The Nome nugget., 1903-11-21

 ment of the Kotzebue sound country is suggested by the increasing interest which is being shown in that district and it's growing importance, and will serve as an answer, 1 hope, to the many inquiries that are made of me concerning it on each visit to Nome. The writer has been engaged in bus- ness there for the last few years.
 A glance at the map will show the position of the kOtzebue sound country. It is the most remote of the several gold bearing districts of Seward penin- sula. From this fact, and also because it is on the Arctic ocean, with long and windy sweep of coast line between, it is as it were, little mining section by itself, although in a commercial sense it is tributary to Nome.
 The westernmost arm of the sound is Good Hope bay. with the Good Hope river flowing into it. The upper streams of the river circle about the Inmachuk and Kugruk rivers, and are goldbearing; next east is Rex creek, at the mouth of which was one of the earliest settlements in the region Last summer coarse gold was found on Rex creek by Jack sherman and George Green. The next stream is the Inmachuk river, emptying into the middle of the main south curve of Kotzebue sound. This stream was stampeded in the spring of 1901, as was also the Good Hope and Kugruk.
 Ten miles east the Kugruk, fair sized river, parallels the Inmachuk, and l5 or 20 miles still further east the Keewalik, of about the same size, flows into large lagoon, which forms d fine little harbor for light draft boats at the extreme southeast end of the sound. From this point the sound bends north and west again, receiving the Buckland river, of which Bear creek is large tributary: then the Selawik, Kobuk and Noatak, all large rivers emptying into Hotham inlet. A few miles further northwest the Kotze- bue sound ends with Cape Kruzenstern.
 It is only about 100 miles as the crow flies from Norton sound to KOtzebue sound, or about 15O miles from Nome, but following the coast it is 400 or 800 miles. The Arctic ocean is shallow and stormy. There are no harbors for large vessels or tat present. lighterage facilities; nor is it possible, as I under stand, to obtain insurance on ocean steamers entering the Arctic. The in- ference from these facts is that direct shipping to Kotzebue sound is not likely to be attempted systematically for some time at least, and hence, as already stated, the region must re- main in large sense tributary to Nome. Of course, a local supply point for this circle of mining districts is needful, and Keewalik supplies this admirably, because of it's central loca- tion and it's harbor.
 Pay was struck on Old Glory, a trib- vtary of the Inmachuk, in the spring of 1901 and some little money taken out Good prospects were also found on Hannum creek and on the main stream above Hannum by some Italians, also in one or two spots few miles below in the section which is now the scene of great activity. But in July and August Candle creek was staked and lot of ready money rocked from it before the freeze-up, and in the excitement the Inmachuk suffered. In the winter of l9Ol-2 some desultory prospecting of the meagerest descrip. tion was done on the Inmachuk, and that done on Candle was not much bet ter, except that some pay was found at distances from the creek bed, which gave rise to the probability of valuable i deposits in the banks, and there was a great deal of stalking of ground in the vicinity, of town lots in Candle and Keewalik (which is the sandspit at the mouth of the river), and of prepara tions in general for great rush. Or the Kobuk there were few old pros pectors left from the big stampede o 1898.
 In the summer of 1902 the bed of Can dle creek was worked with only moder ate success. It was found that the richer pay had been skinned by the rocker men the fall before, and wha was left was, with certain exceptions a rather low grade gravel, which. or the average, just paid wages. In ths fall, however, some benches attracted attention.