The Nome nugget., 1902-05-07
A koyukuker Says 1t Is Un.
 warranted.
GRUB IS EXPENSIVE
Big Nugget on the Vernon Watts CIaim-Dogs Cost Honey to Feed ..fiorses Die for Want of Proper Food-Oniy Four Left.

Dawson, Y. T., March 14.-"Yes, 1 am just in from the Koyukuk,' said o. c. Ferabund to the NOME NUGGET representative today. Il think the in dications are for a big stampede there this year, and also think the facts do not warrant it. Mind, l am not giving the country a black eye,' us it is termed. The truth is there is gold there in many places, but not sutii- ciently extensive area has been found to warrant anything like the stampede which see gathering. That country will grow and become settled eXten- sively in time, and the merits of the district warrant it. But a stampede at this time will only result in distress and h, altbreaking disappolntmenis With the exception of d few fortunate spots, what gold is being extracted is extracted without much of a margin left to the miner. Take the case of the McNamer boys as an instance. Last summer they took out $22 QUO from what is supposed to be some of the best ground there, and it cost them over ST GOO to take IL ont. It is a gospel truth that the eXpenses of living, labor and food, which will only be enhanced by q stampede. are at present out of ali proportion 10 tue amount of gold in the ground.
 "Dry wood delivered was costing this winter $l0 per cord. Freightng from Bettles 10 Codioot has been nine cents. Dogs have been an expensive luxury this winter, since one had to feed them the same that was used in the masters cabin. Rice for dogs was costing 20 cents at ColdfoUt, for it cost as much to freight d pound of damaged rice Il, Il pound of good rice. As :i consequence there was very little dog Iced up there, and the dogs were fed rom the table. There was one article at CuldiUot how ever, which might be considered cheap. A big lot of butter had been damaged, 7, and was selling Tor $l5 per case to ieed to the dogs. Vernon Watts, who used to own No below on Hunker, has d roadhouse at ColdfU0t, and while 1 was staying there he bought case of this damaged butter for his dogs. Of IS cans in that case, 36 proved to be as good as the day it was packed. You see. broken can was sufficient to give d damaged udor, and water had rusI ed the cans and washed off the labels, but the contents were undamaged.
 Watts and d man named Gillespie have taken out the largest nugget yet uncovered down there. Their claim is No. below on Union, and the slab of gold weighs just $660
 "HOrseS are great necessity in that country for the reducing of freight, but horses cannot exist without food, and there is very little there this year. Of the six horses in that country, two of them had died before came away from improper feeding. The native hay there has proved unsatisfactory. From some cause CT other it is injurious to the stock, and of baled hay there is none. As d consequence, there are just two horses left belonging to the N. (. company, while Jack Prazel has hi, two mules, and that is all the drafting stock Tn the country.
 One reason fur the price of food this winter Is tue scanL lall of snow. A year ago the snow Was five feet deep and, as u consequence, whenever q man get tO nODse that moose was his. The II an with his snJw>h.tS passed over the top of the snow, whlle the poor moose Houudered through it ana wa> soon overlaken and killed. This year there i, no snow at all tu speak of. It is less than Is inches on the level, and the game goes through it with much less trouble than a man. Watts had re- turned from hunting trip just as 1 set out for Dawson, and had not been able to get close enough for shot,"