Show I I JDE HYDROCARBONS Of Eastern Utah With Special Reference to I the Deposits of Ozokerite Gil F sonite and Elaterite I Their Properties and the Uses to Which They are AdaptedThe Where Situated and the Ex Forms of the Deposits They are I tent to Which They Have Been Prospected and Developed In eastern central Utah there lies an j area of about 1COO square miles in which find number of the we fnd a greater I hydrocarbons present than I in any I other region of the area In cither North or South America The very existence of these was unknown to civilized man until about forty years ago when I hunters and prospectors observed the I dark strange substances as they passed l through the country then a stronghold of the Lite Indians Early In the seventies seven-ties ole piospectors brought samples of Haterlte and the hydrocarbon now known as gllsonite to Provo and Salt Lake City and aCne of it was sent to Sail Francisco It was passed upon by local experts as a very dry and yur < i asphalllini I but In I those I days little attention at-tention was given it as search for gold I silver and lead was the miners occu I i patlon and therefore little time was given to the discoveries of materials whose use and value were destined for i i the future moreover the locality In I which these were found at that lime I I lay In an Indian country far from a railroad station In a very rough broken I I country from which the transportation I I I upon mineral products would have been I so expensive as to leave no nun gin of profits to time miner I prolts l From the year 1872 until 1SSO various I kins of asphaltumllke I I I substances from this region found their way Into Eastern cities The first of those substances sub-stances vhlch drew public attention proved to be mineral wax or ozokerite I came from a pass on the Santa Fe and Salt Lake trail called Soldiers Summit in memory of the passage of apart a-part of the army of Albert Sidney Johnston which marched over that route when leaving Utah in the spring of lSG1 At present the Rio Grande Western railroad passes l ihls I point all about one mile northeast of what ism is-m ov Soldiers Summit station work of development was opened on the ozokcr k t daA 4 0 s S Fig 1 Ideal Sectionat Soldiers Sum nUt No I country rock Cretaceous band suono i small deposits or bodies of ozokerite S small seams or veins connecting con-necting ojokerlto lenses 1 1 tunnel I driven to develop l property f sheila oc Cretacous period I ite deposits by 3 company organized In New York city and managed by Prof Crupah An idea section showing country coun-try rock and ozokerite veins or deposits Is shown In I Fig 1 This ozokerite deposit exists In a Cretaceous measure the country lock being soft clayey sandstone and the deposlta of ozokerite or black mineral wax occur In lenticular deposits Pro Crupah continued his work for almost eight years but In all that timeless time-less than five carloads of ozokerite were produced and finally the works and miifhinery were abandoned by the New York company to be relocated Inter I by others The ozokerite thus mined at Soldiers Summit was found suited to many purposes I was a most excellent nonconductor impervious to moisture and free from ffiit or stoney Impurities when melted into cakes It could be by l chemical treatment freed from carbon and the result was a beautiful white wax suited lo a hundred purposes It was at once valuable but Its limited who made the first I Washington City ho1ndc IIst exhaustive experiments upon It exhalslQ a company was formed and work upon up-on the deposIts began Experimental that It showed work In the laboratory i the manufacture of mineral I was suited to manufacLre of the eral paint I varnishes and lacquer most superior duality and the first gll I Nonllo sold in the American market brought 120 per ton The then owners pel of this mineral deposit Chambers president i posit were 11 C of the WI Ontario < sliver mine at Park City 1 Utah Samuel Gllson of Salt Lake Mackintosh of George Goss and Richard lacdUlosh Geolge Inc I Salt Lake The pioperty was patented at great expense I a wagon road was built It gIeat pense from the mine to Price station on the Rio Grande Western railway I otmth veSt Ship eighty miles to the southwest ments of i gllsonite I began but hardly I hud the I first owners received their lust returns from the sale of product when they sold the entire pioperly to Mr C O Baxter of St1 Louis Mo who along with his associates organized the St Louis Gllsonlie Asphaltum company I LuIs paid to r Gllson and associate II I I f WYOMNG