Life of Richard Trevithick_ with an Account of His Inventions. Volume 2 (of 2) Francis Trevithick 1164 downloads.pdf

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Life of Richard
Trevithick, with an Account of His Inventions.
Volume 2 (of 2)
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it
away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg
License included with this eBook or online at
www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United
States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Life of Richard Trevithick, with an Account of His
Inventions. Volume 2 (of 2)
Author: Francis Trevithick

Release date: August 19, 2014 [eBook #46634]
Most recently updated: October 24, 2024

Language: English

Other information and formats:
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46634

Credits: E-text prepared by Chris Curnow and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team
(http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously

made available by Internet Archive
(https://archive.org)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF
RICHARD TREVITHICK, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF HIS
INVENTIONS. VOLUME 2 (OF 2) ***
The Project Gutenberg eBook, Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume
II (of 2), by Francis Trevithick, Illustrated by W. J. Welch

Note: Images of the original pages are available through Internet
Archive. See
https://archive.org/details/lifeofrichardtre02trevrich

LIFE
OF
RICHARD TREVITHICK,

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF HIS
INVENTIONS.

By FRANCIS TREVITHICK, C.E.

ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS ON
WOOD BY W. J. WELCH.

VOLUME II.

LONDON:
E. & F. N. SPON, 48, CHARING CROSS.
NEW YORK:
446, BROOME STREET.

1872.
LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS,
DUKE STREET,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME II.

CHAPTER XVII.
Various Inventions.
Stone-crushing mill, 1-35
1804--Portable
puffer, 1805--
Staffordshire
potteries--Engine for
South America--
Diversity of steam
appliance--Numerous
high-pressure
engines--West India
Dock locomotive--
Engines at
Newcastle--Blacklead
lubricator--Engines in
Wales--Mine engines
on wheels, 1804--
Engines in London--
Engines to be sold in

market towns--Blast-
furnaces--Aërated
steam-boiler--St. Ives
Breakwater--
Dolcoath blast copper
furnace--Davies
Gilbert's opinion of
the aërated steam-
boiler--Trevithick's
advice to a brewer--
Agricultural engines--
West India engines--
Thrashing engine--
Horizontal engines--
Expansive steam--
Cold surface
condenser--Air-
pump--Expansive
cam--Fire-bars--
Comparison with
Watt's engine--Stone-
boring engine, 1813--
Plymouth
Breakwater, reduction
in cost--Locomotive
engine, 1813--Stone
splitting--New
method of stone
boring, 1813--Screw
bit, 1813--Falmouth
Harbour--Exeter
Bridge--Engine at

Lima--Proposed train
from Buenos Ayres to
Lima--West India
portable engine
CHAPTER XVIII.
Agricultural Engines; Loss
of Papers.
Sir Christopher 36-68
Hawkins's thrashing
machine, 1812--
Report of three wise
men--Cost of horse
and steam power--
Wheal Liberty
engine--Sir John
Sinclair and the
Board of Agriculture-
-Cost of engine--
Power of engine--
Welsh locomotive--
Trevithick on steam
agriculture--West
Indies engine--Horse-
power--Trevithick on
patents--Engines in
charge of labourers--
Teapot--Detail of
agricultural engine--
Lord Dedunstanville's
thrashing machine--
Plymouth Breakwater

locomotive--Wheal
Prosper engine--
Wheal Alfred engine-
-Steam-plough--
Cultivation of
commons--Combined
steam-tormentor,
narrower, and
shoveller--Mr.
Rendal's thrashing
machine--Cost and
work performed by
thrashing engines--
Their durability--
Bridgenorth engine--
Trevithick's drawings
light the tires
CHAPTER XIX.
Pole Steam-engine.
Return to Cornwall, 69-113
1810--Wheal Prosper
pole vacuum engine,
1811--Cylindrical
boilers, 1811--Steam
pressure, 100 lbs.--
Duty of engine, 40
millions--Expansive
working, 1811--
Herland high-
pressure pole puffer,
1815--Steam

pressure, 150 lbs.--
Boiler making--
Comparison with
Watt's engine--Blue-
fire--Steam--Patent
specification--Steam-
ring stuffing box--
Engines in Lima--A
33-inch pole-puffer
more powerful than a
72-inch Watt engine--
Description of pole
engine and boilers--
Trevithick's
calculation--Trial of
Herland engines--
Steam-cushion--
Power of the pole-
engine--Defective
workmanship--Sims
examines the pole-
engine--Opposition
from shareholders--
Defective boilers--
Challenge to Woolf--
Davies Giddy's
opinion--First cost,
and cost of working
one-third of the Watt
engine--Meeting of
opposing
shareholders--Duty of

the high-pressure
steam pole puffer-
engine, 1816--
Comparison with the
Watt engine--
Combined high-
pressure pole and
cylinder for
expansion--Wheal
Alfred Watt engine
converted to high
pressure--Wheal
Chance combined
engine--Mr. Michael
Williams's opinion--
Woolf and Trevithick
CHAPTER XX.
The Watt and the Trevithick
Engines at Dolcoath.
Early steam-engines-- 114-194
Semicircular boiler,
1775, net power 7
lbs. on the inch--
Watt's statement in
1777--Engines in
Dolcoath--Watt's
engine, 1778--Watt's
engine at Herland,
1798--Trevithick's
tubular boiler, 1799--
Reconstruction of the

Carloose 45-inch,
1799--Gross and net
power of engines--
Comparison of
Newcomen, Watt, and
Trevithick engines--
Boiler explosion,
1803--Strong rivalry
with Watt--
Locomotive at
Coalbrookdale, 1803-
-Watt's proposed
locomotive--
Competition in
Wales--Numerous
high-pressure
engines, 1803--Patent
difficulty--Watt's
opposition, 1804--
Government inquiry--
Competitive trials in
Wales--Tramway
locomotive, 1804--
The bet--Opposition
because of saving of
labour--Worcester
engine--West India
Docks engine--High-
pressure steam
condensing engines--
One or two cylinders
for expansion--

Sirhowey boilers--
Mr. Homfray's
opinion of the Watt
opposition--Mr.
Whitehead makes
engines in
Manchester--
Cylindrical tubular
boiler in Wales for
large engines, 1805--
Watt contests at
Dolcoath, 1805--
Steam-blast--
Superiority of high-
pressure whim-
engines--Proposed
boiler for the large
pumping engine,
1806--Steam
pressure--The Watt
boiler--Comparison
of size of fire-place
and coal used--
Dredger contract--
Theory of steam--
Trevithick's Dolcoath
boiler when applied
to the Watt engine,
with expansive gear,
to save 300l. monthly,
1806--Momentum of
pumping engine--

Continued tests of
high and low pressure
whim-engines at
Dolcoath--Watt
engine put aside,
1806--High-pressure
engines ordered,
1806--High-pressure
pumping engine for
Wheal Abraham,
1806--Disputed
patent right--
Expansion reduces
heat--Boiler for the
Watt 63-inch engine,
1806--Cost of
Trevithick's boiler--
Advantage of small
tubes in boilers--
Trinity Board--Watt's
steam-cylinder
unsuitable for high
steam, 1806--Sims'
trial of engines--Little
fight--Tubular
boilers, 1806--High-
pressure steam
pumping engines,
1818--Reporter of
engines--Application
to Government, 1810-
-Dolcoath engines

and boilers--High
steam to the Watt
engine--Duty of
engines, 1812--Watt's
boiler thrown out--
Expansive valve--
Dolcoath manager--
Saving by boilers and
expansive working,
1812--Lean's reports-
-Increased duty of the
three old Dolcoath
engines, 1814--76-
inch engine, 1816-
-80,000l. a year
saved--Durability of
engine--Its removal--
Cylindrical boilers--
Hornblower and Watt
engines--Davies
Gilbert's report, 1798-
-Lean's report, 1816--
Watt's views of
expansive working--
Watt's steam of 1 or 2
lbs. to the inch--
Pole's statement--
Engine at Marazion,
1804--Woolf in
Cornwall--Rees'
Cyclopædia--
'Encyclopædia

Britannica'--
Application to
Parliament--Wheal
Towan--Newcomen
and Watt engines--
Pompe-à-feu 'La
Belle Machine,'
Dolcoath
CHAPTER XXI.
Engines for South America.
Engines for Lima, 195-220
1813--Uville's
application to Watt--
High-pressure model-
-Cerro de Pasco
mines--Uville's return
in search of
Trevithick--Engines
ordered--Pump-work-
-Modern pumping
engines--Money
difficulty--Weight of
pieces--'Sanspareil' of
1813--Expansive
working--Quartz
crusher--Locomotive
for South America,
1813--Sketch of
winding engine--
Their simplicity of
form--Power and cost

of engines--
Trevarthen and Bull
to accompany the
engines--A third man
recommended--
Boilers put together
at Cerro de Pasco--
Uville's arrest--
Trevithick a
shareholder--Vivian's
application--
Departure of
machinery, 1814--
Uville's agreement--
Invoice of engines
sent
CHAPTER XXII.
Peru.
Agreement for 221-259
working the Peruvian
mines, 1812--Uville
and Watt, 1811--
Uville and Trevithick,
1813--Uville's
opinion of Trevithick-
-Estimated value of
the mines--Machinery
reached Peru, 1815--
Trevithick's departure
from Penzance, 1816-
-Mr. Edmond's

statement--Cerro de
Pasco mines in 1850-
-Report from the
Viceroy of Peru,
1816--Report from
the Magisterial
Deputation of
Yauricocha, 1816--
Despatch from the
Governor of the
Province of Tarma,
1816--Pumping
engines at work--The
Viceroy's reply--
Report in the 'Lima
Gazette,' 1816--
Trevithick's reception
at Lima--Trevithick's
report, 1817--
Differences between
Trevithick and
Uville--Trevithick's
thoughtless acts--His
visit to the nunnery--
The Lord Warden
proposed to erect a
statue in silver to
Trevithick--Bust of
Trevithick in
Cornwall--
Quicksilver--Sunk
ship--Chili--Copper

and silver mine--
Departure from
Lima--Cerro de Pasco
mines
CHAPTER XXIII.
Costa Rica.
Gerard at Punta de 260-275
Arenas, in the Pacific,
in 1822--Nicolas
Castro worked a gold
mine, 1821--
Alverado's ore-
grinding machine,
1822--Climate of
Costa Rica--Mines in
the Cordillera--Canal
from the river
Machuca to
Quebrada-honda--
Castro's mine--Padre
Arias, or the Priest's
mine--Trevithick and
Gerard's proposal for
iron railroads, &c.,
for the mines of
Costa Rica, 1827--
New line of road
from San Juan, on the
Atlantic, to the Costa
Rica mines--
Serapique River

navigable--
Trevithick's diary--A
mule track easily
constructed--
Comparative distance
to the mines from the
head of the Serapique
on the Atlantic, and
Punta de Arenas on
the Pacific--
Trevithick nearly
drowned in the
Serapique--Nearly
starved before
reaching San Juan--
Performs a surgical
operation--Designed
the locomotive
between breakfast
and dinner--Robert
Stephenson and
Trevithick at
Carthagena--Nearly
drowned in the
Magdalena--Saved by
Mr. Bruce Napier
Hall--Trevithick
nursed Robert
Stephenson
CHAPTER XXIV.
Return to England.

Bodmin School,
1827--Cube root--
Trevithick's
reception--Saving in
Cornish mines--
Model gun--Gerard's
return, 1827--His
meeting Robert
Stephenson--His
remarks on Costa
Rica--Montelegre's
search for a better
line of road--Mr. M.
Williams's proposal--
Change of Ministry,
and the gun-carriage-
-Model of iron
packet-ship and
engine--Robert
Stephenson's remarks
on mining--
Trevithick's rejection
of purchase-money 276-283
CHAPTER XXV.
Gun-carriage--Iron
Ships--Hydraulic
Crane--Ice Making-
-Drainage of
Holland--Chain-
pump--Open-top
Cylinder--Hayle

Harbour--Patent
Rights--Petition to
Parliament.
Trevithick's 284-314
description of gun-
carriage and iron
ship--Select
committee--Glasgow
iron-ship builders--
Trevithick's
comparison of
gunpowder and
steam--Cranes
worked by air or
water--Artificial cold-
-Liberality--Holland--
Drainage--Dredging--
Zuyder Zee--
Hydraulic crane--
Dutch pumping
engine--Chain-pump-
-Haarlem Lake--
Rhine--Windmills--
Hayle Harbour--
Disputed pole-engine
patent right--Petition
to Parliament, 1828--
Marine boilers--
Steam pressure--
Engine duty--Lords
of the Treasury refuse

the petition--Davies
Gilbert's views--
Marine compound
engine of 1871
CHAPTER XXVI.
Tubular Boiler--
Superheating
Steam--Surface
Condenser.
Binner Downs 315-362
engine, 1828--Fires
around cylinder and
steam-pipes--Saving
of coal--Surface
condensation at sea--
Superheating tubes--
Used steam returned
to the boiler, 1828--
Holland pumping
engine--Woolf at the
Consolidated Mines--
Laws of steam--
Power of heat from 1
lb. of coal--Loss of
heat--Experiments at
Binner Downs--
Surface
condensation--Partial
surface condensation
for ships or railways--
Effect of

superheating--Watt's
theory doubted--
Wheal Towan and
other engines--Loss
of heat--Injection-
water--Surface
condensation and
superheating--Partial
condensation engine--
Duty of chain
pumping engine--
Surface condensation
by cold water or air--
Results of the
experiment--Hayle
Harbour--Condenser
of copper tubes,
1829--Suitability for
steam-ships--
Proposal to erect at
his own expense a
marine engine with
surface condenser
and screw-propeller
for the instruction of
the Admiralty, 1830.-
-Sketch of tubular
boiler and surface-air
condenser--Screw
draught--Preservation
of heat in condensing
by air--Comptroller

of the Navy--Patent
of 1831--Boiler
within the condenser-
-Surface
condensation by air
or water--Safety
boiler of concentric
tubes--Blowing
vessel for air
condensation and
draught--Tubes for
distilling water--
Steam pressure--
Expansive working--
Robert Stephenson's
statement--'Echo'
steamboat, 1831--
Bottle-neck boiler--
Admiralty--Steam
Users' Association--
Mr. Alexander
Crichton's boiler and
surface condenser--
Captain Dick and
Captain Andrew--
Captain King and the
'Echo'
CHAPTER XXVII.
Heating Apparatus--
Marine Steam-

engines--Reform
Column.
Ill health, 1830--Hot- 363-396
house boiler--Heating
rooms--Discharging
coal-ships by steam--
Hot-water stoves for
France--Patent for
heating apparatus,
1831--Marine
portable engines--
Boat propeller--
Wheal Towan--
Discharging coal by
steam at Hayle--
Proposal to the
Common Council of
London--Every vessel
to carry a steam-
engine--Mr. George
Rennie--Proposal to
the Admiralty--
Surface
condensation--
Locomotives
supplying their own
feed-water--Petition
in Trevithick's
favour--Davies
Gilbert's suggestion--
His comparison of the

Watt and Trevithick
engines--Maudslay
on Trevithick's
proposals--Patent of
1832--Superheating
steam--Cylinder
placed in flue from
boiler--Expansive
steam--Tubular
boiler--Water
propulsion--
Superheating and
surface condensation
for locomotives--
Detail of engine--
Proposal to send
steamboats to Buenos
Ayres--Waterwitch
Company--Messrs.
Hall and Sons--Hall's
condenser--Rennie
and the Admiralty--
'Syria' steamboat--
Compound engines--
Watt on high-pressure
steam--Trevithick on
compound engines--
Tubular boiler and
variable blast-pipe--
Refusal of
Trevithick's petition
to Government--Ill

health--Davies
Gilbert's statement to
Spring Rice--Meeting
on proposed Reform
Column--Trevithick's
description--Means of
ascent and descent--
Placed before the
King--Death--
Funeral--His last
letter

ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME II.

PAGE
Aërated Steam-
7
boiler
Rock Splitting 25
Steam Thrashing
37
Engine
Agricultural
58
Machine
Wheal Prosper
High-pressure
70
Steam Pole-
engine
Cylindrical
High-pressure 71
Steam-boilers

Expansive Steam
71
Pole-engine
Carn Brea
147
Castle
Trevithick's
Dolcoath Engine 168
of 1816
Trevithick's
Dolcoath 169
Boilers of 1811
Steam Diagram 185
'La Belle
190
Machine'
Carriage-wheels 207
Winding Engines 208
Penzance in
228
Olden Time
Market, Jew
243
Street, Penzance
Mule Track
from Lima to 258
Cerro de Pasco
Map of Costa
260
Rica Mines
Gun-carriage 285
Dutch Pumping
298
Engine
Mount's Bay 318

Partial
Condensation 332
Engine
Tubular Boiler
339
and Condenser
Bottle-neck
357
Boiler
Captain Dick
and Captain 361
Andrew
Hot-water
364
Room-warmer
Patent Heating
366
Apparatus
Duck's-Foot
369
Paddle
Marine Engine
380
and Boiler
Compound
385
Marine Engine
Reform Column
391
in Detail
General View of
393
Reform Column

LIFE OF TREVITHICK.

CHAPTER XVII.
VARIOUS INVENTIONS.

"About 1804 Captain Trevithick put up in Dolcoath Mine a stone-crushing
mill, having large cast-iron rollers, for breaking into small pieces the large
stones of ore; it was spoken of as the first ever used for such a purpose; the
same form of crusher is still used in the mines. It caused a great saving
compared with breaking by a hand hammer."[1]
"I saw at the Weith Mine in 1805 a portable high-pressure engine, made by
Captain Trevithick.
"It was called a puffer; the cylinder was in the boiler; the steam about 30
lbs. on the inch above the atmosphere. A wooden shed sheltered the engine
and man.
"The facility of manufacture and cheapness of those engines caused them to
be much used in the mines, and also elsewhere."[2]
Mrs. Trevithick, about the time we are speaking of, accompanied
her husband through one of the Staffordshire china manufactories.
Trevithick said to the manufacturer, "You would grind your clay
much better by using my cast-iron rolls and high-pressure steam-
engine." The manufacturer begged him to accept a set of china.
Mrs. Trevithick was disappointed at hearing her husband say "No! I
have only told you what was passing in my mind."
Driving rolling-mills was among the early applications of the high-
pressure steam-engines; but pulverizing hard rock by the use of
iron rollers was a novelty: though his patent of 1802 shows the
proposed rolls driven by steam for crushing sugar-canes, yet no one
had dreamt, prior to 1804, of economy in crushing stone and clay

by such a means. The plan, however, remains in use to this day in
many mines, and is frequently spoken of under the name of quartz-
crusher.
"Mr. Giddy,
"Coalbrookdale, September 23rd, 1804.
"Sir,—Yours of the 13th this day came to hand. I left Wales about eight
weeks since, and put an engine to work in Worcester, of 10-horse power, for
driving a pair of grist-stones, and a leather-dressing machine, and another in
Staffordshire for winding coals; each of them works exceedingly well.
"From Coalbrookdale I went to Liverpool, where a founder had made two
of them, which also worked exceedingly well; one other was nearly
finished, and three others begun. Some Spanish merchants there saw one of
them at work, and said that as soon as they returned to Spain they would
send an order for twelve engines, of 12-horse power, for South America. In
South America and the Spanish West Indies water is very scarce; in several
places there is scarcely water for the inhabitants to drink, therefore there is
no water for any engine. By making inquiry, I found that ten mules would
roll as much cane in an hour as would produce 250 gallons of cane-juice,
which they boil until the water is evaporated, and the sugar produced.
"I told them that the engine-boiler might be fed with this juice, and by a
cock in the bottom of the boiler constantly turning, and by taking a greater
or smaller stream from it, they might make the juice as rich as they liked. In
this process the juice would be so far on towards sugar, and the fire that
worked the engine would cost nothing, because it would have taken the
same quantity of fuel under the sugar-pans to evaporate the water, as it
would in the engine-boiler.
"The steam from the engine might be turned around the outside of the
furnace for distilling rum, as the distilleries require but a slow heat.
"I think the steam would answer a good purpose around the outside of the
pan.
"If this method answers, the cost of working the engine would be nothing,
and the engine would be then working, as it were, without fire or water.

"The Spaniards told me that if this plan answers, they would take a
thousand engines for South America and the Spanish West Indies. I shall be
very much obliged to you for your opinion on this business. These
merchants make a trade of buying up sugar mills and pans, with every other
thing they want from England, and exchange them with the Spaniards for
sugar.
"At Manchester I found two engines had been made and put to work; they
worked very well: three more are in building. From there I went to
Derbyshire. The great pressure-engine I expect will be at work before the
middle of October. A foundry at Chesterfield is building a steam-engine as a
sample; two foundries in Manchester are at full work on them, and one in
Liverpool. There are six engines nearly finished at Coalbrookdale, and
seven in a foundry at Bridgenorth.
"I am making drawings for several other foundries. Any number of them
would sell. A vast number are now being erected, and no other engine is
erected where these are known. The engine for the West India Docks was
neglected during my absence from the Dale, but I expect it will be ready to
send off in ten days.
"In about three weeks I shall be in London to set it up. It will please you
very much, for it is a very neat and complete job, and I have no doubt will
answer every purpose exceedingly well. At Newcastle I found four engines
at work, and four more nearly ready; six of these were for winding coal, one
for lifting water, and one for grinding corn.
"That grinding corn was an 11-inch cylinder, driving two pair of 5-feet
stones 120 rounds per minute; ground 150 winchesters of wheat in twelve
hours with 12 cwt. of small coal. It worked exceedingly well, and was a
very complete engine, only the stroke was much too short, not more than 2
feet 6 inches, which made very much against the duty.
"The other engine that was lifting water had a 5½-inch diameter cylinder,
with a 3-feet stroke, drawing 100-gallon barrels, twenty-four every hour, 80
yards, burning 5 cwt. of coal in twenty-four hours.
"This work it did with very great ease. I believe you will find this an
exceeding good duty for a 5½-inch cylinder engine.

"Below I send a copy of Mr. Homfray's and Mr. Wood's letters to me:—
"Mr. Homfray's, of the 10th September.—'Our great engine goes on
extremely well here, nothing can go better; the piston gives no trouble; it
goes about three weeks, and we work it with blacklead and water; the
cylinder is as bright as a looking-glass; it uses about 2 lbs. of blacklead in a
week; about once in twelve or fifteen hours we put a small quantity of
blacklead, mixed with a little water, through the hole in the cylinder screw,
and we never use any grease. We rolled last week 140 tons of iron with it,
and it will roll as fast with the both pair of rolls, as they can bring to it.'
"Mr. Wood's letter, September 12th.—'We are going on, as it is likely we
always shall, in the old dog-trot way, puddling and rolling from the
beginning of the week till the end of it. Your engine is the favourite engine
with every man about the place, and Mr. Homfray says it is the best in the
kingdom.'
"I have not the smallest doubt but that I can make a piston without any
friction or any packing whatever, that needs not to have the cylinder screw
taken up once in seven years. It is a very simple plan, and will be perfectly
tight; it is by restoring an equilibrium on both sides of the piston. I expect to
see you in London soon, and then will give you the plan for inspection
before I put it in practice.
"I am very much obliged to you for recommending these engines in
Cornwall, but you have not stated in what manner they are to be applied;
whether to work pumps, or barrels, or both. They may be made both
winding and pumping engines at the same time, if so required.
"A rotative engine will cost more than an up-and-down-stroke, on account
of the expense of the fly-wheel and axle. An engine capable of lifting 180
gallons of water per minute 20 fathoms would cost, when complete and at
work, patent right included, about 220l. If it is a rotative engine, with a
winding barrel, it will cost 270l. I expect that a 7-inch cylinder would be
sufficient for winding at Penberthy Crofts, which might have a Crank on the
fly for lifting water in pumps, and a winding barrel on its back. This would
cost about 170l.; the erection of them, when on the spot, will cost nothing.

You do not say when you intend to be in town. I hope you will be present
when the dock-engine is set to work.
"The engines first sent to Cornwall, must be from Coalbrookdale; then they
will be well executed, but from Wales it would not be so.
"You may depend on having a real good engine sent down, with sufficient
openings given to the passages.
"The engineer from the Dale has been lately in London, and has just
returned; he gives a wonderful account of the engines working in London.
There are twelve now at work there. They have well established their utility
in different parts of the kingdom, and any number would sell. The founders
intend to make a great number, of different sizes, and send them to different
markets for sale, completely finished, as they stand.
"You do not say anything about wheels to the engine for Penberthy Crofts.
There are several engines here nearly finished; if they suit in size for
Penberthy, one may be sent down in four or five weeks, otherwise it may be
two months.
"I am, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"Richard Trevithick.
"Direct for me at the Talbot Inn, Coalbrookdale."
Trevithick worked hard and successfully in making his steam-
engines useful, and firmly believed that he could and would make
them universal labourers. Even the Spanish merchants,
unacquainted with steam, talked of giving an order for several
engines for South America; and their glowing account of the wide
field open to him may have been instrumental to his going to that
country by making his engines known there. His proposal to make
the sugar-cane convert itself into sugar by the use of his patent
high-pressure steam-engine may be more theoretical than practical;
but many more unlikely things have come to pass.

At that time several of his engines were at work in Wales,
Worcester, Staffordshire, Coalbrookdale, Manchester, Derbyshire,
Liverpool, Cornwall, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Twelve were at
work in London, and so familiar were people with them, that
founders intended to construct them of different sizes, and send
them for sale at the large market or county towns; their cost
complete, ready for work, to be 200l., more or less, according to
size, with a range of application unlimited. His one letter, casually
written sixty-seven years ago, mentions them as grinding corn,
dressing leather, winding coal, crushing sugar-cane, prepared to
boil sugar, and distil rum; pumping water, rolling iron, railway
locomotion, portable steam fire-engine, portable steam-crane, mine
engines on wheels; so that it may almost be said he was not too
sanguine in hoping to send in 1804 a thousand of his engines to
South America, for in those cursory remarks he draws attention to
no less than thirty-six high-pressure steam-puffers at work.
The Penberthy Croft Mine portable engine could be placed on
wheels or otherwise, according to the wish of the purchaser, as
though steam locomotion was an every day occurrence in 1804.
"Mr. Giddy,
"Camborne, January 13th, 1811.
"Sir,—From calculating the quantity of blast given to a blast-furnace, I find
a considerable quantity more of coal consumed by the same quantity of air
in this way, than by the usual way in common engine chimneys. Of course
the more cold air admitted to pass through the fire, the more heat carried to
the top of the stack. Crenver 63-inch cylinder, double-power, 8-feet stroke,
with but one boiler, works five strokes per minute. This gives about 1600
square feet of steam per minute, and burns about 8 tons of coals in twenty-
four hours. The stack for this boiler is 3½ feet square, and the draught rises
10 feet per second, and will set white paper in a flame at the top of it in
about a minute. Therefore, this chimney delivers 7200 square feet of air per

minute, which is four and a half times the quantity of heated air, at nearly
four times the temperature of heat that there is of steam produced from the
same fire, and delivered to the cylinder.
"A blast-furnace that burns 100 tons of coal per week is blown by a 5-feet
diameter air-cylinder, 4-feet stroke, ten strokes per minute, double-power,
giving about 1600 square feet of air per minute, to consume 100 tons of
coal, besides giving a melting heat to 350 tons of ore and limestone.
"Crenver engine has 7200 square feet of air to burn 56 tons of coal per
week, which is above eight times the quantity of air used by air fire-places
to what is used in a blast-furnace, and of course must carry off a great
proportion of the heat to the top of the stack, that might be saved if the
engine-fire was a blast instead of an air fire.
"But suppose the idea to be carried still further, by making an apparatus to
condense and take the whole of the heat into the cylinder instead of its
passing up the chimney. By having a very small boiler, and a blast-cylinder
to blow the whole of the blast into the bottom of the boiler, under a cylinder
full of small holes under the water, to make the heated air give all its heat to
the water.
"The furnace must be made in a tight cast-iron cylinder. Both the fire-door
and the hole through which the blast enters must be quite tight, as the
pressure will be as strong in the fire-place as in the boiler. The whole of the
air driven into the fire-place, with all the steam raised by its passage up
through the water in the boiler, must go into the cylinder. There will also be
the advantage of the expansion of the air by the heat over and above what it
was when taken cold into the blast-cylinder.
"From the great quantity of coal burnt in blast-furnaces you will find that a
very small blast-cylinder would work a 63-inch cylinder double. If there is
as much heat in a square foot of air as in steam of the same temperature, the
saving will be beyond all conception; but for my own part I cannot calculate
from theory what the advantages will be, if any, and for that reason, before I
drop or condemn the idea, I must request you will have the goodness, when
you have an hour to spare, to turn your thoughts to this subject, and inform
me of your sentiments on it.

"Perhaps it is like many
other wild fancies that
fly through the brain, but
I did not like to let it go
unnoticed without first
getting your opinion. I
hope you will excuse me
for so often troubling
you.
"St. Ives plans will be
delivered to them on
Tuesday, when I expect
they will be forwarded to
you.
"I hear there is a good
course of ore in the adit
end at Wheat Providence
Mine.
"A Mr. Sheffield, of Cumberland, writes to Mr. Gould that he has turned
idle his air-furnaces, and smelted his ores by a blast near a year since.
"His furnace is but 10 feet high and 4 feet diameter, and it melts 28 tons of
ore, of from 4 to 5 in the 100 per week, and makes a regel of from 65 to 70
in the 100, and answers beyond what we calculated for them.
"Suppose a furnace 20 feet high and 4 feet diameter, it would smelt eight
times the quantity of his, which would be near 900 tons per month, or
nearly double the quantity raised by any one mine in the country. The
expense of the ... would be very trifling.
"To-morrow Dolcoath account will be held, when I expect to have orders to
begin to erect a furnace on the spot.
"This trial of Mr. Sheffield's has put it out of my power to get a patent, and
now I do not know how to get paid.

"I should be content with 5 per cent. on the profits gained by this plan, and
would conduct the business for the mines without salary. Should you
chance to fall on the subject with his Lordship, be pleased to mention
something about the mode of my payment, as his Lordship is by far the
properest person to begin with about my pay, for after his Lordship has
agreed to the sum, and Dolcoath Mine the first to try the experiment, I think
all the county will give way to what he might propose. But I wish
something to be fixed on before all the agents in the mines know how to be
smelters themselves, after which I expect no favour, unless first arranged.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"Richard Trevithick.
How great was the practical insight his genius gave him, and how
imperfectly his followers have acted on this advice given sixty
years ago!
The chimney that at its top would ignite paper, threw to waste four
and a half times more heated air than was requisite to supply the
quantity of heat which passed through the working cylinder in
steam, and at a temperature nearly four times greater than the
temperature of the steam. It needs only to observe the burnt
appearance of a steamboat funnel of the present day to know how
wasteful we still are, or how very ignorant of improved methods of
economizing fuel.
To prevent this waste of heat up the chimney be proposed to do
away with the chimney altogether; the fire-place was to be a close
one, having a blast under the fire-bars of a strength sufficient to
force the air, heated by its passage through the fire, direct through a
small valve into the water in the boiler, by which means all the heat
given by ignition would pass into the steam, and his steam-puffer
become an aërated steam-engine.

From the following it appears that this plan of Trevithick's is now
coming into use as something quite new:—
"In your last impression, under the head of 'Air and Steam
combined, as a Motive Power,' you state 'the invention was
described to be that of Mr. Warsop, but we have recently heard that
a few years back (1865) the same invention had been protected in
an earlier patent than Mr. Warsop's, by Mr. Bell Galloway.'"[3]
Trevithick thought of patenting a plan for reducing copper ore by
the use of a blast, in preference to the usual air-furnace and
chimney, but something similar had been tried by Mr. Gould, and
he therefore proposed to erect a blast-furnace in Dolcoath Mine,
receiving a portion of the saving of fuel as his remuneration. Such a
furnace worked there for many years, until copper smelting was
removed from Cornwall to Wales. The plans for a breakwater at St.
Ives were for an undertaking that has since been in many hands, but
without success, except perhaps for the convenient making of
members of Parliament. Some slight progress has been made by
engineers and contractors, but vessels are not willingly taken to the
port, and ratepayers grumble at unprofitable harbour taxes.
"Dear Trevithick,
"London, January 20th, 1811.
"I have not lost any time in mentioning your wishes respecting a
compensation for the plan of smelting copper to Lord Dedunstanville, who
intends mentioning the affair in his next letter to Mr. Reynolds. Lord
Dedunstanville wishes you extremely well, but it is impossible for him to
settle anything apart from the adventurers.
"I am very sorry that anyone should have executed the plan of reducing
copper ore by a blast-furnace before you had put into practice the idea
suggested to me ten years ago. It ascertains, however, that the contrivance
will succeed, although you are certainly reduced to ask moderate terms, and

I know not what can be more moderate than those you have asked, except
that I would recommend some limit as to time.
"The plan you suggest for an engine on a new construction is, I fear, very
doubtful.
"According to the data furnished to me, the air in the blast would be to that
in a common fire-place as 6¼ to 1 very nearly, provided their densities were
the same; but you have measured one entering the furnace at the common
temperature, and the other going to the stack so hot as to set on fire a piece
of paper held at the top. Thus the increase of temperature that augments the
elasticity of a fluid confined, would expand it in the same degree. It is
therefore uncertain from these statements which furnace consumes the
greater quantity of air. I apprehend the general principles of an engine
worked by hot air, through the medium of a blast, would be as follows:—
"Let any quantity of air be driven into a furnace with the pressure of an
atmosphere, and let it be there expanded ten times. It should then be taken
off ten times as quick, but in that case no power whatever would be
produced, so the external atmosphere would balance the internal. Now, let
the blast be two atmospheres strong, and let them be expanded ten times,
and be taken off ten times as fast, each stroke will be opposed by one, equal
in all to ten; subtract two for the blast, there remain eight.
"But air so hot would burn every vegetable or animal substance, and such a
furnace I suppose could scarcely be kept air-tight. If the heated air is made
to act on water, then it becomes a mere question of how much absolute heat
is given out by the fuel, and whether that excess is more than sufficient to
compensate the burden of the blast; for the water will absorb an immense
quantity of heat in changing itself into steam, and thus reduce the force of
the air as to make it almost impossible for that addition to add so much
power as the blast takes away.
"I have, therefore, no hesitation in saying that this plan will certainly not do.
Write to me by all means whenever anything strikes you, and you may
always depend on having my best advice.
"I am, dear Sir,
Ever most truly yours,

Davies Giddy."
Trevithick saw without apparent reasoning, while his friend's
reasonings failed to make plain the full bearing of the questions,
and so cramped the position as to make a change of front difficult
—an operation in which Trevithick excelled. We learn, however,
that in 1801 he suggested a blast in copper-ore furnaces, and in
1811 was on the verge of a discovery that has since revolutionized
the iron-smelter's art by the use of hot blast. Wasted heat from a
blast-furnace 10 feet high led him to the conclusion that by
doubling the height of the furnace, enabling the cold mineral
thrown in at the top to take up the heat wasted through the top of
the low furnace, seven-eighths of the coal would be saved. His idea
of sending blast through the furnace of his steam-boiler to
economize heat could have been readily applied to the iron furnace,
and we should have had the modern hot-blast iron furnaces.
[Rough draft.]
"Gentlemen,
"Camborne, March 5th, 1812.
"Your favour of the 15th February, with a sketch of your brewery, I have
received; and from which I find the head of water is 30 feet above the
brewery, which makes it difficult to erect the chain and buckets so as to take
advantage of the whole height of water; and as the stream is so very small,
it will not admit of losing any part of the power.
"To erect a machine so high, to engage the whole fall, would be, I fear,
more expense than the power you would get would warrant; therefore I
would recommend it to be made use of in a cylinder, in the same way as we
use falls of water of 200 feet in our Cornish copper mines. We allow one-
third loss for friction and leakage in those machines; but your machine
being so very small, the loss will exceed that proportion; therefore I cannot
promise you above one-half of the real weight and fall to be performed on

your machinery, and that must be by a well-executed machine, for a small
defect would destroy the value of so trifling a power.
"As there is no expansion in water, it will be somewhat difficult to make the
machine turn the centres with a fly-wheel, for if the valve shuts a little too
early or too late for the turn of the crank over the centre, the fly-wheel's
velocity must break something by confining the water between the piston
and the bottom of the cylinder, which, after the valve is shut, cannot make
its escape, and not having an elastic principle, the piston will strike as dead
on the water as on a piece of iron, because, unless the valve is shut by the
engine before the stroke is finished, it cannot shut at all.
"I know persons who have attempted to put fly-wheels on pressure-engines
of this kind, but never yet has one been made to work rotative. I do not see
much difficulty in making an engine of this kind to work a crank and fly-
wheel, by connecting an air-vessel with the cylinder to receive the pressure
and contract and expand and shut the valves, the same as in steam-engines.
"A machine on this plan ought to be placed as near the low level as
possible. If I furnish you with drawings and directions for the executing of
the work yourselves, I shall charge you fifteen guineas for them. If I send
the machine finished, the charge will be 50l.
"Your objections respecting steam-engines I do not doubt are correct, when
executed by persons who do not understand the construction of them. In
England some persons privately erected my engine to evade the patent
premium, but have severely paid for their saving knowledge by accidents
and defects in their engineering ability. I have erected above 100 steam-
engines on this principle, but never met with one accident or complaint
against them. To prevent mischief from bad castings, or from the fire
injuring the surface of cast iron, I make the boilers of wrought iron, and
always prove them with a pressure of water, forced in equal to four times
the strength of steam intended to be worked with.
"Some persons have worked those engines under a pressure above 100 lbs.
on the square inch, but in general practice I do not exceed 20 lbs., finding
under this pressure the piston will stand six or eight weeks, and the joints
remain perfect, and no risk of bursting the boiler, it being made of wrought

iron, and proved by pressure before sent off; but cast-iron boilers may, by
defects not discernible, and are very apt to break by the water being left low
in the boiler, and if heated red hot, exploding without the smallest notice;
but wrought-iron boilers, when defective, give way only partially, without
injury to anyone. With respect to the erecting and management of the
engine, you need not have an engineer, for any common tradesman can do
this from the drawings and directions sent with the engine; for, as I before
informed you, farmers and their labourers set up and keep in order the
thrashing-machine engines without my going on the spot or sending any
person to assist them. I never saw a steam-engine rolling malt, therefore
cannot judge the quantity the engine would roll, only by a comparison with
horse labour, against the consumption of coal, which will be in some cases
as about 42 lbs. to one horse; but where great speed is required in the
machine, the coal will be less, as steam-engines make more revolutions in a
minute than horse mills, therefore the work is done with less friction.
"I have several times applied the steam, after it has worked the engine, to
boil water and other purposes, with as good effect as if the engine had not
been there, therefore the work of the engine will be a clear profit.
"You say about a 1-horse engine. The boiler would be so small that it would
not be worth applying that steam to any other purpose, as any large quantity
of water would be but slowly heated.
"I find that it does not answer either the purpose of the vendor or the user of
an engine, to make less than a 2-horse power, as the expense on a very
small engine is nearly as much as one of the power I use for thrashing,
those being only 80l., and a 2-horse is 60l. Respecting the mashing with
steam, I never before heard of it, but from the theory of the plan I think it
cannot fail to answer a far better purpose than any other that can possibly be
applied for extracting the essence of the malt. However, should it not
answer your purpose, it is only the loss of the expense of a few yards of 1-
inch lead pipe.
"In an engine of the size used for thrashing, if the fire is kept brisk, it will
boil, by the steam sent into a separate vessel, near 300 gallons of water per
hour.

"The room required to work in is about 7 feet diameter, and 12 feet high. It
would be useless to put you to the expense of drawings, until you have
made up your minds on what you intend to have done.
"I am,Gentlemen,
"Your most obedient humble servant,
"Richard Trevithick.
"To Robinson and Buchanan, Brewers,
"Londonderry, Ireland."
Engineers of the present day do not volunteer such general
information without charge, or give such a variety of practical
mechanism slightly but clearly described, and principles reduced to
practice. An endless chain with buckets is a form of water-wheel
not then in use. A water-pressure engine for so small a quantity of
water, with a fall of about 30 feet, would cause a loss of 50 per
cent. from friction and small defects. The non-elastic character of
water made it unsuitable for a machine requiring a fly-wheel. Air-
vessels should be used to lessen the rigidity of water. Cast-iron
boilers dangerous. Wrought-iron boilers to be tested with a water
pressure four times as great as the proposed working steam
pressure. A steam pressure of 20 lbs. to the inch most suitable for
engines in charge of inexperienced persons. The brewers' mash tub
to be heated by the waste or surplus steam.
[Rough draft.]
"Gentlemen,
"Camborne, December 5th, 1812.
"I have yours of the 20th November. The letter you directed for Truro never
came to hand. I find by your letter that you have been trying to put into
practice the hints I gave you about the chain and buckets, and that you
expect it will answer if properly executed. You are not the first that has
picked up my hints, and stuck fast in their execution. I make it a rule never
to send a drawing until I have received my fee, and when you remit to me

fifteen guineas I will furnish you with proper drawings and directions to
enable you to make and erect the machine.
"I remain, Gentlemen,
"Your very humble servant,
"Richard Trevithick.
"Robinson and Buchanan, Brewers,
"Londonderry."
What a pocket encyclopædia of inventions! from which, as by
stealth, Robinson and Buchanan selected the least applicable,
declining a suitable steam-engine at a very small cost, rather than
pay an engineer for his opinion.
[Rough draft.]
"Sir Charles Hawkins, Bart.,,
Camborne, April 26th, 1812.
"Sir,—I have received yours of the 7th, respecting the small breakwater at
St. Ives. As far as I can judge from a rough calculation, I think it an
undertaking likely to pay well; but as you wished me not to mention
anything about your intentions, and not receiving your orders to make a
minute inquiry and estimate, I cannot answer your letter so fully as I should
wish, fearing that giving a random and imperfect statement might be apt to
lead you into errors, and also make me look simple. If an engineer were
employed to survey and estimate after me, every information in my power
is at your service; therefore be pleased to state particularly what information
you wish, and I will attend to the business and answer your questions as
early as possible.
"I have received a letter from Sir John Sinclair requesting correct drawings
and statements of the thrashing engine to be forwarded to the President of
the Board of Agriculture, which I shall attend to. He also says that he has
sent my letter to the Navy Board, in hopes that the experiment of propelling
vessels by steam may be tried under its sanction and expense.

"Perhaps it might be proper to wait the answer of the Navy Board before
writing to Mr. Praed about propelling the canal boats. I am very much
obliged to you for writing to Captain Gundry, about the Wheal Friendship
engine. I expect to have a portable steam-whim and stamps at work at my
own expense in a few days, which will prove for itself its utility; that being
the only way to introduce new things. I would be very much obliged to you
to say if Mr. Halse is to pay me for my past attendance at St. Ives about the
breakwater. Enclosed you have a letter to Sir John Sinclair, unsealed for
your inspection, which, if you approve of, please to forward.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"Richard Trevithick.
Trevithick's skill did not prevent his being reasonably modest, or
cause him to be envious of others; neither did his dear-bought
experience, that one's own pocket must pay for making public one's
own inventions, prevent his again soliciting the assistance of
persons of influence, though it does not seem that Mr. Praed helped
forward the screw-propeller, or that Sir John Sinclair gave direct
help, though he probably made known the high-pressure steam-
engine to the marine experimenters on the Clyde.
[Rough draft.]
"Mr. Rastrick,
"Camborne, December 7th, 1812.
"Sir,—I have been waiting your answer to my last, and especially that part
respecting the West India engine, as I have not nor could not answer their
letter to me without first hearing from you; therefore must beg you will be
so good as to answer me by return of post on that subject. If they get
impatient about the time, and refuse to take the engine, I have no doubt the
Plymouth people will take it and several others; but I very much wish to
send one to the West Indies, as there is a large field open there for engines
of this kind. I have received an order for a thrashing engine for Lord de
Dunstanville, of Tehidy; and as I wish those thrashing engines to be known

through the country, I intend to take one of the engines ordered for Padstow
and send it to Tehidy. One of the Padstow farmers can wait until you make
another for him. Therefore I would thank you to send the first finished by
ship from Bristol for Portreath or Hayle. Send a drum with everything
complete, of which you are a better judge than I. Probably about 3 feet in
diameter and 3½ feet long will be sufficient.
"There must be a fly-wheel with a notch to carry the rope, and also a small
notch-wheel on the drum-axle. I think 6½ feet diameter for the fly, and 9½
inches diameter for the small wheel, will give speed enough to the drum.
Mind to cast a lump, or screw on a balance, of about 1 cwt., on one side of
the fly-wheel. There must be two stands on the boiler, and a crank-axle, or
otherwise a crank-pin, in the fly-wheel, whichever you please; with a shaft
3 feet long with a carriage.
"The engine is to stand in a room under the barn, about 7½ feet high, 7 feet
wide, and 14 feet long. The fly-wheel will stand across the narrow way of
the room. The rope will go up through the floor, and the drum be shifted by
a screw, horizontally, on the barn floor, so as to tighten the rope. I shall put
down the top of the boiler level with the surface, with an arched way to the
fire and ash-pit under ground, to prevent the chance of fire, which the
farmers are very much afraid of. I send you a sketch showing how it is to
stand.
"I do not bind you to the size of the drum or wheels, only the room that the
fly-wheel works in is but 7 feet wide.
"Now to Mr. Richards' mill.
"Query 1st.—The length of the piston, and the small variation that the beam
will give it, is so trifling that it will not be felt.
"The cylinders that have been working on their sides for seven years past,
are now working as well as any engine with upright cylinders, which is a
proof that the little rubbing is of no consequence.
"Query 2nd.—The passage in the cock is equal to the passage we make in
our large engines, which is only one-fortieth part of the piston; and as we
shall work with high steam, we do not mind the pressing through the steam-
passage; and as the steam will be very much expanded, it will not be felt in

the passage to the condenser. I know where we have removed cylinders and
put larger ones on the same nozzles and condensing work, and the engines
did good duty.
"Query 3rd.—I find by experience that if you give double the quantity of
injection to an engine one stroke, and none the other, that the quicksilver in
the gauge will stand nearly the same; the cold sides of the condenser are
sufficient to work an engine a great many strokes without any injection.
"Query 4th.—You may put a hanging to the air-pump bucket, and foot-
valve; either that or a rising one will do very well, but I think the rising
cover and wood face on the top, best.
"Query 5th.—The air-pump bucket is large enough. At Wheal Alfred they
have a 64-inch cylinder; the air-pump is 20 inches, and the stroke is half
that of the engine. They were afraid that it was too small; they then put
another of 14 inches by the side of the first, the same stroke. The
quicksilver tube stands as high with the one 20-inch bucket as with the two
buckets; the engine works best with the one bucket. I have found by
experience that size to be sufficient, and (especially in an engine that works
quickly) make the cistern high enough to cover the condensing work well
with water.
"Query 6th.—My reason for making the forcing pump with duck-valves is,
because they do not bum like the others, and we find them seldom out of
repair; but make it whichever way you think best, and work it in any way
you like.
"Query 7th.—I mean by ¾ expansive, that the steam is to be shut off from
the cylinder when the piston has moved up from the bottom one quarter of
its stroke. Make the cam to your own mind.
"Query 8th.—I do not think the engine will require a heavier fly-wheel, as
the stones will act as a fly, and the power, though so very irregular, will be
so sudden in its changes, that the speed of the machinery will not let it be
felt. If you make a crank, you may make the fly-wheel 3 or 4 feet more in
diameter. But if with a pin in the fly-wheel, the beam would come down on
the top of it; therefore, I think it will be better to put a crank, and put the
fly-wheel in the middle of the shaft.

"Query 9th.—The steam will be raised to 25 lbs. to the inch above the
atmosphere, or 40 lbs. to the inch on a vacuum; but I think you need not
calculate for much more strength on that account. It is not the power that
breaks the machinery, but bangs, and not the uniform weight that this will
give.
"Query 10th.—Twenty strokes per minute I propose, which I think a fair
speed.
"Query 11th.—The fire-bars must be of wrought iron; we find them answer
much better than cast iron. Let them be 5/8ths of an inch from bar to bar, 1
inch thick at the top, 3/8ths of an inch at the bottom, 2 inches deep, 4 feet
long, with bits on them at the ends, to prevent their getting too close
together. I find the nearer the fire is to the door, the better and handier it is
to work. All the large engines are in this way, and we do not find the door or
front plate get hot, as they are lined with brick. Cast the door with a rib to
hold a brick on its edge. Tube, 2 feet 9 inches by 1 foot 11 inches; manhole,
15 by 10 inches.
"Query 12th.—A governor will be required; perhaps as good a place as any
for it, out of the way, will be on the cast iron that carries the beam; you may
turn the fly-wheel whichever way you please. If this engine is worked with
steam of 25 lbs. to the inch above the atmosphere, and the steam shut off at
one-twentieth part of the ascending stroke of the piston, the power will be
as three is to two of Boulton and Watt's single engines.
"Only two pairs of stones for the present, but calculate those stones to stand
in such a way that another pair may be placed, on a future day, if wanted. I
have not seen Mr. Richards lately. I wish you to write a form of an order, in
your next, such as you wish, and I will get him to write to you accordingly.
Put the engine and drum for Lord de Dunstanville out of hand neat and
well, as it will be well paid for; and make the stands, &c., in your own way.
"Rd. Trevithick."
Mr. Richards' flour-mill engine may claim to be the first practical
smoke-burner: keeping the fire much thinner at the inner end of the
grate-bars than at the fire-door end of the grate, allowed of the freer

passage of air through the thinner layer of coal, near the fire-bridge,
causing the combustion of the passing gas. This idea has, since the
date of Trevithick's letter, led to several smoke-burning patents.
The boiler fire-tube was oval, 2 feet 9 inches by 1 foot 11 inches.
The open-topped cylinder was supplied with a heavy and deep
piston serving as a counterweight, and also as a guide in the
cylinder for correcting the angle of the connecting rod. Experience
had taught him that the cold sides of the condenser were sufficient
to work an engine a great many strokes without a supply of
injection; and he had already used high-pressure steam of 25 lbs. to
the inch above the atmosphere, cut off from the cylinder when the
piston had performed one quarter of its course: thus both these
things were as first steps leading to the modern expansive steam-
engine and surface condensation.
The simplicity of the engine is remarkable—a high-pressure,
expansive, condensing engine, worked by a single four-way cock,
without cylinder-cover, or parallel motion.
The low first cost, and non-liability to derangement, were always
kept in view; and his confirmed experience in the satisfactory
working of horizontal cylinders prior to 1812 illustrates their
extended application; for at that time scarcely any other engineer
had constructed other than upright cylinder engines. No detail
escaped his observant gaze. The fire-bars were to be 2 inches deep,
1 inch thick at the top edge, tapered to ¾ths of an inch at the
bottom, giving the required strength, with free room for air, which
in its passage cooled the bar, carrying the heat into the fire. Years
before and after that period the fire-bar in common use by
thoughtless people was a square iron bar that was always burning
and bending.

The letter is descriptive of the high-pressure steam-engine in the
sixteenth year of its age; and its expansive steam, made practical by
Trevithick's high-pressure boilers. This engine only took steam
during the first quarter of its stroke, the remaining three-quarters
were by the expansion. Had it taken steam only during one-
twentieth of its stroke, it would have been more powerful than
Boulton and Watt's low-pressure steam vacuum engine of the same
size.
[Rough draft.]
"Sir,
"Camborne, November 8th, 1812.
"I have your favour of the 3rd inst., informing me that Messrs. Fox and
Williams have engaged to quarry the stone for e breakwater at Plymouth,
but does not say whether you hold any share with them in the contract or
not. Therefore I cannot understand from your letter whether you wish to see
an engine fitted to the purpose of the breakwater, or for pumping the water
from the foundations of the Exeter Bridge. Please to inform me which of
the two purposes you wish to see the engine calculated for, and about what
time you think you shall want it, and I will get one finished suitable to the
purpose you intend it for.
"Yours, &c.,
"R. T.
"Jas. Green, Esq., St. David's Hill, Exeter.
"N.B.—To what extent have Messrs. Fox engaged, and what parts of the
work do they perform? I think more good might be done by loading,
carrying, and discharging, than by quarrying only."
Trevithick was equally ready with the application of steam-power
either for pumping of water or for boring and removing rock. The
use of chisels and rock-breakers in the Thames in 1803[4] had
prepared the way for the more perfect engine for boring, lifting,

and carrying rock from the quarries to its destination at the
Plymouth Breakwater in 1812.[5]
"Sir,
"106, Holborn Hill, November 26th, 1812.
"I am in receipt of yours of the 22nd inst. Mr. Giddy informs me that Mr.
Fox and Mr. Williams are to have 2s. 6d. per ton for making the breakwater
at Plymouth, and he considers that they can do it for 2s., which he thought
would give them 50,000l. profit. If you meet those gentlemen, I have to
caution you not to LEARN THEM anything until you make a bargain, as I
know Mr. Williams will endeavour to learn all he can and then you may go
whistle.
"If 6d. per ton will give 50,000l. profit, a halfpenny per ton would give
upwards of 4000l. Would they agree to give you that for your labour only?
However, this will depend in a great measure on the time it will take in
doing. If it takes eight years it would be 500l. a year for you (according to
Mr. Giddy's calculation).
"Your well-wisher,
"Henry Harvey.
"Mr. Rd. Trevithick, Camborne."
Mr. Harvey knew Trevithick's weakness in money matters. Rennie
had been employed to report on the proposed Plymouth
Breakwater, and in 1811 was desired by Lord Melville, the head of
the Admiralty, to proceed with the work. "The price paid in 1812
for taking and depositing rubble in the breakwater was 2s. 9d. per
ton; it was afterwards reduced to 1s. per ton. A piece of ground was
purchased from the Duke of Bedford at Oreston, up the Catwater,
containing 25 acres of limestone, well adapted for the purposes of
the work; and steps were taken to open out the quarry, to lay down
railways to the wharves, to erect cranes."[6] The idea of the plan to
be followed in conveying stone with greater economy and dispatch
than was contemplated by Rennie, originated with Trevithick,

while the former received the credit and the pay, as he before had
done with the steam-dredger.
[Rough draft.]
"Mr. Fox Jun.,
"Camborne, January 29th, 1813.
"Sir,—Since I was at Roskrow I have
been making trial on boring lumps of
Plymouth limestone at Hayle Foundry,
and find that I can bore holes five times
as fast with a borer turned round than by
a blow or jumping-down in the usual
way, and the edge of the boring bit was
scarcely worn or injured by grinding
against the stone, as might have been
expected. I think the engine that is
preparing for this purpose will bore ten
holes of 2½ inches in diameter 4 feet
deep per hour. Now suppose the engine to stand on the top of the cliff, or on
any level surface, and a row of holes bored, 4 feet in from the edge of the
cliff, 4 feet deep, and about 12 inches from hole to hole for the width of the
piece to be brought down at one time, and wedges driven into the holes to
split the rock in the same way as they cleave moorstone, only instead of
holes 4 inches deep, which will cleave a moorstone rock 10 feet deep when
the holes are 14 or 15 inches apart, the holes in limestone must go as deep
as you intend to cleave out each stope, otherwise the rock will cleave in an
oblique direction, because detached moorstone rocks have nothing to hold
them at the bottom, and split down the whole depth of the rock. In carrying
down a large piece of solid ground the bottom will always be fast, therefore
unless it is wedged hard at the bottom of the hole the stope cannot be
carried down square. In a hole 2½ inches diameter and 4 feet deep put in
two pieces of iron, one on each side of the hole, having a rounded back,
then put a wedge between the two pieces, which might be made thus, if
required to wedge tighter at the bottom of the hole than at the top.

