davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14

rops, around 1 beam OF branch Of Z
tree f:sand the other around his mack.
standing ill ths time on sssbuekst. By
kicking the buekstsaway hswouM hang
hiinsslf. Hepee. q slapS expressiops for
so Me- Il toa.'kiek the bucket. ~ !.
II used to DO customary for the god
fGthsf Of an infant to present him with
I silyer; spoon At baptism. IN sths case
Of child born lucky or rich, the gift
was anticipated at the moment o. en-
tterine life and the child ssstbeng said
to y born with ! silver ,i' spsess 4 ~ his
mouth. II
Children are often much interested
In the fact that puppies aSa kittens
Sd do not opsn their eyes for niHS days
.aftst birth. They watch tlsns With
wonder until the little fellows de-
ySlops eyesisht equal 70 the old pets Of
Tie ehildren's acquaintance. So q sen J
satiaSal event or . piece Of public
scandal which aaseuses sncosahon In
tersl 4 az sa lsl I'D thsn ssads'
aally subsides is called 4 nine, days'
wonder. IS Il sS st
When tent il being put up It u nee
essal9 u secure il fops tssths ground
81 "a sidis b, psss before ths work
" I'M leGts tAs W4SlS VI tefdtS.
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14

discovery Of crude petroleum was made
on Joe Dukes farm, the adjoining coun-
try village, now known as Desdemonia,
was called Hogg Town. It was named
in honor of Frank Hogg. With the COM
ing Of undreamed- of riches to the COM
munity the citizens decided that the
town should be given a new name, so
Desdemonia was chosen. Hosg is said
to have no use. for oil men. He has.
such q distaste for the greasy fluid itself
that he has never visited an oil we'll, al
though there are seven big producers
upon his farm, with FIVE other holes in
process of drilling. He, cannot be in
duced to talk about oil. He SHES every
time an oil man comes within hailing
distance. He did manage to relax his,
prejudice long enough to sign the lease
contracts which are the means of bring
ing him fortune Of upward Of $10,-
600, 900. with more millions in sight.
Hogg is going on about his farming
business as though no change had come
to his material station In life.
. Joe Duke was farmer when oil was
first brought in at Desdemonia, and he
says he has no intention of changing
hiIxecet etion. although he has, an incons
of 500, ,oo0sa year from producing wells
and \ .ratsd % worth more than $8s-.
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14
Oriqiin sOf EnQliSh Ldiop1s

caught By the wind, should be blown
down. Hence the camping phrase "pes
away, arose. Now, whenever we see
solie ons working hardin order to
finish shis job Immediately. We sayNto
him, 4'Pes away. '
Ia oldeA times, when bread wasspur-
eh1sed IN the OPEN market instsad Of.
in ,shcps, the women took up the sell e
sinx from door to door. They received
from the bakers thirteen loaves for
the price Of twelve, the thirteenth loaf
constituting their profit or commits.
sion. Hence came the term bakers.
dozen 35
River fsh generally keep together, and
ansansler's object is to get .'in the
SWIM as he puts Il. Bysso doing Ne
may hook fish after fish without di@-
culty. So 1t isf that ssNlthsns We are ~
mitted to cestain desirsble social, pross;
fessional Or finanrials siiquts ~ M;
;swesare in thesswin. Va 81 b &.
Arss stichS really. ~ lf sse,
wh;yt hould two IL ~ splf fticnissly
crossE Hold thss stwo lsiekS see yorf
to form the letter 4 OF thu Sross. 81
Il serom this rather cheap trick and
pcIf INN fhat - dsriys the sxpreSsioa
tAit ! bsESSl u g er6s6 q Two Stiekss /,
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14

