TX BIOS: Oil Finders, legends Selected and converted.American Memory, Library of Congress. Washington, 1994. Preceding element provides place and date of transcription only. This transcription intended to be 99.95% accurate. For more information about this text and this American Memory collection, refer to accompanying matter. U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore Project, Life Histories, 1936-39); Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.Copyright status not determined. 00011 Beliefs and customs - [?] Osburn, Lois - PW 3825 Words Houston, Tex. - Dist. #6 5 Folklore Folk Customs - Oil Finders FEC 240 Page 1 #36 NOV [?] 1936 OIL FINDERS When Moses brought in a water gusher with his famed rod, he little dreamed how millions of his descendants down the ages would emulate him with endless gadgets and devices. Upon Dr. L. [??], geophysicist for the [?] Oil and Refining Co. of Houston, Texas, "Oil Finders" descend like [manna?] from heaven. They boast fantastic claims for their devices, ascerting that they can predict the gravity, [?] of oil, thickness of the oil [?] or [????], as well as the presence and quantity of salt, sulphur and [?]. These inventors also boast of never having studied an exact science, according to Dr. [?]. They apparently [?] that all the great inventions are made by people who know nothing about the subject and that training in the exact sciences tends to build up [?] as well as beliefs that certain things cannot be done. Hence, it is the duty of these brilliant laymen [to perform?] these miracles which scientists refuse to tackle. They claim to have spent many years in perfecting their inventions and are proud that great university scientists to whom they have submitted their devices are unable to understand them. 00022This undoubtedly upholds their theory that the scientific complex is such that its unhappy retainer lacks the ability to comprehend anything beyond his narrowed mental vision. Never-the-less, the inventors appear anxious to establish reliable connections, for one says: "My early conferrees and associates were all elegant and proficient gentlemen." Says Dr. [?] "Noble [?] would probably be painfully surprised and astonished if they realized how many inventor-friends they have." That [?] substances exhibit [?] characteristics is probably the most fantastic theory advanced by an "Oil Finder". One investigator asserts that oil exhibits female characteristics. After making this startling discovery, he began to search for a [?] substance, preferably a liquid, which could be used in finding oil. After "years of careful investigation" he found such a liquid, and, moreover, has a jug full of it, upon which is a suitably connected indicator which responds to the presence of oil. The promoter of a similar idea writes at great and elaborate length on the annual characteristics of oil. Assuring the reader that he is not a "[??] or doodlebugger", he continues: 00033"I knew that attraction and repulsion were facts of the physical world. Substances love and hate as men do. They repulse, they attract! They know how to love, and feel: 'The black [?] of hate!' Chemistry told me of Isomers and Isomerism, the friendly feeling of things and their tendency to combine, to enter into commerce, borrow meal from each other, speak when they met and be generally sociable. "Science told me of saturated and unsaturated Hydro-Carbons. I thought it possible to enter into a [?] with the unsaturated forms, or petroleum. Gas being a saturated Hydro-Carbon affords no nexus over which a chemical sympathy can pass and enter into [?] with it. [?], wide-openness, is a property of all matter. This being true, there is no scientific reason why a breath, vapor or [?] of petroleum should not rise through the porosity of the earth and report itself to the sensitive chemical sympathy of my discovery just so particles of the fox thrown off in flight report to the olfactories of the hound, or as a perfume fills a room. "The test should be made on the oil actually present [as an?] atmosphere, or sort of petriliferous fog! I have correlated the chemical sympathy with the gravity; there is no lateral sympathy. The impulse is downward to the source of [?] with as much certainty [?] the compass needle points to the [?] mystery of the north! 00044"In other words, my formula is an oil magnet. I can tell more about the habitat of oil than all the geophysical principals and instruments combined though you stretch out and combine their results from the creation of Adam to the death of the Devil. "As a scholar, you will hardly look to the [?] for the norms of the new and unknown. The generie cannot be definitive of the specific. I have worked on a wrong theory as Columbus; but I have found a new world. I prefer not to [?] facts but to prove them! If proof is what you want instead of a [?], ask for it and I'll give it. We are getting ready to put into commission in the interest of our business everything we know from the star-fretted dome of heaven to earth's central fires. I am sure my discovery is a God-send to the Gulf Coast! "And further, I will go into wild-cat territory where wells are drilling, test them, write their prognosis, file with a Committee, await the arbitrament of time and the drill; if results are satisfactory, my claims are certified as truth. Second, if desired, I will go to productive fields whose area of saturation is defined by the drill. Out of sight of these fields I will permit myself to be blindfolded; while thus blinded and driven through the field I will define it with accuracy, a thing that has never before been done so far as I am aware. If I fail to do this correctly, I stand discredited both as a man of science and of truth. The appeal is to [men?] of reason, not men of fixed 00055opinions. Men of verbs and nouns, who prefer DEMONSTRATION to [CONVERSATION?], men who believe that new truth is for the CHILDREN as it was the [?] of the FATHERS: Men following the Divine injunction, PROVE ALL THINGS HOLD FAST THAT WHICH IS GOOD." However, most "Oil Finders" are unwilling to stand [discredited?] before the [?] of science. One irate writer says: "You [say?] that oil cannot be located with an instrument. I say positively that it can. I know, and you know, that your [?] is [????] and theory, more than what the surface of the [?] really tells you. You would starve if your salary was paid in the oil you located. "Let your company put you fellows on a [percent?] basis and everyone of you would be hunting an instrument [?] for a partner. You [say?] I [cannot locate?] oil and give its depths and I know all your calculations are based upon theory and a few [obscure facts?], with [high-sounding?] terms. Suppose we go together to [some?] unknown wildcat [?] and each of us write our opinions upon the [?] location, [??] of them, and file these opinions, under [?] with [?] reliable person until each test is completed and [?] the drill be the final judge as to which one of us is the [?] oil-locating geologist. Now, I am demanding that you prove me a [?] or never again [?] oil cannot be located with an instrument!" Dr. [?] says that many oil finders have attempted to 00066demonstrate their gadgets in his office, with an offer to find a hidden can of oil. All these have met with failures, easily explained by the [?] operators. The following excerpt best describes the attitude of the oil finder on the subject of these fruitless demonstrations: "Take for instance, the finding of a can of oil in a building, where there may be a hundred of more people, both positive and negative; perhaps the building stands on an oil pool, or there may be any amount of oil by-products in the building scattered from top to bottom, such as vaselines, hair oil, paraffin, kerosene, gasoline lubricating oils and [?] of other items. Where the building stands on an oil pool, [?]. Also other factors that interfere with finding a can of oil in a building. Winds from the north and northeast which seem to put off all vibrations. On such days it is a [?] of time to work with a divining rod. I have been asked to [perform?] miracles that Jesus Christ himself would have hesitated to try. And all these [??] learned and highly educated men [???] lenient toward divining rod operators. Paragraph [illegible?] 00077Page [illegible?] 00088Page [illegible?] 00099the pointer remained in the vertical position or dropped only slightly due to the upward force of the radiations, but when no oil was present the pointer dropped to the horizontal without further [?]. Only the inventor could operate the device. The most attractive feature of the instrument from a prospective [?] viewpoint [?] that it could be operated only from 11:00 o'clock in the morning until 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon in the vicinity of Houston." Dr. [?] has examined an ordinary [?] fitted with a specially designed indicator of the rate of [?] which [?] sensitive to [??] from oil. The interesting thing about this invention is that it is claimed that it can be employed in medical diagnosis in the determination of [?]. This device responds in daylight, but cannot be used at night; nor is it reliable on a rainy, cloudy day. Of another device, Dr. [?] reported: "The [?] versatile radiation-sensitive device consisted of a black rubber rod about 6 inches long on which [??] a ball bearing. A [?] rod carrying an adjustable weight on one end and a removable [?] [??] inches long and one-fourth inch in diameter at the other and [?] fastened to the ball bearing and at right [?] to the rubber handle. "When the handle [?] held in a vertical position the brass rod could rotate in a horizontal plane. The radiations from the oil were said to come from the ground in [?] paths [?] 001010causing the rotation of the movable system. The [?] of rotation [?] indicative of the gravity of the oil and also, in some rather involved manner, of the depth. "When looking for other minerals, it was necessary to remove the oil capsule and substitute for it one which would respond to the particular mineral. For really accurate work, [?????] which could be used to determine [?] difference in the gravity of oil. "It was [?] interesting and gratifying," Dr. [?] continued, "to see the device start [??] approaching a producing well. Only the inventor could hold it, and it was necessary for him to be in motion to receive an indication, either walking or riding in an automobile. A few times, when we '[?]' rather suddenly upon a producer hidden in the timber, we observed violent rotations while a salt water capsule [?] being used, but who can say that there was no salt water below the oil? In every instance the device indicated oil after an oil capsule was [?]. "The device [???????]. It gave a rapid rotation on a tank containing ten feet of [?] crude which had originally been supposed to be full. The explanation was that the gravity of the oil [?] responsible. In order to test this explantation farther, the inventor was asked to try a tank of Sugarland oil. He did not know that the tank was empty at the time. The device rotated faster than ever, supposedly due to the gravity of the Sugarland oil which should have been in the tank!" 001111Other inventors combine beauty with utility in assembling the parts for their devices. Dr. [??] one device which had a beautifully engraved and [?] plated handle. A small vial containing the "bait oil", which was mounted at the end of a long slender rod completed the mechanism. Dr. [?] says: "Molding the instrument vertically with both hands on the handle, it was found that the [?] swinging and came to rest in the direction of the [?] oil fields; [?] it was possible to point out [?], East Texas, Sugarland and others from a room in a Houston hotel. When the [?] was changed to whiskey, the device in the hands of the inventor [?] pointed to a leather bag lying on the bed. The inventor asked his friend how this could possibly be explained since they had finished the last bottle that morning and he had not bought more. Upon opening the bag, a pint bottle was revealed and the friend admitted having bought it that afternoon without telling the inventor about it. Thus it was proved that the devise was not [?] or influenced by the operator." Perhaps the most ingenious device was made by pouring a few drops of oil into a little vial which was sealed and immersed in a bottle of transparent liquid. The bottle was then corked. When the inventor approached a can of oil standing on the ground, the vial [?] seem to [?] in the liquid; on basking away from the oil can, the vial rose in the liquid to its former position. The inventor 001212declined when spectators asked to be allowed to make a personal test, saying that the instrument would work only for him. Dr. [?] interviewed two companion inventors, of whom he says: "They discovered that if a bottle of oil was fastened to the end of a [???] 