Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-09-24
For the Free Press and Times
Pennsylvania.

- shiEk the fine scenery they bury US in
% cut, Just as the view is opening they ru
Is under hill, when We long to look from il
), crest; they show US the dingy rear of th
d pretty towns; they vex our souls with g,im
d rnerings OF a stream. caught through th
= trestle-work OF bridge. But this roa
has no choice but ID follow the mighty
tortuous, Jagged. crack, forty miles long o
80, through the Alleg ghany range. at tn
bottom of which runs the west branch O
the Susquehanns. The mountains crow,
so close upon the stream. as almost t
= choke 1t out OF being they swell abrupt,
up so high as half to shut out the sky; the,
are green to the tops. and broken up b,
crOss-cleavages into enormous masses be-
tween which great gorges run up in all di
, rections, each one possessed by tumblins
; creek. The road crosses and re-crossps th,
river to fnd foot-hold the river itseli
f makes so many curves and turns that il
seems multiplied into labyrinth of streams
We sat at the door Of the rear car. anG
sometimes We broke rules and sto,J on the
platform, bresthless with delight. A. these
grand scenes rushed past US. A. We wound
up the gorge. the Slsquehsnns isindled
from yearly nalf mile in breadth 20 a
brook that boy could leap.
can best compare the impression left by
these stupendOus viexs. - swiftly chan sing
and passing, to that Of some orchestral
creation. say II ;aovement OF WaEuer's,
crowded with stormy and majestic harmonic
The stream gliding through. w5g.i symbol
izc the theme, supplying thread aad Civ
ing unity to 1t ali. A. with the orchestra,
the great drawback was the lack Of time to
mountains recede and allow little valley.
which is occupied by an inviting hotel.
One would have liked TO stop there, and,
getting on a raft, to glide down 10 the end
of the gorge, in leisurely style, come back
1 by rlil-sleep a. the hotel, aud then do it
over again. till the whole region VA COM
pretended
The gioriols show Was too sOJa over Ne
emerged aPln the rolling land drained by
the Areg ghanv, which, - r,ear t. the figure,
might ,ypiiv the Strauss waitzss and
"Amarylls At Warren. We left the
main road and dived into the oil country
We were in search OF Plthol. Nenlu1, Co..
whion the centre Of oil production.
When we mentioned 10 friend on the
train where we were going, he loOket a
/ i.t5le surprised. and said there was only one
man in PithOle. We nqlired, was it
Col d. - mo it was charlie Someone"
well, We sad, Col. d. was living there
yesterdays 50 there are probably Two lnhabi-
tants, but We felt little dashed and still
more 20 when. on reaching TitGsville, We
found no one awaiting Us. The Col. had
promised TO be on hand to escort Us over
the twelve miles c. road. for PlthOle is
twelve miles from everywhere, except hen
it Is fifteen. The lookout was dismal. 1t
was nearly dusk, the roads were yilialnous;
neither we nor the surly driver Of the only
wagon We could raise. knew where We
were going 10 and We inferred FROM the
Colontl'> absence that we were not expect
ed.l cannot tell by what delightful chance
We discovered, at the last moment. that our
host being i'll had sent q friend. who was
awaiting Us at the wrong depot but 20 it
was, aud som after merry greetiDgs. we
divided GGr party between the two vehicles,
and started with good heart on our long
ride. We were some hours on the rough |
and billy road, and only once passed an in
ha5iiei place. When a; length the sub |
urbs Of Pithole' were announced We could |
only see through the gloon derrick Ortwo, |
or dark lOw-lying >hsnty and the main |
business street and ''che hotel seemed |
only 20 groyei in indstinct decay. iiil at /
last desperate plunge down the very |
worst hill in the land brought Us into the |
CHEEKY light and welcome OF the c5lOnel's |
house.
Seen BIZ daylight, Pthole became intelli-
gible Fifteen years ago or 50, IN the ear
Is DAYS of oil-aow. specializing company,
With well watered stock. began boring here,
by way of making a show OF activity, and
50 p0cSeiing the money OF creiUlnGs share
holders VITA better grace. They neither
wished nor meant 20 strike oil, and - incur
the trouble of making dividends, ana great
was their vexatiOn when Ii burst out on
them in u torrent, at the raie ut twelve
hundred barrels dsY Then the rush be-
gan derricks rose thick a. mastS in New
York harbOr the earth was TId1ied with
wells H1ndred-barrel wells were common,
ten barrels day NOT worth notice. They
showed me business directory OF Pthole at
its zenith. There were nearly tws thousand
names It, postOlAce was one ii the larg-
est in the State There was an opera house,
a theatre. several hotels. salour~ without
number. Col d. told Us graphic tales of
the fi-rce activity IT the place ptrs ui which
he was II z man wIta a lighted eigar .saunt-
cred 10 among the dersickS. wti,h presently
were pillars OF fame in a iaKe ni burning
oil. or II q hurricane ratified taem down
like ninrpins, Ii made hardly an hours
pause in the work. A. soon a. the fire was
out. vr the wind dawa. up >prans The der
Tcks agaio, and the supply 81 9ii seemed
unlimited Or COURSE there vas ;hs mad
dest speculation, and. prodlgious - was the
wealth actually produced. i; was likely
there was more money lost than made.
A ter 4 iew years OF this ehulntion, oil
began at once 10 fail In quantity and tall IN
price They bad not been careful 20 plug
up abandoned wells, and the water had
reached the oil-besring rock. and was
driving the oil before it. Richer fields were
found further south. and the decay Of Pit
hole set in. People moved aWxy and took
their houses with them. Now. there are
perhaps fifty iec,epid shantes ieit here
and there. half dozen Of them partially
used. Within a radius of seven miles there
are still some hundreds OF wells but they
give each about barrel day. worth nine
Is cents still they are worked at a slight
profit since each well suppliesthe gas for en- ;
gine fuel. one engine works several pumps, ,
and the oil being pumped into tanks. is
carried through ;ailes of tubing to Oil City,
direct to the Iaiiroad. IS the engines, !
tanks and tubes are all there. very little
fresh OUTLAY Is required 10 get what oil
there Is The company. which mas almost
the monopoly Of these driblets, live in
hopes OF 4 rise in prics. Experts believe
that the supply is not exhausted and that if I
new wells could be sunk the place would look
up agaio. raese fully equipped would cost
some thousands each. and capital Is slow to
carry it,ef into these holes. When well
becomes sick unto death. they try TO cure
IL by pill OF nitrO-giycsrine. This is drop {
ped 10 the bottom OF the tube, generally six
ieet deep az least, and exploded. ,
Often the effect is that Impurities which
clog Up the duets are scattered, and oil
comes more freely Bat, in spite OF this
heroic practice the flow q, steady decreas-
ing.
We were taken to see a well yielding the
average barrel per day. II was work
ed by Il iorlorn engine, too much do
moraiizsd TO keep itself clean. fire came
out OF the earth 10 work 1t. and the same
fire heated the owners kitchen stove. The |
whole process of boring and tnbing was ex
pls ined. and all questions answered. Six :
miles from this we'll, We were shown a
monstruus tank int" ehich its oil, having
come through the Sahe-, Was pouring in q
greenIsh, Ill l-ssvOred stream. To watch this I
jet, and to fancy It bursting by its own
momentum irum 81 hundred iest below,
and pouring on tor mun h without dag j
ging, i % iorBi cnrtoct notion nf How .