The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-10-20
(By William Gentry.0


Everybody in these parts knows
"Wid Cat Bob" Gillian, or more
conventionally speaking, !. Robert
Gillian who for the past seventeen
years has been active in buying and
leasing oil lands and incidentally
producing the fluid which has en-
abled our aviatorS to swat the Hun
and our fleet chaserS to wallop the
subs.
Everybody knows that Bob was
the first register OF deeds in Co.
manche county after statehood and
that he held the office for three
consecutive terms; that he was a
delegate -at-large to the Denver
Democratical national convention
and four years later, a district
delegate to a similar Democratic
pow-wow which made Judge Par
ker the party standard bearer; that
he was Oklahoma manager and
chairman of the state finance com
mittee in the campaign that put
our friend and president, Wood
row Wilson, over the top.
Everybody knows that the same
Bob was county manager for udge
]. B. A. Robertson during the cam
paign which resulted in his fav-
orite's landing the Democratic nom
ination in the recent primaries; ;
that he is chairman OF the Carter
County Council of Defense, and
that he is president OF the Okla
homa Savings x Loan Association
OF Oklahoma, but
There are quite a few things about
the fellow with which even his clos
est friends are not familiar-things
which it was my gooH fortune to
learn only after quizzing him from
forty-seven different angles and on
almost as many distinct occasions,
since our first meeting lew
months ago in Oklahoma City.
First Well In Morris Field.
However, there are still a mum
Der OF Gillam's friends and ac-
ouaintances who know that Bob
commenced buying land in the days
OF the old Creek nation. y number
of them remember that the first pro-
ducing well in the Morris field was
drilled in Okmulgee county on land
owned by him, and that w. l.
Woods was the man who manlpu-
lated the drill which brought the
oil. This was the maiden strike
Soon after, he got production both
at Boynton and in the Nowata
fields.
Later. he realized what he modest
" calls good money from his
lease in the Heaidton and subSe-
ouentlv. in the Fox fields. And,
in addition to such revenue-produc-
ing investments, there are StiIl
choice holdings in the Walters and
Duncan fields. and the Burkbur-
nett and Ranger, Texas. fields
owned by Wild Cat Bob which
seems attractively to the wise ones
in the oil game. On top OF TINS.
he has considerable acreage OF
undeveloped terrain which looks
good. but which as yet is a specula-
tive asset.
The natural inference would seem
TO be that such interests should be
sufficient to satisfy any normal hu-
man-any ordinary man, at least
Quite to the contrary, the ever
active Bob has his eye on number
of other promising oil propositions
and it is a mortal cinch to predict
that he will be found with a lease
in all future fields which shall have
been exploited in this section as
long as his health and activities en-
dure.
Buys Choice Shorthorn Bull
But it was the registered live
stock ventures OF ]. Robert that
most interested me-ventures which
] dare say, are known to but few,
il any. OF his friends and acquaint-
anceS in this part of Oklahoma
and this. Notwithstanding he has
bought number OF the choicest
pure bred cattle and swine into the
southwest.
For instance. he recently bought
"Merry Leader" an animal i'm
ported by Frank A. Gillespie OF
Tulsa. the man who has the honor
to own "Maxwalton Commander"
grand champion Shorthorn bull Of
the 1917 Chicago International Live
Stock Show and Exposition, which
probably means the grand cham
pionship Of the world.
II anything, the purchase OF this
pure Scotch male demonstrates a
determination TO breed animals OF
the highest possible quality better