13

As a rule, however, gold is scattered through these gravels and is only
slightly concentrated into paystreaks. (3) In post-glacial or surface
gravels in the beds and on the low benches of the present streams. These
gravels were rich in places where an old gold-bearing channel of the stream
had been cut away by the present stream.

“A fourth class includes lava-buried placers. Gravels overlain by
lavas and tuffs occur in Eagle River country, but are not definitely known
to be gold-bearing. They occur in places along Stikine River valley.”

McDame Creek

McDame creek has been the most productive creek in Cassiar dis-
trict. It heads in Cassiar mountains and flows 30 miles in a general east-
erly direction to Dease river. The principal tributaries are Trout, Quartz,
and Snow creeks, and first, second, and third north forks.

Placer gold was taken from bench gravels at Pendleton camp, Centre-
ville, Holloway bar, and from present stream gravels on Snow creek,
10, 12, 15, and 25 miles, respectively, above McDame. According to
Dawson, the richest placer claim in Cassiar district was on Snow creek.
Howay and Scholefield state, in the History of British Columbia, that in
1877 McDame creek produced the largest nugget found in British Columbia,
worth $1,300.

During the summer of 1935 placer mining in McDame Creek area
was limited to small-scale hydraulicking on an old channel of Quartz creek,
by David Wing. The old channel had previously been mined by drifting
for about 2,000 feet upstream from where it is cut by the present Quartz
creek. Presumably the gravels were too lean at that point to yield a profit
with dry mining methods. Below Quartz creek the channel was also mined
by drifting for a short distance down the slope, but water prevented the
miners from going very far. Mr. Wing reports that gold is found in a
stratum of gravel about 20 feet above bedrock, as well as on bedrock.

Only a small amount of gravel has been moved in this hydraulic
operation and the clean-ups have been small. It was pointed out earlier
in this report that a branch of the Cottonwood Valley glacier moved north
to McDame valley and there changed direction and moved to the east
down the valley. At the place where the glacier changed from its northern
to eastern course, Lang, Trout, Quartz, and Snow creeks united in a stream
flowing east along the northern side of the ice. The channels of these
streams shifted as the ice melted and at least four different channels
remain above the present level of McDame creek. These channels prob-
ably contain placer gold, but they may not have been occupied by the
streams for a sufficient length of time to form valuable placers.

Goldpan Creek

Goldpan creek rises on the southwestern slope of Dome mountain, 14
miles east of the head of Dease lake. Placer gold was discovered in the
creek in August 1924, and to date it has yielded around 2,000 ounces of
gold. A description of the placer deposits may be found in the reports
of Johnston and Kerr on Dease Lake area and in the 1933 Annual Report
of the Minister of Mines of British Columbia. The creek was not visited
by the writers.