Jpiundlk.] FORTYMILE REGION. 45 
The creek, which is a short one about 8 miles in length, (lows in 
an easterly direction and joins South Fork about 10 miles south 
of the junction. The valley of the upper portion is comparative!} 
open, that of the lower portion is narrow and V-shaped, with precipi- 
tous slopes; the stream bottom has a width of only about 50 feet. 
The bed rock includes micaceous, garnetiferous, and hornblendic 
schists, and crystalline limestone, which strike nearly east and west 
and have a southerly dip; they show much crumpling locally, and 
have been closely folded. The schists were found to be cut in places 
by acidic granitic dikes. 
The gravels are composed of more or less angular fragments of 
schist, crystalline limestone, granite, dark heavy rounded pieces of 
basalt, and heavy brown and green masses composed of garnet, epi- 
dote, and quartz often with considerable pyrite. The depth to bed 
rock varies from 2 to 80 feet, with an average of 8 to 10 feet. Pay is 
found mostly near bed rock and across the entire width of the creek 
bottom, and there is said to have been considerable ground which con- 
tained as high as $5 to the cubic yard. The ground Avorked recently 
has varied from about $30 to $150 to the square box length of 12 by 12 
feet, which means a maximum value of about $3 per cubic yard. 
There has been much variation in the size of the gold. Two of the 
largest nuggets found in the creek were worth $239 and $500. The 
general run of gold at present rarely includes nuggets worth above $30. 
The depth to bed rock on the bar at the mouth of the Franklin is 
about 3 feet; the gold there is found mostly on bed rock and to a 
depth of 2 feet within it. The average value is about $1 to the square 
foot of bed rock. There is no evidence that the gold on Franklin 
Creek has had other than a local origin. Pieces are often found with 
quartz attached, and an assay for the Survey, by E. E. Burlinganie & 
Co., of a quartz fragment containing considerable pyrite yielded 0.1G 
of an ounce of gold and 0.16 of an ounce of silver to the ton. The 
average annual production at present is about $8,000. 
Some winter drifting has been done on Franklin Creek, and in 
1903—1 the bar at the mouth was worked with a steam-thawing appa- 
ratus, but most of the ground is better adapted for summer work, 
There are generally about twenty da} 7 s of good water for sluicing 
and sixty days for shoveling in; this may continue to about Sep- 
tember 20. The creek affords another illustration of the depend- 
ence of a small drainage area on abundant rain for satisfactory 
results. On July 4, 1903, there was only a small stream of water 
trickling through the gravel and standing here and there in discon- 
nected pools; little work had been done since the middle of June. 
In one summer operations were entirely suspended from July 4 to 
j August 15, while in 1902 conditions were favorable for work through- 
out the entire season. 
