"Our journey was one series of shakes and jolts. The logs of wood, shaken night and day by the heavy teams laden with barrels of oil, were all out of place, leaving great holes... the calash [light carriage], knocked out of the plank road by a great heavy wagon, was plunged up to the nave of the wheel in the mind. My 'Compagnons de Voyage' jumped to the ground in the twinkling of an eye, I did the same, but my boots, come from Paris, were truly microscopic and insufficient for an oil man." (Two Republics, November 13, 1869, p. 1)
He also provides a description of mealtimes for the Petrolia oil men: "I heard about a hundred steam-engines whistle; it was midday the hour for the second breakfast. The white smoke disappeared amongst the derricks and the trees which surround us; the machines stopped, and I saw, pouring forth, from all sides of the forest, the oil men of Petrolia making their way to the various hotels of the place it is necessary, above all to keep the human machinery in working order, subject as it is there, to a severe moral and physical strain." (Two Republics, November 13, 1869, p. 1)
One of Foucou's most interesting experiences involved venturing into the oil field with an "oil smeller" or "diviner," an individual trained to identify land rich in oil: " Having come to a little bit of land whose proprietor accompanied us, [the oil smeller] took notice of where he was, and then commenced walking slowly towards the Southwest, holding in each hand one of the branches of the magical implement: it was a little hazel-rod in the shape of a V… when I saw [the V] suddenly bend towards the breast of the operator, who immediately stopping us affirmed that in this same place, they would find at a depth of 400 feet a vein of petroleum" (Two Republics, November 13, 1869 p. 1)
This story was featured prominently on the newspaper's front page from October 1869 to January 1870, indicating a strong Mexican interest in the international petroleum industry.
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