Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-11-24
Rich Alaska.

of too much enthusiasm on the part {
the pioneers. They are class of youn
men whose enthusiasm is reserved fC
the work at hand, not for the report.
For several years the governmer
has had surveyors and experts of tn
geological and kindred surveys hard a
work on a minute and exhaustive ex
animation of the wiids of Alaska,
determine what that country has to of
will read like romance, yet they ar
true and cold blooded narratives c
light. Upon the intelligence conveye
i'm those reports vast business enter
orises will be launched and home
seekers will risk their all. They knoN
that the reports of the survey can b
trusted.
The surveys for this season hav
Ocen extensive and timely. The ad
vance sheets contain much Valuabl
Information. The report says, in part
All q the Alaskan parties of
the United States Geological Sur
Vey have now returned or are on
their way to Washington. The
plans made for the field season of
1909 were all successfully carried
out and many important results
were obtained, a preliminary
statement of which will be issued
in the spring of 1910.
Two parties under the leader
ship of ID. c. Witherspoon and
George c. Martin, assisted by F.. ].
KatZ and c. f. Giffin, surveyed
Hanna Lake and Lake Clark, in
the region west of Cook Inlet.
These two lakes, the largest fresh
water bodies in Alaska, had never
before been mapped. Lake Hanna
is about 100 miles long and 80 to
40 miles wide. Lake Clark is 80
miles long and only 4 to miles
wide.
The great Importance of
Alaska's bituminous coal fields led
" a FoolNCS VI lIlt
nuska coal field, which was made
by r. H. Sargent, assisted by j.
Il. Leavitt. Next year the result
ing map will be used as a base for
delineating the cOal-bearing
strata. When this field is reached
by the Alaska Central Railway, of
which approximately ~ miles have
now been completed, detailed in
formation regarding the distribu-
ton and occurrence of the coal
will be available.
Alfred H. Brooks, under whose
supervision the Alaska surveys
are carried on, visited a part Of
the Chitina copper precinct last
summer. He reports that con-
structiOn work is being energeti-
cally pushed on the Copper River
Railway, about rs miles having
been completed. This railway
will connect the copper deposits of
the Chitina with tide water on
Prince William Sound. Mr..
Brooks was accompanied by Fred
II. Mohit and S. r. Capps, who
completed detailed geologic map
of the region adjacent to Nizina
River, the est-developed part of
the Chitina copper-bearing dis
trict.
After leaving the Moftit party
Mr.. Brooks made his way over
land to Fairbanks. where he joined
l.. NJ. Prindle and B. L. Johnson in
preliminary study of the newly
discovered aurferous lodes of that
vicinity Though no large ore
bodies have been found in this
region, some of the veins appear
to be persistent and to carry high
values. Pyrite. arsenopyrite. stib-
mite. sphalerite, galena, and free
gold are found in a gangue of
quartz. Prospectors report the oc-
currence of ores of tellurium, but
specimens of supposed telluride
ores tested at the laboratory of the
Survey show no evidence of the
presence Of tellurium. Veins
from l inch to II feet or more in
thickness have been opened at
about a dozen localities The de-
velopment work is chiefly surface
prospecting, but some deposits
have been followed to a depth of
nearly 100 feet by shafts and tun-
nels. The indications are suf-
ficiently encouraging to warrant
more extensive prospecting
A. G. Maddren spent the sum-
mer in carrying reconnaissance
surveys from the Yukon to the
Koyukuk and thence to the
Chandalar. The annual gold pro-
duction OF the Koyukuk among
the Yukon camps is exceeded only
by that of Fairbanks.
In accordance with the practice
of making detailed surveys of the
important mining districts, the
geologic mapping and study of the
ore deposits of the Berners Bay
district was completed during the
past summer by Adolph Knopf.
This district. though dormant at
present, contains some valuable
lode deposits. Mr.. Knopf also
extended his work southwark
from Berners Bay as far as Eagle
River. working in cooperation
with J. w. Bagley, who, assisted
by r. E. Johnson, was engaged in
preparing a base map on a scale
of a mile to the inch. At the close
of the season Mr.. Knopf devoted
ten days to an examination of
some of the more important min
ing developments in southeastern