Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-07

from 60 to 70 in strength, but it weakened to
50 III the water in the shaft was allowed to
ste nd any length of time. 1t showed there
was some orevice OF connection between the
two.
An Enterprise Spoiled by the War.
The digging of the shaft was finally aban.
doned in the darkest period Of the war from
the necessities of the time. A New York
man named Ferris, and William McKeown,
of Pittburg, bought the property. shaft and
all. The daring piece Of engineering was
neglected, and finally it commenced to I'LL
up with cinders and dirt, until at last 1t was
level again with the surface Of the GROUND;
You may walk over is to-day and could
point it out to You if was up there. Dig it
out and you wil find those cast iron pipes
and timbers still there, just as they were
originally pntt it.
Mr. Peterson's story brings one point out
pretty clearly, and that is that he went to
work improving the Donnelly well In
1856 for oil exclusively. This is important to
remember in view of the statement some
times made in brakes behalf, that If he
was not the discoverer of petroleum after all,
he was the first man to sink well solely
for petroleum. He did that in 1859. Louis
Peterson practically did it in 1861
should be stated that some persons in
Tarentum say the real reason why work
in digging the big shaft was discontinued
was because natural gas was encountered,
and it flowed into the we'll 30 freely that all
laborers became afraid to stay down in 1t
any longer
Virtue ofthe Grease.
In this connection clipping from o
prominent French publication which has
lately been going the rounds Of the Ameri-
can newspapers is interesting It is ai
follows:
DR.. Blache states, in the Bulletin de Iherd
pe,atque, that ref1ner OF petroleum having
been prohibited by protect the strioutiod u.
to an inquiry being made as to its alleged
utility in affections Of the chest-the native
petroleum from Pennsylvania and Virginia
Blache states, as the result, that in chronic
bronchitis, with abundant expectoratton, 1t
rapidly diminishes the amount of the secre-
ton and the garo1ysm;;d OF coughing, ana ii IN
been obtained; its employment In phthisfs
has been continued for too short a time as
yet to allow of any, opinion being delivered
as 60 its efficacy beyond the fact that 1t
diminishes expectoration, which also loses
its purulent character The petroleum Is
popularity taken in doses of O teaspoon full be-
fore each meal, and, after the first day, any
nausea which it may excite in some persons
disappears.
And, now, these different thoughts and
"reminiscences inveigle still another into the
mind of every intelligent reader, viz:
Hadn't that monument better be erected
over 8. NJ. Kier's grave in Allegheny Gem
etery?
The Story II Dramatic.
So, here is a group of men still living
who once called this useful petroleum "a
mysterious greaser They remember hand
ling it when it had no commercial value.
They either aided or watched the progress
of Pittsburger who sought to give it COM
mercial name and q marketable value. That
mans associates have been recalling those
curious days in these memoirs.
This group of Allegheny county people
watched it run to waste at first. Then they
remember paying 81 per gallon for it when
Pittsburg man had made it known pretty
we'll all over the United States. They re-
call Drake's visit to Tarentum, and tell OF
the aid he procured there. They hold their
breath when they think of the gold that
changed hands in Crawford and Venango
counties after William Smith, of Allegheny
county, bored the test well up there for
Colonel Drake.
Then this group of men watched the
flow of petroleum as it set out toward Eu-
rope in exports. They will tell you how 40
casks of it were sent to France in 1860 as q
curiosity, but how 3,94O casks went from
Pennsy1vania to France In 1868 as CON-
mercial adventure. Since then they have
seen this same mysterious grease" that
used to flow over into the Pennsylvania
Canal at Tarentum - they have seen il
grease and light the whole world
from Egypt's pyramids to Paris salons
In 1888 some genius attempted to tell how
many oil wells had been bored into Penn
sylvania's bosom. He said there had been
81 900 such holes put down, and about AGO.
/ 600, 900 barrels of oil taken out of Pennsyl
Washington, the Shousetown, the Nc
Donald fields have been added, and h'
would probably give it up.
A Half Century of Growth.
Thus, have this group of men lived to Sc,
their four salt-and-oil wells of Tarentun
| multiplied beyond calculation, and tn,
"odd mysterious grease" bubbling over tn,
most immeasurable calculations in barrels
Do the gentlemen composing this groul
occupy position dramatic in the marvel
Gus events their memories review?
Well, if they do, it might be impractica
| BILE for them all to attend the Columbian
Exposition at Chicago. But If the public
| of Allegheny county appreciates the won
derful growth of famous industry which
these stories prove Allegheny county t,
have originated, why should they not sent
to the Worlds Fair some relics OF the star
of the oil business? For instance
the still with which Mr.. Kie
refined oil is still in existence. Mr.. Lock
hart's little account book, which show
that he sold petroleum as marketable
commodity six or seven years before Drak.
began his well, is in the Standard Oil Com
pany's Office, on Duquesne way, at this mo
ment. Mr.. Peterson, who at present live
on North avenue. Allegheny, can no doub
add documents of interest involving hi
operations in searching for oil etclusivel,
as early as 1856
| What notable feature it would all MAKE
in the Pennsylvania exhibit at Chicagol
| L. E STOFIEI.