The Origins of the Alaskan Racing Sled

The Alaskan freight sled used during the Klondike Gold Rush was really a hybrid that illustrates the transition from a sleigh that was designed just for freighting to what we now refer to as a racing sled.  During the Klondike Gold Rush the most popular sled was  what has been called the “Yukon sled”,  .…"during the gold rush, the Northern Commercial Company (NC Co.) developed a mass-produced sled that was sold to men and women heading north. It was similar to the basket sled…..except that the stanchions were cut off at the bed slats. There are no driving bows or brush bows on it. It was similar to the old American Flyer sleds that kids use these days. Instead of being held together with babiche, they were actually bolted together.” (some of these sleds were fastened together using ingenious mortise and tenon joints that were held together using wooden pegs.  During the Gold Rush these sleds were pulled by dogs, horses, oxen and humans.  They were essentially platforms for moving freight, sometimes two and even three would be hitched in line together.  The musher (or freighter or dog puncher) always walked, usually on the front right hand side of the sled using the “gee” pole to brake and steer the heavy load.   It became common for the musher to lash poles or saplings to the sides of these sleds, giving them the appearance of a basket sled…but these weren’t basket sleds.  The Alaskan basket-style freight sled  evolved from a mixture of both Russian and Native Alaskan influences  A reference is http://www.mushingpast.blogspot.ca/search/label/Russian%20American%20Company
It was lighter, more manoeuverable than the Yukon sled  but could still carry a sizeable load (including passengers)….but still the musher walked or snowshoed  beside the gee pole or behind the sled.  There was no place for the musher to stand.  Note that with the Nansen sled, a type of freight sled made popular by the Arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen, both ends of the runners are curled up.  This allowed for both forward and backward manoeuvrability but still the musher had no option but to walk, ski or snowshoe behind or beside the sled.  At about the same time as the illustrated basket sled was used for freighting, dog racing was becoming increasingly popular in Alaska and it didn’t take long for mushers to extend the runners behind the back stanchions so that they had a place to stand, to make these sleds out of lighter materials and to perfect  the use of the lead dog.  It seems to me that things are still evolving.  The first Inuit and Chukchi mushers sat on their komatiks and sleds, then mushers started walking and running behind their sleds, then they figured out how to stand at the back of their sleds on the runners and now if you look at the Iditarod, many mushers are back to sitting on their sleds.