Reading 5628-12

TEXT OF READING 5628-12

Text

Date: 1/23/1929 Sex: F ReadingID: 14004

This Psychic Reading given by Edgar Cayce in Houston, Texas, this 23rd day of January, 1929.

[Edgar Cayce; Mrs. Cayce, Conductor; P. M. W., Steno.]

Time of Reading Unknown. …, Texas.

1. GC: Now you have before you well being drilled at Rocky Pasture, San Saba County, Texas, and the conditions as a whole. You will give us any information regarding this well that will be of any assistance to [4906].

2. EC: Yes, we have the well being drilled in Rocky Pasture, San Saba County, Texas. This we have had before.

3. The conditions as surround the operations have proven thus far unsatisfactory to the operators. This, however, should be drilled to the break in the lime and then they will reach production that would make the largest producing well in the state and be the largest field in the state.

4. The changes in the locations make variations in depth. The present depth of 2674 feet is less than a hundred feet of the break in which production would be encountered.

5. Drill same if this would be made a successful operation. Do not discontinue until such is accomplished.

6. (Q) Any information to be given [4906] when he arrives? (A) This, as has been given, would make the success; that is what is desired. Carry on with these operations, and we will find the success in this well. Be not discouraged at even striking the hard flint formation as will be encountered in the last portion of the cap or the break that will occur, and we will find the break will show that the overlap is as has been indicated in this vicinity, for the natural drainage to this location makes this as the mother pool of the various fields that head into this location, even from Mexia, Eastland, Syke Springs and Desdomania. All are outlets for this pool. Keep the operations then until the break is found.

Reports

Reports & Follow-up

R1. 1/24/29 W. L. Evans’ letter [GC’s brother] to EC:

Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company (Letterhead) Office of the Commercial Agent 204 Scanlan Building Houston, Texas

Dear Edgar:-

While I wired Mr. [4906] in line with our conversation he failed to get wire and came in this A.M. with another party, the name which I failed to get, but he called him Roy.

I understand he is connected with Mr. [4906] in the drilling of this well.

I believe I explained to Mr. [4906] in a satisfactory manner why you were unable to stay and see him, however, he seemed very much disappointed, stating that he would just liked to have had a chance to talk with you, but would write you when he got back to San Saba.

Attached is copy of reading [5628-12] given Mr. [4906], which he seemed very much pleased with, but stated he wished he had been present as he could have suggested some more questions to ask you regarding this proposition. I understood from the course of conversation with him that he was now drilling some shallow wells, trying to locate oil that would pay him to go ahead with the deep well. I am sure it is his intention to go ahead with the well at San Saba just as soon as he can raise some money.

Your wire to him stated that you would probably be in Houston the 24th and 25th, and was delayed in reaching him.

Found Mr. [4906] to be a very nice fellow indeed, very fair in explaining that he had been very unsuccessful in his attempts to locate oil. In fact he told me just how much he had spent, not only on the San Saba well but on other wells.

When your wire reached him he started to Houston in his automobile, but had bad luck at Georgetown and had to abandon the automobile trip and take the train. He stated that he did not have a chance to go back to San Saba for money and only had about 30.00 with him, and as he seemed so fair and square about things I endorsed his check and cashed same for 20.00. I am in hopes that this check does not come back. However, if it does I am quite sure that Mr. [4906] well see that it is taken care of.

This is rather a brief covering my whole conversation with Mr. [4906].

R2. 3/27/35 Mr. [4906]‘s letter to EC:

Wichita Falls, Texas % White Sanitarium

Dear Cayce:-

I know you will be surprised to hear from me after so long a time. I am here at Dr. White’s Sanitarium, taking treatment for alcoholic troubles. I have been drinking pretty hard since the well in Rocky Pasture was dry. It to me was a hard blow, and represented nearly 3 years of hard work. Since then I have fought the oil business, hard drilling a number of wells, all dry however, and as a whole can report no progress. Yet I have hopes. I have begun wondering if you are still alive or not, and what luck if alive you are having with your institution. I have wondered about you many times, yet I would not write. I am at present working for two of the strangest men I ever knew. They came from New York or Canada, and have bought out extensive oil properties, including the properties that I owned in 1932 - and when I sold to them, I went to work as their Superintendent over all properties that they own. These men have unlimited funds and spend money like drunken Indians. They go out, get a large block of leases and move on it with the finest of equipment and drill a deep hole, pay all bills and take 2% discount. They are always confident that they will get a big well, in other words they go about with that same faith that I had while at San Saba. Their confidence in what they are doing is coming from some unknown source, either a doodlebug instrument, or some kind of a guiding hand. I have known all along from an oil man’s standpoint that they have had little or no chance to win, and they have sure missed. So I am wondering if by any chance could these men be associated with you. These two men operate what is known as The Petroleum Oil Interests, Inc., and they are two brothers - J. A. Watt and A. W. Watt, and I have worked for them two years, and I know less about them than I did when I went to work for them. But for the last year, thousands of times it has flashed to my mind that there is some connection between you and them. Now, Old Man, come clean and tell me all you know, for you know I have always been straight with you.

This company is now in the act of changing its name from The Petroleum Oil Interests, Inc., (to Hightower Oil & Refining Co.) and as I have heard that I am slated for its First Vice-President and active General Manager, this is funny to come at a time that I am truly figuring on quitting the company. You see, the Petroleum Oil Interests has always operated a refinery in Brownwood of which I do not have anything to do with at all. My duties apply only to the field work, tending to the production, drilling wells, and all field work from the city limits out. Well, some months ago I caught the Plant Supt. stealing straight out, positive proof. Have the proof in the shape of manifests that are incorrectly made out. Saw with my own eyes. Now 4 or 5 of the refinery workers know this and there has been enough talk that the boss should have gotten hold of it, yet he seems to do nothing. The big thing on my mind is whether the boss is in with the Supt. in avoiding State and Federal Tax, or is the Plant Supt. stealing from the boss. I actually believe the boss knows that I have those manifests; if so, I would be a fool to accept the Vice-Presidency and management, for if they run one day after I had been put in I would be the goat for the crowd. You see the point, Cayce.

I have always been straight, don’t want anything crooked, not for a million. I guess you know me better than I know myself. So Cayce, sit down and give me a reading, tell me what I should do, also tell me if the bosses can be depended on and also send me a prescription for my nerves. I do not drink, only at long intervals - this I feel comes from some unknown nerve trouble.

I will anxiously await a reply from you. I will be here for a month. Take a reading. Tell me everything I want to know. Maybe I can help you out yet. I feel sure you know I will if the hand of fortune ever turns my way.

R3. 4/8/35 EC’s letter to Mr. [4906]:

Dear Mr. [4906]:-

Your letter of March 27th was forwarded to me in New York, where I have been for the last three weeks; but it arrived just when I was ready to make a change. I came on here, to Washington, where I will possibly remain for ten days or two weeks. It has not been decided as yet, but I think I will go from here back to Virginia Beach; and I think it would be better for you to write me there. You know, I will be glad to be of a help if possible, at any time.

I’m sorry to know that you are in the sanitarium. I’m sure the Rocky Pasture experience was a real blow to you, though I am still of the opinion - even though it may be a foolish one

• that oil is there.

Yes, I am still very much alive - I think. There hasn’t been any institution for three years now. The promoters of that fell out with one another; and, to be sure, I was caught between the netherstone.

It’s quite interesting what you say about the two men with whom you are working. I never heard of either one of them before. So, you may be very well assured that I know nothing of their operations and have not had - nor do I have at present - anything whatsoever to do with information for them. Very peculiarly, however, in the same mail with yours, I had a letter from a man in Dennison who is seeking information. Just whether this will be undertaken or not, I do not know at present; for it is the first letter I have had from him.

I can very well appreciate your feelings in the matter regarding the changes that are possible or probable with your associations with these people, and I can see very well how and why you might be quite anxious about future operations. And I would not blame you, but rather feel you are exactly right in wanting to be assured in some way or manner that these people are going straight. Many a person or organization has gone straight for an effect, and until circumstances could be gotten so set that somebody else who had never been questioned might be the goat. So, I would advise that you be very sure about the whole situation. But I’m thinking it would be the most plausible and reasonable thing for you to go directly to the Boss Man and lay the situation before him. For if you have the manifests that show the crookedness, there can be no question as to your sincerity in the matter. For his good as well as for your own protection.

We will be very glad to make an appointment for a reading, Mr. [4906], and because I am sending you a membership blank please don’t get the idea that I’m trying to “string” you in any way or manner. According to the law and rules and regulations of the organization, we can and do only make appointments for readings for members of the organization. So, if you are still interested and feel that you would like to keep in touch with our undertaking, if you will sign the enclosed application I’ll be very glad to make the appointment just as soon as it is possible.

I have been getting along fairly well. That I have had my disappointments you might easily surmise, when I had worked half of my lifetime and given of myself as I had felt was right, to build an institution and then to see it all taken away, owing to disputes among the members of the Board. But I think practically every individual, outside of for or five, of those that had been so vitally interested - or appeared to be, are still members of the group presenting the Work, and are as vitally interested as they ever were. This includes our mutual friend David E. Kahn, with whom the greater part of the contention arose; and he has suffered financially as the rest of the world possibly has; though the others may have dollars now where they had pennies before. That’s alright, too; for dollars do not bring happiness. Neither do they satisfy the longings of the heart.

I certainly hope, Mr. [4906], that you are getting hold of yourself. I’m sure you will and do recognize the fact that the people at the sanitarium can only help you get hold of yourself; the abstinence or the real fight is going to be in your own self. No one else can do it for you.

I was indeed very much surprised, but I assure you very agreeablely so, to have your letter; and I assure you there’s no one in the world that I would like to do some good for more than yourself.

Hoping I may be favored with a letter from you again very soon, and with kindest personal regards, I am

Sincerely, EC:GD

R4. 10/15/36, 10/24/36 See letters under 1180-8, EC’s version of situation with oil wells in San Saba.

R5. 9/50 Rudolph Johnson’s letter to [1561]:

Dear Mr. [1561]:-

Thank you for your letter of August 23 with enclosures. I have enjoyed it very much. On August 21 I went to San Saba, Texas to look for a location described by Edgar Cayce in a reading in 1926. I saw this reading first in 1948 and discussed it with Hugh Lynn. It made a specific location and called it the “mother pool.” His geology was must unusual and has been borne out by subsequent search, except that in 30 odd years of exploration no oil has been found in the county.

Edgar Cayce said that on a tract known as Rocky Pasture two creeks joined, named Big Rocky and Little Rocky. Thirty steps almost due north from this point is the place to drill. There was other data of course. I found Rocky Pasture in the abstract office and saw that the north 300 acres had been leased as part of a large drilling block on which a well was then going down (north of Rocky Pasture). I then set out to find Rocky Pasture and located a family named Murray whose land in the reading was supposed to be about 50 yards from the drilling site. Murray Sr. said he remembered a man coming to him about 25 years ago who wanted to locate the spot where Big Rocky joined Little Rocky. He was mysterious and afterward leased the land and paced off a distance and started a well. He lost a string of tools in the hole, moved over a few feet and drilled to 3100 feet and got nothing. Cayce said the oil would be encountered at 2600 to 3000. This man was drunk a good bit and sold off a part of his lease to raise expense money. His name was Wilmount or Willmont. I never knew before the site had been drilled and Hugh Lynn did not either. I got Murray Jr. to show me the place. Sure enough, there was the plugged hole, thirty paces from Big and Little Rocky. However it was on a hillside and the reading called for a mesa. I went to the other side of creek and found Cayce’s mesa. I am convinced that Wilmont drilled in the wrong spot. I went back next day with a compass and found he was north 60 east with his location. My location was north 7 west. It is the site of an old Indian camping ground an my sons who were with me found some arrow heads.

