CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

m OO NQUB ST 03 THE 2021 38

‘ — - mar r s mass . R f r r i s ine co p , p 7 e e ence to the thi ty two po nt of — ' mass C a r . al s s rva s the co p by h uce , p 9 H ley ob e tion on the r 1 0 changes in the firection of the compass in a oentu mp . — D v atio mass . x x v a Carne ie the e i n of the co p , p The oy ge of the g , — " ma shi . u rs s rv non gnetic p, p The dip of the needle fi t ob e ed — m r c m ss v R r rma . x a by obe t No n. p 3 The ode n o p in ented by — . l M a r k . x The inven r Rab fl Lo d in, p ‘ g by de d ec oning, p 4 “ ” — — m r . x v m . i l g, p s T e g , p 7 T d p tion of the o — h ode n lo — he e elo ent oi s x a . as r a . x ua ra v the e t nt , p is The t ol be , p o The q d nt in ented — — a . z o r s x a . z x r by H dley , p The pe fected e t nt, p Pe fecting the — m e s v chmometer . a e e Br s , p 3 The ti epi c in nted by the iti h — ar r arr s n . si r z won arr s . c pente , John H i o . p s The p i e by H i on . p

' - As r s — . Difi A lmanac o a s u . x . p 3 ce t ining the hip longit de, p 3 “ " — n . M culties of taking the snn at oon p 33 easnrin a de ree of — g g a ude . s rva s R r rma . l tit , p 34 The ob e tion of obe t No n p 35 - u N autical Almanac . S u s and The f nction of the , p 37 o nding — ' — ar s . 3 r a r s r o . ur nu ch t . p 4 Me c to p ojecti n , p 44 The l e of the — — ’ k . u s of the . mma r Pear s w . p 4 5 Th q ole , p 4 7 C d y no n e— e t P o n e a v m . s rvat s are ma ar t r s . p 4 9 H w b de c c g , chie—e ent o o e ion —in i e ion . 0 ak s rva ns at the . ir Dimcn as uies p 5 M ing ob e tio Pole , p s to

r at . . di ection the Pole. p 54

CHAPTER II

T HE HIOR WA Y 0 ? THE WATERS

- Uee of eails in ancient times . 6 Shi s with man banh . p 5 p of — — y edim sh . ar . Mval i s r s sai s s 6o o . p 5 7 p , p 59 Mode n ling hip , p . The er i — na re r S ov e n o the S as . oo Eatl The iling co d of g f e . p y — ' a mts v a s am a . 6 R r s CW ont tte p to in ent te bo t . p 3 obe t Fulton , — — . am B 6 s a as o ar . 66 harla”: p 4 The te bo t of l c de G y , p The C — Dundas . 6 s am a v b . h S v s , p 7 The te bo t in ented y Col Jo n te en , [ iii ] CHAPTER III

commas vx u m

‘ — vid b at mbmarin . Da cri tion of Da Bushnell a o . g p m p . p 94 Attemts to eink a war vmel dufin the Amu -ican Revolufio p g mp.

— — d . 1 8 1 . t oe A euccmful v a x c 3, p g b , p 3 The dnkin of in — i in o t g HM . x su mar s c R and m , 4 sub erfiblm the p ecent b ine , — — uand . x oG The Lake . t o The Ho t e oi bu p g , p yp g p. rec r ma v r m s mar av a n . b b b g , p ro P o le to e o e co e in u in—e n i tio o Present etatus of su mar a s . x x x roblemot m b ine bo t , p The p g

CHAPTER IV

THE 87 8 A “ LOCOU OTIVI

” - su s arl s ra a . t a T r , p r T b g w ls he e ie t il o d — he titution of fl n ed hee for a ra s . u o m v R ar r vi ck g , p T T , fl n—ed il he loco oti e of —ich d e thi . rat a r a C a ma . u n v p T b p , p 3 S p e s s s he c le o—d of h n te h on —ol e r m . i V rsa n S s . i n Hie the p oble , p t e tility of tephen on , p s — ’ ar m v s . rao S e s s mt v 1 83 e ly loco oti e , p teph n on loco o i e of 5 , p. — — u rs ass r a . z zs v r an Ma d n 7 The fi t p enge co ch , p— The Li e pool chwter Ra a r . ra i s am for s p , p g C ilw y ojected — ond tion n ed te ting m m va . x c Rocket and r st the co peting loco oti , p 3 The othe conte — — a ts . a D s r Rocket . x Imr v m s c n , p ng e c iption of the , p 33 p o e ent s r R e — m v ock t . x I r m s l com , p 4 p o the con t uction of the — 3 o e ent in vas r ars . i m v u m . 1 , p 3s T p , p ti in ecent ye he co o nd l—oco oti e 37 va a s om m ves . x 8 Westin houl Ad nt ge of c pound loco oti , p 3 The g — “ " — air rak . s ra rak i air . x a mat b , p 4 T g b , p 4 T uto e x x —he t i ht e 3 he - — air rak . x s air brak mti e . x c Auto a b e, p 44 The high peed , p 4 [ iV l CONTENTS — — s . x4 r a n . x A coupling , —p 7 P inciple of the Jnney coupli g, p 4 9 maris and . r o. co p on the old the new, p s

CHAPTER V P RO“ CART TO AUTO MOBIL E

z— When were carts first used ? p . rs The development of the — — . r ma r r u . r b , p 4 T p , p s T icycle 5 he neu tic —ti e int od ced s he comin ol the automobile . r o The as en ine of Dr. g , p s g g Otto, — ' b — mb . 1 C u not s automo ile . 1 8 au am p 5 7 g — , p 5 The to o ile of Willi ur x 8 . 1 8 s t a r u , 7 5 , p pp E g M doch 5 —O o i ion in n l nd to the int od ction of au m s . i An x tra r ar s a to obile , p so e o din y piece of legi l tion, — — . rot Scientific as s a m ra . 1 6 S m p pect of uto obile cing, p 4 o e

z — v s s of var us v d a m . oo C mara s an a s o o , p p p l , x x — o ti e eed —io ehicle ni . A or a . 1 6 S eed ol birds in fii ht 1 68 miraculous transi m p 7 g , p p — tion oi ener . x c Electrical timin device for measuri gy , p 7 g ag

CHAPTER VI 7 3 3 DEVELOPMENT 03 ELECTRIC RAILWAYS — k rs c av a s r ra a . r a w Y r w , p 7 5 C b Ne o the—fi t ity to h e t eet il y — le - E s s s . i 8 el s s ms . x ar s s s a m tr y te , p 7 7 ly elf u t ined y te , p 7 The ec o m s ar er r — efi rts ma v of s . m . o of g G F , p yq T netic loco oti e Mo e he — r ess r a ro u a s ra a r car . x Bo P of o P ge to p d ce to ge b tte y , p The

r m S m and k i r m rs . 1 81 ex e imen s Hals e t p of ie en w th elect ic o o , p — r d Edbon r l m v . rSs i ra s an r s . The elect ic oco oti e, p Th d il t olley , p — — 1 8 v s Da and Van De oele . i s rk 4 The in ention of ft p , p s The wo — ra k . S r v r ra a s . rso of F n J p ague in de eloping elect ic ilw y , p How " " — r r was . 1 8 S ra a r s s ms the wo d t olley coined , p 7 to ge b tte y y te , — - . s r a car of 1 30 . r Mr 1 88 s a r 8 p T E g b 9 , p 9 a he d—i on to e tte y ono il a s ms . x s s ms . r t r a r m ra s . y te , p o Elect ic e i l ono il y te , p 93

CHAPTER VII GYROCAR

' Erennan s car enhibited before R ei Mr. Io uis the o al So et in — y y Io ndon . 1 How the rosco e is installed on this ar . 1 6 , p 95 gy p — c , p 9 ros a x a d . 1 d es s Gy copic ction e pl ine , p 97 Why o the pinning wheel — ex ert r eco ic ower? . z Mr. Br snmdel car . soo gy o p p p oo ennan o p “ ” — a l r s x . cos T w bb g p p a , p H w he e of the y o co e—e l ined o the Bren a r s s rk . n a x of g p w , p eg T p a a n n y o co —e o echnic l e l n—tion the r s . se v an a . ax Sir nr gy o cope, p a The e olution of ide , p 3 He y [ V ] CHAPTER VIII

THE GYROSCOPE AND OCEAN TRAVEL

’ — ' s s ex erim . ar Dr B s mr s . S i k s suocmful e e e co tly p ent, p y chl c — ' x rim . ar a of Dr. S s v ex e pe ent, p c The ction chlick in ention — ’ a . s ac Did rosco ic action wreck the l i er f . as s pl ined , p gy p — p p he retical dan ers of the roso e . s T o g gy op , p a s Pro bable use of the

r s a s s . 2 3 gy o cope on b ttle hip , p 5 .

CHAPTER IX

NAVIGATING THE AIR — S m mediasval ra ns a a rs s . coo o e t ditio bout i hip , p The flying — ma s v s Leonardo da V . a fl in machine chine de i ed by inci, p 7 7 The y g — Bes r . as s d s v r r as and its efiect of nie , p The i co e y of hyd ogen g — — u a r au s . z o a v . e t pon e on tic , p 3 The b lloon in ented , p s The — rs s ss u a as s . sa R s r rs man fi t ucce f l b lloon cen ion , p y o ie , the fi t — ’ mak an as a al . a B a ar s a mt to e cent in b loon, —p 3s l nch d tte p - r u r a . a 8 Hot air a d p d a d g b b , p 3 b s an r to o ce i i i le l—loon lloon hyd o - as a s . s c R s r rs v m a l gen g b lloon , p a o ie , the fi t icti of b l ooning , — — ’ m a a . a s . mx r in C ocldn ara p i P om ech nic l flight , p u g p chute , — ' . s 3 s u es r a su r a s p u s Hen on t di of the lifting powe of pl ne f ce , — — . s b m a a a Br s . s B G iflard p u The flying chine of C pt in Le i , p a " — u a ria av a . e t The s F of g , p s g the lton — e l n i tion fli ht of the Giant . a s r r s t 8 . 2 6 , p s The eco d flight of John Wi e in 59, p 5 — Ear war a l ns and ir l a s . a use ly b l oo d igib e b lloon , p sy The of — - a s ur ra russ a war . a s ri e b lloon d ing the F nco P i n , p s The di gibl — r Du a a v . cos a b lloon chie ed , p The di igible b lloon of puy de — wartz . 36 m . 2 6 a m um a rr Sch , p Th b H , p 4 Lo e 3 e lu in lloon of e — ir i a s C u Ze e . soc ar ex eri The d ig ble b lloon of o nt pp lin, p E ly p - m ts Sa s Dam . 9 6 . en of nto ont, p 7

CHAPTER X

THB TRIUH P H 0? THE ABROPLANB

—The kite as a fl n ma h aer lane . a s i c ine Balloon versus op , p 7 y g . — t ir a av r a -air m a s . a he a s s a s p 73 How u t in he ie th n ech ni m, ' — — r m s s i m s . e x . 2 a ar x r p 74 L ngley e ly e pe ent , p ms E pe i ent in

[ vi ] ' — ’ Sir iramMax ims ma . 2 8 a s s ss H flying chine, p 3 L ngley ucce ful — ' a r r m . 38 a r a l s ar r a r rom e od o e, p 4 The f ilu e of L ng ey l ge e od e, —W rv r a m . 2 8 r and s mss p 7 ilbu O ille W ight cco pli h the i po ible, — . ass rs m s ra r r rs p The fi t public de on t tion by the W ight b othe , — — . z o ri a r a s r . z r A s of ma p o The W ght e opl ne de c ibed , p q ho t i it — ' rs . n s Mr. Farmsn s su ss u s . 2 r to , p o Hen y cce f l flight , p 93 Public demonstrations by the Wright brothers in America and ran — B . c s C a r ss eri . 9 F , p og T E g b , p 94 ce he n li h h nnel c o ed y l —ot rv r u s v r m sts . n S a u ar O ille W ight f lfil the Go e n ent te , p os pect c l

P° 3°°r

ILLUSTRATIO NS was w orn “ scru m: mru nes mx 908 “ " r s n s o m sun wxra ran ss x rm m ow m m NB W—A cos r u sr mu ms e ne mas w e as n ew u se or mm m srs u smrs cas ano‘rrs nus nas u rn ma ” uom m “ au cx.s ox r

THB AN B RICA N BUB N A RIN B BOAT CU TT LBJIS B IN D RY DOC K AT THE B ROO K LYN NAVY YA RD A mar OP B RITISH S UB H ARIN BS U A NG U VB RINO AT THB S U RP ACB osoaos srs ras nsou

' A cs muar s p aooas ss mLocouorrvs s momo

' " cuono r s r as cr ron s now s u rn r un NOVELTY t ocouorxvs m raucous Locou orrvs s aocm arm sans " rs as u.

THB DBVB LO PN BN T OP THB LOCOI OTI" e e m s on ar - no us: or x szo conr as srs n wrra r an uoro a crcss or ro- ns r m s vow r ros or run arcrct s ran am a s s or aurouos ru r ns vs w pus m as mu ss mu coacn or 1 83 7 s un a s aw roaa

[ vii ] ILLUSTRATIONS

A RACING AUTOH OBILE RETROS PECT AND P RO S PECT IN TRAN S PO RTATIO N THE DE WITT CLINTON TRAIN AND THE G Y ROCA R '

v u s . s u n r ao rwo rs ws or LO U IS aas a s uouoaau. o can AN INTE RNATIONAL BALLOON RAC E TWO P AH O U S P RENCH WA R BALLOON S THE Z EPPELIN DI RIGIBLE BALLOO N AN ENGLISH DI RIGIBLE BALLOO N ENGLIS H A N D AH ERIC A N DI RIGIBLE WA R BALLOONS AND A WRIGHT AE ROPLA NE

o H - DU H O N T THE AEROPLANE r . S ANTOS LEARNING HOW TO EL Y PLY ING H ACHINES OP T HE H ONO PLA N E TY PE THE WRIGHT AE ROPLANE R R H S H R. WILB U W IG T PREPARING TO A CEND IN HIS H N D E R AE ROPLANE WIT HIS PU PIL H . CASS A I ran n an / maaaoru ms rns uos on ans s or narrator w e u r as u A BRITISH AEROPLANE w wa waxcnr n u ns ovs a s aw r an n a. m o oa roas a 1 0 s , oc 4 , 9 9

[ van THE CONQUEST OF TIMEAND SPACE

HE preceding volume dealt with the general principles of application and transformation of the powers of Nature through which ’ world s work is carried on . In the present volume ’ are chiefly concerned with man s application of r eflorts the same p inciples in his to set at defiance , so

far s ace. as may be , the limitations of time and p Something has already been said as to the contrast between the material civilization of to- day and that of

the generations prior to the nineteenth century . The transformation in methods of agriculture and manu o facture has been referred to somewhat in detail . N w we have to do with contrasts that are perhaps even r the r mo e vivid , since y conce n conditions that come

r r . e within the daily obse vation of eve yone St amships , s ri mrs are locomotive , elect c , and automobiles , such

omon - c mplaccs of every day life that it is difficult to r i conceive a wo ld in wh ch they have no part . Yet everyone is aware that all these mechanisms are in ventions r of the nineteenth centu y . Meantime the aus lane which bids fair to rival tho o r m p , se the eans of

V — m. i n 1 1 did not cross the

’ of a hard day s land journey .

ment that man has ever achieved

tion Of n w J Of transportation r r illustration , the enti e cent al and the United States must have remain decadw or centuries had not the made communication easy between these regions

' Contrariwise no such development of city life as

for r e s du been possible but the inc eas d facilitie , e IN T RODUCTION

for r marily to locomotives and steamships, b inging all

What this all means when applied on a larger scale may be suggested by the re flection that the entire character of the occupation of the average resident of

England has been changed within a century . A century

- r n ago England was a self suppo ti g nation , in the sense

- - h u that it produced its own food stufls. To day t e pop lation of England as a whole is dependent upon food r r h shipped to it f om ac oss t e oceans . Obviously such ' a transformation could never have been eflected had not the application of steam revolutionized the entire

ra r r r r r lem of t nspo tation , this ext ao dina y evolution , eflects are r has the of which visible on eve y side , been brought about by the application of only a few types of mechanisms . The steam engine , the dynamo , and the gas engine are substantially responsible for the entire development in question . In the succeeding pages , e which d al with the development of steamships , loco motives , automobiles , and flying machines , we have to do with the application of principles with which our previous studies have made us familiar; and in par ticular with the mechanisms that have engaged our re d attention in the p ce ing volume . Yet the applica tion of these principles and the utilization of these mechanisms gave full opportunity for the exercise of i r inventive ngenuity , and the sto y of the development e l ri s of st amships , ocomotives , elect c vehicles , utomo r r ac u to biles , gy o ca s , and flying m hines , will be fo nd [ 3] THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPA CE

have elements of interest commensurate with the o n m h v importance f these mecha is s t emsel es. Before a t es e st r es ai h wever w we t ke up h o i in det l , o , e shall briefly review the story of geographical discovery n e o fi a d x pl ration in its scienti c aspects.

[ 4 ] rmcouolmsr or mzom

on the limited range of geographical knowl edge of those Oriental and Classical nations who dominated the scene at that remote period which we are

rro N The Egyptians , peopling the na w valley of the ile , scarcely had direct dealings with any people more re

r l the valley of the Euph ates . Baby onians and Assy rians in turn were in touch with no Eastern civilization

nothing of any Western world beyond the borders of

r . re R ma e G eece G eks and o ns , when in succ ssion they civiliu tion which even as viewed fromour modern

to narrow strips of territory about the shores of the e iterr us M d anean , and had but the vag e t notions as to

In the later classical eriod to be sure the lobe was p , , g u e r r s bj cted , as we have seen , to wonde ful measu e t r men s by E atosthenes and by Posidonius , and the ’ fact that man s abiding place is a great ball utterly [ s] THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE ,

' diflerent from the world as conceived by the Oriental r re or m mind , was definitely g asped and became mo

a matter of common knowledge . It was even conceived that there might be a second habitable zone on the opposite side of the equator from the region in which re R e o the G eks and omans found themselv s , but as t just r i what this hypothetical egion m ght be like , and as to r what manne of beings might people it , even the most r daring speculato made no attempt to decide . The r n r r all mo e ge e al view, indeed , p ecluded thought of habitable regions lying beyond the confines of the Mediterranean civilization ; conceiving rather that the re world beyond was a me waste of waters . Doubtless the imaginative mind of the period must have chafed under these restrictions of geographical knowledge ; and now and again a more daring navig or re f t must have p ssed out beyond the limits of sa ety ,

r r r . into the Unknown , neve to etu n Once at least,

r r r r surpassing in da ing all thei p edecesso s , and their r n r hold con successo s of the e suing centu ies , made to tinne their explorations along the coast of Africa till — they had passed to a region where as Herodotus te — “ lates with wonder the sun appeared on their right " r hand , ultimately passing about the southe n ex tremity of the African continent and in due course m r r r r co pleting the ci cumnavigation , etu ning with wonde r not tales to excite the envy , pe haps, but the emulation

Then in due course some t nician or Greek navi

[ 6 3 THE CONQUEST OF THE ZONES

” Pillars of Hercules and discovered at the very con r r fines oi the world what we now te m the B itish Isles . But this was the full extent of exploration throughout antiquity ; and the spread of civilization about the borders of the known world was a slow and haphazard procedure during all those centuries that mark the z r Classical and By antine pe iods .

The change came with that revival of scientific learning which was to usher in the new era that we speak of as modern times. And here as always it was a practical mechanism that gave the stimulus to new endeavor. In this particular case the implement in ’ ri r as question was the ma ne s comp s , which consists , r r e in its essentials , as eve yone is awa e , of a magnetiz d needle floated or suspended in such a way that it is made under the influence of terrestrial magnetismto point to the north and south . The mysterious property whereby the magnetized

n our . analysis , i explicable even to the science of day the c r r r r r But fa ts , in thei c ude elations , had been familia from time immemorial to a nation whose habitat lay r — beyond the ken of the classical wo ld namely , the

Chinese . It seems to be fairly established that naviga rs to of that nation had used the magnetized needle , rr r r so a anged as to constitute a c ude compass , f om a period possibly antedating the Christian Era. To r r r r e Weste n nations, howeve , the p ope ti s of the magne [ 7 ] — absolute proof is lacking that a compass carne to the Western world through the mediumof the Arabs.

onl w of transmitted . We y kno that rmnuscripts the

forward we ma feel sure the new ossibihties of , y , p ex ploration made possible by the compass must have suggested themselves to some at least d the mone were explorers in each generation who pushed out a the the r of r o little into unknown , as discove y va i u s r h t g oups of Islands in the Atlantic shows, althoug he efforts of these pioneers have been eclipsed by the spectacular feat of Columbus .

Orientals was developed into the more elaborate delicate instrument familiar to that sundry ex periments were made as to the best fomp

needle and in articular as to wa of a - of , p the best y d r B justing it on approximately frictionless bearings . at a high degree of perfection in this regard had been at tained before the modern period ; and the compass had [ 8] THE CONQUEST OF THE ZONES been further perfected by attaching the needle to a cir “ ” cumferential r a ca d on which the points of the comp ss,

rt - r re r a r thi y two in numbe , we pe m nently ma ked . At all events the compass card had been so divided before rt r r the close of the fou eenth centu y , as is p oved by a chance reference by Chaucer. The utility of the ia bleness -was doubtless by this time clearly recognized by all navigators ; and one risks nothing in sugges ting that without the compass no such hazardous voyage

that it pointed directly to the North . If such were indeed the fact the entire science of navig tion would be r vastly simple than it is . But it required no very acute needle does not in reality point directly towards the ’ s oles There are indeed laces on the ear h earth p . p t where it does so oint but in eneral it is observed p , g to deviate by a few degrees fromthe ex act line of the ri me dian . Such deviation is technically known as magnetic declination . That this declination is not the

A n r or r ce tu y so late , the accumulated records made it clear that declination is nct a fix ed quantity even at

v c . rr rs any gi en pla e An Englishman , Stephen Bu ows , credited with making the discovery that the needle thus shifts i d r c on s h w h he la se of time ts f e ti lig tly it t p , and tbe matter was more clearly determined a little [ 9] l e . Dr. r ro r Co l ge Halley , the celeb ated ast nome whose achievements have been recalled to succeeding generations by the periodical return of the comet r — r t that bea s his name gave the matte at ention , and in a paper before the Royal Society in 1 692 he had changed in a little over a century (between 1 580 and 1 692) from 1 1 degre es 1 5 minutes East to 6 degrees

s or r 1 r s . We t, mo e than 7 deg ee Halley conclusively showed that similar variations occurred at all other places where records had been

. re r r kept He had al ady demonst ated , a few yea s e r i r s a l e , that the deviations of the compa s noted at sea are not due to the varying attractions of neighbor n do ing bodies of land , but to some i fluence having to with the problem of terres trial magnetism in its larger ri aspects . Halley advocated the doct ne , which had rs r r r fi t been put fo wa d by William Gilbe t , that the r ea th itself is a gigantic magnet , and that the action of the compass is dependent upon this terrestrial source r he and not , as many navigato s believed , on t influence r or of a magnetic sta , on localized deposits of lode m r r N r stone so ewhe e in the unknown egions of the o th . Further observations of the records pres ently made it clear that there are also annual and even daily varia l tions of the compass of s ight degree . The fact of

r r r r Mr. diu nal va iations was fi st discove ed by Graham about the year 1 7 1 9. More than half a century later r r r who it was obse ved by an ast onome named Wales , was accompanying Captain Cook on his famous voyage mma w m n m p‘ md m ob his sli fl en frm evu othu ' vmel of gl e. T p y W h m M W h mm mngnetic mtenal of any kind mmed in oonnecfion w h its or th most it stmcture or equipm . F pu t hmmmhsfimted b m u or otlz r mmm y pp

- metal . Pins of bcust wood hrp ly sook tb ph ee of

iron altogether it mused in the formof mmgnak man anes e ste The rr ose of the Camfe is g el. p p q to provide accmate charts of mngu tic dedimtioa for the

when it is reflected that with an ordinary sli p the observer can never be absolutely ceruin u to wln t pre cise share of the observed fluctuation d the commk ’ due at any given moment to the ship s influenoe. In

never apportion with absolute

that he shouldbe able to do so tion of the compass is an all- important cation ofthe shi and ingthe ex act lo p, or ce re f every ship at that pla , whe as a purely local

[ 1 2 ] THE CONQUEST OF THE ZONES var in the direction of its horizontal action but it also y ,

r r r m axis . In egions nea the equato , indeed , the ag netized r needle maintains a ho izontal position , but if

This dipping of the needle seems to have been first r R r N r c in obse ved by obe t o man , an English nauti al

rum a r e r 1 0. r st ent m ke , about the y a 59 It was b ought to the attention of Gilbert and careft tested by him o r r r in the c u se of Ms famous pionee expe iments . Gil bert was led to predicate the existence of magnetic oles the ex act location of which would be indicated p , r r by the dipping needle, which, sinking lowe and lowe r r e r m as no the n latitud s we e attained , would ulti ately at the magnetic pole itself assume a vertical direction . That this is a corre ct expression of the facts was determined in the e r 1 8 1 Sir ames Ross y a 3 by J , who in the course of his Arctic explorations observed the verti caldipand so located the northern magneticpole at about 70 degrees 5 minutes north latitude and 96 degrees 43 minutes west longitude . It was thus proved that the — magnetic pole is situated a long distance more than — miles from the geographical pole . The location of the south magnetic pole was most accurately deter ’ mined m 1 909 by Lieutenant Shackleton s expedition at about 73 degrees south latitude and 1 56 degrees east longitude . The two magnetic poles are thus not directly ’ r on e r r opposite each othe the a th s su face , and the magnetic ax is of the earth does not coincide with the geographical center of the globe itself . [ 1 3] modern oommin question is the invention of l md

i ’ degree of stability . Its fluctuations due to the sh p s influence are corrected by a carefully adjusted disposi tion of metal balls and magnets .

While the compass gives re of to di ction , and is constantly under the eye it of course can give no direct information as to ra r h distance t ve sed by the s ip , and hence does not fi itself suf ce to tell the navigator his whereabouts .

r n tu the dip might enable him to dete mi e his lati de . [ I4 ] But more extended observation shows that this was r and i asking altogethe too much of the compass , wh le it ma be usefid as an acce sor it is b no means h y s y y t e ’ r r l navigato s chief eliance in determining his ocation . r r e r This is accomplished , as eve yone is awa e , in cl a weather by the observation of the heavenly bodiea u r r r a oh In clo dy weathe , howeve , such obse v tions viousl r y cannot be made , and the seaman must di ect — his ship and estimate his location an all important

called dead reckoning . One element of this reckoning r i as is fu nished by the compass , nasmuch that is his ’ sole guide in determining the direction of the ship s progress . The other element is supplied by the log which furnishes him a clue as to the distance traversed

It is rather startling to reflect that the navigators of the middle ages had no means whatever of determining r r re r e the ate of p og ss of a ship at sea , beyond the c ud st guesses unaided by instrument of any kind . When Columbus made his voyage he had no means of know ing what distance he had actually sailed ; nor was any ’ method of measuring the ship s speed utilized through r out the course of the ensuing century . In the yea 1 0 r Humfra the 57 , howeve , one y Cole suggested a ’ oretical means of measuring the ship s rate of progres s by means of an object dropped back of the ship and allowed to drag through the water; and this suggestion r r ro led a gene ation late to the int duction of the log, r far can r which was fi st actually tested , so as be lea ned , in the year 1 607 . [ I s]

THE CONQUEST OF THE ZONES

’ ship s propeller that supplies the model for the mod ern r re log, in which the p imitive piece of wood is placed by a torpedo- like piece of metal with miniature

ro e r- r p p lle like blades at its ext emity . This apparatus to e of i rts ad r is w d at the end a long l ne , and bl es , whi ling re or s r r mo le s apidly acco ding to the speed of the ship , muni r re r r co m cate thei motion to a co ding appa atus , ’ u r i adj sted at the ship s ste n , to which the l ne is attached and the face of which ordinarily presents a dial on which the speed of the ship may be obw ved as readily as one rv obse es the time by the clock . Some recent modifications of the log employ an elec trical v re r r r r de ice to giste the p og ess, but the p inciple of re r r the volving vanes , which owe thei speed to the ate at which the are dra ed throu h the water is the y gg g , fundamental one upon which the action of the log l n usual y depends , though attempts have bee made

r - to substitute p essure gauge systems . While the modern log records the speed of the ship with a fair de ree of accurac its re ister shows at g y, g bes t only an approximation of the facts . As already ’ e t o r r v ro r m n i ned , the ate of e olution of the ship s p pelle blades furnishes what most navigators regard as a rather for re more dependable test of speed . An apparatus cording this is found on the bridge of the modern ship . But due allowance must of course be made for the

eflect winds waves and e rr . of , , oc an cu ents These con

by a ship in a given time a matter not altogether devoid of guess work ; and no navigator who has been obliged to sail for several ~ r. vrr vo . z 1 7 ] b v o r made is known as the semn o ser ati ns a e t. purpose is to measrne with gmnt ncamcy the am ‘ between two obects which in ractice are the homz j , p

he de ermina of the a sun, on the other. T t tion l titu of the shi for ex amle is a matter of comnu p, p , p fi esse if the sun chances to be unobscured ust at mi , j or r l o measure th day . The navigat has me e y t e ea elevation of the sun as it crosses i e o n -and is to say when it is at its h gh st p i t , , made certain corrections for so- called dip and i t on , to which a very simple calculation r rr al to say , the distance f om the te estri That the latitude of a ship could thus re r or ra has i ar with g ate less accu cy, been fam li ro edge to seamen f m a very early period . It the use of this principle that the earth was Eratosthenes and Posidonius in the sailors of antiquity probably carried with [ 1 8] stmi ht iece of metal g p ,

v h c o er t e rw stafl, si ht need be aken g t ,

r c a rs and p acti al navig to , it was ru e to r inst m nt , subject peculia on a rolling ship . r p ove upon it , but

the altitude of astronomical bodies was ra Isaac Newton . But nothing p ctical

same principle was made P 1 0 hiladelphia, in 73 , and

Hadley, who published his 1 1 Society in 73 . The vised was called a quad worked involved nothing more mirr r ne em two o s , o of th (kno t nd having only half its surface mirrored) fix ed in the

the rror m the arm r index mi ) ovable with of an indicato , which is so adjusted as to revolve about the axis of the r n quadrant . In ope atio these two mirrors enable the me two i ag s of objects , the distance between which is

to ure r . be meas d , to be supe imposed The telescope fma r for r y be pointed at the ho izon , example , di ectly tin r arm n ! de the position of the sun , and the of the l

rument r ao- h , alte ing the position of the called index may be rotated until the limbof the sun seems — touch the horizon the latter being viewed h unsilv r d half of h h z t e e e t e ori on glass. The

r r the which , so inte p eted, give fiirect measurement of the angular distance between sun ; in other words the measure

- tude or so called declination . r t s r r e The inst umen just de c ibed , pe fected as to d tails o r le u s the er but not m dified as to p incip s , constit te mod n n x ta t rs r r . n, which used by eve y navigato , and which

— ’ calico! Almanac his exact position on the earth s su rface fromobservation of the sun or certain of the r r fix ed stars. The mode n inst ument is called a sex ’ for i te tant because it has , conven ence sake , been stricted in size to about one- sixth of a circle instead M r one- r r the o iginal qua te , the small size being found [ 2 1 ] THE CONQUEST OF TIME AN

r r r r m to answe eve y p actical pu pose , since it easures 1 2 all angles up to 0 degrees . In practice the sextant is an instrument only six or eight inches in diameter. It is held in the right hand and the movable radial armis adjusted with the left r r r hand with the aid of a mic omete sc ew, and the read ing of the scale is made accurate by the vernier arrange rd r r — ment . The o ina y obse vation which every traveler ’ has seen a navigator make fromthe ship s bridge just — at midday is carried out by holding the sextant in a r r i ve tical position di ectly in l ne of the sun , and sighting ib r m m the vis le ho izon line , eanti e adjusting the re

ly in touch with the horizon . As the sun is constantly shifting its position the vernier must be constantly ad justed until the observation shows that the sun is at the very highest point . The instrument being clamped r and the scale ead , the latitude may be known when

r r rr ad for so- p ope co ection has been m e the called dip , f r r r r re r o ef action , and whe e g at accu acy is re quired for parallax

Dip , it may be explained , is due to the fact that the observation is made not from the surface of the water r r r or but f om an elevation , which is g eate less accond r ing to the height of the b idge , and which therefore varies with each individual ship . The error of rein c ’ tion is due to the refraction of the sun s light in passin8 ’ r r r r th ough the ea th s atmosphe e , and will va y with the r r re r mi tempe atu e and the deg e of atmosphe ic hu dity , a c both of which conditions must be t ken into a count . The amount of refle ctive error is very great if an object [ 2 2 ] I T E S U XQ W I H THE B ‘ ‘ N TA K NG H T S X I A T .

ns rumn is in r a and v at r z n The i t e t held the ight h nd . le elled the ho i o ; the left hand man i ulating the mic romete r sc rew which ad justs the radial arm rr fi r su s r on V he i e x mi or (at top of m) . The e lt i ead the er arc at m r q aid of ma ass ( botto of figu e) wit the the gnifying gl .

