The Iowa transcript. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1858-1866, 1866-04-25

building in the place is unchanged. Two
clerks Of the Panama Railroad were killed,
| as well rs ID natives or Jamaicans, EN-
Ploycd on the wharf or in the freight house
1t Is also believed that u small gang of
native laborers were killed. The total loss
Of life is about so. The damage is stated
at million Of dollars.
Col Otto Burnstenbenlcr was arrested in
New York, on the 10Th. on the complaint of
Fire Marshal Baker, for shipping guam
titv of nitro Il u ccrine TO California-,he
same that exploded there, ahou; 900 pounds
in all--without labelling the packages or in.
forming the captain Of the vessel in which
it was shipped, OF the nature Of the article.
The Mayor issued an order directing tho
Fire Marshal to search all places IN the city
wherein he had reason 10 believe that any
nitro glycerinc was stored and 10 remove
1t to some safe place Mr.. Baker has al
ready discovered about 800 pounds of the
g|yccrine in IA storehonse up town, and also
II large quantity on board u vessel in the
hnrbor 1t will all be removed to some
place where its explosion cannot cause any
serious consequences.
From tho New York Herald, April ISL
According to information takcn here, in
New York, the superintendent OF Il New
York mining company had sent. some weeks
ago, to San Francisco. BY the Pacific Mail
Company, several boxes Of nitro. glyceiine,
weighing over 200 pounds, imported from
the factory of Mr.. Alfred Nobel of Ham
burg, Germany
II was intended to sell this oil to mining
companies, the immense exploding power
Of tho new chemical compound Offering
grca, advantages not only in the saving OF
MN, .l,,;tj i,4>ln 1,,t Al. 1
cause one pound Of this blasting Gil does
the same destructive work as l2to ID pounds
Of common blasting gun-powaer
The blood stirs ii we think that the 200
pounds sent BY the Pacific mail steamer had
exploded during the sea voyage, tearing to
pieces and burying in the waves the seven
or eight hundred passengers on board
And could not the accident which took place
at the freight office Of Wells & Fargo's COM
pany. in San Francisco, without any appa-
rent cause, have happened quite as well on
board Of the steamer which carried the
mysterious aud dangerous freight.
La the small city Of Bochnm, in one Of the
coal districts Of Weslphalia, Germany.
storekeeper kept for sale TO the miners some
stock Of Nobels nitro glycerine. One morn
ing miner came to buy two pounds, and
brought with him a tin can to carry IL, the
glass bottles in which it was sold being in
convenient for him. The clerk opened the
bottles, and poured the oil into the tin can:
but. 10, in the same moment il exploded,
tearing 10 pieces the poor clerk, killing the
miner and destroying the store. The Prns-
sian government appointed commission 10
investigate the matter, and il was found
that the Tin can had contained tur prn,.ne
oil, and that turpentine oil in contact with
nitro 81 ycerine possibly would occasion
sudden explosion. Singulariy enough, the
accident happened on the same day that the
Wyoming hotel accident took place in this
city.
Near Glatz, in the Prussinn province Of
Silesia. q laborcr who was occupied in blast
ing away some rocks on the railroad track
came very early in the morning (Jan. q,
1860 to his work He was to pour oil in
his drill hole. but found it had frozen over
night-the oil having the peculiar quality
Of freezing six degrees above the eater
freezing point. The oil was in guita-
percha flask, and little being left. the un-
fortunate working man cut open the flask
and took a Ratchet 10 cut off piece Of the
frozen oil. The moment tho batcnet touched
the frozen lump it exploded, killing in
stantly the poor man, whose limbs were
SGattcIcu III Fragments, anu IuuHu TWO miles
distant from the place where the accident
happened.
We call, therefore. the attention Of the
competent authorities to these facts and
hope the law will interfere 10 regulate the
transport and storage Of this powerful de-
structive compound. 1t would he the surest
TO adopt simply the Prussian law regulating
the transportation Of nitro glycerine oil on
public roads, because this law is The work
Of some Of the best scientific authorities OF
Europe, the committee having been COM
posed of three professors Of chemistry, three
directors Of insurance companies. aud three
freight superintendent Of railroads.