The utilitarian spirit of the age is strikingly exhibited in the intense
desire to diminish the quantity of time necessary to pass from one spot
of the earth's surface to another, and to communicate almost
instantaneously with a remote distance. The great triumphs of genius,
within the last half century, have been accomplished within the domain
of commerce. And in contemplating the progress which has ensued, it is a
cause of humiliation that, as in the case of other great discoveries, so
many centuries have elapsed, during which the powers of steam, an
element almost constantly within the observation of man, were, although
perceived, unemployed. But reflection upon the nature of man, and his
slow advancement in the great path of fact and science, will at once
hush the expression of our wondering regret over the past, while a
nobler occupation for the mind offers itself in speculation upon the
future. The plank road, the canal, the steamboat, and the railway, are
all the productions of the last few years. At the close of the last
century, with the exception of a few military roads inherited from the
Romans, and the roads of the same description constructed by Napoleon,
the means of communication between distant parts was almost entirely
confined to inland seas and the larger rivers. It is for this reason
that the maritime cities and provinces attained such disproportionate
wealth.
The invention of _chariots_, and the manner of harnessing horses to draw
them, is ascribed to Ericthonius of Athens, B.C. 1486. The chariots of
the ancients were like our _phaetons_, and drawn by one horse. The
invention of the _chaise_, or calash, is ascribed to Augustus Caesar,
about A.D. 7. Postchaises were introduced by Trajan about A.D. 100.
_Carriages_ were known in France in the reign of Henry II., A.D. 1547;
there were but three in Paris in 1550; they were of rude construction.
Henry IV. had one, but it was without straps or springs. A strong
cob-horse (_haquenee_) was let for short journeys; latterly these were
harnessed to a plain vehicle, called _coche-a-haquenee_: hence the name,
_hackney coach_. They were first let for hire in Paris, in 1650, at the
Hotel Fiacre. They were known in England in 1555, but not the art of
making them. When first manufactured in England, during the reign of
Elizabeth, they were called _whirlicotes_. The duke of Buckingham, in
1619, drove six horses, and the duke of Northumberland, in rivalry,
drove eight. _Cabs_ are also of Parisian origin, where the driver sat in
the inside; but the aristocratic tastes of the English suggested the
propriety of compelling the driver to be seated outside. _Omnibuses_
also originated in Paris, and were introduced into London in 1827, by
an enterprising coach proprietor named Shillaber. They were introduced
into New York, in 1828, by Kipp & Brown. _Horse railroads_ were
introduced into New York, in 1851, upon the Sixth Avenue.
In 1660 there were but six _stage coaches_ in England; two days were
occupied in passing from London to Oxford, fifty-four miles. In 1669, it
was announced that a vehicle, described as the _flying coach_, would
perform the whole journey between sunrise and sunset. It excited as much
interest as the opening of a new railway in our time. The Newcastle
_Courant_, of October 11th, 1812, advertises 'that all that desire to
pass from Edinborough to London, or from London to Edinborough, or any
place on that road, let them repair to Mr. John Baillie's, at the Coach
and Horses, at the head of Cannongate, Edinborough, every other
Saturday; or to the Black Swan, in Holborn, every other Monday; at both
of which places they may be received in a stage coach, which performs
the whole journey in _thirteen days, without any stoppage_ (_if God
permit_), having eighty able horses to perform the whole stage--each
passenger paying L4 10s. for the whole journey. The coach sets out at
six in the morning.' And it was not until 1825 that a daily line of
stage coaches was established between the two cities, accomplishing the
distance in forty-six hours. And even so late as 1835 there were only
seven coaches which ran daily.
In 1743, Benjamin Franklin, postmaster of Philadelphia, in an
advertisement, dated April 14th, announces 'that the northern post will
set out for New York on Thursdays, at three o'clock in the afternoon,
till Christmas. The southern post sets out next Monday for Annapolis,
and continues going every fortnight during the summer season.' In 1773,
Josiah Quincy, father and grandfather of the mayors of that name, of
Boston, spent thirty-three days upon a journey from Georgetown, South
Carolina, to Philadelphia. In 1775, General Washington was eleven days
going from Philadelphia to Boston; upon his arrival at Watertown the
citizens turned out and congratulated him upon the _speed_ of his
journey! Fifty years ago the regular mail time, between New York and
Albany, was eight days. Even as late as 1824, the United States mail was
thirty-two days in passing from Portland to New Orleans. The news of the
death of Napoleon Bonaparte, at St. Helena, May 5th, 1821, reached New
York on the fifteenth day of August.
