The Red Cloud chief., 1886-01-15
PETROLEUM /
he Selection aud First Tapping OF rro0.
tsinx spots

Ss~ sstFsB
isiax sposs-
Prospectors in selecting \ promising
spot TO test new territory are often in
fuenced BY ''belt theory. fret adj
~anced by n man named ANGEL. In .
general way his idea has been verified
by experience. II proceeded upon the
hypothesis tina, oil lies in belts or pools
having . northeast and \ southwest
trend. sometimes called the ''forIy-dve
degree line" In districts known 10 be
~oil-bearing the wells are frequently To-
Gated near the boundary Of the owners
property. The object i TO drain as
much Of his ncighbor's OIL ~ possible.
for there are no partitions in the sub
terrancan chambers corresponding
to the lines of surface ownership. The
driller's motto 4, first come. first
served" hence there j. generally u
race 10 see who shall first tap natures
ill.
When the exact spot for the well has
been determined upon. awel!-holc il
dug about fifteen feet in depth, and 4
solid rock j. not reached. n wrought
iron pipe eight To- twelve inches IN
diameter i driven down 20 il. Above
this i erected thc derrick a pyramid.
al structure of heavy timber-. generally
~seyenty-two feet in height Al each
side i located a fifteen 10 twenty horse
power engine. which operates 4 walk
ing-beam 10 which i, attached = heavy
cable and The drilling apparatus.
Thu, consists Of o u part~. The up
per n j. called the ''-inker-bar'.
about eighteen feet in length; next
come the Jar, seven fee; IN length;
then the ''augcr->trm' about thirty
feet long, of three and one-qgarter incn
cold rolled steel. and finally. at the end
of this l. a bit three feet in length
Thus equipped. steam i, turned ON. and
the pOnderOu, weight of two thousand
10 three thousand pounds. alternately
raised and dropped. a, in a pilc-driyc r.
drives the bit into the rock At the ay-
erage rate of sixty Ia one hundred feet
daily. After drilling for some tim the
tools are hoi,jcd and a fresh bit /, in
serted. Meanwhile. , sand pump or
''bailcr' 4 cylindrical tube with valves
opening inward. i dropped down the
hole Ia r.mov dctritus or water. a
easing l. fitted >nUgly Ia tn. walls
Of the well to keep out the water. aud
when il j. necessary Z o pump the oil.
the well is tubrd. The tube i, about,
two inches In diameter, around which
a rubber packer Is inserted just above
the oil and gas bearing rock. This
cuts OF the escape of the gas. forcing
it up through the tube. and causing the
well to low. The bore Of the well va
ries from eight 10 six inches. and i,s
depth varies with the geological for
nation. averaging perhaps twelve hun
drcd Ia fifteen hundred feet. and some
times reaching twenty-five hundred.
The cost of Il well naturally depends
upon its location, depth and character
Of rock. The owner generally erccts
the derrick, engine and tank. at an
average expense Of fifteen hundred dol
lars. and then contracts with II driller
10 furnish the tools and sink "A well.
This charge will probably average sixty
cents per foot. IL j. perhaps safe to
say that wells in the larger fields aver
age I'm cost from twenty-five hundred
To three thousand dollars.
T~orpedocS, which were first intro
duccd about 1865, were received with
distrust. but ere now in general use.
and have become a necessary part Of
the equipment Of a well. They are
cylindrical tubes. varying in size. but
generally eight inches in length and
-four in diameter. containing fluid nitro
glyccrine. These to%rpedoes are care
fully lowered into the wells md cy.
plodcd by dropping a twen'y-pound
cast-iron weight upon them from above.
The explosion skaters the walls. giving
4 greater exposure Of surface to draw
oil from. thus stimulating the wells and
increasing their production. Though
this treatment hastens the exhaustion
Of a well il is believed by many that
the amount Of oil obtained exceeds
what otherwise would be- procured. At
first only five or six quarts Of nitro
glycerine were introduced. but now il
Is no unusual thing 10 employ one hun
drcd and twenty 10 two hundred quarts
o! glycerine. equal to 3.240 to 500
pounds of gunpowder.-George X. Git-
son. IN Harper's Magazine.