Fort Worth, Dallas, Waco and Wichita
Falls. Little country banks that be-
fore the discovery Of OF. had deposits
Of $50, 900 to $75, 900 now show de-
posits of $500, 900 to- 81 ,,60o, 900 each.
Never, perhaps, In any. part of the
United States, not even excepting the
mining camps Of the West IN the heyday
Of; their prosperity, was money more
plentiful than in the thriving towns. that
are; being directly benefited by the oil
Development operations. Men talk In
figures Of $50, 900 TO 500, 900 as though
thkse sums we're mare. baiatehes! Curb !:
stone and hotel lobby tranyac lions -. !.
volving hundreds Of Thousands Of doll
lars are made daily. s. 4 !:
Several cases are known where farm.
ers who were not able two years ago 10
borrow 500 from a bank have become
stockholders In new financial institu-
tiops Of that kind In their home towns u
tho extent Of perhaps $50, 900. and ia
some .instances they have been elected
tospositions Of president or rice .presi-
dent In these banks. It III also notice.
abaS that many Of ths farmers are In
vesting their newly acquired riches -
thelpurchass Of additional land. Some
II 4 I. r "a
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14

7SaB Why and whersfore nf English
idious and old expressions. which
are 90 familiar to us that they no longer
ssen strange. must b i source Of some
peFplaxity q the :tpreisnsf LEARNING the
LANGUAGE, For isstAscs. how should hs
know that when he wishes to say some
one has started IN undertakins and
given II up befors seeing It through, he
can say that the man threw up the
spongs"7 The phrase had its origin
in the prize fighters ring. In former
times, when,a prize fighter was badly.
injured IN the hrst round, he often de-.
elinsd the sponge offered to him In the
second, or. In q sudden Ht. threw IL
up IN the air, thus declaring that hs
Had had enough Of It.
AZ one time many years ago the
sleeves Of Ill outsr garments were vety
Wide. Hence, when a. person covered
,hbt 1Acs with Ri hshd, rs suspicion
aivaJs ssoss hatshs xss laughing AZ
aomS ens's else discsn6turs. That
II wSfy, me W. ~ 5i1ywiefdly amusad
sat anethes. " say W laugh u our
sleeve. + 81 + 4
= pstnittye wsy Tor q aAan u con.
.sts s!stsatAs ~ H. ~ 90 "a efs :
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14

fivetmiles east Of here. It. H. elassedgby
geolosists as the most valuable piece Of
proved high grade oil producing terri
tory in the United States. When oil
was discovered at Ranger. ia the east
ern part Of the county. eighteen months
ago, Tom Connellee leased his land to
the Magnolia Petroleum Company for
nominal consideration and one eighth Of
the oil 1t should produce. The company
brought in well with initial produc-
tion Of 5000 barrels a day, known a.
the "htS; Tom Connellee,'' g on this land
s.iud siss drilling six Offsets 10 IL Mr.
SCSnnslfee did not sell any 81 bissroyal ::
atiss.s Instead, he decided 10 ;quattsr Of,
them to his son and . quarter 10 his
daughter and retained . half for him.
ssslt:: They could be casIed4s Il sfor
III $50 900 today. They bring In avsrtss
ace revenue sof $s0. 900 per month now.
Mr. Connelles has quit his JOB % con
ductnr for the Texas and PaciAe. He
IL taxing life easy and travelling At his
aisiSnrs. "a z :s. Il n: M - ~ ~. Il IA: :i5
Eli Perkins wa = .youns. man af drs&t
40 whsn the United States joined the
Allies IN the war against Germany. HS
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14

railroad to give Eastland short-line con-
nection with all of the states east and
west trunk lines and furnish transpor-
tation facilities for oil fields north Of
Eastland that have potential produc-
tion of 100000 barrels a day. This
railroad is being financed with local cap
itai. Brelsford is. also heavily inter
ested in oil companies and other enter
prises Of large proportions that are
making big money in developing the
Eastland district.
If Frank D. Hogg, who owns farm
of 1000 acres in the Desdemonia field, is
thankful that oil has brought him great
wealth he has a poor way of showing it,
some of his neighbors say. Before the
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14

