210 
Steam Engine, 
erful steam engine than any in use. These gentlemen 
were the only persons who had such confidence, or afford- 
ed me such advice. I also communicated my plans to 
B. H, Latrobcy esq. at the same time ; who publicly pro-^ 
nounced them chimerical, and attempted to demonstrate 
the absurdity of my principles, in his report to the Philo- 
sophical society of Pennsylvania^ on steam engines ; in 
which same report he also attempts to shew the impossi- 
bility of making steam boats useful, on account of the 
weight of the engine ; and I was one of the persons allud- 
ed to, as being seized with the steam mania^ conceiving 
that wagons and boats could be propelled by steam en- 
gines. The liberality of the members of the society caused 
them to reject that part of his report which he designed as 
demonstrative of the absurdity of my principles ; saying 
they had no right to set up their opinion as a stumbling 
block in the road of any exertions to make a discovery. 
They said, I might produce something useful, and order- 
ed it to be stricken out. What a pity they did not also re- 
ject his demonstrations respecting steam boats ! for not- 
withstanding them, they have run, are now running, and 
will run : so has my engine and all its principles, com- 
pletely succeeded — and so will land carriages, as soon as 
these principles are applied to them, as explained to the 
legislature of Maryland^ in 1787, and to others long be- 
fore. 
In consequence of the determination above alluded to, 
1 hired hands and went to work to make a steam wagon, 
and had made considerable progress in the undertaking, 
%vhen the thought struck me that as my steam engine was 
entirely different in form as well as in its principles from 
all others in use, that I could get a patent for it, and ap- 
ply it to mills more profitably than to wagons ; for until 
now I apprehended that as steam mills had been used in 
England, I could only obtain a patent for wagons and 
