University Southern flB Library M E M O I R S OF THE M O S T EMINENT AMERICAN MECHANICS: ALSO, LIVES OP DISTINGUISHED EUROPEAN MECHANICS; TOGETHER WITH A COLLECTION OF ANECDOTES, DESCRIPTIONS, &c. &c. RELATING TO THE MECHANIC ARTS. ILLUSTRATED BY F1FTV ENGRAVINGS BY HENRY HOWE. "The due cultivation of practical manual arts in a nation, has a greater tendency to polish and humanize mankind, than mere speculative science, however refined and sublime tl may be." NEW YORK : DERBY & JACKSON, 119 NASSAU ST. 1858. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S4G, ly HARPER & BROTHERS, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court tor the Southern District ol New York PREFACE. It is singular thai BO tittle interest should heretofore have been taken in the histoiy of those to whom we are indebted for the arts and inventions constituting the glory of our time. The pen has ever been more ready to record the brilliant than the useful To this is to be attributed the neglect heretofore manifested in relation to these subjects. Indeed, so little regard has been evinced, that a late foreign writer, who happened incidentally to be " thrown upon" some incidents in the life of an eminent mechanician, considered it due to the fastidiousness of public taste, to claim indulgence for diverging into so obscure and tasteless a path of biographical research. But, thanks to the more general diffusion of knowledge and the light of Christianity, this false taste is rapidly dissipating, and mankind are beginning to appreciate the labors of those to whom we are indebted for our present unparalleled state of intellectual and social advance- ment. The memoirs of the benefactors of our race, in past ages, are often histories of wrong; and those who have labored in the department of mechanical invention, may truly be termed the martyrs of civilization! The causes producing this state of 4 PREFACE. things are fading away before the intelligence of the times, and wise and just laws are in operation to protect the defenceless. As has been aptly observed, " the strife of trade has superseded the strife of war," the clash and din of arms has given place to the busy hum of industry, the ringing of the anvil, the melody of the waterfall, and the puff of the steam engine. The days of tournaments are past, the mechanic fairs are our " tilting grounds," where the conflict is not for physical superiority, but for inventions best promoting the comfort and elegance of life. Although much has been done, more remains to be accomplished. This new world is to be a theatre of mighty structures for the development of resources, advancing, beyond present conception, the welfare and happiness of our race Biographies of public individuals have their peculiar advan- tages ; but examples drawn from the common walks prove of more practical utility. Such are here presented ; and it is judged that their perusal will be found at least as useful as tracing the progress of a military hero through scenes of blood, or witness- ing the more peaceful triumphs of some champion in the field of political strife. With these views we have prosecuted this undertaking, in the hope of producing a series of memoirs, which, while of general interest, would be useful to the mechanic : and the aim being to give as much variety as possible within our assigned limits, we have reluctantly excluded several characters, who, but for their similarity of pursuit, would have adorned our pages. The materials are drawn from a variety of sources ; but we are principally indebted to the various mechanical journals of the day, including the publications of the Society for the Diffusion of UsefuJ PREFACE. 5 Knowledge. Most of the memoirs, however, in the American department were written expressly for the work, while severaj of the others in this as well as in the other portion have under- gone more or less modification. To those who have kindly furnished us with notices of their respective friends, we feel duly grateful. To the public we pre- sent the result of our labors, with the desire that it may excite emulation, and illustrate and encourage the talent and persever- ance required for a successful cultivation of the mechanic arts. H.H. CONTENTS. AMERICAN MECHANICS. FA6B JOHN FITCH ..... 13 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN .... ;>7 08 SAMUEL SLATER 85 101 - DAVID BUSHNELL 13ii AMOS WHITTEMORK .... 147 ROBERT FULTON 1515 JACOB PERKINS ..... . 1S8 I9"i HENRY ECKFORD ... CONTENT& EUROPEAN MECHANICS. PAGK JOHN SMEATON 219 MARQUIS OF WORCESTER 228 JAMES FERGUSON . 237 SAMUEL CROMPTON . 249 WILLIAM EDWARDS . 253 RICHARD ARKWRIGHT . ... . 258 M. GUINAND . * 270 JAMES WATT ... .... 279 JAMES BRINDLEY 298 JESSE RAMSDEN . . , 313 EARL OF STANHOPE 318 HOHLFIELD ........ 323 MATTHEW BOTH/TON 327 THOMAS TELFORD 330 EDMUND CARTWRIGHT ...... 336 JOHN WHITEHURST 342 JAMES HARGREAVES 347 JOSEPH BRAMAH .... 350 ANECDOTES, DESCRIPTIONS, ETC., ETC., RELATING TO THE MECHANIC ARTS. FAflB Progress of Invention illustrated 353 Illustration of the Ignorance of Foreigners respecting American Inventions 355 Singular Origin of the Invention of Frame-work Knitting 358 Ancient and Modern Labor . . . ... 360 The Slide of Alpnach .' .... 361 American Road-making 364 Archimedes 367 The Inventor of the Iron Plough 370 Cotton Manufacture of India .... 372 Description of the Bridge at the Niagara Falls . 376 Thomas Godfrey 378 Musical Kaleidescope ""9 Bernard Palissy ...... Sw9 Dyeing Cloth of two Colors 380 Remarkable Wooden Bridge . . . . . 380 Celebrated and curious Clocks . . . . . 381 Manufacture of Porcelain and Earthenware . . . 38, 6 Inventors and Poets 391 Public Works of the United States .... 392 Manufactory of the Gobelins ..... 394 March of Umbrellas 395 The French Machine-maker ..... 396 Manufacturing Establishments 400 The Mechanical Fiddler . 402 10 CONTENTS. FAS. Corn Mills in ancient times . . . 404 The Obelisk of Luxor 409 American Steamers ..... . 416 Simple Origin of important Discoveries . . . 426 Invention of the Safety Lamp ..... 427 The Thames Tunnel 428 Watchmaking in Switzerfand . . . . . 441 Perpetual Motion ...... 445 The Balsa 448 AUTOMATA 449 Mechanical Automata of the Ancients . . . 450 Automata of Daedalus ...... 450 Wooden Pigeon of Archytas . . . . 450 Automatic Clock of Charlemagne .... 450 - Automata of Muller and Turrianus . . . 451 Camus's Carriage 451 Degennes 1 Mechanical Peacock .... 452 Vaucanson's Duck 452 Drawing and writing Automata .... 453 Maillardefs Conjurer 453 Benefits derived from the passion for Automata . 454 Duncan^ Tambouring Machine ..... 455 Watt 1 s Statue-turning Machinery ..... -457 Babbage's Calculating Machine 457 Automaton Chess Player ...... 460 Chinese Bamboo Irrigation Wheel .... 469 Discovery of Gunpowder, and Inventions arising there- from ... ... 470 A few Remarks on the Relation which subsists between a Machine and its Model . . . . . 471 Shoes and Buckles . 475 The Croton Aqueduct ...... 476 Cugnot's Steam Carriage 479 Eloquent Description . . . . . . . 480 Watchmaker's Epitaph ...... 483 ILLUSTRATIONS. FRONTISPIECE. Fitch's Steamboat 31 The first American Locomotive ; or, the " Oructor Am- phibolis " of Evans ...... 77 View of Pawtucket 93 Birth-place of Whitney 103 Cotton Gin, (Plan) 108 Ditto, (Section) 109 View of Whitney's Armory 124 Tomb of Whitney 135 Destruction of a British Tender by a Torpedo . . 141 Stationary Torpedo 166 Fulton's first American Steamboat . . . . 179 Blanchard r s Engine for turning irregular forms . . 203 Eddystone Bond . 225 Eddystone Lighthouse in a Storm ..... 227 Hall-in-the-wood, neac Bolton 251 Arkwright's first Cotton Factory at Cromford . . .266 Aqueduct over the Irwell 307 Menai Suspension Bridge ...... 333 The Hydrostatic Press 351 Progress of Invention illustrated .... 353, 354 Wooden Pavement . 367 Spinning-wheel of India ...... 372 Hindoos weaving 373 12 ILLUSTRATIONS. Longitudina. Section of Thames Tunnel, showing its course under the river 434 Longitudinal Section of Thames Tunnel, with an end view of the Shield 434 Cross Section of Thames Tunnel, showing the arrange- ment of the masonry 439 The Balsa 448 Chinese Irrigation Wheel 469 Croton Aqueduct ........ 478 PORTRAITS. Benjamin Franklin PAGE 36 Worcester . . PAGE 231 Oliver Evans . . Samuel Slater . . . Eli Whitney . . . Amos Whittemore Robert Fulton . . Jstcob Perkins . 69 . 84 . 100 . 146 . 157 189 James Ferguson . . Samuel Crompton Richard Arkwright . James Watt . . . James Brindley . Stanhope . 236 . 248 . 259 . 278 . 299 319 Thomas Blanchard . John Smeaton . . . . 196 218 Matthew Boulton . . John Whitehurst . . . 326 . 343 AMERICAN MECHANICS. JOHN FITCH, AN EARLY STEAMBOAT INVENTOR "The invention all admired, and each how he To be the inventor missed : so easy it seemed. Once found, which yet untound, most would have thought Impossible." MILTON. Who invented the first steamboat "? Early experimenters in steam Blasco de Garay. Jonathan Hulls. Fitch's manuscript. Birth. Character of his parents. Loses his mother. Juvenile heroism. Mother-in-law. Schoolboy days. Becomes a great arithmetician. Father's austerity. Hears of a won- derful book. Great thirst for knowledge. Self-denial and industry. Makes a purchase. Becomes a great geographer. Father purchases him scale and dividers. Great joy thereat. Studies surveying. Surveys with the governor, and paid in glory. Leaves school for the farm. Brother's tyranny. Desires to study astronomy. Relaxes from studious habits. Embarks as a cabin-boy in a coaster. Cruel treatment. Leaves, ?nd enters another. Makes a short voyage. Returns.' Accidental meeting with a clockmaker. Wishes to enter his service. Sellish opposition of his parents. Kindness of his brother-in- law. Enters the clockmaker's service. His neglect. Leaves in ignorance of his profession. Enters the service of a clockmaker and watch repairer. Gross injustice. Leaves. New employment, and success. A change, and misfortune. Marries. Unhappy life. Abandons his wife. Wanders.. Visits the Jerseys. Sickly appearance a prevention to obtaining empbyment as a day-laborer. Turns button-maker. Revolutionary war. Repairs arms for the continental army. Employed in Kentucky as a surveyor. Taken prisoner by the Indians, and carried into captivity. Release. Returns to the east. Fast idea of a steamboat Curious reflections. Dr. Thornton's account of his experiments. Note. Biographical Sketch of Rumsey. Description of Fitch's boat. Goes out tc*France. Return. Misfortunes. Generosity of a relation. Visits Kentucky. Better prospects. Death. " WHO invented the first steamboat ?" is a question which has excited great controversy, an achievement of which nations as well as individuals have been covetous. Several of the early experimenters in steam appear to have con- ceived of the idea. The first account we have on the subject is given in a work recently published in Spain, containing original papevp relating to the voyage of Columbus, said to have been pre. 2 14 AMERICAN MECHANICS. served in the royal archives at Samancas, and among the public papers of Catalonia and those of the secretary at war for the year 1543. This narrative states that " Blasco de Garay, a sea cap- tain, exhibited to the emperor and king Charles V., in the year 1543, an engine by which ships and vessels of the largest size could be propelled, even in a calm, without the aid of oars or sails. Notwithstanding the opposition which this project encountered, the emperor resolved that an experiment should be made, as in fact it was, with success, in the harbor of Barcelona, on the 17th of June, 1543. Garay never publicly exposed the construction of his engine, but it was observed at the time of his experiment, that it consisted of a large caldron or vessel of boiling water, and a moveable wheel attached to each side of the ship. The experi- ment was made on a ship of 209 tons, arrived from Calibre, to discharge a cargo of wheat at Barcelona ; it was called the Tri- nity, and the captain's name was Peter de Scarza. By order of Charles V. and the prince Philip the Second, his son, there were present at the time, Henry de Toledo, the governor, Peter Car- dona, the treasurer, Ravage, the vice-chancellor, Francis Gralla, and many other persons of rank, both Castilians and Catalonians ; and among others, several sea captains witnessed the operation, some in the vessel, and others on the shore. The emperor and prince, and others with them, applauded the engine, and especially the expertness with which the ship could be tacked. The trea- surer Ravago, an enemy to the project, said it would move two leagues in three hours. It was very complicated and expensive, and exposed to the constant danger of bursting the boiler. The other commissioners affirmed, that the vessel could be tacked twice as quick as a galley served by the common method, and that at its" slowest rate it would move a league in an hour. The exhibition being finished, Garay took from the ship his engine, and having deposited the wood work in the arsenal of Barcelona, kept the rest to himself. Notwithstanding the difficulties and opposition thrown in the way by Ravag*, the invention was ap- proved ; and if the expedition in which Charles V. was then engaged had not failed, it would undoubtedly have been favored by him. As it was, he raised Garay to a higher station, gave him a sum of money (200,000 maravedies) as a present, ordered all the expenses of the experiment to be paid out of the general treasury, and conferred upon him other rewards." The editor of the Franklin Journal, from which this extract has been made, observes, " when the Public Records ' shall appear in an authentic form, their evidence must be admitted ; until then he should not be inclined to commence the history of the inven. JOHN FITCH. 16 tion of the steamboat so far back as 1543. For circumstantial aa the account is, it seems to have been written since the days of Fulton." He is not alone in this opinion, as it is universally regarded as a mere fiction, the offspring of an individual jealous of his country's reputation. The most prominent and authentic account of the early projects of applying steam as a motive power to the propelling of vessels, is given in a treatise printed in London in 1737, entitled " De- scription and draught of a new-invented machine, for carrying vessels out of, or into any harbor, port, or river, against wind and tide or in a calm : for which his majesty George II. has granted letters patent for the sole benefit of the author, for the space of fourteen years ; by Jonathan Hulls." The draught or drawing prefixed is a plate of a stout boat with chimney smoking, a pair of wheels rigged out over each side of the stern, moved by means of ropes passing round their outer rims ; and to the axis of these wheels are fixed six paddles to propel the boat. From the stern of the boat a tow-line passes to the foremast of a two-decker, which the boat thus tows through the water. There is no evi- dence that Hulls ever applied his conceptions to practice. Since that time, down to the period of the great and successful experiments of Fulton, several attempts were made here and in Europe, with varied success. Among the most, if not the most conspicuous, were those made by the subject of this article. A few years previous to his death, Fitch prepared a memoir of himself, including a history of his experiments in steam. These papers were bequeathed to the Franklin Library of Philadelphia, with directions that they should be unsealed and perused thirl y years from the time of his decease. At the appointed period they were opened, and found to contain a very full account of his life, particularly of that portion which related to his experiments in steam, including the progress of his operations from the time the thought first occurred to him, until the completion of the boat so far as to make numerous experiments on the Delaware, the sub- sequent alterations made, and the final abandonment of the schen e by the original stockholders. These manuscripts show but one tissue of discouragements and perplexities, and prove him to have been a strong-minded but un lettered man, with a perseverance almost unexa.mpled, and a de- termination to let no difficulty in the execution of his plan prevent him from endeavoring to bring it to perfection, so long as the shareholders furnished the means of defraying the expenses. IndeeH, disappointment and oppression appear to have borne him 16 AMERICAN MECHANICS. company from his very youth ; and, as he himself rema ks, it i the history of one of the most " singular," as well as one of the most "unfortunate men in the world!" From this narrative we shall make liberal quotations, especially from thai portion relating to his younger days. It is the incidents of youth that give a tone and direction to character. We can all of us refer to some of the most apparently trivial events of earlier years that have completely changed the whole current of our thoughts and pursuits. In the memoir before us there can be 1 raced, with a minuteness uncommon even in biography, those circumstances which moulded his strong mind into its peculiar model ; and we can there perceive the origin of that misanthropical cast of thought, that eccentricity of character and that looseness of sentiment hi regard to concerns of a serious nature, which so sirongly marked the author of its pages. This memoir is addressed to the " worthy Nathaniel Irwin. ot Neshamoney," in Pennsylvania, a clergyman and a gentleman of whose talents and kindness of disposition Fitch had formed the highest estimate, and who, it appears, once requested him to pre- pare something of the kind. The principal reason which Fitch gives for complying with this request was, that his life had been filled with such a variety of changes, affording such useful lessons to mankind, that he considered it a neglect of duty were he to suppress it. " The 21st of January, 1743, old style," says he, " was the fatal time of bringing me into existence. The house I was born in was upon the line between Hartford and Windsor (Connecticut.) It was said I was born in Windsor ;* but from the singularity of my make, shape, disposition, and fortune in the world, I am in- clined to believe that it was the design of Heaven that I should be born on the very line, and not in any township whatever ; yet am happy also that it did not happen between two states, that I can say I was born somewhere." Fitch's father was a farmer in good circumstances. His be- setting sin seems to have consisted in a want of generosity in pecuniary affairs, so much so that his son observes, " I presume he never spent five shillings at a tavern during the whole course of his life." This, in our day, would be considered as a very singular and inapt illustration of that trait of disposition ; but when we remember the. customs of society at that period, and the total deprivation of every thing like " amusement," inseparable from the isolated condition of agriculturists, we shall comprehend some. * Now East Windsor. JOHN FITCH 17 thing like tne spirit of the allusion. Still, his parent appears to have been a good provider ; for he goes on to state, " we always had plenty of victuals and drink in the house. In the whole course of my acquaintance with him, I never knew him out of cider but about two weeks, and never out of pickled pork. Our victuals were coarse, but wholesome, such as pork and beans, codfish and potatoes, hasty pudding and milk," and, what was particularly valued, " always a stout hasty pudding after dinner." His pa. rents had five children, two sons and two daughters, besides the* " unfortunate John." " From the time of my birth," says he, " until I was five years of age, nothing material happened to me that I can recollect, any more than crawling along the floor and picking ants out of the cracks, and now and then catching a fly, which made as lively impression on my mind, as great, perhaps, as the Trojan war on the minds of heroes." " When I was four years old I went to school : I know from the circumstance that my mistress used to ask me how my mother was, and she died when I was five years old. I recollect that I learned to spell the first summer before my mother's death, whilst I went to Mrs. Rockwell. I remember frequently spelling there without the book the words commandment, Jerusalem, &c. But soon the fatal day arrived when my mother's guardianship should be taken from me, and early in the fall I was deprived of her. Although I did not consider my loss, natural affection carried my griefs to a very great excess for a child of my age." He here, and frequently elsewhere, speaks of his mother with regard, and no doubt her loss proved injurious to him. She was a kind and affectionate woman, without those disagreeable traits which marked the character of his other parent. " When about six years of age," he remarks, " a most extra- ordinary circumstance happened to me, worthy of the notice of a Roman soldier." Returning from school about dusk one day, he found no one in the house except a little sister, his second brother being in the barn yard holding a "wicked cow" for his eldest sister to milk. This little sister being anxious to show h'.m a present which she had received during the day, it being too dark to see without, lighted a candle to find it. Unfortunately, in her search she set fire to two large bundles of flax standing in a dis- tant corner of the room, which young Fitch no sooner observed, than, with a presence of mind truly wonderful in a child so young, he ran and seized one of the blazing bundles, which was more than he was enabled to lift without resting it upon his knees, carried r. to the Tiearth, and threw it down. In so doing he blistered his 2* 18 AMERICAN MECHANICS. hands and set his hair in a blaze, but, smothering the file on hi* head with his naked hands, he sprang and grasped the other bundle and brought it to the same place, blistering his hands and setting his head on fire the second time, and putting it out in like manner. Having done this, he jumped upon the bundles until the fire was extinguished. " In the mean time," he says, " whilst I was thus occupied, my little sister Chloe being frightened, ran to the barn yard, and probably told my brother some improper story. ..When I had the fire put out, notwithstanding my painful hands and smarting face, which was then covered with blisters, I went to relate the tale to my elder brother ; but no sooner did I arrive in the yard than he fell foul of me, boxing my ears and beating me beyond reason for the greatest fault, and would not give me leave to say a word in my behalf. As my father had that evening gone a courting, I had nowhere to apply to for redress, therefore was obliged not only to submit to the greatest indignities, but to the greatest injustice. On his return I made complaints, but with- out satisfaction or redress. This being what I may call the first act of my life, seemed to forebode the future rewards that I was to receive for my labors through it, which has generally corre- sponded with that." When he was about seven years old, his father married " ne Abigail Church," whom he describes as being an orderly, easy. tempered old maid of forty, possessing sense sufficient to manage the affairs of the house. " My father," he continues, " kept me constantly at school until I was eight or nine years of age, as my schooling cost him nothing. When the weather was too bad to go to school, he had goodness enough to encourage my learning my book at home, and would frequently teach me. Before I was ten years old I could say the New England Primer all by heart, from Adam's fall to the end of the catechism. But the most surprising thing of my learning ap- pears to me to be this : My father had an old arithmetic book in the house, by one Hodder, with the old-fashioned division in it. I was able at nine years of age to make figures pretty well, as well as to write a legible hand. Whenever I had a minute's lei- sure I would have that book in my hand, and learned myself out of it the true principles of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division ; and the year that I was nine years of age, could tell how many minutes old I should be when I should have seen ten years, but was not able to multiply the figure nine : this I did in the presence of four or five neighbors one rainy day, to their admiration. When about eight years of age, my father took me from school, and set me to work in the most serious and diligent JOHN FITCH. 1J> manner, although I was exceedingly small of my age, and scarcely able to swingle more than two pounds of flax, or thresh more than two bushels of grain, with the steadiness of a man of thirty years for that trifling, pitiful labcr. I was prevented from going to school more than one month in the winter, when he saw that I was nearly crazy after learning, and then I was always obliged to leave before it was out to come home to help him fodder." " My father was one of the most strenuous of the sect of Pres- byterians, and a bigot, which he carried to such excess that I dare not go into the gardpn to pick currants or into the orchard to get apples on the sabbath. I really believe that he thought it the extent of his duty toward me to learn me to read the Bible, that I might find the way to heaven ; when he had done that he felt per- fectly easy, and if I could earn him twopence per day it ought not to be lost. It may be irreverent for me thus to speak as I have done of a parent, but I mean to communicate the truth to you, and in as particular a manner as I can." Without apologizing for the unnatural language of Fitch in thus speaking of a parent, we can perceive in that austerity and scrupulous observance of the mere outward forms of religion which he evinced, without being suffi- ciently guided by its true spirit to act generously and fairly by those .around him, the origin of that infidelity of sentiment which formed so striking a feature in the character of his son. " But notwithstanding," continues Fitch, " he suppressed me from going to school, he did not hinder me from studying such books as he had ; and at noontimes and evenings, instead of play- ing, as is common with boys of that age, I was as studious as the most zealous student under the eyes of a tutor, and, in particular, in Hodder's Arithmetic, which went as far as Alligation Alternate. When I was eleven years old, I heard of a book that would give me a knowledge of the whole tvorld, which was Salmon's Geog- raphy. I repeatedly requested my father to get it for me, but to no purpose. I then proposed to him to give me some headlands at the end of a field to plant potatoes, which he granted, and I dug it up by hand on a holyday." This holyday was the annual meet- ing of the militia of the state. Every reader who can recollect in the times of his boyhood how delightfully the old distich, " First Monday in May Is training day," used to sound in his ears, when he looked forward in anticipation to the glories of that jubilee, can form some idea of the thirst for knowledge which young Fitch here evinced in denying himself a oarticipation in its pleasm es. Having thus prepared the land, he 20 AMERICAN MECHANICS. planted it with potatoes, cultivating them at noontimes and at evenings, after the labors of the day were over. He says, " I raised several bushels, and in the fall sold them, and got ten shil- lings in money, and went to a merchant in the neighborhood who dealt in New York, who promised me to get the book, and fulfilled his promise. But the book cost twelve shillings, and I was two shillings in debt, which gave me a great deal of uneasiness. By some means, I do not recollect how, I soon discharged it, but was obliged to return the seed to my father in the fall. " What makes me pretty sure it happened when I was eleven years of age, is this : it was about one year after I planted the potatoes before I got the book, and I learned surveying that winter I was thirteen years of age, and when I learned that, I presume I was the best geographer of the world, that Connecticut could pro- duce, according to Salmon, at that time. No question could be asked me of any nation, but I would tell their number, religion, their latitude and longitude, and turn at once to any town marked on the maps, which could not be acquired in less than in about one year, considering the small opportunities I had of studying, which was only in the intervals of hai'd labor and times for rest. " My father never allowed me to go to school more than one month in a year, except that winter I was thirteen years of age, when he permitted me to go about five or six weeks. After I had got through with common arithmetic, my master told me in public school that he could learn me no farther in arithmetic, but, if I chose, he would learn me surveying. I so earnestly insisted on my father to indulge me in this, that he could not resist my en- treaties, and went to Hartford and got a scale and a pair of dividers, and on his return I never felt, a greater sense of grati- tude to mortal man than I did to him at that time, and in two weeks learned what we called surveying in New England. I knew no better, but thought myself perfect master, but learned nothing of logarithms, or of calculation by latitude and departure, only geometrically. As I had learned common arithmetic out of school by myself, I had but little to do while there, only to go through what I had really learned, except division, which took me about half a day to learn the different mode before I could be ready at it." " My father had meadow lands adjoining the governor of the colony. He frequently came under the shade with us in mowing time ; and seeing me a little, forward boy, one day requested my father to let me go to carry the chain with him, to measure off some small parcels. His request was easily granted, as is com- mon for poor men to exert themselves to oblige the great. This .OHN FITCH. 21 happened when I was about ten or eleven years of age. In this undertaking the governor was exceedingly familiar with me, and would consult me on the most minute part of the business as'much as if I had been an able counsellor, and as if he knew nothing of the business himself. I was equally proud of his company, and as officious as I could be to render him every service." " We could not finish the surveying that evening, but left, I believe, seven or eight acres when we quit. He left the chain, and gave me directions how to lay it off for sundry people ; I being proud of the office, readily accepted it, and executed it faithfully. Some time after, the governor called at my father's house for the chain ; I fetched it to him with the greatest expedition, and ex. pectation of some pennies, when he took it, put it in his saddle- bags, and rode off without saying a word ! My mortification at this time was nearly equal to the usage I met with in extinguish, ing the fire in my father's house ; yet I am persuaded the governor was an honest man, but concluded within himself that the honor would fully compensate me." On leaving school. Fitch's whole time was devoted to the labors of the farm. His duties were so very severe, that he expresses an opinion that it " stunted him," and prevented his growth for several years. Independent of the severity of his father in thus keeping him so hard at work, he was subject to the tyranny of an elder brother, who sought every opportunity to oppress him and crush his spirits, cruelly compelling him to such an exertion in his labors that he was often " ready to faint," and speaking in such a manner as to put him in continual apprehension of a beating. " For this treatment," says he, " I do not thank my unfeeling father and tyrant brother ; and although I have not seen him for twenty years, would not go to the nearest neighbor's to see him, unless he was in distress. Could I be set into a Virginia field amongst their slaves, with the severest driver at my back, I would sooner engage in it than go through the same again." In speaking of an almost miraculous escape from injury in falling from a tree which happened about this period, he observes, " it seems heaven designed me for some more cruel fate." While on the farm, young Fitch was extremely desirous to study astronomy, and in vain solicited his father to procure the necessary works ; but, in some degree from the severity of his duties, partly from the want of books, and having already attained a greater amount of learning than any of his neighbors, he con. tinucs, " I imperceptibly left my studies, and fell into the common practices of boys in our neighborhood, and devoted myself to play, when I could steal a minute, as much as I had before to my books. 22 AMERICAN MECHANICS. This helped to sweeten life ; and from the time I was thirteeE and fourteen years of age until I went apprentice, I enjoyed my. self as well as most of the Virginia slaves, who have liberty to go to a dance once a week." " During that time there was nothing material happened to me. I seemed to be beloved bth by old and young, as I could speak rationally to the old, and was always foremost among my play- fellows." When about seventeen years of age, Fitch was anxious to learn some trade or go to sea, by which he " could make a living when fie came to himself." He expressed these views to his father, at the same time representing that he was too small and weak to obtain a support by agricultural employments. s His parent re luctantly consented. In the following September the steeple tc the village church was raised. This was indeed a gala day, and the people from Hartford and the whole country round flocked to witness this then uncommon spectacle. Although, as he tells us, he had ** a singular curiosity in witnessing mechanical operations," yet was determined to forego the pleasure, and borrowed a horse for the purpose of visiting Rocky Hill, a parish in Wethcrsfield, where there were a great number of coasters. The object of this visit was to engage a berth for a short voyage, to settle his opinion as to the propriety of learning a trade or becoming a seaman. A place was first engaged on board of a sloop bound to New York, " under one Captain Abbott." This situation was found very disagreeable. The master treated him with brutality ; and although there were plenty of empty berths, he was compelled by the mate Starr, to lie upon deck on a chest, much too short, and this, too, without any covering. Such usage was considered " ex- tremely hard, after having been used to a comfortable bed at home." An occasion offering a day or two subsequent, he left and went on board of a Providence sloop. Here things were found very comfortable, and although not in accordance to stipulation, Fitch evinced such zeal and industry that his master paid him wages, and he made a " saving voyage." " I returned home," says he, " neither enamoured with the sea nor resolved against it, and in as much of a quandary how to dispose of myself as ever." Accident, however, soon threw him in the way of a neighboring Jiockmaker, who proposed to him to enter into his service. On expressing to his parents his desire to learn the business, they strenuously opposed his wishes, and this, too, without any regard to their son's welfare, but merely from a selfish unwiJingness to Jispense with his services on the farm, which had then becoro* JOHN FITCH. 23 quite valuable. Their opposition came near frustrating the plan. On mentioning his troubles to his sister and her husband, Mr. Timothy King, although poor, they offered to advance the neces- sary funds. Fitch says, ** these two persons were the greatest ornament that ever adorned my father's family. My sister was the most mannerly, generous-spirited woman that I ever saw, not only to me, but to others, and probably might take it in some manner from her husband, as good wives endeavor to recommend themselves to their husbands by adopting their sentiments." Other obstacles were thrown in his way, but he successfully overcame them. He describes the clockmaker as an eccentric man, and possess, ing some genius. According to agreement, Fitch was to work seven months in the year in the out-door concerns of his employer, the remainder of the time to devote to the pursuit of the art and mysteries of wooden clock-making. But his master by no means acted in conformity to contract, keeping his apprentice almost continually in attendance upon his domestic concerns ; and even during the small portion of the time he was employed in the shop, so neglected to instruct him, that at the expiration of two years and a half, Fitch left almost entirely ignorant of his profession. After this he went to work with a brother of his former em- ployer, who was engaged in a similar business, and who unitec with the manufacture of clocks the repairing of watches. This latter art it was especially stipulated should be taught his new ap. prentice ; he not only omitted to do it, but took particular pains to prevent his learning, working himself in a distant part of the room, locking up his tools when absent, and forbidding Fitch evei to touch them. Fitch was a.ways kept busy on some unimportant part, so that during the eight months he was in this person's ser- vice, he never even saw a watch taken to pieces or put together, and, in fact, had no opportunity of obtaining any insight of the subject whatever. Nor did oppression end here ; " although," he observes, " I possessed a small appetite, I never was given, sufficient to satisfy it, except on one occasion, when I managed lo make a good, hearty meal on potatoes. Being an inferior, I was helped last at the table ; the females would then discourse upon gluttony, and my master, hastily devouring his own food, would immediately return thanks for that which himself and others eat, as well as for that which his apprentice did not." Fitch was kept very hard and steady at work from before sunrise in winter until ten o'clock at night, and as many hours during the summer, with, however, one single exception, this was on the >xasion of the sickness and death of his master's child, when 2 24 AMERICAN MECHANICS. he was obliged to walk six miles for a pnysician. Shortly after his return the child died. " During the night," says he, " I watched with the corpse, with the privilege of as much water from the well as I desired, by way of refreshment." On leaving his last employer, he dared not set up the business on his own account, or work as a journeyman, for fear of exhibit, ing his ignorance, but employed himself, as he tells us, " in doing small brass work." This was pursued by him with so much in- dustry, that at the end of two years he found himself worth fifty pounds, which for him, considering the scarcity of money at the time, was viewed as " quite a treasure," and enabled him to pay off his debts, and have something "handsome left." Fitch after, wards entered into the potash business, but was unsuccessful in its prosecution, arising partially from the unfaithfulness of one of rtis partners. While thus engaged, he married Miss Lucy Ro- berts, on 29th December, 1767 ; but owing to her unhappy temper and disposition, was compelled, in the course of a year or two, to abandon her, being thoroughly convinced that it was for the happi- ness of both that they should separate. This event occasioned him great affliction, from being obliged to leave a child whom he " loved as dear as himself." A misfortune subsequently happen- ing to her, he observes, " could I have foreseen it, I should never have abandoned her, but have endeavored to worry through life in her company as well as I might." On forsaking the place of his nativity, Fitch went to Pittsfield, Mass., but not having constant employment there, visited Albany, yet with no better success. A short time after, we find him in New Jersey, in a destitute condition, endeavoring to find employ- ment on some farm as a common laborer, but his sickly appear- ance baffled all his efforts, no one would employ him. Finally, he entered into the business of making buttons, which he pursued with tolerable success, first at New Brunswick, and afterwards at Trenton. At the commencement of the revolution, Fitch espoused the popular cause, and during a portion of the time rendered himself very useful in repairing arms for the continental army. Subse- quently he removed to Kentucky, where he received the appoint- ment and practised as a surveyor. While at the West, and in navigating a river in a small boat, Fitch and his companions wero taken prisoners and carried into captivity by the Indians, but after considerable hardship and suffering, were released. At a subse- quent period he became once more an inhabitant of one of the Atlantic states. " In the month of April, 1785," says Fitch, in the manuscript \ 1^ >A ^ ^ s V * fc f r i^ r I * ^ lk*:% JOHN FITCH. 21 alluded to, " I was so unfortunate as to have an idea that a ca r. riage might be carried by the force of steam along the roads. I pursued that idea about one week, and gave it over as imprac- ticable, or, in other words, turned my thoughts to vessels. From that time I have pursued the idea to this day with unremitted assi- duity, yet do frankly confess that it has been the most imprudent scheme that ever I engaged in. The perplexities and embarrass- ments through which it has caused me to wade, far exceed any thing that the common course of life ever presented to my view , and to reflect on the disproportion of a man of my abilities to such a task, I am to charge myself with having been deranged ; ;md had I not the most convincing proofs to the contrary, should most certainly suppose myself to have been non compos mentis at the time." In another place he remarks, " If I had the abilities of Cicero, it would have been nothing less than madness in me to have un- dertaken it, in my state of penury. Had I been a nobleman of 3000, it would barely have justified my conduct." Again, he says, " What I am now to inform you of I know will not be to my credit, but, so long as it is the truth, I will insert it, viz., that I did not know that there was a steam engine on earth when I proposed to gain a force by steam ; and I leave my first drafts and descriptions behind, that you may judge whether I am sincere or not. A short time after drawing my first draft for a b,oat, I was amazingly chagrined to find, at Parson Irwin's, in Bucks county, a drawing of a steam engine ; but it had the effect to establish me in my other principles, as my doubts lay at that time in the engine only." The following account of Fitch's experiments is written by one of his early patrons, the late Dr. Thornton, of the patent office at Washington, and is entitled " A short account of the origin of steamboats :" " Finding that Mr. Robert Fulton,* whose genius and talents I highly respect, has been considered by some the inventor of the steamboat, I think it a duty to the memory of the late JOHN FITCH' to set forth, with as much brevity as possible, the fallacy of this opinion ; and to show, moreover, that if Mr. Fulton has any claim whatever to originality in his steamboat, it must be exceedingly limited. " In the year 1788, the late John Fitch applied for, and ob. tained a patent for the application of steam to navigation, in the * It may not be invidious here to mention, that one great advantage which Mr. Fulton possessed over many, if not all preceding experimenters, was tho use of one of Watt's improved steam engines. 28 AMERICAN MECHANICS. states of New Yoik, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, &c. , and soon after, the late Mr. James Rumsey,* conceiving he had made some discoveries in perfecting the same, applied to the state of Pennsylvania for a patent ; but a company formed by John * Biographical Sketch of James Rumsey. " This individual was a native of Mary- land, and, when a young man, removed to Shepherdstown, Virginia, where he occupied himself exclusively in mechanical subjects. As early as July or August, 1783, he directed his attention to the subject of navigation by steam ; and, under the most disadvantageous circumstances, succeeded, in the autumn of 1784, in making a private, but very imperfect experiment, in order to test some of the principles of his invention. This so well convinced him of its ultimate success, that at the October session of the Virginia legislature for that year, he applied for and obtained an act, guarantying to him the exclusive use of his invention in navigating the waters of that state. About the same time also he communi- cated his invention to General Washington. In January, 1785, he obtained a patent from the general assembly of Maryland for navigating their waters. Through the whole of thie year, Rumsey was deeply engaged in building a boat, and procuring, improving, adapting, and testing the several parts of his rnachir* ery ; but, from obvious causes, was not ready for a public trial until the year fo_ lowing, (1786,) which, all things considered," was eminently successful. In this trial he succeeded in propelling his boat by steam alone against the current of the Potomac, near Shepherdstown, at the rate of four or five miles an hour ! " Rumsey's boat was about fifty feet in length, and, as observed in the text, was propelled by a pump worked by a steam engine, which forced a quantity of water up through the keel ; the valve was then shut by the return of the stroke, which at the same time forced the water through a channel or pipe, a few inches square (lying above or parallel to the kelson,) out at the stern under the rudder, which had a less depth than usual, to permit the exit of the water. The impetus of this water, forced through the square channel against the exterior water, acted as an impelling power upon the vessel. The reaction of the effluent water pro- pelled her at the rate above mentioned, when loaded with three tons in addition to the weight of her engine of about a thiid of a ton. The boiler was quite a curiosity, holding no more than five gallons of water, and needing only a pint at a time. The whole machinery did not occupy a space greater than that required for four barrels of flour. The fuel consumed was not more than from four to six bushels of coals in twelve hours. Rumsey's other project was to apply the power of a steam engine to long poles, which were to reach the bottom of the river, and by that means to push a boat against a rapid current. " After the experiment above alluded to, Rumsey being under the strong con- viction that skilful workmen and perfect machinery were alone wanting to the most perfect success, and sensible that such could not be procured in America, resolved to go to England. With siender means of his own, and aided, or rather mocked, by some timid and unsteady patronage, he there resumed with untiring energy his great undertaking. He proceeded to procure patents of the British government for steam navigation : these patents bear date in the beginning of the year 1788. Several of his inventions, in one modified form or another, are now in general use ; as, for instance, the cylindrical boiler, so superior to the old tub or still boilers, in the presentation of fire surface, and capacity for hold- ing' highly rarefied steam, is described, both single and combined, in his specifi- cations, and is identical in principle with the tub boiler which he used in his Potomac experiment. " Difficulties and embarrassments of a pecuniary nature, and such as invari- ably obstruct the progress of a new invention, attended him in England. He was often compelled to abandon temporarily his main object, and turn his atten- tion to something else, in order to raise means to resume it. He undertook with the same power, but by its more judicious application, to produce higher results in several waterworks, in all which he succeeded, reali?ing thereb ' some reputa- tion as well as funds to apply to his favorite project. JOHN FITCH. 9 Fitch, under his state patents, of which the author of this was one of the principal shareholders, conceiving that the patent of Fitch was not for any peculiar mode of applying the steam to navigation, but that it extended to all known modes of propelling boats and vessels, contested before the assembly of Pennsylvania, and also before the assembly of Delaware, the mode proposed by Mr. Rum- sey, and contended that the mode he proposed, viz., by drawing up the water into a tube, and forcing the same water out of the stern of the vessel or boat, which was derived from Dr. Franklin's works, (the doctor being one of the company,) was a mode the company had a right to, for the plan was originally published in Latin, about fifty years before, in the works of Bernouilli the younger. Two of Fitch's company and I appeared without counsel, and pleaded our own cause in the assembly of Pennsyl- vania, and after a week's patient hearing against the most learned counsel of Pennsylvania, we obtained a decision in our favor, and afterwards also in Delaware. We believed and contended that our claim of propelling boats by steam included all the modes of propelling vessels and boats then known, and that the patent was for the application of steam as an agent to the propelling powers : and the decisions of the legislatures were in favor of this construe- tion, as Mr. Ramsey's company (of which the late Messrs. Bing- ham, Myers, Fisher, and many other worthy gentlemen, were members,) were excluded from the right of using steamboats on any principle." " At another time, in order to avoid a London prison, and the delay, if not the defeat of all his high hopes, he was compelled to transfer, at what he considered a ruinous sacrifice, a large interest in his inventions, a contract which entan- gled and embarrassed him through life. Still, however, he struggled on, undis- mayed, and had constructed a boat of about one hundred tons burden, and pushed forward his machinery so near to the point of completion, as to be able to indi- cate a day not very distant for a public exhibition, when his sudden death occurred from apoplexy, while discussing the principle of one of his inventions before a philosophical society of London. With his life the whole project ceased, there was no one present 10 administer, no one present able to carry it out. Few would have been willing to incur the ridicule of attempting to complete it. AH that he left, his very boat and machinery, barely sufficed to satisfy anxious and greedy creditors." A sharp controversy at one time existed between Rumsey and Fitch, and their mutual friends, relating to the originality of their respective inventions. With- out deciding upon the merits of cither, both certainly claim the highest admira- tion for their perseverance, as well as sympathy for their misfortunes. For the above facts, see Stuart's Anecdotes of the Steam Engine, and the speech of Mr. Rumsey of Kentucky before the house of representatives, on the occasion of ottering the following resolution, afterwards unanimously passed Feb. 9, 1839:" Resolved by the senate and ffouse of representatives, &c. &c.. That the President be and he is hereby requested to present to James Rumsey, jun., the son and only surviving child of James Rumsey, deceased, a suitable gold medal, commemorative of his father's services and high agency in giving to the world the benefits of the steamboat." S AMERICAN MECHANICS. " We worked incessantly at the boat* to bring it to perfection, uid under the disadvantages of never having seen a steam engine en the principles contemplated, of not having a single engineer in our company or pay, we made engineers of common black- smiths ; and after expending many thousand dollars, the boat did not exceed three miles an hour. Finding great unwillingness in many to proceed, I proposed to the company to give up to any one, the one-half of my shares, who would, at his own expense, make a boat go at the rate of eight miles an hour, in dead water, in eighteen months, or forfeit all the expenditures on failing; or I would engage with any others to accept these terms. Each re- linquished one half of his shares, by making the forty shares eighty, and holding only as many of the new shares as he held of the old ones, and then subscribed as far as he thought proper to enter on the terms : by which many relinquished one half. I was among the number, and in less than twelve months we were ready for the experiment. " The day was appointed, and the experiment made in the fol- lowing manner: A mile was measured in Front (Water) street, Philadelphia, and the bounds projected at right angles, as exactly as could be to the wharf, where a flag was placed at each end, and also a stop watch. The boat was ordered under way at dead water, or when the tide was found to be without movement ; aa the boat passed one flag, it struck, and at the same instant the watches were set ofF; as the boat reached the other flag it wai also struck, and the watches instantly stopped. Every precaution was taken before witnesses : the time was shown to all ; the ex- periment declared to be fairly made, and the boat was found to go at the rate of eight miles an Jwur, or one mile in seven minutes * Description of Fitch's Steamboat .The following account of Mr. Fitch's boat ;iven by the unfortunate inventor in the Columbian (Philadelphia) Magazine, I. i. for December, 17SC, of which the engraving annexed will give some idea. The cylinder is to be horizontal, and the steam to work with equal force at each end". The mode by which we obtain a vacuum is, it is believed, entirely new, as is also the method of letting the water into it and throwing it off against 'he atmosphere without any friction. It is expected that the cylinder, which is f twelve inches diameter, will move a clear force of eleven or twelve cwt. after the frictions are deducted ; this force is to be directed asainst a wheel eighteen inches in diameter. The piston is to move about three feet, and each vibration of it srives the axis about forty evolutions. Each evolution of the axis moves twelve oars or paddles five and a half feet ; they work perpendicularly, and are represented bv the strokes of a paddle of a canoe. As six of the paddles are raised from tfie water, six more are entered, and the two sets of paddles make their strokes of about -^ch evolution. Tho crank of the axis acts ujon the paddles, about one third of their length from their lower ends, on which part of the oar the whole force of the axis is applied. The engine is placed in the bottom of the boat, about one third from the stem, and both the action and reaction turn the wheel the same way." JOHN FITCH. 