COAL. 109 



brought to the coast on river barges by way of the Colville, and probably on river 

 steamers at high water; or over a cheaply constructed railroad across the coastal 

 plain. Owing to the shallowness of the coast, however, difficulty would probably be 

 experienced in loading it on ocean vessels. 



Judging from the report of Howard, and that of Reed, coal or lignite apparently 

 occurs also on the headwaters of the Colville. Concerning the region above the 

 native village of Etivolipar, in latitude approximately 68° 20', longitude 156°, Mr. 

 Howard makes the following statement: 



"During the forenoon we passed a hill, about 500 feet in elevation, with out- 

 crops of coal. On the sides of this hill beyond the coal were also found pieces of 

 a substance called wood by the natives. It was hard, brittle, light brown in color, 

 very light in weight, and burned readily, giving out quantities of gas. This material 

 was scattered about in all shapes, sizes, and quantities." 8 



Mr. Howard's visit to the region was a hasty overland trip made in the closed 

 season when the ground was covered with snow and ice, and it embraced but a 

 small section, probably -10 to 50 miles, of the Colville. That of Mr. Reed was 

 made in the open season when conditions were most favorable for observing and 

 making investigations. Mr. Reed, who, in compan}^ with Mr. Lucas, is reported to 

 have explored and prospected along the river for a distance of 200 or more miles, 

 mostly downstream from the mouth of the "Killik" (see p. 31 of this paper), 

 likewise reports that thick veins of bituminous coal crop out in the sandstone 

 formation along most of the creeks, and states that the coal was burned by his party 

 also in their camp tires. 



From the topographic description given by Messrs. Howard and Reed, and from 

 the geographic position of the region, being practically on a line with, and about 

 intermediate in distance between the Cape Beaufort and Corwin regions on the north- 

 west coast, and that of the upper Anaktuvuk in the interior, at which points the 

 rocks are known to be coal bearing, or at least of Mesozoic age, the writer infers the 

 sandstone formation in which the coal or lignite occurs on the upper Colville to be 

 in all probability Mesozoic, and possibly also like the Corwin series, Jura-Cretaceous. 

 And since the Mesozoic coals of the Territory are usually a good grade, of bitu- 

 minous character, it would not be surprising to find the upper Colville region' to 

 contain fuel of substantial economic value, similar to the coal produced by the Cor- 

 win and Thetis mines on'the northwest coast, next to be described. 



NORTHWEST COAST. 



Coal has been known in the vicinity of Cape Lisburne (see sketch map, Pi. V) for 

 half a century, and since 1S79 whaling vessels have replenished their supply from 

 this locality. It occurs also at several places along the coast to the northeast as far 



"Stoney, Lieut. George M., Naval explorations in Alaska, U. S. Naval Institute, Annapolis, Md., 1900. 