"If this plan answers, the whole of the stones would be fit for service, even
for building, and would all be nearly of the same size and figure. Each piece
would be easily removed from the spot by an engine on a carriage working
a crane, which would place them into the ship's hold at once. It would all
stand on a plain surface, and might be had in one, two, three, or four tons in
a stone, as might best suit the purpose, which would make the work from
beginning to end one uniform piece. Steam machinery would accomplish
more than nine-tenths of all the work, besides saving the expense of all the
powder. I find that limestone will split much easier than moorstone, and I
think that a very great saving in expense and time may be made if the plan
is adopted.
"Please to think of these hints and write me when and where I may see you
to consult on the best method of making the tools for this purpose before I
set the workmen to make them. Any day will suit me, except Monday, the
8th of February. The sooner the better, as I cannot set to work to make the
tools until we have arranged the plan.
"I am, Sir,
"Your humble servant,
"Rd. T."
The successful completion of the Mont Cenis Tunnel in 1871 was
mainly due to an ingenious application of combined mechanical
force to boring tools, before limited to man's strength; but the
applied principle existed sixty years ago, and though not so perfect
in detail, yet more comprehensive. Trevithick's high-pressure steam
boring engine enabled him to penetrate the rock five times as fast
as the quarryman's power. Ten holes, 2½ inches in diameter, 4 feet
deep, could be bored in an hour, and he sagaciously suggested that
in quarrying the limestone for the breakwater, a row of holes
should be bored by his engine 4 feet in from the face of the rock,
2½ inches in diameter, 4 feet deep, and 12 inches apart; and by
dropping into each hole two half-round pieces of iron, to be driven
asunder by a steel wedge, large blocks would be forced off without

the use of gunpowder. The high-pressure steam-puffer having
bored the stone, moved itself toward the broken mass, lifted it into
waggons, and again changing its powers from steam-crane to
steam-locomotive, conveyed it to the port, and lifted it into the
ship's hold. The whole operation was thus aptly described by the
inventor, who then counted on contracting for the breakwater work:
—"Steam machinery will accomplish more than nine-tenths of all
the work, besides saving the expense of all the gunpowder."
[Rough draft.]
"Mr. Robert Fox, Jun.,
"Camborne, February 4th, 1813.
"Sir,—Since I was with you at Falmouth I have made a trial of boring
limestone, and find that the men will bore a hole 1½ inch in diameter 1 inch
deep in every minute, with a weight of 500 lbs. on the bit. I had no lump
more than 12 inches deep; but to that depth I found that having a flat stem
to the bit of the same width as the diameter of the hole, twisted like a screw,
completely discharged the powdered limestone from the bottom of the hole
without the least inconvenience.
"From the time the two men were employed boring a hole 12 inches deep, I
am convinced to a certainty that the engine at Hayle will bore as many
holes in one day as will be sufficient to split above 100 tons of limestone,
and would draw that 100 tons of stone from the spot and put them into the
ship's hold in one other day. The engine would burn in two days 15 bushels
of coal, four men would be sufficient to attend on the engine, cleave the
stone, and put it into the ship's hold. I think it would not amount to above
9d. per ton, every expense included, but say 1s., which I am certain it will
not amount to. Perhaps it may not be amiss to withhold the method of
executing this work until the partners have more fully arranged with me the
agreement as to what I was to receive for carrying the plan into execution. I
do not wish that anyone but your father should be made acquainted with the
plan, and have no doubt he will have sufficient confidence in the scheme to

adopt it. I shall be glad to hear from you soon, as I intend to go to Padstow
in a few days and shall not return under a fortnight.
"Your humble servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
"N.B.—I this day received a letter from Mr. Gould, requesting to know
what the expense of an engine and apparatus would be for clearing
Falmouth Harbour, which I have sent by the post."[7]
It had been and still is the custom to bore rock either with a long
and heavy jumper-chisel, lifted a foot or two, and falling by its own
weight, pounding to powder a portion of the rock, or by the use of a
much smaller chisel called a borer, struck by a hammer. Trevithick
having made his steam-engine perform those jumper and borer
movements, turned his attention to the improvement of the borer,
and found that a revolving bit was more suitable for drilling
limestone than the borer-chisel. The powdered stone was removed
from the hole by giving a screw form to the stem of the bit. Many
years afterwards precisely similar bits for boring wood were
patented as new things, and are still used. Within five months of his
first communication with the contractors for the Plymouth
Breakwater he had designed and made an engine to bore, lift, and
convey to the ship's hold 50 tons of stone daily at less than half the
cost Rennie was then paying for it.
[Rough draft.]
"Sir,
"Camborne, February 4th, 1813.
"I have your letter of the 31st January requesting to know the time in which
the engine will be ready for the bridge at Exeter, and also about giving an
additional power to it.
"The engine shall be ready in six weeks from the end of January, and shall
be capable of lifting the 10-inch bucket you have ordered instead of the 9-

inch before proposed, which was to have delivered 500 gallons of water 12
feet high per minute; but now the engine shall be made to lift in the same
proportion as a 9-inch is to a 10-inch bucket, which will be 617 gallons of
water per minute instead of 500 gallons, as was before agreed on, and I
shall charge you accordingly. I observe that you have ordered the pump, and
from the description you give of it, I think it will answer very well. If you
wish a perpendicular cylinder instead of a horizontal, I can construct it in
that way, but it will not be so convenient for a portable engine. I have now
engines with horizontal cylinders at work above ten years, and find them
answer equally as well as a perpendicular cylinder.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"Richd. Trevithick.

"Jas. Green, Esq., Exeter."
Engineers nowaday are not in the habit of designing and
constructing a steam-engine in six weeks, or willing to alter the
agreed form from the horizontal to the vertical without charge.
[Rough draft.]
"Mr. Robert Fox, jun., informed me the other day that you had the sole
direction of the work at Plymouth. Had I known it at the time you were at
Scorier I should have communicated to you my ideas relating to the
application of machinery there; but until a few days since I had an idea that
the young Mr. Fox was about to take an active part in the management,
which I now find was never his intention, only he very much wishes to have
an experiment tried to see to what extent an engine was capable of
performing as against men. An engine is now preparing for that purpose."
"Sir,
"Camborne, February 24th, 1813.
"On my return from Padstow this evening, where I have been for the last
fortnight, I found your letter of the 11th inst. respecting the getting an
apparatus ready for the Plymouth undertaking. Before I set about it I wish

to see you and Mr. Fox, and will call any day you may appoint. Waiting
your reply,
"I remain, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"R. Trevithick.
"Mr. Robert Fox, Jun., Falmouth"
After three months of experimental scheming, without a thought of
keeping his inventions secret, Trevithick for a moment became
worldly wise, and asked for a written agreement before sending his
locomotive boring engine to the breakwater.
[Rough draft.]
"Mr. Fox,
"Camborne, 14th March, 1814.
"Sir,—I expect to be called to London immediately after the end of this
month. The engine with the boring apparatus for Plymouth remains at
Redruth. I very much wish to see you on that business before I leave home,
and would be much obliged by your dropping me a note by post, saying
what day it would be convenient for me to wait on you.
"R. T."
The rock-boring machine was completed, and reached the
breakwater two months after his interview with the Foxes, who
were prominent in the quarrying work. "The engine for Plymouth
will be put to break the ground as soon as I can find time to go up
there."[8] It was impossible for any one man, single-handed, to
make perfect such numerous practical inventions as were
undertaken by Trevithick at that time. His letter of a few months
before[9] reveals the facility with which he moulded the steam-
engine to his requirements. "The ploughing engine that I sent you a
drawing for, after being used for that purpose, was to have been
sent to Exeter for pumping water. I have been obliged to take the

small portable engine from Wheal Alfred Mine, and have a new
apparatus fitted to it for Plymouth Breakwater. A small engine
which I had at work at a mine I have been obliged to send to the
farmers for thrashing." Messrs. Fox would probably require many
engines for the Plymouth Breakwater, having engaged with
Government to deliver three million tons of stone; and to prevent
delay, the boring apparatus was applied to an engine made for
another purpose, while drawings for a new and more suitable
engine for boring stone were sent to Mr. Rastrick.
He engaged that an engine should bore holes to split 100 tons of
limestone a day; and that on the following day it should, as a
locomotive and steam-crane, load that quantity in waggons, convey
it from the quarry to the port of shipment, and then by steam-crane
place it in the hold of a vessel. The whole of the work to be done
by 11 cwt. of coal and four men. The gross cost would be 1s. per
ton for breaking and removing, though at that time Mr. Rennie was
paying 2s. 9d. a ton, which in after years was reduced to 1s., just
what Trevithick said was a fair price.
While this ready application of the high-pressure steam-engine was
going on in England, it had also extended to, and was coining
money in the Mint at Lima, where Trevithick contemplated going
to look after it, intending to land at Buenos Ayres, and make his
way across the continent of South America and the mountains of
the Cordilleras as best he could, leaving the home field he had
made so fertile to be reaped by others, and the stone-boring
locomotive to be forgotten for many years.
[Rough draft.]
"Sirs,
"Penzance, December 9th, 1815.

"Your very great neglect in not writing.... Herland engine will work, I
expect, in about fifteen days. It is a plunger of 33 inches diameter, 10-feet
stroke, with a double packing around the top of the plunger-pole, in the
same way as the steam is turned into the stuffing box of a double engine to
exclude the air, only there is a small tube from the bottom of the boiler to
the middle of the stuffing box to prevent the escape of steam.
"I am sorry to find by Mr. Uville's letter that the Mint engine does not go
well. I wish you had put the fire under the boiler and through the tube, as I
desired you to do, in the usual way of the long boilers; then you might have
made your fire-place as large as you pleased, which would have answered
the purpose and worked with wood just as well as with coal. I always told
you that the fire-place in the boiler was large enough for coal, but not for
wood; also if you found that the cock did not open and shut in proper time,
to make the gear to it work the same as the Dolcoath puffer whim-engine
instead of the circular gear. The boiler is strong enough and large enough to
work this engine with 30 lbs. to the inch, thirty strokes per minute. I hope to
leave Cornwall for Lima about the end of this month, and go by way of
Buenos Ayres, and cross over the continent of South America, because I
cannot get any other passage. None of the South Sea whalers will engage to
take me to Lima, as they say they may touch at Lima or they may not.
Unless I give them an immense sum they will not engage to drop me there.
To be brought back to England after a two years' voyage without seeing
Lima would be a very foolish trip. To make a certainty I shall take the first
ship for Buenos Ayres, preparations for which I have already made."
This unfinished rough draft was intended for one of the men who
had gone to Lima, less fruitful in emergency than Trevithick, who,
without a moment's hesitation, would have constructed a fire-place
outside the boiler, when the internal tube fire-place was found to be
too small for a wood fire. Trevithick's proposing sixty years ago to
make his way over the almost unknown track from Buenos Ayres,
on the Atlantic, to Lima, on the Pacific, was perhaps characteristic
of his daring spirit, that turned all things to good account; but he
dreamed not that his grandson and namesake would at this time be

conducting the steam-horse on the same line of march on the
Central Argentine Railway from Rosario to Cordoba, in the
Argentine Republic.
[Rough draft.]
"Gentlemen,
"Camborne, August 19th, 1813.
"I received yours at Bridgenorth of the 19th July, ordering a steam-engine
for rolling sugar-cane. I immediately set the founders to work on one for
you, which is to be ready by my return to Bridgenorth about the end of
September. I intend to ship it for Bristol, and will call on you on my journey
down to Cornwall, as I intend to set it to work at Bristol for your inspection
before it is put on board ship. The price I cannot accurately say at present,
as the engine now making is on a new principle; and as it will be more
simple in construction, I hope to be able to render it within the price before
stated to you. As it is on a new plan I cannot fix the price until I know the
cost of making. All I can say at present is that it shall not exceed what I
stated to you in my former letter.
"I remain, Sirs,
"Your humble servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
"Messrs. Pinneys and Ames, Bristol."
The engine for the sugar plantations in Jamaica, on an improved
plan, was to be constructed in the short space of six weeks, and if a
saving in cost was effected, the inventor would hand the whole of it
to the purchaser.
[Rough draft.]
"Sir,
"Penzance, Cornwall, March 8th, 1816.
"I received your favour of the 25th January, but did not answer it in due
course, because I was then erecting a very large engine, which is the first on

a new plan. This engine, which has been at work about a month, performs
exceedingly well. The cost of erection and the consumption of coal are not
above one-third of a Boulton and Watt's, to perform the same work. An
engine of 4-horse power will not require a space of more than 5 feet high, 5
feet long, and 3 feet 6 inches wide. In some instances I employ a balanced
wheel 5 feet in diameter. The water required will be a pint and a half per
minute. The coal, one quarter of a bushel or 21 lbs. per hour. The price of a
machine, finished and set to work, 100 guineas. It does not require either
wood or mason work, but stands independent of every fixture, and may be
set to work in half an hour after being brought on your premises.
"Your obedient servant,
"Richd. Trevithick.
"Dr. Moore, M.D., Exeter."
A 4-horse-power portable high-pressure steam-puffer engine cost
105l., with internal fire-tube and machinery attached to the boiler,
ready for work in half an hour after lighting the fire, consumed 21
lbs. of coal and 11 gallons of water for each hour's work, at a cost
of threepence.
The reader's attention has been very imperfectly drawn to the
numerous subjects touched on in these remnants of Trevithick's
correspondence between the years 1804 and 1816; among them
may be traced the portable high-pressure steam-engine, the tubular
cylindrical boiler of wrought iron, the economy of expansive
working with steam of 100 lbs. on the inch, but limiting it to 20 lbs.
when not in the charge of experienced workmen, and testing boilers
by water pressure to four times the intended working pressure.
The economy of heat in smelting furnaces and in the aërated steam-
engine were bold means to large results. The cheap 100l. steam-
engine of 1812, with open-top cylinder and rigid simplicity of gear,
resembling Newcomen's first atmospheric engine, was really a
high-pressure steam expansive engine, with the germ of surface

condensation, as ready to convey itself from mine to mine or from
farm to farm, and to join in performing labourer's work, even to
boring and conveying rock by land or sea, as the most perfect of
modern engines; and yet this unadorned engine, as seen in the
agricultural engine of the following chapter, followed the excellent
mechanism of the double-acting Kensington model of 1798, and
the still more beautiful engine of the 1802 patent and London
locomotive.

CHAPTER XVIII.
AGRICULTURAL ENGINES.

The late Mrs. Trevithick said "that during the difficulties in London
in 1808 and 1810, when Trevithick was overwhelming himself with
new experiments and the cost of patents, and law expenses, lawyers
and bailiffs took everything worth having from her house,
including account-books, drawings, papers, and models, which she
never saw again."
His earlier account-books left in safety in his Cornish home, though
very disconnected, give trustworthy traces of his work up to 1803.
From that time only detached accounts or papers are found until
1812, when the unused pages in two old mine account-books of his
father served as his letter (rough-draft) books; and judging from
their number and style, his correspondence was most extensive and
varied.
[Rough draft.]
"Hayle Foundry, February 13th, 1812.
"To Sir Christopher Hawkins, Baronet.
Sir I now send you, agreeable to your request, a plan and description of my
patent steam-engine, which I lately erected on your farm for working a
thrashing mill. The steam-engine is equal in power to four horses, having a
cylinder of 9 inches in diameter. The cylinder, with a moderate heat in the
boiler, makes thirty strokes in a minute, and as many revolutions of the fly-
wheel, to every one of which the drum of the thrashing mill (which is 3 feet
in diameter) is turned twelve times. The boiler evaporates 9 gallons of water

in an hour, and works six hours without being replenished. The engine
requires very little attention—a common labouring man easily regulates it.

Trevithick's High-pressure Steam-puffer
Thrashing Engine, 1812.

"The expense of your engine of 4-horse power, compared with the expense
of four horses, is as follows:—
£ s.
Original cost of the steam-
80 0
engine
Building material and rope 10 0
90 0
Interest on the above 90l. at
4 10
5 per cent.
Wear and tear at 5 per cent. 4 10
9 0
Original cost of horse
60 0
machinery for four horses

Interest on the above at 5
3 0
per cent.
Wear and tear at 15 per
9 0
cent.
12 0

"Two bushels or 164 lbs. of coal will do the work of four horses, costing 2s.
6d.
"Four horses at 5s. each, gives 20s. Cost of coal, 2s. 6d. as compared with
20s. for horses.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your obedient servant,
"Richard. Trevithick.
"Cornwall, February 20th, 1812.
"Having been requested to witness and report on the effect of steam applied
to work a mill for thrashing corn at Trewithen, we hereby certify that a fire
was lighted under the boiler of the engine five minutes after eight o'clock,
and at twenty-five minutes after nine the thrashing mill began to work, in
which time 1 bushel of coal was consumed. That from the time the mill
began to work to two minutes after two o'clock, being four hours and three-
quarters, 1500 sheaves of barley were thrashed clean, and 1 bushel of coal
more was consumed. We think there was sufficient steam remaining in the
boiler to have thrashed from 50 to 100 sheaves more barley, and the water
in the boiler was by no means exhausted. We had the satisfaction to observe
that a common labourer regulated the thrashing mill, and in a moment of
time made it go faster, slower, or entirely to cease working. We approve of
the steadiness and the velocity with which the machine worked; and in
every respect we prefer the power of steam, as here applied, to that of
horses.
(Signed) "Matthew Roberts, Lamellyn.
"Thomas Nankivill, Golden.
"Matthew Doble, Barthlever."

This first high-pressure steam thrashing machine was working on
the 13th February, 1812, at Trewithen, the property of Sir
Christopher Hawkins, as proved by Trevithick's drawing of the
machine, his account of the work performed, and the report of the
three wise men that the power of steam was preferable to the power
of horses. Its first cost was less than that of a horse machine; but to
make the calculated amounts come right Trevithick charged 15 per
cent. for wear and tear on the horse machinery, and but 5 per cent.
on the steam-engine; overlooking the cost of the horses, which
would have made the outlay for the horses and machinery greater
than for the steam-engine.
The whole design evidences simplicity and consequent cheapness;
no complication of valves or valve-gear, no cylinder cover, parallel
motion, guide-rods, or air-pump, with its condenser and injection-
water.
The 4-horse engine, with boiler complete, cost 90l. A common
labourer worked it, and as it needed no supply of feed-water during
six hours of work, the cost and attention of supplying feed were
avoided. If a supply was required during the day it could be given
by a pipe with two taps.
This first use of steam in agriculture was immediately followed by
Lord Dedunstanville of Tehidy, Mr. Kendal of Padstow, and Mr.
Jasper of Bridgenorth. Sir Charles' request for a more official report
signed by disinterested persons brought a reply that the thrashing
engine continued to work well. "It far exceeds my expectation. I
am now building a portable steam-whim, on the same plan, to go
itself from shaft to shaft." "If you should fall in with any West India
planter that stands in want of an engine, he may see this at work in
a month, which will prove to him the advantage of a portable

engine to travel from one plantation to another. The price complete
is 105l."[10]
"Dear Sir,
"Argyle Street, 19th March, 1812.
"I am sorry it is not convenient for me to advance you the money for Wheal
Liberty; adventurers having the dues very low, ought to furnish the needful.
I am very glad you have succeeded with your portable steam-engine, and
am persuaded they will be more and more adopted. I have shown your
account of your thrashing by steam, and Sir John Sinclair and Mr. ——
very highly approve it. Sir John Sinclair wished the communication had
been made to the Board of Agriculture. Sir John wished me to transmit you
the enclosed on coals moved by steam ... whether you had a plan of this
sort, as they would be very serviceable in passing the friths in Scotland. He
seems to think you ought to advertise your steam-engines for thrashing;
indeed, I think so too.
"By the enclosed letter, Sir John Sinclair wishes you to send him an account
of your improved steam-engines. You will be careful in drawing up your
letter to Sir John, because it will probably be read to the Board of
Agriculture, and perhaps inserted in their publication. You will begin by
acknowledging his letter, of date ... respecting the American passage boat ...
and your improved small steam-engine. You will give him an account of the
saving you have effected at Dolcoath, and a certificate of the same by the
mining captains; the engine for thrashing you built for me, and the work it
did, and the coals it consumed; the expense of the steam-engines, and the
uses they may be applied to.
"I remain, dear Sir,
"Yours most obediently,
"C. Hawkins."
In 1812 Trevithick advertised the use and sale of steam-engines,
weighing 15 cwt., costing 63l., for thrashing, grinding, sawing, or
other home work; and also a more powerful engine for the steam-

plough, or the harrow and spade machine for 105l., to travel from
farm to farm. He wrote to Sir John Sinclair:[11]—
"I received from Sir Charles Hawkins a copy of Dr. Logan's letter to you,
also a note from you to Sir Charles Hawkins, both respecting the driving
boats by steam; respecting the engine for thrashing, chaff-cutting, sawing,
&c. I am now making one of about two-thirds the size of Sir Charles
Hawkins', which will be portable on wheels. By placing the engine in the
farm-yard, and passing the rope from the fly-wheel through the barn-door,
or window, and around the drum on the machine axle, it may be driven.
"The steam may be raised, and the engine moved a distance of two miles,
and the thrashing machine at work, within one hour.
"The weight, including engine, carriage, and wheels, will not exceed 15
cwt.; about the weight of an empty one-horse cart.
"The size is 3 feet diameter, and 6 feet high. If you wish to have one of this
size sent to the Board of Agriculture as a specimen, the price delivered in
London will be sixty guineas."
This engine differed from that referred to in the drawing of Sir
Charles Hawkins, mainly in the boiler having the fire-place in the
fire-tube, requiring no brickwork, and having the advantage of
portability. It was very like the earlier locomotive boiler, except
that it was placed upright, as steam-cranes now use boilers, instead
of being horizontal.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, Cornwall, April 26th, 1812.
"To Sir John Sinclair.
"I have your favour of the 4th instant, informing me that you had sent my
letter respecting propelling ships by steam to the Navy Board; and also
requesting a drawing and statement of the thrashing engine to be sent to the
President of the Board of Agriculture, which shall be forwarded
immediately.

"I beg to trouble you with a few wild ideas of mine, which perhaps may
some future day benefit the public, but at this time remain buried, for want
of encouragement to carry it into execution.
"The average consumption of coals in large steam-engines is about 84 lbs.
(or one bushel), to lift 10,000 tons of water or earth 1 foot high.
"The average cost of this coal in the kingdom is sixpence. The average of a
horse's labour for one day is about 4000 tons lifted 1 foot high, costing
about 5s.
"A man's labour for one day is about 500 tons lifted 1 foot high, costing 3s.
6d.
"I have had repeated trials of the water lifted by coals, horses, and men,
proving that where a bushel of coal can be purchased for sixpence, that
sixpence is equal to 20s. of horse labour, and to 3l. 10s. of men's labour.
"If you calculate a man to lift 500 tons 1 foot high, it is equal to 100 tons
lifted 5 feet high; a very hard task for a man to perform in a day's work.
"This calculation proves the great advantage of elemental power over
animal power, which latter I believe can in a great part be dispensed with if
properly attended to, especially as we have an inexhaustible quantity of
coals.
"To prove to you that my ideas are not mere ideas, in general my wild ideas
lead to theory, and theory leads to practice, and then follows the result,
which sometimes proves of essential service to the public.
"About six years ago I turned my thoughts to this subject, and made a
travelling steam-engine at my own expense to try the experiment.
"I chained four waggons to the engine, each loaded with 2½ tons of iron,
besides seventy men riding on the waggons, making altogether about 25
tons, and drew it on the road from Merthyr to the Quaker's-yard (in South
Wales), a distance of 9¾ miles, at the rate of four miles per hour, without
the assistance of either man or beast, and then, without the load, drove the
engine on the road sixteen miles per hour.

"I thought this experiment would show to the public quite enough to
recommend its general use; but though promising to be of so much
consequence, has so far remained buried, which discourages me from again
trying, at my own expense, for the public, especially when my family call
for the whole of my receipts from my mining concerns for their
maintenance.
"It is my opinion that every part of agriculture might be performed by
steam; carrying manure for the land, ploughing, harrowing, sowing,
reaping, thrashing, and grinding; and all by the same machine, however
large the estate.
"Even extensive commons might be tilled and effectually managed by a
very few labourers, without the use of cattle.
"Two men would be sufficient to manage an engine, capable of performing
the work of 100 horses every twenty-four hours; requiring no extensive
buildings or preparations for labourers or cattle, and having such immense
power in one machine as could perform every part in its proper season,
without trusting to labourers.
"I think a machine that would be equal to the power of 100 horses would
cost about 500l.
"My labour in invention I would readily give to the public, if by a
subscription such a machine could be accomplished and be made useful.
"It would double the population of this kingdom, for a great part of man's
food now goes to horses, which would then be dispensed with, and so
prevent importation of corn, and at a trifling expense make our markets the
cheapest in the whole world; because there are scarcely any coals to be
found except in England, where the extreme price, duty included, does not
exceed 2s. per bushel.
"I beg your pardon for having troubled you with such a wild idea, and so
distant from being carried into execution; but having already made the
experiment before stated, which was carried out in the presence of above
10,000 spectators, who will vouch for the facts, I venture to write to you on
the subject, for the first and only self-moving machine that ever was made
to travel on a road, with 25 tons, at four miles per hour, and completely

manageable by only one man, I think ought not to be dropped without
further experiments, as the main point is already obtained, which is the
power and its management.
"Your most obedient servant,
"Richard Trevithick."
The Board of Agriculture in 1812 had their attention drawn to the
feasibility of using the steam-engine to save agricultural labour and
lessen the cost of working land. Trevithick's intuitive knowledge
told him his application would be in vain, though an engine was at
work proving the saving of horse-power in the item of thrashing
corn.
"I beg to trouble you with a few wild ideas of mine, which perhaps
may some future day benefit the public."
A steam-engine could exert as much power by the consumption of
6d. worth of coal as could be given by 20s. of horse-power, or by
70s. worth of men's power.
"Ideas lead to theory, theory leads to practice, then follows the
result, which sometimes proves of essential service to the public."
"It is my opinion that every part of agriculture might be performed
by steam. Carrying manure for the land, ploughing, harrowing,
sowing, reaping, thrashing, and grinding; and all by the same
machine, however large the estate."
"Two men would manage an engine capable of performing the
work of 100 horses."
Such a use of the steam-engine, judiciously managed, "would
double the population of this kingdom, and make our markets the
cheapest in the world; because England is the country best supplied
with coal and iron for steam-engines, and the land now growing
food for horses would be available for man."

Its cost would be 500l., and its power sufficient to propel the
largest subsoil ploughs and tormentors; and had the Board of
Agriculture supplied such a sum of money as is now ordinarily
given by a farmer for a steam-plough, we should have had in 1812
ploughing, harrowing, sowing, reaping, &c., by steam. Years
before, the same kind of engine had been made to work pumps,
wind coal from shafts, drive rolling mills, tilt hammers, and
steamboats, and convey material from place to place; and why
should not his promise to the farmer be also made good with his
increased knowledge derived from eight years of active
experience? Receiving small encouragement in England, he applied
to sugar-cane planters to give his engines a trial in the West Indies.
[Rough draft.]
"Sir Charles Hawkins, Bart.,
"Camborne, 1st May, 1812.
"Sir,—I have your favour of the 27th April, respecting a steam-engine for
your friend for the West Indies, of the power of ten mules employed at one
time. This power we calculate equal to forty mules every twenty-four hours,
as six hours' hard labour is sufficient for one mule for one day.
"The expense of an engine of this power complete delivered in London
would be 200l. The consumption of coals about 84 lbs., or one bushel, to
equal the labour of three mules, or from 13 to 14 bushels of coal every
twenty-four hours to perform the full work of forty mules (or in proportion
for a lesser number), with a waste of about 15 gallons of water per hour,
unless a reservoir was made to receive the steam, and then to work the same
water over again.
"Where water is scarce, nearly the whole may be saved.
"You remarked that the rope might slip round the notch in the wheel; but to
prevent any risk of that kind, I apply a small chain instead of the rope,
which works the same as a chain on the barrel of a common thirty-hour
clock.

"The speed of the periphery of the fly-wheel is about eight miles per hour,
which I think is nearly double the speed of the mules when at work in the
mill. This would reduce the size of the part which carries the chain on the
cattle mill to half the diameter of the present walk of the cattle, which might
be done without altering or interfering with the present cattle mills, and
might, if required, either work separately or in conjunction with the mules
in the same mill at the same time.
"To inform your friend of the power and effect of such an engine, I prefer
his sending some person down to Cornwall, to see it tried on some of the
cattle mills or whims in the mines.
"Engines that have been sent to the West Indies hitherto have cost nearer
2000l.; very large, heavy, and complicated machines, requiring 2500
gallons of water per hour for condensing, and could only be managed by a
professed engineer, while any common labourer can keep in order and work
these engines. If you prefer to send a person with it, the cost will be about
40s. per week.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your most obedient servant,
"Richard Trevithick."
This letter indirectly points out two long-standing radical errors in
engineering phraseology. An early method of describing the value
of an engine was by stating the number of pounds it would lift one
foot high by the burning a bushel of coal, called the duty of an
engine. Trevithick's bushel was 84 lbs., while other engineers,
under the same term of bushel, meant various weights, up to 120
lbs.
Another form of speaking was the horse-power of an engine;
meaning that a horse could lift a certain number of pounds one foot
high in a minute, and that a steam-engine lifting ten times as much
was a 10-horse engine; but, as Trevithick points out, a horse only
works at that rate for six hours out of twenty-four, while the steam-

engine works continuously, performing the work of forty horses,
yet is called a 10-horse engine.
The high-pressure engine suitable for the West Indies was to be
adapted to the existing horse or mule machinery, that either power
might be used. Its first cost and expense in working to be much less
than that of the Watt low-pressure steam vacuum engine.
[Rough draft.]
"Sir Charles Hawkins, Bart.,
"Camborne, June 13th, 1812.
"Sir,—Yours of the 15th of last month I received, enclosing a drawing of a
sugar-mill from Mr. Trecothick, which I should have answered per return,
but was at that time in treaty for an engine for a sugar-mill with a Mr.
Pickwood, who is in St. Kitts in the West Indies.
"The engine is now being erected at Hayle Foundry, of the power of twelve
mules at a time, or equal to forty-eight mules during twenty-four hours.
"The cost is 210l. complete, with numerous duplicate parts.
"I hope she will be finished and sent off in a short time.
"I have now so fully proved the use of those engines, that I have engaged to
take this one back if it does not answer their purpose, and to refund the
whole sum if they return the engine to me in working order within four
years.
"This gentleman says, if this engine answers he shall have two more for his
own use, and four of his friends are waiting to see the result before ordering
their engines.
"The mules that will be turned out of use by Mr. Pickwood's engine will sell
for five times the sum the engine will cost him, exclusive of the wear of
mules, with their keep and drivers, besides the greater dispatch and
pleasantness of working a machine instead of forcing animals in so hot a
climate.

"If your friend wishes an engine of this power and on the same terms, I can
get two made and sent to London nearly in the same time as one. Enclosed I
send to you a rough sketch of the engine and mill. I am of your opinion, that
Sir John Sinclair has taken a useless journey by calling on the Navy Board,
for nothing experimental will ever be tried or carried into effect except by
individuals.
"If I could get an Act of Parliament for twenty-one years for only one-tenth
part of the saving which I could gain over animal power and expense, I
have no doubt but that I could get money to carry the plan fully into effect
for propelling ships, for travelling with weights on roads, and doing almost
every kind of agricultural labour.
"But a patent is but for fourteen years, and open to constant infringement;
for the inventor of general and useful machinery is a target for every
mechanic to shoot at, and unless protected or encouraged by some better
plan than a common patent, will have the whole kingdom to contend with in
law, and most likely receive ruin for his reward, which has too often been
the case.
"A plan of such magnitude as this promises to be of, I think ought to be
carried into effect by subscription, and as soon as accomplished, the
subscribers to be repaid, and the invention thrown open for the use of the
kingdom at large. I think about 1000l. or 1500l. would test the designs.
"It is expected that Mr. Praed will spend some time in this neighbourhood; I
hope I shall be able to prove to you and to him the great use of propelling
barges by steam. I have a small engine now at foundry, and would put it on
board one of their barges for your inspection. I am very much obliged for
your continued favours, and beg pardon for so often troubling you. I have
so fully proved the great advantages resulting from those portable engines,
that I very much wish the public to have the full use of them.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your most humble servant,
"Richard Trevithick."
A 12-mule-power engine for St. Kitts was being erected at Harvey's
foundry at Hayle; Trevithick making himself liable for the whole

cost, in case it should not answer the purpose. The mules thrown
out of work by the engine would sell for five times as much as the
engine cost, to say nothing of the saving in wear and tear of drivers
and mules, and the unpleasantness of driving a mule in hot weather
as compared with a machine.
If an Act of Parliament would give him one-tenth of the saving he
could effect during twenty-one years, a company might be formed
for carrying into full effect his plans for propelling ships, travelling
with weights on roads, and performing almost every kind of
agricultural labour, while a patent for fourteen years was open to
constant infringement, and the inventor of useful machinery was a
target for every mechanic to shoot at, had law suits with the
kingdom at large, and ultimate ruin, as a reward for his labours.
Inventions of such general application, when fairly established,
should be thrown open to the public, Government paying the
inventors their expenses, and reasonable reward for their time.
[Rough draft.]
"Mr. Pickwood,
"Cornwall, Camborne, 17th June, 1812.
"Sir,—Yours of the 17th April I received about twenty days since, and from
that time to the present have been in treaty with Messrs. Plummer, Barham,
and Co., for your engine. We have now closed for an engine complete, of
the power of twelve mules at a time, with suitable duplicates, chains, &c.,
for 210l. I very much wish for your engine to be set to work by your own
workmen, to show the planters the simplicity and easy management of the
machine, and also save the expense of an engineer, which will tend to
promote their use. The engine will be set to work before it is sent off, and
every possible care taken to execute it in the most perfect order. From the
experience I have had with common labourers keeping these engines in
order, since I wrote to you, I have no doubt you will get on satisfactorily.

"I hope to get the engine ready in five or six weeks, but I fear there will be
loss of time in shipping it. You may rest assured that I will spare no time or
attention to promote the performance of this engine. I am so far satisfied
with the probability of its fully answering your purpose that I voluntarily
offered Messrs. Plummer, Barham, and Co., that if you return it to me for
working repairs within four years, I will refund the whole of the sum I am
to receive for it. I will take particular care to mark every part and send you a
full description.
"Enclosed I send you a sketch of the engine attached to a sugar-mill. Please
write to me by return of the packet; it may be in time, before the engine is
shipped, to alter, or send you such things as I may not be acquainted with. I
shall be glad to know the number of yards your mules travel in an hour
when going at what you call a fair speed, in the mill, and also what number
of rounds you wish the centre roll to make in an hour when worked by the
engine.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
"R. W. Pickwood, Esq.,
"St. Kitts, West Indies."
These are not the remarks of an uncertain schemer; every sentence
having the impress of the ability and fixed intention of perfecting
the work, and the belief that the simplicity of the engine would
enable a common labourer to use it.
[Rough draft.]
"Sir Ch. Hawkins, Bart.,
"Camborne, 5th July, 1812.
"Sir,—If your friend Mr. Trecothick intends to have a sugar-mill engine
immediately finished and sent out with the one I am now making for Mr.
Pickwood, he ought not to lose any time in giving his orders. I have made
inquiry at Falmouth about sending out Mr. Pickwood's engine for St. Kitts
on board a packet, which would save much time, but I fear it cannot be

granted unless application is made by some person of note to the Post
Office in London. Mr. Banfield of Falmouth told me that if application was
made to send out a model as a trial, he had no doubt but it would be
granted.
"This experiment with the portable engine that will travel from one
plantation to another and work without condensing water, is certainly of the
greatest consequence to the planters, and as the whole weight will not
exceed 1¾ ton, I should hope that the Commissioners at the Post Office will
grant this request. I am sorry to trouble you so often about my business, but
I beg the favour of your goodness to inform me through what channel I
ought to make this application.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
This experiment with the 1¾ ton portable engine to travel from one
plantation to another, needing no condensing water, was certainly
of the greatest consequence to the planters in the West Indies, and
should have been of equal importance to the people in England.
Judging from the weight and cost, as compared with agricultural
engines of the present day, Trevithick was nearer the mark then
than we are now; its working without condensing water the
engineers of that day believed to be impracticable, a fundamental
error which greatly retarded the use of the high-pressure steam-
engine. The providing sufficient condensing water was often a most
serious item of cost, and as water mains were not in use, a deep
well was a necessary part of a steam vacuum engine.
[Rough draft.]
"Gentlemen,
"Cornwall, Camborne, October 16th, 1812.

"Yours of the 30th of September I found at my house on my return
yesterday from a journey. I am sorry to inform you that Mr. Pickwood's
engine is not ready. Near three months ago I set my smiths and boiler-
makers to work to complete an engine for Mr. Pickwood, which parts were
finished five or six weeks ago. The other parts of the engine, which were to
have been made of cast iron, were ordered and commenced at a foundry in
this county, belonging to Blewett, Harvey, and Vivian, and would have been
finished and the engine shipped long since had not these partners in the iron
foundry quarrelled with each other, and the Lord Chancellor has laid an
injunction and set idle their foundry. I have since ordered the castings to be
made at a foundry at Bridgenorth, in Shropshire, belonging to Hazeldine,
Rastrick, and Co., who will complete the engine and send it to you in about
two months, at which time I intend to be in town to set it to work before it is
shipped for the West Indies.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
"Messrs. Plummer, Barham, and Co.,
"London.
"P.S.—Immediately on my receiving your order to prepare an engine for
Mr. Pickwood I wrote to inform him that I had begun it, and enclosed a
drawing of the engine with the method of connecting the engine to the
cattle-mills, and requested he would remit to me his remarks on it, which I
received by the last packet, from which it appears for the best that the
engine is not in a forward state, because the parts would not have been so
suitable to the purpose as they will now be."
Fortune was against Trevithick. A difficulty between his brother-in-
law Harvey, and his old partner Vivian, with Blewett, retarded the
completion of the engine; and the castings so anxiously waited for
were ordered from Hazeldine and Rastrick. The wrought-iron work
was made by the old smiths in his neighbourhood, who had long
been in the habit of hammering his schemes into shape. This

patchwork way of constructing engines made success much more
difficult.
Trevithick often laughed heartily at the following incident which
occurred during this quarrel at Harvey's works:—Blewett sent a
handsome silver teapot to Miss Betsy Harvey, who kept her
brother's house, called Foundry House. Trevithick was sitting with
them when the box was brought in and opened. Mr. Henry Harvey
was indignant at Mr. Blewett sending a bribe or make-peace to his
sister, and threw the silver teapot under the fire-place. Trevithick,
however, quietly picked it up, pointed out the dinge it had received,
wrapped his pocket handkerchief around it, and saying, if it causes
bad feeling here it will do for Jane, marched away home with the
pot. The writer drank tea from it recently, and also laughed at the
dinge.
The following was written to Mr. Rastrick in December, 1812:[12]—
"I have been waiting your answer to my last, and especially that part
respecting the West India engine, as there is a large field there for engines
of this kind. I have received an order for a thrashing engine for Lord de
Dunstanville of Tehidy, and as I wish those thrashing engines to be known
through the country, I intend to take one of the engines ordered for Padstow
and send it to Tehidy; one of the Padstow farmers can wait until you make
another for him; therefore I would thank you to send the first finished by
ship from Bristol for Portreath or Hayle. Send a drum with everything
complete, of which you are a better judge than I; probably about 3 feet in
diameter and 3½ feet long will be sufficient. There must be a fly-wheel,
with a notch to carry the rope, and also a small notch wheel on the drum-
axle. I think 6½ feet diameter for the fly and 9½ inches diameter for the
small wheel, will give speed enough to the drum. Mind to cast a lump or
screw on a balance of about 1 cwt. on one side of the wheel. There must be
two stands on the boiler, and a crank-axle or otherwise a crank-pin in the
fly-wheel, whichever you please; with a shaft 3 feet long with a carriage.
The engine to stand in a room under the turn-about, 7½ feet high, 7 feet

wide, and 17 feet long. The fly-wheel will stand across the narrow way of
the room. The rope will go up through the floor and the drum be shifted by
a screw, horizontally on the barn floor, so as to tighten the rope. I shall put
down the top of the boiler level with the surface, with an arched way to the
fire and ash-pit underground to prevent the chance of fire, which the
farmers are very much afraid of.
"I send you a sketch showing how it is to stand. I do not bind you to the size
of the drum or wheels, only the room that the fly-wheel works in is but 7
feet wide. Put the engine and drum for Lord de Dunstanville out of hand
neat and well, as it will be well paid for, and make the stands, &c., in your
own way."
This description of Lord Dedunstanville's thrashing machine
illustrates the drawing of that supplied to Sir Charles Hawkins.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, January 26th, 1813.
"Mr. Rastrick,
"Sir,—I have your favour of the 10th inst., in which you do not state the
time when you expect I shall have either of the engines that you are
executing. As so much time has elapsed since the orders were given, the
persons that ordered them are quite impotent. The ploughing engine that I
sent you a drawing for, after being tried for that purpose, was to have been
sent to Exeter for pumping water out of the foundations of a new bridge;
but as they intend to begin their work at the bridge before the end of March,
the engine must be there before that time, or they will erect horse machines
and not use the engine. I have therefore been obliged to send the small
boiler that I had for that purpose to Hayle Foundry, and get the castings
made there for this engine to get it in time to prevent losing the order. I have
also been obliged to take the small portable engine from Wheal Alfred Mine
and have new apparatus fitted to it, to apply this engine for Plymouth
Breakwater. A small engine, from the same patterns as Sir Charles Hawkins'
thrashing engine, which I had at work in a mine, I have been obliged to
send to one of the farmers at Padstow for thrashing, instead of one of those
engines that I ordered from you. I expect that the people who ordered the

engine for the West Indies are also tired of waiting. I have two other
applications for engines for the West Indies, and the Messrs. Fox will want
a great many engines of that size for the Plymouth Breakwater. They are to
provide machinery, with every other expense, and I am to have a certain
proportion of what I can save over what it now costs them to do it by
manual labour. I think I have made a very good bargain, for if the plan
succeeds I shall get a great deal of money, and if it fails I shall lose nothing.
They have engaged with the Government to deliver 3,000,000 tons, for
which they have a very good price, even if it was to be done by men's
labour. I hope I shall get the engine soon on the spot, and will then let you
know the result. As the boiler that was intended for the ploughing engine is
to be sent to Exeter, I wish you to finish that engine with boiler, wheels, and
everything complete for ploughing and thrashing, as shown in the drawing,
unless you can improve on it. There is no doubt about the wheels turning
around as you suppose, for when that engine in Wales travelled on the
tramroad, which was very smooth, yet all the power of the engine could not
slip around the wheels when the engine was chained to a post for that
particular experiment.
"That new engine you saw near the seaside with me is now lifting forty
millions 1 foot high with 1 bushel of coal, which is very nearly double the
duty that is done by any other engine in the county. A few days since I
altered a 64-inch cylinder engine at Wheal Alfred to the same plan, and I
think she will do equally as much duty. I have a notice to attend a mine
meeting to erect a new engine equal in power to a 63-inch cylinder single,
which I hope to be able to send to you for. I have also an appointment to
meet some gentlemen at Swansea, to erect two engines for them, one to lift
water, the other coal, which you will hear more about, I expect, soon. If I
can spare a few days when at Swansea, I will call to see you at Bridgenorth.
I have not seen Mr. Richard since you left, but will call on him in a few
days and do as you request. If you think the fly-wheel is not sufficiently
heavy for his engine, add half a ton more to the ring.
"If you cannot finish all these engines at the same time, I would rather the
smaller ones should be finished first and Mr. Richards' stand a little,
because if his engine was now ready he would not pull down his thrashing

machine until he had nearly thrashed all his corn, and the machine now
stands on the spot where the mill is to be erected.
"If I call on you from Swansea I think I shall be able to show you a new
idea, which I think will, if carried into practice, be of immense value. Please
to write to me and say particularly how you are getting on, and when you
are likely to finish the engines ordered.
"R. T."
Trevithick had sent a drawing of a ploughing engine to Rastrick at
Bridgenorth, that the castings might be made, while he himself was
having the boiler and wrought-iron work constructed in Cornwall.
The engine had been ordered as a portable pumping engine, for
removing water from the foundation of a bridge at Exeter; but
before sending it to its destination, he had arranged to plough with
it, as a means of perfecting the plans and drawings for a more
suitable ploughing engine then in construction, to be fitted "with
boiler, wheels, and everything complete for ploughing and
thrashing, as shown in the drawing." The friction of the wheels on
the ground would be greater than the power of the engine;
therefore they would not slip when the full power was applied to
draw a plough any more than the Welsh engine, the wheels of
which did not slip though resting on smooth iron.
One of his small engines, which had been at work in a mine, was
sent as a thrashing engine to Padstow. It is evident that, having
given a portion of his attention for a year or two to the question of
steam agriculture, he had so far progressed in 1813 as to construct
thrashing machines, portable agricultural engines, and steam-
ploughs to be moved by wheels as in locomotives; reaping, sowing,
and other work, was also in future to be the work of the steam-
engine.

A drawing by Trevithick—having as usual neither name, date, nor
scale, nor writing of any kind, but the watermark in the paper is
1813—illustrates his ideas expressed to Sir Charles Sinclair in
1812:—"It is my opinion that every part of agriculture might be
performed by steam." The thrashing and grinding engines were at
work, and the tormenting harrowing engine was probably designed
for bringing under steam cultivation the extensive commons
referred to. In those days, before the practice of underground
drainage, the surface of cultivated land was thrown into furrows, or
a series of small hills and vales, the latter acting as the surface
drain for carrying off the water.
Suppose the first step in cultivating a common to be the breaking of
the soil, and throwing it into uniform lines of rise and fall that
facilitated drainage without inconveniencing the tillage, what better
machine could have been devised than Trevithick's? A combination
of the modern tormentor and harrow loosened the ground to the
required depth, which was then, by a revolving wheel with spades,
thrown on one side, resulting in uniform lines of ridges and
hollows. The steam-shoveller was removed, or the tormentor irons
raised, when only the harrow was required.
The absence of the ordinary shafts at the front end of the framing
indicates that the spade-tormentor was not to be drawn by horses,
but whether by a locomotive or by a fixed engine is not self-
evident.

Trevithick's Steam Spade-tormentor, 1813.

[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, January 26th, 1813.
"Mr. Kendal,
"Sir,—I have yours of the 17th inst. The thrashing machine engine is ready for you, and shall be sent up
immediately. I wish you to get about 100 fire bricks, 200 common bricks, 20 loads of stone, and 20
bushels of lime. The house will get finished while I am fixing the engine. About 1500 or 1600 weight of
iron for your engine has been sent to the Blue Hills Mine, St. Agness. I wish you could send down your
cart to fetch it from there to Padstow. There is no part of these castings but may be easily conveyed in a
common butt or cart. When you have the stone, brick, and lime ready, and a cart to send to St. Agness
for the castings, please to write me, and I will come to Padstow at the same time with them, and finish

the engine. The sooner you get ready the better, as I expect to have an engagement in about four weeks'
time, that would prevent my coming to Padstow for some time; therefore I wish to get your engine
finished before that time. Please to write me as early as possible, and let me know when you will be
ready for me, and what day I shall meet your cart at St. Agness for the castings.
"Your obedient servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
Real inventors hesitate not to erect their own engines, lend a hand in building the house,
walk to the scene of action, or take a lift in a cart; and by such steps was the gift of genius
moulded to the wants of daily life; while the modern engineer of eminence, living in large
cities, knows little of the minutiæ of his work, or even of the working mechanics on whose
skill the success of his ideas is dependent.
"In 1815, Mr. Kendal, the proctor of Padstow, sent for me to repair his steam-engine. To prevent the old
disputes in collecting his corn tithes, he had at work one of Captain Trevithick's steam thrashing
machines. The small farmers sent their corn produce to him to be thrashed; the grain was measured, the
tenth taken out, the remainder returned to the farmer. The three-way cock, which worked the engine,
was joined in its shell; on freeing it the engine continued to work very well."[13]
"In 1818 I put a new four-way cock to a thrashing engine that Captain Trevithick had made for Mr.
Kendal, of Padstow, who was the receiver of tithe corn. The boiler was a tube of wrought iron, about 4
feet in diameter and 6 feet long, standing on its end. The cylinder was fixed in the top of the boiler; an
upright from the top of the cylinder supported the fly-wheel shaft; a connecting rod from the crank-pin
in the fly-wheel was fastened to a joint-pin in the piston. The cylinder had no cover. The four-way cock
was worked by an excentric on the shaft, moving a lever, which was kept in contact with the excentric
by a spring."[14]
"About 1824 I worked in Binner Downs Mine one of Captain Trevithick's puffer whim-engines. The
boiler was cylindrical, made of wrought iron. It stood on its end, with the fire under it, and brick flues
around it. The cylinder was let down into the top of the boiler. A four-way cock near the top of the
cylinder turned the steam on and off. The fly-wheel and its shaft were fixed just over the cylinder. A
lever and rod worked the four-way cock and feed-pole. The waste steam puffed through a launder into
the feed-cistern. The cylinder was about 12 inches in diameter, with a 3-feet stroke."[15]
Mr. Kendal's steam thrashing machine remained at work at least six years, during which
time the only apparent repair was the four-way cock, worked by an excentric, which, if
neglected, was apt to stick fast in its shell.
One of the puffer-whims erected about this time was similar to the thrashing engine for
Padstow, differing from the earlier one made for Sir C. Hawkins, in having a portable boiler
so arranged that if necessary it could be easily placed on wheels.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, March 15th, 1813.
"Sir,
"I have your favour of the 11th inst. respecting a steam-engine for thrashing. I have made several, all of
which answer the purpose exceedingly well. They are made on a very simple construction so as to be
free from repairs, and are kept in order and worked by the farm labourers, who never before saw a
steam-engine. The first I made on this plan was for Sir Christopher Hawkins, who resides at this time in

Argyll Street, Oxford Street, London. If you call on him, he, I doubt not, would give you every
information you require respecting its performance. This was a fixed engine, because it was only
required to work on one farm. It has been at work nearly eighteen months, and has not cost anything in
repairs, nor any assistance but from the labourer who puts in the corn; he only gives three or four
minutes every hour to put on a little coal. A few pails of water, put into the furnace in the morning, is
sufficient for a day's work. They have at different times tried what duty the engine would perform with
a given quantity of coal, and found that two Cornish bushels, weighing 168 lbs., would get up steam
and thrash 1500 sheaves of wheat in about six hours.
"Before this engine was erected, they usually thrashed 500 sheaves, with three heavy cart-horses for a
day's work. I cannot say exactly the measurement of the corn that it thrashed, but it was considerably
above 60 winchesters of wheat with 168 lbs. of coal; not a halfpenny in coal for each winchester of
wheat.
"The engines that I have since erected have performed the same duty.
"The horse machinery is thrown out of use, but the same drum is turned by the engine.
"A fixed engine of this power I would deliver to you in London for 100 guineas; it would cost you
about 15l. more to fix the furnace in brickwork.
"A portable engine costs 160 guineas, but it would cost nothing in erecting, as it will be sent with
chimney and every thing complete on its own wheels (the drum, &c., excepted), which you may convey
with one horse from farm to farm as easy as a common cart.
"If you have not sufficient work for it you can lend it to your neighbours. The last engine I erected was
about three weeks since, for a farmer that kept four horses and two drivers. The parts of the horse
machine thrown out of use, together with the four horses, sold for more money than he gave me for the
engine, exclusive of 4l. per week that it cost him in horse keep and drivers to thrash 3000 sheaves per
week.
"Now the engine performs more than double that work, and does not cost above 10s. per week; and the
labourer in the barn does double the work he did before for the same money. If you wish the same
engine to have sufficient power to turn one pair of mill-stones, the cost will be 220 guineas.
"R. Trevithick.
"Mr. J. Rawlings, Strood, Kent."
"Camborne, 28th August, 1813.
"Dear Trevithick,
"Camborne, 28th August, 1813.
"Messrs. Hazeldine, Rastrick, and Co.,
"Gentlemen,—Lord Dedunstanville's engine thrashed yesterday 1500 sheaves in 90 minutes with 40
lbs. of coal.
"Rd. Trevithick."
The first steam thrashing engine was worked by a labouring man for eighteen months,
without needing repair, or even attention beyond three or four minutes each hour to put on a
little coal.

