Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1865-03-22
OIL MntterE.

OIL Matters.
Some of the best indications of oil in
West Virginia are said to exist in the coun.
ties of Gilmer and Doddridge. Oil springs
we're recently discovered on two different
head drians of Cabin run-s branch of the
North fork Of Hughes river. Some prac
teal oil men who have recently explored
Doddridge snd leased and bought property
there, say that the geological character of
several head wales of Middle Island creek
in Doddridge is so ideuiicalIy similar to
that of Oil ard Sugar creeks in Venango
county, Pa, that we've man transported
from one county to the other in his sleep,
be would not discover it when waking up.
friend writing to us from New York,
says:
"HOu. ]. B. Blair and some friends are
here on oil business1-rJohn s. CSrlile also
was here few days ago, trying to sell
some oil territory.
"There is at present morbid tendency
among capitalists here to buy up large old
surveys OF West Virginia lands. Not one
in ten of those large tracts can now be held
under its original title. Your own land
sbarpeTs, and to some extent the pioneer
settlers, have swallowed up every portion
of them worth having.
"There are upwards Of 700 oil compa.
nice in Philadelphia, 200 here and about
100 in Boston. ard daily increasing. There
il innd enough in MiS market alone for
four times as many more companies.
The depression in gold puts damper
IN Lot ina hn
OF currency here is truly incredible"
A correspondent of the New York Times,
travelling through this State, who was at
Wheeling few days ago, writes letter
to that paper, from which we clip as fol.
lows:
In West Virginia, and at some points
near Marietta, Ohio. oil is got in connec.
ton with salt springs In general, how
ever, the boriUgs have not been sufficiently
deep to reach the brine. The oil wells of
West Virginia and Ohio seldom reach 500
feet in depth; in Pennsylvania they ofen
run down TO 700 to 800 feet. What effect
may be produced by sinking to this depth
remains to be seen.
The first discovery of this strange pro.
duct dates back beyond the memory of
man, if not the records of history. 1t is
known that the Iudians were accustomed
to gather it from the springs aud use it |
incidentally. For very email quantity of |
IT the early white settlers were wont to pay |
almost fabulous prices. Al length they |
acquired n knowledge Of the localities:
spread their blankets over the surface, and,
wriDgiug them out, collected the npateut
medicine" of the day. They bottled it aud |
barreled it, yet never thought seriously OF |
digging wells TO obtain it for expectation
il quantities until about five years ago.
Then few wells were sunk 20 to so feet,
aud the oil dipped up with "the Old oaken
bucket which hung 10 the we'll" The war
nipped the inciPlcut excitement, and let
We-tern Pennsylvania get the start of IVES.
tern Virginia.
The latter, as she was frat in the field,
is coming up in the race as last as can be
expected. Fresh discoveries are aupounc
ed every day from the valleys of the Great
Ksuawha on the south, TO the lower epd of
the Pan handle" on the north, and how
much further in both directions it were
impossible to say. Land is changing hands
30 rapidly, either by lease or sale, that the
printing of blanks has become almost a
business. AT every prominent point the
shingles" of land agents are hung out
Near the oil springs lands have run up in
PA'St iA"lu Ecu 10 Que uunuFeu tnlu, and in
all the western counties of this State from
two to four fold. TakiOg the belt of thirty
miles back OF the river think it probable
that one fourth has already changed hands.
At every imaginable rate, from $25 per acre
upward.
word about wages. Skilled mechau
les are usually paid from SIS to ST per day;
engineers from So to 81, aud common la
borers about 50. Companies usually make
arrangements by which their men can yet
boarding at Sc or 81 per week.
Very amusing stories are often told
nbouI the resident farmers, who find them.
selves uoUplussed ny coming iuto posses.
sion Of so much money all at once. The
poor fellows were not accustomed to han.
die such huge rolls OF bank paper; and in
some cases the first step is to plunge over
head and ears into extravaganza. The
greater number, however, are described as
sensible men, who look upon the discovery
as only temporary, and expect to get back
their lands, after the exhaustion OF the oil
for mere tritis. As some of the wells
have already given out. the springs being
tapped by adjoiuing boriugs, there is appa.
Tently some reason for their great e1pecta
tions.
But the men who talk of the oil excite. |
ment as humbuG, and oil men as swiud
lers, ought to come and see tor themselves.
10 truth. It is great source OF natiouAl as |
well as Individual wealth, the extent of |
which is far beyond our calculations.