Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-12-21

piece OF machinery accomplishes almost
Incredible wonders. In forty minutes il
drilled hole three and one-half feet into
hard limestone rock. In two hours i;
worked to a depth of sixteen feet. The
machine looks like little more than CYL.
| lnder and piston, and fits into the apex of
stout iron tripod. Drills of suitable
length being made fast to it, it delivers
oOO blows minute, upon the face of the
rock. Each blow is equal to weight of
! loo pounds, and the drill takes twist as
1t strikes. Steam was communicated to
the machine by pipe connected with the
stationary engine, used at the mines for
pumping.
AT length we were relieved from sus-
pense by seeing the proprietor of the
dualin rising, like truth, from the bottom
OF the well. Divesting himself quickly
of his dripping waterproofs, he soon en-.
tered into an animated explanation of the
merits of the drill and the power of the
dualin, talking with the eloquence of en-
thusasm. He opened two-pound pack
age of the dualin for our inspection, and
handled il with freedom that made Ills
shudder 1t looks like mixture of saw.
dust and grease, and has peculiar, faint,
package than this one was could not well
be made up; but it was trying to the
nerves to see it thrown with great violence
upon the ground to convince the lockers.
on that it would not explode by concus-
| sion. Still less did it conduce to personal
serenity to see the exhibitor put hand
full on stone, and coolly draw match
! from his pocket and set fire to it, Every
| h,I Il 1;,rb .sf g 4,
after fixing like damp gunpowder, and
showing bright blue flame, the mixture
! finally went out without any kind of ex-
! plosion.
After dinner, in the presence of large
/ number OF persons, the charge in the well
was fired. The dualin it will be under,
stood, was twenty six feet in the rock a,
| the bottom of well one hundred and
thirty feet deep. Between twenty
and thirty feet OF water had been let in on
| top of the charge--for water makes no sort
| of difference to this terrible explosive
| A few turns of the electric machine, and
a dull, booming sound was heard the
ground trembled with the shock, cloud
which looked like dust rose from the wells
mouth, and the thing was done.
! What was doney We can get very
| good idea of the smash that occurred
| down there from what we saw on the sur
face soon afterward. Two pounds OF
dualin were laid upon the top of the larg
| est piece of limestone rock that could be
| found in the neighborhood. The rock
! probably weighed between ten and twelve
hundred weight. The powder was simply
laid upon the top of it, with the wire, and
! covered with two shovelfulls of earth.
| The electric machine connected with il
was carried to a safe place on the other
! side Of the field, and the operator simply
turned the handle. The explosion
| which followed was terrific. Strange to
say, there were no falling fragments of
rock to be seen or heard, but only after
/ the sharpSeDort small cloud of dust and
white smoke like steam. The effect upon
the rock was to pulverize it. There were
! perhaps half dozen good-size pieces
/ left, but none larger than a mans head,
and the rest was powdered and mashed
! into the hole where the rock had been.
| Such terrible power has the dualin that
! it would seem to be unfit for breaking
| Quarricd stone, on account OF the waste
that must necessarily ensue. 1t was very
natural for a spectator to say, as one OF
the party did, "Why, where has the rock
gone tot"
The gentleman in charge of the cxplo'
siye, who has undertaken to give an album
dant supply of water for the Crane Com
pany's mine, feels confident of being able
| TO accomplish tins with the dualin. He
! handles ii with such skill and fearessness
as after time, to beget confidence in the
spectators OF course, the composition
Of the explosive is secret. -1HeatotcH
| (Pl) Oar " Y 1ribuHe.