Rensselaer Republican, Volume 13, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 September 1881 — STRIKING OIL IN A GARDEN. [ARTICLE]

STRIKING OIL IN A GARDEN.

A Discovery That Bent the Proepeotors to Potato Patches. r . TitosviUo (PS.) Cor. New York San. A month or so ago Sebastian Haehn. a blacksmith living in Mechanic street this city, was spading in his garden after arieavy rain. As be turned up the earth he noticed that little pools of crude petroleum formed in the cavities made by the spade. He dug a pit four feet deep. It filled to such an extent with oil, that he dipped out five barrels full. 'lhe oil was of excellent quality, and Haehn sold UTs five barrels to the Octave Oil Refineiy. Week before last Haehn dug another well in his garden. It responded with a yield of two barrels an hour. The well attracted great attention. It produced eighty barrels, and then ceased to flow. The excitement over the novel oil territory died out soon afterward. On Monday last the news spread 'through th& city that Haehn had opened another well in his garden, aud that it was yielding at the rate of thirty-six barrels a day] - Hundreds flocked to the seen® of the new oil operations. The well was located in .the southwest corner of Haehn’s potato patch. With a large tin hand pump the owner was taking out of the “nole’’ two barrels of oil au hour. His previous well had also started again. From that one of Haehn’s sons was taking oil at the rate l of twenty barrels a

dky. Immediately following the strike of the ltlcky blacksmith a great demand sot- leases of adjoining gardens arose. Such an oil field had never bteen heard of before. Without capital, and with no tools but a shovel, au operator Could sink a well and strike the “gand” in half an hour. The right to dig on four feet of a man’s garden became worth $5 bonus and one-quarter of the oil. For three days Mechanic and adjacent streets have been thronged with excited spectators of the new operation in oil production, and parties anxious to get “a piece of territory.” On Tuesday night Theodore Avery, who bad a coal yard adjoining Haenn’s garden, put down a well. At the depth of four feet he struck oil. The yield was a barrel au hour. He has put down four more wells since. The five wells were yesterday yieldiug eight barrels an hour. ’ " -

The success of the Hahen and Avery ventures led to a wide extension of this strange territory. A vacant lot on Washington street, southeast from Haehn’B, wft* yesterday the scene of active operations. Three producing wells were put down. Tbe rest were “dusters.” Captain Pickering went to “wildcattiug” under a shed near the Buffalo,PittsDurg and Warren Railioud track, south of Haehn’s. He dug to a depth of eight feet, andgot a well good for ten barrels a day. Two wells were put down on the ground of th® Octavo refinery. At five feet oil was found. One of the wells is pumping twentyfive barrels a day. Tue MfeKeown Garden, east of the refinery, was leased by J. P. Thomas, William McKenzie and J. M. Brinton. Thomas took the northern half of the garden. He got two five-barrel wells of excellent green oil. The other parties struck oil, but it was of a red hue, and had the. appearance of being mixed with tar. In the gardens aiding the east' side es Washington street several wells “came in”'as good producers, but’ the oil was of an inferior quality. AB tbe property iilqhg Oil Crtek, Washington ana Franklin streets b&s been leased by A. J. Kraffert. He will develope it on a large scale. The original Haehn territory maintains its yield, and is being further developed. Haehn has mad® a trench all around his garden and one through the center. Into these the oil collects rapidly. The operator is putting up tanks to receive his oil, as there is a great scarcity in barrels. Haehn’s garden is now yielding 100 barrels a day. He expects to increase it to 200. The oil is worth at the refineries sl.lO a barrel. The price of the barrel defray s ail tbe expenses of putting flown a well. Operations are carried on day and night. That part of tbe city is lighted up all night by the flaming torches of the oil men. The weird Beene is wit-» nessed nightly by hundreds of people. There are no indications o‘*any decline in the yiela of this oil, add Haehn, the lucky discoverer of tne field, is laying away not less than SIOO a day as clear profit There are many theories In regard to this unheard-of presence of petroleum in large quantities so near the surface. One is thAt the oil is the leakage of tanks and pipe lines, which has sunk into the earth until it reached the gravelly deposit in it is now found in pools. Another is that this deposit has been forced up from the true petroleum sand stratum by some unknown agency and caught and retained in the stratum where'it now lies.