I feel as you do that many mystic reasons are present for a so called failure. However no Cayce treasure has as yet been found that I know of. I have thought much as you have about the wonderful impetus a “discovery” can give the association movement. What great publicity it would be! I, like you, am determined to act on the information, and I am now dealing with the owner for a lease. I plan to drill in the next 6 months. The oil in the area is trap oil. There is probably a fault that divides the formation between these two sites. Again, perhaps God did not intend for Wilmont to be further ruined by money - Any how I am going to work out a deal in which the association will share 1/8th. I will never be satisfied until this site is drilled.

Edgar Cayce sent me to Dallas. I left a good law practice in Memphis and came here in 1948. He said I would have many more opportunities to serve here. It has been rough going, but I love it here.

Last week we brought in a good well in which I have 42% interest all paid for. If this pans out, this property alone will be worth more than I would have grossed in Memphis in 2 years. I am fascinated by oil business. I would love to give it much of my time.

You must know that I am interested in your quest for “Cayce treasure.” Wish I had the $500 to send you now, but I am short of cash. Perhaps next month the situation will be different.

Do you know of any instance where oil, ore or other valuable property was discovered on basis of Cayce information? He “located” many such sites, but I never heard of anyone cashing in. Let’s you and I prove the accuracy of the readings!! [[5741] series?]

Most cordially, Rudlolph Johnson

I don’t dare let my secretary write such letters as this! She must continue to think me sane.

R6. 10/17/50 Rudolph Johnson’s letter to Mr. Sugrue:

Rudolph Johnson (Letterhead) Attorney at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas

Mr. Thomas Sugrue Seymour Hotel New York City, New York

Dear Tom:

I have not heard from you in a long time, although I have heard indirectly from you through Hugh Lynn. I hope that you are making rapid progress and that everything goes well for you. I enjoyed very much your Christmas article last year in the American Magazine. I apologize for not having written sooner to tell you this, but so many things have happened to me. Hugh Lynn had given me a preview on the article before I saw it and I was extremely interested in your account of your visit to the Holy Land.

I am leasing some land in San Saba County, Texas [See 5628-3], on which Edgar Cayce made two locations for oil wells twenty-four years ago. He gave explicit instructions for the drilling of the first of these wells, and his directions were so clear that I wondered why they had not been followed. I pondered over the situation for two years and made a trip to San Saba this summer and found the spot where the location had been made. I also found that this information had been acted on twenty years before by another person, who drilled a dry hole. This man stepped off the distance from the starting point accurately but he must not have had a compass because he went north by 65 degrees east instead of going almost due north, as directed by Edgar Cayce. The terrain at this point is very rough and the location is wild and hard to reach. I found the right spot, described by Cayce, which is across a stream of water from the dry hole.

Although there have been wells drilled in San Saba County for over thirty years, there has not been any oil or gas discovered in the county. The geological formation described by Cayce is borne out by all scientific findings. This is an area on which oil will be found in a trap rather than in a widespread formation.

It is my purpose to drill this well and have the Association benefit in the oil production. In this connection, I wonder how well you know the eminent geologist, E. L. DeGolyer. Since he is the Chairman of the Board of the Saturday Review of Literature, I am sure that you two must know each other. Do you know if he has ever read your book, “There is a River,” and if so, has he ever commented on it? What do you think of my placing this book in his hands, as a means of testing his interest? DeGolyer is a sport, and if his name were linked with a successful venture of this character, think what this would mean to the success of the Cayce plans. I wish you would think this matter over and advise me as soon as possible your ideas as to the best approach to DeGolyer, who, as you know, lives in Dallas.

I wonder if you remember John Lancaster, a Dallas lawyer, who was a classmate of yours and Hugh Lynn’s at Washington and Lee? John is quite a successful lawyer and is noted for his trial work. He is also noted for his acid-absorbing qualities. I ran into him at the bar of the Northwood Country Club the other night and we had quite a cozy chat about you, Hugh Lynn, and Preston Battle, who is practising law in Memphis. I gave Preston your book and after he read it he showed a mild interest. He is one of the leading AA’s in Memphis and is doing a good job with that organization.

I send you my warmest regards, and very best wishes for your health and happiness.

Most sincerely, Rudolph Johnson RJ:iba

R7. 10/24/50 Rudolph Johnson’s letter to HLC:

Rudolph Johnson (Letterhead) Attorney at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas

Mr. Hugh Lynn Cayce Association for Research and Enlightenment Virginia Beach, Virginia

Re: San Saba County, Texas

Dear Hugh Lynn:

I have written you several letters about geological information described by your father in Case History No. 5628-3 which was apparently given April 16, 1926. I have not been able to get all of the carbon copies of these letters together, and it is possible that some of my letters to you did not reach your attention as you have not replied. Therefore, I will give you a summary of the situation and ask for you help.

Two or three years ago Gladys Davis furnished me with a copy of your father’s geology on the above referred to case history. I discussed this information with you in 1949 when you visited me in Dallas. Since that time I have kept the matter in mind, and in August of this year made a trip to San Saba with Bud and Tommy. I found the tract of land known as Rocky Pasture and I also located a family named Murray who were mentioned by your father. The Murrays remembered that about twenty-five years ago a man came to them and very mysteriously requested them to take him to the point on the Rocky Pasture tract where Big Rocky joined Little Rocky. He gave them no information but after they had taken him to this point, he later leased the land and made a well location about thirty paces from the point where the two creeks joined. The Murrays told me that he drilled a dry hole to a depth of 3100 feet. During the time that he was drilling, he experienced considerable drilling difficulties and also experienced trouble in raising money to carry on the program. The Murrays said that he sold off a good bit of acreage in order to get additional funds. They also told me that he stayed drunk a good bit of the time.

The Murrays took me to this location and I found the old slush-pit and several lengths of cable, and also found where the hole had been plugged and abandoned. (At this point, check all of this information with the reading above referred to.)

I checked the information given by your father as to the location and concluded that this man, Curtis Wilmont, instead of going almost due north from the junction of Little and Big Rocky, as instructed by your father, had gone 60 degrees east, which probably put him off the structure. On the other side of Big rocky, I found the mesa land spoken of by your father and have made a location which I believe is the one intended by your father. I am now working out a deal to drill this well and need some help from you.

First of all, will you please get me what information you have available on this reading of April 16, 1926. You told me in Dallas that some oil men from West Texas had this information and that you last heard from them when they lived in Lubbock. It might be that the information is indexed under their names. I would also like to know if you remember Curtis Wilmont, and what information you might have about him.

Thinking that there might be a drilling log filed with the Texas Railroad Commission at Austin on the Wilmont well, I made a request for it and received, much to my surprise, a drilling log on a well drilled June 19, 1921 [Also 3777-1 thru 9], by the Cayce Petroleum Company of Texas to a depth of 1626 feet on this same San Saba property. I do not think that this is the same location as the Wilmont location. I know there must have been some information on which the drilling of this well was based, and I likewise know that there was check information after the well was drilled. Will you please see if you can furnish me with all of this information so that I can correlate all of these well logs.

Apparently your father gave out a great deal of geology on this tract in San Saba, and it may be listed under various names. I would like very much to get all the information that I possibly can in order to correlate it. Do you suppose that Dave Kahn can throw any light on this matter?

Hugh Lynn, I have several ideas on getting some action in drilling wells in Texas on your father’s geology. Back in the days when there were so many failures on these wells, many of the failures can be accounted for through ignorance of the drillers in knowing how to bring a well in. In those days, about the only way that a driller knew to bring a well in was to let it blow in as a gusher. In these times, this is not permitted at all and the only time you see a gusher is when the well itself gets out of hand. There are dozens of wells being brought in every day that would have been condemned as dry holes twenty-five years ago.

I hope you will find time to get me some of this information as I am most anxious to proceed as fast as possible.

With kindest personal regards to Sally, Dorothy, Gladys, Lydia, and the others, I am

Most sincerely, [signed] Rudolph Johnson RJ:iba

R8. 8/29/51 Rudolph Johnson’s letter to HLC: “You know that I have been keenly interested in proving the validity of the EC readings to the world by bunging [bringing?] in the San Saba well. I realize that the success of the venture depends mainly on the character and attitude of the people concerned with the drilling operation. I have found three men who want to undertake this. I think they qualify, but of course it remains to be seen. I have told them the whole story and they are now reading TIR. They have great enthusiasm and all are wealthy men, bound together by strong business and personal ties. They can affort to spend $40,000.00 on the venture. They will give the A.R.E. an equal interest, so that if the well is found as the readings specify, your financial worries will be over with. We have not closed a deal yet - merely doing a lot of enthusiastic talking. It may go through and may not. Pray that God’s will be done - whatever that is.

“Two of these men have bad sinus trouble. I told them about my prescription … Will you please have your drug store make up 2 bottles…”

R9. 1/17/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter to GD:

Rudolph Johnson (Letterhead) Attorney at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas Dear Gladys,

You remember the oil readings you sent me several years ago relative to San Saba, Texas [5628-3]. I have gotten 3 men interested in drilling a well there and have assembled a block of about 10,000 acres. The well started drilling on Holy Saturday Jan. 5, 1952. We have set 231 feet of surface casing and are drilling away to the oil which Edgar Cayce said would be found at 2600 feet. This is costing about $40,000.00. I have set aside, with consent of other men, a full share (1/8 of 7/8ths) as a free over ride interest to the Association. If we, hit your money troubles will be minimized. Hugh Lynn can tell you more about this. Bring this before the Trustees. I need their prayers that I may make no mistakes in making decisions and that all of us do God’s will, whether there be oil there or not. I am very serious about this. I wrote Hugh Lynn and he didn’t answer. Have the Trustees discuss this and have them make suggestions about what they can do to help me with cosmic guidance. I got these men into this on the basis of the accuracy of the Cayce readings, and I want to be sure that I do my job right.

Love - Rudy

The reading was given April 16, 1926 and its number is 5628-3. I suggest those of you interested read it in the light of this letter.

R10. 1/28/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter (AIRMAIL) to HLC:

Rudolph Johnson (Letterhead) Attorney at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas

Mr. Hugh Lynn Cayce Association for Research and Enlightenment Virginia Beach, Virginia

Dear Hugh Lynn:

Thanks for your letter of January 24. I will look forward to receiving a longer letter from you. I am sorry that I did not get your long-hand letter, but I did enjoy the nice, personal note on the back of your Christmas card.

The well is down to 830 feet. It is being drilled with cable tools, which is a long, tedious job. As to the formations encountered, I refer you to the copy of the reading [5628-3] in your file to check on the following information: The first 80 feet contained sand, gravel, sandstone, gravel, shale in that order. At 120 feet, loose shale was encountered, which continued until 124 feet. At 125 feet, the sand rock was again encountered. There was no water found in the loose shale between 120 and 125 feet. The water table in Texas has dropped several hundred feet the last 25 years, and sub-surface water courses have dried up or changed considerably. From 125 feet to 830 feet, shale and limestone have been encountered. The limestone has been quite hard, as I expected. Clairvoyance confirmed.] As soon as I reach the depth of 969 feet, I will let you know exactly what formations have been drilled. You can thus see that the logging information is an accurate advance account of the actual drilling log.

I will write you more in a few days. Love to the family.

