The Gold Placers of Parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Including the Nome, Council, Kougarok ...

Name: The Gold Placers of Parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Including the Nome, Council, Kougarok ...
Author: Arthur James Collier , Frank Lee Hess , Philip Sidney Smith , Alfred Hulse Brooks

Arthur James Collier , Frank Lee Hess , Philip Sidney Smith , Alfred Hulse Brooks

The Gold Placers of Parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Including the Nome, Council, Kougarok ...

Arthur James Collier , Frank Lee Hess , Philip Sidney Smith , Alfred Hulse Brooks · 1908 · Historical

A, Rough in the pay streak of a placer mine on Crooked Creek ; B, Mining with horses and scrapers on Goldbottom Creek . 252

Overview

The Gold Placers of Parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Including the Nome, Council, Kougarok ... is a 1908 historical mining reference by Arthur James Collier , Frank Lee Hess , Philip Sidney Smith , Alfred Hulse Brooks, preserved in the Mountain Man Mining research library. A, Rough in the pay streak of a placer mine on Crooked Creek ; B, Mining with horses and scrapers on Goldbottom Creek .

This 1908 document, The Gold Placers of Parts of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Including the Nome, Council, Kougarok ..., is preserved in the Mountain Man Mining Library for research and reference. Original source: archive.org.

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BoUatiD No. 828

DEPARTMENT OF THK INTKKKUt UNITED STATES (JKOLOUICAL Sl'BVEY

Oeobge Otis Smith, 1

The Gold Plackks Of Parts Of Seward Peninsula, Alaska

INri.DDlXO THB

NOME, COUNCIL, KOUGAROK, PORT CLARENCE, AND CtOODHOPE PRECINCTS

ARTHUR J. COLLIER. FRANK L. HESS, PHILIP S. SMITH. ASW ALFRED H. BROOKS

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Ovkkxmknt Pkintiso Office 190S

THE NEW YOr;K

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Contents.

Page.

lEFACE, BY Alfred H. Brooks 7

Bvelopment Of The Mining Industry, By Alfred H. Brooks 10

Foreword 10

Discovery of gold : 18

The first year of mining 19

The rush of 1900 24

Progress in 1901 28

Growth of mining from 1902 to 1904 31

Mining developments in 1905-0 :.. 36

Summary 38

AND GbOLOGY, BY ARTHUR J. CknLlKR 40

Introduction 40

Geography 41

General outline 41

Shore line 42

Relief 44

Drainage 48

Climate fiO

Geographic hwatiou 50

Observations 51

Temperature 51

Precipitation 52

River and harbor ice 53

Vegetable and animal life 54

Vegetation 54

Fish and game 56

Commercial features 57

General geology 60

Introduction 60

Description of geologic maps 63

Metamorphic rocks 66

Kigluaik group 66

Kuzitrin formation 69

Nome group 70

General description 70

Port Clarence limestone 73

Undifferentiated schists of Fairliaven precinct 79

Slates in the York region 79

Limestone near.Psilazruk----, 81

Summary of tjfe -metamrn-pBiic JPdViiMttloiis 82

Unaltered sedimentary rot'kt . 83

Unconsolidated deposit?. . 1 85

Introduction 85

Gravel-plain deposits 86

Character fSndiwxtcit 1. 86

Origin of t6e 90

Age of the gfai*! piams 91

AUuvlal deposits 92

Character and extent 92

Origin and age of the alluvium . 93

4 Contents.

Geography and Geolocjy, by Arthur J. Collier — Conlluuod. General geology — Continued.

Unconsolidated — Continued. Pace

High-bench deposits 03

Character and extent a3

Origin and age of the high benches 94

Glaclation and glacial deposits

Igneous rocks 99

Introduction 99

Basalts 101

Granitic rocks 103

Quartz veins 108

Outline of Economic Geolooy, Alfred H. Hrookh 111

General statement . . Ill

Gold in bed rock ik;

Grouping of . . ik;

Disseminated . 117

Concentrated deixisits .. ns

. Cassiterite and galena bearing .. 120

Distribution of mineralization 121

Age of mineralization 1 124

Separation of gold from bed rock 125

Transportation and deiwsltion of placer gold 12S

Concentration of gold on bed rock 128

Keconceutration of placer gold 130

Gold in bed rock . . 132

Geologic maps 1.34

Tlie future of the mining industry 13.'

Description of Placers, by Arthur J. Collier and P'rank L. Hess 140

Creek placers - - 144

Nome precinct -. 140

Geology - .- - - 147

Discovery imd development 148

Placers of the coastal plain--. . . 156

Introduction . 1,56

Old beach lines . 158

Unconcentrated gravel-plain placers 165

Iteconcentra tttd v<*l-plan : pDil:U*&/* 166

Bar, creek, and ))f Wt pfacfrrs g/\die *M§JiJul 170

Nome River bJTsfn ! ! 170

19S

General descrlpyjDfl'.:.;V-i.:i-Ii.-t - UK)

High-bench placrvoCKlWfeJVUttiitaln 199

High-bench placers north of Anvil Peak . 206

Dry-Dexter Creek divide . 207

General conclusions 209

Cripple River basin 209

iuuits ivivtrr Dirsni

Snake River basift-X-JVt-J-VCi-

Contents. 6

Description of Placers, etc. —

Nome precinct — Continued. Page. Streams tributary to Bering Sea between Cripple and Sinulv

rivers 215

Sinulj River basin 215

Region west of Sinuli River 217

Eldorado River region 221

Solomon River region 222

Council precinct 233

Introduction 23;i

Geology 234

Developments 285

Fish River and its eastern drainage . 23G

Fox UUer .- 23fJ

Xiulilulc River basin 238

Notes on recent developments in the Council region, by Philip S.

Kruzgamepa River basin 260

General description 260

Willow and Slate creelcs . 207

Port Clarence precinct . 268

Introduction 268

Creelcs tributary to Grautley Harbor fnmi tlie north . 270

Agiapuli River basin 271

Bluestone River basin . 273

Anilcovilj River , 281

Goodhope precinct . . . 281

The Bluff Region, by Alfred H. Brooks 283

Introduction 283

Topography 284

Geology 285

The placers 288

The Kouoarok Rkoion, by Alfreu II. Brooks . 294

Introduction 294

Topography ' 295

Geology 297

Bedrock . 297

Alluvium : 298

Introduction :00

Sequence of geologic events 303

Planation 303

Differential uplift 304

Stream dissection and sedimentation in local basins,. . 304

Uplift with dissection

The gold placers 306

Mining development 306

Distribution of auriferous gravels .309

Southern belt 300

Northern belt 315

Conclusions 326

Geology and Mineral Kesourcks of Iron Creek, by Philip S. Smith 329

Introduction 329

Physiography j 330

Stages of valley cutting 330

Evidences of glaciation 331

General geology 332

Mining developments 333

General conditions 333

Ditch construction 333

Mining on main stream 334

Mining on tributaries 335

Summary 336

Index a37

Illustrations.

Plate I. A, Lightering freict at low tide, NcHne : B, Characteristic cre

valley: Thompeon Creels tributary of Stewart River f8

II. A, Angular gold-bearing gravels on Grass Gulch; B, Creviced

limestone bed rock on Grass Gulch 178

IIL A, Hydraulic elevator on Glacier Creek; B, Prospecting for

placer gold with chum drill near Bluif 192

IV. Dredging on Solomon River 232

v. A, Canyon of Ophir Creels showing part of the Wild Goose Mining Company ditch ; B, Placer mining with track and incline on Ophir Creek 242

VI. A, Rough in the pay streak of a placer mine on Crooked Creek ; B, Mining with horses and scrapers on Goldbottom Creek . 252

VII. Hydraulic mining on Daniels Creek 284

VIII. Topographic reconnaissance map of the southern part of Seward Peninsula In pocket.

IX. Topographic reconnaissance map of the northwestern part of

Seward Peninsula In pocket

X. Geologic reconnaissance map of the southern part of Seward

Peninsula In pocket

XI. Geologic reconnaissance map of the northwestern part of Sew-ward

Peninsula In pocket

Fig. 1. Sketch maps showing relative gold-bearing areas in Seward

Peninsula, California, and the Klondike region 12

2. Precinct map of Seward Peninsula 42

3. Profile of the western part of Seward Peninsula, showing old

erosion levels 47

4. Sketch of the coast from Cape York to Cape Prince of Wales 47

5. Map showing distribution of vegetation in Seward Peninsula 55

6. Geologic sketch map and section of Ophir Creek region 123

7. Sketch map of part of Nome region, showing distribution of

placers 1 150

8. Diagrammatic section of beach placers - 155

9. Sketch map of second and third beach lines at Nome 161

10. Diagram showing manner in which gold is concentrated north

of Nome 162

11. Diagrammatic section of Anvil Creek valley, showing bench

gravels 189

12. Sketch map and profile of high-bench gravels uth of King

Mountain 201

13. Sketch map and section of Big Hurrah mine 229

14. Diagram of part of Ophir Creek valley, showing position of bench-placer

deiKxsits 247

15. Diagram of cliiT exposure near mouth of Daniels Creek 285

16. Sketch map and section of Daniels Creek placers 287

17. Diagrammatic reiiresentation of cliaracter of impregnated zones,

Bluir region 292

IH. Sketch map of Kougarok region 295

19. Sketch map of Iron Creek basin 330

.

The Gold Placers Of Parts Of Seward Peninsula, Alaska.

By Arthur J. Coluer, Frank L. Hess, Philip S. Smith, and

Alfred H. Brooks.

Preface.

By Alfred II. Brooks.

This paper is devoted to a discussion of the auriferous gravels of the southern and northwestern parts of Seward Peninsula. Its purpose is to meet the wants of the miner and prospector by presenting the results of the reconnaissance surveys made from 1899 to 1903, so far as they bear on the distribution and origin of the placer gold. As a necessary preliminary the geology of the peninsula will be presented in outline, but as this volume must be kept to a reasonable size, much matter not directly pertinent to the discussion of the mineral wealth will perforce have to be omitted. More extended accounts of the geology will find place in future publications, to be prepared when the more detailed surveys, already begun, permit the presentation of conclusions with more confidence.

Greologic and topographic surveys of the peninsula were begun in the f aJl of 1899 by F. C. Schrader and the writer, who spent a few weeks in examining the auriferous gravels in the immediate vicinity of Nome, while D. C. Witherspoon made a topographic survey of the same area. The increase of public interest led to the dispatching of three parties to this field in 1900. One of these, led by W. J. Peters and W. C Mendenhall, made reconnaissance surveys of the southeastern part of the peninsula. Another party under charge of E. C.

Schrader, F. C, and Brooks, A. H., Preliminary report on the Cape Nome gold region, a special publication of the U. S. Geol. Survey, 1900.

Mendenhall, W. C, Reconnaissances in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, In 1900, a special publication of the U. S. Geol. Survey. 1901. pp. 181-218.

8 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

Barnard, assisted by D. L. Reabum, H. G. Hefty, and R. B. Robertson, made a topographic survey of the southwestern part of the peninsula, inchiding Port Clarence to the west and Ophir Creek to the northeast. This work was materially aided by the cordial cooperation of J. F. Pratt and J. J. Gilbert, of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, who commanded a large force of men engaged during the same summer in charting the southern coast line of the peninsula. At the same timethegeologic work in this region was intrusted to the writer," who, assisted by G. B. Richardson and A. J. Collier, carried a reconnaissance over much of the southern half of the peninsula and extended it into the then newly discovered Kougarok district. In the fall of 1900 the writer also made a geologic and topographic reconnaissjince survey of the York district, at the west end of the peninsula. In 1001 W. C. Mendenhall and D. L. Reaburn made a hasty examination of part of the northern coast of the peninsula, after the completion of an exploration extending from the Yukon to Kotzebue Sound. The growth of the mining interests led to the extension of the reconnaissance survey over the northwestern part of the iKMiinsula in 1001 by T. G. Gerdine and A. J. Collier.* The northeastern quarter of the [peninsula still remained to be surveyed, and this was done in 1003 by D. C. Withei-spoon and F. H. Moffit.*'

The reports on these surveys included an account of practically every gold-producing creek in the peninsula, but the rapid progress of mining not only led to the discovery of many new placers, but also revealed many new facts bearing on the occurrence and distribution of the auriferous gravels. This made it desirable to supplement these investigations, and to this task A. J. Collier, assisted by F. L. Hess, was assigned in 1003. In the fall of 1004 Mr. Collier was able to spend a few weeks in the peninsula to collect some additional data. The writer's own investigations in 1800 and 1000 have been referred to; in addition to these he has made brief examinations of some of the mining districts along the southern coast in 1003, 1004, and 1005.

The results here set forth are based (1) on the studies of Mr. Collier and Mr. Hess in 1003, and (2) on the earlier work in this province. In some cases this fact is plainly brought out by direct quotations from the published reports, but in many others there has been so gradual an evolution of opinion as to make it impossible to give the proper credit. Although not all the subjects treated in the

" Brooks, A. II., Reconnaissances in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in a special pukllcation of the T'. S. Geol. Survey. 1001, pp. 1-180.

Mendenhall, W. C, Reconnaissance from Fort Hamlin to Kotzebue Sound by way of Dall, KanutI, Allen, and Kowak rivers : Prof. Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 10. 1002.

" Collier, A. J., A reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Prof. Paper U. 8. Geol. Survey No. 2, 1902.

Moffit, F. H., The Falrhaven gold pUcers, Seward Peninsula, Alastoa : Ball. U. S. Surrey No. 247. 1905.

Preface. 9

earlier publications are here again considered, yet in a large measure this volume is in fact to be regarded as a revised edition of the report of 1900.

As this manuscript goes to press it has been possible to incorporate in it a part of the results of the surveys of 1906. P. S. Smith, who made a hasty study of some of the placers of the Solomon, Casadepaga, and Council regions, has incorporated some of his results with Mr. Collier's and Mr. Hess's descriptions of these districts. Mr. Smith has also prepared the account of the Iron Creek basin here included. The description of the Nome region has had the critical reading of F. H. Mofiit, who has been for two years engaged in a detailed geologic study of the areas covered by the Xome and Grand Central special maps. It is not intended, however, to set forth here anything but a general account of this district. For the details the reader is referred to Mr. Moffit's report " now in prejDaration.

In 1906 the writer made a reexamination of a part of the Kougarok district, and his report is included in this volume.

The composite authorship of this report is indicated in above account of its preparation. It should be added that the manuscript submitted by Mr. Collier was revised by Mr. Hess, who utilized as far as possible the data collected by the later investigations. No attempt has been made to revise the geologic descriptions except so far as it has been necessary to make them consistent with the results of the later investigations.

The unfortunate delay in the completion of this volume has been in a large measure due to the fact that the time of the authors has lieen perforce devoted to other work, but also because each season's field work accumulated many new facts, which it seemed desirable to incorporate.

It is a matter of deep gratification to the writer that these investigations have received much cordial support and help on the part of the residents of the peninsula. If this work serves to aid those who are engaged in exploiting the mineral resources of the district, the purpose of its publication will be accomplished.

Moffit, F. H., Hes8, F. L., and Smith, P. S., Geology of the Nome and Grand Central areas, Seward Peninsula, Alaska.

The Development Of The Mining Industry.

By Alfsed H. BaooKs.

Forkword.

The large peninsula thrust out from northwestern Alaska, dividing the Bering Sea from the Polar Sea, was, up to a few years ago, unnamed and almost unknown. This peninsula, bordered by the Arctic Circle, affords a striking example of the rapid industrial changes that may be wrought in an isolated province by the exploitation of rich gold placers. A decade ago Seward Peninsula was little more than a barren waste, unpeopled except for a few hundred Eskimos and a score of white men, whereas it is now the scene of intense commercial activity, supporting a permanent population of 3,000 or 4,000 people, which in summer is more than doubled. Then the igloo of the Eskimos and a mission were the only permanent habitations; now a well-built town with all the adjuncts of civilization looks out on Bering Sea, and a dozen smaller settlements are scattered through the peninsula. This region, which then produced nothing except a few furs, now increases the wealth of the world annually by nearly $8,000,000. A decade ago the only communication with the civilized world was through the annual visit of the Arctic whaling fleet and the revenue cutter ; now a score of ocean liners ply between Nome and Puget Sound during the summer months, and even in winter a weekly mail service is maintained by dog teams. Moreover, military telegraph lines, cables, and wireless systems, and a private telephone system keep all parts of the peninsula in close touch with the outer world. Railways connecting some of the inland mining centers with tide water traverse regions which a few years ago were almost unknown to white men.

This industrial improvement is, as has been stated, the result of the discovery and exploitation of the gold deposits. As there has been

The name Seward Peninsula, given in honor of William H. Seward, was first pnb- Itsbed In " Preliminary report on the Cape Nome gold region," by F. C. Schrader and A. II. Brooks, U. S. Geol. Surrey, 1900. W. H. Dall had as long ago as 1870 suggested the name Karlak Peninsula," but it did not find acceptance in any except his own publications and has never appeared on any map.

Dbvslopment Of Mining Industry.

only one successful attempt at auriferous lode mining, practically all of the gold production has been taken from the placers. Lode and placer tin have been foimd in the peninsula, but their exploitation has not yet been brought to the profitable stage, though a few tons of tin are annually exported. The tin deposits have, however, added to the commercial prosperity of the peninsula by helping to focus public attention on its mineral resources.

The following figures of the output of the placer mines are based on the best estimates obtainable, but it should be borne in mind that there are no accurate statistics to be had. The limit of error in the total production since 1898, as shown in the table, is believed to be about $500,000.

Approximate value of placer-gold production of Reward PeninHula, Alaska,*

18d8 $75,000

The total production of $37,000,000 for nine years is small compared with the output from the California placers, which in two years (1851 to 1853) are estimated to have yielded $62,000,000. It is also small compared with the production of the Klondike placers, whose output in the first decade is valued at $118,000,000.'*

Fig. 1 iUustrates approximately the relative size of the gold-bearing regions of Seward Peninsula, California, and the Klondike. The auriferous gravels of California, roughly outlined, probably cover an area about equal to that occupied by the auriferous gravels of the Seward Peninsula, but the Klondike gold field is probably less than one-tenth as large. The California placers are not only ideally located for economic exploitation, but their gold content averaged no less than that of the Seward Peninsula gravels. Moreover, the high gravels of California are far more extensive than those of the Alaska

Brooks, A. H., Report on progress of luvestigation of mineral resources of Alaska : Bull. U. 8. Geol. Survey No. 314, 1007, p. 21.

Whitney, J. D., The auriferous gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California : Mem. Mas. Comp. Zoology, Cambridge, Mass., vol. 6, No. 1, 1880, p. 3G7.

' The estimates of the annual output of placer gold in the Klondike since its discovery are as. follows :

Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

field. With abundant water supply, steep stream gradients, heavy gravel deposits, accessibility, and salubrious climate, it is no wonder that the California placers far outstripped the northern field in the first years of production.

The Klondike, on the other hand, is less favorably situated than Seward Peninsula, and its water supply available for mining is much less. It appears, however, that the placers of such creeks as Eldorado and Bonanza in the Klondike averaged richer than any deposits of similar extent yet found in the peninsula. It was the exploitation of these almost fabulously rich and relatively shallow gravels that brought the Klondike gold output up with a and it is their

Zoomiucs

Klondike District

California

Fig. 1

Skoti'h niapH showing;: nlntlv< pold-boarlnK irons In Sownrd IN'nlnsuIn, raUfomla, and tlio Klondike region, drawn to the same scale.

qui(*k exhaustion that has caused an almost rapid decline of the annual yield. are still extensive bodies of lower-grade gravels to mine in the Klondike, but these*, can be developed only by means of extensive water conduits or by dredging. Mining in the Khmdike has pa&sed its zenith, whereas in Seward Peninsula the maximum yearly output is still to reached.

In the comparison of the Seward Peninsula placer fields with others, it must be borne in mind that probably three-fourths of its entire production has been drawn from the reffion adjacent to and from Ophir Creek and its tributarJA' m£b the

gold-bearing area is large, yet only a few square miles have been extensively exploited. In other words, only a few of the creeks (but probably the richest ones of Seward Peninsula) have been exploited, and it is probable that it will be some time before the maximum annual yield will be attained. The future of the placers receives further consideration in the section devoted to economic geology (pp. 135-139), and the annual gold product is discussed in detail where the growth of the mining industry is sketched.

DISCOArERY or GOIiD.

The position of Seward Peninsula, whose western point is less than 60 miles from the Siberian coast, made it the first part of Alaska to be known to the Russians. The continent lying beyond Bering Strait was reported by the natives to the Russians as early as 1709 ; but so far as known the first landing on its borders was not until 1731, and then from a vessel which had been blown out of her course. Certain it is that the first survey of the coast line was made by Capt. Janies Cook in 1778. During the succeeding century of the Russian occupation, though the entire coast line was explored,* but little was learned of the interior of the peninsula. In 1822 the Russian Captain Kromchenko, the Golofnin surveyed Norton Sound and Golofnin Bay. It was not until 1835 that a trading post was established on St. Michael Island, the first Russian settlement north of the Aleutian Islands. F'rom this point, trade was carried on with the natives to the north. The stories current that the Russians mined placer gold near Nome are utterly without foundation in fact, for the Russians had absolutely no knowledge of the mineral resources of the peninsula and never had a permanent settlement within its borders.

Probably the first important inland exploration was that made in 1865-66 by a party led by Baron Otto von Bendeleben, who, while seeking a route for a telegraph line, ascended the Niukluk and crossed the portage to the Kruzgamepa and thence continued to Port Clarence. This survey was made in the interests of the great transcontinental telegraph route which was planned to connect Europe and America. Von Bendeleben's party actually constructed a few miles of telegraph line, and thus were the first to start a commercial enterprise on Seward Peninsula. Of greater interest is the fact that Von Bendeleben is said to have found alluvial gold on Niukluk River.'' If such was the case placer gold was found here earlier than in any other part of Alaska except at Cook Inlet, where Doroshin, a

Chart T, U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.

*For an account of the Russian explorations, see Brooks, A. H., Geography and geology of Alaska : Prof. Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 45. 1906. pp. 104-132.

' W. H. Libby a member of Von Bendeleben*s party, is authority for this statement.

14 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

mining engineer sent out by the Russian Government, discovered gold in 1854. The telegraphic construction was discontinued after the successful laying of the Atlantic cable, Von Bendeleben's party disbanded, and a third of a century passed before any of its members found their way back to the scene of the gold discovery. It seems probable, therefore, that no one attached any importance to this occurrence of placer gold.

The peninsula continued to be regarded as a barren waste for many years after Alaska passed into the hands of the United States. The whalers had a rendezvous at Port Clarence, where they anchored in the early summer while waiting for the polar ice cap to break. Occasionally a trader came from the nearest permanent posts, or St. Michael, and bartered with the natives, but otherwise conditions were as primitive as during the Russian occupation.

Galena was discovered in the eastern part of the peninsula by the natives, who used it for making bullets, and brought it to the attention of traders at least as early as 1880. In 1881 a party under the leadership of John C. Green, with the help of the natives', located the source of this galena on what he named Fish River, tributary to Golofnin Bay. This was one of the first lode locations made in Alaska, being antedated only by those made near Sitka in 1877 and possibly by some of those at Juneau, where gold placers were found in 1880. Green and his party organized the Fish River mining district in July, 1881, and began the exploitation of this deposit under the corporate title, The Alaska Gold and Silver Mining, Milling, and Trading Company.

It was undoubtedly some of those connected with this company who first made public the occurrence of alluvial gold in Seward Peninsula.** It has been elsewhere suggested that the discovery and first mining of alluvial gold is to be credited to the natives. This now seems to be an error, for the natives appear never to have had any knowledge of gold or methods of extracting it.

The operations of the Alaska Gold and Silver Mining, Milling, and Trading Company, later called the Russian- American Mining and Exploration Company, were continued up to about 1891 at Omalik, but though some ore was shipped, the mine never actually reached a paying stage. This enterprise, however, led to a better knowledge of the region and to the establishment of a trading post on Golofnin Bay by John Dexter, an employee of the company.

Dexter's post was long the only white settlement, but about 1890 a Congregational mission was established at Cape Prince of Wales, and later a Swedish Evangelical mission was founded on Port Clarence,

An employee of this company named Sandoraon Is said to have found alluvial gold on the Niukluk about 1892.

Schrader, F. C, and Broolm, A. H., Preliminary report on the Cape Nome gold regloii. a special pabllcation of the U. 8. Geol. Survey. 1000, p. 81.

Discovbby Of Gold. 15

and another on Golofnin Bay. About the same time the Government began the unportation of reindeer from Siberia, and stations were established at various points in the peninsula.

Previous to 1897, though no doubt a few prospectors had roamed over parts of the peninsula, no mineral wealth had been found, save the Omalik galena deposit and a little alluvial gold in the Fish River basin. A little placer mining is said to have been done at this time. As operations at the silver mine had practically ceased, the whole population included only a few missionaries, traders, and Government reindeer herders. This region then like most of Alaska, except the Pacific seaboard, had made almost no industrial advance since the Russian occupation.

While Seward Peninsula was neglected up to 1897, the ever active prospector had penetrated the Yukon basin and discovered placers which had been productive in a small way for upward of a decade. This activity was suddenly augmented in 1896, when the Klondike placers were found, and in less than a year this isolated region became a focal point of public interest throughout the civilized world. Then the wild excitement of the California rush of half a century before was duplicated, and probably 50,000 gold seekers turned their faces northward. The popular belief that Alaska was a barren field for all except the fur hunters quickly disappeared and was replaced by the equally absurd conclusion that the entire territory was gold bearing. As a result of this erroneous opinion, expeditions were equipped to search for gold in all parts of the territory. Most of these, however, were bent on reaching the interior, and Seward Peninsula was practically overlooked.

The Kotzebue Sound region attracted about 1,500 people, and some of them, becoming discouraged at the outlook, made their way southward to Golofnin Bay. To the same point came other groups of prospectors from St. Michael who despaired of being able to ascend the Yukon. It was some of these men, whom chance rather than design had brought to the district, that made the third discovery of alluvial gold in the peninsula, and they were the first to prove its commercial importance. The party which found these workable placers included Daniel B. Libby, a member of the Von Bendeleben expedition of 1866, L. S. Melsing, A. P. Mordaunt, and H. L. Blake. The first gold was discovered in the gravels of what they called Melsing Creek, in March, 1898, and a little later placers were found on an adjacent stream named Ophir Creek. In accordance with the United States mining laws and in keeping with a long-established

There Is a story current that a Swede named Johansen found placer gold and did a little slnldng at the mouth of the Casadepaga in 1894.

Omallk Is said to he the Eskimo word for high chief.

' Aa liaa haen set f6rth, the first was made hy the telegraph expedition, and the second roliaMy by aomt of those connected with the enterprise on Fish Rirer.

16 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

custom, a miners' meeting " was called, and the Discovery district " was organized April 25, and a recorder elected. As soon as the snow, had disappeared, mining was begun as systematically as the means at hand would allow. The equipment of these pioneer placer miners of the peninsula was very meager, and consequently the efforts at exploitation were crude. Fortunately the region afforded some spruce, and sluice boxes could therefore be constructed from whipsawed lumber. Such methods yielded a return during the summer variously estimated at $30,000 to $100,000.

In the summer of 1898 there were probably several hundred men in the new district, but the interest in it hardly extended beyond its borders. Jven at St. Michael, onlv 100 miles away, which the writer visited in September of that year, hardly any attention was paid to this new camp. The reason for this apathy w-as twofold — first, the Alaskan had become tired of unfounded rumors of rich discoveries, and, second, the excavations on Ophir Creek had not by any means gone far enough to prove the great richness of its gravels.

There Avas at least one little group of men among those in the new district who had the enterprise to extend their field of prospe(;ting leyond the narrow limits in which the placers had been found. These men are said to have been influenced in directing their journey by the rumor of a discovery of coarse gold on Sinuk River by a (lovernment reindeer herder. Be that as it may, a party said to have inchided N. C. Hultberg, J. J. Brynteson, H. L. Blake, and J. L. Haggalin sailed westward from Golofnin Bay in a small boat in July, 1898, and became stormbound near the present site of Nome. Prospecting the Snake River bars revealed some fine gold colors, and coarser gold is said to have been found, July 26 or 27, on what was afterwards called Anvil Creek. Most of the party, however, considered the prospect not encouraging and decided to continue the journey to Sinuk. As nothing was found there, the party returned to Golofnin Bay. The gold found on Snake River was, however, regarded by some as sufficiently encouraging to warrant further investigation, so Brynteson, with two companions, Jafet Lindebcrg and Erik O. Lindblom, returned to the scene of this discovery about the middle of and on the 20th they found, on w hat they named Anvil Creek, the rich placers which were destined to render this region famous throughout the world.*' Though none of the party were ex-

AoconlinK to somo ncronnts A. N. Kittleson, G. W. Prtco, nnd a Lnplnndcr nnnied John TorneiiHis were also In this party.

Since the above was written a letter has been received by Frank L. Hess from Jafet liindeberg. which, from Its Interest, Is quoted at length :

"Dear Sir: As per your request, 1 herewith make a report concornlnj; the discovery of told and its development on the Seward Peninsula, which dates from 1897, and will say that it is correct, as I am one of the early prospectors of the mining camps that now figure so prominently in that part of Alaska.

"The discovery of gold on tlie Seward Penlnsala dates back several years before ths location of mining claims Qiliir Crstk, In ths spring of 1808. John Dexter, the

Discovery Of Gold. 17

perienced gold prospectors, yet they could not but realize the importance of this discovery. The season was far advanced, but two crude rockers were constructed, and by using heated water about $1,800 worth of gold was extracted from the gravels of Anvil Creek and

well-known trader at Golofnin Bay, supplied Beveral natives with ;;old pans and taught them how to wash out a pan of dirt. For that purpose he obtained some gold dust from St. Michael, and would sprinkle a little in a pan of beach sand at Golofnin Ray. These natives would carry the gold pans with them on their Ashing and squirrel-hunting trips, and It was while out on one of these trips that Tom Guarick, a native Esquimaux, made the discovery of gold on Ophir Creek, in the Council City district, which at that time bad, in all likelihood, never been visited by white man. Tom, on his return to Dexter's, reported his discovery and brought back about one-half ounce of gold dust. This was In August, 1897. One month later Daniel B. Llbby, A. P. Mordaunt, L. S. Melslng, and Harry Blake, who were sent by San Francisco capitalists in the spring of 1897 to roam around that part of Alaska under a grub-stake contract, landed at Golofnin Bay, and on reaching Dexter*s house saw this gold. On inquiry they were told when and how It was found, and a few days later, with Tom, the native, as a guide, they were taken to Ophir Creek, which was later named, and, on prospecting there, found that native Tom had made a discovery of gold on that creek. All through the winter of 1897 and 1898 the party, with other residents of the vicinity, prospected the different creeks, and finally in April, 1898, staked mining claims on Ophir Creek and Melslng Creek. They then organized the El Dorado mining district, elected a mining recorder, and formulated a set of mining rules. The first stakers and organizers of the district were Daniel B. Llbby, A. P. Mordaunt, L. S. Melslng, II. L. Blake, Dr. A. N. Klttleson, who had been in charge of the Government reindeer station at Port Clarence ; Rev. N. C. Hultberg, a missionary at Golofnin Bay ; P. H. Anderson, a missionary teacher at Golofnin Bay, and. John A. Dexter. This discovery was soon noised abroad, and a stampede to the new diggings followed from near-by points.

I, Jafet a native of Norway, came to this country in the spring of 1898 with Sheldon Jackson, superintendent of the Government reindeer enterprise, for the express purpose of going to Plover Bay. In "eastern Siberia, to relieve Captain Kelly. who was trading at that place for reindeer for the Government. In furtherance of this agreement, I left Seattle on the steamer Del Norte early in 1898, taking with me a stock of provisions, and not Interfering with the Government business for which I was to be assigned. On arrival at St. Michael, news was brought to Doctor Jackson that Captain Kelly had been driven away from Plover Bay by hostile natives. It was then decided that it would be unwise to sond me over there, and, being left without a suitable position. Doctor Jackson gave me permission to leave the Government employ This 1 did, and, taking my outfit, made for the new diggings at Council City, which had been located on the banks of the Nlukluk River, near Ophir Creek.

John Brynteson, a native of Sweden and an experienced coal and iron miner, who for seven years had worked in the mines in Michigan, determined to go to Alaska and look for coal. Arriving at St. Michael and hearing of the discoveries on Ophir Creek, be promptly left St. Michael for Council City, arriving there early in the summer of 1898.

" Erik O. Llndblom, a native of Sweden, by profession a tailor, and for years following his trade in San Francisco, while there, hearing of the fabulous reports from Kotzebue Sound, joined that mad stampede, going north on the bark Alaska. Arriving at Iort Clarence on his way to Kotzebue Sound and hearing of the gold discovery on Ophir (*reek, he left the ship and proceeded to Golofnin Bay, thence to Council City.

We three men met by chance at Council City in August, 1898 ; after prospecting around In that district for some time and staking claims, formed a prospecting companionship and decided to prospect over a wider range of territory. Even at this early date the Council City district was overrun by stampeders, and staked to the mountain tops; so we proceeded to Golofnin Bay, and taking a large open boat and an outfit of provisions, on September 11, 1898, started up the coast toward Port Clarence, stopping at the various rivers to prospect on the way. In which we found signs of gold, but not In paying quantities, and finally arriving at what is now known as the town of Nome. From there we proceeded up Snake River, which we named, and camped at the mouth of Glacier Creek, prospecting as we went along. The first encouifaging signs of gold we found on the sinks ot Snake River was at about the place where Lane's pumping plant is now located. After locating our camp as before mentioned, we proceeded to prospect along the tributaries of Snake River, which tributaries we namd

UOLD PINCERS OF SKWARD PENIUaULA.

Snow Gulch. Claims were also staked on Anvil and Gkcier i-reel as well as on Snow Gulch and other amall creeks.

On the return of this party to Golofnin Bay early in October t news quickly spread, and soon all within its reach started for Anv Creek. On October 18, at a miners' meeting, the Cape Nome mini district was formed, and A, N. Kittleson was elected recordi

follows: AdtII Crtek Itaklng the name from an aDFll-ahap rock which stands

the mountutu on the cast side of the creek). Snow Wiilcli, (Jluclir Creek. Ruck I'rf

and riry I'reek, In all which we toad gold In quantities,

claiaiB, Ural on Anril Creek, because we found better prospects In

others, and where we located tlip " discovery vlalm " in the oai

In addition to this, eacii man staked a aeparate claim In his own name on tlie i

ThlB was Ibe imlversBl custom in Aiuaka. as It waa conceded llial the dlscoreiwr

enlliled to a disco\-ery clnlm and one other. After locadnn on Anvil Creek, claims

slaked on Snow Gulcb, Drj' Creek, and Rock Creek, after which we

" It was Ihen decided to form a mlnlnK dlatckt, so we Ibree original dUcOTep iirKHUized s party. taking w4tli iia Dr. A. N, Kittleson, U. W. Price, P. 11. AndiirBMi. i a tew others, again proceeded lo Nome In a small schooner welch we cbarterM)

boat, and an i

KlttlMon tier!

e formulated, after which the party proHpectid nn al

diKKlngs from Council City.

of Ibis was soon well kIMW 1 lalerprelatlon to the sllnl Fe Industry. EBpectally fti

claims, tiaally returning to Golofnin Bay for winter wlidllrr, and soon u wild slHmpede was made to the nev UlcUael, and the tarKilT Yukon.

"At this perlcid very few mlniDg men were In the c iDHtances belDi; from every trade known. Tlie conaequec a tew men with a smattering ot education gave their t laws, beni-e Jumpini; minlni; claims auun Uifame an n Council City came the Jumpers, who were tlie original mau:(. had guided to the first discovery of gold ou (be Seward Peninsula. Ther wi unwy lo think that Ibey had not been taken in at the beginning, so a few Ot tb promptly jum])ed nearly every claim on Anvil Creek, although ttiere was an abundai of vacant and uolocated ground left which bss slnct> proved to be more valualile tb the original cluima located by us and our second party who helped ua to (oroi the t trlct. Tbis jumping, or relocallng of claims by the pnrtlea above named, poisoned mlnda of all tbe newcomers against every original locator of mining claims, and Ol consequence every orlnlnal claim was relocated by from one lo a dozen different parTl

"At that time 1.. B. Shepard was United State! commissioner at 8L Mlclial, ud no eusc did a jumper bnvc a 'hance to profit by blH villainy. If liiAia: Sbepard on prevent It. Another strong factor for good government at St. Michael and vlclDltr Cupl. E. 8. Walker, of Ibe United Stales .rmy. With eii'eplioually good Jadgnwnt R u ti-arless attitude be held tbe lawless element in check, and great credit aboldd given him.

" in tile early months ot 1699 we hauled supplies to the creeks, and as soon u 1 Ibaw ranie tiegan active mining on Snow (Inleb and on Anvil Creek. n largs cm flocked to Nome, which was then known as Anvil City. Among tills crowd was IM element ot lawless men who soon Joined forces with the Council rity Jumpers, and wi/[ rlToTt WBK made by them to create trouble, t!eerel meellngs were hi'ld and a plu toa lated wberehy Brrangements were made to call a mass mi'cling of miners, nnd at t mpellng declare all tbe acts of tbe original miners' meeting tliHl organlaed rh dUM

and word was sent to Captain Walker at St. Michael, wbo promptly dlxpatched LJeatCMi Opaiildlng with a delacbmcnt of troops to Nome. A few days after tbrlr arrival - mass meeting was called. Here Ibe agreed-on resolutlnns were olTored, Wbl If passed, would have created bloody riot. Lieutenant Spsnldlng dispersed bMMI lecslving (he thanks of the entire mass of law abiding citlsens of Nome and vlclaltj ) this set, and had It not been (or Ibe mllllary. who proved Ibemsslfsa to

from the conduct of tbe afore men tloo*d parties.

" Yoani 'ery truly.

Fib8T Yeab Of Mining. 19

Though it was now too late to do any mining, or even prospecting, there was abundant opportunity to stake claims, and of this all took advantage. Each man filed locations on as many claims for himself and his friends as he thought by any chance he could retain in his possession. To such an extent was the right of staking by power of attorney abused that no less than 7,000 acres were filed on by not more than 40 men. Here, as elsewhere in Alaska, the preemption under the mineral laws of many claims in one district by individuals under power of attorney or otherwise, which under a strict interpretation of the statutes would appear to be illegal, has discouraged legitimate prospecting and retarded the development of mining interests.

The First Year Of Mining.

When the Nome mining district was organized, Seward Peninsula was practically cut off from communication with the outside world, for the nearest post-office was St. Michael, 100 miles away, and that received mail only during the open season. However, rumors of the discovery of these rich placers gradually reached other parts of Alaska, and during the fall and winter of 1898-99 many men came from St. Michael and even from the Yukon. By the middle of May, 3899, Nome, then called Anvil City, probably had a population of 250. Meanwhile, befoi'e the ice broke, the news had been carried up the Yukon to Dawson, and thence to the outer world. This caused a general movement toward Nome among Yukon miners, but the world at large was far from being convinced of the authenticity of the published statements, for it had come to regard with considerable skepticism the wild tales emanating from the northland during the Klondike excitement. Late in June several vessels reached Nome from Puget Sound and found a population of about 400 living in tents and in a score of driftwood cabins. Mining began Jime 20, and the steamers returning to Seattle brought confirmatory news of placer gold in this new camp. It was not until then that people began to take the rumors seriously and that anv real excitement arose about the new district. As a result, several s-teamers sailing for St. Michael touched at Nome to dist'liarge passengers and freight. These newcomers, together with those that found their way down the Yukon from Dawson and other points, swelled the population of Nome to nearly 3,000. By the late fall of 1899 a veritable frenzy seized the people of the Yukon, and not a few settlements were almost depopulated as a result of the rush to Nome.

Meanwhile, in the early summer, there was anything but a contented comnumity at Nome. The newcomers had foimd the whole region covercfd with location notices and very little mining being doae. The professional claim stakers had followed their usual prac<

20 Gold Flacebs Of Seward Peninsula.

lice of blanketing the creeks with location notices, under powers of attorney, and then holding many claims without doing any prospecting, in the hope of being able to take advantage of any discoveries made by the labors of others. In the early part of July probably less than seven hundred men were actually engaged in mining, while upward of a thousand were idle, with neither prospect of employment as miners nor opportunity to prospect in the district. It should be remembered that at that time gold had been found in only a very small area adjacent to Anvil Creek. These idle men believed that many of the locations were illegal, as they unquestionably were under a strict interpretation of the statutes, for as the law requires an actual discovery of gold on each claim it is obvious that a man who staked twenty to thirty claims in a few days could not have determined the presence of gold in them. It was also charged that many claims had been located by aliens and were therefore not legal preemptions. Under these conditions it is not to be wondered that an era of " claim jumping began, during which practically every property of any prospective value was restaked. It was then not uncommon to find a claim corner marked by half a dozen stakes, each of which represented a different claimant.

Tlie nearest United States commissioner was at St. Michael, and there was therefore practically no means of enforcing civil law. In fact, there were no representatives of the Government at Nome except an officer and a small detachment of soldiers which had been sent over from the army post at St. Michael in the spring. On the commandant of this handful of soldiers rested the responsibility of maintaining law and order among a thousand discouraged and angry men, a task made all the more difficult because he was without any actual legal authority. He deserves credit for meeting the situation as far as it lay in his power by patrolling property to which there were rival claimants and by attempting to settle the constantly rising disputes. Discontent was rife, and matters went from bad to worse. July 10 a so-called '" miners' meeting " was called for the purpose of discussing the situation, and a resolution was there presented setting forth the grievances of those who believed that the claim locations had not been made in accordance with the United States statutes. 'While it must be admitted that the unlimited staking was undoubtedly illegal, yet this meeting was mainly attended those who, for one reason or another, had not succeeded in getting hold of placer claims. Had these discontented men spent less time in protesting ajid airing their grievances and more in prospecting they would have been better off, as subsequent operations have shown that there remained much valuable placer ground which had not then been preempted. This meeting, though

Ihinham, 8. C, The Yukon and Nome gold resloa : Aaa. Bipt OoBmlMioMr UAor,. 1000, pp. 84-a60.

Fibst Year Of Mining. 21

no doubt tending to increase the dissatisfaction, was entirely within the legal rights of the individuals who believed that they had been wronged. Therefore the peremptory dispersing of the crowd attendant at the meeting* by the commandant of the troops was a highhanded proceeding, entirely unwarranted either in law or equity. The tension grew day by day, and conflicts between rival claim owners became not infrequent. To rectify matters, the military promulgated the following order on July 13 :

To put nn end to apparent misunderstandings, the foHowing statement is published :

All disputed titles, whether to mining claims or town lots, shall at once be brought before the civil authorities for settlement So long as the civil authorities can handle such matters the military authorities will take no action. In case it becomes necessary for the military authorities to act, the claim or lot will be held in its condition at the time, neither party being allowed to do any work to change the condition of the same.

While there exists no objection to the holding of orderly meetings for the discussion of ordinary business affairs, in any meeting held for the purpose of acting in district affairs no person is entitled to participate excepting claim holders. Any attempt so to participate by other persons is illegal, and the proper steps will be taken to prevent it.

Decisions and orders of the civil courts will be supported by tlie entire power and authority of the United States troops.

No will be allowed to carry firearms, revolvers, or pistols. Anyone violating this order will have said firearms confiscated.

Another version of this afTair is contained in tlie following note furnished by Mr. Hess:

The-statement of Dr. A. N. Kittleson about this miners* meeting as lie made it to me this last summer (1905). as nearly as I can give it from memory, was as follows :

In the summer of 1899 he and the other original stakers on Anvil Creek who were then attempting to work their claims practically had to stand over them with guns all the time to keep from being overrun by parties of gamblers, professional Jumpers, and other riffrafr. Circumstances became so bad that Doctor Kittleson went over to St. Michael and asked that a detachment of soldiers sent to Nome for the protection of property. This was done, and a great deal of hard feeling followed, especially toward Doctor Kittleson, but it seemed to be the only way in which the original stakers could hold their property. The ' outsider ' had at first held that the original claims, which had been laid out 1,320 by 060 feet, according to the statute, should be reduced to 500 feet in length, and this it was' proposed to do by force. Shortly after this the other parties who had been attempting to force the original stakers off their claims called a miners* meeting,' before doing which they conspired to offer a resolution declaring all exist- Ing locations void. Meanwhile men had been stationed upon Anvil Mountain with instructions that on the passing of the resolution a bonfire should be started in Nome, at which signal the men were to hurry down, from the mountain and retake the claims on Anvil Creek, thus getting ahead of the rush which would follow from Nome. A rumor of this intended action had come to Doctor Kittleson, who communicated with the military authorities, and a lieutenant with two or three men went to the meeting and took places on the platform. When the resolution was introduced, declaring all the locations void and the land open for relocation, the lieutenant ordered that the resolution with drawn within two minutes, stating that he considered It not for the good of the community, and that if it was not withdrawn he would clear the hall. The men tried to argue with the lieutenant, but he was firm and at the end of the two minutes ordered the sergeant accompanying him to clear the hall, which was done. Later the claims were jumped and long litigation followed. One man told me that the company with which he was connected had alone spent over |200,000 in lawyers' and court fees in holding its property.'*

22 Gold Placers Op Seward Peninsula.

This order, though undoubtedly intended to relieve the situation, was far from having this effect. Tlie ownership of practically every placer claim which had been exploited was rightfully or wrongfully disputed, and had this order been strictly enforced mining at Nome would have ceased. Such an eventuality would have worked great hardship on many bona fide property owners who depended on the summer yield of their mines for capital to make more extensive development in the following season. To meet this condition, a modification of the order was made, as follows :

The Instructions contained in the order of July 13, 1899, posted at Anvil City [Nome], will be amended so as to permit original locators at work on their claims to continue their work in the event that anyone Jumps the claim. The matter can afterwards be settled by the civil authorities.

The situation was suddenly relieved in an unexpected manner. It was accidentally discovered that the beach sands were rich in gold. It appears that the beach placers were found almost simultaneously by a soldier of the barracks and John Hummel,* an old Idaho prospector who was too sick to leave the coast. Within a few days the mutterings of discontent were almost silenced because it was found that good wages could be made with rockers on the beach. All the idle men went to work as fast as they could obtain implements. As it gradually became known that the beach sands for several miles were gold bearing and could be made to yield from $20 to $100 a day to the man, a veritable frenzy seized the people of Nome. A large part of the population went to work with shovels and rockers. During the height of the excitement it is estimated that there were 2,000 men engaged in beach mining. The yield of the Iwach placers is estimated at more than $1,000,000, and this was practically all taken out with hand rockers in less than two months.

There was one legal complication relative to mining which threatened to be serious, but ended rather ludicrously. Previous to the discovery of the beach gold many so-called " tundra claims had been staked, which stretched inland from the ocean. A group of these, including the richest beach deposits, has been segregated and passed into the control of one company. Allien beach mining began this company claimed that it owned the beach and warned oflP all trespassers unless they paid a royalty of 50 cents a day for the privilege of mining along the water front. Most of the miners, however, contended that a 00-foot strip from high water was public property and paid no heed to the warning against trespassing. The company thereupon appealed to the commandant of the troops, and he warned off all beach miners. The order was not obeyed, and he finally arrested about three hundred IP' "ne the situation

Schrmder, F. C, and Brooki, A. EL, i iM

-pcclal pabUoitloii of tlM U. 8.

Tibst Year Of Mining. 23

reached the point of absurdity. There being no civil magistrate at hand before whom these men could be tried, no building in which they could be confined, nor any funds from which they could be supported while awaiting trial, the perplexed officer was forced to discharge all his prisoners, who all promptly returned to their rockers on the beach. Later decisions of the Land Office have not upheld the claims of this company to the gold in the beach, for a 60-foot strip of the beach has remained open for mining to all comers.

During this same summer a few enterprising men struck out to seek new fields. Some went eastward and found gold on a number of southward-flowing streams, including Bonanza and Solomon rivers, but were unable to prove its presence in commercial quantities. Others went westward and named and staked Cripple and Penny rivers. Gold was also found during this season in the gravels of some streams near Cape York, and the York mining district was organized.

In the fall of 1899 Nome's population of more than 3,000 was sheltered in a few score of frame and galvanized-iron buildings and in several hundred tents and low driftwood cabins. These were irregularly distributed along both sides of a muddy thoroughfare, a mile in length, which extended close to the edge of the tundra. Late in September, when the writer first visited this region, the aspect of the town and its environment was anything but attractive. Back of the settlement stretched the bleak tundra, and the front was bounded by the surf-swept beach.

The yield of the beach placers gave the settlement great prosperity. Prices were high, as there was a scarcity of nearly everything except gold. Before the last outgoing steamer, lumber cost from $100 to $150 a thousand and coal from $50 to $100 a ton. Fresh meat, mostly reindeer brought from Siberia, commanded $1 a pound and eggs $8 to $4 a dozen. The cost of meals varied from $1 to $2.50. Small cabins, on lots staked on the tundra back of the town with nothing but squatter's title, found ready market at $600 to $700, while comer lots, also with uncertain titles, on the main street sold as high as $10,000. The Nome News, the first newspaper, began publication early in October. By fall a mayor and town council had been elected, and, though without any legal standing, made and enforced city ordinances by common consent. Of more importance was the organization of a fire department and police force. Meanwhile the Federal Government had taken cognizance of the new settlement by establishing a postoffice and appointing a United States commissioner. Wages were $10 a day, but at times rose to $2 an hour. The abundance of gold was reflected in the thriving business carried on day and night by a score of saloons and gambling rooms. Many a man spent his days in work-

Tlie name Anvil City had been changed to Nome during the summer of 1899.

24 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

ing beach sands and his nights in losing his gains at the roulette table. On the whole, the town was very orderly, for the first comers embraced but few of the criminal class. The greatest need was a hospital, as the surface waters of the tundra (universally used in the town) had become infected with typhoid germs and there was an epidemic of that disease. It is estimated that there were as many as 200 cases at one time, and as there was only one small army hospital it was impossible to give the patients proper care, and hence there was a large mortality.

The results of this first season of mining were as follows: Up to January 10, 1900, about 4,500 claims were recorded in the Cape Nome district, but probably not more than 60 claims were developed and not more than 100 even prospected. These 50 claims probably yielded over $1,500,000 in gold. The beach -mining operations described above were more of a dramatic incident in the histoiy of the region than of permanent commercial significance, for the richest part of the Nome beach was worked out the first year. The only other district of Seward Peninsula in which any mining was done in 1899 was on Ophir Creek, where gold variously estimated at $50,000 to $100,000 in value was taken out. Surface prospects were also found in the Solomon River region and near Cape York. A result of far greater importance than the actual mining was that some knowledge of the character of the deposits and the condition of operations had been gained. Although this information availed little to the more inexperienced men who were to invade the peninsula during the following year, yet it was of gi'eat practical benefit to those who did the actual mining in 1900.

Thk Rush Of 1900.

With the return of the steamers in the fall of 1899, bringing probably 1,000 from Nome, began the excitement which was to culminate in the following spring. It was not until the summer's output of gold of about $3,000,000 was brought from Nome that the outside world realized the importance of this new placer field. During the following winter interest in Nome grew rapidly, and it was evident that a rush comparable to that of the Klondike two years Infore would lKgin with the breaking of the ice.

promoters and stock jobbers were not backward in taking advantage of this excitement, and there was the usual crop of Scores of companies were incorporated to mine gold at Nome and much stock was sold. Though not a few of were intended to be legitimate enterprises, practically all of them were doomed to failure because of the complete ignorance on the part of many of the promoters diaracter of the deposited

The Rush Of 1900. 25

suitable methods of mining, and general commercial conditions. Beach-mining enterprises were the favorite because of the supposed richness of the placers, and especially because no capital was required to purchase claims. The almost incredible record of the first year's beach mining appealed to the popular mind, and its interest was maintained through the newspapers and through transportation and mining companies' circulars, which published the most preposterous statements. Not a few so-called mining experts asserted that the gold in the beach was inexhaustible because the supply was constantly renewed by the waves from the ocean bottom. It was easy to maintain that if a man with a rocker could make $20 a day on the beach that a plant which could handle twenty times as much material would Aneld untold wealth. There was a flood of gold-saving devices, varying from a patent gold pan hung on a pivot and turned by a crank to complex aggregates of wheels, pumps, sieves, and belts, which required a 100-horsepower engine for their operation. " The golden sands of Nome " was the slogan which inspired thousands to engage passage for the El Dorado months in advance of the sailings. Reaching Nome was far easier than going to the Klondike, for the gold seeker could be landed at his destination from an ocean steamer. Here there was no winnowing of the persevering and enterprising from the shiftless and indolent as at the Chilkoot Pass (the gateway of the Klondike). In consequence, the crowd of men that reached Nome were less well fitted for frontier life than those who went to Dawson.

In 1900 the ice on Bering Sea broke early, and some small vessels skirting the shoreward side of the ice floes dropped anchor at Nome the latter part of May, but the large steamers did not arrive until the middle of June. By July 1 upward of 50 vessels had discharged passengers and freight on the beach. It is estimated that the first and second sailings brought over 20,000 people to the peninsula. There was then a solid row of tents stretching along 5 miles of the beach, and the water front was piled high with freight of all kinds. The newcomers found little to encourage them. Those that had wintered in the peninsula had industriously extended their stakes so that a man could travel for days and hardly be out of sight of a location notice. To add to the dijcouragement and confusion, smallpox was introduced from one of the vessels, and had it not been for the prompt action of Capt. D. H. Jarvis, of the Revenue-Cutter Service, it wouhl have become a serious epidemic. The inexperienced men who hmded at Nome, not finding the El Dorado their fancies had painted, were loud in their denunciation of the region. Many in the course of a few days' tramping of the beach became self-styled experts on placer mining and strenuously announced that the auriferous gravels of the peninsula had practically been exhausted.

26 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

During the month of July every conceivable kind of gold-saving appliance was installed on the shore, but few except those of simplest design paid even running expenses. Nevertheless there can be no question that a strong company controlling a considerable strip of the beach could by the use of steam shovels have profitably extracted what gold had been left in the sands. But under the conditions of public ownership of the beach, if values were found in any given locality, men swarmed in with rockers and quickly worked it out. This made it impossible to extract the beach gold at a profit by other than light equipments readily movable from one rich spot to another.

Probably the most ill-conceived enterprises were those planned to dredge gold under the sea. Though the upper layer of these sands is more or less auriferous, the difficulties of excavation are such as to make it improbable that it can be profitably mined. The severe storms and lack of shelter prevent the use of dredges, except possibly during one month in the year. Many of these dredging schemes were based on a theory (held by some who were entirely ignorant of the origin of the beach gold and who refused to instructed) that the auriferous sands are swept in from the sei. The fallacy of this conclusion had already pointed out in a report " which had a wide circulation. On August 9 a severe southwesterly storm practically demolished the more elaborate appliances for gold and strewed the beach for miles witli debris. This ended beach mining for that year except where the simplest apparatus was in use.

In 1899 the complaint had made at Nome that, there being no civil court, important enterprises were retarded because of the impossibility of having disputes about ownership of mining property settled by law. During the winter this had been brought to the attention of Congress, and a statute was passed forming a new judicial district which included Seward Peninsula. A newly appointed judge and other court officials reached Nome in the early summer. It appears that from that time on, the district was abundantly provided with court decisions, even though the legality and justice of many of them could he broughtinto question.'' Among many charges brought against the court were those asserting that receivers had placed on valuable mining pro])erty from which they exti*acted gold, in spite of the fact that they were without bond and that the rightful owners had no check on the amount of gold being taken out. Excitement over these easels ran high, and at one time bloodshed was narrowly averted by military intervention. One of these receivers was ejected from a rich

Schrader, F. C, and Brooks, A. H., Preliminary report on the Cape Nome cold region. Alaska, a special publication of the U. S. Geol. Survey, 1900, pp. 16-24.

An Interesting account of the legal complications at Nome in 1900, bym Uwytr wlio played an Important part In them, Is contained in a book entitled The Land oC Hou by Lainter McKet, New York, 1902.

The Rush Of 1900. 27

mine which he was working by the decision of a higher Federal court. It is impossible to recount here the legal strife in which practically all the rich claims were involved, but it will suffice to state that there was hardly one which had not to run the gamut of lawsuits.

During the winter of 1899-1900 some mining had been carried on in the tundra and also some through the ice on the beach. The phenominally rich beach at the mouth of Daniels Creek, 50 miles east of Nome, had been discovered and its yield of $600,000 had practically been taken out before the newcomers had landed. A very significant discovery of 1900 was that of the rich placers on a high bench between Anvil and Dexter Creeks. It had been pointed out by the Greological Survey" the previous year that these high gravels were likely to be gold bearing, and such proved to be the case. The presence of an older drainage system, of which these high gravels bear witness, has an important bearing on the future of placer mining in this field.

During this season Anvil, Dexter, and Glacier creeks were very large producers. Their exploitation was hastened by a narrowgage railway constructed by Charles D. Lane from Nome to Anvil. On Ophir Creek the installation of larger plants had been begun, but the output was about the same as in the previous season. Considerable gold was taken out from the lower course of Daniels Creek, but all this mining was very crude.

Though but a small percentage of the newcomers left the Nome beach, there was in the aggregate considerably more prospecting than in the previous year. Productive placers were developed on Casadepaga River, as well as on a number of smaller tributaries of the Niukluk. The same holds true of the Solomon and Cripple river valleys. The discovery of gold in 1900 in the Bluestone and Kougarok valleys showed that the auriferous area was much larger than had been previously supposed.

An excellent example of the ineffective character of the search for gold is to be found in the discovery of gold in the Kougarok placers. In March, 1900, there was a wild rush to the Kougarok River region, which was duplicated in August, but in neither were placer values found. While the last straggler was returning to Nome after the second fruitless chase, a few more experienced men opened up some good placer ground. The York gold placers, discovered the previous year, proved of small extent, but the discovery of stream tin in this district by the Geological Survey gave new hopes to the prospectors.

During the height of the excitement there was a good deal of lawlessness at Nome and life and property were none too secure. For a time it appeared as if tho authorities would not be able to cope with

Preliminary report on the Cape Nome gold region, 1900, p. 20. Brooka* ▲. H.* Baoonnalssances In the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, AlaHka, la 1900, ft ipeelftl publication of the U. S. Oeol. Survey, 1901,- p. 130.

28 Gold Placers Of Sewabo Pekinsttla.

llie pi-oat miiltitiule which was crowded together at Noi us it iiii-liiiled a hirge number of professional criiniiiulgnidiiully as the i-fowd tliinneil out toward i last steamer was packed with disappointed men. Nm indigents were shipped out either through public or On the whole, considering the inexjjerience of the ii.- who came to Nome in progi-ess was better il' patel. The following table, taken from a previ.. estimate of the gold prodnrtion of the indivi

Kitiiatfil output iif jilaofir tloUt frnm drvii--'

Anvil Creek -

Df'xtiT <'rfek .

Kxtrii IMy Creek

Dry Crpek —

Fbmrliun Creek.. — ...

Riitiirflny Cret'k.. .

[licli lieiich |i1iiirM nt'iir Nniiie..

Iluntn'.v- 'ixl Knioiiioii Itlver Tiipkiik ItiiiilclM Crpfk... Ojililr mid Swoetmkt* I'l Ciiidkeil Creek . . KlklKini Creek.. . (irilillKittiHri Ci-11-k CiiKiiili']in(!ii Ulver KoiiLMiiik <lNti-l<'l TlluPKtniip ItU'cr Y.-rk KiviT

MISIVllllllCllUK III

<Iis.-.Mirag.-d iMid ilifrns I hi-iii-li of would mH to Ihi-di-lrirl ;i- ;r-n.-iHllv n'tnirded hs who wniihl glii.ll.V hiive iufT litid tiicj been iissi.

BruukH. A. H,

Pboobess In 1901* 29

laws. Besides these conditions, mining was also retarded because a late spiiag and dry weather interfered with placer operations. The arrival of a new judge in September restored confidence, but it was then too late to undertake any large enterprises.

During the previous winter some of the high-bench and tundra placers had been exploited successfully by drifting. Though their output was not large, yet their operation was important in proving the feasibility of winter mining. The completion of a railway from the head of navigation on the Niukluk to Ophir Creek during the summer of 1901 did much to promote commercial interests in that district. At Daniels Creek work was suspended during this season because of the lack of water. Considerable prospecting was also carried on in the Solomon River region, but there was little actual mining. In the Bluestone and Kougarok districts primitive methods of extraction still held sway and the yield of gold was small.

Probably the most noteworthy event of this season was the discoveiy of gold places in the northeastern part of Seward Peninsuhi. Prospecting had in 1900 established the fact that the gravels of the several riveis tributary to Kotzebue Sound were auriferous, but it was not until 1901*' that any actual mining was done. This proved that the gold-bearing area of Seward Peninsula was much larger than had been previously supposed. The construction of the Miocenes ditch was also of great importance, as this was the first long water conduit in the whole field. Some experienced placer miners, after attaining great familiarity with the local conditions, came to recognize that the primitive ''pick and shovel'' methods then almost universally employed were applicable only to very rich placers. An improvement of methods demanded a larger water supply. Though there are here no great water resources like those of the Sierra Nevada, which made California placer mining the cheapest in the world, yet some water is to be had in the Kigluaik Mountains and in other highlands of the peninsula. The credit for both the conception and construction of this first ditch belongs to W. L. Iceland and J. M. Davidson, who were among the earliest to obtain a broad grasp of the mining problem.

The construction of pumping plants, begun in 1901, was another, but less successful, attempt at reducing the cost of mining. By means of two extensive steam pumping plants water was delivered at high levels in the Anvil Creek region, and this made it possible to work some rich placers which formerly could only be sluiced for a few weeks in the early spring by impounded snow water. As the use of water pumped by steam power is economically possible only in a

CoUIcr, A. J., Reconnaissanco of the northweRtern portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Prof. Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 2, 1902, p. 43. Moffit, F. H., The Fairhavon gold placers, Sewacd Peninsula, Alaska : Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 247, 1004, p. 40.

80 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

region of very cheap fuel, it would appear to find no permanent place in placer mining in Alaska.

This season witnessed considerable activity in ditch construction on Ophir Creek, where large plants were being installed. Improvements in methods were also introduced in nearly all the smaller districts. A dredge was operated for a part of the season on Solomon River.

The discovery of rich placers on Candle Creek in July, 1901, led to the usual rush from the near-by creeks, and hence had a retarding influence on mining in the northeastern part of the peninsula. This was particularly true of the Kougarok, whose production was far less than was anticipated. In the Bluestone region, where a few rich claims had been almost worked out in 1900, little was accomplished toward exploiting lower-grade deposits in a more systematic way. Lack of water prevented any considerable amount of mining on Daniels Creek. The fact was that during the excitement in 1900, many inexperienced men were working placers at an actual loss. By 1901 business equilibrium had been in a measure restored and such operations ceased.

In 1901 there was a decrease in the gold output of Nome. The reason for this is not far to seek. In 1900 the Nome beach placers yielded $350,000, and in 1901 not over $50,000, while the gold from the Topkok beach, which in 1900 amounted to $600,000, in 1901 was practically nothing. This reduction of nearly a million dollars in the yield of the beaches could hardly be expected to be made up by the creek placers, where there had yet been no considerable progress in methods of extraction. As the actual decrease in the total production was only $600,000, the output of the creek placers gained nearly $300,000 over that of the previous year.

In the subjoined table the gold output of the entire peninsula has been distributed among the various districts in accordance with the best data available. As there are no authentic statistics, the figures presented are only approximate.

Gold production of Hrirard !'rnhiHUla, 190t.

Nome district, creek placers , 3, 000, 000

Nome district, placers 20,000

district 000,000

Kougarok district . 40,000

Fail haven district (Candle Creek. $20,000) . 50,000

Bluestone, Solomon, Cripple, and other districts 120, 000

Mofflt, F. H., The FirbaTen sold placers, Beward Penliuiaia, Alaska ; BulU U. 8. Sorrey No. 247, 1904, pp.

Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula. 31

Growth Of Mtning From 1902 To 1904.

In the winter of 1901-2 drift mining was much increased, especially in the high benches near Anvil Creek, in the tmidra, and in the Solomon River region, and also to a more limited extent in many of the smaller camps. These operations promoted prosperity by assuring employment to a certain number of men throughout thi5 year, and to that extent cutting down the migratory population.

Before navigation opened in 1902 confidence had been restored by the just administration of the laws, and considerable capital was brought for investment in mining property and plants. This season was characterized by great activity in ditch construction. The Miocene ditch was extended, and before the end of the season about 34 miles of it were in use. A number of other ditch-building projects were inaugurated. Among the most important of these was a ditch to supply water for exploiting the rich placers of Daniels Creek, which had been practically untouched. As a result of this extensive conduit construction many new legal controversies arose regarding water rights, for it came to be recognized that the water in many localities was as valuable an asset as the gold-bearing gravel.

Though the gold in the bed of Anvil Creek was practically exhausted by 1902, the discovery of a parallel channel led to a continuation of mining in the valley. Several ditches and two pumping plants now furnished water for exploiting the auriferous gravels of the Anvil, Glacier, and Dexter creek basins. Outside of this district Ophir Creek was the only large producer. Mining operations on this stream had progressed steadily, but it was not until 1902 that it came to be recognized as one of the richest creeks in the whole peninsula. It is estimated that in 1902 its production reached $1,000,000."

No considerable advance was made in the Kougarok and Bluetone regions, both of which produced only a small amount of gold. In the Fairhaven district the Candle Creek placers were the only considerable producers. Placers were found on Iron Creek and on a of other smaller tributaries of Kruzgamepa River, but they were too inaccessible to permit the exploitation of any but the richest deposits.

In spite of the improvements which had been made in mining methods, the increase in gold production for this season was only about $i00,000, and most of this came from Ophir Creek. The production of Anvil Creek had become less, and in none of the other districts had any improved methods been introduced. With the increase in the number of gold-producing creeks, the distribution of the output among the different districts becomes increasingly difficult and multi-

Brooks, A. H., Plawr-gold mining in Alaska in 1902: Bull. 1', S. (ieol. Survey No, 2X3, X903, p. 4Q,

82 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

plies the chance for error. The following figures can thei-efore be considered only an approximation :

Oold production of Seward Peninsula, 1902,

WiDter drift minlug, 1901-2 $350,000

Nome district 2,800,000

Council district 1,000,000

Kougarok district 50,000

Falrhaven district 150,000

All other districts 210,000

In the winter of 1902-3 there was a decided increase in the number of claims worked by drifting. It is estimated that more than $500,000 was taken out of the winter accumulation of gravel. The amount of ocean freight bore witness to the commercial prosperity in Seward Peninsula. Twenty-seven steam and seven sailing vessels landed about 75,000 tons of cargo on the peninsula, most of it consigned to Nome. The Council City and Solomon River Railroad was among the important enterprises inaugurated in the summer of 1903, and before the close of the season about 9 miles of standard-gage track had laid. The Nome Arctic Railway (now called the Seward Peninsula Railway), running to Anvil Creek, was extended to the head of Dexter Creek. A few roads were built connecting with these railways, but most of them are little more than wagon tracks. During dry weather,, however, it is possible to drive over the tundra, which in a wet season becomes almost impassable.**

As in the previous year, ditch construction was actively pushed during the summer of 1903. The Miocene ditch was extended to the head of Nome River and a branch was carried to Snake River. In the Cripple, Solomon, and Ophir regions extensive ditches were laid out and in part completed, and a number of shorter conduits were constructed in other districts.

It appears that the matter of ditch building is overdone in Seward Peninsula. The striking success of several long ditches has led less conservative and less experienced operators to lose sight of the fact that certain classes of placers can be mined at lower cost by other methods. When thousands of dollars are invested in water conduits to exploit shallow placers, as has been the case in many localities which might have been much more cheaply mined, it is time to (all a halt to the injudicious construction of ditches. No one who has watched the maturing of the mining industiy in this field will deny the important part which the ditches have played and will

For a discussion of the roads and transportation of Alaska, see C. W.. Methods and cost of grarel and placer mining in Alaska : Bull. U. S. JpM. Sornr sea, 1905, pp. 217-228.

Mining In 1902-1904. 33

play, but it is equally patent that there have been many misapplications of this method of exploitation. This is because the less experienced operators have come to regard the ditch as a panacea for all difficulties in placer mining.

In 1903 hydraulic lifts were installed on Glacier, Anvil, and Ophir creeks. One steam shovel and one dredge?r were operated for a short time on Niukluk River, and two dredges were used in the bed of Solomon River for most of the season. On many other creeks steam hoists, scrapers, and other mechanical appliances for cheap mining were installed. Extensive prospecting with chum drills was carried on in the tundra belt lying between Nome and the mountains. (PL II, 5, p. 178.) As expected, the returns indicated extensive of auriferous gravels." Considerable work was done on an old line of beach deposits near Nome, whose discovery had been anticipated by the geologic investigations. In the Topkok region 12 miles of ditch were completed, and before the close of the season some hydraulic mining was done. Prospecting in the Kougarok region showed much more extensive placers than had been previously supposed, but little actual mining was done. Nearly all the developments except in the older districts were in the nature of dead work.

The quartz mine, in operation since 1903 in the Solomon River region, is a significant feature of the gold-mining industry. Auriferous quartz veins are not uncommon in the peninsula, but in only this one instance has a lode mine actually been developed. It should be said, however, that prospectors have thus far paid small heed to lodes except in the way of location notices. In hardly half a dozen localities has any attempt been made to search systematically and intelligently for auriferous veins. Another. important feature of the season's work was the finding of lode tin in the York region by Mr. Collier and Mr. Hess, under the guidance of Charles Randt, Leslie Crim, and W. J. O'Brien, who had found float ore from the ledge. In this field the tin-bearing gravel had received considerable attention since 1900, and some lode-tin deposits had been reported by prospectors, but these reports were not verified until 1903.

The net results of all these operations (though possibly disappointing to those who had not a personal familiarity with the conditions) were as good as could be expected. The production was practically the same as in the previous year, though the estimates presented show

Brooks, A. H., Placer mining in Alaska in 1903: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 225, 1904, pp. 48-55.

Preliminary report on the Cape Nome gold region, U. S. Oeol. Survey, 1900, p. 23 ; A reconnaissance of the Cape Nome and adjacent gold fields, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1901, pp.

' Collier, A. J., Tin deposits of the York region, Alaska : Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 229, 1904.

34 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

a falling off of $100,000, an amount which is probably less than the errors in the figures. In view of the great amount of dead work accomplished and the fact that some of the richest shallow placers had been exhausted, while the newer districts had not reached a productive stage, no increase in the total production was to be expected. Though there are no accurate statistics available, it seems probable that there was a considerable falling off in the Nome district proper, and that the output of practically all the other districts was higher than in previous years. It is on this basis that the following distribution of the totals has been made :

Gold production of Scicard Peninsula, 190S,

Winter drift mining, 1902-a $500. OiX)

Nome district 2,400,000

Council district 1,000,000

Kougarok district 75,000

Fairhaveu district 200,000

AH other districts 290,000

Drift mining during the winter of 1903-4 was more extensive than ever before, and the yield probably was nearly $1,000,000. Of this amount about half was taken from the high bench deposits near Nome. Some low-lying gravels near the base of the hills were also exploited, as were the ancient beach placers in the tundra. In the Solomon River region probably $200,000 was taken out during the winter, and Ophir Creek yielded about $100,000. Several of the other districts yielded smaller amounts as the result of the winter's work.

The summer season opened very inauspiciously. Up to July 10 more than half the mines were idle because of lack of water due to drv weather. Fortunatelv heavy rains came early in Julv, and mining

began. The summer's sluicing was, however, practically fined to two months, and even during this short period there was a considerable shortage of water in many districts. Ditch building continued, notably in the Nome, Cripple, Flambeau, and Solomon river valleys. Much of the work in these localities was directed toward the installation of plants and conduit construction, and the summer's output of gold was comparatively small. On Anvil Creek a steam shovel was successfully operated. On Glacier and adjacent creeks hydraulic elevators continued to be used. A sensational discovery of rich placers on Little Creek near the base of the highland back of Nome was significant because it proved that the limit of dis-

Brooks, A. H., Placer mining in Alaska in 1004 : Bull. IT. S. Geol. Snrrey No. 259, 1905, pp. 19-24.

Mining In 1902-1904. 35

eoveries had not yet been reached, even in the best-known parts of the peninsula.

The Council City and Solomon River Railway extended its road about 10 miles. The Topkok Ditch Company operated its hydraulic plant on Daniels Creek throughout the season. This well-managed enterprise is among the most successful operations of this class and has clearly demonstrated that with a sufficient water supply and enough grade for the disposal of tailings it is possible to hydraulic even frozen gravels. Ophir Creek continued to be the heaviest producer. One ditch was completed in the Kougarok region, and several more were planned or in construction.

Little was done in the northeastern part of the peninsula except some rather primitive mining. Though the presence of workable placers in this region has been demonstrated, yet with the present difficulties and expense of transportation capital has been chary of entering the field. There are, however, some enterprises on foot for ditch building in this district.

The general and healthy growth in the commercial interests continued. There were fewer legal complications and less promotion of " wild-cat " mining schemes. This community has, however, still to learn the necessity of intrusting large enterprises to the hands of well-trained men rather than to promoters. Probably two-thirds of the incorporated companies have made failures or achieved only partial success because of poor management. As has been stated, much of the activity was directed toward dead work, and the output of the placer mines was no greater than in the season This is w4iat might have been expected, and it will be several yeai's Ixfore any very great increase in the gold output is likely.

In distributing the totals shown in the following table it has been cxmsidered that there has probably been a considerable decrease in the production of the Nome district jn'oper outside of the high-bench placers. This progressive decrease will probably continue until some systematic exploitation of the high-bench and tundra gravels has been introduced, when Nome should again lead all the other camps of the

Gftld production of Snranl J'rninsiila JiKt.'f.

WinttT drift uiiiiiiig, llHKJ-4 . . $!HH>.(MX>

Nome district .

Fairlmven district I'Jo.OOO

36 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

Mining In 1906-6.

During the winter ° of 1904-5 much mining was done near Nome along the so-called " second beach line," which was traced from Hastings to Bourbon Creek, stretching parallel to the present coast. What appears to be an extension of the same deposit was discovered at Jess Creek, 10 miles west of Nome. These elevated beach placers are comparatively shallow, and, though not as rich as some described in succeeding paragraphs, yielded handsome profits.

In the fall of 1904 considerable excitement had been caused bv the discovery of some rich placers in the tundra gravels near Little Creek. A group of claims in this locality proved to carry enormous values, yielding, it is said, more than $1,500,000 in gold during the first twelve months that they were operated. Although these proved to be only the forerunners of still more important discoveries, they were of the utmost importance, first, because they showed that the limits of new discoveries in the best-known parts of Seward Peninsula haS not been reached, and second, because they stimulated the prospecting of the tundra gravels. In addition to the mining operations on the Nome tundra and in the high gravels of the vicinity, winter mining was also carried on in other localities, notably at Candle Creek. Operations requiring fuel at the latter locality, as well as at other points in the Fairhaven district, utilized to a considerable extent the lignite coal mined at Chicago Creek.

It is estimated that the gold production of the winter of 1904-5 exceeded $1,000,000 in value, but these figures can be regarded only as an approximation.

The open season of 1905 was much shortened by a late spring and an early fall, the freeze-up coming about September 18. The most important event of the summer was the installation of a large dredge on Solomon River. Its successful operation furnished the final proof that dredges were to play an important part in the mining industry of Seward Peninsula. Other dredges had been tried with more or less success, but this was the first to be operated in a large way.

A notable advance was made in ditch construction during 1905, when thirteen ditches were either completed or building. Among the most important was the Seward ditch (37 miles long), which carries water from the head of Nome River to the Nome tundra claims. About 8 miles of the Pioneer ditch was completed, to carry water from Nome River to the south slope of Anvil Mountain. The Cedric ditch (24 miles long), which proved to be a less well-planned enterprise, was built to carry water to Arctic Creek, west of Nome. Smaller ditches were also constructed in the Osbom, Flambeau, Solomon, and Ophir basins, as well as in other parts of the peninsula.

Mofllt, p. H., Gold mlnins on Seward PeninauU: Bull. U. 8. GcoL Biumf Mot. SSIL

Mining In 1905-6. 37

On the whole, a very large amount of dead work was accomplished during the summer, and this, together with the fact that it was an adverse climatic season, made the production of $4,800,000 of gold very considerable. This amount is approximately distributed as follows :

Ool4 production of Seward Peninsula, 1905.

Nome district $3,400,000

Council district 500, 000

Kougarok district—. 400,000

Fairhaven district 300, 000

AU other districts 200,000

The discovery of rich gravels at Little Creek led to great activity in prospecting the tundra, and as a result the so-called third-beach line was discovered during the winter of 1905-6. This discovery bore out the prediction made by the Geological Survey as early as 1899, and established the value of its investigations.

These third-beach placers yielded so much greater profit than the creek placers, partly due to cheapness of operation and partly to higher values, that for the time being mining activity was centered on their development. During the winter so much prospecting was done with steam thawers and hoists, requiring a large amount of fuel, that Nome was threatened with a coal famine. This was avoided only by drawing on the Government stores of coal at Fort Davis. The spring clean-up of the gravels mined during the winter yielded probably $2,500,000 in gold. Considerable winter work was done in other parts of the peninsula, but the total output from these sources probably did not exceed a few hundred thousand dollars in value.

The opening of navigation saw no abatement in tundra mining, for work was continued on the third beach line. It was fortunate that this was so, for the extraordinarily dry summer of 1906 worked havoc with nearly all creek mining. The operations supplied by water from Nome River were continued for the most part, but the miners on the smaller streams were forced to close down throughout much of the summer.

Dredging operations continued as in the previous year, notably at Solomon. In the aggregate there was considerable ditch building, especially in the Kougarok and Fairhaven districts. In spite of the shortage of water, there was considerable mining in the Topkok, Ophir, and Iron creek regions.

A new management took over the narrow-gage railway running to Dexter and extended it over the pass at the head of Nome River to Salmon Lake and thence to Lanes Landing, on the Kuzitrin. This line, called the Seward Peninsula Railway, now running into the

38 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

heart of the peninsula, will accelerate the development of some of the inland districts. The Council City and Solomon River Railway was extended into the Casadepaga basin, and promoted mining activities in this field. Some wagon roads were built under the direction of the Alaska road commission.

During the summer of 1906 Nome was exceedingly prosperous. Many substantial buildings were erected and the whole town began to assume an appearance of greater iermanency than it had previously shown. Business was facilitated by the improvement in steamboat connection with Puget Sound.

The estimated value of the gold production of the peninsula in is $7,500,000, of which probably nearly half was taken from the old beach line. Practically all the other districts showed a falling off in yield, due both to the insufficient water supply and to the fact that the energies of many men had been diverted from creek to tundra mining. It is impossible at the present time to distribute this total among the different districts.

Ide mining in 1905 and 1900 was still confined to the one propertv on Big Hurrah Creek, but considerable prospecting was done for auriferous quartz. However, until placer mining proves a less attractive field it is not to he expected that much attention will paid to the finding of gold in bed rock. In addition to the auriferous lodes, some antimony and bismuth ores and graphite deposits have received attention. Some work has also been done on the FLsh River galena deposits, which have already been referred to.

During these two years there has been great activity in the York tin district. One lode mine near Cape Prince of Wales has made some small shipments of tin ore, as have also some placer mines on Buck (Veek. Most of the work in the tin district has been directed toward prospecting.

Himmary.

The facts presented in the foregoing pages make it evident that real progress in the industrial advancement within the peninsula has come chiefly during the last five years. The first years after the gold discovery were given over to skimming the cream from some of the richest creeks, only such placers being developed as assured immediate returns and required but a small investment of capital. Such operations, while they made for quick returns and attracted a large population, have of little permanent benefit to the district. No placer camp whose output is derived solely from bonanzas ever has had or can have a long successful history. It has hmtk shown that the absence of the judiciary, followed to be a corrupt court, was a serious hahdi in the two years following the discovery. Since

Summaby Op Mining Development. 39

ernnient have been rectified, and confidence has thereby been restored to the community.

The statistics presented on pages 30-37 show that from 1901 to 1905 the variation in the total output of gold from the peninsula was less than 10 per cent. This does not, however, indicate a uniform yield from the different districts that make up the peninsula, but rather that, by chance, when one bonanza was exhausted, another would be found. For example, by the time the beach placers had been exhausted, the creek placers at Nome had become large producers, and when in turn the richest of these had been mined out, new ones were discovered in other parts of the peninsula. As mining enterprises become better established and a larger amount of gravel is handled annually, less fluctuation is to be expected.

It was not until 1902, when at least one of the richest creeks was supposed to be nearly exhausted, that systematic effort was made to lower mining costs, for up to that time a large majority of the operators believed that only gravels of a high gold tenor could be profitably exploited. A few far-sighted and experienced men, however, realized that, by the installation of proper equipment, a reduction in costs was possible, which would make available for mining the large deposits of auriferous gravels carrying lower values, and that by such means only the life of the district could be prolonged.

The fii'st successful enterprises looking toward this end were the construction of high-level ditches in 1901 and the installation at about the same time of various mechanical devices. The introduction of the chum drill for prospecting about this time is also worthy of note. A second great advance was made in 1904, when the first large dredge to be successfully operated was installed. The evolution of mining methods is still in progress, for many problems remain unsolved. One of the most important is the economic handling of the frozen gravels which underlie much of the tundra. It seems probable that utilization of some of the water powers not available for hydraulicking, by transforming them into electricity, will be one of the early lines of development.

As in most other mining camps, the necessity of intrusting the management of large enterprises only to men of technical training, experience, and proved ability has not by any means been fully realized. It is common knowledge that the failures of mining companies are in a large measure chargeable solely to the ignorance of the men responsible for their management. This is because the public has not been educated to the point of regarding mining as anything but a gamble, and holds in small esteem those who would put it on a sound business basis.

Geography And Geology.

By Arthur J. CoLLiEik

Introduction.

In the foregoing pages Mr. Brooks has outlined the progress of geographic and geologic surveys in Seward Peninsula. Except along the coast line the surveys began in 1899 and have been continued during every season but 1902 up to the present time. Nearly all of this work has been of a reconnaissance character** and much of it has been directed toward an investigation of the placer deposits. This was necessarily so, for detailed surveys must be preceded by a general knowledge of the whole province.

It is the purpose in this section to present only the salient features of the geography and geology, and especially those which bear more directly on the occurrence of placer gold. The new matter presented, as has already stated, is based on studies carried on during three months of the summer of 1903, supplemented by some observations made during 1904, when a few weeks were devoted to a reexamination of some of the more important mining districts. The itinerary which follows shows that the writer was not by any means able to cover the entire field indicated by the title of this volume. This work could not have been completed were it not that free use has been made not only of the reports of Brooks, Mendenhall, Richardson, and Moffit, but also of their unpublished notes and manuscripts. The writer is also fortunate in having access to the notes made by C. W. Purington and Sidney Paige, who investigated some of the gold placers of the peninsula in 1903. Finally, he is under deep personal obligation to the mine operators of the peninsula, who almost without exception have shown a cordial appreciation of the work of the Survey and have aided it by every means in their power.

In 1904 T. G. Gerdine made detailed surveys in the Ticinlty of Nome and In the foUowlni? year V. H. Moffit and F. L. HesR studied In detail the geology of the same region.

Methods and cost of placer and gravel mining in Alaska : Bull. U. S. Oeol. Surrey No. 263, 1905.

Geography. 41

The party organized for the purposes of the investigation in 1903 included Frank L. Hess, assistant, and a packer and a cook. It was provided with a light camp equipment, which was carried by a pack train of six horses. The disembarkment at Nome was made on June 16. After spending a few days in the Anvil Creek region, a route was laid up the Nome River valley to the Kigluaik Mountains, thence westward and around their seaward end to the Bluestone district. From Teller an excursion was made into the York tinbearing region by boat, the results of which have already been published."

From Teller the party took a northerly course and visited the goldbearing region of the Agiapuk and the upper Kougarok basin. Turning southward through a gap in the Bendeleben Mountains the party reached the Council district, where a study of most of the producing placers was made. Thence the party proceeded to Nome by way of the Solomon and Eldorado river valleys, whose placers were examined en route. At the close of the season about ten days were devoted to some detailed studies of the auriferous gravels near Nome, special attention being given to the high-bench deposits. The party embarked for Seattle on September 13. In the course of a journey of nearly 500 miles, occupying about one hundred days, the party had examined the placers on upward of 150 creeks, besides carrying on geologic reconnaissance mapping. It will be evident, therefore, that while there were better opportunities than had fallen to any previous investigators in this field, yet much of the work was necessarily hasty and not made in the detail desirable for an exhaustive study of the auriferous gravels.

Geography.

General Outline.

Seward Peninsula, cut out from the mainland by Norton Sound on the south and Kotzebue Sound on the north, has an outline which suggests a crudely shaped arrowhead pointing to the west toward Cape Nuniamo, on the Sibeuan coast. (See fig. 2.) The total length from east to west is about 200 miles. From Norton Sound to Kotzebue Sound the distance is only 80 miles, but the width of the peninsula along a line from Cape Nome to Cape Espenberg is 150 miles. The total area is approximately 20,000 square miles. The main mass of the peninsula is included between meridians 161° and 168° west longitude and parallel 64° north latitude and the Arctic Circle.

The dominant topographic forms of the province are flat-topped uplands from 800 to 2,500 feet high, broken by broad valleys and

Collier, A. J., Tin deposits of the York region : Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 229, 1904.

Gold Pincers Op Skward Peninsula.

basin lowlands (PI. I, 5). Tn the southern half of the peninsula the Kigluaik, Bendeleben, and Darby mountains form a broken range along a crecentic axis. The York Mountains and several other highland masses form isolated groups in the northern half of the peninsula. The watercourses, as a rule, follow broad valleys with gentle slopes. About one-fourth of the drainage finds its way northward to the Arctic Ocean; the rest flows southward into Bering Sea and its connecting bodies of water. The shore line is characterized by long, straight beaches with gentle slopes, broken by rocky bluffs and by

Shishmarcf,

Precinct Recording office

N O K T Os S Ok

Ii,, — rrpcinrt map of Seward PenioHula. 1, Ooodhope : 2, Port Clarenct*; 3. Kongarok : 4, Falrhaven ; 5, Koyuk ; U, founcll : 7, NonM.

deep ombayments and inlets. (See topographic maps, Pis. VIII and IX, in pocket.)

Shore Line.

The coast line of Seward Peninsula is remarkably even and regular as compariMl with that of southern Alaska. Nearly the whole peninsula is bordered by slightly curving which mark the seaward margins of coastal plains, broken by numerous headlands, but wth some deep inlets. The sea floor slopes ofl" at a very gentle angle, and at only a few places are depths of 10 fathoms found within 6 miles of the shore. Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean in this Ticimty

Geography. 43

are so shallow that no soundings above 35 fathoms have been reported within 100 miles of the coast.

Golofnin Bay, which breaks the coast line 100 miles east of Nome, has a depth of more than fathoms at the entrance, but large vessels can not approach nearer than within 3 miles of the landing at the head of the bay.

Port Clarence, about 80 miles northwest of Nome, is the only harbor of the peninsula. It is nearly circular in outline, 15 miles in diameter, and cut off from the open sea by a long, low sand spit. The Coast Survey charts show a depth of 9 fathoms near the entrance, and good anchorages for large vessels can be found over much of its area. From the head of the bay Grantley Harbor, navigable for light-draft vessels, extends inland for 15 miles, and this in turn connects at its head, by way of a narrow tidal inlet called the Tuksuk Channel, with the large body of brackish water called Imuruk Basin or Salt Lake. By using these waters light-draft steamers can penetrate well into te heart of the peninsula.

Along the north coast the shore line is almost continuous from Cape Prince of Wales to Kotzebue Sound, but there are a number of shallow lagoons lying between barrier beaches and the mainland and connected with the Arctic Ocean by narrow channels. The largest of these lagoons, known as Shishmaref Inlet, can be used as a harbor by vessels of light draft.

Goodhope Bay, which breaks the northern coast line and cuts Seward Peninsula off from the mainland on the north, is about 30 miles wide. A depth of water of more than 5 fathoms can ])e found over much of its area, but owing to its great >size it affords little more protection to seagoing vessels than does the open coast of the peninsula. There is, however, a good anchorage protected from nearly all winds south of Chamisso Island. This was used as winter quarters by some of the vessels of the Franklin relief expedition.*

Headlands that break the continuity of the beaches are common features of both .the north and south coasts east of a line running from Rocky Point to Cape Espenlxrg. Rocky Point, Cape and Bald Head are notable promontories on the north shore of Norton Bay, and Cape Deceit is the most prominent of the rocky points on the south shore of Goodhope Bay. The limestone cliffs west of Cape Deceit are famous sea-bird rookeries and during the nesting season supply the town of Deering, 2 miles east of the cape, with abundance of fresh eggs. West of Rocky Point on the south coast Topkok Head and Cape Nome, the only promontories which reach the coast in a distance of 100 miles, scarcely break the continuity of the

ReconnalHMiicefi in Cape Nomo nnd Norton Bay roglons, Alaska, in a sp.'- eial pobllcation of the U. 8. Oeol. Survey, 1901, pp. 19-26.

44 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

beach line. For about 5 miles on either side of Cape York limestone cliffs rise from the sea to an elevation of (>00 feet. West of these cliffs lie beaches backed by a narrow coastal plain for 15 miles to Cape Prince of Wales, where an isolated peak called Cape Mountain rises to an elevation of 2,300 feet above the sea. On its south and west sides the slopes fall off to the sea in cliffs several hundred feet high. On the north coast of the peninsula there are no headlands from Cape Prince of Wales to the south shore of Goodhope Bay. The coastal plain slopes to sea level, and through a considerable portion of the distance probably descends slightly below sea level, since the beaches are built on the seaward side of sand spits, the product of wave and current action.

Relief.

Although the detailed topography of the peninsula presents great irregularity, induced chiefly by the lack of uniformity of the drainage system, yet practically all the land forms to one of three types. These present little variation throughout the province. In order of importance they are as follows: The uplands, the lowlands, and the mountains. A fourth type, of subordinate importance in extent, yet containing the key to the evolution of the topography, consists of the rock and gravel floored terraces which occur throughout the peninsula.

In much the greater part of the peninsula the broad, flat-topped and rounded hills, here collectively called the uplands, are the dominating topographic features. The summit levels, which locally have a striking uniformity of altitude, range from a few hundred feet near tide water to 8,000 feet near the heart of the peninsula. The evolution of this topographic type will not here discussed, but, in general terms, this upland can considered a dissected plateau, whose summit level marks a peneplain. Attention will be drawn to a number of base-levels of lower altitude, indicating later epochs of erosion, remnants of which are preserved as minor plateaus and benches.

The lowlands embrace three types. The most extensive are the coastal plains, which nearly everywhere fringe the shore line and in places reach a width of 20 miles or more. These plains merge inland with the lower slopes of the uplands and form the typical tundra of the circumpolar province. The extensive basin lowlands are striking topographic features of the peninsula and form a second type of this group. They are in many places nearly surrounded by uplands and are drained through comparatively narrow valleys. Like the coastal plains, their floors merge with the slopes of the uplands. The third type of this group includes the valleys, which are characteristically flat floored with gently sloping walls. A less common valley type consists of the steep-walled rocky canyons, usually to be accounted

for by rent changes of drain, bruuyht iibuiit by UrmiI waqiings. Valleys of still auother type ui-e tiiowe whic'li occur in a fi'w of liiglier iiiuuntaiti masses and which have been fornied by Uie erosive action of glaciers. These have the typical U form and find their Riurces in glacial cirtjues.

The third group of topographic forms i-braces the mountains, which, as has lieen stated, inc-lude only one considerable range within th peninsula. ThL-re ai"e, however, several other isolated mountain masses, which rise above the general summit level of the upland. The mountains an? characterized by a rugged topography and slmrjily cut drainage channels. As will be shown, a number of them have been the scene of recent glaciation.

To speak broadly, the peninsula is divided into two topographic provinces by the range whose various parts have called the Kigluaik. liendeleljen, and Ilarby mountains. South and west of these mountains is an upland region with a relief ranging from 800 to 3.000 fept in altitude. North of the mountains is a second upland region with about the same relief.

The Kigluaik, Bendeleben, and Darby mountaiiLS lie along an axial uplift, which is of a crescentic shape. This axis stretches northeastward from a point near C'a(>e Woolley to the one hundred and sixty-thiiil meridian, then bends toward the south, embracing within its sweep the drainage basin of Fish River, and extends southirard to Cape Darby, east of Golofnin Hay. The highest peaks of ihe Kigluaik Mountains reach an altitude of nearly feet: those of Ihe adjacent Bendeleben Mountains do not exceed 3,700 feet; and the Darby Mountains are of still lesser altitude, ranging from 2.500 (o 3,000 feet. Both Ihe Kigluaik and Bendeleben ranges arc rugged, with sharply cut valleys, and both include many glacial cirques. These mountains have been deeply dissected, and the valley walls rise precipitously from the floors. Within the mountains proper the iTttream gradients ai-e steep and the watercourses torrential. A striking feature of the drainage system of the Kigluaik Mountains is the remarkable straightness of many of the valleys, the larger of which divide the mountains into a number of irregular masses, some of them forming siibordinate ranges.

The Kigluaik Mountains are nearly everywhere separated from the uplands by exteiLsive lowlands. On the north lie the extensive flats which surround Tuuiruk Basin: these flats stretch eastward and sweep around the end of the range nnd are continued by the valley of Kruzgamepa River. Ou the south the headwaters of Kruzgamepa and Stewart rivei-s flow in broad depressions. The west end of the Bendeleben Mountains is similarly isolated, but at the east end of the range there is a mure gi'adual transition between the upland and the

46 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

niountains, and this is also true of the Darby Mountains, where there is in many places no sharp line of demarcation between mountains and upland.

To the south of the mountains is, as already stated, a highland mass whose summits range from 800 to 3,000 feet in elevation. The slopes of this upland are in many places broken by well-marked benches, which up to an altitude of 800 feet are plainly due to stream erosion. There are also some till higher benches whose origin has not been definitely determined. This highland area is essentially one of iri-egular topography, with no well-defined system of ridges. The watercourses flow in broad, deeply cut valleys, whose slopes ascend gradually to the divides. The summits are rounded, but are broken by numerous rocky knobs, many of which are carved into fantastic shapes. These castellated jeans are very characteristic featui'es of the topography and their preservation plainly indicates the absence of regional glaciation. Their outline is determined both by the lithologic and the structural character of the rock from which they have been carved. The general trend of the larger valleys is north and south, and ihese block out broad ridges whose margins are scalloped by the minor tributaries. Studied in detail this feature would appear to indicate a north-south trend of the topography, but study of a larger area shows such an interpretation to be at fault. The highlands, as a rule, fall off to the coastal plam by a series of well-defined terraces.

As has been stated, the highlands do not in general fall off directly to the sea, but are separated by a coastal of varying width. Many of these lowlands have a general crescentic form, terminating at either end in bluffs whose bases are washed by the sea.

The Kigluaik and Bendelelxn mountains are separated by lowlands on the north from the upland region which constitutes the northern two-thirds of the |)eninsula. This uphind, like the similar one to the south, is characterized by flat -topped ridges and hills rising to altitudes ranging from to 2,500 feet. Here, too, the monotony of the summit level is broken by numerous minor peaks of invgular form. Besides these there are a of more extensive mountain nuisses that are comparable to the mountains to the south, though of lesser altitude and not so rugged a character. Of these subordinate ranges the York Mountains are the most extensive. These form an irregular mass near the western limit of the peninsula and reach their maximum altitude in Brooks Mountain, about 2,900 feet above the sea. The general trend of these mountains is northeastward, but their extension appears to merge with the general summit level of the upland. On the south and east they fall off to a well-marked plateau, as they do also on the west. This physiographic feature has been de-

Geookaphy. 47

scribed in detail elsewhere.** On the noilh the York Mountains slope off gradually to' the upland, which in turn falls off to an extensive coastal plain. The York Mountains proper are rugged and their stream valleys are sharply cut. Among the high summits evidence of some glaciation is to be found, but this is of much less extent than in the moimtains to the southeast.

In the northeastern part of the peninsula there are a number of isolated mountain masses, but these appear to be local elevations of the plateau.''

The northern upland, as has been stated, reaches an altitude of 2,900 feet. Between the summit level and the lowland there is in many

CwMta. NuhPUtam York ICts.

Bering Saa y -kt- — v

Fi. 3. — Proflle of the western part of Seward Peninsula, showing; old erosion levels.

places a series of broad benches, which represent distinct epochs of erosion. These have been described in detail elsewhere ; '' briefly stated, four epochs of erosion have been recognized, each of which marks a stage of stability during a general of uplift. The highest and, therefore, oldest of these plateaus is preserved in benches lying at altitudes of 2,000 to 2,700 feet. This erosion level has been termed the Xuluk Plateau (figs. 3 and 4). A second erosion period, the result of which has been called the Kugruk Plateau, is marked by a well-preserved bench, ranging in altitude from 400 to 1,200 feet.

