Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-04

some cases hardly vestige of the victims
remained, and the theory furnished for their
almost total and instantaneous disappear.
ance is spontaneous combustion.
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DTsPArcH.i
TITUsvILLE, August 3.-The death OF
DIR. w. B. Roberts, of Titusville, closes a
conspicuous career. Roberts was the great
'sTorpedo 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 up was peculiar only
to the oil regions. His brother, Colonel A.
E. Roberts, is also dead. For years they
enjoyed a close monopoly of the torpedo
business, and both the brothers made mil
lions of dollars out of it. When their
patents expired by Limitation the business
of exploding torpedoes in oil wells was
taken up by whosoeyer chose to engage in
the hazardous undertaking, and now scores
of firms are supplying the trade which for
merly depended upon Torpedo Roberts, %
as the doctor was known. He was originally
dentist in New York, but coming to the
oil country in the early days of the petro-
leum excitement, he and his brother engaged
in the oil business and soon secured patent
on device for exploding nitro-glycerine in
the bottom of oil wells to increase the flow.
The device was simple. but it proved to be
one of the most valuable inventions of the
age, anu ;el.alniy iai . eAoeeueu TS. 1Te Su;s"
creams VI Ine touns ilsou.o .; ~ IIS IS,So az
was simPiy tuoe maue 'n q no-u J sIe
eApi1sse, suPpe0 Th;n " ~.
ing Ins suostahSe inS maS nao ss ioweleu auso
tne wen W Ine ueP'n y. A'ooo 'eoi, ne.Is az
sary, py means Oh c1Io; anu, h. mngn ,,nS az ins
aesirso GePtn, smai ilon "eisus oaiieu I
81 1e tSi. S;I;ua MIs % tbe tnhe coUt.;ninc . ths
anu 'uis stIAns VI; Wv. ,1oS;na t.IIsSod ~
n.,tro-glycerlne 'eIrinc e1pi1sion iotioWeu
LnSse "a piUsionS .l ,,, ou nU U.u. ao.a as
rocA anu 'ne ISL az Snat ~ Sa'e vi ~H'
Tl an iIcleaoe ~ '.I p.ouun taS " VIZ % me'
Ine uenlSnu TI ior .nese L t 1E onn SMU -
IN nous; us tueie VIZ any "ne.o 'm io'oyy " "
1S,ooo Mens ~ sse anI n;ay ;.ayi a.. VI
tnem were torpeooeo az regular in'er'ais'
Ho" MILLIONS "EhE MADE.
The Roberts brothers got their own prices
and their fortunes were quickly made. In
a few years their several fortunes were esti-
mated at from $4,000, 900 to 81, 200. 600.
Every oil producer had to pay tribute to
them, and finally the oil men sought to
break the monopoly by attacking the
validity of the patents. The producers or
ganized to fight the patents in the courts,
and long and bitter litigation was the re-
suit. The fight went on in every court for
wears. and finally the Supreme Court of the
United States decided in favor of the Rob-
erts brothers, and they continued to have
the exclusive right to manufacture and use
the torpedo for II years, the life of the
patent.
The torpedo kings, as they were now called,
had scores of agents in all parts of the oil
regions, exploding these torpedoes in wells
for producers. Each torpedo was from 10
to 200 quarts capacity, and the danger in
carrying them over the country was very
great. Inc agents were called shooters.
Iney carried tne 1it,S-giyce1ihe S @ IN "agSns gSa
ola~n ny ole anu ol'en tmo soo no,ses; = tney .s
Site1 carr,e1 G as ucn o. as as n'w pounus S u tne
oeauy S.u, anu yet tha;r 1 bs; %1m WTut that ,hsr
cone s.,!1 ~ S ~ sn ousns sna' nv
gave lis1ie neeo 70 tne manner OF lneII aris.
ing. iorpeuo acciuen.s nele .neIeiole @
common oceuirenIe. S I IN uoIehs I VI Eases
man, Ieam anu Yenioie WEI uiomn amos. .n /.
entirelt out VI e1is'ehce ~ was rarely :na'
cigar po1 wouiu not n1iu al Vi lhe 9riVef
.r tnas couII pe !ounu. ~ one case, .nai Vi
Doc nageecty, no Sessise oi numal pe.
ing was eter iounu, anu iew Pounus W .,
nesn ieentineu py sne narl nj as ueing az 'na'
was iels Vi .m1 holses s.!I .nis was tne stians
est case oi lne many torPeoo EXPLOSIONS
IN tne OH connIy. 9 a. occuIreu early IN
DgcewDer s ias., ntaI rasan'ses Tas sesen e
mlIes rom rtuspnte 1nis was aiteI .ne
expiration OF the ROBERTS patents ana others
were engagee IN tne business: Hagger!y
was empioyeo Dy george w; van Veiit IN
nauiins niuo-giyceIine WIN tmo-norse
1ean, anu SVoring IN . magazine near
fleasantViiie. on tnis'occasion tne wagon
contalneu NV pounus. tnS GHpios,on oc-
curreu az tne magazine, Procapiy Wnen ne
was IN .ne ACT oi unioaoIng ~, ana norses,
wagon magaZine anu man were pio"n 70
atoms.
THE FORCE OF THE EXPLOSION
made hole in the ground like an excava-
ton for cellar, and the report was heard
or felt in almost every part of the county.
Search was made for some remains of Hag-
gerty, but nothing was ever found either
of his body or clothing. He was seen on
the wagon 20 minutes before the explosion.
Curious theories were advanced in regard to
the utter anpihilation of the BODY. Scien-
titic men said it was not improbable that the
explosion had been sufficiently powerful to
generate enough heat to entirely consume
the body instantaneously. Hon. A. b.
Richmond, of Meadyille. Pa, man of
scientific attachments, held that this theory
was quite plausible. He had not originally
advanced the theory, but he Thought It
might be found to be the true one.
It was suggested that Hagperty might
have fired a pistol ball into tie nitro-plycer-
inc from a safe distance. but no motive
could be found for doin, this outside of the
fact that he had an Insurance of IS 600 on
his life. The insurance company is not en-
tirely satisfied that he is dead, their chief