Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-02-15
The First Steamboat,

The Rev. Frederick Reynolds Free
man, Baptist clergyman of Illinois,
now in his 73d year, was an infant Of
two years at the time OF the arrival of
the Ctermont at Albany on her first voy-
age up the Hudson. He was carried on
board in his mothers arms, and ha wing
made the history of the voyage q mat
ter of study and record in after years,
he communicates the following account
to the Philadelphia Press:
"The first steam packet (of 140 feet
keel and 1917 feet beam) was trim and
handsome enough, excepting the boil
ers, machinery and smoke-stack, which
were rude, cumbrous and Of extremely
formidable appearance. The side
wheel, too. was clumsy affair, uncov-
cred and with twelve huge paddles, held
in their place by ring half way between
their extremities and the hub, that sent
water splashing upon the deck with
every revolution. The top OF the
smoke.stack was about thirty feet above
the deck-nearIy as high as the two
masts, from the rear one of which float
ed the stars and stripes.
Hours before she started great
multitude had assembled along the
wharfs to witness the expected inglori-
Gus ending of what was generally
known as Fulton's Folly Cries of
God help you, Bobbyr Bring us
back chip Of the North Poler "A fool
and his money are soon parted ! etc.,
were frequent, loud and annoying.
Fulton, however, knew That the crowd
were sincere in their ridicule, and with
q confident smile, went on superintend
ing preparations for the start, as if he
knew that triumph would presently
more than over-balance the sneers, jibes
and catcalls of the vulgar, and the pity
ing manners of the more refined.
Smoke issues from the stack ; the haw-
ser is drawn in the side wheel quivers;
it slowly revolves Fulton's own hand
at the helmet turns out the bow he is
pale, but still confident and self pos
sessed; the Clermont moves out into the
stream, the ponderous machinery
thrumping and grooming. the wheels
frantically splashing and the stack
belching like volcano but the Cler-
mont steadily moves 4; all aboard swing
their hats in the air, and give cheer
that is Immediately taken up by the en-
tire multitude on land the Pennsylva-
MAN has triumphed, and the hitherto
incredulous and hooking populace of
New York are the first to do him honor !;
the crowd remained cheering on the
piers until the Clermont was out of
sight up the Hudson"
Mr.. Freeman says that the boat ar
rived at Albany on September 10, thir-
ty six hours after starting from New
York. It had not been continually in
motion, the party having stopped at the
residence of Chancellor Livingston on
the way up. The speed was at the rate
of five miles an hour. The appearance
of the strange vessel as she steamed up
the river had remarkable effect, even
in daytime, upon the crews of crafts
passing by, for comparatively few Of
the shippers coming down could in
those days of slow mail and no tele-
graph, have been prepared to encoun-
ter such an oddity but at night the
Clermont spread CONSERVATION and ter
ror on all sides. 1t was very dark, and
the fires were fed with dry, white pine
wood, which, when stirred, would send
up columns of flame and sparks from
the mouth of the tall stack. This APP
parent volcano, moving steadily
through tho darkness up the middle Of
the river and accompanied by the
rumbling and the grooming of the hard
laboring machinery. was we'll calculated
to strike terror into the hearts of sailors
on the sloops and other crafts coming
down with grain and general farm pro-
duce, who had never heard of any mo-
tive power for vessels except wind, and
who withal were extremely supersti-
tious.
"My father and others told me, !"
says Mr.. Freeman, that whole crews
Frustrated themselves upon their knees
and besought divine providence to pro-
tect them from the horrible monster
that was marching on the tides and
lighting up its pathway by its fires"