Western Oil Derrick (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 3, No. 14, Ed. 3 Saturday, April 3, 1920 Page: 1 of 4
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Oklahoma Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Gateway to Oklahoma History by the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
SECTION THREE
Oil's Greatest Newspaper
Volume 3. Number 14.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 3, 1920.
Price 5 Cents.
RECOLLECTIONS OF A GEOLOGIST
to old Skiatook, then only a single
store, and through Pawhuska to Win-
field, Kansas, and back to Norman.
In the fall of 1900 I came to Norman
Being a Review of the Development of Geology in Oklaho- and begau teaching. For the first
ma as Taught at the State University and as Practiced year's work i received Moo. There
in the Field, Preliminary to the Mighty Expansion of M®s °° dei>->rt'"<'nt ot
' ' laboratories, no bookB, no apparatus ot
any kind, no collections, no students,
the Science as Applied to Petroleum Development in
Oklahoma
BY CHAS. N. GOULD.
The first instruction in geology given
In the Territory of Oklahoma was at
the state university in September, 1900.
At the meeting of the board of regents
!he previous year, President Boyd had
been instructed to establish a depart-
ment of geology and secure someone
to teach.
The beginnings of things geological
in Oklahoma territory, however, go
tart her back than this. In 1898 Presi-
dent Boyd, Dr. A. H, VanVleet, pro-
fessor of biology at the state uni-
■versity, and Henry E. Asp, president
cf the board of regents, had secured
the passage of a law by the territorial
legislature, establishing the territorial
geological and natural history survey.
The famulous sum of $200 per year
was appropriated for the maintainance
of the survey, and the professor of
biology at the state university was
named as ox-officio state geologist.
and slept under the wagon. We all let
our whiskers grow. If we were lucky
we mado 20 miles a day.
The first night out of Norman we
camped at Britton, the second night
on the Cimarron north of Guthrie, the
third night at Orlando where a storm
tame up and scattered our new tin-
ware for huIf a mile over the prairie.
The dishpan was so battered up that
it was of no use thereafter. It was at
Orlando that we found the vertebrate
locality that has since been the Mecca
of so many palaeontologists.
From Orlando we went north to
Perry, then east to .Stillwater and
Ingalls and camped in the present In-
galls oil field. Then doubled back to
Perry and Enid, then west to Cleo and
Glass mountains where I first got a
glimpse of the Gyp hills.
From Cleo we went north to the Salt
plains of the Salt Fork; went through
Alva to the Gypsum hills. Pound in-
not even a class room. I shared an j
office with Dr. VanVleel and skirni
ished around for rooms wherever I ;
could find one vacant. I remember i
that my beginning class in geology was :
held in the English room at an hour j
when that room was not being used.;
and my physiography class met in the
biology room. Among the members of i
the first class I now recollect G. A.,
Bucklin, Lillie Miller, J. T. Hefley..
Kate Barbour, E. M. Vanderslice, Jay I
Ferguson, C. C. Roberts and Ray Croy. j
During the summer of 1901 I was
with Joseph A. Taff of the U. S. geo-
logical survey. The work included the
detailed mapping of the Tahlequah
Quadrangle, since published as a folio;
some investigations in the coal fields,
as well as a study of the Arbuckle and
Wichita mountains. Mr. Geo. I Adams
was with us in the Tahlequah country
and Mr. E. O. Ulrich in the Arbuckle
and Wichita mountains.
Surveying Piatt Park.
It was during this summer that Mr.
Taff and I first made an examination
where the big anticline is located, and 0f what has since become Piatt na-
on west to the big salt plain of the Honal park. The people living at
Cimarron. Thence we drove south sulphur Springs, Indian territory, had
through Woodward, crossed the Can (.0nceived the idea of a National park
adian at Taloga, worked out the Greer the springs. They interested Sena-
next summer he wanted to put a party gypsum country about Arapaho, and tor Piatt of Connecticut in the matter
In the field and he and President Boyd the Branitz creek country, and through und he put it up to the secretary of
set about to find a geologist. Weatherford to the region of the Caddo j the interior, who in turn passed the
It so happened that George Bucklin. county buttes. Crossed the Canadian I matter on to the director of the geo
• Oil at a Glance I
The first oil well was drilled
in 1854 in Pennsylvania.
The United States produces
two-thirds of all the oil in the
world.
The world production for 1918
was 550,000,000 barrels.
Oklahoma has 23,5t>l produc-
ing oil and gas wells.
Oklahoma's total oil produc-
tion since 1891 is more than
900,000,000 barrels.
In 1911 there were six geolo-
gists in Oklahoma. Now there
are 600.
Knowledge of geology was of
great value to the warring na-
tions in laying out treiu hes and
in topographical map work.
