The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-11-19
DICK.
HOW Singleton Gvnvpsc1 With the
Earcce or Distraction.

II
| HOW Singleton Grnrpsca With b
Forces OF destruction
Dick Singleton, known by many as
9 Torpedo Dick. was u Of tho best oil
we'll shooters in tho Bradford field. He
had all the qualities which enter into the
make up Of & successful juggler with
| DEATH agencies. lie bad shot hundreds
| Of wells and transported glyoerin all over
| the country ia all kinds Of weather and
| over roads which, at certain seasons, had
| no counterpart Tor all round villainy any
whore.
One day Singleton started out to shoot
| a well located near Bradford. The we'll
| had been drilled in" two or three days
before. but the shooter had been too busy
to put in q shot.
Arrived as tho we'll, Singleton proceed
ed to fill the shells with glyoerin from his
| cans. That is a proceeding of some deli
| cacy, as glycerin allows n liberties to be
taken with It. Care must be exercised in
pouring the stuff from the cans into the
shells.
However, all went we'll, and Singleton
began to lower a cylinder into the hole.
Several persons stood in the derrick watch
ing operations with the curious interest
which custom may abaSe but cannot kill
utterly. Tho we'll was about 1900 feet
deep and during the interval since drilling
had stopped shout 1000 feet of fluid had
accumulated in tho hole.
There was nothing unusual about that,
but something unusual did happen speed
lily and most inopportunely; something
calculated to turn ones hair gray and
mako such an impression on the memories
of the men present as time could not
efface.
The glyeerin shell had been lowered
several hundred feet, and Singleton was
slowing paying out the cord, whs.l he felt
the lire slacken. Immediately heheard an
ominous roar. 1t was a sound to appal
the stoutest heart.
The well had started to fowl
Singleton knew the meaning of that
yound. He knew that q column of oil
1,000 feet high, obeying the impetus OF
the mighty forces of nature, then in con-
vulsion 2,OO0 feet underground, was fore
ing to the surface, with the velocity OF a
cannon ball, a she'll containing 20 quarts
of glycerin.
If Singleton had lost his head or hest
tated for only q fractional partof a second,
six men would nave been blown into
eternity and another horror would have
been added to the long list charged to the
account OF nitroglycerin.
But he did not lose his head. He knew
that flight was useless-no time for that.
Whether he should run or stay, death
seemed to be inevitable.
If he should stay, there was n chance
only one. 1t anne to Singleton like an
inspiration. The one chance decided him.
Desperate as it wash million to one that
it would fail-hc resolved to take it.
Who can say what passed through the
mans mind during the inappreciable frao-
tion Of time that he waited to put bis plan
into execution?
Perhaps Singleton himself could not de-
scribe what his mental vision beheld i'll
that brief interval between the warning
and the appearance of the messenger OF
eternity.
He was conscious of nothing but the
peril which was rushing upon him and his
companions and OF the stern resolve to
stand at his post and do all that heroic
manhod could do to avert the impending
doom.
Men think quickly at such times. Sin
gleton's mind acted with the celebrity Of
lightning. His muscles obeyed the man
date Of the will with electric promptitude.
He made his title clear to haroism on
that eventful day. He braced himself,
and as the shell shot from the hole no
threw his arms around it, not knowing
but the sudden arrest Of motion would ex-
plode the charge ard not believing that
he could hold the she'll at oil.
Desperation gave him strength. There
he stood, victor over death, surprised to