I 0 0C I 4 I j GFSYdVER 4 cxosso c > 0 c 11 I n ji I Map of Part of Utah and Colorado Deposits Showing Location of Hydrocarbon quantity rendered Its mining unprofitable unprofi-table and for a time little attention was paid lo It or Its kindred minerals About the year 1SK1 when the Rio Grande Western railroad was first projected pro-jected through thai part of Utah re newud interest was given to every prospect pros-pect of mineral wealth that lay In the counliy to be passed over by the new railway line Ozokerite sand amid lime asphaltmu were known lo exIst in Spanish Fork canyon at Thistle in Whlunore canyon and also at White locks on the Ulntah Indian reservation reserva-tion Samples of a blank tough substance sub-stance proved to be n very dry and pure asphaltum which w as first experimented experi-mented upon by Mr Samuel Gllson a mining mon who become one of the locators I lo-cators of the ilrst large deposits of this mininil discovered IKIT the present Bite of Fuwl Duchesno on t hl Ulntah Indian I I In-dian Uluh reacrvaUun In Ulntah county I I ttuh The person who brought the notice of I I Iw I existence of this mineral deposit to lthe attention of Mr Gllson and his ns I IOfItL Los was a Mr Oon < Honor li r I I Gllson I and his frlouds Itami Led the deposit I de-posit or vein and for his l pains labor I and work of lovesllKuilon Mr Gllson i was honored by having the r mineral I I called I gllHonlte I after hll I Jelr This I name was glvun to 1 by Prof Frlslo of the or claims owners 100000 for group and Oll have r worked thc properly continuously almost I of since u period a ousl y ever nee I pelll i this period gui twelve years During l snnite has been exported Into every country of Kurope and exienslvely and varnishes used for making into i lacquer the United States and notwithstanding nishes in SlntlS ant withstanding the great volume used I and the Immense I quantity I in i sight In I on this and other veins the mineral sells sit the Price station for about SGO per t tonI ton-I Dj I 1i l RuHS Icc 1uH t I I I 7T Fig 2 CrossSection of Country at Fort Duchesne Utah I No 1 vein cutting arrows country 2 country rook red lamlstone 3 3 gllsou i I Iln Iiimfll L imam veins 4 masses of wall I rock balded In aspbaltum I As to the nature of these gilsonlte deposits or veins I will here stale that I have visited most of those known to exist In eastern Utah and western Colorado and in nature nnd formation thev are alike I will describe the one owned and worked nl ed near Fort Duchesne by the Sl Louis Gilsonlte Asphaltum company of Sl Louis Mo 4 section of I which is shown in Fig 2 It Is a fissure vein about six feet In width very regular culling clearly the red sandslono formation of the country from southeast to northwest or to be I precise 58 leg north 50 mIn west and II I may be staled here that all I 0 these gllsonllc nsplmltum veins run across the country In the same direction and in every case the vein Is a vortical fissure fis-sure This gllsonile asphaltum is the same mineral frequently called ulnlahlle I which name was given It by one Prof Blake of Provo Ttah but doubtless for all time the name gilsonlte will be most generally used I The hydrocarbons of Utah and norlh i western Colorado number about twelve i in i 111 They are known commonly ai I O7okcilte elaterlle sand asphaltum limestone asphaltum alberlltc and oil i shale The remaining six arc all forms of Hear dry nsphnlluin or what is commonly j com-monly known as gilsonlte The above hydrocarbons are found scattered over an Ilea of about 10000 square miles i romprlslng parts of Carbon Wnsulch j Ttah 1 and Ulntah counties In I the Stale of Utah all 1 part of HOlt and Gal I Hell counties In the Stale of Colorado Of tIme above area rich i In I hydrocarbons I i r f J I Fig 3 Elaterite Fissure Veins lCro8H ectlon on Llntab Indian I reserve fifteen miles cat of Soldiers Summit I No K country rock 2 elnUrUe veins I t fissures about eighteen Inchs wide 1 I j about seveneighths He in the Stale of I I Ulah and oneeighth In the Stale of IlHlh I I I Colorado Of the minerals enumerated above the mOM abundant Is sandstone I asplKiltuni of Avhlih there arc several I I extensive fields the chief o which Is 1 I I I Ihe I one resting north of White Rook I agency It I IK I In width about 1500 feN I and rtinn In greater of less prominence I for about thirty miles This vast reel I I of a phaltumbenrlnr nandKione forma a ort of half I moon and lies I wlinljy In the I Ulntah and lneoMipahcrc Indian I II I reservations in the State of l rah The I formation is the gray or white