The Nome nugget., 1921-12-17
GORDON KETTLES
SOURDOUGH SAGE

his Sourdough friends as the Baron Munchausen of the North, recently returned to the Golden North after brief stay Outside. Of Bottles it used to be said. There are only three liars on the Koyukuk-Jim Hastings is one and Bettles is the other two.'
 Bettles in his usual confidential manner told friends who eagerly sought him while the boat was in port that he was taking a well to do friend "to the biggest find yet made in Alaska up in the Arctic where the water flows the other way"
 Bettles is nothing if not original He is famed for his live imagination, his good nature. his liberality, ais great friendliuess and his capacity for telling interesting stories. There is hardly real pioneer in the inter- for who has not heard of him He Is valued as good company" It was BettIes who founded the city of Bettles on the Koyukuk and named 1t after himself. This, pio- neers throughout Alaska know to be absolutely so. And while there was a discouraging dearth of gold in the Koyukuk he kept the district alive, and thru his prodigality in giving ev- cry poor miner who asked it. a grub stake. worked his own financial un- doing. Any prospector was welcome at the trading post of Picket. Bet ties & Piecket and if they had no money it mattered naught to them.
 Bettles went to the Koyukuk-he had been in Alaska many years be- fore-shortly after the gold rush. He went up the river with the idea of starting a trading post at the limit of steamer navigation. Arctic City seemed the ideal spot. but the town site of Arctic City had been staked and Bettles could get nothing to suit him there. Undaunted by this he took his grub three miles further up the river and at place he named Bergman. from the accommodating Captain of the steamer who took up. he dropped off his outfit and started the store.
 Piecket, Bettles and Piecket--his partners were two brothers-hai conducted their trading post about a year when Bettles decided that Berg man was not the limit of steamer on theKoyukuk and about 1900. upon the end of investigations. went 140 miles farther up the river and located the present town of Bet tels as the ideal place for an other post, which they opened.
 Bettles was shrewd trader. but liberal friend. He entertained those who came to see him with interesting tales and his fame spread far and wide. For instance Bettles one year went out of the country on a personally conducted tour to sell mining properties He travelled to London. England.
 When he returned he told his friends about this experience--he had stopped at q palatial hotel in London. It was a bewilderins maze of beauty. of large halls and salons. railways and winding staircases. His room was on the sixth floor. Going up to his room he took out his pack-knife and cut rough slashes in every mahogany panel in the stair case from the first floor to the top.
 The next day there was hell to pay The hotel officials were wild. They wanted to know "who did that" Up the winding staircase they went, up to the sixth floor. The slashes in the mahogany ended with deep cut on the door of the suite occupied by Gordon Bettles.
 "Did you do this?" the proprietor demanded. purple with rage. What do you mean. sir?"
 "Me? Sure, did that-I had to blaze a trail so could find my way back didn't I. That's the way we do up in Alaska.
 Bottles had to pay.
 Bottles did a lot of prospecting but didn't seem to have any unusual luck
  ter he was prospecting on Gold creek His men were working in the gravel when friend came along. Gold creek at this point was about 200 feet from rim to rim. It was five feet to bedrock. Bettles had his men dig trench from each edge. freezing the seepage as he went along. There was only three feet of gravel between