Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-03-02
Here AT LAST.
Arrival of Prof. Charles A.
Ashburner.
AN INTERVIEW WITH HIM.
The Objects of Hrs Mission to South
ern Calif9fnia-0il
and Gas.

and Gas.
Professor Charles A. Aehburner
United States Survey, Detroit, Mich, y
was written in bold hand on the regis.
ter of the Hollenbeck Hotel yesterday
morning, and a HERA1D man. who
dropped in about noon, gave ign oi
of relief as he saw the name for W hich he
had so long been watching. 1t will be
remembered that on the Sth,ef February
last, a dispatch was received IN this city
through the medium of the As
sociated Press, announcing that
syndicate Of wealthy Pittsburg-
ers had become interested in
a natural gas speculation near Los Ang-
eles, and that Mr.. Charles Ashb1rner
had at once left for the scene OF action.
The local oil magnates here were inter-
viewed by the HERALD as to what deal
was referred to, but they were all ignor-
ant OF any such tran action, and even
Gid not know to what natural gas dis
| trict the dispatch alluded. 1t was,
therefore, decided to drop the matter
until Mr.. Ashburner's arrival, and a
watchfui eye has been kept open ever
since for that gentleman.
| A card sent up by the scribe with
the request for an interview was re-
sponded to by Mr.. Ashbumer himself,
and the reporter found himself con-
| fronted by a.pleasant, intelligent-looking
| gentleman, OF about 80 years of age,
wearing light-brown beard and pre-.
senting, on the whole, very attractive
appearance. A couple of chairs were To-
Gated in a convenient corner and then
| the HERALD man asked what was the
meaning of the mysterious Pittsburg
dispatch.
''It was good deal garbled," said Mr..
Aehburner, ''and was, to certain ex-
tent, an hallucination on the part of the
reporter who wrote it. He said that
was coming out here in the
interest of Pittsburg capitalists
and, in point of fact, 1 was
sent for by syndicate composed of
| Western men. am not at liberty to
give you any particulars regarding my
mission, all that can say being about as
follows: l am considered an expert ON
oil and mineral matters, and for many
years | was member of the Geological
Survey of Pennsylvania, and also fill the
fposition OF United States Geological
Surveyor, which calls for an annual re-
port on the mineral resources of the
country. Now, iu the early part of the
| year, | received q communication asking
me to come to Los Angeles
as an expert TOR certain individuals,
whose names l cannot give you and who
are contemplating big development of
oil and natural gas wells. The PROPOSE
ton was good one and l closed with it,
and that is why am here to-day. shall
at once set out on my labois. the
direction of which, am not at liberty to
reveal, and as al expert, will report to
those who have engaged me, the most
suitable places in which to bore for wells
of oil and principally gas. Watcher
the report will ever be made public, | do
not know, it is a private transaction
as far as am concerned, and |
could nat therefore divulg9 anything. l
know something about the mineral treas
ures OF this part OF The country for have
been here before and this much can tell
you. their development has been handled
| in very poor manner. cannot talk with
you much ON the subject lest getting in
| terested should infringe on the secrec,
of my labors, regarding which, as have
| explained to you, | am simply an
agent"
'Do you know that big deal is con-
| templated here asked the SCRIBE"
Regarding that can say nothing. AS
| have said before l have simply been
engaged as an expert, but it is, of course,
quite evident to you that there must be
something in the wind or l would not
have been sent for"
| "Can yon tell me whether the natural
gas we'll alleged to have been found is
north or south of this city," was the
next question By the penciller.
| "No. sir, can not" was the firm re-
ply. "By the way, have heard that
professor you had here remarked that
there is natural gas IN every hill about
the city. do not wish to be very severe,
but must say that the public are rather
too prone to accept the assertions of
these self-dubbed professors, and had
better wait for some substantial show
ing"
SOME COAL STATISTICS.
"Now. if you want to talk of my
United States labors, / can give you some
pointers" said Mr.. Ashburner, unrolling
a document; 81 am now about to turn in
to the Government my report for the
year of 1888, and in it, under the head
ling of coal, l give as official statistics
that during the past year California pro-
duced $1,000 tons of coal, of the
spot value of $4,000. For the