Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1913-06-15
SHOOT DICE FOR
THE LUCKY MULE
AND THEN TRADED TIIE ANIMAL
FOR \ BLOCH on GilOl NJ
~ BNRTIl.SNlliI.
A STORY OF LONG AGO
Romance In Every piece of Timber In
the old Bartlc- llumc--'Ihc
Bullet In His Foot,

DEWEY, Okla, June a. (Spc-
clal) When Jesse Overlcc and ole
Wilhltc set ont from Central Kansas
after ball game one evening twenty
three years ago TO make their for
tunes In the wilds Of the Indian coun-
try they did not dream that week
later would find them sleeping in a
black walnut bed In black walnut
trimmed room, under black walnut
roof, which covered a black walnut
home later 10 play So closely into the
romance Of each mans life. jesse
and Ollie were kiddcrs; they loved a
worldly hazard, they played together
fought side by side, bore each others
SORROWS, chcWod from the same plug,
and snapped yarns with the other
white men they met In the wiids or
this then perilous journey Some
place along the Vordgris they came
upon lone mule without "A brand,
without an owner II was case of
"catchers is keepers" and mules were
a scarce article between 'llcll and
Haw river. These two young aero
bats then and there matched a battle
for possession of the mule Jesse
won, and traded his longearod friend
for the block Of ground in Bartlos-
vile, where now stands the Oklah
theater, the Masters Clothing com
pany, the Bartlesyille Candy company
The Bartlesville Post office, a bank,
the Old Elk's club and a dozen other
modern business houses. Detected
over his loss. Ole shot craps with the
first "Injun" he met, winning the
site Of the present Masonic Temsle
in Bartlesvlllo. That night they
slept as guests Of Jacob Bartles, on
the banks of the Caney river, with the
rumble Of mill wheels I'm their ears,
soft feathers beneath their heads, the
rustic Of leaves on a black walnut
tree audible from their window, This
tree, despite It's value, later was
made into skids for the launching Of
the first watercraft the new corners
used in laying the foundation for two
immense fortunes at Bartlesville. The
strangers were welcomed by the ira
der; Mrs. Bartlcs was a mother to
them, and they played evenings with
the kid and helped wait on the trade
I'm the Bartlos store, the only trading
point within hundreds Of miles. Per
haps their first real money was earn
ed in the Bartes mill, which stll
stands. a monument to early industry,
10 % GanAN
by day and the bats visit by twilight.
The old mill is but a monument to the
good times of the early west, but it's
rotting studdlng could not be pur-
chased. its black walnut weather
boarding, the envy Of every rare
wood connosieur of the east, will
never decorate the front panels Of a
baby grand it's porch columns will
never be turned into sewing machines,
sentiment holds the old monument
intact it's machinery rusting, the
waterstlll ripping through the race
beneath the highway its doors warp
ing, its hinges hanging monument
to early industry home for Joe A.
Bartles OF Dewey when he harks
back to his childhood days and wishes
to rest from the busy world. He alone
carries the key. He and his mother
alone visit the place. No tenant
signs ebspoil the surface Of the broad
walnut -paneled doorway, no painters
dare to deflle its SCARED dress. Across
from the mill, just above the tunnel-
ed millrace, which, by the way, was
the first great engineering feat of the
Indian country. stood the Bartles
homestead, built like the mill, from
priceless black walnut timbers The
mill was built in 1877. Three years
later the store and homestead were
erected and rose garden laid out.