Auglaize County, Ohio - Chapter 13, 1905 (part 1 of 2)

An Act

Section i. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio , That such parts of the counties of Allen and Mercer as are included within the boundaries hereinafter described, be and the same are hereby erected into a separate and distinct county, which shall be known by the name of Auglaize, to wit : beginning at the northeast corner of Shelby county; thence west on the north line of Shelby county to the south-west corner of section thirty, in township number six, south, of range number five, east; thence south on the township line to the south-east corner of section thirty-six, in township number seven, south, of range number four, east ; thence west on the township line to the south-east corner of section thirtyone, in said township; thence south on the section line to the Darke county line ; thence westerly on said line to the southwest corner of section seven, in township number eight, south, of range number four, east ; thence north on the township line to the north-west corner of section nineteen, in township number four, south, of range number four, east ; thence east on the section line to the north-east corner of section thirty-four, in township number four, south, of range number five, east ; thence south on the township line to the north-east corner of section thirty-six, in said township ; thence east on the section line to the north-east corner of section thirty-six, in township number four, south, of range number six, east; thence south to the south-east corner of said section, thence east on the township line to the north-east corner of section one, in township number five, south, of range number eight, east ; thence south on the Hardin county line to the north line of Logan county; thence west on the Logan county line to the north-west corner of said Logan county ; thence south on the Logan county line to the place of beginning.

Sec. 2. That townships number two, south of ranges number seven and eight, east; the south half of townships number two south of ranges number four and six east; and sections thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five and thirty-six, in township number one south, of range number eight, east, in Putnam county ; the east half of township number three, south, of range number four, east, in Van Wert county; and the north-east quarter of township number four, south, of range number four east, in Mercer county, be and the same are hereby attached to and made part of the county of Allen.

Sec. 3. That fractional townships number fifteen, ranges number one and two, east; and fractional townships number twelve and thirteen, of ranges number three and four, east, in Darke county, be and the same are hereby attached to and made part of the county of Mercer.

Sec. 4. That the east half of township number one, south, of range number four, east, in Van Wert county, be and the same is hereby attached to and made a part of the county of Putnam : and that the northwest quarter of township number four, south, of range number four, east, in Mercer county, be and the same is hereby attached to and made a part of the county of Van Wert.

Sec. 5. That all suits and prosecutions, civil or criminal, which shall be pending in those portions of Allen and Mercer counties, so set off and erected into the county of Auglaize, previous to the first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, and all like suits and prosecutions, pending within those parts of Darke, Van Wert, Mercer and Putnam counties, hereby attached to the counties of Mercer, Van Wert, Putnam and Allen, previous to the same time, shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution in the counties from which they are taken, in the same manner as if the said county of Auglaize had not been erected ; and the sheriffs, coroners, and constables of the said counties respectively, shall serve all such processes as may be necessary to carry into effect such suits, prosecutions, and judgments; and the collectors of taxes for the said counties respectively, shall collect all taxes which shall be levied and unpaid, within the aforesaid portions of their respective counties, before and until the first Monday of March, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.

Sec. 6. That all justices of the peace, constables, and other township officers within those parts of the counties of Allen and Mercer, which by this act are erected into the county of Auglaize, and also within those parts of the counties of Darke, Putnam, Mercer and Van Wert, which by this act are attached to the counties of Mercer, Van Wert, Putnam and Allen, shall continue to exercise and discharge the duties of their respective offices, until their time of service shall expire, and their successors are elected and qualified, in the same manner as if this act had not been passed.

Sec. 7. That all writs and other legal process, in the territory hereby erected into the new county of Auglaize, shall be styled of Auglaize county, after the first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight ; and all writs and other legal process, within the territory hereby attached to the counties of Mercer, Allen, Putnam and Van Wert, shall be styled of the county of Mercer, Allen, Putnam and Van Wert, respectively.

Sec. 9. That the legal voters residing within the limits of the county of Auglaize, shall, on the first Monday in April, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, assemble in their respective townships, at the usual places of holding elections, and proceed to elect the different county officers, in the manner prescribed in the act to regulate elections, who shall hold their offices until the next annual election and until their successors are chosen and qualified ; and at such election the electors of those parts of townships in the county of Auglaize which have not the legal number of square miles for a township shall vote in the township immediately south of such parts, respectively.

Sec. 10. That the county commissioners of each of the counties affected by the passage of this act, shall have power, immediately upon the passage thereof, to attach such townships or parts of townships as shall, by reason of the passage of this act, fall below the legal number of square miles, to any adjacent township in their respective counties, or to organize said

Sec. ii. That the seat of justice for said county of Auglaize shall be and hereby is permanently established at Wapaukonnetta : Provided, the citizens thereof, or any number of them shall, within sixty days after the election of county officers for said county, to be held on the first Monday of April next, enter into bond to the commissioners of said county, with good and sufficient security to be approved by said commissioners, for the payment of five thousand dollars to said commissioners, in such payments as they shall require, to be applied to the erection of public buildings for said county, or the purchase of proper sites therefor, or for both said purposes ; and if the said five thousand dollars be not paid in accordance with the conditions of said bond, then this section to be null and void : Provided also, that the right of appeal on behalf of the obligors in the bond from the decision of the board of county commissioners upon the sufficiency of such bond shall exist, to the court of common pleas as in other cases when appeals are allowed to said court from the action of the board of commissioners.

Sec. 12. That the commissioners of the counties of 'Allen and Putnam shall meet on or before the first Monday of April next, or within sixty days thereafter, and ascertain and determine the amount of the public debt of Putnam county, exclusive of that for the surplus revenue loaned to said county, and the proportion which the value of the taxable lands set off by this act to the county of Allen from the county of Putnam bears to the value of the taxable lands by this act remaining in Putnam county ; and hereafter, each year, until the public debt aforesaid shall be paid off and discharged, there shall be paid out of the treasury of Allen county, upon the order of the auditor thereof, to the treasurer of Putnam county, a sum which shall bear the same proportion to the amount raised in that year by Putnam county for the payment of the debt aforesaid, as the value of the taxable lands so set off as aforesaid bears to that of those so as aforesaid remaining in Putnam county; and the same shall be applied to extinguishment of said debt and to no other purpose : and it shall be the duty of the commissioners of Allen county to levy a sufficient tax to raise said sum.

this act be not complied with, it shall be the duty of the county commissioners of Auglaize county to notify the qualified electors of said county, by publication in some newspaper published in said county, and if there be no newspaper published in said county, then in some newspaper of general circulation in said county, to establish the county seat in the manner prescribed in the following sections.

Sec. 14. The seat of justice within and for said county of Auglaize, shall be fixed and permanently established at the town of Wapaukonnetta, or at the town of St. Marys, as the qualified electors of said county prefer; and said electors are authorized to express that preference by indorsing on their tickets at the next annual October election after said noncompliance, the words "seat of justice at Wapaukonnetta," or "seat of justice at St. Marys," as their choice may be: it shall be the duty of the trustees or judges of the election in the several townships of said county, to make return of votes in regard to the seat of justice, within three days thereafter, to the clerk of the court of common pleas of said county, at the town of Wapaukonnetta in said county, and on the fourth day after said election, it shall be the duty of said clerk, in the presence of the associate judges or a majority of them, or, in the absence of the associate judges, then in the presence of two justices of the peace of said county, to canvass said votes, in the same manner that by law is required to canvass votes for State and county officers: and the town receiving a majority of the votes given, shall, thereafter, be the permanent seat of justice for said county of Auglaize.

Sec. 15. It shall be the duty of said clerk to return to the court of common pleas of said county, next to be held after the said election, an abstract of said votes duly certified, that the same may be entered upon the journal of said court.

Topography And Geology

Auglaize county contains three hundred and ninety-four square miles, comprised in fourteen townships, as follows :: Wayne, Moulton, and Logan twenty-seven, Union and St. Marys thirty-six ; Goshen and German eighteen ; Pusheta, Noble, Washington, and Clay thirty; Jackson twenty; Duchouquet forty-two; and Salem twenty-four square miles. The general outline of the county is somewhat irregular. Its greatest length from east to west is about thirty-nine miles, and its width varies from seven and a half to twenty-three miles.

It lies at the southern extremity of the region commonly known as the "Black Swamp.'' It is only the north-western portion of the county, however, that possesses the characteristics peculiar to that noted region. It is situated on the watershed sloping toward Lake Erie, except a small portion in the eastern and south-eastern sections, drained by the Scioto river. The situation of the county being near the summit of the great divide in Ohio, it necessarily contains no large streams. The Auglaize river rises in the north-eastern portion of the county, and flows in a south-western direction through Union and Duchouquet townships to Wapakoneta, and from thence in a northerly direction, through the townships of Moulton and Logan. The St. Mary's river rises in Washington township, and flows north through the townships of St. Mary's and Noble to section thirty-five in Salem township, from which point it flows west until it joins the St. Joseph river. Springs flowing from the gravelly deposits in the ridges, afford a sufficient amount of water for stock, and the irrigation of the low lands along the streams. With the disappearance of the forests, the volume of the streams has diminished so much that there is not sufficient water power for mill purposes.

