New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1868-08-06


IN J,,,o,o,irg the production. On leased ground
tboro would be no profit to the worker in two or
tbroe barrel well but rs the Reno Company have no
rovaltv 10 nav. they may find their advantage III
these moderate operations Close 10 their property
IA the Hasson we'll which now yields about lOO par
rels n day and at one time gave 400 1t IS flowing
WILL and has been in operation eight or nine months
The Iackawanna Company has several wells here
Welding moderately but one of them has given out
since the Hasson well was sunk. You get at theSe
various wells by rough road partly coIduiOy'
which asCends a wild glen-a stony, broken 'f"'N
full Of deep ruts and mud-holes, reminding you %
the extempOrized roads which our armies uSeu ~
make in the field. few teams are employeu 10
bring the oil down to Reno Station but most u ~
conveyed directly in pipes TO Oil City, mile ana
half or two miles distant over the hills The wells,
~ Won know give out an abundance of gas, and this
ia used IN generate steam for the pumping engines
some companies burning other fuel whatever,
others usnp little coal. The pipe which brings the
gas from the well passes directly into the furnace
and is there perforated with row of large holes,
from which the flames issue in fierce jets.
Down again after climb over these wooded hills,
the home of countless rattlesnakes and copperheads
/ took the cars once more, and in few minutes was
at Oil City. 1t was night when l arrived, and the
great fire which laid third oft in ashes had burned
itself out only few hours before The railway
passes through the center of the ruined district ana
the piles of blazing timbers all around US hgteo UP
the sky and the towering hills with htIuI glaIe'
and threw out the great receiving tanks ana long
rows of black scaifolding into strange reheI lno
locomotive crept through the emDers cautiousiS'
stonping every few rods while one ran ahead to
see if the way was safe, for the ties had
been on fire, and the rails even were
al leo vCOu
was not greater for right here in the midst of shan
ties and platforms dripping with oil there is tankage
for over l35OOOOO gallons and the houses are light
wooden buildings which burn like finder. Yet only
one tank burst and that was nearly empty. In TACT
il is only when these iron receivers are empty that
there is much danger and they therefore usually
kent full Of either oil water, or BOTH FIRE theh
cannot heat the iron enough to open the joints AS
an additional precautiOn the roofs are sometimes
covered with turf and l visited receiver at OH
City entirely under ground. respectable hotel.
good bed and pleasant landlord were comforts for
which / was hardly prepared, nor had expected
to SEQ such a pleasantlOoking street OF dwelling
houses as that's which runs along the summit
of Cottage Hill, the fashionable quarter OF the
town. But Oil City has arrived at maturity
and has more time for the amenities of life than 1t
had in the busy years when it was getting its growth
Now it grows no more Built on both sides of Oil
Creek at the point where that famous stream joins
the Allegheny River it is the great shipping point
for an extensive producing district though it has no
important wells of its own Here in the seasons OF
high water fat-boats transfer their loads brought
from the upper part of the creek and river to larger
boats bound for Pittsburgh, while at all seasons
thousands of barrels are sent off by the Allegheny
Valley Railroad to Pittsburgh, and by the Atlantic
and Great Western Road TO New-York' Buffalo
Cleveland and other points The greater part OF the
freight of course goes by rail- Therver IS favontC
route but il is frozen in Winter and nearly dry II
Summer. ooh there's nothing like good river
said a prominent shipper, only just when you want
itthe darned thing wont 60" Oil City, therefore has
suhstantla basis of prosperity which will enable il
TO hold its own as long the Yenango District con-
tinues to Weld. 1t has twice much tankage as
any other point the aggregate capacity of the yari-
Gus receivers the LIST of August being 3l14lO par
rels of 4S gallons each. Next comes Tideoute. with
$4,000 barrels then the Miller Farm, on Oil Creek,
six miles from Titusville, with $1,000 and Boyd
Farm at Petroleum Center with $1,000 The total
tankage of the district is 1,064,5OO On the lst OF
April it was $50 OOO the LIST of January, 76iO and
on the LIST of July last year, 100000, These hgures
will give YOU some ideal of the recent development
of the trade The quantity of oil now in tank is
about $4,000 barrels and the whole amount Of stock
on hand about $4,000.
If say that Oil City Is not now the horrible mud
hole that it used to be- and that some neat houses
have grown up at one end of it, pray don't under
stand me to mean that it is by any means pretty OF
pleasapt The creek bottom in which it stands is
filled with frightful collection Of shanties all reek
ing and stained with smoke and OIL the old houses
are black and the newest dingy; the streets are
muddy, with a horrible oOze; the sidewalks are
spotted with ol-puddles; there is pervading odor
of smoky lamps, and through tho middle of the
place. crossed by several bridges runs the greasy
crock its waters shining in the with all the prls-
matte colors and pools Of black slime and filth gath
ering in the eddies by the piers Yet above this
nasty town the glorious hills, with the little plank
houses propped against their sides rise so beautiful
and imposing that the ugliness of the prospect is
half redeemed
The production of oil in the immediate neighbor-
hood of Oil City does not exceed $50 barrels day.
and as we 90 up the Creek we find no very valuable
farms till we reach Housewife, distance Of -four
miles The bottom lands however wilderness
of derricks which remind you of nothing much as
of shipping crowded into some great harbor. Per
haps not one in ten of the wells are in operation
The Others were abandoned long ago failures, OF
the supply was exhausted, and now the frames are
black with decay the timbers dropping apart the
sheds have tumbled in and fragments of rope dangle
from the pulleys at the top like the remains of some
rotten old gallOws. There are no very remarkable
wells at Housewife, but there is steady aggregate
production Of LOO barrels day. Three miles fur
Their up is the Story Farm which, understand, has
been very successful, in pecunary sense, though
great deal of money sunk IN the attempt to make
it so in 1861 and 1862 1t is about 800 in extent
is owned by company in fee and not more than
Onefth of its territory has been developed On this
portion there are about 30 wells in operation, the
largest of them the Blocker we'll yielding 100 barrels
day and all the others together about 800 or $780,