New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-05-09
How Gunp6w der 10 Dlade-A
House Where Men Never
Laugb.

How do you think you would like to live
tearing every moment to be blown up. not
daring to speak loud, to jar anything, for fear
OF starting an explosion that would send you
IN an instant to the other world?
You don't think it would be very pleasant.
Wen, it isn't. yet hundreds of men live in lust
mat state, work, receive pay and live year
alter year in the very sight of death. as il
were; all that the world may have gunpowder.
You can easily guess that those men 90
about quietly, and never laugh.
You Know that gunpowderis very dangerous
IN gun, or near fire, but perhaps you don't
know that it is equally dangerous all through
the process of making. A powder-mill is
fearful place to visit, and strangers are yery
seldom allowed to go into one. They are
quilt lar from any town, in the woods, and
each branch of the work is done in a separate
building. These houses are quite distance
from each other, so that if one blows up it
won t blow up the rest. Then the lower parts
OF the buildings are made very strong, while
the roofs are very lightly set on. so that if IL
explodes only the roof will suffer. But in
spite OF every care, sometimes a. whole settle
ment OF the powder-mills will go off almost in
an instant, and every vestige of the toll of
years Will be swept away in few seconds
But though you feel like holding your breath
to look at it, it is really very interesting
process to see. 1t is made, perhaps YOU
know, OF charcoal, saltpetre and birthstone.
Each of these articles is prepared in house
by itself, but the house where they are mixed
Is the first terrible one. In this building is
an immense milestone, rolling round and round
IN an iron bed, and under the stone are put the
three fearful ingredients of gunpowder. There
they are thoroughly mixed and ground to-
gether. This is very dangerous operation,
because If the stone comes in contact with its
iron bed it is very apt to strike fire, and the
merest suspicion OF spark would set off the
whole. The materials are spread three
or four inches thick in the bed the wheel,
which goes by water power, is started, and
every man leaves the place. The door is
shut and the machinery left to do its own
terrible work alone. When it has run long
enough the mill is stopped and the men come
back. This operation leaves the powder in
hard humps or cakes.
The next house is where the cakes are broken |
into grains, and of course is quite as danger
GUS as the last one. But the men can't go |
away from this; they are obliged to attend to |
it every moment, and you may be sure no |
laugh or joke is ever heard within its walls. |
Every one who goes in has to take off his boots |
and put on rubbers, because one grain of the |
dangerous powder crushed by the boot would |
explode the whole in an instant.
The floor of this house is covered with |
leather, and is made perfectly black by the |
dust of the gunpowder. 1t contains set of |
sleeves, each one smaller than the last, through |
which the powder is sifted; and an immense
ground and laboring mill, where it is ground I
up, while men shovel it in with wooden shov-
els. The machinery makes great deal of
noise, but the men are silent as in the other
hnnSQS q oSh off ho al,;
cry even seems to give greater horror, and
one is very glad to get out of that house.
The clearinghouse is the next on the list, and |
there the gunpowder is heated on wooden
trays. 1t is very hot, and no workmen STAY
there. From there it goes to the packing
house, and it is put up in barrels, kegs and
5.... L.r. 10 -,H
Safely through all these houses, it goes at
asst to the store-hOuse. One feels like draw
ng a long breath to see the fearful stuff safely
packed away out of the hands of men in this |
curious house. ..r f.
You've heard of things being as dry as a
,owder-house, but you wouldn't think this
house very dry. 1t is almost embedded in wa
er. The roof is one big tank, kept full of
water. Did you ever hear of water roof be-
ore? Instead of steps to go in there are
shallow tanks OF water, through which every-
me must walk to the door.
In none ofthose powder-houses is any light
,ver allowed except sunlight. The wages are
rood, the days work is short, ending always
1t three or four o'clock. But the men have
/ serious look that makes one think every
moment of the danger and glad to get away.
Though curiosity may take man once to
risit powder mill, he has no desire to 90 the
econd time, and he feels all the rest Of his
life that for once he has been very near death.
4meyicdn Sportsman. LII - 4