steamboat on a larger scale in the United States. For this purpose, as
the workshops of neither France nor America could at that time furnish
an engine of good quality, it became necessary to resort to England for
that purpose. Fulton had already experienced the difficulty of being
compelled to employ artists unacquainted with the subject. It is,
indeed, more than probable, that, had he not, during his residence in
Birmingham, made himself familiar, not only with the general features,
but with the most minute details of the engine of Watt, the experiment
on the Seine could not have been made. In this experiment, and in the
previous investigations, it became obvious that the engine of Watt
required important modifications in order to adapt it to navigation.
These modifications had been planned by Fulton; but it now became
important, that they should be more fully tested. An engine was
therefore ordered from Watt and Boulton, without any specification of
the object to which it was to be applied; and its form was directed to
be varied from their usual models, in conformity to sketches furnished
by Fulton.
The order for an engine intended to propel a vessel of large size, was
transmitted to Watt and Boulton in 1803. At about the same time,
Chancellor Livingston, having full confidence in the success of the
enterprise, caused an application to be made to the legislature of New
York for an exclusive privilege of navigating the waters of that State
by steam, that which was granted on a former occasion having expired.
This privilege was granted with little opposition. Indeed, those who
might have been inclined to object, saw so much of the impracticable and
even of the ridiculous in the project, that they conceived the
application unworthy of serious debate. The condition attached to the
grant was, that a vessel should be propelled by steam at the rate of
four miles an hour, within a prescribed space of time. This reliance
upon the reserved rights of the States proved a fruitful source of
vexation to Livingston and Fulton, and imbittered the close of the life
of the latter, and reduced his family to penury. It can hardly be
doubted that, had an expectation been entertained, that the grant of a
State was ineffectual, and that the jurisdiction was vested in the
general government, a similar grant might have been obtained from
Congress. The influence of Livingston with the administration was
deservedly high, and that administration was supported by a powerful
majority; nor would it have been consistent with the principles of the
opposition to vote against any act of liberality to the introducer of a
valuable application of science. Livingston, however, confiding in his
skill as a lawyer, preferred the application to the State, and was thus,
by his own act, restricted to a limited field.
Before the engine ordered from Watt and Boulton was completed, Fulton
visited England, and thus had an opportunity of visiting Birmingham, and
directing, in person, its construction. It could only have been at this
time, if ever, that he saw the boat of Symington;[13] but a view of it
could have produced no effect upon his own plans, which had been matured
in France, and carried, so far as the engine was concerned, to such an
extent as to admit of no alteration.
The engine was at last completed, and reached New York in 1806. Fulton,
who returned to his native country about the same period, immediately
undertook the construction of a boat in which to place it. In ordering
his engine and in planning the boat, Fulton exhibited plainly how far
his scientific researches and practical experiments had placed him
before all his competitors. He had evidently ascertained, what each
successive year's experience proves more fully, the great advantages
possessed by large steamboats over those of smaller size; and thus,
while all previous attempts had been made in smaller vessels, he alone
resolved to make his final experiment in one of great dimensions. That a
vessel, intended to be propelled by steam, ought to have very different
proportions, and lines of a character wholly distinct from those of
vessels intended to be navigated by sails, was evident to him. No other
theory, however, of the resistance of fluids was admitted at the time
than that of Bossut, and there were no published experiments except
those of the British Society of Arts. Judged in reference to these, the
model chosen by Fulton was faultless, although it will not stand the
test of an examination founded upon a better theory and more accurate
experiments.
The vessel was finished and fitted with her machinery in August, 1807.
An experimental excursion was forthwith made, at which a number of
gentlemen of science and intelligence were present. Many of these were
either sceptical or absolute unbelievers. But a few minutes served to
convert the whole party, and satisfy the most obstinate doubters, that
the long-desired object was at last accomplished. Only a few weeks
before, the cost of constructing and finishing the vessel threatening to
exceed the funds with which he had been provided by Livingston, Fulton
had attempted to obtain a supply by the sale of one third of the
exclusive right granted by the State of New York. No person was found
possessed of the faith requisite to induce him to embark in the project.
Those who had rejected this opportunity of investment, were now the
witnesses of the completion of the scheme, which they had considered as
an inadequate security for the desired funds.
Within a few days from the time of the first experiment with the
steamboat, a voyage was undertaken in it to Albany. This city, situated
at the natural head of the navigation of the Hudson, is distant, by the
line of the channel of the river, rather less than one hundred and
fifty miles from New York. By the old post-road, the distance is one
hundred and sixty miles, at which that by water is usually estimated.
