BENSON'S FAMOUS MINE I
on ism of ymcHEi
1
I
Remarkable Deposit of Sulphide Ore, Exposed
on Face of Mountain Side—Property Has
I
Been Steady Shipper of Its Product
to Outside Smelter.
The great mineral possibilities of i
l'rinec William Sound first .it I ••;»«•!<•«! ;
attention by tin* discovery, in tin- i
year 18JI7 of tin* (lladhangh mine on 1
Virgin hay on the southeast short ol I
tlic sunml. Mike < iladhangh. a minor ;
of long experienc". en joys the (listinr- i
tion of firing tin* original locator. 11«•
later Hold his interests to the Kllamar
Mining company, wlii-h put the prop
erty on a producing hasis.
Soon af ter I his discovery a miners'
meeting was called by the ft w pros
pectors in the vicinity for the pur
pose of organizing a recording dis
trict. The met tin}; was held a' Tat
itlik, an Indian village near Kllanrir.
on .lime II. Is!'7. and those who at
tended were .Mi!;. (• Indhaiigh, A. K.
Heat son, \V. limit. I'. t'lotidman.
Win. I{ip.^tei!>. ('Iiarles ('lirist ianson,
AI Pert Speer. 1'. ('. Lawrence, .1. <!.
('ollinw. W. I'. I leidorn, W. .1. .laek
son and W. .1. IJnsby. Html wa*
eleeted pre-id 'lit and Ibisby secret a r\
and recorder of t lie newly formed dis
trict, \ liieh tool; in practically all ot
the I'll !ce William sound eoiintry.
Thee -tricl was rnn under miners'
nil until Is" i, when <'. 15. Smith
w i - appointed I'. S. commissioner,
tlitis making him ex-ofVrd > i.rder.
and the recording oMlce was then re
moved t \ il I"/ In MM)) .1 in I ;c John
I.voiih ncceeded Smith a * commis
sioner, holding the oMIee cont Lmoes
Iv until la*' (id >l»er, w';e i was
,s icc.-ed-'(I hy W. T. Meelcs.
The rapid growth and augmented
discoveries made i' an visa hie | o divide
tho district, and last spring Judge
(Vandal! \va • appointed U. S. eom
inissioner with headquarters on l,a
tonelie island. The greater part <>1
I'rinee William smild is now in hi
jurisdiction.
lion inza Mine
tin Angiisf 2 1. 1^17, the famous I»
i.an/1 mine on l.itonchc, then known
a- ppcr island, was discovered.
dors v ere William liipstcin,
A. eafson, .M. (lladhaiigh, W II.
ffjinoiii I'eter Jackson and W. !•'.
II. •«'. liter the properly was bought
hy j\. K. Mcalson and Andrew I'ob
iiiso i hi New Vork. a.id is now owned
hy I leut* n ami the estate of Robin
son. I'lvYr liealson's management
the Honan'/a was soon shipping ore,
and is now the greatest producer in
the (list rid
The mine is situated about hall a
mile troii' i lie shore on the cast slope
of I lie island, and is collected with
the wliarl ami hoarding "houses hy a
trainwav laid with UO-lb rails 'S'iie
ore h >d\ occupies the face of a cliff',
ah nit li'i feel high, across the lace of
w'ii "h r ins a s!r»ak of pure ehrilco
p;» rite J ) f.'.'l in thickness. A short
cims. 'il' tunnel mil straight inl > the
clill ah Mil itlt fee! from the lop tailed
t > find the limits of the ore linilv and
a lower crosscut was then driven. The
tirs! ini feel ji'issed through ore that
villi a little sorting; n he shipped,
i ix I tlx- next Hi) liit is ci inccnt rat injr
Material hacked up hy a solid
anil ill |»vrrhotite. It is the largest
>m«I\ lit |• i- ore ill a shipping
•r.nle ever lotind i>ii the I'acitic coast,
in<l when work <1 I • its lull capacity
vill e i ve employment to I housaiids f if
ne.i. At present it is operated on a
imileil scale,only a tew men In-ii»j* ein
iloyeil lireakin^ ore, which is shipped
0 t acoiiia at I lie rate ot aSout "iOII
ons a month. The mine is well
•ipiippeil with substantial hnihlin^s
mil could turn out a largely increased
1 onuatte i>n short not iee.
'uMiiMpor.iny; Or - fr.nu |.'«||rt (Verk for Mill Tp:»(
beginning nt Cape lleaiiiTeetion, on
tin- eastern shore of Kcaurrcct ion bay,
in a mineralized zone which has l»ccn
(raccii |f» miles to (In- northward. At
stated points along this /one copper
ore can lie found, ami it in lite opin
ion of those familiar wit h the country
that developnicn I, intelligent ly direct -
ed. will hriiijv forth several big copper
minoH. I'p (•» this time nothing hilt
superficial work has heen done, Imt
tIn* indicationa are highly encourag
ing.
