H
by frank j. cotter
. . I *a « 1 . i > l. . ... S ~ 1 ..M
Early last sprint,' two prospectors
left Kuik, intending to prospect the.
then little known belt of country that;
lies at the bead of the Mataouska
river. They followed the coal trail to :
the Chickaloou and then struck over j
the hills, following Hicks creek, over
Caribou and up Alfred creek to the |
head. So far, they had found nothing
that would cause them to stop and dijf:
deeper, so they crossed the ranjre of j
hills that divide the Matanuska and;
Nelchina watersheds and dropped j
down what is now known as Crooked j
creek as far as the mouth of Albert j
creek.
The Original Discovery
Here the country looked good to!
them and they set up a permanent camp j
and began to prospect on the rim along j
the creeks. They found a place on.
Albei t creek, about a mile from the ,
mouth, where years ago a couple of
miners had started to run a cut, but,
bad abandoned it on account of encoun- (
tering a frozen seam in the sediment. ,
On account of the work that had al
ready l>een done these two prospectors
—Getchell aud Olsen—began work ;
ahere their predecessors bad left off.
They sank only a few inches when they
struck gravel that panned, and pauned ;
coarse gold.
By this time it was pretty late in the
season.but they started a cut that would j
take them to bedrock aud began shov
eling in to three little boxes that they j
made out of whipsawed lumbet. By
the time the water froze up on them
in the fall, they had taken out t>5 ounces !
of coarse gold from a space ol ground
that will not measure better that 40
square feet.
Getchell and Olson brought the gold
to Kuik and a new mining camp bad
been born to the north.
Camp of Great Possibilities
The Nelchina, as the new district is,
known, is one of threat possibilities.
There is «id immense ranue of territory j
that is worthy of the systematic work j
of a thorough prospector. The coun- j
try is one vast net work of creeks, j
thrown up by glacial action, w ith tine j
wash gravel to the very tops of the
hills. The creeks ail carry abundant:
water for all practical mining pur-1
- poses, but scarcely enough grade, in j
most instances, for hydraulicking. So i
far. there has been little or no work t
done in any part of the country with
the exception of discovery claim on
Albert creek. In fact, this is the only .
claim in the district where bedrock
has been exposed.
Some little prospecting has been
done on other creeks, but in most in-1
stances this work simply consists of
assessment work that has been done
on ground lately located and is only
enough to hold the ground until sup
Budweiser beer at the Branch.
I buy Gold Nuggets and pay
full value and a premium if extra
good speciman.
George, the Jeweler
plies can ue irenrintu uj tma wuhci
ove** the ice to carry on the work of
development. The fact that the new
district is located above timber will to
a certain extent retard the develop
ment, but wood will be hauled in from
Squaw creek and the mouth of Crook
ed creek, a distance ranging from 7 to
12 miles.
The country in the immediate vicin
ity of Albert creek has been thorough
]y slaked, but much of the staking will
not hold ana much of the ground at
this early date has been re located.
Many in their desire to tie up a large
area of ground staked 40-acre claims
and the power of attorney graft was
worked overtime. Again, much ground
was blanketed with blind stakes and
dated a month ahead in order to give
the locators an additional month’s
rights.
Glacial Formation
As stated before, the country is of
glacial formation, the wash that car
ries the gold being foreign to the
country. The formation appears to be
a conglomeration of all the formations
kno^\n to Alaska, with shale and sand
stone predominating, while serpentine,
schist, porphyry, diorite, granite and
other formations, thickly mixed with
white quartz, are found everywhere.
The creeks in the vicinity of Albert,
where most of the staking has been
dune, are Crooked, Meade, Placer,
North and South. On North creek
Peter Iverson, one of the best known
oidtimers in this section, nas found
prospects that he claims areas good as
anything thut has been found on Al
bert. On Placer, which heads in the
same mountain as Albert, Thomas
Rippeto has struck coarse gold. Coarse
gold has also been found on Plat and
Meade creeks, but not yet iu paying
quantities. On bench 14, right limit
of Crooked, Pete Charieboise has pan
ned c* arse gold from a bole be is sink
ing to bedrock and feels sure he will
hit something good when be gets down.
J. E. Fern, who is working on the low
er end of Crooked, reports very en
couraging prospects from the time he
struck gravel in the hole in which he
is now working.
Remarkable Showing
Considering the amount of work
done in the Nelchina, the showing is
remarkable. \\ hen one pauses to con
sider* that in the only hole that has
been bedrocked in the entire section
pay that will run better that $500 to
the box length has been found, tire
showing is really good. Of the other
creeks where prospecting has been
none and good prospects found, Crook
ed is the largest and best-looking. It
is not unlike Cleary creek, in the Fair
banks district, only smailer. It is lo
located from 12 above discovery to 26
Finch’s Golden Wedding rye at the
Branch. _ *
Twenty gauge, 1913 model shot guns
at J. L. Graef’s. t
For reliable informat:on write Can
non, Pioneer hotel, Knik, Alaska, t
FLOUR SACK MARKS LOCATION OF
PORTAfiE CITY, PIECES OF CLOTH .
MARK ROUTE OF RAILWAY LINE
t ‘
I s
I >ULI
*
| below and most of the side streams are
staked to the head. Placer is staked
from 9 above to the mouth, and Flat,
j Meade and other creeks are blanketed i
in much the same manner.
