The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-06-01
EXPLORING FOR NATURAL GAS.
The Renowned Booher Of Taylorsyille,
Ohio, In This Locality Prospecting
For Gas.
The Indications for Success Very
Flattering.

The Mankato Coal, Oil Il Mineral
Company, organized and incorporated
over a year ago for the purpose OF pros
pecting. In the vicinity of Minneopa Falls
for the various substances indicated In
the title Of the company, have reasons
to feel much encouraged by recent de-
velopments. On Friday evening last
Mr.. John s.. Booher, of Taylorsville,
Ohio, the gentleman who has caused
such u Juror In Ohio and Indiana by To-
eating gas and oil wells, arrived in this
city, and on Saturday a number of the
members of the company took him To
Minneopa TO see If he could locate a vein
of natural gas, OIL or coal. A larger del
egation than usual accompanied him and
this fact, together with the inclemency
of the weathe! retarded his work, but he
succeeded in ating a vein of gas-the
exact depth, width and length of which
he did not have time to explore. That
there is gas, however, Mr.. Booher is
confident, and before he concludes his
work he will, il Is claimed, be able to
give a clear idea whether or not the
vein will repay the working.
The manner in which Mr.. Booher To-
Gates or fortells veins of oil, gas or MIN
eral is peculiar. In walking along he is
taken with a peculiar electric shock in
the nerves of the the wrist and back of
the neck if there be a deposit Of any of
the substances mentioned, and the rich
er the deposit the more severe is the
electric current which takes hold upon
him. He has located some eighteen or
twenty wells in Ohio and Indiana, and
while a few proved unrenumerative, the
majority of them have turned out to be
bonanzas for the proprietors. In every
instance where the wells have proved a
failure he foretold the result and adj
vised the projectors to abandon the idea
of boring and save their money. Mr..
Booher is a stone mason by trade, and
the discovery of his peculiar gift in
foretelling such incomprelIensIble things
as he is credited with was a mere accI-
dent.
Of the twenty stockholders in the com-
pany twelve of the number have been
interviewed and express themselves as
confident that there is no humbuggery
about the man, but on the contrary be-
lieve that he will be able, if he has not
already done so, in finding a vein that
will prove of great valne. 1t is truly to
be hoped that this may be the case, IN
Hull cNcuI hIdIhdlO . iutuIC Will OC
greater than her most ardent champion
has ever dared to hope. The explorer
will remain here for a day or two longer,
when he will depart for other fields.
The search after natural gas and oil
was resumed near Minneopa Falls Tues
day, and Mr.. Booher walked over a dis
lance of fifteen miles and found a large
of the gas. The vein is six hun
dred yards wide. There is no telling
how long the vein is as there was not
to follow it up farther. The search
in the immediate vicinity of the Falls
was then begun again. Mr.. Booher left
Tuesday night. There is a good pros
pect for the discovery of a fine supply
of gas, and no doubt operations will soon
be begun to ascertain the truth in the
for all time. A prominently eolo-
gist interviewed recently bv a Pioneer
Press reporter in regard to the supply
under St. Paul stated that while there
was little in that vicinity he was of the
there was a large supply in
and particularly in Southwest
ern Minnesota. With all these evIden.
ces who knows but that this city will
be experiencing a tremendous