Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-07-29

burning, but all he could see was smoke.
There was no fire and very little heat. A
couple of days later he was working about
his farm when he was startled by an explo-
sion which sounded like a whole battery
of artillery going off. Looking across
the field where he had seen the smoke he
saw heavy cloud of dust, which, as he
watched 1t, settled gradually to the earth,
and the field looked just as it had a week
before. Ever since that, however, there
has been a perceptible pulsation of that
particular portion of the field, and at in
tervals, generally in the spring or early
summer, the smoke returns and an explo-
sion takes place.
To reporter who visited the place Mr..
White said: VERY few people outside of
my immediate neighbors know anything
about my little phenomenon, for have
kept very quiet about it when away from
home, for fear people would not believe
what L told them. 1t is here now, how
ever, and you can see it for yourself. Sew
eral times my family, or some of my
neighbors, have been called out by cry
of fire, when the only thing in the world
that was burning about there was that lit
tie patch of ground.
"Can explain the mystery? No, can
not. [ thought at first there must be
volcano down there somewhere, and that
it might break out and fill the valley
something after the style of Pompeii,
but 1t has been going so long now that [
don't bother myself any more about it.
There is fire down there under the sur
face somewhere, that's sure but don't
know where it it is, and I don't know that
care much. l have thought that 1t
might be vein of camel coal which had
In some way caught fire, but if it was
coal it would smoke all the time and not
only at intervals. Some people who have
been here lately think that natural gas is
to blame for it. There is certainly
great deal of gas in this vicinity, and it
may be that in some way or another it is
the cause of the phenomenon. Still nat
ural gas don't smoke, and | don't know
just how it could explode without tear
ing the ground to pieces more than it
does.
LIKE A WINE GLASS.
"Down on the Little Beaver Greek, half
mile from here, there is gas coming
right up through the assures in the rock
bottom of the stream, but it never does
any exploding. When lighted it burns
in the shape of wine glass seven feet
high, and from its light you can see the
holes in the rock from which it issues
We have had it burning several
times lately, and it seems to be as strong
to-day as it was when we first discovered
it, good many years ago. When not
burning it comes up with force enough to
keep the water in constant froth. Gas
escapes at several other places along the
creek, within few miles of here, but not
in so large a quantity"
The escaping natural product has at
tracted the attention of gas operators,
and the prospect of striking a big well
in that vicinity has added to the interest
already felt in the field on account of its
oil prospects. In addition to the gas
which escapes from the spring bottom,
there are several wells, drilled, many of
them ten years ago, in the vicinity which
are still producing. One well ten miles
east of Cannelton, which is only 700 feet
deep, produces flow of fuel that when
lighted burns ten feet from the surface
of the ground. It has been producing
since about 1870. Others are not doing
so well, but still have a showing of what
they might again be if drilled deeper.