GOLD. 99 



gold, however, is probably derived from the Lake quartz-schist. ffl These schists are 

 traversed by quartz veins of considerable size, the larger of which are not known to 

 carry more than a trace of gold, but a series of smaller veins or veinlets and small 

 lenticular quartz bodies or leaflets contained in the schist are to some extent aurif- 

 erous. Nearly all quartz specimens which have been assayed show at least a trace 

 of gold. 



The principal diggings when the region was visited by the writer in 1899 were 

 those of Slate Creek and Myrtle Creek, which lie along the zone where the Lake 

 quartzite-schist gives way to the West Fork* series on the south. This zone is also 

 along the line where the mountains give way to the dissected supposed Yukon 

 Plateau. Here in March, 1S99, coarse placer gold was discovered in paying quanti- 

 ties on Slate Creek, an east side tributary of Middle Fork of the Koyukuk, which it 

 joins 16 miles above Tramway Bar. The country rock is a series composed of mica- 

 schist, quartz-schist, and slate, and is cut by some igneous intrusives. It is uplifted 

 and stands on edge. The gold occurs as shallow creek and gulch diggings, and is 

 found principally near or on bed rock in joints, fissures, and crevices. The gravels 

 rarely exceed 3^ feet in thickness. The diggings begin about 9 miles above the 

 mouth of Slate Creek, at the confluence of the two main forks, of which the north 

 one is known as Myrtle Creek, and the south, one as Slate Creek proper. From 

 this point the diggings extend to the head of Myrtle Creek, a distance of 5 or 6 

 miles, and considerably farther up Slate Creek. 



Two mining districts had been organized and are known as the Slate Creek 

 and Myrtle Creek districts. The gold, as seen here, is bright, clean looking, coarse, 

 and considerably rolled or flattened, denoting transportation. The largest nugget 

 taken out had a value of nearly §20. The bench gravels along these creeks are also 

 auriferous and are reported to prospect from 3 to 5 cents per pan. Considerable 

 mining was also being done near the sixty-seventh parallel on various tributaries of 

 South Fork with fair success; here at present the principal camp is that of Gold 

 Bench. 



Though the Slate and Myrtle creek districts, with a few others, are reported 

 to have yielded well during the season of 1899 and 1900, and are still producing, 

 subsequent exploitation has resulted in the discovery of much richer deposits farther 

 up the river, all occurring, according to reports of the miners, in much the same 

 class of metamorphic rocks as those noted for Slate and Myrtle creeks. 



Of these newer discoveries, the principal are Emma, Clara, and Gold creeks, and 

 other smaller streams tributary to Hammond Creek, while the discovery of gold on 

 L'nion Gulch, about 15 miles above Slate Creek, is reported to have been made 



aSchrader, F. C, Reconnaissance along the Chandlar and Koyukuk rivers, Alaska, in 1899: Twenty-first Ann. Rept. 

 U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2, 1900, pp. 474-483. 

 b Ibid., p. 475. 



