USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > The history of Erie County, Pennsylvania, from its first settlement > Part 11
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The Erie and Northeast being laid according to agreement, a six-foot track compelled two changes of all freight and travel within nineteen miles, viz., at Erie and at the State Line.
The first cars came in on this road January 10, 1852. The Franklin Canal Company had constructed a railroad to the Ohio State line, and a connection through to Cleveland was effected in November of the same year. The formal opening of this road was November 23, 1852, when the cars left Erie at nine a. m. for Ashtabula, and returned at three o'clock, with their numbers greatly increased. A party of three hundred partook of a sumptuous dinner at Brown's Hotel. Speeches were made by Judge Galbraith, Alfred Kelly, Wm. S. Lane, and M. B. Lowry, and a change in the gauge law (which law compelled a break at Erie) was denounced.
The Franklin Canal Company was incorporated on the 27th of April, 1844, for the purpose of reconstructing and repairing the Franklin Division of the Pennsylvania Canal from the aqueduct on French Creek to the mouth of that creek, it having decayed and become dilapidated. On April 9, 1849, a supplement was passed, authorizing the company to con- struct a railroad instead of repairing the canal, the graded line or towing path of the canal to be the bed of the road, and giving the company the privilege of increasing its stock to $500,000, and extending northward to the lake and south to Pittsburg. In the building of this road, Judge John Gal- braith was the influential manager.
A few months after the completion of the railroad from Erie to Cleveland, the Pennsylvania gauge law was repealed, and a contract was entered into November 17, 1853, between the Buffalo and State Line and Erie and Northeast Companies, by which the latter agreed to alter their track to one of four foot ten, thereby making a continuous gauge from Buffalo to Cleveland.
The first attempt of the Erie and Northeast Company to
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. 1
change their gauge occasioned the contentions of 1853 and 1854, better known as the " railroad war."
The particulars of this severe but bloodless struggle can doubtless be more profitably discussed at a future period.1 The citizens of Erie felt highly aggrieved, and. not less so the railroad company and the traveling community. The loss financially to each of these parties was immense. In the fierce and prolonged excitement men grew prematurely old, and the tax on temper and nerves to all concerned was not of small account. In the course of time the courts settled the exciting question ; the two breaks between Buffalo and Cleveland, have disappeared, and the city, once distracted by civil dis- cord, is again peaceful and prosperous.
An act of the Legislature, passed in January, 1854, annulled the charter of the Franklin Canal Company, always con- sidered doubtful, and invested the Governor with plenary power to make such a disposition of the road as in his judg- ment would best promote the interests of the State and the great objects to be attained.
The same winter Gov. Bigler visited Erie in person, and was received with the greatest enthusiasm, being met at the depot by the military and firemen with torchlights, and a large concourse of citizens.
In June, 1854, the Franklin Canal Company was merged into the Cleveland, Painesville, and Ashtabula Railroad Com- pany.
In 1855 an act passed the Legislature repealing the charter of the Erie and Northeast Road, on the ground that it did not come to the borough, as stipulated in the act of incorporation. Hon. J. Cassey held it for the State, and afterward our late Governor, Wm. F. Packer.
April 22, 1856, it was reincorporated, the directors being required to subscribe $400,000 to the Pittsburg and Erie Road.
The earnings of the Cleveland and Erie Railroad for 1860 amounted to $1,063,405.23 ; operating expenses, $429,758.49. The road paid during the year, as dividends, five per cent in cash January 1, 1860 ; five per cent in scrip January 1, 1860 ; and five per cent in cash July 1, 1860.
1 See supplement.
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
Number of through passengers on the road. 162,172
Number of way passengers ... 88,199
Total tonnage of freight carried over the road. 254,594 tons.
Merchandise carried over the road
68,815
Lumber 66
5,096
Iron
66
66
2,004
Live stock
74,712
Flour 66
66
198,802
At a meeting of the stockholders of the Erie and Northeast Railroad, held at the office of the company January 17, 1854, the following named gentlemen were elected directors for the ensuing year : John A. Tracy, Milton Courtright, John H. Walker, Dean Richmond (of Buffalo), Prescott Metcalf, Andrew Scott, and John Brawly.
