The record-union., 1896-05-24
THE MOTOR CARRIAGE.
Graphic Description Of a Ride In New
York City.
A Woman Guiding the New Electric
Carriage Through the Crowded
Thoroughfares.

1t is worth any ones while to take a
ride in horseless carriage. 1t is all
the more so when, as did, you guide it
yourself
The first successful invention of this
sort has been on exhibition at the cir
Gus during the past few weeks, and with
view to testing the merits of mans
inventive genius versus natures Great
i've genius, induced the operator of the
motor wagon to take it out one day last
week, and take me with him, for a spin
up the road
TITS all very well,'' 1 said, critically
gazing at the progressive bit of ma
chinery with the high-box seat-''it's
all very well for you to push your
wagon around the circus on q level
dirt track, where the road Is clear, but
that isn't convincing. I want to see it
go over cobblestones in a crowded
thoroughfare, where there is some COM
petition, and not a little hindrance"
Step in," said the OPERATOR with a
profound bow.
1 stepped in. The seat was soft and
comfortable, and the cart was provided
with excellent springs.
Then the operator fastened a crank
to the side of the wagon and turned it
several times; at the same time tap
ping a bellows below the seat, which
emitted electric sparks into the cylin-
der. These sparks, the operator ex
planned, exploded the naptha as it fell,
drop by drop, into the battery, thus ere
ating the power by which the machine
is propelled Then I looked behind the
seat, while the operator held up the lid,
and watched the wheels go round
No one would ever suppose, to look at
the compact, high-seated box cart, that
beneath the innocent exterior a whole
network of wheels and machinery is
| hidden that starts up or shuts off in
answer to one touch of the operators
hand. Yet such is the latest improve
ment in the power, which, it is hoped,
will supersede the horse.
A BUZZ AND AN ODOR.
Three minutes after I made the sug-
! gestion to the operator the little ma
| chine was buZZing away under the seat,
| a disagreeable odor of naphtha filed
| the air. and we were out on the cobble-
stones headed toward Madison avenue.
A number of small boys, and not few
large ones, followed in our wake, MAX
| ing divers comments about the car
rage and its occupants.
| Several urchins Of the variety that
feeds on circus anticipation eleven
months of every year, and hangs about
| the Gardens stage doors with wide
| open eyes for smell of the sawdust
ring, declared that "dats der lady wot
! does der tight rope act, an its dead
| peach act all right, too; see
| This assurance doubled the interest of
the crowd, to which a dozen more were
added, and then we reached Madison
avenue, and with my heart in my throat
and my hands clutching the seat railing,
I was whisked round the corner through
a dreadful array Of cabs and wagons.
| The motor wagon went through the
| crowd Of vehicles without a swerve,
| though we were greatly aided by the
readiness of drivers TO make way for US.
| No one seemed anxious to court contact
with US. The cabbes awoke from their
| dreams of swell fares and gazed after
US with sleepy interest, and cabbies'
! horses wagged their ears and snorted
rebelliously against the outrageous
methods of progression.
| After a run of twenty blocks up Mad
ison avenue we turned through to Fifth,
| leaving a row of curious people stand
ing on either side, who watched us till
we were out of sight. By this time /
had gained unlimited confidence in my
new friend and his ability to steer out
| of danger, so I let go my hold of the
railing leaned back against the cush-
ions and thoroughly enjoyed the drive.
AT A LIVELY PACE-NO, SPEED.
| It was a fine day, and we went at such
a good pace, or speed, we got the full
benefit of the breeze. We went up Fifth
avenue as far as the Park and though
at times there was only sufficient room
| for our carriage to pass through the
crowd of other wagons the little lever
was as true and safe in its calculations
as a thoroughbred horse.
The whole apparatus is managed by
one lever, which is decidedly an i'm
provement ON the wretched arrange
ment of the foreign machines, which re-
quire the manipulation Of six different
levers. A machine with such a compli-
cation of steering apparatus can be of
no use to the retail merchant, who en-
ploys a raw boy to drive his wagon
and deliver his parcels; it would be i'm
practicable to apply it to our fire en-
| gines-Which seems to be one of the
aims of the motor wagon constructors
| because of the complexity of the levers,
which would be annoying in such time
| of high-strung nerves. To the pleas
ure-seeker, from the man-aboutt town
who returns from the road in no mind
| for calculations. to the serious young
man who brings his best young girl
home by the light of the moon six levers
would be utterly disastrous to hope and
| happiness. The American manufacture
ers knew the American market when
/ they provided their motor wagon with
a single lever.
'The management is simple said the
operator; take the lever and try"
| 1 looked obviously at the operator.
Things that look innocent are some
times deceptive, and the constant chu-
chu-chu of the engine beneath us, and
the suspicious odor of naptha brought
to my mind many touching details of
explosion disasters.
Such a trifing determination, how
ever, should not thwart my determi-
! nation to test the machine in every pos
sible way. l touched the lever gingerly
Nothing happened. The great advan-
tage of a cell battery over a horse is
that it obeys all masters alike
AN UNCERTAIN PILOT.
Push to the right or left, as you wish
to CO." said the operator. Push it up
when you wish to go faster and down
when you wish to slacken the speed"
I obeyed these rules and regulations
as they were given, to make sure they
were the proper working orders, with
the result of switching the wagon in a
! very uncertain way about the avenue