The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1907-01-04
QUEER EFFECT OF WEALTH
HOW PEOPLE SUDDENLY MADE
RICH SPEND MONEY.
West Virginia Mountain Farmer
Bought Patent Leather Shoes
With First OIL Royalty
Axe Given as Present.

In West Virginia many persons
have suddenly become well-to-do
throught the finding Of oil on their
barren farm land. The effects of
wealth on these newly rich ones have
been curious.
one old section hand, living near
Warrington. owned a little house and
very small plot Of ground A firm
Of drillers made the customary bar
gain with him, and planted their der
rick right alongside his house
They struck oil and they struck it
rich. The well developed an out.
put OF about 200 barrels per day. The
old section hands share amounted to
something like $3.50 a day This is
not so bad for man who had never
earned more than $l2j day in his
life.
lie threw up his job on the railroad
and now he just sits on the porch day
in and day out and watches the slow
movements of the great wooden walk
ing beam Of the pump that is drawing
for him from natures wealth sum
each day totally beyond his capacity
to spend. At his time of life there is
little likelihood of his acquiring new
tastes that would make his money of
use.
An old farmer living near Volcano,
on the Parkersburg branch Of the Bal
timore & Ohio, had few acres Of
barren land, and ne willingly allowed
some prospectors to put down a well
on his property. A gusher was tsruck
and the farmers share of the oil soon
amounted to $4,000, which sum all in
cash was turned over to him.
A dollar in cash had been an unus-
ual sum for him to have at one time
and the hidden possession of so much
none filed him with desire to
spend some of it. He donned his best
suit of jeans and took the next morn
ing's accommodation train for Park
ersburg.
After wandering about the city all
day, looking for a suitable investment
he finally paid 81 800 for finely bred
bull. There was just about as much
use on a farm for a bull as there
would be nthe proverbial china shop.
The steril esoil of his farm did not
produce enough blades Of grass TO fur
nish the bull with one good feed, and
the farmer had no other food fit for
his purchase.
When asked by his neighbors why
in the world he lau made such a use
Of his money, hr simply replied:
"Wcn, ! had to spend the money
somehow"
At the bottom of a piece Of farm
land on the side of mountain lived
snake hunter, as the West Virginia
mountain farmer is nicknamed, in a
little log hut. The daily fare of this
man and his family had never been
anything other than the far.iamed
"cornbread and SOW belly In sum
mer he went barefooted, while heavy
rawhide boots covered his feet when
cold weather came.
oil was struck on his farm in such
quantities that the farmers share
promised son to make him the
wealthiest man for miles around. A
soon as the first installment of cash
was paid over to him he was seized
with the desire to spend He made
arrangements to pay the town visit
Using Shank's mare, his sole means
of conveyance by the way he took q
sort cut across the mountains until
he reached the small railroad towr
that meant metropolis to him. and the
very first thing he bought was a pan
of patent leather choes.
Perhaps the best example Of all the
embarrassment caused these folk DS
the sudden acquisition of wealth wa'
lne case OF u ldHllls VI
back in Calhoun County This fam
ilv consisted of father, mother ah'
four grown sons. Every member o
the household was over six feet II
height and large and strong in proper
ton
The mother was a vigorous old wo
man, almost as powerful as any o
the rest OF the family, and upon he
devolved not only all the household
burdens, but the work of chopping al
the wood as well This latter duty /
not light task by any means,
The father and his sons were goo
examples OF the West Virginia sen
diggers-that is, dIggers of ginsen
roots. Between times they woul
hunt with rifles GO years old, wit