Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1898-11-12

u
st. Louis Globe-Democrat: People
have heard more about smokeiess
powder since the beginning of hostil-
tiles between Spain and the United
States than they ever knew since it's
existence as q factor in warfare or as
a source of great satisfaction to the
sportsman. Smokeless or nitro pow
der is far more extensively
tured in this country than one would
suppose, since the army and navy
were very short on the supply neces-
| sary TO the requirements of the big
guns. In fact, very little of he smoke
less powder was used by the Ea'y OF
the field batteries of our army. !.
Notwithstanding the fact that Tor
eign manufacturers of smokeless pow
der were better supplied at the time
we began to lay in supplies of IT than
the American makers, there are dozens
Of smokeless powder mills in Amer
ica," says George ii. Rawlings, who
has handled the nitro powder ever
since it was introduced for shot guns
and rifles. american makers OF
| smokeless powders had not paid II
great deal of attention TO the manu-
facturc Of ii for use in guns OF larger
caliber, like the armament OF the navy
or the cannon of the land forces, bus
America leads the world in the maxi
ing Of nitro powder for sporting pur-
poses. 4
"The first attempt in this country at
experimenting in the compromising OF
chemicals for the manufacture or
| wood powder was made here in ST.
| Louis by an old German named W
who at one time kept the Sheridan
house at the junction of Franklin and
Easton avenues. and afterward the
road house at the old Walsh home
| stead. Dolde put in much of his spare
time in experimenting with smokeiess
powder, and lost several fingers III MS
efforts to solve the problem.
ION five different occasions the per-
sistent old inventor went away to his
improvised laboratory, and after sew
| eral hours work would return minus
a finger. During the years he labored
to perfect the smokeless powder he
managed TO have five fingers blown
off. but he did not seem discouraged,
and finally made n powder that was
smokeless, but it would take a torch
light procession 10 ignite the SUM
when in Il gun or in shells. Nhat pc
came eventually of Dolde 4 ms
smokcless powder | don't know. put
his experiments set others thinking.
About twenty years ago a man
named Ditmar succeeded in getting n
smOkeless powder on the market, aud
Il great deal of it was sold 10 sports
men, but it was not a bowling success
at first. All shells had to be primed
with black powder in order to ignite
the Ditmar quickly. The Ditmar fac
tory merged into thesAmerican Wool
Powder company, and there was great
improvement in the output, both in
quantity and quality.
''The Schultz powder, which was
made in Europe, found its way TO TINS
country. and it gave such universal
satisfaction and the demand became
so great that the campany came WIN
its plant to this country. The Schultz
was Il very strong shooting powder
and as quick as the black article.
"Thc S. S. and some other makes OF
smokeless powders have passed out OK
the market. but plenty other brasds
took their places. The old black pow
DER Hlpa are nearly az n""n'n6
smokeless powder now. 1t is hard TO
tell which powder is the best OF the
smokeless. 1t is Il matter Of Individual
opinion to a great extent.
mo up to date sportsman at the
trap or in the field thinks Of using
black powder any more, and most all
of them use the carefully band loaded
shells. Tons of nitro powder are
burned up every week over the traps
alone, and when the game season is
fairly opened the amount
will be nearly ten times as great as
now" .