Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-05-05


ing else to do. They cannot preserve
1t and to let It escape would mean
destruction to property and asphyxia-
ton for the workmen. But have said
nothing about the oil itself.
The wells are of two kinds, those
that flow and those that have to be
pumped. The former are called gush-
ers. The day before I was there they
struck oil In a well and It spouted out
as high as the tree tops. 1t was fall
ing near a gas engine and there was
danger Of a terrible fire. A man ran
to shut off the gas, but he was too
late, the oil had already ignited. The
poor fellow was covered with the
burning oil and burned to death on the
spot. His hat was still lying there.
However, a great fire was averted. Mr..
Sullivan showed me several Of these
gushers that were spouting 1000 bar
rels of oil a day. A barrel Is forty
gallons. OF course they do not all
yield that much. Some have a capac-
ity Of only a few hundred barrels a
day. When was there the whole field
was averaging about $4,000 barrels a
7th of this year and it was estimated
that up to the 18th of April the field
had yielded three and a half million
barrels. They tell me It Is now the
greatest oil field in the world.
Perhaps you would like to know
what they do with all this oil. OF
course they could never get barrels
enough to put 1t in. Indeed did not
see a single barrel. First Of all they
have a six inch pipe running from
Humble to Sabine City on the Gulf
Of Mexico. 1t is a distance Of about
1875 miles. This carries about 10000
barrels a day. In Sabine II is loaded
on board ships. Another six inch pipe
line to Sabine Is in course Of construc-
ton and will be completed by the mid
die of June. The rest Of the oil is
pumped into great earthen reservoirs
that are anywhere from a hundred
feet to a hundred yards square and
ten to twelve feet deep. There are
dozens Of these reservoirs. A foot or
two of water Is pumped into them first
so that the oil will not sink into the
ground. Then the oil Is pumped In.
or course the Oil floats on the water.
A great deal Of oil Is soaked up by the
sand on the sides of the reservoir and
Is lost, but they do not SEEM to mind
that, as 1t Is worth only 25 cents a
barrel aboard the cars. From the res
ervoirs run six inch pipe lines to the
railroad. Then six inch pipe eleva-
railroad track for hundreds and hun
dreds of yards. From this pipe tank
line. cars, are loaded by the hundred.
Last month the railroad carried away
from the Humble oil field an average
Of thirteen thousand barrels day. I
forgot also to mention that they have
one pipe line going into Houston where
the oil that 1t carries Is loaded on
cars. / have forgotten how much that
lines carries a day. Some Of there
cars go eight miles below Houston on
the Buffalo Bayou and unload their
oil on barges, which carry 1t to Sa-
bine City on the gulf.
1t may be asked what Is finally done
with all Of this oil. Some Of 1t Is re-
asoa .n5 ,,ea5 for iobtipo nr Iuhrica =
ting oil. A great deal of 1t is used in
the crude state for fuel by ocean
steamers and by railroad engines. The
Southern Pacific road, on which I
went from New Orleans to Houston,
and which goes on to San Francisco,
does not use pound Of coal on Its
passenger or freight engines. They
all burn oil which costs about 25 cents
per barrel. There is no dust, no Gin
ders, and no smoke on this road. They
very aptly call 1t an open window route.
The locomotives look very much like
those that burn coal, only where we see
the coal on the tender they have an
oil tank that holds about 5000 gallons.
But this letter Is long enough. per-
haps too long. / got back to Houston
at IL o'clock with the feeling that l
had never had a six hours crowded
so full Of interest. pleasure and in
formation before. or course Iwould
never have gotten one tenth Of the
pleasure and information out Of the
trip II 1t had not been for my clever
guide, Mr.. ]. w. Sullivan, and my ge-
NAL companion, Captain D. D. Peden,
n South Carolina gentleman of the old
school. w. l.. LlNSLE.