THE CONQUEST OF THE ZONES

lies near the horizon . Everyone is familiar with the r r or oval appea ance of the ising setting sun , which is

r r . r due to ef action With the sun at the me idian , the refractive error is comparatively slight ; and when a star is observed at the zenith the refractive error dis

B r r l rr r y pa allax , as he e emp oyed , is meant the e o due to the difierence in the apparent position of the sun ’ as viewed by an observer at any point of the earth s surface from what the apparent position would be if r li r r r viewed f om the ne of the cente of the ea th, f om which theoretical point the observations are supposed

to be m . ca n u ade In the se of bodies so dista t as the s n , i this angle is an exceed ngly minute one , and in the case ’ of the fixed stars it disappears altogether. The sun s parallax is very material indeed from the standpoint of ic r r but i del ate ast onomical obse vations , it may be g nored altogether by the practical navigator in all ordi

r sun r he must make , howeve , in case of obse vations ;

n m- r he must add , namely, the amou t of se i diamete rv re a of the sun to his obse ed measu ment , as all c lcula tions re corded in the N autical Almanac refer to the ’ center of the sun s disk .

PERFECTING TE E CHRONOMETER

’ rv The obse ation of the sun s height , with the various rr sufices l co ections just suggested , by itse f to define the latitude of the observer. Something more is re

r r r . qui ed , howeve , befo e he can know his longitude [ 23] or th a f e water, nd the hour hss with which in m g , . ot rts forms nearly everyone is fanfiliarmamhxmm For a long time this rermined a most aocrmte of fime

n r m the u hman H fially, afte the ti e of D tc um the pendulumclock fumished a timepieoe of grent reliability . But the mechanismoperated by W

s Portable watche , in which

very idea of a watch that would keep enough to be depended upon for astron tions intended to determine longitude was n mnrp d th t the u pamhn ol the m ry in its mbe would oow the hng hm o

' ahon it Mts of md five i e . hmar ind 8 above outl n d It v ied only 1

M a t rn a P the w tch kep a pl ce [ 26 for the r s r r ship, sake of d yne s , whe e , howeve , it was re e n subjected to a g at d al of joggli g, which led to a con siderably greater irre gularity of action ; but even so its variation on reaching British shores was such as to cause a maximum miscalculation of considerably less than thirty nautical miles . Although Harrison seemed clearly enough to have r r r r r won the p ize , the e we e influences at wo k that inte feted for a time with full recognition of his accomplish

. r r r ment P esently he eceived half the sum , howeve , r d r his and ultimately , afte having divulge the sec et of compensating balance and proved that he could make r rr r r othe watches of co esponding accu acy , he eceived the full award . Minor improvements have naturally been made in r the watch since that time , but the essential p oblem of making a really re liable portable timepiece was solved by the compensating balance - wheel of Harri ’ - r son . The ship s chronometer of to day is me ely a r s r r la ge watch , with an e capement of pa ticula con r l st uction , mounted on gimbals so that it wi l maintain a practically horizontal position . Modern ships are ordinarily provided with at least three of these time- keepers in order that each may r r r r be compa ed with the othe s , and a mo e accu ate de termination of the time made than would be possible from observation of a single instrument ; inasmuch as no absolutely accurate time - keeper has ever been con structed . Two chronometers would obviously be not r r d much bette than one , since the e would be no gui e as to whether any variation between them had been [ 2 7 ] d -yd th ch m fl he h fi l fith y m

c M—flz u l nl y h q w mm

M u h amm a d variati n. It m he addad th t a chrmom Mo y aer or B M sfid b he a a i aa W p W MMi MmM u M — this hes proved an unattain hk idu l N variation is sli ht is elv t s in one m g . ) . perfecfly or almost periectly m

In thc rcferenoc made above to thc tmof ’ s wa was stated that that imtrument son tch, it l numbcr of seoonds in the course byon yacertain m l r s the Atlantic and that westery voyagc ac os , on reflection it may seem less and less obvious as to just

r n m r i fe e ce in ti e between G eenwich , at wh ch the watch r t i was o iginally tes ed , and local t me at the station in the

e s r . r are r W st Indie could be dete mined The e , howeve , several astronomical observations through which this of could be accomplished , and in point fact the com parative times and hence the precise longitudes at many — points on the Wes tern Hemisphere and indeed of all — portions of the civilized globe were accurately known before the day of the chronometer. One of the simplest and most direct means of testing r r the time of a place , as compa ed with G eenwich time , is furnished by observation of the occultation of one of

i r. the moons of Jup te By occultation is meant , as is r i well known , the eclipse of the body th ough passing nto

re . the shadow of its pa nt planet This phenomenon , causing the sudden blotting out of the satellite as viewed ro e rt r l r f m the a h, occu s at definite and ca culable pe iods and is obviously quite independent of any terrestrial influence . It occurs at a given instant of time and would be observed at that instant by any mundane witness to server noted the exact local time at which occultation rre r r occu d , and compa ed this obse ved time with the

i r r rd r ls d cted to occu , as eco ed in ast onomical tab e , a simple subtraction or addition will tell him the diflerence wich ; and this difierence of time can be translated into degrees of longitude by merely reckoning fifteen degrees [ 29 ] THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE

m nd r c ns of h r n h for each hour of ti e, a f a tio t e hou i t at proportion . It will be noted that this observation has value for the purpose in question only in conjunction with certain tables in which the movements of Jupiter and its satel lite are calculated in advance . This is equally true of the various other observations through which the same r — for l oh info mation may be obtained as examp e , the r r r or the me r se vation of a t ansit of Ma s , asu ement of apparent distance between the moon and a given fixed star. Before the tables giving such computations were published it was quite impossible to determine the exact longitude of any transatlantic place whatsoever. We have already pointed out that Columbus had only a vague notion as to how far he had sailed when he dis~ v co ered land in the West. The same vaguenees ob tained with all the explorations of the immediately

century that Mercator and his successors brought the art of map- making to perfection ; and the celebrated tron r r as omical tables of the Ge man Maye , which served as the foundation for calculations of great im

r r r 1 . po tance to the navigato , we e not published until 753 r N autkaI Ahnanac in which all manner of The fi st , a r l r r st onomica tables to guide the navigato we e included , was published at the British Royal Observatory in 1 6 7 7 . r r At the p esent time , a navigato would be as likely to start on a voyage without compass and sextant l as without charts and a N autical A manac. Indeed were he to overlook the latter the former would serve

d r . but a vague and ina equate pu pose Yet , as just i e ndicated , this invaluable adjunct to the equipm nt of the navigator was not available until well toward r the close of the eighteenth centu y . But of course numerous general tables had been in use long before e — r r r r this , els to eve t to the matte di ectly in hand it would not have been possible to make the above ’ recorded test in the case of Harrison s famous watch 1 — in the voyage of 761 6 2 .

r r r r In the days befo e the ch onomete was pe fected ,

he t longitude of a ship at sea were suggested . There

’ eclipse of Jupiter s satellites ; others who championed — so- r the method of called luna s that is to say, calcula tion based on observation of the distance of the moon at a given local time from one or another of certain fixed r stars a bitrarily selected by the calculator. Inasmuch as the seaman could always regulate even a faulty watch from day to day by observation of the meridian sun rv passage of the , it was thought that these obse a ’ tions of Jupiter s satellite or of the moon would serve to determine Greenwich time and there fore the longitude at which the observation was made with a fair degree r r r of accu acy . But in p actice it is not easy to obse ve ’ the eclipse of Jupiter s satellite without a fair telescope ; and it was soon found that the tables for calculating [ 31 ] the course of the moon were b no mean reli b h y s a le, ence theoretically excellent methods of determining longi tude by observation of that body proved quite unreliable

in practice . It was with the chief aim of bettering our knowledge ’ of the moon s course through long series of very accurate

was founded . Perhaps it was not unnatural under these circumstances that certain of the Astronomers Royal should have advocated the method of lunars as the m h t e r. r r ainstay of navigato In pa ticula Maskelyne , who was in charge of the Observatory in the latter r r of the pa t of the eighteenth centu y , was so convinced rationality of this method that he was led to discre dit ’ rr for the achievements of Ha ison s watches , and a rt i long time to exe an antagonistic influence , wh ch the

without some show of reason . r r Ultimately , howeve , the accu acy of the watch ,

r r e r ch onomete , having be n fully demonst ated , the

mariner was able to determine his longitude with the r r N autical Almanac aid of sextant , ch onomete , and , by means of direct observation of the altitude of the sun u r r by day and of s nd y fixed sta s by night , a much simpler calculation suflicing than was required by the

passage in a seeming circumnavigation of the heavens re r the of or r r is co ded by dial clock , watch , ch onomete , [ 32 ]

follows that meridian o emtion the sun ov It bs of , im to the neowsery inaccrmcy of such observationfis h o fac the u a the ideal met od. In point t t s n my bc observed for this purpose to much better advantage wh n at a oonsidemble distanoe fromthe mer e it is idian. since then its altitude above the horimn at a givm mment is the only point neomry to be determined.

Whfle mobservations tell the na lomdorr in degrees of latitude and t erned umthe precise length of the 6 512 known ; and this obviously depends upon size of the

a . Now m e rth we have seen that the fi rth easured

of r r e re s but cou se thei m asu ment , they were considering the conditions underWhi ch tiny r a r r a roxima we e m de , we e but ough pp

hm r a r upon t ea ly me su ements , but it was THE CONQUEST OF THE ZONES

’ eart r difleren h s su face , the ce between which , as me ure r s r n as d in deg ee and minutes , was accu ately k own .

In June of the year 1 633, the Englishman Robert Norman made very accurate observations of the alti tude of the sun on the day of the summer solstice (when of course it is at its bighes t point in the heavens) ; the

near r diameter stationed at a point the Towe of London . On the corresponding day of the following year he made similar observations at a point something like 1 2 m h r wo iles sout London in Sur e . The t r 5 of , y obse va tions determined the ex act diflerence in latitude be tween the two points in question .

’ might accurately measure the precise drstance in miles and fractions thereof that corresponded to these known de rees of latitud He made a ual measurements g e. ct with the chain for the most art but in a few laces p , p

largely in principle from the quadrant of the navigae ’ tor r r r , would conside No man s method of measu ement u l mea ure onl a sin e a very cl msy one. He wou d s y gl r t o iginal base line of any convenient leng h , but would make that measurement with ver reat accurac y g y, r a rod acked in ice that it mi ht not using, pe haps, p g vary in length by even the fraction of an inch through

[ 35 ] m m mamfl fly m d an w y p

surface was conectms momrccent mammm bn — mo r within twelve mds t red » de nst ated , y ly rw d able result when it is recdled that the total lengthd

Inasmuch as the earth is not precbely sphericaLhm is sli htly fiattened at the MW d g W a itude are not absolutel uniformall don a m n l t y g d fi . htl as thc ob are a mc but decrease slig y p pp hed. TE v o li ht however that for ta i de iation is s s ct cn.l g , , p m oses t e de ree of latitude ma be m ed as u p h g y But is not unvarying unit . obviously such the a s h ost casual with a degree of longitude . T e m gh nfifl a globe on which the meridimlines are dramshms that these lines intersect at the polesmnd that the db tance between themisfin the nature of the casq a cut at each successive point between It is only at the equator itself that tude represents flu of the Everywhere else the parallels of ians in what are termed small

[ 36 ] THE CON QUEST OF THE ZONES

’ r r plane of the ea th s cente . Therefore while all points on any given meridian of longitude are equally distant in terms of degrees and minutes of arc fromthe merid of r ro ri ian G eenwich, the actual distances f m that me d ian of the different points as measured in miles will depend entirely upon their latitude . At the equator each degre e of longitude corresponds r m l to (app oxi ately) sixty miles , but in the midd e lati ra r for r n tudes t ve sed example by the t ansatlantic li es , a degree of longitude represents only half that distance ; and in the far North the meridians of longitude draw r r r h r close and close togethe until t ey finally conve ge , and at the poles all longitudes are one . r It follows , then , that the navigato must always know both his latitude and his longitude in order to

ru s seen that a single inst ment , the extant , enables him to make the observations from which both thwe es sen tials can be determined . We must now make fu rther inu as to the all important guide without the aid his r r r of which obse vations , howeve accu ately made ,

. i as r would avail him little Th s guide , al eady pointed h bl known h audcal out, is found in t e set of ta es as t e N

Almemzc.

Had the earth chanced to be poised in space with its r r axis exactly at ight angles to its plane of evolution, many computations of the astronomer would be greatly

s . ai r r rs r r implified Ag n , we e the planeta y cou e ci cula [ 37 ] n a of r r no i ste d elliptical , and we e the ea th subject to gravitational influences except that of the sun and m r r oon , matte s of ast onomical computation would be ' difleren quite t from what they are . But as the u se rt stands, the axis of the ea h is not only tipped at an

l of - r r to ang e about twenty th ee deg ees , but is subject r r r to sund y va iations , due to the wobbling of the g eat p as it whirls . r the Then the othe planets , notably massive Jupi er r r r i t , exe t a pe ve ting influence wh ch constantly inter feres with the regular progression of the earth in its ’ annual tour about the sun . A moment s reflection makes it clear that the gravitation pull of Jupiter is r su exe ted sometimes in opposition to that of the n, r r sun whe eas at othe times it is applied in aid of the ,

ai ri . or and yet ag n at va ous angles In sh t , on no two — successive days for that matter no two succemive — hours or minutes is the perturbing influence of Jupi ter precisely the same . r urse What applies to the ea th applies also , of co , to the varying action of Jupiter on the moon and to the incessantly varied action of the moon itself upon the

r . ln r our rs ea th All all , then , the cou se of globe by no means a stable and uniform one ; though it should be understood that the perturbations are at most very slight indeed as compared with the major motions that constitute its regular action and lead to the chief phe nomens of day and night and the succesdon of the seasons . R r r ma elatively slight though the pe tu bations y be , w v r are suflicient r chmes ho e e , they to make notewo thy g [ 38] THE CONQUEST OF THE ZONES in the apparent position of the sun and moon as viewed with modern astronomical instruments ; and they can by no means be ignored by the navigator who will de termine the position of his ship within safe limits of r error. And so it has been the wo k of the practical astronomers to record thousands on thousands of oh

ri u rs sun , moon , planets , and va o s sta at given times ; and these observations have furnished the bws for thc upon which the tables are based that in their flnal r autical Almanac fo m make up the N , to which we have already more than once referred . These calculations take into account the precise nature of the perturbing influences that are exerted on r the ea th and on the moon on any given day , and hence lead to the accurate prediction as to the exact relative positions of these bodies on that day . Stated other r a wise , they show the p ecise position in the he vens which will be held at any given time by the sun for x or m r ro e ample , by the i po tant planets , as viewed f m u the earth. How elaborate these comp tations are may be inferred from the statement that the late Professor Simon Newcomb used about fifty thousand separate and distinct observations in preparing his tables of the r of Pro sun . Once calculated , howeve , these tables fessor Newcomb are so comprehensive as to supply data fmmwhich the ex act position of the sun can be found for any day between the years rzoo n. c. and

- five . 2 0 A .D . re o r r e 3 0 , a st tch of s me thi ty centu i s Such a statement makes it clear how very crude and [ 39 ] e ns pare d for the purpose . The chief of th se i truments is not the gigantic tclescope but the small and rela tively simple apparatus known as a transit insmmnt This constitutes essentially a small telescope poised on v arefull ad usted trunnions in such a wa th it ery c y j , y at revol e in a vertical ards brin in into view m v s , g g y wleo on the n nma and fial bod that is ex acfl m m in y y m r h ? this position only . To make obse vation of t e tram! — that is to say the passage across the meridian line of r r r s t iw mo any given body mo e accu ate , the t an i ment has stretched vertically across the center of its v r or r of ar le s field of ision a spide web , a se ies p al l pider r r r e n me webs ; in o de , in the latte case , that the m a ti of several observations may be taken. 80 exceedingly dificult is it to manufacture and r r ni u m mount an inst ument of equisite cety of adj st ent, that the eflort has almost baffled the ingenuity of the

. Sir Geor e Air in makin a transit instm mechanic g y, g for R r r r nw ment use at the oyal Obse vato y at G ee ich, re quired the trunnions on which it was to be mounted to be ground truly cylindrical in form within a vamp [ 40 ]

THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE piece of mechanismcalculated to test the depth of the waters in which he finds himself v at any gi en moment. — In its most rimitive r ia formb the be p fo m which , y y ,

cause it consists essentially of a lump of lead or other v w ht attached to a ml h hea y eig s al rope . Knots in t e rope enable the sailor who manipulates the lead to note h de h wh lt at a lance t e to i h n . Mocean g pt c it si s ost at the side of the ship and noting the dcpth of the r ar r ro e wate , p ticula ly as the ship app ach d the Long

r e r to pu pos s , when the chief info mation sought is as r r r r of whethe the wate is deepe than the d aft the ship, it is at best only a rough and ready means of testing For the depth in re latively shallow waters . deeper waters and to test with greater accuracy the depths of r r r r to r n the uncha ted egions , and in pa ticula dete mi e r r characte of the sea bottom at any given place , mo e

elaborate apparatuses are employed . One of the most lv useful of these is the invention of the late Lord Ke in . h lead r r r In this t e is eplaced by a cannon ball , pe fo ated and containing a cylinder which is detached when the weight reachcs the bottomand is drawn to the surface or r in filled with sand mud , the cannon ball ema ing at linc when the water is fairly deep.

r r gato may be as to his p ecise latitude and longitude , he can feel no safety tmless he is equally well informed d r r as to the epth of the wate , the p oximity of land , the or l r and presence absence of shal ows in the egion , the r r r r like . He must , the efo e , as a matte of cou se , be provided with maps and charts on which these things r r are recorded. F om the days when navigation fi st eflorts to became a science , unceasing have been made provide such maps and charts for every known portion

of . r r the globe Geog aphical su veys , with the aid of the of r method t iangulation , have been made along all r ri d for coasts , and elabo ate se es of soun ings taken a r r are long distance f om the coast line , and the e now r r r or few egions into which a ship o dina ily sails , is rri for r likely to be ca ed by accident , which elabo ate charts both of coast lines and of soundin s , g , have not been provided . The experienced navigator is able to dinect his ship with safety along coasts that he visits for r or r rt r r on the fi st time , to ente any impo ant ha bo re r r of ca the globe without qui ing the se vices a lo l pilot , — albeit the desire to take no undue risk makes it usual

e to acc pt such services . Time wa however when ma s and h were not s , p c arts to r ho be had, and when in consequence the navigato w started on his voyages of exploration was undertaking f v a eat ne er free fromhazard. Until the time of Mer cator there was not even uniformity of method among map makers in the charting of regions that had been [ 43] THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE

r . l explo ed The thing seems simp e enough now , thanks to the maps with which every one has been familiar since childhood . But it required no small exercise of ingenuity to devise a reasonably satisfactory method of representing on a flat surface regions that in reality are r r distributed ove the su face of a globe . The method r r r devised by Me cato , and which , as eve yone knows , is r a r now unive s lly adopted , consists in d awing the merid ra r r ians as pa llel lines , giving the efo e a most distorted r l p esentation of the g obe , in which the distance be — tween the meridians at the poles where in reality — there is no distance at all is precisely as great as at

r. for r the equato To make amends this disto tion , the ar are not r p allels of latitude d awn equidistant , as in r a t r are l are e li y they p actically on the g obe , but spaced r r r r r ad r fa the and fa the apa t , as we vance f om the equator toward either pole . The net result is that an island in the arctic region would be represented on the map several times as large as an island actually the same size but located near the equator. Doubtless

r r t r are be vastly mo e extensive egions than hey eally , because of our familiarity with maps showing this so “ ’ ro called Mercator s p jection . Of course maps are also made that hold to the true r r the e u proportions , ep esenting lin s of latit de as equi distant and the meridians of longitude as lines con verging to a point at the poles . But while such a map r e — for e as this has ce tain advantag s giving, exampl , a correct notion of the relative sizes of polar and other — land masse s it is otherwise confusing inasmuch as [ 44 ] line cannot be so re presented ex cept just at the middle of the ma and it is ver diflicult for the ordinar user p, y y of the map to gain a clear notion as to the actual points r of the compass . A satisfactory comp omise may be ’ eflected r n r r r for , howeve , by usi g Me cato s p ojection r r maps showing wide a eas , while the othe method is

THE LURE OF THE UNKNOWN

r v While the ave age man , even with well de eloped tr r r r aveling instincts , would pe haps p efe always to feel t hat he is sailing in well charted waters and along care f r r in r r ully su veyed coasts , the e have been eve y gene a t men ri for ion who delighted in taking sks , and whom half the charm of a voyage must always lie in its dan

the new regions of the globe . That there was no dearth of such restless spirits in classical times and even in the dark a es records that have come down to us suf g ,

fiientl e . For rt r r c y att st the most pa , howeve , thei n v names have not bee preser ed to us . But since the — ushering in of the period which we to day think of as the be nnin of modern re r have been ke t gi g times , co ds p of all rt r impo ant voyages of discove y , and at least the main outlines of the story of the conques t of the zones ar r r e familia to eve yone . mof r rer So e the ea liest explo s , most notable among m l r r r who was the Ita ian Ma co Polo , t aveled eastwa d fromthe Mediterranean and hence journeyed largely [ 4s] . r r introduc by land But soon afte wa d , thanks to the

— in fromthe East the adventurers be an to cast g , g out r r longing eyes towa d the weste n horizons. Among the first conspicuous and inspiriting results were the discoveries of the groups of islands known as the Cape

ed r r r it by Spania ds even ea lie , and became the subject of controvmsy with the other chief maritime nation

r r . of the pe iod , the Po tuguese When the controversy was adjusted the Spaniards r s ri Por we e left in posse sion of the Cana es , but the

explore the coast of Africa . Following up sundry tenta eflorts ri r r rt o tive , the da ng Po tuguese navigato , Ba hol r 1 8 a r meo Dias , in the yea 4 7, p ssed to the southe n r of r r n most ext emity Af ica , which he ch iste ed the Cape of Good Hope . At last , then , it had been shown that Africa did not ofler an interminable barrier to the pas r ur B sage to the fabled land of t eas es in the East . e fore anyone had ventured to follow out the clues which s r a r r the di cove y of the C pe had p esented , howeve , Columbus had seemingly solved the problem in an other way by sailing out boldly into the West and sup 1 posedly coming to the East Indies in 492 . The western route was barred to the Portuguese but e s r one r r the a te n emained open to them , and befo e the close of the centu ry Vasco da Gama had set out on the voyage that ultimately led him to India by way of v r r r what must e e emain the most memo able of voyages , save only that of Columbus . Magellan rounded the southern point of South America and in 1 52 1 reached

i i e r . the Ph lipp n s , whe e he died His companions con

r r al r the fi st unequivocal p actic demonst ation , of a character calculated to appeal to the generality of un cul ured men of the time that the world is actuall t , y round .

of r es tablished , but both them we e open to the objection that they necewitated long detours to the South . To the geographers of the time it seemed more than prob able that a shorter route could be established by sail ing northward and coasting along the shores either of — Europe to the East or what seemed more probable oi America to the West . Toward the close of the six teenth century the ships of the Dutch navigators had

the lon r r . h g se ies of a ctic expeditions T en Hudson , t sai n r u r eflorts s ill ling u de the D tch flag , made he oic r s his to find the fabled no thwest pa sage , only to meet doomin the region of the Bay that has since borne his

THE QUEST OF u mPOLE

1 1 This was in the year 6 0. For long generations thereafter successors of Hudson were to keep up the ter undhcovered.

' M t t t t; cit 5r TO W close Of the expedition after , fmt r ) " No th g

MA m Pear W e ti 1 5 b and y, tion whose imagination seemed curiously with that lure of the North whi

- activities of so many would be discovera s.

” Borml r r r e u Cente and plucked the pola p ize, the p p

[ 48]

THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SP ACE of the ex lorer himself the fact of his arrival at the p , pole . e r er The question has , indeed , be n la gely answ ed in r i r t r our s the ea l e pages of this chap e , in discu sion of the sextant and the N autical Almanac; for these con stitute the essential equipment of the arctic explore r no less than of the navigators of the seas of more acces si ble latitudes . There is one important matter of de

r re . r s tail , howeve , that mains to be noted This elate to the h n manner of usin the sex tant. On t e ocea as g , r r we have seen , the navigato levels the inst ument at the visible horizon ; but it is obvious that on land or on the irregular ice fields of the arctic seas no visible hori zon can be depended upon as a basis for measuring the ltitud f un or fi ho a e o s stars. So an arti cial rizon must be supplied . The problem is solved by the use of a reflecting sur of r r rr r or face , which may consist an o dina y mi o a dish of mercury . The glass reflector must be adjusted in the horizontal plane with the aid of spirit levels ; r r r rments me cu y , on the othe hand , being liquid , p a horizontal surface under the action of gravitation . Un fortunately mercury freezes at about 39 degre es below ze ro ; it is therefore often necessary for the arctic ex pioter to melt it with a spirit lamp before he can make r a d ai r . re use of it These , howeve , et ls aside f om which the principles of use of glass and mercury horizon are th identical . The method consists simply m viewing e — reflected image of the celestial body which rn practice — in the arctic re gions is usually the sun and so adjust ing the sextant that the direct image coincides with the refl T ected one . he angle thus measured will represent twice the angular elevation of the body in question above the r z — , ho i on , this being , as we have seen , the nfo i rmation which the user of the sextant desires . “ Of course the explorer makes his dash for the pole in a season when the sun is perpetually above the hori zo n . As he approaches the pole the course of the sun bec r r r r r r omes appa ently mo e and mo e nea ly ci cula , d r epa ting less and less from the same altitude . Hence it becomes increasingly dificult to determine by oh

o p int . But it becomes less and less important to do so as the actual proxi mity of the pole is approached ; and as r sun circlin a rs viewed f om the pole itself the , g p c ca r r r its in r ti lly unifo m cou se , va ies height the cou se of twe nty- four hours only by the trifling amount which rfi r p esents its climb toward the summer solstice . Such bein al r i sun g the case , an titude obse vat on of the may b e made by an observer at the pole at any hour of the dl with e ual facilit and it is onl necessar for him y q y, y y to know from his chronometer the day of the month in 01' ' tlaer that he may determine fromthe N armcal Al THE CONQUEST OF THE ZONES made lry placing a pole upright in the snow or ice and marking on the pole the point indicated by the shadow of an Eskimo standing at any convenient distance

hours re eat the ex eriment lettin the man stand a , p p , g t th m is ance fromth ole as before and his e sa e d t e p ,

shadow will be seen to reach to the same mark.

ter ma v of y be de ised , any which would appeal to the most untutored intelligence as exhibiting phenomena

ex eriments are the are also within the limits p , y , of

e r ra a r . r are th i accu cy , bsolutely demonst ative The e only two places on the globe where the shadow of the

’ man s shadow would be of the same length at intervals we r or u r of t lve hou s , wo ld each to the same height on v o a pole in succes si e hours. These two regions nre f course the poles of the earth. It may reasonably be expected that ex plorers who re ach the poles will make

ned ia o whom of h their untrai assoc tes, t the records t e u f semut wo ld be enigmatical . But or that matter even an Eskimo could make for himself a measure ment ’ — by using only a bit of a stick held at arm s length as an artist measures the length of an object with his sure that the stmwas at the same elevation through — w r out the day subject , ho eve , to the qualification that the polar ice was sufficiently level to provide a reason ably uniform horizon . [ 53] r r e r one c all While , the efo e , it app a s that the pla e of others at which it would be exceedingly easy to deter ’ mine one s position from the observation of the sun is the re ion of the ole it must be borne in mind ha g p , t t the re the low elevation of the sun , and ext me cold may it is conceivable that the explorer who had the mis r r l e r fo tune to encounte c oudy w athe , and who there r n n r fo e gai ed o ly a b ief view of the sun , might be left in doubt as to whether he had really reached the goal

of . r r the r his ambition Fo tunately , howeve , explo ers who thus far claim to have reached the pole record un

ur r r. r r m s taken ho afte hou Unde these ci cu stance , there could be no possibility of mistake as to the gen

u r the existing conditions , co ld make su e of locating r the p ecise position of the pole within a few miles . A curious anomaly incident to the unique geograph ical location of the pole is that to the observer stationed there all directions are directly south . Yet of course r are one r r all di ections not , and the que y may a ise as to how an ex plorer who has reached the pole may know in what direction to start on his return voyage . The — answer is supplied by the compass , which perforce — pointing straight south indicates the position of the magnetic pole and so makes clear in which dire ction r r r r lies the coast of Labrador. Mo eove if the explo e is ro r r r r p vided with eliable ch onomete s , which of cou se — record the time at a given meridian say that of Green — wich these will enable him to determine by the sim [ 54 ] THE CONQUEST OF THE ZONES

n . for be eath the sun at any given time If , example , ’ r r r he his ch onomete shows five o clock G eenwich time , ’ r knows that the sun s position , as obse ved at the mo ° e r r rs of m nt , ma ks the me idian five hou 75 longi tude) west of Greenwich . While the arctic region appears thus to have given

r r r . up its last sec et , this is not as yet t ue of the anta ctic The expedition of Lieutenant (now Sir Ernest) Shackle in 1 08 r i r ton , 9 , app oached with n about one hund ed and eleven miles of the South Pole . The intervening ac — r e — r re sp e less than two deg e s in extent ep sents , ’ r r re on r the efo e , the only st tch of latitude the ea th s ’ surface that has not been trodden by man s foot or

h shi . Mre crossed by is ps o than one expedition is being planned to explore this last remaining strong o r e r — r h ld , and in all p obability not many y a s pe haps — not many months will elapse before the little stretch of ice that separated Lieutenant Shackleton from the ’ r the South Pole will be c ossed , and man s conquest of zones will be complete .

[ 55 ] HERE is no doubt that the use of sails for propelling boats is as old as civilisation it

self . We know that the Egyptians used before sails at least ooo ears the Christian era. 4 , y They r r did not depend enti ely upon the sails , howeve , but used cars in combination with them . Steering was done with single ordouble oars lashed to the stern and controlled by ropes or levers . This method of steering re s mained in use until late in the Middle Age , the in vention of the rudder being one of the few nautical in ventions made during the centuries immediately fol

the Dark Age . nician r Following the Egyptians , the t s we e the r s r e unfor g eate t ma itime nation of ancient tim s , but tunately they have left no very satisfactory and suthen

re r s r r . r tic co ds de c ibing thei boats In all p obability , r r r or howeve , thei ships we e galleys having one two banks of oars fitted with sails similar to h of , t ose the

our e oe n e r our If knowledg of Ph nicia boats is m age , r o r ar knowledge of G eek b ats , pa ticul ly the fighting

r rr . r r c aft , is co espondingly full F om the natu e of its geographical location Gre ece was neces sarily a mari [ 56 ] THE HIGHWAY OF THE WATERS

m r - ti e nation , and it was he e that boat building reached a very high state of development during the period of

Greek predominance . Large ships fitted with sails and having several banks of rowers were used habitu all in r war r y comme ce and , and it was he e also that

cars r t that we e of en dispensed with except as auxiliaries . It was in Greece that the custom of having several banks of cars superimposed reached its highest develop

by some authors seems to be entirely without founds

tion. It is possible that as many as seven banks were u r r sed , although the evidence in favo of mo e than five

The writings of Callix enos describe a ship said to er have been used by Ptolemy Philopat , which was a

- r r. h r 0 e fo ty banke T is ship is desc ibed as 45 fe t long , feet broad carr in a crew of ab0ut 000 men of 57 , y g 7, , whom were rowers . This description need not be wh r r r en se iously , as the e is no p oof that boats of such

proportions were ever attempted in ancient times . But r r r it is ce tain that the G eeks did build la ge vessels ,

— of perhaps even larger than this . The tendency shipbuilders during the later Gre ek period was to build r er r la ge, unwieldy boats , which used sails und favo rc s r able ci umstance , but depended enti ely upon oars

re c m the time of the battle of Actium , whe the lu sy , many-banked ships of Antony and Cleopatra were de [ 57 ]

THE HIGHWAY OF THE WATERS of hull - construction that was familiar in ancient times r r en to the no thern rovers . Scandinavia itself neve

the boats constructed by the Norsemen .