33 and a half; on which the shares were signed over with grea: satisfaction by the rest of the company. It afterwards went eighty miles in a day ! " The governor and council of Pennsylvania were so highly gratified with our labors, that without their indentions being pre- viously known to us, Governor Mifflin, attended by the council in procession, presented to the company, and placed in the boat, a superb silk flag, prepared expressly, and containing the arms of Pennsylvania ; and this flag we possessed till Mr. Fitch was sent to France by the company, at the request of Aaron Vail, Esq., our consul at L'Orient, who, being one of the company, was soli- citous to have steamboats built m France. John Fitch took 'the flag, unknown to the company, and presented it to the national convention. Mr. Vail, finding all the workmen put in requisition, and that none could be obtained to build the boats, paid the ex- penses of Mr. Fitch, who returned to the United States ; and Mr. Vail afterwards subjected to the examination of Mr. Fulton, when in France, the papers and designs of the steamboat appertaining to the company." " As Dr. Thornton has stated in his account, as quoted above, the company refused to advance more funds. This they did, after interfering with his views, and attempting expensive plans of im- provement, which failed of success ; and being probably influenced by that unceasing ridicule cast upon the project, they one by one gradually withdrew from the concern. The conviction of Fitch, however, respecting the power of steam, continued firm ; and in June, 1792, when the boat was laid up, he addressed a letter on the subject to Mr. Rittenhouse, one of the shareholders, in which he says, ' it would be much easier to carry a first-rate man-of-war by steam than a boat, as we would not be cramped for room, nor would the weight of machinery be felt. This, sir, will be the mode of crossing the Atlantic in time, whether I bring it to perfection or not, for packets and armed vessels. I mean to make use of the wind when we have it, and in a calm to pursue the voyage at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour.' He further suggests the use of steam to conquer the cruisers of Barbary, by which several American vessels had then been lately captured. He says, * a six-foot cylinder could discharge a column of water from the round top forty or fifty yards, and throw a man off his feet, and wet their arms and ammunition.' He complains of his poverty; and to raise funds, he urges Mr. Rittenhouse to purchase his lands in Kentucky, that he might have the honor of enabling him to com- plete the great undertaking.' " Fitch's enthusiasm on the subject never diminished one mo. 34 AMERICAN MECHANICS. ment, and steam was the constant theme of his discourse whenever he could prevail upon any one to listen to him. Upon one occa sion he called upon a smith who had worked at his boat, and after dwelling some time upon his favorite topic, concluded with these prophetic words : Well, gentlemen, although I shall not live to see the time, you will, when steamboats will be preferred to all other means of conveyance, and especially for passengers ; and they will be particularly useful in the navigation of the river Mis- sissippi.' He then retired, when a person present observed, in a tone of deep sympathy, ' Poor fellow! what a pity he is crazy f The predictions of the benefits which this country would derive from steam navigation are frequently referred to in his manuscript left to the library company." On the return from his unsuccessful sojourn in Europe, Fitch landed at Boston in a very needy and destitute condition. A re- lation, Colonel George King, of Sharon, Connecticut, hearing of his friendless situation, sent for and generously offered him a home under his own roof. Here he remained two or three years, and some time in 1796 went out to Kentucky, to obtain possession of some lands which he had purchased while surveying there. For this purpose, writs of ejectment were issued against those illegally occupying them ; and just as a better day was dawning upon the career of this most singularly unfortunate man, he was seized with a fever of the country, and died. " In conformity to his wishes, he was buried on the shores of the Ohio, that he might repose ' where the song of the boatmen would enliven the stillness of his resting place, and the music of the steam engine sooth his spirit!' What an idea ! yet how natural to the mind of an ardent projector, who had been so long devoted to one darling object, which it was not his destiny to accomplish ! and now touching is the sentiment found in his journal : ' The day will come when some more powerful man will get fame and riches from my invention, but nobody will believe that poor John Fitch can do any thing worthy of attention /'" BENJAMIN FRANKLIN- BENJAMIN PRANKLIN. Birth. Intended for the church. Attends a common school. Assists his fatner in the tallow chandlery. Dislikes the business. Tries the cutler's trade. Becomes an apprentice in his brother's printing-office. Evinces great fond- ness for books. Is allowed access to a gentleman's library. Turns poet, and hawks his productions through the streets. Rising vanity checked. His friend Collins, and their discussions. Meets> with an odd volume of the Spec- tator. Improvement in composition. Economy, and new system of diet. Masters arithmetic, and studies navigation. Secretly contributes to his bro- ther's newspaper A discovery. Is viewed as a person of some consequence. Quarrels with his brother. First error in life. Privately leaves for New York. Destitute condition. Proceeds to Philadelphia. Graphic description. Enters into the printing-office of Keimer. Makes a distinguished acquaint ance. Dines with Governor Keith. Informs his parents of his situation. Goes out to England under the supposed patronage of the governor. Disap- pointment and imposition. Thrown upon his own resources, and works in London as a journeyman printer. Writes a pamphlet. Attracts the attention of literary men. Frugality and temperance. Sets an example. A friend re turning to Philadelphia, is engaged as his clerk. Voyage. Forms a plan foi future conduct. Arrival at Philadelphia. Death of his friend. Once more thrown upon the world. Enters again into Keimer's service. Franklin and Meredith set up a printing-office. Industry. Rising credit. Thinks of estab- lishing a new paper. Treachery. Its defeat. Purchases Keimer's paper. Growing popularity. Buys out his partner. Opens a stationer's shop. Mar ries. Establishes the first American circulating library. Publishes " Pooi Richard's Almanac." Studies languages. Chosen clerk of the general as- sembly. Appointed deputy postmaster. Becomes interested in public affairs Suggests various public improvements. Made an alderman. Elected bur- gess to the general assembly. Interesting electrical discoveries. Draws down lightning from the clouds. Increasing honors. Becomes an eminent states- man. Signs the declaration of independence. Sent ambassador to the court of France. Chosen president of the supreme executive council. Character. Death. Anecdotes. THE name we are now to mention is perhaps the most distin- guished to be found in the annals of self-education. Of all those, at least, who, by their own efforts, and without any usurpation of the rights of others, have raised themselves to a high place in society, there is no one, a has been remarked, the close of whose history presents so great a contrast to its commencement as that of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. It fortunately happens, too, in his case, that we are in possession of abundant information as to the methods by which he contrived to surmount the many disadvantages of his original condition ; to raise himself from the lowest poverty arid obscurity to affluence and distinction ; and, above all, in the ab- sence of instructors, and of the ordinary helps to the acquisition 38 AMERICAN MECHANICS. of knowledge, to enrich himself so plentifully with the treasures of literature and science, as not only to be enabled to derive from that source the chief happiness of his life, but to succeed in placing himself high among the most famous writers and philosophers of his time. We shall avail ourselves, as liberally as our limits will permit, of the ample details, respecting the early part of Ms life especially, that have been given to the public, in order to present to the reader as full and distinct an account as possible of the suc- cessive steps of a progress so eminently worthy of being recorded, both from the interesting nature of the story, and from its value as an example and lesson, perhaps the most instructive to be any- where found, for all who have to be either the architects of their own fortunes, or their own guides in the pursuit of knowledge. Franklin has himself told us the story of his early life inimitably well. The narrative is given in the form of a letter to his son ; and does not appear to have been written originally with any view to publication. " From the poverty and obscurity," he says, " in which I was born, and in which I passed my earliest years, I have raised myself to a state of affluence, and some degree of celebrity in the world. As constant gopd fortune has accompanied me, even to an advanced period of life, my posterity will perhaps be desirous of learning the means which I employed, and which, thanks to Providence, so well succeeded with me. They may also deem them fit to be imitated, should any of them find themselves in similar circumstances." It is not many years since this letter was, for the first time, given to the world by the grandson of the illustrious writer, only a small portion of it having previously ap- peared, and that merely a re-translation into English from a French version of the original manuscript which had been pub- lished at Paris. Franklin was born at Boston, on the 17th of January, 1706 ; the youngest, with the exception of two daughters, of a family of seventeen children. His father, who had emigrated from England about twenty-four years before, followed the occupation of a soap- boiler and tallow-chandler, a business to which he had not been bred, and by which he seems with difficulty to have been able to support his numerous family. At fust it was proposed to make Benjamin a clergyman ; and he was accordingly, having before learned to read, put to the grammar-school at eight years of age ; an uncle, whose namesake he was, and who appears to have been an ingenious man, encouraging the project by offering to give him several volumes of aermons to set up with, which he had taken down, in a short-hand of his own invention, from the different preachers he had been in the habit of hearing. This person, whu BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 39 was now advanced in life, had been only a common silk-dyer, but had been both a great reader and writer in his day, having filled two quarto volumes with his own manuscript poetry. What he was most proud of, however, was his short-hand, which he was very anxious that his nephew should learn. But young Franklin had not been quite a year at the grammar-school, when his father began to reflect that the expense of a college education for him was what he could not very well afford. He was removed, and placed for another year under a teacher of writing and arithmetic ; after which his father took him home, when he was no more than ten years old, to assist him in his own business. Accordingly he was employed, he tells us, in cutting wicks for the candles, filling the moulds for cast candles, attending the shop, going errands, and other drudgery of the same kind. He showed so much dislike, however, to this business, that his father, afraid he would break loose and go to sea, as one of his elder brothers had done, found it advisable, after a trial of two years, to look about for another occupation for him ; and taking him round to see a great many different sorts of tradesmen at their work, it was at last agreed upon that he should be bound apprentice to a cousin of his own, who was a cutler. But he had been only for some days on trial at this business, when, his father thinking the apprentice-fee which his cousin asked too high, he was again taken home. In this state of things it was finally resolved to place him with his brother James, who had been bred a printer, and had just returned from England and set up on his own account at Boston. To him, therefore, Benjamin was bound apprentice, when he was yet only iti his twelfth year, on an agreement that he should remain with him in that capacity till he reached the age of twenty-one. One of the principal reasons which induced his father to deter- mine upon this profession for him, was the fondness he had from his infancy shown for reading. All the money he could get hold of used to be eagerly laid out in the purchase of books. His fa- ther's small collection consisted principally of works in controver- sial divinity, a subject of little interest to a reader of his age ; but, 1 such as they were, he went through most of them. Fortunately there was also a copy of Plutarch's Lives, which he says he read abundantly. This, and a book by Daniel Defoe, called an Essay on Projects, he seems to think were the two works from which lie derived the most advantage. His new profession of a printer, by procuring him the acquaintance of some booksellers' apprentices, enawed him considerably to extend his acquaintance with books, by frequently borrowing a volume in the evening, which he sat up reading the greater oart of the night, in order that he might return 40 AMERICAN MECHANICS. it hi the morning, lest it should be missed. But these solitary studies did not prevent him from soon acquiring a great proficiency in his business, in which he was every day becoming more useful to his brother. After some time, too, his access to books was greatly facilitated by the kindness of a liberal-minded merchant- who was in the habit of frequenting the printing-office, and, bein* possessed of a tolerable library, invited young Franklin, whose in dustry and intelligence had attracted his attention, to come to see it ; after which he allowed hjm to borrow from it such volumes as he wished to read. Our young student was now to distinguish himself in a new character. The perusal of the works of others suggested to him the idea of trying his own talent at composition ; and his first attempts in this way were a few pieces of poetry. Verse, it maj be observed, is generally the earliest sort of composition attempted either by nations or individuals, and for the same reasons in both cases namely, first, because poetry has peculiar charms for the unripe understanding ; and, secondly, because people at first find it difficult to conceive what composition is at all, independently of such measured cadences and other regularities as constitute verse. Franklin's poetical fit, however, did not last long. Having been induced by his brother to write two ballads, he was sent to sell them through the streets ; and one of them, at least, being on a subject which had just made a good deal of noise in the place, sold, as he tells us, prodigiously. But his father, who, without much literary knowledge, was a man of a remarkably sound and vigorous understanding, soon brought down the rising vanity of the young poet, by pointing out to him the many faults of his performances, and convincing him what wretched stuff they really were. Having Ixjen told, too, that verse-makers were generally beggars, with his characteristic prudence he determined to write no more ballads. He had an intimate acquaintance of the name of Collins, who was, like himself, passionately fond of books, and with whom he was in the habit of arguing upon such subjects as they met with in the course of their reading. Among other questions which they discussed in this way, one accidentally arose on the abilities of women, and the propriety of giving them a learned education Collins maintained their natural unfitness for any of the severer studies, while Franklin took the contrary side of the question " perhaps," he says, " a little for dispute sake." His antagonist had always the greater plenty of words ; but Franklin thoughtjfcat, eTOie on this occasion in particular, his own arguments were stronger ; and on their parting without settling the point, he sat down, and put a summary of what he advanced in writing, which BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 41 he copied out and sen), .o Collins. This gave a new form to the discussion, which was now carried on for some time by letters, of which three or four had been written on both sides, when the cor- respondence fell into the hands of Franklin's father. His natural acuteness and good sense enabled him here again to render an essential service to his son, by pointing out to him how far he fell short of his antagonist in elegance of expression, in method, and in perspicuity, though he had the advantage of him in correct spelling and punctuation, which he evidently owed to his expe- rience in the printing-office. From that moment Franklin deter- mined to spare no pains in endeavoring to improve his style ; and we shall give, in his own words, the method he pursued for that end. " About this time," says he, " I met with an odd volume of the Spectator ; I had never before seen any of them. I bought it, read it over and over, and was much delighted with it. I thought the writing excellent ; and wished, if possible, to imitate it. With that view, I took some of the papers, and making short hints of the sentiments in each sentence, laid them by a few days ; and then, without looking at the book, tried to complete the papers again, by expressing each hinted sentiment at length, and as fully as it had been expressed 'before, in any suitable words that should occur to me. Then I compared my Spectator with the original, dis- covered some of my faults, and corrected them. But I found I wanted a stock of words, or a readiness in recollecting and using them, which I thought I should have acquired before that time if I had gone on making verses ; since the continual search for words of the same import, but of different length, to suit the measure, or of different sound for the rhyme, would have laid me under a con- stant necessity of searching for variety, and also have tended to fix that variety in my mind, and make me master of it. There- fore, I took some of the talcs in the Spectator, and turned them into verse ; and after a time, when I had pretty well forgotten the prose, turned them back again. I also sometimes jumbled my collection of hints into confusion ; and, after .some weeks, endea- ' vorcd to reduce them into the best order, before I began to form the full sentences and complete the subject. This was to teach me method in the arrangement of the thoughts. By comparing my work with the original, I discovered many faults, and corrected them ; but I sometimes had the pleasure to fancy that in certain particulars of small consequence I had been fortunate enough to improve the method or the language ; and this encouraged me 1 3 think that I might, in time, come to be a tolerable English writer, of which I was extremely ambitious." 42 AMERICAN MECHANICS. Even at this early age nothing could exceed the perseverance and self-denial which he displayed, in pursuing his favorite object of cultivating his mental faculties to the utmost of his power. When only sixteen, he chanced to meet with a book in recom- mendation of a vegetable diet, one of the arguments at least in favor of which made an immediate impression upon him namely its greater cheapness ; and from this and other considerations, he determined to adopt that way of living for the future. Having taken this resolution, he proposed to his brother, if he would give him weekly only half what his board had hitherto cost, to board himself, an offer which was immediately accepted. He presently found that by adhering to his new system of diet he could still save half what his brother allowed him. " This," says he, " was an additional fund for buying of books : but I had another advantage in it. My brother and the rest going from the printing-house to their meals, I remained there alone, and despatching presently rny light repast, (which was often no more than a biscuit, or a slice of bread, a handful of raisins, or a tart from the pastrycook's, and a glass of water,) had the rest of the time, till their return, for study ; in which I made the greater progress, from that greater clearness of head and quicker apprehension which generally attend temper, ance in eating and drinking." It was about this time that, by means of Cocker's Arithmetic, he made himself master of that science, which he had twice attempted in vain to learn while at school ; ind that he also obtained some acquaintance with the elements of geometry, by the .perusal of a Treatise on Navigation. He men- tions, likewise, among the works which he now read, Locke on the Human Understanding, arid the Port-Royal Art of Thinking, together with two little sketches on the arts of Logic and Rhetoric, which he found at the end of an English Grammar, and which initiated him in the Socratic mode of disputation, or that way of arguing by which an antagonist, by being questioned, is imper- ceptibly drawn into admissions which are afterwards dexterously turned against him. Of this method of reasoning he became, he tells us, excessively fond, finding it very safe for himself and very embarrassing for those against whom he used it ; but he after- wards abandoned it, apparently from a feeling that it gave advan- tages rather to cunning than to truth, and was better adapted to gain victories in conversation, than either to convince or to inform. A few years before this his brother had begun to publish ;i newspaper, the second that had appeared in America. This brought most of the literary people of Boston occasionally to the printing-office ; and young Franklin often heard them conversing + BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 43 about the articles that appeared in the newspaper, and the appro- bation which particular ones received. At last, inflamed with the ambition of sharing in this sort of fame, he resolved to try how a communication of his own would succeed. Having written his paper, therefore, in a disguised hand, he put it at night under the door of the printing-office, where it was found in the morning, and submitted to the consideration of the critics, when they met as usual. ** They read it, * says he ; " commented on it in my hear- ing ; and I had the exquisite pleasure of finding it met with their approbation ; and that in their different guesses at the author, none were named but men of some character among us for learning and ingenuity." " I suppose," he adds, " that I was rather lucky in my judges, and that they were not really so very good as I then believed them to be." Encouraged, however, by the success of this attempt, he sent several other pieces to the press in the same way, keeping his secret, till, as he expresses it, all his fund of sense for such performances was exhausted. He then discovered himself, and immediately found that he began to be looked upon as a person of some consequence by his brother's literary ac- quaintances. This newspaper soon after afforded him, very unexpectedly, an opportunity of extricating himself from his indenture to his brother, who had all along treated him with great harshness, and to whom his rising literary reputation only made him more an object of envy and dislike. An article which they had admitted having offended the local government, his brother, as proprietor of the paper, was no only sentenced to a month's imprisonment, but prohibited from any longer continuing to print the offensive journal. In these circum- stances, it was determined that it should appear for the future in the name of Benjamin, who had managed it during his brother's confinement ; and in order to prevent it being alleged that the former proprietor was only screening himself behind one of his apprentices, the indenture by which the latter was bound was given up to him ; he at the same time, in order to secure to his brother the benefit of his services, signing new indentures for the remainder of his time, which were to be kept private. " A vory flimsy scheme it was," says Franklin ; M however, it was imine diately executed ; and the paper was printed accordingly under my name for several months. At length a fresh difference arising between my brother and me, 1 took upon me to assert my freedom, presuming that he would not venture to produce the new indenture. It was not fair in me to take this advantage ; and this I therefore reckon one of the first errata of my life ; but the unfairness of it weigiasi littLe with me, when under the impressions of resentment 44 AMERICAN MECHANICS. for the blows liis passion too often urged him to bestow jpon me, though he was otherwise not an ill-natured man : perhaps I was too saucy and provoking." Finding, however, that his brother, in consequence of this ex- ploit, had taken care to give him such a character to all those of his own profession in Boston, that nobody would employ him there, he now resolved to make his way to New York, the nearest place where there was a printer ; and accordingly, after selling his booKS to raise a little money, he embarked on board a vessel for that city, without communicating his intention to his friends, who he knew would oppose it. In three days he found himself at the end of his voyage, near three hundred miles from his home, at the age of seventeen, without the least recommendation, as he tells us, or knowledge of any person in the place, and with very little money in his pocket. Worst of all, upon applying to the only printer likely to give him any employment, he found that this person had nothing for him to do, and that the only way in which he could serve him was by recommending him to proceed to Philadelphia. a hundred miles farther, where he had a son, who, he believed, might employ him. We are unable, however, to follow our run- away through all the incidents of this journey, some of which were disastrous enough ; but we cannot refrain from relating the follow- ing anecdote : Being troubled, wherever he stopped, by the inqui- sitivene'fcs and curiosity of the people, he was induced to try an expedient for silencing similar inquiries. Accordingly, at the next place, as soon as supper was laid, he called his landlord, when the following dialogue took place between them. " Pray, are you married?" "Yes." "What family have you got?" "Two sons and three daughters." " How many servants ?" " Two, and an hostler." " Have you any objection to my seeing them ?* " None, I guess." " Then be so good as to desire them all to step here." This was done ; and the whole being assembled. Franklin thus addressed them : " Good people, my name is Benja min Franklin I am by trade a printer I came from Boston, and am going to Philadelphia to seek employment I am in rather humble circumstances, and quite indifferent to news of any kind unconnected with printing. This is all I know of myself, and all I can possibly inform you ; and now, I hope you will allow me to take my supper in quiet." The following is Franklin's most graphic description of his first appearance in Philadelphia. After concluding the account of his voyage, " I have been the more particular," says he, " in this de- scription of my journey, and shall be so of my first entry into that city, that you may, in your mind, compare such unlikely beginnings BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 45 with the figure I have since made there. I was in my working dress, my best clothes coming round by sea. I was dirty, from my being so long in the boat ; my pockets were stuffed out with shirts and stockings ; and I knew no one, nor where to look for lodging. Fatigued with walking, rowing, and the want of sleep, I was very hungry; and my whole stock of cash consisted in a single dollar, and about a shilling in copper coin, which I gave to the boatmen for my passage. At first they refused it, on account of my having rowed ; but I insisted on their taking it. Man is sometimes more generous when he has little money than when he has plenty ; perhaps to prevent his being thought to have but little. I walked towards the top of the street, gazing about till near Market-street, where I met a boy with bread. I had often made a meal of dry bread, and inquiring where he had bought it, I went immediately to the baker's he directed me to. I asked for bis- cuits, meaning such as we had at Boston ; that sort, it seems, was not made in Philadelphia. I then asked for a threepenny loaf, and was told they had none. Not knowing the different prices, nor the names of the different sorts of bread, I told him to give me three-penny worth of any sort. He gave me, accordingly, three great puffy rolls. I was surprised at the quantity, but took it ; and having no room in my pockets, walked off with a roll under each arm, and eating the other. Thus I went up Market-street, as far as Fourth-street, passing by the door of Mr. Read, my future wife's father, when she, standing at the door, saw me, and thought [ made, as I certainly did, a most awkward, ridiculous appearance. Then I turned and went down Chesnut-street and part of Walnut, street, eating my roll all the way, and coming round, found myself again at Market-street wharf, near the boat I came in, to which I went for a draught of the river water ; and being filled with one of my rolls, gave the other two to a woman and her child that came down the river in the boat with us, and were waiting to go farther. Thus refreshed, I walked again up the street, which by this time had many clean dressed people in it, who were all walk- ing the same way. I joined them, and thereby was led into the' great meeting-house of the Quakers, near the market. I sat down among them ; and after looking round a while, and hearing noth- ing said, being very drowsy, through labor and want of rest the preceding night, I fell fast asleep, and continued so till the meeting broke up, when some one was kind enough to rouse me. This, therefore, was the first house I was in, or slept in, in Phila delphia." Refreshed by his brief sojourn in this cheap place of repose, he then set out in quest of a lodging for the night. Next morning 46 AMERICAN MECHANICS. he found the person to whom he had been directed, who was not, however, able to give him any employment ; but upon applying to another printer in the place, of the name of Keimer, he was a little more fortunate, being set by him, in the first instance, to put an old press to rights, and afterwards taken into regular work. He had been some months at Philadelphia, his relations in Boston knowing nothing of what had become of him, when a brother-in- luw, who was the master of a trading sloop, happening to hear of him in one of his voyages, wrote to him in very earnest terms to entreat him to return home. The letter which he sent in reply to this application reaching his brother-in-law when he chanced to be in company with Sir William Keith, the governor of the pro- vince, it was shown to that gentleman, who expressed considerable surprise on being told the age of the writer ; and immediately said that he appeared to be a young man of promising parts, and that if he would set up on his own account in Philadelphia, where the printers were wretched ones, he had no doubt he would suc- ceed ; for his part he would procure him the public business, and do him every service in his power. Some time after this, Frank- lin, who knew nothing of what had taken place, was one day at work along with his master near the window, when " we saw," says he, " the governor and another gentleman, (who proved to be Colonel French, of Newcastle, in the province of Delaware,) finely dressed, come directly across the street to our house, and heard them at the door. Keimer ran down immediately, thinking it a visit to him : but the governor inquired for me, came up, and with a condescension and politeness I had been quite unused to, made me many compliments, desired to be acquainted with me, blamed me kindly for not having made myself known to him when I first came to the place, and would have me away with him to the tavern, where he was going with Colonel French, to taste, as ha said, some excellent Madeira. I was not a little surprised, and Keimer stared with astonishment." The reader already perceives that Sir William must have been rather an odd sort of person ; and this becomes still more apparent in the sequel of the story. Having got his young protege to the tavern, he proposed to him, over their wine, that he should, aa soon as possible, set up in Philadelphia as a master printer, only continuing to work with Keimer till an opportunity should offer of a passage to Boston, when he would return home, to arrange the matter with his father, who, the governor had no doubt, would, upon a letter from him, at once advance his son the necessary funds for commencing business. Accordingly, Franklin set out for Boston by the first vessel that sailed ; and, ipon his arrival, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 47 was very kindly received by all his family, except his brother, and surprised his father not a little by presenting him with the governor's letter. For some time his father said little or nothing on the sub- ject, merely remarking, that Sir William must be a person of small discretion, to think of setting a youth up in business who wanted three years to arrive at man's estate. But at last he decidedly re- fused to have any thing to do with the arrangement ; and Franklin returned to his patron to tell him of his bad success, going this time, however, with the consent and blessing of his parents, who finding how industrious he had been while in Philadelphia, were willing that he should continue there. When Franklin presented himself to Sir William with his father's answer to the letter he had been honored with from that functionary, the governor observed that he was too prudent: "but since he will not set you up," added he, *' I will do it myself." It was finally agreed that Franklin should proceed in person to England, topurchase types and other necessary articles, for which the governor was to give him letters of credit to the extent of one hundred pounds. After repeated applications to the governor for the promised letters ofcredit, Franklin was at last sent on board the vessel for Eng- land, which was just on the point of sailing, with an assurance that Colonel French should be sent to him with the letters immediately. That gentleman soon after made his appearance, bearing a packet of despatches from the governor : in this packet Franklin was in- formed his letters were. Accordingly, when they got into the Britsh channel, the captain having allowed him to search for them among the others, he found several addressed to his care, which he con- cluded of course to be those he had been promised. Upon pre- senting one of them, however, to a stationer to whom it was directed, the man having opened it, merely said, ** Oh, this is from Riddlesdon {an attorney in Philadelphia, whom Franklin knew to be a thorough knave ;) I have lately found him to be a complete rascal ;" and giving back the letter, turned on his heel, and proceeded to serve his customers. Upon this, Franklin's confidence in his patron began to be a little shaken ; and, after reviewing the whole affair in his own mind, he resolved to lay it before a very intelligent mercantile gentleman, who had come over from America with them, and with whom he had contracted an intimacy on the passage. This friend very soon put an end to his doubts. ** He let me," says Franklin, "into Keith's character; told me there was not the least probability that he had written any letters for me ; that no one who knew him had the smallest dependence on him ; and he laughed at the idea of the governor's giving me a letter of credit having, as he said, no credit to give." 48 AMERICAN MECHANICS. Thus thrown once more on his own means, our young adven- turer found there was no resource for him but to endeavor to procure some employment at his trade in London. Accordingly, having applied to a Mr. Palmer, a printer of eminence in Bartholomew- close, his services were accepted, and he remained there for nearly a year. During this time, although he was led into a good deal of idleness by the example of a friend, somewhat older than himself, he by no means forgot his old habits of reading and study. Having been employed in printing a second edition of Wollaston's Religion of Nature, his perusal of the work induced him to compose and publish a small pamphlet in refutation of some of the author's positions, which, he tells us, he did not afterwards look back upon as altogether a wise proceeding. He employed the greater part of his leisure more profitably in reading a great many works, which (circulating libraries, he remarks, not being then in use) he bor- rowed, on certain terms that were agreed upon between them, from a bookseller whose shop was next door to his lodgings in Little Britain, and who had an immense collection of second-hand books. His pamphlet, however, was the means of making him known to a few of the literary characters then in London, among the rest to the noted Dr. Mandeville, author of the Fable of the Bees ; and to Dr. Pemberton, Sir Isaac Newton's friend, who promised to give him an opportunity, some time or other, of seeing that great man : but this, he says, never happened. He also became acquainted about the same time with the famous collector and naturalist, Sir Hans Sloane, the Founder of the British Museum, who had heard of some curiosities which Franklin had brought over from America; among these was a purse made of asbestos, which he purchased from him. While with Mr. Palmer, and afterwards with Mr. Watts, near Lincoln's Inn Fields, he gave very striking evidence of those habits of temperance, self-command, industry, and frugality, which distin- guished him through after life, and were undoubtedly the source of much of the success that attended his persevering efforts to raise himself from the humble condition in which he passed his earlier years. While Mr. Watts's other workmen spent a great part of every week's wages on beer, he drank only water, and found him- self a good deal stronger, as well as much more clear headed, on his light beverage, than they on their strong potations. " From my example," says he, " a great many of them left off their mud- dling breakfast of beer, bread, and cheese, finding they could with me be supplied from a neighboring house with a large porringer of hot water-gruel, sprinkled with pepper, crumbled with bread, and md a bit of butter in it, for the price of a pint of beer, viz, three BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 49 half-pence. This was a more comfortable, as well as a cheaper breakfast, and kept their heads clearer. Those who continued sotting with their beer all day, were often, by not paying, out ol credit at the alehouse, and used to make interest with me to get beer, their light, as they phrased it, being out. I watched the pay-table on Saturday night, and collected what I stood engaged for them, having to pay sometimes near thirty shillings a week on their accounts. This, and my being esteemed a pretty good riggite, that is, a jocular verbal satirist, supported my consequence in the society. My constant attendance (I never making a St. Monday) recommended me to the master; and my uncommon quickness at composing occasioned my being put upon works of despatch, which are generally better paid ; so I went on now very agreeably." He spent about eighteen months altogether in London, during most pa'rt of which time he worked hard, he says, at his business, and spent but little upon himself except in seeing plays, and in books. At last his friend Mr. Denham, the gentleman with whom, as we mentioned before, he had got acquainted on his voyage to England, informed him he was going to return to Philadelphia to open a store, or mercantile establishment, there, and offered him the situation of his clerk at a salary of fifty pounds. The money was less than he was now making as a compositor ; but he longed to see his native countiy again, and accepted the proposal. Ac- cordingly they set sail together ; and, after a long voyage, arrived in Philadelphia on the llth of October, 1726. Franklin was at this time only in his twenty-first year ; and he mentions having formed, and committed to writing, while at sea, a plan for regulating the future conduct of his life. This unfortunately has been lost ; but he tells us himself, that although conceived and determined upon when he was so young, it had yet " been pretty faithfully adhered to quite through to old age." Mr. Denham had only begun business for a few months when he died ; and Franklin was once more left upon the world. He now engaged again with his old master, Keimer, the printer, who had got a better house, and plenty of new types, though he was still as ignorant of his business as he was at the time of Franklin's former connection with him. While in this situation Franklin got acquainted with several persons, like himself, fond of literary pur- suits ; and as the men never worked on Saturday, that being Keimer's self-appointed Sabbath, he had the whole day for reading.