The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-08-14
AN INDIANA UPHEAVAL.
Natural Gas Plays Havoc With Farms
About Waldron-The Scenes.

WALDRoN, Ind, August 13.-About three
miles south of here, at a point where
| Conns creek empties into Flatrock river, is
a bend in the river in the shape of horse
shoe, which forms part Of the farm of
the Hon Edward Cooper On the farm
lives J. II. Lowe and on the opposite bank,
which is a promontory, a graveyard,
known as the Ogden graveyard, is stu
ated.
This morning about 9 o'clock J. II. Lowe
was startled by a terrific noise as if a
great magazine had exploded. He went
toward the river when he saw flame ex-
tending upward about 200 feet, and found
about ten acres of land, or all that neck
lying within the bend ahame.
Closer investigation revealed the fact
that an upheaval of the rock bottom of the
river bed and the adjacent land had oc-
Cured. Soon large straw stack on the
ad djacent farm was in flames and field OF
green corn was roasted. Miniature gey-
sers were here and there throwing mud
and water to the height of 100 feet.
Great assures were in the ground TO the
depth of thirty or forty feet. The stone in
the bottom of the river was full of assures
and the entire volume of water was pour
ing into the bowels ofthe earth. The river
below this point had ceased to flow and
its bed was becoming dry. The ground
within the entire space within the bend
o
punctured full of holes. The graveyard
was considerably shaken up and the sur
rounding country set in commOtIOn.
Pieces of stone of very fine grit were
thrown from the eruption. The exact
stratum from which it came has not been
determined, but il is evidently from the
shale
Theories of every kind are afloat Some
think that 1t was a spontaneous COmbuS-
nt 1 q N
by volcanic eruption; and yet others that
it was caused by friction in the subStrata
of stone from nitrO-glycerine explosions
used in wells during the past two or three
years. The last theory seems most proba-
BILE 1t is known that nitro-glycerine
exploded at depth Of 1000 to 1,SO0 feet
will fracture the stone for a distance of
from one to five miles and that the giant
powder at the surface will often fracture
and even ruin stone quarrleS at a distance
of mile. 1t is likely then, that in the
blasting of wells at Waldron and St. Paul,
a distance of five miles from the scene, the
sub-strata of stone was fractured and gas
escaped through these assures and found
its way to the surface at this point and, as
persons. were burning brush upon the
ground, the gas ignited and an explosion
followed.
The area covered by the scene is twenty
acres and at least fifteen acres are greatly
damaged by fissureS from two to four feet
wide, meanaering from side to side of the
tract of land. As much as thirty tons of
stone thrown from the interior of the
earth fell in one pile just below the grave
yard. A great noise continues to proceed
from the interior for q distance of quar-
ter of mile.
The land it is thought can not be util
lied for many years owing to the assures.
Many places are large enough to admit a
horse and buggy to an Understandable dis
tance. The geysers are still running at
full force as at first. 1t is probable that
this fracture will destroy gas wells now
within its compass and prevent the sink
ing of other wells which would have been
sunk had this explosion not occurred.
Ten acres of the farm of Thomas Habon,
late representative of the legislature, three
miles north of Waldron, have been de-
strOyed for farming purposes and great
holes have been blown in the earth. The
course of Flatrock creek has been turned
up stream. Birds, snakes, rabbits and
fish are dead, while the fish are thoroughly
cooked in the heated waters. All this was
caused by the upheaval of the waters. A
log fire was blazing in the midst of the
ten acres when, without warning, the
earth belched forth its flames; great trees
were hurled skyward and all the waters of
Flatrock were converted into foam and
steam. A vast pocket of natural gas burst
forth, took fire and blazed fiercely up
against the trees.