PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS IN NEW YORK 495 



are two sets of the joints, one being called north and south 

 and the other east and west. The first set, instead of running 

 in a due north and south direction, follows nearly a northwest 

 course. (North 47° 45', west, magnetic; true course, north, 52° 

 west) The joint lines vary among themselves as much as three 

 degrees. The cross joints are more frequent than the first set 

 and cut the latter at an angle of 48° 30', varying to 51° 15' by 

 needle. This brings their direction very nearly east and west. 

 The north and south joints are not vertical but incline to the 

 east, the extreme deflection measuring 2-J in 10| inches. The 

 cross joints incline to the southward. The intersection of these 

 two systems result in the formation of oblong blocks, approach- 

 ing regularity, which appear abundantly in the waste of the 

 stream. 



From some of these joints, gas constantly escapes. The cur- 

 rents are much weaker, however, at the present time, than they 

 were in earlier days. When water occupies the openings formed 

 by the joints, the gas appears in bubbles, forcing its way through 

 the water. Such springs were known by the early French ex- 

 plorers of the country as fontaines qui homllent. 



Several of the most notable of these gas jets were situated 

 in the bed of the creek within the limits of the village of Fre- 

 donia. The past tense is used in describing them for the reason 

 that the escapes are too feeble to attract notice now, or have 

 died out altogether. 



These gas springs or jets could hardly escape the attention of 

 the earliest human occupants of the region, white or red. Tra- 

 dition says that the particular gas spring that gave such celeb- 

 rity to the village in this connection was discovered by a traveler 

 who went down into the creek bed for water and shade as he 

 ate his midday lunch. This spring was located by the side of the 

 Buffalo and Cleveland road, the oldest and by all odds the most 

 important of the lake shore highways, where it crosses Cana- 

 daway creek. After the traveler had finished his meal and was 

 striking a light for his pipe, he ignited the escaping gas. 

 Whether the discovery was made in this way can never be deter- 

 mined; but there is an air of verisimilitude about the story that 

 commends it to us. Certainly the discovery could well have been 



