The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-08-20
MOON TIDES IN OIL WELLS
4 THEORY THAT THE HIGH
 WATER
In the Gulf Increases the Flow in
 Texas.

Texas.
 Captain George A. Hill, than whom there is no man more closely identified with conditions on Spindle Top and more qualified to speak, is out with an entirely new theory which, if there is anything in it, will explain the press ure theory on Spindle Top in a more conclusive manner than it has ever been explained before. Captain Hill, as nearly evry one who has had any, thing to do with Spindle Top knows, has been inspector in charge of the hill almost since it's discovery.
 In conversation tonight, the talk was upon the subject of pressure brought about by the exhibition made by the Haywood Oil company's well No. 1, which was cleaned out to-day and spouted oil of it's own accord, MT. Hill says, nearly the height of the derrick and quite like the wells used to spout. Another we'll belonging to the Michigan Diamond Oil company, which has been ''dead" for month past and positively refused to flow under the most urgent persuasion, broke loose to-day and spouted in good style. The men were preparing to place a steam head pump on the well for the purpose of pumping it, and inasmuch as it had refused to give up oil for so long, no thought was taken of the possibility that it would spout, and the valve was removed. While they were working this way with the pipe opened freely, the well began to flow and was soon spouting thirty or forty feet in the air. Again, yesterday there was a we'll which has not spouted in some time which flowed to a third the height of the derrick when least ex- pected.
 As was said, these facts were prelim- mary to the theory advanced by MT. Hill, which is substantially that the wells, rather the pressure on the wells, on Spindle Top is affected by the tides on the Gulf. The correspondent was inclined to take the matter as joke, but MT. Hill insisted that he was in earnest.
 My assistant on the hill," said MT. Hill, "has called my attention to this matter before. but, like you, I was in- clined to laugh, and did laugh at him. But he has been watching it for six months and declares, and am now convinced that when there is a heavy southeast wind and the tides on the gulf are running unusually high, there Is a very perceptible difference In the action of wells on Spindle Top. Of course these high tides always come along about the same time of the month as affected by the moons posi- ton and the winds, and it is always about this time that the wells on Nthe hill seem to improve. Of course in many instances the improvement is not sufficient to make them all spouters again, but even the pumping wells seem to do better, and those wells which at other times of the month seem to be indifferent producers become fine wells"
 It may seem rather unreasonable to the Iaymen that there is anything in this story, but MT. Hill will vouch for the actual physical change which has ocurred with such regularity as to make it a strange coincidence if it is not due to cause There is a theory known as sea pressure, which was ad- vocated early in the life of this field, when every one was discussing the source of the power behind the wells, but, somehow, the geologists did not seem to take the idea very freely. Nevertheless the story is worth telling, and MT, Hill declares he can back it up by actual observation, which gives a good deal of strength to it.-Galveston Daily News.