* * Keimer had peculiar notions upon religious observances, and amongst other things, fancied it a Christian duty to observe the Sabbath on the last day of th 60 AMERICAN MECHANICS He alsci showed his ingenuity, and the fertility of his resources, on various occasions. They wanted some new types, which, there being no letter-foundry in America, were only to be procured from England ; but Franklin, having seen types cast in London, though he had paid no particular attention to the process, contrived a mould, made use of the letters they had as punches, struck the matrices in lead, and thus supplied, as he tells us, in a pretty tolerable way, all deficiencies. "I also," he adds, "engraved several things, on occasion ; made the ink ; I was warehouseman ; and, in short, quite & factotum" He did not, however, remain long with Keimer, who had engaged him only that he might have his other workmen taught through his means; and, accordingly, when this object was in some sort attained, contrived to pick a quarrel with him, which produced an immediate separation. He then entered into an agreement with one of his fellow-workmen, of the name of Meredith, whose friends were possessed of money, to begin business in Philadelphia in compa- ny with him, the understanding being that Franklin's skill should be placed against the capital to be supplied by Meredith. While ho and his friend, however, were secretly preparing to put their plan in exe- cution, he was induced to return fora few months to Keimer, on his earnest invitation, to enable him to perform a contract for the printing of some paper money for the State of New Jersey, which required a variety of cuts and types that nobody else in the place could supply; and the two having gone together to Burlington to superintend this business, Franklin was fortunate enough, during the three months he remained in that city, to acquire, by .His agreeable manners and intelligent conversation, the friendship of several of the principal inhabitants, with whom his employment brought him into connection. Among these he mentions particu. larly Isaac Decow, the surveyor-general. " He was," says Frank- lin, "a shrewd, sagacious, old man, who told me that he began for himself, when young, by wheeling clay for the brickmakers, learned to write after he was of age, carried the chain for surveyors, who taught him surveying, and he had now by his industry acquired a goc d estate ; and, said he, I foresee that you will soon work this ma. i (Keimer) out of his business, and make a fortune in it at Philadelphia. He had then not the least intimation of my intention to set up There or any where." Soon after he returned to Philadelphia, the types that had been sent for from London arrived ; and, settling with Keimer, he and his partner took a house, and commenced business. " We had scarce opened our letters," says he, " and put our press in order, before George House, an accuaintance of mine, brought a coun BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 51 trymau to us, whom he had met in the street, inquiring for a printer. All our cash was now expended in the variety of parti- culars we had been obliged to procure, and this countryman's five shillings, being our first-fruits, and coming so seasonably, gave me more pleasure than any crown I have since earned ; and, from the gratitude I felt towards House, has made me often more ready than perhaps I otherwise should have been, to assist young begin- ners." He had, in the autumn of the preceding year, suggested to a number of his acquaintances a scheme for forming themselves into a club for mutual improvement ; and they had accordingly been in the habit of meeting every Friday evening, under the name of the Junto. All the members of this association exerted them- selves in procuring business for him ; and one of them, named Breinthal, obtained from the Quakers the printing of forty sheets of a history of that sect of religionists, then preparing at the ex- pense of the body. " Upon these," says Franklin, " we worked exceeding hard, for the price was low. It was a folio. I com- posed a sheet a day, and Meredith worked it off at press. It was often eleven at night, and sometimes later, before I had finished my distribution for the next day's work : for the little jobs sent in by our other friends, now and then, put us back. But so deter- mined was I to continue doing a sheet a day of the folio, that one night, when, having imposed my forms, I thought my day's work over, one of them by accident was broken, and iwo pages (the half of the day's work) reduced to pi, I immediately distributed and composed it over again before I went to bed ; and this indus- try, visible to our neighbors, began to give us character and credit." The consequence was that business, and even offers of credit, came to them from all hands. They soon found themselves in a condition to think of establish- ing a newspaper ; but Franklin having inadvertently mentioned this scheme to a person who came to him wanting employment, that individual carried the secret to their old master, Keiiner, with whom he, as well as themselves, had formerly worked ; and he immediately determined to anticipate them by issuing proposals for a paper of his own. The manner in which Franklin met and defeated this treachery is exceedingly characteristic. There was another paper published in the place, which had been in existence for some years ; but it was altogether a wretched affair, and owed what success it had merely to the absence of all competition. For this print, however, Franklin, not being able to commence his own paper immediately, in conjunction with a friend, set about writing a series of amusing communications under the title of the Busy Body, which the publisher printed, of course, very gladly. " By 62 AMERICAN MECHANICS. this means," says he, " the attention of the public was fixed on that paper ; and Keimer's proposals, which we burlesqued and ridiculed, were disregarded. He began his paper, however ; and before carrying it on three-quarters of a year, with at most only ninety subscribers, he offered it me for a trifle ; and I, having been ready some time to go on with it, took it in hand directly, and it proved in a few years extremely profitable to me." The paper, indeed, had no sooner got into Franklin's hands than its success equalled his most sanguine expectations. Some observa- tions which he wrote and printed in it on a colonial subject, then much talked of, excited so much attention among the leading people of the place, that it obtained the proprietors many friends in the house of assembly, and they were, on the first opportunity, appointed printers to the house. Fortunately, too, certain events occurred about this time which ended in the dissolution of Frank- lin's connection with Meredith, who was an idle, drunken fellow, and had all along been a mere encumbrance upon the concern. His father failing to advance the capital which had been agreed upon, when payment was demanded at the usual time by their paper merchant and other creditors, he proposed to Franklin to relinquish the partnership, and leave the whole in his hands, if the latter would take upon hint the debts of the company, return to hi' father what he had advanced on their commencing business, pay his little persorfal debts, and give him thirty pounds and a new saddle. By the kindness of two friends, who, unknown to each other, came forward unasked to tender their assistance, Frank lip was enabled to accept of this proposal ; and thus, about the year 1729, when he was yet only in the twenty-fourth year of his age, he found himself, after all his disappointments and vicissitudes, with nothing, indeed, to depend upon but his own skill and indus- try for gaining a livelihood, and for extricating himself from debt, but yet in one sense fairly established in life, and with at least a prospect of well-doing before him. Having followed his course thus far with so minute an observ- ance of the several steps by which he arrived at the point to which we have now brought him, we shall not attempt to pursue the re- mainder of his career with the same particularity. His subse- quent efforts in the pursuit of fortune and independence were, as is well known, eminently successful ; and we find in his whole history, even to its close, a display of the same spirit of intelli- gence and love of knowledge, and the same active, self-denying, and intrepid virtues, which so greatly distinguished its commence- ment. The publication of a pamphlet, soon after Meredith had left him, in recommendation of a paper currency, a subject then BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 53 much debated in the province, obtained him such popularity, thai he was employed by the government in printing the r.otes after they had resolved upon issuing them. Other profitable business of the same kind succeeded. He then opened a stationer's shop, began gradually to pay off his debts, and soon after married. By this time his old rival, Keimer, had gone to ruin ; and he was (wilh the exception of an old man, who was rich, and did not care about business,) the only printer in the place. We now find him taking a leading part as a citizen. He established a circulating library, the first ever known in America, which, although it com- menced with only fifty subscribers, became in course of time a large and valuable collection, the proprietors of which were event- ually incorporated by royal charter. While yet in its infancy, however, it afforded its founder facilities of improvement of which he did not fail to avail himself, setting apart, as he tells us, an hour or two ever lay for study, which was the only amusement he allowed hims:- .;'. In 173'2 he first published his celebrated Almanac, under the name of Richard Saunders^ but which was commonly known by the name of Poor Richard's Almanac. He continued this publication annually for twenty-five years. The proverbs and pithy sentences scattered up and down in the differ, ent numbers of it, were afterwards thrown together into a con. nected discourse under the title of the Way to Wealth, a produc- tion which has become so extensively popular, that every one of our readers is probably familiar with it. We shall quote, in his own words, the account he gives us of the manner in which he pursued one branch of his studies : " I had begun," says he, " in 1733, to study languages. I soon made myself so much a master of the French, as to be able to read the books in that language with ease. I then undertook the Italian. An acquaintance, who was also learning it, used often to tempt me to play chess with him. Finding this took up too much of the time I had to spare for study, I at length refused to play any more, unless on this condition, that the victor in every game should have a right to impose a task, either of parts of the gram- rnar to be got by heart, or in translations, &c., which tasks the vanquished was to perform upon honor before our next meeting. As we played pretty equally, we thus beat one another into that Janguage. I afterwards, with a little pains-taking, acquired as much of the Spanish as to read their books also. I have already mentioned that I had had only one year's instruction in a Latin school, and that when very young, after which I neglected that anguage entirely. But when I had attained an acquaintance with the French, Italian, and Spanish, I was surprised to find, on 54 AMERICAN MECHANICS. ooking over a Latin Testament, that I understood more of that* anguage than I had imagined, which encouraged me to apply myself again to the study of it - r and I met with the more success, as those preceding languages had greatly smoothed my way." In 1736 he was chosen clerk of the general assembly, and being soon after appointed deputy postmaster for the state, he turned his thoughts to public affairs, beginning, however, as he says, with small matters. He first occupied himself in improving the city watch ; then suggested and promoted the establishment of a fire- insurance company; and afterwards exerted himself in organizing a philosophical society, an academy for the education of youth, and a militia for the defence of the province. In short, every part of the civU government, as he tells us, and almost at the same time, imposed some duty upon him. * The governor," he- says, " put me into the commission of the peace ; the corporation of the city chose me one of the common council, and soon after alderman ; and the citizens at large elected me a buigessto repre- sent them in assembly. This" latter station was the more agreable to me, as I grew at length tired with sitting there \o hear the de- bates, in which, as clerk, I could take no part, and which were often so uninteresting that 1 was induced to amuse myself with maning magic squares or circles, or any thing to avoid weariness ; and I conceived my becoming a member would enlarge my power of doing good. I would not, however, insinuate that my ambition was not flattered by all these promotions, it certainly was : for, considering my low beginning, they were great things to me ; and they were still more pleasing as being so many spontaneous testi- monies of the public good opinion, and by me entirely unsolicited." It is time, however, that we should introduce this extraordinary man to our readers in a new character. A much more important part in civil affairs than any he had yet acted was in reserve for him. He lived to attract to himself on the theatre of politics, the eyes, not of his own countrymen only, but of the whole civilized world ; and to be a principal agent in the production of events as mighty in themselves, and as pregnant with mighty consequences, as any belonging to modern history. But our immediate object is to exhibit a portrait of the diligent student, and of the acute and patient philosopher. We have now to speak of Franklin's famous electrical discoveries. Of these discoveries we cannot, of course, here attempt to give any thing more than a very general account. But we shall endeavor to make our statement as intelligible as possible, even to those to whom the subject is new. The term electricity is derived from e/ec/rou, the Greek name for amber, which was known, even in ancient times, to be capable BENJAMIN FRANKLIN f>5 of acquiring, by being rubbed, the curious property of attracting very light bodies, such as small bits of paper, when brought near to them. This virtue was thought to be peculiar to the substance in question, and one or two others, down to the close of the six teenth century, when William Gilbert, a physician of London, an- nounced for the first time, in his Latin treatise on the magnet, that it belonged equally to the diamond and many other precious stones ; to glass, sulphur, sealing wax, rosin, and a variety of other sub- stances. It is from this period that we are to date the birth of the science of Electricity, which, however, continued in its infancy for above a century, and could hardly, indeed, be said to consist of any tiling more than a collection of unsystematized and ill-understood facts, until it attracted the attention of Franklin. Among the facts, however, that had been discovered in this in- terval, the following were the most important. In the first place, the list of the substances capable of being excited by friction to a mani- festation of electric virtue, was considerably extended. It was also found that the bodies which had been attracted by the excited substance were immediately after as forcibly repelled by it, and could not be again attracted until they had touched a third body. Other phenomena, too, besides those of attraction and repulsion, were found to take place when the body excited was one of suffi- cient magnitude. If any other body, not capable of being excited, such as the human hand or a rod of metal, was presented to it, a slight sound would be produced, which, if the experiment was per- formed in a dark room, would be accompanied with a momentary light. Lastly, it was discovered that the electric virtue might be imparted to bodies not capable of being themselves excited, by making such a body, when insulated, that is to say, separated from all other bodies of the same class by the intervention of one capable of excitation, act either as the rubber of the excited body, or as the drawer of a succession of sparks from it, in the manner that has just been described. It was said, in either of these cases, to be electrified ; and it was found that if it was touched, or even closely approached, when in this state, by any other body, in like manner incapable of being excited by friction, a pretty loud report would take place, accompanied, if either body were susceptible of feeling, with a slight secsation of pain at the point of contact, and which would instantly restore the electrified body to its usual and natural condition. In consequence of its thus appearing that all those bodies, and only those, which could not be themselves excited, might in this manner have electricity, as it were, transferred to them, they were designated conductors, as well as non-electrics : while 1 1 electrics, 3* 56 AMERICAN MECHANICS. on the other hand, were also called non-conductors. It is proper, how. ever, that the reader should be aware, that of the various substances in nature, none, strictly speaking, belong exclusively to either of these classes; the truth being merely, that different bodies admit the passage of the electric influence with extremely different de- grees of facility, and that those which transmit it readily are called conductors, the metals, and fluids, and living animals particularly belonging to this class ; while such as resist its passage, or permit it only with extreme reluctance, among which are amber, sulphur, wax, glass, and silk, are described by the opposite denomination. The beginning of the year 1746 is memorable in the annals of electricity for the accidental discovery of the possibility of accumu- lating large quantities of the electric fluid, by means of what was called the Leyden jar, or phial. M. Cuneus, of that city, happened one day, while repeating some experiments which had been origin- ally suggested by M. Von Kleist, Dean of the Cathedral in Camin, to hold in one hand a glass vessel, nearly full of water, into which ,ie had been sending a charge from an electrical machine, by means of a wire dipped into it, and communicating with the prime con- ductor, or insulated non-electric, exposed in the manner we have already mentioned to the action of the excited cylinder. He was greatly surprised, upon applying his other hand to disengage the wire from the conductor, when he thought that the water had acquired as much electricity as the machine could give it, by receiving a sudden shock in his arms and breast, much more severe than any thing of the kind he had previously encountered in the course of his experiments. The same thing, it was found, took place when the glass was covered, both within and without, with any other conductors than the water and the human hand, which had been used in this instance ; as, for example, when it was coated on both sides with tinfoil, in such a manner, however, that the two coatings were completely separated from each other, by a space around the lip of the vessel being left uncovered. Whenever a communi- cation was formed by the interposition of a conducting medium be- tween the inside and outside coating, an instant and loud explosion took place, accompanied with a flash of light, and the sensation of a sharp blow, if the conductor employed was any part of the human body. The first announcement of the wonders of the Leyden phiai excited the curiosity of all Europe. The accounts given of the electric shock by those who first experiencd it are perfectly ludicrous, and well illustrate how strangely the Imagination is acted upon by surprise and terror, when novel 01 mexpected results suddenly come upon it BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 57 From the original accounts, as Dr. Priestley observes, couUl we ivA. have repeated the experiment, wo should have formed a very differ ent idea of the electric shock to what it really is, even when given in greater strength than it could have been by those early experi- menters. It was this experiment, however, that first made electri- city a subject of general curiosity. Every body was eager, not- withstanding the alarming reports that were spread of it, to feel the new sensation ; and in the same year in which the experiment was first made at Ley den, numbers of persons, in almost every country in Europe, obtained a livelihood by going about and showing it. The particulars, then, that we have enumerated may be said to have constituted the whole of tfie science of Electricity, in the shape in which it first presented itself to the notice of Dr. Franklin. In the way in which we have stated them, they are little more, the reader will observe, than a mass of seemingly unconnected facts, having, at first sight, no semblance whatever of being the results of a common principle, or of being reducible to any general and comprehensive system. It is true that a theory, that of M. Dufay, had been formed before this time to account for many of them, and also for others that we have not mentioned ; but it does not appear that Franklin ever heard of it until lie had formed his own, which is, at all events, entirely different ; so that it is unnecessary for us to take it at all into account. We shall form a fair estimate of the amount and merits of Franklin's discoveries, by considering the facts we have mentioned, as really constituting the science in the state in which he found it. It was in the year 1746, as he tells us himself in the narrative of his life, that, being at Boston, he met with a Dr. Spence, who had lately arrived from Scotland, and who showed him some electrical experiments. They were imperfectly performed, as the doctor was not very expert ; " but being," says Franklin, " on a subject quite new to me, they equally surprised and pleased me. Soon after my return to Philadelphia, our Library Company received from Mr. Peter Collinson, F. R. S., of London, a present of a glass tube, with some account of the use of it in making such experi- ments. I eagerly seized the opportunity of repeating what I had seen at Boston ; and, by much practice, acquired great readiness rn performing those also which we had an account of from England 1 , adding a number of new ones. I say much practice, for my house was continually full for some time, with persons who came to see these new wonders. To divide a little this encumbrance among my friends, I caused a number of similar tubes to be blown in our glass house, with which they furnished themselves, so that we had at several performers." The newly discovered and extraor 58 AMERICAN MECHANICS. dinary phenomena exhibited by the Leyden phial of course very early engaged his attention in pursuing these interesting experi- ments ; and his inquisitive mind immediately stt itself to work to find out the reason of such strange etlects, which still astonished and perplexed the ablest philosophers oi' Europe. Out of his spec- ulations arose the ingenious and beautiful theory of the action of the electric influence which is known by his name : and which has ever since been received by the greater number of philosophers as the best, because the simplest and most complete, demonstration of the phenomena that has yet been given to the world. Dr. Franklin's earliest inquiries were directed to ascertain the source of the electricity which friction had the effect of at least rendering manifest in the glass cylinder, or other electric. The question w%s, whether this virtue was created by the friction in the electric, i only thereby communicated to it from other bodies. In order to determine this point, he resorted to the very simple experiment of endeavoi-ing to electrify himself; that is to say, having insulated himself, and excited the cylinder by rubbing it with his hand, he then drew off its electricity from it in the usual manner into his osvn body. But he found that he was not thereby electrified at all, as he would have been by doing the same thing, had the friction been applied by another person. No spark could be obtained from him, after the operation, by the presentment of a conductor ; nor did he exhibit on such bodies as were brought near him any of the other usual evidences of being charged with electricity. If the electricity had been created in the electric by the friction, it was impossible to conceive why the person who drew it off should not have been electrified in this case, just as he would have been had another person acted as the rubber. The result evidently indicated that the friction had effected a change upon the person who had performed that operation, as well as upon the cylinder, since it had rendered him incapable of being electrified by a pro- cess by which, in other circumstances, he would have been so. It was plain, in short, that the electricity had passed, in the first in- stance, out of his body into the cylinder ; which, therefore, in com- municating it to him in the second instance, only gave him back what it had received, and, instead of electrifying him, merely re- stored him to his usual state to that in which he had been before the experiment was begun. This accordingly was the conclusion to which Franklin came ; but, to confirm it, he next insulated two individuals, one of whom he made to rub the cylinder, while the other drew the electricity from it. In this case, it was not the latter merely that was BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 59 affected ; both were electrified. The one had given out as much electricity to the cylinder in rubbing it, as the other had drawn from it. To prove this still farther, he made them touch one another, when both were instantly restored to their usual state, the redundant electricity thrown off by the one exactly making up the deficiency of the other. The spark produced by their contact was also, as was to have been expected, greater than that which took place when either of them was touched by any third person who had not been electrified. Proceeding upon the inferences which these results seemed so evidently to indicate, Franklin constructed the general outlines of his theory. Every body in nature he considered to have its natural quantity of electricity, which may, however, be either diminished, by part of it being given out to another body, as that of the rubber, in the operation of the electrical machine, is given out to the cylinder ; or increased, as when the body is made to receive the electricity from the cylinder. In the one case he regarded the body as negatively, in the other as positively, electrified. In the one case it had less, in the other more, than its natural quantity of electricity : in either, therefore, supposing it to be composed of electricity and common matter, the usual equilibrium or balance between its two constituent ingredients was, for the time, upset or destroyed. But how should this produce the different effects which are ob- served to result from the action of electrified bodies ? How is the mere circumstance of the overthrow of the customary equilibrium between the electricity and the matter of a body to be made to account for its attraction and repulsion of other bodies, and for the extraordinary phenomena presented by the Leyden phial ? The Franklinian theory answers these questions with great ease and completeness. The fundamental law of the electric fluid, according to this theory, is, that its particles attract matter, and repel one another. To this we must add a similar law with regard to the particles of matter, namely, that they repel each other, as well as attract elec- tricity. This latter consideration was somewhat unaccountably overlooked by Franklin ; but was afterwards introduced by Mr. jEpinus, of Petersburg, and the late celebrated Mr. Cavendish, in their more elaborate expositions of his theory of the electrical action. Let us now apply these two simple principles to the ex- planation of the facts we have already mentioned. In the first place, when two bodies are in their ordinary or natural state, the quantity of matter is an exact balance for>the quantity of electricity in each, and there is accordingly no tendency 60 AMERICAN MECHANICS. of the fluid to escape ; no spark will take place between two such bodies when they are brought into contact. Nor will they either attract or repel each other, because the attractive and repulsive forces operating between them are exactly balanced, the two at- tractions of the electricity in the first for the matter in the second, and of the electricity in the second for the matter in the first, being opposed by the two repulsions of the electricity in the first for the electricity in the second, and of the matter in the first for the mat- ter in the second. They, therefore, produce no effect upon each other whatever. But let us next suppose that one of the bodies is an electric which has been excited in the usual way by friction, a stick of wax, or a glass cylinder, for example, which has been rubbed with the hand, or a piece of dry silk. In this case, the body in question has received an addition to its natural quantity of electricity, which addition, accordingly, it will most readily part with whenever it is brought into contact with a conductor. But this is not all. Let us see how it will act^ according to the law that has been stated, upon the other body, which we shall suppose to be in its natural state, when they are brought near each other. First, from the repulsive tendency of the electric particles, the extra electricity in the excited body will drive away a portion of the electricity of the other from its nearest end, which will thus become negatively elec- trified, or will consist of more matter than is necessary to balance its electricity. In this state of things, what are the attractive and repulsive forces operating between the two bodies, the one, be it remembered, having an excess of electricity, and the other an excess of matter 1 There are, in fact, five attractive forces opposed by only four repulsive ; the former being those of the matter in the first body for the electricity in the second, of the balanced elect ri- city in the first for the balanced matter in the second, of the same for the extra matter in the second, together with the two of the extra electricity in the first for the same two quantities of matter ; and the latter being those of the matter in the first for the balanced matter in the second, of the same for the extra matter in the second, together with those of the electricity in the second both for the balanced and the extra electricity in the first. The two bodies, therefore, ought to meet, as we find they actually do. But no sooner do they meet than the extra electricity of the first, at- tracted by the matter of the second, flows over partly to it ; arid both bodies become positively electrified ; that is to say, each contains a quantity of electricity beyond that which its matter is capable of balancing. It will be found, upon examination, that we have now four powers ( f attraction opposed by five of repul BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 61 eion ; the former being those of the matter in each body for the two electricities in the other, the latter those exerted by each of the electricities in the one against both the electricities of the other, together with that of the matter in the one for the matter in the other. The bodies now accordingly should repel each other, just as we find to be the fact. Of course the same reason, ing applies to the case of a neutral body, and any other containing a superabundance of electricity, whether it be an electric or no, and in whatever way its electricity may have been communicated to it. We may add that there is no case of attraction or repulsion between two bodies, in which the results indicated by the theory do not coincide with those of observation as exactly as in this. We now come to the phenomena of the Leyden phial. The two bodies upon which we are here to fix our attention are the in- terior and exterior coatings, which, before the process of charging has commenced, are of course in their natural state, each having exactly that quantity of electricity which its matter is able to balance, and neither therefore exerting any effect whatever upon the other. But no sooner has the interior coating received an additional portion of electricity from the prime conductor, with which the reader will remember it is in communication, than, being now positively electrified, it repels a corresponding portion of its electricity from the exterior coating, which therefore be comes negatively electrified. As the operation goes on, both these effects increase, till at last the superabundance of electricity in the one surface, and its deficiency in the other, reach the limit to which it is wished to carry them. All this while, it will be re- marked, the former is prevented from giving out its superfluity to the latter by the interposition of the glass, which is a non-con- ductor, and the uncovered space which had been left on both sides around the lip of the vessel. If the charge were made too high, however, even these obstacles would be overcome, and the un- balanced electricity of the interior coating, finding no easier vent, would at last rush through the glass to the unsaturated matter on its opposite surface, probably shattering it to pieces in its progress. But, to effect a discharge in the usual manner, a communication must be established by means of a good conductor between the .wo surfaces, before this extreme limit be reached. If either a rod of metal, for example, or the human body, be employed for this purpose, the fluid from the interior coating will instantly rush along the road made for it, occasioning a pretty loud report, and, in the latter case, a severe shock, by the rapidity of its passage. Both coatings will, in consequence, be immediately restored to their natural state. 82 AMERICAN MECHANICS. That this is the ti ue explanation of the matter Franklin further demonstrated by a \ariety of ingenious experiments. In the first place, he found that, if the outer coating was cut off, by being in- sulated from every conducting body, the inner coating could not be charged ; the electricity in the outer coating had here no means of escape, and it was consequently impossible to produce in that coating the requisite negative electricity. On the other hand, if a good conductor was brought within the striking distance from the outside coating, while the process of charging was going on, the expelled fluid might be seen passing away towards it in sparks, in proportion as more was sent from the prime conductor into the inside of the vessel. He observed also that, when a phial was charged, a cork ball, suspended on silk, would be attracted by the one coating when it had been repelled by the other an additional indication and proof of their opposite states of electricity, as might be easily shown by an analysis of the attractive and repulsive forces operating between the two bodies in each case. But Franklin did not rest contented with ascertaining the prin- ciple of the Leyden phial. He made also a very happy applica- tion of this principle, which afforded a still more wonderful mani- festation than had yet been obtained of the powers of accumulated electricity. Considering the w r aste that took place, in the common experiment, of the fluid expelled, during the process of charging, from the exterior coating, he conceived the idea of employing it to charge the inner surface of a second jar, which he effected, of course, by the simple expedient of drawing it off by means of a metal rod communicating with that surface. The electricity ex- pelled from the outside of this second jar was conveyed, in like manner, into the inside of a third ; and, in this way, a great num- ber of jars were charged with the same facility as a single one. Then, having connected all the inside coatings with one conductor, and all the outside coatings with another, he had merely to bring these two general conductors into contact or communication, in order to discharge the whole accumulation at once. This con trivancc he called an electrical battery. The general sketch we have just given will put the reader in possession, at least, of the great outlines of the Franklinian theory of electricity, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful generalizations to be found in the whole compass of science. By the aid of what we may call a single principle, since the law with regard to the electric fluid and common matter is exactly the same, it explains satisfactorily not only all the facts connected with this interesting subject which were known when it was first proposed, but all those that have been since discovered, diffusing order and light through. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 63 out what seemed before little better than a chaos of unintelligible contradictions. We must now, however, turn to a very brilliant discovery of this illustrious philosopher, the reality of which does not depend upon the truth or falsehood of any theory. Franklin was by no means the first person to whom the idea had suggested itself of a similarity between electricity and light- ning. Not to mention many other names which might be quoted, the Abbe Nollet had, before him, not only intimated his suspicion vhat thunder might be in the hands of Nature what electricity is in ours, but stated a variety of reasons on which he rested his conjecture. It is to Franklin alone, however, that the glory be- longs of both pointing out the true method of verifying this con- jecture, and of actually establishing the perfect identity of the two powers in question. " It has, indeed, been of late the fashion," says the editor of the first account of his electrical experiments, Dublished at London in 1751, " to ascribe every grand or unusual operation of nature, such as lightning and earthquakes, to electri- city ; not, as one would imagine from the matter of reasoning on these occasions, that the authors of these schemes have discovered any connection betwixt the cause and effect, or saw in what man- ner they were related ; but, as it would seem, merely because they were unacquainted with any other agent, of which it could not positively be said the connection was impossible." Franklin trans- formed what had been little more than a figure of rhetoric into a most important scientific fact. In a paper, dated November 7, 1749, he enumerates all the known points of resemblance between lightning and electricity. In the first place, he remarks, it is no wonder that the effects of the one should be so much greater than those of the other ; for if two gun-barrels electrified will strike at two inches distance, and make a loud report, at how great a distance will ten thousand acres of electrified cloud strike, and give its fire ; and how loud must be that crack ! He then notices the crooked and waving course, both of the flash of lightning, and, in some cases, of the electric sparks ; the tendency of lightning, like electricity, to take the readiest arid best conductor ; the facts that lightning, as well as electricity, dis- solves metals, burns some bodies, rends others, strikes people blind, destroys animal life, reverses the poles of magnets, &c. He had known for some time the extraordinary power of pointed bodies, both in drawing and in throwing off the electric fire. The true explanation of this fact did not occur to him ; but it is a direct consequence of the fundamental principle of his own theory, according to which the repulsive tendency of the particles of elec- tricity towards each other, occasioning the fluid to retire, in every 64 AMERICAN MECHANICS. case, from the interior to the surface of bodies, drives it with especial force towards points and other prominences, and thus favors its escape through such outlets ; while, on the other hand the more concentrated attraction which the matter of a pointed body, as compared with that of a blunt one, exerts upon the elec- tricity to which it is presented, brings it down into its new channel in a denser stream. In possession, however, of the fact, we find him concluding the paper we have mentioned as follows : " The electric fluid is attracted by points. We do not know whether this property be in lightning ; but since they agree in all the par- ticulars in which we can already compare them, it is not improb- able that they agree likewise in this. Let the experiment be made." Full of this idea, it was yet some time before he found what he conceived a favorable opportunity of trying its truth in the way he meditated. A spire was about to be erected in Philadelphia, which he thought would afford him facilities for the experiment ; but his Attention having been one day drawn by a kite which a boy was flying, it suddenly occurred to him, that here was a method of reaching the clouds preferable to any other. Accordingly, he immediately took a large silk handkerchief, and stretching it over two cross sticks, formed in this manner his simple apparatus for drawing down the lightning from its cloud. Soon after, seeing a thunder-storm approaching, he took a walk into a field in the neighborhood of the city in which there was a shed, communi- cating his intentions, however, to no one but his son, whom he took with him, to assist him in raising the kite : this was in June, 1752. The kite being raised, he fastened a key to the lower extremity of the^iempcn string, and then insulating it by attaching it to a post by means of silk, he placed himself under the shed, and wait- ed the result. For some time no signs of electricity appeared. A cloud, apparently charged with lightning, had even passed over them without producing any effect. At length, however, just as Franklin was beginning to despair, he observed some loose threads of the hempen string rise and stand erect, exactly as if they hac been repelled from each other by being charged with electricity He immediately presented his knuckle to the key, and, to his in expressible delight, drew from it the well-known electrical spark- It is said that his emotion was so great at this completion of a discovery which was to make his name immortal, that he heaved a deep sigh, and felt that he could that moment have willingly died. As the rain increased, the cord became a better conductor, and the key gave out its electricity copiously. Had the hemp been BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 65 thoroughly wet, the bold experimenter might, as he was contented to do, have paid for his discovery with his life. He afterwards brought down the lightning into his house, by means of an insulated iron rod, and performed with it, at his leisure, all the experiments that could be performed with elec- tricity. But he did not stop here. His active and practical mind was not satisfied even with the splendid discovery, until he had turned it to a useful end. There was always a strong tendency in Franklin's philosophy to these practical applications. The lightning-rod was probably the result of some of the amusing ex- pcriments with which Franklin was, at the commencement of his electrical investigations, accustomed to employ his own leisure, and afford pleasure to his friends. In one of his letters to Mr. Col- linson, dated so early as 1748, we find him expressing himself in the following strain, in reference to his electrical experiments : " Chagrined a little that we have hitherto been able to produce nothing in this way of use to mankind, and the hot weather coming on, when electrical experiments are not so agreeable, it is proposed to put an end to them for this season somewhat humorously, in a party of pleasure on the banks of the Schuylkill. Spirits at the same time are to be fired by a spark sent from side to side through the river, without any other conductor than the water an experiment which we have some time since performed to the amazement of many. A turkey is to be killed for dinner by the electrical shock, and roasted by the electrical jack, before a fire kindled by the electrical bottle ; when the healths of all the famous electricians in England, Holland, France, and Germany, are to be drunk in elec- trified bumpers, under the discharge of guns from the electrical battery " Franklin's electrical discoveries did not, on their first announce- ment, attract much attention in England ; and, indeed, he had the mortification of learning that his paper on the similarity of light- ning to electricity, when read by a friend to the Royal Society, had been only laughed at by that learned body. In France, however, thu account that had been published in London of his experiments, fortunately fell into the hands of the celebrated naturalist, Buffon, who was so much struck with it, that he had it translated into French, and printed at Paris. This made it immediately known to all Europe ; and versions of it in various other modern languages soon appeared, as well as one in Latin. The theory propounded in it was at first violently opposed in France by the Abbe Nollet, wno had one of his own to support, and, as Franklin tells us t could not at first believe that such a work came from America ; but said it must have been fabricated by his enemies at Paris. The Abb 60 AMERICAN MECHANICS. was eventually, however, deserted by all his partisans, and lived to see himself the last of his sect. In England, too, the Frankiinian experiments gradually began to be more spoken of; and, at last, even the Royal Society was induced to resume the consideration of the papers that had formerly been read to them. One of their members verified the grand experiment of bringing down lightning from the clouds ; and upon his reading to them an account of his sue- cess, " they soon," says Franklin, " made me more than amends for the slight with which they had before treated me. Without my having made any application for that honor, they chose me a member; and voted that I should be excused the customary payments, which would have amounted to twenty-five guineas ; and ever since have given me their transactions gratis. They also presented me with the gold medal of Sir Godfrey Copley, for the year 1753, the de- livery of which was accompanied with a very handsome speech of the president, Lord Macclesfield, wherein I was highly honored." Some years afterwards, when he was in Great Britain with his son, the University of St. Andrew's conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws ; and its example was followed by the Univer sities of Edinburgh and Oxford. He was also elected a member of many of the learned societies throughout Europe. No philosopher of the age now stood on a prouder eminence than this extraordinary man, who had originally been one of the most obscure of the people, and had raised himself to all this distinction almost without the aid of any education but such as he had given himself. Who will say, after reading his story, that any thing more is necessary for the attainment of knowledge than the determination to attain it ? that there is any other obstacle to even the highest degree of intellectual advancement which may not be overcome, except a man's own listlessncss or indolence? The secret of this man's success in the cultivation of his mental powers was, that he was ever awake and active in that business ; that he suffered no opportunity of forwarding it to escape him unimproved ; that, however poor, he found at least a few pence, were it even by diminishing his scanty meals, to pay for the loan of the books he could not buy ; that, however hard-wrought, he found a few hours in the week, were it by sitting up half the night after toiling all the day, to read and study them. Others may not have his original powers of mind ; but his industry, his perseverance, his self-com- mand, are for the imitation of all : and though few may look for- ward to the rare fortune of achieving discoveries like his, all may derive both instruction and encouragement from his example. They who may never overtake the light, may at least follow its path, and guide their footsteps by its illumination. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 67 Were we to pursue the remainder of Franklin's history, we should find the fame of the patriot vying with that of the philoso pher, in casting a splendor over it ; and the originally poor and unknown tradesman standing before kings, associating as an equal with the most eminent statesmen of his time, and arranging along with them the wars and treaties of mighty nations. When the struggle for independence commenced, Franklin took a very active part. He was soon sent ambassador to the court of France, where principally through his exertions an alliance was brought about between the two countries, which produced an immediate war be- tween the latter and England. In 1783, he signed the treaty of peace, which recognised our independence. Two years after he arrived in Philadelphia, where he was chosen president of the Supreme Executive Council of the city. He closed his eventful and honorable life on the 17th of April, 1790, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. Franklin was in conversation sprightly, in manners bland. Des- titute of pride, he considered all honest men on an equality. Dur- ing the time he was in Great Britain, in the dignified station of ambassador, he went into his old printing office, and entering the press-room, proceeded to a particular press where two men were at work : " Come, my friends," says he, " we will drink together ; it is now forty years since I worked like you at this press, as a jour- neyman printer." A gallon of porter was sent for, and he then drank "success to printing." At a later period, the merchants in Philadelphia being desirous to establish an assembly for dancing, they drew up some rules, among which was one " that no mechanic or mechanic's wife or daughter should be admitted on any terms." This rule being submitted to Franklin, he remarked that " it ex- cluded God Almighty, for he was the greatest mechanic in the uni- verse" An enemy to every thing aristocratic, even his eloquence partook of an unpretending character ; but he developed his ideas with clearness and precision. He had always at hand an immense stock of common sense, and possessed the very useful quality of being " eminently great in little things." OLIVER EVANS. Birth. Apprenticed to a wagon maker. Fondness for study. Penuriousness of his master. Pursues his evening studies by the light of burning shavings. Turns his attention to the propelling of carriages without animal power. An experiment. Renews his studies with increased ardor. Is laughed at for de- claring that he can make steam carriages. Opinions confirmed by experiment. Is defrauded of an invention for making card teeth. Marries. Enters into the milling business with his brothers. His inventions revolutionize the man- ufacture of flour. Account of those improvements. Difficulties attending their introduction. Opposition of the Brandywine millers. Petitions the Le- gislature of Pennsylvania for the right of using his mill improvements and steam carriages. The former granted and the latter ridiculed.^-The Legislature of Maryland grant them both. Commences a steam carriage at his own ex- pense. Latrobe's report. Lays aside the carriage and builds a steam engine for mills, which reduces him to poverty. Final success. Constructs a machine for cleaning docks. First American locomotive. Public incredulity. His the first high pressure engine. Submits a proposition to the Lancaster turnpike company. Predictions. Mill improvements gradually come into use. Viola- tors. Unsuccessful lawsuit. Petitions congress for a renewal of his patents. Memorial of his opponents. Counter memorial. Triumph. His published works. Death. IT is but seldom that the pen of the biographer has occasion 10 trace the memoir of an individual possessing equal perseverance, or greater originality of mechanical conception, than the subject of this memoir, who has been aptly styled " the Watt of America " Oliver Evans was born in Newport, Delaware, sometime in the year 1755 or 1756. Little is preserved respecting his early his- tory. His parents were agriculturists of respectable standing, who gave their son the advantages common to people in their station. At the age of fourteen Evans was apprenticed to a wheelwright or wagon maker. An anecdote is preserved which displays in his character, even at this period, that ardent desire for know, ledge, and that determination ever evinced not to let any obstacle interfere with the object of his pursuits. His master, an illiterate man, observing his apprentice employing his leisure evenings in study, through motives of parsimony, forbade him using candles ; but young Evans was not to be discouraged, for, collecting at the close of each day the shavings made from his work, he would take them to the chimney corner, and, by their uncertain light, pursue his evening studies. While yet an apprentice his attention was turned to the subject OLIVER EVANS. OLIVER EVANS. 71 of propelling land carriages without animal power; but all the methods with which he was acquainted appearing too futile to de- serve an experiment, he concluded such motion to be impossible for the want of a suitable original power. But one of his brothers informed him on a Christmas evening that he had that day been in company with a neighboring blacksmith's boy, who, for amuse, ment, had stopped up the touch-hole of a gun barrel, then pouring in a gill of water, rammed down a tight wad ; after which on put- ting the breech in the fire, it discharged itself with a report like gunpowder. The active mind of Evans, ever awake to the phe- nomena around him, instantly saw that here was the long desired power, if he could only apply it, and from this period endeavored to discover the means. He labored for some time without success ; at length a book fell into his hands describing the old atmospheric steam engine ; and he was greatly astonished to observe they had so far erred as to use the steam only in forming a vacuum to apply the mere pressure of the atmosphere, instead of using the elastic force of the steam for the original motion, the power of which he sup. posed irresistible. He thereupon renewed his studies with in- creased ardor, and soon declared that he could make steam car- riages, and endeavored to co*nmunicate his ideas to others, but was only listened to with ridicule. Persevering, his experiments confirm, ed his opinions ; but want of means for a time compelled him to abandon its prosecution When twenty-three or twenty-four years of age he was engaged in making card teeth by hand, at that period the only method known. Finding this a tedious operation, he invented a machine that would manufacture three thousand a minute, but was defrauded of a great share of the benefits derived from it. Shortly after he projected a plan for pricking the leather in cards, and at the same time cutting, bending, and setting the teeth ; but owing to the un- fortunate result of the previous invention, never carried it into execution. At the age of twenty-five Mr. Evans married a daughter of Mr. John Tomlinson, a respectable farmer of Delaware. About thia period he entered into business with his brothers, who were mil- lers, and wished to avail thf mselves of his talents and ingenuity. Here was an appropriate fieid for the display of a genius like his, and ere long was commenced those series of improvements in the construction of machinery and appurtenances of mills which effected a complete revolution in the manufacture of flour. These improve, ments consist of the invention and various application of the fol- .owing machines, viz : The elevator, the conveyor, the hopper- boy, the drill, and the descender, which five machines are var'" usly 4 73 AMERICAN MECHANICS. applied in different mills according to their construction, so as to perform every necessary movement of the grain and meal from one part of the mill to the other, or from one machine to another, through all the various operations, from the time the grain is emp- tied from the wagoner's bag, or from the measure on board the ship, until it is completely manufactured into flour, separated, and ready for packing ; all of which is performed by the force of the water, without the aid of manual labor, except to set the different machines in motion. The advantages derived from tht se improvements are great in almost every respect, not only causing a saving of full one half in the labor of attendance, but manufacturing the flour better, and making about twenty-eight pounds of superfine flour more to each barrel than was made by the old method.* These improvements were completed in theory as early as 1783, but were not carried into operation until a year or two later ; and then before they perfectly succeeded, many alterations were to be made, and great difficulties to surmount. Although the result ex- ceeded expectation, yet the opposition which was experienced ren- dered their introduction into general use extremely laborious. To promote this object, Mr. Evans furnished his brother with the ne- cessary funds, and despatched him through the country to establish them. He travelled through the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, offering the inventions gratis to the first in each county who would adopt them. After considerable expense he returned wholly unsuccessful, and without any favorable pros, pects for the future. The Brandy wine millers in particular op- posed their adoption with all their influence, until they were in use in several mills around them. At length they held a consultation, and deputed one of their number to Mr. Evans to make proposals as to the terms on which they would try the experiment, which were nearly in the words following, viz : " Oliver, we have had a meeting, and agreed that if thou would furnish all the materials, and thy own boarding, and come thyself to set up the machinery, in one of our mills, thee may come and try, and if it answers a valuable purpose, we will pay thy bill, but if it does not answer, thee must take it all out again, and leave the mill just as thee finds it, at thy own expense." The principles having already been tested, and there millers knowing Mr. Evans' reduced circumstances at the * When Mr. Evans' milling improvements came into popular use, it was esti- mated that at Ellicott's mills, near Baltimore, where three hundred and twenty- five barrels of flour were daily manufactured, that in expense of attendance alone, there was an annual saving of four thousand right hundred and seventy-Jive dollars, and that the saving made by the increased amount manufactured, was at least fifty cents a barrel," amounting to a gain in this department of thirty-tivo tho* and five hundred dollars ! OLIVER EVANS. 