THE MINERAL WEALTH OF WYOMING. 



17 



The following is the analysis of the oil 

 sand referred to in the foregoing letters: 



SCHOOL OF MINES. 

 UNIVERSITY OP WYOMING. 

 CERTIFICATE OF ANALYSIS. 



LAKAMIE, WYO., May 18, 1895. 

 A. W. PHILLIPS, DOUGLAS, WYO. 



Dear Sir . Your sample of oil sand submit- 

 ted to me for analysis contains the following: 



Sandstone : 94.2 per cent. 



Oil 4.0%,sp.gr. .921. 



Water 5 per cent. 



Loss on distillation 1.3 /' " 



100.0 



ANALYSIS OF THE OIL. 



100.0 

 E. E. PLOSSON, 



State Analyst. 



The above analysis is of surface oil, the 

 product of the wells at a depth of 800 to 

 1100 feet showing no residuum worth 

 mentioning, the entire product being com- 

 posed of valuable oils. 



A barrel of Wyoming crude oil, just as 

 it came from the well, was sent to the 

 World's Fair at Chicago where the best 

 chemists in the world tested it fully, and 

 it was placed in competition with all the 

 oil products on earth. After weeks of 

 labor these judges awarded to Central 

 Wyoming lubricating oil the first prize 

 over all competitors. 



This field presents the most sure and at- 

 tractive field for investment of anything 

 in the West. Within the recognized oil 

 belt here, not a single well has been put 

 down to the adequate depth, and properly 

 cased, that is not a producer today. 



The average depth of the wells is about 

 1,000 feet, and their average production 

 twenty barrels each per day. At $10 per 

 barrel, theee wells are certainly very re- 

 munerative. The whole Franklin, Penn- 

 sylvania, field, the only lubricating oil 

 basin in the East, produces less than 200 

 barrels per day, and from three to five 

 barrels is the average yield of each well. 

 It is not strange, therefore, that the East- 

 ern oil man is loath to believe that the 

 Wyoming wells are so productive. 



The oil belt of Wyoming extends en- 



tirely across the State. In the extreme 

 western part of the State there are oil in- 

 dications, which indicate the presence of 

 what is termed "shale oil," of little or 

 no value. 



The next basin is known as the "Duton 

 Basin," where three wells have been 

 drilled, and an abundant supply of oil 

 obtained. This oil is largely composed of 

 tar and asphaltum, and carries a good 

 percentage of illuminating oil. Then 

 come the Rattlesnake Mountain and 

 Upper Powder River basin, in which some 

 years ago a well was begun, but never 

 finished, although some oil was obtained 

 which was lighter than that found further 

 west. In this locality there are many oil 

 springs, and where the oil runs out on the 

 ground it forms beds of asphaltum, some 

 of which was on exhibition at the World's 

 Fair. The next basin is the " Oil Moun- 

 tain," where some good quality of oil has 

 been obtained. North of this locality 

 about seventy-five miles across the Big 

 Horn mountains lies the No- Wood basin, 

 where the oil is of a superior illuminating 

 character, in fact the settlers of that 

 neighborhood use it to light their houses, 

 in its crude state. A well was started in 

 this field by some persons who had very 

 primitive machinery for drilling, composed 

 of a long beam worked by hand, which, is 

 called " Kicking a hole down." Another 

 well has been drilled in the Powder River 

 basin in which .was obtained a very 

 superior lubricant. Oil has also been dis- 

 covered in other places within the State. 



Undoubtedly the best portion of the oil 

 fields of Wyoming, however, is confined 

 to the counties of Converse, Natrona and 

 Johnson. The finest grade of lubricating 

 oil is found in these counties, and the ex- 

 cellent railroad facilities make the enter- 

 prise of development a feasible business, 

 proposition. 



The Salt Creek wells, which are fifty 

 miles from Casper, will shortly be con- 

 nected with the railroad by a pipe line, 

 while the oil field of Converse county is. 

 traversed by two lines of railroad, the 

 North-Western and the Denver and Gulf 

 railroads, which make a junction at Orin, 

 on the southern edge of the oil basin. 

 Douglas, the county seat, is completely 

 surrounded by oil lands upon which active 

 drilling operations will soon commence. 

 At Salt Creek the principal operators are 



