Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1860-04-19
Pretoleum or Rock Oil,

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Recent discoveries of large deposits of ol
cum GyrG-oil of the carth-have been made
in the northwestern part Of Pennsylvania and
in Virginia This subject has been long known,
in one form or another Petroeum-petrOS aLaJ-
an, rock Oil-oil of the earth, naphtha senaka
oil, asphaltum, btumen cardin oil &c, are but
different names for substantially the same thing
in the form Of naphtha, it is limpid and volatile,
in that of aSphaltum, often solidcnOugh to break
with fracture, and to be employed as paving
for streets The ancient Egyptians used it ia
embalming, under the name of mumia; and the
BabylonanS employed it in place of mortar,a AS
cement for their bricks Hitherto it has
been chiefly obtained in the regions of tae dead
sea, and in Persia, Italy, Sicily aud some of tho
West India Islands. 1t is essentially carbon
and hydrogen, having fremcighty TO ninety per
cent of carbon, or sometimes the two, in equal
proportions.
Deposits Of this mineral having long been
known to exist in the United States, bnt not
until recently it has been put to little or no uso
except in small quantities, for medical purpose
Formerly it was much peddIed about the coun-
try, small bottles, and sold at the shops as a
specific for burns ,ScaldS, rheumatism, &c under
the name of seneca oil. The oil springs in Cat
taraugus county, ,on the indian reservation, were
known to the whites halfa century ago or more
and, in MorSe's Gazetteer, published 40years
ago, we find it stated, that on the spring from
which oil creek-now so famCus-takes its rise,
"foats an oil, of which many gallons may be
collected in day" It's added that the oil"ha
valuable medical properties"
1t was MOTIVE believe until, further down the
Aleghany rivers of which Oil creek is branch
at the village of Tarantum or Freeport, one of
our modern miracles occurred, that much atten-
tion was turned to tho subject, or the value OF
the article suspected. At that pOint,an old salt
wei, without known cause, underwent q sudden
transformation and commenced throwing up q
substance which was not brine. For II years
this well behaved as an honest well should and
contributed, in bountiful supplies of salt, to the
substance and wealth Of its owner. Now its
pure waters came up alloyed with q greasy,
brown matter, which threatened to render them
ValueleSs. Greatly annoyed, the propretors sub
mtted to the unrequited toll OF eXhauStng this
foreign substance from the brine but it steadily
increased upon them Thus far they had cast
it away as worthless Now it occurred to
them to subject it to an analysis, and ascertain
its vuality. The result of this, ,and the expert
ments which followed, reconciled them to the
vitiatiOn of their water, for the new substance,
without detriment 70 the brioe, they asCertained
they had reached another gift of at least equal
value 1t proved to be of very great purity
The produce of this we'll was introduced into
this city about two years ago under the name,
after distilIation,of carbon oil, and the demand
for it soon outrun the supply. Though the
VIpII Is Inv M uon n rrpp n that OF other
wells since opened on Oil creek, none of them
equal in purity and absence of color. The pro-
duce is from l50 to 200 gallons per day. 1t
's used only for illuminating purposes.
Large deposits of rock oil are also known to
exist in Canada West, and from the abundance
of the supply in these several localities, it would
appear probably that immense vatS of this liquid
wealth underlie large tracts of land north and
south of Lake Erie extending, according to in
dications already noted from q point between
Lake ST. Clair and Lake Huron to the neigh
borhood Of PIttSburg. The yield of the wells,
which are obtained by boring is truly astnshing
One of these on Oil creek, is reported at 400 gal
Ions daily; another at 800 another at 500;
and the McClcntock well at from | 900 to II,
90 gallons per day. The quality of the oil va
ries The produce of one well is thin and fno
best fitted for burning; that Of another, thick
and dense, Suting it for machinery.
The smell of this oil is pungent, and no pro-
cess has yet been; discovered by which 1t can be
removed In some cases, indeed, the odor is SO
powerful as,to render it almost uncomfortable
The oil obtained in the ncighborhood of Ennis
killen, Canada West, is Of this character, There
is large tract ofand in that vicinity, in va
rous parts of which the soil itself is saturated
with the oil. The proprietor has only to dig
pits, when they fill without further tronble and
continac to fill as the liquid is removed. He
offers to furnish 1000 gallons per day if he
can find a market The difficulty in the way
of this, however, is the extreme pmgency of the
article. Samples of the oil having been con-
signed to the house in this city, for reasons pat
ent, they got it off their hands as soon as pos
sible. The purchaser shipped barrel of it to
| Illinois, and in due time was advised by his con
Signle that it could neither be sold nor return
ed that nobody would buy it and that no
transportation line receive it aud that the ar
rival of the oil among them was furnishing the
town with its chief subject of exctement.-
Nc,o York Post.
WuaT 4 BOYS POCKET CONTAINED n ur-