Higgins was put on trial for the murder of the deputy, but he would be found not guilty by a jury that perceived his act as self-defense.

Realizing that the lumber camps were not the ideal place to maintain a good morality, he decided to return to Beaumont, Texas to establish himself as a businessman.

[3] He decided to travel to Pennsylvania to learn about these fuels and study the geographical features that give signs to the presence of underground oil.

[4] The details he learned reminded him of what some Beaumont locals back home referred to as "Sour Hill Mound", a place where he frequently brought his Sunday school students for outings.

[5] It was during this time that other formally trained geologists dismissed the idea of finding oil along the gulf coast region of the United States.

[6] However, his informal training in geology influenced his belief that the Spindletop field contained oil below due to the presence of mineral water and gas seepage, and he managed to convince the partners to proceed with the venture.

[4] Work began the following year, but all three of the shallow drilling attempts failed to locate oil due to the shifting sands and unstable clay under the hill.

[7] Higgins resigned from the company, sold his stock, and purchased 33 acres compromising the summit of Sour Spring Mound.

[2]: 37–52 Unwilling to give up hope of striking oil, Higgins placed numerous ads in industrial magazines and trade journals in an effort to spark others' interests in the prospect of hitting a successful well at the site.

[8] This failure exhausted the partners' finances, so Lucas turned to John H. Galey and James M. Guffey in Pittsburgh for backing.

On January 10, 1901, the six tons of four-inch (102 mm) drilling pipe began to shoot up out of the hole, sending the roughnecks fleeing for safety.