There are three main ridges extending through portions of the county, each having its lateral gravelly moraines and knolls. The older one crosses German township, the north-west corner of Shelby county, Pusheta, Clay and Union townships. The villages of New Bremen and St. Johns are situated upon it. Owing to its remarkable development at St. Johns, it has been named St. John's ridge. Black Hoof Mound, in the southern part of the village, is a huge pile of well washed gravel. The second ridge, called the Wabash Ridge, enters the county west of the village of St. Marys, passing through St. Marys, Moulton and Duchouquet townships. The Auglaize river cuts through this ridge at Wapakoneta. The third passes through the northern part of Salem township. This is simply a broad undulation, or thickening of the Drift, and is composed of a coarse heavy clay.

The details of the geology of Auglaize county have become better known since the discovery of petroleum. The rock exposures are confined to the bed and banks of the Auglaize river, in sections twenty-two, twenty-seven and thirty-five, in Logan township. With these exceptions, the rock underlying the county is covered by heavy beds of drift, varying in thickness from a few feet on the sections noted, to a hundred and fifty feet in other localities. The waterlime formation underlies nearly the whole county. If the drift deposits were removed the rock wpuld exhibit ridges, hills, gorges, glacial scratches, boulders and other glacial debris scattered over its surface.

The pre-glacial drainage of the county is represented by a deep gorge, commencing on the county line in section thirtyfour, Duchouquet township, and extends in a south-westerly direction, through Wapakoneta to section twelve in Washington township. From that point it extends near a forty-five degree line to section thirty-four in St. Mary's township ; from thence it takes a more southerly direction to section twenty-eight in Jackson township. From that point the gorge has been traced -through Mercer county and for a considerable distance into the State of Indiana.

The direction of the glacial striae, direction of pre-glacial drainage and arrangement of drift deposits are so striking in Auglaize county as to add weight to the glacial theory advanced by the State geologists, namely :

That at some period in geologic time, the northern half of North America was subjected to an elevation of many hundred feet above its present level. The elevation is believed to have been followed by an arctic climate reaching as far south as the fortieth parallel of latitude. During the prevalence of the long arctic winter, vast deposits of ice and snow accumulated on the long inclined plane, extending southward from the arctic circle. When the accumulation became sufficiently great a movement

The ice period, or coldest epoch, was followed by a period of higher temperature and a subsidence of the rocky floor south -of the Great Lakes. During this period of warmth, the glacier retreated to the northern line of the Great Lakes, and was replaced by an inland sea of fresh water. As the glacier melted, the boulders imbedded in it sank to the rock floor. The waters, discharged at the base of the glacial wall, carried with them a fine material, composed principally of pulverized shales and limestone, that settled, and covered the bottom of the inland sea. This deposit, called boulder clay, or blue clay, varies in thickness, from five to forty feet in different .sections of the county. The blue clay encountered in digging wells belongs to this deposit. The flour ground by the glacier was held longer in suspension, but in time settled in laminated layers on the boulder clay. This upper strata is called the Erie clay. This division contains no boulders.

At some time in this long period of warmth, portions of the submerged floor were elevated above water. The surface exposures in the course of time were overgrown with forests, which continued long enough to form a carbonaceous soil, and in many places beds of peat many feet in thickness. The mammoth, mastodon, and great beaver came in from the south and east and fed on the exuberant vegetation of the forests and grassy plains. Nine specimens of the mastodon, and two of Castoroides Ohioensis have been found .in the county. The varieties of timber found in the forest bed of Muchinippe flats are willow, aspen, red cedar, and sycamore.

After a period of perhaps thousands of years, a subsidence of the area south of the Great Lakes took place, submerging the forest beds and destroying the animal and vegetable life of the -era.

During this period of submergence the forest beds were covered with clay, sand and gravel, carried and distributed by icebergs, from the retreating glacier on the north. The great moraines and their laterals exhibited in the county mark the direction of the ocean currents of that period. The well washed condition of the gravel in the Auglaize ridges may be attributed to the strength of the currents carrying the icebergs. The finely ground materials floated away, and were discharged into waters having less motion, and deposited as beds of clay, whereas the gravel and larger fragments of detritus sank rapidly to the bottom of the current line.

Along the summit of the watershed extending through the county, accumulations of drift material occur, which are peculiar in character and position. The deposits consist of sand, gravel and boulders, with a little admixture of clay.

During the period of greatest submergence the larger part of the summit of the watershed was under water, and was swept by breakers and shore waves, by which some of the beds of sand and gravel were formed. Along this line of shallows numerous icebergs stranded, and as they melted away, deposited their cargoes of debris, in the form of mounds, banks and circular inclosures, or "kettles." Currents cut through the watershed at St. Marys, and near the south-eastern corner of the county. All the lines of drainage leading to the south from these passes are marked by deeply excavated channels, now more or less perfectly filled by accumulations of rolled and transported material. The surface indications at the source of the Scioto river exhibit the magnitude of the strait or channel, connecting the glacial waters of the North with the warmer waters of the South.

In the course of time the Scioto channel filled to such an extent that icebergs stranded on the submarine ridges and mounds, where they melted away, depositing their clay, sand, gravel and boulders around their circumferences.

The numerous circular, bowl shaped ponds on the summits of ridges and mounds in different sections of the county, mark the localities of stranded icebergs. They constitute one of the most noticeable features of the eastern portion of the county, and vary in depth from ten to sixty feet. The deeper ones are filled with water the year around. A number of them of late years have been converted into fish ponds. A second surprising feature is the large number of boulders located on the summits of the highest ridges in the county. These boulders vary much in composition. Specimens of gray granite, diorite, trachite and carbonate of lime are most common. In a ridge near Freyburg in Pusheta township, boulders of bituminous coal are found. Specimens of quartz boulders containing copper and iron are common in certain localities.

Gravel Ridges

The gravel ridges of the county yield an abundance of material for road making. Over three hundred and sixty miles of graveled pike have been constructed since 1880.

Mixed with the gravel, fossils, representing many geological periods are found. Of trilobites, the following have been found : Phacops Bufo, Dalmanities Ohioensis, Calymene Senaria, Conocardium Trigonale, and Asaphus Gigas. The gravel in the bed of Pusheta creek is stored with many varieties of these interesting crustaceans.

The first skeleton was discovered in the fall of 1870 in Clay township, two and a half miles east of the village of St. Johns, by some laborers engaged in excavating a ditch through Muchinippe swamp. The depth of the swamp at the point at which the discovery was made, is about eight feet, of which the upper third is of peat, and the remainder of marl. The bones were found in a posture natural to a quadruped when sinking in the mire. The head and tusks were thrown upward and the right forefoot thrown forward, as in the act of walking.

The writer visited the locality two days after the discovery, and before the removal of the bones of the lower extremities from the ground. A careful examination was made of the position of the animal, and measurements taken of the length of the body, neck, head, and circumference of the tusks. The accompanying engraving represents the entire skeleton of the mastodon discovered in 1845, in a marsh near Newburgh, New York, and now in possession of Dr. J. C. Warren of Boston. The parts lettered in the engraving represent the parts of the Clay township mastodon, and now in the writer's possession. The body as it lay in the ground was seventeen and one-half feet long, from where the tusks entered the skull to the base of the tail; and the head, as near as could be ascertained, was between. four and five feet long.

"Dr. Warren's specimen is eleven feet high, and seventeen feet long to the base of the tail. The length of the tusks is twelve feet, of which two and one-half feet are inserted in the sockets. The estimated height of the animal, when living, was between twelve and thirteen feet, and the whole length, adding seven feet for the horizontal projection of the tusks, from twentyfour to twenty-five feet."

A comparison of the length of the Clay township mastodon with the Newburgh specimen shows the former to be the larger of the two. It was probably a foot higher, and from one to two feet longer.

The tusks and most of the vertebrae, ribs, and pelvis, were decayed so much that they crumbled to pieces upon exposure to the air. The following are the portions of the skeleton found :

Lower Jaw (t). - The anterior portion of the lower jaw has the form of a V, and is about eighteen inches long, terminating anteriorly in a horn five inches in length.

Tasks. - The circumference of one of the tusks at the point where it entered the cranium was twenty-two inches - their length was not ascertained.

Mastodon No. 12. - Part of the bones of another mastodon was found in section four, Clay township, in December, 1874, by some men engaged in digging a ditch. The ravine in which the animal was found partakes somewhat of the character of the swamp. The depth of the superficial deposit at the point at which the remains were found is about six feet. The upper third is black muck, and the remainder shell marl.

The marl thrown out of this ditch, after a few months' exposure to the air, becomes so white as to form a strong contrast with the inky surface soil. The following are the portions of the skeleton found:

The bones of this specimen are much larger than the corresponding bones of specimen No. 1, and are probably those of an old animal, as the teeth are very much worn. The remains were purchased by the writer, and deposited in the museum of Heidelberg College of this State.

