The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1950-06-01
HORSE AND
BUGGY DAYS
by
Ida 10 Martin

work of Mr.. James Rumsey in per
fecting his machinery and the ear
" trial runs of his first steam boat
yes, the worlds first steamboat.
To me, that dark night when he
made his very first trial was the
moment of triumph, when he knew
that the steam engine of his own
hands propelled the boat But from
the public standpoint, the great mo-
ment did not come for some time,
till he was ready to make his first
run under the eyes of the perhaps
hostile" public
That was a December morning,
the third, in 1887. 1t seems like al
long ago time to us, but it was real
ly at the beginning of our modern
era. Down at Shepherdstown there
was great excitement, as crowds
gathered at the edges of the River.
There had been many strange ru-
mors. There were some who knew
what was coming, but there were
many more who merely knew some
thing new was to be tried, many
curious, and of course, the scoffers.
All over was heard the remarks
about "crazy Rumsey," Little does
this class of people understand about
the great efforts, discouragements,
despair, work and sacrifice that go
into the making of anything really
worth while Rumsey was criticized
for keeping his plans so secret, and
vet it was because he was not quite
vigilant enough along this line that
he later lost much that was due him
and his family.
There was one Alexander r.
Boteler, colonel, who went to
great trouble to collect the de-
tails of this event for record, whose
description we have. He visited
many of the folks present at this
public demonstration, including the
following: Mrs. Anne Baker, the
mother-in-law of the Virginia Gov
ernor; Mrs. Elinor Shepherd, of
the family for whom Shepherds
town was named; Major Henry
Bedinger, a Revolutionary officer;
Captain Jacob Haines, who came
to this Country from France with
La Fayette and was a skilled
artificer and worker in iron, who had
been employed by Rumsey to help
make much of the machinery for
his steam powered boat; Michael
Fouke, a blacksmith, who also did
much work on the machinery; and
also named, is Peter Fisher.
We are told that it was a beauti-
full day, that the scenes from the
cliffs above the river were of such
nature as to inspire poets and paint
ers, and one person, speaking of
the river, said: '''Men may come,
and men may go, but it flows on
forever" We are told too, that the
whole countryside was present, to
see what they had been hearing
about so mysteriously, the boat that
was to move "by some mysterious
agency, without the aid of oars,
sails, paddles, or setting poles"
Near the river, under a canopy of
cedars, was a distinguished group,
including the oft mentioned Gen
eral Horatio Gates. With him were
Major Bedlinger, the towns pastors,
magistrates, and other prominent
people from the community. There
were, too, the ladies who were to be
favored with the privilege of riding
on the famous boat. These were:
Mrs. Abraham Shepherd, Mrs. Rum
sey, Mrs. Charles Morrow, sister
in-law of Mr.. RumSey; Mrs. John
Mark, little daughter of the latter,
and several other ladies.
These ladies were the only ones
permitted to ride upon this first
trip, outside of two men who were
to help with the mechanical parts
of the boat, Charles Morrow, and
DR.. McMechen. This group, except
the little girl, were escorted to the
boat as the time arrived. Just as
they were about to push off, the
little girl came running and begged
to be allowed to accompany them
Later in life, Ann Mark told this
with pride, and was most happy to
have enjoyed the trip.
When all was set, Mr.. Rumsey
pushed the boat off from the bank.
and started the engine. The boat
headed out into the stream, turned
and seemed to halt for just NOM
ent, then, headed toward the west
she suddenly started up stream
against the current.
We have the following words Of
Major Bedlinger, as he described
the scene. Il was standing beside