Corvallis gazette., May 02, 1902, Page 4, Image 4

A SONG OF CHOICE.
When op the valleys Spring
Cornea laughing lovingly.
And gold and tawny wing
Make melody,
. Then bey for meadow air,
Wit nsy lore there!
When Snmmer'a haze and heat
The dreamy landscape blur,
And drowsing in the wheat
The crickets chirr.
Then hey 'for mountain a'u.
With my lore there!
When largess" from her nrn
The lavish Antumn spills,
And snnset splendors barn
On all the bills.
Then hey for woodland air.
With my love there!
When Winter grips the land.
And chains the long bine lakes.
And sows with open hand
The fleece-white flakes.
Then hey for ingle air,
With my love there!
-Delineator.
STORY OF A CORRESPONDENCE
-11 1 I 1 I ! 1 I ! 1' I1 ! ! t"t- H"
Y Dear Mr. Miller I promised
you once It was quite a while
ago, to be sure, but then It
was a promise that some day I would
write a letter to you. To-day seems
a good time to do it. . I am in very blue
spirits, and decidedly Irritated against
life in general. The thermometer la 10
below zero, and the avenue is filled
with racing clouds of dust. Here, In
Colorado Springs, when the wind
blows, everybody quarrels with life,
and I am no exception. And as you
used to be a very bracing person to
quarrel with, the idea of writing to
you seems a happy one, even after four
years.
"I take for granted that you are still
In Philadelphia. Philadelphia is so un
like Colorado Springs! People live In
Philadelphia they spend whole exist
ences there, and are burled there when
they die. Here, in Colorado Springs,
people visit; they don't live. In four
years everybody changes; one's whole
visiting list fades away like a dream,
and changes, like a kaleidoscope, into
an entirely new set of acquaintances
and Intimates. I have had thirteen In
timate friends In four years, and all
lost to me now forever! Is not that a
striking reminder of the transitoriness
of life? One is in Mexico, one in
Home, one in a convent at Paris, two
In New York, one In India, one In
Louisville, one on the Nile, two In
Chicago, and three have died. Every
body who does not die here goes away,
before long, to the ends of the earth,
us you see. In comparison, Philadel
phia must be a place of solid and en
during social relations. I am In the
mood to-day to envy the rooted secur
ity of a Philadelphian!
"Do you remember how you used to
laugh at my father's investments in
mining stocks out here, four years ago?
Well, they have turned out a stroke of
iinancial genius, after all, and made
our fortune. It is rather exciting be
ing rich and rather dull. too. ' And
now, having kept my promise most
generously, to the extent of six pages,
it is time to stop. I hear you echo the
sentiment but I am, notwithstanding.
"Cordially yours,
"ISABEL BROWN."
The youug man smiled as he laid
down the letter on bis desk, amid the
business papers that crowded it.
She was a bright girl," he said to
himself, "but I never thought she
would write that sort of a letter. Too
Impersonal, somehow. She writes a
very pretty hand, though."
Perhaps it was the four years per
spective into which the attractive ac
quaintance of a summer at Mackinac
had receded, that gave this effect to his
mind. At any rate, he remembered her
as she was that last afternoon, when
they stood in the old fort, looking over
the houses of the picturesque, gay col
ored little town, to the blue lake water
beyond. They had not been Imper
sonal at all that day but very much
the opposite and he had realized since,
more than at the time, how very near
lie had been to being in love with her,
iind'how much one week more of Inti
macy might have meant to them both.
How he had hoped that she would
write though she had only smiled at
bis request, and promised that some
day she might. He had not forgotten,
ami he had really never liked any oth
er woman so well. And now she had
written. Why? Was U just one of
those inconsistent little Impulses of
hers that be had found so charming
four years ago or did It mean more?
The only answer to that question, man
ifestly, was to answer the letter at
once. And though the business corre
spondence was attended to promptly
that day, yet a summer afternoon, and
a speaking pair of dark eyes, were
more In the writer's thoughts than was
at all necessary.
