36 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
being parallel to the octahedral face of the crystal. I had found some 
of these crystals 1 in gold dust brought from Victoria gulch in the early 
days of mining in the Klondike, and afterwards, while examining the 
quartz veins at the head of the gulch, in company with Professor Henry 
A. Miers, F.R.S., we found a few more crystals of a similar character. 
Some of the crystals found on Claim No. 7, Victoria gulch, are repre- 
sented on Plate I. 
In addition to the gold found in the quartz veins it is possible that 
some is associated with the schist itself. But none of the quartz veins 
so far discovered have proved rich enough to be worked at a profit, and 
the gold production of the Klondike has been derived exclusively from 
its placer deposits. 
PLACERS. 
Placer deposits may be defined as “ Detrital deposits of heavy 
metals or minerals mechanically concentrated by natural agencies.” 
Professor James Geikie defines a placer as “an alluvial deposit 
derived from the disintegration of metaliferous rocks and ore-bodies of 
various origin.” 
Richard Beck! defines placer deposits as follows:—“ Placer gravels 
are deposits of loose, more or less rolled, material derived from the 
destruction of older deposits, lying on the earth’s surface, or at least 
very close to it, and containing paying amounts of ore or precious 
stones. 
“As the material composing placer gravels has been exposed to all 
the influences of the atmospheric air and of the water seeping through 
the upper strata of the soil, placers will be found to contain, in the main, 
only relatively insoluble, and in general refractory metallic compounds 
which, moreover, are protected by their great specific gravity against 
easy removal by water. 
“These placer gravels are usually grouped into two classes, accord- 
ing to their position with reference to the deposit from which they are 
derived, and in part, also, according to the manner of the original pro- 
cess in which they are derived from the primary ore deposit: 
“1. Residual gravels, i.e., of local origin. 
“2. Alluvial gravels, i.e., formed by washing. These may again 
be sub-divided according to age into Recent, Pleistocene and Tertiary 
gravels. 
*“The Nature of Ore Deposits,’’ by Richard Beck. Translated by W. H. 
Weed, 1905; pp. 617-618. 
