Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-07-17

and the money ttIat now came in 50
nsFtc.y was al banked. The Reeds sldil
lived in the same unpre5earious house,
2lthcagh the family lived better.
Kennedy and Kelley went on from
ere victory TO another. Soon aster
their frs, triumph they sunk the "Cnl-
naman's VEN in the same field This
Is the only known Instance where Ce-
le'5,ials dnSl,ed for the greasy fuld. A
lot Of Mott street Chinese in New York
were interested in oil by hlIsuilng ieas-
c.. Wtth characteristic enterprise he
sd them property that had already
O-Ye.OpeN several GuS-srS. Kennedy
and Kelley, who now were the mascots
OF the entire oil region, were engaged
% drill the vel. About wenty China
men came from New York 10 witness
the operation. and bunked on the farm,
attracting crowds of curious people for
miles around
Each day during thet drilling the Chi
namen surrounded the derrick, with
curiously mingled expressions OF hope
and misery on their yellow counter
anoss. Finally, just when despair be-
gan TO seize them, and nNm'berless
prayers had been burnt over portable
jess, gusher was struck. The China
men were fairly frantic with joy, and
hlid an informal can-can On the spot
After that Kennedy and Kelley were
more in demand than any other 6rillers
in the region. Like Midas OF cd, What
ever they touched turned 10 gold. Two
years ago Gil went up to $3.50, and all
through the rise they were holding 25,-
600 barrels at Sacd Hill Run. on the
Ohio SIDE of The river, three miles from
Marietta. W1ion oal touched that figure
they said TO each other: We will sell
now and they did. Oil never advanc-
cd another cent, and began to decline.
Iheir luck was Phenomenal Beth men
now own magnificent homes and much
rea- estate in Marietta, and are among
t1e most influential operators in the
coun-ry, yet four years ago They we're
CAD 70 get board for their services.
Mrs. Reed was a familiar figure to
oil operators in Pittsburg. Oil City. and
even in the East, for many a day. She
was an understood woman, who. like
Hetty Green, did not pay overly much
attention to dress. She was a woman
! =
Of push In the town OF Marietta she
was g dominant power, and the wishes
Of Mrs. Reed were to great extent law.
Her great fortune was used literally to
aid the poor and needy. Mrs. Reed
could never explain how she had such
faith in her farm as a fOrtune-maker,
and Kennedy and Kelly to this day cell
the story of the Big Kate" gusher, and
how they came near losing it. They
speak with the broadest of Irish ac-
cents, and, like all Irishmen, are good
story tellerS. The account of their
wonderful fortunes has sent many
workers into the fields, and, perhaps,
caused more than one failure by those
who expected to duplicate their phe-
nomsnal strike.
The Big Kate is now, and has been
for year. as dry as bone. Other
wells on the Reed farm are still flow
ing. The well was in the Gov Run"
sands, and was 900 feet dsep. Il cost
500 to drill, for all the material used
had been a portion of the first duster.
For months it was almost shrine for
oil men who had heard the story of its
find and wanted to see the place and
the woman. Drillers were always well
come at the house, and Mrs. Reed would
give them a meal. as Of old. but she did
not charge them as she did before she
struck OIL" The we'll stands to-day
as one of the interesting derricks in the
oil filds. and is one of the landmarks
of the State of West Virginia.
One man, az least has profted by Mrs
Reeds experience. His name ii Jake
Rubreck. and he is a German farmer at
! Cats Greek, w. Va. He had just such
a miserable farm as Mrs. Reeds. He
made barely a living from it. About a
year ago he dreamed that there was oil
in a corner of his farm, and his neigh
bors declared that he was crazy. He
dreamed again, and again he told OF II,
only to be laughed at once more. He
kept talking OF his dreams until his
neighbors began telling the story as
Joke on him. Jake's dream OIL was
the stock Joke on the creek. An opera
tor heard of it, and got lease. Jake
! showed him where TO drill. and they
struck oil. The well, runaingN15O bar
rels a day. is known as The Dreamer"
On the rest Of Jake's land wells were
nut down. and now there are The Six
! Dreamsrs" running. They will prob
ably make Jacob a millionaire some
day. THEO. c. DIETRICH.