Not a Frozen District
The report is current that the Nel-1
china is frozen ground and will have
to be thawed. This is not the case. ;
ft, is a thawed district, with seams of j
frozen sediment, which can he picked:
! through. To sink holes to bedrock j
this winter, it will be necessary to
freeze down, instead of thawing. This |
will prove a blessing in a country |
where there is so little wood.
There is no game in the country, as
| faras could be ascertained, excent rab
l bits (Doc. Romig, please take notice)
| and ptarmigan. There are evidences
I of caribou, but up to the latter part of
! t liis month, none were seen.
Seward-Knik Route Preferable
Regarding routes to the new dig
gings, there is of course, as in all new
camps, a diversity of opinions, but the
! Seward-Knik route has the preference
| so far. J'his is an easy way to get. in
| and a prospector can take in an out fit
Ifrnm Knik to Discovery. Albert creek,
I in seven days, and all on a water grade.
The trail from Knik to Chickaloon.
; where the Matanuska coal mines are
j located, is a good government trail,
with easy grades. From Chickaloon
the trail drops down to the Matanuska
river, and follows the t ivar to within
! ten miles of Albert creek, where it
! swings off to the left and crosses a
i chain of small lakes to Squaw creek
i and then over a low divide to Crooked
creek.
Plenty oi Supplies at Knik
There are an abundance of supplies
| at Knik and prices are very reasonable,
j On account of the snow it will be im
possible to take horses in and dogs will
be the only method available by this
route. There is no dog feed in the
country and everything of that nature
will have to be freighted in and will
command a high price on the ground.
| There is absolutely no grub or supplies
; to be had at the diggings and all kind !
I of prices prevail. Tobacco is at a prt- j
' mium, as well as all kinds of eatables, j
including sugar, milk, rice, bacon and
flour. Horses that have been used to j
freight in supplies during the fall are '
being killed and hung up to be used as j
dog feed during the coming winter.
In looking over the situation after a |
careful goingoverof the various creeks j
in the camp and an examination of the
workings there, I can truthfully say j
that for tne amount of work that has
been done, the showing is good. The
only place where bedrock has been ex
! posed, they have good pay; in all places
where assessment work has been done
where the prospector has reached
gravel, gold has been panned. On
Flat, Meade, North, South, Placer and
Htippy creeks coarse gold has been
found on the rimrock, which I consider
Continued on page 3
Meet me at the Brancn.
« *
I sell Gorham Silver Goods.
Leave your orders.
George, the Jeweler.
Pieces of flour sack, tied to conven
ient willows, mark a preliminary
railway survey from Portage bay to a
proposed intersection with the Alaska
Northern line; a vhole flour sack, vig
orously swayed by the ever prevailing
gales of that tempestous and storm
tossed region, marks the location of
“Portage City,” on Portage hay, her
eled far and wide, by those concerned,
as the proposed coast terminus of the
government-owned railway system in
Alaska.
Not a habitation, not an inhabitant,
is there. The flour sack stands guard
over the townsite, a mute sentinel in
a lonelv and desolate region. Several
“placer” locations, probably exten
sions of the townsite, were staked oft*
by individuals in a moment of reckless
enthusiasm. About seven miles away,
a lonely prospector lives in a 7x7 tent.
He assumes no connection wit h the
I railway enterprise* He says a launch
has not been the»*e for a mouth, nor is
any expected this year.
; Some thirty-live miles away at a set
! tlement called Golden, on Port Weils,
several quartz claims are being devel
oped.
Elerbert Tozier, superinteneent of
the Alaska Northern Kail way system,
spent last week in a trip of reconnois
i sanee from the Alaska Northern line
lover the preliminary survey of the
I Portage buy project to tide water on
I Portage‘bay. Pieces of llour sack, flap*
I pidg in the breezes, at about a dozen
| points, formed his sole guide.
Instead of a two-mile tunnel, as
| claimed by the Portage bay adherents,
it will take a six-miie tunnel to sur
mount the divide lying between Por
tage bay and the Alaska Northern
line, in the opinion of Mr. Tozier, who
is himself a railway engineer. The
cost of such work would be prohibi
tive, as it would require about one mil
lion dollars to the mile.
Mr. Tozier, who returned Saturday
night, says the people of Seward have
nothing to fear from the Portage bay
project. It is a phantom without form
or substance and will be hoist by its
own petard.
To be convinced of this fact, all that
is necessary is to study the pretensions
of a so-called preliminary map of loca
tion, and then take a look at the physi
cal appearance of the country through
which the proposed line will pass.
The map dont jibe with the topography
of the region. The glaciers are
switched around too promiscuously and
conveniently. It don’t look so difficult
on paper, but the paper on file at the
national capitol don’t square with the ,
facts.
The Portage bay boogaboo may be
dismissed as unworthy of serious con
sideration.
Sun burst pocket Hash lamps at J. L.
Graef’s. _ *
Pabsts blue ribbon beer at Th*e
Branch. *
Meet me at the Branch #
Lon# distance telephone booth at the
Branch. _ *
RAZORS! RAZORS! RAZORS!
The finest in the Land! Where?
AT GEORGE, THE JEWELER'S