Although the greater part of the channel of the Hudson is both deep and
wide, yet for about fourteen miles below Albany this character is not
preserved, and the stream, confined within comparatively small limits,
is obstructed by bars of sand or spreads itself over shallows. In a few
remarkable instances, the sloops, which then exclusively navigated the
Hudson, had effected a passage in about sixteen hours; but a whole week
was not unfrequently employed in the voyage, and the average time of
passage was not less than four entire days. In Fulton's first attempt to
navigate this stream, the passage to Albany was performed in thirty-two
hours, and the return in thirty.
Up to this time, although the exclusive grant had been sought and
obtained from the State of New York, it does not appear that either he
or his associate had been fully aware of the vast opening which the
navigation of the Hudson presented for the use of steam. They looked to
the rapid Mississippi and its branches, as the place where their triumph
was to be achieved; and the original boat, modelled for shallow waters,
was announced as intended for the navigation of that river. But even in
the very first attempt, numbers, called by business or pleasure to the
northern or western parts of the State of New York, crowded into the yet
untried vessel; and when the success of the attempt was beyond question,
no little anxiety was manifested, that the steamboat should be
established as a regular packet between New York and Albany.
With these indications of public feeling Fulton immediately complied,
and regular voyages were made at stated times until the end of the
season. These voyages were not, however, unattended with inconvenience.
The boat, designed for a mere experiment, was incommodious; and many of
the minor arrangements by which facility of working and safety from
accident to the machinery were to be insured, were yet wanting. Fulton
continued a close and attentive observer of the performance of the
vessel; every difficulty, as it manifested itself, was met and removed
by the most masterly as well as simple contrivances. Some of these were
at once adopted, while others remained to be applied while the boat
should be laid up for the winter. He thus gradually formed in his mind
the idea of a complete and perfect vessel; and in his plan, no one part
which has since been found to be essential to the ease of manoeuvre or
security, was omitted. But the eyes of the whole community were now
fixed upon the steamboat; and as all those of competent mechanical
knowledge were, like Fulton himself, alive to the defects of the
original vessel, his right to priority of invention of various important
accessories has been disputed.
The winter of 1807-8 was occupied in remodelling and rebuilding the
vessel, to which the name "Clermont" was now given. The guards and
housings for the wheels, which had been but temporary structures,
applied as their value was pointed out by experience, became solid and
essential parts of the boat. For a rudder of the ordinary form, one of
surface much more extended in its horizontal dimensions was substituted.
This, instead of being moved by a tiller, was acted upon by ropes
applied to its extremity; and these ropes were adapted to a
steering-wheel, which was raised aloft towards the bow of the vessel.
It had been shown by the numbers who were transported during the first
summer, that at the same price for passage, many were willing to
undergo all the inconveniences of the original rude accommodations, in
preference to encountering the delays and uncertainty to which the
passage in sloops was exposed. Fulton did not, however, take advantage
of his monopoly, but with the most liberal spirit, provided such
accommodations for passengers, as in convenience and even splendor, had
not before been approached in vessels intended for the transportation of
travellers. This was, on his part, an exercise of almost improvident
liberality. By his contract with Chancellor Livingston, the latter
undertook to defray the whole cost of the engine and vessel, until the
experiment should result in success; but from that hour each was to
furnish an equal share of all investments. Fulton had no patrimonial
fortune, and what little he had saved from the product of his ingenuity
was now exhausted. But the success of the experiment had inspired the
banks and capitalists with confidence, and he now found no difficulty in
obtaining, in the way of loan, all that was needed. Still, however, a
debt was thus contracted which the continued demands made upon him for
new investments never permitted him to discharge. The "Clermont," thus
converted into a floating palace, gay with ornamental painting, gilding,
and polished woods, began her course of passages for the second year in
the month of April.
The first voyage of this year was of the most discouraging character.
Chancellor Livingston, who had, by his own experiments, approached as
near to success as any other person who, before Fulton, had endeavored
to navigate by steam, and who had furnished all the capital necessary
for the experiment, had plans and projects of his own. These he urged
into execution in spite of the opposition of Fulton. The boiler
furnished by Watt and Boulton was not adapted to the object. Copied from
those used on the land, it required that its fireplace and flues should
be constructed of masonry. These added so much weight to the apparatus,
that the rebuilt boat would hardly have floated had they been retained.
In order to replace this boiler, Livingston had planned a compound
structure of wood and copper, which he insisted should be tried.
It is only necessary for us to say, that this boiler proved a complete
failure. Steam began to issue from its joints a few hours after the
"Clermont" left New York. It then became impossible to keep up a proper
degree of tension, and the passage was thus prolonged to forty-eight
hours. These defects increased after leaving Albany on the return, and
the boiler finally gave way altogether within a few miles of New York.
The time of the downward passage was thus extended to fifty-six hours.
