The Opelousas courier., 1899-07-01
SHOOTING OUTOlLWETJS
THE OPERATORS DISPLAY cRFar
NERVE At CRITICAL MOMENTS,

Flres smothered at the Rfsk of the
shooters Life-His Bravery s,yss u;s
employers a Tidy Bit of MONEY! Cara
With the Explosives-Er,v.p nm So.
Everybody out of the derricko
SHOUTS q grimy figure. The warning
IS familiar in the Pennsylvania oil
regions. A steep hillside is dotted
with tall oil derricks rising above the
forest trees. Save for the derricks the
scene is purely one Of primitive for
est. The soil is virgin. None of it's
treasures has been sought except for
the oil. When the possibility of fur
sher OIL development has been ex-
nausted some farmer of another en-
eratlon Will strip off the timber. Civ
ing over the land to agricultural
pursuits. But no farmer of the pres
ent generation will do this. He is
called farmer for the same reason
mat a native Of Kentucky is called a
'colonel,' and is content to lease his
land to the oil producer for his eighth
OF the possible production.
Inc owner stands at a safe distance
from the derrick watching the opera.
ssn of shooting" the we'll. Down
oos feet the we'll has been drilled. 1t
IS not an opening large enough for a
mar to fall into. He could scarcely
get his foot into the opening. Down
almost the entire depth an iron casing
runs. The we'll has the same diane
ter III cross section clear to the bot
tom. Above the we'll is the derrick,
through whose floor the casing pro-
Jects. At one side are the giant
wheels which are in reality the reels
tor the cable running over the block
at the derrick's top down into the der
rick, where it meets the heavy tools
raising and lowering, a half
inch at a time, has drilled the we'll.
At the other side are the engine and
boiler which have furnished the power
for the drilling process.
Oil will not flow into such a small
cavity as that made for the pipe. It
must be enlarged by an explosion of
n'tro-glycerine lowered in tin tubes
or shells. When once the force of
the explosion has been felt a large
cavity will be made, the surrounding
rock will be crushed, and streams of
the crude petroleum will flow in, to
be pumped out and refined.
The little group of well-side en-
ployes is gathered at the derrick. Tn
der the trees at a safe distance is a
wagon, from which two horses have
been unhitched. A large box is
fitted to the wagon, with COM
partmants, each holding a two
gallon can of nitro-glycerine.
From these the Shooter" has taken
quarts. Three long sections
OF tip tubing have been filled with the
fluid. Each shell, as filled, is lowered
to the bottom of the iron tube. The
shooter has simply to light his
''squ1b" and drop it in the we'll. Con-
structed upon the principle of the fire
cracker, its explosion will set off the
nitro-glycerine. AS the "squib"
strikes the first tin tubing a cap will
explode it. Then will come the ex-
Everybody out Of the derrick"
again shouts the shooter, lighted
squib in hand. The little knot of
spectators breaks for shelter. They
may be drenched with the oil that
gathers in a well prior to
shooting, and flying bits Of rocks have
been known to strike people at q we'll
shooting.
The shooter waits for a moment,
then, hurling his squib into the open
mouth of the we'll, he runs for the
wood. He looks back. The gas in
;he mouth has taken fire. When the
oil comes, derrick and machinery will
De destroyed. He hastens back. All
his time the squib is descending.
Presence at the we'll side at the mo-
nent of explosion means death. He
;hrows his hat over the opening. The
gas fame is e~xtinguished. He has
'aved his employers a tidy sum of
money. He then seeks his own safety.
lie is twenty feet away. A light re-
BORT, q roar, then a loud report fol-
ows. The ground is shaken. From
he mouth of the we'll a shower of oil
'pouts. It grows. It is thirty feet
N the air above the derrick. It hovers
moment, and then dies away. Frag-
nents of rock and bits of tin tubing
accompanied the rushing oil.
Back comes the shooter to the der
lex. He gathers the ans which once
contained the glycerine. These he
,eaps together and explodes, as the
aw requires, lest some incautious
vanderer should come to grief through
inadvertently kicking one His work
s done. With his team he drives to
he magazine in. the remote forest,
where, taking on a new cargo, he pre-
,ares to shoot another we'll. The we'll
le has just left is now ready for the
pumping rig, which, when once fitted, |
the owner to add from three
O ten barrels of crude oil, accordin
o the capacity of the well, to his pro-
Luction.
A shooter driving along a lonely
Dad is frequently blown into space
" his load of nitro-glycerine. Shoot
rs are Of only two kinds, the careless
nd the careful. The careless joke
With death at every turn. They knock
he cans together, laughing at the
,ystanders' terror. They bump their
wagons over rocks and stones. A
trict regard for the truth compels
he statement that very seldom are
hey blown up. 1t is usually the
areful man whose own nervous fears
make a nightmare OF his life, who gets
.illed. Yet the lei in general are