ASPHALTUM: PETROLEUM: NATURAL GAS. 7^ 



which are often saturated with them to the extent that they 

 ignite when thrown into the fire. On the surfaces of these 

 rocks the petroleum may often be seen in yellow drops, but gen- 

 erally these surfaces are black from the maltha or "tar," which 

 on sufficient exposure hardens and oxidizes into asphaltum. 

 Several car loads of the black bituminous sandstone from the 

 top of the Little Mountain south of L/eighton, were shipped 

 to Memphis and the tar or asphalt there extracted. These sub- 

 stances were also extracted from the crinoidal limestones by 

 boiling, and several barrels of the tarry matters were scooped 

 up out of a drift. 



These tar springs have been known for many years and they 

 were formerly places of resort by the afflicted who drank the 

 tarry water or took pills of the maltha. 



Petroleum can be obtained from the same bituminous sand- 

 stones and limestones, and also from the Black Shale of the 

 Devonian formation, which is usually sufficiently saturated with 

 bituminous matter to burn or ignite when thrown into the fire. 



Natural gas is quite common in many parts of the state, oc- 

 curring as a rule along with salt water, sometimes with small 

 quantities of petroleum accompanying, oftener without it. 



Probably the most promising of the borings for petroleum 

 are those put down in the Tennessee Valley region. The Goyer 

 well "No. i in the Moulton Valley, is said to have had at one 

 time a capacity of 20,000 cubic feet of gas and 25 barrels of oil 

 a day ; the oil was of dark green color with a not unpleasant 

 odor. This well was bored to a depth of 2,120 feet. 



For some reason the oil flow wa,s lost, and never recovered 

 in paying quantity. Many other deep wells have been bored 

 in different parts of the state, as well as in the Tennessee Val- 

 ley region, but without success, so far a.s petroleum in commer- 

 cial quantity is concerned. 



Many of these borings have been made in the Southern part 

 of the state, especially in Clarke, Washington, and Mobile coun- 

 ties, where there are so many salt wells and salt seeps. Salt 

 water and natural gas in considerable quantity have been ob- 

 tained from many of these wells, but as yet no petroleum in 

 commercial quantity. At Cullom Springs in Choctaw county 

 near Bladon, a deep well bored about 1886 was probably the 

 first among the recent borings to show considerable amount of 

 natural gas, but many of the old borings in the salt region 



