Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1899-08-15
DYNAMITE IS TICKLE.
YOU CAN NEVER TELL WHAT A CAR
FRIDGE WILL 90 NEXT.

"a cartridge Of dynamite IL pretty
much like woman-you Gun never tell
what 1t Is going to do next, because 1t
doesn't know ITSELF" said boss blast
er. II have seen powder salesman
throw a cartridge Of dynamite into the
redhot fire box Of 20 horse boiler,
and the stuff just burned like lard.
Next day saw a cart boy repeat the
experiment with a blacksmith's forge
and a pill Of dynamite no larger than
pea-and there will be q wholesome
fear and soft coal In that boy as long
as he lives.
II have seen a case Of 100 sticks Of
dynamite fall 800 feet down shaft
and never wink, and I've seen an In
dian drop a half cartridge from his
hand to his boot and not grease spot
did the poor fellow leave behind. At
that the poor fellow deserved better
it before he scattered.
"He was loading block hole at the
time and had just broken a cartridge
in half when he dropped one Of the
pieces. Before it could touch the
ground he sort Of half caught 1t, and
then. began a desperate brief juggling
act Again and again he half caught
the deadly thing. Then he missed it.
He made one last effort and stuck out
his foot to break the fall against the
hard ground, but 1T didn't work. There
was bang, and it was lucky no one
stood near him. Which shows that
dynamite is like woman, because~in
my time have dropped similarly hun
dreds of cartridges Of dynamite, and
still am here and with a good d.
gestion.
"But it is in winter, when dynamite
freezes, that it Is most capricious.
Then If you want 1t to go off 1t simply
refuses. or burns with a dull roar,
like a boiler blowing off steam. 1t Is
in thawing dynamite that most of the
accidents happen about which you
read. There are two ways Of thawing
dynamitc-one by placing the car
tridges on a steam boiler or within safe
distance of a fire; the other by immers-
ing them in pals Of hot water. AS the
latter method draws out considerable
Of the nitroglycerinl from the car
tridgrs, and therefore weakens them,
it is often discarded in favor Of the
more risky thawing by an open fire.
81 once saw an experienced powder
man thaw a dozen cartridges by an
| f,., ri
show. he completely lost his head
when suddenly confronted with an un-
usual emergency. He had placed the
cartridges within a foot Of an open
wood fire and had seated himself near
by to await developments when one
Of the cartridges caught fire.
"Had he left it to burn itself out the
chances are a thousand to one that
nothing very startling would have hap
pened for it is concussion and not fire
that cXplodes dynamite. Instead, he
rushed forward, picked up the burning
stick by one end, and holding it up
ward like candle began to blow and
blow until he was black in the face.
He never let go until the flame began
to nip his fingers, and then in his eX-
citcnpnt he threw the cartridge to the
ground and began to stamp and grind
on 1t with his heels as if he were kill
Ing snake; and, by thunder! he
stamped ont the burning cartridge and
lived to tell about it! The cart boys
called him Angel after that, because
by rights he ought to be an angel now.
zone day a professor from Stevens
Institute of Technology came to the
quarry and asked me to perform a
certain experiment for him. We
printed with dynamite direct from a
newspaper on to Il block Of iron. The
professor said the experiment proved
most interesting as he had discovered
among other things that dynamite
works downward and not upward, like
black powder. Our way Of proving
that in a quarry is to lay stick of
dynamite Oh top of bowlder. after
the shot the bowlder is smashed to
bits.
But the professor had his own no
lions. lie carried three round blocks
Of iron six inches in diameter and
three inches thick. Then he took a
one sheet over the face Of the block
placed half II stick of dynamite on
top and covered it with a little henL
Of sand and touched her off. You
would hardly believe the result, but
you can see the block on exhibition IL
glass case in the Stevens institute
library, and you can read on 1t dis
tinctly--of course, the type appears
backward-the printing of that part OF
the paper which covered the block al
the time of the explosion.
"But the professor had another
wrinkle III his sleeve. He picked ar
ordinary oak leaf and spread it ove1
the face of second block. prepar
' cd charge similar to the first, ant
this time the ribs Of the leaf and ever
Its outlineA appeared distinctly press
ed into the iron surface. Accordin!
to the professor, the action of the dy
Mantle was so quick that the ribs O
before they were impressed on tin
l. iron. In the case Of the newspape
y the printed letters were harder thai
Il the surrounding white u the paper
', therefore the impression.
u "The professors third block is not OF
i. exhibition for the reason that we neve
t. found piece Of it larger than GLOW
$ and that reminds me, what do yo1
u suyT' The reporter said "Yes."-Chi
cagO Inter Ocean.