Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1896-01-09

ing, so 1t is gambling after all. A
Pennsylvanian, who has been all his
business life connected with the
Standard Oil Company as salaried
employee, told me that for ten years
he had been investing in oil VEN
lures and had never struck it yet
1t is a common saying here that
"more money has been put in the
ground than has ever come out of
it," {" but it has been God-send to
us" they say. So l would not ad-
wise any of your readers, rs eXcit-
ing and interesting as it is. to come
to Sistersville to gamble in oil,
though it would recall the halcyon
days of the boom when we were all
rich for once in our lives.
How 1t brings back those times in
Virginia of 1S90-91 to look around
here, the same crowd of strangers
from other States, with scattering
of Englishmen, Scotchmen and
| other foreigners, lot of friendly
agents to meet all trains, shake your
hand and show you where to stop,
fine hotels full of guests, the land
lords the happiest men in town, lit
tie groups in the writing-room, in
the parlor, in the hall, everywhere,
holding private conversation, two
or three bright, chippery takers,
one quiet, wondering listener, "get-
ting took in," ph9tons and buggies
at the door. The party gets in after
while and away they go to see
4" how beautifully the country lies, ,"
and the agent, too, e" Walk into nv
parlor says the spider to the f1y."-
Some quiet fellow sitting off to him
self, here and there, looking through
his pocket to see if he has money
left to pay his bill and get home.
"He's been in and wishes he hadn' :"
Then the town is full of people {;
you can hardly get through the
crowds standing in front of the no.
tells and restaurants and newspaper
offices, some talking loud, some but.
ton-holing each other, some trying
to take it in like / am doing and the
news boys pushing through" Here's
your Oil ReUie,o ~ Morning Drill,
Sir?" Stores full, banks doing a
rushing business, editors happy, new
houses going up on every hand, new
telegraph and telephone wires being
stretched, everything in a rush, and
so it has been going on for four
years. The village of 500 people
has grown to be city of 5000, and
still growing. No hard times been
felt here, they say, and don't expect
1t, plenty of money, sir, would not
live anywhere else but in boom
town. Yes, yes, thinks to myself,
have been there. Backward roll
backward time in thy flight, make
me boomer again just for one
night. Well, may be it will last and
may be 1t won't. I'll keep out any
how. Once in Il lifetime will do for
me.
Still this is a big thing here, no
mistake about it. Hundreds, yes
thousands of wells in this valley and
the valleys beyond these ridges ex-
tending for miles on both sides. In
West Virginia and Ohio, more wells
are being drilled and men are work
ing day and night. A days work
here Is "a hours and no Sunday. At
night by the jets of natural gas
which come from nearly every well,
the city is lit up by great flames of
it which flare foot high without
lamps, at every corner, two great
big ones in front of my hotel burn
all night and the sky is lit up at
night away down the valley and
over the hills by flames yards high
getting rid of the surplus gas so the
hands can see and work without suf-
locating. In the houses a fire costs
$3.50 month and light 25 cents,
and they are piping it to Pitts burgh,
100 miles, and then it Is to be sent
to Philadelphia, 500 miles, from the
Big Moses, the greatest gas we'll that
ever was struck, the roar of which
was heard ten miles before it was
confined, deafened every ono who
came near it, workmen had to wear
cotton in their ears. The ground
shook as though in an earthquake
and when it took fire it burnt up the
derrick and the whole rig and the
flames shot up in the air from 1875
to 200 feet and people living in a
house 600 feet off could not hear
each other talk and had to move
away. The company offered 81 900
to any one who would devise a plan
to control the immense rush of gas
which was finally accomplished and
a strong company was formed which
spent 81 100000 in piping the gas
from the Big Moses and other con-
tiguous wells under ground to the
cities,
At each we'll there is q small $50
barrel tank to gather it's oil. These,
when full, are measured by guager
and an account kept by the we'll
number. The oil from these small
tanks is pumped into five large iron
tanks, holding 10000 barrels each.
From there 1t is constantly being
drawn to great pump house here
where there are nine boilers heated
by gas and two huge pumps with
the capacity OF 1000 barrels an
hour. One stroke of these big pumps
DAVIS the oil in and another starts it
out on its long underground journey
hundreds Of miles to the seaboard
cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia.
The pumps are so powerful that the
oil is propelled thirty-twO miles from
here to another pump station and
80 on via Pittsburgh, every thirty
two miles to another station till it
reaches the seaboard. After leaving
Pittsburgh the pumps, tanks and
pipes are all on much larger scale
in order to accommodate the oil
coming from the Pennsylvania oil
fields, the whole being under the
control of tho Standard Oil Com
pany. said to be the largest monopoly
and the richest corporation probably
in the world. Not an oil well is
started here or any where else that