The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1889-07-27
Is THE EARTH ABuMB?
And May we All be Blown Into Etcr-
nifty by u Natural Gas Explosion.


And May We All be Blown Into Etcr-
| nifty by Natural Gas Explosion.
| New Brunswick, N. j., correspon-
den, New York Herald, of July IA:
Apropos of the recent interview pub
lished iu the Herald with Professor l..
| w. Thickstun of Metuchen, concern-
iug the possibility of the upheaval OF
the earth caused by natural gas ex-
plosion, ! secured from Mr.. Thickstuu
yesterday an explanation of his ideas,
| which is as startling as it Ia important.
ssNatural gas in western Pennsylva-
MIA, eastern Ohio and In some other
parts OF the country" said he, sis one
of the things the public is thinking
about with some degree OF apprehen-
sion. Capital in large amounts has
been invested in I:s production, or
rather in its capture and in its apple
cation as a heater and as au iliuMiHa-
tor, Millions OF dollars fad profitable
employment in, this manner all over
the extensive territory known as the
oil regions.
"lu PitfSburg alone enough natural
gas is consumed daily TO give sufficient
largest city in the world. North al
PHtsburg 120 miles, at. Esie, and all
| the way between the two places, ua!u-
rsl gas is found in nearly every neigh
bcrhood where proper tests. have been
made. In nli other directions from
this busy and prosperous nanufactu-
ring center gas has been found in quau-
titles apparently inexhaus:ible.
ga reservoir Of vast proportions, or
many reservoirs must have been pro-
vided for by nature to contain what
gas has already escaped from wells and
what is yet stored away in the bowels
of the earth. Extensive deposits have
also been found liz the, western coun.
ties of our own State, as well as in
Pennsylvania aud Ohio. How far the
openings eXtend below the eartis sur.
face is not known, hut the subterrapean
cavern Or caverns where gas abounds
must be Of great magnitude.
"Gas began TO appear in large quan-
titles soon after the first wells on Oil
creek were finished. Colonel Drake
drilled the first oil we'll near Titusville
Pa, during the summer of 1869, and
at u depth of .sxty.nine feet he struck
oil. That was pumping and not u
flowing well. From it @ small amount
of gas escaped, as is the case with most
pumping wells. Subsequently many
other wells were opened, thousands OF
them, some pumping and some flow
ing.
"All flowing wells are gas as well as
oil wells, Ia flowing wells oil is
thrown out by escaping gas. Big
.spouters' began to appear eight or ten
miles below Titusviile, along 'the
creek early. in 1860. Since then they
have been opened in hundreds OF other
localities from the source TO the month
of the Allegheny river and along many
Of its tributaries:
"Amon2 the mCst noted md the
most profitable Of all flowing wells was
the Noble well, seven miles below
Titusville, struck on May 8, 1868. 1t
began as 1900 gallon well. 1t was
sboomor' of the first order. Gas and
oil came from y c5evice in the sand
rock, lao feet below the bed Of OH
creek. Twenty rods lower down the
stream was the Caldwell well. Ii was
a good 700 barrel well. Oil was reached
in it It. about the same depth as in the
Noble well. BY May 2S the produc.
ton of the Noble we'll ran up TO 1900
barrels and the Caiiwei had fallen off
to 400 barrels day. Before the mid
die of June the latter was so nearly
exhausted that it flowed not more than
seven or eight barrels, and the former
Was pouring out a flood Of 220O barrels
OF petroleum every twenty four hours,
"The Noble well did nobly, ran
about twenty-five months, produced
over 500 600 barrels of oil, An immense
amount Of gas-wasted on Oil creek
air-aud then it, too, was worthless
hole in the ground. Water fills the
place and the gas and oil occupied and
90 one fears danger from that quarter.
"Not very far from the Noble we'll
there is another kind Of blower. This
has no water or oil in it, only gas, aud
that comes Ou; at such II rate that you
might hear it pul5ating and fairly
poundinga u mile or two away on
still summer evening. This, like other
wells, Was sunk for oil, ard this is the
kind in which danger turks. This well
never fills up with water and probably
never will. There are hundreds and
thousands scattered all over the oil re-
gions jIst like it. We are anxious to
know what sort OF a place is under our
country where this treacherOuS SUBJ
s;auce comes from.
"If the Noble vel! threw out 800, 900
barrels of oil aud as much gas besides
in less than two years, what are these