94

part and beneath the bank there is a buried channel somewhat deeper than
the present channel. There may be also a buried channel on the east side.
An unusual feature of the creek is that, as exposed in the old hydraulic pit,
there are large, irregular masses of hard calcareous tufa or limestone resting
on the true bedrock and intermingled with the bedrock gravels. The
limestone contains numerous impressions of wood and is probably post-
Glacial in age, but may be Pleistocene. It has been formed by the deposi-
tion of lime from water flowing beneath the surface and down the valley of
the creek. Limestone beds in place occur higher up in Grouse Creek valley
and form a possible source of the lime. Deposition from the ground water
was probably caused by the marked change in the grade of the creek, which
permitted release of pressure and aeration of the water—for the deposits
are near the surface—a process which is known to cause deposition of lime
from water heavily charged with it. Seasonal changes in temperature of the
water may also have had something to do with deposition of the lime, for it
is more soluble in cold water than in warm water. The lower part of the
creek for 1,500 feet above the junction with Pleasant Valley creek has a low
gradient, but the valley is drift-filled and the bedrock gradient may be
nearly as great as in the steep part of the creek. The sudden change in
grade of the bedrock channel of the creek—for it, as well as the present
channel, is not evenly graded—may indicate ice erosion of the bedrock in the
upper part of the creek, because the steep part does not appear to be due
to exceptional hardness of the rock. As an alternative explanation, it
may be that Pleasant valley was deepened, at some point, faster than
Canadian.

Mining on the creek by drifting was carried on by the Clear Grit
Company for over twenty years prior to 1892. The shaft is located 100
feet below the lower small flush dam and is said to have been 60 or 70 feet
deep. In 1892 it was reported that another channel 40 feet west of the one
that was being mined had been discovered, and a shaft was sunk on the hill
on the west side of the creek 350 feet below the Clear Grit shaft, for the
purpose of mining the channel. The shaft was equipped with a steam.
pump and was sunk partly in bedrock. Judging by the mine dump, some
drifting was done from the bottom of the shaft, but the work was continued
only for a short time. In 1899 the Slocan Cariboo Mining and Develop-
ment Company, of which H. T. Windt was manager, secured two leases on
the creek and purchased the Clear Grit (Crown-granted) claim. They
later acquired another lease and the Miller (Crown-granted) claim below
the Clear Grit ground. In 1900 hydraulicking was begun and was con-
tinued for three or four seasons. A recovery of 384 ounces of gold in 1902
was reported.!. Water was obtained by a short ditch from the dam in the
wide, upper part of the creek and only a small supply under a head of about
100 feet was available at the hydraulic pit. In 1902 an additional supply
was obtained from Grouse creek, which, however, was not sufficient to
permit of hydraulicking throughout the dry season. A cut about 300 feet
long and 5 to 15 feet deep was made in the bedrock in the lower part of the
hydraulic pit and into the bank of boulder clay and gravels 40 to 80 feet

1Ann, Rept., Minister of Mines, B.C., 1902, p. 118.