| Show 0 oil 11 of the great uintah basin utah BY DON MAGUIRE for some time past newspapers magazines and U S government reports have been giving to the public statements relative to the existence of extensive bodies of oil shale in northeastern utah As is now well known to the world northeastern utah is rich in a variety of hydrocarbons hydro carbons and also in coal and much of it is rich in petroleum As one enfiled to bear testimony to the merits of the wonderful uintah field I 1 believe it a duty to make a few statements touching upon that region what it possesses and what it is capable of doing in the way of adding to the worlds wealth of oil am conium sulphate dye stuffs and also other chemicals that enter into more than a hundred human industries the writer of this article more than twenty five years ago made a study of the uintah basin in utah and now after these mineralogist and metallurgist ogden utah many years it is a pleasure to take up the old note books and review in a written article some of the things that we looked upon and investigated in this one of the most wonderful districts in a mineral way to be found in any coutney cout nry adfer having as carefully gone over southwestern and northwestern colorado in subsequent years the writer made two more expeditions into the utah A Z 4 I 1 W e V P Z 4 Y photo by J H crockwell also cliff dwellings and watch tower nine mile oil shale measures on the lower uintah country in investigating the unusual wealth of that territory more than fifteen years before the wr tiers first visit of investigation ti into the uintah basin he heard from the lips of one of major powells men who had been in powells geological survey of the green river county and who also alsi visited at the same time the uintah coun try statements from which I 1 inferred that the uintah basin was destined to become a place of great wealth production he also referred to it as a place unusual in its promise of becoming a prosperous agrical tural locality and when in the year 1892 the writer went a small force of men into northeastern utah it was to carefully investigate the resources of that then but little known country A much talked of country upon reaching the much talked of country it was found to cover far more than had been told by powells men and today it may be candidly stated that the great area covering northeastern utah contains a greater variety of hydrocarbons hydro carbons than are to lie be found in any other equal area in the world and when we shall have gone over a little descriptive work in words and we quote from the highest known authority as to the moneyed value of what exists in this region in only a few of its resources the reader can quickly realize that northeastern utah is destined to become one of the worlds most noted industrial fields being here compelled to make use of the first person let zile me state that when I 1 made my inal visit into the uintah country it was an indian reservation I 1 was called upon or ordered to visit 1 it i examine le ind tace from its exposed miner dp its oy wh whatsoever IS 9 v e kind such quantities ds as might be cleem 0 e n ed advisable abr tie us e as exhibit for the Colum columbian biah Ei exposition position at chicago in the year 1893 and let me liere here further add ern and eastern utah for some weeks or perhaps for months my official photographer for the expedition was james H crockwell of salt lake city my chief assistant was E W mcdaniel of ogden and I 1 had with me six other men who were experts in mine work and mountain climbing 7 YZ cc W A W A S el A AAA luyi na 1 successive strata of oil shale measures feet in uintah basina near bocks station photo by J H crockwell that my mission into that region at that time was of a twofold two fold character I 1 having been appointed by the territory of utah to act as commissioner of mines and also in the same capacity as chief in the department of anthropology and antiquities starts out on the trip with a small force of men and three wagons loaded provisions tools tool weapons scientific instruments and eve everything ry elso else required in the field and for ar an expedition that was to remain in northeast we left ogden utah august 1892 18 92 going by way of echo canyon through coal ville into park city thence over the divide into heber city thence across the higher mountain divide to the head of strawberry valley and still beyond into the great valley of duchesne and white rivers and their tributary streams reaching the low lying region of the t he uintah basin on august it was noon when we camped near the strawberry river a considerable mountain stream and our camping place was near the cabin door and tent site of the renowned ute indian chief tabby or more properly speaking Tab beuna at that time yet reigning as the high chief of the uintah ute indians As we had bad business with the chief we introduced ourselves told him through an interpreter our business into his country and prepared to camp close by his home until the next day we were well received by the old warrior who by the way was then as blind as a bat and said to be one hundred and thirteen years old and as there was no one yet older then in the vicinity there could be no one to dispute the old gentleman relative to his age so we set down in our no notes tes for that day that on that date w we e held council with chief Tab beuna 0 of f the great ute tribe aged one hundred and thirteen years dressed in a gee string let it be here fu further arther stated that when we called on the old chief he was dressed simply in a gee string sitting in the center of his wigwam we introduced ourselves as representing the territory of utah and the united states government at washington inasmuch as a part of what we were to collect was supposed to go to the smithsonian institution at washington upon learning that our powers reached back to washington city he inquired about his uncle sam and wanted to know if uncle sam had sent any presents whereupon we promptly informed him that we hadi had with us from his uncle quite a number of articles article s for his use acting on this statement we at once brought forward for the old warriors wants a quantity each of coff coffee ee bacon flour flou r dried fruits hominy salt beans baking powder two pairs of overalls two red flannel shirts two pairs of shoes half a dozen pairs of socks two french mouth organs half a dozen jew sharps a pocket knife two hatchets and two pairs of gloves for winter wear we had also to make presents present S to the official interpreter to two of squaw and to still others of the chiefs official staff these presents of course given to the chief and his people were given for a purpose or for a threefold three fold purpose in the first place tabby was an important person in that country so we wanted his goodwill good will and the goodwill good will of his people in the next place we wanted his picture something difficult to obtain for tabby never before had had a picture of himself taken and the utes were then very superstitious about allowing the use of a camera amongst their people on this occasion those around tab by set up a how of disapproval claiming that if the old warrior would allow his bis PI pic c ture taken he would die before the next full moon talk ran high and argument 0 on n our part seemed of no avail until we resorted to further diplomacy in the way of giving to each of the objectors men and women a plug of tobacco and two pounds each of sugar when objections ceased even on the part of his wife to tabby himself I 1 was compelled to present in excess of what he had already received two bottles of jamaca ginger before he would sit for his picture even though it was going to be sent to the great father in washington having had his squaw pour half a bottle of ginger extract into a tin cup then adding two tea spoon fulls of sugar and diluted with water he drank it down then asked his youngest squaw andone and one of his daughters to bring him his clothes bags they brought in two bags from which were first taken a pair of blue army trousers a red shirt the front of which was embroidered with silk thread and beads also a pair of beaded moccasins moc asins a silk neckerchief er chief a number of brass fingerings and an indian pipe when these things were produced he felt them over but he seemed to miss something and at once spoke to one of his squaws squads she ran her hand into the bag lying on the ground and took forth an indian medicine or charm to be worn around the neck the old chief felt it over then arising to his feet he untied the gee string from his person and for a moment stood as free from clothing as when born oblivious of the fact that his squaws squads his daughters his male friends and we his white visitors were there around him taking first the red shirt he drew that on next his blue army trousers then sitting down his squaw placed the moccasins moc asins on his feet his handkerchief around his neck his pistol and pipe were given him and seating himself on the ground near an empty crac kerbox the great man seemed ready for picture taking when a new freak entered his mind and talking through his interpreter he declared that it would not be proper for him to thus appear dressed in a warlike war like as the great father in washington would be led to believe that he was not following peaceful pursuits so he again called one of his squaws squads to bring another dressing bag containing what he called his citizens suit simple garb of nature at this juncture the thought occurred to me that I 1 would prefer the old chief having his picture taken in the simple garb of nature wearing no more than the gee string in which we first found him dressed an on that day it would look so much more savage and indian like but no the old man would not have it that way he was too proud to appear in the dress of his ancestors and that his picture might show up to advantage in washington he thought it better that he should appear dressed as a peaceful ranchman or cattle raiser whereupon he proceeded to have the second clothes bag emptied and with the assistance of his daughter and his youngest squaw wife he was soon dressed in a pair of black trousers pink checked shirt gray vest red neckerchief and thus seating himself in a chair while in one 0 of f his hands he held a strong walk ink staff the old warrior picture was taken as shown in this article this picture has since been frequently published in maga and newspaper articles and is the only one left to the world when evening came the other members of my party and myself sat around a fire in the open and with us sat the old blind chief Tab beuna his interpreter and three or four other indians we smoked the pipe of peace and talked until it was far into the night old Tab beuna old Tab beuna had a wonderful memory he had been to see the great father in washington many years before and of that journey he related hi that was long before he had become blind and it is doubtful if there was anything in or around the city of washington that he did not see while there he told of early wars he had taken part in against shoshones Sho aiutes and navajos cavajos Nava jos he incidents about the sand creek massacre and the meeker massacre of 1879 when major thornburg was killed and agent meeker was also killed and his wife and daughter taken capitle by the colorado utes but the old man took care to state that he personally had nothing to do with these wicked and unfortunate transactions he said that he had always been a friend of the whites and he expected to die a friend and admirer of the great father at washington about some things in the far past his memory seemed somewhat misty for example upon asking him about the conditions of the country when he was a boy he replied well when I 1 was a boy well when I 1 was a boy there was no mountains here and not half as many rivers as now but there were buffalo everywhere with an abundance of elk bears and mountain lions and th the e river bottoms were alive with mink martin and beaver we were now in the heart of the indian country when morning came we had an early breakfast took leave of our friend frien d chief Tab beuna and continued our journey downward to the junction of strawberry and duchesne rivers over the road leading to fort duchesne As we drove forward on every hand we observed evidence of the great fossil wealth of those valleys the petrified scales of the old fishes abounded in the soils of these river valleys in countless millions fossil shells of ancient rivers and masses of petrified wood from long buried forests in the high cliffs to the northward might be seen along our road the soils of these valleys are rich beyond any other part of utah and as we made progress on our journey to fort duchesne we found the place garrisoned by a company of the ninth united states cavalry colored soldiers major randlett was then commanding at that post after visiting some hours with that good man we pushed agn kit 1 oil shale measures in nine mile canyon uintah basin photo by J H crockwell forward to the post traders and out to the famous gilsonite asphaltum mines a short distance to the eastward of fort duchesne it is well to here describe in a limited way the nature of the country over there in uintah basin it consists of a region containing about ten thousand square miles made up of high plateaus low lying river valleys well watered by about one hundred st streams reams chief amongst which are green river white river the duchesne white rocks uintah strawberry and ashley rivers and into these flow more than four score small tributary streams this area of low lying river valleys and fertile plateaus is flanked on the south by the roan book cliffs and on the southeast by the east Tava puts plea tau far to the eastward rise the foothills of the rocky mountains in colorado and to the north the uintah basin is protected from the north winds by the great barrier of the uintah mountains along a curved line of about one hundred and twenty mil miles es the uintah range is heavily timbered there the snowfall snow fall is deep in winter and on the summits of agassiz Ag assis emmons gilbert and leidy peaks of that range one can see snow for the greater part of the year through a break in this uintah range flows green river and what now constitutes the great uintah bashin was in primitive ages a great lake over the rim of which its waters flowed down to the pacific ocean by way of the gulf of california the great uintah basin during unknown thousands of years the lake that once covered this region received the inflow from waters of the adjacent coun I 1 nr JOAO r Z 7 L J n 14 oil shale measures of the minnie maude uintah basin showing cliff dwellings photo by J H crockwell crock well and a sedimentary filling took place until more than one thousand strata were laid alternatively on the lake bottom As time passed on changes in clin late and precipitation took place erosion carried away the south barbirer walls of the old lake the waters of succeeding ages cut down through the old stratification the rivers and mountain streams took up their courses as we now find them and the entire region was left to exhibit its rich soils crystal streams scores of veins of various hydrocarbons and alternate measures of oil such as found in no other part of our continent in depth and value outside the uintah basin what a rich field for the student existed down there at that time before us lay jay an area whose mineral wealth had barely been touched by the hand of man from an anthropological standpoint there dwelt there a large part of one of our prominent indian tribes on two adjoining indian reservations each of which I 1 visited and again scattered over this region in the almost able breaks fronting the high plateaus and in the deep canyons were to be found the long deserted homes of the cliff |
