A TRIP TO THE OIL SPRINGS.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 412, 4 February 1890, Page 2

A TRIP TO THE OIL SPRINGS.

WITH THE AUSTRIAN EXPERT. [STANDARD special.) PMLIJIISABY. When the holidays ate drawing to a class and the various trips have come to an end, it is only natural that some one or more of those who have taken part iu the trips should be anxious to chronicle the delights ot their wanderings, for the information of their less fortunate stay at home brethren. It is but human nature tn exotte the envy of our fellows in this manner, even if the p'easing sensation ot seeing one's self in print formed no additional incentive tn the arlt.impoeed task of writing up the off tir. I write to excite no one's envy, hut simply in the performanoe of a duty. What is written is certain to appear in print, because it waa for that express purpose that my journey was made. I shall even depart from the orthodox fashion ot offering abstruse apologies to numerous persons who might feel their toes trodden upon, *We want you to go to the Oil Springs tomorrow,' said the editor, 1 they have started at work again, and you might just have a look atound and sea what's going on.'

• Very well, how shall I go?’ 'You can make your own arrangements about that, but you must get there to-morrow as very likely there will be an important visitor to the Springs. Keep your eyes and ears open.' THE BTABT. The first thing to do was to find a means of getting out. That did not take long to arrange, because a gentleman hearing I wished to go, came and offered me a seat in his buggv. *He would, he said, start at 5 o’clock on Friday morning. I opened my eyes when this unearthly hour waa mentioned’ but I had some consolation in the fact that my friend was not likely to be a sticker for punctuality. Reckoning in my own mind, I felt an hour's grace would not hurt my friend, and I resolved not to tamper with his foelinge by calling him too early. Accordingly on Friday morning I rolled up my blankets, stuck a few water biscuits iu my pockets, and made my appearance at the stables punctually at ten minutes past six. Tho stables were closed, and I thought for once I had misjudged human nature, and had bean left In the lurch. I tucked my swag under my arm, and paced diaconsolately up and down, wondering what was the best to be done under the circumstances. At last I decided to reconnoitre my friend’s house, there was at least a chance that something had delayed him, Here everything was quiet and still, and my last chance seemed to have fled. But just as I had coins to the bitter conclusion that I had been indeed ' left, 1 1 sighted a buggy and a pair of horses, which were being driven up to tho house, and I perceived I had simply miscalculated the grace that ought to have boon allowed under the circumstances.

ON TUB HOAD. A hurried toilet, a scramble into the buggy, and we were on the road punctually at 7 o'clock. Tha morning was as cold and blowy as a Souther could make it, while tho clouds had a very heavy aspast, and threatened at any minute to discharge a deluge upon our heads, But with a pair ol Little’s best horses and a sufficiency ot wraps, the blustering weather only made things more enjoyable and preferable to a broiling hot day. If there was the least thing to cause anxiety it was perhaps the reputation of the 1 whip,' who was eupnnssd to taka a peculiar delight in introducing hie fellow-travellers to Mother Earth, I had, however, extracted a promise that there should bo no • experimenting,’ and felt comparatively safe, We found ths whois country asleep, and the motto 1 Early to rise l seems to be as much despised there as it is iq town. At Ormond, the total waking population was represented by about three people, one ot whom had evidently managed to ba up eo early (8 o’clock) by remaining out ot bed all night, This individual was endeavoring to mount his horse in order to go homo, but either the steed was too high or the man was not tall enough, and the consequence was that it was a work of considerable difficulty. Hera and there along the road we spied a few natives at work. These looked as if they had made a rjistako in the hour, and already appeared tired on it. No one would grudge them their invariable desire to leave off work and gaze at the passers-by, which they spent no little time iu doing. Nothing ot note occurred along the road, and contrary to the usual custom, we made no stoppages, except a momentary one at the Rat-trap Co get coma provisions, my frieud having left without hia breakfast, a feet he never seemed co deplore until dinner at the springs put it out ot his bead, \

AT THE BSBINOS. At a quarter past eleven we drove up in style to the springe, after having done ths journey in fairly quick time. Tha road is in pretty good condition, being metalled nearly the whois length, and except for a few ups and downs a better one oould not ba desired, The last six or seven miles of our drive waa through a delightful country, althnugh I am inclined to think that the beauties of tbs dense bush which hedges in the road on either hand, or fringes the sides of the valley through which we travel, are comparatively lost on tha oil-speculator who generally makes the journey. He perhaps thinks mors of the inconveniences ot oroaeing and raoroiaIng the river to many times, and instead ot expressions ot admiration hurls oureei coder his breath at the rough boulders and halfembedded logs which shake him up at ha drives across the bed ot the river. The South Paciflo Petroleum Company's oil boring works occupies a position posaeteing many natural advantages, The site itself is not without its beauties for the artistic eye, while the thick bush on tha one side and the river on the other supply ths more material benefits of fuel and water. There ie ales q large piece of flat land on which the grate grows in abundance. A part ot thia has been fenced iu and serves to supply tha tourfooted appurtenance of the springs with fodder. I was not there long, ho waver, before I discovered why the much talked ot Wash, spent a large part ot his tima in town, and the reason is that there is no hotel at the Springs. How in their lavish expenditure at funds the Company never considered their employees' wants in this respect, it a problem which remains to be solved,

