231

THE HISTORY OF A WELL

WHERE THE SALT WATER COMES FROM.

WHERE THE SALT WATER COMES FROM.

A Sketch of the Artesian Well on Government Square Written by Professor Elton Fulmer.

The Source of the Pressure the Nature of Material Pierced in Boring, and a complete Analysis of the Water What Its Properties Are.

Salt Wells in Nebraska

While the question of the possibility and utility of artesian wells in the northwest is occupying the attention of those interested in the material prosperity of our state, a few words concerning the artesian wells off Lincoln might prove interesting to the general reader.

Artesian wells can only be bored with satisfactory results where prous strata are intercalated between impervious ones. It naturally follows that if there are several intercalations there will be several sources supply for the same well. All will be shown later, these conditions exist in the Lincoln wells, and hence the water which rises to the surface does not all come from the same depth.

The force which brings the water to the surface is almost universally due to the surface is almost universally due to natural hydrostatic pressure; hence the topography must affor a head higher than the surface where the boring is made. We are told however, that the salt spring at Kissingen in Bavaria is 1,878 feet deeo and throws a column of water 58 feet high; but that the projecting force is due, not to hydrostatic pressure, but to carbonic acid gas which is generated at a depth of 1,780 feet.

For the Lincoln well, the head of the water, and the source of hydrostatic pressure is probably from the West. This may seem incompatible with the westward dup of the eastern rocks of Nebraska; but it must be remembered that the western portion of the state is 3,000 feet higher than the eastern, and that the western rocks have a dip to the east. This arrangement of the rocks results in a depression somewhere near the center of the state, having its western slope higher than the eastern. Hence, according to the laws of fluid pressure and equilibrium, the hydrostatic pressure is sufficient to cause artesian wells even on high ridges in this part of the state.

The following historical facts concerning the well on government square are based on data obtained from old residents of the city, and from the occasional notices of the progress and result of the work to be found in the files of The State Journal.

January 5, 1871, an open letter was printed in The Daily State Journal, in which was urged the necessity of providing some protection against fire, and suggesting that for this purpose an artesian well be bored on market (now government) square. This suggestion received some favor, but no action regarding it was taken for nearly a year.

November 4, 1871, the city council decided to sink an artesian well at the place mentioned, and appropriated $20,000 for that purpose. Bids were advertised for, and January 29, 1872, the contract was let to Mr. John Eaton.

April 22, Mr. Eaton began work. After sinking less than 100 feet it was found that heavier and more efficient machinery was necessary, and work was suspended until this could be procured. Operations were resumed May 24. At a depth of ninety-five feet, the cap rock - a hard, blue limestone was struck. This stratum was three feet thick. When the drill penetrated it, a stream of clear, fresh water was found running through a few feet of gravel. A stratum of brown sandstone was next struck, an, according to The Journal, upon it was found a deposit of gold dust. No explanations were made concerning how it came to be there. June 22, the drill had penetrated to a depth of 160 feet, and was then passing through a stratum of sand rock eleven feet thick, which was strongly impregnated with salt water. Directly beneath this was found twelve feet of sand, also charged with salt water. The drill then passes through twenty nine feet of clay, after which another stratum of salt bearing sand was encountered. When this was struck, salt water of considerable strength rose within twenty feet of the surface. At about 560 feet the drill penetrated a crevice in a crystalized lime stone, and thus made an opening for the main artesian current which passes upward and flowed over the surface.

The boring was continued to a depth of 1,050 feet, but as the water continued to be salt, the council ordered the boring stopped about October 15, 1872.

The water as it issues from the well is very clear, slightly alkaline, and has a temperature of 61° F.

It contains 2,003.8 frains (nearly 5 ounces) of solids per gallon. (The Atlantic Ocean contains 2,139.9 grams per gallon.)

Its specific gravity (pure water-1) at 68° F., is 1.03116. (The specific gravity of the Atlantic ocean is 1.0287.)

An analysis of the solid matter yielded the following results:

Percent Grains per gallon. Calcium carbonate (limestone) . . . 1.7226 34.52 Magnesium carbonate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2445 5.29 Magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts) 2.5856 51.81 Iron sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0343 .69 Aluminum sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . .1805 3.68 Sodium chloride (common salt) . . . 82.0370 1643.86 Potassium chloride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tace Sodium bi-sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.7430 155.15 Sodium sulphate (Glauber's salt) . . 4.6870 96.92 Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1299 2.60

About two and one-half miles west of the post-office, in the salt basin, is another artesian well, not so widely known as the well just discussed, but which furnishes water very similar chemically, and is undoubtedly only another outlet for the same subterranean current.

