The Bradford Oil Field. The production of the Bradford field from 1868 to the close of 1889 is shown as follows:

The total product up to January 1, 1888, was 140,166,000 barrels from 15,722 wells, of which 14,000 were producers prior to the shut-in of 1887. In 1885 there were 10,668,255 barrels sent through the pipes from the Bradford field; 9,847,911 in 1886, and 7,563, 452 in 1887. During the years of 1888-89 the yield fell from 22,422 barrels per day to 17,350 in the Bradford field, and from 5,702 to 935 in the Kane and Elk field; so that the actual yield for the two years is said not to have exceeded 12,000,000 of barrels. The following table gives the average price of crude certificates, on the floor of the Bradford Oil Exchange, since March 1, 1879, to December, 1885:

Bradford was the field that produced such an extraordinary quantity of oil, filling up the stocks in tanks until they reached 36,000,000 barrels with its field still yielding 60,000 barrels a day, or thereabouts. In regard to the possibility of another such field being discovered Prof. Carll said he believed there was absolutely no likelihood of it. The number of experimental wells that had been drilled in search of another Bradford sand, in all parts of the country, seemed to establish the fact that Bradford was unique and alone. He did not believe that such a petroleum deposit as this would ever be found in any country in the world. The Bradford field and its annex, in Allegany county, N. Y., is apparently being drained to the dregs. At one time the production of the field was as high as 105,000 barrels every twenty-four hours. Bradford has produced about 156,000,000 barrels of oil, and a pool that would yield the 156th part of this is something that the oil producer is eagerly looking for. He goes on to show how, in 1886, the "Whitesand" horizon was producing daily 45,560 barrels, and the Bradford, or 'Blacksand" horizon was producing 32,668 barrels (in all 78,228 barrels) daily, and how the steady decrease of production in both brought the figures down, in December, 1888, to 29,349 and 20,680-50,029 barrels daily.

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To take in all the fields the following short table will show the decrease in the annual production: 1886, 25,080,400; 1887 (in spite of 1,694 new wells), 21,286,560; 1888 (in spite of 1,530 new wells), 16,126,580, the shut-down being responsible for only about 1,500,000 of this decline; for the October daily average before the shut-down was 58,942, and the December daily average after the shut-down was 50,029. In September, 1880, the producers of the Bradford field placed a cannon at Bradford, also one each at Coleville and Olean, to be used in boring oil tanks in case of fire.

Shut-in by Producers. Under date June 11, 1884, a petition was circulated by John P. Zane asking the producers to agree to a shut-down until January 1, 1885. Within six days 200 producers signed this agreement, and by August 3 the great majority of oil men had signed it. [The names of majority and minority are given in the Era of August 4, 1884.] On the last day of October, 1887, the executive board of the Petroleum Producers' Association, and the advisory board, met at Oil City and signed the contract by which a part of the daily production was to be shut-in for one year. From this shut-in producers were to receive the benefit which may accrue from the advance in the price of 5,000,000 barrels of oil set aside at 62 cents per barrel; the profit on the oil to be divided proportionally to the amount of production which each man shuts in. Out of the 5,000,000, producers were to give the profit on 1,000000 to laboring men, and the Standard set aside 1,000,000 for the same purpose, and many producers also agreed not to drill any more wells for one year.

On June 29, 1889, the Standard Oil Company purchased 3,500,000 barrels of this oil at 913 cents, giving a profit of $248,000, which was divided among the 900 producers. The Era referring to this great transaction, says: "Another particularly gratifying feature is the consummation of good faith between the parties to the great agreement entered into nearly two years ago. While the pecuniary results have not been so great as some of the more sanguine led themselves to hope for, the Producers' Association has accomplished the great purpose of its organization-reducing stock; and have further made a handsome profit on the oil which was set apart without any expense to themselves for their own use in case they kept their agreement inviolate." Prior to this, the profits on 1,000,000 barrels, set apart for the support of the laborers in the field who were thrown out of employment by reason of this shut in, were realized, returning a revenue of no small amount.

Pipe Lines. The idea of pipe lines is said to have originated with Gen. S. D. Karns in November, 1865, when he proposed to construct a six-inch linefrom Burning Springs to Parkersburg, Va. Hutchinson, of rotary-pump fame, explained his plan to John Dalzell and C. L. Wheeler, and the first line was placed from the Sherman well to the railroad depot on Miller's farm. Van Syckle detected the faults in Hutchinson's system, and at once constructed a line from Miller's farm to Pithole. Afterward William Warmcastle assisted. Henry Harley in building a line from Benninghoff run to the Oil Creek Railroad, and out of this grew the Pennsylvania Transportation Company. A two-inch pipe line from Miller's farm to Pithole was completed October 10, 1865, by S. E. Van Syckle, H. C. Ohlen, Henry Harley, Charles Hickox, Charles W. Noble and Reed and Cogswell. It was placed at a cost of $50 per joint; while three pumping stations were found necessary in the 32,000 feet of pipe. Branch lines were also constructed to Cherry run, Bull run and Pioneer. Mr. Van Syckle, speaking of this venture, refers to the troubles and losses its building entailed as follows:

At length the system was completed, and I began pumping oil into the pipe. The experiment was perfectly successful from the time the first barrel of oil was pumped into the pipe, and I had the pleasure of seeing my detractors silenced for a little while. But my success by no means quelled the opposition to me. Instead of the calm which I thought would follow the completion of my work, I raised a tempest. It was the teamsters now with whom I had to contend. They saw the value of this means of transportation, and they also saw their profits vanishing from them, and they tried every conceivable way to worry and annoy me. They pried the pipes with pick-axes or fastened log chains around them, hitched their teams to the chains and pulled the pipe apart. To put a stop to this I sent to New York for some carbines and armed a patrol to watch the line. Not long after the line was laid two partners who had joined with me to work the thing failed for a considerable amount, and as they were involved to the amount of $15,000 at the bank, I assumed the payment of the debt, and made an agreement with the creditors that they should take the line and run it until the debt was liquidated, which was done in the course of the next nine months. Not long afterward a tank line company was formed down East, and they came to me and wanted me to connect my pipe line with their system, in payment for which I should receive a certain amount of stock in the company. I agreed to this. They began to operate the pipe line and gave me a memorandum stating the amount of stock I was entitled to. It was not long before the company became insolvent. the line passed into other hands, and I had nothing but the memorandum which was of no earthly value.

