The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-05-28
KENTUCKY'S OIL FIELDS.
A NEW moon STARTED M THE
WArNE COUNT pIPE I'M.
Pyrotechnic Career of the First Flowing
oil Well Ever Drilled In the United
Stntes-Much Wealth from Gushers Lost
The Long vni.pd Nnrket Now Opcned

IyIpltVnuIC SUrPeT Ut ~ FtrSt tIOWtnR
oil Well Ever Drilled In the United
States-Much Wealth from Gn.hers Lost
The Long-iwni.cd Market Now Opened
MONTICELLO. Ky. May p. - Southeastern
Kentucky is the scene OF the latest rush OF oil
lease hunters and wildcatturs. In fact. the
rush began n month ago when tho forty-mile
pipe line was completed from Somerset. on the
main line of the Queen and Crescent Railroad,
to Slickford on Otter Creek. ton miles south
west Of Monticello. the county seat OF Wayne
county aud headquarters for oil operators.
Now that Il market has been provided by the
pipe line for Wayne county oil. the wells
that have been standing Idle for years will be
set to pumping. now ones will be drilled and
the territory thoroughly tested. Fifty-one
wells have been drilled in Wayne county,
counting three drilled for salt. or these
thirty-three have produced oil. some OF them
only n slight amount. others thousands Of bar
res Oil men agree that somewhere in this
region there exists a big pool. The territory
Is SPOTTED and u dry hole may he founl within
n thousand {, CT OF n 200 barrel n day well.
The frs flowing oil well ever drilled In the
United State, was located near the mouth Of
Troublesome Creek. on the Big South Fork OF
the Cumberland, in this county. twenty-cight
miles southeast Of Monticello. Tho man who
drilled 1t. Martin Beatty. didn't mean to strike
olI. NJ was DOTlnR lot Sut WuUnT. MS was
In 1918, forty-one years before the famous
Drake well was drilled on Oil Crock. in Penn
s~ylvania. At a depth Of Ill feet a dark. heavy
fluid was found. which was named DEVILS tar.
1t spoiled the salt well. and a new location two
miles further down the creek was selected.
There several wells were drilled and n salt
works established. Later Beatty was elected
to Congress nnl secured an appropriation for
q road to his salt works on the South Fork.
Tho devils tar we'll refused to be good. and
insisted on spoutins oil. much to the disgust
OF Beatty. Thousands o. barrels OF the stun
noa'ca away on the waters OF the Big South
Fork. In some manner the oil EAU :ht Nrc. and
the surface Of tho stream became q flaming
sheet. The fire swcr: from the we'll to the
Cumberland River. a distance Of thiity-nve
miles. Trees on the lanks we're chnrrcd.
driftwoo was consumed. rocks wero blackcned
and cracked and the salt works were ruined.
"H"IS lost it's ill.," wa the way a noun
IA nrcr who saw tho great spectacle summed
1t w. 1t was tho granlcst di-r.ay Of pyro-
technics cvrr seen In tho State. When the
well quit s%Tout,nG tho fire died AWAY. For
half n century tho course o. the oil fire was as
easily traced along the river rs the paths Gown
which the deer came to drink every morning.
The oil that flowed from the well was talked
about so much tina: 1t attracted the attention
VI Il u W IH''. WIZ ttllt tnuJ u might DC
used to advantage as n linimcnt. He bottled
the oil and sold it all over the country as one
Of natures Er5 a'est remedies" This is said
to he the first oil ever sold and utilizel for any
purpoS" in the United States. though the same
distinction is asserted for the Seneca oil spring
in AlleElnv county, y. Y.
The Beatty wei is not the only gusher COM
plrtcd in this county. The Huffaker well
drilled for salt near Slickforl in 3 was
another wonder. This well is located on the
hank of Otter Creek. The 1rst show OF oil was
Later the hole was drilled Ia n depth Of $40
feet. where II rich strike was made. An Illinois
y,sitcl the well and became interested in il.
IL" took a sample OF the oil TO Aurora. where it
M H"i J 5"T5"a h Ho,Ir 1hs c nn & nron m"T1inf'on :
and r.! u %SoSiy i MS}i .,s Sa s,rS 70 o. .s o.! iScS
TO Nashville and sent by raj 10 Chicago. some
some to the Chicago! Northwestern. Charges
Tor irnnsrortntiqn hv wagon. river and rail
w. tha nc nwpa ana y ~ ,h ae wc Tor da, ,h was large;
ton to salt making. Thousands Of barrels OF
o were pumpcl out Of tn" we'll with the
the waters Of the stream. The salt works were
long, ago abandoned and rusty drilling tools
%timh"rs Of the derrick foundation mark tho
LEGATION OF this famous, well.
n0 Wt' hdab tT IpiT m.lrs sI Of thi ,b we'll drl a doz an Others y ss
list Is the HovCy wei. dr.I,:d In 1892 by James
M M"IYG SIot t%rmGr.y !6 " ! N ,rTo, Y@ RI ii IrG ib ,ha T hi,
market for the IN. Three Good wells have
One, OF them is now rpmring 300 barrels
Of oil a day Another vel on the same farm
Wick N1I hprG T"s all tS%"ian To oy Of enrr ths q 9nn &!
s com Fl" " ON The ,"o farm S9.~v Vas IN dSis lSsi F Tsss
The wells. on the Brown larm vary in depth
from @ e. 800 feet There is some gas in
to fire n boiler. Inthc Elk Spring Valley, four
I mIigs s sq iasl vast % of M 52Il tiSGl 1I5o On ft the ry2 a Si
was found. hut Mt $50 ic"t a heavy gas vein
was tapped. the roar OF which could lie, hcari
the casing h,ad nv the driIler4. and every dor
lnant echo within ten miles, was wakonrd.
cause conclude ed that the aettrump was sound
ing. and got down on their knees. The derrick
was vas moyra away and the gas iigh1cL 1t has
several feet above the ground,
joining counties have been leased during the
past three months. and hundreds Of old leases
secured as much as o0.OUu acres IN a block.
Oil men from .rcnnsyvania, New York. OHIO
ana Vet Wig ni2 hnyc agents hero watching
kentuckys oil dgycl"rm"nt IS not confined
70 Waynn county. There area dozen count cs
in the state where oil Is found in paying uuan-
titles. and some of them are rs spotted as a
leorar IS bnck. II YOU follow tho - degree
line from the white sand pools in Greene,
sylvnuin, through Marion. Wetzcl and TYLER
counties in West Nirg mia to Decltur. Ala,
where a, test well shows II trace OF oil,
YOU will nnL thar it crosses u wide belt in Ken
tucky ana Tennessee. which tests have proved
10 Ice productive territory. Many practical oil
men insist that the sand found here is an ort-
cropping Of 1.-THE Big lniun sand Of PennSylva-
mia. ln, Rarrrn county. no miles south OF
p'ctcd and operated.
In 1877 II well WIS drilled for salt water on
ltcnniN Creek. in Cumberland county. to a
depth Of $50 feet. Instead nf salt water n
column Of oil spouted from the hole and for
weeks hundreds OF barrels poured ,loWn Rem
nix Creek and spread ovor the surface OF the
Cnmberland, This is known as the American
well. The salt dr.l!ers We're disgusted and
llnInl I'M a al Lnnntin, for "a ii ELI