Year: 1865

bored at random The superstltlous clas
= who are generally the majority, relied
d and still rely upon the miraculous "witcl
/ hazeP' men. These men profess to tel
y precisely where deposits of water, salt o
e oil may be found, by means of a littl'
e stick. The more sensible manner o
choosing localities for oil wells is to Dor,


where the geological formation is lik,
: that where good wells have been found
Y At best, sinking oil wells is lottery
man stand one chance in twenty O
. drawing prize, he is lucky


f The process of boring the oil we'll il
very simple. A derrick, consisting Of
four upright timbers placed 10 or II feet
apart and fastened by cross pieces, is
erected directly over the spot selected for
boring. This derrick is usually from 40 to
60 feet high, and is made very stable in
order to support the boring machinery.
A steam engine of six or eight horse pow


er is now used for work of drilling, al
though many wells of not very great
depth have been bored by hand An


iron pipe, about six inches in diameter,


is first driven down to the first stratum


Of rock. Where this is found at a con-


siderable distance from the surface, the


pipe is inserted in sections that is, a


piece is first driven down, then another


section is fastened firmly to it at the top;


this is in turn driven down, and so on


till the rock is reached. The drill is


then introduced into this tube, reaching


down to the rock-the iron rod suspend


ing it being heightened by the fastening


of additional pieces at the top as the drill


works its way through the rock. The


drill is about two and half inches in


diameter and is worked up and down by


means of the engine above. The process


of drilling is of course slow, and depends


upon the hardness of the stratum An
average days work of drilling is from 6
to 8 feet, but sometimes 10 or II feet is
accomplished. The first stratum through
which the drill passes is slate or soap
stone, then comes stratum of sand stone
which is usually not more than ten or
twelve feet in thickness next is another
layer of slate of a blush appearance,
about twenty feet in thickness, after
which the second stratum of sandstone is
reached. When this is accomplished
the depth reached ranging from two to
six hundred and in some instance thou
sand feet-the oil is struck provided the
borer is lucky. A new process of drilling
has lately been invented, however, which
bids fair to greatly facilitate the sinking
of oil wells 1t is this; The drill is
slender tube, the end of which is set with
a species of diamond. This drill is con-
nected with machinery at the surface, by
means of which it revolves with great
velocity, cutting out the rock in core,
which is removed in pieces, by clamps let
down in the hole. BY this method well
of Eve hundred feet in depth may be
bored in two weeks, which, by the old
process would require two months. AS
soon as the drill passes through the last
stratum, and reaches the reservoir be-
low, there comes rushing up to the sur
face combustible gas, followed by
mixture of salt water and petroleum-the
oil is invariably accompanied by salt wa
ter, and they are separated as will be
hereafter explained, This is the rcaliza-
tion of "great expectations" the finding
Of the El Dorado, the acme of petroleum
ambition, for every squirt from the well is
a greenback. IF the borer has been
lucky enough to strike flowing well, he
has nothing now to do but to stand still
and see himself grow fabulously rich
that is, he has onl y to send it to market.
But flowing wells are great rarity, and
the most sanguinc disciple of Petrolia
does not expect such boundless good for
tune. The flow of salt water and petro-
lcum to the surface, therefore is, except
in flowing wells, Of very short duration,
and the next work to be done is the pre-
paration for pumping. The bore Of the
well is next enlarged by what is termed
trimmer" and an iron tube, fastened
together in section of 10 or II feet, is
run down to the oil deposit. a fax seed
bag, which expands when wet, is fixed
at certain distance from the surface
within the tube, in order to prevent the
surface water from rushing down. A
plunger or Waived piston is next inserted
in the tube, and this being attached to
the engine, the work of pumping COM
mences.


The old method of pumping oil is on
the same general principle of ordinary
water pumping, and requires no explana-
ton; but Yankee ingenuity has lately
invented new process, which will prob
ably soon be generally adopted. Two
tubes are inserted in the well, and by a
powerful force-pump the air is forced
down one of them, and the oil, in conse-
quence of the pressure of the air, is forced
up the other tube in a steady stream
The flow, by this method, is much more
steady and of greater volume than by the
pumping process, and it has been "suc-
cessfully applied to many wells that had
failed to yield oil in the old manner
The petroleum, as before remarked, is in
variably accompanied by salt water. AS
it reaches the surface, this mixture is car
ried by conduits into large wooden tanks,
in which the oil rises to the surface of
the water and is drawn off into barrels.
I IL, - Iafr0 ha oil