52 Original Articles. [Jan., 



to the drill. An iron pipe, six inches in interior diameter, and one 

 inch thick, is driven down by a pile driver till it reaches the solid 

 rock, a distance of perhaps sixty feet. This tube is then freed from 

 its contents by a sort of pump, a hollow piston, six feet long, with a 

 valve at the bottom, opening upwards. As soon as this part of the 

 operation is completed, the drilling of the solid rock is commenced. 

 The drilling tool is a solid rod, weighing 800 lbs., and is thirty 

 feet long. It is attached to a rope an inch and a half in diameter. 

 The bit which forms the end of the drilling tool is three inches and a 

 half wide. After it has perforated the rock five or six feet, it is re- 

 placed by a " rammer," a cylindrical tool four and a half inches wide 

 across the face, intended to make the hole round and smooth. At 

 intervals, the pump above mentioned is inserted to clear away the 

 debris. The strata passed through in Oil Creek Valley are, according 

 to the phraseology of the miners : first, slate rock, 100 feet thick ; 

 then sand reck, perhaps 30 feet thick ; then soap rock, 125 feet thick ; 

 and after that a second sand rock. This may vary from 10 to 25 feet. 

 After going through another slate and soap rock, the third sand rock is 

 reached at a depth of 430 feet. In this the oil is found in the largest 

 quantities. Occasionally the oil is found in the second sand rock. 

 After the well is bored a short distance into the third sand rock, it is 

 lined with two-inch gaspipe, and if the contents are not expelled spon- 

 taneously, it is pumped to ascertain whether oil has been reached. 



It not infrequently haj>pens that a boring proves unsuccessful after 

 all this labour, for it by no means follows that, even if in the neighbour- 

 hood of a well that is already yielding, it will strike a reservoir. There 

 is no resource under such circumstances but to abandon it and sink 

 another. On the other hand the oil, if found, may rush up with the 

 greatest violence in wonderful quantity, and may even carry away the 

 derrick and other parts of the boring machinery. Such wells may eject 

 a thousand or more barrels a day, and then suddenly cease to flow. It 

 is necessary to resort to pumping in that case, and to be contented 

 with a more moderate product of from five to twenty barrels a day. 

 Water saturated with salt is not infrequently struck, but this, though 

 highly valued in other places, as at Syracuse, in New York, is here 

 regarded as of no avail, and allowed to run to waste. The value of 

 the fortunes suddenly acquired, is in many cases entirely unknown to 

 the owners. A correspondent of the ' Herald ' states, that he " was 

 paddled across the creek by an oil prince, aged fifteen, heir to a 

 million, coatless and hatless, and with but one suspender." 



The oil regions are being rapidly penetrated by railways, the capital 

 being to a large extent furnished by foreigners. It is expected that 

 there will be continuous communication throughout the most populous 

 part before spring. The value of the soil in the neighbourhood of 

 Oil Creek, that is, of a strip on each side two miles wide and twenty 

 miles long is estimated at 50,000,000Z. sterling. Four years ago it was 

 worth about 11. an acre. Some farms valued at 400Z. before the ex- 

 citement, have since been purchased at prices varying from 120,000Z. 

 to 200,000Z. and are now rated at a much higher amount. 



The expense of boring a well, including a ten-horse power engine, 



