[William Clayton Journal] Started at half past 7 and travelled till 12 then waited an hour. We found Bear River not over 15 inches deep. We camped on Sulphur Creek at 5 o'clock having traveled 16 1/2 miles and after camping I went with the brethren to fill their tar Buckets at the Oil spring. We followed a wagon trail made by a part of Hastings company last year about a mile and found the spring situated in a ravine a little to the left of the road just at the edge of a high bench of land. The ground is black over with the oil for several rods but it is baked hard by exposure to the sun. It is difficult to get the clear oil most of it being filled with dust and gravel. It smells much like British oil and is said to do well for greasing wagons . . .
[source: George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1995, http://amzn.to/william-clayton]
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