Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-09-26

A''A"4-Af
WE'LL.
Col Edwin l. Drake of South Bethlehem
Pa, who is called the discoverer Of the Goa
oil. is son of Lyman Drake, farmer Of
Greene county, y. Y, was born at Green
vile, that county, March %, 1919. He spent
his early days upon his fathers farm in New
York and at Rutland, TO which place tho
family removed in 1925. The Colonel wa,
then hut six years of age. The route lay
through Albany. and the day Of their arrival
there was the day of the opening of the Erie
Canal, when, hguratively, the water oi
Lake Erie WAS let into the Hudson The
water was brought To Albany in a bottle on
the firs; boat and emptied into the Hudson
with appropriate ceremonies signal guns
had been placed at intervals all the way from
Buffalo TO Albany, distance ot 521 miles
within hearing distance Of each other. W hen
the break was made, and the waters OF tie
Western rivers came tumbling into this inn
lnense channel. the first gun was fired, and at
the instant the sound was heard at the next
station the gunner there applied the match
and answered back the joyful news and
sent the glad tidings speedily onward TO
the East These scenes and sounds are still
fresh in the memory Of Colonel Drake. Ar
rived in the Yankee home, the boy Edwin
worked on the farm and received such ciu-
cation as the schools of those days impaired.
At eighteen years Of age he LETT home and
entered upon the struggles with the world
From 1874 to 1S49 he was express mcssen-
ger between Albany and Boston, and from
1919 to 1877 conductor on the New York
and New Haven Railroad Among his
friends in TIE latter city were Messrs.
Townsend, Picrpont, Ives and Bowdi,ch,
who had loaned money to the firm of
Eveetl x Bissel, Of New York. Evelcth X
Bissel purchased Of Brewer. Watson Co,
OF Titusville. Pa. the oil which was taken
from a spring on their lands. The oil was
obtained with piece Of blanket Al the rate
of a gallon q day. and from it was made the
then celebrated Mustang Liniment. The
gentlemen named were finally compelled TO
purchase the land from which the oil was OBJ
iainCd When the deeds were brought 10
the purchasers at New Haven they were
found defective 1t became necessary TO
send some one 20 Tilusville and Pittsburg to
have the titles perfected. Colonel Drake
was selected to 90 on this mission. Mr..
Picrpont had visited the lands
previous 10 the purchaser, and
had brought back with him
bottle of the ''Sincke" OIL This had been
annayzed by Professor Silliman. who regard
ed it as of small Importance. This bottle of
oil lad been seen by Colonel Drake, who
looked at it as a curiosity Of no value.
Nothing was said of petroleum when he left
New Haven and the owners Of the lands
never thought that the oil would be a source
Of profit. The colonel's attention was first
attracted to the oil while in the stage on the
way to Titusville. The driver, COnnell,
spoke of ''Oil Creek" Colonel Drake asked
why it was called ''On Creek" Because
there is oil in it." was the laconc reply.
Further inquiries showed that the oil was
being used as a lubricator and for illuminat-
ing purposes and that it was gathered with
blankets from shallow pools along the creek.
In the store at Titusville he was shown bot
tie of the oil. He became interested in the
oil at once. In the sawmill of Brewer X
Wats1n, near by, he saw il used as lubrica-
tor on the journals Of large circular saw
making 1,200 revolutions per minute. 1t
was also used in torches to light the mill As
lubricator he found it superior to sperm oil
As lubriCator alone he knew there was a
fortune in this oil. lie also saw that it could
he refined and doubted not its value as an
illuminator. DR.. EbencZer Brewer, now a
banker al Titusyille, took the Colonel 10 the
spring from which the oil used in the mill
was taken. II was q rusty disgusting
boxing pool. The doctor spread blanket
upon the pool and gathered it up in few
seconds, dripping with some dark 1luid, from
which he WIung pint Of the oil. Half a
bucket or more of the oil was thus secured
The Colonial was satisfied as TO where and
how the ''Sineke" was obtained. He had
already been satisfied as TO its value. The
sole question was: Can the oil hc obtained
in quantities sufficient 10 introduce ii as a
luGIicat0r:' = Before Colonel Drake left Ii
tusvillc he had become satisfied that the oil
could be obtained in quantities by boring for
it. His scheme was regarded as the vagaric7
Of al insane man. He was, however, nothing
dauEtrd. lie returned 10 New Haven fully
Determined 10 20 back and bore for oil.
