The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-02-21
PETER COOPER.
"REMINISCENCES OF THE EARLY LIFE OF THE
GREAT PHILANTHRoPIsr

"REMINISCENCES OF THE EARLY LIFE OF THE
GREAT PHILANTHRoPIsr.
Perhaps no citizen OF New York is SO well known
the venerable Peter Cooper. His kindly face.
beaming with philanthropy. is familiar to all and
respect and admiration for him are wider than his
acquaintance No man is more modest and unas-
Stunning in his manner and none more easy OF APP
proach. The fame of his charities is worldwide and
it would be useless to recall them here. Notwith-
standing this general knowledge of Mr.. Cooper's
deeds in later years. only few know the
history of his early struggles. the secret OF
his successful and rapid accumulation or
great wealth the intimate connection he had with
some Of the greatest enterprises ever undertaken III
this country The old gentleman is always ready to
give others the benefit of his advice and wide ex-
perience to recount for the qualification of his
hearers the story of his life. As he recalled for the
writer his early occupations. his trials and his sue
cesses his face gIowed with pleasure that reflected
the consciousness of duty well performed.
Il had learned three trades. he ssad "before was
Of age My father halter. and learned how to
make hat in all its parts Then learned the art of
making ale, and after that coachmaking. At the
end of my time my employer offered to set me up in
business but dared not accept his kind offer. for
felt that if took his money aud lost it would have
to be slave for lfe."
what the first occupation you engaged in on
your own account {" asked the writer.
"WhenI quit my trade of coachmaking worked
three years at making machines for shearing cloth
for man at Hampstead. L. l.. for 81 so per day.
earned money enough to buy out his patent and sue
ceeded in making very decided improvement on the
machine itself This was about the commencement
Of the with England. Foreign goods were ex-
cluded and there great demand for my machines.
married about that time and bought me house
and had everything nicely Axed for doing business.
but after the war could not sell another machine
PETER cooPER's CRADLE.
"In those days." continued Mr.. Cooper, smiling as
the remembrance came to his mind. we kept no SER
wants they do nowadays. and niy. wife and myself
had to do all that was to be done. After our first
child was born used to into the house
and find my wife rocking the cradle, and
I relieved her from that while I there.
After doing that for few days thought to myself
that could make that thing 60 Of itself SO went
into my shop and made pendulous cradle that
would rock the child Then attached a musical in
strument which would sing for it. and at the same
time the machine would keep the flies off, The latter
was very simple; by hanging something to the
cross bar. the cradle swung under it, backward
and forward it would create wind enough to drive
away the fiies Tho machine was wound up by a
weight and would run for nearly half an hour with
out stopping. took out a patent for it,. and
horse and wagon. as they do in the country, and
saw the cradle. He struck bargain with me
and bought the patent right for the State of
ticut giving for it his horse and his wagon and all
the goods he had with him. They afterward made
some there, but nothing like as good as -, mine. 1t
reretfully he thought of 1t thing of the past
"They afterward substituted springs for the weight
movement but that kind was not good.
After i found could no longer sell my cloth
shearine machines" continued Mr. Cooper. II moved
to Y1 and s 'ro ses
important experiment. 1t was just before the Erie
Canal was completed. and conceived plan by which
to tow boats by the Of all the elevated waters
the line of the canal. To demonstrate that that
practicable made with my own hands q chain two
miles long and placed posts 200 feet apart i'll the
East River from Bellevue dock down town about
mile These posts supported grooved wheels to lay
the chain in. forming an endless chain. The whole
Bellevue dock. reservoir twelve feet square and
three deep held the water to turn the wheel.
RAPID TRANSIT FOR CANALS.
''How did the experiment succeed %
"wel" answered MIR. Cooper, when got it done.
as thought, invited Governor Clinton TO witness
the experiment. The day before he was to come /
thought my chain was little too slack. went
tighten it and pulled up the end post had all that
was possible to do to get stone enough to anchor it
before the time for him to come. had just sue
ceeded In getting it fixed and coming up to the
dock when saw him coming down III his carriage
10 witness the experiment. and had to ask him 10
get the boat before had chance to go around
Tsh snd secretary Fish himsef then little bow
won't round with u.s. The boat was hooked on to the
chain, and we made the passage back and forward
two uiles-in eleven minutes. The chain was ar
ranged that the canal boats could be hooked
oil. that boat some ten days to let people
what could be DONE and carried nearly q thousand
people. Part of the time ran two boats. Once
counted hfty-two people in one boat. ! made the
whole chain myself and planted the posts. As
and cast the wheels myself out Of block tin and zinc
1t small job, can tell you.'
What resulted from the success Of your expert
ment?'
power along the line of the canal and lock in
the canal could be made of to drive the boats.
Governor Clinton gave $500 for the privilege of
buying the right to the plan In case he should want
to it the Erie Canal In making the canal he
had promised the people along the route that
as it finished they could sell their horses to
tow the boats. their grain and fodder to feed the
horses and their provisions for the passengers On
reflection he thought that II he took all that away
from them he would have to run the gauntlet again.
and he could not afford to do that. There
never was anything done with the plan
until few years ago. when Mr.. WEIGH. president of
the Camden and Amboy Railroad and Canal, invented
exactly the thing and put IL in practice his
locks the canal He found IL saved half the time
out patent for il, and when he got there he found
that had patented the same thing fifty three years
before My patent had run out, 10 he could use the
plan his canal. 1t has also been used on one lock
on the Erie Canal. II they could have used that
chain the whole length Of the Erie Canal it would
have saved many millions of dollars. made an
of IL IL you like to hear"
The reporter aigniaed his eagerness to hear any
thing that Mr.. Cooper had to say, and after . mo-
mont's pause, he continued
WHEN GREEK MET TURK.
ut during the struggle of tho Greeks for their
Independence. became deeply interested in that
effort. and when a vessel going out from here
loaded with provisions and clothing to aid the
Greeks determined to make q contribution for
them in the torn OF torpedo vessel. 1t was small
one that could be taken on board ship and used TO
destroy any vessel that to destroy them. Ii
fixed with u rotary steam engine and a screw
wheel to propel 1T. II was intended to be guided
from the shore There were two steel wires hxed TO
the ter Of the rudder. and the operator could pull