The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-08 00:00:00

DREADFUL STORY.

During the drilling of an oil well at Tidione,
Pennsylvania, recently, a sudden rush of oil, at the
rate of 70 barrels an hour, took place, the stream
ascending 41 feet above the surface of the ground.
Above this mass of oil the gas or benzine rose in a
cloud, for 50 or 60 feet. All the fires in the neigh-
bourhood were immediately extinguished, ex-
cepting one 400 yards' distance. The fire from this
ignited the floating gas, and in a moment the whole
air was in roaring flames. As soon as the gas
took fire the head of the jet of oil was in a furious
blaze, and falling like water from a fountain over a
space of 100 feet in diameter, each drop of oil came
down a blazing globe of boiling oil. Instantly the
ground was in a flame, constantly increased and
augmented by the falling oil. At once a scene of
indescribable horror took place. Scores were
thrown flat, and for a distance of 20 feet, and num-
bers horribly burnt, rushing blazing from the hell
of misfortune, shrieking and screaming in their
anguish. Just within the circle of the flames could
be seen four bodies boiling in the seething oil, and
one man who had been digging at a ditch to convey
away the oil to a lower part of the ground was
killed as he dug, and could be seen, as he fell over
the handle of the spade, roasting in the fierce ele-
ment. Mr. H. R. Rouse, a gentleman largely in-
terested in wells in this locality, and whose income
from them amounted to I,ooodls a-day,lwas standing
near the pit, and was blown 20 feet by the explo-
sion. He got up and ran about 10 or 15 feet further,
and was dragged out by two men, and was con-
veyed to a shanty some distance from the well.
When he arrived not a vestige of clothing was
left upon him but his stockings and boots. His
hair was burnt off, as well as his finger nails, his
ears, and his eyelids, while the balls of his eyes
were crisped up to nothingness. In this condition
he lived 9 hours. Mr. Rouse, immediately after the
calamity occurred, despatched a man for an officer,
and made his will, in which it is stipulated that
50,000 dollars be given to the poor of his county,
200 dollars to each of the two men who rescued
him from the fire, &c. He died, however, without
signing the will. Six other persons were imme-
diately killed, whose names are not known. In
addition, there are the skeletons of five others
visible within the circle of the flame, and as many
are missing—strangers, who came to witness the
operation of the wells. It is supposed that a num-
ber of others have been burned to a powder, close
by the mouth of the well. Some thirty-four
were seriously injured, besides others slightly. At
the time of the explosion, everything in the neigh-
bourhood-60 or 70 rods—took fire, and shan-
ties, derricks, engine houses, and dwellingi were
at once involved in flames. The boiler of
Dobb's well, eighty rods from the original fire,
blew up with a tremendous explosion, killing in-
stantly the engineer, Wesley Skinner, adding ano-
ther intensity to the evening's horrors. At this time
the whole air was on fire. The jet of oil rushing up
40ft. was almost a pillar of livid flame, while the
gas above it, to the distance of 100 ft., was flashing,
exploding, dashing towards the heavens, and ap-
parently licking the clouds with its furious tongues
of heat. All this time, during this tremendous
combustion, the sounds of the explosions and burn-
ings were so tremendous and continuous that theyfa
could be compared to nothing but the rushing
hurricane or a tornado through the forest. The heat
of the fire was so intense that no 0110 could
or gar.. approach
within 150 feet without scorching their skin
meets. It was the most frightful, and yet the
grandest pyrotechnical displaYe.ver vouchsafed to a
human being. On Friday
morning the oil was still
rushing up, on fire, with
the same regularity and
speed, throwing,
it was calculated, at least 100 bar-
rels an hour, covering
ai immense space with flam-
ing oil—a loss to the proprietors of the well of from
20,000 to 25,000 dole. daily. No human power can
extinguish the flames, and the oil must burn until
the well is exhausted. No pen can describe its fierce-
ness, no tongue can describe the magnitude of its
horrors. The following wells, with machinery, were
burned, with the accompanying estimated loss of
oil:—Wadsworth's well, 300 barrels daily; Dobb's
well, 250 barrels daily; Van Andon's well, 100
barrels daily ; T. Morian's well, 250 barrels daily ;
Hawley and Merrick's well, about 2,600 barrels
daily.—Buffale Courier.

demise of the
Hie Tnth e
- -
in Guernsey, took
place on the 25th of April last. She had attained the great
HoDn.E:iTrsl.i
Jos:
en.ACnnEeNsiTeEyN, To
age of 102 years.
.Death was the result of accident, the
long resident
venerable lady having fallen irom her bed and dislocated
her collarbone a few days previously. She was a daughter
of Mr. John Digby, and married the Hon. and Very Rev.
William Annesley, son of the first Baron Annesley, who
died in 1817.

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HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
THIS DAN .—Morning, 12h. 58m.—Afternoon, lh. 18m.
To-u0i3.8.0vf..-Morning, lh. 36m.—Aftertwon, lh. 56m.