The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-29
REAL PCr\ANCEC OF THE BUCINEJO WORLD

NUT in California Mallory's susher her
 is called the Three Lungers. Old
 ~ oil men call it a freak Up and down the valley and not far distant from the Mallory we'll after well has been bored, but although they have been sunk to depths unheard of previously for that section of the country, none of them has brought forth much of a flow. Tens and tens of thousands of dollars have been spent in an effort to bring in another Three Lungers, but without avail Meanwhile the Mallory keeps gushing. Month after month 1t continues its won derful flow. Only one well the world ever has known exceeds it in production. Hundreds of locomotives of the Southern Pacific railroad get their fuel from 1t, and various steamships obtain their fue from the ever filled tanks. No wonder the old oil prospectors who know every sign" who have travelled up and down the California valleys until they know every foot of them, shake their heads when the Three Lungers is men tioned. They never could and never can understand 1t.
 Those who have been through both ex- periences say that the oil fever is almost as bad as the gold. No wonder, then, that Mallory, linton and Moore who now have all that mortal man can ask for,
 
 they did. Mallory was a Pennsylvanian and Hinton and Moore were from the Middle West All three had gone to southern California because they had to. There was nothing else for them to do after they had heard the verdicts of the doctors. They met in Los Angeles Their misfortunes drew them together. There never was much force to linton or Moore, but Mallory was a bunch of nerves Possibly if he had had less en- esgy he would have had better health. "A more persistent, resolute man 1t would be hard to find He was well edu- cated, bright, cheerful with a smiling eye and a buoyant disposition. and he could make friend of any person he set out to win the good will of.
 The three had been in california only a few months when the whole state was stirred by one of the periodical attacks of oil fever. A big strike" was reported in one of the valleys, and as Hinton, Moore and Mallory listened to the stories that were told of the amazing fortunes do but kill time have no less ambition, that had been made in the oil region their interest was aroused to a keen de- gree. filling men who have but little to no less fervid dreams of conquest and triumph than the sturdy ones who are in the height of conflict. It does not alto gether matter if they think they have few y doctors were wrong. Physicians don't know everything.
 They talked oil until their imagination was fired, and then, being young and adventurous and dreadfully tired of the monotony of idle days in a strange land they decided to tempt fortune. They had a few thousand dollars.
 When a person has money and a desire tc get action with 1t, it is surprising how soon the fact becomes known- Mallory and his two friends hardly had decided upon making plunge into the oil district before one of their acquaintanees tried to get them to put their money into a well he was sinking. They didn't do it. They wanted a well of their own. They travelled out to, the San Joaquin valley and inspected the development there and ! heard a lot of more or less accurate news of the neighborhood, but when they en- deavored to buy land anywhere near the proven district they were appalled, at the prices asked They did not have enough money to buy sixteenth of an acre, it seemed and when they went a little beyond the proven district the prices still were frightfully high. One of the men with whom they dickered for a bit of land was chagrined to find they had less money than he had supposed but he did not lose hope of making q deal with them, for he ventured the sug- SeStlOi dteNt' II ne was lool loose as they were and not tied down to a couple of wells in the Joaquin valley he would go into the Rosita valley and sink a few wells on some land he had there.
 Mallory prielxed up his ears at the men, tion of the Rosta valley.
 Think there's oil there?" he asked.
 Lots of it. was the reply. 'Whv. this whole country is over a sea of oil Go up in the Rosita and sink we'll, and you II be rich in no time. But the land is high priced there. Not as high as it is