Fulton was, however, thus relieved from all further interference; this
fruitless experiment was decisive as to his superiority over his
colleague in mechanical skill. He therefore immediately planned and
directed the execution of a new boiler, which answered the purpose
perfectly; and although there are many reasons why boilers of a totally
different form and of subsequent invention should be preferred, it is,
for its many good properties, extensively used, with little alteration,
up to the present day. But a few weeks sufficed to build and set this
boiler, and in the month of June the regular passages of the "Clermont"
were renewed.
In observing the hour appointed for departure, both from New York and
Albany, Fulton determined to insist upon the utmost regularity. It
required no little perseverance and resolution to carry this system of
punctuality into effect. Persons accustomed to be waited for by
packet-boats and stages, assented with great reluctance to what they
conceived to be a useless adherence to precision of time. The benefits
of this punctuality were speedily perceptible; the whole system of
internal communication of the State of New York was soon regulated by
the hours of arrival and departure of Fulton's steamboats; and the same
system of precision was copied in all other steamboat lines. The
certainty of conveyance at stated times being thus secured, the number
of travellers was instantly augmented; and before the end of the second
summer, the boat became far too small for the passengers, who crowded to
avail themselves of this novel, punctual, and unprecedentedly rapid
method of transport.
Such success, however, was not without its alloy. The citizens of Albany
and the river towns saw, as they thought, in the steamboat, the means of
enticing their customers from their ancient marts to the more extensive
market of the chief city; the skippers of the river mourned the
inevitable loss of a valuable part of their business; and innumerable
projectors beheld with envy the successful enterprise of Fulton.
Among the latter class was one who, misled by false notions of
mechanical principles, fancied that in the mere oscillations of a
pendulum lay a power sufficient for any purpose whatever. Availing
himself of a well-constructed model, he exhibited to the inhabitants of
Albany a pendulum which continued its motions for a considerable time,
without requiring any new impulse, and at the same time propelled a pair
of wheels. These wheels, however, did not work in water. Those persons
who felt themselves aggrieved by the introduction of steamboats, quickly
embraced this project, prompted by an enmity to Fulton, and determined,
if they could not defeat his object, at least to share in the profits of
its success.
It soon appeared, from preliminary experiments, made in a sloop
purchased for the purpose, that a steam-engine would be required to give
motion to the pendulum; and it was observed that the water-wheels, when
in connection with the pendulum, had a very irregular motion. A
fly-wheel was therefore added, and the pendulum was now found to be a
useless incumbrance. Enlightened by these experiments, the association
proceeded to build two boats; and these were exact copies, not only of
the hull and all the accessories of the "Clermont," but the engine
turned out to be identical in form and structure with one which Fulton
was at the very time engaged in fitting to his second boat, "The Car of
Neptune."
The pretence of bringing into use a new description of prime mover was
of course necessarily abandoned, and the owners of the new steamboats
determined boldly to test the constitutionality of the exclusive grant
to Fulton. Fulton and Livingston, in consequence, applied to the Court
of Chancery of the State of New York for an injunction, which was
refused. On an appeal to the Court of Errors this decision of the
Chancellor was reversed; but the whole of the profits which might have
been derived from the business of the year were prevented from accruing
to Livingston and Fulton, who, compelled to contend in price with an
opposition supported by popular feeling in Albany, were losers rather
than gainers by the operations of the season.
As no appeal was taken from this last decision, the waters of the State
of New York remained in the exclusive possession of Fulton and his
partner, until the death of the former. This exclusive possession was
not, however, attended with all the advantages that might have been
anticipated. The immense increase of travel which the facilities of
communication created, rendered it imperative upon the holders of the
monopoly to provide new facilities by the construction of new vessels.
The cost of these could not be defrayed out of the profits. Hence new
and heavy debts were necessarily contracted by Fulton, while Livingston,
possessed of an ample fortune, required no pecuniary aid beyond what he
was able to meet from his own resources.
The most formidable opposition which was made to the privileges of
Fulton, was founded upon the discoveries of Fitch. We have seen, that he
constructed a boat which made some passages between Trenton and
Philadelphia; but the method which he used, was that of paddles, which
are far inferior to the paddle-wheel. Of the inferiority of the method
of paddles, had any doubt remained, positive evidence was afforded in
the progress of this dispute; for in order to bring the question to the
test of a legal decision, a boat propelled by them was brought into the
waters of the State of New York. The result of the experiment was so
decisive, that when the parties engaged in the enterprise had succeeded
in their designs, they made no attempt to propel their boats by any
other method than that of wheels.
Fulton, assailed in his exclusive privileges derived from State grants,
took, for his further protection, a patent from the general government.
This is dated in 1809, and was followed by another, for improvements
upon it, in 1811. It now appeared, that the very circumstance in which
the greatest merit of his method consists, was to be the obstacle to his
maintaining an exclusive privilege. Discarding all complexity, he had
limited himself to the simple means of adapting paddle-wheels to the
crank of Watt's engine; and, under the patent laws, it seems hardly
possible that such a simple yet effectual method could be guarded by a
specification. As has been the case with many other important
discoveries, the most ignorant conceived that they might themselves have
discovered it; and those unacquainted with the history of the attempts
at navigation by steam, were compelled to wonder that it had been left
for Fulton to bring it into successful operation.