It was surprising, after his answer
was sent, and the correspondence be
gan thus tentatively, how soon it grew
and throve, and increased. Miss Isa
bel Brown's postman, hastening along
the wide and dusty avenues of Colo
rado Springs, brought at shorter and
shorter Intervals, longer and longer
letters from Philadelphia; while Mr.
George W. Miller's disk in the large
city offices of that wealthy firm of
which he was junior partner was never
long without a specimen of Miss
Brown's handwriting. It was a reve
lation, at both ends of the line, how
much one could put on paper for a
sympathetic reader, and how intimate
a knowledge one gains of a special cor
respondent, from week to week. Mr.
Miller soon learned that he had never
really known a girl before that Is,
never understood one and that Miss
Brown's tastes. Miss Brown's Indi
viduality, exactly aud continually sat
isfied and delighted him; while Miss
Brown felt that she lever could have
believed that George Millereould de
velop such attractive traits and such a
thoroughly congenial set of ideas .iud
aspirations. They were a revelation to
each other first a monthly, then a
weekly, then almost a daily, revelation.
It mutters not how ofteu such a disr
covery is made, in each new case It Is
equally astonishing and suggestive, and
leads inevitably to the further diseov-
MRS. SHERIDAN'S BIRTHPLACE.
Ravages of time and the demand for improvement continues to destroy much
that is of historical interest, and one cf the buildings soon to be torn down is
the birthplace of Mrs. Phil Sheridan, in old Albuquerque, New Mexico. The
"palace" is the most pretentious building "Old Town" ever possessed. Built in
the seventeenth century, it was the ofticial residence of the local governor until
after the Mexican war, when it was used as quarters for the American pincers.
It was when her father, Maj. Kncker, commanded the garrison at Old Albuquer
que that Mrs. Sheridan was born.
Aside from the interest attached to this, the building passed through all the
turbulence of early Indian warfare, and its thick walls were a refuge from
many Indian attacks. .The remains of a large adobe corral stand at the rear of
the bailding into which the stock could be driven and in which the refugees
could successfully withstand a siege for several days. Its walls are adobe, two
feet thick. The pillars are made of p:ne logs, and the architecture of the
veranda is characteristic of the time.
ery that letter writing has Its limits,
aid needs the supplement of personal
intercourse to perfect its delights. Will
anyone be astonished to hjaru that six
mouths later Mr. George W. Miller
himself arrived at . Colorado Springs7
one September morning, with three of
Isabel's last letters in bis Inside vest
pocket, and a pre-occupatlou so great
that he paid no attention to Pike's
Peak at all? Isabel, on her side, was
not In the least surprised when he was
announced at No. Gascade avenue,
for his last letter well, she was quite
ready to welcome him, and prepared
to descend the stairs without any
symptoms of astonishment, except that
her heart was beating with most In
convenient quickcess, and her cheeks
were as red as the heart of a June
rose.
This being the state of the young
people's feelings It Is somewhat strange
to be obliged to chronicle that when
Miss Brown entered the drawing room
andIr. Miller rose eagerly at her ap-
proach. they should have stood looking
at each other as If turned to stone.
For fully two minutes not a word was
interchanged; then the lady, with a
gasp, sank down in the nearest chair
and covered her face with her bands,
while the young man, bending over
her, murmured awkwardly:
"I beg your pardon, Miss Brown Js
it Miss Brown?"
"Yes, it is!" returned the girl, sit
ting up defiantly, her blue eyes ablaze
and her slender figure full of angty
grace. "What right have you, sir, to
ask me such a question, when you are
masquerading under somebody else's
name yourself?"
"I was baptized George Wharton Mil
ler," returned the young man, with
equal bitterness, "and my parents are
therefore responsible for the 'masquer
ading.' "
"Wharton?" cried Miss Brown. "I
never heard of you before! I never
wrote to George Wharton Miller the
right name Is George Washington Mil
ler!" Mr. Miller sat gravely down in the
nearest chair she was certainly dis
tractingly pretty and regarded her
with a return to his Philadelphia calm
ness of manner.
"Your letter was ddressed to George
W. Miller," he said slowly, "and the
postman made a natural mistake, since
our firm Is the most important of the
name. Probably there are ten George
Washington Millers In Philadelphia.
