The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-01-13

hAANlNtI eAOLA Oh ITS Alpst pVEAlAl
natural features. In six hours tho
whole aspect Of the country was
changed and what was one Of the
most beautiful spots in the world was
tranGtormed into a barren countrF
earpeSed il lava and covered with
debris. The geyserss however, still
abound in profusions and it is possible
il time Sther terraces may be formed.
TEE slt0ELAsTING MACHINE.
a Wonderful mvsHtioh Brought Out By
q Young Negro.
The opposition to machinery upon
the part Of labor, which has been so
bitter among the shoemakers Of New
England anti especially Of Lynn, has
entirely ceased, the labor organiza-
tions which strove SO hard to prevent
its introduction having yielded to the
inevitable, So that now amioable re-
lations exist between the machinery
makers and the labor unions. Nearly
every factory in Lynn Is introducing
the hand-method lasting machines
or "niggerheads" and dropping hand
Tasting OF the tack driving machines,
which were merely aids to the hand
lasteF.
The 'niggerhead" machine is the
invention OF a negro, Jan Ernest Mat
zelger, who was born in Brazil. He
was the son Of a Holland engineer
sent to Brazil to look after the inter
ests Of his country ther2, and a ma
tive woman whom his father married
shortly after arriving in Brazil. When
a boy he went to work in a machine
shop, and as a young man came to
Philadelphia, drifting from there to
Lynn. He could hardly talk English
when he came to this city, in 1878,
but soon became.a good English schN-
ar. Labor organizations in Lynn
we're then at the height Of their pow
er, and conflicts with the manufactur-
ers were frequent. Matzeliger knew
nothing about lasting, and was work
ing a Mckay stitcher and running a
heeI-burnishing machine. Irritated
by the frequent strikes Of the lasters
in his factory, continually laying the
factory idle until their demands were
satisfied, he expostulated wills them
and warned them that they could not
always carry matters with such high
hand. They told him that no machine
could ever be invented which could
do their work, and while other
branches of the business might suffer,
they eoulddo what they pleased. The
next time there was a strike they
bantered him, and he declared that
he would put an end to their tyranny
. by making a machine which would
last shoes.
In September, 1880, he completed
the first wooden model of a machine
which, when perfected, would make
good his threat. Melville S. Nichols
and G. H. Delano, two Lynn men
were taken into his confidence anC
became interested in the invention
AS the inventor had no practica
knowledge Of lasting, there were MAN.
mistakes in the first machine, and i
took two years to make a machine
: that would do satisfactory work
: When the drawings for the patents
: were sent to Washington the expert
/, declared themselves unable to under
! stand them, and one Of them had t,
! come to Lynn to study the machine
7 1t was almost impossible to obtain tn.
: capital necessary to develop it, bu
! the young colored man and his back
ers persisted, making changes and i'm
T provements as defects were noticed.
{ Finally, when the success was as
: sured, six years after he had starte,
onhis invention, Matzeiger died, age
! 36 years.
There is a school for teaching OF
orators how to run this machine, i
Lynn. and shoe men from all owe
I the world take a course at running i
NaA
lit is almost human in its work, an
although greatly improved, still IT
: tains all the vital points Of the youn
| colcred mans invention. - Bosto
Transcript.
A Novel Letter Delivery.
An unusual Incident happened 0