The Pittsburg and Erie Railroad Company was incorpo- rated in 1850. C. M. Reed, President ; M. Courtright, William Kelley, James Williams, A. W. Brewster, C. McSparren, James C. Marshall, John A. Tracy, P. Metcalf, J. McClure, B. B. Vincent, Smith Jackson, Directors ; and David McAllister, Secretary.
The road was made to Jamestown, sixty miles, in 1859, and its final completion is soon expected.
Erie City Railroad was chartered in 1853, to extend from the harbor at Presqu'ile to a point on the New York and Pennsyl- vania State line in Northeast, Greenfield, or Venango town- ships. This, as a communication with New York, will have an advantage over the Dunkirk Road of twenty miles.
The first officers were M. Courtright, President ; C. M. Reed, J. H. Walker, James Skinner, P. Arbuckle, M. W. Caughey, J. C. Spencer, J. W. Hart, J. McClure, William M. Arbuckle, J. A. Tracy, William C. Curry, and P. Metcalf, Directors ; J. C. Spencer, Secretary and Treasurer. The road between Little Valley and Jamestown was put under contract in 1852.
The Erie and Waterford plank road was completed in 1851 ; Irvin Camp, President. The Erie and Wattsburg the same year; J. H. Williams, President. The Erie and Edinboro plank road was completed December, 1852; John Galbraith, President.
The plank roads have all been a benefit to the country and to the towns through which they pass. The one connecting with Wattsburg has wrought a great change in the aspect of the country. It was estimated in the summer of 1859 that one
DEspencer
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
hundred cords of hemlock wood were brought in daily, besides large quantities of hemlock bark, which was shipped for the West.
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CHAPTER X.
Shipping-The Washington, the First Vessel built on the South Shore of the Lake-Hudson's Bay Company-British Government Vessels-American Government Vessels-The Salina-Valuable Cargoes-Walk-in-the-water-First Lighthouse-William Penn- First Steamer at Chicago-Cholera -- Tonnage and Number of Vessels in 1810-20-81-36-47-60-Lake Disasters-Commerce of Port of Presqu'ile-Vessels and Tonnage registered at Presqu'ile in 1860 - United States Steamer Michigan-Revenue Cutters.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM LEE'S vessel (name not known) pro- pelled by sails and oars, was the only one on the south side of Lake Erie in 1795. Capt. Lee had no crew, and made trips only when he could have " passengers enough able and willing to man his boat." He resided at Chippewa, and it was in his boat Col. S. Reed, family, and goods came up in the spring of 1795.
Mr. Colt's journal says : " May 30, 1798, Mrs. Colt and my- self took passage at Fort Erie in sloop Weasle, Dennaw, master. Set sail about two o'clock p. m. The wind con- tinuing from the east, we were under way until about twelve at night, and lest we should run past the harbor of Presqu'ile, the vessel was hove to, and lay in that situation until six o'clock in the morning of Thursday.
"31 .- We found ourselves off Chautauqua Creek, about twenty miles from our desired haven ; at evening arrived in the harbor of Presqu'ile. We were much seasick during the passage."
In September, 1798, Eliphalet Beebe launched a sloop of thirty-six tons at the mouth of Four Mile Creek (east of Erie), called the sloop Washington. This was probably the first vessel built on the south side of the lake. It was built for the use of the Population Company, was sold in November, 1801, to Joshua Fairbanks of Queenston, for land and salt, was taken
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
across the portage from Chippewa to Queenston, and lost on its first trip on Lake Ontario.
In 1799 Capt. William Lee built the Good Intent, thirty tons, R. S. Reed part owner, at the mouth of Mill Creek. Lost at Port Abino in 1806, with all on board.
In 1800 Eliphalet Beebe built the Harlequin, which was lost during her first season, with all on board.
In 1805 Thomas Wilson built a schooner of one hundred tons at Erie, called the Mary ; in 1808 one half was sold to James Rough and George Buehler, and the remainder to Porter, Barton & Co. It was sailed by Capt. Rough until the war, when it was purchased by the United States.
