The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-08-27
Corner Montana Avenue
and T~wenty-Eighth Street.

the Black Hills. The company had
men there who with blankets and
other crude methods skinned the oil
from the surface Of the water and
saved it, the oil forming a most excel
lent lubricant for the company's ma
chinery in mine and mill. For a num-
Der of years everybody in the Black
Hills was aware of the fact, but no
one paid any attention to the matter,
no more than they did to the fact that
near the same place men were engaged
in making salt from saline springs for
the Sitting Bull silver mill at Galena.
Solar evaporation was employed in
obtaining the salt and the finished
product vas shipped by team to the
mill, a long way of.
ut vas during the days when Dead
wood enjoyed it's famous mining stock
boom, days when people went wild
over stocks and anything in the way
of certificates of shares could be sold
without question. Money for a while
was plentiful and millionaires crowd
ed one at every turn. Some Of the
shrewder ones saw opportunities for
getting rich in other directions and
turned their attention to the oil
fields. Companies were organized and
soon what had been only vast eXpans-
es of sagebrush and bunch grass be-
came busy haunts of men drilling for
oil. Derricks were erected and ma
| chinery more or less expensive was
imported and prospecting began in
earnest. Some of the wells sunk at
tanned considerable depth, but in no
instance were the results such as to
encourage the wne to proceed be-
You'd the first expenditure of money
and energy, both of which had been
prompted by the enthusiasm of dis
covery. Gradually all work ceased,
derricks were allowed to go to decay
WAS struck, but in none in qualities
even approximating the flow now
claimed for some of the new ones.
The best that any of them could do
was to produce a few barrels a day,
and to get this small amount to the
surface it was necessary to employ
pumps.
cone company more ambitious and
earnest than the others, sent to Fem.
sylvania and secured the services of
a man who claimed to be an expert in
all branches pertaining to the produc.
ton of oil. He looked over the field
and announced himself satisfied that
it was only a matter of a short time
; until the oil fields of his state would
bes overshadowed by those of north
eastern Wyoming and the STANDARD
Oil company would have a deadly
rival in one or more of the Deadwooc
t companies. Either his judgment
} proved at fault or he was not the eX
| pert he claimed ito be. But whatever
the cause, he was unable to make goot
his prediction. The well he promised
!, the company never got beyond thu
first stage. of productiveness and
|, two barrel we'll is not much of a propo
sition when pitted against the Stand
ard Oil company. He left the countr.
and returned east, but not withou
mementoes of his western eS
p~erience. He, had a pocket wei
filled with the stock OF tn
company by which he was en-
ployed. His faith had been so grea
n that. he took. a large portion OF nj
k pay in stock. AS he was then alread
quite an elderly man he is probapl
It dead now and the certiicates-the
were beauties to look at-haye pro-
n ably d%escendede to his children, II n
y had any, or now form a portion OF tn
II shares of his estate divided among tn
le heirs.
ID sSThe boom was a short one, b'
it was lively while it lasted. BY u
IL way, I had some of the stock issued .
le several of the companies. 1t cost m
Is a fair amount, too but | haven't
i now. I used it and some more t. p
per my cabin with. 1t made real pre-
ty wall paper, but it was a tribe e
IL conc;uoo