The Portland daily press., 1899-11-03

are In a trust. and the pros within the
past few weeks has been advanced from
So cents to 70 cents per ousrt. About 16e
quarts constitute an average shot for an
IndianN oil we'll. Wills magazine ex plo-
sions are not rar, the real cause OF the
bio wing rp never becomes known. Those
who are close enough to zee the cause
always go up wi tn the building The
average time for shooter or nitro-2lyo-
erin maker to remain In the business
does not excesd five years. Death Is in
slant, and no one has ever recovered from
u nitro-glyoerin aooi dent. BodieJ arc
torn to atoms Two years ego u magazine
In the northern part of Blsokord cou q ty
vent up and George Hickook, Harry
Woods. and two horses were practically
annihilatad. The wages Of employees Of
the factories range from $l25 to $3.50
month.
Strange as 1t may seem, the man who
made and exploded the first pound OF
nitro elycerin In an oil we'll is hale and
heArty at 20 years Of aga. He Is Col. Will
liam A. MYERS. and his home Is ar Boil
var, N. Y. He built the first factory in
In 1868. Up to that time powder had been
used 10 torpedo oil wells. 1t WINS then
that an explosive that could be discharged
under water was found In nitro-glycerin.
Col Myers's father was Philadelphia
chemist. and taught his son how to make
Mills's lease, near TitusvilIa and the
charge consisted or only two pounds. OIL
was worth 80 q barrel then. and a torpedo
that would double the production of q
we'll was worth almost what the maker
chose to ask tor 1t. Col Myers built
twelve different factories in different parts
of the oil regions from 1865 to 1885. when
be retired form the business Only one Of
the original factories stands intact today.
Myers made several fortunes and spent
his money like prince. but. fortunately
for MIN, he still has a snug sum laid
by.
Well shr ters spin great yarns If their
experiences and the stories are of the hair
raising order. Well shooters generally
are fatal ats to q considerable degree in
their belief, and 1t is probably ons reason
why they do not fear the fluid. They
tbs most dangerous the explosive Ia the
safest. The smallest drop can be placed
on an anvil and struck by the heaviest
sledge hammer and the hammer will
bound back over the shoulder Of the
striker, no matter how much he may try
to held 1t Some claim that it will tear
the arm of, but this Is exaggerated.
Transporting the explosive from maya
zine to well Is not as dangerous as
timid peorle think, according to the
shooters. 1t Is transported In square cans
such as are used for varnish. In prepar-
lDR ICE bnouIluR we'll lung tiu smell 10
suspended In the tubing and the shooter
pours the fluid In as II 1t was water. It
Is not unusual for two hundred quarts to
BIS In q well shooters wagon on one trip.
A slight leak in a can may be touched off
ny friction and explode the entire load.
II 1t should explode In the centre of q
town every building would be reduced
instantly to debris. :.
Ever since the big explosion two miles
east of Montpelier people give the nitro
glyoerln wagons and the magazines
wide berth. big hole in the ground.
probably thirty feet in diameter and If
teen feet deep In the centie. marks the
place where the most disastrous nitro
glycerln explosion Of Indiana ever 90
corred. George Hickock. who lost mis-
life there, was the Oldest shooter In 1u-
diana and Is said to have held the record
for the best time in executing the danger
Gus task. There Is no doubt that he
dropped the "go-deviI'' In more than one
Of Ipdiana's famous oil wells than any
shooter ever In the field.
Considering the danger he enc ounters,
the shooter Is poorly paid. The glycerin
companies ray him ten cents quart Tor
doing the work, which means he gets
from ~ to SIG for every charge he handles