The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1910-05-14
BROWN GOLD
By r. S.

Note: eve wish the reader to know that
the term Brown Gold" means California
Crude Oil.)
When Jud Elwood awoke one morning In
his cabin, located near Bakersfield in the
State of California, and decided to go on
a rabbit hunt, "by his lonely" he little
dreamed the result of that decision and
the subsequent trip was lead to the discov-
cry of one of the greatest Brown Gold pro-
ducing districts IN the world; and naturally
the thought never occurred to JUDI because
he had in mind simply hunting for rabbits,
not minerals.
To quote Jud, as he gave the account of
his find to the writer, he on that morning
left his cabin accompanied by his gun and
dogs; and Jud, by the way, was always fond
OF dogs and had q few that were as good
as any In Kern County; and Jud knows
a good dog. too, and why not? His old
home, Bakersfield, Is the Mecca to which
all really good ones make an annual pilgrim
age to attend the great National Tryout.
Well, to continue Jud's story, he started
out in direction to the northwest of his
cabin toward the foothills, and after secur-
ing good-sized bag of cotton-tails was re-
turning h0meward, when his attention was
attracted In one direction to the different
hues of the early morning mist which, rising
from the soil, gave of color that had the
appearance of being a brown-colored haze
or a something" entirely different from
that noticeable In other directions, with the
result that Elwood was soon convinced of
the presence of Brown Gold. and the ex-
istence Of the Kern River District today
proves his deductions to have been correct
Jud had hard work at first in his efforts
to convince friends and neighbors as to the
Importance of his find, his deductions not
being accepted even by experts as being at
all reasonable, which brings to mind the
curious story told of the earliest discov-
cry of Brown Gold In this country during
the days Of Colonel Drake. The Wise Ones
at that time smiled at the prospector, being
amused at the mere idea of finding Brown
Gold in the earth. The son of one old
farmer brought home the news of Colonel
brakes find, which to the mind of the old
man was utterly absurd, consequently he
would not believe it. IF you had told me
that they had found whisky, / could read
lily understand it, for we know that whis-
ky is make from corn, and it might easily
soak through the roots of the stalk and
accumulate in the earth, but flowing Brown
Gold, never AS a consequence, the ad-
verse opinions and criticisms to which Jud
was subject showed neither sympathy nor
support, which made him fully realize the
old truth that no man is a prophet in his
own country, and the sequence in all prob
ability would have been that the great BODY
of mineral wealth which had been lying
there dormant for many ages would have re-
manned undisturbed IL 1t were not for the
stranger who took advantage of the oppor-
tunity and backed his judgment with money.
This fact Is notorious in the history of the
development of the great Kern River Dis
trict. Practically, and excepting one old
firm which had pinned its faith on what
is now famous as the West Side" the
district where gushers are making million
aires nearly every day, the brains and
means which developed the great Brown
Gold districts of California, which today is