The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-07-16
TOYING WITH DEATH
HOW "DEWL DICK" HANDLED CANS
OF NITRoeLyCERIN.

OF INTERCOLLEGIATE.
Bombarded a Lynx With a Four
Quart TOrpedo-He1d a Package of
the Stun While Another Fellow
Threw Stones at Ii ON a Wager.
There were a good many reckless and
daredevil chaps among those whose busi-
ness 1t was to haul and handle nitro
glycerin in the early days of that explo-
sive agent in the oil regions" said George
Place, who was one of the first to work
ut making and canning nitroglycerin for
the wells under the Roberts patent, "but
there was a teamster named Dick War
ner who would dare and risk more with
the terrible stuff than any other person
thereabout. He was known as Devil
Dick and it was fit name for him. He
had a chum named Dan Sutton, who was
almost as reckless as Dick, and ! have
seen him and Dick play catch many
time with cans of glycerin they were un-
loading, the dropping of one Of which to
lhe ground would have more than likely
wiped out of existence every person
around the well.
SIT got so that whenever Dick Warner
had load of nitroglycerin to unload at
the well everybody else, except Dan SUIT
ton, took to the woods and staid there
until the stuff was out of their custody.
Once Devil Dick held a great can Of
nitroglycerin above his head and let
drunken driller named Patterson throw
ten stones at it from a distance Of 30
feet on bet of 500 that he couldn't hit
the can once out of the ten times. This
was at Roan's camp, and the whole camp
watched the insane proceeding from safe
distances on the hill. One of the stones
hit Dick on the arm, not two inches be-
low the can, and knocked 1t out Of his
hand. He caught the can, though, before
it reached the ground or the throwing
match would have ended there and then,
with the burial of such bits of Dick and
the driller as could be found, and they
would have been exceedingly few and
small The driller came close to the can
several times during the trial, but failed
to hit it, and Dick won his bet.
in those days the woods all through
the oil regions were full of wild animals,
and it wasn't an uncommon sight to see
bear or a Canada lynx or catamount
prowling round the camps or isolated oil
villages The lynx was frequently very
aggressive and bold, and 1t was greatly
feared by the drillers and others at the
wells More than once men had been
attacked by lynxes, and James Carker,
pumper, was so badly hurt in fighting off
one that had jumped from a tree upon
him as he was driving through piece of
woods that he died of his injuries. One
day Devil Dick was on his way to well
with a load of nitroglycerin torpedoes,
and he picked Dan Sutton up on the
way. On a stretch of the road through
what was known as Conway's woods
Dan discovered a big Canada lynx steal
ing along through the branches of the
trees at one side of the road and keeping
even with the wagon. He called Dicks
attention to the animal, and Dick said
that it was watching for chance to at
tack them, but declared that If it follow
ed them as far as Clay's opening he would
get rid of the dangerous beast.
"Clay's opening was gap in the woods
and a ravine 20 feet wide and as many
deep. The lynx did follow the men as
far as the opening, and Dick stopped his
wagon.
'sThe lynx crouched a few feet away
from the edge of the nearest wall of the
ravine, and before Sutton surmised how
Dick intended to get rid of the animal
Dick grabbed up can of nitroglycerin
and hurled It with all his strength at the
lynx, which was not over 20 feet away.
The can struck the soft body of the lynx
square in one side and knocked the AMI
NAL over on its back. The flesh and fur
of the lynx did not offer resistance to the
can sufficient to cause conclusion enough
to explode 1t, but the can rolled on the
ground and slowly down a gradual de-
cline that led from where the lynx lay to
the edge of the ravine wall.
Sutton, with all his reckessness In
handling nitroglycerin, stood aghast at
this deliberate risking of their lives by
Dick, for he knew that the instant the
can rolled into the ravine and struck the
rocks below the terrible explosion that
had been so luckily averted by Dicks
good aim at the lynx would follow.
Quicker than a flash he jumped from the
wagon, tore like mad up the ravine and
stood beneath the spot where the torpedo
would tumble into the gully when It
reached the edge.
"a scraggy bush of some kind grew
out Of the top of the wall, and just as
Sutton reached the spot the can of nitro
glycerin had rolled to the edge and struck
against the main stem OF the bush. The
can had struck it trifie out of the center,
and the heavier end of the torpedo moved
on an inch or two until it extended lit
tie over the edge.
''Sutton stood below with upreached
hands to catch the can if 1t fell, but there
it hung against the bush, in a position
that looked as if breath of wind would
topple 1t over into the ravine.
HAll this had occupied but a few sec
onds. AS soon as the torpedo lodged
against the bush Sutton ran back to the
road, shouting to Dick to drive on SO they
could get to a safe distance before the
falling of the can and its certain explo-
sion on the rocks below. But when he
got to the wagon he saw Dick with an
other torpedo raised, ready to hurl it aft
er the first one. He lowered it, though,
and looked around at Sutton as II he was
disappointed.
!" 1.-THE internal Wildcats give me the
slip, Dan, and took to the woods said
he. Lord, but I'd like to bust one Of
these shells on himp
'sThat was probably the first and last
time a wild animal was ever hunted with
four quart nitroglycerin torpedoes, and
that was the last trip Devil Dick ever
drove for the company he was working
for. He wasn't discharged because he so
recklessly endangered life and property
by throwing cans Of nitroglycerin at
lynx, but because he drove on from the
rayine without getting back the first can
he threw, and the company would not
stand such a waste of their property.
'sDick handled nitroglycerin for four
years after that and never had an acct
dent. He then quit the business and went
to breaking on the Allegheny Valley rail-
road. He was killed at Miller Farm be-
fore he had railroaded week."