Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1865-08-24
BURNING OF AN OIL WELL.

was SO unsatisfactory tnat dVdil Hyo'H
Of the earliest moment this morning 10
write you more extended account es-
terday morning, about 10 o'clock, a new
well that had been tubed the day before on
the Holmden Farm, and on lot 70, near the
northern line Of the farm, began to be
pumped. 1t was situated on the West side
of Pit Hole Creek, between it and the "sec-
ond bottom" After 30 minutes pumping
the well began to yield at the rate OF 800
or 400 barrels in "a hours The well would
have flown that amount without further
pumping one hour after they began. 1t Is
deemed advisable, however, topump well
that begins to flow, on the doctrine that ag-
itation does it good. As the owner OF the
well had no idea what they had when they
began to pump, no tank was prepared Tor
the reception of the oil 1t was consequent
ly, pumped out upon the ground. During
the day considerably over 100 barrels had
been pumped upon the ground, filling all
the little pools, creeping among the grass,
gliding gradually down the creek bottom,
and along the bluff 10 or 20 rods. Such
things had been done before, and no serious
apprehensions of danger were felt
! Crowds of people visited the well during
the day, for such remarkable well was
the great sensation of the day. 1t promis-
ed to be the largest of all the mammoths on
! Pit Hole. At various times there were
| from 80 to 100 persons present. About u
| o'clock last night, large number of peo-
! pie were prasent and half a dozen were on
! the derrick and others wers ranged about
at various distances. Your correspondent,
! providentally did not happen to be Of that
number, but was at the moment about 30
rods away. My attention was suddenly ar
| rested by an explosion as loud as a good
! sized cannon would make The first i'm
/ preston was that some blasting operation
had taken place. but Immediately on turn
ing about the scene presented was before
me in all its awful grandeur. Suddenly as
powder ignites, suddenly as lightning from
the skies, there swept up from the earth.
from an crea of threefourths Of an acre Of
ground, which the oil had covered, fam
ing, kissing, bowling frespout that rose
nearly 100 feet into the air. the whole frey
mass surmounted by thick black pail Of
smoke, as from hundred-throated furnace
Above the high tree tops it leaped as if
springng in impotent fury at the very
skies
Everybody had heard the explosion, and
in amoment, everybody saw the frey demon
overshadowing the creek. Lot No. 10 is
but twelve or fifteen rods from the tanks of
the famous Holmstead well, in which were
thousands of barrels of oil stored away.
One hundred rods further down the creek
were 49, 600 or 10000 more barrels of oil
stored in huge tanks, near the Frazier and
Twin Wells. As the flames mounted up
ward and ran into every nook and Granny
where a little pool Of oil had been formed,
everybody expected, in moment, to see
the whole creek bottom a boiling lake of
fire.
Instantly upon the explosion the people
ran IN every direction, some toward the fire,
others from it. Men looked excited and
alarmed. The few women in the crowd
cried and already saw their own friends
among the many that felt must have been
caught in the whirlpool of fire and dragged
down with hungry fury to an awful death
Running in the direction of the fire, met
three wretched men that had barely escap-
ed from the flames. One of them howling
in agony, 40 my God what shall | do
what can I do" had his clothes wholly
burned from his body. His back and breast,
and legs We're brown, with enormous fire
blisters hanging to the skin, while his hands
were burned to the bones At the time of
the explosion he was sitting in the derrick,
and III running through the flames, fell
down with both hands plunged into the
burning oil. He was able, however, t.
leap into the creek, fortunately not cover
ed with the oil, and thus barely got out Of
the kissing, cracking blaze His name
was Lucious Kingsley, of Syracuse, \. y.
On the heels Of Kingsley was another
man, bleeding and burned, and holding out
his charred hands to the passing, frighten-
ed crowd Still another man. bleeding.
bowling and fearfully burned. followed
The alarm was 50 great that neither Of
them could tell how many others had shar-
ed their fate or suffered even more by burn
ing on the ground. They reported as many
as fifty persons having been in the immedi-
ate vicinity of the well when the explosion
took place, and at least half of these had
been probably burned to death on the
ground.
The CONSERVATION for ten minutes was
immense. Millions Of property were in
peril, and lives already lost Immediately
squads of workmen were organized. who,
with shoves and spades worked upon the
outer edge of the fire to stay its progress.
So soon as the Fire Demon had licked up
the oil on the ground it began gradually
to die out on the borders, and finally, in the
space of two hours was wholly contented
at the well. Engine house, derricks, tanks
and evergreen trees had been burned The
fire was still roaring at the mouth of the
tubing.
The oil and gas in immense quantities,
in consequence of the great vacuum pro-
duced at the bottom of the well, poured
forth only to leap into furious flames, while
the right portion Of the tubing dripped with
liquid fire. During the night men laborcd
to devise some plan for its extingushment
At length three pieces of tubing, screwed
together were, by means of a funnel, run
into the mouth Of the tubing whence the
oil issued in flames, and finally fastened, SO
that the oil was conducted forty or fifty
| feet further of. By the free use Of wet
blankets the fire was at length subdued at
o'clock this morning. when shout arose
! from the men engaged as if a victory over
the Rebel boards had been gained.
In the meantime it was learned that none
had been burned alive and that but six
were seriously injured These were Luci-
us Kingsley, of Syracuse, n Y.,not expect
| ed TO live though there is hone CnrtiS