benna_, and also larger carriages with four
wheels, which carried the wives and children of the warriors and
their baggage.
The Romans themselves used chariots both for warlike and peaceful
purposes, and they were named _biga_, _triga_, or _quadriga_,
according to the number of horses by which they were drawn. Chariot
races were an important feature of the great festivals that took
place in the Colosseum, and it is said that Nero once drove one
with ten horses abreast.
[Illustration: EGYPTIAN CHARIOT.]
These racing chariots were, of course, lightly made and designed
for speed, but there were other vehicles of great size and
magnificence, which carried successful generals when they rode in
triumph through Rome to celebrate their victories. This triumphal
car was usually drawn by four white horses, but very often by
lions, elephants, tigers, bears, leopards, or dogs.
[Illustration: ROMAN TRAVELLING CARRIAGE.]
Other vehicles for more everyday use were to be seen in the streets
of ancient cities, and in the paved roadways of Pompeii are deep
ruts made by the wheels of chariots nearly two thousand years ago.
[Illustration: ROMAN LITTER AND MOUNTING STOOL.]
Litters were also used at that time, and Pliny calls them
"travellers' chambers." They were borne on shafts, and special
slaves used to act as bearers. Roman ladies often travelled in
covered carriages called _carpenta_, which were gorgeously
decorated.
During the mediæval ages carriages fell into disuse, or were
only employed by women and invalids, or by kings and princes on
ceremonial occasions. Charlemagne had a wonderful vehicle with
richly ornamented wheels and an inlaid roof supported by columns,
and the Crusaders on their march had with them large wagons for
their baggage.
In the fourteenth century new conveyances called _whirlicotes_
and _charettes_ were used. When King Richard II. married Anne of
Denmark, the new queen entered London accompanied by her maids of
honour, who drove in charettes, which were wagons with benches,
painted red and lined with scarlet cloth. On London Bridge were
crowds of people anxious to see the royal bride. In the confusion,
one of the charettes was overturned and the ladies thrown to the
ground.
Litters very much like those of Roman days were still to be seen
in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. At her coronation Queen
Elizabeth of York, dressed in white and with her golden hair loose
over her shoulders, was carried through London in a rich litter,
with a canopy over her head borne by four Knights of the Bath.
Anne Boleyn, in 1553, was carried to her coronation in a litter
covered with cloth of gold, and the two horses that supported it
were clothed in white damask.
[Illustration: EARLY SIDE-SADDLE.]
During the Middle Ages vehicles were so few because the roads were
very bad, and in many places there were only rough bridle-paths
from one town to another. Riding was, therefore, the principal
means of transit, and horses, mules, and donkeys were used. Very
large horses, the ancestors of our present cart-horses, were ridden
by the knights, for a warrior in heavy mail could only be carried
by a strong animal. This was especially the case when it was
necessary for the horse itself to be also clothed in metal armour.
The ladies also rode, and side-saddles were first introduced into
England by Anne of Bohemia, the wife of Richard II. These saddles
were very different from those of the present day, for they were
like chairs placed sideways on the horses' backs.
Pack-horses were much used in mediæval times, and pictures show us
long trains of these animals, each with its heavy load, wending
their way along the rough, narrow pathways of old England.