Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1886-10-15
ARTESIAN WELLS.

100
1t has been remarked from time
me that artesian wells are multiply
ng in large numbers, especially il
large cities, where the water is al
times, or all the time, quite unfit fol-
domestic purposes, and where large
factories find the meter charges and
tax too expensive. Among the Latter
class it has been proven by experiment
that an artesian we'll soon repays its
cost with interest, but among the
former class it is . luxury which cs2
be INDUCED only by people Of means.
Some Of the large hotels Of this city
get their water supply by the aid OF
these wells, and there are private fam
lilies of wealth which have had these
wells bored.
The cost of an artesian well Is com
paratively small now to what it was
ten years ago, competition in the bust
ness having had the effect Of reducing
;he price. These wells are made very
much In the same way as are those
from which oil is obtained. The great
difference between the two, however,
is that the water does not usually
spout" 1t generally makes its way
to the surface and is pumped up to
whatever height is wanted. The pos
session of an artesian well, therefore,
involves that of a pump, the cost of
the pump and the expense of running
it.
When = well-borer is employed he
contracts to sink the we'll at so much
| 10 Nf al
how far down he will have to go to
1t may be one hundred or five hundred
feet. 1t is the consumer who assumes
the risk of this. The price Of
work is from three dollars and fifty
cents to twelve dollars q foot,
according to the diameter of the
we'll and other considerations. The
borer sets up derrick similar to those
used in the oil regions, and fitted with
a walking-beam, pulleys and drum.
Then, by the raising and dropping of a
heavy weight, section of pipe two or
three feet long is driven into the
ground. When it has gone down SO
far that there are only few inches pro-
truding above the surface, q second
section is screwed on its top, the heavy
weight is set in motion and this in turn
goes down into the earth. Section af-
ter section is screwed on until the pip
ing strikes rock Meanwhile, by
means of what is called a sand-pump,
the piping has been kept clear of earth
and sand, with which it soon becomes
choked,
When rock is reached the process
changes. The pipe, which has been
forced with some difficulty down
through strata of earth, sand and
gravel, remains immovable against the
the solid stone, and if the borer tried
to drive it down with the iron weight,
something would break, and that
something would not be the rock. A
long cylindrical mass of steel, made SC
that it will fit inside the piping, and
weighing between three hundred and
three thousand FIVE hundred pounds
according to the hardness of the rock
and the diameter of the piping through
which it is to pass, is brought into
,, play. 1t is shaped at the end some
J thing like an axe. 1t is lowered by ,
metal rope through the piping. Wher
: it reaches the bottom it is raised few
: feet by powerful machinery, and ther
suddenly dropped. This splits the rocl
and the broken pieces are forced to tn,
surface by means of the sand pump.
is tiresome work going through tn
e rock. Sometimes it takes several hour
> to bore one foot
. Very often when the rock-breakinl
is going on the rope that holds thu
iron breaker gives way, and the tool il
! left at the bottom of the well. This il
I a very trying situation for the con
I tractor, for there is great danger tina
e his work will have to be stopped. ant
!. that he will lose the money that it cos
him, for the contractor is always tn
: loser in such instances as a matter o
r course. There are implements speci
ally made to recover the breakers, bu
r the process is tedious, and sometime
e the recovering apparatus itself lost
$ Cases have been known where wells
!. few hundred feet deep, which hav
1t cost one thousand dollars or more
a have become so choked up with IRE
a coverable implements that they hav
a had to be abandoned.
e The cost of an artesian we'll ca
e scarcely be estimated, owing to tn
l. competition already mentioned. TIL
n expense to the borer of fitting up hi
IT derrick at the spot where he is to max
e well is from one hundred dollars
q one hundred and twenty-five dollar
e This is before earth can be broker
II and it includes carriage of machinery
g boilers and derrick. Of course tn
has to be recovered from the sum slip,
p lated on per foot for boring, as the col
'e sumner contracts to pay only for ever
"a foot completed, and to take no risl
F. whatever. The borer says the comp
/ tition that has reduced the price of q
i. artesian well by fifty per cent. in fol
Of years has made the occupation of
Y borer precarious one.-Phitadelph
70 RnLLeLin