The contrast in shape and construction between the

ri N r r - t m ships of the o semen and the sho t , top heavy ves sels which were the approved European type during

r A s r . e the ea ly Middle ge , is most st iking The Medi val r r r r ra shipbuilde s in st iving to imp ove thei c ft , making

ad eri r r rs ded decks , and then built tow ng supe st uctu e at bow and stern . The result was a ves sel which would have been so top- heavy that it would be likely to cap “ ” size had it not been so broad that tuming turtle was out of the question . It was in such ships that Columbus made his voyage r 1 2 u r r r r of discove y in 49 , altho gh the supe st uctu es fo e and aft on his boat were less ex aggerated than in some “ ” later vessels . Nevertheless they were veritable tubs ; and we know from the experience of the crew that sailed the replica of the Santa Maria across the ocean 1 8 r i r r in 93, that they we e anyth ng but comfo table c aft for ocean traveling . This replica of the Santa Maria was reproduced re r with g at fidelity by the Spanish shipbuilde s , and , manned b a S anish crew cro s d the ocean on a y p , s e course exactly following that taken by Columbus on [ 59 ] ’ hh first voyage. Sir Gw Holmes tcrs e

Two full ccnturics before the discovery b the mddcr hsd een invented. There is nr its superiority over the older steering applir h have been apprecisted fully. But after t e of thc fourteenth century the rudder seen

For a full century after the voyage of Colu

with man decks h h ab0ve the m boats, y ig

and produced ships not tha ing vessels , except and how ar constr elevated , the of peculi w ’ The Soverei n o the Seas w of Pett s ships , g f , 8 m o r67 feet long, with 4 foot bea , and f

burthen . The introduction of tms type of w step fomrd toward modern shipbu tendency of shipbuilders during the [ 60 ] TH E O LD AN D TH E NEW- A CONTRAST

’ u n am al Moon a n hi 6th H s s us H i a fi s 1 d o f o f , typ c l ghti g of the The pmgraph was taken in N ew York arbor during

° THE HIGHWAY OF THE WATERS century was to increase the length of vessels in propor tion to the breadth of beamand diminish the depth of r r r r the hull and supe st uctu es , above the wate line , with ’ r improved sailing qualities . England s extensive t ade with India and the far East was conducive to this de “ ” velo ment r e ri p , as the East Indiamen we e nec ssa ly a combination of merchant vessel and battleship . In the first half of the nineteenth century America rose to great commercial importance thanks to her

fleets of fine sailingvessels. Speed rather than strength

e r mri - r in th i ships was the aim of A e can ship builde s , to gain which they built boats proportionately longer and narrower than ever constructed before for ocean r t affic . The culminating type of wooden sailing ship ” r r r r was ep esented by the Baltimo e clippe s , in which e the length was five , and even six , times the b am , with light rigging and improved mechanical devices for

h r e b r l . eat R u g eatly essened One of t ese ships , the G p lic u 1 8 r r r n , b ilt in 53, was ove th ee hund ed feet lo g, and

- r i r. a tons eg ste She was a four m sted vessel , t r fitted with double opsails, with a sp ead of about square yards . The modern descendant of the wooden clipper ship is the schooner with from four to six masts . Some of these vessels exceed the older boats in size and carry

not e . r r ing capacity , if in spe d Pe haps the la gest r r r omin schoone eve const ucted is the Wy g, which was

ai r r 1 10 . completed at Bath , M ne , ea ly in the yea 9 This 2 va se! is 3 9 feet long and 50 feet broad . It has a carrying capacity of tons . The construction of [ 61 ] such a ves sel at so recent a period suggests that the day of the sailing ship is by no means over notwith standing that a full century has elapsed since the com

. r t r ing of the steamboat He e , as so of en elsewhe e in r r r the histo y of p og ess , it has happened that the full development of a type has not been reached until the t at for r s ultimate doom of h type , except special pu pose ,

r nineteenth centu y , the sailing ship has seemed almost an r anach onism ; and yet , in point of fact , the steam ship did not at once outrival its more primitive fore n d i r r. i t r unne Even the mat e of spee , the sail ng ship more than held its own for a generation or so after the 1 8 1 steamship had been placed in commission . In 5 the American clipper Flying Cloud made 427 knots in tared this by averaging over eighteen miles an hour for

- r f twenty four consecutive hours . The Atlantic reco d or sailing vessels is usually said to have been made in 1 862 by the clipper ship Dreadnought in a passage be t N ew r tween Queens own and Yo k , the time of which is stated as nine days and seventeen hours . It should r r r be ema ked , howeve , that the authenticity of this ex traordinary performance has been challenged . r ed e ~ Be that as it may , it is ce tain that the spe i st sail r r of ing ships, g anted favo able conditions wind and r r efiorts t wave , mo e than su passed the best of the s eam ship until about the closing decades of the nineteenth century . But of course long before this the steamship had proved its supremacy under all ordinary condi [ 62 ] THE HIGHWAY OF THE WATERS

a tions . Even though s iling ships continued to be con mucted r r r r r in la ge numbe s, thei pictu esque igging le r in r became less and ss a featu e all navigable wate s, and the belching funnel of the steamship had become a characteristic substitute as typifying the sea- going

The story of the development of this new queen of the waters must now demand our attention . It begins with the futile efforts of several more or less visionary r r ri t enthusiasts who we e contempo a es of James Wat , and who thought they saw great possibilities in the steam engine as a motive power to take the place of oars and sails for the propulsion of ships .

Among the first of these was an American named r r John Fitch . Judged by the p actical esults of his f r e r ef o ts, he was not a highly succ ssful invento ; as a r t r r r f r p ophe , howeve , and as an expe imente whose ef o ts r r fell just sho t of attainment , he dese ves a conspicuous

- place in the history of an epoch making discovery . Yet

1mr r . r 1 80 p ophecy was based on his failu es F om 7 , for twenty years he strove to perfect a steamboat . His efiorts did not wor ry him far beyond the experimental r stage. But his courage and enthusiasm neve waned . “ ” r r r or Whethe I b ing the steamboat to pe fection not , “ he declared it will some time in the r , futu e be the mode of crossing the Atlantic for packets and armed ” w as. [ 63]

E ‘ MARINE ENG INES AND AN EARLY TYPE OF ST AMBO A I .

' hc small figure in the cent re represe nts a very remarkable steamboat co nstructed in b hn F The r s a of its ns ru n is not ar s a s but y Jo itch . p eci e d te co t ctio cle ly e t bli hed , v n i s u ente r had made efforts at steam avigat on a early as r7 76. The p ne n n i 88 for Pa r Mr e gine made in Scotla d n 17 t ick ille by William sad to equi rr douhle - hulled pleasure boat which miles an fia‘n The motive power is supplied mu figwr rcpreecnts a modcrn side whcel steamcr

THE HIGHWAY OF THE WATERS

But the boats that seemed to have come nearer at taining practical success for the moment were those in which several sets of oars worked by steamwere ac r on a pl ed ve tically e ch side of the hull , the machin ery so arranged that the oars were dipped into the water and drawn sternward by one motion of the ma chiner raised and a ried ward the bow b the o y, c r to y p posite motion . In some of these boats it was planned r s cars to have fou ets of , two sets on each side , which

r v r r ro air t a eling fo wa d th ugh the , its mate would be

fo forward impulse . But the machinery r these boats

ra al rs . p ctic e ults , and this idea was finally abandoned he r not r r e T jet of wate did p ove any mo e succ ssful , — and but two other methods were available the pro peller and the paddle- wheeL Both of the power of mov ing water formof the Archi overshot or under

of he wa er was u d move machiner revers force t t se to y,

- ing the action of the paddle wheel of the boat . And

yet the principles were identical . Obviously if the con tions r r rs and ers t mflLwheel for di we e eve ed , the und ho , r a r rre example , fo ced ag inst the wate with co sponding

— since action and reaction are equal to move a boat of

ra e . ri u enou h at conside ble siz But cu o sly g , , the time when Fulton began his ex periments there was a wave — OL . IL V V s. 65 ] ba would h to o ts it fail. T e reason for this lay in the fact that several such boats had been built fromtime l . r to time , and all had failed The fau t , of cou se , lay in some other place than in their paddle wheels ; but for the time bein the machiner g the wheel , and not y, was shouldered with the blame . Just a hundred years before Fulton finally produced

- r c ad t a. r his p acti al p dle wheel s eamboat , p ototype was

r r . 1 0 built by the Spania d , Blasco de Ga y In 7 7 , this

r r - te invento const ucted a model paddle wheel s amboat , r e and tried it upon the iver Fulda . But this mod l boat

r r was r tt . failed to wo k , and the expe iment soon fo go en

patented a marine engine which he proposed to use in to ro l r a boat which was be p pe led by a ste n wheel .

or - His idea was to use his boats as tug tow boats , and

to equip the larger vessels themselves with steam . But his engines were defective and his boats did not achieve

r the r R Du ing the time of Ame ican evolution , a r r r oufiro a F ench invento , the Ma quis de J y, m de several interesting

boats , using the dipped and raised alternately as referre d to a few pages d r . r one of back His boats ma e seve al public t ials , them ascending the Seine against the current ; but r r r r r neve theless , the F ench gove nment efused to g ant

n r . r u r r the inve to a patent P es mably , the efo e , the boat was not considered a practical success in oficial‘ circles ; and this view is tacitly conceded by the fact that no [ 66 ] THE HIGHWAY OF THE WATERS

been really practical steamboats it is a fair presump tion that others would have been constructed and put

i r re r l of . Neverthelfi nto ope ation , ga d ess patents , in

err r f ed to as the fathe of steam navigation . The idea of propelling a boat by means of a jet of water pumped out at the stern by steampumps was

r t 1 8 R . given a p actical tes in 7 4 , by James umsey His boat made a trial trip on the Potomac River in Septem ber of e r r r r that y a , Gene al Washington and othe a my r ofice s being pres ent on this occasion . The boat was r r rs r r able to make fai ly good p og e s th ough the wate , and seemed SO promising that a company was formed

motin Ra se g the idea and building more boats . my was sent to England where he undertook the construction r r t of anothe boat , meanwhile taking out patents in G ea

r r . r B itain , F ance, and Holland Befo e his boat was t r R comple ed , howeve , he died suddenly, and the umsey

Society passed out of existence shortly afterwards . An even closer approach to practical success was made ames 1 88 , in Scotland by J Symington, who in 7 ,

r n r l Taylo , co st ucted a boat consisting of two hu ls , with a paddle - wheel between them worked by a steam

. wor so 1 80 1 r engine This boat ked well that in , Lo d Dundas engaged Symington to build a smaller boat to

be used for towing on the Caledonian Canal . This c harlotte Dtmdas 1 802 boat , alled the C , completed in , is said to have been capable of towing a vessel of one [ 67 ] THE CON

u r h nd ed and, But in doing this the resulting the banks of the canal that the

finally rotted and fell to pieces. By many impartial judges this r r the fi st p actical steamboat , and lish its claimdue to the force the attitude of r of his engine , and th eatened him wit ” if it succeeded . And when at last order for eight smaller vessels from the r r re wate , his pat on died befo the ment had been completed . So that while ' accomplislnng what was done by Fulton r r r late , it is ce tain that , as Woodc aft says stitute the present syste ’ Some of Symington s engines and one of them is now in the Pat

London . Since the beginning of gation this engine has been tes ted several

drawn . While Symington

r . boat , an Ame ican , Col John Stevens of w r r Ne Je sey , was on the ve ge same end with a screw - prope steamship that did not come into use until

[ 68 ]

THE HIGHWAY OF THE WATERS

Stevens also invented what he called a rotary ” engine which was really an engine constructed on the e r c r r m p in iple as the mode n tu bine engine . It was a small afiair which he laced in a skifi and used for p , turning the screw- propeller of a boat which was able to travel at a rate of three or four miles an hour on the R N r r r 1 802 . o th ive , du ing the fall of But Stevens found so much dificulty in packing the blades of this engine without causing too much friction that he finally abandoned it for the more common type of reciprocat ing engine . But if this little steamboat had its defects , it nevertheles s contained the germs of two great features — of steam navigation the screw propeller and the tur r bine engine , the advantage of the fi st of which was r for r l r r not ecognized nea ly ha f a centu y, and the othe not until almost a full century later. In 1 804 Ste vens produced another propeller steam one Or n r of r r boat , this using the di a y type ecip ocating pattern practically identical with the screws now in use . This boat was able to steam at a rate of four s r mile an hou on many occasions , and at times almost

r rd rv r . double this ate , acco ing to some obse e s The n s are in r e gine of this boat still existence , and on seve al occasions since 1 804 have been placed in hulls corre s ondin r r p g as nea ly as possible to the o iginal , and have demonstrated that they could force the boat through o the water at six r eight miles an hour. These engines in a modern hull were exhibited at the Columbian Ex

o at 1 8 . rr p sition Chicago , in 93 They supply i efutable evidence that the practical steamboat had been ia [ 69 ] ’ a e in 1 80 . Yet no one ua tions that it was Fulton s g 7 q , ’ not e n tu t r e Stevens , inv ntio inaugu ated st am navi

Just why this was so is a little dificult to compre ’ hend at this time u l i was that Stevens b w , n ess t oat as such a small aflair that it did not attract the attention

’

s r r r . it de e ved , as did Fulton s la ge boat And yet we should not be guided too much by retrospective judg

l not have entire se f did confidence in his boat, or in the rinci le of his scre eller as is shown b the p p mp , y

doubt that Stevens had not full confidence in the pro

own device there is little likelihood that an one ebe , y e r will supply the nec ssa y confidence . This may ac

- the paddle wheel boat , which was finished a few months ’ after Fulton s boat had solved the problemof steam

in another lace Fulton was n nov As we shall see p , o

ice in the construction of peculiar boats at this time. roa r wi r r ab d , was familia th the p inciple of the sc ew confidence in the possibility of propelling boats at a good rate of speed by the use of steam. When he be Clemont the r of 1 80 gan his now famous , in sp ing 7 , it was not as an ex erimental skifi but as a boat of one p , — hundred and fifty tons burden half again the size of the boats in which Columbus had discovered America —to be placed in commission between Albany and w Ne r . l Yo k city By August , this boat was comp eted , e r her and the engin s in place , and , unde own steam ,

r r and New or whe e she was const ucted , tied up at a Y k

. th r on her r dock On August 7 , she sta ted maiden t ip every one of the persons in the great throng tfiat had h r r her gat e ed along the sho es , she left dock in due ur her e co se , and with wind and tide against , st amed ri r r t r up the ve at the ate of abou five miles an hou . At this speed she covered the entire distance between New r r r Yo k and Albany, settling fo eve the question

The impres sion this fire- belching monster made upon the sleepy inhabitants as it passed along the river

- can be readily imagined . An eye witnes s account of this first passage of the Clcnnmhas been given by an

an - r inhabit t at the half way point nea Poughkeepsie . “ “ e r in r It was the a ly autumn he w ote , that a knot of villagers was gathered on the high blufijust s u on s of h oppo ite Po ghkeepsie , the we t bank t e Hud [ 7 1 ] w o as a sign f the approaching Judgment. What seemed strange in the vessel was the suhstitution d lofty and

stood on the vessels navi atin the stream g g ; and , in lace of s ars and ri in the curious la of the p p gg g, p y

r - r wo king beam and pistons , and the slow tu ning and

n - splashi g of the huge , naked paddle wheels, met the h d The astonis e gaae. dense clouds of smoke as they r r der ose wave upon wave , added still mo e to the won

ment of the rustics . “ s r r Clemont her This t ange looking c aft was the , on

h - trial trip to Albany . On er return trip the curiosity — she excited was scarcely less intense the whole coun tr i - i y talked of noth ng but the sea monster, belch ng fire

tion devastating their fishing grounds ; whilst the

great excitement among the boatmen . ’ While acknowledging fully Fulton s right to the “ ” ai r a cl m of being the fathe of steam navig tion , as been called is no evidence to show that he has , there

l enna “. er application of steam to the G The boil , — ad - h e r ar had engine , p dle w eel ve y p t of the boat been [ 72 ]

knowled e in a ra ical wa and demonstrated the g p ct y,

w 1 1 w l temted as built b Fulton in 8 . It as ca led p y , 3 Dmol os and r s the g , was not a p actical succes , and m no a k v ade ttempts to ta e protracted ocean oyages. fir h 1 1 The st steamship to cross was the Savm m8 9. She made the voyage fromSavannah to Liverpool in

n - five us her a l - wheels art of the twe ty days, ing p dd e p

h fi ml . She was a boat of three undred and ft tons i s y , and M' addle- wheels were arran ed so that the p g y could be hauled in upon tbe deck and stowed away in

Following the Samnah several similar combination the navigators coming to have more and more faith in h ossibili es o m r t e ti f st mso that e l car ied. p , ls s sai was These veesels continued to reduce the time of the pas s e between Etno e and America until the vo a e ag p , y g md had been a e in about seventeen da s. Then in y , 1 8 8 two ves sels the 5 irius and th rea slemfor 3 , , e G c , the first time usin steamalone as motive r ad g powe , m e r c r s Great estern crossin in v e o d voyage , the W g twel e — markable time an average speedof over two hundred [ 731

boat more than three hnndred feet long cannot be

r s n ' smwflfle lmaunhd n o lflanuany tmw kkm. fl u fim b

down h adifionafly for thousands oi yeamomdd not be urel such a heav sub overcome in a moment. And s y y stance as iron would not be likely to sugges t itself to

- of the average ship builder. But at the beginning the nineteenth century rapid strides were being made in t r t cal e heo e i , as well as applied sci nce , and the idea of

in locomotive building have been noted in another

He did not actuall construct a vesscl y , but he made — detailed plans ofo ne not merely a boat with an iron e r rs hull , but with decks , b ams , masts, ya ds , and spa

made of the same material . It was nearly ten years af e T ev thick dre w his lans r r t r r i p , howeve , befo e the

first iron ship was constructed. Then Thomas Wilson of Glasgow built a vessel on practically the same lines u s ggested by Trevithick. This vml fin h d 1 81 8 and , is e in , ealled the V1dcan, ms he ioneer f all ir n a F t p o o bo ts. or at least six ty

ears it remained in active service . 1ndeed for h y , aug t that is known to the n rar h co t y, t is first iron boat ma y be still in use in some capacity.

[ 75 ] were oonstructed after her was the fact that the were , y

w than ships of corresponding siae built of ood. In wooden cargo ships the weight of the hull and fittings varies from35 t0 45 per oent. of the total displaee w m2 ment hile iron vos sels var fro to o er cent. , y 5 3 p This was a vital oint in favor of the iron vss sel and p ,

v the public at large looked askanoe at the new es sels. “ ” To sink like a stone was proverbial ; and everyone knows that iron sinks quite as readily as stone . But very soon a convincing demonstration of the strength of iron vessels brought them into favor. A re r n of r at ri ai g at sto m , sweepi g along the coast G e B t n in 1 8 r n r 35, d ove ma y vessels on sho e , among them an iron steamboat just making her maiden voyage. The r re k wooden vessels without exception we e w c ed , most s ro r of them de t yed , but the i on vessel , although sub ected e r j to the same conditions , scaped without inju y, thanks to the material and method of her construction. From that time the position of the iron steamship looked askance at iron passenger boats they now began to distrust those built of wood . By the middle of the n r r i i ce tu y , i on shipbu ld ng was at its height , and in the

— finished possibly the largest and most remarkable

r r r r or sea. st uctu e eve built of i on , on land In recent r r r i r yea s la ge sh ps have been const ucted , but these are ships made of steel . [ 76 ] The e l Eastemmarked an epoch in shipbuild

in . In siee she was a eneration ahead of her time g g , but the innovations in the method of her construction

i . r r . e methods. S Geo ge C V Holm s gives the following account of the great ship “ She was originally intended by the famous engi

Mr. . K. r r r nee , I B unel , to t ade between England and h Ea he was desi ne to make h vo a e t e st. S g d t e y g to l on route tr a r 3. Aus alia without c ling anywhe e to coal ,

no other vessel could accomplish . It was supposed t w hat this advantage , coupled ith the high speed ex ected fromher reat len th wonld secure for her the p g g ,

r h . B a r Mr. r necms y to fill e unei communicated his idea that such a vessel should be constructed for the trade to the East to the famous engineer and ship

r Mr. c R u e b ild , the late John S ott ussell , and he further ersuaded his clients the directors of the p , r e N Easte n St am avigation Company, of the soundness

sho l for r r t uld be bui t thei company , and ent us ed the contract for its execution to the firmof John Scott

l l Co. . 8: , of Millwall “

. B R Mr. Mr t runei r Sco t ussell and we e , between e e t t r s on th m, n i led to the c edit of the de ign , which , account of the ex ce tional size of the shi res ented p p, p dificulties rt re r special , and involved a total depa u f om

“ Mr. R l Scott usse l had systematically , in his own [ 77 ] om but the cells had onl five sides the u er bott , y , pp

most side on the inside being uncovered. Over a large or i n r of the Great Eastern p t o , howeve , bottom of the the cells were completed by the additio n of an inner omwhich r l both to the s r n t and bott , added g eat y t e g h ’

he safet . I was also Mr. Br s to t y of the ship t unel

The following are some of the principal dimensions

w mmd hull

- as ss ers and the mad-cm third cl s pa eng , , and of er , d ew numbere d 400 . The upp deck which was

[ 78] flush fromstemto stern and was twent feet wide on , y each side of the hatchways ; thus two spacious prome

e r r r r . nad s we e p ovided , each ove a fu long in length

The capacity for coal and cargo was tons . “ The attempts to launch this vessel were most disas rou t s , and cost no less than an expense which

ruined the company . The original company was wound u r for p, and the g eat ship sold to a new com

e r 1 8 . The pany , and was completed in the y a 59 new company very unwisely determined to put her on the

mri for e . A e can station , which she was in no way suit d D uring her preliminary trip the pilot reported that she made a speed of fully r4 knots at two- thirds of full ress r r of at p u e , but the highest ate speed which she ained on this occasion was 1 and on her first t 5 knots , j ourney across the Atlantic the average speed was ar 1 run n e ly 4 knots , the greatest distance in a day hav n i n g bee 333 nautical miles . The great value of the s ystem adopted in her construction was proved by an a ccident which occurred during one of her Transatlan

c . ran ro t i voyages She against a pointed ck , but the o v yage was continued without hindrance . It was after w ards found that holes of the combined length of over c tco r her o r 1 o t had been to n in ute bottom ; but , thanks ” - o r r r ad . t the inne wate tight skin , no wate was mitted Between the years 1 860 and 1 870 great improvements w e re r n r - mr r made in ma ine engi es , and sc ew stea e s ve y

e n r - r g erally eplaced side wheel boats for ocean t afic. T he improvements in the engines consisted largely in th e r r s r r use of highe p es u es , su face condensation , and C o m r re pounding of the cylinde s , which sulted in a sav [ 79 ] THE CONQUEST or TIME AND sPacs ing of about half the amount of fuel over engines oi o m the lder type. As a result stea ers were able to com pete succmfully with the sailing shipsmven as freighters for lon vo a es such as those between Euro e and g y g , p

followi the Franco- Prumian war when there was ng ,

riority of this material over iron was quickly demon

r r r ro p oduction , steel p actically eplaced i n in ship construction after this time . It was during this same period that a new type of — “ passenger steamer was produced the ocean grey ” ic u . r of Ocean u ho nd The fi st these was the , b ilt by the White Star Company in 1 871 . This ship was te

and twent feet was more than ten times her beam y , ; iron railings were substituted for bulwarks ; and the passenger quarters were shifted from the position near

the stemto the middle of the vessel . All these changes r i r Oceanic p oved to be distinct mp ovements , and the r te became at once the most popula , as well as the fas st ocean liner. Like all the other boats of the seventies and early

- Oceanic r . eighties , the was a single sc ew vessel The advantage of double propellers in case of accident had

n r - re long been recog ized , but hithe to twin sc ws had not proved as eflicient as a single screw in developing sp ed. - screw boat be an makin new s eed records a twin , g g p , and the followin ear her sister shi the cw York g y p, N , and the new Ma csfic anc tdorfic enterin into the i , g ocean~record contests cut the time of the assa e be , p g t we en Euro e and America o l h p t ee t an six days. T he advantages of the double-scre w over the single a re so many and so manifest as to leave no question as t o their superiority. The disabling of the shaft or screw o f the sin le- screw steamer or the deran emn of her g , g e t v mdder renders the essel helpless. Not so thc twin s cre w ship ; for on such ships the screws can be used n f o r steeri g as well as propelling. And it has happened

develo ment of the turbine en e the mechanismof p gin , w been b w hich has des cri ed ebe bere. Since the day of

wor the limit for sise and s eed of shi ha in ld , p ps s ap ben materiall advanced and no thinkin erson will e y , g p venture to predict restricting limits without a modify

At the beginning of the twentieth century a keen rivalry had developed between EnMand the Con tinent for su remac in tmnsatlantic traflic America p y ,

[ 81 ]

ofthe usual reciprocating type actingon four propellers for e r r rs for going ah ad , and two sepa ate p opelle going

- astern . These engines develop horse power. Stated in this way these figures convey little idea of the n power developed . But whe we say that it would take a line of horses one hundred and twenty miles long hitched tandem to develop the power generated in the ’ Maw etania s r compact space of the engine oom , some

idea of the power is gained . not r r or n It is the matte of powe , size , speed alo e that makes the twentieth century passenger steamer

so completely outclass her predecessors . It is really the matter of comfort and safety afforded the ocean

travelers . Safety against sinking from injury to the hull was provided for by the introduction of water r f r a o tight compa tments hal a centu y g , as we have seen ; and the siae of the Grcal Easlcmhas been sur

passed in only a few instances . But it is since the begin ning of the present century that two revolutionary — safety devices have been perfected wireless telegraphy n a d the submarine signaling apparatus . The wireless a ar e r r r pp atus has be n desc ibed in anothe chapte , and as i is used m mu o t al ost as ch n land as at sea, cannot nfidered co 8. be as solely nautical appliance. But the ubmrn i s a i e s gnaling device , which is dependent u r for ra pon wate t nsmission , is essentially a nautical

that the one r b marine thing most d eaded y rs is fog. [ 83] that blows . It is the foggy night that fills him with

In perfectly still weather the sound of the fog horn c rr far i en a ies enough , and ind cates location well ough r h r or so that two ships app oac ing each othe , a ship ro h app ac ing a bell buoy , can detect its location and r avoid danger. But this is unde favorable conditions ; and unfortunately such conditions do not always pre An he w nd r the nn n vail . d if t re is a i stirring o sea ru i g high atmospheric sounds cannot be depended upon .

r r r r r unde o dina y conditions , may not be hea d mo e ’

. r de than a ship s length away And sco es of acci nts , u l s ch as col isions between ships , have happened in

at regular intervals . When wireless telegraphy was perfected suficiently to r r e r r to be of p actical use , g eat hop s we e ente tained b that this discovery could e used to give warning and - x prevent accidents to fog bound vessels . But e peri ence has shown that its usefulness rs confined largely for after r r to that of calling help the accident , athe

than in preventing it. Thus in 1 908 when the wireless Operator on board the steamer Republic flashed his mes sage broadcast telling ships and shore stations for hundreds of miles around that his vessel had been run n down in a fog and was sinki g , he could only give the

[ 84 ] o r r r r lu an the elect ic appliance , of even mo e ecent ven a r l r e r for tion th n the wi eless te eg aph , was nec ssa y

locating the exact position of the stricken ship . This was r n e the subma i e signaling device , which utiliz s

sound . Benjamin Franklin pointed out more than a century a go that water carries sound farther and faster than

a ir c rr re r . , and a ies it with g ate constancy Density , t e m r ure and i r pe at , mot on of the atmosphe e act upon a erial soundwaves to reflect and retract them rn vary i n g degrees ; but these waves are not afiected when

w ater is the medium through which they are passing . T he knowledge of these facts was turned to little prac t i cal account until the closing years of the last century

s i mply that of sound waves transmitted through the w a ter and detected at a distance by a submerged elec i er cal transmitter. The sound transmitted is usually i m u r t of a s bme ged bell . It is possible for a person w h ose head is submerged to hear the ringing of such a bell distinctly for a long distance ; but of course for pr actical purposes such submergence is out of the u atr q m. The receiving apparatus of the Mundy [ 8s]

inside of the hull on each side , with connecting wires l a n o r r e di g to the pil t house , in its pe fected fo m will pick up the sound of the submerged bell equally well

a t r ar l s al or r . any speed , eg d e s of c m sto m The chief defect of this arrangement was that the s ound of the pulsations of the engines of the ship were a s e rd r r r l o h a , and inte fe ed se iously with the detection

o f the sound of the bell . But presently a receiving de v ice was perfected which ignored all sounds but those o fthe r r rotec bell , thus giving the ma ine a means of p t ion against accidents that could be depended upon a bsolutely at all times regardless of speed or weather

When this stage of perfection of the signaling device w as re ached the various governments began installing r t h e inst uments on buoys , lighthouse sites , and light l xi s r for r i s p , using va ious mechanical devices ing ng the e r r r b lls , and timing the st okes so that the ma ine s could er hell t e ll by the int vals just what he was in touch with , a s he knows each lighthouse by the intervals between A t h e flashes of its lights . further development in the s i gmling device was to equip ships with submerged h b e lls as well as with t e receivin a aratus. In this , g pp m w u c other or y t o ships could comm ni ate with each , m th r r a shore eceiving station , by using the Mo se t e l e h us r . mp code , j t as in the case of teleg aphy The mx imumdistance at which such communica t i o ns ma be detected is about miles and the y fifteen , a p prox imate distance fromthe bell can be gauged f r umthe cleamess of the sound heard in the tele

h r P one re ceiver. At the distance of a quarte of a mile [ 87 ] the sound of the bell is so loud that it is painful to the r if the receiver is held a ainst the ear while at listene g ,

ten or twelve miles the sound is scarcely audible . years was that of the passengers and crew of the steamer

e ublic refened to a few a es back. When ber R p , p g wireless messages of distres s were received a score of

the entire civilized world waited in breathless expect h . t e r ancy Most of escuing vessels , although constantly m r r in com unication with the st icken ship , we e unable h to locate er. But the successful vessel finally got in ’ touch with the Republic s submarine signaling appara tus and aided b this located the vessel and rescued , y re the c w and passengers . This is only one instance of the practical application of the submarine signaling apparatus . But its use is r not confined to the large r boats . The appa atus can be made so small that even boats the size of a fishing dory may be equipped at least with the sounding de

r . vice , and thus p otected On the Newfoundland fishing banks one of the chief causes of loss of life is the running down of the fishing a fo r s bo ts in the g by passing steame s , and al o the loss of the dories of the fishermen who are unable to find r their way back to thei vessels. Many of these fishing vessels now supply each of the attending dories with a submarine bell which weighs about forty pounds and

is run by clockwork . When caught in the fog the fish erman hangs this bell over the side of his dory and ar r n rs thus w ns app oachi g steame of his position , at the [881 THE HIG HWAY OF THE WATERS

hirn and picking himup. In this manner the appalling loss of life in the fogs on the fishing banks has been

gives aid to the smaller craft as well as the larger vessels. For the mornent this is the last important safety de vice that has been invented to help lessen the perils

ocean vo a es are now lar el reminiscent thanks to y g g y , the rapid succession of scientific discoveries and their

size of modern ves sels minimizes rolling and pitching . Turbine engines practically eliminate engine vibra

tions . The danger from fires was practically elim inated by the introduction of iron and steel as building material ; the danger of sinking after collisions is now ’ guarded against by the division of the ship s hull into water- tight compartments ; sensitive instruments as used at present wamthe mariner of the presence of ice bergs ; wireless telegraphy afiords a means of call ing aid in case of disabled machinery and giving the ’ s hip s lomtion in a general way ; while the submarine s ignal makes known the exact location of the stricken

In a trifie over half a century the time of crossing the

A l - t antic has been reduced by more than one half . In 2 856 the Persia crossed the ocean between Queens t New r r r own and Yo k in nine days , one hou , and fo ty fi ve a i r r . 1 0 Maure minutes , m k ng a new eco d In 9 9 the

‘ t ama v r e r r co e ed the sam distance in fou days , ten hou s ,

- a ndfit one minu . r 1 10 the same ves&l f y tes In Ma ch , 9 , [ 89 ]

THE HIGHWAY OF THE WATERS

of coal for maki t m Fo liquid fuel in place ng s ea . r ye ars the advantages of this form of fuel have been e R r u r cognized , the ussians having b o ght its use to a r rn high state of pe fection , both boats and locomotives . Practically all the steamers on the Black and Caspian seas as well as on such rivers as the Vol a burn oil , g , r 1 10 the r N exclusively . And ea ly in 9 B itish avy de for cided to substitute oil coal on all its vessels . The advantages claimed for oil over coal as fuel are

m . r r any It is smokeless , p oduces mo e heat than coal , o i s for r r ccup es le s space sto age , can be loaded mo e r r quickly and easily , is cleane , and educes the engine room force to one- fourth or one - third the number of

men required when coal is used . Incidentally it re duces the difficult physical task of stoking to one rela

tivel e . r fire y pleasant and asy It gives a steadie , does not rs r foul the boile , and does away with cumbe some

Its disadvan a e lies in he dan er rom t g t g f fire . An in ’ flammable liquid carried in a ship s hold is obviously more dangerous than a corresponding quantity of rela tiv ely incombustible coal . Yet the obvious advantages of this form of fuel have been so compelling that it is now war coming into use on all classes of vessels , and seems likely to supplant coal entirely on some types of b r r r . re r oats, such as the to pedo dest oye s Mo ove , the experience of the Russian boats on the Black and Cas pian seas seems to indicate that the dangers from the use of oil as a fuel when properly handled have been r r a r r r g eatly exagge ated , and p ssenge and f eight steame s a r are ll over the wo ld gradually adopting it . [ 9 1 ] m were md b the Nav De aMent So e tests a e y y p of — the United States in rgog rgro using a vessel which w f ml l- u n a 1n thes e tests it was as or er y a coa br ing bo t .

r r r u the the fi ing fo ce educed , and f el taken into ship in about one fourth the time it takes to coal . It was l r or l r possib e to get up steam in any boile , set of boi e s , much more quickly than with coal . Of course where oil is used for fuel some special m n ha o . Man f r of burner is eces sary y types ve been r f s t ied , but in the most ef ective the oil is atomi ed by r or air the use of steam sp ay , blast , it being impossible to get proper combustion of the oil except when used in minutely divided particles . Used in this manner a r m r ur d or unifo m te pe at e can be maintaine easily , may r be increased or decreased ve y quickly . As used at pre sent liquid fuel simply substitutes coal for heating the ordinary type of boiler. But there seems every reason to believe that in the near future some type of internal combustion engine will be per er r e r fe ed that will use the c ude , ch ap oil , as the fine r — and lighte oils are used in motors to day . When this occurs the space- consuming boilers and furnaces used in ships at present will be replaced by cot machin er fi l r of y, quite as ef cient , but occupying on y a f action the space . Nor need we expect that the invention of some such type of engine will be long delayed , if we may judge by the rapid strides made in perfecting other r n r r inte nal combustion e gines du ing the past few yea s .

