The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-06-30
MILLIONS II IT.
THE BONANZA STRUCK By
THREE MEMPHIS MEN.
Piper, Dunavant a Kelly Confident
OF the Success Of the Sui
phur Mine.

tag describing its contents as lub
eating oil taken from the Calcasie !. .
wells in Western Louisiana, hung
from the spout aud a tale also hung
thereby, which 1t becomes the prov
ipce Of the reporter 10 repeat in full,
as three Of the most enterprising men
OF this city are its heroes.
The oil which the can c1n'ainec
was taken frcm barrel shipped davsr
or two since 10 the Standard oil refiis
cry by MesHs. Dunavant, Piper ~
KEEL v to bs tested. The barrel was =,
one Of hundreds taken from the Wellll
mentioned, 10 which the indications
are they have bonanza.
Some fifteen or twenty years ago
Penn ylyapiau happened to discover
TRACES OF OIL
in a marshy locality near the CalcAsieu
river, about 200 miles west of New
0Ileans, and made bearings which
convinced him that his suspicious
we're correct. Shortly efterWaTd q
company OF Frenchmen wss formed
TO develop the wells and they made
extensive borings. Oil was struck in
limited quantity, but going further
down they hit a sulphur bed and at
once abandoning the idea Of oil wells
made elaboia'e preparations to devel.
ope the sulphur mine. A first explor-
ing shaft, sunk originally with q view
10 discover the stratum Of petroleum
oil indicated by the surface OF the
soil, found stia,um containing too
little petroleum to be worked profit.
ably, but, on the other hand, sfter 20
ing to depth Of $50 feet upon sheet
of sulphurous water, II struck and
went through, at q depth OF 443 f. OF, a
stratum Of sulphur of great value, hav-
ing 6 thickness OF l08 feet.
THE sULPHuRoUs WATER,
or wster containing 10 so'ution- Q GER
tain quality Of suiphohydric aoi6,
70 o through the shait at the
ra Q OF l5U salloDs per minute and
when q vertical tube Is added 10 the
perpendicular pipe orshsft the water
rises In this tuoe to the hight Of
fifteen feet above the turfsce. There
were eleven stintal pierced in all, ~
follows: Yellow and blue clay, l60
feet; gray and y,dlow sand, l7S feet;
rock, feet; blas candy linn estone,
As feet; white c,umbling limestone,
90 feet; pure sulphur, los feet; Ryp-
sum containing sulphur, 90 feet pure
sulphur, Q feet; gypsum containing
tu'phur, "a feet; pure sulphur,
ten feet; gypsum containing eulphurs
$40 I ct. The sulphur stratum dis
covered, TO sum up, was 428 feet be-
low the surface, and an analysis
showed that the mineral constituting
the stratum contained au average oil
n per cent. Of pure sulphur
With the hattering prospect off red
by these boriups the French company
b gan operations on large scale,
Transporting In chips from France
watt quantities Of machinery. The
enormous pipes were broUghi
up the CacaBleu river, ioAdn
made and bridges built aud they
we're rolled through the woods 10 tbs
mines. More than 100000 was spent
by thu company, but the panic ..
/, 1873 came before they had sunk Z
I working shaft, and they were sold out
\ Duncan +. Kenuer and associates, O
, New Orleans,
, BECOMING THE PURCHASERS.
They interested Capt. EIds, but hl
a dropped in In the beginning when hi
1 jet'y bill passed Congress. Gen
4 Toombs, Of Georgia, was at one tim'
Interested, aud on one occasion
a party OF English capitalist
d offered to deve'oo the mine for one
+ third interest in the property, whicl
!. covers some 5000 acres. Their offe
. was declibed, and for long tim
}. nothing was done or ta'd about tn
l. matter. In December last Capt. JOIN
l. A. Grant, who is recogniz I'd as one Q
q. the best engineers in the county, he
% came intsrt sted, and the oompau
n. proposed to give q controlling intsres
II 10 him and his associates whensve
Q. they should sink a workin
Il shat 10 the sulphur Red III
inte'ef Mefsrs. o. III. p. Piper
w. P. Dnnavant and Ma,tn Kelly, c
tnis city, aud j. F. DsbardlebeD, c
Birmingham, with him, aud the
went 30 work. So far they hav
10 expended $1,000 in making BOZ
L ings, and are now Flushing til
10 fourth one, ell the evidence omple tel
u Demonstrating the CORRECTNESS, OF tn
o. report made by the FreoCh englnee
It OF the shaft sunk by him. The
It have concluded to 60 on wit
81 the work, and la fe,
n weeks will begin sinking th
n working shalt The iva largest ct {
g. tubing, the first eleven "a =
q in diameter, the next
a. ALREADY ON T
= A third set, six fee
have TO be made.
structed ss TO screw
+ have lead joints ans n
water tight. II will taka 3
OF months TO sink the shaiI4
K will be about 100000.
I'd men named have issJ0
81 600 OF the stock to e
to prosecute this work and
10 sulphur bed is rescued the n
le leans company will Issue So 00W y
stock, OF which Messrs. Kelly, L 1
- Dunavant, Grant and DebaIdle
v will be given 81 $50 900, sconttolli
IS, interest. Those who are posted thin
the mine will be worth not les tina
at Il, 10000. Sicily now produces nearl
4; ali the sulphur in this market, an
4; her system OF mipiug
very p7or, Luxurious and exlsnsiv'
Besides the sulphur the bil wiz be
valuable adjunct. When Vt was dri
struck the flow was about twenty %
7. rels day, and for the month OF Marc
US II averaged fifteen barrels. Ut Is no
v Il wing at the rate OF fiveI barrels
10 day, and none OF the means c6mmonl
10 uaed, such as shaking up the cart
es with explosives to secure contlnuoT
es hlw, have been resoitsd to. 1t II
~ very much as II the gentlemen be q
-, big bonanza.
he view York Cotton Firm In EInanell
ed straits.