Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1902-08-27
Recent Events at Jennings, Louisiana

Recent Events at Jennings, Louisiana.
EDITOR DEMOCRAT:
Iowa IN general and Delaware county
in particular are largely interested in
and responsible for the wonderful pros
perity that has come to southwestern
Louisiana and Jennings IN particular.
Not that Iowa has given us the won
derful climate, fertile soil, valuable
products, pure water, and gushing oil
fields, but her contribution has been of
more valuable kind-men. Iowa and
the great Northwest have contributed a
population of thirty thousand enter
prising, industrious, intelligent people,
whose value to any country is beyond
computation.
Maurice Brien, of Delaware county,
put the first Irvine binder into a field of
rice. 1t was the first machine ever used
to harvest the most widely used cereal
on earth. The use of machinery neces-
STATED the use of canals, of which we
have 1900 miles and 1000 wells to flood
them. We have 1000 hsrvesters to cut
the rice, 1000 threshers and so of the fin
est rice mills in the world. By the
primitive method, rice was harvested
with hook, threshed with club and
eaten with chop sticks.
Two dry years have tested all our
work SO the future seems assured. Rice
and cane are our most profitable crops.
Both are well adapted to soil, climate,
and general conditions. Still we can
grow profitably nearly everything
grown north of us.
10 make the saying true "To him
that hath shall be given" petroleum
was discovered at Beaumont, Texas,
Jan. 10, 1901, in unlimited quantities,
in the form of gushers 1000 feet deep,
throwing stream of oil 100 to 200 feet
in the air. Oil was found at Jennings,
September Oath, but the first gusher was
not struck until May 22nd. 100 canals,
1000 wells and 5 gushers began to
awaken the people to the immense pos
sibilities just before them.
To give an idea of the value of this
let US figure little. One gusher has a
six-inch casing (the we'll is 1849 feet
deep and throws stream of oil 200 feet
above the ground), the casing one-fourth
open gives 5000 barrels an hour, loading
20 cars at $50 barrels each or 40 cars
every two hours or IL trains of 40 cars
each every day from one-fourth of one
gusher with five in the field just as good,
and to be followed by SO or more as soon
as the oil is marketed. Oil sells at Jen-
nings at 40 cents a barrel.
Jennings has one pipe line to the oil
field six miles northeast, and three more
to be constructed; one oil tank holding
$4,000 barrels, two more made of steel)
of the same capacity each on the way
from Pittsburg; two machine shops done,
car shops, foundry and machine shops
under way. The census IN 1880 was
412, 1900-1539, 1901-2O44, 19O2-32OO,
190219-4oOo, 19O4-2OoOO, according to
the estimate of experts.
July 18th, a well owned by Haywood
Bros. and Jaenke & Williams YVES
struck by lightning about noon, burning
two tanks with 1900 barrels each and
burning six days, being the greatest oil
fire In modern times Fifteen steamers
put out the fire, which was fed only by
the leakage of the well. Had the cap
come Off, letting 10000 barrels of oil on
the fire daily, it would be burning yet.
After the fire when the well was opened
1t threw the oil two hundred feet in the
air.
Very truly yours,
S. L. CARY.