[ 92 ] development of submarine ves sels has been one of the slowest in the history of modern r sub inventions . Subma ine boats , using r re r bun to pedoes , we able to dest oy ships a dred years ago ; and a little less than half a century ago naval vessels were destroyed in actual warfare by

thes e boats . But curiously enough no ves sel has ever been destroyed in actual warfare by a submarine boat

v e s s els , and , with the exception of boats of the Lake

t of r for r r . y pe , no use whateve comme cial pu poses Perhaps the explanation for this tardy development l i e s in the fact that until recent years naval men have n o t o r e of l oked with favo upon this styl fighting craft . ’ I n mra r r r 1 8 8 Ad i l Po te s book , w itten in 7 , he makes t h e statement that one of the reasons why they did not s h o w more enthusiasm about the submarine made by R o rt r r be Fulton ea ly in the nineteenth centu y, was “ t h a t such boats menaced the position of the naval me n n , whose calling would be go e did the little sub ” m - a r l . not ine boat supp ant the battle ship We need , h o w er en t ev , dep d upon this sta ement , made as it was th r ee quarters of a century after the demonstrations by are many similar statements made at [ 93]

1 8 re r in the Transactions o the Ama ‘icaw 7 9, and co ded f loso hic l ociet Phi p a S y. In this letter Bushnell says : “ The external shape of the submarine vessel bore some resemblance to the upper tortoise shells of equal n r r si e , joined togethe , the place of ent ance into the W I being represented by the opening made by the w f l m s ell o the shel s at the head of the ani al. The in side was capable of containing the operator and air suficient to support him thirty minutes without re c i eiv r air. en ng f esh At the bottom , opposite to the

r a for . t ance , was fixed quantity of lead ballast At one r r r r edge , which was di ectly befo e the ope ato , who sat

r car for r r r r . up ight , was an owing fo wa d and backwa d r At the other edge was a rudder for steering . An ape re tu at the bottom , with its valves , was designed to r for r e admit wate the pu pose of d scending , and two brass forcing- pumps served to eject the water within re when necessary for ascending . At the top the was car for or or likewise an ascending descending, con

- or tinning at any particular depth . A water gauge r r r ba omete dete mined the depth of descent , a compass re r l r di cted the cou se , and a venti ato within supplied

The vessel was chiefly ballasted with lead fixed to its bottom ; when this was not suficient a quantity was the operator; its ballast made it so stiff that there was ll r r . a no dange of ove setting The vessel , with its appen s r r ffi dage and the ope ato , was of su cient weight to settle it very low in the water. About two hundred pounds of lead at the bottom for ballast could be let down [ 95 ] lo h hi m1ed forty or fifty feet be w t e vessel; t s the operator to rise instantly to the sm'face of the water in

When the o erator would descend he laced p , p his fbot u on the to of a brass valve de ressin it b p p , p g , y which he opened a large aperture in the bottomof the s l r u which the water entered at his leasure ves e , th o gh p ; when he had admitted a suficient quantity he descended very gradually ; if he admitted too much he ejected

ac . r or e h hand Wheneve the vessel leaked , he would u h mad u of h fo ascend to the s rface, e also e se t ese rc

- r ing pumps . When the skillful operato had obtained

n at r r oar co tinue any pa ticula depth , with an placed r e r r nea the top of the v ssel , fo med upon the p inciple of r oar enterin the sc ew, the axis of the g the vessel ; by urn the oar one wa he raised the vessel b turn t ing y , y ing it the other he depressed it . oar r r of r An , fo med upon the p inciple a sc ew , was

' fixed in the fore part of the vessel ; its an s entered the rn r e for vessel , and being tu ed one way, owed the v ssel r r r r ac wa d , but being tu ned the othe way owed it b k m r h hand or foo ward; it was ade to be tu ned by t e t . “ Behind the submarine vessel was a place above the rudder for carrying a large powder magazine . This oak r r u was made of two pieces of timbe , la ge eno gh when hollowed out to contain one hundred and fifty r a mtus r pounds of powde , with the pp used in fi ing it , and was secured in its place by a screw turned by the [ 96 ] az n re mag i e to the wood sc w above mentioned , and was

be cast ofl fromits tube the ma azine was to be cast , g off likewise b unscrewin it leavin it han in to the y g , g g g re it was li hter than the water that it mi ht wood sc w ; g , g rise up against the objcct to which the wood screw and

' Within the magamne was an apparatus constructed to run any proposed length of time under twelve hours ; when it had run its time it unpinioned a strong lock

- res fire the r. embling a gun lock , which gave to powde This apparatus was so pinioned that it could not pos sibl move till b castin ofi the ma azine fromthe y , y g g v w o t . el , it was set in mo ion “ The skillful operator could swim so low on the sur face of the water as to approach very near a ship in the r r night without fea of being discove ed , and might , he r or m r if chose , app oach the stem ste above the wate

kee at an de th he leased and row a reat dis p y p p , g terror:in any direction he des ired without coming to the ur r r s face , and when he ose to the su face he could soon

r s of air. e r obtain a f e h supply If nec ssa y , he might ai descend ag n and pursue his course . “ After various attempts to find an operator to my wish I sent one who a eared more ex ert than the , pp p res t from New York to a fifty- gun ship lying not far ' fromGovernor s Island . He went under the ship and me o r her atte pt d to fix the w oden sc ew in bottom , but struck as he su osed a bar of iron which asses , — pp , p VOL . n r. 7 [ 97

A erica a at navigation . As m was t peace and as her financial condition was at the l on r nsferred his skill and ener to , Fu t t a gy

were made to interest the u cer invention , but altho gh

the opportunity of

r s with th ee companion , to a depth of twenty- three feet and remained for twenty minutes ; and at a depth of five they are said to have remained submerged e e v ss l ,

to emtflu N n was succes sful, a Encouraged by this success larger boats of this same type

- the largest battle ships . In re turn he asked that a reward be paid himfor each ma destro ed the rice of his divin boat reim ve y , p g bursed and a atent be iven himelf and the mem , p g his crew h n a ure he would bers of , so t at i c se of capt t y [ 99 ]

SUBMARINE VESSELS

sisted in surrounding her with protecting booms of r r logs , suppo ting st ong netting , and held a distance

from the hull by spars . In fact all possible means short of actually building a wall about the Argus were

taken to defeat the attack . It is probable that the r her r r for re b ig, when p epa ations defense we com leted n r r p , would have been invul e able even to a mode n r r ri re r to pedo , and it is not su p sing , the fo e , that Ful ’ ton s attack upon her utterly failed . Commenting upon this failure and the means taken b r ro Ar us si nifi y the autho ities to p tect the g , Fulton g tautly remarked that the very fact that a war ves sel

f n in sel agai st a system of attack then its infancy , spoke volumes for the possibilities of this method of attac u r king when it sho ld be mo e fully developed . But although this failure to destroy the Argus caused

u bmr r r r s a ine wa fa e , Fulton himself neve lost faith in th e importance of his work . Even after his successful n v e n e for r i tion of the st amboat , su face navigation , he 3 S a d e re r m5 i to hav ma ked that , while this invention was o rtant s r r p , it could in no wi e compa e with the evo

all y be produced by submarine boats . And despite his ai l f u r e to convince the government of the possibilities °f h i s n r m diving boats, he conti ued his expe i ents with tha n r u . How nea ly he s cceeded in making a practical Sub l h arine was shown in the second war with England

[ 101 ] “ In this war a divin boat su osed to have been g , pp ' one of Fulton s submarines made several attacks u on , p ' r -oi- war Ramllics 03 New n the B itish man Lo don , in

the summer 0f 1 81 3. In the first two attempts the ap proach of the submarine was detected by the crew of

-of- war r s out the man , who cut thei cable , and stood h h of t e arbor as quickly as possible. In the third at temt the divin boat succeeded in comin u in a p , g g p o r r Mics as n s positi n di ectly unde the , f te ed it elf to the keel and made a hole in the planking large enough to receive the screw which was to fasten the tor edo in lac In the act of f enin it however e. ast p p g , , this scre w was broken ofi and the attemt had to be , p

This attack created such a panic abmrd the B ritish h d n h r but boat, that s e di 0t re turn to the inner a bor No kept constantly in motion outside . t satisfied with “ ” r or t this p otection against such dishon able a tempts , the British commander took on board his vessel a hun

r r r ri r t d ed p isone s , app sing the Ame icans of the fac ,

b all the shi s of the British fl so that in case a y p eet, ves sel was torpedoed the American prisoners would be h fi uall r r blown up with er crew . This e ect y f ust ated ’ Fulton s plans ; for when the fact became known in the United tat s h Americans were na urall as S e , t e t y vigorous as the British in protes ting against Fulton

and his boats . “ Obviously the rule that everything is fair in war rs a o was not accepted in practice a hundred yea g . ’ rat Fulton s attempts were regarded as the acts of a pi e , [ 102 ] SUBMARINE VESSELS

thrse of the British commander as perfectly legitimate

and honorable methods.

Frorn the time of Fulton to the outbreak of the A mimn Civil War there were few attempts at sub

e ven d orts were made to perfect diving boats ; and t ha e d orts were so well directed that eventually one o f the e boats succeeded in destroying the Federal

F ru r 1 1 86 . eb a y 7, 4

rew ka w t he mfi ble Mever on ruc d. a c st te It s

ar sha cd about srx t feet lon and camed a cre w o g p , y g, It was submerged partly by means of f and N b partly by lateral fins . As a weapon s ar r n a p to pedo faste ed to its blunt nose .

m ro el e - w r I t p p l d by hand po e , eight of the nine mem bers of the cre w working on a crank which actuated

' e ro eller. The ninth man crouchin in the bow t h p p , g , No mrve air carried nd co s te ered the boat. was m n

a . the length of time the boat could remain s umged m limited to a very few minutes . On

z e o u t 1 m f r Of bea r r j this, and Of its un o tunate caree , “ ” aptly called the peripatetic cofin ; and it jus fied t i n i difierent s r t i h s ame by s nking five time , d own i ng thirty - five out of forty of the members of its difier

[ 103]

bydims the mrpedo-boat m founi stkfig h th hobshe had d anhu ' m m dn d h h lt n s a recklmadventnre ths r mmh d cw d h w me in wlfich tlr y oould md y h ve hqfl m h hed uied it onoe hfi e fl tb aimed. T y W and some of the cmv hui hambb-a m ba How oould the ho e to snomd oa th em ud. y p mmmmmu mmmw d

he driven out to sca! Reckks u i h W fl , fi mbEm aMb - mdr mfi M d th l ength to wfich men oould be nrgfl mhch l d a W ier which they m v fli q b gin w th i i l u ” atl cl all tlt y h ld rnost da r. THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE

re fleet of submarine boats built alread or p sent y, in the rocess of con truc ion as well as for those f p s t , o sev

reater than that of an other nation althou h in the g y , g matter of results she has not outstripped the United

l ’ Mr. rs u r Ho land s fi t s bma ine boat was built in “ ” 1 8 . i 75 It was called a diving canoe , be ng only six

- s . r e rs r r clothed in a diving uit Fou y a late , howeve , o h olIand o H lland built a larger boat called t e H N . 3 constmcted alongsinular hnes mthe most recent srrb r This was the first buo ant submarine to ma ines . y be may be said to mark an epoch in submarine naviga

. Mr. o Hol tion But the N . 3 had many defects , and ro land continued to build and imp ve new boats, until finall his ninth which is the one familiarl known y boat , y olland re r r r sub as the H , p esented a p actical fo m of

r . 10 s ma ine vessel This boat was 53 feet inche long , 1 0 s r m feet 3 inche in diamete , had a displace ent of 75

rr 10 r . a tons , and ca ied tons of wate ballast The g so line engine which it used when running at the surface ro elled the boat at the rate of seven knots an hour p p , and it could travel a distance of fifteen hundred miles r at this ate of speed with the amount of fuel carried . When submerged it could run a distance of about fifty

[ 106 ] In divin tlre Holland t e of boat ak ufi~ g, yp t es in s dent water ballast to lower it to the surface of the

r r water. The horizontal udde s are then brought into use causin it to descend to the desired de th and g p , keeping it at an approx imately uniformdistance from w the surface hile running submerged. By this arrange m r r r ent the boat can dive ve y quickly , equi ing only a matter of eight or ten seconds for reaching a depth of

des i ned to consist of three tubes two of which g , were

d for discharging Whitehea torpedoes. One of these aérial uns was laced in the bow and one in the g p , stern ; but later the stern tube was abandoned. The

- for hundred pounds of gun cotton . The tube dis charging the Whitehead torpedo was practically the same as the submerged tubes in use at pros ent on

t r r mos familia to the majo ity of people , and the one in r s rs use in seve al navie , it should not be unde tood that the Holland boats were the only successful sub r R marines constructed up to this time . F ance and us

America those invented by Simon Lake , some of which are used for wrecking and salvage work as well as for

o ri r t s lely by elect c powe , have lit le buoyancy , and do

” u r sible is applied to a s bma ine boat , actuated by elec tricit r r for y while subme ged , but using gasoline moto s e motive power while running at the surface . Th se gasoline engines are used at the same time for charg ing the storage batteries ; so that the submersible is a m r r al r uch mo e p actic boat than the subma ine , and at

r. al the same time is quite as good a dive Indeed , though many naval writers are very careful to make t the r r a distinc ion in use of these te ms , the e seems little — need of doing so , since only one type of boat the — submersible is now considered practical . But as the r r r r r wo d subma ine is the olde and mo e popula , it is used here to cover both classes except in specific cases . For several years there were two classes of sub — marines under observation those posses sing no float r ability when subme ged , and those having some r n reserve buoyancy . The advantage claimed fo the o floatabilit s y cla s of boats is that , having no buoyancy, they are kept more easily at a certain depth below the surface of the water instead of tending to come to the surface constantly as in the case of boats of the other

But in actual practice the theoretical possibilities of such boats have not come up to the expectations of their advocates . For keeping the boat at a uniform rs depth , the most unive ally accepted method is by the use of horizontal rudders . The fact that the vertical direction of a boat may be controlled by horizontal ru r her dde s, when buoyancy is small , has long since [ 109 ]

t e some dis ance ahead of the boat , but this would def at r r r u the p ima y object of subma ine attack , as s ch a light would be seen by an enemy . In i l r ru st l wate , when the boat is nning within a dis an e of or r t o ten fifteen feet of the su face , it is possible to steer with grcat precision by the use of an optical “ ”

b or ri . r c tr tu e pe scope This pe is ope is a s aight , n r r hollow tube, con ected with the stee ing compa tment

the upper end are a mirror and lenses so arranged that the surrounding objects are reflected downward throu h the tube and show on r or some other g , a sc een , device so that the helmsman sees thin s of ex actl the , g y

The periscope is also fitted with a teles cope attachment

are two r l for pe iscopes, a movab e one use of the com m oficer rai for anding , and one that looks st ght ahead ’ the helmsman s use . er r r ra In still wat the pe iscope wo ks admi bly , but it is s riousl interfered with n mll e y eve by s a waves . It is so a u r sm ll and inconspic ous , howeve , that it might emble a submarine to creep within torpedo range even and r r in daylight , launch the to pedo with accu acy , as was proved in 1908 when a fleet of submarines actually a ccomplished this feat in an experimental test .

PRESENT STATUS OF SUBMARINE BOATS

e r r s To most peopl , one of the most su p ising thing in the Rumo- Japanese war was the fact that submarine [ 1 1 1 ] THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE

v There o l boats played no part in it whate cr. is n y

The reason for the surprise of the generality of peo ple in finding the submarine was not as yet an entirely

resentations of he dail ress and ma azines whose t y p g , readers have been led to infer that the modern sub marine boat is so far perfected that it can do thioga

under water almost as well as boats on the surface.

N r n r d othing is farthe from the truth . U de i eal (and

u r can r r s bme sibles , have done , and do , some ema kable t u r for ur hings , s ch as staying subme ged ho s, diving to r r a depth of two hund ed feet , and unning long dis tances . But these are only the first requisites of the — ” under- water fighting boat simmy the creeping stage m T of develop ent . he common impression that the r subma ine boat , such as the ones of the Holland and

r u fish- for r Lake types , can go c uising abo t , like , hou s,

out comin near h u d t e s rface is a dreamnot et realiz e . g , y If one will pause to consider that light is necessary to sight and that one hundred feet of sea water makes . fi s almost as ef cient an obstacle to vision as a tone wall , it will be easy to understand why the submarine is still

The fanciful illustration seen so often of a submarine un r er diving h d eds of feet deep in the wat , swimming about and finally coming up under the keel of a battle [ 1 1 2 ] fi and destro in it are as et creations of p y g , y the vivid Fo r n marksman er o . r imaginati ns subma i e , like all oth s , — require a fairly clear view of the target e ven such a — huge target as a battles hip to direct their shots with any degree of certainty . The greatest problem now confronting the sub ri r ref r u ma ne navigato , the o e , is that of seeing witho t

. r t not being seen At night , and at long anges , his is

r ru tube p ot ding above the waves , is not easily detected v r r l r r e en by st ong sea ch ights , sha p eyes , and ma ine glm . But long ranges are of little use to the sub — marine ; and there is always another difficulty the

r - fish but stabbed by its swo d enemy , keeps moving u w r r r rt abo t , t isting and tu ning , at a ate of f om fou een e r the r to ighteen knots an hou , while subma ine can only make about eleven knots when submerged . In a r r r r ste n chase , the efo e , the subma ine is one of the most

- Fo rms rs . r ha le s of sea monste , in the Open ocean

r r r r ff r . ha bo wo k , howeve , the case is di e ent In some n rece t tests the submarine boats made eighty per cent . in hits while attacking moving vessels in a harbor at — night a far higher percentage than is usually made by

At present the best solution of the problem of steer ing the partly submerged submarine is ofiered by the

of r the body the subma ine , which can be kept just

v r u r . abo e the waves , and p esent an inconspicuo s ta get The r u ea ly Holland boats did not have this , altho gh — vor vr1. 8 . 1 1 3]

well wi h n tor edo ran e even when an attack is t i p g ,

In these experiments the United States cruiser ” ’ Yankee in Buzzard s Bay was attacked by five sub “ ” marines of the most recent type . The Yankee re r but mained stationa y expecting the attack , to offset this disadvantage the crew was fully aware of the w ex act time that tbe attack as to be made. Indeed the oficers of the cruiser had watched the submarines

“ ” miles from the Yankee the five submarines sub mr e for r r r e ged and h aded the c uise , making obse vations at intervals by means of the periscope . The da was eriectl clear and all on board the y p y , ” Yankee were keenly watching for the expected sub imity of the diving boats was the striking of five tor ’ pedoes against the cruiser s hull . Each submarine had ’ - score . Not the d a bull s eye content with this success , r r t r r r subma ines epeated the at ack f om a nea e point , again scoring five hits before their pres ence was detected . One great obstacle to successful submarine naviga tion on an ex tended stale is the dilficulty of keeping a u air not for re for s pply of only the use of the c w , but

e . r r n r the engin s Any eally powe ful engi e , eithe steam

not r of r the r r fur t ue , cou se , of sto age batte ies which

es are l r r r al th e , at best , but feeb e gene ato s of ene gy , ’ though Edison s recent improvements may materially rove r imp thei power. If gasoline engines could be [ u s] used during submergence a far greater speed would be uire but this i out of the umtion as such en acq d , s q , gines would consume the air supply of the little boat

far r . r too apidly The comp omise , now adopted uni versall r r y, is to use gasoline moto s while unning at the

r or rt r - r su face pa ly subme ged , when the conning towe

r r r e It is evident , the efo e , that no g eat spe d can be expected of the submarine in its pres ent state ; and in point of fact the largest type is able to develop only or r and about ten eleven knots when subme ged , fifteen — while at the surface far below the speed of any other type of war vessel . But the experimental attacks upon “ ” the Yankee prove that they are dangerous fighting craft and a recent vo a e b a flotilla of 1talian sub~ , y g y mersibles shows that such boats are no longer harbor locked vessels . In 1 908 the Italian flotilla in ques tion made a vo a e fromVenice to S ezia a distance of y g p ,

iar y boats . About the same time a British submarine

r - r ri r flotilla, on a th ee hund ed mile t p , emained sub f r merged or fo ty consecutive hours . The depth of the submer ence in this case was onl a few feet but reat g y , g depths may be reached with relative safety . In one test a Lake boat carrying her crew sank to a depth of one r r - re r sur hund ed and thi ty eight feet , tu ning to the “ face in a few minutes . At another time the Octo ” u her re r to d pus , witho t c w , was lowe ed a epth of r n r r two hund ed and five feet , sustaini g a p essu e of

t a r . fif een thous nd tons , without inju y [ 1 1 6 ]

v a u ti e to say the le st. S bmarine boats that can hit the tar et without bein deteeted o on cruises unattended g g , g for more than a thousand miles and remain submer ed , g for more than a da and a half must be classed as y ,

Since the submersible is designed to spend most of its time on the surface of the water like an ordinary boot r , it must have conside able buoyancy , but it must also have some means of getting rid of this buoyancy u quickly when submergence is necessary . The s b marine proper has only from five to eight per cent .

er e . r r five p c nt o more . With such boats of the o di nary size some fifty tons of water must be admitted before bringing themto a condition in which they can r be subme ged ; but this can be dorie xgery quickly . One

r . of the subma ines of the U S . fleet in an actual test filled her ballast tanks and dived to a depth of twenty

It is not impossible the navigation may have an important bearing on the use of submarines in future wars . It is well known that depth are discernible from a height in the air dire ctly

o e . s r re ab v them It is quite po sible , the efo , that swift aeroplanes circling about a fleet of war vessels might be able to detect submarine boats when these boats were h near enough the surface to use t eir periscopes. If so it might be possible for the aeroplanes to drop torpedoes upon the submerged boats without danger to them [ 1 1 7 ] THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE

ons t e oould at least act in the ca acit of soouts , h y p y and wamtheir battles hip oomorts of the pres enoe of f oourse this would be ossible nl O , p o y in da li ht the y g , ODERN railroads are the outcome of the in vention of the locomotive ; yet the invention of the practical locomotive was the outcome of iron railroads which had been in existence for half a r r century . These iron rail oads we e a development fr r rs r r om wooden p edecesso , which we e the di ect de scendants of the smooth roadways of the Greeks and

R omans . Indeed it is quite reasonable to suppose that t he ancients may have been familiar with the use of p arallel rails with grooved or flanged wheels to fit t hem ; but if so there seems to be no definite record of t he fact and our knowled e of true railroads o b , g g es ack o nly to the seventeenth century . r 1 6 0 r r r u As ea ly as 3 , it is eco ded that a oad b ilt of parallel rails of wood upon which cars were run was

u - r N sed in a coal mine nea ewcastle , England ; and there is no reason to suppose that this road was a n v Half a c n u la r h w o elty at the time. e t ry te t ere as a railroad in operation near the river Tyne which has “ been described by Roger North as being made of rails mr r of ti be placed end to end and exactly st aight , and in tw o parallel lines to each other. On these rails bulky car r d run ur r rs r s we e ma e to on fo olle fitting the ails , [ 1 1 9 ]

T HE STEAMLOCOMOTI VE eighteenth century was practically the same as at pres ent . It is probable that if the first inventors had attempted to make locomotives to run upon the railroads then in existence they would have been successful many years r r r r befo e they we e , but the advantages of ail oads was ' rs f r not as evident then as now , and the invento e fo ts were confined to attempts to produce locomotive — — wagons automobiles to operate upon any road r where horses and ca ts could be used . Some of their creations were of the most fanciful r n r and imp actical desig , although quite a numbe of “ ” them we re locomotives in the sense that they could r r r u r r be p opelled ove the g o nd by thei own ene gy , but ’ i ur r only at a sna l s pace , and by the expendit e of a g eat

amount of power. Several inventors tried combining the principle of the steamboat and the locomotive in 1 80 the same vehicle , and in 3 a Philadelphian by the name ov ans made a steamdredge and land - wagon combined which was fairly successful in both capaci

Oruktor Amphibious , and upon one occasion made r r r i d a t ip th ough the st eets of Ph la elphia , and then plunged into the Schuylkill River and continued his ourn n er But as he was le u j ey o the wat . unab to aro se

r his machine se iously , he finally gave up his attempts r to solve the p oblem of steam locomotion . e r r t s 1 802 R r r The y a befo e hi , in , icha d T evithick , in r t England , had been mo e successful in his at empts a o v e loc t producing a locomti e . He produc d a steam o [ 1 2 1 ] mofive that opemted on the streets of lp ndon and the the unevenness of the roads proved disastrons to his en ine and as it could make no better time than a g ,

r . Trevithiclr slow ho se , it was soon abandoned But had lw rned fromthis failure that a good roadbed was quiw as essenfial w the sum of a lmomofive as the r r r machine itself , and two yea s late he p oduced what is usually regarded as the first railway locomotive . This

for the r r- T dvilR u s was built Me thy y ailwayin So thWale , and on several occasions hauled loads of ten tons of iron r at a fair rate of speed . It was not conside ed a success

At this time a curious belief had become current

' among the inventors to the eflect that if a smooth- sur

r - r re r face ail and a smooth su face wheel we used , the e would not be suflicient friction between the two to or r a r make it possible to haul loads, mo e th n ba ely r move the locomotive itself . Lea ned mathematicians proved conclusively on paper by endless hair- splitting — calculations that the thing was impossible , that any locomotive strong enough to propel itself along a smooth iron rail would be heavy enough to break the

n e r r ad . stro g st ail , and smash the o bed In the face of thes e arguments the idea of smooth rails and smooth

» wheels was abandoned for the time . Tre vithick him r r self was convinced , and tu ned his attention to the pe fecting of an engine with toothed drive- wheels running

- on a track with rack rails. But this engine soon jolted itself and its track into the junk - heap without dorm l anything to solve the problem of ocomotion . [ 1 2 2 ] o n stretched a cln in fromone eod castle, built a r ad a d

itself alo ust as some of the boats on the Rhine do m, j the mhiner f r o eratin h ment time. But c o at t e pr y p g chims and unmfisfactor and this engine was y y, the

road proved a complete failure.

h mh ne wa d hire in 1 81 . T is ac i s du i ne to D erbys , 3 g u on e like a horse and was a combination of g o p l gs ,

o f the combination ran upon a track like an ordinary while the mechanical le were desi ned to trot car, gs g “ l “ behind and kick the wagon a ong. The legs or pmpeflmimitated the legs of a man or the fore - legs a hors with oints and when worked b the ma o f e j , y

” v w ble o v at a tomof a ri er. This machine as a t tra el n te somewhat slower than that at which a man usually h o w alks ; and its tractive force was t at of f ur horses. B ut after it had demonstrated its impotency by crawl i n alon for a few r its career b g g miles , it te minated y “ ” l w i r r b o ing up in disgust , killing and nju ing seve al

bys tanders . The much disputed point as to whether a smooth wheeled locomotive would be practical on smooth rails 1 1 An invento na ed Blackett . m was not settled until 8 3 r , [ 1 23]

THE STEAMLOCOMOTIVE

rn ra school , lea ed his alphabet , was able to sc wl his e rs t r name at eighteen y a of age , and a lit le late could

r r r . ead , w ite , and do sums in a ithmetic if fi r r i But de cient in lette s, the e was one field in wh ch had ri r —t in r al he no supe o , hat was the p actic hand

’

- ling of a steam engine . His position in the mine gave him a chance to study the workings of the engines then r r r in use , and at eve y oppo tunity , on holidays and afte

w r i - rs n o k ng hou , he was in the habit of dismantli g his re r engine , and ca fully studying eve y detail of its con r struction . Thus by the time he had eached his ma orit r e e j y he was a skillful enginee , b sid s having many new ideas that had developed during his examinations

of the machinery . But bes ides his knowledge of en ineerin r r g g, he was an accomplished wo kman in othe

. o r d fields He was a g od shoemake , watch and ock ’ r r r r r r epai e , and tailo s cutte , at all of which t ades he r worked at odd times to inc ease his income . Thus he was a veritable jack-of- all trades ; with the unusual

ti r one. qualifica on , that he was maste of By the time he was twenty six years old he was hold

r al - ing the position of enginee to a co mining company , and had acquired the confidence of his employers to such an extent that he was permitted to build a loco — motive for them a thing that had been his ambition f w 1 or several ears. This as in 80 the same ear y 7 , y

In the construction of this engine Stephenson intro r e ur al duced seve al novel f at es of his own inventing , though oh the whole no new principles were involved ; [ 1 25 ]

“ At the !Ma (dire

' A m av s ”w u ss mw couon vz nmw xx c .

— Blenkiuso M v u in 18 32 - 1 r on x Tbe . p oti e, b ilt 3 to wo k the

Mmllicr a s an ms. is bcmccn s and the W Leed y, di t ce of ile Th ' m v first mmmcn iallv succcsshfl enterprise in which steamloco oti es

not be Rocket

made such a good showing , and u m t be s ch a good loco otive , hat e n cont st , many compete t judges to the Rocket it as equal , if r Be that as it may , late

“ pearance of a milk- can set with a little smokestack in ” dashboard . It carried its “ ” in the wagon - box part of r a of the boile , so th t it r r ru o l fi st t ial , nning with ut any oad — of twenty four miles an hour a “ double the stewed engine- wheel r subsequent t ial , r distances , some pa t ri r rd abled , so that it was necessa ly ega ed

mr r al Rocket. to its o e stable iv , the

mum weight and according to a stri

of the stipulations , should not have been contest ; but although this ques tion of ai was w ved by the judges , and the engine r for m t ial , it showed such a capacity consu ing

that it was decided inferior to the N ovelty and the [ 1 32 ] ’ " cx or s me ms sn w s AN D ms s ovu rr Locou n v cv o o o a. These vehicles are shown together here because of their similarity of plan of '

stru t n . Cu not s r na n n u r fi ur was u in ran in 6 con c io g o igi l e gi e ( ppe g e) b ilt F ce 1 7 9 . ’ v hi l s n a v was ma in 1 0 a r C u not s s ns fo r Fr n The e c e how bo e de 77 , fte g de ig , the e ch ~ G v rnmn . It was n n for rans r at n art r and s ecifi o e e t i te ded the t po t io of ille y , the p cations called for a carryi ng capacity of about 4 } to ns and a a ed of x i miles per ' n n n hour on leve l ground . C u tot s original e gi e had attai ed gis speed on a com mon mad while carrying gor persons ; no twithstandin which fact the machi ne a was for r n r v n a a w i bove shown some easo neve gi e tri l . t is no preserved n the

r des Arts et M in ans. It is ar u ar n C s rva rs P r a on e toi e etie . p tic l ly otewo thy th t the su ss u r a n n Cu not was ns ru in 1 6 ar in am cce f l o d e gi e of g co t cted 7 9 , the ye which es W he n on is m n n us 60 a rs a att took out t first pate ts h stea e gi e . J t ye el psed fore ' " S tephenson s Rocket convinced the world of the feasibility of transportation by

the lower figure competed in the famous tests of 1829 “ “ " a a s R and the Sans Par . lt x mu n r s a a nin a g in t the ocket eil e cited ch i te e t , tt i g ’ s a ms 2 m s er ur n runn n I but n r a ns peed of l o t ile p ho whe i g ht . owi g to b e kdow was unable to f the requi red tests and was there o re withdrawn fromthe com

et ers Rock . The P everance was clearly outclassed by all the other cometin en ines as its max imum p g g , speed was onl five or six miles an ho r y u .

