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. The shades of Hudson and Fulton
lave recently been the guests of
)
father Knickerbocker. The tercenten-
. iry celebration of Henry Hudson's dis-
. . .
tovery of the beautiful stream that
bears his name wilK live in history.
Sharing honors with the old navigator
ind explorer ) was the man who , two
renturies after the shallow Half Moon
'I
' plumbed its way gingerly up what
Hudson is supposed to have at first
thought the northwest passage , navi-
gated : the same stream in a steamboat
to the admiring gaze and fearsome
I , participation of the venturesome
,
bloods of a century ago.
'What must the shades of these virile
progressives cf one and three centuries
ago think of the panoply of progres-
, sion unfolded on the Hudson and the
North and East rivers in this twen-
tieth century ? The very pageant
which opened the memorial celebration
discovery { and invention was of such
- magnitude and variety as to cause
fcven we mortals of the present to gasp
when we pause to consider all the
marvels of accomplishment it repre-
h
sented. No more fitting year could
have been chosen . - by prearrangement
ind advanced preparation than the
present one for such a memorial fete ,
writes Charles H. Leichliter in the
Chicago Record ; Herald. It has been a
. . . .
- rear of record smashing in almost
Every field of endeavor.
Less practical in its effect than
would have been the fulfillment of
N , Hudson's continual quest , a navigable
; ' \ ' north passage from the Atlantic to the
Pacific the accomplishment sought by
4 adventurers for 400 years : has been
, achieved. ! ! The north pole has been
iiscovered. : Men and women possessed
\ . af the same explorative restlessness as
" s resulted in the name of Hudson dot-
I Mag the geography the western '
_ , hemisphere have been busy scaling the i .
highest mountain peaks. Another Eng-
lishman - for Hudson was a son of
Great Britain despite the fact that
. his most notable achievements were
' : made with the assistance of the Dutch
" -
" -has traversed the difficult wastes of I
.
; . the antarctic to within 111 miles of
j the south pole. Records for globe cir
cling have been broken. But while
Peary , with his Roosevelta pigmy boat
compared with the present ocean lin-
srs , but infinitely larger than the Half
Moon , divides honors with his success-
: fui fellow explorer , Dr. Cook , it was
not so much the accomplishments of
these intrepid men and their kindred
spirits that astounded the shades of
Hudson and Fulton as the marvels of
nvention they witnessed.
An Age of Superlatives.
This is the age of electricity ; of
aviation ; of annihilation of distance
. . beyond the dreams of the veriest vis-
; onarv. Before these virile spirits , on
the . mighty Hudson ; about and be-
neath them on land and sea , above
SY I
- . them in the air were the foremost ex
"
amples of what their successors have
been doing in the world they left so
iong ago. Nimble as these etherial
I Inspectors , Curtiss and Wright navi-
tate the air. These disembodied spirits
must from sheer surprise and . force of
.
Cuiman habit , have stepped agilely
from the terrific approach of racing
' self-propelled vehicles ; ' the brilliant
: . light of. electricity - and its demon pow-
? r must have astonished even the soul
cf the enterprising , far-seeing Fulton.
. .
And on the iron rails he could note
the climax of the practical use of the
.
- v. r.team he harnessed to his bidding on
. \ the same spot a century ago. For his
part , the shade of Hudson must have
, i sazed with wonder lighted eyes at the
leviathans that plov the sen he loved.
, . . Ocean greyhounds that cross the At-
4
, = . lantic now in less days than it tool"
t . him months on his first crossing rear-
id their hulks hi.s'h above the blue
, _ , ' waters : their iron bellies buried in
- . ' " " the depths a distance greater than
the height of many : stupendous build-
; ings. Torpedo boats and su ' ) marines
astonished the explorer's shade more
than that of Fulton , for the inventor
' : : - : had experimented with these before
. . ils death , almost . a century ago.
"
Advance in Battleships. :
: . . . But to Hudson the lot : - g lines of the
. .
I 'the maneuvering battleships of many
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nations must have been a source of
professional admiration , surprise and
regret that he could not be reincar-
nated in this age of so great possibili-
ties to the nevigator. How he would
have liked to tread their decks and
immaculate bridges ! What consterna-
tion would not he have poured into the
Indians of Spuyten Duyvil or the mu-
tineers of Hudson's Bay from their
many embattled turrets.
Visiting the commanders of the va-
rious vessels , from the trim steam
yachts or motor boats to the massive
stepped battleships or the huge hulks
of the Mauretania or the Lusitania
the shades met surprises at every
hand. Very frequently they were
startled by a "cra-a-sh" snapping in
the atmosphere about them , as invis-
ible as their own disembodied spirits.