No. 3. - A third mastodon was discovered by Mr. Samuel Craig in section nineteen of Washington township, in January, 1878, whilst engaged in surveying in that township. No careful search for the skeleton has yet been made. The boggy character of the ground in which the animal is located leads us to believe that the remains will be found in a good state of preservation.

No. 4. - The remains of a fourth mastodon was discovered about fifteen years ago in a ditch excavation, in section thirtythree in Duchouquet township. The remains were so badly decayed that they crumbled upon exposure to the air.

No. 7. - A report of the discovery of a mastodon in Salem township has been reported to the writer. The particulars of the find have not been reported.

No. 8. - In 1891 a mastodon was discovered by some laborers, engaged in deepening and widening the bed of a creek, extending through section twenty-two, in Duchouquet township. The tusks projected across the ditch, and were severed by the workmen, and carried to Logan county. No attempt has yet been made to recover the body of the animal.

No. 9. - In 1894, a mastodon calf was discovered by J. Nuss, in section twenty-nine, Pusheta township, imbedded in a layer of muck at the bottom of a circular pond. For the first time in many years the pond became dry, when the owner decided to deepen it and convert it into a fish-pond. In removing the humus the skeleton was uncovered. It was the most complete skeleton that has been found in this or adjoining counties. It was about three feet in height and about four feet in length. Its tusks were about one foot in length. The discoverer of the specimen held it for two or three years, expecting to receive a high price for it. At the end of that time it was worthless from its long exposure to the air.

"Of the recent existence of the mastodon, there seems to be no doubt, the marl-beds and muck swamps, in which the Auglaize county skeletons have been found are the most recent of all superficial accumulations.

"We have no evidence that the animal was clothed with hair save the discovery of a few dun-brown tufts, two to seven inches long, in conjunction with the Shawangunk skeleton found in a bog near Redbridge, New York.

"The great mastodon which roamed over North America is known as the American mastodon. It seems to have been thedominant proboscidian of the New World. Evidence exists that the American mastodon continued in America to as late a dateas the primeval mammoth in Europe, and was, like that, con- temporary with the human species. Barton and Kalm both give accounts of discoveries in which some outline of the soft parts of the animal are still preserved. The Indians, moreover, retained very positive and vivid traditions of the mastodon, calling it "the bison's grandfather," and related that they had all been slain by the Great Man because they were destroying the Indians' "game." twenty-nine, Washington township, in 1889. An investigation disclosed a bed of humus, resting on a bed of gravel, of excellent quality for road-making. Soon after the discovery, the gravel-bed was purchased by the village council of New Knoxville for graveling the streets of that corporation. In removing the carbonaceous deposit near the margin of the pond, on the south side, the habitation of the Rodent was uncovered. The house was about eight feet square, and between three and four feet in height. The poles of which the pen was constructed, were about three inches in diameter and were laid in the manner in which beaver houses are constructed at the present time. Within this house the great beaver died. After his death, his domicile was tenanted by wolves or other carnivorous animals, as was shown by the bones of deer and other animals strewn over the floor.

This animal surpassed in magnitude all the animals included in the order Rodentia. The length of the upper incisor from the tip of the base, around the outer curve, is eleven and a half inches. The distance between the extremities of the premaxilla and supraoccipital bones is thirteen inches. The orbital cavities are four and a half inches in length by two and a half inches in width. The two maxila bones are five inches long, and the right and left divisions of the frontal bone are each six inches long. The grinders, four in number on each side, are obliquely traversed by six ridges or folds of enamel.

From the details given above, it would seem that Castoroides Ohioensis was closely allied to the beaver, but far surpassing it in magnitude. " Its life was probably aquatic, and its food consisted of vegetable substances, which it gnawed off with its powerful incisors. The jaw was incapable of horizontal motion, except from back to front, and the transverse arrangement of the enamel is such as to have enabled the animal to gnaw the hardest ligneous substances. Viewed in this light, there is a mutual correspondence in the various organs, and an admirable adaptation to the offices which they were designed to discharge."

The county rests upon what is known in geology as the Silurean Age. This age is generally regarded as the lowest system of fossiliferous rocks, and is named from that part of England and Wales which was inhabited by the ancient Silures, where this system is well exhibited, and where it was first carefully studied.

this point the great foundations of the continent are reached. The thickness of this underlying floor is unknown. "The drill has never yet hewed its way down to this firm and massive bed within our boundaries."

The Silurean age consists of two great divisions, the Upper .and the Lower, and each of these is divided into well-marked formations of rocks, as seen by the following tables :

The Trenton limestone is one of the most important of the older formations of the continent. It extends from New England to the Rocky Mountains, and from the islands north of Hudson's Bay to the southern extremity of the Allegheny Mountains in Alabama and Georgia.

The seas of the Trenton period were densely populated with animal life. Many of the beds are made of the shells, corals, and crinoids, packed down in bulk. The writer has seen many fossils characteristic of the period, that have been lifted to the surface by the sand-pump. We shall have occasion to again refer to the immense animal deposits of this period.

The immediate cover of the Trenton limestone is a wellknown stratum of black shale three hundred feet in thickness, which, from its abundant outcrops in the vicinity of Utica, New York, received from the geologists the name of Utica 'shale.

The rock is a crumbling shale, mostly of a dark blue-black or brownish-black color, and frequently bituminous or carbonaceous, - so much so, in certain places, as to serve as a black pigment. It sometimes contains thin coaly seams ; and much money has been foolishly spent in searching for coal in this deposit. *

This series is so named from the Hudson River, along which' there are outcrops of it. The formation in Auglaize county consists of a soft blue shale, becoming darker as it approaches the Utica shale. In the southern part of the state it becomes a hard blue limestone. The thickness of the formation varies from five hundred to six hundred feet in different localities in the county.

This group is named from the locality in western New York where the rock is extensively quarried for building purposes. In that locality it is a thickly laminated sandstone, of red, gray, and beautifully mottled colors. In Auglaize county the group is represented by a strata of red shale or red clay from two to ten feet in thickness. It is represented in the northern part of Duchouquet township.

This group is so called from a village in central New York, where it is a shaly sandstone. It is a highly crystalline limestone in Ohio, and is susceptible of a good polish. In some localities it is known as a marble. In its most characteristic forms it varies in composition from- eighty-four per cent, to ninety-three per cent, of carbonate of lime. The carbonate of magnesia never exceeds, and seldom reaches, twelve per cent. The group varies in thickness, from fifty to one hundred feet in Auglaize county.

This formation, called the Niagara limestone, is so named from the Niagara River, whose channel is cut deep in the rocks of the period, forming its celebrated gorges below Niagara Falls. The rock varies from two to three hundred feet in thickness in different localities in the county.

The Niagara limestone is known to underlie the drift of the townships of Wayne, Goshen, Clay, Pusheta, Washington, Jackson, German and St. Mary's.

The Niagara series is exceedingly rich in fossils, containing a large number that are characteristic of the formation. Whereever the rock surface is covered by drift in southwestern Ohio, it has been planed and striated by glacial action. Large quantities of striated Dayton stone are shipped to this county and used for building purposes.

The exposures of the Lower Helderberg rocks (called Water Lime group by the State geologists) is thin bedded, of a dark blue color, and contains a large percentage of organic matter. Specimens have been received by the writer, containing as high as thirty per cent, of asphaltum. The stone is not well adapted to lime-burning, and shales too much, when exposed to the air, to be of much value as a building-stone. The fossils common to the Lower Helderberg are not abundant in the outcrops. Lepperditia alta and Pentamerous galeatus are the only characteristic fossils found.

The discoveries of gas and petroleum in the Findlay and Lima territories aroused as great an interest and inquiry as that that followed the discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania. The interest, up to the present, has been so great and so wide-spread that discoveries of gas and oil, in widely separated localities, have followed in rapid succession. Every township in Auglaize county has been tested by the drilling of one or more deep wells.

Rock-oil is no new thing under the sun. More than two hundred years ago it was known in Italy and used to light the houses of Parma and Modena. Taken from the wells of Rangoon, it was used as a medicine in Burmah more than two thousand years ago. "The eternal fire of Bakou" burned in the days of Zoroaster, and excited such wonder among the people that they became fire-worshipers.

The existence of petroleum and natural gas were known long before the first well was drilled in Pennsylvania. The Indians sold Seneca oil to the New England and Pennsylvania pioneers, as a sure cure for rheumatism. At Watertown, New York, petroleum trickled from the pores of coral in the Trenton limestone. In the same stone, cropping out in Canada, it was found filling the chambers of the orthocerata. On the shores of Lake Erie it was also found, filling the pores of Trenton coral.

The petroleum springs of Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, attracted attention at an early date. Mention was made of them in letters and reports directed to the old world more than a hundred years ago.

Natural gas and petroleum belong to a line of products in the earth to which we give the name of bitumens. Other bodies in the same list are the extremely volatile naphtha, and the semifluid maltha, or mineral tar, and solid asphalt. Other gradations are also recognized as mineral pitch and ozokorite. These substances are found under the same general conditons, and all the steps of the transformation of one to the other, as from petroleum to asphalt, are often noted. They are all technically known as hydro-carbons, and belong to the methane series. Their general composition consists of carbon eighty-five per cent., and hydrogen about thirteen per cent. Small variable amounts of oxygen and nitrogen are also found. When the gas or oil is impregnated with sulphur in the form of sulphuretted hydrogen, it 'gives to them an offensive odor which must be removed in the case of oil before it can be utilized. Asphaltum has been found mixed with petroleum in variable quantities wherever found, except in a few of the shale oils.

Theories Concerning The Origin Of Petroleum

Numerous theories, chemical and geological, have been advanced within the last eighty years to account for the origin of petroleum. We shall limit ourself to a notice of four of the principal ones.

(a) Berthelot published in 1866 a theory, which, in his view, was adequate to account for all natural hydro-carbons by the action of chemical force on inorganic matter. That superheated steam along with superheated carbonic acid, acting upon the alkali metals, would produce in oil. Repeated experiments made since the publication of his theory show that oil may be produced in that manner.

This theory, however, has been criticized on the postulate that the alkali metals exist in an uncombined state in the interior of the earth. In any case, it is unverifiable, and can only rank as a hypothesis.

(b) The second chemical theory is the one advanced by Dr. Mendel jeff. "He assumes that the crust of the earth is very thin in comparison with the diameter of the latter, and that this crust encloses soft or fluid substances, among which the carbides of iron and other metals find a place. When, in consequence of cooling or some other cause, a fissure takes place through which a mountain-range is produced, the crust of the earth is bent, and at the foot of the hills fissures are formed ; or, at any rate, the continuity of the rocky layers is disturbed, and they are rendered more or less porous, so that surface waters are able to make their way deep into the bowels of the earth, and to reach occasionally the heated deposits of metallic carbides, which may exist either in a separated condition, or blended with other matter. Under such circumstances, it is easy to see- what must take place. Iron, or whatever other metal may be present, forms an oxide with the oxygen of the water. Hydrogen is either set free or combines with the carbon which was associated with the metal, and becomes a volatile substance, that is, naphtha. The water which had penetrated down to the incandescent mass was changed into steam, a portion of which found its way to the porous substances with which the fissures were filled, and carried with it the vapors of the newly formed hydro-carbons ; and this mixture of vapors was condensed wholly or in part as soon as it reached the cooler strata. The chemical composition of the hydro-carbon produced will depend upon the conditons of temperature and pressure under which they are formed. It is obvious that these may vary between very wide limits ; and hence it is that mineral oils, mineral pitch, ozokorite, and similar products differ so greatly from each other in the relative proportions of hydrogen and carbon. I may mention that artificial petroleum has been frequently prepared by a process analogous to that described above."

Prof. Orton, in his comments on the theory of Dr. Mendeljeff, remarks that his speculations with regard to the production of gas and oil "are wide of the mark, so far, at least, as they relate to the production of these substances in Ohio."

Dr. Newberry's Theory. One of the most lucid and widely accepted theories as to the origin of petroleum and gas is that of Dr. J. S. Newberry, formerly State Geologist of Ohio. In Vol. I, Geology of Ohio, he says :

(a) "I have already referred to the Huron shale as a probable source of the greater part of the petroleum obtained in this country. The considerations which have led me to adopt this view are briefly these :

"First. We have in the Huron shale a vast repository of solid hydro-carbonaceous matter which may be made to yield ten to twenty gallons of oil to the ton by artificial distillation. Like all other organic matter, this is constantly undergoing spontaneous distillation, except where hermetically sealed deep under rock and water. This results in the formation of oil and gas, -closely resembling those which we make artificially from the same substance, the manufactured differing from the natural products only because we can not imitate accurately the process -of nature.

''Third. The wells of Oil Creek penetrate the strata immediately overlying the Huron shale, and the oil is obtained from the fissured and porous sheets of sandstone of the Portage and Chemung groups, which lie just above the Huron, and offer convenient reservoirs for the oil it furnishes/'

There are several methods in which vegetable and animal substances can be resolved into compounds of a simpler order than those that are formed in the living world. One of these methods is known as decay. When the vital force is withdrawn from the organic substance, chemical affinity asserts itself and a rearrangement of the elements composing the bodies is effected. Destructive distillation is at the present time a process of immense* practical value. The temperature, however, at which it can be: effected is never less than 180 F.

Prof. Orton disposes of Dr. Newberry's theory by saying, "The rocks show no trace of even the lowest degree of heat, necessary to effect distillation."

(b) Dr. Hunt's Theory. "As the chief petroleum bearing strata are composed of the shells and corals and stems and cups and flinty spicuhe of the low and early forms of life, the oil' which represents the tissue of the vegetable and animal should be in some sense commensurate with the strata, which represent their skeletons. An analysis of the oil-bearing limestone underlying Chicago shows that, although the rock does not yield oil in quantities sufficient to pay for working it, each square mile of it contains seven and three-quarter millions of barrels. The same generalization is true of the Ohio shales.

"The essential point in Hunt's theory of the origin of petroleum is, not that it was produced cotemporaneously with the rock, nor that it is especially a product of limestones, but that it results from the primary decomposition of organic substances. The shales which constitute its chief source were accumulated in a tropical sea. The Devonian limestone which immediately preceded them bears witness to most genial conditions of climate. Its massive corals required at least as high an annual temperature as is found in any part of the Gulf of Mexico to-day.

gravel bars, the sources of which must be sought in the rising Atlantic border or in the Canadian highlands, as is proved by all the deposits thickening and growing coarser in those directions. To the western limit of this sea, along the shores of the emerging Cincinnati axis, only fine clay was borne, and this fine and homogenous material accumulated very slowly, one foot requiring as much time as ten or twelve feet of the coarser and more varied series to the eastward.

"In these seas, as we know, there was a vast development of marine vegetation. Some plants with rhizocarpean affinities were especially abundant, and their resinous spores and spore cases, which constitute by far the most durable portions of the plants, were set free in enormous quantities. Even now, in some parts of the series, the spores constitute a notable percentage of the shale. In structure and composition, they are but little changed from their original condition. Other portions of this and like vegetation may have been carried to the sea-floor in a macerated condition and have there passed through the coaly transformation, resulting in the structureless, carbonaceous matter that constantly characterizes the black shales. This carbonaceous substance can still be made to yield the members of the bitumen series through the agency of destructive distillation, and, doubtless, so also can the spores that remain unaltered in the shales, both leaving a carbon residue thereafter.

"The shales that were slowly accumulating on the floor of this tropical gulf, thus charged with vegetable remains, must have behaved as similar shales do around the border oi the present. The vegetable matter was turned into petroleum as it is in Trinidad and the West Indies now. The petroleum would have been absorbed by the particles of clay in contact with which it was originated, or if liberated in the water it would there have been laid hold of by like floating particles of clay, to be carried with them in due time to the sea-floor, and the work would have gone on until the material was exhausted or the requisite conditions were lost.

"Such would appear to be some of the steps in the production of petroleum, if Hunt's view of its origin by the primary decomposition of organic tissue is adopted. The result would correspond fairly well with- those of the spontaneous distillation theory already described. Both would find petroleum distributed through the substance of the shales, and both would expect its constant escape from outcrops of shale or sandstone. Continuous origination is by no means a necessary conclusion from continuous outflow."

In commenting on these theories, Dr. Orton observes that "the discussions assume that the history of oil covers the history of gas also. There are, however, speculations which dissociate them in origin. By some, gas is counted the first and original product, and it is supposed to be converted into petroleum in the sandstone reservoirs by some unknown process of condensation.

"This question, like those that have preceded it, does not admit of a final and definite answer at the present time, but the chemical probabilities do not seem to favor this view. Petroleum is more composite and unstable than gas, and in these respects it seems to stand at less remove from the organic world than the latter. A large percentage of natural gas is light carburetted hydrogen, one of the simplest and most stable products of decomposition. Petroleum readily gives rise to marsh gas when subjected to destructive agencies, but we have no known experience in which the higher compound results from synthesis of the lower. It seems, therefore, safe to consider petroleum first in the order of nature.

"While, therefore, we can confidently assert that petroleum is derived from organic matter, we are obliged to confess that we do not know the exact steps of the transformation.

1. Most geologists hold that petroleum is derived from organic substances that were incorporated with the strata when the latter were formed. There is substantial harmony among the entire class of geologists as to this point.

2. The majority incline to the opinion that vegetable substances have supplied the chief sources, but some count animal remains as also an important source. There are a few authorities upon the subject, chiefly foreign, who consider animal remains the chief, or, perhaps, the sole, source of petroleum.

3. Many hold that it is the result of destructive distillation of the organic matter of the rocks. They rely upon such facts as have been already adduced, that, certain shales, for example, contain a considerable percentage of hydro-carbonaceous material

4. In accounting for the origin of oil and gas by destructive distillation of the shale, the advocates of the theory seem bound to furnish an adequate source of heat required, and also to show what has become of the carbon residue that is inseparably connected with the process of destructive distillation. Real difficulties beset this theory in these regards. The view that destructive distillation is accomplished at ordinary temperatures would relieve the first difficulty, if such process could be substantiated, but at present it only stands as an entirely unsupported suggestion.

