The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-01
ABRAHAM JAMES.
Demise of the Discoverer OF the Famous
PleasantVille Oil Fields.

Demise of the Discoverer Of the Famous
PleasantyiIle Oil Fields.
olesn. New York, Special.
Abraham James. whose singular discovery of
the once famous Pleasantville oil field, in 1865 is
among the many curious "reminiscences Of the
Pennsylvania petroleum country, died last week
in Oregon, aged seventy-seven. James came
into the oil regions in the early days of the ex-
odd genius, spiritualits, and an
accomplished geologist. His remarkable
performances as a medium throughout
the oil regions converted many leading operators
to the belief in spiritualism. James was poor,
but managed to dabble little in oil and oil
lands One day in the summer of 1868 he took
into his confidence a few of the moneyed men
who had become spirituahsts, and told them
that spirit had revealed to him the existence
of vast deposit of petroleum in 10
cality where no one had as yet thought
of searching for it. He said that he had been
stopped in the road by the spirit, who took
him from his wagon and conducted him like
magic across the fields and through forests to
wild spot in the vicinity of Pleasantville, where
they rested. Presently the earth opened and an
immense cavern yawned before them Into this
James was led by the spirit They journeyed
down into the earth a long distance and, final
of a lake of petroleum Of unknown
extent. SPECIFICS with amazement, James
gazed on this apparently boundless store of wealth
few minutes, when the spirit led him back to
and the spirit vanished. James assured the
men to whom he confded this marvellous intelli-
gence that the great deposit had been revealed to
him by the spirit, in order that the faithful
might benefit by the knowledge. He solicited
them to lose no time in furnishing the means to
develop the new territory thus placed within
their reach. The necessary capital was forth
coming at once, and James commenced opera
lions. He put down a well on the spot where
he said the spirit hadsed him into the cavern,
and at the depth of $50 feet the drill struck
rich oil bearing sand and l50-barrel well
was the result well of that size was an I'M
usual one then and the strike set the entire oil
country wild. In a short time Pleasantville was
surrounded with wells which were producing
more oil than all the old districts, and the new
territory was the greatest oil field
in the world. The James combination
put down five wells on their tract, every one of
which was big producer. Oil was thea selling
for moro than So barrel, and although the life
Of this new field was comparatively short, the
operators all made fortunes. James left the oil
country after this Pleasantville field became ex-
hausted worth half million dollars. be never
came East and it is said he lost the most of his
money in unfortunate investments on the Pacific
coast The spiritualists never lost their faith
in James's story of the supernatural discovery
of the petroleum lake, but skeptics believe that
his knowledge Of geology had led him to believe
from the character of the country about Pleas
antyille that petroleum undoubtedly existed
there and that he had invented the story of the
spritualstic revelation to induce moneyed be-
levers in the doctrine to furnish the means to
test his theory.