Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-02-16
olscovER1a OF tbs STEAM ENGINE.

Solomon Cans Was Shut Up In Madhenas
Because of Great Idea
There lived in Normandy, where he was
born in 1876, man named Solomon Caus.
He was an engineer and architect, and had
held several important positions. He wrote
great many scientific works and papers,
of which, however, no one took much no
tice during his life, and finally was seized
with an idea which made his friends and
relatives fear that he was mad. After pes
tering the king and the cardinal at Paris,
he was ordered to be taken to Bicetre-the
madhouse-and there shut up. This was
done. They had just one way with mad
people in those days. They shut them in
iron cages and fed them through the bars
like wild beasts. They did this to Solomon
Claus.
For long time he stood behind those
bars all day and called to those who would
listen, and to them repeated the story he
had told the cardinal. He became the lest
of the place. Some of them even gave him
writing materials and then amid the mis-
cry of his surroundings he wrote down his
ideas and amused his jailers so much TIE
more. However, it could not be long b,.
fore such a life, such surroundings. would
shatter any brain. In time Solomon Cav
was as mad as every one believed him.
1t was in 1924 that an English noblen1a;
Lord Worcester, went to Paris and vieit,.:
Bicetre. As he was passing through the
great court accompanied by the keeper &
hldeous face with matted beard and hair az
peared at the grating, and voice shriekod
wildly: stop! stop! | am not mad. lam
shut up here most uujustly ! have mad,
an invention which would enrich count
that adopted it, What does he sag. /,
of" the marquis asked his guide. "Ch.
that is his madness" said a. q guide LAUGH
ing. That is a man called solomon CaUs:
he is from Normandy. He believes that II
the use Ct the steam of boiling wafer he can
make ships go over the ocean and aarriaC
travel by land-in fact, do all So..s al wlr-
derlUi things. He has even WI. 3. = book
about 1t. which l can show YOU" Lord
Worcester asked for the book. glanced over
1t, and desired to be conducted to The cell
of the writer. When he returned he had
been weeping The poor man is cor.a.-ly
mad now he said, but when you i7ar.ris-
oned him he was the greatest genius Of the
age. He has certainly made a very great
discovery"
After this Lord Worcester made many
efforts to procure the Liberation Of the man.
who doubtless would have been restored 10
iNs~Sh ny AISthbEll bENlit4Ig SlflDGEtl-
inSs, but in vain; the cardinal was against
him, and his English friends began / 70 fancy
that he himself had lost his senses. for one
wrote TO another: My lord is remarkable
for never being satisfied with any exnlapa-
tions which are given him. but ALWAYS
wanting to know for himself, although he
seems to pierce to the very center Of a
speakers thoughts with his big blue ewes
that never leave theirs At visit to BIZ
cetre he thought he had discovered genius
in mailman who declares he would travel
the world over with a kettle of boiling
water. He desired to carry him away to
London that he might listen to his extrav-
agances from morning till night, and
would, ! think, If the maniac had not been
actually raving and chained to the wall"
Thus in Bicetre died the man to whom,
after his works We're published, many peo-
pie gave the credit of being the discoverer
OF steam power, and ii is said that from the
manuscript written in his prison Lord
Worcester gathered the idea of machine
spoken of as a water commanding engine"
which he afterward invented Historians
have denied that Caus died in prison. but
there exists letter written by Marion de
Lorme, who was with Lord Worcester at
the time of his interview with Caus, which
establishes the fact beyond doubt. -London
Invention.