Omaha daily bee., 1893-12-04
IN THE HEART OF WYOMING
Vast Supplies Of Coal, Minerals and Literally
Inexhaustible Deposits of Oil.
cAsPERs FUTURE ASSURED BY ASBESTOS
FIRST Columbian Prize to Wyoming Oi
Means ReHneries, Pip Lines, Rail-
roads and Work for Thousands
at an Early Day.

The BEE: Beneath the shadow of the lofty,
snow-crestcd Laramies -nestled upon the
south bank of the placid and poetic Platte
lies the thriving, pushing, progressive little
city of Casper. Here enterprise has reared
a monument and destiny set her seal, and
hither, from the crowded ccnters ofthe east,
are coming the fortune hunter, the husband
man--all are finding profitable employment,
brighter hopes and the blessing of rugged
health.
After witnessing, as | have, the spectacle
of 10000 hungry men marching through the
brick aud marble lined streets of New York,
calling aloud In accents filled with pain:
BREAD, bread; give us bread or our children
will starvcW II is gratifying indeed to con.
template the happiness and prosperity of
these people.
Casper is the lend of the railroad" and
from this point radiate in every direction
long and deep,rutted trails over plains and
rugged upland to prosperous mining camps
and little villages Of conten5ed people that
dot and enliven this wonderful heart of
Wyoming.
Stalking a Claim.
For seven years l have been an annual Wis
itor to Wyoming. The pleasures OF the chase
first attracted me here; the abundance and
variety of game, the rock-ribbed canon, the
majestic sweep of mountains, the rushing
torrent and tho broad, unobstructed plains
held me in their charm; but, unlike the
'child of the forest" have discovered that
here is more than a happy hunting ground.
My gun has ueen placed upon the rack and l
am resolved TO initiate those who have built
homes and accumulated fortunes while |
carelessly pursued the capricious antelope.
One instance in particular comes TO me
now like q revelation. | was hunting deer
in what is now known as the Powder river oil
basin, about sixty-five miles north of Cas-
per. Luck was against me, and early in the
afternoon | retraced my steps to my camp.
On the way / was startled by a sound in
that solitude like the striking Of an axe,
and, turning, l saw a hardy pioneer in the
act of stalking q claim. l remember dis
tinctly how my soul went out in pity to that
poor man as | inquired what he intended to
do with his claim. II am going to enter it,
answered the pioneer, ana then with pride
he added: 81 have eight other claims in this
valley, and some day they will be worth big
money. There is an ocean of oil under our
feet, and 1t won't be long until the people
back in your country find it out. If you
want TO make a fortune, young man, you had
better build Il cabin and stop right here.
You mark what i say
/ laughed at his enthusiasm and wondered
how some people could be so dense. Five
| years have passed since that September
afternoon and the sanguine pioneer has re-
ceived Sl0,000 cash for an interest in his nine
claims and a well of superior lubricating oil
has been struck within 100 yards of where /
stood unheeding the prophecy. This is not
an isolated example of the good, golden luck
that has repaid perseverance in this country.
There are many like instances related by
prospectors IN different parts of the oil fields.
The mining camps of the Big Horn and
South Pass countries have made many
fortunes and hold rich surprises for those
who will interest themselves in their de-
v~elopment.
Making a Fresh Start.
In the channelsAf more legitimate bust
ness / ave observed, with interest, the ad-
vance and progress" of the young, energetic
tradesmen who have grown up with Casper.
In the summer of 1889 l was going west over
the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley
railroad and on the train CHANGED to make
the acquaintance of a young man Of about 2S
years. who coupled a seat next to mine.
His face wore Il distressed look which told
of disappointment. Reverses aud misfor-
tunes had already drawn deep lines across
his young brow. He told me he had failed in
business; that he had a young wife back in
M who depended upon his efforts, and
that he was going west in the hope OF re-
establishing himself in business, Two hun
dred dollars represented his entire earthly
possessions. What could he have accom-
plished with that capital in New York, or
Chicago or Omaha' But he went to Casper
and opened n small drug store. He made a
few f~riends-they became his
the circle widened. He bought his second
bill of goods and sold them at q profit-he
worked vigilantly and kept at it, and today
he is the proud proprietor of a large store
stocked with all sorts of colored
bottles and pain killers and a marble
soda fountain. His wife is with
him-he is happy-prosperous-well-to-do
This pleasing condition OF business veal is
proverbial from the barber and the butcher
to the grocer and the banker. They all
smile and tell you that this year of panics
and bank failures has been to them u year
of larger business and safer accounts. No
where have / ever seen such positive success.
IT is certainly indicative of good fortune in
the mines, prosperity on the ranches and a
fiourishing agricultural condition.
The sheep and cattle industry of Wyoming
is simply immense, and investors in those
fields need no encouraging word from my
pen.
to reveal their secrets. Gold and silver and
copper, IN paying quantities, burden the
gulches of the mighty ranges that cross
Wyoming from north to south. In the
Laramie mountains asbestos is present III
inexhaustihle veins. Already large capital
is quietly engaged in working and carding
the crude asbestos and preparing it for the
manufacture of cloth fre-proofng and other
understandable conditions. The development
OF this valuable mineral alone insures the
future of Casper. Coal IS found in abun-
dance in all localities and appears in out
groupings In many places from four TO twenty
feet in thickness.
Inexhaustible Petroleum Deposits.
Petroleum is probably attracting, more
widespread attention than any other Product
among Wyomiug's vast and diversified re-
sources. The existence of the oil Is no longer
n matter of conjecture. How to market IL is
now the problem.
The immense monopoly the PennsS lvania
fields nave enjoyed in the oil industry seems
to have oversnadowed and retarded all out
side effort toward the development Of this
valuable product In other parts OF the coun-
try. For a long time the great value of the
Ohio fields was not credited by oil men, and
not until many of the Pennsylvania districts
began to show a decided decrease in daily
output were these new fields prospected and
later developed. The same is true of In
diana. The development of the petroleum
deposits of Indiana was Systematically and
methodically discouraged until all the valu-
able "finds'' and franchises were secured by
the 'Oil Johnnies' of Pennsylvania then
the ''hoosier'' state became an oil producer,
The same forces which successfully deferred
oil operations in Ohio and Indiana have been
at work in Wyoming, and, as u result, the
western market is deprived of a western
product.
First Columbian Prize to Wyoming OH.
1t has beer known for years that petroleum
existed in Wyoming in practically mex
haustible deposits, but the hired minions oil