Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1906-02-23

Deeds were fled this week trans
ferring to James A. Moore, a Seattle
capitalist, the Silver Bow, Blue Jay
and Nipper group Of claims near Ken
dali, and that is taken to mean that
the litigation over this very valuable
property has been terminated. It is
announced that Mr.. Moore has plans
for at once developing the group.
These claims were formerly controlled
BY the late Hal s. Corbett, of Spokane,
who some time ago mortgaged them
to John L. Bright, Of this city. The
time for redeeming expired on Sun
day, and Mr.. Corbett waited until the
next day, Monday, when he rendered
the money, which was refused, Mr..
the payment should have been made
day on which the time expired. Mr..
Corbett held that as payment fell due
on Sunday, the money was payable
on the next day, Monday. On this fine
point of law the case went into the
district court. and was taken under
advisement by Judge Cheadle, no de-
cision having as yet been rendered.
William Maynard has filed notices
of location of the Smuggler Nos.
and 2, and the Wild Bird claims, in
the North Moccasin mining district.
Messrs. Fred H. Moffit and Frank
L. Hess, Of the U. s. Geological Sur
vey, spent last summer in the Seward
Peninsula, Alaska. OF the many things
which they will reportl concerning gold
mining in the Nome district nothing
h more likely to appeal to popular in
terest than their description of the
strike on Little creek.
It was 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 a square
mile.
Little creek is tributary Of Snake
river, at the mouth Of which Nome
is situated. The bonanza claims of
1904-5 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 so 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 gold bearing
gravels. Some of the gravels are ap-
parently we'll washed beach sands,
others were without doubt deposited
BY streams. Beds containing powders,
some of which weigh ton, frequent
" top the workable gravels and are
a constant source of danger in min
ing. especially during the summer
months, when the roof is weakened
by thawing. These powders occur
sometimes on bed rock and are some
times found in the muck that overlies
the gravels.
Nearly all the deposits from surface
TO bed rock. carry gold, but the rich
gravels are found we'll down. In some
PAGES they rest directly on the schist,
In other places they rise to height
Of five or six feet above it. The gold
bearing gravels of present economic
importance have thickness of be-
tween four and five feet, which in.
creased to sixteen feet in one instance
where the material removed formed
lenticular mass. Thin elongated
lenses 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 oxide, occur
throughout the pay gravel and often
contain so much gold that it can be
easily detected, even in careless hand
ting. Mica schist, in which there are
occasional thin limestone beds, forms
the true bed rock, but the so-called
bed rock" on which the gold lies is
sometimes the schist, sometimes q
clay streak. and in one place it is
gravel cemented with calcite deposit
cd by circulating waters. Part of the
gold is fine, bright and flaky, but part
Of it is coarser and contains many
nuggets worth five and ten cents
apiece and occasional ones worth sew
eral dollars.
One important result of the Little
creek discoveries is that they have LED
to more active prospecting in the tun
dra gravels. It has been known fol
some time that small amount o1
but the occurrence and position of any
other beach line back of Nome can bt
determined only by actual investiga
tion. 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 previous year
Chicago Mining World.
The coal fields in this section ar,
one of the most valuable assets of tn,
county, and, according to observation
taken both by government and rail
road survey parties, rich belt o
coal land extends from the MACEDONIA,
creek district clear to the western
borders of the county. The Lewis
town Coal company's mine, on Mac
donald creek, is being worked to al
most its full capacity, so tons per day
This ground consists of 240 acres o
rich coal lands, on which over ZOO