Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 January 1913 — SLEDS USED IN THE YUKON [ARTICLE]

SLEDS USED IN THE YUKON

Not Constructed Along Lines of Beau* ty, but for Hard Work They Are Perfection. The Yukon sled, while not a thing of beauty, is built to stand all kinds of hard wear, or, as the Irishman said, “It will last forever, and after that can be used for firewood.” The sled is about eight feet long, Is made of any kind of hard wood, lies close to the ground, costs from $lO to sl4, and makes a trail sixteen inches in width. Another pattern is known as the basket sleigh, and it Is to the Yukon sleigh what a three-masted schooner is to a coal barge. In length it is from eight to fifteen feet, is made of birch, oak or hickory, cuts a trail twenty-two inches in width, costs from S4O to S2OO, is raised a foot or more from the runners, and, in the best examples, is lashed together with raw* hide. The basket sleigh, as its name implies, is fitted with a basket, into which the load is placed, and from the back of the basket a pair of handles project, to be used in guiding the sled on the trail. It often happens that a Yukon sled will be fitted with a home-made basket, in imitation of its more aristocratic brother. In very cold weather wooden runners are best, but in ordinary circumstances steel or brass gunners are used.— Wide World Magazine.