Most sincerely, [signed] Rudy RJ:iba

R11. 2/4/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter to HLC:

Rudolph Johnson (Letterhead) Attorney at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas

Mr. Hugh Lynn Cayce Association for Research and Enlightenment Virginia Beach, Virginia

Dear Hugh Lynn:

Your most welcome letter of February 1 came this morning. I am so glad to hear that the Trustees are working on this matter. The information which Sally received is very comforting. I hope that you will be able to receive some information yourself in the meantime. (Hope you have some dreams)

The well is down to about 1100 feet. By the way, do you have a copy of the geology before you? Write me about this, as it will help me in reporting progress to you. At any rate, your father’s geology notified us to expect a hard lime at 969 feet. We were to encounter another hard lime before reaching this depth. The first hard lime was encountered, and was about 250 feet thick, with a few minor shale breaks. At 965 feet, we encountered a very hard lime, which changed into slate at 970 feet. That’s “right on the button,” isn’t it? The geology also said we would encounter an oil shale between this depth and 1000 to 1100 feet. We found the oil-bearing shale as indicated, and the driller reported two rainbows of oil at this depth. I had not told the driller in advance what was to be expected. Our next important depth is around 1500 feet, where we are expecting to encounter some water. However, if we do not get the water at this depth, we will be very glad. The water table in Texas had dropped and has changed considerably in the last twenty-seven years, so that old water formations cannot be expected to be encountered at this time. [5628-3]

The driller is having very good luck drilling the hole. He has had several shut-downs due to necessary repair jobs, but none of these has been serious. Everything has been handled in a business-like way, and no troubles have been encountered. This seems to be a happy drilling job. I have been connected with several in the past that had so much go wrong that it would turn a boy’s hair white. As a matter of interest, please get out the geological information and check it over. There are some statements there that have given me considerable trouble. First of all, in the second paragraph on the first page, the statement is made that the general lime lays in the angle of north and northwest. This is not true, as the angle is north and northeast. This is probably the mistake of the stenographer in writing west for east, as the following statement says that the lime in near the 94-degree angle. This is geologically sound. In the second paragraph of the second page, the statement is made that the two creeks join together about 50 yards from the line of the Murray property. This is a distance of 500 yards, instead. In the third paragraph, reference is made to an old well, drilled to 1600 feet, located northeast of the present site. This location is northwest instead of northeast, but I measured it with a piece of cord and got a distance of 1133 yards. This was an approximate distance, as it followed the contour of the land, around trees and around rock formations, which could account for the extra 100 yards. After thinking these things over, it occurred to me that the stenographer did not know her shorthand very well, and could have misread west for east, as the two symbols are almost identical. What do you think about this?

As we proceed with the drilling, I will write you. Please arrange to spend two or three extra days with me in Dallas on your way to the west coast this spring. I want you to go to the well with me and there are lots of things I want to talk over with you.

Most sincerely, [signed] Rudy RJ:iba

[Note at left margin of letter]: The Association will have a rock of Gibraltar in one of my partners, Will Gobles. I am satisfied he will do everything to protect the Association’s interest even against me!! He is entering this exactly as you would have him.

[See Source File Key #5628 for hand drawn sketch of location of Cayce well and surrounding landmarks re 5628-12, at end of above letter.]

R12. 2/8/52 HLC’s letter to Mr. Johnson:

Mr. Rudolph Johnson, Attorney At Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas

Dear Rudy:

Thank you very much for your letter of February 4.

It is a little difficult not to begin to get excited even at this distance when the geology checks out as you have indicated. I’ll appreciate it if you will keep me posted whether it is good or bad.

I have gone back over the original reading [5628-3] to check it against the copy to see if there might have been a mistake and I have also discussed this matter with Gladys, who was the stenographer. She does not use Gregg shorthand but another system in which the symbols for East and West could not easily have been mixed.

Since both of these mistakes have to do with Northeast and Northwest, it is possible that we may be dealing with something like a reflection in a mirror. Perception from another dimension must be quite complicated. On the other hand, he is apparently drawing this information from some general source involving a description of the whole area. It is very hard to know what happened here. He could have misread it or given it improperly as it was being relayed. I am still at a loss as to just how a man would go about to correlate knowledge which is existent in the minds of a large number of people. He had, of course, been over this whole area and the mistake might well lie in his own subconscious.

With regard to the location in connection with the Murray property it would be interesting to know where these lines extended in times past. In other words, did the Murrays ever own property that extended any closer to the point where the two creeks join?

I am sure this hasn’t been of much help but I have enjoyed going over the reading and trying to think it out. If anything else occurs to me I will write you immediately.

R13. 2/11/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter (AIRMAIL) to HLC:

Rudolph Johnson (Letterhead) Attorney at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas Mr. Hugh Lynn Cayce Association for Research and Enlightenment Virginia Beach, Virginia

Dear Hugh Lynn:

I was certainly glad to get your letter of February 8. The well is down to 1300 feet, and we are setting 10” casing to take care of any water that might appear at the 1500 foot level, as indicated. From 1100 feet to 1500 feet, there is no excitable geology expected to be encountered, as you will note that the information at this depth is quite general. The next two conditions that we have to check on is the water at 1500 and the cap mountain lime a little deeper. The drilling is very hard at this time and we are averaging only about a foot an hour. We are still drilling in lime, which we think is the Ellenburger formation, and if so, we are running about 300 feet higher than the formation did across the creek at the old hole. This is an excellent sign. Everything has gone along well with the job, and so far we have encountered no ill luck.

As to the directions in the reading [5628-3] about which we have written each other, I am at a loss to explain the errors. I did not think that Gladys had written this one, as there are so many possible mistakes in it. For instance, there was a good bit of the reading which Gladys was unable to transcribe. As to the line of the Murray property, I went into this in detail with all of the Murrays, and not only them but with all the other ranchers in the neighborhood who would know about how close the Murray line came to the well twenty-five years ago. Murray has never owned any property closer to the well site than about 500 yards. Fifty yards from the well would be at a point still in Rocky Pasture, and this particular tract of land has remained intact in the hands of various owners since the time of the first Spanish grant. Murray has never owned any part of Rocky Pasture. How do you reconcile the statement that the lime lies at an angle of northwest southeast generally, at a 94 degree angle?

I am delighted that Tom Sugrue is coming to Dallas with you. We will be so happy to see him and do whatever we can to work out a lecture schedule. I must say in advance that I do not know how to go about arranging for any lectures for Tom. I am not in touch with any groups in Dallas who might be interested in booking him but will see what I can do. I wonder if either you or Tom would have any suggestions. I think it would be fine for you and Tom to do an Association lecture and I will see what I can work out along that line. I will appoint Van Gregory and Gregg Harrison as a committee to start work on it.

We can make a trip to the well and back in one day, provided we leave Dallas by daylight and don’t mind getting back to Dallas at midnight. The distance is about 160 miles one way, but I would like for you to be able to spend a little time at the well. There will be plenty of people who will be delighted to look after Tom while we are at the well. We will get him up a reception committee.

I will check into this matter tomorrow and write you in more detail. Love to all the Cayces from all the Johnsons.

[signed] Rudy RJ:iba

R14. 2/18/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter: The well is down to 1485 feet. We had to shut down three days on account of a crevice which showed up in the hard limestone formation at this depth. The drilling bit took a course off vertical at the point where the crevice appeared. It was necessary to fill up the crevice and the directional hole to the point where the drilling left vertical. Denhart, the driller, dumped three truckloads of hard rock, one truckload of tin cans, one truckload of assorted bits of metal, and machine cuttings in the hole, before he got the crevice filled up. He said it looked like he was going to have to fill up a tunnel extending to China. This condition did not show up in the reading, but probably could have been avoided if we had been on the exact spot indicated. We seem to be about three or four feet off the exact spot. However, Denhart says that he should continue on drilling today and go through this strata without too much trouble.

Let me hear from you about these other things [Dallas A.R.E. meetings, etc.] by return mail, if possible.

Most sincerely, Rudolph Johnson RJ:iba

R15. 2/25/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter (AIRMAIL) to HLC:

Rudolph Johnson (Letterhead) Attorney at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas

Mr. Hugh Lynn Cayce Association for Research and Enlightenment Virginia Beach, Virginia

Dear Hugh Lynn:

When we got to the depth of 1500 feet, the driller pulled up the tools and put a baler into the hole to bring out the debris. He brought out a baler of fresh water at the exact spot where your father’s geology said it was to be encountered. So far, the geology has been accurate almost to the inch all the way down. The hole is now making one baler of water an hour, but we can carry it for another couple of hundred feet with damage to the hole. We expect to set casing at about 1700 or 1800 feet, where your father said to do so. Our next marker is the cap mountain lime, which we expect to encounter at about 1800 feet. Everything is progressing nicely. A pin was sheared off the drilling tools dropped in the hole. However, on the first attempt, the tools were recovered and drilling was resumed. This has been a happy hole, with no bad luck plaguing the driller. Keep up your good work, and we will all keep our fingers crossed until we get down to the Hickory sand at about 2600 feet.

Please let me hear from you as soon as possible, with reference to your plans so that I can know how to arrange the meeting for Dallas.

With kindest regards, I am

Sincerely yours, [signed] Rudolph RJ:iba

R16. 3/11/52 Wire from Rudy requested copies of other EC readings of adjacent lands. [5628-4 through 5628-12]

R17. 3/20-21/52 Rudy’s letter: “Thanks for rdgs…they are proving of great value to me in analyzing the conditions at the well, and will save us much time and trouble, I am sure. We have already run into many of the conditions described. The information regarding the water, and also the hard formation below the 2000 ft. level are of great value to us. HL and I made a trip to the well last Sat., and he is well pleased… The Drilling is progressing nicely, although slowly, and we expect to be to the Hickory sand sometime between April 15 and May 1.”

R18. 4/12/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter: “A pin sheared off the drilling bit at 2000 feet and the bit has been in the hole for 2 weeks. We have not been able to get it out. This is quite serious but there are many things that can be done to get it out. The driller is trying hard and it is costing him lots of money, but he does not seem to be getting anywhere. We need the prayers of all the earnest souls you can contact for guidance as to getting the bit out of the hole. It weighs about 1500 pounds, is about 5 feet long and 10 inches round. I am sure it will be removed in proper time. Ask Florence Edmonds to help us.”

R19. 4/28/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter (AIRMAIL) to HLC:

Rudolph Johnson (Letterhead) Attorney at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas Mr. Hugh Lynn Cayce Association of Research and Enlightenment Virginia Beach, Virginia

Dear Hugh Lynn:

Two days after you left Dallas, we sheared off another pin and dropped the bit in the hole, which we have been unable to get out. You remarked that these fishing jobs sometimes last a month. This one has lasted five weeks. We have drilled past it, and have given up the idea of fishing it out. We will set a whipstock and go on past it just like a Cadillac passing a Model T Ford. We set off three charges of nitroglycerine in an effort to shake it loose. All this did was to shake some gas and oil loose. We got a good pressure of gas at the surface, and a nice oil show, which I do not think is commercially significant. However, we have had some excitement with it. We have been talking about setting some casing and testing this formation, but I have just about decided not to spend the money for this, as the laboratory analysis does not find enough to make it commercially productive.

The rancher under whose land we are drilling the well offered 1000 acres of royalty for sale. I sold it very quickly, thanks in large measure to your passing on the information. About 500 acres are owned by members of the Association, and I am quite anxious to have as many members own royalty in this lease block as possible. If we get production, I realize that all Association members will donate a part of their income to the work. Elsie and Bill Sechrist interested several other people on the West Coast, and they have bought. As a matter of fact, we could have sold 2000 acres if we had had it. Right now, several of the people have asked me to get royalty on land contiguous to the well, and I am seeing what can be done. The ranchers are getting very leery, however, and prices are going up.

