Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1908-10-02
The NITRO GAN LEAKED
so BOWERS SHGT HIS Wagon a..
WELL AS THE OIL WELL
1t Was the Only Thing to Do, in View,
of the Queer Ways of the Expo
sive-Quick Thinking.

An explosion near Oleopolis. Pa H..
other day caused the residents to turn
out to look for the remains of the oil
well shooter they supposed had hear,
blown up by the nitroglycerine he W.
handling. Investigation showed that
William Bowers, a shooter from Rouse
vile, had gone to shoot a well on Ibe
Trax lease with fifty quarts of nitro
glycerine and had discovered that one
OF the cans had sprung leak and part of
the contents had seeped into the bottom
of his wagon.
After shooting the well Bowers re.
moved his horses to safety and then al
tached Il fuse to the remaining can and
blew $500 wagon to atoms. 1t was
the only way to do under the circum-
stances.
Examined under microscope, nitro
glycerine has the appearance of a mass
of round globuies, and these globuleS
may be safely shaken in the can so long
as one of them does not burst. When
one does burst the entire load is sure
to go off, taking shooter. wagon and all
Leaking cans have probably been the
cause OF more nitroglycerine explosions
than any other one thing and the shoot
ers use every precaution to prevent leak
ing and Earring. The wagons are special
~ built for the trade. They are lined
snugly, and the springs are made eSpec
tally to take up the jar and conclusions
that must be met.
Bowers must have driven for miles
with death threatening him at every
turn of the wheels, unconscious Of his
danger, and his life was only saved by
one of those pranks of nitroglycerine SO
familiar to the oil country shooter.
Through the presence of mind of an
atb oh bn
of five men were saved recently when at
Reno a well was shot with sixty quarts
of nitroglycerine. On the derrick floor
as spectators We're Andrew Moynihan,
| owner of the we'll; Lee Umpstead, NJ.
Mcdonald and James Harkins.
Schultz had lowered three shells into
the well. intending to explode all three at
once. A shell is about eight feet long
and four inches III circumference, and
to the upper end of it handle of copper
wire is soldered. A sand line passing
over a pulley at the top of the derrick
is fastened to the shell with hook, and
in this way the glycerine is lowered into
the hole.
Several extra yards of the sandline
were run into the hole with the eXpecta-
ton thai the hook would be shaken loose
from the torpedo. Then the engine was
reversed and the line started upward.
Schultz was guiding the line as it
emerged from the well with one hand
and holding the engine lever with the
other, when he made the discovery that
the hook had not been detached and the
torpedo or shell was being dragged to the
surface There was only one thing to do.
Schultz smut off the engine, and as the
| torpedo emerged from the hole he
grabbed it and hung on for dear life.
The engine came to stop before the
torpedo was drawn entirely through his
men.
Schultz calmly readjusted the cap. low
cred the torpedo into the well and sue
cessfully exploded all three shells, and
later in the afternoon shot well at
Sage Run for McCullum & Co.--New
York Sun.