At Cape Resurrection "Idaho Mill"
l/iet/.ke and partner have located
a hijr proHpect, which, while low
grade ore, is apparently unlimited in
i|uautitv. Adjoining I Ida group to
the northeast are tlie claiina of Man
won and associates, l-'lnc ore has been
found on these properties.
To the weal lica a group of claims
owned by K. I-'. Pitman, Will Clay
son, A. C. (iould, W. I<. Hodman and
I'. .1, Cnnncra. The outcrop is an ex
ceedingly favorable showing, the ore
being a chalcopyrlteand letrahedrite,
or gray copper. It is practically on
tide water, and easily mined.
Then comes the Peathcrbed group,
located by Will t'layson, K. I-1. Pit
man, A. C. (Iould and l'\ .1. Conners.
Maniples from various small veins
ahow high grade chalcopyrlfc.
Next In line, or rather a little to the
eastward, is the l{. A. I>, property,
located by W. I/. Ilcdman, C. F.
HoKKH. Harney Mettle, William Beer
man and John Jacobaon. An Im
mense iron capping covers the copper
ore from view, Imt rich lloat speci
mens indicate lt« existence a1 depth.
Thin property is rather inaccessiblc,
And will require capital for it*i devel
opment on a proper scale.
j Ad joining I hlr. prop'i t \ |o (lie north
is tin* heat showing in (In* rut ire zone1.
J Tliin i*« I fit1 Likes property. Where
the ledge in exposed it shown a width
<»t II feet of solid chalcopyritc ore,
lying under a capping of Titanic iron.
| A large glacier lie ( hel ween t he ledge
and title water, and in order to work
the properly a tunnel approximating
i 2,0I)U feet in length will have to he
driven under the glacier to tap the
i ore hoily.
Norlh of the hikes property are
elaitns owned hy the It. A. I». eompa
1 ny. The showing is not st rong on this
ground, however.
Still to the north lay the Kodmnn
ehiiniH. A rieh surface showing in
evident', th" ore being a carbonate
and a/.urilo, probably changing t<> a
ehaleopyrite with depth.
HI ill further to the norlh are two
separate group) of claims discovered
hy l„ I-'. Khaw.Oeorgc Itouekaerl ami
and John Diihreuil. Indications on
hotli of t lie .<groups point to iunnenne
ore hodlet, h.r not of high grado. As
says give an average of $IH per ton,
$l.f>0 of which is in nold values.
Matanuaka Coal Field*.
The well known Matanmka coal
fields is the objective point of the
Alaska Central railroad, building
from Howard. The coal measures are
primarily bituminous, hut id ho con
tain veins of anthracite. KxpertH in
the coal business have classed this
coal field, in quantity and quality,
with the noted coal fields of Pennsyl
vania and West Virginia. Frank Wat*
hoii is the coal haron of the Malau
uska.
RICH GOLTQUARTZ IN i
FULLS CREEK Mil
Discovery of Skeen and Lechner Proves Valuable
Property, and Leads to Other Finds of Im
portance—Greatest Free Gold Camp
Yet Found in Alaska
A section Of country rich in free i
milling K«»ld ore and one thai is des
tined to attract widespread attention
in the mining world, is tin* Kenai l'c- |
ninsula and (lie region to the north of i
it. which lies in the same mineralized !
/.one or hell.
The lirsl discovery of consequence
was made on Kails creek in the year
I 111 >•"» by Frank I'. Kkecn and John
hechiier. Kails creek is '».r> miles from
the town of Seward on Resurrection
hay, and is crossed by the Alaska
Central railroad. When the railroad j
hc^an building int > the interior,
Skeen atxI Lcchucrthought it advis
S:» *•!: i ii ; On- <>n Discovery (Maim on l''alls ('reck
GOLD VEINS FOUND
NEAR MOOSE PASS
The Moose I'ass country, lying t«>
the north of Seward and hipped l»y
the Alaska Central railroad, lias been
the scene of several exceedingly rich
quart/, strikes within the past two
years, which goes t<» show that pros
pecting is no longer confined t<» the
gravels in the creek heds, hut is
j spreading to the mountain tops. This
| is as it slion'd he; gold is where you
find it, and as a Cousin Jack once re
j marked, "Where she he, there she
he," whether it is lying around on a
sand har or surrounded hv a quart/,
matrix. And that quart?. prospectlug
pays one has only to refer to the rce
' ord «»f the Seward district to see Unit
it pays—and pays hig. We expect to
hear more from Moose creek, as it is
a tempting Held for I lie prospector
and is practically virgin country.
able to prospect alonj.y (In- ri^ht of
way, rcali/iny; that if any minin^
propcrty of value Wfir found, trans
portation facilities would he availa
ble. In a comparatively short time
the* prospectors located a vein which
outcropped near the head of Kails
creek. The first 'specimen knocked
from the led^e was literally alive with
gold, and tin- voiing men were justly
Hated over the discovery. Tin
lind was made five miles from the
railroad track, hut tlx- enthusiastic
prospect01 s soon had a good trail cut
through the heavy tindier which tills
thf valley ol Falls creek, erected a
coin fort a hie cahin and begun the
work of exploitiiij.', their property.
