THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE 



son, attracted by the appearance of a strange, dark- 

 looking craft which was slowly making its way up the 

 river. Some imagined it to be a sea-monster, while 

 others did not hesitate to express their belief that it 

 was a sign of the approaching Judgment. What seemed 

 strange in the vessel was the substitution of lofty and 

 straight black smoke-pipes, rising from the deck, in- 

 stead of the gracefully tapered masts that commonly 

 stood on the vessels navigating the stream; and, in 

 place of spars and rigging, the curious play of the 

 working-beam and pistons, and the slow turning and 

 splashing of the huge, naked paddle-wheels, met the 

 astonished gaze. The dense clouds of smoke as they 

 rose wave upon wave, added still more to the wonder- 

 ment of the rustics. 



"This strange looking craft was the Clermont, on her 

 trial trip to Albany. On her return-trip the curiosity 

 she excited was scarcely less intense — ^the whole coun- 

 try talked of nothing but the sea-monster, belching fire 

 and smoke. The fishermen became terrified and 

 rowed homewards, and they saw nothing but destruc- 

 tion devastating their fishing grounds; whilst the 

 wreaths of black vapor, and rushing noise of the paddle- 

 wheels, foaming with the stirred-up water, produced 

 great excitement among the boatmen." 



While acknowledging fully Fulton's right to the 

 claim of being "the father of steam navigation," as 

 he has been called, there is no evidence to show that 

 he introduced any new principle or discovery in his 

 application of steam to the Clermont. The boiler, 

 engine, paddle-wheel — every part of the boat had been 



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