CAVV MOUNTAIN. CLCV.OOrr VOUH VOBW MOUtirrAIM.lLtVATION*OOOTOFOOrT

CAPI VMIMCK VORN PLATKAU. tLCVATION COO TO AOO TT. CAPL VOMl>

or WALKS

Fk;. 4. — Sketch of the coast from York to Cape Trlncr of Wales.

The so-called York Plateau gives evidence of a third local base-level and stands 300 to 700 feet above the sea. The extensive coastal plain is the result of the fourth and most recent epoch of erosion. some if not all of these base-levels are probably represented throughout the peninsula they have been correlated only in the northwestern part.

Reconnaissance in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions. Alaska, in lOOO, a spei'ial publication of the U. 8. Geol. Survey. p. 52.

Moflit, P. H., The Fairhaven ijold placers, Seward I'eninsula, Alaska : Bull. V. S. Geol. Survey No. 247, 1905, pp. 42-44.

Collier, A. J., A reconnaissance of the northwestern of Seward Peninsula, Alaska : Prof. Paper U. 8. Geol. Survey No. 2, 1902, pp. 35-40.

48 Gold Placers Of Sewabd Peninsula.

To s{)oak the northern upland is of greater irregularity than the southoni. Then' is however, here the same general trend of the drainage system, which has produced ridges stretching irregularly north and south. This upland on the north falls off by a gradual sl(>{H' to the broad lowland that skirts the Arctic Ocean, a plain niueli nioiv extensive than any of those along the southern coast of the IH'ninsuIa. Tlie transition lietween the two seems to be more than in the south, where numerous benches break the seaward slope of the upland. As in the southern part of the peninsula, extensive basin lowlands form types in this region.

Drainage.

The aivount tf the dniinap; is quoted from a recent iviHU't hy BiiKjks:*

Tlu wattTMluHl ii nliiuoim line along the longer axis of tlu iH'ii Insula to Prhuv of Wales and w*ndM the waters of over two-tbird of itM anMi Houthwani to the leering Sea. The hlghlandB eonslHt of rolling land l.CKK) to 2.VK) fiH't the nea, and there are some Isolated mountain niassen wlilrh stand higher, hut tlu* latter In no c*ase determine the east and wost divide. Tlie htadwaton* of the streams flowing Into the Arctic and Bering seas similarly within the upland, throwing the watershed first nortli. tliiM) and giving It tlie irregularity which has Ueen described.

Tlu Koyulc Hivor, one of tht largi'st of the iienlnsula. enters a small tidal estuary at the head of Norton Hay. Its source Is In a gravel-floored basin, \vhic*h lies well towanl the inter of the |hmi Insula and is bounded on the south by tiie lMidclelMMi Mountains, rise 2,iKH) feet, and by highlands on the north rising fctt alntve Its tltMr. The Koyuk flows In a tortuous conne and with sluggish (*urnMit across this Itasin, which It leaves through a narrow valley with a steep gradient. This ninyon-valley tMe continues eastward for about *Ji) miles, to where the river enters another broad. valley which extends east and south, gradually o|)enlng out and merging into the coastal plain of Norton Hay.

The Kwlk Kivr enters Norttm Hay 20 mIU*s west of the Koyuk. It flows southward through a and almost featunless depression which northward is iMmntH-t*'*! with the Koyuk basin by a low imss*.

Eight miles west of the Kwik Is a lagiMm. into which flows the Tubutnllk River. This stream in a of low mountains miles from the sea. traverses a small basin, then takes a tortuous course through the hills and enters the coastal plain 10 miles fnmi the s(*a. The Kwlnluk River, which empty(*s into the same lagoon, rises in low bills 10 miles from the coast and flows in a broad valley from which it emerges on the coastal plain.

At (*aiH* the shore line suddenly n*tnMits inland, and to the northwest are (iolofnin Hay and (volofnin At the head of the sound is the broad d<*lta Fish Ulver. and the valley of the latter stretches northward for 10 niil(*s as a broad depression, tiion cfintni<*ts for a few miles only to open again to a extensive lowland, which also im'ludes the lower reaches of the Nhikluk Itiver. the prince|)al tributary of the Fish. The Fish rises In a fepsin wlil'h is typical of the basins at the headwaters of many rivers of northeni Alaska. TliiMf* Imslns an> level, gravel-filled depressions encircled uplands

llnHikN. A. II., 'iMiRnpby and geology of Alaska : Prof. Faper U. & GssL 8my Mol 4S, 1906, pp. (V-OS.

iKlupes often rise abruptly. Wltltlu tlieui tlii; biivi? luw grndoH

b tourees, but below tbem flow tliruiigb iiurrow canyon-

Uke — often ruckbound — valleys, with struigbt wmreeH, steep grudients, and frequent rapids. The basiti of the Flab la of reetauKular outline, 30 nitlee long and 30 mtles wide, and below It Is a winstrlcteil valley which Is about JO miles lone. lens than a mile In width, and has abrupt walls. Within the basin the river Is tortnous and has a sluggish current, while in the canyon It Is mimparatlvely stmlKbt and descends through a series of rapids.

Niukluk River, the largest confluent slrentn. Joins Fish River ntKiut 20 miles Uie sea. N'cnr the mouth Its valley has a width of about G miles, which Illy decreases to less than a mile near Itlchter ('reek, white S miles above flows for 2 miles through a Mteep-walled rockbuund cnuyon 'ill feet Above tbe mouth at the CasadepHga the valley broadens out to a liashi ' BtpTBlcd by only a very low divide from the KniKgamepa, which flows Into Pfirt Clarence, The two basins i.-onnected by a sharply Incised valley, are striking features. The valley of Casadepaga River, the chief tributary of the N'lakluli. Is broad, with gentle slopes, bniken by gravel terraces up to an aliitode of tSOO feet. The headwaters of the Casadepnga are connected by a low, imwI-Oiled divide with SoIoukiq River, which flows southward.

West of Oolofnin Bay the Solomon and Kldorad") rivers, as well as many smaller etreame, carry the drainage southward through broad, open valleys, whose slopes arc often terraced. The Kllurado and Nome rivers rise In gravelfilled basins of the already descrlbeti. which to the north arc connci'tcd by broad names with Kruzgaiuepa waters and to the south are succeeded In turn It constricted valley and a broad valley whose floor merges luto the coastal plAlB. The Snake, Penny, and Cripple river valleys merit no special description. Near the coast they arc broad, and their floors are extensions of the (MBtal plain, above which they become coastrli-ted.

Slnuk Blver.* which empties Into tbe (wa about 30 ellen west of Nome, is one nl the largest rivers of the southern watershed of the Seward Peninsula, and miTes the drainage from the southern slope of the Kiglualk Jlountalns. It nwrgps from the mountains In a narrow gorRe and flows In a broad depression [raliel to the rauue for about lli miles, turns southward and reach™ the sea tbruugh a hn.>ad, flat valley. Its waters, as well the headwaters of its chief tfllnitary, Stewart River, arc connected by a broad, gravel-filled pass wltii the alley.

Fulrvfew and Kether rivers are streams of minor Importance which flow iMward from the southern flanks of the Kiglualk Mountains. Tlsuk Creek Is Dintwlint iarjfcr ami drains the northern of tbe Kiglualk Mountains, ftum which it ejuergeH in a narrow valley which broadens out. In Its lower awe the current meanders sluggiahiy over a flat valley floor and Anally xojiJtlM Into a liigoon of Ilerlng Sea. jHvel-filled divide, about 2IK) feet high, cpitmlee tbe Tlsuk from Caoyon Creek, vvtdch flows northeastward into Imumk Bulu.

.1 number at small streams flow into Port Clarence and Gnintley llarlior from IjuUi tlie north and the south, but the Bluestoue River drains tbe larger piirt of Uie area lying between the Kiglualk Mountains and Port Clarence. Its headfatns are In a bnBin-shaped valley, but at tlie mouth of the Alder it enters a fMk-mt ranyiin. below which It flows through a broad valley tributary to the Toks Channel.

The bead of Imuruk Basin is bounded by a flat, swampy area, through which iiiMDders a broad river, sometimes called the Knvlruk, which forks about 2U

locally oClpn called the ainruch River. I.IWH — BaU. 32S—0S J

50 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

mi Irs from Xlw bay. The soutlieru fork, called the Kruzgiimeim, risi's well within the Kiglunili Mountains, flowing southward till it leaves tbeiu ; then dulles a northeasterly course and encircles the east end of the ran|?e. This {tart of the valley lies in the same lowland thnt includes the basin of the Ninkluk. The northern fork of the Kaviruk, called the Kuzitrin, has its source in n brotid. flat basin in whh'h it is joined by its chief trilmtary, the Kougnrok. Below thi? basin it flows through a rather narrow valley for about 20 miles, and debouches on the plain at the head of Iniuruk Basin. A third large ares is drained into Imuruk Basin from tlie north by the zVgiapuk River.

Between l*ort Clarence and York are several streams which have in geoeRiI a southerly course, but which are insiguiflcant in size. West of Cape York tlie first imijortant river is the Kanauguk, which lies well within the York Mountains.

The Arctic drainage of the Seward Peninsula, embracing probably not over a third of Its area. Is all of practically the stinie general tjTJe. The headwater vnl leys are broad and and the watersheds separating them from the valleys of the streams flowing south are often very low. Tlie passes are broad and gravel fllleil and suggest went changes in drainage. Tlic valleys of the northwanlflowlng streams oien out as they approach tlie Arctic, tlie gradients become less. and Anally the floors merge into the coastal areas, through which the streams meander witli sluggish cur/ents. Many of the Arctic streams empty into largi* lagoons, which are cut off from the ocean by long barrier The streams on the Arctic coast are str.fighter than those flowing Into Bering Sea. The easterly streams flow northeast, the westerly ones northwest. West of Cni* EsiHMiberg the Serieiitine, Arctic. Kougarok. Pinguk, and Mint arc the chief rivers, while the (;oo4hope, Cripple, Inmachuk. Kugruk, KIwalik, and Bucklautl drain the northeastern part of the itenlnsula.

The Buck land River, which flows into Eschscholtz Bay, a part of Kotzebue Sound, through a long tidiil €stuart. rises 7ri miles southeast of the liy. and tiie drainage flowing on one hand into Norton Bay and on the other Into the lower Koyuknk. The lower (K) miles of this river were explored In IWO* by exiKMiltions sent out from II. M. S. Herald and Plover, The reiwrts of tliese parties show thnt dead water extends for aliout HO miles from the mouth, and that there are no serious nipids for 30 miles farther u|>stream. There is a native settlement near the head of the river which is connected by iKirtage trail with the Kattel River, a tributary of the Koyukuk.

Climate.''

KJRAl'l lie UKATION.

The climate of Seward Peninsula is clearly under the control of its outline and location. Ijocated Kotzebue Sound of tin* Arctic Octuiii and Norton Sound of Bering Sea, its summer and winter temperatui-es are much less extreme than those characterizing the other portions of Alaska under the same parallels. The proximity of these two water hodiei also more moisture to the atmosphere over the jyeninsula than is found farther east. The high

" Mf-mli'iihall, W. 1'., lrof. rnpor U. S. (jei.l. Survey No. 10, 1002, p. 12. rroparwl in colliilwratloii with Cleveland Abljo, Jr. Compare section on climate by Mr. Abbe In <;co>:niph.v anil peolopy of Alaska: lrof. l*aper U. S. GeoL Bunrejr No. 43,

moo, pp. i:::i-200.

lalini.!.- of 111.' n-cioti ii.nk.-s l.otli si-i.s i.vh.iNj,.! for lulf Hie ,v<-r, and lUia reduws their iiiiliieii< to suiiie exleul.

Very few ri'liable instmniendil observations of tlie climatic elements have been on Seward Peninsula, and none have been carried on consecutively during a considerable number of years. Motii of the records are for fragments of years, or even of months. Mid the only ones from the interior of the refiiiin have been tnsde by geologic exploring parties, moving t-amp almost daily."

jVs alreaily stateil. tiie temiH'i'uliire conditions of Seward Peninsula re les.-i severe than those experienced in the interior of Alaska, lt are Mihject to greater extremes than those of southern Alaska. During quiet days in winter the temperature has fallen to about — fiO° F„ but residents do not consider the usual extreme winter tempemlure of about — 40° F. dangerous except when accompanied by liigh winds from the northeast. The lowest temperatures occur (luring January and February, and so far have been reported from (Mtints near the coast. It is probable that the interior of the peninsula is nibject to lower winter temperatures, but no records ire known to have been kept there during that season. It is remarkalile that the coldest months are subject to sudden thaws and warm nins which open all the streams and flood them. Such winter thaws littvi; also been accompanied by open water in Norton Round. The iiiinmer f eiuperat iii-es rarely rise above 80° F. On one occa- Am only has there been recorded n temperature as high as 84" F., iinil that was in August, at a jxtint on Fisli River. Probably ill.' iiiaximuiu temperature is below 80" over most of the peninuk. In liXKJ the highest tem£>eratures experienced over the northeasteni |>ortion of the peninsula were (19° in July. CO" in August, mill Oii" in September; the most common temperatures lay between 4S' and fiO", with extremes of 10° in Septenilwr and Ci)° in July.

The daily minimum temperatures arc 33° or lower from about the tiist week in September until about the middle of May. The fii-st bll frosts occur almut the middle of September, and the last frost in Npring toward the middle of June.

Tii sea temperature of I*ort Clarence ha.s been found to average llS" F. in September, and the waters of Kotzebue Sound average-d (roni a0.ii° in August to 3.S.3° in October. Both bodies of water thus

Hte rontvf. A. J., Rofnoniitasanpe!) Id Cape Noliii> nnil Norton Bn; reKions. Alnski. VKO. speirOI pnliMi-dillon of the It. 8. lieol. Survey. IWil : Vrnt. i'Bper V. S. tSeo!. ann 2. Mendenhiill. W. C. I'rof. Paper II. B, Ijeol. Survey No. HI, lOUi. Hunt, r. U.. BuU, U, a. Oeol. Survey Nu. HT, 1IHI5.

range lower than Norton Sound at St. Michael, where an average temperature of 56° in July and August and 49.6° in September has been ob;?erved.

Precipitation.

The actual rain and snow fall of the peninsula is probably .small. The nearest station with a good record is St. Michael, where the annual fall amounts to about 18 inches. Comparison of the records there with fragmentary records from the peninsula indicates an annual fall of about 20 inches of water over its southern portion and of perhaps 25 inches of water over the northern portion. So far as experience and observation go, the greater portion of this water falls as rain during the months from June to October. During the winter months an actually small depth of snow, perhaps 3 feet, falls, but it is so badly drifted by the frequent severe northeastern gales of this season that it has proved impossible to obtain accurate measurements of the amount. There are no known measurements of the water equivalent of the winter snowfall of the peninsula; it may be estimated at 3 inches, allowing something less than 0.1 inch water per Inch of snow. The snowfall is reported sufficient to permit sledding throughout the winter, and the heavy drifts which form annually in valleys and on hill slopes remain far into the summer or even until the succeeding winter.

AVith so small an annual supply of rain water it is fortunate for the miner that the snowdrifts thus preserve the scanty winter fall imtil the season when he can use it to the best advantage — the summer. The spring thaw, however, with its attendant May freshet, du to melting drifts, is often followed by a six weeks' drought, since the rainy season does not begin until July. This rainy season is usually characterized by frequent showers rather than continued rains. Another factor which saves the rainfall for the miner is the perennially frozen condition of the gravels and bed rock throughout most of the peninsula. This circumstance gives a maximum surface runoff and a mininnini loss of gi'ound water, so that while the frozen gravels are difficult to work, yet the resources for their exploitation are for the same reason greater than they would if the temperature were uniformly higher. The frozen ground extends to an unknown depth and embraces both gravels and fissured country rock. Large bodies of gravel however, have been found always free from ice. It seems that these unfrozen gravels rest upon a more morons bed rock that the ground water to drain away more rapidly than is possible in the surrounding frozen regions.

The rain which falls during the summer is rapidly soaked up by the surface layer of moss where other vegetal cover is laddng. This covering protects the frozen ground beneath from the sun' imys,

Cumate. 53

uiniiit-'r winter, so that the soil ivmains frozen lo the very surface irn long as covered. The niiii water flows into the streams al a fairly iinifomi and constant rate, because of tiie cover, and thus ihf streams aii-less variable than they would be if vegetation were flWnt from the frozen soil.

8Tors1S.

The peninila is Hnbject Ui frequent severe iiortli-northeast galesilririug the winter, in which the dry .'Uinw blown along in blinding ilonds and into drifts. Such storms often continue for three or four plays and are nsnally accompanied by only small quantities " ill snow and temperatures between — 30° and — 40°. They to occur with some regularity at intervals of about a week from iber to April, and occasionally in the other months. Records from the Teller reindeer station indicate that high winds are someliiues act-timpftnied by very moderate temperatures. Although most of the storm winds are from the iiortlieast to north, in September and March, there are occasionally were storms from the south and ttUQtbvui, bringing higher temperatures, and, during September, hnvy rains. Such storing-s ai-e found to lower tlie level of Norton Suuiid, iimi tlieir winds are lienvy with moisture uml pnniuci' niw, iincomfortuble weather.

BnUR AND irARBOR ICE,

AH tlie streams of the pcninsnla freeze across in winter, and the smaller streams frequently freeze to the bottom. They close about llie end of in the vicinity of Fish River, and open about liw middle (if May, When a stream is not frozwi to the bottom, the timing water often breaks through its ice arch and flows out over the surface, where il soon freezes. SucJi winter overflows sometimes comjilclely floor the valley with successive ice sheets. These ice sheets arp locally known as "glaciers" and are quite distinct in character aud origin from the lenticular masses of ground ice, or crj'stojplienes, due to the freezing tif ground water, which are also collotjuially known as "glaciers,"

Bering Strait is rarely closed by an ice bridge, but Bering Sea is often frozen to a distance of 5 or 6 miles from land, and Arctic floe ice may reach as far south as the Pribilof Islands, which lie in the latitude of Newfoundland. The ice of Bering Sea logins to retreat iKHthward early in the spring. St. Lawrence Island has become acwssibli: as early as April 2. St. Michael Harbor, on Norton Sound, fflticb closes early in November, usually is not open until June 10 to 15, or a little later, and Nome seems to be open about the same date. The sliallower waters of Port Clarence keep Teller imprisoned for Homtr time longer, us is also the case in Kotzebue Sound. Point

54 Gold Pla<'Krs Of Skwari) Peninsula.

Hope, oil the Arctic coast, is not clear of ice July 1, or oven Anoiist 1 in exceptional years, and is arain iceboinKlhy Xoveiuher IT).

Vegetable And Animal Life. Vecjktation.

A (lescri])tion of (lie vegetation of the peninsula has alreaily* ?>ooii <iven hy the writer in a re|)oi-t," hence only a brief stat<'- nient will Ih inserted here. Tn general, the legit4ition is stunterl aiil dwarfed, a condition to Ih in a subarctic climate. shown by the sketch map (fi. 5), the greater part of the area is (kvuby tundra and uplands; but in proceeding from to the country Incomes progressively more barren and desolate. In th( eastern part, more in the region north of Norton Sound, there is a scattering growth of small spruce confiiUMl to the river valleys and valley slopes, the higher hills Ixng al)<)vv timber The largest trees are not over 1(> inches in diameter and ft'ct high. LnmlMr for the first sluice used in tin- |M'ninsuia was from this timber, and a small steam sawmill at Council is still able to compete in the local market with thf of outside mills. The majority of the buildings at Council an' log houses, to which use the spruce trees aiT well Manv of tlu' triM's are of suitable size for tie and will Im' used in railroad building. The western limit of the sprikv by a line extending from (lolofnin Hav. northwestward of the heatlwatersof Xiukluk River,and thence northeastward to the east enil of Kotzebue Sound, as shown in fiir. Along tiM' streams west and north of this line cottonwoods, willows, iind Iwjirf alders grow in suflicient quantity to afford a scanty amount ol fuel, which, though it is of rather poor quality, is used camping and for thawing frozen gi'ound, and has madt* the exploration of the ivgion and the development of the placer-. Of tli<'M li-ees the willows are most widely distributed. ji> Ihey occur over nearly the whole The cottonwoods are of larger siz<'. hut are confined to a few localities, reaching as far west as Kruzgamepa Hi vim*. The alders form numerous tangled thicket> on the valley slojx's antl hillsides as far west as Sinuk River. In favorable tlu' larger willows attain a thickness of inche a Insight of 20 feet, but most of them are smaller, a largi* being less than inches in diameter and 5 feet in height.

Along cnek and river bottoms and valley slopes grass is abundant and is suitable for pack aniunils, but most horses used for hea\'' teaming are fed on imported hay and grain. During the field season of

" In Cnpt* Nonio nml Norton Bay rKlonR, Alaska, In 1000. a special puhlk-ailou of thf V. 8. OpoI. Survey, pp. nM-174.

liKK) tlic writer collected for iileiitificution specimens of six species ()f grass suitable for forage, but the collection was incomplete, and it is prolwblo tliat as mnny as a dozen diffei-ent grasses arc repre-sented in this region. Here and there are natural meadows where hay could be har\*ested in considerable quantity, but owing to the short season it does not mature properly and has Tiot the strength of hay grown in the States, and as it is almost impossible to nire it, on account of rainy weather in haying time, it has i:ot been used to any considerable extent

The most common plants are mosses and lichens, which are preaent everywhere. On the lowland plains and portions of the upland where

rill. 5.— Map ahowlne dLatrlbullon at vegetation Id Swan) t'enlnBula.

dratDage is imperfect a thick mat of vegetation, composed of mosses. lichetiK. sedges, dwarf birches, and some grass, overlying peal beds, covers the surface and forms the tundra. The underlying soil is perpetually frozen, as the mat of vegetation and peat protects it from changes of temperature, but during the open season the tundra is difficult to traverse on account of its soft, swampy surface. Gooil i-oadheds for wagons can not built across the timdra for less than $,000 per mile. The larger tundra areas are shown on the stretch map (fig. 5), Over the greater part of flie upland, especially along the ridges, the vegetable mat is compiini lively (bin, travel is easier, tftvt toft-

56 <iOI-I> PLACERS OF SEWARD PENINSULA.

Im'cIs Clin Ih constructed at slight expense. The peat found on thp (iiiiih'a, it is usually not very pure, might, by some briquettin process, Ik? made into valuable fuel, but up to the present time it lias rccvivod little attention. Reindeer moss is distributed over the whole region as an important constituent of the vegetable mat, making the maintenance of large deer herds. The number domestic deer in the three herds kept on the {)eninsula iji wa> I'sliniatcd at H,48r>."

I'wo of cdibh* berries, the marsh blueberry and the '' salmon IxTrv/' arc fairly abundant over the whole peninsula, and often form ii welcome addition to the prospectors' fare. Mushrooms, some of which luv edible, are seen occasionally, but, so far as the writer knows I hey are never plentiful and have not been used as by pros[)ectors II nd miners. There are also a few herbs which are sometimes used as food or nMMlicine by the natives. AVith these exceptions, there are no njiiiv' food plants in the region, but near the mining camps some of (hi* hMrdi<'r such as lettuce, radishes, and tuniips, have hi'i'ii nccessfnlly raised in small gardens.

Fish And Game.

In iietiriy all larger streams fish are comparatively abundant find rjiii Im' ciMight during the summer. Salmon in great numlxMs f iin iiji ihe Ijirger rivers and die after spawning, polluting the water V. ii h I heir decaying Grayling and trout can be caught with ;i hh<' III ni'sirly mII the larger streams through the open season, and )il;' mid whileliii an* caught Avith gill nets on some of the larger uMi In ihe waters along the coast, also, fish are fairly abundant. ii-rljiiii scjiMins s<'tools of smelt sometimes swim in the surf ;iimI II h on the heach, where they can easily be cauglit in the . 'I \n' hJilives luivt* for food in winter on a fish called loiiMod whirh (hey cjitch in nets and dry during the open 5;eason. or hifif *jilrh Ihroiirh holes in the ice.

I hill ;ii ihoii NNeic fomierlv abiuulant is indicated bv manv antlers #;iiliMd ovr the country and by large piles of bones found near oiiHif ih<- iU' vited villages of the interior. The wnld now, hov.ivii. i |inirtirnlly extinct, though a few of them are to Ikj seen in IhimoiiIhiii |ijir(. As above, three large herds of domestic* ;n iIm.ii. n-indeed, under (Jovernment suixr vision, are maintaineil on th<' penin iilii.

Aioiind the coasts polar InMir are occasionally killed in winter, and hrown and bhi<'k Immu's are occasionally reported.

Of game birds, ptarmigan, snije, plover, and curlew — plentiful ncMir the in 1003 — are now scarce. Greese, ducks sand-

Rept. rommlBiiloner vnMi-ioii, 1003, vol. 1, 1905, p. IziT.

liill cranes, and swans alumni:] along ihe rivers and lakes, more ecpe- L'ially in the northern part of the peninsula, but they arc not usually killed by prospectors iinlos-s a special hunt is made for them, as thii regions frequented by lliein are apt lo be remote frnni the placermininfr districts.

Commercial Features.

The lines of indii'rial advaiiremenl and settlement in the peninsula have bi-cn less influenced by ils physical advantages or disadvantages for such movements I Imn by the distribution of the gold placers. Settiementfl and precincts " have been estahlished with little regard to the geographic conditions which in other fields would determine their location. Indeed, except for its mineral resources, Seward PeiiinsiUa would certainly not for many decades and probably never have supits present jjopulation. From an industrial standpoint, therefore, the distribution of mineral resources is more important than the geographic features.

For adifliniHrative purposes the peninsula is divided by arbitrary into a numlter of precincts or districts which have been created and modified to conform with the progress of settlement and development of mining. Their boundaries are subject to change at the diwretion of the United 'States court, located at Nome, and although some of them have remained unchanged for several years they can not be reganled as ]permanent. In June, IflOS, thei-e were eight of these precincts, and since that time a of minor changes have made, though the general location of the precincts remains th*" same. These fre<[uent changes in local boundaries are indices of the industrial progress, as they an' made to meet the convenience and iiiinicdiate needs of uiiners and prospectors. The precincts, as they ("xisted in June, 1903, are shown in the sketch map (fig. 2, p. 42), and the descriptions of placers given on later pages are grouped according to these boundaries.

The local government of each precinct is administered by a commisfiioiier, who is appointed by the United States district court at Nome and who is also the recorder of mining claims. These seats of local government are in general located at the more important settlement.' and distributing points of the mining districts.

The principal settlement and largest town in the peninsula is Some, situated on the southern coast several miles west of CajJe Nome. It has a population of ulwmt 3.000 in winter and 5.000 to 6,000 in summer. Although Nome has tn existence only about seven years.

he Hdm La Is 1 ml Ive

BDd Judicial .init lit Al

A pri'dncf muy

rompnrpd wllh a poub

II Mlt-Boverniurni

B lh Terrllocy n

akes till? almllatU; oDl;

11 has manj of ronvmtirar* nf citv. ich as pbuiked streets, I witrr-pplT sTSao. tiflepbone tiiMSi. BDd banks. litough their h n harbor. all supplies ind passengipry for Ihe penUiMiU an landtl ai Xtwni'. Ihirinp ih*- lifary ri.-atbrr in tht> lalt* summer anil fall all MUiuuunicauiiu liHwimi the rJturv and the in the nwl- 4eail iiflrii rut off fyr wral dars at timr. No permitiicut whanies or nihi-r mtkvriiminrs Umlitig ran tir mainlaiml i rtitint of Ibc lipa-T ihotv ii-v io wiuter and the ignoring ice flues in llu spring, and all pplie and psn|?Ms atv tattded on the beaA ihmugji the snrf. i.-vr PL I. J.I The Sewanl Peninsula Railway leads inUnd fnnn N'otiie tu the important oiining district tliat cfHU-n at .VnnI Creek, nfxre the firrt disco*"eries of gold wvrv made, and W Ldtnes Lamtinir. in ibv Konarnk dislrirl. XnnM 1-4 al the (iintn( point for many o-erlaud traiU and raad> to ultKT mining runs fai iher inland.

To the ea!>( alon|; tit slmrr llierr ai sewral small'r towns antila to NdUr in their .situation mi tb open roast which have spiral Ijer its iirals. SO miles east of Nome, ut the nioiirti of 5 mon River, isihe stain of the Council <'ity and Solomon Kin Railway, which t-xied into Ihe Ca-sadi-paga Valley, as well .s lb enter of u tiiining di-strict of im{>rtHiMv. Rluff, a viUa n post-offit-e several miles briber east, h the distrihiiling point for tlistricl that has lieen producing gold in larpquanlilit sinc 190Q Council. .second town in of the peninsula, is tl central point of the Council pivcinct and lies about 25 miles from i coal. on Niufcliik River. In prodnciicm of plmvr gold this pircin* almost eqniiLs the Nome precinct. Snpplie for the Coiineil preciiu are landed at Chenik (tlolofnin post-fifKce). a snuill on (. nin Bay. They are ihen taken in small steamer-to While on Fi: Ri\-er near the head of Golofniu Sound, wliere they an; tran ferred to flHl-botimned river boats that are lowed by horses up ] and Niukhik rivers to Council. Tlie completion of the railway f Dickson as originally plunneil will give more direct eommuuical Another means of communication would 1k> by building a brandi 111 to Council from the Seward PeiiinsHla Railway near Civfc,

Teller, located on Port Clarence at the entrance lo firantlay Haj Iwr, is the supply point for the Bhiestone and Kougarok i ' " regions and si-viral others of less It otvwpies llir I town site in the iieninsula. iis tlie ground on which it is built id (! and the harlxir and landing facilities are the best. TIh* dcp wi( of Port Clar'iH:, however, does not extend to the town, and iIm-lar) veKNcln are obliged to anchor 2 miles away and discharge fnu and passengtx hv m.-anii of liphtcr. forrovrr. the iT in the I ( not break nni i ; !i'' nmiltead at Nomo '

Commercial Features. 59

The supplies for the mines of the Kougarok region up to 190G were usually sent by small steamers from Teller to Igloo, a village and post-office 50 miles inland at the head of steamboat navigation on Kuzitrin River, where they were transferred to flat-bottomed river that were towed up Kuzitrin and Kougarok rivers. Since the completion of the Seward Peninsula Railway to Lanes Tjanding more <lirect communication with Nome has been established. Tlie mining (enters are the reach of navigable waters and the railway, and the last stages of the journey are made by pack train or wagon. Sullivan, the center for the Bluestone region, is 16 miles southeast of Teller. It has a summer population of about 50, a post-office, and several roadhouses, and is connected with Teller and a landing at the mouth of Tisuk Creek by a regular line of stages.

The York region, embracing about 400 square miles in the western cxti'empty of the has not been productive of placer gold, but there are several small settlements maintained by prospectors engaged in a seiirch for tin ores. These are supplied by small coasters ivom Nome. York, a small collection of cabins and tents at the mouth of Anikovik River, 12 miles east of Cape Prince of AVales, has in existence since 1809. Tin City, established in 1003, is a camp at the southeast base of Cape Mountain, 10 miles west of York and 4 miles west of the old native village Palazruk. At Cape Prince of AVales there is a large native village called Kingegan, which has in existence since prehistoric times. , The location has been a favorable one for sealing and-whaling operations; and as it is the nearest point to the Siberian coast, the Kingegan natives have controlled the trade and Alaska. The village supports a population of about 500. A Congregational mission has nuiintained here for ten years or more, and a Government school was established in 1904. There is also a stoi'e and ]ost -office. These natives have learned something of the ways of civilization. Many of them own herds of reindeer, and one of them keeps a general-merchandise store which does not differ greatly from similar stores kept white men at Nome. The post-office here is called AVales. The town is contiguous to the tin region and is the seat of the commissioner's court for the AVales precinct and headquarters for a number of prospectors.

On Kotzebue Sound there are two thriving towns, Deering and Kiwalik, the distributing for the Tnmachuk and Candle Creek districts, both in the Fairhaven precinct. The commissioner for the precinct has headquarters at Kiwalik. Both towns are supplied from Nome by small coasting vessels.

Seward Peninsula is accessible by sea only during the months from June to November. For the remainder of the year navigation is closed, and the only communication with the outside world is by the

60 Goijd Placers Of Sewabd Peninsula.

Yukon River route, involving a journey over the ice by dog team to Dawson for upward of 1,000 miles. Mails and a few passengers follow this route. The cost of the winter journey to Nome from Seattle by way of Skagway and Dawson is not far from $1,000, and it ordinarily consumes about three months. Telegraphic communication over the military lines, partly by a wireless system, has been maintained since 1904. The most-frequented routes of travel between points on the peninsula are along the coasts and navigable rivers, and, as a matter of course, development has most rapid in districts thus made accessible. All the yet notable mining camps are within easy reach of such navigable waters. AVagon roads and trails lead from the railways and from the coast to the mining districts of the interior, but these are difficult for summer travel on account of the soft road beds, and freight rates are almost prohibitive. Travel over the snow is easier, however, and supplies may be sledded to the mines located inland more cheaply in winter than in summer, but forjoints remote from the coast the freight rate is still often too high to permit successful mining operations. Mr. Brooks estimated that in 1903 the cost of summer overland transportation ranged from $10 to $16 per ton per mile, and the cost of water transportiition between coastal points from 70 cents to $1.50 per ton per mile, including the embarking and disembarking. Though these costs have been somewhat lowered, yet they are still prohibitive to mining anything but high-grade placers, except in regions close to tide water. There are but few wagon roads in Seward Peninsula, but during dry weather it is possible to haul loads over the tundra and along the watercourses. Purington has estimated that $8,000 to $4,000 a mile is the cost of wagon-road construction. Ha believes that narrow-gage railways can be built at a cost of $6,000 a mile. It is probable that the railways will be preferred for long hauls. Several short lines are already in operation, and experience has shown that narrow-gage roads with light equipment can be maintained at no very great cost. The topographic maps indicate that easy grades can be found to all parts of the peninsula.

Geterat. Gf.Ot.Ogy.

Introduction.

The geologic surveys in this field have all been of a reconnaissance character, more especially directed toward a study of the gold placers. Such reconnaissances are a necessary preliminary to detailed surveys of any part of the field, because the results obtained from critical

BrookR. A. Hm Placer mining In Alaska In 1903 : Bull. IT. S. Qol. Borrey No. 225. 1904, p. 51.

Purington, C. W., MethodH and costs of gravel and placer mlalBg to Alaika: BalL U. R. Geol. Survey No. 26.% 1005, p. 221.

General Geology. 61

examinations of small areas are unsatisfactory without a general knowledge of the problems presented by the whole province.*

AVhen this work began practically nothing was known of the geology of northwestern Alaska, and hence the conservative policy was adopted of publishing only such general conclusions as were demanded to elucidate the economic problems. In the present treatment the same policy will be adhered to, though the accumulation of many additional data will make it possible to amplify the. previous reports. The discovery of organic remains in some of the terranes has given a key to the stratigraphy that was not available when the earlier reports on the geology were prepared.

The surveys of 1900 resulted in the publication of two preliminary geologic maps covering the southern half of the peninsula — one of the southwestern part, or Nome region, by Brooks,* and the other of the southeastern part, or Norton Bay region, by Mendenhall.* Mendenhall, whose journey was rather of the nature of an exploration, did not attempt to differentiate the various groups of metaniorphic sediments, but Brooks recognized three terranes, named in ascending order the " Kigluaik series," " Kuzitrin series," and " Nome series."''

The two lower terranes are described bv Brooks as rather well defined stratigraphic units, while a great complex of metaniorphic rocks which overlie them was thrown together as a cartographic unit under the name " Nome series," since the field work had not gone far enough to indicate any logical basis of subdivision.

During the following season the writer extended these subdivisions to the rocks of the northwestern portion of the peninsula, where he was able to differentiate within the Nome a massive limestone member containing fossils which were at that time considered to be of Ordovician age. This member was called the Port Clarence limestone. During the same season fossils referred to the Silurian were found in limestones and schists that more nearly resemble the rocks of the " Nome series " as exposed at Nome, and the rocks containing them were called the " Kugruk group." The " Nome series " in the northern portion of the peninsula, therefore, was regarded as comprising a lower member, called the Port Clarence limestone, and an upper one, called the " Kugruk group."

In the course of the investigations in 1903 larger collections of fossils were made at a number of new localities, both in the northern

In the snmmer of 1905 Fred H. Mofflt and Frank L. Hess carried on detailed geologic mapping in the Nome region ; this work was continued by Mr. MoflSt, aided by Philip S. Smith, In 1006.

Reconnaissances in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900, a ipedal publication of the U. 8. 6eol. Survey, 1901, PI. III.

Idem* PI. XXI.

be name of the river from which this group derives its designation ' report been changed by the United States Geographic Board tu '''Ather Kugruk River in Seward Peninsula.

62 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

and southern parts of the peninsula, whicli liave made it possible to reconsider the determinations made in 1901. Near the western extremity of the peninsula, Mississippian (" Lower Carboniferous") fossils were found in some metamorphic limestones and schists which on lithologic grounds had previously been correlated with the '' Kigluaik series." All the fossils from the " Nome series,-' however, are now regarded as Silurian or Ordovician, but the differentiation of the Silurian from the Ordovician horizons can not be demonstrated, as some forms heretofore regarded as Ordovician are associated with forms known to be Silurian, and for this reason the limestones of the " Kugruk group " are correlated with the Port Clarence.

The more critical examinations which have been made of a section of the highly altered rocks between Nome and the Kigluaik Mountains have demonstrated that there is here a great series of schists, including some calcareous beds, overlain by an almost equally great series of beds, for the most pail limestone, which may tentatively correlated with the Port Clarence. Somewhat similar conditions exist northwest of the Kigluaik Mountains, where a broad belt of schists containing some calcareous beds intervenes between the mountains and the known area of Port Clarence limestone.

In the northeastern part of the peninsula schists of slightly different character from those near Nome overlie the Silurian limestones of the " Kugruk group," now correlated with the Port Clarence.

The " Nome series,'' as mapped by Brooks in 1900 and by the writer in 1901, may be provisionally regarded as comprising (1) a basal formation, composed for the most pait of schists, but including some limestones; (2) a middle formation, composed mainly of massive limestcmes to which the name Port Clarence limestone has been applied; and (H) an upper formation, mainly of scliists. Tn the following discussions and accompanying maps this so-called series will therefore be designated the Nome group.

In general it can be said of the metamorphic rocks of Seward Peninsula (1) tliat they comprise a complex mass of more or less altered sediments, intrusives, and eru,ptives, the greater pail of which is of Paleozoic age, and (2) that with some modification the divisions made by Brooks in the southern part of the are well grounded and can be recognized over much of the adjoining region.

It must be remembered, however, that this subdivision is based largely on the lithologic character of metamorphic rocks. The degree of metamorphism changes greatly in different parts of the region, producing various kinds of rocks from the same original

General Geology. 63

material, and it is also probably true that some lithologically similar schists may be due as much to peculiar conditions of alteration as to original texture.

Here and there in the northern part of the peninsula there is evidence of a certain amount of folding before the schistosity was developed, and at such places the foliation and bedding are very divergent. As a general rule throughout the peninsula, however, the foliation and bedding seem to coincide; but inasmuch as this condition would result if, before metamorphisin, the beds were closely folded and overturned, the evidence aflporded by the foliation planes must be used with caution in interpreting the structure. For this reason the stratigraphic succession here outlined, where not supported by paleontologic determinations, must for the present be regarded as provisional.

Since all of the geologic investigation has been directed primarily to a study of the placer deposits, the unconsolidated Quaternaiy terranes containing them have naturally been examined in the most detail.

The rocks of the Nome group also have been examined more thoroughly than those of the other metamorphic terranes, first, because they are more widely distributed, and, second, because most of the gold placers have been derived from them. These formations are therefore described at some length in this section, and many specific details regarding them are' given in the descriptions of localities producing placer gold. The other metamorphic rocks, on the contrary, have been examined only cursorily at a few localities, and their descriptions are necessarily brief. For this reason the general geologic discussion here presented may seem ill balanced, but this result is unavoidable under the conditions governing the investigation.

Description Of Geoj-Ogic Maps.

The distribution of the sedimentary and metamorphic formations and of the igneous rocks of various types is shown on the two fieologi(! reconnaissance maps (Pis. X and XI, in pocket). Nearly all the colored areas have been examined by United States geologists, but as this examination was in the nature of a reconnaissance, the interpretation of the facts obtained as well as the boundaries mapped must be regarded as subject to revision after more thorough study. A moin* detailed account of the local geology of certain areas will be found in the descriptions of the placer deposits.

In addition to the metamorphic rocks, several groups of igneous rocks are differentiated: (1) Unaltered basalts and basaltic lavas in dikes, necks, and surface flows are of abundant occurrence in the northern portion of the peninsula. Most of these rocks were erupted

64 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

during Pleistocene time, and the whole group is believed to be of comparatively recent origin. (2) Altered basic rocks, here termed greenstones, in stocks, dikes, and sills, are widely distributed within the areas of metamorphic rocks in both the northern and southern parts of the peninsula. As in many places they have been affected by the same influences as the metamorphic rocks, they are believed to be nearly as old. (3) Acidic igneous rocks, including granites, pegmatites, and granitic porphyries, have their greatest development iu the Kigluaik, Bendeleben, and Darby mountains, but in smaller masses appear in all of the Paleozoic formations represented. Some of these rocks were intruded previous to the final metamorphism of the Kigluaik group and have a gneissoid texture, but most of them are unaltered. It is the writer's opinion that most of these granites were intruded during Mesozoic or early Tertiary time, and reasons for this belief will be advanced. If this is true the granites are intermediate in age between the greenstones and the basalts.

The boundaries of the granite areas in the Bendeleben and Kigluaik mountains are not known in detail, as the structure of these ranges is complex and few sections have been carefully examined, but the general type of the intrusions has been determined and their representation on the map is diagrammatic. The correlation of the massive limestones and larger schist areas of the Nome group is based on lithologic resemblance and stratigraphic succession, corroborated in a few localities by paleontologic evidence. The mapping of many of the Quaternary areas has been extended beyond the limits of actual observation, on evidence offered by the topographic maps.

The stratigraphic position of the various sedimentary formations mapped is shown in the accompanying tabular statement :

General Oeoloot.

Stratigraphy of Seward Peninsula.

System.

Quatenuiry, including some Plioceoe?

Fonnation.

Tertiary?

Carboniferous?

Eocene? Kenai formation?

Mississippian?

Carboniferous, Devoniaup or Silurian.

Devonian or Silurian.

.J

Silurian and Ordovician?

Nome group.

Undifferentiated schists.

Port Clarence limestone.

Ordovician or pre- Silurian.

Pre-Silurian?

Undifferentiated schists.

Kuzitrin fomiation.

Pre-SUurian?

Kigluaik group.

Lithology.

Tundra deposits: peat, capped by mat of living moss and other vegetation.

Alluvium in beds and flood plains of existing streams; often frozen.

Glacial moraines and extramorainic bowlder beds.

Frozen silts, sands, and gravels of coastal and interior basin plains.

Silts, sands, gravels, and residual deposits resting on nigh benches and plateaus of ancient erosive cycles.

Unconformity.

Coilomerates, sandstones, clays, and coal.

Unconformity.

Massive crystalline limestones interbedded with black phyllites and schists.

Conformity?

Dark-colored, usually graphitic slates and phyUites, in many places cleaving into pencil-shaped fragments. Including some beds of earthy limestone.

Schists of the Fairhaven precinct. Differentiated from schists of the Nome precinct by stratigraphic position overlying Port Clarence limestone and by smaller percentage of chlorite.

Massive limestones varying from unaltered more or less earthy limestones in the type locality to crystalline marbles and calcareous schists in more metamorphosed portions.

Conformity?

Various schists and phyllites, including quartz-chlorite schist, quartz-chloritealbite schist, quartz-granite schist, calcite-muscovite schist, thin limestones, etc., differentiated from Port Clarence limestone by stratigraphic position and lithologic character.

lnconformity?

Graphitic quartzites and schists, maximum thicKness probably less than 2,000 feet.

Conformity.

1 . Biotite schists and thin limestone bands.

These are cut by granite in dikes, stocks, and sills. Total thickness over 4,000 feet . Differentiated from Nome group by stratigraphic position and by universal presrtice of biotite in the schists.

66 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

Metamorphic Rocks. Kigluaik Group.

At the base of the geologic column there is a group of highly cr)'s- talline rocks consisting of limestones, schists, and gneisses, which were described by Brooks under the name " Kigluaik series." There is reason to believe that, with the exception of some of the gneisses whose origin is in doubt, most of these rocks are altered sediments. They diflFer from the overlying schists and limestones mainly in the degree and character of the metamorphism to which they have been subjected and in the nature of the resultant minerals, though it is probably also true that the beds were distinct in their original composition. The rocks of this group have been recognized only in the Kigluaik and Bendeleben mountain areas, and in both ranges they are so intimately associated with intrusions of granite, in the form of stocks, sills, and dikes, that it has been impossible to differentiate on the geologic map the igneous from the sedimentary rocks.

The limestones are in general comparatively pure and white or bluish in color. They are always highly crystalline and are in many places specked with graphite in disseminated tabular grains. The beds range in thickness from 1 to 20 feet or more. These limestones, although very prominent in some localities, seem to comprise only a minor part of the group. They are interbedded with schistic, and in the few places where sections have been examined in some detail seem to occur near the base of the Kigluaik group.

The schists which comprise the greater part of this group are generally dark gray in color and consist essentially of quartz and biotite, with various accessory minerals in the different beds, such as graphite, pyrite, magnetite, garnet, staurolite, hornblende, augite, orthoclase, plagioclase, etc. In some of the beds quartz predominates to such an extent as to make the rock essentially quartzite, while in others plagio- <3lase and orthoclase feldspar are so abundant as to give the rock a gneissoid character. Between the quartzose and gneissoid phases there seem to be all gradations, (iraphite and pyrite are important accessories in many of the more siliceous beds, giving them a black color. In some beds graphite occurs to the exclusion of all other minerals. Though graphitic schists occur in some of the later formations, as will be shown, no of pure graphite comparable to these have been found in other formations. The presence of these gi'aphitic members and of the limestones already described is regarded as conclusive evidence of the sedimentary origin of the greater

part of the group. It is probably true, however, that some at least

Reconnaissances in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900, a special of the U. S. Geol. Survey, 1901, p. 27.

General Geology. 67

of the gniesses were originally igneous and represent intrusive sills or possibly extrusive beds of acidic rocks which have been recrystallized under the same influences that produced the metamorphism of the schists and limestones. It will be shown that many of the intrusive granite masses which occur in the Kigluaik group also have gneissoid phases that are difficult to distinguish from the older metamorphosed rock, though it is believed that after a more refined geologic and petrographic examination all these later intrusives will be differentiated.

In general structure the Kigluaik and Bendeleben mountains are elliptical dome-shaped uplifts, and although this is in numerous places complicated and obscured by intrusions of granite, all the sections across these ranges thus far examined indicate anticlinal conditions. In a section across the Kigluaik Mountains along Grand Central River and a pass leading northward from its head the anticlinal structure of the range is most evident. Crystalline limestones are exposed in the heart of the range and are apparently overlain by several thousand feet of nearly black quartz-biotite schist containing sills and dikes of massive granite. The upper valley of Windy Creek, which lies in the heart of the mountains and west of this pass, is cut for several miles in a mass of granite that probably represents a great intrusive stock. The greater part of this granite mass is slightly gneissoid, but it is cut by younger dikes which have a granitoid texture. A section across the range by way of the lower part of Windy Creek and Cobblestone River, although is it broken by a great intrusion of granite, also shows the anticlinal structure with a similar stratigraphic arrangement of massive limestones and schists. In this exposure the cliffs, which are not less than 1,000 feet high, are composed of limestone interbedded with biotite schist and gneiss. At the west end of the range the biotite schists dip toward the west, indicating a dome-like termination of the mountain uplift. In this region the crystalline limestones are exposed at only a few points near the heads of some of the streams.

Vlong the mountain crests the many jagged outcrops of granite have given rise to the local name Sawtooth Mountains, which is descriptive not only of the Kigluaik but also of the Bendeleben Range. The prominence of these granite outcrops is due to their ability to resist erosion, and though the granite intrusives probably form considerably less than half the mass of the mountains, on hasty superficial examination they often seem to make up a much larger

part.

The only section across the Bendeleben Range which has been examined by the waiter is along Parantulik River and Ella Creek, the heads of which there is a low pass. The structure here appears to be anticlinal and the prevailing rocks are dark-colored

68 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

quartz-biotite schists and gneisses similar to those of the Kigluaik Range. Sills and dikes of coarse-grained granite or pegmatite are also present. White crystalline limestones containing scattered grains of graphite occur in beds 20 feet or more in thickness interbedded with the schists, along Parantulik River from a point near its head to the edge of the Fish River lowland. Mendenhall,* who exammed a section across this range at the head of Fish River in 1900, described the geologic condition as follows :

About the head of Fish River the mountains are chiefly granitic, but along their flanlcs and sometimes extending through them in belts of varying breadth, which marlc the passes, are areas of schistose sediments.

About 1 mile above the camp of July 20, ahmg the creek bed, is an outcrop of rusty and very graphitic stliist associated with more calcareous phases. Five miles farther along the right banlc of this same branch of Fish River is an outcrop of buff slates with very little calcareous matter, while 2 miles farther northwest, in a gap between two branches of Fish River, the series is represented a white, coarsely crystalline marble. This narrow belt of the crystalline series, between two great intrusive granitic masses, expands to the northwest and forms a series of hills somewhat lower than the more resistant masses on either side, separating the Fish River drainage basin from a low area to the north, which is probably a part of the Kuzitrin Valley. East and west from the camp of July 20 these sediments appear as remnants on the flanks of many of the spurs rimning from the high mountains out toward the Fish River basin. Whether or not these outcrops form a continuous belt westward from the camp of July 20 could not be determined during the hasty reconnaissance, but eastward they seem to extend iminterruptedly to the broad belt which runs northeastward toward the basin of Tubutulik River.

From this description it is inferred that the geologic conditions here are not different from those in other part of the Bendeleben Range except that there arc few, if any, intrusions of nite exposed in this valley.

ft.'

Where this range has been crossed near its west end there are few good exposures of bed rock in place- The surface is covered with tundra vegiptation and residuary soil through which some masses of coarse-grained granite or crop out in the form of pinnacles. Fragments of biotite schist and gneiss are found in the surface debris and there are a few exposures of the rock in place, but not enough to determine the structure of the whole range.

There is no direct paleontologic evidence regarding the age of these rocks. The limestone and graphite beds mentioned, which are too highly metamorphosed to retain any recognizable fossils, are the only materials found in them of pcxssibly organic origin. Their stratigraphic relation to the rocks of the Nome group, which, as will shown, are in part Silurian, indicates that they are either lower in the Silurian or are pre-Silurian. The apparently great thick-

" Mendenhall. W. C. RecoDnaisBanceB in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay rcgioDS, Alaska, In 1000, a special publication of the U. S. Oeol. Survey, 1001, pp. 200-201.

ness of schists which intervenes between the known Sihirian lieds and the rocks of this series seem to point to the latter conclusion.

Kuzitrin I-Xrmatiox.

Overlyingthe biotite schists and gneisses of the Kighiaik group in some localities is what seems to be a well-defined formation, whose type rocks are graphitic quartzites or quartz schists and which was bv Brooks in 1900 under the name Kuzitrin series/" These rocks have not been reexamined in their type locality since 1901 and the following description is quoted from the report of reconnaissances in 1900

The type rock of this series is a well-Jointed graphitic quartz schist, but there are many variations from this type. Intercalated strata of graphitic slates are not uncommon, and the schists are sometimes very calcareous, approaching an impure limestone in composition. The calcareous phases arc more particularly characteristic of the top of the series. locally the Kuzitrin roclvs contain beds of mica and chloritic schist whose sedimentary origin it is not always iwssible to prove. In manj' localities amphibole schists and chloritic schists are abundant in the Kuzitrin series. These are usually intruded parallel to the bedding piano and are often difficult to differentiate from the sediment ; they will be discussed below in more detail. On Kuzitrin River some pegmatite dilces were found cutting the graphitic schists.

Though these rocks are usually well bedded, in some hK-alitios the iHHlding planes are nearly obliterated by a secondary development of schistosity and Jointing. In attempting to obtain a measure of their thickness several dltticulties were encountered. The intercalated beds of graphitic argillltes are often intensely crumpled and folded, and the inclusion of sucli crumpltnl IxhIs in a section must necessarily introduce a large element of error. In other localities, again, the large intrusion of greenstones gives rise to another soun-e of error. Moreover, the base of this series Is not well detintnl, as it was not foimd in contact with the underlying limestone except In the York ngion. In view of the above facts it is clear that an estimate of thickness can 1m' tnly as a very rough approximation. Tiie several se<'tions studied would go to show that the Kuzitrin beds are between 2,000 and 3,000 fet-t thick.

The Kuzitrin series is typically exiwsed in the Kigiualk Mountains, near their northern limit, where it occurs in a belt which runs parallel to the axis of the range and is cut by the northerly tributaries of Kruzganiepa Ulver. The rocks strike about east and west, and dip with great regularity to the south. These rcK'ks are again found on the upper of Ophir ('reek, they strike a little north of east and dip to the south, and their relation to the Mountains is similar to tliat which the western Invars to the Kigiualk Mountains. The series takes Its name from Kuzitrin Itiver, along whoe lower coiuae it Is well Here the rocks in the fresh cuttings of the river channel show well-marked bcKldiug planes. The s<*ries as nnipp<'(i In this part of the area includes some schists which nniy belong to the overlying Nome series.

From this description it will seen that thes( rocks not clearly differentiated from the Kighiaik group on the one hand or

ReconiMilnances in the C*ape Nomo and Norton Hay rtKUmn, AlaHka. In liNK), a pecUl pablkstioD of the U. S. Ool. 1001. pp. 28-21).

70 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

from the Nome group on the other. In the type locality along Kuzitrin River the graphitic quartzites are in contact with the biotitc schists and gneisses which they overlie. They form a belt here several miles wide in which the rocks seem to be distinct lithologically from those of the Nome group. South of the Kigluaik Mountains at their east end, also, there is a somewhat similar belt of graphitic quartzites overlying the Kigluaik schists, though here the boundary between them and the schists has never been clearly defined. The continuation of this belt west of Grand Central River has not vet been recognized, though it may exist there as an undifferentiated member of the Nome group, which seems to rest directly on the Eagluaik. Outside of these two localities this formation has not been positively identified, though it is possible that it occurs in the Nome group at a number of localities where it can not now be differentiated. In 1900 Brooks correlated the slates of the York region with this formation on lithologic grounds, and in 1901 the writer extended this correlation to include some dark siliceous slates or schists which lie northwest of the Kigluaik Mountains and some quartzites in the vicinitv of Ear Mountain. There are also some dark siliceous schists near the head of Kougarok River which resemble these and may ultimately be correlated with them. In the present report the Kuzitrin will be regarded as a formation composed for the most part of graphitic quartzites and siliceous schists, which overliesthe biotite schists and gneisses of the Kigluaik group and underlies the schists of the Nome group. It is not differentiated on the geologic map from the Nome group. The absence of this formation in the contact of the Kigluaik and Nome groups at some points is regarded as an indication of unconformity in the metamorphic series at the base of the Nome. The slates of the York region, which were formerly correlated with the Kuzitrin, will be described separately, as they comprise a formation which is well defined locally and of some economic importance, and whose correlation with the Kuzitrin can not be established beyond question.

There is no direct evidence regarding the age of the Kuzitrin formation. Like the Kigluaik group, it underlies a great thickness of schists which are in part Silurian. The formation may belong near the base of the Ordovician, though the probabilities would seem to place it either in the Cambrian or Algonkian.

Overlying the Kigluaik and Kuzitrin is a complex assemblage of altered sediments and intrusives, which was first deacribed by

General Geology. 71

Brooks under the rxame " Nome series.'' These are the most widely distributed metamorphic rocks in the peninsula and are also of the most economic importance, as they contain nearly all the veins from which placer gold has been derived. For this reason they have been examined more closely than the other formations ; but owing to their complicated structure in many places and the inadequate field work, on them they are still only imperfectly understood.

These rocks are here described as the Nome group. The group is not regarded as a stratigraphic unit, as the lithologic constitution of its beds is heterogeneous, and on the map some portions of overlying and underlying formations that are elsewhere differentiated may be and probably are included. The general conclusion from the observations made during the last several years is that this group of metamorphic rocks may be roughly divided into three parts. The lower portion, which is characteristically exposed near Nome and again in a wide belt south of the Kigluaik Mountains, consists of several thousand feet of schists of various types, including some limestones in beds less than 100 feet thick. These schists are overlain by massive limestones several thousand feet thick, which over a large area in the western part of the peninsula are comparatively unaltered and contain fossils of Silurian age. This formation has been called the Port Clarence limestone. The limestones are themselves overlain in the northeastern part of the peninsula by schists of somewhat different tvpe from those forming the base of the group.

The prevailing rocks of the basal portion of this group are schists consisting essentially of quartz and chlorite, with albite, muscovite, and epidote in varying amounts. Locally the formation contains beds of graphitic mica schist, graphitic quartzite, limestone, and calcareous schist, as well as intrusive masses of greenstone that are also more or less schistose. Among the many thin sections examined, specimens of graphitic chlorite schist and feldspathic calcite schists are not uncommon. Magnetite, pyrite, ilmenite, leucoxene, and garnet occur in many of the specimens. The elements from which such metamorphic rocks are formed are afforded by sedimentary as well as igneous rocks, and probably the group includes rocks derived from both types.

In the section from Nome to the Kigluaik Mountains these schists, which here contain some massive limestone beds up to 100 feet or more in thickness, extend northward from the coast for IG miles, to a point where they dip under massive limestones that are interbedded with thin beds of schist and lie in a synclinal trough extending east and west. These limestones are tentatively correlated with the Port

Brooks, A. H., Reconnaissances In the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, In 1900, a special publication of the U. S. Geol. Survey, pp. 29-31.

y

72 Gold Placers Of Sewabd Peninsula.

Clarence. On the side of Stewart River, 22 miles from the coast, the schistic reappear and are continuously exposed to the Iwise of the mountains. In the outhem part of this section they are faulted at so many places that no estimate of their thickness is possible. North of Stewart River, however, the faults are not so numerous, und the prevailing dips seem to indicate a thickness of about 7,000 feet. AVliether the beds in this area are repeated by close folding or by unobserved faults could not be determined in the rapid reconnaissance. A large allowance for any such folding or faulting would seem to indicate that the minimum thickness possible can scarcely be less than 2,500 feet : the probabilities are that the thickness is much greater.

In the region northwest of the Kigluaik Mountains these rocks are less altered than in the Nome region. They here contain many sills of greenstone, and some of the sedimentary beds are but little altered clay slates. They overlie the biotite schists of the Kigluaik group and appear to themselves overlain by the Port Clarence limestone. In their comparatively imalteretl condition they apparently represent a series of rocks such as would by a little greater metamorphism produce the schists of the Nome region.

North of the Kigluaik and Bendeleben mountains schists similar to those of the Nome region occur in the basins of American and Kougarok rivers, where they were mapped in 1901 by the writer, who, on th( evidence of obscure fossils collected from associated limestones, regarded them as younger than the Port Clarence formation and the name Kiigruk group '' to them.* The larger collections made in however, justify the correlation of the.? limestones with the Port Clarence and of the schists which underlie them with those of the Nome jUTcinct.

The clay slates and phyllites of the York region apparently underlie the Port Clarenct* limestone and may represent a less-altered portion of the same body of stnliments that prcnluced the schists of the Nome group. Th( rocks were correlated with the Kuzitrin in and 1?)01, but inasmuch as it is certainly true that they are lithologically distinct from any extensive mass of rocks represented in this peninsula, they will be described separately (pp. 7l)-S0). Although these phyllites underlie the Port Clarence limestone, the stratiraphic relation is not definitely known, as there is evidence of a thrust fault along the contact. This faidt-, which was not detected in led the writer to infer an unconformitv letween

Collier. A. J.. Ueconnalssanco of the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula. Alaska: I'rof. roper V. S. Keol. Survey So. L'. pp. lil-24.

Hrooks, A. II.. Uicliardson. <i. H.. and Collier, A. J., Ueeonnlaasances In the Nome and Norton Bay regions. Alaska, In llMjo, a special publication of the U. S. (Jeol. Survey, lUOl, pp. l'b-i:0.

OBIfEBAIi OEOLOOT.

the two fomiation--" Two small areas of phyllites resembling these occur east of this contact; they are Buri-ountled by Port Clareuce limestone, ivliich they seem to underlie conformably.

In the east end of ihe Xome precinct and in the Council pi-extinct the schists reeiemble thoae of the Nome region in their degree of raetaniorphism. They are extensively developed and have been studied by the writer along Fox River and tlie eastern tributaries of Solomon River. A wide belt of such rocks, including the lower drainage of Ehlomdo and Bonanza rivers, extends northeastward acras.s the headwaters of the Casadepaga. ThesH rwks were examined near the coast by Richardson in 1900 '' and along the upper Casadepaga and Eldorado by the writer in I1I03. Although they are apparently identical with the schist of the Nome region, they overlie the massive limestone correlated with the Port Clarence, near Solomon River, and may be in part equivalent to the schists which overlie the Port Clarence limestone in tlie northeastern portion of the peninsula, described on page 70. It seems more liowever, that they are either overthrust on the Port Clarence limestone or that the correlation of the massive limestone with tlie Port Clarence is at fault.

The age of the schists at the base of the Nome group is probably Ordovician. though they may be in part older, for there is no direct paleontologic evidence regarding it. They underlie the Port Clarence limestone, which is known to be Silurian or Ordovician. No de&nite evidence of unconformity between the formations has been discovered and they ui'e therefore piovisionally regarded as HHiformable.

Post Oiarehce Likeetone

The mas;ive limestone member of tlie Nome gi'oup is comparatively imiltend over a large area north of Port Clarence and was described and named the Port Clarence limestone by the writer after his visit lo that region in IWOl.'' In some of the sections examined, unless there are faults which were not detected, a thickness of at least 5.000 feet is exposed. In this vicinity the unaltered limestones form a continuous outcrop over an ai-ea of 1,400 square miles. In the west end of this area they are cut by bosses of granite and dikes of rhyolite id other acidic rtx-kh. The limestones surrounding these intrusions are locally raarmorized and contain many contact minerals, among which are vesuvianite. wolJustonitp. garnet, jind tourmaline. They alxo contain veins of cnssitertte, zinnwnldite, Huorite, tourmaline,

fnlUrr, A. J., I-aper U. H. (ieol. Survey No. 2. 102. p. IS.

'UrooJu. A. tl., RlrliarcliKin, (1. R,. and Colllvr, A. J., IIroniiaiBEiitipes tn the Cape Souie udXarlDD Bar reglonH. .llMka. In IDOO, a ii:>ecUl [luhljcatlon ut the I'. S. r.eol. Survey.

-, A. J.. I'mt. I'ir r. K. 'ienl. Siirv.'y No. 2. IWI'2. Ik-Ib,

74 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

wolframite, and quartz. The limestones become progressively more metamorphosed and locally contain thin beds of graphitic and other schists toward the east. In the divide between American and Kougarok rivers and also east of the Kougarok they exist as massive crystalline marbles, but retain traces of fossils by which their correlation with the Port Clarence is rendered certain. In the southern part of the peninsula they form the large area of white marble hills at White Mountain, north of Golofnin Bay. Obscure fossils were collected here in 1900 which were regarded as of possible Mesozoic age, but the larger collections made by Hess in 1903 permit their correlation with the Port Clarence limestone. No estimate of the thickness of the formation at AMiite Mountain has been attempted, as its upper and lower limits could not be defined. It comprises a great thickne<?s of crvstalline limestones which contain some minor beds of calcareous schist and overlie schists similar to those of the Nome region.

West and north of \Aite Mountain manv extensive areas of massive crystalline limestone have been differentiated, as shown on the geologic map (PI. X, in pocket). In general, these rocks are more highly altered than those already described, and are destitute of fossil evidence. They are correlated with the Port Clarence on the grounds of stratigraphic and lithologic similarity. Near Casadepaga River Richardson measured a thickness of 2,500 feet.* South of American Creek and west of the Kruzgamepa, near Iron Creek, the thickness is probably as great, though no section has measured.

In this region the limestones numerous sills of basic igneous rock, some of which are so much altered that they cin not be distinguished from the schists.

In the region between Nome and the Kigluaik Mountains the thickness probably does not exceed 2,000 feet, but the upper limit is not defined. The limestones contain many small beds of schist, also some definite sills and dikes of greenstone, and locally they are capped by schists which mav also be altered sreenstones.

Near Cape Woolley the limestone covers a large area which has not been examined in detail. The thickness, however, doubtless exceeds 2,000 feet. The rock is not so nuich metamorphosed as in the Nome region, though tremolite is locally developed, and it should yield fossil evidence if careful'lv searched.

The Port Clarence limestone has been determined from paleontologic evidence to he of Silurian age, though forms heretofore regarded as Ordovician are present in some of the collections.

MendenhaH, W. C. Reconnaissances in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900, a special publication of the V. S. (Jeol. Survey, pp.

Brooks, A, II., Richardson, O. B., and Collier, A. J., Reconnaissances In the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, In lUOO, n special publication of the U. 8. Oeol. Survey, 1901, p. 109.

General Geology. 75

In 1901 the writer obtained small collections of fossils from many localities north of Port Clarence; on these Dr. Charles Schuchert, of the United States National Museum, reported as follows

Loe. 26. Two miles southweRt of forks of the Don River. Poramhonites. prol)- ably P. intercedens Pamler; CoUnnnaria with ljirj?e corallltes, and Bythotrjfpaf sp. undet.

IjOc, 28. Mountain 4 miles north of Rapid [Lost] River. lUwnus near /. tauricomis, but much smaller; IlUmuti sp. undet.; and a lithistid sponge on the order of Calathium.

Loc. 45. Don River 4 miles north of Tozier Creek. Maclurina, probably J/. manitobensis Whiteaves; Columnaria with small corallltes; Halysites eaten iilaria Linn; Syringopora sp. undet.; Streptelasmaf ; and an Lophospira.

iMv. 77. Bluff above Nuluk River, latitude 41'. lonjjitude lC>(r 20'. Orthin, probably O. parva of European Russia.

Loc. 78. Foot of talus slope. Nuluk River. A large section of an undetermined gasteropod.

76. Bowlder from gravel of Nuluk River. Fragments of a large trilobite. Tndeterminable.

Jjoc. 185. Pebble from sand spit 1 mile north from Teller. Qirvanella and Raphistomaf,

The above localities represent the middle of the Lower Silurian system. This is the first proof of the occurrence of rooks of this age in Alaska. Idealities 2Ci. 28, and 77 are particularly interesting, as species found there were first do from Ehiropean Russia about St. Petersburg. Tliis fauna has not leforo ascertained to occur in America, nor has Poramhonites been notcMi in any American Arctic region.

Iocality 45 is also very interesting and perplexing — in that tlie association of Halyttites with Syrhif/opera would under ordinary circumstances accepted as proof for Tapper Silurian age. However, since are here asso<*iated with such unmistakable Silurian forms as Maehtrina mauilohenMiM and Columnaria, the latter outweighs the evidence of the corals. On the other hand. Halysites is often found in the Lower Silurian and while 1 know of no ffyrinpopora in this system, yet T learn from Mr. Ulrich that tills genus has noticed by him twice in association with liOwer Silurian species.

m

TrOcaHty 163 [summit of Baldy Mountain] indicates a second formation younger than any of the lots. The rock has undergone considerable alteration, so that the fossils are mostly undeterminable. However, the presence of a coral like Ctadopora or Strintopom indicates either Upper Silurian or Devonian. No coral of this nature is known to nie in the Lower Silurian.

In 1908 larger collections were made at a localities, on which Doctor Schuchert reports as follows:

Loc. 3AC146 (near the forks of Rock Treck. a northern triiaitary (if Agiapuk River) has — firomatopora sp. Favoaiies favosns Goldfuss. Favosites cfr. niayarensis Hall or F. ffothlandieus Fought.

Collier, A. J., Prof. Paper V. S. <;eol. Survey No. 'J. 1901i, pp. 20-21. T2.

76 Oold Placeks Of Seward Peninsula.

Columnarifff apparently rlasely related to FavisteUa reticulata Salter of tht

Arctic Silurian.

Halysitca catvnulnria fciUfeni KtlieridfTe.

HalyHitva vatvnnlaria harti Etlieridge.

DiphyphitUum cfr. 'in nit icaitlh (Hall).

Ah'CoUtCH sp.

one a Lophottpiru. anotlier a Honnotoma.

Orthoccran sp. undeterminable.

Loc. (Hjirris Creek, about miles north of Baldy Mountain, when* No. 11K5 was collected in ISKH ). Cladopora sp., resembles seriata Hall of the New York Silurian: Striatoponi sp. ; Alveolites sp., a branching fonn.

The species of these two localities indicate clearly the age of the limestones to be Niagaran or the middle third of the Silurian. This same horizon with th same species is known to occur in the Arctic region at Dobbin Bay, Cape Hllgard, Louis Napoleon, Offley Island, etc.

These two I'olIiM'tions of Mr. Collier also shed light on his earlier collectionR. 1AC4.> and The former has an assemblage of species suggesting both the Ordovician and Silurian formations, and a similar occurrence was noted by Ether idgc for the Ar<*tlc localities mentioned above. Either there are two dolomltic in the far north, one of Ordovician age, the other of Silurian, causing the fossils of different ages to be mixed, or we have here indications that there was no break in the sedimentation between the Ordovician and Silurian usually accepted as restricted to tlie Ordovician to upward into the Silurian. Keferemnj is here made to my former identitication of Macluriua miuntohensm. Etheridge also finds a similar shell which he labels Maelurea maf/iia assotrlateil with Silurian fossils at Cape Hilgard and Ci\\)o Iuis Further. Salter and Etheridge report FavisteUa- (UjUnnnariaUx the same asscK'lation. This is a genus of corals elsewhere known daily in the Ordovician. Collier alst to have specimens of this genus at Ills loc. ;{AC14( with unmistakable Silurian forms. My identiflcaof lot lAC2r> also should Ik' cliangiMl to Favosites si), undet.. ConehiUiumf rtippin(/rri Ethorid'cV. and liffthoporaf. Loc. is either Ordovician or Silurian.

TlMTt* may be strata (n Seward Peninsula, as lot 1AC28 seems to hav4 fragments of llhnnis. However, the material is so fragmentary that no IHmitiv<> identification <'an be made, and the age of the strata in question is eltlier or Silurian. Lot .'{AIIol (South Fork of Budd Creek) has a Syrhiiiopitra dllTcrcnt from otlicr Steward IVninsula and yet it may he of Silurian age.

In 1000 some obscure fossils were collected by Mendenhall from tli( at White Mountain, about 10 mile.s north of Golofnin Sound, which, though they could not lx identified by paleontologists, seemed to indicate either a Meso/.oic or Tertiary age.

In l!)()*i made a thorough search for fos.sils on several low, rounded liincMone buttes which stand as islands in the Quaternary de[)osits of the Fish Kiver delta near White Mountain. His search resulted not only in a collection of fossils from MendenhalPs original locality, bul in additional collections from a hill called Black Moiui-

/

Quart. Jour. Owl. Sew. vol. ,14, 1878. Mendonhnll, W. r.. UoconnnlKManceH in tho Xome and Alaska, in 1000. a special publication of the U. S. Geol. Surveji Plk

General Geology. 77

tain, which lies several miles north of White Mountain. The collections were submitted to Doctor Schuchert, who reports on them as follows :

3AH103 (Black Mountain, near Fish River, 6 miles above Wliite Mountain) has a Diphyphyllum quite unlike the other Seward Peninsula sijecies. So far as the fossils go the horizon may be either Silurian or Devonian. However, I am told that the specimens from loc. 3AH102 (on the southeast sloiie of Black Mountain, which are undoubtedly Silurian) are from a horizon above 1()3, and as the species from the former seems to he the abundant Cladopora of loc. 3AC170 it follows that if no Ov-ertum of the beds occurs here loc. 103 also is Silurian.

Loc. 3AH106 (Mendenhall's original locality at White Mountain). The limestone of this locality is much metamorphosed, shattered, and squeezed, so that one hesitates to state what genus the white calcite sections in the rocks represent. However, they appear to be of a large bivalve, and as the strata not far away from this locality seems to be certainly of Silurian age the suggestion is arrived at that Mcgalomus may be represented. This suggestion would not have offered itself if we did not know of a similar ix'currence on Drake Island, (Jlacier Bay, Alaska. At this locality the natural sections indicate that they belong to a thick-shelled bivalve like Mcyalomns, and as there are associated with them unmistakable Silurian fossils the fact is established that a horizon of the age of the Silurian Guelph is present on Drake Island. For the present it may be best to accept the age of the rocks at loc. 3AH106 as Silurian. Accepting this as true, then 106 sliould hold a somewhat higher horizon in the section than AH1Q2 and 103.

The above remarks lead to the conclusion that there may be Ordovician strata on Seward Peninsula and that there is there an extensive development of Silurian. The places where Silurian fossils occur are 1AC26 (2 miles southwest of the forks of Don River). 1AC45 (Don Uiver, 4 miles above Tozier Creek), 3AC146 (Rock Creek, tributary of Agiapuk River), 3AC154 (forks of Budd greek), 3AC170 (Harris Creek, miles north of Baldy Mountain). 3AH52 (South Fork of Budd Creek, of American River), and 3Ani02 (southeast slope of Black Mountain, near Fish River, If) miles alive Golofnin Bay).

The following localities may also be Silurian, as they seem to have single spei.'ies of apparently the same forms as occur at the localities just cited : .'5AC156 (head of South Fork of Budd Creek, near Kougarok Mountain), 3AC155 (mountain south of forks of Budd 3AII104 (river face of Black Mountain. to 8 miles above White Mountain).

The geologists of the Harriman expedition, who touched at a point not definitely located on the east shore of Port Clarence in 1899, d<*scribe the rocks here as slates intercalated with brown sandstones. The slates are described as " dark-gray fissile argillites, which are often fossiliferous and some of which are calcareous and run into thin beds of limestone."

These rocks were correlated with the Jurassic-Triassic Vancouver series." Although this coast has been traversed by geologists of the Geological Survey, no rocks were found which could be distinguislied from the Port Clarence limestone and the undifferentiated schists of the Nome grcmp. Moreover, some of the fossils collected by meni-

"evpedltiOD. vol. 4, 1004. pp. 44, 53-54.

78 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

lirs of the Harrimaii expedition seem to have been mixed or mislabeled, so that no fossils which are Icnown to have been collected at Port Clarence appear to have been brought back. Fucoid forms which may have been confused with some of the fossils collected in the Yakutat formation are common in the less-metamorphosed earth Port Clarenc< limestone, and a small collection of these was made in 1004 near Mount Merrill for comparison with the Yakutat fucoids. These were submitted to Mr. Ulrich, whose report is as follows :

The fo88il8 by Mr. Washburue at Merrill Mountain, 3 mileK northnortheast of the month of Lost River, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, comprise, all told, 17 specimens in an extremely unsatisfactory state of preservation. On cinsultation with Mr. Collier I learned that the main puriwse of the eolle(*tion was to determine wliether any of the fucoid-lilie markin;. which are said to be abundant In the Port Clarence limestone, are comparable to the Yakutat formation fucoids recently describeii by mo. This probability may be set aside at once, since the fucoids " of the two formations are in no wise similar. Indeed, the organic imture of the Port Clarence markings is doubtfal, while I can entertain no such doubt concerning the Yakutat fucoids. Nine of the siHM'imens from Merrill Mountain were on account of the marking)) in question.

Of the remaining eight specimens one is a light-colored banded inagnesian limestone; the others Jire in a dark, compact limestone verj' dilTereut lithologically from the first. The bailed or laminatinl specimen may not orpmic, but it agrees in appearance and general structure very well witli those doubtful fossils called Cryptozoan which are so widely distributed in the ejirly Onluvlcian or Cambrian magnesia n limestones in the States. The fact that the Alaskan specimen is dolomitic Is probably significant in this connection. However, if on Investigation the from which this specimen is deriveil is not distinctly beneath the dark, purer limestones containing the other fossils, I would be inclined to compare it with the similarly laminated Stromatoccrium rugoHutii. a fossil characterizing the niack Uiver limestone of New York.

The fossils in the dark limestone are:

Sections of two specimens of an muletermined gasteroiMxl having tin* of UariiKtioma hcUichicta, only nuich smaller — one-half to three-fourtbs of an inch in length.

Two siiecimens of a low-spiretl. gasterojiod of uncertain affinities. Trochoncma is suggested by the umbilicus and general form of tlie shell, but it is so that identification is impi8sib1e.

A cephalopod with a shell like these commonly referred to CyrUf- (eras — perhaps a species of Curforizacrrns according to Hyatt's olasslflcatiou. However, the material is so poor that it is not safe to say more than that It repnscnts a simple cephaloiRHi with close septa and apparently a nearly smooth surface.

The other (.3) specimens consist (1) of a part of a radiately marked impr(*ssion. the relations of which are very uncertain, and (2) of fragments of a

thick-walled hollow cylinder, possibly indicating siphuncles of some small EuiUtcvraH. are about ont-fourth inch in diameter.

riricli. K. ().. FossilK and ii);e of the Yakutat formation : Ilarrlman Alaska Rzpadttion, vol. 4, 125-146.

General Geology. 79

Despite the iniperfe<*tion of the material there is little doubt lu 1113' miud as to its Ordovieian age. It must come from a lower horizon than that in the same vicinity from which the probably . Silurian reiwrted on by Mr. Charles Schuchert were found.

The collections regarded by Messrs. Schuchert and Ulrich as possibly Ordovieian or "' Lower Silurian are 1AC28 (near mouth of River) and 1AC77 (Nuluk River, latitude 65° 41', longitude ](>G° 20'). From a review of the stratigraphic evidence the writer is of the opinion that these horizons are not lower than the other fossil-bearing horizons of the Port Clarence formation and that, therefore, they also are Ordovieian or Silurian. Larger collections from these localities will, it is believed, verify this conclusion."

The schists which overlie the massive Port Clarence limestone find their greatest development in the northeastern part of the Peninsula. In this region Moffit found extensive areas of mica schists overlying the massive limestones believed to he Port Clarence. These rocks differ from the schists wiich underlie the Port Clarence limestone in the Nome region in that they are calcareous or siliceous and in many places graphitic mica schists, but are rarely feldspathic. Their stratigraphic relation to the Port Clarence limestone places them either in the Silurian or higher. In lithologic character they are distinct from the slates in the York region, which will be next described and which are also regarded as of possible Devonian age.

SLATES nr THE YORK REOION.

Northwest of the York Mountains there is a large area of slates or phyllites which seem to be distinct in lithologic character from any of the other large rock masses in the peninsula, though rocks somewhat similar occur in the Nome group south of Grantley Har- These rocks have \)een differentiated on the geologic map (PI. XI, in pocket). Similar slates which are provisionally correlated with them occur in two small isolated areas surrounded bv Port

In regard to fossil collections the writer heps leave to make the following suggestions to miners and prospectors in Alaska :

First. Fossils famish the most definite evidence of the relative age of rock formations.

Second. Though the relative age of rock formations does not seem to have a direct economic bearing, as rocks of ail ages carry gold, and, according to the old adage. gold Is where you find It," It Is equally true that In many districts the gold-bearing rocks are confined to definite horizons, which are often indicated by the fossils contained In them or In contiguous rocks.

Third. The men engaged in United States Zoological Survey work in Alaska invite the cooperation of miners and prospectors in collecting such evidence, either by furnishing information regarding fossil-bearing localities or by sending specimens. Such correspondonce should le addressed to the Division of .Maskan Mineral Rosourcos. T'. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C.

Moffit. F. H.. The Fairhaven gold placers, Seward Peninsula, .Maka : Bull. V. S. Geol. Surrey No. 247, 1905, pp. 20-24.

Clarence limestone north of Brooks Mountain and east of Don River, and ill a large area at Ear Mountain.

The type rocks of the formation are fine-grained graphitic arenaceous slates which are in many places broken into rhomboidal blocks and pencil-shaped fragments, but there is considerable variation from this Some beds of coast-grained dark sandstone have been observed and here and there calcareous phases are manife.sted in Ijeds of impure flaggy limestone.

On the west these slates are in contact with some crystalline limestones and interbedded pliyllites which are of Mississippian (" Iwer (Carboniferous age. The relation of the slates to the limestones difficult to determine, mainly on account of the obscure bedding of the slates and the few exposures within the limestone area near the contact. In Brooks was of the opinion that the limestones underlie the slates and are tlierefore the older." Although the writer has twice crossed tliis contact since that time, he is unable to advance any evidence either confirmatory or otherwise of this opinion.

In regard to tlie stratigi'apliic of these slates, either one of tlie three following hypotheses is possible in view of the facts obtained: (1) They may be of tlie same geologic series as the limestones exposed near Palaznik, as they are not perceptibly more altered. Moreover, fossils simihir to those obtained from the limestone have been found in pebbles several miles east of the line of cfmtact, and though these may have Iwen transported by ice floes it is exjunlly that they came from some minor bed of impure limestoiu* included in tlie slate fonuation. (2) Thev mav be older than the limestone and underlie it conformably. In a general way they resemble some highly jointed whiles and sandstones wjiich conformably underlie rcH'ks of the Mississippian (''Lower Carboniferous") series in the Cape Lishurne region.'' The close association of these slates with the Mississijpian limestones therefore suggests their correlation with the Devonian rocks of the Cape Lisbumc region. (f\) These slates may be ecjuivalent to the lower undiflferentiated schists of the Nome group. If this Ih true, there must be a fault of several thousand feet which has not yet been detctel along their contact with the limestone ex])osed near Palazruk. The relation of the slates, and more especially of one of the smaller outlying masses coi-related with tliem. to the Port Clarence limestone argues strongly for this hypothesis.

Brooks, A. n., Koconnalssnnccs in th*' Cap<' Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaitka, in 1000. a sporlal of Ww V. S. (hoI. 1001, p. 28.

''Collipr. A. .7.. and coal n'soiucj's of tho Cniw* LIsbame region, AIarIu: Bull. U. S. Oeol. Survey No..:i78. 1000. pp. 17 18.

General Geology. 81

LZHBSTOn VEAJL PALAZBTTK.

West of the area of the slates there is a belt of crystalline limestone and interbedded dark mica schists or phyllites. These rocks are exposed along the Bering Sea coast for about 5 miles, between the native village of Palazruk and the granite outcrop of Cape Mountain. Near Palazruk they are intensely cnished and probably faulted. These limestones were correlated in 1900 with the limestones of the Kigluaik group.** As has been noted, they lie immediately west of the typical area of the slates, their relation to which has not yet been clearly determined, though they form a distinct lithologic imit.

In 1903 a small collection of rather poorly preserved fossils was obtained by the writer along the beach between Palaznik and Cape Mountain. Similar fossils were found in 1904 in the limestones south of Lopp Lagoon and also in beach pebbles several miles east of Palazruk, but were lost in shipment. The collections made from beach pebbles in 1903 were referred to Dr. George H. Girty, who reported on them as follows :

Only three species seem to be represented in the eoliection, and these belong to the corals, a group which serves ill as a means for c-orrelation or for age determination. The material is also so metamorphosed that almost all structure has been effaced. There is a single small zaphrentoid coral whose generic position has not been determined. Several of Syringopora, apparently all one species, have been identified by their characteristic appearance and mode ot growth. All internal structure in these fossils has been obliterated. A third form, represented by several specimens, to be related to Lithostrotion or Lonsdalea, The coral lites are moderately large and form bushy fasciculate colonies. Septa are present, and also a central axis is simple or compound. The presence of this form seems to malce it necessary to refer this fauna to the Carboniferous, and It is more probably Lower than Upper Carboniferous. Were it not for the last mentioned (Lithostrotionf) I would have regarded this as one of the Devonhm coral faunas. Its age can hardly be older than Devonian.

In regard to the same collection, Doctor Schuchert, who also examined it, says:

Regarding locality 3AC136, it is certain that these corals are wholly different from any others of Seward Peninsula and that they do not suggest any horizon below the Carboniferous. In other words, these corals are of Carboniferous age. A very similar coral, lAthostrotion, was collected by Schrader in 1901, on East Fork of John River, at a locality on Contact Creek.

A large collection of Mississippian fossils in a good state of preservation was obtained in 1904 at Cape Lisburne, which is about 200 miles northeast of Cape Prince of Wales. After these had been deter-

Broofci, A. H., RIdimntooii, 6. B., and Collier, -A. J., Reconnaissances in the Cape Mome and Nortm Bay ngUmf, Alaska* in 1900, a special publication of the U. S. Geol. Surrey, 1901, p. 28. Collier. A J.. Beoonnalssanee of the northwestern portion of 8eirai4 Penlnanla* Alatkat Praf. Vwnfn V. & Gwri. 0arvr' 1902, p. 16.

82 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

mined the fragmentary fossils from the York region were compared with them by Doctor Girty, from whose report the following note is added to those already given :

Another coHection was that made by Mr. Collier in 1903 near Cape Moontaia These fossils hav been so altered that absolute Identification of the species is In most cases but I feel little doubt that the horizon will prove be that of the Lisburne series.

From this evidence the correlation of the. limestone exposed near Palazruk with the Mississippian limestone of Cape Lisburne seems well established. Fossils similar to those from the Cape Lisburne region were also found on St. Lawrence Island 160 miles southwest of Cape Prince of AVales, though their source in the bed rock has not been located. Mississippian rocks are extensively developed in a broad belt extending eastward from the Cape Lisburne region across northern Alaska. The same horizon is also represented on Chichagof Island, southeastern Alaska.

Summary Of The Metamorpiiic

The metamorphic rocks of Seward Peninsula consist of interbedded schists and limestones and are among the oldest known rocks in Alaska. In general the schists are of sedimentary origin, though they doubtless include many undifferentiated igneous masses. Lithologically they present a variety of types, the most common being quartz-biotite schists grading into gneisses; quartz-chlorite-muscovite schists, many of which contain secondary feldspar; graphite schists, hornblende schists, epidote schists, calcite schists, quartzites, and clay slates. The degree of metamorphism varies, but as a general rule is gi-eater in the eastern than in the western part of the peninsula. In many the schistosity to be parallel with the bedding, but locally there is evidence of close folding developed previous to the schistosity, and it is probable that this condition prevails in many of the more highly altered rock masses where it has not been detect?<l in the reconnaissance examination. The most extensive limestone formation, which is called the Port Clarence limestone, is lelievefl to Inlong to the Silurian, though several of the collections of fossil> contain forms heretofore regarded as Ordovician associated with Silurian forms. Concerning the schists of the Nome group, which underli( the Port Clarence limestone, it can only be said that they and the Kuzitrin and Kigluaik are pre-Silurian. Some undiiferentiated schists which overlie the Port Clarence limestone may be either Silurian or Devonian. So far as the evidence at hand shows, the

M'olllor V. -T.. f'oloK.v and ronl resources of the Cape Lisburne region, AUaki: Bull. r. S. <:.M1. Survey No. L7S. VMM. pp. 18-20. Communicated to the writer by Dr. G. U. Glrty.

Qenebal Geology. 83

slates in the York region may belong in either of the Paleozoic systems. The youngest rocks known in the metamorphic series are the limestones near Cape Mountain, which are of Mississippian age.

Briefly stated, the metamorphic rocks of Seward Peninsula include sediments which range in age from pre-Silurian to Carboniferous. The formations that have been differentiated are lithologic and probably also stratigraphic units, though as a general rule the stratigraphic features are obscured by metamorphic structures.

Where paleontologic evidence is wanting any correlations are apt to be at fault, as the undifferentiated schists, although mainly of pre- Port Clarence age, may include infolded masses of younger Paleozoic rocks, and some of the limestones which have been mapped as Port Clarence may belong to an undifferentiated horizon above or below the Port Clarence.

Unaltered Sedimentary Rocks.

Unaltered sediments composed of conglomerates, sandstones, and shales, which are in places coal-bearing, overlie the metamorphic rocks unconformably in a few small areas, most of which are east of the region under discussion in this report. Several such areas are reported along Tubutulik and Koyuk rivers, in the Koyuk precinct,** and a similar area which has produced some coal occurs on Kiwalik River, in the Fairhaven precinct.*

In the Nome precinct a small area of unaltered sediments, including some coal beds, occurs on Coal Creek, a western tributary of the Sinuk, about 14 miles from the coast. The surface here is deeply covered with erratic bowlders, peat, and moss, and the bed rock, even in stream channels, is exposed in but few places, so that it was not possible to outline definitely the area occupied by this formation. From the meager exposures which occur, however, it seems probable that the greater part of the plateau surface in which Coal Creek is trenched is underlain by crystalline limestones and schists resembling those near Nome, and that the younger sediments do not extend for more than half a mile along the creek. The most prominent outcrops consist of a conglomerate containing pebbles of schist and vein quartz and some large, well-rounded bowlders of greenstone that has been slightly sheared. A diligent search of this conglomerate failed to reveal any pebbles of granite, although granite pebbles are common in the surficial deposit. In addition to the conglomerates, the coal-bearing formation contains finer sediments made up largely of

Mendenhall, W. C, RecoDnalssances In the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska. In 1900, a special publication of the U. S. Geo!. Survey, 1001, pp. 205-20G.

llofflt, F. H., The Fairhayen gold placers, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Bull. U. S. Geol. Smrey No. 247, p. la

schist pebbles that are very much decornposed. These liave beiii slightly cruslied and sheared subsequent to their deposition, making it difficult to distinguish the clastic material from the schists which are in place. The formation also contains a number of seams of finer material in the condition of fire clay. The beds strike nearly northwest and dip to the southwest at an angle of about l0°.

The attention of was first called to the coal deposit by Eskimos from the village at the mouth of Sinuk River, and systematic develojmient was attempted in 1902. A tunnel driven into the west bank of Coal Creek across the strike of the coal-beariiijr strata exposes a number of tliin seams of coal with beds of white fire clay them. It is reported that while the tunnel was in construction seventeen stringers or thin seams of coal were exposeil, tlie thickest of wliich measured about 10 inches, and the thinnest about inches. Below the lowest bed the floor consists of white fire clav similar to tliat lxtween the beds. Xo analysis has been made, but the appearance of the coal indicates that it is bituminous and of fair (luality. A blacksmitli at Nome reported that he found it very satisfactory for welding but it is evident that the deposit has little if anv value on account of the small size of the Ijeds.

Altliough it is not believed by the writer that the whole area of coal-bearing land is more than one-half of a sijuarc mile, it is possible that its extent is somewhat greater, for it is natural to suppose* that the coal-bearing rcK'ks, being softer than the s<!hists and limestones, would be less likely to crop out through the surficial deixisits. and for this reason their ]>resence woidd not be detected.

As was noted, the conglomerates of the coal measures contain a great many of a coarse-grained greenstone. Greenstones of this character occur about 10 miles to the northwest and there they make up a large ])art of the bed nx'k. It is entirely possible that they may also occur at many places near'er to the basin, as dikes of finer-grained greenstones are known in the vicinitj'. Thesi* siMliments were deposited in a fresh-water basin that was of small extent. Subsequent to their deposition they have been folded with the ohk'r tricks and eroded to base levels with them, that the original extent of the basin can not he determined. The character of the ])ebbles of this formation shows that it was deposited after the metamorphism of the Nome group and after the greenstone intrusions. The absence of granite pebbles suggests that the sediments may be older than the granite intrusions, though it may Ix* due to lack of drainage from that direction.

Xo paleontcdogic or evidence regarding the age of any of the coal-lwaring nxks of Seward Peninsula has been

General Geoloqy. 85

obtained, but from their lithologic resemblance to other coal-bearing formations of Alaska a late Mesozoic or Tertiary age is inferred. The coal-bearing series of the lower Yukon, which includes both marine and freshwater deposits, is mainly of Upper Cretaceous age, whereas the isolated coal basins of the upper Yukon, which these basins most resemble, are Eocene.**

Coal-bearing sediments of Eocene age also occur on St. Lawience Island, about 160 miles southwest of Seward Peninsula.

Unconsolidated Deposits. Introduction.

An accumulation of detritus, composed of gravel, sand, silt, ground ice, and residuary clay, or glacial moraines and erratic bowlders overlain by peat and moss, forms a widely spread mantle of varying thickness that effectually conceals the bed rock over much of the surface. Except for their frozen condition these deposits are unconsolidated, and, though their deposition may have begun in the late Tertiary, they are, for the most part, of Quaternary age, including both Pleistocene and Recent. They are of the greatest economic importance, inasmuch as they probably everywhere contain traces of gold and no productive gold placers are found except in them. On the geologic map the Pleistocene and Recent sediments are not differentiated from each other, since most of the Recent deposits overlap and merge wath the Pleistocene. The areas in which gold has actually been found, but not in commercial quantities, and the areas which have produced placer gold are differentiated from those in which the presence of gold has not yet been proved. Glacial deposits that are probably of Pleistocene age have not been differentiated from the sediments. They are not important economically, as no productive mines occur in them, though they are believed to contain some disseminated gold.

The Quaternary sediments are most conveniently classified according to their extent and topographic relations, as follows :

1. Gravel-plain deposits, consisting of gravels, sand, and silts, covering the coastal and inland-basin plains.

2. Alluvial deposits, found in stream beds, flood ])lains, and benches along river and creek valleys.

3. High-bench deposits of both fluvial and residuary character, occurring in small areas and at considerable elevation nbove the lowland plains and the existing valleys.

Collier. A. J., Coal resources of the Yukon: Bull. T'. S. Geol. Survey No. L'lH, lOOa, p. 17.

86 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

Gravel-Plain Deposits. Oearaoter And Ezteht.

The deposits of the first group are most extensive in area and also in depth. They form the surficial covering of all the coastal plains and inland basins that are such marked features of the topography. In general they are all of similar character, consisting of silts sands and gravels, which, as a rule, become coarser near the foothills. Although they include deposits of two types — namely, marine and lacustrine — they are probably nearly identical in the method of their deposition, as shown on pages 90-91. More than half of the of this type are found on the extensive lowlands that fringe both the northern and southern coasts. The Arctic coastal plain, which extends from Cape Prince of Wales to Cape Espenberg, has an average width of 15 miles and an approximate area of 2,500 square miles. Along its southern margin the gravels are from 100 to 200 feet above sea level and seem to lap over the surface of the York Plateau, which rises toward the south by a very gentle slope. Very little is known regarding the detail of this deposit. Near its southern edge it contains some beds of gravel derived from the schists 'and limestones of the immediate vicinity. Along the coast the material is finer and by the action of waves and wind it has been piled up in sand dunes. The streams flowing across the plain have trenched their beds, exposing numerous sections of the upper part of the deposit, in some of which a layer of black silt, several feet thick, overlies the gravels and sands. Remains of the mammoth and other extinct mammals have Ijeen seen in this laver, but no marine fossils are known to have Ikhju discovered.

The Bering Sea coastal plain extends with some interruptions from the north shore of Port Clarence to Golofnin Bay. In some places it has a width as great as 7 miles, though it is in general much narrower. It differs from the Arctic coastal plain in that the hills rise abruptly /rom its inland margin. North of Port Clarence the deposit consists mainly of gravel and has considerable thickness near the shore, but thins out perceptibly near the hills, where the harder rocks are locally in stream beds. Some inequalities in the elevation along the coast are best explained as the result of unequal uplifting. Between Port Clarence and Sinuk River also the deposit is very thin in some places, as is shown by bed rock outcropping along the beach escarpment. Here, too, there is some evidence of deformation, for part of the surface is depressed below sea level north of Cape Woolley.

The gravel-plain deposits have been examined more thoroujily than elsewhere on that portion of the coastal plain whidi Iks between

General Geology. 87

Cripple River and Cape Nome.'* This plain is roughly crescent shaped and has a maximum width of 5 miles. It is bounded on its seaward side by a low escarpment from 10 to 20 feet high, from which it rises to an elevation of about 100 feet at the foothills. The detailed topographic map of this plain shows that there is considerable inequality in the surface levels, though without careful measurement this would scarcely be detected. About half a mile back of the present beach a well-defined escarpment that is evidently the inland margin of an older beach line can be recognized for about 10 miles. The western extension of the line of this escarpment falls along the seaward side of a depression, occupied for several miles by Snake River, which was probably a lagoon formed on a low portion of the plain surface and shut in by the same beach that lay along the base of the escarpment. The inequality of the surface levels may be due either to unequal deposition or to deformation. The deposit varies in thickness from 30 to more than 100 feet. It rests upon a somewhat uneven bed-rock surface that slopes gently from the foothills to the shore. Many excavations which have been made in this deposit show that it is composed mainly of stratified gravels, sands, and silts overlain by peat and moss. The stratification is more or less irregular, indicating varying water currents. The pebbles are for the most-part derived from the rocks of the Nome group, though they include some granite bowlders and pebbles which could have come only from the Kigluaik region. Near the coast the pebbles are well rounded, but toward the foothills considerable semiangular material is found in places. On this account a possible glacial origin for part of the deposit has been suggested, though such material could doubtless have been contributed as talus by local slides from the higher ground north of the lowland, or could have been brought by floating ice.

No remains of mammoths or other extinct mammals have been found in this deposit, but marine fossils are common on the dumps of prospect holes within a mile of the beach. The species represented are identical with forms now living in Bering Sea. This portion of the coastal plain is described in considerable detail in connection with the economic geology (pp. 156-170), as it is known to contain gold values in many places, and the method of its exploitation is one of the difficult problems of placer mining.

