St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-12-26
CHEAPER THAN COAL.
Work Begun on the Natural Gas Well
Just Outside the Capital City
Limits.
Something Of the History of This Fluid
Which is Popular Wherever
Found.
Julius Csessr Said to Have found 1t in
France--It's Cost Compared
With Coal.
What the Substance is From the
Chemists Standpoint Little
Smoke in 1t.

Smoke in 1t.
Many st, Paul people may be aware
of the fact that the work of drilling for
natural gas has been already begun in this
city by company of ample capital. but
unless they have made some special study
of the subject they are not aware of the
Importance of that production of the earth
as fuel for all purposes. The St Paul
Heat and Power company was organized
last summer, duly incorporated and OBJ
tanned from the city council the right to lay
pipes in the streets for conveying natural
gas. The site for plant was selected just
north of the statej fair grounds. where all
the machinery and houses necessary for
prosecuting the work have already been
completed and the work of penetrating the
gaseous regions below was begun short
time ago Owing to the. noH-arrival of
drive pipe the work had TO be suspended
temporarily The earth for the first few
feet before reaching rock is of such nature
that it could not be worked without the
drive pipe. as the moment the tools were
taken out the holes would fill. The lack
has now been supplied, however, and the
work will proceed.
IT Is OF ANCIENT DATE.
Although the use of natural gas for fuel
in manufactures Is modern movement
the Use of natural gas dates back to remote
antiquity. For centuries it has been util-
lied in China. where the first pipe lines of
which there is any record were laid. the
abundant and easily manipulated bamboo
serving the purpose in its way. Clay burn
ers were fitted on the bamboo pipes. These
Chinese wells are ZOO feet deep. Julius
Ceser found burning well near what is
now Grenoble. France. and it is said to be
still burning. In this country. reference
to burning springs" which. in
many case were evidently springs
yielding gas in large guam
titles. are found in the records of early
travel, especially in those of the Jesuit
fathers. In 1775 Washington. during a
visit to the Kanawa valley. set apart and
decided to the public forever square mile
Of land some three miles above Salt Lick,
on which was burning spring." Wash
ington's purpose in making this public
park" was thwarted through an inform
atty in the deed of conveyance. The
burning springs of the Little Kanawa, in
West Virginia. and the escaping gas of Big
Sandy. i'll Kentucky. are types of the evil
dences Of the existence of natural gas that
have been observed for many years, and are
common to many parts of the country.
Possibly the earliest use of natural gas
for any economic purpose was in lighting
the village of FredOnia. New York. In
1921 a gas spring or well was discovered on
the banks of Canadaway creek. The gas
was collected by eXcavating and covering
the spring, and was conveyed into a small
copper holder and thence conducted through
pipe to the place where used. Enough gas
was obtained to light thirty burners. The
inn of the village was illuminated by this
gas when Gen. Lafayette passed thro ugh
this section in 1924. A well thirty feet
was sunk for gas in 1858 which supplied
200 burners. Shortly after gas was found
at Fredonia, Judge Campbell, of WeStfeld.
\. 7. lit the lighthouse at Barcelona la
small harbor on Lake Erie) from spring
Of natural gas. The contract was only
abandoned in 1856. In 1S41 gas was
struck IN boring a salt well in the Kanawha
Valley. in West Virginia. This vas used in
POOLING THE FURNACE"
possibly the first use of natural gas in man.
ufacturing. Two years after this strong
gas and salt well was struck near by and
utilized III the same way. These, though
the first gas wells utilized in the KanawEa
yielding gas having been bored in 1915,
within the present limits of the city of
Charleston. For more than quarter of a
century natural gas has been used at New
Cumberland. w. Va. above Wheeling, for
making lampblack and burning fire brick,
though Its use attracted little attention. Its
first use in iron making was at the Leech-
burg. Pa, works of Rogers & Burchfeld.
about 1874. In glass making. the Roches-
ter Tumbler works, at Rochester, Pa, were
probably the pioneers. and in plate glass
J. B. Ford, at the Pittsburg Plate Glass
works at Creighton. Pa. in 1888. Salt
was boiled with it at East Liverpool. o.,
in 1860, and it was tried later in
burning pottery in the same village
In 1873. or earlier, Peter Neff
began the manufacture of lamp black from
gas at Gambler, o. But it was not until
1888, with the piping of the Murraysville
gas and its introduction into the industrial
establishments OF Pittsburg that its use as
fuel assumed any Importance.
The most commonly accepted feature in
regard to the source Of natural gas is that
it is of vegetable origin. although very little
is certainly known about its source. A gas
OF an average chemical composition is given
as follows by an exchange: