Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-05-15
POWDER.
How the Deadly Compound Is Manufao.
tured and Marketed. Il

low the Deadly Compound Is Manufao.
tured and Marketed.
Powder is made from three ingredi-
elts, charcoal (made from willow or
alder wood for good rifle powder, and
from poplar for blasting powder), salt
peter and sulphur. The saltpeter is
refined and ground as fine as flour, and
with the charcoal is taken to a separate
building and mixed IN proper proper
tons with the sulphur. The whole is
then taken to the first mill-the barrel
mill-where there are a number of
large casks made to revolve on shafts.
A certain quantity of the mixture is put
into each cask with a large supply of
common playing marbles; the whole is
then set in motion and is allowed to
run for a certain number of hours, the
marbles serving to thoroughly mix the
different ingredients in their continual
revolution with them in the casks.
The noise made by the marbles is deaf
ening. l remember going to this mill
once with a load of the mixture in bags
just as a heavy thunder shower was
coming up. The interior of the mill
was as black as pitch from the powder
dust, and in the few minutes required
to set the bags inside the door l lived
seemingly for years. AS each flash of
vivid lightning came 1 imagined that
the mill had exploded; the noise of the
rolling casks was so great l could not
hear the thunder. From the bar
rel mill the powder is taken
to the rolling mills, each of
which contains a large iron pan with
two heavy wheels weighing seven tons
side the pan. The powder is spread
over the bottom of the pan, about 100
pounds making a charge" The
wheels are set in motion and allowed
to run over the powder from two to
three hours according to the quality of
powder desired. The attendant at
these mills starts the machinery and
then very prudently takes a walk unit
the time is up, as the process is an ex
tremely dangerous one. The powder
not being as yet far advanced toward
completion, when these mills explode
it rarely aver kills outright the persons
who happen to be in them, but it burns
them so frightfully that they linger in
the most fearful agony for several
hours. ~ '
From this wheel-mill the powder is
taken to the press-house, where there
is a powerful hydraulic press. The
powder is built up in tiers with heavy
canvas between each tier, and then the
pressure is put down. This is SO great
that it presses the powder in cakes
about two feet square and n inch
thick, and it comes out almost as hard
as glass. 1t is then taken to the corn"
ing-mill, where the cakes are run be-
tween heavy rollers and ground up in
the different sizes required. After that
it goes to the drying-housc, where it is
spread out ON trays with canvas bot
toms and. subjected to as great a heat
as it will bear until it is thoroughly
dried. The whole process is ended in
the glazing-mill, which much resembles
the harrel-mill, except that instead OF
usiug marbles with the powder u small
Quantity of black lead is put into each
cask, and the polish is thus given to
j. the powder, which before this is of a
| blackish-gray color. On leaving The
glazcing mill the powder is ready to
Be packed and sent to market---Cor.
N. y. Tribune.