, 1865-03-15

ITCODe8 Inc TUE. In Hill AEaA NAGit| 4Aua
several wells have been sunk far up tbs steep
blutts, and hare proved Successful. There
appears to te no rule Ia the matter W1tho1t
large number Of exceptions.
THE HISTORY OF PETROLEUM on OIL cREEK.
The existence Of oil in the valley of Oh
7 Creek, in Venango County, PennsylVanla,
WaB known for very many Years. INA tnui'
ans, from time immemorlal, Tesorted 70 lAe
valley at stated 6easons to gather the OIL Tor
medical purposes; and the work Of procuring
it Wa5 Lrc{aced and concluded with dances
and other ceremonies. The oil bpbbled up in
mid stream In many places, aud WIS obtained
bT throwing blanket on the water, md,
alter 1t became saturated, squeezing the oil
into the vessels prepared to receive It. The
eutly settlers also used 1t as medicine In
cases Of rheumatism, and It WAS frequently
eoldip druggists shops for the same purpose
undtr the name Of Seneca Oil" An article
In the Massachusetts Magazine" for July,
1901, describes the oil springs in Hhnt was
then known as OIL Greek, and eays that the
American troops. in their marching that way,
halttd at the spring. collected tbs oil, and
great relief, and freed them immediately from
thc Rheumatic complaints with which many
Of them we're affected. The troops also drank
freely Of the waters, which operated as
gentle purge.
About twelve years ago some attention WIS
subject Of petroleum, or rock oil, and search
was made for It IN various directions. Among
other place OIL Creek became tile object ii
attention, aud company was formed to pro-
cure oil from tie oil spring, the existence Of
Which lad become known to n large number
Of persons: Nothing was done, however,
until, in 1865, Col. Drake, Of New Haven,
Conn.,, visited the valley, and set about sink
Ing. well On Watson's Flats, about mile
and half below T1tusyille. The first well
was unsuccessful, and another WAS sunk. This
was success. The drill struck an oil cavity
at depth Of seventy-onc feet, and, on the
tools being withdrawn, the oil rose to within
OF, aDd yielded at first four hundred, and af-
te1Wards Q thcusand ea1lons Of oil per day.
Az may be imagined, the excitement in the
valley WAS very great. Every one that held
lsnd in the vicinity Of the Drake we'll made
preparations for sinkin. wells on his own ac-
wells, rcserving to himself royalty Of from
pe.eighlh to one~quarter the oil. Derricks
were hastily put up, e." "spring polcs''
fixed, all OF the early we--:.. oesng sunk By
hand. Some Of The wells were successful, but
By far the larger portion obtained no oil at
all, or IN such small quantities as to be nnrc-
munetat!re. The demana WIS small, the use
TO which the oil was put being us yet very
limited. Still, several Of the udventurers
were making tair wages, when the discovery
Of 1oTln. wells rcyo1utionized matters.
Pumping oil at the rate Of five to twenty bar
reis day was discouragfpg process when,
al another well, the oil was running epouta-
neous]y rs many hundreds as the others were
pumping single barrels. The glut of the
market. caused by the flowing wells. and the
consequent depression in prices, rendered the
continuance III operation Of the pumping
wells losing Speculation, and nearly all Of
them were abandoned. The lessses Aed In
despair, In many instances leaving their ma
chinery behind them, and not stopping to
surrender their leases. Some Of the aban-
dontd ,ve2ls hare since been successfully
worked, mud more would be- but from the i'm
possibility Of getting at the holders Of the
old leases, and the rear to commence opera-
tions lest, at IN unreasonable moment, the
1essces should return.
TIE FENE WELL.
The first flowing We'll ever struck was on
the McEihinney or Funk Farm and WAC
inown as the Funk Well. Funk was poor
man whrn the well WAS sunk. 1t was struck
astonishmcnt Of gil the oil 6orcrs in the
neigAborhLod, at The rate Of $50 barrels a
day. Such prodIga1 supply Of grease upset
all calculations. but it was confidently pre-
dfcted that the supply would soon cease. II
was au "0u Creek hunbug," and those who
had no direct interest IN the well looked day
af'er day to see the stream stop. But, Ike
The old wo1nnn who sat down By the river
side to let the water rnn out that she might
cross dry.ehod, they waited III rain. The oil
continued flowing with but little variation for
| fifteen months, and tntn stopped, but not be-
! fore Funk became rcry rich man.
