The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1883-04-13

used on this continent.
Finding that the wood on all parts of
his property was being stolen, he deter
mined to utilize IL on the spot. He
had four or five hundred tons of iron
ore raised at Lazareth point, and devils
ed plan to make charcoal ont of the
wood for the purpose of making char
coal iron. He had some large kilns
erected, and made the charcoal success
fully, but he nearly lost his life on that
occasion at one of the kilns. 1t APP
pears that the coal took fire and all the
efforts of the woikmen to extingush it
failed Mr. Cooper went to the door of
the kiln to see what could be done,
and the gas took fire, envoloping him
in a sheet of flame. His eyebrows,
whiskers, and fur hat were singed, but
he was blown away from the kiln by
the explosion, so that he escaped seri-
Gus injury. He built rolling mill on
the property, but finally sold out to the
Canton Company. He took some of
his pay in stock at $44 share, and
kept it up till it went up to 1928 a
share so that, although he was imposed
upon in the beginning of the enter
prise, he came out with very hand
some profit at the end of it. He next
bought property in Thirty-third
street, near Third avenue, and built an
iron factory, which he soon turned
into rolling mill for rolling
iron and making iron wire After
some years he removed the business to
Trenton, n. j., where he bought pow
er, enlarged the works, and built mill
and wire factory, employing hundreds
of men. A few years later he built at
Phillipsburg the three largest blast fur
naces then known. He afterward
bought the Andover mines, and built
railroad eight miles long to bring the
ore to the furnace at the rate of no.,
900 tons year. After running the
works several years, he disposed of
them to stock company, which also
took in the Trenton Iron Works, inclu-
ding a second rolling mill and wire
orks, and IL, 900 acres known as the
Ringwood property. Finally the oper
ations of the company were contracted
and Mr.. Cooper resumed possession of
the Ringwood property, which was
then earning abol 100000 a year.
He gave his business to his son, Ed
ward Cooper, and his son in-law,
Abram S. Hewitt, and it is still owned
and conducted by Cooper & Hewitt.
In one of Mr. Cooper's Ringwood
mills was rolled the first of the iron grid
| al, pnn,p,nnl,, ,tSaI y,
freproof buildings. The idea of max
ing such girders occurred to Mr.. Coop
er when he was planning the Cooper
Union building. Wishing to make the
building fireproof, he sought iron grid
ers in the market, but could find none.
Then he determined to make them in
his own mills. BIT before he succeed
ed he expended $4,000 in experimen.
tai machinery. The great cost was
owing to the fact that at first there
was no adequate conception of the
enormous strength of machinery re-
quired to do the work. The investment
proved a profitable one in the end, as
his mills were required to make many
more such girders after he had produc.
ed the first. Other manufacturers,
however, came in for part of the ben.
eft of his experience, because he did
not see fit TO patent the process that
cost him so much time and money tc
produce.
AS President of the New York
| Newfoundland, and London Telegraph
Company he was associated with Mar
shall O. Roberts, Moses Taylor, VIII
son G. Hunt, Cyrus w. Field, and 9th
efs. They steadily paid out money fol
fourteen years, without return, in tn,
confident hope of ultimately perfectins
telegraphic communication between
Europe and the United States. The,
lost the first cable that was laid acros
, the Gulf of st. Lawrence, misfortune
which cost them between three an,
four hundred thousand dollars. Thi
occasioned delay OF year and hall
But at length the line to Newfound
land was completed, and after viqor
Gus efforts the requisite capital was sc
cured for the laying of tn
first ocean cable. English capita
, was obtained to take part of the risk
and the first ocean cable was laid.
, worked until 400 messages were receiy
ed, and then gave out. But the test
! mony that the line had worked was S
! conclusive that other capital was secul
, ed. Peter Cooper maintained his cor
tidence in the ocean cable from tn
first and in company with Moses Tay
lor, Cyrus w. Field, Marshall o. Rol
erts and others, got up the subscriptio
fer laying the second cable, which wa
? unfortunately broken and the end los
o in mid-ocean. Peter Cooper did nc
even then lose faith, but kept on aC
4 vancing his share Of the money, an
n was one of the chief stockholders
the company that had laid the first SUI
. cessiul ocean cable.
: In the many enterprises that Pet,
p Cooper entered into, he derived muc
!. advantage from his aptitude for m
n chanical invention At l5 he made
e pair of shoes and the lasts on whiC
d they were made. While he was q
n apprentice at coach making, he planne
j. at night the model of a machine
utilize the power of the rising al
n falling of the tide, His corceptiC
n was to store up the power in compre
. ed air, and use it in mills or on boat
10 Robert Fulton inspected che mode
No but was too much occupied with stea
o. navigation to give it much attentio
~ and the invention was never used.
m Another of his inventions was a su
~ stitute for the crank motion. This
Il applied to the first locomotive used {
n the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, b
Il for SOME reason it was discarded, Il
q fore the water was let into the Fl
Je canal, Peter Cooper devised meth
$ of propelling the boats by means of
h. series of endless chains eXtening aloI
the line of the canal, and worked
, water power. lie went to the exper
~ ~ of building hatboat and putting do'
~ a section of posts in the East Ri,
u Il from the foot of Eighth street to t
/ 4. Al