6 feet long and the other end held against the abdomen of one of them, a distant oil field exerted a perceptible force on the bottle, pulling it in the direction of the field. The operator could then exert a force in the other direction, pulling the bottle back toward himself, after [????????] [?????], and the inventors had learned that each field had its own characteristic period of [?]. The period had been determined for a large number of [??] fields." Even radio transmitters have been utilized by "Oil Finders". [??] tells of a device built by a young man "who discovered that the short [?] waves [?] from oil and gas [?] could be caused to modulate the wave of a radio transmitter. The modulated wave [?] a loud speaker. "It was the thrill of a life time", exclaims Dr. [?], "to drive to an oil field with everybody quiet, hardly able to bear the suspense, and not a sound coming from the loud speaker. Upon reaching the first producer, a faint scratching could be heard which was soon followed by a gurgling sound, [?], so said the inventor, by the flowing of oil in the pool. "Upon driving toward the middle of the field, the gurgling 001313sound, [?], so said the inventor, by the flowing of oil in the pool. "Upon driving toward the middle of the field, the gurgling became more distinct, then fainter, and [?] altogether on top of the field. Soon, however, a hissing noise was heard which was due to the gas in the gas cap! The device was perfect! There was no chance for misinterpretations, because no other substances gurgled or hissed. [?????] whatever. Also, the [???] so that one could be sure that the oil [??] below the instrument when the gurgling was heard." The [?????] consisting of a black [?] to which a "bait" is [?], connected to a handle by a steel wire, [??] to find five gallons of oil hidden less than 30 foot from where he was sitting. With characteristic inventiveness, he [??] 5 [??] enough to attract the instrument. In fact, he said, he would rather find an oil field 10 miles away than 5 gallons at 5 feet. He claimed difficulty in finding a proper bait for his instrument, saying that he was finally able to get a "liquid [?]" through a [?] wholesale drug company. By far the most elaborate invention is an "[?]", which the [?] illustrates with much artistry. "It [?] upon all elements but is so adjusted and constructed that every element can be eliminated except the one for 001414which it is balanced. If the machine is balanced for the location of oil or gas, it will then [act?] only upon oil or gas," says Dr. [?]. The inventor of the [?] exhibits an elaborate chart, explaining the theory of the instrument. In brief, the chart attempts to demonstrate that all element matter carry a dynamic field, and every cubic inch of space of the stratosphere 10 miles from the earth carries one-quarter horse power of energy, which places the earth in an electrical field. The illustration shows a circle around the earth which represents the earth elements, which are ninety-three, ninety-two of which are definitely known, with one known but not definitely established and named. Hence, for no particular reason that the layman is able to think of, the inventor claims to have a theoretical explanation! The idea that surface formations overlying oil deposits have properties which are absent elsewhere, has led one inventor to long and painstaking analysis. He states that a small [?] of barren dirt placed over a bottle of oil for only a few minutes will take up and contain [?] vibration of oil. He was sent 20 samples of soil with which to prove his assertions. In the meantime, 14 laymen were asked to [?] 20 similar samples. Five of them made correct answers with more [?] work. Two agreed with him exactly. Four did not do so well; an three made a lower score. Dr. [?] investigates all schemes and ideas, regardless of their ridiculousness, constantly on watch for [?] feasible 001515formula, whether it be turned in by an inventor, "crack-pot", genius, "doodlebug", or "[?]". Far from the field of inventors who boast scientific formulas is another class of "Oil Finders" whose principles are based on pure superstition and drollery. W. M. [?] of the [?] Oil and Refining Co. tells of a woman of [?], Texas who was able to locate oil by the simple expedient of dancing on unproven territory until her petticoat fell off. If the petticoat [?] to accommodate, she assured her customers that the ground was quite barren. Old-time prospectors have been known to pick up a woman in town, intoxicate her, and take her to the prospective field. Here she was made to undress herself and perform a dance in the nude. When and if she fell down, the spot indicated the location of oil. C. [?]. Lockwood, publisher of Texas Oil [?], Houston, Texas, tells of a [?] preacher who once claimed that he suffered violent headaches when walking over oil. Aboard a passenger train [?] oil territory the same malady afflicted him. Other people are alleged to contract spasms when passing over oil. One prospector whose name has long been forgotten was known to have examined babies' eyes when going into new territory. He believed that [?] from oil and gas deposits affected an infant's eyes, and that his was a proven method of determining the presence of oil. ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. 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