The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-04-30
Santa Claus Humphreys
Made Many Rich When
He Discovered Pool
GODDESS LUCK REIGNS
One Man With S13, All He
Had, Bought Lease and
Sold for S65,0O0
BY A NATIVE.

How much Is the fare to Mex
ears
Gimme a sleeper for Mehair"
The worn ticket seller in the
union station at Dallas cast a weary
and contemptuous eye upon the
Vrging crowd paving his window,
and remarked.
SAY, how do you birds get that
way? What you want Is standing
room on Che accommodation to Mu-
heah."
The scene was typical of any siz-
able railway station in the south
west during fhe autumn of 1921.
Eager. qucsting Argonauts. all far
ing forth on journeys TO the newest
FL Dorado, uncertain of the Spanish
pronunciation of their destination
but fixed In their determination to
get there while the getting was
good. For the magic word had
gone forth again; once more had
old earth'a oil resources been tapped
by the exploring drill OF the tire
less wildcatter
This is not the firstyboom Mexia
has had. Back In 1914 the natural
gus was discovered just west of the
town at n depth of 900 feet. But
the war came on, curtniling develop
ment, and no one could or would
drill deeper. So the real boom had
n seven-year setback. There was no
market for the gas, and the lease
owners could not pay even the
picayunlsh dollar an acrs annual
rental. So the land reverted TO the
original owners.
Then along in 1920 came a quest
ing Argonaut, an inveterate Wild
/ cater, destined to become the Santa
Claus of the entire district--Col. A.
T.. Humphreys-~Santa Claus truly.
for during last Christmas week, in
l territory he had proven, eight new
wells were brought In in four days,
l adding badly average of 10000
barrels. That first we'll. tho Rogers.
was brought in in November, 1920,
I and 1t was nearly year later before
4 the boom arrived. Then came the
- rush-the rank and file, the rabble,
the promoter, the CRATER, the bally-
hoo artists-all the personal and
paraphernalia. all the color and ro-
nance of an -~ilIboom town. The
a small village THAI had had to bestii
e itself to show 5000 people in its
"a 1920 census awoke one day to finC
Al Itself a metropolis of 10000.
10 Did NMexia welcome the influx? II
=" did. II had waited seven long years
d for the boom, and times. after Scent
n cotton that cost 80 cents to produce
20 were hard. But the boom, despit,
> first well in November. 1920, came
!, with the suddenness of cyclone
n The meager hotels were iammcd
. and eXasperated. perspiring guests
oo2ed out the windows. 80 homes
were thrown open to the throngs
n tents erected and small shack'
- hastily put together. Everybody
"a cared, for transinets, as much, b,
- II understood, from the spirit Of hos
pitnlitV from tho lurn pf fbo mn =
"a chance. 1t was n matter of civic
-, pride. The boom must not be re-
70 tarded by insufficient acconmoda
tions. So no one was turned away
IA The season was summer, the CLINE
~ salubrious. and IL didn't much mat
ter IL one slept out of doors, any
way.
Three Dollars a Bed.
- Not that money did not have IL
=, weight with the elated Mexiaians
- The hard year has already been not
=, ed-perhaps II was n little harde
10 in n strictly cotton growing seCtioI
l., than elsewhere. Yes. the clnk o
y y bright silver dollars was sweet musi
=, to Rosie O'Grady and the Colonel
H., Lady alike. Speaking of the latter
=, who was, in reality the wife of
~ prominent business man, she boast
II ed from one end of Main street Z
the other that her earnings on
W month form four spare beds, at s
es each. exceeded her husbands net in
come by an altogether delightful
lc difference.
,s Most of the MeXia people resignet
.e from their business TO take up OF
70 1t is said that not dry goods stor
-, in town. and few groceries. dru
NJ stores or confectioneries, but hav
ne changed hands since the boom. TIL
ne routine of business was too slow
~ The merchants attitude toward oi
lr was like the half.famished stree
gamins toward a ham sandwich
me for It," Some have mad
money; many have not. Some wi
/. have funds sufficient TO buy bac
y their stores when the boom is over
others will not. Such is the sa
history OF the oil game.
I'd But for a brighter picture
t. Juarez. This Is the new commercial
district which sprang up oyernigh
n at Mexia. u lies west Of the rail
ID road tracks in a section hlthert
I'd scorned by the elect. 1t was tn
40 cabbage patch" OF the town oc
4. cupfed chiefly by shanties of ne
groes. Oil spelled moving day I
I'd the dusky inhabitants. The groun
le1 was too valuable for commercia
he purposes TO be left inactive. Prices
ly in keeping with the feverish de
mands Of an oil boom, caused white
X of eyes to roll and sooty palms I
ce tingle, There was a second exodu
he froml Africa.
in on September / there was not
ly building, other than abandone
rk cabins, in Juarez; by Thanksgivin
as 1t had 10000 inhabitants. Shor
keepers they are, men who have 70
ng lowed oil booms and TO whom ha
come the knowledge that the bei
way 10 make money in an old iiel
Is TO deal in everything except oi
The first OF these specialists to al
nj rive was ID. n. Harmon, a post
p" graduate of the Ranger, Desdemon
and Breckenridge oil fields, NJ
en Harmon realized that his chief ac
or versary was time. With feveris
* haste he leased a whole block an
OF covered It with a mushroom builC
NJ. ing. divided by numerous partiti II
lst into spaces for different commel
We cial activities-a drug store, restal
no rant lodging house, motion-pictul
re- theater, tailor shop, garage, cor
len fectionery and others. His total ou
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