Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-26
86 MINUTES
To MAKE TRIP Of
I'D MILES BY AIR
John Dawson Is First Well
Owner of Northern Acreage
to Use Airplane.

Il was just high-browing those Ohio
boys a little" said the driller at the.
Midnurthern camp on the Dawson
Merkle tract Tuesday noon as he came
into the cook house for dinner. II
just told them not TO come too d
near that airplane Of ours. ] mention
ed that | just couldn't see the owner
0. their we'll dropping in on them with
a flying machine and that no right
good pilot would ever try to land north
of that section line"
John f. Dawson of Great Falls, one
of the owners of the lease, with Pilot.
Earl Vance, and another passenger,
had just alighted from Vance's plane
three were taking dinner at the Mid
northern camp. Whether other drill
ers in the field may in the future have
the n of their wells drop in on
them from the sky, the drillers OF the
Dawson-Merkle tract can always claim
the honor Of having had one Of their
chiefs make the first flight by air
plane from Great Falls to his well in
the Kevin-S unburst field.
The trip. despite the fact that the
plane carried an extra passenger, also
marked the cutting of 20 minutes off
Of Vance's previous time for the trip
from Great Falls TO the north end Of
the field. The flight from Great Falls.
from the time the passengers climbed
into the cockpit to the time they dis
mounted at the well. was an hour and
20 minutes. They hoped off from
the flying field near the livestock pa
vilion and landed within 80 feet of
the Dawson well.
See Field at Glance
To passengers interested in the de-
field. the flight was a revelation. From
a height of 100 feet above the field.
more than 80 derricks could be count
ed. while there were several additional
sites where wells have been completed
and the rigs moved to new locations.
The field lay like a map spread before
the filters ard 70 anyone familiar with
the man of the field, the wells could
be spotted without difficulty and
from the relative position of other OPP
erations. and section lines indicated
BY an occasional fence, new derricks
could be located almost TO the quar-
ter of quarter of the section in which
they were being built,
Driving by car seemed a laborious
undertaking after being able in a
single glance to view all Of the opera
lions of the major part of the field.
Turning of the head from one side TO
the other in a sweep of the field gave
a more comprehensive view of the rel
alive development of the field than
would have been the result of a day
trip on the ground.
From the vantage point of the plane
the grouping of wells was distinct.
The Ohio company's permanent camp.
laid ont like a small city. topped the
picture. A few steps-it seemed
to the left. the activities of the Mid
northern on the Dawson-A1erkle tract
and Sunburst lease. as well as the
Ohio and Homestake offsets, made
a compact knot, with the IL storage
tanks of the Dawson we'll, and the
growing colony Of Midnorthern camp
buildings adding to the effect. The
group of wells at the Hogan made
additional activity. while about the
Gladys Belle on the right, the mum
Der Of derricks attested the operation.
On the south. the two Morton wells
and the Johnson well formed a land
mark-three wells at offset distance
in a straight line.
Some Burn Crude Oil
These were the points that stood
out in the field. but scattered in the
area between them were numerous der
ricks that swelled the total. The num-
Der of wells using natural gas in the
field made many that are now drilling
appear as though they had shut down.
At a few wells. especially those not
n the groups. crude is being burned
and these provided streams of smoke
that gave life to the field.
An occasional motor car moved over
the roads at a speed that seemed a
pace. but with a long tail Of
dust that showed no mean speed.
Trucks seemed to be standing still on
the road.
Above this great map of the field,
the PLANE moved with the steadiness
hat attested the ability of Pilot Vance.
The deceptive smoothness led one to
.aaliarA thnt tho nlane Mas travelling !