So Dr. VanVleet found himself wtih a vertebrate fossils j^t Whitehorse Spring
survey on his hands and two hundred
perfectly good dollars that must be
spent.
The first year he laid in supplies.
Vought a team, wagon and tent. The
President again at Bridgeport, drove through
. | Watonga to the Gypsum hills at the
'hen private secretary to
Boyd, now in the U. S. consular serv
ice, learned of the matter and sug-1 Blaine county salt plain where we
gested that he knew a fellow named ! n^de the acquaintance of one of Okla-
Gould who wns daffy over rocks and j l'oraa's unique characters, August
suggested that President Boyd write llen-iuenet. From the salt plains we
him. This was in the winter of 1899.
A Salaryless Job.
I had received my bachelor's degree
the summer before and was spending
iie winter studying Dakota Cretaceous
went cast to Kingfisher, then through
El Reno back to Norman.
Exploring Indian Territory.
Here Dr. VanVleet left the party and
White, Hadsell and I made a short trip
leaves in the University of Nebraska, through the eastern part of Oklahoma
where I had a fellowship. At President j territory and old Indian territory.
Lloyd's suggestion I came to Norman
during the Christmas holidays, looked
the situation over and arranged to
come to Oklahoma during the summer
und act as geologist for the geological
survey. In those days there were no
salaries. I worked for bare expenses
and was thankful for the chance. I
1 rought with me for the summer two
Kansas friends; as cook, Roy Hadsell,
now teacher of English at the uni-
versity, and as botanist, Paul J. White,
now, I believe, teaching in the Oregon
Agriculture College.
That first sufnmer gave me my first
knowledge of Oklahoma geology. Four
of us started in June and traveled in a
lumber wagon; Hadsell and I on the
rront seat and Dr. VanVleet and Whit
From Norman we drove east to Shaw-
nee, crossed the South Canadian at
Keokuk Falls, and went through the
Creek nation to Okmulgee, then a lit-
tle town of board shacks with pos-
sibly 200 inhabitants. From Okmulgee
\se drove north and camped in what ig
now Glenn Pool; then through Sapulpa
to Tulsa.
logical survey. The director of the
survey picked the field party nearest
Sulphur, and we were the victims.
Mr. Taff and I left the camp at Salli-
saw Creek and went to Sulphur where
we hired horses and spent a week rid-
ing over the region studying con-
ditions. As the result of the report
which was prepared the government
took over a tract of land which has
bince become the Piatt national park
Later during the same summer Mr.
Taff and I worked out the structure
and stratigraphy of the northern part
of the Arbuckle mountains and the
entire Wichita mountains area. This
was the year of the opening of the
Kiowa'and Comanche Indian reserva
tions in which was located the Wichi-
ta range. The town of Lawton was
opened during the time we were
camped on the Fort Sill military
All have since disappeared. Every
mountain was bristling with claim
notices and honeycombed with mining
Bhafts. It has been estimated that
more than a million and a half dollars
hav,e been spent in hunting for gold in
the Wichitas and all without results.
The Mountain Trip.
During this summer the Oklahoma
geological and natural history survey
party was in the field in southwestern
Oklahoma traveling overland as far as
Mangum. Dr. VanVleet was in charge
with Paul White, Mark White and C.
D. Bunker as assistants.
While in the Arbuekles with Mr.
Taff and Mr. Ulrich the plan for
bringing students to the mountains to
study the vestpocket edition of geology
was originated, and in the winter of
1901 and 1902 the first Arbuckle trip
was made. The party which drove
down at Thanksgiving time were Van
Vleet, Parrlngton, Bunker, John Hef
ley, Hank Hefley, Ray Crow and Ralph
Sherwin and myself. As you know,
sisted of myself with Eck Schrninm
and Tom B. Matthews as assistants,
worked over the western part of the
Panhandle of Texas. The results of
the two summer's work were published
as water supply papers.
The summer of 190(5 was the last trip
made by the Oklahoma geological and
natural history survey. Hutchinson
and Severln made a reconniaKsance
trip of the oil fields.
Thfs brings our history to the timo
of the beginnings of the Oklahoma
geological survey, tho details of which
are familar to most of the members of
the .association.
velopment of Oklahoma and recorded
a conspicuous success in connection
with the zinc industry. He now ex-
pects to devote his time to oil oper-
ations in connection with development
of new fields which are believed to
lay dormant in the Plains country of
Texas and adjoining territory.
USHER CARSON TO
START DEEP TEST
ON HIS ACREAGE
ANDREWS, Texas. April 3.—Usher
Carson, a well known zinc mine oper-
ator of the Miami field of Oklahoma,
has become a large investor iu An-
drews county, which borders Eddy
county of New Mexico, and a block of
oil leases has been acquired by Mr.
