University of Virginia Library

"The scenery at Harper's Ferry is, perhaps, the most singularly picturesque in
America. To attain the view here given, it was necessary to climb the Blue Ridge by
a narrow winding path immediately above the bank of the Potomac. The view from
this lofty summit amply repays the fatigue incurred by its ascent. The junction of the
two rivers is immediately beneath the spectator's feet; and his delighted eye, resting
first upon the beautiful and thriving village of Harper's Ferry, wanders over the wide
and woody plains, extending to the Alleghany mountains. President Jefferson, who has
given the name to a beautiful rock immediately above the village, has left a powerful
description of the scenery of Harper's Ferry. He says:

" `The passage of the Potomac through the Blue Ridge, is, perhaps, one of the most
stupendous scenes in nature. You stand on a very high point of land; on your right
comes up the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of a mountain a hundred miles
to seek a vent. On your left approaches the Potomac, in quest of a passage also; in
the moment of their junction, they rush together against the mountain, rend it asunder,
and pass off to the sea. The first glance of this scene hurries our senses into the opinion
that this earth has been created in time; that the mountains were formed first; that
the rivers began to flow afterwards; that in this place particularly, they have been dammed
up by the Blue Ridge of mountains, and have formed an ocean which filled the
whole valley; that, continuing to rise, they have at length broken over at this spot, and
have torn the mountain down from its summit to its base. The piles of rock on each
hand, particularly on the Shenandoah—the evident marks of their disrupture and avulsion
from their beds by the most powerful agents of nature, corroborate the impression.
But the distant finishing which nature has given to the picture, is of a very different
character; it is a true contrast to the foreground; it is as placid and delightful as that
is wild and tremendous; for the mountain being cloven asunder, she presents to your
eye, through the clefts, a small catch of smooth blue horizon, at an infinite distance in the
plain country, inviting you, as it were, from the riot and tumult warring around, to pass
through the breach and participate of the calm below. Here the eye ultimately composes
itself; and that way, too, the road happens actually to lead. You cross the Potomac
above the junction, pass along its side through the base of the mountain for three
miles, its terrible precipices hanging in fragments over you, and within about twenty
miles reach Fredericktown, and the fine country round that. This scene is worth a
voyage across the Atlantic; yet here, as in the neighborhood of the Natural Bridge,
are people who have passed their lives within half a dozen miles, and have never been
to survey these monuments of a war between rivers and mountains, which must have
shaken the earth itself to its centre.' "

There are many points of view from which the scenery appears romantic and beautiful.
Among these, that seen from Jefferson's Rock, which is on a hill overhanging the
town, is very fine. The top of this rock is flat, and nearly twelve feet square; its base,
which does not exceed five feet in width, rests upon the top of a larger rock; and its
height is about five feet. The whole mass is so nicely balanced, that the application of
a small force will cause it to vibrate considerably. On this rock once reposed another
rock, on which Mr. Jefferson, during a visit to this place, inscribed his name. In the
extraordinary political excitement of 1798-9, between the federal and the democratic
parties, a Capt. Henry, who was stationed here with some U. S. troops, at the head of a
band of his men hurled off the apex of this rock.

At Harper's Ferry, on the Maryland side, "there is said to be a wonderful likeness of
Washington in the stupendous rocks which overhang the Potomac. The nose, lips, and
chin are admirably formed, and bear the semblance of studied art. The forehead is
obscure; yet there is sufficient to give the mind a just idea of the noble form and dignified
carriage, with the mildness of feature, which the original possessed so pre-eminently
as to inspire all men with a profound reverence towards this august personage."

"Who invented the steamboat?" is a question which has occasioned much controversy—an
achievement of which nations, as well as individuals, have been covetous.

