When one things he has seen the most beautiful sights in the world it is well worth while to witness a flaming oil gusher at night before forming conclusions, according to T.S. Kyser of Bristow, Oklahoma, who was in Charlotte on business Monday. Mr. Kyser declared that when a giant oil gusher three miles from Bristow caught fire November 4, 1920, the sight was one which stirred the imagination as few things could do.
“Bristow is well within the oil regions of Oklahoma,” explained Mr. Kyser. “Before oil was struck there several years ago, the town was practically unknown. In a few weeks it grew to be a town of many thousands of people. Oil wells began to dot the countryside for miles arund it and people came from everywhere to profit by the precious fluid.
“It was on the afternoon of last November 4th that a gusher was struck about three miles from Bristow. As the oil belched forth high into the air it caught on fire. All that afternoon the huge stream of oil and fire spurted up towards the skies.
“It was not until darkness had settled, however, that the spectacle shaped itself into the most wonderful sight I have ever seen. The giant gusher was situated in the center of a wide level plain, there being no trees on either side to shut the sight from view. For hundreds of feet into the air the oil leaped while the fire climbed up its sides in frantic efforts to devour it. A wide area surrounding the gusher was illuminated as bright as day.
DARTING SHEETS OF FIRE
“Especially beautiful was the sight from the town. From that vantage point the streak of fire seemed to lose itself in the skies, making a long curve from the ground to the spot where it seemed to disappear. Occasionally spurts of oil would break away from the main gusher and a darting sheet of flame would follow it, causing my imagination to dwell on the spectacle that the earth must have presented when it was hurled in a blazing mass from the sun, lighting up the sky for millions of miles in every direction.
“Almost the entire population of Bristow remained up until late into the night watching this beautiful sight. People came from the neighboring sections to view the gusher, and the excitement of the new oil well completely surpassed comment on the presidential race which was pending at that time. The well meant added prosperity to Bristow, and for the time being its citizens didn’t care who was elected ruler of the country.
“The fire was extinguished during the following day and the gusher throttled. It yielded thousands of barrels of oil for weeks afterwards and netted the owners a handsome fortune.
“At the present time, there is little activity going on in the Oklahoma oil regions, due to the drop int he price of oil and the decreased demand. Just how soon things will take on a new atmosphere, I do not know. It depends entirely upon the market.
“I have heard people tell of beautiful sights throughout the world, but I do not know of a single person who saw the burning gusher at Bristow that night who did not declare it to surpass anything they had ever seen.”
From The Charlotte News, Oct. 10, 1921
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