, 1865-02-26

10 e, T1ndeIn M Aumnnity.7he .-s1iecnn'
/ [frqn our Own Correspondent
FnA.H1s. Vcusrgo County, Pa., Fob 10.
That the eloquent lecturer had forgotten
petroleum, was the Presidents suggestion.
chatacteElstically made to Bishop Simpson
after listening to that able divine's lecture
On the leading features OF the present histo-
r'cal cta. And tho Bishop gracefully &C.
! know]cdgcd tho omission. Petroleum is not
indeed to be forgotten in the history Of this
| fourth year Ct the war. Already it has
reached product largely appreciab1a in tho
wealth Of the country, most welcome ac-
cession to our national finances in the midst
Of Our costly effort for the. salvation OF the
national life
And if in few brief sketches from the
Pennsylvania oil regions shall have some-
what to say Of Petroleum, it will be for the
reason urged In the Presidents remark to
the good Bishop, for there are others who
have forgotten Petroleum, to whom the
TRIBUNE comes daily, forgetfulness not
shared by the many WHO have already rcapcd
untold wealth In the olcagfnous placers OF
the new Oil Dorado of the Keystone State.
Other oil localities indeed exist. cvcn as.thc
miner among the gold Of California has been
distracted hy golden reports from multitude
nous localities, Which think have conc 1norc
or less TO include every State and Territory.
But cTcn as there has as yet been but one
California, go there has Us yet been DEVELOPED
but one oil region par excellence, and that
your readers can locate By taking down tho
map OF Pcnnsyls ania and placing tle finger
upon the region drained by the head waters
Of tic Allegheny, covering territory from 100
to 140 miles above PIttsburg.
And here word Of preliminary It Is casv
TO visit the oil region, and become an observer
ef facts and sights. It Is not so easy to sit
down and develop these to distant fcai]ers
even in outline, though sustained by alt r. mnns
ner and form Of careful statement, buttressel
by statistics, and stayed by the data derived
from shippers books and the rolls OF the Gov
ernmcnt assessor. Tell but ha1f the truth to
the calm and skeptical listener at q distance,
and stznightway you nrc set down US having
toll on the brnin," and are pitIcd as M ID.
cMrable, instead Of being trusted rs reliable.
With this confession Of the ordinary and un-
aToIdahle disabilities that pertain 10 the de-
| taller Of results Of Investigations hcrcaway,
T met oil far away to the westward. saw
1t on p1atiorm cars; heard Of It In passenger
| cars saW 1t In The speculative ewes. and
caught 1t dripping from the tor CUES ot my
fellow travellers many miles distant. And
ns yet The tidal wave oil the oil speculation has
scarcely brought one Ictlux blllow from tho
:. gicn Of the lakes, though for months 1t has
been returning, richly frcfghted to those who
in seaboa1d cities and towns, had not, like
lhehop simpson, forgotten petroleum: Vast
phia, New York, and throughout the East by
these have but begun.
am not now III the heart OF the developed
oil region: Ffanklln, Venango county, isonc
| Alle:g,hany River, 100 miles above Pittsuurg.
On tho tributary creeks above-on Oil Greek,
Cherry Run, Sugar Creek, Pot Hole Creek,
tSc.. exist the most developed portions Of the
| region, now filled with busy and abundant
hereaway, hnye been but lightly operated
upon, aud yet with such success as to be now
I calling capital and speculation from the FORM
CT tracts, with kcenncss borrowed from the
success Of the operations In the aboye.named
fields, who 'tlow Of wealth indeed steadily
goes on, In .it hands Of the fortunate pos
SCISSORS, the Example Of whose good fortune il
| seconded ty tho rich tokens hcEcawuy fur
nisbed. These arc the aspects OF things here,
whereof am to write.