Several of the early experimenters in steam appear to have conceived of the idea.
The first account we have on the subject, is given in a work recently published in Spain,
containing original papers relating to the voyage of Columbus, said to have been preserved
in the royal archives at Samancas, and among the public papers of Catalonia,
and those of the secretary at war for the year 1543. This narrative states that "Blasco
de Garay, a sea-captain, exhibited to the emperor and king Charles V., in the year 1543,
an engine by which ships and vessels of the largest size could be propelled, even in a
calm, without the aid of oars or sails. Notwithstanding the opposition which this project
encountered, the emperor resolved that an experiment should be made, as in fact it
was, with success, in the harbor of Barcelona, on the 17th of June, 1543. Garay never
publicly exposed the construction of his engine; but it was observed, at the time of his
experiment, that it consisted of a large caldron, or vessel of boiling water, and a moveable
wheel attached to each side of the ship. The experiment was made on a ship of
209 tons, arrived from Calibre to discharge a cargo of wheat at Barcelona; it was
called the Trinity, and the captain's name was Peter de Scarza. By order of Charles
V., and the prince Philip the Second, his son, there were present at the time, Henry de
Toledo, the governor, Peter Cardona, the treasurer, Ravago, the vice-chancellor, Francis
Gralla, and many other persons of rank, both Castilians and Catalonians; and among
others, several sea-captains witnessed the operation—some in the vessel, and others on
the shore. The emperor and prince, and others with them, applauded the engine, and
especially the expertness with which the ship could be tacked. The treasurer, Ravago,
an enemy to the project, said it would move two leagues in three hours. It was very
complicated and expensive, and exposed to the constant danger of bursting the boiler.
The other commissioners affirmed, that the vessel could be tacked twice as quick as a
galley served by the common method, and that, at its slowest rate, it would move a
league in an hour. The exhibition being finished, Garay took from the ship his engine,
and having deposited the wood-work in the arsenal of Barcelona, kept the rest to himself.
Notwithstanding the difficulties and opposition thrown in the way by Ravago, the
invention was approved; and if the expedition in which Charles V. was then engaged
had not failed, it would undoubtedly have been favored by him. As it was, he raised
Garay to a higher station, gave him a sum of money (200,000 maravedies) as a present,
ordered all the expenses of the experiment to be paid out of the general treasury, and
conferred upon him other rewards."

The editor of the Franklin Journal, from which this extract has been made, observes,
"when the `Public Records' shall appear in an authentic form, their evidence must be
admitted; until then, he should not be inclined to commence the history of the invention
of the steamboat so far back as 1543. For, circumstantial as the account is, it seems
to have been written since the days of Fulton."

He is not alone in this opinion, as it is generally regarded as a mere fiction, the offspring
of an individual jealous of his country's reputation. This, too, it must be remembered,
is stated to have occurred 54 years previous to the birth of the Marquis of
Worcester, to whom history assigns the credit of being the original inventor of the
steam-engine. When we consider how slow is the progress of invention—how it took
several generations of ingenious men, each of whom successively contributed his share
in improving upon the first crude conception of Worcester, ere it could be successfully
applied—how rude the state of mechanic arts three centuries since, and the difficulties
of perfecting so complicated a work of mechanism as the steam-engine—it seems incredible
that one mind alone should have overcome them all, and, at a single leap, done that
which has taken the successive light and talent of generations of men, and all the mechanical
skill and knowledge of the 19th century, to consummate.

The most prominent and authentic account of the early projects of applying steam as
a motive power to the propelling of vessels, is given in a treatise printed in London in
1737, entitled "Description and draught of a new-invented machine, for carrying vessels
out of, or into any harbor, port, or river, against wind and tide, or in a calm: for
which his majesty George II. has granted letters patent for the sole benefit of the author,
for the space of 14 years; by Jonathan Hulls." The draught or drawing prefixed,
is a plate of a stout boat, with chimney smoking, a pair of wheels rigged out over each
side of the stern, moved by means of ropes passing around their outer rims; and to the
axis of these wheels are fixed six paddles to propel the boat. From the stern of the
boat a tow-line passes to the foremast of a two-decker, which the boat thus tows
through the water. There is no evidence that Hulls ever applied his conceptions to
practice.

Previous to the great and successful experiment of Fulton, in 1807, several attempts

were made in this country and in Europe, to navigate vessels by steam. The first in
order of time, was made by the subject of this sketch; the second was John Fitch, who,
in 1789, succeeded in propelling his steamboat by paddles, at the rate of eight miles an
hour, on the Delaware. In his autobiography he says, "I know of nothing so perplexing
and vexatious to a man of feelings, as a turbulent wife and steamboat building. I experienced
the former, and quit in season; and had I been in my right senses, I should undoubtedly
have treated the latter in the same manner. But for one man to be teased
with both, he must be looked upon as the most unfortunate man of this world." Fitch
died at Bardstown, Kentucky, about the year 1796. It was his wish to be buried on the
banks of the Ohio, that he might repose "where the song of the boatman would enliven
the stillness of his resting-place, and the music of the steam-engine sooth his spirit."
How melancholy is the sentiment found in his journal: "The day will come when
some more powerful man will get fame and riches from my invention; but nobody will
believe that poor John Fitch can do any thing worthy of attention." As early as 1783,
both Rumsey and Fitch had exhibited models to Gen. Washington.

