﻿MECHANICAL 
  TEANSPOET 
  MITMAN 
  519 
  

  

  After 
  a 
  fourth 
  boat, 
  which 
  he 
  began 
  in 
  1791 
  and 
  appropriately- 
  

   named 
  Perseverance 
  was 
  almost 
  completely 
  destroyed 
  by 
  a 
  violent 
  

   storm 
  at 
  Philadelphia, 
  Fitch's 
  stockholders 
  became 
  totally 
  discouraged 
  

   and 
  declined 
  to 
  advance 
  any 
  more 
  money. 
  In 
  desperation 
  he 
  went 
  

   to 
  France, 
  but 
  in 
  spite 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  he 
  had 
  a 
  French 
  patent 
  for 
  

   his 
  steamboat 
  the 
  trip 
  proved 
  fruitless. 
  Working 
  his 
  way 
  as 
  a 
  common 
  

   sailor, 
  he 
  returned 
  to 
  Boston 
  destitute 
  and 
  worn. 
  A 
  brother-in-law 
  

   found 
  him 
  there, 
  brought 
  him 
  back 
  to 
  East 
  Windsor, 
  and 
  took 
  care 
  

   of 
  him 
  for 
  two 
  years 
  or 
  more. 
  

  

  While 
  a 
  surveyor 
  in 
  Kentucky, 
  Fitch 
  had 
  acquired 
  some 
  land 
  at 
  

   Bardstown 
  and 
  about 
  1797 
  he 
  decided 
  to 
  return 
  to 
  Kentucky 
  and 
  

   claim 
  it. 
  On 
  the 
  waj^ 
  he 
  stopped 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  long 
  enough 
  to 
  try 
  

   jast 
  once 
  more 
  to 
  arouse 
  interest 
  in 
  his 
  invention. 
  He 
  built 
  a 
  small 
  

   steamboat 
  capable 
  of 
  carrying 
  four 
  people 
  and 
  operated 
  it 
  on 
  Collect 
  

   Pond, 
  which 
  once 
  existed 
  just 
  off 
  Broadway 
  near 
  City 
  Hall. 
  Again 
  

   his 
  efforts 
  were 
  in 
  vain, 
  and 
  wholly 
  discouraged 
  he 
  moved 
  on 
  to 
  Ken- 
  

   tucky. 
  In 
  1798 
  he 
  died, 
  leaving 
  a 
  written 
  request 
  that 
  he 
  be 
  buried 
  on 
  

   the 
  shores 
  of 
  the 
  Ohio 
  so 
  that 
  he 
  might 
  repose 
  "where 
  the 
  song 
  of 
  the 
  

   boatmen 
  would 
  enliven 
  the 
  stillness 
  of 
  my 
  resting 
  place, 
  and 
  the 
  music 
  

   of 
  the 
  steam 
  engine 
  soothe 
  my 
  spirit." 
  

  

  Before 
  he 
  died 
  Fitch 
  prepared 
  his 
  own 
  memoir, 
  including 
  an 
  account 
  

   of 
  his 
  experiments 
  in 
  steam, 
  and 
  bequeathed 
  it 
  to 
  Franklin 
  Institute 
  

   at 
  Philadelphia. 
  It 
  is 
  the 
  writing 
  of 
  a 
  discouraged 
  man 
  whose 
  moods, 
  

   however, 
  fluctuated 
  as 
  he 
  went 
  along. 
  Near 
  the 
  beginning 
  he 
  wrote, 
  

   "I 
  know 
  of 
  nothing 
  so 
  perplexing 
  and 
  vexatious 
  to 
  a 
  man 
  of 
  feelings, 
  

   as 
  a 
  turbulent 
  Wife 
  and 
  Steam 
  Boat 
  building. 
  I 
  experienced 
  the 
  

   former 
  and 
  quit 
  in 
  season, 
  and 
  had 
  I 
  been 
  in 
  my 
  right 
  sences 
  I 
  should 
  

   undoubtedly 
  have 
  treated 
  the 
  latter 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  manner, 
  but 
  for 
  one 
  

   to 
  be 
  teised 
  with 
  Both, 
  he 
  must 
  be 
  looked 
  upon 
  as 
  the 
  most 
  unfor- 
  

   tunate 
  man 
  of 
  this 
  world." 
  He 
  closed 
  the 
  memoir 
  with 
  this, 
  "The 
  

   day 
  will 
  come 
  when 
  some 
  more 
  powerful 
  man 
  will 
  get 
  fame 
  and 
  riches 
  

   from 
  my 
  invention, 
  but 
  nobody 
  will 
  believe 
  that 
  poor 
  John 
  Fitch 
  can 
  

   do 
  anything 
  worthy 
  of 
  attention." 
  Just 
  nine 
  years 
  later 
  that 
  reward 
  

   came 
  to 
  Robert 
  Fulton. 
  

  

  JAMES 
  RUMSEY 
  

  

  The 
  history 
  of 
  invention 
  abounds 
  with 
  cases 
  in 
  which 
  an 
  inventor 
  

   publicly 
  presents 
  his 
  new 
  idea, 
  only 
  to 
  have 
  others 
  come 
  forward 
  with 
  

   claims 
  of 
  priority 
  to 
  the 
  invention. 
  In 
  most 
  cases 
  such 
  claims 
  have 
  

   turned 
  out 
  to 
  be 
  based 
  on 
  nothing 
  more 
  substantial 
  than 
  a 
  vague 
  idea. 
  

   James 
  Rumsey, 
  however, 
  publicly 
  demonstrated 
  his 
  independently 
  

   conceived 
  and 
  worked-out 
  idea 
  of 
  a 
  steamboat 
  on 
  December 
  3, 
  1787, 
  

   operating 
  it 
  on 
  the 
  Potomac 
  Ptiver 
  at 
  Shepardstown, 
  W. 
  Va. 
  This 
  

   was 
  just 
  a 
  little 
  over 
  three 
  months 
  after 
  Fitch 
  successfully 
  demon- 
  

   strated 
  his 
  Indian 
  paddle 
  steamboat 
  at 
  Philadelphia, 
  so 
  that 
  while 
  

  

  