The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1911-01-28
PLAY WITH DEATH
Men Who Are Reckless In Han.
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-
ing Fire and Nitroglycerin.

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, ito
make the ordinary laboring man ap-
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 | had sold the works at Max.
i'm 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. MY
wife had accompanied me az pre-.
cautionary measure. she was sitting
In the laboratory to keep warm, near
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 a
i suspicion 1t might be nitrogylycerin,
! and she Informed me that one of my
/ men had just been In stirring the fire
and that the sparks flew out In all d.
rections, some of them lighting In the
/ buckets to DO quenched on top OF the
oily liquid.
HORRORS ! said. 1T Is nitroglyc
erinr
| Il called the man who had placed 1t
there and told him to take ii away. AS
1t was necessary to keep the material
from freezing he took 1t into the boil
or house near by. A little later on, GO
Ing into the boiler house, saw one OF
the men stirring the fire while the 9th,
err was standing with his coattails out
stretched in either hand, forming a
shield to keep the sparks from flying
into the nitroglycerin.
I'm the manufacture Of high explo
sives and In experimenting with them
a little observation-disclosures very
slight lack of exact caution, seem
ingly Insignificant inadvertence for d
moment, may cost one limb or his
life Tbs accident that cost me my
left hand is case In point. ,o
"On the day preceding that accident
] had had a gold cap put on tooth
In consequence the tooth acied
throughout the night and kept me
awake a greater part of the time. In
the morning rose early and went
down to my factory at Maxim, N. !.
In order to test the dryness of some
illuminate compound | took little
piece of it. about the size Of an Eng
4 fish penny. broke off n small particle,
placed it on stand outside the labo-
ratory and. lighting q match, touched
IT Off.
lowing to my loss Of sleep the night
before my mind was not so alert as
usual, and / forgot to lay aside the
remaining piece OF illuminate com
pound, but instead held II in my left
/ hand. A spark from the ignlted piece
Of illuminate compound entered my
left hand between my fingers, lgniting
/ the piece there, with the result that
my hand was blown off to the wrist
| "Once when entering my storage
magazine ut Maxim in which were
! several carloads Of dynamite along
1 with $1,000 pounds of nitrogelatin. !
saw John Bender, one of my employ
ees, calmly but emphatleally opening
case of dynamite with hammer
and chisel promptly discharged
| him.
mot long afterward the innkeeper
Mt Farmingdale called on me TO buy
some dynamite and said he had engag
ed Bender to blow the stuinps out "
I his meadow lot | told Him Bender
was counting dcnth for himself and
| everybody around when handling d.
Mantle, but I,oniface still wanted
Bender to do the work.
"Wen,' said /, the dynamite YOU
want is 16 cents pound, but II Johr
Bender does not succeed in blowlna
himself up and killing himself with
the dynamite you can have It for moth
Ing. On the other hand. II he does
blow himself up you must pay for tht
dynamite
"a few days later there was som'
hitch In Bender's exceptional luck.
particularly refractory old stump hat
resisted a couple OF Renders dynamic
attacks. The failure to dislodge TIN
stump Bender took as personal az
front because II reflected upon his skill
as a stump bfaster.
Next time said he. something \
going to happen He placed abou
twenty pounds of dynamite under th
| deep rooted veteran, touched It Off, am
several things happened in very quicl
succession. The huge stump let go ii
hold on earth and proceeded to hun
Bender.
ut was level race, but the stnmI
won. Striking Bender on the mort
quarter, 1t stove In four ribs. dlslocat
ed several joints and damaged him 4
several other respects and particulars
Boniface came to settle for the dyna
mite
Sixteen cents pound ! said
Bender hasn't chance IN a hundred
Wait till the doctors are through witt
him.
"'What do you say TO q comprp
| n az 70 lrgA5