Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-02-15
4 TERRIBLE EXPLOSIVE.
EHE WORK OF NITRo-aLYoERINE
IN THE OIL REGIONS.
Almost Total Disappearance OF Men
Who Have Been Blown Up by the
CompOund-Curfot -EaCts

who Have Been Blown Up by the
Compound-Curio Facts.
'If there is anything that is WE'LL
known in the oil country" said o life
long oil operator, ait is this terribly
mysterious feature Of nitro glycerine ex-
| plosions-the almost complete annihila-
ton of matter, especially of the human
body, which i'll majority of cases re-
suits from fatal explosion of this
deadly compound. There is not m
operator in the whole region that can
not recall moro than one illustration of
| 1t. had teamstcr named France once
in my employ. Like all men of his
class in the oil country, there was moth
ing either above. below, or on tho earth
that he feared, He was in the habit of
carting nitro-glycerinc to any we'll 1
wanted it. Another employe of mine
who helped France was quite as reckless
as the tcamstcr was. They became so
careless in handling the explosive that
| other workmen would not stay in the
place if they knew France was coming
there with glyccrine. These two men
| actually used to unload the stuff ms they
might unload lot of bricks, France
standing on the wagon and throwing q
can to his companion some feet away,
aud the latter catching it and placing it
OH the ground in time to catch the next
can. As it takes man with good set
OF nerves even to ride in wagon where
he knows there is nitro glycerinc under
tho scat. this manner of handling com
pound that frequently explodcs under
the slightest jar will give an idea of
what sort of nerves those two men had.
Each one knew that if Frances helper
missed catching a can there wouldn't
he enough left of them to cover the bot
tom of snuff box, but they had tho
daring to take the chances.
mo one ever knew what caused it,
and no one would have ever known who
it was that was wiped out of existence
except for the fact that we all knew who
it was that was coming that way with
-Slyccrinc just Mt that time. When
We heard the explosion down the road
that day there was only one remark
made.
That's Frances last trip
"rhc glycerine had exploded about
quarter of mile from the we'll We
walked there. and found the usual hole
that few cans of the stuff always dig
when it goes off and the usual lot Of
sp!intercd timbcrs. Three hundred
feet OIL to the right of the road, in the
woods, we found wagon tire. We
found the tail of one horse and small
portions Of the body of the other. In
another part of the woods mans knee
cap was picked up, and although we
searched over an area that it would have
been impossible for any of the wreck to
be thrown, that was all we found, except
Frances greasy cap lying by the side of
stump and his watch hanging on the
limb of a tree.
''All who have had anything to do
with it in the oil regions have had SINH
lar illustrations OF the power of nitro.
glyccrinc time after time Look Mt TINT
poor, reckless George Dolser, think his
name, who disappeared ut Red Rock, in
the bradford field n few years ago. He
was walking along through the town
with two or three cans of glyccrinc
slung over his shoulder in bag. Hc
had been drinking too much, and in
staggering along he fell head formost
and the bag flew over his haad and the
nitro glyccrinc cans struck heavily on
rock. Not building for half block
around was left standing. Dolan was
man that weighed over 200 pounds,
and all that the most thorough search
was able to recover of that 200 pounds
OF flesh and bones was part of one OF
Dolan's feet--less than one pound.
''rhe almost total disappearance of
bodies is accounted for by some by the
theory of spontaneous combustion. That
is something like the theory that well
known scientific man once advanced to
explain this mysterious characteristic of
nitro glyccrine. He said it was instan-
1f
theory we all admitted was plausible rs
the great masses of bone in the human
wood, could be reduced to vapor in the
twinkling of an eye. Another theory
that met with great favor for some time
nitro glvccrine. But this theory was
disproved in most frightful way in the
Allegheny oil field about three years
ago. This case was not characterized.
by the way, by such great degree of
nnnihilation as others. Charles Ber-
ridge, well known oil man, was blown
up by nitro glycerine. Tho ground around
was covered with spotless. -HSw faiien
snow. On each SIDE was high and alb
rupt hill, only few rods intervening.
'Oiii'SC was u ihiS C ilhii VI pIOuuuiy
$50 pounds weight. The remains of the
poor man were searched for carefully
and long, for he was good man and
popular one. The coffin in which they
were borne TO the grave contents and all,
weighed less than ten pounds. The
greatest force of ntro-glyccrinc ex-
plosion is always upward. If the matter
had been reduced to atoms, however in.
fintesimal, in falling back upon that
spotless snow some trace of them might
have been seen upon it. But it remained
as spotless ms before.
''This singular feature about nitro
glyoerine explosions has been commented
upon and puzzled over every time fatal
one has occurred In the oil region, from
the earliest day the explosive was intro
duced among the ls."-Neao York.
Times.
The Eastern Shore of MARYLAND.