The drilling operation has been so slow that we do not expect to be able to make a test sooner than June 1. We have still got 500 feet of very hard digging before us yet. We will need your good thoughts and wishes, as we have a very bad technical problem facing us now, with the directional hole around the bit. See what you can do for us.

Polly and I are so glad that you and Tom had a wonderful trip. We are looking forward to having you and Tom back with us around June 1. If you come back, then we will take you back to Virginia Beach in a brand-new fishtail Cadillac, paid for by the Cayce Oil Company. I am going to send Tom a copy of this letter, so as to keep him informed. I will write him in more detail at a later date. Polly and I send both of you our love, which is also to be shared with all the other Cayces.

Most sincerely, and as of old, [signed] Rudy RJ:iba

R20. 5/9/52 Rudy Johnson’s letter to Jane Williams: “Thanks for the cute cartoon which I got a bang out of. Oil wells are mighty fine things to have behind the barn.

“In order to save a little time, let me give you a little information which you will please pass on to Hugh Lynn. We have been on the fishing job for six weeks, but have not yet been able to get the tool out of the hole. The driller shot the hole with 70 quarts of nitroglycerine, and as a result the gas pressure was increased considerably. We flared the gas and it burned a flame from 10 to 15 feet high, and would have gone much higher had we not put it out with the baler. Everything seems to be working out all right, and I am not in the least discouraged over our delay. I am sorry to see the driller lose money on this hole but we are going to make it up by giving him some offset acreage. We expect to go ahead drilling within the next day or two, by sidetracking the bit, and expect to be able to run a test by June 15. Polly and I are planning to attend the Congress, and we will have something to tell you at that time.”

R21. 5/24/52 David E. Kahn’s letter to Rudolph Johnson:

Dear Rudy:

Hugh Lynn is here and we have been discussing the drilling of the San Saba property. It naturally brings back to me the work we did in Texas for over 7 years. When I first took Cayce to Texas, I financed our trip to Comyn where I spent almost $50,000. We then went to San Saba and to Luling. We were caught in the depression so others made the money. It’s like old times to see it going again. [See Cayce Petroleum Company - [3777] series.]

When I last saw Edgar B. Davis I asked him to share some of Luling because we had owned the leases and lost them to him. He promised and when the field came in he used all of our information, from my readings and the ones I got later and left in the files. He got 16 wells and sold the property for 14 million dollars. We got exactly nothing.

I wrote him and he said it was too bad but he had made other commitments. I wrote him that he was dealing with information that was universal and if he wanted luck he should remember he didn’t own or control nature. He died two years ago - broke in heart and pocket book.

The same thing happened in Commanche County. Our partners ganged up on us and took all the advantages of the readings. I paid for all the expenses or got the money from friends. When oil and gas appeared, it burned to the top of the derrick, they leased all around us and Cayce and I got nothing - neither did they - altho I know the oil and gas are there yet.

I have been going over the reading that I took and in every case it warned us to remember that all the “gold and silver” are mine, sayeth the Lord. The Blumenthal boys did the same thing. They each had over 1 million dollars, cut Judge and me out and ran things to suit themselves and they are selling post cards today.

I saw Judge last Wednesday morning about 3 AM as I do very often - he was standing in front of the mantle in my bedroom. The entire mantle was covered with what seemed 1000 openings of gas holes and all were burning in bright flames about one inch wide. He said, “my, we’ve got it at last and now we can do all the things we promised our people”. My wife heard the conversation. That night I met a Ky. oil man thru Riley - and we had a drink together - in walked Max Hammerline - I’ve not seen Max in 3 years or maybe 4. He said, “I’m drilling shallow wells in Ky.” I introduced the two and they are going to drill 5 wells from 400 to 1400 ft. in Ky. but when H. Lynn came in yesterday, I began to think about it and again last night, the same thing happened only Judge said it was San Saba - I should write you to watch the hole at 1900 ft. and on down, be careful of the strength of the gas as it is powerful and be certain to have your heads set right to control it or you will never control it - if it goes wild - he said, it would produce over 8000 barrels a day if hole was not bungled. He said, something about 6” casing and 5” casing on the ground - it was not clear - he seemed very happy but concerned. I am having my secretary go over our readings and see if I can get the dozens out that I took on this property. I went over it first and took the original readings on the ground.

I also got Bud Wilmot interested. We were boys together in Ky. Write me what questions come up - maybe I can get the answers. My son David contacts Cayce at will and has given very, very interesting readings on illness thru “the pencil”

• they are signed “Cayce”. So far they have been very accurate on “medicine” for “Doctors only”. He will be home from Harvard, Sunday and I’ll see what we can get. He writes for 45 minutes what Cayce dictates and its amazing how much they are “Cayce Readings”.

Another suggestion - wish you’d arrange an option on some of the close up acreage at a fair price so if the property becomes successful, we can take care of the people who stood by us for so many years and backed the readings. They got no returns financially but of course I never expected to because we gave our time and energy for 40 years to prove the “Readings”. I think an option on a checker boarded basis to be held for say 12 months would give Cayce a lot of small happiness and we could make good promises made to individuals outside of the association, the people in Atlanta, Kentucky and other places - one widow friend gave us $10,000 to try on the Texas property. She is now 75 years old and lots of others. Considering taxes, etc. it would not hurt the proposition and bring good luck for a big oil and gas field.

I may get to Texas and Oklahoma in the next 6 weeks and will let you know my plans. I have some wealthy friends in Dallas and Oklahoma City. Write me fully and let me know how you feel about my suggestions.

Pardon pen - as I’m at home today - HE spoke to about 1000 last night. We are still backing Sugrue and Lucile is very active with the association. Hope all is going well. Kindest regards and best wishes from House to House.

Sincerely, (DAVE)

Hammerling is the man (lawyer) who cleared Cayce, Gertrude, Gladys and HL when they were arrested by the complaint of Blumenthal about 1932 or 3 here in NY. He is drilling in California and Ky. now.

R22. 6/3/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter to DEK:

Rudolph Johnson (Letterhead) Attorney at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas

Mr. David Kahn 56 East 80th Street New York 21, N.Y.

Dear Dave:

Pardon my delay in not answering your letter sooner. I have been in San Antonio and San Saba and returned last night. Your letter was confusing but I spent some time on my trip thinking it over and hope that I have properly understood it.

In the first place, Edgar Cayce told me in 1943 about his Texas oil venture. He told me about the Humble people, Edgar B. Davis and the well that was drilled at Comyn. He expressed a keen disappointment over the so-called failure, not because of the resultant lack of money but chiefly because of the cloud on the validity of the readings. He stated that if big money had come into the picture at that time, it might not have been good for the work or the participants. He recognized that the most important phase of the work (life readings) developed subsequently, and if oil had produced millions for the individuals and the work in the early 1920’s, his readings would have been channeled principally toward the physical and with the need of money gone, might have diminished substantially. He also recognized the possibility of a terrific fight being waged between the partners when wealth aroused their avarice and cupidity.

He told me about San Saba but at that particular time did not identify it by name. He expressed an earnest desire for someone to drill the property and prove the readings, as well as provide a substantial income for the Association. He said that the readings repeatedly stated that income for the Association would stem from the natural resources of the earth. He thought this probably meant oil.

He told about the people who had put money into the venture; however, he had no statement to make about widows, orphans or other needy persons who had sacrificed their all in order to prove the validity of the readings. I gathered that all such transactions were understood to be based on the customary calculated business risk, and that when one lost, one simply lost.

When I came to Texas four years ago, I asked Hugh Lynn for this reading and have worked on the area at frequent intervals ever since. Being ever-mindful of the admonitions of Edgar Cayce that grasping, selfish, turbulent minds must be kept from the venture, I turned down opportunities to drill this well until I worked out what I hoped would be a happy connection. My three partners are Cayceites although they are not active members of the Association. Hugh Lynn has met my main partner, sized him up and thoroughly approved him. I personally vouch for the other two. They thoroughly realize that the geology on which we solely depend is information obtained through psychic sources. They believe and have great faith and we have set aside, by a legal instrument, for the benefit of the Association, a full partner’s interest which will be increased by contributions from our individual incomes, if the Forces see fit to grant us success.

My partners would not understand the logic of your request on the checker-board suggestion. As a matter of fact, I am not sure that it is clear to me. However, I have worked these titles rather carefully and I have assured my partners that I am prepared to defend, in any way necessary, claims of any kind and character which might be made against our lease titles in the entire lease block. I have filed affidavits and other instruments to clear up contingent claims growing out of these old leases owned by Wilmott and others. In event we get production, it is only natural to expect some “sore-heads” to assert claims, attempt to change their lease terms or come in with spurious demands in the hope of settling out for some cash. This sort of a situation, however, is right up my alley and I expect to be a very busy man if the well comes in.

I am sure that you would be interested in a recent word from Bud Wilmott. Our driller is the one who drilled the dry hole with Wilmott across the creek from our present location and knows him quite well. He saw him in Oklahoma (or Kansas) about two months ago and told him what we were doing. Wilmott expressed a great deal of interest and wished us success. He said he did not have any of the old readings but would be glad for us to have them if they could be located. He said that he had cured his drinking trouble through a goiter operation and seems to be getting along fine.

The driller told me that Wilmott told him that Edgar Cayce met him on a train coming South from New York City where Wilmott had been to raise money for an Oklahoma well after having gone broke. Cayce told him about the good prospects in San Saba. Wilmott arrived home and remembering that Cayce gave physical readings also, got a reading for the twelve-year old crippled son of his negro cook. The reading was followed, the boy who had never walked got on his feet and Wilmott thus believing, wrote Cayce for an oil reading and on the basis of the San Saba reading of 1926, moved to Texas. [Copied for [4837] file. GD.]

I am very glad to see that you are again keenly interested in the Association work. I hope to have the pleasure of meeting you at Virginia Beach at the Congress this June. I have met your lovely wife and have enjoyed your Son speaking at the Congress.

I recall after Edgar Cayce died and you were no longer a trustee that you wrote me stating in effect, that with the death of Cayce, the effective work of the Association had gone. You also stated that you had arranged to have the readings turned over to a university where they could be put to good use. I am hopeful that our present venture will permit the Association to go forward with the program established by the readings to disseminate the information to classes and then the masses.

In my opinion, Dave, the world needs the philosophy of the Cayce readings to learn a lesson in service as opposed to selfishness. I can imagine no greater dramatic proof of validity of all Cayce readings than that which might come through an oil well. It seems that all Americans drool at the thought of oil and take it for a symbol of great wealth. It represents the epitome of materialism. It is certainly something that everyone can understand and try to get his fingers into if possible.

I am glad to advise that I have been able to buy for members of the Association approximately 1400 acres of royalty under the well and adjoining it. They are putting their faith in the readings with good hard-earned dollars.

I appreciate your offer to have Buddy get a message through automatic writing but please do not do so. My experience with this has been that it is not only chiefly unreliable but is extremely dangerous to the person cultivating the “gift”. I know of at least two people close to me who passed within the shadows of the insane asylum through their venture in automatic writing. I am sure you will never let Buddy get into it deep enough to harm him.

I have a good bit of information about the well upon which I believe I can base a sensible decision. I think I know what dangers we are to encounter and I hope we will be ready for them.

I am sure it must give you a mighty thrill to know that seven years after Edgar Cayce’s death, there are four men willing to spend about $50,000 on a hole in the ground only because they believe that the information given by Cayce came truly from the universal consciousness and, therefore, was worthy to be acted upon. Three of these men know Cayce only through Tom’s book.

