Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1865-02-02
ELI WHITNEY.
bY JAMES PARTON

things, these planters agreed, was tiio uih ~ til
Guilty Of raising cotton with profit, OWING to the wi
great labor. required in separating the hofes We
Of the cotton from the seeds CO
Many of our readers, we presume, nave new al
er seen cotton growing, nor even ball or pod to
of cotton. This pod, which is about as large
as hens egg, bursts when it is ripe, ana .!ci tnG
cotton gushcs out at the top IN 6eaulllul
white flock Ifyou examine tins mock ciosely
YOU discover that it contains eight or ten large a
seeds, much resembling, in SIZE ana shaPe' g
the seeds of lemon. The hbres OF the cot n
ton adhere so tightly to the seeds that to get ii
one pound of clean cotton, without was'ins
any, used to require whole day labor IL r
was this fact that rendered the ralslng OF COT II
ton so little profitable, and kept the ooutheri 5
States from sharing in the prosperity enJosttr l
hv tbe States of the North after the close OF |
the revolutionary war. ,,
When the gentlemen had been converslng
for some time the idea was started that per- '
hans this work could be done by a machihe {
Mrs Greene then remarked: :,
"Gentlemen, apply to my young frleha' MI
Whitney he can make anything: -.
Few words have ever been spoken on tins
olobe that have had such important and mem
oroblc consequence as this simple observation
of Mrs Nathaniel Greene.
Eli Whitney, of whom she spoke, was
vonno Massachusetts, Yankee, who had come
to Georgia to teach, and having been taken
sick. had been invited by this hosptable lady
to reside in her house till he should recover;
He was the son of poor farmer and haa
worked his way through college without as
sistance-as Yankee boys often do. FROM
oorlv boybood he had exhibited wonderful
skill IN mechanics, and in college he used to
repair The philosophical apparatus with re-
markablc ncety---to the great admiration vi
professors and students. During his residence
with Mrs Greene he had made Tor her an m
pcnious ta,nbour frame, on new pnncipic,
as well sS many curious toys for her chllaren'
Hence her advice: Apply to my young friend,
Mr. Whitney he can make anything
She now introduced Mr.. Whitney to her
friends. who described to him the difficulties
under which they labored He told them he
had never seen pod of cotton in ms l'fe'--
Without riving them any promises, he {esoV,,
ed to procure iofe raw cotton forthwith, ana
see what he could do with It, Searching
= tabou the wharves of Savannah, he founu at
lcnrth some unclcancd cotton, ana taxing
home bundle of it in his hands, he smut nun
self ND in a room in the basement ana set 10
work to invent the machine required
All the winter he labored N his solitary
cell There were 10 proper tools 7" De e., nho
in Savannah. He made his own tools ln,re ,
was no wire. He made his own w'rc' Nc
children, the servants, the visitors to tGe mouse
wondered what he could be dong IN Inc DAISY
ment all alone; bttt he said nothing ana keP
on tinkering, hammerlnG and th'hNlhe, IN
early i'll the spring Of ll93, he mad comple's'
his work Having set up the mysterious ma
l., ;,,,itnI n nuuiIIpr Ot nlant
+. ors IN come and witness its operation. 1t
= sucooss was complete The gentlemen saw
!. with unbounded wonder and delight that on
man. with this Young Yankees engine, con
clean az much cotton in one day as a MAJ
.,o could clean bv hand in whole winter. IN
NJ nv cotton crown on large plantation could b
.;n senarated from the seed in few days, whic
III" hoforo reouircd the constant labor OF hun
;Ilo dred hands for several months. ~,
" ~ Thus was the cotton gin invented In
l"t nrincinle was so simple that the wonder We wa
~ 7 that no one had thought OF it before: III
.at cotton was put into large trough, the botfol
ea of which was formed of wires placed IN para
- lc rows, so close together that the seed cou
,,ao w. MT mass through Under this trough saws
saI voved. the teeth of which thrust themsev'
,un ,,,n between the wires; and snatched the cotto
W., ~ through, leaving the seed behind, winch II
- I
~ ,rn' out in a stream at one end OF the trough
atch Ihe slmpnci'5 VI vaI 49,. IaJ trho Good ,
al feet was that, in the course OF very rev yea
,,r, it was introduced all over the cotton otat'
'o"n an increased the value of cotton lands douol
L ! and trebed the production of cotton, and rais
- 10 the Southern States from hopeless depressl
'ss. to tbe greatest prosperity The effect was
pa. Ia sting as it was sudden. In 1898 the wh'
y ,,s we exnort of cotton from the United States
,s "+o to ten thousand bales Iii 1859 the exports
!, "b baJ five millions of bales Men acquainted W
n tbe subiect are of opinion that that single
5o,rn vention has been worth to the South one TN
scone sand millions of dollars =.
anJ How much did the inventor gain by III III
oa'a "0 Not one dollar Associating himself .witf
"an man of capital, he went to Connecticut TO
came up a manufactury of cotton gins. But
! snr SIMPLICITY of the machine was such, that
.oboIS GOOD mechanic who saw it could make o
n;nod mod and long before Whitney was ready to sup
ta hnns machines Of his own making, there were gr
JI'H, numbers in operation all over the cotton ota
J. =, r1;s r,tent proyeS to be no protection TO
. on 'iie If ri he brought suit for its inrlngmeh''
art ~ Southern ,1ry wonld give him verdict
uieas i;s strugoled on against adverse influences
Ppseut pean. 6Aeen wears. In 1908 when his patent
'"r !" nmd nired he gave up the contest ana wl,ho
aod to from the business, poorer man than ne, ne
nIu no ON tbe day when he went with his handte
,soC;O y SU, cotton pods, into Mrs Greene basem
.. . om nat Thousands Of men were rich Who but iof
ngs Of lngenuty anu d nf their days, The levet
made poor TO the Gnu VI ,.s ,,ore beaned high
es and the SoutnerI seapv;s ea Inn would never
en- cap cotton WHICH, Ioots Of cotton shps sale,
se0HS SEAS SEAS which but for him. would neverhavs :,
Gov buiIt, He, the creator of so much wealt
Gs'' turned to his native State, at the age OF
two, to begin the world anew
res and But Eli wM'nes snsnarob7e woe men.
ersville kee-one oi 'nEas o.;, NV another and
1s Ua on irving till they succeed he TUNED
''''A' tention to the improEemept Of IRE ar&s e.
toularly the old fashioned nnsGee n
established manufaesery Of fire. arms at
Haven. he prospered ip business, and w
PEh, " ~ 1..x,h IN crafty his domestic