Little is known to the writer of the portion of the coastal plain lying between Cape Nome and Topkok Head, though it is one of the largest areas on the south side of the peninsula. From the evidence of the topographic map it is inferred that it has been slightly

Brooks, A. H., Reconnaissances In the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, In 1900, a special publication of the U. S. Geol. Survey, 1901, p. 81. Nome special map, U. S. Geol. Survey, 190G.

88 GOUi PlCERS OF SEWARD PEXIXSULA.

depre>>efl in its wesloni part, forming: tlie inlet known a.s Port Safety. In imrt> at least the deixisits are comparatively thin, si that jnie of the >tix*ani> have cut through to rock.

Gravel and silt deix)>it> resembling those of the coastal plains occur in a remarkable series of extensive valley lowland ai*eas that characterize the of the interior. These differ cially from those of the coastal plains only in the fact that thev are wholly by uplands. The areas are best designated bv tk names of the rivers which drain them or the lakes or bavs which thev surround, as the Inniruk, Agiapuk, Kuzitrin, Xiukhik, (Jolofnin, and P'ish Eiver lowlands. Of these, the first three are all but connected with each other by continuous only short rcKik canyons cut ill low plateau >urface> intervening along Agiapnk and Kuzitriii rivers. The Inniruk lowland also extends without interruption up Kruzgamepa Kiver and over a broad, flat divide to the upwr waters of Niukluk Kiver, Init from that point the deposit is not continuous to the lowland basin on the lower Niukluk, as between the two the river flows for Mveral miles through a rock-cut valley. The sediments of the lower Niukluk basin are continuous along Fish River with those which surround (lolofnin Sound. The Fish River basin is mon isolated than the others, and its deposits are not connected with any of them.

In some of these basins then* is evidence that the vertical extent of the deposit has Ixhmi much greater and that a considerable upper portion has Ihhmi removed bv ei'osion. \Miether or not thev have sufdeformation anywheiv has not been positively though the writer is of the opinion that they have so affected and that (MTtain mesa-like buttes and terrace elsewhere are remnant> of dillerentially uplifted portions.

The gravel plain of the Imuruk lowland surrounds a large body of brar|<iv.h water called Tmuruk Basin. This basin is connected with Ui'ring Sea a sinuous tidal channel called Tuksuk Channel, which lii's in a canyon cut to a depth of 100 feet or more in what appiMii to be the elcvatetl of a broader valley connecting the inhiiid lii:-iii with the coast. The various rivers which discharge into

I ink Jire grnthnilly extending their deltas, forming plains

whirh siii not snperticially W distinguished from the older gravelphiiii its. The materials de])osited at the outer margins of e d*hjiof line silt, with only here and there piles of coarse rrsivrl floiitfd ilown on cakes of ice, but near the heads of the deltas thi' rivi'r ImmJ and banks are compostnl of gravel. The surface of the phiin dotted over with ponds, nmny of which are abandoned river channels. It is covered with a hiyer of peat aod mo68| below which, in a few phice.s, (heiv aiv IhmIs of cl< mle the peit

General Geology. 89

resti? upon frozen silt. There is reason to believe that some at least of these bodies of ice are frozen ponds covered with moss. Near the northern margin of this lowland there are several mesa-like gravel buttes 20 feet or more high, remnants of a higher surfaa*. removed by erosion.

Along Kruzgamepa River the gravel plain stands at considerable elevation, and sections exposed along the river's trench show coarse gravel and bowlders overlain by finer gravels and silts. No data regarding the thickness of this deposit are available except around the margins, where in some places the streams have cut through to bed rock. No fossil remains have been reported, though marine shells are known to exist in the recent sediments of Imuruk Basin.

Little is known in detail regarding the deposit covering the Agiapuk lowland, though one prospect hole is said to have been sunk to a depth of 65 feet without reaching bed rock. The section disclosed in this hole consisted for the most part of blue clay with some vegetable fragments. At its west end this deposit overlaps a plateau that is correlated with the York Plateau, and here the upper part of the deposit consists of gravel with a thin covering of peat and moss. Fossil remains of the mammoth derived from these deposits have been found in some of the river gravels.

The Kuzitrin lowland deposit is the most extensive of the basin areas. The upper layers seem to lje more gravelly than those of the Imuruk deposit. Around its western and northern borders there is a terrace from 50 to 100 feet above the general level, from which it is separated by a marked escarpment. There are also many isolated gravel buttes from 25 to 50 feet high scattered over the lower portion. These features are regarded as residual parts of an older surface left behind in the erosion that has reduced the surface to the level. Remains of the mammoth, horse, and other mannnals, together wMth some large logs and accumulations of vegetable material, have been found in these buttes and terraces. Near the east end of this basin the gravels are overlain by lavas that flowed from vents near the head of Kuzitrin River.

The deposits of the lower Niukluk are continuous wMth those which surround Golofnin Sound. Excavations which have made near Council show several feet of sandy silt overlain by several feet of peat, but in general little is known of the composition or thickness of the deposit. Fragments of mammoth bones have been found at Council and White Mountain. At the head of Golofnin Sound the gravel plain merges with the growing delta of Fish River. A portion of the gravel plain between Golofnin Bay and Golofnin Sound has leen elevated from 10 to 20 feet since it was deposited.

90 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

The deposits of the Fish Kiver basin have been described by Men- (lenhall as follows:"

Fish Uivor basin alive tlie gorge. described among the topographic features as the gathering point for the tributaries of the river, is filled with similar c-oarse near the borders and finer near the center of tlie basin. The depth of this filling is purely conjectural, but presumably Is not great. No islands of rook exist within It as far as Icnown, but sand ami gravel prominences, rising in some instances 30 or 40 feet above the general level, are abundant over it, and are as remnants of a slightly higher level generally destroyed by the meanderlngs of the stream.

At the west end Ophir Creek drains a part of this basin through a narrow canyon, cut in an ill-defined plateau which the gravel deposits seem to overlap. Mammoth remains have been found on the gravel bars of some of the streams.

ORIOIlf OF THE GRAVEL PLAINS.

From the above descriptions it may be inferred that these deposits are probably all comparatively shallow and that they rest upon bedrock surfaces produced by erosion. The gravels, sands, and silts are for the most part ancient deposits laid down by water, and the upper layer of peat and moss is the product of vegetable growth and accumulation still in progress. In the Coastal Plains the erosion of the underlying bed rock may have been either subaerial or marine, though the minor inequalities noted in some places would seem to indicate stream rather than wave action. The sediments are littoral and lagoon deposits laid down during periods of subsidence, and were contributed for the most part by streams from the upland, though along the inland margins, especially wdiere foothills rise abruptly, local slides probably contributed some talus. While these deposits were again Iwing elevated the level sometimes remained constant long enough for beaches like the ancient one near Nome to form. In their elevation these have suffered slight deformation, some portions being brought alone sea level and others being still submerged. Parts of the Arctic coastal-plain deposit appear to rest on and overlap a depressed portion of the York Plateau, whereas a portion at least of the Bering Sea coastal-plain floor is certainly of more recent erosion than that plateau. It may therefore be inferred that a part at least of the Bering Sea gravel plain is of more recent origin than that along the Arctic coast

The interior-basin plains are in all probability noiainly the products of subaerial erosion and deformation. In the course of these processes broad, flat river valleys were carved from the bed rock and partially covered with alluvium, after which deformation face have occurred, depressing some of the Aalleys bd

Alaska, in 1900. a publication of the L. S. Geol. Surrv

General Geology. 91

form bays of the type of (irantley Harbor and Golofnin Sound, and impounding the water of others to form lakes. Imunik Basin is probably an example of the latter type. By the deformation of an old river valley its waters were impounded, forming a lake or system of lakes coextensive in area with the Imuruk, Agiapuk, and Kuzitrin lowlands. These lakes remained in existence from the time of this deformation until Tuksuk River could cut its gorge to the lake-bed level through the barrier at the lower end of Imuruk Basin. A later depression has permitted the sea again to invade Imuruk Basin along Tuksuk Channel. It seems probable that the greater part of the silt, sand, and gravel covering of these lowland areas was laid down in the deltas of rivers discharging into these lakers in much the same manner as such deltas form at the present time. They are therefore for the most part lacustrine deposits. Since their deposition parts of the original surface have been eroded and reduced to a lower level. From the many evidences of recent warping afforded by some of the base-leveled plains, more especially along the coasts, it is inferred that these inland-basin plains have also suffered differential movements and that the eroded areas are in all probability only differentially uplifted parts. Erosion of elevated parts may have begun while deposition was still in progress over depressed portions. The lower Niukluk and Golofnin gravel plains were probably laid down mainly as delta deposits over the bed of a large bay or sound formed by the subsidence of a broad river valley.

The Fish River basin is more difficult to account for than the others, and at present our information regarding it is too meager to afford a satisfactory explanation of its origin. The depression is probably the result of the deformation of an old erosion surface, though the detail of its history has not yet beea ascertained.

Aob Of Ths Okavsl Plains.

It has been shown that though deposits of this type are still forming as deltas in some of the bays, most of them were formed previous to the latest earth movement, by which the gravel plains were brought to their present level. The presence of manunoth and other mammalian remains indicates that the deposits containing them are of Pleistocene age and the apparent conformity of the beds throughout the sections exposed suggests continuous deposition from Pleistocene to recent time.

The remains of these extinct mammals and of large trees also indicate a climatic condition vastly different from the present one. A generally wanner and moister climate must have prevailed, and as a result rock decay, erosion, and consequent deposition must have been modi *lian at present. That the precipitation of moisture

ar ' erosive and transporting power of the rivers

was greater diirin/LT previous jxrioil, pnsumably the Pleistocrne, is also proved hy the extinct glaciers of tlie mountain aixas. The ouichision seems Avarranted, tlierefore, (1) that previous to and at tlu* time of the deposition of most of the gravel plains rock decay wa> more rapid, and the depth of the zone of weatheriiir was greater; (2) that tlie streams and rivers were more active agi'iits in removing, transporting, and redepositing residual materials than they are now. In brief, the scnliments of the gravel plains were atrumulated under conditions which were probably much more favorable to rapid than those now existing.

ALLlVIAIi CHARACTER AHD EXTEITT.

The deposits included in the second group differ from those of the gravel in two particulars — name\ (1) the areas. covered are of less extent and are generally confined to river and creek valley. when* they occur in the stream IrhIs and flood plains and on terraceand with lo<*al remnants of older drainage systems in the divides: (li) they are the product of ordinary stream action. In many these deposits merit* with thosi* of the gravel plainaround their margins, and in such places the differentiation of the two is necessarily ai'bitrarv. Thev are confined to channels eroded in the

bed lock by rivers creeks and rest upon surfaces formed by such erosion. In general the gravels show less attrition than those of the and become progressively coarser toward the heads nf the streams. Although in an economic sense these deposits are of greater importance than any of the fonnations y(}t descril)***! and an* of <reneral distribution, manv of the areas covered bv them are too small to a])pear if reduced to the scale of the geologic map. As many of them are auriferous they will Ih descrilxul in detail under the heading '' Description of jjlacers " (pp. 142 et seq.), but the following general statements regarding them nuiy appropriately insiM'ted her( :

The alluvial deposits consist for the most of gravels, ssmds, ami clays, and, lik( the plain gravels, are overlain by and mos exc<'pt along creek and river beds. As a general rule the coarser and heavier sediments are near the bottom and the finer and lighter materials near the top. Although the gravel pebbles can usually Ix*. traced to iH'd-rock sources within the drainage nuuiy of the ixbbles and bowlders have been transported to their presiMit positions by other agencies than the existing streams. Such transported material is as a rule confined to certain layers of the alluvium. The gold and other heavy minerals contained in the alluvium are generally found concentrated in a lower layer which rests rock and is called the pay streak, but in a few places the gravel I'esting directly Qpoo

General Geology. 93

the bed rock is barren and is overlain by a of impervious clay called a false bed rock, above which the gold and other heavy minerals are concentrated.

OBIOHf AHD AGS OF TEE ALLTJVITni.

The topography of Seward Peninsula is characterized by broad, flat, and comparatively straight trunk valleys in which the streams appear to be disproportionately small. Into these valleys the waste from the uplands is carried by the many tributaries, which, while the snows are melting, are overloaded with sediments partly plucked from their beds and partly moved down their valley slopes by creeping slides. Such movements are more pronounced on the north and east sides of the valleys, as on such slopes the sun's heat is more intense; consequently many of the streams have been crowded to the south and west sides of their valleys and the alluvium along the north and east sides may be covered wMth talus or slide deposits. Wherever in mining operations abandoned channels have been found they generally lie on the north and east sides of the valleys and their gravels are overlain by slide deposits.

It has been shown that these deposits are still accumulating and also that in some places they merge with the gravel-plain deposits, whose age has been determined to be for the most part Pleistocene. Moreover, from the fact that in a few places mammoth remains have lxHn obtained from the alluvial gravels, it may be inferred that their deposition was in process during the Pleistocene and has continued to the present time. It has been shown that during that epoch erosion was much more active than at present; the streams were larger and presumably, although heavily burdened, they were not overloaded with detritus. Such conditions would be more favorable for the concentration of heavy minerals than those at present prevailing, on account of the great activity of the streams and the more rapid disintegration of the bed rock.

mOIl-BENCII CSA&ACTER AND EXTENT.

The group of high-bench deposits includes many accumulations of small extent and heterogeneous character which resemble each other mainly in their topographic location and elevation. They occur on belches, terraces, flat divides, and plateaus high above the level of the gravel plains and disconnected with the valleys of existing streams. The materials contained vary from distinctly rounded,

uunilar, residual gravels formed in place,

lined. Several of the high benches

94 Gold Plagebs Op Sewabd Peninsula.

near Nome are known to be auriferous and are described in detail on pages 198-209, but of most of such deposits in other localities little is known, as they are in general mantled with moss, peat, and earth, and no natural sections are exposed. Many extensive plateau surfaces ai-e covered with residual clay mixed with angular bowlders and pebbles, among which some rounded pebbles can occasionally be found. These deposits are probably not very thick and through them the bed rock outcrops in many places. Generally they are not shown on the geologic map. The distinctly water-laid materials are commonly of great thickness, but they are confined to small areas, many of which are defined by channel walls and can not be shown on the scale of the geologic map.

Orioih And Age Of The High Behghe8.

The waterworn gravels are in general confined to more or less definite channels and can best be accounted for as the deposits formed by the streams of older drainage systems. In many places they are overlain by angular and other residual materials, having probably been covered by creeping slides from higher hills. The broad plateau surfaces are topographic features due to erosion when the land stood at lower elevations. On such surfaces deposits of washed gravel are to be expected in old flood plains and stream channels, but since their elevation much of the gravel has either been washed away or disintegrated, leaving the remnants of the old gravels mixed with the products of bed-rock weathering.

No fossil remains that would give a clue to the age of these deposits have been found. They are certainly older than the alluvium of the existing streams, and since much of the detritus from the high interstream areas must have washed down to form the gravel plains, it is probably safe to assume that the high-bench gravels are also older than the greater part of the gravel-plain deposits; in brief, they are Pleistocene or older. It has been shown that during the Pleistocene the conditions were niore favorable to rock decay than at present. It is therefore probable that most of these high-bench deposits, including both the water-laid and the residual portions, were formed before the end of the Pleistocene.

(JLACIATION AND GLrVCIAL DEPOSITS.

Very little has been added during the last three years to general information on glaciation and glacial deposits publidvdy|§j| the report of 1900," which may be briefly summarized (1) Seward Peninsula has suffered no general time and none of the unconsolidated deposits thus fa*

Reconnaissances In the Cape Nome and Norton Bay reons, Alt publication of the U. S. Geol. Survey, 1001, pp. 43-47.

be for in ihis way. This is proved by the luaiitlu of rusidlary waste resting undisturbed upon the rock from which it was derived and by uedles and cnig3 of bed rock projet'Uiig through tlic wsiduary soil. (2) In its nonglaciuted character this region ilocs not differ from otht-r pitrts of northwestern Alaslta surrounding Bering Sea which have been visited and described by geologists." (K) Although thertf has no regional glaciation, the valleys of the higher Inouutaiii areas have been occupied by local glaciers, some of which wem rather eitejisive. The Kighiaik anil Kendelelx'u mountains were ihe two main centers of such glaciation. but there were probably also tnialler glaciers which did not extend Iwyond the mountain gorges iu B-veral of the lower mountain areas, (4) In the glaciated region the Valleys have typical U-shaied cross sections, ami head in glacial einiues. and some of the higher valleys still contain ix'mnanls of thesi' former glacier. Around the flanks of the mountains where the valleys debouch on the lowlands, moraines and morainal lakes are Kmimon features, (u) Ueyond the limits of the definite morainal leptKiits erratic bowlders are strewn over the surface up to elevations Df 1,000 feet. These liowlders are provisionally attributed to the iction of floating ice.

The explorations since 1900 have added only cumulative evideneo to the truth of the alive MatemenU. but nmch detailed! Informatimi regitnling the extent and character of the glacial phenomena Etas been obtained. The glaciers of the Kigluaik Mountain area Kciv the most active and exleiLsive, Practically every valley I" aciated and ha.s the characteristic U shape, though in ttu floors of lame of them V-shaped canyons have been cut by streams since the [Iscters Glacial moraineis exleml lo the surrounding Dwiands on all sides of mountain but are uKst exteiudve m the south tide, where there were at least two great pieduioiit glaciers. the time of greatest glaciation the itn; from many MMintain L-orL'i- 'ii-chiinied into thi.- upjfer Sinuk Valley, forming here ' Ji-r of ihr pi'-'hnoni tyjx-. thiy*

PaIIvv 4biBC ""' totigues of Uv wen-forced

hr.,.'n' iBSMkn \.m.-\. 'iii'-h alno tilled Ut

" rriit of the dWinitely

"V, B tltort dixtMiux iiiiW frown tile ImMi

96 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

Definite moraines have not been recognized as such in Nome Valley, which heads in the Kigluaik Mountains and leads directly southward, but the valley of Salmon Lake is known to have been occupied by a great ice mass, from which a glacial tongue extended southward across the divide into Eldorado Valley, the extreme moraine being about 5 miles south of the base of the mountains.

In the Bendeleben Mountains glaciation was not nearly so active as in the Kigluaik Range. Though practically all the valleys are glaciated and many cirques and U-shaped gorges are to be seen, the fringe of moraines, which is so pronounced around the Kigluaik Mountains, seems to be wanting in this range.

In the lower mountain areas the evidences of glaciation consist only of U-shaped valleys, some of which contain small moraines. Only very local and small glaciers are indicated. In many places the snow, which accumulates to great depths in gidches on hillsides, even at comparatively low elevations, remains until late in the summer. While melting these snowdrifts often move after the manner of real glaciers, and when they have disappeared disclose paved beds which resemble small glacial cirques. In the absence of morainic deposits, therefore, it is difficult to distinguish small glacial valleys formed by perennial glaciers now extinct from those which may be due to local annual glaciers still in operation. It is evident that a climatic change producing a slight increase in the precipitation of snow might be sufficient to convert these annual glaciers into perennial ones and to restore to life the glaciers of the Kigluaik and Bendeleben mountains.

Since 1903 accurate topographic maps, on a large scale, covering a considerable area north of Nome, have been prepared." This area includes several of the typical valleys, both in glaciated and nonglaciated regions, and affords a basis for their comparison. From these maps it will be seen that, except in their greater depth, the cross sections of the glaciated valleys do not differ materially in character from those of some that are nonglaciated. In the writer's opinion processes of erosion now operating in Alaska are competent to produce valleys of this type. Moreover, beyond the limits of the glacial moraines shown oji the geologic map the valley floors are covered with alluvium and the slopes with residual detritus through which pinnacles of bed rock outcrop here and there. If these valleys ever contained glaciers, it was at such a remote period that all definite surficial evidences have been destroyed by subsequent erosion.

The deposits of glacial origin which are of sufficient extent to noted on the geologic map are of two distinct types — the moraines and the extramorainic bowlder lx?ds. They are all confined to the comparatively low areas fringing the Kigluaik Mountains. Although

Grand Central and Nome special maps, U. S. GeoL Sunreu, IWM.

Oenebal Geology. 97

on the geologic map they are not diflFerentiated from other Quaternary deposits, their extreme limits are shown approximately by broken lines. The limits of the moraine north of these mountains have not been determined, though such deposits are known to extend out for some distance on the Imuruk lowland and to lie little, if any, above sea level. On the southeast, south, and west sides of the Kigluaik Mountains the limits of the moraine have been fairly well determined. East of the range the moraines from Big and Crater creeks reach the left bank of Kruzgamepa Eiver. The moraine from Grand Central River and Fox Creek fills the whole upper valley of the Kruzgamepa and extends southward to the head of Eldorado River. The glaciers from the gorges north of the Sinuk Valley filled the Sinuk and Stewart valleys as far down as the mouth of Stewart River. A phase of this invasion was the blocking of Sinuk River below Windy Creek, forming a lake in the Sinuk Valley that persisted long enough to permit the cutting of beach terraces. The glaciers west of Glacial Lake have left little evidence of their existence in the form of moraines, though some of them must have extended a considerable distance ff om the mountains.

The extramorainic bowlders and bowlder beds, so far as known, are confined to the region south of the Kigluaik Mountains. They consist of more or less angular bowlders of granite, gneiss, and biotite schist derived from the Kigluaik group and are scattered over the surface on hillsides and plateaus up to an elevation of 1,000 feet. The heaviest deposits of such material occur on the plateau between Sinuk and Feather rivers, where they extend to the headwaters of Fairview and Independence creeks, both of which streams are filled with pebbles derived from them. Similar deposits occur to an elevation of 800 feet along Cripple River, where, though they form some definite bowlder beds, they are represented mainly by scattered erratics lying on the surface. East of Cripple River no extensive bowlder beds of this kind have been noted, though erratic bowlders strewn here and there over the surface up to an elevation of 800 feet occur as far east as Osborne Creek. One bowlder of this kind was found lying on a limestone outcrop in the divide between Kruzgamepa River and Iron Creek at an elevation of 800 feet. West of the Kigluaik Mountains the extramorainic drift extends to the basin of Gold Run, but no bowlders or pebbles of this kind occur in Bluestone River above the forks.

The following hypotheses regarding the transportation and distributipn of these bowlders suggest themselves : ( 1 ) They may have been washed down from the mountains by the rivers and streams of an older drainage system belonging to an earlier physiographic cycle. (2) They may represent an earlier stage of the Kigluaik glaciers 15604— BnlL 828-< 7

llmii Uml howu by the iiioraiueK, iit wliii-1i Ihty cxtondcd from the nioiinlniiis tt} the shores of Bering Sea. (A) They may liar iimit tniiisported from the moimlain front hy ice floes or bergs in estuaries, profiiufd by (hf subsidence of tlie land surface.

That Iwwlders may be carried for long ditlnii.>s by rivers adi] strejinis is evident. This is especially true in a n-on likw Ua.ska, where at the breaking of spring the streams are filled wiiii floMtin); ive. A good example of granite bowlders In this way may seen in Ophir Creek, which is not glaciated, bnt contain granite pebbles and bowlders, from outcrops near its source, dittrilmted through its whole length. AH the wtreani-s of the Nome i-egion that head in the glaciated area contain granite pebble< that have Ix-en washed down in this way. Although it is possible, therefore, that some of the extramorainic Iwwlders reached their present by river and :tream action, their distribnlion ns bowlder over flat hilltops and the occurrence of scattered erratics render hypothesis in the main imtenable.

In regard to the second liypothesis, it may be said that althoug some of the bowlder beds near Sinuk and Cripple riven* reiMuiil: glacial moraines, the region between them and the glacial center apparently unglaciated. 8ome angular crags remain which coa not have withstood an advancing ice sheet. Many of the bowldi also occur as solitary erratics overlying residuary soil.

The occurrence and of these bowlders is account for by the third hypothesis, which is that during a part of thv glnc period, and presumably an early part, a. subsidence of (be regw south of the mountains occurred and esluariej* from the sea inland to the ice front. Over these waters the iMiwIders were float by iwbergs and floes. The maximum amount of mibsidence rcquu to produce this effect would Iw 1,100 feet in the Siiiuk Valley, T hypothesis requires that the area of ma.timum subsidence mnst ha' Iwen local and coextensive wilh the distribution of erratic bowlde It will be seen from the topographic map (PI, VIII, in ho ever, that the average upland levels of the iKuvlder-strewn area t considerably lower than those of the remainder of the nnuLhej-n hi of the peninsula, and heuce a general subsideni* of the sotilh part of the peninsula might be competent to account this tlielril lion. No elevated bench lines or oilier indicut iom of sudi a .syKti of cfituuries, except the erratic bowlders, have be<-n recogniw Sii many of these erraties lie upon or near the surface of the mantle residuary and waterworn waste on the uplands and near the surfi of the t?oaatalplain gravels, it seems probable that they were capri to their present resting places after most of these deposils wi formed. The subsidence nuist therefonhave mTurred in latu Pleu ! time. If sucii un cnrlii movement were of sufficient (U

Genebal Geology. 99

affect materially the distribution of ocean currents, it would doubtless also have produced climatic changes of great importance, and the inauguration of the glacial epoch just described is tentatively assigned to this cause.

Igneous Rock& Introduction.

Igneous rocks are widely distributed in the peninsula. Though they present considerable variety both in composition and in the degree of metamorphism which they have suffered, they fall readily into three groups, two of which, the greenstones and basalts, are basic, the third being acidic. The type rocks of each group are distinct and can be readily recognized, but in some localities intermediate phases occur whose relations can be determined only by more refined petrographic and stratigraphic investigation than has yet been undertaken.

Greenstones.

The most widely distributed igneous rocks of the region are some granular intrusives which are characterized by a dark-green color, and which, though they exhibit many varying phases, are most conveniently grouped under the field name greenstones. Without exception these rocks are more or less altered and are composed of secondary minerals, many of which are due to dynamic as well as to metasomatic influences. Though usually massive, in many localities they present schistose phases, so that in extreme cases it is impossible to distinguish them from schists of sedimentary origin. The investigations that have been made show that the rocks from which the greenstones were derived, although generally of a basic character, were of considerable variety. It has not yet seemed feasible to attempt to subdivide the group, but the following notes regarding some of the more definite types in the various regions will give an idea as to what it includes.

A dike of greenstone in a dynamically almost unaltered condition occurs at Cape Douglas. Under the microscope the rock appeal's to be composed mainly of pale amber augite and feldspar, a part of which is included in the augite. The augite is changed to lightcolored hornblende only around the margins, but the feldspar is too much decomposed to determine its character. There are also hirge grains of ilmenite bordered by leucoxene and some patches of isotropic serpentinous matter. In the region northeast of Cape Douglas there are many bodies of greenstone that show a somewhat similar general texture, but preeit various degrees of alteration from the original type. The pyroxene is usually changed to hornblende and chlorite, and omet, epidote, zoisite, calcite, and quartz are common constitu-

100 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

ents. B. K. Emerson, who with the Harriman expedition touched on the east shore of Port Clarence, has described the igneous rocks found in this region as amphibolites derived from eruptive pyroxenites.*

West of the York Mountains there are some coarsely granular greenstones which are only slightly more altered than that from Cape Douglas, which they resemble, but in these rocks the feldspar is somewhat in excess of the pyroxene, and the rocks were probably gabbros.

Along Fox River, about 10 miles south of Council, there are several dikes of greenstone that under the microscope are found to be slightly altered diabase. They consist of labradorite and olivine phenocrysts in a groundmass of plagioclase, augite, and biotite.

Some greenstone masses which appeared to be slightly altered tuffs were found in the divide between Fox and Solomon rivers.

In nearly all places where the greenstone exists in comparatively unaltered condition, transitional phases to the more typical greenstone composed wholly of secondary minerals were found. The greenstone masses occur most commonly in the form of sills and dikes, though a few of them appear to be necks or stocks, and it is probable that some surface flows may be included among the more altered portions.

In a few places contact-metamorphic minerals have been developed around the margins of the intrusive bodies. On Newton Peak a veinlike deposit of chlorite and albite was observed in the contact of a greenstone mass with the schist. On the upper Casadepaga the limestone surrounding a greenstone mass is marmorized and contains brown hornblende phenocrysts. At the contact of a greenstone sill witli the limestone on Tisuk Creek albite occurs in the limestone and tourmaline needles in the greenstone. The contact of a greenstone dike with schist on the upper Kougarok contains tourmaline in radiating groups of crystals and a pale-blue hornblende which has not been determined. The deep-blue hornblende glaucophane has been found in many of the greenstone masses.

In its schistose phases the greenstone seems to be composed entirely of secondary minerals, the most common being hornblende, chlorite, epidote, zoisite, garnet, secondary feldspar, sericite, quartz, and calcitc Some chlorite-epidote schists that are widely distributed in small masses seem to represent extreme metamorphism of the greenstones and it is probable that many of the green schists made up of (juartz and chlorite that have not been differentiated from the metamorphosed sediments may also be altered greenstones.

It will be seen from the geologic map that the greenstone intrusions occur in the undifferentiated schists of the Nome group, in the Port Clarence limestone, and in the slates in the York region, all of

General geology of Hmrrlman Alaska expedition, yol. 4, 1904, p. 44.

General Geology. 101

which are believed to be of pre-Carboniferous age. They have not been recognized in the Kigluaik group nor in the limestones exposed near Palazruk.

As many of the greenstone masses present schistose phases, it is evident that some and possibly the greater part of them were intruded before metamorphism of the Nome group. In some respects these greenstones resemble the extensive greenstone masses of the Devonian Kampart formation of the Yukon basin. The Rampart greenstones, however, are mainly surface flows and are with tuffs, limestones, and various other sediments.*' They indicate that in parts of Alaska during Devonian time there was an enormous amount of volcanic activity, which probably continued into the early Carboniferous. If this volcanic disturbance extended northwestward as far as Seward Peninsula it was probably sufficient to account for the greenstone intrusives in the metamorphic series there. These intrusions evidently must have occurred after the close of the Silurian and most of them while the Silurian rocks were deeply buried.

Basalts.

A second group of basic rocks is composed of unaltered basalts, which occur at many places in the northern and eastern parts of the peninsula. Typically they are dark-gray or nearly black lavas, usually very cellular or even spongy in appearance, but in some places compact and without amygdaloidal cavities. They are diaand basalts, both rich in olivine. In the basalts especially olivine phenocrysts are abundant and are noticeable even in the hand specimen. Rocks of this type find their greatest development in llu* Fairhaven precinct, where Moffit reports that there has Iwen a succession of outbreaks of lava occurring through a considerable period of time. In the region about the head of Kuzitrin River the most recent outpouring of liquid rock occurred at no very distant date, for the ropy surface and irregular margin are still preserved. Caverns or tunnels produced by the cooling of the surface and the coiitimuMl flow of the still liquid rock beneath are numerous. Flattened lenticular steam cavities 2 or 3 feet in diameter are exposed in some places and the upper surface of the sheet is marked here and there by smooth irregular elevations produced by the escape of steam and the welling up of the lava from below.

On Noxapaga River the writer found these later lavas overlying Pleistocene or late Pliocene gravels that were indurated near the

Spnrr, J. ID., Geology of the Takon gold district : Elfhteenth Ann. Rept. T*. S. Oeol. Survey, pt. 3, 1898, p. 161. Collier, A. J., Coal resoiirceB of the Yukon : Hull. r. S. GpoI. Survey No. 218, IMS, p. 15.

Moffit, F. H., The ValrliATeii gold placers, Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Hull. U. S. GeoL Survey Mo. 8i7. 1906, pp. 91-86.

contact and contain rounded iK-bliles of derived from oId( flow." iVloiig Koyuk and Tubutulik rivers Meiidcniinll " reports I occurrence of several masses of basalt of !imila character. On t upper Koyiik the lava has a relation to the imconsolidatod gravd similar to that seen by the writer on the Noxapajia. This is probaU an outlying portion of the large lava field mapped by Moffit.

Basalts occur in small flows and volcanic necks at a number t localities north of Port Clarence and Grantley Ilabor. Miikachan Mountain, the two small buttes to the east of this mountain, a f area on the east side of California River, and a small hill about miles east of the forks of Don River are composed of unaltered basalt that exhibit Iwth compact and vesicular phases and vary in colo from gray to black. The vesicles are unfilled and are often confiiiw in weathered with the cavities left by olivine phenocrysb

Mukachanii Mountain, the two buttes to the east of it, and t" small hill to the east of ToKier Creek are volcanic necks ciittiug t schists and slates. The basalt areas west of Mukachami Mountai and east of California River are remnants of surface flows or po%ibl sills which were erupted at the same time as the neck.s. The amoun of erosion since these eniplions indicates that most of them are prfl Pleistocene in age, only the more recent iK'curring during the PleistO cene. The age of the older flows of the Fairhaven country and ( the necks and flows north of Grantley Harbor, however, has no lieen satisfactorily determined. Moffit " states that the lowest po sible age limit for the earlier lavas of the Fairhaven district is fix< by the coal-bearing formation of that distrirt. which may be eithe Tertiai-y or Upper Cretaceous,

There are no criteria for age determination of the basalts north (irantley Harbor except the amount of erosion which they ha' fered. They antedate the formation of the Kougarok plateau, whic is (*rtainly oliver than most of Ihe Pleistocene sediments. The lav (lows of the lower Yukon and St. Michael Island, a i-egion which lii iilmiit 100 miles southeast of Seward Peninsula, began. acc<.rdiiig t Spun,* in the late Miocene and continued until the early Plelstocen They are represented in part by dikes which cut Upper Cretaceoil i-ocks, and as some of the eruptive masses were redntvd to the 1 level of the Yukon plateau it is evident that the eruptions may hai iH-gun iH'fore (he end of the <'retaceons.

no iKirlInn of Seward rpDlnanln. Alsikn, In ItH

ItWM, p. HI. in? In the Cape Nome sad Norton Bi rvfln AlHHkii. In 11IIVI, II iiiilillrnlliin thu I', S. Siirii'.v, IfKll, [i inHt.

- MoIBI. K. II., Thp rmrhaveu gold plnrers, Seiurd l-enlniiulii. Alnaka : Bull. V. 8. Surrey Ka. 24T. Itm.'., p. :n.

' Spnrr. ,?. B.. (Iroloe)' of the Yukon Hlalrlrt. Alaikn ; Klshtmilh Ana. Itffit V. I. Surrey. Pt. S. I80B. |)p. 'J4< et neq.

St. Lawrence Isliind, whiidi lies about 100 miles southwest of Seward Peninsula, is in part made up of tuffs and lavas that do not seem to be older than Pleistocene. In the (Antral part of the island there re namerous volcanic cones that have suffered little erosion. On an extensive lava bed examined by the writer the original surface of the flcjw is still preserved in many places, presenting features similar to abuse of the most recent How in the Kuzitrin basin. That volcanic activity began here prior to the Kenai (Eocene ?), however, is indicated by pebbles of lava contained in a conglomerate of that formation. If we assume that the lavas of St. Lawrence Island, Seward Peninsula, and the lower Yukon belong to the same period of eruptioii, the inference may be jutitied that the lavas and basalts of Sewanl Peninsula represent a series of eruptions which commenced in lite early Kocene and continued into the Pleistocene.

None or the basalts or diabases included in this group have been iifTeded by dynamic metamorphisni and although in a few placet; they occur in the neigborhood of greenstone ma-sses they are readily ilistinguLshed from the greenstones without the aid of the micro- -Kfope. In the southern part of the {peninsula, however, some small dikes of igneous rock have been found that greatly resemble the Itasults but seem to pre-ent transitional phases to the typical greenstone. The diabase dikes of Fox Kiver described on page 237 are of this character, Some basaltic which may belong either to tlie basalt or the greenstone group were found on Independence Creek, a tributary of Sinuk River, but they were not traced to their in the bed rock.

The siliceous igneous rocks of the peninsula are grouped together under " Granitic rocks," though many of them vary from typical granite both in texture and composition. The larger masses in the reon examined by the writer are generally normal granites, but the smaller masses, some of which may be apophyses from the larger oneS) present various pegmatitic and rhyolitic phases. The granites of the Kigluaik and Bendeleben mountains form a network of intricate intrusions in the rocks of the Kigluaik group and were probably intmded at intervals during a rather extended period. Some of these intrusions that were probably the earlier ones are gneissnid and ruinot in all cases be distinguished from gneisses and biotite schists Ihat are almost certainly altered sediments. Generally the gneisses wctir as sills interbedded with the schists and limestones. The larger nile bodies, which occur in the heart of the range, are generally tiiassive, but many of them are slightly giieisHoid and cut by later intniODs that are massive. In the flanks of the ranges there are aunierous sills and dikes of coarse-grained pegmatite. Several p

J

Gold Placers Of Seward Pekinsltla,

matite sills of this character along Kuzitrin River were staked i quartz veins by the prospectors who went with the first rush to th< Kougarok.

The granite in its massive phase is coarsely crystalline and coosiati essentially of quartz, orthoclase, and biotite, with plagioclase important accessory mineral. The gneissoid granites are similar i composition except thiit they contain a somewhat lai-ger percentage of plagioclase. Their gneissoid structure is either original or due t entire recrystallization of the minerals, as the uiit:roscopic exatnin tions afford little if any evidence of distortion or dynamic inoveiuent The and feldspar individuals are elongated without beini crushed and the biotite plates are not deformed. The phases, which seem to occur more commonly aixiund the margins a the mountain areas, consist of quartz, orthoclase in larffe crystal reaching several inches in diameter, and muscovite, with biotite i smaller amounts if present. Tourmaline was as an : jmrtant accessory mineral in one of the [legmatite sills near Kuzitiit River.

Batholiths of the character indicat<?d by these observations regarding the granites of the Kigluaik and Bendeleben mountains wouU doubtless be competent to produce schists of the Kigluaik tyjje froni rocks that in neighboring localities might resemble the scliists of thi Nome group." For this reason the detailed geologic survey of a portion of the Nome district that was commenced hiring the summer of 11105 may be exfiected to yield some impoi'tant scientific results.

The gi'anite masses that occur in the i-egjon north of the Kigluailf Mountains differ considerably in type from tliose just described, general they are bosses, few of which present gneissoid phases, but many of them are surrounded by a fringe of apophyi that differ from the central mass mainly in texture. Most commooly these offshoots are porphyritic dikes. The distribution of the granite masses of this type is of economic importance, as tin-Uniring model occur rather commonly near their contact with the surrounding p A typical granitic intrusion of this sort is found at Cape Mountain. The large granite mass which composes this mountain is intrudd through the Carboniferous limestone exijosed near Palaznik. Arount the margins some large masses of limestone are included in tl granite, and many offshoots or apophyses from the main mas.s extcr into the limestone. The largest of thewe differ oidy slightly from tl granite of the main mass, while the smallest are apt to aplitic I] the main granite mass there are some ill-defined veins of aplite () granite rock containing none of the darker minerals) which luv DO

'CulUer. A. J.. Tin clfpoalta ). 220, 1S04. p. 1.

OEHEBAI. qeoloot.

yet been studied in detail. No gneissoid phases are exhibited, but a pUty or sheet structure appears in iimiiy weathered outcropa. The granite of Cape Mountain is coarsely cryslalliue and somewhat porphyritic. It consists essentially of quartz, microcline, and biotite, but locally contains as accessory minerals albite, muscovite, apatite, tourmaline, pyrite, fluorite, and cassiterite. Lodes containing cassiterite in appreciable quantities occur on the mountain.

A tvmaller granite mass which is lithologically similar to that at Cape Mountain occurs in the Port Clarence limestone on Tin Creek, a tributary of Lost River. In this vicinity the limestone is cut by a number of porphyritic dikes that are probably connected with this or similar masses that are deeply buried beneath the limestone. One of ihesc dikes has been studied in sonic detail, as it is intimately associated with a tin lode of economic value. Microscopic examination -hiins thai the riK'k was originally a rliyolite or quartz [wrphyry containing quartz and feldspar plwnocrysts in a finely crystalline groundniass. In its present condition, however, the phenocryHta and much of the groundinass are replaced by fluorite. Southwest of this hicaUty there are several somewhat basic dikes that have placed ill the granitic group for the reason that what seem to be transitional pha:s Iwtween them and the typical granite jwrphyries have been fooiid

At Brooks Mountain, near the head of Lost River, occur granite Bses and dikes, but their field relations have not been determined. The same is true of a mountain east of the forks of Don River, where granite iwrphyry dikes cut the slates on the {wripliery. and massive granite bowlders occur on the mountain slopes, but have not been Imoed to their source in the bed rock.

Gar Mountain is a granite boss of a type similar to Cape Mountain. The massive granite shows the same platy structure in weathered outcrops and the main uf granite is surrounded by ii fringe of porphyritic dikes. The granites of Ear Mountain consist essentially of quartz, orlh€K;!ase. and biotite. A smaller body of ir made up of quartz, orthoclase, and plagioclase, and a small dike in the same region consists essentially of quartz and orthoclase [ibcnocryats in a gi'oundmass of quartz and feldspar, with muscovite, largely secondary, and a secondary growth of feldspar surrounding ihe larger orthoclase phenm-rysts,

()n the north side of the mountain several dikes have been extensircly slaked us tin veins. Apparently these rocks were originally rliyolite or quartz porphyry, but iii thin sections they sliow considerble alteration. In one specimen the porphyritic texture of the rhyo- Jite remains, but the minerals, especially the feldspar phenocrysts, are partly reptacetl by tourmaline and pyrrhotite, or magnetic pyrites. Ill another section the original texture is completely obliterated ,tvd

r.-r.i'.- - .77' .:.:-i 'j i :rT' ii-i-r-A-- n-iir- -if* print-iimlly of ralcitf A ."1. -- C-- ;.r:z- i*. tLpj .'unrfnlly a&iialyzed. were found r.> .i,r.:;i:r. '.riy f :::.. :.- :L-c-iter:t* was ivixrnized in the thin rl..:.-. S-::L.*=r-- f ::r. .-r*?- iLa: Lav k*%=-n :ibcaineil at Ear Moun- .i:r. ::. i! -atrtrjiC. i.* i: r.i:r M-r-nr.:*::.. r:r* -hearing loves are asso- !.i"r-: -ri'th ::.- irrar.::-=- ::.tr:->r--- rhyoliie dike> that occur at rnl I'--aIIt:*:< r-rv-fr frc ir._v -Arirt irraiiite ina;. aiu! some i-j— :rrr:: viri.- ir. rh *li"— "f t:.*- Y.rk rvon proliahly imlicate the :/ri>-r.>- --f tnTiiLitr- r.-±2i:ii-that have not vet

Tr.- irmr-i*'- fr-ni thr lirav ±iva r.ar Mountain has nd lir. xari;;r.-i r:.:in>-*rp:.-ally. fiut -rriuto be of the same general lyjffr a- that :t E:r >['i-:r.td::.. T:*r ntoropts as a rule exhibit the plate -tni'tiiiv i.ititr'i ::. l**alities. No fringing* porphyritic or ojr:t:ift ii:i:.i-nil- Lav r.rrT. iiln-eil.

Tli- 2Tariite ma-w-r*— ir. iLr r-a.*teni part of the peninsula, most of

whi'ii lin oiiii.i i!if -|:ii;ial Aiva .-opened in this have Uvn

.l-i r:r.-il liy aiu! MolBt. who investigateil the geolog>*

of t!i*- Nurtiiii Bay n.-iri"ii niA 'f the Fairhaven district, respectively.

Tri-ffr.ir.itp-. wliioh are t-ir:fiiievl a Wit extending northwanl

from Nortni. I5:iv Kotzebue Sniiul. ?em to Iv of a distinct lit ho-

Ir,rri.- fniii thi the writer. Though in genenil

ihfv iv*<"mble iionnal granites, they exhibit as a rule a

.li'iriT:*- jha-that litingiii-he-them frmi the granites of the west-

-rr. ]:irt ff th-jw-ninMila. Atx'iiniing to MendenhalK a broad belt of

*'f,ujJr\. wirh a maximum width about 12 miles, extending 55

rfiil*-* liorthwar'l fnmi CajH* Harby. in the Norton Bay region, is

r/riipifd by a givai UhIv of granite and granitoid nx*k that

riiii-iih-rable variation in texture and mineralogical composi-

I- T i- n-jranletl U*hanging to one geologic body. - At the south

i'i.'l of Tlii- !i'lt the tyiie nnk i-* a diorite with large tabular

pri'-fiO'Tv-i- of ander-ine or anilesine-oligoclase, some colorless pyrox-

t'Ut'. .ifi'l iiliiiiMlani hornblenilc. in part, at least, sectmdary. Quartz is

np--"i.t I'Nt hK-ally in very inconsiderable amoimts, and titanite is a

ofi-rii'iioniiii't'-tvy, the east edge of the northern part of the

;iP!i til.- HH-k apirars as a roarseJy crystalline aggregsite of paleortliorla

-4' and >moky with a little biotite. A

phaM' of the same rmk apiH*ars along the west side of its

l.ortlKTIl iHlI'dlT.

A iiroad Im-Ii of nKks and alluvium separates the granite ma- "f (ape DarJA' from the biotite-granite mass of the

M-mlf-nhBll W. C, ReconnalBncei* In the Cai* Some and Norton Baj rvidoB*. xi.uitu In VHttt a KiiHlal puWIeatlon nf the I'. S. HetA. Kurrej. 1901, pp. 304-2a*i.

"\lofflr F. II.. The Fairhaven gold placera, Seward PMlamla, Aluka: BulL U. & <;,i. HurVey No.' ::47. ISKKi. pp. :!7-30.

wliic-h lies to the northwest. The inlnisive nature of the jrraiiite of Durhy is iiiclicHtetl by masses of srhist nni! limestone raoghl in the intrudinjr inagina. and hy dikes from the {jranitic nuiss rutting the siirroundinj; schists,

MofHl" reports that in the eastern part of the Fairhaven district the silireoiis igneous rocks form n group comprising granites, qiiurts! diontes. ami intermediate forms that may Ire properly classed with the nionzonites. These rocks find their greatest development in a bigh ridge that lies between Buc-land and Kiwnlik rivers and xtfidR from Eschscholtz Bay southward to Koyuk River, forming the boundary lietween Seward Peninsula and the mainland. The niles form the core of this ridge and ontcrop in a series of dLvoiuiected areas surrounded by andesitcs of later age. Horn- Mende is the prevailing dark mineral of the granites, but here and then hifitite takes its place. By a decivase in the amount of quart/ tlio granites appi-oach syenites in composition, such phases Iwing character ixed by the abundance anJ large size of ortlioclase ci-ystal. Prom a. condei'ation of the alive-stated facts it will be seen that the hirr granite masses of Seward Peninsula fall into thi'ee groups according to the nature of their tx-currence, their effects on the intended rocks, and their lithology. They are all of intrusive origin. (ml the masses of (he Kiglnaik and Bendeleben mountains are hatholillLs formed at great depth in the earth's cnist witliin the zone of flowagf. The masses north of the Kigluaik uplift represent intnisitnis in a zone nearer the surface which has lieen called the zone of fracture, and the diorititr masses in the eastern part of the peninsula seem to be of intermediate character. In their lithologj' the rocks of ibe Kigluaik uplift resemble those of the northern part of the peninsula, llie distinguishing features being abundant gneissoid phases in tb* former and porphyritic phases and surrounding dikes of rhyolite in the latter. The northern granite mas.ses are further characterized by snch ai-cessory minerals ns fluorite, cassiterite, and tourmaline in their peripheral jmrtions.

There is no direct evidence in to the relative ages of these iiilmsions. Those of the Kigluaik region may have been and probably were intruded at intervals through a long period of time, as granites of several ages can be i-ecognized. The same thing may be tmi-of tin* other granite masses, though the evidence for it does not .eeui to so clear. The granite mass of Cape Mountain, which is regarded as typical of the granites north of the Kigluaik Range, is iutnided in Mississippian rocks and is therefore certainly younger than that horizon, Moffit '' reports that the granites of the Fairtfofflt

, p. n., The PiitrhBrca ipM Senard Penlniiila, A 1b ska : Bull. V. f Ua4. Hamr So. 247, 1000, pp, I'-iO. clt,, p. 30,

lOS (SOLD PLArERS OF SEWARD PEXIXSVI-V.

linvrii ilisliirt arc ividtMitly older tliun Uie Oiil-lieariiiir \tOiU riv?rlvinX thr schists, which, as has been shown, may U' uf hiir Mc-n/oV ;ip'. McnthMihall" also states that the |>erioil .if imrusioii muihli'r tlian that of the coal-bearing sediments. Neither 4f trust* writers lias pivseiited more definite evidence for this thai: tljc fad that the granites present gneissoid phases whereas the mints arc unaltered. The have not l.)een foiinl in .-ontact, nor granite peiihles been found in the sediments.

The coal Uaring seiiinuMits examined by the writer in the Sinuk ba .in have been sheared and folded with the surrounding but contain no jiebbles of granite, though such are the main loM'lItnent o( tlie IMeisttK'ene deposits that overlie them.

Thi' nnallered sediments of the Fairhaven district have the sanip north Miutli strike and high dips that are common in the hihlv metaniorphii" rocks, and those of the Norton Bay region are iil'-a hi'hlv loMcil, wiih apprtiximately north-south strikes. If, as Aloffit I , (his ? iructure was produced at the time of the granite intrusions I Invdnnent w*Mild seem to be older than the granite. A >iinilar MilVn'iiie inav bi drawn from the unaltered sediments of the Sinuk bti Ml. wlih'h arc highly folded and strike parjillel with the UmK in ihe iVoni of the Kigluaik

In ii'w ihcM' facts any conclusion regarding the relative III ihr 'r:Mntc'. and tiie unaltereil seems haxanlou*. Tin* viriiiiininiricions niav liave continued into the Tertiarv, thourrji ilii Hitlerhiinly older than IMeistocene. If we assume that all tho jjirihiiii mmL , \A' the peninsula Inlong approximately to the sanw imiiimI III' iiiirn.ion, which seems then it mav 1m* staioil ihiii I III" ihtru'ion occurred UtwiHMi the early Carboniferous anil III! I'll. I .il" ill.' Tertiary. The larger granitic masses of the Ala-ka l.'.iiiri Mii'l I lie Pacilic >aboard, whose* age has been wen* Mil null il iliinii'* I lie lalier part of Mesozoic time, and some of th' Mill II i\.- Mrjiiiiic nia*';' o( ilu Kuskokwim Valley have lxen assigned 111 ilii riiil\ irrtiary.' On the assumption that the disturbance .iili ihI.iiiI III! ilic intrusion of the granite masses of southern Alaska I liui|..| III Si'\\;ird Peninsula also, the conclusion is reached that ilii iiiM I- ui'ie pnbablv intruded in late Mesozoic or early

ilAinV. VEINS.

\'i Ml ol" ijiiiirt/ and calcite occur in the metamorphic nx'ks of iieiiil\ III! pai't of the peninsula, but most abundantly in the schists of the Noun* group near the localities rich in placer gold. Most of

" Mi-ikIi'iiIiiiU. W. UfitiniiiilsHniu'OK in the CniM* Nome and Norton Bay reimut. AliiHkii. Ill I '.Mill, ji putiltintlou lli(> r. S. tiitl. Survey, 1901. pp. 204-::u.'i.

''Spiirr. .1. K., UiH-tiiiiinlNHniu'<> In mi tli western Alaska: Twantleth Ann. Kept. V. S. Uwil. Hiirvpy, pi. 7, ISftK, pp. 220, 231.

General Geology. 109

hese veins are small lenticular masses whose longer axes are parallel rith the foliation. Here and there occur larger masses of the same ype, which may be called " blanket veins." A few of these lenses nd blanket veins are known to be connected with approximately 'ertical fissures and zones of fracture, from which they seem to be iffshoots.

Larger veins filling fissures that cut across the foliation and bediing have been found in a number of localities, and some of these are of economic value. (See pp. 228-232.) So far as observed, however, all the veins in the vicinity of the gold placers are irregular, and even those of considerable size are apt within a short distance to divide up into many veinlets and stringers which can not be mined profitably. As a rule these veins do not follow any discoverable system. They are disseminated in an intricate network through the metamorphic rocks and are very abundant in certain areas that may be best described as zones or belts of mineralization. Some of these veins were formed previous to the development of the schistosity and are feared with the inclosing rock. A few of them can be shown to belong to different periods of intrusion, as veins of quartz cutting veins of calcite, or vice versa, have been observed.

In the rich placer regions nearly all the veins have been found to carry traces of gold, and some of them contain rich ore. In places the gold is free, though it is more commonly associated with sulphide minerals. Occasionally veins of white quartz have been discovered in which a little free gold may be seen near one of the walls, though the mass of the rock contains no trace of any.

Quartz veins containing cassiterite as well as traces of gold occur in the western extremity of the peninsula," and silver-lead deposits have also been discovered in several localities, the best known being at the Omalik mine, on the upper Fish River.

As a general rule no causal connection between the quartz veins and the greenstone intrusives that are so common in the rocks of the Nome group can be demonstrated, and though greenstones are nearly everA- - where present in the bed rock where there is placer gold and are in many places cut by quartz veins, they can not be regarded as indications of the presence of gold. The cassiterite-bearing veins of the western part, of the peninsula, however, have been shown with a reasonable degree of certainty to be due to emanations from intrusive masses of granite and kindred rocks of an acidic nature. In the same region some lead-silver deposits have been found intimately associated rith acidic dikes. Gold in small quantities is known to be associated

CoUler, A. J., Tin deposits of the York region, Alaska : Bull. T'. S. Survey No. t25. 1904, pp. 154-107.

Hendenball, W. C, Reconnaimances in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, alaska, in 1900, a spedal publication of the U. S. Geol. Survey, 1901, pp. 213-214.

110 1501J> Of Seward Peninsula.

with iho ami to txxMir in the same veins, unci as cassiterito in Muall rtinounis has lieen found associated with the plawr at niauY wiiloly soatloroil localities it is not unreasonable to expect that tho iuthuMux*s piwluoinjr the cassiterite veins have extended over a ivirt of tho peninsula. Although, as stated above. >ome of voin> won* pi\>lwibly fomiwl the metamorphisni of the Noino jrrtMip inxnimnK tho majority of them were intruded at some hitor iHriiHl. Then* is reason to lielieve that the tin-bearing vein? won* doiHVsitoil durinjr the iHTiod of granite intrusion. Tho nn'ks of tho whole wore greatly disturbed at that time and the more divply siattnl ones won* intensely altered. It is therefore tlio writerV U*liof that of tho unslieared quartz veins were formed durinir (ho intrusion of tho granites and an traceable either directly or iiidinvtlv to tho same intluemv*

Outune Of Economic Geology.

GEXmRAJi STATEMENT.

Though the freupral features of gold plaeers are so simple as to require no searching analysis, yet hut few wtiidies of even the more prominent <-hararteristics have been made nnd there are many obscnrilies in regard to the occurrence, origin, and diatribntion of mlluviu) gold. This field of applied geolog;v has been somewhat neected, probably in the main because Ihe data needed for the iniTstigBtions must he gleaned during the mining opei-ations or they *rv lost forever. It is therefore only in exceptional cases that the facts bearing on the occurrence of alluvial gold have been available to the geologist.

It is projKised here to discuss the gold placers of Seward Peninsula ID their larger relations, and thus to present an introduction to the delaile<) descriptions by Mr. Collier and Mr. Hess which follow. Attempt will made to formulate the laws governing the occurrence and origin of the alluvial gold, so far as the data at hand will permit. In the preceding pages Mr. Collier has presented in some detail the geography and geolog\- of the peninsula, but brief commentci wifl le made on those features that bear directly on the geology of plai-ers.

A study of the maps (Pis. VIII and IX, in pocket) show.s that this is essentially a region of mature topography, for with the exwption of a few rugged mountain masses, the region is characterized by hmad valleys and flat-topped interstream areas. As a rule the valleys have broad flooi-s with gently sloping walls, but there are a lew sharply incised canyons. The rock valley fltmrs are usually gnrel covered, and rock is exposed only in the smaller gulches. In most places the seaward bases of the uplands are buried in extensive gravel sheets that form coastal plains and ai-e made up of elefluvial deposits. Near the sea many of these deposits break off ill escarpments. The gravel plains mark former eixwhs of

dep*siiioii, and rviiifr:.v- periods of erosion and scHlimentation

sTv ii Iv fvix.d in the many well-marked terraces which occur up to

:ihin;de> of feei. well preserved benches occur here and

ihere ai >nll hirfier aliiiude** but most of the topographic evideuce

of >uoh oldt-r epi:oh> if erosion ha> been effaced. An exception inu.4

bo made, lnjwtT. of ihe that produced the highest surfaw.

This apiar* lo have leveled the rock> of much the larger iiarl of

the iHMiin-ula, and evident of the Iwise-level thns formed is still

pn*serviHl in a sireneral acconiance of summit levels of the interstream

ares>, a very noiiivable ioixffraphic feature throughout the provmce.

All through the jvninMila there is evidence of deep rock decay.

for nearly everywhere, except in the higher mountain masses where

then* ha- Uvn some rei'ent glaciation. a heavy residual soil mantles

the hill<. The valley slopes are in general deeply buried in talus,

and are abundant only along the crest lines of the ridges.

This residual nianile is due to ill absence of glaciation, (2) long

stabjliiy of ihe land relative to ?e;i level, and (3) slowness of erosion

Ih\*:uiso of ihe thick mat of vegetation that covers the surface.

Tlie data now at hand point to the following succession of events in jHvt-KiHvne lime. lU A long ixrioil of erosion which reduced nuu'h of the ixMiinsula to a jieneplain/' During this base-leveling, or the nx*k surface Kvame deeply weathered. (2) Uplift suct*eeded base-leveling and was probably of an intermittent character. AVith elevation enion was revived. The sum of movement was upward, yet the elevations apfxar to have been interrupted by |>erioils of dopivion. The of uplifts is in the lKni-he> now found at variou> altitudes. TMien the high terraces near Nome weiv fornuHl, the land mass nnist have stable sufficiently long to ixrmit an drainage system to \ye develoiHul. Collier ha-* pointed out that at isome later stages local weiv develoixl. but these di) not appear to be recorded throughout the ixMiinsida. The last extensive period of erosion is roprestMitod by the extensive gi-avel found in the coastal plains and the interior basins. Later these gravels were elevated and dissected, and then the cnvk were laid down.

The physiographic coalitions aUn-e were favorable to the fonnatiou of placers, for the dwp rock decay set free the gold in the IkhI nn-k and the various eiXK'hs of erosion and deposition brought a concentration of the heavier materials in the gravek

Th€M fojitiiros have '"'n fully In Reoonnnlffnnrvs In the Ciipe Nome and Norton liay ri:lons. Alaskn. In r.KM). a sptvlal publication of the I*. S. Oeol. Surrff.

*TIie age of thlH peneplain hafl not lieen determined. Iml it Is probably the mm afl that of the Vukon province. See Brooki. A. II.. (Seography and ceolofcy of Alaska: iTof. I'aper V. B. <:eol. Surrey No. 45. 1000. pp. 280-290.

''Collier. A. J.. Beconnalsaancc of the northwestern portion of Seward Pninsoli, Alaska : Prof. Paper U. 8. Geol. flnrrey No. 2, 1002, pp. 34-44.

Outlike Of Ecokouic Obolooy.

Furthermore, dissection of the older alluvial depositii, brought about by uplifts, resulted in a reconcentration of the gold, and thus some of the richest placers were formed,

Mr. Collier (pp. '(5-83) has shown that the bed rock is chiefly meta- BKtrphic. and that it has been wnhjected to stresses producing folding, fkalting, and jointing. He alio notes that intrusives ai'e plentiful uid that stringers and veins of quartz, locally metalliferous, are not uncommon.

Though a number of sli-atigraphic units are recognized on the map, only the two oldest, the Kigluaik group and the Nome group, need beiv be considered, for they form the country rock practically througliout the placer districts. The Kigluaik falls into three sub- — a basal bintite gneis.s, a middle of heavily bedded limestone, and a younger member made up chiefly of liiotite schists Mad thin limestones. The locks are folded and faulted and carry Eome quartz veins, but these have not so far been found to be much mineralized. The Nome group includes a great thickness of quartz sod calcite schists, greenstones, and greenstone schists, together with a massive limestone member which has been called the Port Clarence anil Trhich carries Silurian fossils. Schists occur both above and below the limestone. The placer gold thus far found has been chieSj associated with rocks belonging to the Nome group, which have a wide distribution throughout the peninsula. The schists of this ternuie sre locally much fractured and seamed with quartz and calcite stringers, and some of them carry larger veins in which metallic minerals are not uncommon. Igneous rocks have a wide distribution in the peninsula, the dominant types being granites, in the form of dikes, sills and stocks, and greenstones, occurring as sills and dikes. Some of the acidic intrusives have been found to be mineralized. (Seep. 120.)

Mr. Collier has discussed the structure (pp. 60-63), and it will be iiecessar>' here only to draw attention to certain larger featui-ea. Though in detail the structure is probably exceedingly complex, the geologic maps indicate that there are certain areas of uplift which are marked by the distribution of the limestone. (See Pis. X and XI. in pocket, ) These suggest structural domes of great irregularity, [irobably modified by folding and faulting." As shown on page 122. these uplifts may have causal connection with the distribution of the gold, for it appears that the rocks have been most intensely deformed

!f So. M7. 1B05.I 15M— Bull. 328— OS—

B va disi'visited by tbe writer In the prevLoua report tRecnn Dine and Norton Buy reglans. Alaaka. la 1000. a apeclnl ptibU- Burrey, pp. 3il-JT) and, Ihoiiiih h; do meaQn proved bf to fliiil BT.njp aiipporl, FurtUeruiore. luUlPatlons of a BlmUar in<] by MoOlI Id the Fairbaven district. (See Bull. tJ. B. Oeol.

114 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

along the margins of these uplifts and that in such zones of movement the most extensive veining occurs.

Genesis Anb Classificatton Of Placers.

Three conditions are usually operative in the formation of placers

(1) the occurrence of gold in bed rock to which erosion has accejis;

(2) the separation of gold from bed rock by weathering or abrasion; (3) the transportation, sorting, and deposition of the auriferous material derived by erosion. It is self-evident that unless gold occurs in "bed rock and then is separated from it no placers can be formed. The third agency, namely, transportation, sorting, and deposition, though it has been operative in most regions of extensive auriferous alluvium, is, nevertheless, not absolutely essential to the formation of placers. In many parts of Europe, in the southern Appalachians, and in the Tropics workable placers have been found which were formed solely by the weathering in place of the auriferous bed rock. Rickard has described residual deposits of this kind in Australia, where a surface concentration of gold has been brought through the agency of wind, the lighter material having been removed.

The distribution and origin of the gold in bed rock, involving as it does the study of ore deposits, though of first importance to the study of placers, can here be-only briefly discussed. Of equal importance and more closely related to the genesis of placers is the consideration of the agencies leading to the separation of gold from the bed rock and its subsequent transportation, sorting, and deposition.

That the changes brought about by secular decay of bed rock play an important part in the genesis of placers is a fact that has hardly fully enough recognized.* In the text-books emphasis has usually laid on the two types, the residual placer and the transported or true placers, without full recognition of th fact that the former often represents an intermediate stage between the bed-rock souroe of the gold and the true placer. It appears to the writer that, as a rule, the primary concentration of the auriferous detritus brought about by rock weathering is a necessary stage in the formation of rich I placei's.*' As sliown on page 112 this really amounts to a recognition of the gGogi'aphic cycle as an important factor in the genesis of placers.

Hioknrd. T. A., The nlliivinl de|)osltH of weBtern Australia : Trans. Am. Inst. Mln. Kni:., vol. -JT. 1H9S. pp.

II. L. Smyth has drawn attention to this feature of the formation of placers. See The origin and classification of placers : En}?, and Mln. Jour., vol. 70, 1005, pp. 101'*- 1046, 1179-1180. 1228-12:0.

' J. S. DiUer has made a similar suggestion for the California placers. See Berolstion in the topography of the Pacific coast since the auriferous grarels period: Jvu. Qeol, yol. 2, 1804, pp. 48-63.

Genesis And Classification Of Placers. 115

The transportation, sorting, and deposition of material fiirnislied by the weathering of rocks, the most easily understood of geologic phenomena, are all important agencies in placer formation. Uplift may revive the forces of erosion, and in this way these agencies may be repeatedly effective, resulting in reconcentration of the alluvial gold.

A logical classification of the placers should be based, first, on genesis ; second, on form.*" The primary grouping, according to origin, would be '' residual placers," " sorted placers,'- and '" re-sorted placers." The residual placers are those in which there has lxen no water transportation, the concentration of the gold being due solely to rock weathering. The gold of the sorted placers is the result of .transportation, sorting, and by water. Placers of the third group are those in which the gold has passed through two or more cycles of erosion before its final dejwsition. Those of the first class are practically all of one type. The sorted and re-sorted placers embrace many subordinate types, named according to the form of the occurrence. The following list presents the larger groups and the more important of the subordinate types :

X Re-sortetl plncors. Creek Icli. Beach. Elevated beach.

Creek and gulch.

River bar.

Gravel plain.

Bench.

High bench.

It is evident that in this, as in most other classifications, intermediate types are found which may to either one of two groups. Hillside placers, for example, are those that occur on hill slopes and do not occupy any well-defined channels. These, though usually water sorted to a certain extent, grade directly into <leposits of a purely residual origin on the one hand and into stream or giilch deposits on the other. Again, creek and gulch placers wcur in material which has been sorted only once and in that which has passed through several cycles of erosion.

In the following pages an attempt will be made to trace the phHMT gold through tlie various stages, from its occurrence in the IkhI ro(!k to its deposition in the reconcentrated placers.

The snbject of the cUMiflcation of placers ban Iteen (IIscuhimmI in Roi-onnalsHnnros in tbe Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1000, a spiH'ial pubiiration of tlio V. S. Geo!. Sanrej, 1001, pp. 144-150, where tbe same classification was sugestpfl, tboush different names were applied.

i i'

fOLJ> LS BED ROCK.

:n"7?.C3'jct:on.

1..- ..-'.:. ".: :. : j .: .:. rarv-r.t mok i- of first iinixir- i:. : . ".-- : .:. :--:r.-: :>r :: Irirmiir.es not only tin* fxrur- !-:. - : -. nrVr. L.'TiT.-. -:: alw. li. of hule iniii- ::.L'. I':.: r. ::.i:r'.;.-. .i-.i i: ':.\z.l arv eniirvly iiiailtHjuato fnr :i :r";'-r f :i.> irr-'nar.i -"iVije.'t. Geolog-ic reMan-h ::. >*-w-.rI IV:.::.- I'.i irr-:. f s character ami cmly I'l*- l:iri:-r :Va::rv-, i-ria::- "f ihe ll-nx*k >triictun uikI v.'ii.iT.ir. '...v- '>r-!. :-trrr:,::.r':. I-ta;'.*! -urvoys of the Xome reo-icm j.nij-r i.dw- i— -:. ''-r :. ' F. H. M5ii aiiil F. L. Hess, Init the r—'.liii:iv- : y.-i .T..rk-=-: Tlie pn>-i'KH''toi\ who niisrht i:ri-:-':. :i.ii:t:':.a'. f:i :-. ia- a--:i-:i*>ly <leviieil hiinstIf to the j'la'*-!-. vl.i. ::iv. : r-':..:-* !:>rv- :i:imeIiate reliini*- than the lines.

\':t.- :i!.i :'...!.rLr.:ii'-i Zi:>— an;- i.tt Tiiuimmon in the plarer iri't-: ai.'i li."':::'!! T'r'-|>-.tir-have Lit Uvn backwanl in filing IjN-atii*!. 1. fvv ;'X' avat:ii> have leen made and nnioh of the -♦';i'!i f'l* :iii!:fni- i';anz ha- Ije-n made hy men either M'ithcMit -*rilM'.l l,y Mr. 'ai p. '. of the few examples of inteiii- L'-iitly iliiv. ii'ii Iml,. .l'Vilii|.niei;t. ha> a depth of i:0 fwt KK-winiv in liu' Imi few prospe<*t shafts aiul

Tli' -♦an 1 1 fnr Itnltaiiil the -tidy of the Unl-rcK'k source of the *roM an' nMiilfivil lirfi*ult the thirk mat of vejretation which monthiiiiwli "f tilt* Mirfae. A heavy taln> covers the hill slopes, and the thMiivalley> an* u-ually hH?ply buried in gravels. There jr.. ihcnfuiv. I'claiivcly little opportunity to study the bed rock.

Grouping Of Deposits.

IVir ihi di-(n--ion a -omewhat arlntrary sulxlivision of the ore lHnli<- ha- Ih'I'u adopt*!. namely. iH disseminateil ileposits and (2) roiiriiiraiMl depo-it-. In the tii-st group falls all of the aurifennis iM'd HM-k in wliirli the <rold not occur along any well-marktHl individual fracture u- zone of fractuiv. hut is disininated in larger luik iiia-M*-. Tht' >ccond group emhraco all the auriferous de|)osits havr Im'cu hiid <loNvn along well-tlefined fractuns or zones of frari iir'. All Iwxlics having any commercial value fall into ilii' irroMp dei)(sits. hut it also embraces many in uhich tlu* vahu*- arc too low or too widely distributed to have any prn-pc<'tiv<* valu<*. It <vidcnt that, as there is a gradation lietween the two tyjM's. >ouic d<'posits might find place in either group.

Two other types of (hposit are here briefly mentioned, though they have not Imhmi studiecl by the writer. These are the cassiterite-beariiig

Gold In Bed Rock. 117

lodes of the York region and the galena deposits of the Fish River basin.

Disseminated Deposits.

In previous reports treating of the mineral resources of Seward Peninsula, emphasis has been laid on the fact that the gold was derived chiefly from disseminated deposits. The richness of the placei-s has been attributed rather to the erosion of extensive rock masses and subsequent concentration by repeated sorting than to the richness of the bed-rock deposits. Though this no doubt holds true for many deposits, yet the accumulation of more evidence both from placermining operations and from closer studies of the bed rock suggests a far greater concentration of gold in the bed rock than was at first supposed. However this may be, the wide distribution of gold in the metamorphic teiTanes is attested by the occurrence of colors in the gravels of almost every creek whose gravels have been derived from metamorphic rocks.

The disseminated deposits appear to occur only in rocks having a secondary structure that is sufficiently well developed to permit the circulation of the mineral-bearing solutions. In general, however, they can be defined as deposits formed by mineral solutions that fol- . lowed zones of fracturing not sufficiently intensified or localized to afford well-defined channels of circulation. These belts of mineralization, for such they are, probably have more or less zonal arrangement, as is indicated by the distribution of the placers, and appear to follow the major structural features. Some of the deposits carry little or no gangue, the evidence of mineralization IxMng limited to the presence of pyrites or their oxidation products, together with some gold. In others lenticular masses of quartz and, less commonly, calcite, following the planes of foliation and carrying metalliferous minerals, are found. These lenses are discontinuous aggregates of gangue minerals, and are usually less than an inch in width. Locally the quartz and calcite occur merely as blebs a few inches in diameter, with no-apparent connection.

The York region appears to offer an example of the dissemination of gold in the bed rock and consequent absence of .rich placers, in spite of the extensive erosion that has taken place. In the metamorphic slates of that region (see p. 79) blebs and stringer veins of auriferous quartz are not uncommon in the rock. From a scientific standpoint, considerable areas of bed rock can said to be mineralized, but these are disseminated through large masses, and up to the present time no well-defined impregnated zone has been recognized. This appears in a large measure to account for the absence of any considerable amount of alluvial gold, though certain conditions

118 Gold Ptjicers Of Seward Peninsula.

of orosioii," discussed elsewhere, also have been adverse to the formation of placers.

<'Oncrntrated Deposits.

The concentrated ore are of two general types — (1) impregnated zones of fracture and (2) fissure veins. The first are probably the most abundant, but in many places the two grade into each other.

Tlu impivgnated zones of fracture appear to have been formed by the shearing of rock masses along more or less well-defined zones and the intrusion of the shattered rock masses by mineral-bearing solutions. The pi-esence of included fragments of foliated rocks in the shear zcme indicates that the stresses that developed the secondary .structure antedated the shearing, which was accompanied by impregnations.

Within the mineralized zone there is usually a system of intersecting fractures that are followed by quartz or calcite veins and stringers, the whole forming what Becker has termed a stringer lead. As a rule the entire zone strikes parallel to the dominant structures of the country rcK'k, but many of the fractures are discordant to the walls of the deposit. The dips of the ore bodies vary greatly, but most commonly are nearly vertical. In most of the deposits which have come to the notice of the writer the zone of mineralization is bounded by slickensided walls. Here and there, however, the ore body merges gradually into the wall rock. In some deposits gash veins penetrate

both walls.

At some localities two systems of veining were observed, one of which, following the foliation, has been more or less deformed. The system is an infiltration along joints that intersect the lines of foliation. Though systems were found to carry sulphides, the younger one appeared to lx most heavily mineralized.

The dominant mineral in the vein filling is usually quartz, but in some veins calcite is more abundant than the quartz, and they very connnonly o(;cur together. Iittle attention has been given to the ores themselves. Those that have come to the writer's attention are chiefly pyrites, and among these, iron, arsenical, and antimonial pyrite to dominate, but chalcopyrite has also been found. Other metallic mineral's that have recognized are free gold, galena, and stibnite. is often found with the placer gold, but has not Imhmi in place. Cinnabar occurs in abundance in the gravels of Daniels Creek, and cassiterite associated with alluvial gold has found in some localities.

These deposits apjMjar to be somewhat irregular, but no systematic attempt has Ixen made to prospect any of them. They vary in width

Sw* alBo Reconnal8anci in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay ngloiii'-AlMha In 190 a ieclai publication of the IT. 8. Gol. Survey, 1901. pfi. 187, 14fc

Oold In Bed Rock.

from less than a foot to possibly 50 feet or more, but there are still wider ones which probably belong to the disseminated deposits, Mffcit of them have not been traced farther than a few hundred feet, but in one case at least a zone of impregnation has been followed a mile or more along the strike.

Few of these ore bodies have been sampled and there, is little inforuialion n-garding values. As high as $3 to $10 a ton in gold has been re|>orIe(] (o the writer as the result of careful sampling. Inexperiuicwl men are oft*-n misled by the high values obtainetl from the assay of picked Hpeoimcns. It appears that wherever gold is found stunci silver is present. It should hv noted that many of these niinerftlixet] times in which pyrite is present carry little or no free gold. Though some free gold has been foimd, it appears that most deposits of this carry base ores.

The 6s.sure veitis, the Hccona type of concentrated deposits, are relatively rare compared to the impregnated zones. This is at least true of tliose which are ore bearing, but large barren quartz veins are oat uncommon in the metamorphic rocks of the peninsula.

The fissure veins are well defined and usually cut the foliation of the country' rock. Like the impregnated zones, many of them are sharply diffei-enlisted from tlie wall rocks by sliekensides. Some of them, however, send off gash veins into the country rock which follow the foliation. Quartz veins 2 to 1.") feet wide have been found, but thsMp appear to be barren and have traced no great distance. The ore-lx'iiriiig veins jjrobably range from less than a foot to S feel in widtii. In the Solomon River Valley veins have been traced by surface i-mppings for a distance of more than half a mile. Froiii the evidence in hand it would appear that the fissure veins were more persistent than Uie impregnateil zon&s.

The vein filling is chiefly quartz, but in some veins calcite is practinilly the only gangue mineral. Gold, where present, is usually free. Iron pyrite is almost invariably present, and some galena and thalcijpyrite has been found. It is reported that one chalcopyritebeoring lode has boen found near the head of Nome River and another (aee p. 298) in the Kougarok region. Two types of vein filling have Ixen recognized. In one the quartz is ribboned and little calcite is This is the characteristic deposit of the Big Hurrah Creek le-scribed by Mr. Collier (p. 228). In the other type the nearly all calcite, through which the gold occurs in a free together with some iron pyrite. No workable deposits of this lypp have been discovered, though many of the calcite veins yield high kaT values. In general it may lie said that the fis.sure veins thus far prtKpected, except those in the Solomon River region, have not been proi'ed to \te workable ore bodies.

120 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula

Though the fissure veins and impregnated zones have been described as different types of deposits, yet it is not intended to imply that they represent distinct epochs of mineralization, for they may, in part at least, belong to the same period of intrusion. In many cases the formation of the impregnated zones appears to have been an identical process with that of the veins, except that in the fissure the schists appear to have been crushed without any notable open spacing.

Cassitertte- And Galena-Bearing Lodes.

Besides the auriferous deposits above described, two other types of ore bodies have been found on the peninsula, namely, the cassiterite-bearing dikes of the York region and the galena-bearing lodes of the Fish River region.

The tin-bearing lodes have been described by Collier as mineralized granite dikes which appear to be apophyses from larger granite masses. Besides these, Hess has described tin-bearing impregnation veins in the granite area at Cape Mountain. In some places the mineralization appears to have occurred along the peripheries of the granite stocks. A lode on Cassiterite Creek is described by Collier and Hess as essentially a mineralized porphyry dike, more or less altered, through which crystals of cassiterite are scattered. Besides the cassiterite the ore carries galena and some gold and a great variety of secondary minerals. Hess has also described a gold-bearing aplite dike which occurs on Cape Mountain.

Mendenhall has described the Omalik silver deposit as a galenabearing lode, occurring at the contact of a schistose intrusive and a white crystalline limestone. He notes the presence of pyrite and stibnite. His examination was confined to the outcrop, for at the time of his visit the mine workings had caved in. Analysis showed the presence of gold. It appears that this deposit is unlike those described from which the alluvial gold has been derived. Similar ore bodies have been reported by prospectors from other parts of tht peninsula, but have not been examined by geologists.

These two types of ore bodies, occurring near the eastern and western extremities of the peninsula, indicate a wide distribution of the mineralization. They are also of interest to the miner, because they appear to examples of types of deposits different from those which furnished the placer gold.

- Collier, A. J., The tin deposits of the York reslon, Alaska : Bull. U. S. Geol. Soirej No. 229. 1904, pp. 10-29.

Hess, F. L., The York tin region : Bull. U. S. ileol. Survey No. 284, 1906. pp. 145-157.

" Reconnaissances in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, AlMfca, In 1900, a tpeelal publication of the U. S. Geol. Surrey, 1901, pp. 213-214.

In Bed Rock.

DISTRIBUTION OF MINERALIZATlcT

An adequate discussion of Ihe distrilnilidii of the ore deposits must wait a more t-oiiiplete knowledge of the geology. Some facts have, Iiowever. ileveloped in course of the investigation that appear to give support to ctrlaiii couchisions. These theories, being still largely hypothetical, are liei'e pi-eseiited with some hesitancy, because the determination of the loci of gold in bed rock is of such obvious importance to the mining industi-y. Ftile deductions, if accepted by the miner, may lead to misdirected efforts in the search for auriferous plicers and lode.

As yet almost the only criterion of the occurrence of gold in bed rock is the distriluition of the placers. This evidence must be used with caution, Iwcause (1) placers may be found a long distance from tlie bed-rock source of the gold, as in ihe Nome Ijeach deposits, and

Kild may occur in bed rock where the conditions are unfavorable formation of placers. It is a well-established fact." however, le gold of the gulch and creek placers is for the most part defroni rock of the immediate vicinity, and this fact makes it pertain that the areal distribution this type of placei-s is probably almost identical with the areal distribution of gold in bed rock.

The gold placet's of Seward Peninsula fall into two broad belts, separated by the Kigluaik and Bendeleben mountains. (See Pis. X and XI. in pocket.) In the southern lelt. at present the largest producer of gold, are included the Nome, Solomon, and Ophir regions and aome smaller mining districts. The Bluestone, Kougarok, and Fairhaven placers lie in the northern zone. The absence of placer gold in intervening regions suggests the absence of gold from the bed lock, but may also bt> explained by the fact that glaciafion and other conditions hare not ben favorable to the accumulation of auriferous gravels.

Within the two belts the placers are so irregidarly distributed as to make it certain that some other cause must have operated in determining their occurrenw than the accidents of erosion and deposi- - lion. On some creeks thei-e are nch placers, while at near-by localitiBB, where the character of the alluvial deposits is identical, gold may be almost entirely ab.sent. (See maps. Pis. X and XI.) A natural inference is that this irregularity is due to the irregularity of the diiitribution of Ihe gold in bed rock.

It has already been pointed out'' that thei-e appears to a connection between stnicture and the distribution of the auriferous gravel. This new is borne out by the evidence of the geologic maps, which iiidi-

122 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

cate that most of the workable placers occur along or close to the contacts of limestones and schists. These contacts have in many places been exposed to erosion as a result of the domal uplifts already mentioned. This, however, is not everywhere the case, for some of the limestone-schist contacts are simply the margins of lenses of limestone included in the schist. Be the relation of the limCvStone to the schist what it may, it appears to be established that the bed-rock source of the gold in most deposits is traceable to a limestone-schist contact. Furthermore, these contacts appear to have been loci of the greatest mineralization, either as impregnated zones or as fissure veins. These contacts have only in part been studied and mapped, and if the distribution of all the placers (Pis. X and XI, in pocket) does not follow this law, this may only appear so because of the lack of complete data on the bed-rock geology.

The close association of the placers with the contacts between limestone and schist is well illustrated by the Ophir Creek region, the geology of which is indicated on the accompanying sketch (fig. G) in greater detail than on the general map (PL X). Several limestone areas are which may Ijelong to an older formation or may be lenses in the schists which surround them. The contact between the two types of rocks where examined give evidence of intense deformation, resulting in shattering and shearing. It is in these zones of disturbance that the presence of quartz veins, many of them ore bearing, is most noticeable. In the diagrammatic section (fig. 0) the relation of the mineralized zones both to the limestones and schists and to the placers is brought-out. For the purpose of this discussion it is immaterial whether the limestone is a distinct lower member of the succession that has been infolded or whether it is a series of lenses in the schist." The point is that along the contact of the limestone and the schist shearing has taken place, and also intrusion of mineral-bearing solutions. This may be due solely to the mechanical influence of a massive bed in its contact with a schist during the deformation, or also to the chemical composition of the limestone, which may have had some influence on the deposition of mineral veins.

Though the evidence of the placers makes it appear that the loci of mineralization are usually confined to the contacts of the limestones and schists, yet there are known to be ore bodies which occur in other associations. Mention has been made of the cassiterite-bearing dikes and the galena lodes occurring in crystalline limestone. It is also probable that much of the placer gold may have been derived from other than limestone and schist contact deposits. Detailed studies by Mr. Moffit and Mr. Hess of the area covered by the Nome

It should be noted that in one place, at least, there is evidence that the acbist maj be an altered intmsiye. See description of Bluff region, p. 286.

Gold In Bed Rock.

1 map, though not completed, appear to indicate that the placer inds its source in a zone of intricately folded and faulted rocks, ot necessarily along limeHtone-schist contactii.

FtO. 6. — Oologli

map Hdd drtlon or Opblr rpglon

the deposits referred to in the foregoing discussion occur in iome group, a rather heterogeneous succession of limestones calcareous, graphitic, and quartz schists, together with many

124 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

trreenstones. Most of the placer deposits occur in the rocks of this group and hence it would appear to afford the most likely field for ore bodies. It must be remembered, however, that the areas in which the Kigluaik group is the country rock had a physiographic history unfavorable to the formation of placers. The absence of placer's, thei*efore, may not be taken as definite proof of the absence of lodes. As a matter of fact, large quartz veins are not uncommon in the upper formation of the Kigluaik group, but most of these have been found to be only slightly mineralized. A little gold is, however, present in some of these veins and they deserve examination.

Age Of Mineralization.

The last epoch of extensive intrusion appears to be that represented by the massive granites occurring as stocks or dikes throughout the peninsula. There is apparently some evidence tliat the last intrusion of the quartz veins was coincident with the granite injection. Collier and Hess have shown this to be the case with soipe of the cassiterite-bearing veins so closely associated with granitic intrusives. In any event it is certain that both the granite and the quartz veins have been injected since the last extensive epoch of deformation. The fact that there are deformed quartz veins and granites does not militate against this conclusion, for it appears that these belong to an older intrusive epoch. In a former report the writer has suggested that the dome structure may have been brought about by greenstone intrusions, but this does not appear to be borne out by the later investigations. In the northeastern part of the peninsula Moffit" found that many of the domes had a granitic core, and he suggested that the dome structure may have been caused by granite intrusions. If this is the case and the margins of the domes prove to be the loci of ore deposits, there is probably a genetic relation between the granite and the quartz veins.

There is little direct evidence of the age of the granite intrusion, but it appears to have antedated the deposition of the lignite-bearing beds found in various parts of the peninsula, probably of Eocene, but possibly of Upper Cretaceous age. Spurr found granitic rocks cutting beds of Iower Cretaceous age in the lower Kuskokwim basin. These are the nearest granites to Seward Peninsula of whose age anything is known. As no granitic intni-

Moffit. F. H., The Falrhnven gold placers, Seward Penlnsuln, Alaska : Bull. U. B. Gtol Survey No. 247. 1005, p. 2.3.

Brooks, A. H., Geography and geology of Alaska : Prof. Paper U. 8. Geol. Surrey No. 45, 1906, p. 242.

' Spurr, J. B., A reconnaissance In southwestern Alaska in 1898 : Tweotleth Ann. Bept U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 7, 1900, p. 159.

Separation Of Gold From Bed Rock. 125

sives have been found in any of the younger terranes of Alaska it seems probable that those of the peninsula were intruded in early Cretaceous time.*'

SEPARATION OF GOIiD FROM BED ROCK.

The separation of gold from bed rock is brought about by processes of erosion, of which secular decay is the most effective, but corrasion also plays a part. Though the long accumulation of weathered bed rock in place is the most favorable condition for the formation of placers, yet it does not follow that rich alluvial deposits may not be formed by rapid erosion of bed rock when the detritus is removed as fast as it accumulates. The ordinary processes of erosion, by which through the action of rain, frost, ice, vegetable life, and other agencies, hard rocks are converted into loose material, are too well known to require description. Of greater importance to this discussion is the rock decay that is not accompanied by any considerable mechanical removal of material.

Hard rocks by disintegration and decay are transformed into loose material. During these processes the soluble rock constituents are removed through the agency of water, and there remains a residual mass made up of relatively insoluble matter. The breaking down of the rock and the accompanying chemical changes of the constituent materials set free the gold, one of the relatively indestructible minerals, and this becomes intermingled with the other insoluble material. Clay dominates in the residual mass, but if the parent rock contained quartz, this, too, usually remains, being probably the most refractory of all the common minerals toward purely chemical agencies. Mineralized vein quartz very commonly carries easily decomposed minerals, such as pyrites, and is therefore readily broken up, allowing the insoluble ingredients of the ore body, such as gold, to be set free. This process is hastened by purely physical agencies, such as frost and changes of temperature, which break up the insoluble rock constituents.

Russell,* in describing residual rocks of the southern Appalachian region, says :

The quartz veins ao common throughout the crystalline areas of Virginia, the Carollnas, etc., are more durable than the rocks inclosing them, and retain their integrity long after the associated schists have changed to plastic clays. Bowlders and pebbles derived from the breaking up of quartz veins cover the surface with, a continuous sheet of debris over large areas, forming a residual deposit,

The age of the mineralisation in southeastern Alaska and the Yukon basin has been briefly discussed by the writer In Some recent publications on Alaska and adjacent regions : Economic Geology, vol. 1, 1006, pp. 342-355.

Russell, I. C, Snbaerlal decay of rocks and origin of the red color of certain formations: Bull. U. 8. GoL Surrey No. 52, 1889, p. 14.

126 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

the origin of wliich is revealed at a glance. The quartz itself, although oppoAing great resistance to disintegration, is not indestructible, as is shown by the brown, iron-stained lines that traverse it in every direction, marking the coupe of incipient fractures. The continual breaking of the quartz into smaller and smaller fragments produces an angular sand which everywhere forms an ingredient of the red-clay soil.

Hayes has shown that under certain conditions even quartz is readily soluble by surface waters. It is evident, therefore, that the gold included in quartz veins, will, in course of the process of weathering, eventually be set free.

As a rule, the changes in a rock mass brought about by weathering result in a very material reduction in its bulk.* The loss of material by weathering among siliceous crystalline rocks, according to Merrill, amounts to more than 50 per cent, and in the purer forms of limestone it may reach as high as 99 per cent. Pumpelly has estimated that in the limestone areas of the Ozark Mountains the residual material represents only from 2 to 9 per cent of the original rock mass. Such reductions in volume necessarily result in more or less concentration of any insoluble material that may have been disseminated in the parent rock. This concentration will be materially greater in the case of substances of high specific gravity, such as gold, than in that of the lighter minerals, for the former will have a constant tendency to settle to the bottom of the loose material. On declivities gravity will accelerate the process and help to sort the material producing in some places a rough stratification.* This is a secular process and will proceed as long as the rocks continue to disintegrate. Placers mav be formed in this manner without mechanical transpoilation. Becker has described such types of placers in the southern Appalachian region, where they at one time formed an important source of gold. To the same class probably belongs also the extraordinarily rich placer known as the Caribou Bill claim near the divide between Anvil and Dexter creeks on Seward Peninsula. (See p. 200.)

This process is here set forth in some detail because it is believed that the first concentration of gold after being set free from bed rock, by the contraction of the residual mass due to disintegration

Hayes, C. W., Solution of silica under atmospheric condltiona : Bull. Geol. See America, vol. 8. 1S07, pp. 21,1-220.

Merrill has shown that in certain changes hy hydration there is an increase in bulk, lie estimated that in the converRion of granite into soil (District of Columbia) there had an Increase in volume amounting to 88 per cent. Compare Merrill, G. I., Principles of roclt weathering: .Tour. (Jeol., vol. 4. p. 718.

Merrill, G. P., Rocks, rock weathering, and soils. New York, 1897, p. 234.

Pumpelly, Raphael, The relation of secular rock disintegration to loess, glacial drift, and rock basins : Am. Jour. Sci., .3d ser., vol. 17. 1879, p. 136.

Kerr, W. C, The gold gravels of North Carolina, their structure and origin : Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Eng., vol. 8, 1879-80, pp. 461-462.

Becker, G. P., Gold fields of the southern Appalachians: Sixteenth Ann. Bept U. 8. *Oeol. Surrey, pt 3, 1885, p. 2.

Separation Op Gold From Bed Rock. 127

and decay, has been an important factor in the formation of rich placers. It is not intended to imply that these residual placers are themselves of great value, except in certain places, but rather that they represent an intermediate stage between the gold in bed rock and the sorted placers.

If it is granted that the deep decay of bed rock is a favorable preliminary stage to the formation of placers, it is pertinent to consider the conditions under which such decay takes place. The agencies that bring about weathering are primarily solution, changes of temperature, beating of rains, gravity, and vegetation. All these agencies have played their part in the reduction of the rocks of Seward Peninsula. Though it is probably true that rock weathering is more rapid in warm than in cold countries, yet the sweeping assertions that have been made in regard to the absence of residual material in high latitudes have not been borne out by the writer's observations. Many of the placer-mining operations in this region have disclosed a considerable thickness of residual material, but the data are as yet too incomplete for a detailed discussion. The great irregularity in the distribution of the permanent ground frost — in some places reaching to depths of 100 feet or more, in others entirely lacking — would appear to favor the breaking down of the hard rocks. Throughout Seward Peninsula, except in the Kigluaik Mountains, which have been glaciated, the lower hill slopes are buried in a thick mantle of talus and residual material, and bed rock is usually exposed only at the crest lines. In the gulches and stream valleys residual clays 8 to 15 feet thick are not unconmion. All of this goes to prove that decay is not confined to the region of warmer climate and excessive rainfall.

It is evident that the effectiveness of all these agencies is proportional to the length of time in which they are operative. A land mass must i*emain stable, relative to sea level, for a long period of time to permit the accumulation of any considerable amount of residual material.; Uplifts bring about renewed activities of the watercourses, and the residual mantle is quickly removed by erosion. It is evident that the conditions that are most favorable to the accumulation of residual material are those in which the land mass is at or near baselevel, when erosion is reduced to a minimum.

Attention has been called to the topographic evidence of a long epoch of erosion, which planated much of the peninsula. If the facts are interpreted correctly, a peneplain was formed over nearly the entire peninsula since Eocene time. This indicates a long period of time during which the conditions would be favorable for disintegration and decay. The thesis that the writer would advance, then, is that the peneplanation of Seward Peninsula, previous to the present geographic cycle, has been an important factor in the concentration of the placer gold*

AND DEPOSITION OP PIiACER GOLD.

Tho third important agency in the formation of placers is tmusportation, sorting, and deposition by water. Material set free from the IhhI nHk has a (*onstant tendency to move toward base-level. Tliis movement is hroiight about by gravity aided by the power of water. The transporting power of a stream is deixndont on its veUvity, which is a variant determined by the gradient, volume, and load. When a stream is overloaded with sediment, the is dropivd. >Mien it is underloaded, it erodes. AMien iiiilibrium has Ihhmi established, neither erosion nor deposition takes phuv. (gradient, volume, and load usually varv in the siime stream, that ileposition nuiy Ih going on in one part of its valley and erosion in another. When a stream is eroding, the material within of its activitv constantly moved in a downstream direction. All movements of this kind are accompanied by more or less and make for the concentration of the heavier particles.

deposition takes phuv in a stream when the veloc*ity is decreased, either hv tlie periodic changes in volume or by a change of gradient Where there is a changi* of grade, resulting in diminished velocity, the pdd is hiid down with the other sediments. It must rememheretl, that placer gold may find lodgment in inecpmlities of the bed rock surface where no considerable deposition of detrital matter has taken phice, though extensive placers are, as a rule, not formed hM!iUM' of irregularities in the IxHl-rix'k surface alone. The concen- I nit inn of ioM in river bars in analogous to its deposition in stream lietl ., for it is where the velocity of the current is checked the formal of eddies, due t( the inequalities of the river floor.

ottiu revue of ihi* richest placers (m or near beil rock is a normal eonlition wlierever auriferous alluvium has been mined. N'arioiis theories have been advanced for this concentration on bed lock, but thi'v appear to Ih' inaiKMpuite to explain many (x;curn*ncts. It is self eviilent that a |)lacer with an overburden not exceeding the to Nshieh alhivium is disturUul and sorted during one of would have its heavy ingredients concentrated at the merely bv the action of gravity, (iravity alone would appar insullieient to account for the concentration of gold in gi-avels having a (h'ptli of 'JO to -jot) feet, for such gravels were evidently not laid down at o!H time. The highest strata nnist have been deposited without the lower strata. If the gold were deposited at the JMittom scdely by the action of gi'avity during the process of deposition there should Ih a streak for each {Kn-iod of deposition. It is exceptional, however, to find more than one pay streak.

POaepney' has argiied that the partirlps of gold were concenlrntfd I bed rock by workiDg their way down through the tincoQsolidated material below solely through the action of gravity and after Ihe gravels had been deposited. Smyth has, however, shown that such anion would be inversely proportional to the size of the particles, and here the finest gold shoidd Ite at the bottom of the deposits. As a matter of fact the contrary is true. Moreover, many of the Alaskan placers are frozen and have probably been so for the most part since their original deposition.

SpenctT has described the placers on Gold Creek, near Juneau, Eliowing that here deposition began on bed rock where there was a duuige in the gradient of the stream and that this action continued progressively toward the headwaters, and this appears to be a general hiw. In such a manner a series of placers would Imj formed, lying on or close to bed rock. It would seem, however, that this can not be advanced as a general law governing the formation of placers, unless Ihi-supply of gold furnished by erosion ceased when all the bed rock had been covered. If the gold from the parent rock had been concentrated by secular decay, lea\'ing it intermingled with clay and other light substances, not only would the conditions then be favorable to the fonnation of placers, but such placers would carry more gold than later ones unless a period of quiescence with accompanying livay intervened.

The gold set free by secular decay is intermingled chiefly with clay, and this would be quickly removed by erosion if uplift renewed the cnttiog power of the stream. By this means gold already concentrated by weathering would be deposited as the bottom layer of the sediments laid down during the new geographic cycle. The erosion of bed rock after the mantle of weathered material had been removed might continue to supply gold, yet this could be concentrated only by the ordinary processes of sorting and woidd be more or less dissnninated in the overburden covering the first placers formed. It seems probable, too, that more rapid erosion and the abrasion accom- |iiying the destruction of the hard rock during the new geographic m-le may account for the absence of any large percentage of coarse gold in the later alluvial deposits, 111 the southern Appalachians there appears to a field where the condition for the formation of placers has been met. During

. p.. Kiir npnnla d

Zpliachr. (. B*rguad ncl Mln. Jour., vol. TO,

I. .15, 18BT, p. 327.

I. II. L., The origin oDd i

t. 9 ITJS.

Hpnrfr. A. L'.. The Juaeau goW belt; Bull. U. 8. OeoJ. Survey No. 2B7, 1007, pp.

it.

130 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

two cycles of plaiiation deep rock decay has taken place, and hence residual placers have been formed. The absence of any considerable uplift, however, has prevented the dissection of these residual deposits, and as a result there has been no sorting. The gold, therefore, is found on bed rock only where gravity has aided the concentration, namely, on hill slopes.''

Deep secular decay, a concomitant of base-level conditions, has, in the opinion of the writer, in most of the important placer fields of the world, preceded the period of rapid deposition to which the formation of placers is usually assigned.

