Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1872-03-07
HOW GUN.POWDER IS MADE.

How do you think you would like to live,
fearing 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?
Well it isn't yet hundreds Of men livein just
that state, work, receive pay, and live, year
after year. in the very sight Of death, as it
we're all that the world may have gun.pow-
der
You can easily guess that those men 60
about very quietly, and never laugh.
You know that gun-powder is very danger
GUS in a 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 very seldom allowed to 60 into one They
are built far from town, in the woods, and
each branch of the work is done in a seperate
building. These houses are quite distance
from each other, so that ifone blows upit won't
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 ex-
plodes only the roof will suffer. But in spite
of every care, sometimes whole settlement
ofthe powder mills go off almost in an instant,
and every vestige of the work ofyears will be
swept away in a few seconds.
But though you feel like holding your
breath to look at, it is really very interesting
process to see. It is made, perhaps you know,
of charcoal saltpetre, and birthstone. Each
of these articles is prepared in house by
by itself but the house where they are mix
ed is the first terrible one. In this building
is an immense mill stone, rolling round and
round in an iron bed. In this bed, and under
the stone are put the three fearful ingredients
of gunpowder. There they are thorougly
mixed and ground together.
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 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 Jumps or cakes.
The next house is where these cakes are bro
ken into grains, and, Of course, is quite as
dangerous as the last one But the men can't
90 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 leath
er, and and is made perfectly black with dust
of gunpowder. It contains set ofseives, each
one smaller than the last, through which the
powder is sifted and an immense ground
and laboring mill, where il is ground up,
while men shovel it in with wooden shovels.
The machinery makes great deal of noise,
but 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 glazing house comes next Glazing ls
done by mixing black lead with the powder,
to give it black and shiny look. The pow
der is but into barrels, which revolve for
several hours, That polishes the grains by
their rubbing together. The black lead is
put with them and they revolve several hours
more. Of course the dust flies from all those
operations, and the workmen, silent, like the
rest, look like very black negroes, working
in the blacklist of powder, in room whose
walls and floors are blacker than the rest, if
possible. It has very singular look to
stranger, and added to the horrible silence,
makes one feel that the whole world has gone
into mourning. Often, the gun-powder, re-
volving so rapidly in the barrels, gets very
hot; so this, too, is dangerous operation.
The slowing house is the next on the list,
and there the gun-powder is heated on wooden
trays. 1t is very hot and no workmen stay
there. From there it goes to the packing
house, and is put up in barrels, kegs and can
isters
Safely through all those houses, it goes at
last to the storehouses One feels like draw
ing long breath to see the fearful stuff safely
packed away, out Oft 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 imbedded in
water. The roof is one big tank, kept full of
water. Did you ever hear of water roofbe-
fore? Instead of steps to 60 in, there are
shallow tanks Of water, through which every
one must walk to the door
In none of those powder houses is any light
ever allowed except sunlight. The wages are
good, the days work is short, ending always
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 q powder mill, he has no desire to 60 the
second time; and he feels all the rest of his life
that for once he has been very near death.