The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1926-04-22
LAKE LILLIAN FOLKS
EXCITED over GAS
WELL, IN KANDIYOHI COUNTY
YIELDING HIGH GRADE
OIL.
A FAKE" SAYS STATE U
PROMOTERS SAID TO HAVE OP-
TIONS ON 1000 ACRES ADJ
JACENT LAND

Mr.. and Mrs. Rudolph Lee were
at Willmar Sunday visiting Mr.. and
Mrs. c.. B. johnson and while there
thew all drove down to Lake Lillian,
which is twenty five miles south OF
Willmar, to see the oil wells recent
Nv discovered in that village. The
city papers have had more or less
sensational writeups in regard ITO the
discoveries
There is considerable excitement
in and around Lake Lillian and Sun
day afternoon there were more than
! thousand people in the village look
ing at the "gasoline" well and listen
ing to the stories in regard to it.
Lake Lillian is little village OF rs
or 100 people.
. 1t seems that Axel Lundquist, who
runs a restaurant at Lake Lillian,
while. digging a well in the basement
of his store porperty, struck water
of strong oily flavor; in fact, 1T
was so oily that he could not use
1t, so he sunk another shaft in the
opposite end of the basement and
when only seven or eight feet down
struck a vein of what appears to be
pure gasoline. He had it tested and
the raw fluid as it comes from the
we'll is said to test 57.9 gasoline,
which is higher than the gasoline
sold ait filling stations.
Mr.. Lundquist claims that he has
been running his automobile now for
four weeks with this fluid just as it
comes from the well. A number of
farmers who were at Lake Lillian,
told Mr.. Lee that they were doing
! the same thing. The state oil in
spector sent deputy to Lake Lii
liam, who made the gas tests, and
on his recommendation Mr.. Lund-
quist is paying the regular &c per
gallon gas tax on each gallon of
fluid he pumps out of the well and
sells. At present he is selling it as
a curio at the rate of 25c per pint
bottle. Mr.. Lee bought a bottle and
brought it home and has it on exhi-
bition at his office. Mr.. Lundquist
sells this gasoline in bottles painted
with red in order to conform to the
state law about selling gasoline in
red cans or BOTTLES. TT
A promoter has secured options on
some 10000 acres of land in the vi
cinity of Lake Lillian and rumor has
it that he is going to start drilling
operations.
The university authorities, who
have been asked to test the fluid for
gasoline, are said to have refused to
have anything to do with the pro-
ject on the ground that it is a fake.
They say that inasmuch as gasoline
is distilled or manufactured pro-
lnn
ground in such form any more than
you could find pillow in an iron
mine. Gasoline is manufactured
from the raw oil known as petroleum
and the university people say that it
is impossible to get gasoline or any
product resembling it in volatile
character from the ground.
: Anyway, there is good deal of
excitment in and around Lake Lii
liam. Mr.. Lundquist claims that he
has dipped $50 gallons of this fluid
from his 8-foot well the past four
weeks. 1t seeps in rather slowly,
but, according Ito him, it seeps in.
Mr.. Lee took a look at the we'll and
the bottle of "gasoline" he brought
home is some he saw dipped from
the well. If it is fake, it is very
clever one and, on the other hand,
if the fluid is of gasoline character
the discovery is a most remarkable
one.
Mr.. Lee said he heard many stor-
les from farmers who were stand
ing around the streets visiting with
the tourists who had come to Lake
Lillian Sunday afternoon. One Farm
er living two miles south of Lake