Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-07-24

give us, but the astronomer exhibits q
circle Of the heavens filed with what he
believes are the broken and ponderous
fragments of an enormous planet,
which has been shattered by some vio-
lent CONFUSION. The geologist shows
us vast continental areas of dry land
which have, as ne believes, once been
deep down under the sea, and the hlsto-
riau presents us with traditions of lands
and peoples that have been swallowed up
in the abysses of the ocean. There are
stories of stars that have famed into
brilliauce and finally disappeared as If
they had been consumed in a contiagra-
ton, while the earthquakes and VOL
canic eruptiOns which snake our planet
announce the actual survival of forces
and agencies that make possible the most
terrible cataclysm, and seem to suggest
for the future Disturbances as profound
and formidable as any that ever c.
CURED in any past age.
It is in this connection that we are led
to consider some recent utterances on
the subject of the enormous vol
ume OF inflammable gas stored up in
the crust of the earth and recently
brought into use for the most i'm portant
economical purposes. There is an area
of country in Pennsylvania, West Vir-
ginia, Ohio and perhaps other
states, embracing many thousand
square miles, which is under
laid with the most extraordinary
and extensive stores of coal oil and coal
gas. In the past twenty-five years oil
has been taken out to the extent of mill
io Of &c
escaping at the rate, as it has been re-
Gently estimated, of 900 200 900 cubic
feet each day. The flow of both oil and
gas is so great that the belief is war
ranted that the supplies, notwithstand-
ing the extraordinary daily depletion,
are still enormous.
Beyond the existence of this gas and
oil and of the coal beds, which also I'M
derlay the greater portion of the United
States, we know actually nothing Of sub
teTranean conditions; but if we can as
sumo the presence at great depths in the
earth of fire or of sufficient heat making
agencies to operate on the coal beds we
may we'll imagine that by the action of
such heat the petroleum is distilled
from the coal and the gas is, at
the same time, liberated, but both re-
main stored up in cavities or in the pores
of the earth until extracted by the bor-
ngs AS long as these accumulations of
gas and oil remain sealed up in the depth
of the earth, away from actual fire,
there is no risk of a cOntagratiOn. The
entire possibility of such danger is de-
pendent upon the existence of fire and on
its contact, under favorable conditions,
with these iniammable compounds.
AS the oil and gas are drawn out wa ter
and air VIII find their way into the cavi-
ties thus vacated, aud the geoligists have
forecasted possible period when by some
such operation all the water now appear
ing upon the surface of the land viii sink
into the cavities of the earth. This
necessary fluid viii then only be attain
able by drawing it from wells of eXtraOr-
binary depth. 1t is even held that the
moon is one of these dry planets, being
destitute of surface water, which
has sunk iuto the dry and
honey combed interior of that
body. This water, coming in contact
with the interior fires of the moon, pro-
duces terrific internal throes and volcanic
eruptions which continued to wreck the
moon until its fires were extinguished
and it became, as it is now believed to
be, dead, dry planet.
Coming back to our own prospects for
a confiagration, it would be necessary for
the gas in the earth to be sufficiently
mixed with oxygen to make it infamma-
BILE. This could occur from the air which
is supposed 10 enter the cavities of
the earth to take the place of the
escaped gas, or oxygen could be
supplied by the decomposition of the
water into it's constituent elements
through the action Of heat. There is no
certainty that the heart of the earth is q
mass OF fire, although it is so held to be
by some of the theorists; but it would be
easy enough to secure fire there by cleo
trical or chemical action, or both. a
powerful current of terrestrial electricity
trying to pass through a formation of
poor conducting power would easily
burst into flame, or water poured upon
bed of quick lime would produce like
result.
Given fire in the body of the earth, so
situated as TO be able to distill oil aud
gas from bitGminous coal, and we have
conditions which might under favorable
circumstances produce titanic intrater-
ranean explosions, ripping open half
continent and setting fire to vast lakes
of petroleum, which would be thus IN
covered, while the escaping gas burst
ing into flame would wrap in
shroud of conflagration enormous areas
OF sea and land. These speculations do
not pass beyond the bounds OF posi-
bility They need not alarm anyone
unduly, but they are attracting atten-
ton. If it will benefit anybody TO
laugh at them, then laugh, but ridicule
is not safety. Full investigation would
be interesting and might be useful.
But such a catastrophe heed not be
confined to the United states. Similar
conditions exist in China, where some
two centuries ago such an explosion, il Is
claimed, actually occurred. The eHES
NOUS deposits of OIL and gas in Rg&sa 5,
on the shores Of the Caspian sea- also
present ike Destructive facilities ThIl$
It is evident that If & cataelysmal Dlsa-