16 DR. C. L. ZIMMERMAN, ONCE REPORTER FOR THE TELEGRAPH TELLS STORY OF WESTS GROWTH [During a visit to the homefolks i in Harrisburg the other day, Dr. j C. L. Zimmerman, a former mem ber of the Telegraph staff, who has lived among the Indians in Okla homa for several years, told some interesting stories, of the oil devel opments in that part of the United States. He has kindly set down for benefit of the Telegraph readers some observations on the passing of the old frontier west and the dis covery of the wonderful oil field which has made many of the In dians of Oklahoma and others rich beyond the dreams of Croesus. Mr. Zimmerman also tells of how the moving picture shows are being supplied with films produced on the ranches in Oklahoma. It is a thril ling and wonderful story. —Editor of the Telegraph.] By Dr. C. L. Zimmerman, Formerly of Ponca, Oklahoma "Truth is stranger than fiction," so somo writer has stated, and in presenting a brief sketch of the In dian and the Oklahoma oil field 1 desire to impress the reader that ac curacy has been the first considera tion. Indian territory, it is was known in the old days before the statehood of the Oklahoma country, was se lected by the government as the particular part of the United States on which should be placed over two thirds of the Indians of the coun try. Thus it name. Okla,. meaning red, and Homa, the home of. Dr. Vided up into dozens of reservations here it was that the native Amer- L ..n followed his old methods of living, camping and hunting. Scat tered over the fertile plains the red skin roamed at leisure, hunting, fishing and camping just as in the days before the frontier was a thing of the past. American soldiers pa trolled the borders of the territory and while civilization surrounded the Indian reservation yet inside those lines the country remained just as it had been in days gone by. Small fields of Indian corn apd wheat were cultivated by the In dians while the buffalo and wild game constituted the larger part of the food. Teepees were used as dwellings to a large extent and the primitive methods of living pre vailed. Then came the opening of the Sate to the white man in the great race of 1889 when all lands not alloted to the Indian were stak ed off and at a pistol shot thousands of men, women and children raced from the boundaries of the State to select homesteads for themselves from the thousands of acres left unallotted. To-day hundreds of prosperous farmers and oil well owning farm ers can trace back their beginning to the day when they staked off a 160-acre tract of land and by right of possession and a big 45 revolver held it against all comers. True it is that many of the homesteaders sold out for a few dollars and men mounted their horses and rode away leaving land which to-day sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars an acre and produces thousand a day from the flowing oil, while other acres produce bushels of wheat just as valuable as oil. With the incoming of the white man the country rapidly assumed a more settled condition. Towns and town sites sprang up- Fjtrly Days on. the open praririe. of Settlers The canvas-co v e re d and Indians schooner was the ad vance guard of the family and the public school, for where the family goes there also follows the public school and the church. Of course, the country was "wild and wooly." Thousands of heads of cattle were grazed upon the vast plains and the romantic cowboy with his chaps and sombre, his pony and his inevitable gun were picturesque figures in the streets of the little towns. Here his favorite recreation was the shooting out of the lights of the street and other of the favorite stunts of the "movie" man of to day. The "bad" man and the "gam bler," the "sheriff" and his posse all now appeared on the scenes. Fol lowed in rapid succession by elec tric lights and paved streets. Thus in a few years we witness the trans formation of a part of America from the days of Columbus to the days of the aeroplane. Not that either one or the other entirely preponderates, for one can find just as many cow ponies aS Packards or Fords and the 4 5-Colt and the broad-brimmed hat are as common in the streets of the various towns as the. Indian blanket ed and moccasioned. So I want to assure the reader that the days of romance in America are not a thing of the past. The American Indian as a ward of the government has been educated in the government schools and then, at least in Okla homa, allotted from the reserva tion a tract of 160 acres of fertile land. In thus giving the Indian his due the country has done no more than it should. On this land should he desire he can with the same amount of energy as his white neighbor, raise his crops