Maumee City express. [volume] (Maumee City, Ohio) 1838-184?, 1839-05-18

recollection of that wonderful trap is recall
led to my memory, | would respectfully re-
commend it TO the attention of the treasury
department, as an appendage to the sub
treasury system. The Specification may
be found on file IN the patent Office, number
eleven thousand and forty six.
This trap, at the time to which | allude,
absolutely divided the attention of the pas
sengers; and for my part, in interested me
quite as much as did the steam-engne be-
cause perhaps, | could more easily compre-
hend its mystery. To me, the steam-en-
gine was Greek; the trap was PLAIN Eng
hsh, Not SO, however, 20 Jabez Doottle.
| found him studying the engine with great
awdity and perseverance, inasmuch that
the engineer evidently became alarmed and
declined answering any more questions.
'Why, you need MT snap off so tarnal
short SAID Jabez; "a body would think you
had n: got patent for your machine, IfI
can't meddle with you on The water, as nigh
as can calculate, Tll-be up with you on
land, one Of these days
These ominous words fell OH my ear, as
] saw Jabez issuing from the engine-room,
followed by the engneer who seemed evil
IDENTIFY to have got his steam up.
'Well,' says /, 'Jabez, what do you think
of this mighty machineP 'Why,' he re-
piled, 'if that crttur hadn't got riled up SO
soon, body might tell more about i; but
| reckon I've got leetle potion on't;' and
then taking me aside, and looking carefully
around, lest some should overhear him, he
then and there assured me in confidence,
in profound secrecy, that if he didn't make
q loagon go by steam, before lie was tive
years older, then he'd give up invention.
at first rdicued tho idea; but when
thought of that at-trap, and saw before me
man with sharp twinkliug gray eyes, a
pointed nose, and every line of his visage a
channel of investigation and invention, |
could not resist the conclusion, that if he
really ever did attempt to NEEDLE with hot
water, we should hear more of it.
Time went on. Steamboats, multiplied;
but none dreamed, or if they did, ther new
er told their dreams, Of steam-wagon; for
even the name of locomotive was then as
unknown as 'loco-foco.' When, about a
year after the declaration of the last wal
with England, (aad mag il be the TASTY !
got letter from Jabez, marked 'private,
telling me that he wanted to see me 'most
desperately and that | must make him a
visit at his place, nigh Walngford." The
din Of arms, and the destruction of insu-
rance companies, the smashing of banks
and suspension of specie payments, and va
rious other inseparabe attendants on the
show and 'pomp of glorious war; had il
the mean time entirely wiped from memory
my friend Jabez, and his wonderful rat-trap
But obeyed his summons, not knowing but
that something of Importance 10 the army
or navy might come Off it. On reaching hil
residence, imagine my surprise, when he
told me, he believed he 'had got the notion.
'Noton?-what nOtlonF inquired.
why says he 'that Steam-toagon telFt
you about, a spell ago; but,' added he, i
has pretty nigh starved me out;' and sur,
enough he did look as if he had been on 'tht
anxious seat, as he used to say, whel
things puzzled him.
q have used up said he, 'plaguey nigF
all the sheet-iron, and old stove-pipes, anC
mill-wheels, and trunnol-heads, in these
parts; but I've succeeded; and for fear thai
some of these cute folks about here may
have got a peep through the key hole, ant
will trouble me when come to get pa
tent, Eve sent for YOU to be Il witness fol
you was the first and onlv man | ever hin
ted the notion to; in fact continued he, q
think the most curious part of this lnven
ton is, that as yet don't know any ont
about here who has been able to guess wha
I'm about. They all know it is an inven
ton, of some kind, for that's nay business
you know; but some say it is thrashng ma
chine, some a distillery; and of late, they
begin to think it's shingle- splitter; bu
they'll sing another tune, when they see i
spinning along past the stuge-coaches,' ad
ded he, with a knowing chuckle, 'won
theyP
This brought us to the door of an olt
clap-boarded, dingy, long, one story build
ing, with window or two in the roof, the
knot-holes and cracks all carefully stuffed
with old rags. and over the door he was un
locking, was written, in bold letters Nc
ADMlTTANCE.' This was his .sanctum
sanctorum.' I could occupy pages in des
cription of it, for every part exhibited evi
dences of its uses. The patent-ofice a
Washington, like your Magazine, Mr.. Edi
tor, may exhibit finished productions o
inventive genus;' but if you could lool
into the port folios of your contributors, IL
every quarter of the Union, and see there
the sketches of half finished essays, still
hnru noems links and fra rnoente of ;da,,