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Pre-reading and while-reading tasks
3 Scan the text and answer the following questions.

- When did the story of oilwell drilling begin?
- What was the best oil to burn in lamps?
- What did, besides water, the creek carry?
- What two main problems did the Seneca Oil Company face?
- What was the purpose of the Seneca Oil Company?
- What was one of the first things Drake and William A. Smith did?
- What well was the first drilled in the United States for the sole
purpose of finding and producing oil?
- What well marked the beginning of the petroleum era in the
United States?
- When and where did the prospectors find gold?
- What is a wall cake?

HISTORY

The story of oilwell drilling in the United States begins in the
mid-1800s, at the dawn of the industrial revolution. It was a time
when people were beginning to need something better than candles to
work and read by. Responding to the demand for reliable lighting,
companies began making oil lamps that were brighter than candles,
lasted longer, and were not easily blown out by an errant breeze.
One of the best oils to burn in these lamps was sperm-whale
oil. Sperm oil was clear, nearly odorless, light in weight, and burned
with little smoke. Virtually everyone preferred whale oil, but by the
mid-1800s, it was so scarce that only the wealthy could afford it. The
New England whalers had all but hunted their quarry to extinction.
Thus, the time was ripe for an inexpensive lamp oil to replace whale
oil. At the same time, steam-powered machines that required good-
quality lubricants were becoming common.
About this time - 1854 - a New York attorney named George
Bissell received a sample of an unusual liquid from a professor at

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