164 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Septeiibeh 30, 1880. 



EVADIN G DE TONATION. 



TTnited States Circuit Codrt. -I\'eU) York, Veh. 19Hi, 

 JJefore John A- Shields, United States Commissioner Southern 

 blstrlot of New York. Deposition of Carl Dittmar, of Bingham- 

 ton, N. Y., who, being first duly sworn, deposes and states, id an- 

 swer to Cross- QucsMun 838 :— 



'• My aimpowder, when 1 first made U, Jiaii the arjutt- lundenrii as 

 IHtro-g'uceriiie poivdcr. It hurst most all the guns aJ linLv'lua I 

 ?je^an lointruiluceU. It was just the same as hi would u.se 

 nitbo-g lycehine powder. I liave it now no that it in tamed doLviu 

 ami don't bwxt any more nuns." 



THE " Dittmar Sporting Powder" is a nitro-cellulose 

 product. As such it may explode in either one of two 

 ways, by simple ignition, like gunpowder, or by detona- 

 lior., like idtro-glycerine. It has been on the market for 

 five years. During that period, in addition to continu- 

 ously advertising it to be .safer than the ordinary black 

 gunpowder, the maaulacturers have concealed its 

 true character, and when othei-s alleged that it did 

 possess this natui'e, they have flatly denied or evaded 

 the assertion. 



In the course of our exhaustive discussion of this sub- 

 ject last week, after having shown that the product 

 could properly be classed only among those explosives 

 which may under certain conditions detonate, we said 

 that the correctness of this classification had previously 

 been three times evaded. We should have said ten 

 times ; and we might have added further that some of 

 tliese evasions in the form of advertisements were re- 

 peated week after week. 



That the readers of the Forest aud Steeaji may fully 

 appreciate that our statements iu respect to this are well 

 founded, we have ber-n at some pains to review the history 

 of theijowder with reference to this particular point, and 

 we add to-day another cliapter to that full discussion of 

 this subject which we proposed to ourselves at the outset 

 of our task. In the present paper we shall attempt only 

 to show how the charge that the "Dittmar Sporting 

 Powder" should properly be classed among the detonat- 

 ing compounds, was evaded and denied. 



The first suggestion that the Dittmar powder should 

 be classed among the detonating compounds was made as 

 early as 187.5 :— 



Forest anp Stream, Vol. IV., page 235, June 10th, 1875. "A 

 Sub.scriber" says : "The proper name for this powder is gun- 

 wood, it being- in its nature the same as g-un-cotton, prepared in 

 the same manner, only reduced to some extent bv washing with 

 alCGhol, which has the effect, if left long enough to soak, of to- 

 tally destroying its effective force. The gun-wood, as prepared 

 and sold to consumers. Is highly dangerous to life and limb," etc., 

 etc. 

 The reply to this consisted of both denial and evasion : — 

 Forest asd Stream, Vol. lV.,pageS15, Juno 2ith,187a. Letter 

 from Carl Dittmar saya Utalics his own):— 



"Thestiitemeutsot 'Subscriber' in your issue of lOlhof Juneiu 

 regard to my new powder are erroneous. I do nut make such 

 powder as he describes. He must have confused my new article 

 With the Bogliah ' wood-powder,' from which mine dilCers etisen- 

 tiallij. I do ?!0t USB alcohol in its manufacture. If he will burn 

 some of it he wiU find that it is very different from gun-cotton, 

 and that llburns very much slower than black ijowder, ] t works 

 in the gun aboutthe same as black powder." 



He might have added, for that matter, that nitro-gly- 

 cerine burns slower tiian black gunjiowder and slower 

 than his own compound. It would not follow, however, 

 that nitro-glycerine would " work in thr gun about the 

 same as black powder ; " nor was it true that the Dittmar 

 nitro-cellulose worked as black gunpowder. 



FoKEST AND STREAM, Vol. V, page 73, Sept. 9th, 1875, 

 A letter is republished, written by " Gloan," which as- 

 serts that the Dittmar jjowder probably belongs among 

 the explosives, which ara rending and shattering. To 

 this an appended note says that Mr. Dittmar has re- 

 plied :— 



" With regard to the composition of the powder, he declares 

 most positively that no substance such as chlorate of potash or 

 nitro-glycerine enters into its composition, nor wid he use any 

 picric acid combination, or any kind of fulminate. This can bo 

 ascertained by analysis. Itcontains all the ingredients of Sohultze 

 powder, with the addition of starch, and he ai-gues tnat his pow- 

 der is absolutely safer than that preparation. It there is any 

 danger in using his powder not inherent in the black, he desires 

 to know It, and wiU be most grateful to any gentleman who will 

 convince him of the fact." 