73 time, he could but regard their propositions as a disposition to re- tard and embarrass rather than to encourage or forward the im- provement. The following anecdotes which were related by Mr. Evans, exhibit a strength of prejudice, on the part of these men, almost inconceivable. When he had his inventions in full operation, so that he could alone attend his mill with less fatigue than he could before, even with the assistance of two men and a boy, he invited the Brandywine millers to come and witness its opera- tion. It so happened that some of them called on a day when he had alone, both to attend the mill and make hay in an adjoining clover lot. On seeing their approach, lie turned from them, thinking it best to let them enter the mill, and finding it attending to itself would be convincing and positive proof of the great utility of the improve- ments. Entering, they ibund all the operations of cleaning, grind- ing, and bolting going on without the intervention of a human hand, with perfect regularity and despatch. In about half an hour, they came to Mr. Evans, and requested him to explain the whole of the operations, which he did willingly, but took care to inform them that it was an " uncommon busy" day with him, for he had both to attend the mill and make hay. After they left, Mr. Evans returned to the lot, leaving the mill to attend itself, and rejoicing at the lucky circumstance, not doubting but they were now fully convinced. But to his astonishment, he soon learned that on their return, they had reported to their neighboring millers, that the whole contrivance was a set of " rattle traps," not worthy the attention of men of com- mon sense ; which fixed more firmly the opposition of the rest to the adoption of the improvement. Some time later, he exhibited a model of his improved mill in the streets of Wilmington, Dela- ware, which was to be sent to England. Some of the crowd called to a Brandywine miller, as he happened to be passing, who was so struck with its simplicity and perfection, together with the obser- vations of those present, that he contracted with the inventor to construct one for him. It. was soon put into operation in presence of the neighboring millers ; and though the elevators and conveyors, without the aid of human hands, brought the meal from the two pair of stones, and the tail-flour from the bolts to the hopper-boy, which spread it over the floor, stirring, fanning, and gathering it, and attending the bolting hoppers at the same time, yet one of them, in contradiction to the evidence of his own senses, exclaimed, " It will not do ! it cannot do ! it is impossible it should do !" The opposition of these millers cost him thousands of dollars in fruitless attempts to establish his inventions. Wherever his agents went, the inquiry was, "Have the Brandywine millers adopted 74 AMERICAN MECHANICS. them ?" The answer was of course, " No !" which was generally followed by this pertinent reply : " If those who are so much more extensively engaged in the manufacture of flour do not think them worthy their attention, they cannot certainly demand ours." This treatment on the part of these men recoiled upon themselves, and their obstinacy was such in adopting the improvements, that the mills on the Brandy wine for a time lost their pre-eminence. In the year 1786, Mr. Evans petitioned the legislature of Penn- sylvania for the exclusive right to use his improvements in flour mills, and steam carriages, in that state, and in the year follow- ing presented a similar petition to the legislature of Maryland. In the former instance he was only successful so far as to obtain the privilege of the mill improvements : his representations concerning steam carnages were considered as savoring too much of insanity to deserve notice. He was more fortunate in Maryland, for, al- though the steam project was laughed at, yet one of his friends, a member, very judiciously observed that the grant could injure no one, for he did not think that any man in the world had thought of such a thing before, he therefore wished the encouragement might be afforded, as there was a prospect that it would produce some- thing useful. This kind of argument had its effect, and Evans received all that he asked for, and from that period considered himself bound in honor to the state of Maryland to produce a steam carriage, as soon as his means would allow him. For several years succeeding the granting of his petition by the legislature of Maryland, Mr. Evans endeavored to obtain some person of pecuniary resources to join with him in his plans ; and for this purpose explained his views by drafts, and otherwise, to some of the first mechanics in the country : although they appeared in several instances to understand them, yet declined any assistance from a fear of the expense and difficulty of their execution.* In the year 1800 or 1801, Mr. Evans, never having found any one willing to contribute to the expense, or even to encourage him in his efforts, determined to construct a steam carriage at his own expense. Previous to commencing he explained his views to Ro- bert Patterson, professor of mathematics in the University of Penn- sylvania, and to an eminent English engineer. They both de- * I certify that Oliver Evans did, about the year 1789, communicate a project to me of propelling land carriages by the power of steam, and did solicit me to join with him in the profits of the same. LEVI HOLLINGSWORTH. Baltimore, Nov. 16, 1812. 1 do certify that about 1781, (thirty-one years ago,) Oliver Evans, in conversa- tion with me, declared that by the power of steam he could drive any thing; wagons, mills, or vessels by the same T ower. ENOCH ANDERSON. November 15, 1812. OLIVER iiiVANS. 75 clared the principles new to them, and advised the plan, as highly worthy of a fair experiment. These were the only persons who nad any confidence, or afforded encouraging advice. He alsa communicated his plans to Mr. B. F. Latrobe, a highly scientific gentleman, who publicly pronounced them as chimerical, and at- tempted to demonstrate the absurdity of Mr. Evans' principles in his report to the Philosophical Society of Pennsylvania, on steam engines : in which he also endeavored to show the impossibility of making steamboats useful. In this report, Mr. Evans is one of the persons alluded to, as being seized with the " steam mania" but the liberality of the society caused them to reject that portion of the paper, conceiving that they had no right to set up their opin- ions as an obstacle in the way of any exertions to make a discovery, although they did not reject that gentleman's demonstrations respect ing steamboats. In consequence of the determination previously alluded to, Mi. Evans commenced and had made considerable progress in the construction of a steam carriage, when the idea occurred to him, that as his steam engine was altogether different in form, as well as in principle, from any other in use, a patent could be obtained for it, and then applied to mills, more profitably than to carriages. The steam carriage was accordingly laid aside for a season of more leisure, and the construction of a small engine was commenced, with a cylinder six inches in diameter, and piston of eighteen inches stroke, for a mill to grind plaster of Paris. The expense of its construction far exceeded Mr. Evans' calculations, and before the engine was finished he found it cost him all he was worth. He had then to begin the world anew, at the age of forty-eight, with a targe family to support, and that too with a knowledge, that if the trial failed his credit would be entirely ruined, and his prospects for the remainder of life dark and gloomy. But fortune favored him, and his success was complete. In a brief account given by himself of his experiments in steam, he says, " I could break and grind three hundred bushels of plaster of Paris, or twelve tons, in twenty-four hours ; and to show its operations more fully to the public, I applied it to saw stone, on the side of Market-street, where the driving of twelve saws in heavy frames, sawing at the rate of one hundred feet of marble in twelve hours, made a great show and excited much attention. I thought this was sufficient to convince the thousands of spectators of the utility of my discovery, but I frequently heard them inquire if the power could be applied to saw timber, as well as stone, to grind grain, propel boats, &c., and though I answered in the affirm. ative, they still doubted. I therefore determined to apply my 76 AMERICAN MECHANICS. engine to al. new uses ; to introduce it and them to the public. This experiment completely tested the correctness of my principles. The power of my engine rises in a geometrical proportion, while the consumption of fuel has only an arithmetical ratio ; in such proportion that every time I added one fourth more to the consump- tion of the fuel, its powers were doubled ; and that twice the quan- 'tity of fuel required to drive one saw, would drive sixteen saws at least ; for when I drove two saws the consumption was eight bushels of coal in twelve hours, but when twelve saws were driven, the consumption was not more than ten bushels ; so that the more we resist the steam, the greater is the effect of the engine. On these principles veiy light but powerful engines can be made suitable for propelling boats and land carriages, without the great encumbrance of their*weight as mentioned in Latrobe's demonstration." In the year 1804, Mr. Evans, by order of the board of health of Philadelphia, constructed at his works, situated a mile and a half from the water, a machine for cleaning docks.* It consisted of a large flat or scow, with a steam engine of the power of five horses on board, to work machinery, in raising the mud into scows. This was considered a fine opportunity to show the public that his engine could propel both land and water conveyances. When the machine was finished, he fixed, in a rough and temporary manner, wheels with wooden axletrees, and of course, under the influence of great friction. Although the whole weight was equal to two hundred barrels of flour, yet his small engine propelled it up Market-street, and round the circle to the water works, where it was launched into the Schuylkill. A paddle wheel was then applied to its stern, and it thus sailed down that river to the Delaware, a distance of sixteen miles, leaving all vessels that were under sail at least half way, (the wind being ahead,) in the presence of thousands "of spec- tators, which he supposed would have convinced them of the prac- ticability of steamboats and steam carriages. But no allowance was made by the public for the disproportion of the engine to its load, nor for the rough manner in which the machinery was fixed, or the great friction and ill form of the boat, but it was supposed that this was the utmost it could perform. Some individuals under- took to ridicule this experiment of driving so great a weight on land, because the motion was too slow to be useful. The inventor silenced them by answering that he would make a carriage propelled by steam, for a wager of three thousand dollars, to run upon a level road, against the swiftest horse that could be produced. This machine Evans named the Oructor Amphibolis, which is * This was the first applicatic :. to the important but now common operation of dredging. American edition oj .Vood's Treatise on Rail Roads. OLIVER EVANS. 79 believed to have been the first application, in America, of steam power to the propelling of land carriages. On the 25th of September, 1804, Evans submitted to the consi- deration of the Lancaster turnpike company, a statement of the costs and profits of a steam carriage to carry one hundred barrels of flour, fifty miles in twenty -four hours ; tending to show, that one such steam carriage would make more nett profits than ten wagons, drawn by five horses each, on a good turnpike road, and offering to build one at a very low price. His address closed as follows : " It is too much for an individual to put in operation every improve- ment which he may invent. I have no doubt but that my engines will propel boats against the current of the Mississippi, and wagons on turnpike roads, with great profit. I now call upon those whose interest it is, to carry this invention into effect. All which is re- spectfully submitted to your consideration." Little or no attention was paid to the offer. Had Evans received the patronage and pecuniary assistance that fell to the lot of Fulton, there is no doubt but he might have shown steamboats in operation fifteen or twenty years previous to the successful experiments of that ingenious individual. This probability is strengthened by the fact, that his engine, the first* ever invented on the high-pressure principle, is the only one that can be applied on railways, and is now in universal use on the Mississippif and other rapid rivers, where great power is required. * " It is scarcely necessary to mention to the American reader, that the claim respecting the high pressure steam and locomotive engines to which the English assert,' is entirely without foundation. The application of steam in this manner and to these purposes had, indeed, been contemplated, but never reduced to practice until the experiments alluded to. In early life, Mr. Evans sent Mr. Joseph Sampson to England with the drawings and specifications of his steam engines, &c. They were exhibited to numerous engineers, and his plans were copied by Messrs. Vivian and Trevithick, without any acknowledgment : the latter persons acquired fame and fortune, while the ingenious, bui eccentric Evans, died poor, neglected, and broken-hearted. Fitch, Fulton, and Evans, exhibit a singular coincidence in their history. Posterity will, at least, render ' them the tardy recompense of justice. America may, therefore, claim the invention of locomotive engines with even more justice than that of steamboats, inventions which are destined to revolutionize the commerce and defence of nations." Amer. Edit, of Wood's Treatise on Railroads. t " Mr. Evans wrote in 1802 to gentlemen in Kentucky, informing them he had got his engine in motion, which he had long before invented, for propelling boats and carriages. These letters were shown to Captain James M'Keaver, who associated with Mr. Louis Valcourt, to build a steamboat to ply between New Orleans and Natchez. Valcourt came to Philadelphia to employ Mr. Evans to make a steam engine, while the captain should build a boat eighty feet keel, and eighteen feet beam. Two of Mr. Evans' company of workmen went with the engine to meet the boat at New Orleans, to set it up, which they completed, and the boat was ready for experiment ; but by this time the water had subsided, and left the boat half a mile from the water : their money being expended, their credit exhausted, and the river not expected to rise in less than six months ! In 4* 80 AMERICAN MECHANIC& While Evans' conceptions respecting the power of steam reflect the highest credit upon his sagacity and talent, his predictions of its application may well be termed prophetic. In some of his writings, published in the early part of the present century, he re- marks : " The time will come when people will travel in stages, moved by steam engines, from one city to another, almost as last as birds fly, fifteen or twenty miles an hour. Passing through the air with such velocity, changing the scene in such rapid succession, will be the most rapid exhilarating exercise. A carriage (steam) will set out from Washington in the morning, the passengers will breakfast at Baltimore, dine at Philadelphia, and sup in New York the same day. To accomplish this, two sets of railways will be laid, so nearly level as not in any way to deviate more than two degrees from a horizontal line, made of wood or iron, or smooth paths of broken stone or gravel, with a rail to guide the carriages *o that they may pass each other in different directions, and travel by night as well as by day. Engines will drive boats ten or twelve miles per hour, and there will be many hundred steamboats run- ning on the Mississippi, as predicted years ago." After a lapse of years, as the improvements in the manufacture of flour gradually came into popular use, the inducements to in- fringe upon Evans' rights increased, until he was obliged to appeal for redress to the United States circuit court of Pennsylvania, but, through some informality in the patent, an unfavorable decision was given. Thus was he deprived of all means of recovering what was so justly due. Agreeably to the request of counsel, he then petitioned congress for a new patent. In stating his case, he observed, " that he had been at a great expense in publishing and disseminating these inventions, travelling either by himself or agents this predicament, Mr. William Donaldson offered them money to take the engine out of the boat, and set it to drive a saw-mill, that could go" only by the waters of the river overflowing its banks, and was then standing. Their necessities compelled them to accept the offer. When they got the saw-mill gains, they wrote that to their astonishment the engine was sawing three thousand feet of boards per day of twelve hours, which hail been selling at the enormous price of fifty to sixty dollars per one thousand feet ; that they were now convinced there could be no doubt that the steamboat would have succeeded beyond their expectations ; that they would soon retrieve their losses, and would order an- other engine for the boat. But, alas ! their fair prospects were soon blasted ; for there, too, were some of the wise opposers of improvements. This mill was likely to deprive some who sawed lumber by hand of profitable jobs, and it was set on fire ; the two first attempts the fire was discovered in time to be extin- guished ; but in the third, those infernal incendiaries had like to have succeeded not only in destroying the mill, but with it those who had slept in it, to guard it. Thus were two noble and enterprising men ruined, in the most laudable attempts to establish steamboats on the Mississippi. They had expended fifteen thousand dollars, and would have succeeoed three or four'years before Fulton and Living- ston, out for the reasons above stated." Patent Right Oppression Exposed. OLIVER EVANS. g] for thirteen years, throughout the country, from state to state, and from mill to mill, to instruct workmen in their manufacture, and millers their use : and in this way had expended the small fees which were received from those who had generously and freely paid for their license." These arguments were so clearly founded on justice, that government could not but listen to his claims, and the petition was granted, January 21, 1808. Ere long, a memorial was presented to congress by John Wor- thington, Elisha Tyson, and other interested millers, against Oliver Evans, stating " that the public had been grossly deceived in re- gard to Evans being the original inventor of his patented mill machines ; for, so far from having invented ALL, he was not the original inventor of any of them : and that they could not believe that those in authority intended to let loose upon the community this exorbitant monopolist with so grievous and despotic a power They therefore petitioned to have the subject once more taker into consideration." Evans immediately presented a counter me morial, in which he completely proved the falsity of their state ments, and the interested motives of his opponents. Independent of this, some of the most prominent* individuals in the community, on this and other occasions, came forward unsolicited with their testimony in his behalf. In the result, Evans was sustained. * The following, among other statements, was furnished by the well-knowr editor of Miles' Register, on the occasion of some of Mr. Evans' lawsuits : " The subscriber, unsolicited by, and unknown to Oliver Evans, feels it du to truth and justice to state his recollections of the mill machinery. He well remembers, when at the Brandywine mills, they used to hoist the flour from the lower story to the loft, in large buckets or tubs, filled by shovels from the chests into which the flour fell from the millstones: he has also frequently seen a man employed at these mills in heaping the flour over the hopper to let it pass into the boiting cloth below. Born in the neighborhood of these mills, and passing his infancy and youth at Wilmington, within half a mile of them; and going there to swim and to skate, as well as for other juvenile amusements, the place presenting delightful advantages for their enjoyment, he has passed through those mills, or some of them, many hundred times before and since the improve ments were introduced. His young mind was much pleased to observe the little buckets (the elevator,) supplying. the place of the large one, above alluded to; and he was much amused to see the labors of the hopper-boy, that spread, cooled, and collected the meal, without manual labor, to the spot where it was wanted ; nor was he less agreeably surprised at the operation of the conveyor, that, while . cooled the flour, passed it on to the place where the elevator caught it. He :lsc recollects to have heard it stated that the introduction of this machinery would ^row more than twenty persons out of employ at Brandywine ; and always understood that these imwvations on the old mode of manufacturing flour were made by Oliver Evans. " While writing the above, an old schoobnate is at my elbow, who has pre- cisely the same recollections. Neither of us pretend to know that Oliver Evans really invented those things ; but are certain that common fame gave him the credit of them at the time they were introduced at (he Brandywine mills. " H. NILES, " Baltimore, Feb. 10, 1813. ' " Editor of the . :' 82 AMERICAN MECHANICS A few years subsequent to his marriage, Mr. Evans removed to Philadelphia, where he finally established an iron foundry and steam factory. Here he prepared his two works for the press, viz. the Young Millwright's and the Young Steam Engineer's Guides, productions every way worthy of their author. In 1810, his two sons-in-law, Messrs. James Rush and David Muhlenburg, joined and continued in business with him until the time of his decease, which took olace from an inflammation of the lungs, April 21st, 1819. SAMUEL SLATER. SAMUEL SLATER, THE FATHER OF THE AMERICAN COTTON MANTTFACTTTRES. Birth. Is apprenticed to the partner of Arkwright in the business of cotton spinning. Fondness for experiments in machinery. Improves the " heart motion." Industry. Appointed overseer. Anecdote. Forms the idea of coining to America. Is obliged to leave secretly. Adventures in London. Sails for the United States. Obtains a temporary employment. Dispiriting results of the attempts to establish the cotton manufacture previous to his arrival. Applies to Moses Brown. Visits Pawtucket. Enters into the cotton business with Messrs. Almy and Brown. Low state of manufactures. Dis- appointment. Agrees to erect the Arkwright patents. Affecting anecdote. Forms a tender attachment. Builds the " Old Mill" at Pawtucket. Preju dice. Prosperity. Extension of the cotton manufacture. Establishes the first American Sunday school. Character. Conclusion of his domestic his tory. Death. Tribute to his memory. WE, of the present day, in witnessing the extent and variety of our manufactures, can scarcely realize the low state in which they were, some forty or fifty years since : nor, without investi- gation, can we form any conception of the difficulties incident to their establishment. In none were they so formidable as in the cotton manufacture : and it is judged that he, who forsook the endearments of home for a land of strangers, to seek its estab- lishment among us, certainly claims a place amid the other char- acters that comprise this volume. The subject of this memoir* was born at Belper, in Derbyshire, England, June 9, 1768. His father was one of those independent yeomanry who farm their own lands, forming a distinct class from the tenantry. Young Slater received the advantages of an ordi- nary English education ; and while at school, manifested a general fondness for study, but more particularly for that of arithmetic, one by far the most important in disciplining the mind for the business of life a talent almost universal with those who become distin- guished for mechanical ingenuity. The cotton spinning business, at this time in its infancy, was carried on in the neighborhood by Jedediah Strutt, the partner of * See White's ' Memoir of Slater ; connected with a History of the Rise and Progress of the Cotton Manufacture in England and America: with Remarks on the Moral Influence of Manufactories in the United States ;" a wcrk con laining a great deal of valu,".bl * and interesting information. 86 AMERICAN MECHANICS. the celebrated Arkwright. Mr. Slater having frequent intercourse with Mr. Strutt, made an agreement with him to take his son into his employment. In August of the same year, young Slater lost his father ; and thus, at the early age of fourteen, was left his own master. A short time subsequent to this event, his employer asked him if he intended to continue in the business. Previous to giving a decisive answer, he inquired his opinion of its perma- nency. The reply was, that it would not probably continue as good as then, but, under proper management, would doubtless always be a fair business. So little did even its founders foresee the vast extension to which it was designed, and the astonishing change in politics, commerce, and the relations of states to each other, which have been the consequence. Indeed, all the cotton manufacture of England was then confined to a small district in Derbyshire, and its whole amount not greater than that done at the present day in a single village in New England. Young Slater early manifested the bent of his mind, frequently spending his Sundays alone in making experiments in machinery ; and for six months was without seeing any of his friends, though living only a mile from home. This was not from a want of filial or fraternal affection, but solely through devotion to his employ, ment. As showing the propensity and experfness of his mind at this period, the following circumstance is related : His master in vain endeavored to improve the " heart motion " so as to raise or enlarge the yarn in the middle, in order to contain more on the bobbin. Slater seeing through the difficulty, went to work, and the next Sunday (his only spare time) succeeded in that, which his employer, with all his ingenuity, was unable to effect. This gen. eral application on Slater's part was not without its benefits ; his employers gained so much confidence in his business habits and industry, that during the last four or five years of his stay with them he was engaged as an overseer. This general oversight, with his close habits of observation, eventually proved of incalcu- lable service. Slater was fortunate in having for his employer a man of so much stability and integrity, who took a great deal of pains to properly mould his "character and habits. He was, like all other business men, a strict economist in that which related to his pro- fession, and would often enforce his maxims on his young protege. As an illustration, the following anecdote is related : When Suiter was yet a boy, he passed by some loose cotton on the floor ; Mr. Strutt called him back, with a request to pick it up, for it was by attending to such small things that great fortunes were accumu. lated ; at the same time observing to his wife, by way of impress. SAMUEL SLATER. 87 ing it more strongly on the mind of his favorite apprentice, that he ** was afraid that Samuel would never be rich." Slater faithfully served his indenture with Mr. Strutt. This accomplishment of his full time was characteristic with him, and was praiseworthy and beneficial, as it laid the fovindation of his adaptation to business, and finally to its perfect knowledge. He early turned his attention to the United States, as affor.ling a vast field for enterprise in his department. This originated partially from an apprehension that the business would be ruined by competition in his native country, and, with this idea, he would seek every means to gain information. The motives which finally induced him to leave, were the various rumors which reached Derbyshire of the anxiety of the different state govern, ments here to encourage manufactures. Slater was more strongly confirmed in this determination on observing a newspaper account of a liberal bounty granted by the legislature of Pennsylvania to a person who had imperfectly succeeded in constructing a carding machine, to make rolls for jennies ; and the knowledge, too, that a society had been authorized by the same legislature for the promo- tion of manufactures. Having made due preparation, he secretly, and without divulging his plans to even a single individual, bid farewell to the home of his childhood. What were his feelings in gazing, for the last time, on the countenances of his mother, brothers, and sisters, only those who have been in similar circumstances can imagine ; his young heart was full, but a youthful ambition fired his soul, and enabled him to overcome his emotions. While waiting in London until the vessel was ready, he wrote to his friends, informing them of his plans, but, for obvious reasons, did not put the letter into the office until ready to embark. The ship being ready, Mr. Slater embarked, Sept. 1st, 1789, being at that time only a few months over twenty-one years of age. He was aware of the danger incurred in leaving England as a machinist, and therefore took no drawings of any sort, trust- ing solely to the powers of his memory to enable him to construct the most complicated of machinery. Indeed, he had no writing with him excepting his indenture, which was his sole introduction to the western world. After a tedious passage of sixty-six days, he arrived in New York. Here he obtained a temporary employ ment, until something permanent should arise. Previous to Slater's arrival in America, every attempt to spin cotton warp or twist, or any other yarn, by water power, had totally failed, and every effort to import the patent machinery of England had proved abortive. Much interest had been excited in 68 AMERICAN MECHANICS. Phik Jdprna, New York, Beverly, Massachusetts, and Providence but it was found impossible to compete with the superior machin. ery of Derbyshire.' Distrust and despondency had affected the * At a meeting held in Boston a few years since, on the subject of opening a railroad to Albany, the infant difficulties of our manufactures weie thus adverted tc by Mr. Hallet : " We talk now of the future, in regard to railways, with doubt, as of an exne- riment yet to be tested, and many look upon the calculations of the sanguine as mere speculating dreams. Here is a new avenue about to be opened to the de- velopment of resources, and yet men hesitate to go forward. Let us test what we can reasonably anticipate in this, by what we know has happened, in the development of resources once deemed quite as visionary, through another me- dium of industry and enterprise domestic manufactures. There is not an adult among us who cannot remember the time when it was a source of mortification to be dressed in homespun. Now, pur own fabrics are among the best and richest stuffs of every day consumption, and the products of our looms are pre- ferred even in foreign countries. Forty years ago, who would have dared to conjure up the visions of such manufacturing cities as Lowell, and Fall River, your Ware, Waltham, and the hundreds of flourishing villages which now con- stitute the most prosperous communities in this commonwealth ? How small and feeble was the beginning of all this! In 1787, the first cotton mill in this state was got up in Beverly, by John Cabot and others, and in three years it was nearly given up, in consequence of the difficulties which the first beginning of the development of the vast resources of domestic industry, in our state, had to encounter. I hold in my hand," said Mr. Hallet, " a document of uncommon interest, on this subject, found in the files of the Massachusetts senate ; which will show the early struggles of domestic manufactures, and the doubts enter- tained of their success, more forcibly than any fact that can be stated. It is the petition of the proprietors of the little Beverly cotton mill, in 1790, for aid from the legislature to save them from being compelled to abandon the enterprise altogether. This petition was referred to the committee of both houses for the encouragement of arts, agriculture, and manufactures, (of which Nathaniel Gorham was chairman ;) and with all the lights which that intelligent commit- tee then had on this subject, destined to become one of the greatest means of developing resources ever opened to national prosperity, they cautiously reported that 'from the best information we can obtain, we are of opinion that the said manufactory is of great public utility. But owing to the great expenses incurred in providing machines, and other incidents usually attending a new business, the said manufactory is upon the decline, and unless some public assistance can be afforded, is in danger of failing. Your committee therefore report, as their opinion, that the petitioners have a grant of one thousand pounds, to be raised in a lottery :' on condition that they give bonds that the money be actually ap- propriated in such a way as will most effectually promote the ' manufacturing' of cotton piece goods in this commonwealth Where now is the little Beverly cotton mill ? And what has been the mighty development of resources in domestic industry in forty-five years, since the date of that petition, when the wisest men among us had got no farther than to a belief that the said manufac- tory was of great public utility ! Is there any vision of the great public utility of railways," sakl Mr. Hallet, " which can go beyond what now is, and what will be in forty years, that can exceed in contrast what we know once was and now is, in the development of resources by the investment of capital and industry in domestic manufactures ? The petitioners for the little Beverly cotton mill were doubtless deemed to be absurdly extravagant, when they hinted that the manu facture of cottons would one day not only afford a supply for domestic consump- tion, but a staple for exportation. But what do we now see? Our domestic fabrics find a market in every clime, and vessels, lying at your wharves, are eceiving these goods to export to Calcutta. " The world is beginning to understand the true uses of wealth, to develop SAMUEL SLATER. 99 strongest minds, disappointment and repeated loss of property had entirely disheartened these pioneers in the production of home- spun cloth. To the subject of this memoir belongs the honor of having solely, by his own personal knowledge and skill, constructed and put in motion the whole series of Arkwright's patents, and in such perfect operation, as to produce as good yarn and cotton cloth of various descriptions as the English. In the course of Slater's inquiries for the most eligible place as the scene of his first essay in America, he was informed that attempts had lately been made in Providence and its vicinity, under the auspices of Moses Brown, who was in want of a manager in spinning. He immediately addressed a letter to Mr. Brown, and received in reply a veiy urgent request to render his service?. In this letter he offered Slater, if he could work the machinery they had on hand, all the profits of the business, and held out the promise of the credit, as well as the advantages of perfecting the first water mill in America. Arrangements were entered into between Almy, Brown, and Slater, to commence cotton spinning at Pawtucket. the resources of the country ; and it is in great enterprises, which benefit the public more than those immediately concerned in them, that we have a practical demonstration of the doctrine of the greatest good of the greatest number. Much is said, and more feared, about the divisions of the rich and the poor. But in truth, in our happy institutions, we need have no poor, forming a distinct class among the citizens. Where is your populace, your rabble? is an inquiry which has often puzzled the foreigner who has passed through our streets when thronged by a multitude. We have no populace no rabble, but free and inde- pendent citizens. What has made them so ? The development of our resources. What has stopped the tide of emigration that once threatened to depopulate New England 1 The development of our resources. Go on developing these resources, and there need be no fear of setting the poor against the rich, for there will be no poor to set against them. All will be rich, for they will have enough ; and no man is in reality any richer for possessing what he cannot use. When men of capital are found hoarding it, holding it back from enterprises, and cau tious of doing any thing to develop the resources of a community, there is then just cause to fear the operation of unequal and injurious distinctions. Take , from industry and enterprise the means of acquiring wealth, cut off commerce, manufactures, canals, and railways, and you will lay the surest foundation pos- sible for t.he despotism of one class over another. But open all these great resources to all extend your facilities of intercourse throughout the country, and you cannot repress the energies of men ; you cannot keep them poor long enough to mark them as a class. Your gradations in society will be stepped over, forward and backward, so often, that no distinct line can be kept ap. This is the vnst moral power, which is exerted on society by the investment of capital for public benefit, without unjust privileges ; in great projects. Here are the true uses of wealth, in a government like ours, and this great specific lies at the bottom of the philosophy of our political economy. Develop the resources of the country place the means of wealth within the reach of industry, and you produce the happy medium in society. All will then move forward evenly, as on the level of a railroad, with occasional inclined planes and elevations, but oone that can stop the powerful locomotives which impel forward every New Englander enterprise and moral energy" 90 AMERICAN MECHANICS. A few days subsequent to his arrival in Providence, Mr. Brown took him to view the machinery in a mill which he had erected at Pawtucket. On examination, Mr. Slater felt dispirited ; and shaking his head, observed, " these will not do they are good for nothing in their present condition, nor can they be made to answer." After various disappointments, it was proposed that he should erect the series of machines called the Arkwright patents. This he promised to perform, provided he was furnished with a man to work on wood, who should be under bonds not to steal the patterns, or disclose the nature of the works. " Under my pro- posals," says he, " if I do not make as good yarn as they do in England, I will have nothing for my services, but will throw the whole of what I have attempted over the bridge." On the 21st of December, 1790, Mr. Slater started three cards, drawing, roving, and seventy-two spindles, which were operated by an old fulling-mill water-wheel in a clothier's shop at the western end of Pawtucket bridge. In this place they continued the spin- ning until the subsequent erection of the " old mill,*' so called. The difficulties under which these first measures towards the establishment of the business were pursued, can hardly be con- ceived at the present day, even by a practical machinist or manu- facturer. The basin of the Narragansett bay, and the small, but invaluable streams that fall into it on every side, did not, at that early day, form, as they now do, a continuous hive of mechanical industry, enterprise, and skill, where every sort of material, and even the most minute subdivision of handicraft ingenuity, can be procured at will. There were no magazines or workmen. With the exception of scythes, anchors, horse-shoes, ploughs, nails, cannon, shot, and a few other articles of iron, there was no staple manufacture for exportation. The mechanism then applied in their manufacture was almost as simple as the first impulse of water or steam. Even the side motion of the card machine had not been adopted ; the first hint for its use having been obtained several years after. Although Mr. Slater had full confidence in his own remembrance of every part, and ability to perfect the work, he found it next to an impossibility to get those who could make any thing like his models. But there are few difficulties that can discourage an ingenious, enterprising, and determined mind. The various materials required for the first machines were collected at much expense from different parts of the country, and young Slater's own skill and perseverance supplied the place of other mechanics. It was now, when he flattered himself with an entire success, that an unforeseen difficulty arose. After the frames were ready SAMUEL SLATER. 91 tor operation, he prepared the cotton and started the cards, but it rolled up on the top cards instead of passing through the small cylinder. This was the cause of the greatest perplexity, and days were passed in the utmost anxiety as to the final result. On advising with his assistant and pointing out the defect, he per- ceived that the teeth of the cards were not crooked enough ; as they had no good card leather, the punctures were made by hand, and consequently were too large, so that the teeth fell back from their proper place. Luckily it occurred to them to beat the teeth with a piece of grindstone ; this gave them the proper crook, and, to their joy and relief, the machinery worked perfectly. On Slater's arrival in Pawtucket, he was introduced into the worthy family of Mr. Oziel Wilkinson as a boarder. These people were Quakers, and became greatly interested in the young stranger ; they have since described his conduct during the diffi- culty just alluded to. When leaning his head over the fire-place, they heard him utter deep sighs, and frequently observed the tears roll from his eyes. He said but little of his fears and apprehen- sions ; but Mrs. Wilkinson, perceiving his distress, with a motherly kindness inquired, " Art thou sick, Samuel ?" He then explained to them the nature of his trial, and showed the point on which he was most tender. " If," said he, " I am frustrated in my carding machine, they will think me an impostor." He was apprehensive that no suitable cards could be obtained, short of England ; and from thence none were allowed to be exported. While in this family, a tender attachment arose between him- self and one of its female members, Miss Hannah Wilkinson. He was happy in fixing his affections so soon on one who loved him, and one so worthy ; this was the loadstone that served to bind him to the place, when every thing else appeared dreary and discouraging. Her parents being Friends, could not consistently give consent to her marriage out of the society, and talked of sending her away some distance to school, which occasioned Mr. Slater to say, " You may send her where you please, but I will follow her to the ends of the earth." Though absorbed in per- plexing business, his hours of relaxation were cheering ; he spent them in telling Hannah and her sister the story of his early life, the tales of his home, of his family connections, and of his father land. This introduction was one of the favorable circumstances that finally secured his success. Here was found a father and mother, who were kind to him as to their own son. He was not distrust- ful of his ability to support a family did not wait to grow rich before marriage, but was willing to take his bride for better and 92 AMERICAN MECHANICS. for worse ; and she received the young stranger as the man of her choice, the object of her first love. This connection with Oziel 'Wilkinson was of great service to him, as a stranger, inex- perienced in the world beyond his peculiar sphere. Besides, it is well known, that sixty years since, the contrast of character of New England men and manners, and other peculiarities, were very great between the two countries. No one knows the heart of a stranger but he who has been from home in a strange land, without an old acquaintance, without a tried friend to whom he could unbosom his anxieties without confidence in those around him, and others without confidence towards him. Mr. Slater's own experience taught him ever to treat the numerous strangers who flocked to him for advice, assistance, or employment, with marked attention, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Early in 1793, Alrny, Brown, and Slater built a small factory in Pawtucket, which is now called the " Old Mill," where they slowly added to their machinery as the sales of yarn increased. The disposal of the yarn in market was at first found as difficult as the first construction of the machinery for its manufacture. Such are the prejudices of mankind, and their unwillingness to break over long-established habits and opinions, that, superior as was this yarn in material and durability to that imported, people would hardly be convinced, even by actual experiment, that it was possible to make good cotton yarn at home. That made by these pioneers in American manufacture would sometimes be on hand in large quantities, or could be got rid of only as " truck," whilst the English made yarn was eagerly sought for at a much higher price in money. In a note found among .Mr. Slater's papers, we are informed that when the first saventy-two spindles and prepara- tion had been at work only twenty months, " they had several thousand pounds of yarn on hand, notwithstanding every exertion was used to weave it up and sell it." The same difficulty was experienced in the sale of yarn at intervals, until the introduction of the power loom. Slow as was the advancement of spinning until twenty years after its first establishment, it never attained the advantage of a quick remunerating staple business until the loom was placed beside the spinning frame, and propelled by the same power. The power loom, twenty or thirty years ago, did for the spinning frame what has since been done for the loom by the printery, it furnished an immediate and ready consumption, and a market ready for its products.* * As an evidence of the vast improvements in the manufacture and cultura of cotton, it is stated, that at the time of Slater's arrival in this country, good cotton cloth was fifty cents a yard, and nr.ver lets than forty. SAMUEL SLATER. frf, It was only in 1799 that the sales of yarn became sufficiently promising to induce another company to set up the second cotton mill establishment in Rhode Island, and Messrs. Almy, Brown, and Slater were encouraged to make very considerable additions to the machinery in the ** Old Mill." Their subsequent business, up to the year 1806, turned their attention to a more extended investment in spinning, and from thenceforth it was continually on the increase, Mr. Slater was a philanthropist in its most important sense, and ever manifested an interest in the welfare of those under his charge. No sooner did he find his business collected young people and children who were destitute of the means of instruc- tion, than he commenced establishing a Sunday school in his own house, sometimes instructing his scholars himself, but generally hiring a person to perform that duty. This was the first Sunday school in the United States ; and what appears to us not a little singular, was regarded by some as an unhallowed innovation ; one young man, the son of a clergyman, was at first deterred from becoming a teacher, because his father considered it a profanation of the Sabbath ! The impulse given to industry and production by the cotton manufacture has not been confined to one branch alone, but has been felt in every kind of employment useful to the community. We need not in this place enlarge upon the close affinity and mutual de- pendence of these various employments ; they are obvious to every mind which has acquired the habit of tracing results to their causes in the endless relations of society. As a general fact, it is un- doubtedly true, that the advancement of our country in the manu- factures^ wool and iron, has been greatly accelerated by the cotton manufacture; and that those branches of industiy have always been deeply affected by the temporary reverses which this branch has experienced. Mr. Slater was for many years, until the time of his death, con- cerned in woollen and iron, as well as cotton manufactories, and his observation and sagacity never suffered him to question the iden- tity of their interests. There was another point in which bis views and sentiments, though decried by some as too liberal an i disinterested in any matter of business, were truly wise and saga- cious, and fully concurred in by his partners. He always main- tained that legislative protection would be as beneficial to himself as to others ; to those already established in business and possess- ing an ample capital, as those just commencing, with little or no means. This opinion, notwithstanding all the huckstering calculations and short sighted views of would-be monooolists, was certainly the 96 AMERICAN MECHANICS. best for himself. Monopoly in this country, by ally men, or set of men, subject to our laws, is unattainable, either by legislation or combination. It is, or ought to be, excluded from all the calcula- tions of a sober and practical business mind. There was, there- fore, nothing in their preoccupation of the cotton business that gave thorn an advantage over other domestic manufacturer^, except their skill and capital. Of these advantages legislation could or would not deprive them ; and with them on their side, they could extend their investments as fast, certainly with as much profit, as those who were without, or with capital only. In petitions and othei means adopted by the manufacturing districts of our country, to obtain this protection, Mr. Slater was ever a prominent and efficient person. Such are the outlines of the business life of a man, whose skill and knowledge of detail was unrivalled, in a business which, up to the time of his appearance, was unknown in this country, whose commercial views were of the most liberal and enlightened char- acter, whose energy, perseverance, and untiring diligence, aided in his early efforts by the money and countenance of those who justly appreciated his merits, and confidently anticipated his emi- nence, have triumphed over obstacles which would have discouraged others ; have given a new direction to the industry of his adopted country, and opened a new and boundless field to its enterprise. It has rarely fallen to the lot of any single individual to be made an instrument, under Providence, of so much and such widely dif- fused benefit to his fellow men, as this man has conferred upon them, without any pretension to high-wrought philanthropy in the ordinary, unostentatious pursuit of that profession to which he had been educated. Yet, unpretending as he was, and noiseless in that sublimated charity which is now so fashionable and predominant, his sympathy for the distressed, and his kindness and good-will for all, were ever warm, active, practical sentiments ; based upon steadfast principles, and aiming at the greatest attainable measure of good. In the relief of immediate and pressing \vant, he was prompt and liberal ; in the measures which he adopted for its prevention in future, he fvinced paternal feeling and judicious forecast. Employment and li!eral pay to the able bodied promoted regularity and cheerfulness in the house, and drove the wolf from its door. " Direct charity, 51 he has been heard to say, " places its recipient under a sense of obligation which trenches upon that independent spirit that all should maintain. It breaks his pride, and he soon learns to beg and eat the bread of idleness without a blush. But employ and pay him, and he receives and envoys ~nhh an honest pride, that SAMUEL SLATER. 