The Erie Packet, a sloop of twenty tons, was built by Capt. William Lee, at Fort Erie, in 1796, for the Presqu'ile trade- Presqu'ile being the principal settlement at that time.
In 1803 the Niagara, of thirty tons, was built by the United States government, and bought by Porter, Barton & Co. Her name was changed to the Nancy ; sailed by Capt. R. O'Neil.
In 1802-3 Porter, Barton & Co., contractors for the army, built at Black Rock the sloop Contractor, of sixty-four tons. Sill, Thompson & Co., at the same place, built the Catharine. These were both purchased by the government in 1812 ; the name of the former was changed to the Trippe, and the latter to the Somers.
In 1808 Major Carter built a schooner at Cleveland (which was the first built there) of forty-five tons, called the Zephyr. She was sailed by Capt. Cummings.
We have alluded, in Chapter II., to the Hudson's Bay Com- pany and British vessels on Lake Erie in 1789. The Speed- well is heard of at Malden in 1792, and in 1796 they had in commission two armed vessels-the Ottawa, commanded by Capt. Cowan, and the Chippewa, by Capt. Grant, each of about ninety tons.
In 1804 they built the brig Camden, of one hundred tons and six guns; in 1806, the brig Hunter ; and in 1807, the armed sloop Hope, which was lost near St. Joseph's, on Lake Huron. In 1809 the Queen Charlotte was built, and in 1810 the armed schooner Lady Prevost. These vessels did not belong to the royal navy, but to what was called the provincial
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
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marine service ; or, as a London newspaper stated the matter (and which was true before 1812) after Commodore Perry's victory : " It may serve to diminish our vexation at the occurrence to learn that the flotilla in question was not any branch of the British navy, but was solely manned, equipped, and managed by the public exertions of certain Canadians, who had formed themselves into a kind of Lake Fencibles. It was not the royal navy, but a local force-a kind of mercan- tile military." A fictitious consolation, truly ! Commodore Barclay, Captain Finnis, etc., were not distinguished from "mercantile military," in the editor's mind.
As to the American vessels, at the time Gen. Wayne took possession of Detroit, in 1796, the quartermaster purchased from a merchant the sloop Detroit, of fifty tons, for the use of the government. It was the same vessel that conveyed Gen. Wayne to Erie previous to his decease. She was wrecked the next fall, near Erie.
The Wilkinson, of sixty-seven tons, is heard of in 1801.
In 1802 the government built two vessels at Detroit-the brig Adams, of one hundred tons, sailed by Capt. Breevoort, and the schooner Tracy, of fifty-three tons-the latter was wrecked about 1809, on the reef off Fort Erie. The Adams continued in commission until the war of 1812, and was taken by the British at the surrender of Gen. Hull, and called the Detroit. She was one of the vessels cut out from Fort Erie, by Capt. Elliot, on the night of the 8th of October, 1812.
The British had in the merchant service, at an early day, the sloop Nancy, thirty-eight tons; the schooner Nancy, ninety-four tons ; the Charlotte, eighty tons ; the Caledonia, a brig of eighty-five tons ; the sloop Hunter, of forty tons ; and schooner Thames, of eighty tons.
In 1809 Mr. R. S. Reed and Capt. Dobbins purchased a schooner called the Charlotte, of ninety tons, from Alex. McIntosh, of Moy, Canada. Her name was changed to Salina, and Capt. Dobbins sailed her until 1812. Being at Mackinaw at its capture, this vessel was also taken by the British, and its captain, crew, and Messrs. R. S. and Wm. W. Reed made prisoners. She was converted into a cartel, and sent down, in company with the Mary, with provisions to
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
Detroit. At Detroit Gen. Hull received her from Capt. Dob- bins, and she was included in the general surrender by him to the British. Here Capt. Dobbins left her and returned to Erie. While the Detroit and other vessels were building, the British made use of the Salina to transport provisions and stores from different parts of the lake. At last she was frozen up in the ice near Malden, in December, 1812, and being abandoned, drifted down the lake, inclosed in ice ; was dis- covered opposite Erie, and, after having property taken from her by the citizens to the amount of about $2,000, was set on fire.
