collier.] RECENT EXPLORATION. 11 
before the news of the discovery had been disseminated among- the 
miners, and it was possible only to verify the facts regarding" tin ore 
reported by Mr. Brooks. A reconnaissance geologic map of the region 
was prepared and published in the report of the season's work, together 
with some suggestions in regard to the possible occurrence of tin 
ore/' In the latter part of the season, a great many prospectors 
searched the York region for tin, and before winter they had located 
promising deposits of stream tin on Buck Creek, a tributary of Mint 
River, about 20 miles north of the town of York. 
In 1902 the search was continued and the first real attempts to mine 
the tin-bearing gravels were made on Buck Creek. The nature of this 
occurrence and the mining conditions which existed there at that time 
have been described by Mr. Rickard. 6 
In 1903 the writer was detailed to continue investigations of the 
mineral resources of the Seward Peninsula, and Mr. F. L. Hess was 
assigned to his party as field assistant. The party also included two 
experienced camp hands, and was equipped for traveling inland with 
a pack train of five animals. Nearly all the important placer mining 
camps of the peninsula were examined during the course of the work. 
Though a visit to the York region had not been contemplated, it was 
found upon arrival in the field that the interest in the tin deposits at 
York had not subsided, and that developments since 1901 justified 
further investigations, though there was little time available for this 
purpose. The party reached Teller in the latter part of July and there 
met a number of prospectors who had been searching for tin in the 
York region, and who desired to have their specimens examined, since 
they were unable to identify tin ore. Among these specimens only 
one piece of tin ore was found, but it had been obtained in a new 
locality and consisted of cassiterite crystals still in the matrix, indi- 
cating that its original source might easily be found. 
On the following day Mr. Hess and the writer, accompanied by two 
prospectors, started from Teller in a small sailboat en route to the 
scene of the tin prospecting operations in the York region. During 
the following week Lost River, Buck Creek, and Cape Mountain were 
visited and the tin deposits at these places were examined. This work 
had to be done witli such haste as to make the results in many respects 
unsatisfactory, since the work in other districts comprehended in the 
writer's instructions was sufficient to consume the whole season. The 
examination of the Lost River locality was made by Mr. Hess and the 
writer jointly, while Buck Creek was visited by Mr. Hess and Cape 
Mountain was visited by the writer. 
a Collier, A. J., Reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Prof. 
Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 2, 1902, p. 49. 
& Rickard, Edgar, Tin deposits of the York region, Alaska: Eng. and Min. Jour., vol. 75, 1903, pp. 
30-31. 