Necessary stoppages for various purposes caused a day's work to be no more than the
engine could perform in half a day. No additional feed-water was required during an
ordinary day's work to thrash 1500 sheaves of wheat with 168 lbs. of coal, while on a
special occasion that quantity was thrashed in an hour and a half, consuming only 40 lbs. of
coal. Three horses during three days were required to do the same amount of work. A farmer
sold his horses used in thrashing for more money than his engine cost, which did twice as
much work at a reduced expenditure, and also saved the feed of the horses.
Such an engine could be delivered in London for 100 guineas, while a portable engine on
wheels with a differently constructed boiler, requiring no mason work, would cost 160
guineas.
[Rough draft.]
"cornwall. Camborne, 19th August, 1813.
"Gentlemen,
"I have your favour of the 9th August, respecting steam-engines for St. Kitts. I fear it will not be
possible to get an engine ready by the 1st of November.
"As you say the gentleman that is about to take them out is a clever man, and likely to promote the use
of them, I will make immediate inquiry, and, if possible, will get one ready, of which I will inform you
in a short time.
"I very much wish that every person who intends to employ a steam-engine of mine would first
examine the engine, and be satisfied with the construction before giving an order, for which reason I
must request you to send your friend down to Messrs. Hazeldine and Rastrick's foundry, Bridgenorth,
Shropshire, where he may see the portable steam-engine that was made for Mr. Pickwood, which the
founders will set to work for his inspection in half an hour after his arrival. As this gentleman has a taste
for machines, and wishes to make himself fully acquainted with the principle and use of the steam-
engine, he will be much gratified with the sight of this curious machine and with the information he will
receive from the founders, which will be essentially necessary to him before leaving England.
"I am extremely disappointed that this engine was not forwarded to Mr. Pickwood, as I find from his
letter that he has an exceedingly clever and active mind, and is a very fit person to take the management
of introducing a machine into a new country.
"This engine is engaged by a Spanish gentleman, who is going to take out nine of my engines with him
to Lima, in South America, in about six weeks.
"I remain, your obedient servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
"Messrs. Plummer, Barham, and Co.,
"London.
"N.B.—If your friend goes to Bridgenorth, let him show this letter to the founders."
The engine, intended for the West Indies, so pleased Mr. Uville, that he begged to have it
made over to him for South America, where it worked the machinery for rolling gold and
silver in the Mint at Lima.
"About 1815, while erecting a high-pressure pole-engine at Legassack for Mr. Trevithick, and doing
some repairs to Mr. Kendal's thrashing engine, a Creole, I think called Nash, brought a note from

Captain Trevithick, stating that the bearer was anxious to be taught to erect and work the portable
engines for Jamaica.
"Sir Rose Price, who had property in the West Indies, had sent him to Mr. Trevithick for that purpose."
[16]

It is therefore probable that some of Trevithick's engines reached Jamaica. Sir Rose Price
was well known to Lord Dedunstanville and Sir Charles Hawkins, and living near them, saw
the engines at work and their fitness for his property in Jamaica.
Lord Dedunstanville's engine of 1812 was sold as old iron to Messrs. Harvey and Co. not
long before 1843. Having remained for some time on the old-scrap heap, it was in that year
again worked to drive machinery. Instead of the original rope-driver on the fly-wheel, a
chain was used, the links of which caught on projecting pins on the driving wheel. In that
form it continued to work until 1853, before which it was frequently seen by the writer prior
to its removal to make room for a more powerful engine.
What greater proof could be given of the fitness of design of this early engine, than its long
life of forty years under such rough treatment, and the facility with which it was applied to
different uses. Mr. Bickle, who, from recollection, had made a sketch of this engine before
the writer had found Trevithick's sketch, says that after the engine had ceased to work, the
boiler was turned to account in heating tar in the ship-builder's yard.
"In 1854 I saw working in a shed at Carnsew, in the ship-building yard of Harvey and Co., of Hayle, an
engine working a stamps for pounding up the slag and furnace bottoms from the brass-casting foundry.
"I was then the foreman hammerman in Harvey and Co.'s smiths' shop and hammer-mill, and frequently
noticed this old engine and inquired about it. It had been brought from Lord Dedunstanville's, at Tehidy
Park, where it at one time worked a thrashing machine. The boiler was of wrought iron, built in
brickwork, and looked like a big kitchen-boiler. A flattish cover was bolted on to the top of the boiler,
and the cylinder was let down into this top.
"The cylinder had no cover; it was about 8 or 10 inches in diameter and 2 or 3 feet stroke. The piston
was a very deep one, with a joint for the connecting rod which went direct to the crank, which was
supported on two upright stands from the cover on the boiler. The fly-wheel had a balance-weight for
the down-stroke. A pitch-chain for driving passed over the wheel, which had pins in it, or projections, to
catch into the square links of the driving chain; it was worked by a four-way cock."[17]
"About 1843, when we were building iron boats for the Rhine, the old engine was put to work to drive
the tools or machinery in the yard. She was very useful to us and worked very well. She worked about
ten years, and was then thrown out to make room for a new and larger engine for our saw-mills. The
chain-wheel for driving was made here, it did not belong to it originally."[18]
"My father (then the foreman boiler-maker) about twenty-four years ago took the old engine from the
scrap heap, where it had been for many years, and set it to work in the tool shop. My father said it had
come from Tehidy as old iron."[19]
The use of the high-pressure steam agricultural engine was not confined to Cornwall. Mr. H.
Pape, still carrying on business in Hazeldine and Rastrick's old engine manufactory at
Bridgenorth, says:—

"My father worked as a smith under Mr. Rastrick. Mr. Hazeldine had the foundry when Trevithick's
engines were made, and have heard my father speak of them. I have seen three of them at work in
Bridgenorth; one of them at Mr. Jasper's flour-mill, it drove four stones, and continued in work up to
1837; one at Sing's tan-yard worked up to 1840; and one was on Mr. Jasper's farm at Stapleford for
doing farm work. Mr. Smith, now on the farm, worked it up to about 1858.
"The engines that worked in Bridgenorth had cast-iron cylinders for the outer casing of the boiler, one
cylinder for small engines, three or four cylinders bolted together for the larger ones. The fire-tube was
wrought iron, the chimney stood up by the fire-door. The cylinder was let down into the boiler; it
worked with a four-way cock. There was a piston-rod, cross-head, two guide-rods on the top of the
cylinder, and two side rods to the crank and pin in 'the fly-wheel.'"[20]
"My first husband had to do with the foundry; his father, Mr. Hazeldine, was a partner with Mr. Davies
and Co. in 1816. In 1817 the partnership was broken up, and the foundry carried on by Hazeldine. I
used to have two or three drawers full of drawings and account-books that were brought from the
works. I kept them for many years, but now the greater part of them have gone to light the fire; all the
drawings are gone."[21]
The engines described by Mr. Pape are of the type made by Trevithick, in Wales, about
1804, having a fire-place in the boiler, and similar in form to the Welsh locomotive.
The drawings which served to light the fires certainly included Trevithick's plans for the
steam-locomotive, ploughing engine, the screw-propeller, and many others of equal interest.
"Stableford, March 26th, 1870.
"Dear Sir,
"My grandfather's name was John Jasper, Esq., of Stableford; he must have been one, if not the first,
user of a steam-engine for thrashing, winnowing, and shaking the straw all at one operation; it may
have been erected eighty years ago, for an old servant of the family just now dead, aged ninety, worked
when a boy in the steam-mill at Bridgenorth erected by my grandfather about the same time.
"The thrashing engine was a side-lever engine, worked with a three side-way cock and tappet, a
cylinder about 8¼ inches in diameter, and a 3 feet 4 inch stroke, cast-iron crank-shaft, cross-head, and
guides. The boiler was placed underneath the engine, the fire under it, with brick flues. The boiler was
about 9 feet long and 4 feet diameter.
"The old side rods made of wood are still here, and so was the engine until about twelve years ago. I
sent the cylinder, &c., to Coalbrookdale.
"I am, Sir,
"Yours truly,
"Thomas Smith.
The Stableford agricultural engine was probably made in 1804. The cylinder, of 8¼ inches
in diameter, is precisely the size of that in the Welsh locomotive, but the stroke was reduced
from 4 feet 6 inches to 3 feet 4 inches, being very nearly the same as the Newcastle
locomotive. The cross-head, side rods, and boiler were very similar to the Welsh stationary
engines of that date. This engine remained in use more than fifty years.
The engines specially referred to in this chapter fully prove, from their length of service, the
practical character of Trevithick's inventions, and of his having persevered with his high-
pressure portables until their usefulness as locomotives and as agricultural helps had been

established; but the ploughing, though fully designed, and probably put into practice, was
not followed up to the same approach to perfection, or the record of its progress has been
lost.
Since the foregoing was written, the following has been received:—
"Trewithen, Probus, May 17th, 1872.
"Dear Sir',
"The engine you refer to is still occasionally used here; when first erected there was a large quantity of
corn thrashed by it, but of late years it has not been much used except for chaffing, bruising, &c.
"I remain, dear Sir,
"Your truly,
"Wm. Trethnoy.
"F. Trevithick, Esq."
Trevithick's Trewithen engine, which sixty years ago was more manageable than horses
going momentarily faster or slower at the will of a common labourer,[22] remains in use
unchanged.
His preparations for South America, and application of high steam in the large Cornish
pumping engines, interfered with the perfecting the smaller agricultural work.

CHAPTER XIX.
POLE STEAM-ENGINE.

When in the autumn of 1810 Trevithick returned to Cornwall, the experience of ten busy
years had established the practicability and usefulness of the high-pressure engine. The
principles of the invention were now to be applied on engines of the largest size.
In 1811, the late Captain S. Grose, a young pupil of Trevithick's, was employed to erect at
Wheal Prosper Mine, in Gwythian, the first high-pressure steam pole condensing engine. It
was placed immediately over the shaft and pump-rods, requiring no engine-beam. The air-
pump, feed-pump, and plug-rod were worked from the balance-bob. The pole was 16 inches
in diameter, with a stroke of 8 feet. The boilers were two wrought-iron tubes, 3 feet in
diameter and 40 feet long. The fire was external. Shortly after Captain H. A. Artha erected
several of those pole-engines for Trevithick. The drawing shows the simplicity of parts of
this highly expansive steam-engine, beginning the up-stroke with steam of 100 lbs. to the
inch above the atmospheric pressure, expanding it during the stroke down to a pressure of
10 lbs., and then condensing to form a vacuum for the down-stroke. It cost 750 guineas.
The drawings of this expansive pole condensing engine are from the dimensions given by
Captain Grose who erected it, and by Captain Artha who knew it well.

Wheal Prosper High-pressure Expansive Steam-condensing Pole-Engine, 1811.

Trevithick's Cylindrical Boiler for Wheal Prosper Engine, 1811.
a, cast-iron pole, 16 inches diameter, 8-feet stroke; b, pole-case, a small bit larger in internal
diameter than the pole; c, cross-head, fixed on top of pole; d, guides for cross-head; e, side rods
connecting the two cross-heads; f, bottom cross-head; g, pump-rod; h, balance-beam, with box for
weights; i, connecting rods from balance-beam to bottom cross-head; k, guides for air-pump cross-
head; l, cross-head and side rods for working air-pump; m, air-pump, condenser, and water-cistern;
n, feed-pump worked from air-pump cross-head; o, plug-rod worked from balance-beam; p,

exhaust-valve; q, steam-valve; r, exhaust-pipe; s, steam-pipe; t, bracket for carrying working gear;
u, expansive steam-horn and tappets; v, handles for working valves.

Detail of Boilers:—a, two wrought-iron boilers, 3 feet in diameter, 40 feet long, using steam of
100 lbs. on the square inch above the atmosphere; b, cast-iron manhole door and safety-valve; c,
ash-pit; d, fire-place; e, flues, the fire going first the whole length under the bottom of the boiler,
then back again over the top, and into the chimney; f, brickwork; g, ashes or other convenient non-
conductor of heat; the fire-place ends of the boilers were 15 inches lower than the opposite ends,
increasing the safety, with less liability to prime, and greater surface for superheating.

"When a boy I was placed as an apprentice or learner with Captain Trevithick, before he left Cornwall
for London. On his return to Cornwall, about 1810, he employed me to erect his first high-pressure
expansive pole pumping engine at a mine in Gwythian.
"The pole was 16 inches in diameter; the stroke was very long, but I do not exactly recollect the length.
It had a condenser and air-pump. There were two boilers made of wrought iron, 8 feet in diameter and
40 feet long. The fire was placed under them at one end, and flues went round them. A feed-pump
forced water into the boilers; each had a safety-valve with a lever and weight. The steam in the boiler
was 100 lbs. to the square inch. The pole was raised by the admission of the strong steam under its
bottom. The steam-valve was closed at an early part of the stroke, and the steam allowed to expand; at
the end of the stroke it was reduced to 20 lbs. or less, when the exhaust-valve allowed the steam to pass
to the condenser, and the pole made its down-stroke in vacuum. A balance-bob regulated the movement
of the engine.
"Trevithick's character in those days was, that he always began some new thing before he had finished
the old."[23]
Captain Artha, one of his assistants, said:—
"I erected several of Captain Trevithick's pole-engines. My brother Richard worked the one at Wheal
Prosper when first erected. The pole made an 8-feet stroke. The case was fixed over the engine-shaft on
two beams of timber from wall to wall. A cross-head was bolted to the top of the pole, and from it two
side rods descended to a cross-piece under the pole-case, from which the pump-rod went into the shaft.
A connecting rod worked a balance-beam, which worked the air-pump, feed-pump, and plug-rod for
moving the valves. The steam, of a very high pressure, worked expansively."[24]
The first admission of the high-pressure steam under the pole was equal to a force of 8 or 9
tons, causing it and its attached pump-rods to take a rapid upward spring. Having travelled 1
or 2 feet of its stroke of 8 feet, the further supply of steam from the boiler was cut off, and
its expansion, together with the momentum of the mass of pump-rods, completed the
upward stroke. The pressure of the steam in the pole-case at the finish of the up-stroke
would be reduced to say 10 or 20 lbs. to the inch, according to the amount of work on the
engine. The steam then passed to the condenser and air-pump, and the engine made its
down-stroke by the vacuum under the pole, and by the weight of the descending pole and
pump-rods.
Each boiler was a wrought-iron tube 3 feet in diameter and 40 feet long, the fire-place under
one end, with brick flues carrying the heated air under the whole length of the bottom of the
boiler, and back again over the top or steam portion for superheating.
[Rough draft.]

"Camborne 28th February, 1813.
"I will engage to erect a puffer steam-engine, everything complete at the surface, on the Cost-all-lost
Mine, capable of lifting an 8-inch bucket, 4½-feet stroke, twenty-four strokes per minute, 30 fathoms
deep, or 280 gallons of water per minute from that same depth, being a duty equal thereto, for 550
guineas. But if a condensing engine, 600 guineas. If of the same size as Wheal Prosper, 750 guineas.
"Richard Trevithick."
The engines, erected in 1811 or 1812, combined the novelty of the steam pole-engine, with
the use of high-pressure steam of 100 lbs. on the square inch, and the comparatively untried
principle of steam expansion, carried to what in the present day is thought an extreme and
unmanageable limit.
The Wheal Prosper engine fixed near the sea-shore at Gwythian is referred to in Trevithick's
note to Mr. Rastrick,[25] as "that new engine you saw near the sea-side, with me, is now
lifting forty millions, 1 foot high, with 1 bushel of coal" (84 lbs.), "which is very nearly
double the duty that is done by any other engine in the county."
This was probably the first application of high-pressure steam to give motion to pump-rods.
The engine, as compared with the neighbouring Watt low-pressure steam vacuum pumping
engines, was small, but the principles of high steam, expansive working, and vacuum, were
combined successfully to an extent scarcely ventured on by modern engineers.
Trevithick's high-pressure condensing whim-engines had been for some years at work in
Cornwall, but mine adventurers had not dared to risk the application of high-pressure steam
to the large pumping engines, fearing its great power would prove unmanageable, and its
rapid movement cause breakage of the pump-rods and valves.
Two distinct inventions or improvements, each of which was actually followed up in
different mines, show themselves in this engine: one being the form of boiler to give with
economy and safety high-pressure expansive steam for large engines; the other, the
application of a pole in lieu of a piston, as a more simple engine for working with strong
expansive steam, and more easily constructed by inexperienced mechanics, who had none of
the slide lathes or planing machines so much used by engine builders of the present day.
"About 1814 Captain Trevithick erected a large high-pressure steam-puffer pumping engine at the
Herland Mine. The pole was about 30 inches in diameter, and 10 or 12 feet stroke. There was a cross-
head on the top of the pole, and side rods to a cross-head under the pole-case. The side rods worked in
guides. The pole-case was fixed to strong beams immediately over the pump-shaft. The steam was
turned on and off by a four-way cock. The pressure was 150 lbs. to the inch above the atmosphere. The
boilers were of wrought iron, cylindrical, about 5 feet 6 inches in diameter and 40 feet long, with an
internal tube 3 ft. in diameter. The fire-place was in the tube. The return draught passed through
external brick flues.[26]
"When a young man, living on a farm at Gurlyn, I was sent to Gwinear to bring home six or seven
bullocks. Herland Mine was not much out of my way, so I drove the bullocks across Herland Common
toward the engine-house. Just as the bullocks came near the engine-house the engine was put to work.
The steam roared like thunder through an underground pipe about 50 feet long, and then went off like a
gun every stroke of the engine. The bullocks galloped off—some one way and some another. I went

into the engine-house. The engine was a great pole about 3 feet in diameter and 12 feet long. A cast-iron
cross-head was bolted to the top of the pole. It had side rods and guides. A piece of iron sticking out
from the cross-head carried the plug-rod for working the gear-handles. The top of the pole worked in a
stuffing box. A large balance-beam was attached to the pump-rods, near the bottom cross-head.
"There were two or three of Captain Trevithick's boilers with a tube through them, the fire in the tube.
They seemed to be placed in a pit in the ground. The brick flues and top of the bricks were covered with
ashes just level with the ground. A great cloud of steam came from the covering of ashes.
"I should think the pressure was more than 100 lbs. to the inch. People used to say that she forked the
mine better than two of Boulton and Watt's 80-inch cylinder engines. We could hear the puffer blowing
at Gurlyn, five or six miles from the Herland Mine.
"In 1813 I carried rivets to make Captain Trevithick's boilers in the Mellinear Mine; they were 5 feet in
diameter and 30 or 40 feet long, with an internal fire-tube. It took four or five months to build them. In
the present day (1869) a fortnight would build them. The largest boiler-plates obtainable were 3 feet by
1 foot. We had to hammer them into the proper curve. The rivet-holes were not opposite one another. A
light hammer was held against the rivet-head in riveting, in place of the present heavy one, so the rivet
used to slip about, and the plates were never hammered home so as to make a tight joint."[27]
Lest the reader should doubt the comparative power of the Watt low-pressure vacuum and
Trevithick's high-pressure steam-engines, a short but sufficiently close calculation shows
that taking Stuart's[28] estimate of the effective power of the Watt engine at 8½ lbs. on each
square inch of the piston, and Trevithick's engine at anything approaching to 150 lbs. on
each square inch, it becomes evident that the latter would be ten or twenty times more
powerful than the former. A few figures will put the question in more practical form.
The Wheal Prosper 16-inch pole high-pressure expansive steam vacuum engine commenced
its up-stroke with steam of 100 lbs. on the inch, acting on the 122 square inches of the pole,
which steam at the finish of the stroke was reduced by expansion to 10 lbs., giving, say, an
average steam pressure of 55 lbs. The down-stroke was caused by a vacuum under the pole
of 14 lbs. on the inch, reduced by, say, one-third loss in working the air-pump to 9 lbs.,
giving from the compound stroke a force of 64 lbs. on each square inch, which, multiplied
by the area of the pole, gives a net force of 7808 lbs.
The Herland 33-inch pole high-pressure expansive steam puffer-engine commenced its up-
stroke with steam of 150 lbs. on the inch, acting on the 855 square inches of the pole, which
steam at the finish of the stroke—we will suppose—was reduced by expansion to 75 lbs.,
giving an average steam pressure of, say, 112. As this puffer-engine used no vacuum, the
down-stroke gave no increase of power; its compound stroke was therefore a force of 112
lbs. on each square inch, which, multiplied by the area of the pole, gives a net force of
95,760 lbs.
To compare the Trevithick high-pressure steam pumping engine, with the Watt low-pressure
steam pumping engine, take one of the largest of the latter, made about that time, say, with
an 80-inch cylinder, which commenced its down-stroke with steam of, say, 3 lbs. on the
inch, acting on the 5000 square inches of the piston, which steam at the finish of the stroke
—the writer is describing the usage at that time, for Watt himself advocated a less steam
pressure—was reduced by expansion to, say, 1 lb., giving an average steam pressure of, say,

2 lbs. on the top of the piston, whose under side was in vacuum equal to 14 lbs. on the inch,
reduced by, say, one-third loss in working the air-pump to 9 lbs., which power, from vacuum
added to the 2 lbs. from steam, gives a net force of 11 lbs. on each square inch of the piston.
As the Watt pumping engine moved in equilibrium during its up-stroke, it thereby gained no
increase of power; its compound stroke was therefore a force of 11 lbs. on each square inch,
which, multiplied by the area of the piston, gives a net force of 55,000 lbs.
The practical comparison therefore stands,—Trevithick's 16-inch pole high-pressure steam,
and vacuum, on each inch 64 lbs., net force 7808 lbs.; Trevithick's 33-inch pole high-
pressure steam, without vacuum, on each inch 112 lbs., net force 95,760 lbs.; Watt's 80-inch
piston, low-pressure steam, and vacuum, on each inch 11 lbs., net force 55,000 lbs. As the
first cost was mainly dependent on the size, the Trevithick engine was commercially much
more valuable than the Watt engine.
"I saw Captain Trevithick's puffer working at the Herland Mine. The steam used to blow off like blue
fire—it was so strong. The lever on the safety-valve was about 3 feet long, with a great weight on it,
more than a hundredweight. The engine did not answer very well, for the packing in the pole stuffing
box used to burn out, and a cloud of steam escaped. The greatest difficulty was in the leaking of the
boilers. You could hardly go near them. Before that time we always put rope-yarn between the lap of
the boiler-plates to make the seams tight. Captain Dick's high-pressure steam burnt it all out. He said,
'Now you shall never make another boiler for me with rope-yarn.' Everybody said it was impossible to
make a tight boiler without it. We put barrowfuls of horse-dung and bran in Captain Dick's boilers to
stop the leaks."[29]
This difficulty of making a tight and safe boiler, that puzzled Watt, was moonshine to
Trevithick. When the strained boiler and flinching rivets allowed the boiler-house to become
full of dense steam, Trevithick told them to cover it up with ashes, they would not see it
quite so much then, and it would keep the heat in the boiler. Bran or horse-dung inside was a
good thing as a stop-gap, though it added not to the strength of the boiler. Trevithick was
himself in a cloud of steam in the engine-house; yet, with such surroundings, he turned on
and off his gunpowder steam, from his cannon of a pole-case, of 40 tons force, sending his
bolt-shot pole, 33 inches in diameter, its destined course of ten feet, and back again, as
though it were a shuttlecock, several times in a minute.
Having by one or two years of experience proved the value of his new pole-engine, he
applied for a patent on the 13th June, 1815,[30] of which the following is the portion
referring particularly to the pole-engine:—
"Instead of a piston working in the main cylinder of the steam-engine, I do use a plunger-pole similar to
those employed in pumps for lifting water, and I do make the said plunger-pole nearly of the same
diameter as the working cylinder, having only space enough between the pole and the cylinder to
prevent friction, or, in case the steam is admitted near the stuffing box, I leave sufficient room for the
steam to pass to the bottom of the cylinder, and I do make at the upper end of the cylinder for the
plunger-pole to pass through a stuffing box of much greater depth than usual, into which stuffing box I
do introduce enough of the usual packing to fill it one-third high. Upon this packing I place a ring of
metal, occupying about another third part of the depth of the stuffing box, this ring having a circular
groove at the inside, and a hole or holes through it communicating with the outside, and with a hole
through the side of the stuffing box; or, instead of one ring containing a groove, I sometimes place two

thinner rings, kept asunder by a number of pillars to about the distance of one-third of the depth of the
stuffing box, and I pack the remaining space above the ring or rings, and secure the whole down in the
usual manner. The intention of this arrangement is to produce the effect of two stuffing boxes, allowing
a space between the two stuffings for water to pass freely in from the boiler or forcing pump through a
pipe and through the hole in the side of the stuffing box, so as to surround the plunger-pole and form
the ring of water for the purpose of preventing the escape of steam by keeping up an equilibrium
between the water above the lower stuffing and the steam in the cylinder. By this part of my said
invention I obviate the necessity of that tight packing which is requisite when steam of a high pressure
is used, and consequently I avoid a greater proportion of the usual friction, because a very moderate
degree of tightness in the packing is quite sufficient to prevent the passage of any injurious quantity of
so dense a fluid as water. And I do further declare that I use the plunger-pole, working in a cylinder and
through a double stuffing, either with or without a condenser, according to the nature of the work which
the steam-engine is to perform."
Though Trevithick has been spoken of as a visionary, intractable schemer, observation
shows that he adhered with tenacity to original ideas, proved to be good. The plunger-pole
pump, the water-pressure engine, the Camborne locomotive, the pole steam-engine, were all
built on the same groundwork originally started with, of greatest simplicity of form, and
absence of many pieces; and it may be observed that he never applied for a patent until the
value of the idea had been proved by experiment.
In practice the difficulty of keeping the pole-packing in order was one of the objections to
the plan; for it either leaked, or, if packed tight, caused much friction and wearing away of
the middle of the pole faster than the ends, from the greater speed at the middle of the
stroke. The steam-ring was therefore of importance in the engine, in those days of
inaccurate workmanship; like the water cup on the gland of the plunger-pump packing, it
prevented external air from injuring the vacuum.
""Camborne, July 8th, 1815.
""Mr. Giddy,
"Sir,—About a fortnight since I received letters from Lima, and also letters to the friends of the men
who sailed with the engines. They arrived on the 29th January, after a very good passage, and without
one hour's sickness. Both their and my agreements were immediately ratified, and they are in high
spirits. The ship finished discharging on the 11th February, which was the day those letters sailed from
Lima with $12,000 for me, which has all arrived safe.
"I shall make another fit-out for them immediately. I expect that all the engines will be at work before
the end of October; half of them must be at work before this time. The next day, after their letters sailed
for Europe, they intended to go back to the mines. Woolf's engine is stopped at Herland, and I have
orders to proceed. A great part of the work is finished for them, and will be at work within two months
from the time I began. I only engage that the engine shall be equal to a B. and Watt's 72-inch single, but
it will be equal to a double 72-inch cylinder. It is a cast-iron plunger-pole, over the shaft, of 33 inches
diameter, 10-feet stroke. The boiler is two tubes, 45 feet long each, 3 feet diameter, 1/2 an inch thick, of
wrought iron, side by side, nearly horizontal, only 15 inches higher at the steam end of the tubes, to
allow the free passage of steam to the steam-pipe. There are two 4-inch valves, one the steam-valve, the
other the discharging valve. I have made the plunger-case and steam-vessel of wrought iron ¾ of an
inch thick. The steam-vessel is 48 inches in diameter. The plunger stands on beams over the shaft, with
the top of it at the level of the surface, with a short T-piece above the plunger-pole, and a side rod on

each side, that comes up between the two plunger-beams in the shaft; this does away with the use of an
engine-beam, and the plungers do away with the use of a balance-beam.

Pole-Engine.

"The fire is under the two tubes, and goes under them for 45 feet, and then returns again over them, and
then up the chimney. Those tubes need no boiler-house, because they are arched over with brick, which
keeps them from the weather, and scarcely any engine-house is needed, only just to cover the
engineman.
"Suppose a 72-inch cylinder (having 4000 inches), at 10 lbs. to the inch, an 8-feet stroke, working nine
strokes per minute (which is more strokes of that length than she will make when loaded to 10 lbs. to
the inch).
Inches
4000 in a 72-inch cylinder, single.
10 lbs. to the inch.
4000 8 feet stroke.
320000 9 strokes per minute.
2880000 lbs. lifted one foot high per minute.

"Suppose a 33-inch plunger-pole, 10-feet stroke, ten strokes per minute (which is not so fast by three or
four strokes per minute as this engine will go, because she will have no heavy beam to return, neither

will she have to wait for condensing, like B. and Watt's, which, when loaded, hangs very long on the
injection).
855 square inches in a 33-inch plunger-pole.
10 lbs.to the inch.
8550
10 feet stroke.
85500
34 lbs. to the inch, real duty.
342000
256500
2907000 lbs. lifted one foot high per minute.

"I should judge that less than 50 lbs. to the inch above the atmosphere would be quite enough to do the
work of a 72-inch cylinder single, which is but a trifle for those wrought-iron tubes to stand. This
engine, everything new, house included, ready for work, will not exceed 700l. Two months are
sufficient for erecting it. The engine of Woolf's, at Wheal Vor, which is but two-thirds the power of a
72-inch cylinder, single power, cost 8000l., and was two years erecting. I would be much obliged to you
for your opinion on this business.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
"I am sorry to say that the mines in general are very poor."
He shows that with steam of 34 lbs. to the inch, his Herland pole puffer steam-engine of 33
inches in diameter would be equal in power to the Watt low-pressure steam vacuum engine,
with a 72-inch cylinder. Herland, like Dolcoath and Wheal Treasury, was the chosen battle-
ground of rival engineers; fifty years after Newcomen had there erected his famously large
70-inch cylinder engine, Watt surpassed it in size by a cylinder 2 inches more in diameter,
and, after personally superintending its erection in 1798, declared that "it could not be
improved on." Mr. Davey, the mine manager, considered that it did twenty millions of duty,
though Mr. Watt had made it twenty-seven millions with a bushel of coal.[31] This difference
is probably explained by the then Cornish bushel weighing 84 lbs., while Watt generally
calculated a bushel at 112 lbs.
Trevithick declining to believe Watt's prognostication, a public test of Watt's engines in the
county was demanded; Mr. Davies Gilbert, with Mr. Jenkin, were requested to report on
their duty, and gave it in 1798 as averaging seventeen millions.[32] During the same year the
adventurers in Herland Mine engaged Trevithick and Bull, jun., to erect a 60-inch cylinder
Bull engine to compete with Watt's 72-inch cylinder. The result of this fight is not traceable,
nor what took place there during the succeeding fifteen years; when in 1814 Woolf erected
in Cornwall his double-cylinder engine to compete with Watt's engine, and Trevithick
attacked them both with his Herland high-pressure pole puffer in 1815, when he erected at
his own risk and cost a 33-inch pole-engine, engaging that it should, both in power and
economical duty, equal the Watt 72-inch engine. The boilers were similar in form to those

used a year before in Wheal Prosper high-pressure steam vacuum pole-engine, being two
wrought-iron tubes, each 45 feet long and 3 feet in diameter, made of plates half an inch
thick. The fire was in external flues. The engine was fixed directly over the pump-rods in
the shaft, using neither main beam nor air-pump.
Trevithick's rough hand-sketch shows the steam-ring in the stuffing box and the steam-
vessel; the particular use of the latter he has not described: probably it was because Cornish
pumping engines, not having the controlling crank to limit the movement of the piston, are
obliged to trust to the very admirable, but little understood, steam-cushion, without which
the ascending piston would inevitably strike and break the cylinder-cover, while in the pole
puffer-engine this danger was during the descent of the pole, and therefore the discharge-
steam valve was closed, while the steam in the pole-case was still of ten or more pounds to
the inch, so that by the time the pole reached the finish of its down-stroke, it had
compressed this steam-cushion, filling also the steam-vessel, with a pressure approaching to
that in the boiler, and equal to the weight of the pole and pump-rods. A comparatively small
supply of steam from the boiler into the steam-vessel brought it up to the boiler pressure,
sending the pole and pump-rods upwards with a spring. The steam-valve then closed,
allowing the momentum of the great weight of pump-rods, together with the expanding
steam, to complete the up-stroke. The discharge-valve was then opened for a moment,
allowing a blast of steam to escape, reducing the pressure say to one-half. The weight of the
rods caused their downward movement, raising the load of water in the plunger-pole pumps,
and at the same time compressing the steam from the pole-case into the steam-vessel, equal
at the finish of the stroke to the support of the pole and pump-rods. This most simple steam-
engine combined in the greatest degree the two elements of expansion and momentum.
The up-stroke began with a much higher pressure of steam than was necessary to raise the
load; having given momentum to the rods, the supply of steam was cut off, and the stroke
was completed by expansion. The down-stroke began with a comparatively low pressure of
steam under the pole. The unsupported pump-rods fell downwards, setting in upward
motion the column of water in the plunger-pole pumps. The discharge-valve was closed
long before the completion of the down-stroke, and the momentum of the moving mass of
rods and water compressed the steam driven from the pole-case into the steam-vessel up to a
pressure equal to the support of the pole and pump-rods. The pole was, therefore,
continually floating or rising and falling in steam of ever-varying pressure.
Trevithick' s figures show the working power of the 33-inch pole as much greater than
Watt's 72-inch cylinder engine, even when the steam pressure in the former was much
reduced, and that Woolf's double-cylinder engine, of less power, cost ten times as much as
the pole-engine. This sum probably included the costly buildings required for the beam-
engines, which Trevithick's plan dispensed with.
The reader may judge of the perfection of mechanism in this plain-looking engine from the
fact that a pole, with 150 lbs. of steam to the inch in the boiler, was equal to 50 or 60 tons
weight, thrown up and down its 10-feet stroke ten or fourteen times a minute, with a limit of
movement perfectly under control, while modern engineers are building ships' turrets

because of the difficulty of raising and depressing a 30-ton gun from the hold to above the
water level.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, September 12th, 1815.
"Sir,
"I received a letter dated the 20th of August, from Mr. Davies, in which he did not mention the name of
Herland castings. On the 24th of the same month I wrote to you, informing you of the same, and
requesting to know what state of forwardness the castings were in. On the 30th of August I received
another letter from Mr. Davies, not saying what state of forwardness the castings were in, nor when
they would be finished, only that they would set their hands about them, and that I might expect a letter
from you stating the particulars, which has not yet come to hand. I have waited so long that I am quite
out of patience. You will know that it is now nearly double the time that the castings were to have been
finished in, and you have not yet answered my letters as to the state of the castings nor when they will
be finished. I must again request you to write to me on this subject, otherwise I must immediately
remove the orders to some other founders that may be a little more attentive to their customers. I must
be informed in the positive, whether the castings will be at Bristol by the next spring-tide, as a vessel is
engaged for the purpose of taking them to Cornwall.
"Yours, &c.,
"R. T..
"Mr. John Rastrick,
"Chepstow, South Wales."
Rastrick, whom he had known at the Thames Driftway, had become the managing engineer
at the Bridgenorth Foundry.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, September 29th, 1815.
""Mr. George Cowie,
"I received your favour of the 20th, and on the 23rd called on Mr. Wm. Sims, your engineer, who went
with me to Beeralstone Mine the same day. We arranged on the spot what was necessary for the engine.
I hope it will be at work in good time, before the winter's floods set in. Nothing can prevent it, unless
the castings are detained by contrary winds. The boilers are nearly finished in Cornwall. The castings at
Bridgenorth are in a forward state. I intend leaving this evening for Bridgenorth, to ship the castings,
both for Herland and Beeralstone. It was the wish of the agents on the mine that these castings might be
sent to Swansea, and taken from thence to the mine with a freight of coal. I shall, if possible, get the
Herland castings in the same ship. The workmen making your boilers want an advance of cash to
enable them to finish. They provide both iron and labour, for which they are to receive 42l. per ton for
the boiler when finished; the weight will be about 8 tons. You may send this money to Mr. Sims or to
me, or otherwise you may direct it to Mr. N. Holman, boiler-maker, Pool, near Truro. 100l. will satisfy
them for the present. I hope to be in London this day week, and will call at your office.
"Yours, &c.,
"R. Trevithick.".
The pole-engine was not only used in several mines shortly after its first introduction, but Mr. Sims, the
leading engineer of the eastern mines, not generally favourable to Trevithick, advocated its application

in the traditional Watt district.
Scarcely had he smoothed the way with one opponent than another sprung up in an unexpected quarter.
His brother-in-law, Harvey, with his once friend, Andrew Vivian, then a partner with Harvey, opposed
his plans at the Herland. They were annoyed at Trevithick's sending his orders for castings and
machinery to Bridgenorth, and may have had doubts of the success of the new inventions. They had
authority in the mine, probably as shareholders, a position generally acquired in Cornwall by those who
supply necessary mine material, as well as by the smelters who buy the mineral from the mines. The
Williamses and Foxes, controlling the eastern district of mines, were also shareholders and managers,
supplying machinery and buying the mine produce.
[Rough draft.]
"Penzance, 13th December, 1815.
""Sir,
"Yesterday I was at Herland, where I was informed that Captain Andrew Vivian had been the day before, on his return
from Mr. Harvey's, and discharged all the men on the mine, without giving them a moment's notice. Before the arrival
of the castings the pitmen, sumpmen, carpenters, and smiths were very busy getting the pit-work ready; at which time
H. Harvey and A. Vivian were exulting in reporting that the iron ore was not yet raised that was to make the Herland
castings. The day that they heard of their arrival they discharged all the labourers, and ordered the agents not to admit
another sixpence-worth of materials on the adventurers' account, or employ any person whatever.
"The agents sent a short time since to Perran Foundry[33] for the iron saddles and brasses belonging to the balance-
bob, the property of the adventurers; but they refused to make them, with a great deal of ill-natured language about
my engine.
"I am determined to fulfil my engagement with the adventurers, and yesterday ordered all the smiths, carpenters,
pitmen, and sumpmen to prepare the adventurers' pit-work, and ordered the agents to get the balance-bob and every
other thing that may be wanted at my expense, so as to fork the first lift, which I hope to have dry by Monday three
weeks. The engine will be in the mine this week, and in one fortnight after I hope the engine will be at work, and in
less than a week more the first twenty fathoms under the adit will be dry.
"In consequence of the Perran people refusing to send the saddles and brasses for the balance-bob, we will make shift
in the best way we can without them. The brasses I have ordered on my own account at Mr. Scantlebury's. The coals
for the smiths I have also ordered, and the same for the engine to fork the first lift. This is very uncivil treatment in
return for inventing and bringing to the public, at my own risk and expense, what I believe the country could not exist
without. I am determined to erect the engine at all events and upset this coalition before I leave Europe, if it detains
me one year to accomplish it.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
" Rd. Trevithick.
"Mr. Phillip,
"George Yard, Lombard Street.
"P.S.—I should be glad to hear from you what is going forward respecting an arrangement of the shares."
[Rough draft.]
"Penzance, 23rd December, 1815.
""Gentlemen,
"I have received the Herland castings, and am very seriously sorry to say, after we had fixed together the castings on
the mine and made the joints, on attempting to put the plunger-pole into the case it would not go down; neither would
either of the rings go to their places into the cylinder and on to the pole; therefore the whole engine must be again
taken to pieces and sent to a turning and boring mill to be newly turned and bored. How to get this done I cannot tell,
for the founders here will not do it because they had not the casting them. Already great expenses have been incurred
by delays, and now to send them back to Bridgenorth at an immense loss of time and money will be a very serious
business indeed. I think that either the cylinder is bored crooked or the plunger-pole turned crooked, or both, as it will
sink farther down into the cylinder on turning it round on one side than it will on the other. The whole job is most
shamefully fitted up, and was never tried together before sent off. Write to me by return of post and say what I am to
do in this dilemma.
"Yours, &c.,
"Richard Trevithick.

"Hazeldine, Rastrick, and Co.,
"Bridgenorth."

The new engine-work from Bridgenorth on arrival was found to be so inaccurately made that the pole
would not go into the pole-case. Henry Phillips,[34] who saw the engine make its first start, says:—
"I was a boy working in the mine, and several of us peeped in at the door to see what was doing. Captain Dick was in
a great way, the engine would not start; after a bit Captain Dick threw himself down upon the floor of the engine-
house, and there he lay upon his back; then up he jumped, and snatched a sledge-hammer out of the hands of a man
who was driving in a wedge, and lashed it home in a minute. There never was a man could use a sledge like Captain
Dick; he was as strong as a bull. Then, he picked up a spanner and unscrewed something, and off she went. Captain
Vivian was near me, looking in at the doorway; Captain Dick saw him, and shaking his fist, said: 'If you come in here
I'll throw you down the shaft.' I suppose Captain Vivian had something to do with making the boilers, and Captain
Dick was angry because they leaked clouds of steam. You could hardly see, or hear anybody speak in the engine-
house, it was so full of steam and noise; we could hear the steam-puffer roaring at St. Erth, more than three miles
off."

By the end of January, 1816, the engine was ready for work, and after ten days of experience, he thus
described the result:—
"Penzance, 11th February, 1816.
""Mr. Davies Giddy,
Sir,—I was unwilling to write you until I had made a little trial of the Herland engine. It has been at work about ten
days, and works exceedingly well; everyone who has seen it is satisfied that it is the best engine ever erected. It goes
more smoothly than any engine I ever saw, and is very easy and regular in its stroke. It's a 33-inch cylinder, 10½-feet
stroke. We have driven it eighteen strokes per minute. In the middle, or about two-thirds of the stroke, it moved about
8 feet per second, with a matter in motion of 24 tons; and that weight returned thirty-six times in a minute, with 2
bushels of coal per hour. This of itself, without the friction, or load of water, is far more duty than ever was done
before by an engine. I found that it required about 80 lbs. to the inch to work the engine the first twelve hours, going
one-third expansive, twelve strokes per minute, 10½-feet stroke, with 24 bushels of coal. The load of water was about
30,000. This was occasioned by the extreme friction, the plunger-pole being turned, and the plunger-case bored, to fit
so nicely from end to end, that it was with great difficulty we could at all force the plunger-pole down to the bottom
of the plunger-case. This is now in a great degree removed, and since we went to work we have thrown into the
balance-box 4 tons of balance, and it would carry 3 tons more at this time. We must have carried that load in friction
against the engine, therefore, if you calculate this, you will find it did an immense duty, going twelve strokes per
minute, 10½-feet stroke, with 2 bushels of coal per hour. The engine is now working regularly twelve strokes per
minute, with 60 lbs. of steam, 10½-feet stroke, three-quarters of the stroke expansive, and ends with the steam rather
under atmosphere strong, with considerably within 2 bushels of coal per hour. I would drive her faster, but as the lift
is hanging in the capstan rope under water, they are not willing to risk it. I have raised the steam to 120 lbs. to the
inch, the joints and everything perfectly tight. I took the packing out of the stuffing box and examined it, and found
that the heat had not at all injured it; the packing is perfectly tight, not a particle of steam is lost.
"I have offered to deposit 1000l. to 500l. as a bet against Woolf's best engine, and give him twenty millions, but that
party refuses to accept the challenge. I have no doubt but that by the time she is in fork she will do 100 millions,
which is the general opinion here. The boilers are certainly the best ever invented, as well as the other parts. The
draught is the best you ever saw; I have only one-quarter part of the fire-bars uncovered, yet from one-quarter part of
the fire-place that I first made, I find plenty of steam. The greatest part of the waste steam is condensed in heating the
water to fill the boiler; what escapes is a mere nothing. The engine will be loaded, when in fork, about 52 lbs. to the
inch. Now suppose I raise the steam so high at the first part of the stroke as to go so expansive as to leave the steam,
at the finish, only atmosphere strong, shall I, in that case, use any more coal than at present? The materials and joints
will stand far more than that pressure; 500 lbs. to the inch would not injure them. When the engine gets on two lifts, I
will write to you again, and in the meantime please to give me your thoughts on the engine. Every engine that was
erecting is stopped, and the whole county thinks of no other engine.
"Your very obedient servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.

The new pole puffer-engine worked so satisfactorily and its movements were so manageable that the
length of the stroke was increased by the spare 6 inches, which had been allowed as a margin in case of
its overrunning its intended stroke. It would bear being worked at eighteen strokes a minute, while the
Watt 72-inch engine did not exceed nine strokes a minute; with steam in the boiler of 80 lbs. to the inch
it performed its work when the steam supply was cut off at two-thirds of the stroke, completing it by
expansion. It also worked well with steam of 120 lbs. to the inch; but the want of strength in the pump-
rods and the requirements of the mine caused the regular working pressure of steam to be reduced to 60

lbs. on the inch, and to be cut off when the pole had moved through the first quarter of its stroke. The
excellent draught causing the fire-bars to be reduced to one-quarter of their original surface, and the
heating the feed-water by the waste steam in this powerful pumping engine, indicate the use of the
blast-pipe as at that time worked in the Welsh puddling-mill engine. Watt's engine was for a moment
forgotten, that he might challenge Woolf to a trial, giving him as a help twenty millions, or the
understood duty of the Watt engine. This non-condensing pole-engine, with 20 tons of pump-rods,
moved at a maximum speed of 8 feet a second, and was equal to its work with a steam pressure of 52
lbs. on the inch. Trevithick contemplated extending the expansive principle even further than he had
done in the Wheal Prosper pole condensing engine, so that at the finish of the up-stroke the steam
should only be about the pressure of the atmosphere, or say from 1 to 10 lbs. on the inch, having
commenced it with steam of from 100 to 200 lbs. on the inch, and cutting off the supply from the boiler
when the pole had gone but a very small part of its upward stroke, more or less as the mine
requirements admitted of it. The principle of expansive working and momentum of moving parts was of
necessity modified in its application to pump-work.
"Eastbourne, February 15th, 1816.
"Dear Trevithick,
"I have been called here by the decease of my wife's uncle, and consequently your letters of the 11th did not reach me
till this day.
"The account you give me of your new engine has been extremely gratifying. The duty performed by the engine in
giving a velocity of 8 feet in a second, thirty-six different times in a minute, to 24 tons of matter, by the consumption
of 2 bushels of coal in an hour, is indeed very great, amounting to about fifty-seven and three-quarter millions. So
that when you obtain a proper burden, and the extraordinary friction arising from the too close fitting of the plunger-
pole and case is reduced, there seems to be no doubt of your engine performing wonders.
"I am of opinion that the stronger steam is used, the more advantageous it will be found. To what degree it should be
applied expansively must be determined by experience in different cases. It will depend on the rate at which the
engine requires to be worked, and on the quantity of matter put into motion, so that as large a portion as possible of
the inertia given in the beginning of the stroke may be taken out of it at the end.
"Some recent experiments made in France prove, as I am told, for I have not seen them, that very little heat is
consumed in raising the temperature of steam. And if this is true, of course there must be a great saving of fuel by
using steam of several atmospheres' strength, and working expansive through a large portion of the cylinder. I have
really been impatient for a week past to receive some account of your machine, having learned nothing about it,
except from a paragraph dated Hayle in the Truro paper of last Saturday week, and somehow or other the next paper
has not reached me,
"I hope to be in London about Tuesday next, but at all events direct to me there, as my letters are regularly forwarded.
"Believe me, dear Sir,
"Yours ever most faithfully,
"Davies Giddy."
[Rough draft.]
"Bromsgrove, 8th March, 1816.
""Mr. John Adams,
"Sir,—I received your favour of the 12th February, but did not answer it in due course, because I was then erecting an
engine on the new plan, which is now at work, and performs exceedingly well. It is equal in power to a 72-inch
diameter cylinder, double power of B. and Watt's. The expense of erection, and the consumption of coals in this
engine, are not one-third of a B. and Watt's to perform the same work. I am the same Trevithick that invented the
high-pressure engine. I have sent out nine steam-engines to the gold and silver mines of Peru. I intend to sail for that
place in about a month or six weeks, but shall appoint agents in England to erect these engines.
"No publication or description whatever has been in circulation, neither is it required, for I have a great many more
orders than I can execute.
"I have not seen anything of Mr. Losh's patent engine, or Mr. Collins'.
"If you should go to London I advise you to call on Mr. Jas. Smith, Limekiln Lane, Greenwich, who is an agent for
me, and will soon be able to show you an engine on this plan at work.
"I remain, &c.,
"R. Trevithick.

Unless the foregoing letters are based on error, the only conclusion to be drawn is that Watt, on the
expiry of his patent right and of twenty-eight years of labour, having erected his masterpiece in
Cornwall, was within a few years so beaten that Trevithick, in his challenge to Woolf, offered to throw
in the Watt engine as a make-weight, and with such odds to bet him two to one that his comparatively
small and cheap high-pressure engine should beat the two big ones, both in power, in first cost, and in
economical working. The Watt engine was one of his largest, with a 72-inch cylinder. Its power was
equal to Trevithick's 33-inch pole-engine, when worked with steam of 34 lbs. to the inch; but the latter
also worked with three times that pressure of steam, whereby its power was increased threefold. The
first cost of these engines was probably in inverse proportion to their power. Trevithick's cost 700l.,
while three times that sum would not pay for the Watt engine. The reported duty of Watt's Herland
engine was twenty-seven millions; and if the trial was with his ordinary bushel of 112 lbs. of coal, the
duty would only be equal to twenty millions with 84 lbs. of coal, which constituted the Cornish bushel.
Trevithick's pole high-pressure steam-engine did fifty-seven millions; in other words, performed the
same work as the Watt engine with less than half of the daily coal. This large economy led to orders for
many engines, on his promise that they should cost much less than those of Watt of equal power, and
should perform the work with one-third of the coal. Some believed him, though others were stony-
hearted, and as obstinate as donkeys.
[Rough draft.]
"Penzance, 8th March, 1816.
""Mr. Phillip,
"Sir,—I long since expected to have heard from you that my agreement with the Herland adventurers was executed. I
have in every respect fulfilled my part of the engagement with the adventurers, and expect that they will do the same
with me. The engine continues to work well. Every person that has seen it, except Joseph Price, A. Vivian, Woolf, and
a few other such like beasts, agrees that it is by far the best engine ever erected. Its performance tells its effects, in
spite of all false reports.
"Joseph Price and A. Vivian reported that the engine was good for nothing, that it would not do four millions, and that
at the next Tuesday meeting they would turn it idle. On the evening before the meeting they met at Camborne for that
purpose.
"Captain A. Vivian did not attend the meeting. I could not help at the meeting threatening to horsewhip J. Price for
the falsehoods that he with the others had reported.
"I hear that he is to go to London to meet the London committee on Monday. I hope the committee will consider J.
Price's report as from a disappointed man. It is reported that he has bought very largely in Woolf's patent, which now
is not worth a farthing, besides losing the making my castings, which galls him very sorely.
"The water sinks regularly 20 fathoms per month, including every stoppage. On Monday next I expect they will be
putting down the second lift. The water rises about 8 inches per hour when the engine is idle, and when at work will
sink it again at the same rate, showing that the engine is equal to double the growing stream. When drawing from the
pool the sinking is not much above 4 inches per hour, which shows that the water drains from a great distance from
the country. The engine is going fourteen strokes per minute, 10-feet stroke, 14½-inch box. When Herland worked
last they drew a 14-inch box, 7-feet stroke, twelve strokes per minute in winter, and seven strokes per minute in
summer. Therefore it appears that the winter water is about from seven to eight strokes per minute, and the summer
water from four to five strokes per minute for this engine.
"The engine has forked faster the last week than she did before. I think that the great quantity of water that was laying
round the mine at the surface is nearly drawn down, and that as we get down to a closer ground the drainage will not
be so much. If we have dry weather the water will, at the next shallow level, fall off two strokes per minute before the
next lift is in fork. If it continues the same we can continue to sink 20 fathoms per month, exclusive of the time it will
take to fix the lifts. As we get down the house of water will lessen considerably. The expense of the engine is about
100l. per month. The sumpmen and others attending on the forking the water, about 100l. per month more. They have
all the materials on the mine for the pit-work, therefore a very trifling sum will bring the water down to the 60-fathom
level, when the mine will pay her own expense.
"I will thank you for an account of the meeting.
"Your obedient servant,
"R. Trevithick.

Mr. Phillip was the financial managing shareholder—more particularly with the Londoners—at that
resuscitation of Herland Mine; and though the new engine was comparatively cheap, both in its first
cost and in its consumption of coal, and satisfactorily reduced the water in the mine, payment for it was
withheld because the currents of self-interest were against Trevithick. Mr. Joseph Price was the
manager of a steam-engine manufactory at Neath Abbey, in South Wales, and had been in the habit of
supplying castings for Cornish mines. Arthur Woolf was then striving to bring into use his patent
double-cylinder engine, and patent high-pressure steam-boiler, which Trevithick looked on as copies
from Hornblower and himself. This, added to Woolf's sarcastic manner of speech, roused Trevithick's
anger.
Putting aside the words of the disputants, the fact is stated that the pole-engine, with a reduced steam
pressure, worked a pump 14½ inches in diameter, 10-feet stroke, fourteen strokes per minute; while the
largest and best engine by Watt in Cornwall, placed on the same mine, with a 72-inch steam-cylinder,
gave motion to a pump of 14 inches in diameter, 7-feet stroke, at twelve strokes a minute; being in
round numbers just one-half the amount of the work performed by Trevithick's comparatively small
engine, which had not a single feature of the Watt engine in it.
[Rough draft.]
"Penzance, March 7, 1816.
""Captain Joe Odgers,
"Sir,—I have your favour of the 27th February, and requested Mr. Page to send to you a sketch of the agreement. On
seeing him yesterday, I found that he had neglected to send it to you. He will leave the country for London in a few
days, and intends to call on you at Dolley's as soon as he arrives. I do not know that the agreement matters much for a
few days up or down. The terms are well understood between us, which is that the adventurers and I equally share the
advantages that may arise from this new engine over Boulton and Watt's. When you have fully arranged with your
adventurers about the engine, please to write me, and I will immediately proceed to order the engine; and in the
interim the agreement will be drawn up by Mr. Page, and executed either here or in London, just as may suit.
"I remain, &c.,
"R. Trevithick.
"P.S.—Herland engine goes on better and better. Your adventurers will get a satisfactory account by applying in town
to Mr. Wm. Phillip, No. 2, George Yard, Lombard Street. He is the principal of the London adventurers."

