The contracts signed by the International Drillers were generally for a period of three years. The company employing the drillers would pay for their travel, except in the event of the cancellation of a contract in which case, the drillers were responsible for paying their own way home. When travel to the international oil fields usually took months, it's no wonder that these men were not keen to come home early. In some cases, the feeling of adventure and discovery, as well as the excellent pay offered by work abroad continued to draw the men away from their families at home in Canada.

Humphrey Tracy spent 32 years drilling in the oil fields of Burma (modern Myanmar), Sumatra, Persia (modern Persia) and South America, and had many interesting stories to tell of his time abroad. On one occasion while trekking through the Burmese jungle, he and his crew encountered a snake slung between two trees. The snake was so long that neither the head nor the tail could be seen. Tracy's immediate reaction was to pull out his gun and attempt to shoot the snake but he was persuaded against it when his crew of local men ran away in haste. They knew if that if Tracy shot the snake, it would thrash hard enough to pull down the surrounding trees.

Tracy brought mementoes home to his wife and children who lived in Petrolia, including Persian rugs and 20-foot snake skins. He even brought home four elephant feet, but three of the feet rotted during his travel home. The remaining foot was hollowed out and used as a planter. Unfortunately, all of his time spent abroad estranged Tracy from his family and his choice to continue working in the international fields put a strain on his relationship with his wife. In 1931, Mary Tracy filed for divorce from her husband and Humphrey Tracy lived out the rest of his days in Trinidad where he died of malaria in 1940.