VALDEZ GREEK DBS
PROVE
Alaska's Newest Gold District Shows Up Well as Development Work Pro
gresses—Old Channel Found Which Promises Rich Returns.
Coming Season to Witness Increased Activity in the
Camp—High Grade Gold Quartz Found.
Probably (hi- most important gold
strike made in Alaska in recent years
in that known as tin* Valdez crook
diggings, near the headwatoi's of the
Snsitna river. It is estimated that
§200,(1(111 in gold has broil mined from
the now discovery. While this is not
a largo sum, vet when t he amount of
ground from which it was taken is con
sidered, it demount rates t he existence
of exceedingly rich pay gravels, i be
difficulty of transporting supplies to
the new camp, t he depth to bedrock
in order to icneh the pay sficak, op
crating in d p, thawed ground and
numcrou . <> h , obstacles, have ten
ded to ict,iidevelopment work, but
tlx1 eonlidi nee o| the miners who
we i e ! !i oi ma' loca'.oi ; and those
who loilov.ed in their wake, that a
groat g<>id > imp wili rpiing up a*; the
work <>t < i e11ing the claims pro
gror.se in' i e with each succeed
ing yeai li'Mu the date of discovery.
Il i predicted that t lie coming sea
s >11 will v i i e. s the gaea'.esl activity
in tli' lite el the cm nip. Many of the
claim owners are in the stales inter
est it , outside capital to exploit their
Ik ' >gs, and in ail probability much
i \ nsive prospecting will be done.
• rtainly the indications justify the
fullest iii vc: I igat ion on t he part of the
mining element.
l lie JJiscovery.
In Maich, !!>!>:{, i'otor Miiiialiun,
•lames S. S:nil!*, ,J. 0. Ciarkson and
Jolin M. lulu on iofl. Valdo/, by dog
sledgeu on a pro pecting trip. They
desired (o i \ploif now fields. Tlio
party took tin interior route over tin*
Valdo/. gla< i< r, crossed the headwa
ter.! of tlio Kiulina and Va/.lina riv
ers, passed nvi'i thcdivi<]o and struck
ihcSilsiimi i i v:■. about 76 miles bo
il •» source. I t i'p was made over
i'te snow, and < eqnently but. little
prospect ing wa '• in> onrouto. Late
in tin* spring tin- party found a creek
v.'hioh pro ported well, and a perma
nent cmnp wan made with the idea of
giving (In stream a thorough tost.
• .i1 <'onraj,iiire nils followed. On a
point oi « I>At frl.'iOO in gold was mined
out. ' 'laine wen- located and the
'.nick i lined Valdez, after tlio town
from whcu< < tin parly fame. Valdo/.
'oreek is . t.-dailaiy of the Busitna,
and the dii.coveiy is about one and a
half mi ' • lioin its mouth.
New < tin strike icached Valdez
during the win tor of ItKKM, and in tlio
spi ing a In til ixty prospectors stam
ped ei I to llie scene. Few of these re
mained. however, as it was thought
the Ik .t claims had boon located, and
at Iliiit time but little development
work ha I lieen done by the original
di.covi nr.. At best, but little could
tin n he liown, and a majority of the
new < inner:; cither returned home or
direct'd their efforts elsewhere.
A iimng 1 host? who wore not content
with a superficial investigation of
the prospective gold camp were Wil
liam (irogg, 'lark Duff, Dan Ross,
I'.ill Smith, Sid Wolllndon, Dan S.
Kain, I'.. II. King, J. I?. Carlson, Tom
Nealy, L. S. Wiekeri.ham, Dolph
Smith, "fat" Hamilton, Sam Krazee,
Charle (larweod, William Harris,
William Widst/om, James dray and
Charle 'lausen. »hey stayed with
the camp and have ground which may
yield them a substantial competence.
Carlson and Nealy have already come
into ready money by. I he discovery,
Hie year ol theii nviival, of Lucky
(Illicit. .hi. is n small nf.reamlet til,
tho head ol VaWIe/, o>ook, about', mov
on mile i from (lie moilth. * It in gulch
liic Ihioii a •!ru;1.\ prodtu / ninoo Hint
f ililO. , he gold I" coarae, n JROOO )ill|^
get lit*vimj.', been found, while $I0J) and
£r,o nugget* a.< of fie:piont occur
rence.
