Fortune
Eads made his initial fortune in salvage, by creating a diving bell for retrieving goods from the bottom of rivers that were sunk there by riverboat disasters, especially along the busy Mississippi River. He also devised special boats for raising the remains of sunken ships from the river bed. Because of his detailed knowledge of the Mississippi (the equal of any professional river pilot), his exceptional ability at navigating the most treacherous parts of the river system, and his personal fleet of snag-boats and salvage craft, he was afforded the much prized courtesy title of "Captain" by the rivermen of the Mississippi and was addressed as Captain Eads throughout his life.
Read more about this topic: James Buchanan Eads
Famous quotes containing the word fortune:
“Well, if Fortune be a woman, she’s a good wench for this gear.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“All things have their ends and cycles. And when they have reached their highest point, they are in their lowest ruin, for they cannot last for long in such a state. Such is the end for those who cannot moderate their fortune and prosperity with reason and temperance.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)
“There are certainly not so many men of large fortune in the world, as there are pretty women to deserve them.”
—Jane Austen (1775–1817)