In 1811 the Salina had a remarkable cargo for value,1 which consisted of $120,000 worth of furs, at the Mackinaw valu- ation-at Montreal their worth would be doubled. The agent of the Northwest Company, to whom the furs belonged, was on board, and the furs were stowed upon deck as well as below.
The schooner Mariner, Capt. Blake, August, 1825, landed a cargo at Buffalo still more valuable-that of furs belonging to the American Fur Company worth $267,000. Usually the finer furs were conveyed to Montreal by an inland route. From Mackinaw they were taken to the mouth of Canadian River, which communicated by portage with Grand River, and thence down to the St. Lawrence in bark canoes. The skins and coarser portions were taken in vessels to Fort Erie, and by boats to Chippewa ; across the portage to Queenston, and by vessels to Kingston ; thence down the St. Lawrence in boats.
May 28, 1818, the first steamboat on Lake Erie was launched at Black Rock. This was the Walk-in-the-water, of three hundred tons, and commanded by Capt. Job Fish. She was not able to ascend the rapids with her engine, but was drawn up by ten yoke of oxen. She was built by Noah Brown, of New York, for Gilbert and J. B. Stewart, of Albany, and was visited as a curiosity by the whole country.
1 A modern costly cargo : " May 21, 1861. The steamer Illinois arrived at Detroit yesterday, from Lake Superior, with a cargo second in value only to that brought by the Mineral Rock, which arrived the day previous. The Illinois cargo was composed entirely of copper, and was valued at $101,452.80."
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
In the Detroit Gazette we find an account of her first passage to that city. "The Walk-in-the-water left Buffalo at one and a half p. m. and arrived at Dunkirk thirty-five minutes past six on the same day. On the following morning she arrived at Erie-Capt. Fish having reduced her steam in order not to pass that place, where he took in a supply of wood." [The boat was visited by all the inhabitants during the day, and had the misfortune to get aground for a short time in the bay, a little west of French Street. ] "At half-past seven p. m. she left Erie, and arrived at Cleveland at eleven o'clock Tuesday ; at twenty minutes past six p. m. sailed, and reached San- dusky Bay at one o'clock on Wednesday; lay at anchor during the night, and then proceeded to Venice for wood ; left Venice at three p. m., and arrived at the mouth of Detroit River, where she anchored during the night.
" The whole time of this first voyage from Buffalo to Detroit occupied forty-four hours and ten minutes-the wind ahead during the whole passage. Not the slightest accident hap- pened during the voyage, and her machinery worked admir- ably.
"Nothing could exceed the surprise of the 'sons of the forest' on seeing the Walk-in-the-water move majestically and rapidly against wind and current, without sails or oars. Above Malden they lined the shores and expressed their astonishment by repeated shouts of 'Taiyoh nichee !' [An ex- clamation of surprise. ]
"A report had been circulated among them that a 'big canoe' would soon come from the 'noisy waters,' which, by order of the 'great father' of the 'Chemo Komods' (Long Knives or Yankees), would be drawn through the lakes and rivers by a sturgeon. Of the truth of the report they were perfectly satisfied."
The cabins of the Walk-in-the-water were fitted up in a neat, convenient, and elegant style ; and a trip to Buffalo was considered not only tolerable, but truly pleasant. Friday she made an excursion to Lake St. Clair, with a party of ladies and gentlemen, and returned to Buffalo in time to be again at Detroit the following week.
Tradition has it that Capt. Fish was not particularly pleased
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
with the lake, and returned in a short time to his former command on the Hudson-the Firefly, running between Poughkeepsie and New York; that the pilot Davis being a thorough and accomplished seaman (which Capt. Fish did not profess to be) amused himself by exciting his fears and magni- fying the dangers of lake navigation. The pilot had the com- mand previous to the appointment of Capt. Jedediah Rodgers.
