PLACER GOLD OF THE BARKERVILLE AREA. 547

of the Tertiary channels. A large part of the gold is in the form
of only slightly worn crystals, crystal groups (Fig. 72), plates
and irregular masses, which certainly have not been transported
very far. The association of quartz, galena and pyrite with gold
in the nuggets also proves that the amount of transportation has
been slight.

Small crystals and crystal groups of gold, similar to those found
in the stream gravels, occur in the upper oxidized parts of quartz
veins within the drainage basins of the creeks. Crystals with
hopper-shaped faces are found frequently under both conditions
of occurrence. Pebbles of foliated galena and scheelite occur
abundantly in the gravels; they are found also in the auriferous
veins.

The greater part of the gold from each creek is known to pos-
sess fairly definite characteristics. This feature is so marked
that the old merchants who handled a great deal of the gold could
tell by inspection the creek or creeks from which various speci-
mens were obtained. A small part of the gold—apparently de-
rived from the drift—is usually of a different character and some
creeks have different kinds of gold in different parts. The fact,
however, that much of the gold from each creek has fairly definite
characteristics shows that it is derived locally. Many of the
nuggets, also, are too large to be transported any great distance
by streams and it is probable that they have moved vertically
downward, nearly as far as they have been transported horizont-
ally.

There is a close areal relationship between the upper limits of
the rich placers of the various creeks and the location of the north-
westerly trending belt of auriferous quartz veins. This was
emphatically indicated in 1888 by Amos Bowman,® who outlined
on his map of the Cariboo district the boundaries of the rich
placers and showed their relationship to the quartz veins.

There can be little doubt, therefore, that the gold of the placers
was derived from the auriferous quartz veins, the main problem

* Report on the Geology of the Mining District of Cariboo, B. C., Ann. Rept.,
Geol. Sury. Can., 1887, part C.