Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1911-01-05
THE OIL FIELDS. CALL
FORNiA'S GREATESTINDUST

F0RNIA'S GREATEST INDUSTRY
| l had occasion to spend about three
weeks in the great Bakersfield oil
district this summer. 1t is situated
from forty to fifty-five miles south
west of Bakersfield and in the center
| of it is the largest well world has
| ever known-The Lake View" Gusher
This gusher started by flowing at the
rate of 5000 bbls., per day but has
gradually lessened until it now flows
/ IT 900 bbls., per day, during which
time it has produced approximately
three and one-half million barrels of
oil which will net the owners over
81 900 900
It may not have been luck that
prompted two poor men, a driller
and another workman, to invest all
| their savings in the well the night
| before it started to gush, but |
think we might call it good fortune.
For some time it seemed to be
white elephant, as the oil flowed so
| fast that no reservoir Of sufficient
capacity could be constructed before
| it would be overfloWing, driving the
workmen away and threatening to run
down into Kerk Lake, large stor-
age reservoir for irrigation purposes,
and rJIin Tbp r1ai1nc
But finally a series of tanks were
built, one a little lower than another
on the hillside and with large corps
of Workmen they were able to take
care of the dollars as they poured
forth from the barren desert hills
that grew not a green thing as far
as the eye could reach.
One afternoon as I was sitting on
my Gold Medal folding cot, scanning
the sky line, and trying in vain to
count the derricks in a forty-five de-
gree are, behold one of the mos Y
awe inspiring spectacles that it has
ever been my opportunity to witness.
An old well that had been sanded
up plugged up at the bottom with
sand and rocks SO that it stopped
| floWing) and had not flowed for month
| started to gush about so feet above
the IS foot derrick Nat five min
utes later, the boiler, which was To-
Gated near the derrick, started to
burn out its stack and a spark caught
the gas at the top of the derrick
The flame rushed to the bottom and
exploded with the noise and violence
of a cannon and the oil started to
burn, roaring like the blast Of fur
mace and clouding the sky with
inky black smoke:
At the instant of the explosion the
other we'll that had been sanded up
for long time and was located $50
feet away, started to gush. The winC
was blowing the oil and gas right into
| the fire of the other well, but even
though the derrick of the first well
and flames a foot in diameter were
shooting straight up out of the earth
| 300 feet, the other well did not catch
afire until the fire crept over on the
ground and then another explosion
| Jared the community and we had
| two roaring jets of flame.
Both wells burned about three hours
when one was eXtinguished as it had
ceased to emit gas and oil and the
other burned low enough that all un-
easiness was dispelled
About midnight, when all my sleep
ing powers were working overtime,
all of a sudden realized that l was
sitting up and thought l realized
that the world was on fire, but when
l came to my senses l saw a sight
that even exceeded the one of the
day before. | could see no smoke,
only a roaring tube of flame shooting
| heavenward nearly 500 feet. 1t was
a sight to behold and l beheld it to thu
best of my ability until drowsiness
overlook me, and awoke again at
/ y O. LIZ Juol CllOuSA 1OIn1uS IdO
happened and had not begun to re-
count my sins five hours before.
The oil of Los Angeles has seen
its highest mark and a great num-
Der of the derricks are being torn
down and the land being put in shape
] for high class residences, as in many
cases oil was struck in the best sec.
| tions, and the odor and dirt caused
many people to give up their proper
ty and move to another part of the
city
The oil fields are great places to
make money quickly and to lose more
just as quickly for the ins and outs
of the oil business are about as
hard to master as those of Wall
Street. Much can be said on this
ever growing industry of California
but | trust that this will give an
idea of at least the brighter side
of it to those who have no idea at
all upon the subject
FLOYD E. JENKINS.