Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-06-26
THEY COURTDEATH
Those Who Take Liberties With
illuminate Of Mercury.
PER|Ls OF BLASTING, CAPS.

5.9l@ aa<s.."
These Dangerous and Sensitive "PIay.
toys" Often Picked UP Around Quar-
riss, Are Responsible For Hundreds
Of Crippled Youngsters.
Over COO children have been burt or
perhaps crippled for life in the last five
years from playing with blasting caps.
II this bad happened atone time what
q howl would bave goup up all over the
world: But because u accidents are
spread all over the country aud happen
ut the rate Of only about ten a month
nothing Is done by the authorities. In
deed. nothing can be done except to cd
ucate the whole population to realize
how dangerous these exceedingly USE
fui things are when they are out Of
their proper place. And what a dread
fui thing it is going through life Grip
pied or blinded for want Of a little care
and knowledge.
Boys often play IN and around quar-
ries on Sundays and sometimes pick
up stray caps aud start to investigate
them. 1t iszthe. rarest thing that they
ever do this without getting hurt.
They perhaps know they are danger
GUS and that q spark or a blow will ex-
pIode them. but they do not realize
how sensitive they are. how violent
the explosion or how the pieces Of cop
per 6y. Even the name is misleading
in this respect. Tue word "caps' suG-
gests the paper caps used with toy pis-
tolls. and because the blasting caps are
called by this name it is natural to
think that the two articles belong t"
the same family. They may. but they
bear about the q me resemblance to
each other that a hungry man eating
tiger does to the gentle pussy cat.
There are lots Of ways Of getting
crippled by exploding blasting caps be-
sides hitting them With a hammer and
putting them in the fire. Extracting
the contents With a pin distributes un.
told 6nyers: holding a lighted match
under them or thrusting the flaming
end into the cap gets immediate ac-
ton. In tue mines aud Quarries even.
where the men who have to use blast
ing caps every day ought to know bet
ter. there are plenty Of lnangled hands
and %punctured hides as the result Of
cri,nping caps VI fuse with q jack
knife. pointed nail Or any tool that's
handy.
Many a miner has blown A hole
through his face in biting the cap on
the fuse. aad others have hlled them
selves With copper or have been killed
outright by tue sparks from their hat
lamps or pipes dropping 10 an open
box Of caps. Lots Of busters c0Dtinnc
to bite the caps Oh the fuse and think
that because they have never exploded
them they never will. but some day
they will bite the business end and
lose something besides teeth. 1t is
much easier and lots. safer to s the
crimper. a tool made for the purpose.
Accidentally stepping on a cap will
often spoil a perfectly good foot.
Sparks. flame. heat. blows. friction
it's all the same to the cap to which
they are applied.
A blasting cop is a copper shell about
q quarter Of BID inch III diameter and
an inch or two long. half full VI fulmi'
nate of mercury. This illuminate -
the most sensitive and about the most
impnlsive explosive in common use.
Blasting caps contain anywhere from
fifteen to twenty grains Of it. Primers
for firearms cartridges usually contain
not more than one grain. That's what
the hammer or firing pin Of a gun or
pistol hits to ignite the powder in the
shell. 4 blasting cap Is meant 10
work the other way. The powder from
the fuse ignitrs the tuiminnte 10 the
blasting cap. and it explvles with ter
rife force and detonates the dynamite.
The explosion Of the illuminate Is so
exceedingly quick that the dying par
ticles Of copper will imbed themselves
10 iron a foot away, They will blow a
hole clean through a steel plate one
sixteenth Of an inch thick. A box Of
caps will blow a beautiful square hole
right tbrough7*a two iucb oak plank,
One car will bI0wsa child's hand Oh
with the utmost certainty aud dis
patch. Ljngg. one Of the Chicago an
arcbists. committed suicide by biting
a blasting cap between bis teeth.
The point to he remembered Is that
when a blasting cap goes o6 1t does
great da mage locally. There is no es-
Gaping its effects. Among all the 600
or more accidents reported from playing
with blasting caps there are only two
or three iu which somebody was not
burt.
Electric blasting caps are just as
strong as ordinary blasting caps. but as
the capsule or shell IL sealed up With O
sulphur plug through which the wires
are carried down to the illuminate, not
so many accidents occur IN playing
with them. They are generally dipped
in dark colored wax and are not such
attractive playthings as the bright cop
per blasting caps. but ''they get there
Just the same" Amateur electricians
are earnestly advised 10 bury the cleo
trio cap a foot r two iD the earth be-
fore trying to pass electric currents
through the wires. and they had better