and he is in the millionaire class. He
owns the best of business and resi-
dence properties In Eastland, bought
with oil money. .. er
r. e. Skies came to Eastland county
from Stephens county about twelve
years ago and taught country schools.
After, while he was elected to the
Office of county superintendent Of pub
lie instruction, which he was holding
when. the oil boom struck the country.
He traded a worn out automobile,
worth less than $500, for lease on $40
acres of land four and q half miles east
of, Eastland, which he sold for $40 an
acre. With this for taw. he got into
the oil game right, and has accumu-
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14

lated half million dollars and is still
going strong. 49,.
II. p. Brelsford, who is one-of East
lands millionaires now, had more than
1000 acres on his hands when the oil
boom came. which he admits he would
have parted with at any time had he
been able to convince any one that it
was worth owning. About 600 acres Of
this land was inherited from his father,
who established horse ranch on the
tract in 1885 north of the Eastland town
site. The remainder was obtained from
clients who had no cash and paid for his
services as lawyer in land instead.
Now they call me a smart man be-
cause I kept my land and it is valuable
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14
EastIand. Tex. Iuiy
By n. 8. H0RNADAY

Eastland. Tex, July 12.
LIE a. it is lived ia the central west
Texas oil feldsf affords a most in-
terestlne study Of human nature, right
now. Fortunes suddenly acquired have
slought luxury almost unsurpassed
y within the reach Of thousands Of people
Who were poor and, ia some cases; pov g.
erty- stricken q little more than 4 year
aeo;g Comparativelygsfew of these IA.
vored folks are going In for wild ex.
travagances. Their habits Of living for
the most part hays changed zbut little.
Although there are scores Of land own
ers who were poor so far as being able
to.realize in dollars and cents upon their
holdings before the. oil boom and who
are now counting their money BY the
hundreds OF thousands and even By the
millions Of dollars, there are, !, besides
these, hundreds of hersfarmerss scat /
tered throughout central west Texas,
who have made comfortable fortunes
from the leasing of their properties.
One OF the noticeable features of the
changed conditions that have come to
:. these men is that they are for the most
part content. to remain lin their own
communities, although they have enough
money ~ live in affiuence in any part Of
the wcrld. Very few of them have ex-
pressed any intention$of doing even the
smallest amount Of travelling. In many
instances. they are erecting better resi-
dences upon their farms or have moved
~ into town and built beautiful homes for
their occupancy. They are investing
their money in a variety of ways.
/ Unprecedented Prosperity. 6, (.
It Is significant perhaps that the re-
Ggious element of the people who have
been thus favored by the goddess of for
tune in central west Texas is of the old
fashioned, sound type. For this reason
1t 10 not surprising that many of. the
deyout farmers who have reaped. big
fortunes on account ofsthe discovery Of
oil are giving tithes. In the matter of
making church and charitable donations
these men are proving their faith by
their works. They respond literally to
"Ai: 'eeiIA4uaLe ueHdHus tudt may De mdue
upon them tor contributions Of this kind.
Naturally, the ingoing of so much
money to territory $50 miles long BY
100 miles wide has stimulated all lines
Of trade and industry. One Of the out.
standing evidences of the prosperity of
herpeoples sis to be. found in the enor-s
nous increase in bank deposits not only
u@the towns Immediately adjacent to the
producing fields, but in the more re-
uoYed and larger cities, particularly
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14

astlsttss
for the oil that. it contains" he says.
Brelsford is investing his revenues in
Eastland property, A bank he founded
nine years ago has, increased its capital
stock eightfold and broken ground for
nine story Office building that will cost
s15o,0oo. On part Of his fathers old
horse; ranch he is erecting a $50, 900,
country clubhouse and laying out golf
links. On one side Of the country club
site he is building dam across the
north Leon river canyon to form lake
that will hold 5000, ,o00, 900 gallons of
water, or enough to supply the needs OF
a cityfof $4,000 population. This dam
Is half a mile long and thirty feet high.
Water will dow from it by gravity into
Eastland.
In addition, Brelsford has invested
heavily in the stock of north and south
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14

