When the silver coins turned black in cash drawers along the canal from Goodrich s sulphur, the shrugs became a nose pinch and a thumb in the direction of Lock 1. The shrugs changed meaning. Stranger things have happened. The young company had no sales force. It had to write letters to city governments to sell fire hose.
City governments didn t buy much through the mail.
That was remarkable, but what bothered Goodrich, he needed more money. For five years there were no profits. Backers who had lent money became nervous. Harvey Tew was losing faith. Tew thought a while.