The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-03-04
WHAT HAVE WE COME TO?
That Is the Question Which IL Bothering
the Men at the Gas Well.

Here is question for Wichita
matbematicians to work out:
The gas we'll at the corner of Law
renee avenue and Fifteenth street had
its beginning in Sedgwick county, state
OF Kansas s. s. The as. s." is attached
to give the beginning a legal status.
Now, suppose that the beginning of that
hole is in latitude SO north in longitude
81 west This is the beginning. Now
suppose that the aforesaid well should
be continued down through the earth
mot at its present rate. because life is
too short for any such fool supposition,
as we'll as the present appropriation,
but imagine enough faith to remove a
mountain, and suppose that the hole
should be extended clear through the
earth. where would the other end come
out att
This is a simple mathematical ques-
ton and a reporter of the Eagle pro-
pounded this question 10 number of
supposed mathematicians yesterday
and no two Of them have come out with
in 300 miles of each other.
Now. this is certainly too great a dis
crepancy TO let go on without further
investigation and If need be the city
council, city engineer or somebody
should count up where the end would
be.
One person declared that the other
end would come out in the middle of
the Dead sea. Now as this Is supposed
TO be where Sedan and Gomarrah once
stood in all it's wickedness, Wichita
doesn't need il.
Others say il will come out in the
midst Of the Pacific ocean. Others in
the Indian sea. Others near the west
coast of Australia only few miles dis
lance from where F'itzSimmons was
born Some in the same latitude north,
while others claim il must strike and
pass trough the equator and of course
come out in the south latitude.
Now. all this figuring would not be-
come so necessary if IL was not a fact
that the men who started 10 punch
thunder out Of that hole had not been
tackled with something like the Dead
sea.
The hole had been trimmed. out the
casing was adjusted, the long crane
like bucket had been descended and the
briny fluid was drawn up and emptied
upon the earth in the vicinity of the De
ginning OF the hole and this process
was kept up until the hole was as dry
as a powder hOrn-some powder horns
and everything was pronounced O. n.
when there came a thud. No little
thud. and the great rope began 20 come
UP out Of the well like a chicken when
had got a worm in its Sunday throat
Up came the rope, and so did the drill
and the briny fluid from the Dead sea,
or some other seaport began raising in
the iron cased well until II came within
seven feet OF the top.
Down went the crane-like buckets,
but the more they tried % draw out the
brine the higher II came. and accord
ing 10 Assistant City Engineer JaCkman
method OF figuring the only reason W.
are here tonight penning these lines :
because he persuaded the men 10 quI-
pumping and not fool with the works Of
Providence.
There is a little over 900 feet Of salt
water in the hole. and il may be thai
the mathematician who figured out
that the end would come out N the
Dead sea was right and the pesky driu
has knocked out the petition and WIch-
tia will have its hands full 10 keep sac
waters Of the Dead sea from floating
Off the delapidated sidewalks IN Wl-h-
tia. which have not been carried of Tor
kindling during TIE late inclemaGcy os
the weather.
Something must L. done and tAat
something speedily. The well = I'D
laughing matter. Il Is 4 salty reality