Canals were known to the ancients, and have been used, in a small way,
by all nations, particularly the Dutch. But the world did not awake to
their importance until 1817, when the State of New York entered upon the
Erie Canal project, which was completed in 1825. The introduction of
steamboats for river navigation, and of locomotives upon railways, have
superseded canals, and invested them with an air of antiquity. It was
not until 1807 that Robert Fulton put his first vessel in operation on
the Hudson River.
To the American steamship Savannah, built by Croker & Fickett, at
Corlear's Hook, New York, is universally conceded the honor of being the
first steam-propelled vessel that ever crossed the Atlantic ocean. She
was three hundred and eighty tons burden, ship-rigged, and was equipped
with a horizontal engine, placed between decks, with boilers in the
hold. She was built through the agency of Captain Moses Rogers, by a
company of gentlemen, with a view of selling her to the emperor of
Russia. She sailed from New York in 1819, and went first to Savannah;
thence she proceeded direct to Liverpool, where she arrived after a
passage of eighteen days, during seven of which she was under steam. As
it was nearly or quite impossible to carry sufficient fuel for the
voyage, during pleasant weather the wheels were removed, and canvas
substituted. At Liverpool she was visited by many persons of
distinction, and afterward departed for Elsinore, on her way to St.
Petersburg. She was not, however, sold as expected, and next touched at
Copenhagen, where Captain Rogers was offered one hundred thousand
dollars for her by the king of Sweden; but the offer was declined. She
then sailed for home, putting into Elsington, on the coast of Norway.
From the latter place she was twenty-two days in reaching Savannah. On
account of the high price of fuel, she carried no steam on the return
passage, and the wheels were taken off. Upon the completion of the
voyage, she was purchased by Captain Nathaniel Holdredge, divested of
her steam apparatus, and run as a packet between Savannah and New York.
She subsequently went ashore on Long Island, and broke up. Sixty
thousand dollars were sunk in the transaction. Captain Rogers died a few
years ago on the Pee Dee river, North Carolina. He is believed to be the
first man that ran a steamboat to Philadelphia or Baltimore. The mate
was named Stephen Rogers, and was living a few years ago at New London,
Connecticut.
The first railway in England was between Stockton and Darlington; and
the first locomotive built in the world was used upon that road, and is
still in existence, being preserved at Darlington depot, upon a platform
erected for the purpose; the date 1825 is engraved upon its plate. The
first railway charter in the United States was granted March 4th, 1826,
to Thomas H. Perkins and others, 'to convey granite from the ledges in
Quincy to tidewater in that town.' The first railway in the United
States upon which passengers were conveyed, was the Baltimore and Ohio,
which was opened December 28, 1829, to Ellicott's Mills, thirteen miles
from Baltimore. A single horse was attached to two of Winan's carriages,
containing forty-one persons, which were drawn, with ease, eleven miles
per hour. The South Carolina Railway, from Charleston to Hamburg, was
the first constructed in the United States with a view to use _steam_
instead of _animal_ power. The first locomotive constructed in the
United States was built for this road. It was named the _Best Friend_,
and afterward changed to _Phoenix_. It was built at the West Point
foundery by the Messrs. Kemble, under the direction of E.L. Miller, Esq.
Its performance was tested on the 9th December, 1830, and exceeded
expectations. To Mr. Miller, therefore, belongs the honor of planning
and constructing the first locomotive operated in the United States.
This road was the first to carry the United States mail, and, when
completed, October 2d, 1833, one hundred and thirty-seven miles in
length, was the longest railway in the world. The number of miles of
railway in operation in the United States, at the present time, is
thirty-two thousand; and the number of passengers conveyed upon them in
1863 was one hundred millions. Railways did not cross the Mississippi
river until 1851. The number of miles of railway in the world is
seventy-two thousand; and the amount of steamboat tonnage is five
millions of tons.
Yet more astonishing than the railway is the magnetic telegraph, whose
exploits are literally miraculous, annihilating space and time. The
extremities of the globe are brought into immediate contact; the
merchant, the friend, or the lover converses with whom he wishes, though
thousands of miles apart, as if they occupied the same parlor; and the
speech uttered in Washington to-day may be read in San Francisco three
hours before it is delivered. Could the wires be extended around the
globe, we should be able to hear the news one day before it occurred.