Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1911-02-16
PLAY WITH DEATH
Men Who Are Reckless In Han
ding High Explosives.
STORIES BY HUDSON MAXIM.

STORIES By HUDSON MAXIM.
The Accident by Which the inventors
Left Hand Was Blown Off-John Ben
der's Contempt For Dynamite-Mix-
ing Fire and NitrosIycerin.
1T is practically impossible" writes
Hudson Maxim in Adventure, "to
make the ordinary laboring man ap-
preciate the necessity of care in the
safe handling of explosives, and the
lie OF the careful man is always en-
dangered by the actions of the care
less one.
After l had sold the works at Max
Inn and had invented motorite needed
place In which to make the material
and hired branch Of the works there
for that purpose. 1t was winter. NY
wife had accompanied me as a pre-
caudonary measure. She was sitting
In the laboratory to keep warm, near
a big barrel stove charged with btu
minOus coal.
"On 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
suspicion it might be nitrogylycerin,
and she informed me that one of nv
men had just been in stirring the fire
and that the sparks few out in all di-
recdons, some of them lighting in the
buckets to be quenched on top of the
oily liquid.
"sHorrorsr l said 1t is nitroglyc-
erinr
Il called the man who had placed it
there and told him to take it away. AS
1t was necessary to keep the material
from freezing he took it into the boil
er house near by. A little later on, GO
ing into the boiler house, l saw one of
the men stirring the fire while the 9TH
er was standing with his coattails out
stretched in either hand. forming
shield to keep the sparks from flying
into the nitroglycerin
'In the manufacture of high explo-
s1ves and in experimenting with them
little observation-disclosures, q very
slight lack of exact caution, a seem
ingly Insignificant inadvertence for q
moment, may cost one limb or bis
life. The accident that cost me my
left hand is 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 l rose early and went
down to my factory at Maxim, N. ].
In order to test the dryness Of some
illuminate compound took a little
piece Of it. about the size Of an Eng
Hsh penny. broke OF small particle.
! placed it on stand outside the labo-
ratory and. lighting a match. touched
1t OF.
Owing 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 igniting
the piece there. with the result that
my hand was blown OF to the wrist.
"Once when entering my storage
magazine at Maxim. in which were
several carloads of dynamite along
with $1,000 pounds Of nitrogelatin.
saw John Bender one of my employ
ees. calmly but emphatically opening
case Of dynamite with hammer
and chisel. promptly discharged
him
Not long afterward the innkeeper
at Farmingdale called on me to buy
| some dynam mite and said he had engag-
| ed Bender to blow the stumps out Of
his meadow lot told him Bender
was counting death for himself and
everybody around when handling dy-
Mantle but Boniface still wanted
Bender to do the work
WELL said l. the dynamite you
want Is is cents pound. but if John
Bender does not succeed in blowing
himself up and killing himself with
| the dynamite you can have 1t for moth
| ing On the other hand. If he does
blow himself up you must pay for the
dynamite
"A few days later there was some
hitch in Bender's exceptional luck A
particularly refractory old stump had
resisted couple of Bender's dynamic
attacks. The failure to dislodge the
stump Bender took as a personal af-
front because 1t reflected upon his skill
as a stump blaster
Next time said he. something Is
going to happen He placed about
twenty pounds Of dynamite under the
deep rooted veteran, touched 1t of, and
several things happened In very quick
succession The huge stump let go its
hold on earth and proceeded to hunt
Bender.
1T was a level race, but the stump
won. Striking Bender on the north
quarter. It stove in four ribs, dislocat-
Cd several joints and damaged him In
several other respects and particulars.