Year: 1860




The editor Of the Warren (Pa.) Mail recent
ly visited the great Tideoute artesian oil well
and furnishes Gis paper with the following anus
ing account Of the operations Of the remark
able phenomena. He says:


The wel is l24 FEET deep AT Rrst it look
ed like nothing extra, though it was called
good dshow. When they put in hand pump
TO try it, all at once it broke out like torrent,
throwing out go or 20 barrels an hour! This


was the story that we went down to see about.


When we got there it was plugged up tight.


Kim Russell having it in charge. They had sent
off 80 barrels, and 25 or 80 more lay 10 the riy-
eF We tried to get Kim to stir the animal up,
so it would perform again for our especial bene-
it But he wouldn't--said be couldn't hold it
it would spoil his best clothes and squirt over
all creation, and the like. So we and hfty 9th.
er anxious seekers for knowledge and oil under
difficulties, had to pocket our wrath and slyly
guess there was some humbug about it. But
the next day down came John Sill We told
him our fx-must go home after dinner boys
must have cOpy--we wanted an item and 30 far
must repor; the thing as a failure-instead Of
barrel q minute, it hadn't run drop. He al.
ways likes to help the printer, and says he 10
Kim, deter run" Says Kim, just as you say
John, but shant promise what she II do" So
he got on his old clothes, like e candidate for
Recorder and over the river be went. Kim was
evidently timid. He was moro than half ofraid
"she wouldn't start" bat to keep up q show Of
confidence, he agreed to give US 81 900 il she
didn't, or $500 if she did. At the 6rst he CHS
eled out the big plug. Not drop came. He
put his ear to the pipe and said he "could hear
rumblin' 10 her bowels" Then he put In the
hand pump Kim stood ready with big plug
with half inch hole through it. Young Coh-
ell gave the pump three or four pulls, when the
oil began to rise up two or three feet, rising
higher every second. Out they jerded the pump
aud in Kim drove the plug, the oil in the mean
time squirting all over him from head to foot
and some twelve feet high through the halEinch
hole Kim prehed for the river to wash the
oil out of bis eyes. He was CREASED the click
est of any candidate we ever heard Of Then
they put pail over the stream, forcing the oil


down into the barrel aud through the pipe into
two large cisterns or tubs, said to hold fifteen
barrels each. One of these was full and the
other more than half full, when we had to leave.
We staid about three quarters of an hour. 1t
must have run a barrel in less than three min
utes, through only a half inch augur hole. We
have no doubt 1t would run barrel in less than
one minute through the whole biyness of the
pipe. What is singular. it is all clear oil--thers
is hardly drop of water n a gallon. They
say it will run over thus about 25 or 80 barrels
every time it flows. Whether by pumping again
in an hour it would run over again, has not yet
been tried. Workmen were busy making
large vat, when it could be tested Like oil
other wells, it will probably throw of the gas
by few days selfpumpng aud run no more
without help. At any rate it must be the big
gest sort of wel-quite fortune for its
lucky owners