The Sunday Oregonian., July 29, 1917, SECTION FIVE, Page 5, Image 61

66
Frank G. Carpenter Writes of Refinery Where EacK
Fortnight Enough Gasoline Is Made to Take a Motor Car,
to the Sim Red Tanks Dot Region Like Necklace
of RubiesTheir
or . turners ytyj
Copyright, 1917. by Frank G. Carpenter.
B
EAUMO.N'T, Tex. From the crest
of Spindle Top hill, the site of the
discovery of the first great oil
lields of the Southwest. I write of an
Industry which is of vital importance
in our great war with Germany. Pe
troleum forms the very heart of our
Kationai struggle. In fuel oil it runs
our great battleships. In lubricants it
keeps our mighty industrial plans mov
ing, and in gasoline it sends the motor
cars to the line of march with muni
tions and all sort-; of supplies. Gasoline
engines carry the airplanes over the
camps and the trenches, and show the
Runners just where to shoot. All of our
munitions, guns and armor plate, as
well as our submarines, and every ma
fhnie that has to do with the war are
dependent in one way or another on the
.-supply of oil that we get from the
earth.
Spindle Top is an excellent place to
study the oil situation. From right
under our feet have been taken forty
eight million barrels of petroleum, and
this site was the beginning of the
great gulf coast oil region and that of
Oklahoma and Kansas, which have for
a long time supplied a great share of
the oil of the world.
Spindle Top is a low mound, a great
Inverted saucer, which covers an area
of perhaps 200 acres. The mound is
only about 10 feet in height and all
around it the land is a low, flat, marshy
prairie. As we stand upon the hill we
can see the buildings of Beaumont, five
miles away. That was once a small
lumber town, but- petroleum has made
it a city of 35.000. Those great streams
of black smoke in the distance come
from tank steamers filled with gasoline
and fuel oil from its refineries. They
ere on their way to the battlefields of
Europe. As we look about us w can
eee the tank , fan i of oil companies,
with their mighty reservoirs standing
out agaiost the blue sky like the domes
of some half-buried oriental city. If
we had X-ray eyes which could pierce
the earth, to the north, south and west
we should see r-.ighty pipe lines which
are carrying rivers of petroleum from
the many oil fields of the southwest
to the great refineries located here and
at Port Arthur, which i only a few
miles away on he gulf.
The ladder-like towers, 80 feet high,
which surround us stand over oil weils.
This field is almost exhausted, but
they are still pumping out the dregs
of the fluid, which once burst forth in
such gigantic fountains that it as
tounded the world.
The story of every great oil camp is
of live human interest, and there is
ione more so than Spindle Top, on
which v-e are standing. The field is so
small that a soldier could stand in the
center, and, with his rifle, shoot far
beyond any of the wells that have pro
duced oil in arge quantities. The oil
came from a reservoir capped with
strata 1000 feet thick. The first well
that penetrated the reservoir was
drilled to a depth less than twice the
height of the Washington Monument,
and the result was an explosion which
thrw up rocks and sections of a four
Inch pipe to a height of many hundred
feet. With ther came the petroleum,
which continued to spout at the rate
of more than 3000 barrels per hour, or
at from 75.000 to 100,000 barrels per
day. No preparations had been made
to store the oil, but an embankment
was thrown up around a tract of 40
acres. This made a great pit. which
held the petroleum until it caught fire
and destroyed the derrick and the other
machinery connected with the well.
The well was saved, having been pro
tected by sand, and it continued to
produce for some months thereafter.
This is the etory of the discovery of
oil at Spindle Top as it was given me
the other day by Captain A. F. Lucas,
the well-known geologist and mining
engineer, who now lives in Washington,
IX C. Captain Lucas was the originator
- of the dome theory of the coastal plain;
end he might also be called the father
of the great oil developments of Louis
lana and Texas which have given the
country so many million barrels of
petroleum. He was looking for oil in
this region for come time before he
Bunk the well on Spindle Top. He had
studied the geology of the low hills,
then Called islands, which rise here
and there out of the flat marshy plains
along the northern and eastern coast
of the Gulf of Mexico. He had found
under these hills beds of sulphur and
salt, with indications of oil, and had
concluded that they might be the sites
of oil pools or reservoirs far down under
the ground. He concluded that the
domes had been created by subter
ranean springs which had forced up the
salt, sulphur and other deposits in the
form of solution or gases, and that thev
had fallen back, creating these curious
formations. Seven years before he
drilled his well at Spindle Top he had
tried to deepen a well for Joseph Jefferson,-the
actor, on Jefferson Island
and had struck salt not far from the
surface. He had bored down 2100 feet
through that salt without finding bot
tom, and later had gone down into the
rocky salt dome of another mound to a
depth of 2740 feet and had there found
salt and sulphur and some oil.
