The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1865-05-17

TO meet him Unexpectedly in Chicago.
After We exchanged greetings, his first
question WAS
"What did you honestly think of Sc
cession while in New Orleans! p
'Do you know what was doing there
On your way to Mexico, were you not 2
"NO; corresponding for TIE Ii1JHHe."
His eyes expanded visibly at this in
formation, and he inquir,d with some
carne>tncss--
"Do you know what would have been
done with you ;f YOU had been detected p
81 have my suspicious, but, Of course,
do not know. DO you ?"
Eyes; You would have been hung"
------
Too MUCu "IIE."--'Hhe first flowing
well ever struck was ou the AIcElhennv.
or Funk farm, and was known as the
Funk well. Funk was poor man when
the well was sunk 1t was struck June.
1851, and commenced flowing TO the as
tunlshment Of all the oil-borers in the
neighbUrhood, at the rate of 250 barrels
day. Such prodigal supply of grease
upset all calculations, but it was conf
dently predicted that the supply would
soon stop. 1t was an soil creek hum
bug and those who had no direct inter-
est in the prosperity of the well looked
day alter day to see the stream stop
But like the old woman who sat down
hy the riverside to let the water run it.
self ont that she smight cross dryshol,
she waited in VAIN. The oil scontnucd
flowing, with little variation, for fifteen
months. and then stopped, bat not before
Funk became rich man But lunr be-
fore the Funk had given out. the wonder
III regard To II was o>rishadpwcd by Il
n,w :. n,.,iiun. Down ON tine 'l'arr farm.
the Philips well burst forth with strcm
o' two thousand barrels caly. Not to
| Toe outione 10y the territory down the
creek, the MciIhenny tract saw the rarr
farm, and went tia thousand better -
/ The Empire well, close to the Funk. sud
| denly burst forth with Il thousand barrels
daily, figure which subsequent flowing
wells had vainly endeavored to attain. -
The owners were bewildered 1t was
truly too much Of good thing The
tue value ofpelroleu,.. had not yet been
discovered and the market fer it was
limited. Foreigners would have nothing
TO do with the nasty, greasy, combustible
thing Our own people were divided in
opinion. Some thought it dangerous
thing TO be handled at arms length,
while others set it down as humbua in
some way or other, of which the commit
nlty should keep II shy us possible The
supply was already in advance of the de-
mand, and the addition of three thousand
barrels day was monetrou>, and not to
be endured. The price fell to twenty cts.
a barrel, then TO fifteen, and then to ten.
| CooperS would sell barrels for cash only,
and refused 10 take their pay in oil, Or in
drafts on oil shipments. Finally, il was
impossible TO obtain barrels ON any term,
for all the cOopcrS iu the surrounding
country could not make barrels as fast as
the tmplre could fill them. The owners
were IN despair, and tried TO choke oft
/ their confounded well, but it would not
be choked of They then built a dam
around ii, and covered the e!nh wi,h
grease, but oil refused to be dmmed. and
rushed TO tie stream, making Oil creek
/ literally worthy of its name For nearly
year it flowed, and then dropped 10 Il
pumping well, yielding about II hundred
barrels. Lately it stopped, but ON the
replication Of an air-pump it revived. and
now runs about fifty barrels daily
DerI7ct aad DrW