New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-01-09

HIGHLY INFLAMMABLE NATURE OF EVERY
THING At THE BAKU PETROLEUM WELLS
From The Pail Mall Gazette.
Probably there is no spot on earth where more
highly inhammable matter lies exposed 10 such
terrible connagratons as that just reported from
Baku than in the district lying just beyond that
town on the shores OF the Caspian Every thing
seems saturated with petroleum; the air one
breathos is laden with a greasy odor, ana the
waters Of the bay are covered with an irldescent
sheen which at night may be set on fire with
most weird effect. Not only IS black naphtha 10
be seen in monster fountains playing from the
very earth but white naphtha flows Of itself in
places. and short way off are the natural gas
vents over which the natives do their cooking
without coal. and which once fed the sacred
XorOas rian fires No wonder that tho ancient
Pcrsians looked on this as holy ground. where
the eternal heaven fed flames Of life burst forth
in sacred buildings, the remains Of which are
still cXtant and the modern Persian or
Parsec Of Bombay and Gujcrat knd.es the
oil shipped to him from Batoum without a sigh
fOr vanished belief When the late shah Of
Persia visited BaHu II was necessary u i'm
port number Of priests for the occasion. that
he might witness in the portion Of the Persian
Empire that had been wrestcd from it by Peter
the Great a specimen Of the worship that his
predecessors had all but stamped out in the p0r
ton they had conquered and retained For less
distinguished visitors TO there is only
ruined tower. from the top of which flare natu-
raj jets. through iron gaspipes. and a number OF
cells, with affairs for the once sacred fire, and
some ancient Inscriptions
Everything round Is saturated, and | have
stood in those sheds the only dry object, with
naphtha spout playing above and falling deafen-
ingly upon the roof. No one objects to naphtha
there, and the men even wash in 1t. using sand
herewith. while all employed have fixed al
lowance for fuel and light. No dwellings, more
dismal than theirs can be imagined. Dante
should have visited the spot
All around between the wells lie lakes OF
seething naphtha which. when clear OF sand
and stones, will be pumped into iron reservoirs
The roads have naphtha streams by the sides,
and naphtha pipes Of all sizes cross and inter-
lace in all directions until they are hardly pass
able One rashly thrown match would set miles
in a blaze. and the most stringent regulations
wisely enforced. But for them disasters
would be terribly frequent.
very different appearance is presented by
the palpitating Black Town. where IN gigantic
furnaces the naphtha is distilled and churned
and distilled again as benZne. kerosene and
vaseline ard many valuable chemicals are one
by one removed. till only the thick black resi-
due Of use for fuel. is left, and much OF this Is
used TO feed the furnaces themselves Boilers
so heated closely resemble those intended for
coal and wood. except that on the inside Of the
fire doors are stout jets. through which IL Is
pumped the length Of the irebox. forming bright
tongues Of eat-giving flames. Railways and
steamers alike are 50 heated in Russia