The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1883-09-13

Tribune, Herald, etc, and
see with how much care the petro-
leum column is worked up, how its
daily, and sometimes hourly, fiuc-
tuations are studied and quoted,
and when we read a little further
and see what enormous amounts OF
the ,crude article are brought
to the seaports-New York, of
course, chiefy-and what immense
shipments are made to the very
ends of the earth (for China on the
opposite side of the globe Is becom-
ing now one of our very thirsty alb
sorbents), we find it difficult to re-
alize that all this is only thing of
yesterday, as it were. And yet that
is strictly true. Forty years ago
the wood petroleum had no exist
ence in current language. II is a
compound term meaning simply
rock oil; it was in the dictionaries,
but it was not known to people in
general. And yet the article at
that time was on sale, in the large
cities, and occasionally in smaller
places. But it was in very small
quantities, and was disposed of Try
the ounce. Very probably the en-
tire stock on hand in the city of
New York could have been held in
a : few five gallon cans. Those who
are old enough to remember as far
back os 1910 can possibly recall a
very bad-smelling medicine to which
they were perhaps subjected 1t
was called Seneca Oil, and was
dreadful good for the rheumatic,
being fortunately, in most instan-
ces, used externally, though not al
ways. 1t was understood to be
brought from the "Seneca Nation,
in the southwestern part of the
state Of New York; hence its name.
Seneca oil was simply crude petro
leum, and it is on the instant recog-
nized that it came from the imme
date vicinity, the very border of the
region which has within these later
years revolutionized the world with
its oil wells.
But in going back to Seneca oil
do we touch the early days of pre-
troleum? Not at all; and we shall
never touch them. No glimmering
light shines back so far. When the
fires fell on the cities of the plain,
in the circuit of Jordan at the north
end of the Dead Sea, the combusti
BILE material which insured the de-
of Sodom and Gomorrah
was crude petroleum, the "slime
pits" of the Vale of Siddim. Later
still petroleum, in it's viscid form,
served to make water-tight the era
die of the baby Moses. But both
these instances are relatively of
modern date; for perfectly untold
ages before that time petroleum
had served to aid in preserving the
Egyptian dead from decomposition,
for the very oldest of the mummies
yet brought to light reveal its pres
ence. And how early in the expe-
rience of the human race its re-
markable properties were brought
into play we can only conjecture,
for nothing remains to tell us.
Petroleum, therefore, has tao his
tories, and they may he said to be
as distinct from each as they were
of two separate articles. The old
reaches back, so we have seen, to
the days of shadow and fable; the
new begins August 6, 1859, only
twenty -four years ago! And it be-
gins at Titusville, on Oil Creek, a
branch of the Allegheny river, in
Crawford comfy, Pennsylvania. To
such narrow limits in both time are
we able to concentrate our atten-
ton, and yet we are looking at that
which has become one of the nigh
ty factors in modern Civilization.
NLw once more we will see what
we can do in the work of bringing
our ideas TO q focus, and this time
we look at the subject geographical
ly. Petroleum is found in very va
rious parts of the world, in fact, al
most in every country, to some ex-
tent. There are, however, certain
points of concentration, and they
are not many The island of Zante,
the mainland opposite in Hungary,
Gallicia, and Moldavia; then again,
away off on the Irawaddy, but most
all--on the eastern continent--the
shores of the Caspian, especially
near Baku; all ofthese produce pc
trOleum and the springs of Baku
yield more than all the others COM
bined. But we may fairly set all OF
them-the entire eastern continent
as being of no great mo-
ment. 1t is no mere figure of
speech, it is not rank boasting, to
say that petroleum, so far as the
market of the world are concerned,
IS an American product. Our reg
llar daily and monthly yield SO far
all others that they con-
lot be counted as rivals in the
,rade and its results.
The springs of Baku yield about |
100000 barrels annually, we turn
'ut that amount in the space of
Tery few weeks at any time. The
ecords of 1879, not to speak of
later, give the reports on
y from the three ports of Philadel-
'hia, Baltimore and New York at
!, 100000 barrels. Surely we may
all petroleum, in all its bearings,
n American product
And does it come from all parts
f American Perhaps few persons
re aware hoy very much restricted
eally is the region which yields
lch incredible results. The fact
) that "the oil, that from which
etroleum has been produced in
aging quantities, can all be com
rised within space 800 square
lilies. 1t is wonderful. We will
ook to it again.--Scientific Amer.
The Murfressboro News tells of
'annon county farmer who makes
a point to buy Missouri wheat
II sowing, and who never sows of
is own crop. The other day he
Did his crop in Murfressboro and
ngaged some Missouri wheat to be
as soon as it could be pro- {