Trevithick believed that mine adventurers would agree to pay him one-half the saving caused by his
engines, as compared with the cost of fuel in the Watt engine. The duty performed by the latter was
understood and agreed to generally; persons were chosen by the adventurers to experiment and report
on the duty of Trevithick's pole-engine, that the amount of payment might be ascertained in proportion
to the saving effected.
"Penzance, April 2, 1816.
""Mr. Giddy,
"Sir,—I have long wished to write to you about the Herland engine, but first wished to see the engine loaded with a
second lift, and a trial made of the duty. Yesterday was fixed on, before ordering another engine for the eastern shaft.
"The persons attended. The arbitrators gave the duty as forty-eight millions, and said they had no doubt the engine
would perform above sixty millions before getting to the bottom of the mine.
"They were much within the duty, but I did not contend with them, as they said it was quite duty enough.
"The engine worked 9¼ strokes per minute, with 2 bushels of coal per hour for the whole time, 10-feet stroke. There
were two pump-lifts of 14½-inch bucket, making 43 fathoms, and 26 fathoms of 6-inch for house-water.
"The steam was from 100 to 120 lbs. to the inch. The valve open while the plunger-pole ascended 20 inches, then
went the remainder of the 10-feet stroke expansive.
"It went exceedingly smooth and regular. Some time since, by way of trying the power of the engine, we disengaged
the balance-bob. The engine worked twenty strokes per minute, with 17 tons of rods, &c., and drew 14½-inch bucket
23½ fathoms, and a 6-inch bucket 26 fathoms, 10-feet stroke, twenty strokes per minute.
"This was about 45,000 lbs. weight, with the speed of 200 feet per minute, which makes the duty performed more
than the power of three 72-inch cylinders, single, of Boulton and Watt, say of 8-feet stroke, 10 lbs. to the inch, nine

strokes per minute, which is more than these engines will perform. I have all the orders for every engine now required
in the country, which is not to be wondered at, for one-tenth part of the expense in the erection will do, and the duty is
not less than three times as much as other engines. This will be proved before we get to the bottom.
"The engine now works at about two-fifths of the load which she will have when at the bottom. When the next lift is
in fork I will write to you again.
"I am, Sir, your humble servant,
"Richard Trevithick.

Independent examiners reported that the Herland pole-engine did forty-eight millions of duty, under
various pressures of steam, up to 120 lbs. to the inch, working five-sixths of the stroke expansively,
with a speed of twenty strokes a minute, or double the speed of the Watt engine; and the importance of
those facts deserves the scrutiny and close study of youthful engineers. A small cheap engine, of 33-
inch cylinder, similar in general construction to the Wheal Prosper pole-engine, but still more simple
from the absence of air-pump and condenser, did as much work as three of Watt's largest engines with
cylinders of 72 inches in diameter. This great stride in the useful value of the steam-engine was forced
on the public by Trevithick's single-handed energy, when every man was against him, even Henry
Harvey, his brother-in-law and friend, his former partner, Andrew Vivian, and his once carpenter and
assistant, Arthur Woolf. As a closing attempt to finally crush him, he was made personally responsible
for the payment of an engine erected for the benefit of others. This was the great trial test of the power
and economy of the purely high-pressure expansive steam-engine as compared with the Watt low-
pressure vacuum engine applied to large pumps.
"Hayle Foundry, 18th April, 1816.
"Sir,
"I was at Herland to-day. Captain Grose received a letter while I was there, signed by Captain William Davey and
Joseph Vivian, requesting him to appoint others to attend the trial of the engine, as it would not be convenient for
them to do it.
"Captain Samuel Grose, jun., brought down the drawing for your engine. He said he had taken off the working gear
only. If you would wish it, we will make the working-gear and all the wrought-iron work on the drawing for the two
engines ordered, and will take on a man or two immediately for that purpose. You will let me know about this before
you set off, and also if any alteration is to be made in the beam for Wheal Treasure engine, since you have altered the
size of the pole. We had cast the case, but I suppose it will suit some place else.
"Your obedient servant,
"Henry Harvey.
"Mr. Richard Trevithick."
"About 1815 or 1816 I was employed by Captain Trevithick to erect various pole-engines, one of them at Saltram
Stream. It had worked at Tavistock; it was a horizontal high-pressure pole puffer. Captain Samuel Grose was then
erecting for Captain Trevithick a 24-inch high-pressure pole-engine at Beeralstone, on the Tamar, to drain a lead
mine. I assisted Captain Grose. The stroke was about 8 feet. It worked with cross-head and side rods. There were two
wrought-iron boilers about 3 feet 6 inches in diameter and 40 feet long. The fire and flues were outside. The steam
pressure, 60 lbs. to the inch. I also erected a similar engine with a 20-inch pole at Wheal Treasure, now called Fowey
Consols Mine; and one at Logassack, near Padstow. Those two had brass poles. It was found that the poles cut and
wore in their passage through the stuffing box, the middle wearing more than the ends, causing steam to escape. A
similar pole of Captain Trevithick's erecting was then working at Wheal Regent, near St. Austell.
"In 1818 I saw working at Wheal Chance Mine, near Scorrier, an old 60-inch cylinder Boulton and Watt engine. A
pole of Trevithick's was fixed between the cylinder and the centre of the main beam. High-pressure steam was first
worked under the pole and then expanded in the cylinder."[35]

The late Mr. William Burral, for many years manager of the boiler-making department at Messrs.
Harvey and Co., at Hayle, said:—
"About the year 1815 or 1816 I helped to erect at Treskerby Mine an engine for Captain Trevithick. Mr. Sims was the
engineer of the mine. The engine had the usual cylinder, and close to it one of Captain Trevithick's poles was fixed.
The boilers were Captain Trevithick's high-pressure. The steam was first turned on under the pole. When she had
finished her up-stroke the steam passed from under the pole on to the top of the piston in the cylinder. There was a
vacuum under the piston. The steam-cylinder was 58 inches in diameter, about 9 or 10 feet stroke. The pole was 36

inches in diameter, and a less stroke than the piston, because it was fixed inside the cylinder, nearer to the centre of
the beam. There was a pole-engine then working at Wheal Lushington, also at Poldice, and at Wheal Damsel."
"Captain Artha recollects at Wheal Alfred Mine in 1812 the 66-inch cylinder pumping engine used a pole air-pump;
one or two whim-engines on the same mine also used them. Wheal Concord pumping engine, in 1827 had a similar
air-pump. Old Wheal Damsel, near Treloweth, used one as late as 1865. The condensing water and air passed through
a branch with a valve on it near the top of the pole-case, just under the stuffing box There was a foot-valve at the
bottom of the pole-case."[36]

The writer has had the pleasure of personal acquaintance with each of those three gentlemen, who as
young engineers commenced their labours in the erection of Trevithick's engines.
No sooner had Trevithick perfected the pole condensing engine and then the pole puffer-engine, than
he, in conjunction with Sims, who had just taken part in the erection of one of his high-pressure steam
pole-engines for working the pumps at Beeralstone Mine, combined the pole with the ordinary Watt
vacuum engines, supplying them with steam from his high-pressure boilers, in other words, converting
them from their original form of low-pressure vacuum engines to high-pressure expansive compound
steam-engines.
The old 60-inch cylinder Boulton and Watt engine, at Wheal Chance (one of Watt's favourite engines),
was in 1818 transformed into a high-pressure engine, with Trevithick's pole placed between the centre
of the main beam and the steam-cylinder. The high-pressure steam from Trevithick's new boilers was
turned under the pole for the up-stroke, after which it was expanded in the old and much larger cylinder
on the top of the piston causing the down-stroke; it then, by its passage through the equilibrium valve,
allowed the piston in the large cylinder to make its up-stroke, by equalizing the pressure of steam on its
top and bottom, while a fresh supply of strong steam from the boiler admitted under the pole gave
power to the up-stroke; and finally, the comparatively low-pressure steam under the large piston passed
to the condenser and air-pump to form a vacuum for the down-stroke, as in the Watt engine.
Sims, the engineer at Wheal Chance, one of the mines in the eastern or Watt district, was converted and
became in 1815 or 1816 a partner with Trevithick, and erected, at Treskerby Mine, Trevithick's high-
pressure pole of 36 inches in diameter, as an addition to the old Watt engine working with a cylinder 58
inches in diameter.
Watt, then, within a year or two of his death, was too old to any longer take part in the contest; his
engine in the hands of others was converted and became a high-pressure expansive engine.
Trevithick, as a further proof that he could do without the Watt patent air-pump bucket, with its piston
and valves, removed it from a Watt engine at Wheal Alfred Mine in 1812, replacing it by one of his
poles, answering the same purpose, but different in construction. Many other mines used them; one
remained at work in Old Wheal Damsel in 1860. They have also been used in steamboat air-pumps.
Having traced during a period of five or six years the rise and progress of the high-pressure expansive
pole condensing-engines, the high-pressure expansive pole puffer-engine, and the combined pole and
cylinder high-pressure engine, their value in a commercial sense may be further tested by the public
acts of the time. Lean, an authority on such matters, and certainly not given to unduly praise Trevithick,
spoke as follows on the duty of those particular engines at various periods; and not the least noteworthy
is the fact, that Herland, Poldice, and Treskerby, that were prominent in the early use of the Watt
engine, threw off their allegiance but shortly before the last days of the great engineer, and converted
his low-pressure steam vacuum engines into Trevithick high-pressures.
"In 1798 Messrs. Boulton and Watt, who on a visit to Cornwall, came to see it—'the Herland engine'—and had many
experiments tried to ascertain its duty; it was under the care of Mr. Murdoch, their agent in the county. Captain John
Davey, the manager of the mine, used to state that it usually did twenty millions, and that Mr. Watt, at the time he
inspected it, pronounced it perfect, and that further improvement could not be expected.
"In 1811 the average duty of the three engines (Boulton and Watt's) on Wheal Alfred Mine was about twenty millions.
These engines were at that time reckoned the best in the county.

"In 1816 Sims erected an engine at Wheal Chance, to which he applied the pole adopted by Trevithick in his high-
pressure engine. This engine attained to forty-five millions; and in 1817 it did 46·9 millions.
"In 1814 Treskerby engine is reported as doing 17·48 millions.—Wm. Sims, engineer.
"In 1820 Treskerby engine, to which Trevithick's high-pressure pole had been adapted, had reached 40·3 millions."
[37]

The Herland engine of Watt in 1798 did twenty millions; in 1816 Trevithick's high-pressure pole puffer
in the same mine did forty-eight millions. In 1820 his high-pressure pole-engine was combined with a
Watt low-pressure engine, thereby more than doubling its economical duty.
In 1813 Trevithick wrote:—
"That new engine you saw near the sea-side with me (Wheal Prosper high-pressure pole condensing engine) is now
lifting forty millions one foot high, with a bushel of coal, which is nearly double the duty that is done by any other
engine in the county. A few days since I altered a 60-inch cylinder engine at Wheal Alfred to the same plan, and I
think she will do equally as much duty. I have a notice to attend a mine meeting, to erect a new engine equal in power
to a 63-inch cylinder single."[38]

In the four or five years from his return to Cornwall in 1810, to his leaving for South America in 1816,
he doubled the duty and the power of the steam-engine. Watt once said he had received an oblique look
from Trevithick, sen. The time was now come for Trevithick, jun., to return the compliment; his
improved engines having made their way into the eastern mine district, which Watt once looked upon as
his own.
Trevithick was short of money and on the point of leaving England for South America, when Mr. Sims,
in the employ of Messrs. Williams and Co., favourable to low pressure, was sent to negotiate for the
purchase of a share in Trevithick's patent of 1815 for the high-pressure steam expansive pole-engine.
[39]
"18th October, 1816.—Agreement between Trevithick and Mr. William Sims, prepared by myself and Mr. Day,
solicitor for Mr. Sims, or for Mr. Michael Williams, under whom Sims acted, recites, that in consideration of 200l.
paid by Sims, he was to have a moiety of the patent for Cornwall and Devon, and that I should have power to act and
make contracts whilst Trevithick was out of England.
"The day after contract signed, Trevithick sailed in the 'Asp,' Captain Kenny, for South America. I was on board when
the ship sailed.
"I see among my papers, in May, 1819, in reference to the patent, is the following note:—'Mr. Michael Williams said
it was verbally agreed that Captain Trevithick should have one-quarter part of the savings above twenty-six millions.'
This, I believe, was the average duty of the engines at that time.
"I had several assurances relative to Trevithick's claims, and much correspondence, but no allowance was made from
any mines but Treskerby and Wheal Chance; though Trevithick's patent and boilers were used throughout the county
without acknowledgment; and the duty of the engines had soon increased from twenty-six millions to about seventy
millions.
"In 1819 I attended at the account-houses of Treskerby and Wheal Chance, of which the late Mr. John Williams, of
Scorrier, was the manager, in consequence of some of the adventurers objecting to continue the allowances on the
savings to Captain Trevithick, when Mr. Williams warmly observed, that whatever other mines might do, he would
insist, as long as he was manager for Treskerby and Wheal Chance, the agreement made should be carried into effect.
"I remain, my dear Thomas,
"Your very affectionate father,
"Rd. Edmonds.

The agreement with Mr. Sims, or rather with Mr. Michael Williams, late M.P. for Cornwall, who
exercised large authority in Cornish mines, was that he should have for 200l. one-half of the patent for
the high-pressure pole-engine, as applied to Cornwall and Devon.
Trevithick had desisted from securing a patent for the large high-pressure steam-boilers and expansive
working, on a verbal understanding that he should receive one quarter of the saving from the reduced
consumption of coal by those two particular inventions, twenty-six millions of pounds of water raised
one foot high by a bushel of coal of 84 lbs., being the duty of the best Watt engines, to be taken as a
starting-point for the payment. Treskerby and Wheal Chance paid for the pole-engine, but the

Trevithick boilers suitable for high steam, and the simple methods of working it expansively, had been
made so generally public, that people professed to think they had a right to them, when but a few years
before they had thrown the inventor off his guard by saying "everybody knows that the Cornish boiler
is your plan, and as it cannot be denied, a patent will be of no service."
Mr. John Williams[40] stated "that whatever other mines might do, he would insist, as long as he was
manager for Treskerby and Wheal Chance, the agreement made should be carried into effect." The
Williamses paid to Trevithick 300l. for the saving of coal by the pole patent engine, as an
"acknowledgment of the benefits received by us in our mines;" but no payment was made for the
greater invention of the high-pressure steam-boilers then in general use.
In 1814 the Watt Treskerby engine did seventeen and a half millions. Trevithick's boiler and pole were
applied, and the duty was increased to more than forty millions. In 1816 the same changes were made
in Wheal Chance, and the duty rose to more than forty-six millions. The consumption of coal was
reduced to one-half, amounting in round numbers to a gain of 500l. a month in those two mines alone.
"Trevince, near Truro,
5th January, 1853.
"Dear Sir,
"I am favoured with your letter of the 31st ult., enclosing also one from Mr. F. Trevithick, of the 24th
idem, and have much pleasure in complying with your joint request to the best of my ability. I was well
acquainted with the late Mr. Rd. Trevithick, having had frequent occasion to meet him on business and
to consult him professionally; and I am gratified in having the present opportunity of bearing testimony
to his distinguished abilities, and to the high estimation in which the first Cornish engineers of the day
then regarded him. I need scarcely say that time has not lessened the desire in this county especially to
do him justice. As a man of inventive mechanical genius, few, if any, have surpassed him, and Cornwall
may well be proud of so illustrious a son.
"At this distance of time I can scarcely speak with sufficient exactness for your purpose of the
numerous ingenious and valuable mechanical contrivances for which we are indebted to him, but in
reference to his great improvements in the steam-engine I have a more particular recollection, and can
confidently affirm that he was the first to introduce the high-pressure principle of working, thus
establishing a way to the present high state of efficiency of the steam-engine, and forming a new era in
the history of steam-power. To the use of high-pressure steam, in conjunction with the cylindrical
boiler, also invented by Mr. Trevithick, I have no hesitation in saying that the greatly-increased duty of
our Cornish pumping engines, since the time of Watt, is mainly owing; and when it is recollected that
the working power now attained amounts to double or treble that of the old Boulton and Watt engine, it
will be at once seen that it is impossible to over-estimate the benefit conferred, either directly or
indirectly, by the late Mr. Trevithick, on the mines of this county. The cylindrical boiler above referred
to effected a saving of at least one-third in the quantity of coal previously required; and in the year 1812
I remember our house at Scorrier paying Mr. Trevithick the sum of 300l. as an acknowledgment of the
benefits received by us in our mines from this source alone. Mr. Trevithick's subsequent absence from
the county, and perhaps a certain degree of laxity on his own part in the legal establishment and
prosecution of his claims, deprived him of much of the pecuniary advantage to which his labours and
inventions justly entitled him; and I have often expressed my opinion that he was at the same time the
greatest and the worst-used man in the county.
"Amongst the minor improvements introduced by him, it occurs to me to notice that he was the first to
apply an outer casing to the cylinder, and by this means prevent, still further than Watt had succeeded in
doing, the loss of heat by radiation.

"As connected with one of the most interesting of my recollections of Mr. Trevithick, I must mention
that I was present by invitation at the first trial of his locomotive engine, intended to run upon common
roads, and of course equally applicable to train and railways. This was, I think, about the year 1803, and
the locomotive then exhibited was the very first worked by steam-power ever constructed.
"The great merit of establishing the practicability of so important an application of steam, and the
superiority of the high-pressure engine for this purpose, will perhaps more than any other circumstance
serve to do honour through all times to the name of Trevithick. The experiment which was made on the
public road close by Camborne was perfectly successful; and although many improvements in the
details of such description of engines have been since effected, the leading principles of construction
and arrangements are continued, I believe, with little alteration, in the magnificent railroad-engines of
the present day. Of his stamping engine for breaking down the black rock in the Thames, his river-
clearing or dredging machine, and his extensive draining operations in Holland, I can only speak in
general terms, that they were eminently successful, and displayed, it was considered, the highest
constructive and engineering skill. As a man of enlarged views and great inventive genius, abounding in
practical ideas of the greatest utility, and communicating them freely to others, he could not fail of
imparting a valuable impulse to the age in which he lived; and it would be scarcely doing him justice to
limit his claims as a public benefactor to the inventions now clearly traceable to him, important and
numerous as these are. From my own impressions I may say that no one could be in his presence
without being struck with the originality and richness of his mind, and without deriving benefit from his
suggestive conversation. His exploits and adventures in South America, in connection with the Earl of
Dundonald, then Lord Cochrane, will form an interesting episode in his career; and altogether, I am of
opinion that the Biography which you have undertaken will prove highly interesting and valuable, and I
wish you every success in carrying it out.
"Believe me, my dear Sir,
"Yours very faithfully,
"Michael Williams.
"E. Watkin, Esq.,
"London and North-Western Railway,
"Euston Station, London."
Arthur Woolf shortly after that time (1811) erected his double-cylinder engines in Cornwall.
The late Captain Samuel Grose, when giving the writer his recollections of Trevithick, said:
—
"When he returned from London to Cornwall, about 1810 or 1811, he employed me to look after the
erection of the Wheal Prosper high-pressure engine. Oats, Captain Trevithick's head boiler-maker, was
constructing the boilers; Woolf came into the yard, and examined them. 'What do'st thee want here?'
asked Oats. 'D—n thee, I'll soon make boilers that shall turn thee out of a job!' was Woolf's reply. He
was a roughish man. When his brother Henry mutinied at the Nore, Woolf, who was then working an
engine in Meux's brewery, and had married the lady's maid, made interest with his employer to save
Henry from being hanged at the yard-arm, and afterwards found employ for him in Cornwall. He was
but a clumsy mechanic. Woolf used to blow him up by saying, 'D—n thee, I wish I'd left thee to be
hanged.'"
The writer, who knew Oats, has heard him tell similar stories of the rival engineers.
In 1800, Woolf, who had been a mine carpenter, went to London with the first high-pressure
steam-engine which Trevithick had sent beyond the limits of Cornwall[41]—probably to

Meux's brewery,[42] for he was there in 1803, and in the receipt of 30l. a year from
Trevithick as engine-fireman. From the date of Woolf's patent in 1804, his pay from
Trevithick ceased, and with it their friendship. Trevithick used to say, "Woolf is a shabby
fellow."
Patents sprang up like mushrooms after Trevithick had so liberally cast forth the seeds of the
high-pressure engine, making the security, or even the form of a patent, a doubtful matter.
The perfecting of expansive high-pressure engines was like the boiler, the result of years of
trial. When matured in 1816 it saved Cornwall and the world one-half of the coal that before
had been consumed in low-pressure steam-engines. Every engineer became, more or less, an
expansive worker, and Trevithick's saving of hundreds of thousands of pounds annually to
the general public, gave to him little or no reward.
At the period of those high-pressure pole-engine experiments, Trevithick had devoted
twenty years of constant labour to the improvement and extended use of the steam-engine,
causing it to assume every variety of form except that of the Watt patent engine, an
approach to which was unusual, as evidenced in the high-pressure steam Kensington model
of 1796, without beam, parallel motion, air-pump, or condenser, having no one portion
either in principle or detail similar to the Watt engine, being portable and not requiring
condensing water, with single and double cylinders, placed vertically or horizontally.
Having during twelve busy years constructed over a hundred high-pressure steam-engines,
scarcely any two of which were exactly alike, he departed if possible still further from the
Watt type, and went back apparently, though not in reality, to the Newcomen engine,
simplifying it by the omission of the great bob, and use of condensing water, as in the
nautical labourer and steamboat engine of about 1810,[43] and the South American mine
engines of 1816,[44] which had open-top cylinders, more like a Newcomen than a Watt, but
if possible even more simple and primitive-looking than the former. Again, compare the
thrashing engine of 1812[45] with the Newcomen of 1712:[46] the great and all-important
difference being that one was a high-pressure steam-engine, the other a low-pressure
atmospheric engine. Then came the varieties of high-pressure steam pole-engines, working
very expansively either as puffers or condensers, retaining the same dissimilarity to the Watt
engine: and lastly, the combination of the high-pressure pole with the Watt patent engine,
thereby causing the old Watt engine to do more than double the work it had done when new
from the hands of the maker, and also to perform this increase of work with a decrease in
the consumption of coal.
The following chapter will trace the adaptation of high-pressure expansive steam, from
cylindrical boilers, to the form of pumping engine still in general use.

CHAPTER XX.
THE WATT AND THE TREVITHICK ENGINES AT DOLCOATH.

Having up to 1816 traced the progress of the steam-engine in Cornwall through a century,
during the latter half of which Trevithick, sen., and his son were among its most prominent
improvers, the latter having devoted a quarter of a century to the work, the effect of which is
shown in the skeleton outlines of a few classes of engines, one important feature still
remains for examination before a correct judgment can be formed of the events of this
period and their prime movers.
The use of an increasing pressure of steam gave increased force and value to the improved
steam-engine, but the power of constructing engines and boilers to render the increased
pressure manageable was the result of a lifetime of labour.
Savery, whose engine was scarcely more than a steam-boiler, failed to control its force, and
is said to have blown the roof from over his head. The mechanism of Newcomen's engine
was well arranged, but suitable only for the working of pumps, and its power was limited to
the weight of the atmosphere, from which it was called the atmospheric engine.
In 1756, an atmospheric engine with a cylinder of 70 inches in diameter worked at the
Herland Mine, "the only objection to which was the cost of the coal, to lessen which several
methods had been suggested for increasing the elasticity of the steam, and reducing the size
of the boiler."[47]
In 1775 Richard Trevithick, sen., removed the flat top of a Newcomen boiler, and
substituted a semicircular top, enabling it to contain stronger steam, and at the same time he
improved the mechanical part of the engine by finding a better resting-place for the steam-
cylinder than the top of the large boiler. Pryce gives a drawing of this engine as the best at
that time in Cornwall.[48]
"It is known as a fact that every engine of magnitude consumes 3000l. worth of coal every year.
"The fire-place has been diminished and enlarged again. The flame has been carried round from the
bottom of the boiler in a spiral direction, and conveyed through the body of the water in a tube (one,
two, or three) before its arrival at the chimney.
"Some have used a double boiler, so that fire might act on every possible point of contact, and some
have built a moorstone boiler, heated by three tubes of flame passing through it.
"A judicious engineer does not attempt to load his engine with a column of water heavier than 7 lbs. on
each square inch of the piston."[49]
While Pryce's book was being printed, Watt in 1777 wrote of the Cornish steam-engines:—
"I have seen five of Bonze's engines, but was far from seeing the wonders promised. They were 60, 63,
and 70 inch cylinders at Dolcoath and Wheal Chance. They are said to use each about 130 bushels of

coals in the twenty-four hours, and to make about six or seven strokes per minute, the stroke being
under 6 feet each. They are burdened to 6, 6½, and 7 lbs. per inch."[50]
The 63-inch was an open-top cylinder atmospheric engine at Dolcoath Mine under the
management of Trevithick, sen.; and shortly after, in 1777 or 1778, Watt's first engine was
erected in Cornwall.[51]
In 1783 Trevithick, sen., gave Watt an order for a patent engine for Dolcoath, in size similar
to the old Newcomen atmospheric, having a cylinder 63 inches in diameter, that a working
trial might be made between the rival engines. The Watt engine having a cylinder-cover,
with the patent air-pump and condenser, was known in the county as the Dolcoath great 63-
inch double-acting engine. Three steam-engines were then at work in that mine: Trevithick
senior's Carloose (then called Bullan Garden) atmospheric 45-inch cylinder, the atmospheric
63-inch cylinder, and Watt's 63-inch cylinder double-acting vacuum engine; all of which
continued in operation side by side for five years until 1788, when for a time Dolcoath
ceased to be an active mine. Trevithick, jun., was then a boy of seventeen years.
After ten years of idleness and rust, as if mourning the death of Trevithick, sen., in 1798
Richard Trevithick, jun., as engineer, and Andrew Vivian as manager, induced shareholders
to resuscitate the old mine. Fire was again given to the voracious jaws of the boilers, and the
three engines recommenced their labours and their rivalries.
A year or two before this Trevithick had made models of high-pressure steam-engines.
Davies Gilbert, in 1796, met him among other engineers, giving evidence in the Watt
lawsuits, when he mentioned his ideas of an engine to be worked solely by the force of
steam. Watt had claimed such an engine in his patent twenty-seven years before, but had
failed to carry it into practice. Hornblower had tried something like it in his double-cylinder
expansion engine, but he did not use high-pressure steam, and consequently also failed.
The idea, therefore, of expansive steam was not new, but the useful mastery of it was.
Savery had tried expansive steam before Watt patented it; the latter went to law with
Hornblower for an infringement of the idea, when neither of them had in truth constructed
an expansive steam-engine. The low pressure of the steam from the boilers used by
Hornblower and Watt did not admit of profitable expansion in the cylinder; at its full boiler
pressure it constituted but a comparatively small portion of the power of the engine: to
reduce that power by expansion was as apt to be a loss as a gain. The steam-engine was still
dependent for its power mainly on steam as an agent for causing the required vacuum, until
1796, when Trevithick disclosed his method of constructing small cylindrical boilers and
engines suitable for giving power from the strong pressure of the steam, irrespective of
vacuum.
Lean, who favoured Watt rather than Trevithick, thus records the advent of Watt's expansive
engine:—
"In 1779 to 1788 Mr. Watt introduced the improvement of working steam expansively, and he
calculated that engines which would previously do nineteen to twenty millions would thus perform
twenty-six millions; but I do not find any record of this duty being performed in practice. In 1785
Boulton and Watt had engines in Cornwall working expansively, as at Wheal Gons and Wheal Chance

in Camborne; but in these the steam was not raised higher than before, and the piston made a
considerable part of the stroke therefore before the steam-valve was closed.
"In 1798, on account of a suit respecting their patent, which was carrying on by Boulton and Watt, an
account of the duty of all the engines in Cornwall was taken by Davies Gilbert, Esq., and the late
Captain Jenkin, of Treworgie, and they found the average to be about seventeen millions."[52]
One of these so-called expansive Watt engines, erected at Wheal Chance, was converted
into a real expansive engine by Trevithick, as described in the foregoing chapter, by his
high-pressure steam-boilers and the addition of his pole-engine. The conversion of the other,
a 63-inch low-pressure vacuum engine at Wheal Gons, will be traced in this chapter.
Mr. Taylor, who for many years took an active interest in Cornish mining, says:—
"In 1798 an engine at Herland was found to be the best in the county, and was doing twenty-seven
millions, but being so much above all others, some error was apprehended. This engine was probably
the best then ever erected, and attracted therefore the particular attention of Messrs. Boulton and Watt,
who, on a visit to Cornwall, came to see it, and had many experiments tried to ascertain its duty. It was
under the care of Mr. Murdoch, their agent in the county.
"Captain John Davey, the manager of the mine, used to state that it usually did twenty millions, and that
Mr. Watt, at the time he inspected it, pronounced it perfect, and that further improvement could not be
expected."[53]
This best engine from the hands of Watt and Murdoch in the Herland Mine in 1798 may be
taken as a Watt stand-point, when its usual duty was twenty millions; and Trevithick and
Bull erected a competing engine, probably with an increased steam pressure, for Trevithick's
portable high-pressure engines were at that time coming into notice;[54] but no trace remains
of the result of this contest of the Watt and the Bull engine, though it was one of the causes
of the lawsuits.
"In 1799 Henry Clark worked as a rivet boy in Dolcoath, and carried rivets to construct Captain
Trevithick's new boiler, said to be the first of the kind ever made. It looked like a great globe about 20
feet in diameter, the bottom hollowed up like the bottom of a bottle; under this the fire was placed: a
copper tube attached to this bottom went around the inside of the boiler, and then passed out through
the side of the boiler, the outside brick flues then carrying the heat around the outside of the boiler and
into the chimney.
"Captain Trevithick's first plunger-pole lifts in Dolcoath were put in at this time and worked by this
engine. Glanville, the mine carpenter, was head man over the engines when Captain Trevithick was
away."[55]
"Charles Swaine worked as a rivet boy in making Captain Trevithick's cylindrical wrought-iron boilers
for the Dolcoath engine. Several of Captain Trevithick's high-pressure boilers were working in the
mines before that, but not made exactly like the Dolcoath engine boilers. When I was a boy about the
year 1804, several years before I worked on the Dolcoath engine boilers, I carried father's dinner to the
Dolcoath smiths' shop, where he worked, and used to stop and watch the wood beam going up and
down of Captain Dick's first high-pressure steam-whim. She was not a puffer, but a puffer-whim
worked near by, called the Valley puffer. At that time most of Captain Dick's high-pressure boilers were
smallish, cast iron outside, and wrought-iron tube."[56]

In 1799, shortly after the reopening of Dolcoath Mine, Trevithick, jun., selected his father's
second-hand atmospheric engine of 1775,[57] to further improve it by a new boiler of
uniformly globular figure, with concave circular bottom, under which fire was placed; it
was of wrought iron, 24 feet in diameter, surrounded by external brick flues; a large copper
tube, starting from the boiler bottom, immediately over the fire, served as an internal flue,
carrying the fire by a sweep around the interior in the water space, and then out through the
side of the boiler into the external brick flue. It may be said that there was nothing new in a
circular form of boiler, or in an internal tube; but it will be admitted that this repaired
engine, in this its third stride in the march of advancement, made publicly known those
principles which in a few years more than doubled the power, the economy, and the
applicability of the steam-engine. His patent drawing of 1802 shows this form of boiler
applied to a small portable engine, in which, for the sake of simplicity of structure and
cheapness, cast iron was used instead of wrought iron, and the internal tube omitted.[58]
The full detail estimate, from which the following items are extracted, of the cost of
alteration was written by Trevithick, jun., in the book and on the page adjoining that
containing the account of the former alteration and re-erection of the same engine by
Trevithick, sen., in 1775.
"A 45-inch cylinder engine, working 20 lbs. to the inch:—

£ s. d.
Boilers, 8 tons at 42l. 336 0 0
Iron about ditto, 6 cwt. at 42l. 12 12 0
Castings about ditto, 15 cwt. at 42s. 18 0 0
Safety-valve and cocks 1 0 0
Wood about bob, 200 ft. at 6s. 60 0 0
Cast iron about ditto, 45 cwt. at 25s. 56 5 0
Brass about ditto, 60 lbs. at 2s. 6 0 0
Piston-rod, 4 in., 14 ft. long, 550 lbs.
27 10 0
at 1s.
T-piece, 10 cwt. at 25s. 12 0 0
Cover, and bottom, and piston, 35
56 0 0
cwt. at 32s.
Nozzles, 6 cwt. at 32s. 9 12 0
Steam and perpendicular pipe, 10
12 10 0
cwt. at 25s.
Receiver, 2 ft. 4 in. long, and bottom,
18 15 0
15 cwt. at 25s.
Air-pump, bottom, and case, 10 cwt.
12 10 0
at 25s.
Plunger, 22 in., 6 ft. long, 12 cwt. at
24 0 0
40s.
Force lift 5 0 0

Engineer 66 0 0"

The term "single" refers to its open-top cylinder as originally erected by Newcomen, when
it was called the Carloose engine, and so it remained after its re-erection in 1775, under the
name Dolcoath new engine, alias Bullan Garden; but after the last re-erection in 1799 it had
a cylinder-cover, and was called the Shammal 45-inch engine; "working 20 lbs. to the inch"
meant the force on each inch of the piston, including vacuum on the one side of 14 lbs. and
steam on the other side of 6 lbs. to the inch.
Watt, on his first visit to Cornwall, in 1777, spoke disparagingly of the Newcomen
atmospheric engines "burdened to 6 or 7 lbs. net to the inch." Fifty years later Stuart
described Watt's engine as "using steam of a somewhat higher temperature than 212
degrees, so as to produce a pressure between 17 and 18 lbs. on each square inch of the
piston; yet in practice, from imperfect vacuum and friction, it cannot raise more water per
inch than would weigh about 8½ lbs.,"[59] or an increase of net force—when compared with
the Newcomen atmospheric—of only a pound or two on the inch in the lapse of years
embracing the active lifetime of Watt. The cause of this slight increase of power is so simple
that it has been passed by unnoticed by very many. The steam pressure in the Newcomen
atmospheric was continued unaltered in the Watt vacuum engine. Trevithick constructed the
first boiler and engine capable of safely and economically using the power of high-pressure
steam. Nelson was obliged to come to close quarters, that his shot, propelled by weak
cannon and low-pressure powder, might penetrate wooden ships. We now manufacture and
control high-pressure powder, so that 12 inches of iron armour-plates cannot resist its force;
but this knowledge has taken nearly as long in growing to perfection as did the mastery of
high-pressure steam, and its use in the much more complicated steam-engine.
Watt's engine, as described a quarter of a century after the expiration of his patent and the
advent of the high-pressure steam-engine, still derived its gross force from 14 lbs. of
vacuum and 2 or 3 lbs. of steam, resulting in a net force of 8½ lbs. Trevithick's engine of
1799, which heralded the last hours of the Watt patent authority, and may be taken as the
first distinct evidence of comparatively high-pressure steam in large Cornish pumping
engines, derived its power from 14 lbs. of vacuum and 6 lbs. of steam, being together but 2
or 3 lbs. on the inch more than the Watt engine, but its net force of 12 lbs. to the inch was
half again as much as the net force of the Watt engine, the increase being wholly from the
steam pressure, which was never practised by Watt, and which in its almost unlimited force
gives the greatly increased power to modern steam-engines.
Trevithick's estimate for a new engine of the same size as the old was 2000l., but as the old
one could be improved for 1300l., the latter course was adopted, the wooden main beam
with its segment head was retained, a cover was added to the cylinder, and a new piston-rod
and piston; a pole air-pump was used in lieu of the more usual Watt air-pump bucket; a feed-
pole forced water into the boiler,—an indirect proof of increased steam pressure. The new
globular boiler with internal tube weighed 8 tons; the engineer's charge for carrying out the
work was 66l.

The use of strong steam as the prime mover of the steam-engine increased more rapidly
beyond than within the limits of Cornwall, for in 1802 was erected at Coalbrookdale a high-
pressure steam-puffer engine, to which Trevithick attached a pump which forced water
through a column of upright pipes, that the power of the engine might be accurately
measured. It worked with steam of from 50 to 145 lbs. on the inch, and wholly discarded the
vacuum which had been Watt's mainstay.
"The boiler is 4 feet diameter, the cylinder 7 inches diameter, 3-feet stroke. The water-piston is 10
inches in diameter, drawing and forcing 35 feet perpendicular, equal beam. I first set it off with about
50 lbs. on the inch pressure against the steam-valve, for the inspection of the engineers about this
neighbourhood. The steam continued to rise the whole of the time it worked; it went from 50 to 145 lbs.
to the inch.
"The engineers at this place all said that it was impossible for so small a cylinder to lift water to the top
of the pumps, and degraded the principle, though at the same time they spoke highly in favour of the
simple and well-contrived engine.
"After they had seen the water at the pump-head, they said that it was possible, but that the boiler would
not maintain its steam at that pressure for five minutes; but after a short time they went off, with a solid
countenance and a silent tongue."[60]
This high-pressure steam pumping engine in 1802 may be taken as the first pumping engine
of the puffer class using such strong steam.
In the spring of the following year[61] a somewhat similar engine was erected in London.
"The cylinder is 11 inches in diameter, with a 3½-feet stroke. It requires the steam at a
pressure of 40 to 45 lbs. to the inch to do its work well, working about twenty-six or twenty-
seven strokes per minute. It is much admired by everyone that has seen it, and saves a
considerable quantity of coal when compared with a Boulton and Watt. Mr. Williams, Mr.
Robert Fox, Mr. Gould, and Captain William Davey were here, and much liked the engine;
they gave me an order for one for Cornwall as a specimen." This particular engine was for
driving machinery in a cannon manufactory. A high-pressure pumping engine was at work at
Greenwich, and some were at work in Cornwall.
"Penydarran, near Cardiff,
"October 1st, 1803.
"Mr. Giddy,
"Sir,—In consequence of the engine bursting at Greenwich, I have been on the spot to inspect its
effects. I found it had burst in every direction. The bottom stood whole on its seating; it parted at the
level of the chimney. The boiler was cast iron, about 1 inch thick, but some parts were nearly 1½ inch;
it was a round boiler, 6 feet diameter; the cylinder was 8 inches diameter, working double; the bucket
was 18 inches diameter, 21 feet column, working single, from which you can judge the pressure
required to work this engine. The pressure, it appears, when the engine burst, must have been very
great, for there was one piece of the boiler, about 1 inch thick and about 5 cwt., thrown upwards of 125
yards; and from the hole it cut in the ground on its fall, it must have been nearly perpendicular and from
a very great height, for the hole it cut was from 12 to 18 inches deep. Some of the bricks were thrown
200 yards, and not two bricks were left fast to each other, either in the stack or round the boiler. It
appears the boy that had care of the engine was gone to catch eels in the foundation of the building, and
had left the care of it to one of the labourers; this man, seeing the engine working much faster than

usual, stopped it, without taking off a spanner which fastened down the steam-lever, and a short time
after being idle it burst, killed three on the spot and another died soon after of his injuries. The boy
returned that instant, and was then going to take off the trig from the valve. He was hurt, but is now
recovering; he had left the engine about an hour. I would be much obliged to you if you would calculate
the pressure required to burst this boiler at 1 inch thick, supposing it to be a sound casting, and what
pressure it would require to throw the materials the distance I have before stated, for Boulton and Watt
have sent a letter to a gentleman of this place, who is about to erect some of those engines, saying that
they knew the effects of strong steam long since, and should have erected them, but knew the risk was
too great to be left to careless enginemen, and that it was an invention of Mr. Watt, and the patent was
not worth anything. This letter has much encouraged the gentlemen of this neighbourhood respecting its
utility; and as to the risk of bursting, they say it can be made quite secure. I believe that Messrs.
Boulton and Watt are about to do me every injury in their power, for they have done their utmost to
report the explosion, both in the newspapers and in private letters, very different to what it really was;
they also state that driving a carriage was their invention; that their agent, Murdoch, had made one in
Cornwall and shown it to Captain Andrew Vivian, from which I have been enabled to do what I have
done. I would thank you for any information that you might have collected from Boulton and Watt, or
from any of their agents, respecting their even working with strong steam, and if Mr. Watt has ever
stated in any of his publications the effects of it, because if he condemns it in any of his writings, it will
clearly show from that, that he did not know the use of it. Mr. Homfray, of this place, has taken me by
the hand, and will carry both the engines and the patent to the test. There are several of Boulton and
Watt's engines being taken down here, and the new engines being erected in their place. Above 700
horse-powers have been ordered at 12l. 12s. for each horse-power for the patent right, and the persons
that ordered them make them themselves, without any expense to me whatever. If I can be left quiet a
short time I shall do well, for the engines will far exceed those of Boulton and Watt. The engine at
Greenwich did fourteen millions with a bushel of coals; it was only an 8-inch cylinder, and worked
without an expansive cock, and under too light a load to do good duty; also on a bad construction, for
the fly-wheel was loaded on one side, so as to divide the power of the double engine, and connected to
the pump-rods on a very bad plan. I remember that Boulton and Watt's 20-inch cylinders when on trial
did not exceed ten millions; I believe you have the figures in your keeping. Let us have the 60-horse
power at work that is now building, and then I will show what is to be done. It will be loaded at 30 lbs.
to the inch on each side the piston, it has an 8-feet stroke with an expansive cock, and the blowing
cylinder directly over the steam-cylinder, as free from friction as possible. There was no engine stopped
on account of this accident; but I shall never let the fire come in contact again with the cast iron. The
boiler at Greenwich was heated red hot and burnt all the joints the Sunday before the explosion.
"I have received a letter from a person in Staffordshire who has a cylinder-boiler at work with the fire in
it, and he says the engine performs above all expectation; he requests me to give him leave to build a
great many more. I shall put two steam-valves and a steam-gauge in future, so that the quicksilver shall
blow out in case the valve should stick, and all the steam be discharged through the gauge. A small hole
will discharge a great quantity of steam at that pressure. There will be a railroad-engine at work here in
a fortnight; it will go on rails not exceeding an elevation of one-fiftieth part of a perpendicular and of
considerable length. The cylinder is 8½ inches in diameter, to go about two and a half miles an hour; it
is to have the same velocity of the piston-rod. It will weigh, water and all complete, within 5 tons.
"I have desired Captain A. Vivian to wait on you to give you every information respecting Murdoch
carriage, whether the large one at Mr. Budge's foundry was to be a condensing engine or not.
"Is it possible that this engine might be burst by gas?
"I am, Sir,
"Your very obedient servant,

"Richard. Trevithick.
This high-pressure puffer pumping engine at Greenwich, in 1803, worked a pump of 18
inches in diameter. The engine boy having fixed the safety-valve while he fished for eels,
caused an explosion of the boiler. This was the first mishap from the use of high-pressure
steam. The boiler was globular, 6 feet in diameter, and from an inch to an inch and half in
thickness, made of cast iron; the cylinder, of 8 inches in diameter, was partly let into and
fixed on the boiler. Its general design is seen in the patent drawing of 1802, Fig. 1.[62]
Trevithick determined in future to use two safety-valves, and also a safety steam-gauge. At
that time one of his high-pressure puffer-engines, with a cylindrical boiler and internal tube,
was working in Staffordshire.
The Greenwich high-pressure puffer-engine did fourteen millions of duty with a bushel of
coals, 84 lbs. A 60-horse-power engine was being built in Wales, with an 8-feet stroke, to
work expansively with 30 lbs. of steam on the inch in the boiler. For a more thorough test
with the low-pressure vacuum engines, in competition, the Government intended to use the
new engines, and some of Watt's engines having been removed to make room for them,
Boulton and Watt wrote to a gentleman who was about to order an engine from Trevithick,
"We knew the effects of strong steam long since, and should have erected them, but knew
the risk was too great." Moreover, "it was an invention of Mr. Watt's, and the patent
(Trevithick's) was not worth anything." This admission clearly shows not only that Watt did
not make high-pressure steam-engines, but that he did his best to prevent others from
making them.

"Penydarran, Cardiff, January 5th, 1804.
"Mr. Giddy,
"Sir,—I received yours a few days since, and should have answered it sooner, but I was at
Swansea for the last four weeks, and wished to return here to give you as full an account of
our proceedings as possible.
"We have had an 8-inch cylinder at work here by way of trial; it worked exceedingly well a
hammer of the same size as is now being worked here by an atmospheric engine 28 inches
diameter, 5-feet stroke, which does not master its work with greater ease than the 8-inch
cylinder. The 8-inch is now removed to Swansea, and is winding coals; the baskets hold 6
cwt. of coal; it lifts 80 yards in a minute and a quarter, and burns 6 cwt. of coal in twenty-
four hours. There were twelve horses on this pit before, lifting 80 tons of coal in the course
of the twenty-four hours. You may fairly state that the 8-inch cylinder does between thirty
and forty horses' work in twenty-four hours, with 6 cwt. of coal.
"One of Boulton and Watt's 18-inch double engine, about half a mile from it, lifting baskets
of the same size, and with the same velocity, burns above three times the quantity of coal.
"The 8-inch engine requires the steam to be about 46 or 48 lbs. to the inch to do its work
well. The standers-by would not believe that such a small engine could lift a basket of coal,
but are now much pleased with it, and have given orders for several more. There will be
another at work here for the same purpose in about six weeks, a 15-inch cylinder, 6-feet
stroke, which is a great power for a winding engine.
"Mr. Watt says, in a letter to Mr. Homfray, that he could not make any of his experiments in
strong steam answer the purpose. It is my belief that he never made any experiments of any
consequence in strong steam.
"A great number are building at different foundries. Mr. Sharratt, a founder at Manchester,
who has four in building, said that he would not pay the patent right; on giving him notice
of a trial he agreed to pay the patent right.
"I have received a letter from London, saying that an engineer called Dixon has two
engines on the same plan working; and says that he shall not pay anything to the patentee;
that the words in Mr. Watt's specification are enough to indemnify him from my threats. We
have had three counsels' opinions on the subject, and they all agree that the patent is good.
Counsels Marratt and Gibbs principally treated on the construction of the engine, more
than on the principle; but Erskine was principally on the principle of the engine, and said
very little of its construction. They all say the words in Mr. Watt's specification will have
no weight whatever against us.
"I shall leave this place to-morrow for London to make inquiry into those engines, and to
get the business into court if they will contend. I shall be at No. 2, Southampton Street,
Strand, and expect to be in town about five or six days, and if you will be so good as to
return here, from Oxford, with me, I will call on you in my journey down. It is but 50 miles

from Bristol, and not so much as 100 miles from Oxford, and the coach passes very near
this place.
"There is a great deal of machinery and mining here, which would engage your attention
for a few days, and very pleasant gentlemen about the neighbourhood.
"If I had not been called to Swansea to put up the winding engine, the road-engine would
have been at work long since, but in my absence very little was done to it. The work is all
ready, and a part of it put together. If I could tarry four or five days longer I could set it to
work before going to London. They promise me that it shall be completed before my
return. I think there is no doubt of its being finished, as I have Frank Bennetts here from
Cornwall about it, and a plenty of hands to assist him.
"I have a thousand things to relate to you, too much for paper to contain, therefore must
request you to be so good as to go down from Oxford with me, and I will promise, on
warrant, that the road-engine shall be finished before my return. When it is set to work I
shall return to Cornwall.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your humble servant,
"Richard. Trevithick.
In 1804 an 8-inch cylinder high-pressure puffer-engine, with steam of 48 lbs. to
the inch, worked a large hammer as well as a 28-inch cylinder atmospheric
engine, and more economically than a Watt low-pressure steam vacuum engine
with an 18-inch cylinder, which was five times as large as the little high-
pressure. In consequence of this superiority those who came to witness the trial
ordered several more of Trevithick's engines, one of which with a 15-inch
cylinder and 6-feet stroke was to be at work in a few weeks.
Watt wrote to Mr. Homfray "that he could not make any of his experiments in
strong steam answer the purpose," and Trevithick declared Watt never could have
tried any experiments with high steam.
Dixon refused to pay patent right because the words of Mr. Watt's specification,
"in cases where cold water cannot be had in plenty, the engines may be wrought
by the force of steam only, by discharging the steam into the open air after it has
done its office," "are enough to indemnify him." Eminent counsel were of
opinion that "the words in Watt's specification will have no weight whatever."
Marratt and Gibbs were inclined to rest on the difference in the construction of
the two kinds of engines, while Erskine boldly said that the principle was
different, and he cared little for the kind of construction.

