The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-07-25
Many Terrible Disasters Witnessed
By . Man With 4 Very
Queer Record.
Re n Pursued BY Goal Oil Fires,
No Matter Where
He Goes.


VI York q reporter, :" . to tho oil RI
gions TO seek my fortune. remember ths
got 10 . little town named Rousevill
about supper time ono evening early il
April. A flowing we'll had just been struc;
there and it was spoutinR at the rate Of 10
barrels an hour. Flowing wells were
great curiosity In those days, for I thin
this was only the second or third one tha
been struck. Tina oil was thrown into tn
air fifty feat s1 more By this we'll. and y
there Was no 4 10 store petroleum il va
simply flowing about in streams on III
ground. All the engine fires about the vel
were put out 40 soon az the oil began t.
gush, and a score or more OF men and boy'
went to work digging trenches and throw
inR up dams 70 prevent the oil from spread.
ing. I was one Of many curious spectators
who hurried to gaze upon the strange sight
and were grouped about the we'll. "
IA danger then unknown accompanied
that great outpouring Of oil. An immense
volume of gas was generated, and that, in
c~reaaing with the flow Of oil. spread slowly
in every direction. This we'll had besn
apouting inoesssntly for two hours. whom
suddenly there came a great fash. \ ire
mendous roar. and the whole air ssemed q
sheet Of flame 10 q seconds time. The
great jet Of spouting oil became a pillar Of
livid IRE, while the volume OF gas above IL,
to the height OF more than . hundred feet.
Was dashing, exploding and leaping upward
In ferocious tongues OF flame. Every der
arca Of seventy rods seemed TO Be stimuli
taneously wrapped in IRE. The gas in
spreading about had ON in contact wit b
the fires OF an engine house nearly half a
mile away, which was the cause of the
great and instantaneous co~nflaRration.
vt the explosions and the roar of she surg
ing flames were like the rushing Of some
overpowcring hurricane through q forest.
A soon as the column of oil became a
pillar OF fire tho burning oil fell like water
from q fountain over = space 100 feet in d.
Ing globe Of boiling petroleum. The ground
around the we'll WAS ono wall of fame.
which the falling oil constantly increased.
Fortunately for me, / was far enough way
TO be ont of danger, but the sickening Incl
dents Of the conf1aRration were pi sinly
Scores Of tho bystanders were thrown fat
on the ground for thirty fest around.
Many Of them regained their feet and sans
rushing, all ablAze. from the seething FIRE.
just within the awful circle Of the flames I
counted nine men boiling in the blazing oil
uA Au6t0kV NAN tASA tA0y W6E0 KOU0. j
could stand to sec il no more and fed from
the scene. remained in the placs three
days, and that we'll and six others that had
caught fire from ii were burning yet. I had
gone to the oil regions to seek my fortune.
hut my introduction to the possible horrors
Of the region frightened me away. I never
heard how many lives were lost in that, the
first terrible oil c~onfiagration in the history
OF petroleum production, but ! know that q
score Or more OF persons were reported
missing during the three days ! WAS there,
and they were oil believed to have persisted
in that fire.
zone evening in February, 1864, being on
my way to Washington, I stopped of in
Philadelphia to see a friend of mine who
lived in South Fifth street, near Washing
ton avenue. I found him, and during the
evening l went with hin to call ON a mu-
tual aequaintance who lived ON South
Tenth street. near the avenue. We did
not leave there until quito late. On oar
way home, as We wero walking down Wash.
inpton avenue. tho sound Of a terrific sx-
plosion filled the air. and 40 close to as as
almost to throw us to tho ground. The
next instant flames shot up nearly Opposite
to US. and in less than two seconds a river
Of tire was running down that aide Of the
street. We narrowly escaped it by run
ming. An oil refinery or storage tank To-
Gated in that vicinity had exploded. and in
less time than it takes me to tell it that
Wnolo ploch was d seetAinV mass OF names.
burning oil ran down the side streets
on the south side of tho avenue, filling
them with flames twenty feet high, and
sweeping everything before it. l read in
the paper next day that sixteen persons
were known to have persisted in the con-
Migration. which ragged all night. with
awful destruction Of property, which was
the second frightful catastrophe in the his
tory of petroleum and the first to occur
away from the oil regions.
In 1880, having been for many years on
the Pacific coast, I returned east and
stopped at Bradford. then the great center
of oil production, to sec a relative OF mine
who was an oil operator and producer. l
learned in Bradford that he was operating
III Rev City. a new and growing oil town a
few miles distant. | went to Rev CITY.
n while ! was trying to find the trail of
my relative a torpado exploded at a we'll in
the vicinity. and in less than two hours not
q house was left standing in Rev City, 300
derrlcks were wiped out of existence, and
something like Co., 600 barrels in tanks
we're consumed. l found my relative after
the town had been burned up and We went
back TO Bradford. Lie was a heavy loser by
the hre. Three days after l started with
him to 90 to the scene OF the fire to look
things over. We stopped at Bixford, a
couple of miles from Kew CITY, where nv
relative had some business. While he was
attending to his business / sauntered out in
pno Sowu. WHICH WAS ulleu with der
rlcks. Suddenly I heard q loud explosion.
ENC II second later saw a house IN flames.
IN Il very few minutes the whole town was
ablaZe, a hundred shafts OF fro les ping IN
from as many wells about the place. Sew
enty-hve buildings, more than 100 oil rigs.
and 100000 barrels of oil went up in that
confagration.
1T had never struck me before. but while
TINS Dig Ire was raging it came to me all of
u sudden that ! had been spectator to more
than my share of oil fire disasters, and |
gave my relative my record in that respect.
MY dod!' he said. don't let that Get
out IN thls country, for there ara men hore
VINO Woulo Show you your way out of it in a
manner you wouldn't care to 90,
II saw that he meant il. and Isft tbo.s
parts without much delay,
In June, 1881. ! was in Buffalo md
that ! had to 20 to Titusyilie To- rarN
feot some business was arranging. Idppn,t
believe had been in TituAvilla nm ham
when one of the most terrific acknowledgements
! ever saw came up. The thunder and
lightning were frightful, and At the he;~ht
the storm lightning struck an immsnss
oil tank. filled with oil. Instantly thr t.nI
was ablaZs. A host OF other big tsnks vara
"a line with this one, and one after nnotbs.
look IRE. The blazing oil Toured thrast.n
lngiy toward the city, and the roar Of til.
hAmes. the exploding 8nks. and the dan.s
hlouds of pitch-black smoke that markai
sne path OF the confaRration, combined
the sharp and piercing lightning. ths
crashing thunder and the pour,nU ,.in
made a scene 10 fill the brayest hear w,th
terror. and was one l can never forget, tn
SHY lt6eIf seemed doomed. And hnt 70, a.