■ 
196 ALASKAN MINERAL RESOURCES TN 1906. 
The alluvial floor of the valley varies in width, but is about 300 feet 
wide at Discovery claim, and probably this is not far from an average 
for the two forks. Below the forks, as has been indicated, the valley 
is much wider. Well-rounded gravels characterize the alluvial depos- 
its so far as seen by the writer. Bowlders of more than 2 feet diam- 
eter are uncommon, though some of 3 feet were observed. Much the 
greater part of the material is schist, with some quartz and a little 
granite. The gravels are well stratified, are loose, and so far as 
known are not frozen. It is this fact which has prevented the creek 
being thoroughly prospected, because the water flows in the gravels 
throughout the year. 
There is little turf or muck on the gravels, and the whole section is 
in most places made up largely of sand and gravel. The bed rock is 
usually weathered and is broken by seams of clay, a secondary 
product, but so far as seen by the writer there is no well-defined 
stratum on the bed rock at the base of the gravels. 
The gravels of both forks are known to be more or less auriferous 
At a number of localities some gold has been mined by pick and shov< 
methods, but the values so far as determined are not high enough 
make this a paying proposition. It is reported that as high as $5 
day has been made on this creek. It appears that the values ar< 
rather evenly distributed, both horizontally and vertically. Then 
is, however, a marked concentration in the lower 3 to 5 feet of th» 
gravels, and much of the weathered schist carries gold to a depth o 
1 to 2 feet. The gold is fine, flaky, and bright colored. The large! 
nugget reported, with a value of $4, was found on the upper part o< 
the creek. There has not been sufficient prospecting to determin 
the value of any considerable body of gravel. While 5, 10, and 3 
cent pans are reported from bed rock, these, of course, can not b 
considered as average values. Near the Discovery claim thirtee 
pans taken from gravel near bed rock are said to have yielded abor i 
$1 worth of gold. Considerable garnet and pyrite occur with tfc; 
concentrates. 
At the time of the writer's visit only two groups of claims wen 
being developed. In the lower group, embracing several claims ne* 
Discovery, a dam had been put in, with a view of ground sluicing an 
thus concentrating the values, which are subsequently to be shovele 
into sluice boxes. A small hydraulic plant has been established c i 
another group of claims, embracing No. 3 to No. 17 above. Tl f 
gravels here are 8 to 12 feet thick, and the tailings are handled by I 
small elevator. Water is brought from the creek above through 
flume 2,700 feet long under a head of 100 feet. This plant w 
erected in the fall of 1905, and was run for a short time in the ft 
and again in the early summer of 1906. At the time of the write! 
