Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1861-05-09
The Explosion otthe Buchanan
xNcll.A TprrIble NARRATIVES.


A correspondent of the Buffalo Courier
gives the following particulars of one Of he
most fearful accidents ever recorded. 1he
telegraph had given in brief skeleton OF
the event, which was the explosion of an
oil well at Tilusvlle, Pa:
A well which had been drilled over two
hundred feet by IIawley & Merrick, had
struck oil. but the yield being less than eS.
pected, the pumping was abandoned aud
drilling recommended. Over one hundred
feet further were drilled, when at half pas,
on Wednesday evening, sudden rush
Of oil through the five inch and half tu.
bng, threw ont the drills and gushed up in
the air 40 feet above the surface of the
ground. AT the least computation it was
throwing from 20 TO 100 barrels m hour.
Above this mass of oil, the gas OF bezinc
rose in n cloud, for fifty or sixty feet. AS
soon as the oil commenced gushing forth,
all the fires Of engines in the neighborhood |
were Immediately exUuguished. AT / past
2, as a large number Of men aud boys were
around tho well engaged in saving the oil
the gas from the well which had spread in |
every direction, took fro from the engine
of well over 400 rods distant, when in a
second the whole air was in flame, with
crash and a roar like discharges from the
park of artillery.
As soon as the gas took fire, the head Of
the jet uf oil was in furious blaze, and
falling like n water fountain over the space
Of 100 feet in diameter; each drop OF oil
came down blaziug giobule of boiling oil.
At once n scene of indescribable horror
took place. Scores were thrown fiat and
for distance of twenty feet, and numbers
horribly burned; rushing blazing from the
hell of misfortune, sbrieking aud screaming
in ihcir anguish.
Ju,t within The circle of the flame, could
be seen four bodies boiling in the sceihipg
oil, aud one man who had been digging II
ditch tu convey the oil to n lower part Of
the ground was killed MS he dug, aud could
b. seen as he fell over the handle Of his
spade, roasting in the fierce element. Nh.
II. R. Rouse Of the firm of Rouse Mitchell
d Brown, Of the village of Enterprise,
Warren Co, gentleman largely interested
in wells in this locality, and whose income
from them amounted to $1,000 n day, wa,
standing near the pit and was blown TWEEN
ty feet by the explosion. He got up and
ran about ten or fifteen feet further, and
was dragged out by two men, and convey
ed To II shauty some distance from the well.
When he arrived not a yeslige of clothing
was left upon him except his stockings and
boots. lis hair was burned off as well as
his finger nails, his cars and his eyelids,
while the balls Of his eyes were crsped up
TO nothingness.
In this condition be lived nine hours
made lis will, leaving s 100000 to the poor
Of Warren county; the same amount to re-
pair the roads OF Warren county--to be
dlsbursed by the county commissioners,
and $500 year TO his iather-his only
living relaton--tor life. He died, howev-
er, without signing the will. His body
was taken on Friday to Weslfeld, Chau-
tanque county, and buried, as he requested
10y the side of his mother.
lu addition to Mr.. Rouse, the following
were'laken out of the flames dead:
Two Me>srs. Walker, brothers, of Clar.
on county Pa.
Wesly Skinner, engineer Of Dobb's well
from Wa,tsburg, Pa.
A man named Stevens, from Cattaragus
county. n. Y.
A Mr.. Judd Mason, residence unknown.
A boy named Albeit Gardner, from
Michigan.
The above were recognized. In addition
there ARE the skeletons of five Others yisi.
Bile within the circle OF flames, and rs man,
are missiug-strangels, who came to wit
ness the operations Of the wells 1t is sup
posed that number Of Others have been
hVru Al al hu ba ih
Of the we'll.
At the time Of the explosion, every thing
in the ghborhood--sixty OF seventy
rods--look fire, and shantics, derrcks, en-
gine houses, dwellings, were Mt once involv
ed III flames. Tho boiler of Dobb's well
80 rods from the original fire, blew W
with tremendous explosion, killing in
stautly the engineer, Wesley Skinner, ad
ding another intensity to the EVENING"
horrors. A. this time tho whole air wa,
on fire. The jet of oil rushing up fort,
feet was almost n pillar of hvid flame
While the gas above it the distance Of ON,
hundred feet, was flashing, exploding
dnshing toward the heavens, aud appnraut
ly licking lho clouds with its furious tongues
OF hra;. Al This time, during this tre
mendous combustion, tho sounds of the
explosions and hurnDgs were so trrmen
dous hnd continuous, but they could b,
compared 10 nothing but tho rushing o
q hurricane or u tornado through n forest
The hcnt of The tlre was so intense that
no on" could appronch within $50 feet with
ou, ocorchiug their skin or garments. 1t
was the most f'ightlul and yet, the grand
est pyfoiechncaI display ever vouchsaied
10 human being,
On Friday morning the oil WIS sill
rushing Up, on fire, with tho same regular.
i'y and speed, throwing it was calculated
at least 90 barrels an hour; covering an
immense space OF flaming Ola loss the
prcprietors OF the we'll from $50 900 loS25,
900 daily. No human power can extin.
gui,h the flames, and tho oil INST burn un.
III he we'll is exhausted. No pen cau dc
scribe lis hcrccnesS.--n tongue can doscrlb,
the n,rl htude OF its horrors