The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-10

able climate, and looking down upon the
beautiful Pacific and the tranquil islands
that bounded the horizons edge A pub
lie library was founded and well patron
lied, for the colony was for the most part
composed of persons of some intellect and
education, possessed of quiet tastes and
a thirst for knowledge. There was a lee
ture-hall, and it was understood by Won
dering outsiders that one of the more pre-
tentlous buildings that rose from amid the
tiny dwellings was seance-house, where
weird and mysterious dOings took place.
1t was only q short time, however, before
the little settlement began to have grum-
blings of intercine strife. This was logi-
cal result of the situation. Given a COM
munity of people with nothing to do, no
industries and no way of making a living
except by selling the necessarles OF life to
each other, cut off from intercourse with
the outside world by their peculiar organl-
zation, and discord will be the inevitable
result. The tone of social intercourse grew
decidedly wintry in Summerland. There
was Quarreling over water, quarreling over
land, allegations of Misrepresentation and
fraud. The tempest ended in an Outburst
OF libel suits, in which about half of the
population of the settlement was arrayed
on one side and the remaining half on the
other; libel suits that resulted in fine bill
OF costs for the county and a verdict of mo
cause of action" Disguised and discour-
aged one or two of the Summerland liti-
giants moved away, and others were pre-
pairing TO go, when new and thrilling
discovery was made that literally threw oil
on troubled waters and bids fair to make
the little settlement one of the most thirty
ing in the State.
In the early days Of the colony the acct
dental discovery was made that the whole
village was underlaid with a stratum of nat
ural gas, and the hopes excited by this
cd, 1s-all , ba iror1 a6i ta
Zation of the gas for purposes of fuel and
lighting, did much to assuage the first
murmurings of the disconnected and to
forIiiv the settlers to patience. AS time
went on and no flow was found of suffi-
cient Importance TO justify the founding
of manufactures or piping to surrounding
towns, and the fact that little Summerland
found her fuel underground became a mat
ter OF as little moment as the fact that
Santa Barbara finds her fuel by denuding
her hills of their beauty.
Suddenly a report was circulated that
beneath the black adobe soil that covers
the most of Summerland oil had been
found. A man named Smith Cole, digging
for water, had struck considerable flow
of oil, which, when accurately measured,
proved to be about five barrels a day.
Other Summerland people went to digging
wells, hoping that they, too, would chance
upon like happy discoveries and desul-
tory experim ent or so was made by some
for the purpose OF speculation. But,
although trace of oil was found here and
there, no one else found the fluid in paying
quantities, and the matter was allowed to
almost drop out of sight, as the discovery
of natural gas had done. This Indifference
was not unnatural, in view OF the fact that
in a canyon back OF Carpenteria, some eight
wears ago, flow of Oil was struck in pay
ing quantities, and company was at once
o-ronizad IN HaUplnn the coil field - into
which several prominent Santa Barbara
men put considerable capital, with the re-
suit that after some years of expensive eX-
ploration and experiment. the company
suspended operations, after having ex-
pended a sum many times over the profit
derived from the original WELL the flow
from which was soon exhausted. This
CANYON lies but three or four miles back of
SunImerland, and it seemed extremely
probable that the flow in Mr.. Coles well
was an accidental ''strike" of the same
character.
Meanwhile H. L. Williams, one of the
founders of the Summerland colony, had
been silently considering the situation and
making observations OF his own. All
along the beach in the vicinity OF sum
merland films of oil are seen on the ebb
tide. and in some spots the sand is curiously
puffed up by gas. which forces Its way
from far underground, which VIII ourn II
match is applied TO it. Instead OF SINKING
a shaft upon the high bluff upon which the
town stands. Mr.. Williams decided to see
what could be found along the ocean beach,
where the indications were most favorable
Accordingly he sank FIVE wells along
the sands, little above the reach OF the
tide. This work was pursued in the most
primitive way, without any boring ma
chinery or any of the improved appliances
generally used in such cases, shoveis ana
spades being the tools and the motive
power the sturdy muscles OF Summerland