 Geology was his divining rod, he said, a science yet to be proven in the hunt for crude.Marland returned to Pittsburgh and raised $500,000 for a new oil venture, naming it the 101 Ranch Oil Company with himself as President and taking into the company as directors, O. W. Ainslie, the chef at Pittsburgh's Boyer Hotel, J. G. McCaskey, a sauerkraut producer, Marland's relative, F. R. Kenney, a retired chair manufacturer, George Miller of the 101 Ranch, and Marland’s father-in-law, Samuel Collins who was also elected Treasurer.Upon his return to the ranch he began drilling.