Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-01-08
NjTRO-GtYCERlNE.
Some Information Gathered from One Who
Often Handles the stuff.
J. II. CosNELLY

Often Handles the stun.
Especial CorrespondenceI
CLEAN. n. Y, = L-"Whoa% Big
hearted, big bodied and good natured Jim
Gallagher drew in his sturdy black horses,
and the nitro-glycerine wagon on which we
sat paused at the top of steep declivity In
the road we were following. Directly below
US lay peculiar valley or gulch of several
acres in extent Ii was wholly surrounded
by steep banks, and from its singular shape
one could easily fancy it had been formed by
gigantic foot lowered from the heavens and
pressed against the even earth until the huge
sole had buried itself forty feet beneath the
surrounding country. The valley was a
beautiful one, and, although quiet and de
serted, bore evidences of mans occupation
Two plain, implanted wooden structures
stood in the valley, one at either end, and a
clear stream Of spring water ran through it.
That, said the glyceiine man, pointing to
the remoter structure, lis the glycerine fac
tory, and this one just below Us is where the
dynamite is manufactured. We located them
as far apart as possible, so that if one ex-
ploded the other would not be so apt to go up
This is the best location for the business that
ever saw. We are three miles from Olean,
and as the valley is closely heinmed i'll by
these hills the force Of an explosion would be
turned skyward, and aside from lively
shaking up no damage would be done to prop
erty in Olean or in this immediate vcinity.'
The glycerine man elucked to his horses, and
the handsome creatures clattere1 nolsily down
the incline with their dangerous load.
At the drivers solicitation | visited the fac
tory with him As we turned our backs upon
ta fanf,ry a.,1 ST fa/,f for tb.a h,rSac | "a.
marked that my head ached
1T is caused By the ecid," explained Gal
agher. One. day young lazy wished to
zee some Of tho glycerine. l pc Ted a small
quantity into her hand, and she carelessly
wiped it of with her handkerchief forgot
to warn her. and pretty soon she placed the
handkerchief to her nose. In "a few moments
she was the sickest person ever saw, The
feeling, when one gets il bad, is much like
s.,asickneSs, and males a person pine for
death to relieve his sutferingS The men who
are working at the business constantly get
over it, but if they stop work a week it will
affect them again
A short distance from the factory and on
the road leading TO the valley the spot was
pointed out where poor Lew Hart was blown
into eternity While returning to the factory
with half doze: quarts OF glycerine, in June,
1887. His mangled body struck the ground
thirteen rods from where the explosion oc-
CURED, but, strange to relate, the horses
drawing the glycerine wagon at the time
were almost uninjured. A deep hole was
blown in the road, the fences were all demol-
ished in the vicinity, and such was the tire
mendous force of the explosion that a spoke
from the utterly demolished wagon was
driven half through a fence board without
cracking the board in the least. Had the &C.
cident happened two minutes later the wagon
would have been i'll front Of the factory, and
several other men would have lost their lives
From the factory door a short strip of the
road can be seen, but between this point and
the edge Of the valley the road dips out Of
sight into hollow On the day of the acci.
dent men standing in the door saw Hart
drive along the strip of road mentioned, then
he passed out of sight into the hollow, and in
an instant the explosion occurred. The cause
Of the casualty will never be known
There's danger about everything II
you're on a train it may jump the track and
main you for life, but glycerine never
bungles in its work, end for one had rather
be knocked into mustard seed fragments than
live the rest Of my days worthless wreck
Gallagher said grinly, in response to query
Is to how he dared to follow such a danger
Gus calling In nine cases out of ten if you
have q falling out with Glycerine your friends
are never bothered with burying you. In one
explosion that ] know of where three men
were killed, all that was left of them was
buried in cigar box never knew of but
one man who came out of IN explosion alive,
and that wns jim Feeney, who lives at Brad
ford now. In 1873 or 1879 he and Howard
Tackett were driving along near Centerville.
Pa, with q hundred pounds Of glycertie
wrapped up in blanket and lying il the hot
tom Of their sleigh That was before the DAYS
Of specially made wagons for the business
The sleigh tipped over, hurting both ont, and
dashing the cans upon the hard ground Fee
ney was thrown headlong into pool OF
water beside the road Just as the explosion
occurred Sleigh. horses and poor Tackett
were scattered around the country for a mile,
but Feeney was covered by the water and es-
capped alive Men attracted to the spot bv
the explosion drew him out Of the pool He
was senseless, bleeding at the nose and
ears, and deaf as post. He was
apparently but little injured and was
soon able to be about, but he has
never been the same man since Is he in
the business now' Well. no. A man who has
a close call like that never follows the bust.
ness again We have been remarkably for
tunato. Although we have followed the bust.
ness for ten years, Hart is the only man we
ever lost The closest call ever bad was In
1872 Tom Valley and | were shooting o
well near AlleSnny. We had lowered the
first shell, and stood about thirty feet from,
the derrick lowering another with the line,
when the first exploded sending the second
flying out OF the hole She shot up seventy
two feet, struck the crown pulley and went
of, Owing to the altitude the force Of the
explosion wasted itself on the air. wasn't
hurt bit. neither was VALLEY. He WINS
running about sixty fee. away and kept his
feet ell right Tie e-1losion di1n't happen
TO come his way, bit nan 800 feet distant
was neatly knoc-;ei OF his pins VALLEY
would never shoot well personally after
that"
Are you troubled with many visitorsr
was asked
mo, very few people care or dare to come
TO the factory. A rather amusing incident
happened one day. Last June We were run
ming of batch Of stoc... when suddenly the
open door was darkenei, and looking up /
saw strangefarmer. He watched US curl
ously for a mome2H
What might You fellers be a-toin' ef
amt too curiousf he drawled
Manufacturing ui.ro-Slycerine, said
He didn't stay He went cut Of the fac
tory like shot out Of gun. he tore down
the valley at a a:io gait, and from the way
be started out guess he's running yet"
E. Il EATON.
Marriages Of the Princes Of Wales.
Five hundred years have elapsed since
England beheld the first marriage Of q
Prince Of Wales Indeed. there have only
been four such marriages in England, aud
one abroad The preliminaries Of marr,ara