Wilmington daily commercial., 1875-02-26
A Burning Well.

MIGHTY Gas JET FED FROM NATURE LABoBA-
TORY, THE EARTH-suMMER HEAT IN MID WIN
rEB-TREEs PUTTING FORTH THEIR BUDS.
| Nine rnilea from Tarsntum, Pa, is 8 well
which vas tapped so1as ten veefs ago, st 3
distance Of i,145 feet nsioT the surface. while
boring for OIL An officer of the signal service,
who has just visited the spot says
The we'll ia located in a hollow about three
hundred feet wide, between abrupt hills. Our
party came in the vicinity Of the well about nine
o'clock at night, having seen the vast light
floating in the sky on many dark night on pre-
yious occasions thirteen miles distant but when
we came in its immediate influence and saw the
trees ON either hand Lii mp, and their trunks aud
and branches silverel TO their tops by this burn
ing torch, the scene was beyond description.
On arriving at the ground we were met by hun
dreds of people from all parts of the country
who, like ourselves, flock nightly TO see this
great wonder. The first thing to strike the Wis
itor on arriving ID the great mass OF iine white
flame. of intense heat and brightness, the hol-
low rnmbling noise heard as the ontrushing gas
plunges into the atmosphere and lights all
around by its imposing brillancy. The iiane
OF this natural torch is about forty feet long and
fifteen wide, and keeps at these dimensions
night and day with striking regularity. Hence
tile light is both regular and constant.
The heat emitted BY so large body OF flame
is very great. The trees all around at proper
tional distances are budding, and the grass that
has not been trodden down by the throng OF Wis
tors is growing finely, and considering this is
mlwinter this circumstance will give you some
idea of the great heat | approached within
sixty feet of the flame, and supposed it to be at
that distance about l0i degrees. The place has
the character of camp-meeting at night, i'll
consequence Of the nightly crowds who congre-
gate there. The light is grand. You can see to
read with ease a quarter of Il mile from this
enormous gas jet, aud II uninterrupted by trees
and the wind of the road, reading could be done
at the distance of a mile and half The noise
as the gas rushes ont and s consumed il Won
derfrl. 1t struck me as very'much LIKE the hol-
low roaring OF mighty liver falling over Il dam,
uninterrupted and constant. This, together
with the light and heat fills the beholder with
awe and iuvoluntary leads him to reverence
that Being who holds the earth the air and the
sea in the hollow of His hand. The sound Of
its roaring can be distinctly heart at the distance
Of four miles
One OF the proprietcrs informed me that
negotiations are going on for the purchase of
this gas well by DR.. Hostetter Graf, Bennett
II Co., the Pennsylvania Salt Company, the
Columbia Company and others, who are study
ing the problem of utilizing this natural treasure
in their various enterprises. The gas is con-
veyed from the well to the distance OF about one
hundred and fifty feet by a six-inch metal pipe,
and discharges itself at the end of the pipe with
the percusslve force of steam. There IL another
we'll of less note six miles distant, at a place
called Saxenburgh, which also sends ont CON
stant supply of gas. | may mention tha5 the
tools are yet in this well, which, if drawn, would
no doubt allow a far greater volume OF gas to
escape.