sufficient to keep his family in plenty. If, however, he so desires and usually does he leases this land to the white man and lives off the rent. Usual ly the Indian will be found camp ing with the remainder of the tribe down along some stream where the fishing is good: the hunting favor able and an outdoor life pleasant. Thus there have been developed among the various reservations the large ranches and farms of the pros perous white man. Of these I de sire to call particular attention to that of the "101" Ranch of "Wild HAY FEVER? YES! Miliiliril Inhaler Auk Dnnontriitor Gorgas' Drug Store 10 NORTH THIRD STREET Safe Deposit Boxes We wish to announce to our friends and the gen eral public that we can now supply Boxes in our enlarged vault suitable for the needs of the average person. At $1.50 PER ANNUM Larger Boxes at $3.00 Per Annum ALLISON HILL TRUST COMPANY SATURDAY EVENING. West Show" fame. Here the Miller Brothers, George, Joe and Zuck have in the northern part of the State what is claimed to be the larg est diversified farm and ranch in the world. A buffalo park where scores of buffalo roam the fields and hills just as they did fifty years ago is one of the relics of bygone days. Here at the present time, Tom Mix, the screen favorite, is mak ing many of the thrilling pictures of the West. Here on a high blulf overlooking Salt Fork river, at risk of life the film heroes ride over the banks of the stream making the pictures to thrill the jaded city folks. To add to the realism of the buffalo stampede in one picture a few days ago, two buffalo were killed. Real Indians, real wild west, and back of it all a moving picture camera. From this ranch it was that hun dreds of horses, brouches if you please, were shipped to the Allies for war duty. Cowboys rode them or broke them preferably to the saddle and many an exciting ride, not the style one sees in the wild west shows but the real thing, was staged before the horses were broken. Here dozens of tractors stirred the soil of thousands of acres of land and there were raised thou sands of bushels of what to feed the Oil Boom world. Of the Mil- Due to Work lers, the original of One Matt head of the estab- lishment, the father of the present Miller brothers, died some years ago. Mrs. Mollie Miller, the moth er, died a year ago. It has been largely, however, to the interest of the youngest member of the fam ily, George Miller, that the present oil boom is due and so in taking up the sketch at this point I de sire to trace the oil development in Northern Oklahoma back to the first well drilled on the Miller ranch. This was a dry hole, but finally after several attempts oil was struck and to-day the Mollie Miller well holds the distinction of being the first deep test well to pro duce an enormous quantity in the county. With the formation of the 101 Ranch Oil Company a number of Pennsylvania men became interested and Edward Marland, formerly of Pittsburgh, has played an import ant part in the history of the Ponca and the Osage oil fields. Mr. Mar land, a practical oil man, has de veloped the field until to-day it is second to none in Northern Okla homa. Where other men stopped at the Mississippi line he has plung ed ahead and struck oil in what is known as the Marland sand, drilling deeper than any other oil man has ever dared to. Thus when three years ago. Robert Watchhorn, for mer Commissioner of Immigration, drilled about 3,000 feet after invest ing thousands of dollars in leases and work and then quit, at a cost of thousands, Mr. Marland went into the same territory and not only drilled as deep but continued on in a wildcat hope that he would strike the precious fluid—and did. To-day there is flowing oil from six of the deepest test wells in the country, going 3,900 feet. Gas has also been found in enromous quantities and to-day Kansas City, Oklahoma City and all of the surrounding country is heated and lighted by natural gas. Enormous refineries have been built within the last three years to refine oil into gasoline, kerosene, lu bricating oil and parrafine and' yet the field is producing so much oil that thousands of barrels are ship ped away daily that it is impossible to refine. Gigantic pipe lines carry it to the Gulf and to Chicago and the stream seems never ending. It was the writer's privilege a month ago to witness the flowing of the Alberta Four-Eyes well, 3,000 bar rels of oil a day flowing in a steadv stream from the well into vast tanks and thence to pipe lines—and oil is $2.50 a barrel. Now you will probably ask what has all this to do with the Indian and my answer is that most of this land is found in the various Indian reservations and to Poor Lo goes the royalties. Strange that nature should favor