xt7rjd4pkp0d https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7rjd4pkp0d/data/mets.xml Kentucky. State Geologist. 1891  books b97-21-37319157 English E.P. Johnson, : Frankfort, Ky. : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Petroleum Kentucky. Natural gas Kentucky. Asphalt rock.Orton, Edward, 1829-1899. Report on the occurrence of petroleum, natural gas and asphalt rock in western Kentucky  : based on examinations made in 1888 and 1889 / by Edward Orton. text Report on the occurrence of petroleum, natural gas and asphalt rock in western Kentucky  : based on examinations made in 1888 and 1889 / by Edward Orton. 1891 2002 true xt7rjd4pkp0d section xt7rjd4pkp0d 








GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF KENTUCKY

        JOHN R. PROCTER, DIRECTOR.







                  -ON TaE-


OCCURRENCE OF PETROLEUM, NATURAL



GAS AND ASPHALT ROCK

           -IN-



WESTERN



KENTUCKY,



BASED ON EXAMINATIONS M1ADE IN 1888 AND 1889, 1BY


         EDWARD ORTON.



FRINTED FOR THE SURVEY HY E PE'LF JOHNSo,, PlUBLIC PIRINTER AND BINDER  PkANKFORT, KV.

 This page in the original text is blank.

 


                TABLE OF CONTENTS.



                                                                           PAGE.
LETTE:R OF TRANSMITTAL.                           .                           8
CHaAPTER 1.-Early history of petroleum and its derivatives.  . .  .  .  .   . 6 to 8
CHAPTER 2.-Modern history of petroleum and its derivatives .  .....     . 9 to 26
      Process pursued in sinking a salt well, 11; the paraffine industry, 15; nat-
    ural gas-its discovery and uses, 21; first uses of natural gas, 22.
CHAPTER 3.-The origin of petroleum and gas ............. . 27 to C)1
      Origin of petroleum, 31; theories of chemical origin, 31; theories of or-
    ganic origin, 34; theory of origin from primary decomposition of organic
    matter, 36; Hunt's theory, 36; theory of origin from distillation, 38; New-
    berry's theory, 39; Peckham's theory, 41; discussion of Peckhanm's theory.
    45; discussion of Newberry's theory, 48; discussion of Hunt's theory, 49.
CHAPTER 4.-Geology of petroleum . ..... .      . . . . . . .  . . .   . 62 to 102
      Laws of accumulation of petroleum and gas, 63; the reservoir, 63; sand-
    stones as reservoirs, 64; limestones as reservoirs, 67; shales as reservoirs, 69;
    extent of reservoirs, 70; permeabktity.oof reservoirs, 70; cover of reservoirs,
    72; structure of oil-bearing rocks, 73; ayLuticlines, 75; terrace structure, 81;
    presence of salt water in oil' and gas rocks, 83; demonstration of artesian
    theory, 87; discovery of petroleum  and gas, 91; surface indications, 94;
    geological indications, 97; order of series, 98; arrangement of rocks, 99.
CHAPTER 5.-Utilization of natural gas, including methods of transportation
    and measurement ..      . .  . . . .   ...    ... ... .... 103 to 126
      Physical properties of natural gas, 105; chemical composition of natural
    gas, 106; fuel value of natural gas, 110; various uses of natural gas, 111;
    transportation of natural gas, 114; measurements of gas wells and pipe
    lines, 117; use of anemometer, 119; use of Pitot tube, 120.
CHAPTER 6.-Geological scale and geological structure of Western Kentucky, 127 to 142
      Geological series of Western Kentucky, 127; geological structure of West-
    ern Kentucky, 137.
CHAPTER 7.-Production of petroleum    and its derivitives in Western Ken-
    tucky.. .                                                         143 to 221
      Cumberland county oil field, 144; Allen county wells, 145; Barren county
    wells, 149; Warren county wells, 157; Hopkinsville well, 162; Lagrange
    wells, 166; Louisville wells, 169; Meade county wells, 170; further explora-
    tions in Ohio Valley, 190; Cloverport wells, 191; Owensboro well, 194;
    Henderson wells, 194; Rough creek anticline, 198; Sebree wells, 201; High-
    land Lick well, 204; tar springs and bituminous sandstones, 206; tar springs
    of Breekinridge county, 207; tar springs of Grayson county, 209; percent-
    age of bituminous matter, 211; utilization of bituminous rock, 212; bitu-
    minous sandstones, 215; statement of Charles B. Palmer, 219.

