The San Francisco call., 1901-11-24
DESERT FIELDS
BEING LOCATED
Bowers Gives Account of
Wells Drilled on the
Colorado.
Shortage of Cars Works a
Hardship to the New
Industry.

Some idea of the extent to which the
California desert regions have been taken
up by oil prospectors is afforded by the
report of Stephen Bowers, field assistant
to the State Mineralogist, concerning the
Colorado Desert. Claims on that desert
have been located by the Cactus, Calrizo
Creek, Flowing Wells, Helvetia Inves.-
ment, Longrehr Oil and Development.
Palm Springs, San Diego Desert, San
Diego Oil Belt. San Diego Oil and Devil
opment. Signal Mountain Oil, Signal
Mountain Exploration and Development t,
Success Oil, Vallecitos Oil and Yuaha OH
companies. The desert has been divided
into four sections, which are known as
the Coyote Wells, Csrrizo Creek, Fish
Creek and Seventeen Palms Spring dis
tricts. All of Carrizo Creek district, nea
the bed of Carrizo Creek, from the foot
of the mountains to Salton Lake, and a-so
along the bed of Val;ecitcs Creek below
Vallecitos Springs, has been located. The
district is bounded on the north by Black
Mountain, on the wes- and southwest by
Vallecitos and Laguna mountains and en-
the south by Carrizo Mountain. The va
ley ,of Palm Springs, including the clay
hills, is about eight miles wide, at Car
rizo Springs about ten Eliles wide, and
pany's oil we'll. The wells that have been
begun in the desert in this general locni-
ity have been drilled by the Palm Springs
Cactus Oil. Mesquite Oil and Hanna,
Roark & Blethen companies. On the des
ert are water and gas wells and soda
springs. The district Is generally de-
scribed by Bowers as fellows:
This district extends from the boundary line
between the United States and Mexico on the
south to the Riverside County line on the
north. ard skirts the mountains at their east
extremity, which in early Tertiary tfF'es
islands in the ocean, made a deeply
indented seashore what is now San
Diego County. The district extends from ths
mountains eastwardly somewhat indefinitely.
The desert proper slopes from an altitude of
about 400 feet toward the Colorado River and
Gulf of California, and in some places is be-
low sea level Much erosion has taken place,
and the desert is largely covered with washes,
SAND m dunes sss Saa, etc M which make vel
western side of this vast plain are destitute of
vegetation, but mesquite trees, greasewood
and some other shrubs grow along the washes
in the desert. 4
The Car Shortage.
The shortage of oil cars on the Southern
Pacific is working a great hardship to tne
oil producers. AS an example the facts
concerning the Union Iron Works are
quoted by the Pacific Oil Reporter as fol-
lows:
When the oil fields of Coalinga and Kern
were developed so to insure an abundant
supply of fuel the Union Iron Works made a
contract with the Monte Cristo Company by
which they agreed to take a large amount of
oil. covering a long period of time. The oil
is used under six large boilers and nearly a
car and half is consumed daily. For a
while all went well. The oil burned well, a
labor bill for handling fuel was lessened The
contract provided that the Union Iron Works
transportation, and as the demand for oil
increased all over the State the Union Iron
Works began to have trouble to get cars At
last 1t became impossible to supply the neces-
sary fuel for the furnaces, and one after
another the oil burners were taken out and
coal took the place of oil. At present only
one furnace is burning oil, where there should
be six The Monte Cristo has the oil, but
the Southern Pacific Company has not got
est consumers in San Francisco have gone
back to coal, not because they did not prefer
Standard Oil Company has its own cars. and
makes the railroad haul them. 1t seems to he
the only concern that is able to s1nnIv oJi &c
wanted -
Favoring Combination.
Nearly every witness who could be
classed as an oil producer who appeare3
before the Railroad Commissioners the
last week in the railroad rates case at
trfbuted the demoralized condition of the
oil business in this State to lack of com
bination among the producers. It wos
conceded that nothing could raise tho
IL. II
Angeles witnesses, attr1buting the falling
OF In the price at Los Angeles to the
competition of the Kern River oil in the
first instance, spoke rs decidedly in favor
Of making a strong combine as did the
owners of oil properties in the Kern Coun-
ty fields.
The manager of the Standard Oil Com
pany announces that from Point Rich.
mond the Pacific islands will be supple j
with California fuel OIL The company be
lieves that there will he very large CO.
mand for oil in the Philippine Islands.
The Bakersfield Californian says that
the Peerless Oil Company has three
strings of tools at work and that four
more holes will be drilled
The New York Com mercial gives the
following figures relative to the proSuc-
ton of the Beaumont gushers: Total
shipments of oil to November L, 1,500 800
barrels; amount in storage, 900, 600 barrels
waste from Lucas, Beaumont Palestine
and other gushers. 1.0ON,0O0 barrels; total
barrels 100000. FROM this it appea- 8
that there are 2, 200 barrels for the
market exclusive of tie 100000 barrels
that went to waste. To make this total
shipment would require demand for TO-
600 barrels per day for five months. Tie
domestic consumption of the Beaumont
oil. so says the Los Angeles Herald, mas
been confined to Texas and Louisiana
and this has been increased by the ve-y
low price of from 10 to 20 cents per barre.
f. 0. b at Gladys City or Beaumont
O q
and Howard and Folsom streets, renting for
SIS a month southeast corner of Twenty
fourth street and Hoffman avenue consisting
of lot 65x100. with cottage and a stable
and two adjoining lots. each S0x10e on Twenty
fourth street: lot 37:6x125 feet on the east side
of Eureka street. $685. south of Seventeenth
street; three lots. 25x114. on the south line of
Alvarado street los feet west of Noe, and me
the southwest corner of those streets. 2s6
Noe street and 105 feet on Aivarado: lot
50:10x114. the northwest corner of Douglass
and Valley streets; lot 25x70. on the west line
of Anderson street, 100 feet north of Eugenia
avenue; lot J25x1s0 on the north side of Folger
avenue, 7S3:41x east of Bay street: lots 2o0x100
on the east side of Head street. 200 feet north
of Garfield: lot 5Ox11o. the south side of
Marshall street 400 feet east of Congdon lot.
81 feet on Sanchez street and 1o5 feet on Nine
teenth lot 25x1376. with two flats, at 1t1S and
1l1S1s Fell street between Scott and Devisa-
dero: eisht-room house, with lot 2ssx10o feet.
at 1902 Green street. lot. S5x122:6 with store and
flats. on the southeast corner of Howard and
Twentieth streets.