Brave though he was/ Hudson must
have seized nervously the arm of his
more modern companion and demand-
ed : "What's that ? " And Fulton , in-
ventor , and mechanic , no doubt con-
fessed ignorance and turned to the
shade of old Diedrich Knickerbocker ,
their guide , for enlightenment.
Let us go with them on their first
twenty-four hours' inspection. Father
Knickerbocker , being credited with
maintaining a close watch upon the
habits and progress of the inhabitants
of his beloved Isle of Manhattan , was
able to set their fears at rest , albeit
he aggravated their wonder by explain-
ing that the uncanny noise was made
by wireless telegraph instruments.
"But what is the telegraph ? " both
asked.
"I had forgotten that you left be-
fore the invention of sending messages
by means of a wire over thousands of
miles of space. At first wires were
.
necessary , and they still are generally
used over land. But over water a
system of sending and receiving mes-
sages across hundreds of miles of
space with no visible connection is
coming into very common use. Al-
ready it has saved the lives of many
hundreds of shipwrecked people. By
its use busy business men on ocean
travels are able to keep in momentary
communication with any part of the
world they wish , " explained the proto-
type of New York town.
"I remember something about
Franklin with a kite and a key. He
drew sparks from a string. That was
a little wl ile before I caught cold
crossing from New Jersey and became
r shade , " said Fulton. "Is this new
telegraphy anything like that ? "
"Something similar , as it is accom-
M
plished by means of captive electric-
ity , " replied Father Knickerbocker.
"Telephony is another invention
whereby sounds are reproduced accu
rately ! over thousands of miles of wire ,
Y
. . , , . , " . . ' . . . .c
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conversations between New York and
Chicago and even greater distances be-
ing commonplace occurrences now. "
"Chicago ? " both inquired.
"Chicago , " broke in another shade
who bore resemblance to Father Dear-
born , "is the greatest young city in
the world. It is rapidly overhauling
New York in population and is the
center and source of most energy and
progress. "
Father . Knickerbocker elevated his
shade eyelids slightly , but refrained
from comment.
"I had heard of electricity , " rumi
nated the shade of Fulton. "There
was something about it in Leyden
while I was in England. But I did
not dream it possessed such possibili-
ties. It may have been a better ele
ment with which to experiment than
steam. Still , nothing can'supplant
steam. I assume that all these people
I see here to-day have come by steam-
ships or maybe some have come by
steam vehicles over the highways. "
The shade of Father Dearborn emit-
ted something strangely like a snort.
"Yes , most of these people came by
steam-propelled vehicles , but they now
run on steel rails that girdle the
world. They travel usually at a rate
approximating nearly a mile a minute ,
and only this year a steam locomotive
beat the record by running ninety-
nine miles an hour. Every eighteen
hours steam engines pulling long
trains of steel-built cars an" carrying
hundreds of people go between Chi-
cago and New York , and fourteen-hour
trips over the same 1,000-mile journey
are not unusual. "
"Ye gods ! " was all the shade of Ful-
ton could exclaim.
"But that is not all , " broke in Father
Knickerbocker. "This vessel on which
we now are , the Mauretania. crossed
the Atlantic only a few weeks ago in
just a little more than four days.
How's that ? " he chuckled ! as he .
chucked the spirit ribs of Henry Hud- :
son.That i
That shade who had been listening
somewhat listlessly to the conversa- I
tion , became interested. "I was watch-
ing when our friend Robert , here
steamed up my river in the Clermont.
It was a much larger boat too , than
my Half Moon , and made better time.
But you could stow them both in this
monster and have to look a long time
to find them if they got misplaced. "
"Yes , " observed Father Knicker-
bocker , "you could almost put either
of them in one of those smokestacks.
A coach and four could easily be
driven through one of these funnels.
Electricity's Aid Used.
They were leaning over the rail , and
both the ancient shades became inter-
ested in a smaller vessel that was
driving alongside without apparent
means of propulsion. Only a faint
"chug I ! chug ! " came to their ears.
"That ; " " said : Father Knickerbocker ,
observing their attention , "is another
use to which electricity has been put.
With all your study , of torpedoes and
submarines you never thought of such
a thing as an electric launch , did you ;
Robert ? "
. . . . . ' . .
'
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"Electricity is used , too , on rail
roads. This year an electric motor
made a record of ninety-two miles an
hour. Electric wires from the bridge
of this ship to the engine room con-
vey the orders for its movements.