The most consistent erformer and the final rize p , p ’ i r r o Rocket w nne , as eve yone kn ws , was Stephenson s , the r r di ect ancesto of all modern locomotives . The r r o r boile of this locomotive was ho iz ntal , as in mode n

r fiat . locomotives , cylind ical , and had ends It was six feet in length and a little over three feet in diame ter. The upper half of the boiler was used as a reser for r r steam , the lowe half being filled with wate r and having coppe pipes running through it . The

fire - two r box, feet wide and th ee feet high , was placed h t e r. immediately behind boile Just above this, and on e re r r ach side , we the cylinde s , two in numbe , act ing obliquely downward on the two front wheels of

- rod r r the engine , the piston connecting with the d ive b bar i y a p nned to the outside of the wheel , as in mod

The engine with its load of water wei hed a trifie — g over four tons seemingly little more than a toy- loco m r m r r r otive , as compa ed with the ode n monste s mo e f than thirty times that weight . But or its size the little Rocket rv r r r was a ma elous pe fo me , even as judged by recent standards . On the first day of the contests over the two miles of trial tracks covered twelve miles in , it r l e r c conside ab y l ss than an hou , shuttling ba k and

r r r . as o fo th ove the oad The next day , n ne of the r o othe engines was in c ndition to exhibit , Stephenson ofiere d to mtisfy the curiosity of the great crowd that

[ 1 331 — fromall over the world by an unofiicial tfial d the

Rocket. cou led to car loaded He p the little engine a ,

r - assen ers for s in r on thi ty six p g , and took them a p ove the road at the rate of from twenty - six to thirty miles an hour. The following day some of the competing locomo tives r to Rocket we e still unable exhibit , and again the

- was given a semi official trial . Hauling a car loaded ’ r ran v with thi teen tons weight , it back and forth o er

two- r r t r - five e the mile oad , cove ing hi ty mil s in one

miles an hour. As this performance was duplicated on the da of the oficial trial the Rocket was d l y , ec ared

r r r . the winne , and awa ded the p ize

Natu rally there were many minor defects in the cone them were too trivial and unimportant to afiect the excellence of the machi serious defect the entire machine to r ro eve y double st ke , when running at any corrected a few months later by the r r Timothy Hackwo th , who d ew plans tive having horizontal cylinders to be

mi ed e r tt to Steph nson , who const ucted t Globe f r hem called the , which dif e ed r r in having the cylinde s not only ho izontal , on the inside of the wheels . A little later Stephenson [ 1 34 ]

a - r in certain arts of the locomotive r c st i on p , the eby reatl increasin the stren th and finall the eoon g y g g ; y, omizing of steamby compmrnding. of increase in the weight of engines during the last dec re r manufactur ade , but the figu s of some of the g eat ing establishments will give a fair idea of this increase in a general way . In one of these establishments the average weight of a locomotive turned out ten years for ago was pounds the engine alone, without r the tender. At the p esent time the engines being r firm r manufactu ed by the same ave age pounds , r or t i r r an inc ease of pounds , some h ng ove fo ty

er . h r r p cent T is ave age weight , howeve , gives but inadequate conception of the size of the larges t “ locomotives now being manufactured . The hundred ” ton engine has become a commonplace . In 1 909 a d rs 00 t locomotive weighing, with its ten e , 3 ons was manufactured for passenger traffic on the Santa Fe

In America there seems to be no limit to the sizes that may be reached; or at least up to the present time this limit has not been attained . In England and sev eral of the Continental countries a great difficulty has n m l s been found to exist in the u li ited size of ocomotive , in the fact that the bridges and tunnels of these mil r ad are o s , almost without exception , so low that any ' very great vertical increase in the size of the enp ne is out of the question without reconstructing many miles of bridges and tunnels at an enormous cost . [ 1 36 ] the amount of steam pres

boilers . In 1 870 the aver by 1 890 this had been ih while at the present at a pressu re of 2 25

the use of heavier steel boiler plates. In 1 890 the usual thickness of the steel sheets was one- half inch ; but at the present time it is no unusual thing to use plates - h o n nch in seven eight s f a i thickness . locomotive construction in recent years is the intro duction of the compounding principle in the use of — stu nt e system whereby practically the entire energy of t l r or the s eam is uti ized , instead of a conside able p on of it bein a dead loss as in the older t e of ti g , yp

. r engine As eve y one knows , the passage of the steam through a single cylinder of an engine does not ex this ex hausted steamis made to pass thmugh one or ers after comin fromthe first the ener g , gy cylinders being utilized for the production

of this principle of compounding is

field of locomotive construction . patents for a compound locomotive en the United States, and such an but it is only since 1 890 that com have become popular in this coun compound locomotives the two cylinders [ 1 37 ]

It is not claimed for compound locomotives that a

r s class ; but the compound will , at ve y slow peed ,

l pension will slip and stal . This is due to the pros sure on the crank - pins of the compound being more uni formthroughout the stroke than in the case of the — single expansion locomotive , and also to the fact that , m to low when needed , live steam can be ad itted the

Oi r ri al r for di cou se , the p ncip eason compoun ng the nu locomotive is to economize steam , and this is ques tionably accomplished ; but nevertheless the compara tive economy of compound and single- expansion loco r motives was fo some time a mooted ques tion . Nu merous tests have been made with these two classes of

e r e difierences re engines , and the wid st ang s of we shown in many instances . In some cases the com pounds seem to show a saving of some forty per cent . in fuel ; but this is by no means a determinative factor in the daily use of an engine . It is found that re pairs are r dificult on the compound mo e to make , and con engines ; but on the whole it is very generally conceded that the compound saves its owners from ten to twenty

r r l r . five pe cent . ove the o de type r r t The apid inc ease of the size , and consequen coal

— added another problem to engineering that of keep

- ing the yawning maw of the fire box supplied with coal . Me h a limi to h amount of work that the fire t t e man can do and the r at n in use at r n , g e e gines p ese t v If tax e en the stronges t fireman to the utmost. the size or speed of locomotives is increased very mate rially in the future it will be neces sary to have two men in d o one mn or u mh cal , stea f , as fire e , to se ec ani sto r In int kers o to find some other kind of fuel. o , p of fact the mechanical stoker has been recently tried

that the use of liquid fuel will become more and more popular. At the pres ent time many locomotives in the West md Southwest as well as in Euro e and in Asia , p , of crude petroleum No modification in the construc tion of the locomotive is required for this change of fuel except some slight alteration in the arrangement

r r fire- r of the b ickwo k of the box , and the int oduction

r r . e r are rr of the bu ne s Th se , howeve , simple a ange

r fire - r ments that th ow into the box , a sp ay of steam and or oil r r r vap ized , which bu ns f eely and gene ates an intense and steady heat . With this kind of fuel the rem re ar fi an need not be conside d , as the l gest engine “ ” thus equipped may be fired with far less labor than is re uired e - r rr - q on the small st coal bu ning , na ow gauge

The application of steamas a motive power for run» trains of cars solved one great problem; but it [ 1 4 1 ]

Fro this res ervoir a line of i e ran hrou h sion. m gas p p t g

each car the s ace between the cars bei brid ed b , p ng g y

riston with a stemwhich acted upon the brake shoes r nn n by means of a se ies of levers and co ecti g rods. In the cab laced convenientl for the en ineer was , p y g , a valve by means of which he could cause the com press ed air to fiow into the train pipe and thus act d h upon the brake cylin ms of t e cars . This could be done nrduall for makin a slow sto or with fu g y g p, ll c he ca e re uired and the brakes d fore as t s q , coul be re leased by mrning the valve to a point which opened a o ca e vent and allowed the air t es p . ' eflect of re t n r The this invention was volu io a y. Stopping the train was no longer dependent upon but was placed entirely in the hands of the engineer who applied the required power almost simultaneously at all oints alon his line of car p g s. Thus the brake l x 43] man relieved of one of his erilous tasks which was p , on a v ll l o freight trains took hea y to in oss f lives. r cfiective This elatively simple , and usually , sys w h fir of temhad t o grave defects. T e st thwe lay in — anywhere along the line of the train pipe or the brake r r r re cylinde s , the b akes would not wo k , the comp ssed air being exhausted into the atmosphere instead of act ing on the brake cylinders . The common accident of “ ” having his train break in two rendered the engineer “ ” r 0 rs r ru powe less to st p the ca , and disast ous naways more and more apparent as the length of trains was in the brakes of the rear cars as quickly as to thow near mr e air not ra the engine , since the co p ssed could t vel r on c the length of the t ain pipe instantaneously, ac ount of the frictional resistance . re Mr These defects we quickly recognized by . West in house 1 8 6 seven ears after he a lied his g , and in 7 , y pp rs r air r fi t invention , he p oduced his automatic b ake train pipe and the air reservoir were re tained as in the r air r e car st aight b ake system , but in addition ach was equipped with a storage reservoir of sufficient size to supply the brake cylinder. In place of the older ar r r mr air angement in which the t ain pipe sim y etained ri r new at atmosphe c p essure when not in use , the sys tem kept the air in the train pipe under a considerable ressure at all times when the brake was not in u p se. r r the r air ra And , eve sing the conditions of st aight b ke, [ 1 44 ]

re ofiered r v r . su , keen i al y But eventually the type of

r r Mr. cer b ake pe fected by Westinghouse , modified in

mer a e edence r i A ic , gained mc , which it still etasn

The perfection of the air brake removed one great of danger that menaced the crews of freight

ra . r r r re t ins The e still emained anothe almost as g at , articularl in the matter of mimin its victims when p y a g , n n h ld h d of ot act ally killing them. This was t e o met o r coupling freight cars as practiced in America. The e

w r - r e e few old time t ainmen , indeed , who could show t bufiers a comple e set of full length digits , the of the

The freight brakeman has to make scores of coup n n his l in li gs o every trip. And he literally took ife his hands upon each and every occasion of making a

coupling by the old method . This old form of couplings consisted of two buffers — — one on each car joined together by an iron link l r about fifteen inches ong, a movable pin inse ted at either end holding the link in place and thus joining r l r the ca s . When a coup ing was to be made the b ake man raised the pin in the buffer of the stationary car and tilted it at an angle in the pin - hole at the top of the bufier so that while it remained raised the ar of , , j [ 1 4 7 ] the striking bufiemat the moment ot coupling caused it to fall o lace c m int p and o plete the coupling. The link was left hanging in the moving car wbich was being shunted in to be coupled; but in this position the projecting end was so low that it would miss the hole in the o osite bufler and thus fail to make the cou pp , p lin unless raised and inserted ust at the moment be g, j fore the buffers came together. This raising and inserting of the link was the dan gerous part of making a coupling . It could only be done by the brakeman while standing between the cars. And he m h link in e m ust raise t e , s rt it, and re ove his hand in a fraction of a second if the ear was moving at a fair rate of s eed otherwise his fin ers or hand would p , g

r or arm an c ushed hand me t subsequent amputation,

the bones beyond repair. There was a way in which the coupling could be made whereby the hand was not endangered . This was by using a stick for raising and guiding the link fi into the bu er. Some railroads at first furnished sticks

them . Had he done so he would have been hooted and eere ofi h b h r n ma And so his j d t e road y is t ai tes. ride made him k his lim and his life and f d p ris bs , ostere

- the recklessness of the old time brakeman .

1 8 Mr. r a n But in 79 Eli Janney , of Pittsbu g, p te ted an automatic car- coupler that was both simple and ’ efiective ; and in 1 887 the Master Car Builders Asso ciation accepted this type of coupler. A little later the [ 1 48 ]

m DEVELOW ENT 0? THE LOCO U OTIVK,

fiure re mems a on tu na s ct on of a modern Fr nc locomotive for con g p l gi di l e i e h . “ " l mix in h thc aections of thc iumous c cs oi 1 82 . The wei ht oi thc Rocket wi wit 9 g . ls r-N M! n r w ic carr e 2 6 of wa er and 0 oun s of coke was tot! fou te de h h i d 4 t 45 p d a c km ofive t its n r mwork n or er ca 00 ons of wa r at The Fren h wi h te de i d , 33 gall te e en inc an tender o iee g is s . 3 t.

FRO MCART TO AUTOMOBILE

re d ood roads these are to be sure no mod As gar s g , , , ince the Romans had carr e he art ern invention, s i d t

- of road building to a very high degree of perfection . The integrity of the Roman Empire depended very largely Upon the highways that linked all parts of its circumference with the lmperial centre ; and in a per fectly literal sense all its roads led to Rome . The Roman roadbed was constructed of several layers of stone and it was one of the most resistant and erm , p a nent structures ever devised . As late as the sixteenth name in England except the remains of those con structed many centuries before by the Roman occu I r pants . t was not until well towa d the close of the eighteenth century that Macadam and Telford devised methods of road - making whereby broken stone and r u r r g avel , po nded to fo m a smooth su face , gave the modern world roadbeds that were in any way com r r n R pa able to those ea ly o es of the omans .

r natu ally enough , with an advance in the art of carriage n r r of o building , and the i c eased popula ity stage c aches . We are told that about 1 650 the average rate of speed of the stage wagons in England was only four miles an hour ; whereas the stage coaches moved over the rm

smnetimes re inc ased to eleven miles . After about the r 1 8 6 however the yea 3 , , stage coach was rapidly dis l b r p aced y the steam ailway, and the interest in road beds somewhat abated until brought again prominently [ 1 53] to public attention by the users of bicycles and auto

It is rather surprising to learn that in point of tiine the automobile antedates the bicycle . Yet such, as w a momn r e shall see in e t is the fact. B er , y one is r however that the bic cle came into o ular awa e , , y p p ity at a time when the very ex istence of the automobfle n r r n had bee p actically fo gotte , and that subsequently it lost its popularity almost over night when the auto i mobile came to its own . Vewing the subject retro s ectivel r r t o p y, pe haps the most singula thing is tha b th vehicles were so long delayed in making their way to

r. re r r r r public favo The we e , howeve , sund y ve y prae tical obstacles placed in the way of the larger vehide; and the bicycle was not at first a device calculated to prove attractive to the average wayfarer. The ver earliest bic cle a ears to have been the — y y pp so called hobby horse or dandy horse introduced about 1 v ra the year 1 8 8 by Baron on D is in France. It was r t r r a p imi ive vehicle , the use of which half ode and half

' ran r efiected m r , p opulsion being si ply by th usting the feet against the ground . In efiect the rider of the hobby horse ran with a stride greatly lengthened r r u r aflorded sadd th ough the pa tial s ppo t by the k,

rr r e . He could and with co espondingly inc eased sp ed . of course , on occasion coast down hill or on a level surface when considerable momentum had been se r r for r rov qui ed , and suppo ts his feet we e p ided to [ 1 54 ]

e rom facilitate this end. At first the machin p ised to w l m r as r rt. beco e popula , but it soon idicu ed out of cou — Something like twenty years later that is to say — about the year 1 840 a tre adle - bicycle was invented by

K r r MacMillan h i . i kpat ick , an Englis blacksm th The not r r machine did become popula , howeve , and it was not until simple cranks were fitted to the front wheel of the bicycle that this form of vehicle came into anything like general use . This very simple expedient r n rr Lallament was fi st suggested , seemi gly , by Pie e ,

r 1 866 . a F enchman , in His machine came to be r known in England as the bone shake , and doubtless r n for n r re it dese ved its ame , as yet eithe the wi sus i n nor r r r n n pens o wheel the ubbe ti e had bee inve ted . r w re r Both these imp ovements e quickly int oduced ,

r Mr. . . r howeve ; the suspension wheel by E A Cowpe ,

1 868. r r r t r 1 8 0 in The fi st ubbe i es , used about 7 , r notu ntil 1 888 r we e solid , and it was that the I ishman ,

. . r he Mr. t r J B Dunlap , int oduced pneumatic ti e . re r Meantime the gea d bicycle , with which eve y one r ntr 1 8 is nowadays familia , had been i oduced in 79 by

. d . n an m Mr H J . Lawso brought to the fa iliar form ”

1 Mr. . of the safety in 885 by Starley The combi nation of low wheels geared to any desired speed with h pneumatic tires was the finis ing stroke . The problem of making the bicycle a relatively speedy vehicle had indeed been solved by the use of a largc — whack- s ometimes sixty inches in diameter operated by a simple crank after the manner of the early machine of Lallarnent; but while bicycles of this type attained r r of ri r a conside able measu e popula ty, the dange of [ 1 55 ] and at the very moment when i vehicle was suddenly develop: its practical abandonment by for whom it might have been su of permanent recreation .

The vehicle that efiected th

and in France and America a first form of this vehicle to ga cycle driven by a small stea [ 1 56 ]

immediately the recently devised gas engine was called r t t r into equisi ion , and af e that the development of the w as r . automobile only a matte of detail But , as so t r i n t r are dis often happens wi h p act cal inventio s , he e putad questions of priority re garding the application of the gasoline engine to this particular use . The en r r n gine itself was pe fected , as we have elsewhe e see ,

18 6 G r Dr. . about 7 , by the e man , Otto

s 1 8 r Mr. r . r It appea that in 79 an Ame ican , Geo ge B for r Selden , applied a patent designed to cove the use of the internal combustion engine as a motor for road vehicles . Owing to technical complications the patent r 1 8 was not actually issued until the yea 95 . Mean time at least as early as 1 885 Herr Daimler 1n Ger many had used the gasoline motor for the practical propulsion of a tricycle ; and not long after that date the right to use his patents had been acquired

P r v r. in France by Messrs . anha d and Le asso These men soon applied the Daimler motor to four- wheeled r vehicles of va ious types , and almost at a bound the automobile as we know it was developed . Early in ’ ’ the 9o s the custom of having annual road races was tr re r in oduced , and befo the centu y had closed the automobile was everywhere a familiar object on the

While the introduction of the automobile is thus a r r compa atively ecent event , it should be known that the idea of using mechanical power to propel a road

o vehicle is by no means peculiar to our generation . Practical working automobiles were constructed long before any person now living was born . The very [ 1 57 ] — ' ' — in the very year by a mnous coinadence mwhich James Watt took omhis first patent for a per-fected h e 1 steamen ine that is to s in e ar 6 . g ; ay, t y 7 9

v intended for military ser ice . It actually progressed along the road at the rate of three or four miles an

hour. But the problemof oarrying fuel and mter had b h or ha re not een solved, and eit er f t t ason or be cause the authorities in charge lacked lmagination and did not regard the device as ofiering advantagec over ’ ‘ ra r Cu not s efiort t ction by ho ses , nothing came of g except the scientific demonstration that the idea of a self- propelled vehicle was not merely the dream of a o visionary . A sec nd automobile truck of similar de si n made b Cu not a ear or two later ma be seen g , y g y , y to h da Museumof Arts and t is n he Measures n y i t i

r r— 1 8 —eu s man A few yea s late namely in 7 5 Engli h , " hamMd name whose e e s n e ur och b int r t i steam y , engines is evidenced by the fact that

v driven by a Watt engine . This ehi r its own powe , developed a good ’ and had not Murdoch s employers ri the ra c m l ? continue his expe ments, p cti al auto obie might perhaps have gained popularity an entimcentury r ea lier than it did . the r of Mur As case stands , howeve , the automobile [ 1 58]

on rails which attained a s eed of thirt miles an hour , p y , n rar to all the redictions of the wiseacres who co t y p , had declared the inventor a lunatic for hoping to attain lre even ten miles . We have a ady noted that the rail way on which the test was made was not built with the

’ n utilin n r r ar expectatio of gsteam powe , that being eg ded ’ r as a dreamer s vision . Lord Da lington prevented the construction of the road for a time because it chanced to run near his fox covers ; and legislative permission was finally secured only with the proviso that the rail f way was to avoid the region o the preserves . Ste phenson with dificulty secured permission to make an r r t expe iment on the ailway wi h his engine , in compe tition with other would - be inventors ; and it was his unexpected succes s that turned the scale in favor of steam power. But even the startling succes s of the Rocket did not make a great impression upon the r no B itish public , the incident being given but slight r tice in the pe iodicals of the day , and no mention l R s r being made of it in the Annua egi te . All this is of interes t as showing the attitude of a con servative public toward the steam locomotive running r r an a on a ailway , and as pa tially explaining the t g onism - r i c to self propelled oad veh cles whi h found , r r most unfo tunately , an exponent in no less a pe sonage n l ri r. tha the Duke of We lington , then p me ministe The opinion and attitude of the duke were made evi in 1 82 dent 9, in connection with a steam automobile

Mr. G r run invented by a u ney , which was capable of ning on an ordinary road at a rate of at least ten miles ' c ins hflhummu camaernflfiSEL Il e lhl t 1 . 1 n-Iy l z up the chfihns

doubt hi s ihfibnmt e

«nflfluannohmr car. -qr v tended mama the m a fie bcomofi e pfl :

ifinnnflmy xused than; the rx z neruhabunt ti cwi ul ri dl l l l

lflnq uhfikuhnenmi inufll r nmume r di d rl l unflhi de inp . nmxhau homunmr is evi i ux z dl mz nfini l flnn l dy, , hy aunt.

hen-anathe t nns rs z anl i 1 y g 836.

[ 1 61 ]

e r 1 82 one r a ly as 4, can sca cely avoid the conviction h n r e n t at had legislatio favo ed , inst ad of opposi g, the r invento , the automobile might have been developed in Great Britain as rapidly as railway traffic ; in which event the middle of the nineteenth century would have seen the world at least as near the horseless age as we are in reality at the close of the first decade of the w t entieth century. What this would have meant in its economic bearings on civilization during the past fift ears the least ima inative reader can in som y y , g e m f easure picture or himself . In opposition to this view it might be urged that the real progress of the automobile has taken place tuned for the steamengine in connection with motor vehicles . But in reply to this it must be remembered that the workable gas engine had been invented as e r 1 860 a ly as , and that the Otto engine , of which the r 1s e r Daimle a modification , was patented as a ly as

18 6. 7 These developments, it will be noted , took place at just about the time when the new intere st in r the automobile had been a oused , as evidenced by the r r epressive British legislation just refe red to . It can be but little in question that had the early interest r i ai in the B itish automobile been ma nt ned , inventive tt r r mi s would long since have p ovided a suitable moto . There was no incentive for the English inventor dur ing those long years when the automobile was under

' leg slative ban ; and in the meantime the idea of the

[ 1 63]

ch by w . But

it sufice s that an ammmli h gasohne a gine covu e d e mfle in w the rate of one humhed end five miks

was made on WedM ann - a n y, J y s, earlier on the a mc dey the previous

WilliamK Vand rbilt r e . , J , ro n b b ke ; first y hir. Louis in his p horse power steam

MD nald drivin a h - ~ c o o orse , g 9

F . Mr. . e . . E Mt to S Mc dg was a mile in emnds and 34} s , this as the new record for cars of regula

Obviously the o on that day , r

l exp anation , r r i n epo ts , the cond tio s at Or

The fa ct, too, that the five the low figure of three — this also b Mr. seconds y Arthur the day premding that on which the [ x 6sl pion of romat the rate oi no less th for each second of the mile . — Let us pass at once o mitting tra fromtheee reoords to the new mark sei

Mr. 1 1 0 r n 9 , at O mo de Beach by

it is the fastest mile ever made by an because it is in all probability tbe l travelled by a human being who lived A r e rombe few unfo tunat s , falling f clifis thr mountain , may have passed yet more appalling speed ; but they lo r r n re neve to egain it , lo g befo the mile The automobile driver retains his se — his bre akneck mile they are keenly deed— and comes away unscathed to what must be a truly thrilling ex periex Nor is it merely in contrast with othr ences that the new performance tale proportions . It is at least doubtful wl ber of the animal kingdom ever passec of space at such a speed as that attair

[ 1 66 ]

Oncf er r oot p second mo e than the trotter. Both pacer and r r r r r t otte , it should be added , made thei eco ds

W h - t r s it the aid of a wind shield , without which hei be t

If we make comparisons with different varieties of tnan- ad r r m e eco ds , we find that the swiftest human

' l lxnner covers his mile at the rate of about twenty -one feet per second ; the skater brings this up to about thirty- four feet ; and the bicyclist attains the acme of

m - uscle motor speed with his eighty feet per second .

In u se ds - r the of the bicyclist, the win hield pace make

- on the auto cycle plays an important part . But even so the cyclist would be left behind one hundred and thirteen feet each second by the flying automobile . r r r re r are All these types of eco d make , the fo e , quite r al m outclassed . If we could not find any e co petition

- r . r it in bi d land He e , it might be supposed , the space Bu devoure r would find a match . t it is not quite

c - certain that su h is the case . The old time [ 1 67 ] r t r of natural histo y ell us , to be su e , flight speeds that make the new records seem slow . They cre dited the for re European swift , example , with two hund d and

r. r r r r fifty miles an hou But mo e ecent obse ve s , made r our are i cautious by the scientific spi it of age , d sposed t are to discredit such estima es , which confessedly little better than guesses . The only oflicially timed bird flights are the flights of homing pigeons ; and here the record cre dits the r re homing bi d with only one hund d miles an hour. 1 2 r This means 4 feet a second , as against the moto s rd n ur 1 93. Acco i g to these fig es , the automobile could give the pigeon a start of almost two thousand feet and r r r re yet sweep fo wa d and ove take it in its flight , befo

- it passed the mile post . Perhaps the comparison is r r r not quite fai , since no doubt the pigeon may pe fo m some individual miles of its journey at more than the average speed ; but it may well be doubted whether its maximum ever reaches the mile- rate of seconds . r It is within the possibilities , howeve , that some other

r r a . bi ds have even su p ssed this speed The falcon , for ro r r i example , is p bably a swifte bi d than the p geon , at least for short distances Some one indeed has cre dited the hawks with a speed of one hundred an d

r. I r fifty miles an hou But this , feel su e , is a gre at exaggeration . I once saw a hen barrier pursue a

r r - t re p ai ie chicken , wi hout seeming to gain app ciably for a long distance ; yet the prairie- chicken is by no

among the speediest of birds . Many of our for l I ducks , example , quite outc ass it ; indeed should [ 1 68 ] FRO MCART TO AUTOMOBILE

be disposed to admit that the teal or the canvasback at

full speed might give the automobile a race . re r in r The is , to be su e , one way which the bi d might e r g t the bette of a machine , thanks to its capacity to h rise to a heig t . This would be by taking a sloping

an exhibition of the possibilities open to the bird

in this direction . After rising to a cloude height r for it soa s about a time singing , then suddenly w rd and s s eeps downwa , , closing its wings , launche l r rd r r itse f di ectly towa the ea th , falling with meteo ic r r speed till it almost eaches the su face , when it makes r u in a pa ach te of its wings and swoops away safety . r r r r I r Du ing this pe fo mance the little la k is , ve itably

i - bel eve , the swiftest moving animate thing in all the r r r world . But the e is a eason why the bi d could not ’ increase its speed indefinitely by imitating the lark s r the feat in a modified fo m , and this is obstacle of

atmospheric pressure . Air moving at the rate of sixty feet a second constitutes a serious storm ; at ninety r re feet it becomes a to nado , and at one hund d and — fifty feet it is a tornado at its worst a storm that r r r r tea s up t ees and ove th ows houses , and against which no man can stand any more than that he could

br rr r . rs east the cu ent of Niaga a Now , of cou e , it is all one whether the air moves at this rate against you or whether you move at a corre sponding rate air— r against the action and eaction being equal . ’ Therefore a very serious check is put upon the bird s flight ; and it is this consideration which makes it mo r r Se e d ubtful whethe any bi d , except when aided by [ 1 69 ]

mandate of the hu in is ed b tb h n q d, along the nerve of th armat th n md not nmch

added to the time re rfied o thus involved, q f r tit br'ain itself to act on the message homfln en k dis

viduals difler as to their mction time.

often at variance to the ex nent of as mudr as tv o

w - a fifths of a second. No in two fiftln of secou i, as

h record motor car covers a distance we have seen, t e bv ousl soch latitude in measure of over 77 fect. O i y FROM CART TO AUTOMOBILE

r int would be distanced by o4o feet. It is ere sting to visualize the procession that the automobile would leave behind if placed in competition with the various

kinds of champions whose feats have been mentioned . As the automobile crossed the line the locomotive would

be almost - fifth of c n r r 1 oo fe one a mil i the ea ; ,9 et farther back would come the homing pigeon ; after r rs r r a long gap Salvato , the fi t unne , would come strag

r r - r gling along , having cove ed little mo e than one fou th of a mile ; Lou Dillon would be just beyond her first fifth of a mile ; the fastest cyclist would be placed be r r r r tween the ace and the t otte ; while Hutchins , the r r swiftest unne at the distance , would have gone only

240 yards from the tape . For r r distances g eate than two miles , the locomotive r r r s e eco d has not as yet been su pa s d by the automobile . A for locomotive on the Plant system , example , is cre dited with a run of five miles in two and one- half m r r inutes (in But , of cou se , the e is nothing ex cept the mere matter of speed that makes the locomo ’ tive engineer s performance comparable to that of the

chaufleur. The engineer is driving a machine that

runs on a fixed track . He has to do little more than

keep up steam and open the throttle . The chaufleur m r for an t ust pick his cou se , at y moment a sof spot in

the sand may tend to deflect him. How appalling may be the result of a slight deflection with a machine going at great speed has been illustrated by the tragic acci d ents that have marred the success of many important

l a - n - r s cing eve ts , and have led to the oft epeated que tion a s t r r are r to whe he , afte all , such speed tests wo th [ 1 73]

“ W W W N WAYS

States has been preeminent in the re r development of st et ailways of all kinds, from the earliest type of horse- car to the mod

ern r r r c r . rt city and inte u ban elect ic a s Neve heless , very few of the great general underlying principles upon which these numerous inventions are based have r been discove ed upon this side of the Atlantic . Ameri inventors have simply excelled in applying the r l r r known gene a p inciples to p actical mechanisms . But although the American inventors have largely mo no olized r r p this field of p og ess , the names of many

Europeans also are connected with it . In several in t r r r r s ances these fo eign invento s , as natu alized Ame ican r r r at citizens, have done thei wo k in Ame ica , being tracted to this country by the exceptional opportunities

In recent years the city of NewYork has not shown conspicuous activity in adopting innovations and im

- rovements r r . r p on its st eet ailway lines Neve theless , New York was the first city in the world to have a pas ’ s r r r . r zo s enge st eet ailway This , built in the ea ly , and r r r r unning along Fou th Avenue , had ails made of st aps of iron laid on stone ties . On this primitive line an [ 1 75 ] Th w on ated . is car as built the lines of the early r rri r r t ailway ca ages , having th ee compa tments, wi h

r . in r doo s opening at the sides It was , sho t , an early type of the side-door cars now used so univers ally on ’ r all European railways . The drive s seat was high in the air as in the case of the ordinar omnibus y , and there were seats on the top for passengers . For several years this primitive road re mained the only street railway in existence . But it did not prove r r n re for a pa ticula ly good business ve tu , and some time capitalists were wary of investing their money for

n r r . r r the co st uction of othe lines Twenty yea s late , r r ro r im howeve , a somewhat simila ad , conside ably

r on i . r p oved , was built S xth Avenue This p oved to be r r r a financial success ; othe lines we e soon const ucted , and the era of street railways opened . The great advantage of these horse - car lines over the system of omnibuses then in use lay in the fact that greater loads could be hauled with the same expandi

r r - r r r r tu e of ho se powe , ega dless of weathe conditions . The contrast in this respect was particularly marked mr c r r in A e i an cities whe e the st eets, almost without

r . exception , we e badly paved 1 8 0 r in By 5 , seve al cities in the United States had stalled stre et railways ; and by 1 870 over a hundre d

1 1 lines had been built . Between 870 and 890 this r n i r r re numbe had bee nc eased to ove seven hund d , not taking into account the numerous extensions that had been made to many of the older lines .

