New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-06-29
GAS PRODUCED BY NATURE.
A THOUSAND DOLLARS A DAY FROM
PITTSBURG WELL.

PITTSBURG WELL.
,o,, ~ oc,,,s,osN CORRESPONDENT THE TRIBUNE
PIrTsBuRG, Penn, June 26.-lt Is now nearly
am,nth since, after drilling for twenty days. ING sie
sas vein was struck Mr. westingaou'cs property u"
in this city. There az yet no signs Oh 'o
,u bscomns ex hanstcd but on contrary new wells
have been sunk at different points along H. al ds'auoe
of some miles with the result OF "striking II nch III
every instance The vein of IT Is now dehnitcy as
certansd runs from northwest to southeast peglhuis
somcwhere between this city and the lake. ana eAlehus
toward and probably to Washington, d. C. lndeed mas
been suggested that origin is in the National Capital
md that the adjoarnment OF Congress an eh'e
eatinn Of the flow may be expected.
Although other wells Of perhaps equal size have since
been struck the original Westinghouse well is still OF
greatest In 1t gas was first discoVereu AZ tue
depth 1850 feet; The quantity was too small 10 DC Oh
value however. and drilling was continued s'ihe WORK
men were very nervous. and managed the engine GU
cerly. not knowing at what moment tney might suiAo
gas As a OF fact the gas struck them Ihey nao
inst reached depth 1878 feet shortly before sunrise
ons p,ornnp when there was a roar like that OF whole
sousdron of cyclones Drill machinery and engine were
and unhpped in an instant by he
monster, and torrent Of waier mud, gravel saho anu
other debris rushed skyward In mighty column poo-
ably several hundred high, the welube through
which 1t belched forth being 59 inches In diameter
Needless TO say there general stampede OF the
vorkmen There was also general awakening OF the peo
pe the country round Those living near by bounded from
their beds in terror supposing earthquake or Demo
cratic ovceast had loose while for two miles In
every direction like that of stormy winter
SURF
The flow of water and sand continued for hours,
md then gave way to pure jet OF gas II may be re-
marked by that water invariably precedes gas
dry well is entirely barren. 1t was about O'CLOCK on
the morning of Thursday, May 20, that the well broke
loose The day. when there was only now OF pure
gas some OF the visitors began trying experiments with
H. chunk of coal weighing or eight pounds was
tossed above the top OF the ppe ana was
whrled into the air like feather In gale heaVy
spruce plank Was showed the aperture and was
Instantly snapped and spnterei into kindng wood
rome was fastened derrick and then swung into the
let which forthwith carried its free end up and held
there still and straight as flagstaff
There was little sleeping that part OF the city for sew
era DAYS and nights until Mr. Westinghouse succeeded
I'm rigging a .topcock, by which the flow OF gas-and
noise -could be shut Off Otherwise the well was not at
ali offensive to residents the gas emitted no odor
"a speak OF, II being nearly pure marshgas After the
well had been got under control by stopcock IL was
lighted n the evenings for few hours and then before
midnight entirely shut of, that the neighbors could
get some sleep The lighting of 1t was an interesting
scene The huge derrick surrounding the pipe stood dim
and silent dusk of the evening Then the worRlnen
lighted torch made of rags saturated with OIL aud fast
ened wire rope which passed over pulley at inc
top Of the pipe Then the stocock was opened and The
air duyered the earth itself seemed to vbrate as the
rushed with sound ike Jnat Oh Niagara hdu dU
distance or a rammany convention at still greater dis
lance Then the began pulling at the wire rope the
lower end Of which at the ground considerable dis
tance from foot Of the pipe the pipe itself being some
sixty feet high Slowly the blazing torch climbed Inc
atrial slope comiug and to the top Of the
black pipe casting dlmy lurid glare upon the ske
eon of the derrick 1t was almost to the pipe
and every spectator held his breath Another pull at the
rope; then torch stood STILL there was CLEAN OF
blush fame circng around the tip of the pe and then
Ike lightning fash sent back from earth To heaven
pillar OF fire rushed with added thunder roar hun
red feet into the air. II fountain of IRE that arose
but knew falling. At the base 1t was slender jet OF
blue Frightening pale yellow. then at the centre into
dazzling white and expanding into broad nood, whle
at the top darkened into dusky red The gas-lamps
in the city streets and houses paed Intellectual fires be-
meath the OF this stupendous torch, and the land
scape far around stood wildly revealed amid the gloom
Of night mile away could read TIE TRIBUNrs
finest print other light than hat of the Wcsting
Til. well originally sunk to obtain supply for
Mr. Westinghouse private mansion Bnt now s cWn S
ana heat TO large section Of the city The gas Is OF bet
wesne6ouse estimates that he can sell it cheaper,
md yet realize profit OF $1,000 day. ii VIII ne re-
thompson steel Works oliver Brothers Iron and Steel
Mills dozen other huge factories are using gas Tor
fuel, and Mr. Westinghouse proposes To utllle the PROD
his we'll which is the largest ever opened IN the
oS T yss for gas brought from
miles away aud the Penn Fuel Company when supplies
OF 100000 year from single ward of the city SO the
estimate OF 81 900 day from the Westinghouse well does
not seem cxravagant since u is giving out more gas
than runs through all the mains Of the Penn Company
IT, IA probable, gas shall come into general
use as fuel Ia the manufactures Of Pttsburg THIS city
win be redeemed from rcproach Of being the soottet
smokies spot in America and the demand fof soap
will decrease 80 cent The ladies' 100 VIII ne ape 10
wear white dresses and white feathers In their b0nnets
and their sautaOn the street Will no longer
be- "My dear there's some SCOT on your nose. AS 10
the pernanence OF the flow from these wells there seems
no reason apprehension Some wells now moving
freely az ever have producing constantly for twenty
years Says experienced engineer of tins city; You
know madel Water from the surface OF the
earth sinks and works its way into the bowels OF
the earth until IL reaches the internal fire. There IL Is
decomposed by intense heat into hydrogen gas ana
this finds way back through crevices and cavens TO
the veins which tapped by these wells So the supply