The Nome nugget., 1932-12-10

both cooking and beating par- poses.
 Extreme winter temperatures in thls area is about minus 50 de- grees. but due to terrific prevail ing winds which at times are im- possible to stand against. winter travelling is made very difficult. Clothing worn is made entirely of deerskin due to it's iightness and warmth. These garments are al- ways worn double; double deer skin pants. double deerskln "Attl- ges" or what IA equivalent to our parkas. deer skin socks over three pairs of wooden socks and skin boots or Mukiuks. In wearing these garments double. the inner garment is worn with the fur in- side and the outer garment with the fur outside.
 Transportation is entirely with dog teams as the Arctic seas arc entirely frozen over and this is the only means of transportation. While running their respective trap lines during the trapping sea- son, contact with one another Is made about once every 9 months.
 Being located some two hum dred and fifty miles west of the Great Bear Lake country MT. Mc- Lelland seemed conversant with the facts as regards to the possi- bilities of mining in this much talked of area. He is of the opin- ion that this country will prove to be one of the greatest mineral bearing areas on the North Ameri- can continent. Large known de- posits of radium, gold, nearly pure copper, silver, and an abundance of iron ore have been found in large quantities. In commenting upon the iron ore deposits Mir. Mo Lelland stated that if one would | try to navigate vessel by com pass in this area that he would probably be running in circles, due to the effect of this mineral upon a magnetic compass. He further stated that thru the use of the airplane that this region has lbeen made accessible and that the entire region for a hundred miles adjacent to Great Bear Lake has already been staked. Radium de- posits in larger quantities than heretofore found in the combined known deposits of the world have been discovered in this region said Mir. McLelland, and ton of this lore taken out by airplane showed an assayed value of between seven and eight thousand dollars. Com MT. McLelland stated that some discoveries have been so rich that machinery and supplies are being flown in by plane to work certain mines.
 The crying need of this locality like Alaska, is transportation. To build a railroad into this region would necessitate the construction of about two thousand miles of roadbed over a country very diff cult from construction stand point, and which would no doub, prove after completion to develop many difficult features from an |operating standpoint. Water tran sportation is of course out of the question, not only due to the dis tance involved to reach this region, but due to the short open season of the Arctic ice pack which var ies from one to two and half months during the year.
 Lack of transportation has of course created extremely high prices for the necessities of life. Some of the prices paid the past year are as follows: Coal, $105 per tonA kerosene and gasoline, $1.75 per gallon; sugar $25 per hundred; rice $25 per hundred; potatoes $25 per crate; onions $25 per hundred; eggs, $1.50 per dog en; butter $1.25 per pound.
 While in addition to this the l .1- l. white men to charge high prices