in Los Angeles in the winter of 1882-1883 than he began looking over the prospects of oil develop ment in the area of Southern California. By way of making good his promise, I. E. Blake of the Pacific Coast Oil Company took Stewart to the Newhall area and pointed out the land his company held there under lease. He offered Stewart the choice of any of the leases. After looking over the Pico Canyon properties on at least three occasions, Stewart longed to talk over things with his old partner Wallace Hardison, who at that time was beginning life anew as a rancher in Kansas. Stewart wired Hardison in Kansas asking if he would be in terested in joining him in an oil hunt, this time in California. Less than a day after he sent his wire a message came back from Hardi son. In his usual crisp manner Hardison asked no questions; he merely gave the date on which he would arrive in Los Angeles to start operations. That was all the negotiating or conferring the pair did to launch their second part nership in the oil business. Mean time, Lyman Stewart selected a site for their initial well, picking a location on Christian Hill in Pico Canyon where there had been no previous drilling. With hopes run ning high, Hardison and Stewart started their first well. When they reached the 1,850- foot level, they ran into trouble. Their tools were lost and they were unable to fish them out. All the way down there had been no showing of oil of any kind. The partners decided to chalk the fail ure up to experience. Well No.
the kindness of their friend Lyman Stewart so Wallace Hardison hunted up Stewart to get ac quainted. Impressed with the op portunities in the oil business, Wallace Hardison proposed that he and Stewart buy some more properties on a partnership basis. Virtually penniless, Stewart ex plained his embarrassed estate and expressed his regret that he could not join in the enterprise. Hardison brushed the protest aside. "You know oil and I don't; I have the money and you don't. We will be partners. I will put up the money and you put up the experience." On this basis, with only a hand clasp to seal the agreement, began a partnership that was not put in to a formal written agreement until many years later in California when it had grown to such an enormous business that the bank ers considered a written agree ment necessary. For several years Lyman Stewart had been intrigued by reporters from California on the potential oil fields in the Golden State. He made up his mind to investigate the potentials firsthand. When I. E. Blake, a former Titusville friend, offered him all the land on which he could drill if he would come out West, Stewart proposed to Hardison that they sell out and go to California. Hardison was unwilling to re turn to the Pacific Coast; however, he agreed to sell out their inter est. They realized about $135,000 for their oil investments. Dividing the money, they parted company, Hardison heading for Kansas and Stewart for California. No sooner had Stewart landed
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