97 which he knows he has earned, and could have received for the same amount of labor from any other employer." It would be well for all communities if such views on the subject of pauperism, were generally adopted and carried into practice. It is hardly'necessary to state of one who has done so much busi- ness, and with so great success, that his business habits and morals were of the highest character. The punctual performance of every engagement, in its true spirit and meaning, was, with him, a point of honor, from which no consideration of temporary or prospective advantage would induce him to depart, from which no sacrifice of money or feeling was sufficient to deter him. There was a method and arrangement in his transactions, by which every thing was duly and at the proper time attended to. Nothing was hurried from its proper place, nothing postponed beyond its proper time. It was thus that transactions, the most varied, intri- cate, and extensive, deeply affecting the interests of three adjoining states, and extending their influence to thousands of individuals, proceeded from their first inception to their final consummation, with an order, a regularity and certainty, truly admirable and in- structive. The master's mind was equally present and apparent in every thing, from the imposing mass of the total to the most minute particular of its component parts. Mr. Slater's private and domestic character was without a blem- ish. He was twice married, and had four children, all sons, by his first wife, and at his death left a pious and amiable widow, formerly Mrs. Parkinson, of Philadelphia, with an ample dowry, to receive from his family that protection and affection which her motherly attention to them has so well deserved. He was a sin- cere arid practical Christian, and died, April 21st. 1835, in the cheering hopes and consolations which Christianity alone imparts. We conclude this memoir with the following tribute to his mem- ory, which is in substance the remarks of Mr. Tristam Burgess, in his address before the Rhode Island Agricultural Society : " Forty years ago there was not a spindle wrought by water on this side the Atlantic. Since then, how immense the capital by which spin- ning and weaving machinery are moved ! How many, how great, how various, the improvements ! The farmers of Flanders erected a statue in honor of him who introduced into their country the culture of the potato. What shall the people of New England do for him who first brought us the knowledge of manufacturing cloth, by machinery moved by water ? In England, he would in life be ornamented with a peerage, in death, lamented by a monu- ment in Westminster Abbey. The name of Slater will be remem- bered as one of our greatest public benefactors. BLI WHITNEY ELI WHITNEY, THE INVENTOR OF THE COTTON GIN. Birth. Anecdotes of his youth. Manufactures nails. Teaches school. By his own exertions prepares for college. Anecdotes of his college life. Graduates. Goes to Georgia as a teacher. Disappointment. Becomes an inmate in the family of Gen. Greene. Ingenuity. Low state of the cotton culture. An in troduction. Old method of separating the cotton from the seed. Invents the cotton gin. Forms a co-partnership with Mr. Phineas Miller to manufacture gins. Note, Description. The first machine stolen. Commencement of en- croachments. Disastrous fire. A trial. Its unfortunate issue. Gloomy pros- pects. South Carolina purchases the patent right for that state. Enters into a similar engagement with North Carolina and Tennessee. South Carolina and Tennessee annul their contracts. Increasing encroachments. South Carolina Legislature, of 1804, rescind the act of annulment. Death of Mr. Miller. Celebrated decision of Judge Johnson. Lawsuits. Commences manufacturing arms for government. Difficulties to be surmounted. De- scription of the system. Rejection of the memorial to congress for a renewal of the patent right on the cotton gin. Marriage. Death. A comparison. Character. To the efforts of Whitney, our country is indebted for the value of her great staple. While the invention of the cotton gin has been the chief source of the prosperity of the southern planter, the northern manufacturer comes in for a large share of the benefit derived from the most important offspring of American ingenuity. Eli Whitney* was born in Westborough, Worcester county, Massachusetts, December 8th, 1765. His parents belonged to that respectable class in society, who, by the labors of husbandly, manage, bv uniform industry, to provide well for a rising family, a class from whom have arisen most of those who, in New Eng- land, have attained to high eminence and usefulness. The following incident, though trivial in itself, will serve to show at how early a period certain qualities, of strong feeling tempered by that discretion for which Mr. Whitney afterwards became dis- tinguished, began to display themselves. When he was six or seven years old, he had overheard the kitchen maid, in a fit of passion, calling his mother, who was in a delicate state of health, hard names, at which he expressed great displeasure to his sister. " She * Condensed from the able memoir by Professor Olmstsd, published ID tha twenty-first volume of Silliman's Journal. 102 AMERICAN MECHANICS. thought," said he, "that I was not big enough to know any thing; but I can tell her, I am too big to hear her talk so about my mother. ] think she ought to have a flagging, and if I knew how to bring it about, she should have one." His sister advised him to tell their father. " No," hi replied, " that will not do ; it will hurt his feelings and mother's too; and besides, its likely the girl will say she never said so, and that would make a quarrel. It is best to say notliing about it." Indications of his mechanical genius were likewise developed at a very eariy age. Of his early passion for such employments, his sister gives the following account. " Our father had a workshop, and sometimes made wheels, of different kinds, and chairs. He had a variety of tools, ana a lathe for turning chair posts. This gave my brother an opportunity of learning the use of tools when very young. He lost no tune, but as soon as be could handle tools he was always making something in the shop, and seemed not to like working on the form. On a time, after the death of our mother, when our father had been absent from home two or three days, on his return, he inquired of the housekeeper, what the boys bad been doing. She told him what B. and J. had been about. 'But what has Eli been doing?' said he. She replied, he had been making a fiddle. 'Ah! (added he despondingly) / fear Eli will have to take his portion in fiddles.' He was at this time about twelve years old. His sister adds, that this fiddle was finished throughout, like a common violin, and made tolerable good music. It was examined by many persons, and all pronounced it to be a remarkable piece of work for such a boy to perform. From this time he was employed to repair violins, and had many nice jobs, which were always executed to the entire satisfaction, and often to the astonishment of his customers. His father's watch be- ing the greatest piece of mechanism that had yet presented itself to his observation, he was extremely desirous of examining its iirf- lor construction, but was not permitted to do so. One Sunday jrn- ing, observing that his father was going to meeting, and would leave at home the wonderful little machine, he immediately feigned illness as an apology for not going to church. As soon as the family were out of sight, he flew to the room where the watch hung, and taking it down, he was so delighted with its motions, that he took it to pieces before he thought of the consequences of his rash deed ; for his father was a stern parent, and punishment would have teen the reward of his idle curiosity, had the mischief been detected. He, however, put the work all so neatly together, that his father never discovered his audacity until he himself told him, many years afterwards." BIRTH-PLACE OP WHITNEY, W3STBOROTJGH, MAS8 ELI WHITNEY 105 Whitney lost his mother at an early age, and when he was thir- teen years old, his father married a second time. His step-mo- ther, among her articles of furniture, had a handsome set of table knives, that she valued very highly ; which our young mechanic- observing, said to her, " I could make as good ones if I had tools, and I could make the necessary tools if I had a few common tools to make them with." His step-mother thought he was deriding her, and was much displeased ; but it so hap- pened, not long afterwards, that one of the knives got broken, and he made ope exactly like it in every respect, except the stamp on the blade. This he would likewise have executed, had not the tools required been too expensive for his slender resources. When Whitney was fifteen or sixteen years of age, he suggested to his father an enterprise, which \vas an earnest of the similar undertakings in which he engaged n a far greater scale in later life. This being the time of the revolutionary war, nails were in great demand, and bore a high price. At that period, nails were made chiefly by hand, with little aid from machinery. Young Whitney proposed to his father to procure him a few tools, and to permit him to set up the manufacture. His father consented, and he went steadily to work, and suffered nothing to divert him from his task until his day's work was completed. By extraordinary diligence, he gained time to make tools for his own use, and to put in knife blades, and to perform many other curious little jobs, which exceeded the skill of the country artisans. At this labori- ous occupation the enterprising boy wrought alone, with great suc- cess, and with much profit to his father, for two winters, pursuing the ordinary labors of the farm during the summers. At this time he devised a plan for enlarging his business and increasing his profits. He whispered his scheme to his sister, with strong in- junctions of secrecy ; and requesting leave of his father to go to a neighboring town, without specifying his object, he set out on horse- back in quest of a fellow laborer. Not finding one so easily as he had anticipated, he proceeded from town to town, with a persever- ance which was always a strong trait of his character, until at the distance of forty miles from home, he found such a workman as he desired. He also made his journey subservient to his improvement in mechanical skill, for he called at every workshop on his way, and gleaned all the information he could respecting the mechanic arts. At the close of the war, the business of making nails was no longer profitable ; but a fashion prevailing among the ladies of fastening on their bonnets with long pins, he contrived to make those with such skill and dexterity, tha: he nearly monopolized the 106 AMERICAN MECHANICS. business, although he devoted to it only such seasons of leisure an he could redeem from the occupations of the farm, to which he now principally betook himself. He added to this article the manufacture of walking canes, which he made with peculiar neat- We are informed that he manifested an aptness for mathemati- cal calculations, and that when quite young was considered riot only remarkable for his ingenuity, but for general information. From the age of nineteen, young Whitney conceived the idea of obtaining a liberal education ; and partly by the avails of his mechanical industry, and partly by teaching a village school, was enabled so far to surmount the difficulties thrown in his way, as to prepare himself for the freshman class in Yale college, which he entered in 1789. While a schoolmaster, the mechanic would often usurp the place of the. teacher ; and the mind, too aspiring for such a sphere, was wandering off in pursuit of "perpetual mo- tion." At college his mechanical propensity frequently showed itself. He successfully undertook on one occasion the repairing of some of the philosophical apparatus. On another, a carpenter being at work at the house where Whitney boarded, he solicited the permission to use his tools. The carpenter being unwilling to trust him, only granted the request on the gentleman of the house promising to be responsible for the damages ; but no sooner had Whitney commenced operations, than the man, astonished, exclaim- ed, " There was one good mechanic spoiled when you went to college." Soon after taking his degree in the autumn of 1792, Mr. Whitney engaged with a Mr. B., of Georgia, to reside in his-family as a private teacher. On his arrival he was informed that Mr. B. had employed another person, leaving him without resources or friends, save in the family of Gen. Greene, of Mulberry Grove, neai Savannah, with whom he had formed an accidental acquaintance. These benevolent people, however, deeply interested themselves in his case, and hospitably offered him the privilege of making his home at their house, where he commenced the study of law. While residing there, Mrs. Greene was employed in embroidery which is worked on a kind of frame, called a tambour. She com- plained of its bad construction, and observed it tore the delicate threads of her work. Mr. Whitney, eager for an opportunity to oblige his hostess, set himself to w r ork and speedily produced a tambour' frame on a plan entirely new, with which he presented her. Mrs. Greene and her family were much delighted with it, and considered it a wonderful piece of ingenuity. Not long after the family were visited by a party of gentlemen, consisting principally of officers who had served under the genera^ ELI WHITNEY. 107 in the revolutionary army. The conversation turning upon the state of agriculture, it was regretted that there was no means of cleaning the seed from the green seed cotton, which might other- wise be profitably raised on lands unsuitable for rice. But, until ingenuity could devise some machine which would grealy facilitate the process of cleaning, it was vain to think of raising cotton for market. Separating one pound of the clean staple from the seed was a day's work for a woman ; but the time usually devoted to the picking of the cotton was the evening, after the labor of the field was over. Then the slaves, men, women, and children, were col- lected in circles with one, whose duty it was to rouse the dozing and quicken the indolent. While the company were engaged in this conversation, " Gentlemen," said Mrs. Greene, " apply to my young friend, Mr. Whitney, he can make any tiling," at the same time showing them the tambour frame and several other articles which he had made. She introduced the gentlemen to Whitney himself, extolling his genius, and commending him to their notice and friendship. He modestly disclaimed all pretensions to me- chanical genius, and on their naming the object, replied that he had never seen cotton seed in his life. Mrs. G. said to one of the gentlemen, ** I have accomplished my aim, Mr. Whitney is a very deserving young man, and to bring him into notice was my object. The interest which our friends now feel for him, will, I hope, lead to his getting some employment to enable him to prosecute the study of the law." But no one foresaw the change that this interview was to make in the plan of his life. He immediately began upon the task of in- venting and constructing that machine, on which his future fame depended. Mr. Miller, to whom he communicated his design, warmly encouraged him in it, and gave him a room in his house, wherein to carry on his operations. Here he set himself to work, with the disadvantage of being obliged to manufacture his tools and draw his own wire, an article then not to be found in Savannah. Mr. Phineas Miller and Mrs. Greene were the only persons who knew any thing of his occupation. The many hours he spent in his mysterious pursuits, afforded matter of great curiosity, and often of raillery, to the younger members of the family. Near the close of the winter, the machine was so nearly completed as to leave no doubt of his success. The individual who contributed most to incite him to persevere in the undertaking, was Mr. Miller, who was a native of Connecti- cut, and a graduate of Yale college. Like Mr. Whitney, soon after he had completed his education, he came to Georgia as a private teacher, in the family of Gen. Greene, and after the decease 1U8 AMERICAN MECHANICS. of the general, he became the husband of Mrs. Greene. He had qualified himself for the profession of law, and was a gentleman of cultivated mind and superior talents ; but he was of an ardent tem- perament, and therefore well fitted to enter with zeal into the views .which the genius of his friend had laid open to him. He had also considerable funds at command, and proposed to Mr. Whitney to become the joint adventurer, and to be at the whole expense of ma. turing the invention* until it should be patented. If the machine PLAN OF THE SAW AND BRUSH CYLINDERS * Description of Whitney's Cotton Gin. The principal parts are two cylinders of different diameters, (see F H, section and plan.) mounted in a strong wooden frame, A, which are turned by means either of a handle or a pulley and belt, act- ing upon the axis of a flywheel, attached to the end of the shaft, opposite to that seen in the section. Its endless band turns a large pulley on the end D of the saw cylinder F, and a smaller pulley on the end E of the brush cylinder H, (see plan,) so as to make the latter revolve with the greater rapidity. Upon the wooden cylin der F, ten inches in diameter, are mounted, three quarters of an inch apart, fifty, sixty, or even eighty, circular saws, edged as at I, (see section,) of one foot diameter, which fit very exactly into grooves cut one inch deep into the cylin- der. Each saw consists of two segments of a circle, and is preferably made of hammered (not rolled) sheet iron; the teeth must be kept very sharp. Opposite to the interstices of the saws are flat bars of iron, which form a parallel grid of such a curvature, that the shoulder of the slanting saw tooth passes first, and then the point. By this means, when a tooth gets bent by the seeds, it resets itself by rubbing against the grid bars, instead of be- ing torn off, as would happen did the apex of the saw tooth enter first. Care must be taken that the saws revolve in the middle of their respective grid inter- vals, for if they rubbed against the bars they would tear the cotton filaments to pieces. The hollow cylinder H, is mounted with the brushes c c c, the tips of whose bristles ought to touch the saw teeth, as at d, d, (see plan,) and thus sweep off the adhering cotton wool. The cylinder H revolves in an opposite direction to the cylinder F, as is indicated by the arrows in the section. The see cotton, as picked from v pods, is thwvn into the hopper L, (ae COTTON GIN. ELI WHITNEY. HI should succeed in its intended operation, the parties agreed, under legal formalities, " that the profits and advantages arising there, from, as well as all privileges and emoluments to be derived from patenting, making, vending, and working the same, should be mu- tually and equally shared between them." This instrument bears date May 27, 1793, and immediately afterwards they commenced business under the firm of Miller and Whitney. An invention so important to the agricultural interests (and, as it has proved, to every department of human industry,) could not long remain a secret. The knowledge of it soon spread through the state, and so great was the excitement on the subject, that mul- titudes of persons came from all quarters of the state to see the machine ; but it was not deemed safe to gratify their curiosity until the patent right should be secured. But so determined were some of the populace to possess this treasure, that neither law nor justice could restrain them ; they broke open the building by night, and carried off the machine. In this way the public became possessed of the invention ; and before Mr. Whitney could complete his mo- del and secure his patent, a number of machines were in successful operation, constructed with sorne slight deviation from the original, with the hope of evading the penalty for violating the patent right. As soon as the copartnership of Miller and Whitney was formed, Mr. Whitney repaired to Connecticut, where, as far as possible, he was to perfect the machine, obtain a patent, and manufacture and ship for Georgia, such a number of machines as would supply the demand. section ;) the disc saws, I, in turning round, encounter the cotton filaments rest- ing against the grid, catch them with their sharp teeth, and drag them inwards and upwards, while the striped sfeeds, too large to pass between the bars, fall through the bottom N of the hopper, upon the inclined board M. The size of the aperture N, is regulated at pleasure by an adjusting screw to suit the size of the particular species of seeds. The saw teeth, filled, with cotton wool, after return- ing through the grid, meet the brushes c c c of the cylinder H, and deliver it up to them ; the cotton is thereafter whisked down upon the sloping table O, and ' thence falls into the receptacle P. A cover Q (see section) encloses both the cylinders and the hopper ; this cover is turned up around the hinges as shown in the section, in order to introduce the charge of seed cotton into the machine, and is then let down before setting the wheels in gear with the driving power. The axis e e,ff, of the cylinders (see plan) should be well fitted into their plurnmer box bearings, so as to prevent any lateral swagging, which would greatly injure their operation. The raised position of the cover is obvious in the section, the hinge being placed at B. By means of the cotton gin, one man with the aid of a water wheel possessing a two horse power, can cleanse thousand poundt of seed cotton in a day, eighty saws being mounted upon his machine. The clean- ed wool forms generally one fourth of the weight of the seed cotton, and some- times so much as twenty-seven per cent. The ginners are usually a distinct body from the planters, and they receive for their work one-eighth, or one-tenth ol the nett weight of the cleaned cotton, under an obligation to supply all the seed required by the planter. 113 AMERICAN MECHANICS. Within three days after the conclusion of the copartnership, Mr. Whitney having set out for the north, Mr. Miller commenced his long correspondence relative to the cotton gin. The first letter announces that encroachments upon their rights had already com- menced. " It will be necessary," says Mr. Miller, " to have a consi- derable number of gins made, to be in readiness to send out as soon as the patent is obtained, in order to satisfy the absolute demands, and make people's heads easy on the subject ; for I am informed of two other claimants for ike honor of the invention of cotton gins, in addi- tion to those we knew 'before.'"' At the close of this year (1793) Mr. Whitney was to return to Georgia with his cotton gins, wheje his partner had made arrange- ments for commencing business immediately after his arrival. The importunity of Mr. Miller's letters, written during the preceding period, urging him to come on, evinces how eager the Georgia planters were to enter the new field of enterprise which the genius of Whitney had laid open to them. Nor did they at first in general contemplate availing themselves of the invention unlawfully. But the minds of the more honorable class of planters were afterwards deluded by various artifices, set on foot by designing men, with the view of robbing Mr. Whitney of his just rights. One of the greatest difficulties experienced by men of enterprise, at this period, was the extreme scarcity of money, which embar- rassed them to such a degree as to render it almost impossible to construct machines fast enough. In April he returned to Georgia ; during his absence he was strongly importuned to return by his partner, on account of the infatuated eagerness of the Georgia planters to obtain the advan- tages of his machine. Large crops of cotton were planted, the profits of which were to depend, of course, entirely on the suc- cess and employment of the gin. The roller gin was at first the most formidable competitor with Whitney's machine. It extricated the seed by means of rollers, crushing them between revolving cylinders, instead of disengaging them by means of teeth. The fragments of seeds which remained in the cotton rendered its execution much inferior in this respect to Whitney's gin, and it was also much slower in its operation. Great efforts were made, however, to create an impression in favor of its superiority in other respects. But a still more formidable rival appeared early in the year 1795, under the name of the saw gin. It was Whitney's gin, except that the teeth were cut in circular rims of iron, instead of being made of wires, as was the case in the earlier forms of the patent gin. Th.3 idea of such teeth had early occurred to Mr. Whitney, ELI WHITNEY 113 ns he afterwards established by legal proof. But they would have been of no use except in connection with the other parts of his machine ; and, therefore, this was a palpable attempt to invade the patent right, and it was principally in reference to this that the lawsuits were afterwards held. In March, 1795, in the midst of perplexities and discourage, ments, Mr. Whitney went to New York on business, where he was detained three weeks by fever. As soon as he was able, he went by packet to New Haven, where, on landing, he was in- formed, that on the preceding day, his shop, with all his machines and papers, had been consumed by Jire ! Thus was he suddenly reduced to bankruptcy, being in debt four thousand dollars, with- out any means of payment. His mind, however, was not one to sink under such trials as even this ; he was, on the contrary, in- cited to more vigorous effort. Similar was the spirit manifested by Mr. Miller. The following extract of a letter of his to Mr. Whitney may be a useful lesson to young men who feel themselves overwhelmed with misfortunes : '4 I think that we ought to meet such events with equanimity. We have been pursuing a valuable object by honorable means ; and I trust that all our measures have been such as reason and virtue must justify. It has pleased Providence to postpone the attainment of this object. In the midst of the reflections which your story has suggested, and with feelings keenly awake to the heavy, the extensive injury we have sustained, I feel a secret joy and satisfaction, that you possess a mind in this respect similar to my own that you are not disheartened that you do not relin- quish the pursuit and that you will persevere, and endeavor, at all events, to attain the main object. This is exactly consonant to my own determinations. I will devote all my time, all my thoughts, all my exertions, and all the money I can earn or bor- row, to encompass and complete the business we have undertaken ; and if fortune should, by any future disaster, deny us the boon we ask, we will at least deserve it. It shall never be *aid that we have lost an object which a little perseverance could have attained. I think, indeed, it will be very extraordinary, if two young men in the prime of life, with some share of ingenuity, with a little know, ledge of the world, a great deal of industry, and a considerable command of property, should not be able to sustain such a stroke of misfortune as this, heavy as it is." After this disaster the company began to feel much straitened for want of funds. Mr. Miller expresses a confidence that they should be able to raise money in some way or other, though he knows not how. He recommends to Mr. Whitney to proceed 114 AMERICAN MECHANICS. forthwith to erect a new shop, and to recommence nis business, and requests him to tell the people of New Haven, who might be disposed to render them any service, that they required nothing but a little time to get their machinery in motion before they could make payment, and that the loan of money at twelve per cent, per annum would be as great a favor as they could ask. But, he adds, " in doing this, use great care to avoid giving an idea that we are in a desperate situation, to induce us to borrow money. To people who are deficient in understanding, this precaution will be extremely necessary : men of sense can easily distinguish be- tween the prospect of large gains, and the approaches to bank, ruptcy." " Such is the disposition of man," he observes on an- other occasion, " that while we keep afloat, there will not be want- ing those who will appear willing to assist us ; but let us once be given over, and they will immediately desert us." While misfortune was thus multiplying upon them, intelligence was received from England that the manufacturers had con- demned the cotton cleaned by their machines, on the ground that the staple was greatly injured. This news threatened the death-blow to their hopes. At this time (1796) they had thirty gins at eight different places in Georgia, some carried by horses and oxen, and some by water. Some of these were even then standing still. The company had $10,000 dollars in real estate, ' suited only to the purposes of ginning cotton. The following ex- tract of a letter, written by Mr. Whitney at this period, will serve to show the state of his mind and affairs at this period : " The extreme embarrassments," says he, " which have been for a long time accumulating upon me, are now become so great, that it will be impossible for me to struggle against them many days longer. It has required my utmost exertions to exist, without making the least progress in our business. I have labored hard against the strong current of disappointment, which has been threatening to carry us down the cataract, but I have labored with a shattered oar, and struggled in vain, unless some speedy relief is obtained Life is but short at best, and six or seven years out of the midst of it is, to him who makes it, an immense sacrifice. My most unremitted attention has been devoted to our business ; I have sacrificed to it other objects from which, before this time, I might certainly have gained twenty or thirty thousand dollars. My whole prospects have been embarked in it, with the expectation that I should, before this time, have realized something from it." The cotton from Whitney's gins was, however, sought by mer- chants in preference to other kinds, and respectable manufacturers ELI WHITNEY. 115 testified in its favor ; and had it not been for the extensh e and shameful violations of their patent right, they might yet have suc- ceeded, but these encroachments had become so extensive as al. most to annihilate its value. The issue of the first trial they were able to obtain, is announced in the following letter from Mr. Miller, dated May 11, 1797: " The event of the first patent suit, after all our exertions made in such a variety of ways, has gone against us. The preposterous custom of trying civil causes of this intricacy and magnitude by a common jury, together with the imperfection of the patent law, frustrated all our views, and disappointed expectations which had become very sanguine. The tide of popular opinion was running in our favor, the judge was well disposed towards us, and many decided friends were with us, who adhered firmly to our cause and interests. The judge gave a charge to the jury pointedly in our favor ; after which the defendant himself told an acquaintance of his, that he would give two thousand dollars to be free from the verdict ; and yet the jury gave it against us, after a consultation of about an hour. And having made the verdict general, no ap- peal would lie. " On Monday morning, when the verdict was rendered, we ap- plied for a new trial ; but the judge refused it to us, on the ground that the jury might have made up their opinion on the defect of the law, which makes an aggression consist of making, devising, and using, or selling ; whereas we could only charge the defendant with using. " Thus, after four years of assiduous labor, fatigue, and diffi. culty, are we again set afloat by a new and most unexpected ob- stacle. Our hopes of success are now removed to a period still more distant than before, while our expenses are realized beyond all controversy." Great efforts were made to obtain trial in a second suit, at the session of the court in Savannah, in May, 1798. A great number of witnesses were collected from various parts of the country, to the distance of a hundred miles from Savannah, when, behold, no judge appeared, and, of course, no court was held. In coi^se- quence of the failure of the first suit, and so great a procrastina- tion of the second, the encroachments on the patent right had been prodigiously multiplied, so as almost entirely to destroy the busi- ness of the patentees. In April, 1799, Mr. Miller writes as follows : " The prospect of making any thing by ginning in this state is at an end. Sur- reptitious gins are erected in every part of the country ; and the jurymen at Augusta have come to an understanding among them- 116 AMERICAN MECHANICS. selves, that they will never give a cause in our favor, let the merits of the case be as they may." The company would now have gladly relinquished the plan of working their own machines, and confined their operations to the sale of patent rights ; but few would buy a patent right which they could use with impunity without purchasing, and those few, hardly in a single instance, paid cash, but gave their notes, which they afterwards to a great extent avoided paying, either by obtaining a verdict from the juries declaring them void, or by contriving to postpone the collection until they were barred by the statute of limitations, a period of only four years. When thus barred, the agent of Miller and Whitney, who was despatched on a collecting tour through the state of Georgia, informed them, that such ob- stacles were thrown in his way from one or the other of the fore- going causes, he was unable to collect money enough from all these claims to bear his expenses, but was compelled to draw for nearly the whole amount of these upon his employers. It was suggested that an application to the legislature of South Carolina to purchase the patent right for that state would be suc- cessful. Mr. Whitney accordingly repaired to Columbia, and the business was brought before the legislature soon after the opening of the session in December, 1801. An extract from a letter of Mr. Whitney to his friend Stebbins, at this time, will show tho nature of the contract thus made : " I have been at this place a little more than two weeks, attend, ing the legislature. They closed their session at ten o'clock last evening. A few hours previous to their adjournment, they voted to purchase, for the state of South Carolina, my patent right to the machine for cleaning cotton, at fifty thousand dollars, of which sum twenty thousand is to be paid in hand, and the remainder in three annual payments of ten thousand dollars each." He adds, " We get but a song for it in comparison with the worth of the thing ; but it is securing something. It will enable Miller and Whitney to pay all their debts, and divide something between them." In December, 1802, Mr. Whitney negotiated a sale of his patent right with the state of North Carolina. The legislature laid a tax of two shillings and sixpence upon every saw* employed in ginning cotton, to be continued for five years ; and after deducting the ex- penses of collection, the avails were faithfully passed over to the patentee. This compensation was regarded by Mr. Whitney as more liberal than that received from any other source. About the same time, Mr. Goodrich, an agent of the comoany, entered * Some of the gins had forty saw? EL WHITNEY. 117 into a similar negotiation with the state of Tennessee. This state had by this time begun to realize the importance and usefulness of the invention. The citizens testified strongly their desire of coming into possession of its benefits. The legislature, therefore, passed a law, laying a tax of thirty-seven and a half cents per annum on every saw, for the space of four years. Thus far prospects were growing favorable to the patentees, when the legislature of South Carolina unexpectedly annulled the contract she had made, suspended further payment of the balance then due, and sued for the refunding of what had already been paid. When Mr. Whitney first heard of the transactions of the South Carolina legislature annulling their contract, he was at Raleigh, where he had just concluded his negotiation with the legislature of North Carolina. In a letter written to Mr. Miller at this time he remarks : " I am, for my own part, more vexed than alarmed by their extraordinary proceedings. I think it behooves us to be very cautious and circumspect in our measures, and even in our remarks with regard to it. Be cautious what you say or publish till we meet our enemies in a court of justice, when, if they have any sensibility left, we will make them very much ashamed of their childish conduct." But that Mr. Whitney felt very keenly in regard to the severities afterwards practised towards him, is evident from the tenor of the remonstrance which he presented to the legislature. " The sub- scriber (says he) respectfully solicits permission to represent to the legislature of South Carolina, that he conceives himself to have been treated with unreasonable severity in the measures recently taken against him by and under their immediate direction. He holds that, to be seized and dragged to prison without being al- lowed to be heard in answer to the charge alleged against him, and indeed without the exhibition of any specific charge, is a direct violation of the common right of every citizen of a free govern- ment ; that the power, in this case, is all on one side ; that what- ever rnay be the issue of the process now instituted against him, he must, in any case, be subjected to great expense and extreme hardships ; and that he considers the tribunal before which he is nolden to appear, to be wholly incompetent to decide, definitively, existing disputes between the state and Miller and Whitney. " The subscriber avers that he has manifested no other than a disposition to fulfil all the stipulations, entered into with the state of South Carolina, with punctuality and good faith ; and he begs leave to observe farther, that to have industriously, laboriously, and exclusively, devoted many years of the prime of his life to the invention and the improvement of a machine, from which the 118 AMERICAN MECHANICS. citizens of South Carolina have already realized immense profits, which is worth to them millions, and from which their posterity, to tne latest generations, must continue to derive the most im- portant benefits, and in return to be treated as a felon, a swindler, and a villain, has stung him to the very soul. And when he con- eiders that this cruel persecution is inflicted by the very persons who are enjoying these great benefits, and expressly for the pur- pose of preventing his ever deriving the least advantage from his o*vn labors, the acuteness of his feelings is altogether inexpressible." Doubts, it seems, had arisen in the public mind as to the validity o7 the patent, and the patentees were supposed to have failed in the fulfilment of a part of the contract. Great exertions had been made in Georgia, where, it will be remembered, hostilities were first declared against him, to show that his title to the invention was unsound, and that somebody in Switzerland had conceived of it before him, and that the improved form of the machine, with saws instead of wire teeth, did not come within the patent, having been introduced by one Hodgin Holmes. The popular voice, stimulated by the most sordid motives, was now raised against him throughout all the cotton growing states. The state of Tennessee followed the example of South Carolina, in annulling the contract made with him ; and the attempt was made in North Carolina, but a committee of the legislature, to whom it was referred, reported in his favor, declaring " that the contract ought to be fulfilled with punctuality and good faith," which resolution" was adopted by both houses. There were also high-minded men in South Carolina who were indignant at the dishonorable measures adopted by their legislature of 1803 ; and their sentiments had impressed the community so favorably with regard to Mr. Whitney, that at the session of 1804, the legislature not only rescinded what the previous one had done, but signified their respect for Mr. Whitney by marked commendations. Nor ought it to be forgotten that there were in Georgia, too, those who viewed with scorn and indignation the base attempts of dema- gogues to defraud him. The proceedings against Mr. Whitney were predicated upon impositions practised upon the public. At this time, a new and unexpected responsibility devolved on Mr. Whitney, in consequence of the death of his partner, Mr. Miller, who died on the 7th of December, 1803. Mr. Miller had, in the early stages of the enterprise, indulged very high hopes of a sudden fortune ; but perpetual disappointments appear to have attended him throughout the remainder of his life. The history of them, as detailed in his voluminous correspondence, affurds an instructive exemplification of the anxiety, toil, and uncertainty ELI WHITNEY. 119 that frequently accompany too eager a pursuit of wealth, and the pain and disappointments that follow in the train of expectations too highly elated. If Mr. Miller anticipated a great bargain from an approaching auction of cotton, some sly adventurer was sure to step in before him, and bid it out of his hands. If he looked to his extensive rice crops, cultivated on the estate of General Greene, as the means of raising money to extricate himself from the numerous embarrassments into which he had fallen, a severe drought came on and shrivelled the crop, or floods of rain sud- denly destroyed it. The markets unexpectedly changed at the very moment of selling, and always to his disadvantage. Heavy rains likewise destroyed the cotton crops on which he had counted for thousands ; and more than all, wicked and dishonest men con- trived to cheat him of his just rights, and thus his airy hopes were often frustrated, until at length he was beguiled into inextricable difficulties ; and in the midst of all, and on the dawn of a brighter day, death stepped in and dissolved the pageant that had so long been dancing before his eyes. Mr. Whitney was now left alone, to contend singly against those difficulties which had for a series of years almost broken down the spirits of both the partners. The light, moreover, which seemed to be rising upon them from the favorable occurrences of the pre- ceding year, proved but the twilight of prosperity, and a darker night seemed about to supervene. But the favorable issue of the affairs of Mr. Whitney, in South Carolina, during the subsequent year, and the generous receipts that he obtained from the avails of his contracts with North Caro- lina, relieved him from the embarrassments under which he had so long groaned, and made him in some degree independent. Still, no small portion of the funds thus collected in North and South Carolina was expended in carrying on the fruitless, endless lawsuits in Georgia. In the United States court, held in Georgia in December, 1807 Mr. Whitney obtained a most important decision, in a suit brought against a trespasser of the name of Fort. It was on this trial that Judge Johnson gave his celebrated decision. It was in the follow ing words : " Whitney, survivor of ~| Miller $ Whitney, In equity . Arthur Fort. \ " The complainants, in this case, are proprietors of the machine called the saw gin : the use of which is to detach the short staple cotton from its seed. 6 120 AMERICAN MECHANICS. " The defendant, in violation of tb,eir patent right, has con* structed, and continues to use this machine; and the object ot tliis suit is to obtain a perpetual injunction to prevent a continuance of this infraction of complainant's right. " Defendant admits most of the facts in the bill set forth, bul contends that the complainants are not entitled to the benefits of the act of congress on this subject, because 1st. The invention is not original. 2d. Is not useful. 3d. That the machine which he uses is materially different from their invention, in the application of an improvement, the invention of another person. " The court will proceed to make a few remarks upon the several points as they have been presented to their view : whether the defendant was now at liberty to set up this defence whilst the patent right of complainants remains unrepealed, has not been made a question, and they will therefore not consider it. " To support the originality of the invention, the complainants have produced a variety of depositions of witnesses, examined un- der commission, whose examination expressly proves the origin, progress, and completion of the machine by Whitney, one of the copartners. Persons who were made privy to his first discovery, testify to the several experiments which he made in their presenct- before he ventured to expose his invention to the scrutiny of the public eye. But it is not necessary to resort to such testimony to maintain this point. The jealousy of the artist to maintain that reputation which his ingenuity has justly acquired, has urged him to unnecessary pains on this subject. There are circumstances in the knowledge of all mankind which prove the originality of this invention more satisfactorily to the mind than the direct tosii- mony of a host of witnesses. The cotton plant furnished clothing to mankind before the age of Herodotus. The green seed is a species much more productive than the Hack, and by nature adapted to a much greater variety of climate ; but by reason of the strong adherence of the fibre to the seed, without the aid of some more powerful machine for separating it than any formerly known among us, the cultivation of it would never have been made an object. The machine of which Mr. Whitney claims the inven- tion so facilitates the preparation of this species for use, that the cultivation of it has suddenly become an object of infinitely greater national importance than that of the other species ever can be. Is it, then, to be imagined, that if this machine had been before dis- covered, the use of it would ever have been lost, or could have been confined to any tract or country left unexplored by cummer* ELI WHITNEY. 121 cial enterprise ? But it is unnecessary to remark further upon this subject. A number of years have elapsed since Mr. Whitney took out his patent, and no one has produced or pretended to prove the existence of a machine of similar construction or use. " 2d. With regard to the utility of this discovery, the court would deem it a waste of time to dwell long upon this topic. Is there a man who hears us who has not experienced its utility ? the whole interior of the southern states was languishing, and its inhabitants emigrating for want of some object to engage their attention and employ their industry, when the invention of this machine at once opened views to them which set the whole coun- try in active motion. From childhood to age it has presented to us a lucrative employment. Individuals who were depressed with poverty and sunk in idleness, have suddenly risen to wealth and respectability. Our debts have been paid off; our capitals have increased, and our lands trebled themselves in value. We cannot express the weight of the obligation which the country owes to this invention. The extent of it cannot now be seen. Some faint pre- sentiment may be formed from the reflection that cotton is rapidly supplanting wool, flax, silk, and even furs in manufactures, and may one day profitably supply the use of specie in our East India trade. Our sister states, also, participate in the benefits of this invention ; for, besides affording the raw material for their manu- facturers, the bulkiness and quantity of the article afford a valuable employment for their shipping. " 3d. The third and last ground taken by defendant appears to be that on which he mostly relies. In the specification, the teeth made use of are of strong wire inserted into the cylinder. A Mr. Holmes has cut teeth in plates of iron, and passed them over the cylinder. 'This is certainly a meritorious improvement in the mechanical process of constructing this machine. But at last what does it amount to, except a more convenient mode of making the same thing ; every characteristic of Mr. Whitney's machine is preserved. The cylinder, the iron tooth, the rotary motion of the tooth, the breast work and brush, and all the merit that this discovery can assume, is that of a more expeditious mode of at- taching the tooth to the cylinder. After being attached, in opera- tion and effect they are entirely the same. Mr. Whitney may not be at liberty to use Mr. Holmes's iron plate ; but certainly Mr. Holmcs's improvement does not destroy Mr. Whitney's patent right. Let the decree for a penpetual injunction be entered." This favorable decision, however, did not put a final stop to aggression. At the next session of the United States court, two other actions were brought, and verdicts for damages gained of 122 AMERICAN MECHANICS. two thousand dollars in one case, and one thousand and five hun dred dollars in the other. The influence of these decisions, however, availed Mr. Whitney very little, for now the term of his patent right was nearly expired. More than sixty suits had been instituted in Georgia before a single decision on the merits of his claim was obtained, and at the period of this decision thirty years of his patent had expired. In prose- cution of this troublesome business, Mr. Whitney had made six different journeys to Georgia, several of which were accomplished by land at a time when, compared with the present, the difficulties of such journeys were exceedingly great, and exposed him to ex- cessive fatigues and privations, which at times seriously affected his health, and even jeopardized his life. A gentleman of much experience, who was well acquainted with Mr. Whitney's affairs in the south, and sometimes acted as his legal adviser, observes, that " in all his experience in the thorny profession of the law, he has never seen a case of such perseverance, under such persecution ; nor," he adds, " do I believe that I ever knew any other man who would have met them with equal coolness and firmness, or who would finally have obtained even the partial success which he had. He always called on me in New York, on his way south, when going to attend his endless trials, and to meet the mischievous contrivances of men who seemed inexhaustible in their resources of evil. Even now, after thirty years, my head aches to recollect his narratives of new trials, fresh disappointments, and accumu- lated wrongs." In 1798, Mr. Whitney became deeply impressed with the uncer- tainty of all his hopes founded upon the cotton gin, notwithstanding their high promise, and he began to think seriously of devoting himself to some business in which saperior ingenuity, seconded by uncommon industry, qualifications which he must have been con- scious of possessing in no ordinary degree, would conduct him by a slow but sure route to a competent fortune ; and we have always considered it indicative of a solid judgment, and a well-balanced mind, that he did not, as is frequently the case with men of in- ventive genius, become so poisoned with the hopes of vast and sudden wealth, as to be disqualified for making a reasonable pro- vision for life by the sober earnings of frugal industiy. The enterprise which he selected in accordance with these views was the manufacture of arms for the United States. He addressed a letter to the Hon. Oliver Wolcott, secretary of the ' reasury, by whose influence he obtained a contract for the manufacture of ten thousand stand of arms, four thousand of which were to be deliv- ered on or before the last of September of the ensuing year, (tho ELI WHITNEY. 