The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-07-20
CALIFORNIA OIL FIELDS
LEWIS G.. AIKEN ENTHUSIASTIC
OVER THE PROSPECT.
He Visited the Field and Thinks Ii Is
Almost Observation-Disclosures
ana Men Interested.

Il do not see how the Indianapolis and
Indiana men who have invested in stock
OF the Indiana Oil Company can keep from
making great deal of money" declared
Lewis G. Akin yesterday. Mr.. Akin re-
Gently visited the oil field in California in
which the Indiana Oil Company owns large
tracts Of land, and is enthusiastic over
what he saw and heard, principally the
former, while in the Golden State.
Our company owns ten acres right in
the heart Of the Kern river or Bakers
field district. he said. land that territory
* simply mass of derrieks as far as one
can see. The soil in this district is lit
orally an oil sand You can take mass
of it in your hand and squeeze the oil
from it with your fingers. The first we'll
sunk by the Globe Oil Company, which
owns land next to ours, was only 700 feet
deep. They were afraid to make it deeper
for fear they would strike salt water and
lose their well. Their later wells, however,
are a thousand feet deep.
when / first went to Los Angeles, Call,
continued Mr. Akin. II had no idea of
branching out into the oil business. That
was in April l fell in, however. with
a lot of business men that did not concern
except the oil business, and they soon got
me interested. and went up to the Ba-
kersfield or Kern river district When l
reached the great oil field of California my
enthusiasm scarcely knew bounds.
The oil proposition there is altogether
different from What IL IS In this part OF
the country. Here they have to drill
through rock TO get oil, but in California
it is found in sand formation. Our party
saw nearly all OF the wells, and there was
not one that was not lowing. In fact,
there has been no dry hole made in the
district thus far. 1t is Just like a lake of
wells In that district and perfect wilder
ness of derricks, on top OF the hills or
knobs and down In the valleys. An eX-
pert mineralogist In California estimates
that there are at least million barrels of
oil under every acre of the Bakersheld
district"
Mr. Akin said that Senator O. T. Hubbell.
Of this State, is now in the Kern river oil
district, where he has already cleared
quarter OF million dollars.
1T is FUEL OIL.
Mr. Akin talked Interestingly about the
nature and value Of the California oil. 1T
is strictly fuel OIL he said. land has an
asphalt base. There is only a compare
lively small percentage Of kerosene in it.
This oil has solved the fuel problem for
California. Coal there is outrageously high,
about SIS ton, but now a great many in
dustries are using crude oil for fuel. Many
steamship lines have changed their fire.
boxes so as TO admit of the use of the new
fuel. Irrigating, smelling and other va
rietieS OF Industrial plants are using the
oil. Another thing, this new fuel opens up
an avenue for securing new manufacturing
enterprises for California. Manufacturing
has been practically at a standstill in that
State for years on account of the prohibit
tive price of coal Now, however. fuel can
be supplied as cheaply in California as any
where else and the consequence viii be that
new factories will move into the State"
Mr.. Akin said that oil is to be found in
paying quantities in other parts of Cali
fornia outside of and at a good distance
from the Bakersfield or Kern river district
The Indiana Oil Company also owns land
in this part of the State. The officers and
directors OF this company are all Indiana
men. The list follows: President, James s.
tary, Cyrus J. Clark; treasurer o. q. Hub
bell ]. II. Slater
The prospectus of the company states
that il owns 1,O40 acres of fine oil land dis
tributed in the famous Kern river and
Kramer fields and in the Antelope valley
The land in the Kern river district is in the
very heart of that famous oil-producing
territory, and is surrounded by wells that
are the biggest producers in the State of
California. A distributing pipe line runs
through the companys land direct to the
railroad two miles away, and through this
cars
The prospectus also states that the In
diana Oil Company's lands contain valuable
deposits of asphalt of as good quality as
can be obtained anywhere. This asphalt
can, it is said be refined and put the
market in Indianapolis for SIS ton, which
is much less than one-half the cost of the
kind that is used here now.