The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1917-04-05
USED Wind POWER
Ancient Chinese Records Tell of
Kite Carriage.
Same Idea Was involved in Patent Is.
sued for "Motor Car" to Huuo Up.
ton During Reign of James
of England.

The first record of a vehicle travel
ing without animal power is found In
the ancient Chinese records. which
give an account of the kite carriages.
These vehicles We're driven by the
wind blowing against a sail attached
to the carriage. In the early reign Of
King James 1 of England, a patent
was issued to Hugo Upton, reading as
follows: For the sole making of an
instrument which shall be driven by
the wind for the transportation or car
rage of anything by land" Some be-
lieve that Upton secured his idea from
kite carriages in old China.
However, the history of mechanical
ly driven carriages dates back to 1850,
when Sir Isaac Newton proposed a
steam carriage to be driven by the
reactive effect of jet of steam isSu-
ing from the nozzle at the rear of the
vehicle. Some years later a crude
carriage was built, an early record of
which reads as follows: "Mr. Pinch
beck has recently built curious steam
machine that has travelled without
horses for 40 minutes and has covered
considerable distance" In 1853
there appeared an English advertise
ment reading as follows: "Mr. Ladd's
patent four-wheel carriage that goes
without horses and will carry four or
five persons at the rate of six miles
an hour is built on solid mechanical
principles" In 1902 Richard Trevi-
thick built a steam carriage, which
was exhibited at London, having driv-
en- itself 80 miles. In 1880 hOrseleSs
carriage named ''the autOmotion" was
built by Walter Handbook. This was
really the first steam carriage that
proved at all practical. 1t covered A.
200 miles during it's life and carried
total of 1851 passengers.
The first internal combustion engine
was invented by Able d. Hautefeuille
in 1878, in which the explosive power
of gunpowder was employed to drive
piston in q cylinder. This was the
forerunner of the modern gasoline en-
CINE. Some years later John Street
developed an engine operated by liquid
air ignited by q flame. The first in
ternal combustion motor which used
gas was invented in 1884 by Gottlieb
DAIMLER. In 1885 he successfully ap-
piled this engine to a bicycle, and in
1886 Carl Benz invented his single hOr-
izOntal cylinder, water acketed engine,
which he applied to a three-wheeled
carriage. The first practical gasoline
automobile built in America was con-
structed by c. E. Duryea in 1892, but
1t was found to be underpowered.
In 1894 he built a new four-cylinder
car which proved quite successful in
the Chicago TimeS-Herald race. The
first automobile endurance race of in
ternational Importance was held in
France in 1894. Two Panhard ma
chimes contested. Both claimed a 3.5
horsepower and were driven by MessrS.
Panhard and PeugeOt. In 1895 the Sec
Ond automobile endurance race was
held in France and covered q distance
of 1,730 miles at the then remarkable
average speed of Is miles per hour.
Six years later, however, the same
course was covered at the rate Of so
miles per hour. In 1897, at the Paris
Troville road race, a speed of 90 miles
an hour was developed in a gasoline
automobile. What q difference today.
Not long ago a 300-hOrsepower car
raced at terrific speed of AS miles
an hour. Even pleasure cars easily
run off so miles an hour.