The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-01-19

cut its chanel through the valley between the foot hills and In low water oil sedp- ages can be found at intervals along it's bed. The North Alabama basin or oil measures are very similar in physi- Cal formation to the Kern County held in San Joaquin County, Cal, lying De. tween the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Range mountains. Judging from the de- velopment of that field. it is reasonable to suppose that oil will be found all oyer tn Tennessee Valley in spots up to the foothills of the mountains. It Is little earIy to predict in what quantities OH will be found, ds the wells now being drilled have so far only found first oil sand at a depth of from 300 to 300 feet. The yield of is well can be estimated to produce two barrels of oil to each foot of sand drilled through. If the oil sand is 100 feet deep. the well should be a 200 barrel producer, etc. This territory gther problematical as to the depth of the oil sand recently discQvered, as esti- mates are based only on past experlehce. One fact seems certain, and that IS luog- ing from the character of the oil sands so far found in this section it should be a good healthy producer of very high grade Illuminating oil and may be expected |" bring in some big wells as the petroleum gas encountered indicates very heavy pressure.
 Early History of Oil Development.
 The present interest in oil and the de- veiopinent now in progress Is not Of re- cent origin. The report Of the geological survey of the Tennessee Valley region of Alabama by Dr Eugene A. Smith. State Geologist. contains some interest Ing data on the early attempts to de- velop oil in this territory The report says that mineral tar and asphalt springs occur in the Moulton Valley and about a dozen wells have been bored in the valley for gas and oil Both gas and oil as well salt water were found and one ot the wells Is said by an expert well with A. pacity Of twenty-five barrels per day. The oil was odorless and of oark green color, thdugh the oil from some of tho other wells was odOrlesS and of a black color. This well is also said to have furnished gas at the rate of 20,OOO cubic feet per day. and others of the wells are said to have furnished gas in considerable quantities. One of them IS now an over flowing or artesian salt water well. Nu- merous fields of asphalt and bitumlnous rock are found in the neighborhood or Town Creek Tn Lawrence County, anu on the weathered surfaces in spots, ana rocks are streaked with black rom ths oxidation of the crude oil into maltha. and in some places 1t IS further oXl@ dized into asphaltum; These rocks ,lti outn freely in a hot fire. Spasmodic attempts have been made to sink shallow. small bore wells In the past without results.
 The Cover Wells.
 Not far from the foothills of Sand Mountains in the southeast corner of Lawrence county. Tne MOullDn OlI SOlil- pany sunk six wells with six inch pipe in lS9O-1, Cover well No 1, according to Dr. McRae, the geologist in charge. struck an odOrless gas at 302 feet. which burned ten feet high out of the six-inch pipe second gas flow was struck at 300 feet and had pressure enough to blow away d hat he'd over the opening of the pipe. First oil sand was struck at 300 and the second at 1,10O. This well was ruined by shooting with nltroglycer- inc which let salt water in and drowned out the oil. The other wells were sunk at various depths capped and abandoned after having fallen into the bands of the Standard Oil Company.
 Wells Drilled in 1867.
 On Caps Creek. branch of Brushy Fork of Sipsey River in Lawrence Coun. ty there is a well said by the old set tiers to have been drilled in 1S67. and kz reported to be between 700 and 800 feet
 deep. It is more than probable that this Is one of the wells drilled by Jona- than Watson in 1865 as Prof. c. r. Peckham in his special report on pet-4- leum for the tenth census says: "Jona- than Watson of Titusvllle. Ind, drilled wells ln Alabama in 1865. and got oil in two of them.
 Morgan County Wells.
 A uAn was aunk at HartselIe. in M0r-