5. According to one phase of this theory, petroleum is constantly forming in the rocks ; though, of course, as the world is old, the great stocks were formed thousands and millions of years ago. According to a second phase of the theory, the oil of the Allegheny field was formed at the time when the Appalachian Mountains were elevated.

6. A small number of geologists hold to the view that petroleum results from the primary decomposition of organic matter; that the production is not a lost art of nature, but is in actual, though perhaps feeble, operation at the present time, its chief seats being in tropical or sub-tropical regions. According to this view, the disseminated petroleum that the rocks contain was formed when the rocks themselves were formed. Organic matter which is notoriously unstable reaches in the bituminous series its stage of rest, and we may, therefore, truly speak of Silurean oil, Devonian oil, Tertiary oil, and the like, the several stocks really having the age of the beds that hold them. The process of oil formation, according to this theory, ceased long ago in the older rocks.

7. The facts upon which the last theory must rest are not well enough substantiated to allow us to build upon them with full confidence, but we are justified in looking upon it with great interest, as it furnishes on the whole the best explanation of the facts for which we are to account.

Natural Storage Of Gas And Petroleum

Strata composed of coarser grained material, such as sandstone and conglomerates, are of the second class or porous rock. Wherever the Trenton limestone is of this porous character, and is not over four hundred feet below sea-level, it is never found empty. It is either filled with gas, oil, or water from the old Silurean sea. If the porous rocks be found within four or five hundred feet of the surface, the water is usually fresh. If found at a greater depth it is brackish.

The porous oil and gas bearing rock of Ohio is overlaid by several hundred feet of impermeable shale. The underlying porous strata may be composed of undulations and troughs, or in geological language, of anticlines and synclines ; the gas occupying the summits of the arches, and the oil filling troughs. An arch of the kind described extends through the southern part of St. Mary's township, with valuable oil troughs or pools on either side of it. The gas pressure above and around these pools varies in new fields, from fifty to three hundred and fifty pounds to the square inch. When the drill touches the oil pool the pressure of the gas forces the oil to the surface, producing a flowing well. It is seldom the case that a flow of oil continues for any considerable length of time. Usually it is intermittent. Ordinarily each flow of oil is followed by an escape of the gas that lifts the column of oil from the well. After the force of the gas is spent, the oil is again forced forward by another volume of gas of high tension, when a second flow occurs. Each flow of oil diminishes the gas tension, until in time the well ceases to flow*, when it must be pumped.

The life of an oil well in the Auglaize territory varies from a few months to fifteen years, depending upon the amount and extent of oil in the pool, the number of wells tapping it, and the gas pressure. There are wells in the Allen county and Cridersville field that were drilled in 1886, that are still (1901) yielding paying quantities of oil.

In 1885 a stock company was organized at Wapakoneta, and a test well was drilled for gas in the southern part of the village. Great delays were experienced in driving casing through a con- tinuous bed of gravel. Two attempts were made that failed. In the first well the pipe was driven one hundred and fifty feet, when a boulder was encountered, preventing further progress. The derrick was then moved a few feet to the west, where a second attempt was made. At a depth of one hundred and eighty feet at this location the casing collapsed, and the attempt in this locality was abandoned. Since that time it has been discovered that a great gorge in the rock passes through the southern part of the village, filled with a drift deposit to the depth of nearly four hundred feet.

A third location was selected half a mile north of the first ones. Here the drift was found to be ninety-six feet deep. The upper limestones were one hundred and ninety-two feet thick. The red Medina shale was fifteen feet thick and possessed all the characteristics peculiar to that formation. Trenton rock was reached after passing through six hundred and thirty-two feet of Hudson shale and three hundred feet of Utica shale. The total depth of the well to Trenton limestone, therefore, was 1,235 feet, or three hundred and forty-eight feet below tide. The drilling was continued to a depth of 1,600 feet without finding either gas or oil. Salt water was found at that depth, which ended the search. A fourth location was selected two miles north of number three, where a well was drilled, which repeated the history of the first three. The stockholders of the company became so much discouraged that nothing further was done in the way of drilling until 1888.

The next well drilled in the county was located at St. Mary's. Early in the year 1886 a company was organized, consisting of a hundred stockholders. The shares were twenty dollars, each member holding a single share. A well was drilled and completed July 24th. The well-head was 883 feet above tide, and the surface of the Trenton, 313 feet below.

a cap of one and a half feet, a flow of gas was reached, whicfrwas presently followed by oil. The gas was in force sufficient to lift the oil. A production of several barrels per day was delivered from the well, with some salt water. On August 5th the gas escaping from the separator was measured, and the volume was found to be 58,080 cubic feet per day. The well was torpedoed in October with forty quarts of nitro-glycerine, when the flow of gas was increased two hundred per cent. The oil had a gravity of 350 B. The fact that there was a sufficient amount of gas pressure to lift the oil from the well had its natural effect on the oil speculators of the new field, and land was largely leased, in consequence, for drilling purposes."

Two other wells were drilled the same fall; one, known as the Hopkins well, was brought in on October 9th, and the other, known as the Hopkins and Gordon's well, was brought in November 24th.

On the 23d of March, 1887, a great gas well was drilled in section thirty. The elevation of the well-head was 900 feet above tide. The Trenton limestone was reached at a depth of 1,138' feet below the surface, or 238 feet below tide. The volume of the well was measured, April 14th, showing a production of 2,042,864 cubic feet per day.

The Kellermeyer well, located in section 22, was drilled in soon after the well in section thirty. In August of the same year, the Hauss well, located a half mile east of St. Mary's, was drilled in, and is still (1905) a paying well.

In the fall of 1887, a natural gas company was organized at St. Mary's. Soon afterward a gas main was laid along the principal street, and extended to the Hauss well east of the village. A year later the plant was placed under the control of the village council, when bonds were issued to the amount of $100,000. In the summer and fall of 1888, gas mains were laid in all parts of the village. In October of the same year eight , hundred stoves and the mills were using the new fuel. The consumption of gas soon became general, necessitating the drilling of additional wells.

The drilling of oil wells in close proximity to the arch on which the gas wells were located diminished the gas pressure to such an extent that at the end of four years it became necessary to drill an additional number of gas wells. Two years later (1894) the plant was sold to the "Indiana Gas and Fuel Company" for $50,000. Since that time the village has been supplied from the Indiana gas fields.

The Wapakoneta Natural Gas Company

This company was organized in the fall of 1887. The capital stock was $100,000, on which an assessment of sixty per cent, was made preparatory to the establishment of the plant. Two hundred and eight acres of land in sections 14, 15 and 22 in St. Mary's township were leased, and three wells were drilled the same fall. The following spring and summer, a pipe line was laid consisting of eleven miles of six-inch pipe, expanding into eight-inch pipe within the village limits, July 19th, 1888. A stand-pipe was erected, and preparations made for lighting the gas the same evening. A thousand or more of the citizens assembled at eight o'clock in the evening to witness the illumination. At the time appointed the valve was thrown open, which was followed by a deafening roar of high-pressure gas. Amid the roar and confusion that ensued a sky-rocket was shot through the escaping gas, which was followed by a terrific explosion, and an illumination of all that portion of the village. The first thought that occurred to the spectators was that a great accident had taken place. The crowd became panic-stricken and fled in every direction. Mr. Weber, the blacksmith, in his alarm, fell over a baby-wagon, and the frightened mother fled, leaving the baby to take care of itself. A tall school teacher and her companion are said to have broken the record on a rapid retreat. When they recovered from their panic they found that they were on the margin of the river.

nished with fuel the following winter. The business of the company was well managed during the six years that the plant was operated. At the expiration of that time the entire property of the company was sold to the Indiana Gas and Fuel Company for $40,000. During the twelve years that have elapsed since the installment of the plant, Wapakoneta has never had reason to complain of the gas supply. The income to the two companies has been remunerative, in the main, averaging about $16,000 per year.

The New Bremen Natural Gas Company

This company was organized in the fall of 1888. Gas territory was secured in the southern part of St. Mary's township, from which gas was piped into the village in the summer of 1889. The plant, up to the present time, has proved to 'be the most remunerative one in the county.

In 1899 the company sold their interests to the Kerline Brothers, of Toledo, who have been furnishing the village with fuel since that time. The gas supply at the present time is obtained from the gas and oil territory of Mercer county.

The Lima Natural Gas Company

This company leased gas lands in the eastern part of St. Mary's township in the summer of 1888. A pipe line was laid the same summer, connnecting the city of Lima with the gas field. This gas field furnished the city with fuel for a number of years. In 1894 a second line was laid, connnecting the city with the Indiana gas field. The gas service in Lima has never been so satisfactory as in the smaller towns along the line.