Electric bells in the cabins summon
servants , as they do in the thirtieth-
story room of the hotel in which you
would sleep to-night if a shade needed
to sleep. But let us pass along. We
have only a few days to witness the
wonders that have been produced by
men since you last visited the scene
of your greatest achievements. "
Swinging lightly over the side of
the great vessel the party , Including
Father Dearborn , floated . to the deck
'
of a passing launch.
"Phew ! " exclaimed the shade of
Hudson as it applied a Styx-embroid
ered handkerchief to its nostrils.
"What is that unseemly smell ? "
"That is the gasoline , " vouchsafed
Father Dearborn. "They're very fa-
miliar with it on the principal thor-
oughfares of my big western city. "
"And what is gasoline ? " queried the
shade of Fulton.
"Father Knick" Up to Date.
"You should keep better posted on
the progress of the world , my dear
Robert , " observed Father Knicker-
bocker. "See how I have kept myself
informed of what is going on in New
Amsterdam , which the British re-
named New York. Petroleum was dis-
covered in your native state of Penn-
sylvania some years after you cast
aside your mundane existence and af-
fected the filmy habilaments of the
spirit world. Gasoline is one of the
results , and right prominent it has
become as a fuel. It is largely used
for the propulsion of automobiles and
boats , and has become a means of
economy and large possibilities in
shops and other places where steam
is inexpedient and costly. "
On the battleship Connecticut , where
the visitors from the Styx next took
up their observations , both Hudson
and Fulton found much to interest
them. The huge guns of enormous
I tonnage , handled rapidly and smoothly
I by the aid of mechanical devices all
' new to the ancient mariners
'I { , filled
them with wonder. "The powder
I burned in the firing of one salute
I would have outfitted the Half Moon
for its entire voyage of discovery , " ob-
served Hudson.
See Two Familiar Craft.
About them the harbor and the
rivers were dotted with craft o f every
description. Finally ' they spied two
that were familiar-the replicas of the
Half Moon and the
first Clermont , re-
produced as a mere incident of the
tercentennial celebration. The orig-
inals had represented ? the climax of
reckless expenditure three and one
centuries back.
At the conclusion of the parade
Father Knickerbocker led his guests
back to the city's heart. Hudson's
bewilderment was far greater than
that of Fulton. "When I was here
this was all hills and trees and rocks , "
exclaimed the old explorer he gazed
upward to where \
Madison Mary was
tolling the hour , thirty stories above
them , with several more stories of
tower -stretching above her sonorous
mouth. '
"When I was here , " observed Fulton ,
"a four-story building was thought a
very tower of Babel. But there are
some familiar scenes. "
Just then there came a furious
"Honk ! Honk : . ! " and Father KnIcker-
bocker and Father Dearborn stepped
, aside lust In time to see a hufe racing
.
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car pass directly through the shades
of Hudson and Fulton.
"What was that ? " inquired the
guests as they caught the Stygian
breaths. "That , " explained Father
Knickerbocker , solicitously fanning the
habiliments of his charges with hla
spirit hand , "was the automobile that
recently did. ten miles in 8 : 23 1-5.
Lucky wasn't the one that made 100
miles in 1:38:484-10. : You would have
been wafted back to the Styx. "
"But what has become of the
horses ? " both inquired.
"There's some out in Central Park
yet , " replied Father Knickerbocker.
"There are still plenty to be seen on
the streets of Chicago , " observed
Father : Dearborn , wryly.
Year of Broken : Records.
"But even in this respect it has be-
come a very rapid world , " continued
Father Knickerbocker , ignoring the
interruption. "This year a horse , j
Hamburg Belle , trotted a one-mile
heat in 2:01 : % . "
I
"Good for the horse , " exclaimed Ful-
.
ton.
"Even your record of getting away
from the Indians up Albany way has
been eclipsed this : year , " said Father
Knickerbocker , looking through Hud-
son. "Early this month Emelio Lung-
hi clipped three and three-fifths
- - sec-
onds from the , 700-yard running rec-
ord that . , had stood for twenty-seven
years . , making it in 1:27 2-5 ; John J.
Eller won a 120-yard low hurdle race
in 0:14 : 2-5 , a fifth of a second faster
than the best previous record , made
in 18SS ; Platt Adams leaped in a
standing hop ' , skip and jump the un-
precedented distance of 32 feet 4 ? { .
inches , breaking the world's record
by several inches. "
"Blessed if it isn't a rapid century , "
ejaculated the visiting shades.
They were standing beside a huge
stone and iron structure. Suddenly
there came a buzz of noise , and under
their feet the earth trembled. .
"Is it an earthquake ? " tremulously
asked Hudson. 1
Wonders of Printing.
