The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-08-12
kAOLIN IS FOUND.
Mineral Discovered in Washburn
Sewer Excavation.
Other Things That We're Done
by Dynamite.
MIR. GREENWOOD HURT.
Stone From Blast Clashes His
Hand.
MIR. GREENWOOD HURT.
Negro Norkmen Have a Horror
Of Explosives.

Dynamite did several things not on
the programme this morning at the eX-
| cavations for the Washburn college
sewer.
1t blew a ton or so of sha tie - rock
up out of the hole and one of the pieces,
| falling from a height of about a hun
| dred feet. struck a. w. Greenwood on
| the hand and cut a bad cash. Mr..
| Greenwood was standing about SO feet
| from the blast, watching the men at
| work. He lives at 1901 Western avenue,
and is well known in the business and
| G. A. r. circles of the city.
! Another half pound stick of the vel
/ low explosive opened UP a bed of
/ bright red kaolin a substance most val
liable as mineral paint All that is
necessary to prepare the substance for
| the market is to grind it. It is of most
| excellent quality and is of a particu-
| larly brilliant red color. The only diff
| Guilty is that there has not been enough
| of the stuff found yet to justify work.
| ing it on a commercial basis. If it is
| demonstrated that the kaolin exists in
| large quantities near where the sewer is
| being constructed it will be a most
| valuable find.
/ A thick stick of dynamite was re-
| Sponsible for one of the colored work.
men quitting his job. This man was
| digging out the rock loosened by the ex-
| plOS1On of charge of dynamite at the
bottom of the sewer. While he was in
| dustriouSly swinging his pick, he sud-
denly noticed something sticking to it.
| He examined the implement, and found
| that he had stuck the point of his pick
| through a stick of dynamite which had
| failed to explode. The colored man laid
the pick down with the utmost rever-
ence, climbed out of the ditch, and with
| trembling knees and terrified counten-
| ance announced that he was ready to
| quit. 1t took the man half an hour to
recover from his fright sufficiently to
resume work. He didn't want any
]
| his
Building a big sewer is dangerous
| work. Dynamite is not the only dam
gerous thing about it. But it is the
| dynamite which strikes terror to the
| heart of the average workman, and
makes him want to get away. This is
especially true of those who are not
! familiar with dynamite and it's habits.
.Fo de Lawd, Mistah Hanley," said
one husky negro to the contractor in
charge of the work, II wish you'd tell
| me when you'se gwine to shoot. De
las time a big rock bout de size of
bar'l come chug down heah side me. I
| wants to get Outen di hole when you
shoots
Another black workman shouted up
out of the excavation to Mr.. Hanley:
Say, boss dat las 'splosion mighty
nigh bowed me UP out oh dis hole, it
did. Seemed lax de whole yarth was
jumpin' right out from under ma feet :"
One of the colored men named Rob-
inson, an experienced dynamiter, is in
entire charge of this part of the work.
He not only handles the dynamite and
| takes care of the supply which is kept
on the ground, but he fires the fuses,
and attends to the whole business. Rob-
inson has the characteristic careless way
of handling dynamite which marks the
man of experiences, and gives chills OF
| terror to those who watch him.
Usually a chain of holes is drilled.
and all set off at once The dynamite
used is composed of 40 per cent nitro
| rrJxya n,-iv1 md rof
comes in half pound sticks, and some
times high as eight nine sticks
are put into a single hole and fired to-
gether. A single stick of dynamite
throws the dirt and rocks high into the
| air There is little no smoke.
Wall & Hanley, the contractors for
| the WaShburn college sewer, are just
! getting a good start in the $4,000 con-
| tract which they secured last month
| About a block of excavation, 20 feet
deep, is nearing completion. A force OF
35 men are at work, and within a few
days this force will be increased to Is
| or 100. Work will then progress on the
main sewer and on several lines of
| laterals at the same time. The city's
inspector on the Job is Furman Baker
II things keep up as they have start
ed, Wall & Hanley will lose a lot OF
money on the big contract, just KEEP
ley & Mulvane did on the sewer IA con-
| tract. The trouble in both cases is with
| rock. Wall & Hanley have been
obliged to dig the first block of sewer
! through about 10 feet of rock. The
rock IS not limestone. but is a rotten
sandstone, too hard to shovel out and
| too soft to blast we'll. Under the terms
of the contract nothing extra is allowed
for rock. The contractor had to take
| his own risk in bidding on the work
The specifications read:
Bidders must determine for them
| selves the character of excavation. and
no extra allowance will be made fol-
any class or condition of material o.
excavation outside of the contract
prices"
Consequently the more rock that is
struck the more expensive the work,
and the less profit in it for Wall &
| Hanle-.
Mr.. Hanley said this morning: "Peo-
pie who think that this city contract
work is all profit are mistaken. Topeka
has got more than it's moneys worth
on sewers built so far. One firm went
broke building a Topeka sewer, and
4 Kepley & Mulvane claim to have lost
$4,000 on Nc. "a. OF course we believe
that we will get out of this rock before
long, and have easier work. but that is
our riS.-.
MI. Hanley mentioned one peculiar
thing in connection with the sewer
work. and that is that colored men are
employed almost exclusively. They gel
81. so day for 8-hour days
White men don't seem to be able te
stand tie strain,'' said Mr. Hanley
This is due perhaps to the fact that
| negroes are more accustomed to this
class of work It is hard work The
men have to shovel the dirt up and toss
it backwards over their heads from
morning till night The dirt has to be
| thrown five or six feet above their
heads sometimes. We have only eight
or ten white men and twenty-five ne
groes on the Job now
A great deal of tunnelling is being
| doEe on this sewer. Blocks of earth
about 10 feet in length are left at reg
ular intervals of Is feet and tunneA
dug to connect the excavations. Thi:
| is for the purpose of having the walls
of the excavation braced by the dir,
| which is left. It obviates the necessity
of providing wooden braces.
Wool Market
ST. Louis Aug R--wOol-Markei