Cretnce I oils sandstone and much higher than the measure In which we find the iTll sonite aspnaitum vein at port aju I chesne The immense asphaltum sandstone reef at White Hocks Indian agency In every way resembles the ocean shoreline shore-line In Santa Ifctrbaru and San Buena ventura counties of southern California where asphaltum nnd petroleum are mined from a sandstone of similar formation for-mation the White Rock sandstone containing I malon onctonc taming from 1 to 15 per cent pure I asphaltum but as yet no work luis hen I done upon this reef The asphaltum j < lime Shale In Utah county Utah has 1 I produced a few thousand Ions of fairly I good paving material which was purified I I puri-fied In works established In Salt Lake Clly I hy Culmer Pros and where used I has given excellent satisfaction as I paving material The oil hales of this I region are as yet unworked They usually lie In Hourlydefined I horizontal I veins or measurer In thickness from four lo thirty Inches Tne snaic when taken irom 1 tnese measures and placed In a wood campfire I camp-fire emits a strong asphallum odor and In a few minutes the liquid asphal toni exudes from the crackling surface and in minute Heal along Its bedding planes creating a lu lnG fame and after burning for a few hours there remains for each lump of the shale placed in the fire a light yellow laml nated ash heap All o thc above hydrocarbons found in this part of Utah lie above the coal measures between the Carboniferous and the upper Cretaceous The genesis I of either mineral Is as vet largely conjectural con-jectural as to what source contributed to the present formation and make up If each we are not able to distinctly explain In the laboratory of nature I woik Is I carried on ery cunningly and secretly for which reason we are un I I able to prove as to what percentage I f jinclent animal life of the old seas oon trlbtited to either of the above hydrocarbons hydro-carbons to make It I what we find it today J to-day Doubtless animal and vegetable I life of bygone ages each contributed Its I I share but how much came from either i we know not Alongside the deposits I of ozokerite wo find the remains of the 1 ganoid fishes and as these deposits of ozokerite occur In very Irregular I deposits I depos-its their origin seems doubly difficult to I prove We will therefore In this article allow al-low ibis pol lit to rest and touch upon I the hydrocarbons of eastern Utah from I an industrial standpoint As to their values to our gieat country gilsonlte isphmal tom undoubtedly stands first I both on account of Its Immense quantity quan-tity and the successful way in which It I is manufactured Into varnishes lacquers mineral paint for Interior and 1 exterior use and Its I adaptability lo use In marine service as a waterproof paint for guns gun carriages steel and woodwork of every description known to shipbuilding In its natural state as It comes from the mine It Is ready for the manufacturers manufac-turers hands There Is I no assoiling i no classifying it Is dry black and pure Here Is Its analysis and this runs with the slightest variation through all I the veins of ibis mineral on Ihe IJncom pahgre und Ulnlah reservations Per C It Cnrbon 7S f > Hydrogen J 1 llno oxygen SI n I Nitrogen i I 1 Ash 10 I Total I 07 CO The above Is l a United Stales Government I Govern-ment analysis and as may be seen f there are 210 per cent unaccounted for These undoubtedly are subtle elements which escaped in the work of analyzing analyz-ing Now as to the condition of the vein In which this gllsonile I asphalltim occurs it Is 1 clear crossbreak or rent In the red sandstone The walls are perpendicular perpen-dicular and parallel the filling Is of clear asphaltum from side to side with I occasionally a silver or slip from the wul i I rook found bedded in i the center of the mass of mineral Hint fills the vein Without doubt this pine bright I asphallum came ui ftom below where It was In n liquid stale It filled every nook and cranny of the great vein and doubtless lowe out for miles over thc surface but in time heat from below and u pressure from the mighty walls on either side dried the mass of mineral filling the vein and a few ages of rest and quiet left It as we now find It coy of the very best agents In the hands of modern man for a hundred uses In the arls ant Industries of our lime And now as lo price and quantity of gllsnnile in Ibis legIon 1 When first thrown on the market gllsonite sold fOIl 120 nor ton Its sale became extensive I but n gradually i its i price foil I to a Illlle