He devoted himself to his duties with a zeal and ability that completely won Watt's heart. When he had an important job in hand, he could scarcely sleep. One night at his lodgings at Redruth, the people were disturbed by a strange noise in his room. Several heavy blows were heard upon the floor. They started from their beds, rushed to Murdock's room, and found him standing in his shirt, heaving at the bedpost in his sleep, shouting "Now she goes, lads! now she goes!"
Murdock became a most popular man with the mine owners. He also became friendly with the Cornish workmen and engineers. Indeed, he fought his way to their affections. One day, some half-dozen of the mining captains came into his engine-room at Chacewater, and began to bully him. This he could not stand. He stript, selected the biggest, and put himself into a fighting attitude. They set to, and in a few minutes Murdock's powerful bones and muscles enabled him to achieve the victory. The other men, who had looked on fairly, without interfering, seeing the temper and vigour of the man they had bullied, made overtures of reconciliation. William was quite willing to be friendly. Accordingly they shook hands all round, and parted the best of friends. It is also said that Murdock afterwards fought a duel with Captain Trevethick, because of a quarrel between Watt and the mining engineer, in which Murdock conceived his master to have been unfairly and harshly treated.[5]
The uses of Watt's steam-engine began to be recognised as available for manufacturing purposes. It was then found necessary to invent some method by which continuous rotary motion should be secured, so as to turn round the moving machinery of mills. With this object Watt had invented his original wheel-engine. But no steps were taken to introduce it into practical use. At length he prepared a model, in which he made use of a crank connected with the working beam of the engine, so as to produce the necessary rotary motion.
There was no originality in this application. The crank was one of the most common of mechanical appliances. It was in daily use in every spinning wheel, and in every turner's and knife-grinder's foot-lathe. Watt did not take out a patent for the crank, not believing it to be patentable. But another person did so, thereby anticipating Watt in the application of the crank for producing rotary motion. He had therefore to employ some other method, and in the new contrivance he had the valuable help of William Murdock. Watt devised five different methods of securing rotary motion without using the crank, but eventually he adopted the "Sun-and-planet motion," the invention of Murdock. This had the singular property of going twice round for every stroke of the engine, and might be made to go round much oftener without additional machinery. The invention was patented in February, 1782, five Years after Murdock had entered the service of Boulton and Watt.
Murdock continued for many years busily occupied in superintending the Cornish steam-engines. We find him described by his employers as "flying from mine to mine," putting the engines to rights. If anything went wrong, he was immediately sent for. He was active, quick-sighted, shrewd, sober, and thoroughly trustworthy. Down to the year 1780, his wages were only a pound a week; but Boulton made him a present of ten guineas, to which the owners of the United Mines added another ten, in acknowledgment of the admirable manner in which he bad erected their new engine, the chairman of the company declaring that he was "the most obliging and industrious workman he had ever known." That he secured the admiration of the Cornish engineers may be obvious from the fact of Mr. Boaze having invited him to join in an engineering partnership; but Murdock remained loyal to the Birmingham firm, and in due time he had his reward.
He continued to be the "right hand man" of the concern in Cornwall. Boulton wrote to Watt, towards the end of 1782: "Murdock hath been indefatigable ever since he began. He has scarcely been in bed or taken necessary food. After slaving night and day on Thursday and Friday, a letter came from Wheal Virgin that he must go instantly to set their engine to work, or they would let out the fire. He went and set the engine to work; it worked well for the five or six hours he remained. He left it, and returned to the Consolidated Mines about eleven at night, and was employed about the engines till four this morning, and then went to bed. I found him at ten this morning in Poldice Cistern, seeking for pins and castors that had jumped out, when I insisted on his going home to bed."
On one occasion, when an engine superintended by Murdock stopped through some accident, the water rose in the mine, and the workmen were "drowned out." Upon this occurring, the miners went "roaring at him" for throwing them out of work, and threatened to tear him to pieces. Nothing daunted, he went through the midst of the men, repaired the invalided engine, and started it afresh.
When he came out of the engine-house, the miners cheered him vociferously and insisted upon carrying him home upon their shoulders in triumph!
Steam was now asserting its power everywhere. It was pumping water from the mines in Cornwall and driving the mills of the manufacturers in Lancashire. Speculative mechanics began to consider whether it might not be employed as a means of land locomotion. The comprehensive mind of Sir Isaac Newton had long before, in his 'Explanation of the Newtonian Philosophy,' thrown out the idea of employing steam for this purpose; but no practical experiment was made. Benjamin Franklin, while agent in London for the United Provinces of America, had a correspondence with Matthew Boulton, of Birmingham, and Dr. Darwin, of Lichfield, on the same subject. Boulton sent a model of a fire-engine to London for Franklin's inspection; but Franklin was too much occupied at the time by grave political questions to pursue the subject further. Erasmus Darwin's speculative mind was inflamed by the idea of a "fiery chariot," and he urged his friend Boulton to prosecute the contrivance of the necessary steam machinery.[6]
Other minds were at work. Watt, when only twenty-three years old, at the instigation of his friend Robison, made a model locomotive, provided with two cylinders of tin plate; but the project was laid aside, and was never again taken up by the inventor. Yet, in his patent of 1784, Watt included an arrangement by means of which steam-power might be employed for the purposes of locomotion. But no further model of the contrivance was made.