The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-03-08
.. MODERN ExPLOsuvEs.
something About NttrO-Glyrertne. Gun
Cotton and Giant Powder.
From tho New York Times


Tho fearful explosion of dynamite
and consequent loss Of life at Bremen
haven. will remind many of a similar
disaster which took place at Aspinwal
some nine years since. The dynamite
| on the pier at, Bremerhaven. it Is said
WAS in the personal baggage of pas
senger. The pitro-glycerine which
exploded on board the steamship Euro
pean, at Aspinwall, in 1866, was invoiced
az "oil - Its powerful properties
were quite unknown at that time in this
country. There were about seventy
cases Of the stuff In the hold Of the ship
which had been transported from Ham
burg to Hull, England, and thence &c
Liverpool by rail. 1t will never be
known whether the explosive quality OF
partial decomposition In the tropical
heat OF that latitude, or whether the
careless handling by the laborers In the
vessels hold brought about the disaster.
The steamer was blown up, many peo-
plo were killed, and much shipping and
wharf property and buildings were
wrecked. Great indignation was ex-
pressed against the shippers who had
disguised their consignment in order to
insure its transportation. In the shape
in which 1t was carried IL completely
deceived the very people who should
have been made aware Of the dangerous
properties Of the cargo which they were
obliged to handle. This shipment was
designed for San Francisco, and, by a
curious coincidence, similar disaster
occurred In that city at about the same
time. Tidings of the two explosions
reached New York almost simultane-
ously. An express company In San
Francisco had received, in the course of
business, q case containing several
packages OF nitro glycerine, the outer
wooden covering of which was saturated
with the perilous stuff leaking from the
inside cases. Nobody called for it. and
some man was instructed to open 1t in
order TO see what the contents might he.
Tho first blow Of his mallet caused an
explosion which killed eight or ten PEG
pie, wrecked the warehouse, wounded
many persons. and destroyed property
to the value OF two hundred thousand
dollars. 4- iti.
Both these disasters occurred when
tho manufacture OF nitro glycerine was
yet new, and while the art Of packing it
safely for transportation was cornpara-
lively unknown. OF the various serious
accidents which have happened from a
careless use OF this explosive, that by
which eight men were killed and several
were wounded, at Bergen, N. j., in 1867,
was most notable. In this instance a
laborcr attempted to dry a can Of nitro
glycerine by thrusting red-hot poker
into 1t. We now know enough Of most,
powerful explosives to handle them, mt
least with great care, and to transport
them from place to place without incur
ring any such awful penalties Of ignor-
ance as those which followed its ignor-
49, l,,,,,@nfNiA,> a.,
Indeed, the article OF commerce known
rs dynamite, which caused the cxplo-
sion at Bremerhaven, was the result Of
Alfred Nobel's experiments to discover
u form in Which nitro-glycerine might
be safely handled. Nobel, Swedish
chemist OF Hamburg, after studying the
and properties Of such ex-
plosives as the wood gunpowder" Of
Schultze, and the compressed gun-cot-
ton Of Abel, introduced nitroleum, or
to the world on a large scale.
It was not until 1865 thati it became we'll
known in the arts, and the series OF
shocking disasters which followed its
brought it at once into
great disfavor; those who saw its i'm
mense value as an explosive dreaded its
hidden forces.
1t was then proposed to diffuse the
1AplOSlNS Hulu III OAHU, VI sun
stances, by which means the explosive
'orce wotifd be divided, and any latent
heat would be conducted off. Another
plan was to mix the oil with wood
laphtha, which would form a non-ex-
,losive compound, the naphtha being
EASILY drawn off when the nitroleum is
'equired for use. None of these expedi-
,nts were found practicable, and the
attest result Of all experiments was
dynamite, or giant powder. This is
simply pulverized slick, saturated with
A cheap substitute for
he slick is q deposit Of infusorial earth, |
ound in some parts of Germany, and |
which answers every purpose OF the |
lrtiticially prepared material. The |
aturated mass looks like damp gray !
sh sugar. If carelessly prepared, the |
litro- ylycerine settles or collects in |
lrops, and is. of course, dangerously ex- |
'losive
OF each Of these compounds it may be
aid, as of fire, that cit Is a good SER
ant but bad master" Railroad |
'uilding and all enterprises requiring |
lasting, tunneling or excavation, have
een vastly cheapened by the introduce I