American state papers : documents, legislative and executive, of the Congress of the United States ... . en under sailing orders, and that, if Mr. Fulton did not intend to make any essays onher, I would order her to prepare for sea, and which I should have done, had he not, at the time, expressed a de-Sire that she might be detained a few days longer, as it was probable, (as he said) that he might, in a very shorttime, be prepared to make some experiments on her. The committee now adjourned, to meet on the SSth instant. Note. It will be recollected that Mr. Fulton addressed a letter to the mem
American state papers : documents, legislative and executive, of the Congress of the United States ... . en under sailing orders, and that, if Mr. Fulton did not intend to make any essays onher, I would order her to prepare for sea, and which I should have done, had he not, at the time, expressed a de-Sire that she might be detained a few days longer, as it was probable, (as he said) that he might, in a very shorttime, be prepared to make some experiments on her. The committee now adjourned, to meet on the SSth instant. Note. It will be recollected that Mr. Fulton addressed a letter to the members of Congress, who voted in favorof the torpedo bill, (dated April 15th, 1810) in which he assured them that nets, booms, &c. instead of obstruct-ing, v/ould facilitate his operations. September 28. The committee met according to appointment, and the lighter of the yard was anchored with a piece of an oldtwenty-two inch cable, for the purpose of affording Mr. Fulton an opportunity of showing mure demonstratively,the actual effect of iiis machine for cutting off cables under water. No. 1. Cable which ijitended to have been cut by the cable cutter. No. 2. Thebuoy of the machineiy afoul of the cable. No. 3. Large flat iioolc whicli supports a 4. Torpedo boat, with her side against the current. No. 5. A rope from the boat,attached to the machinery. The cable being thus prepared, Mr. Fulton made an attempt to hook, andcut it off, but did not succeed even in hooking the cable, much more in cutting itoff, whilst, at the same time, he was obliged to require the assistance of the menon board of t)ie lighter, to which the cable was attached, to extricate the torpe-do boat from the position in which the tide had placed her, from the ma-chine being on one side of the cable,and the boat on the other. (See the figure.)The gun was, however, fired under water, but the only visible effect producedwas the bursting of the lock. Mr. Fulton having concluded his
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubjectfinance, booksubjectindiansofnortham
