, 1865-04-13
A Gl KN3FAE OF THE OIL RE.
<s1UNS NE CANADA.

Sir William Log ennss Eeport-Oil on
3Iash Lac. s@rseko4uatftJ re- Of tl!e OIL
Correspondence Of the Chicago Tribunal
boutwell,, c. ", April 8, 1855.
Although some time has elapsed since CON-
uissioned bs you to visit and report upon the
oil prospects Of Canada, haye not until now
felt willing to venture description Of what
Lave seen, much less my opinion as to what
may prudently be- said In relation thereto.
Ny object has been to obtain we'll authcnti-
Gated facts, 60 us to make my report valuable
to all interested parties who seek for reliable
Information and. inasmuch as 1 m>quite far
from feeling decided partiality for either
British soil or for the slow and unentcrpzising
"kanucks " who occupy this favored portion
oft. may perhaps trust myself to speak Of
the oil regions Of Canada, even In times Of so
great excitement
For more than three yearsit IT has been known
to some that deposits Of petroleum, have been
found in Canada, but it was not until the
publication Of the able report of Sir William
Logan, Director Of the Geological Survey df
the Province, that the attention Of tho AMER
4 jean public was drawn to this point ID Upper
Cannda, where the discoveries Ind Aeen
made. But since this Report was on1g iist
Inst autumn distributed, pnd In the main its
circulation has been among strictly scientific
men; and inasmuch us the excitement in
Pennsylvania had first turned the attention
OF the whole world to OIL Creek and Cherry
Run, it Ia hardly surprising that the yet
more remarkable discoveries on the British
side Of the line should have had to wait, for
4 time, for full recognition. But for the In
7f1fsfffrA 1nrenfftn md ind al In adj
tlsing Yankees who are now orcrrunniug the
whole country, It is doubtful whether even
get it would hare been Known outside OF the
Immediate ne,Ehborhood that the most pro.
ductive wells ever known have been struck
In the Province Of Upper Canada.
WELL On BLACK CREEK.
Sir William, in his report, refers to one we'll
on Black Greek that yielded for considera-
BILE time over two thousand barrels a dag;
and siac. my arrival have learned, from au
thprlty no less r, liable, that another well has
yielded as high as four thousand barrels per
day. Oh, st That time, had no market value,
aud both Of these wells were allowed to flow
without restriction until exhausted OF the
gas that brought the petroleum to the sur
fare. 1hey are, therefore, a. rest, though
about to b: pumted ~ certain cuterprising
New York companies, whose belief is that BY
boring deeper, and working them, further
supplies OF tie oil may he obtained. These
fac s alone would seem to settle the question
as to whether there ale large deposits Of oil
In the Province.
At present there are, us nearly as can
learn, no wells The daily yield OF which Is
Claimed to be more than eighty to one hun
d1ed uarrrls, aud the real yicid Is, WobIbly,
here, as know TO BE- the case In Pehnsylya-
mia, eomewbat less than the quantity claim
touching the yield OF the principal wells that
should not be forgotten: Not on Of them, :as
get, have been either properly bored OF ein-
cient]y worked. Until recently they were all
in the bands Of Canadians-most Of whom
we're individual psoprietorg Of the lands and
requisite to rt,eis successful mAnagement.
Wallis with smnlf bores and only tEo hun
dred to three hundred and fifty feet deep at
that; miserable topc, six and elght-hosse
power engines, poorly established; the poor
est Kind OF jumps, with capacity unequal to
must be done before the oil eau be obtained
in any considerable quantity-and, finally,
The most sUpshcd intef1aittent working OF
the ruscEincry,- these circumstances VIII
convey et1ne idea Of the order Of thugs here
up to this time. =.
QUALITY oF>THE OIL.
As to quality, have likewise been }avora-
bly, disappointed. The talk had heard
about the insuilrrabie odor OF the oil is ut.
te.Iy without foundation. That produced by
the wells ot EnufsEilien ha Il certain sarllcsY
odor not SO pleasant as that Of Eau de Co
logne, but the petroleum of Boutwell, and Of
Chatham Is as fu G. from disai,reeable smell |
as any that huve seen in auI part Of the
world !; while specimens Of tile 1eiln.d oil !
prepared IRON the prouuct OF the wells Of
both places are, in my Judgment, without I
parallel, not only for freedom from noxions !
odsrs, but also tor Transparency and for LAST
iDg qualities us burning luid+
171sff
The price Of the crude oil ut the wells Of
EnnisGi]len IS * 50 {go1d), that Of Thames |
River oil, $500, (eo1d). There are also 1ubri-
eating olis thot command much higher
price. These are better than ths Pepnsyl- |
van.a prices. And, what is stlll more favora-
bic, 1t appea!s that the causes which, on the
other side, deprees the markets increase the
prict here; for willie the oils Of Pennsyl-
Vania have tallen In price within the past lew
weeks, the oils OF Canada have advanced q
bali dollar per barrel.
There are also Ger tain other facts touching
this question OF profits that ought In justice |
to b. mentioned in report that aims to ne
impartial. =
First, The cost Of production, allowing for
the difference in gold, is much less In Canada
knowledge. Equally good machinery Is cheap
ef-cei tainly, ut The present rate Of gold,
tWcnty-lre per cent cheaper than in the
United States; labor is also che1p and abuD-
uanL ara tnel Gun be had, OF the very best
cutting
Secondly, The cost of delivery Is much less.
This 1s especially true at Boutwell,. where
tue wells are less than two miles fro1a the rIif-
way station 60 that the product Ia delivered
on the railway platfo m at cost Of 1ourtcen
70 sixteen cents per barrel. Quite n fljffer.
ence between tins and Cherry Run rates.
where the expense Of getting the crude artf.
Gle to the shipping pont is 90 to sl.5O per
/, barrel,
the government, while in the United States
The crude OIL pays 4 tag Of S1.0Q per barrel
and The refined $500 per barrel.
Fourthly, The Canada oils have access to
The markets Of Great Britain, in which the
demuud is likely to be immense. without pay
iDg duty, while the oils Of the United Stases
must pay duty Of twenty Per cent ad oalo~
ran. , e.
mt be suppressed. For, II our people really
have the III feyer (and presume there Is but
little doubt Of that), and are bound to 50
into The petroleum business, It IS flsh1 taat
they should have correct data fof dcclsion
as to where they can operate noss p1onsaols'
PRICE OF LANDS.
At The preseut, lands here are compare
tiyely cheap> but, at the rate Of Whtch strong
c, c,mpan:es and Individual capitalists afe com
ing iu, they must very rapidly aoVancs 70
very high figures. In some cases, ianos t9at
could have been bought stx months aso Ut
$50 to $50 per acre are now held and aftnaiy