There were Indication of oil at the
eurface of the Spindle Top mound, and
before Captain Lucas drilled there he
took a lease on 5000 acres from Carroll
& O'Brien, the owners of the property.
This included about three-fourths of
the hill, and he leased in addition about
27.000 acres of the prairie nearby. His
irst well struck oil at 600 feet, but
there was not enough to pay at that
depth. He then tried to get capitalists
to Join with him in the exploration.
Several prominent men refused, but he
finally interested J. M. Guffey. of
Fittsburg, with the understanding that
tTR
Enormous
they were-to put down .three wells. A
well was then sunk within a few feet
of the first, and the great gusher came
forth as I have described. '
Following the Lucas gusher more
wells were put down and other streams
of oil spouted into the air7 One well
produced S00O barrels in two hours,
and another gave a million and a half
barrels in 10 months. Within . three
years after the discovery more than
30.000,000 barrels were taken from
under this hill, and other millions have
been pumped out since then. Alto
gether more than 1200 wells were sunk,
and it is estimated that enough has
come out to cover the whole 200 acres
with crude oil to a depth of 25 feet.
The field has long since been prac
tically exhausted, but some people here
believe that there is another great
reservoir of oil lying a thousand feet
or more below the first, and capitalists
tiave bought up the property with the
idea of getting that oil. I understand
that much of the mound now belongs,
to the Gulf Refining Company, and
that they will test the lower strata
within the near future.
The belief as to there being more oil
lower down is based on the fact that
other fields in this region which have
produced vast quantities of petroleum
are now being worked at lower depths,
with results better than those from
the first strata discovered. This Is so
of the Humble field, 18 miles north
east of Houston, and also of those of
Sour. Lake and Goose Creek. feour
Lake is 25 miles northwest of here. A
big gusher was struck there in 1903,
and by the end of that year 300 wells
had been sunk and 9,000,000 barrels of
oil produced. The whole field had pro
duced about 35,000,000 barrels when it
was thought to be exhausted, but they
have 'since gone down a thousand feet
or more deeper and struck a second
supply. At Goose Creek they have
found great beds of oil-bearing rock
at 2000 feet, and they are sinking wells
there 1500 feet deeper.
I am told that one comprny has
leased 70 acres not far from Spindle
Top Hill on a contract which provides
that the ground is to be tested to a
depth of 2500 feet. The tract lies in
the direction that the oil strata is sup
posed to run. Another well sunk with
in plain view of the hill has proven, a
ouster. unat is. it nas no on at ait,
although the drills were put down
underground to a depth of more than
three-fourths of a mile.
The Spindle Top of today Is almost
deserted. Its only inhabitants are the
men who are managing the small pump
ing stations and the squatters who
have taken possession of the rattle
trap buildings which sprang up in the
BT M. L. CHAPMAN.
Judge, Breeder and Writer.
CAREFUL selection of strong chicks
for breeding stock i3 of greater
importance now than at any other
time in recent years, because of the
scarcity of cereals and the almost pro
hibitive prices of foodstuffs. It is
highly necessary that all culls be mar
keted as soon as possible, for no chick
should be fed one day longer than is
absolutely necessary for its develop
ment, either as a layer or a prospective
breeder. They should be converted into
market broilers, the culling begun
early and continued along rigid lines,
weeding out all weaklings, even if they
do not seem in condition to bring the
best prices in the open market.
In selecting breeders it is essential
to determine what Is expected of the
grown fowls, and have this end in view
while culling out the flock. The next
factor is the question not merely of
the eggs that the hens lay in the
Spring, but the eggs that they may lay
during the various months of the year.
