Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1865-10-17
The burning of the Grant Well.

A Pithole City correspondent of the
New York World gives the following
graphic description of the burning of the
Grant Well, ON Monday morning of last
week:
AtNo. 4, Mo ey farm, within thirty feet
of the Grant Well, they were burning oil
to run their engine. The barrel into which
the oil was poured stood near by, and from
the barrel a small pipe ran to the engine
as "feeder." Around about were little
pools of oil, which had probably leaked
from the barrel and pipe. At IL o'clock
Monday morning the work of drilling,
which stopped at IL Saturday night, was
resumed. In some way the fire from the
engine communicated with these little
pools of oil, and in an instant the barrel
was ablaze and exploded, scattering its
burning fragments in all directions. The
gas from the "Grant" quickly ignited, and
with the rapidity of lightning, conveyed
the destroying element to the tanks, which
were covered by newly made sheds. The
roofs flew off, the tanks burst, spreading
their burning contents on all sides. En-
CINE houses, derricks, and the entire para
phernalia of the wells in the immediate vi
cinity were quickly in a blaze. The
scene can only be imagined. Two thou
sand barrels of oil ascending to the sky In
vast volumes of flames, and these meta
morphosed into thick and black clouds
of smoke; the cracking of burning pine,
of tall derricks, reports like cannon from
bursting housand -barrelled tanks sparks
| shooting like rockets through the black
ness of the smoke-clouds; engines, inca
pable of holding too much steam, bursting;
and the flames licking up the fieeting
brooklets of liquid, and with them every
thing that had life; the lurid glare of the
heavens, visible for many a mile; and,
not least, the breathing and splitting of
fire from the mouth of the well-tube as if
the monster in the earth, chained six hun
dred feet below, were writhing in agony
and madness because of his captivity flor
the flowing of oil and gas seemed only the
more intense under this ordeal Of fire.
all combined presented a picture which
only a Michael Angelo could portray.
Fortunately, only two thousand barrels
of oil were in the tanks when the fire oc-
CURED. 1t is particularly fortunate that
the fire did not occur during the day time,
while hundreds of teams are packed in the
roads leading to these tanks waiting their
turn to load. As it was, no life was lost,
nor has any one been Injured to our
knowledge. After the tanks were de-
strsyed, the pipe from the well fell to the
ground and continued to belch forth oil
and gas, which was at once swallowed up
in fame. For several hours this awful
but grand spectacle continued. The
flames shot along the ground slmulta1e-
Ously with the pulsatiors of the great
well, to a distance of thirty feet from the
mouth of the tube, with the rapidity of a
ball driven from the lannon's mouth, then
rolled upward, disappearing, lost in the
mighty masses of black smoke.
At length, about 10 o'clock, the pipe
was broken, a new cottheCtiOn made at a
distance from the fire, and that which fed
the flames conveyed into a receptacle dug
for it in the earth. The devouring ele-
ment, deprived of its prey, was thus lite
rally starved to death.
New tanks are being built. The well
proper is uninjured. 1t will be remem-
bered that on August 2, the day when the
well commenced to flow, it took fire and
everything was destroyed which would
burn, besides the burning of three men,
who happened to be at the well, SO badly
that death ensued.
The total loss in tanks and oil will hard
~ amount to sS0,O0J. The property was
insured in the Associated Companies in
New York for S29, 900.