The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1897-05-13
THE GAS WE'LL Is BOOMING.
II Vas Visited by Several City Trustees
Last Evening.
Four Reservoirs Tapped That Dis
charge 100000 Feet of
Pure Gas Per Day.

There is no longer any question that
Sacramento has a natural gas supply,
nor of its abundance.
a few weeks ago the Record Union
related the facts that Henry c. Keyes,
who bored the we'll at Front and Y
Streets had struck a strong flow of gas,
but there are many persons in the city
who could not be convinced that it was
more than a prospect" yet who were
too indolent to go and satisfy them
selves.
Last evening four of the City Trustees
and a few other persons, including a
Record Union reporter, visited the
WELL and they We're all convinced that
Keyes has such flow of gas as to settle
all question as to Sacramento's claim to
being a natural gas center.
Mr.. Keyes warmly welcomed the Wis
1tors but what he had to show spoke
louder than any words. A tWo-inch gas
pipe was made to answer the purpose
of a meter, and this was turned into
the fire-boX of the twenty horsepower
engine used to operate the drills in bor-
ing. Then the gas was turned on by
degrees, and when the match was struck
a clear, white, brilliant flame shot into
the fire-bOx and fillsd every Granny.
Wider and wider the impromptu meter
was opened, and out rushed volume
of gas which experts say VIII amount to
10000 feet in twenty-fOur hours. Not a
single gaseous fume was perceptible,
even where the gas dubbed from the
water or rushed with a WhZZ through
the leaky, Well-wOrn pipe placed above
the ground. Every one of the tubes in
the boiler was filled with the strong
white heat, and in a few moments the
boiler began to tremble and talk-she
was making steam. Sixty pounds was
registered in twenty minutes, and fully
half the gas was escaping.
But this was not all. The Trustees
were informed that the gas used was
merely that arising from the vein struck
at the last level, and that three other
bodies We're passed through which
would each average as much gas per
day as the last one. The body next
to that from which the present supply
is drawn is much stronger than either
of the other three, while the two next
the surface are weaker, but it is esti-
mated that the product of all of the
four bodies will furnish at least 1000
feet of gas per day.
of collecting the gas at the we'll for
cooking and lighting purposes was ex-
tremely primitive An ordinary wash
tub was turned bottomside up over
portion of the we'll where the gas es-
capped hole was bored in the tubs bot
tom and a small pipe inserted which
conducted the gas to the jets, and the
service was sufficient for the purposes
for which it was needed.
Only a few days since the first col
1ecting tanks We're erected, and the ser
vice is now all that could be demanded.
For lighting purposes the fame is
bright, white and steady, and the arti-
Gle is undoubtedly one of the purest to
be had either by artificial or natural
means.
The four Trustees and the other
gentlemen present were frank in say
ing that the plant, both regarding the
amount of labor expended and the vol
ume and quality Of gas, exceeded their
expectations, and that if the volume
did not diminish the well would be of
immense value to the city.
The initial prospects for the Sacra-
mento well, Mr.. Keyes said, are much
more fattering than were those of the
Stockton wells. The volume seems to
be stronger and the quality better. He
has not only, he says, practically dem
onstrated that gas exists in large guam
titles, but what is far better it has an
inexhaustible supply, which will be
ready to be utilized by the city in a
short time
There seems to be medicinal prop
critics connected with the water from
the we'll which may prove of value
When he first began operations Mr..
Keyes was offiicted with kidney trou-
BILE of a very aggravated nature. Since
sinking the we'll he has continuously
drank of its water, and now states that
his trouble has entirely disappeared
The water has a peculiar taste, but
its properties can only be determined
by analysis.
Mr. Keyes, for the company with
which he is associated, will go before
the Board of Trustees next Monday
night and ask for franchise for lay
ing mains and pipes to supply the city
with gas for lighting and cooking pur-
poses. He viii propose to furnish gas
at the rate of 81 10 per 1000 feet, or
10 cents higher than the article is de-
livered to the people of Stockton The
reason for the charge is traceable to
providing that after running five years
an organization such as the one in
question shall pay 3 per cent of its
gross earnings into the City Treasury.
1t is figured by the promoters of the
gas industry that for the first five
years there will be no dividends for
stockholders, and that at the expira-
ton of that time the percentage to the
city will necessitate an increase in the
price Of the article equaling 10 cents
per 1000 feet.
Whatever action the board may take,
the fact remains that Sacramento has
a gas well with a capacity of 100000
feet per day, and the prospect for
cheaper lights and cheaper fuel in the
near future is flattering.
The first effort made by the gas
prospectors was inclined to be dis
couraging. After the twelve-inch pipe
had been sunk nearly 200 feet bed OF
cobbles, granite and ironstone was