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Transcriber’s Note:
This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects.
Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_.
The columns employed in the list of Portraits and Illustrations have
been reduced to a single column.
The positions of most illustrations have been adjusted slightly to fall
on paragraph breaks. In most cases, any text included in the
illustrations has been presented as a caption.
Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please
see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details regarding
the handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation.
[Illustration: John J. McLaurin.]
SKETCHES IN
RUDE-OIL
_SOME ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF THE PETROLEUM
DEVELOPMENT IN ALL PARTS OF
THE GLOBE_
WITH PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
----------
BY JOHN J. MCLAURIN,
_Author of “A Brief History of Petroleum,” “The Story of
Johnstown,” Etc._
[Illustration: decoration]
“Write the vision * * * that he may run that readeth it.”—_Habakkuk
11:2
“I heard a song, a mighty song.”—_Ibsen_
“Was it all a dream, some jugglery that daylight might expose?”—_N. A.
Lindsey_
“I will a round unvarnish’d tale deliver.”—_Shakespeare_
[Illustration: decoration]
_SECOND EDITION—REVISED AND ENLARGED_
----------
HARRISBURG, PA.
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR
1898
COPYRIGHTED, 1896
COPYRIGHTED, 1898
BY JOHN J. MCLAURIN
[Illustration: Dedication]
To—
my neighbor and friend for many years, a man of large heart and earnest
purpose
——HON. CHARLES MILLER——
FRANKLIN. PA.,
whose sterling qualities have achieved the highest success in life and
won the confidence and esteem of his fellows, this Volume is
——Respectfully Dedicated.
“_He cometh unto you with a tale which holdeth children from play and
old men from the chimney-corner._”—_SIR PHILIP SIDNEY._
“_What is writ is written, would it were better._”—_SHAKESPEARE._
INTRODUCTION
Life is too short to compile a book that would cover the subject fully,
hence this work is _not_ a detailed history of the great petroleum
development. Nor is it a mere collection of dry facts and figures, set
forth to show that the oil business is a pretty big enterprise. But it
_is_ a sincere endeavor to print something regarding petroleum, based
largely upon personal observation, which may be worth saving from
oblivion. The purpose is to give the busy outside world, by anecdote and
incident and brief narration, a glimpse of the grandest industry of the
ages and of the men chiefly responsible for its origin and growth. Many
of the portraits and illustrations, nearly all of them now presented for
the first time, will be valuable mementoes of individuals and localities
that have passed from mortal sight forever. If the reader shall find
that “within is more of relish than of cost” the writer of these
“Sketches” will be amply satisfied.
SECOND EDITION
The first edition of five-thousand copies having been exhausted, the
second is now issued. The oil-development is progressive, hence numerous
illustrations and much new matter are added. Hearty thanks are returned
hosts of friends and the public generally for kindly appreciation of the
work. Perhaps something not thanks may be due the lonely few who “care
for none of these things.” This will likely end the pleasant task of
reviewing petroleum’s wide field and “living the old days over again,”
so it is fitting to pray, with Tiny Tim, “God bless us every one.”
“_No man likes mustard by itself._”—_BEN JONSON._
“_He has carried every point who has mixed the useful with the
agreeable._”—_HORACE._
CONTENTS.
PAGES
CHAPTER I. THE STAR IN THE EAST 1-14
Petroleum in Ancient Times—Known from an Early Period
in the World’s History—Mentioned in the Scriptures
and by Primitive Writers—Solomon Sustained—Stumbling
Upon the Greasy Staple in Various Lands—Incidents and
Anecdotes of Different Sorts and Sizes—Over Asia,
Africa and Europe.