There are people in Seymour who will recall the old Siefker steam buggy with mingled amusement and anger. They can picture it rumbling, rattling, and puffing along as it swayed and rocked over the road. Sometimes it was hid in a cloud of black smoke which rolled from the stack in front.

Some will remember how they have clung to their frightened horses which reared and pitched when the steam buggy came into sight. There are farmers in this vicinity who will recall that they rebuilt their fences along public highways after teams which had become frightened at the strange vehicle had been extricated. Many prophesied that the steam buggy would be perfected and mark the way for a new mode of travel. Others laughed and hooted at the idea and said that the steam buggy was "a piece of tomfoolery."

The Siefker buggy today would create quite as much attention and amusement as it did when it was first brought on the street. At one of the Sixth of June celebrations here in the early eighties, Mr. Siefker brought his machine on the streets and the crowd watched it with amazement.

Mr. Siefker worked on the steam buggy and made several unsuccessful experiments before he constructed the one that is best remembered here. It was in 1878 that he conceived the idea that a steam propelled vehicle could be designed. At that time he was owner of an iron foundry located at the corner of Pine and Brown Streets. Every part of the vehicle was made by him at odd times.

The first attempt resulted in the assembling of a small traction engine which he designed In an attempt to "ride fast" over the roads. This was not a success but he kept experimenting until 1880 he presented the steam buggy. The first one carried a small cylinder boiler and the machine was geared high. The next carried a 4 X 10 single engine. This buggy could be operated but trouble was encountered when the engine stopped "on center." It was necessary for the driver to leave his seat and push the vehicle a short distance so that the engine would start again.

Mr. Siefker made several changes from time to time and a little later constructed a twin cylinder engine. It had a four inch bore and a ten inch stroke. The engine was connected to the rear wheels by means of a crank shaft. No such thing as a differential, which is found on modern automobiles, was thought of then and as a result several axles were broken. Because of the absence of a differential the vehicle could not be turned except on a wide road or street.

The power was furnished by a boiler which was placed over the front axle midway between the front wheels. The boiler was about three feet high and the smoke stack rose about two feet above it. The boiler weighed about 150 pounds empty. Of course it was necessary to carry a supply of fuel and a coal bin was placed within easy reach of the pilot.

The boiler only carried about ten gallons of water and it was necessary for the driver to stop every few miles and refill it. The body was built on a steel frame and it was not supported by springs. The vehicle was capable of making about twenty five miles an hour, that is if the driver could retain his seat and hold onto the throttle.

The machine was not exactly a pleasure vehicle for the smoke stack was close to the driver's seat and cinders and smoke fell allover the machine, especially when it was under a pull.

The boiler was well made and was in existence until a short time ago. In 1890 Mr. Siefker became the engineer at the pumping station at Rockford and he dismantled the steam buggy and six years later the boiler was used in a small narrow gauge railroad to haul coal from a mine to the railroad at Cannelsburg. Later the boiler was returned here and on February 28 this year, it was sold to a junk dealer.

Mr. Siefker was confident all the time he was at work on the steam buggy that some day a motor vehicle would be designed that would be practicable. During the World's Fair at Chicago, he made a special trip there in hope of finding some sort of a vehicle on exhibit which would furnish new ideas along the line he was working. But even at that time no such vehicles were on display and he returned disheartened.

Some years later Mr. Haynes of Kokomo hit upon the idea of a motor which could be propelled by explosions of gasoline in the cylinders. He perfected this idea and gave the automobile to the world.