THE HIGHWAY OF THE WATERS 



known for years. Yet this does not detract from the 

 glory of Fulton, who first combined this scattered 

 knowledge in a practical way, and demonstrated the 

 practicality beyond question. 



SEA-GOING STEAMSHIPS 



The first war steamer and ocean steamer ever at- 

 tempted was built by Fulton, in 1813. It was called 

 the Demolgos, and was not a practical success, and 

 made no attempts to take protracted ocean voyages. 

 The first steamship to cross was the Savannah in 1819. 

 She made the voyage from Savannah to Liverpool in 

 twenty-five days, using her paddle-wheels part of the 

 time, but at other times depending entirely upon her 

 sails. She was a boat of three hundred and fifty tons, 

 and her paddle-wheels were arranged so that they 

 could be hauled in upon the deck and stowed away in 

 bad weather. 



Following the Savannah several similar combination 

 sailing and steam-propelled boats were constructed, 

 the navigators coming to have more and more faith in 

 the possibilities of steam, so that less sail was carried. 

 These vessels continued to reduce the time of the pas- 

 sage between Europe and America, until the voyage 

 had been made in about seventeen days. Then, in 

 1838, two vessels, the Sirius and the Great Western j for 

 the first time using steam alone as motive power, made 

 record voyages, the Great Western crossing in twelve 

 days, seven and a half hours. This was considered re- 

 markable time — an average speed of over two hundred 



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