St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1884-04-19
A sabbath Keeping OIL Well.


A Sabbat.,-kcepins OIL Well.
There are few of the old o.lmen,
whose connection with the existing life
of the oil regions began on Oil Creek.
that can not recall tie interest excited
by the eccentricit!es (aS they were sup
posed to be them. of 4 well on The
Buchanan farm, at Housewife. 1t was
the first flowing well ever struck in the
oil regions, and it developed peculi-
aritv of caasing to flow at twelve
o clock Saturday night and starting
again on Monday morning. that gave
it the name of the Sunday well.
1t was located on lease ten rods
square, and the post-oilice building at
Housewife was afterwards put up on
the lease where the well was. Drilling
was done with spring pole. Drive
pipes were used 10 reach the rock. for
which Twenty-Five dollars u point was
paid. On January l.. 1861, the well
had reached a depth Of 19l feet and
was on top of the first sand. BY this
time there was dozen producing wells
lin the vicinity, all pumping. and all
drilled wet. as was Mr.. Curtis also. A
hard Shell was struck on the top of the
first sand, on which they drilled for a
long time, the light tools of those days
making very little impression on it. At
last it was broken. when the oil sud-
denly began to Tow. Not expecting
flowing well. there was no tank up. but
the planks were or the ground for it.
In those days square tanks We're built
The well flowed strongly and large
stream of oil ran down the creek.
Efforts were at once made TO obtain
barrels, and the tank was pushed 10
completion as rapidly rs possible.
To save the oil until the tank was
up a large ho@shead was obtained and
placed in the derrick. \ plug was made
out OF scantling and driven into the
top OF the drive pipe. 4 hole was bored
through the center OF the plug and a
lead pipe inserted in it, and bent over
into the hooshaad. Men were then en-
ployed to dip the oil out OF the hogs
head with pals and pour it into barrels
through the oid-fashionel broad cider
tunnels. No one suggested that the
surface water be shut o /, and in those
DAYS it was not thought OF. The nov
eltv OF flowing well drew large crowds
to the spot, and for many weeks it was
the topic OF conversation among oil
men.
The well flowed into the ho~shead
through the lead pipe without tuhing i'll
it, for several weeks, or until Il tank
could lie built. After the tank was up
one Joint of two and one hall inch
tubing was put into the drive pipe. and
extended up into the derrick through
the bottom OF q common oil barrel
which was fas;eucl there on a scatfold
inc. The single JOINT of tubing was all
that was ever put into the well. Old
clothes and waste We're packed around
the tubing inside the drive pipe. and
braces put on them and against the
sides OF the derrick. to prevent their be
ing hlown out. The owner estimated
the best days production of the well
at sixty barrels or possibly seventy five
barrels. though others put it as high
as 100 barrels. Gil was sold from this
well in the month of January at ten
dollars barrel.
After the we'll began flowing into the
barrel at the end of the tubing. pebbles
could frequently he heard rattling in it.
and one flow forced the head of the
brrrel out When this was being mend
ed, it was discovered that the bottom Of
the barrel was filled with pebbles which
had been thrown out TO the depth Of
nearly q foot.
After being turned into the tank for
four or five days, the well began flow
ing with the greatest regularity. 1t
flowed four times day, and so regular
that for number of days the flows did
not vary minute. Its time of flowing
became so well known that men would
come with their watches to time it and
amuse themselves by regulating the
time of day by il. On the second or
third Sabbath after being turned into
the tank it made no. oil. This was re-
ported to Mr.. Curtis, the owner, and
also the fact that on the next Sabbath
it made no flow On the following
Monday morning, finding that the same
thing had occurred, Mr.. Curtis or
dered a guage to be taken the next Sat
urday night at twelve o'clock, and an
other on Monday morning. This was
done and the guages showed that not a
drop of oil had been put in the. tank.
This occurred each Sunday for a long
time causing great interest and much
mystery in the minds of the people.
At that time there was considerable dis
cussion con ,erning the breaking of the
Sabbath on oil wells, and this well
served as good text against Sabbath
| breaking. After some study Mr.. Curtis
discovered that this e,centricity was
due TO natural cause. There were
many pumping wells surrounding the
Sunday well, all of which Were shut
down each Saturday night at midnight.
The surface water was not shut Oh and
this Hooded the producing sand. On
Monday morning the pumping wells
were started again. and as soon as the
water was exhausted the Sunday well
began flowing again with its accustomed
regularity, only to close when Saturday
night came arouod.
When the oil was exhausted in the
first sand. after the well had produced
three or four months, it was drilled by
steam power through the third sand
a depth of 500 feet. No oil was found
in either the second or third sand, and
| it was abandonud. Meanwhile the
| price of oil had declined frora the SIC
point i'm January to twenty-five cents a
| barrel.-OH City Derrick.
Seventy young ladies of Hollister,
/ -.