The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-07-13

ExDessenee 81 Noe Default, Manager
q No. 10 ElaoFaAo.

ExDessenee 81 Noe Default, Manager
- Ne. 10 ElAsraAe.
The Humboldt had . noteworthy pas-
ss6ger In the person OF Noe Default. the
proud possessor Of l3-ounce gold nugget
taken from the approach TO Gold Hin claim
No. 3 II weighs - ounces. but u - not
al gold 1t 10 merely . nugget OF lava
quarts through which gold Ii literally
spattered The only estimate OF III value
II q bona nde e6er OF x5oe II ID question
able IL Il would pan out that in gold, but a.
q curio II might bring . higher figure. The
owner, however. refuses to sell It. He
wishes to take Il to France with him next
year. and exhibit II there.
Moss story. as he told II. IL capital adj
dition to Whod-a-thought-it anecdotes
Of the discovery Of the Klondike. He came
10 Seattle In 1856, and casually making ac-
quaintance with some miners from Forty
Mile, he listened to their stories and decid-
ed 70 join them. He became one Of party
Of SIX. the oxher i've OF whom were H.
Dore. L. Rhodes. Jacques Fontaine. Lewis
Lavois and Peter Matois
After many hardships they reached
Forty Mile on May 20. and although there
had been two or three boats ahead Of them.
the people were starving and their stock OF
grub had to be divided up among the
ffty or sixty miners thege. Moo says:
II shot Q lot Of moose on the road that
helped to supply the Forty Nile boys They
enjoyed II. you may believe.
I'VE left Forty-Nile on May = for the
diggings on Miller creek. There We found
four or hvs miners starving They had
had nothing but car.boo meat the whole
winter. There We loaned division of the
balance OF our grub. and from there we
went to Bedrock creek. We found nothing
thefo, and went to Moose creek. There
We got out Of grub.
For three weeks We had nothing but
-four. no salt or pepper. no game. no fish.
There Was soda spring there. and We
made napJacks. That's all we had for
three weeks. Fontasne and L.avoie were
out all the time hunting and getting moth
ing: Dors was going to FortyM Mile and
back. II was q three days journey to
Forty Mile. The Alaska Transportation
Company hadn't reached there. The first
boat swanped IN the canyon. and the
second boat did not reach Forty-Mile un-
I'll some time In September. When that
did get In We got our SHARE; oh. yes, ev-
anybody paid u back. and since then We
have never had any trouble about grub.
We went back to Miller creek and
bought some little interests there TO try 70
make q living. Any man could make liv-
ting In there. He could get no wages. be-
cause A01e1y paid wages: had nothing to
pay thcm with: everybody worked his own
property.
..Then, In The summer Of 1885 cams the
nows OF the strike on the Klondike. The
discovery was said to have been made by
0eee9e Cormack. and for that reason
mono Of us old miners took any stock In
Il whatever. Why, three times we had
come very near hanging him for starting
stampedes to creeks that had nothing In
them
But the talk about the Klondike grew.
Others told us about its richness. In tho
Tall everybody had TO go cut to Forty Mile
for grub, and some OF US went down to Six
ty-Mile instead. and took q cut over to
what 10 now Dawson. to look over the prop
oaisfon.
"weli, I stayed thera ] got an interest
on Adams creek which about paid wages.
Dore got interested In No. 10 Eldorado.
why, ct that time could have bought all
tho claims on Eldorado. the whole creek.
for ei,eoA Some time after Dore came 10
90 aMdfonked me to take charge OF his Ell
dorado claim. because l was a miner and
he was not. Later on he sold TO McGeer
and Alex Mcdonald. bu. have been hand
Hing Il over since.
Turned out weii7 Mats ca IA sans dire.
II II wonderfully rich. All the gold taken
out has been deposited with the Alaska
transportation AuHlpaty- ffVW uhIu
will not tell. and please don't try TO APP
proximAte. II would do more harm than
coed. do not know who the real owners
are. and I do not want TO know. I am
working the claim on salary. bat i really
do not know what that salary II. The gen.
tlemen treat me 40 literally.
II am credited with bringing out 800
pounds Of dust. l am not going 20 say
anything about that. / came out on
my own business, 20 purchase machinery
To work my Adams creek ciaim.'
s'Rut what OF the nugget Mr.. pefaultr go
Yes. that IL wonderful nugget, isn't
IT. We have bench claim No, = en- Gold
Hill, and this spring the men had TO shovel
snow and gravel to keep the wheelbarrow
track open. and among the loose rock
thrown up by the shovel was this hand
some fellow. II measures six inches by