The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-08-30
OIL EXPERT ON
VIRGEA FIELD
Wealthy Operator and Field
Expert of Wide Experience
Talks of Conditions.

F. W. Dunn, a wealthy mining operator
of Nevada and an oil operator of wide ex-
perience in the different fields of the
United States. is in the city with his fam
fly after having made careful investiga-
ton of the Virgen City oil fields. Dur
ing his trip he sized up all conditions,
even to the roads leading into the region,
the cost of transportation, and living ac-
commOdauons. and he returns an enthu-
siast on the country. Not a wild, I'M
reasoning enthusiast, but as an individ>
ual who was able to take the real meas
ure of the region and draw conclusions
from the standpoint of a sane reasoning
expert. The following statement from
Mr. Dunn will be read with the keenest
interest, not only by those who are al
ready interested in the field. but by oil
men everywhere, as they will recognize
that some one is talking who knows and
who is making no attempt to color any
thing for some particular combination or
to boost the merits of some particular
section of the field:
District in Fine Region.
"Virgen City is a settlement with about
800 inhabitants, situated on the Virgen
river, at the junction of the north branch
and the main stream. 1t is really a beau
tiful spot in A fertile valley that can cas-
fly be extensively irrigated when all the
waters are used. The town itself is well
shaded with trees, with water running on
both sides of the streets There are also
good schools and churches and very
friendly, hOnOrably class of people. The
place is now sOrely in need of livery sta
BILE, machine shop, oil Grillers' supply
house, large hotel, stores, and in fact ev-
erything required in a new oil field.
There is plenty of timber for rigs In
the country, but not mills enough to saw
the logs. So those shipping in rigs should,
for a time, send their own timber in.
Teams and wagons of sufficient size are
not to be had. Men having good outfits
should go into the country, as there will
be several years of work for all.
Formation Is Described.
THE formation of the country for
miles is a series of alternating strata of
sand, lime and Shale VARYING from hum
Tow layers. AT intervals this formation
Is cut through by deep canyons leading
to the river In these canyons the strait
1lcauOn is clearly shown, ranging from
3 200 feet altitude to 1000 feet From some
of these stratas. at different attitudes
oil seepages, Trenton rocks and fossils
are shown. | visited sixty of these in a
distance of fifteen miles The formation
dips about 1856 feet to the mile to the
northeast, and the seepages show at DIFF
ferent attitudes from 800 TO COO feet apart
Zone above the other at from two to six
miles in distance. This proves beyond a
doubt that there is both a shallow and a
deep field.
Record of First Well.
1.-The drilling will be unusually inexpen-
sive. as proved by the first and only well
so far drilled. The history of this well
shows a new record for this country The
rig was landed on the ground, timbers Sc
cured from the woods. derrick built and
the we'll finished in thirty-thr days. The
drilling took twelve daylight shifts, no
night work being done. Oil was struck a
$50 feet. The well was drilled into the
sand thirty feet. making the well $40 feet
deep 1t has only thirty-seven feet Of
casing in il, though it is located only
sixty feet from the waters of the river.
The hole was perfectly dry after casing
off this surface water. No clays or mud
were encountered. To make matters as
bad as they could possibly be for the
three men who were working seventv-two
miles from railroad, a waterspout broke
in the canyon and washed away their
camp when the well was half finished.
Still they made the above record. The
men who bored this well are unusually
competent dTillers. having had experience
in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky
and California. Had 1t been otherwise
they could not have performed this feat
THE well is of seventy-five barrel ca
pacfty. They have three other seepages
known below them. all of which they will
reach in 1900 feet from the surface.
Other Interesting Data.
ITO illustrate how regular the forma-
ton IS II may be said that these men
chained back from one of the seepages to
the northeast for three miles, taking the
dip of the formation. They figured they
would strike the pool at COO feet They
struck the oil sand at $50 feet thus miss
ing their survey by only twenty feet
This formation and these seepages ex-
list over many miles square There have
been many competent oil men in the coun-
try VINO nave secured land. and the geo.
logical survey men who are now in the
country pronounce it one of the largest
fields in the United States. There are AL
ready twenty rigs ordered for the field.
The Rio Grande railway can oct a gfr1a