The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1921-04-22

with loads weighing ton and a half
each under such a variety of road
conditions that the members of the
freighting company were convinced
Of its merits and gave him an order
for SIX new wagons ;S3 to be delivered deliver ed
to establish semi weekly line be-
tween Nebaska City and Denver with
these machines.
Placed Order In East
This was in August. The major
placed his order with the manufact-
urers in the East and himself
started to superintend the construc
ton but when he reached Chicago he
heard of the Sioux Indian outbreak
in Minnesota and FASTENED home to
look after his family and his pro-
fngs and store at the agency, near
the junction of the Yellow Medicine
and Minnesota rivers had been COM
pletely destroyed, but his family, al
though taken captiyes had escaped
death. He joined<'the defenders of
the state with the rank of major and
while commanding the White troops
at the battle of Birch Coulee was
painfully wounded, September 2,
1862.
Eventually the machines for the
livered, but the firm had become in
solvent. Without further available
means, Major Brown was unable to
proceed with his work and before he
had again become financially able,
the locomotive had come into the
country and further experimenting
was abandoned.
No picture of Major Browns first
steam wagon has ever been found.
From material in his possession,
n NOV aste George G.; A Adn as OF
Brown, describes it as being a mas
sive affair."" the drive wheels being
some twelve feet in diameter. The
Henderson Weekly Democratic in
either a July or August issue Of 1860,
the exact date of which cannot be
determined says:
Had But Three Wheels
This machine is shaped very much
like an old fashioned railroad loco
motive. 1t has but three wheels,
however, two on the sides for driv-
is steered by an apparatus in front,
similar to the pilots wheel of a
steamboat, only smaller, which is so
geared that by turning it with the
hand the wheel below is guided with
perfect ease.
1.-The wheels at the side are two
large rims Of boiler iron, describing
circle about eight feet in diameter
and about one and half broad on
the tread. Inside of each of these is
another wheel about Six feet high,
ophery of this inner wheel Is sup
piled with short rims or knobs,
placed at regular intervals, which
work into holes cut through the out
er wheel or rim and give motion to
1t. About six inches Of the middle of
the periphery of Athis inner wheel is
supplied with cogs. On top of this
inner wheel, and between 1t and the
outer rim, is small cog wheel which
fits into cogs on the inner wheel.
This small cog wheel is attached to
the end of the shaft, and the motion
of the wheels is dependent upon it.
"The rim is held steadily by small
rollers which work against the inside
of it and at the sides and top. The
complication is such as to give i'm
mense power to the wheels. The
front or guiding wheel is about three
feet high and is simply a broad iron
wheel. The wheels of the freight
wagons are simply large broad tread
wheels, made of wood
Major Brown wrote this about his
first steam wagon: I'm all the var
ious tests of this necessarily ipper-
feet machine, the fact that Steam
could be profitably used for the pur
poses contemplated was established
beyond all doubt. That steamer as
cended a grade of sixty feet to the
mile hauling 20 tons of cars behind
1t and hauled tons over plowed
ground. On hard, level road its
capacity to draw appeared almost
unlimited. The wagon was so geared
that it's capacity for speed was limit
ed to two and a half miles per hour"