Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-11-26
NATURAL GAS WONDER.

P. 1 technic OiEp'ay That Lasted far Cuo
Vars.
There ere many curious phenomena
ever present at the natural gas wells,"
said member Of big Natural gas COM
parry IN Washington county. Pa, 20 8
Nav York Times correspondent, in giving
some "reminiscences Ct the development
# that great industry, "5ut hare never
seen anything that struck me as
being SO peculiar IS those fbat
were witIe ssed q few 'Yssrs ago
at q well in the Capsds oil field 6.
Sl:nia. The we'll was being drilled
FOR oil, and, at the depth Ut 600 feet,
8 great volume CT gas WAS
found. The gas was accidentally
SET j fire ss 1t gushed from the we'll. A
fountain Of fame moro than fitY feet
high was the result. that In itself was
wonderful phenomenon fer that district
then, aud would be to-day, bu. the flow
Ct burning gas has still greet PECULIAR
tieg, and such peculsfties as
no gas well in Washington county
ever had.
One Of the peculiafi.ies OF the
Sarnis we'll WAS that every fifteen
m.nuies, as regularly as s clock
could mark the time, = stream OF
wa,er three inches ID diameter spouted
from the depths and mingled with the
burning g.s. The force Of the wster
carried tine flames up more than leo
feet, and separated the mas in dart
rg sprays and sparkling showers of
Are. TIE ws.er's chemical compost.
ticD WAS euch Mat there were Ger
Tain l. fisnniaole qualities IN 1t, and tbeee
w nld make brightly ;oloEed Light IL
miDg!e with the dull yellow l,me Ct the
gas Itself, creating natural pyrotechni.
csl display that never saw eQuilled IL
brilliant sn6 startling facts By sny arti-
fetal combination OF explosives and com.
bustibles. S:reabs Of brigh: yellow,
globes Ct purple and fantastic shapes 10
red, pink and blue, leaned and asrced
ard whirled about in itat waxing nag.
Il a-e IN q manner noss enchAating, The
eruption CT water lasted exactly three
minutes, whe D the fame CT gas would re.
sune its normal condition. While Me
wafer was miHgiiug with the fine
stfo1g smell Of sulphur peIvsded the sir.
ga strange thing connected with the
burning well WAS the way in which birds
Of ali kinda we're attracted to 1t while the
water WAS spouting. They would circle
~ the pillar Of fire, II serirg htis
III Grant cries and sciiug ~ II they were
frantic. Frequently the flames would
catch some unforiu aa.e bird In It's flight,
and |. would fall dead or dying to the
ground. This fire had such an effect
on many kinds Of birds that they would
llight In the midst CT crowd of spec-
tators and permit themselves TO be caught
by the score. The owner of the well
tried every means then known to exNu.
guish the burning gas, but Gil to no pur-
pose. 1. burned without ary evidence OF
weakening, or that 1t ever intended to
weikens for over TWO years, when 1t
went gu. one dsy IS suddenly as 1t
had appeared. Another curious
thing shout this well was that when the
gas took fire there we're number tf oil
wells on The trsct, all yielding largely for
that region. Their flow gradually de-
creased as the gas we'll continued to burr,
and when 1t cesed burning not one of the
wells was yielding drop Of oil. snd none
was ever found on the tract afterwsrd,
although on adjoining Leases the drll
tspped Q liberal Oil VEIN" .ss:kkS -