The legislature of 1885 passed an act entitled "An act to provide for the sale and leasing of the saline lands, and the development of the saline interests of Nebraska."

In accordance with the provisions of this act, the board of public lands and buildings entered into a contract for sinking a test well - the well above mentioned. In the remainder of this article it will be called the salt well.

The object of the salt well was the discovery of either strong brine or solid salt. The first contract called for a depth of 2,000 feet; but no satisfaction having been obtained at 2,008 feet, the contractor was instructed to proceed with the work. On the last day of August 1887, the boring was discontinued at a depth of 2,463 feet. No bring of sufficient, workable strength was obtained.

The temperature of the water as it issues form this well is 59.9° F. It contains 1,920,2 grains of solids per gallon.

An analysis of the solid matter showed the following composition:

Percent. Grains per gallons. Calcium carbonate (limestone) . . . .9989 19.18 Magnesium carbonate. . . . . . . . . . . . . .1116 2.14 Magnesium sulphate (Epsom Salt) . 2.3229 44.60 Iron sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1738 3.35 Aluminium sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.8479 35.10 Sodium chloride (common salt) . . . . 82.7520 1580.00 Potassium chloride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . trace Sodium bi-sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8070 111.52 Sodium sulphate (Glauber's salt) . . 5.0970 96.72 Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0604 1.16

Note the following comparison table.

Percent. Grains per gallons. Calcium carbonate . . . 1.7226 .9959 Magnesium carbonate. . . . . . . . . . . . . .2445 .1116 Magnesium sulphate . . . 2.5856 2.3228 Iron sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0343 .4739 Aluminium sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1806 1.8279 Sodium chloride . . . . 82.0370 82.7520 Potassium chloride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . trace trace Sodium bi-sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.7430 5.8070 Sodium sulphate . . . . . . 4.6870 5.0370 Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1299 .0504

Our near neighbors Missouri, Iowa, and Dakota have many artesian wells, but their waters are not highly mineralized when compared to that flowing from Lincoln's wells.

Medicinal properties have always been claimed for the water from the post-office well. Whether or not this water possesses any inherent curative properties, is a question belonging to the physician and physiologist. Undoubtedly its action is somewhat aperient due to the Magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts) which it contains.

The main artesian current in the well on government square was reached at a depth of 560 feet; and in the salt well at 900.6 feet. Notwithstanding this difference in depth, and the fact that government square is considerably higher than the salt basin, we are justified in asserting that the water which makes the artesian current in both wells is the same. We have no reason to believe that the strata lying directly beneath us have suffered any faults or fractures. And if they have not, the impervious strata including the pervious layer which furnishes the water, would be found at the same depth, corrections being made for difference in level, and the dip of the strata. One would naturally expect that the Water would be found at a greater depth at the salt basin on account of the westward dup of the rocks. And further, both flows were found in limestone, in a him stratum of intercalated red sandstone. Also the strongest brine in each case was reached before the artesian current was struck; in the post-office well at a depth of 158-244 feet, in similar layers. This shows approximately the same difference in depth as in the case of the artesian current.

The water as it issues from the wells comprises a mixture of the various currents struck above the artesian current, and the artesian current itself. Comparison of the chemical composition has already been made. While there are slight differences, these are no greater than would naturally arise in the course of analysis, and from adventitious causes operating before the water was collected for analysis. Taking all of the above facts into consideration, we can hardly escape the conclusion that the two wells in question furnish two outlets for the same current of underground water. Elton Fulmer.

Is a Widow a Maid?

A fortune of $100,000 depends on the reading of a statute.

The law holds that if "an unmarried woman" makes a will and then takes a husband, her marriage renders the will null and void. Now, do widows come under the head of unmarried women?

This point has been raised before surrogate Ransom, and it is a question of vital importance to Jackson Kaufman, who is exceedingly anxious to handle a half of the $200,000 estate of his deceased wife.

Mrs. Virginia S. Dillon was a beauty and a social leader. She was tall, willowy, blonde and stately. Her income was the result of the $200,000 her husband, John Dillon, had amasses, and her only incumbrance a charming dark haired little daughter. Mrs. Dillon had been a member of Savannah's best society all through the six years of her married life, and the fact that she was an "old man's darling" increased rather than detracted from her prestige. Her husband was her senior by many years, but theirs had been a love match and she was given her own way in everything. She entertained lavishly at her home, and was a frequent visitor to many northern and southern watering places.