Before the death of Fulton, the steamboats on the Hudson River were
increased in number to five. A sixth was built under his direction for
the navigation of the Sound; and, this water being rendered unsafe by
the presence of an enemy's[14] squadron, the boat plied for a time upon
the Hudson. In the construction of this boat he had, in his own opinion,
exhausted the power of steam in navigation, having given it a speed of
nine miles an hour; and it is a remarkable fact, which manifests his
acquaintance with theory and skill in calculation, that he in all cases
predicted with almost absolute accuracy, the velocity of the vessels he
caused to be constructed. The engineers of Great Britain came, long
after, to a similar conclusion in respect to the maximum of speed.
It is now, however, well known, that, with a proper construction of
prows, the resistance to vessels moving at higher velocities than nine
miles an hour, increases in a much less ratio than had been inferred
from experiments made upon wedge-shaped bodies; and that the velocity of
the pistons of steam-engines may be conveniently increased beyond the
limit fixed by the practice of Watt.
For these important discoveries the world is indebted principally to
Robert L. Stevens. That Fulton must have reached them in the course of
his own practice can hardly be doubted, had his valuable life been
spared to watch the performance of the vessels he was engaged in
building at the time of his premature death.[15] These were, a large
boat intended for the navigation of the Hudson, to which the name of his
partner, Chancellor Livingston, was given, and one planned for the
navigation of the ocean. The latter was constructed with the intention
of making a passage to St. Petersburg; but this scheme was interrupted
by his death, which took place at the moment he was about to add to his
glory, as the first constructor of a successful steamboat, that of being
the first navigator of the ocean by this new and mighty agent.
X.
GEORGE STEPHENSON AND THE LOCOMOTIVE.
"What I say is this," said Nahum, "that all your Vesuvius dividends, and
all your pickers and slobbers, and shirtings at four cents, and all the
rest of your great cotton victory, depend on railroads. If your father
could not go to Lewiston and see his foreman and people, and come back
before you can say Jack Robinson, there would be no mills at Lewiston
such as there are. There might be a poor little sawmill making shingles,
as you free-traders want." This with scorn at Fergus, perhaps, or some
one else suspected of views unfavorable to protection.
Then Nahum shook hands with Uncle Fritz, and apologized for his zeal,
adding: "I am telling the boys why I want to go to Altoona, and to
become a railroad man. I say that the new plant in India might knock
cotton higher than a kite, and that people might learn to live without
novels or magazines, but that they must have transportation all the
same. And I am going into the railroad business. I am going to hew down
the mountains and fill up the valleys." The boy was fairly eloquent in
his enthusiasm.
"It is in your blood, my brave fellow," said Uncle Fritz. "People
thought your grandfather was crazy when he said it, sixty years ago.
But it proved he was the seer and the prophet, and they were the fools."
"And who invented railroads?" asked Blanche.
"As to that, the man invented a railroad who first put two boards down
over two ruts to make a cart run easier. Almost as soon as there were
mines, there must have been some sort of rail for the use of the wagons
which brought out the ore. These rails became so useful that they were
continued from the mine to the high-road, whatever it was. But it was
not till the first quarter of this century, that rails were laid for
general use. The earliest railroad in the United States was laid at the
quarries in Quincy, in Massachusetts, in 1825."
Uncle Fritz was so well pleased at their eagerness that he brought out
for them some of the old books, and some of the new. In especial he bade
them all read Smiles's "Life of Stephenson" before they came to him
again. For to George Stephenson, as they soon learned, more than to any
one man, the world owes the step forward which it made when locomotives
were generally used on railroads. Since that time the improvements in
both have gone on together.
Before they met again, at Uncle Fritz's suggestion, Fergus and Hester
prepared this sketch of the details of Stephenson's earlier invention,
purposely that Uncle Fritz might use it when these papers should be
printed together.
GEORGE STEPHENSON.
An efficient and economical working locomotive engine still remained to
be invented, and to accomplish this object Stephenson now applied
himself. Profiting by what his predecessors had done,--warned by their
failures and encouraged by their partial successes,--he began his
labors. There was still wanting the man who should accomplish for the
locomotive what James Watt had done for the steam-engine, and combine in
a complete form the best points in the separate plans of others,
embodying with them such original inventions and adaptations of his own,
as to entitle him to the merit of inventing the working locomotive, as
James Watt is to be regarded as the inventor of the working
condensing-engine. This was the great work upon which George Stephenson
now entered, though probably without any adequate idea of the ultimate
importance of his work to society and civilization.