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

created such a sensation few months ago. Rot NJ
million or so of dollars which he kept locked up III
his bonse The recent capture oil most Oh inc
L. Tho carried off third of his treasure, tying
,,I INC the whole family while they Tansacked
a. ,,ro,ises has revived the interest in the affair
al o,,,rvbody has some story to tell of how the
rohbers swindled one another, and spent the money
almost as fast as Johnny Steele wasted the fortune
re cot from the McClintock farm near Oil CITY, ana
how every one of them now wants to turn STATE ,
evidence, except one who has not been caught AZ
one time the production of the Bennington farii
greatly declined; but some good veins have been
struck this season. and the yield now Is about 40o
barrels day.
All the way I'D from Petroleum Center TO Illus
vile. ten miles, the valley abounds with wells pump
ing from 10 to 80 barrels New ones are Dorou
than the old ones give ont but the production Oh inc
old fields is steadily declining, and the average VI
each well is also growing smaller ana Smaller d"
requires great deal more labor ana more WeliS "
give thousand barrels of oil now than 1t did year
AGO but as new fields constantly discovered inc
aggregate yield of the oil district is increasing SU
November the daily Weld of the whole Venango re-
zion was 8, sOOlbarrels. In January 1t was ll,OU;
in Aprl it had fallen to $500; by the first OF June
Mr. Blakely of The TitusriHe Herald, whose careful
statistics have very high reputation in the DIS
trict. at 100. So you see the revival i'll the OIL
trade of which we have heard so much during the
last three months is revival rather of activity and
Of prices than of productiveness. There are fewer
signal failures than there used to be- but there are
no more of the great Observation-Disclosures wells
and the average yield of each grows smaller and
smaller. This of course is perfectly natural. The
Accommodations of gas imprisoned with the oil, when
drove the LIQUID through the crevices into the wells
whenever a vent was found, have been escaping all
these wears through a million wells. Hundreds OF
wells. too have been flooded with water from
abandoned shafts, and the oil, it is supposed
has been driven back from whole districts
You know that when q well is bored
water is always struck before the oil, and
unless it is kept out by constant pumping
or better still by properly arranged casing, 1t VIII
swamp everything. When well is given up, tho
pumping ceases and the casing, If there is any, II
withdrawn. The result is sometimes the ruin OF
whole neighborhOod. They tell stories of men pay
ing $4,000 for a well, and the next day belnl
drowned OUT forever by an accident to neigh
boris casing Then again. in fayorte localities the
wells are much too close together, and undoubtedly
draw from each other. Owners are beginning To
exact from their leSsees some conditions designed u
correct these evils; but there is still lamentab'
want of system, and the valuable resources of Thu
wonderful region are being rapidly wasted.
1t used to be thought that oil existed except il
| the bottom lands along the creeks and rivers; bu
since those localities have become exhausted o
drowned out people have been boring on the hills
even ON their SUBMITS, and it is now understood
that the oilbearing stratum has no relation to tn
topography of the surface if you reach the thlr'
sandstone it makes no difference whether you Dor
in hill OF in a valley, only if you 90 into the valley
you reach the rock sooner. So the activity alon
Oil Creek now is principally on the hills, and tn
wells of course, are cOrrespondmgly deeper tina
they used to be in old times. Those on the Woo
Farm are 900 feet deep. The oil belt is supposed
stretch in anOrth-east and southwest drecuon,andS
far as present developments enable TO judge may
said to extend from Titusyille to Emlenton. Blu
there are continual breaks and irregularities, ant
though your land might be right in the belt, yo
must not be sure of finding oil Science has given II
rules, but they have proved guess work w
NAV vet learn bow to sink our wells with reason
able assurance of success but we have not learned
vet. Meanwhile offenders are roaming over Tho
country and selecting sites for the credulous, for
with their rod Of witch-hazel
and smellers who put their noses to the ground anc
pretend to scent the petroleum away down under tho
third sandstone. l heard of poor man who wa
persuaded to put down twelve wells by one o
these cbarlatans, and he never got a drop of OF
from any of them. 1t is a curious fact, however
that at Pleasantve where all the excitement of TIN
oil region now centers, the first good well was dis
covered by spritualist who processes to have beer
guided by the spirits. Whether he was or not, no
body seems to care, but the whole country is rushing
to the spot and there will be city there before tn
end of next week. The success of the borings n
Pleasantvile has not been so splendid as at SOM
other places but there has been absolutely no failure
overv we'll has produced. and all but two hav
welded handsomely. / shall describe tins region t
You hereafter People talk of nothing else and ever
cony eyance going in that direction carries crowds
eager operators D. h u H.