San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-08-21

age OF rreuUnIa, IN cms srare, near rne lower
and Of Lake Erie, has been lighted by It
nearly, If not quite, fifty years, and the
Father Of his Country Is found to have been
the first speculator In natural gas He came
In possession very long time ago Of what
were then known as the burning springs In
the Kanawha valley, Virginia These so
called springs were only the result Of a
natural gas freak, though to the people Of
those early days, before the discovery or In
vention of a process for making coal gas,
they must have furnished q mysterious phe-
nomenon.
The idea of Washington, however, in OBJ
aiming possession Of the property was not
speculation in light or fuel, but speculation
in salt, as more properly became the savior
Of his country. In China, too, a country to
which we must always go when we think
ourselves exclusively entitled to the credit of
some new discovery, the people have known
all about natural gas many hundred years.
1t is even reported that a great catastrophe
once happened in China as consequence of
the reckless use Of this illuminant, the catas-
trophe having been nothing less than the
explosion Of an immense subterranean gas
ometer which underran a country large
enough for several kingdoms. The precise
number of people who persisted at the time Is
not recorded, but, considering the population
of the country, it must have been large. So
natural gas, it will be seen, has played very
tragic part in the worlds history, If an in
animated substance can be said to play
tragedy.
This Chinese story lacks but one element
to give it horrible interest, and that is the
element of possibility. No air can go where
gas holds possession; and you could not have
combustion and consequent explosion with
out air. Some information in relation to
the natural gas wells Of China has been given
recently to the state department by Mr..
Charles DENLY, the American minister to
that country. Mr. DENLY describes a terri
tory about nine miles in diameter, where
brine, suitable for the production OF salt, is
found at depth Of 700 to 1000 feet below
the surface. Below these salt reservoirs
again. at depth of !, 800 or 1000 feet from the
surface, gas is found. 1t is reached by means Of
rude iron drills fastened to a rope and oper-
ated in bamboo pipes, which are gradually
forced into the ground as the earth below Is
displaced by the action Of the sharp iron
point. 1t is bamboo everywhere. After the
gas is reached and brought to the surface it
is led off to the evaporating pans by more
pipes, anu lIltu6 W W uuUy
ing to .rine into salt crystals. But, for its
bearing on this question Of danger to come
from the practice Of tapping natural gas
reservoirs, here is the chief point of interest
in Mr.. Denby's report.
During the TAPPING rebellion, years ago,
the rebels held possession Of the country
where these gas wells are situated, and they
took off the cap that held the gas in confine-
- L. o,,l H.
umn afame. 1t has been burning ever since,
and there is not talent enough among the
Chinese engineers to extinguish the fire. But
| it is to be presumed that even the bamboo
piping in the well remains uninjured, or the
! orifice must long since have been closed.
We need not go all the way to China, how
ever, for examples. We have seen oil and gas
wells enough afame in the United States to
have blown OFF the ends of both New York
and Pennsylvania had it been possible for
the flame to penetrate below the surface.
The Chinese incident, however, is not with
out interest from another point Of view.
There has been theory that the gas wells
must be soon exhausted; but here Is a well
that has been running with such force that
the fame is inextinguishable during many
years, and there is no evidence Of decreasing
pressure.
Official reports on the natural gas pro-
ducts of the United States are not very re-
cent, the latest report, in its main features,
coming down only to the close of the year
1885. 1t covers a ptriod of less than two
years, the discovery that natural gas could
be found in sufficient quantities to make well
driving profitable having been made in 1885.
Yet at the end of the second year it was
found that gas had displaced {, Ass, 900 tons
of coal, estimated in value at SIC, ,OOO
This was about double the quantity dis
placed during the first year, 1885; and as the
natural gas companies were rapidly extend
ing their mains at the date Of the report, it
is fair to presume that the quantity dis
placed has doubled again during the unre-
ported months which have followed.-New
! York Sun.
| Oldest Shoes In the worru.
In the British Museum, in London, care
fully guarded in glass case, are some Of the
Oldest shoes in the world They are sandals
taken from very ancient Egyptian tombs.
The soles are made Of palm leaves, and they
are provided with bands made of the stems
- papyrus The papyrus is species Of very
tall reed which grows on marshy river banks
- warm countries Chicago HeraIo
COMMON SENSE.