Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1902-11-28
BREATHING WELLS OF NE
BRASKA.


posed to be Caused by Changes IN
Atmospheric Pressure; Enormously
Supposed to Indicate the Presence Of
Coal
In q recent paper published by the
United States Geological Survey, Oh
Wells and Windmills in Nebraska,
mention is made of the interesting
phenomena of the breathing or blow
ing wells which are found distributed
throughout large portion of the State
of Nebraska. These wells are of the
driven type mostly in use upon tn" /
Plain. but are distinguished from
those OF ordinary character by re
markabls and unexplained egress and
ingress of currents of air which p;O
duce distinctly audible sounds and
give the names variously applied ,ol
them of breathing, signing, blowing,
or roaring wells, according to their
characters in different place. The air
currents are readily tested with The
flames of candles, or by dropping chaff
or feathers into the well tubes. There
are periods when these wells blow out
for several days, and equal periods
when their air currents are reversed.
1t has been observed that the blowing
occ urs with changes of the barometer.
So e wells are found to be most audi
BILE when the wind is from the north
west, with rise i'll water level ; but
with a change of wind. air is drawn n
and the water is observed to sink.
During the progress,of low baromet
ef area over one of these regions, wind
is violently expelled from the wells,
with noise distinctly audible for sew
| eral rods Professors Loveland and
Swezey, of the University of N ebraska,
have made observations on well oil
this nature in Perkins County, anG
found that its breathing periods were
exactly coincident with the barometriC
changes.
III The citizens of the region have at
! tempted many explanations of The
wells. Some have reasoned that tn.
! blowing is probably due to the liberia
tion of gas produced from petroleum
and that as petroleum is natural dis
tillation from great coal fields, there
must be an abundant supply of I'd
latter mineral beneath the surface
/ Fortunes have been staked upon thiI
j deduction and much time consumed
in fruitless search for coal. Others
have noticed the change of current
which some wells show every twelve
hours, morning and evening, and have
Thought that this regular oscillation
was due to tidal action of the shee1
water, enormously considering the lat
ter as great subterranean lake. Thu
phenomena are most frequently at
tributed by scientific observe to at
mOspheric pressure, which, though
probably exerting great influence, il
not necessarily the whole cause.
The material through which th'
| WOiAc al VI VOh AAcy oLAOV COAAO AA6 II
on their peculiarities. In southeastern
Nebraska a layer of dense limeston
about inches thick lies beneath so t.
100 feet of subsoil. Below the lime
stones is found bearing gravel
When the limestone covering the ws
ter-bearing beds is penetrated waite
under slight pressure rises about
foot. The water bearing layer is yer
porous and must always contain nor
or less air. AS the air above and th
air inclosed in the gravels below al
alike subject to the fluctuations of til
barometer, it follows that if the su
face air is rendered less dense the a
II below will pass out through the We
~ openings until equilibrium between tt
rarer air and denser air is established
IS and the opposite effect will follow dul
ing period of high pressure. Still
this explanation, plausible as it i
hardly accounts for the force vii
which the air Is expelled flom some
the wells, and more COMPREHENSIVE
study of the problem is needed to sa
isfactorily explain all the phenomen