Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1845-06-12
HANAwHA GAS.


valley. II appeared escaping through aper,ures
in low grounds, and syringe Of water. Tradition
has it, that as a company Of the earliest explo-
rers encamped on the banks Of the river, one Of
their number, in a dark night, took torch to
light his way to the spring nesr by the encamp-
ment, and in waving it over The spring, to his
great CONSERVATION it took FIRE, the gas burning
upon the surface Of the water. II was thence
called the "BuRNlNe SraaNo," and is the same
noticed by Mr.. JEFFERSON in his Notes on Vir-
ginia. 1t is still there. We saw it last week
mere mud puddle. The water, sgitated by the
gas, resembles boiling pot. 1t readily fgrites,
and burns with blue blaze on the surface of the
water, for short tme-but when the water is
dried up, the gas will burn bri.lian&y from one
rain to another.
When, i'm process Of time, the sak-manofactu-
rers, either from failure of the salt-wa,es above
the stratum of rock, some Is or 20 feet lower
than the bed Of the river, or for the purpose Of
procuring the water in greater abundance, sunk
their wells by boring far below the surface of the
rock, tho gas, in various quantities, made it's APP
pearance in the wells, in some instances letting
the water into the air. igni,ing aud spreading the
flame about, to the no small amazenent and ter
ror OF the workmen. When this happened they
used 10 say, "he aveN 6io,ced." Tire stream of
gas, however, soon subsidized, or acted only with
Sufficient power to force the water up into the
gun, which was thence pumped into the cistern
or reservoir.
That those who have never seen our salt,we1ls
may have a correct idea Of them, we will Just
say that they are commenced near the edge of
the river at low water. A gum, or shaft, which
is part of the trunk Of sycamore tree, about four
feet in diameter, followed out so that The shell is
not more than -four inches thick, is sunk down to
the rock, distance Of from Is to 90 feet, the
lower end resting tightly on the rock. The o.
Their end is usually few feet above the ground.
This excludes ths fresh water above the rock,
and serves as reservoir to receive the salt wa
Ter when il is reached by boring through the rock
and the various strata of earth
! Three years ago, WILLIAM ToMpKrNs, Esq.
first obtained a steady and permanent stream of
gas, of sufficient power, not only to force the
ter up from the depth Of a thousand feet into the
gum, but TO carry it into the reservoir elevated
many feet above the bank Of the river. This
saved the expense of the pump, which is opera
ted by a steam engine. In a short time the
thought occurred to his practical mind that this
gas, which as yet, after having brought up the
water ready for use, was only "wasiing its fro
GRANGE on the desert air." or by its brilliant light
Illuminating the works and the neighborhood by
night attracting the gaze and wonder OF the ira
weller, could be turned TO still useful pur.
pose. He erects over the reservoir or cistern
| gasometcr, which is simply hogshead upright,
into the lower end OF which is inserted the pipe
which conveys the water and the gas from the
well, the water running out through hole in The
lower end, and in the top is inserted pipe that
conveys the gas to the mouth Of the furnace
Then it is ign:ted, and makes dense and i'm
tensely heated fame along the whole furnace un.
der the row Of kettles, 100 feet long by deep
and wide. This saved the expense of digging
and hauling coal.
Subsequently,, Messrs. WARrH l. ENGLISH,
whose works are on the opposite side Of the river
from the one above spoken of. obtained similar
stream of gas, which has been used successfully
in the same way; and more recently Mr.. Day
DEN DoNNALLY, Mr.. CHARLES REyNoLps, and
some few others, had partial supply Of gas to
operate their furnaces IN the same way.
But the most remarkable phenomenon in the
way of natural gas here, and, we have no doubt, in
the whole world, is that at the works of Messrs.
DIcKINsoN g. SHREWSBURY, which has been ex-
hibited for nearly two months past. In this we'll
the gas was reached at the depth of 1000 feet
What the upward pressure Of the gas to the
square inch is, through the aperture, which is
three inches in diameter, we are unable to tell,
and perhaps it would be impossible to ascertain.
1t has never had free and unobsructed VENT
There is now at the bottom Of the well an iron
sinker, long piece of round iron nearly filing
the aperture; on this are 600 pounds Of iron, and
about 500 feet of auger-pole used in boring, in
pieces of ten and twenty feet in length, with
heavy iron feruIes on the end, screwed into each
other. Notwithstanding all This obstruction, d
stream of water and gas issues up through cop
per tube inches in diameter, inserted into the
well to the depth of 500 feet, with the noise and
force of steam generated by the boilers of the
largest class of steamboats,. 1t is computed that
a sufficient quantity Of gas comes from this we'll
TO fill, in five minutes, reservoir large enough
to light the city of New York twelve hours
When reflect that this stream of gas has, I'M
abated, flowed up for nearly two months, what
must be the thought Of the quantity and the faci-
lily of manufacturing it down below In the
springs hard by, and in the other wells, with
perhaps the exception of that of one or two o.
thers) there appears as yet to be no dimnuton
in the quantity at any place where it has hereto
fore been known to exis--CAarheston KanatUha }
Republican.
A method is said to have been discovered in