The public interest, aroused by the discovery of gas at Findlay, induced some drillers engaged in drilling for water at the Lima paper-mill in 1885, to continue their work until they should reach Trenton rock. They were rewarded by a flow of oil and a small amount of gas.

effected at Lima under the name of the Citizens' Gas Company, the specific object of which was to ascertain the actual facts as to the existence of gas and oil in Trenton rock. A well was sunk near the Ottawa river in the city of Lima, which served the purpose for which it was drilled. It was the second pioneer well in the territory, and began its course as a forty-five barrel pumping well. Other wells were drilled in rapid succession. In December, 1886, the daily oil production was 9,500 barrels. In 1886 the great oil pools in the vicinity of Cridersville were tapped on the Delong and Sellers farms. The Duchouquet township pools are a continuation of the Allen county field. The oil bearing rock of Auglaize county underlies portions of Duchouquet, Logan, Salem, Noble, St. Mary's, Washington, Moulton, German and Jackson townships.

The oil bearing rock attains a maximum thickness of twelve feet, and an average thickness of eight to ten feet. It is generally covered by a hard, non-productive cap, previously described in the first well drilled at St. Mary's. Salt water is found at a depth of from fifteen to seventeen feet in the Trenton rock. If the quantity of salt water is not excessive, it does not detract much from the value of the well. There have been numerous instances in which the salt water has been temporarily exhausted, and followed by copious flows of oil. Ultimately, however, as a rule, it gains upon the oil in the wells in which it originally appeared, and finally overcomes it.

The maximum output of a well occurs, as a rule, soon after it is drilled in. If the yield of oil is great nothing further is done with it except to convey the product through pipes into receiving tanks. If the product of oil should be small, the well is shot, to open up fissures in the oil or gas bearing rock, and thereby increase the flow. "For this purpose nitro-glycerine is used in quantity, varying from thirty to eighty quarts. The amount used is governed largely by the capacity of the shells ; that is, the torpedo case is as long as the good oil-sand is thick, and usually as large as can be safely inserted.

"The torpedo consists usully of one or more tin shells filled with nitro-glycerine, and provided with suitable firing-head. For a large shot several shells are used, one resting on top of another. The top shell has in its upper part a small perforated tin tube containing three or four little anvils, one above the other, each carrying a water-proof percussion cap. The nitro-glycerine, when the shell is full, flows in around these caps through perforations in the small tube. On the upper cap rests an iron rod, fastened to a flat plate above the shell. After the shells are in place, an iron casting called the "go-devil" is dropped into the well. This missile strikes upon the iron plate, the shock sets off the percussion caps, exploding the nitro-glycerine.

"The explosion takes place at such great depth that at the surface of the ground only a slight jarring is felt, accompanied by a report about as loud as a pistol shot.

"A good flow does not always follow a shot. Sometimes the shattered fragments, instead of being thrown out, become wedged and jammed together, completely choking up the hole and forming a 'bridge.' In this case the drilling tools must be put in and the bridge cut out. This is a disagreeable undertaking, since the well is full of foul oil and poisonous burnt products of nitroglycerine, which are occasionally thrown out, covering men and machinery.

"The handling of the cans containing the nitro-glycerine is attended with great danger. Many fatal accidents have occurred from empty cans having been left hidden in the underbrush near a well in which nitro-glycerine has been used, and being carelessly handled by boys or ignorant and reckless persons who have found them. In some cases it is found necessary to shoot a well several times to reopen the fissures leading to it.

"As soon as a new well has been shot, preparations are begun to put in the tubing. A few of the largest wells will flow for a time through the casing; usually, however, there is not sufficient gas and oil to do this, excepting just after a shot. The tubing is then inserted, extending from the top to the bottom of the well, to diminish the area which the gas and oil must fill. The- customary size of tubing, both for flowing and pumping wells, is. two inches internal diameter.

"To prevent the oil from flowing up around the tubing, a device called a packer is used for filling the space around the tubing at a point above the oil-sand to confine the oil and gas so that it can escape only through the tubing. The packer com sists of a hollow cylinder of rubber, smooth or ribbed on the outside and as large as can be put into the well between two flanges connected by a slip-joint. When the tubing rests upon the bottom of the well, the weight of its upper part forces the top flange upon, or if conical, ' into, the rubber, distending it horizontally against the sides of the well, making a gas and water-proof joint.

"On account of the sudden expansion of high-pressure gas at - the bottom of the tubing, an intense degree of cold is produced, which diminishes the solvent power of crude oil, causing a precipitation of paraffine on the inside of the tubing, gradually filling it up and preventing the flow.

"To remove the paraffine, the simplest plan employed is to shut in the well ; that is, to turn a stop-cock on the tubing so that no gas can escape for twenty minutes or an hour, or as long as it is thought safe, there being danger of too great pressure lifting the tubing and unseating the packer. When it is judged that sufficient pressure has been obtained, the cock is quickly opened and the rush of gas which follows will usually throw out much of the paraffine. Sometimes it is shot out in lengths of a few feet, looking like huge candles, and again it is pushed out, falling in long coils upon the derrick floor or into the tank.

"If the gas pressure fails to expel the paraffine, the tubing must be withdrawn and disjointed. Steam is then blown through the joints until they are thoroughly cleaned, when the tubing is returned to the well.

"No care is taken to save or utilize this crude paraffine. Usually it is shoveled out of the derrick, and finally, softened by the sun, it soaks into the ground.

"After the tubing is all in, the sucker rods, with workingvalves on lower end, are lowered into it. The sucker rods are of hard wood, octagonal or round, with a cross section one and one-eighth inch in diameter, and are twenty-or twenty-five feet in length. On each end iron joints are riveted to the wooden rods, and steel joints welded on the iron by which the rods are screwed together.

"On the upper end of the sucker rod is put the polished rod which passes through a stuffing box screwed into the top of the tubing. The pipe leading to the tank is screwed into a T, just below the stuffing box. The top of the polished rod is fastened to the end of the walking beam by an adjuster, by which the rod can be lowered or taken up, bringing the working valve to its proper position."

Production

In the Auglaize county fields a well is rated large which starts to flow at 200 to 250 barrels per day, and at the end of a month or so has only settled to fifty or seventy-five barrels.

"Each well is provided with one or two 250-barrel wooden tanks. The tanks are circular, and a little smaller at the top than at the bottom, so that the iron hoops can be driven down as the wood shrinks, and the joints begin to loosen. These receptacles are eight feet high and sixteen feet in diameter at the bottom.

"The oil flows into the tank through the cover from the pipe leading from the well. Ten inches above the bottom is inserted the two-inch pipe through which the oil is pumped into the line of the transportation company. Close to the bottom is a wooden plug to let out any water coming in with the oil from a pumping well.

"In cold weather the oil becomes thick, and to thin it and allow the water and sediment to settle out, it must be heated before it can be run into the line. This is done by steaming, best by a steam coil ; sometimes, however, by blowing steam directly into the oil and drawing off the condensed water below.

"When a tank is connected to the pipe-line of the transportation company, and each time afterward that the hoops are driven, it is carefully measured and its capacity computed for each oneeighth inch in depth. Then at any time, by measuring with a stick marked off into feet, inches and fractions, called the gaugepole, the contents of the tank can be known.

"From this way of measurement, it has become customery to speak of a well's production in inches. In ordinary conversation a man will say that his well does three, five, or eight inches, as the case may be, the inch being understood, unless otherwise stated, to mean one inch in depth in a 250-barrel tank, which is about two and one-half barrels, or more exactly, two and three-quarters barrels at bottom of tank, and two and onequarter at top.

"When the oil has been run into the lines of the Standard Oil Company, the exact amount is calculated from the gauger's memorandum, allowance being made for sediment and temperature, if necessary, and the amount is credited on the books of the company to each person having an ownership in the oil ; that is, the royalty, usually one-eighth, is first taken out and placed to the credit of the owner of the mineral right, then the balance is distributed in the designated proportion to each individual, if several parties are operating together, or to the firm as a whole, according to the wishes of the persons interested."

Iron Oil Tanks

"The large iron tanks of the Standard Oil Company into which the Auglaize county oil flows are called working tanks. They are usually in pairs ; when one is full the new oil is turned into the other, the first being meanwhile gauged and then emptied. From the working tanks the oil goes to the storage tanks, located within two or three miles of the Standard Oil Refinery, located near the city of Lima. The storage tanks vary in capacity from 22,000 to 37,000 barrels."

Refining The Oil

Trenton oil is dark in color, from the amount of asphaltum that it holds in solution. It is low in gravity, and contains variable amounts of sulphuretted hydrogen, which give to the oil an offensive odor, that resists expulsion with great stubbornness. For a time the skill of the chemists was baffled in their efforts to find an economical method of eliminating it. In the course of six months after the discovery of Trenton oil, however, Prof. W. H. Pitt, of Buffalo High School, worked out a process for the removal of the offensive odor. By his method, called the Paragon process, the heated oil in a state of vapor is passed through cylinders filled with heated iron filings. After the process was perfected, refineries were erected at Toledo, where the practicability of deodorizing the new oil was established beyond question.

