CHAPTER II

THE HIGHWAY OF THE WATERS

Use of sails in ancient times, p. 56--Ships with many banks of oars, p. 57--Mediæval ships, p. 59--Modern sailing ships, p. 60--The sailing record of _The Sovereign of the Seas_, p. 60--Early attempts to invent a steamboat, p. 63--Robert Fulton's _Clermont_, p. 64--The steamboat of Blasco de Gary, p. 66--The _Charlotte Dundas_, p. 67--The steamboat invented by Col. John Stevens, p. 68--Fulton designs the _Clermont_, p. 71--The historic trip of the _Clermont_ up the Hudson, p. 71--Sea-going steamships, p. 73--Ships built of iron and steel, p. 74--The _Great Eastern_, p. 76--Principal dimensions of the _Great Eastern_, p. 78--Twin-screw vessels, p. 80--The triumph of the turbine, p. 81--The _Lusitania_ and _Mauretania_, p. 82--Submarine signalling, p. 83--The rescue of the _Republic_, p. 84--How the submarine signalling device works, p. 86--The _Olympic_ and _Titanic_, p. 90--Liquid fuel, p. 90--Advantages and disadvantages of liquid fuel, p. 91.