A Town Strikes Oil—or a Prankster Strikes First
A well inside Chewelah's city limits began oozing oil, setting off excitement—though one report blamed practical jokers who may have doped the well overnight.
Chewelah is excited over the discovery of oil in a well within the city limits of that enterprising town. Parties digging a well discovered that an oily matter was oozing through the soil. One report credits practical jokers with doping the well the night before, but a majority of the people think that they have a real find.
“A majority of the people think that they have a real find.”
Oil rushes have always run on rumor as much as geology; a seep in a town well was enough to set off visions of wealth. Chewelah's 1908 excitement—and the suspicion of a prank—is a small-scale version of every boomtown gamble that followed.
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