American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-01-18
Petroleum..

In 1859, a Connecticut Yankee. by the
name of Drake. came to Titusville, and
near this place commenced boring for a
vein of silver, which tradition said was
there. He was out of funds in a short
time, and regarded by most people as an
impOstor; but he persevercd. and, at the
depth of 40 feet, struck a flowing OIL
well of 20 barrels per diem, then worth
$50 per barrel. This created the widest
excitement, and, as new wells and new To-
calities became known, wonderful for
tunes were made in a day. and old farm
ers. fifty years behind the times. became
suddenly millionaires. AS a natural con-
sequence of money becoming SO plentiful
and wealth falling upon persons unable to
! judiciOusly use it. shoddyism in its worst
form was apparent everywhere. One or
two anecdotes will illustrate the effect
striking OIL" had upon some of these
people. An old couple, too impatient to
niture, lace curtains, ETC., into their log
| cabin. A blacksmith, having " struck
OIL" and who, instead of counting his
money, as formerly, by dollars, counted
it by hundreds of thousands, sent his
daughter to fashionable boarding school
in Philadelphia. One of the instructors
wrote to him that it was useless to keep
his daughter at school, as she lacked ca
pacity. The old man very Indignantly
wrote back, asking why they did not buy
capacity for her, If she wanted it. He
had money enough.
For six or seven years everything was
speculation. The oil business was not
carried on as legitimate one, but for the
purpose of making a fortune at one
stroke. From $50 a barrel, oil went
down so low that it did not pay to barrel
it, and it was at times even allowed to run
into the river. Then there were wells
which flowed more than 1000 barrels in
fxr,x,v fxyfr q w
pumps 100 barrels is considered much
more than average. OF course, in differ
ent localities, petroleum is found at differ
ent depths; but, as general rule, that
found near the surface is much heavier,
and consequently more valuable, than
that found deeper down.
improvements are constantly being
made in the machinery used in putting
down an oil well; but in the main, the
general plan is the same: First, a derrick
is built, 80 or 60 feet high,-much resem-
bling the lookout stations built for the Sig.
nal Corps during the late war, or the
rough observations on the seashOre. To
the top of the derrick is fastened pulley
block, through which the rope passes
that raises and lowers the tools. The lat
ter weigh about 900 pounds, so that
powerful blow is struck at every revolu-
through the details of boring, will state,
as soon as oil is found. tubing is set in,
and, if the well is a flowing one, the
owner is fortunate; and, if not flowing
well, pump must be putin, to be worked
by an engine. The fuel commonly used
in the engine the well itself provides in
The shape of gas. This is, to one seeing
it for the first time. something wonderful.
The "head" of gas is something very
powerful. There was an engine at one
end of the walls at Parker's Landing,
whose motive power was gas; no steam was
used, but the pressure of gas from the
well had the same effect as steam in run
ming the engine. Gas-wells, supplying
towns, manufactures. and private dwell
lings with fuel and light, are common
throughout the Oil Regions, and on the
shore of Lake Erie east of Cleveland.-
Cor. Chicago Tribune.