The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-06-07
How many are there?"

How many are tf1ere?"
How many what?" said he.
on your beat?"
What do you nrean?''
Then / showed him my parcel, and
in am unwilling way he asked me to
it ought not to have had that power.
deserved trouble for trifiing with serious
subjects, even if my frozen dynamite was
harmless as a bundle of ashes.
Occasionally l was brought to a vivid
idea of the perils of my occupation. There
was a complaint brought to our office that
gang of working.men We're using too
heavy charges in blasting within the city
limits. / was sent to investigate and
saw an Italian ramming down one cart
ridge after another. Take that QUIT
cried, and he grabbed the last cartridge
by its detonator, hauling it out in a way
that made me feel faint. He started to
pry tine second one out with a stick. |
excused myself and walked away-ln fact,
a long way off. Only mysterious provi-
dence saved that son of sunny Italy.
His method of removing the ''sawdust"
was playing with fate. Perhaps he is
alive today. I am not sure.
MY UGLIEST ASSIGNMENT
The ugliest assignment is when one is
sent to gather in any great quantity of
explosives. In the days when l dealt with
dynamite | had on one occasion to carry
to the arsenal over ton of dynamite.
private magazine belonging to contrac-
tor had been contiscated because it was
within the city limits. Big parcels are
not allowed on the street cars and so /
hired a team. l could not get a driver
and had to take the reins myself. / had
no trouble to secure help in loading the
wagon, but no one with ride with me
over the cobblestones to the city arsenal.
drove in solitary state. The only pleas
ure in that ride was in the enormous au-
thority l exercised. / had but to an
nounce the character of my load to be
given wide berth and plenty of room
to guide the innocent horses.
1t would seem to me that cities ought
to have big wagons upholstered inside
and with pneumatic tires on the wheels.
These vehicles should be painted red with
the word Dynamite in large letters on
the sides.
enough 10 blow to atoms the BRUSH
navy, and it is my belief that the i'm
provements in guns throwing high eX-
plosives are being perfected to degree
that viii before many years make powder
obsolete in the art of war.
USE OF DYNAMITE IN WAR.
Dynamite, however, as l have re-
marked before, is a most uncertain guam
| tity At recent trial of the pneumatic
gun, dynamite was thrown great dis
! tances with exceeding accuracy. When.
! however, the gun was tried with a dunn
/ my charged with ordinary powder, it ex-
1 ploded in a manner that it would make
1t in any fort more deadly than the en-
I envy. Inc IFOuDke was lIflI the Z uu Oar
rel was. slightly cloggsd, and the gases
! generated by the powder Were restrained.
Just what would happen if a shell loaded
with the high explosive should meet with
/ a similar accident, it is difficult to tell.
4 To avoid explosion by shock fflis new
gun consists of three tubes, two of which
1 on either side of the main barrel. form
4 air chambers which start the pro]ectile
/ from the main barrel without any great
/ shock Then there is for the same pur-
\ pose a sort of cushion to the projectile.
4 When it has finally left the mouth of the
Z gun at a tremendous velocity, there is no
/ danger of its exploding until 1t hits the
/ desired object.
4 A singular fact about the dynamibe.co con-
1 fiscated by the government when Gu
! ban fflibuStering expedition is caught in
New York harbor' is that the offices Of
the various forts refuse absolutely to
/ have anything to do with 1t. Indeed, it
would seem that soldiers are as fearful
of dynamite as ordinary policemen.
When the Bermuda was captured on
/ her first attempt to get away to Cuba the
dynamite was q difficult problem. The
United States army officers expressed no
desire to experiment with it and positive
| ~ refused to store it in their magazines.
| 1t had to be put somewhere, and was
finally placed in the city magazine, where
its giant power Slun1bers without danger
of any rude awakening.
The use of dynamite by the Cuban in
surgents has been too frequently de-
scribed to need lengthy comment. II
makes the railroads practically useless TO
the Spanish troops. Indeed, in Cuba dy-
Mantle is as much a means to warfare as
gun powder, and in the event Of conflict
i between the great nations will undoubt-
/. edly play a prominently dreadful part.
The discovery of gunpowder was made
/ by the Chinese who hid the secret of tht
explosive and only made use Of it to ado
4 proper emphasis to their religious cere
1 monies, soaring of devils and othel