The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1888-07-12
The Pen Was Dropped.

"A iatiucr VI oIiis county, says q
Warren, Pa, letter to the New York
Sun, went to lawyers office in this
place few days ago to sign import
ant papers. After they had been read
to him and approved, clerk in tho
office, in handing the farmer a pen to
write his signature, dropped it on the
floor. The lawyer himself sprang
from his chair, hurriedly picked up
the pen, and placed it in the farmers
hands.
"a delay of fifteen seconds, caused
by the dropping of a pen with which
a man was to sign his name to will
lost to Warren county 500, 900
once," said the lawyer, "and the
dropping of a pen about to be used
has always made me nervous and un-
comfortable since. IL. r. Rouse, OF
Enterprise, this county, was one OF
the pioneer oil operators on Oil creek,
and in the spring of 1861 his wells
were yielding him a daily revenue
larger than the average mans yearly
income. The first great oil-well fire in
the history ofthe oil regions occurred
in April, 1861, when the Hawley &Mer-
rick well suddenly began spouting oil
and gas in such quantities that the oil
ran to waste and flowed over the
ground in ali directions, and the gas
filed the air for a quarter of mile
around, finally reaching an engine
house, where the fire of the boiler TO-
nited it. The result was acres of
roaring flames, which enveloped the
spectators that had assembled to
witness the then great novelty of a
flowing well. How many persons
were burned up in that awful fire was
never ascertained, but twenty are
known to have persisted. H. r.
Rouse was on the ground when the
explosion occurred, and was
hurled into the thicket of
the conhagation. Two men, one OF
them named Uriah Smith now living
near Mercer, rushed into the terrible
mass of fire, and Selling Mr.. Rouse
dragged him out in time. Both res
cuers were terribly burned, and were
months nrecovering from the results
OF their daring dash into the fierce
sea of boiling oil to rescue the oil
king.
'Rouse's clothing was burned from
his body, which was one mass of
blisters. His eyes were burned to a
crisp in their sockets, and his ears,
hands, and hair burned off. He
was carried to a house at a safe
distance. The explosion occurred
at 6 p. NJ, and in spite of his fright
full condition he lived until the next
morning. He never lost conscious
ness, and as soon as everything that
could be done for him was done, he
began the dictation of his will. The
intense agony he suffered made this
a slow job, and when the Will was
finished it was morning. When the
document was ready for his signature
the person who had done the writing
dipped the pen in the ink bottle but
in reaching it toward the dying mans
outstretched hand he dropped it..
The pen rolled in under table and a
delay of at least a quarter of a min
ute occurred before it could be recov-
cred. When it was found and placed
in Mr.. Rouse's hand the hand was
powerless to use it. The brave oil
prince was dead
'In his will he had bequeathed the
sum of 100000 to the poor fund OF
Warren county. He had also left
500 each to the men who had pre-
served him from being cremated
alive. The will being without his
signature was, of course, legally mop
perative, and his heirs did not think
it incumbent upon them to carry out
his wishes, although they were ex-
pressive under such extraordinary
circumstances. The county lost it's
legacy, which was not so much to be
wondered at, as the sum was very
large; but the non-payment of the
two 500 requests to the men who,
at the risk OF their own lives, had
saved the unfortunate oil operator
to his family, at least for Christian
burial was long matter of COM
ment in the Oil regions"