[ 1 76 ] ELECTRIC RAILWAYS

CABLE SYBTEMS

Even in the early days of street - railway construction the extravagance of the method of horse- power trac r t r r tion was fully app ecia ed , and the nume ous imp ove ments in steam- engines stimulated attempts to adapt the locomotive in some form to city railways . But

' flr ulties rd r there were many di c in the use of the o ina y,

thoroughfares of the larger cities . It was practically impossible to eliminate their smoke ; and their pufling r r r and wheezing, which f ightened ho ses , caused nume o ous accidents . But even if these defects could be c r rected , the locomotive was known to be an expensive r of r r fo m motive powe , when applied to a single sho t car rr l r , ca ying at most on y a few passenge s and making

- r m. s r r car r e f equent tops , as was necessa y in st eet t a r r f r for r The invento s , the e o e , looked about othe methods of 1 8 applying steam power. But it was not until 73 that this idea took the ractical formof the cable road p , on which single cars could be operated by means of r r l r l unde g ound cab es t ave ling in slotted tubes, and

ro - p pelled fro m a stationary power plant . The first practical cable system was made by Andre w

. Hallidie who S , and his associates , planned and put into operation the first cable line in San Francisco . r v to r It p o ed be enti ely successful , and was imitated almost immediately in most of the larger cities of the

ur . United States , and in some E opean cities Within a decade the number of cable railways installed had so reduced the number of horses necessary for operating [ 1 77 ]

ELECTRIC RAILWAYS

r r r . G . r r Sho tly afte this , P of Moses Fa me , a dis ti uished r t r r ng Ame ican inven o and investigato , con r t ro t r st uc ed an elect magne ic locomotive , which d ew a little car and carried assen er on a track a foo n , p g s, t a d a half wide . The locomotive used about fifty Grove l r cells , which deve oped a elatively small amount of energy at an enormous cost . “ “

1 M. In 8 0 r r as 5 says Ma tin , Thom Hall , of

r - r r Boston , exhibited a small wo king moto on a t ack ’ ort i ri r f y feet long, at the Mechan cs Cha table Fai in h re Boston , and w ile this was a me toy , and used but r suficed r a couple of cells of batte y , it to illust ate the principles of a motor or locomotive with a single trial 8 w . About this time ( 1 47) an interesting demonstra

a r - tion was also m de with a small wo king model , one of the fcatures of which has been most instrumental in the

es r l r succ s of the mode n e ect ic methods , that of the utilization of the track as part of the re turn circuit for

rr n . r t the cu e t Docto Col on , once a famous dentist in r for r New Yo k City, and noted his ea ly application of

- r Mr as . laughing g in that wo k , was associated with Lilly in the construction and operation of a small model whi around a i locomotive ch ran c rcular track. The ra l r ro r i s we e insulated f m each othe , each connecting with one pole of the battery . The current from the r batte y was taken up by the wheels , whence it passed r r n to the magnets , upon whose alte nating att actio and repulsion motion depended ; then it returned to the r r r t r and othe ail , connected the othe pole of the bat e y , thus completed the circuit necessary for the flow of the r r cun ent. In like manne in a great majo ity in use at [ 1 79 ] r the current asses fromone owerh ouse to p esent , p p rcu o one olarit throu h the trolle ole to the ci its f p y, g y p or ro ro l t e motor elect magnetic p pe ling sys em , th nce r e through the wheels to the t ack , which complet s the circuit by being connected to the other polc or side of

- the dynamo at the power house. The principles are r r r obviously identical , but it took mo e than a qua te of a century to develop the proper method of application in all its details . “ The most serious and susmined attempt in the early — period to operate a self - sustained vehicle or car which

r . . . I that due to P of C C Page , of the Smithsonian nstitu

. 1 8 0 r r con d tion About 5 , P ofesso Page devoted d erable ri n or t rs time to the development of elect c e gines mo o , in which the reciprocating action of a system of magnets and solenoids or armatumwas applied by crank- shafts

v fl - l i r r o to dri ing a y whee , to wh ch ota y moti n was thus

l - r . re r a e en impa ted This cip oc motion , as in st am gines , was one of the prevailing features of the early electric motor work in this country and in Europe ; but it was re ral realimd not long befo its gene inapplicability was , and it was abandoned for the simpler and more direct rotation of the armature before or between the poles of

- electro magnets . “ ri 2 1 8 r oc t v On Ap l 9, 57 , with an elect ic l omo i e on

i r 1 6 or - r r fe or develop ng ove h se powe , P o ss Page made a trial trip along the track of the Washlngton and Balti~ r R ro r ro mo e ail ad , sta ting f m Washington . In order ai rre for ener mion to obt n cu nt gi t , the motor was [ 1 80 ] equipped with one hundred cells of Grove nitric- acid r batte y , each having as one element a platinum plate

r . eleven inches squa e , dipped in the acid Bladens

r - r r ms bu g , a distance of about five and one qua te ile ,

- rs to fifty eight minutes . But many disaste happened l r the batteries . Some of the cel s c acked wide open , and j olts due to inequalities of track threw the batteries out of r working order. Thes e expe iments must have been ex tre mel t r ycostly , and no lit le discou agement amongpeople in general attended this failure ; but Professor Page was

e r r re lect ic moto s , displaying g at ingenuity , but not ”

a r r ro ri . ble, appa ently, to give up the ecip cating p nciple n r r The inventio of the comme cial dynamo , sho tly a ter l mntur o ened the f the midd e of the nineteenth y, p e ra of practical electric- railway construction on both

s ide at . G r r s the Atlantic The e man expe imenters, S mn Halske r r ie e s and , and late the Ame ican , Stephen l D . ro Fie d , paved the way by nume us experiments and d s r . 1 880 r i cove ies It was not until about , howeve , that t he idea of using a third rail for transmitting the curre nt

w as . r conceived Hithe to, most of the inventors had a tte mpted to use one rail as a receiving part of the c rc r r r i uit to the moto , the othe ail completing the return o p art f the circuit. And it was several years after the ide a of the third rail had germinated before the attempts t o utilize one of the traction rails for conveying the

c urrent was abandoned . [ 1 81 ]

r first this road ave romise of u Fromthe ve y g p s ccss s. The tireless genius of Edison was constantly finding r r r r and cor ecting defects , and the e was eve y p ospect that in a few months a practical and economical electric railway would be an accomplished fact . Then came r r r R the financial c ash of the No the n Pacific ailway,

Mr. r r V involving the fo tune of illa d , and tying the hands f of the inventor at Menlo Park or the time being .

Mr. r r Mr. The yea following, howeve , Field and Edison combined their forces and formed a company for perfecting and constructing electric locomotives and

railways . In the same year an electric railway was put r R in ope ation at the Chicago ailway Exposition , the

r o r r r e r . chief p om te s of this ente p ise being M ss s Field ,

. . Rae . . l . In the aller F B , and C O Mail oux g y of the

r locom mile in length , was laid , and on this an elect ic o tive named The Judge hauled a single car which carried over twenty - six thousand passengers in the month of h . r T e Jud e w June In the autumn of the same yea , g as used for hauling passengers on a track at the Louisville

Exposition . It was capable of attaining a speed of e r r twelve mil s an hou , and its ave age speed was eight

. r miles It was twelve feet long ove all , weighed some ’ r thing like th ee tons, and , like Edison s locomotive , r l was equipped with cowcatche , head ight , and cab . rr r r or r The cu ent was taken f om a su face , feed ail , by

r- r r rr means of bundles of phospho b onze wi e , so a anged that a good clean contact would be made on each side of the rail whether the car was moving forward or back

[ 1 83] cted what was known as the Saratoga and h and included many steep grades The w r r s r-car hich hauled a egula pas enge ,

current froma central rail. The year Daft built and equipped a small road on n r arr g pie s of Coney Island , which c ied rovement over the Siemens electric railway — 1 G r 1 881 i r e many in wh ch , howeve , was

ever established . ing year the inventor began the equipment

adistance of about two miles and reached one hundred and fifty feet above the city This road was put into regular operation in

e of them being the equipment of

r a - ro r an ove he d t lley se vice , the f which had been demonstrated D Van e oele . r r Mr. p The p ojecto , [ 1 84 ] also built several ot er lines in diflerent arts of Daft , h p r o n r r r the count y , c nsta tly imp oving upon his ea lie efiorts r e d r r , sometimes using two ove h a t olley wi es, rol with two t ley contacts , thus doing away with the use of the track as a means of rr or for use a cu ent supply , s part of the circuit . Although in recent years double r e r r r ove h ad t olleys have la gely disappea ed , some of mare ll in u both in America and in Eu the sti se rope . Van Depoele was a Belgian who had come to America

- 1 86 . r mr n r in 9 Although p i a ily a cabi et make , he had re for ri a g at liking the study of elect city , and devoted all his spare time and money to eflorts to solve the

- r r r car r . 1 88 p oblem of p actical st eet p opulsion In 3, the n ri s r at I dust al Expo ition at Chicago , he ope ated

car ri r - r l a by elect city , using an ove head t ol ey system ’

r Daft s. 1 88 somewhat simila to By 5, he had made sufficient progress to construct a line one mile long for carrying passengers from the railway station to the

ro r . Annual Exhibition g unds at To onto , Canada On ra r r r r rr a single t ck he ope ated th ee ca s and a moto , ca y in r s r his g an ove age of ten thousand pa senge s daily , r train sometimes attaining a speed of thi ty miles an hour. For receiving the curre nt he used an underrunning trolley and pole very similar to the form now in common r use , this being one of the fi st instances of employing r this particular method of eceiving the current . In this systeman insuh ted track was used for returning the current . ’ Van Depoele s next venture was the equipment of an r r on elect ic ailway at South Bend , Indiana , which five — separate cars were operated at one time a thing sup [ 1 85 ]

case of Van De oele whose erfection ot p , p ’ W mmmedhsfl msmms to elec ric traction the sus ension ot t , p directl u on the ax le had finall to be sus y p , y ’ e m tained by the United States courts. Spragu s ethod was to hang the motor under the car dire ctly upon the or solid beenng attached directly r r This plan of const ucting the moto ,

’ Thus Van Depoele s method of taking the current from ’ ' the wire and ra ue s method of utilin n it in the , Sp g g

the ar must be re arded as e ochu mark c , g p mo r of o n invention de nst ated the validity his c nte tion , r l t r now unive sal y accepted , that mo o s should be placed r car n t of on unde each i s ead being used locomotives.

From the earliest attempts at solving the ques tion of ri r f rt r r elect c t action , ef o s we e made to p oduce some

vantages of a self- contained vehicle are so obvious that it is not surprising to find the inventors persistent in r r r r thei attempts at p oducing p actical ca s of this type . r r r r r Such batte y ca s would not equi e the dange ous,

n r r e r or expe sive , and cumb ous system of ove h ad wi es , the more sightly but also more expensive system of i c r conduits . W th such a system of a s the elaborate mains and feeders for bringing the current to the track

r r- for eflectin r r f om the powe house , and g the etu n

r . r v r ci cuit , could be dispensed with Mo eo e , the in dependent action of such cars over a system where the ower is furnished froma sin le source where the st p g , op a e of the current stO s ever car alon the line is p g p y g ,

Between the years 1 880 and 1 883 many storage» battery cars were built and put in service both in Euro

n was that which was built b h ant o e of these lines y —t e Mr. r t 188 . . 8 Belgian , E Julien , in New Yo k ci y , in 7 On the Fourth Avenue road something like a dozen

[ 1 83] thw cars were operated in Philadelphia under the

of Mr. Rackenzaun i . re V di ction Anthony , of enna But despite the appare nt simplicity of the storage- battery r difliculties re r r idea , innume able we pe petually p esent ing themselves in its practical application . Despite

is r r r r - ter c r the d hea tening esults , howeve , sto age bat y a s

ew York cit bein the last to surrender as it had been N y g ,

But r r 1 1 0 r - r re car in Feb ua y , 9 , the sto age batte y st et — ng in made its appearance on trial in New York not r car r l the old heavy type of unsatisfacto y , but an enti e y been striving for years to solve the storage- battery

r . This car which had been tested on the p oblem ,

Or e rs re - car r 20th ang , New Je ey, st et line on Janua y , 1 1 0 ai e r 9 , m ntained a speed of fifteen mil s an hou in ra ran re actual p ctice , and a distance of about one hund d and fifty miles without re charging the batteries . h re are rs car T e some novel featu e about the itself , but

m rf for h ba er w te perfect. In an i pe ect mt is tt y as given a trial in 1 0 and much was ex ected of it because it 9 3, p was not only lighter than the usual form of storage

alkali was used in place of an acid as an electrolyte . t r n In this bat e y the positive element , which co sisted of n x r rs r r ickel o ide inte spe ed with laye s of g aphite , was a r a p cked in pe forated nickel tubes . The neg tive ele [ 1 89 ]

thecapacity of the batteries ; and it is estimated that it muldmsily have run at least one- quarter farther without

thalow t oost of running. The to al cost of electric power ’ forthe mn a l da s was bout t rin cenbs or . mills for y y , 4 3

maverage about five cents per mile for electrical energy; bat on the other hant e carrying capacity of tha e ca w rs is almost t ioe that of the Edison car.

The actual oost of runnin the oar however was onl g , , y

one of its many advantaga . The fact that no under

emceed and maintained makes the initial oost of install ing the line far less than by any other system. The reduction in the oost of maintenance of the line is abo an rr rtant itemas it is estimated that the oost of i po , r ” t r could be applied wi h so much mo e flexibility . The defects of the parallel rail systemare apparent both in he r i construction of t roadbed and the Operating of t a ns . It is almost impossible to lay and maintain the rails in ac r r r ex t pa allels , and even mo e difficult to keep each ail at the proper height at all points . Both these factors enter very largely into the determination of the speed r r ra r re that a t ain can make ove such t cks , any ve y g at ri r r l r va ation f om the pa al el causing de ailment , while slight depressions or elevations of either rail cause violent and dangerous rocking of the cars travelling at high speed . In an monorail s stemthe first of these diEa tltie y y s, r r r rs the deviation of the ail f om the pa allel , is , of cou e, eliminated ; and it is found that on a single rail the elevations and depressions are not serious obstacles . r r cost r sin le rail r Mo eove , the of const uction of a g t ack

v for - r r must ob iously be less than a double ail t ack , and the power necessary to operate cars over such a track far less . But until the invention of the gyrocar (which is referred to at length in the following chapter) the meth ods of balancing the car on a single rail prwented difficulties which quite ofiset the advantages of the monorail system . Some of these methods are unique are r o ra and a few of them p actical in actual pe tion . In Germany a suspension monorail system is in r rs i r e ope ation , the ca be ng suspended f om an ov rhead

r . o r re t ack But obvi usly such a system , which equi s elaborate and expensive steel trestle- work along every

r r ad n - i fo k of the o , is not adapted to the use of lo g d stance r h oads except in t ickly populated districts . A less ex [ 1 92 ] Tun M. H w rd Hansel is and used the edby r o a at James

town Ex hibition in 1 907 . In this s stemthe wheels amn ed in tandem y , g , have double flan es which kee themon the sin brail track g p g , nd h cars are revented fromto lin over b o a t e p m pp g y ver u de . TMu des ust he su ed hend g i s g i pport on a

m- r re l n fra e wo k, but as the is litt e tende cy to sway on

’ - ra r the can be relativel li ht s ruc ur n a ngle il t ack , y y g t t es . It is the cost of thes e frames however that racticall , , p y omthe ro - r low cost of ad bed const uction, so that ,

r rail road . But the cost of ope ating is considerably les r ro than the olde type , and this ad would undoubt e dly come rapidly into popularity but for the fact that such gyrocars as the ones invented in England and

are - r G ermany self sustaining on the ail , doing away

In rgooan electric aerial monorail up the Wetterhorn

in the Alps was put into operation. On this line a car mended on one above the other p two cables , and with out r x u er and r r suppo ts e cept at the pp lowe te minals , rises at an angle of forty five degrees through a distance of r are feet. The e two sets of these cables , each carrying a car so arranged as to work in alternate direc

re r- g at saving in power. The powe plant is located at the u er end of the asoent and consists of windin pp , g — v . os v r r. r3 [ 1 93]

1 Mr. r n 8 0 N the th of May, 9 7, Louis B e some R l t at nan exhibi ed , a of the oya

rr r be mechanism , which sti ed the imagination of eve y r — r —as re rt holde , and next mo ning po ed by the news

a rs r n r r . p pe , a oused the ama d inte est of the wo ld This car run on r invention consists of a a single ail , standing

erect like a bicycle when in motion ; but , unlike the

b r . icycle , being equally stable when at est It is a car that could cross the gorge of Niagara on a

t - r far re r ight ope , like Blondin himself , but with g ate se r car r r r cu ity ; a that showsmany st ange p ope ties , seem i ng to defy not gravitation alone but the simplest laws of F x am mo . or e e one tion m, if a weight is placed on edge O car that r r n f the side ises highe i stead of being lowered . u r If you p sh against the side with you hand , the — mysterious creature you feel that it must be endowed — v vith life is actually felt bo push back as if re senting the ' a firont.

i r car r S mila ly , if the wind blows against the , it vee s O r ve toward the wind . If the track on which it runs Q onsisting of an ordinary gas- pipe or of a cable of wire i s rv r r car cu ed , even ve y sha ply , the follows the curve V vithout fi r dif culty , and , in defiance of o dinary laws of [ 1 95 ] und r the ame circumstances instead ofbein car d e s , g eene

four wheels set in line bic cle fashion runni th , y , ng us

and ood erfectl still on its ti ht- ro e as no Blondin st p y g p , As tabl o d it tood the could ever do. s y p ise s re as if it there was nothing about it to suggest an ex planation of

The msterious wheels in uestion would be found y q , lo k w hin h r' uc ure of h if we could o it t e st t t e car, to be r rr clom r two in numbe , a anged quite togethe on each w side of the centre of the car. They are t o small fiy in closed cases revolvin in o osite directio wheels , , g pp ns, each propelled by an electric motor. Thme are the

- - wonder workers . They constitute the two lobed main or if ou refer the double— re heart o , y p , chambe d f the

— conveniently be termed a gyrocar a r the sanction of the invento himself . Let it be understood once for all that a gyroscope is merely a body whirling about an axis . A ever child rolls is a gyrosCO e ; the wheels of bic cles y p y , rri s or railwa - cars are rosco es ca age , y g p ; and ’ y r its an s is a rosco itself , whi ling about , gy pe make a gyroscope of your own body if you [ 1 96 ] - whirl about like a ballet r. In a word the , dance , gyro

i m l . scope is the most common th ng i aginab e Indeed , if I wished to startle the reader with a seemin ar-adox g p , I might say without transcending the bounds of truth that in the 1ast anal sis there is robabl nothin known , y , p y g to us in the universe but an infinitude of gyroscopes atoms and molecules at one end of the scale ; planets and

rolled a hoop or spun a top you have unwittingly learned

s ra s u had' u ome p ctical les ons on the s bject which , yo ’

e Mr. r s s n p os s ed B ennan s imagination and inge uity, might have enabled you to anticipate him in the inven t ion of the gyrocar. Harking back to the days when you r o r c who mos lled hoops , you will ecall that the t ex c elled in the art was the one that could make the hoop lf g o fastes t. The hoop itse might be merely a wheel of r W ire, which would fall ove instantly if not in motion ; a push it assumed an upright position and ri l it with secu ty , so long as it was impel ed w r . r f or a d It seemed able, so long as it whi led about , i l t o defy the ordinary laws of gravity . A b cyc e in motion g ives an even more striking illustration of the same

- to . r on of all , a spinning p Eve y e r toy , which topples ove instantly w hen t rest and can in no wise be balanced its oint a on p , r ri m r ises up t u phant when whi led about , and stands e in l miracu rect , poised a way that wou d seem simply [ 1 97 ]

within the kind of frames or hoo s called imbals if p g , ou can secure such a one will show ou the am y , y s e phenomenon ; it will resist having its ax is diverted from the dire ction n w e it chanced to have whe it as s t spinning . wh rt r If you ask y the spinning wheel exe s this powe , it may not be easy to give an answer. The simplwt how gravitation acts ; no one knows why a body at rest tends always to remain at rest until some force is applied to it ; nor why when a body is once in motion it tends always to move on at the same rate of speed until some

- counter force stops it . Such are the observed facts ;

ic t are r r n s; but hey matte s of obse vatio , not of ex o r planation r argument . And the fact that a evolving body tends to maintain its ax is in a fix ed position is a fact of the same category . far ain r So as we can expl it at all , we may , pe haps , say that the inertia which the matter composing the wheel shares with all other matter is accentuated by the fact tmits whirling particles all tend at successive

' instants to fly in diflerent directions under stres s of centrifugal force . At any given instant each individual

' particle tending to fly oflin a particular dire ction may be n n likened to a ma pulling at a rope in that directio . If you imagine an infinite number of men circled o r are ab ut a pole to which opes attached , and evenly r e r dist ibuted , ach one pulling with equal fo ce , it will be clear that the joint eflort of the multitude would res ult in fixing the pole rigidly at the centre . The r r the re ha de multitude pulled , so long as they mained [ 1 99 ] THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE

r r r r evenly dist ibuted about the ci cle , the mo e igid the

. other han pole would become But if , on the d, all the

~ would at once r. The ole under such circum fall ove p , stances would re resent the ax is of the revolvln wheel , p g ,

o the increased velocit of its revolutions and r t y , the e fore of the increased force with which its perticles tend bo fly oflinto space. wha it at But be the explanation t may, the fact th the

it is this fact which determines primarily the aaion d the little revolving wheels of the gyroscopes that balance ’

ar. r are Mr. Bre nnan s c The e additional principles rs moment , but fi t let how the gyroscopes fastened within the tudinal n re su ce t , in to the ax les of the ordinary car- wheels when tk w r stands in a normal position . G anted that the gyro scopes are thus transverse and normally horimtt lgm at right angles to the trackflhe ex act location oi the Bu mechanism within the car is immaterial. t the m

reason to be given presently . — PmAND m ot IX TRAx SPORTAfl ON TH E DE wrr r CLINTON TRAIN

3 De Witt C nton en ne w its arc a c coac es re r n s the ar s li gi , ith h i h , p ese t e lie t ra a rans ort io n m h r - r two v ws of w c a in er ca. T e G o a ilw y t p t A i y , ie hi h - b is e w rk mo n n an Mr. n, th o i ng del of a si ngle rail ve hicle ex hibited i E gl d y ' c mec sm in r o . it balanred an n n ous an o 7 is i ge i h i . ts inve ntor be lieves will pro ve mcou siul w n applied to vehicles

THE CONQUES T OF TIME AND SPACE scopes balance each other in such a way as to make the Brennan car lean in while passing about a cmve we must inves tigate more fully the action of the individual

principle involved as supplementary to the principle fix ed ax is this we mus now inve of the ; t stigate . Perhaps it would be fairer to say that what we have to oonsider is not a new principle but a complication as

an already put forward. In y event there is an element ar fact about the rosco e that l have not e y gy p y t stated. It is this : in order that the gymscope may ex ercise its fundamental ro ert of holdin its ax is fix ed i m p p y g , t ust have that ax is so adjusted that it is fre e to oscillate or

. ra wabble That sounds distinctly pa doxical , but it is a very essential fact. I e . Brennan had merely fix ed wo wheels r idl in the frame of his car the wo t ig y , y uld b have had no apprecia le effect in balancing it . Had

v have invented a gyroear long ago. But ery much

The commication ofwhich l amspeakingis illustrated w by the action of the simplest top , which like ise owes its stability to its wabble . Your top does not rise merely but e as because it spins, because it wabbl s it spins wabbling being the familiar word for what the machin ‘ ’ ist calls re s . A freel s innin to if in p ce sion y p g p, e uilibriumhas no inherenc to rise u a ainst ravita~ q , y p g g ma have led u su as our to o to ose . r tion , y p y y pp You r re r m top ises because it is not spinning f ely in equilib iu , its action being interfered with by the friction of the [ 200 ] point on which it rests; it is seeking a position of r n r equilib ium , which , owing to the location of its ce t e r re of g avity, will be found when its spindle is e ct . But to r r r a p suppo ted at both ends and p ope ly balanced , r does not tend to ise but only to maintain its position .

It is such a balanced top as this that we must call to ’

o Mr. our aid in explaining the action f Brennan s gyro scOpes . The explanation will involve the use of a dia gram perhaps rather unpleasantly suggestive of the days o r r h when you studied ge met y, and I fea I cannot ope to r r a make inte esting e ding of the explanation . But it r r n r will be wo th you while to follow it , that you may u de stand the action of one of the most remarkable and ingenious of inventions . Figure 1 represents a kind of top called a Foucault gyrostat . It is merely a top or rosco e ra e r te g p in gimbal f m s , such as I have al eady

rre . r n fe d to With ce tai slight modifications , the dia represents it might also be a diagram of one of

he purchased a top like gyrocar is the outcome This is also the kind of r r afte whom it is named , p oved but we shall come to that story

dia ramthe r or to r r g , gy oscope p p ope A revolving on the axis 0 . It is [ 203] setsplmningmnd the outer frames will remain stationary

i s ax is O A in the direction indicated b the arrow t y , w a am hile its ax is is horizontal as re resentedin the di r . , p g

Bu its resistan and resist any attempt to displace it. t ce — will be shown in a very peculiar way whereby hanp r re our tale . If you apply a steady downward p mu to the frame at oint attemtin thus to deflect B A C p A , p g ' he ax is of the s nnnin wheel of h rosco e the t t g t e gy p , frame will not tip down as you ex pect it to do (and as it woukl do if the to were not s innin but instead it p p g) , will move in a horiaontal lane alo the arc p ng C A B, n the e tire mechanismrotating on the ax is D E. This un tion is e uivalent to the wabble of he to and it is q t p, “ ” called precession. Please remember the word and manin for we its e g,

But now curiousl enou h if ou were to a l a , y g , y pp y sidewise ressure at ushin to the left as we view p A , p g ( the di ramto hel on the motion of recesmion the ag ) p p ,

direction and the oint will be n to rise n p A gi i stead, the frame rota on B A C ting its ax is B C . This rise of the This seems rather weird r but if ou w behavio , y ill note the direction of the arrow on the wheel you will see n a a certain method i it. It will ppear that in each case r rr r r r the fo ce you apply has been ca ied ound a co ne , as it were b the whirlin disc and made to act at r , y g , ight of dire ction of a force applied is strictly comparable to the change eflected by the familiar device known as a

. r pulley With that device , to be su e , a pull instead of a push is used , but this is a distinction without a differ for l are O ence , pushing and pu ling only pposite views of the same thing . Possibly this suggested explanation of the action of r m r r the gy ostat may not see ve y satisfacto y , but the facts are erfectl clear and if ou will bear them e p y , y st ad ily in mind you will readily be able to understand the r ro r s B ennan gy scope , as you othe wise cannot pos ibly r hope to do . You have only to ecall that pushing down o e at A causes moti n (called to the l ft , the r and pushing up at A , motion to ight ; and that in “ order to make either rise or fall r A , you must accele ate ” r e the or r h p ec ssion by pushing to left to the ig t , te

ectivel . rs r r a sp y But you must unde tand fu the , th t hro e r n when , t ugh the application of any of th se distu bi g r ou have forced the ax is A into a new osition fo ces , y O p , it will tend to maintain that new position , having no

It is quite as stably in equilibrium with its axis pointing r in the i r upwa d as when the position shown in d ag am . One position is quite like another to it ; but having r a v accepted a position it esents any ch nge whatsoe er. [ 206 ] rosco e which consists essentiall of two such ro gy p , y gy stats as that shown in our dia ramA set into the frame g , of the car on he ax is their wheels revolvi in t D E, ng opposite directions and their outer frames so linked together that whmen one turns in one direction on its ax is the other ust turn in the o osite direction. D E, pp As the sole object of having two of the gyroscopes is to facilitate the oin around curves we ma for the g g , y moment ne lect the second one and consider the action g , of only one of the pair. ur m then will re r o e oe Bren O r 2 esent n . diag a , , p ’ r n nan s gy oscopes i action . It is pivoted into the frame o h h mrk f t e car on t e ax is D E. If you ex amine it you will see that it is essentially the Foucault gyrostat of our other dia ramwith the ax is O A ro ected be ond m g , p j y the fra e to the point F . In ractice the frame is made to carr the field p , B A C y

' Brennan s invention consists of the exceedingly ingenious way in which he applies these principles ; and to under

at it mr winsee that the s indle carries two mflcrs , y p O F w ma m R, and R, hich y co e in contact under certain rc r r ci umstances with the cu ved segment ma ked G.,

are ro n the car- r Gr, Gr, G., which st ng segme ts of f ame —the U r itself segments , indeed , pon which the fo ce of ' the gyroscope is ex pended in holding the car in equihb

o e hence can R, is loosely fitted to the spindl 0 F and [ 207 ]

THE GYROCAR

runs alon the track because friction with g , u v w c . a ses it to revol e But this, it ill be the spindle F (or the

and we know that the eflect of such a push will be to

action to rise thus ushin u the se rnent and ) , p g p g G , , h he wit it t car itself. The thrust will cause the car to topple to the left and Mwill e he e u w t s fre t roll r bt a mommt a r it ill Rz, l te bring the segment in contact with rollen which hu receive an u ward hr Bu u w d hr t s s t ust. t an ar t ust p p , we recall will not cause the s indle to move u ward , p p , but ofl to the ri ht oward and so a mornent later g t C ; , st ll the roller will ambe ond the end of the e ent i k r p y s gm and the roller will come in contact with he G , , R, t seg ment alon which it will tend to roll accelerat M g , thus ing t mecesdon to the rightmnd so causingthe spindle te ush downward brin in the car back to its old osi p , g g p

ia mntact with retardin the firrther oscilla M R, , g tion of the car and causing the spindle to move back ag in to the left. T his sequence oi oscillations will be repes mdover and o ver so long as any disturbing foroe tends to throw

mout of e uilibrium. In other words the ro the q , gy balance is disturbed bya thrust due to any the ear will be in to wabble and continue , g position where it is no lonp r position will be attained only

v et . " r. 209 ] new osition of balance the car owin to a In this p , ( g shift ofits load or to the foroe of the wind) may be tipped o one de as a man leans in carr i a wei ht far over t si , y ng g ne houlder to et the centre of ravit over the rail on o s , g g y , and in that event the ax is of the gyroscope will be no

Bu h is uite i material. re longer horiaontal. t t at q m The is no more merit in the horizontal position than in any k a fi other as re ards the tendenc to ee x ed ax is. If , g y p ri n onl because under nor it is usually ho zo tal , this is y

centre ust as ordinaril a man stands erect and does not , j y lean to one side in walking .

t r planation jus given , it will be unde stood that the two ro rs R R are r a lle . and , neve in action at the s me time , and that it is only the roller t hat gives the sidewise push that accelerates the prewssi on (since R, is not in contact with the axle itself) . The hrnction of R is to retar'd the recmion and , p bring the ax is to its normal position at right angles to w h h the rail on hic t c mr runs. There is nothing of mystery about the action of either which the action of our r s m gy o tat does not explain , but the echanism by which the diflerent segments of the car are made to push a ainst the s indle and so force it to balance the car in g p ,

n l i . i Mr. g y ingen ous Brennan himself tells me th t

are which not yet to be made public . however is he m , t sa e as that outlined in the

r patents which I have just desc ibed . [ 2 10 ] THE GYROCAR

If you have taken the trouble to follow carefully the r n re r r desc iptio just given , you will be p pa ed to unde stand an r r for the omalies of action of the gy oca ; example , why its side rises when a weight is placed on it; why it oward the wind and wh it leans to the inner and leans t , y not to the outer side of the track in munding a curve . The substance of the ex planation is that the greater the o on h roll R mn of force brought t bear t e er . by the seg e t the car that strikes a ainst it the stron er its recession g , g p , and hence the more powerful its lift. The oscillations

operate powerfully on the roller R; so long as the weight of the car is out of balance ; and balance is restored only r car r r when the heavie side of the ises , b inging the r of r r r man arr cent e g avity ove the t ack , just as a c y ing a weight on the right shoulder leans toward the the r r Thus , when gy oca has e one or r a h avy weight on side , encounte s a strong nd ma lean iar over but still be erfec l wi , it y , p t y and r tlm msc0 es r secu ely balanced , gy p finally emaining quies cent in their new position until some new dis turbance is applied . r r It emains to be said , howeve , that there is another r car r r T element int oduced when the ounds a cu ve . o un nd w mu dersta this, e st revert to the action of the

c r ra a r Fou ault gy ostat , as illust ted in di g am 1 . If you held such agyrostat in your hand in the upright position it is shown in the dia ramand r in which g , whi led it about , the ax is O A would of course maintain a fix ed direction so long as the gyrostat was free to revolve on the ax is

D E. Butif ou revented revolution as b y p such , yclutch [ 2 1 1 ] sides oi a nronorail car could keep it balanced on the

’ da . a Mr. B n w in a s renna s gyroscope as not perfected y in the Neither was it bit upon by accident . It belongs category of inventions that were thought out to meet a B r hman b nical need. Mr. i an l is mecha rennan s y

birth but he was taken b his arents to Australia at , y p the age of nine and remained there throughout the years f the condition of his early manhood. Observation o of h in Australia and of h enormous r rd t e roads , t e eta ation of development due to inadequate transportation facili m onder over the ow bilities of imrove tia ledhi to p p p ir ment in this d ection , as he was jolted about the brought to his attention through observation of the con dition of the cattle that were shipped from North Aus ali r r car wo tr a ac oss the continent , that a ailway that uld the t r rt enable ca tle to make the jou ney in comfo , and rr r u r thus a ive in ma ketable condition , wo ld have eno mous value for this purpose alone .

r Mr. r r For e s n e y a , B ennan tells me , the p oblem hau t d

him r car . , of how to make a mono ail balance itself He

r - r te studied the action of ope walke s , and he attemp d n car various crude methods of balanci g a , which all h came to nothing . He t ought about the possibility of r r as r o using the gy oscope , and even pu ch ed seve al elab ros o c a rate gyrostats in order to study y c pi ction . As a r n ir r s s r f ie d of S Hen y Be eme , he knew of that gentle ’ man s experiments with the g roscope in attempting to ro but i hiin make a steady om in a ship , these also ava led not r nothing . It was until he pu chased the toy top at r Cannes , as al eady mentioned , that he got hold of a r e of r al s eally viable id a ; and then, cou se , mo t number less experiments were nem ry before an apparatus was devised that could meet all the re quirements . r car re l all At last , howeve , a model , mo than fulfil ing

c u ra . r m his fondest hopes , wmasmin a t al ope tion It e ained to build a car of co ercial siae. To aid himin thus

rim Mr. r r completing his expe ents , B ennan eceived a grant of from the India Society . He believed that a car one hundred feet long and six teen feet wide would be balanced by gyroscopee three and a half feet r f r c in diamete , so ef ectively that it would stand e e t and rigid though fifty pamengers were clustered on one side of its spacious room. [ 2 14 ] foretold and the doubts of the most ske tical were sct t , p e

load of as en ers were sent hroadcest and it he~ its p g , , came apparent that the introduction of the gymr in cometition with railwa trolle and motor cars of the p ym, y, old type would be only a atter of time. When we come thus to consider the gymcar as a vehicle in which all of us may soon have an opportunity o ride there is one ractical ummtha u t , p q t is s re to n i elf o n of lm v reee t ts t the mi d a ost e er mder. WM p y wfll be the efiect should the electrical power tln t drives the rosco es ive out at a critical moment gy p g , as, for instance when the car is ust crmn a or 0r v , j g g ge ri er ’ on a cable ? Mr. Brennan s n nu i ge ity has antidpated

O erate in a vacuumand all the bu rin are o w p , p s ell dev a to v l ised s give ery litt e friction . The rvheels will continue nmning for a considerable time after the power

' - x o . t wo mws 0? rue . t oms ane x ax s mon mm. ovnoman or aut omatically The pl atformof the car are cro wded on one srde

tration of an attempt to make pu cficl l use of

The idea of vin smdim to mdl in otherwise . gi g

‘ 1 More than a n ' eer 6 c tm mh n 8 . e h r Piazzi S yt (i 5 ) y e

tions might be made when the actual horizon was hidden

nch or fo . The ent r ar by clo g inv o himself, S son by name was sent out b the British Admiralt m , y y test the ’ a aratus and was lost in the wreck of the shi l id or pp , p y. His top seemed not to have commended itself to his comatriots but it has been in use more l p , or es ever

’ Bessem s coemy msnnmrrr

These first attempts to use the gyroscope at sea were of a techniml charactermnd could have no great popular [ 2 1 7 ]

TRAVEL

applying the powers of the revolving wheel m u not merely to a single roo bt to an entire ship. I r one r have pe sonal knowledge of at least invento , quite fame who believed that he had olved h unknown to , s t e problembut who died before he could put his invention cal I for a rman n ineer racti . t remained e to a p test Ge g , o Schlick to ut cfore the world fi a theo Dr. Ott b rst as r , p , y as a demonstration r c c and then , the p a ti al utility of the

D In the year 1 904 r. Schlick elaborated his theory r befo e the Society of Naval Architects in London . ms r r re r s but pape a oused much inte st in technical ci cle , most of his hearers believed that it represented a theory Fortu that would never be made a tangible reality . n w atel r Dr. y, ho eve , Schlick was enabled to make a racfical s r p te t , by const ucting a wheel and installing it — a r - c Sea- bar on a small ship to pedo boat alled the , dis m v carded fromthe Ger an na y. The vessel is one sixteen feet in length and of a little over

displacement . The device employed con in r diamete , weighing just

ros So installed , the Schlick gy cope the least with the steering or with [ 2 1 9 ] THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE

' the ordinary progres sion of the ship . Its sole design is

to prevent the ship from rolling .

