The Jennings daily record. [volume] (Jennings, La.) 1900-1903, 1902-04-17
THE OIL STRATA.
Col. Wheeler Writes Of the Louisiana
Field.

Field.
To all who are interested in the
oil field of louisiana, the follow
ing private letter from Colonel E..
M. Wheeler to gentleman in
Beaumont will prove OF interest
and Instructions
AS you know, it is out of my
usual custom to advance my the
cries of the various oil fields and
belts, for l desire to shun pub
licity in this regard. AS you are
aware, l make no profession other
than that I claim to be the oldest
living practical oil driller and
operator in the American field.
For forty-three years I have been
drilling more orless in almost ev-
cry field upon this continent. Ir.
1858 l drilled the second and third
wells ever drilled for Oil in Amer
lea, mediately following the
first We'll drille i by Colonel Drake.
William Barnsdaiy of Titus.
vile, Pennsylvania, drilled the
fourth.
can give you some facts with
regard to the gulf coast country,
which l think will prove both in
terestipg and profitable. While
ia Russia in 1865, examining the
oil fields in the vicinity of Baku,
| was so struck by the similarity
of that country to the gulf coast
of Texas and Louisiana that
then and there determined to ex-
anime the gulf coast as soon as
I returned to America. On the
third day of January, 1866, 1 lam
ded in Galveston and spent nearly
two months riding over this coun-
try on horseback. At that time
both in Texas and Louisiana I
found at differently points far more
striking indications of the pres
ence of oil than l can today. This
is, no doubt, due to the fact that
drainage, both artificial and nat
uraI, has greatly improvedin the
past forty years, and oilleaks and
sipages are more readily washed
away, but the gas noles S till show
dis prominently, and furnish more
readily than at the earlier period
the means of tracing the anticlinal
ridges and locating the sinclinal
basins. In the coast country these
anticlines have cross ridges at
various intervals, which in most
cases are well defined. At Spin
die Top you have one of the best
though in my opinion by no
means a solitary instance of the
cross ridges on the main articlina'.
Where ever these cross ridges
are, sulphur seems to be found,
invariably, above the oil, and as
at Spindle Top the top rock be:
ing of recent formation, is eX-
tremely thin. To trace these an
ticlinal ridges by surface indica-
tiOns and to insure ones self of |
the exact location of the cross an
ticline, where a gushing Spindle
Top may be found requires all
the skill that long experience
gives, and l fatter myself that
have had the experience, and con-
siderable inborne genius, for
tracing out the Typographical
peculiarities of the oil field.
l believe that 1 could show you
or your friends that the general
bearing of this great deposit of
sulphur and oil is about 33 de-
grees north of east. This line fits
exact the location of Spindle Top
and the sui phur mines in Louisi-
ana and the big Forque Springs
further north and east, and while
not following exactly still i'll Il
general way, conforming to the
northeastward trend of the gulf
This northeastward
trend seems to persist along the
whole northeast coast of the
United States.
Go tol Pennsylvania, where is
the tinestoil yet discovered in the !
world, and you will find these an
icontinued on Page Four.i