I am still surprised that some of you who had all this information available and who were so thoroughly indoctrinated with the spirit and truth of the readings, did not do sooner what I, a comparative new-comer, have fought and studied and planned and struggled to do. I suppose though that the convert to the faith carries more avid interest and militant spirit than those born to the faith.

It has been nice to hear from you and I would like for you to know what progress we are making. I am a very busy man and cannot write as many letters as I would like but no matter how busy I get, I shall always take time to write Hugh Lynn and Tom and since you are so close to Tom, I suggest that you check with him frequently on news from the well.

All good wishes, I am

Sincerely, [signed] Rudy RJ:NF

R23. 6/7/52 Letter from C. Rudolph Johnson: “We encountered a very nice show of oil at 2487 feet in a blue shale. Please check EC’s original geology information and you will see that this is exactly as he predicted it. He stated that we would encounter an overlap of sand at around 2200 feet and another overlap at around 2400 feet, and we found these conditions as predicted. We are now within approximately 100 feet of the hickory sand but I imagine it will be about a week before we can test it. In the next 100 feet we have the cap mountain lime which is very hard drilling and I doubt if we will be able to average over 25 feet per day. After we get into the hickory which is directly under the cap mountain, we expect to encounter considerable fresh water which will pose quite a problem. The success or failure of this well will depend upon how fortunate we are in handling this water, as it is expected under heavy pressure. When we pass through it we will then set our 7” pipe in the sand and cement it heavily. Through the 7” pipe we will then drill about 25 feet to 50 feet into the sand where we expect to encounter very heavy gas pressure. This will also constitute a big problem as we must exercise great care to keep from having a blowout. Send us your good thoughts and let me have your suggestions, if any.”

R24. 6/14/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter to HLC:

Johnson & Mead (Letterhead) Attorneys at Law Mercantile Bank building Dallas 1, Texas

Mr. Hugh Lynn Cayce Association for Research & Enlightenment Virginia Beach, Virginia

Dear Hugh Lynn:

I am in San Saba and your letter of June 10th was read to me over the telephone.

It does not look as if I will be able to come to Virginia Beach as soon as planned. As a matter of fact, I don’t know when I can leave because of difficulties at the well. We have a bit in the hole and another fishing job in progress. We are now at a depth of 2682’ and hope to reach the hickory sand within the next fifty feet. When this is done, we will have a delay in arranging to take care of the strong water pressure which we expect to appear in the top portion of the sand. After we get through the water, we will set our 7” oil string in cement which will require three days to harden. Possibly all of this can be done by Thursday of next week. We are hopeful of being able to make our first test not later than Saturday, June 21. This will prevent Polly and me driving up with Taze who expects to leave Thursday or Friday. If it looks like our situation will hold me here past the date of the Congress opening, I will plan to fly up with Polly and it may be that we will not get there much sooner than Saturday, June 28, in order to attend the banquet. In the meantime, I will let you know, of course. This means that I may have to cancel the reservation but I will let you know about this as soon as possible.

I do not know if Taze will want to go without me. I am asking him to write you directly about his plans.

I am blocking up more acreage; and, if we get what we expect, it will be okay.

Most sincerely, [signed] Rudy RJ/lg

R25. 6/25/52 Rudolph Johnson’s wire:

NF095 DL PD=MK DALLAS TEX 25 246P= HUGH LYNN CAYCE= ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH & ENLIGHTENMENT V=

DRILLING CAP LIME AT 2750 FEET. HAVE ENCOUNTERED OIL SHALE. SHOULD REACH HICKORY SAND WITHIN SEVEN DAYS. SORRY DEVELOPMENTS HERE HAVE KEPT ME FROM ATTENDING CONGRESS. CAYCE GEOLOGY REMAINS ACCURATE. GIVE MY REGARDS TO ALL MY FRIENDS=

RUDOLPH JOHNSON=

R26. 6/29/52 Letter from Rudy Johnson:

Dear Hugh Lynn and Tom:

I am writing you together to save an extra letter. If Tim is away from the Beach, Hugh Lynn, please forward.

Tonight the well is down to 2763 feet. Although the original reading said we would hit the Hickory Sand at 2600 feet I am not discouraged. I think Willmott must have hit the Hickory at about 2787, so we could have news for you any day. Polly and I are disappointed that we could not make the Congress, but Polly has it all figured out. Suppose we had been able to make the dramatic announcement on Saturday as we had hoped

• then there would have been widespread publicity at a time we were not ready to cope with its results. There would have been a swarm of people after me - the readings - our property here, and the competition would become so keen that we would not have time to organize properly. As it is, we will have time to get everything ready. In the last 3 weeks, I have leased up about 6,500 acres in addition to the 11 or 12,000 we started with. I am starting in to lease up about 6 or 7 thousand more. If we get a well, I want us to be well protected. Polly is here with me and we are living in a tourist cabin. We will have been here 4 weeks next Friday. We have worked hard, but have had a bushel of fun. Polly was especially disappointed that we missed the Congress, but perhaps next year we can make it. Things were too critical here to leave.

Ken Broman, from California, came in to see us Friday and left yesterday. He owns 50 acres of royalty. He is much interested and wanted a copy of the reading. I hemmed and hawed, so he said “never mind, I’ll write Hugh Lynn for a copy.” I let it pass and did not say that neither he nor anyone else would be able to get any oil readings. If he writes you as I think he will, you might tell him that no exceptions can be made, and that the oil readings are under the sole charge of the “Oil and Gas Development Committee.” Very soon you will have many requests for these readings. please instruct Gladys to keep them under lock and key. They might be valuable enough to be the subject of theft.

Our drilling has passed thru the oil shale and we are now in the hard cap mountain lime. The sand should lie under this within 100 feet. I think we are prepared to handle the heavy gas pressure we expect to encounter. The problem concerned me night and day. I dreamed about it. So Ray Denhart and I went to Breckenridge and bought a heavy control head, a 6000 pound pressure gate valve, two smaller valves, and an arrangement whereby we can stand 30 feet from the control head and turn a wheel and cut off the pressure, in case the gas gets to acting up. Three nights ago I dreamed we had a new driller who did not stop drilling when he passed from the lime into the sand. Dreamed he drilled 100 feet into the sand and the gas pressure blew all the water out of the hole. At first when I saw it shoot 30 feet into the air I thought it was oil and out of control (This is what we don’t want). But then I got some of it on me and saw it was only the black water that has been running from the hole for months. Ray was there and grinning - Then I knew that here was the place to set the pipe. The gas pressure was present, but not too strong. There was no oil in evidence as yet, but my dream feeling was that we were on top of it. All this corresponded with what The Boss said we would encounter. So I am going to check this to see if we should not set our oil string 100 feet into the sand.

Tom, what are your immediate plans? When the well comes in we will need you and Hugh Lynn at once. You must help us work out a practical news release program. Neither Polly nor I are in favor of a publicity situation. I think that nothing should be printed until we all have our ducks in a row.

(1) Let me have enough time to protect the Association as to acquiring more property. (2) No press releases that would minimize the value of books, articles, etc., that we might use to further the work. (3) Plan the type of publicity that is to be utilized and set up an authority to control it. (4) Determine by what means the greatest good can come to the Association thru use of the publicity. (5) Set up a plan for handling the inquiries resulting from the publicity.

Tom, I am glad you are going to have a swell trip to Scotland, but, Boy, we are surely going to need you. Please think these things over and write us an outline of your thoughts before you leave, and remember, you are coming back to Texas to walk again. Polly and I know this and so do all your friends here. Taliaferro sends his warmest wishes for your health and happiness to you and says he is expecting you back soon. Polly and I will have a place for you to stay when you return.

We will be in San Saba at Hi-Land Courts until Thursday of this week, and if we hit the sand, we will possibly be here an extra week or 10 days.

Pray that we use good judgement and do what we are supposed to do, at all times doing God’s will.

As of old, Rudy -

R27. 8/5/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter:

Johnson & Meade (Letterhead) Attorneys at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas

Dear Peter, Ken, Elsie, Bill and Hugh Lynn:

I am sending a copy to all of you to save time. This is in answer to Peter’s and Ken’s last letters.

There is dissention among the partners, also with the drilling contractor, which has brought about a strained relation between me and two of my partners. Without going into details. My partners have telephoned me long distance on several occasions while they were drinking, and have said things which caused me to take issue to the point that two or three times I have lost my temper. I felt that I was not being treated fairly, and perhaps they felt the same way toward me. However, last Sunday the two partners and I spent the day together in Waco, and ironed out our differences and now we are in accord as business partners. I have no way of knowing if we are in accord as spiritual entities as we cannot examine other’s hearts.

The driller has not made any hole in six weeks. He has drilled on top of the iron in the hole until he broke off in the hole a second bit yesterday. I think he has run short on good judgement and my partners agree. They are sending him a registered letter signed by their attorney, advising him that if he does not complete the hole before October 6th., pursuant to his drilling contract, they will not pay delay rentals for the 12,000 acres in the block due October 6th., but will abandon the hole. In this case the driller will have drilled at his own expense and this, of course, will be disastrous to him. The partners tell me that they may put up a little money (3,000) to be paid the land owners for a ninety day extension past October 6th. My experience tells me this will fail as the land owners are suspicious and the only way to save the drilling block is to put up the delay rental of 1.00 per acre ($12,000).

My partners have plenty of money and their attitude is not dictated by lack of cash. They are used to gambling and frankly I do not think they will drop the matter as they threatened, but it is possible that they will. Being a mystic I cannot be overly apprehensive, as my life has proved that calamities later turn into blessings. If my partners decide to get out, it will be of their own free will, but I will continue to do everything possible to keep the deal intact so as to finish up what I have started.

I wish that there were some members in the association with sufficient capital to buy out my partners if they should finally decide to sell. I do not at this time know if they would want to sell or for what price. I do know that the driller is having so much hard luck that conceivably he will not be to the hickory sand before October 6th. On that day the rentals of $12,000 will be due, and unless an extension is worked out or unless the partners agree to pay, the leases will be lost for non-payment.

It is possible that the partners would be willing to have some one step into their place. They have got approximately 50,000 in the hole and it would be necessary to pay 12,000 in rentals on October 6th. My partners own 6/8’s of the 7/8’s working interest. I own 1/8 and the Association owns a free 1/8 over ride.

My faith in the presence of the oil is in no way diminished; as a matter of fact it is stronger at this point than it ever has been, as I have had repeated assurances from many sources that we are on the right track and that we only have to handle it properly to produce results.

In view of all the prayers being said, and the work being done for the success of the well, I am convinced that there is a higher reason for this delay than merely the clumsiness of the driller. Perhaps dissension is the factor. Perhaps the time has come for the Forces to change the operators. Perhaps there are some people more closely attuned to the spirit and purposes of this undertaking who are standing ready to enter and to participate. As I consider the money necessary to buy out my partners, the price seems large, yet I know that this can be paid easily if the Forces WILL it.

Something has urged me for several days to write all of you this letter so that the problem may be explained, and the answer invited.

Think it over, and let me hear from you.

Sincerely, [signed] Rudy RJ:pj

R28. 8/11/52 Peter Ballbusch’s letter to Rudy Johnson, subject “Discussion of the Well”:

Dear Rudy,

Yesterday afternoon we got together at Jessica’s, read your letter and discussed the many things concerning the well. The meeting started at 4 p.m. and broke up at 6:45, in other words we covered the ground pretty thoroughly. Present were Gene and Jessica Madigan, Esther Pierce, Katherine Whitman, Ken Broman and Heda and I. Missing were Frances Robey, Burnice Ridgeway* and Louis Love. They will be notified of our conclusions by letter and phone. In this way, all those out here concerned with the bringing in of the well will be notified.

