The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1891-07-09
fHK LATEST SNAKE STORY.
Remarkable Experience OF a Party of
well-Drillars in South .emerica.

Remarkable Experience of Party Of
well-Drillars in South Iemerica.
Snake stories are always in order,
and it matters little how long q bow
the story teller draws. everybody be-
lieves him. 1t is rule long establish
ed that it shall be so. Now here is
one that comes from an Indianan:
About the middle of June. 1890.
says he, a gas-well contractor, con-
tracted for a well to be drilled in
South America. on the Uruguay river,
q few miles below the city of Assulnp-
ton. Mr.. Freeman's contract called
for 800. coo at the completion OF the
well, so he Immediately shipped his
tools and rig to San Francisco. They
were then loaded on steamer and
sent to their destination. We COM
menced work rs soon as the tools and
rig was On TIE ground. After every
thing was in running order for drill
ing. it was great sight to see the
derrick. 500 feet high. and covering
three-quarter of an acre of ground.
We got alorg all right for a while,
when at the depth of 1900 feet the
cable broke and left ell the tools in the
bottom Of tho well. We worked for
several days and nights but without
my success. The cable was all broken
to pieces. with the exception of about
900 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 floor. ! do not
know why we did this. but it was done.
We did not have cable enough to do
anything with, SO we finally all sat
down to talk the matter over and come
to somo conclusion as to what to do.
when. to our aatonishment, we saw
monstrous snake crawling into the DER
rick. Mr.. Steward. the drillcr 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 gotting in, all but about 500 feet of
its tail. We Immediately took a rope
hitched It onto its tail, turned on the
steam and then wound tho loose cable
that was laying on tho floor around tho
shaft Presently it began to raise the
snakes tail. On. on went the engine,
pulling Mr.. Snake higher and higher
In the derrick. till, finally. the end of
the tail went over tho crown, within
100 feet 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 the belt, slacked
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 whom at last the
head of the snake made its appearance
ut the top Of the well. but to our as
tonishment it had hold Of the end OF
the tools. We tried every way posi-
BILE to get it loose. We hammered it
with sledge hammers burnt it with
rcd-hot irons but did no. succeed in get
ting it loose. We finally gave it up
and went ahead and finished the well.
using the snake for cable It had
such death hold on the tools that w'e
had to burn its head of after getting
the tools out of the derrick. yet it
should be said that we did not get
superabundance Of natural gas. The
snake was shipped to America The
skeleton is now on exhibition at No
blesville. Ind, and the hide is used
for gas main in Hartford City.