The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1921-02-03

Land values Going SkyWard AL
most Over Night-One Refuses
100000 For Participation
of Town Growing Rapidly-Every-
body Talking Oil.
1t seems that our neighboring
state of Arkansas has developed sure
enough oil veins in various parts of
the state. Ell Dorado is the latest
town to discover what is thought to
be genuine oil in tremendous and in
exhaustible quantities. For the bene-
fit Of those Of our readers who may
be interested in such investments, we
are printing the following interest
ing write-up by a special reporter
Tor the Memphis Commercial APP
peal, and printed in that paper We'd
nesday morning:
81 Dorado is oil crazy. Not the
people who have lived here for years,
but the men, women and young boys
who have come since since discovery
Of oil, and they are swelling the
towns population Some figure there
are 10000 people in Ell Dorado now;
others say $4,000. They continue to
come and go on every train, show
ing a spirit of restlessness, always
talking oil, land leases and the flu
ture of the so-called newly discovered
promised land.
There is oil at Fl Dorado. No one
can dispute it. What it will de-
velop into can not be figured by ex-
perts The one WE'LL located on d.
e. Armstrong; farm, mile and a
half west of town, has not been mas
tered The tremendous gas pressure
is forcing a great stream Of oil from
the piping. It is shot out with such
force that spout more than 300
yards long still sprinkles a field of
cotton stalks, then gathers into gull
leys ana drains down the side of a
hill into a solid lake of oil.
This lake is no myth. 1t was form
ed from natural drainage of two
hills, extending in an opposite di-
rection of the we'll 1t has been
damned at one end, and men at the
oil well showed bv actual measure
ment that at one end the oil was IL
feet deep and two feet deep at the
other. On the west side of this hill
are two smaller oil lakes. Only one
well has been successfully bored
There are many others showing
where money was spent with no
IN, ~ obi q 70 Y1Y0cnocts
They are dry wells. Mr.. Arm
strong would have been glad to have
sold his farm before finding of oil
for S35 an acre. He has refused
SO 100000 for it after the well came
in, and aside from his oil lease ne
has cne-eighth interest in the well,
No one can tell how much oil can be
produced by this one we'll.
It has not been harnessed. Three
times it blew the cap off the pipe
and it still roars like hundred ap-
preaching tornadoes 1t can be heard
10 miles. Some idea of the force
back of this oil is shown by the
brown colored trees, grass, the high
ways and roof tops in radius Of
two square miles being coated with
brown oil. The ground is literally
covered with crude oil.
The afternoon when the well came
in three weeks ago children were re-
turning home from school. MANY of
them were sprinkled with it while
walking 81 Dorado streets. Men IA
miliar with oil wells say the future
of Ell Dorado is yet to be known. The
extent of the oil filed here must be
developed. 1t can not be measured
by one well, and until this well is
properly capped there can not be any
safe and sane prediction made of its
output. But the uncertainty Of the
future is not keeping spectators
away. They are coming by train
loads. Hotels are overcrowded,
private residences are filled with
strangers. Tents are up in all the
downtown streets, and under them
are cots for rent at 81 night.
Eating stands are being erected
everywhere. Some are going up in
front yards, the owner Of the prop
ertv selling a lunch stand location
at from 5000 to $500, the lessee pay
ing cost Of constructing the building
and from $50 to 5000 a month rent
for the ground. Residential property
that sold few days ago for S70O
a lot is going for $4,000. One man
bought lot a few years ago for S25.
He sold it recently for $4,000. OPP
posite the leading hotel was a small
brick one-storv warehouse. 1t has
been cut into eight small offices, rent
ing for $500 a month.
Everything sold is at boom prices.
Even the bank clearings are near the
S5,000,000 mark. They were less
than half of this month ago. One
banker said less than 5 per cent Of
the deposits on February ! repre-
sented the money that would be
withdrawn.
Woven with plots Of oil locations,
men with leases ready to sign, street
grafters and beggars are rubbing
elbows with men worth manv times
the cost Of sinking a dozen oil wells.
The first week of excitement has
worn off. The man who came to
dispose of some newly acquired
leases has gone, the town is SOLDERING
no. getting down to cold business.
Fifteen miles from FL Dorado land
oil leases can be getten for S25 an
acre. Near town it is selling for
SIS 900 and $4,000 an acre. Com
Danies are being formed to promote |
two new additions to the city.
AS FL Dorado presents herself to-
dav, there is room for many kinds Of |
business houses: there is great de-
mand for building material Of all
-