The Indianapolis journal., 1888-07-22
NATURAL GAS.
Interesting Facts About this New Source of
Comfort and Wealth.

question that countless people have been try
ing to answer and it is said that the people of
every State 10 the Union except the New Eng
land States and the four most southerly Atlantic
seabord States. have quite lost their equi-
librlum in attemptiDgt to show that the chief
supply is right under the crust of real
estate which they themselves happen to
occupr. East of the Appalachian range of
mounts aims, measuring the Green mountains of
Vermont their most northern extension. or
spur, the natives have not bored for natural gas
except, perhaps, furtivey. and in the dark A
SIMILAR want of enterprise has manifested itself
in North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Flor
ida. the people OF those States possibly thinking
themselves too near the earthquakes conter to
take any chances at penetrating the crust OF this
imperiectly baked globe. But everywhere else
between the Hudson river and the Pacific coast
the drills have been working :neessantly, lighted
at night. it is to be presumed. not infrequently,
by the electric light.
Such q spectacle would be somewhat ludicrous
were il not that the electric illuminant in the
presen, status of scientific knowledge is Obliged
to confess that dull gas is one Of the elementary
forces to which il owes its own being. But the
search has generally been futile. Except in
Kansas gas he's been found in paying quantities
only in that portion Of the Mississippi valley
which lies east of the great river and along the
borders of the mysterious geological formation
known as the drift. Tho main sources of supply
are found in the western part of the State Of
Pennsylvania. extending northward into south
western New York, and southwxrd into West
Virginia: in northwestern Ohio and the contie-
nous eastern part OF central Indiana, and in one
part of Michigan.
The considerable supply found in Kansas is
so far west of the main source that it suggests
escaping gas caused by some fesure or fault in
the drift formations Yet the search goes for
ward, though possibly with relaxing interest
may furnish still other natural distribution over
half the continent
Natural gas been long known. The village Of
Fredopia, in this State, near the lower end 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 nat
ural gas. He came in possession q very long
time ago Of what were then known as the burn
ing springs, in the Kanawha Valley. Virginia
These so-called springs were only the result of q
natural. gas freak, though to the people of those
early days. before the discovery or invention of
a process for making coal gas. they must have
furnished mysterious phenomenon.
The idea of Washington, however, in obtain
ing possession of the property was not specu-
lation in light or fuel, but speculation in salt as
moro properly became the savior of his country.
In China, too, q country to which we must
always 60 when we think ourselves exclusively
entitled to the credit 81 some new DISCOVERY. the
people have known all about natural gas many
catastrophe once happened In China as a conse-
quence of the reckless Of this illuuipant,
the catastrophe having been nothing less than
the explosion of an immense eubterranean
gasometer which underrau o country large
enough for several Kingdoms The precise num-
ber of people who perishsd 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 a very tragic
part in the worlds history, if an inanimats sub
stance can be said to play tragedy.
This Chinese story lacks but one element TO
give it horrible interest. and that is tho ele-
ment of possibility. No air can 60 where gas
holds possession; and you could not have COM
bustion and a consequent explosion without air.
Some information in relation to the nstural-eas
wells OF China has been given recently to the
State Department by Mr.. Charles DENLY, the
American minister TO that country. Mr.. DENLY
describes territory about nine miles IN dame
ter, where brine. suitable for the production of
salt, is found at depth of 700 to 1000 feet be-
low 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 rope and operated
in bamboo pipes, which are gradually forced into
the ground. as the earth is displaced by
the action of the sharp iron point.
1t is bamboo everywhere. After the gas is
reached ana brought to the surface. 1t is led off
to the evaporatine pans by more bamboo pipes
and made to do duty in turning the brine into
salt crystals. But, for its bearing on this quss-
tion of danger to come from the practice of tap.
point Of interest in Mr.. Denby's reports
During the TAPPING rebellion, years ago. the
rebels held possession OF the country where
these gas wells are situated, and they took of
the cap that held the Gas in confinement from
one of the wells and the column aiame. 1t
has been burning ever since. and there 10 not
talent enough among the Chinese engineers to
extineuish the fire. But IL is to be presumed
that even tho bamboo piping in the well remains
uninjured, or the oriics 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 siame in the United States to
have blown off the ends Of both New York and
to penetrate below the surface. The Chinese
incident, however. is not without interest from
another point Of view. There has been a
theory that the gas wells must be soon ex-
haustei; but here is q we'll that has been run
ming with such force that the flame is inextin-
euishable during many years, and there is no
evidence Of decreasing pressure. The number OF
thousands of millions of cubic feet of gas which
must have been consumed during the time is
ipconceivable
Official reports on the natural gas product of
the United States are not very recent the latest
report. in its main features, coming down only
to the close of the year 1885, 1t covers a period
of less than two years, the discovery that natural
gas could be found in sufficient quantities to
make well driving profitable having been made
was found that gas had displaced g. 453. 600 tons
of coal, estimated in value al sl0, ,000. 000 This
was about double the quantity displaced durin 2
the first year, 1885; and as the natural-eas com
panies were rapidly extending their mains at the
date of the report. il Is fair to presume that the
quantity displaced has doubled again during the
unreported eighteen months which have fol-
lowed
At the close Of 1886 there were $500 miles of
gas mains, exclusive of the small pipes, used for
conveying the gas into dwellings and factories.
It Is probable that there are now double this
number of miles. or enough to span the cont
nent on its longest parallel OF latitude.
II has been supposed that the cause for the
rapid extension Of the operations Of the natural
gas companies was be found exclusively IN
the cheapuess of their commodity ana its Qreatel
convenience when compared with coal. But this
does not seem to have been the exclusive cause
very strong cause Is found in the intense com
petition between the companies Where several
companies have covered the same territory thi.
competition is represented as something ter
rife. They have frequently been known tC
supply the plant, give it 70 the consumer, and
then furnish the gas free during an entire year
for the mere purpose of excluding a competitor
Some of the wells are sixty miles from the towr
or city where light or power Is to be supplied
and each company is able TO take IN a wide
radius of territory for Its operations. In thi,
case you would expect collisions to be free anG
frequent
But though the rivalries Of the companies
manifested In their desire to get possession oi
good territory in advance or their competitors
has had much TO do with their rapid growth, the
economy offered had, without doubt, beer
the chief stimulant The new fuel is very
cheap The cost Of coal for manufacturing
a ton of bar iron is stated definitely a.
about 1886. But the cost of gas fol
the same work is never more than g
nd hat do "a 70