The general cycle of events favorable to the formation is, then, base-leveling, followed by rapid uplift. The simple conditions above set forth arerobably rarely fulfilled. In Seward Ieninsula a general base-leveling antedated the formation of the placers, yet since that planation there have been many uplifts and depressions, probably separated by intervals of stability long enough to permit considerable secular decay.

RECOXCENTRATION OF PliACER GOIiD.

In the foregoing pages the succession of events in the formation of placers has been traced from the time when the gold is set free from bed rock until it finds a resting place in the auriferous alluvium. What has been de.scribed is the history of events that take place during an uninterrupted geographic cycle. If, however, after the placer has been formed, an uplift which renews the erosive power of the streams occurs, a re-sorting of the auriferous material may be eflFected and new placers formed that may be much richer than the primary deposits. Such a secondary concentration has been very marked in some of the Seward Peninsula placers. The processes of erosion and deposition are those already described and need not be considered again.

Among the important re-sorted types are the beach placers, formed by the action of the surf on the uplifted stream gravels of the coastal plain. This process of wave concentration has yielded some extraordinarily rich deposits. (See description of Nome beach placers, 151, and of Topkok beach placers, p. 289.) A less evident but probably equally important type of reconcentrated placers comprises those enriched by the dissection of the high gravels in the Anvil Creek region (p. ISfi). Reconcentrated placers are also found in the beds of the streams which traverse the costal plain near Nome.

'Hayes. C. W.. and M. R., Geomorphology of the southern AppaUchiam : Nat. Mag., vol. 1894. pp. 6.1-126.

Kerr, W. C, The gold gravels of North Carolina, their stmctim and orlglB : Am. Inst. Mln. Eng., vol. 8, 1880, pp. 462-408.

In some places the placer golil hns prohnhly existed as such through several geographic cycles and has been re-sorted ti iiiiiiiber of times since it was freed from bed i-ock. The processes of recoiicentmtion and the various types of placers thus formed have been considered at some length by the writer" and need not here be further discussed.

IIINTH Ttl I'ltOHI'ECTORH.

Introduction.

Till' foiTgoing pages art' inlendcd to |pnd lo letter underatandiiig of the detailed tlesciiptions that follow and also to elucidate some of the general laws that control the owiirrence of gold in this province. An attempt will here be made to present briefly the application of these theories to the placer-mining industry. Had the investigation gone far enough to fonnulate definite laws on tlitsource and distribution of the alluvial gold, it would, no doubt, have great practical nlue. but even the incomplete data and more or less theoretical conclusions will, it is hoped, be useful to the prospector. Prospectors and miners are sometimes prone to regard the results of the geologist'.i study as of purely scientific interest, but as the application of geology to mining becomes letter known this fallacy Is gradually being dispelled. It is hoped that the matter here presented, though intended primarily for the inexperienced prospector, may be not without inter- r4 to those-who are imfamiliar with the conditions prevailing in SewanJ Peninsula.

A placer is an unconsolidated deposit accumulated by mechanical processes, carrying one or more minerals in conmiercial quantities. Mi placers are secondary deposits — that is, the material of which they are composed was originally derived by erosion of bed rock, .\ltboiigh it is undoubtedly true that under certain conditioas nuggpts of placer gold have been enlarged through chemical precipitation, yet this action is a negligible quantity in placers.'' Placers may be derived solely by rock weathering without water sorting, but more cranmonly are the result of water transportation, sorting, and depoatinn. Some of the richest placers are those formed by the erosion of older placers and the reconcentration of their gold.

A theorj' not uncommon among miners that the placer gold rMched it-s present position by glacial action is not sustained by any fids known to the writer. The forces of erosion now in operation re ample to bring about the formation of placers, and it is not neces-

RfrnBiulHaiirM Id the Cape Nome and NortoD Ua; reglnns, Alaskn. Ln DKHt, n npectil tBHInUoD of Ihe V. B. SurTPy, pp. 1-14-ini.

A. Llienldge lOn Tlie i-rrlmlllDC structure of gold and plHllaum uiigecis nnJ guld tahiti- Jour. Kojt. Hoc. Sfw Bouth Wales. 180T. pp. 7O-70i has ahown Mint gold DugeeU RiMtad tf bim fisvD DO Internal ilruclun- Indicating cbemlial growtli.

esry U) have recourse lo the vuious UieorieiB of giacnitisiii. voUsDini, eUu, current amuog proepwtors. It stioald be noted, bower, tW eroaon nuiy bare beD accelerated ur in tW [ut?* by ih* uplift or (lepretfdoD of the land. EvidriKx of upUft are conunoo in Seward Peaitisula, llie mo arising being the fk-vail Iwnch plan near Nome and Ihc bigb-bencb gravels near the head of Anril Cnek. Elevation may bring about the )rii4.-tirm of former placers and

Gold In Bed Rock.

hii bet'ti the plucer gold lia its source in the lietl rick and in this lield none except some of the Bnest lias Uvn transported far from its source. The facts prenonsly predated imlicalo thut the: lines of contact of the limestones and schists an-must favorable for the occurrence of gold in bed riNrlc. This is especially tnte if the cor> tact gives evidence of having been a line of mowmcnl. An exceed* ingly broken up and schistose condition of the rock is an iiidicatio of such movements, which are often by the of micaceous minerab, giving the nx-k the appearance of talc t soapstone. If siich contacts are found they shouUi lie carefully examined for evidence of mineralization, which may result in the forata.- tion of well-defined quart/, or calcite veins, or may be simply a impregnation of the bed rotk by mi ncnil -bearing solutions. If rail eralization occurs it is usually accompanied by the deposition c some of the pyrite minerals and then decomjKisil ion gives a cltana teristic iron or copper stain,

Tlie character of the ores has been described, but it should here b noted thiit the gold of many of the mineralized zones ap[>ear to I included in arsenical and iron pyrite. In thi.s type of deposit free milling ores would le limited to a shallow surface xone. In auulbd type, to which the Big Hnnah quartz mine belongs, ihe gold e free in a quartz or i!lcite gangiio.

The more detailed knowledge gained since the former f prepared makes it probable that the gold was not so widely dissani nnfed in the bed rock as was at first supimsed. On tlie whole, thw fore the cumulative evidence rather favors the discovery of lod deiWHits. It is with some hesitancy that the writer makes this staU ment tor it may le interpreted as an unqualified indorsement of tin lode-mining industry of the jieninsula, which is far from lii purpose. The sole object of this statement is to draw uttentioo I thin region hs a possible ficKl for quartz mining.

It can not too strongly urged that every <iumtz claim lie t ougUly prospecU'd before any elaborate equipment is piircjia*!! Heiv as in other mining districts, legitimate wnlures have brought into di.-uepute by the ill-advised, if not downright swiiidl

Hints To Prospectors. 133

mining schemes that have been foisted on the public. Nonresidents should be particularly careful in investing in mining enterprises concerning the management of which they have no personal knowledge. As a general rule, it is safe to presume that a man who has to find his [capital by alluring advertisements in communities where he is personally unknown has something to dispose of that is unmarketable among those who are most familiar with it.

Though the question of costs in lode mining has not yet been carefully studied in Seward Peninsula, they are higher than in many more accessible regions. It is perhaps safe to say that under the present (1905) no lode deposit not yielding at least $10 to the ton [>y carefully taken commercial samples is worthy of further investigation. The cost of mining is, however, being gradually reduced. When the placers are worked out the water ditches can be turned into power for lode mining, and by that time, too, there will be ample transportation facilities.

Gold In Placers.

The search for alluvial gold should be guided by the fact that it is usually deposited where the current of a stream has been checked. For example, a broad basin above a steep-walled canyon is more likely to carry gold than the valley below the canyon, provided the bedrock source of the gold is above the basin. Moreover, coarse gold is more likely to be found at the head of a filled basin than near its outlet. The same holds true of a stream that debouches on a coastal plain, which will deposit the coarse gold it may carry near the head of its delta. Some special conditions of deposition are described by Mr. Collier and Mr. Hess (p. 198) in the gravels tween Anvil and Dexter creeks. Here the gold deposited by a former drainage system has been apparently laid down in steep-walled valleys and stream deposition has alternated with the accumulation of talus material (slide rock). This broken rock, making its way down the valley slope in huge slabs, has settled together, presenting the semblance of bed rock and furnishing a floor upon which the gold has been deposited. The piercing of these old buried talus slopes and the finding of gravels underneath has led some to believe that gravels occur imder solid bed rock. A consideration of the origin of these deposits shows the utter fallacy of this conclusion.

High-bench gravels have been found in many parts of the peninsula, but only near Nome have they become important gold producers. The high gravels of Anvil and Dexter creeks are* of such an extent and thickness as to indicate that there was a well-developed drainage system, which, having been disturbed by uplift, has lost a part of its accumulated deposits by erosion. There is good reason to believe that these ancient gravels may be gold bearing in other placer-bearing parts of the peninsula, and they are worthy of careful prospecting.

134 GOLD PLACERS OF SEWARD PEKiySUlA.

In seeking high-bench deposits the prospector should be guided by the topographic evidence, bat should remember that every flat-topped shoulder of a mountain is not necessarily underlain bv firavek The best evidence is the presence of well-rounded material. Distinction should be made between placers occurring on hill slopes, the accumulation of minor streauLs belonging to the present drainage system, and those belonging to an old drainage system. Though the first tvpe mav be verv rich it is less likely to include extensive deposits than the second.

Mr. Collier describes elsewhere (p. 189) the influence of talus slopes in crowding streams to one side of their valleys, and thus influencing the position of the placers. This has been a very important factor in the formation of the placers on Anvil and Ophir creeks (pp. 189-242).

The reconcentration of gold by stream and wave action is considered at length elsewhere (p. 130). It is shown that the dissection of placers and the re-sorting of the gold have led to the formation of many of the richest diggings. These theories can be made of direct commercial value by seeking the localities where such concentration has taken place. These localities may be old or present beach lines, or streams that traverse the coastal plain or that have dissected hibench gravels. It is important that the prospector bear in mind the facts in regard to reconcentration or he may be misled in regard to values. Thus the gold in the stream traversing the tundra back of Nome has been concentrated from the gravels underlying the tundra and is not necessarily a measure of the gold tenor of the parent placer.

Geologic Maps.

All the known facts regarding the geology of Seward Peninsula have leen brought together in graphic form on the geologic maps (Pis. X and XI, in pocket). The prospector will naturally turn first with interest to the areas marked as carrying placer gold. These areas are outlined from the best information available, but final determination of the distribution of gold must await more detailed surveys iind the accumulation of more data by mining operators. The fa(;ts liere may, however, serve as a general guide. Those using the maps should bear in mind, first, that not all these auriferous areas carry commercial placers and, second, that placers may be found in areas not indicated as Ixing auriferous.

The geology indicated on the map has the same value, and the prospector in course of his detailed examination will no doubt find that some of the boundaries between the formations are incorrectly drawn. Nevertheless the general facts of the distribution of the limestone and schist contacts are probably correct ami may be

Future Of Mining Industry. 135

of aid in locating mineralized zones. The distribution of the granite masses is of practical importance, as it is along their contacts that lode tin has been found.

The Future Of The Mining Industry.

Those who are devoting their labor or capital to the development of Seward Peninsula have a right to expect in this report some statement of the probable life of the placer-mining industry. Were the entire gold -producing area surveyed and studied in detail it would \ye difficult enough to form an estimate of the gold contents of the gravels; but with only the present general knowledge of the factors necessary to such an estimate the task may seem well-nigh hopeless. For this reason undue weight should not be given to the figures here presented, and the reader should carefully consider the character of the evidence and make his own deductions as to the reliability of the conchisions. No doubt any presentation of the facts or theories bearing on this subject will be distorted and misquoted by promoters of worthless mining enterprises for their own use, but this can not be prevented, however guarded a geologist may be in presenting his conclusions.

It is self-evident that if the areal distribution of the placer gold indicated on the map were correct and the approximate thickness of the alluvium were known, it would be a mere matter of multiplication to determine the cubical contents of the auriferous gravels. Unfortunately, however, these* factors of the equation can 1k only approximated. The average gold content of the gravels, forming the third eh*nient of the problem, is also an unknown quantity. The following (estimates are based on certain assumptions and on the best information available, but are not now susceptible of proof. Mr. Moffit has carefully measured the areas marked on the maps (Pis. X and XI; also Buil. U. S. Geol. Survey Xo. 247, 1905, PI. Ill) as underlain by gravels. Allowing for the exaggeration of the areas because of the small scale of the maps, he finds the total area of auriferous alluvium to be about 210 square miles, or 650,490,000 scpiare yards- The pay streak is assumed to average 3 feet in death, which is believed to be a conservative estimate. Bv this calculation Seward Peninsula is estimated to carry a total of 050,490,000 (ruliic yards of gravels.

Although it is true that the pay streaks thus far mined have a very high gold content, it is equally certain that this-gold tenor is not maintained throughout the auriferous areas, for the gravels mapped as auriferous include considerable alluvium that carries little more than colors of gold. A valuation of 50 cents to the cubic yard is therefore probably not too conservative. If these assum])tions are correct the gold contents of the auriferous gravels of the

sula can be rained at $32a.24S,000. It should lie bomc in mind that it does not follow that these values, if present, will necessarily be recovei'ed. fur ihev may Iw in part sii ilisst'ininated or so diflicult of access as not to permit proRtalilp cxploitutiou.

Another e-stiinate bv Mr. Moflit is based in part on the. number of linear miles of gold-bearing streams. The total as measured on ihf maps is tSO aule.s. If the average width of pay streak is asumeil to be 15 yards and the depth 3 feet, the total bulk of tlie creek grave!* ,wonld be about 20.000.000 cubic yank, of rfhich probably rl.000 cubic yards have leen worked out. This leaves a total for greek gravels of 1!).400,000 cubic yards. This computation takes into account the well-defined pay streak and not the Jircns of anrifereiagravels, and heni-e the gold tenor will be much higher than that iisrf in the previous estimate. Mr. Mofiit found the avemge gold contents nf Ihe gravels of seventeen streams, on data given in this report hf. Mr, Collier and Mr. Hess and based on statements by owners aod operators, to be $5.i'3 per cubic yard. He obtained a gold content per yard by dividing the total gold production from the L-reeter by the number of cubic yai'ds of pay streak estimated to have beeO mined. The practical identity of gold tenor of pay streaks in the* two calculations is suggestive, though it may be purely fortuitOB In view of the fact that some of the richest creek gravels have bM mined out. it is not safe to accept the above gold tenor as rvpre!e4itft< tive of all the creeks of the district. It is probable, however, that* 3-foot pay streak may average $2.50 a cubic yard along the wstec course.s. With this as.sumption the gold contents of the creek grwrf would in round numbers amount to $50,000,000.

In addition to the stream placers above considered, there are alw the auriferous deposits in the gravel plains, of which that of the Nome tundra is the most extensive, and in the high-bench deposits gravel plain stretching inland from the const at ?<'ome. usually cal the tundra, is the richest of this class of deposits thus far pros: but similar de])osits, some of which are known to be auriferous, in other parts of the peninsula. It will remain for the future termine what percentage of this type of pincers can W prof e.\ploited. but in the opinion of Ihe writer it constitutes thy lar| gold reserve of the peninsula. In estimating the gold route the gravel-plain pliicerr vnhies of 25 fo 50 cents per cubic yard pay streak have Ijeen adopted as being conservative. As in pre calculaliouh the pay streak has been assumed to Ije 3 feet thick, pay strt'aksof llie i-oustal-plain gravels, known to contain confiidi gold, have assimicd to carry 50 cents and the others 25 ceui the cubic yard. Many persons will doubtless take exception to

lUTDBE OP MINING INDUSTBT.

TKloations per yard, because they are familiar with some of the extraordinarily rich depotiits which have been mined. These higher TKlues are compensated for by the fact that nuich gravel is probably included in the above measurements of the gold-bearing areas whose tenor is far below 50 cents. The placers of the high-bench gravels, so fiir fovind only near Anvil Creek, are almost an unknown quantity and their gold contents have been put in as a lump sum in the following estimate. By these estimates the total values of the gravel-plain (tundra) and of the high-bench placers are found be $215,000,000. This sum added to the value of ci-eek placers gives a total reserve of ?3G3.000.000, as compared with $3'2-'i.0O0,O0O in the previous calculation. Tlie difference lies in the fact that in the second calculation ihc stream gravels lying outside of the 15-yard pay streak are not considered as gold-bearing.

Of the 750 linear miles of gold-bearing creeks, only 172 miles represent creeks which have produced gold in commercial quantities, but it must be rememljered that many have not lieen carefully prospected and that there are probably other creeks not so marked on the accompanying map which will be found to carry gold. Mr. MofEt's coni pit tat ions indicate that those parts of the creeks which have been worked out carried values averaging probably $.'500,000 to the mile. Some of the richest creeks have yielded more than double this amount, liut the yield of others is very much below it. These values are low with those in the Klondike, where, according to an estimate by McConnell,' r0 miles of paying portions of creek carry gold aggrepitiDg $95,000,000, or $1,000,000 to the mile. According to Hammond. some of the ancient river channels of California have yielded Sej0,000 to $3,000,000 per mile. The deep leads in Victoria, .Australia, have j-ielded nearly $2,000,000 worth of gold to the mile.'- Optimistic mine operators will undoubtedly regard the totals here presented as entirely too low, whereas those who have lost money in ill-advised mining ventures in Seward Peninsula must naturally evince skepticism toward the estimate of so large a gold reserve. Oo the one hand it is evident that it would not take many creeks u rich as Anvil, Dexter, and Ophir. to change this estimate entirely, but on the other hand the estimate is based on the assumption that irevels of much lower grade will be mined in the future than at present. The total is small compai-ed with the output of the Cali-

MrConnell. R. C. I'rcIF miliar; report on the Klandlkp gold fleLdB : Geol. Survp fUid*. Ottawa. 1900. p. IS.

Himmoiul. J. II.. The suHfermis ){rave of their ciploltBtlon : Ninth -4 ndiag IHSO. IKUO. p. 114.

' UadgrTO. Wslriemnr. The sleep IpiidB of Victoria : Kng. and Uln. Joii

138 GOLD PLACERS OF SEWARD PENTNSlTl.

fornia placers since 1840, wliich amounts to about $1,142,000,000," and niucli larger than the estimated original total gold content of the Klondike district, placed by McConnell at $200,000,000. In the Klondike district the number of miles of creeks bearing placer gold is estimated to he but 50, whereas there are 750 on Seward Peninsula. Moreover, all parts of the Klondike are much more accessible than much of Seward Peninsula, and consequently have been more thoroughly prospected. For this reason it is not to he anticipated that many important discoveries will be made in future in the Klondike, but the results of each year's projecting in Seward Peninsula prove that the limit of new fields there has not been reached. The cost of mining in Seward Peninsula is as a rule less than in the Klondike, making it to exploit gravels carrying lower values.

All the above facts Ixing taken into consideration, it is Mieveil that an estimate of $250,000,000 to $325,000,000 for the placer-golJ reserves of Seward Peninsula is conservative. Although these lations nniy of interest in showing the possibilities and probable direction of future growth, the actual estimate of the gold reserve must regarded as little more than a bold guess.

The future of lode mining is impossible to predict. Some fact? have been presented indicating the favorable conditions for the occurrence of ore bodies, but until more of these bodies have actually discovered and found to carrv commercial values no definite statements should made.

The data bearing on the placer-gold reserves having been discussed, it becomes pertinent to inquire at what annual rate these reserves may be mined out. Here again the dearth of exact information makes it impossible to arrive at definite conclusions, but those heiv may Ih at least suggestive. Even were the amount of water available for placer mining known, there would still remain a large indeterminable factor, for the mechanical methods of mining are relatively little developed in this district and admit of much expansion. Moreover, with the gradual decrease in cost of trans- ])ortation and the concomitant reduction in cost of fuel, machinerv <lriven by petrol'um or coal-consuming engines will undoubtedly be mofc commonly introduced to gravels that lie inconveniently for economic bv the use of water under head. The dredjrt' now extensively used in the Solomon River region (PI. IV, p. 2.*V2) exam])les of the development of this method of mining.

" r.MsiMl oil liiinn's fMinisliPd by Wnhlcmnr Lindsren. Compare oIro Lindnen. W:iIdoiiinr. fc.ittnos of (hi* ;;old production of North America: Trans. Am. lnt. Min. llw.. v.l. i;o:j. pp. 8Hi-sis.

MrCoiiiirn. II. (f.. Roport on tho Klondiko old fields: Ann. Rept. Geol. Burxoj of Canada, ltor>. pt. B, p. GIB.

Futxjbe Of Mining Industby.

It is probable that not more than 60,000 or 80,000 miner's inches of water may eventually be made available for hydraulic mining in Seward Peninsula, but this estimate is again little more than a guess. Purington" has shown that because of the low stream gradients and for other reasons the duty of an inch is very low in Seward Peninsula. The average of his table is 2.76 cubic yards per twenty-four hours, equal to about 300 for a season. According to these figures, 16,000,000 to 20,000,000 cubic yards of material could be moved in n season, but certainly not more than 5,000,000 to 6.000,000 cubic yards would be pay streak. If double this amount of gravel were excavated by mechanical means, the total maximum volume of pay streak which could be exploited in a single season would be 15,000,000 to 21,000,000 cubic yards. If there are 650,000,000 cubic yards of goldbearing gravels in the peninsula they could not be mined at this rate in less than twenty-five to forty years. As a matter of fact, however, this maximum volume could be reached only after years of preparation and may never be attained. This is emphasized by the fact that during the last six years the average amount of pay gravels handled has probably been less than 1,000,000 cubic yards annually.

These speculations as to the life of the placers of Seward Peninsula are too indefinite to have much value, but they suggest, at least, that the gold production will probably increase rather slowly and that the outlook is favorable for a long period of rather uniform output.

Purington. C. W., Methods and costs of placer mining in Alaska : Bull. Surrey Xo. 23, 1905, pp. 13S-141.

Description Of Placers.

By Arthur J. Coluer and Frank L. Hess.

Introduction.

It has been shown that the vahie of the annual gold production of Seward Peninsula is now (1906) about $7,500,000 and that the total, including 1906, is nearly $40,000,000. This has practically all been derived from the placers, though a small amount has been obtained from auriferous quartz veins. All of the placer gold carries some silver, the present annual production of which is valued at about $25,000. Of other mineral wealth tin is the only metal of immediate interest. Some placer tin has been exported, and the development of both lode and placer deposits is being actively pushed, but up to the present the tin deposits can not be said to have reached a productive stage. There are a few small areas* of coal-bearing rocks on the peninsula, but in only one of these has a workable seam been found, and this appears to be of value only for the very local demand.* Besides the above minerals, graphite and bismuth deserve mention, though their commercial value in this field remains to be proved.

A general account of the placers will next be presented, followed by a detailed description of the gold deposits of the Nome, Solomon, Council, Port Clarence, and Goodhope districts. In later sections of the report an account of the Bluff and Kougarok regions will be presented by Mr. Brooks, and of Iron Creek by Mr. Smith.

DISTRIBUTION OF GOIiD.

On the geologic maps (Pis. X and XI, in pocket) is indicated the distribution of the unconsolidated silts, sands, and gravels, under the general group name Quaternary. These deposits have already been discussed at some length in the section devoted to the geology of the peninsula (pp. '83-99). As these Quaternary beds carry the

o See pp. 83-85 of this report : also Mendenhall, W. C. Reconnatssances in the Capf Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900, a special publlcatUNi of the U. 8. CtooL Survey, 1901, p. 214.

Mofflt, F. Hm The Falrhaven gold placers, Seward Pentnaiila, AlMiBi: BotL 17. & Geol. Survey No. 247, 1906, p. 67.

Description Of Placers. 141

alluvial gold their distribution is of first importance. It would require far more detailed mapping than has yet been done to determine, with any exactness, the distribution of the auriferous gravels. On the map these facts are indicated so far as the data at hand will allow. The auriferous alluvium is divided into two classes — first, that from which gold has been recovered in commercial quantities, and, second, that which is known to be auriferous, but in which it has not been proved that workable placers exist.

It is evident that this division is arbitrary. From a scientific standpoint all the alluvium of the peninsula is probably auriferous. If the tests were made with sufficient minuteness, traces of gold would probably be found in practically all the unconsolidated deposits. If this were a province of cheap mining, like California, the auriferous gravels of commercial importance would cover much larger areas than those indicated on the maps. Moreover, gravel with a low gold tenor, which may be absolutely worthless under the present costs of extraction, may in the future prove of value.

These facts are* well illustrated by the reductions in mining costs that have taken place during the last six years. In the first years of mining in the peninsula but few pay streaks exceeding 5 feet in depth could be profitably exploited, whereas profitable mining has now been carried to depths exceeding 200 feet. It is probable that at that time gravels whose tenor was less than $10 to the cubic yard could not be worked at a profit, but at present, under certain favorable conditions, the cost of mining has been reduced to less than 50 cents a cubic yard. The boundaries of the gold-bearing areas, therefore, are not only more or less arbitrary, but also only in part determined. Yet it seems justifiable to indicate on the map the areas that give most promise of yielding returns to the placer miner. There ate no doubt placers in some of the Quaternary deposits that have not yet been tested, and it is equally true that the areas indicated as gold bearing do not by any means everywhere carry workable placers. It is believed that if these facts are in mind the maps may serve as useful guides in directing intelligent prospecting. It is unfortunately true that they will probably also be used by unscrupulous promoters for foisting on the public worthless mining stocks, but this can not be avoided.

It has already been pointed out that the gold is derived from quartz veins and impregnated zones in the metamorphic rocks, which have been grouped together under the name Nome group. The distribution of loci of mineralization has been considered bv Mr. Brooks in the preceding pages and need not here be dwelt on. Many facts bearing on the source of the gold are presented in the detailed accounts of the different districts.

142 Gold Placers Of Sewabd Peninsula.

CliVSSIFICATIOX OF THE PliACERS.

Introduction.

All the pnxluctive gold placers here to be considered occur in the <i:ravels of alluvial origin and are deposits concentrated from the bed rock by stream or wave action. Elsewhere in this report is givi a discussion of the underlying principles which govern the occurrence of the alluvial gold, and with it is discussed a scheme of classification based on genesis. For the purposes of the present description the writers will hold to a topographic grouping of the various types, which is almost identical with the classification of placers recently published by Purington.** This group is as follows:

CUiifsifiration of placers in Sctcard Peninsula,

Cnt'k placers: Graivel depoKUs in the and intermediate flood planum of siiiaU streams.

HtMicIi placers: Gravel dejwsits in ancient stream channels and flood plaiiw which stand from 50 to several hundred feet above the present streams.

Hillside placers: A jrroup of gravel deposits intermediate het-een the creek and bench placers. Their IkhI rock is slightly above the creek bed and the surface shows no indication of benching.

Uiver-bar placers: Placers on gravel flats in or adjacent to the beds lairP streams.

Gravel-plain placers : Placers found in the gravels of the coastal or other lowland plains.

placers : Placers reconcentratetl from the coastal-plain gravels by the waves alonj: the seashore.

Ancient placers: Deiwsits found on the coastal plain along a line of elevateil

These types of placers in occurrence and origin have close affinities with the present topographic forms with which they are associated, (ilenetically they fall into five groups. One embraces those which are found in the present stream channels, such as the creek, river-bar, and in part the hillside placers. In a second group fall the gravelplain placers, also of fluvial origin, but laid down by streams that liav( since shifted their channels. The bench placers form a third group), which includes most of the hillside placers as well, and these were for the most part stream deposits that have been elevated and The present placers constitute the fourth subdivision, and the elevated sea beaches the fifth.

All these land forms are the result of extensive periods of denudation through which the peninsula has passed. This region has probably lKen to subaerial erosion since late Tertiary time, and in this long interval there have many upward and downward movements of the land masses relative to sea level. These movements have irregular and broken by long intervals of stability during which erosion went on, and all parts of the peninsula have not

Purinjcton. C. W.. Methods and costs of gravel and plaoer mlalnf Aluka : BiD. U. 8. OeoL Surrey No. 263, 1905, p. 27.

eqiinlly siibjetrted tu these iiiflucnces, for tlio movcnionts bave bn di ffcrential. so that while one part was elevatetl above sea Ipvel oUier parts were flooded. In other areas the land surface bay Iwen warpeil." This inegiulnrity of uplift may make a coastal plain in part of the region of identical age with a high bench in another ptrt. The possible economic importance of this fact will be readily lecognized.

A logical discussion of the various types of placers demands that the oldest taken up first, and this clas.s comprise?' the high-ljench deports which formed Iwfore the development of the present tojMignphy. Next in order of genesis are the benches on the slopes of the %-alk'ys; then the gravel-plaiTi placers, together with the elcvili.'d lieiurhes, and finally the placei-s in the -Iwds of the existing iflercour>!es as well as those of the present shore line.

Bench Filacers.

Bench placers may bo classified as low gravel terrnrrs, spur bMicliRs pocket benches, and high benches, according to Their topoptpLic relations to the existing streams. The gravel terraces ire wide, flat gravel benches whose surface is considerably alxtve thf high-water level of the stream but whose bed-nx-k floor is only Jigtitly. if at all, higher, than the siream bed. Spur benches differ from the terraces in that the stream is intrenched in the bed TOckltrlow the gi-avel deposit; and where, as is usually the case, the etRsm meandered over the valley flofuat the old level these meanitt* have Ix-en cut down into the bed rock, leaving the spaces lienrwn meanders projecting from tlie valley walls as flat-lopped sjiiirs. The pocket lienches arc mere remnants of old channels which usixlly hang high on the valley walls. They can not as a rule lie tnwd in any definite system, for on many streams only one or two BDiII deposits of this kind are discovered. The high-bench placers triong to stream channels of older drainage sj"stems, since the de- Telopment of which elevation has taken place. The deposits of these utcinii watercourses are, as a rule, only in pail preserved, having heea for the most part removed by erosion. Rich placers of this type hue thus far lieen discovered in only a few localities, but it is to bo npected that others will be found.

Hillside Placers.

The hillside placers constilule rallier an indefinite subdivision of

till-bench type. They are in genend not indicated by the surface

Thr phjrKloRrnphlc f o ipedat publication or rbe U. 8. Oeol. Surref, 1

topography, nor do ihey rest upon definitely flattened siirfoesof bed

rock. Many of theni may be accounted for by creeping inoremetiU

of the Boil and decomposed bed rook, which have destroyed hiw J

benches and distributed tlieir nuriferons gravels over the hilladil

below, or by the gradual sidewise shifting and coincident duwnwiKB

.euttiiig of the stream, leaving gold-tearing gravels liehind afiiW

moved. Hillside placers, therefore, are likely to occur on th slopiM

Bftf any valley which has benches on its walls. 1

Gravel-Plain Placers.

Most of the gravel-pliiin that have worked in Sewapd"! Peninsula lie in the coastal plain that intervenes between Nome anU the foothills, and they are usually referred to as the " tundra placers'i or tundra mines." Similar deposits have discovered in the gravels of the Kotigarok basin. As has been noted, the gravels of the coastal plain were deposited during a period of submergence after the bed-rock floor had been formed and wpre cxmtribiited mainly ni deltas by the rivers and streams from the highland portions of th peninsula. As the gravels, except those close to the hills, were 111 down mainly by the larger s-ti-janis, their players may be exjiected t be of the nature of river-bar The gold as a rule is fini than that of the creek and bench placers, and where concentrated j is in irregular pay streaks, due to variations in river and stream cBfr rents. The Ijed-rock floor upon which these gravels rest was prol ably produced by subaerial erosion, or, in other words, by strejud which had their sources In the upland. It is quite possible, therefor that there may be old stream channels, as rich in coarse gold as tlM stream and iKinch placers, lieneath the deep covering of gravel anf silt. Most of Ihe gold that has been won from the so-called " has been obtained from the lieds of streams which flow across it, hut some has come from concentration on layers of clay. The platers of these intrenched streams differ from ordinurj' creek pluivr, in the fart that their gold has been reconcentrated from the ci:)astal-plain gravi-k

Creek Placers.

The creek placers, from which, up to the lime, of iho gold has [)een tken, constitute the best-known type of deposiL-s Brooks has described this form of placer as follows;

The pny ntrenk Id tliette ile])osltK Is iiHunll.v od lieil rock, ttmngli It mmeHnK* in foiuid oil II clny which overlled the tied rock, Wliere no clay Is pfmpul d rdM Is fouiiit not on)}' on the rauk. tmt nloo wliero Ihe rock ta broken j ){old hiiH workKl Its way dowii iQto tlie Jiiint* auil irevleet*. SlrejtmK nrtr

DESCRIPTION or PLACERS.

d lo have a layer of cloy on inert rock. wUich jfraduallj thins out upstrpiuu ttnally disappears entirely. Tlie presence of the ciny oa rook usually Indicates tliat no gold will be found in the weathered rock below, as the iiu- pKTious liiyera iirevent the id from working Its wuy down. Da most or llie creeks the KTiivel overlying the pay utreiik Is BhHliow, nnd the creek plni'ers Jly afford what are known as "open" or "Huoanier" digglngB. Very Hitle itrl|;4><iig Is necessary, as a rule, ofter a foot or two of nose and muck have been removed. It is common to tlnd the gravel containing safflclent gold ttma Ibe surCace down to warrant sluicing it all. The horizontal extension of tbe pay streak differs very mnch, and no ienernl law Id reference to It can he laminlaled. Sometimes it fonus a narrow but uninterrupted layer, running (Uallel to tlie Bide of tlie valley, but more often tlie pay streaks are not con- Unwras and are of Irregular outline. Thty very frequently suggest the wiud- Inp of old sireHUi channels. The coarsest gold of the region Is found In tbe CRA juhI cb placers, it being there nearest to Its source In the pal'eiit rock.

River-Bar Placers.

The river-bar placers are similar in general origin to the creek [rfacerii. tlie main points of difference being that the former are tieposited bv larger streams, and that the gold contained in them con- " asts mainly of fine flake or floor gold, which can be transported by running water. The gold of the.se placers is usually diHtribiited ttiTDUgh the gravel, though it may be richer next to the bed rock. River-bar placers occur on many of the larger streams of the snla, but they are of low grade us compared with creek and bench dqosits, and have not yet been notably productive.

Beach Placers.

The beach placers are confined to the narrow strip of ground along th*ro.st which is affected by the sea waves. Ah has been noted, the nw-lal plain is for the most part bounded on its seaward side by an fVHrpincnt from 10 to 20 feet high, which marks the inland edge of ihf beach. The waves are continually encroaching on the coastal plain, cutting Iwck this escarpment and concentrating the gold from it* face in the beach sands. Every year the streams probably liring down a small amount of fine gold, which is also caught up by ihe Tares and added to the beach placer. This action has been continuous for the long period nf time that has einp,sed since any movement of land has taken place relative to the sen. The amount of gravel, llwrefore. thus affect'ted must have ben very great, but as the concen- Intion occurs only in the strip subjected to wave action the resulting piftcer is confined within the same limits. Some fine gold is also fbmid in the gently sloping Soor of the sea. but since this is probably Jrrired from the beach, it is more disseminated and finer than beach pill, and can not at present be regarded as forming a workable (ilirer.

ISJM— Bull. 32it—0S 10

146 Gold Placers Of Sewabd Peninsula.

Nomk Precinct.

Introduction.

An area of about 2,000 square miles, embracing the extreme southwestern part of Seward Peninsula, forms a recording district under the name "' Nome precinct/' (See fig. 2, p. 42.) Its nortlieni boundary is a sinuous line stretching eastward from Capt Douglas and following the watershed between Port Clarence on the north and Bering Sea on the south. This boundary ;maintains a generally easterly direction as far as the highlands east of Bluff, throwing all the southward-flow ing streams of this part of the peninsula into the Nome precinct. Up to the present time this has been the most productive mining district of the peninsula, and to it must be credited at least four-fifths of the gold production. Its accessibility, lying as it does close to tide water, has led to the more rapid development of its placers than has occurred in the more isolated camps.

Three topographic provinces (PI. VIII, in pocket) may be recognized in this region — the mountains, the upland, and the coastal The first embraces the Kigluaik Mountains, which stretch as a rugged mass along the northern boundary of the precinct, forming a part of the range which begins near Cape WooUey on the west and ends at Cape Darby on the southeast. These mountains are pinnacled and are broken by steep-walled gorges which head in amphitheaters. On the south the mountains fall off abruptly to an upland 2,500 feet in height, which stretches toward the coast with constantly decreasing altitude, its summits near the sea being less than a thousand feet high. At three along the coast the base of the upland is washed by tide water, namely, east of Sinuk River, at Nome, and at Topkok Head, but in the main broad coastal plains of crescentic outline intervene between Bering Sea and the highlands. These plains are in places gently rolling, are broken by numerous benches, and form the typical tundras of the North. plain stretches southeastward from the northern boundary of the precinct and includes the delta of the Sinuk. Another extends along the coast from Cripple River to Cape Nome, and a third from Cape Nome to Topkok Head. These coastal plains, as has been shown, ai built up of gravels, sands, and silts, some of which are auriferous and near Nome, at least, form important placers.

TIto inland margin of the lowlands rises in many places by a series of benches to the uplands, on whose seaward flanks washed gravels have been found up to altitudes of 500 feet. These high gravel deposits, which are found filling flat divides, obviously mark former stages of erosion. Less evident is the interpretation of th more elevated degradational surfaces, the highest of which is founc in the ffat-topped summits of the upland. That there, too, mark ai

Nome Pbecinct. 147

li iif fornttr Ijiim'- leveling, or partiiil base-leveling, cun iiiK Ik' (ImibtM. but Hh; detuilcd phywiogriipliic history of thiw region has yet worked out.

Most of the slreains take a course to the sea. Their

Tallys are broad and gravol floored, and have yeiitle slojres up to

slttliide of ISOO feet, above which steejier grades carry them to the

upland leveL The smaller Iribiiturit are of the stime general topophic

type, though the grades are usually steeiMir.

Geology.

Tlir rnrk of this region fall into two chis.ses — the Kighiaik uiii] ilie iinditFeivntiiiled schists and I'ort Clarence limestone of llie Some group. The closely folded gneisses, schists, and liinerfimc iif llie Kighiaik group form a broad east-west belt whose' fnrapbic distribution is coincident with the outline of the mounuiiis from which it takes its name. (See geologic map, PI. X, iu pocket. ) This series of rocks is brtJien by many intrusions of granite. Ko placer gold has );een found in the area of Kigluaik rocks, and they MI not here be further considered.

()f gnUninterest is the second group of rocks, which embraces the schists, limestones, and greenstones here called the Nome group. Thfse rocks occur in a broad forming the uplands south of the mniiolHins. They are highly schistose and much jointed and faulted, Ttlh *-ery complex structures, (ireenstones are everywhere associated villi the schists of this series, and occur in Iwth schistose and massive forms.

Quartz veins and stringers are very common in the Nome group, nd many of ihem are sulphide bearing and not a few auriferous. Mffit of these veins thus far discovered are mere stritigers and within coiimii-rciftl iTuportunce except us indicating the source of the pii. few veins that carry commercial values have been found, and , im has be*-n opened up and worked. In some places the placer-miniiif operations have uncover'ed zones of mineralization, in which a cries of stringer leads lias impregnated a rock mass of (Considerable width with ore-bearing solutions. No such zones have been found tbich when fairly sampled would yield workable values, though wrae of the included individual veins carry a high gold content.

Tlic Port C'larenei limestone is a heavily bedded rock of JSilurian ip which forms a memlier of the Nome group. lis gi-neil unaltered dumcter and its distribution relative to the phicei-s indicate that it isnot gold bi'aring. It is not uncommon, however, to find the margins irf these Iimi!.<tone masses tlie loci of intense deformation accom- ;anied by injection of quartz veins. The distribution of the lime- *ow is thus, nut without economic significance

148 GOLD PLACEBS OF SEWABD PENINSUliA.

A .small area of coal-bearing rocks in the Sinuk River-basin, probably of Tertiary age, deserves mention. The coal is, however, without value.

The unconsolidated deposits of this area can be grouped under three general heads — coastal-plain deposits, stream and bench gravels, and glacial deposits. All but the last carry placer gold. The coastalplain are the most extensive and in some places aggregate more than 100 feet in thickness. Thev are the elevated stream and delta that' were modified more or less by wave action. The stream gravels hardly need special description. The bench gravels include not only those of the present drainage system, but also some high terraces, which were laid doiTi in dramage channels quite different from those now existing. Evidence of this older drainage system is found widely distributed, but detailed study of its deposits has been limited to those near Dexter Creek, which ai"e known to be auriferous.

Discovery And Development.

Nome, the recording office of the district and the fnipply point for the whole peninsula, lies at the mouth of Snake River, on the edge of the tundra which skirts Bering Sea. A railroad leads from the beach across the coastal plain to the mines about Anvil Creek, and has recently been extended up Nome River, across the divide and down the Kruzgamepa to Lanes Landing. Other important settlements in the district are Dickson and Solomon, which lie 30 miles east of Nome and from wliich a railroad has been built up the Solomon Valley and across the divide into the Casadepaga basin: and Blutf, about 50 miles east of Nome.

The first find of gold in the precinct was made on Creek in July, 1808, since which time developments have been rapid. The greater of the gold production was taken from deposits within 15 miles of Nome, but there are many other mining centers in the precinct that have produced smaller amounts. In addition to 'the region contiguous to Nome the precinct includes the Topkok, Solomon River, Pldorado River, Cripple River, and Sinuk River regions all of which have produced more or less placer gold. The present lK'a(!h and some of the creek-lxd deposits have been exhausted, but new discoveries in the elevated beaches and the gravel-plain, stream, and placers are continually being made and the construction of ditches tapping the water reservoirs of the high mountain valleys to the north, together with improvements in transportation facilities and in mining methods, is constantly extending the field of operations.

£krJ[}rider, F. C, and Brooks, A. H. : Preliminary report on tba Gape None ftM ngioa, AUuOui, a special pnbllcatloii ot tte TJ. B. Honreyt IMOb 9w 9!L

Nome Precinut.

Plcermining operations in the Nome precinct include summer ork in open cuts, whei* many kinds of medmnical devices are used, and winter work by sliaft and drifting methods. Up to 1903 most of Uie operated placers were best adapted to summer work, am] the g*M ublaiuMl from winter diimix' whs only a small part of the output. Since that time the winter production has iuerensed enormously, so tliftt it now (1900) amounts to about 50 per cent of the total.

In the following account the region immediately adjacent to Nome will be described first, both because of its great and also because there has been more mining done here, which enables the [ogist to gather more facts regarding the mode of occurrence of the gold Hum in the lesw well-developiid regions.

Nome Region.

Genkral Outline.

In tbe immediate vicinity of Nome there is a region containing miDy rich placer deposits of great variety, including tbe present and ancient beaches, gravel plains, and creek and liench placers of various kinds. (See fig. 7.) In places these forms merge with one another and tiie extend across the divides, making a complete subdivision (if llie fii-lil by drainage basins impossible. For thi.' reason it seems lie-irahle in the following descriptlonH to disregard drainage lines and to arrange the SHbject-matter according to the kinds of placers. The Mome region, as here defined, is a triangular area, with its base extending about 15 milas east and west along the shore of Beiing Sea ind its apex 2S miles inland near the head of Nome River. The richrat placers are within a radius of 10 miles from Nome, which lies near llw center of the base of the triangle. The coastal plain here is from 4 to 7 mile.s wide; back of it the upland is drained by Snake and Xoine rivers.

The bed rock of the coastal plain is deeply covered with Quater- Miy gravels and sands. Back of the coastal jain the bed rock is nrndp up of the schists and limestones of the Nome group, dewrihed on pages 70-82. The structure of the bed roi'k seems simple at first sight, but the developments made in the last few years show that ihe rocks are faulted in many places, and as they are generally covtfed deeply with surficial deposits, it has not yet been possible to work out the stratigraphic relations in detail. Mineralized quartz ud calcite veins have Ix'en foimd in many places whei-e the bed rock has been exposed by placer-mining operations. Tliey occur ixith as fisiiire veins following fault planes and zones of fracture and as stringers spreading out between the structural planes from the fis- Hirps. In some places the Ix-d rock contains a network of small veins, and it is ]>ossible that some masses of bed ruck miuurulized in thi3

m

J

150 OOID PIACEBS OF SEWAAD PENIHStlLA.

way may be rich enough in gold to work as quartz mines. Oi many samples taken by Government geologists from small i and stringers near Nome for assay, a few showed do trace of gold

/

ff

Sr

O

Jp/ fl-Afivtl Mtn.

W

SErtun beiKb lAd beach pbftr Fio. 7. — Hketcli map ot Noi

some were ore of high grade. Here and there free gold can be se veins of nearly pure quartz and oalcite, though as a rule the gc associated with pyrite, galena, and other sulphides. The placer

Nome Precinct. 151

f the Nouie region was undoubtedly derived from these quartz veins, irreat masses of bed rock thus mineralized have been eroded away, ?"aving their gold content concentrated in the gravels. In newly cut alleys this concentration has been direct from the bed rock, but in he older, broader valleys and the coastal plains and sea beaches these ravels have themselves eroded and again and again reconent rated.

Beach Placers.

The beach placers of the Nome region extended along the shore )f Bering Sea for about 30 miles, practically from Cape Nome to Rodney. They have been worked continuously every season since 1899, and though the greater part of their gold content was doubtless extracted before the end of the season of 1900 they are still producing small amounts of gold and will continue to do so for some years to come. The methods of mining do not differ materially from those used in 1900, though at the present time the placers are of little economic importance.

The total output of the Nome beach placers has probably been S2,00O,OOO. Of this about half was taken out in 1899 and about $50,000 in 1900, since which time the production has been less each year. There are still a few people working with rockers, and in 1004 several sluicing and dredging plants were in operation.

The following account of the beach placers is quoted from Brooks," who had exceptional opportunities to study these deposits when he visited Nome during the height of the excitement in 1899 and again inlOOO:

It has shown that the loweBt bench of the coastal plain ends In an escarpment, 10 to 20 feet high on the seaward side. From the base of this pscjinmieiit the slopes to the sea at an angle of to 5°, having a width of alKjiit 50 to 75 yards. Ordinarily the wave action is confined to the lower but during severe storms the surf sometimes i*olls up the full width of ttie beach.

The surface material of the beach is usually sand with occasional shingle JJiwl )rjivel. The pebbles, which have the characteristic oblate fonii ahingle, are composed largely of quartz, but also of the various tyiMM "f iimntry nK*k of the adjacent region. Pebbles of more tlian an incli or two Jn tliameter are relatively rare, but occasionally small Iwwlders are found, liich owe their position to the drifting of shore U'e.

Th( sand consists largely of quartz, usually stained with iron, and 'ica and chlorite schist fragments. Reddish garnets fonn an <-on- 'ituoiit, sometimes predominating over all the other minerals, and tlien constituting the "ruby sands" of the miners. Magnetite is always pnnwnt, lnt ORiially forms less than 1 per cent by weight, though in the conrnrntrate*! form

'Brooks, A. H.. Htchardflon, G. B., and Collier, A. J., In tho 'ome and Norton Bay raglona, Alaska, in 1900, a special publication of the V. s. douK *rvey, 1901, pp. 851.

152 Gold Placers Of Sewabd Peninsula.

found In the pay streaks it may run as high as 10 cent. Such percentage, where the material is fine, gives the sand a dark color, and ft Is then termed " iron sand " or " black sand " by the miners. Mr. made a separation, by sifting, of a typical beach sand taken from a prospect hole near Nome, with the view of determining approximately the relative proportion of the differentsized particles by weight. A sample of sand was put through sieves of different meshes, with the following results :

88 per cent coarser than 20-mesli sieve.

42 cent coarser than 40-niesh sieve.

10 per cent coarser than GO-mesh sieve. 3 per cent coarser than 80-mesh sieve. I per centlfiner than 80-mesh sieve. The coarse material was chiefly quartz and schistose rock fragments. The garnet was about 4 or 5 by weight and the magnetite less than 1. Mica is plentiful, but forms a relatively low percentage by weight.

An average cross section of the beach sands, as determined by an examination of the pits made during the mining operations, was as follows : Near the edge of the tundra a blue-clay bed is found close to the surface and seems to slope seawArd. Halfway down the toward the water this clay bed can usually be recognized at a depth of 5 to 7 feet. These statements in regard to the clay bed have a general-application, but the writer does not wish to imply that this one bed can be traced the entire length of the beach. In some cases several seams can be recognized and In others the clay seems to be entirely lacking. It Is true, however, that in most of the workings a clay bed has lieen found a few feet below the surface which slopes toward the sea. The thickness of this clay stratum has not been determined, but it must aggregate several feet. Immediately above the clay are usually fine sands, though sometimes coarse gravels. This layer of sand, which includes the gold of the placers, contains as a rule a larger of the heavier miiienils than the beds above. The higher beils include coarser and finer material, such aS sands and gravels, with occasional thin seams of clay. Sometimes fragments of wood and other vegetable matter are found in the beach sands, but these are relatively rare. When traced horizontally the various layerswhlch make up the beach sands above the clay bed are found to be thin lensS, which rapidly thin out and seldom can be traced a hundred feet The coarse gravels are usually found in pockets, often but a few feet In lateral extent

Tile lKaeh sand, from Nome to Rodney Creek, a distance of about 30 miles, nearly everywhere carries colors of gold. Broadly speaking, the richest diggings have confined to about 20 miles of the shore in the central part of this stretch. In this belt colors are obtainable nearly everywhere at the surface, but the beach as a rule, carries values only some feet below and on clay The pay streak measures from G inches to 3 feet, and rests on a clay bed at nearly every locality that was examined. The thickness of the productive sand layer at any one locality is a variant depending on the refinement of methods usfnl in mining and extracting. Where the ordinary cradle is used, from G inches to 2 ftet of sand are washed. With the employment of more elaliorate methods, where larger amounts of material are handled, all of the sand and gravel from the surface down to the clay bed is often sluiced. Sometimes two pay streaks are found, one on the clay and one a foot or two above. by intervening layers of nearly barren sand. The gold-bearing sand slopes with the clay bed from the coastal-plain escarpment toward the sea. Near the' umrgin of the tundra it is often found close to the surface, but near the sea it Is from 3 to G feet below. Irregularltlee in the occurrence are introduced by the presence of two pay streaks, each restiniip on a minor

Nome Pbecincx. 153

clay bed The accompanying photograph,a taken by Mr. Schrader, and reproduced from the report already cited, gives a typical section of the beach sand near Nome. The lowest pay streak seen in the picture, wliich is said to run $1 to the pan, is among the richest that have been found in the The richest part of the pay streak in its horizontal extension, similar to the layers of sand and gravel. Is found to be of lenticular form, thinning out toward the margins. The sand of the pay streak differs in no way from that of the beach, except that it is usually finer and carries a larger percentage of the heavy minerals. There is often a progressive Increase of the heavier minerals toward the pay streak. While in the surface sands the percentage by weight of the nmjriietite is often less than 1, near the clay bed rock it may run up to 8 or 10 cent. In any given section the amount of garnet also increases toward the bottom of the sand layers.

A sample of gold-bearing " ruby " sand from a locality east of Nome River. T) feet below the surface, was sifted by Mr. Collier, and the following ages by weight were obtained :

8 per cent larger than 20-me8h sieve. 20 per cent larger than 40-mesh sieve. 53 per cent larger than (iO-mesh sieve. 11 per cent larger than 80-mesh sieve. 3 per cent larger than 100-mesh sieve. 1 per cent smaller than 100-mesh sieve. A rough mineralogical separation of the same sample resulteil as follows: 38 ])er cent quartz stained with iron, with some fragments of s(*lii8tose

rock. 01 per cent garnet. 1 cent magnetite. Another sample of auriferous sand gave the following results:

(5 cent chiefly quartz and mica, with some fragments of schistost

rock. 34 per cent garnet. 1 per cent magnetite. A third sample from Nome beach, 7 feet blow the surface, was constituted as follows: '

96 per cent quartz and s(*hist fragments, mica, etc. 31 per cent garnet, magnetite, etc. The above separations show that the minerals of beach sand can not Ix* regarded as having anything like a fixed ratio.

Time has been lacking to make a c*ompIete mineralogical examination of the auriferous sands. The following minerals, however, have been noted in abundance: Quartz, muscovite, chlorite, and garnet; and as accessories magnetite, llmenite. and pyrite.

Large flakes of gold are occasionally found, but these are relatively rare.

Some small nuggets have been reported, naming up to tiie value of 1. but art*

Tery exceptional. In purity it is about 0.800, has a bright-yellow color, and

amalgamates readily.

The gold is flaky, and the average grains as saveil by panning will run from

70 to 80 to the cent, valuing the gold at Jpl4 an ounce. A comparison of it with beach gold from other localities shows it to Ik? rather coarser. The gold from Randolph, Oreg., averages about 110 colors to 1 cent. That from the Sixes mine near Denmark, Oreg., averaged about colors to the cent. The riverbar gold from the Snake River, Idaho, which is at a profit, runs fnmi

Not reproduced in tbis volume.

154 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

Mboiit JMK) to 1,(J0() colors to tin* (viit. In inakiug these it should rtMiieinlMinHl that much of the tine gold of the Nome deiMsit is lost dnriiigtbe process of separation, and that this will Increase the average sisse of the colore that are siiviil.

The source of this lK?ach gold has subject of much discussion among the miners and prosjiectors of Nome. Theories as to its glacial origin are coiunion, and which assign its source to volcanic or niet€oric ageiirlw are not without supporters. The more careful students of the ipustion. Ik* tUey prosiHH'tors who have gaining their knowledge by practical or mining cnginers who have had as well as practical training, are generally agriHMl that the beach gold has the same source as the crtvk gold, and an* at variance only on the question of its mode of distribution.

There can no doubt that the beach gold found its source in the nx-k of the adjacent and that it was transiwrted to its present by water. A theory which is often advocated assigns its distribution to the action of shore currents- -that is, that the gold was brought down by the rivers and dlstributl along the shore by currents. In of this theory attention is drawn the fact that the richest o<'Cur near the mouths of rivers whit-h luive their source in the gold-lxarlng area. The objections to this mode of distribution are: First, wo have no evident that such currents exist along the cttast. and to that the iK'ach gold was by currents at Nome must lMIieve tliat the currents run In directions from the mouths of tlir rivers. For instance, beach gold is found along the shore in both directions from Snak( Uiver. If this river contributwl the gold, it is dittinilt to stand why it should Ik found in both dircKtions from the mouth. Sw-ond, tion Is made tliat tlie river bars do not <*ontain as much as we sImhiM exjKM't if they had been the immiMliate source of the beach gold. Thinl. the i?lcl is tcK) coarse to hv carritnl by (Mtan currents. Fourth, its distribution in tlio beach siinds shows that it must have Ihh'ii (-om-entrated by wav( a<'tioii. If wo are to suppose that gold was alongshore by <'urrent.'. tlie waves nuist have washcnl it up on the shore, and subsetiuently given it its ' pM-uliar form of If the gold was borne by ocean currents, we j should expiH-t to tind it in the prescMit ocean of the same dgrcc of coast'iiess as it is foimd on the beach. As a matter of fact, the little gold that has b;en obtained off the c*iast of Nome has lKen much finer than the lich gold. These objections to the theory current distribution sei'm to Ih insujierable.

Attention has already dirt'teil to the fact that the sand and pravelj*f tlH plain are auriferous. has lMen given that points towing the ('(inclusion that thes deposits were laid down at the mouths of .stream* wlieii tlie land s!<Kid at a lower eh'vation relatively to the seti than it does now. Tile streams and rivers gradually encroached on the sea floor by the out of their delt:is. In these delta gold was laid down with the other material, and wns more or less disseminattHl.

In the Preliminary report" Mr. Schrader and the writer advanced tlie tlu'ory that the gold was roneentratetl from the coastal-plain gravels by the wMve :Mtlnii which <'nt the saw:n'd escarpment of the ]>Iain. The diagrannaatie .sketch I lig. sj wliich was publisluMl to illustrate this itoint is here reprtxhKl. In this sket<'h the edgi> of the <'oastal-plain escarpment is marked and the {kvAlion nf tlic pK-Hvrs in reference to it is shown. During high storms the waves (>ven now reach the margin of the escarpment and cut away tlie base of the bluff. The materials which go to nuke up the coastal plain are sorted If

WnHlibiirn. W. H.. (iold in the Snake River gravel burs: ICln. and Bag. FtCM. Dt* cemUT :!t, lOUU.

Nome Precinct. 155

this wave action and the heavier partiflos, sufh as Iho gold, sinlc Into sand. It is a woll-knowu fact tliat this iinf will ninlvi its wny tlimnIi sand for dist-UKt', providtHl its passage is not intiMTn[)tcd by any impervious layer, 'i'liis downward movement is bronht near the surface of the beach by tiie (constant motion which is the sand by the waves. Tlu iM'rcolatinj: waters will also help to carry the pi'ains of gold downward. It should noted here that the lK'a<*h sand. iKin well drained, is not frozen in sunnner. In the of its downward passage the pold finally reaches a clay layer, and here biconies concentrateil as it is found. There is another factor which may have a--eleratiHl the downward movements of tlu* heavier particles. In the sprinji? months .southerly storms frequently pile up the on Nom( lMach to n neat hei;;ht. large toes an driven ashore on th( shelving they must (tiu.<ie i-onsidfTable movement in the underlying sands, and this motion is prol)- ahly transndttiHl to a of several ftet and <'ausis a distnrban<-e among the irrains of siind. A sort of sifting pnH*ess take by whi<'h tlu* heavier p:irtlrbs would always descend and eventually be Iwyond the of movement or on layers which th(\v <'ould not iMnetrate.

The explanation by wave sorting may ierhais accomit for other placers. Mr. .1. S. Diller infonned the writer that the rich?st lH*ach diggings on the Oregou wast an at where waves have to high bluffs. In fact, the Oregon and (California pLictrs have many things in conunon with thost* of

AKA UKrtL

Ma riAAS

.. ' " AAMO 0/fAV£LS AMD CL.AY

Fig. 8. — Diagram nin tic section of bcucb phicers.

but their guhl S4?enis to nmcli finer. In the early develojunents. however, of thes< southern lM'a<*h some diggings mine*] wliih were nmre com- |Kindle to those of the Nome region In their riclnuss and the cnarstMiess of their : but thes were long ago exhaustcnl, and the are now coiitiiHMl tfi liK':ilities where careful and mining and separating metliods enalde the ojjerators to work deiHislts which are of comparatively low

A ijuestion of intei-est is whether there may not be oM iM-ach in this region simihir to those that are found in Oregon. It has Im-cii assmiied that tliis part of Sward Peninsula has in c-oiiiparatively tiiiie< In-en eb-vatiMl ton height varying from fiTN) to fett. Attention has Ix'U drawn to Ik'ikIh'** which are believe* I to former shore lines. It is a loirirnl <Miiii'|ii<.ioii that during this iierlod of uplift simihir lK*ach lilac(>rs have Immmi fonnci] in the D'giim. and a search for them should 1k a fruitful lield of InvriiLMti'in. It has lH*en suggwte*! elsewhere that some of the (rsrarpment in ilif i-o:itjil plain may mark firmer shore lines.

Mining oiK-rations on the Nome have ail Imhmi arri'd on in a vitv li:ii haz.inl way. Inirlng the first year the ii ! w-n- tli'.<- <.f il.i- 1 chI nifkor. and it was object to secure a rich jiatdi of ground whi'h Would pay for the minlDg by this crude method. TliT(* wath<-n i""iii for tlie men who took part in the diggings. .\o -Iainis w<-r- st;iiii-<l :rrid DO serionas quarrels artMe because of trefpuss. In the second your of tljc im-

156 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

tioDs a vast deal of miuiug machinery was imported and many attempts were made to liandle tlie beacli sands at small cost. These enterprises were, qd the whole, not paying ventures. The high freight rates in the Nome region and'tbe great cost of fuel, as well as high wages, made the expense of running tlwie plants very great. It was impossible for the operators to obtain exclusive rlgiit to any part of the beach, and the were constantly interfering with one another. Moreover, during the previous year the richest part* of the bead diggings had been and, as the evidence of the working had entirely destroyetl by the ice of the winter, it was impossible to. pick out fresh portion of tlie beach for mining The choice of location had to be made at The large number of men who were engaged in beach mining made intelligent previous to location entirely impossible. In August, moreover, a heavy storm destroyed a large part of the machinery along the Nome beach and put an eflfectual stop to many of the enterprises. In view of these facts it is not surprising that there were more beach-mining companies that lost money than there were that made money. A large amount was nevertheless taken out of the beach, which Doctor Whitehead estimates tt $:')0.000.

As to possibilities of future mining developments, it can be prophesied that no large enterprises can be successfully carried out unless in some way a title for a given stretch of the beach can be obtained. A large percentage of tlic sand is probably far richer than that which is mined on the Oregon and (California coast at a profit. Indeed, tlie fine gold, such as that found in the Oregon is not saved at all at the Nome beach.

PLACER8 OF THE COASTAL PLAIN. DfTBODITGITIOK.

The auriferous gravels of thp coastal plain, or tundra, as it is usually called, have not yet been very large producers. Many of the rich spots have been worked, especially near the base of the hills, but no means have yet been devised for handling the lower-grade auriferous gravels, which form very extensive deposits. Plans have been formulated for handling some of this material with steam shovels, and it has also been proposed to use hydraulic means, although this would necessitate some provision for the removal of the tailings, as much of the bed-rock surface underneath the alluviom is probably close to sea level, if not below it. The Brooks party studied this district in considerable detail in 1900, and not much can be added to the general description then published, though many additional detailed observations have since been made. Brooks's gen- ! eral account of these deposits is here quoted in full :

Tlie crescent-shapod coastal plain which intervenes between the blgblands and the sea in the vicinity of Nome has already described. The sandy . slopes up from the ocean at an angle of about to an escarpment 10 to 20 high. Tliis same sloix* is carried seaward at a lower angle and giT the sliallow bottom which extends out about a half mile from shore. From tUi

" Brooks, A. II., Richardson, O. B., and Collier, A. J., fffirnnmlMiinrfi In tbe Cipt Nomo and Norton Bay regions, Alaslca, In 1900, a special pobllOAtioa oC the U. & OmL Surrey, 1901, pp. 80-82.

Some Precinct, 167

i plain exteuilM luUnd to imotlier ewcHrpment, whli'h niurkn tlie i limit of a Hecond bencli wbicti is about "id Cet-t hlgli tonii tiencli 11m wttbiD u quarter of a mile of the sliore. wlille elfewbei'o rerediMl luucli furtlier Inland. A ttiird lieu-h, IIM) feet or more In beigbt k iHII farther rrom tlie const, und from tbla tbe tiiuatiil lielt merges witb ml In n MUL-cescion of Ruinller und leaa-niarked henclies.

I already been ebown tbnl tbe region baa been gradimlly elevtited invent eeiiloglcnl time. Tbe couhIhI -plain terraces, like the blgh bencben ' dearribed, are made up of mnteriul tbat wns deiweited along tbe of tbe idiore while the land atnod lit lower elevation relative to tlie I U does now. Tbe suwetislve lieiifbes murk n aeries of Interrupt loiw i iqdlft, when tlte land Htood lit ii t-untitant elevation long enougli to the accnmulutlon of Ibe mnteriul of wbicb tbe ternii-eR are formed. nUments of tlie coastal plain lire predomluuiingly of One mdterliit. t aand and sandy cliiy, wItb some coarser gnivei layers and frequent r clny. Broadly speaking, tlieae (teUlmentH Increase In i-oarsenesa tn an b dtref.-tlon. Tbey were contributed by tbe ftreama and rivers, wbtdi ' bnllt ont their deltas. Tbette i-oastal-plan deiioBilB were laid down B,< surface wbicli bad been more or less I'banueled by titreams and t have lieen very uneven, and the fonsminence Is tbat there la r gKat variation In tliplr ttilfkness. Near the town of Nome bed roi:lE I cIoBo to tbe surfiice. and in close pmxlmlty pits -iO feci deep have y tft redcb bed rock. Locally tbe thIchtiesB may be 1IK> feet or more. mining enteriirlneB which dejiciid on reiichlni; bed ro<'k must In 7tlMan<-e make a |irelimlmiry deterniimition of thickness hy [wring or by I pits, us generalizations regarding tbickness are liable to be entirely

E Ae jeriivels and other sediments of tlie coastal plain have tbe same origin t-three of tbe creeks und sulclies wblcb have already been deBcrlbed. und we sliouJd ejfjject them to be aurlferouK, and such Is tbe case. The gold lie UMfitnl plain, bnvlug been carried fartlier from tbe parent rock than nk and gulch gold, Is much Oner. In character it Is more closely allied guM of tbe river bars.

t Rnid deposits of tbe coastal plain may he grou[>ed under two beadiufn*. iTBt arc the gravel-plain placers, in wbii-b tbe gold first accumulated The la more or lens disseminated through tbe gravels, sometimes concentrated k day bed. but characteriatically In an unconcentrated form. The placers I have re<*ived but little attejitlon. Wbere they are unconntd they can be worked only on a large scale, with Improveil machinery. f of Buch mining would be deiwndent on handling a large iiuantlty ( lualerial and on saving nil tbe gold by refined methods rather than on the ( of the ricli pay streaks. An lbie coastal-plalu were laid down at the margin of the ocean, we

hnuld psiH-"*"! old sten lieai-ltes to Imj found in theae gravels. If sucb Ijcaches are L Ihey arc likely to prove as rlcb iik the present liench at Nome. It would

ner*4krrp In* well for tbe proKpeclors to vxaniine ciirefully tbe seuwani side of

c dilTeTut ew-arpmeuts whk-b mark tlie limits of the terraces. These bluffs iiuitp likely to mark an old sea heacli. In sucb types of deiHwlts we should

t lltelr extension to tie more or less paniltel to the present coast line.

Tbe seruiul form of deimsits Is composed of tbe gulch and creek placers of tbe

i ooBtul pliiin. Tills class of iuctiides the plaeerx of the smaller streams

w*ilhln tbe coastal plain. As these streams do not ri-ucli bed

tbetr itlacers must have derived tbe-ir gold from tbe gravels in which Ihey

. TbeKc are la tact recouceutrfltluns of the autilerowa

158 Gold Placers Of Sewabd Peninsula.

the coastal plain. They form natural sluiees in which the disseminated gold of the gravel-plain placers has been collected. This concentration has usually taken place on a stratinn of clay, or false bed rock," as the miners term it As the layers of clay are liable to be encountered at different horizons in the grarelfl there may be a number of pay streaks, one above the other, separated by sandi and clays.

Must of the development that has been made so far is in that part of the coastal plain which lies between Nome and Snake rivers. The probabilitieK are that this area includes the richer of the cosistal-plain deposits. This in a general way with the distribution of the richer placers of the Nome beach, which, as will be shown, derived their gold from the coastal-plain deposits. In the detailed descriptions which follow, the heterogeneity of the coastal-plain deposits is well illustrated. Test pits but a few yards apart show very different sei*tions. In the coarser gravels cross-bedding such as would be expected in deltas is not uncommon. The surface layers in all the sci*tlonR ctjnsist of a foot or two of moss, other vegetable growth, and muck. Ilow this mantle the ground is usually found to be frozen, in simmier as well as in winter. The few sections that were obtained, as will be seen, show a pay stresik consisting of rather coarse gravel, 1 to 3 feet in thickness, and always overlying a clay IkhI. The pay streaks which have thus far mined were found from 1 to 10 feet the surface. The sands and gravels are usually found to cany gold from the surface down, but are never ctmcentrated except on a beil of clay, The creek and gulch placers of the coastal plain at Nome are estimated to bare produced about $150,000 during last season.

Since the above was written these auriferous deposits have received a constantly increasing amount of attention, and during the season of 100; large areas were systematically prospected. Along the terrace east of Nome, already described, an old beach containing fine old in large amounts has been uncovered in shallow prospect holes, verifying a prediction made in the previous report. Fossil mollusks and Brvozoa identified as Kecent bv William H. Dall have been found in the old beach sands uncovered by the mining ojeration.s.

Old Beach Lutes.

One of the most definite placer deposits of the coastal plain lies about half a mile back of the present beach and is traceable for 9 miles from Hastings Creek to Dry Creek, being marked by the escarpment rising from 10 to 40 feet above the tundra already referred to. That this is a beach deposit is evident not only from the presence of the but also from the nature of the materials, which amsist of characteristic well-rounded pebbles and white quartz sands containing rounded fragments of sea shells. The same beach line is continued westward, but is not marked by an escjirpment, as it here formed a barrier between a lagoon and IJering Sea. K seems likel}'' that the lower Snake River, whose course for 5 or 6 miles is parallel to the beach, follows the shore of the old lagoon. (See topographic map, PL VIII, in pocket.) The evidence for this supposition lies in a ridge formed of beach sand and gravel oontainiog : rounded fragments of sea shells, hich extends akmg tbe tooth side :

Nome Precinct. 159

of this part the Snake Kiver trench, parallel with the present kich. Ancient beach deposits may recognized by the character [of the material, even where no scarp or lagoon is preserved. Per- [fcctly rounded pebbles and shingle with white sands, composed willy of quartz grains but rounded fragments of sea tells, are infallible indications of beach nuiterial. The peculiar bedijngof the sands can usually also recognized. By these criteria ancient beaches now deeply buried below the tundra have Inen identified and i-eported by prospectors at a greater distance from the coast.

The east end of the ancient above described is being mined about one-fourth mile from the present shore near Hastings (i(*(k, which enters luring Sea 10 miles east of Nome. Hastings Cnvk is ibout miles long, and its basin is entirely w-ithin the coastal plain. It has a low gradient, but carries sufficient water for sluicing. About Smiles from the coast a prospect hole reached bed rock at iVi

Gold was discovered near the mouth of the creek in 1001, and since that time more than $f),000 has been produced. The se(!tion hj the mining is as follows :

Section near mouth of Jlastinf/s (-rvefc.

Feet. MfsK iiiu<*k '2

Coarse gravel and clay.

The gold occurs in three or four thin layers of " ruby " sand near the bottom of the beach-sand stratum and is of the same character islieaci gold. This pay streak has traced about 400 yards to the west, and also occurs on the east bank of the creek, where a few hundred dollars have been produced. When Mr. less visiter] (he locality in June, 1903, a dump of 1,000 cubic yards had been mineil out and a gasoline pump was being installed on the creek to provide water for sluicing. A ditch to bring water from Flambeau River for hydraulicking has been surveyed.

Tliere appears to be an extension of this about half a mile

east of Hastings Creek, where there is a well-marked bench about 40

feet the sea. At this place several ])its have dug, and it

is said that several thousand dollars in gold has been taken out. The

excavations .show sands and gravels with some seams of clay. (Jold

has lieen found in a laver of '" rubv " and black sand about s f((t

below the surface, where the placers are said to havi yielded 10 cents

to the pan.

The same beach deposit is found again east of Nome Kivei*, where it has been traced to Peluk Creek. This elevated beach has IxH'n prospected for about IJ miles, and one claim is reported to have yroduced $20,000 during the winter oi 1002-3.

160 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

Similar deposits have been mined to a limited extent about half a mile east of Nome near Dry Creek, and also at the mouth of Bourbon Creek. Here the gold-bearing stratum lies near the surface of the tundra, about 20 feet above the bed of the stream. The excavations show a few inches of moss and muck overlying beach sands that contain well-rounded fragments of sea shells. The fine gold is mostly concentrated in thin layers of " ruby " sand interbedded with white sand. From some of the layers of this " ruby " or garnet sand Collier obtained 15 to 20 fine colors of gold in a shovelful of the material. In one place the deposit was sluiced early in the sea-son with water collected by a dam on the tundra. In another plat-e horses w ere used and the pay dirt was scraped down the hill to sluice boxes near the creek bed. Dredges have also been used to handle this material.

The latest authentic information on the elevated beaches is contained in a report by Moffit, w'hich includes an account of the socalled third-beach line discovered in the fall of 1904. The following is quoted from this report :

Our knowledge of the tundra has greatly increased during the last two years by developments on the buried Two well-defined ancient gravel of this sort have now been explored through a part of their length. [See fig. 9.1 One of these, near Nome, lies about three-fourths of a mile north of the present cotxat line and extends eastward to a within a short distance of Nome. At Hastings Creek it is about a fourth of a mile distant from tide water, but east of that locality its position Is not known, and it to have been removeil through erosion. To the west it Is probably represented by the deposits of Jess Creek. Its elevation aiwre sea level is 37 feet and its location is in most places indicated by a steep, moescovered gravel bank, at whose foot it lies. The other beach line is deflniteijr located from the place where it is crossed by the railroad tracks at Little Creek to McDonald Creek, a distance slightly more than 5 miles. above sea level, act-ording to reliable Information obtained at Nome, is 7?> feet. It extends in a nearly straiglit or slightly curved line between the points mentioned, yet shows slight undulations and is interrupted by the valleys of Nome Klver. Anvil Creek, and Snake River, these streams lying lt level. These two ancient coast Unes are generally known as the second and third the jiresent one being regarded as the first. Mention of others lying botwetMi is frecpiently heard, but although this is not only possible hut even probable, no other continucms Ixnich has yet been traced.

A generalized section of tlie deposits exiwsed along the third beach wouM sliow gravel or sandy gravel, with coarse bowlders resting either on schlrt lxH.1 rock in which are a few limestone beds or, as is the case at the east end of the beacli. on fine sands which In turn rest on schist bed rock. Above thi is a considerable bcnly of gravel overlain by muck " and the surface vegetable matter. This general section is. however, to wide rariationa The thickness of the muck varies from 1 to 2 feet to 20 feet or more. Underlying the mnck in several shafts a blue clay was found. In places a heavy wash

Moffit, F. H., The Nome region, Alaska : BolL U. 8. GeoL SOTfiir Nbl 814* 1907. pfi

Nome Precinct.

iccnrs near the surface. Here and there the gravels are slightly cemented by be deposition of lime or iron oxide. Marine gravels are with .fedL wash. The character of the material varies both in composition and in eotneness — in fact, the deposits where first exposed on Little Creek were so Ttried in appearance and manner of deposition as to cause doubt whether any of them were of marine origin. The gold-bearing gravels or pay streaks vary in width from 27) to

lODfeet and have a fairly constant southerly slope of about 1 foot in 10. They

rest in some places on bed rock, in some places on other gravel, and toward

east as has been stated, on fine sand. Only a part of the shafts on the second liave sunk to bed rock,

u tlie pay streak usually lies on a false nK*k of clay or sandy clay and

K ,

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Fw. Sketch map rIiowIdk the known parts of the and third lMarhps (full Mrtj at Nome and their hj'pothetlral c-ontinuationK (dashed ilnoHK Tho line tbo fthowa approximately the area of the Nome tundra.

pixel. There are few datsi, then, on which a complete generalized se<.*tion oH lie but It appears that, though coarse, angular material is by no awns lacking, it is not as abundant as on the third-beach line. Furtliennore. tliequautit>' of garnet, or "ruby sand," is far greater on tlit* second lcacli. and lie profjortion of other sand and fine gravel is also greater. This is jirolwildy imnnted for by the fact that much of the material of the third bead has tnreled a shorter distance from its source and has been less subject to stream and wave grinding.

hi the third beach, then, of any greater differences which may fclTe occurred in the meantime, we have <definite proof that the land now stands not less timn IW feet higher than it did when tlie teach formed tlie coast line. rmrtber evidence of elevation, though of lesser amount, is furnished by marine

162 Golx> Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

shells taken from various shafts between the second and third beaches. Snch shells in an almost perfect state of preservation are found on Center Creek and suggest that in that locality they accumulated in comparatively quiet water. They occur in gravels 32 feet below the surface and at an elevation of about 20 feet above sea level. Numerous marine shells from Otter Creek were obtained at approximately the same height above sea but at a depth of 50 feet below the surface. They are in a good state of preservation.

As a rule the deposits of the beaches and of tlie tundra in general are frosen from top to bottom, but there are places where this is not the cae. One such area is located near the intersection of the third beach and Ilolyoke Creek and has caused difficulty in working the Bessie Bench claim because of the large amount of water circulating through the gravel. The Iwundary lietween the thawed and frozen ground was here located by drilling, and care was taken not to bring the workings too close. Thawed ground is in some overlain by frozen ground and here and there is underlain by it also. The reason for the presence of unfrozen areas is not entirely underatood, but they are probably doe in part at least to the circulation of water through the gravel.

To those who year by year have followed the develo|)ment of mining in the region adjacent to Nome it is a noticejible fact that during the summer of IJWC the attention of mining men was largely given to within the area of the Nome tundra. This is a condition which may probably continue for some years, until the gold of the beaches to fail or until all the available

S B ji

Fig. 10. — Diagram showing; the manner In wlilch gold is concentrated north of Nome li shallow depressions or on sides of cusps of the third beach.

ground is opened up. If, in addition to the on the tundra, those of Glacier Creek, Anvil Creek, and Grass Gulch are included, all the most important workings will have taken into account, although elsewhere within the area sliown tm the Nome and Grand Central maps minor were conducted on a few scattered streams, probably the most extensive on Buster Creek.

At present the burietl bea<'hes of the Nome tundra occupy the center of tte mining stage, and the efforts of all have given to the exptoititlon of the old placei-s or the search for new. litigation touching the rights U proiHTty. liowcver, has seriously obstructed tlie development of much of the inoit ground, and may be to continue to do so as long as the present methoils of acquiring and holding mining are in force.

Mining is carried on most actively just now along the two ancient shore linei wliose locations and principal features have already described, but theitJ has been more or less work on different streams, such as Dry and BourtNtj creeks, and extensive drilling in various other parts of the tundra. On tlj first or present practically all work was suspended. Along tlie secoiii! beach many of the old were worked and some very good new gnMf was discovereil in the vicinity of Otter Creek. The third beach is the princQ producer of the region.

The third beach was discovered in the late fall or early winter of 1901 1 when the summer closed in 1905 operations were confined to the Immedi vicinity of Little Cre. An account ol tWa locality has beoi fyolilliiMidi (

Nomb Pbecinct.

where-* During tLe wiuter of lOC't-r. tlif eastnnrd I'lmtinuntlim "f iIip \>em-h

wa* iM-at lo a point witbin a short dlstun™ of Noiiit? River. Between Moon-

Hffat Creek or Ihe railronil and McDotinId C'fH'k it Is tmced rnntliiunusly. Tn

Op wwt and east of these localltleB It Is not deflniiely known. Hetnarkalily

itA KnTOnd van exploited uenr Little Creek iiiid between Holj-oke niul Boiirlxin

nnd nettrly all tbe clninia LItlle iind Ury creeks have sllown

nUiu In Kold. East of Dry Creek lexs n-ork has been done, hilt most of

ifls hare struck good pay. Nevertbetetw. Miiite cliilmo or partu of cinlms

Utile value witb tlie present eoNt of mining, for nhlle tlie beach gruicl

Apaalts Mre continuous tbe py In Ibem Is not no. Tbere are IntervalB along

thr line wbere i.'old Ih iiresent In small amount or la almost lacking. Tbeae

bent are referred to lis " blanka." Further, the gold Is not evenly

lUstrfbitte*] tbrougb any of tbe gravel. Tlie writer wub iufonneii tluit hi the

thnllour dcpretoions ancb ug occur at Intervals along tbe Iiencb n niUfh gi'cntei'

nKitraliuii of gold took phiee ou tbe enst ends Isee fig. 10]. and tlint in

ir two tilatiw wbere low ridges or rolls of ro<'k rcuched tbe surface and

|iftijn-tnl slightly beyond tlie undent beach exceptioniit amounts of gold were

taaad ou Ibelr west 8ldes. u iiOHltlou of maximum c-unceiitratlon cornisiKimllng

ki Uiat In ttie IndentnllunM Just uieutloned. This would Indicate that the

dtHrlliQtion of ild tn the gruvels was largely Influenced by tbe iireviilllng

dlivnioii of the ntvnn wnvea and eurreuta. It ia iirolmlilB also that very rich

dffMKltH. such an occur at I.IItle Creek and BesHle Bench, are due lu tlieir

Miraewt to tlie nourcc of gold or to streams which brought it to tbe xea. Thu

vtoiructcr of Uitli tbe gold and the gravel aceumuliitlons would Indicute the same

tune, on tbe western part of the beach the gold is. the iivenige, nnich

ooarstT ihau at tbe east end, where It rwnibles In ajiiieiiiiince and apiiiuaches

td fljineKs that of tbe present beach. Tbe gravclH of the west end are more

(arioblc In cbamcter and exhibit a larger amount of iiiarHe. angular stream

wadli Iltati tttose toward the eaxt. shon-liig that tlie conditions under which the

a grtirels Mivumulated were less uniform — at one time stream deifoslls,

at anotlier sea dejioslts. being laid down.

Surae Ideas concerning the eiujtward and westwanl of the third bearli ire suggested liy an examination of the tojiograpblc map. The shore Une uiast formerly have extended the hills west of Itiver to Nome, and If one iua.v Judge by the ixirtlou now known It bad the form Nf K hOHid lire of fairly nnlform cnriiiiure. like the pi*eHeiit lieacb, but with immUct mdlUR. It Is tbe Mlef of not a few miners at NoniR that tbe third fc wU i did not, like tbe first and second beaches, keep to tbe seaward of Cape Ttoaie. tlint It pastel to the north tiirough tlie brojid, low deprestilou lietwee'n ItaawlufK Creek and Flamlieau Hiver. thus forming an island of the Cape Xoiite £rDlle ami. Tbe elevation of the dejireHslon lietneeii Nome and Array Penk only 115 feet, and tbe possibility of tbe Iielng an island at the diue wlien tbe third Iwrnch was can Yiot Ife refuted by any evidence iiow M bnud. ahbough it upiavirs Inipwliable. Bed rwk is tran-d north westwanl frat (-'n|>e Nome for u distance of nearly 'i miles, and in tbe low rounded bill Hastings and Saunders .Teekn has an elevation of 21IT feet. Uetweeii (lint and tbe Army Peak scblHt muss, still farther to the northwest. Is an of miles ai'Toss a broad, low saddle wbere uo rocks are exiiosed. staled, the elevation of this dot at Its lowest is nlmut IlTi feet, but Ibp of grarel Is unknown. If it bus a thickness of 40 or 50 feet It Is that the thlnl passes through. It seems far more probable.

F. n..

Hewird Penl

Bull. II.

. Surv> No, 'JSt,

164 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

however, that the controlling influence hi determining the coant line here was exercised by Cape Nome, since it must have been a factor in directing the ocean currents and consequently the accumulation of sands and gravel. To judge from present conditions, it appears more likely that the sea would have built a connecting bar between Cape Nome and Army Peak rather than wash between them. At any rate, the force of the waves due to southerly and southeasterly winds would have been greatly diminished through the protection oflFered by Cape Nome, and the amount of concentration would have been thereby decreased.

Another idea which is maintained by some and may lead prospictors astray is that wherever bed rock can be found at an elevation of 79 feet above sea level the third beach will be |)resent. The fallacy of this idea is immediately apparent when it is that, so far as known, the old lHaclM8 were not laid down on a cleanly swept, somewhat uneven rock floor, but were formed over a surface whose ineipialities had already bi?en reduced by a fllling of gravel and sand. This is shown by the fact that in many places they do not rest on IkhI rock, but ai*e underlain by a variable thickness of loose deposits.

Further evidence of a somewhat negative character is affordeil by the fact that neither the third beach nor either of the others is known to have formed reentrants at such places as their interwH-tions with the valleys of Snake and Nome rivers, but rather that in each place where the river valleys lie below the beai'hes at intersections the beaches end abruptly, for the present valleys through the lost* deiKsits have cut since the beaches were formed.

Another fa<'t which must not lost sight of in for the thinl beach is the of rtHH?nt warping. When a beach is at stni level, and if uniformly throughout its lengtli all parts will continue to have like relations to the sia. But changes of level do not always nor even usually take place in a uniform manner throughout ail of an affected area. One part may be raised or lowered more than another, or one part nuiy even raisetl while another fs sinking. It does not follow, therefore, that beitiuse one of the beach has an elevation of 79 feet all other parts will have the same elevation, although in a small area as this it is probable that they will not differ greatly.

Sin<*e, however, we now have no evidence* that warping of any consequen<*p han tak(*n pla<'(s and since so far as we know it the third beach does maintain a fairly constant level, it is not to Ik exiKH'ttnl that it will Iw foimd in an.v locality whose surfa<*e is less than 75 or 8() feet above tide, even if such an area lies dinn-tly between or in line with points where it is kmiwn to lie present.

Some probalHIities concH.*ming the distribution of gold in tlie known beaches or in others which may be found are gaineil from a consideration of its dlstribu tion in the gravels so far exploited. The ri<*hest gold-bearing gravels mined ia the Nome timdra have found in that of it which lies Nonje jiiid Snake rivers. This corresponds also with the part of the ttrrt or lHaeh, wliosi* greatest values were taken from the neighborhood of the inoutli of Snake River and from sands to the east toward the of Nome This area lies directly south of tlie mineralized area from which it that the gold has been chiefly derived, and it is the locality toward wlii<*h weathered material from the near-by hills may properly be exiiected to migrate, since it lies immediately between them and the sea. There appear*, therefore, to warrant for the that in the future, as in the pa*'- tlie most valuable placers will be found within the limits given. One apparent exception is to be noted in the old beach placers of Hastingii Creek. There Is a possibility, however, that these may be the result of more than one cooceDtit' on, that tbey may contain the gold of several old beach llneo eoawftaif towanl

NOME PRECINCT. Ifi5

C:ipe Nome, and that the gravels from which they were derived may not originally have carried any very notable amount of gold.

Uvookosvtkated Obavxl-Plain Pla€Sr8.

Under this heading will le descrilxd a number of localities at which gold has been mined from deposits not directly traceable to wave action or to reconcentration in stream beds. Though there is undoubtedly some gold disseminated throughout the gravels of the coastal plain, only a few small areas have prospected and mined and the extent and nature of the workable deposits are not knowu.

Mining is in progress in a locality not visited by members of the Geological Survey, on the east side of Nome River about 2 miles lxlow Osborn Creek. A ditch 4 or 5 miles in length has lx*en constructed from Osborn Creek for hydraulicking. Xo details are known, but the pay streak is believed to belong to the class of unconcent rated gnvel-plain dejKJsits.

It is reported that $2,000 was taken out near the head of Peluk t'reek about 2 miles from the coast during the winter of since which time only grubstakes have been obtained. The nav pTivel consists of angular sthist and clay resting on a clay seam 2 to 4 inches thick. Mr. Iless measured the following section:

IUvrtioti near hvud af PrhiL- Cievk.

Ft. In.

ft ravel and day 1 r.

Sjindy clay and muck with some anjuhir ;:nivcl__ .VCi

Anjailar jcravel with sonic clay. 4

Mining was by shafts and drifting without The gold is

rse, rough, and iron stained, and the largest nugget was worth

1,25. It is reported that 15 pros}>ect holes, sunk with an S-inch

iiiim drill, reached gravel at 6 to 10 feet below the surface and bed

at 72 to 82 feet. The rock is gray mica schist and has a

iearlv level surface about HO feet above the sea. The owners of the

>ro]>erty report that the lower 40 feet of gravel carry from $2 to $8

n gold cubic yard, which appears to be a surprisingly high tenor.

On Holyoke Creek, a small tributary of Bourbon Creek, at a point

bout 8 miles from the coast, a shaft 118 feet deep was sunk, in which

it is that a layer of beach sand carrying 10 cents to the

m fine gold and containing fi*agments of sea shells was encountered.

In 1003 a company attempted, without success, to mine the gravel

plain with a bucket dredge at a point H miles fnnn Nome, south of

Cooper Gulch and half a mile from the foothills. The mine is about

100 feet sea level, but a shaft G5 feet deep did not reach bed

rock. The deposit frqjn the surface down carries some gold, but the

[parts that have been mined consist of small pay streaks resting

166 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

layers of clay. It is reported that the clay layers are of small extent and irregularly distributed, like the clay seams of the beach placers on pages 152-153. The pay streak, as mined, is said to have carried from $2.50 to $8 per cubic yard.

In 1902 and 1908 numerous drill hole to bed rock were sunk between Anvil and Dry creeks. The depth to bed rock ranges from 80 to 120 feet, and although no well-marked stream channels were located, broad depressions or hollows were found under some of the present stream channels, and nearly everywhere the bed rock was found to be above sea level. The metliod of pi'ospecting used was to sample the gravel systematically by taking pans every 2 feet. These samples were panned down and the concentrate, consisting mainly of black sand, garnet sand, and fine gold, was assayed. It is claimed that a large area, believed to lie along an ancient beach line, was located, in which the whole deposit from the surface down to bed rock contained enough gold to pay if an economic plan of working (m a large scale could be devised.

From other reliable sources the existence of an extensive body of rather low grade auriferous gravel near the foot of the hills south of Anvil and Newton peaks is at an average elevaticm of about 100 feet above the sea. In the practical working of such deposits some unique problems are presented to the mining engineer on account of their great thickness, frozen character, and poor drainage. One plan to place a large dredge of unusually strong construction on Snake River, and, after testing the river bars and the deposits in the river bed, to dig out a channel into original gravels under the tundra. It will be necessary to make the dredge strong enough to excavate the frozen ground. A dredge was built on Snake River in 1904, but the results obtained are not yet known. Frozen ground, however, will yield to hydraulic processes, and, if dredging should fail, some combination of the hydraulic giant and dredge or hydraulic elevator may ultimately be devised, which will render these deposits productive. An ample supply of water with sufficient head can be obtained from Nome River.

Ksooncevtrated Oravel-Flain Pla0Ek8.

Nearly all the streams which have trenched their beds across the coastal plain contain some gold derived from the original deposilsj by On the .smaller streams, which lie wholly[ within the coastal plain, all the placers are obviously of this oripi whereas the larger streams, which rise in the upland region, m contain gold derived directly from the bed rock. Bourbon i Saturday creeks, which rise on the tundra, may be taken as exam of the small streams whose placers are entiily derived by oon

Omf. Prf-Cinct.

Irttion from the roust a I -plain graYpU. The amount of concentrated goid which tlielr beds contniii. when conipui-ed with the rubical dimensions of their channels, atfords n basis for estimating ihe amount of gold contained in portions of the gravel plain.

A small amount of gold has been mined about 4 miles fram the nt-sl on Hastings Creek. The k:ality, which is coniparativeiy nnimportaiit, was not visited and the details I'egardin*; the occurraii* of the gold are not known, but the reports indicate that it is of reconcentnited type.

Bourbon Creek, whose valley lies within the coastal plain, is about Snilps long and joins Dry Creek near Nome. It carries from '20 to lUfl miner's inches of water. Two miles above its mouth it forks, tbewest fork Imng called Holyoke Ci'eek. Its tri'iich |)nibably will iwsge 15 feet deep and 500 feet wide. Mining liegan on Bourbon [>wk in 1900. and small amounts of gold have been tjiken out along Wirly the entire length of the creek." Its output during IVtOO has biMi estimated at $r(,000; in IWH the output of Bourbon Creek UHJ its tributary, Holyoke Creek, was probably not far from $40,000. Ttu lotal output up to IWA was probably about $100,000.

Kesrthe head of the creek two si'ctions of the gold-lH-aring deposit itpoints half a mile apart iiavc Wen noted. (Jiie iiboul :i luile fi'om ibtlwad is as follows:

Srrthiii I millbflvir trail iif Huarbim Creek.

Feet.

JIiKw anil muck 2

Rock and bine cloy Q

Orarel 1

Blue clnj 1

Si-bist gravei, pay streak 1

About half a mile from the head of the creek another section was natured, as follow:

Blue ami red Hny 4

OraTel, the iay streak 2

Oil a claim near the head of the oast branch a dump containing Ii cubic yards of gravel mined in the winter of 1001-2 yielded SIOO. or l!2 iwr cubic yard. On a claim one-fourth mile farthci' Ibf cpevk a pay streak 10 or I'i feet wide and 5 feet thick ks been sluiced, yielding about $4 to the cubic yard. These

Brnoki. A. II.. Itk-liardnoa, G. B.. Bud Collier, A. J„ ReciinnalioiiniN In llie I'ape Xgw iiid Sanon Bny reeloan. AInskn, la IHUO. ii e<|i.'<:IiiI iiublkuilon i.f n>- tl. 8. Owl. BorMj. 1001. pti, m. 83-S4.

168 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

figures show that some of the gravels of* Bourbon Creek are rich enough to work by shoveling into sluice boxes. Owing to the low gradient and small flow of water, however, machinery is required to work the deposits at a profit. In 1903 three bucket dredges, each with an estimated capacity of 250 yards in ten hours, were installed. These machines were not successfully operated because they were too small and light. Late in the fall of 1903 one of these dredges was placed near the mouth of the creek, where it was successfully used for removing the tailings from a small hydraulicking plant.

Saturday Creek is the name given to the upper part of Center Creek, which flows into Shake River about a mile above Nome, and Wonder Creek is the middle pail of the same stream. This diversity of names is due to the fact that under the local rules, established by the prospectors, one claim only was allowed to each man on a creek. This rule was often circumvented by changing the name of a creek at each tributary and locating a claim with each change of name. Only a small amount of work has been done on Saturday Creek since 1900, and it was not reexamined in 1903. In 1900 one claim was being operated. The section showed 2 or 3 feet of nmck, below which was S feet of schist gravel containing the gold. This was generally bright yellow, though some was dark, and all was rather coarse. The largest nugget found here was worth $14.50. Nuggets worth from 25 cents to a few dollars were common. Some of the gold was smooth and some rough. Quartz was attached to much of the gold. The concentrates consist of magnetite and garnets, with some scheelite.

Dry Creek and Newton Gulch, where they are intrenched acroff the gravel plain, resemble the streams just described, but as their headwaters are in the upland it is evident that their gravek may c!arry gold brought directly from the bed rock. It is probable, however, that most of their placer gold has been reconcentrated from the gravel plain.

Newton Gulch, an eastern branch of Dry Creek, 3 miles from th] coast, is about miles long and carries less than a sluice headrf! water during the sunnner months. Its source is on the south slope j of Newton Peak, but it flows across an elevated portion of the gratdj plain through most of its length. Considerable gold is reported to have taken out of the creek, but it appears that the rich gravA were of no great extent and that those which could be worked at profit by primitive methods have been exhausted.

A section exposed on Newton Gulch jut above Left Fork is follows :

Ft.

In

ft

Nome Precinct. 169

tiection on yew tan Oulch above Left Fork.

Sandy clay .

Schist gravel, Boniewhat

Sand - - --

Gravel

Sand and gravel

Pay streak, consisting of schist arravc'l - 3

)rv Creek heads between Anvil and Newton Peaks and flows thward about G miles to Snake River. Its upper 2 miles lie bin a narrow valley cut in schists and limestones, but below it es in a shallow trench across tlio coastal plain. At its mouth it ries from 50 to 150 miner's inches of water. Mining in the recontrated placers of Dry Creek began in 1900," and the reiwrted protion for that vear was $2,500. In the ci-eek bed was mined several places within a few miles of the foothills, but the whoh duction did not exceed a few thousand dollars. The gold is light 3red and of varying coarseness, and nuggets $1 in value are the gest reported. The concentrates in the sluice consist of eh black sand and considerable scheelite.

rhe following section was measured on Dry Creek about miles m the foothills, an eighth of a mile above the mouth of Newton Ich:

Feet Moss and muck 3

Sandy clay . 3

Gravel composed of mica whist, limestone, etr. ( the pay streak ) . 8 Clay (thickness unknown).

The depth to bed rock at this place is not known. At other places ; gravels are worked to a somewhat less depth. A pros[>ect hole 1 le from the hills has a depth of 92 feet, but does not reach bed rock, ree-fourths of a mile above the mouth of Newton Gulch a steam )vel has been used, but most of the mining has been done by drift- l in the winter. Near the point where the valley of Dr}' Creek deiches on the coastal plain there is a series of productive bench claims iiated along the course of an old channel on the east side of the ek. These are descriljed in connection with the creek and bench cers of the upland region (p. 185).

ijivil Creek, which in its valley portions is one of the richest in vard Peninsula, flows across the coastal plain for about 2 miles ore it joins Snake River. In this distance little mining has been le, but in view of the rich placers found above (see- p. 186) there

3rookE, A. II.. Richardson. G. B.. and Collier. A. J.. Reconnalsances in tb Cape e and Norton Bay regions. Alaska, in 1906, a special pnblicatioo of the U. 8. Geol. ej. 1901. pp. 69-82.

is good reason to expfcl workaitle lieposits (it fine gnld in this part of its valley. As in all tlie sti-eiim of tlip tuinlni boll, its bed rock deeply buried itnd it <'aii iiol iiiitied profitiihly by the oimpiv methods employed in the ri'eek and iH-ncIi plawi-s.

Nome and Snake rivers cniry large volumes of water and How across the gravel plain in brtmd trenches. Their placei*s. which ira <if the river-bar type, have probably been derived as much from llie upland as from the plains gravels.

Nome River is trenched across the )a5tal plain for ulKJiit o inilwt No attempts have been made lo work the bars oi-river lied on a commei-cial scale. Should the. dredging plants recently installed on otiiw rivers of the (leninula prove sncwswfnl, tJie bed of Nome River wi! donbtle.s.s soon receive attention.

