67

western end of Cunningham pass does not appear to have been prospected.
It may be, however, that the old bench deposits have been largely destroyed
by the effects of glaciation.

Antler Creek between Beggs Gulch and Wolfe Creek

This part of Antler Creek valley (Figure 8) is of interest chiefly because
it is regarded by some of the prospectors as possible dredging ground.
Drilling to determine this question has been carried on in several places.
Nearly all of Antler valley from a short distance above the mouth of
Grouse creek up to Cunningham pass is a rock canyon averaging about 300
feet deep. The sides are not vertical, but are in most places too steep to be
easily climbed. Numerous rock outcrops occur on the sides, but in many
places the rock is covered by glacial drift and by rock or talus slides. The
valley bottom in the part below the mouth of Beggs gulch averages only
about 150 feet in width and in a few places is less than 50 feet, though the
bedrock outcrops in the bottom only at one place and this is below the
mouth of Quartz gulch. Above the mouth of Beggs gulch the valley flat
gradually widens and in the upper part is nearly 1,000 feet wide.

The only shaft put down in an attempt to mine the deep part of the
channel gravels is the Eureka shaft about three-fourths mile below the
mouth of Beggs gulch. Here the channel is very narrow and is partly
blocked on the left side by a rock and earth slide from the face of the cliff.
The shaft was sunk mostly in bedrock and is reported to have been 40 feet
deep below the level of the creek. It is stated that a drift from the bottom
of the shaft was found to be too low, and that a drift at 34 feet broke into
the channel. It seems unlikely that the bedrock channel is at any greater
depth because of the narrowness of the valley bottom at this point.
Apparently little drifting was done as there are no “headings” at the
mouth of the shaft. Drilling to determine the depths and gold values
of the ground in the upper part near the mouths of Stevens and Wolfe
creeks was done by the Yukon Gold Company in 1915. A few borings
higher up, just below the Nason ground, were subsequently made by the
owners of the Nason and Lothair real estate claims and the half-mile lease
below. In 1922 two borings, one near the mouth of Beggs gulch and one
1,700 feet higher up, were made by the Cariboo Exploration Company
organized by H. C. Foster of Calgary, Alberta, Alfred Brown of Barkerville
being the driller. In the autumn of 1923 a number of bore-holes not shown
in Figure 3 were put down in the wide part near the mouth of Wolfe creek
and near the mouth of Beggs gulch, by W. E. Thorne representing the
Kafue Copper Development Company, who are operating a 4-cubic foot,
close-connected bucket dredge on the Nason and Lothair claims. Three
holes in the upper wide part of the valley, one above the mouth of Wolfe
creek, one near an old sawmill site just above California creek, and one in
the bend of Antler creek 700 feet below the mouth of Stevens gulch, showed
depths of 108, 125-5, and 80 feet. The last two were not to bedrock. The
first two showed traces of gold. The material passed through was largely
glacial silt and fine gravels. The hole near the mouth of Beggs gulch was
about 65 feet deep and showed fair values, but it was doubtful whether it

1Geol. Surv., Canada, Map 366 (1895).