, 1892-02-07
Special Correspondence.

Special Correspondence.
CASPER, Jan. 2.-Long before arriv-
ing IN CASPER. on the train and in the
hotels, one hears that Casper will be a
good town" Casper is all right if they
strike that copper lead. casper is the
coming town." and many other similar
complimentary remarks. Casper will in
deed be a big town. city. How large a
city it is impossible to tell. as the future
OF this place depends largely on the devel-
opment of the oil and mineral resources
in this Immediate vicinity.
CHI EYENfJE TO CASPER
The travel sr leaves Cheyenne at 6:45
a. M. arriving here at 7:l5 the same
evening. TIE distance is 267 miles. The
other day VIII en- the trip was made there
was plenty OF snow all the way from
Cheyenne to douglas, and naturally it was
a surprise the. next morning to see bare
ground here. There was no snow in sight
except an occs sional small drift where it
had been piled by the wind. The bare
ground and clear, pleasant weather ls a
surprise, but a stranger is disappointed in
some respects The place looks very
small and is not as lively as was expected.
The newcomer is first favorably i'm
pressed by the Fl nth of the people.
They are all full Of confidence for the fu-
ture, and a Casper man is never heard to
say that "he knows of a better own than
this" or that this is the deadest town
he ever saw, thou, III he will tell you
candidlY that 1t is not as lively as it has
been and will be again.
The more thoroughly one investigates
the resources of this vicinity. the more
thoroughly does he become convinced
that the possibilities OFF Casper's future are
beyond computation. Every day spent in
this part of the count ry in the study of it
serves to impress mol 9 deeply the con-
LEADER mans povert y was very forcibly
Impressed upon him by the desire to own
a few feet of Casper I cal estate and the
impossibilIty of doing 30. He still hopes
to be able to make a g mall investment be-
fore property gets clear out of sight"
but feels it in his BON es'' that right now
a golden opportunity is passing.
SOME REso URGES.
Casper is at the end of the Fremont,
Elkhorn & Missouri Valley railroad and
of course is naturally the QUILTING point
for the country north and west. The
Niobrsra Stage and TT ansDortation com.
pany have ~headquarte rs here. Stages
leave three times r week for Lander, Ervs
and Lost Cabin. A pc tition is being cir
'culated aud largely tigne,d for daily mail
to Lander. Freight goes from here to
the western country and as far north as
Buffalo. Several acres of freight wagons
surround the ware hous e and it is not an
unusual thing to see ten or twelve mules
and two or three wagons strung out in the
old style, one man handling them with a
jerk line.
CASPER OIL FIELDS.
The oil fields extend from here to Salt
creek and Powder river, seventy miles
north, and beyond aud to Lander on the
west. In fact it is claimed that the oil
belt extendes from the northeast corner
~ luc bUuluWcbb COIuCl vi tu6 oIdIe, Dul
,the field especially tributary to Casper Is
that just west and north to the Powder
river. Hundreds of thousands of acres
of oil lands lave been located in this field.
One paying well has been struck and sew
eral more are under way or about to be
begun. Several hundred thousand dollars
have already been expended in develop
!ment and assessment work and the begin
ming is not yet.
THU BLANCHARD AND BARTLETT FIELD.
e. G. Bartlett has probably been more
largely identified in the oil business of
this country-has assisted in locating
more and has placed more land than any
other man. Bartlett recently made some
kind of a deal with Ben Blanchard, the
gentleman who is to build the smelter in
Cheyenne. whereby the latter secures So
100 of the $50. 900 acres owned by this
company and will bore three or more
wells at once. The first we'll will be
bored three miles from town on Casper
creek. The rig is on the ground. J. G..
Lowry, the superintendent, and others
interested in the work are here, and bor-
ing will be commenced as soon as the
casing arrives. Blanchard's company is
called the Empire Oil. Development and
Trust company and their second well will
be sunk less than a mile northwest of
Casper. Here the formation is very
favorable, the first Benton shale being on
top and it Is expected that oil will be
struck in from 1000 to l. 500 feet. Should
their expectations be realized another
town will be started across the river near
the well. This company have III e.tenths
oil the river front on both sides for about