The lower Ci or 7 miles of the Sniike River Valley is intnndiM in the arnstal plain, and it here receives as tributurias Dry, Centwj Anvil, and (glacier ci-eeks, the gravels of ull of which have yieJil gold." Snake River has also many proilnctive tribtitaries nurd of the coastal plain. A snudl dredge was opvjiiii'il im Snake Itivrt near its mouth as early as IflOO. but it wa.s a primilivp affair ami t work was soon abandoneil. A larger and stronger dredge was plm on llie river in 1004, hut the results obtained with it were not learned

UAB, LBEEK, AND BKNCU PLACERS OF THE fPLAND.

The greater part, of the Nome region, as here defined, lies north 6 the coastal plain and comprises uplands from 800 to 1,800 fwt i height, bounded on the north by the Kigliiaik Mountains, whid reach elevations from 3.000 to 4,700 feet. Many of the lower-hiE are flattened on top, snggestiiig a dissected plateau, anr| their wA are benched at various levels. Near the seaward margin of the uj land are systems of broad terraces about .00 feet in height, ileepi buried in gi-avel, and these contain the high-lunch placers de!<cnhe elsewhere. The upland is dissected by the valleys of Nome and Si rivers and their many tributaries, and in these valleys lie the crw and low-bench placers described in the present section. lielow t extensive high gravel -covered bench or plateau already mentioned ti walls of the valleys show many minor Iwnches. some of which ft itivani terraces and others products of differential weathering of ll U'd nx'k and of lociil ci-eepiug or sliding movements of the soil.

KOKE una BABIM.

Ill troll lid iiiii. — Nome River has a broad valley for 20 miles the coastal plain, in most places with one or two terraces iw.i 100 feet above the river bed. (See topographic nuip. PI. VTIT,

) The fluoi' of th* valley is deeply gravel tilled, mid in some iaets the gi-avels rise in blutfw from '20 tt) 50 feet alxtve the present kod plain. The flood plain ranges from 100 feet to a mile in width toA at its lower end merges with tli*- coastal plain. Km- 14 miles llw gradient is about 10 fe*t to the milt and for 10 miles above this itisahoiii .'W feet to the mile; the 5 or 6 miles are torrential. Colore of gold have been found on tlie river bars for yO miles from iir laiiiidi and are reported from prosiwct boles in the flood plains dor 1'2 miles from the roast, bnt as yet no ntlempts to o.-stract the pill tiuve jjeen snecessful. Pincers have been worked on nniny of ihe tributaries from both .sides. The placers of the tribntaries from liimst, which are first descrilxd, art-of Ics-s importance than those Ihe west, which inchide some of the richest diggings on the Ik.

— Osborn Creek, the first large tributary of Xome [i tlw east, occupies a rather broad valley, the upjier liph is cnt in siliceous chlorite schists and limestones of Ihe Knnr group. The mountain north of the mouth of Osborn Ci-eek it posed almost entirely <if greenstone, great liltK'ks of whirli htn> rolled into the creek, forming holders of all sizes up to 10 fcfl in <liumeter. The gravels also contain many peiibles and IkiwI- Jkn fif granite, which have probably transporteil sonllnvanl fiwii the Kigluuik Mountains, (See pp, 04-99.) Similar granite kwliler are found up to an elevation of 800 feet on the mountain Tffif of the creek. jVlthough gold was discovered on this creek as luly as 1300, verj" little development work has been done. It is ffporied that during the season of 1903 about 40 men worked on the ffeek. The workings are scattered along the creek for about IJ lies above a |>oint 5 miles from the mouth,

.Uong the right bank of the creek there is a gravel bench from 8

20 feet high, which is probably a remnant of a more extensive

kposit filling the valley. This bench had not been prospected in

JKB, The gravel deposits of the creek bed average, about 100 feet

width and have excavated to a depth of 5 or fi feet, where a

y seam formS a false bed rock; the real bed rock has not been

iced. The gravels are rather coarse, pebbles 3 or 4 inches in

iameter being common. Some gold is foimd from the surface down,

it the richest pay lies just above the false led rock, Tlie gold is

srse, bright, and most of it well rounded, though some of the

kwes an-angular. A considerable jwrtion is in nuggets worth from

to $20. When slicing was in progress, a daily yield of $10 to $18

the shovel was claimed, which, if true, would require an average

old content of $2,50 to $4,.">0 a cubic yard. Apparently there are on

bboni Creek extensive deposits of gravel containing low values,

rbicb can barely be worked at a profit by the primitive methods now

172 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

in use. It is estimated that 1,000 miner's inches of water can be brought from New Eldorado Creek and the head of Osborn Creek to these diggings, with a head of 100 feet, for which 6 miles of ditch would be required. Should sucli a ditch be constructed, a large part of the gravels of the lower creek can probably be worked at a profit but thorough prospecting of the ground to determine the gold tenor should precede any extensive ditch building.

Buster Creek, — Buster Creek, a tributary of Nome River from the east about 7 miles from the coast, is about 4 miles long. In the upper 8 miles of its course it flows through a narrow V-shaped canyon; below it is trenched across the floor of' Nome River Valley. About miles from its mouth the creek forks, the northern fork being called Ijillian Creek.

Mining has been in progi'ess here since 1899. The mines are easily reached, as the wagon road from Nome to Venetia and Iron creeks follows up Buster Creek from Nome River. The freight rate from Nome not exceed 8 or 4 cents per pound.

The bed rocks are calcareous and chloritic schists and limestones of the Nome group. No intrusive greenstones have been found in place in the ci-eek valley, though pebbles of such rock, which probably come from the greenstone on the south side of the creek, occur in the gravels. The gravels are from 2 to 8 feet thick and contain pebbles of schist, quartz, greenstone, and some granite. Some claims on this creek made good returns in 1899 and again in 1900. Much of the gold extracted was coarse, and the largest nugget found was worth $18. The assay value of the gold is said to be $18.60 to the ounce. In 1908 some of the operations included a reworking of the gravels that had been sluiced in 1900; others were in Anrgin ground. In the earlier operations the bed rock, some of it carrying the richest pay, was not cleaned up, so that it has been found profitable to strip the old tailings and to take out the bed rock to a depth of 1 to 2 feet About 2 miles from the mouth of the creek some undisturbed ground was to be seen in a gravel deposit about 100 feet wide and feet thick, in which the richest pay was on the bed rock and not in it A ditch half a mile long raised the water about 80 feet above the creek bed, and a hydraulic apparatus, consisting of a canvas hose and sheetiron nozzle, throwing a 4-inch stream was used. The tailings were removed by a team of horses and scraper. The plant required three men to operate it and handled about 100 cubic yards per day of ten hours.

The bed rock and gravel of Lillian Creek, which joins Buster

Creek 1 mile from its mouth, are similar to those of Buster CreA

but the gravel is more deeply covered by soil and muck. The graWs

are from 8 to 10 feet thick and in places are covered by an overbardci

5 feet thick. Only a few men were employed on tibie ciEedc in UA

Nome Precinct. 178

and the output probably little more than paid wages. Some of the gold is so coated with iron oxide that the nuggets might easily be mistaken for small pebbles of hematite. About a mile from the mouth the pay was said to be evenly distributed through the gravel, which was here 3 to 4 feet thick, and the output was from $12 to $13 per man shoveling in.

Union Gulch, not over a mile long, joins Buster Creek from the iKMth about a mile above Lillian Creek. Its bed rock is a gray schist broken up by many small faults. The gravel deposit is from 10 to *J() feet wide and about 30 inches thick and has been estimated to carry from $3 to $4 a cubic yard. The values are nearly all on lxd rock. The gold is coarse and rusty, and the largest nugget found was worth $1(>.

Gold-bearing gravels have been discovered in a bench 100 feet above the creek bed on the south side of Buster Creek, about 2 miles from its mouth. This bench has been traced for 700 and is crescent shaped, with the ends pointing toward the present creek bed. A section of this deposit from the surface down is as follows :

Hectimt of bench 2 milcfi nhocr mouth of BuMtvr Crvvk.

Fwt.

MDok and slide rock IS

" Low-prade pay jjnivel " .10

Glacial mud (probably fi*oztn Hlid deiMHit) 10

Iron-Mtained schist bed rock.

The width of the upper pay streak is reported as 140 feet, and of the lower pay streak 26 feet. The lower pay streak is inclosed by Well-defined bed-rock rims, and pay is found in the decomposed schist to a depth of 18 inches. At the west end of the deposit the riui on the creek side is wanting, and the gold-lariug gi*avels are spread over the hillside below the old channel, probably by local sliding. A section here, probably in the end of the old channel, shows IS f(>et of ill-assorted gravel and nick. containing many of gneiss, granite, and greenstone, but a few feet down the hill the deposit is not more than 4 or 5 feet thick. Pans are said to average from 10 to 18 events, and from a pit 76 by 80 and 18 feet deep Jiv4,000 is said to have lxen taken. The gold resembles that of Buster Creek, and is reported. to assay $18.97 to the ounce. It is coarse, but has few nuggets of any considerable size, and is mostly well worn, though some is rough. About half a mile east of this place a smaller deposit at approximately the same elevation is cut by Grace Gulch, a small tributary of Buster Creek. This was worked in the winter of 1902-ii, yielding about W) ounces of gold similar to that of Buster C' The working of these benches is difficult on account of thr ater supply. A ditch along the hillside from Gtacfc GixiXsS

174 GOLD PLACEB8 OF SEWABD PENINSXnJL

to the first-described locality about 50 miner's inches of water, whidi is mostly seepage from the hillside above the ditch.

From the above facts it seems evident that this deposit was formed in an old channel of Buster Creek. After the lower and older pt? was formed the channel was partly filled with material sliding in from the hillsides and raising the creek bed. In the higher bed thus formed the thicker and wider upper pay streak was deposited. The creek then deserted this channel, which was afterwards covered by slides from the hills above. These slides at the upper and lower ends of the deserted channel have continued and either carried the goldbearing gravel down to Buster Creek or scattered it in the form of a hillside placer.

Dewey Creek, — Dewey Creek is a small eastern tributary of Nome River about 11 miles from the coast. During the summer of 1003 very little mining was done on the creek, and it was not visited by members of the (Jeological Survey. The following description is quoted from Brooks :

Thin stream rises in the llniestoiie hills n mile and a half north of the bead of Lillian Creek and flows into Nome River about 4 miles above Buster CredL. At its head Dewey Creek has cut a gorge, from which it emerges to flow tlirougii the gravels adjacent to Nome River. Some gold has been taken from tliis creek, but not very much. A claim at an elevation of 300 feet has probably yielded the most. The sei-tion in the creek to which work has been (t- fine<]. is 1 foot muck. 1 foot sandy blue clay. 3 feet gravel, with iiebbles of whist quartz, greenstone, limestone, and granite. The gravel carries gold. Below a false bed rock of sandy clay. The gold is rather light in weight, the lam piece lieing worth only a dollar. Considerable scheelite and garnet are amod- a ted with the gold, and not much magnetite. It has been reported that a natunl amalgam occurs in the gravels of Dewey Creek, but it was not found by Qi nor did we find any cinnabar. Colors have been found in the high graveli. which run up to 800 feet in the neighborliood.

BuHin Creek, — Basin Creek, an eastern tributary of Nome Rivtf 13 miles from the coast, is 3 miles long and flows westward. On the east .side of the valley of Nome River at this point the hilb rise to an elevation of 1,400 to 1,775 feet above the sea. Basin Creek through the 2 niilc of its course occupies a deep valley in these mountains; in its lower half mile it flows across the broad valley of Nome Kiver. At the edge of this valley the creek flows in a sharjJT cut gorge for half a mile, but above the gorge the creek valley widens somewhat, making a sort of basin, from which it takes its name. Early in June, 1003, the volume of the stream was probably not to from 500 miner's inches. The gradient is comparatively high, exceeding 100 feet to the mile. (lold was discovered and some miniif was done on this creek as early as 1900. The amount of gold pr duced on the creek before 1903 probably did not ezoeed $2O/)0O

Brooks, A. H., Rlchardton, G. B., and Collier, A. J. : BeeoBBalMUMH te ll onw and Norton Bay roglona, Alaflka, in 190Q, a special vaMkatta ttp IMl, pih 78-79.

Nome Precinct. 175

$30,000. In June, 1903, a great many loads of freight, consisting of pipes for hydraulic work, were being hauled to Basin Creek over a road which follows the gravel bars of Glacier Creek nearly to it head, then crosses Banner Creek and Nome River and follows the bed of Basin Creek up to the camps.

In the bed rock of Basin Creek limestone predominates and is interbedded with some calcareous and chloritic schist. The strike is generally north and south and the dip to the east at an average angle of about 20°. These rocks certainly belong to the Nome group, and it is believed that the limestones may correlated with the Port Clarence, and they are so represented on the geologic map. The gravels consist mainly of limestone and calcareous-schist pebbles, with a few pebbles of greenstone. An average section of the gravel where it has been exposed by mining operations is as follows:

titcvtion ON lianiii Creek.

Feet.

KouudtHl creek jjravel

Course aiijerular material ami day (pay streak) 12

Bed rook eoutalniug jroUl in erevices -U

In the pay streak over 30 pv cent of the are more than 10 inches in diameter. The pay sti'eak is about 150 feet wide, and it is said to extend along the creek for 2 miles. The gold is bright, rough, and coarse. Nuggets worth from $1.50 to $2 are found, and niany of the pieces are crystalline. The concentrate contain ite, hematite, and scheelite. It is not probable that the gravels are of verj' high grade, for although mining began here 1001 3nly a small area was worked previous to 1903. It appears that the gravels are not of sufficient value to pay wages if worked by tlie primitive method of stripping by hand and shoveling into sluice boxes. The limit of value can not Ik' far above to the* 5ubic yard. Since 1903 mining on the creek has Ixhmi done with hydraulic nozzles and elevators. The gradient of the stream bed is so great that the tailings lUHd not be elevated more than 10 or 15 IVith the hydraulic plants installed it is probable that the whole a;ravel deposit within the valley of the can be worked out in )ne or two seasons of continuous running.

Extra Dnj Creek. — Extra Diy Creek flows into Nome River from -he hills on the west side, about 7 miles from the sea. At its head it las a narrow canyon, but for most of it.s coui*se it is trenched across the comparatively flat valley floor of Nome River. The creek Elfravels were being mined in 1900, when the workings were examined

iy Richardson.* In 1903 one man was working a rocker on the creek

"Brooks, A. H., RIchardBon. O. B., and (*collier. A. .T., Reconnaissances in the Cape Nome lad Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900, a special pubUcatlon ot thft \3. %viTNi 1901, pp. 777.

176 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

and probably making scant wages. The whole output of the creek has probably not exceeded $20,000.

A section in the creek bed about one-half mile from its head, where the richest placers were found, showed 1 foot of muck, 1 foot of sandy clay, and feet of schist and quartz gravel on mica-schist bed rock lying nearly flat. Only the lower 2 feet of gi-avel were worked with rockers, the water being obtained from springs. The largest nugget found was worth $13, but there were several averaging from $3 to $0, some of which were attached to pieces of quartz. In tlie lower part of the creek the gold is fine and little work has Iwen done.

Dexter Creeh, — Dexter Creek is a western tributarv of Xonie River about 7i miles from the coast. It forks about 2 miles from its mouth, the southern branch being called Ift Fork and the west fork receiving the name Grass (xulch. (See sketch map, fig. 7, p. 150.) About 100 yards above the junction Grass Gulch forks again, the northern branch being called Deer Gulch. Another tributur' mentiohed in the economic descriptions is Grouse Gulch, which enters from the north alwut one-half mile the mouth of (ii-a.s (lunch.

The mines on Dexter Creek are easily reached from Nome bv a wagon road which follows Dry (reek to it?i head and, passing over the divide, comes down Left Fork. Freight may Iw hauled by wagon from Nome, and in 1003 was delivered at any point on the creek for 3 to 4 cents jnn' pound. The mines are also ea.sily reached from either Summit or Dexter station of the Seward Peninsula Kailway. to which the freight rate from Nome is at the rate of 1 cent pound. These two stations are both on the divide the basins of Dexter and Anvil cneks. A considerable settlement, which includes several road houses and stores, is located at the forks of Dexter Ciwk, the oldest establishment there being known as the "Sour Dough" road house.

Through the 2 mile,s of its course' 1k1ow the principal forks the gradient of the stream is 140 feet to the mile. Above this point, where the several branches converge, the gradient is higher. The amount of water in the creek during the dry season is less than n sluice head, but in the spring when the snow is melting and after the late summer rain there is sufficient water for sluicing in a small way. The creek valley has a V-shaped cross section and in its floor the creek flows in a shallow trench or gorge, leaving benches along it* sides from 10 to .")() feet above the bed.

The ld rock of Dexter Creek consists of limestones and mica and chloritic schists of the Nome group. The strikes are in general nearly parallel with the course of the creek. Although schists predominate in the valley walls, limeone is more commonly found in the creek bed, but it is associated with some bands of adiist. Bather

Nome Pbfx'Inct. It

(toisive gravel deposits have been fouml along the bed of the treek |Dm its mouth to the sources of its several tributaries, and these inge from 2 to 20 feet or more in thickness. 'WTiere the bed rock timeslone the gr'ives adually pass into the decomposed bed rock gd extend downward in crevices and fissures. Gravel deposits also stir at a number of places in benches lying parallel with the creek td, and several of the tributary streams head in high-bench gravels Kering the divides.

Dexter Creek was staked and gold on it discovered as early as 1S9{). B 1900 mining was in progress tlirough the whole length of this nek and on each of its tributaries, the total output being estimated In many places water which passed through the slui™ DIK was pumped back and used again and again. Elsewhere the jirels were washed with rocket-s, to wliich water was carried by ind or was lianled from Nome River in barrels. X criterion of be richness of the gravels lies in the fact that they were worked with nckers, using water purchased at $2.50 a barrel. In 1901 and hetreek was almost abandoned, us thr richest pay streak had been liuusted- Willi the completion of the ditch in the summer 11902 the work on Dexter Crek was revived, and in 1903 the creek nbably pixxluced as much gold as in 1900. The water from the [iocene ditch was used over and over again as it passed from one liim to another along the creek. In general the work was done by koveling the pay gravel into the sluice boxes, but in several places begravel was hydraulicked. As a rule the head was only '20 or 'AO let, ind canvas hose and a galvanized-iron nozzle were sufficiently Img to stand the pi-essure. The gradient of the creek throughout I length is such that tailings are readily disposed of. With the iriral of mining along this creek a successful search for bench (posits has been carried on, and it is probable that the gravels of the reek will not be wholly worked out for several years. At a point one-half mile from the mouth of the creek the workings llBOS showed IJ feet of pay gravel containing many large bowlders liied with finer sediments and clay. Most of the bowlders were of stone and the clay is probably residual from the limestone and iasL

OiK-balf mile farther up, on the right bank of the creek, pay tifd in the form of a bench about 150 feet long by 50 feet wide was mnd resting upon hlocky limestone 10 feet above the present creek ni The gold extended for some distance into crevices of the fanestone. which was taken up and washed during the mining lotions.

A short distance above, the pay sti-eak in the creek bed consisted of Wen limestone fragments that seem to have slid down from the liMH— Bull. 328— OS— 12

hillside on the southern bank of tli<' oreek. This deposit is tbooi ' feet thick nnd about 30 feet wide.

Ou the left bank opposite this point bench gruvels hiive been ftMiml about 75 feet above and 20() feet north of the creek A pittM rock showed the washed graveJ to 30 feet thick. boj todi Hi the bfitluni of this pit is reported to have a well-nnirki-d rmi on 'If side toward Dexter Creek, indicating an old clmnnol parallel with llif present emanuel. (iold was found near bod rock, but the deposit had not Iwen thoroughly prospoeted.

About KR) yards the mouth of Gitiiise (Julch the wortinp* on the left bank of the creek extend into a great mass of gntrel, whirfi may mark the upper end of the olii channel just ntit4.'d. The bed mfk was here stiipjied for 100 feet or more, I'revealing a nearly lewl flow, beyond wlueh il rises towanl the hilt. This bed rock is a schistose limestone with an irregular surface, due to the fact thatsmrir parts of it apparently disintegrated more rapidly than othen Aboi' this bed rock lies a gi-avel which on the nortli side away from the creek laed has a thickness of nearly 20 feel. The section show " layer of several feet of yellowish clay, below which there is nearly I'l feet of gnivel consisting of badly sorted achisl, limestone, and granite pebbles, mixed with a large amount of yellowish sandy riay.

Neiir the forks of Dexter Creek the gravel deposit.s are wider tlian those exposed farther downstream, but nearly all of the gravel workii'i in had been picked over in 1900 and IHOl, when, owinji in lli' scarcity of water, only the richest parts oould Ik? haiuiled. The niiii ing was done here by means of a 2-inch hydraniin noxzlc under a liwl of 60 feet, with which the surface was first pijwd otT almost tu rock and carried through the sluice boxes, after which tbii pemiwiii of the gravel and the loose rock wei-e shoveled into the box*"'',' hand. The deposit worked covered an area about 00 feet wide il"! 250 feet long by 10 feel deep, and about half Ihe Vn-d rock wnschist, the remainder being limestone, (iold was not foun<) ill tJ' schist bed rock to a depth of moi-e than a few inches, but in Utf t- sui'es of the limestone the gold hud penetrated to nn inde8niti< dpptli iome holes in the linie.stone have been found in wliich (hx ffnl-l gravels are mined to a depth of 20 or 30 feet. Thuncfi ' bed rock rises on the south side of the deposit, the limits uf il.i i- gravel had not been reached. The gold here is all wafenvoni. ti' pieces are smooth, and no corner-s or angles remain.

About a quarter of a mile above the forks, in Grass Gulch, is OW ff the richest of the Dexter Creek minet-. Hei-e a pit 150 fwi widtll} 300 or +00 feet loTig. mostly on the south side of thr onpinaJ lied, had been worked out in 1903. At the upjwr end of this -face of gravel about 2."> feet high was exposed at the time of Mr. i "ier's visit. (See I'l. II. . I.) This gi-avel carried gold from

Nome Precinct. 179

within a few feet of the surface down to the bed rock. Above the gravel there was a strip of moss and soil not over 2 feet thick. The section from the surface down is jis follows:

Ft. In.

Mobs am! soil . 2

Browii irrnvol of rounded and clay .

8tnsik, ntained with manpinese 3

Brown jcravol of rounded and cla}'

FissutHl limestone beil rock.

The gravels consist mainly of pebbles and bowlders of limestone and schist* but contain also some pebbles of <yranite. The ]>ebbles are well rounded and range from one-half inch to 10 inches in diameter. They are not well sorted in layers, though the whole deposit appears to he water-laid, and is cemented by a cinnamon-colored, rather sticky day sediment. Shingling is not very distinct, but seems to indicate a current flowing toward the east.

The bed rock exposed by mining is chiefly limestone that has lieen fessured, and the erosion along the fissures has left a very irregidar surface. (See PI. II, B.) The sticky brown sediment extends into fissures and crevices for an unknown distance. These fissures connect with deep-seated channels in the body of the limestone, as is shown by the fact that they can not be filled with water, and that in the excavations the sound of running water can be heard. A thin bed of decomposed schist included in the limestone forms a reef cross the floor of the mine, into which the placer gold has not penetrated more than a few inches. The gravel above the schist reef is not as rich as that resting upon the limestone. These deposits are only partly frozen, and after hydraulicking the frozen parts remained pinnacles. The gravels are angular and gold occurs in them from the surface down (PI. II, 1) and in the fissures of the rock as far as the excavations have gone, but the gieatest values occur in the gravel layer resting uwn rock. Many of the residual bowldei-s have been found to be spangled with alluvial gold. The gold is comparatively coarse, but ranges from fine dust to large nuggets. The largest nugget found, worth about $412, was well worn and apparently consisted originally of a sheet of gold surrounded by quartz. but the quartz has worn away and the edge of the gold has been worn smooth.

The mine was worked with water from the Miocene ditch, which has an elevation above the mine floor not exceeding 20 feet. About 700 feet of sluice boxes, with riffles through the whole length, were nsed, and the pay streak was, for the most part, handled with shovels.

Above this mine the valley of Grass Gulch is not well defined. Extensive prospecting has been done here and the limestone bed rock.

180 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

which underlies the valley, has been penetrated to a considerable depth, exposing a series of fissures and crevices probably connecting with underground channels similar to those just described, but no large body of gold-bearing gravel is known to have been discovered. The mine workings of the Summit bench, north of Anvil Mountain in the divide between Grass Gulch and Specimen Gulch, lie from onefourth to one-half mile west of the highest workings on Grass Gulch and are described on page 206. From their position it seems quite possible that the upper gravels on Grass Gulch are connected with these bench deposits, but the bed rock on Grass Gulch appears to lie 50 or 60 feet lower than that of the l:)ench.

On Deer Gulch, a northern tributary of (grass Gulch, a succession of schists and limestones is exposed and some gold has been obtained. The gravels were worked to a small extent in the early part of 1903, but o}>erations had been abandoned before September.

The gravels of Dexter Creek also extend up lieft Fork and probably connect with the gravels in the deposit on the divide between Dexter and Dry creeks. About onefourth mile above the mouth of Left Fork a force of men were employed in the fall of 1903 exploiting the creek gravels with a hydraulic giant supplied with water from the pumping station on Nome River. The bed rock here consists of limestone and thinly bedded calcareous schists. The pay streak is not more than 50 feet in width and the gradient of the stream is such that the sluice boxes could be laid along the stream bed and the gravels above readily piped into them.

Grouse Gulch, a tributarv of Dexter Creek from the north side, heads in the deep gravels of the Snow Flake and Sugar mines, from which it has a steep gradient southeastward to the creek. In llWl and 1002 some mining was done along Grouse Gulch and a bed rock consisting principally of limestone but containing also some thin lKds of schist was exposed. In the upper part of the gulch the bed rock is mainly schist. About one-fourth mile above the junction of Grouse Gulch and Dexter Creek a pit had been excavated on the left bank of the gulch, in which a face of gravel 10 feet thick was exposed, showing 6 inches of moss and muck; 4 feet of yellow sandy clay, containing a few rounded pebbles; 6 feet of stratified gravel and sand, consisting mostly of flat schist pebbles arranged parallel to the stratification, and yellowish-red and brown sand containing great deal of fine mica. The bottom of this layer contains some large, flat pieces of rock, w-hich show little if any rounding. It rests upon a very much decomposed schist bed rock. Near bed rock is layer of vein-quartz pebbles. The bedding of the gravel dips toward Dexter Creek at an angle of to 6°. Several pieces of granite wctb found in the dump from these workings, but a diligent soardi bSd

Iiisliiiw iiiiy fffunitp ill llu- fHL-L- of llie cut. About hulT a iiilIc rmm IVilrr t'lvcli loiisiileniblt' gold has bw'ii nlituincil fruiii ii tiiiiiit'l from t!ie of (iroiise (iiilcli into priivel U-ii, wliidi is Jtscritn'ti in nmiiwticiii.wilh tlie (leposil.s (p. 1S)!I).

Banner f'reek.—in lUOO Brooks wrote ilH follows coilceniitlg Bnn- BiT I'rwk :

Thia is a siuull tributary to Nome River from the weBt, alxiut 3 iiitlea nlxive Doler Creek. IIh lfl rock le whiBtose eenstoneH and limeHtnnes. Coliirn hue been found im tUis stivsiii, liut no juiying placenta. It must lie siild, Unwea, lliut but little prosrectiag liii beeu doue, Ttie atreuiu la a sninll one iirid ftiriNK dry wwitlier does not furnlah u sloloe liead of water.

In 1!MK the writers traversed the creek, but, though some evidences ufiilil workings were seen, no miners were on the creek and it iri ifeublfiil if it has even produced grubstakfei.

Bi/Iikoii Creek. — Hobson Creek joins Nome River from the WMt, ibout 18 miles from the sea. It has a rather narrow valley and sonthsiycouitie. The bed rock is massive limestone with greenstone schist [Mr the head of the stream. Considerable was done in IIHW, but very little gold has been The creek, wliich carries about l,oOO miner's inches of water, is one of the feeders of llu' Miocene ditch.

Ihmthn Creek. — Dorothy Ci-eek, a 'western tribtitary of Sotnc Bivr. iA miles from the coast, Hows through ii small canyon having I general northerly course. Above the canyon the valley broadens oat lu 8 small basin having a gravel floor. The Ited is limetone, lenutivfly correlated with the Port Clarence, and greenstone intni- Wi. which strike in a northeasterly direction and dip to the noilhwst. Mineralized quart/, veins ai"e very plentiful. The creek is by a wagon road from Nome and the cost of hauling fi-eight in 1!NJ3 was less than 10 cents a pound. Where it emerges from its apron into the valley of the Nome, Dorothy Creek has a bitmd delta, in which tlie giavel is alwiit 3 feet thick and overlies a gi-eenstone- KJiist bed rock. The gravel deposits of the creek lied have minefl ante IflOO, and, according to T. A. Campion, who in 1003 ownwl most of the claims, have produced in all $44,000, but at small profit to the humeroiis operators. Mcwt of this gold was obtained from claims within I mile of the month. The gold is light colored and said to way $14 and $1,") to the ounce. In IHOti the Campion ditch Ws completed to this ci-eek from Hutfalo Creek, near the head of Some River, and it was proposi'd to hydraulic the whole gravel deposit of the ci-eek bed.

Above Dorothy Creek on the west side of Nome River some extnare gravel deixwits lying in the divide between Nome River and the

head of Stewart River have developed in excavating for the ditcli. Boer Mountain, which lies west of Nome River the heads of Sinuk and Stewart rivers, is composed of green quart z-chlorite schists containing many veiijs and stringers of clear glassy quartz. Some pieces of float quartz resembling that in the mountain, but containing large pieces of free gold in one side of the specimen while the other side is barren, were found along this ditch. One nugget was found which weighs three-fourths of a pound anJ whicii is nearly all gold, but includes some quartz similar to that from the mountain. It is proposed to hydraulic the benches along the west side of Nome River after the Dorothy Creek placers are exhausted.

Dinide Creek. — Divide Creek rises in the broad divide at the head of Stewart River and flows eastward into Nome River. It is a small stream flowing over deep gravel deposits that may be in part of glacial origin. At the head of the creek these deposits are very deep. Some sluicing was done on the creek during 1903. It is proposed to hydraulic these gravel deposits with water from the Campion ditch.

Boer Creek. — Boer Creek is a small stream which rises in Boer Mountain, the headwaters of Stewart and Sinuk rivers, ami flows northward to Hudson Creek, which flows into Buffalo Creek, a tributarv of Nome River. The distance from Nome is about 30 miles. It is reached a wagon road, and freight rates in 1903 were not less than 10 cents a pound. About $2,800 was produced in 1901 and IPO"! but the creek was not worked in 1903.

The rock is green chloritic schist containing many veins of clear glassy quartz, and the pay streak is reported to be narrow and ((fined to the creek The thickness of the gravel ranges from inches to 8 feef In the upper part of the creek the bed rock is coveivd with a deposit of conglomerate composed mainly of subangular schist firmly cemented by hydrous iron oxide. The nature and limits of this conglomerate have not determined, but it reported to carry values in placer gold and in this res|>ect resembles the uncemented gravel of the creek. Two grades of gold are obtained — (me light-colored gold assjiying $10 to the ounce, the other assaying $1S to the ounce. Mining on the crtek has been shut down the completion of the Campion ditch.

8Kake Bivkk Babxh.

Introiluction. — There are many streams tributary to Snake River, which heads in the ivgion 20 miles north of Nome and flows nearly southward to Bering Sea (PI. VIII. in pocket). The lower 7 miles of its course in the coastal-plain belt is descrilx*d on page 170. Above this portion it occupies a valley 4 or 5

Thin Information la fumiahed by T. A. Campion, of Nome.

Nome Precinct. 183

dies wide, and here the river has trenched the valley floor, leaving terraces along the sides. The flood plain is about half a mile in idth, beyond which the slopes rise gently 300 or 400 feet and tlien come very much steeper. It is a noteworthy feature that all bench ravels and placers thus far discovered occur below the level of tliese eeper slopes. The bed rock of the greater part of the Snake River asin is composed of undifferentiated schists and limestones of the ome group, which are here locally more highly mineralized tlian the verage rocks of this group, for gold-bearing quartz veins and stringare of more abundant occurrence.

No attempts at mining the river bars have been made above the )astal-plain belt, but the bars are known to be more or less auriferiis throughout the length of the stream.

The low benches that occur along both sides of the Snake River alley are in part rock cut and in part built up of gravel. At a icality on the east side of the valley about 10 miles from the coast, ;ripping of the sloping valley floor made in a search for quartz eins have revealed a rock surface covered to a depth of 4 or 5 feet ith muck and residual schist fragments, with here and there some ashed gravel. Here in some places gold believed to \ye derived directly from the disintegration of quartz veins has been found on ed rock. The average-sized pieces of this gold are worth not more lan one-twentieth of a cent and are not in tlie least rounded or 'ater worn. Some of these deposits doubtless carry placer-mining alues, and they are well situated for ground sluicing or hydraulickig, but they have thus far been neglected.

Piomer Gulch. — In 1903 a company was preparing to mine the ravels of Pioneer Gulch, near the mouth of North Fork of Snake liver, about 10 miles from the coast. A 4J-mile ditch bringing OO miner's inches of water from Ist Chance Creek to this company's property had been completed, and actual mining operatirms commenced in September, 1903, but the results obtained that ime have not learned.

Neirton GnhU. — Newton (lunch is a small valley with smooth, [sassy walls incised in the south side of Newton IVak, whose ire gentle and. moss covered up to an elevation of 400 a])()ve ivhich they are steep and bare. The stream is about 2 miles long ind carries less than a sluice head of water into Drv Creek. Its head lies in a sharp canyon well up on the mountain, but most of its valley is only slightly trenched into the more giMitle slopes at the edge of the coastal plain. The gravels are here from 80 to 150 feet wide and from 6 to 27 feet deep, but the deepest pay streak rejjorted is 10 feet beneath the surface and rests upon a clay seam. At the mouth of the gulch, where the valley floor merges with the coastal plain, the bed rock is 27 feet below tlie surface.

184 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsimj.

Claims near the mouth of the giilch are reported to have produced $75,000 from 1901 to the pay streak was from 2 to feet thick and averaged over 100 feet in width. The gold is coarse, mostly bright and rather rough. Estimates of the gold tenor of these deposits are rather indefinite, but a large part of the pay streak must have run over $15 to the cubic yard.

About three-fourths of a mile north of the mouth of Newton Gulch a pay streak has been found in a gravel deposit on the slope of the hill above the creek bed, and a large area has been worked to a depth of 10 feet without finding either bed rock or definite limits to the pay streak. An average section of the deposit is as follows :

Feet,

Tnndni vegetation ami iHjit - . 2

The pay streak contains a few bowlders as large as 18 inches in diameter. The gold in the pay streak is said to average above $2 to the cubic yard. It is bright and mostly smooth, but some of it is verj' rough. It is coarse and easily saved, though the largest nugget found was worth only $1.50.

In 1904 this mine was worked by hydraulicking with pumped water from a 2-incli nozzle under a head of alnnit 100 feet and the tailings were dumped into Newton (lunch. Though the deposit was frozen it was easily worked in (his way after the tundra growth had lKH*n removed. The origin of this deposit is difficult of explanation, with the meager data available regarding it. As noted, it lies upon a gentle slope which continues upward to an elevation of 400 feet. Similar gentle slopes rising to about the same elevation surround the bases of many of the hills and are features of the larger valleys of the Nome region. It seems likely that they represent renniants of an old eroded surface. If this Ixi true, bunch gravels may be expected to Ixi found up to an elevation of 400 feet, and below thase gravels hillside deposits would probably result from the destruction of such Ixuiches by the creeping movement of the soil tuid loose bed rock down the slopes.

Dry Creek, — Dry Creek heads in the fliit divide separating it from lAft Fork of Dexter Creek, and joins Snake River near Nome, after traversing the coastal plain. The lower part of the creek has already been (p. lOO). In its general form it much resembles Dexter Creek, as its source lies in a high gravel terrace, in which it has cut a basin and below which the valley contracts. Much of the valley is deeply filled with gravels that are probably not rich in placer gold. Although some claims along the creek bed and along Bear Creek, a n tributary, have been worked, they have not been very prodiic-

KOVCf. PBECINCT.

tvn, and in 190;i all the creek placers were iille. Miist of the golil produced ha been obtained fi'om iin old diaiinel on the east bunk 1 to 2 miles ulxive Newton Oiileh, about 50 feet alone the creek bed, which has lieen traced for iiboiit thiwfourths of a mile. Tliis channel is GOO feet east of iiiid parallel to the present ci'cek channel. It has n prude of about 100 feet to the mile. The pay streak ih fi'oin 20 to BO feet wide and the gravel is diingled in the same direction as that of the present stream, [t is covered by about 50 feet of gravel, slid rock. muck, and silt, and consists in general of slightly ronmied schist pebbles, but contains a few pieces of greenstone and bowlder of granite. In some places the pay giavel is cemented with iron oxides, but most of it is nncemented. On the gently sloping hillside above there are many evidences of creeping movements in the snrficial layer. At both the upper and lower ends of the portion mined prospecting has done to locate the continuance of the channel, bnt so fiir without success. Near the north end of the chiuinel the rim is wanting on the west side and the pay streak pinches out where the Mirface of the bed rock dips down toward the present creek bed. The bed rock, of schist, is '20 to 50 feet below the surface and the pay streak, 4 feet thick and feet wide, rests upon it. It is reported that the pay dirt minecl during the winter of lflOi!-3 yielded between $9 and $12 to the cubic yard. Ahoiit nne-fonrtli mile south of this locality the depth In IhhI rock is .".0 feet, the section Ijeing as follows:

Fine snil 5

Pay urnvi'l i-2

Hcliist bva ruck.

TTie pay streak is here 20 feel wide and is defined by well-marked rock rims. Six thousand H-pan buckets of pay dirt are reported to have yielded $10,000. which is approximately Cfiuivalent to $50 a comic yard. 150 pans considered eqnal to a cubic yard. The gokl of this bench is not greatly watrwnrn and many of the small tiiiggts contain quartz. The gold is comparatively coarse, the average-.sized [>iet'es probably being worth about 1 cent, hut it ranges from fine dnst to coarse nuggets. Magnetite, garnet, ilmenite, scheelite, and quartz are associated with the gold in the concentrates. A sample of liie concentrate fi'om which tlie fi-ee gold had been separated by panning and treating with quicksilver was assayed, yielding W.Tfi ounces of gold and '2,04 ounces of silver to the ton." Some of this gold was undoubtedly contained in smalt quartz grains remaining in the concentrate, though a part must have Iwen held by some other minerals. Mining is done by the shaft and drift methyl. and

Aaur ftr K E. Barllaiito A Co.. Denver, Vait.

186 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

tlie dump is washed early in suiiiiner with water collected f melting snow on the hillside above.

Cooler Gulch, — Cooper Gulch, which in general characteri* much resembles Newton Gulch, is a small valley cut out of the s( slope of Anvil Peak, at the base of which thei*e is a well-mai bench between 325 and 400 feet above the sea. Cooper Gulcl trenched across this bench and below it spreads out in a fan-sha delta, beyond which its waters are not again collected in a defi channel. In 1900 a few men worked here with rockers, making 1 wages, but early in 1903 a pit about 100 by 300 feet was hydraulic with water from the pumping plant on Snake River. In Septen of that year the place was found abandoned and the machii removed. The bowlders in the tailing piles are principally 1 stone, but there are also some of granite and greenstone. The of the cut show from 2 to 4 feet of brown, sandy, stratified mat< overlying gravel of unknown depth.

Anvil Creek, — Anvil Creek, an eastern tributary of Snake Ri has a length of about 6 miles. The upper 4 miles of its course i a valley lying between Anvil Peak on the east and a lower flat-toj ridge on the west. This valley is comparatively broad and is symmetrical in cross section, as the east side rises by a gentle gi covered slope to an elevation of 400 or 500 feet above the sea, whc the slope on the west side is much steeper. The creek bed is tren< to a depth of 20 or 30 feet in the valley floor, leaving ii sloping on the east side, with no corresponding bench on the west side, fig. 11, p. 189.) This bench is more or less covered with gravel slide material, and near its lower edge a series of old channels ric placer gold have been discovered.

The bed rock of the creek is composed of various schists belonj to the Nome group. In general these rocks strike approxims parallel with the creek bed and dip at a high angle both east west. They are faulted in many places, a majority of the 1 planes striking a little east of north, parallel with the general co of the valley. At the lower end of the valley the rock for al half a mile is graphitic schist. Above this for half a mile it gray chloritic calcareous schist, and above this there are belt both graphitic and quartz-chlorite schist. All these rocks con small stringers and veinlets of quartz and calcite, some of which mineralized with pyrite and other sulphide minerals, while ot contain fi*ee gold. No veins of economic importance had been covered up to 1903.

In the last five years the creek has produced over $5,000,OM gold. The discoveries of gold which first attracted attention to Nome region were made near the lower end of the Aavil Cre ley. Below the point where the creek emerges from the

Nome Pkecinct. 187

its gravels have not produced placer gold in notable amounts, and this part of the valley had been only cursorily examined by geologists. Within the upland the flood plain of Anvil Creek ranges in width from 300 feet at its lower end to about 50 feet near its upper end. The gold of the valley-floor gravels has practically been exhausted, though it is proposed to rework some of the gravels by more refined methods and extract the small values that mav be left. Present mining operations are confined to the gravels found in deposits along the east wall of the valley. These deposits have been described by Brooks as follows :

The gravels of the creek floor have aH beeu derived from within the basiu nnd include the various types of bed rock which have beeu described. They liave a thickness varying from 3 to 5 feet, and are usually covered by 2 to 3 feet of muck and clay. The gravels generally carrj' pay throughout their thickuess and are all put through the sluice In the' mining fron 1 to 2 feet of the underlying weathered IkhI rcwk is usually found to carry values and is sluiced with the gravels. The richest deposits are found at and in the bed rock. Where the creek valley broadens out, alKmt a mile above its woutb, lietl rock has not been reached in the holes. Some gold has lieen found on a layer of blue clay about 8 feet the surface. Tliis gold, lnwever, is finer than that found on the bed rock on the stream alcove and tlio tlejMwit is not nearly so rich.

.\civil Creek has produced gold throughout its length and all of the claims liave paid profits. They are. however, not all of richness, and this is pnilMU)]y due to the fact that stmie of the gold has contrilaited by tiie old terraces, which, heiug dissected by smaller trilnitaries, have contrllaittMl tlicir sold to the main stream.

The bed of Anvil Creek for nearly 3 miles has iKKm practically all workcni Ter once during the last two years. I?\iture developments will be directeil toward the bench claims, which up to 100() were untouched, and toward reworking the creek gravels with more relin*Ml mctliods of separation. In tlie lower course of the creek, dredging may also be found

.\nvil Creek gold is coarse and fine. Nuggets up to f'MH) in vjilue have l>€en found, and $2 and $il nuggets are very common. It is irregular, generally chunky rather than flat, and has a dark-yellow, sometinus almost <-olor. TlM' fineness of the gold, according to Dr. Calxll Whitehead, Is (>.S1H>. or .$1S.3:{ lr ounce. Quartz and fragments of a s<'histos( rock are often foiuid atta<*luMl to nuggets. Among the heavier minerals in tlie concentrates magnetite and Wniet are most common and (M-casionally scbeelite is foimd.

More <detailed examinations show that although nearly all the gravels of the creek bed have been derived from points witlnn the fcsin and consist of the tirious types of that make up the oine group, together with much vein quartz, they also inchple some Ptinite pebbles and bowlders that are found in |)lace only in the f igluaik Mountain.s.

The irregularity in the distribution of the gold is no doubt in part iue. as Brooks has indicated, to a recoiurentration from older chan-

Brooks, A. H., Richardson, (i. B.. and roller, A. .T.. Ueoonnaissances In the Caix* Nome Norton Bay Kgiona, Alaska, in 1900, a spei'lal publication of the U. H. (Seol. Survey. 1. pp. 73-74.

188 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

nels, but it is also a result of the inequalities of occurrenoe of the gold in the bed rock. The rich placers on the upper pail of the creek, for example, can be attributed partly to the reconcentration of highbench gravel washed down by Nekula Gulch, and the richness of the placers near Discovery claim is in all probability due to veins in the local rock, for it is there that all the phenomenally large nuggets have been found, and these could not have been transported far. The facts necessary for estimating with any degree of exactness the gold tenor in the Anvil Creek placers are not at hand, but the average for all the gravels mined along the creek can not have been less than $5 a cubic yard. In the richer spots much of the gravel contained more than $50 to the cubic yard. The gravels of the benches worked at the present time are of lower grade and many of them could not be worked by the expensive methods employed in the first few years of mining.

The richest of the creek gravels were within half a mile both above and below the site of the original discovery, which is near the point where Anvil Creek emerges from its valley and enters the coastal plain. From Discovery claim the gold is progressively finer downstream, a condition to be expected, as no gold is here derived directly from the bed rock and the placer contains only that brought in hv the creek.

Discovery claim was one of the richest found in Alaska. The golJ was generally coarse and included two very large nuggets, one worth $1,500 and the other worth $1,700. Although many of the smaller pieces are rough and angular, thesi large nuggets are battered smooth. During the season of 1903 no mining was done immediately on the creek at this place, but there were extensive operations on a bend lying about 10 feet above the creck IwhI and extending 500 or fiOOfcii eastward to the foot of Anvil Peak. Gold was discovered on this bench several years ago, but sluicing was not undertaken, on accoarf of the lack of water. In 1902 prospect holes were sunk to the W rock and a small amount of gold was obtained with rockers, buttbigreat richness of these gravel deposits was not manifest until tb|: sunnner of 1903, when the water of Anvil Creek, no longer needed work the creek (claims, was brought to the bench by a ditch. Antm of more than 1 acre was worked over in 1903. This led to the fin ing of the largest nugget so far discovered in Alaska, weighing abtfrf 170 ounces. If pure gold, this nugget would be valued at boil $J,'JOO, but it contains considerable quartz and its gold content estimated at $2,000.

On a part of this claim there is reported to be a covering of and yellow clay from 12 to 14 feet thick, below which the gravel contains some lenses of yellow clay, but the average overiiuxdeD

Nome Precinct. 189

peaty muck about 3 feet thick. The pay gravel ranges in thickness from 4 inches to 4 or 5 feet, and the bed rock to a depth of 6 inches also contains placer gold. In the thin places the clay layer from the top penetrates the gravel, which there resembles an old channel filled with mud. The bed rock is graphitic schist, similar to that found in the creek bed. Although it has an irregular surface, it shows no wellmarked rim or evidence of a definite channel limiting the pay streak. The limits of the gold-bearing gravels had not yet been reached in 1903. About three-fourths of a mile above Discovery claim the bedrock rim of the present channel forms an abrupt escarpment about 50 feet high on the east side of the creek, and above this a bench rises in a gentle slope toward the foot of Anvil Peak. In the face of the escarpment black schist is overlain by gravel. About 300 feet back of the rim, at an elevation of at least 50 feet above the present creek bed, a deposit of gravel about 100 feet long has been excavated. "When the was discovered here it was supposed that there was an extensive* bed of gravels, but the whole body bounded by rock walls was worked out in three weeks. The prospectors describe the occurrence as a

Fig. 11. — Diagrammatic section of Anvil Creek valley, Hhowing bench gravels.

pothole.'' This deposit (see fig. 11) was evidently the remnant of rnore extensive channel of Anvil Creek formed at some earlier stage the creek's development. It is similar to the other old channels escriled in the next paragi'aph, and as it lies at about the same ele- "▼ation, 200 feet above sea level, it may represent the same of erosion. This placer was very rich and in three weeks yielded suffient gold to pay for the machinery in extraction, consisting of engine, pump, and pipe.

From a point about 1 mile above Discovery claim an old channel, series of old channels, in the main less than 20 feet above the creek and parallel with it, has lxen traced for about a mile and a quar- These, as has been stated, are old channels of Anvil Creek. They characterized by well-defined bed-rock rims, but are everywhere grower than the present creek bed. The overburden is for the most rt slide material from the hillside above, and the surface contour !Ves no indication of the existence of the channels. At the lower end this series of channels the rim on the creek side is wanting. The

190 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula,

face of the workings shows about 10 feet of rather fine gravel containing more or less sand and clay, through which gold is somewhat uniformly distributed. Some of this gold is coarse, but the greater part is very fine. The section from the surface down is as follows:

Section in old channel of Anvil Creek,

Feet Brown clay aud soil containing some angular pebbles 3

Fine gravel containing sticky clay sediment..

Coarse gravel and sand 3

Bed rock, not exposed.

Mining was done here with a hydraulic monitor, having a heaJ of only about 20 feet and supplied with water taken from Vnvil Creek about a mile above. About 200 feet of 14-iuch sluice boxer supplied with pole and Hungarian riffles throughout were used. Tlw bed rock rises gently toward the hill on the east, and sluice boxes laid directly on the bed-rock floor have the proper grade. The tailings are dumped into the present creek bed.

Above this point the old channel is from 60 to 80 feet wide for about a quarter of a mile. Its east rim toward the hills is well marked and comparatively abrupt; the west rim between it and. the present channel has partially destroyed and is in places wholly wanting. The bed rock here differs from that at Discovery claim, as it consists of a light-gray calcareous schist, which is very much crumpled, but in a general way strikes parallel with the creek bed and dips to the northwest at a high angle.

About 100 yards above the upper end of these Workings and onehalf mile below Specimen Gulch an excavation about 300 feet east of the present channel of Anvil Creek exposes an old channel for. a distance of 500 to 800 feet. This claim was worked by a hydraulic monitor; a hydraulic elevator raised the gravel about 20 feet to the shiice boxes, which dumped the tailings into the present bed of Anvil Creek. The face of the excavation showed about 6 feet of light-brown sand and angular gravel at the top; then a 1-inch setm of brown clay overlying 15 to 20 feet of gravel containing some laip bowlders near the bottom and resting upon bed rock, in which there is a channel about 20 feet wide and 10 or 12 feet deep. The pay gravel extends over the rims of the bed-rock channel. A smalkr channel about 8 feet wide and 7 feet deep runs into it from the side toward the present bed of Anvil Creek. "What appears to be the same channel is exposed about one-fourth mile below Specimen GnlA where it had been excavated jfor about 300 feet. It is here 50 M wide by 20 feet deep and extends parallel to the creek. The bed rock here consists of graphitic schist striking north and south and dippiiV eastward at an angle of about 25 and contains many stringer

of quartz, some of which are mineralized. No mining was in progress

here in September. 1903.

Specimen Gulch, ii small easterly tributary of Anvil Creek, cuts ross ihe old channel and was probably the source of some of its

gold. The floor of the gulch, made up of eastward-dipping graphitic

sThist. is nlmiit on a level with the floor of the old channel. The

workings showed the following section i

HtcliiHi In npf

H08S nnd niutic-- Clny bed

The le.1 pay lay on the clay bed, tliough tlie whole deposit cm-ried ime gold. The gold is bright ami coai'se. the avei'age-sized pieces beini; worth not less tlian j cenbi. It is not greatly waterwoni, diough some of the edges and corners are ronnded.

The old cliannel of .\nvil Creek is also exposed north of Specimen Oulch, 400 feet east of the creek, in a pit 70 feet wide, 200 feet long, nd 20 feet deep. The channel is hei'e 70 to 120 feet wide and several feet lower than the bed rock in the workings on Specimen Gulch, just described. On the east aide the rim is steep, but on the west side, Einng the present channel of Anvil ("reek, it rises very gently and is utntled hy a gravel bed that jirobably extends all the way to the int- The bed rock in the channel is a soft gi-aphitic schist containing many small stringer veins of quai-tz. Overlying this is a gravel pij streak 7 feet thick, succeeded by about 12 feet of sandy clay. Neither the day nor the is frozen. The pay gravel contains ptbblea and some large bowldei-s of mica schist, greenstone, and mnite. All of the gravel is shingled, indicating a current running LRirlT south, A bowlder of galena coated over on the outside with a pHow alteration pnKliirt and weighing about 40 pounds was found in lie pay gi-avel. The gold has not worked deeply into the bed pock. Ilis fine. (K-cnrring chiefly in gi-aiiis altout the size of a pin bead, dough (be largest nuggets wei-e woiih about $20. This mine was worked by a hydraulic monitor and elevator. The clay and gravel ibove the bed rock were piped ckiwn through a flnme to a sump, litre they were raised by a hydraulic elevator to the sluice boxes, liich dumped into older excavations. The lowest gravel, together ith the loose lied rock, was shoveled into the flume. Between the north end of this pit and Anvil Creek a smaller chanit l.>0 feet east of the present creek, and probably more recent that described above, has been opened. This channel, which is decomposed chloritic schist, is about 20 feel wide and 12 feet I. nd in the workings of tho mines makes a bend in the form of

the letter S. whicli its lower cntl very near tlie presi'iil crk channel.

For half a mile above Specimen Giilcli fiiere weiv m 1803 no iiune in operation on the bench east of Anvil Cifek, and it was )m|>oeeible to determine the course of these clmniieLs, but farther upsliTiiiii i bench on tiie east side lias been worked to a distance of about 3011 (wi back from the original creek bed, leaving an old channel expoeed fiu nearly half a mile. At the outside limit of thcric workings a fkmil gravel about 1.') feet high resting upon rnck 10 or \-i fwl than the old civek bed is exposed, A well-defined fimlt thatatiikr? N. 50° E. is exposed in the workings; the bed rock northwest al'Ai gray chlorite-mica schist, dipping about 25° S. -20° E., while |lai southeast of the fault is graphitic schist, very innch cntnipWd mi twisted, striking parallel to the fault plane. The old channdi hw is about (iO feet wide, and lies from '200 to 30*) feet east of tlie iu'"lerH creek bed and -several feet higher. .Uthongh gold in gravels all the way from this old channel to the present creek lied. tl richest pay is confined lo the old channel. In some places (he rim between the two channels is low and the pay gravel extndetl acro" from one channel to the other without much dinunution in value. In 1003 no mining was in progi-ess on Anvil Ci-eek above this [pomt. for the claims along the creek and its tributaries wore miiinl out in 1900. Near Xekula Gulch some bench claims were still in operation, but these are described in connection with the high-bendi deposits (pp. 198-207).

Glacier Creek. — Glacier Creek, an eastern tribuMryof Snake River, 8 miles from tlie coast, is about miles long. It is reached bv i wagon road from Banner station, on the Seward Peninsula Railvst. and freight rates fi-oni Nome in 1903 did not exceed I cents a pninvl For a mile from its mouth the creek crosses the floor of Snake Ki*''' valley, which rises gently from a 20-foot scarp to an elevation of 400 feet at the base of the steeper valley walls. This ope is jMrtially gi'avel iijvered, and llic tributaries of Snake River, inchidiuj! Glacier Creek, have cut trenches across it. The Hixid plain of 'if*- cier Creek is here 200 to .'iOO feet wide. The creek enters Sntla, River valley from a broad valley incised in an uplanil. with a plaui fi-om 100 to 300 feet in width. The valley slopes, like of Snake River, rise gently to nu elevation of +00 or then perceptibly steepen. These lower gentle slopes are covei-ed, and it is reported that washed gravel cure or 400 feet, but it is not uniforndy distributed and in rock is exposed at the siu'faoe. The i-ross sectiolt vuUey sliows no evidence ot either rock or gravel Gulch and Bonanza Gnlcb are the only tributArlsqi

n

-n

Nome Preoikct.

19S

-THp bed rwk Ihi

Lghout ttie Glacier Creek valley is nearly all 'otitic mica schist, containing small beds of limestone and having graphitic phases. Small veins of mineralized quartz are coni- I . Opposite the mouth of Snow Gulch there is a mineralized zoni lih. Wst, in which a number of .stringers of highly mineralized loUow the schistosity of the bed rock. Some of these string-sre

(J inches thick and the script iMtween them is also impregnateil B Julphidesi. A picked sjjecimen of the ore yielded one-half ounce

Sold Iti the Ion, The source of the placer gold of Glacier Creek

-f'reliably ill such veins and its local distribution is an indication

''eir relative number and richness in diiferent parts of the bed

L 'f Srst placers found in this basin were those on Snow Gulcli, a frT*" southerly tributary about 2 miles from the mouth of (glacier [/7'fe Xhis gulch carried some of the richest placers found on the [ 'QsiiJa, but they were practically exhausted before 1903. The "/nicer Creek for 3 mile.s from the mouth is floored with gravel. tily more than 100 feet wide and ranging from 5 to 20 feet or te in cJoplh. The lower 2 miles of this flood plain are known to y gold values and extensive operations have been inaugurated. [telialile estimate of the amount of gold to the cubic yard of ivas obtained. Some of the deposits mined previous to I Have contained more than $5 a cubic yard, though the gold the gravels worked in 1903 was probably much l&'s. Hymonitors and elevators supplied with water from the Miocene itAt being operated at two places in 11*03.

J. (wWe from the mouth of the creek the gravel deposit had a thick- g oi about 20 feet and rested upon rock consisting of ohloritic PjA. The exposure shows 2 or 3 feet of muck and soil resting upon ot I'-i feet of gravel. The pay streak is said to be 300 feet wide J In overlie a nearly even rock Hcior. It carries gold through n - ' of 10 to I.") feet and extends downward in the crevices of the

I tl roi'li lo a depth of 1 to 3 feet. The golil is fine, bright, and well Iptinikil. Opposite the mouth of Snow (lunch the gravels of the creek Itfdiw'p '>een worked since the summer of IflOO and have probably hfcn handled at least once. A hydraulic plant was installed in bcKimmer of 1903 for the purpose of rewashing those gravels. (See In la A.)

1 la mining was also in progress about one-half mile above the

oiitli of Snow Gulch, where a force of men was shoveling the gravels

liMn sluice boxes, to which water was supplied from the l'd of Glacier

[Hek by a short ditch. The gravels were loose and probably had

n fllredy worked over once, but still carried sufficient values to

iirrant sluicing them again. Above this point, aUhoiigh

I60O*— Bull. 328— 0.S 13

194 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula,

holes, short ditches, and crosscuts indicate that some mining has been done in the creek bed, all operations had ceased by 1903 and, so far as known to the writers, no values have been found in the gravels.

Hot Air Bench. — The " Hot Air Bench,'' situated on the right bank of Glacier Creek opposite the mouth of Snow Gulch, is an old channel deposit resembling those of the Anvil Creek valley. This old channel of (glacier Creek was probably abandoned on account of slides from the hill above. The workings are 100 feet above the bed of the creek, to which they are nearly parallel for a distance of 400 or 500 feet. Although the surface contour gives little evidence of a bench at this place, the excavations have disclosed a well-defined channel which runs parallel to Glacier Creek and whose bed lies about 20 feet below the surface. The exposures show 4 to 5 feet of vegetable matter and clay resting upon 4 to 5 feet of gravel made up of schist and limestone, with a few pebbles of granite; this gravel overlies chloritic schist similar to that in the bed of the creek. The channel in the bed rock where best defined has a width of about 100 feet, with well-marked rims on both sides. Near the east end of the deposit the southwest rim is broken down and the pay streak mantles the slope toward Glacier Creek. Before the end of 1903 the greater part of the channel deposit had been worked out. A cut was made through the south rim and through this cut a long line of sluice boxes carried the gravel and tailings to Glacier Creek. A 12-inch sluice was used and the gravel was washed into it by means of a hydraulic nozzle and canvas hose. Water was obtained through a ditch about 3 miles loof from Divining Creek, a tributary of Snake River. During the melt' ing of the snow in the spring this ditch carried about 150 miners inches of water. The penstock was about 150 feet above the mine, hat the amount of water in the ditch was not sufficient to maintain thii head with a 2-inch nozzle, and the pressure actually used in the mi* was probably not far from 80 feet. A part, of the wa.shj-|*- draulicked with water brought in from Glacier Creek with a p of not more than 50 feet. At the east end the lioundary of the de has apparently reached where the pay streak turns toward Gl cier Oeek, but at the west eml the boundary is not so sharply defi for the pay streak thins out. The gold is similar to that of Gl (reek. The total production is generally thought to have been less than $()00,00(), but no very definite figures have been obtained, this estimate is anywhere near right, the pay streak must have a aged more than $50 to the cubic yard. Auriferous gravels are slid liave lKen found on the hill slopes above the Hot Air Bench to an vation of several hundred feet, which suggests that there may higher channels.

Bonanza Gulch. — Bonanza (Julch is tributary to Olacier Creek the south about a mile from its mouth. The stream iR about

Itohe Pbbctnct.

long, hasi a fnJl of about 200 feet, and, except in the spring when

melting, carries only & few inches of water. The bed

chloritic schist and where exposed by mining operations is

icturcd and sheared. An area 150 ftt long and 10 or 12

wide has been mined out. Here 2J feet of auriferous gravel is

(verlain by 5 or feet of sandy clay and a foot of moss and mucJv,

tine prospecting indicates that the pay streak extends for about a

arter of a mile along the gnlch tieii and that it probably connects

the lower end with the pay gravel of Glacier Creek. The gold is

irly all very fine and well rounded. This gulch has been worked

the early summer by the use of snow water, with which the overrden

is sluiced off, and the pay gravel is shoveled into sluice boxes,

proposed plan to hydraulic the deposits with water from the

ditch bo carried out. the whole gulch bed could probably

Rwsilj mined out in one season.

SiMir Oulrh. Gidch joins Glacier Creek about "2 miles from take River. In 1900 Brooks " described this gulch as follows :

nw fiuli'h Isi the only IrHiutnry at Glacier Creek which hnn tbns fnr pro-

IgnlfL It Joins Glacier Creek alwut 3 [21 miles fnrni SnakH River. It

I n Rhslluw bHflIn, welch ts sruvel filled, wlille Its lower course

rattier titiarply ciit ;>ri:e ; ttie ttital length U abiiut a mile.

a rock near tlie moutli of Snow Uu3<-li Is clilorltlc scliiKt, nnd the HtrikeR

t at rifcbt angles to the courHe of tlie stream. Near itx heud some blue

B nre exposed. A qnarlz vein nenr the divide liaii been found to carry

The graTels are 3 or 4 feet Id thlcknesa and are chiefly quarts and

raphle form ninkex Snow liulch ulmiMt Ideal for the roneentrntlon of

h point of fact It has proved the richest Rtr earn of Its size so far illBcovered.

k two seasoDs that it hux been worked It linn tiroduced upward of u mll-

At present the stream gravelR have been practically all worked

a tbat the gulcli haR reached Its maximum production.

I Stringer veins of quartz are common in the bed rock, and near the ; the gulch some calcite vein showing free gold have been ( np. In a tunnel which pierces the divide between Snow jld Anvil Creek the chloritic schist and limestone bed nn-k I at numerous places and contains many small stringers and ' mineralized quartz and calcite, as-says of some nf which la small gold content. Veins of this kind are believed to bi' farce of the plaoer gold of the gwlch. As stated by Brooks, the ! rwck has been swept clean of gravel, and no further placer uiiii- g 18 possible. [ Boek Creek. — Rock Creek rises in Mount Brynteson, north of Ihdpr Creek, and flows southwestwa rd to Snake River, in a narrow 1 incised in the sloping valley floor. Its rock is gray mica

tiokK. A. H.. Rldmrdson, G. B.. and CoUIr, A. 3. : ttPoaniialBBiine In Ihe Cape ad Nonon Btj rcgluos. Alanko, in ISOH. a Hppclal nuljtUatlon at &. IbH Barrej, 1M1, p, TS.

nOLD PLAOEBS Oil- SBWAtm FBKIMSVl

scluHt. with some interbedded limestone. A number quartz veins have been found here, some canying valuB* .strike a little north of east.

Gold was discovered and .some mining was done on Rock ( 1900. During the season of 1903 five claims were being worka creek, all by one company. Though the gravels of this era been exploited since IflOO, the total production has not be'n lai no estimate can be given.

The gravels on Rock Creek are about 5 feet deep and width from 50 to 100 feet. The gold is distributed throu gravel. It is rather fine and is saved with mercury, but a tv\ nuggets have been found. One nugget was seen which ind piece of black graphitic rock, and another held a mineral scheelite. In the concentrtites scheelile occurs in subaiigular and it is reported that a vein of this mineral, 3 or 4 inches wi Ijeen uncovered in the bed rock. In addition to the scheelite i (!ontrafes contain magnetite, limonite, and garnet. The com are saved and worked over in an arrastre with mercury.

Lindblovi, and Balto creeks. — Lindblom and Bnltu creeks small streams which, like Rock Creek, arc trenched ncmas the River valley floor. The occurrence of the gold is similar tw 1 Rock Creek. In 1903 only one claim cm each of tlie worked, and the total production was small. A ditch was thn construction to bring water fi-om Grouse Creek for hydraulic Balto Creek.

Bovlder Creek. — Boulder Creek, alwut miles long, empty Snake River from the west about miles in a direct line fr coast, and can be reached by wagm road crossing (glacier am creeks. Its lower course for about a mile travei-se.s the gently i valley floor of Snake River, above which it occupies a deep V- valley cut in limestones and calcareous graphitic schists of ihi group. It carries 50 and 200 inches of water. Twii tain Creek, its most important tributary, joins it from the niiies from Snake River. The gravels carry many Itowhleis schist up to 3 feet in diameter, Several quartz veins, thi-li inches wide, were .seen cutting a flaggy limestone that outcro the mouth of Boulder Crcok. The best ns-says fi-om them an? have shown from to to the ton in gold. Altenipts tfl quartx veins have been made at several places, but withtnit suw

Color-s of gold wci-e found here in 1900. but in 1903 only ft were at work, and they claimed to lie making no monthui The gold is coarse and easily .saved; the largest nuggets liBwi lip lo $13. Besides ihe gold the concentrates contain netite. ilmenite, stibmte, and native bismuth. HH

Nome Pbecinct.

On Twin Jlountain Creek the gravel deiKisit is r-hallow noi more than a few feet wide. Mining here -seems to have been unprofitable, as the miners left their claims during the season of 1903 to work for wages.

Ltft CliiiMC Creek. — Last Chance Creek empties into North Fork of Snake River from the west -side, almut 16 miles from Nome in a dirret line, but the distance by the wagon trail, which follows the bed of Snake River alive Prospect Creek, is much greater. The creek is between 3 and 4 miles long, and occupies a V-shajied ttHef between hilLs about 2,200 feet high. The country rock are 9phitic. calcareous, and chloritic mica schists. Gold was discovered D the creek in 1000 and rather extensive prospecting was done in 1901 hy a company that disposed of its holdings at the end of the mson. In 1903 a small force of men worked on the creek during a put of the season. The small amount of gold obtained is coarse, nther rough, and briglit.

Gmh Gulch. — Grub Gulch, a small stream running into Snake Biver from the east, IJ miles above the mouth of North Fork, ! abotit 50 inches of water. It can be reached by ii rough ngon road over a low divide from Nome River. The gidch has a valley cut through niiai stylists, and its gravel consists of tehist and vein-quartz pebbles. On a claim worked in 1903 the pay Acak is said to have had an average width of about 40 feet, and a s of 3 to fi feet, and to have yielded 2J cents to the pan. The gold is rather rough and coarse, the largest nugget reported being worth about $1.75,

GoldbottoTii Creek. — Goldbottom Creek, which joins Grouse Creek about 16 miles from the coast to form Snake River, rises west of jfoimt Distin and flows in a southerly direction. It has not been ex- I by nienihers of the United States Geological Survey, hut it B lopoTted that some claims were worked in a small way during the Mson of 1903, and that the results were not encouraging. A sample of the concentrates obtained from A. W. Lane contained a few pieces of stream tin.

Grouse Creek.— Grouse Creek rises on the east side of Mount Distin md Sows southward to its junction with Goldbottom Creek. It a large volume of water and is the objective joint of several piKised ditches. Its valley is V-shaped and has a gi'ade of about 300 feet to the mile. The bed rock at the mouth is chloritic mica sdiist of the Nome group; its headwaters are in massive limestone.

iOne claim, about a mile from the mouth, was worked during 1903. Here three men were employed and report taking out more than K.OOO. The gold is mostly bright and rough, ranging fi-om very lint dust to nuggets weighing 2 penuyweiglit-j. The pay streak,

ubont 40 feet wide and from 1 to 3 feet thick, is made up of iani gravel, (.'hiefly limestone pebbles, and rests upon a Umes-toxic M trrock. The coiici'nt rules are composed mostlv of hemiititi* pdiljlt.

HICIMlENrU PLACEHS. IMTBOSIIOTIOII.

Under this heading will be described the plncfrs occiirring iC| altitudes ranging from 500 to tiOO feet above the sea. (See fig. T. p. 160.) These placers ai-e the elevated i-remnants of deposits mad# by an older drainage Hystein, which have been dissected, and, for the most part, removed. Although the workable placers g( tbw 1 kind so far found are limited to the Anvil and Dexter Creek regiuvl the evidence of the epoch of erosion during which they were fonnral'l ha.s found in various parts of the peninsula, and there is i Ktrong probability that other workable high-ljenvh placers wiU j be foimd.

The discovery of these high gravels must be credited to .Schrad< and Brooks, who also forecasted that they were likely to prove anrifJ erous. Tile following passages are quoted from the first reiort i this region : "

Home 8 mtles aortli of Notuc. between tbe heads of Anvlt and Dexter c 111 tile region of Mount King, some benching nnd grovel temicen, mnrliie. were iibtierreil uti tbe lower slopeH of tlie luouDlHlnit up to abOHt 1.000 feet They occur lit Irregutor Interrnls uiu] i BUcceBsive stages in an elevation of tbe land which la probably xlllt In pro

The gravelB of the terraces on the mouutaln elopes which have already b described, hove u HlmllBr origin to those of the plain and are pro of II similar character. We ciin Judge of this only by InfCreuee. as we auD J tniiately found no section of these gravels exposed.

As hnx been explained, these benches and terrneen have n slmtlor origin tu tbat of tbe tuudru plain and, as their material has a similar source. they I likely to contain gold.

The above was published before a single high bench had 1 prosjiected. Two claims were opened up in 1000 and yielded g $150,000. At the close of the second season's investigations, Brc .laid:' "Comparatively little investigation has been miide of thi high gravels, but they will probably become important producers."

These predictions have been abundantly verified, for during t hil last five years these high-bench placers have produced pntlw

- Hfhnulpr. F. ('.. nod Brcwkii, n.. Pnl 1ml nary retort the Caiie Noiuo gold n AlwkH. a uperlal imbimilni) nt llip D, H. UMl, Survvy. IMU, pp, 12, 16, 30.

Brooki. A. It., KlChardKill. <1. Il„ tod ColUnr. A. J.. llncunniiltiMnrKa In Uk O nd Norliin Bny miiODH. Alaaka. In 1!KKI. imM e( Iti* I>. a. fliM

I in gold. They have coDtribiited especially to the pros- F the district because they have afforded a field for winter ort. Nearly all the mining operations on the deposits i\-e been made by sinking sliafts and drifting on the pay streali, ith the aid of stejini thawei's. If water conld be brniiglit to this ligh level at not too great a cost, there is no question that all these ikposits of gnivel conld sluiwl at a profit.

OXMEBAL SEBCKJPnOH.

The high -bench placers occur in allnvial deposits forming terraces ttid flat saddles at altitudes of 500 to 800 feet in the divides which njarate .\nvil and Dexter creeks and Dry and Dexter creeks. This nw level of erosion and deposition has been i-ecognized in other puts of the region, but the deposits elsewhere have not yet ml to carry workable placerw. They have, however, lieen but little prospected.

Some of the high lienches are cut on bed rock; others are deeply bnried in gravel, as on the Anvil-Dexter Creek divide. In the i-egion Ijing west of Nome River rounded granite and gneiss bowldei's fiom lb' Kigltiaik Mountains are strewn over many of the lienches up to lhi level. These bowlders have, in part at least, been brouglit in by Intingice during a periotl of submergence. In two of the Uwalitics ifflJer discs-sion such pebbles and bowlders of fon-ign origin are distrihiiled throughout the gi-avels; in a third the foreign material 16 (oimd only at. the surface, and the greater part of the deixisit, including the pay streaks, is of local origin. No fos.sil remains have taMi seen in any of these deposits, although marine fossils have been Itported from one of the prospect holes. In one or two places a shinning in the gravel has been observed, which indicates deposition by URUn action.

BISH-BE50H PL&CEBB OF KIVO MOmTAm.

On the south slope of King Mountain a broad, sloping bench lying been (iOO and 050 feet above the sea stretches from the head of Sdtula Gnlch S. E. for about half a mile, crossing the Anvil- Dexter Creek divide at right angles. (See fig. 1'2 and topographic- Mp, PI. VIII, in pocket.) At the west end of this bench the surface slsjits down to Nekula Gulch, a tributary of Anvil Creek; to the east Ihf level surface breaks off to a slope which sti'etches to Nome River.

(jold-bearing gravels have been foimd in several deep shafts and opeii cuts along theline of this \mwh for a distance of about 3,000 M. The productive mines of tJiis licit are known as the Caribou Bill, Maltie. Madeline, Lena, Snowflake, Honey, and Sugar. During iht' sunmier of 103 only the worltmgs of the Carilmu Bill. Mat-tie

, and Snowflake were accessible. Atthnugh the surface of the bench varies slightly in elevation and at the west end is bv , Jiokuiu Giildi, the shafts penetrating to bI itKk reach a pay streak 1 nearly uniform elevation alive the sea, thus indicating that ihc floor on whicli most of tlu' dejiosits were laid was approximately Imrizontnl and had an elevation of llfiO to TOO feet.

The Ijed rock is principally much-decomposed chlorite-mica schist, with which are interbedded some comparatively massive betis of liniK stone whose relation U) the schist has not determined. (See |rp. 71-73.) The upper few feet of the gravels of the bench contain scattered waterwoni bowlders of granite, but lower down the gmvela I include only pebbles derived from the schist and the limestone of ihf I adjacent beil rock. They are in general not greatly waterwom. i alight rounding of the edges and corners being the only evidence water erosion. All the pebbles are deeply weathered and partially decomposed. The surface of the lied rock upon which the gravd deposits rest is more or less irregular and some gi'ax'el dejjosits hav been found below masses of schist that appear at fin,t sight to bfin place, but are evidently slides from the hill slopes altove. In some places the limits of the pay streak are well defined and lie in a bedrock channel; in other-s no definite channel rims have In-en found, iml in on place at least the pay streak leaves the schist bfd rock and umn- Iles an older deposit of gravel. A sketch map and profile of this liench showing the relative elevations of the surface, pay stl'eaks, nnJ bed rock at the various openings, is given in fig, 12.

At the Caribou Bill mine, near Nekula Gulch, the rock of li bench crops out at an elevation of about 525 feet above the sea. It consists of limestone and decomposed calcareous aciiist, Gold-besriuj; gravels fill a great cavern or crevice in the bed rwk. Here a pit aboul 30 by 50 feet and 20 feet deep has been excavated. The lateral dimensions of the deposit are well ileflned. but it extends nearly 00 fe*t in depth and its origin is difficult of interpretation from thP evident* in hand. It seems probable, however, that the gold-ljejiring gravels Im" Ijeen carried into a cavern of the limestone and calcareous schist uiil deposited by a stream of water. The gi-avel consists of eliiiy i-onnded pebbles of schist and limestone cemented with yellow clj- This placer is of extraordinary richness, and $20 to the pan viis not uncommon in the material excavated. Collier saw one pan of tlie inawrial which yielded about $7. This sample consisted of fragments iil schist bound together by yellow clay, and the color-s of gold oouH readily seen liefore panning. It is estimated Uiat the exoavateil nuiterial canied about $100 in gold lo Ihe wheelbarrow load, whit*i would pi-olmbly Iw equivalent to ulxiut $l,OiJ lu the cubic yard, Tht gold is coarse and angular. It seen likely that this malmtil lieirlj in phce.

HOME PBEllNCT.

I The lower workings of tlie Muttie claim lie about 100 yards southpst of the jiit just described. At the west and the bed rock outcrops It an eli'Vfttton of about 5i!5 feet and the surface of the ground rises lovrU'd the i?ast, tut that the excavations, which followed the horizontal lenrf&ce of ihe bed rock, exposed a face of gravel tibout 30 feet high at

ihi; east end. This pit is about 50 feet wide and 150 feet long. The Mattie claim was the fii-st of the liigh-liench claims to be

(leteloped in the Nome region. The lower end of the claim touches

Xekutu Gulch, a small tributary of Anvil Creek, which was staked ; ind prospected to some extent in 1839. Early in 1300 rich pay gravels

mw discovered ou the Mattie claim and during that season about iMtJXK) in gold was taken out; the claim llii-ii sold for $100,000. One nf (lie nrinal owners of the claim informed Mr. Collier that the ptvd mined in 1900 averaged altout 35 cents to a 6-pan bucket, which is about equal to $9 jxtr cubic yiird.

J

202 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

The bed rock is faulted and otherwise so much disturbed that in the small area exposed by mining operations it varies greatly in dip and strike. It consists of alternating thin layers of mica or chlorite schist, graphitic schist, and calcareous schist, with some beds of limestone. There is little doubt that it is chiefly of sedimentary origin, but it nuiy contain some igneous material. Many small veins of (iuai*tz are present, some of which cut across the bedding, following the fault lines, while others lie parallel to the bedding planes. The largest of these veins is a lenticular mass which thins out rapidly and does not extend far. Samples of quartz from several of these veins when assayed were found to contain traces of gold."

In the face of this mine about 30 feet of gravels are exposed, showing the following sections from the surface down: Light sandy wash, containing some pebbles, 5 or feet; gravel, 25 feet; and schist bed rock. Two kinds of gi*avel could be distinguished; one, comprising* of gravel near the west end of the cut, was well stratified and consisted of ligh-brown clayey sediment, with flat pebbles arranged parallel to the stratification. Near the east end of the cut the gravel was more irregular and contained more clay. About 10 feet above the bed rock at the east end there was a body of well-stratified sandy clav or silt clear of all jjebbles. The rich pay streak lies upon rock and the gold was found in crevices of the schist to a depth of several feet. The gold is mostly bright and not water worn, and averages 10 or 12 pieces to the cent.

This mine was worked bv hvdraulic methods, with water froraiditch about 100 feet above the rock floor, supplied from the piimpiuf: plant on Snake Kiver. The gravel was piped into a 200-foot length of sluice placed in a bed-rock drain about G feet deep, near the lower end. After most of the gravel had been washed through this flume, the rock was picked up by hand to a depth of about 2 fe* and, after washing in the sluice boxes, the larger slabs were stacW in the cut. The upper workings of this claim, opened in 19W, about 300 yards northeast of the opening just described, at an elewtion of 025 feet above the sea, and are reached bv a shaft feet deep, indicating that the bed rock here is about 50 feet higher than that in the lower workings, where it is about 510 feet above the sea. This section is as follows:

Section at upper irorkinffs of Mnttio claim, King MoHntaln.

Feet.

Turf -- -- -- -- -- 1

Pay gravel .. . 4-8

A88ay by K. K. UiirllnKaiiK* & f'o., I leaver, Colo.

SOME PHECINCT. Wo

The pay streak lies in a definite bed-rock channel from 15 to 150 iwt wide. It has been traced for about half a mile and is identical with the pay channel of the Lena, Honey, and Snowflake mines.

The main shaft of the Snowflake mine is located on the south fiink of King Mountain about 1,200 feet S. (>0° E. from the workings of llie Mattie and 625 feet above sea level. The surface is here nearly level and appears to be a Itent-h. A shaft 130 feet deep reaches rock, which has an elevation of about 495 feet. The section from the Borftcedown is as follows:

Section al Snnir/takr miiir, Muunliiiii.

Muck nnd RTivel contninliig grmittf iiiiil ciicIhh iKmlrtern 5

Sills iiiul snivels of local uriglii-- ... 12.1

Uiiartx-<'tilurlte Rcbifit bed rock.

The lower 3 to 9 feel of the gravel is gold bearing. The pay gravel iaof local origin and consists of pebbles of cliloritic sfhist, limestone, and vein quartz. Many of the pebbles, as well as the upper part of tbe bed rock, are much weathered. From the bottom of the shaft flu mine workings extend about S. fiO° E. and S. 00° W. toward the Mittie mine on the one hand and the Sugar mine on the other. The ptv streak has an average width of about 100 feet ami is Iwunded on the north and south by appreciable rises in the Ix'd rock, regarded by tht' miners as the rims of an old channel. On the north side the rim iwrges with the slope of the hill; on the south side it rises only a foot or above the level of the pay streak. About TO feet east of the foot of the shaft the bed rock disappears below a layer of barren vel. which is called by the miners ''old run gravel," on account o( its position underlying the pay streak and the more weathered condition of the pebbles. A winze has been sunli below the main pay sQmk 70 feet exist of the main shaft. Bed rock, overlain by a second Py streak. was reached at a depth of 100 feet. This lower pay streak \aA not yet been developed nor its limits detemiined in 1903, The lower part of this winze descends for 15 or '20 feet along a wall of ifcrompoaed schist that marks the southwestern limit of the gravel deposit. Near the contact between this schist and the gravel the ajiist shows slickensiding, indicating a fault striking approximately Dortbnest and southeast. This fault possibly antedates the deposilwl gravel, as the main pay streak has not been affected by it. The gravels outside of these pay streaks are known to carry some liil, which is probably not very regularly distributed through them. Hie zone of perpetual frost extends from the surface downward to a liepth of 90 feet. The workings of the mine on both the 130-foot intl 'ilO-foot levels are in unfrozen ground. At these depths the gravels are comparatively dry. and wuter penetiales only along the

204 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

shaft. The gold is bright in color and comparatively coarse, the average-sized pieces being not far from 1 cent in value. The largest nugget thus far found weighed 9 ounces and 9 pennyweights. This gold shows little evidence of stream erosion ; the points and corners of few pieces are battered, and many small octahedrons are preserved. A few of the nuggets still include pieces of quartz and calcite. Tlie gold in nearly all the larger nuggets is porous and honeycombed, probably by cavities from which the associated minerals have been weathered out. Many of the large nuggets are so porous that they can be readily broken with the fingers.

In the workings of this mine a gangway was driven as nearly as possible along the center of the pay streak to the boundaries of the property, and crosscuts were then driven at intervals to the limits of the pary. The mining began at the remote end of the gangway, and as the pay gravel was removed the timbers were withdrawn. The pay gravel was moved to the foot of the shaft in cars and raised by a steam hoist. On the surface the cars were run on an elevated track to a high dump. This dump was sluiced early in spring with water obtained from melting snow. In order to procure sufficient snow water for this purpose fences were built on the hillside above the mine during the winter, causing drifts to form. By this means sufficient snow was accumulated to furnish water to wash the dump mined during the winter. It is probably impossible to mine gravels at less than $G or $7 a cubic yard by this method, and only the richest part was taken out.

The main shaft of the Sugar mine lies about 600 feet southeast of the Snowflake shaft, at an elevation of 600 feet above the sea. During the summer of 1903 the deep workings of this mine were not accessible, for the mine had been developed in winter from a temporary shaft, which had caved in. At a depth of about 100 feet a 10-foot pay streak of what is reported to be rather low-grade gravel was encountered. This pay appears to rest upon an older deposit of gravel that is similar to that in the Snowflake mine and probably continues with it. The gravel below the main pay streak of the Sugar mine has been prospected by .means of drill holes, which reached bed rock at a depth of 205 feet. Above this bed rock some gold-bearing gravel was found, but no details in regard to the deposit are known to the writers. Gold was discovered on the Sugar claim in 1901, and since then considerable auriferous gravel has been taken out and washed with snow water in the spring. Up to the time of visit (1903) only the pay streak on the 100-foot level had been worked.

Considerable prospecting has been done to determine the extension of the pay streak on other claims to the southeast of the Sugar mine. About 300 feet to the southeast, at an elevation of 575 feet,

Nome Pbecinct. 205

or 25 feet lower than the surface of the Sugar mine, a 100-foot shaft shows the following section :

ifi'evtion in shaft 300 feet southeast of tiwjar mine. King Mountain.

Ft. In. Muck and silt 4

Loose blue gravel containing a few colors 25

Decomposed chlorite schist 51

Washed gravel and schist 10

Schist 20

At the 80-foot level the decomposed schist contains a 10-inch streak of washed gravel, below which the schist is very hard all the wa}- to the bottom of the shaft. This gravel bed is about 495 feet above sea level and not far from the level of the upper pay streak in the Sugar and Honey mines. From the bottom of the shaft a tunnel was driven westward through hard schist for 15 feet, beyond which the rock shaded into a soft, decomposed schist containing some washed gravel. The drift was continued for a distance of 85 feet to the boundary of the property, where an upraise was made and at the 80-foot level a layer of washed gravel, 8 feet in thickness and containing one-half cent in gold to the pan, was found. Above this gravel there were 10 inches of decomposed schist underlying 3 feet more of gravel, above which the hard schist was again found. A tunnel was also driven for 35 feet north from the bottom of the shaft, encountering nothing but schist. An upraise from the end of this tunnel revealed no gravel. From the 80-foot level a tunnel was driven northward following the thin layer of gravel mentioned above, but this bed pinched out in 10 feet. A tunnel was also driven southward for 60 feet, but here the washed gravel also pinched out in a distance of 20 feet, and at the end of the drift only decomposed schist was found.

About 100 feet southwest of this shaft a prospect hole has been sunk to a depth of 40 feet in washed gravel without reaching the bed rock. The gravels thrawn out consist of waterworn material mixed with sand. The section reported is as follows: Brown gravel, 20 feet; gravel and blue clay, 4 feet; gravel and yellow sandy clay, IG feet. No pay streak was located.

A tunnel has also lxen driven northwestward, starting on bed rock in Grouse Gulch, 480 feet above the sea, toward the workings of the Sugar mine, which are about 500 feet away. It is .reported that the bed rock here showed some irregularities, and the gravels carried values in the depressions, but also carried some colors of gold on the raises. On the dump from this tunnel, which has caved in, were found gravels made up of schist, limestone, and vein quartz. Some of the schist pebbles carry small veins of quartz.

To summarize, auriferous gravels have been found more or less continuously from Nekula Gulch westward to oi Vtqvxsr

rSOO GOLD PIAOEBS OP SEWARD PENIHSITl.*.

Giilch, a (distance of about half a mile, but havp not been beyond. An upper pay streak, in part confined to a d<>tinil rock channel and in part resting upon an older gravel hi traced almost continuously throughout this distance. This pay lius an elevation of 508 feet ut its west end and 490 feet at t end. A lower pay streak near flie west end of the bench liei elevation of about feet, and one near the east end at abt feet, but the two localities are half a mile apart and their con has not been established. The lower deposit at the east vni course, older than that overlying it, but there is at present no available to show the relative ages of the upper and lower pay near the west end. Tlie overburden of these deposits is distj ' over a much larger area tlian that covered by the pay graveL made up of material which waji probably contributed nisi slides fi'om the surrounding hills and only to a slight extent and sorted by water action, but its upper part al transported from a distance. The pay gravel is all of local and the gold has probably been derived from small mini veins in the adjacent bed rock.

EISB-BEROH FLAOSBS IfOHTH OF ANVIL ?SAX.

A second high-bench placer lies on a diviile flSS feet abi sea, between Grass liulch, a tributary of Dexter Creek, and Sp Gulch, which discharges into Anvil Ci"eek, The developma consists of several shafts located along an east-west line for 700 feel. Prospecting was begun on this in the sutu: 1000, but pay gravel was not discovered imtil or 1902, 300 feet of the pay streak had been worked out in 1903. Tl face of the ground slopes toward the head of Gi'ass Gulch.

On the Summit claim tlio .shaft is 106 feet deep, making tha tion of bed rock about iiO ioet. From the foot of the sliaft have been driven N. 82° E. and S. 82° W. along the pay streak, lies on bed rock sloping slightly to the east. The whole deposit is and the material thrown out in sinking the shaft contains deal of iino sand and silt, but only a few details regarding lion wei'e obtained. In the gold-liearing gravel there are manjT dei-B and jwbbles of well-rounded granite and gneiss, whtdi have come from a great distance and seem to indicate that the which deposited them was a long one. The pay streak of the is 6 or 7 feet thick and consists of gravels that contain maejr flat pieces of schist and schistose limestone. In places there is l of stratified clay above the pay streak, and at the west end of (In I some false whs observed and alo small scans of gn material probably derived from the decomposition of graphitic

Nome Precinct. 207

The width of the pay streak is from 50 to 80 feet. On the south side a well-marked rim in the bed rock has been noted, but on the north side the bed rock gives no indication of the limits of the pay streak. In general these gravels are more waterworn and fresher in appearance than those in the bench south of King Mountain; they also contain material transported from a distance. As a rule the gold is coarse and contains many well-rounded nuggets. The pay streak is reported to average about $1 to the bucket, which would probably be equivalent to $7 or $8 cubic yard. Some spots in the gravel have been found to be very rich, and pans containing $150 are not unconmion. One nugget worth $138 is reported to have been found.

Drt-Dexter Greek Divide.

The third notable high-bench deposit lies between Anvil and Newton peaks in the saddle which forms the divide between Dry Creek and Left Fork of Dexter Creek. The surface of this divide has an elevation of 570 feet above the sea. It is developed by a line of shafts extending nearly north and south for a distance of about 2,000 feet. The gravels were found in 1900 and some deep shafts were sunk nearly to bed rock, but the pay streak was not located until the following year. In 1901 some auriferous gravel lying west of the main pay streak was worked out. The richest ground was found during the winter of 1902-3 and considerable material was taken out, the richest of which was washed with rockers during the winter. In tlie following spring the tailings from these rockers and the waste material not rich enough to be rocked were sluiced with water obtained from melting snow and yielded fair returns.

The surface of the ground here is nearly level, but by careful measurement is| found to be about 25 feet lower at the south end than at the north end. In the shafts near the north end of the deposit the depth to bed rock is reported to be from 70 to 75 feet, making thi devation of the bed rock nearly 500 feet above the sea ; at tlie south end the shafts are only 35 feet deep, showing that the IkhI rock lies about 10 feet higher than at the nortli end. The prospect holes between these points show that the bed rock has a nearly uniform slope to the north. Prospect holes sunk several hiqidred feet to tlie east of this main line indicate that the bed rock there has a liigher elevation, most of the holes are not more than 30 feet deep. The material 'm these excavations is chiefly light-brown sand containing some ell-rounded schist pebbles, as well as some pieces of vein quartz ncj limestone and a few granite bowlders. The following section is *ported in a shaft near the middle of the bench :

Gold Placeb5 Of

Hrrtinii ill thaft on Drv-Ocjrtcf Circk lileidr.

Well-waBheil gravel fHrryliiji! i*ouut Kold I'i

Soft windy Holt :;

Soil. peat, and slide „ '£i

Stream snivel... -

DecamiKMted HOhlet bed rook.

None of tliesc layers are peiiiianently frozen. Most of Ihc bed rock 9 very much decomposed chloritic mica schist, hut iu the nortlicrn- ' most .shaft of tlie group broken lime.stone bowlders were etieoiintwd and penetrated to a depth of 40 feet. More or less brown clay sediment containing some waterworn material was fmiiid tluoiighniit lb* crevices of this limestone, indicating that tlie bed rock ron-lists of bowlders of limestone formed in place by decomposition nloiig liir Livalls of the crevices. The lied rock exposed in the hills snrroiintiiiij! this area consists of alternating beds of limestone and chloritic und ieldspathic schists. The wandy part of the deposit resembles the liecomposition products from these schists and limestones. It U oflw difficult to distinguish between the Ited rock decumjwsed in platt-aurt the brown sandy part of (lie gravel whii-h overlies it, bill this ilifr culty is not encountered if even a few niuiuled water-worn jicbbk'sin present. The granite bowlders occurring here tlieiv in thw deposits indicate that a part of the gravel has a distant soup, iin) the rounded character of the gold also indicates transpoilalion.

As a general rule, the lied rock rises more or less gradually cast uU west of the bottom of the shafts, indicating the pr<'-pnce of A channel. Toward the south end of the deposit the rim is wniiH and it is probable that if followed far enough lo the west tliR rock will lie found to dip down beneath the floor of Dry CtKk, fiiM heads only a few hundred feet away. In many places the eaitfl rim is well defined and in some of the workings it lias Ijcen fnlklH for 50 feet up a 30" slope. The pay streak lies immediately imH betl rock, ranges from ii to -ii fwt in thicitnes-s and consists of ligH brown sandy material containing well-rounded pebbles of iKJdH with some win quartz and limestone. In general appearance itilfl not differ materially from the gravels that iiverlie it, which HIVI rich enough to work under present conditions. The piy "''l probably averages from $tt to $12 u cubic yard and yield from $3 to !H. Tlie gold is rather coarse and w-curs In vl rounded pieces. The guld-ljearing gravel is not closely ran6tud| the jiay streak indicated by the line of mine workings, for a nilfllH kpf shafts to tJie east have also yielded pi-oHts. though thM pIvH 'are not so deep nor so rich as those along the line of the Al H Sonu-deej) shaft.--, now iiboiil 'JOO feel wvt of the mfl

of hol&s. are sail to have reuchftl gravels that yielded fair turns.

There is an area of not less than 10 acres on this divide lielow

luch the bed rock seems to be approximately level, and through

area there is a bed-rock channel running north and south. The

ives carry gold on bed rock over the whole area, but the richest

[y streak is along the incised clinnnel. The unfrozen condition of

deposit is accounted for by the fact that the gravels and sands

porous and well drained throughout.

In working the deposit, shafts were sunk to bed rock at intervals

[bout 100 feet and were cribbed and timbered sufficiently to make

m stand for a few months. From these shafts the gold-bearing

iTcl was mined out in all directions. Very little timber was used

lund and the roof was supported by pillars of pay gravel.

removed before the workings were abandoned. Thesis

worked both in winter and summer, as owing to their

condition the gravels stood as well in one season as the

Sluicing was done early in spring with water obtained from

snow. In the underground workings no cars were used.

buckets were dragged to the foot of the shaft, where they were

to the surface by a windlass. Usually two men worked

irground and a third ojwrated the windlass at the surface.

OZirXRU, OONCLUSIOIIB.

L 'fle occurrence of the.-* g:ravels is difficult of exphma- 1 most plausible theory as to their general origin is that B stream -channel deposits formed during an earlier epoch of When these channels were formed, the land probably stood bly lower and their beds were not far above sea level. The I was contributed mainly by slides from the hills. After rttie overburden was deposited subsidence (x-curred and the aid other foreign Iwwlders were floated over the surface by loes.

Cripple River Basin.

General Description.

B River, which is about 25 miley long, flows nearly soutliward ing Sea 12 miles west of Nome. (See topographic map, PI. pocket.) It drains an area of flO square miles and has ! fall of 20 feet to the mile. WTiere it traverses the coastal Un, here 3 miles wide, the river takes a meandering course, with oksiJO feet or more high. About 4 miles from the coast the valley mes verjnarrow for a mite and the hills rise abruptly on either IMH—Biill. .')2R— — 14

210 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

side. The source of the stream lies in a broad basin, with gentle slopes and a wide flood plain. The upper end of the valley is separated by a low, flat divide from the flood plain of Stewart River, a tributary of the Sinuk. The upland surrounding the valley is characterized by flat ridges and hilltops having an average elevation of about 800 feet, and the higher hills rise above this level as domeshaped buttes. In a few places broad gravel-covered gaps interrupt the continuity of the ridges. Though these gravels are attributed to old drainage channels, none of them as yet have been found ridi enough in placer gold to justify mining. On some of the valley slopes there are broad gravel-covered benches, in the main less than 400 feet above the sea, some of which contaiij placers of economic value. Erratic granite bowlders strewn over the surface occur up to elevations of 800 feet. These have already been described (p. 95), and are attributed to the action of floating ice during a comparatively recent period of submergence. In several of the tributary stream beds along Cripple River these bowlders are so plentiful as to interfere seriously with the working of the placers.

The rocks of the region are mainly interbedded limestones and schists belonging to the Nome group. (See PI. X, in pocket.) They include some massive crystalline limestones, which are differentiated on the geologic map and are provisionally correlated with the Port Clarence, though none of them have yielded fossils. Along the channel of Cripple River granite bowlders from the Kigluaik Mountains are mixed with gravels of local origin.

On Cripple River itself almost no successful mining has been done, though colors are found in many places, and some areas which will probably pay if worked by economical methods have been located in the bed and low terraces of the river. A ditch 4J miles long was built in 1903 to bring water from Willow Creek for hydraulicking at a point just below the mouth of Elizabeth Creek. The capacity of this ditch is 3,000 miner's inches and the head for hydraulicking 157 feet, but its maintenance has almost impossible, as in many places it runs over beds of ground ice, which melts away under the water. To avoid the ground ice, a new ditch is proposed to run it a level 100 feet higher. This will necessitate an extension of about 11 miles to the head of Cripple River, where, it is claimed, aboot 3,000 miners inches of water can be obtained.

At the mouth of Stella Creek some sluicing, yielding not more this wages, has been done in gravels that contain many granite usi gneiss bowlders. The deposit lies in an old channel cut in a bed rock of quartz-chlorite schist about 10 feet above and parallel to the pi* ent river bed. A small ditch to bring water from the head of SWh Creek has been constructed, but as it was built across ground ke

NOME PltECINOT.

Wtoiii s<)ii give way and no mining whs doiie at this phice during ibc ;<eu:joti (if UXK).

