Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1865-03-23

weeks, which, by the old process would re
qure two months. AS soon as the drill
passes through the last stratum, and reaches
the reservoir below, there comes rushing
up to the surface a combustibe gas, fol-
lowed by a mixture of salt water and pc
trolcum-the oil is invariably accompanied
by salt water, and they are separated as
will be hereafter explained. This is the re-
alisatiOn of great expectations" the find
ing of the FL Dorado, the acme of petroleum
ambition, for every squirt from the well is a
greenback If the borer is lucky enough
to strike flowing well, he has nothing now
to do but to- stand still and see himself
grow fabulously rich that is, he has only
to secure the oil and send it to market But
flowing wells are a great rarity, and the
most sanguine disciple of Petrolia does not
expect such boundless good fortune. The
flow of salt water and petroleum to the sur
face, therefore is, except i'll flowing wells, of
very short duration, and the next work to
be done is the preparation for pumping.
The bore of the well is next enlarged by
what is termed trimmer" and an iron
tube, fastened together in sections of 10 or
- feet, is run down to the oil deposit. A
flax seed bag, which expands when wet, is
fixed at certain distance from the surface
within the tube, i'll order to prevent the sur
face water from running down. 4 plunger
or Waived piston is next inserted in the tube,
and this being attached to the engine, the
work Of pumping commences.
The old method of pumping oil is On the
same general principle of ordinary water
pumping, and requires no explanation but
Yankee ingenuity has lately invented "a new
process, which will probably soon be gen
orally adopted Two tubes are inserted in
the well, and by powerful force-pump the
air is forced down one Of them, and the oil,
in consequence of the pressure of the air, is
forced up the other tube in steady stream
The flow, by this method, is much more
steady and of greater volume than by the
pumping process, and it has been success
fully applied to many wells that had failed
to yield oil in the old manner. The petro-
leum, as before remarked, is invariably ac-
companied by salt water. AS it reaches
the surface this mixture is carried by con-
duits into large wooden tanks, in which the
oil rises to the surface Of the water and is
drawn off into barrels, when we have crude
petroleum the oil before undergoing the
refining process.
| As before mentioned, there is one chance
in half dozen that the borer will strike
| OIL and that the proportion of wells that
| give permanent flow even when success
full for a while, may safely be estimated in
like manner. There are hundreds of wells
along Oil Creek that at first gave an abun-
dant supply of petroleum, yet to-day they
are as dry as powder horn. And in the
Mecca oil region of Ohio, which three or
four years ago was the centre Of attraction,
there is not at the present time a single
well that is much more than paying expen-
ses, and not one in hundred of those that
at any time gave great promise, is now
pumping. Within the last year, however,
a number of played out" wells-to use
the expressive term in use hereabouts-
have been recuperated by ingenious pro-
cesses and patient labor, are now abund-
antly repaying the work expended upon
them. As an instance of what may be ac-
complished in this way, as well as to show
the persistency and determination Of oil
seekers the following circumstance may
be mentioned
Mitchell 4 Allen, Philadelphia oil com
pany, obtained the leases known as the Ce-
ment wells, on the Buchanan farm. This
well has already been tried and abandoned
by several practical oil l-searchers, and was
pronounced worthless The Philadelphians,
however, thought differently, and went to
work with a will to demonstrate their the
ory As an other instance of the pertinacity
which is given to a man by the hope of
gaining good well, the following is rela-
ted:
Mr.. P. Haines was boring a well also on
the Buchanan farm, and had every prospect
,f 'pf,, FOL rba,,
going through the last stratum of rock his
drill became detached, stuck in the rock
several hundred feet from the surface, and
man was never more completely in fix "
than he--and so was the drill But he was
plentifully endowed with pure Yankee per-
severance and industry, and went to work
to remove the drill-a seemingly hopeless
task For fifteen months Mr. Hams labored
assidiously with this object, and his pa
tience and industry were at last rewarded |
by success--his troubles were healed by |
the gentle soothing of "a hundred barrels |
a day"
Since the great commercial Importance !
of petroleum became known, the discoveries |
of oil have been wonderful Western Penn |
sylvana was the first, and still is the great |
est oil producing region, but the oleaginous
compound has since been found to exist in !
nearly half the States and Territories now
within the Union, and probably will also |
be found in those now under the dominion, |
when jeff. Davis and his clan are made to |
see the folly of chasing the igaus fatuus of |
independence, and so to boring for tangible
petroleum. The Oil Creek region is the |
favorite with practical oil men, for the rea-
son that the chance of success in boring |
here are better than in any other locality |
yet discovered. But throughout all Wes-
tern Pennsylvania the Petroleum has
reachedfev heat. Wells are being bored, |
land bought up at fabulous prices, and the
people, who for years have been content to
plod as frugal and industrious performers
are dazzled by the prospect Of fabulous
wealth. In Clarion and Fayette counties
rich wells have been obtained, and in
Washington, Lawrence, Beaver, Butler,
Crawford, Erie, Green, Indiana, Clearfield
and Elk counties, oil has already been OBJ |
tanned, or the sinking of wells is in pro-
gress. In these counties the farmers have
all put extravagant prices on their lands |
and even then are careful to stipulate that
certain percentage Of the prospective oil
: 81, n Al