I I more than SO per ton at which price it I Is likely to remain for many years As lo the quantity accessible 1 will quote the volume reported by the TTnlttd Stales Government experts sent to icport on these deposits during I the last l administration of President Cleveland Cleve-land Several weeks were spent by this commission in I their work and when done they reported 29000000 tons as avery a-very conservatIve esllmale which valued val-ued at 50 a ton Its present price leave a value of 1150000000 which as a single sin-gle Item stands well amid Utahs mineral min-eral resources The present output of gllsonile I from Utah Is about 000 tons annually and allowing double this amount to bo used from this year forward for-ward it would require 2000 years to exhaust ex-haust the supply reported In sight by the UntIed Slates commission Of one point wo are sure the supply is abundant abun-dant and a verv loner nerlod of time will be required exhaust It Elaterite or wurtzite Is not nearly as abundant It occurs at several points within the Ulntnh reservation but the I veins arc small usually from ten to fifteen I fif-teen Inches I in I width with irregular walls They are somewhat wedge shaped and rarely go down deeper than seventy feet usually not half that distance dis-tance Five thousand tons would coverall cover-all yet known to exist In eastern Utah although many claim larger quantities Only a limited quanllly bus yet been mined and this was experimented upon by local and foreign scientists without sallsfaclory results Elaterite very much resembles guttapercha When heated H becomes very elastic like compact I com-pact rubber but on cooling It again becomes I be-comes hard and from Its I power of resistance re-sistance Is much greater as II requires a sirong blow with a miners pick to iraciure a mass of It and when broken Us I fracture Is not as resplendent as thai of gllsonke asphaltum Exposed to fire Until about onefifth of its vol j I ume 13 I consumed the remaining SO percent per-cent is soluble in alcohol turpentine or other mineral oils Ms I qualities as si noncorrosive und waterproof varnish have nol as yet been tested to siifll rienlly prove Its merits In Hint line The formation hi which veins of eialerltc occur is of a light yellow and fino gralned san stone I have seen no fossils fos-sils near the deposits of this mineral that examined and the veins are nowhere no-where found as strong or wide as are th veins of plloilte I During the year 1S09 Mr l Joseph Licb er of Chicago save much attention to the elalerlte deposits of Ulntah county Utah and It is I reported that he has organized a strong oem pan to work I certain large veins of thIs mineral thai I exist In Garfield county Colo As to the d bnve Ihe writer cannot make any oil clal statements As far as known to the writer the veins of elaterlte found in eastern Utah near Soldiers Summit and elsewhere in I that region are small I and do not penetrate to great depth The region u In which Utahs hvdroenr 11Ol1s exist Is a wild weird mid huel 4 osi lin one Min Braces of white gray I M-in red inndatoiie bound the hOII onto on-to imiboied thc cast ilvesl lllul south while I the I nnd aIm snowy crests of the Un muuntaln range lrelch tm aTlo lie MIMVI north nmnlnsr fom west to east and I tthuulngo out the l1ulth wInd Crom the alleys of the Duchesne and While rlvrs I Aioumg tIme fll > ov e streams there Is I uiiuichm coltonwooc1 and willow antI on he h L imIhm tenaces laS hone row lellI allli I pinyon DInt Ihc region 11 shut nut to the plumsp01 I and LIlt mlncr 1I1al1t8 its It yet part of un lndilln antI us iommg a It I lctJtrwltUI1 contlnlles ti hu 11 thla slate no J gtncrald > loH1Hl1t or thc great mmilneuai eallh can evel take lIate I To reach the famous hydrocarbon re t I gions more arc iour rouuu uric In by i II singe from Carters station on tho Union Pacific railway to Ashloyo Fork and Vermin and thence by pate I p-ate conveyance to the fields Another route Is by way of Price station on the Klo Grande Western railway thence by stage eighty miles to Fort DiKliegnc and the gilsonllo mines A thIrd route Is via Park City Utah and thence to Ilebcr Qlly thence via Slrawbcrrj valley down the Duchesne river to tin fort distance about eighty miles ana trC the fourth Is lo drive by privatr conveyance 1 con-veyance from Oarfield Colo In to ti0 gilsonlte deposits of the Unrompalnjrs and Ulntah reservations Either roUtcr la fairly good and the region passed through very interesting to either miner I or scientist Don Maguire In Mines and I Mineral flcranlon Pa April IflOO |