The first of November, 1821, the Walk-in-the-water stranded on the beach at Buffalo, having a full and valuable cargo, at a loss to her owners of $10,000 or $12,000. Her engine was placed in the Superior, which was built by a chartered com- pany, and had an exclusive privilege in the navigable waters of New York. This privilege was abandoned after a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States.
The first steamboat launched at Erie was the William Penn, of two hundred tons, May 18, 1826. She was ninety-five feet keel, twenty-five feet beam, and eighty feet hold ; being the sixth steamboat on the lake, and was built by the Erie and Chautauqua Steamboat Company. The company was incor- porated the 10th of April, 1826, with Walter Smith, E. L. Tinker, Charles Townsend, R. S. Reed, P. S. V. Hamot, Josiah Kellogg, John F. Wight, Daniel Dobbins, and Peter Christie, Managers. A supplement in 1831 provided that the principal offices should be held by citizens of Pennsylvania. In 1832 the company paid a dividend of ten dollars on each share of the stock.
In 1832 the first steamboat visited Chicago. There were few traces of civilization after passing the Straits of Mackinaw- not a single village, town, or city being in the whole distance. Four steamers-the Henry Clay, Superior, Sheldon Thomp- son, and William Penn-were chartered by the United States government for the purpose of transporting troops, provisions, etc. to Chicago during the Black Hawk war, but owing to the fearful ravages made by the breaking out of the Asiatic cholera among the troops and crews on board, two of these boats were compelled to abandon their voyage, proceeding no farther than Fort Gratiot. On the Henry Clay nothing like discipline could be maintained. As soon as the steamer came to the dock, each man sprang on shore, hoping to escape from
129
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
a scene so terrifying and appalling. Some fled to the woods, some to the fields, while others lay down in the streets and under the covert of the river bank, where most of them died unwept and alone.
On the Sheldon Thompson, commanded by Capt. A. Walker, with Gen. Scott aboard, eighty-eight deaths occurred by the pestilence. Not one officer of the army nor any officer of the boat was attacked with such violence as to result in death, though nearly one fourth of the crew fell a prey to the disease while on the passage from Detroit to Buffalo.
In 1810, on Lake Erie, there were eight or nine vessels, averaging sixty tons. In 1820, thirty vessels of fifty tons each, and one small steamboat. In the summer of 1831 there were one hundred vessels averaging seventy tons each, and eleven steamboats, with an aggregate capacity of 2,260 tons. In 1836 there were on Lake Erie forty-five steamboats, with 9,119 tons, and 217 ships, brigs, and schooners, of 16,645 tons ; that year many vessels from Lake Ontario found employment on Lake Erie, and still there was a demand for more. In 1847 there were sixty-seven steamers, twenty-six propellers, three barks, sixty-four brigs, and three hundred and forty schooners.
The marine register for 1860, including Lake Ontario, numbers :
Craft.
No.
Tonnage.
Value.
Steamers
138
69,150
$2,720,200
Propellers
197
61,550
2,478,300
Barks
58
28,417
544,200
Brigs
90
25,047
423,200
Schooners and sloops
974
198,661
4,489,300
Total
1457
377,825
$10,655,200
The loss of property on the lakes by disasters, in 1860, amounted to $1,020,100, being an increase of $135,915 over the year previous. The loss of life in 1860 was 578, being an in- crease of 473 over 1859.
At the port of Presqu'ile the importations for 1851, consist- ing principally of assorted merchandise, flour, fish, and , manufactures of iron, amounted to
Imports coastwise.
$1,979,913
Imports foreign.
3,455
Total importation .$1,983,368
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
The Chicago Republican says the loss of life by disasters on the lakes, during the year 1865 was one hundred and seventy, being an increase over that of 1864 of thirty-six. The largest and most lamentable loss was that of the Pewabic, on Lake Huron, by which it is generally supposed that not less than one hundred persons found a watery grave.
The exports consist of wool, lumber, wood, bark, glass, stoves, bar iron, coal, and merchandise received by canal, with a small quantity of grain, the whole amounting to the follow- ing aggregate :
Exports coastwise.
$2,207,582
Exports foreign.
