FIRST VOYAGE OF THE _CLERMONT_ 138 CHAPTER XV STEAMBOATS AND SUBMARINES 155 CHAPTER XVI FERRY-BOATS AND RIVER-BOATS 172 CHAPTER XVII FULTON’S HOME AND FULTON’S HONORS 183 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ROBERT FULTON _Frontispiece_ FACING PAGE ROBERT FULTON’S BIRTHPLACE 8 THE BUILDING FORMERLY OCCUPIED BY CALEB JOHNSON’S SCHOOL 34 THE WASHWOMAN; FULTON’S EARLIEST KNOWN DRAWING 54 THE FULTON MEDAL 134 THE WIFE AND TWO OF THE CHILDREN OF ROBERT FULTON 184 A child of Lancaster, upon this land Here was he born by Conowingo’s shade; Along these banks our youthful Fulton strayed Dreaming of Art. Then Science touched his hand, Leading him onward, when, beneath her wand, Wonders appeared that never more shall fade: He triumphed o’er the Winds and swiftly made The giant, Steam, subservient to command. How soft the sunlight lies upon the lea Around his home, where boyhood days were sped! These checkered shadows on the fading grass Symbol his fortunes, as they fleeting pass: “He did mankind a service,”—could there be A tribute more ennobling to the dead! LLOYD MIFFLIN. ROBERT FULTON CHAPTER I AN OLD-TIME FOURTH OF JULY American Independence was young in 1778,—only two years old. The patriotism awakened by the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia was active as this second anniversary of our nation’s birth approached, and sturdy Pennsylvanians, glad of our country’s freedom from English rule, planned a Fourth of July celebration. In Lancaster, less than seventy miles from Philadelphia, the wise men of the town council foresaw waste and tumult if the young patriots carried out the programme they had arranged. Upon the first day of July the Council discussed the matter and passed this resolution, which they publicly posted: “The Excessive Heat of the Weather, the Present Scarcity of Candles, and Other Considerations, Induce the Council to Recommend to the Inhabitants to Forbear Illuminating the City on Saturday Evening Next, July 4th. “By Order, “TIMOTHY MATLACK, Secretary.” We can imagine the disappointment of the Lancaster boys when they read this notice. Angry groups around the sign-board evinced their displeasure, and some of the bolder ones declared that they would light their candles anyway!