Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1896-08-21
OIL IN AMERICA.
-ho Discovery and Production OF
Petroleum.
hono intcresting Inform ation About nm
important tIndustry-Immenso I'm
crcase In tho output Within
u Few Years.

petroleum oil which wns discovered
In this country in 1850, has been know,t
and used for illuminating purposes for
moro than 1000 yeurs. In one of tho
ienian islands to-day there is an oil
spring In action which was mentioned
by llerodotus more than 20 centuries
ngo. There are old oil wells In the north
of Italy and the same fluid is used I'm
persa.
For many ycnrs In the United States
petroleum has been known and used for
medicinal purposes. There are creeks
In the east which in the early part q
the century were always covered with
the oil which came FROM springs on tho
banks. This was skiS,mcd Off nnd so,d
by this Indiana for lflSaiclno n, rs oeIts-
a Eullon. IL wus not unail 1884 that es:
pcrmcnts were Iiindo toward obtnip!ne.
light from tho oil.
When oil WIS first drilled for and
brought up NJ the rate OF 2a barrels d
day the market wns gluttcd, hut soon
AZ Its value became apparent other
wells were started and tho great in
dustry sprnnR up. In those days numcr.
ons coopcr-hhops were necessary nhd
cmpoyed hundreds of men, who inhdo
the stout barrels to hold the oil. thcsS'
barrels bringing fortunes to tho coop
crs; tcnmstcrs who hauled the barrels
mndo $i5 to $40 n dny tlrillers mado
eight to ten dollars; fifrmers who hud
existed on sterile farms suddenly dis-
covered oil and were rich; employmcne
was given to hundreds and money In
the oil region flowed as freely ns tho oil
itself.
The streets In the towns which Bprenr
up In thesc regions became nassos OF
thick mud from tho constant tcnmurc
aud nm empty wagon wns II load for two
horses. while q loaded one W,iy stiniS Id
the body OF tho wagon In tho sticky
so'l. II was not nm unusual sight to SEQ
horses drowned In mud In tho middle OF
the street.
The frat man who built pipe line for
the cnslcr transportation OF the oil
built ono ets miles long II waa clumay
In construction, und utter months OF
toll nnd the expcndng of his fortune'
and that of some of his friends the pipo
line was announced ready for the test.
One thousand barrcls Of petroleum,
werc started and only 60 reached THIS
other ond OF the pipe. tho rest es9apinE
through defective valves, The aext
mnn who built d pipo line tnnde u suo4
cess of 1t, but W. soon ns II was IN work.
Ing. order tho well from which IL run
snvo out;
The cnormohs output Of oil-a0, co.,
900 bnrrcls--iii 1894 made important thd
question of storing the buperiiuous oil.
| Wooden tanks were first Used, but they
Jet the oil cvhIs6ratc. and to-day wc see
The 3o,Vo0 and even $4,000 barrel iron
tanks which In somc plnces nro ri
groups of 800, with II combined capacity
of D.coo,000 barrels. The only loss IL
when n tank is struck by lightning and
the oil is burnedNip.
In case of FIRE In one of these I'm.
incnsc tanks the great danger is that IL
will explode and scatter Tho burning oil
into the other tnnks and destroy them
SO. TO prevent this, cannon Is brought
and numerous balls fred into the burn
Ing tank around the base, this nlkswlng
the oil TO escnpe 0nd biirh quietly With
out an explosion.
Petroleum oil IL of many d fPcrcnt COL
ors. The Penheylvnhla oil IL dark
green, tho Cnnadinn black. that from
the shores Of the Caspian sca vnriess
from the clear white to yellowish grcenI
brown and blncl; California oils arS
light green when brought TO the SUR
face: In the process. of refining po--
trolcum many valuable articles of com.
incrce hire produced. There is gasoline;
| tascline; naphtha, pafnfIin and rhigo.7
line, the lightest of known fluids, it's
evaporation being SO rapid that the at.
mospherc falls to 10 degrees In 20 seo--
onds. 1t is used by physicians TO pro-
ducc local naesthesis:--Chicngo Newsi
A mar r,.o,..! a. -.