The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-09-24
AFTER TWENTY YEARS.
DIED FROM A HORRIBLE ACCIDENT.
Wallace Riley, Burned Horribly on the
Night He Was TO Have Been Wed,
Lingers Over u Score
of Years.
[Tldeoute Pa.) Letter.l


The announcement Of the death Of Wal
lace Riley at Saylorville, o., recalls the
first terrible casualty in the history Of Pc
troleum development In this country, OF
which disaster he was the last surviv.
ing victim. 1t left him a blind and help
less cripple and subject at times to fits oi
insaAity, during which he seemed to suffer
all the agonizing experiences through
which he passed on the day Of the great
disaster, twenty-three years ago. In April,
1881, there was cluster of wells on Oil
Creek, yielding from one hundred to three
hundred barrels Of oil day. Harley &c
Merrick sank well to the depth of two
hundred feet, but, as the yield was small,
they took out the pumps and started the
drill to make the we'll deeper. About FIVE
o'clock in the afternoon Of the 18th Of April
the drill had gone to the depth of three
hundred feet, when 1t struck q vein of oil
and gas, and instantly the oil rushed sp
the fve-and.one.half.inch tubing, hurting
the tools high in the air and gushing up in
q fountain fifty feet in height The well
was spouting at the rate Of one hundred
barrels an hour. In a very few minutes
petroleum was running in streams In every
direction. Dams were built and trenches
dug TO collect the fluid that was running
to waste, and In short time lake of oil
surrounded the derricks.
Wallace Riley, then q young man of
twenty-four, arrived at the scene of the
excitement at five o'clock from Meadville.
He was to be married that evening at eight
O'Clock 10 the daughter Of farmer who
lived on Oil Creek, near the Harley & Mer-
rick well. Riley went with his prospective
father-in-law and joined the crowd at Lhe
flowing well. The nature Of petroleum gas
was then unknown, and, while the crowd
stood about with no thought Of danger, the
gas from the squirting well was slowly
speading in every direction and filing the
air with its presence. There was no fire
nearer than a quarter Of mile to the well.
That was In the boiler-house Of a well then
digging. By seven o'clock In the evening
the gas from the flowing we'll had reached
the boiler, and, taking fire, in second the
whole oil was in fame. With crash
and roar like the discharge of a field OF
artillery the fountain of oil became
stream Of solid fire, falling back to the
ground, over an area Of one hundred feet.
in blazing globes Of boiling oil. A scene OF
indescribable horror ensued. Scores OF
people were thrown to the ground by the
explosion and surrounded by The burning
oil. The most of those managed TO reach
the outer circle Of the fire with their lives,
but all were horribly burned. AT the time
Of the explosion Everything in the neigh
borhood for distance Of a quarter Of o
mile round took fire, and shanties, der.
ricks, engine. houses, and dwellings were
at once wrapped in flames. The boiler at
Dobb's well, eighty rods from the original
fire, blew up with a tremendous report,
instantly killing the engineer, Wesley
Skinner. Among those who were pros.
trated by the first explosion Of the gasIwds
Wallace Riley. He succeeded In gaining
his feet, and making his way through the
oil, fell, all ablaze, on the edge of the fiery
circle. He was seized by others, who
| plunged him In hogshead of water and
carried him to neighboring shanty.
Within the circle Of flame, not ten feet
from the edge OF the spot where Riley es-
capped, four bodies could be seen boiling in
the seething oil. II. K. Rouse, Of Warren
County, one Of the most prominent of the
early oil-producers, from whom Rouseville
was subsequently named, and whose income
from oil.wells at the time Of the great dis
aster amounted TO 1900 day, was stand
ing near the trench this man was digging
when the explosion occurred. He was
| s,, Nl,a al. al
twenty feet away, alighting In a pool Of
blazing oil. He rose to his feet and ran,
all ablaze, for short distance and fell.
He was seized by several men, his burning
clothing extinguished, and he was carried
to shanty. Not q vestige Of clothing
was left upon him except his stockings
and boots. His hair was burned off, as
well as his ears, mis- eyelids, and his an
gers. His eyeballs were entirely burned
out. His body was blistered from the
breast down. He never lost consciousness
but lived nine hours, during which time he
deliberately dictated his will TO his law.
yer. In this will he left $1e0, 900 to the
poor of Warren County, but he died before
he could acknowledge and sign the docu.
ment.
Besides Mr.. Rouse, twelve dead bodies
were taken from the flames before they
were entirely destroyed. OF these only
six could lbe recognized-the brothers
Walker, two leading oil men Of Clarion
County, Wesley Skinner, Of Wattsburg
John Stevens, Judd Mason and Albert
Gardner. Twelve men lwho were known
10 have visited the spot stranRers. sight