The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-03-10
DRILL AGAIN GOING
WORK AT PROSPECT WELL IS NOW
PROCEEDING CHINAWARD.

Through NumberIess Mishaps Which Were
Unavoidable the Hole Goes On-subter-
ranean streams and Smashed Casing
Have Impeded Work-Six Inch Casing
Is All In and Debris st the Bottom
Cleared Out-Brief Sketch of Well at
Fort Reno Where Some Gas was Found
Curiosity VIII be Satisfied.
When the Eagle representative visit
ed the prospect well yesterday. he found
the large walking beam merrily churn-
ing I'D and down as though il enjoyed
II. Mr.. Madison was found sitting com
placently by watching the rope in It's oS-
citations, while Mr.. Austin stood where
you usually viii find him, with one hand
upon the wire leading 10 the throttle OF
the engine, and the other upon the rope,
The drill was still chugginS away al
the blue shale something over a thous-
and feet down in the mysterious bosom
Of the United States Whatever exists
further down in the subterranean stra-
tas of mother earth, has been amply
protected thus far by dame nature
What with subterraneans rivers OF SAT-
water, hard fiinty layers which nearly
ruined the drill to penetrate; and this
Supplemented by friable and soft stra-
tas. which although they drilled hard,
upon exposure to the salt water ana
what air could get down to 1t would
cave in and thus impede the work
makes II seem as though there should
be something down there, whether there
IS or not Besides this, a bad piece OF
casing. which had a few X rays been
sent into its inner depths, it would never
had been put into the hole. This is the
piece which broke in the well, and cut
the rope in two.
However, quite hole is there never
theless, and II it had not been put down,
the curiosity of the citizens Of Wichita
and the surrounding country would
have been great enough for some Of
them TO have tried TO get 10 the north
pole in their endeavors 10 get into the
long tabled hole in the earth az that
point This would not only enabled
them to explore the undershirt of the
great state Of Kansas, but the other
states as well.
The six inch casing was gotten into
place Saturday night, and was then one
thousand, nine and a half feet below the
surface. The debris has been falling in
and has filled the hole up to some extent
but this was cleared out by Il o'clock
last night and new developments can
now be looked for.
The prospect hole which Mr.. Austin
drilled at Fort Reno, struck a consid-
cradle flow of gas, and it was natural
gas, too, and also the kind that burns.
For over a year and half the gas bub-
bled up constantly, through two hun
dred feet Of water and stopped only
when the casing was taken out, and
there is still a small flow of gas there.
There was also a heavy flow Of salt
water at a depth of about 500 feet. The
altitude al Fort Reno is in the neigh
borhood OF l $50 feet and here in is about
1920 feet. There are some strange
things in this world-inside of il we
mean-and there is no telling, but
branch office Of the great firm Of Hades
& Co, Sulphur Manufacturers, may be
encountered yet. Other towns have had
the enterprise to investigate these
things, and as Wichita is not behind in
anything else-save men TO yell for
Grover-and she will leave no stone I'M
turned TO unearth what exists below us.
At z o'clock last night the hole was 1920
teet deep.