Buckley's letter in his third page, from whence it is plainly to be gathered, that subsequent to his letter of lOth March 1785, to General Washington he meant to tell the world he was busily employed in private experiments on Steam Engines, and that although his first setting pole boat " Bore the pelting of ignorance and ill nature," yet he did not set about making a Steam-engine, for this boat, until (as he calls it) the critical moment when a M^. Fitch with his Steamengine came out, asserting that he was the first inventor of Steam, and that " I had gotten what small knowledge I had from him." -- Now as all his experiments were privately conducted, and he does not pretend to have begun his boat engine, until Mr. Buckley had sent notice that I charged him with stealing knowledge from me ; I would ask any man where I was to obtain the grounds for my charge 1 it could not be until I had begun my own engine, and made it every where public -- then it follows that my pretended complaint against him must have been subsequent to my own

1062 * EARLY STEAM

v\orks and prior to the beginning of his works for his boat in .:-rove7nber (as he calls it) which from his own statement has laid a i'i.ir and just foundation for my claim of public priority, for private ]viority is out of the question, as M^ Henry, M^ Ellicott and M*" Paine are before us both.