Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-05
ROCK MADE TO YIELD WATER
GEoLoGIsT'S PREDICTIONS VERB
FED AT 1880 FEET.
Well Drilling in Black Hills Pro-
duces Needed Flow for Use
of Railroad.

Time out of mind the world has PAID
it's tribute with greater or less degree
of gratitude to the man who could make
two blades of grass grow where but one
grew before. The justice Of the PROPOSE
ton has never been questioned.
But now. it would seem. demand is
about to be made for the man who. as
Noses did of old, finds water in the rocks
and causes it to flow in refreshing
streams to quench the thirst of parched
country.
The geologist who, in the minds of
many of the duly qualified voters OF this
great republic. has always been looked
upon as more or less of a humbug-in the
same class with the astrologer. the palm
list and "sich like''-especially when he is
borne upon the government pay roll Is
about to come in for his share Of credit
for being one Of the really useful scien-
lists and a blessing to the common peo-
pie in this work-a-day world.
Water 1880 Feet Below Surface.
For many months a big well-drillins
machine had been boring into the dry
ground Of the Black Hills region of South
Dakota, alongside the track of the Bur
lington railroad at Edgemont. Down.
down went the drill five hundred. thou
sand. two thousand. twenty-five hundred
feet. until the native onlookers wondered
whether the railroad company had fixed
no limit to the bore and was simply go
ing it blind" indefinitely.
The company's intention was definite.
It's officials had been informed by
geologist Of the United States geological
survey that a good supply Of water would
be found running in certain stratum OF
rock that lay at a depth of about 5000
feet. This geologist had made study OF
the surface outcrops of rock Of the region
and had based his prediction on that
study.
And. having faith in the prophecy. the
company determined to drill to that
depth. 1t was not necessary. however. TO
bore quite 5000 feet. When the drill had
gone down 1850 feet water gushed out at
the rate of $50 gallons a minute. Faith
repoSed in the judgment of the geolog1St
was justified.
This water supply fills need which is
so urgent that if anything should happen
to destroy this we'll the railroad COM
terpart.
Underworld Well Mapped.
That appeal should be made to the sci
ence of geology to state positively the oc-
currence. location and character Of vari-
Gus deep-lying rock formations. and from
study of only the surface formations to
designate a water-bearing stratum at
a depth so great as this we'll was driven.
seems incredible to the lay mind, but
such determinations are common. Elk
tensive areas have been thus mapped
underground by the geological survey.
and the maps have been accompanied by
descriptions of the character and age OF
the different rock and earth strata so
definite that 1t would seem as If the
regions so surveyed must have been sam
pied with a core drill at frequent in
tervals.
The great Dakota artesian basin. which
extends over an enormous area, has been
accurately mapped, as have also many
smaller but hardly less important basins.
Water is the most useful and necessary
mineral resource. Unlike most OF the
others it is renewable and can be utilized
over and over again by man. so long as
the phenomena of evaporation and pre-
cipitatfon continue, but this does not
mean that the conservation of the re-
source is not necessary. River supplies
can be largely diminished through the
destruction of the sources by forest denu-
datton and otherwise. and artesian basins
are also exhausted or seriously injured
through wasteful misuse.
Local statutes that require the Gaping
of wells when not in use should, If neces-
sary, be enacted and strictly enforced to
prevent such waste. Such statutes have
been enacted in many sections for the
prevention of waste of natural gas and
petroleum.
ArteSian wells are of especially great
value Many of them are located In
regions where the surface water supply
is Scant.