Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-12-13

It is my humble opinion that some one cribbed Mir Petgreave's idea and
 modified it somewhat, for it was not a
 year after that before clothes washer l that did not need horse to run 1t and that did not shred the clothes was on | the New England market, and under stand that the inventor made fortune
 out of it. But Mir Petgreave did not
 care. He had enough to eat and
 enough to wear and all out doors to
 roam in when he was not working in
 his little shop; his head was in the clouds all the while.
 At least five years before automo-
 piles were an accepted fact it was ru- mored that MT. Petgreave was at work in his brothers big barn on a wagon that would run over the roads with out visible means of locomotlon. At last MT. Petgreave announced through the medium of the Dayton Independent that he would give an exhibition of his new "locomotorator" at the Oak Hill race track on Washington's birthday.
 Pretty much everybody who was anybody and all who were nobodies went out to the race track the after noon of the day appointed.
 At last a great cheering announced the arrival of Mr. Petgreave and his locomotorator which enormous and somewhat unwieldy vehicle was drawn to the track by two of his brothers farm horses. MT. Petgreave had some thing of a sense of the dramatic fitness of things, and he did not wish to begin his exhibition too soon.
 The old man had announced that the machine would go once around the track, so when he got opposite the judges stand he unhitched the horses, which had been attached to the vehicle by means of rope tightly bound around the body of it. The three se- lectmen, the pastor of the First church and old Dr. Wharton sat in the judges stand. Dr. Wharton was an old sport and did not look out of place up there, but Rev. MT. Melvil did. Perhaps that is why MT. Petgreave with smile in- vited him to come down and ride with him.
 The pastor stepped into the "loco- motorator," followed by the silver haired inventor; the doctor gave the signal to start by firing off pistol. and then. amid the silenceof the assem- bled multitude, the machine-did not go.
 There was not a person there who was not sorry for MT. Petgreaye at that moment.
 But in about a minute the wish to see the locomotorator move was grati- fled.
 No smoke curled up from anywhere; no odor tagged behind; there was no whir of electricity. But the locomo- ator began to move. There were inter- hal noises. loud and heavy and possibly disconcerting to some of the women spectators, but the vehicle moved; and not only moved, but went at the rate of at least eight miles an hour.
 Here at last was complete triumph for the old man. said everyone to his neighbor. A fortune awaited him if the machinery did not prove to. be too complicated. The vehicle was as big as circus van, but that very fact made the triumph greater. If so big thing could move so fast smaller one would go faster, unless the machinery were necessarily cumbrous.
 Everybody who was anybody, and all the melodies, cheered themselves hoarse, and MT. Petgreave looked out of the coach window and smiled a happy smile that lasted all the way around the track.
 The locomotorator returned to its place of departure, easily, swiftly and with nc screw, nut or bolt loose.
 At that time automobiles were still largely things on paper, but here was an old man who had invented one! Dayton, all the Daytons. went wild. The inventor and the pastor stepped from the vehicle and were immediate ly surrounded by a bowling crowd; men, women and children swarmed over the railing of the grand stand in order to inspect the machine at close range. The selectmen and the doctor came down the outside of the judges stand in their eagerness to grasp the . hand of the local great man. People l shook hands with each other; men slapped women on the backs; small boys punched each others heads and , laughed over it, and Washington's . birthday attained new importance. i
 And then dear old Mir. Petgreave, his head more over on one side than ever. his hair dancing on his coat collar, his eyes blazing with excitement led the way to the locomotorator and said:
 My friends. this is tle happiest day of my life There is no secret that want to keep about the mechanism of this thing. It's perfectly simple What | have made. others can make. The wonder is that no one ever thought of It before. I don't even mean to get out patent. I give my invention to the American peoplei"
 He s1epped to the 6ack of the vehicle and then we noticed for the first time that there was big door in it. He put his hand into his pocket, drew out key. unlocked the door and opened it
 It was not steam; it was not gasO- ene: it was not electricity; 1t was moi dock work that supplied the motive power.
 It was a treadmill worked by Mr old white mare, Nance.