But that doesn't expiate how Miss Isa
bel Brown, of Colorado Springs "
"Oh why, of course I never
thought," cried the youug woman, em
barrassment succeeding anger "that
Is, of course, 1 thought your answer
was to me; but my cousin, Isabella
Brown, used to live in Colorado Springs
until two years ago, when she she
married, you know, and went to live
in Chicago. I never thought, of course
oh. Isn't it dreadful! And where ts
George Washington Miller he ought to
be in Philadelphia, somewhere!"
"I daresay he is, at this moment," re
plied George Wharton Miller,' with in
creasing mastery of the situation. "And
I don't see anything to do but to leave
him there, and leave Miss Isabella
Brown, that was. In Chicago, and think
no more about them. Our correspond
ence has been with each other, after all,
you see, and not with them."
"Oh!" said Isabel. "But but I've
known George Miller, really, for years
it was easy to write to him."
"I don't believe," said the other
George Miller, judicially, "that yoti
know him half as well as you know
me."
Miss Brown blushed. She did not look
angry at all. and was, decidedly, pret
tier than ever much prettier than Isa
bella had ever been. Had he really
known Isabella at all? No, certainly
not; Isabella had never corresponded
with him.
"I am sure," he went on, rather stum
bllngly this time, "that I know you bet
ter than I do any other woman In the
world. Haven't I told you well. Just
everything, In my letters? And you
really cared, you know you said so.
It's the personality, the the soul, that
goes into a letter. We know each oth
er, and I why, I can't let yea go, just
because I'm not acquainted with you!
Don't you see don't you feel "
"Yes," said Isabel, faintly. "But
but you're such a perfect stranger,
you know!"
And then, suddenly, a mirthful twin
kle sparkled in her blue eyes, a dis
tracting dimple hovered In her cheek,
and she began to laugh, which swept
the young man- along in its merry cur
rent till he finally Joined In heartily.
They laughed until the tears came to
their eyes; they could not stop; the In
exhaustible perfection of the joke open
ed before them in new waves of merri
ment. It was a laugh of deep and sym
pathetic comradeship: an when they
ceased, exhausted with mirth, and look
ed into each other's eyes, It was as t"
they had known each other for years.
"But wasn'tit queer." said Isabel, an
hour or so later, "that Isabella should
have met you at Mackinac, and I should
" ' j
have been there later that season, with
your namesake in the party? Do you
know, I always wondered why you re
ferred with so much earnestness to
Mackinac, because I actually snubbed
him. most unkindly, that summer. My
letter was really a kind of tardy apol
ogy to him and he never got it."
"Do you wish he had?" said George.
"When I am better acquainted with
you. perhaps I can tell," said Isabel,
with a demure smile.
And George knew, then and there,
that the letter had come to the right ad
dressfor him. Waverley.
AN INTERRUPTED LUNCHEON.
Roll Call Necessitates Senators Leav
ing Their Guest and Oysters.
Senator Hoar gave a luncheon at the
capltol. at which the guest of honor was
Earl de Grey, the British economist,
who is making a tour of this country.
Invited to meet him were Moreton
Frewen, George Westinghouse, General
Manager Kendrick of the Santa Fe
Road, and a large contingent of Sen
ators, Including Frye, Lodge, Aldrlch,
Kean, Hanna, Warren, Hale, Piatt of
Connecticut, Burrows, Elkins, Foraker,
Depew, Spoouer and McMillan. The
table was spread in the room of the ju
dicary committee and presented a beau
tiful appearance, with its wealth of
flowers, handsome china and cut glass.
The menu, of course, says the Washing
ton Post, was epicurean.
But the interesting fact concerning
the luncheon occurred after all the
guests were seated and the oysters had
been served. Then some one upstairs
In the Senate chamber, suddenly dis
covering that many desks were empty,
suggested that a quorum ought to be
called. The bells were rung, and, of
course, they sounded in the impromptu
lunch-room. The Senators looked at
one another. They did not want to
leave the hospitable board, and yet
their duty called them away. Duty
won the day. They tiled upstajrs, only
to find that Senator Clay was about to
begin a speech on the ship subsidy bill.
