The Weekly Tallahasseean., 1901-07-04

now Darrel of oil' story bS+ eavs
corn.s sN1c ne does not know wSoro ~ |
homo rom but that when he left
lhe ros oSsestercay he saw oil ooz,np from
1ino .ockS on the river banks ana nm
rs uOWn into the river
VI tne Ocala House norcb r,asdov
ISL Cne Oil discovery was the chief
no - W conversation. Among the
io,Sons i;o gathered there was 0r vii
noo.t ~ Anoerson. The doctor has spent
S' :. VI MS life on the seashore and
80 lover of old ocean. He has a
oCmer IN the navy and is himself an
eAcehent sailor. He SAYS that when he
- tSC came to Florida he was told that
NneIe was an ''oil slick" off Cane Ro-
udho covering such a large area that
uurlng the most tempestuous storms
II never becomes disturbed and the
sponge fishers flock there In great
numbers, and however wild the waters
may be raging around them on the
bosom of this Slick they ALWAYS find
maven Of perfect safety.
Joseph A. Reynolds and his son.
Henry l.. Reynolds, living about two
nlies south Of Ocala, believe they are
nVIng directly over an oil or natural
gas deposit. Some years ago they
aug a well to the depth of eighty-five
Ieer: In a few hours an oily scum
would form On the top of the water
oraWn from the well. 1t was undrink-
aDle Tor man and beast. The we'll had
10 De abandoned. The man who dug it
was from the oil regions of Pennsyl-
Vania, and declared it as his belief that
this scum was oil, which could be
struck If the well could be bored deep
enough.
Another story is told that the late
Dr. Daniel A. Vogt, an uncle of AL
bertus Vogt, was having a well dug
on his plantation not far from the
Reynolds place by a coloreG profess
Sional well digger. The man lived
some distance and knocked off work
one Saturday at noon and did not be-
gin operations again until the next
Tuesday morning. He was let down
into the well and before reaching the
bottom gave the signal to be hauled
up. Ere this could be done he was
completely asphyXiated, or to use the
term then in vogue, was overcome
with foul air." When the man was re-
suscitated and before going down
again, bundle of fodder was set on
fire and thrown into the bottom of the
we'll to purify it. The foul air" ig-
nited and burned for a considerable
time. 1t is now believed that this
foul air" was natural gas.
Still another story comes from Port
Tampa. It is said that the Plant SyS-
tenn artesian well there was bored By
a man who had had great experience
in boring wells in the oil regions, and
when "a flow of water was obtained
the oil indications were so great he
tried to persuade the management to
permit him to bore four or five hun
dred feet further down, giving it as his
belief that a genuine oil guSher would
be the result But the management
stated that they were after water AMI
not oil.
And yet another. story is told by
Editor G.. Y. Miller, of the DunellOn
Citizen. He says he was driving two
Pennsylvania Dutchmen from Dun
ellon to Gulf Hammock, and when
crossing a small stream one of them
got out of the vehicle and made a
superficial examination, and remarked
to the other one, John, if there is
not oil here, then am very badly mis-
taken" The other one replied that the
indications certainly looked that
way"
Capt Samuel R. PyleS and others,
who are putting out their good money
in securing options on supposed oil
lands, are receiving the cOmmissera-
ton of a good many Of their friends
It may be history repeating itself. In
the early days of the phosphate ex-
citement the same state Of feeling ex-
listed. Many Of his friends believed
that the late and lamented John F.
Dunn had lost his head" and was
recklessly throwing away his money;
that he would wreck his bank and fl
nalIy end his career in disgrace and
ruin. Being a close friend of many
years standing, the writer was selected
to hold conference with him and try
and check him in his wild career"
We cornered him one day in the rear
of the Ocala House and plead with him
with tears in our eyes almost as big as
horse apples. He was very much
amused. In few days afterwards the
DunellOn Phosphate Company was Or
ganized and it's stock rose as high as
$3.50 per share, and made Mr.. Dunn
one of the richest men in Florida
So all indications seem to point to
the fact that oil abOunds on the Gulf
coast of Florida, and the surface indi-
cations are sufficient to justify the
sinking of wellS.-Ocala Banner.