Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1894-01-19

and firmly over the we'll, he grasped the
deadly shell by its handles as it came up
almost with the force of cannon bail. It
was terrible moment of suspense. The
force with which the shell was thrown out
lifted the stalwart fellow and threw him
across the derrick, dislocating his shoulder,
but there was no jar, and he was saved.
Near Muncie, Ind, lives William Walters,
who follows the hazardous life and has &C.
tually had his wife do his work for him
when he was not able to attend to it, On
one occasion A. well WAS to be shot and her
husband was not on hand to do the job So
Mrs. Walters took his place, lowered 60
quarts-a half barefoot the deadly ex-
plosive into the well, which was 800 feet
deep, dropped the go devil" on top of it
and ran as best she could. A muflied roar,
a burst of smoke and q shower of 1yinp
debris told that the deed was we'll done,
and Mrs. Walters had achieved record
Which no other woman can boast of and
which rivals in danger many deeds of his
toric feminine daring.
Odd looking covered wagons are used in
transporting the explosive from the factory
to the field, and in Ohio the state law COM
pels each one to be marked in large golden
letters on the sides: "Nltroglycernl Dan
gerousE'
Within this warning cover are compart-
ments padded with heavy felt, into which
the square zinc cans that contain the dead
~ fluid fit as snugly as can be made A
jolt or jar, going miles over roads that are
rarely smooth and frequently are very
rough, might easily annihilate the whole
outfit and spread destruction for wide
distance to surrounding property, No ex-
fro ic1- l,a,, l,,,t
ed as solidly as possible.
1t is said that a savage bull on one occa-
sion attacked a wagon containing empty
cans, to which enough nitroglycerin fire.
QueDtly sticks to cause disaster if han
died recklessly. 1t was in narrow coun-
try road in the woods, and the driver saw
no way of getting his team out of the trou-
bic. He leaped to the ground as the bull
rushed. head down, upon the rapidly NOV
ing vehicle, and escaped. The bull was the
most astonished animal Ia Ohio at the end
OF the charge, wheu he suddenly assumed a
somewhat dismembe red condition.
10 the novice no feature OF this remark
able occupation is more wonderful and
startling than the noncha1ant and even
reckless manner in which the shooter fire.
quentiy comes to handle the stuff Some
times it approaches criminality in its care
leSSnesS. In one instance a young fellow
took out 50 quarts of nitroglycerin for
well near Portage. When he reached his
destination, he began to fill the shells at
the derrick without having unhitched his
team or even tied them SO they could not
get away. The first shell had been filled.
and two cans were ON the floor Of the der
rick, when as he was lowering the shell it
became detached from the rope and fell to
the bottom of the well. The explosion
came instantly. Boards fell from the der
rick about the cans, but fortunately did not
hit them. The horses, startled by the det-
onation, ran away with the rest Of the
load. The wagon was upset. but in some
most miraculous fashion the deadly eX-
plosive ran harmlessiy out Of the ems. ard
no lives were lost.