The San Francisco call., 1896-04-12

County. at Minors ranch, near San Pablo,
oil and gas come up naturally out OF the
ground. If capital will undertake the
work the benefits 10 be derived from II
will be inestimable TO the bay region.
Through some land well-borer might
drill for year and get no satisfaction in
any flow OF oil or water or gas. An e1-
perience like this came to Mr.. Hoagland.
A Southern California ranch-owner en-
gagged him to bore a well near the
rancher's house. Water was scarce IN the
vicinity. a peculiar notion struck the
man. He owned big tract, and he had
$15, 900 in cash. If be could strike water
in heavy flow his fortune would be made
by his own irrigation scheme. If he could
strike gas or oil, why so much the better.
owe got $15 900, said the rancher, land
I'm going to keep you boring TIL you
strike something l want or till L m broke.
Mr.. Hoag!and suggested that the To-
cation OF the well was unpromlslng, but
the man knew where he wanted it, and his
say went. The we'll was bored TO a depth
OF $3.50 feet; the rancher went broke in 1t
almost and he got neither oil, gas nor
water. Some speculations turn out just
that way.
"In San Mateo County," said Mr. Hoag-
land, ~ drilled a well over 1000 feet in
depth, and struck salt water. Now this
was 700 feet above sea-level and about
eight or ten miles from the coast, on Tar
Creek, tributary to the Pescadero. We
were aiming for oil at the time. The most
curious part OF the outcome was that the
salt water flowed every seventh day.
Somebody styled it the Holy Well, as
there was no accounting for the phe-
nomenon."
Mr. Hoagland has been in the weli-bor-
ing business since be was Is years old. He
was born and brought up in Bradford
County, Pa, but for twenty years past
he has been engaged in his occupation on
this coast. 1t was he who drilled the
Moody Gulch oil wells. near Los Gatos, in
Santa Clara County, and from them several
thousand gallons OF petroleum of supe-
rior quality have been pumped. A gas
company in San Jose holds contract for
all the oil that can be produced at Moody
Gulch. The San Mateo oil wells yield bot
gas and oil; the oil product being of a
high grade, but running only about five
barrels day. This brings 81 barrel in
San Francisco.
The old-fashioned well-borer worked
down from 100 to 80 feet a day in ordi-
narily good ground. He might run into
clay, quicksand, hardpan or cobble. There
are instances where men have drilled for
twelve hours to get through twelve inches
of rock; for some of the rock is so hard
that it would cut glass.
lOdSlauu mas invented q new IQelnO0 OF
hoisting and lowering the boring rods by
which the speed of boring is accelerated,
and on easy soil he can make from 200 to
go feet per day. while from seventy-five to
eighty feet OF rock drilling can be done in
the same period.
At $50 feet per day the center of the
earth would be reached in about go years,
so that there is no probability of any of
the present generation learning how hot it
is down there unless somebody springs a
scheme for drilling with much greater
rapidity. But capital may we'll ponder
over the idea of boring for oil or of boring
down to see what can be got. The earth
is ehockfull of precious things, and gold is
only small fraction OF the value of the
contents of the interior of this mundane
sphere. This advice to the rich is quite
similar to the advice which has oftentimes
been given to the poor to "get in ard dig" "
But there is something more TO this sub
iect OF well-boring. One of the great mo-
tive powers of the world of industry is
steam, which "scorns the strength of our
puny hands as the tempest scorns a
chain" Now, the cost of the production
of steam, the fuel, machinery, ETC., is a
most important item. If mankind could
obtain all the steam-power necessary in al