HAWORTH. | Discoveries of Oil and Gas. 31 
well was completed either in December, 1893, or January, 
1894. Messrs. Paullin & Pryor now had an abundant supply 
of gas to meet all the demands of the young city. However, 
they drilled one more well, their eighth, which was about as 
good as their seventh. 
Karly in 1895 a new company was organized, known as the 
Iola Codperative Gas Company. They located their first well 
in the southeast part of town, a few hundred feet away from 
the Paullin & Pryor well, and met with remarkable success, 
their well being one of the strongest ever drilled in the Iola 
field. At once they began to place gas from this well on the 
market. A lengthy litigation between the new company and 
the old ensued, which in February, 1898, resulted in the con- 
solidation of the two companies with Messrs. Paullin & Pryor 
retiring soon afterwards, leaving the company substantially 
as it now is, the lola Gas Company. During the next few 
years the Iola Gas Company drilled a few more wells, which 
met all their requirements. 
Reports of the abundant supply of natural gas at Iola soon 
attracted manufacturing enterprises, such as brick plants, 
zinc smelters and Portland cement mills. Drilling was carried 
on extensively to the east, northeast and southeast, with a 
general result that one of the strongest gas-fields in the entire 
Midcontinental field was developed. 
During the summer of 1904 a new gas-field was discovered 
lying to the north of the old field on each side of the Santa Fe 
track about half way between Iola and Carlyle. This is usually 
spoken of as the North field. A number of wells were ob- 
tained here as strong as the old wells in the old Iola field. The 
industrial interests at Iola in the form of zinc smelters, Port- 
land cement plants, brick-yards, etc., had become so numerous 
that new gas territory was sought eagerly by them. As a re- 
sult, a sharp competition sprang up in obtaining gas leases and 
prices the highest ever known in the state at that time were 
willingly paid, sometimes reaching an annual rental of over six 
dollars per acre throughout the life of the lease. The new field 
became pretty well defined within a year or so, as dry wells 
were found on practically all sides of it. Late in 1906 and early 
in 1907, still a third field was developed, lying to the west of 
the North field, which produced some of the largest wells ever 
found in the Iola district. 
HUMBOLDT.—Guffey & Gailey were the first prospectors to 
