lirington.] DRIFT MINT NG. 93 
esult on Hunker Creek, where li to 1£ horsepower was us^d for each 
i-foot point running ten hours, was 4£ cubic yards. PL III, B 
p. 4<>), shows a winter drifting operation in the Klondike, and PI. 
CV, A (p. 92), shows a drifting operation during summer on Fair- 
anks Creek. PL XIV, /?, shows a battery of steam points thawing 
round in the open in preparation for excavating by a steam shovel, 
liree cords of wood, at $13 per cord, were burned in twenty-four 
ours to generate steam for operating 15 of these points 10 feet long, 
'hese thawed ground 14 feet deep to bed rock. As 4 cords of wood 
mre burned in addition on the steam shovel, and 20 men, at $6 a da}^, 
rere employed in the twenty-four hours to get out less than 500 cubic 
ards a day, the operations were not economical. In connection with 
dredging operation the thawing by means of steam conducted through 
as pipe in 11-foot lengths was estimated to add 40 cents per yard to 
tie ,cost of working the ground. 
The only drifting and steam-thawing plant at Nome gave an effi- 
iency for each point of only 1\ cubic yards. The points were using 
i this case a little less than 1 horsepower each and were run only for 
ight hours. Moreover, the gravel was small and was mixed with 
mch ancient beach sand, which in a frozen condition is extremely 
ifficult to thaw with steam. 
The method of thawing with hot water by means of a force pump 
3t in the underground workings, which forces hot water through a 
mall nozzle against the bank, has been tried successfully in the Klon- 
ike district. At a claim on Gold Run, where it was desired to extract 
3- foot pa} r streak of gravel capped by 27 feet of barren gravel at a 
epth of 50 feet below the surface, a small force pump of the ram pat- 
irn, with outside packed valves, was placed in the main runway near 
tie shaft. It drew water from a 6-foot sump near at hand, to which 
tie workings drained. The pump had 4-inch intake, 3-inch discharge 
hoked to 2£-inch, and the water was pumped to the face by means of 
otton hose and discharged through a 1-inch brass nozzle at 40 pounds 
ressure. Six thousand gallons of water were used over and over, 
nd by discharging the exhaust from the pump into the suction the 
rater was kept at a temperature of 150° F. In a shift of ten hours 
le pump, using 30 horsepower, thawed and broke down ready for the 
bovelers 175 cubic yards of gravel. This is vastly superior to the 
verage Klondike dut} r of the l^-horsepower steam point, even allow- 
lg 4 cubic yards to the point, as the 30 horsepower would supply only 
points and the maximum duty would be 80 cubic yards. 
Only under certain very favorable conditions, however, can the hot- 
rater method be used. There must be no silt in the gravel, otherwise 
le water becomes thick and can not be settled in the sump. If the 
ed rock is in large flakes, and the pay sinks into it, the hydraulic 