John Dillon died in 1889, and for a few months the widow seemed inconsolable and with thought only for the dead and her baby daughter. That the latter might find life comfortable, Mrs. Dillon made a will in the little one's favor, bequeathing to her all that she, the mother, had received from the old merchant.

Six months passed and pretty Mrs. Dillon's views of life changed. She met Jackson Kaufman of this city, admired him, fell in love, and not long after became his wife. The wedding was a shock to Savannah society and the bride's family, the Ehrlichs, were thrown into a state of wrath. They prided themselves on their ancient lineage, and for some reason looked without favor on Mr. Kaufman's suit.

Their protestations had no effect. The marriage took place, and the bride and groom came to New York with baby Dillon and went to housekeeping in West 127th street.

Mrs. Kaufman had left her relatives still angry. They charged that Mr. Kaufman had married his wife only for her money, that he had no affection for her and that he had boasted of his intention to live on her wealth. A very good answer to these allegations was the fact that Mr. Kaufman expressed a desire to go into business, and his friends say that he supported his wife and step-child all through.

It is also said that although he knew of the existence of his wife's will, he never asked her to change it, and expressed himself frequently as entirely satisfied with whatever disposition his wife might choose to make of her property. Mrs. Kaufman died a few weeks ago, and the will made while she was a widow is not in Surrogate Ransom's hands, having been ordered for probate by Lawyer Adolph L. Sanger, who had been named in the will as guardian of Mrs. Kayman's little daughter.

Directly this instrument was offered for probate, Mr. Kaufman protested, through his attorneys, Wise & Lichtenstein, of Fo. 50 Exchange place, and demanded half of his wife's estate on the ground that her marriage to him had made her will void.

The indications now are that Surrogate Ransom will decide in Mr. Kaufman's favor. If he does Mr. Sanger will take the case to the supreme court, alleging that the bequest of the entire estate to the baby daughter was more in the nature of a deed than a will, and that the husband should therefore be shut out.

If Mr. Sanger should prove successful in the end he will then sue Mr. Kaufman for an accounting, claiming that he is debt to his wife's estate. -New York Journal.

All things come to him who waits. For more than a dozen years we hammered away for Blaine for president, but it was no go. Then we determined to wait, and now the presidency seems to be just grabbing for him. -Troy, Kas., Chief.

THE HISTORY OF A WELL

WHERE THE SALT WATER COMES FROM.

WHERE THE SALT WATER COMES FROM.

A Sketch of the Artesian Well on Government Square Written by Professor Elton Fulmer.

The Source of the Pressure the Nature of Material Pierced in Boring, and a complete Analysis of the Water What Its Properties Are.

Salt Wells in Nebraska

While the question of the possibility and utility of artesian wells in the northwest is occupying the attention of those interested in the material prosperity of our state, a few words concerning the artesian wells off Lincoln might prove interesting to the general reader.

Artesian wells can only be bored with satisfactory results where prous strata are intercalated between impervious ones. It naturally follows that if there are several intercalations there will be several sources supply for the same well. All will be shown later, these conditions exist in the Lincoln wells, and hence the water which rises to the surface does not all come from the same depth.

The force which brings the water to the surface is almost universally due to the surface is almost universally due to natural hydrostatic pressure; hence the topography must affor a head higher than the surface where the boring is made. We are told however, that the salt spring at Kissingen in Bavaria is 1,878 feet deeo and throws a column of water 58 feet high; but that the projecting force is due, not to hydrostatic pressure, but to carbonic acid gas which is generated at a depth of 1,780 feet.

For the Lincoln well, the head of the water, and the source of hydrostatic pressure is probably from the West. This may seem incompatible with the westward dup of the eastern rocks of Nebraska; but it must be remembered that the western portion of the state is 3,000 feet higher than the eastern, and that the western rocks have a dip to the east. This arrangement of the rocks results in a depression somewhere near the center of the state, having its western slope higher than the eastern. Hence, according to the laws of fluid pressure and equilibrium, the hydrostatic pressure is sufficient to cause artesian wells even on high ridges in this part of the state.

The following historical facts concerning the well on government square are based on data obtained from old residents of the city, and from the occasional notices of the progress and result of the work to be found in the files of The State Journal.

January 5, 1871, an open letter was printed in The Daily State Journal, in which was urged the necessity of providing some protection against fire, and suggesting that for this purpose an artesian well be bored on market (now government) square. This suggestion received some favor, but no action regarding it was taken for nearly a year.

