, 1886-05-21
ORIGIN OF OIL SCOUTING.


The Work First Done by Newspaper Corr
respondents-Dangers and Rewards.
In the good old days when the petro-
leum wells of Pennsylvania were
kicked down with the aid of n light
iron drill and a hickory spring pole, oil
scout were unknown. There were no
oil exchanges, no pipe lines, no brokers,
and very few spectators. The oil pro-
Queer bailed his well out by a hand
power windlass, ran it into barrels, and
hauled it on wagons to the nearest rein
cry. Oil passed directly from the pro-
Queer to the r%efiner, and prices We're
regulated by the laws of supply and de-
mand. In the Oil Creek valley much Of
the oil was sent to market in llatboais.
Occasionally in ummer the pilot had to
get ont and pour water on the rocks to
iloat his boat over the rifles. Then the
producer managed everything; now lie
manages. nothing-not even his own
wells.
Oh scouting is of recent origin. the
oil region newspapers are responsible for
it. Years 6 they began the practice of
making monthly reports, showing the
numbered wells drilled during the month
the number of barrels of crude petroleum
produced by each well, the number of
wells drilling, and the number of rigs
(derricks) up and building. Correspond
ents specially detailed for this work trav-
eled through the oil fields constantly,
telegraphing from day to day the pro-
gress of operations in the new fields, or.
to speak technically, "at the 'front.' Dc
casionally, when the information thus
telegraphed was of sufficient Importance
to affect the price of oil, and it came to
hand early in the afternoon, the news
paper proprietor used it as n basis to de-
terminc his course in buying or selling
oil. Next morning it was published as
news, and the public had the benefit of it.
Brokers and Spectators Dol saw the
value of this advance information, and
lost no time in proposing to the newspa-
per proprietor that he should divide up
with his early news, and take a share in
whatever profits might accrue. AS n
rule the newspaper proprietors preferred
todivide THEN news with their subscribers
next morning, leaving the brokers and
spectators to shift for themselves. Fail
ing to get an advance share in the daily
reports, the spectators next tried to get
the monthly reports a day or two ahead
of the rest Of the people, but in this they
were likewise disappo..i ted.
Then one of the big oil companies
which wanted to know when to sell oil
sent out II specially selected man to
make n regular monthly oil report, and
to send i'll from day to day the news of
the field. For the first few months the
man worked with the newspaper cores
poadents, learning their methods and
studying the Typographical features of
the country. When he was able to stand
alone other men were put INTO the field
10y oil companies and brokers' firms, and
in n short time half Il score of them were
roaming about the oil regions. As Il
means of distinguishing them from the
newspaper men they We're called oil
scouts. Their work did not differ mate
rally from that of the newspaper CORE
spondents, but in the course of time they
dropped the making of monthly reports
of operations in the entire field and con-
fined themselves to those portions of the
petroleum regions that were most likely
To affect he price of oil.
OF late years the rapid development of
,rea,;pg terdcncv Of snscrlotors and
suecnIntiva rrodncers m c,et = halo ~,
mystery over nearly every well drilled
in new territory, have practically con-
fined tbe ~scout,s work IN the vvatcLingof
vhat i known to tbe troda ne .u.iLicot
wells A ~~viIdrntr is nm exnarimenta1
venture in Now and undeveln,ed terri
tory. One nromising wildcat iudi-
c%iouslv managed Nv its owper
will cause moro doubt uncer,
tointv and uraasinass 20 Tho t,oda
than nj the rest Of the ,vell, in
the country mt tocether The oil
market is usuauv in snch n nreca r;o,s
condition that a LARGO we'll in n now 6old
will denress nrices IN n serious axtant
II is important therefore for a comnanv
that il holding nil for n risa IN tnow
whether fine newest wildcat ia IN becon,a
n nroli6c VOL ar n drv bola and II ;s tha
scouts business To find this ont in nd
vance of every one else
rrsr,uv tho gunner ,ho ,,.1Joo. Lo.
oil 81 lie omn ,ha, 10 nan.r Ill u-
fore tho morLots bra,Ls onJ hoauna.5
;naIr moLas ,ha r;iJnn, ,nt1
he has arranged his financial affairs to
his satisfaction. He boards up the der
rick 50 that no n can see into it, and
posts armed sentinels in the immediate
n~eighborhood to warn off intruders.
Despite these precautions the oil scout
invariably gets the news. Sometimes he
creeps past the scntinels in the dead of
NIGHT and craNyls unlpr tha derrick door