Henry Ford's Own Story

d learned to understand her husband's interests and moods fairly well; she had adjusted herself with

e and poultry yard, preparing the meals, washing the dishes, spending the evenin

s inquiries he told her not to bother, he was all right-a statement that had the usual effect of confirming her fears.

se-block in the middle of the forenoon, twisting a straw in

down, up and down, the sitting-room, with his hands behind his back and that same frown o

-he couldn't figure out the ratio of power to wei

dn't bother about it if I were you. What does an old steam e

ine to use on the farm, remained obstinately at work on the details. He spent weeks considering

would pull across his soft fields, carry the necessary weig

th the problem three month

nry. You act like a man in a dream half the time," the wife

with visions of brewed snakeroot and worm

ands sending streams of warm milk foaming into the pail, his mind returned to that problem of the steam engine. He was s

evelop power, and the whole power was required to haul the water. It looked like an inexorable

ecessary. Why n

dreamed of a self-propelling gasoline engine. A thousand obstacles rose immediately before his mind-the ge

t ninety-nine men in a hundred would have abandoned the idea as impossible after one glance at them. Henry Ford was

sh the chores, so I could sit down s

l fed and comfortable, fastened the barn doors and hastened into the house with the milk. Every moment seemed wasted until he could reach the qui

hop. Weeds sprang up and must be cut, crops ripened and must be harvested, morning came with a hundred imperative demands on his time and strength, and n

ing to bed, he sat alone and worked over the problem of his gasoline engine. He ransacked the piles of

n-the details of the engine absorbed most of his attention-but now and then as the night wore on toward morning he had a dim understanding of the possibilities of horseless transportation. He thought what it might mean to the world i

small hours and he was forced to stop and go through another day's

the gasoline engine plans was far too little. By the end of that summer he had made up his mind that he could no

ere; I'm sure you're going ahead faster than any

an't do any work on my gasoline engine here. Even if

're going to leave it all for a gasoline engine that isn't even built. I don't see what you're thinking of," said poor Mrs. Ford, confronted thus suddenl

as you do here," she argued reasonably. "An

I'm going to keep at it