The Wrangell sentinel., 1922-06-15
John Hagstrom Talks Interestingly After Spending Seven Years in the Wilderness of the Pelly and Liard.

John Hagstrom, old time Klondike miner and prospector, and formerly foreman on Bonanza creek for the Yukon Gold Company, arrived in Dawson in a small boat Saturday evening after an absence of seven years in the wilderness of the Pelly and the Lizard. He recently made a gold find, he reports, in the Lia1d country, then mushed 200 miles over the ice to Ross river, and after the ice broke there, he started in small boat for Dawson. The ice broke at Ross river May 10,and he started the fifteenth. He says:
 T am one of those who, through the courtesy of the Yukon govern ment, received free transportation Ito Ross river in 1915. The first two years were spent in search of a place to start prospecting. In the mean time the provisions I brought with me had been consumed, and since that time I have had to struggle for an existence and to keep body and soul from separating.
 
 pector will find anything from ter
 tiary to the Archean. The Pelly mountain range differs from the other mountains, being of younger origin. In the northwestern part are ICrustaceous shales, tertiary clays and slate. Farther to the southeast for about forty miles, in some places along Hoole river the slate is under laid by quartz schist. Farther to the southeast the mountains are com prised of quartzite, very rugged and
 breaks up to fine sand, containing great quantities of magnetic sand, very probably Paleozoic. The Pelly range ends at the lower end of Black lake. From there the country is an undulating plateau, with numerous small lakes and swamps, extending down to the Liard river. A continu- ous valley runs parallel with the Pelly range and triangular mount ain range between this valley and Black river extends north to about Francis creek, tributary. Farther to the north quartzite overlaps the metamorphic rock, and the northern end is chiefly quartz schist, schist and granite. These rocks are older than the Pelly range. probably lower Pale .ozoic. and very probably, were the shore line to the deep sea when the Pelly range was destined to grow in- to lofty mountains. To the east of this triangle the Campbell mountains rise. These are a group of mountains rather than regular range, com posed along the flank of sedimentary rpck of various kinds, but along the Leeck river and toward Finlayson river the formation is chiefly schist. Intrusive rocks of various kinds are found in many different places, both in sedimentary and older rocks To the west of the Liard, the Cassiar mountain runs parallel with the Pelly range, where the northern ex- tremity ends against an undulating plateau. The country has been heavily glaciated, but owing to plenty of water, the creeks are gen. orally we'll clean and of morainal drift.
 II am located on creek which I Esther creek, about 200 miles from Ross River post. I have pros poets of fairly coarse gold, but not pay. I am trying to get bedrock by the way of booming, and have con- a dam and a gate four feet | square, but the progress is slow | owing to lack of necessary provisions. It was only through the kindness of | the man in charge of the Taylor and l Drury store at Ross, who gave me 1 credit, that I was able to continue as l long as did. My intention, if I can l