124 ALASKAN MINERAL RESOURCES IN 1905. 
lower parts of the valleys of Healy and Volkmar rivers. The rock of the Volkmar below the 
forks, so far as observed, is schist; above the forks, granite gneiss. 
Tenderfoot Creek is tributary to the Tanana about 25 miles below the mouth of the Good- 
paster. Transportation in summer is by steamer from Fairbanks to the mouth of Banner 
('reek, where there is a good landing and a road house, thence by pack train for a distance of 
about 3 miles to Tenderfoot Creek. The time required by steamer from Fairbanks to Ban- 
ner Creek is three or four days. The freight rate for the season of l ( .H). r ) was $80 per ton. 
The trail which follows the Government telegraph line from Fairbanks to the mouth of < !oo<l- 
paster River is occasionally used, but it is very sofl in places and frequently obstructed by 
the trees which have beet) felled. 
Tenderfoot Creek is only about miles long and carries probably not more than 3 or 4 
sluice heads of water. It Hows for a part of its course in a narrow channel in the muck, If) 
to 20 feet below the valley floor, which is broad and has a grade of about 100 feet to the 
mile. There are remnants of a bench in parts of the valley just to the west of the creek 
and about 40 feet above it. The valley is filled with deposits ranging from 48 to 120 feet 
in thickness, of which the overlying muck makes up from 36 to 80 feet. The gravels are 
similar to those of the Fairbanks region, and comprise quartzite and mica schist, graphitic 
schist, feldspathic schist, and granite. At the time of the writer's visit several boilers were 
in use, ;i lew holes had been sunk to bed rock, and in one case sluicing had been begun. 
Though a pay streak had been found, sufficient work had not been done to determine the 
value of the deposit. 
Butte and Caribou creeks are adjacent westerly tributaries to Salcha River, joining it 
about 50 miles from its mouth. A combination road house and store and a military tele- 
graph office are located at the mouth of the Salcha. Supplies were transported from Fair- 
hank-- to Butte and Caribou creeks during the last season largely by poling boats up Fair- 
hank-- Slough to the point where it leaves the Tanana, (hen up the main river for about l£ 
miles, and finally up Salcha Slough and Salcha River. At low water it is possible to use 
a horse in towing boats for the greater part of the distance. At high water, however, the 
transportation is more difficult, for horses can not then be successfully employed. The 
time required from Fairbanks under the most favorable conditions is about seven days. 
The spur which starts at the head of Fairbanks Slough, near Mullowney's cabin, affords fair 
traveling for a pack train, and the distance to Butte Creek is about 40 miles. 
A prominent ridge extends westward from the forks of Salcha River, about 60 miles 
above the mouth, dividing the drainage of the north fork from that of the main river below 
the forks and then swerves southwestward toward the Tanana between the Chena and 
Salcha drainages. The ridge has an undulatory outline with deep saddles and several 
points of prominence, of which the highest, known as the Butte, has an altitude of about 
4,200 feet. The steep northern slope faces an open valley drained by Gold Hun, a t ributary 
of the north fork of the Salcha, which receives several minor tributaries from the slopes of 
the inclosing ridges. The southern slope is steep and is deeply cut by the headwaters of 
Butte Creek. 
The prevailing rocks are schists, such as have been described as occurring in the Fair- 
banks region. Crystalline limestones are abundant in the hills east of the Butte and are in 
places thin bedded, alternating with schist, and, like schist, are frequently garnetiferous. 
Carbonaceous slates occur in the hills west of the Butte and here, too, is found considerable 
greenstone and serpentine. The Butte itself is composed mostly of a dark-colored intrusive 
granite. The gravels, so far as observed, are essentially the same in character and arrange- 
ment as those of the creeks in the Fairbanks region. 
Butte Creek is about 12 miles long and is considerably larger than any of the productive 
streams in the Fairbanks region, carrying at the lowest stage during the last season 3 or"4 
sluice heads of water. The valley has a grade of about 100 feet to the mile and a width 
in the middle of its course of about half a mile, but gradually becomes narrower toward the 
head, where it is joined by steep, narrow gulches. The creek flows for the greater part of 
its course near the east side of the valley, leaving on the west a flat of considerable extent. 
