Fulton also met James Watt, who had just succeeded in greatly improving the steam engine, and Fulton made himself thoroughly familiar with that engine during his stay, About this time he invented a machine for spinning flax and another for making ropes.
Fulton then went to Paris, where he lived with Joel Barlow, who was then the American representative at the French court. During this period he invented a submarine, or plunging boat, called a torpedo, to be used in naval warfare. He brought it to the attention of the French government. Napoleon Bonaparte, then first consul, appointed a commission to examine it, and several experiments were made in the harbor of Brest. The boat could easily descend and rise. Where there was no strong current, it was quite obedient to its helm while under water. On one occasion, Fulton remained in the torpedo below the surface for more than four hours. The motion of the boat while submerged was very slow, however, and it was unequal to a strong current. The French government rejected it. The English ministry also appointed a commission to test Fulton's torpedo. He appears, however, to have received little encouragement, and in 1806 he returned to the United States.
In 1807 Fulton had the satisfaction of proving that steam could be used successfully to propel vessels. From that time, steamboats were increasingly used in the United States. His first steamboat, the Clermont, had a speed of 5 miles an hour. He afterward built other steam vessels, one of them a frigate that bore his name. His reputation became established, and his fortune rapidly increased. However, his patent for steam vessels was disputed.
