OCR Text |
Show OIL EXCITEMENT IN IDAHO SUBSIDING Contradictory Reports Regarding- the "Well Being Driven at Medbury Traces of Oil Showing. Special to Tho Tribune. GLENN'S FERRY, March 5. The oil xcltmcnt at Mcdbury has somewhat subsided sub-sided owing to a report that a Joke had been perpetrated. Claims have been taken for a number of miles around In every direction di-rection from tho railroad well. Tho Columbian Oil company, comprising Kansas and California oil men, Btakcd the northeast quarter of soctlon 22, on which the railroad well was drilled. A number num-ber of engineers aro working In tho field and locations aro still being made, In many cases threo lo seven locations being .ti ado on tho samo claim. Tho best of feeling prevails and when a claimant finds that tho land has been previously staked ho hies himself over tho hills to a now location, perhaps to find that ho Is too late. Very exaggerated reports havo been glvon out, and It Is these stories that prevent pre-vent expert oil men from Investigating tho find. Reports of this nature aro not only detrimental as well as misleading. Ono report has It that tho contractors, being be-ing oil men from tho Bakerstleld (Cal.) field, saw that the prospcctB were good and "plugged" tho holo nnd ataked claims on which tho well Is located. However, thcro Is no truth in this statement Tho work Is not being done by contract Tho drills aro owned by the Short Line, and tho men are employed to opcrato them, this work coming under tho water dovul-opmcnt dovul-opmcnt or water Bcrvlco construction of the engineering department, with I P. Congdon, directing engineer, Pocatcllo, and H, C. Slllott, general foreman water service. Owing to tho lncreaso of business on the Short Line It has been found necessary neces-sary to havo greater wator supply at a number of their stations. At the tlmo of their Installation engines woro small and trains light; larger engines and Increased traffic has created a demand for wells of greater capacity. Contract work of this character Is becoming a thing of tho past as railway companies have becomo acquainted ac-quainted with tho fact that such work can bo done moro satisfactorily by purchasing pur-chasing drilling machinery and omploylng experienced men to operate It On account of tho depth being attained It was found necessary to employ men experienced ex-perienced in drilling deep wells, and as a natural consequonco oll-drlllors havo boon employed, Somo of tho aien employed nt Mcdbury have worked In tho California oil field, and of course know what an oil prospect lo when thoy soe it. Howovor, nono of them, as tho roport has it aro staked on the claim on which tho railroad well is situated Elpht men forming the Columbian company havo this, tho drillers casting their lot with tho Crescent Oil company of Beaumont, Tex. Tho Tribune hns endeavored to collect tho facts regarding the find. Evory statement state-ment can bo substantiated. They aro as follows: Tho Short Lino having need for a water station at Medburg, sent ono of their 25,000-foot capacity machines there to sink a well The drill has been In op-oration op-oration thcro since last fall. After passing pass-ing the 500-foot mark the drillers noticed a traco of oil, having near COO feet of what they term as oil shale. Different stratas of water have been obtained, but In insufficient quantities for tho needs of tho Short Line. Tn going down 7S0 feet not a stone formation was encountered. At 780 feet tho drillers came on what thoy call oil sand or sand rock formation. Directly Di-rectly over this formation water was Btruck that flowed over the top at the sur-facp, sur-facp, and plpo belnj? connected to the casing water flowed slxty-thrco foet above tho casing. Tho woll Is 700 feot bolow tho bod of Snako rlvOr. Aftor the well had fiowod two days, oil and gas began to come. This Is really tho best evidence of a strong flow of oil some place close, as all men known that wator drives oil out of the field and must be continually pumped out or it cannot bo gotten. This oil and gas Is breaking In against the pressure of a column of water 7S0 feot In height or 375 pounds por squaro Inch. The woll has not boon sunk anv deeper, as tho danger of ruining tho well for water supply was too great Genoral Foreman Slllett has been instructed bv the engineering engi-neering department to pump the well and ascertain Its capacity, which Is being done, tho well affording 4000 gallons por hour. The pumping of tho well has a tendency to lessen tho water pressure and tho oil Is being pumped with the water In greater great-er quantities than has been gotten before. Oil exj.prt3 claim that It Is a matter of a llttlo more depth to settlo the problem in short order. Owing to the fact that accidents acci-dents are liable to occur at anv lime admittance ad-mittance to tho drill houso Is denied. This has given rise to the report that tho well hns been "salted." It Is deploiable that tho exaggerated reports re-ports have gotten out What Idaho wants Is to ascertain whether or not there Is oil In sufficient quantity to warrant sinking sink-ing a number of wolls. Thcro aro dozens of Idaho capitalists that would put monev Into this enterprise If true statements could be obtained. It Is very probable that If the water Is of good quality that further development will be stoppod as far as the Short Line Is concerned. However, How-ever, this Is not substantiated, but the urgent need of water at this station has led to the statement |