In other words, .he cost of producing
eggs.
We want a hen to lay a large num
ber of eggs, but we want them to lay
the eggs at the time when they will
bring the best price. One egg in the
Fall is worth two or three eggs in
the Spring. We want October, Novem
ber and December layers, and there
fore that factor must be taken into
consideration when selecting the chicks
that are to form the future flock.
Hens that lay the greatest number
of eggs in the Fall months are those
which were hatched early, bo the first
selection should include the chicks that
were hatched early enough 'o be well
developed at this time, and which show
promise of beginning to lay at- least
by the first of November.
No matter what kind, breed or va
riety of poultry is kept, success de
pends upon the vigor of the chick and
the ability of the operator to rear it
to maturity as quickly as possible.
Some chicks are born with stronger
constitutions than others, but even with
this favorable start they must be kept
at their best to develop into profitable
layers.
All others, those which do not meas
ure up to a good standard of stamina
and vigor, should be headed for the
market as quickly as possible. Never
before is this rigid culling so impera
tive. At this time it is folly to feed
expensive grains to weak, puny stock.
Segregate the males as soon, ac their
THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND, JULY 29, 1917. "
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days of the great oil excitement. There
are less than a hundred derricks now
standing, and the total output of the
field .is not more than 800 barrels
every 24 hours.
I went out to Spind;' Top with Mr.
Courtney Marshall, the secretary and
treasurer of the Magnolia Refining
Company, which is now producing pe
troleum and its by-prdducts under the
direction of the United States Govern
ment. The plant, to which I shall refer
later on. is one of the largest in the
United States, and Mr. Marshall has
been connected with it since its be
ginning. Mr. Marshall came to Beaumont In
1902, when the oil excitement was at
its height. He tells me that the only
roads they had at that time were of
mud, and the cost of freight from Beau
sex can be determined. Do not neglect
this. Unless the young cockerels show
exceptional vigor and vitality they
should be fattened at once and killed
as soon as marketable. By strong,
vigorous cockerels it is not meant, nec
essarily, the precocious youngsters
which strut around the yard and begin
crowing at an early age. This is a
good sign, but not an infallible one.
It is- essential to have strong, lusty
chicks that get right down to working,
and by their work develop an appe
tite for their rations. There Is more
truth than fiction in the claim that
"the feed makes the breed," und this is
specially applicable to poultry, because
it is necessary for the chicks to con
sume large quantities of nutritious food
if they are expected to develop into
heavy egg producers. The ability to
consume large quantities of feed and
the rapid growth of the chick is an
excellent guide In selecting the future
flock.
A perfect egg type of hen may be
determined by experts, but the average
poultryman cannot select his breeders
that way. In making a selection for
the breeding flock do not overlook the
heavy producing hens
Fatten Fowls Intended for Market.
However well adapted a fowl is for
table purposes, it may be still further
improved by a judicious course of fat
tening, and this process of develop
ment, like all others, has to be- be
understood before it should be prac
ticed on the birds. In the first place,
it maiy be observed that :ome of the
laying varieties are altogether useless
for fattening purposes, and it would be
merely wasting time and money to try
to get these birds in such a condition
that they would pass for good broilers.
In the preparations for fattening, it
is a good plan to provide a comfortable
yard of fair size, with a nice, warm
shed attached for the accommodation
of the selected birds for two or three
weeks before they will be wanted for
the fattening pens. Here they ma- be
fed sour milk with their mash and as
much table scraps as they will eat. The
variety of food furnished by table
scraps will keep them in. good physical
condition. Plenty of green food may
form a major portion of the ration at
this time, and on of the best meals at
night is a liberal feeding of cracked
corn and buckwheat.
During the yarding period the treat
ment of the birds differs little from
that of the ordinary fowl, with the ex
ception that the range is cut down.
About three weeks before the birds
IntoJfa
mont to Spindle Top was almost as
great as the value of the machinery
carried. Hack rates were $10 a pas
senger; hall bedrooms rented for $100
a month, and the country about was
covered with tents. The hill itself was
a great gambling . table, figuratively
speaking, upon which fortune hunters
from the four quarters of the earth
threw down their money. The place had
all the surroundings of a new mining
camp. It had its saloons and dance
halls. Betting was done on the quiet,
and fortunes were made and lost in a
night. For miles around the land was
bought and divided up into oil claims.
It jumped from $5 to tens of thousands
of dollars an acre, and some of the land
on the hill was sold for as much as
$300,000 an acre. It is said that a New
York broker stood up one night in the
are marketed they should be removed
to properly arranged fattening -pens.
These pens are so constructed that the
fowls cannot turn around, but are com
pelled to remain quiet, and to receive
their food at regular Intervals from
troughs placed in front of a wide slit
through which they receive air and
light. The floors of these fattening
pens, or crates, as they are very often
called, are not boarded, but have slats
running lengthwise, so that they will
of necessity have to remain quiet, and
also that the pens will require no
cleaning during this final stage of the
IMPORTED BREED
r
T is generally admitted that the
Crevecoeur owes some of its char
acteristics to Polish ancestry; but.
like all breeds existing 70 or more
years ago, its exact origin is obscured.
Definite records of 1852 report the
Crevecoeur to be native to certain sec
tions of France and to be considered
of great value as a layer and table
fowl. Splendid specimens have been
imported to Great Britain and to Amer
ica, but their breeding In these coun
tries is chiefly confined to fanciers.
It ia etiU considered one of the finest
.............................-.........
' P
mil '9;?
Crosby House at Beaumont and offered
$100,000 cash for any acre in the proven
ground of Spindle Top hill. He was
laughed at, and he had the g6od sense
to take his money back home.
Captain Lucas tells me that one set
of men bought an acre for $10,000 and
bored a well in the center. They then
divided the acre into four quarters, each
represented by a million-dollar com
pany, and these companies sold that
$4,000,000 worth of stock far and wide
over the Union. Cartain Lucas was of
fered $100,000 of the stock of a million
dollar company if he would allow them
to use his name as its president. They
said that their property was as good as
that surrounding the Gusher, but when
Captain Lucas looked at It he found it
to be utterly worthless and refused.
Today a chain of oil tanks hangs
fattening process. Very often some
birds will go off their feed and become
slugcish. These should be given a few
days' run on grass to get them back
Into condition, or if they are in fairly
good condition they are better mar
keted at once. Care should be taken
not to carry the fattening period longer
than necessary. Sometimes the condi
tion of the birds will not allow a longer
period than two weeks in the fattening
pens.
Much of the success' In fattening
fowls for market depends upon the na
ture and quality of the food. This
difficulty is overcome if only sweet
whole grains are used or prime grains
ground into meals. Coarse flour, which
is sometimes called macaroni flour. Is
often used as the wheat grain in the
mash mixture. A mash consisting of
cornteal, ground middlings or coarse
flour, ground buckwheat meal and oat
meal makes an ideal fattening food
OF CREVECOEl'RS.
utility fowls in France, and is widely
bred.
This breed is one of the ancestors of
the Houdan fowl, which is considered
by many -as the best of French utility
poultry.
It is possibly for this reason that
Crevecoeurs have had a diminishing
popularity as the favor of Houdans in
creased. The hens are splendid layers
of large white eggs and seldom be
come broody. They are quick in
growth, fatten well and make splendid
table poultry, both as to size and qual
ity. - .
'
t
about Soindle Top Hill line a necklace
of mighty rubies. Each tank is of
steel. It is painted" red and It repre
sents mere value than any collection of
pigeon-blood gems ever gotten to
gether. The tanks belong to the great
oil companies and their contents are
valued at millions. The oil in them
does not come from Spindle Top. It has
been piped here from the otner great
fields of petroleum which have been
discovered since that of Beaumont was
exhausted. Some of it is from North
ern Louisiana and some from Northern
and Eastern Texas. A great deal comes
from Kansas and Oklahoma, represent
ing a part of the vast output of what
is known as the midcontlnent oil fieid.
which is now producing several hundred
thousand barrels every week. The state
of Oklahoma produced 105.000.000
barrels last year. It led the United
States In its output of oil.
In addition to the tanks here there
are tank farms at Fort Arthur, on the
Mexican gulf, and there are great re
fineries at both places where the crude
oil is turned into the many forms in
which it goes to the market.