As they entered the chamber their less
fortunate colleagues who had not been
invited to the luncheon gave them a
laughing greeting.
The Senators answered to their names
and then went back to the table. After
that they were not disturbed.
Monkeys as Coin Testers.
It is said that. the grosit ape of Siaui
is in great request among the Siamese
merchants as cashiers in their count
ing bouses. Vast quantities of base
coins are known to be in circulation in
Siam, and no living human being can
discriminate between the good and
bad coinage with as much accuracy as
these apes. These monkey cashiers
possess the faculty of distinguishing
the rude Siamese counterfeits in such
an extraordinary degree that no train
ed banker can compete with them In
their unique avocation.
In plylg uis trade the ape cashier
meditatively puts each coin presented
to him in his mouth and tests it with
grave deliberation. From two to five
seconds Is all the time this intelligent
animal requires in making up his de
cision. If thi coin Is all right, it is
carefully deposited In the proper re
ceptacle; if base. It is thrown violent
ly to the floor, while the coin tester
makes known his displeasure at being
presented with the counterfeit by giv
ing vent to muco angry chatter.
Highest Balloon Altitude.
Dr. Bersen and Dr. Suring, of the
Berlin Meteorological Institute, have
reached in a balloon ascent the high
est altitude on record. They first went
up to the height of 30,000 feet, losing
consciousness for brief Intervals. In
spite of the risk they continued to as
cend to 33,790 feet, when one of them
became completely unconscious and
could not be aroused. The other aero
naut, after making a great effort In
opening the valve to descend, also be
came Insensible, and neither of them
recovered till the balloon dropped to
10,000 feet, at the end of an hour's
time.
A Smasher.
"Did you hear that Cholly's automo-blle-had
broken the record?" asked Mr.
Perkins.
"No, but I'm not surprised," replied
Mrs. Perkins. "I suppose he lost con
trol of it. What else did it break?" De
troit Free Tress.
How Ancestors Come in Handy.
"They are always bragging about
their ancestors."
"Yes; it's safer. If they spoke well of
themselves, you know, people would
know It wasn't so." Philadelphia Bul
letin. Butterflies in America.
No less than 185 species of butterflies
are found in Mexico and Central Ameri
ca. It often happens that when parents
think they have married a daughter
off. they have only taken a son-in-law
on.
PANAMA ROUTE SAVES TIME.
One-Third as Look to Fass Through. It
as Throsc the Nicaragua. -
The time required for . passing
through a transisthmian canal is aa
Important feature'of the problem; It
Is affected by the length, by the num
ber of locks, by the number of curves
aud by the sharpness of the "curvature,
for. in general, It is not feasible to run
a ship on a curve In a- narrow channel
with the same speed as on a straight
course, unless, indeed, the curvature la
very slight. ' - '
The speed is also affected by the
depth of water under the keel of the
ship. It is well known that the same
power applied to a ship in deep water
of unlimited width will produce a much
higher rate of movement than the same
power applied to the same ship in a
restricted waterway, especially, when
the draught of the ship is but little Iesa
than the depth of the water.
These considerations all have their
bearing upon the dimensions of a ship
canal, and they have probably never
before received such careful considera
tion in connection ' with the designing
of a waterway as by the isthmian canal
commission'. - The effect of the depth
and width of the canal on the time of
passage by either route was determined
with as great a degree of accuracy aa
the data at the command of engineers
at the present time will permit Equal
ly careful consideration was given to
the ffect of curvature and to the time
of passing through the locks on each
line, tlie latter including the delay of
slowing on approaching the lock and of
increasing the speed after passing it,
the time of opeuing and closing the
gates and the time of emptying or fill
ing the locks.
The computations based upon all
these elements of the question Indicate
that what may be called an average
ship Will require-thirty-three hours for
passing through the Nicaragua canal
and twelve hours for the Pauama ca
nal. It Is thus seen, says a writer In
Scribner's, that the time of passage
through the Panama canal will not
much exceed one-third of the time re
quired by the Nicaragua route.
BLIND SPQT IN THE EYE.
Phenomenon Not Discovered Till the
Time of Charles II.