one class of people more than another, but probably three-fourths of all the oil in Okla homa is found on Indian land. To day the Indian, especially the Osage Indians, are the richest class of people in the world. A rough esti mate would give each Osage Indian an income of $15,000 a year as simple royalties while the principal is untouched. The Osage tribe share alike in the oil royalties. Among the Ponca Indians it is not so evenly divided, as the Poncas receive just the monev from their own individual land. Thus one In dian may receive thousands and an other nothing from oil as not all land is oil land. With the leasing of the Osage western land the Ponca field which this is a part of, will become the _ leading field in the Big Boom northern part of the In OH to State and bids far to Continue surpass the famous Cushing and Tulsa fields. Panca City, the leading town of the field, being only four miles from producing wells, has attained a boom second only to the towns of the gold rush In California. Big buildings spring up; houses are erected and business establishments started on the strength of the pros pects for oil. That there is a boom on is certain. That oil is being struck every ( day is positive, but what the future holds forth no man can say. Oil drilling, investing or buying is a gamble. Personally, I would advise no one to invest a cent in oil unless they are willing to say bood-by to the cent for as I have said, it is a gamble. There are stocks selling to-day for $1 a share that in less than a month will be worth a thousand. There is land to-day that can be leased for $1 an acre that a year from now will be Irene Castle at Regent Three Days Next Week . Mm* r : J * "The Firing Line," starring Irene Castle at the Regent for the first three days of next week, has a plot which is not only strong, but is inter woven with various minor intrigues and episodes involving many charac ters and including dancing, swimming and social affairs. The picture is a Paramount Artcraft Special. worth a million. There are farms I for sale at thousands that will be worth for oil value alone hundreds of thousands. 1 have seen the spot for a well selected; the rig built, the drilling started and the well come in llowing at the rate of 3,000 barrels a day, or producing in one year almost $4,000,000 worth of oil at an investment of probably $20,000 and 1 have again seen wells started, drilled and then the derrick torn down with the answer simply, "We struck salt water" or a "dry hole." The Ponca field, the Osage field, the Blackwell field are all proved oil fields. That there is oil there in enormous quantities is a proven fact, but just where or in what di rection the fields extend is un proven. Time alone will tell and the investment of thousands of dol lars. Some one will make and oth ers break. Should you own land south of the field and oil goes north you have simply lost. While should it go south the oil is yours. There is land for sale; acres of it. There is stock for sale, bales of it. There are dozens of companies being or ganized by businessmen, profes sional men and bangers all over the country who by each investing a small amount purchase or lease a block of land and then either hold it or go ahead and develop it by put ting down a well. Wildcat compan ies by the score go out twenty miles from an oil well and start drilling a well in the middle of a field and patiently plug away. If they hit it, they will be rich; if they don't—try again. Let me mention the case of a small Baptist church in the southern part of the state. Built by the early settlers when land was cheap the church established a burying ground alongside the church and a few months ago one of the large oil com panies offered a million dollars for the right to drill in the cemetery, and was refused. There are scores of cases of poor farmers who scarcely were able to raise enough crops to.pay the inter est on a mortgage who through the finding of oil became millionaires. Rigs are scattered over the country like checkers on a board. With every new well the boom takes an other spurt. An unprecedented ac tivity in real estate, both city and farm property, is on. With oil j spurting over a derrick the oil men I will take a chance on any thing that looks like oil land. Eastward, I westward, northward or southward. ! Where lies thte oil? For a thrill | there is nothing that holds your at i tention from day to day like drilling an oil well, for who knows to-mor | row you may be a millionaire. "The j Mississippi Bubble," the Louisiana lottery, the stock market, the roll of I the dice, the roulette wheel, the j horse race. Gambling and gambl i ers. Life itself is a gamble, but | there is not one that can approach j