Shortly after the experiment of Fitch, a Mr. Symington succeeded in propelling a
steamboat on the Clyde, in Scotland.

John Stevens, of Hoboken, commenced his experiments in 1797. With various
forms of vessels and machinery, he impelled boats at the rate of five or six miles an
hour. In the year 1797, Chancellor Livingston built a steamboat on the Hudson, and
he applied to the legislature of New York for an exclusive privilege. Being unable to
comply with the conditions of their grant—viz., that he should propel a vessel by steam
at the rate of three miles an hour, within a year—the project was, for a time, dropped.
He afterwards associated with Stevens, and being aided by Nicholas Rosevelt, they carried
on their experiments until Livingston was sent minister to France. Mr. Stevens
continued his experiments until several years later, when Mr. Livingston obtained a
renewal of the exclusive grant from the legislature of New York. Mr. Stevens, with
the assistance of his son, now applied himself with increased assiduity to the project,
and succeeded in 1807, only a few days later than Mr. Fulton's convincing experiment,
in propelling a steamboat at the required velocity. Mr. Fulton had, in 1803, made a
successful experiment upon the Seine, with a boat which moved at the rate of four miles
per hour.

Another of these indefatigable experimenters in navigation by steam, was Oliver Evans,
of Philadelphia, the inventor of the high-pressure steam-engine, the only one which can
be successfully applied to locomotives. "In the year 1804, Mr. Evans, by order of the
board of health of Philadelphia, constructed at his works, situated a mile and a half
from the water, a machine for cleaning docks. It consisted of a large flat, or scow,
with a steam-engine of the power of five horses on board, to work machinery in raising
the mud into scows. This was considered a fine opportunity to show the public that his
engine could propel both land and water conveyances. When the machine was finished,
he fixed, in a rough and temporary manner, wheels with wooden axletrees, and, of
course, under the influence of great friction. Although the whole weight was equal to
200 barrels of flour, yet his small engine propelled it up Market-st., and round the circle
to the water-works, where it was launched into the Schuylkill. A paddle-wheel was
then applied to its stern, and it thus sailed down that river to the Delaware, a distance
of 16 miles, leaving all vessels that were under sail at least half way, (the wind being
ahead,) in the presence of thousands of spectators—which he supposed would have convinced
them of the practicability of steamboats and steam-carriages. But no allowance
was made by the public for the disproportion of the engine to its load, nor for the
rough manner in which the machinery was fixed, or the great friction and ill form of the
boat; but it was supposed that this was the utmost it could perform. In 1802, Evans
built a steamboat to ply on the Mississippi between New Orleans and Natchez. The
boat being ready, a drought left it high and dry, and the steam-engine was placed temporarily
in a saw-mill. The mill was like to deprive some who sawed lumber of profitable
jobs; and, on the third attempt, it was burnt by incendiaries. Thus were the projectors
ruined, and a laudable attempt to establish steamboats on the Mississippi, three
or four years before Fulton's experiment, defeated."

James Rumsey, who is believed to be the first person that ever succeeded in propelling
a boat by steam, was a native of Maryland. When a young man, he removed to Shepherdstown,
where he devoted much of his time to mechanics.

He was, at one period of his life, engaged as a merchant in company with a Mr.

Orrick, at Bath, in Morgan county. In September, 1781, it appears from a letter of
his, now before us, that he was employed by the Potomac company, of which Washington
was a member, to improve the navigation of the Potomac River. In the summer
of the year 1783, he directed his attention to the subject of steamboats; and in the
autumn of 1784 succeeded in a private, but very imperfect experiment, in order to
test some of the principles of his invention. In the October session of that year, he
obtained the passage of an act from the Virginia Assembly, guarantying to him the exclusive
use of his invention in navigating the waters of that state, for the space of 10
years from date.[1] In January, 1785, he obtained a patent from the General Assembly
of Maryland, for navigating their waters. Through the whole of this year he was engaged
in working at his boat, but was not ready for a public trial until 1786, the year
following. In this experiment he was eminently successful. He succeeded in propelling
his boat, by steam alone, at Shepherdstown, against the current of the Potomac, at the
rate of four or five miles an hour.

