Omaha daily bee., 1884-03-31
notwithstanding Oil Well.
Oil City Derrick.

OiI well.
Oil City Derrick.
There are few of the old oil men whose
connection with the exciting life of the
oil regions began on Oil creek that can
not recall the interest excited by the &C.
centricities Gas they were supposed to be
then), of a well on the Buchanan farm,
at Housewife. 1t wal the first flowing
well ever struck in the oil regions, and it
developed a popularity of ceasing to flow
at IL o'clock Saturday night and starting
again on Monday morning that gave it
the name of the Sunday well.
1t was located on a lease ten rods
| square, and the postofice building of
Housewife was afterward put up on the
lease where the well was. Drilling was
done with a spring pole. Drive-pipes
were used to reach the rock, for which
1876 q point was paid. On January, IL,
1861, the well had reached a depth of
sand. By this time there was a dozen
producing wells in 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 suddenly began to flow. Not expect
ing a flowing we'll, there was no tankage
up, but the planks were on the ground
for it. In those days square tanks
were built. The we'll flowed
strongly, and \ large stream
of oil ran down the creek.
Efforts were at once made to obtain bar
rels, and the tank was pushed to COM
pletion as rapidly as possible. To save
the oil until she tank was up a large
hogshead was obtained and placed in the
derrick. A plug was made out OF a
scantling and driven into the top of the
drive-pipe..A hole was bored through the
center of the plug and a lead pipe insert
ed in it,, and bent over into the hogs
head. Men were then employed to dip
the oil out of the hogshead with pals
and pour it into barrels through the old
fashioned broad cider tunnels. No one
suggested that the surface water be shut
off, and in those days it was not thought
of. The novelty of a 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 hogshead
through the lead pipe without tubingin
it, for several weeks, or until a tank
could be built. After the tank was up
one iointof two and one-half inch tubing
was put into the drive-pipe, and extended
up into the derrick through the bottom
of a common, oil barrel which was fas-
tened there on . scaffolding. The single
Joint of tubing was all that was ever put
into the well. Old clothes and waste
were packed around the tubing inside the
driye-pipe, nnd braces put on them and
against the sides of the derrick to pre-
vent their being blown out. The owner
estimated the best days production Of
the well at sixty barrels, or possibly sew
enty-fNe barrels, though others put it as
high as one hundred barrels. Oil wna
sold from this well in the month of Janu-
airy at $l0a barrel.
After the we'll began flowing into.the,
barrel at the end of the tubing, peblebs
could frequently be heard rafting in il
and one flow forced the head of the bar
rel Out. When this was being mende
it was discovered that the bottom of the
barrel was filed with pebbles which had
been thrown out to the depth of neatly
foot.
After being turned into the tank for
four or Eve days the well began aowins
with the greatest regularity. 1t bowed
four times a day, and SO regular that fol
q number of days the flows did not vary
a minute. Its time of flowing became sc
we'll known that men would come with
THAR watches to time it, and amuse
Themselves by regulating the time of day
by it. On the second or third Sunday
after being turned into the tank it made
NO oil. This was reported to ldr. Curtis
the owner, and also the fact that on the
next Sunday it made no flow. On the
following Monday morning, finding ahs
same thing had occurred, Mr.. Curtis
ordered a gauge to be taken the mex
Saturday night at IL o'clock ant
another ON Monday morning
This was done, and the
gauges showed that not o. drop of oil hat
been put in the tank. This oosurrec
each Sabbath for a long time, causing
great interest and mystery in the
minds of the people, At that time
there was considerable discussion con
corning the breaking Of theSabbath on OF
wells and this we'll served as agood text
against Sabbath breaking After soma
study Mr.. Curtis discovered that this &c
centrieity was due to a natural u
There were many pumping wells sur
rounding the Sunday well, all of which
were shut down Saturday night at mid-
night. The surface wates was not shut
of, and this flooded the producing sand
; On Monday morning the pumping wells
were started again, and as soon as the
water was exhausted the Sunday well be
gan flowing again with its accustomed
regularity, only to close when Saturday
/ night came around.
' When the oil was exhausted in the
. first sand, after the we'll had produced
. three or four months, IL was drilled b,
: steam power through the third saad, /
8 sdspth Of 500 feet. No oil was found n
either the second or third sand, and i
was abandoned. Meanwhile, the prio
of oil had decliued from the $40 point |
Q Jauuary to 20 cents a barrel.