GOLD MINING ON SEWARD PENINSULA. 137 
\ stream of water, assisted by a man at the platform, carries the gravel into the boxes. 
Empty cars run down the incline to a short switch, from which they pass to the main track 
below the loading cars and are ready to be filled again, the average time for a round trip 
being about three minutes. It was found that the hoisting engine used was small and that 
some difficulties arose, owing to the manner in which the track was laid, but these difficul- 
ties can readily be overcome. Water for sluicing is brought through a 3-mile ditch from 
Shovel Creek and delivered at an elevation of 27 feet above the boxes. 
An experiment which is of no small importance in a country where a supply of water under 
ufficient head is difficult to obtain, and which is of especial interest since several undertak- 
ings of a similar nature have not been successful, was being made on Solomon River last sum- 
mer, namely, the pumping of water for hydraulic purposes. The plant is located a short 
distance above the steam shovel just mentioned. The pump is of the three-step centrifugal 
type, driven by a three-cylinder gasoline engine of 225 horsepower. The engine stands on a 
eribwork of heavy timbers set in the ground and filled in with concrete, making a solid foun- 
dation. A firm foundation is an absolute necessity for the success of such heavy machinery 
and was not obtained until after several attempts had been made, for the frozen ground 
beneath thawed, leaving the engine on a bed of water-filled gravels. 
The pump delivers, on an average, 280 inches of water with a head of 140 to 150 feet, 
which is divided between the giant and the hydraulic elevator, the larger part going to the 
elevator. With the present setting water is carried horizontally a distance of 700 or 800 feet 
to the pit and elevates the gravel to a height of 15 feet. An elevator with 8|-inoh throat 
and 16-inch upcast is used. 
The engine requires 250 gallons of oil per day, costing 17.5 cents per gallon, and the plant 
is operated by a force of six men. Considerable time was lost through delays caused by the 
engine or elevator, but the interruptions were largely done away with before the season 
closed. 
Elsewhere on Solomon River and its tributaries the mining methods employed are hydrau- 
licking with the aid of hydraulic elevators, pick and shovel work, and in one case scraping 
with horse scrapers. 
North of Solomon River there was some work on streams flowing into the Casadepaga, 
chiefly on Ruby, Willow, and Penelope creeks. 
QUARTZ MINING. 
Numerous quartz veins, many of which carry small amounts of gold, have been found in 
various parts of Seward Peninsula and scores of quartz claims have been staked, but the Big 
Hurrah mine, on the creek of that name flowing into Solomon River 11 miles above Solomon, 
is the only occurrence of this kind which is being successfully exploited. The ore occurs as 
free gold in quartz veins in a hard siliceous graphitic schist. There appears to be little or no 
pyrite present, but some iron stain is seen on the quartz. Development work has gone 
steadily forward until the force of men now supohes ore to 20 stamps. An indication of the 
confidence which the owners have in their property appears in the fact that considerable new 
machinery was recently installed 
COUNCIL REGION. 
The Council region during the summer of 1905 has also been the scene of several experi- 
ments whose object is to supplant old methods of handling gold-bearing gravel by cheaper 
and more efficient ones. 
The Wild Goose Company has been and still is the chief advocate in this region of the use 
of hydraulic elcvalors for this purpose. Its efforts have been directed largely toward per- 
fecting the operation of the elevator and especially toward securing a large and permanent 
water supply which can be depended on in all seasons. This has been accomplished by the 
completion of a ditch, as described later (p. 143). The company also makes use of the derrick 
system on one claim, but most of th ft tailings are removed by hydraulic elevators. 
