Jerking About!
It is amazing how much this unstable sled has proved to be a lasting success from the Lapplanders in northern-Finland to the Eskimos of Alaska and Canada. Simple to build from wood to the present day fibre glass and polyma plastics, from animal power to a small engine?
Some designs were developed as nothing more than a wooden bow, but all continue to be effective in keeping goods dry, transporting young children to older folks and on to slaughtered animals?
The only community not to use them on a small scale is an off shoot of the Evenki in northern Siberia, Russia who are the only ones to have developed a sled house-caravan, which they power with reindeer and live all year around in.
During the summer they visit the shore line and remain staic, but seem to do more moving about in the snow covered month?
Sleds.
'Christmas is a coming and if you listen at night to the air, you will hear the gentle ringing of Santa's reindeer's bells tingling from afar.'
I believe in Santa and why not, my parents worked their socks off to buy me something each year. It was not a lot, but it was enough. Today many people discount this special Christian season and that is sad.
But as to sleds, the Lapp, Evenki and Eskimos continue to use them, because they are essential for travel in snowy regions. Today they are motorised and can pull much more than the good old huskies dogs or reindeer's could. Sleds or ski's are also fitted to aircraft and helicopters and these are found in service in snow capped mountain terrain and glacier regions across the globe.
The sled was originaly made of curved wood or bone and it is not known how old they are. There are many more peoples apart from the three main groups mentioned living around the north pole. There is one group in Siberia who have developed houses for all year travel or life on the snow. I suppose you could either describe them as Snow Gypsy's or Nomads.