The Pennsylvania Tubing and Transportation Company's line from Pithole Valley to Oleopolis, or Island Well (nine miles), was the first important line. This was opened December 10, 1865, by the president, Joseph Casey, and superintendent, David Kirk. It appears Judge Casey met Mr. Kirk in the woods, and got from him the first word of encouragement, scientists. pointing out that the pipe transfer of oil was an impossibility under the law of friction. Mr. Kirk was given an interest in the line, completed it, and while saving the original company from loss made a great success of the enter prise before Pithole sunk into oblivion.

The Titusville Pipe Company was organized in January, 1866, by H. E. Pickett, J. Sherman & Co., and the line completed from Pithole to Titusville (nine miles), in April of that year, at a cost of $120,000. Before the Pennsylvania Tubing and Transportation Company's line, or the Titusville line, was completed, Henry Harley had a two-inch pipe from Benninghoff run to the Shaffer farm, on Oil creek, where the oil was shipped on the old railroad at that point.

The Bradford & Olean Pipe Line (eighteen and a quarter miles long) was. completed in December, 1875, for the Empire Transportation Company, of Philadelphia. The main pumping depot was on the Beardsley farm, four miles north of Bradford, where a 1.200-barrel receiving tank was used. When

oil was first pumped at Bradford, the Erie Railroad Company charged $140 per car to New York, and $8 storage. So soon as pipe-line construction commenced, the rate was lowered to $100 per car; again to $80; while the rate of the new line was placed at $1 per barrel to New York, and 20 cents to Olean. The Tide Water Company dates back to 1878-79, when leases were made for a strip of land, two rods wide, from McKean county to the seaboard. This work was secretly and ably performed for some time, but the eagle eye of the Standard Company discovered the plans of the new company, and every opposition was offered. Yet the Tide Water Company won, and their great work was completed. The station at Corryville was moved to Rixford, in June, 1880, and since that time many changes in management and operation have been effected.

The Buffalo Pipe Company's station, on the divide between Indian creek and Four Mile creek, was completed in 1880. The point is 200 feet above the Buffalo end, so that the oil is pumped up from Bradford into the four 25,000-barrel tanks, whence it is piped sixty-three miles to Buffalo.

The Kane and Parker City Pipe Line, connecting Bradford with the lower country (sixty-five miles in length), was completed August 5, 1880. The Bradford Gas Company's tile pipe line was laid from Rixford to Bradford in August, 1880.

The United Pipe Line Association was organized by J. J. Vandergrift and George V. Forman as the Fairview Pipe Line Company. In 1877 and subsequently the following named lines were consolidated under the title "United, Antwerp, Clarion, Oil City, Union Conduit, Grant, Karns, Relief, Pennsylvania and Clarion Division of the American Transportation Company." Later the McKean Division of the American Transportation Company, and the Prentiss and Olean lines were absorbed, and J. J. Vandergrift was elected president; M. Hulings, vice-president; H. F. Hughes, secretary; E. Hopkins, manager, the president and J. T. Jones and D. O'Day being the executive committee of the association.

In 1884 the company had 3,000 miles of pipe, and storage capacity for 40,000,000 barrels. Their large depots were at Tarport, Duke Centre, Richburg and Kane, and the central offices at Bradford and Oil City. Through

out the field were 118 pumping stations; fifty-one of which were in the Bradford and Allegany fields. On April 1, 1884, the transfer of the United Pipe Lines to the National Transit Company was effected. The National Transit Company was organized in 1880.

The average daily pipe line runs, by barrels, of the Bradford field by years have been as follows: 1878, 16,980; 1879, 38,586; 1880, 55,173; 1881, 70,811; 1882, 51,030; 1883, 36,812; 1884, 33,052; 1885, 29,228; 1886, 26,980; 1887, 20,722; 1888, 13,992; 1889, 16,462.

The pipe line runs for the year 1884 amounted to 12,096, 950; in 1885, 10,668,255; in 1886, 9,847,911; in 1887, 7,563,452; in 1888, 5, 121,025, and in 1889, 6,018,737 barrels.

Well Drilling, Past and Present.—The reminiscences of early days in the oil field furnish some interesting as well as instructive lessons. In 1888 George Koch, of East Sandy, Penn., contributed to the pages of the Petroleum Age the following history of old-time and modern drilling operations:

The first oil well drilled was finished August 28, 1859, at a depth of sixty-nine and onehalf feet, and was known as the "Drake well." It was located near Titusville. It was commenced in June, and seventy-four days later it was finished. The drilling was done with rope tools, and when drilling they made about four feet a day, "Uncle Billy Smith and his sons, of Tarentum, Allegheny County, Penn., doing the work. The drilling tools were made at Kier's shop, Tarentum. It was a four-inch hole. At that time experienced