Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-12-03
4, coIgMN or or. /.
a s.syshsn Fssssais esshsss ever sise
rassssd Barrels Per Hour.


4 vss,skum Fssssais ssssksss ever siss
nasdssd Barrels Per fieus.
An Oncisy letter to the Philadelphia
Times saws: The petroleum region 0,
has prodnced miny wonders
dining il. fweniy.four years Of existence,
and MANY Wild. improbable stories have
be,n added 10 ~ history. Yet tue widest
tories eyer told Of 10 are hardly eeii1' 10
Tho phenomenal Thorn-frcek district now
heins developed In Butler county. Once
hcto,e in the history % the business Bu,-
Ter county occupied The foremost Position.
I'm, the great wells there OF decade AGO
give way 10 the gushing fountains OF the
nresspt. The Philips No. 4, which ere
ated excitement about the Isl OF Septe NJ
her. was considered q wonderful well, with
it, production OF 5000 barrels OF crude
petroleum day. hut 10 has been 20 over
shadowed by otbe-s that II is nov referred
10 ~ q commonplace affair.
WONDERFUL WELL.
The Christie No. l was The second great
wei, IN the field. coming in October 18th
with production OF over 1900 barrels in a
single d..y and having made 500 Barrels IN
one ho.r. Connections were La1de to the
tanks with six lines OF pipe, two inches IN
diameter, and these poured forth golden
Streams 10 their fullest capacity, making a
wonderful sight. II was as though more
Than half the production OF the Alieghanv
county ~. W field was pouring ont Of this
single well, instead Of from 1900 wells. rs
in that district. This well ranked as the
largest ever struck in America. Then iol-
lowed the Conuors well. with q production
O. over 4.0C0 barrels day.
Right between these two wonderful
fountains was drilling the Armstrong.
Boyd a Semple well, and Il was expected
TO pour out torrents Of oil. but on Oipber
9th II nassed through the -and-rOck with
ont having made flow. The hole stood
fun o. salt water. with few feet Of O., on
ton. but the owners were discourdced Z.
hoping at best 20 develop the wei
into very small producer. The pa
tiept tieldmen and scouts were thun-
der-struck. and could hardly believe the
evidence Of ihfir senses, bIt In all candor
they were compelled 10 report 70 their
principals that the well was a failure. The
owners. a. a last hope, determined 70 ex-
Mode a large torpedo IN the well. m ]
accordingly on Monday the 9th lowered
fifty quarts Of nitro-glyeerine IN IL. The
weight was dropped shortly after 10
o'clock in the morning, and the crowd OF
spectators watched iistlessly. merely 10 see
what effect the tremendous explosion would
haves expecting little or no Improvement
in the well.
COLuNN or GOLDEN on.
First came the sound Of report Ike a
pistol shot, the only detOnatiOn Oh fearful
H.l arssfaa
Then q column OF salt water Slot up bJlf -
high az the eighty-ioot derrick and sub-
sided, flooding the derrick. Then came q
torrent Of water, burnt glycerine, petrO-
lcum, sand. and pebbles, and rushed in n
black column 10 the crOWn-puiley on top
Of the derrick, where II broke and
spread like parachute, coming down
again in shower. 6radually the
black column changed color until j.
was like golden rod, connecting the floor
Of the derrick with the top, and >till the
mighty torrent rushed on. Hidden for a
moment by the cloud OF gas that came after
the first burst and rose like steam from 4
boilcr-eXplOsOn the column appeared again,
rushing upward with ir. esistibie force m-
I'll dashed 10 spray on the derrick-top. The
shower Of petroleum fell thick and fat
over an area ten rods in diameter. and
flowed down the hillside. completely I'LL.
ing culvcrt acro>, the neighboring
highway, and pouring down q sul-
ley toward Thorn creek. where the
food spread and covered the fiat grassy
bank before finding rs way into
the creek. Attempts were made to c.ti-
mate the flow by Ob,tructing Ibis Tor.
rent. but the dams were overlooked before
they were half constructed. and two boards.
a foot wide, placed two feet apart, 20 the
stream passed between them. were over
flowed on both sides. Telcgrams few N
all The oil exchanges. estimating the flow
at 100, 200, 300. and finally 400 barrels pen
hour. and the market which Ind advanced.
on reports that the well was a failure, nearly
ten cents, dropped ten cents IN afew hours.
crushing fortunes and fair hopes in H.
fall.
No grander sight than thi, fountain OF
petroleum was ever witnessed I'm thi. r.
gion. Like the great gey,oro the Yellow
stone basin. it shot the fluid column high
INTO the air; but the falling spray. unlike
the geyser's cry stall drops, were globes Ol
shimmering gold a. the light shone through
the amber liquid. Ard there was something
crs. The Gas that left the asrging column
like steam spread through he surround
ing wood. 50 that the fires at dozens OF
dnline-W els had 10 be put out. People
fed from their rude dwellings down near
the creek, a. there was imminent danger
that the cas- and oil would be ienited and
result in terrible confagration. The fire.
under the boilers at the United Pipeline
-. H..
creek. had To be put ont on account OF the
gas. as the torrent poured out unrestrained
for over four hours.
RUNNING Tue OIL INTO TANKS.
4 pressure OF over 5000 pounds was re.
CURED TO get the cap down on the casing
head when the flood was turned into the
tanks, and one workman was overcome by
the hydrO-caTbOn ga, 80 that lie lay all
night unconscious. When the stream wa
turned into the gas-t1nk the eight two
inch pipes 10 the large tanks were instantly
filed to their utmost capacity. and from
two ithree-inch gas-escapes In the top OF
the eas-tank streams were thrown far above
the top Of the derrick. For days afterward
the spot surrounding the well, when seen
through the trees, looked Is though the
sun was Frightening 1t. 80 bright was the
amber oil that chung to the branches Of the
trees, the derrick, and lay thick OH the
ground.
The Fisher oil COmpanl's No. 3, on thc
Marshall tract, almost repeated the scenes
Of the Armstrong well a few days ago
Like the latter, il WI. drilled through the
sand without flowing. but on being tor
pedOed gusbed out 400 barrels per hour
though the Armstrong is supposed to have
flowed more than 800 barrels per houi
at first. having produced over 1000 bar
rcls the first day. Visitors have come from
New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore. Gin
cmnati, Chicago, and Cleveland to see thest
wonderful wells, and excursion trains hay'
brought hundreds from Pittsburgh to saz
on the petroleum regions wonders, for tn
ike OF them has never been seen.
As yet this new territory Is underlined
and the whole petroleum business outsid
Of th, district is depressed and waiting 70
the new reservoirs 10 be exhausted.