The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1897-12-04
THE IRON LIFE-BOAT.
Trials OF Joseph Francis In Tr ying to Per
feet the Life-Saving Appliance.

Trials OF Joseph Francis In Tr ying to Per
feet the Life-Saving Appliance.
But such work as this, successful as
it was, was only what we might call
amusement-therew was far more serious
work to perform. From 1880 to 1910 the
young man was spending all his spare
time and money at work upon boat
which should not only save lives but
which could not be crushed on the rocks
when the waves were hurting them
selves shoreward. His cork-lined boats
were successful, and were giving him
a worldwide fame as an inventor and
philanthropist; but he felt that unless
he could invent boat of some other ma
terial than wood his object was but half
attained.
He resolved to try iron. Those of his
friends who knew of this step looked
upon him-as many an inventor is
looked upon in our own day-as little
less than lunatic. Iron for boat?
Why, it would take such vast amount
of wood to float the iron that it would
be impossible to propel the boat-to
say nothing of having it breast the
waves of q furious gale and go out
t.rcu~h the srorrl to q wrecked ship!
The idea, they said, was simply prepos-
ferrous. The young man acknowledged
the apparent force of the argument,
but he believed there was a way out of
tEe difficulty. He started in the path
alone. He found many cruel and dis
hcartering difficulties in the way, but
he travcly met all trouble, and he nobly
maintained h1 high purpose, and won
81 last magnificent victory, not only
for himself, but for all mankind.
In lis later years Mr.. Francis loved
to tell of the trials of that critical time
Amid his later honors he never forgot
tie days when at one moment he seemed
SO near to success and at another so
near TO the saddcst of failures.
1t was now the year 1s41. He had
taken his faE1ily-for he was married
to country place where he could live
moro cheaply than in the city. He had
tic Use of room in house on Anthony
street, in the city of New York, in which
to carry on the work of his inventions,
by the favor of Myndert Van Shoick,
Il gentleman who was much interested
in the outcome of the matter. Here,
shut in from all the world, in sore pow
crty, he worked for IL months, long,
discourG:;ing, weary year. The end to
be gained was to make iron float on
water, something which his best friends
thought the dream of lunatic. Day
by Gay and night by night he worked
He denied himself all lux
uries, all comforts. He met with failure
after failure.
He found himself one day at the close
of the year reduced to actual want-and
his object not attained. He had but a
pittance in his pocket. He was hun
CRY, but he needed one more piece of
iron to make one last supreme effort. |
He went out to junk shop with his
last 25 cents. He bought his piece of
iron for 13 cents. With the rest of the |
he bought bread and molasses. |
All that night he worked. In the morn |
irr he found that the rats had stolen |
80 piece of bread which he saved for
his breakfast, but the labor of the night |
had brought victory. He had solved
the problem! He had conquered in the
liercest battle of his life. He had
achieved the success hesought, and this
victory meant the saving of the lives
Of many thousands of his fellow-men.
The corrugation of iron, forming
ridges in lines along the sides of the |
boat, had been invented. By this he f
was enabled to make the iron float, for
ne could bend it and shape it to the
curved form of boat, and the bend
ngs or ridges in the sides took the place |
If all stays, supports, ribs and timbers,
in themselves the support
md strength, while nothing was added
20 the weight. The metal was mt |
lnder great pressure to do this, but it
stayed in place, and the victory was
yon.-W. S. Harwood, in st. Nicholas.