Oregon Creek, the most important tributary of Cripple River, is between 5 and G miles long and drains about 15 square miles of lenitorj-. It joins Cripple River 10 miles from the coast. The veUpv is broad, flat, and gravel floored for the lower 2 miles, above whjrh it gradually narrows to its head.

Gold was discovered on Oregon Creek in the winter of 1898-99, but it was not worked systematically until 1900. In the latter year Col- Htrmade a hasty examination of the placers of this region," and in 1903 it was visited by Hess. Eight creek claims and two or three bmcb claims were in operation on the creek and its tributaries during the season of 1903, The production np to the end of 1903 had pmbably not exceeded $100,000, Supplies are hauled from Nome bt* wagiin road along the beach to Penny River, thence up Penny Bivi'r to Willow Creek, and across the hills to Oregon Creek.

Along the lower 2 miles of the creek's course bed rock is not exposed. One-half mile below Nugget Creek decomposed chlorite (diist is reached at a depth of 2 to 5 feet. Frnni Nugget Creek to Uountaiii Creek the bed rock is heavy limestone, dipping down- (teun and jointed and broken into irregular fragments. Frequently It stages of low water the creek is nearly lost in underground dwnnels through this bed rock. At Mountain Creek there is a iiarrot belt of chloritio schist, but above that point the creek nms through massive limestone which seems to form au anticline.

The placers of the creek are said to bo " Mjwtted "' and on some diims small portions pay well, while the remainder will not yield npmses. This is probably due partly to the varying character of the bed rock, rich spots being found on that which aiTords good nutunl riSles, and partly to local origin of the gold. All the paying diiinii of the main creek He in its middle part in a belt about 2 nibs long. In the lower 2 miles the creek is spread over wide gnrels and a nunilwr of claims that have been worked by primitive ndliods hare failed to pay. Half a mile below the mouth of Nugget Cnek there is some gi-ound that has lieen fairly productive.

The gi'avel is from to 6 feet thick and is composed of schist, tmestone, and granite pebbles. Most of the pay lies upon a tough jdlow clay immediately over the bed rock, but some gold is found buhe crevices of the limestone to a considerable depth and is diffi talt to obtain. The gold is bright, coarse, and slightly woni; the

Bmoki; A. H., RIcluirdBOD, G. B,. HUd roller. A. .T., BwraniilHsano™ In (he Cape Hint ud Norton Bay reKlons. Alaska, [d lOOO. u apeilal publlmtluti at llic U. a. GeoL Kxrrri. IMl, p. 92.

Gold Pljickrs Of Seward Fenikstt

largest nugget foiin*! was woi-th about sH.uO, 'llie coneentrntes tain a large amount of octahedral magnetite, some hematite, ixl lite, bismuth, and garnet.

One-fourth mile below the mouth of Nugget Creek a strip gravel about 20 feet wide along the creek bed was worked in 1 Here the rock is hard, thin-bedded limestone, in the crcviws of which the gold is found. About 2 feet of washed gravel, consisting principally of rounded limestone pebbles and a few granite bowlders, lies upon the bed rock. This gravel forms the pay streak, and, together with about a foot of the bed nx-k, was put through the sluict boxes. At the mouth of Nugget Creek the limestone IhkI rock ie broken and irregidar. Some gold has been taken from a " false bed rock " consisting of fragments of limestone embedded in reddiA clay. Preparations were ling made in 1903 for hydranlicking thi claim. The following t-ection was measured in a cut bank shown ua* the south side of the creek :

on flTi;i'm frr.k lit m-.iith i.f Suoiti-t Crrrk.

Yellowlsb reil windy clny

Crave], coiislatliig of broken frnguients of llineKlone. 2

False bed rock, consisting of day with frnementB rif limestone emblil(.

Near the mouth of Moimtain Creek the bed rock is chloritic scbiit' dipping downstream, and the pay gravel is from iJ to H feet thicfc* It is reiwrted that in 1900 two men, with rockers, obtained 2 pounita of gold in less than a day, getting as high as $27 in one pan. About one-fourth mile above Mountuin Creek, on a claim worked in 19O0, the pay streak was confined to the creek bed and was not more than 20 feet wide and less than a foot thick. Here the Iwst pay occurred in the crevices to a depth of 18 or 20 inches. The gold is coarse, hnk most of the grains are well rounded and bright. One nugget, wortlli $130. and two smaller ones, worth $42.(10 and $13.20. were obtaiDHA Above this point, which is 3J miles from the mouth of Oregon Cnkr no gold has been mined and there is probably little, if any, lo bfe found, for the bed rock consists of massive limestones in which their' is little evidence of mineralization. The roimded form of the goH' in the upper claim worked indicates that it may have been brought down from this part of the creek; but in swift flowing stivnnis with shallow gravels nuggets may be quickly rounded by battering pebbles, without themselves traveling far.

On tlie east side of Oregon Creek a bi-oad gra\'el-cov*rcd Ix-nrh.

50 to "S feet sdrnvc the cn-ek, extends from Short Onlch to Nuftp-l

Creck. This liench. which is about 400 feet above the sea, is |)mlMiilr

Nome 213

an old valley floor of Oregon Creek and is partly covered with floodplain gravels. Several claims on this bench have been productive, but only in a small way. One of these claims was in operation in September, 1903. The pay streak, which seems to follow a definite channel, is about 65 feet above the present bed of Oregon Creek and is 70 feet wide. It is about 6 inches thick and rests upon bed rock, but very little gold is found in the crevices. The overburden is gravel containing some bowlders of granite, gneiss, and greenstone and is from 3 to 10 feet thick. The gold is smooth, bright, and coarse, averaging probably from one to three pieces to the cent. One nugget weighing about 38 pennyweights has been found. In the concentrates there is much magnetite and hematite, with some bismuth, garnet, rutile, and scheelite.

On several of the claims worked by drifting during the winter the gravel is from 20 to 25 feet thick. One claim is said to have yielded $4,500 at an expense of $4,000. Mining here has been done mostly by pick and shovel, under heavy costs, and has probably barely paid expenses. The ground is well situated for hydraulicking, but water for this purpose can probably not be obtained without a long and expensive ditch.

Nugget Creek.

wgget Creek, less than 2 miles in length, heads in a limestone mountain and flows northwestward, joining Oregon Creek miles above its mouth. The prevailing bed rock is limestone, but a dike of decomposed pyritiferous greenstone cuts the limestone near the mouth of the creek. A second greenstone dike is reported to occur a mile above. On a claim at the mouth the gravel is composed largely of angular limestone fragments, with some rounded schist and greenstone pebbles. The gravel lies from 6 to 20 feet below the surface, in a channel not more than 25 feet wide. The pay rests upon a stiff yellow clay above a limestone bed rock and does not extend into the crevices of the limestone. The gold is all coarse enough to be easily saved, but contains few nuggets as large as a pennyweight.

The concentrates are made up largely of octahedral magnetite in small grains. One obtained has a small piece of gold attached. The concentrates also contain garnet, specular hematite, rutile, scheelite, bismuth, and scattered crystals of pyrite partially oxidized to hematite. One piece of bismuth the size of a pea was collected in which a fleck of gold is embedded. The claim was economically worked as follows: Ten men were worked in two shifts of five each. The gravel was piped to the sluice box by a stream from a 2-inch nozzle under a head of less than 20 feet, and water from a lower ditch was allowed to run over the upstream edge of the bank, thawing and washing down the gravel and supplying more water to the

sluice boxes. One string of 18-uich sluii;e boxes, with pole riff was used. The tailings were removed by a scraper pulled back to

Uortli by wire cables from drums run by a 4-liorsepower gasoli

BogiDe, a man being required to guide the scraper.

i One olher claim, about a mile above the month of Nugget Cr was worked during 1903. Several men were employed part t season, but the pay streak " pinched out " before the ead of t season and operations were suspended. The gravel deposit is fn 3 to G feet deep and from 30 to 50 feet wide. The average siie the gold pieces is about 1 cent, and flie concentrates are similar

. those at the mouth of the greek.

I MOITNT.MN t-REKK.

B Mountain Creek heads in a limestone mountain and flows soii( jrard, emptying into Oregon Creek about miles from its moil nt carries less than a sluice head of water. It is reported that ali Kie lower part of the creek there are extensive deposits of HTavel carrying values in gold. No mining has been done all uis creek, hut it is said to prospect well and preparations had b Euade to work one claim during the season of lHOi.

I rnEEK.

' Hungry Creek, about 2 miles long, flows in a northwesterly dir tion and joins Oregon Creek 1 mile from Cripple River. Its val is broad and gravel filled and the creek has trenched its floor t depth of about 20 feet in gravel and bed rock. Gold was discovei on this creek in July, IftOO, and three mines were in operation September, 1903, although previously the creek had woHl imsystematically throughout nearly its whole length. The foflowi' section was exposed in one of the mines:

Section at mine on Bungrv Crrek.

I Feet

Moss and muck, about 1

I Gravel, conBlHtiag luuinly of cblorltli? ecblst rragmentii, and

K containing bowlders; pay dirt of mine 4

H DiM'oinposed cbloritio Hcblst which con lie cut with Uie shovel- t

Chloritic scblBt, containing uo gold lu crevices.

r The bowlders are largely of gneiss and granite from the Kiglui Mountains and reach 24 feet in diameter. Associateil wilh the there WHS a .small amount of bismuth in well-roundeii nuggets, st of which weiglied as much as an ounce. The concentrates vi about half magnetite, the remainder being mostly garnet, in lai well-rounded pieces and small crystals, with some limouite, py ilmenite. rutile, and bismuth. Gravel-covered benches occur at I

pal places along Hungry Creek, but none uf them liuvo prodlli

Btvr gold.

Nome Precinct. 215

May Gulch.

May Gulch, the south fork of Hungrj Creek, heads in a broad, Dw divide about 700 feet above the sea. Near its head prospect holes live been sunk to a depth of 20 feet through washed gravel without Inding bed rock. Cold's are reported all the way from the surface down.

Trilby Creek.

Trilby Creek, a small tributary of Hungry Creek from the northist side, about a mile from Oregon Creek, is reported to have yielded 5,000. It does not cut down to the bed rock, and it seems probable the gold has been reconcentrated from the bench gravels. During 1903 nothing more than assessment work had been done, on recount of lack of water.

Streams Tributary To Bering Sea Between Cripple And

Sinuk Rivers.

Three small streams — Rodney, Sonora, and Quartz creeks — flow into Bering Sea at distances of 13, 15, and 17 milCvS, respectively, from Nome, or 1, 3, and 5 miles from the mouth of Cripple River. The hills rise steeply from a narrow coastal plain, which is here from a quarter to half a mile broad. The bed rock exposed along the beach and in the face of the bluffs consists mainly of chloritic mica schist, but contains some beds of graphitic schist and limestone. Small quartz veins are common in the face of the bluff and some prospecting has been done, but nothing of economic importance has been discovered. A short distance west of Quartz Creek a large irregular vein several feet thick at the widest place occurs between beds of chlorite and graphite schist. The vein thins out rapidly. It contained a thin streak of highly mineralized quartz in which gray cop|>er ore seemed to be predominant. A specimen obtained from one of the men interested in the development was assayed by E E. Burlingame & Co., of Denver, Colo., who found only a trace of gold and silver. No placer mining is in progress on either Rodney or Sonora creeks, though colors of gold have been found and some development work was done on Sonora Creek in 1901. On Quartz Creek sluicing is reported about 1 mile from the coast, where two men were making a little more than wages in 1903, but the daimwas not visited by members of the Survey party.

Sinuk River Basin. General Description.

Sinuk River rises in the Kigluaik Mountains, flows westward in a valley parallel with them for about 10 miles, and then, turning south, reaches Bering Sea 25 miles west of Nome. The lower

216 Gold Placebs Of Seward Peninsula.

course of the river lies within the area of chloritic schists and limestones of the Nome group that are the source of placer gold in other parts of the precinct.

Colors of gold have been reported from many localities in the Sinuk basin, and in 1900 some sluicing was reported to have been done on Charley Creek, a tributary from the south near its headwaters. No gold has been produced along the main channel of the river. Of its tributaries Washington, Rulby, Charley, Boulder, Independence, and Coal creeks are reported to have produced small amounts. Extensive gravel deposits carrying low-grade values, mantling the hills between Sinuk and Cripple rivers-, are reported to occur from 12 to 18 miles from the mouth. These deposits have been staked for hydraulic mining, but most of them lie at such high elevations that it will be a difficult and expensive undertaking to bring water to them, as the only sources of supply are the streams of the Kigluaik Mountains, and pipes would be required in crossing the Sinuk and Stewart valleys. AVashington and Rulby creeks cut across these high gravels and probably reconcentrate their gold from them.

Washington Creek.

Washington Creek, about 6 miles long, enters Sinuk River from the east 12 miles from the mouth. The placers of this creek hare not been visited by members of the United States Glogical Survey, but they are reported to consist of high-bench gravels surrounding Irish Hill, a mountain about 1,300 feet high, in the Sinuk-Cripple I River divide. ' Good prospects, including one $10 nugget, are re- I ported to have been found in this bench several hundred feet above the level of the river.

Rulby Creek.

H 1

Rulby Creek, which enters Sinuk River from the east 18 mite from the mouth, is also reported to cut across high gravel deposits. A small amount of gold has been produced here in prospecting, bfc the gravels lie at high elevations, are of low grade, and can probtblj be worked only by very economical methods.

Charley Creek.

Charley Creek, a southern tributary of Sinuk River, entering 28 miles from its mouth, flows with a steep gradient in a narrow vil* ley cut in chloritic schists. When the creek was examined in iW no mines were found and the workings had evidently long ago be* abandoned, but a few colors of gold were panned from the graved It is reported that when this creek was worked a great deal of nati bismuth was obtained in the concentrates.

Nome Precinct. 217

Boulder Creek.

Boulder Creek, which enters Sinuk River about 9 miles from the coast, is reported to have yielded a small amount of gold in 1902 and 1903, but it has not been examined by geologists.

Independence Creek.

Independence Creek, another tributary of the Sinuk about 10 miles from the coast, is also reported to have produced some gold though it was not worked in 1903. The creek is cut for the greater part of its length in a massive limestone bed rock and along it there are many evidences of attempts at mining and prospecting, such as croescut ditches and bed-rock drains.

Coal Creek.

Coal Creek, which joins Sinuk River about 15 miles northeast from its mouth, rises in the plateau region and flows down the gentle slope of the valley, exposing the bed rock in only a few places. The bed rock for about half a mile consists of coal-bearing sediments younger than the Nome group, which are described on page 83. In exploiting the coal deposits gold has been found in the gravels of the creek, which are believed to be rich enough to justify hydraulicking, and a ditch for this purpose will probably be constructed from the Kigluaik Mountains. About 2,000 miner's inches of water can be obtained from Glacial Lake at an elevation of about 400 feet above the sea. If it is found that a higher elevation is required, smaller amounts can be obtained from other sources in these mountains. The placer on Coal Creek must be regarded as in part a reconcentration from sediments of Tertiary or Mesozoic age.

Region West Of Sinuk River. General Description.

West of the lower waters of Sinuk River lies a triangular area comprising about 100 square miles, bounded by the Sinuk on the southeast, Bering Sea on the southwest, and the Port Clarence precinct on the north, which has received some attention from prospectors and has produced a small amount of gold, probably not exceeding a few thousand dollars. Topographically this region is made up of (1) a coastal plain along Bering Sea about 4 miles wide, (2) a number of high ridges to the northeast, attaining an elevation of 1,000 feet and extending in a northwest-southeast direction approximately parallel to the coast, (3) between these ridges and the Kigluaik Mountains an undulating surface that has an average elevation of 1,000 feet and has been correlated with the Kougarok Plateau. The coastal

218 Gold Placebs Of Sewaed Peninsula.

plain is covered by gravel deposits which may be of considemble depth, but in some places are known to be only a thin layer not over 30 feet thick, resting upon a limestone bed rock. The ridges parallel to the coast are made up of limestone and schists. The more massive limestones, which are crystalline, but, as a rule, not so highly metamorphosed as those in the immediate vicinity of Nome, have been provisionally correlated with the Port Clarence. The schists are in places graphitic, but the larger masses are feldspathic, chloritic schists of a character similar to the larger bodies exposed in Anvil and Newton peaks near Nome.

The surface of the plateau region is, for the most part, mantled with moss and muck, beneath which there are gravels that contain, as a rule, a great many bowlders of granite derived from the Kigluaik Mountains and probably directly or indirectly of glacial origin. (See pp. 94—99.) The bed rock where it is exposed consists of limestones and schists, which are almost as highly metamorphosed as those at Nome. In the northwestern portion of the region under discussion they contain many intrusions of greenstone. At a point near Sinuk River a basin of younger sediments of Mesozoic or Tertiary age is infolded, and it is possible that rocks of this character have a considerable extent underneath the surficial deposits. Except for the fact that the bed rock in general is slightly less metamorphosed than in the Nome region there is no reason why workable placers should not exist here. Colors of gold have been found in a number of small streams, and mining for gold is reported at several places, though no active mines were seen by members of the survey party. Of the small streams which flow into Sinuk River from the plateau several are known to carry colors of gold, but none have yet been found to contain gold in paying quantities for small outfits working with sluice boxes or rockers. It is probable, however, that some of the gravels may be worked by more economical methods, if water be brought from the Kigluaik Mountains.

Igloo Creek.

Igloo Creek rises in a range of hills back of the coastal plain and flows westward to Bering Sea, which it enters just north of Cape Woolley. Although colors of gold have been reported from this creek it has not produced gold in commercial quantities, and was deserted by prospectors during the season of 1903.

Fairview Creek.

Fairview Creek, a large stream having a length of about 12 miles.

also heads in the range of hills parallel to the coast near the heads d

idependenoe and Boulder creeks, and flows northwestward into tii0

NOME PEECrNCT. 2I

goon north of Cape WooUey. The Ixd rock of this creek consists graphitic and feUlapathic ifchists and some massive limestone, 'or about 4 miles the stream flows iji a trench cut across tlie coastal )Uin. Dd it is not known whether it cuts the bed rock at any point irithin this belt The bed of the creek contains many bowlders of psitite. which came with the glacial drift from Kighiaik Mountains. Culors of gold have been reported in tlie gravels at various points, 0Kmgh no pay streak lias been found.

TOUrnoY CRREK.

About C miles fi-om iU moutli several small tribntaries enter Fairer Creek from the north side. Some mining has been done on one ct these, known as Tomboy Creek, which has a length of about 2 lijesand flows in a westerly direction. About 1 mile above its mouth idgwsit of several feet of jzravel containing a great many bowldei-s pebbles of granite rests upon soft chloritic mica schist bed rotk dippmg to the northeast at a high angle. Two shovelfuls of the loose dtcffloposed bed rock were panned, yielding two colors of gold, each 'tml to about one-half cent. This test, so far as it, goes, would seem lo indicate a layer of decomposed bed rock, carrying about IJ cents to the pan, or $2.25 to the cubic yard. Evidently some mining was Jonehere in 1902, but early in 1903 no one was seen on the ground ud the claims appeared to Ia* abandoned.

Feiiher River, which also enters Bering Sea through the lagoon Bortb of CajM! Wootley, has a length of Ifi miles. Six miles fcixn the coast it forks, the north fork being called Johnston Creek ad the south fork Livingston Creek. - Johnston Creek is the larger =*retm and derives its water from a number of tributaries which head in glacial valleys in the Kigluaik Mountains. Livingston Creek, the witliem tributary, heads in a broad basin-shaped depression in the jilileaii already described. The gravels of both streams are made up krply of pebbles and bowldei's of granite and other rocks derived by llinal agencies from the Kigluaik Mountains, It is reported that (okrrs of gold have been found along these streams, but no mining has imk done.

Tlie gravels of the coastal-plain Ijelt of this region are not known if the writers to have been prospected for gold. It is certain that Ho promising deposits of goltl have leen found in them. The beaches llat Ixirder these coastal-plain deposits on the west would afford an (wellent opportunity for determining whether or not the coastalpltin gravels carry gold values. So far as Itnown, no gold has been found in paying quantities at iiny point along this beach and no min-

220 Gold Placebs Of 8Ewakd Peniksula.

ing has been done on the beach northwest of the mouth of Sinuk River, although a few colors of gold can be found at many places.

Tisuk Creek.

Tisuk Creek, which heads in the west end of the Kigluaik Mountains and flows southwestward to the lagoon north of Cape Woolley, carries a large volume of water, and its channel is trenched from 100 to 200 feet deep, across a low plateau between the mountains and the sea. The bed rock in the plateau portion of the creeks course consists of chloritic schists, limestones, and greenstone intrusives. These rocks belong to the Nome group, but are much less metamorphosed than those in the Nome region. No gold has been produced along the main stream and scarcely appreciable amounts in its drainage basin. However, some production is reported on two tributaries that were lying idle in 1903.

Hume Creek.

Hmne Creek is a small northern tributary of Wesley Creek, which enters Tisuk Creek from the south side, 4J miles from the coast- Two men who worked here with rockers in 1901 are said to have made from $2 to $3 per day. The workings were abandoned when examined in 1903. A section of the deposit exposed in a cut bank of the credr and in a drain ditch is as follows :

Section on Hume Creek.

Feet Moss and black muck 6

Angular gravel, composed of chloritic and graphitic schist.

gneiss, and granite

Chloritic mica schist bed rock.

On a small southern tributary of Tisuk Creek, name not known. 6 miles from the coast, there is said to be near the level of the rivers flood plain 5 feet of gravel which carries from 3 to 10 cents a pan. B has been worked with rockers, yielding from $3 to $10 per day to the man. The ground was idle in 1903 and was not examined.

In addition to these, several other small streams tributary to Bering Sea north of Tisuk Creek are reported to yield colors of gold, bA none of them have been worked. On one of these, Sourdough Creek, which enters the north end of the lagoon south of Cape Doogltf) Collier panned in 1901 and raised one color of gold. The bed rock consists of dark slaty schist containing many intrusions of greeO" stone.

Kohe Prectnct,

Eldorado River Region.

General

dorado River has its source within a few miles of Salmon Lako,

which it is separated by a low divide, (See topographic map.

H, in pocket). It flows southward through a broad gravel-

Jley and empties into Port Safety Lagoon. The bed rock of

'hole basin consists of the schist;; and limestones of the Nome

BUp, but its headwaters are in limestones correlated with the Port

T gold has been reported from a number of the tributaries of

to River. Some mining is said to have been done on San Jose,

in, and Fox Creeks, but in 1003 mining was confined to Vcne-

Creek, though large areas staked for placer-mining purjMJses urc

1 to be held by assessment work in other parts of the drainage

Venetia Creek is an eastern tributary of Eldorado River, which it s about -23 miles the coast, and can be reached by a rough n road from Nome, Gold was discovered and some mining was eon this creek in 1!)00. .Since then it has been worked every year i the total production has probably not been far from $6,000. Igh nearly all the cJaims are owned by Italians, the name 1 is not after the historic Italian city, but after the discoverer If gold on the creek.

In the lower 2 miles of its course Venetia Creek flows in a iirply cut, narrow gorge, whose walls rise almost perpendicularly fcrlOO feet to a series of comparatively narrow Iwnches. Above this e the valley widens and flood plains 100 to 300 feet wide border Uufltream bed. In the productive portion of Venetia Creek the bed nek is limestone and calcareous chloritic schists, into which the lime- s appear to grade. The strikes of these rocks are variable, but Htaly northeast. The dip also is not constant, the bedding being in iny places nearly horizontal. The rocks contain small veins of , in general parallel to the foliation, but locally cutting across . The creek gravels consist of fragments of schist and limes-tone, a r pebbles of greenstone, and .some vein quartz. Little gold has in mined on the lower part of the creek, but for 3 miles above the loyon the gravels have productive.

The placers are all of the ci-eek type, and though the topography dicates that there are terraces along the valley slows, it is not Down whether they carry gold. The flood plain above the canyon from 100 to 200 feet wide, but the pay streak is only 10 to .50 feet d& A large part of the placer gold is found in the crevices of the

Gold Placeb6 Of Sewabd Penihsula.

I' bed rock. In tlie lower claimR thp grnvpl and overburden 1 thickness of 5 or 6 feet and a coiistderablo amount of gold is ob> tained from ihe gravel, but in the claims near the tipper end of tlii' productive portion practically all the gold h contained in the creviee of the bed rock to a depth of 3 or 4 feel.

The mining has all been done by the " slioveliiig in " method. Near the lower end of the priHluctive portion the whole creek has bwn turned out of its bed and confined in a ditch along one side of the valley. A system of well-bulH ditches, which are practically sal fliune. is one of the interesting features of the workings. The golJ obtained along Venetia Creek is mostly fine, with some niiggeta wortli several dollars. In general it is bright and is characterize*! by tll pieces shaped like pumpkin seeds. The assay value is said to be $19.40, the bright-yellow color being indicative of the high peniitage of gold. Most of the nuggets are sold to jewelers in Koue (i

uvenir making.

SOLOMON RIVER REGION. INTKODtmON.

Solomon River heds close to (he Cnsadepnga, from which il is separated by a low divide, and, flowing southward for 20 miles, empties into Port Safety Ijagoon about 30 miles east of Some. Iw more important tributaries. Shovel Creek, Big Hurrah Creek. Ei Fork, and Coal Creek, enter at right angles and Sow approximakl; east or west. The placer mines of thi? region are froiu it* settlements of Solomon and Dickson, at the mouth of the riHR Dickson is the terminus of the Council City and Solomon Rivw Bitf road. The harlxtr facilities here are no better than at Nome, and the present time landings are fully as difficult, but it has been planiiri to dredge out the inlet to Port Safety Lagoon, through which SolonwB River discharges, in order to permit the entrance of lightt'r. and Is construct docking along the land side of the lagoon. If the ollw openings into Port Safety Lagoon should be closed. Ihe tributary waters to pass out by the inlet at the month of SolomW River, a fair channel might be maintained at small expeii). Il should he borne in mind, however, that with the developiiiflnl hydraulic mining that is almost certain to occur along Solomon J much st-dimcnt will contributed to the stream, and this will it dilTicMlt tiJ keep a channel open.

For a miles above its month Solomon Itivcr flows across th* plain in a broad trench. Its gradient hei-e probably does not 6 or 8 feet to tJie mile. Above tJie coastal plain the river OOd comparatively broad valley and the gradient increasea tu at I

t to the mile- In the floor of thiw valley the river is entrenched, iving ti avsteiu of gravel terrace'; from to 50 ievt above the water, jnvel bars from 100 to 500 feet wide, only partially covered at irdinnry stages of the wat*r. fill'the river bed.

The river was named by Pier< Thomas," who stuked Discovery tliini in June. 18i>!l. In the snme seiison the river and its tributaries we prospected, and in 1900 probably $10,000 worth of gold was lined in this district.

The bed rocks along Solomon River are limeRtone and schist of H Nome group. The .strikes generally have a noiih-soiith direction, dips are low and in some place-s the i-ocks lie nearly flat. On side of the valley a number of intrusive masses of green rock have been observed.'' Veins and stringers of more or >rulixed quartz are common in the schists, both parallel with cutting across the sciiistosity. Many of them carry gold, and it Big Hnrrah Creek a qiinrtz mine is in successful operation. The bllowing assays made for the Survey from specimens collected in 1900 and none of which are to he regarded as commercial mples, are useful as indicating the sources of the placer gold. Tliree samples were obtained from float quartz found on the surface nr the cropping of a large, purtiitlly devetoiK'd quartz vein in piphitic schist on the hill north of the mouth of Big Hurrah Creek. H these, one carried a trace of gold and no silver, another carried ces of gold and 1 ounce of silver, and the third contained l.fi of gold and O.ii ounce of silver to the ton/ The material is Uuidi-whil quartz, with black bandK, and some of the specimens liimfree gohl in fine grains. A specimen taken from a large vein iDlhe Big Hurrah quartz mine yielded an assay return of 2.56 ounces gold and 0.4 ounce of silver, and a spi'cimen of the graphiticsiist wall of this vein contained O.Ifi ounce of gold and 0.08 ounce ofsilver.'' Most of the gold is free, nnd picked specimens showing lirge amount!- of free gold have been obtained both in the mine and I the wash of liig Hurrah Ci"eek below the mine. A sjiecimen from stringer of qiiailz and pyrite nearly a foot thick exposed in the M rock of the placers about a mile below the Big Hnrrah mine dded an assay return of 0.02 ounce of gold and a trace of silver, some ore rich in aTitinioiiy said to have couie from a vein on Last Qhince Creek, a iHbutary of Big Hurnih Creek, was found to cononly traces of gold and silver.'' Quartz obtamed from a small

MKdrton Bty ruglani, i

kK -V. n,. el al.. op. rit., pp. i t Ij B. B. BurUngitDie A Co..

224 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

stringer in the schist near the mouth of Nugget Creek, a tributary of Solomon River, contained no trace of either gold or silver."

Although gold has been found along Solomon River through its whole length, the placers operated in 1903 and 1904 are all located within 12 miles of the coast. The workings are in benches along the river, where ordinary mining methods are employed, and in the gravel bars of the river bed itself, where several dredges have beeii used. The mines along the lower part of Solomon River, where it crosses the coastal plain, have not been examined in detail by the writers, but data regarding them were furnished by Messrs. Purington and Paige, who visited them in 1904. These placers are of the river-bar and gravel-plain type.

A system of ditches to bring water from the head of the river and its tributaries to the placers located near the mouth is in construction, and it is probable that about 1,000 miner's inches of water under a head of from 250 to 400 feet will be available.

Solomon River Valley.

The excavations indicate that most of the gravels of the coastal plain are comparatively shallow and that the bed rock under the river bars is not deeply covered. A river-bar deposit about 3 miles from the coast has been worked for two seasons by a dipper dredge. The pay streak here has an average width of about 200 feet and a thickness of feet, most of the gold being concentrated in the lower part. It rests upon a soft mica-schist bed rock which is mined by the shovel to a depth of about 1 foot. Overlying the bed rock is a layer of clay several inches thick that carried good values. The pay streak is said to be spotted, but has been estimated to contain from 12 to 30 cents to the cubic yard.

Near this point mining is in progress in the river's flood plain, which is about 400 feet wide. The deposit, which resembles that just described, rests upon a bed-rock floor about 3 feet higher than that of the river bed, and the gold is mostly contained in a soft clay that overlies the bed rock. Two ditches, one 3 miles, the other 9 miles long, supply about 1,000 inches of water. Mining is done by the shovelingin process, but it is proposed to use the water for hydraulicking in the future.

In 1003 mining was done on a bench on the left side of the river 6 miles from the coast. The section exposed shows 4 or 5 feet of muck and sand 4 feet of pay gravel resting upon bed rock, about 8 feet above the water of the river. The placer gold has penetrated the crevices of the limestone bed rock to a depth of about 4 feet. The gravels carry values for about 200 feet away from the

Assay by R. II. Officer & ('o.. Salt Ike <Mty, Utah.

Nome Precinct. 225

iver. The gold is described as consisting of coarse jiuggets mixed vith fine gold, all of which is worn smooth."

A deposit worked by a dredge near the mouth of Big Hurrah reek, about 8 miles from the coast, was examined in September, 903, after work had closed for the season. The river bed here is bout 150 feet wide and consists of gravel bars, most of which are bove water except during floods. The gravel is from 2 to 6 feet hick. Several pans tested by Mr. Collier yielded 3 or 4 cents in comparatively coarse gold. These can not be regarded as average samples, however, as they were taken from parts of the gravel known to e rich. One cut about 40 feet wide and several hundred feet long, n the middle of the channel, has been dredged out. In dredging elow the river bed frozen gravel, which the dredge was unable to .andle, was found in some places, and on this account the dredge was loved near the end of the season, but the gravels at the new location rere not found to contain sufficient gold to pay for mining. The lachine was equipped with 18 or 20 buckets, having a capacity of 1 ubic foot each, on an endless chain, and gravel from the buckets was umped first into a revolving trommel from which the finer gravel nd sand fell into two lines of sluice boxes, each about 60 feet long, applied with ordinary iron riffles. This plant was said to have a apacity of 400 to 500 yards a day of twenty-four hours.

Near the mouth of East Fork, about 15 miles from the coast, the iver bed and flood plain have a width of 300 to 500 feet, and the ravels, which are from 5 to 8 feet thick, rest upon schist and limetone bed rock. The gold is fine, flat, and smooth and is said to be uniformly distributed through the gravel, which is reported to carry upward of $1 to the cubic yard. A ditch taking water from Solomon Eliver at the mouth of Coal Creek has been constructed, and mining with a hydraulic nozzle and elevator began late in the season of 1904.

Above Coal Creek, near the point where the trail leaves Solomon River to cross the divide to Ruby Creek and the Casadepaga, several claims were worked in 1900. In the bed of the river about 4 feet of gravels overlie a calcareous mica schist. The gold is fairly coarse. Several $3 and $4 nuggets were found, but few of the larger pieces exceeded 25 cents in value.

Jerome And Manila Creeks.

Jerome and Manila creeks are two short western tributaries of Solomon River within a few miles of the coast, heading within the coftstal plain. Some development work on these creiks was reported IS early as 1900.* The localities were not again visited in 1903.

"This Information was obtained by Joseph Edge* packer for the Surrey party. Brookiy A. H., Richardson, G. B., and Collier, A. J., Reconnaissances In the Cape Nome ttd Rortott Baj reglona, Alaska, In 1900, a special publication of the U. S. Oeol. Surrey,

1S604— Boa 229-09 15

226 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

These occurrences of gold, even though they were not worked profitably, are of interest, because they go to prove that there is gold in the coastal plain. They suggest that this tundra belt may contain placers of the gravel-plain type.

Shovel Creek.

Shovel Creek flows into Solomon River from the west about 4 miles from the coast. It heads'in a divide about 2 miles from the Casadepaga and flows nearly southward to its junction with Solomon River. Although not a very long stream, it has a large drainage area and carries during ordinary seasons about 500 inches of water. The topographic map shows that the creek has a gradient of about 100 feet to the mile. Through the greater part of its course it spreads over wide gravel bars, none of which have produced placer gold up to the present time. The bed rock of the Shovel Creek basin consists for the most part of limestones and calcareous mica schists. Near the head of the creek there are some intrusions of greenstone. No pebbles that could not be traced to these bed rocks have been found in the creek gravels. Mining operations in the Shovel Creek basin are confined to three small tributaries — Mystery, West, and Kasson creeks,

Mystery Creek.

Mystery Creek flows into Shovel Creek about 2 miles from Solomon River. In 1900 mining in this basin was limited to Problem Gulch. a small tributary 2 miles above Shovel Creek, and the placer was confined to the lx*d of the gulch, in which 2 to 3 feet of gravel rested upon a decomposed schist bed rock containing placer gold to a depth of about 3 feet. The gold was rather coarse and of a bright yellow color. Crosscuts in an ill-defined bench on both sides of the gulch for about 20 feet were said to pay, but not so well as the creek bed. Mystery Creek was not visited by Collier in 1903, but it was reported that three or four outfits of about six men each were sluicing along its course.

West Creek.

West Creek, a trihutarv to Shovel Creek, 4 miles from the Solomon Valley, flows across the strike of the schist and limestone betl rock, here dipping to the northwest at an angle of 45°. In the creek M from 3 to 4 feet of gravel overlies bed rock. The gold near the mouth of the creek is rather fine, but increases in coarseness toward the head. Garnet, magnetite, and some pyrite, chalcopyrite, and arsenopyrite are associated with the gold in the sluice boxes. It is reported that in 1903 work was in progress on nine claims, with probably only three or four men employed in shoveling in eadi daim*

Home Pbecikoi.

KASaOX CREEK.

Kasson Creek, which enters Shovel Creek from the east, flows over lestone bed m which the water sinks so that throughout much of length it is dry, even after heavy rains. In 1903 mining was being on in the creek Ix'd for about 1 mile up from its mouth. The rock here is massive limffitone fissured and broken up into frag- TJio gold-bearing si'diments lie upon this limestone and peneto an unknown depth. During tiie mining open- .rations have in sonic places penetrated the bed rock to a .30 feet, giving the workings the appearance of quarries ler than of placer mines. The pay streak, which is in the main refined to the creek bed, has a width of H'. to 100 feet. For almiit a lule along the creek the claims are under one control and are worked n unit. Wattr it-supplied from Shovel Creek by means of a ditch itnat 2 miles in length, and the bed rock, in which the gold occurs in enrices and fissures, is quarried out in irregular blocks and washed idiiice boxes, together with the sediments from the fissures.

Prxxv Creek.

Penny Creek is a email tributary to Solomon River from the west lide, iibotit T) miles from the coast. Its valley floor is about 900 feet iide, and the creek has cut its channel in this floor to a depth of iO

!, leaving a series of benches. The volume of the stream during weather is equal to about a sluice head, but in diy seasons the fair sinks Ienenth the rot-k.

The creek dejxisits are limestone and mica-schist pebbles cemented ith clay. The gravel in some places rests directly upon broken limelone bed rock that has been penetrated by the alluvial gold, but more Mnmonly a bed of clay intervenes between the limestone and thi' pay leak. In a placer 2 miles above the mouth of the creek 2 feet of

ivel was observed resting upon a mixture of broken limestone and by that had been excavated to a depth of 4 feel, \lthongh the crwk has produced considerable gold since IftOO. the scarcity of water makes it difficult to work. Xearly all the gold has been obtained by ihe use of ro<'kers. and sluicing can be done oidy for a few weeks eacli jpar after periods of heavy rain.

General Hurrah Creek, wliich has ore gold than any other tributary of Solomon River, is a confluent from the east about 7 miles from the coast. At its mouth it carries r 500 inches of water. Through tlie lower 5 miles of its course gradient of tlie stream does not e.\ueed uU feet to the mile. The

228 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

creek flows in a comparatively straight, narrow canyon incised to t depth of 100 feet in the floor of a broad valley that represents an older period of erosion. The gravel deposits of the older valley are left as bench deposits resting upon a bed-rock floor 10 to 30 feet above the creek.

The schists and limestones composing the bed rock have low dips, and though the strike is not uniform it is generally parallel with the course of the valley. Quartz veins are of common occurrence, both cutting across the bedding and parallel with it. Some of these veins which are of economic importance are described on page — . The creek bed ranges in width from 100 to 500 feet, and is filled with gravel deposits derived in part from the immediate bed rock and in part from the older gravels of the benches. Gold was discovered and mining operations begun on Big Hurrah Creek in 1900, but the production of that year was comparatively small. In 1903 mining was confined to the wide gravel bars and flood plain for 3 miles above the mouth, but some prospecting was done farther upstream.

The methods of mining along Big Hurrah Creek have been extremely primitive, most of the mining having been done by laymen, who leased small areas by the season. The waters of the creek are usually turned to one side of the valley while the shallow gravels are worked either with rockers or by shoveling into sluices. As a general rule the laymen who have worked for 75 per cent of the returns have taken out hardly more than $5 per day. The creek placers appear to be well adapted for exploitation either with steam shovel or with horses and scrapers, but hydraulicking is not to be recommended, because of the low gradient of the stream and the thinness of the deposit.

Some mining was done in 1903 in the creek bed and on a low bendi about 10 feet above the creek bed at the mouth of Lion Creek. The bed rock is a soft schist which dips about 20° NE. The pay streak in the creek bed was from 10 to 20 feet wide and consisted of 2 or 3 feet of gravel overlying the decomposed bed rock, in which most of the gold was found. The pay streak probably does not average more than $1 to the cubic yard. On the bench claim the bed rock was overlain by 2 or 3 feet of black gravel. Mining on the creek claim was done by shoveling in, but an attempt had been made to hydranlic the bench with water brought in a ditch from the south fork of Big Hurrah Creek with a head of about 200 feet. In September, 1908, operations had been suspended.

Quartz veins, — Since mining began on Big Hurrah Creek a great

many specimens of vein quartz containing free gold have beea foavi

in the placer gravels. Some of these have been traced to their soiiro

as in the Big Hurrah mine, which has been a producer for Beveralj

jrears. This mine is located on one of the southern benches di Big|

Komb Pbecinct. 229

rah Creek, near the mouth of Little Hurrah Creek. Tliis bench, ch is from a quarter to half a mile wide, is not covered with 'el and rises very gently toward the hills to the southeast. The itry rock at the mine is hard, siliceous, graphitic schist, lying *ty horizontal, and the quartz veins seem to be coniined to bed : of tiiis type, for tliey have not been traced into the schists and stones that overlie them about a quarter of a mile to the east, he graphitic schist the quartz veins fill fissures that cut across bedding, are more nearly vertical than horizontal, and strike hwest and southeast In 1903 three veins were being developed

PlO. m.— SkPlch map nml upcllon of HIb Hurrali mine.

Ilis property by short tunnels, (Sefig. 13.) The southernmost strikes N. 60° W., the middle vein strikes N. 55° W.. and the h vein strikes N. 60° W. These directions were determined, 3ver, from short exposures of not exceeding 100 feet, and they be more nearly parallel than the notes indicate. The distance een the south vein and the middle vein is about 100 feet, and een the middle vein and the north vein about 125 feet. le main shaft of the mine is located on the bench east of Little rah Creek, 60 feet above the level of the creek bed, clase to the

Placers Op 8Ewabd Peninsula.

middle vein, and has a deplh of 135 feet (1004), On the 60-foot level the main drift follows the vein for about 70 feet on each side of the shaft. Apparently there has been some movement along this fissure since the quartz was deposited, for there ih slit-kensidingmi the hanging wall and a gouge of crushed schist and quartz. The lode itself, which is from 4 to Ti feet wide, consists of quartz urrangfd in ribbons and bands, some of them more than 1 wide. Ihtf and there are horses of what appears to be black schist in the vein and these are deformed parallel to the banding of the quartz. Both the Imnging and foot walls show some irregidarily. jUong the foot wall of the vein there is no gouge like thai of tlie hanging will. but the quartz is in close contact with the apparently unaltered sdiit.

A crosscut near the main shaft leads to the south vein, whidi was found to consist of many small stringer-s running through tlif lied rock. A drift follows this vein for alwut 2ft0 feet from it* outcrop on the bank of Little Hurrah Creek, Here it shows 4 or 5 feet of ribbon ore in one body and dips to the south parallel with the dip of the middle vein.

The third vein, which is the most northerly one, has been developed by a tunnel from the bank of Little Hurrah Creek, It ranges in width from about 4 to 7 or 8 feet. The dip is to the northeast, biit the vein seems to be more irregular than either of the others and the hanging wall is cut by many small seams of quartz. At (he outcrop a large stringer leads off on the hanging-wall side and is separated from the main vein by 2 or 3 feet of schist. At the end I'f the tunnel the vein splits into smaller veins on either side of n nia of black schist. Where exposed in a cros-scut on the surface about 150 feet southeast of the mouth of the tunnel this vein is broken up into many small stringer-s, but here also carries values,

A number of prospect holes and open cuts were mite wpst o( Little Hurrah Creek for the purjjose of tracing the lode to iht northwest, and it is believed to have been recognized for 1.000 fert along the strike. On the west bank of Little Hurrah Creek, in wlut appears to be the outcrop of the northern portion of the lode, llw quartz occur-s in small irregular veins, having a maximum thick* of 2 feet and a dip to the northeast parallel to that of the wnw vein on the west side of the creek. Excavations on the line of extension of the middle vein had caved in, so that it was impossible lo the rock in place, though there was considei-able ore on the dump. For about 400 feet w&st of Little Hurrah Creek excavations been made on the surface of the bench, exposing many small lof vein quartz from 2 to 6 inches thick, which seem to represent tht Western extension of the lode, hut the whoh' surface is ravens with .4 (hubris of sclilst, and it is [tussible that the quartz vein-

KOM£ PRECnJCT. 231

at are so broken np on the <:urfacv may Iv foiuul to Ite uiiiteil into rger masses in depth.

No statement of the assay value of this ore has been driven out bv e operators of the mine and no attempt was made to take com- ?rcial samples. A large part of the gold is free and before the ine was developed the outcrops yielded many specimens in which gold could be seen. A specimen that did not show any visible Id was assayed and found to contain 2.5G ounces of gold and 0/24 nee of silver to the ton." The ore does not appear to contjuii rite or other metalliferous impurities, but is banded with layers of aphite, which seem to have been derived from the graphite schists rming the walls. It is reported that this graphite interfered with Jling operations, so that it was difficult to save all the gold. A mple of the tailings from the stamp mill was found by assay to ntain 0.92 ounce of gold and 0.16 ounce of silver to the ton," inditing that the milling process had not extracted all of the gold. The ore from the main shaft of this mine, as well as that from B various prospecting tunnels and holes, is crushed in a 20-stanip IL Water power for the mine is supplied from a ditch leadin*]: the south fork of Big Hurrah Creek to a penstock 100 feet ove the creek, from which the-water is conducted in a sheet-iron pe to a Pelton wheel at the level of the creek. The free gold is lalgamated in the battery and on copper plates, after which the arser and heavier tailings are caught on iron-wire riffles and the ler slimes are held in a large pool made on level ground near Big urrah Creek by a dam.

On the summit of the hill between Big Hurrah Creek and Solojn River, about three-fourths of a niiU* northwest from the Big urrah mine, similar veins outcrop and have been developed by a ospecting shaft, about 7 feet square, wholly within the ore body. 'September, 1903, the only exposure of the quartz in place was in is shaft, and attempts to trace the course of the lode had not ry successful. From this opening the Big Hurrah mine boars 61® E., and it is believed that the course of the vein or lode is ward this mine. Some shallow trenches that have Ikhu cut across is course, several hundred feet to the southeast of the main g, fail to show any defined vein, though a great deal of ore has en thrown out. The prospect holes have not penetrated the deej) ver of partially decomposed schist debris, and they offer little idence with regard to the course of the (piartz ledge. Much of e quartz here is coated wnth iron rust, but shows a banded or ibbon" structure similar to that at the Big Hurrah mine, and my specimens showing s[)angles of free gold were olitaincMl.

A8Hay by K. K. RiirlinKunip & Co., Colo.

Three essays made from material colleoted at lliis place, none "f which can be i-eyardcd as repiTa-nliitive, as the small amoniil iif lle'e1oplnet made it impossible to nbtniii an avuragi! sauk', urt as follows:

Thei-e appeared to be Mitiicifiit gold -bearing quart/, bei-e i-\])Ohl to justify further search.

The discoveries.s of gold ore already iiiadft have eneoiiragiid prospecting for quartz and many claims have been staked. One of thew, which cuts across Big Hurrah Creek about a mile above its mouth. is on a vein about a foot wide, parallel with the IxHlding of the schist, which here strikes nearly north and south. The ore cocisists of quartz strongly mineralized with pyrite, and when assayed wis found to contain an ounce of gold to the ton and a trace of silver. A specimen rich in antimony, reported to have come from a vein on 1*4 Chance Creek, a tributary of Big Hurrah Ci-eek on the north siili". yielded a trace of both gold and silver. Another specimen, which consisted largely of some mineral in which antimony was predominant contained 0.24 ounce of gold and 1.10 ounces of silver to the ton.

Mining was going on in 1003 in the basin of Lion Creek, a tributsi? to Big liurruli Ci-eek, Ti miles from its mouth. Throughout the workings the gravel averaged about 4 feet in thickness and carried more or less irregidarly distribute*! from the surface down. Thoiigli generally richer on the bed rock, the gold was not found in tin crevices to any considerable depth. The gravels at a point half a mile fiom the moutli of the creek are reported to have yielded about $1.1" in gold to the cubic yard, and 3 miles above the tenor was about a cubic yard. A prospect tumiel 100 fei.'t long, driven int the Iwndl deposit on the north side of the creek 2 miles from the mouth, follow the surface of the bed rock, which here lies about 20 feet alive hi water. This tunnel shows that the bed-rock floor upon which liench gi-avei rests is nearly horizontal. Though colorB of gold w found in these gravels up to 1H05, no pay streak yielding mui* as 1 cent to the pan had been located.

Pine And Cache Creeks.

Pine itnd Cache creek flow into lagoons connected with Bering Sea about 5 and 10 miles, respectively, east of Solomon. They are tooth relatively sniall streams which bead in the highland and take tortuous courses across the coastal plain. These streams havB not been examined, but their gravels are said to be auriferous, and some prospecting has been done along their valleys.

Notes On Recent Dkvelopment.

In 1906 the Solomon River region was hastily visited by Philip S. Smith, of the Geological Survey, just before the freeze-up, when mining was almost at a standstill for the season. The following notes furnished by him give the latest facts regarding the work in prtress on Solonmu River Kast Fork :

At the mouth of Quarte (.'ret'k two Riunll oiiltlL hud wnrklng the gmrels b'lng frutu 10 to 30 feet aliove the rlTcr level. The slxe of the (luui]>9 ludicated thai not uuch ground hiid beeti turned over In the lust season, bat data were uut uvalluble ax to viilueH, etc. us all the euiuiiH bud cloeed down at the time of my vlalt. Durlug the season n drill had been used In prospetllni; thv gravels near Quartz Creek, but was not In operation when 1

A short distance above the niootli of Fenny fret* a gmall iimount of work wos in progreBs on gravels which ox'ur near the contact of chloritlc schist and limesione. Downstrenni. between Penny and Shovel creekB, an nut St was liydrau licking gravels. Two idpes were In operation and fonr two-horse acrapers. It is reported that a steam sliovel has been In operation on Solomon River tbis iieasoD, but at the time of luy visit It had been removed to Shovel Gredc

Tbe most active work in the district was at the dredge on Solomon River near tbe mouth of Uocit Creek (PI. IT). Mining had bee:i in progresR all Mtnuner and was being carried on, owing to the Inle date of Ibe freese-up. even OS late as the flntt uf October. The lode mine ou Big Hurrah I'reek was not visited, lint, although continuously in operation, no new developments from that place hare lieeii reported durlntc llie last season.

Council Precinct.

Introduction.

The Council precinct includes all the drainage tributary to Golof- nSn aiid Norton bays as far east as the divide between Kwiniuk and Tubiitulik rivers. This is an area of extensive lowlands and flattopped uplands from 800 to 1,000 feet high, together with some mountains from -2.000 to 3,500 feet high. (See map, PI, VIII, in pocket.) A broEtd, gravel -covered plain extends up Fish and Niukluk rivers for 25 miles from tide water and another depressed area, almost surrounded by hills, lies on upijer Fish Riter. The Bendeleben Munu-

Hi

284 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

tains form the northern boundary of the district and the Darby Mountains, a lower group, lie to the southeast. The deposits of these lowland areas have been described under the heading " Gravel-plain deposits " (pp. 86-92), in the section on general geology, and the origin of the basins themselves has been briefly discussed. The flat-topped hills form the dominant topographic type in the district and are the remnants of a partially base-leveled area that was uplifted and later dissected into a system of benches that break the valley slopes and mark erosional surfaces intermediate between the plateau and lowland levels. Most of the precinct drains into Fish River, which heads in the Bendeleben Mountains and empties into Golofnin Sound. Its principal tributary, the Niukluk, in whose drainage basin lie nearly all the placer mines now being operated, joins Fish River from the west about 20 miles from Golofnin Sound.

Geology.

Two larger subdivisions of the bed rock have been recognized in this region, the Kigluaik group being the older and the Nome group the younger. (See geologic map, PL X, in pocket.) The Nome group contains a massive limestone of Silurian age, called the Port Clarence, which has, however, only in part been differentiated on the map from the rest of the terrane. Intrusives are plentiful in the older series and greenstones are found everywhere in association with the rocks of the Nome group. The Kigluaik group occupies a broad eastwest belt in the northern part of the precinct. It consists of darkcolored biotite schists, quartzites, and very highly crystalline limestones interbedded with sills of acidic igneous rocks which have been altered to gneiss. The whole series is again cut by dikes and sills of unaltered granite. Although thase rocks also contain some quartx veins the region underlain by them has not been found to include workable placers.

A broad belt of granite touches the southeastern part of the precinct and has been described by Mendenhall as an intrusive in the metamorphic rocks. This granite is not known to be gold bearing and hence lies outside of the province of the present discussion.

The bed rock of the greater part of the placer-bearing region consists of metamorphic schists and limestones of the Nome group lying south of the Kigluaik Mountains. The schists are of various kinds, including siliceous mica schist, calcareous mica schist, feldspathic chloritic schists, and graphitic schists. The limestones vary in their degree of metamorphism and purity, ranging from moderately altered fossiliferous rocks to marbles and calcareous schists. The

Mendenhall, W. C, Reconnaissances in the Cape Nome and Morton Baj Alaska, in 1900, a special publication of the U. S. Geol. Surrey, IMtt, pp. 2M-90S.

Council Precinct. 235

schists include sills and dikes of basic rocks, whose ieous origin is evident. In many places these appear to shade off into chloritic schists, but this has not been certainly determined.

Within the region here under discussion are severnl areas of limestone correlated with the Port Clarence (see geologic map, PI. X, in pocket) of irregular outline. These rocks vary in character from blue fossiliferous limestone to highly crystalline marbles. While they ire not generally believed to be gold bearing, and the unaltered masses certainlv are not, zones of mineralization are often found at their contact with the schists.

The metamorphic rocks of the Nome group in this region contain numerous small veins and stringers of mineralized quartz and calcite, many of which carry gold, some of it visible but more commonly indosed in sulphide minerals. In a few places the schists contiguous to the quartz veins also carry free gold. In these veins and mineralized zones the placer gold has its source. Copper ores have also been found in some of the veins and veinlets. No veins of either gold or copper large enough for mining have yet developed, but in the northeastern part of the precinct, in crystalline limestone, there is a deposit of silver-bearing galena which was discovered and to a certain extent developed before the placer deposits were known. During the epochs of erosion that have been referi-ed to, great quantities of rock were broken down and carried away, and their gold content, together with other heavy minerals, was left as concentrates in the valley, and bench gravels form the present placer deposits. Most of the placers are of the creek and bench types, though river-bar and gravel-plain deposits have received some attention. No high benches assignable to abandoned drainage systems have yet been discovered.

Developments.

Although colors of gold were found in the gravels of Niukluk River bv members of the Western Union Telegraph survey as early as Iftor), the first discoveries of gold in paying quantities were made in March, 1898, on Melsing and Ophir creeks, tributary to the Niukluk. In 1899 probably $40,000 in gold was taken from the Ophir Crwk placers, but the season of 1900 practically marked the beginning of active mining in the district."

Coimcil, the principal town and recording office, is situated on the north bank of Niukluk River 15 miles from Fish River. Both these breams are navigable for small power as far as Council, but the usual method of freighting supplies is by steamer to White Mountain, at the head of tide water, and thence by A narrow-

Brooks, A. 11., Richardson, (i. B., and Collier, A. J.. Ucconnalssanros in the Cape Jfoa and Norton Bay reRlons, Alnska, In a special publication of the r. S. (t<>ol. nrry, 1901, p. 112.

236 Gold Placers Op Seward Peninsula.

gage railroad leads from Council to the junction of nd Ophir creeks, the latter of which is the most important gold-bearing stream in the precinct.

The placer mines of this region were examined and reported on by the Brooks party in 1900, but by 1903 the operations had been greatly extended and many additional facts bearing on the occurrence of placer gold were gathered. Although auriferous gravels occur on a majority of the streams of the district, the producing placers are confined to Fox River and to Niukluk River and its tributaries, Mystery, Melsing, Ophir, Goldbottom, and Elkhom creeks and Casadepaga River. The total production of gold up to 1903 was betweei $5,000,000 and $6,000,000, but the many undeveloped placers in this field give promise of a greater production in the future. Many lai ditches are under construction, and mining machinery is being rapidly introduced, which will greatly increase the area of profitable mining. When completed the railroad from the mouth of Solomon River to Council will lower the cost of transportation and thereby increase the placer-mining operations.

Description Of Placers. Fish River And Its Eastern Drainage.

Fine colors of gold may be found everywhere on the bars of Fish River, both above and below the mouth of the Niukluk, but up to the present time no successful attempts at mining have been made along the main stream. The eastern tributaries of Fish River have also been so far nonproductive of placer gold, though the first attempts at mining on the peninsula were at the Omalik silver mine, which is located on an eastern tributary near the head of the river.

Fox River.

In the region south of Niukluk River there are a number of small creeks and rivers tributary to Fish River and Golofnin Sound, whidi have received some attention from prospectors, but have as yet produced very little placer gold. This region is marked by a rolling plateau surface, about 800 feet above the sea, in which the river valleys are incised. It is traversed by a well -beaten trail from Council to Solomon River.

Fox River is the only stream in the region south of Council that has been examined in detail by Geological Survey parties. It heads about 20 miles north of Topkok Head, and after flowing northeastward to the Niukluk lowland turns southeastward and skirts the edge of the highland to its junction with Fish River. In the lower 10 miles of its course it has a very sinuous channel filled with sand

Council Precinct. 237

and gravel bars, making the water shallow and navigation for small boats difficult. Above this portion the valley narrows down and the river channel has nearly a straight course. The gradient of the valley from the head of the river to the mouth is very slight. Where the stream is confined by valley walls its fall does not exceed 20 feet to the mile, and below, where it crosses the lowland, the grade is probably less than 10 feet to the mile. The valley of Fox Eiver is broad, with the bed trenched from 50 to 100 feet below the valley floor, leaving a system of benches. The river bed itself is a broad expanse of gravel and sand bars, not entirely covered by water except at times

of freshet.

The bed rock consists of a series of light-gray chloritic micaceous

schists, interbedded with which are limestone and graphitic schists. Sills and dikes of rather massive greenstone are very generally distributed along the creek. The alluvium includes pebbles derived from bed rock, light micaceous sands, and in some places quicksands. Prospecting has not been carried on systematically, and there is little evidence of such work.

Some prospecting has been done near the mouth of I X L Gulch in the margin of one of the many benches common along the Fox River valley. In this bench, which is 50 feet above the river, a hole was sunk 17 feet through the gravel to bed rock, consisting of broken limestone and clay. Colors of gold were found on the bed rock. A pit about 50 feet square in the edge of the bench near this place yielded $150 in gold. The section exposed in this pit shows 3.J feet of muck and soil, and 6 feet of gravel resting upon decomposed schist bed rock, which was pierced through to broken limestone about 11 feet below it. On the surface of the bench, about a quarter of a mile west of the river, there is what appears to be a well-marked old channel about 100 feet above the present river bed. This channel, which can be traced for at least a quarter of a mile, is probably worthy of investigation. Preparations were being made in 1903 for working claims here on a more economical scale with water brought in a ditch from another tributary of Fox River, known as Blue Rock Creek. The plan was to use this water for ground sluicing the muck from the surface, after which the pay gravel could be shoveled into sluice boxes. No successful mining has been done in the creek gravels of the main river bed, though the whole stream has been staked and is held largely by one company.

I X L Gulch is a small tributary which heads about a mile southwest of Fox River. The bed rock is mica schist underlain by limestone, probably a thin lenticular mass interbedded with the schist Above the bed rock the gravels are from 2 to feet deep. In the bed of the gulch near its mouth 2 ounces of gold were taken in 1903

238 Gold Placebs Of Sewabd Peninsula,

from about 4 cubic yards of pay dirt. A layer of muck and soil about 2 feet thick above the pay dirt had been ground sluiced off.

No definite information of the occurrence of placer gold iu other creeks of the could be obtained.

NIl'KLUK KIVEK BASIN.

As has been noted, nearly all the productive placers of the Council precinct are found within the drainage basin of Xiukluk River. Deposits of the river-bar, gravel-plain, creek, and bench types are represented, but nearly all the gold obtained comes from the latter two. The lower course of this river is entrenched in the broad gravel plain of the Niukluk lowland. (See "General geology," pp. C0-G9.) Above this lowland portion the stream flows for some distance in a narrow valley along the sides of which there is a system of benches or terraces. The bed rock consists of the limestones and schists of the Nome and the Kigluaik groups, and the gravels therefore include pebbles of many varieties of rocks — of limestone and schist as well as of greenstone, granite, and vein quartz.

Niuklttx River Proper.

River bars. — Although the first discoveries of gold in Seward Peninsula were 2:)robably made on the gravel bars of Niukluk River and small grubstakes were obtained with rockers from some of tbe richer bars, no systematic attempt to work them was made until the summer of 1003, when the bed of the river for a number of miles was controlled by a company which operated a dredge a short distance below Council.

The gold is well distributed through the bar gravel, but it was found to be somewliat richer near bed rock. There are no data at hand for estimating the gold content of the gravels in any particular place, but the operators near Council report that they carried from 50 cents to $1 to the cubic yard. The gold is, as a rule, bright in color and of a character approaching flour gold. A sample gave 96 colors to the cent. Associated with the gold are many fine par tides of pyrite, magnetite, and garnet. Although some of the goM may have derived from the local Ixd rock, most of it was contributed by the great number of streams which flow iflto Niukluk Kiver, the light flaky gold being easily carried by running water.

The dredge operating near Council was I'eported to have a capacity of about 3,000 cubic yards in twenty-four hours. Gravel was efcrated by buckets on an endless chain, and dumjyed into a sluice bflJ feet wide and 20 feet long, riffled with railroad iron* From tlij

Imx it pEEsed to a grizzly '20 feet long, wliieli wasi constantly shaken. The fine mateniil thus separated was distributed to a of siluice Imxcs having an area of 10 by 24 feet. These sloped off on each side from the center of the boat and emptied into two 20-foot sluices running parallel with the boat and discharging into the river st the stern. The coarse material, sorted out by the grizzly, passed onto an endless belt and was stacked about 40 feet away. Water for the sluice boxes was raised by a centrifugal pump. Except for the raili-oad-iron riffles nsed where the coarse unsorted material was dumped, Australian riffles were used in the uluice boxes, as it was found that the sand packed less in these than in the Hungarian riffles with which the machine was first equipped. Although tliis macliine was not able to penetrate the Ixsd rock to any great depth, loose pieces were often brought up in the buckets. A large amount of black sand was associated with the gold in the riffles and sluice boxes at the clean-up, which showeil about .'iO per cent of magnetite, SO per cent of garnet, 10 per cent of pyrite, and 10 per cent of liuonite from which the gold had to be separated. No scheelite or stream tin is reported. Only one dredge has been used on Niukluk Rirer, and though this machine has demonstrated the possibility of working low-grade bar gravels, it Im probable that only by the most careful management can profits be obtained from gravels of as low gnde as 50 cents a yard.

Diu:ing the summer of 1004 this machine was moved from the bars nwr Council up Niukhtk River to the mouth of Ophir Creek, where aonewhat richer bar gravels have reported, but the result of the operelious there is not known.

Gravel plains. — .Vn attempt was made in 1003 to work a placer in the gravel plain south of Xiukhik River near the point where the dredge was located. The surface of the plain is about 15 feet above high water in tbe river and the excavations show several feet of sandy gravel overhiin by several feet of sandy silt, nmck, and vegetation. A steam shovel was used to dig the gi-avel and dump it into a large juice box tliat was supplied with water by a ditch from Bear Creek. The shovel had a capacity of about S tons of gravel and sand a DHDiite, but the gravel was dumped in large masses into the sluice. and was probably not thoroughly washed before it passed out of the faoxefi. The work could be more economically done by first groimd iluicing the deposits nearly to tbe level of the river. A more liioruugh wasliing of the gravel could be easily obtained by the use of a hopper, from which the gravel could Iw fed into the sluice more gradually. Although the enterprise was not successful and work was suspended before the end of the season, it is evident that the gravels here contain a considerable umount of fine gold.

240 Gold Placers Of Seward 'Peninsula,

Mystery Creek, 5 or 6 miles in length, empties into Niukluk River from the north about 5 miles below Council. It carries from 50 to 200 miner's inches of water and flows in a southerly direction through a wooded valley cut in calcareous mica schist with local thin beds of graphitic siliceous schist. Both of these rocks contain small stringers of quartz. The prevailing dip is to the southeast and in places is as high as 34°. The gravels of Mystery Creek are made up of calcareous mica schist with some vein quartz. The placers are all of the creek type, and are of no great extents

One mile above the mouth of the creek the gravel is about 7 feet thick, but most of the pay is in the lower 3 feet. Nuggets of values up to $0 and $8 have been obtained, but the greater part of the gold is much finer. Part of it is bright and part is rusty, but all is rough and angular. About 2 miles above the mouth of the creek the gold is nearly all coarse and bright.

Most of the mining on Mystery Creek is done by shoveling into sluices, though horses and scrapers have been used on one eUim. The gold was evidently derived from the calcareous mica schist bed rock and its uniformly angular character shows that it has not been transported far from its source. In the schist it probably occurs mainly in the small quartz or calcite veins and blebs. No veins containing gold are known to have been discovered.

On Mud Creek, a small rivulet flowing into Mystery Creek trm the west side, about 2 miles from the mouth, one claim was worked in 1903. Here about feet of muck overlies 3 or 4 feet of angular schist gravel. The bed rock is decomposed calcareous mica schist. Gold is found both in the gravel and to a depth of 3 or 4 feet in crevices of the bed rock. It is very rough, spongy, and somewhat rusty, and is coarse and easily saved.

Kelbiho Creek.

Melsing Creek flows into Niukluk River at Council. It is abort 7 miles long and flows in a southwesterly course. It occupies a broad asymmetrical valley whose western side slopes gently from the creek up to the flat-topped hills, the eastern side rising more abruptly. This creek carries possibly from 100 to 300 miner's inches of water. gradient for the first 4 miles from the creek's mouth is probably over 50 feet to the mile; farther up it increases to more than lOlj feet to the mile. The placers are confined to the creek bed and tij low terraces little higher than the flood plain.

Council Precinct. 241

Gold was discovered on Melsing Creek in 1898 by Libby, Melsing, Mordaunt, and Blake, the four pioneer prospectors of the region, and since that time some mining has been done every season. In the summer of 1900 40 men were employed on the creek near the end of the season." Although no bonanzas have so far been developed on this creek, it has probably yielded grubstakes and wages to many prospectors and miners. It is impossible to estimate closely the amount of gold produced, but it has probably not exceeded $50,000 all told.

The valley of the creek, from the water's edge to the tops of th( liills on both sides, is well wooded with spruce. Some of these trees grow to 14 or 16 inches in diameter and 30 to 40 feet in height, and although not large enough to make first-class lumber, they were whipawed to make the first sluice boxes of the region, and are used as saw logs in a mill at Council.

The country rock on Melsing Creek is largely a gray calcareous mica schist, showing in places very little calcite and in other places passing into limestone. In a low terrace on the north. side of the creek, half a mile above the mouth, there are gravels which have yielded some gold. The workings show the following section :

frrttoii on Mels'niij Crvck une-hulf mile ahorr the mouth.

Vt. In. Sandy innck . 4

Gravel -4

The gold is found in the gravel within a few inches the clay seam. which it is reported there are no values. The smaller pieces of gold are nearly all smooth and bright, but the larger pieces are round and iron stained. In a placer 1 mile above the mouth the gravel ranges in thickness from 18 inches to 5 feet, and the sandy muck above it also varies in thickness. Here also the gold lies on a elay seam, and it resembles that just described, except that it is less inm stained. 1] miles from the mouth of the creek the workings show the following section ;

Section ou Mrlsitif/ t'nrhinihs ttbon' the tnoHth.

Feet.

Moss and muck - - 1

Calcareous mica schist.

Brooks. A. H., Richardson, G. li.. and Collier. A. J., Reconnaissances In the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions. Alaska. In 1900. a special publication of the U 8. Geol. Survey. pp. 112-114.

The pay is confined to llip lower part of the pmvel uni) exteml about IJ feet into tlie ri-elites of the bed rocW.

At the mouth of ItH.sin Creek, which joins Melsin Creek iiiilfi from the luouth, the placer is coiifineil to the creek Ijed aiid flow plain, Hnd the workings show gravel 3 to 4 feet tliick iiimu calcareous mien schist bed rock, (tohl is diitribiited throu tlif gravel, but is more abundant near Iwd rock and has penclrBled ibr crevices to a depth of 12 to 18 inches. Tlie Mverage yk-ld iu jpjbl to the man was reported in 1903 to lie alKiut $50 a day. If we at&mle 4 cubic yards day to the man. the pay gravel on Ihl.s claim RiiM tarn' not far from %12 to the cubic yard. The gold is nioRtlj' cotrx. nuggets as large as a dollar being common. The largusl uiiggnt foul was worth about $10. The nuggets are as a rule well rounded and iron One of the nuggets examined showed n stall hole filled with hydrous iron oxide, prolwbly left by llu* wmtlieriu)! out of an iron-pyrite crystal, and this indicates (he probable occur rence of the gold with pyrite, which is widely disseminated Utnof the schi.sts and limestones of the valley.

Above the mouth of Basin Creek no gold iu paying fjuontftteb' yet been found on either Melsing or Basin creeks and no mtniof Uf been done. The waterworn condition of the gold iil Ibc mouth I'f Basin Creek indicates that it may have been cjirricd for MMm-diMaiiiT. and suggests the possibility of there being other plHct.'rs farther up ilif creek, although the wearing may Ix" due entirely to i-e-sorliiig nr reconcentration of ihe gravels or expijsiintn the jKUinding nf niili'ig jiebbles. No auriferous quart/, veins nv siringers nre in tltis basin.

OPBtK OSEEK.

Ophir Creek is a northern iribulary of N'iukluk River, alwot miles in a direct line alxn-e Council. For iilmut a luihulwtvr n mouth Ophir Creek flows parallel to and within 100 yarcLn of iS' Niukluk. A channel has recently been cut mvli. riiT. " the portage," turning the creek water directly into ihe riv.-r Ti is probably not more than 100 feet alive sea Ifvel. A1h.(. il point the general coui-se of Ophir Ci-eck is and sotilh, uml distance of about S miles it flows in a broad valh-y wiih sloping .iidi's. Above this stretch the valley contract. ii mir canyon. :i miles long, extending to a [wint l;i miles iiImivp tin- ..n:- . (St' TI. y, -1.) The of the valley are for lui---

mantled with talus and gravel deposits to nii elevaliim of u ji

feel above the sen. Within the broad part nf the vulh-y wind*- back and forth with lung, sweephig meandei-s. Inch in the lower retichv-s, m-e incised below the general valley ing projecting spur Ijenches that rise gently from Ihe eu

of the moanders lo the vnlley walls. (Seo hg. 14. p. 247.) The gold of Ophir Creek aiv of the creek nnd bench types.

Although gold was discovered on Ophir Crrek during the summer of 1808, yet in 1900, when the region was first visited by. a party from the United State:- Geological Survey, placer mining was still ill its initial stages." Since 1900 Jevelopments have been rapid and the of gold-bearing gravel have found to lie of large extwit, making the stream second in important-e in Seward Peninsula only to Anvil Creek, and giving it a rank among the first gold proiliieers. In IftOO only a few claims were worked, but in 1!03 the FOtii-e creek fmm the mouth to the head of the canyon had Ijeen prospecteil. Though the immediate creek bed has been mined out. and in -wnic places yielded only moderate* returns, large deiKJsits 'of auriferous gravel have been found in bench-s, and the indications are that they will yield a considerable output of gold.

Ill 1903 more than 1.000 men were employed on Ophir Creek aud its tributaries. The mines are accessible from Council by two wagon rotttls — one up Xiukluk River to the mouth of the creek, and one over th hills to the claims above Dutch Ci'eek. A narrow-gage railroad, 7 miles in length, runs from Council to claim No, 15 Ophir. at the mouth of Dutch Creek.

The bed rock on Ophir Creek, from the month to the head of the canyon. to the Nome group, and consists of limestone which in places has graphitic phases and shades off gradually into graphitic mica schist. Though the strikes and dips of the rocks are variable, tlie prevailing strikes are approximately parallel to the general course of the creek valley and the dips in almost all places where they have liwii observed are to the east at angles ranging from 10° to 90°, the average not far from 45°. The hills along the river rife to 000 nr 8()0 feet and mark a surface of erosioii above which rise domerha|)etl buttes. Most of these buttes consist of limestone in which it is at many places difficult to determine the structure, since the nx-k is so jointed and Assured as to obscure the bedding. The lime- r4aiie of the buttes is apparently similar to that interbedded with the ijchists along Ophir Creek itself. This rock may be thick lenticular masses in the more thinly bedded scliisl.s. or perhaps closely fohied portions of comparatively tliiu limestone beds. There was no opporlimity to settle this question.

In (he schists nnd limestones exposed in the valley many quartz veins, in general occurring as striitgei-s parallel with the bedding or !histosity, have been <)served, and similar quartz veins have been found in the limestone buttes just Assays of the stringers

244 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

show that as a rule they carry small amounts of gold and silver. A stringer several inches thick exposed in the bed rock of a claim at the mouth of Crooked Creek consists of quartz heavily mineralized with pyrite. An assayed sample of this ore yielded 0.06 ounce of gold and a trace of silver to the ton.** Samples were taken near the mouth of Ophir Creek from several small stringers of quartz that sho'wed no mineralization and from the schist contiguous to them. When assayed the quartz showed no trace either of gold or silver, but the schist was found to contain a trace of gold and no silver. Samples from this locality crushed in a hand mortar and panned were found to carry free gold. The prospectors who have searched for quartz veins in the Ophir Creek basin have not infrequently found quartz carrying free gold. Although no deposits of auriferous quartz large enough for mining have yet been found, these small veins and stringers are sufficient to account for the origin of the placer gold.

In the schists and limestones of the lower part of the Ophir Creek basin no rocks of proved intrusive origin have been found in place. The nearest occurrence is a greenstone outcrop on the divide between Warm and Sweetcake creeks.

For 2 miles above the canyon of Ophir Creek no bed rock is exposed, the prevailing formation consisting of Pleistocene gravek The bed rock at the head of the creek consists of the schists, lim stones, and gneisses of the Kigluaik group, with characteristic silt and dikes of granite. The Pleistocene gravels of the upper basin consist largely of materials derived from the Kigluaik group, and some pebbles and bowlders of this kind have been carried down Ophir Creek and are mixed with its gi-avels all the way to the mouth. In the lower portion of the creek such transported pebbles occur in the bench as well as in the creek gravels and have been found at an elevation of at least 100 feet above the creek bed.

The gravels proved to carry gold values occur from the mouth of Ophir Creek to the head of the canyon, a distance of about 12 mil© in an air line, or following the bends of the creek probably not less than 20 miles. It is probably true that throughout this length there is no part of the creek-lxd gravel which was entirely barren of placer gold. Above the canyon the bed rock lies at a greater depth and no gold deposits that have warranted development have yet been found, although considerable prospecting has been done. Of the tributaries' Sweetcake, Dutch, Crooked, and Oxide creeks have been producer* of gold. As in many places along Ophir Creek the stream-bed and lunch deposits merge, they will lx described together, beginning* the mouth.

'Assay by K. K. Burllngame & Co., Denver, Colo. A88ay by K. H. Officer & Co., Salt Lake City, UUh.

N'enr the month the twd nn-k Ups nt ransulpnililp ileplh, iiml \inlil llip wmei-s were dhcrteil it wa.s not practicable tii niiiic the gravels ti Ihp cret'k bod. Colors of gold are plentiful in these gravols, and it has been estimated that in some places they carry as niiich as $3 or $i in gold to the cubic yard. The gold is finer than that found farther upstream. In the summer of 1!)03 no mining was in progress, bnt small grubstakes had previously been taken out with rockers. It is lielievt-tl that the whole ai-ea Imtween the old bed of Ophir Creek and the ytwth bank of Xiukluk River will be found rich enougli to pay for dredging

The Ophir Creek valley for one-fourth mile above the portage is from 300 to 350 feet wide. On the west side, 30 to .0 feet above the eric there is a bench, which rises gently toward the we.-it and oontitiueM up the creek to the mouth of Sweetcake Creek, a distance of about half a mile. About one-fonith mile from the portage the creek ka-sheen confined to a ditch along the west valley wall, and here excavations in the old creek bed showed 4 feet of sand and nick nnderhiit by fi feet of anriferons gravel lying upon lied rock. In an upper pit this bed rock consists of blue clay, probably derived from decompftwl graphitic limestone or calcareous scliisl. in a lower pit limestone WIS exposed. Although the horizontal extension of the pay gravel hul not been determined, it is believed that it covers pnictically the whole of the valley floor and has a width of 300 to 400 feel. The bed rock where exposed has a very irregular surface, with some deep holes thtt have Id be bailed out before the gold can be obtained. Iiere tlicbetl rock is made up of schist it is soft and can readily be shoveled itUiitlie sluK-e boxes. The limestone is fissured, and the placer gold U'! penetrated along the crevices, but it has not been found to mine it to a depth of more than 1 or feet. Though the basis for Kimale is indefinite, it is probable that the gold tenor in these grav- (Inwill average about $5 to llie cubic yard.

The mine excavations at this place are almnt 10 feet lielow the cmi and the seepage water collects in a snnip, from which it by means of a gasoline engine. Three lines of l'_'-incli fJaiw boxes were used in each pit. Usually two men shoveled the pij dirt from the bottom of the pit to a table nljout S feet above tbfpit Quor. and a third man, standing on this table, shoveled the dirt (Hid the sluice boxes.

About a qiiarter of a mile above this place, near the mouth of Swwtrake Creek, the gravel appears to lie less extensive, for liniealont' crops out on the left bank. No mining was in progress here in 190a.

The p-avels on the bench :100 feet west of Ophir Creek and south of ilm mouth of Sweetcake Creek have lieen mined with wiiter brought

246 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

jii a ditch from the latter stream. Here the following section was Jiieasured :

Sectiofi of bench grareln on Ophir Creek near mouth of Siceetcake Creek.

Feet.

Brown sandy soil 3

Clravel 2

Decomposeil mica schist.

The gravel is made up of schist fragments mixed with rounded pebbles of granite, vein quartz, quartzite, and greenstone similar to the wash of Ophir Creek.

At a point about a mile above the mouth of Sweetcake Creek the valley of Ophir Creek widens and the stream flows in a succession of deeply incised meanders. (See fig. 14.) The placers of the creek bed, which apjDcar to have been mined out, are shallow and not more than 100 to 200 feet in width. Several large forces of men were at work mining gravels that occur in a spur bench covering an area of about 30 acres, almost surrounded by the meanders of Ophir Creek. This Ixnch slopes gently down from the west side of the valley to the apex of the meanders, where it stands about 20 feet above the creek. The section is as follows:

Section of bench grave or, Ophir Creek 1 mile above Stceetcake Creek,

Ft. In. Blaclv loam 3

Brown soil witli some squid and a few iiebblos 2

Sand and jjravel 10

Broken and fissured limestone IkhI roclv.

The gravel is generally not well sorted, but contains angular pies mixed with well-rounded material ranging from fine sand to bowlders one-half foot in diameter. The pebbles, many of which ttt much weathered, consist of schist, vein quartz, limestone, and some pieces of coarse-grained greenstone. The gravel layer is reported to yield from 10 to 15 cents to the pan, which would be approximately the equivalent of $15 to $20 a cubic yard. At the time the claim wis visited nine men were shoveling into a 10-inch slice box and tb tailings were \mng removed by a team of horses and a scraper.

The gold is bright in color. One nugget worth $3.75 had beB found, but nearly all the gold is fine and flaky. The limestone W rock is broken and fissured and along the fissures has weathered to such an extent that its upper consists of large, more angular residual The pay dirt penetrates between the bowldei-s and in some places has been worked to a depth of 2 or J feet.

anolhpi' locality on this n pit slinwpd 1 fool of moss aud suil resting about A feet of gravel anil sand. Here the pay panel was being shoveled into sluice boxes and the tailings dumped the edge of the bench into the stream lied. Near by about li es of the beni'h had been ground sluiced, leaving in the pit about 3 ffet of concentrated gravel. .V section here showed H fwt of brown sandy clay and moss resting upon about feel of gravel, [u some of the bench workings a considerable number of granite ind other pebbles of distant origin were mixed ivith the gravels; li others oiily pebbles of local origin were seen. This is a fair sample )f a number of the bench deposits that are mined along Ophir [Irwk. For H miles above these workings the only mining irried on at the time of visit was on a small scale, and was confined k) the creek bed proper. The bench gravels not opened np Ind it is not known whether they are auriferous. About 4 miles from its mouth Ophir Creek winds back and forth

i its valley to such an extent that a ditch cra'ises the stream four tmes within a mile. Between these meanders are bench deposits of gnvel similar to that described above. An account of one of these will suffice. A meander of the creek cliannel includes a bench of ibmit 20 acres lying l.'> or 20 feet alive the water on the left bank. Bed rock lies at the surface near the valley slope, but at the other end rilhe meander the surface is only slightly above the ci-eek W. Tile nature of the deposit and its relation to the meanders are Aowii d viagra ni mil ti (ally in fig. 14. A section was ineasiirej as ddlcnvs:

Hrctiiin tif tn-arb ginvFlu nn Ophir frrrk ) mil-n

Tundra, mncfc. nnrt snll

Paj travel

Bvd rcK-k. iiarllj I

mill iiartly wtilxl.

The goM has ix'ttptrntod the irt'vices ui iho IhI rock lo an iiiiki dtjplh. the limit tn which it is iiiiiiod k-iiifi; .Ictcrniiiii'tl by thi' fiwi (f extraction. The pit was drained bv n gosolinc jHimp that nii!*<l ihr water from the sump at one side of the workings. Two slriufpt of sluice boxes were used, and the fravel was HhovelwJ Hrst to tsble sml then reshoveled into the boxes.

About one-half mile above this point, or 4J miles above the portiige, is a bent'h of somewhat diiferenl contour, not beiti outlined bv meanders of the stream, which here flows nearly strut|;lil. Tluii bencli is on the east side and probably about SO feet above the crwk bed. An area about 250 feet square had been ground sluiced in UHW- The section exposed shows a thin layer of matter resting; upon about li feet of silt or light-brown soil above the pay gi-uvel. the full thickness of whicli was not disriosed, nor was the i-ock m- po-'d. This pay streak consists of sand and gravel, containing bii abundance of rounded granite pebbles from 1 lo S inches in dinmpler and many rounded pieces of .schist, all much decompnseil. The niiliing method employed was as follows: A strong iilream of waler flawed through a sluice box, about '2 feet wide, which was set in the gi-oundi on a level with the surface of the pay streak. The pay dirt wi* carried to the sluii'e boxes by a number of whicli completal', their circuit by passing the lower end of the sluice Imx and scraptl, away the tailings.

The hill rises ra ther steeply above this bench and at an elevation i. about 120 feet above the creek there is another deposit of grand Of the pocket-bencli type. Of this deposit an area 300 feet square hslr been ground sluiced off tn an average depth of li feet. At one plM* 7 feet of nick and soil were observed overlying 4 feet of gravel lIlA' rested upoji 2 feet of decomposed gray calcai"eous mica schist conuining some gold. The gold is fine, but round, and may lie descrilied an shot gold." It is easily caught in the tJuice boxes.

About 6 miles above the portage the creek is entrenched lo n depth of only a few feet, the creek-bed gravels merging with tlnw of the teiTBces, For a mile or more above there was much mitting in progress, in which probably more than -'lOO men were employed. .l the lower end of this strip a pit feet long. IW feet wide, niul It feet deep was examined. Here 2 to (i feel of sandy muck and wil rested upon 12 to lf> feet of well-st rati tied and some cross-Itedddl gravel. The gravel containetl many well-niunded pebbles and ders of granite up lo 8 inches in diameter. The bed rock wafi ttone with stmie (hiri Iwds of schist. The lime-stone was weal n ])penetrated

'irntcd r

lined depth. In schist bed rock, however, the gohi bax ntti \ti

I- tlia

-V quarter of a mile nliovc lliis pninl ii soDinn whs measureil slmwiiig '2 feci of iiini'k tinil soil tiiidi'i'liiiii by 1: feel of giavol i.'Oiitnitiiii<; weil-roiindfd pebbles of schist. liinestoiK'. and fri"anite. mixed witli yellow or bmwii sand. The limestone bed rock it* mined to a depth of 4 to fi feet, and some holes have been tliig to an even greater depth. The deepest reached open crevices filled with water, in which there was a. slow current. It is reported thai the sinking of the water into Tinderground channels on Ophir Creek has decrcaseil since its bed has been filled with silt from the mining operations, and that the >treani now can-ies more water than it formerly did.

Aboiil tU miles dtmve the excavations .show from 5 to 14 feel of gravel re.sting npon a broken limestone \ml ro<'k. Three-fonrthfi of a mile to the north K feet of sand and muck rest upon about 1:J feet of gravel, of which the upper 2 or 3 feet carry very liulegold. A section IJ miles further upstream shows about 1 foot of ani-k and soil over 6 feet of gravel that lies on a graphitic calcui-eous aehisl. This schistose rock on decompasitton yiehls a clay called iijOie miners " hard pan," into which gold does not penetrate.

These deposits extend along the creek for nearly '1 miles and JB'lude a pay streak ranging from 4 to '20 feet in thickness and probably from idOO to 1,200 feel in width. It seems probable that this pay streak underlies nn ai-ea of iit ieusl IGO acres. It has been impossible to obtain the fads necessary to determine even ivpproximilely the average gold content of this gravel, but in some places it b known Imve lieen very rich. It seems conservative to estimate itic average at between $3 and $'t to the cubic yard.

In this part of Ophir Creek nearly all the mining is done bV DKhanical devices of various kinds, including several track and iDctine .systems (PI. V, fl), derrick systems, and hydraulic eleviiloi-M. Swh devices have been described in detail by Pnrington."

Above this large area of rich gi'avel (phir Creek flows over a compmljvely broad bed bordered by flood plains, making the total width (if the valley floor over 300 feet. In a few places along the margins [he flood plains there are benches, some of which are rock cut and (itbeni covered with gravel. In ulisolnte elevation they ilh the high pocket bench along the lower part of the valley, but iwonly 30 feet above the creek bed. On the east side one of the.se bwiches haw iieen .opened up. exposing l'd rock about 10 feet above llfK greek. This bed rock forms the rim of a channel parallel with IJpbir Creek. It is imported that the rich gold-bearing gravel lay ou lop of tlie rim and not in the old channel. The section shows -" or 4 fefi muck and clay, below which is 10 feel of gravel containing liehbles of granite, resting upon a pay streak of gravel 4 or 5 feet

250 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

thick, chiefly made up of of local origin. Along its margin some of the pay streak was strongly cemented.

In 1903 no work was being done for about a mile above this point, and the next working mines were found near the mouth of Crooked Creek. Here terrace gravels on the left bank 10 to 15 feet above the creek were being exploited. The led rock of the deposit is probably little above the present creek. xV section showed 2 or 8 feet of muck overlying 5 or G feet of gravel, which rested upon calcareous schist. The gravel was being washed down by a hydraulic giant to a hydraulic elevator. After the gravel was stripped the bed rock was cleaned by hand to a depth of 1 foot. Mining was also in progress . at the mouth of Crooked Creek and is described in the account of that stream (p. 252).

For about 4 miles above Crooked Creek there was no mining in 1908, though some of the gravels doubtle&s carry gold. In the canyon. 8 miles long, whose lower end is a mile above Crooked Creek, the creek bed has an average width of 100 feet and contains shallow deposits of gravel, in which very little mining has been done. A characteristic view of this canycm is given in PL V, -.1.

On the left bank of the creek, near the upper end of the canyon, a small body of gravel is exposed on a lunch possibly 20 feet above the water. Here a cut shows 5 feet of muck and soil, resting upon 2 to 8 feet of pay gravel. The bed rock is calcareous mica schist, some of it graphitic. Mining was done by stripping the muck by hand and then shoveling the pay gravel into sluice boxes. No estimate of the gold content of the pay streak was obtained, though it must have yielded at least wages to the seven or eight men employed. About one-half mile above this point the valley of Ophir Creek merges with the gravel plain of the upper Fish River lowland. So far as known no mining has been done above this point, but there has been some prospecting, and the claims all the way to the head of the creek are held by annual assessment work. The gravel deposits of the lowland . consist mostly of pebbles derived from the mountains to the north, a region not to auriferous, and it does not seem likely that workable placers will be found in them.

8Weet0Ake 0K£1X

Sweetcake Creek, a tributary to Ophir Creek from the west a mile above the portage, is about 8 miles long. Near its head the creek flows through a narrow valley incised in the upland, but it widens out below, and near its mouth a flat bench already described (p. 245) separates it from Niukluk River.

Gold was discovered on Sweetcake Creek on August 12, 1898, S. E. King, N. S. Vestal, Charles Phillips, Tom Baer, and Nicholi

Council Precinct. 251

Credel, and what was probably the'fii'st successful placer mining in the precinct was begun there. About $30,000 is said to have Ixen taken in that year from one claim. The pay streak was found to be confined to a narrow strip along the creek bed. The following section as measured near the mouth of the creek:

Section on Stccetcake Creek near mouth.

Feot.

Fine mioaeeous sand 5

Gravel and sand 2

Bed rock exposed 1

The gravels contain much mineralized quartz and calcite, and the gold was formed in a layer made up of angular pebbles from the immediate bed rock. Average pans taken on bed rock ran from 25 to 50 cents and a $9 nugget was the largest found. By 1903 the richest gravels on this creek had been exhausted, and little, if any, mining was in progress. It is reported, however, that there is still considerable gold left along the creek, which will be reclaimed on the completion of the ditch now in construction from the head of the Ophir Creek canyon.

Dutoh Avd Skowball 0Eekk8.

Dutch Creek joins Ophir Creek from the northeast about 5 miles from the portage, in the center of the most extensive mining operations on the main creek. It forks about 2 miles up, the west branch being called Snowball Creek. Both forks rise on the surface of a plateau about 800 feet above the sea, on the south side of the Fish River lowland. They have not been studied, but it is reported that the heads of their valleys are incised in gravel deposits resembling ihose of the Niukluk lowland. Xot much gold has been produced on Dutch Creek, though there has been some mining, and prospectors I'eport that colors of gold are to be foimd both in the creek and on benches. A bench resembling one on the headwaters of Crooked Creek, described below, has been located near the source of Snowball Creek.

Okooked Okisk.

In 1003 there was more mining on Crooked Creek than on any other tributary of Ophir Creek. Crooked Creek has a length of about 3 iniles and a general southeasterly coui-se, joining the main stream 8 miles from the portage. Two small tributaries, known as Balm of Qilhead and Albion Gulch, enter Crooked Creek from the south- V"est about 1 and 2 miles, respectively, from its mouth. The valley stalls, which are covered with talus and gravel, rise gently from 'lie creek floor to altitudes of 200 or 300 feet, where limestone crops

out. ami Ihp ascent steepoiis. The plaifi-s arc geiiWHllv wmfinwliniii' creek 1h'(1 iind the iinmodiate floml plain, but some oenir in Vwiiciiw near llie head of the ereek.

Tht' flooil-plain dftposit at the month of Crooked Creek wideiaoul and merges with that of Ophir Creek. The {ravels from tlio two -sources ai-e readily distingnishe.il, as those of Ophir Creek coniiii" granite pebbles, whereas those from Crooked Creek arc mile up entirely of limestone and schist. The gravels of Ophir Creek eitiaul about +00 feet iip the valley of Crorjked Creek, and the dppn?.it Iitiis wider than that which belongs wholly to Crooked Cre'k. It i- said (hat the limits of the Ophir Creek gravels are marked by a ilitinet rise iti the rock which has been channeled by Crooktnl Crwk The bed rock is graphitic calcareooR schist, mnch of it tnineraTuiNi' and stringers of vein quaitz carrying graphite were oliserTOtl At i number of places. One of these is a mineralized belt 12 feel wiiif. which strikes northwest. In this impregnated zone vein qiiarti i- associated with pyi-ile. It is reported to assay as high ah $8 to tin' ton, but a spetnnien obtained by Mr. Collier showed only VCtam. gold and silver." At the lower end of this claim the pay streff a width <if feet, but one-fourth mile above it narrows dovnto about (S feet. It has been worked ont and no section could be nred, but it.s average thickness is reported lo have alKml fi*'. The gold tenor of Ihe gravel mined is estimated at $4.50 to the nilfic

The gold is comparatively coarse and the pieces well ronndwl. Some are bright and others iron stained, in the uluiee boss found heavy concentrates consisting principally of gurnet and magnetite, but including some topaz. It is impossible by ordinary meaiif lo separate all of the gold from this concentrate, for afli-r nil Ibf apparent free gold has been removed it still contaiiLs from 40 lo cents to the pouml. An assay of some of these com-entraUw S0.4 onnces of gold and 1 1 ounces of silver per ton." In these conW' trade.s the gold is probably contained in limonite. an niterattw' product of pyrile. The pay streak along Crooketl Creek from tl*-' end of this claim is in the main not more than d-t fwt wMk iind Ihe e.\cnvntion along it shows it to lx> nearly .straight. AU>'i' Ihrtr-fourths of a ndle up the creek the pay streak is dO fw* ffi'lfantl the swtion who's 6 feet of black mucky cJay. 2J feet of n-ll"" sandy clay. -J of black clay mixed with broken limestone, nstiw upon hchifitose lime.'itom'. Tlie gold is found in the lower black els)' and yelkiw sandy clay.

AIkhiI li miles alKive the motilli of the creek the pay sirciik from l.">0 to I'tH) feet wide and the kni rock U calcarcou!- mici mIu' Imiuedialcly alive the bed rock there are many linit'slime

y

., Bough 60Wlder= In The Pay Stream Of A Puacer Mine On Crooked Cree

m

.s

NING WITH HOBSES AND SCSAPERl; '

Council Pbecikct.

appear lo have renclied their present position by a landslide til the side of the valley. These limestone bowlders are of largi? mid a derrick is required to move them. <8ee PI. VI, .1.) Here pn V rit cvnk re-sts either on a yellow elay above the schist or directly antS ii> Mrhist. Very little work was in progreas in 1903 above place nnd the creek wns not examined,

iJyvt? Albion Gnlch the valley of Crooked Creek broadens out

, n oni|>aratively wide basin and the slopes on the side of the

gy very {feiitle. Between Albion Gulch and the main

Ljj iif C'riKikfd Creok there is u broad bench, nearly level in

-(.es Imt-generally sloping gently to the southeast, on the surface

whifli -avels and sand have Iwen found at a great many phices.

iwetiiig: had not in 15103 gone far enough to determine definitely

upVniitrs of Ibis gravel deposit, though it extends from

. iiioutli of Albion C.idch iind covers the whole hillside to the

idliwost for nearly half ii mile: its upper limit is marked by u

lit that extends from ii |xint near the head of Albion Gulch

norlliP to Crooked Creek.

Prosiect holes have leen sunk in many place-and in all of lliem jdloTS of gold have tieen found, while in a few llie gi-uveis contain niSicient gold to warrant mining. One o|)en cut showed 7 feet of yel- Idv nnd Idue sandy clay, containing jiebhles of quartz and schist, resting "I*" " nearly flat fltjor of limestone. In another prospect the forii lo the northwest and appears to lie the rim of an old channel, Concentrated gi-avel taken from a space that had been ground Jiiired yiehled 2 cents in bright angidar gold to Ihe pan. On iJn-lffl-sis of l.")0 pans to the cubic yard, this is equivalent to alxtiit $;i ingoUl a cubic yard. Between the point-where this gold was obtained tlulCrookeii Ci-eek a hole luts lieen sunk to a depth of 8:J feet willi- Tvucliing bed rock. The .shaft pas.sed through sand and gmvel Iwis, wine of which were deemed to low-grade pay streaks.

has not gone far enough on this bench to determine ibe origin of tlw depo-sits. The fact that the pebbles and the gold at migiilar jxiints toward u very local source for all the material. Ill *irie places, however, the deposit apjwared to Iw distinctly waterhid, It seems probable that the gi-eater part of the material was ijerivc*! the decomposition of the Iwd rock almost in place, but (Iiir*e decomposition products have bt'cn in part sorted hy water. In J hvr claims the surface deposit of the bench has Ijeen ground slniccil and the gravels underneath shoveleil into sluice boxes. Water is tvHight in a ditch from the head of Ci-looked Creek and also nillerted trrnn Ihe seepage of the hillside, but the supply is insufficient for jniniiig purpoeee.

254 Gold Placers Of Seward Pek Insula.

Balm of Gilead Gulch, which enters Crooked Creek from the west about 1 mile from its mouth, is only one-half mile long. Some work done in exposed a section of 5 feet of brown soil resting upon 2 to 4 feet of broken limestone that gradually became more solid in depth. Gold occurs here from the surface down, but is richest in the crevices of the limestone. The gold is rough and angular, with sharp corners. Three or four men were employed and the gravel was washed in sluice boxes, which were supplied for a few hoiirs each dav with a small sluice head of water collected bv a dam acrofis the gulch above.

Albiof Otjlok.

Albion Gulch, which enters Crooked Creek from the west side about H miles from its mouth, is about three-fourths of a mile long and flows across the strike of a series of schists and limestones. Tlie gravels of this gulch are auriferous throughout its course. Near the mouth an exposed section revealed 3 feet of soil overlying 3 feet of gravel, resting upon limestone; the gravel consists of pebbles derived from the immediate bed rock. The claims along this gulch were worked by stripping the soil and muck from the top, either by horses and scrapers or by hand, and then shoveling the gravel into sluice boxes.

Ooldbottom Orssk.

Goldbottom Creek joins Niukluk River from the north about 9 miles above Council. It is about 10 miles long and drains an area of about 50 square miles. Its floor is comparatively flat and from to 1,000 feet wide, and the valley slopes rise more gently on the western than on the eastern side. The stream has a grade of about 100 feet to the mile and at its mouth carries about 1,000 inches of water. AAarm Creek, which joins Goldbottom Creek H miles from its mouth, is the largest tributary and at present the only one on which mining is in progress.

