Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-11-03
FORTUNE IN OIL WELL
Poor Pennsylvanian Being En.
 riched by Big Gusher.
REMARKABLE FLOW EACH DAY

| and Pumped Rare Existence Fos Years, Now Derives Daily Income of s2.S62 From . "DraineAn Field. Andy Rapp, nfty-seven years old, oi Clinton township. Pa. few days ago
 was poor man and head over heels h
 debt, as are most small oil producers
 Today wealth is coming to him from
 the bowels of the earth so fast that he can scarcely count it, says special dis. patch from Franklin, Pa., to the New York World. He has struck the big
 gest oil well that the Pennsylvanis
 fields have had in twenty years, and
 from present indications he has only ts
 put down the holes to get other wslll
 that may do even better
 Rapp's well-''the poor mans gush
 er," as ft has now come to be known-
 is remarkable from the fact that 1t is iu
 section that is notorious for its wells
 of small production. It is surrounded
 on all sides by hundreds of wells that
 are making from quarter barrel tA
 five barrels day. On the same farm
 Rapp has twelve wells whose com
 bined production is only two barrsla
 The territory has been drilled since tho
 early sixties, and 1t was believed tG
 have been drained practically dry. But
 1t is now the most promising neld iu
 the state. There can be little doubt that Rapp has tapped an oil belt rather
 than pool
 The gusher is in thick hemlock for
 est on the bank of creek. When tho drill had gone two feet into the sand
 there was an immediate How of oil and gas pressure so strong that the men were compelled to shut the we'll down and move the boiler back from the danger zone. Then the drill was started again. and when 1t got thres feet farther down there was a recoi of the rope and the fluid began to spuri out. Then 1t gushed, and before the men could realize what was takina place the oil was shooting as high as the derrick. The spray covered the derrick and all the trees around.
 Before Rapp and his astonished help CTS could curb the low more than 100 barrels had been lost No provision had been made for taking care of such vast quantity of oil. The employees of the National Transit company. tho pipe line subsidiary of the Standard, were notified. and they worked night and day laying line from the pump station two miles distant.
 The record of the well for the first few days indicates that 1t Is good fol seventy-fve barrels an hour, or l,e0C barrels day. At the present price oi Pennsylvania crude this would net e.. S62 a day. Of this amount the ownel of the farm gets one-eighth as royalty, leaving Rapp with daily income ol $2.504. or about e105 an hour. e1.7B minute. or nearly cents for svesy time the clock ticks.
 Nearly all the biz oil stFikss b Pennsylvania have been made by meo who had lots of money. In many cases they couldn't have drilled othsN wise. After you have bought your re lease it costs nearly e3,500 to complsts the we'll But Rapp is an sxcsption, and everybody is glad that hs has struck it." The day after the gushsG came in moro than . hundrsd peop,e called at Rapp's homo to coaustulats him.
 Rapp came to venango county fru0 Petrolia. Butler county. in 1Goo and. with his family of half . dossu ehit dren, settled down near Kennerdsll. He looked around for m oil lsasa au1 the William withsrup farm was ths only one available. He and an0th0 man took 1t on equal shares and bsgan putting down wells. doing most of thae own drilling. The wells wsrs mostly small. and the production was scarcsly able to keep the wolf from the door. They were both badly In debt and nvs years ago Rapp's partner got disgusts6 and sold out to him for . trine. RapD was compelled to borrow the puFchass 
 More than fifteen years ago Rapp ob- served that even the small producins wells flowed at times. indicating c heavy pressure of gas. and with every well that he put down he had the hope that he would encounter the source. for t meant c good well.
 A reporter found Rapp hard at work 1t his well When the suggestion vas made that be would probably take him. elf and family to Franklin or some other town he answered:
 -No. sir. These old hills shall zee nc D my wealth just ss they have seen me n my poverty. My lot % far has been l hard one. and I believe that I am untitled to ease and comfort the ret of ny dsys and I intend to spend them ight here-
 Mrs Rspp. the wife. said that the rild hills of Clinton township wers bod epourh for her too She wns VIII ng to live in the small home that has heltered her and hers for so many Tears. .thouxh- she added. T osurt rant to work ss hard In the fufurs as
 have in the past am nesriy vvFn uf-
 Anoth>r pcor man to wbom the eush- ' wfll bring esse and comfort is wIfh- rup. His roysifies frvn the vel1 vfH mount to sbsut e1s sn hosr ct sks rsse1f rste q prodnrsssu. He anl hs
 ~41a = r~4~