Dawn of Steam: First Light

by Jeffrey Cook

  40º58'N 076º53'W

  We are at last away once more. There was worry for some time about a number of our people, but their recovery has done wonders for the spirit of adventure. Young Mister Fisher-Swift has proven most resilient, and while he remembers almost nothing of his recent adventure, he has recovered almost entirely. Miss Bowe likewise has proven to be extremely resilient, can count a healthy constitution and capacity for rapid healing among her plethora of gifts, and has resumed full activities. For her recent heroic efforts she has had a somewhat easier time of it from Miss Coltrane. I would still not call relations between these women friendly, but both seem to prefer it that way.

  On the note of Miss Coltrane, she seems to be struggling mightily with her own injuries. Her hand, as it turned out, was not fully broken, but the injury is nonetheless slow in healing and useless to her much of the time. She continues to be with her brother and cousin where she is able, but has been at times overtaken by dizzy spells or moments of weakness sufficient that she must return to rest sooner than she'd have liked.

  Miss Penn is fully recovered, though she still has nightmares of the events, causing her to have some difficulty sleeping. Not having a proper physician aboard, Miss Bowe has taken a good deal of time to speak with her on such occasions, and despite the early difficulties, the pair seem to be becoming good friends. Despite my earlier misgivings about the both of them, I find myself glad for it, both are good company once one can forgive the fault that they are not English, and thus cannot be held to the same standards one might a woman of England or even Western Europe.

  On a related note to Miss Bowe's recovery, the ornithopter seems entirely repaired, and once again has set itself to following Miss Bowe about when allowed. While its mannerisms disturb me at times, and perhaps others as well, more of the crew seem more at ease with its presence and lifelike behavior since the rescue of young Mr. Fisher-Swift.

  Eddy has made a nearly full recovery, though for a time he had quite the scare, for he had at times difficulty getting feeling in his hand, especially on particularly cold mornings. He has not had difficulty with this in some days now, so it is hoped that whatever the problem was, he has fully recovered from it. He still appears quite the sight, I fear, but he has taken his scars with pride. Miss Coltrane, in particular, seemed quite worried for him, and visited him when she was able along with her brother. It was some small blow to his spirits, judging by his expression and glances, as he would have preferred had it been Miss Wright who visited him, but her time was largely spent in first repairing the ornithopter, a task to which she showed immense dedication until the task was done, and then set herself to repairing the workshop, in which, I understand, she is quite at home.

  The person who it seems may never recover fully may be the captain, for he now walks with a pronounced limp, though nothing was broken. Such violent jarring when tied to an object like the wheel cannot have been good for a man of his advancing years. The bandages have been removed from his hands, though they are even more heavily scarred than before, and a mark of the voyage will always be just before him, for some parts of the wheel seem to have taken bloodstains from his struggle with it. These have not come out entirely no matter how much work is done at it. Had we more time, I think everyone would have preferred that the entire thing be removed, burned and replaced, for it is a terrible and disturbing reminder one cannot help but notice for our shared experience. (14)

  In better news, we can hope, when both are recovered from their injuries, as a reward for his courage in recovering from so difficult an event, Eddy has agreed to allow Matthew to room with him for the next stretch of the voyage, and will begin training Matthew in filling the part of his powder monkey, for it was a most helpful function that the first mate had filled for a time. Young Mister Fisher-Swift has already begun asking almost on the hour when he will be “recovered enough.”

  Of final note, Mister Franzini appears to have precisely the constitution one would expect from so small and thin a man and has not healed quickly at all. He keeps mostly to his chambers, and complains of pains often, especially when he has to spend any time upon the crutches prepared for him. Still, he has welcomed the opportunity of having no particular responsibilities upon the ship, that he may spend most of his time in Sir James's card room, playing with whoever will game with him, though he remains disappointed that no stakes are to be put up among this fellowship. I would imagine that he was displeased having to be under such close watch while in New York, owing to his injuries, but at least it ensures that we left New York as popular as we arrived.

  The station's help, our celebrity status, and the chance to make alterations to the airship out of need has allowed us to do a great deal to refit it from its military purpose to something more suited to our mission, including a few more means to somewhat allow people to board or disembark without a station, though the rope ladders make for a very difficult climb, especially if they are not yet secured on the ground. Should conditions ahead prove especially harsh, as they are looking to, it will come in most useful sooner or later. This is part of the reason for our somewhat southward course as well, for as nice as it would be to winter in New York, we have a great deal ahead of us, and we are already behind quite some distance from our intended time, because of the time spent in the far northern reaches, and then the difficulties resulting from the storm.

  This looks to be no winter to be trying to travel, so we are beginning our trip as far to the south as we can without running into some risk from Spanish forces. Eventually we shall have to move into the teeth of winter, however, for Miss Bowe is quite certain that the path eventually requires very specific routes through mountain ranges, and her father's journals seem to bear this out. If it is true that the two of them know some wild territory, America would seem to be it, given where we first encountered her. Despite the conditions we are expecting to find, she does not seem concerned with navigation amidst the winter weather, though this is also the woman who dove into the worst storm any of us has ever seen for the life of a child, so her lack of concern does nothing to comfort me. Competent and skilled she may be, but while I will be eternally grateful, I must still acknowledge that sanity is not among her strongest traits.