the feeling of suspense that comes j over one when the drill goes nearer i and nearer to the deep test sand, j In conclusion let me assure any I one who contemplates visiting the I oil fields that the trip is well worth I the money if for curiosity alone. At j the Ponca fields one will see the | cowboy herding his cattle up to I the oil derrick. He will see the | magnificent palace of the million aire oil man and three miles away ! can see the Indian living in his I | teeppee along the banks of the Ar- | i kansaw river. He can visit an In ! dian cemetery, a relif of past days. J and in an adjoining field see the oii derrick and the drill sinking deep into the ground. He can see the I largest ranches and farming fields, I modern tractors and farming de vices and in an adjoining field see buffaloes cropping the prairie hay or a daredevil movie actor In some break-neck stunt. Should he be ludky and the Indians be celebrating he can witness a ghost dance or scalp dance to the drumming of the tom-tom in the Indian camp. He will see a canvas-covered prairie schooner slowly crawling down the dusty trail and in a minute a Bear Cat Rtutz will flash by; the meeting of the nineteenth and twentieth century traveling methods. A gi gantic tractor will chug down the road past thousands of grazing cat tle while cowboys ride the range. A daintily-dressed, pretty girl will step out of a limousine and enter a store where the latest New York styles are on sale while a block away some man will draw a gun, a flash and we are back in the days of lynch law. We pass a prosper ous mansion, the home of a rich farmer, and in a few minutes come to a point in the Sante Fe where two years ago a band of train rob j hers held up a fast train, killed I the express messenger, robhed the j train and got awav. Truly the two | extremes meet. The East and the | West, and who ran sav that there 1 is not a thrill left in the good old U. S. A. YUKON PRY By Associated Press. Pawsnn, Y. T., Aug. 30. The I Yukon territory goes dry to-night j when the law enacted last spring bv the Yukon Legislature abolishing the saloon becomes effective. Twen ty licensed bars exist in the Yukon of which ten ardin Dnwson. A gov ernment dispensary will he onennd at Dawson and another at White Horse, under the control of Com missioner MeKenzie at which liquor will be sold only by the bottle and during limited hours. HJLRRISBTTRG TEI.EGRAPH Newsy Jottings of Theater and Screen : GRIFFITH FEATURE ANNOUNCED ....... "The Mother and the I jaw," a new I). W. Griffith feature production, with a typical Griffith cast of play ers, will be the attraction at the Victoria the entire week of September 8, coming direct from the Geo. M. Cohan Theater, New York. Mr. Griffith describes "The Mother and the Law" as a play of to-day, founded on fact. The vivid imagery with which Mr. Griffith propounds his dramatic philosophy of life—prominently brought out in- "The Birth of a Nation" and 'Hearts of the World" —is found in this latest of his superplays. The cast, too, is up to that high standard always maintained by tlis wisiyd of the drama and contains such reames as Mae Marsh, Robert Harron, Miriam Cooper, Ralph Lewis, Walter Long, Alberta Lee, Margaret Marsh and Tod Browning. There are many sensational scenes in "The Mother and the Law," including one wherein- an automobile races with an express train to save a human life. ORPHEUM To-day Matinee and Night Aubrey Mittenthal .presents "The Dancing Widow." Coming Soon—Mme. Bessie Thomas hefsky (Yiddish.) MAJESTIC High class vaudeville, the Nagfys, defying nature's laws; Leonard and Willard, comedy singing and danc ing; Edith and Eddie Adair, lively variety skit entitled "Tho Boot Shop; ' •Bobbie and Wilson, singing and talking act, also second episode of "The Great Gamble," the great est stunt serial ever produced. VICTORIA To-day—Last showing of Florence Reed In "A Woman Under Oath," and a Fatty Arbuckle comedy. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday— "Oh! Boy," a spicy musical comedy adapted to the screen. COLONIAL To-day—Positively last showing here of Viola Dana in "The Microbe." Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday— One of ahe season's best produc tions. "The Thirteenth Chair," a mystery st.ory adapted from the famous stage success written by Bayard Veiller, author of "With in the Law." REGENT To-day—Charles Ray in "The Bush er," and the Mack-Sennett Comedy, "Treating 'Em Rough." Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday— Irene Castle in "The Firing Line." Thursday, Friday and Saturday— Catharine Calvert in "The Career of Katherine Bush," and the Paramount comedy, "Oh, Judge How Could You?" PAXTANG Vaudeville—Two shows to-night. Edith and Eddie Adair, one of the clever teams in vaudeville have been treating Harrisburg- At the Majestic ers to a hearty laugh at the Ma jestic theater the last half of this week with their offering "The Boot Shop." Realizing the humor in a woman purchasing a pair of shoes, Mr. Adair made a sketch on this subject. It is certainly a scream. At least everyone that has seen it says so. Four other headliner Keith acts complete the bill- Another episode of "The Great Gamble," considered the greatest stunt serial ever pro duced is also' being shown in con junction with this unusually good bill. To-day is the last opportunity for Harrisburgers ot see Viola Dana, the Metro star in "The At the Colonial Microbe," her latest and best photoplay. This picture is one of the best ever shown featuring this popular actress. She assumes the role of a street urchin and is taken by a rich man to be educated. Then he learns she is a girl, much to his delight. "The Thirteenth Chair," one of the strongest plays ever produced on the Americaan stage will be shown at the Colonial theater Monday, Tues day and Wednesday of next week. The play has been adapted into one of the best photoplays ever shown which combines, thrills sensation and above all, mystery. If you like mystery stories, then you have no reason whatsoever to miss this pic ture. It was written by Bayard Veiller, author of "Within the Law' and other famous stage successes. A SERIOUS CHORUS PROBLEM When the producers set to work to | assemble a company for "The Dancing Widow," the musical comedy that L, comes to the Orpheum to-day, matinee and night, they were confronted by a problem whose seriousness will be ap preciated fully only by the expert- j enced showman. This problem was to j gather together a chorus of girls with nrettv faces and forms, who could sing, dance and act. Those who have had experience In assembling choruses| can guess what the producers were up against. In the first place though there seems to be plenty of feminine beautv in the world, the combination of face, and form is rarer than the lay man imagines, this combination was necessary so that the beautiful stage pictures planned should not be spoiled. | In the second place, there is a limited j number of good voices in the world, j even when no account is taken of the, external appearance of the possessor. | The play had to have good voices, for] Mr. ltosey had composed a score too, beautiful to be butchered by being | sung off key or in squeaky tones. "OH! BOY" COMING , To-day Is the last -JT 0 pnro Tieod's groat success, The om an Under Oath." at the Victoria the ater. The story upon which this play Is based is most remarkable and has furnished lots of highly diverting en tertainmont to thousands of Harris hYiraVrs during its three-day run here. "Oh" Boy . the girlie girlie film musical comedy show de luxe wiU take Harrisburg by storm. The show is taken directly from the speaking stage and reproduced into motion pic turfs. June Caprice and Creighton iinin ore being starred in this pio duction This is the first time in the history of motion pictures that a musical comedy has made a success ful photoplay. While Paxtang Park does not close .Mi, Mo.to .Lhtth. ..rRJh.Mo, st °" 5™ ■it i u-tung particularly fit ted for the closing week as it is claimed to be good enough to crea ate r desire for more park vaudeville next season among those fortunate enough to have seen the show. The bill has as a feature act Bill and Irene Tellask, two exceptionally -lever vaudeville artists in a classy singing and dancing skit, while the balance of the show (s made up, it is said, of high-class material. To see any picture starring: Charles Ray is a delight, but to see him In "The Busher," | Fine Bill at Recent his latest Para- | mount picture. Is | a privilege which, once enjoyed, can- not be forgotten in a hurry. This was the verdict of the audiences which ] greeted his meritorious production at the Regent Theater yesterday. This is a capital story of the small town baseball player who migrates to the city, and finding himself unusual ly prosperous as a member of a big league team, gets chesty and is 1 dropped from the roll to teach him a i lesson. There Is an excellent love ' story. j Also on the Regent's bill is a Maclt j Sennett Comedy, "Treating 'Km , Rough." REBELS LOOT VILLAGE By Associated Press. San Salvador, Republic of Salva-' dor, Friday, Aug. 29. Hondurari! revolutionary forces at Cuoyaguu, j seeing that an attack by government i forces was imminent, dispersed, j carrying away 34,000 pesos taken , from the people of the village, which j is a short distanco southwest of j Santa Rosa, according to an official ! Honduran statement. Revolutionary forces which have been driven across the Salvndoran frontier are reported PAXTANG PARK THEATER BILL AND IRENE TELLACK i Variety Entertainers BILL CASSIDY I.lltC of Oumont'H Minstrels and 3 OTHER HIGH-CLASS ACTS Two Performances Nightly ADMISSION 15 CENTS k—————— ' WILKMSNTS | TODAY, MATINKE AND NIGHT AUBREY MITTENTHAL ! Presents the Lively Musical Comedy i j MATINEE . 