New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-03-01
in and about the valley of the Kanawha. or tho

already apprised; and these bid fair to equal any
other in extent and productiveness. OF course,
| they will in time travel down the Ohio, as they
| ,eem TO be clearly related 10 the btuminOus coal
measures of the West, though the connection is
not clearly traceable. The most plausible hypoth-
ess yet framed to account for their origin SUP
poses the petroleum to have been produced or
driven off from coal-(or perhaps from sub
merged and oveFlad stratum Of vegetable re-
mains which has since been slowly transmitted
into cOal)--while that stratum was exposed to
the combined influences of heat and pressure;
and that this sweat of its fierce agony gradually
settled into certain holows or cregices Of the
underlying rock, where il has remained through
many thousands of years, ready to minister in
due season to the necessities and comfort Of
mankind.
| Some Of the wells, when frat opened, spout
oil TO a considerable distance above the surface;
but these are exceptional and their Juror ia soon
exhausted. In these cases. strong current Of
gas-generally iDiammable-is elected with ths
oil, either simultaneously or INTERCHANGEABLE. We
heard, while recently q visit to the northern
border of the oil region, of wells which, whom
first opened, yielded per day two hundred barrels
| (worth nearly $4,000, it being often most re-
luctauty allowed to run to waste for lack OF
barrels (Barrel-makiBg and the manufacture Of
boring and pumping machinery have sprung into
sudden and sigqql importance in tho valley OF tho
Allegheny Generally, however, the OIL fails %
rise to the surface even at first, but requires 70
be pumped from a depth varying from thirty to
several hundred feet. The oilmen insist that
these wells have thUs far rarely or never shown
symptoms of exhaustion, and that their product
has seldom materially diminished. Still, as nobody
seems to contend that the oil ia still in process
of formation, il must be evident that the subter-
ranean reservoirs, however e4tehsye, must
ultimately give out, though this may not be ior
generation.
OF course, water % well as oil collects in ths
wells and increases the labor or reduces the
profit of the oil.seeker. But the oil, being con-
-ideraby lighter than water, rises to the top VI
the water, aud q pump may be 50 rugged and
adjusted as to draw from the oily surface and
Leave tie aqueous ssbStratum undisturbed.
And, even when the pump sucks mp at oncs
water and oil the law of nature Aforesaid still
stands the o;l-seeker in good stead. He has
placed large open vat near his pump, and all
that his apparatus brings up flows into the 'as'
whence a faucet or plug near the bottom de-
charges water while another from near the sop
gives of OIL each in turn or both together az
convenience or necessity may prescribe
Tie suddenness with which large gains have
accrued to the few lucky bOrers mas naturally
turned the local brain. Tracts presumed to Do
rich in the promise Of oil have changed hands ~
fabulous prices: we heard of one poor, rocky
outlot Of ll6 acres which sold recently for $500,
but for which the then buyer has just refused
| $4,000 We know that in one instance tia
| owner Of poor bog of four acres asks 5000 for
the privilege of boring on 1.-THE borer to glvs
him half the oil. To bore "at the halves, and
give the landowner S100 bonus for the privi-
lege. is quite common. We heard of cases in
which an eager borer stipulated to give the
owner RiSs-dgdtkS of all the oil be might dis
cover; and another case wherein would-be
borer offered 70 give the landowner al the oil
in good merchandise barrels, painting one head,
but was suppIanted by rival who offered to
paint both Ee.is; but these cases are not wed
authenticated.
There is of course dark side to the picture.
We beard of q large company which has already
bored on seven different properties, but has NOS
yet obtained the FIRST spoonful Of OIL Hundreds
Of wells have been ana viii be dug where tbs
discovery Of oil seems morsiy impossible Boun.
titu as the yield has often been, there Las prob
ably been two dollars expended in ol-seeLins
for every dollar rs yet realized Still, the in
dussry and en- erprise of the oil region have re-
ceiyed an INN ense and benefcent stimulus Hay,
Vegetables ard other bulky products of Agricul-
ture. which have hitherto borne low prices in
the Allegheny Valley, and could hardly be trans
muted into money, are quick of sale at fair prices
since the oil fever set in; while the somewhat
culled but still ample timber Of the Allegheny
Valley is finding large and profitable home mar
kct through the construction Of buildings &C.,
and the manufacture of barrels, yats, and ma.
chnery.
Franklin, the rather seedy cOunty-seat Of w.:
mango, the central county of the Allegheny Valley.
is a village of two or three hundred houses
which has recently become a focus Of the OIL
mania. friend who recently visited describes
it as resembling in appearance some small sea-
port or roadstead filed with ships at anchor; tbs
lofty derricks Of the bOrers seeming to oyertop
every dwelling. Another month may SEQ another
locality installed as the fayOrite, but the work Of
boring and pumping viii doubtless 80 on and y
extended for years.