The Washington herald., 1921-02-13
Oil Folks Dream
Of Future Riches
Waiting for WeHsto Spout
Clues Country People
Pathetic Pleasure

The three OF them sat summing on the
'front.' porch Of a new one-room shack half
hidden by scrub oaks hundred ya1ds from
the rut-shot highway that leads from the
old village on the railroad to the new vii
lage IN the oil held, eight miles away. The
snack was in clearing and could be
reached over a stumpy swath cut out of the
underbrush. Back of it, at the foot of a
rocky declYity, stood new, but darkened,
derrick
Two of the loungers were women. Young
attractive, stylishly dressed, and the third
was girl of IS. They poked their toes
in the sand and giggled when our car
stopped.
Waiting for the well to come in?" I in
formally introduced myself, approaching with
my camera all rugged for reproduction of
tnlS unusual scene in the woods. -
You're good guesser," laughed the
stouter OF the two women, and she swung
her head toward the derrick | looked
that way. A busy engine was turning out
quick pops that echoed about in the tops of
trees and flocked rejoicing over the crown
of the hill. Steam from a gas-fed boiler
spouted and spewed and formed baby
clouds about the upper stretches of the tall
cable-tool derrick.
That's to be the title of the picture
am about to make" 1 said, waiting for
the Well to Come In" =,
Shoot" commanded the woman, stiffen-
ing herself for a studio pose after her mod
lsh short skirt was made to cover the
lower portions of a pair of fascinating
calves. The other woman and the girl like
wise stiffened | argued them out of the
pose, persuaded them to be natural, with a
touch of seriousness to indicate the tension
of the moment, shifted position to put the
derrick and the smoke in the background
and took an exposure most excellent for
illustrative purposes.
The we'll had been drilled to an oil sand
and oil had gushed into the derrick The
usual delay of cleaning out, setting casing,
etc. followed, and now, nearly a week after
the discovery, the sand had not been test
ed But the husband of the stout woman
was not by any means unmlndtul of his
opportunity to get back all the money he
had put into the project and few thou
sand extra for brain work. He had sold
enough stock and leases, the woman told
me, to have net bank account of about
$4,000.
She enjoyed talking about her Jim. He
was wonderful man. He was a stout
hearted, outstanding. determined, good
sport.
"Jim, has twenty-one full and half broth
ers and sisters scattered over three States"
she said, "and what do you suppose hap
pened when they heard Jim had an oil
well? Every blessed one of them came to
see us. Some of them have been here a
week. You can imagine what task it is
to cook for them. At night we sleep them
in beds, on floors, in the barn, anywhere
there's space.
ITS funny" she continued, "how little
your kinfolks think of you when you're
poor and how they adore you when you
are reported to be rich. They flock in
and expect you to feed them on fried
chicken and pie and cake, take them to
the movies, joyride them IN a I2-cyIinder
car, and buy each of them a present
nothing less expensive than a diamond
ring, nothing more expensive than a 5000
acre ranch"
And Jim" I asked, what does Jim
think about it,"
inns as easy as an old shoe" she re-
piled. He doesn't know the meaning of
imposition. Besides, he likes his kinfolks
He glones in the rumor that he's ex-
tremely rich. It's come-easy, go-easy with
him, and | shouldn't be surprised if we're
broke in sixty days, unless that old oil we'll
down there makes a thousand barrels a
day. But Jim's young and vigorous If
he goes broke, he can make another stake.
| want to tell you Jims the sort of chap
to tie to-"
It may readily be imagined that had
taken comfortable plank-end seat on the
little veranda and quite readily absorbed
this refreshing bit of family history.
The woman told me of her husbands
fancy tor red motor cars His first invest
ment out of his new fortune was in one of
these with twelve cylinders. She told me
OF his fondness for high-bred dogs and his
participation in fox and coyote drives
A strange new clank Of the tools down
at the well suddenly broke up the party.
The stout woman hastened down the hill,
yelling at the driller: whats happened,
Jake; for the love of Pete, what's hap
pened"
Jake reported that the tools had been
lost in the hole
'"Oh, Lord" sighed the woman. won't
this hard luck ever cease"
AS she approached the shack, wilt of
countenance, big red speedster stopped
in the highway in front of the house OF
course l knew it was Jim. She invited me
to meet him. The wilt faded Sweethearty
smiles returned She called me aside and
whispered: ASK Jim what he's going to do
with the next $4,000 he makes"
did after l had been introduced to the
new oil man.
"Ho, no, ho!" laughed the fellow.
That's old stuff, but beins you are
stranger, III repeat it. I'm going to buy
me twenty of the choicest hunting hounds
in the United States, feed them for thirty
days on porterhouse steaks, give them a
Joyride every day in this fast boat and then
go ,odt and chase wolves until the wolves
aint."-W. F. Kerr in the Kansas City