Evening journal., 1904-04-27
THE MODERN WHEEL
IT'S DEVELOPMENT FROM THE RUDE
LoGRoLLER or AGES AGO.

49, ~-rff - Ff1-O FN10f
The solid Circular slab OF wood and
the Nail studded, Perforated AFFAIR
That Led Tn 90 spokes, Tires and
Rail- Bearings.
All the world is upon wheels nova
days, aud It Is extremely difficult to re-
alize that one time there were no such
aids TO motion. How long ago It must
have been there is no possibility Of de-
termining. The origin OF the wheel Is
quite lost In the obscurity OF the past
But, though we cannot trace the wheel
TO its actual inception, there IL 20 be
found In the rude sculptures and pic
lures Of the past enough in the way OF
hint and suggestion TO show how Il
probably originated. IL Is reasonable
to suppose that the sledge would have
preceded the wheeled vehicle. To drag
along a thing by main force Is what
many OF the lower animals are accus-
toned to do, and, OF course. human be-
ings must have done It from the infan-
cy OF the race.
The frst step in the evolution Of ex-
press trains and motor cars would nat
urally have been an attempt to facili.
tate the movement Of whatever was
being hauled along by smoothing the
under surface where practicable and
leveling the road Where the under
surface OF the burden could not be
smoothed the obvious alternative would
have been to get it on the top Of some
thing which did permit Of the smooth
something in the form Of n sledge.
that Is to say. IL is certain that this
primitive vehicle was known to the
early Egyptians.
In wilkinson's Ancient Egypt there
is the reproduction OF picture found
In a grotto behind E'Dayr, a Christian
village between Autinoe and El Ber-
sheh, representing the removal OF a
colossal statue. IL Is mounted on n
sledge with runners underneath, and
Il Is being hauled along by 172 men
pulling at ropes. while IN front OF the
sledge man Is pouring down some
sort OF iiuid, probably grease, says the
learned author, and he adds that. al
though it Is not shown IN the picture,
the roadway would most likely be laid
with planks.
That, In all probability, is the rudi-
mentary idea Of a modern railway
truck travelling over an iron rail. There
Is the loaded vehicle. and there Is the
specially prepared road. The gradual
evolution OF the modern conveyance
and its facility Of motion would be
only a question OF time and Of mother
wit slowly effecting small improve.
ments. That picture itself Is suppos-
ed to date nearly 1000 years before
the Christian era, and how much far
ther back the work itself would go II
is impossible to say.
Ii is easy 20 conceive that pure ac
cident may have suggested rollers un
derneath the sledge as a means OF
rendering It's movements easier. But
whether accident or invention may
have done II the use OF rollers in thii
connection was clearly the next move
{ This Is shown In the famous Assyriai
sculpture OF the moving 81 the winge'
! bull. There we find the sledge ant
two rollers beneath Il, and Il is dim
4 cult to suppose that the wheeled "
hicle was known at that time, or
: surely would have been employed In
e stead Of the more primitive sledgs
4 The sledge and the rollers having bee
) arrived at, we have no positive infor
nation as 20 how the next stage wa
. reached, but II IS not dihicult 70 con
ceive what might quite feasibly hav
{ happened. A simple modification o
the roller might very well have af
: forded the germ Of the modern whee
and axle. IL we imagine the tw
, rollers somewhat reduced IN size Il
the middle, so as to drop the sledg
/ down a little and prevent its running
of the roller ends, we get the incipi
! ent wheel and axle at once, and som
sort Of a plug in the bottom Of tn
sledge before and behind each axl
would prevent its running from unde
the vehicle, and there would be tn
( incipicnt wheeled cart. In Portuga
there is said to be IN use a farm car
in which Just such plugs as these ar
actually found beneath the body Of th
= vehicle. which may thus be lifted OF
It's wheels. What would probably b
the next stage Of the process OF deve
, opment can be traced I'm the nvailabl
records OF the past Instead Of
roller being merely reduced in IN
middle. with its Introduced ends form
y Ing solid wheels, we find very earl
pictorial representation OF a vehicl
v In which broad slices have been Gu
= on from the round bole OF a tree an
z connected under the sledge by o ba
e through their centers.
y There are the wheels, for the frI
II time in pictorial record, separate froi
= the axle. For the first time the actul
wheel appears. but the square end
J the axle plunged into its center show
. that wheel and axle went round Z
Q gether, and the next stage, no doub
/ would be 10 fx the axle and let n
wheels run loosely round its reduce
!, ends. the wheels being kept in the
\ places by something in the nature
: linchpins. That would be a distin
y stage in the line OF progress. though
d Is curious 10 observe that in our raj
4, way carriages and motor vans we ha'
II got back TO what no doubt was Il
s earlier form, the wheel and axle +
r volving together in bearings.
n The earliest wheel Of which we ha'
j any representation is just a solid circ