The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1884-01-24

I
charge OF an INDECENT negro, McWiIl-
Jams set off for Oil City to buy machin-
cry for his new enterprise. Second
hand engines and pumps were rot plen-
tiful, but after a tiresOme walk up Oil
Greek McWilliams succeeded in pur-
chasing what he wanted.
1t 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 Chau-
tauqua livery stables were great blocks
Of fire.
AIcWilliams fastened forward. His
first thoughts were for his pumps and
water barrels. OF course, in their
cagerness to subdue the fire the citizens
would seize upon his pump and use all
the water without q thought of Tcmu-
ncra lou. In hasty or careless pumping
they would destroy the we'll or pump il
dry. Painting and breathIess. McWill-
Jams looked eagerly at the burning
buildings. Only dozen or so Of fran
tic men seemed 10 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 urOancd. Fighting against fate
was hard Job, after all. After a few
moments he rose and resOlutelv pushed
on toward his lease. He would know
the worst. The Scotch grit in him
came to the surface, and he determined,
with set teeth and cleuched hands, that
neither fate. luck nor the devil could
swerve HIM a hair breadth in his pur-
pose. He would succeed; hell Itself had
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.
Something unusual had occurred. 1t
could not have been that the we'll
cared about that. 1t could not have
been that the negro had fallen into
quicksand and disappeared; no one
cared about n white mans life, much
less a negro's. What was it-what was
fatc's revenge?
The crowd pressed like madmen about
the pump. Greasy drillers, with strong,
rude motions, elbowed aside less stall
Nyart men and trod on the toes of finely
dressed spectators from the East.
Small men went down like straws in the
crush, and were carried out half stran-
~led. Employer fought with workman
for places at the pump.
q" What new misfortune Is this?'2 cried
McWliiamS, as man dashed past him.
They pumped your well dry and
The runner was gone before the sentence
could be finished.
The well had gone dry! This was
enough to start with. What next? Me
Williams forced his way nto the crowd
with fierce energy. Men recognized
him and gave him room.
The pump-handle was flying up and
down like Il runaway Walking-beam.
Then McWlliams, crowding forward
suddenly stopped. Something there
/ there where his eyes were chained-sent
the blood back upon his heart, and
/ left his checks and lips like ashes. 1t
was DILL
McWnliams' luck had run on to its
uttermost limit; i 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 Pithole had been struck. Did Nc
Williams care? No; for in that trying
moment, when the sun threw the IA
dance of that sparkling stream of oil
I into his staring ewes, the Scotch per
I yerseucss held its own. He had done
with fate and luck forever.
"'Fore God. Massa,' shouted the
negro, as he caught sight of NcWil-
/ liams in the crowd. Use pO'f clad to
/ see you. pump dis yer thing Tor Gle
/ fire, an de mo dey frCWs on de mo- de
! fire burns"
The negro was right. Tt will be re-
/ membered that the discovery of the IA
| nous surface wells was due to the fire
on Holmden street. In speechless
/ amazement the lircmen saw streams OF
/ water turn to fire and 90 blazing hcav-
/ onward. When it became known that
/ the water well on the hillside was
/ be,chng forth torrent Of oil, the fire
lost all attraction except to the hotel
. proprietOrs and persons financially in
teres, ed For a full description Of the
scene | cheerfully refer the re der to
| tine flowing English of the PithOle bee
| ord OF February >, 1866.
McWilliams received this gift of fort
une with suIIen thankiuIness; much
in the same Spiri. as that in which an
| angry, wllful child accepts a favor that
it has fought for. He tOok what wa,
! given, but there was no concession il
word or thought. 1t was a part of his
resolution to take things rs thcy come
he had already learned to part Will
them as they go; which was much the
harder
! need not detail the events follow
inc 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
i'm which PithoIe itself went down in {
material oblivion Flower and fcu
bloom and wave over its ruins now.
McWilliams sold his lease whc1
If l1a Of b.f
wild glory, and following the line o
development into other fields bOugh
cautiously and wisely. He gained lht
reputation OF being a careful opcrato
"a man wEO, having nothing L
chance, pounded away until success
through sheer WEAKNESS, gave up he
store of wealth. Fortune tried to play
with him once or twice, but gave up il
despair. Nothing could withstand tn,
careful attention to detail with which
he hammered away at his own chosen
ideas.
Mrs. McWilliams returned with tn,
intention of setting up n brilliant as
Establishment. She went away again witt
check for five thousand dollars in he
pocket. In exchange she had given
written promise never to return. As
have suggested elsewhere. it was al
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 idl
visitor in the correspondents gallery il
the House of Representatives ut Wash
r ington, l heard a strong, steady, famil
, lar voice deliver speech on the tart
question. The honorable member wen
at his subject hammer and tongs, an
| by his logged earnestnesS claimed tn
close attention of the whole House