The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-12-07
NITRO-MLYCERINE
AN EXPLOSIVE WHICH ANNIHI-
LATES ITS VICTIMS.
ferfls OF Transporting hi Deadly
Stuff in the Oil Hcgions-Some
Notwithstanding Nitro.Gly-
ccrinc by Wagon and Boat.

-NNN "fo ' NV tiC cSIDlII luil
of the Roberts oil well tor redo patent,
which was the only torpedo W tn which
oil wells could be legally shot. anil out
of the patent on which DIR. Roberts made
afortunc Of several mil ions Of dollars,
manufactures of Mite glyccr:nc have
come into existence in great numbers in
the O regions, an are now scattered in
anything but reas iuring proximity to
many towns an villages. One of the
most extensive nitro-glyccrine factories
in the world is | seated between Warren
AM Kin ia. At this factory they make
10000 pounds of the deadly explosive
every day, and IL sc lie of mngazints are
distributed about the country for the
st2ragc Of the stun, which is ready
canned for use in the wells. The
wagons in which thcic cans of nitro-gly-
ccrine are carrie to the magazines, and
In turn to the W lis that are to b. tor
pcaoed, arc made especially for the pu--
pose The can arc fitted in softly up.
holstcred apartments in the wagon body
to prevent sudden conclusion that the
, passage over the rough roads of the re-
glon would oth"rwi e make liable mt any
moment and which might explode a can
n annihilate IL | within sound of it.
Under the. cans Il zinc tray is fitted SO
that any lcakag, canrot reach the aXles.
In the early days of nitro glycerinc
transportation this precaution was not
taken and it vas n common occurrence
for tho acid to leak from tho can drop
on the axlcs. and there become exploded,
killing t. am and driver. Scores of per
sons wee blown to atoms in that way
before the inc tray was introduced.
The Lower Pennsylvania and Ohio oil
districts arc supplied with nitro glyccr-
Inc by means Of boats run down the AL
lcgheny and Ohio ! i:crs. The b ats are
stilctto-shaped c aft, thirty feet in length
aud four feet wide. They are loaded
with 1000 pound, of nitro .glyccrine
each and manned by two men. A col
lision between one of these boats and
other craft on the river would be fol
lowed by horrible consequences and they
arc gwen a wide berth. The men who
II the nitro .glyccrine boats are in
strictcd to tie up wherever night over
takes them, and not to run q minute
after it gets dark. The men, as NAV
wei be imagined, are without fear, and
manage their dangerous craft with q
nonchalancc and independence that is n
source of perpetual terror to the crews of
ordinary boats, and to tho citizens Of
towns by which the deadly cargocs are
run
"Attending the frightful deaths that
so frequently follow the handling of
nitro-glvccrinc in the oil regions" SAYS
m old oil operator of the Bradford field, |
''thcre is one feature the mysterious ma.
ture of which is startling 1t has puz-
zlcd scientific observation and study. and
l d. not believe to day that any salts
factory explanation can be given Of it.
This singular feature is the almost com
plete humiliation of matter, especially
of the human body, which in a majority
OF cases results from a fatal explosion of
this deadly compound. l have noticed
ster once in my employ named Henry
France. Like all men of his kind in the
oil country, there was nothing, either
above. below, or o the earth that he
feared. He was in the habit of %cartinr
nltro-glyccrine to any we'll where | want
ed to use it, and he and his partner, War:
rem Jack, actually got so reckless in
handling the deadly stuff that no help l
had would remain at work when they
knew France and Jack were COM
ing in with n load of glyccrine.
These two men were so tallous
to fear that they used TO I'M
load the stuff the same as they
would II lot of brick, Fran @ staining H.,
the wagon and throwing n Can to Jack.
who stood some feet away, and Jack
catching it and placing it on the ground
In time to catch the next one his compan.
ion tossed him. AS it takes a man with
q good set of nerves to even ride in Il
wagon when he knows there is nitro.
glycerine under the seat, this manner of
hlndling Il compound that the slightest
jar frequently explodes, will give an idea
of fh0 cnrf al arx,o fb~.1 k-,~ 1900 IL
One day in 1880 France was coming in
with a load of glycerinc, and when he
was within Il quartz. of a mile oGthe we'll
we heard an explosion. No one ever
knew how it happened, but it was one of
the most complete cases of nitro glyccr-
inc humiliation I ever saw. We found
the usual cellar that a few cans of glyccr-
inc always dig in the ground when it
goes of and the usual area of timber
fellcd. Over 90 feet Off in the woods, to
the right of the road, we picked up a
wagon tire. We found the tail of one
hor. G and the hoof of another. In another
part OF the woods n mans knee was picked
up, and that was all we ever found, ex-
cept Henry Frances greasy cap lying by
the side of a stump and his silver watch
hanging on the limb of q tree.
George Doran was blown to pieces
by a nitro glycerino explosion at Red
Rock a few years ago. He was a man
that weighed 200 pounds. All that the
most thorough search ever recovered of
that 200 pounds of flesh and bone was a
part of one Of the poor mans feet-less
than one pound. Charles Berridge, n
well-known oil man, was blown up by
nitro g.ycerine one winter in Allegheny
County. The ground was covered with
newly fallen snow. On either side was q
Iirh and ohr,,rt lsll 2oI, ro-. -