Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1848-05-23

fully beg the favor % the SPIRIT 10 publish The
following from !.owc's History of Virginia.
y SUBSCRIBER
JAMES RUmsEr, WHO is believed To be the first
person that ever succeeded in ProPepeilEg Il boat
| by steam, " as u native lOt MIry!aud. When a
| young man. he removed 10 SHE lhSrdst0Wn, wllere
he devoted much OF his time 10 mechanics.
He was, at ono period of his lie, cngtgaI as a
merchant i'll company with Mr.. O7riCk, At Iath,
| in Morgan county. In September, 1891, il aP-
pears iron letter OF his, nov before us, that he
| was employed ny the Potomac company, OF which
| Washington was Il member, 10 Improve the uaVI-
| CATION of the Potomac River III the summer Uf
The year 1888, he directed his attention To the Sub
! ect Of steamboats, and in the autumn OF 1884
sue cceded i'll private, but very imperfect expert
ncnt, in order 10 test Uf the principles Of his
| invention. In the OclUGer session of that year,
lie Obtained tile passage Of act fem the Viz
ginia Assembly, guarautyinT TO tam the exclusive
use of his invention in navigating the waters at
that State, Tor the space Oi 10 years from 6ate.+
/ In January, 1855, he oOtLinrd patent from the
! General Assembly Ui Mary land, Tor navigating
| their waters. Through the whole of TINS year
| he was engaged i'll working at his boat, but was
not ready for public trial until 1856, the year
following. IN this experiment he was einln"nIy
successful. lie succeeded in pFupe!l!ng his boat,
by steam alnne, al Shcpherdstowu. against tie
current of he P0toMrEc, ut TIE Tlte # fox" " five
! n;iigS an hour.
There are sever; persons living who were
| on board at this lime; among these Is M6s. Ann
Lah or, mother n-a" oil the late Gov. GtlmCr.-I
Washington, ii is said, was aisu among the pas
sGngers. In his correspondence, compiled by
Sparks, is letter To- RUmseY, dated anterior TO the
public experiment in 1886 at:isng Iritn 10 hasten
the construction Of his boat, to prevent be-
ing forcsialled by another individual. unI 10 con-
vince the public OE its pructcn6h'iy. Also, i'll a
letter to Hugh Williamson, NJ C.. dated Mount
Vernon, March l5sh 1855, Washington says, in
abiding to RuGnspy's boat: g IL model OF Il
thing, i'll miniature, is a representation OF great
object i'll practice, there is doubt Ot the ul!ll
" OF lIc iuycutIOn. q view Of his model, with
the explanation, removed the principal tuult I
had o! the pFactlaL.!ity oFpropel!Ing against
Il stream, by the all Of mechanical power but
rs he Wanted Ia avail himself OF my introduction
I'll it 10 the public attention, chose. previously,
10 see the actual performance Ol the model in de-
sccning stream, before l passed my certificate,
tIarIIig doIS .!onoVs -
While at ShcpheidStown, Mr.. Rumsey dweI.
in "a small log house, nov standing near the town
ia III the outskirts 6f the village II is the same
building represented in the engraving. lie was
supplied with funds fur the undertaking by his
Lr,Iiher-i n-law, Charles Morrow, which proved
the ruin OF the latter. The boat built upon
the banks VI The Potomac, about halfa mile above
the town. She called lay the iownS-PeopIc,
not the steamboat, but q The flying hma:;' and
Mr. Rumsey himself received, from the same
source, the appelatiun Of 3 Crazy Rumscy. -
There is place upon The banks oil the Potomac,
formerly called " Rumscy's Walk" where Rum
sew was often seen for hours walking la and fro,
in deep meditation upon his fnvorite project
norton Of the boiler Of his boat is i'll the pos
session Of Alexander Il. BOteicr, Esq OF SheP.
hcrdstown, To whose Kindness we arc indebted
for some OF the facts in this article
"Stuart's Anecdotes OF the Steam Engine" an
English publication, thus describes his beat:
"Rumsey's boat was about % feet in length
and was propelled by pump wGEkcdhy Siean'-
engine, which forced quans4ty OF water up
through the keel; the valve was then shut ny the
return of the stroke, which al the same time
forced the water through channel or pipe. a te"
inches square, [ly ing above OF parallel TO the kel-
'ssnnO uuL at the stern under the Tudder, which
had less depth than Usual, 10 permit the Gait OF
tie water The Impetus OF tbs water forced
through the square channel against the exterior
water, acted an impeliIug powcr1ufCn the yes
sci. The reaction Of The etaueHt water propelled
lcr at the rAIc above mentioned, when loaded
with three tons in addition to the weight OF l:er
engine, Of about third OF Ton. The boiler was
quite curiosity, holding no more than fix" ga"
Ions of water, and needing ouiy pint at lime
The woe machinery d q not occupy space great
or than that required for four barrels OF -four -
The fuel CONSUMED was not more than from t"nF
10 six bushels CT coal in twelve hours. ituEn5ey s
other project was 10 Apply the power OF steam
engine to long poles, which were 10 reach the
bullom 81 the river, and by that means to F9.h
boat against rapid curEcEi.'
Alter the experiments above alluded co. En:i.
soy being .,nder te strong conviction thai shiitu!
wHCkIncn uMd perfect machinery were diune
wanting 10 the most perfect success, a"d ssnS'-
biz, thai SUCH Cuui E5.t he Procure III AilrT''a
resolved to so To England Viii: slender a.: ans
OF his oW H. aud aided Or rather n11cks6 ty some
tiunid and unsteady patronage, ie there Icsuined
with untirfg energy bis great uLdc1tak'ng. Ike
proceeded TO procure patents ot the EI4tIsh go
vernment for steam naviga;inni these pAicuts
bear date in The beginning OF the year 1888
Several of his inventions, in cue mUGiEcd form or
another, sre now in general use f"r instance,
the cylindrical toer, superior 10 The old tut or
still-bollels, in the presentation OF Ee surface,
aud capacity for holding Highly rnFefed steam, is
describeh, both single and combined, IN bis speci
fcntions, and is Identical III principle with the
tub-boiter which he<used in his Potomac cxTcti.
mCnt.
Difficulties and embellishments Of a Pecunia-
| ~ nature, and such as invariably Obstruct The
| nrogress of new invention, attended him in Eng
| land lie was often compelled TO abandon tenn
pora.iIy his main object and turn his attention to
something else, in order 10 raise means TO resume
| il. lie undertook, with the same power, but by
its more judicious application, 10 produce higher
| results ia several wa'er-w"rks, ~ all which he
| succeeded, realizing thereby some reputation as
| well as funds 10 apply TO his favorite project.
| cat another time, in order to avoid a London
prison, and the delay, il not the detcat OF all his
hiuh hopes he was compelled to transfer, at what
he considered ruinous sacrifice, large interest
! =, ~ inventions.-a contract which entangled
| and embarrassed him through life. Still. how.
i ever. he struggled on, undsmayed, and bad con-
structed hoat Of about one hundred tons burden,
| and pushed forward his machiney SO near TO the
| - tI.nr;,,,. s,..rns Vol II n SOP.