Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1872-01-25
Dualin, the New ExpIo-
q siVe.
Details of an observation-disclosures
ishing Rock 1876 Feet Under
the Surface.


ishing Rock 1876 Feet Unde1
: the Surface.
L-f = $780, 1sI5 Fal
A letter from Appleton, Pa,
dated November 2Sth, says The
new explosive, duaIiu, was tried
today at the Crane Iron Compa.
I ny's mines. The company have
had great difficulty in procuring
water Tor their washery ON the ore
lands leased by them, Situated
close by the village of 7Wescoes-
vile. They have sunk a we'll I27
feet deep and six feet square,
with no other result than meeting
a cheek TO their further progress
in the shape of a solid limestone
rock. - tt was therefore deter
mined to try the effect of expIsd.
ing a charge of sdaalia ut the bot.
tom of the well, hoping that, like
the prophets rod OF old, it might
cause the waters to- gush forth.
After q pleasant ride of a little
more than two miles from this
city, we peeFed down into the
blackness OF a very deep hole, at
the bottom Of which, we were in
formed, the gentlemsn-i in charge
Of the dualin was at work prepat-
ing for the explosion Two wires
were slowly unwinding from q
reel held byone of the mine hands,
aud paying out into the darkness,
to be the medium for vcommunica.
tion with the duslih when all had
been prepared. 1t was Disagree
able to think of the man soYfar
down alone-or with no other
company than the dualin--fxing
the wire to the terrible charge;
nor was it possible torefrain from
the speculation, "1fit should hap.
pen to go off now o. Near by was
a steam drill which had been
hauled up from the we'll an hour
before, having just completed the
work of drilling a four and half
inch hole twenty-six feet into the
solid rock. This insignificant
looking piece Of machinery ac-
complishes almost incredible won
ders. In forty minutes it drilled
a hole three and a half feet into
hard limestone rock. In two
hours it worked to q depth of six
teen feet. The machine looks
like little more than q cylinder
aud piston, and fits into the apex
Of stout iron tripod. Drills Of
suitable length being made fas: 10
it,git delivers three hundred blows
a minute on the face of the rock.
Each blow is equal to a weight
of one, Thousand pounds, and the
drill takes a twist as it, strikes.
Steam was communicated to the
machine by q pipe connected with
the stationary ergine used. at the
mines for pumping. .a5- y vea,.
At lerg.h we were relieved
from suspense by seeing the pro-
prietor of the dualin rising, like
truth, from the bottom OF the
we'll Ditesting himself quickly
of his. dripping wsterproofs, he
soon entered into an animated eX-
planstion OF the merits ef the
drill and the power of the daalin,
talking with the eloquenee of eu-
thusiasm. He opened u two
pound package of the dualin for
our inspection, and handled it
with a freedom that made us
shudder. 1t looks like a mixture
of sawdust and grease, and has a
peculiar, faint, sickly odor. A
more innocent looking package
than This one was could not well
be made up, but it vas trying to
the nerves to see it thrown with
great violence upon the ground to
convince the lookers.On that il
would not explode by concussiou.
Still less did it conduce TO person.
al serenity to see the exhibitor
put a handful upon a stove and
coolly draw a match from his
pocketand set fire to it. Every
body present drew a sigh of re-
lief when, after fzzing like damp
gunpowder, and showing bright
blue flame, the mixture finally
went out without any kind Of
explosion. sss-g st t5 sysGa
After dinner, in the presence
of large number OF persons. the
charge In the we'll was fred
The dualin, ii will be understood,
was twenty-six feet in the rock at
the bottom of well one hHndred
and twenty-seyen feet deep. Be-
tween twenty and thirty feet Of
water had been let in on top of
2 the charge-ior water makes no
sort of difference to this terrible
explosive. A few turns of the
electric machine, and a dull,
| boo, booming m1nih1g.IpP2 pP29dnd md was bcard5l the