Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-07-30
The BoyhOOd of a Great Engineer.

COlOQol w. ". OuuTCu, CulllOu Oh tue
Army md NaUy Journal, contributes to
the April Scrbner notable paper on
Ericsson, the engineer, inventor of steam
fire engines, the screw propeller, the
Monitor, etc. Mr.. Ericsson, heretofore so
steadily avoided public mention that the
present sketch will be to many the first
adequate account of this Interesting per-
son. As will be seen by the following
extract from the magazine, with Ericsson
us with others, ." the child is father to the
man."
Before he was eleven years old, during
the winter of 1918, John had produced a
sawmill of ingenious construction and had
planned pumping engine designed to
clear the mines of water. The frame Of
the sawmill was of wood; the sawblade
was made from watch spring, and the
crank which actuated it was cast from
broken tin spoon. A file, borrowed from
a neighboring blacksmith, to cut the saw.
teeth, gimlet and the ubiquitous Jack
knife, were the only tools available for
this work. A much more ambitious
undertaking was the pumping engine
The year before, when only nine years OF
age, young Ericsson had made the acquaint'
ance of drawing instruments in one of the
draught offices of the grand ship canal Of
Sweden and learned how these instru.
mcnts were used to lay out the work Of
construction in advance. Meanwhile, his
father had removed to the depths of pine
forest where he selected the timber for
the lock-gates of the canal In this will
derness, II quill and a pencil were the
in tho nf
drawing tools. Like Crusoe on his island,
he had to begin at the beginning. He
made compasses of birch wood with nee
dies inserted in the ends Of the legs. A
pair of steel tweezers obtained from his
mothers dressing case were converted
into a drawing pen, and the same good
mother was persuaded, after much en-
treaty, to allow her sable cloak to be
robbed of hair enough to provide material
for two small brushes with which to apply
the coloring at that time deemed essential
in all mechanical drawings. The pump
ing machine was to be operated by wind
mill, and here the youthful inventor was
at fault. He had heard much about a
windmill, but had never seen one. Follow
ing, as we'll as he could, the description of
those who had had the happiness to view
this wonderful machine, he succeeded in
constructing on paper the mechanism,
connecting the crank of the windmill shaft
with the pump levers, but how to turn
the mill to the changing wind he could
not divine. Fortunately Johns father
made visit to the windmill, and in
describing what he had seen, spoke of a
"ball and socket joint" The hint was
sufficient; the boy rushed to his drawing
table and soon added ball and socket
joint where the connecting rod for the
driving crank joined the pump lever.
with the execution Of this drawing began
John Ericsson's mechanical career. The
plan conceived and executed under such
dscouraging circumstances by mere
child attracted the attention Of Admiral
Count Platen, the president of the Gotha
ship canal, on which Ericsson's father was
employed, and one of Sweden's great men.
Continue as you have begun and you
will one day produce something extraor-
dinary," prophsied the count of his young
protcgc. Richly has the prophesy been
fulfilled.
Ericsson was appointed cadet in the
Swedish corps of mechanical engineers
when he was twelve years old, was soon
after promoted to niUelteWr Jewellery, and
at the age of thirteen was put in charge Of
Il section of the ship canal over which his
friend, the count, presided. Six hundred
of the royal troops, at work upon this
section looked for directions in their daily
work to this child, among whose necessary
attendants was one who followed after
him with the stool upon which he stood tc
raise himself to the height of his levelline
instruments. The amusements of this boy
engineer are indicated by his possession al
the age of fifteen of a portfolio of drawings
made in his leisure moments giving maps
of the most important parts of the grant
canal, three hundred miles in length, ant
showing all the machinery and impe
ments used in its construction. Many
important works upon this canal, which
opens an inland channel across Sweder
from the Baltic to the North sea, wer'
constructed from drawings made by Erics
son at an age when he might rather hav'
been expected to be found playing foot
ball.