The Nome nugget., 1929-05-04

the transportation facilities, etc. were a bar to it's successful min Ing. Later Walter Koen. known as
 the Jade King. and who had q
 wide Knowledge of mining, spen,
 many years in prospecting 1t. but
 the conditions were not ripe. for its successful operation. Walter finally went to work for Ton Berry
 man and some years ago passed
 over the last divide. In the early
 days the natives used the jade for
 ornamental purposes and for axes,
 some of which are in existence to-
 day, also for trading purposes The developmetft;' of Jade Mountain would mean a' new industry and
 the addition Br' untold wealth to Seward Penineh1a:: s. .. '....' .,y
 The dredging possibilities of. the country surrounding Kotzebue is now under. the lime light, as a min
 ing engineer from Chicago is on the ground prospecting. and it may
 not be amiss to. state that said en-
 gineer eat his breakfast in Chicago on February 18th. and had dinner
 with MT. Kinney on the evening of Feb. 27th. at Kotzebue, u2 days) such Is modern progress via trafns and airpianes.
 The rapid rise of the Ferguson Brothers s but another instance
 of the many opportunities open to
 men of energy and ability, not alone in the Kobuk country but in any part of the Elysium of the North. It Is but 8 few years ago
 that they went into the Kobuk
 country and today they are operat- ing three trading and general 'mer-
 chandise stores, one at Kotzebue,
 one at Selawik and another at Shungnak, tapping an area of
 thousands of square miles where the fur production runs we'll into the thousands of dollars, besides
 bringing to the miners and trap pers and the other residents. the
 advantages that lie in, the competi- tive system.
 They are also active in the min ing industry and gre now operat- ing successfully hydraulic lift on Epalifnrn4a Creek that enters the
 Kohuki about. three miles above fsAunsnak, aad are also interested in; other. prospecting and mining | oDerations., When they went into the Kobpk country they took over the :, store which was formerly run by Captain John Backiand at Kot- zebue and operated by Dick Hall,
 but realizing tho enormous poten-
 tial wealth ofsthe country both in aE;furs. and mirerais,. soon branched
 ont with the result that today they
 stand in the front rank. in the ,ex-
 tent of their mining and mercanr | tile operations.
 Portages between Hunt River
 and Amhier were partly staked
 and Arrangements made for com.
 pleting them this year.
 Superintendent Kinney made all the necessary arrangements for the
 immediate stalking of trails and az
 far into the future as 1t was possir
 ble to see. Mir; Kinney's return was made by the way of the Kobuk and was |without incident. having arrived 'op fthe evening of the goth of March
 after an absence of 4s days. He
 fs very enthusiastic about the fu-
 ture of the county. it Is as vet
 but little known. but with the ad- vance of knowledse, also the in-
 treductton of .cepttal, the., buiidins of roads. etc. the country 's honpd to hr an asset oe inestimahle value At present outside of the min'nv;
 the reindeer and fur industry spells pfosperity. Eskimo hunting with high power rifles with ta'e.
 sconic sights and modern ~ethods Around the Shelnak. lynx of tho