125 contract being concluded on the 14th of January, 1798,) and the remaining six thousand within one year from that time. The site which Mr. Whitney had purchased for his works was at the foot of the celebrated precipice called East Rock, near the city of New Haven. This spot (which is now called Whit, neyville) is justly admired for the romantic beauty of its scenery. A waterfall of moderate extent afforded here the necessary power for propelling the machinery. In this pleasant retreat Mr. Whit- ney commenced his operations with the greatest zeal.; and his great mind, and daring, persevering spirit, were abundantly mani- fested in this undertaking. His machinery was yet to be built, his materials to be collected, and even his workmen to be taught, and that in a business with which lie was imperfectly acquainted. A severe winter retarded his operations, and the multiplied difficul- ties of his undertaking rendered him wholly incompetent to the fulfilment of the contract, and delivering the arms within the limited time. Only five hundred, instead of four thousand, were delivered the first year, and eight, instead of two years, were found neces- sary for completing tlie whole. Notwithstanding this, the govern- ment seems to have been altogether liberal in its dealings with him. During the eight years Mr. Whitney was occupied in performing this engagement, lie applied himself to business with the most exemplary diligence, rising every morning as soon as it was day, and at night setting every thing in order appertaining to all parts of the establishment before he retired to rest. In a letter ad- dressed to the secretary of the treasury at this period, he says *' I find that my personal attention and oversight are more con- stantly and essentially necessary to every branch of the work than I apprehended. Mankind, generally, are not to be depended on, and the best workmen I can find are incapable of directing. Indeed there is no branch of the work that can proceed well, scarcely for a single hour, unless I am present." His genius, in- deed, impressed itself on every part of the manufactory, extending even to the most common tools, all of which received some pecu- liar modification which improved them in accuracy, or efficacy, or beauty. His machinery for making the several parts of a musket was made to operate with the greatest possible degree of uniform- ity and precision. The object at which he aimed, and which he fully accomplished, was to make the same parts of different guns, as the locks, for example, as much like each other as the succes- sive impressions of a copper-plate engraving. It has generally been conceded that Mr. Whitney greatly improved the art of manufacturing arms, and laid his country under permanent obliga- tions, by augmenting her facilities for national defence. So rapid 126 AMERICAN MECHANICS. has been the improvement iu the arts and manufactures in tfos country, that it is difficult to conieive of the lew state in which they were thirty years ago. To this advancement the genius and industry of Mr. Whitney most essentially contributed ; for while he was clearing off the numerous impediments which were thrown in his way, he was at the same time performing the office of a pioneer to the succeeding generation. In 1812 he entered into a contract to manufacture for the United States fifteen thousand stand of arms, and in the mean time he made a similar contract with the State of New York. Several other persons made contracts with the government at about the same time, and attempted the manufacture of muskets, following, substantially, so far as they understood it, the method pursued in England. The result of their efforts was a complete failure to manufacture muskets of the quality required, at the price agreed to be paid by the government : and in some instances they expended in the execution of their contracts, a considerable for- tune in addition to the whole amount received for their work. The low state to which the arts had been depressed in this coun- try by the policy of England, under the colonial system, and from which they had then scarcely begun to recover, together with the high price of labor, and other causes, conspired to render it im- practicable at that time even for those most competent to the un- dertaking, to manufacture muskets here in the English method, And doubtless Mr. Whitney would have shared the fate of his enterprising but unsuccessful competitors, had he adopted the course which they pursued ; but his genius struck out for him a course entirely new. In maturing his system he had many obstacles to combat, and a much longer time was occupied, than he had anticipated ; but with his characteristic firmness he pursued his object, in the face of the obloquy and ridicule of his competitors, the evil predictions of his enemies, and the still more discouraging and disheartening misgivings, doubts, and apprehensions of his friends. His efforts were at length crowned with success, and he had the satisfaction to find, that the business which had proved so ruinous to others, was likely to prove not altogether unprofitable to himself. Our limits do not permit us to give a minute and detailed ac- count of this system ; and we shall only glance at two or three of its more prominent features, for the purpose of illustrating its gen. eral character. The several parts of the musket wr-e, under this system, carried along through the various processes of manufacture, in lots of some hundreds or thousands of each. In their various stages of pro. ELI WHITNEY. 127 gress, they were made to undergo successive operations by ma. chinery, which not only vastly abridged the labor, but at the same time so fixed and determined their form and dimensions, as to make comparatively little skill necessary in the manual operations. Such was the construction aad arrangement of this machinery, that it could be worked by persons of little or no experience ; and yet it performed the work with so much precision, that when, in the later stages of the process, the several parts of the musket came to be put together, they were as readily adapted to each other, as if each had been made for its respective fellow. A lot of these parts passed through the hands of several different work- men successively, (and in some cases several times returned, at intervals more or less remote, to the hands of the same workman,) each performing upon them every time some single and simple operation, by machinery or by hand, until they were completed. Tims Mr. Whitney reduced a complex business, embracing many ramifications, almost to a mere succession of simple processes, and was thereby enabled to make a division of the labor among his workmen, on a principle which was not only more extensive, but also altogether more philosophical, than that pursued in the English method. In England, the labor of making a musket was divided by making the different workmen the manufacturers of different limbs, while in Mr. Whitney's system the work was divided with reference to its nature, and several workmen performed different operations on the same limb. It will be readily seen that under such an arrangement any per- son of ordinary capacity would soon acquire sufficient dexterity to perform a branch of the work. Indeed, so easy did Mr. Whitney find it to instruct new and inexperienced workmen, that he uni- formly preferred to do so, rather than to attempt to combat the prejudices of those, who had learned the business under a different system. When Mr. Whitney's mode of conducting the business was brought into successful operation, and the utility of his machinery was fully demonstrated, the clouds of prejudice which lowered over his first efforts, were soon dissipated, and he had the satisfaction of seeing not only his system, but most of his machinery, intro- duced into every other considerable establishment for the manu- facture of arms, both public and private, in the United States. The labors of Mr. Whitney in the manufacture of arms, auve been often and fully admitted by the officers of the government, to have been of the greatest value to the public interest. In the year 1822, Mr. Calhoun, then secretary of war, admitted, in a conver- sation with Mr. Whitney that the government were saving twenty - 6* 128 AMERICAN MECHANICS five thousand dollars per annum at the two public armories aloue, by his improvements. This admission, though it is believed to be far below the truth, is sufficient to show, that the subject of this memoir deserved well of his country in this department of her service. It should be remarked, that the utility of Mr. Whitney's labors during the period of his life which we have now been contemplat- ing, was not limited to the particular business in which he was engaged. Many of the inventions which he made to facilitate the manufacture of muskets, were applicable to most other manufac- tures of iron and steel. To many of these they were soon extend- ed, and became the nucleus around which other inventions clus- tered ; and at the present time some of them may be recognised in almost every considerable workshop of that description in the United States. In the year 1812, Mr. W. made application to congress for the renewal of his patent for the cotton gin. In his memorial, he pre- sented a history of the struggles he had been forced to encounter in defence of his right, observing that he had been unable to obtain any decision on the merits of his claim until he had been eleven years in the law, and thirteen years of his patent term had expired. He sets forth, that his invention had been a source of opulence to thousands of the citizens of the United States ; that, as a labor- saving machine, it would enable one man to perform the work of a thousand men ; and that it furnishes to the whole family of man- kind, at a very cheap rate, the most essential article of their cloth- ing. Hence, he humbly conceived himself entitled to a further remuneration from his country, and thought he ought to be admit- ted to a more liberal participation with his fellow citizens in the benefits of his invention. Although so great advantages had been already experienced, and the prospect of future benefits Avas so promising, still, many of those whose interest had been most pro. moted, and the value of \f*hose property had been most enhanced by this invention, had obstinately persisted in refusing to make any compensation to the inventor. The very men whose wealth had been acquired by the use of this machine, and who had grown rich beyond all former example, had combined their exertions to pre- vent the patentee from deriving any emolument from his invention. From that state in which he had first made, and where he had first introduced his machine, and which had derived the most signal benefits from it, he had received nothing ; and from no state had he received the amount of half a cent per pound on the cotton cleaned with his machines in one year. Estimating the value of the labor of one man at twenty cents per day, the whole amount ELI WHITNEY. 129 which had been received by him for his invention, was not equal to the value of the labor saved in one hour, by his machines then in use in the United States. " This invention (he proceeds) now gives to the southern section of the Union, over and above the profits which would be derived from the cultivation of any other crop, an annual emolument of at least tfiree millions of dollars."* The foregoing statement does not rest on conjecture, it is no vis- ionary speculation, all these advantages have been realized ; the planters of the southern states have counted the cash, felt the weight of it in their pockets, and heard the exhilarating sound of its collis- ion. Nor do the advantages stop here : this immense source of wealth is but just beginning to be opened. Cotton is a more cleanly and healthful article of cultivation than tobacco and indigo, which it has superseded, and docs not so much impoverish the. soil. This invention has already trebled the value of the land through a great extent of territory; and the degree to which the cultivation of cotton may be still augmented, is altogether incalculable. This species of cotton has been known in all countries where cotton has been raised, from time immemorial, but was never known as an article of commerce, until since this method of cleaning it was dis- covered. In short, (to quote the language of Judge Johnson,) if we should assert that the benefits of this invention exceed one hundred millions of dollars, we can prove the assertion by correct calcula- tion. " It is objected that if the patentee succeeds in procuring the renewal of his patent, he will be too rich. There is no proba- bility that the patentee, if the term of his patent were extended for twenty years, would ever obtain for his invention one half as much as many an individual will gain by the use of it. Up to the present time, the whole amount of what he has acquired from this source, (after deducting his expenses,) does not exceed one half the sum which a single individual has gained by the use of the machine in one year. It is true that considerable sums have been obtained from some of the states where the machine is used ; but no small portion of these sums has been expended in prosecuting his claim in a state where nothing has been obtained, and where his machine has been used to the greatest advantage. " Your memorialist has not been able to discover 'any reason why he, as well as others, is not entitled to share the benefits of his own labors. He who speculates upon the markets, and takes advantage of the necessities of others, and by these means accumu. lates property, is called < a man of enterprise' a man of busi- ness' he is complimented for his talents, and is protected by the * This was in 1812 : the amount of profit is at this time incomparably greater 130 AMERICAN MECHANICS. laws. He however only gets into his possession, thai which was before in the possession of another ; he adds nothing to the public stock ; and can he who has given thousands to others, be thought unreasonable, if he asks one in r< turn 1 " It is to be remembered, that the pursuit of wealth by means of new inventions, is a very precarious and uncertain one ; a lottery where there are many thousand blanks to one prize. Of all the various attempts at improvements, there are probably not more ihan one in five hundred for which a patent is taken out; and of a' I the patents taken out, not one in twenty has yielded a nett profit to the patentee equal to the amount of the patent fees. In cases where a useful and valuable invention is brought into operation, the reward ought to be in proportion to the hazard of the pursuit. The patent law has now been in operation more than fourteen years. Many suits for damages have been instituted against those who have infringed the right of patentees ; and it is a fact, that very rarely has the patentee ever recovered. If you would hold out in- ducements for men of real talents to engage in these pursuits, your rewards must be sure and substantial. Men of this description can calculate, and will know how to appreciate, the recompense which they are to receive for their labors. If the encouragement held out be specious and delusive, the discerning will discover the fallacy, and will despise it : the weak and visionary only will be decoyed by it, and your patent office will be filled with rubbish. The number of those who succeed in bringing into operation really useful and important improvements, always has been, and always must be, very small. It is not probable that this number can ever be as great as one in a hundred thousand. It is therefore impossi- ble that they can ever exert upon the community an undue influ- ence. There is, on the contrary, much probability and danger that their rights will be trampled on by the many." Notwithstanding these cogent arguments, the application was rejected by Congress. Some liberal minded and enlightened men from the cotton districts, favored the petition : but a majority of the members from that section of the Union, were warmly opposed to granting it. In a correspondence with the late Mr. Robert Fulton, on the same subject, Mr. Whitney observes as follows : " The difficulties with which I have had to contend have originated, principally, in the want of a disposition in mankind to do justice. My invention was new and distinct from every other : it stood alone. It was not interwoven with any thing before known ; and it can se dom happen that an invention or improvement is so strongly marked, and can be so clearly and specifically identif.ed ; and I havo PLI WHITNEY. 131 always believed, that I should have had no difficulty in causing my rights to be respected, if it hat! been less valuable, and been used only by a small portion of the community. But the use of this machine being immensely profitable to almost every planter in the cotton districts, all were interested in trespassing upon the patent right, and each kept the other in countenance. Demagogues made themselves popular my misrepresentation, and unfounded clamors, both against the right, and against the law made for its protection. Hence there arose associations and combinations to oppose both. At one time, but few men in Georgia dared to come into court, and testify to the most simple facts within their knowledge, relative to the use of the machine. In one instance, I had great difficulty in proving that the machine had been used in Georgia, although, at the same moment, there were three separate setts of this machinery in motion, within fifty yards of the building in which the court sat, and all so near that the rattling of the wheels was distinctly heard on the steps of the court house."* While, however, unsuccessfully endeavoring to secure to himself some of the avails of the immense benefits he had thus bestowed on his fellow citizens, his manufactory was gradually leading him to more affluent -and liberal circumstances. In January, 1817, he married Miss Henrietta F. Edwards, the youngest daughter of the Hon. Pierpont Edwards, of the District Court for the State of Con- necticut. Fortune seemed now to smile upon him, as he saw his domestic circle increase by the addition of a son and three daugh- ters, and a prosperous and sunny close appeared to be about to terminate his stormy and vexatious day of life. But death who comes to all, prostrated him upon a bed of pain , and after a protracted period of suffering, he breathed his last, on the 8th of January, 1825, after having labored for a long while under a formidable and tedious disease. The strongest demonstrations of respect and regard, were mani- fested by the citizens of New Haven, in committing his remains to * In one of his trials, Mr. Whitney adopted the following plan, in order to show how nugatory were the methods of evasion practised by his adversaries. Thev were endeavoring to have his claim to the invention set aside, on the ground, ^hat the teeth in his machine were made of wire, inserted into the cylinder of wood, while in t.ho machine of Holmes, the teeth were cut in plates, or iron svir- rounding the cylinder, forming a circular saw. Mr. Whitney, by an ingenious device, (consisting chiefly of sinking the plate below the surface of the cylinder, and suffering the teeth to project,) contrived to give to the saw teeth the appear- ance of wires, while he prepared another cylinder in which the wire teeth were made to look like saw teeth. The two cylinders were produced in court, and the witnesses were called on to testify which was the invention of Whitney, and which that of Holmes. They accordingly swore the saw teeth upon Whitney, and the wire teeth upon Holmes; upon which the judge declared that it was un necessary to proceed any farther, the principle of both being manifestly the same 132 AMERICAN MECHANICS. the earth, ana the Rev. President Day pronounced over his grave the following eulogy. " How frequent and how striking are the monitions to us, that this world is not the place of our rest ! " It is not often the case, that a man has laid his plans for the business and the enjoyment of life, with a deeper sagacity, than the friend whose remains we have now committed to the dust. He had received, as the gift of heaven, a mind of a superior order. Early habits of thinking gave to it a character of independence and originality. He was accustomed to form his decisions, not after the model of common opinion, but by his own nicely balanced judgment. His mind was enriched with the treasures which are .furnished by a liberal education. He had a rare fertility of inven- tion in the arts ; an exactness of execution almost unequalled. By a single exercise of his powers, he changed the state of cultivation, and multiplied the wealth, of a large portion of our country. He set an example of system and precision in mechanical operations, which others had not even thought of attempting. " The higher qualities of his mind, instead of unfitting him fo/ ordinary duties, were finely tempered with taste and judgment in the business of life. His manners were formed by an extensive inter- course with the best society. He had an energy of character which carried him through difficulties loo formidable for ordinary minds. " With these advantages, he entered on the career of life. His efforts were crowned with success. An ample competency was the reward of his industry and skill. He had gained the respect of all classes of the community. His opinions were regarded with peculiar deference, by the man of science, as well as the practical artist. His large and liberal views, his knowledge of the world, the wide range of his observations, his public spirit, and his acts of beneficence, had given him a commanding influence in society. The gentleness and refinement of his manners, and the delicacy of his feelings in the social and domestic relations, had endeared him to a numerous circle of relatives and friends. " And what were his reflections in review of the whole, in con nection with the distressing scenes of the last period of life ? All is as the flower of the grass : the wind passeth over it, and it i& gone.' All on earth is transient ; all in eternity is substantial and enduring. His language was, ' I am a sinner. But God is mer- ciful. The only ground of acceptance before him, is through the great Mediator.' From this mercy, through this Mediator, is de- rived our solace under this heavy bereavement. On this, rest tho hopes of the mourners, that they shall meet the deceased with jov. at the resurrection of the just." ELI WHITNEY. 133 The following account is given of Mr. Whitney's character, n. character not often met with in the common walks of life. His ma.mers were conciliatory, and his whole appearance such as to inspire universal respect. Among his particular friends, no man was more esteemed. Some of the earliest of his intimate as- sociates were also among the latest. With one or two of the bosom friends of his youth, he kept up a correspondence by letter for thirty years, with marks of continually increasing regard. His sense of honor was high, and his feelings of resentment and indig- nation occasionally strong. He could, however, be cool when his opponents were heated ; and, though sometimes surprised by pas- sion, yet the unparalleled trials of patience which he had sustained did not render him petulant, nor did his strong sense of the injuries he had suffered in relation to the cotton gin, impair the natural serenity of his temper. But the most remarkable trait in the char- acter of Mr. Whitney aside from his inventive powers, was his perseverance ; and this is the more remarkable because it is so com- mon to find men of great powers of mechanical invention deficient in this quality. This it was which led him through scenes of trial and almost unparalleled misfortune, with that calm, yet determined spirit which he so clearly manifested, and which finally led him to a period of prosperity from which he was snatched only by the hand of death. In person Mr. Whitney was considerably above the ordinary size, of a dignified carriage, and of an open, manly, and agreeable countenance. Indeed, he seems to have won the respect of all with whom he conversed, and to have made himself friends wherever he went, by his modest, unassuming, yet agreeable manners, and by his superior skill and ingenuity. In presenting to the public the foregoing sketch of the life of this extraordinary man, the aim has been to render the narrative useful to the enterprising mechanic and the man of business, to whom Whitney may be confidently proposed as a model. To such, it is believed, the details given respecting his various strug- gles and embarrassments, may afford a useful lesson, a fresh incen- tive to perseverance, and stronger impressions of the value cf a character improved by intellectual cultivation, and adorned with all the moral virtues. Fabrics of cotton are now so familiar to us, and so universally diffused, that we are apt to look upon them rather as original gifts of nature than as recent products of human ingenuity. The fol- lowing statements however will show how exceedingly limited tho cotton trade was previous to the invention of the cotton gin. In 1784, an American vessel arrived at Liverpool, having on 134 AMERICAN MECHANICS. board for part of her cargo, eight lags of cotton, which were seized by the officers of the customhouse, under the conviction that they could not be the growth of America. The following fact ascer- tained from old newspapers shows the limited extent of the cotton trade for the two subsequent years, viz : that the whole amount arrived at Liverpool from America was short of 120 bags. Now this article is equal in general to some millions more than one half the whole value of our exports. The annual average growth is about one million of bales, amounting to several hundred millions of pounds, of which about one fifth is used in our own manufac- tories. We present, in conclusion, the following remarks of a distin- guished scholar, upon this great man, occasioned by a visit to the cemetery of New Haven, which sufficiently show in what estima- tion he is held by those capable of appreciating his merits. After alluding to the monument of Gen. Humphreys, who intro- duced the firm wooled sheep into the United States, the stranger remarks : " But Whitney's monument perpetuates the name of a still greater public benefactor. His simple name would have been epitaph enough, with the addition perhaps of ' the inventor of the cotton gin.' How few of the inscriptions in Westminster Abbey could be compared with that ! Who is there that, like him, has given his countiy a machine the product of his own skill which has furnished a large part of its population, ' from childhood to age with a lucrative employment ; by which their debts have been paid off; their capitals increased ; their lands trebled in value ?'* Il may be said indeed that this belongs to the physical and material nature of man, and ought not to be compared with what has been done by the intellectual benefactors of mankind ; the Miltons, the Shakspeares, and the Newtons. But is it quite certain that any thing short of the highest intellectual vigor the brightest genius is sufficient to invent one of these extraordinary machines ? Place a common mind before an oration of Cicero and a steam engine, and it will despair of rivalling the latter as much as the former ; and we can by no means be persuaded, that the peculiar aptitude for combining and applying the simple powers of mechanics, so as to produce these marvellous operations, does not imply a vivacity of the imagination, not inferior to that of the poet and the orator." A lid in concluding he asks, " Has not he who has trebled the value of land, created capital, rescued the population from the necessity of emigrating, and covered a waste with plenty hr.s not he done * The words of Mr. Justice Johnson of South Carolina, ir /he opinion in tb case of Whitney versus Carter ELI WHITNEY. 135 a service to the country of the highest moral and intellectual char- acter ? Prosperity is the parent of civilization, and all its refine- ments ; and every family of prosperous citizens added to the com- munity, is an addition of so many thinking, inventing, moral, and immortal natures." His tomb is after the model of that of Scipio at Rome. It is simple and beautiful, and promises to endure for years. It bears the following inscription. ELI WHITNEY, The inventor of the Cotton Gin. Of useful science and arts, the efficient patron and improver. In the social relations of life, a model of excellence. While private affection weeps at his tomb, his country honors his memory. Born Dec. 8, 1765. Died Jan. 8, 1825. DAVID BUSHNELL, THE ORIGINATOR OF SUBMARINE WARFARE. Early attempts at submarine navigation. Drebell's boat. The invention of an Englishman, for entering sunken ships; Worcester. Birth of Bushnell. Lf.rlv Character. Receives a collegiate education. Account of his first ex- periments. Description of his submarine boat, and magazine. Endeavors to blow up the British ship of war Eagle in the harbor of New York. Blows up the tender of his Majesty's ship Cerberus, off New London. Contrives a new expedient to destroy the British shipping in the Delaware. " Battle of the Kegs." Dejected at the issue of his experiments, leaves for France. Returns and settles in Georgia, His Death. SINCE the invention of the diving bell in the sixteenth century, we have accounts of several projects for submarine navigation, among which the following are most prominent. " A scheme is said to have been tried in the reign of James the First, by Cornelius Dretell, a famous English projector, who, we are told by Mr. Boyle, made a submarine vessel which would carry twelve rowers, be- sides the passengers ; and that he also discovered a liquid which had the singular property of restoring the air when it became im- pure by breathing. This last circumstance, with the number of persons enclosed in the machine and the imperfect state of mechan- ics at the period alluded to, renders the whole story extremely im- probable, though it shows clearly that the idea had been entertained and perhaps some attempt made. Another contrivance is men- tioned by Mr. Martin, in his Philosophia Britannica, as the inven- tion of an Englishman, consisting of strong thick leather, which contained half a hogshead of air, so prepared that none could escape, and constructed in such a manner that it exactly fitted the arms and legs, and had a glass placed in the fore part of it. When he put on this apparatus he could not only walk on the ground at the bottom of the sea, but also enter the cabin of a sunken ship and convey goods out of it at pleasure. The inventor is said to have carried on his business for more than forty years, and to have grown rich by it." It is evident from the perusal of the following pages, that tho plans of Bushnell were almost entirely original ; and he appears *o DAVID BUSHNELL. 137 have greatly advanced, if not actually to have originated, submarine navigation. In its application as a means of warfare, we must giv-j him the entire credit of originality ; although Worcester in his Century or Hundred of Inventions, vaguely alludes to something of the kind, there is no evidence of its application, and as far as regards benefits to subsequent experiments, it is entirely useless. The efforts of Bushnell in the revolutionary, and of Fulton during the late war, at the time attracted considerable attention, and greatly excited the fears* of the enemy. Although, for obvious reasons, the anticipated success did not attend these experiments, we must remember that " invention is progressive ;" and while we hear them derided as visionary, we should reflect that such has ever been the fate, in their incipient stages, of the most useful inventions, f he day may not be far distant, when another Bushnell will arise to advance submarine warfare to such perfection as to.render it an important auxiliary in coast defence. David Bushnell was born in Saybrook, Connecticut, some time about the year 1742. His parents were agriculturists of rather moderate circumstances, and resided in a very secluded part of the town. Here in attendance upon the duties of the paternal farm young Bushnell passed the earlier portion of his life, and is only remembered as being a very modest, retiring young man, shunning all society, and bound down to his books. On the death of his father, which happened when he was about twenty-seven years of age, Bushnell sold his inheritance and re- moved to the central portion of the town for the purpose of prepar- ing for college, the attainment of a liberal education having long been with him an object of his most ardent wishes. As is custom- ary in the New England villages, the pastor of the society, the Rev. John Devotion, assisted him in his studies. One of his fellow townsmen Mr. Elias Tully, becoming ac- quainted with him and admiring his character, very generously offered him a home under his own roof, where he remained until his entrance into Yale college in 1771. We are ignorant of the origin of Mr. BushnelPs conceptions re- specting submarine warfare, but he appears to have turned his at- tention to the subject in the earlier portions of his collegiate career, so that on graduating in 1775, his plans were advanced to ma- turity. * It is well known that during the experiments of Fulton, the British ship- ping were very cautious in approaching our shores. A gentleman, who was taken prisoner by a vessel of war in Long Island Sound, describes the anxiety of the officers as being so great, that they made a regular practice at certain time* of day, of dragging ropes under the ship's bottom. This course, it is believed, was universally practised by the enemy while anchoring off our coast 138 AMERICAN MECHANICS. powder, to prove to some influential men that powder would burn under water. In the second trial there were two pounds of gun- powder enclosed in a wooden bottle, and fixed under a hogshead, with a two inch oak plank between the hogshead and the powder. The hogshead was loaded with stones as deep as it could swim ; a wooden pipe primed with powder descended through the lower head of the hogshead, and thence through the plank into the powder contained in the bottle. A match put to the priming exploded the powder with a tremendous effect, casting a great body of water with the stones and ruins many feet into the air. " He subsequently made many experiments of a similar nature, some of them with large quantities of powder, all of which produced very violent explosions, much more than sufficient for any purposes he had hi view. " When finished, the external appearance of his torpedo bore some resemblance to two upper tortoise shells of equal size, placed in contact, leaving, at that part which represents the head of the animal, a flue or opening sufficiently capacious to contain the ope- rator, and air to support him thirty minutes. At the bottom, op- posite to the entrance, was placed a quantity of lead for ballast. The operator sat upright and held an oar for rowing forward or backward, and was furnished with a rudder for steering. An ap- erture at the bottom with its valve admitted water for the purpose of descending, and two brass forcing pumps served to eject the water within when necessary for ascending. The vessel was made completely water-tight, furnished with glass windows for the admis sion of light, with ventilators and air pipes, and was so ballasted with lead fixed at the bottom as to render it solid, and obviate all danger of oversetting. Behind the submarine vessel was a place above the rudder for carrying- a large powder magazine ; this was made of two pieces of oak timber, large enough, when hollowed out, to contain one hundred and fifty pounds of powder, with the appa- ratus used for firing it, and was secured in its place by a screw turned by the operator. It was lighter than water, that it might rise against the object to which it was intended to be fastened. " Within the magazine was an apparatus constructed to run any proposed period under twelve hours ; when it had run out its turn, it unpinioned a strong lock, resembling a gun-lock, which gave fire to the powder. This apparatus was so pinioned, that it could not possibly move, until, by casting off the magazine from the vessel, it was set in motion. The skilful operator could swim so low on the surface of the water, as to approach very near a ship in the night, without fear of being discovered ; and might, if he chose, DAVID BUSHJNELL. 139 approach the stem or stern above water, with very littVe danger. He could sink very quickly, keep at any necessary depth, and row a great distance in any direction he desired without coming to the surface When he rose to the top ho could soon obtain a fresh supply of air, and, if necessary, descend again and pursue his course. " Mr. Bushnell found that it required many trials and considera- ble instruction to make a man of common ingenuity a skilful ope- rator. The first person whom he employed was his brother, who was exceedingly ingenious, and made himself master of it, but was taken sick before he had an opportunity to make a trial of his skill. Having procured for a substitute a sergeant of one of the Connec- ticut regiments, and given him such instructions as time would allow, he was directed to try an experiment on the Eagle, a sixty- four gun ship, lying in the harbor of New York, and commanded by Lord Howe. Gen. Putnam placed himself on the wharf to witness the result. " The sergeant went under the ship and attempted to fix the wooden screw into her bottom, but struck, as he supposed, a bar of iron, which passed from the rudder hinge, and was spiked under the ship's quarter. Had he moved a few inches, which might have been done without rowing, there is no doubt he might have found wood where he could have fixed the screw ; or if the ship had been sheathed with copper, it might easily have been pierced. But for want of skill and experience in managing the vessel, in an, attempt to move to another place, he passed out from under the ship. After seeking her in vain for some time, he rowed some distance and rose to the surface of th6 water, but found daylight so far advanced that he dared not to renew the attempt, for fear of being discovered by the sentinels on duty. He said he could easily have fastened the magazine under the stern of the ship, above water, as he rowed up and touched it before he descended. Had it been done, the explosion of the one hundred and fifty pounds of powder, contained in the magazine, must have been fatal to the ship. "In returning from the ship to New York, the operator passed near Governor's Island, and thought he was discovered by the Bri- tish stationed there. In haste to avoid the danger, he cast off his magazine, imagining it retarded him in the swell, which was very considerable. The internal apparatus was set to run just one hour ; at the expiration of the allotted time it blew up with tremendous violence, throwing a vast column of water to an amazing height in the air, much to the astonishment of the enemy. ** Some other attempts were made on the Hudson, in one of 140 AMERICAN MECHANICS. Which the operator in going towards the ship lost sight of her, and went a great distance beyond. The tide ran so strong as to baffle all further effort. " In the year 1777, Mr. Bushnell made an attempt from a whale- boat against the Cerberus frigate, lying at anchor off New London, in drawing a machine against her side by means of a line. The machine was loaded with powder to be exploded by a gun-lock, which was to be unpinioned by an apparatus to be turned by being brought along side of the frigate. This machine fell in with a schooner at anchor astern of the frigate, and becoming fixed, it ex ploded and demolished the vessel. " Commodore Simmons being on board of the Cerberus, addressed an official letter to Sir Peter Parker, describing this singular dis- aster. Being at anchor to the westward of the town with a schooner which he had taken, about eleven o'clock in the evening he disco- vered a line- to wing astern from the bows. He believed that some person had veered away by it, and immediately began to haul in. A sailor belonging to the schooner taking it for a fishing line, laid hold of it and drew in about fifteen fathoms. It was buoyed up by small pieces tied to it at regular distances. At the end of the rope a machine was fastened too heavy for one man to pull up, for it exceeded one hundred pounds in weight. The other people of the schooner coming to his assistance, they drew it upon deck. While the men, to gratify their curiosity, were examining the machine, it exploded, blew the vessel into pieces, and set her on fire. Three men were killed, and a fourth blown into the water, much injured. On subsequent examination the other part of the line was discovered buoyed up in the same manner ; this the commodore ordered to be instantly cut away, for fear (as he termed it) of ' hauling up another of the infernals !' " These machines were constructed with wheels furnished with irons sharpened at the end, and projecting about an inch, in order to strike the sides of the vessel when hauling them up, thereby set- ting the wheels in motion, which in the space of five minutes causes the explosion. Had the whole apparatus been brought to act upon a ship at the same time, it must have occasioned prodigious de- struction. " Mr. Bushnell contrived another ingenious expedient to effect his favorite object. He fixed a large number of kegs, charged >vith powder, to explode on coming in contact with any thing while lloating along with the tide. " In December, 1777, he set his squadron of kegs ailoat in the Delaware above the British shipping. The kegs were sef DESTRUCTION OF A BRITISH TENDER BY A TORPEDO. DAVID BUSHNELL. 143 fn the night, to fall with the ebb on the shipping ; but the proper distance could not be well ascertained, and they were set adrift too remotely from the vessels, so that they were obstructed and dispersed by the ice. They approached, however, in the day- time, and one of them blew up a boat, others exploded, and occa- sioned the greatest consternation and alarm among the British Beamen. The British soldiers actually manned the wharves and thipping at Philadelphia, and discharged their small arms and cannon at every thing they could see floating in the river during the ebb tide. This incident has received the name of ' ike Battle of the Kegs,' and has furnished the subject of an excellent and humorous song by the Hon. Francis Hopkinson, which, as it is an amusing relic of the times, we here insert." THE BATTLE OF THE KEGS : A SONG. GALLANTS attend, and hear a friend Trill forth harmonious ditty ; Strange things I'll tell, which late befell In Philadelphia city. : Twas early day, as poets say, Just when the sun was rising, A soldier stood on log of wood, And saw a sight surprising. As in amaze he stood to gaze, The truth can't be denied, He spied a score of kegs, or more, Come floating down the tide. A sailor too, m jerkin blue, The strange appearance viewing. First " d -d his eyes," in great surprise, Then said, " some mischief's brewing: " These kegs now hold the rebels bold, Pack'd up like pickled herring ; And they're comedown t'attackthe town In this new way of ferrying." The soldier flew, the sailor too, And almost scared to death. Wore out their shoes to spread the news, And ran till out of breath. Now up and down, throughout the town Most frantic scenes were acted ; And some ran here and some ran there Like men almost distracted. Some fire! cned, which some denied But said, the earth had quaked: And girls and boys, with hideous noise, Ran through the streets, half naked. HOWE, in a fright, starts upright, Awoke by such a clatter ; Rubbing both eyes, he loudly cries, " For God's sake, what's the matter T At his bedside he then espied Sir ERSKINE at command; Upon one foot he had one boot, And t'other in his hand. "Arise! arise!" Sir ERSKINE cries; " The rebels more's the pity-- Without a boat are all afloat, And rang'd before the city ; " The motley crew, in vessels new, With SATAN for their guide, , or wooden keg Como Therefore prepare for bloody war ; These kegs must all be routed, Or surely we despised shall be, And British courage doubted." The royal band now ready stand, All rang'd in dread array, With stomachs stout, to see it out, And make a bloody day Pack'd up in bags, or w Driving down the tide ; gs, 144 AMERICAN MECHANICS. The cannons roar from shore to shore, The small arms made a rattle ; Since war began, I'm sure no man Ere saw so strange a battle : The rebel vales, the rebel dales, With rebel trees surrounded ; The distant woods, the hills and floods, With- rebel echoes sounded. The fish below swam to and fro, Attack'd from every quarter ; " Why sure," thought they, " the devil's to pay 'Mongst folks above the water." The kegs, 'tis said, though strongly made Of rebel staves and hoops, Could not oppose their pow'rfui foe, The conq'ring British troops. From morn to night, these men ot might Display'd amazing courage : And when the sun was fairly down, Retir'd to sup their porridge. A hundred men, with each a pen, Or more, upon my word, It is most true, would be too few Their valor to record : Such feats did they perform that day Upon those wicked kegs, That years to come, if they get home. They'll make their boast and brags. The unfortunate issue of Mr. Bushnell's efforts rendered him very dejected. He had been disappointed in his expected support from government, having spent nearly all, if not the whole of his own property in the course of his experiments. Soon after the close of the war, he left his native country for France. The object of this voyage is not known ; and it was always supposed, until within a very short time, that he had perished amid some one of the sanguinary scenes of the French revolution. But it appears hat, after remaining in Europe a number of years, he returned and settled in Georgia, under the assumed name of Bush, where he lived in a retired manner, gaining his livelihood by the practice of medicine. The tidings of his death, in 1826, accompanied by a handsome bequest, the product of .his professional industiy, was the first information his relations had received of him for a period of nearly forty years, AMOS WHITTEMORE. AMOS WHITTEMORE, THE INVENTOR OF THE CARD MACHINE. Birth. Early traits of character. Is apprenticed to a gunsmith. Industry. Constructs a wooden clock without a model. Invents a machine for measur- ing the progress of vessels. Becomes a partner in manufacturing cotton and wool cards. Description and imperfection of the old method of making cards. Sets about the construction of the card machine. Wonderful perseverance. Meets with an unexpected obstacle. Overcomes the difficulty in a dream. Com- pletes the invention. Its beauty and precision. Secures the patent. Visits England, to secure a patent there. Taken prisoner by a French man-of-war. Release. Dyer's card establishment at Manchester. Return. Forms a co- partnership to manufacture card machines. Slow progress and exhausted means. Visits Washington, and exhibits the invention. It excites universal admiration. Congress renews the patent. Establish a branch in New York. The New York Manufacturing Company purchase their whole interest. Its succeeding history. Phoenix Bank. Singular chain of circumstances. Whittemore purchases a country seat, and retires from active life. Projects an orrery on a new plan. Feeble health. Death. Character. Value of the card machine. Conclusion. THE incidents in the following memoir are principally such as could be gathered from the memory of one who intimately knew the subject of it while living, and always entertained for him and his memory a high regard. The writer therefore feels some diffi- dence in recording as strict fact, every part of the relation made to him, inasmuch as the lapse of years may have effaced in some degree the recollection of many of the events. It is believed, how- ever, that its leading features are essentially correct, and as noth- ing stated can affect others, he feels relieved from responsibility. Amos Whittemore, who, by his extraordinary invention for making cotton and wool cards, merits a prominent place among the first mechanics of the age, was the second of five brothers, and was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 19th, 1759. His father was an agriculturist of but moderate means, whose industry enabled him to rear a large family, and give to his children the mere rudiments of an English education. Of the five brothers, it is unnecessary to allude to either than the two next in age, William and Samuel, who, as will appear in the sequel, became interested in business with that brother whose ingenuity laid the foundation of their fortunes. The youthful days of Whittemore were passed in the usual manner of lads in the countiy, chiefly in assisting his parent in 148 AMERICAN MECHANICS. the cultivation of the farm. At an early age he manifested a re- markable talent for mechanical pursuits, together with a mind dis- posed to the contemplation of philosophical and abstruse science. Aware that he must depend almost entirely upon his own re- sources, not only for his maintenance, but for his future advance- ment, it was obvious that he must soon choose a profession which would promote these ends. Free to make his own choice, he se- lected the trade of a gunsmith, as one which, while it presented a field for the cultivation of mechanical taste, offered the prospects of a fruitful harvest. On becoming an apprentice, he not only zealously applied him self to the interests of his master, but devoted his leisure to volun- tary employment. At this period he invented many ingenious and useful implements ; and such was his proficiency, that long ere the expiration of his term of service, his employer confessed himself unable to give further instruction, and advjsed him to commence business for himself. Among the many instances of his skill, may be noticed that of an excellent clock made without a model, which remained many years in the family, proving a useful, as well as gratifying me- mento of his early ingenuity. This was among the fiist of the kind, although now there is scarcely a cottage in our wide spread country that does not boast of at least one of these indispensable *s well as ornamental pieces of furniture. He also invented a machine constructed with dial hands and figures, to be placed in the water at a vessel's stern, for the purpose of accurately mea- suring its progress. At the suggestion of a medical friend, a Dr. Putnam of Charlestown, he invented a self-acting loom, for weaving duck, which, from the best information we possess, is believed to be the same in principle as the celebrated power loom now so universally used. Owing to the unsettled state of business at this period, and the want of encouragement in the useful arts, these productions, notwithstanding their value, were suffered to lie neglected and forgotten. For years succeeding the expiration of his apprenticeship, Whittemore was variously, though to himself, in a pecuniary point, unprofitably employed. At length he became interested with his brother William, and five others, in the manufacture of cotton and wool cards, conducting their business in Boston under the firm of Giles, Richards, and Co., and supplying nearly all the cards then used in the country. Amos devoted himself to the mechanical department, as being the most agreeable and useful. Hitherto, the manufacture of cotton and wool cards, which had already become an article of great demand, was attended with AMOS WHITTEMORE. 