The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1921-08-20

tremendous distances dIo Sho't S3'"-
mer Season to Be Cut by Inventions
Imperial Oil Company Worked
Quietly for Years Before Secret
Came out-Mackenzie, the Explor-
err, Mentioned Oil seepages 1870
Years Ago-To Open in June.
The eyes of the world are rapidly
being focused upon the sub-arctic re-
gion of northern Canada along the
banks of the Mackenzie river at a point
some fourteen hundred miles from q
railroad. from which stretches what
now appear may develop into one of
the richest petroleum fields in the
world. The first news of the immense
possibilities became known. to the
world at large in October, 1920, when
a discharged employee of the Imperial
Oil company related at Edmonton, Al
berta, how the company had brought
in q gusher averaging about LOCO bar
rels a day.
Edmonton Is the city nearest to the
strike, O distance of 1000 miles, but
where the recording office for the
northwest territories still is. The news
of the new field spread rapidly until
by March men in all parts Of the world
had begun preparing to rush to the
sub-arctic region as soon as navigation
opens.
The irony of the present excitement
;c +bo+ fbo Enov,IalUa fbat tbp Mac
kenzie river region Is rich in oil pos
sibilities is not at all a new thing.
Alexander Mackenzie, the celebrated
explorer, made much mention of the
oil seepages along the Mackenzie 100
years ago, and Sir John Franklin also
mentions how the oil exuded from the
earth in great quantities. The exist
ence of oil was also known to many
men in recent days, but the immense
distance of the field from rail head
and the tremendous difficulties Of navi-
CATION and the shortness of the season
discouraged any individual or small
company from going into this faraway
field, lying only $50 miles from the
arctic circle.
Imperial Oil Company in Field.
But the Canadian government geolo-
gists had not overlooked the region,
and one other concern, unhampered by
any lack of means, and to which a few
years of waiting did not matter, went
into the Mackenzie river region a num-
Der of years ago, and for the last five
/ at least, as far as can be known, has
kept a number of men at work pros
pecting for oil. This concern was no
less than the Imperial Oil company1o of
Canada, said by many to be a subsi-
diary of the Standard Oil company / n
the United States. With the demand
for petroleum, and particularly its by
product, gasoline, continually growing
to such enormous proportions and to
threaten to exceed the supply, 1t was
but natural such a large company
should eagerly seek a new field.
SO immensely important did the Do
minion government of Canada consid-
er the new field that on January 20.
1921, all previous petroleum and nat
ural gas regulations were suspended
by an order in council. Following this
on February -, new regulations were
made known which read IF oil is dis
covered the lessee will be allowed to
take out a twenty-one-year lease for an
area of one square mile, the remaining
t~hree-quarters going to the govern
ment." That is, though the man dis
coved oil IN $500 acres, which he is al
lowed to stake under his permit, three
quarters remain Crown reserve.
Location Of the Strike.
For those unfamiliar with the great
northwest of Canada a good map of
the region should be studied while read
ing the following lines regarding routes
into the new field. The oil strike
is in latitude 65 north and longi-
tude 126 west. In this vicinity
begins the oil field. The most di-
rect summer route Is covered by
rail, steamer and land portage. The
new railroad into the ~northland run
some three hundred miles, to near Fort
McAIurray. Over this, much of which
is still skeleton track, a light auto runs
on rails. 1t can travel faster than a
train could with safety. Fort McMur-
ray traffic into the great north goes
down the Athabasca river, across Lake
Athabasca and down Slave river to
Fitzgerald, where is a 16-mile land
portage to Fort Smith, on the Macken-
zie, which portage is now traversed by
modern caterpillar tractors and big lor-
rieS.
From Fort Smith, the Slave river,
Slave lake and Mackenzie river offer
easy transportation to the Arctic sea
An alternate route can be taken from
Peace River Crossing, travelling via the
Peace river to Fitzgerald. Upon both
these routes steamers of very light
draft, gas boats and fiat scow boats
carry all supplies and machinery that
goes into the north. The Athabasca
river opens about May l, the Macken-
ale about May %, but Slave lake can
not be depended upon until July l. For
nearly three centuries these great wa
terways. have been travelled by white
men, first the v%oyageurs in their canoes
and Yorke boats, then the later river
men in their fat-bottomed COW
Not since the Klondike rush in 1895
and 1899. when Edmonton, Alberta,
wus II point of entrance to the gold
fields. has excitement reigned so high.
rL- R....fk Do&A