GOLD IN SOLOMON AND NIUKLUK BASTNS. 153 
of the bars during periods of flood, the particles of gold previously 
contained in the gravels being left behind because of their greater 
weight. On Big Four Creek, a tributary of the Casadepaga from the 
south between Bonanza and Penelope creeks, only assessment work 
has been done during the last summer. On Birch Creek, which flows 
into the Big Four about 5 miles above the Casadepaga, two camps 
have been engaged in working creek gravels below Shea Creek. 
At Dixon Creek, 2 miles above Big Four Creek on the Casadepaga, 
there has been some development work. The bed rock at this place 
is schist and limestone, the creek appearing to follow the contact 
more or less closely. As this contact is in many other places the 
locus of mineralization it would seem desirable to further investigate 
the gravels of this creek and of the Casadepaga near its junction. 
PENELOPE CREEK TO MOONLIGHT CREEK. 
Penelope Creek is now the terminus of the Counci 1 City and Solo- 
mon River Railroad and by this line is about 32 miles from Solomon. 
There have been two camps on this creek, one near the mouth and 
one about a mile above. The upper camp has been the most active 
during the last summer. Four men have been employed and the 
gravel has been handled with horse scrapers. A short ditch has been 
constructed at a low level, but, as in other parts of the peninsula, con- 
siderable difficulty has been experienced from lack of water. 
On Goose Creek only two men have been mining during the last 
summer and according tq local reports not much more than wages 
has been produced. Three-fourths of a mile above Goose Creek there 
is a broad bench of gravels trenched by the Casadepaga which shows 
good values. Mining on this flat, however, has been inactive, pend- 
ing the completion of a ditch from Moonlight Creek. (See p. 154.) 
No mining except assessment work was done in 1906 on Canyon 
Creek. On Banner Creek also work was practically at a standstill. 
It is reported that all the gravels on the latter creek have been 
turned over and that the only values left are those that have been 
lost by the primitive methods in vogue when the creek was first 
worked. Certain claims are, however, held by annual assessment 
work, but the yield is seldom more than wages. 
Willow Creek, which is noted on some of the Survey maps as Left 
Fork, is locally known as Lower Willow in order to distinguish it 
from Upper Willow Creek, also a tributary of the Casadepaga. 
Upper Willow Creek enters the river from the south about a mile 
west of Johnson Creek, while Lower Willow Creek has its mouth 
nearly opposite Ruby Creek. At the mouth of Lower Willow Creek 
two men have been working all summer. A mile above the mouth 
two men have been at work, but have been much hampered by the 
