Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-08-12
Old Jerry on OIL

Ofo 0SffJ w VII
Reading the daily papers the
other day of the wonderful "Mys-
terry" oil we'll reminded Jerry
Greening, the champion story-teller
of Pike County, of his experience
in the Bradford oil region, he said.
Judge Ridgeway asked him when
he visited the oil fields.
"Lemme See." said the old man,
81 went out to Bradford, Pennsyl-
vania, shortly arter thu lie fever
broke out thar, "A prospecting, ez
they called it III them there days,
fer lie. Me am Billy C. Davisses
wife's cousin, which were a Car
kuff, we went out thar, as | were a
tellin' of it, respectin' fer lie. IN
them days bout every man ye'd
wealth, SO | intermined Il git rich
too. Wall, ez | were a tellin' of it,
me and Carkutf, we commenced Il
locatin' fer lie, an we sunk WELL
Wall, one June day, arter we had
got the well sunk down somewhere
atween three AM four thousand feet
in thu groun', were just a-goin' to
take a drink of spring water outen
q leetle black bottle | had in my
pocket. Wall, l were standin' bout
two hundred and eighty feet-meb-
be more, mebbe less-from tn
mouth of th' well, and Carkuff, he
were attendin' to tn borin'. Jest
as l were a takin' tn Ieetle drop
were speekin' bout, all to onct
heered the all firedest noise, Jest
like an earthquake an, thinks | u
myself there comes lie r Chiny,
don't know which. Wall, as
were tellin' of it, all ter oncet
kerzippy come th' lie outen that
there well with SIGH tremenjus force
it jest pulv'rized TIL hull machinery
t atoms. Hev we ever seen one o.
them there water fountings, like
Kleinhaus hez got into his door
yard, ez keeps a leetle metal ball
into tn air all tn time, Jest from
the force o. tn water? Wall, I've
see fountings ez kept niron ball
into tn air constant jest b. TIL force
tn water come Oaten the founting
with. Wall, as l were 'splainin' OF
it, when this here lie come bustin'
outen that there well it Jest riz th'
machinery into tn air an took Mr..
Alexander Hamilton Carkuff right
long with it.
"When l come TO M senses artcr
tn tust shock l looked all round,
and, not seein' Carkuff, l COM
menced a-callin' of i'm. All T.
oncet l heered a faint answer. /
looked all round and round, but
couldn't see i'm, an tin'lly, | hope
this floor III open an swallow me
up II l did't see him, Alexander
Hamilton Carkuff, bObbin' up an
down in tin air, fOrty-six feet from
tn ground, onto the tip-top % that
column o spoutin' lie. Talk bout
yer Mystery lie well spoutin' 500
barrels day, why this here well
spOuted more'n a thOusan' barrels a
hour. Ye see his bein' KEEP bobbin'
up an down in the air wpr 'zactly
tn same principle o. tn ball an
tn fOunting. Carkuff7s body were
tighten th' resistance o. thu lie, an
thar he were. Wall, L couldn't
think o no way fur = git him down,
so | he'd T. walk 'Ieven mile T. Brad
ford arter help. 1t were niue hours
afOre | got tn help back there, an
arter we got thar we Was in a GUAM
day how T. get him down Outen lis
ellerwated p'sitiOn. AFTER a good
deal o parleyin' we tin'lly built a
scaffOldin' an got up ez fur ez we
could an then we chuck i'm a rope
an hauled i'm down. Wall, me
an Saunder Ennis we figured the
time that Carkuff were up thar play
in ball to thu fOunting o. lie, an u
were jest zactly fourteen hours an
fourteen minutes.
"EZ l were tellin' of 1t, o. course
Carkuif's clos Wus all saturated with
lie, so him an me we made tracks
fur out re'dence 4 change his clos.
l soon he'd rOrin' fire gOin' i'm
tn stove, an he took off lis buds
an hung I'm over thu back o. a cheer
T. dry clOst b. tn fire. | he'd lest
gone Z git a armful o. wood when
ali t Oncet ker-smashee went suth-
in. No stree, 'twere our house this
time. The close air in the little
cabin he'd bin filled with gas from
tn clS's ez were saturated with kerr
sene lie, am thu gas ketched fire an
blOwed th' whole darn house to
smithereens. foun Carkutf in T.
midst q thu week, without no dam
ages onto him 'ceptin' a broken leg
an rib, an cut on tn back o. lis
head.
'Carky,' seq l t. him seq l.
What, Jerry" he seq = me, SEE ne.
WALL seq t. him, seq l, you kin
bet yer sweet life l haint gOin T.
stay in this yere bloWed country,
lie r no ile,' and with that l walks
OFF towards Bradford. Carkuff staid
thar an | heered how he made
money an tin'lly he tried 4 set
down onto tn Standard lie Comp
ny, an fer bein' too previous i'll
that direction he got bandrupteyed
am afterwards | heered Sam Cole
n tellin' ez how Mister ROCKEFELLER,
tn high mucky muck o th' Stan
dard Comply, top Carkuff tibet
when emmy mani tn State o.
Pennsylvany, either, for that mat
ter-intended a settin down onto
tibet cOmp'ny he Oughter practice
Settin down onto the bizness end o.
Il paper o. carpet tacks fust, fer any
body ez tempted fer t. haul down
tn Standard Comply 'ud squirm
worse IN man as 'ud set down on
a carpet tack.-CUr. PhiEd6eIphia
Times.
Mr.. B.Brucc of Cleveland, O., writes ::
= falt NJ