UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES.

The possibilities of our oil wells can only be estimated by_their present attainments. Several wells in different portions of the Territory are producing an excellent quality of oil in limited quantities. There seems to be evidence of an underlying oil and gas deposit of a greater or less extent near the Wichita range of mountains. Considerable prospecting is being done at Lawton and Granite. At Newkirk the gas from one well is utilized to produce power with which to drill another near by.

The Wichita Mountains, strictly speaking, are an undeveloped resource. They are in themselves a mine of unknown wealth. Not only do they possess a number of valuable minerals, but they consist of a mass of solid red granite which only awaits the energy of man and combination of capital to develop an industry of wonderful proportions. The quality of the granite is of the very best. It is pronounced by experts to be equal to the celebrated Peterhead Red Scotch granite and equally adaptable for monumental and building purposes. The granite can be taken out in immense blocks, which adds much to the monetary value as well as to increase its desirability for building purposes.

The miner, confident that nature in her lavishness has but veiled the hidden treasures of earth, has prospected, staked his claim, and sunk a shaft with more or less satisfactory results.

That the valuable mineral exists, there is no question. The chief problem seems to be one of ways and means. Crushers, smelters, and

other ponderous and expensive machinery are required.

Among other resources that are yet in their infancy of development may be mentioned marble and gypsum beds in Blaine County; cement and clay deposits in several locations; extensive limestone quarries containing an unlimited supply of excellent building stone; rock salt deposits and the famous Salt Creek of history, which is truly named, as it contains 50 per cent pure salt.

These, and many others which might be included, now offer a field for the investment of capital for the building up of manufacturing and other enterprises.

GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY.

By an act of the legislature of 1899, a department of geology and natural history was established with headquarters at the University of Oklahoma, the professor of biology of this institution being made ex-officio Territorial geologist and curator of the museum.

The purpose of the survey is thus stated in the act providing for the same:

A department of geology and natural history is hereby established for the purpose of beginning and continuing the geological and scientific survey of this Territory, and of discovering and developing its natural resources, and disseminating information in regard to its agricultural, mining, and manufacturing advantages.

The department has investigated and reported on the general geology and the flora of the Territory, and is now collecting material for a report on the gypsum and salt of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma, with the exception of the northeastern portion, consists almost wholly of the so-called red beds, with thin deposits, in places,

of the Cretaceous and Comanche. The age of the red beds has long been in dispute, but is now placed in the Permian.

The surface rock consists for the most part of sandstone, varying in texture from a coarse, rotten shale to a fine-grained sandstone, and of immense areas of gypsum. The sandstone occurs in almost every county in the Territory, and is used quite extensively for foundations and similar building purposes.

The gypsum outcrops as great ledges, extending nearly, if not quite, across the Territory. In Blaine County there are millions of tons, easy of access and close to the railroad, and large mills have been established for the manufacture of plaster and cement. This industry is just in its infancy in Oklahoma, and will, without doubt, prove one of the most important in the Territory.

The next report of the Territorial geologist will give location of the principal deposits and a chemical analysis of the several varieties.

The salt industry has not received the development that it should. This is due largely to lack of means of transportation and to litigation over leases and claims.

There are three principal salt areas in Oklahoma: The Saline Reservation, about 25 miles west of Alva, in Woods County; the salt plains of the Cimarron, in Woodward County; and the plains of Salt Creek, in Blaine County. Each of these regions furnishes a local supply of salt, while at the Blaine County works several thousand pounds are manufactured daily. Were it not for the almost unlimited supply of salt in Kansas, this industry would receive an immediate development on a large scale; and with means of transportation there is no reason why salt should not be manufactured here, in competition with Kansas, at a good profit, as the cost of evaporation is practically the only one connected with its manufacture.

In the northeastern portion of the Territory, in addition to sandstone, there are large areas of limestone. Much of this is a superior building stone, and large quarries have been opened. Large orders for stone are being filled from these quarries; the stone for the new university building at Norman is from the one near Newkirk.

The native timber of Oklahoma consists of the usual Western varieties oak, elm, ash, hackberry, hickory, pecan, cottonwood, walnut, cedar, etc.

The timber in the western portion of the Territory is, for the most part, found skirting the streams. In the central, southern, and eastern portions there are quite extensive areas of large timber of the varieties mentioned. The so-called black-jack covers the greater part of the southeastern portion. This furnishes a fine quality of fuel, and the land, when cleared, is fertile, this being the best cotton belt in the Territory.

An investigation of the native grasses has revealed a surprising number of varieties. There is now a record of 106 varieties, and the list is not yet complete. Many of these make excellent pasturage and hay, and Oklahoma, long before it was open to settlement, was known as an excellent grazing country, and supported thousands of head of horses and cattle. The mild climate and the abundance of winter pasturage has made Oklahoma one of the greatest stock countries in the West.

From its geological position, and from the results of investigation, Oklahoma must be regarded as primarily an agricultural and grazing

INT 1902-MIS, PT 2- -30

country, but with the abundance of coal, oil, and gas just on its eastern border, and with its immense deposits of gypsum, salt, and building stone, it is one of the most favorably located districts in the whole West.

Many prospectors are still very sanguine as to the mineral wealth of the Wichita Mountains, about which so much has been written, and immense sums of money are being spent in the northeastern portion prospecting for coal, oil, and gas; but reports are so conflicting and exaggerated that the whole question must, as yet, be considered entirely problematical.

The table below gives the population of the cities and towns of Oklahoma in 1900, according to the United States census at that time:

Population of the incorporated cities and towns of Oklahoma, 1900.