, 1866-08-08
THE PITHOLE FIRE.
From $4,000 TO $4,000 Barrels OF OH
NnFnca-27 Wells and Rigs Destroy.
cd-Losa of Property 3l35,00Os

cd-Losa of Property Sl35,00Os
From the Petroleum Record, Atg. al
Yesterday morning between tht hours Of
si1 ana seven o'clock one of the .nost de-
in the oil region broke out at well 43, on the
United States Petroleum Company's lease.
Holmden Farm, and rapidly SPREAD in alt
directions, destroying an immense amount Of
The eng inc at No. IS was being run by u wood
fire instead Of gas. as usual; the sucker rods
were being drawn fur the purpose Of making
come repairs, when spark from the engine
communicated with the escaping sas, and IN
q moment the flames shot 10 the TOP Of tho
derrick aud fired the tank. Mr.. IL. Lopcz,
the engineer, made every exertion to qucnch
the spreading fir, but once started II was
beyond the power OF human cxcrtion
as the oil In the tank ,Sas on iirc, tho
flames spread with fearful nlpilily, commu-
nlcatinE With a1l the nefghboring wells In an
incredibly, short space Of time: AL the
pany's tract were destroyed by fire, and all
those on the SumncrtkPratt truct On tlie west
side Of the creek, besides O number Of wclls
on smaller tracts and leases In that viciniyt.
This was the most productive and best pay
fails severely on the working interest.
We have gathered the following partlcu-
lars In regard to tic fire:
THOMAS NoLMnES FARM.
Well No,41, tBurchil) n. Runals, Super
iutcnaent, was entirely tsestroych-tlerr1ck,
engine, engine house, and three tanks, cou-
talnlng CO.. barrels Of oil.
Two wells on lease -i2; tank saved.
No. 90. new well, tanks containing 200 bar
ofWhtppie { Runals, owned onc-half inter-
est III the above wells.
On the United States Company's tract, No.
| &c, engine house and entire rig were destroy
Cd ed, If together with the tanks and 500 barrels
No. II, entire rig and tank.
No. -, rig aud tank.
No. 4s, where the fire originated, rig md
No. 20, with everything connected.
The number Of tanks destroyed on this
| lease was eighteen, containing 7,2250 barrels
| Of oil. Loss on the lease Is estimated at
st5,NO. But for the cyertinns Of Atr. Burch-
| III. Superintendent Of No. %, assisted by Mr.
Bonnall. the tank Of we'll 4e would have
| cd the flames from communicating with the
large sheds covering the immens. tanks Of
the United Statcs Company, containing
$1,000 barrels Of oil In that case the rcsult
would hnve been fri1htfll to contemplate
Every we'll on the ''tats'' would hare been
burned, and the fire would have spread far
beyond the boundaries Of the 1Tolmdcn and
Rocker farms. There Is no telling where it
would have stopped. The tank OF e, spoken
Of above, was sarcd by covering it with wet
blankets, MIR. Bonnall Carrying them to the
top when almost sulfocatcd with smoke and
flames. The e1"rts made by him cannot be
too highly spoken Of
The engine house Of No. 81, owned rsinci-
pally By Capt. Kimball, was pulled down to
The engines Of new IL and No. 20 arc not
INJURED. The latter will he started up to-
DID No. 4s was burned. Engine Injured
beyond repair. Tie well will be cleaned out
aud C1Std before starting up again.
| RoOKER FARM.
Three wells and rigs were destroyed On
lease II; two on lease Isl and one on lease
-. The tank ofthc last named we'll contaiu-
cd ECO barrels Of oil:
Nos. / and on Williams Reserve we're
burncd- No oil.
On the Sumner md Pratt tract eleven
wells were destroyed, rs follows: Two wells
one (thc Elwood) on the truct; one on los,
one On 100; and the old Fisher well, 1lO.
The Office and other buildings belonging to
tue, company wcsc destroyed, and I'LL the
engine houses, ensincs and tanks Of the above
named wells. This is the property of AIessrs-
Whipplc and Rnnals. Of Chicago.
The amount Of oil burned on this tract WAS
1900 barrels. This company also lost large
quantity Of empty barrels.
The Rocker Farm Company lost three en-
gines and two tanks. togethez with about
Loo barrels Of oil, and u large amount Of
other property.
Twcnty-sevcn wells were burned, together
with their entire rigs, with the exception of
one or two engines. Twenty or more Of
these wells were producing, md among them
were some Of the best wells in the oil region.
Tie entire loss in oil is between T. 600 and
1890 barrels :; Of this 5.250 belonged TO the
United states Petroleum Company, 1900 to
W'hipple 4; Runnals, Sumner IL Pratt tract,
and l,0G0 har1els to the Rocker Farm, Com
pany.
The engine house of the Miller Farm, Pipe
Company WIS torn down to prevent Tie
spread of the flames.
The entire loss of property will exceed
S135, 900. On the Ho1mden Farm the loss il
about St;5, 900. The loss on the Sumner &
, PEatt tract, Rocker Farm, will amount tc
over 30, ,00U and on the remainder of the
7 Rocker Farm the loss will exceed SiO,O0