Tho original [dhtoovorovu, generally
known in Mio Monnbn i parly, found
pn.v on Vnldo/, eveok on Dlncovovy
and I and '2 boloxv. . hoao olaltnn wore
bought by (Ik OiogonA Nu'dtna Min
ing Co., at tho head of which Ih Dan
H, Kain. During the livil iteanon tho
company woi ko I on No. 2 below, tir
ing two giau' and a lluble elevator
in I la opeia'.loii i. ho iieilMon'n clean
up wii'i ( it Iroly t atInfaetoiy, and tho
ground will be mined on a more ooin
prohenaivu r.eale next noanon.
IMr.d Old Channel
A ft «•)• diapering of Diaeovcry and
Noti. I and 2 below, thoMoimhan par
ty began to open up on No. 2 above,
lb •ro they uncovered pay ground, but.
nH they neared the upper end line of
the clnim, the payatrcak became lean
er. It wan manlfoal that the gold had
oomo from a bench adjoining, and
pnmpceting wan done on <I)Ih theory.
Tho bench wan covered with bruidi
and mo»H, and roue from the river val
ley to the top a dlntance of 170 feet.
It wn« difficult to trace the nource of
the gold, but after diligent Henroh, in
1900, an old channel waa found, which
wn« oxpf)Hod about 70 foot above tho
prcHent creek bed.
A tunnel wan driven Into the honeh
claim, known an the Tammany and
owned by I'otor Monahan, at tho
point whore t ho old ehannol wan ex
posed. The cbnnnel in namiw, but Ih
! exceedingly rich. It iw cHtimatcd by
a mining man familiar with the
I ground that it will yield $0 to the
Kqtiare foot. About 100 feet of tun-i
noting ban boen done on the Tam
many, and the pay dirt extracted haH
been extremely high grade. The old
with gold. The strike wuh made at
tho lioad of'Lucky'gulch, and in con
sidered to be the source of much of
the placer gold found in the gulch and
in Valdez creek. The discovery is a
highly important find for the new
camp.
GARDEN SPOT OF
THE NORTHLAND
Middleton Island, a Prolific
Producer of Vegetables,
Foxes and Gold.
Fur out in tin* watcra of the Pacific
ocean, Houth of Prince William Sound,
iw a low, flat body of land .known as
Middleton Inland. Middleton is seven
miloH long and about three miles wide,
and is said to be the gardon'pateh of
Alaska. This isolated spot is the lone
ly habitat of "Middleton" Smith, the
sole occupant, who is monarch of all
he surveys in his little kingdom.
In 1899, William Gcrmanson,'an old
time prospector of the C'assiar coun
try, landed on Middleton, and discov
ering gold in the huge bluff of eon
$000 Nugget taken fjom Lucky Gulch
channel bourn oil from the present,
bed of Valdo/, crook, although it fol
l< \vh the name general direction.
While the fact Iiuh not been doinon
Htruted, it is the consensus of opinion
among t he minors of the country that
tin; old channel inns from the point
of exposure 011 thcTammany bench to
laieky gulch, a distance of about six
miles. Should this prove true, the
VaUlez creek diggings will be among
the big producers of Alaska. In order
to prove this theory, prospect shafts
will have to bo sunk over a hundred
foot in thawed ground, an expensive
manifestat ion.
Other Creeks
Prospects which warrant further in
PLATINUM FOUND
IN THE INTERIOR
An industry which promises to bo
an important adjunct to the mineral
resoureos of t.ho Copper river basin, is
(he! mining of ]>latinnin, a mineral
more valuable than gold. A prospect
or named Brings came to Valdez from
the Mt. Wrangell district last fall, en
route to the states. He brought with
him twenty-three pounds of placer
glomerate which skirts the southern
shore, he covered the entire island
with ninety-odd placer claims. Ho
huilt a cabin with driftwood and cul
tivated a garden in which he grew
potatoes, turnips, sweet peas, celery,
strawberries and an endless variety <>f
flowers, so that when Smith came
ashore from a whaler in IHO l, Oerman
j son had no dilflciilty in persuading
him to stay and share hin domain. In
the fall of 11)015 (Icrmanson came to
Valdez with nearly $5,000 in gold dust,
and having purchased ten tons of sup
plies, shipped t hem to Nouehck where
he intended to get a schooner to take
the goods to Middlcton. He was ta
ken sick however in Valdcst and went
Kain'H Hydraulic Operation** 011 Valdez Creek
ventilation have boon found on Wiek
ornham crook, fifteen iniloH from Val
doz creek; (lold crook, twenty iniloN
from Valdoz. crook; Hutto, Seattle,
and on Hovoral other Htreama.