 


           LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.



Geological map of portions of Ohio and Indiana, based on Newberry's map of
   Ohio and Collett's map of Indiana. By Edward Orton . . . . Facing page  19
Map of oil regions of Pennsylvania and New York. By John F. Carli and C.
   A. Asbburner......... .....           ...... ... . Facing page 21
Microscopic structure of the Trenton limestone .Facing page 68
General section from Frankfort to Owensboro .Facing page 139
Scetion showing strata from Moreman's wells south-east to Potter's creek wells in
    Meade county .Facing page 184
Geological map of Kentucky, showing section from Owensboro to Frankfort, and
   Rough creek anticlinal.... . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . In pocket.






                               N OTED.

  Since the writing of this report, the "Kentucky Rock Gas Company" has
changed its firen name. It is now known as " The Kentucky Heating and Lighting
Glts Company."

 

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.



HON. JOHN R. PRoCIEt,
                State Geolqist of Kentucky:
  DEAR SIR: I herewith transmit the manuscript of the report
which I have prepared under your direction, on the various
products of the bituminous series, viz: inflammable gas, p)et-
roleum tar springs and asphalt rock, as they occur in the
western half of Kentucky. My report is based on a series of
examinations made in the field during the sumimer months of
1888 and 1889. In the course of these examinations I visited
every locality in which practical exploration by the drill was.
at the time, going forward, and obtained first-hand information,
as far as possible, as to the facts upon which 1 leave made re-
port. I also collected the most authentic statements available
as to previous experience in the search for l)etroleuml in the
districts within which such explorations had gone forward.
  As an introduction to the record of these facts of observation.
I have given a brief review of the theories as to the origin and
accumulation of l)etroleunm and natural gas which command the
largest measure of intelligent acceptance at the present time.
The remarkable extension of the use of natural gas as fuel,
which has been made in a few sections of the country during
the last ten years, has awakened a widespread interest in this
subject in particular, and questions pertaining to the origin,
nature and duration of the supply are sure to be raised in ever-y
community that enters upon the sear h for the new fuel. The
doctrines to which I have given prominence in this portion of
my report will, if accepted, lead such communities as are for-
tunate enough to secure a good supply of this best of all forms
of stored power which the world contains, to use it from the
first with the strictest economy. Under the light of all the
experience that is now available, a town that shall hereafter

 

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.



discover gas enough for public utilization ought to receive far
more benefit from the discovery than it would have done at an
earlier day.
  You must permit me to make public acknowledgment of the
constant and cordial assistance that I have received from you
and from the entire force of your office in every way in which
my work could be facilitated.
  So uniform was the kindness and courtesy that I met in the
lrosecution of my inquiries, that it is almost invidious to select
the names of any persons for special mention in this connec-
tion; but there are a few gentlemen from the districts in which
I spent most of my time whose painstaking services I do not
feel at liberty to pass by without express acknowledgments.
In this list I include Major W. J. Davis, Louisville; Hon.
Alonzo Moreman and Judge 0. C. Richardson, Brandenburg;
James Montgromery, Esq., Elizabethtown; Father J. J. Abell,
Colesburg; Hon. David R. Murray and W. H. Bower, Esq.,
Cloverport; Gen. D. L. Adair, Hawesville; Hon. R. S. Trip-
lett, Owensboro; Col. L. Green. Falls of Rough; Dr. Pinckney
Thompson, Henderson; Hon. Geo. Huston, Morganfield; Hon.
J. C. Hendrick, Smithland; Col. M. H. Cramp, Bowling Green,
and W. T. Knott, Esq., Lebanon.
                      Very respectfully,
                                    EDWARD ORTON.
  COLUMBUS, OHIO, April 2, 1891.



