BY F. D. POWER, F.G.S. 31 



enquiries from local miners, two of them — Jack 

 Fehey and Steve Karlsen —informed me that they 

 had also obtained gold from the conglomerate wash 

 at different times. 

 5. That portion of the alluvial deposit which is composed 

 of broken up schists is very poor in gold ; that 

 made up of red standstone drift is better, while that 

 consisting of quartz pebbles is the best, and we 

 seldom get a " duffer " dish from it. At Karlsen's 

 face they average about five grains per lode, while 

 at the Linda Valley claim they estimate four and 

 two-eleventh grains per cubic yard of dirt. 

 The alluvial at the head of the Linda Valley is evidently 

 not in its original position, as can be seen by the high angle 

 at which it is found, for the gravel, sand, clay and 

 lignite, all of which have different angles of rest, 

 are tilted up to such a degree that proves they could not have 

 been deposited in such a situation. Some people shirk the 

 necessity of explaining the problem of the Linda Valley 

 alluvial by saying that the whole mass has been turned 

 topsy-turvy, but there are no signs of such a general mixing 

 up : the tilting of the deposit from the original angle of 

 deposition is all we require to make the whole affair clear, 

 and such a movement in the earth's crust has evidently taken 

 place here, as the bed rock is thrown out of its normal course. 

 The richest portions of the alluvial is found to be the top and 

 bottom gravels, and wherever certain small, heavy white 

 pebbles, termed locally " Sailor Jacks," occur payable gold is 

 sure to be found. At Delany's face they have obtained good 

 results from the former, and at Karlsen's face first-rate gold 

 has been won from the latter. Some persons suggest that 

 the alluvial is simply conglomerate, which has slipped down 

 bodily from the mountains ; but this can hardly be the case, 

 as the alluvial is quite loose, while the conglomerate is very 

 compact ; besides, the former is associated with lignite which 

 we do not find on the heights above, thus proving that the 

 gravel was deposited gradually where now found, and that the 

 conditions then prevailing were favourable to a dense under- 

 growth. The presence of occasional patches of gravel in the 

 lignite shows that the original organic mass grew in shallow 

 places subject to floods, and it is only in such spots that we 

 find gold in the lignite, this going to prove that the gold 

 in the alluvial has been deposited mechanically, and not 

 chemically, otherwise we would expect to find it richer near 

 the lignite, which would tend to reduce it from solution, 

 either by virtue of the organic substance itself, or else by the 

 sulphuretted hydrogen given off by its decomposition. Drift 

 wood may have contributed somewhat to these lignite 

 deposits (specimen 561), but owing to their depth I consider 