~R ~ H. =
q .asm .,e1l nave oousAt aarms ana rsneAes
..s.;. sss ao sstsln pNLto tns 's.ss ~
MrsstaoL @ s 80 .a.'s ~. ~. so1s - ~ lef aas
h,tion ~. th.~ 80 s..s .s..,.s ~ .s..,.sss -
il the matter ~ ma r,.kin. a., ths,r , ,ron.,t,..
i,p-to date In III resspects. -. ~
- One Of the arst things that the aver.
age possessor 81 an ;oii fortune dees IL,
to buy,a hish -prAcs six cylinder auto.
mobile. This part Of Texas ID literally
-overrun with cars of this type. They
speed.. alongs the ceuutry% roads and
through the crowded streets Of the towns
all hours Of the day. This is said to
be the best market for expensive auto
mobiles there is In the United States at
this time. In the wake of'the oil boom
there have come salesman and fakers Of
everl type and description. Stock sell.
ane. schemes and every possible variety
OF game Tor inducing the inexperienced
men otsMsalth TO part with their money
are y pesns worked.
= ss., Some Budding Millionsires
Althonrh II. n.onl. ., rs..,.,d -.
r,rd This town -. h.,n. d..t,a.s -
h.con. ~ 80. -, ...,s,. ~
n.aa,,s;.. go. 80 ~ .uet'opo'is .. Tue
s r.St' ''S On account OF It's
a. -. .oea.'oh' counter claims OF this
14 ..s1.- ~ .elns msde Aoy' hsnger. Dssee-
sa.a Aaa - Leon, WIZ possibly other
on',nuh'ties ~nich are as'yet prac-,
.nAhoWn IN the industry yet
~ u.a. from, Inc population OF all of
, ,aese towns mas increased enormously.
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14
oOWN WHERE THE MILLIOMARES BLOOM OVER 7NIGHTl
Texas Farmers Who Couldn't
California The KlonhNe s

u I.f .sHst K
Oo0. 900. He has bought god spsn g
mules andp in ten hours day haul
ing lumber and other material for the
we'll drilling outfits and his neighbour,
besides looking after his crops.
Virtually every church congregstin(
in the county has leased It's church II
for oil development purposes. Inysonk
instances big sums were paid for thee
leases and the churches which have
profted in this way are erecting nav
and handsome edifces. 81 &Etfts
Long before the DUKE gulher ,was
brought in, ]. ". Carsuth, 4 barber Of
Hogg Town, was talking OIL In season
and out Of season. For several yearshs
had had ''hunch" that crude Pc
troleum existed In paying quantities be-
meath the surface Of the lands around
the little, struggling, poverty -stricken
village. He was known then and IL attn
called "shorty the Barber" He proyed
his faith BY leasing 5000 acres 81 land
around town and organizing the HoSs
Greek Oil Company. He paid vir-
tually nothing for the leaseA The
farmers thought it good joke that
''Shorty the Barber believed thsrs, was
oil beneath their lands. This company
was formed some time before the on
strike. The company has sublsased its
lands for enormous sums and Carruth -
well up in the millionaire elass. .,
Keeping Within the Law
In the old days Hogg Towns mose
notable citizens were Shorty tie Bar
ber" asone armed school teacher named
L.. L. steele and q former saural peda-
gosue named Dan Powers. Wiley Powst
ers. brother of Dan. also hved q HosI
Town. Wiley was 4 wagon tdrtvsr o. ]
teamster In the old days. With tho
coming of OIL, Dan and WIley l's..sfs
formed a partnerships and. are nov pilins
up a fortune at the rate 81 about $beo.
a day. Steele, who used. TO loaf around
the barber shop Ii his spars Time, q
getting well along towards a millionaire. {
]. H. Rushing, q deputy sheriff. who
has lived in this county for thirty thres
years, has found time to dabble In OIL,
along with his duties as peace ofacar. AZ
the time the oil excitement began hs
was the owner Of 200 acres Of land Rit-
uated in what has since proved to be
the producing field. He had never con-
sidered this land to be of any value, and
it was more Of burden to him than
source Of income. As result Of the oil
discovery. however, he. found himself
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14

