50  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,  1903.  [bull.  225. 
cost  can  be  roughly  approximated  at  from  $1,000  to  $2,500  per  mile. 
It  has  been  proved  that,  at  the  present  high  cost  of  fuel,  it  is  usually 
cheaper  to  obtain  water  by  ditches  than  by  pumping. 
The  fuel  problem  is  a  serious  one,  as  coal  at  Nome  still  commands 
about  $25  a  ton,  and  is  never  below  $20.  Gasoline  and  petroleum 
engines  are  extensively  used.  Gasoline  retails  at  about  25  cents  a 
gallon.  During  the  last  season  petroleum  tanks  were  built  at  Nome 
which  were  filled  directly  from  tank  steamers  and  were  connected  by 
a  pipe  line  with  some  of  the  placer  camps  of  the  vicinity.  This  intro- 
duction of  petroleum,  handled  in  a  large  way,  may  revolutionize  the 
fuel  question.  Another  proposition  is  to  convert  into  fuel  the  thick 
mat  of  vegetation  which  covers  the  surface  of  the  tundra.  This 
material,  which  is  a  form  of  peat,  burns  readily  when  dried,  but  its 
utilization  as  fuel  has  not  been  attempted  on  a  commercial  scale.  On 
the  north  slope  of  the  peninsula  a  small  body  of  lignitic  coal  has  been 
developed  which,  though  not  of  high  grade,  has  found  read}^  market 
in  the  neighboring  mining  camps. 
The  deeply  scoured  glacial  valleys  of  the  Kigluaik  Mountains,  which  i] 
lie  about  40  miles  north  of  Nome,  afford  an  abundant  water  supply^ 
which  has  been  and  will  be  an  important  factor  in  the  development  of 
placers  both  north  and  south  of  the  mountains.  Several  ditches  have 
already  been  built  to  these  mountains.  The  same  highland  belt  also 
contains  much  undeveloped  water  power,  and  plans  have  been  formu- 
lated to  convert  this  into  electric  energy  and  to  supply  camps  all  over  [j 
the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula  with  both  light  and  power.  The 
promoters  of  this  enterprise  believe  that  they  can  thus,  by  the  use  of  I 
pumps,  successfully  compete  with  the  water-supply  ditches. 
The  idea  that  hydraulicking  gravels  in  this  northern  region  was  not 
practical  from  a  commercial  standpoint  has  been  effectually  dispelled. 
Even  where  the  gravel  was  frozen  solid,  which  is  not  b}r  any  means . 
universally  true,  it  is  possible,  by  using  sufficient  head,  to  break  up 
the  frozen  alluvium.  Moreover,  after  the  thick  coating  of  muck  and 
vegetation,  which  is  nonconductive,  is  removed,  thawing  takes  place 
rapidly  during  the  long  days  of  the  arctic  summer. 
While  hydraulic  mining  in  this  northern  latitude  contends  with  many 
difficulties,  these  are  by  no  means  so  great  as  is  ordinarily  believed. 
Wages  are  $5  a  day  with  board,  the  halcyon  days  for  the  pick  and  j 
shovel  men  of  $1  to  $1.50  an  hour  having  long  since  passed.  Freight 
rates  to  Nome  last  spring  were  $15  a  ton,  including  lighterage.  Later 
in  the  season  a  combination  was  formed  among  the  ocean  vessels,  an 
the  rate  was  doubled.  During  the  season  of  1903  there  were  26  stea 
vessels,  small  and  large,  and  7  schooners,  which  carried  about  75,00 
tons  of  cargo  to  Seward  Peninsula  ports. 
The  cost  of  water  transportation  between  coastal  points  fluctuate 
greatly.     The  figures  secured  from  half  a  dozen  sources  indicate  a  rat 