14 much expense, owing to the imperfection of the machinery, and the amount of manual labor required. But two machines, and those of simple construction, were as yet known ; one for cutting and bending the wire into staples, and another for piercing the sheets of leather with holes, into which the staples were placed, one by one, with the hand. This last operation gave employment to hundreds of the younger members of families in New England : and it was not unamusing to witness groups of children, of both sexes, engaged in this easy labor, their tiny fingers rapidly placing staple after staple into its appropriate place, as eager to perform their allotted task a-s they were to count the few pence earned at the dear expense of a temporary deprivation of their youthful sports. This, the only method then known, combined both the disadvantage of great expense and the impossibility of making the cards sufficiently perfect to properly prepare the raw material. Whittemore, ever bent upon improvements in machinery, r.t once saw the importance, and, of course, the immense value of a tnachine so constructed as to be enabled, by its own independent action, to hold the sheet of leather, pierce the holes s draw the >vire from the reel, and shape and stick it into its proper place : thus, by the combination of a series of successive independent opera- tions, complete the card. After that mature reflection which always characterized him, he imparted to his brother William the conception of that idea which he so ardently desired to exe- cute. Encouraged by the advice and assistance of this brother, he engaged in the apparently insurmountable task, well convinced of the rich reward awaiting him if he could but embody in a machine the picture of his imagination. With ardor and unre- mitting zeal he prosecuted his labors, devoting his whole montal and physical energies to the undertaking. Such was his diligenv ^, nnd so incessantly did it occupy his time, that he not only impaired his health, but frequently neglected the demands of nature, to the extent that food and sleep seemed to him of but secondary conse- quence. Slowly, but steadily he progressed ; and while his bodily strength daily diminished, the fire of his mind seemed to burn with increased enthusiasm. Like the discoverer of our western world, he had staked, as it were, his reputation upon this effort, and, though storms of discouragement buffeted him at every point, and a boundless sea of toil appeared between him and his uncertain haven, yet he undauntingly persevered almost against hope. Baffled as was his skill to the utmost, he at length so far com- pleted his machine as to cause it to draw the wire from the reel, cut and shape it, pierce the holes in the leather, and even place the staples firmly in the sheet ; but it was yet necessary to bend the 150 AMERICAN MECHANICS. wire after it was placed : without this, all was in vain ; time and health had been valuelessly sacrificed, and that ambition that ever animates to action the inventive mind, seemed in him about to re- ceive a fatal check. Notwithstanding the encouragement of his friends who, believing that he could finally sijeceed, were, if pos- sible, more zealous than himself he gradually became irresolute, and frequently declared his inability to make any farther progress. The labor of nearly three months lay before him, an unfinished, yet wonderfully ingenious structure ; but, like the famed ivory balls of the Chinese, while it was admirable for the skill displayed in its workmanship, was valueless. Fortunately, he was not long doomed to look upon his work as a mere monument of labor lost. While the ingenuity of his mind had in vain been taxed to the ut- most, it was, as it would seem, to miraculous interposition that he owed his ultimate success. Extraordinary as it may appear, and doubted as it may be by some, it is, nevertheless, a fact, that during a n'ght succeeding a day of despondency and gloom, and at an hour when his faculties were wrapped in slumber, in a vision was disclosed to him the complete accomplishment of his hopes. Scarcely had the following day dawned, when, with a heart swell- ing with emotions of eagerness and joy, he once more revisited the chamber where he had so earnestly toiled, and, ere he broke his fast on that morning, he was enabled to announce to his brother and friends his entire success. Thus, within the short space of three months, he had, by un- tiring industry, commenced and completed an invention which at once revolutionized the manufacture of cards, and which, for in- genuity of construction, precision of movement, rapidity of per- formance, and perfection of execution, may challenge comparison with any mechanical effort of the human mind. It must be studi ously examined to be justly appreciated ; and, with a distinguished man* of our day, one alike eminent for his scientific attainments QS for his accomplishments as a statesman, we may say, that those who examine its complicated performance can compare it with nothing more nearly than the machinery of the human system. This anecdote, so intimately connected with the inventio.., was one which Whittemore frequently related, and it was gratifying to observe with what ardor he told the story of his toil : upon no part ol which would he dwell with more enthusiastic delight than this, singular dream. The brothers, fully aware, if successful, of the value of such a machine, had, in a measure, kept secret the fac'. jf \Vhiueir.cre'a * Flward Everett. AMOS WHITTEMORE. 151 being engaged in its construction. When, therefore, completed, steps were immediately takem to secure to the fortunate inventor, and his associates, the pecuniary advantages to be derived ; and on the 2d of June, 1797, a patent right was granted for a term of fourteen years. The importance of securing a patent right in England, as well as in the United States, was not lost sight of. At this time, during the administration of the elder Adams, but few years had elapsed since the establishment of our national inde- pendence, and the relations of our country with England were unset tied, while with France we were engaged in naval hostilities. To undertake a voyage across the Atlantic, under such circumstances and at this early period, was considered of almost as much im- oortance as, in our time, to circumnavigate the globe. To many of the habits of Whittemore, the project of visiting England, and there to wade through the difficulties of securing a patent, would have been thought too great an enterprise : at most, that the ad- vantages to accrue would not be commensurate with the risk and expenditure. Not so thought the brothers ; and the requisite ar- rangements being made, it became the duty as well as pleasure of Whittemore to visit that country. At this period, but two ships traded regularly between Boston and London, the Galen and the Minerva ; in the latter of which he embarked in the spring of 1799, accompanied by an English gentleman named Sharpe, who evinced great interest in the machine, and is believed to have been largely benefited by it in England. Being unacquainted with the circumstances connected with this visit, it is out of our power to give a detail of its events ; it is sufficient, however, to know, that the invention soon became fully appreciated, and though numerous offers were made, either to pur- chase the right or become interested in its profits, nothing of con- sequence was done to remunerate the inventor. Anxious to re- turn, he left his business in the hands of those in whom he reposed confidence, and in the spring of 1800 sailed for Boston, where he arrived in safety after a passage of fifty-nine days, and a year's absence from home. Either on his outward or homeward voyage, the vessel which he was in was captured by the French, but the passengers were released without serious inconvenience. Justly entitled as he was to a rich reward in that country, which has- since been so largely benefited by this invention, he was de- spoiled of his rights, and realized little else than expense and labor. No sooner was the machine generally understood in England, than it was perceived how fatal its successful operation would be- come to the working classes engaged in the manufacture of cards. The greatest caution and secrecy were therefore observed, lest the 152 AMERICAN MECHANICS. threats of the people, to mob those engaged in making the ma- chinery, would be carried into execution. The only sate method was, to have parts of the machine made in different places, and put together when finished. The most extensive, if not the only establishment now in opera- tion in England for manufacturing machine cards, is that of Mr. Dyer, in Manchester, who has conducted the business with great success ; through whose agency the machinery has been carried into France and the other parts of the continent, and is even supposed by many to be his invention, though he himself acknow- ledges its proper source. The copartnership of Giles, Richards, and Co. having expired some time, Whittemore, with his brother, had been engaged in the manufacture of cards upon the old plan. On his return from England, they formed a connection with their friend, Mr. Robert Williams, of Boston, who possessed the requisite means for car- rying on the business with the improved machinery, though on a limited scale. Until the year 1809, little had been done beside constructing expensive machines, and making the necessary preparations for the manufacture of cards. The patent was at this time within two years of its expiration, and their treasury nearly exhausted. Serious apprehensions were therefore entertained that, when about to realize a remuneration for their time and expense, others, by successful competition, would step in and wrest from them the fruits of all their toils. During the session of the congress of 1808 and 1809, Whitte- more, with his brother William, visited Washington, carrying with them a complete machine, of full size, as a model for exhibition, which was shown to the members and other men of distinction. It not only elicited universal admiration, but of such advantage was it considered to the country, especially to the cotton and wool-growing interest, that many members, among them Matthew Lyon of Vermont, a gentleman distinguished for his abilities, were disposed to grant a perpetual patent to the inventor and his heirs. The result, however, was, that on the 3d of March, 1809, an act received the unanimous vote of congress, granting a renewal of the patent for fourteen years from the expiration of the first term. The city of New York had long since given evidence of it peculiar advantages for trade and commerce ; and as early as the year 1803, a branch of the business was established in that city, under the management of a younger brother, Mr. Samuel Whitte- more, who became a partner with the brothers. As may be AMOS WHITTEMORE. 153 readily supposed, the importance of the machine attracted no little attention among the enterp risiqg- "of this metropolis ; and soon after the renewal of the patent, Efforts were made to establish a company, with a capital of sufficient magnitude to carry on an extensive business, and thus obtain the certain profit that a mono- poly such as this seemed to ensure. Men of fortune and energy gave it their support ; and during the session of the New York legislature of 1812, an act was passed, incorporating the " New York Manufacturing Company," with a capital of about $800,000, of which $300,000 was directed to be employed in manufacturing cotton and wool cards, and building the necessary machinery and factories, while the balance was to be employed in banking. Among the first acts of this company, was to purchase of the Messrs. Whittemore their patent right and entire stock of machine- ry ; which was effected on the 20th of July, 1812, for the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The company having purchased a site on New York island, commenced the erection of extensive works ; and the usual custom in public buildings of laying the corner stone, was here observed with much ceremony. And now for the first time, it may be said, that the business had commenced on fa- vorable auspices, so far as capital and an intelligent direction was a guarantee of success. Our country, being at this time engaged in an active, and to our commerce, a destructive warfare with England, a country that had always supplied us with cotton and woollen, as well as other goods, a check, if not a total suspension, was thus placed upon farther im- portations, and the manufacture of these fabrics was thrown upon ourselves. Cotton and woollen factories were erected as if by the magic of Aladdin's lamp, and they, with the demand from all parts of the country for hand cards, gave such an impetus to the business that the company were most actively and profitably engaged. But the peace of 1815, an event, so much and so devoutly wished for by our suffering country, proved injurious to the association. Sudden and immense importations of foreign goods followed this event, and such was the insufficient protection then afforded to do- mestic industry, and so great was the demand for the raw material abroad, that our infant manufactories were compelled to stop, and scarcely a pound of cotton or wool remained at home. The com- pany thus found themselves with a large stock of machinery and cards, and no market. In the year 1818, after waiting in vain for a reaction, and the business being doubtless shackled by the un- wieldy management of a corporation, the company proposed and effected a sale of its entire manufacturing property to Messrs, 154 AMERICAN MECHANICS Samuel and Timothy Whittemore, the former a brother, the latter a son of the inventor. Mr. Timothy Whittemore almost immedi ately thereafter relinquished his interest to his uncle, who became the sole proprietor, and conducted the business with varied success until within a few years. The New York manufacturing compai y, afler this sale, with an increased capital, changed its title to that of the " Phoenix Bank," and continues to this day a popular banking institution, At the expiration of the patent in 1825, Mr. Samuel "Whittemore sold several of his machines in anticipation of a rapid decKue in the business, since the monopoly could no longer be retained ; and from that tune .the manufacture of cards by machinery has become so general, as to make it a business of comparatively small amount to any, but to a few old established firms. By a singular, though interesting chain of circumstances, the identical machines which the inventor himself assisted in building, after being out of his family for more than twenty-five years, have now become the property of his sons, and are used by them in West Cambridge, a small town near that which gave him birth. Their cards are well known for their uniform excellence, the stamp being to the consumer a sufficient guarantee of their quality. Although more than forty years have elapsed since the invention, such was the perfection with which it came from the mind of the inventor, that no essential improvements have ever been suggested. Attempts were frequently made to defraud him of his well-earned fame, by claiming it as the production of others, but they have proved as abortive as the attempts to infringe upon the patent. After the sale of his interest, Whittemore retired from active life, and having purchased a pleasant estate in the town of West Cambridge, found that quiet and freedom from the many cares of business life, so agreeable to his nature. Since the invention, he never seriously exerted his mechanical ingenuity, feeling, doubtless, content with the laurels already acquired. Having, however, in early life entertained a deep interest in the science of astronomy, in later years he conceived the plan of a complete orrery, repre- senting the whole planetary system, each planet to describe its own orbit, and the combination acting like nature's own. Enfeebled by an impaired health, and the infirmities of age, he never matured this project, and at length he died, in the year 1828, at the age of sixty-nine, at his residence in West Cambridge, leaving a widow to lament the loss of a kind husband, his children an indulgent father, and his associates an amiable and devoted friend. To his family he was an example of one who lived a pure and blame- less life ; and though he left but an inconsiderable fortune, the;y AMOS WH1TTEMORE. 155 inherited a far brighter treasure in an unsullied reputation. Whit- temore was of a bland and conciliating disposition, even in temper, and in manners strikingly meditative, conversing but little, and often seen in profound mental study. The value that the card machine has been, and still is, not to this country alone, but to the whole manufacturing world, it is be- lieved even few now justly appreciate. With Whitney's cotton gin, it forms an important and necessary link in the chain of machinery which by their operation furnish to the world one of the most use- ful, as well as beautiful fabrics. How far it may have contributed, not only to perfect in quality, but to reduce it in cost, cannot be difficult to estimate. We may add, however, in conclusion, that not a cotton or wollen factory is reared, that does not rely upon the card machine to complete its own machinery, and the use of the hand card, in the southern states, has become as general as the culture of cotton itself. ROBERT FULTON. Birth and parentage. Early ingenuity. Becomes a painter. Visits England. Becomes an inmate in the family of Benjamin West. Inland navigation. Ex- cavating machine. Visits France. Turns his attention to submarine warfare. Experiments. British Government. Bonaparte. Constructs a plunging- boat, with which he remains under water an hour. Blows up a vessel in the harbor of Brest with a submarine bomb. Revisits England. Blows up a Dan- ish brig. Returns to the United States. Anecdote. Stationary torpedo. Congress appropriate funds to carry on his experiments. Report of the com- missioners. Letter to the secretary of the navy. Experiments on the sloop of war Argus. Gun-harpoon and cable-cutter. Steam navigation. Chancellor Livingston. Fulton's steam experiments in France. Experiments with a steamboat on the Seine. Commences building a steamboat in New York. Orders an engine from England. Description and success of the first experi- ment on the Hudson. Redheffer's perpetual motion. Builds a floating steam battery for government. Launch. Voyage of "Fulton the First." Lawsuits. Death. Conclusion. THIS indefatigable man was born in Little Britain, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1765, of a respectable, though not opulent family. His father was a native of Kilkenny, in Ire- land, and his mother was of a respectable Irish family, residing in Pennsylvania. He had two sisters older than himself, besides a younger brother and sister. His patrimony was very small. In his infancy he received the rudiments of a common English educa- tion, and his peculiar genius manifested itself at a very early age. All his hours of recreation were passed in the shops of mechanics, or in the use of his pencil. By the time he had attained the age of seventeen, he became so much of an artist, as to derive emolument from portrait and landscape painting in Philadelphia, where he re- mained till he was about twenty-one. When he became of age, he went to Washington county, and there purchased a little farm, on which he settled his mother, his father having died in 1768. After seeing his parent comfortably established in the home which he had provided for her, he set out with the intention of returning to Philadelphia. On his way, he visited the warm springs of Pennsylvania, where he met with some gentlemen, who were so much pleased with the genius they discov- ered in his paintings, that they advised him to go to England, where ttuy assured him he would meet with the patronage oi his ROBERT FULTON ROBERT FULTON. !&$ countryman Mr. West, who had, even then, attained great celeb- rity. Mr. Fulton went to England, and his reception by Mr. West was such as he had been led to anticipate. That distinguished American was so well pleased with his promising and enterprising genius, and his amiable qualities, that he took him into his house, where he continued an inmate for several years. After leaving the family of Mr. West, he appears to have made the art of paint- ing his chief employment for some time. He spent two years in Devonshire, near Exeter, where he made many respectable ac- quaintances ; among others, he became known to the duke of Bridgewater, so famous for his canals, and Lord Stanhope, a nobleman celebrated for his love of science, and particularly for his attachment to the mechanic arts. With Lord Stanhope, Mr. Fulton held a correspondence for a long time, and they communi- cated to each other ideas on subjects towards which their minds were mutually directed. In 1793, we find Mr. Fulton actively engaged in a project to improve inland navigation ; for, even at that early day, he had conceived the idea of propelling vessels by steam, and he speaks in his manuscripts with great confidence of its practicability. In May, 1774, he obtained from the British government a patent for a double inclined plane, to be used for transportation. An account of this may be seen in vol. xvii. of the Repertory of Arts. What were Mr. Fulton's pursuits for some years after this period it does not appear. In his preface to a description of his Nautilus, or plunging-boat, he says, that he had resided eighteen months in the great manufacturing town of Birmingham, where he must have acquired some of that practical knowledge in mechanics which he made so useful to his country, and indeed to all the world. In 1804, when Mr. Fulton left Paris, he sent a large collection of his manuscripts to this country ; but unfortunately, -the vessel in which they were sent was wrecked. The case containing the papers was recovered, but only a few fragments of the manuscripts were preserved. These, however, mark the genius of Fulton, and in- crease our regret that any productions of his strong and original mind which he thought worth preserving should be lost. It is owing to this misfortune that we have so few traces of Mr. Fulton's occupations at this period. But a mind like his could never be idle, and it is evident that, at this time, it was still directed to- wards his favorite pursuits. In 1794, he submitted to the British Society for the Promotion of Arts and Commerce, an improvement of his invention in mills for sawing marble, for which he received the thanks of the society and an honorary medal. He invented also, as is presumed, about 160 AMERICAN MECHANICS. this time, a machine for spinning flax, and another for making ropes, for both of which he obtained patents from the British gov- ernment. A mechanical contrivance for scooping out earth in certain situations, to form the channels for canals or aqueducts, which, as it is understood, has been much used in England, is also his imention. Indeed, the subject of canals appears chiefly to have engaged his attention at this time. He now, and probably for some time previous, professed himself a civil engineer, and under this title he published his work on canals, and in 1795, some essays on the same subject in the London Morning Star. In 1796, he published in London, his Treatise on the Improve- ment of Canal Navigation, in which he recommends small canals and boats of little burden ; and also inclined planes instead of locks, together with the various contrivances necessary to effect the passage of boats from one level to another. His plans were strongly recommended by the British Board of Agriculture, of which Sir John Sinclair was president. Mr. Fulton, throughout his course as a mechanist and civil en- gineer, derived great advantages from his talent for drawing and painting. He was an elegant and accurate draughtsman, which is proved by the plates annexed to the work we have mentioned. This gave him great facility in procuring the execution of his designs, and a great advantage over most who have engaged in similar pursuits. He seems, however, to have neglected his pencil as a painter for many years, till a short time before his death, when he resumed it to paint some portraits of his own family, and his success in executing these gave him much pleasure. Mr. Fulton, ever thoughtful of the interests of his own country, sent copies of his works to distinguished persons in America, ac- companied with letters, setting forth the advantages to be derived from internal communication by canals. Having obtained a patent for canal improvements from the British government, he went to France, with the intention of in- troducing them there ; but not meeting with much encouragement, he soon directed his mind to other important subjects ; though the canal system still occupied a portion of his thoughts. About this time, his thoughts were turned towards the subject of political economy, and he wrote a work, addressed to " the Friends of Mankind," in which he labors to show, that education and internal improvements would have a good effect on the happiness of a na- tion. He not only wished to see a free and speedy cormnunica. tion between the different parts of a large country, but a universal free trade between all nations. He saw that it would take ages to establish the freedom of the seas by the common consent of na ROBERT PULTON. 161 tions ; he therefore turned his whole attention to find out some means of destroying ships of war, those engines of oppression, and to put it out of the power of any nation to maintain such a system ; and thus to compel every government to adopt the simple principles of education, industry, and a free circulation of its pro- duce. Out of such enlarged and philanthropic views and reflec- tions grew Mr. Fulton's inventions for submarine navigation and explosions, and with such patriotic motives did he prosecute them. Of these inventions we now proceed to give some account. In the year 1797, he became acquainted with Mr. Joel Barlow, our celebrated countryman, then residing in Paris, in whose family he lived seven years, during which he learned the French, and something of the German and Italian languages. He also studied the high mathematics, physics, chemistry, and perspective. In December, 1797, he made an experiment in company with Mr. Barlow, on the Seine, with a machine which he had con- structed, and by which he designed to impart to carcasses of gun- powder a progressive motion under water, and there to explode them ; but he was disappointed in its performance. He continued, however, to make experiments with a view to the accomplishment of his object, until he had perfected the plan for his submarine boat. A want of funds to enable him to carry his design into execu- tion, induced him to apply to the French Directory. They at first gave him reason to expect their aid, but after a long attendance at the public offices, he received a note, informing him that they had totally rejected his plan. Mr. Fulton was not to be discouraged, but pursued his inventions ; and having executed a handsome model of his machine, and a change in the directors having taken place, he presented his plan, and a commission was appointed to examine his pretensions ; but after three months attendance, he was again disappointed by finding his plan entirely rejected. Not yet, how- ever, discouraged, he offered his project to the British government, through the ambassador from Holland ; but without success, al- though a commission was appointed to examine his models. But the French government at length changed ; and Bonaparte having placed himself at the head of it, Mr. Fulton presented an address to him, on which a commission was immediately appointed and assistance afforded, which enabled him to put some of his plans in practice. In the spring of 1801, Mr. Fulton repaired to Brest, to make experiments with the plunging-boat which he had constructed the preceding winter. This, as he says, had many imperfections natural to a first machine, and had been injured by rust, as parts which should have been of copper or brass were made of iron. 162 AMERICA^ MECHANICS. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, he engaged in a course of experiments, which required no less courage than energy and per. severance. From a report of his proceedings to tho committee appointed by the French executive, we learn, that on the third cf July, 1801, he embarked with three companions on board his plunging-boat in the harbor of Brest, and descended to the depth of five, ten, fifteen, and so on to twenty-five feet ; but he did not attempt to go lower, because he found that his imperfect machine would not bear the pressure of the water at a greater depth. He remained below the surface an hour in utter darkness, which was very unpleasant, and candles were found to consume too much of the vital air ; so he caused a small window of thick glass to be made near the bow of his boat, which afforded him light enough to count the minutes on his watch. Having satisfied himself that he could have sufficient light under water ; that he could do a long time without fresh air, and descend to any depth or rise to the surface with facility ; his next object was to try the movements of his vessel, as well on the surface as under it. He found that she would tack and steer, and sail on a wind or before it, as well as any common sailing boat. He then struck her masts and sails ; to do which, and prepare for plunging, required about two minutes. Having plunged to a certain depth, he placed two men at the engine, which was intended to give her progressive motion, and one at the helm, while he, with a barometer before him, kept her balanced between the upper and lower waters. He found that with one hand he could keep her at any depth he pleased ; and that in seven minutes he had gone about the third of a mile. He could turn her round while under water, and return to the place he started from. These experiments were repeated for several days, till he became familiar with the operation of the machinery and the motion of the boat. He found that she was as obedient to her helm under water as any boat could be on the surface ; and that the magnetic needle traversed as well in one situation as in the other. On the 7th of August, Mr. Fulton descended with a store of air compressed into a copper globe, whereby he was enabled to remain under water four hours and twenty minutes. The success of these experiments determined him to try the effects of these inventions on the English ships, which were daily near the harbor of Brest. Satisfied with his boat, he next made some experiments with the torpedoes, or submarine bombs. A small vessel was anchored in the roads, and with a bomb containing about twenty pounds of powder, he approached within about two hundred yards, struck the vessel and blew her into atoms. A column of water and frag* ROBERT FULTON 183 menls was blown near one hundred feet into the air. This experi. ment was made in the presence of the prefect of the department and a multitude of spectators. Through the summer of 1801, and till the project was relin- quished on account of the season, Mr. Fulton appears to have been watching the English ships which were on the coast ; but though some of them daily approached off the harbor, yet none of them came so near, or anchored in such a situation, as to be exposed to the effects of his attempts. In one instance, he came very near a British seventy-four ; but she, just in time, made such a change of position as to save herself. The rulers of France were discouraged by this want of success, or rather of opportunity, and, so far from being willing to make farther advances for new experiments or efforts, they showed no disposition to fulfil the engagements they had already made with Mr. Fulton. The escape of the enemy's vessels seems to have lowered his invention so much in their es- timation, that they refused to give him any farther encouragement. The English had some information respecting the attempts which their enemies were making, but did not know to what ex- tent they had been carried. Much anxiety was expressed, which induced the British minister to communicate with Mr. Fulton, the object of which was to deprive France of his services, and secure them to England. In this he was successful, and Mr. Fulton was induced to proceed to London, where he arrived in May, 1804. He soon had an interview with Mr. Pitt and Lord Melville. When Mr. Pitt first saw a drawing of a torpedo, with a sketch of the mode of applying it, and understood what would be the effect of the explosion, he said that if it were introduced into practice, it could not fail of annihilating all military marines ; and when Mr. Fulton exhibited his torpedo and described its effects to the Earl St. Vincent, he exclaimed, in the strong language of his profession, against this mode of warfare, whichj he said, with great reason, they who commanded the seas did not want, and which, if suc- cessful, would wrest the trident from those who claimed to bear it as the sceptre of supremacy over the ocean. From the subse- quent conduct of the British ministry, it may well be supposed that they never truly intended to give Mr. Fulton a fair opportunity of hying the effects of his engines. The object may have been to prevent them from being placed in the hands of an enemy ; and if this was accomplished, it was the interest of England, as long as she was ambitious of the proud title of mistress of the seas, to make the world believe that Mr. Fulton's projects were chimerical. Nothing would be more likely to produce this effect than abortive attempts to apply them. Several experiments were made, and 164 AMERICAN MECHANICS. some of them were failures ; but on the 15th of October, 1805, he blew up a strong built Danish brig of 200 tons burden, which had been provided for the experiment, and which was anchored in Walmar roads, near the residence of Mr. Pitt. The torpedo used on this occasion contained 170 pounds of powder ; and in fifteen minutes from the time of starting the machinery and throwing the torpedo into the water, the explosion took place. It lifted the brig almost entire, and broke hpr completely in two. The ends sunk immediately, and in one minute nothing was to be seen of her bul floating fragments. In fact, her annihilation was complete. Notwithstanding the complete success of this experiment, the British ministry seem to have been but little disposed to have any thing farther to do with Mr. Fulton or his projects. Indeed, the evidence it afforded of their efficacy may have been a reason for this conduct. After some further experiments, of which we have no particular account, he at length embarked for his native coun- try, and arrived at New York on the 13th of December, 1806. Upon his arrival in this country, he immediately engaged in the projects, both of submarine war and steam navigation. For the last he had made some preparations before he left England ; but we intend to postpone this important subject, to be presented in one view, after tracing the progress of his other pursuits. So far from being discouraged by his attempts at applying his torpedoes in Europe, his confidence was unabated, because he saw, as he said, that his failures were to be attributed to trivial errors, which actual experience only could discover, and which could be easily corrected. He very soon induced our government to afford him the means of trying further experiments, and invited the magis- tracy of New York and a number of citizens to Governor's Island, where were the torpedoes and machinery with which his experi- ments were to be made ; and while he was explaining his blank torpedoes, which were large copper cylinders, his numerous audi- tors crowded around him. At length he turned to a copper case of the same description, which was placed under the gateway of the fort, and to which was attached a clockwork lock This, by drawing out a peg, he set in motion, and then said to his audience : " Gentlemen, this is a charged torpedo, with which, precisely in its present state, I mean to blow up a vessel. It contains 170 pounds of powder ; and if I were to suffer the clockwork to run fifteen minutes, I have no doubt out that it would blow this fortifi- catior to atoms." The circle round Mr. Fulton was very soon much enlarged, and before five of the fifteen minutes were out, there were but two or three persons remaining under the gateway The apprehensions of the company amused him, anc he took oc ROBERT FULTON. 165 casion to remark, how true it was that fear frequently arose from ignorance. On the 20th of July, 1807, he blew up wkh a torpedo, in the harbor of New York, a large hulk brig, which had been prepared for the purpose. This experiment only served to prove to the in- habitants of New York, by ocular demonstration, that the explo- sion of a torpedo under a vessel's bottom would annihilate her. A The annexed cut represents one of Mr. s^~\ Fulton's stationary torpedoes, which were ?*lT_ m to be carcasses of powder, having levers ^JHjj^^W attached to the triggers of the locks ; num- J0L bers of them were to be anchored in the W& channel through which vessels, to make an fl[8HJ^HPa attack, must pass. The hostile vessel, in \ passing over a torpedo, would press the \ / lever and cause an explosion. A is the \y lever, and B a portion of the rope to which \ the anchor is attached. In a letter to the city government of New York, Mr. Fulton says : " You have now seen the effect of the explosion of powder under the bottom of a vessel, and this, I believe, is the best and most simple mode of using it with the greatest effect in marine wars ; for a right application of one torpedo will annihilate a ship, nor leave a man to relate the dreadful catastrophe. Thus, should a ship of the Me, containing five hundred men, contend with ten good row boats, each with a torpedo and ten men, she would risk total annihilation, while the boats, under cover of the night and with quick movements, would risk only a few men out of the hun- dred. When two ships of equal force engage, it may be doubtful which will gain the victory ; frequently one hundred men are killed, as many wounded, and the ships much injured. But even the vanquished vessels will admit of being repaired, and thus the mmber of ships of war will not be diminished ; but will continue o increase and tyrannize over the rights of neutrals and peaceable stations. " In March, 1810, five thousand lollars were granted by congress for further experiments in submarine explosions, which gave Mr. Fulton another opportunity to exercise his skill. A commission was xo appointed to be present and report the results. The Sioop ji war Argus was prepared for defence against the torpedoes, under the orders of Commodore Rogers, after Mr. Fulton had ex- plained his mode of attack. The defence was so complete, that he found it impracticable to do any thing with his torpedoes as 166 AMERICAN MECHANICS. they were then prepared. Some experiments were tried, however, with his gun-harpoon and cable-cutter ; and after several attempts, a fourteen-inch cable was cut off, several feet below the surface of the water. The commissioners appointed to make the report did not exactly agree in sentiments concerning these experiments. The following letter from Mr. Fulton to the secretary of the navy accompanied their report : " Kalorama, (District of Columbia,) February I, 1811. " SIR, I have the honor to return to you the report of the committee on the torpedo experiments, with that of Commodore Rogers ; and the letters of Robert R. Livingston, Morgan Lewis, and Cadwallader D. Golden, on the same subject. The opinions expressed in these papers are, I think, as favorable to this infant art as, under all circumstances, could be expected. It is proved and admitted " 1st. That the water-proof locks will ignite gunpowder under water. " 2d. It is proved that seventy pounds of powder, exploded un- der the bottom of a vessel of two hundred tons, will blow her up ; hence it is admitted by all the above parties, that if a sufficient quantity of powder (and which, I believe, need uot be more than two hundred pounds,) be ignited under the bottom of a first-rate man-of-war, it would instantly destroy her. " 3d. It is proved and admitted by all parties concerned in the experiments, that a gun can be fired under water, and a cable of any size may be cut by that means at any required depth. With these immensely important principles proved and admitted, the question naturally occurs, whether there be within the genius or inventive faculties of man, the means of placing a torpedo under a ship, in defiance of her powers of resistance. He who says there is not, and that consequently torpedoes never can be rendered use- ful, must of course believe that he has penetrated to the limits of man's inventive powers, and that he has contemplated all the com- binations and arrangements which present or future ingenuity can devise to place a torpedo under a ship. There is no man of sound sense, who has the least acquaintance with the difficulties under which all the arts have labored in their infancy, who on calm re- flection will be so weak or vain as to presume that he possesses a strength of intellect to foresee all that can be done, not only in infant arts, but in arts now familiar and long established. " But as it is impossible now to conceive the various modes which may be invented for placing torpedoes under a ship, and as the success is of incalculable importance to our country, there is every ROBERT FULTON. 1 the nets were put down to the ground, otherwise I should have sent the torpedoes under them. In this situation, the means with which I was provided, being imperfect, insignificant, and inade- quate to the effect to be produced, I might be compared to what Bartholomew Schwartz, the inventor of gunpowder, would have appeared, had he lived at the time of Julius Ccesar, and presented himself before the gates of Rome with a four-pounder, thereby en- deavoring to convince the Roman legions that by the means of such machines well organized, he could batter down the walls and teke the city : a few catapultas casting arrows and stones upon his men, would have caused them to retreat ; a shower of rain might destroy his ill-guarded powder, and the Roman centurions who could not conceive the various modes in which gunpowder has since been used to destroy the then art of war, (as my opponents canj ;>t now see the combinations by which torpedoes may super- sode the necessity of ships of war,) would very naturally conclude that it was a useless invention ; while the manufacturers of cata- pultas, bows, arrows, and shields, would be the most vehemen 1 against further experiments. " This, sir, may be conceived a digression ; but being on an in- teresting subject, I nave stated this supposed first experiment w'th a four-pounder as a case in point. Some of the first cannon were made of leather ; but if such cannon failed, does it therefore fol ROBERT FULTON. 169 low thai gunpowder was useless ? Or does it follow, because 1 was not prepared to put torpedoes through a net the first time it waa presented to me, that the defect was in the torpedoes ? You, sir, will instantly perceive it was not ; but arose from the want of time and experience. I had not one man instructed in the use of the machines, nor had I time to reflect on this particular mode for defending a vessel. I have now, however, had time ; and I feel confident that I have discovered a means which will render nets to the ground, booms, kentledge, grapnels, oars with sword-blades through the port-holes, and all such kinds of operations, totally useless. It is as follows : " Should an enemy of any force enter one of our ports and put her 'nets to the ground, let government press from the wharves four or more merchantmen, loaded or in ballast, each of them from three to four hundred tons burden ; in the magazine there should be thirty or forty torpedoes, each containing two hundred pounds of powder, and each adjusted to the end of a spar or boom, from forty to sixty feet long, tapering from the butt to the point, where the torpedo, of a conic form, and having on each side a long blade or scythe, should be firmly fixed ; let the butt end of the spar be tied so as to act like a swivel under the fore-chains, one on the larboard, the other on the starboard side, and the other end of the spars with the torpedo be hoisted up to the spritsail- yard, and held there until near the scene of action. The expense of thus preparing a ship will be 800 or 1,000 dollars, and each will be as dangerous to an enemy as a fire-ship. The expense of a fire-ship is from 8 to 10,000 dollars, which sum could cer- tainly be expended to greater advantage by arranging torpedo, ships as here proposed, and for the following reasons : First, 8,000 dollars would pay for arranging eight torpedo-ships, which could be done in a few hours ; each with two torpedoes projecting from the bow, which eight ships moving at one time towards the enemy, would divide her fire on eight points, and render it less dangerous to each than in the case of one fire-ship, which would draw on her the whole fire of the vessel attacked. " Second, the expense of a fire-ship is so great, that an attack is seldom made with more than one ; which must be grappled with the enemy, then set on fire and abandoned by her men, who must take to their boat, and expose themselves to the boats and guns of the vessel attacked. Should the fire-ship be grappled to the enemy , still she may not burn so as to communicate the fire : or if to the leeward, she may be cut adrift ; at all events, if in port, the men :ould escape to the shore : therefore, their danger not being great, . ley would work with more confidence and ardor to extinguish 170 AMERICAN MECHANICS. the flames and save their ship ; yet the danger with which fire-ships impress an enemy makes them respect the ports where they are prepared for action. " In the year 1776, Commodore Tolbert grappled a fire-ship to a British two-decker in the river Hudson : he set his ship on fire, and returned to shore under a heavy discharge of musketry and cannon, without losing a man. He failed to burn the enemy, but he drove the vessel attacked, and one of equal force, from seven miles above New York down to Staten Island. " As it does not require so much bravery to make an attack with a torpedo-ship as to grapple a fire-ship to an enemy, the use of fire-ships proves that courage is to be found to attack with those which may be armed with torpedoes. Suppose, then, two torpedo- ships fastened to each other by a chain 80 or 100 feet long, form- ing a bridle opposite to the fore-chains, in the manner I arrange my floating torpedoes ; then to be sailed or floated- down on the tide, the torpedoes let down twenty -two feet under water, one ship steered for the larboard and one for the starboard side of the ene- my ; in this manner the chain would cross her cable, before which she must either slip or cut cable and run, or the momentum of the torpedo-ships would sheer round, stern outwards, and press the torpedoes through the nets under her bottom, where instant explo- sion would be instant death : such an operation gives no time for an enemy to deliberate or exert themselves to push off, or cut tor pedo vessels adrift, or to calculate on getting to shore in boats, The tremendous consequence of explosion under a ship deprives common men, such as sailors, of all firmness, and the irresistible danger would also influence the major part of officers : hence this mode of attack is infinitely more to be dreaded than that of fire- ships ; and for these reasons an enemy will not dare to enter our ports to put it to the test. Should any one doubt the practicability of this mode of passing torpedoes through nets and under a \essel, the importance of the object merits the experiment. " Of the anchored torpedoes, I have had the pleasure to show you the improvements I have made on these since the meeting of the committee at New York, to give them stability under water, or to take them up or put them down when necessary : there is a very simple mode to convince any unbeliever of the advantage which this kind of engine will present, and the respect for our har- bors which it will create in the mind of an enemy : let me put one under water, and they who do not believe in its effect may put their confidence to the proof by sailing over it. " A compound engine of this kind will cost from eight hundred to one thousand dollars : three hundred and twenty of them could ROBERT FULTON. 171 be made for the first cost of one ship of 54 guns ; of which three hundred and twenty, say one hundred at New York ; one hundred, if required, at Boston ; one hundred at Charleston ; twenty in the Delaware, to be placed in the waters between the forts or batteries and thus four ports could be guarded so as to render it impossible for the enemy's ships to enter either of them, unless they had strength first to take possession of the land and forts, and then time to deliberately search for the torpedoes ; yet one ship of 54 guns cannot guard one port against one 74 gun-ship, although her first cost in anchored torpedoet would guard at least three ports against ten ships of 74 guns. In this estimate it may also be stated, that a 54 gun-ship in commission costs the nation one hundred thousand dollars a-year ; this, at five per cent., is interest to raise a loan of two millions to build the forts or batteries in barbel, between which the torpedoes should be placed. While I thus compare the expense of torpedoes with that of a ship of 54 guns, I do not mean to object to such ships to protect our coast ; but when considered for harbor defence, or aiding forts or batteries to defend harbors, the money can be better expended in torpedoes. " In the report of the committee it is also admitted that I cut a fourteen-inch cable at the depth of six feet under water, (it was, in fact, twelve feet under the water.) In this experiment, it is true, I was five or six minutes within pistol-shot of the vessel : the rea- son is, it was only the fourth time a cable-cutting machine was ever tried ; with so little experience, I did not attempt to cut at a greater distance : the object at the time being to prove that a cable could be hooked and cut without injuring the machine. New invented instruments must be unskilfully used for a time ; but with the practice of only one month and one good boat's -crew, I will undertake to cut the cable of a ship at any given depth under water, without approaching nearer to her than eight hundred yards. I will also undertake to place myself at the distance of eight hun- dred yards from a ship having an unguarded cable, and at that distance I will put an improved cable-cutting machine in the water : I will there abandon it, and it shall go to the cable, cut it off and set the ship adrift, without any further aid on my part than placing it in the water. Such is the unforeseen and incalculable results of mechanical combinations.