Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-07-07
4" MOONLIGHTING."
One Of the Peculiar Industries of the Penn-
svlyunin oil Regions.

| Try thht owes lts existence TO the patent
laws. The late Colonel Il. A. Roberts
introduced the use of nitro-glycerine
torpedoes in increasing tho yield of oil
wells. When the great flowing wells of
Oil Creek, after draining the petroleum
pools of the lower field for three years,
he'd exhausted the supply, as was sup
posed, Colonel Roberts experimental
on an abandoned we'll with a quantity
of nitro glycerine, confined in n tin
shell and exploded by conclusion. The
explosion was followed by q flow of
oil, and the old well yielded thirty bar
rels a day for several years afterward.
The nitro glycerine had shattered the
oil-bearing rock and opened the paraf-
tine-clogged veins. While serving in
the army Colonel Roberts noticed that
bombshell exploding beneath water
invariably spent its force on the bottom
of the stream, throwing up mud and
stones in great quantities. This was
due, he supposed, to the solid fluid
tamping above the explosive. 1t was
this idea that led him 10 try the expert
ment of nitro -glycerine Mt the bottom
of oil wells, beneath hundreds of feet of
fluid tamping-oil and water collected
in the well. He obtained patents on
his device. The validity of the patents
WAS questioned, and nitro-glycerine
torpedoes were used by others without
paying royalty to Roberts. He brought
nearly 5000 suits to protect his rights.
One of these, rs test, was carried
through all the State courts and TO the
United States supreme court. Roberts
won in every court, and nearly q mil
lion dollars in royalties was recovered.
The monopoly in nitro -glycerine tor
pedoes led to the illicit use Of them in
wells. Men without fear Of death or
regard for law went into the business of
shooting" wells for producers who did
not care to pay tribute to Roberts. Any
one has right 10 manufacture nitro
glycerine and to place torpcdoes in
wells. In the exploding OF them hes
the liability to prosecution and penalty.
The moonlighter is always ready to con-
tract for the shooting of q well. He
carries his ni,ro-glycerine in wagons
made especially for the purpose. They
are buckbolrds, with cushioned apart
ments under the seat, into which the
cans are placed The roads Of the oil
regions would scarcely be called roads
elsewhere. When not hub deep with
mud, they are stretches Of deep ruts
and gulleys and projecting rocks. Drawn
| BY powerful horses, these wagons,
loaded with sixty or q hundred quarts
OF one Of the most destructive explo-
siyos known, and which sudden jar is
at any moment likely to explode, are
driven by their reckless owners over
these roads in the darkest nights at the
top OF ;heir horses speed. The men
work at night always. They are called
mooligh.crs, but the absence of tho
moon does not prevent them from un.
dertakiug a job. The Roberts company
has q wonderful detective system, which
is constantly employed in fcrrcting out
the trespassers in the torpedo patent. It
frequently happens that mooulightcr
is spotted as he starts out on ono Of his
nocturnal missions. The moonlighter
rarely fails to be aware OF the fact when
he is followed by one ~ Roberts men.
Then it is raco between the two. II
the moonshincr cannot evade the detcc-
tive and finish his Job, he manages to
secrete his nitro. g glycerine in the bushes.
old buildings, barns, or other outbuild-
ings Of farms, or in any place where he
is most likely to recover il for use on a
more auspicious occasion Thus it hap
pens that these dangerous storehouscs
are liable to be come upon at any time
by people passing through the woods or
along the streams, or by the farmers
whose premises have been utilized.
The cost of torpedoing a we'll under
the Roberts patent averages $3.50
The moonlighter will shoot II for less
than half Of that Thus the saving
efiected il the work is not discovered is
a great temptation to a certain class o +
producers. If detected, however, the
penalty is heavy. The Roberts price
for torpedoing must be paid, and what
: ever damages may be assessed. II the
well is an old one aud has been shot TO
increase it's yield the value of the in
; creased yield up to the time the dam
ages are assessed is added to the cost of
detected illicit torpedoing.
When Colonel Roberts died recently
his income was about $1,000 a day.
; He had been separated from his wife
; ! and family lnr .o.-a-.I .. Al