Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-02-27
NO. 81.

fixed in the upper end Of the torpedo, and
the whole was let cautiously down thou
sand feet INTO the bosom Of the earth.
was told that the last three hundred feet of
its passage were through a BODY Of oil and
water, that would act as tamping for the
sho'.
When the torpedo rested on the bottom
Of the well, a slight jerk disengaged the
line by which " had been lowered and this
was reeled in Then the torpedo-man said.
interrogative!y,
81 suppose you would like to drop the
'godevil ="
Certainly | answered ! felt that
had gone too far to recede from any part
of the undertaking now, and so prepared
to drop the "go-devil'
IL was a four hanged bit Of cast-irou.
about foot long, and pointed at the lower
end. 1t weighed some ten pounds, and was
Just large enough to slip readily down the
well pipe.
The torpedo-man went to unfasten the
horses, and get them started away before
the explosion should take place, leaving me
alone in the derrick, holding the bit of iron
that was to unloOse the awful force living
so quietly at the bottom of the well. In
another minute he shouted, II let her 20 ~
! dropped the 'go devil. and as it whizzed
downward on its errand of destruction,
ran with the speed Of a sprinter
| was hundred yards away when there
came a dull, muiied roar, followed by
sharp crack that sounded like the explo-
sion Of percussion cap, and accompanied
by slight jar of the earth. few sec
onds later a solid column of black oil mount
ed fifteen or twenty feet above the mouth
of the well, where it seemed to remain sta
tlOnary for a moment. Then from ont of
1t burst a magnificent fountain of oil and
water, that, shooting 10 a height Of nearly
II hundred feet, broke in "A great cloud Of
amher-colored spray Directly afterward
flood of oil poured back To the earth,
drenching the new derrick and its adjacent
buildings, and dedicating them forever to
the service of petroleum.
The shot had been a perfect success, and
before the drifting cloud of oily spray was
wholly dissipated, the torpedo-man and
were driving rapidly from the scene of our
triumph, homeward bound.
But one more duty remained to be per
formed. We still had the empty glycerine
cans, in one of which was about a half
pint Of the terrible explosive. Even the
glycerine film that still clung TO the sides
of each one of these empty cans was sufli
ciently pow erful to have blown us into
eternity, and we were anxious to dispose
of this dangerous remnant as speedily as
possible. For this purpose we halted in
the first bit of lonely forest. The four
cans were laid beside a huge stump, and
behind them We piled number of rocks
bit of fuse had been prepared with cap
at one end of it. This cap was now insert
ed in the open mouth of one of the cans,
from which the fuse projected about a foot.
When all was ready, the torpedo-man
drove the team to a safe distance As he
disappeared touched a lighted match to
the fuse, and again ran, leaving it kissing
viciOusly among the dry leaves
The explosion was tremendous, and its
echoes rolled away among the hills like the
roar of hundred pound gun. Where it
had taken place there was no vestige of the
stump nor Of the cans, the rocks had been
reduced to powder, and only great hole
in the ground remained
Half an hour later we were safely back
in Oil City. As | bade the torpedo-man
good-by he said Come round whenever
you feel like taking another ride | like to
have fellows along who don't mind the
stuff"
thanked him, and said would but
doubt if | shall ever feel like tempting nitro
glycerine again.-Kirk Munroe IN Hd,per'S
lTecLiy