The proffered gratitude was never exercised. The 

 manufacturer of the powder, already knowing full well 

 and better than anyone else the peculiar danger of his 

 hitro-ccUuloae product, could not be "convinced" of it 

 by another. 



Forest and Stream, Vol. VI, page 91, March IBth, 1878.— letter 

 from Carl Bittmar says : '' I never have used, and never shall use 

 for my sporting powder, such dangerous materials as nitro-gly- 

 cerine, chlorate of potash, picric acid, etc. If my powder is put 

 on an anvil and struok with a hammer it does not explode, which 

 shows that It cannot contain nitro-glycerine or chlorate of pot- 

 osh." 



Of the action of the 1876 powder on an anvil we maker 

 no assertions. But the "Dittmar Sporting Powder " de- 

 livered in sealed cans from the oflice of the Dittmar 

 Powder Manufacturing Company (No, S), when put on 

 an anvil and sti-uck with a hammer does explode. 



Forest AKD Stream, Vol. XII, page 93, March 6th, 167!?.— Letter 

 from Carl Dittmar says: "I must again say that my powder is not 

 a 'wood powder,' as it is entirely diiteronl in its composition. I use 

 partly paper pulp, which may not be of wood at all : but I use so 

 many other ingredients besides that the pulp is but a small por- 

 tion of the whole, and it Is not only different in composition, but 

 also in properties, from Uie real ' wood powders.' I was con 

 iieated with the manufacture of Sohultze powder Bisteen year 



ago, and I could see at that time that it would never supersede 

 the old powder, and I have worked ever since to invent an en- 

 tirely new powder which will do wh-it Sohultze powder never 

 can." 



Turning now to the files of the Rod and Gck we shall 

 find the same story there : — 



KoD A.MJ C4ra, Vol. Vf., page 2H, Aug. 7th, 187ri, " Ex-Gnu- 

 maker"8ayg; "The iagredienta of which this powder i.i com- 

 posed are generally understood by experts to consist of an inftni- 

 tessimal amount of nitro-giyoerine and gun-cotton, toned down 

 with sugar, etc." 



The reply to this contained the "pledge" ah-eady 

 tptoted :— 



Hod and Gcn, Vol. VI., page 269, Aug. llth, 1875.: " I pledge 

 my word of honor that I nevei- sent, and never will send, powder 

 fursporting purposes which sliouLd have the slightest trace of 

 nitro-glycerine in its composition." 



On page 358 of the same volume will be found a letter 

 fron Mr. J. W. Long, suggesting that in very many re- 

 spects Dittmar's powder is strikingly similar to gun-cot- 

 ton. The reply evades the charge in the same wanner as 

 already cpioted from the Forest and Stream, namely, by 

 diverting attention away from the explosion of the two 

 compounds under confinement and to their combustion in 

 the open air :— 



AND Gtr.s, Vol. VI., page 387, Sept. 35th, 1875. Letter froi 

 Ciiri Dittmar ; "' lie compares my powder with gun-cotton, but 

 he WiU find a great dilferenoe between both when he burns them 

 outside the gun, when my powder will burn very slow, with much 

 resiiiuum, while gun-eulton will Hash like lightning and leave no 

 residuum." 



" Medicus," writing from Boston in the interest of the 

 powder, winds up a long article by piously observing 

 that our immunity from accident is due more ' • to the 

 merciful iiiterpobitiou of Providence and the strength of 

 our guns than to any care of om- own ;" the inference 

 clearly being that it is just as easy for Providence to 

 protect us from a detonating, nitro-cellulose compound 

 as from the common black powder. 



But Mr. Long's letters show that he knew what he was 

 talking about, and he reiterated his charge (Vol. VII., 

 page TJ, Oct. 30th, 1875) that the Dittmar powder was 

 analogous to gun-cotton, and said that he would fear to 

 stand near a man sliooting it. To this, one form of re- 

 ply was a letter (Vol. Vn.,page 93, Nov. 13th, 1875.1 from 

 Dittmar, Jr., a boy twelve years old, ^vho thinks that if 

 Mr. Long fears to stand near a man shooting the powder, 

 perhaps he will not fear to stand near a boy shooting it, 

 etc. 



The other mode of reply was what is a,ptly termed 

 " mud-throwing." There are two varieties of mud- 

 throwing, One is i:atended, like the uik of the cuttlefish, 

 to blind, the otLar to defile. Both were employed here. 

