Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1900-10-27
PULLS ITSELF UPSTREAM
AN INGENIOUS BOAT DEVISED BY
OREGON STONE WORKERS.

Compelling tho Forces OF Nntur, I" DO
Tood Deal of Hard Labor a Graft
which Works Its own Passage.
In the st. Nicholas Francis Ellington
I.cupp describes an ingenious device
by which certain Oregon stoncworkcrs
save themselves deal of unnecessary
| labor
Doubtless nearly every boy with
taste for out OF door sports. lie says,
has made Il boat which the wind or
the current would cause to float over
the surface of II pond. ! have seen
some lads rig up RATS on which they
could themselves ride down Il swift
flowing creek: and ! knew one. cvcn
who was clever enough to build COM
plctc little steamboat. He could light
n lamp under the little boiler, and the
steam would FORM and the piston
would work, and the wheels would re-
volve. just MS in big vessel that
carries passengers and freight The
tr0ub.c with all these toy boats. how
ever, is that they will 90 only one way.
Having made their trip. they hnv"to D.
toilSomciy dragged back by hand to De
started again in the same direction.
While travelling in Oregon, some time
ago, | discovered II boat which seemed
TO me the most ingenious thing of its
kind had ever seen. 1t was built by
\
stone from the quarry we'll up toward
the head of small river. down to the
! IIUuih. Tho rtrcnm i" "v"rywhnrn 50
shallow that ii can be fordrd without
danger: but it is broken ut intervals
by stretches of rapids. or "rillleS." as
often extending MS far as 100 feet. The
men built Il fiat bottomcd boat, which
they loaded with stone, and it carried
its cargo down the stream admirably.
But then arose the problem. how to
get it back when it had been cmptied.
1t was too heavy to haul up the stream
by hand. Where the water was COM
lHratlvrly smooth there was no trouble,
because one man could ride on the
scOw and make his way along with
n paddle and Il pole: but the difficulty
was to get up the rapids. The best of
boatmcn could not hope to propHl It
against so powerful Il current, aud MP
rill at that.
How do you suppose they accom-
plishcd the task, inallyI
BY making the boat first work its
own passage.
They made two large paddle wheels,
which they placed one on each side of
the scOw. and joined them by Il thin
but strong piece of wood, in the shape
of cylinder. This turned with the
wheels, and served the double pur.
pose of an axle and Il windlass. Each
end of the cylinder, near where it
joined the wheels, played In II socket
somewhat like the rowlock used with
an oar, only stationary. and mounted
on the top of triangular truss. TO the
cylinder was fastened rope about
two hundred feet long When the boat
reached the bottom of II rapid. it would
be made fast to the shore. Then tile
man in charge of the boat would ford
the stream and mount the opposite
bank taking with him the rope in
Il coil, and paying it gradually out as
he walked. SO as tokeep it always taut.
At the head of the rapid. or n tritle
beyond. he would fastcn the further
ings of the boat Would be lOoscd. and
the current left to do the rest without
assistance. The paddlcwhrcls, unable
to resist the force of the water flowing
against their sunkcn blades, would rp.
volyc. and. of course. every revolution
of the wheels would cause the rope to
wind itself around the axle. With
each turn of the rope the boat would
necessarily he drawn forward and up
this stream: so. by the effect of the
continued winding, it would gradually
rise and rise till it reached the place
where the current ceased to exert 50
much power. There 1t would be made
fast again, until the rope could b. dis
engaged from the cylinder and coilcd,
ready for use when needed. Then the
man would cut loose. sipzp his paddle
or pole. and work away till the next
rapid was reached. when he would
start off with his rope and repeat the
operation described above.
This process is wcarisOmc with Il
heavy stonr-boHt but it struck me, as
] watched it. that q bright boy could
adapt it to II toy scow and get Il great
deal of amusement out of it. If the
experiment did nothing more. it would
at least he II lesson in the art which
every mechanic must learn-of making
the forces of nature his servants. and
compelling them to do for him what
would otherwise require Il good deal OF
labor ut his hands.