Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1892-03-11

y
in any other county. A pool is sup
posed to exist only a short distanc'
from the borough of Butler, which vii
be opened up in the future. The OF
industry is by far the greatest in the
county and thousands of men follow
the oil fields for living, who make
good wages while at work.
Many large and valuable gas wells
are now producing fuel and light
both for home consumption, and are
piped to other counties. This is
source of revenue offtimes to the
driller, which pays nearly as good as
large oil well.
Butler county's prosperity is certain
ly dependant, to a great extent, on IT'D
oil and gas production, which, as near
as can be estimated, will not be aban-
doned for many years to come.
THE FIRST TORPEDO EXPLODED IN A
WELL.
The explosion of a torpedo in a well
to cause a greater flow of oil did not
take place until 1866 or 1867, when
Colonel E. A. L. Roberts had newly
invented nitro-glycerine.
The shot was put off in the ''Fox"
well. on the banks of Oil Greek, which
well was drilled in 1868 by Brewer &
Watson, Kier, Mitchell & Co, to a
depth of 500 feet, and flowed $50 bar
rels day for year and half. 1t was
pumped for six months, slowly declin-
ing in yield until no longer profitable.
AS an experiment a glycerine torpedo
was exploded in the well, which caused
it to again become paying producer,
continuing to hold out, from renewals
of torpedo explosions, until 1869 or
1870, when it ceased to exist. This
well was always considered famous
from the fact of its large yield of oil,
and, believe, having been the first
operated upon by torpedo at Petro-
leum Center. The completion of this
Fox we'll was the last of the opera
tions upon the farm of Kier, Mitchell
& Co.
THE FIRST REFINED OIL.
The great majority of men now
engaged in the oil business can recol-
lect when the tallow candle was the
illuminant of the masses. They can
also remember when people, who
could afford to burn lard oil, dirty,
disagreeable compound, were consider
ed pretty we'll to do. Crude lamps
that would not now be tolerated in a
cabin were in use in the homes of the
then elite, and in the larger cities a
poor quality of manufactured gas
could be bad at price which placed it
among the luxuries of the earth.
Not over 80 years have elapsed, but
in that time the petroleum producer
has given to mankind a cheap, clean
light, as superior to what his forefath-
ers ever dreamt of as electricity is to
refined oil. 1t can be carried and
transported where electricity cannot
be generated and will therefore al
ways be valuable.
There are few who know when
crude oil was first refined. In 1859
several barrels of petroleum, or Seneca
oil as it was then called, were shipped
to Pittsburg on a raft from Colonel
Drake's we'll near Titusville. s. M.
Kier, of Pittsburg, who was then
engaged in refining an illuminant
from shale oil, received the petroleum
sent by Colonel Drake. In few
weeks he had reduced it to refined
state, and re-shipped it up the Allie
gheny river by boat to Titusville.
1t was then placed in the hands of
r. d. Fletcher, now q resident of
Titusville, who sold the first gallon of
oil refined from petroleum, on Decem-
Der 80, 1859, to Jonathan Watson, for
S125.
Not many months elasped before 1t
came into general use among the resi-
dents of TitusYille, but on account of
the imperfect lamps then in vogue it
took years to introduce it to the coun
try at large. The lamps were made
of tin and burned round wick, simi-
lar to those used in burning the raw
crude. Glass lamps were finally in
vented, and sold at 81 and S1.25 each.
Glass chimneys were 25 cents and
wicks cents each.
Since then refined oil has been ship
ped to almost every port in the world
and is used by all nations, under all
climes and by all classes of people.
The tallow candle has been placed in
the same category as the snuff box,
the spinning wheel, the old oaken
bucket, and the horse car. In large
section of the United States natural
gas is now in general use. Pennsyl-
vanians were not the first to use natur-
al gas as might be enormously believ-
ed, for centuries ago the willy Chinee
noticed it escaping from crevices in
the earth and soon made use of it.
They stored it in silken tanks, and
piped it'long distances through bambo
poles, using it both as illuminant and
for heating purposes.