[Illustration: Like the caretakers of the old hand pumpers, firemen who operated “bulljines” usually kept their equipment in immaculate condition. The steamer shown below has been fitted with a tarpaulin behind the front wheels to keep mud off the engine.] As had been the case in the era of the old hand pumpers, different companies vied for honors in decorative skill also. Ornate and costly scrollwork and platings appeared on the engines with increasing frequency. Terse mottoes which set forth the firemen’s creed, such as “We Do Save,” were beautifully lettered on the engines. Many a latter-day fire captain climbed his first rung to higher rank by proving to be a capable man with the brass polish in his days as a rookie fireman. The phrase, “All dressed up like a fire engine,” had its origin in the loving care given the steamers and the old “musheens” which preceded them. [Illustration: Residents of Detroit lined downtown streets on April 10, 1922, to witness the last run of this steam fire engine. Matched horses of high quality were not unusual during the heyday of the steamers.] Along with pay for firemen also came a more professional stature. The engineer of a steam fire engine in a well-respected company was a man of some standing, especially among the younger set. The American’s traditional love for machinery and for gadgets to make his work simpler found one of its most potent outlets in these glittering machines. A locomotive, its valve gear flashing as the engineer thundered past a Middle West whistle stop, was a stirring sight at any time, but it could hardly compare with the glamor inherent in the old fire engine. Here were all the wonders of steam with the added dramatic ingredients of danger and the fight against man’s eternal enemy, fire. It is not surprising that “running with the engine” became as popular a sport as the church socials or Saturday night band concerts that characterized America in the late 19th Century. During the heyday of the steamers, progress in fire-fighting was being made in other directions also. The first aerial ladder truck was perfected in 1870 and became popular following the famous Chicago fire of 1871. The aerial ladders were often called “big sticks,” and at first were raised by manual power. The water tower, which placed a powerful stream forty-five to sixty feet in the air, developed from a “hose elevator” constructed before the great Chicago fire and had a platform which could be raised or lowered. The water tower eventually became one of the fire-fighter’s most potent weapons.