374 F. H. OLIPHANT 



central New York to Alabama, and from the Manitoulin 

 islands, in northwestern Ontario, to eastern Kentucky. In 

 Europe, also, arrangements for drilling wells were completed. 

 In Russia, Roumania, Galicia, and India, where oil springs 

 and shallow wells or pits had produced petroleum in limited 

 quantities for many years previously, the idea of drilling wells 

 in order to secure larger supplies from greater depths seems 

 only to have been entertained after the wonderful results 

 were accomplished on Oil creek, Pennsylvania. 



The year 1861 was also remarkable for the large flowing 

 wells that were found; several are credited with flowing from 

 2,000 to 2,500 barrels per day. This caused a remarkable 

 fall in the price, which was as low, in some cases, as 10 cents 

 per barrel, yet without purchasers. The means of storage and 

 transportation, too, were utterly inadequate to handle such 

 quantities. There was some oil secured from old salt wells on 

 the Kanawha and Little Kanawha rivers during this year. 



The refiners of cannel coal and cannel slate along the Al- 

 legheny river, near Freeport, and elsewhere, soon turned their 

 attention to the refining of crude petroleum and abandoned 

 the distillation of cannel slate. This movement materially 

 assisted in the distribution and consumption of the new illmin- 

 ant. 



The first well drilled for petroleum within the borders of 

 West Virginia was begun in 1859 and finished in May 1860, by 

 the Rathbon Brothers, of Parkersburg. It was located near 

 Burning Springs run; it was drilled by a spring pole, to a depth 

 of 303 feet, at which point the Dunkard or Cow Run sand was 

 penetrated and it flowed 100 barrels per day. This well and 

 tract were sold to a company organized at Parkersburg and 

 a second well was drilled before the close of 1860, which at 

 300 feet flowed 30 to 40 barrels per hour. The opening of 

 these two promising wells was followed by a great rush of 

 prospectors. 



At the height of the development in 1863 the Confederate 

 cavalry forces raided the region and set fire to about 300,- 

 000 barrels of petroleum that had been stored in tanks, and 

 completely frightened away the capitalists who had invested 



