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Great Spouter Shut Off(Galveston Daily News, January 20, 1901) Beaumont, Texas, Jan. 19--The Great Beaumont Oil Well Successfully Capped and Controlled--Pressure Not Given--Yesterday Was Another Active Day in Real Estate Transactions in The Oil Field--Visitors Continue To Come---Business Property in The Town Is Changing Hands At Advanced Prices---New Company. The great Lucas oil well was completely mastered at 11 o'clock this morning, and the wonderful energies and powers of this great curiosity have been confined to the earth. As was stated in the News recently, Hamill Brothers, the contractors, succeeded in placing an upright pipe with a horizontal joint on the casing of the well. There was a valve on both ends of the pipe. The valve on the upright pipe has been closed for several days, and this morning it was decided to test the effect of the horizontal valve. A pressure gauge was placed on the pipe, and the valve slowly closed without an accident. The pipe which was securely anchored to large timbers, sunk deeply into the ground, stood the strain without a tremor. Captain Lucas refuses to give the pressure on the gauge. In view of the large number of visitors which are expected here tomorrow being disappointed that the well is shut off, the News correspondent asked if the spouter would be permitted to flow tomorrow at any time, and it was learned that it would not. The thing is too uncertain to tamper with, and Capain Lucas thinks as long as it holds the pressure, it would be decidedly too risky to let it loose again. Numbers of additional oil men from Pennsylvania, New york, Ohio, and elsewhere reached here today, as well as parties from Chicago, Kansas City, and other nearby towns. Among the Galvestonians here today are: D. M. Henderson, D. R. Bergeron, and J. B. Waters. Real estate transactions have been more numerous today than heretofore, several large oil leases and sales having been made. The activity extends to city property as well as to oil lands and large offers are being made of business sites. One site on the corner of Main and Bonham Streets, which has been held without a purchaser at $7,500, was sold yesterday for $10,000. Captain Lucas was asked for a statement today of what they expected to do toward disposing of the oil from the Lucas well in the immediate future, but he said he could not say anything on this subject until he had received the results from the oil which had been sent to the refineries. In the meantime he said they would secure a large number of tanks and draw off a large supply of oil in these. The Gulf Port Oil Company was organized yesterday afternoon, with a capital tock of $50,000. The incorporators are J. A. Broussard, M. L. Bixler, and R. M. Mothner. The end of the week finds the oil excitement but little abated. New people coming in all the time tend to keep up the novelty of the thing, and instead of men becoming familiar with the news of it all, it seems they are determined to remain stirred up with it, and the truth is the people are becoming accustomed to the upheaval and disarranged conditions. The crowds congregate in the hotels every morning and every night until 12 o'clock and talk oil, nothing but oil. Captain William Wiess took a large party of prominent citizens and visitors down the river this afternoon in his launch and showed them what could be seen of the Neches (River) in the time allowed. (Comp. by Block)
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