The Carbon County news., 1926-08-19

nat-oottomed boat and noated down
rom Moao. 1t was daring perform.
ance, Tor the stream twists constantly.
unseen rocks and shifting bars add to
It's dfficulties. and the canyons per.
pendicular walls threaten instant
| wreck.
But 1t was done. Materials were
Drought, a derrick reared. machinery
placed, camp built and drilling be-
gun. Now, with OIL flowing from
depth OF 2,035 feet, the Crane Creek
well Is suddenly the wonder of the
whole intermountain country.
A Maze of Difficulties
Just about year from the hevin.
nlng Of drilling the we'll began to flow.
with every indication that when tbe
arlh goes somewhat deeper into the
producing sand it will be an i'm.
portant producer. For the present
drilling has been suspended. AWAITING
provision for taking. the oil away. It
is doubtful II III all the history Of the |
ooo'ooO wells that have been drilled in |
thls country, largely in regions diff
cult OF access, any sone has ever pre.
sented such category of obstacles az
this canyon we'll in Utah. How the
OIL VIII be transported to refinery is
Sllil sheer guess work, but a way will
De found, for the ingenuity and re-
sources OF the oil engineers have
never failed.
The bringing in" OF this well illus.
rates the difficulty OF petroleum de- :
'elopment. Convinced that the geo
oglcal structure was particularly
avorable, the projectors determined
0 gamble $4,000 on drilling. Before
hey got oil they had spent more than
vice that
For years wells have been drilling
various parts OF the state-fully
w IN alI-at cost OF probably
100000, and this canyon well is the
rst real producer! 1t is only by dint
such persistence in coping with
atural obstacles and financial hazards
lat the country's supply OF oil is
alnta1ned. The first oil we'll in
'estern Pennsylvania became a pro.
'cer at the depth of s9h feet. Nova.
'ys wells a mile deep are not uncom.
on, and they have gone down as far
mile and half.
Every Well Is a Gamble
A large proportion of wells produce
tnlhg Whatever and represent total
IS. 1t was recently estimated that
the last twelve and half years
zoo,oOo,00O was sunk in wells which
re failures. Despite every effort of
ence, engineering and long expert
&c, and notwithstanding the. stupen-
Us depths now reached, rs per cent
wells last year were dry.
lhe "wildcatter" is the Columbus OF
He is to petroleum, to gasoline.
the fuel supply OF the country's "
100000 automobiles, what the old.
le gold prospector was to building
empire of the far west He is es-
italy a gambler good loser or
ID winner. The lure OF enormous
lnlngs keeps him tirelessly search
, and sometimes he finds his re-
"a. But in the aggregate, offsettfng
winnings against the total cost OF
engrossing gamble, 1T is not i'm
bable that all the oil that has been
en- from the soil of this country
n the beginning cost more than it's
ducers got for it.
A World An the Big Game
ut their huge gamble is the basis
which the whole Industry rests
ice-bound Arctic and the fever
erlng tropic jungles alike attract
hardy "wildcatter." To them the
ia owes its newest and best in
sport by land, sea and air. They
light Its homes and streets, pro
an astonishing share OF its power
ish an endless list OF .necessaries
ch are byproducts OF petroleum.
"w1ldcatter' Is we'll nigh the
IS OF this modern mechanize,
Id.