Goldbottom Creek is reached from Council by trail along the Ninkluk, but most of the are towed up the Niukluk in flatboats to the mouth of the creek, whence they are hauled to the claims in wagons. Though mining was begun on this creek as early as 1900. the total output is small.

The rock is green and gray schist with interbedded, crushed, and crumpled limestcmes, which in general strike a little west of north and dip to the east : below the mouth of Warm Creek the strike is east of north. Many coarsely granular pebbles and bowlders of greenstone occur in the giuivels of the creek and seem to have brought in from the west. Fine-textured greenstones outcrop at tb mouth of Warm Creek. The schists contain numerous veins an

Council Pkecinct. 255

senses of quartz, both parallel to the schistosity and cutting across t at various angles. Many of these are mineralized with pyrites and )ther sulphides, Tbut no samples have been assayed by the Survey.

The placers are confined to the creek bed and flood plain, and only :wo claims were in operation in 1903. One of these, near the mouth )f Warm Creek, had been worked since 1900. A section here shows ) to G feet of fine gravel resting upon decomposed chlorite schist. The values are contained in the lower 2 feet of gi*avel and about 1 toot of the schist bed rock, which are passed through the sluices. The lld is coarse, well rounded, and mostly bright, though some of the pieces are stained with iron oxide. There aie not many nuggets, and tiie largest was valued at $G. The concentrates consist of garnet, hematite, and ilmenite, with some scheelite in small rounded white grains. In mining a sluice box 2 feet wide is used, into which the gravel is dumped by horse scrapere, as shown in PL VI, B.

On a claim near the head of the creek about 2 feet of soil and muck were removed by hand and about 3 feet of gray mica-schist gravel was shoveled into the sluice box. The gold is fine and angular. Vlthough no other claims were in ojeration, a large amount of pros- |)ecting has been done in the neighborhood and colors of gold have been obtained at many places.

Wabh Crsbx.

W'ann Creek, the principal tributary of (ioldbottom Creek, joins it from the east side to about miles above the Niukluk. It is about miles long and occupies a V-shaped valley that gradually widens from its head to its mouth. It carries possibly 60 inches of water.

Supplies for the plac*er miners which lie in the upper part of the valley are hauled from Council, a distance of about 8 miles, by a trail crossing the hills from the mouth of Ophir Creek. All the placer deposits yet discovered are of the creek type.

The bed rock, which is limestone and schist, with some greenstones, has in most places an easterly dip. Mineralized quartz veins occur at a number of places along the creek. Near the mouth of the ciHHk there are two quartz veins, one about 3 feet wide and the other about 1 foot wide, striking N. 30° E. and standing nearly vertical. These veins cut a gray siliceous mica schist near its contact with a gnnMione mass. They show little mineralization and no sampK* was taken for assay. The creek gravel has all been derived from rocks exposed within the drainage basin.

The workings show a thin layer of muck and moss overlying alniut J feet of barren gravel, below which some gold is found in the crevices of the weathered bed rock. In places the lower foot of the gravel aliso carries gold.

256 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

Mining was begun on this creek in 1900, and though no b have been found and the distribution of the gold seems rather lar, yet many claims have yielded fair profits, and the entire is probably about $100,000.

Most of the gold is rough and iron stained, and some of it black. One nugget, worth $45.10, at $16 jjer ounce, was 1902 ; and one worth $12.33 in 1903. The concentrates contaii ite, scheelite, magnetite, garnet, and some hematite and ru sample of these concentrates, from which the free gold had 1 tracted by panning, was assayed for the United States Ge Survey, yielding 22.40 ounces of gold and 4.20 ounces of silva ton." This result is suggestive, as Warm Creek heads near Creek, from which similar rich concentrates are obtained.

It is reported that a number of claims near the mouth of t have been bought by a that purposes to work then dredge. The gravel deposit is several hundred feet wide anc to be from () to 9 feet thick ; the bed rock is mainlv a soft mic but there is also some limestone. The weathered surface of tl could easily cut by a dredge, but to obtain the gold in the li would probably be more difficult.

Camp Greek.

Camp Creek flows into the Niukluk from the south about below Goldbottom Creek. Several claims were worked on th in 1904. The auriferous gravel is from 50 to 100 feet wide ai 3 feet thick, with an overburden of about 3 feet, and is said from 75 cents to $1 a cubic yard. Most of the mining was the shoveling-in process, but one claim was hydraulicked wit vas hose carrying water under a 70-foot head.

Elxhorn Creek.

Elkhorn Creek, a small stream which joins the Niukluk f south about 5 miles above Ophir Creek, is incised in a broad bordering the river. Its trench ranges from 150 to 500 feet i Mining here in 1900 and the placers were then exam Uichardson, who reported as follows : "

the iiiouth of the crock 2A feet of jrravel ovorUe inehos of cla> iiittp*at<(l Ih'cI rock. It is reporttMl by miners that the pay streak is i and that the average yield of pans is <vnts. The bench near the nio bnt has not Ihhmi The bed rwk is mica schist, ini with limestone, and the strike is at right angles to the course of th with almost vertical dip. giving favorable conditions for concentraMoi

"Assay by E. E. Burlingame & Co., Denver, Colo.

" BrookM. A. n., UichiirdHon. <t. R., nnd Collier, A. .!., ReconnalnMiices In Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900, a special pubHcatloB ot the I Survey, 1901, p. 110,

Couhcil Pbecihct.

e golil Is medium eoorso iinil brlglii yellow Id color. Some very eoorse gold

tHnn [ouikI stiiinetl wltb lrn. The vera tiBsay shows its value to be

QuatU la orteii tound atUti'hed to the placer gold, and one

t WBB attached lo a piece of mica Hchlst. This goes to show that it la or

One nugget worth JKi baa been found and several worth from S13

Since IJKK) tlif placers for uboiit half a mil? have leen entirely exid. but farther up the creek work is still in progre;* both in the bed and on the benches. It is estimated that the total prodnc- n of Ihe creek up to date has U'cn from $110,000 to $120,000.

Casasefaoa Bivzr.

tissRdepuga River," the largest southern branch of the Niukluk, t R length of about 30 miles and a general northeasterly coui"se. IB writers have had no opportunity to examine this basin ami t following notes are ivmipiled from the published report of A. H. iks " and from additional data kindly furnished by C. W. Puring- p and Sidney Paige, who made a hasty trip through Ihe Casade- Valley in 1!104. The gradient of ihis liver does not exceed 13 or 14 feet to the e and from its mouth to a within 2 miles of the head of its

. tributary the whole fall is not more than 400 feet. The linage area is targe and the stream is navigable for small bouts i canoe-s for a distance of about 15 miles. The upland in which i Cosadepaga Valley is incised ranges in elevation from 800 to Kn feet. The bed rock of the whole basin consists of the linie- ) and schi.sts of the Nome group, including many veins and of quartz, some of which are known to be auriferous.

I none of these yet dis<'over'cd are large enough to mine, they Kaniple to account for the origin of the placer gold in the basin. The river occupies a broad and deeply gravel-filled valley, in the or of which the present stream bed is trenched to a depth of 30 to I feet, leaving well-marked gravel terraces and benches through irly the whole length. In the lower part of the valley the stream Beat to bed rock through the gravel deposits in only a few places, t in the headwaters region Ihe gravels overlie broad rock-cut icheti on Imth banks. Aiiboagii the gravels of the river Ihh! undoubtedly contain condtrabie gold, it has prolwibly not been successfully extracted, both

i of the volume of water and the slight grade of the river pHom. The placers that have ojwrated up to the present time e in the small tributary sli-eams at points where they cut the gravel

15IM— Boll. ;j2s-ii>

258 Gold Placebs Of Seward Peninsula.

terraces and benches. These are creek placers that have derived most : of their metallic contents by reconcentration from the benches and terraces. The gravels of the benches are auriferous, but their tenor does not appear to be high enough to mine under the present cost of labor and supplies. There is a well-marked terrace 30 feet above the river bed and there are traces of others up to altitudes of 600 feet. The following is quoted from Brooks's report already cited:

The Koksuktapaga [Casadepaga] was first prospected in 1898 by Mordannt, Libby, Nelson, and Blake. These pioneers are known as the Big Four, fron whom the largest tributary of the Koksuktapaga receives its name. Clainui ai far up as Goose and Quartz creeks were located in 1888, but most of this staking on the Koksuktapaga and its tributaries was done in 1899. Quarti, Boulder, Dixon, and Spruce creeks are reported to have yielded a few thousand dollars in 1890. This was taken out in the course of prospecting rather tban in systematic mining.

In 1900 there was a general delay in getting into the country*, and later oa the low water, consequent to the dry season, delayed transportation of snpplic& In the fall, but a short time after sluicing bad begun, floods washed away manj dams, ditches, and sluice boxes. The season of 1900 must regarded chieflj as a period of further prospecting. It is expected that the actual possibilities of the country will be more cleaijy shown in 1901. The output of the Koksuktapaga region for 1900 is estimated to be $15,000. This has been taken mostly from the tributary streams, as little mining has done on the main river. ♦ ♦

Dawson Gulch joins the river nearly opposite Big Four Creek. The 30-foat bench of the river valley across which the gulch flows carries colors. On the mica-schist bed rock, which was reached by test pit, fine gold is found aaaociated with garnet

Several gulches on the east side of the creek between Big Four and Dixon creeks were reported to give good prospects. Of these Thorpe Gulch, opposite Dixon Creek, was being worked. Four men had dug a ditch about 40 feet \om by 4 feet deep in the bed of the gulch, which is a channel across the terrace of the Koksuktapaga. Bed rock was not reached. Mica schist, graphitic qoiirts schist, and limestone are exposed at the head of the gulch. The gold is fine and is associated with quartz and juagnetite. The claim was reported to be paying small wages.

Dixon Creek was dry in July and no work was being done on it A dain near its mouth is re|)orted to have yielded a few thousand dollars in 1899. Tbe workings were at the base of the terrace in creel channel. Massive gray crystalline limestone caps Mount Dixon, Wrth of the creek. Below the limestone is mica schist carrying small quartz veins.

Dry Gulch Is a small channel incised In the terrace of the main valley. No measure was obtained of the thickness of the terrace gravels, but It may reach 50 feet. The workings in the terrace have reached a depth of 8 feet, and colors have been found from the grass down. The gold is usually flue; one $2 nugget was obtained. Pans are said to average 3 cents.

An Inifjortant consideration relative to the gold resources of the Koksuktapaga is the fact that the gold of Dry Gulch and similar streams is not found on bed rock, but octnirs in the gravels of the terrace and is usually concentrated on clay seams. These gravels are said in many places to carry 3 centfi to the pan. If this proves to be the case, the ample water furnished by th? nuilQ river would offer good for li>'draulic mining.

Council Precinct. 259

At the time of Mr. Kiobard80ii*s examination tlio lower valley of Spruce Creek as buried iu a remnant of ice of the previous winter and no work was beinj? )ne. It was reported that 40 or 50 ounces of gold were taken from this creek

Some development was made on Creek during but in the lower irt of the creek bed rock had not been reached. Pans are said to average 5 mts. The adjacent country rock is quartz-nniscovite schist and grapliitic aartz schist. This creek seems to have ample water for sluicing at all times. Goiwe Creek, which Joins the Koksuktapaga opiwsite the moutli of reek, was dr>' in July. Mining ofxjrations were going on, however, to be ready the fall rains. Gravel is from 4 to 8 feet thick. The lower 2 to feet sually carrj* values, and pans are said to run from 2 to 5 cents. Quartz Creek u tributary of Goose Creek. The gravel is about li feit thick and is said to verage 8 cents to the pan. Mr. Richardson saw one pan taken from ix-k which yielded 80 cents. The gold is flat and coarser than Goose Creek gold, lint receipts give its value at $18.00 an ounce. The concentrates from sluices urry much garnet and magnetite. Bed rock is quartz-muscovite schist witli bin-bedded limestone.

A mass of ice averaging 10 feet high filled the moutli of Canyon Creek and

xtended up its bed for a mile. The lower c*ours'c of the creek lies in the river

?rrace, through which it has cut its valley into the quartz-mica schists. About

miles from its mouth some work has been done, ex|>osing o feet of gravel on

ed rock.

Boulder Creek, a northerly tributary of Canyon, is said to liave 'A) unces in 1809 as a result of a few days' work. In July work on one claim Iwwed about 2 feet of gravel on bed rock, of which about 18 Inches are said carry values.

Banner Creek had some water in it in July, but not enough for sluicing. One laini in ISJK) Is reported to have yielded to four men who sluiced two days mi a half. When Mr. Richardson visited this two men were at work ear the mouth, where the gravel is 8 to 10 feet tliick. Tiic gold is rating Mirse, though flattened, and assiiys |10.20 an ounce. Fartlier up tlie cre<'k nion* p less work had been done and the pros|)ects were Limestone i itM-k in the mouth of the cnMk and outcrops on tlic divide to the nortli. raphitic quartz whist caiw the hill at the of the cretk, and mica scliist )nns the divide between Banner and Ruby creeks.

liCft Fork** of the Koksuktaimpi is 5 miles long. Like Canyon Cretdv, 1 its lower course it cuts through the wide terrace of the main river, while b()ve the valley it Is confined by adjacent hills. The rocks in the lower course of lieft Fork are mica schists dipping S. W. at an angl' of to ointed X. 70* E. Between Wilson and Willow cre<>ks Is a belt of gray limestone ibout 2,ri4K) feet thick iuterbedded in the schistose series. Small quartz veins ire frefpient throughout this series. Pebbles of garnetiferous greenston( art* :oinnion in the creek, but no outcrop of this rock was seen. No developments ttvc been made on this stream.

Willow Creek is a small bran<*h at tlu head of the Left Ftu'k. from which 5ood reports came toward the end of tlie season. A low. narrow about 5 feet high, extends along the creek. (Jravel is shallow in the cried bed. I*nv liminary development, it was showwl that a man could average .$1<) a % with a rocker. One nugget and another wortli .4..*ir) have found. iV gold is coarse and dark. In the lower part of the creek. ]m\ rock is iimertone. while farther uii It Is mica schist.

260 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

liUby Creek, so named for the iiumeroui!; small garnets found in it, is about 'A miles long and flows in si comparatively broad valley. Bed rock Is mica schist dipping S. 05° W. at an angle of 45°, and Jointed east and west. Xunierous

small quartz veins parallel both to the schistosity and to the joints occur iu the schists. Pebbles of garnotiferous greenstone are common in the creek, but the rock was not seen in place. At the head of the creek gray limestone and graphitic quartz schist are exposed. In July there were about twenty men on the creek. Almost every claim had at least one representative on it. though prosiiectiug and work rather than actual mining was being done. Several ditches have been dug In the creek bottom, and crosscuts have beeu made into the adjacent bench. In the lower part of the creek there Is a depth of 2 or feet of gravel through which the gold Is pretty well distributed. Manr garnets and a little black sand are associated with the gold. The gold is cojirse. rather dark colored, and is said to assay |19.35 an ounce. The largest nui:get found was worth $5.5().

Notes On Recent Developments In The Council Region.

By Philip S. Smith.

The following notes were gathered by the writer during a weekV journey in the Council district in lOOO. They are intended to supplement the descriptions given in the foregoing pages.

Melsing Creek.

In 1900 but little work had been done on Melsing Creek, owing to the exceedingly dry season. Toward the last of September active were in progress only near the mouth of Basin Creek. hI though two outfits of three to six men each had been at work earlier in the season with scrapers below this

A force of six to ten men had been employed immediately below Basin Creek, but had ceased work, owing to frost, just before the visit of the writer on September 28. The course of the pay streak, which lies only a few feet above the pre.*nt stream level, is very sinuous and suggests that these gravels were deposited by a stream of relatively small size meandering widely on a flat slope. A featuiv of some interest is the occurrence of large granite and quartzite bowlders, mnnv of them 18 inches in diameter, in a laver of mud and decayed vegetable matter lying the gravels. The granite is but slightly decomposed, and the bowlders are rather angular, suggesting a transporting agency other than running water. Associated witii the auriferous gravels in numy places are thin strata of gravels, in which the cementing material is mainly calcite. The cemented character prevents the separation of gold, so that if nuich of this sort of gravel should be encounter*ed recourse to some method of crushing would necessary.

At this claim a method of preparing the sluice boxes not in use in other parts of the district was noted. This cooaisted of nailing

I strip of oanvns or cncon matting <in a plank slightly narrower thn the bfrttom of the sluifo box. Oti tup of the (.imvas a atrip of screen, with about a one-fourth inch mesli and thu sne width as the plank, was fastened. In use the plank was placed in the bottom of the sluice box and the ritHes laid on top, thus holding it ill position. To clean, the plunk was taken out of the sluice lux, turned upside down and pounded with a hammer or mallei, Although lio comparative figures wei-available to prove the added (fficienov of the sluice boxes thus e<|iiipped. the operator was com- [detpiy satisfied witli the results, as he was convinced that the additioual saving of gold was very great. It is not necessary that every tm in 8 string should be equipped with such a false bottom. Indiridiial practice and study will determine the most effective number for different of gold.

.last at the mouth of Basin Creek work was in progress during the summer of on gravels that lie in (he creek and on a a few 1m above the stream. The pay streak seems to be a direct continuation of the one on the claim next downstream, already described. Inaildition, at points where the.-* slightly higher lynches are cut by the creek the present stream gravels contain values that repay working. The ground is developed by the us*' of horse scrapers and slnices. Operators all ahmg the creek were much hampered owing to the lack nf water in the early part of the summer. Another dif- Sniltv I'nc'iiintered in the district is due In the low gi'ade of thi? orek.

Ophir Creek.

Since (he date covei-ed by the report on the Seward Peninsula {1903) the development of the Ophir Creek placers has continually oiled for additional water and additional head. To meet this demand high-level ditches have constructed and maintained. It ws recognized, however, that the basin of Ophir Creek could not, *nn imder the most favorable circumstances, afford sufficient water meet the growing demands. Consequently it has been necessary to lead water from other drainage areas into that of Ophir Creek. The largest operation of this kind projected has been successfully worried out, and undoubtedly permitted mining which the dry weather of the summer of lilOC. would have otherwise prohibited. The ditch Ukcs water from Paranlulik River at Helen Cn-ek. a small tributary, iboiit -2 miles north of Ihe siunmil of Chauik Mountain. It is 11 miles long, and in many places where the slo])es are excessive a flume Ids been constructed. The water is led around the east flank of Chaiiik Mountain and then across the divide into the Ophir Creek Wii, In order to obviate additional ditch conslniction. Ihe water K discharged into Creek, and taken up again farther down-

262 Gold Placeks Of Seward Peninsula,

stream by one of the existing ditches. It was estimated that about 8,000 miner s indies were available from Parantulik River, but during the dry period of only about 500 inches were delivered by the ditch.

Another project for leading water from Parantulik River to Ophir Creek is under way, but as yet actual ditch construction has made little progress. Up to the present time the work of this company has been mainly devoted to surveying the course of the ditch, making preliminary observations, and acquiring rights of way. The proposed ditch will take water from a point considerably below the completed one, and for that reason should have more water available.

A ditch of less size than either of the foregoing has been constructed to collect water from the northern tributaries of the Niukluk about 2 miles west of Ophir Creek. This ditch is at a low level, is of small cross section, has only a small available drainage area, and is to be used only by the near the mouth of Ophir Creek, lelow Sweetcake Creek.

In addition to tlie ditch building, another feature of interest in the district has been the location of a gold-bearing lode on the divide between Goldbottom and Ophir creeks, near the head of Crooked Creek. The lode occurs near the contact between limestone and schist, and the specimens show considerable free gold. Values of nearly $0 to the ton are but it is not known that they were from commercial samples. This discovery seems to be significant in connection with the fact that the gold at many parts of Crooked Creek is very sharp and angular and much of it has quartz fragments attached. A specimen of gold seen near the mouth of Crooked Creek was of such fragile and crystalline form that it seemed impossible for it to have carried more than a few feet from its source.

Work on Ophir Creek during 1906 was carried on less by individuals and more by large companies than in previous years. The most active work has been done by the dredge at the portage, by elevators near Sweetcake and Dutch creeks, by derricks a little above Dutch Creek, and by shoveling in near the mouth of Crooked Creek. No work was done on Ophir Creek above Crooked Creek during the summer of 1000. Some work was in on a few of the tributaries of Ophir Creek. A little mining has ben done on Sweetcake Creeks but the values do not seem to run much more than a mile above iti mouth. On Dutch Oeek also a little mining has been done. Th small stream joining ()])hir Creek near claim " 19 above" has beei> prospected, but does not seem to carry values above its mouth. Alon Crooked Creek for a distance of 2 miles the creek was worked almost continuously all summer by parties of two to fourteen men. The fact that the side streams almost all carry gold has led to an enrichment

Council Precinct. 263

of the main-stream gi'avels. Practically every one of the bonanzas Of Ophir Creek has occurred at the jimction of a side stream. The recognition of this feature, which prevails also on many other streams, should be of some assistance in prospecting undeveloped regions.

Niukluk River.

Above Ophir Creek on the Niukluk very little work has been in progress in 1906. The placers on Richter Creek, the first tributary from the west, seem to be nearly exhausted. On the broad bench below the junction of Camp Creek and the Niukluk a company has been engaged in working gravels by means of a shaft 40 feet deep. The section of this shaft is as follows :

Section an bench below junction of Camp Creek ami Niukluk River,

Ft. In.

Pure Ice 10

Sand and ice

Rock fragments, etc. ; much mica 2

Sand and ice 1

Frozen gravel 12

Owing to the ice and frozen ground, much difficulty has lieen experienced in maintaining the shaft. Water is not easily available at the mine. This property has evidently been developed to meet the ioereasing demand for winter work in the vicinity of Council, and is to be regarded in its present state as little more than a method of pecting the gravels of the benches along the Niukluk.

On Elkhorn Creek a little desultory work has been in progress during the summer, but at the end of September none of the properties were in operation. The largest amount of work has been done near the mouth, where the section was as follows :

flection near mouth of Elkhorn Creek.

Feet.

Tundra 2

Clay or muck 4

Sands and gravels 4

The lowest member showed considerable cross-bedding in the sands [ftociated with the gravels, thus indicating the variable character of ftc water by which they were deposited. Numerous pieces of wood 'o a more or less (le(!omposed condition were found in the gravels. The surface form and internal structure of the deposit at this point suggest that it is an alluvial fan of Elkhorn Creek rather than part of fte flood plain of Niukluk River. Owing to the absence of miners from the creek, no estimate of the production or tenor of the gravels told be obtained.

264 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula,

One-half mile southeast of Post Creek, a tributary of the Niukluk from the north, a quartz vein carrying gold has recently been located. This 'vein occurs at the contact of schist and limestone and is about 8 feet in width. According to reports, it shows considerable free gold, and the values obtained by crushing and panning are from 25 to 75 cents a pan. If these figures are reliable, the vein should run nearly $35 to the ton. This vein serves as one more indication of the origin of the gold in mineralized zones near the contact of the limestone and schists.

Casadepaga

The most important development in the Casadepaga basin was the extension of the Council Citv and Solomon River Railway to the mouth of Penelope Creek. This puts the district into close communication with the ocean transportation routes.

Work along the Casadepaga in 1906 seemed to be carried on more by prospectors than by active settled companies, so that the production would be small. In the lower course of the river, as far as Bonanza Creek, no mining has been in progress. Near Bonanza Creek two camps have been established to work low-bench gravel> of the Casadepaga, but as these camps employed only from two to five men not much work has been completed A little work has also l:)een done on Bonanza Creek, but it was not visited.

From Bonanza C'reek to Penelope Creek the river gravels have extensively prospected during the summer by a drill with a crew of six men, with a view to determine whether a dredge bt" installed. No statement as to the results of this work can yet be made. One peculiar feature noted in drilling below the mouth of Penelope Creek was that on certain of the river bars gold occurs on the surface and not on bed rock. There is no false bed rock of clay at these places, and the surface concentration is due to the washing away of the gravels of the bars during periods of flood, the particle of gold previously contained in the gravels being left behind. On Big Four Creek, a tributary of the Casadepaga from the south between Bonanza and Penelope creeks, the summer of 1906 saw only assessment work. On Birch Creek, which flows into Big Four Creek about 5 miles above the Casadepaga, two camps have been engageil in working creek gravels Shea Creek. At Dixon Creek, '2 miles above Big Four Creek on the Casadepaga, there has been some development work. The bed rock at this place is schist and limestone, the creek appearing to follow the contact more or less closely. As thij' contact is in many other places the seat of mineralization, it wouM seem desirable to investigate further the gi'avels of this creek and of the Casadepaga near its junction.

Council Precinct. 25

Penelope Creek is now the terminus of the Council City and Solomon River Railroad, and bv this line is about 32 miles from Solomon. There have been only two camps on this creek, one near the mouth and one about a mile above. The upper camp has been the most active this summer. Four men have been employed, and the gravel has been handled by horse scrapers. A short ditch has been con- >tructed at a low level, but, as in other parts of the considerable difficult' has been experienced from lack of water.

On Goose Creek only two men have been mining this summer, and, according to local reports, not much more than wages has been produced. Three-fourths of a mile above (loose Creek a broad bench of gravels trenched by the Casadepaga shows good values. Mining in this flat, however, has been inactive pending the completion of a ditch from Moonlight Creek. ( See p. 266. )

Xo mining except assessment work was done in 1906 on Canyon Creek. On Banner Creek also work was practically at a standstill. It is reported that all the gravels on the latter creek have turned over and that the only values left are those that have lost bv the primitive methods in vogue when the cieek was first worked. Certain claims, however, are held by annual assessment work, though they seldom yield more than wages.

Willow Creek, which is noted on certain of the Survey maps as Left Fork, is now known as Lower Willow, in order to distinguish it from Upper Willow Creek, also a tributary of the Casadepaga. Upper Willow Creek enters the river from the south about a mile west of Johnson Creek; Lower Willow Creek has its mouth nearly opposite Ruby Creek. At the mouth of Lower AVillow Creek two men have mining all summer. A mile above the mouth two men have been at work, but have been much hampered by lack of water. A mile above Wilson Creek two men have been doing some work, but operations were suspended late in the season to allow the installation of a California grizzly. About miles above AVilsou Creek two meii had been employed all summer. They stated, however, that the claim had been previously worked out and that their operations this summer consisted merely in saving some of the values that had lost in the earlier mining. A short ditch at a low level takes water from the upper part of the creek and carries it to the discovery claims, a distance of about 2 miles. The geology of the region at the mouth of Wilson Creek is complex, the rock consisting of limestone and chloritic and graphitic schists. The gold of this part of the stream has probably Ixhmi derived from a near-by source. Mineralization is evident in at least two places at the schist and limestone* ntacts on the south side of Lower Willow Creek. At one point i'ulphides were recognized in a quartz vein, and numerous copper ains on weathered vein stuff were found on the summit of the divide

266 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

Lower Willow Creek and the Casadepaga near the head of Ptarmigan Creek.

On Ruby Creek two parties have been at work during the summer, but the creek is now exhausted. It is said that the values have been more completely exhausted from the gravels of this creek than from any other stream in the Casadepaga drainage, so that reworking these gravels in the future will not be remunerative.

On Moonlight Creek the main activity during the last two years has consisted in ditch building. This creek heads in a series of bare limestone hills with steep slopes, so that the run-off is high. The ditch has an intake at an elevation of about 500 feet. It is proposed to carry the ditch across Canyon Creek to the broad bench of Casadepaga River about three-fourths of a mile southwest of Goose Creek. The supply from Moonlight Creek will be augmented from Upper Willow Creek by a ditch line that delivers water to the ditch at Moonlight Creek at an elevation of 500 feet. It is estimated that the ditch will have an average delivery of 1,500 to 2,000 inches.

An eighth of a mile below the junction of Moonlight Creek and Casadepaga River there has been some slight exploration of the bench gravels that occur a few feet above the level of the river. The gravels seem to he typical river gravels, but the floor upon which they rest is rather uneven. Old channels in this district have been reported, but the rumors could not be investigated. There have been no mining operations during the last season on the Casadepaga above Moonlight Creek.

Kruzgamf.Pa River Basin,

General Description.

Kruzgamepa River has its source in 'Salmon Lake, which lies in a broad valley at the southern base of the Kigluaik Mountains. It flows to the northeast and, sweeping around the east end of the range, reaches the head of Imuruk Basin by a northwesterly course.

The geology (compare the geologic map, PI. X, in pocket) in this basin affords considerable variety. The core of the mountains is made up of massive granite, associated with crystalline limestone and schists. Above, a formation correlated with the quartzites of the Kuzitrin consists of schists and graywacke carrying much graphite. This formation is overlain by the Nome group, including a great thickness of flaggy limestones and calcareous schists correlated with the Port Clarence limestone. The rocks resemble tho which in other places produce placer gold, and in many localities

The drainage tMisin of the upper Kruzgamepa was first organised as the Goldeo Gate mining district, and is now included in the Kougarok mining district. This ri?er U sometimes called the Pilgrim. The placers of the Kougarok basin are described oo pp 306-328 of this report.

how of minralizat;An. LATvy v:;ir:T tit-- i*- i

uear ilw east tiul of tht Kx£rlua:k M-ii-iaii-- "s-r- f quartz near the iiiuiith of Slaie Cr>:rk .'c-:4iLri; ir-.'Li-" A .x r,r- Mgo Mii*l to oiiirrop near the niO'.ith 'jf Ir*:-CL i_"rvrt£ i-rt ' .7 :. assay Nvell in gold ami -ilver: ihr lrj>::. ivTT Ll- 1 — :

Kruzgamepa River flow> in a brad gnT*I-£l>: A*i "- of the stream ."0 feet abore ih*- wai-r. M:- 1 f 'l- irn'-- l- has been explained elsewhere <p. wa.-? x<.ir-i.:>-: 1-jr-k- -r- ' _.i: flowtHl from the Kighiaik MouiitaiiLr atd pp.-iivj i' 1 r .1-1 : placers of value. AMiai little La.* :>Lf i-t- i- r — : to encouraging results, though color-of g.i.i ""-T ---'''' "-- a rwluction in of maiiV of iL-r 1 .-c-irr-i '." i ''-r- ouscrravels may be at a profit. Inir- Trvk. 'ir-li_w-r -i.-"-- iribiitury of the Kruzgamepa and the :::.i .n*:.: f? -i- --l* .

Willow And Slate Creeks.

Willow Creek, which is aliout Z miles 'o',zj= :1- Krzzi'' -'-i from tlie south aljout 8 miles above Iron Cn-k. ."-: - stream Hows through a >mall rock eanyoL -V f- . which is a bi*nc*h on either side covered with jfrav*-! T:._- -

ft

valley. The rock consists of limestone witr ::.*-r-- - i - s:lusts of origin and with intndr-i gr-:,-- ;.-r- V - strikes are almost directly across the of Ut- -'ri.:;. f Jips upstream, (lold ha> lieen found on ihi- '-r-k. t:.: :-f - '- rock have yielded as higli as 25 cent. grav-i f- the bench are of the same character th'#-*- in th-r -Tr-:... t:. fore probably carrj' gold. During the dr>- UiontLprobably not afford a sluice head of water.

Slate Creek, which is about 2 mile lng. joiL.- 'L- Kr zj-: - fwHn the south 2 miles above Willow Creek. TL*- 'Lai a--: f - nck is the 8AID of IHllow Creek. Twei.ty-r;-. - : - piahtsbe lie gold from Uith -rirean:- .- :.:::/

'u B been produced, thougii ip//-. .

2fi8 GOLD PLACERS OF SEWARD PENINSULA.

more than a few thousand dollars in all. A high gravel bench on the east side of the Kruzgamepa, between Slate and Willow creeks, was prospected in 1904 by a company proposing to bring water forhvdraulicking from Salmon Lake. Colors of gold are reported to have been found, but the results of the prospecting operations are not known.

Port Ctarence Precinct.

Introduction.

The Port Clarence precinct embraces the west end of Seward Peninsula. It is bounded on the east (see fig. 2, p. 42) by a sinuous line, running first northward, then around the basin of Agiapuk River along the divide that separates that basin from streams flowing into (loodhope Bay, and then turning northward and reaching the Arctic Ocean at the west end of Shishmaref Inlet. On the north and west the precinct is bounded by the Arctic Ocean, and (m the south by the summits of the Kigluaik Mountains. Recording offices have been established both at York, near the west end of the precinct, and at Teller, on Port Clarence, but the former office is now discontinued.

Within this area, which embraces about 2,000 square miles, are extensive gravel-covered lowlands and flat-topped uplands. (See topographic map, PI. IX, pocket.) The uplands are clearly erosional surfaces that have been uplifted and dissected. They do not all represent the same epoch of erosion, but indicate a succession of cycles of degradation that have been separated by periods of uplift." The intervals of are marked in the present topography by plateaus, benches, and plains standing at different altitudes. The goldgravels have been deposited since the youngest of these features were formed.

The entire stratigraphic succession of Seward Peninsula, already presented in the account of the geologj (p. 60), is found in the Port Clarence precinct. (See geologic map, PI. XI, pocket.) To the south the Kigluaik uplift has brought to the surface the limestones, crvstalline schists, and intruded granites, here called the Kigluaik group. North of these and forming the bed rock of the jeninsnla. between Imuruk Basin and Port Clarence, are the schists and limestones of the Nome group. These rocks stretch for about 10 inile north of Grantley Harbor to the region where they pass underneath the heavv limestones, here termed Port Clarence. To the west thi> limestone is succeeded by Devonian (?) slates, and these in turn fl the apex of the peninsula by a Carboniferous (?) limestone. Intru-

" The physloaphy of this part of the peninsula h&H lieen discussed bj A. J. ColUr In A reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula : Prof. Paper V- Geol. Hnrvey No. 2, 1902, pp. 34-43.

Pobt Clabence Precinct. 269

sires are common throughout the district, with two dominant types — a granite, which occurs in large stocks, and a green basic rock, here termed greenstone, which occurs both as stocks and dikes. The Quaternary is represented by gravel deposits mantling the extensive lowlands that fringe the Arctic coast and form inland basins, and also bv gravels of the present stream beds. Some of the terraces and plateau remnants are covered with thin layers of gravels, but highbench deposits are relatively rare in this part of the peninsula. A few hniall areas of recent lavas occur north of Port Clarence and form outliers of the more extensive extrusives found to the east. Though few details are known, the bed-rock structures in general trend northeastward, and the folding is open. Variation from this type occurs along the margins of the intruded stocks.

Placer gold here, as in other parts of the peninsula, appears to be confined to the areas of mica schists and limestones belonging to the Nome group, which are more metamorphosed than any of the younger terranes, but less so than their equivalents to the east and south. The slates carry some gold, but the placers derived from them appear to be of no great commercial importance. The Port Clarence limestone is not a gold-bearing formation and the areas in which it forms the country rock should not attract the placer miner. Vlong the margins of some of the granite masses cutting this linustone mineralization has taken place in the form of veins carrying cassiterite, galena, etc. An account of these occurrences has given by Collier.*

It was probably in 1898 that the first prospectors visited this region, but they confined their attention to the Agiapuk basin, where they found no workable placers. In the following year auriferous gravels were discovered in Buhner Creek, a tributarv of Anikovik River, in what was then organized as the York recording district. A little gold has been taken out in the York region, but it has now been practically abandoned as a gold placer district, though it is growing in importance as a tin producer. Practically all the gold-producing creeks are confined to the Bluestone and Agiapuk basins, except a few tributary to Grantley Harbor. The district has not a large producer, the entire output up to 1903 being estimated at $200,000. AVith the introduction of better mining methods, no doubt many mining enterprises now abandoned will be revived and can be made to yield an adequate return.

Teller, located on a spit between Grantley Harbor and Port Clarence, is the i-recording office, the seat of a oommissioner, and a general

CoUler, A. J.. Tin depositH of the York reKion, Alaska: Bull. U. S. (ieol. Survey No. '2. 1904.

Brooks. A. H., Richardson. (J. B., and Collier. A. J.. Kt'connalssances In th- Capo 'ome and Norton Bay rejdons, Alaska, in 1900, a special publication of the U. S. Qol. Sunrej, 1901. p. 137.

270 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

supply point It was founded in 1900, when the Bluestone placers, 15 miles to the south, were discovered. A town named Bering, on the shore of Port Clarence, 5 miles south of Teller, was the first settlement, but the newer town of Teller drew its people from it. The latter town, which, during the boom of 1900, had over 1,000 inhabitants now has not over 100.

Port Clarence, the best harbor along the entire coast line of the peninsula, affords shelter to deep-sea vessels, but storms coming from different directions require changes of anchorage. Large vessels can anchor within about a mile of Teller. Grantley Harbor, almost landlocked, can be entered by vessels drawing not more than 12 feet of water.

Creeks Tributary To Grantley Harbor Prom The North.

Several small streams rising in the plateau on which Mukachanii Mountain stands and flowing southward into Grantley Harbor are all within a few miles of Teller and easily accessible. Prospects were found here in 1900, and mining has been done each year since, but no very rich placers have yet been developed and the amount of gold produced has been small. In 1903 very little mining was doiu* on any of these streams.

In general, the bed rock can be described as a succession of chloritic mica schists and interbedded limestones containing some intrusive greenstone and small veins and stringers of quartz.

All these creeks have the same general features. They head in the upland, which they traverse through rather narrow valleys running nearly north and south. Below, they cross the coastal plain, niade up of silts and gravels, in which they have trenched shallow channels. west to east these streams are Bay, Sunset, Igloo, Dewev, McKinley, and Offield creeks. On all of them except Bay Civek which has not been very carefully prospected, the stream gravels are known to be auriferous, and Sunset, Igloo, and Offield creeks have yielded a small gold output.

Some mining has been done on Sunset Creek since 1901, and the workings have briefly described in a previous report." The creek is about 5 miles in length. For several miles from its mouth the bed is about 700 feet wide, but the pay is in general confined to narrower chamiels. At one place three such channels are reported. The workings about 3 miles from the coast show from 2 to 7 feet of rather fine gravel overlying the bed rock. The gold is found both in the gravel and to a depth of about 1 foot in the crevices of the bed rock.

"TiHor T ReconnalsRance of the northwestern portion of Seward Pwlnsala. AlMk : rrot liver U. 8. Oeol. Survey No. 2, 1002. pp. 46. 4.

Port Clarence Precinct. 271

The gold, most of which is more or less iron stained, is coarse and TOugh in the upper claims and finer and smoother toward the mouth of the creek. The largest nuggets are worth about $4. A few wellformed crystals of spinel have been foiuid in the concentrates.

Xo work was done in 1903 on Igloo, Dewey, and McKinley creeks. A small force of men worked during part of that summer on Offield Creek, 9 miles from Teller, but no estimate has been obtained as to the amount of gold produced. It is known that in two of these creeks there are deposits of gold-bearing gravels of commercial value, though no exact estimate of their gold content is available. It is probably true, as reported, that with economical methods of handling the gravels all these creeks could be made to pay. A large ditch 27 miles long to bring water from Agiapuk and California rivers was under construction in 1904. These rivers carry an abundance of water, which can probably be brought to Sunset Creek at an elevation of 250 to 300 feet above the sea. It is proposed to work the gravels of Sunset Creek by hydraulicking and elevating the tailings.

Agiapuk River Basin. Introduction.

Agiapuk River, which drains an area of 700 to 800 square miles, empties into the north side of Imuruk Basin 24 miles from Teller. Its headwaters are about 35 miles from tidewater. About 20 miles north of its mouth the river forks; the western branch, which is the smaller of the two, retains the name Agiapuk, and the northern* branch is called American River.

Being easy of access and supporting a large Eskimo population, the Agiapuk was one of the first streams of Seward Peninsula to receive attention from prospectors, but up to the present time no rich or extensive deposits of auriferous gravels have been discovered in its basin. Colors of gold have been found in many of its tributaries and nearly all of them have been staked and prospected. Small amounts of gold have been produced on Allene Creek, a southern tributary of the western branch of the river and on Lawson Creek, a tributarv of American River.

In general the rocks of the Agiapuk basin are less metamorphosed than the gold-bearing rocks in other parts of the peninsula. They consist mainly of Silurian limestones that are regarded as equivalent to the Port Clarence member of the Nome gi'oup and generally have not been so productive of gold as the lower menrbers of that group. United States Greological Survey parties traversed part of the Agiapuk basin in 1901, and again visited the region in 1903, but very few were seen on either trip, though prospect holes, claim stakes, and other evidences of white men were everywhei-e abundant.

272 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

A somewhat detailed description of many of the tributaries of Agiapuk has been published in a previous report " and need not be repeated. The western branch of the river rises in the limestone hills about 25 miles north of Grantley Harbor, and flows southward to a point within 10 miles of that harbor, thence eastward to its junction with American River. Through the east -west part of its course it drains a broad, gravel-filled lowland, but about the headwaters the valleys are narrower and the gravel deposits are of small extent.

Several tributaries which enter the Agiapuk from the south within 10 miles of Grantley Harbor have yielded colors of gold, but only one of them has been worked.

Allene Creek.

Allene Creek heads within 4 miles of Grantley Harbor and flows northward into North Creek, tributary to the Agiapuk. Its comparatively broad valley is carved out of the plateau on which Mukacharni Mountain stands.

AMien visited in September, 1901, only one claim was in operation, although some mining had been done on several others. The pay dirt was confined to the creek bed and rested upon a clay below which the true bed rock had not been reached.

A prospect hole about halfway up the creek is said to have been sunk 65 feet without reaching bed rock. This shaft showed gravel at the top, below which there was blue clay containing bark and driftwood. The gold in Allene Creek is bright, flaky, and not mud waterworn. Although it is generally fine, it includes a few small nuggets. It is reported that some sluicing was done in 1902 and 1903, but the production of the entire creek was probably not more than $2,000.''

American River.

American River rises about 40 miles north of Grantlev Harbor and flows in a westerly direction for 15 miles, then turns and flows neariy southward for 30 miles to its junction with Agiapuk River. Through the last 30 miles of its course the stream flows in a comparatively broad gravel-filled valley, in which it meanders tortuously. It navigable for small boats and canoes for about 30 miles.

The only tributary reported to have produced gold in 1903 was Lawson Creek, which joins American River about 35 miles from tide water. In 1902, $1,000 to $1,500 in gold was obtained from its placers. The gold is of high grade, being reported to be worth $19 an ounce. A large (|uartz ledge from which samples assayed $2 a

CoUier, A. J., Reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward Pealnsolt Alaska: Prof. I'aper U. S. Cieol. Survey No. 2, 1902, pp. 56-59. Collier, A. J., op. cit., pp. 46-46.

Port Clarence Precinct. 273

)n in gold is reported to have been discovered on Collin Creek, a 'ibutary of Portage Creek, which enters American River from the orth. Neither of these localities have been visited by members of le Gfeological Survey and the information in regard to them conselentlv

is verv scant.

Bluestone River Basin. Introduction.

Bhiestone River flows into Tiiksuk Channel, which connects Grant- y Harbor with Imuruk basin, about 13 miles from Teller. It rains the greater part of a region lying between Grantley Harbor id Bering Sea, usually referred to as the Bluestone region. This rea is characterized by flat-topped hills on which two erosion levels m be recognized. The upper plateau encircles the west end of the agluaik Mountains, which rise rather abruptly from its surface nd attain elevations of 3,000 to 4,000 feet. The streams have cut leir valleys nearly to sea level. The very irregular drainage is due ) causes which have not been studied in detail. For about 10 miles bove its mouth Bluestone River traverses a rolling plateau that as an elevation of 400 to 600 feet. Through this part of its course le river valley is broad, and flood plains are developed to a width, I some places, of half a mile or more. Above this portion the illey contracts and for about 5 miles is a steep-walled canyon with des rising from the river to flat-topped mountains 1,200 feet in jight. Above the canyon the valley again broadens somewhat, but )es not expand into a large flood plain. Here the river forks, the istern branch being known as Gold Run and the western as Right ork. Both branches are characterized by very crooked courses, or miles above its mouth the valley of Gold Run has a nearly orthwest course, then turns and has an east-west course for G miles ) its head. Right Fork heads about 10 miles farther west and flows early due east to it& junction with Gold Run; it has several large tributaries which enter it nearly at right angles. Below the forks Huestone River carries approximately 3,000 miner's inches of water, derived about equally from the two streams. The average gradient f the river is about 30 feet to the mile.

Gold was discovered on Bluestone River early in the summer of 900, and mining operations have been continuous since then. Gold as been produced on the main river below the forks, on Gold Run id its tributary, Alder Creek, and on Bering Creek, a small tribury of Right Fork. Both stream and bench placers have been

274 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

worked. The region was visited by United States Geological Suney parties in 1900 and in 1903.

The Bluestone basin contains mica and chlorite schists, with bed? of limestone, some having graphitic phases and all belonging to th( undifferentiated part of the Nome group. These schists contaii numerous intrusive masses of greenstone which appear more com monly in the form of sills than as dikes. Generally these greenstone are only slightly altered, but in a few places they are schistose aiv are not always distinguishable in the field from the schists of sedi mentary origin. Small quartz veins, both cutting across the foliatio and ininning parallel with it, are common in the schists. Some these veins are reported to carry values, but as yet none of them ha> been systematically developed. The results obtained from thn assays of vein quartz collected by the Geological Survey seem to ii dicate that these veins are not so commonly auriferous as those of tl Nome region. Two specimens, one from a quartz bowlder and ai other from a small stringer vein, carried no trace of either gold ( silver. A specimen taken from the dump of a prospect hole sunk i the bed rock of Alder Creek yielded an assay return of 0.00 ounce ( gold nnd a trace of silver.- The material was soft and talcose an contained considerable nearly white pyrite.

War And Bench Placers.

Mining has been attempted at only one locality on Bluestone Rivei although there are evidences of prosjiecting in many places. Exter sive preparations for mining were made in 1903 at a point about miles below the forks of the river, to which the name Gilroy wa given. In the canyon gravel deposits are of small extent, but belo the canyon the valley widens and alluvium appears not only in tb creek bed, but on low benches which at no very remote date wer probably flood plains of the river.

Four miles below the forks the river bed is more than 150 feet wid and the pay gravel ranges in thickness from 2 to 20 feet or more, ()i the left bank at this place there is a flat about "20 feet above the rivei bed and nearly half a mile wide. The section along the river ban! shows 10 feet of black schist rock underlying 6 to 7 feet of gravel A series of samples taken across the river bed are said to have yielded from 2 cents to $1 to the pan. This gravel can possibly be workec bv an extensive system of dams, which should turn the water fron the river bed, but probably never will be on account of the voluiw of water and the occasional floods. It might also be handled by soro form of dredge.

Brooks. A. H., Richardson. G. B., ColUer, A. J., and Mendenhall. W. C. Rconiial sances In the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alarin, tn IMO, a apcctel irabUcatk of the U. 8. GeoL Surrey. 1901, pp. 127-182.

Pobt Clabence Precinct. 275

In 1903 mining operations were confined to the gravel deposit on g bench that has an area of about GO acres. The surface is nearly level and deeply covered with moss and muck. A section of the gravel on this bench is as follows :

Section of bench deposits on Bluestone River.

Ft. In.

Black moss and iiiuck C

Blue muck . 3

Bed rock : Graphitic schist very much weathered at the surface.

The gravel is composed of pebbles of black schist and white and reddish vein quartz; next to the rock it carries a considerable unount of gold, which also extends into the fissures and crevices to I depth of about 1 foot. There is a smaller amount of gold in the upper part of the section, and the whole thickness of moss, muck, and jravel is said to carry sufficient to pay for shoveling into the sluice wxes. Although most of the gold is rather fine, it is heavy and jisily saved. The largest nugget found was worth $12. Tt is pro- )Osed to bring water from a small western tributary of Bluestone Riven called Ruby Crek, and to sluice the gravels near the river wnk, dumping the tailings into the river. A ditch was built for this purpose about 1 mile in length, but near the middle of the season, Bihen mining operations had well begun, the water from the ditch penetrated to a layer of ground ice which melted, undenuiningthe gi'ound for a distance of several hundred feet. This melting continued progressively and the ditch became wider as the season advanced, until finally it found an outlet to Bluestone Kiver a (luartcr of a mile above the point where the miners had expected to use it. .\s the season was nearly spent and neither lumber for sluice nor a supply of canvas hose for carrying water across the break could be obtained, work was necessarily suspended.

From the showing made here it seems probable that successful mining can be done over a part at least, if not all, of this Ih'ucIi, either by ground sluicing or hydraulicking. Ruby Creek is a small ream, but it is possible that sufficient water for a small hydraulic plant could be collected from several such tributaries on the west sHe of Bluestone River. The whole amount of gold produced during the summer of 1903 was probably not more than $300, and previws to 1903 the yield has been even less.

Gold Ri'N.

Gold Run, the large eastern branch of the Bluestone, has a length f about 20 miles, but mining activities are confined to the lower 5 liles of its course. The principal settlement of the region is located

276 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula,

at the mouth of Alder Creek, and is known as Sullivan. It is reached by a wagon road from Teller, the principal shipping point of Port Clarence, about 18 miles distant. The road crosses the upland plateau surface, and is very soft and marshy in many places. Another road crosses the low divide from Gold Run to Tisuk Creek, then follows the gravel bars in the bed of that stream to the coast at the old Shea road house, where Tisuk post-office is now located. During the summer months stages run daily from Sullivan to both these points.

The gradient of Gold Run probably does not exceed 20 feet to tlie mile. Along the valley slopes there is a series of benches, which toward the headwaters of the creek approach the level of the present bed, while near its mouth they are about 100 feet above it. Though the valley is nearly straight, the immediate creek bed, which lies in a narrow trench cut in an old valley floor, has a meandering course. The bed rock of Gold Run consists of chlorite and mica schists, in many places of a light-green color, with calcareous phases that grade into limestone and graphitic phases that result in graphite schists and black slates. Sills of greenstone intruded in the schists are conmion. The gravels of the creek bed contain many bowlders of greenstone and granite, which have ben derived from the Kigluaik Mountains in some previous drainage epoch.

The placers of Gold Run include both creek and bench deposits. The gravels of the creek bed had an average width of about 60 feet and were mined for about 3 miles. They were richest in gold near the mouth of Alder Creek, where some small spots yielded more than $50 to the cubic yard, but the average was much less than that At the mouth of Gold Run gold was found in both the run and Bluestone River.

In 1900 and 1901 the creek bed was mined for several hundred feet above its mouth and about $2,500 was produced, but the operations were difficult on account of the trouble in controlling the waters of the stream.

About 1 mile above the mouth the gravel in the creek bed is about 100 feet wide and feet thick. It carries values through its whole width, but most of the pay is found within 6 inches of bed rock and in tlie bed rock to a depth of 6 inches to 2 feet. What is called bed rock at this place consists of a sticky yellow clay, which forms a layer 2 to 8 feet thick above the schist. The method of working was as follows: The creek was turned to its right bank by a wing dam, and by this means the greater part of the gravels of the credc bed were exposed and freed from water. Sluice boxes were set with a grade of 18 inches to the rod, and the gravel was shoveled in. It is reported that a cut 18 feet wide and 75 feet long was worked out two

Port Clabekce Precinct. 2 77

years ago, producing $1,200. If we assume a depth of gravel of 8 feet, this would give about $8 to the cubic yard.

The stream bed at the mouth of Alder Creek has all been worked out. This ground was the scene of many legal controversies, and before it was exhausted it had changed hands a number of times in obedience to the orders of the courts, passing from one claimant to another. It is impossible to tell the amount of gold produced, though it was probably not far from $50,000, which was obtained in the years 1900 to 1902.

Above the mouth of Alder Creek the amount of gold produced on Gold Run has probably not been proportionate to the development work that has been done, although at one time claims were held for fabulous prices, and men who are now working for wages along Gold Run could in 1900 have sold their holdings at prices that would exceed the total production of the whole region. Probably not more than $10,000 has been obtained from all the workings on Gold Run above Alder Creek. About a quarter of a mile above Alder Creek a well-defined pay streak, 40 feet wide, was found extending nearly 1,500 feet. At the upper end, however, this pay streak apparently passed under the left bank of the creek and was lost. The gold was found on a layer of clay above the true bed rock.

In the course of the prospecting along Gold Run above Alder Creek a number of rich spots in the gravel were found which produced considerable gold, but were quickly mined out. One of these, which was abandoned in 1903, was at the mouth of Quartz (iulch, about 4 miles above Sullivan. The workings covered an area about 30 by 100 feet and were 5 feet deep. No reliable reports of the amount of gold produced were obtained. Although the bed of Gold Run has been prospected all the way to its head, no extensive deposits of gravel carrying sufficient values to justify mining under existing economic conditions have been discovered. The gravels generally carry some gold, but in general not enough to pay for working with rockers; moreover, the necessity of extensive wing dams to drain the creek bed and the liability of the stream to sudden freshets that destroy all dams make the expenses of mining prohibitive.

At the present time the attention of prospectors is directed to the benches, many of which are conveniently located for economic mining. On the left bank of the Bluestone, opposite the mouth of (iold Bun, gold has been found in two benches, one about 10 feet and the other 50 feet above the present river bed. Ground sluicing in progress on the lower bench showed a section from the surface down as follows: Muck and red-brown clay, 2 feet; gravel, about 5 feet, resting upon massive greenstone bed rock. The bed rock on th( upper bench is also massive greenstone and the excavations show gravel

fi-om a few inclies to 7 or 8 feet thick. It i,s reported tliat on boil these benches some of the gold is found in fissures in the bed rock. On the fight bank of (iold Rnn. near its month. Iheif are abo two lynches in which placer gold has been found. One of these is only a few feet above the present creek and was [irobflbly formed a flood plain in a [K-riod not very remote. The uthpr bench is aUmi 100 feet alive the creek bed and Iwlongs to a woli-defined system uf ijenches that can he traced for several mites along the vallpy walk Several prospect holes have Ijeen sunk on both these Ix-nchi-w, showing 10 to Ki feet of well-washed gravel. The extent of the hid not Ijeen determined in From pannings seen by the writer it Beem.s probable that these gnivels may be made to yield to 87 lo the cubic yard. Attempts have been made to work them by use of a small stream of water collected fnini melting snow on the hillside above and also by carrying gravels down to the creek in wheelbstrows, bnt the claims are not at present in operation and can iwt he worked at a profit by either of these methods.

A bench 20 feet above the level of the ci-eek bed. the month of Aider Ci-eek, pnibably also belongs to this system of bench-s. Tin' bed rock, however, slopes gi-adually from the upiwr level of llw (.gravels about 50 feet nljove the creek down lo an escarpment only I few feet above the bed, producing a hillside placer. In this deposit was being worked by means of a ditch about 2 miles long. whiA brought water from the upper part of (Jold Run to tlie hillside alxw. giving it an elevation aliove the mucstonc of about 50 fret. By lb* use of this water the surface materials were fir.'ft grouml shiicwi off. after which the gravels were shoveled into llie sluice boxes. At 'lie iiplKT of ihe cut made by ground sluicing the section ex[>w*d wa-- about as follows, from the surface down: Moss and muck. 1 fwt: clear ice, from tJ to 10 feet; gravel of undetermined depth. At tbf lower edge of the bench, a few feet above the creek bed, sei-oral fit* had been mined out and sluiced. In these workings tin-gnu-els Iibw a thickness of 2 to feet and rest upon n bed rock consisting flf gi-aphitie schists with small sills of intruded gi-eenstone. The pJ'l- bearlng gravels contain a large nmoutil of sticky yellow c'lay sedimoit and the gold ranges in size from fine gi'ains to comparatively huff nuggets. Several nuggets worth more than SflOO have oblHintd. The gold is generally stained and coated with iron, and has a dark color. In one of the nuggets Ihe gold was associated with green rock. ]irobably decoinpos*'d greenstone. In the concentrates fi-oni llu* claim a great deal of limonite derived from ihe alteration of peril* was found, but as the claim is located on the original cjimp site of ih* district a great many metallic things, such as nails and carlridp* have Ix-en found with the concentnitvs, and one loarknl ivvoIvot U to have U-en lakcn from llie sluice Intxe-s. A sample of tlws* coiu

Post Olabence Fbeciitct.

trates containing no free gold and consisting mainly of linionite bles was assayed, giving O.lii onnce of gold and 0.111 ounce, of silver to the ton. The product of this bench claim during the .season of IttOS i.% unknown, but a clean-up aggregating $.'i,000 was reported after a thre days* run with ten men shoveling into the sluice

About 2 miles above Aider Creek a bench deposit on the east side of Gold Run. 200 feel above the creek has prospected by n )duf( 120 feet deep. Bed rock was reached at a depth of 115 feet, and the material on the dump consists of well-rounded gravel, moat of it nilher fine, but including many bowlders of greenstone and vein quartz, the largest lieing 2 feet in diameter. Coarse colors of gold were found on bed rock, but were not abundant enough to pay. This deposit lies in a low divide between the valleys of Oold Run and McAdam Creek. It is probably part of an abandoned drainage channel.

Benches at various levels arc common features of the Gold Run valley, and it is evident fi'om the developments ahvady miidithat they are worthy of the attention.

Alder Creek, a tributary to Gold Run from the east aide 2 miles from (he Bluestone, has a length of alxMit 2 miles. It lends near the general level of the plateau, at a point about 'i miles east of the forks of Bluestone River, and flows in a southwesterly direction. The gradient of the creek is wHnparatively steep. Its valley has gently sloping sides which do not give any superficial evidence of benches. The whole surface is deeply covered with muck and moss, probably in tate part underlain by ground ice. The creek in ordinary seasons probably does not carry over 50 miners inches of water at its mouth. In fact, near its mouth the water Is just sufficient for u fair sluice head. Where not disturbed by mining operations the creek lied has a width of only T to 8 feet, and a section of peaty soil and nick is exposed in I he banks.

Sonie mining has been done along; this creek for about 1 mile alive its mouth. Gold was discovered in IflOO, and the creek for a quarter of a mile was nearly worked out at that time. Since then t!ie workings have extended more slowly upstream, but it is reiMrted that 1 mile above the month of the creek there is not sufficient in the gravelti to pay for mining. In a claim at the mouth the gravels have all been washed, and the rock has been stripped for several hun- (bed feet. The bed rock consists of chloritic mica schists containing sonie stringers and small veins of quartz, as well as some small intmsions of greens-tone. Although the claim was practically exhansled in ISKHl-IllOl, some pay Wiis found In VM-2 exlendlng inidr the left

280 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

bank near the middle of the claim to a distance about 30 feet fron the original creek bed. For this distance the bed-rock floor was found to be nearly on a level with the bed of the creek, but beyond this the bed rock gradually rose and the pay gravel thinned out on the edge. At the edge of the cut the section exposed consists of several feet of frozen moss and muck. In the bed rock ot this claim there is a lode about 16 feet wide, which has been prospected to a depth of 60 feet. The ledge is made up of a gray talcose material containing some quartz in fine stringers and blebs. All of the ledge matter carries pyrite in streaks, and it is reported that fine colors of gold have been panned out of the ore taken from the bottom of shaft. The hanging wall of this deposit is in a somewhat schistor* limestone containing albite crystals; the foot wall is a graphitic schist. A sample of the ore assayed by E. E. Buriingame & Co., of Denver, Colo., yielded 0.06 ounce of gold to the ton and a trace of silver.

About half a mile from the mouth of the creek the pay streak is 25 feet wnde and located under the left bank. The section shows 4 feet of muck above 4 feet of pay gravel resting upon a broken limestone bed rock. The gold on the lower half of the claim is coated with iron oxide; that on the upper half is bright. It is reported that a great many nuggets worth from 25 cents to $13.60 have been found, and that there is practically no fine gold. Although the concentrates in this placer contain cubes of iron pyrite that are not much waterworn, the gold is nearly all well rounded. Several pans of pay dirt washed by A. J. Collier yielded about 25 cents each.

During the season of 1903 a deposit of very rich pay dirt was found on one of the claims not far from the mouth of the creek, but probably $10,000 would be a fair estimate of the total on Alder Creek during the season.

Right Fork.

Right Fork has been prospected from its mouth up, but though colors of gold have been for.nd both in the creek bed and in a stream of benches like those on Gold Run, no placers that will \aeld profit by primitive milling methods have discovered, except on one tributarv, which was not examined.

Bering Creek, a tributarv of Igloo Creek, which enters the Bluestone from the south about 5 miles above Gold Run, is a short stream on which seven claims have been recorded. It is about 12 miles by wagon road from Teller. Gold in paying quantities was discovered here in 1901. It is reported that in 1902 the creek produced a few

Port Clabence And Goodhope Precincts. 281

thousand dollars and in 1903 probably somewhat more, but no definite estimate of the total has been obtained. The gold is coarse, practically all in the form of nuggets, and it is reported that from $40 to $60 a day was often picked out of the gravel by the miners without sluicing.

Anikovik River.

Anikovik River, which enters Bering Sea at the town of York, about 12 miles east of Cape Prince of Wales, is 15 miles long. It heads in the York Mountains, and through the greater part of its length flows across the York Plateau, in which it has cut a comparatively broad valley. For several miles above its mouth the valley and river bed contain gravels several feet deep and 200 to 300 feet wide. In 1900 the whole of this river was regarded as gold-placer ground, but at the present time nearly all the workings have been abandoned. The conditions as they existed in 1900 were described in Brooks's report, already cited," and further notes were published in the report of 1901.

In 1903 only one party of prospectors attempted to mine the gravels of this river and the whole product for a month's work did not exceed $600. At a point about half a mile from the coast a ditch had been dug along the side of the valley, and the river was turned through this ditch by means of a dam, leaving the river bed exposed. The gravel was about feet thick and rested upon slate bed rock dipping at an angle of about 70°, which contained placer gold to a depth of 6 to 18 inches. In size the gold ranged from very fine to nuggets worth $10. The fine gold was generally bright, but the nuggets were iron stained. Cassiterite and magnetite were found witli the gold in the concentrates. These gravels evidently carry a small amount of gold, and if they could be worked economically by a company holding several miles of the river bed it is possible that adequate returns could be obtained. Up to the present time, however, the efforts to mine gold on Anikovik River have not been successful. Small amounts of gold are also obtained from the tin placers of Buck Creek, about 15 miles north of the Anikovik, which have been described in a previous report.

Goodhopf. Precinct.

The northern part of the peninsula, an area draining into the Arctic Ocean between the west side of Shishmaref Inlet and the head of Goodhope Bay is called the Goodhope precinct. More

'Brooks, A. H.. Richardson, G. B., and Collier, A. J., Reconnaissances In the Cape Nome Norton Bay Regions, Alaska, In 1900, a special publication of the U. S. Geol. Survey. 1901, p. 134.

'Collier, A. J., Reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward PenlnKuln. Alaska: Prof. Paper U. S. Geol. Snrrey No. 2, 1902, p. 48.

' Tin deposits of the York region, Alaska : Boll. U. 8. Ool. Anvt ijo. VV-

282 Gold Placers Of Sewakd Peninsula.

than half of this region is covered with the typical tundra, which skirts the Arctic Ocean. This coastal-plain area is built up of gravels and silts, but they are not known to be auriferous. Most of the streams are sluggish and flow in meandering courses over the plain. South of the coastal plain occur gravels, schists and limestones of the Nome group, with one large area of granite, probably a stock. (See geologic map, PI. XI, in pocket.) Devil Mountain, an isolated peak in the northern part of the precinct, is a basaltic lava mass rising to an elevation of nearly 900 fee! above the coastal plain, whose gravels mantle its base on all sides. Placer gold has been found in a small area in the southern part of the precinct north of the divide at the head of Kougarok River. This region may be approached by a long overland trip up the valley of the Kougarok or by small boats up the rivers which flow into ShLshmaref Inlet. It is one of the most difficult places of access in the peninsula and the cost of bringing in supplies is prohibitive to mining operations except on fabulously rich deposits. There has been considerable prospecting and a little mining here, and a small amount of gold has been taken out of Dick Creek, a tributary of Brj'an Creek, which flows into Serpentine River. This locality has not been visited by Geological Survey parties, but from descriptions furnished by miners it seems probable that there is a considerable amount of rather low-gi*ade auriferous gravel along Dick Creek and some of the neighboring streams. In general these deposits appear to be simihr in character to those near the head of Kougarok River, described on page 826. A preliminary report on the placers of the Groodhope precinct has ah'eady been published."

Collier, A. .T., Reconnaisfinnce In the northwestern portion of Seward PenlMola, Alaska : i'rof. i'aper U. 8. Geol. Survey No. 2, 1902, pp. 53-66.

The Bluff Region.

By Alfred H. Brooks.

There is a deep bight in the southern coast line of Seward Peninsula, between Cape Nome on the west and Eocky Point on the east, and near the northernmost point of this reentrant, at the mouth of Daniels Creek, lies the small settlement called Bluff. The irregu- [ar group of buildings that makes up the settlement is already in part threatened with engulfment in the pit of the hydraulic mine 2lo9e at hand (PI. VII). BlulF is 50 miles east of Nome, with which it has a nominal weekly mail service and from which it can be conveniently reached by coasting vessels or by wagons along the beach. There is no harbor at Bluff, but it is a little more sheltered from westerly and easterly storms than many of the other settlements along the coast. The town, whose population, is less than half a hundred people (904r), owes its existence to the rich gold placers of Daniels Creek, which are being systematically exploited by the Topkok Ditch Company. The total production of this region up to 1904: exceeds $1,000,000, practically all of which has been taken from Daniels Creek and the beach adjacent to its delta. Gold has, however, been found also on Koyana Creek to the east and on Eldorado, Ryan, and Little Anvil (sometimes known as Silver Bow) creeks to the west of Daniels Creek.

It is proposed to describe briefly the salient features of the gold placers of these creeks. This sketch is based largely on the writer's own observations, made during a few days' visit, but these have been supplemented by the results of G. B. Richardson's examination, made in 1900.

'Brooks, A. H., Richardson, G. B., and Collier, A. .T., ReconnalBBances the Cape Nome *nd Norton Bay regions, Aiaska, in 1000, a special publication of the U. S. Geo!. Survey, 1901, pp. 102-106.

The Bluff region, which will here defined as tlie area including' streams tributary to Bering; Sea from Topkoli Head to Koyii&fc Creekj is of the same topographic type as the rest uf the peninsiilt Flat-ttippeii highlands with gentle slopes are broken by broad g and shallow valleys, many of the latter widening out into broad phithea lei's.

fovej-ed plain stretches westward from the head of Golo Sound, through which Klokerblok River and many smaller anis meander in sluggish ciini'ses (PI. VIII. in pocket). TUialm land is Imijnded on the west by highlands that constitute a northwesterly extentiiiiii of u range of hills trending along the seaward margin of the ininHiila west of Goiofnin Day. A similar highland arei northwestward from Topkok Head, and the two are COB' liected by several tlat-topped, serpentine ridges, which separate th* ooastnl from the Klokerblok drainage. The summits of all thea uplands are flat and of strikingly uniform altitude, ranging oul] Iwtween SOO and 1.000 feet above the sea. This feature is very s gestive of a surface uplifted and dissected by erosion. The valley ff Koyana Creek, the most easterly stream of the awa here considered is a wide, shallow basin, presenting a broad delta front to the a Steep, rocky blutfs, broken only by the small valley of Swede Guki face the sea for 3 miles to the we.st. At Daniels Cre*'k the highland recede and, with a roughly crescentic sweep, encircle the valleys* Daniels, Eldorado, and Ryan creeks, touching the sea again alxniti miles to the west. This crescentic lowland area has a gently rollili| surface, caused by the incision of the thi-ee above-mentioned valleys and their tributaries. So gentle are the stream slopes anil* shalhiw are the valleys that, when seen from a salient, thv cUreotiol of the drainage is ditUcuIt to determine. The headwaters of tiM streams are .separated Jay broad, low gaps from the drainage of tl Klokerblok, and one of these gaps is li-versed by the Topkok tlitti which brings water to Daniels Creek.

We.st of Ryan Creek the highlands again retreat to encircle tl small valley drained by Iittle Anvil Creek, and approach the a once more at the i-ocky bhilT that marks the eastern side of ToplH lley. Topkok River, tin? largest stream of the district, ha.s a wel ned, steep-sided valley, which is jjicised to a depth of 400 to Ivelow the highlands. It has a gravel Hoor and pix-wnto a hnn I In the seji. No rommerciiil placers have lieen found within tl latin of Topkok River, and it lies rather outside of the field of ti ii-esent discuiion.

SngRtinns in tliin fii'lil Iiavu ln'cii continpil lo the gold placers, almost to the exclusion of the bed-rock geolog\% inn] even the anriferoiis (rravelw have not yet been adeiiiialely It is possible, therefoiT, to express the strati graphic and structural geology in only the most general terms. EichanlAon. who through his acqiiaintanee with adjacent areas had a broader knowledge of the Bluff region Ihnti the writer, divided the bed-rock ferranes into three groups:" (1) A massive gray eiystalliiie limestone; ("2) a mica schist, with sonte interbedded graphitic limestone; and (3) a formation of massive limestone and mica schist. The writer's observationH hardly bear out the coritness of this succession of beds, for it appears to him that there is only one massive white limestone, which is succeeded by a mica schist and graphitic limestone formation. Some facts also are presented below which wonid indiwite that the mica schists are. in part at least, altered intnisivcs and hence do not mark any definite stratigraphic position. In the preceding pages

Flo. IB. — Diagram ot cliff pxpomin? iii'Br moulli of lUnlflo rr™k.

Mr. Collier, in presenting the general geology of .Sewaid Peninsula. includes this area as a part of the Nome group, and it is probable that the massive limestone belongs to the Port Clarence horizon. Mr, Collier's lower schist series is not exposed in the Topkok region, but his upper schists are probably i-epresented by a belt of rocka which stretches northwestward from Rocky Point, and npjwars to m'rlie the limestone outcropping along the coast east of the mouth of Daniels Creek.

Mica schists occur as irregular mas.es within llie limestone belts, and although they do not dilTer lithologically in any very e-ssential way from the schists believed to be-of sedimentary origin, their mode of occurrence strongly suggests that they are altered intnisives. The most striking example of this is seen in the cliff exposures just east of the month of Daniels Creek (fig. 15). Here an irregular mass of mica schist is inclowd in limestone walls. Lines of faulting have obscured the original relation of Ihe two rocks, but the outline of i the schist mass is very suggestive of an intrusion. The schist, what- J

Op. dt., t03. fl

286 Gold Pl.Vcers Of Seward Peninsula.

ever its original character, has been intensely deformed and at this particular locality has been intruded by many quartz veins. It is now composed essentially of quartz and mica, with some chlorite, and its mineral composition might be that of either an altered diment or an altered igneous rock. Further evidence of the intrusive character of some of these schists is found in the fact that at various localities the limestone walls near the contact with the schists are more or less metamorphosed. These facts, together with the irregular distribution of the schist, indicate an igneous origin, though it must be confessed that the evidence is by no means conclusive.

The larger structures of the Bluff region appear to be simple, but there are many minor complications. Thff heavy limestone has uplifted into a low dome, whose longer axis stretches approximately X. 70° E. About 3 miles northeast of Bluff this structure carries the limestone underneath the younger mica schists, which probably mantle the limestones to the west also. The major folds are all low, the dips being from 10° to 30°, but locally there has been intense deformation. In this region, owing to the great scarcity of outcrops, few of the local features can be determined except along the sea-cliff exposures, and there minor faulting and folding can be seen in many places. These exposures plainly indicate that if the mica schists are intrusives tliev were injected previous to the deformation of the inclosing limestones. These mica schists appear to be the gold-laying rocks of the district, and hence their mode of occurrence and their distribution are of economic interest. So far as observed, the schists appear to mineralized only near their contact with the limestones. At the* places quartz veins cutting the foliation of the schist are not uncommon. The individual veins appear to be of small extent, but at some localities a stock work forms a considerable mass of low-grade ore. No assays have nuide, and it is not known that these iMxlies earn' commercial values, but the mineralization is of interest as showing the sourc( of the placer gold. The ores appear to be chiefly iron pyrite. with some chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite. Three miles east of Daniels Creek attempts have been made to open up one of these on> Ixxlies. The deposits in both structural and mineralogical character are closely similar to thos( of Anvil Creek. Though we have no diivct evidence that theiv are lode in the Bluff region which could be profitably mined, the occurrence of the phenomenally rich placers along Creek, the gold of which, as will be shown, is unquestionably of local origin, makes it not improbable that the stripping of the gravels may eventually reveal a workable ore body.

The distribution of the alluvium is of more immediate interest to the miner than the geology of the bed rock. The upper limit of the unconsolidated sands and gravels is less than 200 feet above sea levei, but it is difficult to detenuine the exact line of demarcation, because

&long the valley slopes the waterwoin iimterisl and the talus have iiitermingled. As the sands and gi'avels were, for the iiioHt part, laid down by streams, the upper limit is not a horizuntnl line bill varies with the gradient of the streams by whidi they were For the same reason the alluvium, in many places, has a very (lerceptible dip, as on Daniels Creek, where the beds fall off to tlic west at an angle of 5°, Tho thickn&ss of the alluvial ranges from a mini- Dium of less than 1 foot along the margin of the deposit to a maximum of 40 to 100 (±) feet on

Dmniels Creek. The character of

the material also varies greatly, but

days and sands appear tudoniinale.

Except in the old beach deposits

near the coast and on some of the

smaller cn-vks, nmch of the gravel

16 rather angular and appears to

have Iteen little waterwoni. Near

tbe tuoulh of Daniels Creek a well

defined beach deposit Iiei almiil 10

has been removed by the minmg

Operations, but enough remains to

dura' the typical lieach ihanHtei of

tbe gravels. The deposit dips

ward the st-a. i-ontains some sjniigle

and is overlain by about 8 feet of

day and muck. "With the alluMum

just described is grouped a sei le'? of

nandi and sandy clays whiili an

llic product of roi'k weathering and

ttt almost in place. On Danit Is

Creek alone, so far as know n to thi

Kritej". does the alluvium appear to

mcb a considerable tbickness. Not

more than feet of gravels were foiinil resting upon rock on the

upper part of Eldorado Creek, and even on Daniels Creek the allu-

Timn is only almut 7 feet deep a mile fi-oin the beach. It should be

tiUted, however, that at the time of the wi-iter's visit ( 11104) the depth

(fled rock had been determined at no other localities than those just

Ideficribed. It is that in the summer of 1907 excavations Were made near the mouth of Daniels Creek to a depth of 60 feet. It is not clear whether these were in alhivinm or in the decomposition products of the limestone, but the material is said to carry values. i

288 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

THE PliACERS.

(lold is said to have been found at the mouth of Daniels Creek in September, 1800, by William Hunter and Frank Walker, but it was not until December that the first claims were staked.*" These were located by J. S. Sullivan, George Ryan, and others. In the following January five claims were staked along the beach by H. C. Malniquist, William Hunter, and others, who organized themselves as the Black Chief Mining Company and obtained control of the Daniels Creek claims. In March the news of the discovery was published at Nome and many men found their way to Bluff. By this time the beach also had been found to be auriferous and, in accordance with the ruling of a miners' meeting, it was thrown open to all comers for a distance of 00 feet back from high tide. The exploitation of the beach placers by men who had gained their experience at Nome was energetically pushed till July 8, 1000, when military intervention put an end to beach mining. By that time, however, about $600,000 in gold had been taken out of the sands from a strip of the beach less than 1,000 feet long — probably the richest deposit of this kind ever found in the world.

Meanwhile the two lowest claims on Daniels Creek had been opened up and in 1000 yielded probably $200,000 in gold. Most of this, however, was taken not from the stream bed proper but from an old beach that stretches across the present mouth of Daniels Creek.

The beach placers were practically exhausted in 1900, yet the auriferous gravels of the lower part of Daniels Creek continued to be exploited during the following two years as far as the scanty amount of water available for sluicing would allow. Most of the gold produced here in 1001-2 came from Discoverv claim, at the mouth of Daniels Creek, which was worked by the aid of a gasoline engine that pumped a sluice head of water from the sea. In the meantime gold had been found on Eldorado and Ryan creeks and on Swede Gulch, but lack of water prevented operations except on a small scale.

In 1002 a strong company called the Topkok Ditch Company began the construction of a waterway from the head of Klokerblok River to Daniels Creek. This work was completed late in the summer of 1003, and sluicing began. In lOOi the company had about 16 miles of ditch in operation, and in 1006 extended the conduit about miles. (See PI. VIII, in pocket.) This enterprise is a most successful hydraulic mining operation and demonstrates what can be done under favorable conditions and with intelligent and economical management. When the heavy gravel deposits of Daniels Creek

Brooks, A. H., Richardson, G. B., and OoUier, A. J., Reconnaissances in the Cape None and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900, a special publication of the U. 8. Geol. Surrey* 1001, p. 104.

The Bluff Region. 289

have been sluiced off, the water of the Topkok Ditch Company can be utilized to mine the shallower deposits of Eldorado, Ryan, and other smaller creeks.

The accompanying sketch map (fig. 16) shows the known distribution of the auriferous gravels in the vicinity of Bluff. The valleys of Swede Gulch and Koyana Creek should be regarded as part of this region, but as they contain relatively shallow deposits and have not proved very rich, they are probably of no great commercial importance.

The district embraces only two types of auriferous deposits — tlie beach placers and the creek placers. The former, however, include an old beach placer as well as that of the present beach. These beach placers have been described as follows in the previous report : "

The rich part of the beach extended about 500 feet west of the mouth of Daniels Creek and about 50 feet east to a clifif that projects into the sea. The beach pay streak wa9 3 to 4 feet thick, overlain by a foot of barren sand and underlain by clay of undetermined thickness. Gold occurred disseminated in schist gravel, in which were scattered bowlders of mica schist averaging 10 to 15 pounds In weight and smaller pieces of limestone. The ruby sand " so prominent about Nome Is inconspicuous here, though some garnets are present In tlie jmivels. The heavy minerals associated with the gold are magnetite, nodules of Hmonite, small pieces of ilmenite, and bits of cinnabar. Cinnabar is fairly abundant in the tailings, ranging from to rounded pebbles the size of marbles, but it has not been found in place. The beach gold is rather coarse, much coarser than that from the Nome beach. It averages 12 pieces to the cent and assays show a purity of 0.870.

During the height of the excitement of beach mining it was common for a man to take out $100 to $300 a day, and three men are said to have taken out $10,000 in three days. It is estimated that the gold tenor of much of the pay streak must have averaged $150 to the cubic yard, or about $1 to the pan. This is far richer than the best part of the Nome beach sands, and, in fact, is the richest marine placer ever found. In gold content it has been equaled by only a very few claims in the peninsula.

Before considering the origin of the beach gold it is well to

describe the other auriferous gravels of the vicinity. An uplifted

beach placer which lies athwart the course of Daniels Creek has

been mentioned. This deposit is less than 10 feet above the present

beach, and the character of the material in both deposits is the same.

It is believed, however, that the gold content of this older beach is

not so great as that of the present beach. The sands of the elevated

beach are about 6 feet thick, include some gravel layers, and are

Brooks, A. H., Richardson, G. B., and Collier, A. J., Reconnaissances In the Capo Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900, a special publication of the I'. S. (Jeol. Surrey, 1901. pp. 104-105.

290 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

overlain by about 8 feet of sandy clay with fragments of limestone. The relation of the two deposits is well exhibited in the section (fig. 16). The overburden of sandy clay carries but little gold. The old beach has been recognized only at the mouth of Daniels Creek, and here much of it has been removed by mining operations.

Inland from this elevated beach there is a gradual transition to the gravels of Daniels Creek, which appear to lie in a broad, rockfloored basin with some corrugations parallel to the water courses. The sides of this basin slope toward the axis, and the whole is tilted toward the sea with a grade of probably 300 feet to the mile. The bed rock, so far as exposed, is a rather massive limestone, everywhere more or loss crystalline. The surface is much pitted, and the original rock floor must have been one of great irregularity. Mining operations since the writer's visit have shown that there is more than one channel. Deep crevices penetrate the limestone and in some places make it appear like an aggregate of bowlders. So far as observed, however, all these so-called bowlders are practically in place.

The alluvial material is of two general types — that in which clay predominates and that which is chiefly sand. It ranges, however, from a micaceous but very stiff clay to a loose sand with gravel layers. In many places no structure can be made out in the clays; the of the sands and gravels is of the greatest irregularity, locally changing its character every few feet. The indications arc very strong that the layer>> of clay, which in general lie near the bottom of the deposit, are formed almost in place, whereas the sands and gravels appear to have laid down in swiftly flowing water. Many fragments of angular limestone are found embedded in the clay, and in places the whole may Ik* traced by gradual transitions into the limestone underneath. A pit about a mile from the beach showed the, following section:

Sect inn I iniJr fnnn hrarh tirar Hluff,

Fwt.

Murk nnd vootatlon . I J

Sand nnd clay, some stratlfi<'ation .. 1

(May. with frajrments of liinostono, probably lyhij? IkmI

A section about a quarter of a mile from the is approxiniatelv as follows:

SrctiffU mile hrach near lihtff.

Muck and vojctatlon . .. 1-li

Fine Rands, some chiy 10-12

Sand and jrravcls. with layer in

Micaceous reddish clay, dorivcnl from limestone

Limestone fragments, probably resting upon rock.

The Bluff Region. 291

This section shows that the alluvial deposit thickens very rapiiUy toward the sea. Near the head of the creek the surficial dexisits consist chiefly of clay, but near its mouth sands and gravels predominate. No adequate data are at hand for determining the amount of the alluvium in this basin, because, except at the mouth of the creek, there are but few places where measurements can be made. Moreover, the bed-rock surface is so irregular that any generalization of the average thickness must leave a large range to chance.

The clays are mostly reddish, in some places blue, and generally contain considerable mica. Their tenacity is dependent on the absence of sandy material. By the addition of arenaceous matter they pass into sandy clays and thence into sands. The typical sands arc dark gray and carry much mica. Many of the gravels are strikingly angular. Lithologically, they are made up of mica schist and vein quartz. They are as a rule iron stained and in many places carry sulphide minerals. Although there are great local irregularities in the bedding of the gravels, yet in general the planes of stratification dip away from the high eastern ridge. The maximum dip observed was 5 degrees.

Little can be said of the distribution of the pay gravels. The managers of the hydraulic mine report that in general the clay carries higher values than the sand and gravel. This is very significant, for it appears to be established that the sand and gravel have been far more sorted than the clay. It would indicate a large gold tenor for the rock from which the clay has been derived. In any event there can be no question that the gold is very near its bed-rock source, which appears to be at the contact of mica schist and limestone. Since the writers visit high values are said to have been found at depths of 50 and 60 feet, near the mouth of the creek. This would suggest that there was either a deeper channel below the present stream or that the material in which this gold was found was a product of weathering, in part derived from the hill slope to the east. The facts available are inadequate to decide this question.

Generally throughout the peninsula the richest placers, except where there has been secondary concentration, occur at the (contact of limestone and schist. These contacts appear to zones of weakness where, in consequence of stresses, fissuring has developed ami thus given opportunity for the ore-bearing solutions to penetrate. The Daniels Creek deposits are no exception to this statement, for the location of the placers with reference to the limestone and schist, ts well as the character of the gravels, points to the conclusion thai the zone of mineralization lies at the contact of the rocks of th( two types.

An impregnated zone is well exposed along the sea cliff about thretfourths of a mile east of the mouth of Daniels Creek, aivOi, ls Wvw.

'very likely the type of lodu from which the jihuiT iM i- derived, it merits a detailed description, though its commercial value haK not established. At this locality a belt of mica schist oIkjiiI 60 feet wide ia more or less ijnpregnatwi by py rite-bearing qnartz stringers. The belt, including some irregular limestone musses I bounded by graphitic limestone walls, which dip awny from llH p. schists and form a small anticline much bi-oken by faults. The M-bit, is silvery gray and appears to consist essentially of MTicitc tnil quartz. Its relations to the limestone suggest that it may bo an altered intrusive. The ileformation of the series has upturned inH fractured the limestone beds and has renderml the intrnilei) mrk rather schistose. At the west contact a band of schist 20 feet in cross section lies between one of the included limestone masses and the wmntry rock. In this band the mineralization is more inlenw t than in the re,st of the schist. Ilei-e a series of gash veins, the lnrp-i [ of which is 18 inches in width, cuts the foliation of ihe schist ( fig. 1*1 A mass of crushed material nrgou forms the hanging wall of tlif deposit, and along this zone, which In* lieen a plane of movement, the ipiarti veins are cut off alirnptJy. Strinpi* of quartz do. however, occur iii iIk limestone on both sides of thr whiA The ore appears to be chiefly tnin pyrite and mispickel. with snuff chalcopyrite ; the gangiie is niah quartz, with calcite. ll is rfported that values as high as f3 lu ti the ore, but Ihe writer did nut lesni how the as.say sample was taken.

As the source of the placer gold is at the contact of the schist uul. limestone, which is also the position of the above-described im| uated zone, all the gold may have its origin in one type of ludtt posit. Though the existence of workable lode deposits must in question until systematic prospecting has been done, yet the of rich placers like those of Daniels Creek, nhoso gold appears have leen moved but little from its l'd-rock source, mnkm it possible that a workable lode deposit tuny sort-tiinc Iw distort-nxL

The only locality in the district where an attempt at lode devukiC ment has niudo is miles east of BliifT, near the shon'. Ilerti ledge is said to lie 14 feet wide and to yiehl up to $.10 in golJ (n ton. Tlie ore is pyrite and mispickel. This occur-enw Is helmet to be similar to the one above described, but it was not. examined the writer.

the ton in gold have been found i

Tlie Daniels Creek placers are th only onej= in the Bluff region cufiiciently oijeiied up to ijerniit study. Here several fact-s are evident: First, the source of the gold is entirely local; second, where it ts richest, as in the red-clny deposits, there appears to have been little torting action by water; third, the gold is so intimately associated rith mica-scliist debris that moat probably the schist has a close con- Hctiim with its origin. It has iieen pointed out that the gold in the district is probably derived from the impregnated zones in mica schist and limestones near their contact. If this mica schist is an altered intensive, its distribution may be very irregiilar. It is prob- Ue that if the siirficial deposits could be stripped off. the impreg- Mled zones would bo found not far from the present plaoers. but there Is no evidence yet that these zones will be found lo carry conuuercial nines. This statement is supported both by the fact that the aurifervas clays have not been moved far from their original position, where alley were formed in place by the weathering of the and by the fact that as a rule the gold-bearing gravels ai-e angidnr. It is jpTident that the stream gradients must have been low during the fieriod of the formation of the clay, or the water would have quickly moved it. The area was probably exposed for a long time to the agencies of weathering, and an irregularly pitted land surface was kirodiiced. The bed rock was probably deeply buried by the clay and Eotber products of weathering. An uplift followed, as a result of mhirh ihe carrying power of the streams was increjised and th de- [jKHts of sands and gravels were laid down. At Daniels Creek this inpUfl gave the former level a slight westward lilt, as is shown liy the bedding of the gravels. The elevated beach deposit appears to have been formed prior to this uplift, but it would require a very detailed Surrey lo establish this fact. The gold, however, was certainly conttrated by wave action in the older beach, as in the present beacli. [The presence of gold at a depth of 00 feet near the mouth of Daniels reported in 1907. may indicate either a deep zone of weather- a buried ancient beach line. Subsequent uplift, which probnot exceed S feel at the coast, exposed Ibis <older in ave action, and thus led to a reconcent ration of the gold in ives of the pre-sent beach.

Other creeks of the district besides Daniels Creek have been le developed, for none of them carry a sluice head of water the early spring or during heavy rains. Eventually, how- :, tJiey will all lie hydraulicked with water from the Topkok ' . Sluicing has done on about half a dozen claims on Eldo- Creck, and some work has been done on Ryan and Little Anvil Weka. So far as the scanty exposures show, the mode of occurrence the gold on these streams is similar to that of Daniels Creek, but the deposits are probably not so rich and the iiurifei-ous gravels not [nexteniqve.

THE KOUCtAROK REGION.

By AumcD II. Bbookb.

The name "Koiigarok district" is generally given to a gold-placerregion in the central part of Seward Peninsula, drained mostly by Kougarok River. This paper describes both the drainage basin of this river and the other gold-bearing streams tributary to Kuzitrin River from the north. Kruzgamepa River, whose drainage basin lies in the Kougarok precinct (see fig. 18), is considered elsewhere in this volume (p. 266). Investigations were begun in this field in 1900 bv the writer, assisted bv A. J. Collier, soon after the first actual discovery of workable placers. This work was extended by Mr. Collier in 1901. In 1903 the district was again examined by Messrs. Collier and Hess, who prepared a paper for this volume, but the delay in publication enabled the writer to visit this field again the volume was submitted for publication.'' As many new facts have been developed by the mining operations since Mr. Collier's studies were made, it has seemed liest to entirely rewrite this section of the report. The notes of Messrs. Collier and Hess have been freely drawn on, but the writer alone is responsible for the conclusions here advanced. Descriptions of the creeks not visited by the writer have been quoted directly from their manuscript. All the surveys thus far made have been preliminary, and the data obtained leave much to be desired as to the details both of the geology and of the distribution of the placer old.

"An abHtract of thin paper Is contained In Bull. V. S. Survey No. rJM, 1007. pp. 104-1 HI.

*The "KouRftrok precinct" Includen the entire drainage basin of Kusitrin and Kruxganiepn rivers.

The writer's task was rendered pleasanter and the work wa much accelerated by the hospitality and courtesy shown him by the operators and prospectors in the region during his ten days' visit. Among the many that deserve special mention ar the Irving Mining Company, the Northwestern Development <'ompjiny. J. M. Davidson, Al Qarvey. Joe Turner, Nels I.ding. K. Anderson, K. Anderson, and Andrew J. Stone.

The Kouoarok Beoion. Topoghaphy.

The urea here considered is made up of three topographic provinces nliich, named from south to north, are (1) a mountain mast:, (-2) a

Flo. IS.— Bketcll mnp of Kougarok reKlon.

lovland, and (S) a dissected upland. It is Irauiided on the southeiiKt the Bendekben Mountains, which stretch eastward fvovw Xii-sjvv Kruzgaraepa Vallej and fonn with the Kigluaik MovmWvuii

GOLD PIACBBS Ot SBWARD PKH INalTIA.

lioiic of tliP peninsula. These mountains aiv sharply sernilpil. bd Hltain no gi-eat height, ihu higlllit {K'k. Mount bviiu only 3.700 feel in altitude. They are deeply incised by streams, whid occii])y steep-walled valleys.

The northwestern slope of the Bendeleben Mountains descends tf a lowland basin bounded on the north by an upland and drained inU Imuriik Basin by Kuzitrin River. This lowland has a width d nearly 10 miles ut its upper end, but gradually narrows to the soutH west as the upland and the mountains approach, becoming a wtfl defined valley about 3 miles wide. This valley extends about 10 mifl and broadens out again to a lowland which encircles the upfwr ed of Imuruk Basin. The margins of the lowlands are ijidented by tfl low spurs which extend from the mountains and the upland. ]

To the north Ihe Kuzitrin lowland rlse.s gently to an upland, wheat' Hat summits stand at altitudes of 800 to 1,000 feet. Here brod, interstreani area.s, with flat hilltojis, diveritied by some higher domes reaching altitudes of 2,500 feet, are separated by wide This upland level, as elsewhere in the peninsula, uiarks u fonn' stage of erosion, when the entire region was planated. iinbsequeDt uplift formed a plateau which has been greatly dLssected by the present water courses,

Kuzilrin Hiver drains the district southwestward to Imuruk Basin a tidal inlet connected with the sea at Port Clarence. Tliis rim meandei's sluishly aci'oss the basin lowland already descrilMHl, uA receives numerous large tributaries from the north, the longest heO XosapHga and Rougarok rivers and GarfieJd Creek. Several Kiiialltf> streams heading in Ihe Bendeleben Mountains enter from the Koutb). but these are outside of the region under discussion. The norlhoB' tributaries rise in the upland region and flow with tortuous cautWi ihrougli valleys of irregular form, here luirrowing ste(((j MKk walls, then> broadening out with gentle slopes, which ttre brobtt at many places by gnivtd-trovered benches;. Heavy talus and extensive masses of ground ire cover many of the gentler slopes aoil oljscure the bed-riN'k form of the valleys, in some places completely obliterating all topographic evidence of benches. Tributary to thi larger water courses are many smaller streams flowing through niP' row, steep-walled valleys or V-shajK'd gulches. Wliere ihc vall lire hniad rhe floors are. in ihe miiin, gravel covered; where they m narrow, bed rock is exposed at many joints. The characteristic graphic forms are smooth slows and rounded domes and ridgMJ which, as a rule, are by outcrops only at their crests.

Ah elsewhen.' in (he peninsula, the dominant vegetation riniljer is entirely absent, bul thick growths of alder and willow pn-sent along the water courses. UriiPis, though not abuuiittlil,

The Kougarok Region. 297

in favorable localities along the valley floors. The hill slopes are, for the most part, moss covered, with here and there some grass. As bed rock is exposed only on the highest summits and in the sharply cut valleys, it is exceedingly diflBcult to decipher the geology.

Bed Rock.

The two main stratigraphic units described on pages 66-70 by Mr. Collier — the Kigluaik group and the Nome group, with its subordinate member, the Port Clarence limestone — are represented in the Kougarok region. The limestone schists and granites of the Kighiaik group make up the Bendeleben Mountains and stretch along the southern margin of the region here described. These rocks, so far as known, are not gold bearing in this district, and need no further description here. This older group is separated by the broad belt of alluvium that floors Kuzitrin Valley from the schists and limestones of the Nome group, which form the country rock of the uplands and are the source of the placer gold. Here the Nome group is clearly divisible into two members — (1) the Port Clarence (?) limestone and (2) a-succession of graphitic phyllites and quartz schists,** mica and greenstone schists, and some beds of semicrystalline limestone. The Port Clarence limestone of this region is much more crystalline than that in the type exposures to the west. (See p. 73.) The schist series is closely folded and faulted, and its stratigraphic relation to the massive limestones has not been definitely established.

Whatever the stratigraphic relations are, the fact of the occurrence of two series, one essentially schistose and the other a massive limestone, is well established. The limestone forms the country rock in two large areas. One of these with an oval outline lies between Kougarok and Noxapaga rivers. The other, more irregular in form, lies to the west, partly in the Kougarok and partly in (he American basin. Between the two is a belt of closely folded and faulted schists.

Besides these sediments there are several typos of igneous rocks in this province or immediately adjacent. Greenstone schists, probably altered intrusives, occur with the schistose rocks. Dioritic rocks, ?ome massive and some more or less schistose, are common among the schists as dikes and small stocks. A large stock of granite outcrops a few miles northeast of the Kougarok- Arctic divide. A noteworthy hot spring occurs near the margin of this granite mass. In upper Kuzitrin Valley a large area is-occupied by a basaltic lava stream of recent age. (See PI. XI, in pocket; also p. 101.)

In former reports the srrapbitie schists, which form a weH-defined east-west belt about 2 miles wide and parallel to lower Kuzitrin River; were mapped as a stratigraphic unit mider. the name Kuzitrin series." These rocks are here Included In the Nome gronii. See p. 70.

298 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

As in other placer districts of the peninsula, the schistase rocks appear to be the source of the placer gold. Quartz seams and small veins are common in the schists, and many are iron stained. Prospectors say that some of these veins carry gold, and it is reported that a copper-bearing lode has been found near the divide between Kougarok and Serpentine rivers, but, so far as known to the writer, no lodes of proved commercial value have yet been discovered. There appear to have been two generations of quartz intrusioas. The earlier preceded the extensive deformation of the schists, for its veins are crushed and sheared. The later intrusion, which cuts the first system of veins and is comparatively little deformed, appears more mineralized than the first. The presence of a massive granite intrusion near the later quartz suggests a genetic relation between this quartz and the granite, but of this there is no proof.

The evidence in this district lends additional support to the opinion set forth elsewhere (p. 122), that the locus of mineralization is at or ear the contacts between the schists and the limestones. The geologic map (PI. XI, in pocket) shows a close correspondence between the contacts of the limestone and schist and the known distribution of the placer gold.

Alluvium.

The genesis and correlation of some of the alluvial deposits of this province present problems whose solution must await more detailed surveys than have yet been made. The gravels of the present streams and associated benches are of simple genesis, but the origin of the deeper deposits of the Kuzitrin lowland and of Quartz Creek is less easily explained. The alluvial deposits fall into three groups, which in order of age are as follows: (1) The gravels, sands, and clays that floor the basin lowlands and underlie the modem gravels of a part of the Quartz Creek basin; (2) the bench gravels, such as occur along Kougarok Valley; and (3) the present stream gravels.

The gravels, sands, and clays of the basin lowlands — the oldest alluvium — are known only where exposed by river erosion. They consist chiefly of gravels and sands that are somewhat finer than those of the present streams. Fragmentary evidence from drill records indicates that much of the basin is filled by clays, which were probably deposited in a large body of water, such as a lake or an estuary. However, the surface deposits of gravel and sand in the Kuzitrin basin probably do not as a rule exceed 20 or 30 feet in depth. But outside of the basin, in the more constricted part of the valley, the gravel deposits are probably much deeper.