 ' Medicus " being closely pursued by the clear and logical 

 writing of 5Ii-. Long, had already written Avhole columns 

 of blind and meaningless chemistry vaporing, anil then 

 finding that inefl'ectual, he adopted the other line, and 

 judiciously turned the disctissioa into a persojial contro- 

 ver.sy. This kind of mud-throwing, which smirches a 

 man's character, is usually efficient to divert attention 

 from the real merits of any discussion. It was efficient 

 in this case, and. afterwards it was adopted with another. 

 Mr. A. G. Dole, in the course of a long communication 

 about the powder, said : — 



Hod akI) GiTN, Vol. JX, page 389, Feb. lOlh, 1S7T.—" I will desig- 

 nate these modern powders as acid powders, and here arc the 

 names of several of them, viz., Dualin, Giant, Hend-rocs, Vul- 

 can, Dynamite, Gun-cotton, etc., and I here take the liberty to 

 suggest whether the Dittmar may not properly be Included in the 

 same category." 



Hod AND OtIN, Vol. IX, pa?c ;J75, Feb. lUh, 1877. -Latter from 

 Curl Dittmiu- in reply to A . G. Dole: '-.My .Sporting Powder has noth- 

 ing famUiar witn Giant I'usvder, Kead-rock, DuaUu, Viiluau, etc., 

 which powders arc only used for bl.istlng purposes. If your cor- 

 respondent had only looked at your advertising columns, or pro- 

 cured one of my circulars, he would have found that I warrant 

 my powder not to contain ingredients like nitro-glycerlne, chlor- 

 ate of potash, etc. It he does uot believe it, he can have it ana- 

 lyzed. I hope hisX'omparing my Sporting Powder with Giant Pow- 

 der, etc., is only from ignorance, not from a wish to frighten utu' 

 brother sportsmen." 



The advertisement, in the same issue, contained these 

 words ! — 



" It is much safer than blank powder, as it only explodes when 

 well confined. 



" The manufacturers guarantee that there are no Ingrodients 

 like nitro-glycerine, chlorate of potash, or picric add, or wood 

 in its composition as some suppose. It cannot be exploded by 

 concussion." 



We have no inclination to conduct the reader further 

 into the unsavory record of the controversy respecting 

 the "Dittmar Sporting Powder.'' That^ recordj is one of 

 repeated and successful attempts, practiced for five years, 

 to put the product upon the market, to induce men 

 to use it and to keep them, while using it, in igno - 

 rauce of its true nature. 

 That record ought now to be closed. 

 Oiu' discussion of the "Dittmar Sporting Powder " last 

 week was simple, clear, ooiuplete and conclusive. 

 It is unanswei'able. 



Next week we shall discuss further some of the pe- 

 culiar properties of this dangerous compound as deter- 

 mined by our own experiments with it. 



It is due to those concerned that we should here state 

 our beUef that some of the pai-ties who have been promi- 

 nently associated in the manufacture and sale of the 

 " Dittmar Sporting Powder " were as whoUy ignorant of 

 what tliey were selling aa the purchasers were of what 



they were buying. "We know that some of these gentle- 

 men gained their first linowledge o£ the real character of 

 the powder front the arUcle in the last issue of this paper. 



It is unnecessary to publish the letters of complaint re- 

 ceived by some of the formei- firms engaged in the sale of 

 this product. 



The letters received by one company, we have heen as- 

 sured, were so numerous, so frequent and of so grave a 

 nature that the recipients were filled with alarm by them, 

 and actuaUy passed sleepless hours of suspense lest the. 

 next morning's mail should bring reports of fatal acci- 

 dents with the powder. 



The standing explanations of these accidents given to 

 the sellers and buyers ahke were either that the gun was 

 a poor one or that the "ilirections '' had not been fol- 

 lowed. Whether or uot these explanations suJficed, iu 

 cases like the ftallowing, we are not informed ;— 



Vtiax, N. Y., JUiic 2801, 18711. 

 S. C. Stjuires, Esu., Ncie York:— 



Dear Sir : We have in our hands for collection a claim against 

 you and the Dittmar Powder Co. for damages done to two guns 

 owned by Mr. Jay C. Smith, of this city. 



The Injury consists in tearing to pieces a pound 12 gauge Fir- 

 riss breech-loading shot gun of the value of $150. 



For seriously damaging a 10 pound 8 ounce >(jchol8 it Lefever D. 

