298 



The Atlantic 



another steamboat which again had unusual features. He had discov- 

 ered that a single screw caused his vessel to turn, so in the vessel of 

 1804 he used a twin screw drive. He also carried a steam pressure of 

 fifty pounds per square inch. Stevens was ahead of his time. Despite 

 the fact that his vessels operated effectively, paddle wheels became the 

 fashion and it was not until 1836 that the Swedish-American inventor 

 Ericsson reintroduced the idea of the screw propeller and brought it 

 into some practical use. 



In the same year that Stevens produced his first steamer in America, 

 a paddle tug named the Charlotte Dundas was built in Scotland and 

 operated on the Forth and Clyde Canal. It succeeded in drawing two 

 loaded barges, and in six hours of travel covered 19^/^ miles. 



So far all the steam vessels had succeeded simply in demonstrating 

 that an engine could be made to propel some kind of a vessel. Nobody 

 yet had demonstrated that such a vessel was capable of regular and 

 profitable operation. This was left for an American named Robert 

 Fulton. 



Fulton did not invent the steamboat, but he and his partner, the 

 American statesman Livingston, were practical businessmen. They had 

 the foresight to secure from the New York Legislature a monopoly to 

 operate steamboats in New York waters, and had this monopoly 

 extended from time to time until they could produce a practical ves- 

 sel. They ordered a hull built in this country and had a boiler and 

 engine built by Boulton and Watt in Scotland. The resulting vessel 

 was christened the Clermont, using the name of Livingston's estate 

 on the Hudson. On August 9, 1807, she commenced operation be- 

 tween New York and Albany covering the distance of about 150 

 miles in thirty-two hours. Whenever the wind was favorable the Cler- 

 mont depended on her sails as well as her engine power. The Cler- 

 mont attracted passengers and was the first demonstration that a 

 steamer could operate regularly and profitably. 



Fulton's monopoly had one unexpected result. Stevens had built 

 in New York waters a vessel named the Robert L. Stevens. Like all 

 the ships of her time she was designed to operate on rivers and other 

 quiet waters, but the monopoly made this impossible so that it was 

 decided she would operate on the river from Philadelphia. Therefore 

 in 1808, during a spell of suitable weather, she ventured to sea and 

 made the passage from port to port. 



It was not until 1815 that two Scotch steamers ventured on sea pas- 

 sages. Both were built in Glasgow. The Elizabeth made the run from 

 Glasgow to Liverpool and the Thames made the run from Glasgow 



