The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-12-25


ga gas boom that shall make of Salt
ASE Lake second Findlay, Lima.
e Y McKeesport, Marion, Anderson
or Kokomo!
As The CHRISTMAS HERALD goes to press,
three days ahead of the Christmas date,
the air is full of excitement regarding the
American Natural Gas companys discov-
cries just north of the city on the shores of
the Great Salt lake. That gas has been
found there is no manner of doubt; that
it exists in immense quantities is equally
certain to all who have beheld the mighty
eruptions which are going on now and
have been going on for some weeks past,
and that in quality, quantity and pressure
it equals the celebrated finds of ONO,
Pennsylvania and Indiana many people OF
experience seem to agree.
The gentlemen who control the discover
les are mostly those who have passed
through all the exciting and fairy-like
experience of the east-men of Judgment,
men of nerve, and men of ex
perience who are not apt to al
low their fancies to run away
with their judgment; they knew what the
wells of Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania
had meant to those states ana seeing the
indications north of Salt Lake they went
diligently to work leasing the land and the
possessions contiguous until now they con-
troll IN all 5000 acres reaching along the
shores of Great Salt Lake between this
and Ogden, and have an option on 5000
more.
To speak more particularly, the Great
Basin owned and controlled by the Ameri-
can Natural Gas company is situated north
and west of Salt Lake city, about eight
miles distant, and extends to the shores of
the Great Salt Lake, and covers very
great area of country, including the por-
ton Of the Great Salt Lake between the
Antelope, Oquirrh, Pennington and Wa
satch, Faults, embracing nearly 1900
acres of territory controlled by this COM
pany. The geological structure is emf
nently perfect, and surface indications
show over twenty five distinct flows of gas
and six flows of light petroleum oil.
THE COMPANY.
The American Natural Gas company was
incorporated on the oath day of February,
1891, with a capital of $1,000, 000-ive hun
dred thousand shares at SO per share
Mr.. James f. Woodman, the well-known
mining man, is president of the company and
the other officers, several OF whom are
eastern men, though the controlling inter-
est lies in Salt Lake, are as follows:
President, James T. Woodman; first
vice-president, W A. Nelden; second vice
president, Schuyler C.Constant; treasurer,
H. L. Driver; secretary, I. T. Stringer;
Joseph J. Rogers; Wendell Benson; p. l..
Schmidt.
THE OPERATIONS.
Their leases being secured, the company
went to work sinking where there had al
ready been best indications OF gas near
Pennington. As labor progressed it became
evident that the whole surface of the earth
Whereabouts was impregnated with natural
gas About three weeks ago the main well
known as mo. l Gusher'' burst forth with
volume Of gas aud smoke that sent boul-
ders, shale and dirt fully three hundred
feet into the air. Ever since then the up
pouring of gas has continued and the prob
lem has been to get it under control; this
has now been accomplished, and in the
past week many hundreds of people have
visited the wells, and many experts in.
spected it. On December Il, the mayor
and city council, with several hundred cit
;zens, paid the wells visit, and on al
hands expressions of wonderment anG
confidence in the permanency of the fiow
were heard.
THE FRANCHISES.
The city council of Salt Lake have
evinced from the first disposition to Ell
courage the gas company if it could be
shown that the wells were all that were
claimed for them. On December 2, thu
following petition was presented in the
council, as reported in The HERALD mex
day:
1.-The American Natural Gas company
represented that it had several flowing
wells of gas on its grounds in Davis
county, twelve miles north Of salt Lake
that the company had since its organization
expended $50 900 in the purchase of lands
machinery, etc, and had sufficient capita
to sink other wells and conduct gas by
mains to the city ana distribute the sam
for mechanical and domestic uses. Tn
petitioner therefore asked for franchise
granting the company the right of way t
construct gas mains through the streets OIL
this city, for the purpose Of supplying ga
for heat, fuel and motive power. A tran
chise for Illuminating purposes was no
sought for. In asking for this franchise
the company offered to furnish gas to priv
ate consumers at cost of 1875 per cent
less than the present cost of coal, and tn
municipal and county buildings less thai
80 per cent. of such cost, and would guar
antee to the city supply of natural ga