Ashburner. } 128 [Sept. 21, 
to a depth of 1618 feet, and afterwards continued to a depth of 1785 feet, * 
where the tools which still remain in the hole, were lost. 
The elevation of the top of the conductor above the railroad bridge at 
Wilcox is 120 feet or 1629 feet above the mean level of Atlantic Ocean. + 
The well was drilled ‘‘ wet,’’ that is, no effort was made to keep the 
water encountered in the upper part of the hole from following the drill. 
Great difficulty was experienced in drilling on account of a heavy water 
vein which was struck at 60 feet depth. This was more particularly the 
case after the gas veins at 1200 and 1600 feet respectively were met. The 
water would flow into the hole on top of the gas which it would confine 
until the pressure of the latter became so great that a huge column of the 
water would be thrown out of the hole to the annoyance of the drillers. 
This occurred periodically. 
After the tools were lost the upper 400 feet of the well was cased with 
a four inch casing having a water packer or seed bag attached to its lower 
end, effectually excluding the water and rendering the hole practically 
dry.t 
The well was then tubed and it is reported that as much as 100 barrels 
of oil was pumped and shipped to market ; but on account of the great ex- 
pense of procuring the petroleum, the hole was finally abandoned and the 
gas allowed free escape into the open air. The gas was afterwards fired 
and the derrick burned. Three or four years ago a wooden plug was in- 
serted into the casing, which only permitted a partial escape of the gas. 
About the beginning of the year 1876, when Well No 2 was started 
900 feet distant, a pipe connection was made with Well No. 1, and the 
gas used as fuel in drilling Well No.2. The surplus gas was conveyed 
through a U shaped tube and discharged over a water tank, the water be- 
ing splashed by the gas over the orifice of the pipe. The pressure of the 
gas being thus suddenly relieved a ring of ice an inch thick was formed, ~ 
which remained under the warmest sun. The ice in this case was produced 
naturally on the same principle that governs the operation of the Kirk 
freezing machine. 
From the time the gas was first struck by the drill up to the latter part 
of 1876, it seemed to have, according to Mr. Schultz, a constant flow, but 
as no measurement was made of its pressure it is probable that it gradual- 
ly diminished. 
A little’ oil being found in Well No. 2, an inch pipe was inserted at the 
depth of 2000 (the well being 2004 feet deep), and it was proposed to util- 
ize the pressure of the gas to force the oil out of the tubing. The resistance 
* Authority, Mr. M. M. Schultz, of Wilcox. 
+The elevation of Wilcox being 1509 feet according to railroad levels made 
subsequent to 1862. 
_{ For a complete record of the Well see a paper, by Prof. Lesley, in the Pro- 
ceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. X., page 238; also one in 
the Petroleum Monthly of a later date. 