November 4, 1871, the city council decided to sink an artesian well at the place mentioned, and appropriated $20,000 for that purpose. Bids were advertised for, and January 29, 1872, the contract was let to Mr. John Eaton.

April 22, Mr. Eaton began work. After sinking less than 100 feet it was found that heavier and more efficient machinery was necessary, and work was suspended until this could be procured. Operations were resumed May 24. At a depth of ninety-five feet, the cap rock - a hard, blue limestone was struck. This stratum was three feet thick. When the drill penetrated it, a stream of clear, fresh water was found running through a few feet of gravel. A stratum of brown sandstone was next struck, an, according to The Journal, upon it was found a deposit of gold dust. No explanations were made concerning how it came to be there. June 22, the drill had penetrated to a depth of 160 feet, and was then passing through a stratum of sand rock eleven feet thick, which was strongly impregnated with salt water. Directly beneath this was found twelve feet of sand, also charged with salt water. The drill then passes through twenty nine feet of clay, after which another stratum of salt bearing sand was encountered. When this was struck, salt water of considerable strength rose within twenty feet of the surface. At about 560 feet the drill penetrated a crevice in a crystalized lime stone, and thus made an opening for the main artesian current which passes upward and flowed over the surface.

The boring was continued to a depth of 1,050 feet, but as the water continued to be salt, the council ordered the boring stopped about October 15, 1872.

The water as it issues from the well is very clear, slightly alkaline, and has a temperature of 61° F.

It contains 2,003.8 frains (nearly 5 ounces) of solids per gallon. (The Atlantic Ocean contains 2,139.9 grams per gallon.)

Its specific gravity (pure water-1) at 68° F., is 1.03116. (The specific gravity of the Atlantic ocean is 1.0287.)

An analysis of the solid matter yielded the following results:

Percent Grains per gallon. Calcium carbonate (limestone) . . . 1.7226 34.52 Magnesium carbonate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2445 5.29 Magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts) 2.5856 51.81 Iron sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0343 .69 Aluminum sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . .1805 3.68 Sodium chloride (common salt) . . . 82.0370 1643.86 Potassium chloride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tace Sodium bi-sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.7430 155.15 Sodium sulphate (Glauber's salt) . . 4.6870 96.92 Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1299 2.60

About two and one-half miles west of the post-office, in the salt basin, is another artesian well, not so widely known as the well just discussed, but which furnishes water very similar chemically, and is undoubtedly only another outlet for the same subterranean current.

The legislature of 1885 passed an act entitled "An act to provide for the sale and leasing of the saline lands, and the development of the saline interests of Nebraska."

In accordance with the provisions of this act, the board of public lands and buildings entered into a contract for sinking a test well - the well above mentioned. In the remainder of this article it will be called the salt well.

The object of the salt well was the discovery of either strong brine or solid salt. The first contract called for a depth of 2,000 feet; but no satisfaction having been obtained at 2,008 feet, the contractor was instructed to proceed with the work. On the last day of August 1887, the boring was discontinued at a depth of 2,463 feet. No bring of sufficient, workable strength was obtained.

The temperature of the water as it issues form this well is 59.9° F. It contains 1,920,2 grains of solids per gallon.

An analysis of the solid matter showed the following composition:

Percent. Grains per gallons. Calcium carbonate (limestone) . . . .9989 19.18 Magnesium carbonate. . . . . . . . . . . . . .1116 2.14 Magnesium sulphate (Epsom Salt) . 2.3229 44.60 Iron sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1738 3.35 Aluminium sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.8479 35.10 Sodium chloride (common salt) . . . . 82.7520 1580.00 Potassium chloride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . trace Sodium bi-sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8070 111.52 Sodium sulphate (Glauber's salt) . . 5.0970 96.72 Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0604 1.16

Note the following comparison table.

Percent. Grains per gallons. Calcium carbonate . . . 1.7226 .9959 Magnesium carbonate. . . . . . . . . . . . . .2445 .1116 Magnesium sulphate . . . 2.5856 2.3228 Iron sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0343 .4739 Aluminium sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1806 1.8279 Sodium chloride . . . . 82.0370 82.7520 Potassium chloride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . trace trace Sodium bi-sulphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.7430 5.8070 Sodium sulphate . . . . . . 4.6870 5.0370 Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1299 .0504

Our near neighbors Missouri, Iowa, and Dakota have many artesian wells, but their waters are not highly mineralized when compared to that flowing from Lincoln's wells.

Medicinal properties have always been claimed for the water from the post-office well. Whether or not this water possesses any inherent curative properties, is a question belonging to the physician and physiologist. Undoubtedly its action is somewhat aperient due to the Magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts) which it contains.

