Connecticut western news., 1888-03-28
OCEAN OIL WELLS.
Where Oil Abounds Under the
 Waters of the Pacific.

W "eSA o VI SAAS oSAA0s
 Some Submarine Springs That
 Have Been Encountered.
 With tho pilot chart for November last there was sued statement rela- tive to the possible existence of sub marine oil springs-as indicated by vari- GUS reports received from shipmasters on the Atlantic ard in the Gulf of Mexico which, in view of the possi- ! ilility of their commercial value, made the matter of general interest. Mention was made in this connection also of we'll known spot near Sabine pass, on the gulf coast, called the "oil pond" wherc small vessels rua in and anchor sduring heavy weather, the water there being comparatively smooth owing to quantity of oil or oily mu |, which rises | to the surface. It was also s,id tn hat no such reports had been received from the Pacific coast. Since then, however, as result of tho in nterest ehcited by the announcement, several reports have been received which are incorporated in the monthly report of the Photographic office for February, briefly as follows: k The attention of the hy ~ographers Twas first called to letter from Thomas kK. Griffin, of San Francisco, published Itin tho New York Maritime Register, in Ewhich he states that submarine oil Fsprings exist on the Pacific coast. The most pronou- ccd is off what is known as ''Coal Oil Point," about one and quar- Eter miles west of Goleta and ten miles west of Santa B,rbara. Mir. Griffin SUD- piled information from several masters r of vessels who have cruised in those waters, and their reports are so clear and consistent as to leave little room for doubt of the existence of such subma- rinc oil springs off that coast.
 Captain Van Helmes, of tho American l steamship Los Angeles, says that when 1 vessel passes through the region of this spring the sm,ll of oil is so strong as frequently to cause nausea among the passengers and crew, and in certain spots the oil can be distinctly seen bub- bling up on the surface.
 Captain Wallace, of the American steamship City of Chester, Captain Ingalls,, of the American steams hip Santa Rosa, and Captain Alexander, of the American steamship Queen of the Pacific, testify that there are other similar springs on the Pacific coast, though not so pronounced as the former. Captain Wallace locates the large spring about eighteen miles west of Santa Barbara, Cal, and states that the sur face of the ocean is frequently covered for miles with the oil. He has also seen oil floating on the waIer to the north of Cape Mendocino, from three to five miles off shore, and thinks there is another spring therc. Captain Plumber, of the American stt ans ship Gypsy, who has sailed seventeen years in these waters, confirms the above statements, and says the belt of oil above Santa Barbara can be seen the darkest night when sailing through it.
 A very full and interesting statement has also been received from Captain Goodall of the Pacific Coast Steamship I Company, who refers to tho fact that Golcta Point is known to masters of steamships as "Coal Oil Point on ac- count of the oil breast of it rising from the bottom of the sea. On a calm day the water is covered for miles with oil, bubbles of which can be seen rising to the surface and spreading over it. AL though it does not seem to smooth the water like animal oil, yet, on a windy day, you can see slick of oil on 1.-the surface. This spot is so we'll known by shipmasters that the smell of the oil is used as guide in foggy weather, the petroleum smell being so strong that a captain can never mistake his position when off that point. Captain Goodall says also that he has noticed small flow of oil from. the bottom of the sea off Cojo Point near Point Con nception,
 but there tho amount of oil is very small It cannot be seen bubbling ur from the bottom, but is often visible on tho surface, the odor being very per ceptible.
 Bitumen is known to beg generally dis tributed through the coast ranges to the southward of San Francisco, and pe- troleum wells and tar springs have been I found at places. It seems probable, therefore, that tho oil bearing strata crops out here and there at the bottom
 of the sea off the coast, or else that the oil escapes through the crevices in the overlying strata and rises to the surface. Such submarine oil springs are known to exist at certain other places, the bay oi
 Cumana, Venezuela. for example, where petroleum rises and spreads upon the surface; and it is said that, off the is-
 land of Trinidad, West Indies, there
 are submarine volcanoes, which oc- caslonally boil up and discharge $
 quantity of petroleum. -[ Commercial Advertiser
 A New International Language.
 A common language for the whole
 civilized world has been for several cen-