68 GRAVEL AND PLACER MINING IN ALASKA. [bull. 263. 
boom reaches approximately 40 feet in its sweep, and the buckets are 
hauled 30 feet from the bank. Under a stratum of sand and soil] 
varying" from 4 to 5 feet in thickness, the gravel, in places considerably 
mixed with sand and clay, descends to bed rock, usually 30 feet below 
the surface. The gravel is entirely unfrozen, rounded, and for the 
most part small, not over 10 per cent exceeding 6 inches in diameter, 
while no bowlders are found above 18 inches. Bed rock is a massive 
limestone, extremely irregular in its position, and causes the greatest 
difficult}^ in the extraction of much of the gold, though this same feature 
must have played an important part in the enrichment of the claim. (See 
PI. VIII, A^ p. 66.) In places deep holes have been made by action oi 
water, and the depth to which work is carried in the recovery of the 
gold depends entirely upon the economy with which it is extracted. 
There is no doubt that much gold remains below, to obtain which 
would not be protitable under present conditions. 
Excavation is accomplished entirely by pick, the gravel being shov- 
eled into the derrick buckets. These buckets are hauled by the der- 
rick line, guided by hand, upon wooden skids (see PI. VIII, A), to a 
point directly beneath the end of the boom, where they are hoisted 
and carried to the dump box. 
The buckets are of 11 cubic feet capacity, and are so practical as to 
warrant detailed description. They are made of crude oil drums or 
gasoline tanks, cut to a height of 2 feet 8 inches, and are 2 feet 5 
inches across the top. (See PI. VIII, B.) Two lugs to hold the 
bale are set opposite each other one-fourth distance up from the bot- 
tom. The bale is made from the original hoops of the drum. Th( 
bottom edge is strengthened by the original flange of the tank, whilt 
on the upper edge has been riveted the flange originally at the top o: 
the tank. The bale is supplied with a catch which, when the bucke 
is traveling, rests in a notch constructed on its edge, which holds thn 
bucket in an upright position. On reaching the dump box, a man on 
the platform with his shovel frees the catch, and the bucket dump| 
in turning bottom upward. (See PL IX, A.) In fitting the lugs hold j 
ing the bale, a piece of iron 9 inches square is riveted to the inside om 1 
the material composing the drum, which is one-eighth of an inch thiols 
To the outside of the drum a strip 9 inches long, 2i inches wide, am 
one-half inch thick is also riveted, and to this the lug (2 inches long) i i 
welded, making a very strong construction. These buckets weigh 14 • 
pounds and, including labor, blacksmith fuel, and original price ( 
drum, cost about $25. 
The skids upon which the buckets are hauled are ordinary smoothe 
timbers, and are not fastened down. This admits of rapid change i 
accommodating the hauls to the advancing work. It is desirable i 
have these timbers as much as possible in a radius of the circ 
described by the derrick, as this gives a straight haul on the boom. 
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