leaves much to be desired in
clarity. It makes reasonably clear, however, that the unfortunate
Mr. Day's knowledge of submarine conditions was, by no means, equal
to Mr. Blake's sporting spirit. Even to-day one hundred feet is an
unusual depth of submersion for the largest submarines.

The credit for using a submarine boat for the first time in actual
warfare belongs to a Yankee, David Bushnell. He was born in
Saybrook, Connecticut, and graduated from Yale with the class of
1775. While still in college he was interested in science and as far
as his means and opportunities allowed, he devoted a great deal of
his time and energy to experimental work. The problem which
attracted his special attention was how to explode powder under
water, and before very long he succeeded in solving this to his own
satisfaction as well as to that of a number of prominent people
amongst whom were the Governor of Connecticut and his Council.
Bushnell's experiments, of course, fell in the period during which
the Revolutionary War was fought, and when he had completed his
invention, there naturally presented itself to him a further
problem. How could his device be used for the benefit of his country
and against the British ships which were then threatening New York
City? As a means to this end, Bushnell planned and built a submarine
boat which on account of its shape is usually called the _Turtle_.

General Washington thought very highly of Bushnell, whom he called
in a letter to Thomas Jefferson "a man of great mechanical powers,
fertile in inventions and master of execution." In regard to
Bushnell's submarine boat the same letter, written after its
failure, says: "I thought and still think that it was an effort of
genius, but that too many things were necessary to be combined to
expect much against an enemy who are always on guard."

During the whole period of the building of the _Turtle_ Bushnell was
in ill health. Otherwise he would have navigated it on its trial
trip himself for he was a man of undoubted courage and wrapped up
alike in the merits of his invention and in the possibility of
utilizing it to free New York from the constant ignominy of the
presence of British ships in its harbour. But his health made this
out of the question. Accordingly he taught his brother the method of
navigating the craft, but at the moment for action the brother too
fell ill. It became necessary to hire an operator. This was by no
means easy as volu