THE STEAMBOAT 285 



appeared in the form of an oar projecting from the stern of 

 the boat. This type of rudder was used for many hundreds 

 of years. 



The best type of boat of ancient times was the Roman 

 galley. Some of the galleys of this time, about 100 A.D., 

 were 400 feet long. Oars were depended on chiefly for pro- 

 pelling the boat. In some of the large boats several hundred 

 rowers were employed. Sometimes there were three tiers 

 of oars, one above the other. 



During the next few centuries little progress was made in 

 boat building. Gradually less reliance was placed on oars 

 and more on sails, until the sails replaced the oars entirely ; 

 so that the boats of this time could be called sailing ships. 

 The rudder was improved and fastened to the boat and 

 worked by means of a tiller. 



About the middle of the thirteenth century the compass 

 was first used as a guide for steering the boat. Before this, 

 sailors had steered at night by the north star. In cloudy 

 weather they were easily lost. The use of the compass 

 enabled the sailors to undertake much longer journeys than 

 they had ever dared to try before. Without the aid of the 

 compass probably the New World would not have been dis- 

 covered at the time it was by the people of Europe. 



The first steamboat. The next great development was 

 the application of steam power to the propulsion of boats. 

 The first boat to be propelled by steam was made by an 

 American named James Ramsey. In 1786 this boat was 

 driven at the rate of five miles an hour. This was propelled 

 by means of a piston working in a cylinder. When the piston 

 was raised, the cylinder was filled with water, and when the 

 piston was pushed down the water was forced out, and the 

 reaction of this against the water in the river caused the 

 boat to move ahead. 



In 1787 another American, named John Fitch, made a 

 boat in which the oars were worked by a steam engine. A 