But, first, Petroleum is no new thing. Bur-
nah has known 1t for ages In our own
country, indeed in al1 parts Of the earth, It
las l'etn familiar to mankind, though accrcd-
lied with few utilitarian qualities, or, at best,
the convenient NIT dium for empIrIcisin. Who
heard not years ago Of Magic Rock Oil. Gen.
c'ally it hns been found in very moderate
quantities, small pocket dischurging It's
ioul contents to the disgust Of the miner,
mixed with noxious and dangerous gasee, or
4 IN fniut, trick1fng, rrpulslVe fountain, set
down as Of no vaaue. In this Allegheny yai-
Icy its tokens have been familiar to the earli-
III eil cases striking the oil near the surface,
and generally while on some other 4ucst-thc
Under being only puzzled by his acquisition.
The world WIS not ready for petroleum. The
Eations Of ppaplc that sat iu the darkness OF
'aliow dips. rancid whale oil, were not
ready to sec >he great light Of kerosene.
1n passing, as slall, to speak Of wealth al
ready realized BY many, and the wealth still
| lying undsyeloped in these valleys. richer
than the gold Of California, it will be ntces
tcry for The teadcr to understand three prom
/. That the world il ready for petroleum
and that too much Of ii is not likely to glu1
!. the markets.
?. hat ii is no rnrc experiment to find i
III large AID immensely rcinune,ative qunntt
In whnt have to writc-
j. hat it has already had the test Of year,
as to eteadiness cf supply.
This amounts to the combined fact Whicl
to petroleum enterprises and in this let th
distinction be made bctA IN unhealthy spec
: u2ataon, whose undue zeal orcrtops ITSELF ant
the line where enterprise selzcs the rapid roat
| tc wealth and still kceps saSacity and pru
. dcnce In its company.
Perhaps It Is as we'll to begin my notes Jus
this little distance --1tsfde the present chile
. cent Of lhe oil rroe 81, and yet, In d regio'
i destined Itself TO be honey ey-comb.d with ol
E wells; shall THIS be able to prepare myse]
: come, fer In no Part Of the world have visit
cd is tho arithmetic SO strained for exprcl
c sicns Of quantity as here.
r To be pointed 10 the man lately poor pc:
= worth ttro millions o7.d half; to sit at dcpo
dining table beside bis quiet little daughter
md be told that o few years ago the Wcalt
J. Of the whole household would not hay
q bought her d new modern bonnet withou
stnlng 1. ~ nest family neal Is to get
rusty dwelling, in the rear Of which ia the al
? struck lie; :" to sec .'dad" still grubblug abou
e In faded and ragged blouse; t
Sc h. bis 4noha e1f1y iiy bssSrtha ssSSr TheEs 1sos
s hand to hand fight With want, AID never keE
E It lar from the household to sec the danst
4 | herself tic heroine OF the story {the rcjecte
= swain Is not pointed out) and then to llste
! to the subdued clank, clank Of the we'll tha
!, Garth ''dad's" THIRTY IRoUsASp poL1AI
D i income per 0nnun; this Is to visit the oil II
r Eion. TO sec little old fashioned town wit
= generally astonished and plnehed mp al.
smart dwellings going up sandwichcd Wit
houses Of IN nncient fayor that tell Of Il
old French settlers; to sec newly cstabltal
r cd depot set about with hugo greasy expanst
= Of oil barrels and barrels OF oil; to SEQ hui
u d 1fof two horfe teams streaming fn to I'D
c to the latter from the new and remote wells
l. to count up to one hundred and not have dor
d counting new steam engines in files along Il
:, plntftr1ns being unloadcd from the cara, I
d cumbcrIng the warehouses es suggestions
Il oil to ccmc this 1t Is to visit the oil region
n This is franklin, and they tell me that ha'
n secn nothing yct. The oil operations Of poin
further unAhe Wiley have 50 far got the sta
Of This now rapidly awakening section wh!t
IS is nl1cady giving tokens OF untold veal
&c along the immediate banks OF the Aucshn1
e ittcl1.
:. T..4 &l,fn .n3fl do To hntIT fE{fh NV 1rff