M. S. Loomis being duly sworn deposes and says:

I reside in the San Fernando Oil District and have resided there for two years last past in the near vicinity of the Pico oil wells. I have interest in oil claims there and have been, and am now, working my own and other oil claims.

I have frequently been to the Pico oil claims – remained there about two weeks last summer and also about one week during the past winter. I have frequently seen the oil running to waste from the Pico wells. Well No 1 was a flowing well when I first saw it. I have seen it plugged with an iron strap fastened over the plug. This was during the time that I was there for two weeks last summer. One night during that same time, a man named Stanton (Hubert Stanton) and myself were in a cabin there and heard a loud noise and went out and found Well No 1 throwing up a column of oil to about the top of the derrick, which was about sixty four feet high. The column of oil was between five and six inches in diameter. That particular spurt lasted about half an hour and the oil that flowed during that time ran off into the Pico Canyon and went to waste.

I have frequently seen the oil running to waste down the canyon, which oil could have come from no other place than the Pico oil wells. I have seen a good volume of oil running to waste as far as three miles from the wells. On one occasion, I think near the April first of this year, I helped a man named Smith build a dam about three miles below the wells to catch the oil that was then running to waste. Smith only brought two barrels with him which we filled without difficulty and this without any funnel with witch to fill them. We filled them through a small bung hole dipping with an old tin pan. There was plenty of oil that we did not catch, which went to waste. All of this was while the Pico oil wells were under the control of the California Star Oil Works Co.

I have heard C.A. Mentry say that they did not have sufficient tankage to hold their oil and had to let it run to waste. While I was at the Pico wells, none of the wells were ever pumped at night, and well No 2 I know went for days at a time without being pumped at all.

I don’t pretend to be an oil man, and only testify to what I have seen with my own eyes and know to be a fact.

M. S. Loomis

June 20, 1878