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Show FROST KEEPS GRIP ON GOLD Placers in Alaska That Are Only Thawed to a Depth of About Three Feet in Summer. Certain Alaska gold placers lie in ground that is permanently frozen, only the surface being thawed to a depMi of two or three feet in the heart r summer. sum-mer. In this respect they resemble the gold-bearing gravels of Siberia, and the methods of working are similar. Summer is the best time to prospect for new leads, but excavation of the gravel from shafts and tunnels can be as well carried on in winter. The ground at the end of a shaft is softened soft-ened by a fire of wood and then attacked with the pick. But, instead of breaking break-ing under the blows, it mats together, and this tendency renders gunpowder and dynamite comparatively Ineffective . in dealing with the frozen mass. With j any less powerful incentive than the : gleam of gold to spur on his human antagonist the frost king would doubtless doubt-less win an easy victory in so desperate desper-ate a conflict. |