4

 

CHAPTER L



THE EARLY HISTORY OF PETROLEUM                AND ITS 1)ED
                        RIVATIVES.



  Petroleum is one of a definitely characterized class of sub-
stances which are widely distributed in the rocks of the earth's
crust, and which have been known to man from the earliest times
of which we have any records. Petroleum, strictly speaking, is
to be distinguished on the one hand from the volatile naphtha,
and on the other, from the semi-fluid, mineral tar, which is
sometimes called maltha, but the boundary lines on both sides
are indefinite. Mineral tar passes in turn into immineral pitch, or
asphalt, a black or brownish-black solid. which breaks with a
conchoidal fracture, and which melts and burns at conil)arativaly
low temperatures. The naphtha above referred to gives rise to
natural gas in its volatilization ; anid thus the series, fully ex-
panded, is seen to consist of these five distinct and separable
substances, viz: natural gas, naphtha, petrolettmi. mineral tar,
mineral pitch, or asphalt.
  The entire group, with the exception of the gaseous form, is
known as bitumens.   In chemical composition they are all
hydro-carloons, belonging principally to the methane, or marsh
gas series. Petroleum  is seen to arise from  naphtha l)y the
escape of its volatile matter and by the subsequent oxidation of
the liquid residue. Still further oxidation coniierts petroletumn
into mineral tar, and a continuation of the sanme process gives
rise at length to the most permanent form, asphalt. We have no
knowledge of any other mode of origin of this last-named sbll)-
stance than that which is here indicated. Such :i histor mwolI
lead us to expect a varied composition in the entire series, and

 

REPORT ON PErROLEUM, NATURAL GAS



this expectation is fully realized in the results of chemical
analysis. Each member of the series contains more or less of
those that lie below it in order.
  In the earlier history of these bodies, asphalt and mineral tar
took the most prominent place. Their occurrence in large quan-
tity in the neighborhood of several ancient centers of civiliza-
tion, and especially in the valley of the Euphrates, led to their
use there on a large scale. Prof. S. F. Peckhani, in his article
on petroleum and its products, in Vol. X of the Special Reports
of the Tenth Census of the United States, gives a number of
facts pertaining to their occurrence in these regions.
  The accounts in the Book of Genesis of the Deluge of Noah,
and of the building of the Tower of Babel, are undoubtedly of
a high antiquity. The pitch with which the Ark was to be
covered inside and out (Genesis VI, 14) is the mineral tar of the
Euphrates Valley. It is used even to this day, as modern trav-
elers inform us, for coating the bottoms of boats in this same
region. The slime that is said to have been used for mortar in
the construction of the Tower of Babel (Gen., XJ:3) is the samiie
substance. So, also, the slime pits of the vale of Siddini (Gen.,
XI V:10) indicate the locality from which this tar was derived in
part. These references to this bituminous series are undoubt-
edl y among the earlier ones that are now accessible to us.
  The ancient cities of Ninevah and Babllon, as is well known,
made extensive use of mineral pitch and asphalt as a cement for
their various structures, after the fashion above referred to in
the latter city. Bitumen was also used to some extent as fuel.
The fountains of pitch from which the supplies of Babylon were
largely derived are still shown in the valley of a small tributary
of the Euphrates. These fountains were described by lerod-
otits, the Father of History, and his mention of this notable
source of bitumen constitutes one of the earliest definite and
authentic references to this line of substances.
  Egypt made considerable use of asphalt in building its perma-
nent structures, and also in the construction of cisterns for water
and silos for grain, and in embalming the bodies of the dead.
Its supplies are said to have been mainly derived from the deep
trough of the Dead Sea, in which the vale of Siddim was also
probably located.- The ancient name of this b3dv of water was



6

 

AND ASPHALT ROCK IN WESTERN KENTUCKY.