The admission by Watt that he could do nothing with high steam after an
experience of thirty years from the date of his patent, shows how difficult the
work was to those who had to find the way; yet Trevithick had several at work
within a few months of his first mental sight of a steam-engine without
condensing water, fitful glimpses of which passed and repassed while he sat
unobserved in the crowded law court in 1796 hearing the remarks of engineers
and counsel.
"The public until now called me a scheming fellow, but their tone is much altered. An
engine is ordered for the West India Docks, to travel itself from ship to ship, to unload and
to take up the goods to the upper floors of the storehouses.
"Boulton and Watt have strained every nerve to get a Bill in the House to stop these
engines, saying the lives of the public are endangered by them, and I have no doubt they
would have carried their point, if Mr. Homfray had not gone to London to prevent it; in
consequence of which an engineer from Woolwich was ordered down, and one from the
Admiralty Office, to inspect and make trial of the strength of the materials."[63]
After a week or two another letter states,[64]—
"We are preparing to get the materials ready for the experiments by the London engineers,
who are to be here on Sunday next. We have fixed up 28 feet of 18-inch pumps for the
engine to lift water.
"These engineers particularly requested that they might have a given weight lifted, so as to
be able to calculate the real duty done by a bushel of coal.
"As they intend to make trial of the duty performed by the coal consumed, they will state it
as against the duty performed by Boulton's great engines, which did upward of twenty-five
millions, when their 20-inch cylinders, after being put in the best order possible, did not
exceed ten millions. As you were consulted on all those trials of Boulton's engines, your
presence would have great weight with those gents, otherwise I shall not have fair play. Let
me meet them on fair grounds and I will soon convince them of the superiority of the
'Pressure-of-steam engine.'"
Watt left no stone unturned to prevent the use of high-pressure steam-engines,
and fortune favoured him, for after four or five days Trevithick again wrote:—
"I am sorry to inform you that the experiments that were to be exhibited before the London
gents are put off, on account of an accident which happened to Mr. Homfray. I find myself
much disappointed on account of the accident, for I was desirous to make the engine go
through its different work, that its effect might be published as early as possible."[65]
While constructing those numerous high-pressure engines for rolling mills,
winding engines, and pumping engines, the Welsh and Newcastle locomotives

were being made and worked, yet he found time to teach the people of
Stourbridge.
"Stourbridge, July 5th, 1804.
"Mr. Giddy,
"Sir,—I should have answered your letter some time since, but waited to set two other
engines to work first. The great engine at Penydarran goes on exceedingly well. The engine
will roll 150 tons of iron a week with 18 tons of coal. The two engines of Boulton's at
Dowlais burn 40 tons to roll 160 tons; they are a 24-inch and a 27-inch double. The engine
at Penydarran is 18½ inches, 6-feet stroke, works about eighteen strokes per minute: it
requires the steam about 45 lbs. to the inch above the atmosphere. I worked it expansive
first, when working the hammer, which was a more regular load than rolling; then with
steam high enough to work twelve strokes per minute with the cock open all the stroke;
then I shut it off at half the stroke, which reduced the number of strokes to ten and a half
per minute, the steam and load the same in both; but I did not continue to work it
expansively, because the work in rolling is very uneven, and the careless workmen would
stop the engine when working expansive.
"When the cylinder was full of steam the rollers could not stop it; and as coal is not an
object here, Mr. Homfray wished the engine might be worked to its full power. The saving
of coal would be very great by working expansively.
"The trials we have made for several weeks past against Boulton's engines have been by
working with the cylinder full of steam. The cock springs out of its seat when water gets
into the cylinder, and prevents any mischief from the velocity of the fly-wheel.
"The tram-engine has carried two loads of 10 tons of iron to the shipping place since you
left this. Mr. Hill says he will not pay the bet, because there were some of the tram-plates in
the tunnel removed so as to get the road into the middle of the arch.
"The first objection he started was that one man should go with the engine, without any
assistance, which I performed myself without help; and now his objection is that the road is
not in the same place as when the bet was made.
"I expect Mr. Homfray will be forced to take steps that will force him to pay. As soon as I
return from here there will be another trial, and some person will be called to testify its
effects, and then I expect there will be a lawsuit immediately. The travelling engine is now
working a hammer.
"At Worcester last week we put a 10-horse engine to work in a glover's manufactory. The
flue from the engine is carried through the drying room and dries his leather. The steam
from the engine goes to take the essence out of the bark, and also to extract the colour out
of the wood for dyeing the leather. Then it boils the dye, and the steam that is left is carried
into his hot-house. It works exceedingly well. This week I put another to wind coals at this
place, a 10-horse power, which works very well. All the tradesmen are set against it; they

say that there is no carpenter or mason work about it, and very little smith-work, and that it
will destroy their business. The engineer on the spot is also against it very much. I do not
expect that it will be kept long at work after I leave it, unless the proprietor takes care to
prevent those people from doing an injury to it. Mr. Homfray was here yesterday, but is
now returned to Penydarran. I shall go from here to Coalbrookdale.
"There is an engine there almost ready for the West India Docks. It will be ready to send
off to London in about four weeks. It will be a very complete engine. The pumps for
forcing the water will be fixed on the back of the boiler. It will force 500 gallons of water
100 feet high in a minute; above ten times the quantity that engines worked by men can do.
Mr. Homfray and myself shall be in town as soon as the castings are sent off. I hope you
will be there at the time. If you wish to see the engines already at work in London, call on
Mr. David Watson, steam-engine maker, Blackfriars Road. He lives up about 500 or 600
yards above the bridge on the left-hand side; you will see his name over his door. If you
have time to inspect those engines you will find by comparing them against Boulton's,
doing the same work, that there is a great saving of coal above other engines.... I shall go to
Liverpool and Manchester from here, and again to Coalbrookdale.
"There are three engines at the Dale begun, to work with condensers, for places where coal
is scarce. I think it is better to make them ourselves, for if we do not, some others will, for
there must be a saving of coal by condensing. But with small engines, or where coal is
plentiful, the engine would be best without it. They say at the Dale about putting two
cylinders, but I think one cylinder partly filled with steam would do equally as well as two
cylinders.
"That engine at Worcester shuts off the steam at the first third of the stroke, and works very
uniformly. I cannot tell what coal it burns yet, but I believe it is a very small quantity. I
shall know in a short time what advantage will be gained by working expansive. I expect it
will be very considerable. There are a great many engines making and ordered. Boulton
and Watt and several others are doing everything to destroy their credit, but it is impossible
to destroy it now that it is so well known. I have not taken any of the ground at Bristol to
remove. I called on them and told them it was possible to break the ground without men,
and they wish me to take a piece to clear out, but would not set but a small piece at a time;
therefore it would be disclosing the business to no purpose. They were very desirous to
know the plan, but I would not satisfy them, neither will I unless they pay me for it in some
way or other. If you direct for me at the Dale it will find me. I am happy to find that you
have a seat in the House. I wish every seat was filled with such.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"Richard. Trevithick.
Trevithick fully understood the value of the expansive principle in 1804: when
working with steam of 45 lbs. to the inch, the engine went at a speed of twelve
strokes a minute. On cutting off the steam at half-stroke, the speed and

consequent work done fell to ten and a half strokes a minute; in other words, the
work performed by the engine fell off only one-eighth part, while the quantity of
steam and consequently of coal was reduced by one-half. The principle was
established, but the application was practically incomplete from the want of
heavier fly-wheels, to give out their momentum during the latter half of the
stroke, when the expanding steam was lessening its force.
"The saving of coal would be very great by working expansively, but as coal is
not an object here," Mr. Homfray was careless about the expansion. Thirty-three
years after this indirect check to steam-engine economy, the writer, then living in
the Sirhowey Iron Works, and within stone's-throw of Mr. Homfray's Works,
recommended the removal of the Boulton and Watt's waggon boilers, to make
room for Trevithick's boilers, on the plea of saving one-half the fuel, and at the
same time increasing the power of the engine, and thereby the pressure of the
blast in the iron furnaces. The proprietor was careless about the saving of coal,
and was doubtful that an increased blast would increase the quantity of iron
smelted. The promise that the wages of one-half of the number of boiler firemen
would be saved, was understood. Trevithick's high-pressure boilers replaced the
Watt low-pressure, resulting in a largely-increased quantity of iron from the
greater power and pressure of blast in the furnaces, and at one-half the
expenditure of coal in the boilers: ten men had been employed as firemen of the
Watt boilers during twenty-four hours; with Trevithick's boilers, five men did the
work.
The high-pressure puffer-engine, with an 18-inch cylinder, working with 45 lbs.
of steam, rolled as much iron as the two larger low-pressure vacuum engines of
Watt, of 24 and 27 inch cylinders, which together were more than three times the
size of the high-pressure engine, and cost three times as much.
At Stourbridge, as elsewhere, everyone was against the new plan. The engineer
in charge did not like it, and the carpenters, smiths, and masons saw the end of
their occupation as engine erectors, if there was no longer a necessity for
foundations, well-work, &c., for condensing water, and many other things,
necessary to complete a Watt engine; while the high-pressure puffer was no
sooner unloaded than it was ready to work.
A great charm in Trevithick's character was his freedom and largeness of view in
questions of competition. He was then making three engines at Coalbrookdale, to
be worked with high-pressure steam, combined with the Watt air-pump and
condenser; and though smarting from the contest with his great rival, yet wrote,

"I think it is better to make them ourselves, for if we do not, some others will, for
there must be a saving of coal by condensing. But with small engines, or where
coal is plentiful, the engine would be best without it."
Those words accurately describe the practice of the present day, though written
sixty-six years ago, and were followed by others equally true in principle, though
varied in form to suit special requirement. "They say at the Dale about putting
two cylinders, but I think one cylinder partly filled with steam would, do equally
as well as two cylinders."
These sagacious views required the untiring labour of the following twelve years
to perfect and make practical, when applied to the largest engines of the time;
which we shall now trace in the construction of a strong and economical boiler,
supplying high-pressure steam to the cylinder during only a comparatively small
portion of the stroke, completing it by expansion, so that at its finish the steam
had become of low pressure when passed to the condenser. The moving parts and
expansive gear were so simplified as to be applicable to the then existing low-
pressure steam vacuum engines without the complication of the double cylinders
of Hornblower and Woolf.
"Penydarran Place, December 26th, 1804.
"Dear Sir,
"I have been favoured with your letter, and in answer, respecting Mr. Mitchell, I am at a
loss to know from your letter what kind of iron he may likely want. If you will direct him
to write to me, and explain himself, I will immediately reply to him and do what I can to
assist and serve him. I believe there are vessels going over frequently from Cardiff to
Cornwall with coals, that he might have part in cargo and the remainder in coals. I am
happy to give you the most satisfactory account of our 'Trevithick's engine' going on well.
It has now been at work many months, and is by far the best engine we have. We have for
weeks weighed the coal, and knowing the work it does, can speak with confidence. Its 18
inches diameter steam-cylinder consumes as near as can be 3 tons of coal in twenty-four
hours, or 18 tons per week; and in this time it rolls with ease 130 tons long weight of iron
from the puddling furnaces, at the same heat, into bars of 3 inches by about half an inch
thick. Now, one on Messrs. Boulton and Watt's plan, of '24 inches' steam-cylinder, at our
neighbouring works at Dowlais, employed in doing exactly the same kind of work,
consumes full as much coal, and rolls only 90 tons in the week. These being facts, open for
any person daily to see, must convince any dispassionate man of the superiority of
'Trevithick's engines,' and that the saving of fuel is nearly one-third, besides the other
advantages of saving water and grease, which is no little. The packing of the piston now
gives us little or no trouble, it goes from a fortnight to a month, opening the top now and
then to screw it down, as it gets slack, which should be attended to. We use no grease or oil

in packing the piston or working the engine, having found blacklead mixed with water, and
poured 'a little now and then' through a hole on the top into the steam-cylinder, suits the
packing of the piston much better, and is cheaper than anything else. About 1s. worth of
blacklead will last our engine a week. We are now so thoroughly convinced of the
superiority of these engines that I have just begun another of larger size. The boiler is to be
24 or 26 feet long, 7 feet diameter, fire-tube at wide end 4 feet 4 inches, and at narrow end,
where it takes the chimney, 21 inches, steam-cylinder 23 inches diameter. This boiler, on
account of the length of its tube withinside, will, I have no doubt, get steam in proportion,
and work the engine with much less coals than our present one. Trevithick is at
Coalbrookdale, Manchester, &c., &c., very busy, a great number of engines being in hand
in that part of the world; and I think by perseverance the prejudice is wearing away very
fast, and in spite of all Messrs. Boulton and Watt's opposition, they must and will take the
lead of theirs. Any person now wanting engines, must be next kin to an idiot to erect one of
Boulton's in preference to Trevithick's. I find there is a small one making near you by Mr.
Vivian. I hope they have corresponded with Trevithick about the proportions of it; if they
have not, I shall be particularly obliged to you to desire them to do so, for by his
experience of what he has done they may be benefited, for it would be a shocking thing to
have a bad engine put up for the first time in his native county.
"Mrs. Homfray unites with me in best compliments, and wishing you many happy returns
of the season.
"I remain,dear Sir,
"Your most obedient servant,
"Samuel Homfray.
"To Mr. Davies Giddy."
The evidence in this contest between the Watt low-pressure steam vacuum
engine and the Trevithick high-pressure steam-puffer engine is in favour of the
new principle; for the steam-engine with an 18-inch cylinder did fifty per cent.
more work than the vacuum engine with a 24-inch cylinder with an equal
quantity of coal, though the latter was seventy-five per cent. larger than the
former; and a still greater economy was expected from the larger boiler to be
built, 26 feet long, 7 feet in diameter, with internal fire-tube 4 feet 4 inches
diameter at the fire end, tapering to 21 inches at the chimney end.
Thus in 1804 the cylindrical boiler in Wales had nearly reached its present form,
and Homfray thought that none but idiots would prefer the Watt engine;
forgetting that Trevithick's near friends and neighbours were carrying on a
similar contest at Dolcoath Mine.
"Penydarran Place, January 2nd, 1805.
"Mr. Davies Giddy,

"Dear Sir,—I have duly received your favour enclosing a letter for Mr. Trevithick, and
which I, according to your desire, forwarded to him at Manchester, where he now is; and a
letter directed to him, to the care of Mr. Whitehead, Soho Foundry, Manchester, will find
him, as he will stay a little time there, being very busy. I had lately the pleasure of writing
to you, and gave you the account of our engine working, and the satisfaction it gives; I
have nothing more to add on the subject, but that it is now at work, going on as usual, and I
should be happy for you to have a sight of it.
"We are beginning another of a larger size, and I have no doubt but by making the
cylindrical boiler larger, so as to take a longer tube withinside it, by which means the fire
will spend itself before it leaves the tube to go up the chimney, that we shall work to much
better advantage in point of fuel than we do at this present one, as this boiler is so short that
a great deal of the flame of the fire goes up the chimney. We are now better acquainted with
the different proportions than we at first were, for which reason I am anxious that one now
making by Mr. Vivian should be made according to the directions of Mr. Trevithick.
"I beg leave to offer you the compliments of the season, and many happy returns, and
"Remain, respectfully, dear Sir,
"Your most obedient servant,
"Samuel Homfray."
Trevithick, always busy, was just now doing the work of a host, for everybody
had to be taught how to make high-pressure steam-engines; and the Newcastle
locomotive, the Thames steam-dredging, and other special applications of steam-
power required his presence, especially the fight with Watt at Dolcoath Mine,
where Andrew Vivian, as mine manager, was erecting a high-pressure steam-
puffer whim-engine to compete with a Watt low-pressure steam vacuum whim-
engine.
"The adventurers grumbled because Captain Trevithick was so often away from the mine.
Glanville, the mine carpenter, the head man over the engines, made a trial between
Trevithick's high-pressure puffer whim and Watt's low-pressure condenser. When Captain
Trevithick heard of it, he wrote down from London that he would bet Glanville 50l. that his
high-pressure puffer should beat Watt's low-pressure condenser. Then he came down from
London and found that the piston of his engine was half an inch smaller in diameter than
the cylinder. When a new piston was put in, she beat Boulton and Watt all to nothing.
Persons were chosen to make a three or four weeks' trial, and when it was over, 'a little pit
was found with coal buried in it, that Glanville meant to use in the Watt engine.'"[66]
Pooly, Smith, and others, say that Trevithick's Dolcoath puffer had the outer case
of the boiler of cast iron, the fire-tube of wrought iron, the cylinder horizontal,
and fixed in the boiler. Captain Joseph Vivian saw Trevithick's whim in Stray
Park Mine about 1800 or 1801, and a similar one was erected in Dolcoath, and

after a year or two a Boulton and Watt low-pressure whim was put up to beat it.
The trial was in favour of the Watt engine, but everybody said the agents were
told beforehand which way the report ought to go; so the engine that puffed the
steam up the chimney was beaten.
Trevithick, who was busily engaged in Manchester at that time, the early part of
1805, when informed of what was going on in Cornwall, wrote:—
"I fear that engine at Dolcoath will be a bad one. I never knew anything about its being
built until you wrote to me about Penberthy Crofts engine, when you mentioned it. I then
requested Captain A. Vivian to inform me the particulars about it, and I find that it will not
be a good job. I wish it never was begun."[67]
"Camborne, February 18th, 1806.
"Mr. Giddy,
"Sir,—On my return from town I altered the pressure of the steam-engine at the bottom of
the hill, Dolcoath. Before I returned there was a trial between mine and one of Boulton's;
both engines in the same mine and drawing ores from the same depth. The result was,
Boulton's beat the pressure-engine as 120 to 55. Since it was altered there have been three
other trials; the result was 147 to 35 in favour of the pressure of the steam-engine. They are
now on trial for another month, and at the next account they intend to order a new boiler
for the great engine, and work with high-pressure steam and condenser, provided this
engine continues to do the same duty as was done in the former trials. This engine is now
drawing from a perpendicular shaft, and Boulton and Watt's from an underlay shaft; but to
convince Captain Jos. Vivian, we put it to draw out of the worst shaft in the mine, and then
we beat more than three to one; we lifted in forty-seven hours, 233 tons of stuff 100
fathoms with 47 bushels of coal. The engine was on trial sixty-six hours, but nineteen hours
were hindered by the shaft and ropes, &c., which made the consumption of coals about
¾ths of a bushel per hour. The fire-tube is 2 feet 3 inches diameter, and the fire-bars were
only 14 inches long. The fire-place was but 2 feet 3 inches wide by 14 inches long, and the
fire about 4 or 5 inches thick; it raised steam in plenty; it was as bright as a star. The engine
is now doing the work of two steam-whims; the other steam-whim in the Valley is turned
idle, and both shafts will not more than half supply it. 233 tons are equal to nearly 2000
kibbals, which were drawn in forty-seven hours.
"Mr. Harris has a 12-inch cylinder making at Hayle, for Crenver, and Mr. Daniel has a 14-
inch for Perran-sand, and a great number are waiting for the trial of this month, before
altering their boilers to the great engines.
"The steam-whim that is now turned idle at the Valley was 13½-inch cylinder, 4-feet
stroke; it turned the whim one revolution to one stroke, and lifted the kibbal the same
height at a stroke as my engine did, and I think took the same number of gallons of steam
to lift a kibbal as mine did. Their steam was not above 4 lbs. to the inch; mine was near 40
lbs. to the inch; yet I raised my steam of near 40 lbs. with a third of the coals by which they

got theirs of 4 lbs. to the inch. This is what I cannot account for, unless it is by getting the
fire very small and extremely hot. Another advantage I have is, that there is no smoke that
goes off from my fire to clog the fire sides of the boiler, while the common boilers get soot
half an inch thick, and the mud falls on the bottom of the boiler, where the fire ought to act;
but in these new boilers the mud falls to the bottom, where there is no fire, and both the
inside and outside of the tube are clean and exposed both to fire and water. This fire-place
of 14 inches was 5 feet long when I came down, and then the coal did not do above one-
seventh of the duty that it now does.
"I would be very much obliged to you for your opinion on what I have stated, and what
advantage you think the great engine is likely to get from working with steam about 25 lbs.
to the inch, and shut off early in the stroke, so as to have the steam about 4 lbs. to the inch
when the piston is at the bottom. I think this, with the advantage of the fire-place, will make
a great saving.
"The present fire-place is 22 feet from fire-door to fire-door, 9 feet wide, and 7 feet thick in
fire. There is not one-tenth of the coals that are in the fire-place on fire at the same time; it
will hold 30 tons of coals at one time, and I think that a great deal of coal is destroyed by a
partial heat before it takes fire. A boiler on the new plan will not cost more than two-thirds
of the old way, and will last double the time, and can be cleaned in three hours. It requires
twenty-four hours in the old way, and we need to clean the boilers only one-fourth the
number of times.
"Though these trials have shown so fairly that it is a great advantage, my old acquaintances
are still striving with all their might to destroy the use of it; but facts will soon silence
them.
"I am about to enter into a contract with the Trinity Board for lifting up the ballast out of
the bottom of the Thames for all the shipping. The first quantity stated was 300,000 tons
per year, but now they state 500,000 tons per year. I am to do nothing but wind up the chain
for 6d. per ton, which is now done by men. They never lift it above 25 feet high. A man
will now get up 10 tons for 7s. My engine at Dolcoath has lifted above 100 tons that height
with 1 bushel of coals. I have two engines already finished for this purpose, and shall be in
town in about fifteen days to set them at work. They propose to engage with me for twenty-
one years. The outlines of the contract they have sent me down, which I think is on very
fair terms. I would thank you for your answer before I leave this county.
"I am, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"R. Trevithick.
In the trial at Dolcoath during his absence the high-pressure steam-puffer whim
was beaten by Watt's low-pressure steam vacuum whim-engine as 55 to 120; but
having corrected some oversight in the puffer-engine, it then beat Watt as 147 to
35. The trial was to be continued for a month; and provided the superiority of his

whim-engine could be maintained, the adventurers would allow him to apply his
high-pressure boilers to their large Boulton and Watt pumping engine. The trial
with the whim-engines was for the greatest number of kibbals of mineral raised
to the surface by the least consumption of coal. A dispute arose on the difference
of the shafts, the one causing more friction to the moving kibbal than the other,
when Trevithick agreed to take the worst shaft in the mine. On a trial during
sixty-six hours Watt's engine was beaten by more than four times; and as
Trevithick's engine did the work that before required two engines, one of the
low-pressure steam Watt engines was removed that the engine working with 40
lbs. on the inch might perform the whole work.
"My fire-tube is 2 feet 3 inches in diameter, and the fire-bars only 14 inches long,
and the fire only about 4 or 5 inches thick; it raised steam in plenty, and was as
bright as a star." These words certainly imply the use of the blast-pipe, making
the fire as bright as a star, and enabling the small boiler to give the required
supply of steam. Several high-pressure puffer-engines had been ordered, and
many persons were waiting the conclusion of the month's public trial to enable
them to judge between the Watt and the Trevithick engine.
"Camborne, March 4th, 1806.
"Mr. Giddy,
"Sir,—The day after I wrote to you the first letter, I received yours, and this day I have
yours of the 1st instant.
"I am very much obliged to you for the figures you have sent me. I am convinced that the
pressure of steam will not hold good as theory points it out, because on expanding it will
get colder, and of course lose a part of its expansive force after the steam-valve shuts. I
think there can be no risk in making this trial on Dolcoath great engine, as they intend to
have a new boiler immediately, so as to prevent stopping to cleanse; and a boiler on this
new plan can be made for one-third less expense than on the old plan, when you count the
large boiler-house and ashes-pit, and brickwork round the boiler. It is not intended to alter
any part of the engine or condenser, but only work with high steam from this new boiler;
and if this boiler only performs as good duty as the old one, it will be a saving of near 300l.
to them on the erection. The vast matter this great engine has in motion will answer in part
the use of a fly-wheel: the whole of the matter in motion is near about 200 tons, at a
velocity of about 160 feet a minute. This I know will not be sufficient; but it will be about
equal to a fly-wheel of 20 feet diameter, 25 tons weight, twenty rounds per minute, if
weight and velocity answer the same purpose.
"Since Monday, the 18th February, being Dolcoath account-day, both engines have been on
trial, and are to be continued until the next account, 17th instant. The engines are kept on in
the usual way, as at other times. Neither of the engines have done so much duty as on the

first trials, as they have not been so strictly attended to. The average of the trial at this time
stands 26 cwt. for a bushel of coals to Boulton and Watt's engine; mine, 83 cwt. for a
bushel of coals.
"If I do not remain in Cornwall to attend next Dolcoath account, I shall be in town about
the 15th instant, otherwise about the 20th instant. I shall call on you immediately on my
arrival. In this time I should be glad to hear from you again. The Trinity business will
answer exceedingly well; I have two engines ready for that purpose to put to work on my
arrival in town.
"I am, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
"P.S.—I would try the evaporation of water by both boilers, but Boulton and Watt's engine
is so pressed with work, and being on the best part of the mine, they will not stop it a
moment. A boiler of 8 feet diameter and 30 feet long will have as much fire-sides in the
tube as there is now in Dolcoath great boiler. The fire-tube in this boiler would be 5 feet
diameter, and a fire-place 6 feet long in it would be 30 feet of fire-bars. In the whim-
engines I find that a fire-place 14 inches long and the tube 2 feet 3 inches diameter would,
being forced, burn 1 bushel per hour. At this rate the great tube would burn near 12 bushels
per hour, which is above the quantity that the great engine boiler can consume, now at
work. Small tubes would have an advantage over large ones. Two boilers would not cost
much more than one large one, and be much stronger."
The battle-ground of the fight between low and high pressure from 1806 to 1812
had also served for the personal encounter of Trevithick, sen., and Watt a quarter
of a century before, when the Dolcoath great pumping engine was erected to
compete with the two earlier atmospherics; all three were still at work,
overlooked by Carn Brea hill and castle, once the resort of Druid priests, whose
sacrificial rites are still traced, by the hollows and channels for the blood of
victims on the granite rocks.

Carn Brea Castle. [W. J. Welch.]

"Camborne, March 21st, 1806.
"Mr. Giddy,
"Sir,—The trial between the two engines ended last Monday, which was Dolcoath day.
Boulton and Watt's engine, per average of trial, 1 ton 20 cwt. 2 qrs., with 1 bushel of coals;
the other, 5 tons 11 cwt. 3 qrs., with 1 ditto, the same depth of shaft. The adventurers
ordered the new castings that were made for another of Boulton and Watt's engines to be
thrown aside, and another new engine of mine to be built immediately. The great boiler for
the old engine is not yet ordered.
"I have received orders for nine engines within these four weeks, all for Cornwall. Two 12-
inch cylinders, two 16-inch ditto, three 9-inch ditto, one 8-inch ditto, one 7-inch ditto. I
expect one will be put to work next week at Wheal Abraham, for lifting water.
"This day I shall leave Cornwall for London. Shall stop two days in the neighbourhood of
Tavistock, and take orders for three engines. As soon as I arrive in town I will call at your

lodgings. I expect that the patent will be brought into court about the end of May. A person
in Wales owes us about 600l. patent premium, and he says that the patent is not good. More
particulars you shall have on my arrival.
"The railroad is going forward. I have the drawings in hand for the inclined plane.
"I am, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
The fact that expansion of steam caused reduction of heat was so evident to
Trevithick that he ventured to doubt his friend's theory. The trials between the
whim-engines having continued a fortnight, showed that the high-pressure
steam-puffer had lifted 83 cwt., while the low-pressure steam vacuum only lifted
26 cwt. with the consumption of a bushel of coal. A suitable high-pressure boiler
for the Watt low-pressure steam 63-inch pumping engine should be 30 feet long,
8 feet in diameter, with an internal fire-tube 5 feet in diameter; proportions
approved of in the present day. The recommendation in 1806 to use small tubes
may claim to be the first practical decision on the advantage of tubular boilers;
and at the same time we read of the first hesitating step on the part of the public
to use high-pressure steam in a Watt low-pressure engine, which was still
deferred for further consideration, even with the limited pressure of 25 lbs. to an
inch; so the large Watt pumping engines were doomed for another four or five
years to struggle through their work with low-pressure steam, though at that time
Cook's Kitchen high-pressure expansive condensing whim-engine had been for
years at work close by.
The shareholders professed to have fear of explosion; but party-feeling and
ignorance were the real causes of opposition, for working men had no dread of
the new engines, while influential men leaned toward Watt's old-fashioned plans.
This fear of Trevithick's expansive plans and high steam is the more surprising,
because at that time a new boiler was required for the Watt 63-inch cylinder
pumping engine and Trevithick's cylindrical tubular boiler could be made for
one-third less cost than the Watt waggon boiler, thus saving 300l., and in addition
he promised to apply the higher pressure of steam to the Watt engine without any
change in its parts or expenditure of money, and make it set in motion at the
commencement of the stroke the 200 tons of pump-rods, the momentum of
which would, with the expansion of the steam, when shutting it off soon after the
first start in the movement of each stroke, carry it through to the end; and he
practically compares this advantage from hoarded momentum in the pumping

engine with his experience of the fly-wheel of the rolling-mill expansive engine
in Wales.
The whim-engine with a fire-tube 2 feet 3 inches in diameter used 84 lbs. of coal
per hour; and at that rate one cylindrical boiler 30 feet long, 8 feet in diameter,
with internal fire-tube 5 feet in diameter, would supply steam for Watt's 63-inch
cylinder; but in place of it he preferred two smaller boilers, because small tubes
have an advantage over large ones, and are much stronger.
The whim trials—high-pressure puffer against low-pressure vacuum—went on
for another fortnight, when high pressure, having done twice as much work as
low pressure, with an equal consumption of coal, the adventurers threw aside the
work that had been made for another Watt engine, ordering one in its stead from
Trevithick; but they could not just then make up their minds to place the Watt 63-
inch pumping engine in his hands.
"Camborne, May 30th, 1806.
"Dear Sir,
"I am very happy to find you have so far continued your agreement with the Trinity gents,
and think the bargain is a good one. Must still beg leave to remind you not to proceed to
show what your engine will do till the agreement is fully drawn up and regularly signed.
"Dolcoath agents, since they are informed of the accident at the iron-works in Wales, of the
engine blowing to pieces, have requested me to have your opinion whether the old cylinder
is strong enough for the boiler of the intended new engine, or whether you would
recommend them to have a new one. Your answer to this as soon as possible, as Mr.
Williams and some others are likely to make some objections.
"Mr. Sims, the engineer, has published in the Truro paper, that one of Boulton and Watt's
engines at Wheal Jewell has drawn more than a ton of ore over and above that drawn by
the Dolcoath engine from the same depth by a bushel of coal. On inquiry I found they had
only tried for twenty-two hours. They said they left off with as good a fire as they began
with. This I argued was not a fair trial. They say they are now on a trial for a month.
"The little engine at Wheal Abraham does its duty extremely well. The particulars as to
consumption of coal cannot be fairly ascertained, as she has never been covered, is fed with
cold water, and has not water to draw to keep her constantly at work.
"I wish I could give a better account of the mines than is in my power to give, or of the
standard price for ore, though the latter is rather looking up than otherwise. Our friend,
North Binner Downs, is better than paying cost, but very little. At present the levels are all
poor; the lode in the west shaft has underlayed faster than the shaft, and we have not seen it
for several fathoms. The ground lately in the shaft has been cleaner killas, and if any
alteration, better ground. It is now 9 fathoms under the 55-fathom level, and we are driving

to cut the lode. The ground in the cross-cut is harder than when you were on the spot. The
water is sinking in old Binner; it is about 7 fathoms under the adit in the western part, and
deeper in the eastern part; we do not account for this. Wheal St. Aubyn combined poor.
Wheal Abraham looks promising, and Creuver about paying cost. Dolcoath is better than
when you left us, or when I was in London. The last sale was only about 800 tons. The next
sale on Thursday is upwards of 1100 tons, and we expect a little better standard.
"I wish you could discover who that old gent is that wanted a large slice in Dolcoath, that I
might get at him through some unknown channel, for I want money sadly.
"Cook's Kitchen continues poor, Tin Croft ditto; Wheal Fanny not rich. We had a pretty
little fight last account there with T. Kevill and W. Reynolds, Esquires: black eyes and
bloody noses the worst effects. T. Kevill's face was much disfigured, and he might have
found a new road out of his coat.
"At a meeting of Condurrow adventurers yesterday, twenty-four of them agreed to have
one of our engines, cylinder 12 inches in diameter and 6-feet stroke, provided the Foxes do
not object to it. When the order is given I shall write to Mr. Hazeldine, provided I do not
hear from you that it is better to send the order to any other place.
"If you have occasion to write Mr. Hazeldine, I wish you would press him to hasten the
engines for Wheal Goshen, &c.
"I am served with a Vice-warden's petition by Mr. Harris for not working the Weith mine in
a more effectual manner, and he prays the Vice-warden to make the sett void. The trial will
come on some time the beginning of July, and by that time I suppose we shall have two
fire-engines working thereon.
"Had Mr. Harvey done as he was desired we should have had one working there at this
time, but he has but now begun to do anything to it. We have the cylinder and ends home
from Polgooth, and my cousin Simon Vivian is making the tubes. We have the other
cylinder from Wheal Treasury, and I have ordered Horton to cast a cock for it the same as
that at Dolcoath. We have cut the south lode at the adit level about 50 or 60 fathoms east of
the engine, and have driven about 20 fathoms on it. It turns out about half a ton per fathom
at 20l. a ton. The ground at 40s. per fathom; this all in a hole, and is better going down. The
back is sett to four men at 3s. 11d.; their time is out this week, and I suppose they must
have 5s. next. This may turn out a few thousands, and I think too promising a thing to give
up to Mr. Harris.
"I am happy to inform you that all our friends are in good health, and beg my most
respectful compliments to Mrs. Rogers and adopted son; and am,
"Dear, Sir,
"Yours very sincerely,
"Andw. Vivian.
"The promised news respecting the engine business I am very anxious to have, as it will I
hope make me proud, as proud I shall be when I am able to pay everyone their demands,

and have sufficient to carry on a little business to maintain my family and self without the
assistance of others. May you succeed in your undertaking and also be independent, is the
sincere wish of your friend. John Finnis and others are anxious to know when they will be
wanted.
"A. V."
The explosion at Greenwich in 1803 was made much of, though the fault was
clearly not in the boiler. Three years afterwards, in 1806, a steam-cylinder burst
in Wales, therefore Mr. Williams, a large shareholder in Dolcoath, objected to the
use of high-pressure expansive steam in their large Watt pumping engine, and
desired their engineer, Mr. Sims, to make a competitive trial after his own
fashion. At Condurrow Mine one of Trevithick's engines was to be ordered if the
Foxes and Williamses did not object; and so it was that Trevithick's high-
pressure steam-boiler was not ordered, and the Watt vacuum engine was for a
longer time to receive no increase of power.
"Some of Captain Dick's early boilers had flattish or oval fire-tubes. In 1820 I repaired an
old one in Wheal Clowance Mine in Gwinear. The flat top had come down a little; we put
in a line of bolts, fastening the top of the tube to the outer casing.
"About 1818 I saw in Carsize Mine in Gwinear a pumping engine that Captain Dick had
put up. The boiler was a cylinder of cast iron, with a wrought-iron tube going through its
length in which the fire was placed. The steam-cylinder was vertical, fixed in the boiler.
She had an air-pump and worked with a four-way cock. The steam was about 100 lbs. to
the inch."[68]
"About 1820 I removed one of Captain Trevithick's early high-pressure whim-engines from
Creuver and Wheal Abraham, and put it as a pumping engine in Wheal Kitty, where it
continued at work for about fifteen years. The boiler was of cast iron, in two lengths bolted
together, about 6 feet in diameter and 10 feet long. At one end a piece was bolted, into
which the cylinder was fixed, so that it had the steam and water around it. There was an
internal wrought-iron tube that turned back again to the fire-door end, where the wrought-
iron chimney was fixed; the fire-grate end of the tube was about 2 feet 6 inches in diameter,
and tapered down to about 1 foot 6 inches at the chimney end. It was a puffer, working 60
lbs. of steam to the inch; it worked very well. There were several others in the county at
that time something like it. It was made at the Neath Abbey Works in Wales."[69]
These boilers were of the kind first tried in Cornwall about 1800. The oval tube
in the Kensington model of 1798 continued in use in Cornwall for many years.
The cast-iron outer casing was soon abandoned, though one of them in Wales
remained in work fifty years, using steam of 60 lbs. to 100 lbs. to the inch.
"Hayle Foundry, August 26th, 1810.

"My dear Jane,,
"I saw Captain Andrew Vivian on Wednesday, who told me that he had been offered 150l. a
year to inspect all the engines in the county, and report what duty they were doing, in order
to stimulate the engineers. He declined accepting it, having too much to do already; and he
thought it would be worth Trevithick's notice, as it would not take him more than a day or
two in a month.
"I remain, my dear Jane,
"Yours sincerely,
"H. Harvey..
"I wrote this letter on Sunday, with an intention of sending it then, but thought it best to
wait until this day, in hopes of hearing the determination of Government in your favour;
but your letter has arrived without the desired information. All that I can now say is, to
desire that Trevithick will make up his mind to return to Cornwall immediately.
"H. H."
The application to the Government for remuneration for benefits conferred on
the public was unsuccessful. The office of registrar of Cornish engines was
unsuitable; fortunately for mining interests, illness obliged Trevithick to revisit
his native county, for by the increased power and economy of his engines
Dolcoath Mine, so frequently mentioned, and so important in olden time, now
returns 70,000l. worth of tin yearly.
Trevithick's first act on returning to Cornwall in 1810 was the erection of the
high-pressure boilers and pole vacuum engine at Wheal Prosper; at the same time
renewing his proposals to Dolcoath to use his improved boilers, which had been
broken off in 1806, and to apply high-pressure steam to their low-pressure Watt
engine, with the same safety and profit as in Wheal Prosper; the evidence was
undeniable, so his plans were agreed to, and in the early part of 1811 the high-
pressure boilers, called the Trevithick or Cornish boilers, were constructed in the
Dolcoath Mine under his directions.
Old John Bryant, who worked the Dolcoath large engines both before and after
the introduction of higher pressure steam, including the Carloose or Bullan
Garden 45-inch cylinder engine, Wheal Gons 63-inch cylinder single engine, and
the Watt 63-inch cylinder double, with the bee-but boiler, such as Trevithick,
sen., used in 1775,[70] followed by the Watt waggon boiler, and afterwards by the
globular boiler of Trevithick, jun., in 1799,[71] and still later also with the
cylindrical boiler of 1811, gave the following statement, when seventy-four years
old, to the writer:—

"In the old bee-but and the waggon boiler the steam pressure in the boiler was not much;
we did not trouble about it so long as the engines kept going: when the steam was too high
it blew off through the feed-cistern. When Captain Trevithick tried his high steam in
Dolcoath we hoisted up the feed-cistern as high as we could; when the steam got up, it
blew the water out of the cistern. Captain Dick holloed out, 'Why don't you trig down the
clack?'
"The cylindrical boilers when they were first put in leaked very much; we could hardly
keep up the fire sometimes. I reckon the steam was 30 or 40 lbs. to the inch. Captain Dick's
boilers made him lots of enemies. I heard say in one mine where he was trying his boilers
against Boulton and Watt's waggon, a lot of gunpowder was put into the heap of coal."[72]
The waggon or hearse Watt boiler was attached to his 63-inch cylinder double,
and the old man recollected having raised the water cistern, when Trevithick's
globe boiler gave an increased pressure in 1799, ten or twelve years before the
cylindrical boilers were made in Dolcoath.
"Some time after Captain Dick's globe boiler and steam-whims had been at work in
Dolcoath, a letter came down from London, saying that he would save the mine 100l. a
month if they would put in one of his new plan boilers.
"They were put in hand in the mine, and I worked about them; they were wrought-iron
cylindrical boilers, about 20 feet long, and 5 or 6 feet in diameter; the fire-tube was about 3
feet in diameter; the fire returned around the outside in brick flues. Three boilers were put
in side by side.
"When Captain Dick first tried them, he said to the men, Now mind, the fire-bars must
never have more than six inches of coal on them; give a shovel or two to one boiler, and
then to another. When Captain Dick's back was turned, the men said they wasn't going to
do anything of the sort, there would never be no rest for them. They used to say that the
boilers saved more than 170l. the first month."[73]
Clark, when a boy, in 1799, helped to construct Trevithick's globular boiler in
Dolcoath, and recollected the events of the few following years, during the
contests with the whim-engines about 1806, and the introduction of the large
cylindrical wrought-iron boilers for the pumping engines in 1811, and the
struggle preceding the downfall of the Watt low-pressure steam vacuum engine,
to make room for the high-pressure expansive steam-engine, with or without
vacuum.
"About 1812 Captain Trevithick threw out the Boulton and Watt waggon boilers at
Dolcoath and put in his own, known as Trevithick's boiler. They were about 30 feet long, 6
feet in diameter, with a tube about 3 feet 6 inches in diameter going through its length.
There was a space of about 6 inches between the bottom of the tube and the outer casing.
Many persons opposed the new plans. The Boulton and Watt low-pressure engine did not

work well with the high steam, and the water rose in the mine workings. Captain
Trevithick, seeing that he was being swamped, received permission from the mine
managers to dismiss the old engine hands and employ his own staff. Captain Jacob Thomas
was the man chosen to put things right. He never left the mine until the engine worked
better than ever before, and forked the water to the bottom of the mine. Before that time the
average duty in the county by the Boulton and Watt engines was seventeen or eighteen
millions, and in two or three years, with Trevithick's boilers and improvements in the
engines, the duty rose to forty millions. About 1826 he (Captain Vivian) was manager of
Wheal Towan; their engines were considered the best in the county, doing eighty-seven
millions; they had Trevithick's boilers, working with high-pressure steam and expansive
gear; few if any of Boulton and Watt's boilers could then be found in the county. Sir John
Rennie and other scientific men, who doubted the reports of the duty, came and made their
own trials with the engines, and were satisfied that the duty was correctly reported.
"About that time a Mr. Neville requested him to report on the engines at his colliery at
Llanelthy; one was an atmospheric of Newcomen's, doing six millions; and four or five of
Boulton and Watt's patent engines averaged fourteen millions."[74]
When at last the cylindrical high-pressure boiler was admitted, and men had been
taught to fire them, many persons still liked the old plans, and among them the
easy-going low-pressure enginemen. The consequence was that the Watt engines
under their management refused the early doses of Trevithick's high steam, not
easily digesting it, and their obstinacy nearly swamped Trevithick and his plans.
"When a little boy, about 1812, I frequently carried my father's dinner from Penponds to
Dolcoath Mine. One day, not finding him in the engine-house, I sought him in the account-
house, but not knowing him in a miner's working dress, refused to give him his dinner.
William West then worked with him. I heard there was difficulty in making the new boilers
and the old engine work well; engineers from other mines looked on from a distance, not
liking the risk of explosion. People seemed to be against the new plans; some labourers
worked with them."
This narration—sixty years after the events—from Mr. Richard Trevithick, the
eldest son of the engineer, shows that William West helped in applying high-
pressure steam to the Watt low-pressure engine, and that but few sympathized
with the innovators on old customs; but among them was Captain Jacob Thomas,
who successfully fed the old engine with strong steam.
At that time the Watt engines in Cornwall had been doing seventeen or eighteen
millions; Trevithick's new boilers increased their duty to forty millions.
"William Pooly[75] was working in Dolcoath before Captain Trevithick's new boilers were
put in, and helped to put them in.

"The Shammal 45-inch engine was an open-top cylinder, with a chain to the segment-head
wooden beam. So was the 63-inch cylinder Stray Park engine, then called Wheal Gons[76] in
Dolcoath sett, and the Boulton and Watt 63-inch cylinder double-acting.
"There used to be great talking about different boilers; a boiler of Captain Trevithick's
worked with higher steam than the others. Just before Captain Dick came back to the mine
a Boulton and Watt hearse boiler had been repaired with a new bottom; it was never used. I
and William Causan took a job to cut up the boiler at 1s. 6d. the hundredweight; it weighed
17 tons. Jeffrie and Gribble were the mine engineers; Glanville used to be considered
Captain Dick's man in the mine. You could stand upright on the fire-bars in the middle
hollow of the hearse boiler, and so you could in the outside brick flues; the middle hollow
was like a horse-shoe. When Captain Dick put in his cylindrical boilers he altered the 63-
inch single; there was hardly anything of her left but the main wall, with the wood bob and
a chain to the piston-rod, and also to the pump-rods. There was an air-pump, and I think a
second-hand cylinder was brought, but it was a 63-inch; the old Shammal engine had been
altered, too.
"The new boiler put in was about 8 feet in diameter and from 30 to 40 feet long, two round
tubes went through it; the fire-place in one end of one tube and in the other end of the other
tube; after going through the tubes the draught went into the brick flues under the bottom
and sides. When the new engine was put in, Gribble said, ‘Why, these little things will
never get steam enough;’ everybody said so.
"In the Boulton and Watt engines we didn't trouble about feed-pumps and gauge-cocks.
"A wire came through a stuffing box in the top of the boiler; a biggish stone in the boiler
was fastened to one end of the wire, the other end was fastened to a weighted lever near the
water cistern, just above the boiler; when the water got low the stone opened the valve in
the water cistern. That was when they were putting in Captain Dick's new cylindrical
boilers to the old 63-inch engine. She did so much more work, with less coal, that in a year
or so they agreed to throw out Boulton and Watt's engine, and to put in a stronger one that
could stand Captain Dick's high steam. Jeffrie and Gribble were the mine engineers that put
her up. The 76-inch cylinder came from Wales. The big beam was cast at Perran Foundry
in 1815; you can see the name and date upon it now. The boiler and the gear-work were
made in the mine. The exhaust-valve is exactly as when it was put in, worked by a rack-
and-tooth segment. The equilibrium valve is unchanged, except that the rack is taken out
and a link put in.
"The steam-valve was taken out soon after she went to work, and the present double-beat
valve was put in; it is the first of the kind I ever saw. Some were made before that time
with a small valve on the top of the big one, that opened first, to ease the pressure.
"John West[77] fitted up the valve-gear in the mine with the expansive tappets, the same as
when she stopped a month or two ago, and the same as the present new one has.
"Captain Dick's cutting off his strong steam at an early part of the stroke, used to make the
steam-valve strike very hard; so the new plan valve, with a double beat, was put in; that

must have been about 1816 or 1817; and the valve and expansive horn for working were
just exactly like what they have put into the present new engine in 1869. She was the
engine that showed them how to fork the water, and burn only half the coal.
"I worked in this mine the old atmospheric engines, and then Boulton and Watt; and then
Trevithick's boilers in Boulton and Watt; and then Trevithick's boilers and engine; and now
I come every day to the new engine, though I can't do much. They give me 35s. a month;
and my name is William Pooly, Dolcoath, 1869."
Three years ago (in 1869), when the writer entered the old engine-house in which
Watt's 63-inch cylinder double had been erected in 1780, adjoining the old walls
that then enclosed that early Newcomen 45-inch cylinder Carloose engine, re-
erected by Trevithick, sen., in 1775 in Bullan Garden portion of Dolcoath, an old
man sat near a small window in a recess in the thick wall of the engine-house,
within reach of the gear-handles of the Jeffrie and Gribble 76-inch cylinder
engine that Trevithick, jun., had erected in 1816 on the foundations of the
removed Watt engine; he held in one hand a portion of slate from the roof, and in
the other an old pocket-knife, one-half of the blade of which had been broken
off, leaving a jagged fracture, with which he made the figures of some
calculation on the rude slate; on his nose rested the brass frame of a pair of very
ancient spectacles, with horn glasses. He answered the writer's question by, "Yes,
I am William Pooly; I worked this engine, and the other engines before it—the
great double and the little Shammal working out of the same shaft; and I am
seventy-four years of age. The 63 single worked upon a shaft up there; she was
called Wheal Gons." That old man, still living, had worked in Dolcoath Mine one
of the first steam-engines of Newcomen; the 45-inch, modified by Trevithick,
sen.; then the 63-inch double of Watt; and, finally, the high-pressure engines of
Trevithick, jun.; he saw the open-top cylinders, atmospheric of Newcomen, in
the Shammal 45-inch and Wheal Gons 63-inch, with their wooden beams with
segment-headed ends, moving in rivalry with the Watt 63-inch double, with
cylinder-cover and parallel motion; he saw the two former engines, as altered by
Trevithick, jun., using the higher steam from the globular boiler on which Henry
Clark worked in 1799, when "there used to be great talking about different
boilers, and a boiler of Captain Trevithick's worked with higher steam than the
others; and the waggon boiler of Watt, that had just been repaired, was discarded
and cut up;" thus described by Trevithick, "the fire-place is 22 feet from fire-door
to fire-door, 9 feet wide, and 7 feet thick in fire,"[78] which he proposed to replace
in 1806 by a cylindrical boiler to give steam of 25 lbs. on the inch.

Pooly also saw the finishing stroke in 1811, when the boilers still known as the
Trevithick or Cornish boilers, gave steam to the three engines; after a twelve
years' fight between low and high pressure, commencing with Trevithick's
globular boiler and internal tube, in Dolcoath, in the year 1799, from which time
it gained step by step, though in comparatively small engines, up to 1811, when
the cylindrical boilers took the place of the condemned hearse and globular
boilers, and gave really strong and expansive steam to the three Dolcoath
pumping engines that from time immemorial had been rivals, causing all three of
them to lift an increased quantity of water, and at the same time to save one-half
in the cost of coal; this continued for four or five years, when in 1816 the 63-inch
double and the 45-inch, being the youngest and the oldest of the three, were
removed, that a new 76-inch cylinder, better adapted to Trevithick's expansive
steam might more cheaply perform their joint work. Prior to this change the three
engines were known by the names Shammal 45-inch, formerly Bullan Garden,[79]
but before that as Carloose, of the period and form of the Pool engine;[80] Stray
Park 63 single, formerly Wheal Gons,[81] dated from 1770 to 1777; and the 63-
inch double of Watt in 1780.
"Dolcoath Mine, March 29th, 1858.
"Sir,
"I have obtained the following information respecting the building of the first cylindrical
boilers, as ordered by your late father for Dolcoath; and some information of the results as
to the coals consumed, compared with the consumption by the boilers previously in use
here.
"George Row, now about seventy-two years old, and working at Camborne Vean Mine,
says he assisted to build the two first cylindrical boilers with internal tubes used in
Cornwall. They were built in Dolcoath Mine in the year 1811; they were 18 feet long, 5
feet diameter, having an oval tube 3 feet 4 inches in the largest diameter at the fire end; the
other or chimney end of the tube was somewhat smaller. They were found too small for the
work to be done, and another boiler was built immediately, 22 feet long, 6 feet 2 inches
diameter, and he believed a 4-feet tube.
"John Bryant, now seventy-four years old, works a steam-engine at West Wheal Francis.
He worked at Dolcoath the 63-inch cylinder double-acting engine, upon Boulton and Watt's
plan. When he first worked her she had the old bee-but boiler, 24 feet in diameter. They
were taken out for the Boulton and Watt waggon boiler, 22 feet long and 8 feet wide, with
two fire-doors opposite one another.
"Then the Boulton and Watt waggon was taken out for Captain Trevithick's boilers, which
he worked for several years. Two boilers were put in, each 18 feet long, 5 feet diameter,

with an internal oval tube, he thinks, 3 feet by 2 feet 6 inches. Shortly after, another boiler
of similar form was added, 22 feet long, 6 feet diameter, 4-feet tube.
"He cannot say what the saving of coal was, but remembers that the duty performed by the
engine with the waggon boiler was thirteen to fourteen millions. Mr. William West came to
the mine as an engineer, and by paying great attention increased the duty of the Boulton
and Watt engine and boiler to about fifteen millions. He does not recollect the duty the
engine performed with the cylindrical boilers.
"Mr. Thomas Lean, of Praze, the present reporter of mine engines in the western part of
Cornwall, in answer to a note I sent to him, says he has no account of any report of
Dolcoath engines for the year 1812, but during the month of April in that year the engines
did 21½ millions. During the whole of 1813 that engine was reported to average a duty of
twenty-one millions. The whole of the above are at per bushel of 93 lbs., and the whole of
the accounts furnished by Mr. Lean are for Trevithick's cylindrical boilers.
"From the Dolcoath Mine books I find the following: Paid for coals for the whole mine
during the year 1811, 1150l. 15s. 10d., or per month, 931l. 14s. 7d. During the first three
months of 1812 the coal averaged 1000l. per month. In May of this year, 1812, Captain
Trevithick is entered on the books as paid 40l. on account of boilers; and in August of the
same year, for erecting three boilers, 105l. I think the three boilers were at work in April,
1812, the month Mr. Lean gives as the first reported. From April, 1812, to December,
during nine months, the cost of coals was 5512l. 6s., averaging 612l. 9s. 6d. per month.
During the next year, 1813, the cost for coal was 7019l. 17s. 5d., or an average per month
of 590l. 16s. 5d. I cannot find the price paid per ton for the coal in these years, but the
average price during 1808 and 1815 was much alike, making it probable that the price per
ton during 1811, 1812, and 1813, was nearly the same; and that the saving of the above
300l. per month in Dolcoath was wholly on account of the saving effected by Trevithick's
cylindrical boilers.
"The testimony of John Bryant, that the duty with the waggon boiler was say fourteen
millions, and that of Mr. Lean, giving twenty-one millions with the new Trevithick boiler,
bear much the same proportion as the charges for coals in the respective periods above
given.
"In the year 1816 a new 76-inch single engine was erected in the place of the old Boulton
and Watt 63-inch double engine with Trevithick's cylindrical boilers. The average duty
performed during the year 1817 was 43¾ millions. This same engine is still at work, and
her regular duty is from thirty-six to thirty-eight millions.
"I am, Sir,
"Your most obedient servant,
"Charles Thomas.
"Francis Trevithick, Esq."

Captain Charles Thomas, who was one of the most experienced of Cornish
miners, for many years the manager of Dolcoath, and in youth the acquaintance
of Trevithick, states that the new high-pressure boilers were made in the mine in
1811, and gave their first supplies of strong steam to the three large pumping
engines in April, 1812, with such good effect that the increasing water which had
threatened to drown the mine was speedily removed, and that with a saving of
nearly one-half of the coal before consumed. Prior to their use Dolcoath Mine
paid 1000l. monthly for coal; but for the latter nine months of the year, in
consequence of the new boilers, the cost was reduced to 612l. a month. This
saving in the pumping cost of one mine crowned with success the high-pressure
steam engineer, who had been steadily gaining ground during his fight of twelve
or fourteen years on the battle-ground chosen by Watt thirty-three years before.
The low price of tin and copper, which caused so many engines to cease working
about the close of the last century, had changed for the better, and the present
century opened with an increasing demand for steam power. Trevithick's high-
pressure portable engines had worked satisfactorily for several years; and as a
means of making public the relative duty performed by Cornish pumping
engines, and of solving conflicting statements on the rival systems of low and
high pressure steam, it was determined that an intelligent person should examine
and give printed monthly reports of the amount of duty done by the different
engines, and in 1810 Captain Andrew Vivian was requested to take this work of
engine reporter in hand; on his refusal it was offered to Trevithick. In August,
1811, Mr. Lean commenced such monthly reports, showing that the duty of
twelve pumping engines at the end of that year averaged seventeen millions,
exactly the duty done by the Boulton and Watt engines thirteen years before, as
reported by Davies Gilbert and Captain Jenkin in 1798, proving the small
inherent vitality of the Watt engine.
In 1814 the Dolcoath pumping engines, with Trevithick's cylindrical boiler and
high steam expansion, are thus reported:—"The Boulton and Watt, Dolcoath
great double engine, 63-inch cylinder, did a duty of 21½ millions; the Shammal
45-inch cylinder, single engine, did 26¾ millions; and the 63-inch single, Stray
Park engine, 32 millions." Shammal engine, nearly 100 years old, beat the Watt
engine of more than half a century later; and so did Stray Park 63-inch, which
Watt had laughed at when he first tried his hand as an engineer in Cornwall in
1777.[82]

The marked change in these three engines, while for two or three years under
Trevithick's guidance, becoming more powerful and economical, raised the usual
swarm of detractors, and in 1815 a special trial was made, which lasted for two
days, to test the reported increased duty by the cylindrical boilers and expansive
working.
The unbelievers were then convinced, and agreed to throw out the Boulton and
Watt great double engine 63-inch cylinder, together with its neighbour, the worn-
out old 45-inch, and put in their stead one engine with a cylinder of 76 inches in
diameter, with expansive valve and gear, and parts strong enough and suitable to
the high-pressure steam, on Trevithick's promise that it should do more than the
combined work of the other two with one-half the coal.
In 1816 this new engine commenced work, and did forty millions of duty,
increasing it during the next two or three years to forty-eight millions, being
three times the duty performed by the Watt 63-inch double engine before it was
supplied with steam from Trevithick's boilers, and twice as much as it performed
when so supplied. Lean says, "This was the first instance of such duty having
been performed by an engine of that simple construction." The other mines
followed Trevithick's advice, but never paid him a penny. On this Lean again
says, "The engines at work in the county in 1835 would have consumed 80,000l.
worth of coal over and above their actual consumption yearly, but for the
improvements that had been made since 1814."
Trevithick's engines were very durable, as well as cheap in first cost and in
working expense. This famous Dolcoath 76-inch engine remained in constant
work night and day for fifty-four years; after which good service the steam-
pipes, being thinned by rust, were held together by bands and bolts; the steam-
case around the cylinder would no longer bear the pressure of steam; the interior
of the cylinder from wear was one inch larger in diameter than when first put in,
and had to be held together by strap-bolts. The original boilers were said to
remain, only they had been repaired until not an original plate remained; but
there they were in the old stoke-hole in 1869, when, from the fear of some part of
the engine breaking and causing accident, it was removed.

Trevithick's Dolcoath 76-inch Cylinder Pumping Engine,
erected in 1816, ceased working 1869.
a, steam-cylinder, 76 inches in diameter, 9-feet stroke; b,
steam-jacket; c, steam expansion-valve, 11 inches diameter,
double beat; the upper beat 11 inches diameter, the under beat
9½ inches, valve 8 inches long; d, expansive cam on plug-rod;
e, plug-rod for moving the gear; f, expansive horn; g,
equilibrium valve, 13 inches in diameter, single beat moved
by a tooth-rack and segment; h, exhaust-valve, 14½ inches in
diameter, single beat moved by a lever and link; i,
equilibrium-valve handle; j, exhaust-valve handle; k, Y-posts
for carrying the gear arbors; l, main beam in two plates of cast
iron; m, parallel motion; n, feed-pump rod; o, air-pump
bucket-rod, the pump, 2 feet 9 inches diameter; p, the main
pump rods.

Cylinder, Main Beam, and Pump-rod of Dolcoath
76-inch Cylinder Engine.

In 1867 the writer was a member of the Dolcoath Managing Committee, when it
was determined that the old engine of 1816 should be replaced by a new one.
The cylinder sides were reduced in thickness by half an inch; the steam-pipes
and nozzles were thinned by rust and decay; the valves and gear-work remained
in good order. Captain Josiah Thomas, the present manager of the mine, offered
to sell this old engine at scrap price, that it might be stored in the Patent Museum
at Kensington as a memento of the early high-pressure expansive steam pumping
engine.

Boilers erected in 1811 in Dolcoath, used in the Boulton and Watt 63-inch
Engine, then in the new 76-inch until 1869.
a a, two wrought-iron cylindrical boilers, 5 feet in diameter, 18 feet long, with
internal fire-tube, oval, 3 feet 4 inches by 3 feet; b, a boiler, 6 feet 2 inches diameter,
22 feet long, cylindrical tube, 4 feet diameter in the fire-place, the remainder 3 feet; c,
brick bridge; d, fire-bars; e, brick external flues under boiler; f, brick side-flues; g,
ashes, or other non-conductor; steam 30 to 50 lbs. on the inch above the atmosphere.