The main artesian current in the well on government square was reached at a depth of 560 feet; and in the salt well at 900.6 feet. Notwithstanding this difference in depth, and the fact that government square is considerably higher than the salt basin, we are justified in asserting that the water which makes the artesian current in both wells is the same. We have no reason to believe that the strata lying directly beneath us have suffered any faults or fractures. And if they have not, the impervious strata including the pervious layer which furnishes the water, would be found at the same depth, corrections being made for difference in level, and the dip of the strata. One would naturally expect that the Water would be found at a greater depth at the salt basin on account of the westward dup of the rocks. And further, both flows were found in limestone, in a him stratum of intercalated red sandstone. Also the strongest brine in each case was reached before the artesian current was struck; in the post-office well at a depth of 158-244 feet, in similar layers. This shows approximately the same difference in depth as in the case of the artesian current.

The water as it issues from the wells comprises a mixture of the various currents struck above the artesian current, and the artesian current itself. Comparison of the chemical composition has already been made. While there are slight differences, these are no greater than would naturally arise in the course of analysis, and from adventitious causes operating before the water was collected for analysis. Taking all of the above facts into consideration, we can hardly escape the conclusion that the two wells in question furnish two outlets for the same current of underground water. Elton Fulmer.

Is a Widow a Maid?

A fortune of $100,000 depends on the reading of a statute.

The law holds that if "an unmarried woman" makes a will and then takes a husband, her marriage renders the will null and void. Now, do widows come under the head of unmarried women?

This point has been raised before surrogate Ransom, and it is a question of vital importance to Jackson Kaufman, who is exceedingly anxious to handle a half of the $200,000 estate of his deceased wife.

Mrs. Virginia S. Dillon was a beauty and a social leader. She was tall, willowy, blonde and stately. Her income was the result of the $200,000 her husband, John Dillon, had amasses, and her only incumbrance a charming dark haired little daughter. Mrs. Dillon had been a member of Savannah's best society all through the six years of her married life, and the fact that she was an "old man's darling" increased rather than detracted from her prestige. Her husband was her senior by many years, but theirs had been a love match and she was given her own way in everything. She entertained lavishly at her home, and was a frequent visitor to many northern and southern watering places.

John Dillon died in 1889, and for a few months the widow seemed inconsolable and with thought only for the dead and her baby daughter. That the latter might find life comfortable, Mrs. Dillon made a will in the little one's favor, bequeathing to her all that she, the mother, had received from the old merchant.

Six months passed and pretty Mrs. Dillon's views of life changed. She met Jackson Kaufman of this city, admired him, fell in love, and not long after became his wife. The wedding was a shock to Savannah society and the bride's family, the Ehrlichs, were thrown into a state of wrath. They prided themselves on their ancient lineage, and for some reason looked without favor on Mr. Kaufman's suit.

Their protestations had no effect. The marriage took place, and the bride and groom came to New York with baby Dillon and went to housekeeping in West 127th street.

Mrs. Kaufman had left her relatives still angry. They charged that Mr. Kaufman had married his wife only for her money, that he had no affection for her and that he had boasted of his intention to live on her wealth. A very good answer to these allegations was the fact that Mr. Kaufman expressed a desire to go into business, and his friends say that he supported his wife and step-child all through.

It is also said that although he knew of the existence of his wife's will, he never asked her to change it, and expressed himself frequently as entirely satisfied with whatever disposition his wife might choose to make of her property. Mrs. Kaufman died a few weeks ago, and the will made while she was a widow is not in Surrogate Ransom's hands, having been ordered for probate by Lawyer Adolph L. Sanger, who had been named in the will as guardian of Mrs. Kayman's little daughter.

Directly this instrument was offered for probate, Mr. Kaufman protested, through his attorneys, Wise & Lichtenstein, of Fo. 50 Exchange place, and demanded half of his wife's estate on the ground that her marriage to him had made her will void.

The indications now are that Surrogate Ransom will decide in Mr. Kaufman's favor. If he does Mr. Sanger will take the case to the supreme court, alleging that the bequest of the entire estate to the baby daughter was more in the nature of a deed than a will, and that the husband should therefore be shut out.

If Mr. Sanger should prove successful in the end he will then sue Mr. Kaufman for an accounting, claiming that he is debt to his wife's estate. -New York Journal.

All things come to him who waits. For more than a dozen years we hammered away for Blaine for president, but it was no go. Then we determined to wait, and now the presidency seems to be just grabbing for him. -Troy, Kas., Chief.