The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-04-30
CALIFORNIA; OIL FIELDS.
Petroleum Quarries and Spring That
Flows Oil as the Moon Grows.
G,roy,, fI,a Noy, N-or1- C,,,r
From the New York Sun.

California has quite an extensive oil
field, " said j. c. Boerum of the Empire
Oil Company, but it is a funny one. It
is all in the mountains, and it is worth a
mans life to explore some of its territory.
When they first undertook to get out oil
on the Pacific coast, about twenty years
ago, they quarried the rock or sand and
extracted the petroleum deposit from it
as the Scotch oil is obtained Before the
discovery of American petroleum all the
mineral lubricating oil of commerce was
taken from the petroleum shales of Scot
land at Addieswell. That shale is mined
like coal and is almost as black
They get fourteen gallons of ex-
cellent lubricating oil from a ton
of that shale, besides a large
percentage Of parafine wax and ammonia
When the oil is separated from the
shale it is of the color and consistency of
tar but when refined it is of a light color
The original California oil producers
finding the Oil rock conveniently located
for the purpose, chose the Scottish method
of obtaining its product, but met with
small success, and about fifteen years ago
the drill was brought into use. This soon
developed a prolific oil district, stretch
ing from Newhall to Santa Barbara,
something like 200 miles. There are two
oil belts, one in Los Angeles and one in
Ventura county. The oil is obtained by
sinking wells as we do in the east, and in
some places, as in Wheeler canyon for in
stance, by tunneling into the hills.
"A popularity about the California Pc
troleum is that it yields no benzine in dis
tillation. The most curious oil well ever
known, except it may be the famous Sun
day well in Venango county Pennsyl-
vania, which never yielded drop of oil
Dxy1 cV,E hC A. 81
Wheeler canyon. 1t is known as the Luz
matte Oil Spring. When the new moon
appears this spring begins to flow oil,
which increases in volume as the moon
grows. When the moon is at its full the
spring yields three barrels of oil a day.
The quantity decreases with the wane of
the moon. and the yield of oil ceases en-
tirely when the moons last quarter is
past This phenomenon appears as replI-
larly as the phases of the moon. When
was in the California oil district some
years ago a 50-barrel well had been struck
within few rods of the spring, but the
regular ebb and flow of the fountain was
not affected by it in the least.
"On is found at all depths in the Cali
fornia district, and surface oil in springs
and streams is of common occurrence
This surface oil is very dark and heavy,
and makes good natural lubricating oil
that is worth from So to S. barrel The
quality of the Pacific coast oil as an
illuminant depends on the depths from
which it is taken, the best being found
at from 200 to 1900 feet below the sur
lace. 1t costs twice as much to put down
a well in California as it does in Pennsyl-
vania, but a barrel of oil out there is
worth five times as much as a barrel of
oil is worth in Pennsylvania. California
is supplying all the Pacific coast, from
Alaska to Cape Horn, with oil. as well as
a great part of Mexico, although Mexico
has vast petroleum deposits herself if
she only knew it. The great refining cen
ter of California is at Newhan, which is
| connected with all the oil fields by pipe
lines. Petroleum has been successfully
adopted as a fuel out there. and to the
! smelling of low-grade ores, which were
practically of no value before, but have
through petroleum been made sources of
wealth"