GOLD MINING ON SEWARD PENINSULA. 143 
The Topkok Ditch Company, at Bluff, now owns 35 miles of ditch, having added 12 miles 
to the old ditch begun in 1902. The original ditch was 21 miles long, had its intake at the 
forks of Klokerblok River, and ended at the penstock one-half mile from the beach at Bluff. 
The portion of the ditch built in 1905 takes water from Skookum Creek at the mouth of Boil 
Creek, where 1,500 inches are obtained from the three branches. It has a width across the 
bottom of 5A feet, a 3-foot bank, and a grade of 5.28 feet per mile. There are 5,000 feel of 
piping, of 30- and 28-inch pipe which permitted it to be nested in shipment. This is capa- 
ble of withstanding a pressure of 150 pounds. Nearly a quarter of a mile of tunnel was 
driven to shorten the ditch line. 
Much the larger part of Ophir Creek is controlled by the Wild Goose Mining and Trading 
Company, and to work its claims this company has constructed the largest ditch on Seward 
Peninsula. To the 40 miles or so of ditch in use in 1904 11^ miles were added in 1905. The 
intake is located on Pargon River, on the north side of Chauik Mountain, but the water of 
Helen (-reek is also taken and the supply thus obtained is conducted along the east and 
south slopes of the mountain until it can be discharged into the upper tributaries of Ophir 
Creek, to be taken up again in the old ditch below. The ditch has a width of 10 feet on the 
bottom, 16 to 18 feet on the top, and a grade of 4.22 feet per mile. 1 1 is said to have capacity 
of 6,000 inches. More than 13.000 feet of fluming were required to carry the water over 
unfavorable ground. With the present ditch system the water supply is made constant and 
a material decrease in the cost of mining will be possible. 
The ditch known as the "Sunset ditch" is being built by the Arctic Mining and Trading 
Company to supply water for hydraulic purposes on Sunset Creek, which flows into Grantley 
Harbor 3 miles northeast of Teller. Work was begun in July, 1904, and 15 miles were com- 
pleted at the end of that season, 16 miles being added in the summer of 1905. Water is 
taken from Agiapuk River, but another branch 7 miles long will be constructed to tap Cali- 
fornia River and provide an additional supply. Most of the ditch has been made to carry 
1,-500 inches, but this will be increased to 2,000 inches. The water is delivered on Sunset 
Creek 1J miles above the mouth, and has at that place a head of 212 feet. An inverted 
siphon 3,800 feet long across Mountain Creek saves the construction of 7 additional miles of 
ditch, while 3 miles around Shellman Creek are saved by a similar pipe line 1,800 feet long. 
In the first case 36-inch pipe reducing to 24-inch was used, in the second 36-inch pipe reducing 
to 22-inch. A large portion of the ditch is in limestone, and some difficulty was experienced 
with ice, one of the most serious obstacles ditching has to contend with in Alaska. 
In the Kougarok country a ditch is being built by a company of which Mr. J. M. Davidson, 
one of the three originators of the Miocene ditch of Nome, is president. It takes water from 
Kougarok River 3j miles above Macklin Creek, opposite the mouth of Mascot Creek, and 
follows the left bank of the river. When completed the ditch will extend as far south as 
Arctic Creek, a total length of 12^ miles. More than 7 miles, from the intake to Homestake 
Creek, were constructed in 1905, and work will be resumed in the spring. With a width of 
from 8 to 9 feet on the bottom, a 2^-foot bank, and a grade varying from 4.22 feet per mile in 
the upper 3| miles, to 3.12 feet in the remainder of the portion now built, the ditch will carry 
about 2,000 inches of water, but its capacity will later be increased to 2,500 inches. About 
1 mile of rock work in close-grained schists and slates was necessary, but so far only 1,000 
feet of ice have been encountered — along the south side of Macklin Creek. This stream is 
crossed by an inverted siphon 843 feet long made of 32-inch and 30-inch pipe and with a 
depression of 53.6 feet at its lowest point. Another inverted siphon 1,000 feet long using 
36-, 34-, 32-, and 30-inch pipe is required at Goose Creek. As has been suggested, the 
use of pipe of different diameters arises from the decrease in freight charges, since space is 
saved by nesting the pipe. A third pipe line 2,376 feet long, with a dip of 150 feet, will carry 
the water over Taylor Creek when the ditch is extended. At the present terminal opposite 
Homestake Creek a head of 160 feet is available. 
A second large ditch now in course of construction in the Kougarok country is known 
as the North Star ditch. Its intake is located on Taylor Creek 1^ miles above Midnight 
Creek. It follows the north bank of Taylor Creek to Kougarok River, where, after crossing 