Carson who will be active in oil de
velopment of this section.
Announcement is made by Colonel
Carson that he has leased a largo
block of his Andrews county acreage
to the West Texas Petroleum company
of Fort Worth, and that company will
at once start work on a deep test that
is viewed as having a considerable
bearing on development of new oil
fields in West Texas and New Mexico.
A location has already been made
by the West Texas company, and the
Andrews county well will be drilled
on the southeast corner of section 25,
school block A '17.
Colonel Carson is a pioneer in de-
ROXANA PAYS BIG
PRICE FOR LEASE
MANY GOOD WELLS
IN OSAGE COUNTY
There was no bridge at Tulsa and reservation nearby. One day it was
the Arkansas river was up. Paul bare prairie, the next a collection of
White waded the river to see if it was j tents and a week later a city of 6 000
safe to ford. Tulsa was not as larg'1 people.
as Okmulgee at that time, a half dozen j It was at this time that mining ex-
little frame stores and a few dwellings, i citement was rampant in the W ichitas.
Third street was way out on the edg ' There were probably jC.OOO miners i'i library, collections
of town and nobody at all lived south j the mountains, hunting gold. Kveiy j pioniaa. The third
of the present court house block. That little gulch had its camp, and little fDg the arrongement with F. H Newell
this trip to the Arbuekles has been
made a yearly affair and the parties
number hundreds. £
In the summer of 1902 I had charge
cf the Oklahoma geological and na X
tural history survey party, with John y
T Hefley and Ralph Sherwin as a^
sistants. Dr. VanVleet did not g« •;
along. As usual, I received no salarv %
for the summer's work. Our time was J *j|
spent in working out the gypsum de
posits of the state, and we estimated
that summer the available amount o' Y,
gypsum in sight in the state. £
The winter of 1902-3 was an eventful , £
winter, as four things happened. First,
I was able to get someone started In
geology, Mr. Larkin, who became a
major student in the department.
Second, the university burned, and
with it all of my possessions, includ-
ing the manuscript of the reports
which I had been preparing. 1 lost my
and even my
vent, was mak
TULSA, Okla., April 3.—Oil men
have a distaste for small tracts of
land. They would rather see a cyclone
coming than to see a little dinky one,
two or three-acre tract platted up ad-
joining their larger holdings because
nine times out of ten. it means a line
fight, or the drilling of wells out of
proportion to regular locations, which
is considered tho same as giving away
the money used in drilling the wells.
Tho Jennings field, unfortunately,
has several of these small tracts
spotted around over it. and inasmuch
as the so-called "strip" in 34-20-7, and
the lVa-acre piece in the northwest of
the northwest, of 2 19-7 caused so much
trouble, the larger operators aro de-
termined this trouble shall not occur
ngain if they can help It.
The Roxana Petroleum Co., owning
a long 150 acres in 2-19-7, has pur-
chased a 2-acre tract offsetting the
southwest corner of its acreage from
E T. Ramey of Jennings for $25,000
an acre, fee and all—an enormous
price, but it means that provided ar-
rangements can be made with adjoin-
ing lease holders to help bear tho
burden, a well will not be drilled on it..
The Roxana is negotiating with the
Prairie, Gypsy and Markham, adjoining
lease-holders to pay their sharo of the
purchase price and forget the tract
was ever on the map.
PAWHUSKA, Okla.. April 3.—Sev-
eral dandy wells have been completed
in the Osage, the better class being: the
following:
Guffey-Gillesple No. 7, in center of
west lino of southwest of 34-22-10, sand
1,892*1,918 feet, 100 barrels after shot.
Osage Development Co., and H. V.
Foster, No. 1, In center of north line
of south half of north half of north-
east of 35-29-11, sand 915-41 feet, shot
120 quarts, 150 barrels.
Sand Fork Oil Co., No. 2, in north
west corner of northeast of northwest
of northeast of 20-26-11, sand 1,672-91.
shot 100 quarts. 200 barrels; Carter Oil
Co., No. 6, in southeast corner of
northeast of 32-25-9, sand 2,003-15 feet,
150 barrels natural.
Gilllland Oil Co., No. 1, In northeast
corner of southwest of 23-23*7, Band
2,820-50 feet, 400 barrels natural.
Bristow Field Active
BRISTOW, Okla.. April 3.—Texn-
lenn Oil Co., and i.ester Gillespie No.
