Weekly journal-miner., 1911-09-20

tons. together with quartor-scctions filed upon. embrace strip of land some thirty miles long by two and n half miles wide
 Ed. Anthony, who is interested in the Verde Valley oil company. ac. eompanied the party six miles up tie valley from Camp Verde; where, on the near bank of the river. shalc stratum running from one Co fifteen feet in thickness is visible for scv. eral hundred yards. some shale chip. pings highly impregnated with the odor of petroleum were brought back Co Prescott, as was also, fine piece of gypsum in great quantity along the river bank. Both these samples are on exhibition at the Chamber of Commerce office.
 Doctors Bleazby and De Wore, who came into the valley few days ago with letters of credit from Los An. geles and Prescott signed four con. tracts with holders of land in the valley near Camp Verde. It is un- derstood at Camp Verde that these gentlemen are representatives of the Union Oil Company of Los Angeles. They will return in few days to secure further contracts and stated that they would soon be drilling with an up.to.date outfit.
 All kinds of contracts are being signed. Sid Chick says he has sub. scribed 10 one which calls for pay. ment to him of $500 twelve months after date of signature, if the leassee does not commence boring. This con. tract allows Mir. Chick 10 per cent of all the oil produced on his lands and all improvements and products remain his at the expiration of fiji. teen years. He is allowed to farm the land while boring or producing operations are not in progress.
 A good many of the land owners in the valley are ehary of signing any form of contract, believing they will profit more by leasing or selling outright after it has been determined whether oil can be found or not.
 Along with this activity in oil, it is evident that farmers are seeking locations in the Lower and Middle Verde. The party encountered not less than dozen caravans, which ! have come into the valley from Flag staff and points in the southern part of the territory.
 Reaching the Haskell ranch at sun down. the party were regaled with chicken dinner, peaches and cream and wild honey found in nearby cave that day. MT. Haskell, who has recently sold his interest in this or chard to Ex United States Senator Clark, has one of the largest and best .pruned places to be found any where. He has 5000 trees in full bearing. the majority being apple Like all other Verde horticulturists MT. Haskell is looking forward to tho completion of the Santa Fe branch from Cedar Glade into the valley. In spite of every endeavor more than A third of his apple crop is tota loss yearly due to insufficieney oi nearby markets. A good many of th' windfalls are being fed to the hog or made into cider and cider vinegar but it is impossible to get suffieien help to pick the fruit which remain on the branches and that which | rotting on the ground.
 l Nearly every resident of the Verdi Valley is praying for oil, believini that it's discovery will induce th santa Fe to build a line through th entire length of the Verde withou delay.
 Barring the presence in incressinI
 
 numbers of the eoddling moth and tn slow but steady progress of the John son weed throughout its entire ex tent the whole Verde Valley Is prom isinp one of the richest crops eve yielded. Near Camp Verde, severa fields of alfalfa are nearly choke' out by the latter and there is seareel. An orchard which has been spraye carefully enough to keep the mot down.
 | James c. Sellers the sole dry-faru CT of the Verde, is undaunted by tn drought of August and his sixty acre of corn look remarkably well, if |, trifle behind the season. He ha been getting roasting ears, strin beans. squash and pumpkins for se' eral weeks aud will have enough fee l. to carry his stock until the crop O | 1912 is matured. Some time ago, | an attempt to secure water near m