Stories of Great Inventors | Page 2

there happened a good thing for this old world.
A little baby boy was born in that year.
Perhaps you wonder why it was such a good thing for the world.
Some of you will know why when you read that this baby's name was
Robert Fulton.
His father was poor.
His father was a farmer in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Fulton had two little girls older than baby Robert.
When Robert was grown larger he had three sisters and one brother.
But their father died when they were all small.
Robert did not go to school till he was eight years old.
His mother taught him at home.
He knew how to read and write, and a very little arithmetic.
His first teacher was a Mr. Johnson.
Mr. Johnson was a Quaker.
He thought Robert a dull pupil.

Robert did not learn his lessons very well.
But Mr. Johnson soon found that he was never idle.
He did not care to play at recess.
He stayed in and used his pencil in drawing.
He often spent hours in this way.
Robert soon became fond of going into the machine shops.
He understood machinery very quickly.
The men always gave him a welcome.
He didn't get into mischief.
He often helped the men with his neat drawings.
One day Robert was late in getting to school.
The master asked the reason.
Robert answered that he had been in Mr. Miller's shop pounding out
lead for a lead pencil.
Mr. Johnson then encouraged him in doing such useful things.
In a few days, all the pupils in the school had pencils made in that way.
Mr. Johnson urged Robert to give more attention to his studies.
Robert said, "My head is so full of thoughts of my own that I haven't
room there for the thoughts from dusty books."
As he was not idle, no doubt this was true.
When Robert was thirteen, the boys in the town had a great

disappointment.
It was nearly July.
Of course the boys expected to celebrate the Fourth.
But a notice was put up.
This notice urged the people not to illuminate their homes.
It was very warm weather.
The people then had only candles with which to light their homes.
Candles were very scarce.
But Robert had some.
He took them to a shop and exchanged them for powder.
The owner of the store asked him why he gave up the candles, which
were so scarce and dear.
Robert said, "I am a good citizen, and if our officers do not wish us to
illuminate the town, I shall respect their wishes."
He found some pieces of paste-board.
He rolled these himself.
In this way he made some rockets.
The store-keeper told him he would find it impossible to do this.
"No, sir," Robert answered, "there is nothing impossible."
His rockets were a success, and the people were astonished.
Robert bought at different times small quantities of quicksilver.

The men in the machine shops were curious to know what he did with
it.
But they could not find out.
For this reason they called him "Quicksilver Bob."
Robert was interested in guns.
Sometimes he would tell the workmen how to improve them.
The men liked him so well that they were always willing to try
whatever he advised.
Robert was fond of fishing.
One of the workmen often went fishing with his father.
This man sometimes took Robert.
They had only an old flat boat.
The boys had to pole the boat from place to place.
It was hard work.
They were sometimes very tired.
Robert, soon after one fishing excursion, went away to visit an aunt.
He was gone a week.
While away he made a complete model of a little fishing boat.
This boat had paddle wheels.
The model was placed in the garret.
Many years afterward his aunt was proud to have it as an ornament on

her parlor table.
Of course the boys arranged a set of paddle wheels for their fishing
boat.
After this they enjoyed their fishing much more than before.
Robert Fulton's boyhood was during the Revolutionary War.
He made many queer pictures of the Hessian soldiers.
These Hessians were Germans, who had been hired by the British to
help them fight the Americans.
The people who wished our country to belong to England were called
Tories.
Those who wished America to be free were called Whigs.
The Whig boys often fought the Tory boys on the soldiers' camp
ground.
The soldiers grew tired of this.
They stretched a rope to keep the boys out.
Robert drew a picture in which the Whigs crossed the rope and
whipped the Tories.
The boys all thought it a good picture.
So they tried to make it real.
They became so troublesome that the town