On a certain da in ul 1 06 with a sea so rou h that y j y, 9 , g the shi rolled throu han arc ofthirt de rees when the p g y g ,

- r r t r balance wheel was not in evolution , the a c o olling was reduced to one degree when the great top was set inn d i ndar In o sp ing an ts seco y bearings released. ther r r ro of wo ds, it p actically abolished the lling motion the r r l v c aft , causing its decks to emain substantially e el , while the ship as a whole heaved up and down with the

were recorded in the paper which Sir WilliamWhite read before the Institution of Naval Architects in Lon 1 w don in A ril 0 . He himself had itnessed tes ts of p , 9 7 the Schlick rosco e and in common with his col gy p , , l a u he acce t d h on un u v e es e t e demonstrati s as e i o l. g , p q ca D ’ Fully to understand the action of r. Schlick s in e r rt is not a mere wmel v nt on , one must know that on the sin le ivot but a wheel ad usted in such a fash g p , j ion that it can oscillate longitudinally while revolving on its v h wo l ertical ax is. In ot er rds it is recise as if one o , p y f the two gyroscope- wheels used in the Brennan car

r i econdar ax is or ax is of oscillation bein ve tical , ts s y , , g ’ r horizontal and at ight angles to the ship s length. s innin on vertical ax is bod of t Thus , while p g its the y he

to oscillate endulum- s th top is able , p like , lengthwi e of e

In principle the action of this wheel is not difierent to the right or to the left when yon push its ax is w wa m Y h untechnical obsermit a y fro you. et to t e seems f the hli k rosco e were a livi thin as i Sc c gy p ng g, v go erned by almost human motives . If you epply

volves at full s eed is re cisel as if ou inioned thc p , p y y p anns of a stron man so that he saw the futilit of re g , y

— such circumstances the gyroscope t hough it continuee — to spin as hard as ever has no efiect whatever in pre ventin the rollin of the shi it stands there like the g g p; , ron bound ex res sin its o w st g man , p g disc ntent ith en

Butifyou release the brake so that the entire mechan ismis free to oscillatc len thwise of the shi all g p, is It if ou cu rd a changed. is as y t the co s th t bound the ’ man s Instantl the echanis s r n mm arms. y m mp i gs r w into action. It will no longe allo itself to be swung with eech roll of the shipfit will res ist and pmw which

a r. t r is m ste Its mighty mass, pivo ed on the late al trunniom s r r r t rr , lunge fo wa d and backwa d with e ific force as ifit would tear loose fromits bearin s and da , g sh

the entire ship into pieces. It causes the ship tO pitch a trifle fore and aft as it does so; but meantime its ax is stands ri idl erect in the lateral lane thou th g y p , gh e w ush a aves p gainst tbe sides of the ship as before . The decks of the vessel that were ti in fr0mside to side , pp g , so that loose obects slid fromone rail to the o j ther, are now held r idl at a level scarcel ermitted v ig y , y p to de iate to the ex tent of a violent h tremor. T e gyrompe hes [ 22 1 ]

GY ROSCOPE AND OCEAN TRAVEL

have referred . Meanwhile the re are other equally m or ec oscillation of the body of the ship itself may su , r r r m the r re unde ce tain ci cu stances , to give tu bine p cisely such freedom of motion as will enable it to ex

D . ercise a powerful gyroscopic efiect. r Schlick himself n em the aid of models to demon co tends , and se s with r t h r i rc st ate , hat suc a gy oscop c action is exe ised by the

- r r wheels of a side wheel steame , which evolve on a shaft no fi h h ca les s xed t an that of a turbine . If such is t e se, there would seemto be no reason why a turbine- engine may not at times ex ercise the power of a tremendous o r u . gy scope , such as it obviously constit tes The ques tion must find practical solution at the hands of the naval architects of the immedia fu ure as turhine te t , engines are now in use in several of the larges t steam shi s afloat and 0thers are bein installed in craft of all p , g

It should be said that engineers disagree as to the ra r p ctical utility of the Schlick gy oscope . No one us but ri q e tions that it steadies the ship , some c tics think that its use may not be unattended with danger. It has — been suggested that under certain circumstances for r i r example , the sudden distu bance of equ lib ium due to a tremendous wave - the gyroscope might increase ro u the oscillation of the ship to a dange us extent , tho gh ordinarily having the opposite efiect.

[ 2 23] THE CONQUEST OF TIME f

re r r r t The is , howeve , anothe dange that r r looked , and which ma ine a chitects constant account . What we have ahead; it clear that the re volving wheel of the Scl f r r e to be ef ective , must bea an app eciabl mass of the entire ship . Such a weight terrific speedandoscillating like a tremem obviously represents an enormous store was estimated by Professor Lambert that suficient size to render even a Channel would re present energy equal to fifty o — r therefo p unds making it compa able , mous projectile . Should such a gyros r loose fromits r n o b eak t unnio s , it w uld ship with all the devastating efiect of a m

The possibility of such a catastrophe one thing that will cause naval architects the adoption of the new device . We can that the dificulties represented are insup doubtedly a long series of experiments wi before the Schlick gyroscope will come it

a not be ver lon coast steamer. It my y g the size of Channel steamers and boats t and the Bermudas are equipped wit ur r e Nat ally enough , this p ospect excit r V e popular inte est . isions of pl asant

hitherto has dreeded the sea. But whetever the future of the gyrosc

And nothing is more certain than tlmt attempts at aerial fiight have been made at various times since the begin i of h n ng istory. As withalmost everything else in thc matterofmodern W e the ri us r of advancement , myste o w itings the

inklingof the secret

even the stronges t man was relatively slight as compared Leonardo was with the corres ponding muscle of birds. THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE

m It is said he could bendand tr hte of his ti e. that s aig n rn horseshoes with his hands . But his experiments with the aerial screw he probably discovered very soon that even such muscular force as he was capable of ex erting was entire ly inadequate ; and there being no other mode r r e of ri of p oducing powe at that time , the id a ae al navi

the possibilities of muscular development when begun in r r attemed childhood and pe sistently p acticed , mthe d ment of a race of men whose abnormally stron g pectoral muscles would enable them to use artificial

ercises of fla in the arms to which broad sails re pp g , , we n attached . These attempts were persisted i for several ears and it is said some of these bo s became so y , that y expert that by skipping along the surface of the gro und

ro r - and vigo usly flapping thei wing attachments , they r r r could t avel at inc edible speed , although neve able actually to rise from the ground . 1 6 8 r n s r t In 7 , a F e chman named Be nie inven ed a flying- machine that rs credited with being more succes s ful than any hitherto attempted . His machine con sisted of two bars of wood which were so hinged to a ’ man s shoulders that they could be worked up and down by movements of the hands and feet . At the ends of these two bars were muslin win s made like shutters s0 g , arranged that they were opened by a downward stro ke

‘ general appearance pres ented by thes e wings was that [ 2 28] of the bars o enin and closin alternatel as the bars , p g g y were worked up and down. wa The inventor began his ex periments in a modest y. Ifis first attempt at flight was by jumping froma chair; ied a a le and finall emboldened b his nex t he tr t b ; y, y

- o he is said to have sailed house tops . On ne occasion fromhis attic window over the roof of a neighboring be ond tt u r some distance . co age , alighting, witho t inju y, y It was even rumored at one time that he would try to fi across the Seine but if such a feat was ever con y ,

temlated r attemed. p , it was neve m Halfacen ur later however the Mar t uis de Bac ue y , , q q ville actually made such an attempt with a machine had practiced in private with his machine with such en couraging results that he felt confident the feat was not

the banks of the river to witness the s ec a p t cle . Starting froma buildin ome little distance awa m g s y fro the o

MBormconstruction the erformances of these to ~ , p y

r r r 1 8 r Th oughout the enti e sp ing of 7 3, all Auve gne , in France was ke t in breathless ex ectanc b constant , p p y y rumors that he two Mont olfier had reall solved the t g s y roblemof aerial fi ht and would soon be seen soarin p ig , g v o er the country in a strange birdlike machine. Rumor pictured this machine in vanous fonns and simbut in point of fact there was really very little secrecy on the u t at the inven ors themselves frankl ex lained p t , who y p the mindple of the balloon they were constructing. It was hardl to be ex ected however that most rs y p , , pe ons would believe the plain truth that so simple a device as hot air would do what had long been

s r r lap ed into summe , howeve , e r its app a ance , public cl mo loud Mon fiers felt he a r became so that the tgol t y r r no r could postpone thei demonst ation longe , although

n he their entire satisfaction . Nevertheless the fix ed o t , y definite date of une 1 8 as the da and j s, ( 7 3) y Annonay as thc lace for mi ki the trial and he r f h p ng , t i ait in their invention was shown by the fact that special in vitations were sent to the leadin ersons in the vicinit gp y,

But in place of some complicated and birdlike multitude that gathere d about the starting- point found only an immense cloth bag about thirty- five feet in

- air containing some twenty two thousand cubic feet of , Mon olfier r rs and r amistants which the tg b othe thei

“ that as soon as it was completely filled it would rise to ” rr r h the clouds, ca ying with it a f ame weig ing

This announcement was not received with the same seriousness with which it was given . The idea of ex would fly excited the risibilities even of the more serious hel h members ofthe crowd. Nevert es s as t e reat lo , g g be filled it became evident to the spectators that it was tr in at the restrainin ro es in efiorts to ris t gg g g p e, in a most ex traordinar manner and when at a s na y ; , ig l fromthe inventors the ro es were cast ofi a , p nd the ’ r rd ro e r monste shot skywa , the c wd s smil s we e turned the air t r wafmd b the mons e mounted , and then, y a ntle breeae it continued to soar and rise u ge , ntil in ten minutee it had reached an altimde of six thousand feet, sailing easily in a horiaontal direction for e short dis h ra s c t om tance , t en g dually de ending and aligh ing s e

r r uickl to P The news of this t iumph t avelled q y aris, and the Parisians clamored to see the wonderful per r formance epeated in the capital. The king and court were as intereeted as the savants and the o u p p lace, and [ 232 ] NAVIGATING THE AIR an order was sent at once b his Ma est biddin h y j y, g t e brothers brin their balloon g to the city. e r In the m antime , howeve , a savant named Charles had started the construction of a balloon that was to be

was a much r ve r mo e expensi unde taking, as a thousand pounds of iron filings and five hundred pounds of sul

uantit of as to fill the varnished ilk B q y g s bag. ut by the 23rd of August everything was in readiness for the in rocem fill g p , and the following day this first gas n from M balloo rose the Champs de ars to a distance of ar d thre e thousand feet and disappe e into the clouds . Three- quarters of an hour later it descended in a field near the little villa e of Gonesse to the reat con erna g , g st n r tio of the inhabitants of the neighbo hood , who sup e m r rd al or pos d it to be so e monste bi , anim , flying r t dragon . A ming themselves with scy hes and pitch or t r r af f ks , he efo e , but keeping at a s e distance , the boldest of the peasants sallied out and surrounded the A ad field in which the creature had alighted. s it m e

r r - i r c a med with his t usty fowling p ece , c ept autiously ’ w hin ra e and fire d tearin a hole in the monster s it ng , g dde m r 03 and using it to w ithe and collapse , giving

and tore it to shreds endin the erformance b t in , g p y y g ’ the fragments to a horse s tail and sending the animal scurrying across the ficlds. [ 233]

NAVIGATIN G THE AIR

r arri r the air we e c ed some fifteen hund ed feet into , ds c re s r r - e ending uninju d , two mile f om the sta ting point, a few minutes later. The cage was broken Open in the s r de cent , but its occupants escaped inju y , and the sheep

was found quietly grazing when the rescue party arrived .

lated the balloonists to attempt the crucial test of sending

Mon lfi . even the tgo ers refusing to venture In those r r r days . howeve , the e was always a means of secu ing

or r for r . human beings , willing othe wise , any unde taking r r Whe e gold would not tempt , it needed but a wo d of the monarch to commute the death-sentence of some rim c the c inal, pla ing him at disposal of the scientists for a better or worse allows as fate than the g , the case And so when Louis X VI heard of the plight to their assistance with to be sent on the

ae ronaut named

risk his life , was performing an act

to ascend into the ” o . N , no , that must not be his own services for the hamrd

r a ecree was accordingly epe led , to the

Mon olfier the momentous attempt . tg was [ 235 ] a ed to r r balloon and on the r th eng g const uct a la ge , s of October r 8 the trial was made in a arden in the , 7 3, g

r . n . one r Faubou g St A toine Let no suppose , howeve , that this first man-carrying balloon was cut loose from e r r for l m the a th and sent skywa d to shift itse f , as ight be gathered fromthe reluctance of persons to make the

. the contrar l b s n ascent On y, the ba loon was held y tro g ls andallowed rise onl to a hei ht of ei h fect cab e , to y g g ty — to the level of some of the lower windows of a modern

made for the purpose . Those who have witneesed the reckless manner in which the modern balloonist mounts thousands of feet air r or to into the , seated on a t apeze clinging flying ri and re u ngs attached to an old balloon , patched f q ently r tt r r Ro o en , may be inclined to snee at the b ave sier. But it should be remembered that in 1 783 people had

rn - r for l not lea ed nineteenth centu y contempt a titude .

upon the human system of ascending to a great height ro or r rre r al o when away f m a building othe te st i bject.

i rr es r - r t Fa nting, hemo hag , hea t failu e , and dea h had r r r been p edicted , and could not be p actically efuted . rt s new ri In sho , it was an ab olutely and unt ed field ; and it required far greater courage on the part of Rozie r

r S r In mode n aeronaut to sail thousands of feet kywa d. ’ proof of this is Rozier s subsequent record of ascents in r r s f ee balloons , and dange ous voyage , in the last of

which he lost his life . [ 236 ] and being first to teet it with a

e r. r r s nge On this last point , howeve , F ance

America by a few days. For while the craa making was at its height in France during r 8 r r sm of 7 3, a somewhat simila c aze on a

started in some of the American cities . T of the Philosophical Academy of Philadel] m co r ecu ho e and Hopkins , nst ucted a p forty - seven small bags inflated wi 28 car. r th sir to a On Novembe , as cent , this balloon was sent up ,

ll with the voya

hu lkill R r rm y ive , which so ala to descend quickly he punctu he came to the ground with with a dislocated

i ng balloon protection

e Chanm

re r for Inew co ds time and distance [ 237 ]

h mfromthe car and urned himover to the hauled i , t

this incident b a rumor which finall rew into a fix ed y , y g e in r r beli f F ance , that the young milita y student in ques tion was none other than the youthful Napoleon

n r c . ro Bo apa te , then a student at the A ademy Th ugh out the entire reign of the emperor this was the general belief and if it was deniedat all b Na oleon the denial , y p ,

a . . n was not made with due emph sis At St Hele a , r ror howeve , the captive empe finally stated definitely h he was not the hero of this esca ade who is now t at p , n uden b the amof known to have bee a st t y n e Chambon . ’ Nothing of importance came of Blanchard s first attemt at uidin a balloon with rudder and p g g wings , oarlike type were useles s for propulsion ; but neverthe balloon in which he proposed to steer himself across the o time a w En lish Channel. Bef re this s ill be remem g , bered everal balloons had crossed the Channel bu , s , t n none of themhad carried passe gers. On this voyage Blanchard ao o ed make the attemt p p s to p , taking with

efiries. r 1 8 r I On Janua y 7 , 7 5 , these two emba ked frmn the clifls of Dover a stron wind at the time settin , g g w to ard the French coast. Before their joumey was half completed they discovered that an insuficient amo unt of

v in the Channel se eral miles fromshore. To avert this [ 239 ] calamity they were obliged to throw out everything in “ ” — s r r r the car book , p ovisions , ancho s, opes , the wings r for of r that we e intended guiding , and also most thei e re garments . Th y we , indeed , about to cut loose the m ro n the car itself , and cli b into the sh uds, whe suddenly lo fresh current of air ri bal on , caught by a , began to se, and was wafted to a safe landing place . This t most daring exploit as yet performed by the aeronauts . more or less extended aerial voyages during the two years that had intervened since the invention of the first

l one r r . bal oon , no of them had been se iously inju ed

lar o ini n owin o he rtuna e o u o t t s e fo t res ults. p p p , g But the world was soon to learn that its first estimatmd the

i i he Mont olfi ba S nce the invent on of t g er llmn two r one w distinct schools of balloonists had a isen , of hich

r - air r ro favo ed the hot , and the othe the hyd gen balloon. By the advocates of the hot- air balloon it was claimed that the relativel small ex ense and the fa y p , ct that the balloonist could descend at any time and renew his supply of fuel , made t least for long-distance the hydrogen balloon it was shown that the hot-air balloon must be constructed much larger to obtain the the air for a comparatively

in r g in the g ate . In re ply t adm tes ointed out that a tin s nrk of electridt p y p y.

u not afiect tln hot-air a l which wo ld b l oon , might

clement of danger quite as grmt as tbat of the fire in

- tbe hot air balloons.

As an outmme of h di u Pih tre de Roeier t w sp m , the fir man ever to make an ascent ro osed to st , p p

attemt to m the Channel in a new- t e balloon a p yp ,

was supposed to repreeent the good qualitics of both

it and when finall comleted he and a comanion , y p p attemed to cross the Channel as had been dmre b pt , y

went well at first and tbe balloon was sevcral miles on

u n w ud enl the wind chan ed the balloon its jo r ey hen s d y g , was blown back over the heads of the anx ious watchers below and when a short distance r , inland , suddenly bu st into fim At first it descended with an oscillating

anv t shot downward strikin the earth with terrible c as, i , g

force the two occu ants bein killed. Thus the man , p g to make the first ascent in a balloon was also the first to

i Rozier himself seems to have lose his lfe. ex pected some smh ending to his voyagesmnd just before making his last ascent he re marked to a friend wh that , atever the “ one had h outcome, lived long enoug when one had ” h n added somet i g to humanity. t R z r n The fa e of o ie and his companion being k own, and the awful dangers ofballoon ascensions thus forcrbly ro r r b ught home , the e was a popula outcry against such

- V . v OL r t . r6 [ 24 1 ]

NAVIGATING THE AIR

r re r observations , and pa tly to imp ss the A abs with the a c superiority of Christian armies . A school of aeron uti s u u was established at Me don , and some fifty yo ng men ,

r r to . r swo n to sec ecy, assigned it Balloons we e con r e r difierent st ucted , t sted , and dist ibuted among the divisions of the arm and one of thes e was used for re y, connoitering the position of the Austrian forces just r of befo e the battle of Fleurus . In the course the day r two ascents we e made in this balloon , which was held a n captive by sever l thousand feet of cable . The seco d ’ r fire c the ascent d ew the of the enemy s annon , but ran e w r a g as too g e t and no harm was done . Mean r r r r while the F ench gene al , j ou dain , was fu nished most

R r r r re in The evolutiona y wa s we e also sponsible , l for ll r r . di ect y , the invention of the pa achute It wi be recalled that even as earl as the fifteenth centur y y, Ie onardo da Vinci had conceived the idea of a kind of parachute ; and that Blanchard had a spread - canvas arrangement to produce a similar efiect attached to some

. 1 r of his balloons It was not until 799, howeve , that

r Garnerin r invento , , having developed the idea in t ying to devise some means of escape from the fortress of r r r r Buda , Hunga y , whe e he was being kept prisone afte one of the battles in the North between the Revolution ar r r r y fo ces and the Aust ians and P ussians . Although he did not actually efiect his eseape in this dramatic r he finall rov h med in manne , y p ed t at he had not drea vain during his imprisonment by demonstrating the r r r enti e p acticality of the pa achute . [ 243]

G THE AIR

rally from it for something like a 1 80 r View In 9, howeve , a revived interest in attempts

worked b h nd and the nven or as said ha y a , i t w to ve been able to rise to a height of over fifty feet fromthe gmund “ ” moving in any desired direction. Thos e claims were not bm' ne out in fact but t , hey stimulated an interest in the possibilities of mechanical fli h and in the are chute which had never come in g e p , to o ular r it e s r p p favo desp e its succ s ful use by the invento , ’

Gamenn. fication of this device might be utilized in solving the robbmof aerial fli ht and in 1 8 an aeronaut lienr p g , 37 , y chi invented a new e in which ro s Ca ng, typ he p po ed to

r like a huge umb ella .

w do n . An unusual

r attempted to use it . Befo e

’ in s device and on the ver itself one of the news g , y day papers contained a long article by a leading authority on aemstafics reviewin the numerous r wh the , g easons y

M t vvould surel rove a failure . p y p [ 24s] Despite the protests of the majority of interested rs r n pe ons, howeve , Cocking and a companio named

Green made the ascent at the appointed time . After risin to a certain he ht the arachute was cast ofl g ig p , the ’ r car ai r r pa achute s cont ning the invento , while G een f remained in the balloon . Instead o sailing slowly r r r mchute r towa d the ea th , howeve , the p fell apidly,

violently as it descended , until finally when several hundred feet in the air Cockin was thrown from , g the car and dashed to ieces while the wreck of the ara p , p chute landed a few yards away . Thus the predictions ri r of the majo ty came t ue , although as we know now , the cause of the tragedy was due to faulty material rather F than the design of the machine . or the Arnerican r ra r am ae onaut , Wise , demonst ted a little late that p

could be used successfully.

As we have seen most of the fl in - machines attern , y g pt ed heretofore took for their model the bird with flapping u There were certain ersons however who ha wi p p , , d observed that this flapping movement was not w nfial

mrds and hawks were able to soar in an direction , y at

’ r t osition and construction of h bir fo e , hat shape, p , t e d s wing played quite as important a part as the flapping

and i 1 8 2 e v r n n ru t fl in n 4 th in ento , Henso , co st c ed a y g h vmmmm mmd ned mth h d g mo on and su orted the u ward m d th ti , pp by p p

air due to the forw d movement.

Ev r on will remember the M to ' fich a e y e fl

' l h flie ov mn of fluowir h unfi t e foroe of me e t g s a amd.

flight were mbe appfied mhrger mdfimpu cth l

“ ” an l ht and or nmfl fla article he rot If y ig flat , y n , w e , be ecwd ed s in a sfih l incfimd odfion mi my s r p . the same wiflnse on tbe air fiflthe flnoe ex erwd is ex

e when the article so thrown or ro ec ed will p nded , p j t mo will readil b conceived tln t if th d d ; and it y e e

NAVIGATIN G THE AIR

' ’ ’ ' overoormng the scruples of the marrner agarnst killing

- e r r r . remov the sacr d sea ove , shot one of the bi ds On ing a wing and spreading it in the wind he thought that

w n w wa re eze and tended to rise he the ind s r . the b , st ong Convinced that by duplicating the shape of the bird he

e fl n - r could construct a succ ssful yi g machine , Le B is set to work and succeeded in producing a most remarkable

The body of this machine , which was supposed to re s ond to the bod of the bird was made boat cor p y , h r n r shaped , and was about t i teen feet lo g and fou feet

‘ broadest at r wide , being its p ow , in imitation of the

r he r . r r r b east of t bi d The f ont pa t was decked ove ,

om how d r r - s ething like the of the mo e n to pedo boat , and through this deck protruded a small mast which was used for supporting the pulleys and cords used in working the machinery of the wings . Each wing was

twmt - five l r about y feet ong, so that the enti e spread of

h w - the machine was fifty feet. T ere as a tail like ru r for r st ctu e so hinged that it could be used stee ing up , r r r down , and sidewise , the total a ea of su face p esented to the atmosphere being something over two hundred “ ” r r r squa e feet , although the enti e albat oss weighed r something less than a hund ed pounds. The front edgos of the wings were made of pieces of n the ro s wood fashio ed like wings of the albat s , and feathers were imitated by a frame structure covered with canton flannel . The front edges of the wings could be given a rotary motion to fix themat any desired a ngle by an ingenious device worked by two levers. In [ 249] stand in the boat and control its flight by these sets of levers and by balancing his body .

to soar once it had been given an initial velocity , the captain selected a morning when a good bre eze blowing and hired a cart- driver to carry him out into izontally upon the cart and fastened to it with a rope which could be loosened by the pulling of a slip -knot

ai . held by the capt n , who took his position in the boat On reaching the open country the driver put his home r r rs ro n into a b isk t ot when , the leve cont lli g the wings bein set rose racefull into air and g , the machine g y the

r a r r manne bec me wound about the body of the d ive , r ro d hauling him unce emoniously f m his seat , and an lin himwrithin and r at the of the ro e g g g sh ieking end p ,

suficient counterbd ance weight was just to the wind , o that actin in the ca acit of the tail of s g p y a kite , he r u r i assisted mate ially, if invol nta ily , in keep ng the artificial bird in flight . When the captain became aware of what was going below he altered the an le of the win s and came on , g g

' ar e u accidmt slowly to the e th , d scending witho t a ther

melf or to his machine . All thin s consid r to hi s g e ed, r ar r r this was a em kable pe fo mance , and it was so con sidered r imo by people in the neighbo hood , who made a l

a r r. t howe v of the gall nt ma ine His next at empt, er, NAVIG ATING THE AIR

mh n n wron w h was less successful. So et i g we t g ith t e machine shortl after startin landin the inventor in a y g, g

n - rr abroken r sto e qua y with leg and a shatte ed machine . This accident also shook the coura e of the ca tain g p , and for several years he made no more attempts at

- i s . flight , confining his attention to sa ling a coasting ve sel “ ” r r r But his faith in his albat oss neve wave ed , even if r for 1 86 his cou age did a time , and in 7 he began build

tions. The outlook for this new device seemed very

re r ad u two hund d ya ds having been m e , when a s dden gust of wind catching up the machine one day during r r the momenta y absence of the invento , dashed it to pieces upon the ground. This was the final blow to the r r r at hopes of Captain Le B is , who made no fu the r r tempts , his means and his ene gies being enti ely exhausted .