WORK AT THE BfRINCJ. We found that Mr J. H. Stubbs had bsgua two days before to make a test of the well. He found things in a sad state ot repair, and was under the necessity of continually patching up things. Many parte were so weak that he was dubious about trying them with the strain they ought to stand lest something should give way and endanger the lives of tha men working under him. But making the best ot his difficulties, Mr Stubbs had set to work and found that some distance ebove the supposed bottom of the bore there was an obstruction the nature of which he could not discover/ but which he believed to be a broken pipe. This will necessitate the raising of tha column of pipes, and when thia Is done Mr Stubbs will be able to better undeutanff the difficulties he has te contend with. It ie his intention I believe to try and out through the obstacle whatever it w. The work of lifting the pipes commenced on Friday afternoon, but is necessarily a work of tima, as very slow progress can be made, owing to the weakness of the gear. The pipes name away easily under the pressure of two 10 ton jacks, and up to the time ot leaving no hltoh hod occurred. Mr Stubbs professes to be. lieve there is oil there, but is not so certain as to whether he will get it or not. Mr J. O. Barnard, who was also on the ground, Al enthusiastic on the subject, and in spite ot many rebuffs still holds unshaken faith iq the oil prospects. Ha thinks that when M c Stubbs succeeds in clearing out the pipas, that the oil will again flow as it wm supposed to have done on the occaeion ot tho derrick being burnt down. AN AUBTBUN XXFXBT. We bed just finished tea on Friday afternoon, when a buggy rattled up to the springs under the guidance ot Mr John Casein. A peculiar looking perronage, who made a ploqtitul uce of bis pocket handkerehlet, alighted aud asked for Mr Stubbs. Mr Slabbs was pointed out to him, aud white ho wont to present * letter ot iairodiwUex ta that

gentleman, the remainder of as vainly tried to guess who the distinguuhed looking personage might be. We were not however left long in doubt, for Mr Stubbs, who had in the meantime recognised him as an inknown fe'low traveller under somewhat disadvantageous ciroumstances from Dunedin to Wellington, in : rod need him to us as Mr G. Adame. For the reel we were soon enlightened by Mr Adams himself. He was he eaid, an oil ex per: or engineer, and had experience of oil wells in nearly every part of the world. In the last five years ha had been engaged at Gallicia, in Austria, where petroleum was plentiful, and he himself was a Urge owner of oil property in that neighborhood. Hh had been -d to go out to the Kcoiang. in South Aus raha, where it was suspected oil might ba obtained. His plant was not yet in working order, and he had in the meantime talun a run over to the Exhibition, and having heard of the Poverty Bay Petroleum WorMa. he had made up hie mind to come and visit the place. His Bxperienoes in getting here were ra her pomical. The Riogarooma was over-crowded, and ha bad left her at Wellington, with the intention of coming overland to Napier, and then coming on by the small boat. He bad done this, and was sorry for it, because between Napier and Gisborne he had experienced seas of which he had never seen the like of in half a dozen voyages across the Atlantic, A CHAT OX OIL. By the time the new arrival had h&d tea il was dark. The lamp had been lighted, and amidst an atmosphere of cigar smoke we eat down to hear Mr Adams' opinion on oil matters generally. As may be imagined the conversation took a somewhat technical turn, but, out of a lot of talk uninteresting to the

general reader, I wu able to extract some information. He had detailed to him the whole history of oil-boiing in Poverty Bay, and when he heard that £BO,OOO bad (been sunk in the venture he esolaimad, k What a glorious country this must have ■dm to lire in! Why didn't I hear of it ■fore, I wonder ’ But I suppose it is too ■te now, such things are too good to ba Repeated." And then he explained the oirsqmstancee under whloh the Sooth Australian attempt Is being made. Some friends had noms to him to take the matter up for then;. He strongly advised against it, but on the people saying they were morally bound to see the thing through he reluctantly agreed to Undertake the experiment under condition The condition was that not more th»n £5OOO should ba expended in the venture, a sum which he, Mr Adams, considered ample to teat whether oil o >nld be obtained or not. Of thia £lOOO went for his staff, the other in machinery and contingencies. Que-tioned as to bis opinion of the South Australian prospects ho said he was afraid, for the sake of those who had invested their money, that he would not get oil there, but no one could toll what might be the result The formation of New Zealand was much the same as that In Gallicia, and ha was satisfied there was all in the country, but whether it would be eyable or not to work it was a different liter. CVMOtte MUBSCTBM. Mr Adams said it was impossible to tell what might be the hitch in ths present operations. He bad known a wail delayed two