The steam-cylinder of 1816 was cast in South Wales; the beam still working in
the new engine of 1869 was cast in the foundry of the Williams' at Perran. John
West replaced the original flat expansive steam-valve with a double-beat valve;
the gear was principally made by him on the mine, and remained in good
working to the last. This double-beat valve is the first the writer has met with; it
is of the same form as the modern double-beat valve; an earlier plan was to have
a small valve on the top of the main valve. The steam in ordinary working was
shut off when the piston had moved from an eighth to a quarter of its stroke.
The Gons, or Stray Park 63-inch cylinder, survived its companions, the 63
double, and 45 single, for some ten or fifteen years, having beaten both of them
in duty. A memorandum in Trevithick's handwriting shows that he in 1798, when
designing his large globular boiler with internal flue at the reworking of
Dolcoath, tested the relative duty of the Watt 63-inch double and the 63-inch
single engine, then called Wheal Gons, the latter in its original form of open-top
cylinder atmospheric; shortly after which it probably received a cover about the
same time as the 45-inch, for both those engines were thoroughly repaired by
Trevithick at the reworking of the mine, twelve or fourteen years prior to the use
of the cylindrical boilers.
"At the time that Boulton and Watt made their trial of Seal-hole engine against
Hornblower's engine at Tin Croft, the engines were put in the best order, and good coals
brought in for the purpose, to work for twenty-four hours. The trial was attended by the
principal mining agents; the result was about ten millions by each engine.
"At Dolcoath Mine an old atmospheric engine continued to work for several years by the
side of one of Boulton and Watt's engines of the same size; the water lifted and coals
consumed were carefully taken and made known to the public, showing that Boulton and
Watt's engine performed, when compared with the old engine, as 16 to 10."[83]
Hornblower was an active engineer in Cornwall before Watt; the patent of the
latter claiming the sole right of working an engine by steam in the cylinder,[84]
drove the former to use two cylinders, in one of which the expansion was carried
out, as a means not described in Watt's patent; a lawsuit was the consequence.
The two engines when tried by Trevithick[85] performed an equal duty of ten
millions. In 1798 he tested the Dolcoath atmospheric 63-inch single against
Watt's great 63-inch double action. "The atmospheric performed ten millions,"
precisely the duty of the patent Watt and the patent Hornblower contests of six
years before; but the Watt Dolcoath engine, then considered the best he had
made, did sixteen millions. These trials in 1792 and 1798 enable us to compare
the Newcomen, the Hornblower, and the Watt engines; shortly after which

Trevithick tried higher steam in one or more of those same engines from his
globular boiler.[86]
"Camborne, March 10th, 1812.
""Sir Ch. Hawkins,
"Sir,—This day I shall attend the account at Wheal Prosper Mine, in Gwythian, to contract
with the adventurers for erecting a steam-engine on my improved plan, for drawing the
water 50 fathoms under the adit. I called on Wheal Liberty adventurers at St. Agnes last
week, and found that several of them had given up their shares rather than put in a new
engine, and the remainder of them very sick.
"I told them that I would fork the water with the present engine, and draw instead of 40
gallons each stroke, 47 fathoms deep (which she did), 85 gallons per stroke, 65 fathoms
deep, by altering the engine on the same principle as I have done with the Dolcoath great
engine, and several more that are now altering. The expense of altering the engine, and
forking the water to bottom, and proving the mine, will not exceed 1000l.
"All the adventurers are very anxious to again resume their shares and make the trial, on
condition that I will undertake the completion of the job at a certain sum, but not otherwise.
"I am certain, from what Dolcoath engine is doing, that I can far exceed the power above
stated, and perform the duty with one-half the coal the engine consumed before, and would
not hesitate a moment to engage the job on the terms they propose, but I have not money
sufficient to carry it into execution, as I must lay out a large sum in erecting the engine on
the Gwythian Mine, and unless I can be assisted with 500l., shall not be able to undertake
the job.
"If you think it worth your notice to encourage this undertaking by lending me the above
sum for six months, I will pay you interest for it, and before drawing any part of it from
you would get materials in the mine that should amount to above that sum, and also give
you an order on the adventurers to repay you the whole sum before receiving any part
myself.
"As I have been a bankrupt, perhaps you may scruple on that account, but that business is
finally settled, and I have my certificate; and indeed I never was in debt to any person; not
one shilling of debt was proved against me under the commission, nothing more than the
private debts of my swindling partner.
"At Wendron we are working an engine lately erected on a copper lode, which has a very
promising appearance, and near this spot you have land at Besperson, where there is also a
very kindly copper lode, which deserves trial; if you are inclined to grant a sett, I think I
can find adventurers to join me to try the mine.
"I have lately read a letter from your hind, that the engine continues to mend; it far exceeds
my expectation. I am now building a portable steam-whim, on the same plan, to go itself

from shaft to shaft; the whole weight will be about 30 cwt., and the power equal to twenty-
six horses in twenty-four hours.
"The only difference in this engine and yours will be the fire in the boiler, and without
mason-work, on account of making it portable. I shall pass the rope from the fly-wheel
round the cage of the horse-whim.
"If you should fall in with any West India planter that stands in want of an engine, he may
see this one at work in a month, which will prove to him the advantage of a portable
engine, to travel from one plantation to another. The price, completely finished and set to
work, free of all expense, in London, 105l.
"I am, Sir,
"Your very humble servant,
"Richard. Trevithick.
"N.B.—Captain John Stephens informed me, a few days since, that the lead mine at
Newlyn was rich."
In Wheal Prosper Mine the first high-pressure expansive steam-condensing pole-
engine had been worked, just before the date of the foregoing letter, and that
evidence of increased power and economy was immediately followed by the
application of the same principles of high-pressure steam and very expansive
working to the Watt low-pressure steam vacuum engines at Wheal Alfred,
Dolcoath, and other mines, with such satisfactory results as to warrant his
offering, on the battle-ground of his first attack on the Watt low-pressure steam
vacuum principle at Seal-hole in St. Agnes, fourteen years before,[87] at his own
pecuniary risk, to so apply those principles in the Wheal Liberty low-pressure
steam-engine, which had failed to drain the mine, lifting only at the rate of 1880
gallons of water one fathom high at each stroke; that it should lift an increased
quantity of water, and that, too, from an increased depth, making the load equal
to 5525 gallons, and to perform such increase of work with one-half of the
quantity of coal before used; in other words, he was willing to engage to make
the old low-pressure steam-engine perform by its conversion into a high-pressure
steam-engine threefold its original work, and also to increase its duty or
economic value sixfold; resting his argument on the similar changes, then to be
seen in operation at Wheal Alfred Mine, and especially in the Watt 63-inch
double-acting engine at Dolcoath, whose history we have been tracing. Well
might Sir Charles Hawkins hesitate to believe what the experience of sixty years
has barely sufficed to make plain to us.
"Penzance, March 27th, 1813.
"Captn. Trevithick,

"Sir,—In consequence of the conversation that has passed between you and West Wheal
Tin Croft adventurers, the said adventurers have resolved to put an engine on that mine,
agreeable to the proposals offered by you; that is, the engine shall be capable of lifting a 5-
inch bucket, 50 fathoms, 4-feet stroke, 15 strokes per minute, or a duty equal thereto; for
which they will pay you 50 guineas one month after the engine shall be at work, and 50
guineas more at four months after that, and 50 guineas more at four months from that time,
making the full payment of 150 guineas in nine months from the time the engine shall set
at work, the adventurers paying all expense, except the engine materials, which shall be
delivered on the mine. But in case the engine not performing the above duty, the
adventurers to be at liberty to return the same engine, and you to pay back all the money
that you had received for the said engine.
"Signed by Gabl. Blewett,
"in behalf of the Adventurers and Company."
Trevithick was willing to spend more than his last penny in establishing the
superiority of his high-pressure steam expansive engines, but the selfishness of
adventurers retarded their progress. The atmospheric, mentioned by Watt as
working in Dolcoath in 1777,[88] did five or six millions of duty, yet in
Trevithick's hands, about 1798 to 1800, when he erected his globular boiler with
internal tube, one of them was tested with the 63-inch Watt low-pressure vacuum
engine, when the latter did sixteen millions to ten millions by the atmospheric
engine, being nearly double the duty it performed in its original form; and we
shall still trace this same engine as Bonze or Gons until it increased to six times
its first duty under the name of Stray Park 63-inch.
Trevithick having erected a high-pressure steam condensing whim-engine at
Cook's Kitchen,[89] and in Dolcoath[90] a high-pressure puffer whim-engine,
pleaded hard in 1806[91] to be allowed to supply the large pumping engines of
Newcomen and Watt with higher pressure steam from his cylindrical boiler,
which after years of consideration Dolcoath, in 1811, agreed to. In 1813 he
wrote:—"That new engine you saw near the sea-side with me is now lifting forty
millions, one foot high, with one bushel of coal, which is very nearly double the
duty that is done by any other engine in the county. A few days since I altered a
64-inch cylinder engine at Wheal Alfred to the same plan, and I think she will do
equally as much duty. I have a notice to attend a mine meeting to erect a new
engine, equal in power to a 63-inch cylinder single."[92]
The beneficial results of those acts are too large to be here entered into in detail.
In round numbers, the early pumping engines of Newcomen did five millions;[93]
Trevithick caused them to do ten millions of duty with a bushel of coal. Watt,

during thirty years of improvements, caused the duty to reach sixteen or twenty
millions in 1800. Trevithick, on the expiry of the Watt patent, then came into
play, and before he had reigned half the time of Watt, again doubled the duty of
the steam-engine, as he states in 1813 "his new engine was doing forty millions,
being nearly double the duty of any other engine in the county." These statements
by Trevithick agree very nearly with the generally-received accounts of the
progressive duty of the large pumping steam-engine.
"In 1798 Davies Gilbert, Esq., and the late Captain Jenkin of Treworgie, found the average
of the Boulton and Watt engines in Cornwall to be about seventeen millions. In August,
1811, the eight engines reported averaged 15·7 millions. During the year 1814 Dolcoath
great engine, with a cylinder of 63 inches in diameter, did twenty-one and a half millions
nearly. Dolcoath Shammal engine, with a cylinder of 45 inches in diameter, did twenty-six
and three-quarter millions. Dolcoath Stray Park engine, with a cylinder of 63 inches in
diameter, did thirty-two millions.
"In 1815 a trial was made, to prove the correctness of the monthly reports. Stray Park
engine at Dolcoath was chosen for the purpose, because its reported duty was such as led
some persons to entertain doubts of its accuracy. The trial was continued for ten days, to
the full satisfaction of all concerned.
"In 1816, Jeffrie and Gribble erected a new engine, 76-inch cylinder, single, at Dolcoath,
which did forty millions. This was the first instance of such duty having been performed by
an engine of that simple construction.
"In 1819, Dolcoath engine performed the best during this year, and at one time reached
forty-eight millions.
"In 1820, Treskerby engine, to which Trevithick's high-pressure pole had been adapted,
reached 40·3 millions.
"In 1816, Sims also erected an engine at Wheal Chance, to which he applied the pole
adopted by Trevithick in his high-pressure engines. This engine attained to forty-five
millions.
"In 1828 public attention had now been attracted to the improvements which Captain Grose
had introduced into his engine at Wheal Towan. The duty of this engine, in the month of
April this year, equalled eighty-seven millions.
"This again gave rise to suspicions of error in the returns. This engine was accordingly
subjected to a trial (as Stray Park engine had been in 1815), which was superintended and
conducted by many of the principal mine agents, engineers, and pitmen of other mines.
"The quantity of coal consumed in 1835, compared with the quantity that would have been
consumed by the same engines in the same time, had they remained unimproved from the
year 1814, shows that the saving to the county amounts to 100,000 tons of coal, or 80,000l.
sterling per annum."[94]

Lean seems to have calculated on a bushel of coal as 94 lbs. In 1798, when
Trevithick was about to give increased pressure of steam to the Cornish engines,
his friend Davies Gilbert reported the average duty of the Watt engine in
Cornwall to be seventeen millions.
In August, 1811, the reported duty averaged 15·7 millions. This was the month
and year in which Trevithick, after twelve years of working evidences of the
reasonableness of his promises of increased power and economy from using
high-pressure steam, was allowed to erect his cylindrical boilers for the large
pumping engines in Dolcoath Mine.
Has the reader realized that the 45-inch atmospheric Carloose engine, of nearly
100 years before,[95] had in 1775[96] become the Bullan Garden engine of
Trevithick, sen., which was improved and re-erected by Trevithick, jun., in 1799,
[97]
when the name was again changed, this time to Shammal, because it was
linked to another engine, no other than the Watt 63-inch double engine? This
Shammal 45-inch took steam from the globular boiler, using a pole air-pump[98]
and a Watt condenser, though retaining the beam with the arched head and chain
connection; and again in 1811 took still more highly expansive steam from the
cylindrical boilers with a new beam and parallel motion, enabling it in 1814 to
beat its rival, the Watt Dolcoath great double engine.[99] The old 63-inch Gons,
under the name of Dolcoath Stray Park engine, with Trevithick's improvements,
did sixty-seven per cent. more work than the Watt 63-inch with an equal quantity
of coal.
This startling fact was disbelieved by the advocates of low-pressure steam, and
as the visible change in the Dolcoath engine from Newcomen to Watt, and from
Watt to Trevithick, had been gradual and not very striking, and the public were
careless of principles, the one most puffed was most thought of; but the money
saved was tangible, and in 1815 a special trial was made, which lasted two days,
to discover if it was really true that Trevithick's appliances could so increase the
duty of the engine. The 63-inch cylinder, then called Stray Park engine, was
selected; the result proved that the large saving reported from Trevithick's boilers
and expansive working during the last three or four years, was an
incontrovertible fact.
The high-pressure steam was also given to the defeated Watt 63-inch double
engine; yet this newest of the three engines was the first to be condemned, and
her place was taken in 1816 by an engine of 76 inches in diameter, which
Trevithick promised should, with his high steam and new expansive gear, do the

work of the Watt 63-inch and the old 45-inch put together; which was more than
fulfilled by its doing forty millions, and, as Lean says, "was the first instance of
such duty having been performed by an engine of that simple construction."
In 1819 the new 76-inch engine which had been erected by the mine engineers,
Jeffrie[100] and Gribble, who had long been employed by Trevithick in Dolcoath,
was the best in the county, doing forty-eight millions, nearly three times the duty
as given by Mr. Gilbert for the Watt engine in 1798. In 1827 Trevithick's pupil,
Captain Samuel Grose, erected his Wheal Towan engine, which performed a duty
of eighty-seven millions, some of the working drawings of which were made by
the writer. In 1835 the principle laid down by Trevithick had become so general
in the county as to cause a saving to the Cornish mines, in coal alone, of 80,000l.
yearly. In addition to this, the increased power of the engine lessened the first
cost by at least one-half.
The national importance of such weighty facts calls for further corroborative
proof, for we can scarcely believe that two atmospheric low-pressure steam-
engines, made before the time of Watt, could be altered so as to perform more
work, and at a less cost than the Watt engine, by an ingenious supply of higher
steam pressure from Trevithick's boilers, together with the Watt air-pump and
condenser. The following words from Watt are descriptive of his practice, though
contrary to his patent claim:—
"At a very early period, while experimenting at Kinneil, he had formed the idea of working
steam expansively, and altered his model from time to time with that object. Boulton had
taken up and continued the experiments at Soho, believing the principle to be sound, and
that great economy would attend its adoption.
"The early engines were accordingly made so that the steam might be cut off before the
piston had made its full stroke, and expand within the cylinder, the heat outside it being
maintained by the expedient of the steam-case. But it was shortly found that this method of
working was beyond the capacity of the average enginemen of that day, and it was
consequently given up for a time.
"'We used to send out,' said Watt to Robert Hart, 'a cylinder of double the size wanted, and
cut off the steam at half-stroke.'
"This was a great saving of steam, so long as the valves remained as at first; but when our
men left her to the charge of the person who was to keep her, he began to make, or try to
make, improvements, often by giving more steam. The engine did more work while the
steam lasted, but the boiler could not keep up the demand. Then complaints came of want
of steam, and we had to send a man down to see what was wrong.

"This was so expensive, that we resolved to give up the expansion of the steam until we
could get men that could work it, as a few tons of coal per year was less expensive than
having the work stopped. In some of the mines a few hours' stoppage was a serious matter,
as it would cost the proprietor as much as 70l. per hour."[101]
Pole expresses the same view, intimating that Watt only used steam of 1 or 2 lbs.
pressure to the inch.
"In Watt's engine, as is well known, the pressure of steam in the boiler very little exceeded
the pressure of the atmosphere. He recommended that when the engine was underloaded,
this excess should be equal to about 1 inch of mercury; and when full loaded, ought not to
exceed 2 inches; adding, 'It is never advisable to work with a strong steam when it can be
avoided, as it increases the leakages of the boiler and joints of the steam-case, and answers
no good end.'[102]
"Mr. Watt's engines with such boilers" (which will not retain steam of more than 3-1/6; lbs.
per square inch above the atmosphere) "cannot be made to exert a competent power to
drain deep mines, unless the supply of steam to the cylinder is continued until the piston
has run through more than half its course.[103]
"In 1801-2 Captain Trevithick erected a high-pressure engine of small size at Marazion,
which was worked by steam of at least 30 lbs. on the square inch above atmospheric
pressure. In 1804, as Mr. Farey admits,[104] the same gentleman introduced his celebrated
and valuable wrought-iron cylindrical boilers,[105] now universally used in this county.
"To these, everyone at all acquainted with the Cornish improvements ascribes a great part
of the saving we have obtained. This will farther appear from an extract from a valuable
work edited by John Taylor, Esq., F.R.S.[106]
"The monthly consumption of coal in Dolcoath Mine was, in 1811, 6912 bushels; in 1812,
4752 bushels.[107] The alteration in the boilers was the introduction of Captain Trevithick's
cylindrical boilers in the place of the common waggon boilers, which had until then been
there in use.
"Mr. Woolf, as Mr. Farey states, came to reside in Cornwall about the year 1813, and his
'first engines for pumping water from mines were set up by him in 1814.'"[108]
The foregoing was read at the Philosophical Society in 1831, to refute erroneous
statements on the Watt and Trevithick engines. My friend Mr. Henwood had at
that time made official experiments in conjunction with Mr. John Rennie on the
detail, working, and duty of high-pressure steam Cornish engines, the Watt low-
pressure steam principle having been wholly given up. Rees's 'Cyclopædia'[109]
also bears the following similar testimony to date of the increased duty:—
"Trevithick's high-pressure engine was erected in Wales in 1804 to ascertain its powers to
raise water. The duty was seventeen millions and a half pounds raised one foot high for
each bushel of coals.

"The high-pressure steam-engines require a greater quantity of coals, in proportion to the
force exerted, than the engine of Mr. Watt, and consequently are not worked with
advantage in a situation where coals are dear.
"From the reports of the engines now working in the mines of Cornwall, which, with the
exception of a few of Woolf's engines, are all on Mr. Watt's principle, and most of them
constructed by Messrs. Boulton and Watt, taking the average of nine engines—bad, good,
and indifferent together—they were found in August, 1811, to raise only thirteen millions
and a half. But when it was known by the engine keepers that their engines were under
examination, they took so much pains to improve the effects, that by gradual increase the
engines in 1815 lifted twenty-one millions and a half, taking the average of thirty-three
engines. In 1816, Stray Park, a 63-inch cylinder, 7 feet 9 inches stroke, single-acting, being
one of the three engines on the vast Dolcoath Mine; its performance in four different
months was thirty-one, thirty-one and a quarter, twenty-eight, and twenty-eight and a half
millions."
This statement reveals a source of error in estimating the relative values of the
Watt and the Trevithick engine; that of the latter was the Welsh locomotive,
compared in duty with the large Watt pumping engine, pointed out in Trevithick's
letter[110] of that time, as an unfair comparison; the small high-pressure puffer, in
1804, is admitted to have done seventeen and a half millions of duty with a
bushel of coal of 84 lbs., while in Rees' calculation of the engines, he gives Watt
94 lbs. of coal to a bushel; and having stated that the Watt pumping engines in
Cornwall, in 1811, averaged but thirteen and a half millions of duty, draws the
false conclusion that the high-pressure cannot compete with the low-pressure
where coals are dear; yet he agrees with other writers that the great increase in
the duty of the Cornish pumping engines commenced from 1811 (when
Trevithick first gave them his high-pressure steam); and states that in 1816 the
Stray Park 63-inch cylinder single-acting engine,[111] being one of three then
working in Dolcoath, did thirty-one millions.
The 'Encyclopædia Britannica' on the question of duty states:[112]—
"The duty of the best of Smeaton's engines was, in 1772, 9,450,000 foot pounds per cwt. of
coal. On the expiration of Watt's patent, about the year 1800, the highest duty of his
engines amounted to twenty millions, or more than double the former duty, which may
represent the economical value of the improvement effected by Watt under his various
patents.
"The reported duty of Cornish pumping engines, by the consumption of 94 lbs. of coals,
rose from an average of nineteen millions and a half, and a maximum of twenty-six
millions in 1813, to an average of sixty millions and a maximum of ninety-six millions in

1843. It is necessary to bear in mind the distinction between the duty of a bushel of coal
and 112 lbs."
Here, also, are the same general facts as to the duty of the Watt engine, and the
marked and rapid increase of duty dating from Trevithick's Dolcoath engines in
1811; but the confusion and even contradictions in the statements prove how
little the subject was understood.
"A rough draft, prepared by Mr. Edmonds on Trevithick's return from America, dated 1828,
for an application to Parliament for remuneration to Trevithick, says, 'That this kingdom is
indebted to your petitioner for some of the most important improvements that have been
made in the steam-engine.
"'That the duty performed by Messrs. Boulton and Watt's improved steam-engines in 1798,
as appears by a statement made by Davies Gilbert, Esq., and other gentlemen associated for
that purpose, averaged only fourteen millions and a half (pounds of water lifted 1 foot high
by 1 bushel of coal), although a chosen engine of theirs under the most favourable
circumstances lifted twenty-seven millions, which was the greatest duty ever performed till
your petitioner's improvements were adopted, since which the greatest duty ever performed
has been sixty-seven millions, being much more than double the former duty. That, prior to
the invention of your petitioner's boiler, the most striking defect observable in every steam-
engine was in the form of the boiler, which in shape resembled a tilted waggon, the fire
being applied under it, and the whole being surrounded with mason work. That such
shaped boilers were incapable of supporting steam of a high pressure or temperature, and
did not admit so much of the water to the action of the fire as your petitioner's boiler does,
and were also in other respects attended with many disadvantages. That your petitioner's
invention consists principally in introducing the fire into the midst of the boiler, and in
making the boiler of a cylindrical form, which is the form best adapted for sustaining the
pressure of high steam.
"'That the following very important advantages are derived from this your petitioner's
invention. This boiler does not require half of the materials, nor does it occupy half the
space required for any other boiler. No mason work is necessary to encircle the boiler.'"
"'That, had it not been for this your petitioner's invention, those late vast improvements
which have been made in the use of steam could not have taken place, inasmuch as none of
the old boilers could have withstood a pressure of above 6 lbs. to the inch beyond the
atmosphere, much less a pressure of 60 lbs. to the inch, and is capable of standing a
pressure of above 150 lbs. to the inch.'"
Trevithick's retrospect views of 1828 are supported by the letter of the late
Michael Williams, M.P., the most experienced of Cornish mine workers, but
belonging to the eastern district that had been for many years the users of the
Watt engines in Cornwall.

"In reference to his great improvements in the steam-engine, I have a more particular
recollection, and can confidently affirm that he was the first to introduce the high-pressure
principle of working, thus establishing a way to the present high state of efficiency of the
steam-engine, and forming a new era in the history of steam power. To the use of high-
pressure steam, in conjunction with the cylindrical boilers, also invented by Mr. Trevithick,
I have no hesitation in saying that the greatly-increased duty of our Cornish pumping
engines, since the time of Watt, is mainly owing; and when it is recollected that the
working power now attained amounts to double or treble that of the old Boulton and Watt
engine, it will be at once seen that it is impossible to overestimate the benefit conferred,
either directly or indirectly, by the late Mr. Trevithick on the mines of this county. I have
often expressed my opinion that he was at the same time the greatest and the worst-used
man in the county."[113]
The late Sir John Rennie and other scientific persons
were, about 1830, associated with Mr. Henwood[114]
in examining the work performed by Cornish
pumping engines: their reports are curtailed in the
following comments on Wheal Towan engine, similar
to Trevithick's Dolcoath engine of 1816, except
perhaps that the last named was a little inferior in its
detail movements, while much less care was taken to
avoid unnecessary loss of heat.
Mr. Henwood also gave indicator diagrams of the
expansion of the steam, on one of which the writer
has marked ten horizontal lines, indicating the
position of the piston at each foot of its stroke, and
ten longitudinal lines dividing the diameter of the
cylinder into tenths. The steam pressure in the boiler
was 46·8 lbs. on the square inch above the
atmosphere, or 4·68 lbs. for each of the ten
longitudinal line divisions. x to c represents the top of
the steam-cylinder 80 inches, diameter; x to F the
length of the cylinder for a 10-feet stroke of the Steam Diagram of
piston. By the time the piston had moved through Wheal Towan Pumping
one-twentieth of its course, reaching c, the expansive Engine, erected 1827.
working had commenced; and when one-tenth of the
stroke had been run, half of a division was cut off, showing by the curved
indicator line the decrease in pressure of steam to 44.46 lbs. The comparatively
small passage through the steam-valve not giving room for sufficient steam to

follow up the increasing speed of the piston, led to its continued expansion in the
cylinder, and by the time the piston had moved 2 feet, reaching D, the steam
pressure was reduced by two divisions or 9.36 lbs., or a pressure of 37.44 lbs. on
the piston; at this point the steam-valve was closed, and the remaining four-fifths
of the stroke was performed by expansion; at the fifth horizontal line, or middle
of the stroke, only three divisions of steam are left, giving a pressure of 14.04
lbs. to the inch; at the finish of the stroke there is only half a division, from E to
F, or 2.34 lbs. of steam to the inch above the pressure of the atmosphere. On the
return up-stroke of the piston, when it had reached within a foot of the finish of
its course at C, the equilibrium valve closed, causing the enclosed steam of 2.34
lbs. to the inch to be compressed at the finish of the up-stroke shown by the
curve G A to 9.36 lbs. on the inch, equal to its pressure about the middle of the
down-stroke at N.
Trevithick's expansive engine therefore, commencing its work with steam of 46.8
lbs. on the inch above the atmosphere, only took a full supply from the boiler
during one-tenth of its stroke, and none after one-fifth had been performed, while
at the finish of the stroke it had about the same pressure as Watt began with.
The power of the Watt low-pressure steam vacuum pumping engine was
increased by Trevithick from two to three fold, and its economical duty in about
the same proportion; in other words, he increased the effective power of the
steam-engine two or three fold without additional consumption of coal.
In the Wheal Towan engine the steam-cylinder was 80 inches in diameter, with a
10-feet stroke. The shaft was 900 feet in depth; the main pumps 16 inches in
diameter; the pump-rods were of wood, about 14 inches square, and weighed
more than the column of water in the pipes. The boilers were Trevithick's
cylindrical with internal tube, wholly of wrought iron. The cylinder and steam-
pipes were surrounded with sawdust about 20 inches in thickness, as a non-
conductor of heat. The upper surfaces of the boilers were covered with a layer of
ashes for the same purpose. The duty performed was 86·58 millions of pounds of
water, raised one foot high by the consumption of a bushel of coal weighing 84
lbs. The immense power and economy of this engine are best understood by its
average labour costing only one farthing in coal for lifting 1000 tons one foot
high.
At or about that time an old intimate of Trevithick's, Captain Nicholas Vivian,
managed the mine, and Mr. Neville, a shareholder, also a user of steam-engines
in Wales, observing the economical working of Wheal Towan high-pressure

steam expansive engine, doing eighty-seven millions, requested its manager to
examine colliery engines, all of which were of the low-pressure kind; one of
them was a Newcomen atmospheric, whose duty was six millions; four or five
others were Watt low-pressure steam vacuum engines, doing fourteen millions;
therefore the high-pressure steam-engine did six times as much work with a
bucket of coal as the low-pressure steam vacuum, and fourteen times as much as
the low-pressure steam atmospheric engine. Several competitive trials by the
county engineers were published about that time, in one of which, after a
personal examination of the engine, Mr. W. J. Henwood[115] and others reported a
duty of 92·6 millions with a 91-lb. bushel of coal.[116]
Mr. Rennie had been a pupil, a fellow-worker with low-pressure Watt, and while
his son, Sir John Rennie, was examining the high-pressure steam expansive
engine erected by Trevithick's pupil, Captain Samuel Grose, under the
management of Trevithick's friend, Captain Nicholas Vivian, the latter was
engaged in reporting on certain low-pressure steam-engines in Wales, one of
which was a Newcomen's atmospheric, probably the last of its race, whose
principle of construction was a century old, working in company with the Watt
low-pressure steam vacuum engine, then half a century old, the principles of both
systems being on their last legs, and under the care of Trevithick's supporters.
During this jumble of engines, old and new, without a clear comprehension of
their differences in principle, Trevithick, who had just returned from America,
and lived within a few miles of Wheal Towan, looked on unconsulted and
unconcerned on questions which in his mind had been settled by him in Dolcoath
fifteen or twenty years before. The writer, during the Wheal Towan controversy,
was the daily companion of Trevithick, and made drawings of the engine at the
works of Harvey and Co., of Hayle, where it was constructed about 1827.
Captain Samuel Grose's Wheal Towan engine was in general character similar to
his teacher's Dolcoath 76-inch engine of 1816, working with about the same
steam pressure and degree of expansion. The valves, gear, and nozzles were
perhaps improved in detail; but the groundwork was unchanged. The first high-
pressure steam Cornish pumping engine made in France was designed and
superintended by the writer at the works of Messrs. Perrier, Edwards, and
Chaper, at Pompe-à-feu, in Chaillot, a suburb of Paris. The principle was the
same as the Dolcoath engine, and the detail differed but little from it or the
Wheal Towan, except that its exterior was a little more artistic than its prototypes
in Cornwall, in keeping with French requirements. It was built in 1836, within a

few yards of the low-pressure steam pumping engine erected by Perrier and
others in 1779, which still continued pumping water from the Seine for the
supply of Paris. Stuart says, "An engine by Boulton and Watt was sent to France,
and erected by M. Perrier at Chaillot, near Paris. The French engineer, Proney,
with a detestable illiberality, attributes all the merit of the improvements in the
Chaillot engine to his friend Perrier, the person who merely put together the
pieces he had brought from Soho."[117]
The Perrier of 1779 was related to the Perrier of the Pompe-à-feu engine-
building works of 1836, and his nephew took the Trevithick engine from Paris to
a coal mine not far from Brussels, but not fully understanding the use of the
balance-bob—the woodwork for which had not been completed in Paris, though
all other parts had been fully erected—did not find it easy to manage the engine.
The writer viewed Perrier's move as an infringement of the agreement between
him and Edwards, the partner of Perrier and Chaper, and therefore declined to
take any further interest in the engine.
Mr. Edwards had before that been a partner with Woolf, in a small engineering
works in Lambeth; and the writer had also before that been a pupil of Woolf's, in
the works of Messrs. Harvey and Co., of Hayle.
The drawing of 'La Belle Machine' (Plate XIII.), of 1836, serves not only as a
record of that time, but also in conjunction with the drawing of Dolcoath engine
of 1816, enables an engineer to form a sufficiently correct idea of the Wheal
Towan engine and boilers of 1827, which in effective duty is scarcely excelled
by the best pumping engines of the present day.
The events connected with those Paris engines bring together the engineering
works of Watt, Proney, Perrier, Trevithick, and Woolf, in the person of his once
partner, Edwards. The writer, when constructing 'La Belle Machine,' had not the
slightest knowledge of those links, and heard the name and repute of his engine
by the following chance:—
In 1838 a passenger leaving the train of the Great Western Railway at Drayton
Station, asked the writer's permission to walk on the line and examine its
construction. During a short conversation he mentioned the having purchased at
a sale in France the drawings of an engine known as 'La Belle Machine,'
representing the Cornish high-pressure expansive steam pumping engine:—a,
steam-cylinder, 48 inches in diameter, 8-feet stroke; b, steam-pipe from boiler; c,
regulating steam-valve, double beat; d, regulating rod and handle for steam-
valve; e, expansive steam-valve, double beat; f, balanced lever and rod for

opening expansive valve; g, expansive clamp on plug-rod, with regulating rod
and thumb-screws; h, cataract-rod for relieving expansive valve-catch; i,
quadrant relieving the catch; j, plug-rod; k, equilibrium valve, double beat; l,
clamp in plug-rod to close equilibrium valve by its action on the handle; m,
balanced lever and rod to open equilibrium valve; n, quadrant and catch relieving
equilibrium valve by the action of cataract-rod; o, regulating slide on cataract-
rod; p, equilibrium steam-pipe conveying steam from the top to the bottom of the
piston; q, exhaust-valve, double beat; r, clamp on plug-rod, closing the exhaust-
valve by its descent on the handle; s, balance lever and rod, opening exhaust-
valve; t, quadrant and catch, relieving equilibrium valve by the action of cataract-
rod; u, regulating slide on cataract-rod; v, exhaust-pipe to condenser; w, Y-posts
for carrying the gear. The steam in the boiler was from 40 lbs. to 50 lbs. on the
square inch above the atmosphere.

PLATE 13.
LA BELLE MACHINE. HIGH PRESSURE STEAM EXPANSION
PUMPING ENGINE.—1836.
London: E.& F N. Span. 48, Charing Cross. Kell. Bros. Lith. London.

Lean states that had the pumping engines at work in Cornwall in 1835 remained
unimproved since 1814, at which time they had benefited by three years of
continuous improvement, a yearly additional expenditure of 80,000l. for coal
would have been the consequence, and that the first step was Trevithick's

expansive steam from the cylindrical tubular boiler, engines using such steam
performing a duty three or four fold what Boulton and Watt had ever attained, or
perhaps thought possible of attainment.[118] The birth of the idea of using
expansive steam may in truth be traced back nearly one hundred years to the time
of Newcomen's atmospheric engine, and the hope expressed in 1746 of a smaller
boiler and more elastic steam[119] was partially realized in the engine and boiler
of Trevithick, sen., in Bullan Garden in 1775, followed in 1780 by the competing
engine erected by Watt in Dolcoath Mine, under Trevithick's management. Little
further change was made until 1799, when the globular boiler and internal tube
of Trevithick, jun., gave a second start to the use in large engines of more
expansive steam; and even this partial move was the result of years of thought
and practical experiment; for in 1792, when twenty-one years of age, he was the
elected judge on a competitive trial between the Watt engine at Seal-hole,
patented in 1782, and Hornblower's double-cylinder engine at Tin Croft. Each
engine performed a duty of ten millions, both of them were called expansive,
while in fact neither of them were so, for the pressure of the steam in the boiler
did not admit of it. As Lean says, "As the steam used was raised but little above
the pressure of the atmosphere, it was found that the power gained did not
compensate for the inconvenience of a more complicated and more expensive
machine." Or, as Watt said to Robert Hart, "We resolved to give up the expansion
of the steam until we could get men that could work it," as he found it more
costly than profitable. Again in 1798, Trevithick's own writing records his
experiment in Dolcoath between the Bullan Garden 45-inch atmospheric engine
and the Watt 63-inch great double-acting engine, when the latter did sixteen
millions to ten millions by the atmospheric. At that very time he was constructing
his high-pressure steam portable engines, and in the following year, after seven
years of most active experience, prompted by the Watt lawsuit against Cornish
engineers, he in 1799 gave the beaten 45-inch engine steam of a higher pressure
from the stronger globular boiler. People, following the ideas of Watt, were still
afraid of Trevithick's plans, distinctly laid down in his letters of 1806,
recommending a cylindrical boiler for the Dolcoath pumping engine, because
similar boilers giving steam to his whim-engines have enabled them to beat the
Watt whims. This continued until 1810, when the greatly-increased power and
economy of the high-pressure expansive steam pumping engine at Wheal Prosper
caused the neighbouring Dolcoath in 1811 to give Trevithick's plans free scope.
The long smouldering rivalry between low and high pressure, on the eve of the
final discomfiture of the former, burst forth in loud words and evil
prognostications, causing the mining interest of Cornwall to appoint an examiner

who should publish monthly the duty performed by the various pumping engines,
the first of which appeared in the autumn of 1811, when Trevithick was building
his boilers in Dolcoath, and preparing the engines, as far as was possible, to
submit to strong steam. By expansive valves and suitable gear, balance of power
between the engine and the pump-work necessitating balance-bobs,
strengthening the pit-work to bear the more powerful and sudden movement, and
fifty other things, which we know must have presented themselves in such work,
occupied the greater part of Trevithick's time from 1811 to 1814. That first report
enumerates twelve pumping-engines, probably all of them Watt engines,
averaging a duty of seventeen millions.
We have before traced the rapid and immense increase in the power and in the
duty of Cornish pumping engines from 1811, and it may be taken as
comparatively true in the larger sense applying to the improvement of the steam-
engine everywhere.
Dolcoath Mine, one hundred years ago, under the management of Trevithick,
sen., followed by his son as the strong-steam engineer, and by his grandson as
one of the committee of management in these modern times, has served during
that long period to illustrate the progress of the steam-engine, and still in active
operation, was thus spoken of in 'The Times' of Dec. 18th, 1871:—"This old and
extraordinary mine is now raising about 100 tons of tin every month, worth from
8000l. to 9000l."

CHAPTER XXI.
ENGINES FOR SOUTH AMERICA.

[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, May 20th, 1813.
Sir,
"Yours of the 7th inst. I should have answered by return, as requested; but an unexpected
circumstance prevented my being at Swansea as early as proposed, which, as it happens,
best suits your purpose as well as my own. I shall not be able to be there within twenty
days from this time, of which I will give you timely notice. I hope before that time Mrs.
Rastrick will be safe out of the straw. I have been detained in consequence of a strange
gentleman calling on me, who arrived at Falmouth about ten days since, from Lima, in
South America, for the sole purpose of taking out steam-engines, pumps, and sundry other
mining materials to the gold and silver mines of Mexico and Peru. He was recommended to
me to furnish him with mining utensils and mining information. He was six months on his
passage, which did not agree with his health, and has kept his bed ever since he came on
shore; but is now much recovered, and hopes to be able to go down in the Cornish mines
with me in a few days. I have already an order from him for six engines, which is but a
very small part of what he wants. I am making drawings for you, and intend to be with you
as soon as they are finished. Money is very plentiful with him, and if you will engage to
finish a certain quantity of work by a given time, you may have the money before you
begin the job. The West India engine will suit his purpose. I shall have a great deal of
business to do with you when we meet. In the meantime please to forward the thrashing
engines to Cornwall as quickly as possible. The engine for Plymouth will be put to break
the ground as soon as I can find time to go up there. Please to say when and by what ship I
shall have the small engines.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your very obedient servant,
"R. .
"To Mr. John U. Rastrick,
"Bridgenorth, Shropshire.
"The copper mine mentioned in my last is improving very fast."
The strange gentleman referred to was Don Francisco Uville, a person of great
influence in Lima, who a year or two before had travelled from Peru to England
and back, in search of steam-engines to pump water from the ancient gold and

silver mines then flooded and idle. Boulton and Watt, at Soho, on being
consulted, discouraged the attempt, because of the difficulty of conveying heavy
machinery over mountain pathways, and also because their low-pressure vacuum
engine, using steam but slightly above atmospheric pressure, would be much less
effective in the comparatively light atmosphere on the high summits of the
Cordillera Mountains than in England. Uville, who had heard of the wonderful
ability of English engineers to construct steam pumping engines, was utterly
downhearted at this decision of the great Soho engineers, and while dejectedly
wandering through the streets of London, unconsciously gazed into the shop
window of Mr. Roland in Fitzroy Square, near the spot on which Trevithick had
run his railway locomotive three years before.[120] Rumour of passed events may
have led him to visit the ground on which had worked a new kind of steam-
engine. His searching glance discovered among numerous articles for sale, an
unknown form that might be the talisman he had travelled thousands of miles in
search of. The shopkeeper informed him that it was a model of Richard
Trevithick's high-pressure steam-engine, which worked without condensing
water, or vacuum. If what he heard was true, why should it not work equally well
in the light atmosphere of the mines? The great engineer at Soho might be in
error or ignorance. The experiment, as a last resource, was worth making. He
would pay the 20l. for the model, carry it to the mines of Cerro de Pasco, in the
high mountains above Lima, where, if it worked as well as it did in London, the
rich mines of Peru would again reveal their long-hidden treasure. The model was
conveyed by ship to Lima, and then on a mule up the narrow precipitous ascents
to Cerro de Pasco, over mountains more than 20,000 feet high. Fire was placed
in the small boiler as he had seen it done in London, and with the same result, to
the great joy of Uville, who determined to revisit England in search of the
inventor of this new and wonderful power. On his return voyage, when rounding
Cape Horn, bets were made on the chances of his finding the man who had
invented the high-pressure steam-puffer engine,[121] and of his being able to
persuade such a person to make the required engines and accompany them to
Peru. Such gloomy forebodings ended in an attack of brain fever. The vessel
touched at Jamaica, where Uville was landed. On recovering health and strength
he embarked for England in one of the packet-ships, and during the voyage still
spoke of the object of his search. A fellow-traveller, called Captain Teague,
rejoiced him by saying, "I know all about it; it is the easiest thing in the world.
The inventor of your high-pressure steam-engine is a cousin of mine, living
within a few miles of Falmouth, the port we are bound for." On landing, Uville,
still weak and obliged to keep his bed, was told that Trevithick, the engineer,

lived in London, and was constructing the Thames Tunnel; but further inquiry
showed that he also had suffered from brain fever, and had just returned to
Penponds, only a few miles from Falmouth. On the 10th of May, 1813, a letter
reached Trevithick, requesting him to visit the sick Uville, and in a fortnight
from that time the engineer had mastered the requirements of the Peruvian
mines, and had designed and made arrangements for the supply of six pumping
engines, together with the pumps and all things necessary for the underground
workings; the whole to be delivered in four months.

[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, May 22nd, 1813.
Sir,
"I have engaged to get six engines, with pit-work, &c., to send abroad. A great part of the wrought-
iron work and the boilers I have arranged for in Cornwall. These engines will be high-pressure
engines, because the place they are for has a very deep adit driven into the mountain; and lifting
condensing water to the surface would be a greater load than the whole of the work under the adit
level.
"I call a set of work, a 24-inch cylinder single engine, 6-feet stroke, piston, cylinder bottom, single
nozzle, with two 5-inch valves and perpendicular pipe; no cylinder top; the piston-rod not to be turned;
3-inch safety-valve, fire-door, two small Y[**symbol] shafts and gear-handles, &c.; a good strong
winch set in a broadish frame, such as is often used on quays or in quarries, 25 fathoms of 12-inch
pumps, a 12-inch plunger, an 11-inch working barrel, clack-seat and wind-bore, with brass boshes and
clacks, a force-pump for the boiler, and 10 fathoms of 3-inch pipes to carry the water to and from the
engines. I have engaged to supply six full sets of the above-mentioned materials.
"All these castings must be delivered in Cornwall in four months from the time the orders are given;
therefore, if you take the job, or any part of it, you must enter into an engagement to fulfil it in the
time. As there ought not to be a moment lost, I wish you to answer me immediately in what time you
will deliver those materials in Cornwall; or otherways, what part of them you can execute in the time.
"I am making the drawing, which will be ready before I can receive your answer. For whatever part of
the job you may engage I will lodge the money to pay for the whole in Mr. Fox's hands, which will
then be paid for before you begin the work, as soon as you execute the agreement.
"R. T.
"Mr. Pengilly, Neath Abbey, South Wales."
It is an odd coincidence that while writing of the events of fifty-eight years ago, pumping
engines are being sent to those same mines with the steam-cylinder in twenty-two pieces,
no piece to weigh more than 300 lbs.—a facility in mechanical arrangements not enjoyed
by Trevithick—having Trevithick's high-pressure boilers, giving steam of 50 lbs. on the
inch.[122]
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, June 2nd, 1813.
"Sir.
"I drop you this note just to inform you that I have begun your job. Yesterday I engaged a great many
smiths and boiler-builders, who set to work this morning. I have also engaged all the boiler-plates in
the county, which will be sent to-day to the different workmen. The master-smiths that I have engaged
are the best in the kingdom. I have obligated them to put the best quality of iron, and to be delivered at
Falmouth within four months. I have been obliged to give them a greater price than I expected,
otherwise they would not turn aside their usual business employment for a short job of four months.
"Mr. Teague is with me, and one other, assisting about the drawings. If you call at Camborne about
Friday, shall be able to show you the designs. The drawings for the castings will be sent to the iron-
founders by the end of this week; and by the end of next week shall have the whole of the different

tradesmen in full employ. If you wish to have a greater quantity of machinery ready by the end of
September, there ought to be as little time as possible lost in giving your orders. I can get you double
the quantity, provided you give the orders in time.
"As soon as it is convenient to you to arrange the payments I would thank you to inform me, because
we find in practice that the best way to make a labouring machine turn quickly on its centres, is to
keep them well oiled.
"R. T.
"F. Uville, Esq., Mr. Hooper's, Falmouth.
"N.B.—If you intend to be at Camborne, please to drop me a note by post, and I will be at home."
In all Trevithick's moves there was a scramble for money, in which he invariably came
worst off. He could give a good hint that working centres would not turn well without the
essential oil; but he failed to apply the principle to himself. Liberal words and golden
prospects carried him off at once; and before Uville was strong enough to visit the Cornish
mines and to fully explain what he wanted, the machinery was being made, though at that
same time the thrashing and ploughing engines, and the locomotive and rock-boring
engine, and the great fight with Watt at Dolcoath, were in progress.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, June 8th, 1813.
"Mr. Rastrick,
"Sir,—Enclosed I send to you a drawing for a set of pumps for one of the engines for South America,
with a drawing for a part of the castings for one of the boilers, for you to make a beginning. The
drawings for the engines I will send in a few days. The Spanish gentleman who is now gone to
London to arrange his money concerns, will be down again in about ten or twelve days, and then we
shall both call at Bridgenorth, and bring with us the engagement for you to sign, for the performance
of such quantities of work as you can execute in four months.
"I have made arrangements with the smiths and boiler-builders here, to weigh and pay at the end of
every week. The regulation of your payment is left to you to point out in any way you please. As time
is of the greatest consequence, I hope you will set to work immediately.
"The reason for making the pumps so short, is on account of the extreme badness of the roads over the
mountains, where these engines are to be conveyed, it being almost impossible to carry above five
hundredweight in one piece. The West India engine is sold to send to Lima, but not to be conveyed
over the mountains. I shall also bring drawings with me for one or two winding engines for the same
place. Please write to me by return of post.
"R. T."
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, near Truro, June 11th, 1813.
"Mr. Francis Uville,
"at Messrs. Campbell and Co.'s, London.
"Sir,—I have your favour of the 9th instant, respecting the weight of the largest parts of the engines. I
will take care to reduce the weight if possible, so as to be carried on the backs of mules.

"By the time I receive your letter I shall have arranged the whole of the engine business, and intend to
go immediately to Wales and Shropshire, to get the engagements executed for the performance of the
work by the time proposed. I shall write to you again before I leave home, and as soon as I arrive in
Wales will also write to you. I shall not stay in Wales above two days, but go to Bridgenorth in
Shropshire, where I hope to have the pleasure of meeting you, as it will only be about twelve hours'
ride out of your road to Cornwall.
"In the North I shall introduce you to the sight of a great deal of mining and machinery, and in about
ten days from the time you arrive at Bridgenorth, shall be able to accomplish the business so as to
return again to Cornwall.
"I would thank you to inform me as early as you can, of the number of engines you intend to get
executed by the proposed time, because when I am in the North I shall be able to arrange with the
founders accordingly. The smiths are all at work for you.
"R. T."
[Rough draft.]
"Cornwall, Camborne, June 19th, 1813.
"Mr. Uville,
"Sir,—Your favour of the 9th instant, dated from Falmouth, I received, and in return wrote to you
immediately—directed for you at Messrs. Campbell and Co.'s, London. As you said in your last letter,
that immediately on your arrival in town you would write to me, I have expected every post since last
Tuesday would have brought me a letter; but as I have not received it according to your promise, I am
fearful that your letter may be unexpectedly detained, especially as you told me the last time I saw you
at Falmouth, that you would enclose me a bank post bill. All the founders and other tradesmen are in
full employ on your engines.
"I intended to have left Cornwall for Wales and Shropshire by this time, with the founders' articles for
execution; but being disappointed in not hearing from you, agreeable to our appointment, I shall delay
it until I hear from you, which I must request you to have the goodness to do by return of post,
because those delays make very much against the execution of your work; and as time is of so great a
consequence to you, I hope you will not lose a moment in writing and giving me the necessary
instructions, with a few drops of that essential oil that you proposed sending me on your arrival in
town.
"R. T."
The sugar rolling-mill engine that had been made for the West Indies so pleased Uville that
he purchased it at once, intending it for the Mint at Lima. He also ordered one or two
winding engines, in addition to the pumping engines. Trevithick had arranged that no piece
should exceed 560 lbs. in weight. Then came Uville's order, "if possible to be reduced so as
to be carried on the backs of mules." Since that time the path on the mountains has been
improved, yet the present limit of weight is 300 lbs. The absence of the promised bank post
bill was another difficulty.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, June 23rd, 1813.

"Mr. Francis Uville,
"at Messrs. Campbell and Co.'s, Park Buildings, London.
"Sir,—Your favour of the 19th instant came safe to hand.
"I was in hopes that I should have found a remittance enclosed. All the tradesmen that I have
employed on your work were to have been paid every Saturday, and I made my arrangement with you
accordingly. Unless this mode of proceeding is followed up, you cannot get your work done in any
reasonable time, especially as you are an entire stranger. For my own part I have placed the greatest
confidence in your honour, with which I am fully satisfied.
"But I have to get this work from a great number of different tradesmen, and must make regular
payments agreeable with my engagements with them. As the articles are about to be executed by
different tradesmen, regular weekly payments ought to be established, of which I informed you before
the work began.
"I am ready for my journey to Wales and Shropshire, but cannot proceed with further engagements
until I hear again from you. I have placed the fullest confidence in your word, a proof of which you
have in the great exertion I have made to get the work done; but unless you in return place some
confidence in me, or any other engineer that you may employ, a work of this magnitude cannot be
carried on with promptitude.
"As the whole of the work in my part has been put into immediate operation, it would be a very
serious loss both of money and time to discharge the hands. I hope you will fully consider this
business, and must beg you will have the goodness to write to me by return of post. On receiving the
needful from you I shall leave Cornwall for Wales and Shropshire.
"R. T."
Trevithick for once in his life was wise, and would not start on his journey to Bridgenorth
until the money had reached him. This prudent resolve was soon forgotten in the love of
making the steam-engine useful; and as such creations in his hands grew into shape and
size before other men would have got through preliminary discussions, pecuniary
difficulties sprang up, as mushrooms do in a night.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, September 4th, 1813.
"Messrs. Hazeldine, Rastrick, and Co.,
"Gentlemen,—Enclosed you have three of Mr. Uville's drafts, value one hundred and fifty pounds.
"I should have sent it in one draft, but had not a suitable stamp. The castings, pipes, ale, &c., arrived
safely. I hope that all the boilers and wrought-iron work will be finished by the end of this month, and
shipped off for London. Immediately after Mr. Uville and I shall leave Cornwall for Bridgenorth on
our journey to town. We are both very anxious to see the 'Sanspareil' engine at work, and hope you
will have it ready by that time. I have received orders from different persons since I have been here,
for steam-engines for the West Indies, and must, if possible, have three ready early in November, as
the ships sail then that will take them.
"I wish you would say in your next if this can be done in time, because these persons are very
extensive agents for the planters, and are extremely anxious to generally adopt them in the West
Indies.

"We find from your letter that you are getting on pretty fairly with Uville's work.
"I remain,
"Your very humble servant,
"Richard. Trevithick.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, September 7th, 1813.
"Gentlemen,
"After writing to you on Sunday last, Mr. Uville received letters from Cadiz, from the Spanish
Government, informing him that there was a line-of-battle ship there that should take the engines to
Lima. Now as this ship is detained for this purpose, all possible dispatch must be made to get the
whole of the materials shipped as early as possible for Cadiz. I am pushing the smiths as hard as
possible, and you must do the same at your works, that the greatest dispatch may be made. I am
ordered by Mr. Uville to request you to get one water-engine, pumps, &c., complete, one winding
engine, winding apparatus, &c., complete, and one crushing apparatus, complete, in addition to the
former order. I wish you would also get on as fast as possible with the new engine, but do not let this
engine prevent the getting forward the work for Lima.
"I wish to have made apparatus to work expansively, and also a temporary water-pump, to load the
engine, so as to prove its duty by the consumption of coal.
"If the jobs are not completed by our arrival, you need not expect any rest until its completion. Your
answer will oblige,
"R. T."
"Messrs. Hazeldine, Rastrick, and Co."
The money difficulty was for a time surmounted, with a prospect of the completion and
shipment of the work for London within four months of the giving of the order; and the
Spanish Government proposed that a line-of-battle ship should take the engines to Lima
from Cadiz. An order was given for another pumping engine and another winding engine,
to be provided with gear for working expansively, and a temporary water-pump, that in
case of need the amount of work the engines could do with a given amount of coal might
be tested. A crushing machine, now called "quartz-crusher," also formed part of this
additional order.
The new engine, which he hoped they would get on with, was probably the steam
locomotive plough then being constructed at Bridgenorth.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, September 22nd, 1813.
"Gentlemen,
"I have your favour of the 14th instant, and hope to find you as forward on your job on our arrival at
Bridgenorth as you state. I expect all the boiler and smith work will be shipped for London early in
October; we shall then leave Cornwall for your works, at which time you will be very much annoyed
with our company, unless we find your assertions grounded on facts. Enclosed I send you Mr. Uville's
draft for 150l. Your receipt for the draft enclosed in my letter of the 16th instant has not yet arrived.

