The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-26
BILLIoNs IN THE YUKON.
A SrininE RuEipeer Gives EHis Reasons FOR This
BELIEF That Is IN Hiua.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25.-The Interior Depart
ment has received a copy OF an article from the
pen OF Russell L. Dunn. an eminent mining en-
gincer OF the Pacific coast, dealing with the
theory OF tho auriferous deposits OF the Yukon
basin. The views OF MIR. Dunn are regarded
with great respect by those in the department
who are familiar with the subject, and they will
probably be referred TO the Geological Survey
for confirmation. Mr.. Dunn says that the
placors in the Yukon basin are similar TO those
OF Australia, Idaho, and Montana, except for
the porpetually frozen condition Of the ground.
He holds that glaciers have had little
TO do with the formation Of placers or the liberia
tion OF gold from lite matrix. In California the
evidence OF the placers themselves Is conclusive
as to their almost exclusive formation by frost
and stream erosion. Siberia and Alaska present
precisely the same relative glacial phenomena,
the placers being all formed before the period Of
glacial action. As tho result OF long Observe
ton, Mr.. Dunn SAYS that II accurate records Of
placers were kept 1t would be shown that they
increased as they went upstream to a point near
tho head. whore the maximum was reached.
Going above this 1t would DO found that the
placers diminished until at q certain point they
suddenly disappeared altogether. There Is moth
ing phenomenal In the yield Of gold In the Klon-
dixie region. There Is no reason to doubt that In
Alaska there are lodes as rich as those in Cali
fornia and Idaho. Montana. Nevada and else
whore. From one Of these lodes, corroded by
frost and washed by n stream. there might be
made platers which would yield In q few years
what would take ten times as long to mine by
the hand OF man.
This craft of nature" he says. put more
than a thousand millions into the California
placers. and tn re Is. In my opinion, reason
a In 5hS snt,iSS dp,.n0S that m;I,,n In the M,,, fq X 9oI p1%Sce y;
things considered. rs easily and even quicker
than was the thousand millions of the California
Mr.. Dunn believes with many others that tho
richness OF those deposits has been only
lieying that there are Others as rich or even
richer. Tho conditions are unlike those of Call.
fornia in the early days, in that in those days all
a man needed was a stout heart and a heavy
pick, while in the Yukon every miner must DO q
small capitalist in order to be able to mine at
OF a fortune stands a larger chance OF
finding it in the frozen regions q Alaska
Western Australia. 1t is not necessary now to
depend on blind luck for discoveries, for techni.
ton Of gold Is reasonably exact and compreben.
sive. u Is now possible to explore without tho
expenditure Of the enormous, amount Of waste
work. formerly an unavoidable incident OF tho
business, The placers, first found. form guides
to the lodes. and some idea can be formed from
lodes and the risk and uncertainty OF quartz
mining brought to a minimum.
One reason why miners have not already To-
Gated more plaCers is that in man Y instances they
are covered with silt, TO n depth OF eight to
twenty rect, brought down by the stream after
1t had passed that period when, q rushing tor.
rent, II, had torn from the quartz the specks of
gold. In these cases there are no indications of
the rich deposits to be found lower down, and
the miner must do more than prospect the sur.
face. The prospector must remember that the
covered with n deep. strong growth OF moss:
that the silt and auriferous sands OF the valley
beneath the moss are perpetually frozen to the
bedrock; that from these physical conditions
the methods Of prospecting for placers and
lodes employed elsewhere are impossible Of APP
Inn err 1harA | u M Spor,nt tnl naN 4, =.
economic reason why tho exploitation OF the
Yukon gold fields should not be highly profit
able to both labor and capital. with less risk OF
failures OF individual enterprises, part Of the
history Of gold mining elsewhere.