The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-11-16
He WILL DRILL
AT ONCE
Mr.. Holster Announces That
He will Drill.
ALL ARE INTERESTED
Over What Further Search
VIII Reveal.
ALL ARE INTERESTED


Yesterday afternoon AIr. Honster of Null
vaae announced that he had secured the
money necessary and would begin drill
ing at once 10 develop the gas find on
his farm.
what IS there in the reported find Of
gas near 1I4itnc, whether the find re-
su.ts in q big development or nothing at
all several OF the citizens Of Mulvane
are determined TO 90 10 the bottom Of
tho matter.
Mr.. Lee Nessley, who was in the city
yesterday said TO a reporter for the Eagle
There have been so many finds IL this
section which didn't pan out. that We are
taking pains not TO grow too sanguine,
or 10 be too certain that we have natural
gas. or to anticipate any big flow OF it,
ii we have it. 1 know nothing about
natural gas, or the methods by which It's
volume or force is determined. Here are
the exact facts which have led us TO have
some hope OF a valuable find. W. II. Hol-
lister. a farmer who came 10 our coun-
try about four years ago and bought a
farm one and one-half miles east OF Null
vane. wanted q well digged. There was
an cid wen on the place down twenty
feet and he desired this continued. He
hired Mr. Reddish and Mr.. Delgould 10
Gig the well for him They did so and last
Tuesday morning were down eighty-dve
feet, going through a body of gypsum.
Occasionally the drill would stick in the
rock, leading them to believe that they
had run the drill into a crevice in the
rock. On last Tuesday morning there
came from the we'll which IS described as
a strong smell of gasoline. You win re-
member that it was a very windy day.
Mr. HOLSTERS boy went 10 the house and
got a newspaper. lie tore it in two and
PUT one portion under his arm the other
he lighted and dropped into the well.
There was a big fash of fame from the
entire well and young HOLSTER had his
hair and eyebrows burned. This fame
went out soon. The workmen then took
q two-inch pipe and pushed it into the
hole made by the drill. 1t was found then
by placing the hand over the top end of
the pipe that there was considerable
pressure, and when the hand was par
tally removed, a whizzing sound. The
gas would light, but the wind would blow
it out Immediately. The workmen then
drove a wooden block into the top end
OF the pipe aud bored a small hole
through the block and around this placed
piece of stove pipe Then the gas was
lighted and burned strong and brightly.
When the stove pipe was removed the
wind blew the fame out. 1t was lighted
and re-lighted, however, over a period Of
thirty-six hours
TIL news reached Mulvane and a COM
Inittee of citizens. Mr.. Claud II. Huff,
John Anderson, Theodore Eek. and my
self went to see the well. The gas was
lighted and burned brightly. II is a blue
fame like that of gasoline. None Of US
knew anything about natural gas or
marsh gas but we could see that some
kind of gas was burning and with 2 good
deal Of force. Since we visited ii, the pipe
has filed with water and will not light.
hut ono can pace his ear 70 the pipe and
hear the gas bubbing through the
water.
Having seen the fame the people Of
Mulvane were naturally anxious that
steps should be taken to develop the mat
ter further.
I'VE proposed to Mr.. HOLSTER to form
a company but ne has decided to go
ahead himself and drill. We are all glad
of this decision and ou- hope is that work
shall be commenced Immediately.
THE gas well is just coo feet in Sumner
county. There is of course, great inter-
est in the matter throughout the neigh
borhood and it is not at all unlikely that
others in the vicinity VIII go to drilling
II a large reservoir Of gas IS struck Null
vsne. and all this section, VIII enter upon
q new era