St Nicholas [serial] . have resulted in thedestruction of the whole town,is the only thing for us. But it is not enough to know immediatelythe exact location of a fire; it is also necessaryto reach it immediately. The steam fire-enginewas a splendid machine, with steam always upand everything in readiness for instant depar-ture, but how to secure this instant departurewas a question. Horses were kept standing intheir stalls with the harness on, but this was not•quick enough. Each seconds delay meant loss of life or possibly millions of property the first swinging harness was inven
St Nicholas [serial] . have resulted in thedestruction of the whole town,is the only thing for us. But it is not enough to know immediatelythe exact location of a fire; it is also necessaryto reach it immediately. The steam fire-enginewas a splendid machine, with steam always upand everything in readiness for instant depar-ture, but how to secure this instant departurewas a question. Horses were kept standing intheir stalls with the harness on, but this was not•quick enough. Each seconds delay meant loss of life or possibly millions of property the first swinging harness was invented: a har-ness contrived in such a way that, while alwaysattached to the engine or other apparatus, itcould be made to drop instantly on the horsesback and fasten there. This seemed to solvethe question, but there remained one more step,and this was the training of the quick only must the engine and the harness andthe men and the horses be ready, but the horsesmust be in the harness at once—the operation. AN EARLY MODEL OF THE SWINGING HARNIiSS. The telegraph must be as nearly instantaneous as human in-genuity and brute intelligence together couldcontrive. In every fire-engine house in theUnited States to-day, therefore, we may seeand admire the quick horse, sleek-limbed,clear-eyed, with an alert, intelligent air, stand-ing not far from the machine of which he is themoving power. The casual visitor saunters in. He thinksthe life of a fireman is a quiet and easy one,judging from the appearance of the quarters. 324 THE QUICK HORSE. All is serene. The machines are immaculate inpolished brass and red paint. Some of the menare reading, others are playing a game of checkers. Suddenly there is a tinkling somewhere, andthe stroke of a gong. A snap, a click,— andthrough the wide-open doors the various ma-chines fly, one after another, until the visitorviews in astonishment an empty house. It islike magic—a wonderful gazes up and down the street
Size: 1544px × 1618px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidstnicholasserial251dodg
