The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-09-08

men VINO nave MADE pyrOIecnnlcS the
study. of their lives. Every night 100
the heaviest of all the explosives is
a mixture Of sulphur and potash, the
same that mischievous men and boys
experiment with on the Fourth of
July. "It's worse than DYNAMITE
says Capretz, the expert.
Hundreds of feet Of "match,' as
the fireworks men call the long white
paper fuses, is burned every night, and
hundreds of elaborate bombs are blown
to atoms high in air. a.
The work is done by experts. At
the head Of the fireworks men is Emil
Capretz, who has BEEN with the Pain
as he himself says, comes of "a fire.
works famiIy.' His father was in the
business before him and he enteredehis
hazardous occupation at the age of IA.
He is an expert chemist and spent
number Of years in the manufacture
Of explosives and elaborate pyrotechnic
contrivances which he nightly touches
off.
The greatest care is used in the ham
ding of the dangerous stores. Only
one days supply Of fireworks is kept
on the grounds at one time, the re-
mainder being stored elsewhere. No
one with a lighted cigar, cigaret or
pipe is allowed near the scenery, and
no one but the regular fireworks men
is permitted to touch anything.
The dynamite-1OO pounds of it's
in sticks, not unlike huge sticks OF
candy. It is a soft, moist substance,
resembling putty. The sticks, two or
three fastened together by an electlc
wire. are fastened at intervals of three
or four feet on long wires suspended
horizontally four feet above the ground.
| Were the explosive placed on the
ground it would blow a hole deep
enough to bury a house in for the
force Of dynamite is always downward,
unlike any other explosive. AS 1t Is,
the ground beneath the dynamite
| strings shows deep depresslons and
the grass is withered and parched. The
dynamite is exploded by means of an
electric current sent thru the wires on
which it is suspended.
Mortars Sunk Deep.
Far back of the scenery, on the oppo-
site side of the racetrack Enclosure, are
kept the great fireworks shells. The
mortars from which they are fired are
buried deep in the ground in order to
withstand the terrific shock of the eX-
plosions. The huge bombs themselves
are intricate contrivances, made in all
sorts of shapes and sizes. Many of
them look like huge spinning tops. At
the top is long fuse which is carried
down the outside of the bomb to the
bottom, where it explodes what is known
as the driving charge. 1t is this which
| sends the huge bombs hurting high into
the air. Connected with the fuse are
| time fuses, which are carefully arranged
so that just at the proper moment, when
the flaming missile is at the highest
! point Of it's fight, they explode the
chambers containing the stars. Some Of
the shells, more elaborate than the
others, are called repeaters. They have
three or four separate explosions high
in the air, sending forth first a shower
of red stars, then a great spray of blue
meteors, then golden mass of sparks
which inger long in the back sky, float
ing slowly with the wind.
It is fascinating to stand by the
sunken mortars and watch the great sky
pieces fred. With the touch of the
operator s match there is a tremendous
explosion, and the heavy bomb, like a
swift comet, streaks the air. Far up
into the black night it hurtles, and then
at the zenith of its fight it bursts
into a shower of molten balls, which
throw their colored light over the great
expanse beneath them, while a compact
ball Of thick white smoke floats slowly
away. Before one bomb has exploded in
the air two or three others have been
sent upward to split into golden bursts
and rain diamonds from the sky.
Portraits in Fire.
The set pieces are all designed and
made by Emil Capretz. Not a little
skill is required in making the portraits
OF weu-known men which are nightly
shown. The likeness of Mayor Jones
displayed In flaming outlines last even
ing was recognized in an instant from
the grandstand, and the expert seldom
The fire PORTRAITS are made with a phs-
tograph for a guide. The picture Is
measured off into cross-sections, and
these are then carefully reproduced on
a gigantic scale with "match" upon the
wooden framework.
: The piece Of which Capretz is proud,
) est is Niagara Falls the long line of
dazzling light which stretches across
! the space in front of the grandstand
J some ten feet above the ground. The
intensely brilliant light is produced by
the combustion of pure aluminium, and
the effect is original with Capretz. 1t is
the most expensive piece in the entire
entertainment, costing no less than 81
: a foot. AS it is fully fifty feet long
1t does not take much of a mathema.
t1elan to perceive that $3.50 is the cost
OF this one little illumination.
Wet Nights Dangerous.
; Thus far there has been no accident
to mar the pleasure of the spectacle al
the fair, but the life of the fireworks
' men is dangerous one
When it's bad is on wet nights. ,!
: said Capretz last evening. Citizen the
t pieces often hang fire and when the
l operator goes up to touch them off q
: SECOND time he gets it. Sometimes they
Z will not go. off at all, and then long
after the show is over the stubborn
l piece will suddenly blow up, perhap:
r while man is standing on top of the
0 box containing them. But it s all in the
r business
Pains fireworks are all made al
f Greenfield, L. l., where the firm main
+ talns a factory covering twenty-five
s acres of ground. The laws of New York
: state relating to the manufacture OF
q fireworks are rigid, owing to the fact
g that there have been many serious acct
: dents there. Only two men are allowed
to work in the same shed or building
: and the structures must be certain
e distance apart. Between each two
v buildings there must be a twelve-foot
e wall of galvanized iron, and three
o buckets of water are always kept stand
n ing in front of each shed. At interval!
q of every 100 feet on the grounds Their,
= are standpipes, and two hose reels ar,
), gate in the morning the men strip ant
leave all their clothing, donning entire
/ " separate suits of working clothes
W opd fa1ts ShoaS