The country in the vicinity of Cold
Bay holds great promise us a future
producer of petroleum of a high
quality. Large areas are covered
with paraffine from the many seep
ages of oil, indicating, of course, that
the earth below the surface holds a
vast supply of this necessary and val
uable liquid.
Development wan started in tne
Cold Buy Oil fields about eighteen
years ago, and several wells were
bored. But before these reached a
sufficient depth to tap the cil, all oil
and coal lands were withdrawn by
the Government with the result that
it has not been possible to work them
uutil the present time.
It is hoped that the changed policy
of the Government will act as an in
centive for capital to undertake the
development of Alaska’s oil resources,
with the result that this territory will
ultimately become one of the large
producers of petroleum.
A Mysterious Cave
A mysterious cave covered by a
rock which may lead to a “hollow
mountain” and valuable relics of by
gone ages within the shadow of Mt.
Katins i, is told of by S. M. Malachnff,
who acts as messenger for the local
United States cable office.
Maiaohoff was b<>m at Kenai. His
father was M. S. Maiaohoff and gen
eral agent for the old Alaska Com
mercial Company aud his grandfath
er was a Russian trader in Alaska in
the early days.
The present Malachoff was 16 years
of age when he resided at Katmai, at
the base of the volcano which made a
world r»o rd fnrdiarupting ashes, and
was sent by his line's, Adair Aloek,
another Russian, to Cold Bay on an
errand.
Af that time there were no whites
on Cook Inlet or at. Cold Hay, other
than occasional Russian traders.
While Malaehoff was waiting an In
dian hoy about bis own age lold him
of a “medicine** which the natives
used for rheumatism and showed hi in
the place from which it was taken.
It was nothing more than the seep
age of crude oil which caused the re*
cent stampede to Cold Bay when th«
leasing bill via signed. MalachofF
took some of tbe oil to hi* uncle, and
later showed it to Capt. Lathrop,
who was operating a ferry on Cook
Inlet, and the latter at one time talk
ed of fitting out an expedition and
making a further investigation
Like all young fellow* of that day
young MalachofF made excursion* to
distant points, sometime* alone in his
canoe and some times accompanied by
a native lad.
On one of theie excursion* a na
tive boy told him he would show him
something. He approached a blufF
about 600 yards from the beach and
rolled aside a stone and exposed to
view a subterranean cavern. The
voices when sent in echoed and re
echoed and gave MalachofF tbe im
pression that the whole mountain wa»
hollow ins'de. Being in close prox
iniity to the former volcanic action of
Mt. Katmai it is pnssib’e that under
ground caverns had heen formed.
The two hoys did not attpmpt to
crawl insidp to investige'e And the
occurence with other events crowding,
almost passed from the mind of MaT
achoff. During those early dsys the
traders took many things for grant
ed The talk of oil at Oold Bay the
other evening recoiled to his mind his
boyhood experiences mid hp .,n(l hie
hearers could not help hnt wonder
what might he inside the cave which
the natives seemed careful to hide
from sight.
Vet Idez Miner