South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1889-07-05
A DEADLY PLAY THING
There was an explosion OF nitro

AueEo WAS 40 explosion OIL nitrOs
glycerine In the oil regions once that
has always been looked upon as one
OF the many mysterious happenings
OF that country, said j. Z. Henry,
one Of the early operators in Vehan.
go county. because people would ne
yer believe what told them about it
and the way il came to occur. NV
explanation of it was The truth,
though. and am the only person who
actually knows that the exposition
was not ofsny Mysterious origin. 1t
was the result OF one OF the most Gu
iious incidents that ever came to pass
in That curious country.
Il think IL was in ga that Roberts,
the torpedo man. FIRST demonstrated
the utility Of his nitro.glycerine tor.
| ped ocs for shooting OIL wells after
they had been drilled. Soon after
they came into use / had put down a
well m one Of the widest parts of the
region, and any one who was ever in
that section of the State at that time
has some idea Of what that means.
Nitro glycerine. being q new thing,
people hadn't got used to handling
1t yet and but few safeguards had
been thrown around the carving and
storing Of the deadly stuff. We all
knew that it was apt to GO off on very
slight provocation sometimes. and il
was going off every day, here and there
about tie region, and wiping folks Off
the fece OF the earth as completely as
| II they bad never been on it.
'Wc struck the sand 10 my we'll n
long toward the evening Of July 5.
There was good showing for oil,
and all it wanted was a good shot of
nitro glycerine. l had ordered
supply OF the stuff, and It was to have
been at the well that day, but hadn't
come. The next day being the 4th,
and my men having made arrange.
ments for celebrating somewhere
down along the creek, we concluded
to suspend operations till the 9Th.
had no idea the nitro glycerine would
be delivered on she Fourth. ! re-
NAMED at the well that day, and to
my surprise the tenmster came in
with big can of the explosive. l
didn't care to have it around, and
wanted him To take il back and come
with it the next day, but he wouldn't
do it, and placed it on the derrick
Aoor.
4 made up my mind TO get away
from there as soon as l could. The
woods were full Of wild animals still,
and scarcely day passed that bears
and wild cats were not seen providing
around. stepped into the derrick
to get my coat, and while there
teard noise in the brusb, and look
ing GU: saw two big bears slouching
along right toward the derrick. /
wasn't posted On bear, and without
waiting to think much about it, be.
ipg pretty well frightened, sprang
for The ladde. and climbed up into
the derrick, and got on beam TWEEN.
ty feet or 80 above the floor TO wait
for the unwelcome visitors to 60 on
about their business. 1t seemed,
though that they had made up their
minds that their business required
them to make an Investigation of the
premises, md they came right on and
stumbled in on the derrick floor.
They nosed around among the ma
chinery, dangled the ropes, and clat-
tered about generally. They didn't
appear 10 be in any hurry at all, and
L began to get uneasy.
'But II i was uneasy over their
fooling around among the machinery,
what do you suppose my feelings
were when The bright tin~cpn contain.
ing the nitro glycerine caught The
eyes OF tho bears, and they began to
push and roll it about on the floor
The Precipitation rolled off me in greaJ
beads, and | actually believed that i
could feel my hair turning white. /
didn't know what minute the bears
would hump the can against some.
thing hard enough TO explode it.
What the result of such q catastro-
phe would have been it isn't neces.
sary TO hint at. But all the while
the bears were having great fun with
the can. BY and by one OF the bears
lifted it in his paws and rose up on
his hind feet, holding the can at arms
length fully six feet from the floor.
All he bad to do was 10 drop it, and
all my men would have found when
they came back next day would have
been big hole in the ground. AS
the bear stood there holding that can
Of death his companion rose mp on his
hind feet two or three yards away,
and gazed at him in an e1pectant
sort OF way. ! had often heard that
bears amused themselves in melon
patches In playing catch with one an.
other by Chucking q melon TO and fro
between them. l made up my mind
that these two bears we're about 20
have little diversion Of that kind
with that can of nitro glycerine. /
shut my eyes and waited for the eli.
max that would surely follow. It
didn't come, and looked down again
and found that the bears had cbabg -
ed their minds about that game Of
catch, and were rolling the can about
on the floor again.
by and by new idea seemed 10
strike the jolly pair. A hundred
yards or so from the derrick there
was a rock ravine. One of the bears
rolled the can out OF the derrick, and
both Of them began TO scramble with
it on the ground, competing with one