The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-09-27
ROBERT FULTON
AND THE CLERM0NT
The Inventors Own De-
scription of His Craft
y and It's First
Voyage.
Why an Adequate Recital of Fulton's
Achievement Has Never Been
/ Written---"A Great Man a Hundred
Years Ago"

Robert Fulton IS going to be q
great man this year!' recently OBJ
served n casual speaker.
Sir" was the answer, Robert
Fulton was great man hundred
years ago, or the justice of the Amer
ic.n nation would not. at the end of a
century. be recalling his life with
gratitude"
An adequate recital of Fulton's
achievements has never been writ
ten. nor can II be until some fellow
craftsman, having access to his pa
pers. sets forth the technical progress
of his inventive power. which sue
ceSsively produced machine for cut
ting marble. a machine for spinning
flax. double inclined plane for can
nj navigation. a machine for twisting
rope, an earth. scoop for canal and
irrigation purposes. cable cutter the
first French panorama, the submarine
torpedo boat and several minor canal
improvem ents--all predecessors of
his greatest invention, the steamboat.
When to this list is added a record
of his numerous paintings and minia-
lures, and of his far-sighted writings,
including "A Treatise on Canal Nav
igation," his Torpedo Warfare" and
Submarine Navigation" an Essay
to the Friends of Mankind" and an
other entitled Thoughts on Free
Trade" cause of which he was an
ardent advocate: and when 1t is re-
membered that he died at the age OF
fifty. there comes a sense of wonder
that so short working span could
yield products so many and so d.
verse,
Fulton's own description OF the
Clermont Is contained in paper IN
possession of one of his heirs:
NV first steamboat on the Hudson's
river was $50 feet long, 13 feet wide
drawing 2 feet of water, bow and
Stern 60 degrees: she displaced 36.4c
cubic feet equal 100 tons of water
her bow presented 26 feet TO the wat
er. plus and minus the resistance ol
/ foot. running miles an hour.
In the Nautical Gazette" for 1907
the editor, Mr.. Samuel Ward stanton
gives the following additional detaii'
The bottom of the boat was formed
of yellow pine plank / q Inches thick
tongued and grooved, and set togeth
er with white lead This bottom o'
nIatform was laid in a transverse
platform and moulded out with pat
Ten and nails. The shape OF the DOT
tom being thus formed, the hoors 0
oak ana spruce We're placed across
the bottom: the spruce floors penn
4xs inches and feet apart. me oa'
f,oors were reserved for the ends. am
were both sided and moulded
,nches. Her top timbers OWNER
were OF spruce and extended IRON
n loe that formed the bridge TO TN
aeck5 we're sided inches am
moulded at heel, and both sided am
moulded 4 inches al the heaa; sn
had no guards when first built am
was steered by tiller. Her draush
nr water was 2S Inches
Fulton did not take out paten. ~ ~
,,s steamboat until February iso'
an his second patent was secured oe
soher 2. 1910. None of his patents az
~, existence. The United States pa
ant office has recently stated IN"
..h,,e The Index of Patents says una
an Tebruray 0, 1911, paten, wa
,ssued TO Robert Fulton, tne oinso -,
,,nable to furnish copy OF u, as y,
vecords of this and other carry pa
.,nta were destroyed In tne pas.n. .'