“ ” crrrmru) m mm or A RIAL V A , E NA IG TION Meanwhile the advocates of the dirigible balloon had r to utilim not emained idle , many of them attempting the principle of the aeroplane in connection with a balloon . Some of thes e machines were of most fantastic

r Mr. iflard e r r G d sign , but one in pa ticula , that of Hen i , succeeded so well and oved to be diri ible to such an , pr g Giflard e re rr enthusi extent , that is sometim s fe ed to by “ ” astic admirers as the Fulton of aerial navigation . In balloon was not unlike some of the balloons built by

- Santos Dumont fifty years later. It had the now [ 251 1

NAVIGATIN G THE AIR

b r r r r structed y the noted Pa isian photog aphe Nada , in r of i rs 1 863. Nada belonged to the school av ato who opposed the principle of the balloon as against that of r r v the ae oplane , and his idea in const ucting this le iathan balloon was simply for the purpose of raising money so

r fl in - that he might build a p actical y g machine , con on aemlane r structed the p p inciple , and which , he de

clare d r air . Giant , would evolutionize navigation The , r r he said , would be the last balloon eve const ucted , as

r r air- r of one the eafte ships , made on the p inciple the he

to r r . was about const uct , would supplantballoons enti ely His plan was to make the ascent in the Giant fromsome ar n r ri m r l ge e closed field nea Pa s , and the ad ission p ice of one franc to be charged for entering the field was to supply funds for defraying the expense of building

In making the Giant twenty - one thousand yards of s l r r r i k we e used , the balloon being ove two hund ed feet

in height , witha lifting capacity of nine thousand pounds. l r It was bui t as a double balloon , one within the othe , this bein the idea of the ae ronaut Godard as a g , Louis , means of preserving the ex cess of gas produced by dila diflerent tion at altitudes , instead of losing this excess as was usual with balloons constructed in the ordinary r manner. But pe haps the most interes ting thing about r r car this balloon was the st uctu e of the and its contents . r r car ru r r Like the o dina y it was const cted of wicke wo k , r r i but was of the p opo tions of a small house , be ng built r r a r two sto ies high , with an uppe pl tfo m like the deck [ 2 53] THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE

n h of a shi o whic the assen er could stand. p, p g s In h two fioors below were a saloon r for t e , compa tments

h n ni of a small modern all e co ve ences . t , house In the car u r uns a rintin and suspended abo t it we e wheels , g , p g

re r e rr r- p ss, came as, cag s of ca ie pigeons , baskets of wine “ r e n of and p ovisions , gam s , and an abunda t supply

he first ascen was made fromthe Cham d Ma T t s e rs p , and twenty- five thousand persons paid the admission r fee to witness it . This did not by any means epresent r of r rr rs r the numbe pe sons on the field , as the ba ie we e

Fifteen ersons made the ascent u on this occasion p p , but instead of making a protracted voyage as intended a first the balloon was bro ht to the earth at nin t , ug e ’ h n w l from o clock in t e evening o ly a fe eagues Paris . It is said that this landing was made contrary to the shes of Nadar but in deference to the o inion of the wi , p r r r o Goda d b othe s , who believed that the ball on was ei carried out to sea whereas in oint d fact it was b ng , , p

d nt was made Three weeks later the secon asce , on

mand of Nadar whose osition was that of the mtain , p p of a shi on the hi h seas and whose authorlt none p g , y A set of rules overnin might presume to quos tion. g g the conduct of those on board and setting fa ' th ex plicitly the authority of the captain was posted in the [ 254 ] NAVIGATING THE AIR

h n the namre of some of these ivin a cue to the ca i , g g

“ For r ere t example , it was o d d hat Silence must be ” absoluw observed when ordered by the captain . “ ” “ r All gambling is expressly p ohibited . On landing

duly acquired fromthe captain . The ascent wa a ain successful the balloon travellin s g , g r r r r i in a no theaste ly di ection du ing the n ght , all the e rs r r pass nge emaining awake and ale t , having con h stantly in mind t e danger of falling into tbe sea. The following morning on descending to a lower altitude r l vo rs r th ough the c ouds , the yage found that they we e border of Ho n At this assin the lland ear the sea. p g , o p int an attempt was made to land , but a violent gale r n r e r r having a ise , the ancho cabl s we e b oken , and the car was dragged along the surface of the ground at nerrific r r air speed , st iking and ebounding into the , ra r r r r r d gging th ough ma shes and ive s, b uising and

h k h A h were whirlin the balloon or to c ec its fiig t. s t ey g across the country in this manner an immense forest n r r i came i to view di ectly in thei path, and bel eving that when this was reached every occupant of the car would e dashed to ieces a ainst the trees the decided to b p g , y anoiher th take their chances by leaping. One after ey umed strikin the earth and turnin over and over j p , g g ,

for n Mrs. r a car o ly female occup nt of the , Nada , was

Others received only slight bruises or a severe jolting [ 255 ]

NAVIGATING THE AIR

” Des pite the fact that the aviators - the aeronauts

r or are means in imitation of bi ds , by the use of what

n w f mhe ime of he first the balloo as inventcd, ro t t t Mon lfi t o er r r g balloon until ve y ecently , the balloonists

r r n guided unde favo able conditions , and can mai tain

tienl ro - r ae plane flying machine . Yet the majo ity of

e r n r r r th i co victions we e ve ified by actual demonst ation , machine that is heavier than the atmosphere and that

nl one l o y like y to solve the ques tion of aerial flight. Yet thus far balloons have rendered more actual service

o man fl - t than ying machines . It will be recalled that balloons were used for making and they were used for similar purposes in several of the Continental wars during the first half of the nineteenth

n r . r v r r r ce tu y Afte that time , howe e , inte est in thei use for this purpose flagged somewhat until the time of the Crimean War when their usefulness was a ain , g demonsu'ated as it was in h American Civil , t e War

m “ H 7 [ 2 57 ] THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE

But it was not until the Franco- Prussian War that Mon lfiers r the one thing for which the tgo had p edicted — their usefulness in warfare that of sending messages — out from a closely besieged city was put to practical r r G r test . Du ing the siege of Pa is by the e mans in

1 8 0 - 1 h r r bl communica 7 7 , w eneve y othe possi e means of 03 the r l tion had been cut , Pa isians sti l kept in com munication with the outside world by means of balloons

- rr r . r 2 rd r and ca ie pigeons On Septembe 3 , the fi st r Durouf ascent of the siege was made by the ae onaut , r r r ro who car ied a la ge numbe of despatches f m the city , r r r n air re landing nea Ev eux , afte bei g in the about th e i r r rs hours . The success of th s jou ney and seve al othe that quickly followed led the French Government to

r r - r establish a egula balloon post , and to unde take the manufacture of balloons for this purpose . The mere matter of balloon construction cherad no difficulty but a more serious one was met in the lack of experie nced

r . In r r rre ae onauts this eme gency , howeve , it occu d to r a r the autho ities that s ilo s , accustomed to climbing u k abo t at dizzy heights , might be taught to ta e the place r r of trained ae ronauts . This expe iment p oved most u e ri r successful , and in subseq ent voyages th se ma ne s for r maintained their reputation da ing undertakings. Between September and January sixty - four balloons r u all but whichfulfilledtheir mis on we e sent p, seven of d and delivered their despatches ; and the total number of persons leaving Paris in balloons during the dege them a total of nine tons of des patches and smoothing

[ 2 58 ] milos an hour to a max imumvelocityfin ons instance of

e r fl i h u r rang i e , with wh c they s cceeded in b inging down

ver l . h se al of the bal oons Companies of U lans, the w f c r G r r r s i test aval y of e many , scou ed the count y con stantl r y, and kept such a sha p lookout that , as the

balloons to make their way over them in daylight . r re e r r Night voyages , the efo , became nec ssa y , but natu all these were ex tremel dan erous and man of them y y g , y d dram c and ra c n of e ha ati t gi terminations. O e th longest and most famous of these voyages was that of ’ he l Ville d rléans r t bal oon named the O , which left Pa is

about midnight of November e4th. As a strong wind was r r blowing f om the no th at the time , it was hoped

that the balloon would descend in the vicinity of Tours . The first intimation that the voyagers had that there r t r was, a deviation f om his cou se was the sound of the

waves breaking against the shore beneath them . At this time the were in a thick mist and it was not until y , some time after daybreak that this mist cleare d away suficiently for them to get an idea of their surroundings . en r rr r r r Th they found , to thei ho o , that they we e ove r r out r a la ge body of wate , of sight of land , in what pa t r had of the wo ld they not the slightest idea . The r ri t r ro balloon appea ed to be d f ing apidly , and f m time r l i r r to time they passed ove vesse s , wh ch we e f antically

signaled by the voyagers. No notice was taken of these [ 259 ] the enthusiastic voyager was mt given in vaimfor most

hou h as has been seen the balloons sent out of Alt g , , r r r Paris were not of the di igible kind, and we e enti ely r e dependent upon the cap ice of the winds, th y fulfilled their missions quite as well as could be ex pected under a here wa small hance of cirmmstancss . 1n f ct t s c the ,

hrre startin as the did froma central oint and fai , g y p , being ahnost certain of succws no matter what dire ction aken indeed the one that wouldblow them was t , except, , h man n Bu he o her of over t e Ger fro tier. t t t part the

ent and so difiicult in fact it was never m , , , that acco

lished r e . p , although attempted seve al tim s But the millions of eo le in Paris shut ofi m p p , co

receive news as to send it . In attempting to es tablish

in the cit in the earl da s of the sie e carried w h g y y y g , it it some traineddogs in the hope thattheywouldmake their wa back to the cit throu h the German li y y g nes . But either the lost their wa or were ca turedb the enem y y, p y y, for nothing was ever heard of themafter starting on the u n In hi e m ret r trip. t s x tre ity the members of the “ ” Société Colombophile came forward with the ofier

h - of the use of t eir homing pigeons. The society had a hr e number of these birds trained re u h g , to t rn to t eir cotes fromlon distancas and the ex eriment of send g , p

[ 261 ] and within six teen hours after starting these had all re

r r e . ri tu ned to the capital , bea ing d spatches Du ng the r r re t next few days a sco e mo e pigeons we sen out , eigh teen of which re turned safely with their mes saga ; and

- r thereafter a regular pigeon post was o ganized . As the weight that a pigeon is able to carry in its

mor ed so a r c rr t to , that , lthough each bi d a ied only a r r e v single quill in which we e olled thin collodion l a es, f r the whole weighing only fi teen g ains , the amount of printed matter thus carried was sometimes more than is contained in an ordinary volume .

ra i t r - r By photog ph c methods , hi ty two thousand wo ds, r r r r or about half an o dina y volume , we e c owded upon a pellicule two inches long by one and one- quarter inches

r - r r r ! wide , and weighing about th ee qua te s of a g ain of s r r r or Twenty the e , ep esenting six thousand wo ds , twice the amount of printed matter contained in such a ’ ’ Ivanhoe or r Con uest o book as Scott s , P escott s q f

Mex ico r rr . bird rr , we e ca ied by each pigeon One ca ied forty thousand complete messages on a single trip . When the bird arrived at its cote the uill was secured , q r r and taken to the gove nment office , whe e the little r re r leaflets we e ca fully emoved , placed m an enlarging r ro r optical appa atus , th wn upon a sc een with a magic

r . r t lante n , and copied The messages we e hen dis he tributed to their destination about t city .

war r m oo By this , F ance , the ho e of the ball n , was brought keenly to realize the advantages and the limita [ 262 ] n fl in - s r tio s of such y g machine ; and it was but natu al , under the circumstances that as soon as eace was , p

' red eflorts ul be made there to roduce a r res to , sho d p di igi or r r d r fl in ble balloon , some othe fo m of i igible y g

c . iflard e r ma hine G , as we have se n , had been fai ly rn succes sful ; and now M . Dupuy de Lo e , chief naval

o r r of r t r . c nst ucto F ance , ook up the p oblem He con structed a balloon with a cigar- shaped envelope one

Beneath this was a rudder placed in the same position as that of a ship ; and suspended still further below was

r car - r - ro r a la ge fitted with a two bladed sc ew p pelle , r thirty feet in diameter. Manual labo was to be used for r r re r te tu ning this sc ew, two lays of fou men each r lieving each other at the wo k . An ascent was made in r r 1 8 2 r r car Feb ua y , 7 , with fou teen pe sons in the , who , or r r by w king in elays , demonst ated that a speed of about

tion in still air. As the wind was blowing about thirty l s r r r mi e an hou at the time , howeve , the cou se of the o l ball on cou d only be deflected , and the main object of — — the ascent the return to Paris could not be aecom ’

lished. r r p In sho t , De Lome s balloon demonst ated little more than had been accomplished by Gifiard with

- his steam driven balloon . Both had shown that with suficient power the balloon could be made to travel in r air r any di ection in still , but neithe had been able to r make headway against a st ong wind . It was estimated at the time of Dupuy de Lome ’s

had - rrs n ascent, that a steam engine of a weight co e po d in to that of the ei ht workmen been used at lea g g , st [ 263]

C W OO TWO FAMOU S FREN H AR BALL NS .

' ' fi r the d blc war ba loon La Patr c w c mancr uvered gu e l i . hi h boun ar of rancc and c was bown a o - ak n d y , whi h l l st t i g direction Arctic Sea

r r e r no expe ience as an ae onaut , volunt e ed to make an

At first it rose rapidly and appeared to be making good ro r s r n e p g e s against a st o g wind , but suddenly it stopp d , r i descended apidly , and was smashed to p eces , the aeronaut saving himself by jumping just before it lo d l he touched the ground. It deve pe ater that had r of n lost cont ol the machi e, simply because the machin fo r r ery was too complicated r a single ope ato to handle . r rr ae els for On discove ing this , He J g , confused the r moment , th ew open the valve , causing the balloon to r rs des cend too rapidly . Thus the f uit of yea of study in money res ulted in only about six minutes of actual

To most persons this experiment of the aluminum wo r balloon uld seem to have been a dismal failu e , but it was not so regarded by the advocates of the dirigible

. al r far balloon The flight of the b loon , to be su e , was from a succes s ; but this was attributed to improper management rather than to any inherent defect in the or r balloon itself, in the p inciple upon which it was

n r . r r co st ucted Instead of being discou aged , the e re s fo , the chool of balloonists , who had lost some of

of r k r machines Maxim and Langley, unde too , th ough r r r Z thei enthusiastic ep esentative , Count eppelin , the o tr n r e c ns uctio of the la g st , most expensive , and most r r carefully built dirigible balloon he etofo e constructed . This balloon was of proportions warranting the name “ ” - r- al of air ship . The great ciga shaped body was [ 265 ]

- r h m mere cockle shellsasco nparedwitht e Germ omter.

imortant of all with the new li ht etroleum- rs p , , g p moto electricity not having proved a success in aerial ex peri ments .

n emn o wh d m m va c e t and his N . so e ad , 3, ile a ecided i ~ rovement still came far short of answerin the re uire p , g q ments of a dirigible balloon. But the young ex peri

jured on occasion. About this time a prize of one hundred thousand w ofir D francs as e ed M. eu h w by tsch to t e aeronaut ho should ascend froma s ecified lace in a ark in Paris p p p , m r t of Eiflel r r r o ake the ci cui the Towe , and etu n t the

mturin r » p g this p ize as an additional incentive , Santos r of r Dumont began the const uction his fou th balloon ,

- the Santos Dumont N o. 4 . In this balloon everything but bare es sentials was sacrificed to li htness even the g , car being done away with , the aeronaut controlling the machinery and directing the [ 267 1

AN ENGLIS H DIRIGIBLE BALLOON . The photogrn it here reproduced gi ves a very vivid impres ion of the cum bersome natttrc otlihlla ms of this modem and u ests the difii ulties to e m type, s gg c b et in n e e w housi g th msaf ly hen not in use .

Dumont made use of a slidin wei ht and with this he g g ,

l h u h h ll on was a veritahle s . Thus a t o t is ha o its po ition , g “ ” balloon r r fl in - c ro er athe than a y g ma hine p p , it

re i of - r It lacked the qu site the flying machine , howeve , “ ” in that it was not many times heavier than the air.

with a tree in the Bois du Bo e an oficial attemt , p was made on October z th Above the heads of g , the a in thousand who to a man wished the darin g p g a , , g navi ator sucoes the balloon rounded the tower and g s, . ,

This voyage must be oonsidered as marlting an epoch

plished. A decided step forward in the conquest of the air ro r had been made , although f m a p actical standpoint

r . o this step was confessedly a sho t one For while N . 6 could be propelled in any direction under ordinary rr r on conditions , ca ying a single passenge , it was the

' han a cal l - whole more of a toy ship t practi saiing a aft. r e r r r for Neve thel ss , its pe fo mance was a decided victo y of whatever type had ever even approached the perform

- 6 of Scalar Dumont N o. rr a ance , which had ca ied man on a vo he air travelin with the wind yage in t , g , £969 3

mou se (1mmf rom) Armamrea D IRIOIBLE WAR as u oox s AND A

wnrcar annou n ce .

for the u oee of coman The above figures are introduced on one page p épm p can ba oon Is Ba win a r . find contrast. The Ameri ll the ld i ship racefulnemand mess of a h m4 han-air cra as con ra wi re a v g gh ft , t sted th the l ti e on. “ a ba n ce of the a ro an rs s r k n su s b t us rat mi e pl e . t i i gly gge ted y his ill t i

" ' ' l l But the i fli l that attend the management of sueh a craft when not l h in air were a ain vividl illnt edwhen in A r-il fig g y , p , r ro the Ze elin IL was totall wrecked while at g , pp , y anchor by the forcc of agale which itmight easily have it been the reach of ten estrial

to accomplish flight at more than a nominal rahe of speed ; r how the avia ors ex ected to fl natu ally enough , t p y with

than the air. In re l the av a r uld to ird p y, i to s co point b s is easily accomplished in nature ; while the balloonists could simmy point to their accomplished flights as

a r r accomishments neverthe to no p st eco ds of m , but less the had ood round for the faitbthat was in them y g g , and as we shall see were later to justify their theoris ractical demon by p stmtions.

ference in the liftin ower of still air and air in motion g p , and that this power is dependent upon velocity. The difierence between the pufi of wind that barely lifts a thin sheet of a er fromthe table and the tornado p p , that u roots trees and wrecks stone buildin s p g , is one v ir of i . a veloc ty Ob iously , then , moving is quite a dif ferent substance fromstill air when it comes to dealing w ith aeronautics. One of the most familiar examples of the lifting An power of moving air is that of the kite. ordinary kite is many times heavier than the air and has no

r same kite , if held by a string with its su faces inclined a certain an e to the wind at gl , will proportionate to the velocity of the — “mm w 5273!

h one second. It is evident that he would t us distribute his weight over the same amount of ice as if the cakes w f to eth ' in l i ere astened g a a so id p ece. “ ”

air rofs r . So it is with the , says P e so Langley Even the viewles s air posmes inertia ; it cannot be

it fromfallin several ards in he first second if the g y t , ship gocs fm' ward so that it runs or treads on thousands of such ortions in that time it will sink in ro ortion p , p p ately less degree ; sinh perhaps only through a frac

ing more than a fraction of an inch in a second by increasing the speed sufiiciently and giving the wrngs

And we h l s tl mi ht actuall rise . this as s a l see re en g y , p y, wha h fl n mhine f ir HiramMax im is just t t e yi g ac s o S and Professor Langley and of the Wright brothers

It was while making an important series of ex peri

’ the discovery which has since been known as Langley s ” a certain Law . In efiect this law is that while it takes strain to sustain a properly disposed weight while

[ 2 75 ] THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE

and contrar to the rules for land vehicles and shi s y p ,

e r r Pto inst ad of inc easing with the inc ease of speed . fessor Langley proved this remarkable fact with a most simple but ingenious device . It consisted of an “ ” r ri immense whi ling table , d ven by an engine , so

v to tra el at any speed up to seventy miles an hour. At the of this armsurfaces like win s end , disposed g r r two r placed , and whi led th ough the hund ed feet r r l r rt e ci cumfe ence , unti they we e suppo ed like kit s by the resistance of the air. A certain strain was of course necessar to su ort , , y pp one of these winglike structures when stationary in air r u e r r red the , but , cu iously eno gh , l ss st ain was equi when it was advanced rapidly . Thus a brass plate of

- r arm i ra out a pull out sp ing scale, the of wh ch was d wn

- until it reached the one pound mark . When the whirl ing table was rotated with increasing velocity the arm les s ls r n i n indicated and e s st ai , finally ind cating o ly an ounce when the eed of i rea sp a fly ng bird was ched. “ ” r air The b ass plate seemed to float on the , says “ r r and not but P ofesso Langley , only this , taking r r into conside ation both the st ain and the velocity , it

r the plate move fast than slow , a esult which seemed ver ex traordinar since in all methods of land y y, and more power: o than a slow one f r the same distance . [ 2 76 ] THE TRIUMPH OF THE AEROPLANE

he r r T se expe iments, which dest oyed the calcula ions of Newton lon held to be correct showed that t , g , r mechanical flight was at least theo etically possible , indicatingas it did that a weight of two hundred pounds could be moved through the air at ex press- train speed

r e w r r twenty pounds to the ho s po e , theo etically such an engine should support ten times its own weight in r r of ho izontal flight in an absolute calm. As a matte fact there is no such thing as an absolute calmin

r air- rr rr on natu e , cu ents being constantly sti ing even calmcs t r r the day, and this int oduces anothe element in

- attaining aerial flight that is an all important one . Indeed it has long been recognized that tbe mechanical power for flight is not the only requisite for flying there is bss ides the art of handlin tbat ower. , , g p

Those who have watched soaring birds sail for hours on rigidly extended wings will remember that r are r while there is no flying movement , the e ce tain t rr d h r to oflset u ex shif s of the g body, eit e some n

in which could not be hoped for in the same degree a ac mechanical device , and which man could hope to But in the nature of the case quire only by practice . man has little chance to learr this art of balancing in l 2 7 7 i

ri he was able to soar farther and far her in hi expe ence , t s birdlike machine in one fli ht sailin a distance , g g of conditions he could sail fro m a hilltop without the i run and at times he actuall ro h nitial , y se in t e air to a oint hi her than that fromwhich he t r p g s a ted. As was to be ex ected in the ver nature of the ca p y se , in maintaining his equilibrium and in acquiring the

of rd . faculty doing this instinctively , as a bi does But r r i r d he found , like the pe son lea n ng to i e a bicycle , that this was developed by repeated eflorts. The action of r ri the machine itself was ca efully studied , and va ous changss were made in his apparatus fromtime to time

to the edge of the wings ; and two smaller frames placed one above the other were tried in place of one large frame . And still the operator continued to make successful flights in all kinds of winds , sometimes nar rowl c r for r rs y es aping disaste , but th ee yea always r coming to the g ound safely . His confidence increased r ar r r day by day , and as his em kable pe fo mances multiplied it seemed as if it would only be a matter of time until he would be able to imitate the soaring bird and sail almost as he pleased.

and fur Httle to onc srde, and so describcd a c1rcle [ 281 3 THE CONQUEST OF TINIE AND SPACE

her ar ook of the motion of the lifti air around me l t p t ng , dire ct this motion ; but then it must be remembered that my chief object in the air is to overcome the ten ne r r or t de y of tu ning to the ight left , because I know tha n or r lies ro r behi d unde me the hill f m which I sta ted,

i r l - i allowed myself to attempt th s ci c e sa ling I have , r r ro r howeve , made up my mind , by means of eithe st nge or s r wind by flapping the wing , to get highe up and r r ro r fa the away f m the hills , so that sailing ound in r can ro n rre and ci cles , I follow the st ng, uplifti g cu nt ,

lete with safet a circle and lastl to come u a ainst p y , y p g ” the wind again to land . r r d t v r Befo e he was ea y to make this at empt , howe e , Lilienthal was killed by a fall caused by a treacherous gust of wind which tilted his machine beyond his con

thrown into despondency by the happening of the long —e for expected xpected , and yet not expected ; Lilien thal had made so many daring flights under so many r f l t ying conditions , always managing to alight sa e y , that a feeling of confidence had succeeded that of

r . It was almost like a bolt froma clear sk dist ust y , therefore , when the news was flashed around the world

that Lilienthal was no more . But science has never yet

r - been daunted by the fea of death . Like a well formed battle- line in which the place of the fallen is always r warriors cienti quickly filled , the e is always a st rwdy [ 282 ] THE TRIUMPH OF THE AEROPLANE

Lilienthal was one the work he had carried so far g , r uc rs towa d s cess was continued by othe , Chanute and “ r ri r r He ing, the Ame can soa ing men , and late se r r r w r to eclip d by the W ight b othe s , who e e finally

At the same time that Lilienthal was making his r r initial expe iments , anothe champion of the same school of aviators was achieving equally successful results

' diflerent r along somewhat , and yet on the whole , simila

e . Sir r r lin s Hi am Maxim , the invento of so many e r e d st uctive typ s of guns , was devoting much time and

d - energy to the construction of a ying machine . His r of r of appa atus was the ae oplane type , but unlike that or r r Lilienthal , Chanute , He ing , was to be p opelled by

- - steam driven scre w propellers . Nor was the apparatus he proposed to make a diminutive afiair weighing a few pounds and capable of lifting only the weight of a

man. His huge machine weighed in the neighbor hood of four tons and carried a steam- engine that developed some three hundred and sixty horse- power

r . n r in the sc ews It was two hu d ed feet in width , and mounted on a car rack alon which it was to be ru t , g n

into the air.

On ul r 1 8 this hu e machine started on a J y 3 , 94, g mtl s in carr in a crew of tluee ersons besides fuel p , y g p ,

wa er for the b r When a s eed of thirt - and t oile s. p y six [ 283]

’ t u m“ GEMS 0? TH E N ON OS LAN K TVP F .

’ U fi r the o - o lvr o ch r u a r an of M. Robrt Fa naul l l t . t M" ppe g e. e pl e e i

of DJ. . the ae ne m Bleriot Lower Vuln ropla , l t ine of tr c c fl s u urrc w l um mm hich n d no measure d -“ . A the bout-like machine shown in the upper figure unn i w lulwlty tim

M. lw b La amin the firs m m u 1 0 tn tl mm“ l y th t m( Jly . 0 0S v ’ n . fi v o m tw ! 0 M. as m l a d Blé riot a aeroplane nally de el ped l n W mo “M M. l w s tin t With its aid B é riot a t to m mllnh MD Channel (fromCal-is to Dover In al u m0

3 th r o . ctur : urn n mltwc 5 . q g These pi e p d

1 0 . 25th, 9 8

THE TRIUMPH OF THE AEROPLANE

c are wood , sometimes of steel and anvas , and between

The hull itself is formed of steel tubing ; the front portion is closed by a sheathing of metal which hides

r fire- r r u for n f om view the g ate and appa at s heati g, but allows us to see a little of the coils of the boiler and all of the relatively large smokestack in which it ends . There is a conical vessel in front which is simply an r n empty float , whose use is to keep the whole f om si king if it should fall in the water. “ This boiler supplies steam for an engine of be

w one - r - r fire t een and one half ho se powe , and , with its

r r . g ate , weighs a little ove five pounds This weight is i exclusive of that of the engine, which we ghs , with all - v r ix . its mo ing pa ts , but twenty s ounces Its duty is r r l r l w r to d ive the p opel e whee s , hich it does at ates r r 800 or n or r va ying f om to eve m e , tu ns a minute , the highest number being reached when the whole rs

r r r h The udde is of a shape ve y unlike that of a s ip, for it is adapted both for vertical and horizontal steer ing . The width of the wings from tip to tip is between r n twelve and thi teen feet , and the le gth of the whole

u . r r abo t sixteen feet The weight is nea ly thi ty pounds,

- of which about one fourth is contained in the machinery . The engine and boilers are constructed with an almost to r are single eye economy of weight , not of fo ce , and r a r ve y wasteful of ste m , of which they spend thei own h all r weight in five minutes . This steam mig t be econ densed and the water re - used by proper condensing [ 285 ] which I judged to be between eighty and one hundred the wheels cwsed umin and the feet in the air, t g, h r ro r sur mac ine , dep ived of the aid of p pelle s , to my r e p ise did not fall , but settled down so softly and g ntly r that it touched the wate without the least shock , and ” was in fact immediately ready for another trial. To er most p sons, even to the cautious and scientific r r r invento himself , the pe fo mance of this , and a second

hr eo uarters aerodrome which flew about t e q of a mile, seemed to show that the secret of aerial navigation was “ ” all . r but fathomed The wo ld , indeed , will be supine , Langley wrote a short time after the success of his “ fl n - i e not re yi g mach ne , if it do s alize that a new pos

” h highway overhead is soon to be opened. W at could r ? A c r r n be plaine ma hine of a ce tain const uctio ,

r excess of weight , had been able to fly a elatively long

s n r r rr r r a d times la ge , until it would ca y pe sons and ca go, and fly across an ocean or a confluent ? ro s r was ms P fe so Langley himself, as o t fitting, undertook the construction of such a man-carrying

ing mathematical law that the weight of such a machine increases as the cube of i m ts di ensions, whereas the ” wi u n surface inae ases as the s are. o g q In ther words, [ 287 1 rr ti confidently expected , ca ied with it re r of r m g at numbe hithe to enthusias , inclined to believe that the practical con was almost as far beyond out reach as i yond that of all preceding generath scientists were able to prove to their ow by long columns of figures and elaborate air uncon uerab calculations, that the is q But even as they labored and pron conclusions , two unknown men in a litt discarding all accepted theoretical cal! rare quality of practical application ar r e cou age , had accomplished the impos — and Orville Wright two names that m linked with those of Fulton and Ste] possibly on a higher plane as conquen — subtle element were at that very time in all directions at will through the air in [ 288]

until puu errtly they were able to put mevidence s

’ regarde d c harbrnger of a new era of civiliza ion t : mhufreij of these two brothers in the fasanaung ma r a l r brou ht homc their am f the ’ c e gyman , g use ‘f ment the little to known to scientists as a héhc ter y pp e, which w uated by twisted rubbers that dnve tmy

“A flutters through the air. toy so delicate lasmd only as the tell us we saw ha he cal M , t t t M y

h in tbe dark. Having set out with absolute faith in t e

ex erimt we cs t it all aside and decided to rel p , , y error were everywhere so intimately mined as to be

relimimr stud of books was not miss ent for hc p y y p , t y ave us a ood meral under andin of the subect g g g st g j , and enabled us at the outset to avoid eflort in many

ous stagos of achievement until in the fall of rmthey

familiar to everyone through the pictorial publications. Incidentally they had invented and constructed their

On December r th r o in the resence of a m 7 , o 3, p s all

Wri ht machine carr i one of the brothers made a g , y ng , plished in which a machine carrying a passerger had raised itself b its own ower sailed a certain distance y p , in free fli ht et subect o uidance and landed itself g , y j t g ,

Frank P. Lain . Th ee days h ter a me spectacuhr

aviator havin won the chief s eed contest in the lnter , g p

- of own r diflerin bu He used a bi plane his const uction , g t r r r little in des ign f om the W ight machine , but of ve y

r e - r r small size , and p opell dby an eight cylinde moto ,

’ Albany was made at three minutes after seven o clock ’ v r arrive d at Governor s Island New Yor and the a iato , k ’ r r Ha bo , at twelve o clock , having stopped twice on the way to ros t and take on fuel. The first stop was made near Pou hkee sie the second on the hei ts near the g p , gh r Hudson , within the bounds of New Yo k City . The r 1 2 the actual time of fli ht 2 distance cove ed 4 } miles , g , r s —an r u hou s and 54 minute , ave age speed of abo t arts h w r m fifty miles an hour. P of t e flight e e ade at a good deal better speed. The first part of the journey r u f om Albany to Po ghkeepsie , a distance of 74} miles, was covered 1 r 2 minutes or at a rate of mor in hou 3 , e than miles an hour. The minimum speed at ’ r - which Mr. Cu tiss bi plane could be maintained in air 0 r r the is about 4 miles an hou , the suppo ting sur of r 2 6 r face its main plane comp ising only 3 squa e feet , h and the weight of the mac ine complete , including

r 0 u . aviato , fuel , and oil , being 95 po nds The machine r r r uses a single p opelle , 7 feet in diamete , making re er n volutions p minute, and giving a pull , whe the c r on ro r ma hine is held stationa y the g und , of ove 300

0 r e 5 ho s power. A flight in some respects even more interesting than that o w e . Curtiss as accomplished in France on [ 297 ]

THE TRIUMPH OF THE AEROPLANE

of r l rs r l delay seve a hou , but the aviato was enab ed ’ to te- ascend at and to land at Governor s Island at the return journey having been accomplished r r of m at an ave age hou ly speed iles .

b Mr. Hamilt0n is a The machine used y Curtiss which in r closel the bi plane , most espects follows y l r r er mode of the o iginal W ight a oplane , but m which the function of the warping wings is fulfilled by two small or ai r wings , le ons, adjusted at each side between the

ar r . ai r fl l ge planes These le ons , being de ected in re i n opposite di ctions s multaneously , meet any te dency o of the machine to tip unduly . Whether r not this method of maintaining lateral stability is the same in principle as the Wright method of warping the large

" s e planes themselve , is a qu stion at issue between the inventors . From the purely scientific standpoint it would seem that one method is merely a modification of r i r i the othe , wh ch , howeve ingen ous in its application , introduces no new principle . ’

on Mr. On the same day which Hamilton s inter r t r r for u ban flight ook place , aMnew eco d altitude was r. . . r made at Indianapolis by W H B ookins , a pupil

r r r - of the W ights , who ose in the W ight bi plane to a h heig t of feet . The height was calculated by

r n r . r P eside t Lambe t of the St Louis Ae o Club , with the aid of a sex n Earlier n h ta t. m i t e sa e da Mr. y r had r B ookins isen about feet . It becomes in creasingly dificult for an aeroplane to rise to great r r r r heights owing to a efaction of the uppe atmosphe e , i r but the fl ghts of Paulhan and B ookins , as well as various unmeasured altitudes attained in cross-country [ 299 ]

that the Wright brothers themselves must always hold en in the history of scientific progre ss . The m who fly ro r r or r r f m New Yo k to San F ancisco , f om New Yo k to rr ou r London , will be ca ying t the wo k of the Dayton pioneers ; and no future accomplishment of the heavier portance with that first flight in the presence of wit

r 1 1 0 . r nesses made Decembe 7 , 9 3 Then and the e it succes sq so was y demonstrated that the last difficulty , far r r r as joining theo y and p actice was concemned , had r . r been maste ed Potentially, f om that mo ent , the conquest of the air was complete ; and the names of r r r r the conque o s as all the wo ld knows , and as th ough r r r out the futu e all must emembe ,

[ 30 1 ]

APPENDIX

CHAPTER II

r a ast r is from (pp. 77 The G e t E e n. The H M b r M Sir o C. . AM Ge e V M, y g

London, 1906.

CHAP TER III

As steted in the tex t the is froma lctter written to Thoa

Philoso hical So 1 p ciety in 789. (mmc

CHAPTER IV

MThe of r . 1 2 (pp 7 ,