194 ALASKAN MINEKAL RESOURCES IN 1906. 
INDEPENDENCE CREEK. 
Considerable gold has been taken out of Independence Creek, bu 
during the last year there were only a few operators at work. At it 
mouth the valley floor is about 100 yards wide, but narrows rapid] 
in going upstream. The pay streak appears to be irregular and swing 
from one side of the creek to the other. The gravels are from 3 to 
feet deep. There are some well-defined benches along the creek 
In 1906 some work was done at half a dozen claims on this stream 
but the aggregate output was small. 
MASTODON CREEK. 
Mastodon Creek contains the richest gravels yet discovered in th 
district and has been by far the largest producer. The bed rock i 
practically all quartz and quartz-mica schist, with many quart 
veins. At the mouth of the creek the valley floor is about 400 yard 
in width and gradually narrows down to about 200 yards 2 mile 
above. The lowest 2 miles of the valley are the richest and contai 
the largest pay streak, which is about 200 feet wide and 7 to 10 fee 
thick. In this part of the creek there are well-defined benches som 
of which have yielded rich placers on the northwest valley slop* 
About 2 miles from the mouth the walls are steep and apparentl 
have no benches, while the pay streaks are narrower and not so thicl 
A part of the alluvium on Mastodon Creek is frozen and therefo] 
could not be dredged unless the ground were first thawed. There ar 
however, considerable areas that are not frozen. The tailings fro) 
former mining operations probably contain enough gold to pay ft! 
rehandling with a dredge. The grade of the major portion of tl 
stream is 100 or 200 feet to the mile. 
Mining was actively pushed throughout the greater part of t] 
creek during 1906. Most of the operations were by shoveling in 
sluice boxes, but several steam hoists and one small hydraulic pla i 
with steam scraper were in operation. It is reported that considt i 
able property changed hands during the year preparatory to mc : 
extensive operations. 
MILLER CREEK. 
Miller Creek, though never a large producer, has been workh 
more or less continuously since 1895. Its bed rock is chiefly schi 
similar to that of Mastodon Creek, but the evidence of mineralizati 
is not so strong. The gravels vary from 12 feet in thickness ru 
the mouth to 4 or 5 feet near the head. The pay streak varies fr< 
2 to 6 feet in thickness and 20 to 40 feet in width. The grade of 1 
stream is about 150 to 200 feet to the mile. In 1906 mining v 
carried on in a small way at half a dozen localities. 