A second method, known as the Lead process, was put into operation soon afterward, by the Eagle Refinery at Lima. In this process the oil is agitated for ten or twelve hours with a solution of caustic soda and oxide of lead. At the expiration of that time it is found that the oil has lost its odor, the sulphur having combined with the lead.

Artesian Wells

They are confined mainly to localities through which preglacial gorges extend. Nearly every deep well drilled in the gorge extending from Wapakoneta to the southwestern part of the county was a fountain well until the water was shut off by casing. The immense volumes of water, sand and gravel that flow from the wells in St. Mary's township are impediments encountered by drillers in the gas and oil fields of that township.

The wells differ much in depth. The water supply at Wapakoneta is derived from fourteen artesian wells having a depth of forty feet. The same is true of the wells at St. Mary's. In both villages, the water from the wells is piped into receiving wells, and is pumped from there into stand-pipes.

The flow 'from wells having a depth of forty or fifty feet does not rise above two or three feet above ground. In most instances the water rises from a bed of gravel lying between two beds of impermeable blue clay.

The great underground reservoir tapped by oil drillers varies in depth from two hundred and fifty to three hundred feet. The underlying bed of the shallower wells rests upon a bed of hardpan usually two hundred feet in thickness, underneath which there is a second bed of gravel, forty or fifty feet in thickness, resting on a bed of impervious blue clay. The location of the fountain-head of these great wells is unknown. It is a wellknown fact that the water in artesian wells may come to the surface scores of miles from the place where it is entered. In this county the flow is in a southerly direction. If, therefore, we desire to locate the fountain-head, search must be made for it in the Canadian highlands, at a distance of several hundred miles from Auglaize county. The long distance that the subterranean current must traverse has led many people to doubt the truth of the general hypothesis. The theory has been advanced, that the flow is produced by a high pressure of carbonic acid and other carbonaceous gases. The water from these wells is highly charged with carbonic acid ; which, by its solvent power, holds lime, gypsum, magnesium and iron in solution. Soon after exposure to the air the water loses its acid, which is immediately followed by a deposit of a portion of the minerals held in solution.

^ The large flowing wells of the county are not wholly confined to the gorges passing through it. Many wells have been drilled on each side of the great gorge that have tapped the same reservoir. The following altitudes above sea level, of wells located from half a mile to a mile back from the gorge present data of much interest to students of this subject:

It will be observed that the water is lifted ninety-nine feet higher in the Charles Shafer well than in the Mosler well ; and that the difference between it and the wells in St. Mary's township are 140, 130, and 145 feet, respectively. It is difficult to account for the difference of hydrostatic force exerted, except upon the hypothesis that each well has a source differing correspondingly in elevation. The differences in the chemical character of the water flowing from different wells are evidences in favor of the latter view of the problem. The water flowing from the Mosler well contains a small percentage of magnesium and iron, whereas the Shafer well yields water heavily charged with lime, iron, and much carbonic acid. Differences of a similar character, also, occur in the wells of St. Mary's township. Inconsidering the difference of hydrostatic pressure in the different wells, it is reasonable to suppose that it is augmented by the accumulation of gases along the flowing lines. The accumulations may result from decomposition of the sulphate and sulphideof iron. There are, also, reasons for belief that the pressure is augmented at points along the line by hydro-carbon gas from the Hudson shales, that has forced its way upward through fissures in the overlying rocks. It is no uncommon thing for farm wells, when dug, to fill with carburetted hydrogen. When the ordinary lamp test for carbonic acid (commonly called damps) is applied, the gas takes fire. It is frequently the case that the well is abandoned and a new location selected. Such instances were of frequent occurrence in localities in which oil and gas have since been discovered. Many wells have been dug in Auglaize county that have yielded large volumes of carbonic acid. Within the last thirty years seven persons have been asphyxiated in wells of this class. In 1869 a well was dug on the lot of the Freyman school-house, located two miles north of Wapakoneta, that yielded copious volumes of this gas. The water in the well was kept in a state of great agitation for several weeks. When the writer visited the well the noise of the agitated water was plainly audible at a distance of twenty rods from the well.

Climate And Flora

"From its geographical position, the climate of Auglaize county is necessarily one of extremes. Its surface is swept alternately by southwest return trade winds and north and northwest polar winds - the alternates succeeding each other in quick returning cycles. There is scarcely a week in the year in which* examples of these currents do not occur." The return trades or southwest winds are usually attended by a rise of temperature and a depression of the barometer. The rains of the county, in the main, are brought in by the southwestern winds, having their origin in the Gulf of Mexico. A few rains having their origin in the Great Lakes are floated into the county by the northwest and polar currents.

The annual average temperature of the county is fifty degrees, and the annual average rainfall is about thirty-two inches. Between the average summer and winter temperatures there is a difference of forty degrees. The extreme of the heat of summer frequently rises to one hundred degrees in the shade, while the "cold waves" of winter have been known to depress the mercury to twenty-four degrees below zero.

The winters are very changeable. Snow seldom remains more than twenty days at a time. The distribution of precipitation in any year is about as follows : in spring, nine to eleven inches ; in summer, eleven to thirteen inches ; in autumn, five to seven inches ; and in winter, three to five inches. The spring rains are distributed through the months of March, April and' May, and are followed by a period of dry weather often extending into July, and at times as late as August.

Storms. - This county has never been visited by a violent storm either from the northeast or southeast ; nor do the clouds, from any eastern point between north and south often exhibit many electrical phenomena. But from every direction on the opposite side of the meridian they come charged with lightning, and are driven by impetuous winds. Of these thunder-gusts, those from the northwest are by far the most destructive. They occur at any time during the day or night, but most frequently in the afternoon. Of the more destructive type of storms, only two have passed through the county within the last twentyone years. A revolving storm of this character passed through the townships of St. Mary's, Moulton, Duchouquet and Union in 1884. Houses were blown down, barns unroofed, and forest trees up-rooted. Much damage was sustained from the destruction of growing crops. A second tornado occurred in May, 1886, that passed through the townships of St. Mary's, Washington, Duchouquet, to Union township, where it changed to a northeast direction. All buildings in its track were destroyed. Forest trees were uprooted and carried long distances, and the leaves of trees near the track had the appearance of being scorched. This storm was also accompanied by violent electrical discharges, resembling the rapid firing of heavy artillery. In this storm the electrical discharges were from the earth upward, presenting the appearance of tongues of fire. As the storm passed over forests the electrical tongues shot upward to a considerable distance above the tree-tops, presenting a scene of great sublimity.

Revolving storms of a less violent character occur in the months of July and August, and in some, years as late as the first of October. The diameter of these storms is much greater than it is in the more destructive tornadoes. They come, usually, from the southwest or west, and are characterized by a greater precipitation of rain and hail, than other storms. The amount of rainfall at times is very great, amounting, in some instances, to as much as six inches in the course of an hour. Such rains are usually called cloudbursts. Such a cloudburst occurred at Wapakoneta in 1894, when four inches of rain fell within a period of twenty minutes.

The latter class of revolving storms are generally designated as general and local storms ; the term general being applied to storms having a diameter of many miles, whereas a local thunder-storm is supposed to have a diameter of only a few miles. In this county they are usually from one to three miles in diameter. The occurrence and distribution of local showers, is irregular. It is not unusual for a section of the county to receive a succession of local showers, while other sections are suffering from want of rain.

For several years past the summit ridge has been a dividing line between two drifts of local rains. A belt of from one to four miles in width receives but little rain during the summer months.

Winter Storms. - As winter approaches the rains become more general, and are usually unattended by such violent winds and electrical phenomena as accompany the summer rains. About the first of December the northwest and polar winds begin to Flow, and continue with but few irregularities until the first of March. Within the last thirty years our winter storms have gradually assumed the character of the storms peculiar to the western plains. We now have many blizzards in the course of a winter. Our blizzards, however, differ from the western storms in the amount of snow precipitation. In our county it rarely amounts to more than two or three inches. As the blizzards have increased in number, the annual amount of snowfall in Auglaize county has diminished.

The quantity of snow that falls in the county is inconsiderable. Our deepest snows are not more than twelve inches in: depth, while the ordinary depth is two or three inches. This being the case, and periods of mild weather occurring frequently in every winter month, the ground seldom remains covered longer than a week or two at a time. The cold, dry winds blowing over the uncovered fields of wheat, barley, rye and clover are very destructive to such crops.

