Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1881-03-02
THE ALASKA MINES.

The Coming EldOradO for the Pros.
pectOr, Miner and Capitalist-The
Mineral Belt Descrfbed-Exceed.
ingIy Rich Quartz and Placer
CIaims-work at All Times Of the
Year.
George E. Biz, a gentleman who has
had considerable to do with mining on this
Coast, writes as follows from sitka to the
San Francisco Mining and Scientific Press
of Feb. 10: During the past Summer,
feeling confident of the mineral wealth Of
Alaska, 1 fitted out seven parties to pros
pect, each with six months provisions and
equipments. l also paid each party, which
consisted Of five or six men, regular wages,
as otherwise l could not expect to have the
prospecting of the country done to my own
satisfaction.
VERY RICH QUARTZ.
The last Of the seven parties returned in
the latter part Of November, and brought
here to Sitka, in q canoe, about two tons Of
the richest quartz l ever saw in any coun-
try. / went up to this new Eldorado,
leaving here on Nov. IS, and arrived there,
in a canoe, on the 29th of the same month.
The district is called after the discoverer,
=" Harris District" and is situated on the
main land Of Alaska, between the Takou
and Chilcat rivers, in So deg. % min.
north latitude and longitude 1874 deg. 10
min, within four miles Of S~tephenson's
straits, opposite Douglas Island, on the
northern end of Admiralty Island.
WHERE THE MINES ARE LOCATED.
The discovery Of the lodges and placers
were first made on Gold creek, but since
traced and found in Salmon creek and
Glacier creek, five and seven miles north
west respectively, aud in Sheep creek,
three miles southeast. The same lodges
and ores were found thirty miles south
east, and in Windham, Spruce and Schug
creeks, where, for the last five years, the
placers have been paying well to a small
lot Of men. In Gold creek and its tribu-
taries some sixty claims are now already
taken up and staked out, and on all very
encouraging prospects have been found.
They may be called S. to $40 diggings.
But very little can be done there before
April or May, as the men are not prepared
to work yet, and are only getting ready
and prospecting their grounds.
THE LEDGEs.
The lodges which made these placers are
at the head of the creek, and cross the
creek twice in a distance of about two
miles. There is but one belt of them, which
is about 5000 feet wide, and in it the six
lodges run parallel to each other,
besides q number of smaller veins, but
which are taken in by the main locations,
as those are only about 800 to 500 feet in
width. These lodes which show bold crop
pings for over three inches $50 far as l have
been on them hold very regular in size
and distance apart, and the whole length
show the richest kind Of ore. The quartz
is imbedded in soft slate, and is quite de-
composed and brittle. The gold is mostly
free in the quartz, but the richest ore is in
the galena, which is the only disadvantage
of the ore, as / expect it will interfere with
the amalgamation yet the gold is quite
coarse and very heavy, so that it will
concentrate with the galena to be
there. / have made upward of a
hundred assays, both fire and wet, and the
assay out Of the very poorest piece
Of quartz yielded $33 per ton, while the
average of my assays which might be also
called average OF the lodges, are S285 per
ton, and run from 800 to $4,000 per ton
and then I have never yet assayed any
The lodges were respectively
called the jamestown, Takou, Biz, North
Star, Montana, California lodes, and on
each there are claimed already six loca-
tons of 1900 feet each, with plenty Of ore
on all of them. In the creeks lay thousands
Of tons of the richesi kind of ore, every
piece of which shows the gold plainly, and
q good many Of the placer claims are valu-
able for the quartz which lies on them.
WATER IN THE CREEKS.
There is an abundance of water in the
as they are fed from eternal snow
banks high up in the mountains, and there
were on the 18th Of December, all Of 5000
inches running. which is the lowest water
Of the year. There is nothing to prevent
working these mines the year around. As
so far as this Jan. 49, in the season we
have had only six days of frost, and now
there is no snow as far as 1000 feet above
sea, and it rains a good deal, of course, in
the high mountains. It SHOWS in the
higher mountains.
The country is thickly timbered with
red and black spruce, black pine, hemlock,
alder and black birch, not SO tremendously
thick as on the island, as there is 100 per
cent more moisture on the archipelago
than on the main land. The way to it is
very easy, and any large vessel can sail to
the mouth Of the creeks and anchor within
200 feet of the shore. Already I had a
$50 ton steamer up there, taking up my
men and supplies, and by the middle of
February I expect to have the mail steamer
California running up there with lumber
and supplies. Outside Of this district one
Of my parties found
A SILVER R DISTRICT
Between Lynn canal and Youiatate and
Hoonah Island. The ore they brought
from there is most encouraging. They
brought some chloride and some bromide
silver ore which is quite high grade, and
they claim to have plenty Of it. They
also brought samples Of argentiferous
galena, from a whole mountain of the
kind, which yields 40 per cent lead and
$25 to $50 per ton in silver. Another
ledge they report quite large, the samples
yielding from $50 to $120 in silver and $50
to S10O in gold. They report also and
bring fine samples Of copper-silver glance,
antimonial silver. and s~ulphurets OF cop
per, in large quantities. This is called
Morrisana District, and I shall visit 1t
early in the Spring in the U. 8. N. steam
launches.
ranao Af Hauf a, UTfuas.