The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-08-16
DEATH OF THE TORPEDO KING.
The Vast Fortune He Won from a
Simple But Important Invention.


The recent death of DIR. w. B. Roberts,
of Titusville. Pa, closes a conspicuous
career. Roberts was the great Torpedo
King" of the oil country, and after the
Standard oil people, the best known man
connected in any way with the oil trade.
The strange industry which he and his
brother built I'D was peculiar only to the
oil regions. His brother, Col. A E. Ro berts,
is also dead For years they enjoyed a close
monopoly of the torpe do business, and both
the brothers made millions of dollars out of
it, When tn cir patents expired by limita-
ton the business of exploding torpedoes in
oil wells was taken up BY whosoever chose
to engage in the hazardous undertaking,
and now scores of firms are supplying
the trade which formerly depended
upon TORPEDO Roberts, as the doctor was
known.
Roberts was originally dentist in New
York, but coming TO the oil country in the
early days of the petroleum excitement. he
and his brother engaged in the oil bushes,
and soon secured u patent on a device for
exploding nitro-gl ycerine in the bottom of
oil wells to increase the flow. The device
was simple, but it proved one of the most
valuable inventions of the age, and GER
tainiy far exceeded the widest dreams of
the young inventors. The device was simply
tube made of tin to hold the explosive,
supplied with cap for exploding the sub
sta zee. This was lowered INTO the well to
the depth of 1000 feet, If necessary, by
means of cord. and when at the desired
depth a small iron weight called ego
devil" was dropped down on the cord, and
this striking the tube containing the nitro
glycerine a terrific explosion folio we'd
These explosions shattered the oil
bearing rock, and the result in
nearly every case was an increase in the
production Of the well. TIE demand for
these torpedoeS was enormous. There were
anywhere from Is, 900 to $4,000 wells in the
region, and nearly all of them were tOrpe-
decd at regular intervals. The Roberts
brothers got their own prices. and their
fortunes were quickly made. In few years
their several fortunes were estimated at
from S2,000,000 TO S4000,000 Every oil
producer had to pay tribute t. them, and
finally the oil men sought to break the
monopoly by attacking the validity of the
patents. The producers organized to fight
the pa ents in the courts, and long and Bit
ter litigation was the result. The fight
went on In every court II years, and finally
the supreme court of the United States de-
cided in favor of the Roberts brothers, and
they continued to have the exclusive RICH
to manufacture and use the torpedo for
seventeen years-the life of the patent.
A DANGEROUS BUSINESS.
The torpedo kings, as they are now called,
had scores of agents in all parts of the oil
regions exploding these torpe1oe in wells
for producers. Each torpedo was from 10
to 200 quarts cap icity, and the danger in
carrying them over the country was very
great. The agents were called shooters "
they carried the nitro-glycerlne in wagons
drawn by one and often two horses. They
often carried as much as l 800 pounds of the
deadly stuff, and vet these men would be-
come SO reckless that they gave littls heed
to the manner of their driving.
Torpedo accidents" were therefore a
common occurrence. In dozens of cases
man, team and vehicle were blown almost
entirely out of existence. 1t was rarely
that cigar box would not hold all of the
driver that could be found. In one case,
that of ''Docn Haggerty, no vestige of a
human being was ever found and only a
few pounds of flesh, identified by the hair,
as being all that was left Of two horses.
This was the strangest case of the many
torpedo explosions" in the oil country. 1t
occurred early in December last, near Pleas
ltville, seven miles from IituSville. This
was after the expiration of the Roberts
patents, and Others were engaged iii the
business. HaZgerty was employed by
George w. Van Veil in hauling nitro
glycerine with two-horse team and storing
1t IN magazine near Ploasantvllle.
On this occasion the wagon contained
1.40O pounds. The explosion occurred at
the magazine, probably when he was in the
act of unloading it, and horses, wagon
magazine and man were blown to atoms.
The force of the explosion made a hole in
the ground like an excavation for a cellar,
and the report was heard or felt in almost
every part of the county. Thousands of
people visited the scene Search was made
for some remains of Haggerty, but nothing
was ever found, either of his body or cloth
ing. lie was seen on the wagon twenty
minutes before the explosion. Curious
theories were advanced in regard to the
utter humiliation of the body. Scientific
men said 1t was not improbable that the
explosion had been sufficiently powerful to
generate enough heat to entirely consume
the body insantaneously. Hon. A.
b. Richmond of Meadville, Pa, q
man of scientific attachments, held
that this theory was quite plaus-
lble de had not originally advanced the
theory. but he thought it might be found to
be the true one. 1t was suggested that
Haggerty might have fired a pistol ball
into the nitro -glycerine from a safe distance.
out no motive could be found for doing this
ourside of the fact that he had an insurance
OF 50, OO0 on his life. The insurance Jmpany
Is not entirely satisfied that he is dead, their
chief argument being that no dead Hag-
gerty can be found Persons familiar with
the wonderful annihilative power of nitro
glycerlne as witnessed many times in the
oil country have no doubt that Haggerty
was completely obliterated by the explo-
sion. 1t Is known that the rotary motion
OF cyclones has generated sufficient heat to
SINCE the feathers on chickens, and the
force OF this explosion must have been
many times greater than any cyclone and
SUFFICIENT, therefore, to have consumed
every vestige of the body and clothing of
Haggerty.
The numerous cases of spontaneous COM
bustlon referred to by Charles Dickens in
his preface to BLEAK House" were cited at
this time to show that it was possible for a
human body to be consumed in this way.
Dickens disposes of Mr. Krooks" by spon-
taneous combustion, and in the preface of
the story he justifies himself by citing sew
eral well authenticated cases that were
known to medical science One of these
cases was that of German saloonkeeper at
columbus, y. In all these CASES, including
tnat OF MIR. Krooks, u excessive alcoholism
was the cause. This did not figure in the
case OF Haggerty, as he did not use liquor
at all. The writer of this was on the ground
soon after The explosion, and a faint odor of
nre was remarked. This was, perhaps, an
hour after the explosion, or as long as was
required to drive seven miles in q buggy
over rough country.