purington.] GRAVEL AND PLACER MINING. 37 
regulations. In spite of these obstacles the wide and fairly uniform 
distribution of alluvial gold over large areas of Alaska hitherto unex 
ploited, the uniformly healthful and even enjoyable climate of the 
country, and the proximity of the phenomenally rich gold fields of the 
British Yukon territory, offer a certain justification for the present 
energetic prospecting and mining for gold over so extensive an area. 
The main impressions derived from an inspection of the placer gold 
fields of the north are as follows: (1) Operations requiring the instal- 
lation of expensive plants are frequently undertaken before adequate 
sampling of the ground has been done; (li) the methods of mining and 
conveying the auriferous material, while often leaving much to be 
desired from the standpoint of economy, are, in the main, developing 
along favorable lines; (3) the gold-washing and gold-saving appli- 
ances in use are, in numerous cases, inexcusably crude and inefficient. 
The winning of gold from alluvial material is a business difficult 
both to learn and to conduct successfully. The careful miner, like 
the careful manufacturer, will give as much attention to one part of 
his business as to another, irrespective of the scale on which it is con- 
ducted. The extensive but not remarkably rich gold-bearing area of 
Alaska offers a field for men who propose to conduct their operations 
with energy, intelligence, and economy. To others it can afford only 
ultimate poverty and despair. 
The South Coast province is characterized by heavy grades, abun- 
dant water supply, and good timber. Gold-bearing gravels are, how- 
ever, distributed in small quantity and, however good the conditions 
for the installation of hydraulic plants, the province remains an unim- 
portant producer of alluvial gold. 
The Interior province promises to continue for many years a fairly 
important producer. Geographically considered, the phenomenal 
Canadian deposits of the Klondike come under this province. No 
gravels approaching the Klondike deposits in richness have been found 
on the American side, but a large area yet remains to be prospected. 
Owing to the topographic conditions, low grades to creeks, and 
insufficient water supply at an available elevation, hydraulicking on 
any but the smallest scale is impossible. Matw of the creek deposits 
are shallow, and, besides the primitive method of shoveling into sluice 
boxes, so largely in practice, there is a considerable field for the instal- 
lation of horse-scraping methods and the installation of simple 
mechanical plants. Solidly frozen creek deposits exceeding 15 feet in 
depth can be most economically worked by drifting methods, as here- 
tofore. Experience gained in the Klondike has been invaluable to the 
miners now developing the new Fairbanks field. There is room, how- 
ever, for considerable improvement and reduction of expense in the 
methods employed. 
The natural conditions prevailing in the Alaska interior gold field 
