Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1881-05-18

it would sweep large area of country
and leave nothing but ashes and the
casing in the oil wells The ground
was sprinkled with oil all over the
fields and leaves were as iniammable
as powder. Well, | watched the Rev
City fire grow larger and larger, and
all at once / became fend incarnate
and set the leaves and oil soaked brush
on fire around the big tinder pile that
hid the body of the unfortunate pauper
| had killed Instantly the whole
place was blazing mass, and the fire
spread so fast that had to run for my
life Did you ever see an oil freg
Yes? And saw the fires in Rev City,
Tram Hollow aud Foster Brook on
that awful day? Is that so? Well,
then, you know how fast they run
and what roar they make. 1t was
just awful that day. l never saw any
thing like it. 1t was reported that the
Tram Hollow fire was accidental and
that the fire started from some sparks
that had been smouldering in stump
pile. That ia all nonsense, for / star
ted the fire myself and had to run for
life to keep out of its way. Like a
crazy fool, ran down the valley with
the wind, and the fire followed me like
monster ready to avenge ITSELF
There were some houses down in the
valley, and they used to call the place
Oil Center, and when / reached the
first house the fire had caught up with
me, and jumped into the creek and
ran down in safety out of reach of the
fire.
Pretty soon | came to house that
belonged to q woman, and it was all she
had between her and poverty, and saw
her trying to carry out some things;
but before she could do anything the
fire swooped down and caught up hat
house like whirlwind. That woman
turned to ME, gave one unearthly, heart
rending scream and tainted away. |
took care of her until she was able to
walk, end then put her in charge of
some of her friends Oh, that awful
scream. / have heard it many times
since; / heard it tonight while you
were here. 1t has haunted me day and
night; it has given me no rest.
sometimes think that the pauper | kill
ed was some relative of hers, and that
her scream comes to me in punishment
for the deed.
You know the result of that Tram
Hollow fire? Scores of people thrown
on the world homeless and penniless
thousands upon thousands of dollars
lost; children crying for bread about
the skirts of their heart-broken mothers.
| have since done what ! could in a
feeble way to see that those homeless
people did not suffer for the necessaries
of life but, oh, the remorse that has
gnawed at my heart since that fatal
day! Why, oh why, did l ever touch
the accursed whisky that made me
fend2 Why, oh why, did the woman
| loved drive me TO this? Oh, curse
He stopped as if stricken dumb, his
eyes glaring wildly from their sockets,
his face picture of horror and fear.
MY God p he shrieked that scream
again ! Did you hear it? No; how
could you =? for it comes only to me.
feel that I'm going very fast now and
oh. hope God has forgiven me Come
closer. Here, take the picture and
keep it, and-some-day show ito
the woman it represents-and tell her
-and-tell her-I-I loved her-to-
the--the-last
The gas-ligbt came struggling
through the cracks in the rough cabin
and fell upon an upturned face, from
which had faded sorrow and care and
hate and fear and oil things earthly,
and which, as the Angels of Death re-
leased the suffering spirit, reflected
from its cold form the look of peace and
love of the dead but unfortunate past.
Slowly, reverently, / closed the door OF
the rude building and left the dead
clone with the changing shadows under
the moaning pines. Out In to the
wintrv night, down the little valley to
the test well walked as in q dream,
and as | opened the door OF the derrick
and stood before the giant form OF Big
Jack Sanford that large-hearted man
gazed ut me in surprised silence.
The man up at tho shanty-1 be-
gan, and lump seemed to come into
my throat all at once.
Yes p said Jack interrogatively.
He is-is-dead y and | sat down
on the anvil in sheer despair.
What Jim Barton Torpedo jim p
could only nod assent.
Dead Torpedo Jim dead Poor
Jimp And great sob shook the
burly form Of the driller as he groped
blindly for the throttle-wheel.
With a creaking and jarring, the
ponderous machinery came to stand.
still. and honest-hearted Jack Sanford
leaned against the back brake OF the
sand-reel and wiped the moisture from
his eyes with kind of q groan The
tool-dresser came rsttling into the der
rick with Gem Theater song on his
lips, but as he saw his fellow w-worker
the song died away, and he stood in
amazement before his friend nervously
wiping his grimy hands with bit OF
waste.
'What-what's the matter, Jack Z
Lost a bit down the hole, or is she
stu fast in the rock p inquired the
| ol-dresser.
No reply.
Amt broke the temper-screw nor
nothn', hev YEP
With an effort the driller aroused
himself and started the heavy tools
once more. Then nodding tou ard the
bull-well, and then at the tug-wheel
rope-belt, he soon had the tool-dresser
busily engaged in preparing to raise
the tools from the hole two thousand
feet under the snow.
Have you ever stood in an oil der
rick and watched heavy set of drilling
] tools being raised from the bottom of o
hole two thousand feet deep? How
/ i IL ...-i...-. anL aArnAnhaa. how