The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-07-04
ADVENTURES AROUND OIL WELLS.
Making $4,000 by Watching a Gusher-
Twenty-FOur Hours Under a Derrick.

Iwenty-EOur Hours Under q Derrick.
Pittsburg Letter in New York Sun.
Joe Chappeau, one of the most expert scouts
in the oil regions givesso curious information
about the life of oil scout The incidents he
relates give an idea Of the dangerous work of
prospecting for OIL 1.-TWO men in our business"
he said, nave had experiences that would make
an interesting cha ter in any book of adventure.
The one is Hughes the other Beaumont. Hughes
was the first man to make scouting for oil his
business He had been working about oil wells
for several years, when one day, in the winter of
1881. he received message from firm of oil
operators at Bradford telling him of delicate
piece of work they wanted done. He was offered
a liberal salary and bonus if the venture sue
ceeded. Until he had agreed to accept the offer
no instructions were given him. Then he was
directed to spy out the well numbered GAG.
ITO reach the well where his labors were to
begin Hughes had to travel from Warren some
fourteen miles through great hemlock forest
The weather was bitter cold, and the snow lay
drifted across the poorly beaten track several
feet in depth. No. GAG was in the midst OF
wilderness 1t was a wildcat venture that was
pushed out beyond the bounds of civilization
Only logging road connected it with Warren
Besides the drillers' house there were not
half-dozen houses between the well and the
town, fourteen miles away The tall hemlock
trees, with close underbrush, grew all about
the derricks.
Hughes secured boarding at the nearest
farm house. and his scouting began. At first
the drillers paid little attention to him. He
would drop in on them, usually, once day, talk
awhile, loiter around, and then leave AS the
drill kept drawing closer to the oil rocks
though, Hughes began to te looked upon as an
intruder. Finally he was ordered off the prem
ises entirely, and warned not to approach the
we'll at his own peril The trees and thick
underbrush, however, afforded him hiding
places, from which he could observe all that was
doing After he had been watching the we'll
for almost two months, by certain indi
cations, known to the oil expert he be-
came satisfied that the drill was about
tapping the sand The vigilance about the we'll
had redoubled. His hiding places in the under
brush had been discovered, the underbrush
cleared away and the derrick boarded up Then
Captain Grace. one Of the owners, of the mys-
terry, brought up halfdozen men from the lum
Der camps to serve as guards. Each was armed
with breach-loading rifle, and ordered to use it
in protecting the WELL The lumbermen were
wild crew, who delighted in their vocation.
When Hughes would be lowering about the
mystery dark night the least crackle of a
twig would call for shot from one of the guards.
Then the whole number would open perfect
fusillade into the black forest that surrounded
the we'll like an inky wall The bullets would
go whistling past the venturesome scout in way
that was anything but comfortable.
One night Hughes was called away from scout
duty, and left a friend who had come up to visit
him to keep lookout on the mystery. His
friend had hardly penetrated the ravine in which
GAG stood before the guards began promiscuous
firing in his direction. They had not seen him,
but had determined his proximity In some other
way He dropped behind a log in time to es
cape q bullet that buried itself in tree not two
inches from where his head had BEEN He did
not lose any time in scrambllng out of range,
| and the well was left unmatched for the rest of
the night When Hughes returned the next day
and heard of his friends narrow escape, he
he started Immediately over to see Captain
Grace. He and Grace had warm discussion
over the careless way the guards were shooting
| into the forest and Grace finally said that he
would stop the promiscuOus firing.
" If they don't Hughes said, III retaliater
:" AN right, replied the Captain. That kind
of firing will be stopped, but warn you not to
tempt them by trespassing while they have guns
| in their hands
Hughes felt easier he could work with more
comfort then He took close survey of the
well that night, and resolved on course of
action The derrick reared its skeleton frame
work right through the branches OF couple of
tall hemlocks. From the left side of the ravine
another hemlOck tree had been partly torn from
its roots, and rested against one of the largest
trees touching the derrick. The next night was
dark and stormy. Making his way to the bent
tree, he climbed to the larger one, and then
easily dropped from that to the derrick. To de-
scend the framework of the ladder without
making any noise was the work Of minute AS
soon rs he could hear the voices of the drillers
he stopped and listened. For more than two
| hours he sat there close to the derrick with a
quick ear FOR all that was said and done After
while his cramped position became unbearable
and he assembled the derrick, passed to the
ground and went home They were tapping the
sand, he gathered from what he heard, and he
felt like huggns himself for joy at the place
he had found from which everything
done could be observed. For three nights
he went to the derrick by way of the tree A
few minutes climb, a couple of hours clinging
to the derrick, and all the doings at the we'll for
the night were known. When he came the
fourth night he almost the derrick be-
fore he observed that a guard sat on the top
platform dangling his feet in space, whistng
softly to himself, and grastng n gun in one
hand. Hughes knew that his observation place
had been discovered, ard slipped back into the
gloom to think out another plan After circing
about the derrick couple of times to find out
where the men were placed, Hughes discovered
that, beyond an occasional visit of the fremen,
the engine house was comparatively unmatched.
Without losing a moments time he slipped out
of the woods, and lodged and crept to the out
lying shed of the derrick. Then he crawled
along the timber until he lay close against the
derrick floor He could hear unusual prepare
tions going on, and was eager to get nearer.
Besides, he was liable to be discovered by one
of the men vino kept hutterinS about from the
derrick room past him to the other parts of the
machinery All the while the drilers were
making unusual noise with the tools in the
derrick-roOm. Creeping to the side opposite
them, Hughes found board loose and got into
the derrick-room. The floor boards were laid
down very loosely To pull two of them up,
squeeze himself through under the floor and
pull the boards after him, was the work of a
moment He could hear the drlers tramp
about over his head, busy with making fast the
pipe connections After while, from the sound
of other voices above. he knew the men had
been replaced with another gang, and that day
light was breaking. He changed his position to
a drier spot, and made himself comfortable for a
long siege. On in the day he was aroused from
a nap he had dropped off into by an unusual
commotion overhead. Above the tranpling he
could distinguish the sound of liquid squirting
with violence against hard substance. Then
oil began to leak through the floor and drop on
his face and clothes. He was all attention in an
instant. There was no mistaking it; the we'll
had flowed. For several minutes he could hear
the splash of the OIL Then the trampling of
feet again became active, and the squirting sound
ceased.
The biggest part of Hughes's work was done
He wished it was night that he might escape