The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1913-09-11
They COURT DEATH
Those Who Take Liberties With
illuminate of Mercury.
PERILS OF BLASTING CAPS.

RES, Are Responsible For Hundreds
of Crippled Youngsters.
Over 600 children have been hurt or
perhaps crippled for life In the last five
years from playing with blasting caps.
If this had happened at one time what
howl would have gone up all over the
| world! But because the accidents are
spread all over the country and happen
at the rate of only about ten month
nothing is done by the authorities. In
deed. nothing can be done except to ed
ucate the whole population to realize
| how dangerous these exceedingly use
| full things are when they are out of
| their proper place. And what dread
full thing 1t is going through life Grip
pied or blinded for want of little care
and knowledge.
| Boys often play in and around quar-
ries on Sundays and sometimes pick
up stray caps and start to investigate
them. 1t is the rarest thing that they
ever do this without getting hurt.
They perhaps know they are danger
GUS and that spark or blow will eX-
| plode them, but they do not realize
| the explosion or how the pieces of cop
per fly Even the name is misleading
in this respect. The 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 to
the same family. They may, but they
bear about the same resemblance to
each other that 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 hammer and
putting them in the fire. Extracting
the contents with pin distributes I'M
told fingers; holding lighted match
under them or thrusting the flaming
end into the cap gets immediate ac-
ton. In the mines and quarries even.
where the men who have to use blast
ing caps every day ought to know bet
ter. there are plenty of mangled hands
and punctured hides as the result of
crimping caps on fuse with a jack
knife, pointed nail or any tool that's
handy.
| Many miner has blown hole
through his face in biting the cap on
the fuse. and others have filled them
selves with copper or have been killed
outright by the sparks from their hat
lamps or pipes dropping In an open
box of caps. Lots Of blasters continue
to bite the caps ON 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 use the
crimper. a tool made for the purpose.
Accidentally stepping on a cap will
often spoil perfectly good foot.
Sparks, fame. heat. blows. friction
it's all the same to the cap to which
they are applied.
A blasting cap Is copper shell about
q quarter of an inch in diameter and
an inch or two long. half full Of fulmi-
nate of mercury. This illuminate Is
the most sensitive and about the most
impulsive explosive in common use.
Blasting caps contain anywhere from
fifteen to twenty grains Of 1t. Primers
for firearms cartridges usually contain
not more than one grain. That's what
the hammer or firing pin of gun or
pistol hits to ignite the powder in the
shell. A blasting cap Is meant to
work the other way. The powder from
the fuse ignites the illuminate In the
blasting cap, and 1t explodes with ter
rife force and detonates the dynamite.
The explosion of the illuminate Is so
exceedingly quick that the flying par
ticles of copper will imbed themselves
In iron a foot away. They Will blow
hole clean through steel plate one
sixteenth Of an inch thick. A box OF
caps will blow beautiful square hole
right through q two inch oak plank.
One cap will blow a child's hand off
with the utmost certainty and dis
patch. Lingg. one Of the Chicago an
archists. committed suicide by biting
a blasting cap between his teeth.
| The point to be remembered is that
when blasting cap goes off it does
great damage 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 in which somebody was not
hurt.
Electric blasting caps are just as
strong as ordinary blasting caps. but as
the capsule or shell Is sealed up with
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 to bury the cleo
| trio cap a foot or two In the earth be-
fore trying to pass electric currents
through the wires, and they had better
not do it then. Don '68pen it up to see
what's in it! Explosive manufacturers
are not given to imparting trade secrets
promiscuously. but they will gladly tell
what's in the caps and how they are
made rather than have. you blow your