Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-10-25
THE TORPEDO KING.
yASTFOHTUNEwON FROM SIM.
PIE INVENTION.
strange Freaks OF The i;ypIosivc-NIcn
who Were Literally ObIitcratcd-
kcckicssncss on the Part OF
the Torpedo Handlers.

"Torpedo King" Of the oil country, and.
after the Standard Oil people, the
best known man connected in any way
win the oil trade. The strange industry
| which he and his brother built M was
peculiar only to the oil regions. Ills
brother, Colonel 4. L. Roberts, is also
dcad. For years they enjoyed II close
monopoly Of tho torpedo business, and
both the brothers made millions of dollars
out 1t. When their patents expired by
limitation the business of cxplodinr for.
pcdocs in oil wells was taken up by who
S"cvcr chose to engage in the hazardous
undertaking, and now scores of firms are
supplying the trado which formerly de-
pended upon "Torpedo Roberts," us the
Doctor WAS known.
Roberts was originally dentist in New
York, In; coming to The oil country in
the early days Of the petroleum OK
citcmcnt he and his brother engaged in
the oil business and soon secured n patent
on n device for exploding nitro glyccrinr
III the bottom of oil wells To increase the
How. The device was simple, but il
| proved one ol the most valuable inventions
/ al tue age, and certainly far exceeded the
Widest dreams of the young inventors
inc device was simply tube mado of
tin To hold the explosive, supplicd
with II cap for exploding the sub,
stance. This WAS lowered into the well
To the depth of 1000 feet, if necessary
by means OF cord, and when nj the de-
sired depth small iron weight, called II
go-drril, was dropped down on the
cord, and this striking The tube contain
my The nllroglyccrinc II terrific explosion
followed. These explosions shattered the
oil hearing rock, and the result in nearly
every ease was an increase in the pro,luc
ton of the we'll. The demand for thcsf
! 'orpc,iocS WAS enormous. There were
anywhere from fifteen thousand lo
Twenty-Five Thousand wells in the region
and nearly all of them were inrpc,lord nj
regular intervals. The Roberts brothers
got their own prices, and their fortunes
were quickly mndc. In II few years their
| several fortunes were estimated nj from
81 ,0O0, 900 To $1,000, 900. Every oil
producer had To pny tribute Ia them, and
finally the oil men sought Ia break tI,c
monopoly by attacking the validity Of
the patents. The producers organized To
hight the pntrnis in the courts, and lon,
G,,,u ,,,.,,, ~, j.; ,"'"" m"' ''o result me
, and finally ia, S,,,.,,, "'' -" s'",''
Fatal Gu, WI NV
Robcrt>brothcrs, and they continued to
have The exclusive right 10 manufacture
and use the torpedo for seventeen wear,
The life Of the patent.
The torpedo kings, ns ihoy are now
| called, had scores Of agents ia all pnrts
don. i, ,,.a,i, Nl'"f' ''uS' '"ri"-
nn1n n... rna',' w. P,"',"'',N' r"t'' TOR
,nn,ci,, an,i u', ', w. wv? ''''''''c'' quarts
n,rr ~. ,n,,',n,. =" ''''y,''S 'mo'n
,.,.r,. ,,..,.., '',i "'' wy S'cW' III
carr;.L u,a .;, ""o''o's' ih'y
Ir,r,,, ,,,' ., Sy',''"' !" wagons
nricn ,,,rr;"I -" , ",.i" wv" ,,, ''"lSrS' h'y
nnunJs nr IN. ,i.a,i,,. a,,,,r ''" ",'''''
man would I,,,,,,,',''J ".'' ""'' yo' 'n''c
,mvc nm, h..d T., H., '"' ,"'9
Jr;v;,,, VI '"'''
..Tnr,ol .;.,,
conu,nn oc,.,rr,,,.., nu' ''o,c'o'' /"
m.,n lam, .''., :" '"Nc''S "' c''Sr'
uost oui ~ ,x;.,..,.,' ".'' Nv" az
ci.nr hnx wnm,i n, h'i'I '' In ',i"t
Ir;var ,, "pN "n'"' no' n"''' "'' oil the
ihnf ,C Glnn.u If,........, =.
Human hc;n,, ,r.a n',o, , u" V'a',Sc "l 4"
few mound. or n,1, ;1"',: .'''' "n'y ii
b,;r no ho;,,, 81, Ill., ''"r' ~ '"c
horses MIL ,ya., ,i,.. o,'' n'' VI wv"
thc mnrv ..Iornrd,, y,,Iaa;ab,',' '1 'n'c .,
counirv 7, n,D,,,,,'I l '''', III ''' OIL
Inst near plcn.,n,,;,,,. 9 :" ';,'''''''''
Titn,vilc Nils wns ,rinr ' ,'' ''''a ','','
Of ~. nr,,,r,, ,',,'..'' NV Nl'''"''o''
cnoa"cJ in ~. ,r,a; ,' ''''' ', "'''c'" were
cmnIoycd Inv Crnran ~ w.. Sw'!!, w, ":''
b,,lin,, n;ir1. .,,yn,s; .;n ~" VII III
team and torjn,, !, IN ,n.,,,, .Mo .'. '
plcus,ntv;llc m d. "N'''u "e"'
wagon cnuln;,rd rn,,r,o ".'''' i'., al1
nn'nI. TI,, 'o"'''o' h'ii"rc''
nn,noz;nc nroh,,Iw ,',au "I."''ou u. ,nc
net Of mlonJin" !, and ,nr,o ""' ,,. - a"'
magazine and na, ycro , no"o', ", ''
The force Of thc c~nIos;nn " m, ~ "'J n,1,
in tbc "round lil. IN ,x'.''.',; m''ro u io,'
lar and the rrnort w,s h.ar J" ~ ~, "a, 'G =.
,l,,,,,.,, 80. ""' "0"'" vi ,oi' I'LL