The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-03-01
PLAY WITH DEATH
Men Who Are Reckless In Han
ding High Explosives.
STORIES BY HUDSON MAXIM.

Left Hand Was Blown OH-John Ben
der's Contempt For Oynamite-Mix-
ing Fire and Nitroslyeerin.
1T is practically impossible" writes
Hudson Maxim in Adventure, TOY
make the ordinary laborlng man APP
preciate the necessity or care in thes
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 10 make the material
and hired n branch OF the works there
for that purpose. IL was winter. My
wife had accompanied me as a pre-
cautionary measure She was sitting
I'm the laboratory to keep warm. near
a 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 I'm stirring the fire
and that the sparks flew out in all d.
rections, some of them lighting in the
buckets TO be quenched on top of the
oily liquid.
'Horrorsg 1 said. 1t is nitroglyc-
erinp
II called the man who had placed IL
there and told him to take it away. As
It was necessary TO keep the material
from freezing he took IL 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
err 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 a
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 a gold cap put on a tooth.
I In consequence the tooth ached
| throughout the night and kept me
awake greater part Of the time. In
| the morning I rose early and went
down to my factory at Maxim, N. ].
In order 10 test the dryness Of some
| illuminate compound took a little
piece of II. about the size Of an Eng
| lish penny. broke off a small particle,
placed It on a stand outside the labo-
ratory and. lighting match, touched
| It of.
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 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 Off 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, I
saw John Bender. one of my employ
ees, calmly but emphatically opening
a case of dynamite with a hammer
and a chisel. promptly discharged
him.
mot long afterward the innkeeper
at Farmingdale called on me to buy
some dynamite and said he had engag-
ed Bender to blow the stumps out or
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 |, the dynamite you
want is 16 cents a pound, but IL 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. II 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 a couple of Bender's dynamic
attacks. The failure to dislodge the
stump Bender took as a personal af-
front because Il 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 It 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 n level race. but the stump
won. Striking Bender on the. north
quarter, ii stove in four ribs, dislocat-
ed several joints and damaged him In
several other respects and particulars.
Boniface came to settle for the dyna-
mite.
"'Sixtecn cents q pound I said.
Bender hasn't n chance in n hundred.
Wait till the doctors are through with
him
"'what do you say to compro-
mise suggested Bonifnce. of s cents a
pound? For really, ! do not believe
that Bender IL more than half dead
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