Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-04-17
DYNAMITE AND NITRo-eLYcERiN
Some Peculiarities of These Danger
Gus Explosives.

/ Some Peculiaritfes OF These Danger
Gus Explosives.
Dynamite is so little understood by
the general public that it may be per-
tinent, in view of recent events in
New York, to say that it is mechani-
ca mixture of high explosive, nitro
giycerine, and transporting medium.
sucn as a siliceous infusorial earth.
Nitroglercine was found to be too
highly explosive for general practi-
cal use, and it's discoyerer, Nobel, in
vented dynamite as safer form.
Dynamite has many peculiar quail
ties. Exposed to the air, it will, if
lignited, burn slowly. If. however,
confined, it viii, if heated, explode
with great force. Again, if confined
IN paper cartridges, the paper is liable
to become saturated with the nitro
glycerine and rendered dangerous.
At low temperatures dynamite does
net easily explode While frozen it
Will not explode at all Another pecu-
liarity of dynamite that must be
borne in mind is that it exerts it's
greatest force along the line of great
est resistance. thus differing from
Everything else of its kind If explod-
ed on a rock, it viii not waste it's
power in the vacant air, but will rend
the rock in most thorough and bus
iresslike way. 1t is this popularity
which makes it so useful for blasting
purposes. For a long time nitrogly-
cerine was extensively employed be-
fore the invention of dynamite became
generally known. 1t is about five
times as treacherous as dynamite.
Even when surrounded by every pre-
icaution, it viii explode without warn
ling.
The method of using it in iron
lmines and quarries was interesting.
THE charge would be inclosed in a
small rubber bag, and when the hole
was complete, this would be lowered
into it by string, very carefully. No
illuminate is needed to detonate nitro
Iglycerine. so all that the operator
needed to do was to sever the string
and let the charge drop to the bottom
Iof the hole. This he accomplished by
igniting a piece of fuse bound around
the string, which had been fastened
to some stationary object.
Sometimes, too often, in fact. the
bag dropped prematurely, and the>1
would be two or three men the less
on the payroll. Funerals were not
elaborate, nor, indeed, at all general.
after such happenings In a case that
came under the notice of the writer.
al that was found of 200-pound man
who got mixed up with a charge of
lEltroglycerine was one thumb, which
was found hanging like plum from
/. a nearby tree. The rest seemed to
have been dissipated into the organic
!, el ment.
Another instance happened right
, here in New York city. on Sedgwick
avenue. While the new aqueduct was
, building there was magazine con.
/, tanning an immense store of nitro
| and dynamite. The neighborhood was
7 not thickly populated. and little ap-
prehension was felt of any mishap
lStill, careful Waterman was selected
to guard the magazine night and day.
He slept in a small outbulding. and
made frequent rounds at night to
drive away intruders Afterward the
neighbors said that he used to smoke
while on duty Perhaps scat all
events, one fine, cold January mid
night. when the ground was white
with snow the countryside for mI-es
around was reused by the dull roar
that precedes the crash of dynamite
in action. Then followed broken
windows and shattered ceilings. The
magazine had gone up Up? No.
not up-but rather down, for where it
had stod yawned a great chasm in
the ground Not a stick of timber re-
manned of the fabric.
AS for the Waterman. nobody has
seen trace of him to this hour. There
was not even a drop of blood on the
snowy ground to tell his fate, There
IS no running away from dynamite
when 1t gets started. for it transmits
detonation at rate of 81 900 feet per
second.
me action of both nitro" and dyna-
mite is very freakish and uneven. In
one case nitro" explosion hoisted a
man 20 feet in the air. keeping him
erect and dropped him. still. erect.
gust where he had stood The only
harm that came to him was a fracture
OF both heel bones when he landed.
This mans mate, who stood beside
him. was blown literally clear through
q paling fence and instantly killed.
one man was blown into the air and
the other blown along the surface If
the ground. So far as observation
went, both were exposed to exactly
tho same force. exerted in the same
manner.-New York Times.
cHilo-sLAvERY IN THE SOUTH.