The daily gazette., 1877-03-06
Hunting for Petroleum.
THE HIDDEN TREASURES THAT
BIOLOGISTS FAILED TO FIND.

MADNESS WITH A METHOD IN IT-A
swITCHMAN WHO HAS BECOME A MIL
LIoNAIRR--RosEs BLOOMING ALL WIN
TER AROUND A BURNING WELL.
BRADFORD, Pa, Feb. 2S.-But little
more than year ago, this place consis-
ted OF lumbermen's tavern and a few
scattering farm houses. To-day It has g.
500 inhabitants, and it half dozen good
seized hotels turn away nightly hundreds
Of strangers whom every train pours into
the village. The sudden change has been
wrought by petroleum. Fourteen years
ago, Job Moses, having made fortune
by selling quack medicines, came inte
this valley and said that there was oil
underlying it The oil fever was then at
its height in the Pennsylvania counties
south Of Mexican. Moses spent thousands
Of dollars testing this territory. No satis-
factory result followed, but his belief that
there was oil here never changed. Peo-
pie began to look upon him as crazy. He
brought geologists into the valley. They
looked it over and said:
"You might as well turn your drills
heavenward and bore for oil as to dig for
it here"
But Meses digged we'll after we'll.
"There's oil here" he said, ''ifI can only
find the belt."
He got control of all the land he could
and spent his entire fortune in hunting
for the oleaginous treasure that wat
locked in its bosom. Then he was COM
PEELED to quit, but his enthusiasm was as
great as ever. He induced other men
with capitol to continue the Investigation
and at last the belt wos found. At LOO
feet below the surface the precious
"sand" was pierced, and a fifty-barrel
well was the result. Other "holes" were
put down, and every one flowed abund-
andy. The oil trade, however, was at
that time stagnant. An oil well then
was very undesirable property. With the
sudden revival of the trade a year and
half ago, the newly discovered Bradford
territory attracted the attention of opera
tors. Now there are $50 wells in opera
ton, and as many more being bored. The
oil belt seems to be about two miles wide
and it has been pierced for eight miles up
and down the Tunungwant creek and
long Its branches.
The excitement that characterized the
| first day of the oil discovery in the orig
inal territory is duplicated in this region.
1t has extended into Cattaraugus and Al
leghany counties, New York. Everywhere
within twenty-five miles OF the Bradford
district land is held at greatly advanced
prices, because of the belief that oil turks
beneath it. As far as Cuba, in the Gene
see Valley. and Randolph, among the
rocks of Cattaragus county, the landhold-
ers are positive that "they'Ve got it." One
man, living on the summit of hill in
Cattaraugus, 500 feet above any stream,is
here to sell or lease his land.
"We don't find oil so high up, man."
said an operator. "It's in the Valleys
"That's where you d-n fools in Penn
sylvania make mistake. Fact is, where
they's stratys they's oil. Now yer Penn
sylyany stratys amt no better'R mine.
Volcanic actions what does it. If they
amt been volcanic at my place, where
does them hills come from? Try it on the
hills. Why? Because of volcanic action.
Volcanic action gives the yearth hist,
and makes a hill. Stands to reason t
when the groun's h'isted out O. place in
that way, it must leave big hole. What
fills the hole? Gentlemen, it's oil, an you
we only got to dig deep 'nough to git
lakes on lakes of it. You never see poot-
ier volcanic action than in my place. An
$500 an acre III git it,"
The Bradford branch ofthe Erie rail-
way runs through the new territory from
Carrolton, n. Y. This branch was built
by Charles Minot when he was superin-