DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHWAY TRAVEL MITMAN 667 



The idea of propelling oneself, however, remained, and in 1790 

 a Frenchman, de Sivrac, invented what he called a " Celerif ere ", 

 which consisted of a wooden bar supported on two wheels, one before 

 the other, and carrying a padded saddle. The machine was straddled 

 and propelled by striking the feet on the ground (like the child's 

 "kiddie kar " of today), but it could not be steered because both 

 front and rear wheels were rigidly attached to the bar. In 1818 

 Charles, Baron von Drais, patented in France a great improvement 

 on the " Celerif ere " by mounting the front wheel in a fork socketed 

 in the front end of the wooden bar thus making it possible to turn 

 the wheel, steer the machine, and balance oneself when in motion. 

 An added feature for comfort was a well-padded T-like support on 

 which the rider rested his elbows. This machine, known as the 

 " Draisine ", is generally regarded as the " ancestor of the bicycle." 

 It was introduced into England the same year of its invention, by a 

 coachmaker, Denis Johnson, who took out a British patent for it, 

 calling it a " Pedestrian Curricle ", and for a time the contraption 

 was quite popular for recreation, especially with young men, who 

 gave it such names as " Hobby Horse " and " Dandy Horse " and 

 who could speed along on the level at 10 miles an hour. The machine 

 was patented in the United States in 1819 but failed to arouse much 

 interest, and in England, to maintain interest, Johnson established 

 a riding school, but even this could not offset the increasing public 

 ridicule which soon brought about its demise. 



For 20 years, more or less, little or nothing is heard of hobby 

 horses, and then in 1839 or 1840 a Scotch blacksmith, Kirkpatrick 

 Macmillan, made the first improvement in the development of the 

 bicycle from the hobby horse by driving the rear wheel by cranks 

 and swinging levers and steering the front wheel by direct sloping 

 forks. The machine with its wooden frame and wheels with iron 

 tires was a practical success and was extensively copied by local 

 wheelwrights, but it did not enjoy much popularity. Macmillan 

 should be remembered, however, as having anticipated by 40 years 

 the rear-driving bicycle of today, although when pedals next ap- 

 peared following his invention, they were fitted to the front wheels. 



In Bar-le-Duc near Verdun, France, there stands a monument to 

 the memory of Pierre Michaux, who is believed to have been the first 

 person to suggest in 1861 or 1863 the fitting of cranks to the front 

 wheels of an old " draisine." This claim is disputed by the cham- 

 pions of another Frenchman, Pierre Lallement, who, it is asserted, 

 made the improvement about 1864 while working for Michaux, and 

 becoming dissatisfied with the latter's treatment, emigrated to the 

 United States, where on November 20, 1866, he received a patent for 

 the idea. At all events Michaux and his gon made and sold front- 