Ken read us first some excerpts from the book “OIL” on drilling operations, leases and royalties, so that the issues involved would be clear to everyone. Then he read your letter and we started the general discussion. Here are some of the main points:

1. We know that no one in the Western Groups has the money to buy out your partners. The finances out here are pretty slim and I doubt that even the $12,000. - could be raised out in the West, that is, the money you indicated which was needed for the renewal of the leases. - I am talking now of the Los Angeles and San Francisco Groups and I am not including the Eastern Groups. Generally speaking, people with money don’t seem to be attracted to Group work, only a strong need of some kind gives a person the “stick-to-it-ness” which one must have to work things out together in a group.

2. The question was raised, if such a change of partners was actually needed, or if the entity: Rudy Johnson had some karmic pattern to work out with those men, who are now his partners?

3. The all important point of “PURPOSE,” came up. It seemed

• [2/9/79 GD’s note: Berniece Ridgeway was later known in the E.C. work under the name Bereniece Wiatt, then Bernice Brown (under Bernice Brown she painted a portrait of Edgar Cayce, from a photograph, in 1975, which hangs in one of the Edgar Cayce Foundation offices.]

to be strange to the group, discussing the issues, that the Well seems haunted with so many difficulties. Either - obstacles are needed to test those concerned with the bringing in of the well, or the obstacles have arisen because things are not “spiritually right,” or maybe, and that seems to be the most important point “GOD WANTS TO BE SURE OF THE PURPOSE OF EVERYONE CONCERNED.”

Maybe everyone should ask himself this question, “Why is the Well being dug? Is it for the purpose that God’s words, ways and work will be spread? Or is it for personal gain or the aggrandizement of the ego? All those concerned with the affairs of the Association should ask themselves this fundamental and vital question. Let us go humbly into our closet and pray: “Father, let this enterprise be for the Good of all, let thy blessings flow from it to everyone. And may thy will be done in thy way, in thy time and for thy purpose, oh Lord - Amen!”

Our prayer must include everyone, your two partners Rudy and also the driller, who must be paid for the work he has done.

4. The Los Angeles Groups would like to have the names of ALL THE PARTNERS, AND THE DRILLER, so that our prayers can be formulated for “Unity of purpose, and harmony”. We feel that then only can the Best be achieved.

5. We tried to look at the Well situation through the eyes of your partners. So, we reasoned along the following lines:

If we had invested $50,000. - in a gamble, (and for them it is a gamble) then we would like to know that we’d have the best man for the job. We do not know who chose the driller, but should you Rudy have chosen the man, then we could readily understand that these men might feel you partly responsible for all the bad luck. Again, the question of a karmic pattern arose. Something that has to be worked out between you, the partners and the driller. But the threat of non-payment, for not bringing in the Well in time, does not strike us as a Christian way of doing business!

We know nothing about the driller, so we cannot judge if he is an expert at his job, and if he is flexible and adaptable enough to accept sound advice - but the little item about not wanting to contact the firm which specializes in the setting of the cement, gave us food for thought. However, no matter how good or bad the man is in his job, he must get paid for the work done, or the people concerned with this deal, will not have any luck. You know that yourself, Rudy.

6. Now, what can be done about the situation? First of all earnest prayer and self-searching. Each individual concerned with the bringing in of the Well must do that. In your own case, Rudy, you must ask yourself the vital question of “purpose.” Why do you want to bring in the Well? For God’s good, or your own good? Then you must ask yourself: Have I failed my partners in any way? And if you find that you have, then you must kiss and make up. After all, you are the metaphysician amongst them. You KNOW, ergo you have the greater responsibility. Now any kind of failure concerning you may be indirect “maybe you chose the wrong man for the job - or the hole is not exactly on the right spot - or the hole is being drilled on a slant and is therefore harder to drill and it means a longer job. Any or all of these things might be true. It does not matter how direct or indirect the cause of dissention concerns you, you must make a good and a direct gesture to smooth things out. As far as you are concerned, it does not matter if your partners are “Christians,” by this I mean followers of the ways of the Christ, or not, but You must be one foremost and always.

I know, you have a big burden to carry, you get all the blame and may never get much credit after the work is accomplished

• but you are a worker and a warrior of the Lord, and you must accept all these things with a smile, “Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing!” So prayed the Christ on the Cross and so must you pray, bearing your own cross. If you feel the need to relief the choked up emotions in your chest, you can always write a letter to a friend, and cuss as much and as loud as you want. So, in case you need a wailing wall, (and I feel you do) I offer myself for that job.

7. Now to the financial affairs. First we believe that no one has enough money to buy out your partners. But we may be wrong in that. Anyhow, after you have heard from Hugh Lynn, you will have all the dope answering that question. So, you may have to work together with your partners in a christian and gentlemanly manner. I can hardly believe that two men will give up an enterprise into which they have sunk $50,000.

• so close to its fulfillment. But if they should, why even try to buy them out? If they have not the wisdom, the faith and the stamina to see a thing through, then let them lose their money, as any man will, who give up when the going gets tough.

Your only concern is the holding of the leases and the continued drilling until the Well comes in. You have now leases for 12,000 acres which must be covered with 1 per acre on the 6th of October. And you probably need another2 to 3000. - for the finishing of the drilling job. All in all $15,000. - If your partners should bow out, you would need that much money to finish the job.

Now the question arises: Do you need to hold all those 12,000 acres? Why couldn’t it be done with the 3000 acres of Rocky Pasture, and the few adjoining leases to protect those who have invested there? In this way you would only have to cover around 4000 acres, and if you figure on about 3000. - to finish the drilling, then the over all amount needed would come to 7000. - I feel that that much could be raised amongst Group members, but I am not so sure about $15,000. - But here again Hugh Lynn is needed to complete the financial picture. So let us compare notes. Once this is done, the Los Angles groups propose the following:

The three Los Angeles Groups would sponsor a mimeographed letter, giving a quick history of the Well, showing what it would mean for the Association and proposing to raise the last needed money amongst those who are interested. In this fashion the suggestion would come from the Outside and not from the Headquarters. In other words, it would be the Los Angeles Study Group’s idea, and not Hugh Lynn’s. I feel that such a stand is needed to protect the spiritual welfare of the Association as such. But I heartily disagree with Elsie Sechrist, who seems to be fearful of any kind of money raising amongst the Groups, or Group members. If a church needs a new roof, it raises the money amongst its members, and all those belonging to the church WILL GIVE ACCORDING TO THEIR FAITH AND MEANS. Now what means Well more, than a roof for the Association, the means to pay its secretaries, the means to microfilm the messages, the means to spread its work and finance its research. So let us not be too squeamish concerning the needed finances. We do not tell anybody, you should contribute, but we will tell people, it means this and that, and if you like to contribute, do this in your own way and according to your own faith and means. But I want to stress again, that the suggestion should come from the outside, and be made a Group Project for an idea which this Group has cooked up. There is not the slightest doubt in my mine, about the successful outcome of such a Group sponsored letter.

And now, let us sum up this letter: first we must search ourselves for the true purpose of the drilling of the Well. Second we must pray for all and everyone concerned with the Well. Third we must all do our part see the enterprise through in case the partners should back out. Here it is in a nut-shell. It is simple enough, once it is put on a spiritually practical basis.

The Los Angeles Groups want you to know, that they are 100% behind you Rudy, as long as everything is handled along Christian principles. (We could never agree to a non-payment of the driller for work done.) We realize very well how much of a burden has been placed on your shoulders, but we also feel that you will be given the insight, the wisdom and the strength to carry the job to a successful end, as long as you rely on God and dedicate a goodly percentage of the blessings received to further his word and works. We all will have to do the same. Well then, with prayers said alright, with the purpose set right, and with all our faith given so that his blessings shall flow to all, what I ask you, could ever go wrong? Nothing, Rudy! So, gird yourself, you warrior of the Lord, and fight on his fight in strength and righteousness, and you will win. And as far as we are concerned, we will help you as much as we possibly can. With Love from all the Group Members, and with faith from everyone, I greet you in their name!

Cordially: [signed] Peter

R29. 8/21/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter:

Johnson & Mead (Letterhead) Attorneys at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas

Dear Peter, Ken and Elsie:

I have received letters from each of you and appreciate their value sincerely. They have all been very helpful. A good bit of the thinking, on my part, has been changed beneficially and I now think that we are on the road to successful completion of the project. Things are very harmonious and the driller reports that he is making a little progress in the well. He is making on an average of two feet a day and seems to be drilling up the whipstock which has gotten loose in the hole. This will turn out all right if he is able to continue to do so but it will be a very slow job as you can imagine. He now reports that he estimates that he is within three feet of the bottom of the old bit and as soon as he can get by it he can set the 7” pipe and proceed on down to the hickory sand. The trick, of course, is drilling up all the iron in the bottom of the hole and getting past the old bit.

The names of my partners are: W. L. Goble, Waco, Texas; Jack W. Pillow, Memphis, Tennessee; Arnold L. Willis, Chicago, Illinois. Will Goble is the most active and has worked with me closely on this matter. He shows a great deal of interest and has made frequent trips to the well and also to Dallas to have conferences with me. His decisions control the decisions of the other two partners. He has put up a total of approximately 27,000.00 and has also advanced an additional 7500.00 out of his pocket to help the driller buy needed pipe. He is a good businessman and it was his suggestion that the letter be written to the driller; and, also, he suggested that the partners might decide to let the leases lapse if we do not get a showing prior to October 6. Frankly, I have actually never believed that they would allow this to be done as they have got too much invested to drop the matter at this point. As to the other letters which I wrote you, I would like to explain that I characteristically take an extreme view of a situation. I gave the matter to you in its worse light. When I am faced with a problem, I do not attempt to gloss over it or indulge in wishful thinking. I consider it proper to reduce it to a hard statement of facts and then set about finding a solution for it.

I want you to know that my hope and interest in this well has increased with the problem rather than diminished. I have no doubt but what it will be carried forward to a conclusion. This is not a project to be abandoned; it is a matter to be worked on in every way possible until it has been finally completed. It is wonderful to know that you people are standing by and furnishing me with a great deal of strength.

If we had reached the oil sand during the steel strike, we could not have produced it as we would not have been able to locate the necessary casing and tubing. Yesterday, an oil well supply man telephoned me saying that when we get ready for tubing and casing that it will be available.

In order to show you that I am cognizant of the problems involved, I will tell you a short story about some advice that Edgar Cayce gave me in 1943. As an attorney, I represented a man who had a commitment from FHA to build one hundred (100) houses near the Atomic Bomb Plant at Oakridge, Tennessee. After we had gotten started, it turned out this man did not have any money. Since I believed in him, I got a client to put up the finances and as the building of the houses progressed, my client put up a total of 483,000.00. We estimated at the outset we would have a 100,000.00 construction profit which would be split between the three of us. Before the houses were finished, and due to bad judgement, bad luck and changing economic conditions we were faced with a 100,000.00 loss. I had signed all the notes and was personally obligated along with my client. At the time we started the project I was dubious about continuing with it and asked Edgar Cayce for advice. The information told me to continue with the project, build the one hundred houses, but not tackle any more and after I had finished to get back into law business. After receiving this advice, my doubts were resolved and I, therefore, felt safe about getting my client to put up all of this money. However, I was faced with so many problems that I cursed the day that I ever took this advice. I was unable to give very much attention to my law practice, so it was necessary for me to employ two other lawyers to look after it for me. We met with every kind of difficulty. In one week we had six labor strikes. We were unable to get material and equipment and for many days straight running, although we were unable to use our carpenters due to lack of material, we had to pay them just the same. Twenty-three days of rain in the month of February, 1944, cut down production to practically nothing. Toward the end, I had to take over the entire responsibility of the thing myself, employ a carpenter foreman and put him in charge of the project and supervise many of the details myself. After the houses were completed and approved by FHA and a mortgage company located who was willing to take the questionable loans, we had a 65,000.00 construction loss. In the meantime, the builder had gone to California and I had to pay back all of this money to my client. By the grace of God, I carried the proposition forward and within the next two years had paid back all the money, plus interest, and had a nice profit in the bank. My financial partner refused to take any of the profits and I ended up making about 25,000.00 out of the deal. However, this was the hardest 25,000.00 I ever made as I developed a stomach ulcer, a crop of gray hairs and a violent antipathy for Parlor Cars on Railroad trains. On the other side of the ledger, I developed a very tough skin and an ability to roll with a punch. I had more problems during that time than the average lawyer has over a fifteen year period, and I developed a great deal of competence and confidence under conditions of extreme pressure which have stood me in good stead. After I got the perspective of the situation, I blessed Edgar Cayce for the advice which kept me in the picture and permitted me to have these experiences.

