The daily gazette., 1877-07-13
4 Iip9ose aqf WaspingtOn. l,Gs.s,Se am

his ideas into ps acticai fofm.o de Duiit
asmodel and launched her in trough.
He stirred uppi with kerosene and rails
Ell steam tO work his Bump. The ex-
psrm eat with the working model salts
Aed tue inventor INT lie WAS on the
righttrack. Bat between thai model
and the trimslittle Alpha, which ran
down the bay on her trial trip yester-
day there wasfa vide gulf of hope,
disappointment hard work and expec-
tstion. AT 1 O'Clock yesterday alter
noon Mr.. George g. Caldwell the in
ventor; Capt. Jeremiah Cotterell, mas
tel; Mr.. John Ahern business agent; !;
and Mr.. Wn. Warren who has aided
MIR. Caldwell, went on board at the
Long Dock, accompanied by repre-
sentatives Of the pfess. The Alpha
is Baltimore built boat constructed
on the tug boat model, and as neat q
thing of kind as there is afioat. She is
forty three feet in length, and has ten
and halffeet Of beam. Bile Is furnish
ed with one sixteen horse power hori-
zontal tubular boiler and No. Z
Knowles pump. From the pump to the
, stern are two lines OF pipe, which
strike the water about three feet be-
meath the surface. Two similar lines
run to the bow. The pump drives
through each pipes a two and half
inch stream which enters the water
through 7-e-inch nozzle. With sixty
pounds of steam the pump makes leO
strokes to the minute each stroke driv-
| ing into the body of water. This is all
there is about this wonderful device.
And yet, under all the disadvantages
of trial trip, this was the device
W hich yesterday enabled the Alpha to
make ten knots an hour under sixty
pounds pressure. There was not rip
pile astern, and no perceptible dis
placement of the water, except the
Ii tie made by tie cutting of The bow.
She was backed and turned with pei
feet ease. To back the boat the, str. am
is driven through the bow nozzles and
the craft oDeys on the instant. II tbe
boat were 10 spring aleak, the pump
would simply draw it's supply from
the hole ana 60 on with its work. lit ia
4 claimed that a vessel provided with
this appliance could not sink undeI
ordinary leakage. For prudential rea.
sops there were no experiments in
this line Yesterday, A remarkable
feature of the Cald well contrivsnce !,
that the power which propels will al
so steer, To accomplish this the noz
zles are worked alternately from sid'
TO aide using The streamsas levers, OF
the principal Of the oar. There is ye'
another uss to which this device caI
be applied. 1n Case of fire on board o
about lhe docks,,R line of hose is at
tached 70 the pump, and in q secont
there is floating steam engine whlcl
at least hulds its own with anything
on wheels, The inventor claims J., tina
his device can be prottably applied t.
any vessel, although il is mainly ln
tended for canal service, where the dc
msnd is for u cheap propeller that vii
not wash banks. Mr.. Caldwell ds
5 lclares that both the first and alter cos
II Of his invention will be far less tha
that of any thing now in use. Tine Ell
tire driving apparatus is below, and n
5 palt Uf it could, be- carried away by az
r. cideDt or design. The whole thing
q 80 simple that there is not much to Il
out OF order and nvthipg that coul
not easily be repaired. Tue atse mpt q
e the British Government in 1856 IL 81
y ply water as a propelling power 10 We
,e se.s is the onlysimilar effo.t W thin oy
knowledge. The Water Witch was ~
,s PEELED by streams forced out at th
is sides, a rotary fan supplying the pow
er. The Wafer Witcn achieved fal
d ure and retired from business. III
=. Caldwell's invention has been paten
~ ed in Europe as we'll as in this cou
at try. 'i f'.H