If I wrote an article about the eye
and said nothing about the blind spot,
which is where the optic nerve comes
through into the retina, about one
tenth of an inch nearer the nose .than
the center, I suppose my readers would
go to the box office and demand their
money back.
Just to be different from other peo
ple, though, I will not print a cross
niark here and dot over there and tell
you how to look at it so that thedotwill
disappear. I could make a big round
spot more than three-quarters of an
inch in diameter realize that it was
only Mortal Mind and had no real enti
ty, but I won't. I know a better scheme.
Close yoftr fists with your thumbs out
side and held against each other. Ex
tend your arms. Shut your left eye
and look fixedly with your right eye
at your left thumb. Separate your
hands, aud when they are about six
Indies apart the right thumb will go
out of business temporarily, for its pic
ture will fall on the blind spot.
Now. here's the curious part or it
Though men have tried all sorts of ex
periments on themselves for unknown
thousands of years, this phenomenon
was not discovered until the tineof
Charles II. of England. The blind spot
leaves no hole in the picture of the
outside world, but there being no stim
ulation on that spot, there Is not con
sciousness of a lack, but lack of con
sciousness." Ainslee's Magazine.
Sufferer Settles for Fire. -Fire
Chief Dutton, of Washington,
was seated in his office a few days ago
when he received a report of a fire.
The blaze had been a disastrous one and
the chief was naturally Interested in
the matter of its origin.
"Does the report state that an over-
f heated stove caused the fire?" he in
quired.
. "I think it does," he was informed.
"It's a pretty good thing for the own
er of the property that he lives In the
United States," added the chief, ."and
not in one of the foreign countries. If
he lived In Germany, for instance, the
fire would prove rather expensive for
him."
"Why so?" he was asked.
"He would have to pay the expense
of the run made by the fire depart
ment," the chief explained, says the
Washington Star, "and unless he paid
the money the amount would be charg
ed as a lien against his property. Such
is the law in several countries.. The
law holds to account in this way all
persons whose carelessness or negli
gence causes work for the fire depart
ment." Bananas by the Million.
How largely the toothsome banana
and the festive cocoanut enter into the
diet of the American people may be
judged by the fact that the United
Fruit Company alone, during the past
year, distributed in the United States
and Canada, approximately, no less
than .seventeen million and a half
bunches of bananas and thirteen mil
lion and a half cocoanuts, in addition
to other tropical fruits, says Leslie's
Weekly. Sixty ocean going steamers
were engaged exclusively in the ba
nana trade-. Estimating not over one
hundred good bananas to a bunch,
these figuivs show an average con
sumption of more than twenty bananas
each for every man. woman and child
in the United States, and "a few mil
lion extra for good boys and girls. But
an attempt to divide up the cocoanuts
per capita will probably get us into
trouble, for, while the bulk is enormoub
it means only one cocoanut to every
half dozen persons, enough for all,
perhaps, if the division were made on
strictly equitable principles. .
Had Her Revenge.
"He told his wife she ought to take
cooking lessons."
"Did she?"
"Well, yes. She sent for Ler mother
to come and give a three-months'
course."-J.hiladelpiiia Bulletin.
When you reach the day when the
finest apple bought at a fruit stand
doesn't taste as good as Hie green one
you stole years ago. that is another
sign of age.
IN THE OIL COUjNTKY.
BRINGING IN" A GUSHER NEAR
J BEAUMONT, TEXAS. - ;
Tales of the Great Boon When For
tunes Were Made in a Day The In
itial Discovery of Oil and the De
velopment of the Oil Industry. '
The chase of oil is almost as fascinat
ing as the chase of gold. And. in the
main it is nearly, if not quite, as profit
able. The greatest oil field in the coun
try to-day Is itf Texas, with the town
of Beaumont as its center. Other fields
notably those of Pennsylvania and
Ohio, .are probably more remunerative
at the present, but the Texan, la look
ing Into the future, sees, bis own State
far overshadowing all others in the oil
industry. The future of oil in Texas
is, beyond cavil, bound to.be sensa
tional For that matter, it is sensation
al already. Nowhere else on earth has
so much ever been accomplished In so
short a time; nowhere else have lands
worth barely a few cents an acre ad
vanced In value far up Into the. thou
sands as they have in the Beaumont
district Nowhere else. In fact, has de
velopment been as rapid and remunera
tive. And as yet, the Texas oil indus
try is in its Infancy, though millions of
dollars have changed hands since its
start
The advance of any wonderful boom,
whether in gold, oil or anything else. Is
always attended with marvelous sto
ries of Individual strikes and conse
quent enormous profits. Beaumont is
no exception to this rule. It is but lit
tle more than a year since Beaumont's
first car of oil was sent into the outside
world. Since that time more than 2,
000,000 of barrels have been exported,
there are now nearly 3,000,000 of bar
rels in storage and probably 1.500,000
of barrels have been wasted before the
gushers could be capped or controlled.
