that incorporated such bevel gears. The initial plan, as
conceived by Charles, also included the details of the axles, steering
gear, countershaft with its friction-drum, the 2-piece angle-iron frame
upon which the countershaft bearings were mounted, and the free piston
engine with its ignition tube, since hot-tube ignition was to be
employed. No provision was made, however, for a burner to heat the tube;
nor had a carburetor been designed, though it had been decided not to
use a surface tank carburetor. The plans called for no muffler or
starting arrangement.[9] Many engines of the period were started simply
by turning the flywheel with the hands, and Charles felt this method was
sufficient for his carriage.

[Illustration: FIGURE 7.--DRAWING SHOWING PRINCIPLE of the Atkinson
engine; this feature is what the Duryeas were trying to achieve with
their free-piston engine, by substituting the free piston for the
unusual linkage of the Atkinson. (Smithsonian photo H3263-A.)]

[Illustration: FIGURE 8.--DRAWING OF 1885 BENZ engine, showing
similarity in general appearance to Duryea engine. From Karl Benz und
sein Lebenswerk, Stuttgart, 1953. (Daimler-Benz Company publication.)]

The Ames plant customarily had a summer shutdown during August; thus,
during August of 1891 Charles and Frank had access to a nearly empty
plant in which they could carry on experiments and make up working
drawings of the proposed vehicle. It cannot now be conclusively stated
whether any parts were made for the car during August or the remainder
of the year. It is more likely that the brothers attempted to complete a
set of drawings. Frank Harrington, chief draftsman at Ames, may have
helped out at this time; from Charles' statement of April 14, 1937, it
is learned that he did prepare drawings during 1892.

=C. BENZ.

SELF PROPELLING VEHICLE.

No. 385,087. Patented June 26, 1888.=

[Illustration: FIGURE 9.--ILLUSTRATION FROM U.S. patent 385087, issued
to Carl Benz, showing the horizontal plane of the flywheel, a feature
utilized by the Duryeas in their machine.]

The first contemporary record of any work on vehicles is a bill, dated
January 21, 1892, for a drawing made by George W. Howard & Company. This
drawing was made in the fall of 1891 by Charles A. Bartlett, a member of
the Howard firm and a neighbor of Charles Duryea, according to a
statement by Charles in the _Automobile Trade Journal_ of Jan. 10, 1925.
He was then also of the