owued eighty acres Of poor land north Of
Eastlard which he leased to an oil come
pany for twenty Ave cents an acre be-
fore leaving Eastland to join the navy.
He is. .sonswhere on 4 varship now.
Since his departure his father SOLD for
him half interest in his royalties for
$40, 1000. A few days ago the lessee
brought in we'll on the Perkins tract
which il offset by three others that are
standing in oil on adjoining tracts.
/ Ellis royalties are worth, $500, 900 now.
II a gusher is brought in anywhere
within hailing distance of his land be
will find himself 4 multini1lionaire when
he obtains his discharge.
South Of the Perkins tract r. l..
Hanks bought eighty acres on credit q
few years ago. He vas not what is
! cailsd well fixed. There is no we'll
tcn his land. but he has sold the royal
ties on It's potential production for
$4,000 snd now drives fine auto
mobile: - '-''7'-i1']a.:ssF
Before the oil boom came Warren
Wagner was a struggling we'll driller.
He leased the school house lot at Mer-
riman. seven miles east of Eastland.
He brought in we'll from which he
has already sold $1,000 worth of oil
and has paid the school trustees $780,
600 in royalties. With this money he
has bought oil land in the, pesdemonia
and other fields. and established oil field
Supply depots and promoted oil re-
fineries at stratezical points.
From Cashier to Capitalist
The Merriman Baptist Church, a
short distance from the school, has col
lected- 100000 in royalties from
we'll drilled on its lot. None of this
money goes to any ,membef.of the con.
gregation, which numbers twenty nine.
II all goes to Baptist educational and
charitable institutions.
P. L. Wolfe, young man born in
Van. Zandt county, came sto Eastland
eighteen months Ago and obtained
the position Of cashier Of the City Ma
tional Bank. He caught the oil fever
/ aad ssnsA , capital Of tabout $500 began
trading in leases. Finally, he got pos,
tession Of an eighty acre strip in the
York survey on which. 4 1000 bar
stel producer was brought In few days
ago and on which another well is being
drilled. He was made q millionaire
over night when Ills we'll was drilled in.
Floyd Brewer was Z stock farmer
near Merriman when Eastland county
was proved to be oil territory eighteen
months ago. There are ten wells on
his place now, and he Is one Of East
lands millionaires, and has erected
valuable buildings In the town which
bring high rents. :
Elisha Roper owned 4 500 acre farm
In the York survey when the boom
came. HIS Was good farmer and was
considered To- 81 in. good circumstances.
according to pre-oil standards. Now
sone ;otsahs Big aSushets bssrs his name
Grand Forks herald., 1919-07-14

suddenly on the road to great wealth.
1t took but little Of his time to sign
lease contracts with several of the
larger companies, and the drilling oe
wells was soon under way. Notwith~
standing the riches that have come b
him, he 6evotes his time strictly to The
enforcement Of the law. He gives spe-
.cial attention TO violations Of the liquor
traffic. In his bailiwick bootlesgefs ind
It very difficult to do business.
In this connection it may be nnaa.
toned that, notwithstanding the srsss
Influx Of visitors 10 the dinsrent o0
fields Of Central West Texas md ths
motley type Of mon that 60 to uals
up the Transient and svsr fnceasans
population, bootlegging b kept down b
4 minimum. While It II admitted hy
peace officers that considerable qua1-
titles Of whisky are brought into IL
town these violations are not nuznae-
Gus enough to cause any drunksn1sa.
It is certain that thsrs are no sserse
dives or drinking establishments In a1y
Of the towns. Neither il gambling per-
mitted. There is a demand, hovsvse.
on the part Of the red -blooded, ensr-
getic newcomers for certain forms az
entertainment, and this demand Il being
met with to the fullest extent that the
laws will permit. In all of the throb-
bing, growing boom towns nightly
public exhibitions of boxing and wrest-
ling are given. These athletic affairs
are conducted in an orderly manner and
are witnessed by great crowds Of all
sorts and conditions Of men, from the
drillerl and helper in the oil fields to the
wealthy banker from the North or
East who may be here for the purpose
Of making investments. Recently 1
movement was started at Desdemonia
to have q nightly dancing entertain
ment. Local authorities, however,
would not, consent to this form Of
amusement until the opinion OF the
attorney general Of Texas had been OBJ
tanned as to whether it would be in
violation Of the law. This opinion waa
given In due time and vas to the effect
that the law only applied to travelling
dancing troops which Saye mors than
Z one night performanesin atcwn.
Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-12-06

