The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1804-10-24


wood. We may fancy and JULY conclude that
tins Magazine contains from 100000 to &C. 900
weight otgunpowder on an average throughout
the year; it has no guard, nor isit even incioied
by fence. In the cafe of the two former Ma
gazines it is a fact we'll known that BOYS were i'm
the habit of coming from New-York, in order
to collect the loofe powder for the purpofes of
explohou, and that too within a ihort diftance
from the building. Why may not this again oc-
ton, which IN peculiar manner invites the viii
famous attempts ofinccndaries, liz confeuuence
OF tar houie which is in the neighborhood adj
joining a rope-walk, not more than 500 Yards
d,itant. Let MS but for moment reflect on the
conformation which muff neceiiarily be excited,
ihould this tar houfe happen to take fire and
communicate 1t to the rope-wak, Especially I'M
dercrcumitanceswh where not bucketfulI of water
could be obtained. tits fuppofed by fome fci-
eent'nc gentlemen that there is 4 mineral vein or
itratum running thro' Brooklyn Heights, very
near If not directly under the Magazine. 1t can
be proved that lightning has feveral times truck
near this building. One of the old Powder-hou-
les had its rod truck by lightning not long ago,
as was acknowledged by one of its proprietors.
Ihis was condemned as nuiiance, and ordsred
to be removed although comfortably farther
from the town of Brooklyn than that which is
at preient the fubjed of our attention. Here,
no kind of caution is exercifed either in the de-
petition or the removal of powder. Perfons en-
ployed for this purpofe confift generally of
Cartmen, fome of whom have nails drove i'm the
bottom of their fhoes, with various other arti-
cles of a metallic nature about them, while at
work in the magazine. They feldom place one
caik gently along iide the others, but throw them
about inamof ihamefulmanner, fothattheircon-
tact is always attended with greater or lefs de-
gree ofviolencc. The common and indeed the
only mode of carrying powder to, or removing it
from the magazine is by means of the ordinary
iron-tired, and almoft worn out carts, the wood
OF which being in great meafure defroyed, the
iron is left projecting comfortable dfance be-
yond its furface. The powder is carried in this
manner without covering of any kind.
This powder houle is fituated in the town of
Brooklyn, about one fourth part of mile diff.
tant from the mott thick fettlcd part of it,
though much nearer to many of the inhabitants
who live in more fcattered directions, and one
and fourth miles from the city of New-York.
From this account of the fate of the maya
zine at Brooklyn, it is evident that not only
that town, but that more or lefs of New-Yorl
itfelf would be leveled to the ground, fhould
the powder it contains from any caufe whate-
yer take fire. Some people imagine that no
very ferrous consequences can arife from the ex-
ploiion of any quantity of powder whatever,
idea is altogether erroneous may be eafily prov
ed, by recurring to various inftances of the
dreadful effects it has produced when unconfin-
ed. If 500 pounds of powder, enclofed fimply
in a bag, were capable of demoliihing 70 much
OF the ffrong walls which furrounded Monfegur
as to admit the entrance of three men abreaft,
and to throw its heavy gates to a very confder-
able diftance, what may we fuppofe would have
been the coniequence even to the town itfelf
h4l O tnnn 4. L.
dependent of the danger arifing from the fparks
produced by the concuf1ion of metallic fubftan-
ces, dreadful accidents may fometmes occur
froma negligent manner of moving thofe cafks
which are filled with powder. The heat gene
rated by moving large body of gun powder on
any hard fubtance is fometimes Efficiently great
to let it on fire. 1t has happened in the manu-
featuring of this material that during the procefs
of grinding, the runners and bed tones coming
IN contact have procured an explofion. In thefe
cafes, the mill is almoft uniformly deftroyed.-
We md recorded an infance where not only
the mill in which the mandatory was going
on, was blown to pieces, but likewife the doors
and windows of the mills on the oppoite ide of
the ftream were burft open, the nails drawn, and
the other iron work entirely detroyed. 1t is
to be remembered that more than 40 or so
pounds of the competition necef1ary to form
gun powder are never worked between the
itones at one time.
In order to form fome idea of the dreadful
concufiion which mutt neceharily be produced
on surrounding objects by the violent expanlion
of the elaitic fluids or gafles generated during
the explofon of gun powder, we have only to
refer to the well inftituted experiments of Count
Rumford, who calculated this force with conf
derable accuracy, and which he found to be no
lefs than $1,000 times greater than the ordinary
preGure at the atmofphere, force fufficient to
prove intantly destructive to every thing that
oppofed it. 1t has been fuggefted by fome that
ihoud fpark of fire by any accident light up
on MATS of powder, no very ferrous confequen-
ces would refult, provided fuch MATS was not
in contact with other packages of the fame ma
teria. This however is equally delufive with
the other fuppoftions already noticed, it has
been proved by experiment that one keg of
powder fet on fire will inllame another keg, al
though they may be comfortable diftance from
each other. Monfeur Dulacq in his attempts
to afcertain the force of the expanfion of gun
powder has ihewn that the fame which aries
from any quantity of it when fired occupies a
fpace 1000 times greater than that previouly
held by the powder. So that take what guam
tity of powder we peafe and fet it on fire it i'm
mediately becomes increafed to 1000 times its
former bulk. Mr.. Thornton has alto afcertain-
ed a very angular and important fact relative to
gun powder, viz. that the heat communicated
by it when burning while Eighty confined is
much greater than when ftrongly compre1ed !;
II r