The Beaumont Fields.
When the :oIl excitement was at Its
height in Beaumont, the Influx of peo
ple was so great that trains were dally
run between that city and Houston, a
distance of a hundred miles, so that
people could obtain hotel accommoda
tions. Some men with little more than
the clothes they wore organized com
panies with capital of millions on pa
per. Anything in the shape of a lease
or land title was foundation enough
for an airy structure to attract the at
tention of the gullible. The lust for
money was rampant It was all a gam
ble. If fortune smiled, you made a
million; if not, you lost what you had.'
But everybody seeiqed willing to take
the chance, to the full extent of his
pile.
Prices paid for land in the oil 'dis-
A TEXAS SPOUTER AT
trict were fabulous. Two negroes, liv
ing In tumble-down shacks, received
for them $10,000 each. Men who want
ed to start a bank paid $10,000 for the
privilege of using a little barber shop,
and the same amount was paid to a
small dry goods dealer whose lease was
wanted by speculators. A firm paid
$150 a month for the use of a platform
8x10, on which to conduct their opera
tions. Land went from $1 to $100,000
an acre In a few days.
"Old Man" Biggins.
"Old Man" Higgins, who had been
looked upon for some time as a crank,
is the man who is responsible for Beau
mont's boom. For five or six years he
had been talking about the possibilities
of striking oil at Spindle Top, his talk
at last becoming so incessant and
wearisome that the people refused
longer to listen to him. That there
was oil in southwest Texas was con
ceded, but that Spindle Top had great
possibilities in that direction was look
ed upon as absurd.
At last, however, "Old M-an" Higgins
succeeded in interesting George W.
Carroll, president of a lumber company
and a wealthy resident. Carroll put up
the cash and Higgins began the search.
The first well struck oil at about 500
feet, but quicksand stopped operations.
This was repeated In a second well.
Then Carroll drew out and the "folly"
of Higgins and Carroll was the joke
of the town. An observant man named
Lucas did not believe the venture was
an entire failure, however. He leased
a small patch near by and .sunk a shaft
COO feet, finding oil and being stopped,
as were the others, by quicksand. Be
lieving that if this vein of quicksand
could be pierced oil would be struck
below it, Lucas went to Pittsburg, and
after much hard work obtained enough
capital to bore a well deep enough so
that his theery could be thoroughly
tested. When the drill had passed
tnrough the quicksand, what is claimed
as the greatest reservoir in the world
was struck, and in a night Beaumont
went crazy.
Scores of Spouters.
There are now in the district between
150 and 1G0 spouters. As one conse
quence, coal, the lowest price for
which had hitherto been $C a ton, Is
now very rarely used in southeast
Texas, oil having taken its place as
fuel.
Within four months, $2,000,000 was
pent in advertising Beaumont oil com-
paales, some of the. concerns having
least merit advertising' the most A
good share of these companies :. were
swindles, pure and simple. Opportuni
tis for bunko games were many ,and
.were all Improved.
Most of the manufacturing plants in
southern Texaa have given np coal and
are using oil as fuel. " This at first costs
considerable, but the saving is great,
after the first start is made. One firm
which paid $1,200 for the necessary al
terations In their furnaces, says that
amount was saved In: the first six
months. Several of the divisions of
the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific rail
roads have also given up coal for oiL
Arrangements arerbelng made for pip
ing the fluid even as far away as New
Orleans, where. It' Is asserted It is to
be distributed to houses in the same
way as gas.
