W. D. Bowen Interview - W. D. Bowen Interview [part 2 of 4]

-1- TAPE NO. 155, DATE 7/26/54 and 7/27/54

Bowen- (Left)----off where?

B.- Where Kennedy got mad because they voted prohibition in.

Bow.- Yes, in Corpus.

B.- Then he stopped work. Was that at--you were working in Duval, you were back in Duval then?

Bow.- I believe I went back to Duval for awhile.

B.- Uh-huh.

Bow.- Yes.

B.- Then what did you do after he stopped work?

Bow.- You mean in Duval?

B.- Uh-huh, or wherever you went after-

Bow.- Well,-

B.- --after Kennedy said he wouldn't put any more money in it.

Bow.- Yes. That must have been in 1916. Wouldn't it?

B.- It would be about then, yes.

Bow.- Yes.

B.- Uh-huh.

Bow.- Well, early 1917 I went to Goose Creek.

B.- Oh, yes. Uh-huh.

Bow.- Upon my arrival in Goose Creek one of the first men I met was Winn Crosby, (?) who was general superintendent of the Gulf Production

Company. I had known Crosby in Spindletop. Well, he said, "Well, I've been waiting for you. I thought you'd be along maybe. You're the very man I want." I said, "That's nice of you, Winn. Where do you want me?" Well, he says, "Come on and go with me over to Bill Thomas's office." Bill was kind of a bookkeeper or something like that for the Gulf. So Winn turned me over to a fellow by the name of Rife.

B.- How do you spell that?

Bow.- R-I-F-E, I think.

B.- Oh, Rife.

Bow.- Rife. Rife led his horse and walked with me down to what they call Gaillard number six. They were setting casing in the well. Wells were blowing out day and night all over the field, hard to control. My instructions was to see and inspect all the casing as it went into the hole, which I did. And I kept that job up for a long time, inspecting casing jobs on a number of wells which I don't remember them all.

Finally I asked Crosby why didn't why he would not, why he could not put me on a drilling job in the daytime. He said, "Well, we'll arrange that." So he put me to drilling, that is, you might say, untangling old wells that other fellows had got into a jam with. That was quite a job but I bucked it and stayed with it for a long time.

B.- You were just cleaning up other people's messes in other words?

Bow.- As usual, yes. I finally got tired of that kind of work and quit them, quit Crosby. Then I went to work for the Gulf Coast Corporation on a nearby lease, also a Gaillard lease. Along about that time, President Wilson declared war on Germany. And a great many boys who had worked with and for me were called into the service.

Left me with the job of breaking in raw recruits, rookies I'd say, something like that.

B.- Did you call them boll weevils then?

Bow.- Boll weevils, yes, that's what we called them. You remember that do you?

B.- Uh-huh.

Bow.- Boll weevils, yes. That was a dangerous job because I didn't only have to watch them to keep them from killing themselves, but killing me. So--

B.- Well, how would they kill you, drop things on you?

Bow.- Drop things on you. Oh, my God, out of the top of the derrick big 500 pound elevators come down sometime and miss me a half an inch. Let's see,-

B.- Now this Gulf Coast Corporation that you were working for. Was that the same as the Gulf Oil Company?

Bow.- No, it-

B.- It was a different company.

Bow.- -- was Gulf Coast, yes a different company.

B.- Uh-huh.

Bow.- Then a little while later the boys organized a union which I never joined, and soon went on a strike. That was while we had so many inexperienced men in the field. That made bad matters worse. They went on this strike. I went to the president of the company who was R. L. Young, a good friend and a long, known a long time and also in Spindletop. I said, "R. L., I'm not going to stay and work those green men. And I'm not going out on any strike, but I'm just going up

to Houston and stay till it's over." He said, "Bowen, you do just that. And when it's over," he says, "your job is still here for you anytime you want to come back." So I went to Houston. I'd saved up some money. And the strikers or the boys that left the field came in and soon blew in their money so I had to take care of them. I did take care of them, many of them. Got them out of jails sometimes, fed them till my money was almost exhausted too. Finally they called the strike off and we went back to work.

B.- Did you get your money back?

Bow.- No.

B.- They never did pay you, I guess?

Bow.- No, no. Never expected it.

B.- That was back at the, on the Gaillard lease.

Bow.- Oh yes.

B.- You went back to work on the same well?

Bow.- Yes, I believe I did on number eleven.

B.- Uh-huh

Bow.- I drilled in a number of good, gushing wells for that company as well as I had for the Gulf before. And for the Gulf Coast Company, I had the same old deal shoved on me, untangling the troubles that those inexperienced men had gotten into during the strike.

B.- Well, now how long were you there at Goose Creek?

