Sistersville daily oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1902-1905, 1904-12-17
SHOOTING AN OIL WELL.
Task is One Requiring Courage
and Steady Nerves.


ways has the right of way when
his wagon is seen approaching.
He is the man who shoots the oil
wells. Underneath the seat OF
his innocent looking vehicle he
may have stored away enough nj
troglycerine to wipe a fair-sized
town off from the face OF the
earth, leaving only a hole to In
dictate where it once stood.
Shooting a well with nitrogly-
cerine is not a task for tlmor-
GUS person. Nor is the vicinity OF
the well at the time the safest
point on earth. The drill has
reached the oil bearing sands and
the well is ready for the shooter.
He is sent for. He drives to the
well with his wagon and it's slum-
boring volcano. Besides his charge
of nitroglycerine, he has some tin
cans, an anchor, a reel and a 60
devil. The latter is aptly named.
It's function is that of exploding
the nitroglycerine after it has
been deposited in the bottom OF
the well. 1t is a cast-iron weight.
Gaining speed as it descends, it
strikes the decorating cap of full
inmate of mercury placed on top
of the pile of cans of nitroglycer-
inc and explodes the charge.
Carefully unloading his para
phernalia, the shooter inquiries of
the driller as to the depth of the
well. Having ascertained this, he
attaches the cord used in lowering
the explosive to the hosting ma
chinery and guides the loose end
into the tubing. He watches it
closely as it descends. This is a
sort of dress rehearsal. There
must be no hitch when it is let out
with a can of nitroglycerine at its
end. Even the sudden untwisting
of kink in the line might ex-
plode the can in the wrong place
and destroy the well and kill the
shooter.
The line having been found to
work we'll, the anchors, small tin
support for the cans Of nitrogly-
cerine, are lowered to the bottom.
Now the cans which are to con-
tain the explosive are got ready.
One is swung over the mouth of
the shaft. Carefully the nitrogly>
cerine is poured into it. Care
fully it is lowered to the anchors.
Another can is filled in the same
way and lowered until it rests on
top Of the first. After lowering
a hundred or more quarts of the
condensed volcanic force, enough
to sweep Sistersville from it's
foundations, the last shell, which
is fitted with a pointed top, is put
into the shaft. On the top IS
placed a cap of illuminate of mel
curry.
All is now ready for exploding
the charge lying a thousand or
more feet below the surface of the
earth. By this time, like Casabi-
anca, the shooter has the deck to
himself. He lifts the go-devil,
poises it in his hands over the
mouth of the well and then drops
it. Promptly he runs hundred
or more yards from the well. For
the next few seconds the silence IS
impressive. Then, the weight hav-
ing reached the bottom Of the
shaft, the ground trembles slight
ly. The air rushes mp from the
bottom of the we'll with a roar.
Then a cloud Of gravel and small
stones files hundreds of feet into
the air from the mouth Of the well.
They drop back in a shower that
pelts the earth for hundreds OF
miles around and causes the spec
tators to dodge behind the most
convenient trees. a great roar
accompanies it, and then a col
umn Of water and dirt spouts
above the derrick. After this, if
oil has been struck, comes the oil
itself. 1t wells up out Of the pipe
in a solid fountain, glistening
with green and yellow tints. Rls-
ing higher and higher, until it is
above the top of the derrick, it
sDravS the whole structure. If