198 ANNUAL REPORT 
thickness, which, of course, is known as the Big Injun. The thickness of 
the three formations ranges from 160 feet on the west side of the field 
to 250 feet on the east side. 
The sand varies much in texture; sometimes it is fine and hard, at 
other times coarse and open. The latter is commonly true in the pay 
streaks, when the rock occasionally becomes a true conglomerate. In that 
part of the formation lying below the “break” two pays are occasionally 
found, the principal one lying a short distance below the cap-rock and 
having a thickness varying from 5 to 15 feet. The second pay lies deeper 
in the rock, is thinner and less important than the upper one. The size of 
shots used in these wells has varied greatly, having naturally been de- 
pendent on the nature of the sand. When the latter is coarse and loose, 
the shots have been small, in some places three quarts only; but when the 
sand has been found hard and fine the shots have been much heavier, 
reaching 100 quarts. Some wells in the field have been shot 6 or 7 times; 
in such cases the first shots have usually been small, and the size increased 
with the succeeding ones. 
The wells on the Ohio side were never great producers of gas, though 
originally the supply was adequate for operating the territory. The gas, 
however, decreased more rapidly than the oil, and about 1898 suction 
pumps were introduced. This greatly augmented temporarily the supply, 
but even with this method in operation the gas has become so weak that 
it is scarcely adequate to meet longer the demands of the operator. The 
staying qualities of the sand, so far as the supply of oil is concerned, 
varies considerably in different parts of the field. The wells near the 
Ohio river have lasted better than those farther back. However, by 1898 
the operators began abandoning the smaller ones, and in 1901 one company 
was pulling the casing from all wells that made less than one barrel per 
day. Another company, however, was still pumping wells that made only 
one-sixth of a barrel per day. The sand in the territory known as the 
“Tron Bridge” has given out quicker than that farther south, and although 
it was not developed until 1895-6, many of the wells had been abandoned 
by 1901. At one period in 1895 the daily production of the Diest farm 
was 2,500 barrels; in June, 1901, it was less than 20 barrels. Adjacent 
farms give similar results. The Keener sand territory around Mechanics- 
burg has not yet been developed long enough to deterniine the staying 
quality of that locality. 
The most striking characteristic of the field is the salt-water. It is 
estimated that the “Pole-Cat”’ well alone pumped 2,500 barrels per day 
for weeks. The brine from the hundreds of wells made the creeks salt- 
water streams, while these emptying into the Ohio made that river brackish 
at low water. The quantity of brine diminishes to the northwest, and as 
has already been stated, is not a serious obstacle around the “Iron Bridge” 
and Mechanicsburg. The mingling of oil, gas and salt-water in the Sis- 
