ROMANCE OF OIL

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 July 1925, Page 2

ROMANCE OF OIL

1 ’ETROL E UAL ’ 8 HIBTORY. In 1632 a Franciscan writing from America, spoke of “springs of oil” occurring in what is now Allq* ghany County. The Red Indians when they suffered from . sickness, used to skim it from the surface of the water in the creeks and drink it as inediciiie.' This was in the days when herds pf buffalo and flocks of wild turkeys ranged the continent from north to south. Now they are gone, together with the Red Indians, and only th,d oil remains. ■ l ' ■ ,/ Biibh was the) first reference to oil in the New World, which now alinually produces millions upon millions of barrels of this valuable and indispensable product. But for the real ancient history of oil we have to come back to the Old World, though in production it lies far behind the Western lands. Oil has; been known at Baku since time immemorial. Baku was the Meccit, of the Hindu fire worshippers," and' was annually visited by thousands of pilgrims. The Temple of Surakhani was for (centuries the f,eat of the--Bacred Fire, and as late as the eighties was still visited by priests from India. » Alarco Polo, the Venetian traveller, saw and described tlie burning springs, and Persia has been known, since earliest times to contain oil. Of recent years the Persian fields have been proved to be some of tlie richest in the world. We find that the Romans knew the use of oil from Persia and burned it in lamn.s in the Tpmnlo nf

m laiup;. in tempie or Jupiter. This is the first recorded instance in history of its use for lighting pui - - poses. After the decline of the Roman Empire, petroleum was forgotten or neglected, a’nd it was not until centuries had elapsed that it was again used for this purpose.' Not a hundred years ago our - ancestors wrote their manuscripts by the fitful light of a candle or by tlie sputtering flare of a lamp burning animal or vegetable oil. But the march of civilisation discovered the latent properties in tlm thick viscous substance which oozed out from certain, parts of the earth’s crust. ■ ' ' " In 1659 the first oil well was sunk in America by a man named Drake, and within a comparatively short time other wells were sunk and a ready market found for the products (says a writer in “John o’.London‘,s Weekly.”) The torch of enlightenment wa & soon carried into the uttermost corners of the world, and into the homes of . rich and poor alike the paraffin lamp found its wav, diffusing its mellow light on jountless family circles.

A, common enough article surely, > but what a wealth of romance behind i it! .. , t Other and various uses were found for the remaining fractions of crude oil. chief among which is the propulsion of motor vehicles. As kerosene it lights our wav in tlie dark places; ’as motor spirit it makes our cars fly along the road easily, smoothly and swiftly; as a lubricant it minimises' the wear and tear of the mgantic machines in the world's great factories; and as Biel oil if. propels the. wai'snip.s ci the umpire, across .every sea.