In the District Court of the 17th Judicial District of the State of California in and for the County of Los Angeles
Nathaniel J. Clark, Plaintiff
against
Rube Denton, Defendant

Deposition of D. C. Scott

D. C. Baker, being duly sworn on behalf of the defendant testifies as follows:

Interrogatory 1: State your name, age, occupation and place of Residence.
My name is D. C. Scott. I reside in San Buena Ventura, Ventura County, California, and am an oil operator.

Interrogatory 2. State whether or not you are acquainted with N. J. Clark, the plaintiff and Rube Denton, the defendant, in this action.
I am acquainted with the plaintiff and defendant.

Interrogatory 3. State whether or not you and one Baker were ever owners of the Star Oil Works in Los Angeles, California. If so, when and how long were you such owners?
We were owners (J. G. Baker and myself) for about a year during the year 1875.

Interrogatory 4. State if you and said Baker are now the owners of said Star Oil Works. If not, when and to whom did you sell the same?
We are not. We sold to Rube Denton in December 1875 or February 1876.

Interrogatory 5. State if you know of plaintiff Clark furnishing, advancing, or loaning money to yourself and Baker to be used in the purchase of supplies, for materials, or for labor in building or operating the said Star Oil Works in the year 1875. If so, how much and at what time or times?
I do. We received money from plaintiff Clark how much I do not remember. We gave him our notes. I mean myself and Baker, and the money we received from him gave our receipts for the same. The money was to be expended as I thought best and was expended by Clark's consent in the Star Oil Works and Los Angeles Boring Co. of which Clarke was part owner in the Boring Co, and his brother secretary. I received the money from his brother. I had a contract with the Boring Company. The affairs of said Boring Company are still unsettled. The moneys received that we expended in the Star Oil Works we invariably gave notes for. The balance was expended in the Boring Co and for personal expenses and supplies for said Boring Co by Clarke's consent.

Interrogatory 6. State whether or not said Clark and Baker and yourself, as Scott and Baker, had any settlement during the year 1875 and if so when and where.
Never had any settlement.

Interrogatory 7. State whether or not you and said Baker ever executed and delivered to said Clark a promissory note in 1875. If so, at what time and for what sum of money.
I think we executed a note to him for $250. It was in the year 1875.

Interrogatory 8. If said note was executed by you and Baker to Clark, was it not the result of and after a final settlement between Scott & Baker and said Clark?
No. It was as follows - Denton bought Scott & Baker's interest in the Star Oil Works and agreed to pay bills of Scott & Baker that were incurred by the Star Oil Works and no other. What I mean by no final settlement is that there was not a final settlement between Clarke and myself in regard to our oil transactions.

Interrogatory 9. Did not said note include all the money due from Scott & Baker for an account of said Star Oil Works? If not, state any other sum or sums of money received by Scott & Baker from said Clark for or on account of the Star Oil Works and what amount, if any, remains unpaid.
The amount received by one individually and by Scott & Baker as a loan from Clarke plaintiff would not exceed $1300, I think besides the note ($250) there was used about $300 for the Star Oil Works of the amount unpaid. I don't know.

Interrogatory 10. State if you know whether or not said promissory note has been paid. If so, when, where and to whom.
Mr. Denton told me he had paid it of my own knowledge. I do not know.

Interrogatory 11. State whether the firm of Scott & Baker received at any time money from said Clark for any other purpose than for the Star Oil Works. If so, in what sums, at what times and for what purposes and whether or not the same has been paid.
They did. The sum I don't know exactly. Not to exceed $750 in all for other purposes. The $750 was expended for supplies, materials & for the Boring Company. This was all understood by Clark according to our agreement. I was to go ahead and manage everything with respect to the Boring Company as I stated before. There has been no settlement between myself and Clark. The Boring Company was a failure.

Interrogatory 12. State whether or not there is now or ever was any contract in writing between Denton, Clark and Baker and yourself in which Denton undertook to pay the debts of the firm of Scott & Baker contracted on account of the Star Oil Works, If so, state in whose possession the said writing is. If in your own, attach a copy of it to this deposition.
Never was any contract in writing that I knew of. If there was, I would have known it.

