﻿522 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  192 
  9 
  

  

  Joseph 
  Barns, 
  to 
  help 
  him. 
  He 
  felt 
  too, 
  that 
  now 
  more 
  than 
  ever 
  

   before 
  it 
  was 
  imperative 
  to 
  do 
  everything 
  in 
  secret, 
  and 
  having 
  obtained 
  

   Barns' 
  cooperation 
  in 
  this, 
  the 
  latter 
  was 
  set 
  to 
  work 
  building 
  the 
  boat. 
  

   When 
  it 
  was 
  completed 
  in 
  September, 
  Rumsey 
  sent 
  him 
  to 
  Baltimore 
  

   and 
  Frederickstown, 
  Md., 
  to 
  have 
  the 
  steam 
  cylinder, 
  boiler, 
  and 
  other 
  

   machine 
  parts 
  cast 
  and 
  made. 
  By 
  the 
  time 
  these 
  were 
  completed 
  win- 
  

   ter 
  had 
  set 
  in 
  forcing 
  the 
  temporary 
  abandonment 
  of 
  the 
  work. 
  

  

  Evidently 
  Rumsey 
  wrote 
  to 
  Washington 
  from 
  time 
  to 
  time 
  telling 
  

   him 
  of 
  his 
  progress. 
  Like 
  Fitch, 
  he 
  had 
  no 
  money 
  to 
  speak 
  of, 
  but 
  

   with 
  Washington's 
  indorsement 
  of 
  his 
  project 
  he 
  believed 
  that 
  obtain- 
  

   ing 
  funds 
  would 
  be 
  the 
  least 
  of 
  his 
  troubles. 
  Washington 
  gave 
  him 
  

   a 
  real 
  scare 
  in 
  a 
  letter 
  written 
  in 
  January, 
  1786. 
  After 
  advising 
  him 
  

   to 
  place 
  his 
  boat 
  before 
  the 
  public 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  possible, 
  he 
  told 
  Rumsey 
  

   that 
  "many 
  people, 
  in 
  guessing 
  at 
  your 
  plans, 
  have 
  come 
  verj^ 
  near 
  

   the 
  truth, 
  and 
  one 
  who 
  has 
  something 
  of 
  a 
  similar 
  nature 
  to 
  offer 
  to 
  

   the 
  public, 
  wanted 
  a 
  certificate 
  from 
  me 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  different 
  from 
  

   yours." 
  Rumsey 
  felt 
  sure 
  that 
  the 
  person 
  referred 
  to 
  was 
  Fitch. 
  

  

  Soon 
  after 
  the 
  ice 
  Vv^ent 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  Rumsey 
  and 
  

   Barns 
  secretly 
  tried 
  out 
  the 
  new 
  boat, 
  but 
  so 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  machine 
  

   parts 
  were 
  defective 
  that 
  the 
  experiment 
  failed. 
  Throughout 
  that 
  

   year 
  they 
  worked 
  on 
  it, 
  changing 
  the 
  machinery, 
  devising 
  a 
  new 
  

   boiler, 
  and 
  trying 
  out 
  other 
  ideas 
  that 
  came 
  to 
  them. 
  Another 
  secret 
  

   trial 
  was 
  made 
  in 
  December, 
  1786, 
  but 
  no 
  better 
  results 
  were 
  obtained 
  

   and 
  then, 
  to 
  cap 
  the 
  climax, 
  one 
  December 
  night 
  drifting 
  ice 
  carried 
  

   the 
  boat 
  away. 
  Rumsey 
  recovered 
  it 
  but 
  both 
  boat 
  and 
  machinerj;^ 
  

   had 
  suffered 
  such 
  damage 
  that 
  they 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  gotten 
  ready 
  for 
  

   another 
  trial 
  before 
  September, 
  1787. 
  This 
  time 
  the 
  boat 
  moved 
  

   by 
  the 
  force 
  of 
  steam 
  against 
  the 
  river 
  current 
  with 
  a 
  speed 
  of 
  about 
  

   2 
  miles 
  an 
  hour. 
  Though 
  the 
  machinery 
  proved 
  far 
  from 
  satisfactory, 
  

   Rumsey 
  took 
  great 
  encouragement. 
  With 
  Barns' 
  help 
  he 
  put 
  the 
  

   machinery 
  into 
  the 
  best 
  possible 
  shape 
  and 
  staged 
  a 
  public 
  demonstra- 
  

   tion 
  on 
  December 
  3, 
  1787. 
  This 
  turned 
  out 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  best 
  trial 
  made. 
  

   It 
  gave 
  the 
  people 
  from 
  Bath 
  and 
  Shepardstown 
  their 
  first 
  opportunity 
  

   to 
  see 
  what 
  Rumsey 
  had 
  been 
  doing. 
  

  

  As 
  mentioned 
  earlier, 
  the 
  boat 
  was 
  moved 
  by 
  forcing 
  water 
  out 
  of 
  

   the 
  stern. 
  Rumsey 
  's 
  outfit 
  to 
  do 
  this 
  consisted 
  of 
  a 
  steam 
  boiler, 
  a 
  

   cylinder, 
  and 
  a 
  pump, 
  all 
  in 
  the 
  forward 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  boat, 
  the 
  boiler 
  

   nearest 
  the 
  bow. 
  The 
  cylinder 
  and 
  pump 
  were 
  bolted 
  together, 
  one 
  

   on 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  — 
  the 
  pump 
  underneath 
  — 
  with 
  the 
  pump 
  plunger 
  

   and 
  piston 
  having 
  a 
  common 
  rod. 
  Steam 
  was 
  used 
  only 
  in 
  the 
  cylinder 
  

   under 
  the 
  piston 
  where 
  it 
  was 
  treated 
  the 
  Newcomen 
  way, 
  making 
  an 
  

   atmospheric 
  steam 
  engine. 
  The 
  pump 
  had 
  two 
  openings, 
  one 
  to 
  

   admit 
  river 
  water 
  through 
  a 
  pipe 
  coming 
  up 
  through 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  

   the 
  boat, 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  connected 
  to 
  a 
  pipe 
  or 
  "trunk," 
  as 
  Rumsey 
  

   called 
  it, 
  running 
  back 
  along 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  boat 
  through 
  the 
  stern. 
  

  

  