Route to Valdess Creek
'The route recommended by t he ma
jority of the Valdoz creek minora in
by way of the government trail from
Valdoz. to (lulkana, a dist ance of 1'2/i
miloH, and from (lulkana up the (lul
kana liver to the source of its went
fork, over the divide and down a t rib
utary of (lie HiiHitna to the Himitna
river, and from thence up the Huaitna
about in milcH to Valdoz crook. The
distance from (lulkana to Valdoz
crook by the route traveled in eatl
plat inum which ho had mined out dur
ing the summer. While Briggs was
secretive as to the oxact location of
the' crcok from which tho mineral wan
minod, it in learned from reliable
sources that, he operated on a creek
which originates in Mt. Wrangell.
To a Prospector reporter Hriggs 'n"
timated that his discovery was a high
ly important one, and that he intend
ed to return in the spring with facili
ties to work IdH ground on a large
Hcale.
The exiHtonco of platinum in the vi
cinity of Mt. Wrangell haw boon
known for year» past, but heretofore
no systematic attempt has been made
to mine it.
to Juneau, where Ik-died. LantHprin^
Hmith came to Valdey. to look up bin
partner, hut hoou returned to his
inland homo, where en^a^ea in the
culture of the blue fox, and incident
ally \vanhen out the gold an the waves
diHintegrate tin? conglomerate on the
heaeh.
Mt. Wrangell wan named fdr Baron
von Wrangell, a director of the Huh
Hian - American Kur company, which
wan a powerful factor in Alaska dur
ing the Itutmlau occupation.
A proapeetor named William Me
Molloy haa found float tin ore near
Seward.
Monahan'n Tammany Honoh
Lucky Gulch
milieu ai. izo mnoa. ino govornmont
trail from Valdez to Onlkana Ih oaally
traveraod, and tho road C'ommlaalon
contemplate* putting tho trail In good
Hhapo from Onlkana to tho dlgglnga
noxfc aoaaon. While It Ih not conaid
f«rod difficult, thoro la much room for
improvoment In tho way of out-offa,
hrldgca, otc.
Vfllde* Creek Quartz
mil Hnilth, ono of tho oarly proa
pootora of tho Valdox crook country,
haa dlaoovorod a fpiartr. voln of fabn
loua wealth, according to a letter ro
od vod hy 'Tom Lawaon. r Whoro tho
voln waa oxnoaod it dlacloaod a faco
10 foot In width, frooly Impregnated
A tnnk a'a Aborigines.
Tho n»vprn mont ewtlmatoR the na
tive population of AIahIca to bo 21,
000. Of thoHo 3,000 are Eskimo, who
Inhabit tho northern and northwo*t
orn Bootlon of tho territory; ft,000 are
Alouta, who live In the Houthwontom
part of Alanka; and tho remainder
eonnlnt of various trlhoH Inhabiting
tho Interior and «outhoa«torn Hootlon.
George Butler, an old "Hour dough"
of Alaska, han fotind rtoh quarts on
Pome ereok In the Tanana.
A local pugilist of Nome got In tho
mnHhoH of tho law and wan duly d<»
powltod In tho city jail. Tho offonwo
wan ballablo and tho prisoner «ont a
noto to a friend of tho Gorman por
HiiaHlon requesting him to pnt tip tho
fundH nocoHHary for tho pug'H roleaao.
Tho following an»wor \vn« «ont by tho
cautious Toutonio friond:
"Ihaf no money yet now. If I got
some, I l)all you out, Maybo art."
Tin oro In plaoo Im found at Capo
Prlnoo of Wales, In tho Nomn oonn
try.
UNBLOCK BAY
COPPER CLAIMS
Rystrom & Dolan's Company
Preparing for Extensive
Development.
Located in the vicinity of the well
known Copper Mountain mining re
gion, the oldest on Princo William
Sound, i» the copper property of the
Landlock Bay Copper Mining Com
pany, constating of nine claims, in
cluding several fractions, comprising
about 120 acres, and occupying the
| greater part of a small peninsula
jutting from the south shore of Land
lock Hay, opposite Copper mountain.
It is about twenty miles southwest
of Valdez.
In the Copper Mountain district are
the Ellamar mines, which has pro
duced over $1,000,000; the Three Man
Mining Co's claims, the Standard
Copper Co's claims, and the property
of the Galena Hay Mining Co.
\V. B. Heidorn, a pioneer miner of
the l'rince William Sound country,
wait the original locator of the Land
lock Bay Copper Mining Company's
ground.
