Evening star., 1898-02-12
GOLD DEPOSITS IN ALASKA.
They Are Claimed to Rival Those I'm
the NorthWest Territory.

e. Hazard Wells. who brought Capt.
Rays report from Alaska, says in his re-
port, among other things:
There are undoubtedly large deposits
of gold in Alaska. rivaing those of the
British Northwest Territory. I noticed eX
celIent mineral indications upon the Ia
mana river and in other localities in 1880.
l discovered a true fssure vein of quartz
eight feet in diameter, with well-defined
casing rocks upon the upper Tanana. This
quartz evidently contained metal. Speci-
mems which | secured to take out to San
Francisco for assay were subsequently
lost in a river catastrophe. Numerous
creeks entering the Upper Tanana re-
vealed oolors of gold in the sands. All of
the gold-bearing streams of Alaska far
discovered, viz, Birch creek. Miller creek.
Forty Mile creek. Sixty Mile creek and
Seventy Mile creek, head in the vicinity
of the Tanana river and flow away to the
northeast. On the southwestern side and
heading near the Tanana are the noted
Copper and Sushitna rivers, the latter
being the eold-bearinS stream which
Gently came into prominence through the
placer discoveries on Cooks Inlet The
Copper river is popuiarly supposed to be
located in the heart OF mineral belt. 1t
is ii reasona bic deduction that If all of the
streams flowing away from the Tanana
to the northeast and southwest bear gold
the Tanana itself must cut through
gold-bearing country. This opinion is
shared by nearly all of the old-tme miners
now located in Dawson. Recently excel
lent prospects We're discovered upon an
American creek, tributary of the Yukon,
in Alaska just below Forty Mile creek,
Miller Creek Birch creek and other
streams within the boundaries of Alaska
in the Yukon valley still offer inducements
to placer miners. / do not believe that
any better mining region will be discovered
in Alaska than will be found in the great
Tanana valley
Further Mr.. Wells says:
ITO the westward of the Tanana rise
gigantic chains of mountains, which will
make prospecting toward the kuskokim
and SuShitna rivers extremely difficult
From good point of vantage upon a high
mountain near the head of Copper river ]
obtained a bird s-eye view of the country to
the westward and beheld Titanic masses
of rock upheaved in much the same fash
ion as the Andes in South America
range of very tall mountains parallels the
Tanana on its westward side, joining at
an acute angle with the high Alaskan
range which sweeps across from the Ia
mana near Robertson river to the mouth
of the Sushitna and beyond. To the west
ward of this N-shaped arrangement of the
mountains lies the vast unexplored terri
tory of the Kuskokwim. / have descended
the Kuskokwim 500 miles to the asst
and found ii broad, deep and somewhat
sluggish stream flowing in from the un-
Known east. Indian reports state that the
kuskokwim heads within three days over
land march of the lower Tanana A pass
Is reported to exist by which it can be
reached from the Tanana Nv ohserya-
tions on the lower Kuskokwim do not in
duce the belief that it flows out from a
gold-bearing region but it is possible
nevertheless, as its sluggish waters would
hardly carry colors very far down stream"