25< to $l.OO NIGHT .... 25£ to IH/PTADT A COMING -ENTIRE WEEK OF V lvj 1 UlllA SEPTEMBER BTH THE PHOTOPLAY SCOOP OF THE YEAR The Victoria management takes pleasure in announcing the first presentation outside of a legi timate theater coming direct from the George M. Cohan Theater on Broadway, New York, where it was shown to record breaking audiences at $2.00 prices, of D. W. GRIFFITH'S dramatic thunderbolt THE MOTHER & THE LAW THE GREATEST LOVE DRAMA OF HUMAN LIFE EVER SCREENED THIS GREAT PLAY HAS ANGERED MANY DEMIGODS THE SO CALLED "UPLIFT WORKERS" DESPISE IT —THE MONEY-GRABBERS DENOUNCE IT —WHY??? Because it lifts the veil from a phase of life that is affecting all mankind. IT MAY BE BRUTAL, IT MAY BE STARTLING, BUT IT TELLS A GREAT TRUTH IN A WON DERFUL MANNER. Charles E. Sands, of the Massachusetts Branch, American Federation of Labor, says: "Our workers are perfectly capable of taking care of their own moral affairs when they are allowed fair wages, good food and decent houses to live in. We recommend this play to all employers and employees."—David Starr Jordan, of Leland Stanford University, said: "A really amazing piece of work, inherently great." PRICES— Adults, 30c Children, 15c Plus War Tax to be consentrating with a view to continuing hostilities. TO HOLD PICNIC Colored residents or Harrisburg and Steelton will hold a picnic at Twenty-fifth and Derry streets on Monday. A brass band will attend. The grounds will be home from 2 p. m. until midnight. WILMSMSNTS ALL Tins WEEK "THE BOOT SHOP" Lively Comedy Skit LEON A~RD and WILLARD comedy singing and dancing O —OTHER KEITH ACTS—O Every One r Hcndlincr REGENT THEATER LAST TIMES TODAY ! CHARLES RAY In the Paramount Picture "THE BUSHER" and the Mack Sennett Comedy i "Treating 'Em Rough" Yesterday's audiences said' it was one of the host programs \ ever offered in tlds city. Don't i miss it! Monday -- Tuesday -- Wednesday ! IRENE ! CASTLE "THE FIRING LINE" by Robert W. Chambers "The Firi g Line" is the line where hearts meet, and the in eandesccnce of love melts all op position. The picture has an atmosphere of silks and society, of ball-rooms, yachts. Palm Beach and moun tain homes. AUGUST 30, 1919. PLAYS IN THE MAKING Closely following the news that the Methodist Episcopal Church, at its centenary convention in Columbus, Ohio, had accepted the motion picture as a means of education. It was an nounced that the Famous Players- I-asky Corporation has completed most comprehensive plans for the production and distribution of non theatrical pictures to schools, col leges, churches, social centers and other public institutions. The wonders of a progressive Ori ental city, about which little is known i by the average American, are reveal- 1 VICTORIA '^"" G FLORENCE REED appears as the only woman juror in the Jimmy O'Neill murder case THE WOMAN UNDER OATH MONDAY TUESDAY OH! BOY AP Sr OH! BOY A farce corned;- wliioli is a riot of laughter front start to finish a scream of delight—played by an ag gregation of stars of the lirst magnitude famous on screen and stage Oodles of pretty girls, in fact pic ture lias been fashioned as nearly as possible after the stage version. "OH! BOY" The only really successful attempt ever made to translate to the screen the complete essence and story of a modern, up-to-date "girlie-girlie" musical comedy lilt. Six acts of laughter, dancing fun and rollicking I humor. OH! BOY G GINGER D OH! BOY 11111 |jgD*lflUPCyT TODAY* LAST SHOWING • of VIOLA DANA in her latest release which has pleased Harrisburgers "THE MICROBE" Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday only "TIE 13TH CHAIR" a terrific success as a stage play—ran over a year at the Forty-eighth Street Theater, New York A mystery play, full of thrills and sensations. Adapted from the novel by Bayard Veiller, author of "Within the Law." He claims however, that this is even greater than "Within the Law." No One Can Afford to Miss This Picture ?d in the current Paramount-Burton Holmes Travel picture titled "Banfs cok, the Itoyal City of Siam." As a. matter of fact, Siam Is different front iny other country in the world and it the same time different from any hing ono could imagine. Winterdale Dances TUCM., Thur. tind Sat. Evea., MIMN Itiirri'a String Orchestra Wright's Orchestra, of Columbia, Uliio. Next Monday, Thursday and Saturday eves.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers