| Show green river oil fields in wayne way ne county utah BY C A PEET hearing of the oil discoveries in the green river field wayne county utah I 1 was engaged by bk 33 0 J and W F snyder of salt lake to make a trip into this region the object in going was V v V Loa chaffin seated Spa S rated ted first oil locator photo by C A peet to to size up th the e field and if favorable conditions existed to locate for them any good prospective ground available accordingly in the latter part of february of this year a start was made from green river utah on the denver rio grande railroad the plan was to proceed by row boat down the green river to a point twenty miles north of the junction netlon of the grand river near the head of still ell 4 41 AL an oil seep green river oil fields photo if 11 C A 4 tut peet water canyon there we w were ere to be met by mr lou chaffin who was to be our guide he was to come overland from hanksville Hanks ville with saddle horses and pack train and take up to the oil fields from there we were to return to hanksville Hanks ville and back to green river station personnel and equipment the river party consisted of mr wm win N coyle a mining man from nevada mr A V 77 horse canyon on way to oil field photo 17 1 C A peel S anderson andersen another man taken up a land claim on the river and myself our equipment cons consisted isted of an 18 foot flat bottomed row boat fitted with a rude mast and sail to be used when convenient supplies and provisions for a three weeks trip and several sacks of grain for our horses which were to be used on our journey back in all we had about one thousand pounds of cargo which together with ourselves made a good load and almost taxed the capacity of our boat the Sl aping sal canyon entering it that one is lost in bewilderment at the beauty and ever changing scenes which present themselves towards the end of the second day out about fifty miles down the river we came to the loop this is an immense bow in the river about ten miles in length which almost completes a circle but for a distance of about 1300 feet the waters 7 N 4 44 fort bottom characteristic view on green river photo by bi C A peet while on the river we only traveled during day night a start being made about 8 a m tying up at some con convenient eilent place at noon for our lunch then we went on again until about p m when we camped for the night the estimated distances traveled each day were from twenty five to thirty miles with two of offis us rowing all the time and one at al the tiller this method was necessary to keep the boat in the deepest wa water ter otherwise much to our sorrow sorro w we were sure to ground on the almost invisible sandbars sand bars and thus lose much valuable time in extricating ourselves which was no easy job considering the weight of our cargo the trip down the river for the first twenty five miles down the river eiver the trip was uneventful the scenery being much the same as that around green oiiver river station the river though in this distance has many rapids which required considerable hard work to successfully pass and many times our craft took water below the mouth ot the san rafael the river becomes still and placid with many wide widd open stretches the greatest danger here is from sandbars sand bars which seem to bob up in almost inconceivable places and a sharp lookout had to be kept to avoid them here the river enters labyrinth canyon which is appropriately named As one looks ahead it is impossible to determine the next course of the river it makes so many devious turns its canyons alternately widening and narrowing the immense size of ahr th would come together thus enclosing an island at this point there are immense water power possibilities A tunnel a quarter of a mile in length through this neck would deliver the entire flow of the river k d fifty miles below green river station peet photo by C A with a total fall of about thirty five feet this power will surely be utilized at some future time the only hindrance at present being its inaccessibility and the great distance the power will have to be transmitted the end of the third day found us at what is known as the fort bottom so called from the remains of af an old fort to be found on the high bluff some distance back from the river this place was probably the rendezvous of some ancient tribe of indians it occupies a commanding post tion and overlooks the river for miles in each direction at the base of the cliff upon which the fort is located we found the remains of many stone buildings built under the overhanging cliffs and resembling cliff dwellers houses these are mostly very small with low ceilings and look more like quarries on store houses than dwellings by digging around the base of the walls one is liable to uncover broken pieces of pottery and born b orn cobs but aside from this we found nothing of interest fine farming land on the bottoms we found what is considered to be the most fertile and productive soil to be see seen n anywhere it is a silt and loam left from higher levels of the river and in these bottoms which are inaccessible to sheep and cattle there is a rank growth of grass six feet or more in height which being dead at the time of our visit looked not unlike fields of ripened grain these bottoms are almost level and ideally located for irrigation being inaccessible except by river the question of marketing the product of farms here becomes a serious one which explains which this fertile region has not been occupied on the morning of the fourth day we reached townsite bottom and our river voyage was ended we waited here two days for mr chaffin this time was spent in trying to explore some of the cliff houses whit which ch abound in that vicinity owing to the fact that we had no long ropes or tools or necessary equipment we were unable to get into only a few of them these we found to our sorrow had already been entered and everything of interest or value taken away only a few pieces of broken pottery rewarded our efforts early on the morning of chaffins arrival we started for the oil fields green river oil fields the center field is situated about ten miles west of green river and a little south of the center of wayne county in what most state and government maps show as the orange cliffs these cliffs cliff s are all in the red sandstone characteristic of the country which extends southward to and beyond the colorado river and into which the grand canyon has been cut and eroded I 1 rl aut the he thickness of these immense sandstone strata cannot be determined from an examination in the immediate vicinity of the oil field but at that point they are more than 2000 feet thick almost all excepting portions of the base being comparatively coarse grained and easily eroded at points above the tulus the walls rise perpendicularly for a thousand feet or more to the top which is comparatively level standing here one can look for miles and not see a break in the plateau although it is cut in many places by deep narrow canyons with perpendicular cular walls the oil sands are found in the bottom of these canyons where they have cut the lowest levels of the sandstones in the district fossil shells found in this formation determine its age to be upper carboniferous which rock yields the coal and oil of this country oil has been found in the district which covers an area of approximately twenty by twenty miles in about ten different places the occurrence of the oil is in small seeps where it slowly comes from the ground flows a short distance and is evaporated at some of these seeps mounds have been built up to a height of eight or ten feet due to the residue from the oil and to the sand which has blown upon it and adhered to the sticky substance the photo illustrating this article showing the steep wall or rock and a small oil seep on its face does not convey a true impression of the condition of this stratum it is about seventy five feet high from the floor of the canyon to the top of the wall it is all sandstone heavily impregnated with oil and very dark the light color is due to the red sand which has blown against it and adhered simply breaking the surface will disclose its character and content consent owing to its rapid evaporation I 1 was unable to procure a good sample of the oil at it comes from the ground it is thick almost black and comparatively heavy the strong characteristic odor of petroleum is is noticeable for long distances around these seeps the field aleid may be divided for convenience veni ence into districts the east and the west these districts are separated by a high stand stone wall about 1000 feet high and in places not more than feet wide on top op in the western district oil is found in happy canyon which is a tributary to the dirty devil or premont fremont river here the canyon has just cut into the top of the oil bearing stratum and has only exposed the ie sand for three or four feet the wall dividing the districts is on the axis of a broad gentle fold pitching to the north at a low angle of about five degrees the strata dip easterly and westerly at angles varying from five to ten degrees lack of development up to the present time nothing has been done in the way of 0 f development although the district has possibilities which only await the expert drillman drill man it is my opinion that hat t the showings of petroleum in the district are very good and warrant the expenditure pend iture necessary in the sinking of several holes with this development the district I 1 think is destined to become very productive should this prove to be the case the question of marketing the product presents itself in order to do this a pipe line will be necessary at present the nearest railroad point is green river about fifty miles away and the construction of a pipe line in that country is no small problem although once on the plateau the oil will run by gravity to the railroad with only one bad break which is at the san rafael river A little history A little history of the country might be interesting up to six or seven years ago this section was infested with thieves and desperadoes who made this locality their headquarters owing to its inaccessibility and distance from settlements this locality became an ideal hiding place and was known as robbers roost once there a man was sate safe from capture during the time of their occupation it was unsafe for anyone but themselves to enter there this danger kept prospectors out which explains why the oil occurrence has been known for only four or five years mr lou chaffin or torrey utah was among the first to discover these oil occurrences and lie he has been instrumental in at tr acting the attention of the few people who have been there he owns interest in some of the best locations in the district but has purposely left thousands of acres open for location just to give the other fellow a chance among those who have haie been attracted to the field and who have confidence in its possibilities are wm win N coyle of sacramento california C W lane and the grutt brothers of rawhide nevada and and snyder of salt lake the return from the oil fields was made overland via hanksville Hanks ville and green river it is a two days trip over fairly good roads and trails to hanksville Hanks ville about forty eight miles almost due west the first days trip brings us to the roost the old headquarters camp here are found the remains of several houses canal and water troughs the bast last battle e between silver tip and the authorities was held here and the bullet marks are discernable discernible discern able on the 4 SOL AL L 14 on at 7 home of mr and mrs wm coyle elgin utah photo b bj C A 4 pett rocks behind which he barricaded barricades barrica ded himself the only water within a radius of miles is found at this place which is of excellent quality the trip from the roost to green river station was uneventful and we finally arrived there after being out nearly three weeks glad to get back to civilization again C A PEET salt lake city utah |