Interrogatory 13. State fully all you know about any contract, if any, between Denton and Scott and Baker in writing or otherwise by which Denton agreed to pay the debts of the firm of Scott & Baker contracted on account of the Star Oil Works.
Never was any contract made between Denton, Scott and Baker in writing or otherwise. Denton had already advanced about $8000 in the Star Oil Works and to save himself he undertook to pay the debts against the Star Oil Works and take the business. Clark was always interested, in an underhanded way, if he could furnish all the money to carry on the business of the Star Oil Works from the first. I was getting the money from Denton expecting to get it back from Clark before the arrangement between me and Clark. I had expended a good deal of money on the Star Oil Works after he failed to put in the money I had advanced from him. Then he told me that he could furnish no more money and to go ahead get out the best I could. If he had complied with our arrangement, he would have had 1/3 interest in the refinery and 1/5 in the wells, but failing to advance the money, the thing fell through and he wanted to get out of it the best he could, and told me to go and do the best I could.

Interrogatory 14. State whether or not all the money advanced or loaned by Clark to Scott & Baker was so loaned or advanced to Scott & Baker as a firm or was any portion of it received by either Scott or Baker in their individual account. If so, how much did each company receive?
Part as a firm and part as individuals. The exact individual amounts I don't know.

Interrogatory 15. State whether or not yourself or Baker and yourself have not been interested jointly with Clark in mining interests in Los Angeles County for the working of which Clark advanced money to either or both of you. If so, state the time or times, day and year as near as possible and places the sums so advanced, to whom advanced, the names of the mine or mines or mining interests, what work was done upon them, if any, and what became of the money, if any, was so advanced.
Yes sir. Myself and Clark were interested in the Los Angeles Boring Company. Baker was not. He was interested in the Star Oil Works. I don't know anything of Baker outside of the Star Oil Works. This was in the year 1875. The money was advanced to me as a contractor for the Los Angeles Boring Company. All the money Clark advanced to me and from what was advanced for the Star Oil Works was advanced on the Los Angeles Boring Company's well near Lyon's Station.

Cross interrogatory 1: Are you an accountant and did you enter in any book of accounts or other book at or near the time of the transaction, the several sums of money received from the plaintiff by the firm of Scott & Baker or by the individual members of said firm?
I am not an accountant. I did not. I remember the amounts.

Cross interrogatory 2: If you kept any such amount state fully and at large the manner in which it was kept by you and annex a copy thereof to your deposition.
I did not keep any.

Cross interrogatory 3: Do you know of your own knowledge how much money has been received from the plaintiff by the said Baker on his own individual account or an account of the firm of Scott & Baker and, if so, state how you know such facts of your own knowledge.
I don't know how much he received on his own individual account. I know that Baker borrowed $400 from Clark for the Star Oil Works. Before this I had expended between $300 and $400 of Star Oil Works money on bills due from Los Angeles Boring Company, which money I expected to get from Clark, but did not get. It nearly made a stand off.

Cross interrogatory 4: Are your answers to all of the direct interrogatories given upon your own knowledge and, if so, state fully and in detail your means of knowledge of the facts you testify to.
Yes. I have already given in detail the facts.

Cross interrogatory 5: Do you know anything of any note, memorandum, or contract in writing or other written evidence subscribed by the defendant Denton tending to prove a promise on his part to pay the debts of the firm of Scott & Baker or of the individual member of said firm? If so, state fully and at large all you know about it.
Never was any writing between them of any kind or description.

Cross interrogatory 6: Do you know any other matter or thing touching the matter in the action that will tend to the benefit or advantage of the plaintiff? If so, detail fully and at large all you know about it.
I have stated fairly all the transactions as they occurred to the best of my recollection as well for the plaintiff as for the defendant.

D. C. Scott
January 17, 1877
L. F. Eastin, County Clerk, Ventura County, California