The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-08-22

arc surrounded by steam papee and the
range Of temperature al tho while. Inc
nitro Rlycerine, also, IL kept under cor
tain amount Of water. The exact figures Of
- we'll az the proportfone o.
nitro glycerine and ceIluloee mixed %
especially thu latter, on which the efaeiency
of the dynamite IL supposed to depend ana
which varies, therefore, with different fac
tories.
II the temperature il allowed to riss too
nigh OF the water, q g. ro-giyeefHln ~
Yatee says, howevee, that With due care the
Work can be carried on with perfect safety.
three times in the history OF
this factory this particular house has bean
blown up, and on each oocaSlon two men
have been killed and their bodies soatseIe9
to the wiods. The latest explosion occurred
last December. There was horse raes OF
local interest axsd for that day, and the
to man VOTING in the house had asked
permieaion 70 90 to II. Permission vas
Granted ON condition OF their nfSs nn1sn1nG
the work in hand. One OF the men was
h;s fslioV-Vorkmen thai he would 60 70
the horse race or blow the Foot 81 Of the
building, h il supposed that In their haste
they neglected the proper precautions, tof
at s o'ci. ok in the morning the roof went
..off'' and the men went with It.
After combination with n1tro-glyoeEns
sumcs an appearance closely resembling
apple ielly. and, says Mr.. Yates, lyon can
afmost eat it," The effect of handling tins
substanoe 10 peculiar. According TO AZ.
Yates it produces violent headaches ana u
some instances distressing nausea, wn,on
lasts for hours. Only a3ter tnS men q -,sS-
out suffering. Some persons seem TO %
moro susceptible to it's effects than others,
for not long ago q visitor TO the factory
was attacked with active vomiting after 60
ING the rounds and remained III for more
than day. Nevertheless, tho men VINO
have become accustomed 70 " seeM ~ ="
For use dynamite is usually put up IN
ien len and from IL 10 ~ in thickness.
The cases are made Of paper. first rolled On
tin cylinders to insure uniformity Of me,
then pasted. and subsequently aPpess 49,, -
moisture. The cases are made BY wo19en
in house far removed from the othEf
buildings, and are dipped IN another CON
tanning q furnace and pans for melting the
paraffine. When the parafRne u dry the
are taken t. hs hons. =
men are employed, Ave or six in alinR tns
cartridge cases and one packing the cart
ridpes Ia boxes. The cases are Allied from
tin tunnels set in frames arranged along .
bench against the wall. The dynamite. ex-
cept the gelatin variety. is in the form Of Z
workmenn. Il Is shoveled into the tunnels
by tin scoops, and then packed in the cart
ridges BY pounding down the neck OF the
funnel with sharp stick about two fest
long with heavy cap Of lead on Its upper
end. The gelatinous form ls simply poured
!. all 60 ordo he -
coming eventually as hard as stick OF
1.-THE popular idea that dynamite is easily
| exploded by jar is unf0unded. have
known box containing fifty pounds to fall
from mans hands and smash SO that the
cartridges we're all scattered without the
dynamite exploding. Not long, ago car
loaded with dynamite was smashed in rail
road accident. One end Of the car was
wrecked and many Of the boxes were broken,
yet there was no explosion. The company
which made the dynamite had the wreck
photographed for advertising purposes. The
fact of the matter is that not ooncusslon,
but percussion is needed to explode dyna-
mite. There must be q Illuminating CAP
used to set it off. The accidents that hap
pen attend the manufacturing and are Que
to carelessness on the part Of the workmen
The most stringent precautions are necee
sary in making the article, and the risk II
weather is generally unsettled and tempest
uous. That the weather really has some
thing to do with the matter am not pre-
pared to say, but We never work here IN
thunder storm" :.
reference was made to the Zalinski dy
Mantle gun, and Mr.. Yates was asked If !
would be safe for ship to carry dynamlt,
for its use in her magazine. "Quite safe.
he replied. "Why, the firing. of who'll
broadside would not affect it,"
It might naturally be supposed that tn
men who work in the dynamite factorie
are paid in proportion to the risk they run
but their wages are not very high. The av
erage pay is $40 to $12 per week, and n
difficulty is encountered in getting work
men. Prices have been SO much cut by tn
big establishments, Mr.. Yates says. that tn
business is no longer very profitable.
pound Of dynamite, which few years az
sold for IS to 60 cents, now sell for ID cents
Immense quantities of the stuff are use'
for blasting in mining, tunneling an
, building operations.