The San Francisco call., 1896-04-04
OIL FIELDS OF
FRESNO COUNTY,
Californians Will Soon Be
Able to Supply the
Country.
FINE QUALITY FOUND.
Pronounced by an Expert to Be
Equal to West Virginia'S
Product
DEVELOPMENT WORK PUSHED.
The Headquarters of Captain Barrett
and Associates Christened
Oil City.

FRESNO, CAL, April 3.-Great import
ance attaches to the operations of Cap
tain Frank Barrett of Selma and his asso-
ciates in developing the great petroleum
fields near Coalinga station, in the south
western corner of this county. This i'm
portance is based principally on the fact
that it is the first attempt to do the work
indicated on a scale sufficiently compre-
hensive to justify the prospects of any
thing like a real test of one of the most
promising Oil districts in California. The
second consideration is that, for reasons
more or less obscure, marked advance
has recently been made on the output of
the oil districts of Los Angeles by the oil
exchange of that city. This advance now
! amounts to two-sevenths of the former
price, and there is every prospect that an
other raise will soon be made.
1t is said that these advances are not the
result of any diminution in the local sup
ply, and, therefore, reason must be
sought for elsewhere. This is unques-
tionably true, for it is but fair to presume
that with the work of development going
on there constantly the supply is rather
being increased than diminished. THE
CALL correspondent has been informed
from sources of unquestioned credibility
that the real reason for the two or three
late fiurries and sharp advances in the
price of crude petroleum at Los Angeles is
that thousands of wells in the great oil
districts of Pennsylvania, Ohio and New
York are showing indications of being
almost exhausted. This welI-grounded
belief has stimulated development and test
work in other fields to degree unknown
for years. The output of these new wells
has not been sufficient TO compensate for
the diminution in the old ones; hence the
lessening of the aggregate visible supply of
oil in the United States.
Those most familiar with this subject in
all of its bearings hold to the opinion that
the Pacific Slope will witness an activity
in oil development within a decade scarcely
to be imagined now. And it is believed
that when this development work reaches
something like its full results the coast oil
fields will be supplying the United States
with an immense proportion of its oils.
Competent judges-msn who have spent
many years in the oil fields of Pennsyl-
vania and New York-contdently assert
that there are the most promising indica-
tions of immense subterranean reservoirs
of oil amid the mountain and foothlll re.
gions of California.
The Coalinga oil district, in Fresno
County, lies in the foothills and canyons
OF the coast range of mountains, about
sixty miles southeast from this city as the
crow flies. The petroleum area, so far as
surface indications go, is comprised in a
few sections of land. The Barrett camp,
hereafter to be called Oil City, is situated
on an inclined plateau, between two
ravines, about three miles from the north
side of Pleasant Valley. The works are
reached by good wagon road up a cam
yon. At Oil City CALL correspondent
found about fifteen men at work. There
were three drill parties engaged sinking
wells. Two of them employed steam
power and the most approved
machinery; the other used an old hv.
draulic concern propelled by mule
power. The men were experienced oil
we'll borers, and all pronounced the pros
poets fattering for heavy output when
the proper depth was reached. These
wells showed oil almost from the surface,
and one, at 300 feet was producing almost
enough crude oil to supply fuel for the
work OF going still deeper. Both the other
wells also produced considerable oil. One
had reached a depth of 450 feet at the time
of the visit.
The formation is of slate and sandstone,
separated by q strata of sand. Gas was
found in all the wells. Most of the water
in the vicinity of the works tasted strongly
of minerals. There were trickling streams
of oil to be seen in many of the small
ravines and canyons of the district.
A surveying party was at the camp.
This party was, like the others, in the
employ of the recently formed company
The San Joaquin Oil and Supply Com
pany-the members of which have made
mineral filings of twenty acres each on
much of the ad jacent land. The surveyors
| were engaged in running out the lines and
stalking off the lots.
This district has been known as an oil
region for many years, butlittle or nothing
| was done in the line of development until
| a year or so ago, and then only in crude
sort of way. There has been for some
time kind of "oii district" supposed to
have been operating under the mining
laws OF the State, but its record has been
so poorly kept and SO little attention was
paid to the forms of law, that test work
has, heretofore. been much re tarded.
This district record business has also
been a fruitful source of chickering's and
antagonisms among the earlier claimants
and prospectors. The Barrett Company
| bases its operations on filings made with
| the County Recorder in this city. Under
the district-record regime, one we'll. known
now as the .'McWhorter WE'LL" at a
depth of about 900 feet was producing sew
eral barrels of oil per day; but, in the
clash of interests and contention over
rights, it was plugged SO at present it
is producing only small quantity of es-
Gaping oil daily.
The oil found around Coalinga is con-
ceded on all hands to be of high Grade
that is, large per cent, say from rs to IS
per cent of it, is pure white or Illuminating
oil. An analysis of q sample of this oil
has been recently made by DR.. Henry
Froehling of Richmond, Va. In letter
accompanying the analysis DR.. Froehling
says: This oil is. from its specific gray
| ity, closely allied to the West Virginia
oil.' The sample sent to DR.. Froehling