Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-07
A COLUMN OF WATER
Was All That Kept Contractor Joe
English 80 Feet in Air.
1T SPURTED FROM AN OIL WELL.
Boss Yarn of the Season Spun for the
Benefit of an Ohio Crowd.
JUST LIKE A BALL IN A FOUNTAIN

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPArCH.l
ST. MARY's, O., Sept. 6.-At the Fount-
ain Hotel yesterday a large number of
prominent oil men from the various fields
of Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and West
Virginia were telling their experiences in
the oil fields The one that mostly attract
ed attention was thrilling one by Joe En-
glish, a well-known contractor. His story
was as follows:
81 was about 20 years old when the oil ex-
citement broke out in our country, and was
leading the uneventful life of a farmers
son. We lived on farm of 140 acres within
two miles of prosperous town in Pennsyl-
vania, and there was little excitement for
any of us until some of the oil men from
Oil City came down and built rig on the
Davis farm, about quarter Of mile from
our place. The greasy fluid was struck In
paying quantities. A grand rush for terri
tory followed, and in a very short time the
farms around us were dotted with derricks,
and the quiet country scene changed to one
of that peculiar hustle and activity seen
only in the oil country. l had put down
several wells on the farm, and with fair sue
cess.
ONE WELL ACTED STRANGELY.
81 believe we had drilled in four wells,
and all very good producers No. 3 acted
strangely on u.s. The day it came In 1t
filled two 250-barrel tanks in four hours,
and we lost considerable oil because of a
lack of tankage The we'll settled down,
however, to about 800 barrels day, and
kept flowing at that rate for about five days,
when it petered out altogether. Just IL
days after that well quit flowing l had the
strangest ana most peculiar experience that
ever fell to the lot of man.
"One day was walking about the farm
when some delayed figure work occurred to
me, and resolved to do it then and there.
The abandoned well was near by. Know
ing L would be secure from intrusion there,
walked into the derrick. An empty candy
box, which 1 placed over the casing head,
furnished a good seat. Producing pencil
and paper, L proceeded in my own way
to, solve the problem of petroleum produc-
tion. In just about two minutes the well
began squirting salt water at a furious rate,
and with such tremendous force that l was
hurled high into the air, box and all There
is no use trying to describe my feelings. l
was too thoroughly frightened to have any.
All know, man of 175 pounds was
LIFTED VIOLENTLY HEAvENwARD.
THE column of water evidently struck the
box exactly in the center, for we went up as
straight as plumb line. What is more, 1
never changed my seat, and in the very
nature of things it was impossible to do SO.
The squirting water was of sufficient volume
to entirely fill the box and send a pretty
heavy aqueous wall on every side into the
bargain. The box was not large. and. of
course, my feet would naturally hang over
under ordinary circumstances, but in this
case the water threw my legs upward. This
put me in peculiarly uncomfortable, vet
safe, position. 1 sat there, head
and legs inclined, so that 1 resembled the
letter V, and was firmly held in that posi-
tion by the outpouring torrent
II must have gone up fully 45 feet, butt he
initial force carried me higher than it could |
hold me, and 1 settled back about Is feet,
all the while maintaining the same position,
When L reached that point where the at
traction of gravity exactly counters the |
force of the water 1 stopped. The point |
was fully 80 feet from the ground. It was
impossible for me to fall to either side, and |
equally impossible to fall straight down,
for the spraying water played into that box |
with terrific force.
RESIGNED TO THE SITUATION. |
s'The only movement felt was the alter |
native rising and falling of the box occas- |
ioned by the contention between the attrac-
tion of gravity and propulsive force of gas
and water. The only pain I experienced |
was in my legs, which soon became numb |
from the constant pounding of the water.
''The roar and the squirting water |
soon attracted the attention of the folks |
at the house, and after them came the
oil operators and others, until |
there was crowd of several hundred peo-
pie standing around within safe distance of |
the descending water. 1 couldn't see much |
of them, and of course couldn't hear a word |
they said Gradually the pain seemed to |
grow less, and the next knew was in bed,
and in dreamy way saw the folks standing
around.
s'They told me how my final rescue came |
about. The well ceased flowing gradually, |
and finally petered out altogether. As the
column of water dropped, the box, with its
now insensate burden, came down with it
and rested exactly over the mouth of the
well whence it started. 1 fell over on the
derrick floor and was picked up and carried
put, and then into the house. 1 learned
hat instead of being up in the air for sew
eral hours, as had supposed, 1 was up less
han a minnie %