Carriage

a wheeled vehicle designed to carry people on ordinary streets and roads. Two-wheeled carts or chariots were known to the Assyrian and Egyptian. It may be remembered that David brought home the Ark in a new cart, and that "the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah and He smote him" for putting his unhallowed hand on the Ark when the oxen drawing the cart stumbled over rough ground. For want of roads in former times, four-wheeled carriages were comparatively rare. It is believed that beyond the rudest sort of peasants' carts, there were not a dozen carriages or coaches in all Europe when America was discovered. The bodies of the earlier carriages, were hung on straps by way of springs. The carriage spring passed through several stages. The first attempt to relieve the jar of riding was the suspension of the box by leathern straps from stiff iron arms or jacks rising in front and behind from the axles. Then it occurred to some one to give the upper ends of the jacks a little spring. The next step was to coil the upper ends of the jacks into springs having the shape of the letter C. Elliptical steel springs have been in use about a century. The very names of the various kinds of carriages are bewildering. Gig, sulky, and go-cart; chaise, calash, cariole, coupe, hansom, and jaunting car; coach, brougham, barouche, rock away, landau, and Victoria; buggy, phaeton, and surrey; cab, hackney, fiacre, and drosky; drag, carryall, and tally-ho; wagonette, barge, stage, and omnibus; dray, express wagon, and van; cart, truck, and farm wagon,--there is no end to the classes, styles, and variations. It is impossible to say what further changes may be introduced by the automobile.

Some idea of the extent to which the manufacture of vehicles is carried in the United States may be gained from the census statistics:

See Wagon; Car; Automobile