The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-08-04
ATHRILLING MOMENT
THE DARING ACT OF AEROjeM OF
AN OIL WELL SHOOTER.

Bon and Twenty Quarts Of Nitroslyosri
Doing Service ~ the Ball.
One Of the most thrilling experience
recorded in the annals Of shooters G,
reers was that In which Dick Singleton
an old time Bradford shooter, playe
the role Of hero. He played 1t well TOT
That the sensational drama did not tur
out to be a tragedy in which six live
were taken In the last act is due to tn
hero's cool bead, quick decision and So
perb nerve in the face of almost certai
death.
Singleton was one Of the best know
shooters in the Bradford field. He ha'
all the qualities which enter into tn
make up Of q successful juggler witt
death agencies. He had shot hundred
Of wells and transported glyoerin al
over roads which at certain season
had no counterpart for all ronnd vii
lainy anywhere, but his reckless caution
had always averted a catastrophe
One day Singleton started out to shoe
a we'll located near Bradford. The vel
had been drilled in" two or three day
before. but the shooter had been to.
busy to put in shot.
Arrived at the we'll Singleton pro
ceeded to fill the shells with glyceri1
from his cans. That is a proceeding o.
some delicacy, as glycerin allows NJ
liberties to be taken with 1t. Care must
be exercised in pouring the stuff froul
the cans into the shells
The we'll was about 1900 feet deep,
and during the interval since drilling
had stopped about 1000 feet OF fluid
had accumulated in the hole.
There was nothing unusual about
that, but something unusual did hap.
pen speedily and most inopportunely;
something calculated to turn ones hair
gray and make such an impression on
the memories of the men present as
time could not efface. .-,-.,...... d.
The glycerin shell had been lowered
several hundred feet, and Singleton was
slowly playing out the cord, when he
felt the line slacken. Immediately he
heard an ominous roar. 1t was sound
to appall the stoutest heart.
The we'll had started to fowl
Singleton knew the meaning Of that
sound. He knew that column of oil
1000 feet high, obeying the impetus Of
the mighty forces Of nature, then in
oonvulsion 1900 feet underground, was
forcing to the surface with velocity of
a cannon ball a shell containing 20
quarts of glycerin.
He realized that the propulsive energy
Of that column Of oil would project the
shell against the timbers Of the derrick
with tremendous force. No need to
speculate on what would follow the i'm
pact.
All this was flashed upon Singleton's
consciousness as he stood leaning over
the hole. The thought flash and the
signal of peril were ooincident in point
of time.
It was an awful moment-such q
moment as no man had ever experienced
and lived to describe
Singleton's companions understood
the import Of that terrifying sound.
Acting upon a natural impulse, they
turned to fee, seeking in flight the
safety which they knew 1t was futile to
hope for. Almost before terror could
impart motion to their limbs the catas-
trophe would befall.
If Singleton had lost his head or hes
itated for only fractional part Of Sec
ond, six men would have 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 seeemd to be inevitable.
II he should stay, there was one
chance-only one. 1t came to Singleton
like an inspiration. The one chance de-
cided him. Desperate as it was-a mil
lion to one that it would fail-he re-
solved to take it.
Who can say what passed through
the man q mind during the inappreciable
fraction Of time that be waited to put
his plan into execution?
Perhaps Singleton himself could not !
describe what his mental vision beheld |
in that brief interval between the warn
ing 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 he
roic manhood could do to avert the i'm.
pending doom.
Men think quickly at such time. Sin
yleton s mind acted with the celebrity of
lightning. His muscles obeyed the man
late Of the will with electric prompti-
Jude.
He made bis title clear to heroism on
hat eventful day. He braced himself,
md as the shell shot from the hole he
brew his arms around it, not knowing
,ut the sudden arrest Of motion would
explode the charge and not knowing
hat he could hold the she'll at all.
Desperation gave him strength.
There he stood, victor over death, sur
orised to find himself alive and smoth-
red in the thick, greasy fluid which
lowed from the we'll and fell in tor
ents upon him. But he held fast to the
,rize which his alert mind, quick eye
nd prompt action had won in the
'and to hand grapple with the forces Of
destruction.
Singleton is still living somewhere
Il the lower oil country, and he occa-
ionally tries his hand at shot, but if
10 should live until the final day of
Judgment he could never forget the day
then he played back stop in the game
etween life and death, with nature in
be box and 20 quarts Of nitroglycerin
ding service as a ball.-St. Louis Re-
ublic.
The bandaging of the feet Of Chinese !
iris ~ begun in many cases at the age l
4, |