Hustleton. Concluded [pp. 45-49]

HUSTLETON
A STORY OF THE BOOM TIME IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Ix.
UMMER had come, and
thousandsof the East ern people who had
o' spent the winter in
Southern California
had returned to their
homes. But others
were constantlyarriv ing, and the demand
for real estate, in and
about Los Angeles,
continued to be what
agents called "brisk."
Interest in Hustleton, however, might none
the less have languished at this time,
had it not been for the unceasing exertions
and unfailing ingenuity of General Hustler.
His discovery of petroleum in the waters of
the creek excited a renewal of the boom
which the new town had enjoyed, and lively
curiosity was manifested as to the results
of the boring of the experimental well, which
he immediately caused to be sunk. The
Hustleton Oil Company was organized for
this purpose, and great mystery attended
its operations. No one except a shareholder
was allowed to approach the well, which
was jealously guarded from curious eyes by
a high board fence. It was undeniable that
several barrels of crude petroleum had been
hauled into Los Angeles from Hustleton, for
Major Hornblower had "admitted" as much
to representatives of the press. But whether
the oil came from the test well or not. no
one could be induced to say. At all events,
the general curiosity about the oil prospects
had the effect of exciting a renewal of the
demand for Hustleton lots, particularly those
in the neighborhood of the well. And even
the most skeptical could see, along the borders of the creek, within the town-site, traces
of oil, such as General Hustler said had first
drawn his attention to the promise of petroleum in the depths below. An examination
of the Hustleton hills had disclosed to an
expert, employed by the General, the existence of the same geological conditions as
those prevailing in other parts of Southern
California in which large quantities of petroleum were produced. This information had
been drawn from Major Hornblower at an
unguarded moment, in the same way as that
concerning the first movement of oil from
Hustleton.
At a later date the news got out that the
well had failed to strike oil, but that a strong
flow of natural gas had been encountered, at
a depth of five hundred feet. The report
was that the drills had been blown clear out
of the well by the force of the gas. The
announcement was not altogether surprising, as a gentleman, known to be in the confidence of General Hustler, had been heard
to say, "on the authority of the expert,"
that the indications at Hustleton were even
more favorable for natural gas than for
petroleum. A-nd he added that the indications for coal were perhaps more marked
than for either of the other objects of exploration. Rumors got into circulation of
the signing of a contract for a pipe line from
Hustleton to Los Angeles, but whether the
intention was to bring gas, oil, or water into
the city, Major Hornblower and General
Hustler positively refused to say.
"My lips are absolutely sealed on that
point," the General would reply to all inquiries. "But I don't mind telling you
that something big in the way of manufacturing will be under way at Hustleton before
long." And as a matter of fact, the contract
had been let for a match factory. It seemed
rather an odd selection of a location for
match manufacturing, but the General gave
the lot for the purpose, and the working
force of the establishment was to consist of
a man and a boy.
"It's a factory, anyhow," remarked the
General to the Major, "and is just as good
a thing on paper as though it would give
employment to a hundred hands. No one
can say, for that matter, that it may not be
a great concern eventually."
The next number of the Hum mer explained that the match manufacturing company had decided to construct its works at
45