Bow.- Oh, let me see. I left Goose Creek in 1918 and went to Shreveport, Louisiana. Where I went to work in what is known as Pine Island field, north of Shreveport for Keene and Wolfe. Drilled several wells for them, good ones too. Something I missed there. I wanted to tell about Howard Hughes, but I skipped it.

B.- Well, we'll come back to it.

Bow.- We can come back to it?

B.- Yes.

Bow.- In the winter of '18 after the flu epidemic, which was extremely bad in that part, I went to Eastland, Texas, to drill a well for Durham and Turner near Eastland. It turned out that all they wanted me to do mostly, was to drill just enough to hold the lease which I did, did very little. It appeared that a fellow by the name of Simpson, who I think was a Jew from Lawton, Oklahoma, was putting up most of the money.

And I'm not sure but what Durham and Turner intended to gyp him. So I tired of that kind of business, went back to Fort Worth and told them about it. And went on to Burkburnett which was in blast at that time, full blast. Well right away after arriving in Burkburnett I met with my old friend Wingy Smith from Houston.

B.- Winnie?

Bow.- Wingy, we called him Wingy because he had an arm off (inaudible)

B.- Oh, uh-huh.

Bow.- Wingy, who was at the head of the firm of Smith and Kemp, drilling contractors whom I had known in Goose Creek. Well he says, "You're the very man I'm looking for." I said, "Okay Wingy, what will it be?" He says, "I'm getting in five rigs coming up from Houston and they are on their way right now." And he says, "I want you to take charge of one of them, or rather I want you to take charge of two or three of them."

I said, "Okay." He said, "Your salary will be $450 a month, that's what we pay." I said, "That sounds all right, Wingy. All right." So they arrived. I set them up, one for myself. Had two

more crews to set up with us. We went to work and I drilled them in some good wells.

B.- Do you remember what lease that was, or leases?

Bow.- Yes, I was on seventy two I believe it was, block seventy two.

B.- Uh-huh.

Bow.- Drilled some wells for Livingston and Noble and some others. Later, I quit that job to take one with Bill Young, an old friend of mine from Corsicana, who had contracts for 20 wells in the Red River Valley. And later joined him in partnerships in the contracts. These contracts were given us by Jim McMann (?) a very wild spending Irishman who seemed to have lots of money.

After drilling a few wells which we were being paid $8,000 granted contract per well which were around, drilled to around 1600 feet, giving us a net profit of about $700 a well. We had only drilled a few of the wells when the Red River Valley went into receivership over a dispute between Oklahoma and Texas as to the ownership. Old Frederick A. Delano, an uncle of Franklin Roosevelt, later president--well I, we estimated that it cost us at least $80,000.

They confiscated our rigs in the Red River Valley. We couldn't move them out without posting a $5,000 bond, and was very reluctant to let us move them at that price. They treated us what we thought was rough.

B.- Now how was Delano mixed up in that?

Bow.- He was a receiver.

B.- Oh, uh-huh.

Bow.- Receiver.

B. Well, how long did that receivership last?

Bow.- It's still lasting as far as I know.

B.- Oh, they're still not letting them drill in there?

Bow.- No.

B.- Uh-huh. Well, that was a piece of bad luck, wasn't it?

Bow.- It was bad, it was bad. Well, I went and joined a few friends of mine. We organized a small company, which I was supposed to be president. And took a lease in Archer County, twenty some odd miles west of Wichita Falls. They had some shallow wells in that district. I went and drilled, well we moved this rig over there.

And I went out and drilled one of the shallow wells with the hope that we could produce enough oil for our fuel to drill a deeper well, as fuel oil at that time was costing us $3 a barrel. And just about that time, the major companies, it seems, decided to freeze us small fellows out. and they refused to buy any oil that we produced or run it in their pipelines. And created a temporary panic at that time.

That froze us out again. I had owned most of the machinery; drill pipe, casing, and all and I had paid for it myself. I salvaged that and sold it and went to Mexia. Didn't do much of anything at Mexia at that time.

B.- Was that after the boom?

Bow.- After the Burkburnett boom?

B.- No, after the Mexia?

Bow.- It was just about the beginning of it, just about the beginning. John Tucker of the Gulf Production Company, whom I had known for numbers of years, offered me as many contracts as I wanted at a price that I disremember at this time what it was. But it didn't seem to me at that time sufficient for the work. So I went from there to San Antonio, and went to wildcatting again in Live Oak, McMullen, and in that part of the country.

B.- Are you tired? (Break)

Boatright- All right. Before we go on, I believe you said you made an error about the profit you would have made on those Red River wells.

Bowen--Yes.

B.- You said 700, you--

Bow.- You had it 700 but it was 7,000.

B.- 7,000 is what it should have been?

Bow.- Yes.

B.- All right. Now then you want to go on?

