Flowing Gold

eum, on through the development of its usefulness and the vast expansion of its production, the story is one

ast journey, there is not often a day when he fails to make use of mineral oil or some of its by-products. Ocean liners and farmers' plows are driven by it; it takes the rich man to his office and it cleans the shopgirl's glo

ter of fact it is amazingly ingenious and extremely efficient, and your oil-field operator is pretty much the same. Nor is there any business in which practical experience is more valuable. As a result, most of the big oil men, especially those engaged in production, are gra

essed such scenes as were enacted there. The California gold rush, the great Alaskan stampede, the diamond frenzies of South Africa a

f supply, the success of independent producers, large and small-all these, and other reasons, too, caused many people hitherto uninterested to turn their serious attention to petroleum. The country was prosperous, banks were bulging with money, pockets wer

curred, the comprehensive story of which can never be written, owing to the fact that no human mind could follow the swift events of the next few tumultuous months,

in said, everybody talked about it, but nothing was done. Within sixty days this soporific village became a roaring bedlam; every town lot was leased, derricks rose out of chicken runs, boilers panted in front yards, mob

the ground was easily drilled, hence it quickly became known as a poor man's pool. Then, too, experienced oil men and the large companies who had seen town-site boom

alls became their headquarters. Here there were at least a few hotels and some sort of offi

hunting they had never known, hence they gorged themselves openly, seldom quarreling among themselves nor even bothering t

ows of tiny bull-pen brokers' offices, and in these companies by the hundred were promoted. Stock in them was sold on the sidewalks by bally-hoo men with megaphone voices. It seldom required more than a few hours to dispose of an entire issue, for this was a credulous and an elated mob, and its daily fare was exaggeration. Stock exchanges were opened

her, was penetrated and the world heard of the Northwest Extension of the Burkburnett field, a veritable lake-an ocean-of oil. Then a wilder madness reigned. Daily came reports of new wells in the Extension with a flush production running up into the thousands of barrels. There appeared to be no limit to the size of this deposit, and now the

at they outran the law, which is ever deliberate. The camps of the black-lime district, which had been considered hell holes, were in reality models of order compared with these mushroom c

f the land melted and spinning wheels churned it; traffic halted, vehicles sank, horses drowned. Between rains the sun dried the mud, the wind whirled it into suffocating clou

shelter overhead and pavements underfo

perience and some accomplishments, but until his arrival at Wichita Falls he had never made a conspicuous success of any business enterprise. The unforeseen invariably had intervened to prevent a killing. Either a pal

nce on the blind baggage had been discovered, he had done his best to avoid trouble. He had explained earnestly that he simply must leave the city by that particular train. The circumstances were such that no other train would do at all, so he declared. When he had been booted off he swung under and rode the trucks to the next stop. There a man with a lantern had searched him out, much as a nigger shines the eyes of a possum, and had dragged him forth. He was dragged forth at the second stop, and again at the third. Finally, the train was halted far out on a lonely prairie and a large bra

gements, but at the next stop, a watering tank, aid came from an unexpected quarter. From the roof of the car ano

re filled with nuts and bolts. This ammunition he divided with his companion, and such wa

ion. He had many practical ideas, had Mr. Stoner, as, for instance, the use to be made of a stick with a crook in it or a lath with a nail in the end. Armed thus, he declared, it was possible for a man on the roof of a sleeping car to pick up a

ted with a subtlety of humor rare in a man of his sorts. The nature of the story appealed keenly to McWade, and it ran like this: Stoner had been working in the Louisiana gas fields near the scene of a railroad accident-three bulls had strayed upon the right of way with results disastrous to

ve him a great idea. He went to town and very cautiously told of his discovery-a gas seepage, with traces of oil. His story caused a sensation, and he led several of the wealthiest citizens to the spot, then watched them in all gravity while they ignited the gas, smelled it, tasted the soil. They were convinced. They appointed Stoner their agent to buy the farm, under cover, which he did a

's meeting; on the roof of that swaying Pullman

centage of breakage. It kept McWade upon his feet, but, anyhow, he could not sit with comfort, and it enabled him, in the course of a week, to purchase a change of linen and to have his suit sponged and pressed. This done, he resigned and went to the leading bank, where

ys of grace, so he pocketed his new pass and check books, then mingled with the crowd at the Westland Hotel. He bought leases and drilling sites, issuing local checks in payment thereof-nobody could question the validity of those che

prosperity dogged the pair, and before long they had made reputations for themselves as the only sure-fire wildcat promoters in town. McWade possessed the gift of sidewal

thods of gathering an audience. Mere vocal persuasiveness did not serve to arrest the flow of pedestrians, and so McWade's ingenuit

e sidewalk in front of their office. Now gambling was taboo, hence the spectacle of two expensively dressed, eminently prosperous men squatting upon t

er with the policeman on duty; gravely they breathed upon the cubes; earnestly they called upon "Little Joe

with some curiosity, not divining its purpose, until McWade poc

here is a much saner, safer method, and I'm going to tell you about it. Don't pass on until

ve laughter, but the crowd press

carpet tack jump onto a magnet like"-the speaker paused and stared hard at a member of his audience who had passed a humorous remark at his expense-"just like I'll jump you, stranger, if you don't keep your trap closed. I say who can read those secrets, who can harness those forces? The man who can has got the world by the tail and a downhill pull. Now then, for the plot of my story, and it will pay you to do a week of listening in the next five minutes. Awhile ago an em

, and, believe me or not, he called the turn on forty-three wells straight and never missed it once. Call it a miracle if you choose, but it cost Brick and me two thousand iron men, and I've got ten thousand more that says he can do the trick for you. I'll let a committee of responsible citizens t

the oil industry, but he was surprised to see that fully half of this audience appeared to put faith in the cl

than Mr. Mallow-Mallow, a bit pallid and pasty, as if from confinement, and with eyes hidden behind dark goggles. With a show of some embarrassment, the inven

orpion," and he really judged from the behavior of his machine that a remarkable pool underlaid the tract. He was willing to risk his reputation upon the guaranty that the first well would produce not less than three thousand ba

done for the day. Another successful promotion had gone to the credit of McWade and Stoner; al

ver tip that took a st

ack? He called his comp

adjoining the Moon Petroleum tract-three wells down

ld his stock in two days, thirty-five thousand shares, then he blew. Some Coal-oil John, who had plunged for about three shares, got to studying his own map,

e to stop those crooks or they'll kill us legitimate promo

rect in their chairs, with eyes alert and questioning, for at sight of the stranger Mallow had leaped to his feet with a smother