180 University Geological Survey of Kansas. 
is fastened to the tool, the other is wound on a drum, which 
unwinds as the tool cuts deeper. An up-and-down movement 
is given to the tool by different forms of mechanical devices, 
acting intermittently on the drum or surface end of the rope. 
In drilling the tool is lowered to within four to six inches 
of the bottom of the hole; it is then raised and dropped, and 
on reaching the end of the rope, the rope springs, allowing 
the tool to strike the bottom of the hole, when the elasticity 
of the rope starts it back. The spring of the rope is relied 
upon to keep the tool free; otherwise, the loosening of the 
line of tools often causes considerable delay and extra ex- 
pense. The utilizing of the spring of the rope is, it is 
claimed, the secret of successful drilling in this district. The 
same results are, however, obtained by the use of jars. 
The tool is turned from one-eighth to one-quarter of a revo- 
lution after each stroke, thus keeping the hole round, which 
is necessary to keep it straight. If, as often occurs, a soft 
pocket, a crevice or a boulder is struck, the tool may slip to 
one side and the direction of the hole be changed. To remedy 
such a defect when it occurs, a charge of dynamite is lowered 
into the hole, and fired, which will destroy the irregularity 
and allow the tool to resume its perpendicularity. 
A skilled hand on the rope can readily detect any alteration 
in the character and structure of the formation and in the 
passage from one formation to another. At each stroke the 
tool must be steadied before dropping, which takes but an 
instant, however. [rom thirty-five to forty strokes per minute 
in limestone and from forty to forty-five per minute in flint 
are the average speeds. 
Just enough weight is put on the line of tools, which con- 
sists of the bit, auger stem, sinker bar, and rope socket, to 
make the tool or bit cut without breaking or battering. From 
sixteen to thirty-five feet of four-inch round rod are used, the 
length varying with the depth of the hole. 
A sand pump is used to keep the hole clean and to show 
the character and thickness of the strata passed through. 
When limestone is drilled, the finely ground stone forms a 
sort of cement on the sides of the hole, even closing it up en- 
tirely. This phenomenon is called ‘‘balling.’’ A special 
