The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-12-13
BIG HILL OIL FIELD MAY BE
AS IMPORTANT AS BEAUMONT.
Great Secrecy Is Being Maintained by the Promoters of the Maa
gora District but News of the Bringing lin of Tremendous
(ushcr Leaked Out Despite Their Precautions Cabe
of Dallas Tells What He Knows of the New Find.

the way II was when arrived and that's
the way 1t was when 1 left:
Il didn't see it gush. but / heard about
feet out from the derrick works surround
ing the well the ground was saturated
with oil. showing very plainly where the
had been gotten securely closed and
placed under lock and key.
Il am somewhat familiar with the de-
yelopment Of the Big Hill oil field. I
gorda County since 1895. When first in
vested, l had no idea there was OF. down
there. About two years ago prospecting
for oil took tangible shape. Beginning
about two miles from Matagorda Bay. and
near the outskirts of the old town of
Matagorda. there is peculiar formation
of the earth in locality that is known
as Big Hill. The ground covering an area
is from fifteen to thirty feet higher than
that of the surrounding country: That
thousand-acre tract is what is called the
Big Hill oil district.
FIRST PROSPECTING.
about two years ago, near the center
of this elevation of land. boring for an
oil well was started by Houston syndi-
cate. When they had drilled down about
800 feet-something more than year
ago-a tremendous pressure and flow Of
natural gas was encountered. The gas
came in such force that 1t blew OF the
derrick and almost wrecked the well. 1t
required from six to eight months work
to get the repairs fully made and the
gas flow under control. Since then the
gas has been piped to surrounding rice,
land properties, for a distance of several
miles and used for running the machines
In the plants Of number Of rice canal
properties, among them the Stewart Ca
nal.
AFTER the gas well exploit had become
n closed incident. the first part of Hous-
ton promoters succeeded in getting other
promoters and capitalists interested In the
search for MatagOrda oil, and they started
various distances apart on Big Hill.
Among the promoters are Thomas Lane.
Jonathan Nathan Lime, G. B. Culver. John
Sutherland and other men of Galveston.
Houston, Bay City and other places In
Southern Texas. and also the Atchison
and the Gulf. Colorado and Santa Fe Rail-
toned being SO largely represented as to
be generally considered controllers OF the
situation.
FIRST WELL
1.-THE first we'll that this syndicate
started has beer bored at a point about
LOCO feet northeast of the gas well. Work
was started on 1t more than a year ago.
1t had reached a depth Of about ]. 100 feet.
some eight days ago, when persistent re-
ports got out from the Big Hill confines
that oil had been struck In rich quanti-
ties. These reports were followed by the
Thursday last. The well was quickly
capped and securely locked. The owners
of the well know why better than do"
Mayor Cabelrs statement of conditions
as he saw them coincide very consistently
with reports that have been sent to news
papers and individuals. The public be-
licve that another oil field of the class Of
Beaumont and Sour Lake has been
pierced In Texas. In the face of denials
from interested promoters comes the news
from Galveston that the Gulf, Colorado
and Santa Fe Railroad authorities have
determined to hurry an extension of that
road to Big Hill. i'he object is to get in
position to develop its own fuel oil as
substitute for coal and wood. Represent
atives of the Atchison and the Santa Fe
syndicates are also buying large Qranti-
ties OF land all around Big HILL