Geographic Notes 



257 



during the last season. Dr Spencer will 

 also make preliminary examinations of 

 some of the other important mining dis- 

 tricts of southeastern Alaska. 



Mr Alfred H. Brooks, who has charge 

 of the geologic work in Alaska, will go 

 to Juneau in the early part of the season, 

 and later will join Dr Hollick's party 

 on the Upper Yukon for some strati- 

 graphic studies. Later still, in com- 

 pany with Mr Prindle, he will visit the 

 Tanana gold district. The month of 

 September will be spent by him in the 

 Nome and adjacent gold fields of the 

 Seward Peninsula. 



GOLD DISCOVERIES IN ALASKA 



A STRIKE of rich placer diggings 

 has been made in Alaska, in 

 the Circle City mining division, on 

 the tributaries of the Tanana River, 

 a district in which for several years past 

 American miners have made a thor- 

 ough search for good placer-mining 

 deposits without success. . The present 

 strike seems to be one of more than 

 ordinary importance, and has caused 

 a stampede of miners from Dawson City 

 and other districts to the new fields. It 

 is unsafe to predict too much, but the 

 general opinion seems to be that a large 

 and productive placer field in American 

 territory has at last been struck. Circle 

 City is practically deserted as a result 

 of the rush. The Eagle-Circle route is 

 reported to be the best means of reach- 

 ing the Tanana from Dawson, as the 

 trails by Fortymile and Goodpasture 

 are unbroken, and no supplies are avail- 

 able. From Fortymile to the new dig- 

 gings the distance is 160 miles. 



The region of the recent discovery is 

 not yet surveyed, though the United 

 States Geological Survey has made 

 several explorations in the vicinity. 

 These explorations are a part of a 

 general system of preliminary surveys 

 which the Geological Survey has been 

 carrying on in Alaska as rapidly as pos- 



sible during the last five years. A re- 

 ,port entitled "A Reconnaissance in the 

 White and Tanana River Basin," by 

 Alfred H. Brooks, contains the results- 

 of a reconnaissance made in 1898. It 

 describes briefly the geography, geol- 

 ogy, climate, and timber of the region, 

 and, so far as the character of the in- 

 vestigation would permit, deals with the 

 mineral resources. The party left the 

 coast at Skagway in March, 1898, and 

 made its way inland for about 100 miles 

 with sleds ; then, after waiting until the 

 ice 011 the river broke up, it continued 

 down the Lewes and Yukon rivers in 

 canoes to the mouth of White River. 

 That river had never before been as- 

 cended in boats because of its mad, 

 rushing current.. After six weeks of 

 hard labor the party succeeded in drag- 

 ging canoes and supplies up W r hite 

 River 150 miles, where a portage was 

 found to Tanana waters. The down- 

 stream trip to the mouth of the Tanana, 

 a journey of about 600 miles, occupied 

 a mouth. The party finally reached the 

 Yukon after a canoe journey of 1,600 

 miles. 



A second report by Mr Brooks deals 

 with the Upper Tanana Basin and is 

 entitled "A Reconnaissance from Pyra- 

 mid Harbor to Eagle City, Alaska." 

 This also treats of the geography, geol- 

 ogy, and mineral resources of the region 

 traversed by the party. It is based on 

 a journey made with pack horses from 

 the coast at Pyramid Harbor, south- 

 eastern Alaska, to the Yukon, near 

 the international boundary. The trip, 

 which occupied about three months and 

 was made on foot, aggregated about 600 

 miles. So arduous was the journey that 

 only five of the fifteen horses that started 

 with the party survived the trip. The 

 chief difficulty with which the party had 

 to contend was the many turbulent rivers 

 that had to be crossed. Three boats 

 were built by the party during the course 

 of the summer. 



A third journey was made b)' Mr 