much" and he WHISPERED something In
Mr., Wirds ear thar made MIN fairly
shrek with laughter
Great" he cried. Let's Try It this
'e'v evening. Maybe we can cure him."
ana M Wind and Jack Frost spent the
'oigsest P'-t OF tie day Planning how
, they would do 1.
See! When he get up n the morn
ing and throws out hi hit sunheems
they'll just cook every pI,rt until thew
droop and die laughed AK Frost.
Then J wonder IL he'll boast
AS soon as Mr.. sun droppednt his
he'd behind the hills that nigf c,cL
! Frost called his tiny Frost ms ~.
! gether. They spread a great, bish,or.
ket of frost over all TIE gardens,eher
hurried BACK 10 thelf nome IN the nun.
tans.
When Mr.. Sun awakened he knx
something was wrong. for the grasse.
! the flowers and the vegetables that ha
! all been so greer the night before wer
silver. Then he remembered how MI
. Wind had laughd when he had boaste
of his great work for the growing thingt
and instead of getting up for the da
Mr.. Sun crept back TO his cloud be
and stayed there three hours longer
I When he crawled out to take anothe
peek Mr. Wind had gathered up the sill
/ yer frost blanket and had carried
away. The very thought Of what ruigh
have happened gave Mr.. Sun a terribl
: fright From that day to this no ha
never been heard TO boast, and he
always ready to give other folks cred
I for what they do.
Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-12-06
GoodGqh't
Is S1oiiaA
~s4 eA~lA>savO|
WHY MR.. SUN CHANGED HIS
MIND
Illustrated by Gruelle

NAllND
- EAR me, how proud old Mr.. sun
Twas when he looked out over the
gardens that spread below him.
why, II 1t hadn't been for me, there
wouldn't have been any vegetables or
flowers at all. Every ray OF golden
Hight send the earth warns the ground
80 they just can't help but grow ana
bear. I tell you. folks just couldn't get
along without me to help them just
look at the beans. the peas that I've
made grow on those vines and bushes.
Who else could do that besides me-
and he rolled up wee bit higher in
the sky.
''Oh. Of course" exclaimed Mr.. Wind,
to whom Mr.. Sun had been talking,
But you might at least give others
wee Bit of credit, for didn't we bring
down the rain clouds TO sprinkle and
help them grow"
". "BIfse So" unused Mr. Sur go
tb.n1, tor nh. it all, I'm lhe ohe 10
-. " gardens How LONG
wouid tn'nss i've II - rained all the
time? No, to me must com, most of the
eredit' Tn sure. Why do yos know.
feel ] could almost make the houses
grow II tried to,'
This was 100 much for Mr. Wind
Laughing msrrily he whiskcd away.
Tor no matter how rice folks are. II
they're forever boasting their friends
soon grow tired of their company. So
II was with Mr.. Wind; he vowed and
declared that he'd stay away all day
and just let Mr.. sun alone. So away he
hurried to the mountains. where he
found old Jack Frost picking the icic!es
Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-12-06
EIGHT CHILDREN HAD GROUP

7 have eight children and give Fol
ey's Honey and Tar to all of them,
writes Mrs. w. Rehkamp, 2404 Herman
St, Covington, Ky: they were all sub
ject to Group" 1t loosens and clears
lnucus and phlegm, stops that strang
ling cough, makes easy breathing pos
sible and permits quiet sleep. 1t con
tains no opiates. and children like it
Good for colds, bronchial coughs and
the coughs that linger on after influ-
eliza or grip. Good for grown-ups as
8. Adv.