 L. shot gun, 10 gauge, to the extent of *30. fhia happened in 

 April last while snipe shooting. 



The powder was bought of you about August, 1878, a Ave pound 

 lot, you can tind by reference to Mr. Smith's account on yoiu- 

 books. The loading was done precisely as directed by yon, ex. 

 ccpt the powder ivas not tapped in the measure, hence the charge 

 was uot so large as you permit. The shells which did the mischief 

 were loaded in October, 1878, and a number of the shells were 

 use-l In the fall with safety. The remainder were laid awrfy until 

 April, when Mr. Smith, In company ivith a friend, went saipc 

 shooting. The friend carried the 10 gauge and Mr. Smith the ]2. 

 'The tirst snipe that rose was lirert at by Mr. Smith, and imuicdi- 

 alpiy afterwards the friend lireJ both barrels from the 10 gauge. 

 Mr. Smith's gun came from his shoulder, barrels in one hand, 

 slock iu the other. The right barrel was torn open at the breech 

 a distance of three or four laches, and the shell went out the 

 opening. The barrels were torn apart uuitc a distance from the 

 breech. The treech piece was cracked and bout and both upper 

 and lower fastenings broken olt. 'The gun lias left one ban-el 

 and two locks; everything else is ruined. The other gun had the 

 fastenings broken and is strained. 



Both these guns had previously held larger charges of both black 

 and Dittmar powder newly loaded, and both have shot shells out 

 of the same lot newly loaded. 



You eangivesuchatteutioato thisas you deem advisable. We 



ill begin suit on the lath July unless the matter is ai'i-anged. 

 Yours respectfully, Surrojf & MotusHODSB. 



Note, — The foot note second column of page 147, last 

 weel;, should have included the cross-nuestiuna and an- 

 swers 560 and 551. In the last line of A. J. Parker's let- 

 ter, i)age li-1, for sealing, read selling. 



Devil Fisiles. — The great cephalopod, or giant-squid, 

 which was caught ou the Banks of Newfoundland iu 

 1870 and sold to the New York Aquarium, is now travel- 

 ing with AV. 0. Coup's circus through the Southern 

 States, and letters have been received asking if it really 

 is a genuine animal, if it ever was alive, etc. This scep- 

 ticism, no doubt, arises from not only the extreme rarity 

 of this giant species, but also to a lack of familiarity of 

 the family to %vhich it belongs. 



The squids are used for bait for many fishes along the 

 Atlantic coast, but are small, seldom exceeding ton inches 

 in length, while the body of Coup's animal in life, before 

 beiug shrunken with alcohol, was ten feet long, and its 

 arms were thirty more, making an extreme length of 

 forty feet, the largest one known to be found entire. 

 Portions of arms have been thrown up by the sperm 

 whale in its death flurry, which must have belonged to 

 much larger individuals, thus proving that the greater 

 depths of the ocean are inhabited by larger monsters of 

 this sort than man has ever seen. We can assure our 

 friends in the rural districts tliat Coup's " devil fish " is 

 all that it claims to be, and i.s nut made of rubber, leather 

 or other material, but like ■■ Topsy," it "growed." 



SHOOTlKa FOK A STAKE.— A cheaply printed dodger, 

 thi-ust into the doorway of our office, announces that the 

 Marion Rifle Club, of Marion, N. J., are to have a 

 ' 'gx-and rifle match" with the Greenville Schuet'zon Corps, 

 of Greenville, N. J., for §500. Knowing nothing about 

 these clubs, and caring to know leas about organizations 

 who would degrade rifle practice into a mere scramble for 

 stakes, we should say that there was something bogus 

 about the aft'air, and the closing announcement on the 

 cheap dodger that tickets of admission cotdd be had at 

 the gate shows what might have been expected, that 

 somebody is keeping a keen eye for the dimes and dol- 

 lars of the gulhble ones. There certainly was a misap- 

 prehension when the scribe of the clieap dodger said 

 that "Creedmoor targets and rules to govern the match." 

 The whole puriioso and effort of the National Eifle Asso- 

 ciation rtilcs has been to keep rifle practice clear- of the 

 slightest tinge of gambling, and had these speculative 

 shots followed the Creedmoor laile they would liavc 

 stricken out the " stake." 



Deep Sea Dredging. — It is only witltin a veiy few 

 years that deep sea dredging has been earned on to any 

 very considerable e.xtent, but in this short time it has 

 given us some idea as to how wonderfully numerous and 

 varied are the forms of fife which inhabit these depths 