I have no tender illusions about a job which has been turned over to a person under these conditions (The Cosmic). I was selected for the job. I tried to prepare myself for it, and I have enthusiastically enjoyed it. I do not expect a job like this to turn out to be a soft snap just because it is backed up by the right sources (The Cosmic). Everybody connected with this has to go through a spiritual autopsy to see if their guts are in the right place. My previous letters to you have only been reporting surface findings and have not mentioned very much about my sub-surface convictions.

Many thanks again for your wonderful letters and I want all of you to keep shooting them to me as fast as you have time to pull the trigger.

Polly and I are looking forward to getting with you folks and talking, talking, talking, talking.

Love to you all, [signed] Rudy RJ/lg

R30. 9/9/52 Jack Pillow’s letter to HLC:

Jack W. Pillow Company (Letterhead) 901 Falls Building Memphis 3, Tennessee Mr. Hugh Lynn Cayce Assoc. for Research and Enlightenment Virginia Beach, Virginia

Dear Mr. Cayce:

Enclosed is check in the amount of $5.40 made payable to Gladys Davis, for which we would like you to send us two bottles of sinus medicine such as we received in December, 1951.

Thanking you, we are

Yours very truly, [signed] Jack W. Pillow W/Enc.

R31. 9/22/52 Rudolph Johnson’s memorandum:

MEMORANDUM TO ROYALTY OWNERS

On Saturday, September 20, we hit the hickory sand. The depth was approximately 2900 feet. As expected, it carried a heavy flow of fresh artesian water. This was the condition that caused the last operator to lose his hole and fail to go down any farther with his deep test. We will proceed cautiously on through the water into the hickory sand and test it carefully foot by foot. As yet there is no oil or gas show in this particular level but it is as expected. We are expecting a shale break about 20 or 30 feet down, under which we are hopeful of finding the gas and oil. The drilling should be fairly easy from here on out and I would think that by Wednesday or Thursday, September 25, we should be able to make a report one way or the other.

I am leaving at once for San Saba and will stay with the well until its value has been ascertained. You may expect to hear from me very soon if the news is favorable.

Most sincerely, RUDOLPH JOHNSON RJ/lg

R32. 9/30/52 Rudolph Johnson’s memorandum:

MEMORANDUM TO ROYALTY OWNERS

I am pleased to report that as of Monday, September 29, 1952, we are drilling in the Hickory Sand at a depth of 3110 feet. We are averaging fifty feet a day. Our best information is to the effect that we have from five to six hundred feet of Hickory Sand which contains shale breaks. We have now drilled better than 200 feet of this particular section of sand and, therefore, have 300 to 400 feet, containing the shale breaks, yet to go. After we leave the shale section, we will be in the lower portion of the Hickory which is expected to be about 300 feet deep and which we are hoping will carry oil.

Everything seems to be in fine shape and under control, and I will keep you advised.

Sincerely yours, RUDOLPH JOHNSON RJ/lg

[Copied in minutes of 10/8/52 Executive Committee mtg. of A.R.E.]

R33. 10/7/52 Rudolph Johnson’s [AIR MAIL] letter to HLC:

Johnson & Mead (Letterhead) Attorneys at law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas 1, Texas

Mr. Hugh Lynn Cayce c/o Association for Research & Enlightenment Virginia Beach, Virginia

Dear Hugh Lynn:

We reached the Hickory Sand at 2915 feet and found a considerable flow of fresh artesian water just as Wilmott experienced when he drilled the first well in 1929. We have made very good time in the Hickory Sand although we have had two fishing jobs in it. We are now down to 3206 feet. We now seem to be in the top section of the lower portion of the hickory Sand which should be the portion that will carry oil, if any is to be found. So far we have had no show of gas or oil in the sand. This means that if oil is below us there must be an impervious layer of rock or shale separating the section in which we are now drilling from the lower section carrying the oil and gas.

Presently we are in the middle of a discussion with the driller on how much he will charge to complete the well. He maintains that his contract was performed when he reached 3,000 feet and is negotiating with us for a higher price. I think that he is entitled to it as so far he has lost $15,000 on the hole but has stuck to it like a man. He tells me that he has mortgaged his automobile and his home to get the money to finish up the well. Naturally he does not want to add to his losses. My partners feel that the contract requires him to continue to carry the responsibility on down to that part of the sand which is expected to carry oil and they, so far, have not been willing to increase his rate of pay. I believe, however, that we can get these matters adjusted in a conference which we are expecting to have in Waco tomorrow. My partners have indicated that they will not drill any deeper than 3500 feet unless we get a show within that depth.

If this happens, then I will do what I can to finish up the job.

I have gotten the landowners to agree to an extension of time to February 6, 1953, which I hope will give us sufficient time to finish up this job. I still have faith in this well and believe that everything will turn out all right.

Sincerely, [signed] Rudy RJ/lg

[Note at margin]: Yesterday in Waco, Gobel, Denhart and I agreed to resume drilling the hole at our sole risk at $12.00 per hour. This is fair and was proposed by Denhart. Now the responsibility is all ours. Gobel has expressed intention of quitting the hole if we run into trouble which will be costly. I now await developments. If the Forces want to change the personnel of this set up, we will begin to catch hell. I certainly hope things go smoothly and I will keep you informed -

[Copied in A.R.E. minutes 12/10/52]

R34. 10/23/52 (Thursday) Rudolph Johnson’s letter:

Dear Ken: Just got your letter and since am talking along the same line I made a carbon at same time. Hope you can read it. If the oil is there, we can’t miss it by being in a narrow edge of the soil. It’s there in quantity or not at all. Rudy.

Dear Peter:

I never learned to use the typewriter so my personal letters must be in longhand. Now…about the well location and the strata in which the oil is to be found. First, of all, let me say that Cayce reported the pool “is in Rocky Pasture and vicinity”. I have leased up all of Rocky Pasture and vicinity. Next, Cayce said the place to drill is 30 paces north, almost due north, from the spot where Big Rocky Creek joins Little Rocky. Here, he said, is a flat, or mesa land, and here is the place to drill for oil. That is precisely where we are drilling. I located it with a compass and measured it off with a string and it is 30 of my paces long, and my legs are not as long as Cayce’s were.

So, we are in the exact spot Cayce said to dig. Cayce gave a second location. He said to drill to the south and west of Big and Little Rocky Pasture where “there is the outcropping of the enormous lime rock”. This would be south of the gully. My purpose in drilling is in testing the validity of the Cayce readings, and in proving that actually the readings have never been wrong. My purpose is not just finding oil or in getting psychic help from various sources that will help us to get oil in some other spot. If there is not oil in Rocky Pasture at the spot where Cayce told me to dig, I would not be interested in digging elsewhere on advice of another psychic. Cayce is either right or wrong. If we use outside psychic help (for myself) it will be to confirm what Cayce has said about the present hole. No thing or information short of actually drilling it to the GRANITE will condemn it for me.

I am sending you a drawing of Rocky Pasture and part of vicinity which I would be glad for you to show to your psychic friends. I will be interested in receiving their information but their opinion will not influence me either way. I will believe the oil is there unless I dig to the GRANITE and under proper discover conditions fail to find any trace. I would not be interested in giving up this hole short of the granite and drilling on the property elsewhere.

The Cayce Petroleum Co. (Edgar, Dave Kahn et al) started a well in Rocky Pasture in 1921 about 1030 yards northwest of our present site. The driller contracted to go to the sand or granite, whichever was reached sooner. They all had a falling out and the driller was losing money. One night he hauled in some granite rocks and dumped them up and offered proof that he had completed his contract and thus quit the hole. In 1926 Cayce met an oil man on a train and told him about Rocky Pasture. He told this man, Wilmott, about his healing work. Wilmott went home to Ky. and talked about Cayce and got a physical reading for the son of his colored cook. The boy was 12 and had never walked and they had tried to have him cured. The reading was followed and the boy walked. This validated the Cayce information, so Wilmott asked for an oil reading and got the one in Rocky. He made his location in the wrong spot, 65 degrees east and on the wrong side of the creek. However, the readings promised him oil. The oil is reported to be in the hickory sand and the sand was supposed to be about 2600 feet. Wilmott drilled about 2900 feet and got the sand. The readings had not told him to expect water and as he got water and not oil he gave up the hole. We got the sand and water at 2915 feet. I was prepared for it.

The readings have never said how thick the sand is or how deep in the sand the oil is to be found. They are silent on this. We all naturally expected the oil to be in the top of the sand. Generally that is where it is found if it is there at all. The water is usually in the bottom. So I reasoned there must be an impervious cap separating the oil from the water. We have drilled in the last week such a cap and it was 70 feet thick and hard as limestone. We are still in it and it is costing $200 a day to make 5 or 6 feet.

No one has ever drilled this deep here before. We have no knowledge as to how thick the sand formation is. I think it is much thicker than people suspect. No one ever thot there would be such a thick sedimentary deposit here which is one reason the major oil companies have condemned the area. I think there is oil around the bottom of the sand…perhaps we have to go hundreds of feet deeper. God only knows.

1. Cayce said to drill here.
2. We are drilling the sand.
3. He said the oil is in the hickory sand.
4. We must finish the testing of the sand all the way to the granite before giving it up as a dry hole.

My partners have not given up yet and may keep drilling past 3500 feet. We are now about 3460 feet.

I would not have the faith if I had not gone thru hell on another Cayce reading. That experience almost broke my health, but it taught me many things. I found out that Cayce was right. A person has to accept the information in its broad sense and not be dismayed when the details don’t check out. The result will be satisfactory if a person just keeps on…so you people out there just pray for me to have the strength to keep on. We must not give up or change our plans.

And all of us must (or should) tithe out of our earnings… this is in addition to the interest already set aside for the Association.

Yours in the faith, Rudy

[Copied in A.R.E. minutes 12/10/52]

R35. 11/19/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter to Mr. Broman:

Johnson & Mead (Letterhead) Attorneys at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas

Mr. Kenneth V. Broman 8026 Truxton Avenue Los Angeles 45, California

Dear Ken:

Thank you for your recent letter. There are no developments on the well. It is still standing inactive at 3500 feet. I have attempted to get several of the Eastern royalty owners interested but without success. One of the royalty owners in Chicago is interested but will not have any money until after the first of the year. That will be too late to save the expense of pulling the pipe, plugging the well and then going back in and resetting the pipe. Again the pipe may not be available at that time.