When he went back he did 50 as manager Of
the Seneca plCompany, corporation he
had organized.
A new and unexpected difficulty faced
Colonel Drake when he W as ready 10 begin
operations; be couldn't hire men TO work 1
for lunatic" After long delay and much
trouble he secured the assistance Of some
salt bOrcrs named Smith, and began boring
about July lsi, 1853. On Saturday night,
August 2yth. 1853, a depth Of sixty y-ninc and
One-half feet had been reached. ON Sunday,
the old man Smith walked ont TO the well
and found it full of oil. lie dipped up
barrel Of oil and Colonel brakes insanity
was dissipated in an hour. He had been
successful.
The well never flowed A pump was
rigged in and the well yielded twenty-five
barrels a dav lie constructed large watts,
capable Of holding about six hundred barrels.
II was difficult to get barrels in that country.
He found, however. in nearly every cellar
about a larger or smaller number Of whiskcy
barrels, which after being soaked made
excellent oil barrels He did Il thrifty trade
in whiskry barrels and besides having his .
vats full had about three hundred barrels .
filled. One hundred barrels at II price moi
remembered, were sold 10 II man naInod
McKcown. "a druggist at Piitsburg. who
also refined oil as an experiment. l-rr.
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pitisburs, Pmldol-
phia and New York were visited succossivcly
in the effort to build mp a commerce for
petroleum The undivided and tirclcs.
efforts Of Colonel Drake were finally
crowned with success The Drake well /
yielded probably three thousand barrels OF
oil. He bored only one other well, and
that didn't yield much oil The Seneca Oil |
Company sold out and Colonel Drake opcr-
ated individual until 1864. In that year, in .
consequence of i'll health, he was compelled /
to relinquish his business. and after all his .
hard work he saw the following year, 1865, I
the greatest idlers making fabulous sum of .
money on the oil hc discovered and in the .
boring and introduction Of which he spent .
not less than SO, 600 while his own hands .
were tied by illness
In 1873 Pennsylvania granted Colonel .
Drake civil pension Of Il 500 per wear. re-
vertible TO his widow while she remains
unmarried. Ills fortune has been swcpt
away ard his health wrecked by his IN
cessant labOrs in the oil interest, On this
pension he lives modcsliy yet comfortably.
Ii is but a small rccOmpcnsc for his public
1,I -
ust, 1853, has been augmented by ten .
thousand other wells. with an annual ca
paciiy of not less than -, 900, 900 barrels. ,
Not less than $50, 600 900 worth is scXportcd !
annually, and about SO, 900 900 is invested .
in the business. DR. SpofTurd says Eff /
teen million barrels Ohc annual product, Of
forty gallons to barrel, of this oil would ]
fill 5000, 0O0 900 lamps holding half pint
each, or about seven such lamps for every
man, woman and child upon our globe. /
All this has come to light through the /.
bowels Of the earth in less than twenty
years, during which time we have not only /
used all the petroleum we have wanted /
ourselves, but have sent to other lands .
nearly $500, 900, 900 worth, at the low rus T.
tom house valuation"
Kansas genius, representing himself .
as practical farmer. has lately been vis. I
Itlng all the fairs with prize pumpkin. /
and took the premiums every time. If
measured seven feet in circumference and
weighed 23O pounds. Several days ago
at Council Grove, rival farmer nttemnt
ed TO tap the pumpkin in the absence Of
of its owner, to get some of the seeds
and discovered that IT was made of wood.