Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-03-14
A RACE In THE MUD.
How John Newell Managed to Land
a Much-Wanted Oil Lease.
ELECTRICITY OF GREAT AVAIL
In Hustlinr a Couple of Pittsburgsrs to
Beat a Fast Roadster.
AN EXPRESS WAGON HELPS EN- OUT

Probably as novel race as ever occurred
for an oil lease, occurred between this city
and westyiew, yesterday afternoon. Those
famous old oil scouts, Ben Tupper, Charley
Newton. or that prince of them all, Joe
Cappeau. may unwind yarn or two of the
oood old days of Bradford or Pithole and
Of the breakneck rides cross country. and
burrah for the first and condemn the last,
but the electric cars, an express wagon, and
a nair of stout legs can even play cases and
win out.
1t was going on toward 4 o'clock, and the
afternoon sun was probably going through
its matinee performance of setting toward
the Western horizon, although the curtain
of clouds had not vet risen, when John
Newell received word that certain coveted
lease in the new oil field, Westview, was in
the market, providing it wasn't sold before
his arrival.
'swe can 90 faster by taking the electric
car" said Newell (call him Newell because
that was his name), and the car was boarded,
or rather crawled into, and that modern in
stitution flashed toward Perrysville, bent on
the prehistoric and tIme-honored errand OF
working a farmer for his lease.
The warm car. padded seats and easy mo-
tion seemed a revelation to the two used to
roughing it. and some pleasing comparisons
between the present and the rough old days
of Cherry Grove were being drawn, when
johnny drawled, "oh, me! Oh, my! Look
at thatr'
ALSO AFTER A LEASE.
"Tbat" was nothing but a plain man in
bugry. urging his horse up the steep hill
back of Allegheny. He was clad in
the usual oilskln and was In
the normal condition of the
average oil man, in great hurry, as hecks
of foam whirIed back on face and coat to
miT With mud fresh from the heavy roads"
"He's afther ME lease" said Newell,
falling into his humorous brogue when get
zinc the worst of it. "He's afther me lease
and I'm afther getting lett.
A chill silence settled over the car pair,
broken only bv the monotonous hated ring
of the conductors bell and the heavy
breathing of the electric current as few
thousand more ohms were turned on, and
the car volted forward and madly down the
first grade. Then something happened, no
one knows what, and the driver will never
tell. as it is against the rule to talk to the
electric engineer. Anyway, there was a
bang and an upheavaf, and the car glided
stnoothlv on, leaving plowing horse and
wrecked buggy on one side of the road, and
a steady volume of choice oil-country En-
rlish from man who had
evidently devoted much of his
time to accumulating expressive
adiectiyes The rival lessee was foored, or
rather grounded. No, hardly that for the
determined man undid the traces in
mopent. cut the lines, clambered on the
horses back and came on again.
"Lukkat him gallop," said the conductor.
No" said an excited passenger, "he's
went lame" which expressive phrase pos-
sessed the merit of truth, if not of grammar.
The horse had gone lame badly, and SO the
first half of the race ended, with the car
leading to its terminus at Perrysville, and
the lease still two miles away.
'sNow." said Newell, sprint" and they
sprinted. He carried weight of some so
pounds over his friend, but the latter soon
accumulated more than his share OF mud,
though the other didn't object, SO honors
were easy.
"There's not carriage in Perrysyiiie, but
= wonder what that rattling is behind?"
"An express wagon"
Whose in it?''
"A man."
'FThe dei'l!'
SNo am"