He found some pieces of paste-board.
He rolled these himself.
In this way he made some rockets.
The store-keeper told him he would find it impossible to do this.
"No, sir," Robert answered, "there is nothing impossible."
His rockets were a success, and the people were astonished.
Robert bought at different times small quant.i.ties of quicksilver.
The men in the machine shops were curious to know what he did with it.
But they could not find out.
For this reason they called him "Quicksilver Bob."
Robert was interested in guns.
Sometimes he would tell the workmen how to improve them.
The men liked him so well that they were always willing to try whatever he advised.
Robert was fond of fishing.
One of the workmen often went fishing with his father.
This man sometimes took Robert.
They had only an old flat boat.
The boys had to pole the boat from place to place.
It was hard work.
They were sometimes very tired.
Robert, soon after one fishing excursion, went away to visit an aunt.
He was gone a week.
While away he made a complete model of a little fishing boat.
This boat had paddle wheels.
The model was placed in the garret.
Many years afterward his aunt was proud to have it as an ornament on her parlor table.
Of course the boys arranged a set of paddle wheels for their fishing boat.
After this they enjoyed their fishing much more than before.
Robert Fulton"s boyhood was during the Revolutionary War.
He made many queer pictures of the Hessian soldiers.
These Hessians were Germans, who had been hired by the British to help them fight the Americans.
The people who wished our country to belong to England were called Tories.
Those who wished America to be free were called Whigs.
The Whig boys often fought the Tory boys on the soldiers" camp ground.
The soldiers grew tired of this.
They stretched a rope to keep the boys out.
Robert drew a picture in which the Whigs crossed the rope and whipped the Tories.
The boys all thought it a good picture.
So they tried to make it real.
They became so troublesome that the town officers had to interfere.
But Robert was all this time fast growing up.
He had to choose some way of taking care of himself.
He was more fond of his pencil and brush than of anything else.
Near his home, had lived a celebrated painter.
His name was Benjamin West.
Benjamin West"s father and Robert"s father had been great friends.
Mr. West had become famous.
He now lived in England.
Robert thought he would like to be an artist, too.
So he left his home and went to the city of Philadelphia.