The weekly Arizona miner., 1872-05-11
HOW GUNPOWDER IS MADE.
A House Where Men Never Laugh

How do you think you would like to live, fearing every moment to be blown up; not daring to speak loud or 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 pleas ant; Well, it isn't; yet hundreds of men live just in that state, work, receive pay and live, year after year, in the very sight of death. as it were, that all the world may have gunpowder
 You can easily guess that those men go about very quietly, and never laugh.
 You know that gunpowder is very danger ous ir a gun, or near fire, but perhaps you don't know that it is equally dangerous all through the process of making \ powder mill is a fearful place to visit, and strangers are very seldom allowed to go into one. They are built far from town, in the woods, and each branch of work is done in a sepe rate building. These houses are quite dis tance from each other, so thatif one blows up, it wont blow up the rest. Then the lower parts of the building are made very strong, while the roofs are very lightly set on, so that if it explodes only the roof will suffer. But in spite oi every care sometimes whole set clement of the powder mills will go off in an instant, and every yestage of the work 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 inter esting process to sec. It is made, perhaps you know, of charcoal, saltpeter and brim- stone. 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 millstone, rolling round and round in an iron bed. In this bed and under the stone, are put the three fear ful ingredients of gunpowder. They are thoroughly mixed and ground together. This is a very dangerous operation, because If the stone comes in contact with its iron bed, it is very apt to strike fire, and the merest sus picion of a 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 ma chinery left to do its terrible work alone. When it has run long enough the mill is stopped. and the men come back. This opc ration leaves the powder in hard Jumps CT cakes.
 The next house is where these cakes are broken into grains, and, of course it IS quite as dangerous as the last one. But men can't go away from this; they are obliged to at- tend to 1t 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 of his boots and put on rubbers, because one grain of the dangerous powder, crushed by the boot, would explode the whole in an in- stant. The floor of this house is covered with leather, and is made perfectly black by the dust of the gunpowder. It contains small set of shelves, each one smaller than the last, through which the powder is sifted, and an immense ground and laboring mill, where it is ground up, while men shovel it up with wooden shoyels. The machinery makes great deal of noise, bnt the men are silent, as in the other houses. The reckless crashing of the machinery even seems to give greater horror, and one is very glad to get out of that house.
 The stoving-h house is the next on the list. and there the gunpowdcr is heated on wooden trays It is very hot, and no workman stays there From there ir goes to the last store house, and is put up in barrels, kegs and can isters
 Safely through all these houses, it goes at last to tie store house. One feels like draw ing long breath to see the fearful stuff safely packed away, out of the hands of men, in this curious house
 You've heard of things being as dry as powder-house, but you wouldn't think this house very dry. It is almost imbeded in wa ter. The roof is one big tank kept full of water. Did you ever hear of water roof be- forel Instead of steps to go in, there ares shall low tanks of water through which every one must walk to the door.
 In none of these powder-houses is any light ever allowed except sunlight. The wages are good, the days work is short, ending at 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 visit powder-mill, he has no desire to go the second time, and he feels all the rest of his life that for once he has been very near death. Americdn SpOrtsman