The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1897-10-01
Gold in the Olympics.


mountains are barren of --the precious
metals, while others have declared
that rich lodges of free-milling quartz,
as we'll as good placer ground, is the
reward of the miner who persistently
plies the avocation of hunting out the
hidden wealth of the range.
James B. Nesbit and w. NJ. Metcalf,
two deputies in the office of County
Clerk Grass, of Pierce county, spent
their vacation this summer hunting
for gold in the Olympics. They le-
turned last Tuesday, after finding what
they believed to be a ledge Of true free
milling quartz, with assays ranging as
high as $50 to the ton.
Mr.. Nesbit has had fifteen years ex-
perience in mining and is an expert
enced mineralogist. He believes that
the Olympics will some day produce
immense quantities of gold. With
Mr.. Metcalf he penetrated the rugged
Olympics, carrying provisions and
supplies on his back, as far as the head
waters of the Quinault river. From
the top of the range Mr.. Nesbit looked
onthe bosom of the placid Pacific.
To Post-Intelligencer representa-
tive yesterday Mr.. Nesbit thus describ-
ed his trip:
ave penetrated the Olympic range
from Lake Cushman, sheet OF water
formed in depression OF the basalt
formation, hanking the rang. This
formation continues for a distance of
several miles up the Skokomish valley
and is not terminated until an altitude
of about 1000 feet is attained. This
contact first occurs about four miles
up the Populist fork of the Skokomish
from Camp No. 6, on the O'Neil trail
leading to the summit of the divide
between the Quinault and the .SkOko-
mish.
Here the metamorphic rocks first
appear, and from this point, which is
four miles from Camp 6 to the sum-
NIT, the formation is crystalline, ira
versed by few porphyritic dykes.
The crystalline formation is mainly
schistose rock, allied to granite, form
ing contact near the summit of the
range with slack rock. 1t is on the
contact between the crystalline and
slate that evidences of mineral arc
most abundantly found.
"This formation follows the aka,
plane of the Olympic range, trending
in direction northeast and south
west. We had penetrated above the
basalt formation, discovering float
mineral all the way, when, in hunting
for the trail, we came across huge
boulders of an oxidized feldspathi(
rock. This we traced to its source il
a vein eighteen feet wide on thu
mountain side, about 1900 feet above
the level of the Populist fork of thu
Skokomish river. The ore body is di
rectly on the contact between mica
schist and rock of slaty structure.
eve did not have the time nor the
tools necessary to develop this body O
meneral, but from preliminary tests
made, we have received most satisfact
DRY results. After we returned I mad
another trip to the district in order tt
locate the claims. We have located
ten claims along the vein, but in m.
opinion careful prospecting Of TIN
district will reveal many many NOR
claims as good, if not better than ours
I state this fact because the contac
between TIE crystalline schists ant
the slate is Of indeterminate width
and the formation Whereabouts is in
tersected by numerous veins of quartz
carrying gold in greater or less quar-
titles. We tested the float rock an
the surface ore of several veins in tina
locality, and in all of them we fount
colors of gold, besides free silver.
Gin my judgment, this mineral fol
nation follows the plane of the Olym
pics from the extreme east to the ex
IRENE west of the range. Ore of tn
, same character has been found on tn
headwaters of the Dosewallops, Duck
, a bush, Lilliwaup, Skokomish, and tn
south fork of the Skokomish rivers
= On the water courses of these stream
: quartz float has been found carryin,
{ large quantities of gold. On the Dc
D scwallops, ore samples have been as
! sayed yielding $500 to the ton.
, prospecting in tho Olympics is a
+ tended with considerable difficult,
g owing to the heavy deposit of surfac
e soil, and the dense growth of flores
: and underbrush. In many places it
e almost impossible to penetrate, viii
: the areas are few where the formatio
J, OF the mountains is exposed. Pro
b pecting is only possible where snow
j slides or avalanches have barred IL