The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-02-03
DYNAMITE.
FREAKISH QUALITIES OF A
DANGEROUS EXPLOSIVE.
1t Has an Obstinate Way of Taking
Its Own Course - While lr
Kills Man His Horses
Are Unhurt.

i
Pennsylvania oil regions, which have
without doubt, been the scene of more
disasterous events of similar character
than any other section of the world.
Many Bradford man, says correspond
ent of the New York Recorder, has
been blown up while "shooting" or tor
pedoing oil wells, and professional
handlers of nitro-glycerine tell strange
stories of the freaks performed by the
dangerous explosive. As in the case of
Russell Sage, one man has often escaped
from an explosion alive when he seems to
have no more chance of safety than others
who were blown to atoms.
sIt all depends on the direction the
explosion takes" as James E. Gallagher,
one uf the best known authorities on
dynamite and glycerine in the oil coun-
try, remarked to q crowd of producers.
"One time the force of the explosion goes
one way" Gallagher continued, "and
again it takes the opposite course for no
apparent reason. Do you remember the
strange incident when William b. Nc
Henry and Alexander Carmen, of Brad
ford, were blown to mince meat at Alton,
Pa, not long ago, and their horses es.
capped alive2 It was very remarkable
affair. The men were unloading their
wagon near the oil we'll they were to
shoot, when in some manner the explo-
sive was set off, and in the wink of an
eve both men were literally torn to
minute fragments and scattered to the
winds of heaven.
"But although round hole three feet
deep and sixteen feet in diameter was
torn in the earth at the spot where the
the unfortunate men stood, the horses
attached to the wagon were practically
uuhurt. 1t their fright they had started
to run at the time of the explosion, but
were held twenty feet from the spot by
the harness which caught against a
stump. They were dazed and listless
and seemed to be deaf. But why did
they escape annihilation, when their
masters were not only killed, but as nearly
destroyed as possible by the terrific ex.
plosion2 Why, too, was it that several
cans of nitro.glycerine standing near the
horses were not exploded by the shocks
ANY man who answers these questions
will have solved conundrums that have
been puzzling handlers of dynamite and
nitro glyceriue for many year. -.
~ lost man myself at Olean, N. Y.
several years ago." the big glycerine
shooter continued, with just the feintest
ouiyer in his voice. "His name was Lew
Hart, and he never knew what struck
him. He was driving along the road in
June, 1887, with small load OF nitro
rlycerine and had almost reached the fac
tory where we were making glycerine
and dynamite when in some manner that
will never be known an explosion oc-
CURED. Hart was hurled thirteen rods
from the spot where the blow-up took
place, deep hole was blown in the road,
and the wagon was literally demolished,
but as in the explosion at Alton, the
horses escaped comparatively uninjured
and few seconds later galloped up to
the factory door where we stood wonder.
ing what had happened. If the blow-up
had occurred a few seconds later I would
not be spinning you this yarn now. .
"My theory concerning these strange
occurrences is that in both the accidents I
have mentioned the force of the explo-
sion went away from the horses, that is,
that the expansion of suddenly liberated
gases was not in all directions at once,
but that each explosion look course of
its own. The men were killed because
they were in the very storm centre, so to
speak, but the horses escaped because
ttey were several feet away. There
seems to be no good reason for such mani
festations, but any experienced handler
of dynamite or glycerine will confirm
what have said.
"some ipeople think there is a great
difference between nitro .glycerine and
dynamite" continued Gallagher, "but
as a matter of fact dynamite Is simply
nitro -glycerine and wood pulp (Which is
only fine sawdusD mixed. Nitro-glycerine
is formed by the action OF nitro and sui
phuric acids on sweet glyceriDe oil. But
while dynamite is only a mixture of
nitro -glycerine and sawdust, it looks
entirely unlike glycerine and its action is
in some respects different. Glycerine is
a pale white liquid and about as thick as
very rich milk. Dynamite, on the other
hand, is solid, and being principally
composed of sawdust looks like sawdust.
1t will not 60 off at ashock like glycerine
and will burn harmlessly if 1t is not con-
fined. Dynamite is made in different
grades.
GA low grade contains but little gly-
cerine and great deal of wood pulp,
but the more glycerine you pour into a
given quantity of sawdusr the higher the
grade becomes and the more dangerous
the dynamite is. I suppose one could
pour so much glycetine into the sawdust
that blow from a hammer would ex-
plode the mass, but dynamite properly
made may be thrown around with impu-
nifty. Nitro-glycerine, however, de-
mands more respectful treatment. A
very slight shock or the touch of fire will
explode 1t instanter. Sometimes, how
overland here is another strange phase
of the business.-a very violent shock has
been known to have no effect.
"Another popularity of itro-glycer-
inc is that cold weather makes it peculi-
arly sensitive aud most accidents happen
in the winter time. Still another strange
thing about the explosive is the fact that
when a man is blown up there is no blood
visible anvMhere. In MANY exnlnsinns