"I hope you will also have all the apparatus ready to try the new engine; Mr. Uville is very anxious to
take the first of these new engines with him. When you send a receipt for the enclosed, please to say
what state of forwardness the whole of our work is in, and do not neglect a moment to get the whole
executed with all possible dispatch.
"Nothing short of a want of cast iron will confine our friend in England one day after the end of this
month.
"I am, Gentlemen,
"Your very humble servant,
"Richard. Trevithick.
"Messrs. Hazeldine, Rastrick, and Co."
It seems probable that in 1813 a railway locomotive, with apparatus for rock boring, and
steam-crane, was made for South America as the forerunner of the 'Sanspareil' of 1829.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, October 1st, 1813.
"Gentlemen,
"I received your favour of the 27th last evening, and now
enclose you another draft of Mr. Uville's for 150l. We shall wait
impatiently for your next letter to know when you will finish.
Mind, this is the 1st of October, and agreeable to promise the
time is up. Mr. Uville wishes you to cast sixty carriage-wheels
for him, 11 inches in diameter from out to out, and to weigh
about 20 lbs.; cast them of strong iron, and of a strong pattern,
to take a 1½-inch axle by 2½ inches deep in the hole; also cast
four plunger-pistons 11 inches diameter to suit the 11-inch
working barrels, provided it should be used for the purpose of a
plunger. They must be in every respect the same as the 14-inch plunger-pistons, only 3 inches less in
diameter.
"Soon after the receipt of your next letter you may expect to see us, as a vessel has been engaged to
take all the boilers and smith work on board to-morrow week for London.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your humble servant,
"Richard. Trevithick.
"Messrs. Hazeldine, Rastrick, and Co."
Probably those cast-iron wheels were ordered with a view to steam locomotion in the
Cordilleras. An engine is described in the invoice as having chimney, axles, carriage-
wheels, &c.
[Rough draft].
"Camborne, October 11th, 1813.
"Gentlemen,

"On making the drawings of the engine with the
winding and crushing apparatus, when at work I find
that if there is no crank, but the sweep rod is connected
to a pin in the arm of the fly-wheel; in that case the fly-
wheel will cut off the engineer from getting at the cock;
but if the sweep is connected to a crank, then there will
be sufficient room. The copy of materials taken from
your books and given to Mr. Uville does not say in
which way it was intended. I send you a sketch how it
will stand worked by a pin in the fly-wheel, and also if
worked by a crank over the cylinder, with the fly-wheel
outside the wood partition of the house. If you have cast
all the parts for the winding engine, you should try to
alter it, having the fly-wheel outside the wall of the
house, and a crank for the inside end of the shaft. The
fly-wheel shaft will be nearly the same length both
ways, only it must be long enough for the fly-wheel to
pass between the wood partition and the 4-feet cog-
wheel. The centre of the winding cylinder will be 17
Winding Engine for South America.
inches from the outside of the wood end of the house,
against which the fly-wheel ought to run. I have
received your favour of the 5th instant, and have enclosed, agreeably to your request, a draft of Mr.
Uville's for 800l., which will be the last from Cornwall. All I have to say is, you have taken longer
time for the completion of your work than you first proposed, which has made Mr. Uville
apprehensive that it will be the means of his losing the Spanish ship promised him to take the engines.
He desires me to inform you that he has complied with this advance on purpose to enable you to push
your work with the utmost exertion.
"Please to inform us the precise time we must quit Cornwall for Bridgenorth; we now wait entirely on
you without any other thing to engage us. I fear Mr. Rastrick being so much from home will impede
our job. If we miss this ship it will certainly make much against us all, losing three or four months in
getting a South Sea whaler, and having the engine in a vessel not able to defend herself against an
enemy, and having to pay 15 or 20 per cent. insurance, and prevent our getting other orders for another
set of engines, and if taken by the enemy perhaps altogether damn the undertaking. Therefore I would
have you to well consider the great inconveniences attending delay.
"I think I need not say much more to you on this head, as you ought to feel more for your own interest
than I can scribble to you on paper.
"Yours, &c.,
"R. Trevithick.
"Messrs. Hazeldine, Rastrick, and Co."
This rough hand-sketch and letter fully describing his requirements, is an illustration of the
facility with which Trevithick designed his engines and made known his wishes to others.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, October 23rd, 1813.
"Gentlemen,

"Mr. Uville wishes everything to be sent off as soon as finished, except the rolling engine, which is to
remain until he arrives. We intend to leave Cornwall for Bridgenorth on Monday, November 1st. You
may expect to see us three days after that date. The wheels ordered for the carriages are to run on the
ground and not on railroads. Mr. Uville now wishes to have seventy-two instead of sixty as ordered
before.
"I remain, Gentlemen,
"Yours, &c.,
"R. Trevithick.
"Messrs. Hazeldine and Co."
The last-named engine was intended for the coinage operations in the Mint at Lima. The
use of railway locomotion had been under discussion with the engine builders, and
probably those particular carriage-wheels were ordered in the hope that the portable engine
built for conveying itself from place to place in the sugar plantations of Jamaica, would in
the Cordilleras be made to draw waggons on common roads.
The hand sketch of the winding engine in the letter of the 11th October, was to correct an
error in an order hastily given a month before; when, to save time, outline instructions for
this complicated work were hurriedly sent to the manufacturer, that a commencement
might be made while the more perfect detail drawings were being completed; the first-
proposed position of the fly-wheel would prevent the engineman from conveniently
reaching the four-way cock; Trevithick therefore suggested that the fly-wheel should be
moved to the outside of the house, and a crank placed on the end of the driving shaft in lieu
of the crank-pin in an arm of the fly-wheel. The sketch illustrating this change makes us
fully acquainted with the kind of winding high-pressure steam-puffer engines of 8-horse
power, with open-top cylinders of 12 inches in diameter and about 3 feet 6 inch stroke, sent
to Peru in 1814. Steam, of 30 lbs. to the inch above the pressure of the atmosphere, was
admitted under the bottom of the piston by a cock moved by an eccentric on the fly-wheel
shaft; the gradual closing of the cock reduced the supply of steam when about one-third of
the stroke had been made, wholly cutting it off some time before its completion, making it
a high-pressure steam expansive engine. The movement of the cock then turned the steam
from under the piston into the chimney blast-pipe, and the down-stroke was performed by
the weight of the descending piston, made more than usually deep and heavy to prevent the
tendency to twist in the cylinder from the angle of the jointed connecting rod, and also by
the momentum of the fly-wheel and its balance-weight, moving at a speed of thirty strokes
a minute. Its boiler was the Trevithick wrought-iron cylindrical, with internal tube and fire-
place, but so arranged that if necessary the fire could be placed in brick flues under the
boiler, returning through the tube.
The cylinder for the winding engine was probably fixed in the boiler, costing, with whim-
barrel and winding apparatus complete and ready for work, 210l. Does the reader ask, Did
so cheap an engine ever work? Or perhaps his knowledge of engineering gives rise to the
question, How did it work? for it looks like a Newcomen of just exactly a hundred years
before, only it needs no injection water or great main beam; and certainly it is not a Watt,

for it has neither air-pump nor condenser, nor vacuum, nor cylinder-cover, nor parallel
motion, nor any other thing like Watt invented; but it has high-pressure steam, which he
disapproved of, and it really worked thousands of miles away, where there were no
mechanics to keep it in order, and on mountains so difficult of access, and in so light an
atmosphere, that Watt, who had the first chance of supplying steam-engines to the New
World, declared it to be impossible. The pumping engines are described in Trevithick's note
of 22nd May. They also were high-pressure puffer-engines with open-top cylinder, 24
inches in diameter, 6-feet stroke, with a cross-head working in guides, and side rods
connecting to the pump-rods. Two valves turned the steam on and off from under the
piston, with the ordinary gear and handles. The boiler was similar to that for the winding
engine, but larger, and had not the cylinder fixed in it; a balance-beam regulated the
movements, as it had no great main beam, and differed from ordinary engines just as the
winding engine did. The power was 33 horses, and with an 11-inch pump barrel, 150 feet
of 11-inch pumps, a winch, and all apparatus necessary for draining the mine, the cost was
but 1400l.
[Rough draft.]
"Plough Inn, Blackwall, December 28th, 1813
"Mr. Rastrick,
"Sir,—I am requested by Mr. Uville to write to you, to push the boilers as fast as possible. A ship will
sail for the South Sea fishery in about five weeks, and will engage to take the whole of the engines.
We have not finally closed with her, because we cannot state the exact time until we hear from you.
You must not lose a moment in sending the boiler to town. I should have gone to Cornwall before this,
but have been detained, getting a ship; and I do not like leaving until my agreements are executed,
which cannot be done until the beginning of next week.
"I have been obliged to have all the transactions between the mines, and the Spanish Government, and
Mr. Uville, translated into English, before the outlines of an agreement could be drawn up, which has
been a most tedious job.
"Most of the people have been out of town, and those that were not would do no business in the
Christmas, which has occasioned a loss of near ten days.
"As soon as the agreements are executed, I will immediately send to you money from this place. I
have been kept so long here, that it will not be worth returning to Cornwall until after Mr. Uville sails.
I shall be at Bridgenorth in about ten days, and will remain until the work is finished. Write how the
work is getting on, and what state the winding engine is in.
"Yours, &c.,
"Rd. Trevithick."
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, March 4th, 1814.
"Dear Sir,
"Your favour of the 23rd February was sent to me from Bridgenorth. I have also received your favour
of the 1st instant, and will attend to the drawings you mention, and be prepared to meet you as early as

you please, only give me as much notice as you can.
"I hope by this time that Mr. Page has done something toward the needful, to be at your service. I
have, agreeably with your letter this day, desired Capt. Thomas Trevarthen to hold himself in readiness
for London about the end of this month. I have not yet seen Bull. I wish you to write me if I am to give
him notice also to hold himself in readiness for town. I fear that those two persons will not be
sufficient to conduct the work with speed, especially if Capt. Trevarthen should be unwell; he is a
good miner and pitman, and could assist in fixing the engines. Bull can only act as an assistant to an
engineer, therefore neither of them can take the sole direction of the work.
"There will be those four large boilers to be put together on the spot, which neither of those persons
know but little about. I think it would take a great charge and care from your mind to have a third
person with you that could go through the whole of the undertaking, especially as the distance from
England is so great. This undertaking of such immense magnitude and value ought not to depend
solely on your own health, as neither of the other two could get on without your assistance in laying
down and planning the outline of the whole of the work belonging to the machinery. If any one of the
parts should be lost or broken, it would require some ability in that country to contrive a substitute.
The expense of a third able man might prevent much loss of time and difficulty, and would not be an
object in a business of such a scale as you have commenced with.
"I recommend a third person, that you might count on a speedy and effectual start. Even in this
kingdom, where machinery is so well understood, I have known several good undertakings fail, from
not employing at first an experienced engineer to conduct the work; which I am doubtful would be the
case at Pascoe, if you were not able to attend yourself to the erection, and do not take a person with
you for that purpose. I beg your pardon for thus attempting to recommend to you a third person to go
out; but I think a work of this magnitude, where expedition is important, ought not to rest on the health
of one man, especially under a changeable climate. Please to consult your friends, and give me your
opinion on it in your next.
"My health is much improved; my wife desires her best respects, and thanks for your present. Please
to write soon.
"Yours, &c.,
"Rd. Trevithick.
"Mr. Uville, 12, East Stien, London."
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, March 8th, 1814.
"Mr. Page,
"Sir,—Yesterday Mr. Joseph Edwards, of Truro, informed me that Teague had given notice of trial, and
that the case would come on at the Assize on the 26th, and requested me to desire you to write to him
immediately, and give him the whole of the transaction relative to Mr. Uville's arrest in London.
"He also wishes that some attention had been paid to the threat that Mr. Uville received from Teague's
so-called friend, so as to ascertain whether it came direct from him, which he thought would have
some weight in court. I shall attend to give evidence at the Assize with Mr. Edwards. I shall anxiously
await a reply to my last. How does Harvey's business get on?
"My respects to Mr. Day, and shall be very glad to find him recovering his health as fast as I am. A
crust of bread and clear air are far preferable to luxuries enveloped in clouds of smoke and heaps of

filth.
"Your obedient servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
"P.S.—I hear that Teague is still in London, and that his furniture is removed to his friend's house, to
save it from the hands of surrounding evil spirits."
Trevithick showed no undue amount of discontent on discovering that Uville had led him
into pecuniary difficulties, and even his tendency to interfere in engineering matters was
not hastily resented.
In December, 1813, while in London, arranging for a vessel to convey the engines to Lima,
and also to secure written agreements with Uville, who expected to leave England in a
week or two, the going into the documents made known many weak points, one of them
being shortness of money. The expected week or two had lengthened out to three months,
and Uville was still in London, and Capt. Thomas Trevarthen and Bull were to be there,
ready to start, about the middle of March, 1814. Four large boilers, in pieces, were to go
for the pumping engines, to be put together in the mines; and Trevithick strongly
recommended the sending a third man, to take general charge of the practical work, which
Mr. Uville thought he himself could manage.
Page and Day were lawyers, who drew up very long documents. Money to pay expenses
was raised by the sale of shares in a company formed by Uville without sufficient
authority, and Page was to go to the mines to look after his own and the English
shareholders' interests; between them Uville was arrested, apparently for some trifle.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, March 15th, 1814.
"Mr. Uville,
"Sir,—I shall write to him again by this post, and push him to send down the transfer of my shares,
already agreed on, for my execution, and hope I shall be able to meet Messrs. Hazeldine and Co.'s
demand before it will be due. The young man Bull has been with me. I told him I expected that you
intended to take him with you, and Capt. Trevarthen is making preparation for going. I am glad you
intend to take a third person with you. I have not thought or said anything to anyone about this
business. Mr. Vivian informed me that, from the conversation he had with you on the subject, he had
expected to hear from you. I can answer for Mr. Vivian's honesty, ability, and pleasant behaviour, and
he is a person very suitable for the engagement, only that one failing of making too free with an
evening glass, which you were not unacquainted with while in Cornwall at Dolcoath Mine. I do not
like to take an active part in this business, because if any accident should happen to him, my sister or
his family might charge me with being accessory to his going; therefore I must beg to be exempt from
taking any part in this engagement.
"I remain, Sir, yours,
"Yours, &c.,
"Rd. Trevithick.
[Rough draft.]

"Camborne, April 9th, 1814.
"Mr. Page,
"Sir,—I have your favour of the 5th instant. I intend to be in town on Sunday week, but this need not
prevent their writing to me here; and both you and they may still be doing your best towards disposing
of shares.
"Your obedient servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
[Rough draft.]
"Camborne, April 9th, 1814.
"Mr. Uville,
"Sir,—I intend to be in London on Sunday, the 17th, and shall call immediately on this person for
money, which shall be at your service. Wheal Alfred and Wheal Prosper agents wish you a prosperous
voyage, and success in your mines.
"I remain, Sir, yours,
"Your obedient servant,
"Rd. Trevithick.
Trevithick was now embarked with a crew of speculators, and in payment for his services
was made a partner, and sold a portion of his shares to pay for the engines which Uville
had ordered.
Henry Vivian, his brother-in-law, and the brother of his late partner Andrew Vivian, wished
to be the third person engaged to go with the machinery to America. Trevithick spoke of
his honesty and ability, but declined, on account of the family relationship, to take any part
in the appointment.
The two notes on the 9th April, 1814, close the correspondence. Page was busy selling
shares to raise money, and Trevithick was to get some money, which was to be at the
service of Uville.
The delay between this period and the time of starting was mainly caused by financial and
other arrangements managed by Uville. On the 1st September, 1814, Uville, Henry Vivian,
Thomas Trevarthen, and William Bull sailed from Portsmouth for Lima in the 'Wildman,'
taking with them four pumping engines, with pump-work and rods complete; four winding
whim-engines, with all winding apparatus complete; one portable locomotive engine on
wheels, to be used for a rolling mill or other purposes; one mill for grinding ore; and one
rolling mill, probably for the Mint at Lima. These nine steam-engines, with their apparatus
complete for work at the mines, cost 6838l.; the grinding and rolling mill cost 700l. more;
but various other expenses more than doubled the amount, which reached the large sum of
over 16,000l.
On reference to the conditions of agreement under which Uville acted, dated 17th July,
1812, Don Pedro Abadia, Don José Arismendi, and Don Francisco Uville, were partners
engaging to drain a range of mines. Uville was to go to London to purchase two steam-

engines, and was authorized to expend $30,000 (say 6000l.). $2000 (say 400l.) was to be
paid to him as the value of Trevithick's model, which he had a few years before bought in
London for 21l. He was to engage one or two English workmen. No new partner was to be
allowed. They also contracted with the various workers of mines in Yauricocha,
Yanacancha, Caya Chica, Santa Rosa, and in the mining ridge of Colquijilca, for a period
of nine years, to commence within eighteen months of that time, to sink a general pit for
the drainage of those mines, and to pump out the water by steam-engines. The payment for
this drainage was to be one-twentieth part of the ore raised by the different mines.
"An agreement made at London this 8th day of January, 1814, between Don Francisco Uville, of
Lima, in the Viceroyalty of Peru, of the one part, and Richard Trevithick, of Camborne, in Cornwall,
engineer, of the other part. Whereas, by an agreement of partnership made and signed at Lima, and
whereas the said Francisco Uville did in pursuance of his contract with the said miners soon after the
ratification thereof, embark for England, for the purpose of fulfilling the same on his part, and on his
arrival there in the month of April last, made application to the said Richard Trevithick, who is an
experienced engineer and miner, and requested him to assist him in promoting the object of his
journey, which the said Richard Trevithick (being penetrated with a high sense of its utility) agreed to
do, and hath accordingly applied himself wholly to that object, ever since the arrival of the said
Francisco Uville in England: And whereas under the direction of the said Richard Trevithick, and by
the orders of the said Francisco Uville, various machines and engines have been made for the purposes
of the said concern, a part of which has been already paid for by the said Francisco Uville; but several
of the bills brought by him to England not having been honoured, by reason of the absence from
England of the parties upon whom they were drawn, the said Francisco Uville hath not at present
sufficient funds to answer the engagements he has entered into in this country, and Don Juan .... , to
whom he was in that case directed by his partners to offer shares in the said concern, and from whom
he could have received supplies, not being at this time in London, the said Francisco Uville has agreed
to admit the said Richard Trevithick to be a partner in the concern, upon his advancing and paying a
proportionable part of the expenses necessary for carrying on the same. Now these presents witness
that in consideration of the said Richard Trevithick having paid and agreeing by these presents to pay
certain bills for machinery ordered by the said Francisco Uville to the amount of 3000l. or thereabouts,
the particulars of which have been ascertained and settled by and between the said Francisco Uville
and Richard Trevithick, and also in consideration of the services which the said Richard Trevithick
hath already rendered to the said undertaking, and of the future benefits which he is expected to
perform for it, the said Francisco Uville for himself, and on the behalf and in the name of the said
Pedro Abadia and José Arismendi (who will ratify these presents in the capital of Lima as soon as it
shall be produced to them, to which the said Uville holds himself bound), Doth, by virtue of the power
and authority given to him by his said partners, agree to admit the said Richard Trevithick to be a
member of the said company, and doth hereby declare him to be a member thereof and a partner
therein to the extent of 12,000 dollars, and as such, entitled to a share and interest in all the profits and
advantages of the company in the proportion which the said sum of 12,000 dollars shall bear to the
amount of capital employed by the company in the purposes of their establishment, which proportion
will amount as nearly as can now be ascertained to one-fifth of the capital stock embarked in the said
concern.
"Fran. Uville.
"Richard Trevithick.
"8th January, 1814."

So Trevithick paid 3000l. and received nothing for his engineer's work, to be made a
partner, contrary to Uville's limit of authority, in a speculation that proved to be not worth a
farthing.
The following is a summary of the detail invoice of engines and machinery which left
London for Lima in September, 1814, in charge of Uville, just fifteen months after his
landing at Falmouth in search of Trevithick:—
"Invoice of four steam-engines, four winding engines, one portable rolling engine and materials for
ditto, two crushing mills, four extra-patent boilers, spare materials for engines, boring rods, miners',
blacksmiths', and carpenters' tools, &c., shipped on board the 'Wildman,' John Leith, master, from
London to Lima, by, on account and risque of Don Francisco Uville, Don Pedro Abadia, and Don José
Arismendi, merchants at Lima. Dated 1814.

£ s. d.
To four steam-engines of 33-horse-power each (complete for
lifting water with under-adit and house lift-pumps, and
wrought-iron pit-work, rods, &c., at 1399l. 13s. each 5,598 12 0
To four winding engines of 8-horse-power each, with whims,
barrels, shafts, &c., complete for lifting ore, at 210l. each 840 0 0
To one portable steam-engine of 8-horse power, for rolling,
with its chimney, axles, carriage-wheels, &c. 400 0 0

6,838 12 0
A mill for grinding ore 517 0 0
A rolling mill 204 0 0
Duplicates, sundries, freight, insurance,
&c., &c. 8,592 9 1
9,313 9 1
£16,152 1 1"

The nine steam-engines, including a locomotive, with its chimney, axles, carriage-wheels,
&c., a crushing mill and a rolling mill, cost but 7560l. Other expenses, for freight,
insurance, &c., &c., increased the amount to 16,152l.
William Williams,[123] on his return from the Cerro de Pasco Mines, states:—
"On the 3rd March, 1872, I saw in Yauricocha Mine two of Mr. Trevithick's engines at work; one of
them was a horizontal 12-inch open-top cylinder pumping engine, about a 4-feet stroke; there were
two fly-wheels about 10 feet diameter and a cog-wheel 7 feet diameter, giving motion to two wrought-
iron beams working a 10-inch pump bucket. The other was a 12-inch cylinder winding engine with a
large fly-wheel. Three Cornish boilers, about 5 feet 6 inches diameter, with 3 feet 9 inch tube, 30 feet
long, made of 7/16ths of an inch plates, supplied steam of 40 lbs. on the inch."

CHAPTER XXII.
PERU.

"Conditions under which Don Pedro Abadia, Don José Arismendi, and Don Francisco Uville, establish
the project of draining the mines by means of steam-engines, to be brought from England.
"1st. The company is composed of three contracting persons without admitting therein any other
whatever.
"2nd. There are intended as a fund for the undertaking 40,000 dollars, to be divided into four shares in
the following manner:—Two shares to Don Pedro Abadia, one to Don José Arismendi, one to Don
Francisco Uville. Four shares, dollars 40,000.
"5th. These principles of good faith and friendship being established, the project is to be carried into
effect with the greatest possible activity, for which purpose, by the first opportunity, the funds shall be
forwarded by Don Pedro Abadia to the amount of 30,000 dollars, with the necessary instructions for
the construction of the machinery to a person who may be appointed.
"7th. As it has been estimated that 30,000 dollars will cover the cost of two engines in England, if the
said Uville finds another on credit, he is authorized to purchase it on account of the company.
"11th. Should the undertaking yield profits, Uville shall also be credited for 2000 dollars for the value
of the model.
"12th. In the instructions that may be given to Uville, it shall be stipulated on what terms he may
engage one or two English workmen.
"Lima, 17th July, 1812."
"Contract.
"1st. The present contract shall be considered binding for nine years, to be computed from the time the
steam-engines may be erected in the different parts of these mines that may be judged suitable.
"2nd. The miners herein contracting cede their mines in Yauricocha, Yanacancha, Caya Chica, Santa
Rosa, and in the mining ridge of Colquijilca, and the company offer the means, steam-engines, and
instruments for draining the same, and on these principles the obligations of both parties are as follow,
to wit.
"3rd. The company binds itself within the period of eighteen months, or sooner if possible, to bring
over the steam-engines to drain successively the different parts of these mines, and immediately on
their arrival to place them in Yauricocha, and afterwards in Yanacancha, Caya Chica, Santa Rosa, and
in the mining ridge of Colquijilca, to sink a general pit for the collection of the waters at a depth of 40
varas from the adit or drainage level of Santa Rosa.
"8th. Each miner whose mine situated in the parts above specified is not perfectly drained in
consequence of the filtration or natural gravity of the water to the general pit, is to continue a tube to
communicate with the said general pit on his own account, in order fully to enjoy the benefit of the
draining, it being well understood that the company shall not refuse to admit the waters of any of the
mines situated in this part whatever their quantity may be. And the company shall be further bound to

supply funds to any miner who may not have sufficient to defray the expenses of such tube of
communication at an interest of 6 per cent., to be refunded out of the first metals which may be
obtained.
"10th. The recompense to be made to the company for the general drain procured in the place or places
agreed on, shall be, with regard to Yanacancha and Yauricocha, in consequence of the known richness
of those places, and of the timber required by the softness of the ground to secure the mines, 15 per
cent. on the ore that shall be extracted therefrom, and lodged either in the common depots or in the
respective warehouses; and in the mines of Santa Rosa, Caya Chica, and Colquijilca, 20 per cent.,
which distribution is respectively to be made on the quantities obtained.
"14th. That the miner who refuses to enter into this fair contract whose mines are benefited by the
means of the engines, shall be compelled to pay the contributions and to perform what has been
therein stipulated according to ordinance.
"This contract being agreed to, the contracting parties signed respectively to be bound and compelled;
and I, the Royal Judge and Sub-delegate hereof for His Majesty, signing it with all the contracting
parties and witnesses before me on the said day, month, and year.
"Pedro Abadia, José Arismendi, Francisco Uville, José Maria de Ulloa, Ignacio Beistequi, The
Marquis de la Real Confianza, José Herressæ, Publo Anellfuertes, Ramon Garcia de Purga, José
Antonio de Arrieta, José Camilo de Mier, José Lago y Lemus.
"For myself and Don Remiqia, p. procuration Manuel Queypo, Rafael Doper, Juan Gonzalez,
Augustin Zambrano, Francisco Rasines, Francisco Fuyre, Manuel Ysasi, Alberto de Abellaneda,
Ysidro Crespo, Juan Antonio Arrasas, Pedro Gusman, Manuel Yglesias, Patricio Bermudez, Bartolome
de Estrada. For the miners, Don Castano Villanueva, Juan Isidoro, Manuel de Santalla, Juan Palencia,
Antonio Perez, Manuel Cavellero, Domingo Pallacios, Matias Canallero, Ambrosio Ortega, Francisco
de Otayequi, Pedro de Arrieta, Juan de Erquiaga, José Zeferino Abaytad, Antonio Villaseca, Estanislas
Maria de Arriola, José Maria del Veto, Ambrosio Guidones, Santiago Oreguela. For Don Pedro
Mirales, p. procuration, Thomas Hidalgo, Nicholas Berrotarran, Barnabe Perez de Ybarrela, Augustin
Bayroa, Francisco Xavier de Uribe, Manuel Varela. For my brother, Juan Francisco de Aspiroz, Juan
Miguel de Aspiroz.
"In the city of Los Reyes on the 26th September, 1812."
These extracts from an agreement drawn up by the leading men in Peru in 1812 are proofs
of remarkable energy. Rumours of the power of steam-engines used in mines in England
had reached Lima, Don Francisco Uville was sent on a mission of inquiry, and in 1811
consulted Boulton and Watt at Soho, who gave an opinion that their engines were not
suitable to so elevated a position where the atmosphere was so much lighter than in
England, and the difficulties of transit so great. On his return to Lima he carried with him a
small model of Trevithick's high-pressure steam-engine. The Spaniards on seeing it work
had the good sense and courage to put aside the Watt report and adopt the principle of the
small but active high-pressure steam-puffer engine.
An influential company was formed, which sent Uville again to England to seek out the
high-pressure engineer and purchase his engines. What stronger evidence could be given of
the great difference between the rival engineers and their engines? The one with low-
pressure steam and vacuum, the other with high-pressure steam and without vacuum.

The three persons contracting to drain the Peruvian mines agreed that no other should be
allowed to join them in the contract; two steam-engines were to be purchased, and if
convenient a third engine might be ordered on credit. One or two English mechanics were
to accompany the engines which the contractors engaged should be in Lima within
eighteen months. Ten months had passed before Uville reached Trevithick, and when in
May, 1813, he communicated to the Cornish engineer the same wants that he had made
known to Watt two years before, how different was the answer received. "I engage to
supply in four months six 24-inch cylinder high-pressure steam pumping engines, with
pumps and all necessary apparatus complete."[124] This promise was nearly fulfilled,[125] but
want of money, the ordering of additional machinery, and difficulty in finding a ship,—for
Spain was then at war, or on the verge of it, with the South American republics,—delayed
for a time the completion of the order; but within eight months even the additional work
seems to have been ready, and the following agreement was entered into, though the ship
with her freight of nine steam-engines did not leave England until September, 1814, fifteen
months after Uville's first meeting with Trevithick.
"Agreement dated the 8th January, 1814.
"The said persons from whom he (Uville) would have received supplies, not being at that time in
London, the said Francisco Uville has agreed to admit the said Richard Trevithick to be a partner in
the concern, upon his advancing and paying a proportionable part of the expenses necessary for
carrying on the same. Now these presents witness, that in consideration of the said Richard Trevithick
having paid, and agreeing by those instruments to pay certain bills for machinery ordered by the said
Francisco Uville to the amount of 3000l., and also in consideration of the services which the said
Richard Trevithick hath already rendered, and of the future benefits which he is expected to perform,
doth agree to admit the said Richard Trevithick a partner therein, as nearly as can be ascertained to
one-fifth share of the whole.
"He hath planned and directed the particular construction of three steam-engines, and hath for that
purpose taken many journeys to manufacturing towns and other places.
"He hath given to the said Francisco Uville a general knowledge of English mining, miners' tools,
winding and crushing engines, &c., &c., and for that purpose hath taken him to various mines in
England, to which the said Richard Trevithick, through his interest, had access. He hath instructed the
said Francisco Uville in the art of making drawings of mines, and in engineering.
"He hath furnished him with various drawings of English mines, and plans for the future working of
Spanish mines, and hath given to him every other engineering and mining information.
"He hath increased the power of the three engines above mentioned to the extent of one full third,
without making any additional charge for so doing, and he hath agreed to supply the said company
with a fourth engine, and to wait for the payment of it, until the return of the said Francisco Uville to
Lima, in recompense for all which the said Francisco Uville doth for himself and his partners grant to
the said Richard Trevithick one and quarter per cent. of the net produce or profits (all expenses first
deducted) of the ore extracted from the said mines, and as a further recompense, doth appoint him sole
engineer in Europe for all the machinery that shall be used or required."
The nine steam-engines, with apparatus for minting, crushing ores, draining, winding, and
even locomotion, with miners' tools complete down to mine ladders, borers, picks and

gads, and hammers, were received by a large and influential body of Spaniards residing
near Lima, under the special patronage of the Viceroy. The machinery had then to be taken
up precipitous tracks that foot-passengers trembled to walk on, to the height of more than
15,000 feet.
The calculated profit was 500,000l. a year, of which 100,000l. a year was to be Trevithick's
share, a portion of which was sold to pay for the engines. A prospectus drawn up in
England states that "the whole capital was in four hundred shares, of which Trevithick held
eighty, valued at 40,000l., together with special advantages to be accorded to him."
The machinery having left England in September, 1814, reached Peru in the early part of
1815, shortly after which one of the engines was at work in the Mint at Lima, within two
years from the giving the order for it in England; for in the early part of the latter year
Trevithick wrote to one of his men:—
"I am sorry to find by Mr. Uville's letter that the Mint engine does not go well. I wish you had put the
fire under the boiler and through the tube, as I desired you to do, in the usual way of the old long
boilers, then you might have made your fire-place as large as you pleased, which would have
answered the purpose, and have worked with wood as well as with coal, and have answered every
expectation.
"I always told you that the fire-place in the boiler was large enough for coal, but not for wood, and
desired you to put it under it. The boiler is strong enough and large enough to work the engine thirty
strokes per minute, with 30 lbs. of steam to the inch. I hope to leave Cornwall for Lima about the end
of this month, and go by way of Buenos Ayres, and cross over the continent of South America,
because I cannot get a passage; none of the South Sea whalers will engage to take me to Lima, they
say that they may touch at Lima or they may not, in the whole course of their voyage; therefore, unless
I give them an immense sum of money for my passage, they will not engage to put me on shore at
Lima, and for me to risk a passage in that way, and to be brought back again to England after two
years' voyage, without seeing Lima, would be a very foolish trip; therefore to make a certainty, I shall
take the first ship for Buenos Ayres, preparations for which I have already made."[126]
The whole of the machinery having been sent off, Trevithick was prepared to make his way
across the then little-known continent of South America in its broadest part, from Buenos
Ayres to Cerro de Pasco.[127] His departure was deferred from various causes until the 20th
October, 1816, when he sailed from Penzance in the South Sea whaler 'Asp,' Capt. Kenny.

Penzance in Olden Time. [W. J. Welch.]

"Penzance, 20th August, 1817.
"Dear Sir,
"I am enabled to furnish you with a few particulars which led to the introduction of steam-engines into
Spanish America, which you will embody into your interesting paper for our next Geological meeting,
as you deem most proper.
"Captain Trevithick was born in Illogan, Cornwall, 1771, but he has generally resided at Camborne,
the adjoining parish. He has devoted the greatest part of his life to mechanics and to improvements in
the high-pressure steam-engine, and many engines of Captain Trevithick's construction are now
working in different parts of England.
"Mr. Francisco Uville, a native of Switzerland, visited Lima and the rich Peruvian mines in the
neighbourhood of Lima, at an early age, and being a gentleman of great intelligence, he thought it
possible that the silver mines at Pasco, about 150 miles from Lima, which were fast falling into decay
for want of machinery to drain the water, might be restored to their former celebrity by the
introduction of steam-engines.
"Mr. Uville, who is now about thirty-six years of age, came to England in 1811, where he continued a
few months, and just as he was about to leave London he observed by accident a model of a steam-
engine, made by Captain Trevithick, at the shop of a Mr. Roland, Fitzroy Square, and Mr. Uville so
much liked the simplicity of its construction, that he immediately purchased it at twenty guineas. Mr.
Uville returned to Lima with it, and tried it on the mountains of Pasco, in consequence of which, on
the 17th of July, 1812, Mr. Uville, with Don Pedro Abadia and Don José Aresmendi, eminent
merchants at Lima, were so confident of success, that they formed a company to drain the mines at
Pasco and its vicinity; and on the 22nd of August then following a contract was entered into by these
gentlemen and the proprietors of the mines in that district. Soon after which Mr. Uville was deputed by
the company to return to England and to find out some able engineer to assist him in procuring proper
steam-engines to be conveyed to the mines.

"Uville having put into Jamaica, came to England in the 'Fox' packet, Capt. Tilly, and arrived at
Falmouth early in the summer of 1813. During the passage Mr. Uville frequently talked of the object
of his voyage, and that he was particularly anxious to find out the maker of the model of the engine he
took to Lima, and recollecting that the name of 'Trevithick' was on the model, he mentioned it to a Mr.
Teague, who happened to be on board the packet, when the latter informed him that Capt. Trevithick
was his first cousin, and that he resided within a few miles from Falmouth. Immediately on Mr.
Uville's arrival an interview took place between him and Capt. Trevithick, and soon after Mr. Uville
removed to Capt. Trevithick's house in Camborne, where he resided several months, during which
time Capt. Trevithick instructed him in mining, machinery, &c.
"Capt. Trevithick and Mr. Uville, after seeing most of the mines in Cornwall, visited several other
mining districts in England, to afford Mr. Uville a better opportunity of acquiring the best knowledge
of engineering by examining the steam-engines erected. Afterwards they went to London, when Mr.
Uville was introduced to a Mr. Campbell, of the East India Company's department. Mr. Campbell
informed Mr. Uville that the best engineers in Europe were Messrs. Boulton and Watt, of Birmingham;
and strongly recommending them to him, he observed that he was convinced if engines could be made
capable of being transported to the mines of Pasco across the mountains they would be able to do it.
Mr. Uville accordingly applied to these gentlemen, and fully explained to them the nature of the
engines which would be wanted, and the state of the road by which they must be conveyed, and
Messrs. Boulton and Watt returned an answer that it would be impossible to make engines small
enough to be carried across the Cordillera to the mines.
"Capt. Trevithick, however, was not startled at the difficulties, and having applied himself to the
improvements of his high-pressure engines, entered into a contract with Mr. Uville to provide nine
steam-engines for the company at Lima; and, by virtue of the powers with which Mr. Uville was
invested, Capt. Trevithick was admitted a partner of one-fifth in the concern; besides which, for his
great pains and services he had rendered, Mr. Uville guaranteed to him a handsome percentage on the
profits of the company (vide Articles of Agreement of 8th January, 1814).
"These matters being settled, nine engines were provided at an expense of about 10,000l., and were
shipped on board the 'Wildman,' South Sea whaler, Capt. Leith, who sailed from Portsmouth for Lima
the 1st September, 1814, accompanied by Mr. Uville and the following Cornish engineers,—Thomas
Trevarthen, of Crowan; Henry Vivian, of Camborne; and William Bull, of Chacewater, in Gwennap.
"The engines arrived at Lima, and were received by a salute from the Government batteries, and the
greatest joy was testified on the occasion.
"On the 27th July, 1816, the first steam-engine was set to work at Santa Rosa, one of the mines of
Pasco, under the direction of Mr. Bull (vide despatch of that date, signed José G. de Prada).
"On the 20th October, 1816, Capt. Trevithick sailed for Lima in the 'Asp,' South Sea whaler, Capt.
Kenny, accompanied by Mr. Page, a gentleman of London, and James Saunders, of Camborne, an
engine maker; and on the 6th February, 1817, they arrived at Lima, where Capt. Trevithick was
immediately introduced to the Viceroy by Don P. Abadia, and he received the most marked attention
from the inhabitants (vide 'Lima Gazette' of 12th February).
"Perhaps you will think it proper to notice the furnaces which Captain Trevithick took out in the 'Asp'
to Lima for the purpose of purifying the silver by sulphur. A great expense will be saved by these
means. Any further information which I can afford you I will readily give.
"I am, dear Sir,
"Your very obedient and humble servant,

"Rd. Edmonds.
"H. F. Boaze, Esq."
This statement, from a solicitor more than fifty years ago, inadvertently points out the
difference between the steam-engine of Watt and that of Trevithick. The former said it was
impossible to make engines having the required power small enough to be carried to the
mountain mines, whereas a small high-pressure engine by the latter had sufficient power.
Day and Page were lawyers advising Mr. Uville in London. Page sailed from Penzance
with Trevithick and James Saunders, a boiler maker, in the 'Asp,' a South Sea whaler, on
the 20th October, 1816, just two years after the departure of Uville with the machinery and
engines. The difficulty of conveying heavy weights up the mountain foot-paths was almost
insurmountable.
Mr. Rowe, who went to these mines in 1850, says,—
"The Cerro de Pasco mines are about 170 miles from Lima; we crossed a ridge 25,000 feet high. The
mines were about 13,400 feet high above the sea. There was but one road; no wheel vehicle could be
used; everything was carried on mules. Sometimes the road was only 2½ feet wide, cut in precipices
three or four hundred feet perpendicular: some of the men were afraid to walk, and dared not ride.
"I lived in the house that used to be Mr. Trevithick's office and store-room; it was in the suburbs of the
town of Cerro de Pasco. The shafts are some of them in the middle of the town; several pieces of
Captain Trevithick's engines lay about the shafts, and some on the way up, as though they had stuck
fast, and some we saw at Lima. Mr. Jump, a director on the mine, pointed out a balance-beam that Mr.
Trevithick had put up thirty years before. Only one Englishman then remained there who had worked
for Mr. Trevithick; he was called Sycombe, and said Trevithick's men were an unmanageable lot.
"The natives worked in the mines underground. The atmosphere was only about 10 lbs. on the inch.
We found a coal mine not far off; the quality was not very good. The smiths had difficulty in welding
with it. Our heaviest pieces of machinery did not exceed 280 lbs. The worst parts of the road have
been a little improved since that time."
Just one month before Trevithick sailed from Penzance for Lima, the first pumping engine
taken out by Uville had been satisfactorily put to work in the mountain mine of Santa
Rosa, with its steam-cylinder weighing double the limit fixed on by modern engineers.
The following information respecting the progress of the steam-engine fixed on the Santa
Rosa Mines, one of the mineral ridges of Pasco, in the Viceroyalty of Peru, is extracted
from the Government-Gazettes of Lima, dated the 10th of August and 25th of September,
1816:—
"PROGRESS OF THE STEAM-ENGINE, &c.
"His Excellency the Viceroy of Peru to the Editor.
"In order to satisfy the eager expectations of the inhabitants of this Viceroyalty, those of the greater
part of these Americas, and even of the Peninsula itself, I hereby order the printing, at full length, in
the next Government Gazette, or at same time in a separate sheet, the enclosed despatch from the
Intendant Governor of Tarma, giving the details of the admirable results of the steam-engine fixed in
the mineral territory of Pasco, for the most important purpose of draining its mines, and for the

extraction of its rich ores. This authentic communication must produce the most lively and grateful
sensations in those true Spaniards, who with grief contemplated as irreparably lost the only spring
from which flowed the prosperity of this continent, excite their just acknowledgments to the
meritorious co-operators in such an expensive and difficult as well as eminently-advantageous
enterprise, and encourage to similar undertakings in other parts those who, with personal aptitudes and
patriotic sentiments, have been waiting the final success of the first.
"Joaquin de la Pezuela.
"Lima, 4th August, 1816."
"Certificate of the Deputation.
"We, Don Domingo Gonzales de Castañeda and Don José Lago y Lemus, Commissaries and Territorial Magistrates
in this Royal Mineral Territory, and deputed by the United Corporation of Miners in this district, do hereby certify
judicially, and as the law directs, in manner following:—

"Though this deputation never doubted the extraordinary power of steam compressed, and
consequently the certain operation of engines worked by its influence, it nevertheless entertained some
fears respecting the perfect organization of all the mechanical powers of the machines. This
uncertainty, rather than any doubt, has been completely dissipated by our personal attendance this day
to witness the draining of the first pit, situated in Santa Rosa. The few instants employed in the same
produce a full conviction that a general drainage of the mines will take place, and that their metals will
be extracted with the greatest facility from their utmost profundity: as also that the skill of the
company's partners and agents will easily overcome whatsoever difficulties nature may oppose, until
they shall have completed all the perpendiculars and levels; and consequently that the meritorious
undertakers who have risked their property in the enterprise will be rewarded with riches.
"We and the whole Corporation of Miners would do but little were we to erect them a monument,
which should transmit down to the remotest posterity the remembrance of an undertaking of such
magnitude and heroism; but for the present we will congratulate ourselves that our labours, co-
operation, and fidelity, keeping pace in perfect harmony with the exertions of the agents, the company
may thus attain the full completion of their utmost wishes, extracting from the bowels of these prolific
mountains, not the riches of Amilcar's inexhaustible wells, not the treasures of the boasted Potosi in its
happiest days, but a torrent of silver, which will fill all surrounding nations with admiration, will give
energy to commerce, prosperity to this Viceroyalty and to the Peninsula, and fill the royal treasury of
our beloved sovereign.
"Thus certifies this Magisterial Deputation of Yauricocha, the 27th of July, 1816.
"Domingo Gonzales de Castañeda.
"José Lago y Lemus."
"Despatch from the Intendant Governor of the Province of Tarma to His Excellency the Viceroy.
"Pasco, 27th July, 1816.
"Most Excellent Sir,
"Having finally conquered the great difficulties consequent on the enterprise, though with immense
and incessant labour, and at an enormous expense, the object has been accomplished of purchasing,
importing, and erecting the steam-engine in the celebrated rich and royal mineral territory, called 'The
Mountains of Yauricocha,' in this province of Tarma, of which I have the honour to be Governor, the
chief and valuable works of which have ceased to produce ore, in consequence of their bases being
completely submerged in water.

"The day is arrived when we witness with admiration the advantageous and useful effects of the
before-named steam-engine; the completion of the promises made by the generous and undaunted
individuals who united themselves to supply the funds sufficient for the realization of an enterprise so
important, and the fulfilment of the wishes of these valuable subjects, to render to the State the highest
possible service; a service, although at all times of extreme importance, at this crisis is infinite;
because the State, being weakened by a series of disastrous events for six years past, requires salutary
remedies; and none exist so effectual as the re-establishment of the mines, which the steam-engines
are achieving.
"After some experiments, which (although they left no doubt of ultimate success in draining the mine)
discovered some slight defects, these were corrected on the 23rd instant; and this day the first of the
four pumps which arrived for the use of the royal mines was erected in the particular mine called
Santa Rosa; the result of its operation has been the exhaustion of the water from the well or hollow
below the adit. In twenty minutes, by this engine, an aggregate of water is ejected amounting to 6
yards or 18 feet in diameter, 3 yards 24 inches in length, and 1 yard 30 inches in breadth. In the same
manner a second engine, accessory to that which drains the water, is worked by the same steam, on the
same point, and in the same perpendicular shaft, from the surface of the earth, which extracts the ore,
and with advantages hitherto unknown here, on account of the considerable saving of expense and the
economy of manual labour.
"The steam-engine will continue evacuating the water from the pit until it is reduced to 6 yards below
the old adit, whence they must eject the water raised by the engine by a continued elongation of the
barrel of the pump gaining depth, until they have completed the number of yards required, or until the
progress of the work indicates a proper situation for forming a new line of levels and channels of
communication to those mines which are not yet drained. In proportion to the successive acquisition to
these subterranean works which are daily advancing, will be the increased operations of the mines, and
consequently the increased prosperity of the mining interest, which had most astonishingly fallen from
the degree it had attained in former years.
"In a short time, similar effects will be seen in the three remaining mineral ridges of Yauricocha, Caya,
and Yanacancha, productive of ores of a better quality than that of Santa Rosa, which has nevertheless
obtained the preference for the erection of the first engine upon it from its being more abundant in its
peculiar produce, and on account of the greater number of persons interested in this property; as also
its contributing immediately to relieve the necessitous, by employing the workmen in the vicinity of
the mines. In my opinion, no event so beneficial has occurred as the erection of the steam-engine,
since the discovery and addition of these dominions to the crown of Castile. From this time, by the
help of these machines, immense and incalculable riches will accrue to the nation.
"God preserve your Excellency many years,
"José Gonzales de Prada.".
"The Viceroy's Answer.
"Lima, 5th August, 1816.
"Your Lordship's official despatch, No. 898, the 27th of last month, communicated to me the
satisfactory detail of the complete results which you witnessed on the 23rd and 27th, produced by the
grand steam-engine placed over the mine of Santa Rosa, one of those situated in the mountains of
Pasco, for the purpose of draining the mine and extracting the ores.
"I desire particularly to distinguish and patronize the chief agent and assistant, Don Francisco Uville;
the generous promoters of the undertaking, Don Pedro Abadia and Don José Arismendi; their agents

and assistants, Don Luis de Landavere and Don Tomas Gallegos; and lastly, Mr. Bull, and all those
associated in this great work, whom you recommend to my notice. Your Lordship, by having exerted
yourself to facilitate, by all the means which your zeal and authority could procure, the happy
consummation of so profitable an enterprise, has added a new claim to the many preceding which you
possessed, to the high consideration of the king and the public.
"Joaquin de la Pezuela,
"Viceroy of Lima."
Extract from the 'Lima Gazette' of the 25th of September, 1816.
"We have the satisfaction of communicating to the public the information that the company for
draining the mines of Pasco have just received accounts from their agents in that mineral territory; and
they promise for our next Gazette a description of the state of the works for fixing the remaining three
engines.—Editor.
"Cerro, September 20th, 1816.
"'After having observed the progress of the machine at the Santa Rosa Mine last Saturday, the 14th
instant, at 10 o'clock at night we began to act; at 11 o'clock the pitmen went down to clear the shaft,
and have not since ceased working an instant. The clearing of the mud and rubbish which had
remained at the bottom of the shaft, and clogged every moment the buckets and suckers of the engine,
lasted till Wednesday; but this being accomplished, at 12 o'clock at noon they began to break through
the level. At half a yard below the shaft we found a lively coppery ore, with its particles of silver. This
bronze-coloured ore indicates that the veins of Yauricocha and San Diego incline to the west, or
towards the Santa Rosa Mine. The mines in the vicinity of this pit are all dry. Some of them, at the
distance of 300 yards, in the ridge of Santa Rita, have also felt its effects; and even as far as the
territory of Caya, behind our steam-works, the waters have fallen in several mines. Don John Vivas
has begun to work in San Diego Mine. They are also going next Monday to begin working in several
points of the Santa Rosa Mine. The pit is already 8 yards in depth, and we are proceeding with the
greatest activity. The workmen are relieved every two hours, and as they go out they give up their
tools to those who succeed them, by which means not a minute is lost. Continuing thus, in the course
of a month we shall be at more than 20 yards depth, and have many mines in full activity. The winding
engine raises a basket (which is a load) in two minutes; the draining or steam-engine, with two
vibrations per minute, keeps the surface always dry. Both work with the greatest ease, certainty, and
regularity.
"'By dint of searching after a vein of coal, we have at last found one near at hand, of excellent quality
and of great richness. The pit we are now at work at is at the distance of a quarter of a league from
Rancas, and at the same distance from Vista Alegre which the Cerro is from these works. We have
likewise found a vein of plumbago, which was an object of search, on the supposition that it was coal.
This substance, of which much is consumed, mixed with grease, to soften the friction of the piston,
&c., we have now here; and thus the necessity of sending to Lima, or perhaps to Europe, for it is
obviated.'"
Within six months of the setting to work the pumping engine in Santa Rosa, another
pumping engine was at work at Yanacancha Mine.
The following extracts from the 'Lima Gazette' were published in the Cornish papers by
Mr. Edmonds:—
"From the Government Gazette of Lima, 12th Feb., 1817.

"We have had the pleasure of receiving a letter from Pasco, dated 6th instant, containing the following
account:—
"The second engine established in the mine called Yanacancha, which is far superior in point of
beauty, convenience, and size to that called Santa Rosa, was set to work on Friday last, and
notwithstanding the great quantity of water which filtered into this mine the engine with only half its
power drained the mine completely in nine minutes. This filtration did not happen in Santa Rosa, on
account of the quantity of hard copper ore on which the engine is situated.
"By this successful operation, the water in several mines has been lessened considerably, amongst
which in particular is that belonging to Don Juan Vivas, situate in the hill called Chucarillo, which at
present affords ore of 400 marcos per caxon (50 cwt.). Of this ore about 25 lbs. has been received in
this city, with a proof of 2 lbs. made in Pasco, showing not only the richness of the ore, but its easy
extraction and cleanness for the ready refinement of it. And another proof has also been received from
another mine, situate in Chucarillo, belonging to the widow Mier, in company with Don Joachin
Aitola, which yields 100 marcos per caxon of 25 cargas.
"To this agreeable news we ought to add that at the arrival of the whaling ship 'Asp,' bound from
London, having on board a large quantity of machinery for the Royal Mint, and for the constructing of
eight engines more, equal to those in Pasco, with the advantage that they are of the last patent and
more easy to be worked; but what is of greater importance is the arrival of Don Ricardo Trevithick, an
eminent professor of mechanics, the same who directed in England the execution of the machinery
now existing in Pasco. This professor can, with the assistance of the workmen who accompany him,
construct as many engines as are necessary in Peru, without any need of sending to England for any
part of these vast machines. The excellent character of Don R. Trevithick, and his ardent desire for
promoting the interests of Peru, recommend him in the highest degree to public estimation, and make
us hope that his arrival in this kingdom will form the epoch of its prosperity, with the enjoyment of the
riches enclosed in it, which could not be enjoyed without this class of assistance, or if the British
Government had not permitted the exportation from England, which appeared doubtful to all those
who knew how jealous that nation is in the exclusive possession of all superior inventions in arts or
industry."
So far everything promised success. Two pumping engines had so reduced the water in two
of the mines, that the miners were at work, and the people of Lima believed that many
more such engines would be usefully employed, now that Don Ricardo Trevithick was with
them.
"Lima, February 15th, 1817.
""Dear Sir,
"We arrived here last Saturday in good health. The (our) Mint is at work, and coined five millions last
year, and in their way of working does very well; but I trust to make it coin thirty millions per year.
"Two engines are drawing water, and two drawing ore, at the mines, but in an imperfect state. If I had
not arrived, it must have all fallen to the ground, both in their mining and in their engines. I expect we
shall go to the mines in about ten days, from where I will write to you every particular.
"There are still two engines to put up for lifting water, and two for winding ore, and those at work to
be put to rights. They are raising ores from one mine which is immensely rich, and from what I can
learn, a much greater quantity will be got up, when the whole are at work, than these people have any
idea of. Several other mines will also be set to work by engines that we shall make here. We have been

received with every mark of respect, and both Government and the public are in high spirits on
account of our arrival, from which they expect much good to result.
"Mr. Vivian died the 19th of May. I believe that too much drink was the cause of it. Uville, I think,
wished him gone, and was in great hope that I should not arrive. His conduct has thrown down his
power very much, which he never can again recover.
"They all say that the whole concern shall be put entirely under my management, and every obstacle
shall be removed out of my road. Unless this is done, I shall soon be with you in England. I am very
sorry that I did not embark with the first cargo, which would have made a million difference to the
company. The first engine was put to work about three months since, the other about two months; but
they are as much at a loss in their mining as in their engineering. The Mint is the property of our
company, and Government pays us for coining, which gives us an immense income; the particulars of
which, and the shares in the mines, I have not yet gone into. I shall be short in this letter, because I
know but little as yet, and that little I expect Mr. Page will inform you. A full account you shall have
by the next ship, which I expect will sail in three weeks. This letter goes by a Spanish ship that will
sail this afternoon for Cadiz. My respects, and good wishes to your family and to Mr. Day, and hope
this will find you all as hearty as we are.
"Mr. Page would not depart this life under the line, as he promised when at Penzance; but, on the
contrary, has a nose as red as a cherry, and his face very little short of it. His health and spirits far
exceed what they were in England. I am glad to have such a companion. With ... think he will have no
reason to repent.... He will get a command at Pasco ... such as his ingenuity may find out, when on the
spot; whether as a miner or an engineer I cannot say, but time will show.
"If you have not insured my life I would thank you to do it now, if you can on reasonable terms. I do
not wish them to take the risk of the seas in the policy, because the voyage here is over, and on my
return I hope I shall not want it, therefore it must be for two years in the country. I will get a certificate
of my health, if they wish it, from the most respectable inhabitants, and also from the Vice-king, if
they wish it. The policy may be drawn accordingly.
"Be so good as to write me often, with all the news you can collect. If you wish your dividends in this
company to be applied to further advantage in any new mines I may engage in, in preference to having
it sent to England, I will, as the dividends are made, do everything in my power to improve the talent.
On this subject I must have your answer before I can make any new arrangement under this head. I
will thank you to send a copy of Mr. Page's letter to my wife; I mean such parts of it as belong to the
business; there may be some things that I have forgotten to mention.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your humble servant,
"Richard. Trevithick.
"Mr. James Smith, Limekiln Lane, Greenwich."
In the early part of 1817 four engines were at work in the mines, two pumping water and
two raising the ore; while a fifth engine was coining in the Mint at Lima. Trevithick
believed that he could much improve the engines and the mining, and that it would be
necessary and practicable to arrange for the construction of engines in Lima; for though
death and dissension had caused difficulty, the authorities were still prepared to give him
full power.

