The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1883-07-19
A Scientific Hermit,


At st. Johns Park, New York, is a
small brick house facing the south
western end of the square. 1t is only
distinguishable from its neighbors by
reason of an almost excessive neatness
and mathematical precision with which
the shades in the various windows are
adjusted. A visitor in the neighborhood
at 10 o'clock at night would see the
door of this house open suddenly and
man, apparently of 80, with stout fig
ure and ruddy face, trip lightly down
the steps, and reaching Hudson street,
walk rapidly northward.
This man is Capt. John Ericsson, the
inventor of the screw propeller, the
monitor, the solar engine and host OF
other famous contrivances. Though he
looks but so he is in reality 80years old,
but having been as successful in finding
a solution for the problem how to live,
as how to overcome the resistance OF
the sub-current, he is enabled at what
is usually considered to be advanced
age, to work twelve hours day, walk
to Central Park and back, and withal
preserve his mind unimpaired.
Ericsson's mode of life may be briefly
stated. Upon rising in the morning he
rubs his skin briskly with dry towels,
following which he takes cold bath,
in summer using crushed ice. Then
come gymnastic exercises of vigorous
description. When his system has re-
covered its normal temperature Erics-
son breakfasts upon eggs, tea, and
coarse brown bread. Then comes work
and, as may be supposed, when Erics-
son works it is to some purpose.
He resembles Edison in his natural
inventive instinct, his thorough origin
ality and his profound indifference, if
not contempt, for the dogmas laid down
by those learned gentleman who have
spent life in the laboratory without
accomplishing anything beyond the gen.
Grafton of new and usually useless COM
pounds. But Ericsson has an advan-
tage over Edison in the fact that he re-
ceived in early life superior education.
Thus it is that instead of being compel
led, like Edison, to work out the SIM
plest problem by actually handling the
metals, acids and other ingredients he
has but to take pencil in his hand and
perhaps table of logarithms and the
thing is done. All his work-and this.
as has already been said, occupies
twelve hours daily-is performed at
either the drawing board or the writing
desk.
Singularly enough, Ericsson delights
in knocking down idols which he has
once set up. Thus, he perfected the
steam engine and found new uses for it,
and this being done, at once set himself
to work to find machine that should
take its place, namely, the solar engine,
which gathers and slows away the heat
generated by the suns rays. 1t should
be said, however, that Ericsson only in
tended this to take the place of the
steam engine where fuel was costly and
water not to be had, as, for instance, in
Upper Egypt.
Again, after revolutionizing marine
warfare with his monitor, he is now
hard at work perfecting DESTROYER"
that shall make armored war ships as
useless as wooden ones.
Capt. Ericsson is widower and
childless. The fact that his father, un-
cles and brothers have been distinguish
ed in their native country for mental
ability, goes far to prove that John
Ericsson's genius is no abnormal growth,
but the healthy product of rare stock
which has in him reached its best de-
Velopment.-NeW York Journal.