used because he did not wish to have it connected with such a preposterous scheme. The vessel was built at the shipyard of Charles Brown, on the East River, and not, as some writers have claimed, in the North Bay, near the Livingston manorhouse of Clermont, at Tivoli. Xor can we find any warrant for the tradition that the plans for the boat were made at Clermont, though very possibly they may have been altered or perfected there. Fulton's plans w^ere said to have been marvels of careful detail, and we know that the engines for the steamboat were ordered in England before he had returned to America. We must, therefore, suppose that the plans were mainly worked out in .France, w^here most of the preliminary experimenting had been done. The steamer was named the Clcrinont, in compliment to Livingston. It was one hundred and thirty feet long, sixteen feet wide, and four feet deep, of one hundred and sixty tons measurement. The engine had a steam cylinder twenty-four inches in diameter, with a four-foot stroke. The boiler was twenty b}' seven by eight feet, and the wheels measured fifteen feet in diameter. This singular craft carried a smoke-stack that was very tall in comparison w4th the size of the boat and her paddle-w^heels were unco\'ered. Altogether, she was something of a monstrosity, as compared with the river boats of to-day. A contemporaneous account of the trial trip of the

Fulton and the Hudson River Steamboat 125

CIcnuoiit, in the summer of 1807, makes interesting reading. d Nothing could exceed the surprise and admiration of all who ....nessed the experiment. The minds of the most incredulous were changed in a few minutes. Before the boat had made the progress of a quarter of a mile, the greatest unbeliever must have been converted.