The Opelousas courier., 1889-10-26
THE TORPEDO KING.
VAsTFoRTUNE WON FROM A sIDI-
: Pile INVENTION.
Strange Freaks of the Explosive-Men
Who Were Literally Obliterated- :
Recklessness Oh the Part of
the Torpedo Handlers.

after the un people, tne
best known man connected in any way
with tho oil trade. Thezstrange industry.
which he and his brother built up was
peculiar only to the oil regions. His
brother, Colonel A. 3. Roberts, is also
dead. For years they enjoyed a close
monopoly of the torpedo business, and
both the brothers made millions of dollars,
out it. When their patents expired by
limitation the business of exploding tors
pedoes in oil wells was taken up by who's
soever chose to engage in the hazardous.
undertaking, and now scores of firms are
supplying the trade which formerly de-.
pended upon "Torpedo Roberts," as tho.
Doctor wa known.
Roberts was originally a dentist in New
York, but coming to the oil country in
the early days of the petroleum ex-
+, element he and his brother engaged in
the oil business and soon secured a patent
on a device for exploding nitro-glycerine,
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 certainly far exceedcdthe
widest dreams of the young inventors.
ghe device was simply a tube made of
tin to hold the explosive, supplied
with a cap for exploding the sub
stance. This was lowered into the well
to the depth of 1000 feet, if necessary,
by means of a cord, and when at the de-.
sired depth a small iron weight, called a:
"go-deyil," was dropped down on the
cord, and this striking the tube Contain
ing the nitroglycerine a terrific explosion
followed. These explosions shattered the
oil bearing rock, and the result in nearly
every case was an increase in the produc1,
tion Of the well. The demand for these
torpedoes was enormous. There were
! anywhere from fifteen thousand to;
twenty-five thousand wells in the region,
and nearly all of them were torpedoed at
regular intervals. The Roberts brothers
got their own prices, and their fortunes,
were quickly made. In a few years their
several fortunes were estimated at from
90, 0O0, 600 to "a, DOC, 900. 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 organized to
fight the patents in the courts, and long
and bitter litigation was the result. The
fight went on in every court for years,
and finally the Supreme Court of the
United States decidsaa- IN favor of the
Robert brothers, and they continued to
have the exclusive right to manufacture
and use the torpedo for seventeen years
the life of the patent.
The torpedo kings, as they are now
called, had scores of agents In all parts
of the oil regions, exploding these torpe-
does In wells for producers. Each tor
pedo was from ten to two hundred quarts
capacity, and the dangerin carrying them
over the country was very great. The
agents were called stshooters." They
carried the nitro-glycerine in wagons
drawn byone and often two horses. They
often carried as much as fifteen hundred
pounds of the deadly stuff and yet these
men would become SO reckless that they
gave little heed to the manner of their
driving. Fts. ss ~
"Torpedo accidents were therefore q
common occurrence. In dozens of cases
man, team and vehicle were blown al
most out of existence. It was rarely that
q cigar box would not hold all of tie
driver that could be found. In one case,
that of "Doc" 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 'storpedo explosions in the oil
country. It occurred early in December
last, near Pleasantville, seven miles from
Titusville. This was after the expiration
of the Roberts patents, and others were
engaged in the business. Haggerty was
employed by George w. Van Veil IN
hauling nitro-glycerine with q two-horse
team and storing it in a magazine near
Pleasantville. On this occasion the
wagon contained fourteen hundred
pounds. The explosion occurred at thu
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 eel
lar, and the report was heard or felt in
almost every part of the county. Thou.
sands Of people visited the scene. Search
was made for some remains of Haggerty,
but nothing was ever found either of hi
body or clothing.
!, Henry France drove a nitro-glycerint
wagon in the Kinzua oil district, in ell
Bradford field, and was finally blown W
F;l,a ,moof IF the t.rnIl shnf,tara - Nnfh,