The quartz.'Varriev high gold values.
While the gold, on the surface at
least, is free milling. • »1«I in the form
of a telluride is also noted, this ap
parently incieasing with depth. Mill
tests on 10 Ions of ore shipped to the
states pave an average mine run of
,*C>o per ton. The vein will average
from two to three feel in width, and
is recognized a-, a true fissure. A tun
nel run on the ledge ahout !M) feet
shows continuity, strength and even
ness of values. At the end of the tun
nel a winze was sunk to a depth of 7n
feel, with values maintaining, if not
inciejo-in;';, and the vein holding its
own i:i i!n (lownwaid progress.
Skeen and l.cehner have bonded
this pre pert \ !<>• a sub.'ant ial consid
eration • o a company known as the
('alitoin:a Alaska company. A slump
mill was shipped (•> the mine last fall
and will he ;>ii< in operation the coin
ing spring, a"d '.he iti'i'e placed on a
producing has! .
Nature ha been*lavish in her gifts
to the Falls creek region. To facili
tate 111ini11i• operations adeipiatc wa
ter power i: available, timherfor tim
bering purpose . i unlimited in quan
tity, while food supplies in the form
of moose and mountain • hei^> arc to
he had with li! 1 le dillietilly.
Hetty Ivxtension Claims
I.yii!J.*" in'chise proximity to 11;«■ «Iir
( liven cl.iim, ki.owII as 11ir Mel I \ , < n
I'jiII.4 creek is Hi<' licit \ Kxtension
No*. I ami J. These claims are hij.',h
<>m a sii•)ii111> 111<>11iitai11 - iil<', and were
discovered l»\ Skeeii anil l.cchncr,
ami located I»y theni and I.. I". Shaw.
\ ri-inarkahle showing i<- manifest on
this ground. When the original lind
was made, tli<> vein could be traced,
l»cf<»rc a pick liail been struck, a dis
tance ol ::<!(> fed. It averaged three
I feet in width, and dips into I lie hill.
(Sold was plainly discernible in the
iptart/..
I ii doinjx t lie assessment last sum
mer, Skeen. I, •■•'i cv a I |\;*ic Kric
■ son, the latter representing Shaw,
^ot a line on lh" vein furl her down
the hi'l, w lie re dehris I roni a hove cov
I c>r-4 t he nnt iiiY,! sn. fn e. Several < pen
•enls weiv m id . with the result that
the vein was ' i p!> -d in a I tempts so t o
I do. At sev r.il i> >i Mm the \cin w'.
I dened |: i six t I't, with hii'li values
plainlv cvid'Mi. I Ii ■ vei ran now
h- traced ah n »Mi feel, crosscuts
| the formation, dips t iward the hill, is
j easily mined In I iiinolin;; on the ore,
adeipiate water power is close at
hand, and in every way the property
presents an ideal mining pro posit ion.
I Several parties haw made overtui'es
i to the owner« with a view to pnr
! chase, hnt thus far no deal has hecn
I consummated, a • the owners realize
they have a magnificent property,
which justifies a siihstantial coiisid
erat ion.
Stevenson Properties.
Contiguous to the Skeen-I.echner
discoveries.on l ulls creek is the prop
erly ol the Stevenson brothers. Tin*
vein can lie traced, hy ontcr.ips at
stated interval , for l"»()(i feet, and as
says show hifjh values. The surface
indications point to a mine of
brilliant future, the natural advan
tages hcinjr such as to redncethc cost
of working the property to a mini
mum.
Mfimmlpfl Found at Mummy liny, KuiKlif« IhIhihI
GET OM THE RIGHT TRUCK!
SEWARD-SUSITNA
ROUTE
The only practical Winter Route from the outside
to the Susitna Valley and Valdes Creek Diggings
Write us for full inform
ation concerning the
Seward - Susitna Route and All
Points in Yentna Mining District
If you are going to any of the above Districts,
it will pay you to get full particulars con
cerning the Best and Shortest Route
We are pleased to be at your service.
BROWN & HAWKINS
' Bankers and
Merchants
Seward - - Alaska
"
Gold Quartz Outcrop on Gateway Group
GOLD QUARTZ ON
TONSINA CREEK
Gateway Group Contains
Vein Which Shows Fine
Surface Indications.