  (14) Gregory would not get his wish on this account. The macabre wheel was removed as far as the Public Exhibition Hall of Air History, in Cambridge. Thankfully for most sensibilities, it is behind glass. – C B-W

  October 8th, 1815

  Ohio Territory

  40º04'N 080º47'W

  My Dearest Cordelia,

  I will herein beg your forgiveness, and shall hope this letter is not too disturbing or graphic for a young woman's sensibilities, but we have had quite the adventure today, and it is inspiring enough that I felt you would surely wish to hear of it.

  We had been traveling for some few days towards St. Louis, that we could make a final preparation for fuel and supplies. The winds have been entirely uncooperative, and the unseasonable cold just grows worse by the day. I worry that even if there is a route through these mountains Miss Bowe speaks of to the west, they will be entirely impassable for the ice and snow, or at least more treacherous by far than they might be at a better time. We would have been much better off to have skipped the first steps of our exploration and come directly this way.

  We have, by chance, been following the path of the railways, heading much the same way as ourselves. On this particular day, we were also enjoying the coming of mid-afternoon, and some hint of warmth, along with the winds finally dying down some amount that at least we were not fighting them. Miss Bowe and Eddy, both more accustomed to cooler climes, were out on the side of the ship watching the grounds below. Even as much as we have now been traveling by dirigible, some views remain wondrous sights that very few eyes have ever seen from such a vantage.

  Suddenly, they raised quite the alarm. A group of well armed and horsed bandits were coming up fast upon one of the trains. They were some distance short of one of th
e water stations, close enough that the train had grown particularly sluggish and much of the crew would be occupied, and yet far enough as well that the armed men of the station would not be able to see the attempt even should the train get quite some distance. It seems to me the height of insanity, since such things are well guarded. With so few trains traveling the American rails, they could be after any number of things: the gold to be stored within westerly fortresses, the wealth of city people traveling towards the frontier, or the railroad's payroll. For a group this size, likely all of the above played some part in their willingness to make targets of themselves over open territory.

  Surprise also played some great part in their ability to approach without other alarm being raised. During the early stages of the war, while tracks for troop movement were being laid down in occupied territory, the English learned hard lessons about properly securing stations and posting guards about a train. Ever since the lessons learned from early European raids upon train stations were applied, however, the thought of raiding a moving train was all but unthinkable. I know the riverboats on the Mississippi river have been targets of bandits before, but I had never heard of a postwar effort to take a guarded train.

  Watching from above, it seemed like the bandits had a great deal of knowledge of the train. Perhaps some of them had ridden it before, or had paid off an informant from the railroad. In any case, they seemed to know precisely where the guard stations were, shooting down the few people who were in position to oppose them before anyone aboard the train realized what was happening. A number of them were able to clamber aboard the train from there, boarding the middle cars of the train in numbers before splitting into groups. Their speed and organization was obvious, not needing to hesitate to discuss the plan, just as they seemed to know precisely where to hit the train where it would not be in sight of any station.

  I was able to watch through one of the porthole windows well enough to see these early stages, and to watch Eddy and Miss Bowe leaping into action. For Eddy, it was a figurative thing. He called for Matthew to prepare his rifles and bring them out, even as Eddy crouched at the railing of the dirigible and lowered his goggles, toying with the lenses until he found his range while Matthew was responding. While he might have gotten off a pistol shot, I do not think he wanted to warn anyone below with anything less accurate than a perfect first shot. Matthew was quick to respond, racing one way up the corridor at all the shouting, having to squeeze past the Coltranes and Miss Wright moving the other way, heading from where they had been on the bridge towards the workshop. There, Sir James would be able to get suited up, and his sister would have a discreet place to watch the battle to come.

  For Miss Bowe, the leap was more literal. Apparently not having had her fill of such acrobatics yet, she whistled, and the ornithopter wheeled itself to her side with great haste and somewhat more grace in getting through the door than last time, with me not blocking its way. She leapt onto the rails with perfect balance, then launched herself into the sky while the ornithopter found room to unfold its wings and dive into the open after her. She caught its axle mid-flight, pulling herself up into a position by which she was able to glide down towards the train at great speed, while they had not yet seen her.

  The first sign the people had of us from the train below was Eddy, rifle in hand, braced properly in a kneeling position and having found his range, shooting first one, and then a second man as they were trying to pull themselves onto a train car. I briefly lost track of the action in racing for my camera, for this time, I had the room and footing, and at last had a real opportunity to capture some of my companions in action. By the time I had returned with the unwieldy device, Miss Bowe was upon the train and engaged with three fellows, ducking beneath their shots and attacks with pistol butts and knives. She soon dispatched one of them, then weaved between the other pair. While she was at it Eddy was shouting commands to Matthew, who, finally in his first real opportunity to help his chosen hero, was struggling as ably as he could to follow these instructions to the letter and handling with great care the much revered rifles. One man after another fell from horseback or the train as others fought forward, boarding in areas they had cleared of guardsmen and moving along the top of the train towards the engine so they might put a stop to it.

