A colorful account of Latta and his engine appears in William T. King’s “The American Steam Fire Engine.” Describing Latta in his workshop, King wrote: “It was a long, high room, the walls on the east side being hung with drawings of the engine. Beneath the drawings ran a long workbench, and at this stood a man; a very diminutive specimen of humanity, short and spare, stoop-shouldered, even to deformity. “He had a square, white-paper hat on his head, and was busy measuring something. While looking at him, the stranger saw that his head redeemed his poor body; for it was massive, and the eyes had in them the light of genius....” [Illustration: One of the most noted of the early steamers was “Manhattan No. 8.” In 1863 it was shipped from New York to London with a crew of men to compete in an international water-throwing contest.] After explaining the wonders of his invention, Latta is said to have told a visitor: “The trouble is that there is no certainty that this, or any other steam fire engine, will ever be allowed to work at a fire. You are probably not aware how bitter is the feeling of the volunteer firemen against this engine. They say it shall never throw a stream of water on a fire in this city; and I sometimes fear that I shall never live to see this grand idea brought into the service of the world. The recent riots here show what a mob can do in our city. My steps are dogged. Spies are continually on my track ... threatening me with all sorts of ills and evils unless I drop work on this engine and pronounce it a failure. “I’ll never give up! I’ll build it, and there are enough men in this city to see that it has a fair trial; and it shall have it. When it is finished, it will be heard from at the first fire, and woe to those who stand in its way.” As the date of the trial approached, the Cincinnati firemen were in ferment. It would never do to destroy the engine before the trial, they reasoned. On the other hand, if the trial proved successful, it would be equally risky to destroy the engine then. Consequently, a plan was formulated: make no demonstration of any kind at the trial, but—if the engine was a success—wait for its first appearance at the scene of a real blaze. Then wreck the engine and render equally useless anyone who contributed to its operation. [Illustration: In this photograph taken in 1909, a steamer is pulled past old Steele High School. The occasion was a parade which honored the Wright brothers.] The trial was a great success, exceeding even Latta’s highest hopes, and now the whole city waited for the first fire on which the “Uncle Joe Ross” would be used. They did not have to wait long. A few nights after the trial, a large warehouse broke into flames in the middle of the night. Historian King describes what followed: