For many
years John Stevens crossed that river; most often in an open boat
propelled by sail or by men at the oars. Being naturally of a
mechanical turn, he sought to make the crossing easier. To his
library were coming the prints that told of James Watt and the
steam engine in England, and John Fitch's boat had interested
him.
Robert Fulton's Clermont, of which we shall speak presently, was
undoubtedly the pioneer of practicable steamboats. But the
Phoenix, built by John Stevens, followed close on the Clermont.
And its engines were built in America, while those of the
Clermont had been imported from England. Moreover, in June, 1808,
the Phoenix stood to sea, and made the first ocean voyage in the
history of steam navigation. Because of a monopoly of the Hudson,
which the New York Legislature had granted to Livingston and
Fulton, Stevens was compelled to send his ship to the Delaware.
Hence the trip out into the waters of the Atlantic, a journey
that was not undertaken without trepidation. But, despite the
fact that a great storm arose, the Phoenix made the trip in
safety; and continued for many years thereafter to ply the
Delaware between Philadelphia and Trenton.
Robert Fulton, like many and many another great inventor, from
Leonardo da Vinci down to the present time, was also an artist.
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