Climatic Changes in Progress. - The productive character of the soil varies much at the present time from what it was in the early settlement of the county. At that time the ponds and swails were filled with water during the greater part of the year. From these reservoirs vapors were constantly ascending through the dense foliage of the forest, saturating the air to a degree most favorable to the growth of vegetation. All varieties of fruit-trees flourished at that time and bore fruit in abundance. The temperature, too, ranged higher, and was more equable during the spring and summer months. The winter temperature was not so low - rarely falling below zero - and the precipitation of snow was greater, and lay on the ground for greater lengths of time. Such were the conditions of climate from 1845 to the winter of 1855-6, within which time large areas of forest were cleared away, and the surface partially drained. Following the changed conditions, the atmosphere became dryer, and the temperature lower. In the winter of 1855-6 the temperature sank to fifteen degrees below zero, thereby killing all the peach trees in central and northern Ohio. Fifteen years later the climate became so dry as to affect the apple crop. Since that time there has been a gradual decrease in the amount of humidity during the summer season, and a corresponding diminution in the amount of snow in winter. With the increased dryness of the atmosphere, certain varieties of timber began to die. About 1855 the shellbark hickory began to exhibit signs of decay, which continued until the quantity of that variety of timber was greatly

Up to 1845, Auglaize county was unsurpassed for its stately trees of many valuable varieties. The splendor of its flora was displayed in its oaks, black walnut, butternut, poplar, hickory, ash, wild cherry, linden, tulip tree, with almost endless varieties of trees of minor values. Underneath these monarchs of the forest, varieties of smaller growthed timber grew in great abundance. Many species of plants once common in the county have disappeared, or are found at rare intervals. The yellow lady's slipper and showy orchis, the wild orange red and Turk's cup lilies, the yellow puccoon and blue cohosh, the ginseng and squill, the white water lily, and yellow poplar, will in a few years be -stricken from the flora of the county.

A genera] treatise on the vegetable productions of the county would exceed the limits of this work. Nothing will be attempted,. therefore, beyond a catalogue of the principal forest trees, and such herbaceous plants as are of general interest. Many species must necessarily be omitted ; but enough will be given to show that the botanical resources of the county are not inferior to anv Dart of northwestern Ohio.

Pestiferous Weeds

The following catalogue, prepared by Prof. James E. Yarnell. principal of the Wapakoneta High School, contains the names of all the ferns discovered within the county:

The dense wilderness of Auglaize county, like the other counties of northern Ohio, was stocked with all the animals, reptiles and birds peculiar to the western wilderness. So numerous were the deer, elk, bear, turkey and ducks, that they constituted the main part of the sustenance of the Indians. Up to the time of the departure of the Shawnee Indians, the larger animals were so numerous that deer, bear and wolves were killed within half a mile of Wapakoneta.

Order Of Carnivora

Ursus Americanus, Linn. The American black bear was an inhabitant of the county as late as 1850. No other species is known to have inhabited this section of the state. The black bear under ordinary circumstances is not very ferocious, seldom attacking man, unless wounded or much excited by hunger. The female, however, is fierce and aggressive when accompanied by her young.

''The fur of the black bear is not so rough and shaggy as that of ojther species, but is smooth and glossy in its appearance, so that it presents a very handsome aspect to the eye, while its * texture is thick and warm as that of its rougher-furred relatives." The skin of the animal was highly prized by the Indians and pioneers for robes and wearing apparel. We have stated that the animal is small as compared with other species of the order, yet his average weight is about two hundred pounds. His flesh was considered a great delicacy by the pioneers and Indians. When cooked it has the flavor of fresh pork.

Wood, in his Natural History, states that "The number of cubs which the female bear produces is from one to four, and that they are very small during the first few days of their existence. They make their appearance at the end of January or beginning of February.

Candid Ae

The Genus Cants- - Wolf - was very common in Auglaize and adjoining counties a£ an early day. So annoying were they that a bounty was paid by the State for their scalps. The bounty paid and the desire of the early settlers to rid themselves of the depredations of the animal, led to its extermination. The bounty at different times varied from three to six dollars. Until the bears and wolves were exterminated, the pioneers found it very difficult to raise either sheep or hogs.

So far as known, but one variety of wolf infested Auglaize county. The animal disappeared from Shelby and Auglaize counties about the year 1854.

Two varieties of the fox still inhabit the county. The common American Red Fox, Vulpus fulvus, Desm., is notorious for his nocturnal depredations upon farm-yards, carrying away chickens, geese and turkeys to dense thickets, where he spends most of the daytime. His color is a reddish-yellow, with black and white hairs. The hair is long and thick, being doubly thick during the colder months of the year, so that the fur of the fox which is killed in the winter is more valuable than if the animal had been slain in the hot months. The tail, which is technically termed the "brush/' is remarkably bushy, and partakes of the tints which predominate over the body, except at the tip, which is white. The height of the animal is about a foot, and its length about two feet and a half, exclusive of the tail.

Vulpes Virginiamts, Rich. The gray fox, a near relative of the red fox, is still quite numerous in the county. Like the red fox, it is also nocturnal, springing upon its prey as it passes by, or stealing upon it while asleep. Its dentition is calculated for a mixed diet, so that mammals, birds, molluscs, and even grapes, furnish a dainty meal. Its characteristic is craftiness. For many years past fox-hunting has been a favorite sport with huntsmen.

Genus Felis

Felis concolor , Linn., variously called puma, catamount, cougar, American lion, mountain lion, and panther or painter, was an inhabitant of Auglaize county as late as 1850. It was the largest of the American cats except the jaguar, being larger than the largest dog, and weighing in some cases a hundred and fifty pounds. The color along the back is of a uniform pale brownish-yellow, finely mottled by dark tips to all the 'hairs. Beneath, it is of a dingy white. In its general outline, it resembles an African lioness, from which it has probably been named American lion. It was greatly feared by the Indians and pioneers. Unlike the roar of the lion at night, its cry resembled the tones of a human being in distress.

Such creatures as are unfortunate enough to please the taste of the panther are nearly always taken by surprise, and stricken down before they are even aware of the vicinity of their tawny foe. It loves to hide upon the branches of trees, and from that eminence to launch itself upon the doomed animal that may pass within reach of its active leap and its death-dealing paw.

The panther or puma was never so numerous as other wild animals, and when known to have its haunt in any portion of the .county, was pursued by hunters until it was slain. Two panthers were killed in Pusheta township in 1833 ; one in Wayne township in 1833, and one in Salem township in 1835.

Canada Lynx

color, having cars with a narrow black margin on the convexity, and tipped with a black pencil, and the end of the tail terminating in a black brush.

The limbs of the lynx are very powerful, and the thick, heavily made feet are furnished with strong, white claws that are not seen unless the fur be put aside. It is not a dangerous animal except when attacked, when it is a match for more than half a dozen dogs.

While running at speed it presents a singular appearance, owing to its peculiar mode of leaping in successive bounds, with its back slightly arched, and all the feet coming to the ground nearly at the same time.

The fur of the lynx is valuable for the purposes to which the feline skin is usually destined, and commands a high price in the market. Those who hunt the lynx for the purpose of obtaining its fur choose the winter months for the time of their operations, as during the cold season it possesses a richer and a warmer fur than is found upon it during the warm summer months.

The last Canada lynx was killed by some coon-hunters in Washington township near the Shelby county line in 1867. After it had whipped all the dogs, it was shot by Meridith Hardin. The writer saw the stuffed skin on exhibition in Wapakoneta in 1868.

Wild Cat

Lynx Rufus , Raf., was an inhabitant of Auglaize and adjoining counties until within a few years past. The animal is about thirty inches long to the tail, which is about five inches in length. The fur is thick and soft, and the color on the back and sides is a pale yellow overlaid with gray ; beneath it is spotted with white. The tail has a small black patch above at the end, and the inner surface of the ear is black, with a white patch. It is more slender in build than the Canada lynx, lighter in color, and. does not have the long pencil tips possessed by its relative. Large numbers of the wild cat were killed from 1832 to 1850.

Must Alidae Or Weasel Family The Weasel

Putorius fnscus, Aud. and Bach., or small brown weasel, continues to inhabit the streams and marshes of the county. In its destructive habits and its thirst for blood it is unsurpassed by any of the smaller animals. It conceals itself in barns and outhouses for the purpose of gaining access to poultry.

It is a terrible foe to many of the smaller rodents, such as rats and mice, and is specially dreaded by them, because there is no hole through which either of these animals can pass which will not quite as readily suffer the passage of the weasel. Like the polecat and mink, the weasel is very destructive in its nature, killing more animals or Birds than it can devour.

The Mink

Putorius vison, Rich., is about seventeen inches long to the tail, which is about half the length of the body ; the general color, dark brownish-chestnut. The tail is nearly black, and the end of the chin is white.

On account of its water-loving propensities, the mink is called by various names. By some persons it is called the smaller otter, or sometimes the musk otter, while it is known to others as the water polecat.

It frequents the banks of ponds, rivers, and marshes, seeming to prefer still water in the autumn, and the rapidly flowing currents in spring. Its food consists almost wholly of fish, frogs, crawfish, aquatic insects, and other creatures that are to be found either in the waters or in close proximity to it. Its fur is of excellent quality, and is valued very highly. As it bears a great resemblance to the sable, it is often fraudulently substituted for that article.

The Otter

Leutra Canadensis, Sab., or American otter, ceased to inhabit the county about 1870. In 1872 Gilbert Kennedy killed an otter near the Auglaize River, two miles below Wapakoneta. The otter is about four and a half feet long, including the tail, which is eighteen inches in length. The color is liver-brown