Lake Asphaltites, and from it the word "asphalt" is derived.
The bitumen rises in immense, island-like masses in the sea, nota-
bly after earthquake shocks. This fact was noted by Strabo, and
-has been verified in modern times. The production of the Dead
Sea valley is now insignificant, but there is no reason to doubi
that in early times there was a considerable amount exported.
At various points along the shores of the Mediterranean and on
several islands of the sea, other sources of bitumien were found
and utilized in early times.  Several observant travelers and
geographers of the early Roman period nake mention of them
in records which are still extant.
  In China, oil and gas were discovered and utilized to some
extent at a very early day, as is attested by records of high
antiquity. They were found in connection with the salt pro-
duction of the interior of the Empire.
  The more stable forms of bitumen are not the only ones, how-
ever, that were turned to economic account in tile ancient world.
Petroleum itself was even more highly valued by some nations,
because it was so available as a source of light and heat. The
Persians. for example, employed it for this purpose on a con-
siderable scale, and in some parts of the Mediterranean region,
at the beginning of the Christian era, it was thus used, as Pliny
states. Its use has been continued in this district even to our
own time, from the first known sources.
  From an unknown, but apparently ancient date, Burmah has
also made use of petroleum as a source of light on a large scale.
The supply of petroleum was derived from the valley of the
Irawaddy, where the production is still maintained. The south-
ern end of the Caspian Sea has also been, from a remote an-
tiquity, an extraordinary source of oil and gas. A religious
use was long ago found for these escaping products, temples
being constructed over some of the natural gas vents, and per-
pet-tml fires being thus maintained here.  These tire temples
became the goals of innumerable pilgrimages from distant re-
gions, and especially from India.  The economic application
of these extraordinary supplies has been effected first in our
own time, and one of the great oil fields of the world, if not
the greatest, has been developed here.
  The New World has been occupied by civilized man for a



7

 

REPORT ON PETROLEUM, NATURAL GAS



comparatively short period, and consequently no very ancient
records as to the discovery or use of any of the members of
the bituminous series within its limits are to be looked for.
The petroleum of Western Pennsylvania appears to have at-
tracted the attention of the first Europeans who traversed the
district in which it occurs. Mention of the oil springs of the
Allegheny valley goes back as far as 1629, and during the sub-
sequent century there were many observations put on record
in various connections as to the occurrence of petroleum in the
eastern portion of the United States. When first discovered,
it was highly prized as a medicinal agent by the Indians, and
its use was soon communicated by them to their white neigh-
bors. The oil springs of Western New York and Pennsyl-
vania were in some cases apparently regarded with religious
reverence by the native tribes, and from one or other of the
causes above-named, when parting with their lands, they retained
reservations in several instances, including the localities of these
springs.
  Mineral tar and asphalt were also noted and worked to some-
extent in the West India Islands at a similarly early period.
One of the best known of these products is Barbadoes Tar.
From the shores and islands of the Gulf of Mexico, our largest
supplies of asphalt are still derived.
  The South American mainland seems to be deficient in the
surface indications of oil and gas. If any records of the occur-
ience of these substances have been made, they have at least
failed to attract general attention.
  From this brief review, it is seen that the several members of
the bituminous series are not only very widely distributed in
nature, but further, that they have long been known to man,
and have been variously used and highly valued for several
thousands of years.



8

 

AND ASPHALT ROCK IN WESTERN KENTUCKY.



                      CHAPTER II.



THE MODERN HISTORY OF PETROLEUM AND ITS
                      DERIVATIVES.



 The modern history of petroleum may be taken to begin with
the present century. During this time, and especially during
the latter half of it, all the great developments and applications
of oil and gas have been brought about. In this development
and utilization, the United States has taken the leading part.
When the history of oil and -as in this country has been duly
recorded, very little of importance will remain to be told con-
cerning their modes of occurrence or the means employed in
bringing them from their subterranean recesses to the light of
day and in rendering them tributary to the service of mnen. The
only great addition has been made within the last dozen years,
in the development of the Baku field at the southern end of the
Caspian Sea, to which reference has already been made. All
this development, however, has followed directly from, and has
been whollv based upon, American experience. No new lines of
observation have been brought to light by this great production.
  The modern history of petroleum begins with the present cen-
tury. The scene of the history is laid in the upper portion of
the Ohio Valley. As had happened in China two thousand
years before, the discovery of petroleum in large quantity was
here connected with the search for an adequate supply of conm-
mon salt. The earlier settlers of the Ohio Valley and its tribu-
taries were well assured in almost all respects as to the character
of their new home. The soil was exceedingly fertile; the cli-
mate was in all respects favorable; against the Indian tribes that
they were obliged to displace. they felt abundantly able to
maintain themselves. They had established for themselves most
of the simpler manufactories essential to an agicultuiral com-
mninity, but there were two sources of anxiety that disturbed
the minds of these hardy pioneers. The more thonghtrul among



