The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1921-01-07
CITY RESEMBLES TULSA IN EAR,
LY DAYS OF BOOM; RIGS
JAM JOHNSON ROADS.

Il. as
(The following article was published
in the Courier Journal few weeks
ago. 1t is one of series of articles by
Mr.. Wallace, of the editorial staff. We
are a little late In publishing it, owing
to the crowded condition of our col
umns, but IL will be read with interest
by those who have not seen it,:
Paintsville, Ky.-oil excitement in
Paintsville makes this already solidly
prosperous mountain city resemble
Tulsa in the early period of the oil
boom in Oklahoma. Paintsville is the
pateysay to the great johnson and Ma
goffin county oil field,
The first thing that strikes the eye
of the newly arrived in Paintsville is
the spectacle of teams of oxen haul
ing oil rigs through the streets to the
fields In which wells are being drilled,
These oxen are of the type which were
seen commonly in the logging camps
of Western Kentucky thirty years ago.
Some of them are big horns" whose
appearance indicates clearly their in
heritance OF the blood of the Spanish
cattle which contribute the bulls used
in the rings of Madrid and Seville.
The COWS" as they are called in
cowboy lingo, are not a native prod
uct They have been brought in for
use where the ground is too soft for
mule or horse teams to work salts
factorily and where there are no roads
over which trucks could haul the heavy
materials used in drilling for oil. Some
of them are from Texas, where they
have been in use for the same purpose.
A team consists of eight or nine
yoke" of cattle, sixteen or eighteen
oxen. The owners rent them for So
per yoke per day. Thus a team costs
the oil man $64 or S72 a day. Many
loads must be hauled before the en-
tire rig for one drilling operation is on
the ground. Often the distance is such
thatrohly one load a day can be made
srith oxen.
Drilling Well Expensive. 49,.
Drilling a well is expensive am
told that it costs about $4,000 on the
average to send the drilling bit down
TO the Berea sand, about 1 900 feet be-
low the surface. If dry hole results
someone or some stock company is out
that much. In this field the probabi
ity of dry holes is said by oil men to be
remote. Sensational wells have not
ye. come In, but substantial producers
are flowing.
A lawyer here had farm little.
way out Of Paintsville, worth about
$4,000. He leased half of it. Oil in
paying flow was struck. He leased
the other half for a royalty on each
barrel plus a bonus of $4,000 for per-
hitting wells to be drilled on his prop
erty at cost of $4,000 each to the
-drillers.
"A group of Paintsville men Clipped
in and bought 265-acre tract for s4.-
600 A well was drilled It proved to
be producer. The tract was sold for
$3.50, 900. One man who put in only
800 drew out $500 after paying his
share of the expenses of development.
A single investor, former Pa
ducahan who had not been well to- do
before the deal in oil land, took 55 per
cent of the investment of $4,000 and
drew out SIS per cent of the s350000, |
less the comparatively small expense
OF DRILLING the well.
Crk tract of less than nineteen acres |
VIII .veloped in June and July by a |
I'D of Paintsyille men and now is |
I'd reducing basis 80 id5.-zlakes it i
sol small fortune.
~ b2,sssne afternoon of my arrival, a
wen was being drilled the drilling near
completion, about a quarter of mile
from the business center OF Paints
Vile Persons in automobiles, women
footing it along the dusty roads with
babies in their arms, boys, oil prospect
tors, land owners. holders of leases.
were trooping to the scene of the drill