"No , old friend , " Father Knicl ; er-
bocker assured : ; him. "That is only
newspaper presses printing miles of
colored prints telling about this day's
doings in honor of both of you. They-
're coming out folded and ready for
the street at the rate of thousands a i
minute. While we are standing here
boys are already selling them on the
'streets. Within an hour a million
people will be looking at your ancient
pictures and reading of your achieve-
ments ; comparing them smilingly
with those ; of this very modern world : ' |
Hudson and Fulton were silent.
Then Fulton spoke up. "They were
printed by hand in my time , " he said.
"Three or four hundred an hour was
a remarkable record , even for the
press . of Ben Franklin. :
"There was mighty little printing
in my day , " observed Hudson , "even
in Holland or Germany. "
"Electricity again makes it possible
to-day. The presses , larger than
many houses , are operated by electric
motors ; electricity flashes the news
from all corners of the world , so that
within a few minutes of the occur-
rence of an important event , in 'any
part of the globe the rest of the world
may know about it , and be shown
printed pictures of either the people
concerned or photographic representa-
tions of the disaster , or battle , or not-
able achievement. "
They caught the flaring headlines of
a pictured page in the hands of a
flying ; uews + boy. "That looks like me , "
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exclaimed Hudson. "That's my like
ness , " said Fulton. "There was noth-
ing like that : in our time , " they
dueted.
And Than Flying Machines. \
Even as they stood agape a shadow *
obscured the light flickering through
the top of the canyon of skyscrapers ,
and , looking up , they saw in majestic
flight a huge bird-like shape. They ,
easily could disceren in its center the
figure of a man , and faintly came to
their ears the chug of a panting en-
gine.
"That is the latest and most mar-
velous achievement of any in the twen-
, tieth century , " Father Knickerbocker
stated calmly. "That is either the
Curtiss or Wright aeroplane flying
from Governor's Island , over Manhat
tan ; and the Bronx. These bird ma-
chines have taken on the spirit
of the age and man already has
: flown at the rate of forty-nine miles
: an hour. He has been able thus far
to remain in the air in a heavier than
air machine more than three hours ,
and dirigible balloons , lighter than
air , commonly travel from 150 to 450
miles. The possibilities of either form
of flying : machine have not as yet be-
gun to be developed. "
The shades of Hudson and Fulton
fell over in amazement and were run
over by a motorcycle.
"What hit us , then ? " they asked
impatiently.
How the bicycle had been succeeded
by the motor driven two-wheeled ve '
hicle was explained to them . , and they
were told of another recent world-
smashing record in which a motor-
cycle carrying two men went a mile
in 42 3-5 seconds this year. . . .
"I guess I'll go back home , " ob-
served Hudson. "This is too swift a
place for me. "
"Let's wait a little longer , " said
Fulton. "I always was interested in
inventions. "
Under Ocean in Submarine.
They were taken to the bottom ol
the ocean in a submarine and shown
how a man may : be shot from a sunk-
en vessel at a great depth , to the sur-
face of the water ; how vessels may be
rammed below i ' the water line ; how
torpedoes may be projected against
them ; how battles may be fought be-
neath the water or above the land a'nd
sea.
sea."It
"It looks to me , " observed Hudson
with decision , "that , with these big
guns and ships , the uncertainty of
submerged fighting and battles in the
air , this is no place for a fighting man
or a warring nation. . "
"Right you are , " agreed his three
companions.
At night they were treated to more
surprises. Serpentine figures in va-
rious colors leaped out of the darkness
of the overhead night.
"Electricity again , " Father Knick-
erbocker told them.
They expressed , surprise that so-
many candles and gas lights should be
available in their honor. Again they
were assured that little of the illum-
ination was gas , and none of it can-
dIes , but again electricity. Fulton re-
called gas lights in London , but these
were dim compared wtih : the bril
liance of the electric incandescents
and arcs. The prism colors of the
lights he was assured were produced
by the perfection of glass manufao-
ture. Everywhere the returned voy
agers were greeted with the possibili
ties and modern uses of one manufac
tured product with which they
thought they , had been familiar in
their own times.
Electric Elevators. .
Mirrored electric elevators sho\
them skyward with more rapidity
than their etherealized bodies . were
accustomed to travel. .
"Perhaps we'd better stay and see
it out , " said Hudson dubiously.
"As long as steam still is supreme
as a motive power I think I can afford
to ; remain , " declared Fulton.
"After all , if it hadn't been for me
and the Half Moon and my surly crew
this wonder country and its wonderful
achievements might not yet be "the
vision of the world , " said Hudson.
And Father Knickerbocker and
Father . Dearborn chuckled wtih pride.
, . .
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. . . . . . .