The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-02-06
RIcAIA PRECIOUS STONES.
Sale Of Ruby Placer and Eldorado
Bar 10 an English Syn
dictate.
Three Thousand Acres OF Land
Near Helena Studded With
Jewels.
Transaction That Auxurs Well for the
Future-History of tho Two

Placer. Iney DOtn lie along LILO MAlbbouA'
river to the north of Helena, the former
being in Meagher and the latter in Lewis
and Clarke county. Eldorado bar waa
formerly a celebrated gold field, but ON &C.
count of the scarcity of water, available IN
a way necessary to a miner, was aban-
doned in the sixties. Its recent own
cr, Mr.. D. +. Spratt. left Alpena,
Mich, a few years ago to engage in
mining in Montana, and settled at York,
little camp in the Big Belt noun
sains, and since then has gained possession
Of many mining properties in the SUR
rounding country by purchase, patent OF
claims under the mineral laws. His part
ner in these enterprises has been his broth
er, A.. N. Spratt, of Alpena, Mich, who is
the president Of the Minot Lumber COM
pany. The Messrs. Spratt, by a succession
of purchases, obtained possession of Edo
rado bar, having in view the gold which,
with modern facilities, can be washed out
in paying quantities, and with the Interior
hope that tho stones found there might
prove to be very valuable. Meanwhile the
Spratts were pushing their mining ventures
around York, especially in Trout Greek
canyon.
In the spring Of 1889 two brothers by the
ame of LRnedon took up mining claims at
French's bar, on the river about eight miles
above Eldorado. While washing for gold,
they were astonished at the large number of
colored cry stalls which they found in their
pans. About one-half mile above their
cabins was a bank cut off sharply by the
erosive Missouri and which extends to the
second bench, which seemed to be a sort OF
wall. Finding the greatest number of
stones at this point, together with gold in
rnviN0 CuankitinS thew 0riftad hack into
the bank nearly a hundred feet, always
meeting with An abundance of crystals,
but receiving the greatest returns when the
dirt was gathered near the bed rock upon
which the floor Of the drift lay.
Clearly then the gems we're deposited by
the action of the water, and the shifting
sands had allowed them with their greater
specific gravity to settle near the bottom
during geologic changes of the past. How
ever, a casual inspection of the upper Mis-
souri, proves its power for change. Great
cliffs with their denuded strata show where
the waters in the past have torn away the
soil, end immense bars at other points ex-
plain where they have YEARLY allowed their
burden to rest, perhaps only for a time, to
be taken up again and deposited at some
other place. Thus, too, has the deep blue
stream undoubtedly carried the gems, fash
ioned in earth's laboratory from point to
point. searching for a safe and suitable
casket.
MI. spratt decided to obtain control of
this gew bed and obtained an option OH the
Lan9don claims for six months. The price
agreed upon was paid within that
period. In this way French's bar, rechris-
tened Ruby placer from the large number
of garne,s, passed into his hands and
all the gem-bearing bars were under his
control.
PnRf. A. B. Woods, of Detroit, Mich, one
ofthe leading mining experts of the coun-
try. was sent out to make an exhaustive in
~vestigation and report of the beds and their
products Il few days later. He was there
for several weeks, and upon his Judgment
the later transactions have been based. Mr..
Woods. after an examination of the drift,
extended it to determine the width of the
genAmiferous bed, until, By chance, it
struck a true assure vein of mica
shist. or trachite, which stood in it's
cation and surprise this wall was found to
be studded with sapphires, which were ly-
ing in their very matrices. A shaft was i'm
mediately sunk from the surface above into
this vein, and numberless stones in stu
showed that one of natures original treas
ure houses had been found. from which the
thieving Missouri had obtained its gems.
So great has been the yield that 800 stones
of all sizes have been washed out of a sin
gle pan of earth. and during October 10000
carats were sent to Europe.
The existence of those gem deposits have
been known for many years, but to those
who did not know their value. Early in
the sixties the miners were accustomed to
pick up the colored crystals, which they
dubbed "Collins' diamonds because an
unfortunate companiCL of that name sug-
gested they belonged to that class of
precious stones, and when they went to
Helena for supplies or for a spree they
gave them to the women of the town. In
1866, when a whirlwind swept down the
trestle which carried the fume across Soup
CraAk nanynn and left thu rnina.o cn Tho bor
five miles below without water for their
work and without means to rebuild, in
their distress they bethoueht themselves of
the many-hued crystals, and wondered if
they. had no value. Selecting the best
specimens they filled a salt sack with them,
and Capt. Stout,.a veteran miner, brought
it overland to St.. Paul, no trihing Jour
ney in those days. The local jewellers
declared that the crystals were moth
ing but quartz. and thoroughly disheart
his hopeful comrades, the captain drifted
W yto the mining folds of the southwest.
Some of the stones brought by him to the
capital CITY still repose in private cabinets.
one sapphire of the collection being in a
cabinet at Red Wing. In 1883, George B.
Foote. of Helena, became interested in the
stones, and had a large number cut. His
collection is, perhaps, the finest ever
gathered, and among them the writer saw
stones OF almost every hue and every
uekfee Oh prllllanCy. In 1881 Harry NlCOlS,
a civil engineer. was plating 500 acres be-
longing to the st. Paul and Helena I'm
provement company, at Helena, when Mr..
Nicols picked up a mass of cement studded
With colored crystals. They were sent to Il.
Is. Northrop, at st. Paul, who believed then
to be diamonds. They were examined by
several local jewelers. who declared thai
they were remarkably hard, and certainly
wSle not quartz. Other local jewellers
Mattson & Co., of Chicago, and a iMilwau,
kee house pronounced them nothing bu,
quartz. Still unsatisfied, Mr.. Northror
went to Helena and thoroughly examined
the locality where this single mass wal
found, but nothing more was discovered
and he reluctantly let the matter rest.
In December of the same year the mos
authoritative statement on this inte restint
subject appeared in Harper's magazine ii
an article on American precious stones b,
George T. Kunz, the expert of Tifany'
establishment, and the agent of the Smith
sonian institute. In this article Mr.. Kun
says:
''Ihe finest sapphires for gems are col
lected by the miners from the sluice boxe
of the placer mines near Helena, Mon
The gems are usually light green, blue, rec
and all the intermediate shades. s "
Often they ARE blue as seen in one direc
tion and red when seen in another. Ere
quently all the colors would assume q re
hue by artificial light. A very interestin
piece of jewelry was recently made frol
these stones in the form of a crescent. A
one end, as seen by daylight, the stone