Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1890-03-08
;E ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

~ :. - .--5-t-s. x
rs etasftng superintendent Throwa Bag
Full 81 1T :Eifteen Feet,
hen mel We're engaged in blast
gaMay the. mass! ofaWreckage at
stone Bird ge in. .Johnstown, Pa,
the destructive food there. last
4 Poop esWho :shad tlle time 10
stlle work had atr:0ppo rtunity
see low ssiinrnch confidence "a man
iiis dynamite. Those who
1espart Id the worles had "a whole
rSspect for the explosive and
os,ntent o. Wat chgtfie blasting
sx5patat q 81 e rom "a safe distance. In
5tye ~ ork.ne themselves lost 10
1tss15e iii securing wa and seeking
pieces 81 sIiel ter 9lY liGfisa Blast. was TO:
ss5s3se off But there was one Nun,
sssslsyer hurried ;;swfi o:neyer. seemed,
4afinea, and s&IlSJIiey erstook the
tEouBl get far fTpnisthe blast. 8
.ssf VAST The; suppri1itende fof the
.blatin9 force and si;was. nnsodd little
s9ish gray ,ai r bent shout.
ana IA bbfilig gsgai ait. : He himself;
took Che; barge. ened Tito.
stEle q lssaulsalls tat4
anoli ft Nc here E
.be disc harge II WOO III III f ifs
again, examine it carefull ysand then
replace it with-an5airof great fondlless
Ssffo ,r his work. THIS done lie connected
the;wircs running to the battery. and,S
after a linalsglunce all around to see
Chat everything was right, hobbled
away. AS he raised his hand as sig
nalsto-tle man at the battery. the last
one Of his assistants could be seen
disappearing in mad scramble TO get
TO secure territory. But hardly did
the great mass of shattered logs, twist
;edsiron and muddy water come rush.
ing down from the height TO which it
was hurled BY the terrific force OF the
dynamite, when the little man hob
.bled back again to see the result OF the
blast.
Long after the operation of blasting
had become common and m0notonous,
people stopped TO watch the supcrin.
:tendent's dcliberatlon. calmness and
indifference to danger One
of his assistants found time one noon
to tell group Of interested spectators
a story illustrating the gray haired
mans faith in his dangerous and de-
;structve weapon
old man and l." said he.
,sss,.were working down u mountain one
day, trying to getto point where we
were to do some blasting for a road.
He was carrying the charge Of dyna-
mite. while the battery was strapped
to my back. 1t was hard work to get
along. The descent was steep and
very rugged My business is with
not dynamite, and felt
nervous enough for fear the old man
would drop that bag aud blow US to.
pieces. You can know how ! felt
when tell you that kept as PARKWAY
from him as possible, although knew
perfectly well that. ifathat dynamite
did go off, might just as well be ten
feet as 100 feet away from him. for all
tie good it would do NE.
The further we went the harder we
worked. and the old man got moro
disguised at every foot we gained.
After struggling and slipping along
for about an hour we camo to steep
drop of about fifteen feet and that
stopped us fora while. But we finally
found place down which we thought
Eve could slide. He was to go first,
aud j was to let down my battery to
him BY the straps. But lie said he
could get his bag down easier than
that, and before had time TO yell he
had dropped it directly at our feet be-
low. Ii ever my heart stopped beat
ing it was when ! saw him throw that
wicked black bag. could not catch
my breath. and / stood there, my
limbs rigid with terror. waiting 10 be
ten to pieces, long after the dynamite
had fallen Tho old man was too
ssrly to laugh ut ME. Ho slid down
after his bag, growing out his disgust,
and when / recovered my senses fol-
lowed him. But that experience did
not give me whit more confidence in
dynamite. am rs afraid of it as
ever. New York Tribune.