Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1911-03-02
PLAY WITH DEATH
Men Who Are Reckless In Ham
ding High Explosives.
STORIES BY HUDSON MAXIM.

The Accident by Which the Inventors
Left Hand Was Blown Off-John Ben '
der's Contempt For Dynamite-Mix-
ina Fire and Nitrosiycerin.
ut is practically impossible" writes
Hudson Maxim in Adventure, Ito
make the ordinary laboring man APP
preciate the necessity Of care in the
safe handling of explosives, and the
life of the careful man is always en-
dangered by the actions Of the care
less one.
After l had sold the works at Max
i'm and had invented motorite ! needed
a place in which to make the material
and hired branch Of the works there
for that purpose 1t was winter. My
wife had accompanied me as pre-
cautionary measure She was sitting
in the laboratory to keep warm. near
big barrel stove charged with btu
minous coal.
ION entering the laboratory for
something my wife asked me what
was in those two tin pals sitting near
the stove She said that she had a
suspicion it might be nitrogylycerin,
and she Informed me that one Of my
men had just been in stirring the fire
and that the sparks few out in all d.
rections, some Of them lighting in the
buckets to be quenched on top Of the
oily liquid.
"'Horrorsv l said. 1t is nitroglyc-
erinv
II called the man who had placed it
there and told him to take it away. AS
it was necessary to keep the material
from freezing he took it into the boil
err house near by A little later on, go
ing into the boiler house, saw one of
the men stirring the fire while the 9th
er was standing with his coattails out
stretched in either hand, forming a
shield to keep the sparks from flying
into the nitroglycerin.
"In the manufacture of high explo-
sives and in experimenting with them
little observation-disclosures, a very
slight lack of exact caution, a SEEM
ingly insignificant inadvertence for q
moment, may cost one limb or his
life. The accident that cost me my
left hand is a case in point
ION the day preceding that accident
had had gold cap put on tooth.
In consequence the tooth ached
throughout the night and kept me
awake a greater part of the time. In
the morning I rose early and went
down to my factory at Maxim, N. j.
In order to test the dryness of some
illuminate compound l took a little
piece of 1t, about the size of an Eng
fish penny. broke Off a small particle
placed 1t on stand outside the labo-
ratory and. lighting match, touched
it off.
lowing to my loss of sleep the night
before my mind was not so alert as
usual. and l forgot to lay aside the
remaining piece of illuminate com
pound. but instead held it in my left
hand. A spark from the ignited piece
of illuminate compound entered my
left hand between my fingers, ignitfnt
4 the piece there, with the result thai
|
; "Once when entering my storage
magazine at Maxim. in which were
several carloads of dynamite alons
with $1,000 pounds of nitrogelatin.
saw John Bender. one of my employ
ees, calmly but emphatically openin:
!, case of dynamite with hamme
: and a chisel, promptly discharged
him.
mot long afterward the innkeepe
: mt Farmingdale called on me to bu.
some dynamite and said he had engag
ed Bender to blow the stumps out o
his meadow lot told him Bende
{ was counting death for himself ant
u everybody around when handling dy
! Mantle. but Boniface still wante
? Bender to do the work.
II "'WeIl.' said I, the dynamite yo
want is Is cents a pound. but If job
II Bender does not succeed in BLOWN
himself up and killing himself wit
the dynamite you can have it for notf
II ing. On the other hand. IL he doe
Z blow himself up you must pay for tn
y dynamite
: "a few days later there was som
&c hitch in Benders exceptional luck.
g particularly refractory old stump ha
: resisted a couple of Bender's dynam1
attacks The failure to dislodge th
stump Bender took as personal a
front because it reflected upon his ski
y as stump blaster
~ Next time said he. something
% going to happen He placed abo'
III twenty pounds Of dynamite under II
Ell deep rooted veteran. touched it Off, ar
~ several things happened in very quit
p succession. The huge stump let go I
ne hold on earth and proceeded to hui
TN Bender.
~ ut was level race, but the stun
OF won. Striking Bender ON the nor