The Cordova daily times., 1920-04-19

gerations. It appears under the head ing, "Alaska's New Oil Field Causes Boom at Cordova":
 With the navies and merchant ma rine of every nation in the world SSamoring for fuel oil in this year of increasing scarcity, the search for new oil fields on the Pacific coast is not confined to California
 From time to time paragraphs have appeared in this and other newspapers regarding exploration by this or that company for oil in the republics of Colombia, Peru and Chile. Also on the Pacific coast of Mexico, in Gen. tral America, and even in China.
 Yesterday John B. Barrett, founder of the town of Mccarthy, Alaska, and pioneer of the big Alaska copper belt, reached this city with the story of the wild rush of prOspectors into the only known and wholly undevel- oped oil field of Alaska, which followed the news by cable that the President had signed the oil land leasing bill
 Covers Vast Territory
 @According to the Geological Survey reports and maps which Barrett showed yesterday at the Palace hotel this known oil field of Southern Katalla, through the Iliamna district. miles along the coast, in some in- stances practically at tidewater, from Aatalla, through the Iliamna district, to Coal Bay, including Yakataga beach, where oil was first discovered by an Ohio prospector named Will jams, in the late sos.
 At Coal Bay an area twenty-five miles long by eight miles in width is studded with oil seepages and gas emanations, but the only producing we'll in the whole district is in the neighborhood of the Martin river, not far from Katalla.
 One of the most remarkable discov- cries recently made by these oil boom CTS, Barrett says, is pond or small dry lake of practically solid paraffne.
 We'll Known to Indians
 The Indians, it seems, knew of the existence of this lake for countless generations, and have been quarrying the paraff1ne out and using it for win tar fuel, in region where wood is de- cidedly scarce.
 This lake of solid paraffne covers more than one hundred acres, and the prospectors who are working upon it are digging it out with hot shoVels. In the Katalla district, which ex- tends from Martin river through the Yakataga Beach country to Icy Bay, on the south, is the only producing oil we'll in the whole of this vast area
 Before all the oil lands of Alaska were tied up from location and eX ploration by presidential decree, a concern called the Chilkat Oil Com pany obtained a patent to fractional holding near Katalla.
 This patented ground contains only thirty-fve acres, but the well upon this tract lies only three miles from the ocean, and produces fifty barrels of oil day.
 No Oil Sand Struck
 win drilling this we'll, which is a shallow one-less than 1900 feet deer no oil sand was encountered, but the geologists explain that in all prob ability the oil seeps through shale formation from the oil sands below
 This oil, like all oil found thus faI in Alaska, possesses paraffine base and the oil produced from this single well is of A degrees gravity Baume with an extraction of about 60 pcl cent of gasoline
 The oil is decidedly green in c)lol and very fluid. Barrett showed sam pie of the oil which he had taken him self from the well.
 The Chilkat Company has erected . small refinery, where it extracts the gasoline and distillate from this oi for local consumption at Cordova, the railroad terminal in the neighborhood ~of the field.
 The residue Is being stored for fu ture treatment, laboratory tests hay fig shown that the entire residue is available for high-grade lubricants gasoline, paraffne, etc.
 Railroad to Tap Field
 A branch railroad has been project ed from the Copper River & North western railroad into the Katalla oi field.
 This road will start at Mile 39, thir