of the swarms escaped into the woods, and in after years the frontiersmen of Virginia were surprised to find stores of honey in the hollow trees of the forest solitudes.
It was somewhat difficult for ships to ascend the Potomac to Mortonia, although the river had no perceptible current, because, if the wind was not quite favorable, very short tacks had to be made. To remedy this evil Ralph Morton invented a vessel propelled by horse-power. The hull was narrow and the bows were sharp. The lower deck projected several feet beyond the hull on both sides and only about two feet above the water, as it was not expected to encounter large waves. Ten horses hitched to the outer ends of long sweeps supplied the power. The inner ends of the sweeps were attached to a cog-wheel about ten feet in diameter, turning horizontally. This wheel worked in small cog-wheels which turned two shafts attached to a large paddlewheel on each side of the vessel. These small cog-wheels could be put in or out of gear so that one paddle wheel could be stopped while the other was turning, thus facilitating the turning of the vessel. One of these boats would not only run at a rapid rate, but would
