Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1896-08-21
OIL IN AMERICA.
-ao Discovery ard Production OF
Petroleum
S"me Interesting Informatio, Ah...,,
important Industry-Immenso En-
crease In the Oatput yyIthIn
Few Years.

petroleum oil, which was discovered
In this country in 1859, has been kno,va
una USED Tor illuminating purposes for
I"ore IMAM 1000 years. In one OF the
ionian Islands to-day thcrc is an OF
spring In action which was mentioned
ny lIerodotus more than 20 centuries.
ago. There are old oil wells in the north
OF Italy and the same fluid "a used I'm
Persia.
For many years In the United Stn,.ss
petroleum has been known and used fo,.
medicinal purposes. There are creeks
I'm the east which in the early part ~
the century were always covered Win,
the oil which came from springs ON tho
,"nhs; Ihis was shpmed of md sosd
by the Indiana for medicine nt rs oe.s,s
RuIi"n. IL was not unau 1854 that eS-
permcnts were uln,Io toward obtafn,ns.
light from tho oil.
When oil was first drilled for and
brought up at the rate OF 2s barrela a
uay the market was giutted. hut SOON
ss Its value became apparent other
wells were started and the great i'm
dustry sprong up. In those duvn numer-
ous cooper-shops were necessary and
empoyed hundreds OF men, who hado
the stout barrels TO hold the OIL. thcss'
barrels bringing fortunes TO tho COON
ers; teamstcrs who hauled the. barreIs
mado $i5 10 500 n day; drillers mndo
eight To ten dollars; farmers who hnd
existed on sterile farms suddenly tlis-
covered oil and were rich; emplovurcnk
was given to hundreds and mone>, In
the oil region flowed as freely az tho oil
itself
The streets In the towns which sprenr
UP In these regions became niasses or
thick mud from the constant tcamngs
nnd an empty wagon was load for two
horses, while loaded one Ntly stink Ia
the body OF tho wagon In tho sticky,
soii. IL was not an unusual sight TO see,
horses drowned In mud In the IA iddle OF
the street
The first man who built pine line for
the cnsier transportation OF the oil
built one 9hs miles long. IL wa. clumsv
In construction, and after months Of
toll ond the eNpending of his fortune
nhd th"t OF come OF his friends the pipo
line wos announced ready for the test.
One thousand barrels OF petroleum,
were started and only 80 reached ths
other end of the pipe. tho rest escaping
through defective Valves The ascxf
man who built Pipe line made a sno2
cess OF II, but as soon ns IL was IN worlss
Ing. order the well from which A. run
gavo out.
The enormous output of Oil-ao. COO.
900 barrels--ii 1894 made important thu
question of storing the bupcrfluous oil:
Wooden tanks were -Grst used. but they
ict the oil cvhporate. and to-day we see;
the 10000 ohd even $4,000 barrel iron.
tanks which In some places nro i1i
groups of 800. with "a combined capocltv
OF OcOO.OO barrels. The only loss is
when n tank Is struck by lightning and
the oil is burned%Ip.
In case of firc IN one of tbcee irn.
incnse tanks the great danger is that n
VIII explode and scatter tho burning oil
into the other tanks and destroy them
so. TO prevent this. a cannon BE- brought
and numerous balls fired into the. burn
ing tank around the base. this aihswing
the oil TO escape and burn quietly with
out an explosion.
Petroleum oil Is of many different col
ors. The PennsylvnhIa oil In dark
green. the Canadian black, that from
the shores of the Caspian sca vnries
from the clear white TO yellowish green.
brown and black; California oils aro
light green when brought 10 the sur
face: In the process Of refining DO
trolcum m0ny valuable articles of COM
merce hre produced. There is gasoline;
vaselinei naphtha, patnfIIn and rhigos
line. the lightest of known fluids. it's
evaporation being so rapid that the at
mosphere fHlls To 10 degrees In 20 Sec
onds. 1t is used by physicians 20 pro-
duce local -Chico0o Nex,.