It eventually fell into tho hands of
Hystrom, I)oIan and Little, who be
gan development work with such re
sults that a company was formed for
the purpose of extending the opera
tions and placing the property on a
producing basis as noon ais develop
ment disclosed sufH'cient ore bodies.
description oi Ore Showing.
'ihe geology of this property iH a
I common phase of that of the Copper
Mountain region in general, where
the prevailing rocks are slates and
graywhacks, mingled with layers and
masses of a dioritic greenstone, the
whole formation being folded and
fractured in a complex manner. The
ore occurs as ehaleopyrite (sulphide
of iron and copper) mingled with py
rite and pyrrholite (iron sulphides) in
Hat lenzes on layers, either in the
greenstone or in the slate, often close
to a contact of the two.
The present workings expose what
appear to be two fairly consistent
layers of ore from one to four feet in
thickness and carrying from 3 to 7
per cent in .copper, as measured and
sanplcd in several places.
One vein follows a contact between
greenstone and slate, the other vein
being about 150 feet south of the con
tact. Other smaller veins show at
| several points both in slate and in
greenstone. A tunnel has been run
i which crosscuts the formation until
it reaches the vein lying between the
j contact. At the contact a shaft is
i sunk and several tunnels run along
] the ore. The same vein is exposed
j on the surface above the tunnel by a
few shallow cuts and a small shaft.
To reach the vein lying l/>0 feot
I south of the contact vein a tunnel 150
. feet, crosscutting the formation has
I been run. It cuts through several
'smaller veins enroute.
Further to the east a line of cuts
and trenches along the contact ex
pose more or less of ore for a thousnd
j feot.
The formation in considered a prom
| ising ono, in which ore bodioH of
proven vnlno have been found in the
near neighborhood of thin ground.
' The veins now showing are wide
enough and of bigh enough grade to
! pay if their extent along strike and
dip are great, enough to warrant tho
i installation of equipment to work
| them economically. Tho indications
■! point to depth of the veins, and that
the values will increase with depth.
Conditions for working this proper
! ty are exceedingly favorablo. About
I KHMi feet from the tunnel sites is a
placo on Dolan bay where deep wa
tor comes within a feet of tho shoro.
Ilore a wharf and ore bunkers could
be built for an unusually small flgurc
| The ground from the workings to this
point is sufficiently level for the
building of a surface tram at a rea
sonable cost. Timber suitable for
mining and structural purposes is
plentiful.
Harrington & Storm, mining ongi
noers of valdez, made a compronon
sive report on this property last sum
mer. They are recognized as a con
servative, reliable firm, and their re
port was considered encouraging by
the company, with tho result that Dr.
Rystrom, the prosldent, is now In tho
states securing funds by the sale of
stocks to act. 011 the siiggestlon con
tained in the report: That the prop
erty is a promising prosjieot warrant
ing the expenditure of money In lt«
further development.
HARRINGTON
AND STORM
Mining Engineers and
U. S. Dep'y Surveyors
Aftflay Office
in Connection
CocImi Mor«ln« 4k NmI unci
Bedford McN«U
balder. Alaska
TOD WINTER
Watches, Diamonds
Cut Glass, Silverware
Manufacturers all Kinds
======================================
of Nugget Jewelry
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VAUDEZ ALASKA
►
Dependable Wholesale
Druggists and Retail
OWL DRUG CO.
Harry T. Whitley Jesse A. Crawford George J. Love
President Vice-Pres. Sec.-Treas.
LOVE-WHITLEY CO
INC.
BEEF AND PORK
PACKERS
DEALERS IN
Dairy Products
SWI FT'S
GOODS
A
Specialty
COPPER RIVER—
; JRHIIG CO.
MeKinley Htreot, betwoon Broad
way and Key atone Avonne.
Valdez - Alaska
F(#Oon©ral Transferring Phono No. »
Tho Copper Itivor Draylnfc Co. to tho pioneer transporta
tion company in tilts aection of AlaHka. Nine yoarn exper
ience enables it to glvo yon accurate and economical figures
«m freight to ho transported.
It haw tho only np-to-date wjnlpirnint for handling any
and all kinds of freight.
If you doairo to make a trip of inspection to the groat
coppor flolds of Alaska, como by way of Valdez, tho Copper
Uivor Draylng Co. can furnish you with saddle horses and
competent, and trustworthy men to look after your outfit.
NINE YEARS
In the Business
Copper River Draying Co.
. W. Wood, Owner and Mamfer
VaHez Alaska
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