mendenhalt,.] CHISTOCHINA GOLD FIELD, ALASKA. 73 
gold by simple sluicing methods, and have caused the early develop- 
ment of Miller Gulch to a maximum of production, while the poorer 
or deeper diggings in the other creeks, wherein some instances expen- 
sive plants are required, have been neglected. 
The waters of Miller Gulch, discharging into Slate Creek, carry with 
them some of the gold from the gulch. As a consequence, for a short 
distance below the junction, Slate Creek is rich; indeed, nearly all of 
the gold which it has j^ielded has been obtained here. Above Miller 
Gulch, on Slate Creek, bed rock is not always within easy reach, in 
part because of burial beneath alluvial fans from tributary creeks, in 
part because of irregularities attributable to glacial action; and where 
bed rock is accessible, the yield is not more than $10 or $15 a day to 
the man — about the wage of the district. 
The gravels of Slate Creek contain representatives of all the rock 
types found in Miller Gulch, and in addition a certain proportion of 
material derived from the older quartzites, pyroclastics, and granitic 
intrusives occuring on the south side of its lower valley. 
On Chesna River the diggings are confined to two localities about 8 
miles apart, one near the source, the other near the mouth of the 
stream. The greater part of the work on the upper Chesna has been 
confined to a small tributary called Ruby Gulch. In the upper part 
of this gulch the conditions of accessibility of bed rock and of geo- 
logic relations resemble those of Miller Gulch, but the gravels are not 
so rich, and the workable ground is not so extensive. The operators, 
however, have been able to make satisfactory profits in their work. 
Along the lower course of Ruby Gulch the operations have been rather 
in the nature of development. Bed rock is not reached, the gravel 
being removed by ground sluicing to a clay stratum on whose surface 
the gold is found. The yield here is reported to about pay expenses. 
The valley of the middle Chesna is clogged by glacial deposits, and 
for a number of miles the cursory attempts to find bed rock have not 
been successful, but along the lower Chesna, beginning at a point 
about H miles above the mouth and extending thence upstream nearly 
the same distance, bed rock is within easy reach for short distances 
on either side of the river. There is a shallow canyon a few hundred 
feet long near the lower end of this stretch, and present operations 
are confined to small areas above and below this canyon on the dis- 
covery claim of the district. 
The Chesna has been tapped a few thousand feet above the canyon 
and the water conducted by a ditch along the. south bank of the river 
to a point just below the canyon, where a hydraulic plant has been 
installed with a head of 1 25 feet. 
Although over considerable areas the gravel is but 4 to 8 feet deep, 
it was found impracticable to handle it effectively by ordinary sluic- 
ing methods, because of the presence of large bowlders and much 
water, but those who have installed the hydraulic plant anticipate 
