The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1883-01-13
NUMBER ID.

| rings usually exposed IOT Sal0 III LIS
establishment were brought to him in
succession, but still the "Oil Prince
craved to see something finer and
larger" Finally the servitorrummaged
the safes for the finest and costliest Jewel
and produced it, and yet the "Oil
Prince" asked If he had not a ring finer
than that. mo" said the servitor, who
was becoming lively suspicious, "that
is the best that can be obtained in New
York at this moment" The value put
upon il was $1,000 or $4,000, aud no
sooner had the "Oil Prince" satisfied him
self that it was the best ring in the es-
adjustment than he slipped it onto his
finger and hauled out OF his pocket and
deposited on the counter not a check,
but bills aud coin in payment, The
servitor eyed the strange youth in
amazement, and, not unnaturally. sus-
pected that he must, to be in possession
OF such an amount of wealth, be red
handed from some bank robbery or the
pillage OF some mllionaire's money
chest. A messenger was sent in pur-
suit Of the youth as he stvolled along the
street, admirng on his finger sthe finest
ring in the city, and he was logged to
Que OF the fashionable city hotels, where
the messenger learned that the sus-
pected bank raider was no other than the
| ION Prince" who had already gained
wide notoriety for his extravaganza.
One day, having exhausted his purse, he
made hasty journey home, with a view
of replenishing it. He found his wife
and her relatives in state of rebellion
against his neglect of her, and against
| hiq eytra VA uan NJ bnhito To ell tko.,>
he handed over to his wife $40, 900, beside
buying her small property to reside
upon, and, this done, he again sought
the society OF his companions and the
revelry which his wealth commanded.
His game OF extravaganza and dissipa-
ton, however. was doomed to hive
termination, and his Eldorado to become
unproductive. After two or three
years successful operations on the Nc
Clintock farm, The wells became CON-
paratively dry, and as the oil spectators
departed to other districts in search of
more prolific sources of oil, the .'Oil
Prince" found bis supply of wealth cut
off, and his farm ruined for the produc-
ton Of crops. Some OF the companions
in his revelries had so shattered their
constitution as to hasten them to prema-
ture graves, while the most robust
had no other matters to attend
to than Ito dance in attendance
upon the "Oil Prince with his supply
of $4,000 day cut of. The ssprodigal''
returned to his wife on the little proper
ty he had bought to stihe her complaints
in the days of his wealth. Settling down
to practical business, he found employ
ment in driving team which he owned,
and subsequently he secured an appoint
ment rs station agent on the Oil Creek
route. He was In the habit of saying,
after he had ''sown his wild oats" that
In his wealthy days, II had lots of fun,
but | did not really enjov myself after
ALL A few years ago banking COM
pany publicly announced that it held
deposit of $40, 900 in the name of John
Steele, and that it had not been claimed
The attention of the "Oil Prince" was
drawn to the announcement and he was
reminded of the circumstance, which he
had forgotten, that in an interval Of his
'sprees'' he had deposited that sum in
the bank. With this sum, and with the
gift he made to his wife, the "Oil
Prince after all, is lifted above penury,
and in humble cottage he is often re-
minded of the evils which an improper
use of wealth may create. The story of
the ''Oil Prince is also the story of
many others who were raised to the
possession of wealth under pretty much
similar circumstance, and who used
their wealth to wreck their constitutions
in their search for pleasures, which left
in their path corruption of and
a sting to society that wealth
itself could not eradicate. While
many persons have grown rich out OF the
discovery of the subteTanean oil lakes,
scores have been made bankrupt in
pocket and health in their cages race
for the .'almighty dollar" All over the
oil regions in the counties Of Venango,
Butler, Clarion and Mexican, in the State
of Pennsylvania, once fertile farms have
been put under tribute % explorations
for and speculations in the mineral oil.
To land owners and to holders of origi-
nal land leases the discovery of and the
increasing traffic in petroleum has proved
n veritable godsend, but among specu-
lators in oil wells Dame Fortune has been
as varied in her moods as is her wont.
rejoicing the heart of one by bushels of
riches and saddening the heart of another
by financial wreckages and deep dives
into the sea of poverty and squalor.
Spectators who invest their capital in
sinking wells to tap the oil lake not
find that their time has
been wasted and that investments have
been thrown away; while others who
succeed in striking oil where it is run
ming in a copious stream find, in trying
to secure profitable market for the pro-
duct, that they are hedged about by the
most gigantic monopoly the world ever
saw, exceptit be the East India Com
pany, which the British Government
found to be to its interests to gobble up.
Journal.
The Gospel Of Relaxation.