As you know, all of the pipe used in this well was obtained by government allocation. If we pull this pipe, my partners, who own it, will want to sell it and once sold will no longer be available for this well. Nor will any other string of pipe be available for this well. If we are going to do anything about continuing the drilling, it must be done within the next week or ten days as the driller wants to move the rig and get on with another job. While I have asked for 15,000.00 to finish up this hole, I believe that it could be done for possibly half of that amount. In other words, we have drilled 500 feet of the sand at a cost of about 6,000.00. If we had 2,000.00 for a new cable plus about 5,000.00 for the next 500 feet of sand, I believe this would be sufficient. Of course, I am assuming, and hoping, that we will lose no more tools and will experience as easy drilling as we have so far in the sand. Let’s all put our heads together and see if somehow or other we can get up about $7,500.00 to start on. I have a feeling that the hard cap which we have drilled for the past 100 feet cannot be much thicker and once we get through it we will be in a very soft sand formation which will make about 20 to 30 feet per day. In the soft structure above, some days we made as much as 60 feet. Let’s all keep thinking about this thing and see what we can do.

My kindest regards to all.

Sincerely, [signed] Rudy RJ/lg

[Note at margin] Dear Hugh Lynn: Many thanks for your wonderfully encouraging letter. I’m still trying. Rudy -

R36. 11/20/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter to Mr. Ballbusch:

Johnson & Mead (Letterhead) Attorneys at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas, Texas

Mr. Peter Ballbusch 2359 Loma Vista Place Los Angeles 26, California

Dear Peter:

Thank you so much for your recent fine letter. All of us who pretend to understand the Cayce readings must agree that a failure to find the results promised by the information must necessarily be charged to the human element which seeks such results. That is my explanation of our present situation at the well. Ken Broman read all the readings and he will tell you that the information promised oil at the 2600 foot level. When it did not appear, I studied the readings carefully for a new interpretation. I concluded that the specific footage was intended to be interpreted in general terms and that it was the Hickory Sand which was to be found at around this level and that the readings directed a complete exploration of the Hickory Sand without reporting on its thickness, or in what section of it the oil would be found. The oil is either there or it is not there. The fact that it is there does not guarantee that it will be reached, or produced even if it is reached. There is no guarantee that it will be produced and, as Ralph Courtney says, “The high purposes of the participants do not guarantee success.”

Some may take the view that the readings have reported the situation in this inaccurate manner for the special purpose of providing experiences and initiations for the participants. I denounce this conclusion. If this were true, the information would be mischievous and would be employing the theory that the end justifies the means.

You mention the possibility of a mistake having been made in the location of the well. The readings said, “There is seen there passes through this tract of land know as Rocky Pasture a gulch, or a gully, or a creek known as Little and Big Rocky. These join together on the Western side of the tract in the North and Western side about fifty yards from the line of the Murray property, see? In going almost due North from this gulch thirty aces, we find there a flat or mesa land. That is the place to drill for oil in this portion of Rocky Pasture.” I measured off thirty paces with a piece of string. I drove a stake at the point where Little Rocky joins Big Rocky and tied one end of the string. I walked North with the string to the mesa land using a compass. I drove the stake at the end of thirty paces and tied the other end of the string to it and that is where we are drilling. I checked the location with three different compasses. The spot where we are drilling is almost due North; it is about three degrees West. I even made allowance for true North which in this latitude is about two degrees West of magnetic North. I then checked many of the ranchers in the neighborhood who had lived there all their life. They had hunted deer and quail all over this area and had always known these two creeks as Little Rocky and Big Rocky. The names were given these creeks in the early days when this land was settled. They all said there were no other creeks by these names and no other spot where they joined. Big Rocky comes down from the Northwest for its junction with Little Rocky. Little Rocky originates in the West and flows due East in a straight line for its junction with Big Rocky. After they meet they are called Rocky Creek.

Now as to checking the accuracy of the Cayce information with other sources, I have this to say: I got Lee Bowman into the picture with his attractometer at the request of my partners and for their benefit but not for my own. They wanted an outside check and I provided them with the only one that I ever heard of that would claim an ability to find oil in place. Hundreds of these machines have been invented and demonstrated and tried by the oil industry. None of them are considered worthy of absolute trust. Some of the best brains in the world can be found in the laboratories of the oil industry. Daily efforts are being made to find the machine which Bowman claims to have, but as yet none has made its appearance. There have been some invented which appeared to work; but, over a period of time and testing under different conditions, they failed as scientific instruments. If Bowman’s machine is accurate, then Edgar Cayce is wrong. Oil is migratory and while a cataclysmic underground change could have diverted the oil from this area, it has not occurred in the 3500 feet we have drilled. Oil makes stains in the strata which it occupies. We have carefully examined every cutting from the well and have found not a single oil stain in a single grain of sand. You mention a double check with Henry Gross and the attractometer. As for me, I wouldn’t believe the attractometer on oath; and, as for Henry Gross, while I bow to any respect that may be accorded him, his approval or disapproval of the spot to me would make absolutely no difference. I consider the source of the Cayce information as Supreme and to use any other psychic means to check its accuracy would be equivalent in my mind to verifying the statement of God by the testimony of a mere angel. I would not be interested in digging a third well on a location made by means other than Cayce information. I am not after oil in this area unless it proved the validity of the Cayce data. Cayce made a second location in Rocky Pasture which is South of our present drilling site. It is in wild country and I have never been to it, but I believe I could find it. If we have to give up the present well, I would work on a drilling program for the other Cayce location, but not otherwise. On second thought, I am not sure that I would do this either. My reason is, that we have everything at hand for a successful completion in the present hole and have a wealth of experience behind us and probably less than 500 feet to go with the easiest drilling of all ahead of us. I think that I would be a fool to abandon this project where it now is to chase off on a visionary scheme to make a third location with the assistance of information outside the Cayce data. No, I am not going to give up this hole as long as there is a chance of completing it under proper conditions.

You share with me a deep concern for the welfare of the Association. I can tell from your letter that you do not understand what I have done. The lease block contains approximately 12,000 acres. Each landowner has for his share royalty of 1/8 of all the oil and gas produced on his own land. This royalty has made many Texas landowners tremendously wealthy. The oil companies have also become wealthy, but it is they who furnish all the capital, exploration and operating expense, and the landowners’ royalty is free of all cost. The first thing I did in assembling this block of acreage was to take all the the leases in my own name and I hold them as Trustee under a written declaration of trust which states that the Association for Research & Enlightenment owns a free overriding royalty of 1/8th of all the oil and gas produced under the entire 12,000 acres. If an oil field develops there, the Association will eventually have millions. You and the other royalty holders own royalty acreage in the 3100 acre tract under the well we are drilling. This royalty is fairly substantial and if all of you tithe a goodly amount will come to the Association; but, if all of you royalty owners donated 100% of their income, the total would be a mere spec as compared to the income the Association would eventually receive from its vested interest. I do not know what my partners would have given to the Association from their share, but they are generous men and I am sure it would have been substantial. From my own share, I had already set aside a minimum of 1/8th of my own income. If you will compare the tithing provisions which you planned in your letter with what I set aside for the Association to begin with, you will see a substantial difference.

If anyone has made a sacrifice that he could ill afford in order to participate in this venture, I regret it. A very real reason for my continued efforts to finish this job is to see that nobody stands a loss. Every business man knows that he will take a loss if he fails to finish the job he has started on. Many men are willing to do this, so they charge off their loss and go on to something new and more profitable. Nobody connected with an Edgar Cayce project can afford to do this, if they are to receive the benefits which may accrue, not only in terms of cash, but in other ways.

It is possible we will have to plug and abandon this hole within the next week, if I am not able to raise the money to complete it. I will never be satisfied as long as I live until I have drilled the rest of this sand. I will never condemn this hole until all of the Hickory Sand has been drilled. The sad part is that I do not believe we have over 500 feet to go and possibly not that far.

Peter, I have a one-track mind when it comes to following the instructions of Edgar Cayce. You either do it or you don’t do it. One does not go galloping around the country scaring up psychics, seers, occultists and others of like ilk to give one courage to do what the Cayce information first instructed one to do. There is only one formula - one must believe in it, must plan it carefully and then work like a dog until the job has been completed. One should not be dissuaded from carrying through by mystic rationalizing. I am going to keep this hole open as long as I can, and the doubters can drop out and be replaced by believers, if such appear.

My kindest regards to you all.

Sincerely, [signed] Rudy RJ/lg

R37. 12/31/52 Rudolph Johnson’s letter to HLC:

Johnson & Mead (Letterhead) Attorneys at Law Mercantile Bank Building Dallas 1, Texas

Mr. Hugh Lynn Cayce c/o Association for Research & Enlightenment Virginia Beach, Virginia

Dear Hugh Lynn:

Many thanks for your letter of December 16. I appreciate the carbon copy of your letter to Ken Broman. I do not know what to say about this, but leave the decision entirely in your hands. When Ken met us in San Saba this past June, he asked for a copy of the readings. I told him that I would be glad to let him see it but thought that it would not be proper to furnish him a copy. I let him read it, and he then said that he would write to you for a copy.

We have not been able to raise any more money, and we are abandoning the hole. We got down to 3500 feet. There has been no trace of oil or gas since we reached the 2,000 foot mark.

I read the book about Henry Gross and wrote a letter to Kenneth Roberts asking certain questions. Roberts was kind enough to reply that according to Henry the oil had been at the 2600 foot level in the Hickory sand until about 1800 years ago when it passed off to another strata. All I know is that there was no trace of oil or gas at the 2600 foot level. Henry says that there is oil and gas under this spot and can be found at the 5100 foot level. I am in no mood for digging this hole any deeper but perhaps some day someone can test out Henry’s theory.

Roberts says that it is difficult to know at what “time” Edgar Cayce “saw” certain things. Apparently he must have seen this oil at a time before it moved elsewhere. This is a phase of the readings that would bear some study.

[Copied in A.R.E. minutes 1/14/53]

R38. 1/13/53 Rudolph Johnson’s memorandum:

MEMORANDUM TO ROYALTY OWNERS

I regret to advise you that at a depth of 3520 feet it became necessary to abandon this hole. As you know, we had expected production at a higher level. I regret very much that a lack of money made it necessary to give up this hole at this depth. It is my intention later this year, if circumstances are favorable, to back into this hole and carry it down to a depth of at least 5100 feet. To this end, I am working to keep intact the property on which this hole was drilled. I also have negotiations under way which I hope will permit me to continue the drilling at a later date in 1953.

In the meantime, you will be able to take a deduction on your 1952 income tax return for the cost price of your royalty. The Treasury Department requires the submission of all pertinent information on Treasury Department form 927, Proof of Worthlessness of Mineral Rights. At a later date, I will send each of you information necessary for you to complete your forms and properly claim your deductions.

With all good wishes, I am

Sincerely yours, RUDOLPH JOHNSON RJ/lg

[Copied at end of Ex. Comm. minutes 1/14/53]

R39. See Source File Key #5628 for Chapter 12 of THE OUTER LIMITS OF EDGAR CAYCE’S POWER, copyright 1971 by Edgar Evans Cayce and Hugh Lynn Cayce, entitled DRILLED FOUR TIMES, re 5628-12.

Background

Background

B1. See 5628-3, original oil location.

B2. See 5628-10 and 5628-11 with Reports correspondence.

Mentioned Entities

Texas, Well Shaft (Pyramid), Hugh Lynn Cayce, A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightenment), Book of Job, Purpose, Virginia Beach, California, Gladys Davis, Peter (Apostle), Prayer, David Kahn, New York City, Thomas Sugrue, Photography (Atlantean), King David, Automatic Writing, Chicago, Dreams, Entity (Cayce Term)

Source: The Complete Edgar Cayce Readings, A.R.E. CD-ROM (2006). Reading 5628-12, ReadingID 14004.