The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-04-25

Explosive Equivalent of Five Tons OF Gum
Powder Rendered Harmless.
[LOndon Standard

perilolls task OF removing and destroying
the stock Of explosives found at the Fenian
Laboratory at lakewood. The nitro-glyce-
rine was IN such highly dangerous state
that Il terrible explosion might have &C.
cured at any moment. So anxious were
Colonel Majendie and DR.. Dupre about the
safety of the material even from spontaneous
combustion that at q late hour on Saturday
evening they paid a hurried and unex-
pected visit to the premises. 1t was most
prOyidential that they did so, for il was
J found that, in their anxiety to render the
material secure by placing ice round it,
lthey had run the fearful risk OF re-
ducing the temperature so far as to freeze
the nitro-glycerine, in which state It
is peculiarly liable to spontaneous eXplo-
sion without being disturbed in any way.
Colonel Nlaiendie at once ordered the re-
moval OF the ice and the substitution OF
saw-dust and cold water to be packed
round the carboy, which contained 1850
pounds OF nitro-glycerine and explosive
material. equal to five tons OF gunpoWder.
| The news o; this narrow escape soon
spread in the district, and the already
! alarmed inhabitants became almost panic
stricken. Many families migrated TO other
| parts OF the town pending the removal and
| the destruction OF the explosive. IeSter-
| day morning the specialist visited the
premises at Ledsam street, with the neces-
sary appliances for manipulating the mate
| rial so rs 10 make it sufficiently safe for re-
moyal TO the Corporation Sewage-farm at
Satley. Going into the kitchen. he took the
| tin from the neck OF the carbOys containing
the niiro-glycerine tested it, and with the
greatest GOODNESS said it had not been thor
OughIy washed free OF acid and was there
fore very dangerous to handle. He next
proceeded to inspect the buckets in which
| had been placed the contents OF the vat
found i'm the cooler when the premises
were taken possession OF by the police.
plunged his hand INTO the bucket
and stirred its contents vigorously. After
allowing the nitro-glycerine to settle in the
bottom he carefully poured of the upper
stratum OF alkaline liquid, leaving about a
couple of pints OF heavy, greasy-looking
| LIQUID i'm the bucket, and this, he said. was
pure nitrO-glyccrine. Taking the bucket
| into the laboratory again. he laded into it
a quantity Of Krselger earth, highly alb
sorbent light material, found in large de-
posit- i'm Hanover. This material had been
reduced to an impalpable powder, and lit
| tie OF it sufliced to absorb nitrO-glycerine
| i'm the bucket. The operator thus pro-
duced i'm a few minutes about a third OF an
ordinary bucketful OF dynamite, which he
said could with comparative safety be con-
viewed at once 10 Saltey and set fire to,
when it would burn away quietly with
| bluish-grcen flame. The contents OF the
other two buckets were treated in the
same manner, with the exception that one
Of them, being found to be still slightly
Iacidulated, Il quantity OF carbOnate-of-soda
solution was first stirred into it. The pro-
duce of the whole was 4 full bucket OF dy-
mantle. with, the operator said, an eXplo-
,iye power equal TO about half ton OF
powder, and sufficient TO destroy the build
| ings 300 yards around. The carboy was
cautiously lifted by the operator and DR..
| Hill. and it, contents poured into
| the tub. Previous TO this there had
been several police officers and re-
porters on the premises; but, recognizing
the danger of the moment, most Of them
speedily retired. The operator then
plunged his hand into the tub and stirred
| The contents briskly. DR.. Hill tested it.
and. having declared the liquid alkaline. it
WAS allowed 10 remain still for few min
utes. the explosive sinking in a grayish
white liouid to the bottom. The lighter
| LIQUID on the top was then skinned Oh IL
Thoroughly "a possible, and the operator
declared that that which remained was tit
70 be made into dynamite. \ bag contain
in- a haIf-hundred weight OF the earth was
accordingly emptied out into the tub and
Thoroughly mixed with the liquid, and
| il WAS with Il feeling Of great dam
ger passed that the operator said
| the process was now all but COM
1 hot
| 10 be done was TO bring the dynamite up
10 the proper consistency by the addition
OF more earth. After about half an hours
mixing he called for buckets, and into these
he lifted the dynamite with his hands from
the tub. Seven large buckets, computed
10 contain about thirty pounds weight
each. were filed with the miXture-a
| brownish-red pasty substance. The buck
cts were covered with thick wOOllen baize
to protect the dynamite from the air and
light, and the explosive was ready to be
conveyed 10 the Sewage-Farm for destruc-
ton.
The site selected for the hazardous work
| was failOw-tied in the centre OF the farm,
some hundreds OF wards distant from a
building Of any kind. The seven buckets
were removed with the greatest care from
| the van TO the centre OF the field, where
they were taken in charge by the operator
and Or. Hill. The operator commenced
| by taking a small quantity OF the explosive,
about q couple OF pounds weight, 10 spot
at safe distance from the buckets, which
were cautiously guarded two or three hun
dred wards away. 1t was a supremacy
anxious moment, for fierce sun was beat
| inc down upon the field and Mr.. Macready
gave orders that the baize covering the buck
cts should beremoyed for fear OF IN accident
al ignition OF the dynamite. There was no
necessity to tell the spectators To keep at
Il distance from the first little layer OF ma
terial. As that was ignited even the de-
tectiyeS, who have shown such courage IN
watching the prisoners work, shrank away
10 safe distance rs they saw the pheg-
matte Sc0tchman strike Nesuyian match
and apply il 10 the little brown heap.
There was a feeling of painful suspense a.
the match was applied but it was not OF
long duration, a. all that could be per-
ceiyed was a faint burst OF flame, which
increased with great rapidly till II con-
summed the whole compound within a few
seconds. There was not the slightest report,
but even the most unscientlbc observer
could detect the terrible potency OF the
material from the powerful nature OF
the eases evolved from II during the
time il was burning. The rushing OF
the flames produced noise something
like the rumbling OF distant thunder, ana
the heat even from such small quantity
could be distinctly felt many yards away.
4 peculiar brownish-red vapor hung over
the spot for some time after the fire bad ex-
hausted Itself. aud there was nothing OF
fine material left but white ash OF the
earth with which the explosive had been
mixed. The success Of the first expert
ment gave the Jew spectators fresh courage,
and il was rather amusing to see how they
shook OF their timIdity and approached a
- - ---....,. tLn lnnnn of the OneraIinns