- "Bringing in" a Well.
The two engravings accompanying
this article were made from snapshot
B 1 1 n 1 1 iv
THE FIRST SPOUT.
photographs taken at the "bringing" of
a gusher at Beaumont After the drill
had been sent through the quicksand
and the cap rock, the flinty substance
which Is the roof of the cavern In
which the oil has long been stored, it
was known that success had crownsd
the efforts of the drillers after just a
year of labor. The drill was immedi
ately hoisted out of the 1,100-foot pipe
which incased it, and the bailer was
brought into use. This is a bucket
fastened to a contrivance which forces
it down into the tube and then pulls it
back out full of the mud, water and
grease which weighs down the oil at
the bottom. With each dip of the bail
er, gas rises higher in the pipe, and
when the pressure has been reduced to
a point where it is less than that of the
THE FIRST GUSH OF OIL.
gas and oil underneath the flow com
mences. Along toward the last the bucket
came up with so much gas emulsified
with the mixture of mud and water
that the contents of the bucket fairly
boiled. Then came a time of great
anxiety. Would she come in with a
rush, shoot the bailer away up through
the ton. of the derrick and send out a
great shower of greasy raiu in all di
rections, or would she come softly, with
a heavy, smooth flow? It was an ex
citing moment, when what was believ
ed to be the last trip of the bailer was
commenced. Then, as the bucket came
up there came with it a gush of brown
foam.
Then slowly, majestically, arose a
fountain of green fluid until there was
a steady stream of oil reaching nearly
to the top of the derrick. Suddenly
there was a whish of gas, as the last
vestige of pressure over the oil reser
voir was removed and with a roar the
great jet arose far above the derrick.
The drillers then congratulated one an
other most joyfully, for, to all appear
ances, the well was equal to a flow of
25,000 barrels a day, should its full ca
pacity ever be necessary.
At this time the wind was blowing a
gale and It was thought there would
be less danger to the derrick and well
if the stream were turned to one side.
Theate valve was quickly shut, the
joint was placed and the pipe was
shifted. Again the gate was turned
and out rushed a stream with a swish
and a roar loud enough to be heard at
a great distance.
And that Is how a great gusher is
brought In. It Is a time of great ex
citement, among both spectators and
operators, and its consummation is
marked by a great tooting of engine
whistles and yelling of men.
The large picture accompanying this
article was taken at the Instant the
great stream of oil shot out of the pipe
after It had been turned to one side of
the derrick. The small picture shows
the same well when the first flow had
nearly reached its height
Oil in the United States.
In the production of petroleum, the
United States leads the world, though
oil was used in Eastern countries, no
tably China, long before "the dawn of
history. In Japan and Persia, It has
been obtained from dug wells for cen
turies. Sprirgs of petroleum have long
Wm
been known in the Caucasus mountain!
and the Russian oil fields are world
laiuous.
The first mention of oil in the Unit
ed States was made by a Franciscan
missionary who found it In Allegany
County. N. Y., before 1632. This oil,
which came to the surface In springs,
was used by the Indians for medicinal
purposes. It was not until 1SSO that
the petroleum business of the United
States reached any great height Pre
vious to that year, kerosene had, to a
limited extent been manufactured out
of coat The first well was "brought
in" at the place wlir;e Titusville, Pa.,
now stands, on A us.- .'JO, 1S59. Oil was
struck at a depth of but 69 feet
The scenes enacted there at that time
have been duplicated at the opening of
every new field since. Speculators
flocked In from every part of the Unit
ed States and Oil Creek became fam
ous. Within a very few years, hun
dreds of wells were drilled along the
tributaries of the Allegany river.
From Pennsylvania, the oil excite
ment extended westward until hun
dreds of wells had been sunkeast of
the Mississippi river In any and all
places where for any reason the dis
covery 'of oil might be expected. Most
of these wells were failures, but the
excitement had the result of opening
up many new fields, notably In western
Pennsylvania, In parts of Ohio and in
sections of West Virginia, Kentucky
and Indiana. In Ohio and Indiana,
natural gas came as a secondary dis
covery and this product is now piped
in great quantities to many cities, no
tably Chicago and Buffalo. In the lat
ter city, the use of natural gas for
heating and cooking purposes is gen
eral. In Chicago but a limited part of
the city Is served, though "the pipes
of the company supplying the gas are
being extended rapidly.
