ON THE OIL TIL
(Continued from P*k< One)
the gusher sending out 20,000 bar
rels or more per day, are a hard
er proposition.
The city of Long Beach owned
some land on Signal Hill, purchas
ed for a reservoir. Upon the first
discovery of oil, the city drilled
on this land, and in a few months
time $50,000 poured into the
The Alaska Railroad
Trains arrive at 6:30 p. m.
FRIDAYS
Trains depart at 7:30 a. m.
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ALASKAN AIRWAYS, INC.
Fly With the Mail on Weekly Schedule
To All Interior Points
It is to your advantage to make arrangements for trip
after seeing our pilots:
JOE CROSSON MATT A. NIEMINEX
NOEL WEIX
Anchorage, Alaska
STEAMSHIP STARR
CAPTAIN C. E. ANDERSON
Next Sailing of Steamer Starr out of Seward
JUNE 15
SAN JAUN FISHING & PACKING
COMPANY
Chas. A. Jansen, Agent
Phone Madison 139 Seward, Alaska
Travel by the
Dollar Steam
ship Line from
Pacific Coast
ports to New
York via Pana
ma Canal.
Leaves Arrives South
Vessel Seattle Sewrd Seward
Evans May 20 May 27 June 1
Watson June 3 June 10 June 15
Evans June 10 June 17 June 22
Watson June 24 July 1 July 6
Evans July 1 July 8 July 13
Watson July 15 July 22 July 27
Vessels southbound connect with
trains on the dates shown,
Faacenger icnmmditMU all
Admiral Lina veaaela han bun cam
lit teir and matcrlallj Improved. Yon j
will find thorn vary attractive aad
,» mf or table.
WAYNE BLUE, Agent
STEAMER
LVS. SEATTLE
NORTHBOUND
LV. SEWARD
SOUTHBOUND
Yukon.
Alaska
Yukon
Aleutian
Denali
May 23 May 29 9 p
May 30 June 5 9 p
June 6 June 12 9 p
June 12 June 19 9 p
leaves Seattle May 20
. m.
. m.
. m.
. m.
AGENT: J. H. FLICKINGER
PHONE MAIN 125
Alaska Steamship Co.
treasury each month. From a
small one, to a great and rich
city (the fifth in wealth in the
U. S.) Long Beach was rated years
ago as a marvel, after having
produced its Signal Hill oil field,
one of the most wonderful ever
known.
A hard-working widow with
several children owned a small
tract of land on the north side
of the Hill. This woman did
laundry work as she could secure
it, kept a few chickens, and liv
ed from hand to mouth. After
oil was an assured fact here, op
erators leased her land, she
bid goodby to laundry work, for
money poured steadily in increas
ing amounts into her pockets.
Did this woman lose her head?
She did NOT. From the first she
showed clear, hard-headed good
sense. Soon she and her children
were in easy, pleasant surround
ings, and not only these, but her
sister’s family were as well pro
vided for by her.
Not long after the discovery of
oil on this famous Hill, drills
were put to work at Santa Fe
Springs, about 18 miles to the
northeast of Long Beach. Among
a group of old euculyptus trees
were hot, medicinal springs—two
or three very old buildings origi
nally to accomodate rheumatic or
other invalids—all this land old
Spanish Grants formerly. As ranch
land the country for miles around
was a failure. A few Mexican fam
ilies struggled along with dogs,
pigs and chickens running at will
under their miserable shacks.
Farther away were the lemon and (
orange groves, and well towards
Whittier, the walnut groves.
But all this was soon to be
changed. The Mexicans moved
out joyously—the hot springs were
deserted — the orange growers
leased their lands for oil upon
the payment to them of $100 per
tree for all orange trees that bore
even one orange and stood three
feet high.
The land was leased with roy
alties, widows longing for Euro
pean travel went across, waitress
es bought “units” as shares in
these companies were called, work
ing men bought expensive automo
biles, and old men smiled content
edly when they saw their children
flourishing tremendously.
As the oil gushers came along,
the face of the landscape was al
tered. The Shell and the Union
Oil companies built large tank
farms upon adjoining land that
had for years previously produced
only fine crops of tumble weeds.
Hundreds of derricks sprang up
over night, with occasionally a
burning gusher for variety. And
these gave it for a certainty. For
weeks asbestos clad men fought i
these frightfully dangerous out
laws of Mother Nature striving
with all their inventive faculties
to devise some means of putting
out their fires.
For six weeks the skies at night
were lighted by the burning of two
big oil gushers in the Santa Fe
field. From the mountains to the
sea the sky was brightly lighted
to be seen for many miles around.
The first one had not died out
when the second caught fire, pre
sumably from its friction of sand
and gas as they sometimes do. No
smoker is allowed to work on these
wells, and no strangers or visitors
are admitted within the oil work
ing enclosures.
These oil derricks, after so many
made of wood had been destroyed
by fire, were being erected of steel.
These were found more econom
ical in the long run.
After several years of intensive
drilling, the Signal Hill field
showed signs of giving out. Sea
water came into some of the wells,
others dwindled or petered out en
tirely, and many operators quit
work.
The field rested. The oil pool
filled again. A year went by,
perhaps more. Then someone had
a hunch to drill his old well deep
er, when presto! Change! The
oil gushed as before. Started then
other operators to follow his ex
ample and they had the same
good fortune. These continued
until a year ago, when the Pres
ident’s conservation order was
sent out. Large hearted Mr. Al
len Jergins, an independent op
erator of Long Beach, headed a
State Commission among oil men
to see that this order was carried
out—and it has been.
The fields of California are
again resting. To be sure this
cessation of oil industry has put
hundreds of men out of work who
must turn to other fields or labor,
but this is not the primary cause
of the “hard times.” Two years
ago or more a regulation was
made in the State of California
that no man over 35 years should
be given a driller's job. Several
men over that age told me this—
my brother among the rest. One
at work for the old Doheny outfit
(Please turn to Page Six)
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whose birthday occurs during the
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