The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-01-17
ANNIHILATION In CANS.
THE SWIFT. TREMENDOUS FoRoE
OF NITRO-GLrCERINE.

Extra-Hazsrdou. Trade OF the Fearless
Country-Litue Accidents That Have
Wiped shooters Out OF Existence Utterly
BOLIVAR. N. Y, Jan. 18.-Thcrc ia at least
one GLASS Of men who are never bored by In
surapce agents. They are the nervy fellows
known In the oil country as shooters" Their
business 10 10 transport nitro.glycorine from
the storage mag to the oil wells, and ex-
plode tho charge in the oll-bearinK rock at a
depth OF from 500 to 5000 feet. SO risky Is
the work that the life and accident insurance
companies refuse 10 rate them at all. Their
work takes them over rough mountain roads
In all kinds of weather and at all seasons OF
the year. As o rule, they. are fearless. fell
lows. with muscles of iron and nerves of steel,
and q knowledge Of tina risk they run makes
them usually very careful. A careless shooter
does not remain In the business long; he takos
the sky route.
Nitro-glycerine or stock" az tho shooters
call II. Is drawn from the magazines to tho
wells In q low wagon. tho box Of which rests
on long. heavy springs. The box is divided
into cells into which an eight-quart can Of
stock will 1T snugly. Tho cells are padded
with felt and hair. and tho cover fits down
closely. so there Is little friction when tho
wagon Is In motion. oven over rough roads.
The railroads will not carry nitro-glycorinc
and the only method Of transportation Is by
wagon: or boat. There are. two or three fac.
tories. near Pittsburgh that supply. tho West
Virginia and . portion OF the Ohio oil fields
with nitro-Rlycerine The stock is shipped
down the Ohio River in fiat boats that fly a
red flag rs q danger signal. The shooting
wagons carry no red flag, button the sides Of
the box you will md A warning sign printed
d, 49,. al-A 49,.
When an order comes TO tho torpedo Office
for q shot II is turned over to q shooter. Tho
drive may DO three miles. ..and II may be TWEEN
ty; the roads maybe smooth or they may be
ico-bound, but Il makes little difference TO the
shooter. He is always trusting to luck TO pull
him through safely. Sometimes he leaves
homo before daylight. ito return far In the
night. He glances over his order and goes TO
the shell house and picksout tho number Of
tin shells necessary TO hold the number Of
quarts ordered. and places them In tho iron
hooks on the side Of his,shooting wagon. Then
he bitches up and drives TO the magazine bo-
hind n team that always stops when he yclls
Whoa" He unhitches the horses at tho
magazine and ties them to a tree. Then he
enters tho magazine and looks the stock over
carefully for leaky cans. One by one .he car
rios tho cans out TO the wagon until the re-
SNAAN hhc hefo pAatVa ~ tho SAAu
He looks tho magazine door carefully. bitches
up his team. and starts toward tho we'll that
The farmers-he meets on the road give him
a Wide berth; they erhibit no desire To lock
hubs with him, and though he may pass nifty
people on foot, not one OF them will ask him
Tor q riic. He carefully avoids any towns
that are in his way by driving around them;
no doesn't want TO break any village ordi-
names and pay 2 fine Here and there he may
and u face will appear at a window. II IL
the farmers wife. and she breathes a sigh OF
load disappear at a bond in the road. He APP
pears TO be driving recklessly. but he is not.
br,, me rS Sat d ,s sn iSs raus aS i s hls team an , trSs
his way carefully. realizing that AT. any mo-
ment a sudden Jar may send him and his team
When lie reaches the we'll. he unhitches his
team and ties II = few hundred feet away. He
derrick. He Is, told at what:dopth the seli is
lin inesetiins ready. lie takes . reel Of stout
bail Of a tin she'll. after passing il through a
pulley. Thea no carries the cans OF nitro
and pours the stun into tho shells. As fast as
n shell Is nlled with hitro -Rlycerine II is low
roee and anI pulley. The me em MSiy V sa means ars OF sa tno
fully placed In tho wagon. to be used again.
The SHELLS rest on top Of each other. and on
top OF the last shell lowered An iron firing head Is
fitted. II there Is not already several hundred
feet Of oil OF water in the well to act as lamp
When everything is ready. the employees leave
the derrick and sesk a safe place several hun
d dppssdd -. feet s,S away; The srs shooter %. takes 2 sharp:
legs viii carry him. The "so.dsyiI." as tho hrs
sxpitdes the. shot. There is:a rum6linS sound,
a column OF OH and water rises u few feet In
an irresistible rush the column rises high over
the derrick top and, falls in a golden shower
in every direction Ike the now of a Yellow
stone Reyser. Sometimes tho flow continues
for an hour and sometimes for only a few min
utes.
gions was made by a we'll on Thorn Creek. IN
Butler, county, Pennsylvania. 1t Is thus de-
'eT !%SsS by ,h E5I sho, II TOOK paT .ssc, and IN. ,,rr.,
rock. as Il smitten by tho rod of Moses,
poured forth rs torrent OF oil. !: was such a
er's brush. or poets pen could do II Justice.
Men familiar with tho wonderful sights OF tho
1 %sS iG'u az .h %sFS Ses s;lS't the dumb m,sh With a ss,ISni'h;
tlon after tho torpedo exploded. 4 column
again; some time elapsed before the force OF
the explosion emptied the hole. and the burned
a asTfias In " a ils Sla stream saes sa'f FSs u Sia ta ,n.
gradually changed TO yellow; then with q
mighty Dd ISsr tes e., r.. ,sbuarnss forth with a dsaf.
a moment the cloud OF gas hid the derrick
from sight and then. as this cleared away.:a
shot from the derrick floor eighty feet through
the air. till IL broke In fragments on the crown
pulley snd fell in a shower OF yellow rain Tor
rods around; For over an hour that grand
column of oil, rushing swifter than any torrent
rick floor aad top.
I'm u few minutes the ground around the der
rick WAS covered inches deep with petroleum.
The branches OF the oak trees were like hugo
yellow plumss. and a stream AS large as n
mans body ran down the hill TO the road, IL
iilled the space beneath the small bridge, and
continuing down the Hill through the woods
beyond, spread out upon the flats. In two
hours these flats were covered with oil. Tho
hillside was as II a yellow frcshet had PASSED
over i. Heavy clouds of gas. almost obscur.
Ing the derrick, hung low In the woods. and
sttlll the mighty rush continued. Some OF
be flowing 500 barrels an hour. Dams were
built across the stream. that its production
might be estimated: the dams overiiowed and
were swept away before they could he com
pleted., People living on Thorn Creek packed
up their household goods and FED to the hill.
sides Tho pump ~,tation, n mile and n hnif
down tho creek, had To extinguish its fires that
night Oh account Of gns. All fires around the
district were put out. 1t was literally n flood
OF oil. II was estimA ed that the production
was 10000 barrels In twenty-four hours"
The strang.st thing about this particular we'll
Is that Its owners believed II TO bc dry, and n
IL had not been torpedoed its value would