Bench gravels, the second type of unconsolidated deposits, are common in this region. The be.st known are along Kougarok River and range from 10 to 75 feet above the present stream level. Washed

The Kougarok Region. 'J 99

gravels in benches at still higher altitudes are reported, but have not been examined. These bench gravels are of the same character as the alluvium of the present streams and appear to contain no material foreign to the basins in which they occur. Quartz pebbles usually predominate among the gravels, and much of the material on and close to bed rock is rather angular. A well-defined gravel terrace lies west of the Kougarok, extending from the mouth of Quartz Creek to the point where the river emerges from the upland. East of this point the terrace is traceable along the southern margin of the upland as far as Turner Creek by remnants of a gravel sheet, much of which has been removed by erosion. At the mouth of Quartz Creek the gravels are about 75 feet thick and can be traced up that stream nearly to Dahl Creek. This gravel bench on Quartz Creek includes at least two unconformable layers, and the uplift which raised it to its present position was differential. The genesis and physiographic significance of this deposit are considered on page 305.

The stream gravels constituting the third and latest type of alluviimi are better known than those of the other two types. They vary in character according to their occurrence. Nearly all the developed placers are in these gravels. So far as known, they carry only material derived from the basins in which thev are found. Much of the surface material is well rounded and very coarse, but many of the pebbles next to bed rock are subangular. Quartz is usually the predominant constituent of the pebbles. In some streams, as Kuzitrin River, the gravel bars are made up of iron-stained quartz, almost to the exclusion of other material. Sands and some clav are interbedded with the stream gravels, forming, however, but a small percentage of the bulk of the alluvium. In all the smaller streams and in parts of the larger ones a bed of clay or sandy clay, in which more or less vegetable matter is intermingled, forms the topmost layer. This surface bed, which is called " tundra " by the miners, ranges in thickness from 2 to 30 feet and appears to be a subaerial accumulation, due in part to the decay of vegetable matter and in part to the deposition of silt during the rainy seasons. Though sometimes explained as a lake deposit by the miners, its distribution and character seem to preclude lacustrine origin.

Another type of alluvial deposit which deserves mention is the ground ice, which occurs more extensively than in the Nome region. Along the northward-facing slopes of the valleys this ice forms in many places almost continuous layers for several miles. It ranges in consistency from a frozen mud to almost pure ice. Fragments of beaver-gnawed wood have been found in it at a number of places. The ice beds as a rule slope with the valley wall and in places extend up the hillside to a height of 100 feet above the stream. This ice can probably be explained best as the accumulation and swVivvwwV

302 Gold Pincers Of Sew Abo Peninsula.

already referred to (p. 298). It appears, however, quite possible that the rock floor of the basin merges with the gentle slopes of the upland, which has been described as a planated surface. Such i relation was suggested by the character of the topography along the trail from Dahl Creek to Kougarok Valley. Here the upland falls off to the north with a gentle slope from an altitude of about 80) feet to about 200 feet and then passes underneath the gravel terrace that bounds the Kougarok Valley. An extension of the same dope would carry it underneath the gravel-floored Kuzitrin basin. The writer explains this feature as an erosion surface that has been warped. If the basin lowland has such a structural origin, it is probable that its margin may be faulted in places. This would account for the abrupt local transitions from the valley floor to the upland. Warping may have influenced the formation of these basins also by causing local barriers that brought about headwater erosion. The evidence presented in Collier's reports as to the warping of the old land surfaces is conclusive, and only the extent and time of this warping can be called in question.

Both Moffit and Collier have called attention to the gradual transition the coastal plains and the uplands of the northern part of Seward Peninsula. The topographic map (PI. IX, in pocket) bears out this interpretation of the topography, for every where along tlio northern margin of the peninsula this gradual transition evident."

One feature of the rock floor of the Kuzitrin basin deserves special mention. Near the entrance of Dahl Creek into Quartz Creek, a tributary of Kougarok River, a shaft has been sunk to a depth of feet and, although within 50 feet of sea level, has not reached bed rock. The exposures of rock in adjacent areas indicate that at this locality a depression exists in the bed-rock floor, but the data at hand aiv insufficient to define its limits. It is also impossible to nceount for this depression, but the suggestion may be offered that it is of structural origin. If it was a channel of erosion its outlet not a|)|)arent, lHH*aust so far as known it is cut off from the sea on all sides hiirher lHd It mav, however, be the remnant of a ehannel which formerly discharged into Norton Bay through Koyuk \'alley and which was bhn'ked by the recent lava flow at the up|)er eutl of the Kuzitrin lowland.

The writer Ims olsowhoro disonsstsl similar warped ponoplalns and their notations lo lonHtnl philip. Sw and j.-eoloKy of Alaska : I*rof. Taper !'. S. Geol. Surrey N. 4o, llKMi. pp. -JTrt I'SO. iVSO-inKX

M'ompKn* PI. XI. In pooket : also PI. Ill of Bull. U. S. Geo!. Survey No. 247, 1005.

The Kougarok Region. 303

Sequence Of Geologic Events.

ITiis section treats only of the recent geologic history. The various periods of sedimentation, deformation, intrusion, and metamorphisni from which the hard rocks have resulted have been discussed bv Mr. Collier elsewhere in this report (p. 60).

In the opinion of the writer the present topography may be traced through four chief epochs — (1) planation; (2) general uplift, with local depressions permitting the invasion of the sea; (3) stream dissection, marine benching along the coast, and sedimentation in local areas; and (4) uplift, with dissection.

Planation.

It has been pointed out that certain high, flat-topped domes and spurs, ranging from 2,000 to 2,700 feet in altitude, may be the remnants of a dissected peneplain, as shown by Collier. Within the province here under discussion, however, the evidence of this old surface of erosion is too fragmentary to prove or disprove this theory. But it can be definitely asserted that if there was an earlier epoch of planation little indication of it is left in the present topography.

Throughout the peninsula the flat-topped ridges and domes, ranging in altitude from 800 to 2,400 feet, are among the most striking features of the topography, and they have been generally interpreted as the remnants of an uplifted and dissected jjeneplain. Some of the best examples of this feature are found in the Kougarok district, where extensive smooth, flat-topped interstream areas characterize the topography. To an observer standing on one of these prominences the old plain, represented now by the summit levels, appears to sweep off toward the horizon gently rolling and unbroken, save for an occasional dome or rocky crest which stands above it. In such a view the valleys, unless close at hand, are almost completely lost sight of, for their bounding ridges coincide with the general level. There can be little doubt that this is an uplifted erosional surface which had probably been reduced nearly to base-level, or at least to a mature state of dissection. The form of the valleys furnishes additional evidence of the base-leveled character of this upland. Their tortuous course;- have evidently resulted from incised meanders inherited from the drainage system of a previous period.

This peneplain, for such it may he called, is gently rolling and contains many minor ridges and depressions. Some of these irregularities are without doubt an inheritance from the former cycle, but they are believed to have been largely caused by warping after the peneplain was formed.

304 GOLD PLACERS OF SEWARD PENrNSULA.

Differential Uplift.

After this period of planation came differential uplift with load depressions. The central axis of the peninsula, lying north of Kuzitrin Eiver, was elevated to at least 1,000 feet, while depression probably took place along its border. The writer is not personally familiar with the coast along the Arctic Ocean, but the published descriptions and the topographic maps suggest at least that the peneplain surface lies underneath the gravels of the coastal plain. It has been shown that along the southern margin of the upland the old peneplain appears to pass underneath the alluvial filling of the Kuzitrin basin.

As this peneplain was formed under subaerial conditions, it is evident that the part of it now buried under alluvium must have been depressed when the rest of the area was uplifted. In other words, the movement was differential and the result was a warped land surface. In at least one locality (Quartz Creek valley) a sharp flexure of the old land surface is indicated.

But this movement did not take place at once, for the benches, both marine and stream, as well as the character of the sediments, indicate several stages of active deformation separated by periods of quiescence during which erosion and sedimentation took place. Because of these facts no sharp line can be drawn between this and the succeeding cycle. Some movement took place, but the first was the period of the more far-reaching orographic disturbances. It has been stated that the Kuzitrin lowland was at about this time invaded by the sea; this implies a submergence of the lowland surrounding Imuruk basin and of a portion at least of Kruzgamepa Valley. The evidence of this submergence lies both in the form of the basin and of the adjacent territory and in the character of some of the sediments which it contains. A log about 60 feet long, which must have been brought in by ocean currents, has been found in these sediments. The area submerged possibly included the upper part of the Kuzitrin basin, which is now covered by recent lava flows, and this inland set may have ben connected with Norton Sound by a strait through the depression now occupied by Koyuk River.

Stream Dissection And Sedimentation In Local Basins.

It is believed that at the close of the first and more intense period of deformation the land stood at a somewhat lower level (200 to 500 feet lower) than it does now and that a period of quiescence followed, permitting extensive stream dissection and marine benching along the coast. During this period most of the present valleys were carved out, and probably also the marine bench was formed which was later elevated and is now called the York Plateau.

THE KOUGABOK REGION. 30tl

While the drainage channel> were being incised seiliment wa> lU*- sited in the Kuzitrin basin, then an arm of the sea. It has Ixhmi jwn that the character of this sediment is but imperfectly known, ulemeath Quartz Creek valley there are nearly 200 feet of white ftrtz gravels, which would appear to lye the result of the denudation

the old planated land surfaw. Such quartz gravels, many of lich are not greatly rounded, are most likely to have come from an !a which had been long subjected to subaerial decay. Their accuilation was probably brought about by rapid erosion and seilimenioii, which would indicate rapid uplift. It has been stated that :h rounded gravels and sands occur on the lower part of Quartz eck and in a terrace along the west bank of Kougarok River, and it are Iwlieved to be of about the same age as the white gravelabove. They probably present a somewhat later

when the materials had become more waterworn by eam action and. more or less sorting had taken place. The explanation of the occurrence of the clay deposit underneath ; Kuzitrin lowland proper is still more difficult. Perhaps an empt to explain this deposit is useless when so few facts regardin are available. If, as is probable, this clay bed is extensive underith the Kuzitrin lowland, it is probably a deposit in deeper water, d down at the same time as the gravels described Tii other rds, it is the result of sedimentation in the central part of the bayment along whose margin the gravels and sands of fluvial gin were laid down. This clay may, however, be a glacial mud, "ived from the valley glacier*s of the BendelelxMi Mountains, which the locus of an ice accumulation iji recent time. to s gi*nests for the clays is the fact that the glaciation, which was ifiiied to a very small area, occurred at a somewhat later period. c additional fact deserving mention is that the few borings niacU the-se clays encountered several layers of vegetable matter which is every way similar to the present tundra growth. This ijidicates it deposition in that part of the basin where the clay has been iiid has been interrupted by periods when the land stood above ter long enough to permit a covering of vegetable growth, riie gi'avels of Quartz Creek comprise two unconformable series, lis indicates a |>eriod of erosion which interrupted stMlimentation d must have been brought about by orogenic; movement. Though e fact is from the standpoint of the phuer miner, as the iper gravels alone have thus far found to Ik* gold Iwaring, it. prolmbly of no great physiogi-aphic import. It simply shows tlnit ere were repeated oscillations of the land. More detailed Jl probably disclose the identity of age of this imcomformity with le of the layers of vegetable matter in the clay deposits of the cvw il part of the basin.

lUI ?!L&rSXf iW

by nenl elevation, ▼xifs. -ornisa m -adLj eivplifis brought the entire zfrznrjot V. Hr zi L igciufl jtHOSK RfadT to laCi Imj. Like the preceding -iCKCKOT fs ;t.Lctai re&. Ter vptifts wty differential and in rMDj j;rairi*!j> wis*- jtYnoKsuevi li dcyvnwmrd warping. The best :ci:iN;r.r kiimk B*S3. w5ql Rerii Sea. Collier has shown that ii t3ifrfif iatifefiiMnbl* eWdencr of warping since tin

Ii ?erywa. iz. dtifieEcripocPK oi At Quartz Creek placers that thl of -kcetc. tbe novtliwest dip under the valley shown Ijf ti hntr sravbis iiw oEtbeta: :ade of Dahl Creek. As a srar ...f i2>?- TiaKKhoriiuc aie found in both the bench and

The of Ttream bnclKs at Tanous altitudes in Kon Valley ?:cDe of its tributaries is interpreted as signifying that last uplift was intermpted by interrals of tranqnillity long enoogk to pe-miit ciTi&siderable tiam cutting: A discussion of this [jhst d tfje f4iy<<nphic hi?onr will have to await more complete 6M The relation of the >tream cutting to the gold values in tk placer im|:aortant. for in ome places the dissection of the auiifer* <rti- Ijench gravel has kd to an enrichment of the placers of present twlm gravel--

Tlu> la?t cycle nesnlted in the present topography. The streams ii <till lowering their grades and are actively at work extending their drainage Ijasins.

THK GOLD PUiCERS.

Mining Development.

This district wa> probably visited by prospectors as early as summer of 100. but the first were not made until the wint of and there was no actual discovery of gold until following summer. A rush from Nome to the new field took pi in Manh. IIKK). and another in Julv of the same vear. The chiiiii stakinr in March was on Harris Creek, and in Julv <rold found on Quartz and (garfield creeks. In August and Septeinl gold was taken out of the shallow placers of tliesc* <!rw*ks. Meanwhile gold had been found on the Kougarok and many of its tributaries, but no claims were opened up. In 1901 waH a decrease in the gold output for the shallow diggings

Prof. Paper U. 8. Qeot Sunrejr Now 2, 1902. ii. Sfl.

The Kougarok Region. 307

i*apidly exhausted and no very rich gold had been found on other JIvek. The I'enioteness of this field fi'oni transportation facilities discouraged prospectors, unless they were heavily backed financially, lud there were no bonanzas to give an impetus to mining. Probably :he most important discoveries were those of Kougarok River, but iiese could be exploited only by individual miners during low stages )f flow, and sudden freshets often destroyed the work of weeks of >repair'ation. So mining interests in the Kougarok district may be aid to have lain dormant for several years, though some gold, chiefly from Dahl Creek, was produced every year. When ditches were successfully constructed at Nome, a renewed interest in these outlying }lacer fields arose. In 1903 T. T. Lane constructed the first long ditch n the district, from the head of Coffee Creek to a bench at the mouth if Dahl Creek. In the following yeai*s many more ditches were )planned and surveyed. In and 190C ditch construction went on vith feverish activity, and by the end of the sununer of 1901) upward 100 miles of ditch were planned, about half of which was competed.

One of tlie larger ditches is the North Star, which extends from arctic Creek, on the east side of the Kougarok, to the mouth of Taylor Creek, and up that stream about 10 miles, a total length of 5.2 miles. The Cascade ditch takes water from Taylor Creek about I miles and discharges at the mouth of the creek. Both of hesse ditclus were completed in The Kougarok Mining and >itcli Company had one ditch in ojxTation in 190<) and two more mrtlv constructed. Of these the Homestake ditch, which heads on he Kougarok, miles above Macklin CrtHjk and dischargers at the mouth of Homestake Creek, with a head of 172 feet, was completed n 1005. Work has been begin on the Altoona ditch, which heads iiiles the mouth of Washington Creek and discharges at the ntake of the Homestake ditch. A third has lxen located which is o Ijc built up Macklin Creek, to take water from Schlitz and Keindeer :reeks north of the Arctic divide. T. T. Lane has completed a ditch from Henry Creek, which discharges at Homestake Creek. All ibove-mentioned ditches discharge within a few miles of each other Hi Kougarok River and represent a large aggregate outlay.

The Irving Mining Company has constructed a ditch from Washngton Creek along the north slope of Kougarok Valley nearly to the idoutli of Mascot Ci'eek. .Another ditch has Ikwu bv the North- Western Mining Company, on North Fork, from the junction of \lder and French crks; it is to be continued to the Kougarok, ibout 7. miles being complete in 1906. The Ime ditch, from CofftM* Creek to the mouth of Dahl Creek, has meuUvwwW. iiimaller ditches have been built or surveyed at various vAacfc,,

3Hs Gold Pl.Vcer6 Of Seward Peninsula.

iiiir C'nlifarnia. Coarso Gold-and Windv iTiTk>. ilii*' I here a IV many otlior K*denies for ditch Iniildincr, which had not jronr far enough to ihMTVo individual mention.

Tlu' 1*.K)(. IxMn abnormally dry, was ahlr for ditch but was vorv unfavorable to th prepaid to sluiru. It is well. however, that l fairer** of ihr lar*re ounpanies should know what to expeet and lo include an aUowaiuv for a drv siastm in their eMiniatr riu' ivrords >how that in the last seven veais then* havr li vrrv tlrv >nnuners, IIKK) and and that thei-efore the la \uA bv anv mean> abnormal as some promoters trv tn u

Thi' Koiirranlv diMriet up to UKXi could be reached from Nr an ovt'rhmd journev of alnnit KM) miles or bv a verv ri \>:Hrr rouir via Teller. Inniruk Basin, and Kuzitrin Uivr L;ine 1-andinir, al tlie head of scow on the I I'n'iirhlinr by wajron to the ciHHks costs to 15 cents a poun*l iihT. lull I lie winier rate> aiv nuich lower. J. M. David Andrrw #1. Si one. who are amon the larp'st ojK'rators in iriii. h:i\(' a on Kavirnk i liixcr railed DaviilMtn anil have a fr lo I he region. a distance of 10 miles ll;:lilei'- ran be tlireelly from the ship's side at Port lo Lanilinr. ihal al least one handlin*; fi axohled.

hi IlMu; ihe Seward IVninsuIa Kailwav was extended n*i it I he lieail \A' Nome Kiver. and thence the Krnzira LaneN Lantlin::. Survey** have heen made hnikinir to an 'Xlt llii line faiiUei* up Kouirarok Valley. This railway will li diiriei iiiin eKM' eoimnunication with Xome and will <lo aeeeleraie ii devi'lopment. Two telephone lines conned i ilie camp niih Nome. The ivcordinr oftict* is at Lane> Lan

Miiiinir o|)eraiion> in Hmm; niav sunnnarized '" liNilraiilie |)laiit operate*! for a ])art of the seaMin on

rlaun on Halil Creek, and two ])lants on Koupirok River a iiioMili of Creek. The two on the Kouirarok iHmoveil i biiitleii and pari of ihe pay stivak hydrauli<* power ant| I lie bed loeU band. In plants hvdrauli<* lift wen* i ( 'tii-iderablr work wa (Mi lower four claims on Da li\ -boxeliuLT inlt >luice boxes (rround sluicinir was clone In hei* of operator, notable on Windv Cnek and on Solomon tributai'v Tavl*)r Creek. Several claims wen worked in wav on Cort'ee Cnek on some of the tributaries of the K

a

A dozen outfits weiv ended in mining the river gravels a of the tributary gulches of the Kougarok above Mucklin Ci

The Kougabok Region, 309

they were handicapped either by lack of water or by an excess of water that flooded them out. Below Taylor Creek on the main Koiigarok attempts were made to exploit the bench gravels either by sinking shafts and drifting or by the aid of small hydraulic phints, but in most cases the equipment was insufficient to produce anything but meager results. Probably the most successful of these atttMupts 3insisted in the drifting on some benches on the west side of the Kougsirok near the mouth of Taylor Creek. Harris, (Jarfield, and Jther (*reeks received some attention. In all, probably not more than 150 or 200 men were engaged in productive mining, chiefly Df the inadequacy of the water supply.

The amount expended in ditches and the purchase of claims during L905 and 1000 probably exceeds $1,000,000— a sum hardly justified 3y the extent of placer ground actually proved. The total gold output to tlie end of 1005 is estimated at about $()(X),000. This amount s, however, only an approximation. The production of 1000 " :have lKen smsill. owing to the la(*k of water.

Distribution Of The Auriferous Gravels.

Broadly speaking, the auriferous gravels thus far discovered in ie Kougarok district fall into two zones, which converge toward the ower part of Kougarok River. (PI. XI. in pocket.) The larger 5one stretches northward from the lower Kougarok, embracing nuicli if the Kougarok basin, and is here termed the " northern The EDialler zone, which appears less well defined, extends eastward from he. Kougarok to the Noxapaga, embracing the sti*eams tributary to Euzitrin River. This second zone will here lie called the " southein lelt/' The northern belt lies in a zone of schistose rocks, bounded on ioth sides by massive limestones. It is therefore consistent with the general rule that the gold has its source at or near the limestone and schist c*contacts. Xor does the sec*ond so far as known, offn* an ftxception to this rule. The of placei's in each of the two lxlts ire descrilKMl IkjIow.

The auriferous gvavels forming a broken fringe along the southern bargain of the highlands that bound the Kuzitrin basin on the north md west have certain features in common, which justify describing liem as a unit. This belt includes the placers of Quartz and (larleld creeks, as well as those of the Noxapaga basin. The Iwd-rock

Stology of the belt is obscured both by the extensive alluvial

Not a nlngle operator la tbe district responded to a requeKt for information in referfeee tc ::ro:!-jct:oii.

310 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

and by the products of deep rock weathering. However, a belt of graphitic phyllites and schists, including some calcareous beds, appears to stretch across the upland between Kaviruk and Kuzitrin rivers. Many of thase rocks carry quartz veins, locaUy stained with iron. Schists occur north of these graphitic rocks, and farther north are succeeded by limestone. Though these formations can not lie exactly delineated, because of the deeply weathered character of the rocks and the absence of outcrops, yet most of the gold-bearing creeks appear to cross the contact of the limastone and schist.

The unconsolidated formations embrace (1) the present stream gravels, (2) the deposits flooring the Kuzitrin lowland, and (3) the bench gravels. The first group, which embraces most of the working placers of the district, is fully described on page 299. Little can be added to the description of the second group already given. The bench gravels merit closer consideration.

The upland region descends by a gentle slope, here and there broken bv a well-marked terrace, from an altitude of about 1,100 feet to the Kuzitrin Valley floor, 100 feet above sea level. The bestdefined terrace is about 100 feet above the present water level and is traceable from the mouth of Quartz Creek northward along the western side of Kougarok River to the point where the valley of that stream emerges from the upland. A similar terrace is present along the northern margin of the Kougarok, and the lower part of Turner Creek and some of the tributaries of the Noxapaga are reported by Collier to be incised in deep gravel deposits, a fact which indicates an easterly extension of this terrace. The alluvium of these terraces in nearly every exposure is made up of the same kind of materialwell-rounded and stratified brown sands and gravels. Certain exceptions to this are noted Inflow. These benches are without doubt the remnants of an extensive gravel sheet, as is indicated by the hillocks of stratified gravels which stand here and there above the floor of the Kuzitrin lowland.

Near the mouth of Quartz Creek the top of the terrace is about 125 feet above the water, and the gravels rest upon clay of unknown thickness about 15 feet 1k1ow water level. The exposed material consists of well-rounded gravel and sand. Along Quartz Creek the surface of the gravel dips with the grade of the stream, and I mile below Dahl Creek about 100 feet of gravel and sand are exposed j in the valley wall. Above this point the bed was not definitely rec-i ognized, but it is believed to represented by a white quartz gravel exposed on Quartz Creek just below the mouth of Dahl Creek. On the north side of Dahl Creek valley a shaft was sunk to a depth of 187 feet entirely in this white gravel and did not reach bed root These white gravels are probably a phase of the bench gravels of lower Quartz Creek and the Kougarok described above. The su

hw of the white gravels dips (o the northwest under the trench occii- fA by Dahl Creek. In other words, the gravels niiderlving the pay break at the Lane hydraulic mine and tlwise on Dahl Creek are parts it the same lied. The surface of the same gravel depo-it is iM'lieved to exposed near the mouth of Joe Cn-ek, u tributary of Quartz [Vcrk. These relations are ton i-omplex to jjermit detailed analysis I. hill they jHiint to the following ('onchisions : (1) The aurifergravels of the Lane hydraulic mine, Dahl Creek, and of Jtw IVek Ix-Ioiig to the same linrizon; (2) they are underlain by barren liiviuni. from which aiv formed the white gravels of Dahl Creek d the gravels of the lower part of Quartz Crock, of the Kouguok. and of the front of the upland near Garfield and Turner ka; (3) this older gravel series is to carry no values, loiigh it is known to bf more or less auriferous. The last concliiiiii is hy the results of prospecting and by theoreti- I iiiii-LiiiTiitiiins, In general the rich placers of the {leninsida ocir in iilliiviuni that was deposited under eitnditions of subaerial bray rather than during floods, Mucli of this bench gravel, however, i well rounded and stratified and appears to have laid down luring iK'riods of flow. which are not favorable to a concentration Ivaliie.s. Still, so far as known, these gravels next to lied riirk have Wnv been They may lie gold Iwaring. and in the opinion if the writer ih:' chances of finding guhl at depth warrant tlie outlay if tho cost of pro.s|)ectiiig to lied rock.

Qfaktz Cuf.Kk Basin.

The basin of Quartz Creek includes a dendritic drainage system ying in an cllmw formed by the lower Kougarok and Kuzitrin rivers, ' ' is incised partly in the upland and partly in the broad gravel ice already The valleys cut in the gravels are steepnlled trenches; thost cut in bed rick are broader, with gentler lopes, Placj'rs have lieeii found chielly in the bed-rock portion of IB valleys. So far as known this bed rock is phyllite or ndca schist. Throughout the basin the stream gradients are low, averaging mbably less than 10 feet to the mile. The amount of water ordiirily available is very small, and in dry seasons, such as that of IrtOfi, supply fails entirely. Gold has been mined on Quartz Cieek and 1 its tributaries Dahl, Joe, and Coffee creeks, hut of these only Dahl )reek has lieen a considerable producer. The terrace gravels of the rex basin carry colors of gold, but no values have been found in

I and 1901 half a dozen claims were operated on Quartz the mouth of Dahl Creek, but these were quickly worked e flood plain bere-is not more than 50 to 73 feet wide, and the streak, which comprised only a part of this plain, was 2 to 3 feet

812 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

thick. No bed rock was found in this part of the basin, the valuer being concentrated on a layer of blue, sticky clay. The gold is medium coarse and probably came from the Dahl Creek basin.

Dahl Creek has been the center of mining interest since 1900, for the lower six claims have the largest group of producers in the district. This stream flows in a shallow trench cut for 15 feet in muck. Above this is a bench a quarter of a mile wide, from whioli the valley walls rise gently. From the mouth of the creek up to claim No. G the gold rests upon a clay seam, but on No. the pay streak was found 10 to 20 feet below the surface, just above a micaschist bed rock. Underneath the clay floor upon which the goldlearing gravels below claim No. lie are the white quartz gravels, already described ; these have been penetrated by a shaft, which goes to a depth of 187 feet without reaching bed rock. The followinjr section was measured on Dahl Creek about one-fourth mile itmouth :

S'ration on Dalil Vrcvk nnc-fourth niilr ahorv Hm inoiOh.

Frozen imiok with impure Ico lenses 1.V20

nine clny, carrying some sand 1- 2

White quartz gravel.

Near the mouth of Dahl Creek the just described is 20 feet above the present stream bed and has been found to carry values. A measured section at Lane's hvdraulic mine is as follows:

Section of bench at Lances hffflraitNc wine, Dahl Creek.

Frozen muck with lenses of 15-20

Ferruginous, gold-hearing gravel .V 4

Sticky blue clay §-1

White quartz gravel.

These deposits dii) under the creek bed, and lioth and creek placers are of the same age, their difference in position having Inn caused by local warping. Similar bench gravels will probably bo found to underlie the talus and quick that cover the lower of the Dahl Creek trench, but so far values have been found onlv at Lane's mine. The possibility of finding values on bed rock underneath the white gravel has already been noted.

Placer gold has found near the mouth of Joe Creek, on Cofft'<' Creek, and on a numlxr of other smaller of Quartz Cwk. No gold is reported from Checkers Creek, a northern tributary of Quartz Creek. The course of Checkers Creek appears to Ik* alonjr the old planated surface, which dips under the gravels and from a theoretical standpoint should a favorable place for gold concentration.

The Kougarok Region. 313

Considerable prospecting has been done throughout Coffee Creek basin and a little gold has been mined in its upper part. The lower part of the creek is incised in the gravel terrace, and here also a little ffold has found. Prospecting on the upper part of the creek is expensive the gravels are everywhere buried under 10 to 25 feet of muck. This is true not only of the floor of the valley, but also of tlie and the tributary gulches. This overburden is too heavy to permit open-cut mining, and the cost of fuel has so far been too great to encourage drift mining or even prospecting. As a result much of the prospecting on Coffee Creek has len confined to owts made ground sluicing at favorable localities during floods, and few careful test.s of claims have made.

In the winter of 100() some rich placer ground was found in the talus of the valley slope near the head of Coffee Creek. This peculiar auriferous deposit appeared to In*, almost in phice. The gold occurs in 4 to 7 ftHjt of angular schist and quartz debris and weathered schist rock covered by 18 to 20 feet of muck. The quartz is iron staintnl, but does not appear to auriferous, and the gold aime from the associated schist. The gold is angular, sponge', and bright colored. All these facts point to the conclusion that the material mined is a weathered part of a mineralized zone. The deposit has been traced about 1,000 feet, but is buried so deeply that its Iwundaries are not well known. It is indicative of the source of the gold and suggests the possibility of finding lode deposits that may carrv values.

ft

The other placers of the upper part of Coffee Creek are as a rule buried under an overburden of muck 10 to 20 feet thick. The gravels are chiefly schist and quartz, and range from 3 to 7 feet in thickness.

Garfield Creek.

Garfield Creek heads near lady Mountain, flows in a rather broad valley through the upland, and in the last 5 miles of its course meanders across a gravel plain to join Kuzitrin River. The gold placers are confined to the upland parts of its valley, and may be reached by a trail crossing the tundra from the Kougarok, but such traveling is difficult and trans at ion is very expensive. The discovery was made here in and considerable gold was produced in that year from a shallow pay streak confined to the creek and resting upon a white clav.

The valley of Garfield Creek is broad, the sides are benched, and gravels and talus with a thick layer of moss and muck cover the

"Brooks, A. U., Richardson, O. 11., and Collier. A. .7.. Reconnnlssancos in the iDd Norton Ray refioDK, AiaHica, In a special publication of the U. S. (Jeol. Survey. 1W1. p. 122.

314 Gold Placebs Of Seward Peninsula.

rock. The gold occurs under about 2 feet of gravel in the creek bed and on a false bed rock of clay. It is coarse, dark colored, and of irregular outline. Grains of average size were worth about IJ cents. Except on two or three claims the prospecting since 1900, either in the benches or on the bed rock, has failed to locate placers that can be profitably mined under present conditions. The creek has been almost abandoned, though it is reported that one claim is worked in a small way every year.

Boulder Creek.

Boulder Creek is a tributary to Turner Creek a short distance above the junction of the latter with the Noxapaga, a tributary of the Kuzitrin. The following description is by Mr. Collier:

The placers on this creek are estimated to have yielded $7,0fK) in 19()1, but since then production has small and the creek as a whole lias heen a disappointment to miners. In lOO.*? there were, however, still a few men at work here. The creek occupies a straight, rather broad valley about 5 miles long, which is deeply cut in the higher upland alwut tlie headwaters, but has less relief in the country where Bcmlder Creek empties into Turner Creeli. The bed rock consists of schists and limestones, with some IhhIs o( graphitic schist. The rocks are deeply covered with moss, quick, and gmvel, only In mining excavations. Sluicing was in August, 1001, and some gold was taken out with the rockers previous to that time. .A iuIIp from the mouth, excavation revealed about 2A ftH*t of moss and muck overlyinjj a gravel consisting of angular fragments of graphitic schist and limestone. This gravel was reiiorted to carry values to a depth of 4 or 5 feet, below which it was frozen and had not been tested. Colors of gold were found through a width of feet. About three-fourths of a mile above this mine a prospect hole through the gravel to a depth of 11 feet failed to reach solid bed rock. The gravels there are chiefly limestone pebbles.

The gold on Boulder Creek is comparatively coarse, and nuggets ranging in value from 2r) cents up are not unconmion. They are as a rule rounded dark The largest luigget found over 2 ounces and was vnluwl at It was a well-rounded piece of gold. with inm.

Smaller Tribiitaries Of The Noxapacja.

Above the mouth of Turner CVeek the Noxapaga receives a number of small tributaries, the gravels of several of which are said to be auriferous. These gold-bearing creeks, from south to north, ai*e Grouse Creek, Black Gulch, and Buzzard, Goose, and Frost cheeks. Gold was found on Goose Creek in 1900 and a little mining has been done. All the mining operations on these streams have heen seriously hampered both by their remoteness from transportation routes and by scarcity of water.

The Kougarok Region. 315

Northern Belt. Gen1X.Vl Description.

The auriferous gravels of the main Kougarok above the flats and of itstrihiitaries form the northern of phicei-s. This Mt embraces >tn'aiii and Ijeneh jdacers. Up to the present time the first tviH* has viehlwl mot of the mAil. There are two forms of th( stump. placers — those of the smaUer gulches anil criHks and thoM* of the main river. The gidch and creek phicei's ai-e in general of small extent, but manv are so situated that thev mav 1h niined by pick and shovel. On the other hand, the placers of tlu* niniii river, though many are of greater extent, are difficult to exploit with equipment that is capable of handling a large amount of material and is adapted to both high-water and low-water

Bench gravels have been reported at many but those (f proved (*conomic are confined to the nniin Kougarok and some of its larger tributaries. These gravels are chiefly Avithiii li.*) feet of the pi*esent water level, but some higher auriferous benches lave also Ikmmi rtjwrted. The geologic map (PI. XI, in pocket) Jiows that the main valley of the Kougarok lies in a belt of schists, ivhich is flanked on the east and west bv broad areas of semicrvsalline limestones. These limestones are cut all the larger tribnaries of the Kougarok. The schists are predomiiuitely argillites. onie altered to phyllites, others to mica schists, (iraphite is vei y onimonlv assoc*iated with these rocks, and many thin limestone beds irt present. A dark-green dioritic rock occurs as dikes, stocks, aixl alls, in some places massive, in others schistose. Pyrite-lH'aring |iiartz veins an* common in the phyllite and an* probably tin* source )f the gold. On Mascot Gnlch, described on ])age JV2(), tin* placer gold iiav be traced to its source in a miiuM-aliz((l shear zone in the Ijliyllites.

In this discussion Kougarok Kiver and its smaller tributaries ai'<' 'onsidertnl under one heading and the larger tributaries are treated parately. The descriptions are given in onhM* from south to north.

Koucjarok Rivek.

Kougarok Kiver joins the Kuzitrin about 17 miles above Igloo, the head of navigation, and has a length, exclusive of uieaiiders and smaller bends, of about (U) miles. Through the u|)|)er K) miles it flows nearly due east, then it turns southward and (low> about K) miles to its confluence with the Kuzitrin. In the Iowim- It) uiile t meanders across the Kuzitrin lowland. Above this portion it-val ey is incised in the upland plateau, which here has an elevation of .000 to 1,500 feet above the sea.

Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

Tliough the general trend of the different parts of the valley is in one direction, its course in detail is tortuous. Within the valley walls the river flows in a very irregular channel, and many of the meanders are separated by well-defined benches whose flat surfaces mark former stages of water level. This is especially evident Taylor Creek, where the river flows through a continuous series of oxbow curves, which are separated by benches.

At the point where the Kougarok enters the Jvuzitrin lowland both valley walls show well-marked benches. Two levels are here noticeable — one 50 feet and one 25 feet above the stream. These can be traced for several miles Windy Creek; the walls then become steejxr and the river occupies a canyon-like valley up to Left Fork. From this point to Washington Creek, 20 miles above, some evidence of benching can be observed in most places, though the benches are not The individual levels have not ben traced, but in the of the valley Taylor Creek there are at least two high-level gravels and three.

Kougarok River is a swiftly flowing stream that carries at its mouth 5,000 to 8,000 miner's inches of water, and has an average gradient of about 20 feet to the mile. Most of the material transported is coarse, ranging from fine gravel to coarse cobblestone.

The most extensive deposits of auriferous alluvium yet discovered in the district are on the main Kougarok, both in the present stream bed and in the Gold has been found in the gravels of this stream for about 40 miles of its length. It is not known how much of this stretch carries connnercial values, but it is probably not more than 50 cent.

Several placers of the present stream bed have been worked since 1001. Some gold has leen taken out of the river bed with shovel and rockers near Coarse Gold Ci'eek and at various points as far up as Taylor Creek. Much more work has been done at and above the big of the Kougarok, near the mouth of Macklin Ci'eek and as far up as Washington Creek. Most of this mining was done during lowwater stages. It should stated that these placers are in no sense of the river-bar type, but carry coarse gold mingled with gravels largely concentrated on Inn] rock.

The gravels are in the main fairly well rounded and The largest ])ebbles are not more than 1 or 2 feet in diameter, but a few larger bow Iders have contributed by the talus of the valley slopes. No general statement as to the thickness of the gravels can lx made, as it varies greatly in different parts of the river. In the canyon already described rock is exposed throughout the river bed. In many places above the canyon, gravels are almost entirely absent; in other places the depth to bed rock is G to 20 feet.

The Kougarok Region. 317

The width of the alluvial floor also varies ; in some parts of the valley the entire floor is buried in gi'avels, but in others the stream has uncovered bed rock over a part of it. The actual flood plain of the river ranges in width from 100 feet in the canyon to 800 feet at the flat. At the mouth of North Fork it is 300 or 400 feet wide, at the mouth of Taylor Ci'eek about GOO feet, and near the mouth of Trinity Creek about 300 feet. Below the flat at the mouth of Tavlor Creek the alluvium is made up almost entirely of gravel, but above this flat the gravel is in places buried under a considerable stratum of muck. So far as the writer knows, the gold found in the stream bed below Coarse Gold Creek, except at the mouth of Xorth Fork, is chiefly fine, but the auriferous gravels at and above the mouth of this creek are said to contain a large percentage of coai*se gold. This indicates that in the upper half of the river the enrichment is of local origin, and therefore that the gold has not all been brought in by the main stream from its source. The gold of the flood plain is mostly dark, but that of the smaller tributaries is bright. In the plains the only placers yet opened up on a commercial basis are those at the mouth of North Fork, where little has been done, and at the mouths of Taylor and Homestake creeks and between Macklin and Washington creeks, where considerable gold has been procured.

The bench deposits of the Kougarok appear to afford an attractive field for the gold miner. Their position makes them easy of access and no hydraulic lifts are required to dispose of the tailings. Between Coarse Gold and Tavlor creeks at least two distinct bench levels are well defined, one about 25 feet and the other 50 feet above the water. So far as observed, the gravels are from 8 to 10 in depth and are in most places covered with muck. No determinations of values are known to the writer, but the fact that some of the lower benches have been worked at a profit by crude means makes it seem probable that their gold content is sufficient to assure returns if handled by cheaper methods. Bench gravels have been reported at various places above Taylor Creek, and some are known to be auriferous, but they have not been developed on a commercial scale.

The following notes on the occurrence of the auriferous gravels are the basis for the generalizations which have preceded.

At the point where the river emerges from the upland two benches were observed — a lower, which is well defined, standing about 15 feet above the present flood jlain, and an about 35 feet higher, which slopes toward the axis of the valley. These benches can be traced upstream for about a mile ; above this stretch the valley walls steepen and become rock bound. So far as known, this part of the river has yielded no placer gold.

From the mouth of Windy Creek up to a point within a mile of Left Fork the valley is broad and the slopes are latAttuv

318 Gold Placers Of Sewabd Peninsula.

benches, one at 20 and one at 50 feet being recognized. The gravels of Windy Creek are auriferous (see p. 320), but no mining has been done on the main river in this vicinity. Above this stretch the valley is a steep-walled canyon cut in hard diorite and there is practically no gravel on the rock floor. This topography continues nearly to Queen Creek, where the valley opens out again. Here there is a bench, covered by 4 to 5 feet of well-rounded gravel overlain by G to 10 feet of frozen muck. Near the mouth of Queen Creek two benches were observed — a lower one 20 feet above the river, covered by 4 to 5 feet of gravel, with an overburden of muck 10 feet thick, and an upper one 45 feet higher, carrying about 10 feet of gravel that is more or less auriferous. These benches, though not continuous, can be traced along the valley to Coarse Gold Creek, where the river makes a long curve, swinging around a bench 100 feet high, on which lies about 10 feet of river gravel. This bench, together with a lower one standing about 25 feet above the watr, can be traced almost continuously between Coarse Gold Creek and North Fork. Similar benches occur along North Fork. Gold has been found in the river gravels at the mouth of North Fork and at the big bend above Coarse Gold Creek. A scheme is under way to drain the river bed at the big bend by tunneling through the neck of land. It is claimed that by building a 20-foot dam and driving the tunnel, water power with an 18-foot fall can be developed and 2J miles of the river bed can be laid bare. This power is to be utilized m mining the river gravels, which are said to carry values. The bed rock, a schist, is exposed along a part of tliis stretch of the river, but in some places it is buried under gravels at a maximum depUi of 8 feet. The bench gravels along this part of the river also are said to auriferous.

Between Coarse Gold and Taylor creeks the Kougarok Valley maintains its open character, and benches are well marked in many places. A low bench 15 to 20 feet above the river bed is the most conspicuous of these features and is usually covered with 3 to 6 feet of gravel with an overburden of frozen muck. Here, as elsewhere in the valley, the benches are obscured in many places by the heavy talus, and therefore the absence of a topographic expression of the benches where the slopes are gentle does not necessarily prove their absence. About 2 miles below Taylor Creek a bench about 20 feet above the river carries 10 feet or more of gi'avel covered with frozen muck. The same bench is recognizable at the mouth of Arizona Creek and at other places. Some gold has been extracted from these bench gravels.

Several lower benches oc<;ur along the valley slope opposite the mouth of Taylor Creek. Here a measured section showed 6 feet of auriferous gravels resting upon mica-sohist bed rock, whose surface elopes toward the axis of the valley. The bed-rock flow of this bcb

The Kougarok Region. 319

only a few feet above the present flood plain of the river, but, as e alluvium of the flood plain is 20 feet or more deep at this point, e bench deposit was originally at least 25 feet above the river Ijed. le slope of these benches suggests that they were formed by streams butary to the Kougarok. They were mined during the winter of 05-6 by drifting, and considerable gold is said to have been taken t. The largest nugget had a value of $1.80.

Considerable prospecting and some mining have been done in th( 4Hl-plain gravels between the mouths of Taylor and Homestaki* eks. The bed rock is schist, and the gravels are from 8 to 10 feet ep, with an overburden of muck varying in thickness. The vahies said to be chiefly concentrated on bed rock. The flood plain is real hundred feet wide, but the width of the pay streak was not rned. The largest plant at this locality includes in its equipment ivdraulic elevator.

?fo mining appears to have been done on the main Kougarok for eral miles above Ilomestake Creek, though prospects an* spoiled. this stretch of the valley the river meanders from one siik' to the ler, forming a series of symmetrical curves separated by iches. These benches mav curry travels, but were not exaniiiierl the writer. A mile below Macklin Creek a litth* work was done 1900 on the river gravels, here about to 8 feet thick. An control the river bv a small dam, so as to make the bed accessible mining operations, was only partially successful. Considerable mining has beeji done in the rivcMbed about a mile >ve Macklin Creek, where the water has been diverted bv a dam. e gravels here are about G to 8 feet deep, of which is inches to eet inches carries most of the gold. The pay streak is said to re in some paces a width of 400 feet, but in these places the ues are nmcli less than where the pay streak is narrow. Valuers of r 4 cents to the pan and pockets very much an reported. st of the gold is dark, but a little bright gold is intermingled. several claims have been opened up at the mouth of Trinity (fulch. re about 6 or 7 feet of gravel rests upon schist bed rock and is rlain by 4 or 5 feet of frozen muck. The gold from Trinity (lunch )right: that of the river is dark. Above this group of claims the ley walls close in, forming a canyon. At the canyon an ill-delined ich lies alxnit 20 feet above the river Ix'd. At the lower end of the yon the depth to rock is 12 feet, more than half of which is vel. Above the canyon the gravels, which are I] to 4 feet thick, coai-se and well rounded. The gold is dark and coai-se, urring in flat nuggets. Two miles above, at the mouth of Masc-ot Ich, the river \ml is about 300 yards wide, but the pay streak lies 1 toward the sonthern wall of the valley. The gravels in the river torn are about IG feet deep and have been mined by winter drift

320 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

ing. The gold includes both the dark variety of the main river the bright variety found in the tributaries. The pay streak is 2 to 3 feet thick and is said to have carried high values on the schist bed rock.

Considerable mining has also been done in Mascot Gulch, on a deposit similar to that at the head of Coffee Creek. (See p. 313.) Mascot Gulch has a steep slope toward the river and carries very little water.' The bed rock is a blue mica slate or phyllite, with many quartz stringer*s. This is covered by 2 to 3 feet of subangular talus and decomposed bed rock much stained with manganese. The gold is distributed in patches irregularly on the bed rock. It is bright and angular, some of it showing crystalline faces. Much of it is attached to small fragments of quartz. Considerable cassiterite occurs in the concentrates. This gold is without doubt very near its source in the parent rock and is probably derived from a mineralized shear zone in the slates. Washed gravels are said to occur 100 to 150 feet above the river level on the slope of the ridge south of the Kougarok Valley at Mascot Gulch. A test pit at this locality is reported to have shown 40 feet of quick and talus overlying 10 feet of well-rounded gravel or " river wash." These gravels were found to be auriferous, but no values were discovered.

Above Mascot (Julch the valley floor widens out between gentle slopes and is entirely gravel filled. About a mile above Maijcot Gulch some mining has done with a hydraulic plant. Here the gravels are 3 to 7 feet thick, most of the values being on or near the rock. The valley floor is 400 to 500 feet wide. A series of prospect holes at this place showed washed gravels on bed rock 50 feet the present water level. The rock of this bench is said to slope toward the axis of the valley. Gold has been found in the gravels above this point as far as Washington Creek, but no raining has been done. It is of interest to note that the limit of the distribution of the placer gold appears to be determined here, as elsewhere by the limestone-schist contact.

The foregoing descriptions indicate a very wide distribution of gold in the Kougarok Valley, in both the and the flood-plain gravels. No high values are known to have been found, but many sections of the gravels of this valley can probably be mined at t profit. The bench gravels are easily workable by hydraulic methods where water is available.

Windy Ckkek.

Windy Creek, a western tributary of Kougarok River .about 15 miles in a straight line above its mouth, is about 10 miles long and carries sufficient water for ordinary mining purposes. Skmie mining has been done on this stream sinoe 1901. The devekyped plaoen oocor

The Kouqabok Begiok. 321

along a small tributary from the south, called Anderson Gulch, which is merely a minor depression in the valley wall. A 4-mile ditch furnishes water under a 140-foot head. The gravels exposed in cuts and forming the pay streak are 2 to 3 feet thick, and in addition to 2 feet of bed rock carries some gold and is put through the sluice boxes. The bed rock is a silvery mica schist with much iron-stained quartz. These placers have been traced for 1,500 feet along the slope of the valley of Windy Creek. The known area of workable deposits is not large. Gold has been found in other parts of the basin, but not yet in paying quantities.

Neva Creek.

Some sluicing has been done in shallow gravels on Neva Crek, a tributary of the Kougarok from the east about one-half mile above the mouth of Windy Creek, but the production has been small.

North Fork.

Jfo?th Fork joins Kougarok River from the east about 25 miles above its mouth. It is about 10 miles long and flows nearly due west in a rather broad valley. Its important tributaries, from an economic point of view, are Harris and Eureka creeks. At its mouth North Fork carries in an ordinary season more than 1,000 miner's inches of water. The basin of this stream was the scene of the first gold discoveries in the Kougarok district, and some of the placers have yielded considerable values. The benches, of which possibly three different tiers are known, are prominent features, and their gravels are said to be auriferous. The following notes are by Collier and Hess:

The original discoveries of pold in tlie Kougarok region were made in 1000 on Harris Creek, a northern tributary of North Fork, about 7 miles from its mouth. SiDce then mining have been continuous, but the whole amount* of gold produced up to 1903 probably did not exceed $50,000. The bed rock of North Fork and its tributaries consists of schists with limestones tliat are iwrelated on fossil evidence with the Port Clarence. A small amount of gold has been mined on Eureka Creek, a tributary of North Fork, about 1 mile its mouth. The creek valley is narrow, but it contains some gravels consisting of schist and vein-quartz pebbles. The gold is mostly fine and the largest nugget found was worth only about 7 cents. Harris Creek, from the of gold mining, is the most imiwrtant tributary of North Fork. The camp liere can be reached pack train from Lanes Landing, which is about *U) miles distant, or, during higli water, freight may be brought up Kougjirok Kiver in wnall boats witliin a few miles of the camp.

The plateau is well developed in this vicinity, but several limestone buttes rise

bove it. The largest of these buttes, known as Harris Dome, lies betwteii

Harris Creek and the main North Fork. The valley of Harris Creek is

Paratively broad in its upper part, but within 2 miles of its mouth narrows to

322 Gold Placers Of Sewabd Peninsula.

a canyon. Through the iipiier 7 miles of its course the greek runs nearly Houthwest, tlien it turns somewhat abruptly and flows due south for nearly '1 miles to its mouth. It ordinarily carries from 200 to 300 miner's incbo of water, but about 2 miles above its mouth the water sinks, and only after a heau rain, when the creek is unusually full, does it carry water through its whole length.

The bed rock for 2 miles above the mouth of the creek is massive limestone, from which Silurian fossils have been obtained. It was imiwssible to niako out the bedding of this limestone. Above the limestone area tlie creek flows for a number of miles over siliceous mica schist, which strikes to the northwert and dips to the northeast at a high angle, and which contains many muili stringers of quartz. The headwaters of Harris Creek are in limestone somewliat similar to that near the mouth of the creek.

All the working gold placers are located within 3 miles of the mouth. For about 1 mile up tlie creek the valley is very narrow aad, although the claim* here have nearly all been worked, it is reported that they have yielded scnn-ely more than wages for the men employed. Above this stretch the gravel is 4 or 5 feet thick and about 100 feet wide. A pit, 40 by 300 fwt. 1 mile from the mouth, is said to have yielded $12 to $15 to the shovel. The bed rock is limestone, more or shattered in some places, and the gold-bearing extend downward in the crevices. T'o miles from the mouth of Harris Creek the workings show a section about as follows: Brown sandy muck, feet; graTel with values In the lower half, 4 feet, below which was broken limestone, iu place, more or less weatliered. It Is that in one place this broken limestone material yielded on an average 2 cents to the pan from the surfat* down to a deptli of 10 feet When the claim was examined a strong stream of water was disap{>earlng into a hole in the bed rock, indicating an underground cbaouel. The fragments of limestone taken from this hole had a diameter ranging from n few Inches to about 1 foot and the crevices between them were filled by a small amount of yellow clay sediment which carried the gold. The preimrations for working claims near this point consist of two ditches, one from a small tributary called Ixft Fork and another from the main stream.

About .'4 miles from the mouth the gravels have a considerably greater extent The creek valley here is wider, and on the north side there is a gravel bench, slightly above the level of the creek, that has been prospected by a series holes (extending northward and Is known to have a width of feet: tliroiighout this distance good pro8pict8 of gold are reported. Tlie workings at tills iMint show 2 feit of muck above feet of gravel resting upcm 4 feet or more of limestone IkhI rock. The whole from the surface down is reiKirted to average 15 i*ents to the pan, which is equivalent to $4 or $o a I'ubii* yard. The best pay is not found in the present creek bed, but extends under the ri;rlit hnnk. The claim here is worked a short ditch that takes water from Ilnrris Creek. Jiiul about 10 men employed in IIKV. this claim the bed rock of Harris Cnvk changes to a mica scliist, and tiiere are no nion working claims. It is the connnon reiMrt that the gravels above this joint not carry gold in paying quantities, and no pay gravel has yet been

To explain the origin of the gohl on Harris Creek the following facts must le : The gold jilacers are confined to the part of the cnek in whicli the bed rock is limestone and they have fcmnd richest where the rock is broken up by fissures and crevices. A possible explanation of the trllnitlon of th" gold Is that it was derived from small quartz veins contaimtl iu the limestone or from th limestone itself but m evidence Qf audi occurrence

The Kougarok Jiegion. 323

vas ohtaiiMKl ly the writers, and no distinct veins in the limestone were schmi, tboojii tliey may have been overlooked. A second possible explanation is that in old channel crossed the ridge from Taylor Creek and entered the present riley of Harris Creek at the upper contact of the limestone area, where the jirenent richest claim-is found. A study of the topography fails to indicate that neb A channel his existed, and no gold placers, which should exist in such a ctuuinel, have been found. A third and probably the true explanation of the occarrence of gold on Harris Creek is that it is derived from small quartz veins aod stringers in the schist which crosses the creek above the limestone, and tlt it has been washed down the creek and concentrated in the broken bed rock oftlie limestone belt This hypothesis is borne out by tlie facts that small qautz veins have been observed within these schists, that all the gold of Harris Creek is well rounded and watenvorn, and that no large nuggets have fooDd. The failure to find gold in paying quantities within the schist belt may te accounted for by tlie fact that the schists do not form proper riffles for holdin; and concentrating fine gold.

Tlie largest nuggets do not exceed $1 in value. The average value of the partides is less than one-tenth of a cent.

Gold in paying quantities has also been discovered in the gravels of North Forik itself, and in 1903 mining was in progress about a mile above the mouth of Htfris Creek. North Fork here cuts across the massive Silurian limestone almdy described in connection with Harris Creek. In crossing this limestone telt the valley of North Fork is constricted, and a large part of the water sinks, tat 300 to 400 miner*8 inches still flow on the surface. The stream gravel here consists mainly of limestone in more or less angular pieces. The workings are In tbe bed and under the north bank of the creek, and the gold is found partly in the gravel, but mostly in crevices between angular blocks of the limestone Mrock. These angular blocks are called " slide" by the miners, but are more IfotNihly residual bowlders from the weathering and solution of the limestone bed rock in place. This bed rock is mined to a depth of about 3 feet, wliich there are still some colors of gold, but not enough to pay under present eooditions. The gold is bright, clean, and well rounded. It is rather coarse, pTDbabfy averaging 2 or 3 cents to the piece, and is easily saved in the sluice txtxes. Tlie concentrates consist mainly of hematite and magnetite.

A gravel bench a few feet the present creek IkhI, on the north side, has lin leen prospected. The gravel consists of schist aiid quartz ud angular pieces of limestone, and is reported to yield fair pros[)ects of gold, tat it has not been mined. The occurrence of the gold here seems to be similar to that on Harris Creek, and it is more probably derived from small veins in the schists, which outcroi> farther ui) the creek, than from the limestones in Tboae crevices it is found.

Coarsk Gold Creek.

The alluvium of Coai-se Gold Creek is auriferous, but as yet little pld has been extracted. A hard diorite forms the b'd rock of a part of the creek and does not afford a favorable surface for the concoutntion of values. The lower part of the creek is in schist and deserves the attention of prospectors.

324 Gold Placeks Of Seward Peninsula.

Arizona And Creeks.

Arizona and California creeks are small streams near whose mouths are heavy gravel deposits. Both the flood plain and bendi deposits have yielded gold. Considerable mining has been done on benches near the mouths of these creeks about 20 feet above the present water level.

Henry Creek."

Henry Croek, which joins Kougarok River from the west about .15 miles from its moutli, is only alwut IT) miles long, but on acc*ount of its many trlbutariw it has a large drainage area and at its mouth (tarries between and 2,0W> miner's indies of water. One mile above its mouth the flood plain is more than 1,000 feet wide, and the creek flows in a very tortuous course*. The rock consists mainly of graphitic and chioritic schists, containing umiiy bodies of greenstone whose intrusive origin is evident. Limestone ueair the head of the creek. Tlie are made up of graphitic, chioritic, and calclte schlrt and greenstone

Although there is evidence of some prosfiecting all along the creek, mining has been attempted at only one or two places. Two men were sluicing the gravel from the creek bed 1 mile from the mouth in August, 1003. The is flat and comparatively coarse, the pieces probably averaging 5 or to the cent but it contains no nuggets worth more than 3 or 4 cents. All the gold is well rounded and iron Half a mile farther up the creek three men were sluicing, but probably were not saving nmch gold, as work was susiieuded before the end of the season. From present indications it seems probable that there are low-gi*ade plainer deposits on Henry Creek which may be made to yield profits by more economical methods of mining than were in vogue at the time the examination was made.

Dreamy (Julch is a small depression, carrying little water at any season, whicli cuts across the hillsitU* and benches on the east side of Kougarok River, about omlialf mile alive the numth of Henry Creek. The whole hiltoide, ad well as the head of the gulch, is gravel. Beneath the tundra, gravel from 3 to feet thick rests a IhhI rock of dark, calcareous mica schist, 30 to 40 fet tlie river IhmI. The gravel contains pebbles of mica and chlorite acbist from ouivhalf to inches in diameter and large bowlders of well-rounded quartx up to IS inches in their longer dimension. A few men worked here in 1908. and, although they had water for sluicing only when it rained, they probable averaged from .$7 to .$10 a day to the shovel. The gold is coarse, rusty and well rounded. The largest nugget taken out was valued at $1.10.

Tayixjr Creek.

Kougarok River forks about 38 miles from its mouth in two branches of about e(|ual size. The ea.stern branch, called Tayto Creek, rises southeast of Midnight Mountain and flows westward to its junction with the Kougarok. The bed rock at its mouth is a dark

Description by Messrs. Collier and UeM.

The Kouoabok Beoiok. 825

hist that extends northeastward to Midnight Mountain, but immeliately south of that mountain, about 6 miles above the mouth of the treek, there are exposures of a massive limestone that is correlated nth the Port Clarence. The creek cuts across the strike of the chists and limestones. Colors of gold are known to have been found n this creek and some of its tributaries, but not much mining has >een attempted.

Some mining has been done near the mouth of the creek, where the placer deposits are similar to those of the flood plain of the Kougaok, of which they form an extension. Besides this the only mining attempted in this basin is on a small tributary called Solomon Creek. it the mouth of this stream there is a sloping bench, on whjch lies 3 o 7 feet of gravel covered by 8 to 10 feet of muck. The gravel is luriferous and has been mined in a small way, as have also the stream n'avels of Solomon Creek one-half mile above its mouth.

r a

Home8Take Creek.

Homestnko Creek enters Kougarok River from the west 35 miles above ts mouth, and is 4 miles long. It heads in the plateau at an elevation of 1.000 'eet, and in the 4 miles of its length falls approximately 800 feet, averaging ibout 200 feet to the mile. Although gold was probably discovered here as rly as 1900, active efforts at mining were not begun until 1902. In that year leveral thousand dollars in gold were produced along the creek. In general, the vorkings have yielded scarcely more than wages to the men employed.

The valley of the creek is broad. Nowhere along its course is a definite lanyon developed. The rock consists of dark-colored graphitic and calcareous mica schist similar to that which prevails along this part of Kougarok River. In the creek bed and extending out from it for an uudetennined distance are deposits of more or less stratified gravel, which in the bank are overlain by nearly pure ice covered by muck and moss. The creek is practically Incised in the gravel deposits that cover the west wall of the Kougarok Valley. Some gold has been found in the gravel floor of Homestake Creek from its iQouth to its head. One-fourth mile from the river the consists of 4 to 5 feet of muck and fine sand resting upon rock. A pit 20 by 50 feet In the creek bed has been mined out. The gold obtained is generally in larger and thicker pieces than the river gold and included one nugget worth $14.40.

Half a mile from the mouth a crosscut ditch showed about 5 feet of gravel resting upon beil rock. It is that on this claim some pans yielded as much as 25 cents each,* and further tests show that ali pans carried some gold, but that no continuous body of pay gravel was found.

One mile from the mouth a body of pay gravel 8 feet wide and 40 feet long lia.s been workeil out. The values in some places extendeil under the banks, beyond the limit of the workings, and probably some values have been left in the tailings. The owners of the claim estimated that the pay streak is 40 feet wide. It is that near the head of Homestake Creek a pay streak 25 feet wide has been followed for a distance of 05 feet along the creek. The JDld was coarse and the highest values were near the creek bed. It was not mined at the time of visit, as to work the claim economically a long drain ditch is needed.

Description by Messrs. Collier and UetUL

326 Gold Placers Op Sbwabd Peninsula.

In general, the pay streak along Homestake Creek Is from 8 to 40 feet wide, and is confiiieil to the valley floor, hut not necessarily to the present stream The gold is of a little lower grade than that from Kougarok River, and is iu tb* main darkly stained.

Macklin Creek.®

Macklin Creek joins the Kongarok at the grejit bend 44) miles above its montlt The two valleys have the same axis, running about east and west, and the <iniibined streams run southward, thus forming a T. An attempt to work \Amvr* along this creek in 1901 Is described in a previous reiwrt, Imt no worlc wns in profrress in lOO;?. Some sjwts of comparatively rich gravel have been foul hut their development has been stopped by lawsuits. It seems probable that some of the gravels of Macklin Creek carry sufficient values to yield fair retain* if worked economically.

Columbia Creek."

Columbia Creek is another small tributary of Kougarok River atiout ti luigi above tlie mouth of Macklin Creek. It heads near Ilomestake (*reek and fl"W northward. It is that twenty claims have looatwl along creek, and that during one was being develoixnl. The gold Is sjiid to coarse, the largest nugget found lK?ing worth $10. Some of it is stained liw" and black, but the rest is bright yellow. It is all or less angular aiul some of it has quartz Two men working on this claim obtained Then* is <*onsiderable low-grade gravel along this creek that can not be worktHl profitably under conditions.

Conclusions.

The investigations on which this report is based were entirely too inadequate to permit a final word on the vahie of tlie auriferoiis gravels of the district. That there are extensive alluvial (le|)Osits whicli may carry sufficiently hiffh values to yield returns for €i*o- noniical mining no one can deny who has studied the field carefully- It is well known that as yet, with the exception of a few chiims, no gravels of very high grade have been Certain I conditions already referred to are favorable to the probable extra'ion of the phicer-mining industry. One of these is the wide extent of the mineralization. If, as stated elsewhere in this report (p. 1*22)' the zones of mineralization of the peninsula are most commonly j found along or near the contacts of mica schist and limestone, then j placers should he expected in the Kougarok region. As in other I mineral-bearing districts of the peninsula, the rock is closely ; folded, faulted, and fractured, and mineralized quaitz stringers are j not uncommon, but have not been tested as to their gold content I" j at least two localities the gold has been traced to its bed-rock source j in the schists. So far as the present studies can determine, tlie M

" by Messrs. 'oilier and Hess. '

A. .!.. of the northwefltern portion of Heward iiHka : Prof. Pnper T. S. Oeol. Survey Nu. 1>, 1902. p. tt4. :

The Kouoabok Beoion. 827

x;k is no less favorable for the occurrence of gold here than in other Lstricts of the peninsula.

The history of this province since it was last elevated above the ja, interpreted according to theories elsewhere presented, points to le of gold in the alluvial deposits. The various [)ochs of erosion indicated by the bench deposits would promote le concentration of the heavier materials in the gravels. In sevral localities on Kougarok River the gold was probably derived by concentration from older elevated placers. Yet it must be said lat, in spite of this reconcentration, the resulting placers have not Ben found to be as rich as those of similar origin in other parts of le peninsula. This fact points toward the conclusion that the bed- x*k source is not as heavily mineralized as in some of the other is-tricts. The lower bench gravels of the Kougarok and of some f its tributaries are undoubtedly among the most important deposits F the district, if only because of their favorable position for cheap ining.- The highest gravels (i. e., those above 50 or 60 feet) re- >rted at various places have now little prospect of development iless they are far richer than any of the other deposits. Their pographic position makes it difficult, if not impossible, to hydraulic except at great cost. Experience has shown that the abunince of ground ice, the limestone masses, and the heavy talus all nibine to make ditch construction and maintenance expensive. The writer is unable to make a definite statement as to the gold nor of the gravels in this field, for the results of the little prosjcting that has been done are not available for this report. When le meager evidence is carefully weighed, it seems probable that L to the cubic yard must be considered high value for most of the lacers of the district. Whether or not there are considerable bodies f gravel which carry such values, the writer is not prepared to state. Hiile a gold tenor of $1 would be considered very rich in most lacer camps, it is low compared with that of some of the auriferous raveLs of Anvil and Ophir creeks. Nevertheless it is probable that ravels can be profitably mined at but a fraction of this amount in lany places in this district.

The two drv summers of 1900 and 1906 make it evident that such climatic conditions must be reckoned with in counting cost, especially rhere large investments of money are made. Though during a wet Bason water is abundant, nevertheless the Kougarok region has no uch reservoirs to draw on as the Kigluaik Mountains, which are eing tapped by the Nome ditches, and this fact is emphasized by a ry season like that of 1906. At the present rate of ditch building very possible source of water supply will soon have been utilized, lere, as elsewhere, more careful prospecting of the ground would robably have curtailed some of the ditch building. It appears that

828 Gold Placers Op Bewabd Peninsula.

some operators have been too ready to believe without adequate prospecting that the values in the ground were sufficient to warrant large expenditures for ditch construction. This hit-or-miss style of mining has fewer odds against it in regions where the hope of finding bonanzas is better than in the Kougarok. It certainly can find no place in a region where the question of costs has to be carefully considered.

The Kougarok does not appear to be an inviting field for the miner without capital. Though considerable gold has? been recovered bv pick and shovel, on the whole the values thus far developed are not high enough to yield profits by such simple methods of mining. Thi* is certainly true now, but conditions may alter with the reduction costs of labor and supplies.

To recapitulate briefly, the following facts appear to be established (1) Prospecting up to the present time, so far as known to the writei has not established the existence of many bonanzas. (2) There ar some extensive deposits of heavy auriferous gravels, yet it appear that but few of them have been sufficiently prospected to prove thei values. (3) Water is far from abundant, but in many localitie during most seasons is probably sufficient. (4) Mineralization, how ever, is widespread, as is also the gold in the alluvium. (5) Some o the bench deposits are very favorably located for profitable exploita tion by hydraulic methods. (6) There is probably some ground whid can be dredged, but as yet few facts in regard to it are available.

In the opinion of the writer the Kougarok district may become on( of the important gold producers of the peninsula, though it is not t( be expected that its output will ever be comparable to that of some of the older districts, such as Nome and Ophir Creek. It is a field where profits can be expected only by a careful coimting of costs and conservative business management.

Geology And Mineral Resofrces Of Iron Greek."

By Philip S. Smith.

Introdictiox.

Iron Creek, one of the largest tributaries of the Kriizgamepa, joins that river near the great bend about 11 miles east of Salmon Lake. Although really continuous, Iron Ci'eek three names in different parts of its valley; thus from its mouth to Left Fork, a distance of 7 miles, the stream is called Iron Creek; alive Left Fork as far as Eldorado Creek, a distance of 1 mile, it is called Dome Creek, and from Eldorado Creek to the divide it is called Telegi'am Creek. This confusion of names is due to the interpretation of the mining laws which permits the staking of additional claims on different creeks — I e., creeks having different names. There are four main tributaries, the three largest being from the south and the fourth and smallest from the north.

Owing to the fact that some errors occur in the reconnaissance map of 1900, the only map prepared by the Geological Survey of this region, it has seemed advisable to correct such inaccuracies as were iioted in a hasty trip along the stream in lOOC). Much assistance in platting the district was afforded by the transit notes of a ditch survey made by J. M. Iove, of the Gold Beach Development Company. A corrected map of the Iron Creek basin is shown in fig. 19. It will be noted that this basin is roughly triangular. The western side of the triangle forms the divide between the drainage of the Kruzgamepa and that of Iron Creek. The southern side of the triangle in the western part separates the Iron Creek drainage from the head- Waters of Gassman and Venetia creeks, both tributaries of Eldorado River. The divide from Venetia Creek is low, leing only about 800 feet above the mouth of Iron Creek, or 1,000 feet above the sea, so that it affords a good route for a road to Nome. The eastern portion of the southern side of the triangle forms the divide between the Iron

Extract from Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 314, 1007. pp. 157-lO.T Reconnaistances in Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 100<); a apeolal PQbUcatlon of the U. S. Geol. Survey. pi. 17.

Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula

Creek and Casadepaa drainages. A low pass, with an elevation of about 1,000 feet, permits a fair wagon road to run up Telegram Creek and down Lower Willow Creek to the Council City and Solomon River Railroad, a distance from the junction of Iron and Canyon creeks of 13 miles. Now, however, that the Seward Peninsula Railway from Nome to the Kougarok has been completed beyond the mouth of Iron Creek, it is probable that with reasonable freight rates the use of the wagon roads will decrease, though freight is now

.J.

J

miles

Ditch

Trail

Fh:. 11). Sketoh map of Iron CrHk tiasin.

delivered at Iron Crook by winter hauling from Nome for only 2 cents a pound. The northern side of the Iron Creek drainage basin forms the divide from Sherret Creek and several . smaller streams which flow northward into the Kruzgamepa.

Physiography,

Stages Of Valley Cutting.

The physical features of the district are complex, and only the more striking facts can be presented here. An older topography, which the present stream is intrenched, is preserved in the upp

The Ibon Creek Region. 331

slopes of the valley walls. In this portion the bed rock is so covered over that exposures are practically wanting:. This is due to a jxriod of erosion and the accumulation of a heavy mantle of waste that reaches nearly to the top of the divide. The higher portions of the divides are generally bare, consisting of fantastically curved pinnacles of rock from which taluses with steep slopes, practically uncovered by vegetation, descend, gradually merging with the smoother moss-covered slopes of the middle portion of the valley walls.

The streams in their lower courses flow in rock-walled cannons. In tracing any one of the streams headward the canyon is found to decrease in height and to merge gradually with the older pliy previously mentioned. The histoiy of these features suggests that the former topography of gentle and wide, valleys was produced by the long-continued erosion of rivers and weathering. uplift of the region renewed the down-cutting power of the streams, so that cannons were carved in the floors of the old valleys. This erosion allowed rapid reassortment of the old gravels St ml waste and thus effected the concentration of any gold or other heavv minenils which nuiv have been contained in the navels.

The canyon cutting ceased, however, before it had progressed beyond the lower portions of the streams. The interruption was produced either by a movement of the land or, as is more probably the case, by a climatic change which decreased the amount of water transported by the streams. Such a change may have also been responsible for the disappearance of the local glaciers which were formerly present in the Kigluaik Mountains. AMiether the climatic change had anything to do with the retreat of the glaciers or not is, however, of slight importance in this discus.sion. Some change must have occurred, for the streams are no longer down-cutting, but actually building up the floors of their valleys. The reason for that the change must have been one which affected the rainfall rather than the elevation of the district with respect to sea level is based on the shape of the rock canyon. The canyon has a broad, swinging course which is so symmetrical that it could not have produced by the straggling present stream, which occupies only a small portion of the floor between the rock walls. Many other streams in different parts of Seward Peninsula show this same feature. The extensive development of this phenomenon suggests a widespread cause, such as climatic change, rather than a local cause, such as apUft.

Evidences Of Glaciation.

feature of some theoretical interest is the presence of gran- 4>//cIrs on the divide near the low sag at the head of Matt is jH:Mi the rapid reconnaissance it was impossible to examine the sufficient care to make a final statement as to the origi

332 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

of these bowlders. It is known, however, that there is no granite of similar character south of the Kigluaik Mountains. Furthermore, the granite bowlders are unweathered, showing that they have not been in their present position a very long time geologically. Although the question has not lieen carefully studied in the field, it is sugled that possibly these bowlders have been brought by glaciers from Kigluaik Mountains and carried into their present position by ice block floating on a lake formed by glacial obstruction of the drainage. This suggestion is to be regarded only as a working hypothesi.s but it fits in with the known facts, which mav be summarized as follows: The angular, unweathered form and foreign character of the granite and the presence of shore lines at considerable elevations. Liikes of this type are common in regions that are at present glaciated, and evidences of such lakes have been recognized in many places where glaciers have now disappeared.

GENERATE GEOIiOGY.

The rock of the district belongs to the Nome series. It consists of a series of much faulted and contorted limestones and schists and some greenstones. The greatest development of limestone occurs in the lower part of Iron Creek, but a great number of thinner beds interlaminated with schists are encountered even up to the headwaters. It is that the numerous alternations of schist and limestone are indicative of the source of the Iron Creek gold. Although no extensive proof of mineralization at the limestone-schLst contacts has been found in this locality, the fact that such contacts are the loci of mineralization has been verv well established in other parts of' Seward Peninsula.

The rocks of the Iron Creek district trend northeast and southwest and dip toward the southeast, but there are numerous exceptions to this general direction, as tKe rocks are complexly folded and faulted. The deformation and consequent shattering that the rocks have undergone has undoubtedly resulted in the formation of zones of pervious rock in which mineralization has taken place. The streams also have taken advantage of the northeast -southwest structure and practically all the tributaries are arranged parallel to this direction.

In lithologic character the rocks are similar to the Nome series as described for other parts of the field. The schists present two main facies, namely, graphitic and chloritic. No between the two can be drawn at the present time, although it is believed that detailed study would solve their interrelation and structure- The chloritic schists are most extensively developed in Iron Creek Telegram Creek. They are thinly laminated, with wavy cleavage, and are rusty brown to greenish gray in color. Cbilorite and

TILL lHu-V CBTT.K ELOIGN. 333

nn* iijosi uliuijJiiLi '3j Tt'lecrain Cinnk uhovo Eliloraih)

TLM' rtKk an* ih zTfuem] lm >ligluly M'histos*' ami woiiUl

iie -JexTilifd dark, muirly ]lack. raphitio (juarlzitos, with iiid I litre fhiiose j*lease!s. Hand >iHH*iiiions show oonsidorablo z iiud a linlf tTlddTJi, Tlie oilur aiv not ilisiinahltthe fvt'.. ilircfUfrh ihc-of graphite is nnofrniAMl Milling the haiid>- Here and iheiv sulphidoN aiv found, ially iii the ]>lacr- Trhrre mvur.

: which kkx-ut in the Iron Ciwk ivrion not >tudied in detail, hui Mni to Ik simihir to foinid in the L*ni country* nearer Xome. If this i*orivhition is eorivel. th'V mainly cf intrusive origin. Rumors wore heard of an exlrn-ivi irreenstone outh of Iron Creik, but neither wa> it in

nor wik> anv flriat of an extrusive iriiHMistone mmi. .-o that

i.> felt aljimi the in:vurnMice of a flow.

General Conditions.

liner on Iron Creek has lieen much reward-d iiv liifiii;i'"- i of tile region, but this i- now di-iipjMr;!.' \Ui th*-

ing of railroads and wagon road-. Fn-itr/r fnij) Norn*- 'i-.

delivertnl bv the Seward Peninsula 1J;ij1v. .r. .if ti,* in'iiitli of

Creek, but the cf rate> wa-not iiri;-'J. lii -ih' .id .

noted that in winter >uppliecan U- ui*,.i::r- .? ♦.Mri ;it .1

)f "2 cents a pound. The rir-i ,f -M-ij.-r 'j.i 'j i, Creek is now, owing to the ia.r '/.:.';.*.';f. *,f t},r in.i'\ t#,

but little higlier than tli*- viM-r .

DITCH CONSTf'VCT.'O.S

one exception the v.r!-: f : ' ► : /. / ' 1 w. l,.i / 1,'m. ' u J not excwMl s.Vi.'r" . 'I . .!.♦ './I- 'l-ni../ '..

.ii-if '. ii.*jv r.tf IK -MJZx iicr vf ihfr railev lu the wist sido -

; .i#* i.nir.i .f '.f jvul. ▼iirv ii and extends aloi).

Ti .1. " .i.r-.. 11 ,i Ir.n Cir*L vriicfa lakes its water from rlie

"j* -q.::- -.r.i -.n.!' -rxtj and -evenly men at a time f r -r. ..r.. - - ;i.r.-*r -.'f that water for I.S.. ..r - .i- irn Ti -A'.wr f'j-r joly alioiit two weeks. Tln' r" . --T.-: i: :L--r:* 7 'Lr TMopany U <Hi Iron Creek at the :- . - V --rr- V A iT'invdic flerator has been installed :;i ' -f* i .-. jrnT-l*. ai:#i active mining operations will

W.'XrvC- Z-S MAIK STBCAM.

I;?vT-- >-v -r: t rv!fc iL-i lft Fork Iron Creek t hero is a f.-i.'._ V..).. .1 T. _..i Lk- '.*fc, working for llie two vears on a Ti.i'.i -- -jL.-. y- r rr : . f vr r.?t. Lave Iteen on this claim a." - T-r jr.". .vrMf ax-d eau-ilT !>ared. Both nistv aw r;jT.- J- ;r ' i. Ti-vil:-** otnir in a thin pay streak --' - -X i- iL.'i rvvi-.v- of lie*! roi'k. Tlie sriJ!

u" : : iTTv : : .' :L:- riiirL. La.* prevented any large-:scale de"

i'! -.ir.ji.r workinjr creek gravels. 'M J V -— jtav-:- hi-lie'ii hv means of a V '.A. S. V. rul r ':i:i:yi worth s:U) <ir 40 each li - -ir '-tpar: Ifl Fork tlie largest niiSZ Ip- ('!'k f::.'l. Tliinugget weiglied ovcl ' oiir.ri-. a!;-! v:i- \.i" ♦'i ;iT i! aMiinption that the gohl wtrith Si.r.M ;ir o . -. h i- a fart >significance that -ii'.Miii fjniL ilii- I"':* T. 1. :il*i:l luilf a mih lieft Vc all tin- LoM - ii:-ty. \\!iria- U j.iw niMv and right gold CH'*- J in-ri;i-Mi; f. ii I in all-* i.r of iiiiijit irujd alive i- Ixdieved to Ih t I hi- |Miiit inaric- I in-phn-** u!i'i- tin* oltU*r and newer vaHevnieC III otluT word-. rni'k in the nearly nnuKxli ')M valh'V. wliih* <lnwii-tn*a!ii it ha-that level. The rer — ff'-li. -Iiiny -mfatM-: \vli*n'a- th' goM that ha-lxH*n practically iiiov<*d lia a ni-lv roatiiiir.

rii

f t

-

r

.

i'

U.

.

f"

r

:

t

A

If*

1

The Iron Creek Region. 335

Between Ift Fork and Iilldorado Creek only one camp was in peration in 1906. Five or six men have been at work at this place, ut as it is understood that this portion of the creek has already been orked over three times it is doubtful whether subsequent work will e remunerative. The gravels are apparently similar to those already oted.

Above Eldorado Creek the main stream, as has previously tated, is called Telegram Creek. One man only has at work on bis stream during the last year. This claim is located at a point bout a mile from the divide. The bed rock is mostly graphitic schist rith some thin limestone and schist bands. Several nuggets, worth s much as $100 apiece, have been found on this claim, and it is eported that very coarse gold is found even on the crest of the divide rom Willow Creek. The water supply of Telegram Creek is small, specially in a dry year, such as lOOO. Often this lack has hindered r in large measure prevented exploration of the gold gravels that lave been found by prospectors in this part of the Iron Creek basin.

Mining On Tributaries.

On the tributaries of Iron Creek but little work has been done, (imny Creek, the fifth stream which enters from the west below lanyon Creek, in not over three-fourths of a mile in length. Two len have done a little work on this stream last summer, but it probbly produced not more than $100 or $200. On Bobs Creek, the next mall stream south of Bunny Creek, the only work Hone during the 1st season has been on the upper part. This claim has been worked rith water "brought over the divide from Willow Creek, the first ributary of the Kruzgamepa east of Rock and Slate creeks. Considrable trouble has experienced with the ditch, as a large part of tis built on frozen ground, which melts under the water. This ditch arries only about 400 miner's inches of water. Even this small moimt is more than is yielded throughout the season by Willow /reek, and it is proposed to extend the ditch next year 3 or 4 miles to >late Greek.

Easy Creek, which enters Iron Creek from the east opposite Bobs /reek, has shown good values in the lower porticm. Three men wen X work at this place last summer, but closed down rather early in he season owing to the drought. Little more than assessment work las been done on the other claims along Easy Creek. The next small stream to the south is Lulu or Benson Creek. Four men have \yoen >perating on this creek the entire summer. On Rapid, Rocky, and Jabbit creeks, the three other small tributaries of Iron Creek from he west below Canyon Creek, little more than assessment work has Jeen done during the last season, although they are completely staked.

336 Gold Placers Of Seward Peninsula.

Except on Canyon Creek, no work has been done on any of the larger tributaries of Iron Creek. On a little tributary of Canyon Creek, called El Patron Creek, about 3 miles above the junction with Iron Creek, one man has been at work all summer. However, but very little gold has been produced, owing to the lack of water. It is , expected that with the completion of the Canyon Crek ditch, water may be purchased, so that work will be pushed with greater activity in the coming sunmier.

Summary.

In summarizing the Iron Creek region it may be said that the gold is mostly coarse and easily saved ; that it has been derived from a relatively local source ; that water for the economic development of the placers is at hand ; and that the questions of freighting and transportation are rapidly being effectively and satisfactorily settled

Index.

A.

Page.

ver, basin of, placers in 271-273

tionof 50,271

on 89

1 and Silver Mining, Milling, and

Trading Co., operations of 14 j

;h, placers on 254

:, placers on 273, 275-276, 279-280

Ic. placers of 272

>osits, ageof 93

Qce and description of. . . 92-93,298-300

p., occurrence of 76

liver, placers of 272-273

iver, placers on 281

occurrence of 223

See Nome. :. placers of.. . 16-18,31, 16&-170, 180-192

on 190

re showing 189

, placers on 206-207

k, placers on 324

tal plain, gravels of 86

>ower of, abuse of 19-20

areas, extent and tenor of. . 135-139, 141

B.

ead Qulch, placers on 254

eic, placers on 181,265

, description of 170-198

. C, work of 7-8

:urrence and description of 101-103

I, placers on 174-175,261

on 175

occurrence of 104

inesof 37, 157-165

of, map showing 161

lip of 22-23,26

line of, gold of 36, 158

le of, gold of 37, 160-165

rs, description of 142, 145, 151-156

Id of 151,156

of, figure showing 155

I of. method of 151, 155-156

s, character of 151-153

gof 26

roe of 154-165

:enoe of 56

F., on southern Appalachian

placers 126

old deposlta in 116-128

in, relation of placers and . 121

30Sitaon 128-130

lowing 178

Page.

Bench gravels, gold In 27, 34

occurrence and description of 93-94, 112

section of, figure showing 189

See alw High-bench deposits.

Bench placers, description of 142, 143, 170-198

position of, figure showing 247

Bendeleben, Otto von, exploration by 13

Bendeleben Mountains, description of 44

Benson Creek, placers on 335

Bering Creek, placers on 273,280-281

Bering Sea coastal plain, gravels of 86-88

Berries, occurrence of 56

Big Four Creek, placers on 264

Big Hurrah Creek, lode mining on 38,

placers on 225,227-228

Big Hurrah mine, description of 228-231

map and section of 229

Birch Crpek, placers on 264

Blake, H. L., gold discovered by 15, 16, 17

Bluestone River, basin of, placers on. 28-.'U), 273-281

description of 49, 273

section on 275

Bluff, description of 58

use of chum drill near, plate showing ... 192

Bluff region, description of 283

geology of 285

impregnated zones of, character of, figure showing 292

placers of 288-293

production of 283

topography of 284

sections in 290

Boer Creek, placers on 182

Bonanza Gulch, placers on 194-195

Boulder Creek (of Sinuk River), placers of . 217 Boulder Creek (of Snake River) , placers on 196-197 Boulder Creek (of Turner Creek) , placers on . 314 Boulders, glacial, occurrence and description of 97-99

occurrence of, plate shouting 252

Bourbon Creek, gold at 160, 162-163, 167

section on 167

Brooks, A. H., introduction by 7-9

on beach placers 151-156

on development of mining industry 10-39

on Bluff region ?83-293

on coastal-plain placers 156- 158

on drainage 48-50

on economic geology 111-139

on geology 61

on placers 144-145, 174, 181, 187. 195. 25260

work of 7, 8

Brooks, A. H.. and Schrader, F. C, on highbench placers 198

Brynteson, J. J., development by 15-16.17-18

Buck Creek, tin and gold on 281

Index.

Pace.

Buckland River, deflcription of 50

Buhner Creek, gold on 289

Bunny Creek, placers on 335

Buster Creek, gold placers on 172-174

section on 173

Bythopora, occurrence of 76

Bythotrypa sp., occurrence of 75

r.

Cache Creek, gold on 233

California Creek, placers on 324

California placers, comparison of Seward

peninsula placers and 11-13

comparison of Seward placers and,

figure showing 12

output of 137-138

Calithium, occurrence of 75

Camp Creek, placers on 25t

Candle Cnk, gold on 30,31

Canyon Crook, placers on 2tt5

Caribou, extinction of 56

Caribou Bill claim, description of 12,200

Caaadeimga River, placers on 15,

lodes of 120

Caasiterite. occurrence of 10110, 118

Cassiterite Creek, tin on 120

Charley Creek, placers on 216

Checkers Cnek. gold on 312

Chicago CnMk, lignite on 36

Chum drill, use of, view of 192

Cinnabar, occurrence of 118

Cladopora, occurrence of 75, 76, 77

seriata, occurrence of 76

Claim jumping, activity in 18, 20-22

Climate, description of 50-54

Coal, occurrence and development of 36,

Coal coal on 83-84

placers on 217

Coarse Ct old Cnvk, placers on 323

Coastal-plain gravels, reconcentratlon of. 166-170

Coastal-plain placers, deacriptlon of 15-170

gold in 157

Coffee Cit'ek, placers on 308,312-313

Collier. A. J., on Boulder Creek placers 314

on geography and geolog>' of peninsula 40-1 10, 112-1 13, 124

on geologic history ,300-303

on occurrpnc< of gold placers 133, 134

on tin hxlos 120

work of 8.9„3,28.5,294

Collier, A. J., and Hess, F. L.. descriptions

of placers by 140-259. 321-326

Columbia Cnek. placers on 326

Coliunnaria. cxxjurrence of 75

Columnaris. occurrence of 76

Commercial features, description of 57-(>0

Concentrated gold deposits. <iescription

of llH-120

Conchidium coppingeri, occurrence of 7r

Contacts, limestone-schist, mineralization

at 121-122, 132

Cook Inlet, gold discovered at 13

Cooper Gukili, plaoen on

Copper ores, occurrence of IS

Council, description of 58,235-2K

Council district, gold of. yield of.. 30,32,34,35,37 Council precinct, description of. . . 233-234,235-236

geology of 234-2J5

placers of 236-SI

Creek placers, description of . . 142, 144-145, 170-1

Creek valley, typical, view of

Crim, Leslie, aid of S

Cripple River, basin of. description of 30211

baain of, placers in 210-211

placers on 211-215

(brooked Creek, bowlders on. plate showing. SS

placers on 251-253.26

Cyrtoceraa. oocurfence of Ti

Csrrtorizoceraa, occurrence of 78

D.

Dahl Creek, placers on 3U7,3Qft,313

sections on 312

Daniels Creek. cUfl exposure near, figure

showing

hyd raulic mining on. plate showing 3M

placers of 27,29,30,283.288-88

map and section of 38?

Darby Mountains, description of

Deer, occurrence of

Deer Oulch. placers on

Dewey Creek, placers on .' 1*4

Dexter, John, enterprise of UW

Dexter Creek, placers on 1?HW

Dexter-Dry divide, placers of 2D7-3D9

section on . - 3W

Dikes, occurrence and description (tt. 99-lW

DlUer. J. 8., on wave sorting

Diphyphyllum multicaulis, occtirreTKe of . .. Disseminated gold deposits, deitcrtption

of 117-lW

Districts, creation of

Ditch, view of 21!

Ditch building, progress of 29,31.333.(

Divide Creek, placers on MS

Dixon Creek, placers on

Doroshin, exploration by W-M

Dorothy Creek, placers on IW-W

Drainage, account of

Dreamy Oulch, placers on fi*

Dredges, employment of

employment of. plate showing 38

Dry Creek, gold on ... . 160, 162-163, 168. 169. 184-1#

section on 169.185

Dr>'-Dexter diWde, placere of 207-2W

section on 3W

Dutch Creek, placers on 251,2B

Ear Mountain, description of i®

Easy Creek, placers on

Economic geology, account of lll-*3*

El Dorado mining district, organization of. Eldorado River, deecription of '

region of . placers of 221-2S

Elkhom Creek, plaoen oo 3S6-2S7.20

section on

El Patron Ciwk.-fold on

wk. plxer. on.

naiyaf.

;"

2i9-ZW

mining dlrtrict.

tiring of. 14

ions conmmlng

Ts-T0.8I-82

of

e.pl.le

bowing. 58

old, diacovery ol 13- IB

dlBlrlhutton or l-ie

occumjnwol, Inbadrock ll-12B

HKurrwuo[,lnplaaerdepoalti.. 109,128-131

production ol 11.2§.ai-aB.l

ourmot 112-113,110-124,121.131

epuvtion of. from bod rock. 125-12T

imniipiirliilinn ol 12*. 132

nld-lwaring n1ons. camparlKHi of, with

(-nnlinrlHOii ol, with Calltomla and

Klondike, figure ibowing 12

eit4!nt itnd nlue ol 135-139

lold depodu. conoentration ot. 12U-UI

otcurrence nf , In bod rock 1I6-I2S

ingnvcl. Arr Gold pUcen.

I3A-139

ll.,l4Z-14li

dirtrtl.utlon of 121-122

ripluution Dl 131

genpsiaof 114-115

prcwpre ting for 133-134

irlntlon nllwil-mrk gold and 121

typpsof. drtscHptlonoof I1B-I20,I42-1

old place™, f"mr-ntrnl("l.l"criptloiol. II4-1IS

md placers, nsidiuil, deacrtptlon of II4-11G.

I2$-127

old placers, Bond, description of 114-115

old lllMi, jjljUT" i-pll 273,27.1-279

>7,254-2Ss

I], working ol, plat showing. . .

Oolofnln iJi.nil. groVBl" o(

Goodhopo liny hurttir jit

Goodbope pnctoct. description t

Crei'k. placcriDn..

.iiiUi riic-kMnlraslonot I24-12J

'"t'umx'i'jinddMicilptionol 103-108

iliiiili. tul rnok on. pku> showing. .. . 178

gravels of. plats Bhowing ITS

placers on 176-180

LveL-plan deposits, agn ol 91-S

occurrwice and description of .. . WMI0,III-1I2

ortginof. 9D-Bi

plain plBCi?rs.decript1on ol J. r..eiplaraIionby

lew of.

Ikdex.

H.

ITaggalin, J. L., prospecting by

Ilalysitcs catenulAiia, occurrence of. .

catenularia fleldeni, occurrence of

doacription of

Page.

J.

Harris Creek, placers on 306,321-323

Hastings Creek, gold at LW, IW, 164-165, 167

section at 159

Hayes, C. W., on quartz weathering 126

Hefty, H. G., work of 8

Henry Creek, placers on 324

Hess. F. L., on occurrence of gold 133

on tin lodes 120, 124

work of 8,9,33,40,41,61,76,116,294

Hess, F. L., and Collier, A. J., descriptions of

placers by 140-259,321-326

High-bench deposits, age and origin of 94

gold In 133-134

occurrence and description of 93-94, 133

section and map of 201

High-trench placers, character of 198-199

description of 199-209

Hillside placers, description of 142, 144

History, outline of 10-39

History, geological of 112, 300-306

Hobson Creek, placers on 181

Hormotoma, occurrence of 76

Ijellicincta, occurrence of 78

Holyoko Creek, gold on Ui5,

Homestako Creek, placers on ;f25-326

Hot Air placers on 194

Hot Spring, occurrence of 297

Hiiltberg, N. C, prospecting by 16

Hume Creek, placers of 220

section on 220

Hiuigry Creek, placers on 214

section on 214

Hunter, William, gold found by 288

HydrauUc lifts, use of 34-35

view of 192

Hydraulic mining, plato showing 284

I X L Gidch. placers on 2:i7-2;i8

lct, prevalence of 53-54

Ice age. Sre Glaciation.

Creek, placers of 218

Igneous rocks, gold in 113

occurrence and description

1 Ilaonus tauricornis, of 75

Impregnated zones. charHeliT of US-lH)

character of, figun* showing 292

Imunik Basin, drainage of 49-.')0

gravels of 8H-89

Cn'ek, placiTs of 217

Iron Ijasin, description of 32'.)-33n

ditches on :3-334

geology of 332-3;i3

gold in 31

map of 330

Dlacers of 3;-:Wi

physiography of 330-332

Jarvis. D. H., energy of

Jeroihe Creek, placers on

Jees Creek, gold of

Johansen. — . gold found by

Judicial district, establishment of.

Kasson Creek, placers on

Kavlruk RU-er, description of

Kcnal fonnation, character of

Kiglualk group, occurrence and deeci tlonof 66-6

unfavorable-nesa of, for placers

Kiglualk Mountains, description of

Kiglualk series. See Kiglualk group.

Kingcgan, of

King Mountain, placers on

section and map of

Kittleson, A. N., prospecting by

statement by

Klondike placers, comparison of 8ew peninsula placers and

comparison of Seward peninsula plat and, figures showing

output of I

Kotzebue Sound, gold on

Kougarok region, access to

alluvium

description of

ditches In

nxx'nt hl8tor>' of

gold of, source of

map of

placers of

yield of. 28,30,3:

topography of 295-2!

Kougarok River, description of

placers on. 27.306.308-31

on

Koyuk River, description of

Kronjchenko, sur>'ey by

Knizgamepa River, basin ot, placers in

description of

gravels on

Kiignik group, oorrdation of

Kiizltrin formation, character of

tx-currence and description of

Kii/.itrin River, description of

Kravels on

K ii7.it rin series. Srr Kuzitrin formatioi K wik River, description of

Last Chance Creek, plaoeni on

Lawson Creek, placers on

Libby, D. B., gold discovered by

Lightering freight at Nome, plate ahowi

Lignite, developmeiit of

Lillian Creek.

Index.

Limestone-fldiist contacts, mineralizatioii

at 121-122.132

Liiidbloim. E. O.. gold dijcoverd by 16 17

lindblom Creek, gold oa 196

lindebeig, Jafet. gold diacovervd by 16

letter from 16-18

Lion Creek, placers on 232

Lithostrotion. oecurrenoe of 81

Utile Creek, gold of 34.3d.l2-163

Lode mining, cost of 11.33,38.116,133

future of 138

Lodes, existence of. 116, 132,286

Lonsdalea, occurrence of. 81

Lophospira. occurrence of 75, 76

Lower Willow Creek, places on 265-266

Lowlands, description of 44-48

gravels of 88-90

Lulu Creek, placers on 335

M.

MoC-onnell, R. O.. on Klondike region 137, 138

Ifacklln Creek, placers on. 326

Maclarea magna, occurrence of 76

Maclnrina mAnitobensis. occurrence of 75, 76

ICanila Creek, places on 22S-226

Kap of I ron C reek baafn 330

of Kougarok region 295

of Nome region, showing difttribution of

places 150

of Seward peninsula Pocket

northern part of Pocket

showing distribution of vegetation. 55

southern part of Pocket

showing precincts. 42

llap. geologic, of Ophir Creek region 123

of peninsula. Pocket

Marbles, occurrence of 74

Hasoot Gulch, gold of 315,320

Hattie claim, description of 201-203

section at 202

May Creek, placers on 215

Mccalomus. occurrence of. 77

Mebing. L. S., gold discovered by 15, 17

Melaing Creek, placers on. . . 15. 17, 240-242, 2tia-2iU

sections on. 241

MendenhaU, W. C. on Fish River gravels . . 90

on granite occurrences 106

on rocks of Fish River 68

work of 7,8

XerrfU, O. P.. on rock weathering 126

Metamoridiic rocks, description of 66-83

Mineralization, age of. 124-125

distribution of 121-124

evidence of 132

Mining, costs of 39,141

development of 10-39

future of 135-139

Miocene ditch, construction of 29

Moffit. F. H.. onextentofaurllerou.1 areas. 135-136

on Fairhaven rocks 107-108,113,124

on geologic history 302

on third-beach line. 160-165

work of 8, 40 61, 101, 116

Moonllgtat Creek, plaoen cm 266

Moraines, ooeamneeftaddMeription of 96-07

Page.

Mordaunt. P.. gcM discovered by 15, 17

Mountain Creek, placers on 212,214

Moimtaina. description of 44

Mud Ciwk. placers on 240

Mnkachami Mountain, character of 102

on. 240

Mystery Creek (of Shovel Creek , placers on . 226

Navigation, close of .">3-54. 59-4iO

Nekula Gulch, placers on 200.201,205

Neva Creek, gold on 321

Newton Gulch. goM on 168, 183-184

section on, 160, 184

Niukluk River, basin of. placers on 238-260

description of 49,238

dredging on 238-239

gold discovered on 13

placers on. 238-239,265-264

sections on, 263

Nome, beach lines at.. . - 36,37, 157-165

beach lines at, figure showing 161

conditions at 19-27,38

description of 23. 25, 57-58

gold of, yield of 24. 28, 30. 32, 34. 35, 37

lightening freight at. plate showing 58

niHh to 19.24

Nome group, character of 62, rwi. 1 13

gold in 113

occurrence and description of 70-H2. 147

Nome precinct, description of 146-147

development of 149

geology of 83,147-148

gravels of 86-87

history of 15-39. 148-149

organization of 18-19

placers of. description of l49-23:t

topography of 146-147

Nome region, bitch placers of 151-156

beach placers of, yield of 151, 1."i(>

section of, figure showing 155

coastal-plain placers of 156-170

geology of 149-151

placers of. distribution of. map showing 150

Nome River, basin of, placers of 171-182

description of 49,170

Nome series, correlation of 61-4G