Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-08-14
PLAY WITH DEATH
Men Who Are Reckless In Han.
ding High Explosives.

IL Is pracucally impossible" writes |.
Hudson Maxim in Adventure. "tc |
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- |
6angered by the actions of the care |
less one
After had sold the works at Max |
i'm md had invented motorite | needed !
a place in which to make the material
and hired n branch OF the works there |
for that purpose. 1t was winter. My |
wife had accompanied me as n pre- |
cautionary measure. She was sitting |
In 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 II might be nitrogyIycerin.
and she. Informed me that one OF my
men had Just been in stirring the Ere
md that the sparks few out in all di-
rections. some Of them lighting in the
buckets TO be quenched on top of the
oily liquid.
"'Horrors- / said 1T is nitroglyc-
erinr
81 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
er house near by. 4 little later on, GO
ing into the boiler house, / saw one of
the men stirring the fire while the 9TH
or 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-
slves and in experimenting with them
little observation-disclosures, very
slight lack of exact caution. a seem
ingly insignificant inadvertence for
moment. may cost one a 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 u 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 any factory at Maxim. y. J.
In order 10 test the dryness Of some
illuminate compound / took a little
piece OF II. about the size of an Eng
fish penny. broke or small particle.
placed II on n stand outside the labo-
rntory and. lighting n match, touched
II on
lowing TO my loss of sleep the night
before my mind was not so alert as
usual. and I forgot to lay aside the
remaining piece of illuminate com
pound. but instead held it in my left
hand. 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 ut Maxim. in which were
severnl 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 n hammer
and n chisel. promptly discharged
him
Not long afterward the innLeeper
NJ Farmlngdalc called on me 10 buy
some dynamite and said he had cngag-
ed Bender 20 blow the stump9 out of
his meadow lot. told him Bender
was counting death for himself and
everybody around when haniling dy-
Mantle, but Boniface still wanted
Bender 10 do the work.
"'well,' said !. the dynamite YOU
want is 10 cents pound. but II John
Bender does not succeed IN blowing
himself M 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 the
dynamite
~ few days later there was some
hitch IN Bender's exceptional luck. \
particularly refractory old stump had
resisted n couple OF Beuder's dynamic
attacks The failure to dislodgc tho
stump Bender took rs a personal af
front because II reflected uron his skill
as n stump blaster
Next time said he. something IS
going to happen He placed about
twenty pounds of dynamite under the
deep rooted veteran. touched II or, ant
several things happened in very quicf
succession. The huge stump let go it
hold on earth and proceeded TO hun
Bender.
at was a level race. but the stumI
won. Striking Bender on the NORTH
quarter. II stove in four ribs. dislocat
ed several joints and damaged him fl
several other respects and particulars
Boniface came TO settle for the dyra
mite.
sixteen cents a pound said
Bender hasn't a chance in hundred
Wait till the doctors are through will
him
"'What DO you say 20 a compro
mise suggested Boniface. of S cents
pound? For. really. i do not believ'
that Bender is mores than half dead
And the account was settled on tina
basis"
AL OF ONE NAME.