Fergus County argus., 1905-09-15
THE KENDALL
OIL DISTRICT
LOCATIONS NEAR THAT CAMP
AND ON DOG CREEK STILL
BEING MADE.

The locating of prospective oil lands
in the vicinity of Kendall and along
Dog creek and Little Dog creek goes
merrily on, the total amount of land
that has now been covered by these
notices, filed with County Recorder
| Hazen, reaching a very large total in
acreage. So far, however, nothing
has really been done to determine
whether or not oil exists IN this sec
ton of commercial quality and in
paying quantity. That there is really
oil has been shown by the discovery
made on the Bullard property, and
some outside people are figuring on
doing some extensive drilling yet this
fall.
Oil Interests of the West
The Swift Current oil field and that
about 80 miles from Great Falls are
Two very promising districts, and the
wells near Browning are believed TO
be certain of success. Whether or not
these districts will take rank with
the great producers of the west is a
! question that cannot be decided for
some time yet. Those interested are
| very hopeful, however, and several
men who have visited all of the dis
tricts named, and who are well in
formed on the subject, believe that
the field around Kendall is a more
| promising one than any of them. The
opening of a new oil district is gen
orally surprise except to the few.
| 1t was so in Los Angeles and it was
SO in Texas.
In 1892 some prOSpectOrs who mad
an idea that oil could be found I'M
derneath the city of Los Angeles,
! Cal, began boring test well, and
surprised everybody, including them
| selves, by making a strike Der
ricks went up by the score and be-
came a common sight in the dooryards
of this pretty little city, even in the
streets. A year later the Newhall
district, as it is called was prOduc-
ing about 100000 barrels Today the
wells of California are contributing
more petroleum than those of any 9th
er state, exceeding even the older
fields of Pennsylvania.
1t is a curious fact that during the
same year, 1892, Patilo Higgins, a
country school teacher in eastern Tex
as. conceived the idea that he could
make more money out of oil than in
the class room. He succeeded in or
Sanizing company to prospect, but
nearly 10 years elapsed before he Sc
cured enough money to make the hole.
When it began flowing at the rate of
$4,000 barrels every "a hours, people
who had laughed at the visionary
scheme, changed their minds 1t is
a long distance from Texas to Califor-
mia, but the traveller can now see the
frame pyramids marking well sites,
stretching from the Mississippi clear
into the Pacific ocean, for they are
actually pumping water from beneath
the waters Of the Pacific in southern
California. In five years the petroleum
industry in the west and southwest
has developed from insignificant pro
, portions until this part of America is
supplying more of the liquid than
the rest of the content combined
for of nearly 12oo00,Ooo barrels
! brought forth in 1904, over one-half
came from the west and southwest.
The greatest yield of the famous
iD'''H' 'iS'iiNI III INuoold IL lloI ONCl
S5,0OO.OOo barrels, SO that the United
Estates far exceeds this, the next
greatest field of the world; but if the
well digSers continue their activity
on the present scale the year 1905 will
be more of a record breaker than
even 1904, for a conservative estimate
puts the figures at nearly, if not quite,
15O,OoO,oo0 barrels including districts
| n,,1x
the beginning of the present year.
Higgins put down his well on the
prairie a few miles from Beaumont
leXas. Within 80 days seven more
rigs in sight of it had reached the
sands and were each spouting up from
10000 to 10000 barrels daily. Not
strange, is it, that in two months 400
companies had been organized to bore
for Oil. to sell land, to deal in oil ma
chinery. and to build refineries and
pipe lines? The history of Oil City
was repeated in Beaumont The story
of Coal Oil Johnny had hundreds OF
sequels in Texas, for within is months
from the beginning of the boom it had
collapsed to such an extent that $50
derricks planted over dry holes in the
Spindle Top district We're standing
deserted, ana not over JOG, 900 bar
rels were being pumped daily from
the wells in operation. This what the
!, boomers had to show for an actual in
vestment of fully $10,OO0,OOO But it
was only another case of Overriding
the matter. True. no longer do you
see the wells throwing the fluid hun
dreds of feet in the air, but the clark.
clank, of the pumps is still heard on
, Spindle Top, for it has never given
out and today is producing al the rate
of nearly two million barrels annually.
, Apparently it is good for this quantity
for many years to come.