brooks.]  PLACER   MINING    IN    ALASKA  IN   1903.  51 
of  from  $7  to  $15  a  ton  per  100  miles  by  steamer,  with  an  average  of 
about  $10.  Freight  is  carried  at  much  lower  figures  by  small  gasoline 
sloops  and  schooners,  and  these  are  particularly  well  adapted  to  this 
work  because  they  can  anchor  close  to  the  beach  and  can  enter  the 
mouths  of  the  larger  rivers.  During  the  past  season  there  were  four 
small  steamers  with  50  to  200  tons  capacity  and  half  a  dozen  gasoline 
sloops  and  schooners  of  from  5  to  15  tons  burden  engaged  in  the  coastal 
transportation. 
Overland  transportation  with  horses  is  very  expensive,  but  varies 
greatly.  According  to  best  reports  it  varies  from  $10  to  $16  per  ton 
a  mile,  and  will  average  $13.  The  railways  carry  small  lots  of  freight 
for  about  $3  per  ton  a  mile. 
Navigation  opens  in  the  spring  between  May  25  and  June  15.  Sur- 
face mining  operations  can  usually  be  carried  on  through  the  months 
of  June,  July,  August,  and  often  until  the  first  of  October.  It  is  fair 
to  assume  that  three  months  of  sluicing  can  be  counted  on  if  a  reliable 
supply  of  water  is  available.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  this 
season  is  not  so  very  much  shorter  than  in  many  a  placer  camp  in 
western  United  States.  Taken  all  in  all  the  conditions  of  mining  are 
not  so  unfavorable  as  is  often  represented. 
Reference  has  been  made  to  the  transportation  facilities  on  the 
peninsula,  which  are  still  far  from  adequate  for  the  mining  industry. 
The  only  important  improvement  made  during  the  past  season  was 
the  construction  of  the  Solomon  and  Council  City  Railway.  About 
10  miles  of  this  well  built  standard-gauge  road  has  been  completed, 
together  with  terminal  facilities,  and  plans  are  under  way  to  push  the 
construction  next  season.  The  road  to  Council  will  have  a  length  of 
about  50  miles,  and  extensions  are  planned  by  the  same  company. 
This  is  really  the  first  attempt  to  permanently  solve  the  transporta- 
tion problem.  The  Wild  Goose  Railway,  which  is  narrow  gauge, 
extends  from  Nome  to  the  head  of  Dexter  Creek,  by  way  of  Anvil 
Creek  Valley,  and  has  benefited  the  mining  interests  very  much. 
Some  wagon  roads  have  been  constructed  on  the  peninsula,  but  most 
of  the  teaming  is  done  across  country  or  along  the  beach  and  stream 
bottoms,  and,  as  has  been  shown,  is  enormously  expensive. 
The  question  is  often  asked,  What  minimum  limit  of  value  can  profit- 
ably be  exploited  in  this  northern  field?  There  are  so  many  factors 
which  have  to  be  considered  that  no  categorical  answer  can  be  given 
to  this  query.  A  placer  which  is  close  to  tide  water  can  be  mined 
uuch  more  economically  than  one  at  a  distance,  where  it  costs  $10  to 
$15  per  ton  a  mile  to  transport  equipment  overland.  Again,  a  low- 
yrade  gravel  can  often  be  worked,  if  it  is  near  a  bonanza,  because  the 
same  ditch  ma}^  supply  water  to  both  properties.  After  ditches  have 
>nce  been  constructed  and  paid  for  by  the  yield  from  very  rich  ground, 
he  water  they  supply  may  be  utilized  profitably  to  exploit  deposits  of 
