it presented would in some way be solved, and by themselves.

So when Robert Fulton turned his snub-nosed little steamboat out into the Hudson River and started her toward Albany, wheezing and coughing along at the rate of five miles an hour, the watching populace comprehended. A throng had gathered at the wharf and in its immediate neighborhood, drawn by a knowledge of what was to be attempted. There were some skeptics in it, and during the preliminary preparations and embarkation. of the passengers an occasional jest and disparaging remark was heard. But the bulk of the crowd was of open mind. Its members did not believe travel was impossible in a boat propelled by steam simply because such a thing, so far as they knew, had never been seen or heard of before. Doubtless they wanted it to be possible; hoped it would be.

Then the machinery started and the Clermont' moved away from the dock under her own power. The uncertainty and hope of a moment before were changed to an instant appreciation of what it meant. Even before she had disappeared from their physical vision the minds. of the spectators had gone on ahead of her, over all the rivers of the land, and peopled them with like contrivances. It was an actuality with a visible meaning; a meaning so plain that those who beheld the sight might have marvelled had they known of the similar drama enacted years before to the jeers of them that saw it. The boat moved slowly-but what of that. Improvements could be made. Everything could be improved, no matter what its use was. The thing had been done; that

1 She was-as at first built-133 feet long, 18 feet wide and 7 feet in depth of hold, with two masts and sails.

was the main point. A principle had been established. Therefore the citizens lifted up their voices in exultant hosanna, tossed their hats aloft, embraced one another with enthusiasm and unanimously admitted, once more, that they were indeed a very great people. They thought they were cheering Robert Fulton and his steamboat, whereas they were applauding a progress in popular judgment and the excellence of their own discrimination. This was no madman puttering at Conjurer's Point, but a benefactor of his race. So ran the verdict.

The Clermont steamed to Albany' on her first trip in thirty-two hours against a head wind that prevented the use of her sails, and came back to New York in thirty hours. She stopped at night, and four and a half days were consumed in making the entire experiment. A description of the appearance of the craft on the water and of the excitement she created along the shores of the river and among other shipping on the stream was later written by one who had, as a boy, beheld the boat. The account says:

"It was in the early autumn of the year 1807 that a knot of villagers was gathered on a high bluff just opposite Poughkeepsie, on the west bank of the Hudson, attracted by the appearance of a strange darklooking craft which was slowly making its way up the river. Some imagined it to be a sea-monster, whilst others did not hesitate to express their belief that it was a sign of the approaching judgment. What seemed strange in the vessel was the substitution of lofty and straight smoke-pipes, rising from the deck, instead of the gracefully tapered masts that commonly stood on the vessels navigating the stream, and, in place of the spars and rigging, the curious play of the walkingbeam and pistons, and the slow turning and splashing of the huge and naked paddle-wheels, met the astonished gaze. The dense clouds of smoke, as they rose wave upon wave, added still more to the wonderment of the rustics. This strange looking craft was the Clermont on her trial trip to Albany. . .

1 A distance of about 160 miles.

2 The author of the narrative was H. Freeland. It was published by Reigart, one of the biographers of the "Clermont's" builder, in his "Life of Robert Fulton," Phila., 1856. The "Clermont" left New York at 1 p. m. on August 7, 1807.

"On her return trip the curiosity she excited was scarcely less intense the whole country talked of nothing but the sea-monster, belching forth fire and smoke. The fishermen became terrified, and rowed homewards, and they saw nothing but destruction devastating their fishing grounds, whilst the wreaths of black vapor and rushing noise of the paddle wheels, foaming with the stirred-up waters, produced great excitement amongst the boatmen, until . . . the character of that curious boat and the nature of the enterprise which she was pioneering had been ascertained. From that time Robert Fulton, Esq., became known and respected as the author and builder of the first steam packet, from which we plainly see the rapid improvement in commerce and civilization. Who can doubt that Fulton's first packet boat has become the model steamer? Except in finer finish and greater size there is no difference between it and the splendid steamships now crossing the Atlantic. Who can doubt that Fulton saw the meeting of all nations upon his boats, gathering together in unity and harmony, that the 'freedom of the seas would be the happiness of the earth?' 1 Who can doubt that Fulton saw the world circumnavigated by steam, and that his invention was carrying the messages of freedom to every land that no man could tell all its benefits, or describe all its wonders? What a wonderful achievement! What a splendid triumph! Fulton was a man of unparalleled foresight and perseverance. His character and genius rise higher in our estimation, and still more grandly before our minds, the more we contemplate him.

Just as the pack-train drivers of a former time fought the introduction of wagons on the early roads of Pennsylvania, so did the sailing vessels of the Hudson uselessly seek to retard the general introduction of steamboats by working injury to the Clermont. The men who for years had earned their bread on the sloops which until then enjoyed a monopoly of river traffic recognized the significance of the steam craft. In revolt at the new conditions it foretold they sought to disable the boat and to discredit her performances and make her an unpopular vehicle of travel. Several times she was run down and damaged in that manner, but no grave injury resulted. Occasionally she had a paddle wheel knocked off bodily.

1 A favorite expression used by Fulton.

2 Thurlow Weed was one who began his career as cabin boy on a Hudson River sailing packet, and was so engaged when the "Clermont" appeared. But his mind was not of the caliber to resent such an innovation.

In commenting on the attacks one of the inventor's biographers' has said: "It is not important to notice these facts; they illustrate the character of Mr. Fulton. They show what embarrassments are to be expected by those

103.-The Walk-in-the-Water, first steamboat on the Great Lakes. Built near Buffalo in 1818, under license from the Fulton-Livingston Company. From a drawing made for use on the bills-of-lading printed for the boat, and reproduced in Hurlbut's monograph.

who introduce improvements in the arts which interfere with established interests or prejudices; and they evince the perseverance and resolution which were necessary to surmount the physical and moral difficulties which Mr. Fulton encountered. Sneered at by his own countrymen, called knave, fool and enthusiast, yet he bravely lived all opposition down."

1 Reigart.