But, long before the Funk had given out,
the wonder in regard to it was overshadowed
| By new sensation. Down on the Tar FL. N
| tic Phillips Wel1 burst forth with q stream of
| 1900 barrels daily. Not to he outdone By the
| territory down the Greek, the McElblnncy
tact saW'' the Tarr Farm, and "Went it a
thousand better."' The Empire Wen, close
5000 barrels daily, figure subsequent flow
ing wells yaiply endcavorcd to equal.
The owners were bcwlldercd. It was trnly
"too much Of good thing" The real value
OF petroleum had not yet been discovered, and
the market for it vas limited; Foreigners
greasy, comhust1ble thing. Our own people
were divided In opinion. Some thought It a
dangerous thing, to be handled Mt arms length,
whilst others set it down a. humbug in some
way or other, Of Which the community should
keep as shS as possible. The supply WAS al
dition offs. 600 barrels day was monstroua
and not to be endured. The price fell to
twenty cents barrel, then to fifteen, then to
ten. Coopere would sell barrels for cash
only, and refused to take thelf paf. In oil Q.
In drifts against oil shipments. Finally, Il
1
for The coopers In the surrounding country
could not make barrels as fast as the Empirt
could I'LL them. The owners were in despair
and tried to choke OFT their COMPOUNDED well
but it would not be choked OF. Then they
hnslt dam around 1t, and covered the sol
and rushed into the stream, making Oh
Greek literally worthy its name. For nearly {
year it flowed, and thcn dropped to q pump
ing well, yielding about 100 barrels. Lately
it stopped, but On the application Of m all
pump, 1t revived, and ls now steadily increas
ing its product
| TUE SHERMAN WELL.
| The Sherman well. which was the ne1
great FLOWING we'll" was put down in th'
epring Of 1862. It vas sunk under great dill
cnlties. J. ". Sherman, who was the origi
nal owner, commenced sinking 1t on the Eos
ter farm. next above the McEllinney, will
Te,y limited means. his wife furnishing tn
money. After while it became necessar,
to procure an engine, but there WAS no money
to make the purchase, and two men, whts
we're in possession of the desired article, wort
admitted to share for the engine. Soor
after, when but few feet more were neces
sary to reach the supposed deposit Of oil, til.
fcnds were exhausted. A sixteenth interes
was 11ered for s1C0, and refused. Ultimately
it was slid for $50 and m old shot gun. 4
horse became necessary during the work, ant
slare was disposed Of for the animal. Al
last, when all the means that could be raised
BY borrowing or selling were about exhausted
oil was struck, and flowed at the rate Of ], ,5R
barlels day. The flow continued at this ra:t
for several months, when It declined to 70(
barrels. For twenty-three months the vel
continued flowing, and then 1t stopped. Fol
the first ycar the prop ietors made but little
i1any thing, owing to the low price Of oil and
the aiflcnlty Of getting it to market, but
during the second year, the market impEogcl
| II INV fnrfY1r HrHn tYoA II,
we'll now pumps from tListy to forty barfel'
daily.
On The east side of the Creek from Foster
Farm is the Farrel Farm. Farrel was poor
min, employed in hauling oil, and WIS offered
l. onc.eish'h interest In The land for $500. II
March, 1868, the Caldwell WAS struck on tha1
fa.m, not far from the Sherman WE'LL ant
flowed :, 200 barrels duly. Two monthsaft-r
wards, the we'll now known as The Noble ant
Delauiater, but then as the Farrell well. clos.
TO the Caldwell, struck oil. ard commenced
flowing ut The rate CT s, GOO barrels daily. Ths
like that Of q hurricane. For some days tht
| c:l ran to waste, there being no possibility Q
cont ollinE its tloW. As soon, however, as III
fury WAS spent, stop-cock was put on, ant
the floT reduced to Il stream OF The dimension:
| OF q two and i halfiucl tube.
| TRANSPORTATION OF OIL.
In the early days ofoil enterprise, and afte,
| the yteld LaQ pccome large, cohhfdcraole olA
cult!es existed in getting the oil to market
THERE were no railways 10 carry 1t OF, and The
only plau was t. float 1t down the Creek te
the Allegheny, and ship it thence By steamer
or fiat boat 10 Pittsburgh. When the Atlantic
and Great Western Railway WIS built to Mead
VILE, large ntrnber Of barrels we're hauled
across the country by teams to that place
nnd shipped thence to New York.
The supply Of fiRt boats on The creek ant
river was lar tco small for the requirements
Of The oil trade. When boats could not be hai
the oil barrels were formed into raft ant
lashcd together. In this way THEY we're float
ed or toWed down to the mouth Of the creek
where they we're either loaded on steamer
or towea 10 Pittsburgh. At times the grea
need was barrels. When this was the cas'