﻿MECHANICAL 
  TRANSPOET 
  MITMAN 
  525 
  

  

  & 
  Watt 
  to 
  erect 
  their 
  pumping 
  engine 
  and 
  who, 
  Hke 
  Hornblower, 
  

   decided 
  to 
  stay 
  in 
  America. 
  With 
  the 
  Icnowledge 
  of 
  steam 
  engines 
  

   possessed 
  b}'^ 
  these 
  two 
  and 
  with 
  the 
  help 
  of 
  a 
  German, 
  named 
  Rohde, 
  

   who 
  could 
  make 
  castings, 
  Roosevelt 
  felt 
  pretty 
  confident 
  that 
  he 
  

   could 
  build 
  an 
  engine 
  for 
  Livingston's 
  boat. 
  And 
  so 
  he 
  did. 
  The 
  

   boat, 
  60 
  feet 
  long, 
  with 
  a 
  20-inch 
  cylinder 
  and 
  2-foot 
  stroke, 
  made 
  her 
  

   trial 
  trip 
  in 
  October, 
  1798, 
  but 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  successful 
  in 
  spite 
  of 
  the 
  

   fact 
  that 
  the 
  steam 
  engine 
  used 
  had 
  all 
  of 
  Watt's 
  wonderful 
  improve- 
  

   ments. 
  The 
  fault 
  lay 
  in 
  the 
  propelling 
  mechanism 
  suggested 
  by 
  

   Livingston. 
  The 
  next 
  year 
  another 
  experiment 
  was 
  tried, 
  this 
  time 
  

   from 
  a 
  plan 
  of 
  Stevens 
  for 
  a 
  set 
  of 
  paddles 
  in 
  the 
  stern 
  with 
  a 
  crank 
  

   motion, 
  driving 
  the 
  boat 
  forv/ard 
  as 
  they 
  rose 
  and 
  fell. 
  With 
  Small- 
  

   wood, 
  Rohde, 
  Hewitt, 
  and 
  Stevens 
  aboard, 
  the 
  boat 
  steamed 
  down 
  

   the 
  Passaic 
  River 
  from 
  Belleville 
  to 
  New 
  York 
  and 
  back, 
  but 
  the 
  

   mechanism 
  shook 
  the 
  boat 
  so 
  terrifically 
  that 
  this 
  plan 
  had 
  to 
  be 
  

   abandoned. 
  

  

  By 
  this 
  time 
  Livingston's 
  ardor 
  had 
  cooled 
  somewhat, 
  for 
  the 
  

   experiments 
  had 
  failed 
  to 
  meet 
  the 
  terms 
  of 
  the 
  franchise 
  granted 
  liim 
  

   by 
  New 
  York 
  State 
  relative 
  to 
  speed. 
  He 
  dropped 
  out 
  and 
  shortly 
  

   afterward 
  went 
  to 
  Paris 
  as 
  United 
  States 
  minister 
  to 
  France. 
  Stevens, 
  

   however, 
  was 
  more 
  determined 
  than 
  ever 
  to 
  solve 
  the 
  difficulties. 
  

   He 
  designed 
  and 
  built 
  a 
  rotary 
  steam 
  engine 
  to 
  be 
  used 
  with 
  a 
  screw 
  

   propeller. 
  He 
  placed 
  this 
  combination 
  in 
  a 
  Httle 
  25-foot 
  boat 
  in 
  the 
  

   summer 
  of 
  1802, 
  and 
  used 
  it 
  occasionally 
  in 
  crossing 
  the 
  Hudson 
  

   between 
  New 
  York 
  and 
  Hoboken. 
  About 
  this 
  boat 
  Stevens 
  wrote: 
  

   "She 
  occasionally 
  kept 
  going 
  until 
  cold 
  weather 
  stopped 
  us. 
  When 
  

   the 
  engine 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  best 
  of 
  order, 
  her 
  velocity 
  was 
  about 
  4 
  miles 
  

   an 
  hour." 
  The 
  engine, 
  while 
  very 
  simple, 
  was 
  hard 
  to 
  keep 
  steam- 
  

   tight. 
  That 
  winter 
  Stevens 
  resorted 
  again 
  to 
  the 
  reciprocating 
  engine. 
  

  

  Stevens 
  had 
  by 
  this 
  time 
  made 
  himself 
  probably 
  the 
  best 
  engineer 
  

   in 
  America. 
  Early 
  in 
  1802 
  he 
  designed, 
  built, 
  and 
  sold 
  to 
  the 
  Man- 
  

   hattan 
  Co., 
  proprietor 
  of 
  the 
  waterworks 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  City, 
  a 
  Watt 
  

   type 
  steam 
  engine 
  for 
  operating 
  the 
  water 
  pump 
  worked 
  up 
  to 
  that 
  

   time 
  by 
  horses. 
  Engine 
  and 
  pump 
  handled 
  500,000 
  gallons 
  of 
  water 
  

   every 
  24 
  hours. 
  Yet 
  his 
  studies 
  and 
  experiments 
  with 
  steam 
  extend- 
  

   ing 
  over 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  20 
  years 
  had 
  not 
  produced 
  a 
  really 
  successful 
  

   steamboat. 
  The 
  obstacle 
  consisted 
  undoubtedly 
  in 
  the 
  lack 
  of 
  tools 
  

   and 
  metal-working 
  equipment. 
  His 
  1802 
  experiment 
  showed 
  great 
  

   promise, 
  however, 
  and 
  in 
  1804 
  with 
  the 
  help 
  of 
  his 
  17-year-old 
  son 
  

   Robert, 
  he 
  launched 
  and 
  successfully 
  navigated 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  Harbor 
  

   the 
  first 
  twin-screw-propellered 
  steamboat, 
  operated 
  by 
  a 
  high- 
  

   pressure, 
  reciprocating 
  steam 
  engine 
  and 
  multitubular 
  boiler, 
  both 
  of 
  

   his 
  own 
  design. 
  The 
  boat 
  was 
  a 
  small 
  one, 
  hardly 
  more 
  than 
  25 
  feet 
  

   in 
  length. 
  In 
  its 
  trips 
  back 
  and 
  forth 
  across 
  the 
  Hudson 
  it 
  attracted 
  

   much 
  attention. 
  

  

  