Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1906-02-03
|COLD-FR0M
II m3
Tl|F1LIf toRdEk

Messrs. Fred H. Moffit and Frank L.
Hess. OF the United States geological
survey. spent last summer in the Sew
ara Peninsula, Alaska. OF the many
things which they will report concern
ing gold mining In the Nome district
nothing Is more likely to appeal to
popular interest than their descrip-
ton of the strike on Little creek.
1t was a little over a year ago-in
the fall of 19O4--that the productive
claims on Little creek first came into
prominence. Since then they have
yielded nearly one and half million
dollars. Much the greater part of the
gold taken out came from four claims
located within an area little greater
than one tenth of square mile.
Little creek Is tributary of Snake
river, at the mouth OF which Nome is
situated. The ebonanza claims of
19O4-O5 are near the tracks Of the
Nome Arctic railroad. only three miles
north of Nome. The gold deposits lie
deep Shafts have been sunk as far
as 50 feet. but the average workings
are between 80 and IS feet below the
surface.
Frozen muck and moss varying In
thickness from IL to % feet form a
heavy covering for the collaborating
gravels. Some of the gravels are APP
parently well washed beach sands,
others were without doubt deposited
by streams. Beds containing powders
some Of which weigh ton frequently
top the workable gravels and are a
constant source of danger In mining.
especially during summer months
when the roof is weakened by thaw-
ing. These powders occur sometimes
on bed rock and are sometimes found
in the muck that overies the graves
Nearly all the deposits, from the SUR
face down to bed rock carry gold.
but the rich gravels are found we'll
down. In some places they rest d-
| rectly on the schist. in other places
they rise to a height of five or six
feet above it. The gold bearing grav-
els Of present economic importance
have a thickness Of between four and
five feet which increased to 10 feet
In one instance where the material re-
moved formed lenticular mass. Thin
ol"""ated 'arsas or beds Of reddish
sand. called ruby sand. the color Of
which Is due at times to small grains
Of red garnet and at times to iron OK
ide, occur throughout the pay gravel
| and often contain 50 much gold that It
can be easily detected. even in careless
handling. Mica schist. in which there
are occasional thin limestone beds
forms the true bedrock but the So
called bed rock on which the gold lies
is sometimes the schst. sometimes a
| clay streak. and In one place It Is
gravel cemented with calcite deposited
| by circulating waters. Part Of the
gold is fine, bright and flaky, but part
/ Of it is coarser and contains many mug
| gets worth five and ten cents each
and occasional ones worth several dol
| lars.
| One important result of the Little
creek discoveries Is that they have led
| to more active prospecting In the tun-
ORA gravels. It, has been known for
some time that small amount of gold
| is almost always present there but
the occurrence and position of any
other beach line back Of Nome can he
determined only by actual investiga-
ton. 1t Is safe to predict that the
Nome tundra will be the scene of more
extensive operations during the pres
| ent winter than in any nrevioms Voc Y