The Press., 1884-05-15

crude petroleum. It was the day when Fate shot her last arrow at McWilliams. Leaving the clumsy pump and greasy water barrels ill charge of an indigent ne- gro, McWilliams set off for Oil City to buy machinery for his new enterprise. Second hand engines and pumps were not plentiful, but after a tlresome walk up Oil Creek, McWilliams succeeded in pur- chasing what he wanted It was late in the afternoon when, on his return, he came in sight of the hills of Pithole. A towering cloud of smoke hung over the city. Holmden street was in flames. The Fremont House, the Syracuse House, the United States Hotel, the Buffalo House, and the Chautauqua livery stables were great blocks of fire. MeWilliams hastened forward. His first thoughts were of his dumps and water barrels. Of course, lu their eage1ness to subdue the fire, the citizens would seize upon his pump and use the water without thought of remuneration. In nasty or careless pumping they would destroy the we'll or pump it dry. Painting and ,breathless, McWilliams looked eagerly at the burn frantic men seemed to be near them, and no water was being thrown on the flames. The well must have gone dry ! McWilliams sat down upon a stump and groanel. Fighting against fate was 8 hard job, after all. After few moments he rose, and resolutely pushed on towal d his lease. He would know the worst. The Scotch grit in him came to the sur face, and he determined, with set teeth and clenched hands, that neither fate, luck, nor the devil, could sWerve him a hairs breadth in his purpose. He would succeed ; there was no power that would make him pause.
 But what was this, as he climbed a slight rise of ground? Three thousand men were crowded upon his lease. Some thing unusual had occurred. It could not be that the we'll had merely gone dry no been that the negro had fallen into a quicksand and disappeared no one cared about white mans life, much less ne- gros. What was it-what was fate's re- venge?
 The crowd pressed like. madmen about the pump. Greasy drillers, with strong, rude motions, elbowed aside stalwart men, and tread on the toes of finely dressed speculators from the east Small men went down like straws ill the crush, and were carried out half strangled. Employ CT fought with workman for places at the pump.
 "What new misfortune is this ?" cried McWilliams, as man dashed past him.
 "They pumped your well dry, and" The runner was gone before the sentence could be finished.
 The we'll had gone dry This was enough to start with. What next? Nc Williams forced his way into the crowd with fierce energy. Men recognized him and gave him room. The pump-handle was flying up and down like runaway walking beam. Then McWilliams, crowd ing forward, suddenly stopped. Some thing there-there where his eyes were chained-sent the blood back upon his heart, and left his cheeks and lips like ashes It was oil
 McWilliams' luck had run on to its ut termost limit it had done its worst, and here was the result McWilliams had pumped for water and found oil The first of the wonderful surface wells of Pit hole had been struck. Did McWilliams care? No; for in that trying moment, when the sun threw the radiance of that sparkling stream of oil into his staring eyes, the Scotch perverseness held its own. He had done with fate and luck forever.
 ''Fore God, massa," shouted the negro, as he caught sight of McWilliams in the crowd, "Ise pow'ful glad to see you. l pump dis yer ting fer de fire, an de mo- dey frows on de mo de fire burns.
 The negro was right. It will be remem- bered that the discovery of the famous face wells was due to the fire on Holmden street. In speeches. amazement the fire men saw streams of water turn to fire and go blazing heavenward. When it became known that the water-well on the hillside was belching forth a torrent of oil, the fire lost all attraction except to the hotel pro- prietors and persons financially interested. For full description of the scene, cheer fully refer the reader to the flowing English of the Pithole Record of February 5, 1866.
 McWilliams received this gift of fortune with sullen thankfulness; much in the same spirit as that in which an angry, willful child accepts a favor that 1t has fought for. He took what was given; but there was no concession in word or thought. It was a part of his resolution to take things as they come-he had already learn ed to part with them as they go; which was much the harder.
 I need not detail the events followine the discovery of the Pithole surface wells. Having served their purpose, these wells fell away to nothing. They were but the heralds of that greater fall, in which Pit hole itself went down into material oblivion, Flower and fern bloom and wave over it's } ruins now-McWilliams sold his lease } when prices sat on the very summit of } their wild glory, and following the line of l development into other fields, bought cau- tiously and wisely. He gained the repu- ) tation of being a careful operator-a man } who, leaving nothing to chance, pounded away until success, through sheer weari- ness, gave up her store of wealth. For tune tried to play with him once or twice, but gave up in despair. Nothing could withstand the c,reful attention to detail , with which he hammered away at his own chosen ideas.
 Mrs. McWilliams returned with the in- tention of setting up brilliant establish ment. She went away again with check for five thousand dollars ill her pocket. In exchange she had given written prom ise never to return, As have suggested elsewhere, it was no easy thing to impose upon McWilliams. A month afterward she was lost in storm while on her way to Europe.
 Last winter, while standing as an idle visitor in the correspondents gallery in the house of representatives at Washing ton, l heard strong, steady, familiar voice deliver a speech on the tariff uues-