There are now several persons living who were on board at this time: among these is
Mrs. Ann Baker, the mother-in-law of the late Gov. Gilmer. Washington, it is said,
was also among the passengers. In his correspondence, complied by Sparks, is a letter
to Rumsey, dated anterior to the public experiment in 1786, advising him to hasten the
construction of his boat, so as to prevent being forestalled by another individual, and to
convince the public of its practicability. Also, in a letter to Hugh Williamson, M. C.,
dated Mount Vernon, March 15th, 1785, Washington says, in alluding to Rumsey's
boat: "If a model of a thing, in miniature, is a just representation of a greater object in
practice, there is no doubt of the utility of the invention. A view of his model, with
the explanation, removed the principal doubt I ever had of the practicability of propelling
against a stream, by the aid of mechanical power; but as he wanted to avail himself
of my introduction of it to the public attention, I chose, previously, to see the actual
performance of the model in a descending stream, before I passed my certificate, and
having done so, all my doubts are satisfied."

While at Shepherdstown, Mr. Rumsey dwelt in a small log-house, now standing near
the town jail in the outskirts of the village. It is the same building represented in the
engraving. He was supplied with funds for the undertaking by his brother-in-law,
Charles Morrow, which proved the ruin of the latter. The boat was built upon the
banks of the Potomac, about half a mile above the town. She was called by the townspeople,
not the steamboat, but "the flying-boat;" and Mr. Rumsey himself received,
from the same source, the appellation of "Crazy Rumsey." There is a place upon the
banks of the Potomac, formerly called "Rumsey's Walk," where Rumsey was often
seen for hours walking to and fro, in deep meditation upon his favorite project. A portion
of the boiler of his boat is now in the possession of Alexander R. Boteler, Esq.,
of Shepherdstown, to whose kindness we are indebted for some of the facts in this article.

"Stuart's Anecdotes of the Steam-Engine," an English publication, thus describes
his boat:

"Rumsey's boat was about 50 feet in length, and was propelled by a pump worked
by a steam-engine, which forced a quantity of water up through the keel; the valve
was then shut by the return of the stroke, which at the same time forced the water
through a channel or pipe, a few inches square, (lying above or parallel to the kelson,)
out at the stern under the rudder, which had a less depth than usual, to permit the exit
of the water. The impetus of this water forced through the square channel against the
exterior water, acted as an impelling power upon the vessel. The reaction of the effluent
water propelled her at the rate above mentioned, when loaded with three tons in addition
to the weight of her engine, of about a third of a ton. The boiler was quite a
curiosity, holding no more than five gallons of water, and needing only a pint at a time.
The whole machinery did not occupy a space greater than that required for four barrels
of flour. The fuel consumed was not more than from four to six bushels of coal in
twelve hours. Rumsey's other project was to apply the power of a steam-engine to long
poles, which were to reach the bottom of the river, and by that means to push a boat
against a rapid current."

"After the experiment above alluded to, Rumsey being under the strong conviction
that skilful workmen and perfect machinery were alone wanting to the most perfect success,

and sensible that such could not be procured in America, resolved to go to England.
With slender means of his own, and aided, or rather mocked, by some timid and
unsteady patronage, he there resumed with untiring energy his great undertaking. He
proceeded to procure patents of the British government for steam navigation: these
patents bear date in the beginning of the year 1788. Several of his inventions, in one
modified form or another, are now in general use; as, for instance, the cylindrical boiler,
so superior to the old tub or still-boilers, in the presentation of fire surface, and capacity
for holding highly rarefied steam, is described, both single and combined, in his specifications,
and is identical in principle with the tub-boiler which he used in his Potomac
experiment.

"Difficulties and embarrassments of a pecuniary nature, and such as invariably obstruct
the progress of a new invention, attended him in England. He was often compelled
to abandon temporarily his main object, and turn his attention to something else,
in order to raise means to resume it. He undertook, with the same power, but by its
more judicious application, to produce higher results in several water-works, in all
which he succeeded, realizing thereby some reputation as well as funds to apply to his
favorite project.

"At another time, in order to avoid a London prison, and the delay, if not the defeat
of all his high hopes, he was compelled to transfer, at what he considered a ruinous
sacrifice, a large interest in his inventions,—a contract which entangled and embarrassed
him through life. Still, however, he struggled on, undismayed, and had constructed a
boat of about one hundred tons burden, and pushed forward his machinery so near to
the point of completion, as to be able to indicate a day not very distant for a public exhibition."[2]

Death, however, put an end to his career, in Liverpool, at a most flattering point in
his life, and under circumstances of the most touching character.