1, in the northeast corner of the
northwest of 16-16-8, northwest of
Bristow, which Is the sensation of that
district because of a remarkable show-
ing in the Wilcox sand, hitherto un-
known to exist in that locality, was
deepened to a totul depth of 3,5St, feet
in sand found at 3,531 feet, and was
helped. It Is still In good sand. After
swabbing to the bottom of 'he casing
I ho oil fills up at the rate of 800 feet
an hour to the top of the casing.
Three hundred barrels is the favorite
estimate. Many new location, aro be-
ing made around It.
♦ ♦ ♦« « ♦
CusterCounty
Oil Leases
ehind.
would have been a good time to buy i mining towns, such as Mears, Oreana
We cooked on the ground'real estate. From Tulsa we went north I and Wildman, sprung up over nigh'.
' X •X~X ,XKK**X,vvv«X~X"X".".
-i
Buys one-half ROYALTY in 50 Acres
of NE 1-4 Sec. 36-2s-6w
Stephens County
No Rentals or Taxes to Pay
/
ol the reclamation department, foi ; y
some water supply work. The fourth i £
event was the organization or th" X
Rock club, which occurred while on j v
the second Arbuckle trip, while we 1 £
were camped on Vines Branch. At ' .;.
tilts meeting Sherwin presided: Mi ?
Kirk was elected president and Che: <•
ter A. Reeds was the first secret a r;
1 In the summer of 1903 tho r . £ ^
geological survey party started across , j
, the plains, working out the water | y
' supply. As assistants 1 had Kirk £
Reed,, Larkin and long. X
filled at. Woodward, and th lulp %
! ment consisted nf camp wagc.u, mule* f
hack and saddle horses W followed 1
up the North Canadian and Cimarron X
In their head*. Passed the volcani. Y
leaks in northeastern New Mexico |
Crossed over llaton Mesa and I'd-, y
lowed down the South Canadian ,t,
serosa New Mexico and the Panhand " A
of Texas to Elk City, Oklahoma.
The Mineral Exhibit. £
i The preparation of the mineral ex |
i jbit at the world's fair was begun in ,i,
: the winter of 1903-4. As we hod litil
money and few miuerals we tried ■
find something spectacular to -ho« .".
i he public. So two big blocks of
gypsum from Blaine county were sen!
up to the fair and were found to he
very attractive.
1 in June of 1904 our first geoloi
Y n ajor student graduated. I>r < in I
•}• Kirk
$ The mineral exhibit was installed In
X : he summer of 1904 and u a " '
Y -he big uliow on the openlnr da% W •
Y j sent up a young man from Ho- urn
■ - -
X 1 <-f Oklahoma's vast resources
X I Bpenl the summer with K '■
v I'anhand <• of Texa^ >or he 1
i geological -urvcj
We have a few close-in leases to the well now drilling by National Union
Oil and Gas Company near Arapaho Oklahoma, which we will sell and use the
money in development in this field. Oil companies and individuals who want to
own leases on the famous Custer County anticline when our expected gusher
comes in should get in touch with us at once.
DUNCAN,
OKLAHOMA
. rnuei s
• man, who taught mineral-*-- 1
l artment had grown In numbers
I nil the teochlns
j The next summer, 1&1
igeological lurvey party
Prominent geologists and oil men believe this will be the next big gusher
field opened up in Oklahoma and make new oil history for the great state of Ok-
lahoma.
Now is the time to buy leases before the bit goes to the oil sand believed to
lie under this great structure. When the oil is found and the gusher springs forth
then your opportunity to get a close-in lease at a reasonable price is forever gone.
The men who are making fortunes every day by buying leases ahead of the
drill are men who are alive to the wonderful opportunities of these times. They
are quick to act, and follow the good judgment of the men who are making a great
success in the oil business. That is the reason these men and women are success-
ful in making fortunes.
Will you lake advantage now of the wonderful opportunity to own a lease
ahead of the drill on this great Custer County structure and be one of the suc-
cessful ones who take advantage of the oil game by buying leases early ahead of
the drill?
Come to Custer County, where you will find an honest test being made, and
if we cannot show you the greatest oil structure and oil proposition you have ever
seen in a wildcat field, and you are not satisfied, or think we have misrepresented
our proposition in any manner, we will gladly pay all your expenses for your full
trip. Can anything be more fair?
Write, wire or phone us for reservations for leases before they are a!! taken
up which we care to offer.
Sparks & Thompson
Representing National Union Oil and (ias Co.
CLINTON, - . OKLAHOMA
th'1 t. b |
hlch con , 'X'
/mj* • •> :• • •> v *:• v •>'. X- HK "X-v -
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Bisbee, Sumner T. Western Oil Derrick (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 3, No. 14, Ed. 3 Saturday, April 3, 1920, newspaper, April 3, 1920; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc152224/m1/1/: accessed April 18, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.