The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-22
STEAMSHIPS BEFORE FULTON.
A story of Early transportation
From CarIyIe's "Reminiscences

story OF EARLY transportation
From CarIyIe's "Reminiscences.
Robert Fulton is famed In history as
the inventor Of steamboats,. But did
the idea Of applying steam to wate1.
transportation originate with him?
Apropos Of this question, an interesting
little story is recorded in CarlyIe's
"reminiscences" In 1917, or there
abouts, Carlyle was a teacher Of math-
enlatlcs In an academy conducted by
ms famous friend, Edward Irving, at
N4[Kcaldy. During vacation he made O
waking tour with Irving, lone Piers,'
ana James Brown to the Trosachs and
gov, etc.
AT Greenock," he says ct saw steam
ers on the water; queer little dumpy
th1ngs with red sail to each. and leg~
lple names, Defiance" and such like.
oobblng about here and there, and
making continual passages to Glasgow
as their business. Not till about two
years later Q819, If 1 mistake noD did
Forth see steamer; Forth's first was
far bigger than the Greenock ones, and
called itself The Tug" being intended
for towing ships in those narrow wa
tiers, as 1 have often seen 1t doing; II
still, and no rival or congener, till Gn
1925 Leith, spurred on by one Balm,
kind of scientific half-pay master
steamer, or pair of steamers, for Lon
don, which, so successful were they, all
ports then set to initiating.
London alone still held back for
good few years; London was notably
shy Of the steamship, great as are it's
doing now in that line. An old friend
Of mine. the late Mr.. Strachey, has
told me that in his school days he at
one time-early in the '90s, [ should
guess say 1793-used to see, in crossing
Westminster bridge, little model
steamship padding to and fro between
him and Blackfriars bridge, with
steam funnel paddle wheels and the
other outfit, exhibiting and recon-
mending itself to London and what
ever scientific or other spirit Of marine
adventure London might have. Lon
don entirely dead to the phenomenon
which had to duck under and dive
across the Atlantic before London saw
1t again, when a new generation had
risen.
THE real inventor Of steamships, I
have learned credibly elsewhere, the
maker and proprietor of that fruitless
model on the Thames, was Mr. Miller,
laird of DalWinstOn in Dumfriesshire
POet Burns landlOrd), who spent his
life and his estate in that adventure,
and is not now to be heard Of in those
parts, having had to sell Dalwinston
think Observation-Disclosures that COM
pleting of his painful invention, and
finding London and mankind dead to
it.
''Miller's assistant and work hand for
many years was John Bell, joiner in
the neighboring village of ThOrnhill.
Miller being ruined, Bell was out Of
work and connections; emigrated tn =
New York, and there, speaking much
of his old master and glorious unheed-
ed invention-well known to Bell in all
it's outlines or details-at length found
one Fulton to listen to him; and by
Fulton and Bell (abOut 1909 an actual
packet steamer was got launched, and,
lucratively plying on the Hudson river,
became the miracle of Yankeeland and
gradually of all lands.
These, I believe, are essentially the
facts, Old Robert Mcqueen, Of Thorn
hill, Strachey, of the India house, and
many other bits of good testimony
and indication, once far apart, coalesc-
ing and CORES spending for me. And as
possibly enough, the story Is not now
known in whole to anybody but myself,
it may go in here as a depression,
apropos of those brisk little GreenOck
steamers which I first saw-and still
SO wildly remember, little Defiance
etc.-saucily bounding about with their
red sails in the sun on this my tour
with Irving"