Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1878-09-13
Struck OIL.


The Hub has struck oil. In sinking that
typical aud venerable institution-the
town pump--the water was found to have
a sort of top-o-the-pot surface of oil. No
less than half a gallon was drained of.
No doubt was entertained of its being the
veritable thing. The appearance could
not be easily mistaken. If the occular
demonstration was not conclusive, the fla
vor was, as it proved to the mind of one
of our recent converts to Greenback DEM
Oeracy, who happened to be present. His
only surprise seemed to be that the thing
had not cropped out before in that locality.
He traced an intimate connection between
the demise and decomposition Of so many
fat old Abolitionists, who had gone to
their rest in the cemetery near where the
oily deposit was found This oleaginous
and pangent substance left hardly shad-
ow Of doubt of this hypothesis. The
theory, with all its strong points, no
careful man would undertake to refute
without deliberate thought Our own
opinion, however, is that such a theory is
well enough from Democratic standpoint,
but beyond that, there is probably no con-
nection between the cemetery and the
town pump. It's eontiguity to the Court
House starts a more plausible theory.
There is no place in the county certainly,
where there is such constant drip from
50 many oily tongues, as about that Court
House. The flow has been going on so
long, too, that the whole soil in that local
ity must be thoroughly saturated. 1t is of
quality so volatile and exquisitely subtitle
and penetrating that there is nothing sur
prising in the idea that it should percolate
and filter through even the stubborn soil
of the Hub, and find catch basins and
form resorYoirs Of considerable volume and
extent A half gallon is hardly drop in
the bucket to what may be found by a
somewhat deeper bore. Hardly a day of
any busy term of Court but that would
produce that amount. Let this, then be
multiplied by the number of days in term
and the number Of terms in a year, and we
begin to get some idea of the hidden de-
positS that underlie the locality Of the
Court House. Then the richness of these
deposits must be taken into account in any
estimates entered into for fixing the prices
Of territory in the business likely to spring
up. Being of the description more or less
known SIS oily CANNON, there can be no
question Of its superior excellence, or the
riches in store for those who get an early
start and choice of territory, and have
the good fortune 20 strike one Of those
reservoirs into which have been coneentring
the rills Of oil since the selection Of JEFF
fersOL US the seat of justice and equity.
There is third theory about this i'm
portant discovery, held however, only by
the wags Of the place. 1t will do very
well for joke, and the incredulous and
skeptical will make haste to adopt it. It
is that some incontinent, practical joker,
to give vent to his humor, had slyly. in
the stiffness and darkness of the NIGHT
season, made the old well the receptacle of
few gallons of oil from the surface-fore-
seeing the sensation that would be pro-
dueed, and if well managed, perhaps the
amount of territory that would change
hands, and the fortunes made, and the
good times that would follow.
Among these several theories springing
from the presence of oil at the Hub, the
reader may take his choice, and adopt
whichever horn Of the dilemma his fancy
may suggest.