9

 

REPORT ON PETROLEUM, NA IURAL GAS



them entertained grave fears that iron and salt could never be
furnished in large enough amount and at low enough price to
mneet the wants of a large community. The fear in regard to
iron was happily dispelled in the earliest years of the century
by the establishment of blast furnaces among the Laurel Mount-
ains of Pennsylvania, on the western side of the great divide.
But all the salt used in the valley was either brought on the
backs of pack horses by steep and narrow bridle paths, across
the Allegheny Ridge, or else by flat-boats from the Gulf of
Mexico, whose toilsome ascent of the river was never accom-
plished in less than four months, and which often required six
months. The mouth of the river, it will be remembered, was at
this time in the possession of a foreign power. From 1792 to
1800, the price of salt in the Ohio Valley ranged between eight
and sixteen cents per pound.
  As a consequence, all the natural sources of supply in the
new territory were looked upon with extreme interest, and
were watched with jealous care. Even the Congress of the
United States did not deem the brine springs of the Ohio Val-
ley unworthy of its notice, and when, in 1802, a part of the
Northwest Territory was erected into the State of Ohio, tracts
embracing the principal brine springs then known in this region
were reserved to the State as being too valuable to become pri-
vate property, and thus to lay the foundations of excessive for-
tunes, and what might become oppressive monopolies. The salt
reserves of Ohio, and of the adjacent States as well, all proved
worthless. The brine was weak and impure, and only the
cheapness of fuel and labor and the high Price of salt allowed
the manufacture to go on from such sources, for even a few
years.
  Up to 1806 the rock had never been penetrated to secure a
supply of brine in the United States. In other countries rock
Irilling for salt water had been practiced for long periods. In
China, as already noted, deep wells were drilled for brine two
thousand years ago; but here, as well as in many other cases,
we have been unable to profit by the experience of the world,
and have been obliged to work out our own methods and estab-
lish our own systems.
  Thes American system of rock drilling, which is incomparably



10

 

AND ASPHALT BOCK IN WESTERN KENTUCKY.



the best that has ever been invented, was originated in the
Kanawha Valley, and in connection with the search for an ad-
equate supply of salt. In the year above named, viz: 1806,
two brothers, David and Joseph Ruffner, of Charleston, West
Virginia, set to work to learn more of the source of the brine
that was found in their neighborhood, and, if possible, to ob-
tain a more abundant and stronger supply. In other words,
they determined to drill into the rocks for salt water. They
were obliged to invent their own tools, and to solve, without
previous experience, all the problems involved. For two years
they persevered in their search, overcoming, one by one, diffl-
calties which. trifling as they now seeni, would have discour-
aged faint-hearted men, until, on the fifteenth day of January,
1808, at a depth of forty feet in the sandstone rock, they were
rewarded by an abundant flow of stronger brine. They had
succeeded in their search, and doubtless made more account of
the discovery of a better basis for salt manufacture than they
did of the means that they had employed in finding it; but in
reality the latter was the important feature of this history.
The rock drill, where the Ruffner brothers left it, was in ap-
pearance an insignificant apparatus. It was simply an iron bar
shod with steel, and swung by a rope from a spring pole; but
it was now an actual fact, and ready to be acted upon by the
process of evolution. rhe stages of its development followed
rapidly. Hand power was soon replaced by horse power, which,
in its turn, gave way to steam power. The efficiency of the
outfit was greatly reinforced by various ingenious additions
that were made by the drillers of the Kanawha Valley. It is
here that the "conductor,' the "casing," the "jars" and the
" seed-bag " were all originated.
  Dr. S. P. Hildreth, the pioneer geologist of the upper Ohio
Valley, gave a description of the mode of drilling salt wells, in
the American Journal of Science, in 1833, which is copied here,
for the sake of bringing vividly before the reader the lines of
progress in this remarkable art:

