Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1914-11-03
S14,OOO,0O0 FARM
INDIANS HOME
Oklahoma Usage Leased Hi,
Land for a Very
Small Sum.
Oil Men Sunk Wells Around His House
and Are Taking Out 10000
Barrels a Day.

Cleveland, Okla. - Hulah nj kah
("Eagle Man, lives on a $14,000,OO
farm, but he is very sad Indian
Equally sad is Frank Boston, formerly
an oil broker at Bartlesville, Okla.
A score or more years ago Hu-lah-ni
kah, who is full-blood Usage, found q
tract of land across the Arkansas
River, two miles northwest of here
that suited him, and he built a two
story farmhouse and hired white men
to till his crops in the fertile soil. The
mocassined, blanket-wearing, face
painting, head-shaven Usage, is unable
to speak English, but is a kind old
man. In those days he had never
heard of crude oil. Several years ago
Boston acquired the oil and gas rights
in this land under a blanket lease, the
Osages to receive one-eighth of all the
gas and oil produced. There was no
oil development in this part of Okla
| homa at that time. Boston had a
"hunch" that his lease was in oil terri
tory and asked $4,000 for his holdings.
He could not convince oil men that his
lease was worth even nickel, and
for long time he tried vainly to sell
his lease. One day an expert repre-
senting the Gypsy Oil Company got
his nerve to the point of Offering Bos'
ton $500 for the lease on the GAO
acres. Boston was in need of money
and accepted the offer.
The Gypsy sunk it's first well about
eighteen months ago, almost at HUI.
lah-ni.kah's front door. The well came
!, in with an initial production Of 1000
barrels a day. Oil then was worth
price has risen to $1.O5. The oil com.
pany has drilled twentythree wells,
only one of which was dry, and prac.
tically all are on the 100 acres allotted
to Eagle Mana few are on the south
east quarter. There has been no drill
ing on the west half of the section.
These wells are producing an average
of 10000 every twenty-fOur hours,
which is the capacity of the connect
ing pipe line. No other wells will be
drilled until pipe line facilities are
increased. The production, rather
Ironically, perhaps, is known as the
Boston pool
The actual present value of this
property may be understood when it
is known that established production
is rated as being worth $500 barrel,
which would make these wells worth
$14,OOO,O OO Ordinarily, the maximum
number of wells drilled on a section
of land is sixty-four. These holdings
are so rich, however, and so possible
the danger of rival companies sinking
wells close to the line and draining the
pool that the Gypsy people are drilling
at the rate of twelve additional wells
on this section, which ultimately would
make total of seventy-six wells. If
the ratio of production should be equal
to that of the wells already drilled.
the daily production would amount to
more than $4,000 barrels, and the mar
ket value of the lease would be consid-
erably more than $40,00O,0OO.
That's way Boston and Eagle Man
glover at fate. The old Usage, be-
cause of the fact that all oil and gas
revenues from Usage lands are turned
into the tribal treasury for per capita
distribution, receives no more than his
individual share of the one-eighth roy
atty, equivalent to about 81 day for
each member of the tribe. Had each
Usage been allowed to retain all the
income from oil and gas found on his
land, Eagle Man might be riding
around in diamond studded auto
mobile AS owner of the lease, Bos-
ton could revise the United States
Weather Bureau map by wiping off all
the rainy days.
The Boston pool is said to be the
greatest single pool ever discovered IN
the southwest