The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-06-16
For Seven Years the Secret
Was Carefully Guarded Now
Big Fortunes Are Being Re-
allied by the Fortunate
Investors.

That truth is. indeed, stranger than
Fiction, is verified again and again, but
no stronger story OF verifcation has
come TO the public In recent years
than the story OF Sam Crowther ard
how he kept his great secret worth
many millions for seven years II reads
like a tale from the Arabian Nights"
but It is not. II is the story OF a coun-
try boy who was lucky and had Yankee
sense enough TO know II.
Drilling artesion wells for ranchmen.
minant oil IL was long before the
Lone Star state had It's first Cu her. and
no one dreamed that there was pay
oil down there. lie was poor. compaSa-
lively. and hadn't money 10 at once
buy up the vast tract OF land. So he
worked and served like Jacob IN love
with Rachel. seven years before he
dared 10 say the land was his and he
could safely tell his secret.
He went TO Boston last August, and
he was desperately in earnest. He did
not look like q promoter. He looked
like a man who had a gospel OF great
wealth 10 deliver and was bound that
the people should hear. He said he had
discovered luminant oil in Texas seven
years ago. He wanted to interest Bos-
ton capital, and was ready to reveal TO
Boston the greatest and richest oil fields
since the days OF "Coal-Oil Johnny"
and other exciting times in the Pennsyl-
vania OIL lands.
BOSTON INCREDULoUs AT FIRST.
Boston lifted its eyebrows. but dropped
them when the people found that Sam
Crowther had references. He referred
TO bankers and men OF high social and
business standing IN Texas. said he did
not want any one 10 accept offhand.
what he said, but that he courted the
fullest possible investigation.
Finally c. Il. King. well-known jour
nalist. whose newspaper training had
taught him not TO doubt everything
because IL looked dazzling, Interested
himself and told Crowther that he was
going 10 Investigate IL, and IL all was
as represented-and the goods were
there-something might come OF It. With
Mr.. King in the investigation were w
r. Usher. an extensive shot manufac-
turer and capitalist OF Newburyport,
Mass. and his son. w. A. Usher. Mr.
Usher. senior. a man OF long years OF
business ability, sent his son with Mr..
King TO investigate the oil fields discov-
cred by Sam Crowther. and together
with the artesian well driller, they
journeyed TO Texas to spy out the land.
After three days drive over the coun-
try in Atascosa, Live Oak and McMul-
len counties, looking into the old wells
and { new ones, all drilled by Sam
Crowther himself. they went to Austin,
and IL was only two days thereafter the
Texas papers printed a news item to
thx hat iner ~ thar
poration had been incorporated by the
secretary OF state with 100000 capital.
the purpose OF which was to prospect
for and sell oil. buy and lease oil lands
and carry on a general oil development
business in southwestern Texas.
The Boston men who went TO Texas
put their money in the new corporation
and returned home. and soon a lease
for the offices at Is State street was
cured for "a term of years. and when the
King-Crowther corporation opened its
doors TO the public eight months ago
there was an ovation. 1t extended
througout the day and the entire week
The rooms have been crowded with the
richest and the most conservative of
Boston business men. Men from ad-
joining states who have read In the
Boston papers of the opening of the Of
fees have visited the Hub 10 talk over
the new oil fields with the officers and
opening OF the rooms was printed In
the local papers the day before the off,
ces opened. No publicity OF any sort
was given the corporation till then. But
the rooms were flooded with letters and
exceeded by far the expectations OF the
officers. The public was not slow 10 ac-
cept in confidence the simple statements
made.
There had been no alluring or dazzling
promises. There had been no secrets
withheld. There had been no guarantee
OF fabulous returns on money invested.
Every statement carried with II the
ring Of truth because II was convince
ingly told.
SAM CRoWTHER'S STONY.
1t was in the parlors of the leading ho-
tells OF Austin, Tex. last October, after
the King -Crowther corporation had been
organized. and the smoke of fragrant
cigars was filling the corners OF the
room. that Sam Crowther told the story
with all its romance OF details. its pa
thos OF hope and despair, and its hero
ism of brave endeavor.
you see." he said. down In my part
OF Texas the greatest difficulty IL 10
get pure water for the rancher and his
stock. We all have to depend on rain
drought comes we are short OF water
and TO be short of water means death
to the cattle Seven years ago I was
engaged in drilnng for water-artesian
wells-for the ranchmen. One day O. l.
Van Meter. big ranchman In McMullen
county. got desperate and determined
that he would have pure water. let IL
cost him what II would. lie sent for
me. Bore me an artesian we'll he
said. and bore clear down 20 HI II you
have 10, but get me pure water
with those Instructions I started. IL
was easy enough 10 strike water, but
II was salt commenced 20 penetrate
the earth. and after had got down
800 feet I had salt water At 100 feet
I struck oil. IL was the first stratum
OF OIL, and I had 10 quit because my
drilling rig was not OF sufficient size 10
push down farther.
II had not struck fresh water. and
there was no hope OF striking it. That
was all there was OF 70. The well was
abandoned. and as Van Meter wanted TO