66 River at Burning Springs." At the former place a small flowing well (from two to six barrels per diem) was struck, which continued to flow for a long time. At the Burning Springs the great Llewellyn well was struck which flowed for several months at the rate of from fourteen hundred to two thousand barrels per day. A great many wells were commenced at different localities on Cow Creek, Stilwell, Oil Creek, Walker's Creek, and the creeks near the Burning Springs, most of which produced oil in greater or less quantities. At this time Parkersburg was the great entrepôt and shipping port for West Virginia oil. The oil found in West Virginia is of superior quality. Most of the shallow wells produce a very heavy lubricating oil, which commands a high price. Southern Ohio Oil Region. Directly across the Ohio River in a line with the West Virginia oil belt, is a productive oil territory embracing Washington, Meigs, Athens, Morgan, and Noble counties. On Duck Creek, which enters the Ohio River a mile above Marietta, a number of wells have been sunk to the depth of one or two hundred feet from which oil is obtained in sufficient quantity to warrant pumping. About ten miles from Marietta, near Lower Salem, evidences of active operations in oil become visible. Near Macksburg, the most valuable part of the Duck Creek region is reached. Here a number of wells were put down, varying in depth from eight hundred to eighteen hundred feet which yielded largely.' 1 Petroleum, by J. H. A. Bone, Phila., 1865. Oil Wells of Terre Haute, Indiana. "A well lately sunk at Terre Haute, Indiana, in search of fresh water, has shown the existence of a productive source of oil in that region. It was carried nineteen hundred feet, and yields about two barrels of oil daily. A second well, a quarter of a mile east of north from the first, now gives a supply of twenty-five barrels of oil daily. After passing through one hundred and fifty feet of superficial sand and gravel, the boring was carried to the depth of sixteen hundred and twenty-five feet, when oil was struck. According to Professor Cox, the strata passed through are as follows: Coal measures seven hundred feet; carboniferous limestone, with underlying sandstones and shales, seven hundred feet; black pyroschists, regarded as the equivalent of the Genessee. slates, fifty feet. Beneath, at the depth of twenty-five feet, in the underlying Corniferous Limestone, the oil vein was met with. The oil in the first well was found at the same horizon.1 Kentucky. In Cumberland County, or Renox Creek, mineral oil or petroleum rose to the surface with the saline water, after boring one hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty feet, and accumulated in sufficient quantity to make it a profitable article of trade. Thousands of dollars worth of this oil are said to have been taken from this spring in former times and sold at the rate of sixty dollars per gross, pint bottles. 1 Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, Geological Report, 1870. Illinois. Oil has been found in small quantities in two or three counties in the southeastern portion of this State, and it is by no means improbable that paying wells may hereafter be obtained in that portion of the State. The counties of Gallatin and Saline, and those north of them, and lying in the valley of the Wabash River, will, in my opinion, be most likely to afford productive oil wells.1 Besides the States which have already been mentioned, petroleum has been found in variable quantities in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, Dakota, Colorado, and New Mexico. Wells have been drilled in several of these States by oil prospectors, but, as far as I am able to learn, they have not been paying adventures. The oil fields of Pennsylvania and Western New York will be described elsewhere. Mexico. It is stated that a company composed of Boston (Mass.) capitalists has secured large interests in the Tuxpan oil region in the State of Vera Cruz. The company has been prepared for extensive developments for more than a year. The geological formation of this section resembles that of the Pennsylvania oil region, and there are many oil springs. The oil field lies at the base of the San Felipe Mountains, southwest of the port of Tuxpan. The petro 1 Geological Survey of Illinois, A. H. Worthen, Director, 1866. leum, which resembles in gravity and appearance the Pennsylvania oil, oozes from the rocks in many places. Around a small lake in the district, Lake Culco, there are forty oil springs. The oil runs from them in such quantities that the lake is constantly covered with it. Pennsylvania oil-well drillers are superintending the development of the district. There are also extensive petroleum deposits in the State of Tabasco. The oil fields are forty miles from the capital in the San José Mountains. West India Islands. Petroleum has been found in greater or less quantities in nearly all of the West India Islands. In Cuba it has been known to exist for many years. A variety of liquid. asphalt, known as "Barbadoes tar," has been exported from this island. It is about the consistency of gas-tar, and has been used as a coating for the preservation of timber. In some parts of the island it is quite abundant, and some years ago attracted the attention of some engaged in the search for oil, and arrangements were made to drill. We have never learned, however, that oil in paying quantities was obtained. The want of success in this and other fields is in some measure to be attributed to the very low price of the Pennsylvania product. Peru. The existence of petroleum, if tradition received through the Spanish conquerors of this country be correct, has been known for several centuries. The same crude method of collecting adopted by the primitive races of other countries was practised here; shallow pools were dug, and the oil which collected in them was dipped out into earthen vessels. It was sometimes used as a fuel, or allowed to evaporate to the consistency of pitch. Afterwards it was heated by artificial means and used for coating the insides of earthenware vessels. It is said that the Spanish government long held a monopoly of the trade of manufacturing and selling this coating material, which was chiefly employed on liquor jars. From the best information we can gather, the attention of American capitalists was first called to this oil field in the year 1863, through the instrumentality of a gentleman (Mr. A. E. Prentice) employed by the Peruvian government in the capacity of an engineer. He communicated the facts to a relative actively engaged in petroleum enterprises in Western Pennsyl vania. The oil lands of Peru are in the coast region bordering on the Pacific Ocean. They extend from Cape Blanco to the Tumbez River, a distance of about 120 miles. The tract is 60 miles wide and contains 4,408,000 acres. In places along the coast, where the waves of the Pacific have worn away the rocks, the oil trickles out at low tide, and for 90 miles this outcrop may be followed. village of Zorritos is the present centre of operations, which are almost entirely confined to the Mancora estate, one of the largest in the country. The existence of deposits of petroleum had been noticed by the agent of The |