On i he wcatcrn ahoro of RoHiirroo-1
llmi Iik;.' gold quartz haw boon found
in place. In 11)07 Frank P. Hkoon and
VV. ]j. Itcdmau went on a ahort proa
pccting trip to ToiiHlna crook, which
flowa Into the bay about throo iniloa
below Seward. Thoy tontod together
hut proHpeoted Independently. The
IIi-hI day thoy went to the hMIn both
round ^old veliiH, Hkoen'a being at tho
head of Tonaina oroek, and Kodman'a
near a amall atrcam el oho by.
Hkeon located clalina for himaolf, >
John lioohnor and L. P. Hhaw, and
noon ;i fta wale of the property wan
mode to the (lateway Mining compa
ny, at the head of which In J, W.
fllcharda, a well known (Colorado min
ing man, who wa« in Howard at tho
time of the diHOovory. Aaaaya from ! i
the quartz give tho valuoa froin ffl to l
$,'W per ton, and tho oro body la aufll- i
clontly large to keep a 10-atamp mill i
luiay. The company la already plan- i
nlng a mill for tho property, and aa 1
hooii iih t.'Hta on the quartz havo boon <
made to demonatrate tho character of 1
tho ore, a modern plant will bo in -
atalled.
Tho Rodman vein, although Hmall, ,
Ih ho rich that tho ammya run up into
tho picture flgureH. Tho lodo Ih well
worthy of exploitation and may open
up'into a big property. All of theHe lo
cationn are dcalrahly Hit.uated, have
water power enough to run all the
whoela of the country, timber galore
for every conceivable purpose and aro
not more than a mile from tide water.
A Progrcaalve Firm
Tho firm of Brown & llawkinn,
bankern and merchanta of Heward,
onjoy« an'onviablo reputation among
the hiiHlncHH concerns* of Houthwoat- 1
ern Alawka. The membora of thin I
Arm, whllocomparatively young men, 1
are old "Hour doughn" of AlaHka and
the Klondike, both having been en- '
^aged in buHlnrHH In Dawnon, Nome I
and Valdoz. When the embryo town
of Heward wan launched Brown &
llawkinH Htartod a tented ntore there, j
and have gradually aHHUmod a potd- |
Hon In the buHim'HH world of thin hoc- (
t.lon that iHHeeond tf» none. Huhatan- (
lial Htore Htruoturen now adorn the |
plaeo where the temporary tent for- ,
morly aufYlcod. A banking depart- \
nont han recently been added to tho \
itore bualnoHH, to facilitate mattero *
I
ind accommodate their numerouHeuH- !
vomora. By adopting a progreHHive,
lp-to-date policy in the conduct of it*
iffairn, tho firm haa built up a bual
iohh of which ft may well be proud. "
t« loyalty to tho town In which It J(
loea buHlnenn Ih al«o worthy of emu- (
atlon.
YENTNft DISTRICT
COMING TO FRONT
New Goldfield Has Many
Creeks Which Are Hood
Gold Producers.
Tlii' Yentna gold Holds, lying with
in the nliitdow of Ml. MeKinley, an*
gradually coining to the front a* a
H<>ld producer. Like all new discov
eries, a stampede followed the news
of the find. Men with no mining ex
perience and illy equipped for legiti
mate prospecting, flocked to the
scene, only to return from whence
they came and condemning the coun
try. But the men who stayed with
the camp, diligent in their search for
the yellow metal, are now gaining
their reward in the uncovering of
many pay creeks. This winter the
news is at hand that a hig strike has
heen made in bench claims on ('ache
[•reek, heretofore thought to he val
ueless.
The best known creeks of the dis
trict now are Cache, Poor Mans, Wil
low, Nugget and Kails. Recently a
leal was consummated whereby a
corporation known as the Cache
'reek Mining company has bought,
nearly all the claims on Cache creek,
md large hydraulic plants will he In
ttalled next season. ,1. (1. Marx, the
nan who was instrumental in making
his turn, and who is a mining man of
vide experience in Alaska and else
vherc, considers it the best hydraulic
imposition in the north.
Hydraulic on Cooper Creek
The Kenri Mining & Milling 001)1*
amy, at the head of which is Frank
<). Youngs, is operating by the hy
Iraulic method of mining on Cooper
reek, which flows Into Lake Kenal.
Cxtenslvc development In the way of
litfh construction, prospecting, etc.,
ias been going on for the past tw«»
ears, wItn the retuiltthat the grbund
nd machinery Is in shape for effeet
i'c working next season. The creek
<snid to contain good pay gravels.
Crow Creek Region.
On the eastern nhorc of Cook Inlet,
ear its head, mining operations have
ecu going en for flic past lfi years,
nd much gold has been taken out.
Vow creek, Canyon "reek and Mill
reek have been tlie best producers.