The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-07-09
BY Many 1t Is Believed There Is a
Great Body Of Oil in the
Greek Nation.
DRILL MET COAL AND ASPHALT.
Strong Flow of Gas Encountered
Difficulty in Acquiring Safe
Titles to Land-Affairs
Are Unsettled.

| REPUBLIC SPECIAL.
Ninita, 1. T.. July "a great deal Of ex-
citement prevails in the Creek Nation Of
| the Indian Territory over the discovery Of
| oil at Reifork. and Republic reporter
spent the day there in order to ascertain the
| facts as they exist.
The well Is not a gusher, but II has
large quantity of gas escaping from the ell
| bow pipe. There are both gas and Oil IN
the well. but there is not combination Of
1t at this time sufficient to make a Gusher
such as may be found in the Beaumont
fields.
This we'll contains that combination OF
gas and oil that makes gushers. but the
| flow of gas has not yet been combined with
the oil SO as TO make It a gusher. and men
familiar with oil and gas wells differ on
this point as to whether the combination
OF the gas and oil in this we'll will eventu-
ally make a gnsher when the well is fur
Their developed.
All the signs and Indications Of gusher
are present in this well, but 1t Is not
gusher now and may never be.
The we'll was put down by the Pennsyl-
vania Oil Company. copartnership COM
posed OF J. 8. Wick and ]. H. Hydrick OF
Sapulpa, 1. T. The company is mere
partnership and has no corporate existence.
The well was drilled with old-fashioned
machinery that has been In use for the
past half century. The drill IL large steei
one and is raised and dropped by horse
power and forces Ats way through the earth
by its own weight. This makes the work
Of drilling slow and tedious. and no rec
ord was kept Of the geological formations
passed through In the well.
Met Coal, Asphalt and xfnc.
Mr.. Wick. who superintended the work
OF drilling this oil WELL says that vein OF
coal 5 or 6 feet In thickness was struck at
n depth of between 200 and s0) feet from the
surface. and that asphalt was struck be-
low the vein OF coal. and before striking the
coal the drill passed through q vein Oh
zinc ore. 1t is not known whether this ore
is in paying quantities and cannot DC
known unless development Is undertaken.
Tbera 10 a constant flow Of excellent gas
that would be valuable were IT Where ~
could be used for Illuminating purposes.
When the well is capped Tor snort I'M
the oil accumulates. and. rising above .ns
gas strata, when the cap is removed gusn.o
out ten or twelve feet in the air ana con-
tinues. thus to now, graouaIS s"s
weaker. and IL the well IL left open any
length of time the now OF oil will entireiy
cease as soon as It sinks below the gas
strata, after which It produces nothing put
gas
Advise Deeper DRILLING.
When the drill struck the flow OF Oil work
was SUSPENDED. The drill had only gone nve
inches into the rock strata wh S Sne ,,, W,
are experienced with OH wells believe tnat
if the Well is put down deeper muen pes-
ter fow Of oil Will be found n ..,st,t., ~ the
well at its present status nave oesn N IN
These estimates run from twenty-nve 70 ~. Nv
barrels per day but al OF tnegS heI s.' IL no
way. of telling the capacity OF the wen eA-
cept by measuring the amount OF OIL thrown
out at intermittent ineessas no ,es ,.ne,,
men OF the capacit! OF the wen tas see p'eA
The quality and value Of the oil Is assured.
as 1t is high grade Q. OIL ,u .nnaes p T.
nounce 1t practically the same as some Oh
the products of Pennsylvania and the Cor
aae Sat L Is that the
gravity of the product Is about So; 1t IL free
from watery mixtures and asphalt and the
Sn,y shlng eroWe to be By going deeper
no" u" ReSdfork Il small Place.
A great many people have been to Red
fork which is small place. nd not oi laas
what would be called flag station. on the
st. Louis and San Francisco Railroad, four
Was s' ge tbe 81 River Redfesk had
population Of less than 200 inhabitants
and therefore could not be Incorporated
upon the passage Of the Curtis bill, and no
attempt has been made at incorporation
since that time.
There is a serious obstacle in the way Of
securing leases or land titles where the oil
IS located. The title to the land is yet in
the Creek Indian tribe but treaty has
been ratified and is in operation: which will
before very long remove the dimcul.
ties in the way Of leases and
land titles. Investors and specula-
tors have rushed into the Creek Ma
tion with the belief that they could OBJ
tain leases and land titles, but this is a mis-
apprehension. Such land titles as can be
obtained may be unsafe. and no lease can
be granted for more than one year. The
President Of the United States has not yet
promulgated the Creek treaty. declaring It
| in force and effect: Until this 4. done any
lease obtained in the Creek country or any
land bought under any conditions is dam
gerous purchase. and after the proclama-
| flor is issued It will still be unsafe.
country, especially as to secure land titles
win. for the present. prevent any large
deals being made In the Redfork field
| and Il will be some time before great gush-
| ers can he developed.
The right of the St Louis and San
| Francisco Railroad is 400 feet wide at Red