-T Am fttmnc-A to sDeak of tank
farms, but that is what these great
collections of oil storage reservoirs are
sxailori There are a number of them
down here on the Mexican gulf. They
are used to store tne cruae on as ii
mm in fmra the fields and also for
the gasoline, kerosene, lubricating and
other oils which form the products of
the refineries while awaiting' their
shipment in the great tank steamers
and tank cars which carry them to the
market.
The tanks are connected by pipes
with the refineries, with the oil fields
and with the wharves where the ships
come -for their loads. There are thou
sands of miles of such pipes, each about
twenty-four inches in circumference, or
about as big around as the waist of
your sweetheart- In these the oil is
carried over the country. It goes from
the wells in the oil fields to storage
tanks nearby, and from there is pumped
from station to station until it reaches
the refinery. In fact, a pipe line is
much like a railroad. The pipes are
the tracks and the stations the depots,
while the pumping . establishments at
each station are the motive power
which sends the oil freight through the
pipes from one station to the other. On
a long line the stations are about fifty
miles apart, each consisting of one or
more large steel tanks for storing the
oil.-
The tank farms are collections of
such storage tanks. They are to be
found at the ports and at or near the
when it has been moistened with sweet
or sour milk. It fills all the require
ments. Sometimes Best to Sell Alive.
During this season, with the ex
ceptionally high cost of grain, it will
be better to give careful study to local
market conditions. Where there are
very few table scraps, or other natural
methods of supplying green foods, it
may be best to turn the excess birds
off at live weight to a local commis
sion dealer, or sell them alive direct
to the consumer.
This plan will often give as good
returns as when the birds are spe
cially fattened, and as this year is ex
ceptional regarding the prices of feed.
It is one for the poultryman to de
cide for himself.
One course is certain; it is a needless
waste'of feed to carry over any young
or old fowl which is not likely to re
turn a profit. This is a waste that
should be corrected at once.
Again, it is the duty of every poul
tryman who has fowls which will pay
a profit over the cost of feeding to
preserve them and to increase his flock
to the greatest capacity. The whole
world demands food, and all kinds are
getting scarce. Every family can help
if they will keep a small flock of hens,
and feed them on table waste, in addi
tion to a small quantity of grain.
Nothing is more deceptive than bad
food. It causes all kinds of digestive
troubles, fails to nourish the chicks,
and often becomes a positive menace to
the health of the- fowL
When fowls are designed for market
purposes, and especially those intended
for a fancy trade, they should not be
killed by wringing their necks, as is
often the practice. A more humane
method and one that makes the dressed
fowl appear to the best advantage is
to have a knife thrust through the
roof of the mouth into the brain, and
then with a slight twist make a small
Incision sideways, so as to sever the
main artery. This will Insure proper
drainage of the blood.
For convenience the birds should be
hung head down and plucked while
warm. As soon as the feathers are
removed they should be placed In a
clean place to cool.
WASTE FOOD WILIa KEEP
SMALL FLOCK.
On every farm and in almost
every household there is suffi
cient waste food and other prod
ucts to maintain a small flock
of fowls if only a dozen hens.
Read the forthcoming article on
this subject and learn how to
increase the world's meat sup
ply, which is necessary to help
win the cause for which we are
fighting.
5
refineries. In company with Mr. Mar-.
shall I have visited some belonging to
the Magnolia Company, which lie on
the edcre of SDlndle Top hill. One farm
consists of seventeen steel tanks and
four great earthen tanks, the whole
having a capacity of over 2.000,000 bar
rels. Each of the steel tanks holds
55,000 barrels. It is a great cylinder .
about 30 feet high and perhaps 100
feet in diameter. It has a sloping roof
which, like the walls, consists of steel
plates so riveted together that there
can be no leakage, and it stands in
side a pit of earth large enough to
hold the burning oil and prevent it
from running out over the country in
case the tank should catch fire.
The earthen tanks are about five
timrs as large as the steel tanks. Each
of them is 14 feet deep and 300 feet, in
diameter. It Is more than a sixth ef a
mile around, and it has a capacity of a
quarter of a million barrels of oil.