Rumsey had consented, at the suggestion of some gentlemen, to give a public exposition
of his projet, for the purpose of enlisting the patronage of the public in his behalf.
The evening came, and, to his astonishment, the hall was filled to overflowing with the
learning, and fashion, and beauty of Liverpool. He was overwhelmed at this unlooked-for
token of interest; and he seems to have been so conquered by his feelings, as to be
unequal to the occasion. He saw that his most ardent hopes were upon the eve of accomplishment,
and that the helping hand of power was to be extended to him in his
penury, and carry through in triumph the cherished object of his life. He arose to begin
his lecture—his agitation was observed by a gentleman, who handed him a glass of
water—he returned his thanks in a few incoherent sentences, sank in his chair, and
never spake more. He was seized with an apoplectic fit, and died within two days after.
Thus died poor Rumsey, another of those martyrs of civilization, of which those benefactors
of the human race who have labored in the department of mechanical invention
—whose works constitute the peculiar glory of our time—form so long a roll.

Rumsey had obtained the patronage of some enterprising individuals, and the boat he
constructed was set in motion after his death, on the Thames, in 1793.

A sharp controversy, at one time, existed between Rumsey and Fitch, as to the originality
of their respective inventions. Neither, however, can claim originality as to the
idea, as has been shown. The Hon. Robert Wickliffe, Sen., of Kentucky, in a communication
on this subject to the American Pioneer, (Vol. I., p. 34,) says that about the
year 1780, Fitch accidentally met Rumsey in Winchester, and imparted to him his idea
of propelling boats by steam. Admitting the fact, it proves nothing more than that
from Fitch, Rumsey derived the bare idea: the principles of their machinery were different.
Without deciding upon the respective merits of either, both certainly claim admiration
for their perseverance, as well as sympathy for their misfortunes.

Gen. William Darke was born in Pennsylvania, in 1736. When he was five years
of age, he removed with his parents to Virginia, within five miles of Shepherdstown.

THE SHANNONDALE SPRINGS.

This popular watering place is beautifully situated upon the Shenandoah river in Jefferson County. The establishment is shown on the right, and at the
distance of a few miles, the Blue Ridge appears.

He was gifted by nature with an herculean frame; his manners were rough; his mind
was strong, but uncultivated; and his disposition frank and fearless. In his 19th year,
he was with the Virginia provincials at Braddock's defeat. He then returned and continued
engaged in agricultural pursuits. When the revolutionary war broke out, he
joined the American army. He was taken prisoner at Germantown, and remained so
until Nov. 1, 1780. In the succeeding spring he repaired to Winchester to recruit his
regiment. He was colonel-commandant of the Hampshire and Berkeley regiments at
the siege of York, and nobly sustained the character he had previously won for bravery
and heroic daring. After the war he returned to agriculture. He was chosen, with
Gen. Stevens, to represent Berkeley county in the Virginia convention of 1788, and
voted for the federal constitution. Subsequently, he was repeatedly elected to the legislature.
At St. Clair's defeat, Col. Darke commanded the left wing of the army. When
the Indians were making their most desperate onsets, and the whites were falling in
heaps before his eyes, St. Clair at this crisis ordered Darke to charge with the bayonet,
who drove the enemy from his position with his usual gallantry, but, for want of riflemen,
could not continue the pursuit. The Indians again penetrated to the camp;
Darke, assisted by Butler and Clarke, made a second charge, with success—recovered
the artillery, and drove the enemy before them. But these exertions were not sustained,
so that a concentrated effort could not be made, and the loss of officers increased every
moment. Among these was Capt. Joseph Darke, his youngest son, who was mortally
wounded. His father saw him fall, paused for a moment, and then rushed to the contest.
The retreat soon commenced, and Darke arrived that evening at Fort Jefferson,
distant 30 miles, with his son on a horse-litter, although he himself was wounded in the
thigh, and liable to be overtaken and slain. A council of war was held at Fort Jefferson,
and Darke urged the expediency of an immediate attack, and contended that the
Indians might be beaten, because they were flushed with victory and unprepared for the
contest. But he was overruled. Darke died Nov. 20th, 1801.

The late Dr. De Butts analyzed the Shannondale water in 1821. An examination
was made from a quantity of the solid contents of both springs, obtained by evaporation.
One hundred grains from the principal fountain afforded the following results:—
sulphate of lime, 63; carbonate of lime, 10.5; sulphate of magnesia, (epsom salt,) 23.5;
muriate of magnesia, 1; muriate of soda, 1; sulphate of iron, 0.3; carbonate of iron,
0.7. Gaseous contents:—sulphureted hydrogen, quantity not ascertained; carbonic
acid, quantity not ascertained. Solid contents: 30 grains to the pint. Temperature: 55° of Fehrenheit.

Conformably to the preceding analysis, the Shannondale water may be properly classed
with the Saline Chalybeates, a combination of the most valuable description in the
whole range of mineral waters, and closely resembling the celebrated Bedford waters in
composition, operation, and efficacy.