her wheels, which were uncovered, scattered the spray far behind
her. The spectacle she presented as she moved out gradually from her
dock was certainly novel to the people of those days, and the crowd on
the wharf broke into shouts of ridicule. Soon, however, the jeers grew
silent, for it was seen that the steamer was by degrees increasing her
speed. In a little while she was fairly under weigh, and making a steady
progress up the stream at the rate of five miles per hour. The
incredulity of the spectators had been succeeded by astonishment, and
now this feeling gave way to undisguised delight, and cheer after cheer
went up from the vast throng. Many people followed the boat for some
distance up the river shore. In a little while, however, the boat was
observed to stop, and the enthusiasm of the people on the shore at once
subsided. The scoffers were again in their glory, and unhesitatingly
pronounced the boat a failure. Their chagrin may be imagined when, after
a short delay, the steamer once more proceeded on her way, and this time
even more rapidly than before. Fulton had discovered that the paddles
were too long, and took too deep a hold on the water, and had stopped
the boat for the purpose of shortening them.

Having remedied this defect, the "Clermont" continued her voyage during
the rest of the day and all night, without stopping, and at one o'clock
the next day ran alongside the landing at Clermont, the seat of
Chancellor Livingston. She lay there until nine the next morning, when
she continued her voyage toward Albany, reaching that city at five in
the afternoon, having made the entire distance between New York and
Albany (one hundred and fifty miles) in thirty-two hours of actual
running time, an average speed of nearly five miles per hour. On her
return trip, she reached New York in thirty hours running time--exactly
five miles per hour. Fulton states that during both trips he encountered
a head wind.

The river was at this time navigated entirely with sailing vessels, and
large numbers of these were encountered by the "Clermont" during her up
and down trips. The surprise and dismay excited among the crews of these
vessels by the appearance of the steamer was extreme. These simple
people, the majority of whom had heard nothing of Fulton's experiments,
beheld what they supposed to be a huge monster, vomiting fire and smoke
from its throat, lashing the water with its fins, and shaking the river
with its roar