Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 January 1885 — In the Oil Regions. [ARTICLE]

In the Oil Regions.

Fire has been fully as destructive on enemy as water. All through the oil regions the utmost care is required in dealing with this element A lighted cigar ignites the gas flaring up from a well Instantly a mass of flame shoots to the top of the derrick a hundred feet above, widens out on the ground as far as the oil and gas extended, and descends into the well, destroying it forever. Thousands of dollars in property, perhaps two or three lives, have l>een destroyed by one single flash. Several times not only the city but the whole valley has come near being burned out. In 1862, for instance, the gas from a flowing well on the Blood farm, bordering on Oil Creek, caught fire, and almost before the frightened operators could take breath tMrty acres were in flame. The scene is described as having been grand and terrible in the extreme. Intense heat and clouds of black smoke mark the eonbustion of petroleum. Most of the wells were then connected with the creek, floated down with the current, and ascended to the wells, exploding them. Many stor-age-tanks were also ignited by the heat. A pall, black as night, soon settled on the district, illuminated by frequent flashes and explosions like parks of artillery. In the center ran the creek, a river of fire. To subdue the petroleum flame is an utter impossibility: water only adds to its intensity. The only way is to confine it and let it burn itself out. TMs plan was pursued with the Oil Creek fire, which gradually died away from want of fuel, but not until scores of wells and a million of dollars’ worth of property had been destroved. Another disastrous fire occurred in 1863, when a boatman with a lantern went into the compartment of a bulkboat to see if it was leaking. The gas exploded, and in a breath forty boats loaded with oil were ablaze. The citizens had learned by this time what to do in such emergencies. They rallied and pushed the burning boats out into the stream. A weird scene followed: frequent flashes with explosions lit up the night, and as the burning oil spread over the water the breathless spectators beheld a river of fire.