Bow.- Well, let's see. An old driller by the name of George Rainey (?) took a contract with-you want me to go slow with the talk?

B.- No, it doesn't matter, go ahead.

Bow.- -with a small concern or firm from Chicago and Detroit. Well old, Rainey was not much of a driller and didn't have much confidence in himself. We had a derrick to move that he didn't know how to do, and other things that he didn't know a great deal about. Course he came to me and offered me a half interest in the contract, to go with him and practically do the job. I did. I moved with this crew of men.

I moved the rig and the boiler, everything that was to be moved something like a thousand yards to another location. And I drilled the well down to the specified 1,000 feet due in a very short time. They hummed and hawed around. And a fellow by the name of White, kind of acting as field superintendent, he seemed to yearn to beat us out of some of that money. Almost had him to fight to collect from him at that time. We finally made a satisfactory settlement.

Then they made another location something like 2,000 yards east of that location on another lease which was just off of the Lowe Ranch. (?) Don't remember the name of the owner of the lease.

B.- Do, what field was it?

Bow.- That was near Tilden, McMullen County.

B.- Yes.

Bow.- Well, I built a derrick down there, moved the machinery down there. They were furnishing the rig and paying us, or it was me at that time. Rainey had, or I had hedged Rainey out, gotten loose from him.

B.- Uh-huh.

Bow.- And they was to pay $3 a foot, furnish the machinery and lay the water lines. And all delays that was caused by them they were to pay me a $100 a day, I believe it was. Well, they delayed me a good many days on securing the pipe for the water lines. I kept track of it. Finally got started and drilled the well down to within a few feet of the required 1,000 feet. I went up to White's camp, which he had on the old Lowe lease just a half mile west of me.

Went up and told him that I had reached the depth and was ready for a settlement. "Well," he said, "we'll settle up in a few days." I went to San Antonio and through the Guaranty Bank and Trust Company, I think it was, it was on Houston Street and Presa-and had them wire Hamill who was in Detroit. He was supposed to be the man with the money.

They wired, I wired him to send me at once $300 to meet my payroll. He sent it right away by wire. And I had nothing to do but wait. In a few more days I went back to San Antonio and wired him again. He sent me another $300. I paid my men off. Some of them, most of them left

and went back home to San Antonio and different places. One lad stayed with me, McKenzie was his name. I kept going to see White up at his little camp where he had a few men and drilling around on some little shallow wells. And he also owed them money, they wasn't collecting very well. So I called on him a few more times and got tired of this waiting and doing nothing. So one morning I went up, I started up to see him.

And there was a little 41 Colt six-shooter laying on one of the cots and I just stuck it in my belt. I walked up on Mr. White. He was bending over an old automobile with some tools in his hand. And I said, "White, you promised to bring me down some settlement yesterday and several days ago. Are you ready to settle with me?" He just, "Ha, ha, ha, ha." Give me the horse laugh. So that disgusted me, thoroughly made me angry.

So I took the little six-shooter and pasted him lightly on the head. He went down to his knees. I pulled him up by the collar and hit him another time or two. Called him some names that I wouldn't like to mention now. And I said, "You bring me, you'll settle with me soon, real soon, or you'll get some more of this." I went on back to the camp, told Mac what I'd done.

And I knew, in fact before I got out of sight of the camp I saw him rustling his crew of men together with a car. And they all got in it and drove away. And I knew where they were going, to Tilden. That's the county seat about eight miles away. So I told Mac I said, "Well, we'll just go to Tilden, too." And as we drove in we met them coming back. White had several bandages over his head and face. I drove right up to the courthouse. Will Goff (?)

the sheriff, came out to the edge of the courthouse ground where I had parked. Well he said, "I ought to put you in jail." I said, "well maybe so. Well, what for?" He said, "Why didn't you kill that old buzzard while you was at it and throw him in one of them canyons out there? The country would have been better off." Well I said I didn't want to kill him. But he had gone to, and filed charges against me just the same, in Justice of Peace Warren Wheeler (?) court.

So I went down to the court and Warren says, well he says, "I don't know what to do with you. We don't want to do anything much but I guess we'll have to put you under a peace bond " I said, "All right, that's okay with me." So Green Snowden, the county clerk, and the sheriff went on my bond. And I drove back to the camp and met White again. And he was preparing to go to San Antonio.

I said, "White, when you get to San Antonio you better keep going and stay gone, leave Texas. We don't want your kind of people in Texas. And if I ever catch you back in Texas, well, that will be all for you." He must have taken me at my word because I've never seen him since. And I never collected any money.

B.- Oh, you never did?

Bow.- No. He owed me-

B.- Couldn't get it from the-

Bow.- Huh? B.- You couldn't get it from his superior, or did he have a superior?

Bow.- Yes, he had one. I got some of it, I think I got 300 more dollars. But they still owed me 18 hundred dollars.

