The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1891-11-06

NO O8uBer Ou Notur0I G0S GtvlO
Out &c Care IL Taken.
Anderson BuIlssin.
There is no danger Of Indiana nstur'
Z gss giving out
: AT least that Il what Prof. w. J
Q AcGee Of the geological survey, says.
Prof. McGee has made come observe
tiona Of Indisns's natural gas and oI
supply from . scientific, common sens
and practical standpoint The professo
believes that gas u coutinuslly beini
: formed and that the Indiana field IL in
,exhsustibIe II there is sense exercised Il
the consumption Of gas. Prof. McGe
/ says:
u 1.-The origin Of rock gas and petroleuu q
. we'll . the laws by which they wer,
accumulated. is 30 we'll understood the
u is ss easy to predict the success or fail
ure OF . prospective bore for oil or gal
- to tell where an srtesian we'll will OF
Will not fetch water. Scientific investi.
Ration has made known the cause OF the
tremendous pressure under which the
gas and oil are confined. Every great
field 10 Penns ylvsnis, Ohio aud Ipdisns
is an enormous dome beneath the surface
Of the ground, filled in with porous sand
stone or limestone. The natural gas OF
Indiana is such dome, about fifty miIes
across, formed BY the bending out Of
shape Of the strata incidentally to the
contraction OF the earth's crust. The
coarse grained lime under IL 10 charged
with infiammsble fluids. Tn top is Qas.
beneath II oil, and under the oil salt
water. This dome runs 10 the middle Of
. great basin i've hundred miles in diam
eter. The rain-wate falling into THE
basin IL partly absorbed BY the rocks.
and II 6oats from al directions toward
the center, driving the oil and gas,
which are 10 the rocks, toward the
dome, and thus compressing Il with
enormous power.
Rock gas 10 the same thing @ marsh
gas, which is often seen bubbling from
the muddy bottoms Of staguant ponds
1t, and the oil likewise, we're formed
originally BY the slow decomposi tion OIL
woody or other organic matter con-
tanned In the strata Of the earth. The
making Of both is now In process In ali
rocks containing partly dscomposed or-l
ganic remziDs- The question 10 often
asked, IL nstural gas yet formingr Un-
II 10 only question OF the
formation being equal In localities to theI
drain Of consumption.
"All the compounds OF carbon upou |
which the civilized world chiefly de-
pends q present for fuel must b ex.l
hausted within . feW centuries. The
anthracite Of Americs will Be- used up|
within . few decades, while the bitumi-| |
nous coal beds. formed IN the carbonif-
erous and cretaceous ep0chs, will be dug
put within one thousand or two thoussnd /
vesrs. Happily. however. the stock oil
Ditumens IN the rocks or the earth AL
practically unlimited, and 10 them Wilt
se found the fueIs and illuminants OF The
'uture."
Right In line with what Prof. GseI1
ays. ]. II. Foster, OF Van Vert, O., Who'll
or the past fifty years hes given thslI
ubject OF natural gss atten ti0n. said toll
be Marion Chronicle few dave ago: |,
1t has been over half I century siuce|.'
he fret ga we'll was put down Ct Find. :
~, Ohio. Finy-five years ago. mylss
ssher, Daniel Foster, whilst di0Ripe slss
vell for water struck natural 9ss sud|ss
sed and burned II for light for Z num- b
er OF Years. can remember we'll whenI :
70 had : gss nambeau burning IN our|
'Ous yhOs WuICu Wa on the main !.
treei, opposite the old Presbytorian !
hurch. and just now three squares from !
be court house.
'But We didn't have gas pipes then. !,
ne handful Of tOwnspeople Ct FindIay !,
lmost . wiIderness, did not know auy.l
hing about gas. The burning we'll wssl.
b curiosity Of the country. A PENN
yIvsnisn Wa there q the time, and he'll,
xed up tho gss for nee. We didn't
ave any gss pipes. For The main the|
'unk Of : large tree was followed out.I
|thev email trees connecting made thelE
Then inch holes were boredl 7
these and gun barrels stuck 10. ltl
For twenty years the people OF theIo
'wn never did thing toward develop. B
g their gas. Then : well was drilled. 3
ID when 900 feet down the tools were =
20 and work was abandoned. Nothing |o
'rther was attempted until the excite. Il
ent few years ago. But the fact thatlct
y 65 years that we'll vas furnishing 81
. was enough to settle iu my mind any dI
'estion - TO its durability IL,