* It may be said, if one cable be cut and anchor lost, the enemy could put out a second, third, fourth, or fifth anchor and cable ; but as a provident government would not undertake to defend a port with one cannon, so there should be in the magazine fifteen or twenty machines for cutting cables, * Thi discovery has been produced by my other experiment*. 172 AMERICAN MECHANICS. and there should be a marine militia practised in the use of thero In such case an enemy could not afford to exchange an anchor and cable, worth five thousand dollars, against three ounces of gunpowder, and at the same time run the risk of being driven on shore in a calm or by a lee-tide ; hence, in our calculations on harbor defence, this instrument alone will always be an embar rassing consideration for an enemy. " It must be admitted that the whole of the experiments at New York were badly executed ; but they could not be otherwise. I had not a man practised, nor am Inexperienced in the use of my own machines. I consequently was necessitated to explain my theory by such imperfect means as I had in my power ; yet, under all these disadvantages, I have, to my satisfaction, gained much useful experience, and evidently convinced some of the committee of the great importance of persevering, and particularly with a view to harbor defence. By the experiments I have discovered much of the strength and resources of my opponents ; and I am satisfied I can defeat every obstruction which has hitherto been presented : this I hope to prove after some practice. But having witnessed the activity and resources of mind which Commodore Rodgers and Captain Chauncey possess, I look forward to contend with new and difficult combinations which they may produce for defence : in this manner it is probable we shall discover the prin- cipal means of defence against torpedoes, and modes of attack with them, until, like the attack and defence of fortified places, the measures to be pursued on each side, in all cases, will become fa- miliar, and a fair calculation may be made on the mode of attack- ing a ship. " But, sir, to do this, it is indispensable that I should have twenty or thirty men under my command, to be practised to the use of my engines in my own way. Well as gunnery is under- stood, no one can hope that young recruits should fire a cannon with skill and effect until they have some months practice. It is therefore, demanding of me to perform a miracle, to apply torpe does to advantage, break through nets, harpoon ships, and cun cables, with an outfit of one thousand dollars, and not one man practised to assist me. Compare my situation with that of my opponents ; men of talents and sound nautical knowledge, working on their own element, the commodore commanding more than fuur hundred men in a ship of fifty-four guns, which ship, with all her various apparatus as fitted for efficient service, is an engine pro- duced by the combined talents of some thousands of ingenious men, who have directed their attention to the improvement of ves- sels of war since the invention of gunpowder : thus the commodore, ROBERT FULTON. 173 added to his own talents, has the advantage of the experience and talents of all nautical men who have lived before him ; yet he would not be so imprudent as to face an enemy of equal force, if his men were raw recruits unpractised to the guns or working of the fchip ; and it is to familiarize his men to their duty in each de- partment that he is in a state of constant practice. A succession of experiments on his men, which costs the nation one hundred thousand dollars a year, which experiments, when followed from one to ten or twenty years, at the expense of from one hundred thousand to two millions of dollars, is to enable him to do no more than fight one ship of equal force, in which contest the chances would be equal that he would not take or destroy the enemy : with all this expensive experiment for years of peace to be prepared in case of war, it is not expected that he should contend with a ship of seventy-four guns. But if experiments, which are inconsider- able in their expense compared to that of a fifty-four gun-ship, should prove that attacks with torpedoes can be rendered practi- cable and efficient, (and every reflection teaches me that they can,) it will be immaterial whether the enemy's vessel be a forty or an eighty gun-ship ; two hundred pounds of powder exploded under the bottom of either will produce certain destruction. " Thus, sir, considering this subject in these various points of view, its infancy, its prospect of success, and, if successful, its immense importance to these states, and to mankind, the small establishment, and inconsiderable sum required to practise and prove its utility, compared with the expense of other nautical establishments which promise only common and imperfect results, I conceive it highly merits a patient and candid succession of ex- periments ; for which purpose I feel the necessity of taking time, that I may have the ensuing summer to practise a few men on nets, and such other obstructions as may be presented ; which I hope, sir, will meet with your approbation and that of every friend to science. " I unite with the committee in opinion that government should not rely on this, or any new invention for defence, until its utility be fully proved. It never has been my wish that such confidence should be placed in torpedoes, until fair experiment had proved their value beyond a doubt. " I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, " Your most obedient, " ROBEET FULTON." It is to be feared, that the hints which Fulton has felt for the improvement of his submarine warfare, which he thought so much 174 AMERICAN MECHANICS. of, will be neglected ; partly for want of support, and that rare com. bination of courage, industry, and perseverance which he possessed. We must now, however, revert to an early period of his life, to trace from the beginning the progress of that great improvement in the arts, for which we, and all the world, are so much indebted to him : we mean the practical establishment of navigation by steam. At what time his attention was first directed to this sub- ject, we do not know ; but it is ascertained that, in the year 1793, he had matured a plan, in which, even at that early day, he had great confidence. It is impossible to say how far Mr. Fulton had turned his atten- tion to this subject, and what experiments, or what degree of pro- gress he had made in his plans for steamboat navigation, previously to the year 1801, when he and Chancellor Livingston met at Paris. Among his papers are a variety of drawings, diagrams, and calcu- lations, which evidently relate to the subject, but they are imper- fect ; most of them are mutilated by the accident before mentioned, and without dates, so that they cannot with certainty be assigned to any particular period. They render it very evident, however, that paddle-wheels, as they are now used in the boats which he built, were among his first conceptions of the means by which steam-vessels might be propelled. Our limits will not permit us to examine minutely, the preten- sions of those who claim to have preceded Mr. Fulton in the appli- cation of steam to navigation. That it was not successfully ac- complished by any one prior to the execution of his plan, seems to be proved by the acknowledged fact, that though in several instan- ces boats had been made to move by the force of steam, yet not one, either in Europe or America, had ever answered any other purpose than to prove an unsuccessful experiment. Mr. Fulton, when he conceived a mechanical invention, not only perceived the effect it would produce, but he could ascertain, by calculation, the power his combination would afford, how far it would be adequate to his purpose, and what would be the requisite strength of every part of the machine : and though his numerical calculations did not always prove exact, and required to be correct, ed by experiments, yet they assured him of general results. Yet he never attempted to put in practice any improvements in me- chanics, without having made his calculations, drawn his plans, and executed his models. A view of the progress of his improve, ments, as they are to be traced from the calculations, drawings, and notes on experiments which he has left, would afford the moct useful lessons ; and a work which would give them to the world in a proper manner, would be invaluable. ROBERT FULTON. 175 It would be great injustice not to notice with due respect and commendation the enterprises of the late Chancellor Livingston, who had so intimate a connection with Fulton in the progress and establishment of steam navigation. While Mr. Livingston devoted much of his own time and talents to the advancement of science, and the promotion of the public good, he was fond of fostering the discoveries of others. The resources of his ample fortune were afforded with great liberality, whenever he could appty them to the support and encouragement of genius. He entertained very clear conceptions of what would be the great advantages of steamboats, on the large and extensive rivers of the United States. He had applied himself with uncommon perseverance, and at great expense, to constructing vessels and ma- chinery for that kind of navigation. As early as 1798, he be- lieved that he had accomplished his object, and represented to the /egislature of New York, that he was possessed of a mode of applying the steam engine to propel a boat on new and advan. tageous principles ; but that he was deterred from carrying it into effect, by the uncertainty and hazard of a very expensive expeii- ment, unless he could be assured of an exclusive advantage from it, should it be found successful. The legislature, in March, 1798, passed an act, vesting Mr. Livingston with the exclusive right and privilege of navigating all kinds of boats, which might be propelled by the force of fire or steam, on all the waters within the territory or jurisdiction of the state of New York, for the term of twenty years from the pass, ing of the act ; upon condition that he should, within a twelve, month, build such a boat, the mean of whose progress should not be less than four miles an hour. Mr. Livingston, immediately after the passing of this act, built a boat of about thirty tons burden, which was propelled by steam; but as she was incompetent to fulfil the condition of the law, she was abandoned. Soon after he entered in'.o a contract with Fulton, by which it was, among other things, agreed, that a patent should be taken out in the United States in Mr. Fulton's name, which Mr. Liv- ingston well knew could not be done without Mr. Fulton's taking an oath that the improvement was solely his. We have seen that Mr. Fulton's mind, previous to his return to this country, had long been directed to the project of propelling boats by steam. Upon Chancellor Livingston's arrival in France, Fulton was induced to revive his thoughts of this invention, by his represen- 8* 176 AMERICAN MECHANICS. tations of the advantages which would be derived from naviga tion by steam in this country, by his account of the approaches to success which he had made in his experiments, and by the pecuniary support which the chancellor's wealth enabled him to offer. Mr. Fulton began a course of calculations upon the re- sistance cf water, the necessary force to move a body through it, upon the most advantageous form of the body to be moved, and upon the different means of propelling vessels which had been previously attempted ; and after a variety of calculations, he re- jected the plan proposed of using paddles or oars, likewise that of duck's feet, which open as they are pushed out, and shut as they are drawn in, and also, that of forcing water out at the stern of the vessel ; retaining two methods only, as worthy of experi- ment, namely, endless chains with resisting boards upon them, and the paddle-wheel. The latter was found to be the most promising, and finally adopted, after a number of trials with his models, on a little rivulet which runs through the village of Plombieres, to which place he had retired to pursue his experi- ments without interruption. This was in the spring of 1802. It was now determined to build an experimental boat, which was completed in the spring of 1803 ; but when Mr. Fulton was on the point of making an experiment with her, an accident happened to the boat, the wood-work not having been framed strong inough to bear the weight of the machinery, and the agita- tion of the river. The accident did the machinery very little injury ; but they were obliged to build the boat almost entirely anew. She was completed in July ; her length was sixty-six feet, and she was eight feet wide. Early in August, Mr. Fulton addreased a letter to the French National Institute, inviting them to witness a trial of his boat, which was made in their presence, and in the presence of a great multitude of the Parisians. The experiment was entirely satisfactory to Mr. Fulton r though the boat did not move altogether with as much speed as he expected. But he imputed her moving so slowly to the extremely defective fabrication of the machinery, and to imperfections which were to be expected in the first experiment with so complicated a machine, but which he saw might be easily remedied. Such entire confidence did he acquire from this experiment, that immediately afterv/ards he wrote to Messrs. Watt and Bolton, of Birmingham, England, ordering certain parts of a steam engine to be made for him, and sent to America. He did not disclose to them for what purpose the engine was intended ; but his directions were such as would produce the parts of an engine, ROBERT FULTON. 177 that might be put together within a compass suited for a boat. Mr. Livingston had written to his friends in this country, and through their interference, an act was passed by the legislature of the state of New York, on the 5th of April, 1803, by which the rights and exclusive privileges of navigating all the waters of that state, by vessels propelled by fire or steam, granted to Mr. Livingston by the act of 1798, which we have before men- tioned, were extended to Mr. Livingston and Mr. Fulton, for the term of twenty years from the date of the new act. By this law, the time of producing proof of the practicability of propelling by steam a boat of twenty tons capacity, at the rate of four miles an hour, with and against the ordinary current of the Hud- son, was extended two years, and by a subsequent law, the time was enlarged to 1807. Very soon after Mr. Fulton's arrival in New York, he commen- ced building his first American boat. While she was constructing, he found that her expenses would greatly exceed his calculations. He endeavored to lessen the pressure on his own finances, by offer- ing one third of the right, for a proportionate contribution to the expense. It was generally known that he made this offer, but no one was then willing to afford this aid to his enterprise, although so many, since its success, have been eagerly grasping at its profits. In the spring of 1807, Fulton's first American boat was launch- ed from the ship-yard of Charles Brown, on the East river. The engine from England was put on board of her, and in August she was completed, and was moved by her machinery from her birth- place to the Jersey shore. Mr. Livingston and Mr. Fulton had invited many of their friends to witness the first trial, among whom were those learned men, Dr. Mitchill and Dr. M'Neven, to whom we are indebted for some account of what passed on this occasion. Nothing could exceed the surprise and admiration of all who wit- nessed the experiment. The minds of the most incredulous were changecKn a few minutes. Before the boat had made the progress of a quarter of a mile, the greatest unbeliever must have been converted. The man who, while he looked on the expensive ma- chine, thanked his stars that he had more wisdom than to waste his money on such idle schemes, changed the expression of his features as the boat moved from the wharf and gained her speed, and his complacent expression gradually stiffened into one of won- der. The jeers of the ignorant, who had neither sense nor feeling enough to suppress their contemptuous ridicule and rude jokes, were silenced for a moment by a vulgar astonishment, which depriv- ed them of the power of utterance, till the triumph of genius extorted 178 AMERICAN MECHANICS. from the incredulous multitude which crowded the shores, shouts and acclamations of congratulation and applause. The boat had not been long under way, when Fulton ordered her engine to be stopped. Though her performance so far exceed, ed the expectations of every other person, and no one but himself thought she could be improved, he immediately perceived that there was an error in the construction of her water-wheels. He had their diameters lessened, so that the buckets took less hold of the water, and when they were again put in motion, it was manifest that the alteration had increased the speed of the boat. It may well be said, that the man of genius and knowledge has a sense beyond those which are common to others, or that he sees with different eyes. How many would have gazed on these ill-propor tioned wheels, without perceiving that they were imperfect ! This boat, which was called the Clermont, soon after made a trip to Albany. Mr. Fulton gives the following account of this voyage in a letter to his friend, Mr. Barlow. " My steamboat voy- age to Albany and back, has turned out rather more favorable than 1 had calculated. The distance from New York to Albany is one hundred and fifty mile:: ; I ran it up in thirty-two hours, and down in thirty. I had a light breeze against me the whole way, both going and coming, and the voyage has been performed wholly by the power of the steam engine. I overtook many sloops and schooners beating to windward, and parted with them as if they had been at anchor. The power of propelling boats by steam is now fully proved. The morning I left New York, there were not perhaps thirty persons in the city, who believed mat the boat would ever move one mile an hour, or be of the least utility ; and while we were putting off from the wharf, which was crowded with spec- tators, I heard a number of sarcastic remarks. This is the way in which ignorant men compliment what they call philosophers and projectors. Having employed much time, money, and zeal, in accomplishing this work, it gives me, as it will you, great pleasure to see it fully answer my expectations. It will give a cheap and quick conveyance to the merchandise on the Mississippi, Missouri, and other great rivers, which are now laying open their treasures to the enterprise of our countrymen ; and although the prospect of personal emolument has been some inducement to me, yet I feel infinitely more pleasure in reflecting on the immense advantage that my country will derive from the invention," &c. Soon after this successful voyage, the Hudson boat was adver- tised and established as a regular passage-boat between New York and Albany. She, however, in the course of the season, met with several accidents, from the hostility of those engaged in the ordi ROBERT FULTON. 181 nary navigation of the river, and from defects in her machinery , the greatest of which was, having her water-wheel shafts of cast iron, which was insufficient to sustain the great power applied to them. The wheels also were hung without any support for the outward end of the shaft, which is now supplied by what are called the wheel-guards. At the session of 1808, a law was passed to prolong the time of the exclusive right to thirty years ; it also declared combinations to destroy the boat, or wilful attempts to injure her, public offences, punishable by fine and imprisonment. Notwithstanding her misfortunes, the boat continued to run as a packet, always loaded with passengers, for the remainder of the summer. In the course of the ensuing winter she was enlarged, and in the spring of 1808, she again commenced running as a packet-boat, and continued it through the season. Several other boats were soon built for the Hudson river, and also for steamboat companies formed in different parts of the United States. On the llth of February, 1809, Mr. Fulton took out a patent for his inventions in navigation by steam, and on the 9th of Feb. ruary, 1811, he obtained a second patent for some improvements in his boats and mo.chinery. It having been found that the laws, granting to Livingston and Fulton exclusive privileges, were insufficient to secure their enjoy- ment, the legislature of New York, in 1811, passed a supplement- ary act, giving certain summary remedies against those who should contravene the protecting laws. The act, however, excepts two boats which were then navigating the Hudson, and one which ran on Lake Champlain in opposition to Livingston and Fulton : with- out these exceptions, the law, as to these boats, would have been ex post facto. In respect to these, therefore, the parties were left to the same remedies as before passing the last act. The opposi- tion boats on the Hudson, were at first to have been propelled by a pendulum, which some thought would give a greater power than steam ; but on launching their vessel, they found the machinery was not so easily moved as when she was on the stocks. Having found by experiment that a pendulum would not supply the place of steam, and knowing no other way of applying steam than that they saw practised in the Fulton boats, they adopted all their ma- chinery, with some small alterations, with no other view than to give a pretence for claiming to be the inventors of improvements on steamboats. Messrs. Livingston and Fulton attempted to vindicate their rights, and to stop these boats, by an application to the Circuit Court of the United States for an injunction ; but the Judge decided that he 182 AMERICAN MECHANICS. had not jurisdiction of the case. They then made application to the Court of Chan of this novel and mighty engine was laid, and in October, she was launched from the yard of Adam and Noah Brown, her able and active architects. The scene exhibited on this occasion was mag- nificent. It happened on one of our bright autumnal days. Mul- titudes of spectators crowded the surrounding shores, and were seen upon the hills which limited the beautiful prospect. The river and bay were filled with vessels of war, dressed in all their variety of colors, in compliment to the occasion. By May, 1815, her engine was put on board, and she was so far completed as to afford an opportunity of trying her machinery. But, unhappily, before this period, the mind that had conceived and combined it was gone. On the fourth of July, in the same year, the steam-frigate made a passage to the ocean and back, a distance of fifty-three miles, in eight hours and twenty minutes, by the mere force of steam. In September, she made another passage to the sea, and ROBERT FULTON. 185 having at this time the weight of her whole armament on board, she went at the rate of five and a half miles an hour, upon an average, with and against the tide. The superintending commit- tee gave, in their report, a full description of the Fulton the First, the honored name this vessel bore. We now come to mention the last work in which the active and ingenious mind of Mr. Fulton was engaged. This was a project for the modification of his submarine boat. He presented a model of this vessel to the government, by which it was approved ; and under the authority of the executive, he commenced building one ; but before the hull was entirely finished, his country had to lament his death, and the mechanics he had employed were incapable of proceeding without him. During the whole time that Mr. Fulton had thus been devoting his talents to the service of his country, he had been harassed by lawsuits, and controversies with those who were violating his pat- ent rights, or intruding upon his exclusive grants. The state of New Jersey had passed a law which operated against Mr. Fulton, without being of much advantage to those interested in its passage ; inasmuch as the laws of New York prevented any but Fulton's boats to approach the city of New York. Its only operation was to stop a boat owned in New York, which had been several years running to New Brunswick, under a license from Messrs. Living, ston and Fulton. A bold attempt was therefore made to induce the legislature of the state of New York, to repeal the laws which they had passed for the protection of their exclusive grant to Liv- ingston and Fuiton. The committee reported a law which they said might be passed consistently with good faith, honor, and jus- tice ! This report being made to the house, it was prevailed upon to be less precipitate than the committee had been. It gave time, which the committee would not do, for Mr. Fulton to be sent for from New York. The senate and assembly in joint session exam- ined witnesses, and heard him and the petitioner, by counsel. The result was, that the legislature refused to repeal the prior law, or to pass any act on the subject. The legislature of the state of New Jersey, also, repealed their law, which left Mr. Fulton in the full enjoyment of his rights. But alas ! this enjoyment was of very short duration ; for on returning from Trenton, after this last trial, he was exposed on the Hudson, which was very full of ice, for several hours. He had not a constitution to encounter such expo- sure, and upon his return, found himself much indisposed from the effects of it. He had at that time great anxiety about the steam- frigate, and, after confining himself for a few days, he went to give his superintendence to the artificers employed about her. Forged 186 AMERICAN MECHANICS. ting his debilitated state of health in the interest he took in what was doing on the frigate, he remained too long exposed, in a bad day, to the weather on her decks. He soon felt the effects of this imprudence. His indisposition returned upon him with such violence as to confine him to his bed. His disorder increased, and on the 24th day of February, 1815, terminated his valuable life. It was not known that Mr. Fulton^ illness was dangerous, till a very short time before his death, which was unexpected by his friends, and still more so by the community. As soon as it was known, all means were taken to testify, publicly, the universal re- gret at his loss, and respect for his memory. The newspapers that announced the event, had those marks of mourning, which are usual in our country when they notice the death of public char- acters. The corporation of the city of New York, the different literary institutions and other societies, assembled and passed res- olutions expressing their estimation of his worth, and regret at his loss. They also determined to attend his funeral, and that the mem- bers should wear badges of mourning for a certain time. As soon as the legislature, which was' then in session at Albany, heard of the death of Mr. Fulton, they expressed their participation in the general sentiment, by resolving that the members of both houses should wear mourning for some weeks. This is the only instance, we believe, of such public testimonial? of regret, esteem, and respect being offered on the death of a pri- vate citizen, who never held any office, and was only distinguished by his virtues, his genius, and the employment of his talents. In the year 1806, Mr. Fulton married Miss Harriet Livingston, a daughter of Walter Livingston, Esq., a relative of his enterpris- ing associate, Chancellor Livingston. He left four children ; one son, Robert Barlow Fulton, and three daughters. In conclusion, it may be proper to make a few remarks in rela- tion to the labors of Mr. Fulton. He was not the original inventor of steamboats, because many had made them before him ; neither was he the perfector, because the thing is rot yet perfect. What was he then 1 Why, he was the first to gain the prize ; he it wag who satisfied the law ; and since his boat went from New York to Albany, there has always been a regular succession of steamboats ; so that he was the first to bring them into public use, and by his genius and perseverance, he so improved them as to lay a solid foundation for those who came after him to build upon. Professor Renwick has given a concise history of the invention of the steam- boat, in his Treatise on Steam Engines ; and has taken the right view of the subject, in our opinion, in relation to Mr. Fulton. AJ ROBERT FULTON. 187 though there may be those in our own country, us well as in Eng- land and France, who are unwilling to give Mr. Fulton his full share of praise, on account of themselves or their relations having been interested in this invention, yet there are others in all these coun- tries who are willing to do him justice. The following is an extract from a memoir published in Paris some years ago ; it is from the pen of Mr. Frederick Royou. " I willingly applaud the patriotic sentiment by which M. de Jouffroy desired that the honor of so great an invention should be attributed to a Frenchman. Unhap- pily, however, it is here a question, much less of an invention, than of the application of a power already known. Besides, Fulton has never claimed the merit of being the inventor in this sense. The application which he made, may be considered as ordinary and common in its nature, because it was pointed out by so many scientific men ; but the means of application were necessary, and Fulton has procured them." We extract the following from the English Penny Magazine, which, it is said, has a million of read- ers. " Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat in North America, which, in a few years, has produced such an astonishing change in that vast country, by connecting together its most distant states, sustained the mortification of not being comprehended by his coun- trymen. He was, therefore, treated as an idle projector, whose schemes would be useless to the world and ruinous to himself." And again, we find in the same work the following : " We cannot enter into a controversy whether Fulton, or Mr. William Syming- ton, was the inventor of the steamboat. What has been said of Arkwright may apply to Fulton : The several inventions which his patent embraced, whether they were his or not, would, proba- bly, but for him, have perished with their authors ; none of whom, except himself, had the determination and courage to face the mul- tiplied fatigues and dangers that lay in the way of achieving a. prac- tical exemplification of what they had conceived in their minds.' " Fulton may be compared with Watt. Both were persevering, sj.d had great inventive powers ; and both were fortunate alike in obtaining the confidence and support of patrons, who were gener- ous, and who possessed ample fortunes. In this relation stood Mr Bolton, and Chancellor Livingston. JACOB PERKINS. Birth. Is apprenticed to a goldsmith. Death of his employer. Invents a snpe rior method of plating shoe-buckles. Prosecutes the manufacture of gold beads and shoe-buckles. Early reputation. Makes dies for the Massachu setts mint. Invents the nail-machine. Through the mismanagement of others, is reduced to poverty. Harsh treatment by his creditors. Inventions for the prevention of counterfeiting. Opinion of public prosecutors concerning them. Removes to Philadelphia. Goes out to England. Proves the com pressibility of fluids. Pleometer. Bathometer. Improvements in hardening and softening steel. Its application to the printing of calicoes and transferring of engravings. Indenting cylinders. Watt's steam artillery. Jonathan Hom- blower's steam rocket. M. Gerard's plan for the defence of Paris. Perkins' experiments with his steam-gun. Conclusion. THIS individual,* who has acquired, probably, more transatlantic fame than any American mechanician now living, is a lineal de- scendant of the Puritans, and was born in Newburyport, Mass., July, .1 766. Early showing a fondness for mechanics, his parents placed him, when thirteen years of age, as an apprentice to a goldsmith. Three years after, he lost his master : this, however, did not prevent him from continuing in the business. Gold beads and shoe.buckles were then in fashion; and having invented a new and superior method of plating the latter, he prosecuted the manu- facture of these articles with considerable profit. Perkins early acquired a reputation for ingenuity; for, before the adoption of the federal constitution, Massachusetts had a mint for copper coin, and, when he was only about twenty-one, the agent of this establishment hearing of his skill, sent for him to make dies. His success, happily, proved that the confidence was not misplaced. Not long after was invented his famous nail- machine, which cut and headed nails at one operation. This in- vention was considered very useful, and promised great profits : unfortunately, he was associated with those who had no property, and, by their mismanagement, he not only lost the fruits of several years 1 hard labor, but all he was worth ; and, in addition to these troubles, he was treated by his creditors with unwarrantable harshness. * American Magazine, Lardner's Cyclopaedia, &c. &c. JACOB PERKINI. JACOB PERKINS. 191 His next invention appears to have been the preparation of a device for preventing the counterfeiting of bank bills, which had, at that time, become a very serious and extensive evil, one, too, which the guardians of the public weal almost despaired of remedy - ing. He first made a stamp on the bills, which was of some bene. fit, for it was seldom imitated. In 1809, the check plate was pre- pared, which proved the best security then known ; and a law was passed in Massachusetts, requiring all the banks to use it. Some years after it was repealed, or was disregarded by the banks, much to the regret of many. Public prosecutors have declared that they never knew a good counterfeit of it. Perkins resided several years at Philadelphia, when at that time (some thirty years ago) this city was much in advance in the arts of any other place in our country. Some ten or twelve years after, he removed to England. This was, probably, from the hope of finding more able patrons, or a greater opportunity for im- provement in his favorite pursuits. It was said at his departure, that he expected to be employed by the English government in preparing plates to prevent the counterfeiting of bills of the Bank of England. It had ever been maintained by philosophers generally, that water was incapable of compression. Perkins was among the first to doubt the truth of this opinion, and, by his ingenious ex- oeriment, has proved beyond a question the falsity of popular opinion. On this principle is his invention of the bathometer, to measure the depth of water : and his pleometer, to mark with precision the rate at which a vessel moves through the water, was invented about the same time. At the announcement of his in- vention to heat water under an enormous pressure, the public were led, from statements neither sanctioned nor promulgated by the inventor, to indulge in the most extravagant speculations on the power and economy to be derived from this discovery." The dis- appointment of these absurd expectations was magnified into a reproach against the experimenter, although, in fact, Perkins per- formed all he promised : and his scheme was only incomplete, from a practical difficulty in getting a suitable material for his generator, sufficiently powerful to withstand the enormous heat and pressure, an obstacle neither insuperable nor unforeseen. Among his early inventions, were the improvements in harden- ing and softening steel at pleasure. This has been highly useful in its results, and has become very well known in connection with roller-press printing from hardened steel plates, now universally used in the printing of calicoes. A material peculiarity in Mr. Perkins 1 invention, and one which 9 192 AMERICAN MECHANICS. does not seem to have been approached by any preceding artist, was the contrivance of what are called indenting cylinders. These are rollers two or three inches in diameter, and made of steel, decarbonized so as to be very soft. In this state they are made to roll backward and forward, under a powerful pressure, over the surface of one of the hardened plates, until all the figures, letters, or indentations are communicated with exquisite precision in sharp relief upon the cylinder, which being carefully hardened and tem- pered, becomes, by this means, fitted to communicate an impres sion to other plates, by an operation similar to that by which it was originally figured. It will be obvious that one advantage gained by this method must be the entire saving of the labor and expense of recutting, in every case, on different plates, ornaments, borders, emblematical designs, &c. ; as these can now be im- pressed, with little trouble, on any number of plates, or in any part thereof, by the application of the cylinder. At first sight, the performance of such an operation as the one now alluded to may appear difficult, if not impracticable. Many persons, on its first announcement, were disposed to doubt or deny its possibility altogether. With a proper and powerful apparatus, however, this method of transferring engravings from plates to cylinders, and vice versa, is every day performed with facility and success in works exhibiting even very elaborate engraving. By this means the most delicate designs, which would occupy an en- graver many months to effect by hand, can be completed in a few days. Of course the cylinders are produced at a much less price, and they may be executed in a very superior manner. Mr. Perkins has attracted a great deal of attention by his experi- ments in steam artillery, and in this has far distanced all his pre- decessors in this mode of warfare. Watt, it appears, once pro- jected something of the kind, but this man of peace did not proceed to much extent with the warlike project. Jonathan Hornblower also constructed what he called a steam rocket ; and the French general Chasseloup proposed, some years later, (1805.) a similar plan for the defence of besieged places. M. Gerard, a French officer of engineers, is stated to have carried this idea into practice in 1814, for the purpose of defending Paris at the app'roach of the allies. In this apparatus the boiler was moved on a carriage, and supplied steam for propelling balls from six gun-barrels, the breeches of which were opened at pleasure ; on turning a handle, the six guns received each a ball and the steam at the same time, by a mechanism like what is seen in magazine air-guns. The longest shots were made by turning the handle slowly, and one hundred and eighty balls were thrown in a minute. A wagon at. JACOB PERKINS. 193 tended the machine, to supply fuel and bullets. The capitulation of Paris prevented this novel artillery from being brought into ac- tion ; and shortly afterwards the apparatus was taken to pieces. The experiments of Perkins were on a far more daring and extensive scale. The sounds produced by his steam-guns are said to resemble a rapid running fire of musketry, accompanied hy a rustling sound or roar that quite deafened the unaccustomed *ar. In his experiments before the duke of Wellington and a numerous party of engineer officers, the balls at first were dis- charged at short intervals, in imitation of artillery firing against an iron target, at the distance of thirty-five yards, and such was the intensity of the propelling force, that they were completely shattered to atoms. In the next trial the balls were fired at a framing of wood, and they actually passed through eleven planks, each one inch thick, of the hardest deal, placed at a distance from each other. Balls, also, which were fired against an iron plate, one quarter of an inch in thickness, passed through it ; yet the pressure of steam required to produce this was estimated not much to exceed sixty-five atmospheres, or nine hundred pounds on each square inch. To demonstrate the rapidity with which musket balls might be thrown, he screwed on to a gun-barrel a tube filled with balls, which falling down by their own gravity into the barrel, were projected one by one with such extraordinary velocity, as to de- monstrate that, by means of a succession of tubes filled with balls, fixed in a wheel, a model of which was exhibited, nearly one thou- sand balls per minute might be discharged. The next experiments were of a more interesting kind. To the gun-barrel was attached a moveable joint, a lateral direction was then given to it, and the balls perforated a lineal series of holes in a plank nearly twelve feet long. Thus, had the musket or gun been opposed to a regi- ment in extended line, it might have been made to shoot down each soldier in succession. A similar plank was then placed perpendicularly, and in like manner there was a string of shot holes throughout its whole length : and it was thus demonstrated that steam-guns could be made to shoot round a corner ! Mr. Perkins thus calculated this new mode of warfare : Sup- pose two hundred and fifty balls are discharged in a minute by a single-barrelled gun, or fifteen thousand per hour ; this, for sixteen hours, would require about fifteen thousand pounds of powder, which, at seventy shillings per hundred weight, would cost five hundred and twenty pounds, (about two thou&and three hundred dollars.) But the same number of balls can be thrown in sue* 194 AMERICAN MECHANICS. cession, and in the same time, for the price of five bushels of coai per hour, or about ten or twelve dollars for fifteen hours. Aftei the experiments Perkins made at Greenwich before Prince Polignac, and some French engineers whom the Duke d'Angou- leme had sent to make a report to him concerning them, he received instructions to form a piece of ordnance to throw sixty balls, of four pounds each, in a minute. This he guarantied should be done with the correctness of a rifle musket, and to a propor- tionate distance. A musket was also attached to the same gene- rator for throwing a stream of lead from the bastion of a fort, and which he engaged to make so far portable as to be capable of being moved from one bastion to another. Both the French and English engineers before whom these ex- periments were made condemned the steam-gun as being of no real utility. The practical difficulties of working steam under such an enormous pressure were evident ; it being impossible to make it as powerful as gunpowder. Besides, all engines of war should be as simple as possible, for in the heat of action it is rarely that men are found to act with the self-possession necessary in the management of even the simplest machinery, no matter how well drilled they may previously have been in its management. It is not intended in derogation of the talents and ingenuity of Mr. Perkins, when we say his inventions have not all been as useful in practice as his friends might have wished. The merit, however, awarded to him is sufficient to establish his reputation as one of the most ingenious and philosophical citizens of the union ; and his exertions throughout have been of that laudable and meritorious kind, that, even in feilure, ought to bring honor THOMAS BLANCHARD THOMA^ BLANCHARD. Butn. Early fondness for mechanics. Anecdote. At thirteen years of age in- vents a machine for paring apples. Assists his brother in the manufacturing of tacks. Description of the process. Invents a counting nvtchine. Learns the use of blacksmiths' and carpenters' tools. Perseverance in perfecting the tack machine. Final success. Sells the patent right. Makes great improve- ments in the manufacture of muskets. Anecdote. Invents the engine for turning irregular forms. Description. Anecdote. Is employed in the national armories in ;rectmg the engines, and making other important improvements. Congress grants the petition for a renewal of the patent right for the en- gine. Interests himself in the subject of railroads. Invents and makes ex- periments with a steam-carriage. Petitions the legislature of Massachusetts. The report of the committee. Applies to the legislature of New York. Interview with Gov. Clinton. Abandons the project. invents a steamboat on a new principle to ascend Enfield Falls. Makes an excursion up the Connec- ticut. Builds a second and superior boat. Constructs a steamboat on the Alleghany. Its first voyage. The Indian chief Cornplanter, and the steam- boat. Encroachments. Complimentary remarks of Judge Story on the ter- mination of i. lawsuit. Conclusion. MOST of the following materials were obtained by solicitation from the subject of the memoir. We present them to the public with pleasure, as containing some of the leading incidents in the life of an unassuming, yet talented individual, who, by industry and perseverance in his peculiar department, claims an honorable station among the true benefactors of man. Thomas Blanchard was born in Sutton, Worcester county, Mass., on the 24th of June, 1788. Like most New Englanders, his ancestors were among the early settlers of our country. His father, Mr. Samuel Blanchard, stood high as an agriculturist, a situation solely due to the qualities of industry and economy for which he was noted. Thomas was the fifth of six sons ; his fond- ness for mechanical subjects may be dated back almost to the dawn of life ; his first recollections are of cutting up shingles with a knife into all kinds of toys, such as windmills, water-wheels, &c., and when old enough to attend school, he would be seized with an irresistible propensity to steal away from study, and employ the time with his then favorite tools, the knife and gimlet. His advantages for viewing mechanical operations were few, his resi- dence being in a portion of the town where there was not a workshop of any kind, except a country smith's, and even that t some distance. The first time he recollects visiting this place 198 AMERICAN MECHANICS was with his father, probably at the age of nine or ten. Being obliged to wait during the operation of shoeing their horse, his attention was fully occupied in watching the movements of the smith. What struck him with the greatest wonder and astonish, ment, was the process of heating and welding two nailrods, and he thought he would give all he possessed to perform such a miraculous operation. On their road home young Blanchard^ mind was full of what he had seen. His thoughts were now raised far above the knife and gimlet, and he was determined, if possible, to imitate the wonder he had just witnessed. Standing near the house was an old weaving shop, containing in the lower part a place for farming tools, and in the attic a parcel of scraps of old iron, from which our young experimenter obtained a full supply. The next, and most troublesome step, was the procuring of fuel ; to effect this he determined upon watching the kitchen fire, and, when his mother's back was turned, to wet the burning coals, take them away, and secrete them in a snug corner of the cellar ; but finding this a slow, as well as tedious operation, he had recourse, on baking days, to his mother's oven. In a few weeks all was ready, and his parents setting out on a visit to some relations in a neigh- boring town, gave the long wished-for opportunity. Previous to their departure he was enjoined to perform a certain task : this he commenced, and for a while made rapid progress, but being unable to withstand the temptation, soon abandoned it for the new and more agreeable scheme. Taking the bellows from the kitchen, and collecting the materials from a pile of brick and stone in the yard, he managed to build a very good forge in the weaving shop. An anvil was still wanting, and for a moment he was at loss how to proceed, but happening to think of on9 of his father's wedges, he obtained it, and driving it into a block, left the square end sufficiently high for the intended purpose ; and finally, bringing out his coals from the cellar corner, he was ready to blow up the fire early the next morning. On commencing, he succeeded very well in beating the iron into the required shape ; his ambition now was to join two pieces into one, but being igno- rant of the " welding heat, 11 in vain exerted his utmost skill ; it then occurred to him, if he could only make another visit to the smith, he would be enabled to surmount the difficulty. While devising further plans his parents returned, and his father enter- ing and viewing his son's work, at first feigned to look displeased, but could not refrain from relaxing his countenance at the ludi crous imitation, and after inquiring where the coals came frorr ended by ordering the youthful Vulcan to take down his forge THOMAS BLANCHARD. 199 and return the materials to their appropriate places ; thus ended his first important mechanical experiment. At the age of thirteen having heard of a machine for paring apples, he was determined to make one, and employed all his leisure in the invention. Although he had received but a mere hint of its operation, it was soon ready for trial, but at first proved unsuccessful : no difficulty was experienced in fixing the apple so as to revolve on turning a crank, yet on applying the knife to the fruit it would run in towards its centre, instead of cutting a thin paring. Not in the least discouraged, he set his " young wits" to work to remedy the deficiency, and the first step was to watch the operation of paring by hand. He observed that the thick- ness of the shaving was gauged by the thumb of the hand hold- ing the cutter. This led him to see the necessity of fixing a gauge to the knife. Here he learned an important fact, one that may be termed his first lesson in the way of invention, viz. to imitate nature, as in the use of the hand, where machinery is substituted for hand operations. The success of this invention was soon known throughout the neighborhood, and young Blanchard thence- forth became a favorite at all the "paring bees," where he would accomplish more with his machine than half a dozen girls by hand. The success attending this undertaking gave him new ideas and a greater thirst for invention. Soon after he went to reside with an elder brother, who had a number of persons, mostly boys, to assist him in the business of manufacturing tacks. The opera- tion was to cut them into points from a thin plate of iron, after which they were taken up, one at a time, with the thumb and finger, and held in a tool griping them by the movement of a lever. The lever was put in motion by one foot, while a blow was simul- taneously given with a hammer held in the right hand, making a flat head of the large end of the point which projected above the head of the tool. This was the only method then known, and so very slow and irksome', that young Blanchard would often grow tired and disgusted. As a daily task, he was given a certain quantity to manufacture, which number was ascertained by weigh- ing and counting : finding this too much trouble, he was induced to construct a counting machine. This was a very ingenious con- trivance, consisting of a ratchet wheel moving one tooth every time the jaws of the heading tool moved in the process of mak- ing one tack, to which a bell was also attached in such a manner as to give a signal by ringing when the required number was completed. His brother, on witnessing its pperation, forbid him wasting time on such idle projects. He was not, however, of a dispositiop