Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1894-05-24
KANSAS OIL WELLS.
Petroleum Found in Paying Guam
titles in the State.
= New Industry That Promises Rich De-
velOpments-A Description of the
shooting" of Valuable Well
"A Short History.
Correspondents Kansas City start


in the oil well johnson three miles
east of this place at II o'clock last Fri
day. The earth trembled a moment,
seemed to wabble from side to side as
if undecided whether to go on or quit,
and then got back into its beaten path
and resented the shock to it's interior
by chewing up and splitting out the
fragments of tie capsule that had dis
guised the dose, aio1g with tons and
tons of water, small stones and sand,
and finally the black petroleum that
seems to be as a vast subterraneap lake
under that part of the earth's anatomy
marked on the map, Wilson County,
Kansas
After twenty minutes of furious dem
Onstration it quoted down and
breathed forth gas, splitting out little
oil now and then as if to remove the
taste. This continued all day and in
the evening the earth quit the fight,
like a ferocious animal subdued, and
gave up the black petroleum calmly
and harmlessly enough, and it will
continue this at the rate of fifty or
more barrels a day for how long no
man can tell.
Nine or ten times the interior of the
earth has been shocked this way around
Neodesha, and each time with the same
result. Nearly forty of these rude
holes have been drilled there, deep into
its interior, and into each one sooner
OF later will be inserted the same pow
erful emetfc that caused such internal
commotion yesterday.
George NJ. Perry, of the Greenwood
Powder Co., Webb City, Mo-, is the
physician who prepares and gives this
terrific dose. A teaspoonfu1 of this
medicine would blow a man to king
dom come, yet he practices his profess
sion without fear. There is no dan
GER he said, IF you don't jar it. and
if you do you'll have no funeral e1-
penses."
A few years ago, in November, 1892,
to be exact, w. NJ. Mills, prospector
who had been for many years prodding
the face of the earth to make it give up
something, went from Osawatomie to
Neodesha, leased three acres of land of
j. 7. Norman almost within the city
limits and began to drill for gas. At a
depth of $40 feet ne struck oil. He
plugged up the well and leased 5000
acres of land. moved his machinery a
half mile, and started again. Then he
drilled the De Moss well, which runs
oil SO freely now that it has to be
pumped night and day to keep it from
wasting Mr.. Mills plugged the wells,
and taking a barrel of oil went to Pitts
burgh, Pa, where the firm of Guffey,
Galley & Mills, was organized soon
afterward to develop the new Kansas
oil fields. Mr.. Guffey and Mr.. Galley
were experienced oil men. They came
to Neodesha in April, 1898, and started
the Haag well, and about June 1, 1893,
ST in mt
it almost blew their derrick away. The
pressure was 43O pounds to the square
inch and now the gas from this well is
piped over five miles and supplies fuel
for all the furnaces in the vicinity.
Mr.. Mills soon dropped out of the
firm and Guffey & Galley began to
lease land-all of it they eould-until
now they have some 100000 acres
leased. Their superintendent in Kan
sas. Mr.. w. S. McGhee. said recently
that they are now drilling one well in
Chautauqua county; two in Neodesha;
will begin in Fredonia next week; have
just finished two in Thayer, and are
drilling three more there: are drilling
two in carlton, Neosho county; one in
Chanute; one N Pleasanton, Linn coun-
ty, and are building rig" prepare
tory to drilling in Moran, Allen county.
One well in Thayer has proved a
great success. Guffey & Galley have
already some forty wells in Neo-
a desha from s07 to 1900 feet deep
I and have spe4t 100000 in and
around this city. The full capacity of
the wells has not been determined for
there have been no tanks in which to
store-the oil and the owners have not
been disposed to pump it out into the
ENa11 1.ixz io1. r.
gether here. The Mann well. which
has not been ''shot" but runs oil spon-
taneously, is one of the best in the lot
at Neodesha, for with all the condi-
lions against it, many barrels flow
from it daily. The Reddington, Kim
ball and DeMoSS wells are all being
pumped to prevent waste, the oil being
stored in temporary tanks. A mile
north of the city a 10000 barrel tank
90 feet in diameter and 26 feet high is
now being built on a ten-acre tract and
when finished, in thirty days or more,
pipes will be built to it and the pumps
will be set in motion to their full ca
pacity.
The Kimbau wells. No. / and No. 2
the Calender and De Moss wells, are
now being pumped to prevent waste
by steam piped from two twenty-five
horsepower boilers located in a power
house near the De Moss well. Mr.. Fred
NJ. Smith, formerly with the Hazel
wood Oil Co., of Bradford. Mexican
county, Pa. is in charge of this pump
ing station and lives in tent near by.
He has wires strung through the woods
from the power plant to the wells UNI
der his charge, so that any irregu1arity
with the pump at any of the deserted
stations is Immediately made known to
him by his telegraph At each well
acknowledgements engine operates
the pump. At the Kimbal well a tank
of 1,S50 barrels capacity is being filed
with oil as slowly as it is possible to do
SO and at the same time let no oil
escape from the well. The fuel at the
central power plant is natural gas,
which yesterday was under pressure OF
357 pounds to the square inch, burning
in blue flame in jets that came from
holes punched IN the sides of an inch
pipe plugged at the end. There was
no fire brick or other substance in the
fireplace, the gas flame coming in di
rect contact with the boiler. The