The Pacific coast oil fields were first
worked in 1S65, though the early wells
were Improperly located and failed to
produce oil In paying quantities. Be
tween 1880 and 1887 these fields fell
Into the hands of Eastern oil men of
experience, who, after much ..experi
menting and many unsuccessful at
tempts, struck oil in several counties
of California. Wells In Ventura and
Los Angeles Counties, some of the lat
ter being right in the city of Los An
geles, have been profitable producers
ever since. Other oil regions of com
paratively large value were uncovered
in Wyoming and Colorado.
Commercial petroleum is found in
Russia In large quantities, as well as
In Austria. Oil fields in Peru produce
the fluid to a limited extent but the
output Is steadily increasing under
proper management
Oil wells In the Pennsylvania fields
are almost invariably "shot" with nl-tro-glycerin,
contrary to the bailing
method of Texas.
Tests for Petroleum.
The tests of kerosone, the common
burning fluid which Is the most Import
ant product of petroleum, are made for
the purpose of ascertaining at what
temperature it will take fire and also
to find what proportion of naphtha, if
any, is held In the oil. At ordinary
temperatures, kerosene should extin
guish a match as readily as water; it
should not produce an Inflammable va
por under 110 degrees F., and should
not take fire below 125 degrees F. In
making tests, it is always remembered
that even a very small proportion of
naphtha is exceedingly dangerous. The
first, or flashing test, is made for the
purpose of determining the lowest tem
perature at which an inflammable gas
is given off; the second, or burning test, '
shows the lowest point at which the oil
Itself is inflammable.
HOW TO JUDGE A DIAMOND.
Common Sense and Good Eyesight the
Only Kequieites.
"No," said the dealer, "you don't need
to be an expert in order to tell a good
diamond from a poor one. You need
only to have common sense and good
eyes and a magnifying glass. First
you examine the diamond's table. The
table is the surface, and it should be
perfectly flat and perfectly octagonal.
Then examine tlie circumference, and
if that is round the gem is at least,
you may be sure, well cut. Now, for
flaws you look into the diamond, using
the glass he-re, for the reason that a
flaw imperceptible to the naked eye
will often lower a gem's value 50 or
GO per cent
"Flaws in diamonds resemble those
little feathery marks in ice that we so
often see. though scratches on the sur
face are also flaws. If none are to be
found yon study next the color, re
membering that the steel blue, because
it is the most brilliant, is the most de
sirable and costly hue and that tlie
white conies next. Yellowish or off
color stones are practically worthless,
but a perfect violet or amber or rose
diamond brings a fancy price.
"Study finally the depth and weighl
and if the depth is good you won't be
cheated if you pay $150 or $100 a carat
for your stone. Before the South Afri
can war," concluded the dealer, accord
ing to tlie Philadelphia Record, "you'd
only haye paid $100, but $150. thanks
to this war and the diamond trust and
to the heavier customs duties, is now
the market price."
Wh t Makes Great Successes.
It took me some time to learn, but I
did learn, that the supremely great
managers, such as you have these-days,
never do any work themselves' worth
speaking about; their point is to make
others work while they think. I "ap
plied this lesson In after life, so that
business with me has never been a
care. My young partners did the work
and I did the laughing, and I commend
to you the thought that there is very
little success where there is little
laughter. The workman who rejoices
in his work and laughs away its dis
comforts is the man sure to rise, for it
is what we do easily, and what we like
to do, that we do well. Andrew Carne
gie. -
Work of Watch Wheels.
The main wheel of a watch makes
1,400 revolutions a year, the central
wheel 8.7G0, the third wheel 70.080,
the fourth 525,600, and the scape
wheel 4,731,SG0.
Trees for Westminster Altbey.
Officials of Westminster Abbey
charge fees aggregating over $2,000
when a memorial i placed in the &J
bey.