And it was the last.

The strange substance from the jungles of the tropics had been mastered.
It remained, however, to perfect the process, to ascertain the accurate formula and the exact degree of heat.

The Goodyears were so poor during these years that they received at any time a barrel of flour from a neighbor thankfully.

There is a tradition that on one occasion, when Goodyear desired to cross between Staten Island and New York, he had to give his umbrella to the ferry master as security for his fare, and that the name of the ferry master was Cornelius Vanderbilt, "a man who made much money because he took few chances." The incident may easily have occurred, though the ferry master could hardly have been Vanderbilt himself, unless it had been at an earlier date.

Another tradition says that one of Goodyear's neighbors described him to an inquisitive stranger thus: "You will know him when you see him; he has on an India rubber cap, stock, coat, vest, and shoes, and an India rubber purse WITHOUT A CENT IN IT!" Goodyear's trials were only beginning.