  I maneuvered as well as I might for vantage, struggling to keep control of the camera, managing easy pictures of Eddy, as you will see accompanying this note when I have opportunity, and somewhat more difficult pictures of Miss Bowe as she raced after the attackers along the top of the train. Amidst it all, I did hear Eddy quietly cursing, despite the child's presence. Apparently the men were splitting now into groups, and some had gotten behind Miss Bowe. He set about protecting her flank as she raced after the men trying to stop the engine, cutting down some others who got in her way with illusion of even slowing her down. I am already imagining that very soon poor Matthew will get cuffed about the head for repeating some of the new words he learned in this occasion.

  By now I have become familiar with the sound of gears grinding and steam venting from the back quarters of our ship, for it means that Sir James has prepared himself, and is ready to join the fight as well. The leap was perfect, moving to cut off the group of men heading for the storage car where the safe is kept. Unfortunately, the top of the train was not at all suited to take the sudden weight, and the suit went crashing through into the safe car. While I lost sight of him then, I did see at least one of the bandits tossed bodily out through the hole in the top of the car, and Sir James's presence quite headed off those already making their way into the car as well as those heading there. By the time the suit clambered out through the hole, those who remained outside were quite ready to surrender themselves.

  Those headed to the front made their way into the engine, some three of them, including both a man we would find out had played at least some part in organizing the raid, and a very large and daunting individual. Miss Bowe reached the engine just after they did, for while they had a significant head start on her, she navigated the tricky footing of the coal car far more easily than they had. There were some gunshots from within, and at least once I was able to make out the large man trying to engage her, and would eventually see him thrown from the car. At last our ship came up close enough that I was able to see her dispatch the final man with a thrown knife before he could bring the train to a halt. Some few of them did eventually escape, all those who thought better of continuing their venture upon seeing real opposition, but every man who boarded the train was captured or killed.

  It was quite exciting, and I truly hope not too much for your fertile imagination, but I know you well enough that I am sure you would want to hear of such an unusual event in detail.(15)

  I also wrote an account for the newspapers in St. Louis and made them copies of some few of the pictures. Our fame spreads as we travel now, and the railroad has named us heroes for the saving of the safe of property deeds and the railroad's payroll.

  In the meantime, it seems that Miss Bowe in particular is quite looking forward to getting back to St. Louis, for she considers it far more comfortable territory than those other locales we have visited. Mr. Franzini, meanwhile, has found himself having a new bout of pain from his slowly healing leg (or possibly his reputation), and has decided he will not be leaving the dirigible in St. Louis.

  Very soon, we will have to plan very carefully, for we have at last a very long stretch ahead of us with no friendly territory in sight and no means by which we might restock the airship, so almost every area that is not absolutely critical will soon be used to store extra supplies for the times ahead.

  I will attempt to write again soon, though I do not imagine that my letters shall be going anywhere for quite some time once we leave St. Louis.

  My love, always,

  Gregory Conan Watts

  (15) Gregory knew that I had already read all of Dr. Bowe's Journals, even those considered too exciting for a girl in a fragile state. My days spen
t in active wonder and excitement were aided by a young footman of my father's, who experienced his own armchair adventuring in sneaking me the books. – C B-W

  From the journals of Gregory Conan Watts,

  October 15th, 1815

  St. Louis

  38º38'N 090º12'N

  Following the excitement of the railway incident, we have had excitement of quite a different sort. While New York was quite discreet regarding the other visitors, for whatever reasons and whatever our status there, our heroism on the railways has increased our popularity here such that we were able to learn something, at long last, of a concrete nature regarding those who oppose us. Another airship came through this region two days ahead of us, and stocked up for a journey that has to be at least as long as our own. I am glad that they did not have either the resources or room to buy out all of the available supplies necessary for such a trip, though that would have also quite perturbed the officials of the railroad.

  Similarly, while this region has also had the early frost, it is not so severe as the eastern coastline, and they knew nothing of the storm which wreaked so much havoc in New York. As such, resources for food and clothing are more plentiful. They are expecting winter storms quite soon, so warmer clothing was available, though we have had to make do with whatever was on hand. Even so, we are currently grateful for anything we can get, for the dry chill here is quite unlike that of even the worst winters in London and its surroundings. It is not so much the seeping cold that gets into everything, soaking the clothes through – and making one wish for a warm fire, a pint and a place to get dry – so much as it is a creeping chill that finds its way into the bones and settles there, such that you think you might never get warm. Winter aboard the dirigible, where we cannot set fires, is not a pleasant prospect, but we have lost too much time already.