B.- Uh-huh.

Bow.- And of course I filed a suit against them and come to find out they didn't have a thing in the world. Didn't even own the rig that they was using. It belonged to the San Antonio Machine and Supply Company in San Antonio. And course I had to put up replevin bond but never collected any money. Still owe me 18 hundred dollars. And that was that.

B.- Well, what did you do next?

Bow.- I was just trying to think. Oh, I went back to San Antonio. And a friend of mine, John Reeves, who was claim agent at Southern Pacific Railway, had joined in with some parties from Baltimore, Maryland. And they had taken a lease up the Frio River from Tilden some eight miles, and had started a well. Somehow had fallen out with their driller and couldn't make it. And so John Reeves got me to go down there, he took me down on the train to Tilden.

And we got a driver to take me up the river. Well, I accepted the job. They had a very nice layout, good camp houses. A very good place to board, a woman doing the cooking, her husband was one of the crew. The crew was still there but they had no driller. Well, I said I'd take the job. They were paying me, they paid me $350 a month and of course my board, lodging and everything which was at that time fairly good. The well was down just a little ways,

that is seven or eight hundred feet. Had a very good rig, very good equipment for that time. I drilled down to about something like 12 or 15 hundred feet as I remember and struck a sand stone. They wanted me to drill on and on in that sandstone which was very slow and very tedious job with the kind of bits we had at that time. For a while we didn't use a roller bit or I don't remember it, a Hughes bit. Well, about 1900 feet I struck a strong

vein of water. Well, I used mud to ward that off. And drilled on down to about 2200 feet, no change in the formation. In the meantime we had set about 1900 feet of casing to shut this water off. Finally they had had a little boom over at Callahan, that's also in McMullen County, west of Three Rivers. Well, they took up a lease over there, same company. They were splendid people. So finally I told them, I says, "I believe we're just wasting our time here.

I think if we'd get through this sandstone, which no telling when and where we will, there wouldn't be anything if we did." So we decided to move over to Callahan and develop a lease over there. In the meantime, I made arrangements to plug this well. The Railroad Commission at that time required all wells to be plugged when abandoned. Well, the Frio River was just about dry at that time and the country was dry. Water was scarce, cattle starving almost.

The ranch on which we were drilling on, which was belonged to Cy Hardin (?). He had some cattle that was badly in need of water and grass as well as others down the river. And so I went in to the hole and pretended to try to cut the casing around 1900 feet, to pull some of it out. But I wasn't really trying to cut the casing. What I wanted to do was perforate it enough so they could eventually get a water well out of it. I went to San Antonio,

had the San Antonio Machine and Supply Company make me some wooden plugs, long and short ones, different kinds. Wrapped them in canvas like, I made what I called a bootleg packer out of some of them. Shoved them down to within a few feet of 1900 feet. And poured a little cement on top of them. I figured that would hold the water down for some time, I didn't know just exactly how long. But

we moved away. I told Cy Hardin, I said, "Cy, I'd put what they call a Christmas tree on it." That's valves to close one way and then another. And put an eight inch pipe out over near the bank of the Frio. So If the well should bust in, it'd run into the Frio River, which needed it. Well after I had been in Callahan about ten days, Cy Hardin sent me word to come over, come over up to this location where we'd moved from. I went over and the well was flowing into the

Frio River a stream about, nearly a full eight inch stream. I estimated it to be about 2,000 gallons a minute. Some water had soaked out around the place in little ponds. And it was almost pure soda water, very strong content of soda. But I noticed the birds drank it and the cattle drank it. So I let it run into the Frio River. That saved many a head of cattle and lots of stock. I never heard anything more about it. The railroad-

B.- Nobody wanted to report it.

Bow.- Nobody cared to report it. And nobody found out very much about it anyway, that I know of. But we got water. I went on to Callahan, drilled a couple of little wells there, didn't amount to a great deal, small. I think about 50 barrels a day. Quit that job in January, '24. Went back to San Antonio. I'll have to rest a little to see what I did from there.

B.- All right. (Break)

B.- All right.

Bow.- 1922, I was in San Antonio. And a friend of mine by the name of Watts who was with the Peden (?) Iron and Steel Works, told me he'd like for me to take a job at Corpus Christi to drill a well for Pearson and

Company, three miles west of Corpus on the John Dunn farm. We were to go to Mexia and buy the best rig we could find. And he would meet me in Mexia in a week or so. I went to Cleburne and stayed a week or so with my sister. And he wired me to come to Mexia. He had found a large union tool drilling rig which was in very good condition.

We loaded the rig and shipped it to Corpus Christi. At that time, freight shipments were still slow in transportation. I got on the train and followed the shipment to Houston, so I could get it through-- [end of tape]