The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-06-30
ON MINING ENGINEERING
A TALK WITH PROF. Won sTREERU-
WITT. A FORMER HOUSToNlAN.
He Has DUST Returned from Trip
Through Europe and the Oil
Fields of Russia.

Prof W. II. r. Won Streeruwltz q clvil
aud mining engineer, who will be remem-
oereds by the older citizens .of Houston,
having lived here many years ago, has re-
turned 10 Houston to investigate some
copper mines in Llano county, In which
he and several other well known Houston.
lcns are Interested, among them II. S.
Fox, DR. Eric Schmidt. Captain A. Faux
ner. now of Ellis county. the Simpson es
tate and others.
Prof. Streeruwltz was engaged In the
geological department OF the State in 1855
80 Investigating the mineral resources Of
Western Texas
He left Texas FOR Europe in 1889 and
national Biologists congress which as
national Biologists congress which as
| sembled at ST. Petersburg under special
invitation of the car. Since then lie has
spent most of his time in Russia studying
the gold and iron deposits in the Ural and
Caucasus mountains. He spent some time
in the oil district of Baku and In austria
and Germany he devoted much of his time
in investigating all of the new discoveries
IN working up ores.
When asked as to the oil fields In Rus.
sia. Prof. Streeruwitz replied that the oil
|
! entirely superseded coal as fuel. The
big ocean steamers, Wulga and Kama. use
| oil entirely for fuel in making Steam for
| their propulsion. There are also extensive
coal fields in Russia but oil is so rapldly
| forcing coal out OF the market as a lnel
| thar coal mining there Is scarcely profit
| able The oil beds or deposits In RUSSIA
are found in limestone formatloni 10 Gar
| ucia Austria. an oil producing DISTRICT
he oil is found in q sandstone formation,
while in Pennsylvania the oil comes from
a Gravel and sand formation
i what is the life of a Russian gushef
~ hat A depends entirely upon how LONG
the gas pressure holds out. None OF mes N
| pnshers last very long as such Ihey
very soon become pumping welis ana tn'
SUNNY nowhere is lneNhausuble
t,fhe etudy Of these oil wells ana gusn
ers has led me to me peiieI ~ t1e uf
pockets or lakes and docs not run u
| streams like artesian water Nhat iolee'
the oil up and makes y ggs9 y ia s sSs Ell
from a higher altitude, as Is the cas-
| with artesan water. -. - ,
in these oil pockets on uePosius' ~, tne M m
| me oil beneath. and II water occupies IN
same reservoir It being sun hsaFte
substance Is at the Dottoun. u.s. y, rani
posits or reservoirs are encased IA roei
| ana In boring a well, after the pipe pehe
rates the rock, II Il Is stopped IN the ~
stratum before reaching the surface OF ~ Sn
OK. Ok. .nS tbe nine gets down to the level O
,bs iii theu the gas pressure on the sui
face Of the oil forces the oil np throug
the pipe. l have known instances waeI
y xve,i after furnishing oil.afor period Q
a,,s became a water well. In such case
The supply Of oil in the pocket Is eS
hausted and the gas pressure, II TOO J
mot exhausted, VIII force up the Nhte
uH noi, and coal or Ignite, as a great man
people imagine, are not necessary o.
pre6r.ts oil is frequently found whei
bbio,.e n NM a trace OF coal, aud while
T. rot Invariably the case that Oh and go
sra aivays eO.products, yet they are gel
eissTbere are two theories as 70 what Pr
drees netroleum, some claim that u is "
distilation OF animal matter qnaer ~
es,t,'s surface while others maintain tht
sS.'ifs Earned by the chemical process q
rendered by the combination OF case
, sbIeay carbon and hydrogen IN nature
great laboratory.