The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-03-13
SOUTHERN NEVADA
MAY PRODUCE OIL
Drilling Apparatus to Prospect
Likely Territory Shipped
From GOldfield.
NATURAL GAS FOUND
AT INDIAN SPRINGS
Surface Indications Point to
Ample Supply of Oil at
Depth. 4
Special TO The Tribune

Special TO The Tribune.
GOLDFIELD, New. March l2.-south-
ern Nevada is destined to tal.e rank as
a potential oil producing section In the
near future II the expenditure OF large
sums OF money in boring for thu brown
gold has that effect, as II almost In
Vanably has had. An oil rig, with com :
plete equipment for drilling to great
Goldheld 10 the Indian Springs dlstrlc''
forty miles north OF Las Vegas, by Man
agcr Ira MacFarand for the Pioneer
oil company of Nevada, who VIII be
gin drilling at once at a point four miles
south Of the Indian Springs ranch. which
he has leased from the railroad company
for Il term Of years Two G,hef ,ne eonPoe ea2 2ne
neighborhood and will begin operations
shortly.
As early as the year 1879 engineers In
cal Survey classified this land In their
reports as oil land. but until after the
completion of the Las Vegas & ionoPaH
railroad. which passes through the CEN
ter OF the tract no attention was phiu
the district by oil men and only %lthn
the past year has surface prospecting oE
experts resulted In jmprcssinS upon them
the conviction that oil will be found here.
quartz mining districts, and Is cntlteIy
sedlmcntary In formation, me suIIhSv
indications are pronounced to be highlS
favorable for a good quality or oil, WIN
strong asphalt groupings forty feet VIDE
in places and at other points the oil
sand crops at the surface ana is heaNilS
impregnated with asphaltlne and parai
fine the latter being particularly in evil
dcnce and indicating better grade thah
the ordinary.
Some Natural Gas,
Natural gas is encountered throughout
this district and is under such neaFy
pressure that 1t is impossible TO dig a
thirty foot well; The strata OF sand ana
mol r1a Give
odor Of petroleum and near the GROUPINGS
are large quantities OF fossil oyster, ciaIn
and other sheels. some OF which are par
TALLY irnbedded in tho soft. broken forma-
ton. In addition to the possibilities Of
finding oil in this section the develop.
ment OF Its agricultural resources will
be an important feature, The tract
owned by the Pioneer company, empracs
ing many square miles. lies at the head
of the Vegas valley and below 1t some
f1fteen or twenty artesian wells nave
been bored, Not one OF these mas taiied
being 40 miners inches. and at depths
varying from 200 TO 500 feet.
Interest In the reclamation OF desert
land by means OF arteslan weils mas re-
inc been located under the Carey act In
Vegas and Pahrump valleys alone cur
ing the past few months, and the loca-
and southern California. arc In the great
majority of cases assured of an ample
water supply from comparatively shallow
wells TO lrrlgatc their land. II is esli-
mated that the Pioneer companys terri
tory embraces at least 10000 acres or
land which can readily be irrigated The
soil is deep and rich and the climate
mild. On the small ranch leased as a
base of operations for the oil company
is an orchard OF about two acres yield
ing unusually heavy crops OF apples
peaches, pears. pruhes, plums ana hss
hbout one-half this area last year yielded
ten tons OF apples Of excellent quality.