384 F. H. OLIPHANt 



an output of 45,000,000 cubic feet per day. There are nu- 

 merous wells in this section, and in the western portion of 

 Marion and MonongaUa counties there are many with a capac- 

 ity of from 1,000,000 to 15,000,000 cubic feet. Wetzel county 

 also contains powerful gas wells with a depth of from 2,700 to 

 3,100 feet. 



Southeastern Kansas has developed very fair natural gas 

 wells of good endurance, the rock pressure of which is from 

 280 to 335 pounds to the square inch. Many of them have a 

 volume of over 7,000,000 cubic feet per day, the depth being 

 about 900 feet. 



The existence of natural gas was discovered through the 

 observation of bubbles in springs and streams, many of which 

 would sustain a flame for an indefinite period. These springs 

 and natural vents were known to the early pioneers, while for 

 centuries before they had been known to the Indians, who 

 viewed them with a certain amount of awe and veneration, 

 since they cast a wierd light at night upon their camping 

 grounds. 



The white men drilling wells for salt brine were in many 

 instances surprised by the outburst of imprisoned natural gas 

 when their crude drills penetrated the sealed in reservoirs. 

 These outbursts were often of sufficient violence to blow out 

 the drilling tools, and in some instances they ignited and de- 

 stroyed the primitive drilling plant. 



In subsequent years the search for petroleum developed 

 many pools of natural gas of high pressure, and in the early 

 development of petroleum the finding of this gas was con- 

 sidered a dangerous and imwelcome discovery, although it was 

 known and utilized in a few localities long before the first well 

 was drilled for petroleum in 1859. 



Natural gas has been developed almost entirely in the 

 northeastern portion of the United States, there being only a 

 few wells, comparatively, in the west and southwest portions. 

 In Canada some has been found, a part of which has been con- 

 sumed in the United States. Although natural gas is distrib- 

 uted largely over the entire globe, its development and use out- 

 side of the United States and Canada has been insignificant. 

 There is at present a small consumption of natural gas in Eng- 