A strange defect in his character is evidenced in this letter. He wished his life to be insured
for the benefit of his wife and family, but never thought of paying the yearly insurance
premium, leaving it for his wife to pay, whom he had left, as far as he knew, penniless in
England.
On his sailing from Penzance, he told his wife that he had paid the house-rent for a year in
advance, mentioning the sum. At the end of that time a demand was made on Mrs.
Trevithick for a year's rent, being a larger sum than her husband had mentioned as the
proper rent. It turned out that Trevithick had taken and paid for the house at six-monthly
periods, instead of yearly periods. It was in the same street, and but three or four houses
from that occupied by the parents of the eminent Sir Humphry Davy.
A person pressed him for payment of a bill. Trevithick said, "Give me your bill," and
writing on the bottom of it "Received, Richard Trevithick," handed it back to the claimant
with "Now, will that do for you?" The payment of the life insurance obliged Mrs.
Trevithick to part with her personal property, on which she had counted for support during
her husband's absence. This inability to see the necessity of methodical action, when
working with others, and utter disregard for hoarded money, caused him to be a somewhat
unmanageable partner, though his genius never allowed him to sink; and in November,
1817, he wrote a letter, of which the following is an extract:—

Market, Jew Street, Penzance. [W. J. Welch.]

"There are also nunneries beyond number, and in those places no male is ever suffered to put his foot.
Through one of the most noted runs a watercourse, which works the Mint; and Mr. Abadia has
repeatedly made all the interest he could to be admitted, for the purpose of inspecting it, but could
never get a grant. The Mint belongs to our engine concern, and now coins about five millions per year.
We have a contract from Government for making all the coin, both gold and silver, which gives an
immense profit; and as there must now be coined six times as much as before, I must build new water-
wheels to work the rolls which we took with us from England. It was on this account that I wished to
examine the watercourse for this purpose, without the knowledge of Mr. Abadia or anyone but Mr.
Page and the interpreter, who always attends me. I walked up and knocked, in my blunt way, at the
nunnery court door, without knowing there were any objections to admit men; it was opened by a
female slave, to whom the interpreter told my name and business. Very shortly three old abbesses
made their appearance, who said I could not be admitted. I told them I came from England, for the
purpose of making an addition to the Mint, and could not do it without measuring the watercourse;
upon which a council was held amongst them; very soon we were ordered to walk in, and all further
nunnery nonsense was done away. We were taken round the building and were shown their chapel and
other places without reserve.
"Uville knew nothing about the practical part of the engines, and Bull very little, therefore you may
judge what a wretched state this great undertaking was in before my arrival; no one put any confidence
in it, and believed it was all lost, together with five hundred thousand dollars that had been expended
on it. The Lord Warden was sent from Pasco to offer me protection and to welcome me to the mines.
They have a court over the mines and miners, the same as the Vice-Warden's Court in England, only
much more respected and powerful. The Viceroy sent orders to the military at Pasco to attend to my
call, and told me he would send whatever troops I wished with me. The Spanish Government and the
Vice-king since my arrival are quite satisfied that the mines will now be fully carried into effect, and
will do everything in their power to assist me. As soon as the news of our arrival had reached Pasco,
the bells rang, and they were all alive down to the lowest labouring miner, and several of the most
noted men of property have arrived here—150 miles. On this occasion the Lord Warden has proposed
erecting my statue in silver. On my arrival Mr. Uville wrote me a letter from Pasco, expressing the
great pleasure he had in hearing of my arrival, and at the same time he wrote to Mr. Abadia that he
thought Heaven had sent me to them for the good of the mines. The water in the mines is from four to
five strokes per minute.
"Tell the members of the Geological Society that Mr. Abadia is making out a very good collection of
specimens for them, which will be sent by the first opportunity; and soon after I arrive at Pasco I will
write them very fully."
After Trevithick's death, in 1833, casts were taken from the head, and busts presented to
scientific societies were thankfully received, with the single exception of his near
neighbours at Penzance, who, under the name of the Royal Geological Society of
Cornwall, refused it.
Mr. W. J. Henwood, who had frequently drawn the attention of Cornishmen to Trevithick's
engines, being about 1870 President of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, presented to it a
bust of Trevithick, which was admitted within its walls.

In 1819 Mr. R. Edmonds forwarded to the 'Cornwall Gazette' news from Lima, from which
the following is extracted:—
"We have much pleasure in stating that accounts have lately reached England from Lima, giving the
satisfactory intelligence that our countryman and able engineer, Captain Trevithick, was in February
last in good health, and superintending the rich and extensive mines of Pasco.
"Don Francisco Uville, a Spanish gentleman, having, with Don Pedro Abadia and others, formed a
company to drain the mines of Pasco, unfortunately for Captain Trevithick, F. Uville was anxious to
impress his countrymen with an opinion that it was solely owing to him that steam-engines were first
introduced into the silver mines of South America; and notwithstanding the obligations he was under
to Captain Trevithick, he sought every opportunity, soon after Captain Trevithick's arrival at Pasco, to
oppose him, in claiming to have the direction of the mines.
"Captain Trevithick, knowing but little of the country, and disgusted with the treatment he received
from Uville and the party he had formed against him, amongst whom was a gent who had lately
arrived from England, retired from the concern, and proceeded on other important discoveries on his
own account.
"Things remained in this state until August, 1818, when Uville met his death, in consequence of the
cold penetrating air of the Cordilleras on coming out of the mines in a strong perspiration. Mr. Abadia
and his friends were then under the necessity of soliciting the assistance of Captain Trevithick. On
condition of his having the sole direction of the mines, he was prevailed upon to accept the situation
which had been first most faithfully agreed he should have had; and when the accounts last left Lima
in February, Captain Trevithick had been five months at the mines as the chief superintendent. The
mines are represented as being in the most prosperous state, and likely to realize the sanguine
expectations of the shareholders. Mr. Bull, an engineer from Chacewater, who left England with
Uville, died at Pasco about ten months since."
When this was written, Trevithick had been two years in the country, and found the
immense difficulties of the undertaking increased by jealousies and jobberies. Mr. Uville
was no more, neither were Vivian or Bull; but one man remained alive out of the four who
had sailed from England with the first cargo of machinery. In August, 1818, Mr. Abadia,
who from the first was a leading authority, requested Trevithick to take upon himself the
sole management of the mines, where he continued until April, 1819, as shown by the
following extract from Captain Hodge's journal, supplied by my friend Mr. Charles Hodge:
—
"The first time they met was at Lima, on the 26th April, 1819, at Dr. Thorne's; your father had just
come down from the Cerro de Pasco mines. On the 8th May following, I find my father witnessed the
hanging of three men for killing two of your father's men, named Judson and Watson."
Mr. W. B. Stevenson says:[128]—
"The Mint was established in Lima, in 1565. The machinery was formerly worked by mules, eighty
being daily employed till the year 1817, when Don Pedro Abadia, being the contractor for the coinage,
Mr. Trevithick directed the erection of a water-wheel, which caused a great saving of expense. In the
year 1817 two Englishmen, sent from Pasco by Mr. Trevithick (who afterwards followed with the
intention of working some of the silver mines in Conchucos), were murdered by the guides at a place
called Puloseco. This horrid act was perpetrated by crushing their heads with two large stones, as they
lay asleep on the ground. The murderers were men who had come with them from Pasco.

"I have heard Mr. Trevithick say, that on shaking hands with the men who work in those quicksilver
evaporating rooms, drops of quicksilver show themselves at the fingers' ends, and that the workmen
wearing shoes take them off before leaving the work, to pour out any quicksilver that had oozed
through the pores of the skin, which had been respired in the floating state of vapour. The men so
employed fell a sacrifice in twelve or eighteen months."
Trevithick's experience in applying the force of running streams was turned to good
account in giving an economical helpmate to the steam-engine then at work in the Mint.
Miers says:[129]—
"Another instance occurs in the unfortunately ruinous result and lamentable ill-treatment of the
persons engaged in the attempt to introduce European improvements and British machinery into the
great silver-mining district of Pasco (Chili), in which was engaged one of our most celebrated
engineers, a most able mechanic, to whom the grand improvements in our Cornish mines are chiefly
indebted—I mean Mr. Richard Trevithick. Trevithick was induced to furnish the machinery at an
expense of 3000l. sterling, upon condition of being admitted a partner in the amount of 12,000 dollars
in the joint stock of the company, and entitled to a share corresponding to the capital employed. This
share was calculated at a fifth. Trevithick, before he embarked for Peru, divided his interest in the
concern into 320 shares, each representing 38 dollars, and these were sold in the market for 125l.
sterling each; some few were sold for 100l. cash. The success of the engines gave to some of the
persons interested much confidence, who conceived they could now do without the management of the
ingenious Trevithick. Every possible obstacle was therefore thrown in his way by those who, from
motives of jealousy, wished to get rid of him. The persons to whom Trevithick's and other shares had
been sold in London, sent out to Lima an agent, whose duty it was to look after their interests in the
concern; but as it was found a much larger sum would be necessary for carrying the enterprise into
effect than had been calculated, a collision of interests took place; complaints were made on all sides
as to the delays and expenses which those who did not comprehend the almost insurmountable
difficulties of the undertaking attributed to mismanagement and carelessness. The greatest share of
opprobrium fell unjustly upon Trevithick, who, being a man of great inventive genius and restless
activity, was at length completely disgusted, and retired from the undertaking. He left Pasco, although
Abadia offered him 8000 dollars per annum, together with all his expenses, if he would continue to
superintend the works; on no conditions would he consent to contend with the jealousies and ill-
treatment of the persons with whom he had to deal. He soon after entered into speculations with some
of the miners at Conchucos, for whom he constructed grinding mills and furnaces, with the view to
substitute the process of smelting for that of amalgamation in silver ores, in which vain pursuit he
became a considerable loser."
"Bodmin, November 3rd, 1869.
""My dear Sir,
"Forty-seven years are now passed since I had the great pleasure of meeting your father in Peru, and I
have a vivid remembrance of the gratification afforded to my messmates when he came to dine with us
on board H.M.S. 'Aurora,' then lying in Callao. I was then a lieutenant of that beautiful frigate, and
was introduced to your father by Mr. Hodge, of St. Erth, with whom I had become acquainted in Chili.
I remember your father delighting us all on board the 'Aurora' by his striking description of the steam-
engine, and his calculation of the 'horse-power' of the mighty wings of the condor in his perpendicular
ascent to the summit of the Andes. Your father's strong Cornish dialect seemed to give an additional
charm to his very interesting conversation, and my messmates were most anxious to see him on board
again, but he left shortly after for the Sierra.

"The Pasco-Peruvian mines were those which your father was engaged to superintend before he left
England, and he had actually managed, by incredible labour, to transport one or two steam-engines
from the coast to the mines, when the war of independence broke out, and the patriots threw most of
the machinery down the shafts. This fearful war was a deathblow to your father's sanguine hopes of
making a rapid fortune. About a year after this terrible disappointment (I think in 1822), the 'San
Martin,' an old Russian fir frigate, purchased by the Chilian Government, sank at her anchors in
Chorillos Bay, ten miles south of Callao, and your father entered into an engagement with the
Government in Lima to recover a large number of brass cannon, provided that all the prize tin and
copper on board which might be got up should belong to him. This was a very successful speculation,
and in a few weeks your father realized about 2500l. I remember visiting the spot with your father
whilst the operations were carried on, and being astonished at the rude diving bell by which so much
property was recovered from the wreck, and at the indomitable energy displayed by him. It was Mr.
Hodge, and not I, who then urged in the strongest manner that at least 2000l. should be immediately
remitted to your mother. Instead of this, he embarked the money in some Utopian scheme for pearl
fishing at Panama, and lost all!
"I had the honour of dining with Lord Dundonald on board the crazy frigate 'Esmeralda,' which carried
his flag in Callao Bay, but I never heard of the gallant conduct of your father in swimming off to his
ship and advising him of an intended assassination. I fancy that this must have occurred before I came
on the station, probably in 1820, or 1821.
"Believe me, "My dear Sir,
"Very sincerely yours,
"James Liddell."
Trevithick's floating caissons for the sunken ship of Margate Bay in 1810[130] were
similarly applied in 1821 in the Bay of Callao. In Lima he became acquainted with Lord
Dundonald, whom he warned of a plot on his life, discovered in his friendly intimacy at the
residence of President Bolivar. Those two remarkable Englishmen were alike in their
daring inventiveness, and not unlike in face and person.
We have traced Trevithick's steps from his landing at Lima in 1817 to the destruction of the
mine machinery by the civil wars, and his departure from there about 1822. But one link in
the chain has been nearly lost. During some portion of those five years he visited Chili, and
set to work mines which are still producing large and profitable quantities of copper. The
late Mr. Waters, an eminent Cornish miner, who for many years managed some of these
mines in the neighbourhood of Valparaiso, said that Trevithick's name was better known to
the miners there than to the miners in Cornwall. This statement was made in the Dolcoath
account-house at a public meeting, the speaker and the writer being both on the committee
of management.
Simon Whitbarn, of St. Day, informed the writer that at Copiapo and at Coquimbo he had
seen large heaps of copper ore, apparently unclaimed, which the people said had been
raised by Don Ricardo Trevithick. About 1830 a miner, returned from South America,
made a claim for wages for watching mineral left behind by Mr. Trevithick.
To further illustrate this history, we have a report written by himself:—
"Memoranda regarding the Copper and Silver Mine of * * * *.

"In 1814 an arrangement was made between the miners of Peru and myself for furnishing them with
nine steam-engines and a mint, to be executed in England and erected in the mines of Pasco; and in
October, 1816, I sailed from England for that country, for the express purpose of taking the
management of those mines and erecting the machinery, being myself a large proprietor of the same.
The Government of Peru was at that time subject to old Spain, under the immediate superintendence
of a Viceroy. The machinery having been erected, and its sufficiency for the intended purpose of
draining the mines having been proved to the satisfaction of all parties, there was granted to me a
special passport by the Viceroy, for the purpose of travelling through the country to inspect the general
mining system, and to make the native miners acquainted with the English modes of working. In
return for which Government conceded to me the privilege of taking possession for my own benefit
and account of such mining spots as were not previously engaged. In this way I travelled through
many of the mining districts, and although I met with several unoccupied spots which would have paid
well for working, yet, being a considerable distance inland, and requiring more capital to do them
justice than I could then advance, I abandoned for the time all ideas of undertaking them.
"To this, indeed, there was but one exception, and that was a copper and silver mine, the ores of which
are uniformly united, in the province of Caxatambo.
"When the patriots arrived in Peru, the mine was deserted by all the labourers, in order to avoid being
forced into the army. In this state it remained for a considerable time; but on the Spaniards retreating
into the interior, I recommenced working; and to secure my right to this mine under the new
Government I at the same time transmitted a memorial and petition to the established authorities,
accompanied by a plan and description of the mine, the result of which was the formal grant, as
exhibited in the Spanish document now in your possession. It was not my good fortune to be allowed
to follow up my plans, which almost warranted a certainty of success. I had scarcely commenced a
second time when the Spaniards returned, and everyone again was obliged to fly. The country, as is
well known, continued for a long time in a most distracted state, and I was ultimately compelled to
quit that part of Peru, robbed of all my money, leaving everything behind me, miners' tools and about
5000l. worth of ores on the spot ready to be carried to the shipping port. Numerous as my misfortunes
had been in Peru, and heavy as my disappointments, I felt none so sensibly as this, because it was an
enterprise entirely of my own creation, and so open to view that I was enabled to calculate at a
certainty the immense value contained within the external circle where the copper vein made its
appearance in the cap of the mountain, and to be obtained without risk or capital. However, revolution
followed revolution, and the war appeared to me to be interminable. Even Bolivar's arrival at Lima
made it still worse, for he forced me into the army, with my property, which is not paid to this day, to
the amount of $20,000; and at his urgent solicitations, disgusted as I was with what I had seen and
suffered in Peru, I determined on quitting it for a time at least, and on visiting Colombia. Being at
Guayaquil I first heard the name of Costa Rica and its recently-discovered mines, and having no doubt
of the authenticity of my information, I immediately proceeded thither instead of going to Bogota to
carry Bolivar's orders into execution, not having been paid. This short digression you will excuse, as it
points to the causes of my separation from a property of so much value, as I consider the mine of * * *
* *. Thirty years ago the neighbourhood of * * * * was famous for its silver mines. At the foot of the
copper hill, on a fine stream, are two sets of works on a most extensive scale, which were carried on
on account of the Spanish Government. The silver was found in lead veins, which are very large and
numerous all around. The soil is very rich, and the climate as good as any in the world, wheat and
Indian corn both growing round the mountain. Provisions and wages are low, the latter 1s. per day, and
there are about 20,000 inhabitants within three miles. Wood for smelting and other purposes is
abundant on the spot.

"* * * * is * * leagues from Lima; the port of * * * * where the ores are to be shipped, is 37 leagues
north from Lima; and * * * * copper mine * * leagues back in the country east from this port, a good
road for mules and plenty of them. The miners contracted with me to break the ores and deliver them
at the surface for 4l. per ton, which was double what I ought to have paid them; the farmers likewise
contracted to carry the ores to the port at the same rate, which comes to sixpence a league for each
mule cargo. But even at present wheel-carriages might travel over a large proportion of the road, and a
small outlay would make it a carriage-road the whole distance, and then the expense of carriage would
be diminished more than one-half. Taking it, however, at what it cost me, the whole expense on the
ores delivered on board would not amount to 9l. a ton, and as I conceive the freight to England would
not exceed 4l. a ton, the total cost would be 13l., but say 15l. a ton. Its value in England would be
above 80l. a ton. At the time I worked I intended to have sent 300 tons of ore to England, for in the
then disturbed state of the country it would not have been prudent to risk myself on smelting works. I
think it will ultimately be found preferable to smelt on the spot, but the course I should recommend in
the meantime would be to send out two practical miners to direct and superintend the natives, who
ought to be employed by contract to break and raise the ores and deliver them on board. In that case no
erections whatever would be wanted; nothing but about 70l. worth of labourers' tools.
"I remain, Sir,
"Your humble servant,
"Richard. Trevithick."
The foregoing undated report was written after his return to England from South America.
The Viceroy granted him a special passport through the country, that he might give general
instructions to the workers of mines, with the right to claim any mineral spot for his own
working not under grant to others.
He often spoke of his discovery and working of the great vein of copper ore in Caxatambo,
estimated to contain copper worth twelve millions sterling, the working of which was
prevented by the frequent revolutions and unsettled government of the country; and of
residing for months with Bolivar, at that time the Republican Governor of Peru.
Bolivar's cavalry were short of fire-arms. Trevithick invented and made a carbine with a
short barrel of large bore, having a hollow frame-work stock. The whole was cast of brass,
stock and barrel in one piece, with the necessary recess for the lock; the bullet was a flat
piece of lead, cut into four quarters, held in their places in a cartridge until fired, when they
spread, inflicting jagged wounds. He was obliged to serve in the army, and to prove the
efficiency of his own gun. He was never a good shot, nor particularly fond of shooting;
and, after a long time, Bolivar allowed him to return to his engineering and mining.
Scarcely had he got to work again when the Royal Spanish troops, getting the best of it,
overran the mines, and drove Trevithick away penniless, leaving 5000l. worth of ore
behind him ready for sale.
The 300 tons of ore, valued at 24,000l., never reached England; and the writer, who was to
have returned to Peru in the ship that had been engaged to convey it, lost the chance of
being a youthful traveller in foreign lands.
Trevithick left Lima about 1821 or 1822, for Bogota, in Colombia, on a special mission for
Bolivar. On his way, putting in at Guayaquil, he heard of rich mines in Costa Rica, and

thinking they would pay better than Bolivar's promises, he threw up his engagement and
made for the new venture. It was probably at Guayaquil that he met Mr. Gerard, a
Scotchman of good family and education, then sailing on the Pacific coast as a speculator.
Since Trevithick left the mines of Cerro de Pasco, more than one English adventurer has
attempted to work them. At the present time they are in the hands of a large company, and
are thus spoken of in the 'Cornish Telegraph' of May 10, 1871:—
"Cerro de Pasco and its Silver Mines.
"This place, in the Republic of Peru, is situated on the top of the Andes, on the eastern side of the
Western Cordillera. It stands about 15,000 feet above the sea level, and is said to be one of the highest,
if not the highest, inhabited place of importance in the whole world.
"From Callao to here is a distance of 160 miles, but, in consequence of the rapid ascent in such a
comparatively short distance, it is considered a quick journey if mules make it in six days; it more
frequently takes them a week, and at times, during the season of snow and rain, the pampas, which are
the table-lands of these mountains, are impassable for several days together.
"The town of Cerro de Pasco, which at present numbers 10,000 souls, is of no small importance,
considering its great altitude and inconvenient distance from the coast, but it lacks order and design in
every part. The streets are crooked and uneven; and the houses are stuck about anywhere and
everywhere, with the greatest display of uneducated taste that I have ever before witnessed; moreover,
it would be difficult to find another such place so equally dirty.
"It rains and snows on these heights with not much cessation for about six months in the year, and in
what is termed the dry season there are also frequent falls of snow. Furthermore, water boils at 180°
Fahr. instead of at 212°, as with you; consequently it requires six minutes to cook an egg.
"The majority of the inhabitants are a low type of Indians, who are small in stature and mind, but are
large in cunning, and have exceedingly plain features—not possessing the slightest trace of the noble
features and bold simplicity of the Indians of the North.
"Any person acquainted with minerals and mining coming up to Cerro de Pasco would fancy that the
whole town was built on the back of one huge lode; go wherever one may, through the streets, or on
the outskirts of the town, and even up to the slopes of the hill surrounding it, he finds it to be all
lodestuff everywhere; its composition is what we Cornish miners generally term an iron gossan.
"The greater portion of this mineral spot is parcelled out into setts or grants, which consist of pieces of
ground 60 yards in length by 30 in width, giving to the place no less than 664 mines. At present there
are no more than seventy-eight of them at work, and only sixty-three of which are producing ore, and
the united returns amount to 2,000,000 oz. of silver per annum. Owners or companies have roads
leading down to their mines, formed of steps cut out in the rock, dipping at angles varying from 30° to
50°. When you have descended to the depth of the mines, the levels or holes leading to many of them
are so small that one has to drag himself along snake fashion until he reaches the main excavation. The
miners break down the silver ore with pointed bars of iron, and then shovel it into bags made of hide
with the shoulder-bone of some animal; after which the stuff is carried to surface on men's and boys'
backs.
"When all the mineral has been extracted there remains an immense excavation, and in consequence of
the roof not being properly supported with timber, one risks his life in entering it. Heavy falls of rock
frequently occur, and by which means a vast number of persons are annually killed. One day in the last
century, at the mines of 'Matagente' (which word means killed people), which are situated in the rising

ground on the northern side of the town, while a great number of men and boys were at work, the roof
of one of these immense chambers, consisting of many thousands of tons, fell in without giving the
least warning, and 'in the twinkling of an eye' the souls of 300 Peruvian miners rushed into the
presence of their Redeemer. Their bodies have never been exhumed, and their shattered bones, still
remaining, will bear evidence of the catastrophe to future explorers. An adit has been driven through
the district, beginning at the Lake of Quiulacocha on the south-west, and terminating at the mines of
Ganacaucha on the north. The entire length of the adit, including its branches, is about 3 miles, and its
average depth from surface 50 fathoms. Three perpendicular shafts, situated at about 600 yards apart,
have also been sunk from surface to a short distance below the adit.
"The whole of the machinery for the mines in question, which is being made and dispatched by
Messrs. Harvey and Co., of Hayle, Cornwall, consists of four steam pumping engines, six boilers, four
iron main beams, four balance ditto, and also a sufficient quantity of 24-inch pit-work for both shafts.
No single piece of all this cumbrous machinery must weigh more than 300 lbs., in consequence of its
having to be transported on the backs of mules from the coast to this mountainous region. Although
the main distance is no more than 160 miles, these beasts with their burdens have to climb an altitude
of 15,000 feet before they reach their destination. Moreover, the passes in ascending the Andes and
Cordillera can only be correctly imagined by experienced travellers. Some of the defiles are not much
wider than a sheep-path, and with a thousand feet below you a roaring cataract, and thousands of feet
above you snow-capped overhanging mountains, looking so dreadful that the awe-struck stranger in
the pass fears that the next peal of thunder will cause them to topple."

Mule Track from Lima to Cerro de Pasco. [W. J.
Welch.]

"I observe in a paper which is now before me, entitled 'The Introduction of the Steam-Engine in the
Peruvian Mines, by Richard Trevithick, in 1816,' that when Captain Trevithick arrived at Lima on
board the ship 'Asp,' with sundry small engines for the draining of the mines of Cerro de Pasco, he was
immediately presented to the Marquis de Concordia, then Viceroy of Peru, was most graciously
received by the most flattering attention of the inhabitants, and subsequently the Viceroy ordered the
Lord Warden of the mines to escort the great man with a guard of honour to the mining district. In
contrasting the two epochs, that of Trevithick in 1816, with this of Wyman and Harrison in 1871, one
is led to exclaim that there were gentlemen in Peru in 1816, and they gave unto Cæsar that which
belonged to Cæsar."[131]
The same newspaper, on the 9th November, 1870, stated:—
"The 'Bride' sailed from Hayle on Thursday with a portion of the machinery made by Messrs. Harvey
and Co., of Hayle, destined for Cerro de Pasco, in Peru. The work comprises four 37-inch cylinder
pumping engines; no part to weigh more than 300 lbs."
To enable the parts to be reduced in weight, each steam-cylinder was made of thirty-seven
different pieces. The mechanics of Trevithick's time could not make a steam-cylinder in
parts; therefore his difficulties in designing and conveying the machinery were ten times
greater than they would be in the present day, and necessitated the extreme simplicity of
his engines. His residence with the Peruvians from 1816 to 1822 taught them the use of
high-pressure steam-engines in their mines; and indirectly heralded the advent of the
steam-horse, now as familiar to them as to the residents in many English towns.

CHAPTER XXIII.
COSTA RICA.

"My dear Sir,
"In the month of June, 1822, I disembarked in the port of Punta de Arenas, in the Gulf of Nicoya, the
only one corresponding to that province at present in use on the Pacific side. My object was to dispose
of a cargo of cotton which I had brought from Realejo, and to purchase sugar in return. Circumstances,
not necessary to mention, and the loss of the small vessel with which I was trading on the coast,
caused me to remain in Costa Rica. Its name implies a very early conviction of its natural opulence; it
is certain that gold and silver abounded among the Indians at the period of its conquest by the
Spaniards. It was at one time a favoured and flourishing agricultural colony, but from various causes
sank into neglect. Such was the apathy, both of the Government and of individuals, that the very
existence of the precious metals in the country had been almost entirely forgotten. In the end of 1821,
a poor man, Nicolas Castro by name, opened the first gold mine known in Costa Rica since the
conquest, and his success soon induced others to try their fortunes; with fortunate results, in a few
months a mining district sprang into being.
"A gentleman of the name of Alverado constructed at a very considerable expense what is called an
Ingenio, consisting of various edifices for depositing the ore, machinery driven by water for grinding it
and afterwards blending it with quicksilver for amalgamation.

PLATE 14.
London: E. & F. N. Spon, 48, Charing Cross. Kell. Bros Lith. London.
TREVITHICK'S ROUTE ACROSS THE ISTHMUS OF COSTA-RICA.

"When I landed in June, 1822, only five or six mines had been discovered, but in January 1823, when
I left the country, I cannot pretend to enumerate those in a state of progress and of promise. It is not
only in the mining part of the business that the want of skill is prejudicial to the result. It is imperfectly
ground, for instance, and consequently cannot be brought into that intimate contact with the
quicksilver which is necessary to perfect amalgamation. The machine for grinding is very simple: a
large flat stone, like a mill-stone, is made to revolve upon its fellow by an ox or mule power. The
poorest people reduce it to powder by manual labour, in the same way as they grind corn preparatory
to baking it into cakes. Alverado's machine promised to be a great acquisition. The grinding was
facilitated by a little water; when the ore is judged to be sufficiently well ground, a portion of
quicksilver is thrown in by guess, and the motion of the machine continued until the union of the
metals is supposed to be complete; the whole is then removed into large wide-mouthed conical-shaped
wooden vessels. In these receptacles it undergoes repeated washings, by stirring occasionally round,
and afterwards communicating to the vessel a swinging or half-rotary motion, by which a quantity of
the water, having the earthy particles suspended, is driven over the edges; the amalgamated mass
naturally sinks to the bottom, and at last remains tolerably clean.
"The next step is the recovery of the quicksilver by distillation, after which the gold is melted in a
crucible and run into ingots. The coasts are hot, and from the luxuriant vegetation that everywhere
abounds, emit, as in all situations of the kind, febrile miasma in abundance when acted on by heat and
moisture; but black vomit is unknown, and all the fever cases I have seen have been of the remitting
and intermitting, free from character of malignancy. As the ground begins immediately to spring from
the coast, and does so indeed very rapidly, a few miles takes us beyond the region of even these slight
fevers, and as we continue ascending to the central table-land, a climate is encountered that may vie
with any in the world for benignancy and beauty. We there meet with the fruits of the torrid zone, and
near them the apple and the peach of Europe. The orange tree is in bearing the whole year. As in all
situations within the tropics, it has a proper rainy season, but it is less inconvenient and disagreeable
than might be expected, for it seldom rains two days in succession, and when it does, is invariably
succeeded by an interval of fine weather; for the most part every day presents a few dry hours. The
mines are situated on the ridges of the Cordillera, which without presenting snow-covered peaks,
attain, nevertheless, considerable elevation. The clouds, constantly attracted by those high summits,
render the rainy season more severe in the mining district than in the plains. The greatest
inconvenience was from the snakes, which in those solitary jungles, now first invaded by man, are
very numerous and many of them venomous. Provisions are cheap and excellent. In short, there is but
one fault I find with the country, and it is a great one, I mean the frequency of earthquakes.
"J. M. Gerard."
Mem. in Mr. Gerard's Writing.
"Illustrations of the Map.
"Though the plans and sections explain themselves, a few observations will not be misplaced. The
deep adit for the Coralillo would be 600 yards, that for Quebrada-honda 400 yards, and besides
serving as drains would form admirable roads for conveying the ores into the vale where the stamps
must be erected.
"The veins would be worked upward from the adits, and thus no expense would be incurred for ages to
come in lifting either water, ore, or rubbish to the surface. Padre Arias Mine is an exception, requiring
a powerful water-wheel, or an hydraulic pressure-engine, for which there is a fine fall of water of 135
feet. The mines in Quebrada-honda are those in which an interest has been procured. Captain
Trevithick has an interest in the mine of Coralillo; the great watercourse is also his.

"It will be seen by the plan that there are 75 fathoms fall to the point where his present mill is situated,
and other 75 fathoms to the junction of the rivers of Quebrada-honda and Machuca. The whole length
does not amount to two miles, within which it is estimated that sufficient power may be commanded
to stamp 500,000 of quintals annually. To bring it up to that pitch, the waters of Machuca must be
brought to join those of Quebrada-honda at Trevithick's mill, and then 40 tons of water per minute
could be delivered in the dry season."
Extracts from a report by Trevithick and Gerard in 1827:—
"This map consists of several distinct parts. The middle part shows the mining district, the present
dimensions of which are small, the length being hardly four miles, breadth from two to three, and the
superficial extent from eight to ten miles. The upper part of the plan is a section of the north ridge,
called Quebrada-honda, and shows the line of the proposed adits. The lower part in like manner
exhibits the south ridge, called Coralillo. The map further shows the inclination or gradual fall of the
ground along the valley, and of the streams by which the mills are driven.
"The canal is likewise shown 5000 yards in length, by which the rivers of Machuca would be brought
to join that of Quebrada-honda.
"Castro's mine is situated on the southern ridge, and was the first mine worked to any extent. There the
veins are very large; in fact, from the manner in which a number of horizontal veins are seen falling
into the perpendicular or master vein, the great body of the mountain would appear to consist of lodes.
This mass of ore is in general rich. It has been worked open to the surface, somewhat like a quarry, so
that it is not difficult to calculate in cubic feet the quantity that has been excavated. The mine is
supposed to have yielded in the course of the last six years gold to the value of 40,000l., and by
measuring the excavations it would appear that this amounts to, on an average, one ounce of fine gold
to every ten or twelve quintals of ore. In 1821 the existence of silver was only imagined. In 1823 it
was fully ascertained. Ever since 1824 it has constituted a small but constant portion of the produce of
Quebrada-honda, and in 1827 it was decidedly evinced in Coralillo. The discovery of gold in Coralillo
led them to work in Quebrada-honda, where they found both gold and silver, and the discovery of
silver in Quebrada-honda, by strengthening the expectation of it in Coralillo, led in its turn to the
discovery of silver there. In Quebrada-honda they only work on the ground in the immediate vicinity
of the stream, and that in the most imperfect manner; but great light has been thrown on the value of
the ores on this spot and in the district generally by the progress made in working what is called Padre
Arias Mine, which takes its name from an ecclesiastic who first worked it. This mine is situated in low
ground near the verge of the stream, and was at first only worked for gold. There were soon, however,
indications of silver, which increased progressively in sinking, till at the depth of only 10 yards the
influx of water exceeded the means of draining, and the works under water-level were necessarily
abandoned, at a time when ores were yielding upwards of 200 oz. of silver to the ton, a striking proof
of the tendency of silver ore to improve in this district as the depth increases.
"Mr. Richard Trevithick, that eminent Cornish miner and engineer, so well known for his inventions,
and particularly for the high-pressure steam-engine and the drainage of the Pasco Mines in Peru, when
unfortunately civil war burst out in Peru, and the Royalists, considering those engines as the main
instrument for supplying money to the Independents, rendered them useless by destroying or carrying
off some of the most important pieces.
"Mr. Trevithick having heard favourable reports of the mining district we are now describing, soon
after repaired thither, and was so fully impressed with its value and importance that he made an
extensive contract for different properties, and resided in the country for four years.

"He is now in England ready to give explicit answers to any inquiries that may be made as to the
mineral wealth of Costa Rica, and the extraordinary facilities afforded by its position and natural
advantages. An estimate has been made for establishing a complete mining concern in Costa Rica,
with houses, iron railroads, stamping mills, &c., so as to raise, stamp, and bring into refined gold the
produce contained in 250,000 tons of ore per year.
"The result of six years' experience shows that the following list of machinery and tools with a few
miles of railroad would be sufficient. The communication with the mines being satisfactorily
established by the route of the port of San Juan de Nicaragua and the river Serapique, the materials
would be sent by the Atlantic at very much less cost than by around Cape Horn.
"It is situated within 14 leagues of the Pacific Ocean and 30 leagues of the Atlantic, in a mountainous
district intersected by deep valleys or ravines. The mountains are covered with wood fit for fuel,
mining, architecture, and machinery. There is a population of 50,000 inhabitants within one day's
journey of the mines. The climate is perfectly salubrious, provisions of all kinds remarkably cheap,
labourers' wages from four to five dollars per month. The mines secured are freehold property, and
with one exception are unencumbered by tribute or native partners. The attention of Government and
of individuals has recently been directed to the discovery of a road from the interior to the river
Serapique, which, rising in the high lands of Costa Rica, pursues a northerly course and joins the San
Juan about 10 leagues above the harbour of that name, being itself navigable for about 12 leagues
above the junction. The opening of this road is a matter of much importance to Costa Rica in a general
point of view; the port of Matina being always bad and impracticable during the prevalence of
northerly winds; that of San Juan being, on the contrary, capacious, easy of access, and at all times
perfectly secure. The distance is much the same as by the way of Matina. Several expeditions have
been undertaken with a view of exploring an eligible road to the highest navigable point of Serapique,
and although as yet none fit for mules has been discovered, the results of the experiments justify the
expectation of success. Individual enterprise is active in the attempt, and Government has wisely
offered a reward to successful speculators.
"Captain Trevithick and Mr. Gerard, with a particular view to the enterprise now under consideration,
and after considerable risk and labour, succeeded in laying down the navigable head of the Serapique
and in throwing such light on the intervening tract as will be of great assistance to future adventurers.
They ultimately constructed a canoe in which they sailed down to the port of San Juan."
Plate XIV. shows Trevithick's route across Costa Rica.
A memorandum in Trevithick's writing, apparently a diary, says:—

"From where we returned our mules to the place where we commenced to make our
rafts and boat was eleven days' journey, a distance of 50 or 60 miles. The first and
second days after parting with the mules we passed some soft ground, with three or
four rivulets of water in narrow vales, about 10 miles on the side of the decline of the
high ridge on our left. It could easily be made passable for mules, as the bad places
where they could not travel did not exceed two or three miles; and had we kept a
little more to the left above the soft ground, probably they could have passed. The
next bad place was about a mile after the second pass across the San José River,
being a very deep and abrupt vale. Had we never passed the San José River, but left
it on our right hand, the road would have been much shorter, and we should have
avoided this deep vale, and also the three other vales, and their three rivers of
Montelegre, Juan Mora, and Ajerbi. They were, however, small, not more than half
the leg in water, which is a proof that their source was not above 10 miles off and
must have originated in the side of the high ridge on our left. None of the vales were
impassable to mules, except that between the second passing of the river San José
and the river Montelegre, which was about a mile, and might be made passable for
mules by a diagonal road to be made in the side of the hill a little higher up.
"Only five or six miles of road would require to be made for mules on the whole of
the way we came, to where the river Serapique is navigable. We observed that we
should have avoided those vales by passing a few miles more to the left, where we
saw one continued high ridge running from the highest ridge of the continent,
commencing at the volcano and terminating in a point near to where the Serapique
River is navigable.
"On a regular decline for perhaps 7000 or 8000 feet in height, down to near sea-level,
which would in that distance have given a fall of about half an inch in a yard, four
men in ten days would make, I have no doubt, this ridge passable for mules on a
regular descent to where the Serapique River is navigable. I have no doubt if we
could have spent one week more on our journey we might have passed mules the
whole distance with us. To carry machinery from where the Serapique is navigable to
the mines is about one-third farther than from the port of Arenas on the south, on
which the carriage is two dollars per mule load; three dollars might therefore be
charged per mule from the Atlantic side, a much less cost than by way of Matina, or
by going around Cape Horn. It would give a speedy communication and a great
accommodation to the province of Costa Rica, which I doubt not would gladly
contribute to its making.
"The mining district occupies the mountain of Aquacate, nearly equidistant from the
port of Punta de Arenas, in the Gulf of Nicoya, and from San José, the capital of the

state, about 14 leagues from the former and 12 from the latter. The high road passes
through the centre of the district.
"The chief outlay after paying for the mines would be for erecting stamping mills and
making railroads."
This broken information barely gives an idea of the importance of the Costa
Rica mines, or of what Trevithick did between the time of his landing on
the Pacific shore, about 1822, and his leaving the mines on his search for a
new route over the Cordillera to the Atlantic shore, about 1826 or 1827.
Judging from the rough map on which Trevithick has marked his line of
travel across the isthmus, the mines of Machucha, Quebrada-honda, and
Coralillo, were inland from the Gulf of Nicoya, on the Pacific, some forty
or fifty miles, the latter mine having its water shed into the Rio Grande,
while the two other mines, not far off, opened into the Quebrada-honda
River. The central high ridge of the Cordillera was between the mines and
the Atlantic; indeed the mines are on high ground at the foot of volcanic
mountains. San Mateo seems to have been the place of importance near the
mines, and probably a well-known mule-track was in use through the
mountain ridge to San José, the capital, once numbering thirty thousand
inhabitants; but this line failed to reach a good port on the Atlantic coast.
The travellers, therefore, abandoned the known track, and turning to the
left, made their way between the volcanic peaks of Potos and Barba, hoping
that on the eastern slope of the Cordillera navigable rivers would be found
either to the Atlantic or to the San Juan de Nicaragua, which joined the
Atlantic at the port of San Juan. It was probably at this volcanic ridge that
the precipitous road obliged the mules to be sent back. The track was then
due north, towards Buona Vista, below which the river Serapique took its
rise, running into the river San Juan. Where they crossed this river was fifty
or sixty miles from where the mules had left them. Trevithick marked the
river-crossing with a steamboat, indicating its navigability; but the writer
infers that it had so much of the mountain torrent about it, that the travellers
took a line still through unexplored country towards the port of San Juan,
on the Atlantic, for the track and the description show that the river San
José was crossed, and also another river running to the Atlantic. They
probably were stopped by swamps on approaching the San Juan, and
retracing their steps to the Serapique, constructed rafts or canoes, and after

hairbreadth escapes sailed down it to the junction with the San Juan, and
down the latter to its junction with the Atlantic at Port San Juan, or
Greytown.
Eleven days were passed from the parting with the mules near the crossing
of the highest ground, from whence they saw a continuous ridge,
commencing at the volcano and terminating near to where the Serapique is
navigable on a regular decline for perhaps seven or eight thousand feet
down to near sea-level, giving a fall for the whole distance of about half an
inch in a yard, or in railway parlance 1 in 70; for this was what was in
Trevithick's head, that his steam-horse should carry where the mule could
not, and that miners and machinery should be so taken to his mines from
the Atlantic, giving those who chose an opportunity of continuing their
railway journey to the Pacific.
The writer has heard Trevithick describe the excursion as lasting three
weeks, through woods, swamps, and over rapids; their food, monkeys and
wild fruit; their clothes, at the end of the journey, shreds and scraps, the
larger portion having been torn off in the underwood.
Mr. Thomas Edmonds also listened to Trevithick's narrations, some of
which he gives in the following:—
"In 1830 I frequently saw Trevithick at the house of Mr. Gittins, at Highgate, a
schoolmaster, with whom were two boys that had accompanied him from Costa Rica,
called Montelegre. Before Captain Trevithick no European had adventured on or
explored the passage along the river from the Lake Nicaragua to the sea. In the
adventure he was accompanied by Mr. J. M. Gerard, a native of Scotland; two boys
of Spanish origin going to England for their education; a half-caste, as servant to Mr.
Gerard; and by six working men of the country, of whom three went back, after
helping to remove obstructions in the forest through which the first part of the
journey was undertaken. The risks to which the party were exposed on their passage
were very great: they all had a narrow escape from starvation, one of the labourers
was drowned, and Captain Trevithick was saved from drowning by Mr. Gerard. The
intended passage was along the banks of the river. To avoid the labour of cutting
through the forest, the party determined to construct a raft, on which they placed
themselves, their provisions, and utensils; after a passage of no long duration they
came to a rapid, which almost overturned their raft, and swept away the principal
part of their provisions and utensils. The raft, being unmanageable, was then stopped

by a tree lying in the river, with its roots attached to the bank; on this tree three of the
passengers, including Captain Trevithick, landed, and reached the bank; this was no
sooner done than the current drove the raft away from the tree, and carried it, with
the remaining passengers, to the opposite bank, where they landed in safety, and
abandoned the raft as too dangerous for further use. The next object was to unite the
party again into one body. The three left on the other side of the river were called
upon to swim over: one of the men swam over in safety, the next made the attempt
and was drowned, the third and last remaining was Captain Trevithick, who was
either unable to swim or could swim very little. In order to improve his chances of
safety, he gathered several sticks, which he tied in a bundle and placed under his
arms; with these he plunged into the stream; but the contrivance of the bundle of
sticks afforded him very doubtful assistance, for the current appeared to seize the
sticks and whirl him round and round. He, however, finally reached within two or
three yards of the bank in a state of extreme exhaustion. Mr. Gerard going into the
water himself and holding the branch of a tree, then threw to his assistance the stem
of a water-plant, holding one of the extremities in his own hand. It was not until the
fourth time of throwing that Captain Trevithick was able to seize the very extremity
of the plant (which was leaf) in his fingers; on the strength of the leaf his life on the
occasion was dependent. It was determined to give up any further idea of using a raft
on the river, and to continue their journey along the banks of the river. For
subsistence for the remainder of their journey they had to depend on the produce of
one fowling-piece and a small quantity of gunpowder; after a few days the
gunpowder got wet by accident, and in the attempt to dry it, it was lost by explosion.
The party finally arrived in a state of great exhaustion at the village, now the
considerable port of San Juan de Nicaragua, or Greytown; and shortly after their
arrival a small vessel arrived, which conveyed the party to one of the West India
islands.
"Upon one occasion Captain Trevithick was called upon to act in a novel capacity,
that of a surgeon. An accident happened to a native engaged in working an engine
erected at a place distant about two hundred miles from Lima, by which accident
both of his arms were crushed. There was no medical man within the distance of two
hundred miles, and Captain Trevithick, believing that death would ensue if
amputation was not immediately performed, offered his services, which were
accepted by the patient. The operation, he informed me, was successful; the man
rapidly recovered, and showed a pair of stumps which could have hardly been
distinguished from the result of an operation by a regular surgeon. It is not
improbable that in the warfare in which he had been engaged Captain Trevithick had
been present and assisted at amputations of limbs of wounded soldiers. He thus

probably acquired sufficient confidence to undertake and perform the operation
himself.
"From Costa Rica Captain Trevithick came to England, with a design, among others,
of forming a company to work a mine which had been granted him (for a term of
years) by the Costa Rica Government. Mr. Gerard came to England with a similar
object in view. Both failed in their object. Mr. Gerard was extremely unfortunate
with regard to his mine, for he spent a considerable fortune of his own in working his
mine to a loss.
"The eminence of Captain Trevithick as an engineer is well known. The public are
indebted to him for the invention of the high-pressure steam-engine and the first
railway steam-carriage. The latter being dependent on the former, Captain Trevithick
informed me that the idea of the high-pressure engine occurred to him suddenly one
day whilst at breakfast, and that before dinner-time he had the drawing complete, on
which the first steam-carriage was constructed. Captain Trevithick informed me that
in 1830 the original steam railway-engine constructed by him in 1808[132] at that time
was still running in Wales."
"Stanwik, Cumberland, 27th November, 1864.
""Sir,
"I read in the public prints that in a speech made by you in Belle Vue Gardens you
referred to the meeting of Robert Stephenson with Trevithick at Carthagena, which,
if your speech be correctly reported, you attribute to accident. The meeting was not
an accident, although an accident led to it, and that accident nearly cost Mr.
Trevithick his life; and he was taken to Carthagena by the gentleman that saved him,
that he might be restored. When Mr. Stephenson saw him he was so recovering, and
if he looked, as you say, in a sombre and silent mood, it was not surprising, after
being, as he said, 'half drowned and half hanged, and the rest devoured by alligators,'
which was too near the fact to be pleasant. Mr. Trevithick had been upset at the
mouth of the river Magdalena by a black man he had in some way offended, and who
capsized the boat in revenge. An officer in the Venezuelan and the Peruvian services
was fortunately nigh the banks of the river, shooting wild pigs. He heard Mr.
Trevithick's cries for help, and seeing a large alligator approaching him, shot him in
the eye, and then, as he had no boat, lassoed Mr. Trevithick, and by his lasso drew
him ashore much exhausted and all but dead. After doing all he could to restore him,
he took him on to Carthagena, and thus it was he fell in with Mr. Stephenson, who,
like most Englishmen, was reserved, and took no notice of Mr. Trevithick, until the
officer said to him, meeting Mr. Stephenson at the door, 'I suppose the old proverb of
"two of a trade cannot agree" is true, by the way you keep aloof from your brother
chip. It is not thus your father would have treated that worthy man, and it is not

creditable to your father's son that he and you should be here day after day like two
strange cats in a garret; it would not sound well at home.' 'Who is it?' said Mr.
Stephenson. 'The inventor of the locomotive, your father's friend and fellow-worker;
his name is Trevithick, you may have heard it,' the officer said; and then Mr.
Stephenson went up to Trevithick. That Mr. Trevithick felt the previous neglect was
clear. He had sat with Robert on his knee many a night while talking to his father,
and it was through him Robert was made an engineer. My informant states that there
was not that cordiality between them he would have wished to see at Carthagena.
"The officer that rescued Mr. Trevithick is now living. I am sure he will confirm
what I say, if needful. A letter will find him if addressed to No. 4, Earl Street,
Carlisle, Cumberland.
"There are more details, but I cannot state them in a letter, and you might not wish to
hear them if I could.
"I am, Sir,
"Your very obedient servant,
"James Fairbairn,
"who writes as well as rheumatic gout will let him.
"P.S.—I forgot to say the name of the officer is Hall.
"To —— Watkin, Esq."
"4, Earl Street, Carlisle, 16th December, 1864.
"Dear Sir,
"On my return from Liverpool this day I find your letter of the 9th.
"In reply I have the honour to say that if you will be pleased to state upon what
points you require information, I shall be but too happy to furnish it if I can.
"I have barely time to add that Mr. Fairbairn has left for America, which is his home,
and has been for many years. He must have been at Birkenhead or Liverpool at the
date of your letter to me. I was not aware that he had written to you. He brought me a
paper with your remarks about the meeting of Mr. Robert Stephenson and Mr.
Trevithick, and asked me if it were true that they met at Carthagena as stated, as he
(Mr. Fairbairn) thought it was at Angostura, and that Mr. Trevithick was in danger of
being drowned at the Bocasses, i. e. the mouths of the Orinoco, the Apure, &c., &c. I
explained that it was near the mouth of the Magdalena.
"I will just say that it was quite possible Mr. R. Stephenson had forgotten Mr.
Trevithick, but they must have seen each other many times. This was shown by Mr.

Trevithick's exclamation, 'Is that Bobby?' and after a pause he added, 'I've nursed him
many a time.'
"I know not the cause, but they were not so cordial as I could have wished. It might
have been their difference of opinion about the construction of the proposed engine,
or it might have been from another cause, which I should not like to refer to at
present; indeed, there is not time.
"Pray address me as before. I hold no rank in the British service, and in England
never assume any.
"I have the honour to be, dear Sir,
"Faithfully yours,
"Bruce Napier Hall.
"Edward W. Watkin, Esq., M.P., &c.,
"Currente Calamo."
These notes from Mr. Hall and Mr. Fairbairn to Mr. (now Sir Edward)
Watkin[133] arose from the latter repeating what Mr. Robert Stephenson had
related, of his meeting with Trevithick and Gerard at the inn at Carthagena.
Stephenson said, "on his way home from Colombo, and in the public room
at the inn, he was much struck by the appearance and manner of two tall
persons speaking English; the taller of them, wearing a large-brimmed
straw or whitish hat, paced restlessly from end to end of the room." Gerard
and Stephenson entered into conversation, and Trevithick joined them.
Stephenson said that he had a hundred pounds in his pocket, of which he
gave fifty to Trevithick to enable him to reach England. It seems that had it
not been for Mr. Hall's quick eye and steady hand rescuing Trevithick from
the jaws of the blind alligator, he never would have returned to his native
country.
Here was the inventor of the locomotive a beggar in a strange land, helped
by the man whom he had nursed in baby-boyhood, then returning to
England to become a great railway engineer in making known the use of
the locomotive on the level road of the Liverpool and Manchester, while the
real inventor, who looked upon railways and locomotives as things of a
quarter of a century before, was about to recommend them as the means of
passing across the isthmus of Costa Rica from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
over the heights of the Cordillera, by the river San Juan from Greytown,

and by its tributary the Serapique, then by railway towards the high ground
of San José, the capital, and down the western slope, passing, somewhere
not far from the mines, forward to the Gulf of Nicoya in the Pacific.
The approximate distance would be fifty miles of river navigation, and
eighty or a hundred of railway, with perhaps stiffish but still manageable
inclines, and no avalanches.
A loan by the Costa Rica Government of 1872 states,[134] "for the
completion of the railway from the port of Limon, in the Atlantic Ocean, to
San José de Costa Rica, and on to Heredia and Alajuela," near to
Trevithick's mines, as if to carry out his design of forty-six years ago to
connect the Atlantic and Pacific by railway.

CHAPTER XXIV.
RETURN TO ENGLAND.

In the early part of October, 1827, the writer, then a boy at Bodmin school,
was asked by the master if any particular news had come from home.
Scarcely had the curiosity of the boys subsided, when a tall man with a
broad-brimmed Leghorn hat on his head entered at the door, and after a
quick glance at his whereabouts, marched towards the master's desk at the
other end of the room. When about half-way, and opposite the writer's
class, he stopped, took his hat off, and asked if his son Francis was there.
Mr. Boar, who had watched his approach, rose at the removal of the hat,
and replied in the affirmative. For a moment a breathless silence reigned in
the school, while all eyes were turned on the gaunt sun-burnt visitor; and
the blood, without a defined reason, caused the writer's heart to beat as
though the unknown was his father, who eleven years before had carried
him on his shoulder to the pier-head steps, and the boat going to the South
Sea whaler.
During the next six months father and son sat together daily, the one
drawing new schemes and calculations, the other observing, and learning,
and calculating the weight and size and speed of a poor swallow he had
shot, that the proportions of wings necessary to carry a man's weight might
be known. In these calculations cube roots of quantities were extracted,
which did not accurately agree with Trevithick's figures, who, asking for
explanations, received a rehearsal, word for word, of the school-book rule
for such extractions, which threw no more light on his understanding than
did his own self-made rule on the writer's comprehension, though both
methods produced nearly the same result.
Within a month of that time he heard of the arrival in England of Mr.
Gerard, his companion in travel, from whom he had separated at
Carthagena.