98 



Nitro- Glycerine. 



ble a paraffine candle, solid and crystallized. Musing, 

 " If I leave these cartridges here, till summer thaws them, 

 some one's curiosity will bring about an explosion ; if the 

 hands at the east end, waiting my arrival with this nitro- 

 glycerine, find out that I durst not bring it through, good 

 bye to the use of nitro-glycerine in the Hoosac tunnel. 

 Here goes, steady Snowdrop, the premium on our accident 

 policy has risen since we started. " 



Mr. Granger arrived at the east end, after an anxious 

 sleigh ride, and proceeded forthwith to insert a cartridge 

 of the frozen nitro-glycerine into the hole prepared to 

 receive it, made with a crowbar in the solid ice, affixing 

 the usual fulminating exploder and tape fuse to fire It, 

 and all parties removing to a safe distance to witness the 

 result. A sharp rifle crack, some smoke, but no explosion 

 of the solidified nitro-glycerine. Another fulminating cap, 

 and, in addition, some gunpowder and gun cotton were 

 placed to fill up the cartridge and the tape fuse fired. 

 Again the nitro-glycerine had not exploded, but the copper 

 cap had been driven into the solid nitro-glycerine which 

 in its turn had been driven through the cartridge, and 

 was seen embedded in the anchor ice below, or at the bot- 

 tom of the race. Surprised and confounded at these unex- 

 pected results, the next cartridge was immersed in warm 

 water until the nitro-glycerine became a fluid, an exploding 

 cap with tape fuse inserted and the fuse fired. The explo- 

 sion was terrific, and the solid candle or cylinder, judging 

 from the cavity scooped in the bottom of the race, had 

 evidently been fired also. 



I have been a little prolix in describing this matter, but 

 it has been so valuable a lesson in its results to me, that 

 I trust you will excuse it. For by the lesson inculcated 

 by the above events, I have been able to transport from 

 time to time over the roughest roads some one hundred 

 and sixty thousand pounds of tri-nitro-glycerine. Thus I 



