The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-02-10

chuckled with pride at the success OF MS
sons experiment
Georges prosperity continued, and all
the machinery at several large collierles
was put under his charge.
Close in front of the cottage where he
was born was a wooden tram-road worked
by horses. Thus naturally his mind was
drawn to the use of steam-pOwer for trac-
ton. Many experiments were made about
1912 and 1913 in this direction. One of
them was the remarkable eXpedient of
" Mechanical Traveller to go upon legs
working alternately like those of horse.
1t was never fairly tried for the driver,
on its first trial, put ON too much steam,
burst the boiler, and Killed several specta-
tors, besides wOundlng more.
In 1926 tile Wyiam Railroad was dis
tinguishcd for its progress 1t was III The
county where George Stephenson was at
work managing machinery at coal mines,
and anxiOusly studying locOmOtion by
steam. The emotions with which the
engines then used, only fourty four years
ago, were regarded-and we pause in
wiring, making an effort to realize their
truth to nature, and wonder what changes
may take place in the same number of the
wears next To come-Mr Mackenzie, in the
. History of Northumberland" says: "A
stranger is struck with surprise and
establishment at seeing locomotive NOV
ing majestically along the road at the rate
Of four or five miles an hour, drawing
along from ten To fourteen loaded wagons,
weighing about 81 - tons, and his surprise
| is increased on Witnessing the cXtraorGI-
nary facility with which the engine Is
managed This invention is a noble
! triumph Of science"
In July, 1914, on the KillingwOrth Rail-
way, Stephenson tried his first locomotive
ON an ascending gradient of l i'll 40 it
drew eight wagons of thirty tons weight
at about four miles an hour. Blucher,"
as it was popularity called, was for some
time kept regularly at work, but at the
end of the first year steam power and
horse power were found to be Us nearly as
| possible on par as to cost One great
difficulty Stephenson encountered was the
want Of Skilful mechanics. In marking
the progress since made in the change in
this respect is a most important point
One day, in 1914, a workman hurried
into Stcphenson's cottage, cxclaiming that
the deepest main in the colliery was on
fire. Women and children were running
about, wildness and terror depicted in
every face. In a commanding voice
Stephenson ordered the engine man &c
lower him down the shaft. There was
danger-it might be doath-befOre him
but he must 90. The men in the pit were
paralyzed with fear. Leaping from The
cage us soon as it touched the ground, ht
called out, care there six men amOngyOu
who have the courage to follow me: /
SO, come on and we vii! put the fire out.
They readily volunteered. Suddenly 81
lencc succeeded to frantic tumult; thu
men set to work with will. Brick, NOR
tar and tools were at hand, and in a shor
time wall was raised at the entrance Il
, the main, Stephenson himself taking
| most active part in the work. Thus tn
atmospheric air was excluded, the fire Wa
extinguished, most if not all the people il
the pit were saved from death, and tn
mine was preserved.
A few days afterwards the cause Of tn
! accident was discovered. Robert Heppel
: one of the men who had put out the fire
, and Stephenson, were in the mine search
f ing for the bodies of the killed, and Hep
pei asked, Can nothing be done TO pre-
t vent such awful occurences?' Stephensol
| replied that he thought something NIGH
be done. Then said Heppcl, "th
. sooner you begin the better, for the pric
Of cCal-mi.iing now is pitmen's lives"
at that time many of the best pits wer
so dangerous from inflammable gas tina
; they were altogether abandoned. Eyel
the phOsph0rcscence Of decaycd tisll-skin
was tiled as an expcdient and the mos
common method of giving light TO th
, miners at work was to employ boy wh'
worked what was called "a stcci-inill, thu
nOtchcd-whcelsO Of which revolving agalns
. flint served TO make the darkness yisi
= bic.
Sir Humphrey Davy, then in full zentl
of his fame was requested to turn his at
c tcntion To the subject, and read before TIL
j.: Royal Society Of London, his celebrated
: paper "On the firc-lamp of coal mines
4 ! and on methods of lighting the mines $
c as to prevent its explosion" But Stephen
D son, whose eagcrness had been quic.:enc,
IA by the painful incident already relate
= had already solved the problem OF tn
1 Safety Lamp.
In making the first experiments with hi
S lamp, Stevenson behaved with his usua
courage, and naving lighted it boldly wen
= towards the explosive air i'm a mine wher
{ it was known TO exist. His companion
4 hung back and retired out of sight of tn
e lamp, which gradually disappeared wit
S its nearer on the rtcesscs i'll the mint
l. Stephenson advanced along with his yt
/ | untIlcu ramp III inc ucptHS Oh tlloSc unucl
ground workings, calmly yenturing hi
h life in the determination to discover
/ mode by which the lives of many migl
|, be saved, and death disarmed in these f;
e tai caycrns, presenting an example of il
: trcpid nerve and manly courage MOI
e noble even than that which in the excite
: ment of battle and the collective impctt
d osity OF /; charge carries man up TO til
80 cannon : mont H.
g Bat when Robert Stephenson, the Sol
e was asked to give his :opinion as to til
relative priority of his fathers lamp an
n that of Sir Humphrey bavy, he said :"
+ am not exactly the person To give an III
g biased opinion, but az you ask me frankl
p | viii as frankly say, that if George st
= phenson had never lived, Sir Humphre
< Davy could, and most probably woul
( have invented the safety lamp; but agai
a if Sir Humphrey Davy had never live
George Stephenson certainly would hay
Il invented the safety lamp, a. believe
e did, independently of all that Sir Hun
h phrey Davy had done lii the matter-Ne
p York World