THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY OF CANADA 



ducing well was worth pumping. The production naturally 

 increased and the price of crude oil remained low, and, for 

 a time, there was not much prosperity in the oil fields on 

 this account. However, the demands for all kinds of 

 petroleum products grew with amazing rapidity, and with- 

 in a few years all the surplus stores of petroleum were used 

 up and the demands of the refineries could not be met, 

 sufiicient crude oil could not be produced. Every well 

 that would give any supply was utilized ; the price of oil 

 naturally rising with the increasing demand until to-day 

 there are thousands of wells being profitably operated 

 which do not average a third of a barrel a day. 



It was very evident to all concerned that the supply of 

 oil was gradually falling away, and the oil men lived in 

 daily dread that it would cease altogether. 



Again a new discovery came to their aid and a fresh 

 impetus was given the industry. It was found that the 

 detonation of a powerful explosive in the oil-bearing strata 

 of rock at the bottom of the well produced a fresh supply 

 of oil. After considerable experimenting it was found that 

 nitro-glycerine gave the best results. With feverish 

 energy, characteristic of the oil men, everyone wanted to 

 have wells '* shot " at once. Factories for the manufacture 

 of this most dangerous fluid were established, and the first 

 "glycerine men" grew very wealtli}^, as it was very 

 cheaply made and sold for twenty dollars a quart. 



The system of shooting a well was very simple, con- 

 sisting merely in filling the well with water to hold the 

 force of the concussion, then the nitro glycerine was 

 lowered to the bottom of the well in long tin cylinders and 

 exploded by dropping a fuse. A moment later a shock 

 would be felt through all the 475 feet of rock and clay, and 

 in a few seconds a fountain of water, oil and shattered rock 

 would be hurled a hundred feet or more into the air. 



The result of this is to so shatter the oil-bearing strata 

 and open up the crevaces, that not only wells were made 



