Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-09

eerle req IRnt mis- the sDeo, ana a SLOW
river OF molten metal, white as flame at
the tap-hole, but glowing ever more darkly
red as It flows, is pouring sluggishly
through a tangle Of sand cutters into the
open mouths Of a row Of Gartuan ladies,
drawn up on fat cars in a trench below.
"Ladle" is the ironmaster's term for the
vast caldrons which make nothing Of a
burden of thirty tons Of foaming. fluid
metal.
A River of Fire.
On one side Of the fiery river a little
sluice gate let's a current Of irridescent,
floating Stag drain off from the top Of the
pure metal and go meandering away in a
vivid CLASSY brook to the iron Stag car
which awaits 1t. A carload Of the half
cooled stun looks like nothing so much as
the lava bed Of a sleeping volcano. Through
irregular assures in the dull crust come
tiny sulphurous flames and an angry glow
from the smothered fires below.
While you cough and shield your scorched
face from the glare and fierce heat from
the crimson streams you learn about a
notable change in the practice of a modern
steel plant. Once the molten river before
you would have been decoyed through a
series Of burrows connected with the main
AhA ahA hAAONSN ~ ~ RIA NAoAAgs
Then the iron in the smaller NOTES.-The
pigs-would have been broken with sledge
hammers from the large masses-the sows.
1t was warm business and strenuous. But
the world moves. Nowadays the fiery
stream pours directly into the waiting
ladies and an electric engine whisks II
away, still glowing. across the yards to the
Bessemer works. "Cold pig is made only
when the converters are idle and even then
a neat device does away with the heavy
task OF pig-making. The fluid iron is run
into a series of metal molds, working on
the endless chain principle. and passed
through the "chilF'-tanks filled with cold
water-coming out at the other end sufi-
GENTLY cooled and shrunken to be slipped
from the molds and loaded upon trains
bound for the Bessemer works.
Wholesale PyrOtecbnics.
Pyrotechnics await you within the dark
Bessemer mill. A fierce gush of binding
white FIRE streams kissing athwart the
dim enclosure, accompanied by a vivid rain
Of bursting stars. A squat, black retort
is belching from its short, thick neck this
broad stream Of glory. 1t is a Bessemer
converter. The long drawn, kissing roar
is the screech OF the hot blast, tearing It's
way through the fluid metal, w~innowing
out impurities and making of iron steel.
Every moment the fame grows more fu-
rious; the twenty-ton converter trembles
under the violence Of the surging within.
Splashes Of fluid Stag begin to be thrown
out and fall in increasing showers OF
crimson sparks into the black pit below.
Suddenly a tinge OF amethyst comes over
the wilderness Of the fire; the flame dwin-
| dies and dies down. The carbon is burned
out. Quick comes a warning signalI an
other moments burning may spoil the fiery
broth. The huge iron egg is tipped on
one side, vomiting a stream OF sparks
which break harmlessly against the oppo-
site wall. From out the dark swings round
a big ladle and administers a "chaser."
a dose Of spielgeleisen, which is nothing
more nor less than a preparation OF man
ganese. The converter responds with a
fine flush of blush fire. Another massive
ladle, swung from a rumbling overhead
crane, presents itself before the converter.
which tipping still further down, pours
out its charge of binding scarlet metal.
Away goes the crane, across the pit to
where on a long electric train, rows OF
tall earthen ingot moulds are standing. A
FIRE clay plug is removed from the bot
tom OF the ladle and a slender stream of