Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-03-22
THE OIL VANISHED.
Failing to Plug Abandoned Wells of
the RalstOn Oil Company
RUINS ONE OF THE BEST FIELDS.
Enormous Dividends Finally Cut Down to
Nothing at ALL
4FgNNY INCIDENT AT A PIT-HOLE FIRE

The Ralston Oil Company, which has
had somewhat eventful history, has de-
cided to sell its machinery and all other
movable effects in the vicinity of Tidioute,
Warren county, but to retain the land in
the hope that it may again prove produc-
tive, as of yore. Mr.. B. McCracken, the
grain dealer, has been for many years Sec
retary of the company.
1t was formed, or rather the first call for
an organization meeting was called, on May
IL, 1865. The meeting was held in the Office
of c. W. Robb, ESQ.,, on June II, 1865, and
the company formed. The incsrporators
were David Ralston, of Indiana; his brother
John, of the same county;J. G. McQuaid, of
the same county, but later of Philadelphia,
and John F. and William H. kirkpatrick,
of this city. They purchased 230 acres of
ground on Dennis run, near Tidioute, with
the royalty of 23O more, from W. w. Wal
lace, once famous for his marble works in
this city. The company for years rolled in
wealth from its investment, as high as 5S
per cent annual dividend once being paid.
Then the unsuccessful drillers
DESTROYED THE TERRITORY
by flooding the third sand with water, neg
lecting to plug their abandoned wells. In
1876 dividends ceased, and there were no
more declared until 1886, when 21]k per cent
was again divided. 1t was only hectic
flush, however, and the 500 or $500 now in
the treasury will be left there for instant
use in the event of anything turning up
which promises to pay for renewal of
operations.
In this connection an interesting question
arises, and that is, what has become of the
third sand oil In that and contiguous fields?
1t was not pumped out before the territory
petered out, and where did it go? 1t was
driven out of the third sand by the pressure
of the water, for oil and water will not mix,
and though oil is the lighter it does not
come to the surface In those abandoned
holes. Has it been forced out by the third
sand and absorbed by other strata, or has
it been driven TO some section of the same
and made follow the dip, and will deeper
boring in some other field fetch it? The
idea that petroleum would never be found
in paving quantities below 1000 feet has
been exploded. The Ralston company had
a man put down wellin the territory lately,
but he found no oil. Then an attempt was
made to clean out an old well and pump the
water out of it, so as to give the oil chance
to come forward, but though the surface
water was cased off and the pump run day
and night for six months, there seemed to be
as much water as ever, showing conclusively
that the third sand had been filed with it
instead of oil.
THE GAS is GONE NOW.
The wells in the Tidioute territory were
quite gaseous in 1865 and some of them
flowed by its pressure, but now there is no
gas in the third sand there. 1t seems to
have escaped into the atmosphere while the
petroleum was driven somewhere else
Around Pit Hole they still get some oil, but
there doesn't seem to be any reason to doubt
that many million barrels were lost that
might have been saved had the law requir-
ing wells to be plugged before abandon
Dent been in force previous to 1866 In those
days nearly all the good wells were eventually
destroyed by flooding. When big one was
struck there was rush to get leases, and
wells we're bored In the vicinity by the
hundred. Most of them were failures, and
after being tested from 10 to 30 days the
casing was drawn and the water let into
the third sand. Frequently a big well
would cease to flow almost as soon as an
unproductive one was bored near it. Then
the pump would be set to work, and it
would produce 10 to 80 barrels a dav for a
time and finally fail altogether. The oil
was supposed TO be exhausted, but the most
plausible conjecture is that it was driven
away by the superior weight of the water
from abandoned wells.
PETROLEUM IN THE WELL.
An incident in the short and fitful life of
Pit Hole City would tend 10 show that the
petroleum might have been absorbed by the
earth in the vicinity. There was a big fire
one night, and in a water well less than 80
feet in depth, the firemen introduced hose
and sucked up the water to throw on the
burning buildings. Soon it was noticed
that the flow increased the flames, and ex-
animation showed that the fremen were
pumping pure petroleum on the burning
building. In the excitement of the dis
covery spectators lost interest in the fire.
and the owner of the well, widow, who
had established laundry, was besieged by
an excited crowd, who bid against each
other for possession of her well until
they got high up in the thousands, and she
sold her establishment and retired, to live
Oh the interest of her money, losing all in
terest in the question of Chinese cheap labor.
The buyers never realized anything sub
stantial on their investment.
The water we'll was high up on the hill,
and it was well known that the oil was at
least 800 feet above its habitat A few
weeks subsequently it was the settled local
opinion that the oil had been forced up
through the earth by flooding the third
sand.
1t is said there is an unctuous clay in
South America which affords partial sub
sistence to the aborigines. Clay saturated
with petroleum might furnish some nourish-
Dent, but it would scarce be so palatable as