The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-08-07
BARGES ARE NUMEROUS.
The Neches Is Used for Floating Oil
10 the Port.
A SURE ENOUGH GUSHER BROUGHT IN
Developed Itself After Il Was Listed as
a Good Punper-Activity at Sour
Lake and Saratoga.

| Beaumont, Texas, August 1.-THE rapia
Increase In the river oil trade is beias dem
onStrated every day and the number OF
oarges and tugs ON the river now exceeds
anything ever known, even the halmy DAYS
OF years gone BY when all produce gro.
ceries, dry goods and chattels for Southeast
| Texas came up the Neches river from Gal.
weston. There are tugs passing up and
| down the river all the while, and they
usually carry In their wake bargeS loaded
with oil going down and empty coming back
| Perhaps the largest barge ever built In this
section came w late last night and has
been the source Of much interest TO the
river loungcrS sll day today II is the
property OF the Higgins OH and Fuel com
pany and Is their No l and Is appropriate
" named spindle Top" The barge win
be continued In the river trade here and
is the foreMnner OF others for that com.
pany. K Is understood that several other
concerns have men out now looking for tugs
and that purchases win soon he made IN
THAI line, while the barge construction Is
being kept up both at Beaumont and
the latter city With the coming work 20
be done with the appropriation made by
the last congress IL Is expected that the
draught Of those vessels may he Increased
TO certain extent mud finally they win
give way to the ocean going vessels mat
may come direct to the wharves here,
~
Mr.. Tom G. Swope Of the Gum Carlo
houccrn, which Is to be located IN Houston
announces that he has received hts hrst
order and that It came for n hig lot Of the
material from a rubber factory. This Is In
keeping with the claims Mr., Swope has
been making all along about the prodrct
they would turn out and shows that thcre
must be considerable merit In his proposed
article of manufacture.
~
The Lucas oil Wen Drilling company De.
veloped freak on the hill this morning.
Some time ago they took contract to
bring In gusher, but It seems that they
had considerable trouble In carrying out
the contract and finally had to give II up.
They have been drilling lately to get good
producers and not the gushers OF the old
kind. and they brought in what they sup
posed TO be one OF this kind n day or two
since They had II In good shape end went
away, leaving only the Waterman IN charge
last night. and afterwar1 he discovered the
valve leaking on the well He opened tt up
slightly and II ran. When the men went
back this morning to do some further work
about 1t they opened 1t up again and the oil
came out with gusher.lkc force They
were surprised but no one has been kicking
we'll, on block 80. Of the Keith Ward tract.
~
The beaumont Gas company will tomor.
row turn on the gas" to the city They
have in the last three months constructed
ten miles Of gas pipe and have been very
busy making tests and getting matters In
shape 10 handle It, ana they believe that
now they will be able to furnish all the
gas the people here need. In the moan.
time. while they were waiting for this, they
have been supplying large number Of
wells on the hin with gas With which they
could cgtate their wells and keep up the
dow, The company is composed largely of
home people, and the citizens generally are
much pleased that they ARE now ready to
urnl gas. which has been So much desired
ever since Captain Lucas brought In his
well eighteen months ago.
49,
One of the general officials Of the Santa
Fc this morning Informed an oil man that
the Santa Fe had had no freight train In
here from Somervlle for two weeks, aud |
the impression was created that the un- |
cial talking did not know just when there
would he freight train In from that dIrcc !
ton The cause Is supposed 10 be the |
strike Of the machlnists. This Is also help. |
Ing 10 curtall the oil shipments, which are
getting smaller on account OF the more |
Crampcd car situation all around. II Is !
very hard matter to get any cars Mt all now !
upon requisltion, and the only thing COM /
pany can hope for is to get the cars 1t |
owns,
~
The activity Mt both Sour Lake and sar- !
atoga is becoming more pronounced and |
the new rigs are going In with regularity |
that shows both these nelds are regarded |
as of a most substantial kind. Business is
also getting stable and the validating era
is no unusual excitement nor IS there a |
special rush to get land, but IL is simply i
a strong, healthy state OF affairs all along |
the line.
~
To-day was very dull on the oil exchange,
the only sales being $4,000 shares OF Divl.
dend at cent oil was offered al 30 and
20. the prevailing prices for the past ten
days.