These tanks are great circular pits
walled and roofed with plank. Their
floors are a clay, impervious to water,
and when a tank is finished the water
is let in and the oil rests upon a bed
of water as a base. The tanks are
roofed with boards which are fitted as
closely together as those which form
the deck of a ship, being calked with
oakum to make tnem more tight. Tha
roof is covered also with tar and tar
paper and is upheld by timbers inside
the tank.
in thA refineries the oil and its
products are kept in steel tanks only,
and the tanks vary in size, ranging
from 1200 to 55.000 barrels. Each tank.
Is set in Its pit to keep the fire from
spreading should an explosion occur,
and the tanks are painted two fiifferent
colors, according as their contents are
crude or refined. Crude petroleum Is
not inflammable enough to be exploded
by any heat from the sun, and the
same is truo of fuel oil and other coarse
grades. Therefore, such tanks may be
painted black without danger. even
though black attracts the sun's rays.
It is different with the tanks contain
ing the lighter oils. They are all paint
ed white, for white does Just the re
verse. Gasoline in a black tank would
easily explode, and a great fire might
be the result.
During my stay here I have gone
through the Magnolia oil refinery. In
cluding its tanks, it covers about 450
acres, and the most of it is made up of
great buildings filled with the finest of
modern machinery. The refinery is now
using about 30,000 barrels of crude pe
troleum a day, much of which is
brought here in pipes from 6il fields
as far away as the distance between
New York and Pittsburg. It Is mak
ing vast quantities of lubricating oil.
fuel oil, kerosene and gasoline, in addi
tion to other by-products, from paraf
fin to coke. It is now producing 10.000
barrels of gasoline a day. and it turns
out enough of that fluid every 15 days
to run one of the cheaper motor cars
from the earth to the sun. This esti
mate ia made on the basiB of : milps
to the gallon, and to show that it is
correct. I will give you the figures.
Multiply 10.000 barrels by 15. the num
ber of days, and you have the barrel
product. It is 150,000. Now, each bar
rel contains 42 gallons, so that the
whole equals 6.300,000 gallons, which,
multiplied by 15, the number of miles
to the gallon, gives you the enormous
distance of 94.500.000 miles, or enough
to take your "flivver" clear to the sun.
with almost 2.000,000 miles to spare.
That is what this one refinery U doing
every two weeks. We have other re
fineries, whose product is eially large,
bos that you can see something of the
value of such works tc our country ia
this time of war.
I despair of being able to give you
an adequate conception of the machin
ery of the oil refineries. The processes
are of many varieties, and many of
their machines are as intricate as that
of a watch, although the scale is gi
gantic. Other processes are triumphs
of chemistry, and others of almost.
every branch of engine -ing known to
production. In brief, t" : process of
refining oil is largely one of distilling.
The crude oil. as it comes from the
earth, is reduced to a vapor. It is then
sent through coil after coil of pipes,
ranging in diameter from three to
eight inches. These coils are embed
ded in large vats of cold water, which
condense the vapor and turn it back
i: J oil. The process is just like that
of distilling wa.T, or the making of
whisky, except that the oil is poured
in by the tho sands of barrels, where
the water and whisky go in in small
quantities.
uring thes processes the oil Is
washed with soar and water again and
again. Its impurities are precipitated
and taken out. Some of it goes into
kerosene, and that is again distilled
an ' washed, nd some finally becomes
g soline. vhich is also washed. In the
Magnolia refinery here I saw tome of
the largest washtubs in existence. They
are steel tanks for laundering the
gasoline to make it clean enough for
your car. Each of these gasoline wash
tubs has a cylindrical floor space equal
to that of the average parlor, and it is
as tall en a t" ree-story house. It con
tains about 7 5.000 gallons, and the
washing is done with caustic soda, in
stead of soap. The suds rise to the top
just as In the tubs of the laundry.
In making lubricating oil the stuff
is run through hot water and cold wa
ter. It it cooked and is treated with
chemicals, including sulphuric acid. In
the r.iaUing of paraffin the oil has to
be frozen, as well as boiled, and for
this the refinery has an ice nt. " So
whole is a wonder of modern invention
and of industrial cost ef-iciency pro
cesses. FRANK! G. CARPENTER, .