The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1891-10-08
THE LATEaT SNAKE STORY.


Remarkable Experience of a Party OF
WelI-pr,'I~rs IN South america
Snake stories are always in order,
and it matters little how long bow
tie story teller draws, everybody be-
heves him. 1t is rule long establish
ed that it shall be SO. Now here is
one that comes from an lndinnan:
About the middle of June, 1890,
scys he, a gas-well contractor, con-
tracted for a well to be drilled in
South America. on the Uruguay river,
few miles below the city of Assurnp-
ton. Mr.. Freeman's contract called
for 500, 600 at the completion OF the
well, so he Immediately shipped his
tools and rig to San Francisco. They
were then loaded on a steamer and
sent to their destination. We COM
menced work as soon as the tools and
rig was on the ground. After every
thing was in running order for drill
ing. il was q great sight to see the
derrick. 500 feet high, and covering
three-quarter of an acre of ground.
We got along all right for while.
when at the depth of 1900 feet the
cable broke and left all the tools in the
bottom of the well. We worked for
several days and nights. but without
any success. The cable was all broken
to pieces. with the exception of about
6G0 feet of good cable, that was left on
the shaft. We had pulled some forty
or fifty feet of that over the derrick
and piled It on the foor l do not
know why we did this. but it was done.
We did not have cable enough to do
anything with. 80 we finally all sat
down to talk tho matter over and come
to some conclusion as to what to do.
when, to our establishment we saw a
nionstrous snake crawling into the DER
rick. Mr.. Steward, the driller that
worked on the opposite tower from me,
threw the anvil at it. No sooner was
this done than the huge monster
started down the well. 1t succeeded
in getting in, all but about 500 feet OF
its tail. We immediately took rope,
hitched it onto its tail, turned on the
steam and then wound the loose cable
that was laying on the floor around the
shaft Presently it began to raise the
snakes tail. On, on went the engine,
pulling MIR Snake higher and higher
in the derrick. till, finally. the end CT
the tail went over the crown, within
100 fee. Of the shaft, when. all at once
everything stopped. for the belt was
slipping. We doubled the cable from
the snakes tail to the shaft, then put
plenty OF resin on tae belt, Stacked
back little. took q run and shoot,
turned on all the steam, and presently
something gave way.
We kept on pulling and winding the
snake on the shaft, when at last the
head of the snake made its appearance
at the top OF the well, but to our as
tonishment it had hold Of the end OF
the tools. We tried every way possi-
bic to get it loose. We hammered it
with sledge hammers, burnt it with
red-hot irons, but did no. succeed in get
ting it loose. We finally gave 1t up
and went ahead and finished the we'll,
using the snake for cable. It had
such death hold on the tools that we
had to burn its head OFF after getting
the tools out of the derrick. yet it
should be said that we did not get a
superabundance OF natural gas. The
snake was shipped to America The
skeleton is now on exhibition at No
blesviile, Ind, and the hide is used
for gas main in Hartford Citv.