The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-03-16
John Bean Taking Testimony in
the Power Company's Case.
TEN WITNESSES EXAMINED
Mr. Uhl Testified That in His Opinion
the Gravel Did Not Contain Gold
Enough to Make 1t Pay
ing Proposition.

4 ~ i1oiiieiH LOT a. patent on the big f1Olt
| placer, which covers the site of the
power company's dam or reservoir, has
! been by the Helena land office referred
| to John Bean of Butte to take testimony
| and the referee has for several DAYS
| been hearing evidence in this city
About 10 witnesses for the protestants
nave so far been examined, among
| them Mr.. Farley of Pioneer, Mr.. Steele
Of Deer Lodge, Peter Macarthur, George
w. irwin, Dave Upton and Ed H. Irvine
of Butt. and j. X Uhl of Pioneer. all
old-timers and old placer miners. Their
testimony was in the main identical
the substance of which is contained III
the evidence given by Mr.. Uhl, who tes-
titled that he had lived in Montana
since 1873 and had worked at placer
mining for Is years. About two weeks
ago he passed over up and down the
Big Hole river for a distance of about
seven miles and prospected around the
Big Hole dam and Dolman's placer. He
said he found very little gravel and no
bars or float country on either side of
the river The average distance between
the mountains, including the river, is
not over $50 or 200 feet, and the cliffs
rise abruptly on each side.
From your examination, what is
your opinion as to whether this ground
could contain or does contain Nalua-
bic placer mine. from your experience
as mner?' asked Attorney L. O.
Evans, who represented the protestants
Il don't think that it has the appear
ance of containing gold enough to make
1t paying proposition anywhere on
any ground that | passed over and
where / had an opportunity of examin-
ing 1t, said the witness. Where the
ground was open and | could get
view OF the gravel for any depth at all
| should not pronounce ii a gold-bearng
deposit, that is one that would be a good
mining proposition In my experience
] have never known of "a deposit of
placer gold where there was no wash
gravel Taking into consideration the
class of gold we found there | don't
think il possible that a valuable deposit
of placer gold could exist under such
conditions. There doubtless is placer
where small lodges have broken down
from the influence of the elements
where there is not much wash. The
character of gold that ! saw shows that
it has had a large amount of water ac-
ton and there is not enough gold in
any gravel there to make it, as | said
Before, a paying proposition, and it
certainly does not present the appear
ance of there being anything on the hill
sides, outside of the bed of the river |
panned some gravel at the bottom of
the river at the dam at depth of
about 10 or II feet, where they We're ex-
cavating for a power dam. l PANIED
one pan myself and witnessed the pam
ming of five or six others. In the pan
that ! panned ] would not consider it
anything in prospecting anywhere. I
could not call it the equivalent of
tenth of a cent to the pan. The pan
panned was perhaps as good as any
pan that l saw. \ tenth of a cent to
the pan means a very small amount to
the cubic yard. As a hydraulic propo-
sition Ii is absolutely impossible to make
1t pay, and as dredger proposition it
seems to me that it would take more
money than that to make it profitable.
The gold l got was very fine and
smooth and was river wash. think If
there Is any pay in the river l ought to
have found it there. | panned my pan
of dirt off a clay seam 1t was clay,
but the material above it was loose. Il
seems To me that ii would be impossi-
BILE for that clay to exist there as it
does. and much gold to come down that
stream and not show it. Any miner
would be apt to get gold there if it had
come down to that clay bed at any
time. The ground | prospected | con-
slider as favorable as any on the river.
Mr. Uh said there We're three or four
men On the ground covered by the Big
Hole placer to prevent him and his com.
pdnloHS from prospecting, anu toiu
them to keep away. On cross-eXamina-
ton by Judge Harwood, the witness
testified that he had been employed to
prospect the ground by l.. II. Irvine for
the power company.
You understood that the proposition
or discovery that you We're to make
was desired to be to the effect that that
was not good placer ground?" asked
Judge HARDWOOD.
understood Mr. Irvine a a clS me n
GO out there and prospect that ground
and express my opinion as to whether
there was placer proposition anywhere
in that section of the country that we
have been talking about"
We'll. did you not understand that
the parties for whom you were en-
gagged to go out there desired to make it
appear. or affirm, or show in some way
that the ground mentioned was not
gold bearing placer ground In the sense
as is understood by miners and pros
pectors?"
Il think. from the conversation. that
had a general idea to that effect
That is. you understood that they
wanted to prove that IL was not placer
ground as that term is understood by
placer miners"
Il don't think that | hardly under
stood il in that way at the time. AIR.
Irvine expressed it in this way: If the
bed of that stream Is n good placer de-
post the company wants To know it.
as il is just as valuable To the
as TO any conflicting
interest there TO prove that it is a
placer mine.
The witness said he understood that
the Big Hole placer had been located
after it had been generally known that
the ground had been generally selected
as dam by the dam site.
Well. now, on your experience as a
placer miner, would il not be possible
for one To go to a good placer mine,
get within the boundaries of the claim
and take dirt and pan il and find il alb
barren of any prospect OF any
gold2' asked Judge HARDWOOD.
Yes. | think that is possible, but ]
don't think il would be possible for a
man who had spent a good many years
At mining and was fairly well ac-
luainted with the various washes in
the country TO be fooled as 10 the
ana ffiaS Of the wa CHI MI tho fact