Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-01
THE MOON-LIGHTERS.
Outlawry in the Old-Time Oil Regions
of Pennsylvania
RECALLED BY W. ROBERTS DEATH.
Row his Famous NitrO-Glycerine Torpedo
Was Duplicated
BY THE FEARLESS SCOUTS OF PITHOLE

The death of DR.. W. B. Roberts at Titus
vile on Tuesday last, recalls to Pittsburg
people many interesting incidents of the oil
craze. The doctor, together with his
brother, Colonel E. A. L. Roberts, were the
inventors and patentees of the torpedo for
shooting" and restoring oil wells. which
was of great value to producers, and from
the royalties resulting from its use the
brothers accumulated colossal fortune.
AS their patents were merely on the method
of exploding the charge and in no way
prohibited the use of nitro-glycerine, the
explosive of which the torpedoes were made,
and as the royalty demanded for the use of
the patents were so enormous, a number Of
infringers or ''moonlighters" came into the
field in opposition to the brothers, and
offered to perform the same work for one
half the amount. Many owners of wells
also purchased explosives and did their
own Shooting" Reports of these in
fragments reached the ears of the patentees
and called forth the employment of the
customary scouts or detectives, by whose
evidence they were enabled to prosecute
and in many cases secure conviction.
A FAvoRITE sUBTERFUGE.
There is scarcely an operator in the
country who has not had more or less trouble
with the inventors, and the death of the doc
tor will recall to their minds many now for
gotten controversies Many and many were
the tricks employed to avoid the payment of
royalties, which were regulated according
to amount of glycerine used in the "shot.
a favorite subterfuge of the oil men was to
previously charge their wells with so or 60
pounds of the explosive purchased at one
quarter tine price charged by the brothers
and then employ the Roberts to ''shoot" the
well with about 20 pounds Naturally the
explosion of a small "shot" would discharge
the larger. Thus producers obtained the
service for one-half the usual price and
making the inventors their own infringers.
The manufacture of the explosive under
this condition of things by the moonlight
ers" was exceedingly dangerous and only
the most reckless of men cared to enter into
it. In consequence the life of the 'spotter"
was not particularly happy. one, and
many weird tales of the frequent beatings
and lynching in the heart of the woods are
related by the old-timers when one can
catch them in the proper mood.
HOW IT WAS DONE.
The method of shooting" the we'll is by
lowering cans about eight feet long and
about three inches in diameter, containing
20 pounds of glycerine, and exploding the
same by striking with an iron weight. In
many parts of the oil country this is impos-
sible, as the ground is of a sandy nature,
and caving in would follow the "shot"
and render the well useless. In order to con-
vey the explosive to the wells the Roberts
had a wagon constructed with delicately tenn
pered springs, and packing frames, by which
the danger of premature explosion was
greatly reduced, while the ''moonlighter =
carried the material in buck-boards or
buggies, and frequent fatalities were the re-
suit. A prominent member of the Oil Ex-
change, whose gray hair is strangely at
variance with his youthful face, once had
peculiar experience while "moonligbting.
With a companion he was transporting a
quantity of glycerine across the hills to
we'll in wkicn he was interested, en- sH5nek-
board. A sudden noise frightened the
horse, which at once started on dead run
straight for q ravine, over which he
PLUNGED HEAD FIRST,
carrying the wagon and its occupants with
them. As they struck the bottom of the
ravine the friends seized each others arms,
expecting to be blown to pieces every mo-
ment, but, strange to say, no explosion oc-
CURED, although the wagon contained over
$50 pounds OF glycerine, but when the opera
Tor reached home his hair was nearly white
from the effect of the shock. One of the
most dare devil "moonlighters" that ever
"shot'' a we'll was Dick Thompson, or
better known as "Black Dick"
from his hair and beard. He
was a man who, his friends claim,
cleared neither man nor devil" Once while
driving through Bradford, Captain Tom
Murphy, who had received notice from
spotter that the carriage contained contra
band explosive, attempted to arrest him,
Dick grabbed a 20-pound can and with an
oath swore that he would give the officer
exactly 80 seconds to escape before he threw
the can among them. As he was known by
reputation too we'll to doubt his word he
had no occasion to waste the explosive