years by a driller simply out of spite throwing a head of a sledge hammer down tbs hors. With reference to drillers generally h»di<Fnot appear to have a very high opinion of them, although he admitted that if they were under proper superintendence they would do splendid work. His experience was that to ba a good driller a man must ba the biggest liar, drunkard, and scoundrel alive, and should have various other unsavory qualifications. as a driller had sixpence in bis pocket money was so easily earned that he cared for nothing or nobody. While this deaotiplien was being given bis auditors looked knowingly at one another as if they were acquainted wiQi such an one, but this might have ..uly been my imagination, A long disSuasion then eosued on motives, and Mr Adams thought that the motives which moved ordinary men should not be reckoned

upon in the case of drillers, but at the same a time he thought that a man who had a large stake in a venture should be anxious for that venture to be brought to a success if it were possible to do it. The experience of the South shareholders was not at all unique, And could be paralleled by many similar instances where Yankees had had a Soger in the pie. ax oerstnn ornnos. Mr Adams thought this was not the country for the capitalist's money—that is, for people who wished to put tan or twenty thousand into the speculation. What was wanted and ehat must happen before petroleum would be jot in New Zealand was that either two or * hree companies should break or that a man vith £lOO,OOO should come prepared to drop he greater part of it, Then, he said, he night expect to get oil, and make a very good bing ont of it. He then pointed out, even if il was struck, what an enormous expense it -ould cost before it could ba put on the tarket. His listeners endeavored to combat is figures on this point, but iq the end be ppeared to be substantially correct in his ilculations. He would allow that one thing as in their favor, the consumption of oil was > the increase all over the world; but, even ith a sixpenny duty, he questioned whether ey wonld be able to compete against the narican article and at the same time make

pay. This was assuming thsy got a good mping well with a fair yield, which was thing that was by no means certain. If >y could get several good wells it would iM a difference. The oil business, said, did not deal in five, or ten, even twenty per cent. One wanted a ater return for the rick and capital tended, He gave an instance which had ipened to himself. He and a chum had jght a piece of ground in Oalliciator £3OO. * bad been successful In getting oil, and wroperty now returned them about £l2OO •ar, and was worth at least £20,000. • It, said Mr Adame emphatically,' is oil!' LEAVI IT TSXU I Adams expressed a strong desire to all that was to ba learnt in connection petroleum operations, past and present, ghout the district, and stated he wanted . a information he could get so as to ly In a paper which he intended to read Ms Society when begot to London, d already got plans of the district, and dvised that be could get further plans Mr F, J. Piesse, the local agent of tbs any. He aeked tor a bottle of oil-as a a, but there was not a drain on the and, indeed, the name • Oil Springs' to be a misnomer, for I never saw a f oil either in a spring or anywhere else ole time I was there. It was explained acre was none handy, and then the ions at the old works were described, 'hen Mr Adams was told that it was above ground, be said with emphasis, ? well I would advise yon in that case ’S it there?’ He evidently did not much of above ground indications, but bed to see them all the Mine, and it angod that Mr Akroyd, who was well ited with the country, should aooomim to the old works next morning, however, the morning broke driszling, tms, after inspecting the derrick and came to the ooMluion that he had nite sufficient tor Ms purposes, and to abandon Ms intended visit to the rks, In the course of conversation ms said M had not met Dr, Storer, who ns ago Inspected the works on behalf, on, on mot ? kdatns was also specifically asked if toe oil had overflowed, ae It wae to have done at the time of the fire, It be possible tor it since to have blocked in with debris. He said that quit* possible that the mod—not —which was peculiar to petroleum, eve caked and stopped the oil, but bo that if there was a 200 beloal-iq -t toe force wonld of itself eluex motions. It was then pointed out tools would have helped to fill up the d he said it was very bard to tell old happen under the circumstances, M oil was really there, it wae quite \ that it would be tspped again, the delay would not assist them, oil, under like circumstances, someappeared altogether when it was not properly. Mr Adams said that as he bushed his South Australian bo had to proceed to Ecuador in Mrfoa.ud ia ths following winter i to Pirate,