Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1931-11-05
CHAPTER XII

UT 1tdib ohidHOiid ltdU iObEt0 foh
statehood as bride awaits the dawn
of her wedding day. AT last. Behold
the bridegroom" said a paternal gov
eminent. handing her over TO the
Union. ''IIere is star for your fore
head. Meet the family"
Then. at the very altar. the final
words spoken. the pact sealed. the
bride had turned to encounter stran.
ger-an unexpected guest. dazzling.
breath-taking. emhodying all her Wild
est girish dreams.
"Bridegronm-h-lr' yelled Oklaho-
ma. hurting herself into the strangers
arms. WHATS family to me Go
awayl Don't bother me. I'm busy"
The name of the gorgeous stranger
was OIL
OIL Nothing else mattered. Okla
homa. the dry. the wind-swept. the
burning, was sea af hidden oil. The
red prairies. pricked. ran black and
Shiny with 1t. The work of years was
undone in n day The sunbonnets
shrank hack. aghast. Compared to
that which now took place the early
days following the Run In 80 were
idyllic They swarmed on Oklahoma
from every state in the Union. The
| plains became black with little eager
delving figures. The sanguine roads
were chnked with every sort of vehicle
Once more tent and shanty towns
sprang up where the day before had
been only open prairie staring up at
blazing sky. Again the gambling
tent. the six-shooter. the roaring
saloon. the dance hall. the harlot
Men fought. stole. killed. died for
piece Of ground beneath whose arid
surface lay who knew what wealth of
fluid richness Every barren sun
baked farm was a potential fortune:
every ditch and draw and dried-up
creek bed might conceal liquid treas
ure. The Wildcat ield-Panhandle--
Cimarrnn--Grook Nose-Cartwright--
Wahon--Bear Creek-these became
magic names; these were the Seven
Cities Of Cihola. rich beyond Corona
dos widest dream. Millions OF bar
rels Of oil burst through the sand and
I shale and clay and drenched the
parched earth. Drill. pump. blast.
Nitroglycerin. Here she comes. A
roar. Oklahoma went stark raving mad.
Sabra Cravat went oil mad with the
rest OF them. Just outside the town
nj milf
were drilling. There was that piece
Of farm land she had bought years
ago. when Yancey first showed signs
OF restlessnesS. She had thought her
self shrewd to have picked up this
! fertile little oasis in the midst of the
bare nnl0vely plain. She was proud
OF her hit Of farm land with it's plump
| yield Of alfalfa. corn. potatoes. and
| garden truck. She knew now why II
had been So prolific BY within OF
nature rich black oil lay under all that
! surrounding land. rendering 1t barren
through its hidden riches No faint
of corroding oil ran beneath that tract
OF Cravat farm land and because OF
ahir ~ tds lffFfs iHW, So green. so
lush, with its heans. its squash, IT'S
ridiculous onions. haunting her, derid-
ing her. like mirage In the desert.
Queerly enough. she had no better
luck with her share in an oil lease for
which she had paid substantial sum
much more than she could afford to
lose. Machinery. crew. days Of drill
ing, weeks Of drilling. sand. shale. salt
The well had come up dry--a buster.
That which happened to Sabra hap.
pened to thousands The stuff was
elusive. tnntilizing. Here might be a
gusher vomiting millions. Fifty feet
away not SO much as spot OF grease
could be forced to the surface. For
tune seemed to take a delight In choos-
Ing strange victims for her pranks.
Erv Wissler. the gawk who delivered
the milk TO Sabra's door each morning,
found himself owner OF gusher whose
outpourngs yielded him seven thou
sand dollars day. He could not
grasp It
"Why. Ervl' Sabra exclaimed, when
he arrived at her kitchen door as
usual, smelling OF the barnyard.
Seven thousand dollars dayl What
In the world are you going to do
with 1t!
Erv's putty features and all his
loose-hung frame seemed to stiffen
with the effort OF his new and momen.
tous resolve We'll. tell you, Mis-
Cravat | made up my mind | amt
going to make no more Sunday de- !
livery myself. I'm n-going to hire
Pete Lynch's boy to take the milk
route Sundays"
ITO be continued