15,415
Total exportation
$2,222,997
The entire commerce of the port in the same year amounts to a total value of $4,206,483.
The licensed and enrolled tonnage amounts to 7,882 tons.
TONNAGE OF SHIPPING OWNED AT THE PORT OF PRESQU'ILE IN THE SPRING OF 1860.
Class of Vessels.
Tons. 95ths.
Class of Vessels.
Tons.
95ths.
STEAMBOATS.
Brought up.
1850 91
Sch. Arrow
281 28
John B. White (tug)
39 79
Bark American Republic.
459.31
Queen City
906
Sch. Armada
235 41
S. C. Brooks
62 62
Brig Paragon.
212 26
Keystone State
1354.09
Sch. M. Courtright.
389 41
Sch. Illinois.
110,31
Sch. St. James.
286 47
SAIL VESSELS.
Sch. St. Paul.
303,69
Sch. Post Boy.
95,24
1Sch. W. A. Adair
81.56
Sch. Silas Wright (scow).
70 02
Sch. C. E. Williams
156 60
Sch. North Carolina
141|71
Sch. Columbia.
165,90
Sch. Susquehanna
270.86
Sch. St. Andrew.
414 48
Sch. L. D. Coman
178,62
Sch. W. M. Arbuckle
170 09
Sch. Mary M. Scott.
361 02
2Sch. Washington Irving
111 44
Sch. Mary Morton
246.48
Sch. M. G. (scow)
60 79
Sch. Hudson
136 08
Sch. Citizen.
149,60
1850 91
Total tonnage sail vessels .. 5656,42 Total tonnage 8018 97
Total steamboat tonnage ... 2362 55
Sch. Pacific
186 30
Sch. Huntress
350 88
1 Schooner W. A. Adair sprang a leak on Lake Erie, ran ashore at Dun- kirk, and was a total loss. "Her cargo was coal.
2 The Washington Irving, Capt. Vannatta, left Erie for Buffalo July 7, and it is supposed foundered, as she was never again heard from. She had seven persons on board, and was heavily laden with coal, iron, oil, etc.
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
November 7, 1843, the United States steamer Michigan, of five hundred and thirty-eight tons, was launched ; her ton- nage and force being regulated by treaty with England. She was finished and accepted by government August 15, 1844 ; built entirely of iron, excepting the spar deck, which was of three-and-a-half inch pine plank ; drew eight feet when ready for a cruise. She was pierced for twelve guns (32-pounders), which, with two 68-pounder Paixham guns on pivots, upon the quarterdeck and forecastle, made her broadside equal to that of a vessel mounting sixteen guns. Her engines, two inclined low-pressure ones, of the collective power of one hundred and seventy horses, were designed by Charles M. Copeland, United States engineer, and were very similar to those of the Harriet Lane. The cost of her construction to the United States was about $165,000. The contractors were Messrs. Stackhouse and Tomlinson, of Pittsburg, and the naval constructor, Samuel T. Hart. Her first officers were : Commander, William Inman ; First Lieutenant, James Mc- Kinstry ; Second Lieutenant, James McDougal ; Surgeon, Dr. P. Christie ; Purser, William A. Bloodgood; Chief Engi- neer, Andrew Hibbard. T. H. Stevens, a son of Lieut. Stevens, in command of the Trippe in the battle of Lake Erie, was a past midshipman and acting master.
In 1860 the Michigan was supplied with two new boilers of the Martin vertical tubular description, and her machinery thoroughly repaired under the supervision of chief engineer Zeller.
A commission was appointed by the Secretary of the Navy to test, upon a large scale, the advantage or disadvantage of using steam expansively. This was in consequence of ex- periments having been made upon a single horse engine by Mr. Isherwood, and resulted in the decision that no economy followed the use of expanded steam. A petition was sent to Honorable Secretary Toucey, requesting the government to have the experiment tested upon a larger scale. With com- mendable alacrity a board was appointed composed of B. F. Isherwood, Theo. Zeller, Robert H. Long, and Alban C. Stimer, chief engineers in the naval corps, and Capt. Joseph Lanman, executive officer of the steamer Michigan. The
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