       "PROCESS PURSUED IN SINKING A SALT WELL.
  "The operator having fixed on a spot suitable for the purpose,
alwavs near some water-course, and where the adjacent hills are



11

 

REPORT ON PETROLEUM, NATURAL GAS



nigh, proceeds to excavate the earth down to the iock, and then
the rock itself to the depth of twenty or thirty feet, and from
four to six feet in diameter. In this cavity, called 'the head,'
is usually placed a hollow sycamore trunk, called 'a gum,' which
is imbedded firmly in the rock, in such a way as to exclude the
springs of fresh water; others make use of planks to form the
head. When this part of the work is accomplished, the process
of boring, or drilling, commences. This was formerly done by
hand, with the assistance of a spring ltole, and was a tedious
and laborious operation. It is now performed by a horse or
horses, placed on an inclined tread wheel, and machinery very
simply, hut ingeniously, arranged, so as to act, by means of a
lever, on the poles attached to the auger, raising it from two to
three feet, at each rise of the lever, and letting it drop again
very regularly. A grass rope, with which the poles are sus-
pended to a high frame, by its spiral convolutions, at each rise
and fall gives them a slight rotary motion, so necessary to the
progress of the work. Two men are employed in this business,
who stand regular tours, of six hours each, night and day.
When so much of the rock is chiseled up and comminuted so
finely as to make with the water, which always fills the hole, a
soft, muddy mass, and impedes the motion of the auger, the
poles are, withdrawn and a tube made of copper, five or six feet
in length and three inches in diamkter, called ' the pump,' is
screwed to the pole and let down. A valve, at the lower end,
prevents the escape of the contents, which are discharged
through a hole made for that purpose. near the top.
  "A cord or rope is sometimes made use of in this process, in
place of the poles. The poles are made of tough. white ash
wood, twenty-five feet in length and two inches in diameter.
They are attached to each other by strong iron sockets and
screws, so as that a screw at the lower end enters into a socket
at the upper end of each pole. By the addition of fresh poles,
as the well descends, they are lengthened to any desirable depth.
  "The auger is pointed with the best cast steel, and is from
twelve to fourteen inches in length, and from three to four inches
wide, as the operator may think best, it being very useful to
have the well of a greater diameter at the top, as it necessarily
and unavoidahly grows narrower as it .descends, and would not



12

 

AND ASPHALT ROCK IN WESTERN KENTUCKY.



afford sufficient water, unless an allowance of this kind were
made.
  "The operation gradually cuts away the sides of the auger,
and as it is repaired or a new one applied, unless this adaptation
is carefully attended to, it becomes fast in the bottom of the
well, and is with great difficulty removed. The progress made,
each day, varies, with the density of the rock, from one inch to
five or six feet, but is necessarily slower as the well deepens; for
much time is necessarily consumed in taking up and letting
down the poles, for the purpose of pumping or clearing out the
detritus, which is composed of sand or mud, according to the
nature of the rock. It is often necessary to line the upper por-
tion of the well, for one hundred and fifty or two hundred feet,
with a copper tube, to prevent the process of caving, occasioned
by the disintegration of the soapstone or argillite, which princi-
pally composes the upper strata to this depth. It is also some-
times needed to keep out the springs of fresh water, which,
mingling with the salt, would occasion additional labor in the
evaporation. "
  For forty years the art was strictly confined to the search for
which it was designed, viz: for brine to be used in salt manu-
facture. A class of men grew up whose sole business it was to
drill salt wells, and a great body of practical experience in this
art was gradually accumulated.
  While sinking these salt wells the drillers were often annoyed
by the presence in excessive quantity of two substances which
were unfailingly found in the rocks that they penetrated, viz:
petroleum and natural gas. The gas in particular would some-
times issue from the wells with uncontrollable violence, and,
becoming ignited by accidental means, would destroy the ma-
chinery and otherwise interfere with the purpose of the wells.
Some wells were found incorrigible in this respect, and were on
this account abandoned. Where the gas was found in moderate
amount, it came to be used at a comparatively early day for the
evaporation of the brine, and probably also on a small scale for
illumination. Use was also found for a small quantity of the
petroleum that escaped from these wells. Rock oil had indeed
been highly valued by the Indian inhabitants of the regions west
of the Appalachians before they were occupied at all by the white



13

 

REPORT ON PETROLRUM, NATURAL GAS



race, as has been stated on a previous page. The first white
hunters and pioneers that entered these regions learned prob-
ably from the Indians to place the same estimate on these nat-
ural fountains of oil. They came to consider the oil, in fact, a
sovereign remedy for nearly all the diseases to which they
were especially liable, and particularly for rheumatism, burns,
sprains, and even for coughs and colds. It was known as
Seneca Oil, from the fact that it was first found near Seneca
Lake, New York. For a long while the demand was greater
than the supply, so that a small bottle of oil would bring forty
or fifty cents; but the drilling of the new salt wells made it
much more abundant. In the neighborhoods where the wells
were drilled it began to be used as a source of artificial light,
being burned in the crude state in the oil lamps of the period.
A little improvement was presently made by filtering the oil
through charcoal. Its value as a lubricant was also early recog-
nized; but the main use, after all, was as a medicinal agent.
Through all these applications the oil became an article of com-
merce on a small scale.
  When, however, as sometimes happened, a large quantity of
oil was struck in drilling a well, no efforts were made to arrest
the flow, but it was left to find its way into the streams upon
which the wells were located, discoloring them often for miles
with its iridescent hues. The great Kanawha river acquired, on
this account, from the boatmen of the Ohio Valley, the soubri-
quet or "Old Greasy." One of the most remarkable instances
of this sort occurred in Southern Kentucky. A well that was
drilled in 1829 at Burkeville gave vent to an enormous flow of
oil. The well was estimated by those whom we are obliged to
accept as authority to have produced .50,000 barrels, all of which
flowed out into the Cumberland river, in the valley of which it
was drilled. The surface of the river was covered with oil for
many miles, and while in this condition the oil was ignited, and
furnished the strange spectacle of a river on fire. Only a few
barrels of the oil were saved for commercial purposes. All that
was used was put up in small bottles, and sold under the name
of American Oil as a medicinal agent.
  These descriptions show the general line of facts pertaining
to petroleum up to the year 1850. For more than ten years



14

 

AND ASPHALT ROCK IN WESTERN KENTUCKY.



thereafter there was no considerable progress in the demand
for rock oil, but lines of investigation were being entered upon
about this time in different parts of the world that resulted
in an immense advance in the development of the several pro-
ducts of the bituminous series, and in contributions of ines-
timable value to the well-being of the whole civilized world.
Some of the steps of this advance were as follows:

                 THE PARAFFINE INDUSTRY.

  The growing wealth of the world was leading to the demand
for new and better sources of artificial light than were generally
available. Through the enterprise and energy of New England
sailors, whale oil and sperm oil had been widely distributed
through the eastern United States and through western Europe
as an illuminating agent, for a considerable term of years, but
the sharpness of the demand had led to the pushing of the
whale fishery to the point of a practical exhaustion of the sup-
ply. The consequent diminution in quantity naturally led to a
considerable increase in price, and the increase in price encour-
aged the search for some new source of light.
  In 1830, a colorless, wax-like body, burning freely and with-
out odor, and giving rise to an oil of peculiar character, was.
discovered by a distinguished German chemist in the course of
a series of investigations on the products of woo(d-tar.  He
namned this wax-like substance " paraffine," and as such, it soon
became known to the scientific world, but no one suspected that
it wvould ever be found to be widely distributed or to possess
economic value. It remained for a score of years as little more
than a chemical curiosity. About the year 1&50, however, this
growing need of a cheaper source of artificial light, to which I
have already referred, led Mr. James Young, and ot